Warning: Errors and language.
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Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and Naruto are awesome works of Mashima Hiro and Kishimoto Masashi respectively.
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CHAPTER I: The Vortex through Different Universes
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"Now for the real show, my dearest Lucy. I will bring you to my own world and I will expose your magic and everyone… No, everything will kneel before you! Lucy, my dear, I will offer you the world!"
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"I'm not going to ride that fucking transportation again!" Natsu exclaimed, his face was green and was about to throw up any minute from now. He was trailing behind Lucy and Gray; Erza and Happy were both absent due to some circumstances that couldn't have been ignored. The Fairy Queen was on a mission while the Blue Exceed joined Wendy and Karla in their mission.
"You're pathetic, Natsu," Gray deadpanned, his hands were stuffed in the pockets of his pants, as he walked casually beside the Celestial Wizard.
"Can we focus here please?" Lucy interrupted when Natsu was about to say something back at Gray. "You're not helping at all, you know."
Thankfully, Natsu didn't say anything. The motion sickness must've pushed him to his limits. Seeing a nonsense brawl was successfully avoided, she looked down on the map in her hands which was given to them by Mr. Almarc, their client.
She focused her so-called intelligent mind back to the mission and its business.
Their mission was to capture a certain rogue mage who had been kidnapping random wizards around their client's village which was called the Redhill Town, a small neighboring town around the borders of Fiore. Mr. Almarc told them that this rogue mage kidnaps random mages and brings them somewhere "far" for an unknown reason. He also said that this mage appears only at night, around midnight, and disappears instantly after kidnapping a person.
Mr. Almarc was pleased to see them and he asked them pleadingly to capture this mage, promising them to pay the exact amount they announced as a reward after dealing with the requested mission. Lucy accepted the mission wholeheartedly at the mention of the sheer amount of money.
And here they were. After the six-hour train trip from Magnolia, Team Natsu, with an exception of the Reequip Mage and the Blue Exceed, were walking towards the forest to search for the wanted mage.
"We'll be there for a shortly," Lucy announced, her eyes still locked on the map in her hands.
Gray leaned to her side, taking a look on the map. "That's the place where the mage had last disappeared, right?" He pointed at a small somewhere in the old paper.
"Yes, Mr. Almarc did mention," Lucy put a hand on her chin. "Maybe, there are clues out there that we can use to find that mage. What do you think?"
Gray snatched the map from her to give it a better look. "I hope so. Let's leave the searching to the flame brain," he returned the map to Lucy, sparing the Fire Dragon a glance as he did so.
Lucy grabbed it and turned around, looking at the sulking figure of the dragon slayer, as well. "Do you think he will okay?"
Gray smirked, closing his eyes for a moment. "He could give some shitty dark mage a hell of a beating before. Of course, he's okay."
"I guess..."
Natsu made a noise which sounded like a disapproval grunt but the other two mages just ignored him. They kept on walking until they reached their first destination.
Lucy could not help but gasped in shock when they reached the area. It was a small clearing, surrounded by trees and wild plants. But what made it horrifying was the signs of a recent battle between two wizards. The area was burnt — remnants of smokes were still visible on the ground and in the air — and some burnt trees had holes in them and the smell of burnt flesh was strong. The latter was observed strictly by Natsu.
All in all, a recent battle took place some moments ago, before their arrival.
Team Natsu spread all over the place, searching for any clues that may lead them to the mage.
Natsu approached the nearest burnt tree first. He ran a hand through its rough surface to the irregular hole in its trunk. It was still warm.
He smell the surrounding air and caught a very odd and distinctive odor. It wasn't pleasant but it wasn't that bad. He searched further for more information.
Gray crouched down, touching the burnt grass and soil on the ground. It was warm, too. He observed further.
Lucy was left standing at the other side of the clearing, just watching her two male friends do the work.
It's not that she was too lazy to do the investigating, hell she would love to help them. But, for an unknown reason, she didn't want to. It's like, there's something about the place that made her feel… odd and uncomfortable.
It's like that she'd seen this scene before. The burnt grass, the holes on the trees, she'd seen all of these things before. And yet, couldn't figure out when and where.
Scanning the whole place again, she felt her body shook and waves of shiver ran down her spine, as if an invincible force hit her. She unconsciously and out of fear and anxiety covered her upper body with her arms, calming herself and thinking for a reason what cause her to feel this...this sudden feeling of fear, agony and dread.
What was happening to her? Something like this didn't happen to her before. She felt like she would eventually disappear. And she couldn't go back anymore. She felt like she will fade soon, her existence, her presence. She felt she would vanish. And she would never ever be with Fairy Tail again.
Wait, no. That's impossible. That's ridiculous. Why was she thinking such unnecessary thoughts? She belonged to Fairy Tail. The Fairy Tail was always there for her. The guilt was her family and she wouldn't let anything happen to her or to her family.
But this feeling… She couldn't ignore this feeling. It was strange, it sounded impossible to happen but she had this feeling that this would happen soon.
Soon.
Soon she would disappear.
Soon she would vanish.
Her existence.
Her presence. All about her.
Soon she'd leave.
She'd leave the Fairy Tail.
She'd never see them again.
Or talk to them.
Or be with them.
Again.
And that will happen.
Soon.
An image of Gray and Natsu running towards her with their hands outstretched for her flashed in her mind all of the sudden. Dread and pain struck her, choking her. She could not breathe. She could not move. She was paralyzed by fear. Natsu… Gray… Why was she leaving them behind? Why was she being taken away from them? Why—
"...cy! Lucy!" She shot her eyes open and saw Natsu in front of her, his hands were on her shoulders. "What the hell was happening to you!?" He shouted, quite worried and angry at the same time.
Lucy blinked once. Twice. Thrice. She could feel the wetness in her cheeks. She raised her hands and touched it. It was wet. She was crying. Why was she crying?
"Hey, Luce. Are you okay?" Gray approached her by her side, his expression was worried as well.
She just stared at him then her vision shifted to Natsu and to her hands again. She felt her knees lost its strength. She fell, and another streams of tears fell from her eyes, too. She released the breath she was holding.
She expected the cold, moist soil beneath her but instead, two warms arms snaked around her waist, capturing her before she could even touch the ground. She raised her head and saw Natsu, holding her tight as brought her to his safety.
"Lucy," He whispered. His voice carried different emotions; worried, concern, sympathy, surety, protection, and promise of safety.
She let a tear fell from her eyes before wiping them with the back of her palms. Then she sniffed, wiped her tears again before offering them a small smile. Pulling away from him, she stood up. Natsu stood up, too, but his worried expression still remained on his face.
She laughed softly, quite bitterly before wiping her face dry. She felt ridiculous all of the sudden… as if she had just witnessed a ridiculous movie. "Sorry," she said softly, her voice was slightly hoarse. "Sorry for making you worry, Natsu, Gray."
Gray's worried expression only deepened.
Natsu shook his head instead. "No, Lucy. Don't apologize. What happened? You gotta tell us."
Lucy hesitated at first. But when she saw her precious guild mates, she couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes. She let them fall freely before wiping them with both hands. She cleared her throat, deciding to tell them what she felt, what she had seen, what caused her this sudden fear. It wouldn't hurt, though. They were her friends. They had the right to know because they would help her. No doubt about that.
"I had this feeling that something bad will happen to me... To you… This feeling is so strong I couldn't help myself but to believe. It felt so… realistic. It is so convincing. I… It's… It's horrifying." Fear was evident in her voice. Natsu and Gray sensed that.
She continued when they remained silent. "I had a feeling that I would disappear… And that you would leave me… Soon. And I couldn't do anything about that. I'd disappear. I'd vanish. My existence, it'll be gone forever." Her voice was trembling. She was shaking.
Somebody held her by the shoulder. She looked up and saw Natsu, his face was serious and worried at the same time. "Stop thinking, Luce."
"B-But—"
"No. Don't speak anymore, okay?" Natsu had a thoughtful expression and Lucy knew that he was trying to comfort her. "I hate it when I saw you like that. It is making me feel uncomfortable… very uncomfortable, you know," Natsu mumbled then he looked away. He withdrew his hand from her shoulder and walked away.
"Natsu is right, Lucy," Gray said as he stood beside her. "Do you think we'll let you go away just like what you think? Of course not," His arrogant and yet gentle smirk comforted her, assured her.
Lucy smiled then dry her face completely. Gray's right. They would protect her no matter what. They managed to save her many, many times before, though. And they'll going to save her again if she's in danger. No doubt that.
"You're right. I believe in you, guys."
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They went to look for another clues for the past hours. And unfortunately, they found nothing. This whole searching stuff was exhausting them to death!
They assumed they were in the middle of the forest and the sun was starting to disappear in the sky.
"I think it is time to camp for tonight." Lucy announced. They were standing in the middle of a small clearing.
"Ooh, somebody's scared of the dark!" Natsu teased.
"...am not! It's just that we can't travel in the forest tonight! And there is this mage that kidnaps people!" Lucy exclaimed and threw glaring daggers towards the fire mage.
"Lucy is right," Gray agreed, he was kicking some stones and twigs right here and there to clear the area where they would camp. "It's dangerous to resume the mission at this point. Who knows what that mage could do in the dark…"
"In other words, you are scared, too!" Natsu exclaimed and laughed loudly.
Gray glared at him. "Do you want me to shove my foot into your ass, fire boy?"
"Sure! After I beat you into a pulp!"
"Bring it on!"
"Fire Dragon Iron fist—"
"Ice Make Lance—"
Both attacks were deflected by a red haired mage, standing in the middle of the mini battle arena. Her swords and other deadly weapons were dangerously hovering above the elemental wizards.
"And what the hell are you doing?" Erza said, too low for Gray and Natsu's liking. Both wizards straightened their posture.
"E-Erza!"
"W-What are you doing here?"
"Answer. Me." Erza hissed. Both men gulped quite loudly and started to panicked inwardly. Erza was sure look pissed and that would be the death of them.
Natsu thought for a good idea. He looked over his shoulder. "Lucy! Help us please!" He whispered.
But when his gaze landed on Lucy, he almost dropped his jaw.
Lucy was nearly sitting on the ground, she was clutching her stomach and Natsu could hear her stifled laughs. What the hell was she laughing about? He noticed that she was holding a golden key.
"Lucy!" Natsu shouted, calling her.
Lucy put a hand on her mouth to control her laughs but when she saw Natsu and Gray's dumbfounded expression, she couldn't help herself but to laugh out loud.
"Okay, fine. I'm sorry," she calmed down a moment as she straightened her posture, soft laughs were still audible from her. "Erza, you can stop now."
By this, all weapons of Erza vanished in just a blink of an eye. Both male wizards could just stared wide eyes and jaw dropped. Did… Did Erza actually listened to Lucy? Not to mention but the Celestial Mage ordered the Reequip Mage to do so. The hell seemed to freeze!
"God, your expression was priceless! That's hilarious I would kill to have a camera right now!" Lucy exclaimed then laughed.
They watched as Erza shot them a victorious smirk before her body glowed in golden light. Nodding once towards Lucy, she vanished in thin air.
"T-That's..." Gray muttered.
"Gemini!" Natsu finished.
Lucy's laughs were replaced by a screech, horror written on her face, when Natsu and Gray walked towards her with predatory glares on their faces.
"Sorry! I don't mean to!" And Lucy shrieked as loud as she could.
She was too busy saving her dear life that she missed a pair of eyes watching her with such interest and amusement.
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They sat silently around the fire, waiting for the sleep to come and take over their bodies.
"What do you think about that mage?" Gray asked suddenly, trying to open up a light-hearted conversation.
Natsu, who was too dense and obviously didn't catch that what the question meant, raised an eyebrow and replied. "Huh?"
"Idiot. I was talking about the mage who we have to capture."
Considering the question, Natsu stopped to think before giving them a very serious look. "He's evil."
"Don't state the obvious," Gray suddenly slapped his forehead. "Of course, how can I expect something intelligent from you, huh, ash brain?"
"Shut the fuck up or I'll beat some shit out of you."
"Is that a call for a fight?"
"He is up to something very, very horrible. Worse than the nightmares I could've ever imagined." The two elemental wizards snapped their head towards the voice instantly. They found Lucy, with her head bowed down and her arms, which were wrapped protectively around her, were quite trembling.
Natsu, with his heightened dragon senses, could hear her loud heart beats. So loud he thought it might hurt her.
"Lucy, are you alright?" Gray asked as he approached her, his foreseeable fight against Natsu was long forgotten the moment their guild mate acted weird again all of the sudden.
"S-Sorry. I'm sorry for making you worry for me. Again." Gray and Natsu could sense the fear in her voice. "I'm just having the sense of deja vu. It is nothing to worry about."
"Nothing to worry about? That's you freaking out there is nothing to worry about?" Natsu's voice getting higher and higher as the sentence went.
Lucy could feel the concern and angst in the dragon slayer's tone and it was her fault for making them worry for such a nonsense feeling. The situation was making her feel guilty.
"Don't mind him, Luce. That's just a dragon thing. Now come on, you have to rest."
When Lucy didn't budge from her seat, Gray sighed and flipped Lucy's sleeping bag open. He laid down and motioned Lucy to come over.
"We have a long mission for tomorrow. Now, come here and sleep. I'll keep you warm and don't worry, I'll do nothing bad to you. I'll behave, I promise."
Lucy could just stare at him, Gray grew impatiently as he tapped the sleeping bag with his hand in, he thought, encouraging manner. The ice wizard pushed further, a little teasing wouldn't hurt. He began with smirking, "hey, Luce. A prince like me just couldn't wait here forever. You know how impatient I am."
He swore he saw a tint of pink appeared across her cheeks. He smirked more. He was about to tease her further when she finally stood up, walked towards him and grabbed his arm. He watched her as she spread his arm open and laid down, making his arm a temporary pillow. He smiled.
"Just for tonight, Gray. Seeing that you didn't bring your sleeping bag again." Alright, the Lucy they knew came back and was scolding him.
"Right, my bad. Sorry." He sighed and leaned forward to rest his chin on the top of her head, enjoying her vanilla scent.
Natsu made a grunting noise and muttered about 'pervert stripper' and went to his luggage to throw his sleeping bag on the ground. He flopped down and made no disapproval about Lucy and the bastard ice queen having a sleep together. He knew consciously that the ice bastard could control himself to lay a hand on the celestial mage but he, the almighty dragon slayer he was, just couldn't.
Closing his eyes but not settling into a slumber, an image from the events before flashed in his mind suddenly. The clearing with burnt grass and trees, that odd scent surrounded the whole place which was so strong and overwhelming, and the frightened looks of Lucy as if she was going to die in just a blink of an eye.
The latter was so terrifying he couldn't help but to worry. If he could he would send Lucy immediately back to the guild where she could be safe. And now, seeing Lucy in that condition again frustrated him. Because he just couldn't do anything about that. He didn't have any idea how and what she was feeling or thinking, but by just judging her looks, her expressions, he knew it was frightening and horrifying.
Another image flashed in his mind again but this time it was different: an image of Lucy being sucked in a vortex with white and black threads. She was screaming for help as she stretched her free arm, begging to help her. Streams of tears kept flowing down from her swollen eyes. Half of her body was inside the vortex, still sucking her. And before she disappeared, one word came out from her mouth.
"Goodbye."
Natsu shut his eyes open instantly. God, he was sweating and panting. He pushed himself to sit and rubbed his temples.
"Damn. I had the worst nightmare ever!" He hissed. Once calmed down, he snapped towards the sleeping blond.
She was asleep, her back facing Gray as the ice mage, whose arm was wrapped around her waist, keeping her warm perfectly, was sleeping just as soundly. He heard their slow, rhythmic breaths. He scoffed. Unlike him, those two probably were having the most awesome dreams of their lives.
However, he couldn't help but to feel a little bit reassured.
"Guess they're fine at all. I'll just beat the droopy eyes later," Natsu gulped down the small remains of the fire and laid down on his sleeping bag again. Vowing to finish this mission as fast as he could, he drifted to sleep.
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Knowing that the three wizards in front of him were fast asleep, he made several hand symbols and mist began to appear around the area.
"I will have you… Soon…" He said in a low tone followed by his deep chuckle. Before anybody could spot him, he vanished behind the shadows.
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Lucy woke up, but not yet opening her eyes, because of the rustling sound she was hearing nearby. Her body told her to go back to sleep but when the rustling sound started to disturb her, she slowly shot an eye open, revealing a still dark sky.
"Great. It's still mid-morning." She heard the disturbing sounds again, this time they were louder. "Natsu if you don't stop whatever in Earthland you're doing, you're dead," she threatened. She knew too well from experiences that Natsu was always the cause of her sleep problems.
She waited for a reply but nothing came, except for a loud snore coming from Natsu's direction. She sweat-dropped in annoyance. "Oh… He's still asleep. So, Gray, it was you, wasn't it?" And that's when she felt a small pressure on her waist. Looking down, a pale arm was holding her tight. Tilting her head to the side, she saw the peaceful sleeping form of Gray. His slow breathings fanned her face, making her flush and turned away almost quickly.
She snapped from her thoughts when the rustling sound came back, louder than before. An enlarged vein was dangerously throbbing in her forehead, whoever that someone dared to ruin her beauty sleep shall die.
With this death threat, she slowly lifted Gray's arm and disentangled herself from him. She dusted her shirt and skirt off, took her key holder and hooked it in her belt, and stood up with a determined look. Satisfied, she finger combed her hair down, mentally vowing to seriously beat someone who have the courage to mess with her.
Nodding at the sleeping forms of her guild mates, she left without any knowledge what danger was waiting ahead of her.
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She ended up in a small clearing after following that rustling sound. She wondered if it moved. Way back to their camp, the rustling sound couldn't be heard there if it was located in here.
She sighed and assumed that it has something to do with magic. Hearing the sounds again in front of her, she straightened her posture and readied herself in case a fight would take soon.
"Show yourself!" She yelled through gritted teeth. She wasn't impressed at all. They would have to deal with a long mission when the sun rises, and here she was, dealing with an unknown creature who disturbed her sleep. She would deal with 'it', if it was a creature not a human, as fast as she could.
There was this rustling sound again, snapping her thoughts back to the reality. She narrowed her brows and focused. Her eyes roaming around the place, trying to find out something unusual. And something behind some trees not so far caught her attention. She snapped her head towards the bushes almost immediately, she swore she heard the clicking sound of her neck, and saw something that almost scared her.
There was a hooded man in a black cloak, standing right there. Though it was dark and that man's face was hidden, Lucy could feel the smirk on his face. She gulped and started to feel anxious. Still, she faced the man completely and hid all the fear in her face as hard as she could.
"Who are you?" She asked. A gust of wind came, and Lucy had to shut her eyes to prevent some dust coming towards her eyes. Assuming that the gust of wind was over, she opened her eyes again and the man across her vanished from her sight.
Out of reflex, she scanned the area again and found the man sitting on a strong branch of a nearby tree. She looked up and saw that same smirk on the man's face.
"Who are you?" She asked again, this time her voice was coated with the promise of death. Receiving no answer, she glared at him with the best she could master. "Hey, I'm not the woman of patience, mister! Answer me now!"
Instead of answering her question, the man let out a soft and low chuckle, his upper body shook a little by the sudden movements. The chuckle brought shivers into her spine and she could feel the fear arousing somewhere in her body. She gulped. This is no good.
The man jumped from the tree and landed on the grassy ground softly and effortlessly. That's when Lucy felt the oddest and strangest aura around the man's body. It was overpoweringly warm but not comforting, and with a hint of toxic that poisoned her not physically but mentally. She started to feel dizzy, the man's aura was overwhelming that it could make a normal person faint.
But Lucy wasn't just a normal person. She was a wizard, not to mention, of Fairy Tail, the strongest guild in Fiore. So the man's aura wasn't anything new to her. She had experienced this feeling many times ago from all those encounters against dark guilds and dark wizards. It was nothing new to her.
"My, my, Lucy. I do not quite expected you to be… this rude."
Lucy almost gasped in shock upon hearing that voice, it brought waves of shivers down into her spine. And what more shocking about him is that he knew her name. Why is that?
"Oh, how I love your reaction. You are really such an astonishing woman, Lucy."
"How'd you know my name?" She asked, barely in a whisper and she swore he couldn't hear her well but she could care less about that.
The man shifted his weight from his left to his right and put a hand under his chin, as if showing that he was thinking. "Well, you see, dear Lucy, you are my present subject of interest right now. So, it did make sense if I know something about you, what do you think?"
Present subject of interest? What? Me? But, how and why? Lucy thought, shocked as she absorbed his statement. Does he belong in a dark guild again and was he ordered to kidnap me for some money? No, wait. That cannot be. My father was dead, and he left me nothing besides the money to pay my rent bills. Other than that, I'm nothing but an average wizard of Fairy Tail. I owned nothing!
After some mental thinking, a word from her thoughts flashed in the back of her mind. "Wizard..." She muttered then it hit her like an arrow that stabbed her head. She looked at the man intensely. "So, you're this mage that we have to capture, aren't you?"
The man chuckled again. "Oh, why that's correct. Very clever."
"Crap," she cursed and decided to call for Natsu and Gray for an extra hand about this. However, she was stopped by his low voice.
"Do not dare to," he said. "Could you not see the fog over there?" He pointed toward the direction where Natsu and Gray had been sleeping. Lucy snapped her head towards the same direction and saw a faint white smoke hovering around the area.
"Oh, no. You don't—"
"Calm down, my dear. I will not do anything to those two if you settle down and if you stay here. And on the other hand, if you want to let those wizards die, go on. Leave," his voice dropped in a low tone by the end of the sentence, telling her that he was dead serious about the threat.
And so, Lucy stayed. Great, so she was going to handle this mage alone. She glared at him. He's underestimating me and my capabilities. What an insult, she thought. Crouching a little and turning her guard on, she decided to ask some question before she let that one heck of a mage die.
"I have questions for you," her words were accompanied by glaring daggers she sent towards the man, which only earned her an amused chuckle.
"Go on. Help yourself."
"What is it that you desire from me? I'm not even a wizard from this village!" She hissed through gritted teeth.
"I know, Fairy Tail right?" He paused and shifted his weight to the other foot. "And do you even know how rare your magic is?"
"Stellar Spirit Summoning Magic, that's not even a rare magic!"
"Who told you that is not rare? I am quite saddened that you doubt your own… prowess."
"I do not so why don't you just tell me what the heck is going on?"
He chuckled. "Feisty, aren't you?"
She glared at him, she was losing her patience and this man wasn't taking the situation he was in seriously. As if he was just making a friendly conversation with her. He was really underestimating her and it pissed her!
"What is it that you desire from me?" She repeated, voice was dangerously low, and it was even scarier than Erza's.
"Charmed, my dear. Word is, I found you quite interesting and I love that hatred you hid pretty well deep inside your cheerful self."
"I don't have any hatred within myself and damn you for acting like you knew me so well!"
"But I do… Really, really do…" The man took a step towards her direction. "I knew you so well that I could feel every drop of angst living inside you, dear Lucy."
Lucy moved backwards instinctively, she felt the predatory smirk of that man and it scared her. "There's no reason for me to have such… such angst and hatred!"
The man took another step forward. "Of course there is. Do not make a fool out of yourself."
"The one who's making a fool out of himself is you!" She made a grab of her keys but before she could touch the key of the Lion, she was pinned against a nearby tree by the mysterious man. She could just gasp in shock when the man grabbed her wrists and pinned them just above her head.
"You—" She was interrupted by the man's chuckle. And by this closeness, Lucy could tell the color of the man's eye. It was blood crimson.
"There is no need to fight, dear. Just come with me and I will give you the life you dream of."
"No! Let me go!" She tried to free herself but the man's grip was too tight and too strong.
"A life where you can be the real you."
"No, stop! I don't want to hear anything from you!"
"A life where you will be acknowledged and will be recognized."
"I said shut up!"
"And a life where you can be appreciated and be respected. You will never be left behind and no one will going to underestimate you and your capabilities ever again."
By this, she stopped and looked at the man, suddenly confused.
Sensing that he hit the spot, the man chuckled and loosened his grip. He stepped away from her personal space. "Lucy dear, in this world, you are unappreciated. Whether you will not admit it, I could still see it through your eyes. You have nothing to hide from me."
Lucy clenched her fists and lowered her head, her eyes were under the shadow of her bangs as she gritted her teeth. "Tell me, who are you?"
The man didn't respond, as if hesitating. So Lucy got impatient and yelled the question to him again. "Who are you? And what is it that you desire from me? I demand a solid answer or I'll force you to speak!"
And she received another chuckle that put her on the edge. Now her patience was gone and she was pissed, mad, frustrated and angry combined. Without further ado, she grabbed the key of her strongest spirit. "I believe in you, Loke," she muttered before flowing her magic from her arm to her hand and to the key. "Oh, spirit. Answer my call and pass through the gates!" She lifted the key and raised it high up in the air. "Gate of the Lion, I open thee! Leo!"
Golden magic circle appeared on the ground and a moment later, a guy in a black suit with spiky orange hair and blue sunglasses aroused in the middle of the magic circle. He stood protectively in front of his master, his expression was serious.
The cloaked man was just watching the scene with amusement and excitement, smirking here and there. His blood crimson eyes brightened at the beautiful sight in front of him.
"Lucy." Leo, the Lion Spirit, spoke, his voice was low and serious. "I call it serious business, correct?"
Lucy straightened her posture, her expression matching Leo's, both were serious and determined. "Beat some crap out of that man, Leo, but don't kill him yet." She paused, her voice dropping in a whisper. "And please, be careful."
"I will, Lucy-hime." The spirit crouched down, his body emitting murderous aura. "Just stand there and watch." With that said, he lunged forward towards the man.
Lucy could just watch as Leo attacked the man, his magical punches were barely hitting the mage who somehow managed to dodge several deadly attacks from the spirit.
"I really don't believe in spirits before," the man said as he avoided an uppercut right through his face. "And Lucy did something to make me believe the unbelievable. Pretty remarkable, is it not?"
Leo ignored him and attacked as many and deadly as he could manage. He didn't care if he ran out of magic. All he cared about right now was to beat this mage who dare mess with his master. Albeit being not around in the incident before between Lucy and this man, Leo could feel his master's feared and scared emotion, and it aggrieved him seeing her in that state.
Lucy was a strong-willed woman and it was rare to make her feel that way. And by this close contact with the mage, he could feel that strange, dark and evil aura coming out from his body. It was different from all those he encountered and it frightened him. If he had a chance, he would rather not fight with this mage.
But he couldn't do anything about it. Lucy told him to beat that man and she believed in him so he would going to use all of his power, his will, in order to protect his beloved master even if it would kill him.
Reminding himself to protect Lucy with all his life without hesitation and doubt, he concentrated his magic into his right fist, his ring glowing a bright golden color. He ran towards the man, his glowing fist headed towards the mage's face. "Regulus Punch!" He yelled and pushed his magical fist into the man's face.
And as when his fist punched the thin air, the man was still in front of him, smirking ever so slightly, Leo pulled his fist back and gasped in shock.
He touched nothing. His fist felt no flesh, no presence from the man! How could he—
But before he could think of for so many more questions, he was thrown into the tree with a painful thud. He groaned roughly when a sudden outburst of pain started to sprout in his stomach area, the part where the mage punched him so hard.
He leaned on the tree, using its tough bark to steady himself. But before he could stand still, that man appeared in front of him with an evil smile on his face.
"That was good…" The man said, cupping Leo's face with one hand and started rubbing it softly. "But not good enough," he flashed the spirit a smirk.
Leo, who couldn't move, just glared at the man with pure hatred and disgust. That's the only thing he could do right this moment.
"Your master really impressed me. However, I have the feeling that she needed a lot more effort to extend her… potential as a wizard. Do you agree?"
"My master, her prowess, her strength… They are satisfactory. She is strong the way she is and she gets stronger in her own way."
"Yes, true," the man agreed, "still, she needed someone to fully recuperate her to use her true strength."
"That's why the Fairy Tail exists."
"Fairy Tail, that poor, pathetic guild, is just a group of despondent people who only give respect to those who are strong and powerful. The weaklings are promptly ignored."
"Fairy Tail is her family!"
"Family only weakens one's soul and mind. Family does nothing but holds you down."
"Her family, her guild, makes her stronger! You knew nothing about her!"
"I knew everything about her. If not, I would not be talking to you… I will bring Lucy to my own world and I'll be the one to help her realize how strong she was!"
By this, the man's hand trailed down till it reached Leo's throat. He held it so tight, but not too tight to make the spirit choke. His free arm started to glow a bright blue color and suddenly an electrical sound was heard.
Leo looked down towards the direction of the man's hand and it was glowing with electricity.
"A Lightning Mage?"
The man chuckled. "No, dear. I am a shinobi." With this being said, the man's hand with electricity was plunged into Leo's chest. The Lion Spirit gasped in pain and before he disappeared, he gave Lucy one last apologetic look.
Lucy could only stare in horror, in pure shock. Everything that happened was so fast and she could just watch the incident unfold, from when Leo kept on attacking the mage and his Regulus Punch missed him. No, Leo didn't miss. She saw it clearly; the spirit's deadly attack just passed through the man's body, as if it was a ghost. He has no body, no presence but his aura was present and disturbing. Lucy thought for a moment that the mage was using some sort of Illusion Magic. But she shrugged the thought off instantly when Leo was thrown back in the astral plane by an electric hand. So, the mage was a Lightning Mage.
How about the Illusion Magic? Maybe, he's using Lost Magic. She gulped. Lost Magic was definitely powerful and she couldn't stand fighting the mage alone. Now, she definitely needed Natsu and Gray's help. Turning around, she dashed towards the direction of the camp but was stopped by the balls of fire headed towards her direction.
She managed to dodge the first few fire but the last two hit her in her upper arm and lower thigh. She gasped and fell on the ground.
"My, my Lucy. Do not ever think of escaping from me again. You know that is futile." The man approached her and towered over her. She could just glare at the man with hatred. He gave her a soft chuckle and shook his head. "Such a naughty girl. You shall be punished."
The man dropped to his knees until his face was levelled to her. He raised a hand to touch her slightly burnt upper arm and started to rub it, as if healing it with his soothing and delicate touch. Lucy flinched, it wasn't comforting and it hurt.
"Do not touch me, you sick fool," she hissed through gritted teeth, trying to shove his hand away but she was running out of magic now, and the burnt parts of her body were making her feel weak.
"Now, dear, it is not the time to be stubborn. You know I do not want to hurt you." His other hand snaked towards her upper thigh and started to caress it softly.
"You don't want to hurt me? Don't want to hurt me?!" Her tone was raising as the sentence went. "Can't you realize what have you done to me? Or you're just as stupid!" She ignored the stinging pain from her arm and thigh when he caressed the burnt flesh.
"No, dear. I tried my very best not to harm you, I even warned you, but you became such a naughty girl that I have to use my power to discipline you." The hand on her arm snaked upwards to touch her face and started to rub it softly, his other hand still on her thigh. "I am sorry for hurting you, Lucy. I really am."
Her glares only intensified, if that's possible. And she received another chuckle from the man. She started to doubt the sanity of this man. This guy is a real psychopath!
He kissed her cheek gently before pulling away from her completely. He stood up and spread both of his arms wide, as if he was about to demonstrate something never before seen and magnificent. "Now for the real show, my dearest Lucy. I will bring you to my own world and I will expose your magic and everyone… No, everything will kneel before you! Lucy, my dear, I will offer you the world!"
With a maniacal laugh, Lucy could only stare in disbelief, the tomoes in the man's eyes started to spin violently until it stopped to reveal a strange symbol. "Come with me now, Lucy. I promise you a better world and a better life! As long as you are with me, you will never feel unappreciated. I will be the one, the only one, to nurture you until you acquire the most powerful strength you could have ever dreamed of."
By this, bright threads of white and black started to appear before her. It started to spin, resembling like a pinwheel and a sudden wave of force hit Lucy's weak form, sucking her towards the dark center of the pinwheel-like force.
It was a horrible sight for Lucy as she was being pulled towards the man who was still laughing maniacally. She tried to hold herself by grabbing the grass on the moist ground.
But the force was too strong and she found her lower body being sucked already. She still tried to fight, reaching for her whip and throwing it towards the nearby tree where the man attacked Leo merciless, it had a hole in it because of the impact of his Lightning Magic. The whip helped her from being sucked in but not for long.
"You will never be able to counter my own 'magic'..." His tone of saying the word 'magic' was mocking and teasing, "...so please, do not hold yourself back anymore, Lucy my dear. That will not help you either."
With a flick of a finger, the man throw a metal weapon towards the whip and it split in half. Lucy cried for help, her eyes were red and swollen as her body was being yanked towards the darkness. Her throat became dry for all those shouting and crying for help.
"Now I found the one who will help me realize my wishes at last! I have found the wizard with such power and strength. All these preparations are not just for nothing!"
The man was laughing with excitement, his mind was wondering about how much Lucy would be a great contribution to his organization. And how strong Lucy could get under his supervision. He grinned evilly and triumphantly but was cut off instantly when he heard Lucy say something before she was completely sucked in.
"Natsu… Gray… I'll be back, I promise. Wait for me… I love you…"
By this, she disappeared along with the vortex. The man clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth in anger. He glared at the tree. "Those words will never come out from your lips ever again, dear Lucy. You are mine… And you will always be mine."
He calmed himself before he decided to follow Lucy to the other world. However, before he disappeared, a wave of fire and several large ice arrows appeared and headed towards his direction. He was forced to jump backwards to dodge the fire but missed the two ice arrows that hit him in the shoulder. He almost groaned in pain but he regained his composure. He pulled the ice arrows and threw it somewhere before redirecting his eyes at the two male wizards in front of him, both were looking murderous and dangerous.
He smirked upon recognizing those two who have the same symbol like in the right hand of Lucy.
"This would be interesting."
Chapter I — END.