Okay so anon, this was so adorable, I ended up writing something (and shhh, you’re not the least bit a bother)! I hope you enjoy this alternate version of the chapter!

Warning: spoilers for chapter 503!

It was the first thing she knew coming to.

Not the cold ground biting into her back.

Not the thick, sticky, caking wetness streaking down her face.

Pain.

The first thing Lucy knew coming to was excruciating pain.

She was no stranger to bodily harm or torture, but this was nothing like she’d ever felt before.

At the back of her mind, she registered just how weird it was to come to, but not open her eyes.

Not that she could ever again.

It hit her like a bus. The realisation that she could never comment on Gary’s state of undress or marvel at Erza’s closet extensions again. That she couldn’t help Wendy with her hair, or Happy with decorating fish for Carla.

No more gazing at sunsets from her window sill, or watching the rainbow Sakura bloom. No more witnessing the countryside go by on trains or spying on Gajeel and Levy flirting.

No more of her usual novels. Her writing…

And never again would she get actually see those bright onyx eyes, so full of mischief.

Still, Lucy smiled.

It hurt, it was scary, it was tremendously painful, and this form of open-eyed darkness was something she wasn’t remotely used to - and yet, she was happy.

Proud, even.

She had not screamed.

She had not cried.

Dimaria may have stolen her sight, but Lucy still had her pride, and she had not let herself down. She had lived up to her promise to not give the Spriggan any satisfaction in torturing her.

It was only then that Lucy noted that all she could hear was…nothing.

It was silent.

Far too silent, especially considering how loud Dimaria had been while enjoying putting Lucy through hell, all the way until she passed out from the pain.

And there was also…

“Natsu!” Lucy screamed, bolting upright. “Natsu? Natsu! Where are you?”

Lucy immediately clutched her head, bracing against the wave of dizziness that assaulted her.

‘Just how much blood did I lose?’ she wondered briefly.

Noticing how her fear from being unable to see was beginning to take over, Lucy began forcing herself to breath deeply. And it was in the midst of calming herself down that she realised that her cuffs were off and she could now access her magic pool.

Her keys weren’t around, but there was still a lot she could do.

Channelling her strength, she focused on searching for other magic signatures, looking for the teeming reservoir-on-legs that was Natsu.

Her marvelling of her enhanced abilities - compensating for her loss in sight, she assumed - was interrupted by the very obvious fact that Natsu was nowhere near.

And that she still was.

“W-why are you still here?” she asked, turning towards where Dimaria’s magic signature was coming from. “A-and where’s Nat-”

“M-monster…” a voice croaked. It was frail, weak, and downright terrified. But it was still the same, now unforgettable voice that Lucy had heard earlier, though nothing like the mocking one she had been subjected to.

“What do you mean?” asked Lucy, the growing trepidation in her telling her she may not want the answer.

“That power…one that could rival a Goddess…it could only be END..”

“What does tha-”

“You!”

Lucy was taken aback when she heard the familiar voice.

“Porlyusica?”

Lucy heard the old lady hiss when she turned to her, and she realised she probably looked worse than she felt.

Or she was probably just not feeling what she was supposed to, thanks to all the adrenaline.

“Can you do anything about her wounds?” The old lady’s voice rang loud, causing Lucy to wince.

“She’ll never see again if I do,” another voice rasped.

“Brandish? You’re okay!” Lucy felt herself smile, genuinely relieved that she was, unable to see the sheer amount of guilt that flashed across Brandish’s face.

“Oh Lucy..” Another voice.

Lucy had to strain to remember, but she figured it was Evergreen and smiled towards her. “I’m okay, you guys, don’t worry.”

“No, you are not. It’s a miracle you’re not yet in shock.” Porlyusica said curtly, and Lucy could so easily imagine her scowl.

She felt the old lady wrap and arm around her and lay her down, before hearing a very distinct rattling of objects near her head.

“You! Green one! Do what you can with her wounds and I’ll handle the rest. And soon, before she bleeds out!”

Lucy understood the urgency - the pain was returning once more, now with a vengeance - but she couldn’t handle the knot of dread forming in her chest. “We need to find Natsu!” she managed, through her pain.

She felt Porlyusica stiffen next to her, and Lucy felt her heart drop to her stomach.

The old lady sighed deeply before beginning in a measured, all business-tone, “I misdiagnosed. That what we healed was not a mere tumour…”

“Wha-?” Lucy’s gasped softly at the news.

“…it was far worse. It was near demonic in it’s essence.”

Lucy’s mouth dropped in a silent scream, her palms slapping over them as she quivered with barely restrained emotion, easily putting two and two together.

‘Dimaria words… Oh, Natsu!’

Porlyusica wasn’t sure if it were due to the news or her pain, though something inside told her it was the former. But regretful as it was, she had to fulfill her duty as Healer to the guild.

“He is not what we’ve always thought him to be.”

Lucy said not a word after that declaration, silently allowing her wounds to be treated.

Porlyusica observed silently as she began taking care of the injury - how the blonde didn’t say a word more, not when Brandish apologised for everything, not when Evergreen held Lucy’s hand while she was being treated, having secured Dimaria with the magic cancelling cuffs. The only time she showed any emotion through the entire procedure was when the brunette handed her her keys.

Several long, tense minutes later, and Lucy’s eyes were carefully bandaged, Porlyusica silently lamenting how the cloth would never open to happy, healthy eyes.

She had failed the child. If she had realised sooner, reached her a little sooner then maybe…

“I cannot thank you enough Porlyusica,” said Lucy, cutting off the old lady at that thought.

And surprising her further by smiling.

“You shouldn’t be sitting up,” she said instead, in practised monotone.

“I guess, but I can’t stay down. Natsu needs me.”

“Child,” the healer said in soft reprimand. “Did you not - ”

“I heard you,” Lucy clarified, using a puzzled Evergreen’s aid to raise herself to her feet, head facing Porlyusica. “And I trust in your skills enough to believe you’re definitely right about something. But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that I can trust Natsu. He could be a human, demon or dragon. But no matter what, Natsu is Natsu.”

Porlyusica’s eyes widened at her determined declaration. She didn’t even have to see Lucy’s to note the resolve in them.

She watched as Brandish moved to stand by Lucy as well, wordlessly promising to stay by her side.

Porlyusica took a moment to appreciate what she was witnessing. It wasn’t often that the humans could surprise her so.

“Then I’ll come too,” she said, following Lucy out of the building after she nodded her consent.

Porlyusica couldn’t help but internally scoff a bit at the girl’s naïve foolishness. She knew what she saw.

‘Though you would probably call it her being strong, wouldn’t you, Makarov?’ she thought.

And secretly, she agreed.