Natsu's Code

Chapter 12: Natsu and Lucy v.s. Zeref

"Fire dragon iron fist!"

"Lucy kick!"

Zeref flew deeper within the cave. 

"Great work, Luce!" Natsu complimented.

"You too!" Lucy replied. "But it's gonna take a lot more to beat him."

"Aye..." Happy said sadly.

"Happy, why don't you check on the others? I don't want you getting hurt." Natsu suggested.

"Aww, do I have to?" Happy whined.

"Please?" Lucy asked.

"Fine." He muttered. "Just don't be kissing or something." He giggled as he flew out.

"WHY WOULD WE BE KISSING?!" Lucy and Natsu yelled.

"Cause you're in LOVE!"

They growled as they turned their attention back to Zeref. 

"I'm disappointed in you, Natsu. After all this time, I thought you would be stronger." Zeref sighed.

"I'm plenty strong!" Natsu exclaimed. He closed his eyes and entered Dragon Force.

Lucy grinned at his sudden change. "Go Natsu!" She glared at Zeref. "Earth wave!"

Zeref dodged it. "Dark blast inferno!" Natsu and Lucy flew in opposite directions, hitting the wall.

"Ow!" Lucy groaned. She stood up and rubbed her head.

Natsu growled at Zeref. "I'm the one you wanted to fight! Don't touch Lucy!"

Zeref smirked. "Very well." He picked up Lucy using his magic and threw her towards the cave entrance. 

"Ahh!" Lucy cried out in pain. She laid on the ground, unable to move.

"Lucy!" Natsu shouted. "Fight me you coward!"

Zeref jumped and hit Natsu in the face sending him flying into the wall. The cave shook from impact. The dust cleared, revealing Natsu who was grinning.

"Barely made a scratch." Natsu boasted. Zeref frowned and attacked him. The two fought, sending powerful attacks at each other. The cave started cracking from the impact. Natsu was doing pretty well against Zeref. 

"Natsu..." Lucy whimpered. "Be careful..."

"Dragon God's Brilliant Flame!" Natsu slammed Zeref through layers of rock. Lucy stumbled over to him.

"Great job..." She said, weakly.

Natsu looked at her, concerned. "Lucy, you need to rest. Get out of here before you get hurt again."

"No way!" She glared at him. "I'm not giving up! I'm not as weak as I used to be. I can handle it."

Natsu grinned. "That's the spirit!" 

They ran towards Zeref and kept attacking him repeatedly until they were both out of breath. Minutes passed by, and there was no movement from Zeref.

"Did we get him?" Lucy asked hopefully.

"I dunno..." Natsu replied.

They inched towards him when they suddenly heard a laugh. A villainous laugh that built and built until it was uncontrollable maniacal laughter. 

"FOOLS!" Zeref cackled. A dark aura surrounded him. Natsu and Lucy shuddered at the amount of magic power. They were both thrown through the cave. Zeref overflowed with laughter as he flung their bodies between the floor and the ceiling. They both cried out in pain. 

After many minutes of this torture, Zeref released them. They groaned as they collapsed on the ground. They shakily climbed to their feet.

"Lucy, run!" Natsu shoved her out of the way. Lucy gripped her gate keys.

"No way am I leaving you!" She said as she summoned Leo the Lion. Natsu smiled sadly at her determined face.

"Please, Lucy...I don't want you to die too."

Tears ran down Lucy's face. "You're not going to die Natsu! We can beat him!"

Suddenly, Zeref attacked Lucy. "Repent!" He cried. Lucy's heart stopped. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Natsu's face exploded into fear as he ran towards her. "NO!" He screamed. Lucy saw the wave of magic heading straight for her. "So this is how I die..." She said quietly. Tears streamed down her face. Suddenly, Natsu grabbed her, shielding her from Zeref's attack. He gripped her tightly and whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry, Lucy."

Lucy felt a tremendous amount of magic power hit him. He gasped softly as his life started fading away. He never loosened his grip on her. "NATSU!" She cried. She put her hands on his face, wiping away his tears. "Please, hang in there!"

He smiled softly. Then, he did the one thing he had always wanted to do. He kissed her. "Lucy...I love you..." He hit the ground with the force of a meteor, never letting go of the one precious thing in his life.