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Hey, Readers!!!! It's ALMOST CHRISTMAS!!!! SOOOO EXCITED!!! AND THEN TWO DAYS LATER IS MY B-DAY!!!! lol i am completely making a big deal out of this. ANYHOO, here's Chapter 18, ENJOY!!!!!

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Natsu P.O.V

The thought of me fighting Lucy brought back memories.

Horrible, regrettable  memories.

I stare at Isabeau, then at Lucy. Her eyes are soaking wet with tears as her body trembles to break free of Isabeau's magic. "Oh, so you're not going to make the first move?" Isabeau asked with a sly smile. "Than I shall make the first move. Now, fight my poupée! " She whispered something into the butterfly doll, and that's when Lucy's body lunged at me. She was throwing punches and kicks at me while I attempted to dodge them. But because of the power she recieves when under control, I was hit a few times. Isabeau continued to whisper somthing into the doll, and Lucy chanted, "Water Dragon Roar!" Water came bursting out of her mouth, and before I could react, I was hit and flew against the wall. "Natsu!" Lucy cried.

"I'm..alright." I gasped, giving her a reasurring smile. Lucy still didn't look convinced, her face loosing color. "Oh mister dragon boy!" Isabeau sang. "If you don't fight, then I can't let your amoureux out."

"Please." Lucy begged. "Stop it!"

"I don't think so." She smiled.

Damn, what am I going to do! If I don't fight, Lucy won't be free. But if I do fight her,I could hurt
her, or worse! I thought in my head.

"Natsu, please." Lucy begged. "Listen to what she says."

I looked at her with a flabbergasted. "B-But I can't! I won't!"

"You have to." Lucy said, tears flowing down her beautiful face. "Other wise Anastasia will win.
And we can't be together." 

I didn't know what to do. I felt as if a giant block of responsibility was pounded on my head. But
I knew what i had to do.

"I'm sorry, Lucy." I whispered. And at that moment, I began to run towards her and do a
flaming kick to the knee.I could hear her scream with pain as she's flown to the other side of the
room.
"Genial!  Now it's becoming interesting!"

"Just shut up already!" I screamed. I slowly continued to hurt Lucy, making my heart ache more and more.

"It's okay, Natsu." She said weakly. "Just one more hit."

I nodded, a tear spilling out of my eye. I took a deep breathe and roared, "Fire Dragon's Roar!" 
Fire gushed out of mouth and at Lucy. She screamed as her skin and clothes burned with my
fire. She fainted to the ground as her body was covered in smoke. "Lucy!" I cried, running to her side. I held her body
tightly, whispering the same words over and over. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"That's it! Fini! Bon travail, bon travail!" Isabeau announced. She made the butterfly doll disappear and clapped her hands.
"Good job, you two! You're free to go!"

"W-What? Free to go? I though you wanted for us to kill eachother?" I asked, very confused.

"Not all Dark Angels are evil imbécile! The only reason why I'm even doing this is so that I can  return to my home." She said with a 
sad expression.

I began to feel a hint of sympathy for the little angel. "Why don't you tell me who you really are."

She looked at me, a tear flowing down her cheek. "My name is Isabeau Ariadne, a thirteen year old girl from
Belle Terre."

"How did you become a Dark Angel?" I asked.

"I...my père did very bad things to me. I..had to kill them. I had no choice!" She cried, having a 
scared look on her face. Suddenly, I felt Lucy move out of my arms, crawling towards Isabeau.

"Lucy, what are you doing?" I asked. She didn't answer. She continued to crawl towards the Dark Angel.
She gently touched Isabeau's face and whispered something I couldn't pronounce. Suddenly, a bright
light appeared from Isabeau. "W-What? What is this light." After a shining bright light appeared, I looked
at Isabeau again to see her completley transformed. Her black hair was now a chesnut brown color,
her eyes was now a golden hazel color. Her dress was now a white and gold dress, sewn so beautifully.
"But...how?" She asked.

"Spell....Taiga-sama taught." Lucy gasped, not having enough energy.

Isabeau smiled brightfully. "Merci! Merci beaucoup!" She gently touched Lucy's face, and at an instant,
Lucy was completley healed. Lucy looked at her hands and arms with amazement. "That is a special
gift from me." Isabeau smiled. 

"Wait!" I yelled. "You told us something in your language before you made us fight. What is the translation?"

Isabeau smiled and folded her hands as if she was about to pray. "One must win and reach the heavens. The other must fall into hell and live an eternity of pain. Fate is up to two women, one dark and the other light."

"W-What does that mean?" Lucy asked.

She winked at us and said, "You'll find out soon enough." And with that, she flew up to the ceiling and disappeared without a trace.

Lucy P.O.V 

I never knew something so dark turn into something so beautiful. 

After Isabeau left the room, I turned back to Natsu. His face was a little swollen, as were his arms. His mouth was bleeding, and so were his lips. I ran up to him and cried softly. "I'm sorry, Natsu."

I could feel his arms wrap around me. "It's not your fault." He slowly wiped away the tears from my face as I smiled. "Um, hello! In case you haven't noticed, we're stuck in this iron cage!" Gajeel yelled.

A sudden thought hit my head. "Couldn't you have eaten your way out!"

Gajeel looked at me for a moment, and then his cheeks turned red. "Oh...right."

"Gajeel you idiot!" Erza yelled. As Gajeel ate through the bars, I used my Healing Magic on Natsu. After a couple of minutes, his face was almost fully healed. He smiled. "My face is as good as new!"

I laughed softly. "Yeah, it is." Suddenly, there was the sound of pounding from the door. Anxiety rushed through my mind as I figured out what was going on. "The Dark Angels! They've found us!" I yelled.

"We have to get out of here!" Natsu screamed. Natsu got up and we ran together with Erza and Gajeel. I could hear the door burst open as the room began to fill with Dark Angels. We quickly ran through the other door, and Gajeel placed a large piece of iron on the door, keeping the Dark Angels out.. "I don't know how long it'll last." Gajeel said.

"As long as it holds them down, we'll be great." Erza said.

"Now all we have to do is find Anastasia." I said silently.

"But this castle is so huge! Where are we going to find one princess in this large piece of marble." Natsu growled. He had a point. Even the most wisest man could get lost in this maze-like castle. Us looking for the princess was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Then, an idea lit up in my brain.

"PRINCESS ANASTASIA!" I screamed to the top of my lungs.

"Lucy, what are you doing!" Natsu yelled.

 I ignored him. "WE'RE HERE! PRINCESS ANASTASIA!"

Suddenly, a giant puff of black smoke appeared from no where. I began to see an image form thorugh the smoke. As soon as the smoke cleared, I knew who it was.

Princess Anastasia.

She looked completely different than before. Her fresh youngness was back, but it brought a disgusting, bad vibe from her. Her red hair was now silky black. She wore a black dress that put a giant emphasis on her breasts. Her black feathered wings were bigger than the rest, probably the biggest. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." She said. She walked up to me and gently touched my face. Natsu then slapped her hand away. "Don't you dare touch her!" He growled.

"Natsu, it's alright." I said calmly.

"Well, look who sprouted her wings." Anastasia giggled.

"Okay, let's just cut to the chase." I hissed. "I want you, and all your little devil friends, to leave Fiore."

That's when Anastasia began to laugh. "And why should I do that?"

"Because," I said, "It's going to be part of our bet."

That got her interested. "A bet? Of what kind?" She asked. 

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Natsu asked. I took a deep breathe and looked back. Erza was confused, as was Gajeel. But Natsu, my husband, looked more worried than confused. "You and I are going to fight. Who ever beats the person, wins. That simple."

"I see." She said. She began to circle me, making me even more and more scared. "If you win, my brothers and sisters and I will leave this world to hell. But if I win? What do I get?"

Damn, I was hoping she wouldn't ask that, I cursed in my head. "Lucy, what are you thinking?" Natsu asked, holding my hand. I sqeezed it tightly and mouthed, "I'm sorry."

His eyes looked wide and hurt. I looked away and gave Anastasia a confident look. "If you win...I will be your slave for the rest of my life."

"LUCY, NO!" Natsu screamed. "Are you crazy!"

"I like that idea." Anastasia smiled. "Fine, you've got yourself a deal." She reached out her hand, waiting for me to shake it. Natsu pulled me away and looked at me eye to eye. "Don't do this. We don't know how powerful she is with her Dark Angel magic. Please, don't do this." He begged.

"I have to. Don't you get it Natsu." I told him.

"Get what?" He asked.

"Anastasia and I are the two women; the woman of darkness and the woman of light. It took me a while to realize it until now." I said silently.

"But..that means if you fail.." He said silently.

"When I die, I won't be going to the heavens, and neither will this world." I said silently. For once in such a long time, I shed no tears. Now was not the time to act cowardly when the whole world was in stake.

I had to be brave.

"Do you really think you can do this?" Natsu asked.

I nodded. "I'm doing this not just for the world, but for us, and Elliot and Louise. For our family." He smiled slightly and gently kissed my lips. His warm lips against mine meant something: He believed in me. He pulled away and held me for a minute. "You can do this."

"I know." I smiled. He gently kissed my forehead and gently pushed me towards Anastasia's direction. "Well? I'm waiting." She said impatiently.

I hesitated for a minute, but then I shook her hand with confidence. "Deal."

"Alright then. Let's go somewhere where everything's...balanced." Her hand began to glow a deep shade of blue, and a blinding light appeared from her hand. I was blinded for almost a minute, until the bright light disappeared. I open my eyes, and they adjusted to this new light. The first thing I saw was the sun.

And the moon.

I was standing on what seemed like a chess boared. My clothes were changed to a two piece outfit; a short blue body piece that only covered my breasts, and I wore a long blue skirt. My long blond hair was now in straightened with blue roses in them. Oh God, I feel seventeen again, I sighed in my head. I look across to see Anastasia wearing the exact same thing, except black. "LUCY!" I hear Natsu scream. I look up to see them trapped in sphere in the air. Fear rose up inside me. "Do you like where we are?" Anastasia asked.

"That depends." I answered. "Where exactly are we?"

"A place where both sin and purification exsist. A place few souls go to, if they're lucky."

"Can you explain what this place is called." I asked.

Anastasia smiled. "Welcome to Purgatory."