Hey, guys! I'm back finally with another chapter! I wrote this really quickly because believe it or not even though it's summer break, I'm pretty busy. So, excuse any mistakes, and don't hesitate to correct them in the comments. Thanks, and without further ado, here is chapter 44!

            They had spent all day thinking up strategies, but because they didn't know exactly what Lucy was capable of, it was a bit hard. Porlyusica had taken her aside to tell her some things about guardians, but because she wasn't one herself, she didn't exactly know how to cast "spells" as she put it. Lucy had been sitting by herself in the entrance of the cave for a while now, trying to find—well she didn't exactly know what she was looking for, but she was hoping that something deep inside her, in her DNA, would maybe tell her what she should do. Of course, this was a hopeless idea; it was apparently never that easy. She stared down at Étoile Fleuve in her lap, caressing the bound handle, hoping for some sort of sign. A warm hand settled on her shoulder, and she looked up to see a pink head of hair.

            "Hey," he said.

            "Hey." She diverted her gaze to the weapon again as he settled himself beside her.

            "Has staring at that thing brought you any answers?" he asked, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes.

            Lucy sighed, and massaged her temples. "No..." She clasped it to her belt again, deciding to abandon her foolhardy hopes, and looked at Natsu tiredly.

           "I'm sorry. For you mom," Natsu said sadly.

           "Thanks, but it happened a long time ago," she said, leaning her head against his shoulder.

            He rested his head on hers so that she could feel the vibrations of his voice as he spoke. "Doesn't make it any less painful."

            She nodded, and smiled slightly as he laced his fingers with hers.

           "Who knew you would end up being some all-powerful being, huh?" he said, trying to make light of the situation. Lucy appreciated it, but it didn't lessen the pressure she felt with that knowledge.

            "Yeah... who knew."

            They sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company until Natsu said softly, "Listen, no matter what happens, I will always believe in you."

            Lucy's heart skipped a beat, and she tilted her head to look up at him.

           "I love you," she said, wanting to express how much she meant those three words.

            He looked down at her and grinned the heart-melting grin she loved so much. "I love you too."

            They looked into each other's eyes, brown clashing with green, and started to lean in. CRASH! The cave shook so greatly Natsu and Lucy were pulled apart with such force, they were sent flying into opposite walls. Lucy struggled to sit up, her head pounding from where she had hit the stone wall of the cavern. Everyone seemed to be in similar straits, all their things strewn in random places. Porlyusica was bleeding from her head as Wendy was trying to help her up, Lily had managed to save Levy from harm and was now hovering in midair with Gajeel getting up from beside him, Sting and Rogue had been thrown in opposite directions with Lector and Frosch trying to help them up, and Happy and Romeo were freeing Carla from under one of their travel bags.

            BOOM! The cave shook again, and Lucy watched in horror as a crack started spreading on the far side of the cave where Sting and Rogue were. BOOM! It grew again as Natsu started to come towards her, fear etched into his eyes.

            "GET AWAY FROM THERE!" she yelled, but she was drowned out as a boom sounded again, and this time, the crack grew until it stretched from floor to ceiling, and the wall collapsed in on itself, Sting and Rogue just barely managing to dash to safety with the exceeds. The blue sky greeted their eyes, and a massive roar shook the air. Sharp black talons gripped the sides of the opening, grating against the stone. A massive dark eye covered the blue sky, a blue slit flitting from side to side as it peered in. It locked on her, and the slit thinned angrily.

            "LAYLA!" Acnologia growled loudly. Black talons reached towards her so fast she didn't even have time to think to move, but just as they were about to close around her, a large iron cylinder shot in front of her, blocking Acnologia's access to her.

            "Lucy!" Natsu yelled as he flew towards her. He grabbed her, his tail whipping around as he headed for the tunnel that was the exit, Happy hot on his trail. They emerged from the tunnel to see Acnologia's giant crouched form where he had apparently pummeled his way into the mountain wall to get to them. His head turned towards them, and he roared, launching himself off the mountain towards them. Natsu clicked his tongue, and suddenly threw Lucy. She screamed, but stopped as she wasn't falling. She looked up to see a blue flying cat grinning at her despite looking scared.

            "Happy!" she exclaimed. She looked back as a jet of flame crossed the sky to see Natsu flitting about Acnologia's head.

            "Natsu!" she yelled.

            He looked back at her as he dodged a swipe of Acnologia's claw.

            "Go, Happy!" he yelled.

            "No!" she yelled as Happy started to move away. "No, Happy!"

            She looked up to see tears streaming from Happy's face. She looked back to see that Gajeel and Wendy had joined the fray, Sting and Rogue struggling into the air after them. Lily, Carla, and Frosch were each carrying Levy, Romeo, and Porlyusica as they too were heading away from the fight. Acnologia opened his mouth wide in the midst of the onslaught of fire, iron, and wind attacks. A ball of blue light started to grow in his mouth and he aimed it up at the ryus and fired. Lucy screamed as the bright light blinded her momentarily, and suddenly she found herself falling. It seemed the beam of light had also blinded Happy and he had let her go. But just as soon as it had started, she felt herself stop falling. She opened her eyes as she felt herself enveloped, and screeched in horror as she came face to face with her mother's murderer.

            "Lay...la? You're... alive?" Acnologia breathed.

            Lucy coughed before she glared at him fiercely.

            "No, she's dead," she spat. "I'm her daughter."

Well there went their element of surprise. Good going, Lucy.

            Despite his monstrous features, Acnologia's eyes seemed to widen in surprise.

            "Daugh..ter?" he said uncomprehendingly.

            "That's right, and you murdered my mother! I will never let you get away with that!" she proclaimed as she felt something grow hot against her hip.

            Acnologia shook his head and opened his mouth, the same blue ball of light forming again.

            "Fire dragon's iron fist!" a voice yelled, and a flaming fist collided into Acnologia's jaw, a very pissed off pink-haired ryu attached to it. Acnologia roared, the blue sphere disappearing, and let Lucy go. This would be the second time she was free-falling. Natsu dove towards her, but Lucy was distracting by the now uncomfortable heat on her hip. She looked down to see Étoile Fleuve glowing, the little star ornament shining a bright gold. She unhooked it and grabbed the handle, immediately feeling a rush of power surging through her that seemed so foreign yet so comfortable at the same time. She raised the handle, and struck it down. A jet of blue and yellow, like a river made of the night sky: a whip. It stretched and latched onto Natsu's hand, pulling her to him.

            "Wow," he said, as he flew away from Acnologia.

            "I know right!" She said, feeling exhilarated.

            Acnologia roared, apparently irritated, and Lucy and Natsu looked to see him being attacked by all the ryus now. They seemed to be doing some damage, but not much, especially since he seemed to have all his attention riveted on her. He whipped his sharp tail around, and smacked Gajeel and Rogue head on, Sting grabbing Wendy out of the way barely in the nick of time. Lucy spotted Levy and Romeo being held back by Lily and Carla in the rubble of their cave. She knew they were both dying to jump into the fray.

            Acnologia looked towards her, and unfurled his large wings, creating string gusts in his wake as he flew towards her.

            "Crap," Natsu muttered as he sped off in a different direction. "I didn't expect the final showdown to be so soon. Rogue and Sting shouldn't even be out there."

            Lucy heard a sharp whining, and turned to see a giant beam of blue light heading straight for them. Not thinking she flicked her wrist, whipping Étoile Fleuve out to block the shot. The light beam stopped as it came into contact with the shining whip, the two forces grinding against each other before Acnologia's attack was deflected and sent flying back in Acnologia's face. Natsu stopped flying, stunned as he watched the almighty dragon that had been terrorizing the ryus for years, who had so far been invincible, be knocked back by the force of his own attack. As the smoke from the attack cleared, Lucy grimaced as she saw that Acnologia's face was dripping with blood, a gaping hole in his jaw exposing his teeth and gums. She tore her gaze away from the gruesome sight to look at Natsu, who, despite looking disgusted, was beaming with satisfaction.

            "You did it, Luce! You actually managed to land an attack on him!" he yelled, laughing in excitement.

            She smiled as well, caught up in the exhilaration of managing to successfully attack their enemy. That satisfaction didn't last long though because before their very eyes, the blue marks on Acnologia's body started to glow blue, and slowly but surely, skin and muscle started to reform, stitching together until his entire jaw was reformed. Lucy gaped at the sight, and turned on Natsu, "He has regeneration?!"

            "I didn't know!" he exclaimed, looking at her with wide eyes. "I had no idea..."

            As soon as his jaw was reformed, Acnologia beat his wings powerfully, propelling him straight towards them, and they had no way to avoid him. Lucy distantly heard yells from her comrades, but all she was focused on was the bulky figure shooting straight towards her. As if in slow motion, she saw Natsu start to turn to shield her, but he didn't manage to in time. What happened next was a blur, but all Lucy knew for sure was that she was no longer in Natsu's arms.

            As soon as her head stopped spinning, she opened her eyes. By the feeling of the rough and sharp feel of whatever was beneath her, she knew she was on the floor. She knew something was wrong, but her head was still buzzing, and she felt... numb. Without moving her head too much, she looked down at herself. She suddenly felt cold, and her heart seized. Blood was seeping from her body, and yet she couldn't feel a thing. A big claw mark stretched across her exposed abdomen, but she was numb; she felt nothing looking down at what was obviously her body. It must be the adrenaline. Lucy forced herself to look away, and tried to gauge her situation. As she looked up, she came face to face with Acnologia, looming over her. He stretched his clawed hand towards her, and grabbed her off the ground, digging into her wound. Now she felt it. She screamed in pain, and tried to struggle, but that only hurt more. She looked around for Étoile Fleuve, but couldn't find it. It must have been knocked away from her when Acnologia attacked them.

            Natsu. Where was Natsu?

            "LET GO OF HER, YOU BASTARD!!"

            Natsu suddenly appeared, flying straight at Acnologia, and he was bleeding. Acnologia raised his other talon calmly, and as Natsu came charging towards him, simply flicked his finger out, sending Natsu flying in the opposite direction.

            "NATSU!" she cried.

            "Why you!" a voice cried, and she turned to see an angry Gajeel, also injured from when Acnologia smacked him and Rogue away. "No one's allowed to beat the Salamander but me!"

            No, Gajeel!

            Unfortunately, Gajeel quickly met the same fate, and Lucy heard Levy scream from somewhere above her. Acnologia raised her up, and roared triumphantly. Lucy looked down, wincing in pain, and saw all her friends either injured or cowering in fear, the same hopelessness etched on their faces as when Natsu told her about him in the first place. She was their last hope, and yet... and yet! Everyone, I'm so sorry.

            "Now, when I kill you, the last of Layla's memory will disappear," Acnologia growled, and as she looked into his eyes, a fraction of sadness entered his gaze, but as soon as she noticed it, it disappeared.

            "Now, die!"

            I'm sorry, Natsu.

            "Fire!" 

Hey! How did you guys like the chapter? I'm still experimenting with writing fight scenes, so sorry if it's bad. Anyone who may have some pointers for me, please comment! I would really appreciate it! Also, we're nearing the end of Dragon Boy and Princess, and though I should be sad, I'm actually glad because I feel that I've gotten better at writing through writing this story, and now this book doesn't reflect my level as an author anymore. So, I would really like to move on from this because I have a lot of other projects planned, namely my own original story with my own characters, world, and everything! So look forward to that. I'll probably finish writing this while I'm on vacation, but since I won't have wifi for most of it, it won't be up until I have wifi again. So, I'm sorry but please bare with me! Love you guys! See ya net time! Ja ne!