An Old Friend

The morning was quiet; an ominous white mist flowed through the streets of Magnolia. A man with midnight black hair walked along the canals that lead to Lake Sciliora, he smirked at how small this town seemed compared to the cities outside of Fiore. The sun was just starting to come over the horizon and another man took shape through the mist. His spikey light brown hair blew in the morning wind showing his hazel-green eyes. He looked quite pleased to see the black haired man with blood red eyes in front of him.

The black haired man began to walk closer to the other man; they both knew exactly why they were here. An onlooker from a distance would say they looked like old friends meeting for the first time in years. The black haired man stopped about ten feet from the hazel-eyed man.

Now they both were standing in front of the same house.

"Kanno" The black haired man spoke, his face emotionless. The wind began to pick up, there clothes and hair blew in the wind.

"Zeref" The brown haired man replied. Zeref wore a black coat with gold lining that stopped at his knees with the collar up, and a white button up shirt underneath. A white sash draped down from his right shoulder to his waist and around his back up to his right shoulder, it was held together by a golden clasp. He wore baggy pants that were tucked into black boots.

Kanno wore a black long-sleeve button-up shirt and black jeans. He held a black hoodie over his left shoulder and his right hand was in his right front pocket of his jeans. Black sneakers were on his feet to match his attire.

"It`s been long time since we crossed paths like this, Kanno." Zeref looked at him with an amused smile. He looked up at the sky. 'The stars… they`re even more beautiful than before' he thought.

"Are you kidding? It`s been about a hundred maybe two hundred years since I saw you last!" he took his right hand out of his pant pocket and ran it through his hair causing it to stand on end. He sighed, "You never change do you?

Zeref sweat dropped, but his face changed from a smile to a serious face. "So who`s going to say 'hello' first?"

"I think I should go first, she knows me better" Kanno said with the cocky smile. He had a twinkle in his eye that said he had a devious plan.

Zeref smirked, "And you say I`m the person who never changes, you and your plans." He stifled a laugh. "Go ahead, but let me remind you" his face turning portentous. "If you fail then it`s my turn" an evil smile crept onto his face.

"I haven`t seen that smile in a while. You must be serious about this. " Kanno began to walk away, but turned his head back at Zeref. 'Lucy Heartfilia', he thought. He continued walking till he was lost in the fog.

"I guess he got the message." He began to walk away. A black mist rose up from his feet and slowly rose up around his body and he vanished.

Lucy`s p.o.v.

I slowly rose into consciousness, meeting the darkness of my eye lids. My mind was in a daze, and my head throbbed in pain making it difficult to think. I could feel my heart pounding against my rib cage painfully. My eyes were closed, but I knew I was alone. I sweated profusely in the hot, humid, and stale air of the room. Pungent odors of decay and rot flooded my nose causing me to gag. I refused to barf in this place. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Wherever I was right now did not feel like my bedroom. I heard the faint noise of water coming from behind me.

My eyes fluttered open to darkness. It was quite. My throat felt raw, as if a cat had clawed up my throat. I didn`t feel the warmth of my bed or the softness of my mattress, but I was lying in a warm liquid, it didn`t feel like water, it was thicker. I was laying down face first in the warm liquid, and I felt something hard underneath me. I tried to move my hands to push myself up, but they were bound behind my back. I rolled over onto my back as I scratched my arms and legs painfully on the cold surface.

The liquid was gone. It was replaced by a rough hard cold surface, like concrete. I tried to sit up to see if I could see any light source, but I fell back down and hit my head. A wave of dizziness flooded my mind and my head throbbed in pain. I waited a few seconds before trying again. Only this time I sat up slowly taking my time so I wouldn`t fall. My hair that stuck to my face slowly fell down to my shoulders, making a slight slapping sound as it hit me. The liquid I had been laying down in stuck to my right cheek and on my chest and down my leg. It dripped down my neck making me feel tingly.

It was dark. I turned my in all directions hoping to see a light source. There was only darkness. I felt panicked. The darkness was suffocating me as if I was buried six feet underground without a coffin with all the dirt crushing me under its weight. In the distance I could hear a hum, it was a low hum almost like a buzzing noise. A shiver rolled down my spine as the sound filled my bones in its discordance. I began to panic. I pulled my arms. Fear clouded my mind and I pulled harder in desperation. I pulled harder and harder, it began to loosen. Hope sparked in me and I pulled again with all my might. Whatever had me bound was braking. I pulled harder in my hurry to be free, and then I heard a snap. My binding broke. My wrists felt raw from the constant pulling on the bind.

I heard a clinking sound, almost like keys. I quickly stood up with my hands in front of me bracing myself to feel a wall. There was no wall, just an empty void. I whipped my head towards the sound of a key turning in the lock. I desperately hoped it was Erza or Natsu saving from wherever this place was, but I still doubted it.

I walked forward taking a few steps. I still heard the door unlocking, then it stopped. I froze. There was a click and the door opened a little. The light was intense. I instantly winced at the sudden brightness as my hands covered my eyes till they could adjust, eventually my eyes adjusted after a couple of seconds. The light flowed through the door.

I could finally see the room I was in. It was a cell. There was a red liquid on the floor where I had been laying down, likely blood. Four concrete walls surrounded me, and metal door about three feet from me. The room looked to be about twenty feet long and twenty feet wide. I still looked at the blood questioning about its origin. I saw a drop of liquid fall into the pool of blood and instantly looked up to see a crack in the concrete ceiling. The concrete around the crack was dyed red from all the blood. I looked at the ceiling and floor in horror, that`s too much blood for one person!

"Rrrrggggghh" I growled at him through my gag.

I looked to my left and the door opened further, to my dismay a man stood at the door. He had light spikey brown hair and hazel colored eyes. He wore a black long sleeve button-up shirt and black skinny jeans. The first three or for buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned to show off his well-toned chest and five maybe six different sized chains were looped on his pants. A black spiked belt was wrapped around his waist with a halter for a 45 caliber gun. A sadistic smile was placed on his face. He seemed familiar.

"Lucy it`s been a long time. How have you been?"

I looked at him shocked, still horrified about the blood in the room. "W-what?" was all I could manage to say.

"Don`t tell me you don`t remember me?" he sighed then looked into my eyes as he untied the cloth covering my mouth. "Look for no ending to this agony until a god freely suffer for you, will take on him your pain, and in your stead descend to where the sun is turned to darkness, the black depths of death."

My eyes widened. It was him. The light was still blinding making it difficult to confirm who the person was. But I know only one person who knew I loved Greek mythology besides Levy and my mom. It was him. "Kanno, is that you?"

"So you remember me then. You never did like Hermes. You always preferred Prometheus."

I knew exactly how to respond to his words, so I recited the words of Prometheus. "There is no force which can compel my speech. So let Zeus hurl his blazing bolts, and with the white wings of the snow, with thunder and with earthquake, confound the reeling world. None of this shall bend my will." I said my voice raspy. He recited what Hermes had told to Prometheus while Hermes and Zeus were torturing him for information on who was to over throw Zeus, after Prometheus gave fire to man. While I recited what Prometheus said to both Zeus and Hermes. Changing the subject I asked, "Why am I here? Where am we?"

He sighed and began to walk out the door, but stopped. He turned his towards me and spoke. "Sorry, I have to go. Don`t leave your cell, you`re my prisoner after all, just like your friends. They`re all in the room above you, that`s what the blood is from. Heh, bye Lucy! I missed you!" He smiled wickedly and turned away.

He walked away and I started to hear screaming. There was so much screaming. The sound made my ears ring. It sounded like Erza. Then I heard more screaming and then I heard Gray`s voice. Then Natsu, Wendy, Happy, Charles; I couldn`t make out anymore screams. They blended together becoming a deafening roar. My ears hurt. They hurt. They hurt. I put my hands to my ears trying to block the sound.

I began to cry, there was nothing I could do. 'I can`t defeat him, he`s too strong.' It was becoming difficult to think. My sobs became louder and louder. Eventually I broke down on the floor crying and screaming. I began to feel drowsy. I looked up to see a man with a gas mask on he began to spray gas into my cell. I started to sway from side to side till I fell on the floor unconscious.

My last thought I had was 'He was going to pay!'

I aroused to the sound of my own screams. Sweat soaked through my clothes. I sat up slowly recalling the events of my dream. I began to shake. He was back. No, THEY were back.

Suddenly, I remembered the screams of my nakama. With the urge to wash myself off after that dream I jumped out of my bed landing in a warm sticky liquid. I began to shake. It was the same sticky liquid that was in my dream, blood. I fell to my knees shaking uncontrollably. I looked down to confirm that what I was now sitting in was blood, but instead of congealing blood, there were slightly smeared letters. Carefully, as to not smear them further I stood.

'Be ready. I`m coming,' Was written on my bedroom floor.

I began to shake even harder to where my vision started to blur. I got off the floor and walked to the bathroom ignoring the splashing liquid under my feet. I reached to the bathroom door to push it open noticing my hand covered it the red shimmering liquid. I was covered in the red fluid and my hand was shaking uncontrollably. Eventually, I grabbed the door after what seemed like ages. Turning the nob and opening the door, my nose was instantly filled with a horrible smell. The room smelled like rotting flesh. My hands immediately went up to my mouth to stop myself puking up my stomach`s contents. I began to take in my surroundings. The walls were covered in writing written in blood and flesh. It was an ancient language, I recognized a few words. The bath tub and the sink were filled with blood.

That was it. I ran to the toilet barely making it and up came the rest of dinner.

'He was already here. So he was going first or was he alone?' these words filled my head in a constant loop.

I didn`t want to see blood any more. It was overwhelming. I quickly ran through the bloody mess and I grabbed my keys off my desk. I grabbed Virgo`s key and summoned her.

"Is it time for punishment?" Virgo gasped at what she saw and walked over to me. "Hime, what`s wrong? What happened?" concern could be seen clearly on the celestial spirit`s face.

Tears were rolling down my face. "I-I woke up a-and there was b-blood e-everywhere!" I fell on my knees balling out tears. "H-he`s back. He`s back!" This time I yelled it to her.

She hugged me and I hugged her back. Blood smeared off my pink pajamas onto her maid outfit. She whispered softly into my ear. "Who`s back, Hime?"

I froze. I stopped crying. I was scared. No, I was terrified. "Kanno, Kanno Shasaki" I spoke just barely above a whisper.

"Thank you for telling me, Hime. I`ll ask Loke to keep you company, while l clean up the mess." Virgo began to clean the blood up while I just sat there in shock staring at her. Loke appeared and he bombarded me with questions, but then he stopped talking and just hugged me. We just sat there. He too was now covered in blood. He released me from his embrace and looked me up and down to see if I had any visible cuts or wounds.

I looked to Virgo to see she had already cleaned my room of the blood and was moving on to clean the bathroom. She cleaned the bathroom silently. After an hour the walls were clean and she was now moving on to the sink and bathtub. I watched in silence. My face was emotionless. I felt nothing. Loke just looked at me. He knew I was in shock.

The sucking sound of the tub and sink made me cringe. The smell of the rotting flesh was still potent in the air. I began to grow a headache when the putrid stench of decay and the smell cleaning chemicals mixed in the air.

I still felt numb. My breathing was ragged and the room was still spinning. My throat was dry. I stood up and walked to my kitchen. Loke`s eyes followed my every move. Grabbing a glass out of the cabinet I filled it with cold water and gulped it down. The cold water soothed my raw throat. The blood that was on my hands smeared on the glass. I placed it in the sink.

"Hime, I have finished cleaning the bathroom and bedroom. Do you wish for me to get a bath ready?" Virgo was in the kitchen with a worry stricken face.

"Yes that would helpful. Arigato, Virgo." I gave her the best smile I could manage. She bowed slightly and began to walk away to the bathroom. "You didn`t have to bow."

"Gomen ne Lucy." Virgo spoke softly stopping a little, but then finished walking to the bathroom till she disappeared from sight. Her expression was pitiful when she looked at me.

I hate that look. I`ve always received pitiful looks. Only a few people haven`t given me that look.

I looked to Loke he had a similar look to Virgo. I hate it. I knew he was worried, but I need to be alone for a while.

"Loke, can you go back now? I need to take a bath." My voice was monotone, lifeless. He hesitated a bit but eventually he agreed. There was a glow of light and he returned back to the Celestial Dimension. I looked out the window. It was dawn, six am. There was an ominous fog outside.

"Hime, your bath is ready." It was Virgo. She was standing in the doorway with the same expression as before.

"Arigato, Virgo. You may go now." I talked with the same monotone voice as I did when I talked to Loke. She nodded.

"Sayonara, Lucy." There was a bright light and she disappeared to the same place as Loke.

I walked to the bathroom, and took off my blood stained clothes. I stood there examining my hands. They were caked with blood and so were my feet. There were a few bloody smears on my face, my right cheek and across my forehead. I turned on the water in the sink scrubbing away the blood on my hands and face. The blood wasn`t gone it was still there.

I scrubbed harder and harder. It slowly began to come off my hands making a small stream going down the drain.

Time skip- Later At the guild

"Natsu calm down!"

Natsu had been fighting with Gray all morning. They haven`t even stopped for almost two hours. If someone didn`t stop them they would destroy the entire guild. As I stared at their fight my scarlet haired friend walked up.

"Hey! Erza what`s with those two?"

"Just ignore them Lucy. They`re both upset because master doesn`t want them going on jobs for a while."

"Really? What did they do now?" I stared intently at my scarlet haired friend.

"Don`t know. Maybe they destroyed one to many buildings."

"I think that`s an understatement…."

"Huh. What`d you say Lucy?"

"Oh, nothing!" I didn`t expect her to hear me. "Um…. Erza does that apply to us too?" I was worried I needed money for the train to go that place.

"No. Do you need money?" She had a worried look on her face.

"Yah…. I have some business in another town to take care of and I need the money." I was worried she wouldn`t go with me on the job, so I said it a little sheepishly.

"Here just take the money. I don`t need it anyway." She took out about 10 million jewels out of her boot and offered it to me. My jaw dropped.

"W-why so much m-money? I was just thinking of doing a job together."

"I don`t need it and if you have business then you should her hurry and take care of it." She smiled at me warmly. It was rare to see her smile and when she did her smile usually looked sad. I hesitantly took the money, but I sorted through it and took only what I needed. I handed the rest back to her. She looked at sadly as if she wanted me to spend it all!

"Thanks sooo much Erza! I`ll see everyone in a couple days." We hugged for minute then I was off to pack and go on the train. After I was out of the guild I stopped.

My happy-go-lucky attitude along with the coloring of my face disappeared. The events of this morning and in the dream replayed in my head. I shuddered at the memory. I muttered to myself, "I wonder if that dream was his 'Hello'. Knowing him it probably was."