Chapter 2 - Uneasy Confrontation
It was hard for anyone in the apartment to miss the bright flash of light coming from Lucy's bedroom. And even if they could brush something like that off, it was impossible to ignore what sounded like Levy's frantic cry cut short.
Erza was the first to react, bursting into Lucy's room near instantaneously with a sword in hand, ready to thwart any attempt at an ambush. When it was obvious that no attack was forthcoming, she lowered her guard, but only slightly. The fact that Levy was nowhere in sight unnerved the heck out of her.
"Levy?" she tried.
No answer came.
"Levy! You found her?" hollered Natsu a second later as he, too, burst into the room. His eyes darted around frantically, flames swirling around his arm in anticipation. His keen instincts and battle heightened senses immediately detected a familiar presence near Lucy's empty desk. "THERE!" he shouted, thrusting his fist in it's direction. The flames around his arm erupted in full force, projecting Natsu's wrath at what he found. The fiery attack clearly hit it's mark, burning a gory smoldering hole in...
... what was once a portrait of Lucy hanging off of her wall.
"I got her!" he cheered. He also got full fledged smacking across the back of his head from Erza's sword.
"Calm down, Natsu," scolded Erza. "And we were not supposed to attack her on sight, remember?"
Natsu rubbed the back of his aching head. "Eh? But now's my chance to become Fairy Tail's strongest!" His eyes burned brighter with passion and resolve as he nodded to himself. "I mean, she beat Luxus. And even Gildarts! Heh heh heh, they've fallen pretty far to get owned by someone as weak as Lucy. So if I beat her then-"
*Smack* Natsu crashed face first into the opposite wall when Erza finally gave in to her annoyance and anger. "Stop messing around," she ordered to Natsu's incapacitated form.
- x -
It wasn't long before everyone else crammed themselves into Lucy's bedroom. Their thorough search of the room and the rest of the apartment yielded absolutely nothing. No Levy. No Lucy. No Naruto. And their only real clue that anything even happened was Levy's yellow hair band found on Lucy's bedroom floor.
In a bit of a daze, Makarov gripped the soft and velvety hair band in the palm of his hand.
"Levy..." said Makarov, anger chiselled upon his face. The master-of-Fairy-Tail's mind was filled with sorrow and regret. It felt as if he had just let the entire guild down, especially Levy. "Sweet and lovable Levy. How could I have let this happen." he should have known that Lucy was up to something. A single tear dripped down his face.
"Master..." The rest of the guild looked towards him, expectant, some of them even teary eyed.
Makarov quickly wiped away the tear with new resolve, brandishing a terrible fury with his entire being. Then, to the heavens he shouted, "LEVY! Your favorite hair band. I swear upon the honor of Fairy Tail that you will get this back. And if Lucy or Naruto so much as touch a hair upon your head, they... will... PAY!"
- x -
"...and that's what would happen if you two don't release me right this moment," finished Levy sternly. Right now, Levy was trapped. She wasn't being tied down or gagged or anything like that but Lucy had plainly told her that she was now stuck in the Celestial Spirit Realm whether she liked it or not. Outside the window of the apartment was no longer the vibrant Strawberry Street of Magnolia, but rather countless twinkling stars and ethereal shapes.
This was why she made up an entire story warning Lucy and Naruto of what would probably happen if the rest of Fairy Tail couldn't find her. Levy wondered if it worked. Her face heated up ever-so-slightly when both Lucy and Naruto stared at her, dumbfounded at her story. Lucy blinked, Naruto blinked, then they looked to each other and erupted into hearty laughter.
"Bwahahahahaha!" Naruto cringed. "That last bit with Makarov was brilliant! Oh man, if I ever see him again I'm gonna tell him this. He'd love it."
Lucy wiped away some of the euphoric tears in her eye. "Thank you Levy, I needed that. And you captured Natsu's personality perfectly. That's just like him."
Levy glared. "Hey, I was serious! Let me go! What do you want with me, anyways?"
"Levy," Lucy said with a reassuring tone when she was done recovering from her fit of laughter. "Just listen to us for a bit. Please. I just want you to hear our side of the story."
"Your side of the story?" Levi countered. "Lucy, you attacked Fairy Tail. You stole the Celestial Grimoire. Then you and Naruto both declared yourselves as an independant guild... a dark guild. I'm pretty sure I already know your story, Lucy, so no thanks."
"Levy... it's not what it looks like-"
"Not what it looks like?" Levy's body had begun to shake in frustration. "I wanted to believe in you, Lucy. I really really did. I thought that maybe it wasn't you at all. That maybe it was just a look-alike, a clone. That maybe the Lucy I knew and loved would just suddenly come out and explain everything to everyone and make it all right again."
"Levy..."
"But the fact is that you're hiding from everyone," continued Levy, practically in full angry-lecture mode now. "You've kidnapped me, Lucy. And you have that. That thing. That book of pure evil, right there in your arms." Levy pointed at the huge tome wrapped underneath Lucy's arms. "That's the Celestial Grimoire, isn't it? I've read about that grimoire and about the dark and terrible magic it holds.
"Please Levy, just..."
Levy stopped her with a pointed look. "Lucy, what happened to you?"
The entire room fell into silence. Naruto was sitting on the bed, arms folded, but didn't say a word. He didn't even dare to look at anyone, and instead just kept to himself. Lucy, on the other hand, held a thoughtful look for a moment, before looking squarely into Levy's eyes. It had an effect like no other.
It was strange. Levy loved books. She had read more books than anyone could ever count. The books she's read could fill libraries - no - entire archives! But the expression on Lucy's face alone told more than those countless volumes of books ever could.
Her long blond hair was currently unkempt, as if she hadn't tended to it for days, wholly unnatural for someone who valued her looks more than a Zeref follower worshipped their dark god. She gave Levy a smile, but it wasn't like any of her usual ones, the ones that could rival the brightness of the sun. This one was empty, devoid of light, full of melancholy, full of sadness. Auburn eyes, warm and beautiful, seemed to hold the experience and travesties that a grizzled war veteran might have... if they lived a thousand years.
Levy was forced to take a step back. She could scarcely believe she was looking at the same Lucy that she had talked to and laughed with just a few days before. This was Lucy? Why hadn't Levy ever seen this side of her before? Had Lucy been hiding her true self all along? Or did she somehow change in the span of a few days? Levy thought back to the title of that red book that got her into this mess in the first place. 'The Lies of Lucy Heartfilia.' Levy's eyes widened. Was this what that title meant? Had Lucy been lying to the guild, to her friends all this time? If so, why? To what purpose? To what ends?
"What happened to me? Why Levy, that's what I what I've been wanting to tell you all along, if you'll listen."
- x -
"There are things I need from you while I tell my story, Levy, important things."
"First and foremost, I need you to listen. Everything I'm going to tell you is the truth. My real story. The one that only Naruto and I know... and now you'll knowl as well. I know you'll be tempted to call me out on lies and exaggerations, but I promise you that my story will have none. Everything I say is to be taken at face value. My travels. My experiences. My accomplishments. Love, loss, trust... betrayal, and... well, you probably won't believe me, but I've even killed people. Just try not to judge me until the story is finished. This, I ask of you as a friend."
"Second, I'm going to need to borrow your powers for a bit, Levy. Remember that red book? Yes, the one sitting on my desk right now; the one that got you here. Well, you see, that tome is a special product of lost magic, similar to the Celestial Grimoire that I took from the vaults underneath Fairy Tail. It will record your Solid Script magic within it's pages and manipulate it, creating a story that, when read, will allow a person to experience the story as if they were me. I realize that this may take up a lot of your magic power, but don't worry. Both Naruto and I will transfer our magic power to you when you need it."
"Finally, I'm not entirely certain on this point, but my story will take at least four days to tell from start to finish. We'll have breaks in-between, of course. We'll eat and sleep. They'll be four normal days for us, if you can call something like this 'normal'. But I want you to realize that time works very differently here in the Celestial Spirit Realm. When those four days are up, an entire year will have already passed on Earthland."
"I know this is a lot to ask of you so I'll give you one final chance to back away. To forget all of this. I can send you back to Earthland and we can go our seperate ways for good. Just know that should you do decide to leave, the next time we meet, we will be enemies and I will not hesitate to... well, let's just leave it at that for now. I don't really want to say it."
"Sorry for putting such a huge burden on you, Levy. But the truth is that you're the only person that can help me right now."
- x -
Levy paced back and forth inside Lucy's bedroom, thinking over everything that Lucy had just told her. For now, both Lucy and Naruto had left the room to give Levy some time alone to think, but for some reason this just made her more nervous.
"A whole year..." thought Levy aloud. Well technically, it was only four days for her. Less than a week. But still, what would the rest of Fairy Tail think if she went missing for an entire year? Would they believe she was dead? "Nah..." She remembered when everyone thought Lisanna had died and that turned out okay enough. So she wasn't too worried about being away for a year. Heck, some say that a little time and distance can make hearts grow fonder. Maybe when she got back, Gajeel would finally...
Anyways, what really made Levy nervous was the reason behind all of this. Why did Lucy want to do this in the first place? Lucy said it was to create a book that would let people experience everything that she went through. But what would that accomplish? Questions, questions, so many questions. What Levy wanted were answers. And the only way to get those answers was to hear Lucy's full story.
"The Lies of Lucy Heartfilia, huh?" Levy's eyes went back to the red book on Lucy's desk and noticed that beside it was the Celestial Grimoire that Lucy had stolen from Fairy Tail's magical vault. Levy had read about it before because it sounded interesting, but most of what she read was nonsensical ramblings from crazy old wizards. The only facts she garnered was that the Grimoire was found by Makarov some time in the year X777 and that it held the secrets of some dark and powerful lost magic within it's pages. Some even said that it was evil.
Actually, now that she thought about it, Levy remembered asking Master Makarov about the Grimoire once upon a time. 'Levy,' he had told her with a dark and serious expression. 'No such book exists.' That was it. And with such a scary expression on the Master's face, Levy didnt' dare to pursue the subject any further.
But now that the book was right in front of her...
Levy approached the desk, tracing the lines of the Celestial Grimoire with a finger in anticipation. She had a thing for books and this one was like no other. The cover was dark and mysterious; the color of the sea. Letters, glittering like jewels across the top half of the book, made up a single word: 'Céleste'. It felt strange and powerful, sort of like a magnet, pulling her in. No, more like some kind of black hole, sucking in her very soul. She was afraid. She was intrigued. And before she knew it, her fingers unconsciously began to open the cover of the book...
All of a sudden the door to the room clicked open. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," said Lucy in an easy manner.
Levy snapped back to attention, shaking her head clear as if it were filled with cobwebs. "Eh? That's odd. It..."
"Felt like you were hypnotized; like it was drawing you in, right?" Lucy finished for her. "I know the feeling. I still get it, even after reading it a few times."
"Really?" Levy stared back down at the Grimoire. It was weird. It felt like... lust? For a book? It was hard to explain but even now it came and went like waves. "Is there really some kind of dangerous dark magic in it? Is it really evil?"
Lucy had to practically pry the Grimoire from Levy's hands before she set it back down onto the desk. "That is something you're not quite ready to know. Not yet, at least." Levy didn't need to hide her disappointment. "Don't worry, you'll get your chance soon enough."
'What was that supposed to mean?' thought Levy, but she kept it to herself.
Before long, Naruto bounded back into the room. "Shrooo, arrhm mwree shhtaarrrrching jret?" he said... or asked... Levy couldn't tell. His mouth was full as he retook his spot on the bed with a bowl full of snacks tucked at his arm.
"We are," said Lucy, motioning for Levy to sit down at the desk. "Have a seat, Levy."
"Wait a minute," opposed Levy. "I haven't even agreed to this yet."
Lucy paused for a bit, "Oh really," she said. Lucy's eyes, again looked into Levy's, deep and penetrating. It was like Lucy was reading her mind. "Sorry, Levy, but I can tell that you want to hear this story as much as I want to tell it."
Levy's mouth gaped open to argue back, but she stopped herself. She knew deep down that Lucy was absolutely right. That Levy wouldn't miss this story for the world.
- x -
Levy fidgeted in her seat at the desk for a bit, fighting to find a comfortable position. When she found it, she also found herself staring at the red book which was now open to the first page, right in front of her. The page was blank, plain and white.
"So... is there anything I need to do?"
"Nothing special," answered Lucy. She sat on her bed, leaning slightly on Naruto's shoulder, as he munched on his snacks, waiting for the story to start. "Just sit and listen. You might feel a slight tingling sensation, but that's normal. When it feels like you're starting to run low on magic power, just let us know and we'll give you some of ours." Lucy let the words sink in for a bit. "I'll start as soon as you're ready, Levy."
Levy was still unsure, but she swallowed back her nervousness and nodded. "I'm ready. Let's hear it."
"Okay then," said Lucy as she took a deep breath.
The room fell completely silent for a moment. It wasn't a very long moment but it felt long, as if time, itself, had stopped. Even Naruto had stopped munching on his snacks. This silence lasted for what seemed like eternity to Levy before, finally, it began. It was slow at first, hesitant. It was a voice, of course. Lucy's voice. Sweet and melodic, it filled the entire room, reverberating through the still air, and carrying with it a chilling feeling of hope and courage... and of pain... of longing.
Levy immediately felt a pull from within her as Lucy spoke. She could feel a bit of her magic power being siphoned out involuntarily. Then, as soon as her magic power left her body, she could see it visibly forming tiny little letters and words in Solid Script magic right in front of her before they were pulled swiftly onto the pages of the book. The entire process happened faster than Lucy spoke. Levy found it interesting. Amazing, even. And when she looked down, she saw that Lucy's words were now written in glowing yellow letters within the book.
Lucy gave the blunette a worried look, seeing at how surprised she was, but Levy returned a placating gesture. "Don't worry about me," she said. "I'm fine. Please, keep going."
Lucy nodded slowly and then she continued as Levy read the very first words written into the book:
'My name is Lucy Heartfilia, and this is my story.'