Chapter Four

Something didn't feel right. The atmosphere felt too heavy for Lucy to draw a breath. Her heart thundered in her ears. Immediately, she opened her eyes, feeling something hovering at the edge of her five senses. Everything in her body was screaming for her to run. The cold air blew against the thin barrier of her clothing, causing her body to shiver.

How the hell did she get herself into such a dangerous situation? She was suppose to be training to get stronger in a forest away from civilization and then she attracted the wrong kind of attention and she discovered that she had another magical potential besides being a celestial mage. Sitting upright, she searched the campsite for a sign from of one of her spirits. Struggling to peer through the darkness since the campfire died, she noticed the sky was dark with stars. It had been awhile since someone tended to the fire with wood.

"Virgo?" she called to her loyal celestial spirit, believing the pink haired maid was somewhere nearby, but no one answered her call. The wind blew against her form causing her to shiver as a howl erupted in the night. Lucy stiffened in her spot. Darting a wary glance all around her, she cursed herself for lacking in good judgment and sensibility.

Something definitely wasn't right. She tumbled out of a sleeping bag that Virgo must have provided for her from the celestial world and she felt her body for signs of weapons. She sighed in relief at feeling her pouch with her keys but she frowned at not feeling the comfort of her whip. She might have agreed with Loke to train to become a mentalist instead of a combat fighter but that did not give him the right to take away her whip. She had to have a serious chat with him later about it.

A howl pitched the night sky, interrupting her from her thoughts, alerting her of its closeness. She had to move before whoever or whatever was out there closed in on her. Momentarily, she searched around the campsite, searching for any of her spirits or a weapon. Her eyes became adjusted to the dark as she made out a tent, large rocks surrounded the campfire, a stream was flowing behind the tent and her campsite was located by tall trees. Her spirits decided to stop and spend a night in the forest rather than an open area. That was smart of them. But how come they weren't with her?

'Oh shucks!' she thought. 'I should have listened to Loke earlier and stayed somewhere near people.' She was alone with no idea how she was going to escape a beast somewhere near her. A snarl erupted from her left and Lucy jumped out of her sleeping bag. She headed towards the direction of the river, absently noting the water would cover her tracks from the predator.

Running down the stream bare footed, she hissed as she felt the sharpness of the stones stabbing under them. The coolness of the water made her wish the night's air was warmer against her exposed skin. She continued to follow the stream while debating on traveling in the shallow waters or running on the soft soil at edge of it. When breathing became hard from a long run, she paused to gasp for breath. She bent down to cup the fresh water in between her hands and drink it. She repeated filling the cold water in between her hands and drinking the cool liquid until her throat wasn't parched from thirst and the muscles in her body was rested.

A twig snapped behind her causing the blond girl to still. She glanced over her shoulder to see if there was someone behind her. At first appearance, the darkness revealed nothing. As she strained her eyes, she saw a long silhouette move in between the trees. Her breath caught in her throat as she immediately stood on trembling legs. With willpower, one foot moved in front of the other, ignoring the jagged stones from under her, as she raced across the stream to get away from the shadow that was following her.

She didn't know how long she kept running from the predator, but from a brief glimpse of the shadow, she knew that it wasn't a beast chasing her. It looked like a tall figure of a man and she wouldn't doubt there were men in such creepy forests as the one she was running in. And, she being a female, alone in a forest at night meant unfortunate news.

All of a sudden, her ankle bumped into something sharp, which made her gasp in pain. She fell, not having time to soften the impact using her hands. Instead her face met with the rushing water of the stream. Another intake of what should have been air, had her choking and gurgling the water in her trachea. She lifted her head while she coughed out the bitter liquid. Her lungs greedily inhaled the clean air. Her busty chest was heaving from her panic. When her heart rate slowed down, she sat on her knees, not caring if her jeans or the blue shirt she was wearing was soaked and clinging to her like a second skin. She slowly looked around her to see if the silhouette tracked her to where she was.

The wind blew a gust of chilly air against her wet frame. She shivered and began rubbing her arms with clammy hands while her teeth chattered. The leaves swayed, entrancing her with a sweet lullaby. For a moment, Lucy wanted to laugh at a childish antic of imagining shadows following her. Then the wind stopped blowing. Lucy sat up straighter, her spine as stiff as a rod as she strained to hear what was going around her. If she couldn't trust her eyes, she could rely on her other senses. Then she noticed the eerie silence in the chilly forest. She frowned while she carefully rose to her feet, turning in a three hundred and sixty degree circle. There weren't the normal sounds of birds or bugs communicating. Instead, she could only hear the rush of the stream and splashes of water as she backed herself deeper into it. She never noticed when the stream reached around her hips. Something moved within the shadows of foliage. The crunch noise of twigs alerted her that someone was close and she tried her best to run to only realize it was too late. The rushing water slowed down her steps and she found herself fighting against the currents to flee from the accosting figure.

With no choice left, Lucy backed herself into the water and what used to be a stream carried her in the direction she was running from. As long as she didn't bump into whoever chased her, she was fine.

But she didn't count how strong the currents were as they pulled her deeper into the river. She struggled to keep her head above the surface, spitting out the excess water threatening to cover the airway through her nose and mouth. Her arms waved as she uselessly kicked with her feet. In an instance, old memories of swimming class returned to her. If she hit a point where her body began to tire in the water, the best option left would be to float on her back. But the fear of violent waves pushing her under left her struggling to keep her head above the surface of the turbulent waters.

'I wish Aquarius was here to save me now!' Lucy thought. Since she sacrificed her strongest and one of the closest spirits to her mother, a broken golden key was all that was left of Aquarius' existence. The other celestial spirits could not manipulate water and in her final moments, she couldn't think of a strategy using one of her other spirits to save her. She was helpless.

As the violent water pushed her under the surface, the air she was able to inhale burst out of her. She uselessly moved her hands and legs as she tried to reach the surface of the rushing river but she was constantly being pulled deeper into its depths. Her body ached all over. Her eyes were closing to welcome the darkness. She stopped moving, letting the river take her. It was easier to stop fighting for her life. The pain was disappearing with the darkness.

The moment she was losing consciousness, something hard wrapped around her limp hand and with a sudden surge, pulled her body upwards. The cool air hit her face as she began coughing out the water invading her lungs. A muscular arm wrapped tightly around her waist, molding her against a hard body and the next thing she knew, she was being pulled out of the water to lay on the soft ground. Automatically, her fingers splayed against the dirt, curling and creating a fist with it.

She blinked her eyes as she focused on trying to breathe normally. She felt rough hands inspect her body lightly, making sure she wasn't injured anywhere. Those hands wrapped around her ankle, lifting it to examine a red bruise and Lucy gasped in pain. She struggled to sit upright, supporting her upper body on her elbows. Peering through long messy blond hair, she saw a handsome face with sharp features in the dim lighting from the stars. His eyes narrowed on her foot, dirt clinging to her wet skin. When he glanced up at her, an emotion flashed through his eyes, causing his lips to twist in a snarl. It was the same snarl she heard earlier from the silhouette that was chasing her.

She scooted back, sharply wincing as she put too much weight on her left ankle. Her facial features contorted in pain and she paused in her action when she felt the stranger tightened his hold on her ankle. He reminded her that he captured her but Lucy would be damned if she didn't put a fight to get away from him.

Without hesitation, Lucy threw handfuls of soil at her capturer, aiming for his eyes. A sudden growl of fury told her she hit her goal. His grasp on her ankle loosened when he covered his face with his hands. Growls were breaking the silence in the atmosphere. Instantly, Lucy got up on her feet and began to madly dash away from the man. She moved away from the river, placing her hands on the tree trunks while she rushed limp to get away from the menacing person.

When his growls were no longer discernable, she changed direction in hopes to mislead him. A dark pulse suddenly filled the night sky, slowing down her pace. The magical pressure caused her knees to buckle until she fell face down to the earth. Footsteps sprinted after her and from natural instinct, Lucy reached into her key pouch, felt for the one familiar key and called upon her most trusted celestial spirit to help her. "Open gate of the lion!"

There was a golden flash followed by ding dong and Loke was beside her, assessing the situation. His hazel eyes narrowed behind his shades when he saw Lucy on the ground. "Lucy!" he knelt down. "Are you okay?"

Lucy violently shook her head. Loke was about to put his hands on her cheeks when the branches thrashed not far from them. Lucy pointed a shaky finger toward the direction the noise. "Someone's after me!" Her voice was cracked and frightened.

A dark figure was running toward them at top speed and Loke planted his feet on the ground to defend his mistress from the attacker.

"Lucy!" his voice broke through her panicked mind. "Run!" The person's dark fist shot into the air. Loke raised his right fist and yelled "Regulus punch!" His fist made contact with the other fist causing a burst of power to erupt from their forms. Lucy turned her body so that she was in fetal position. She clasped both hands behind her head and curled in on herself as a gust of strong wind blew against her form. Her blond hair was flying in every direction. When the wind died down, Lucy raised her head, wondering why the wind didn't send her in crashing into a tree. Her question was answered by feeling Loke's solid form hunched over her. His black suit was the only thing filling her vision.

"You have to get out of here! I don't know how long I could hold him back!" Hands clutched the back of his suit, picking him off the ground until he was dangling in the air. Lucy's fearful eyes saw his eyes widened through his cracked spectacles. Then she saw his body was flaying as he crashed into several trees. One of his hands went limp, his eyes closed and he fell against broken branches.

"Loke!" Lucy cried out. She stretched out a hand toward him but another hard hand grabbed her.

'Oh Mavis! This is the end!' Lucy thought. She shut her eyes as the stranger raised her whole body. He kept her upright by her arm so her whole body was dangling in the air. Tears sprang from her eyes and she trembled in fear. She heard one footstep moved in her direction, a hot breath was against her face. A dark aura emanated from him, closing in on her magic. The air became stifled as though he was choking her with his other free hand.

In the haziness of her mind, she felt how her body throbbed in pain. Then, she remembered how Capricorn trained her the past week to summon her celestial spirits. 'Open gate of the maiden!' she mentally shouted. The earth beneath her began to shake. The hand that held her instantly let her go. She dropped to the floor as the soil crumbled and was dug away. Lucy screamed as tense fingers clutched around her arms and pulled her into a hole. Pink hair obscured her vision. She kept screaming until she fell deep into the hole. Virgo popped before her, blue eyes blinking at her. "Punishment, princess?"

Lucy shook her head, not trusting her voice. She pointed a trembling finger to the sky. Virgo looked upward and her eyes narrowed.

"Forgive me princess. This opponent is too strong for punishment. I have to get you out of here." She wrapped her slender arms around Lucy's waist and hoisted her until she was practically hovering in the air. Lucy forgot how strong Virgo was since the maid changed her appearance from a fat lady into a petite one. "Close your eyes," her loyal spirit instructed her. Lucy shut her eyes. The maid hugged the blond girl and began spinning underground, creating a drill to push inward into the earth. She could feel dirt filling her nostrils, mouth and ears. The earth was crushing them. They stopped and Virgo shifted. She jumped and twirled until Lucy felt herself flying through the air. "Princess, summon Aries."

In her mind, Lucy chanted the words to summon Aries and there was a poof of dust coming from the ground. Lucy felt Virgo and her were falling from the sky, and she screamed with all her might. Thinking she was going to die, she wished that Natsu and the others were here to save her. Natsu would have figured out a strategy to face the mysterious opponent. Arms let her go and she screamed Virgo's name to only land on something soft. A whoosh of breath escaped her parted lips.

"I'm sorry," said a timid voice. Then her lamb spirit vanished without a trace. The dark aura was moving in on her. She felt it beneath all the wool Aries created last minute to soften Lucy's fall. Then, there was a blur and a dark figure was shooting through the sky. Lucy anxiously watched as he came crashing down on his feet, creating a crater.

'There's no heck of a way I can fight this guy!' Lucy thought. 'But he might have a chance.' She chanted the words under her breath, realizing that she didn't need to physically touch her key; another flash of golden light blinded them. There was a ding-dong and Lucy's bull spirit appeared with a massive axe in one hand. "Moo! How can I protect your delicious body? Moo!"

Lucy didn't bother to respond. Again, she pointed a shaky finger toward the man, who seemed to take a step back and watch the scene with interest. Taurus saw the unsteadiness of his mistress' body and he turned to stare at the man who caused her fear. He straightened into his massive height and he tightly clutched his large axe in both hands. His face turned fierce when he saw the man's lips tilted into a smirk. For the first time Lucy heard him speak and his deep baritone caused shudders to spiral throughout her body. "So I finally get to meet a different spirit."

Her body shook so hard that she fell to her knees. Taurus' eyes widened and he stepped in front of his mistress to shield her from the onslaught of the male in front of them. "Mooove from here!" the bull spirit warned her. He raised his axe and dashed at the male. The male's smirk turned into a leery smile. With a grace of cat, he jumped into the air to evade Taurus's swipe.

Lucy could barely get up from the floor. Her ankle throbbed with pain and she felt tired. "Open gate of the maiden," she whispered. There was a sudden pop of light and another doorbell sound, letting Lucy know her maid spirit was at her side. "We need to escape from here. Create a tunnel."

Her maid spirit saw the exhaustion on the celestial mage's face. She glanced up to see Taurus was holding the enemy at bay, but there was something strange about how he was moving. He could have easily taken Taurus out and reached their mistress but he didn't. Frowning, the maid spirit picked up Lucy and began twirling in the air. One second they were above surface and then next, they were traveling underground. Lucy knew she could only stay underground for less than forty-five seconds with her maid spirit before losing sufficient air she needed to breathe. When she thought she was going to suffocate, Virgo leapt from underground to the earth's surface. Lucy inhaled a deep breath and let it go the moment Virgo landed safely on the floor. "Princess, are you okay?"

Lucy shook her head. "I need to summon Gemi and Mini," she whispered. But her magic was draining. All the dread and the pain from the chase was finally catching up with her body. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep.

"Summon them with your mind, princess," Virgo instructed, sensing Lucy's weariness.

The blond nodded and summoned Gemi and Mini with her mind. Both spirits popped right in front of Lucy and they floated in front of her with concern marring their faces. "Please turn into me and wear the same clothes as me," she told them. There was a cloud of smoke and both little pink spirits turned into a disheveled Lucy. "I'm going to transfer some of my power to you."

"No! Don't!" The spirits protested.

She smiled tiredly at them. "I know what I'm doing. I just need you to trust me."

"But you don't have enough magical energy to sustain yourself. You can fall into a coma or worst, die," Virgo admonished.

"I understand," Lucy whispered. "But I need to divert his attention. He's never seen Gemi and Mini."

Virgo's eyes widened with realization. The mysterious male that was attacking them was the one Loke and Lucy sensed watching them. That meant he knew about her mistress' spirits. That explained why he didn't defeat Taurus when he was clearly more powerful than the other spirit. He was toying with her mistress. Virgo nodded her head.

Lucy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She cradled the lower part of her stomach with her hands. Gathering all her magical energy, she felt the sudden shift in the air. A white aura framed her body. Her hair, clothes and dirt around her began to slowly lift in the air. Then her magic pulsed outward, sending a magical wave around her. Debris flew everywhere. Her spirits gasped in shock at her magic. Within little time, she reached her meditation state. Her hands stretch toward the spirit that looked like her. The other her touched her hands and the energy went from her to her spirit. Suddenly Lucy collapsed into Virgo's awaiting arms. Loke chose that moment to appear and he lifted Lucy in his arms.

"You're going to try it, aren't you?" Virgo asked him with a serious tone.

"I have no choice."

"But if you travel through the celestial world, there's a good chance she won't be able to come out of it." Loke glanced down at the blond girl in his arms. There was another magical shift and both spirits looked into the sky. They felt Taurus' aura disappear.

"You were able to do it with Natsu, that idiot," he replied. The dark man was sprinting toward them.

"Go!" Gemi and Mini said to Loke. Loke nodded his head. Before disappearing, he saw the fake Lucy run the opposite direction. Virgo stood proud and tall as she waited to fight the mysterious male. They were prolonging his escape with their mistress. He disappeared to only reappear a further distance away.

Lucy barely opened her eyes while traveling in Loke's arms. However, she heard the most terrible sound of her life. It started in low vibration, but it was one so deep in power that it shook her bones. The vibration swept through the ground causing everything around them to shake. The roar felt like a hundred tornadoes hitting at once. Loke fell to his knees, holding her tightly against his body. His head buried into the crook of her neck. She raised her arms and wrapped them around his shoulders.

Then the roar died away and the cloudless night sky looked peaceful. She felt Loke stand on unsteady legs. He replaced his hand under her knees while the other one was around her back. Lucy tilted her head to move her blond locks away from her sweat-damped face. That roar sounded familiar to her. It reminded her of the one on Tenrou Island, right before the black dragon wiped the island off the face of the world map.

Immediately, her body stiffened in Loke's arms. He looked down at her, his face sweating, his eyes alert. "Lucy?"

She had inkling idea who she was opposing from that unholy sound. All color drained from her face. If she were to race for her life, that roar was the warning bell.

Outside of Crocus, two figures dressed in dark robes were wandering down a worn out path. The night was humid and felt stifling against their forms, causing the smaller one of the figures to sigh. Pale hands removed the large hood revealing a heart shaped face with green hair. White eyes scanned the terrain.

Tall trees surrounded the area when a sudden crash toppled some of them and made the green haired girl turned toward the direction. The larger person next to her moved in the path of the commotion. "Taro, where do you think you're going?" she asked while shaking her head.

The other figure named Taro began cracking his knuckles. He increased his pace as he heard the smashing of bodies in the distance. The young girl was left to follow him.

"I'm curious to see some action, Lena. Maybe I can challenge the fire user in a battle," the man's voice rumbled with excitement. Lena frowned, wondering how Taro knew one of the wizards was using fire magic since his magic relied on controlling shadows to his will. Lena was the one capable of reading people's magical auras and from the battle taking place not far from them, she could discern their magic types. One of them was a fire user, another one was a requip mage and the other one was an ice wizard. Their magical auras were very powerful, which attracted Taro's attention. And he was always looking for a good fight with worthy opponents. But if he mentioned a wizard was using fire magic, he found a foe whom he wanted to test in battle.

Lena jogged behind the man and pulled at the end of his cloak to halt his steps. The moment he couldn't move another step, he stopped and glanced over his shoulder. Dark eyes from under the shadow of the hood stared down at her with annoyance. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I should be asking you the same question," she retorted, returning his stare with a glare. "You do realize Master sent us to look for the Magical Source?"

"I do," the man growled. "But that can't stop us from having fun."

Lena sighed. "You can't be wasting your magic over a stupid fight. We only have a limited supply of it."

"I know." Taro raised large hands and pulled back the large hood concealing his face. A handsome face with narrow masculine features was revealed. He lifted his head into the air and closed his eyes. Lena eyes widened when she felt him gathering his magical energy around him. His shadow distorted as shadows from the trees extended to his one, creating one large shadow. Lena stepped back as she watched in awe how he could control manipulate the darkness around him. Then, he cracked open both eyes. His magic faded away and he shook his head. His lips scornfully twisted into disgust. "Well, there goes my fun."

Lena moved past him. She continued to walk along the path when she noticed three figures standing over a huge bear. Only the bear's form was limp and two males were arguing over who defeated the monster while there was a tick forming on the woman's forehead. Her angry face was turning into the color of her hair. Taro had reached Lena's side, his face returning into an impassive one as he suddenly lost interest to fight one of the mages.

Drifting her eyes toward the three people, Lena took hint of the auras, since her magical power allowed her to see a person's magical aura. People's magic were usually different shades of colors, which identified their magical abilities as rare or common. But her magic went beyond only seeing colors. With a touch, she could amplify or drain a person's magic and commit their personal aura to memory.

The three strangers stopped their bickering over the bear's fate as they noticed they weren't alone. The scarlet haired woman looked at them before approaching them with a smile. Lena smiled, realizing they were friendly people but Taro grumbled something before turning his back on them. Instantly, the red haired female stopped and scrunched her face.

"Sorry about that," Lena apologized with a small smile. "He's a really grouchy person when he doesn't get a chance to fight."

The woman returned her small smile, already forgiving her partner's rudeness. "I know what you mean. Natsu, over there," the red head pointed at her pink haired friend, "is always poking at someone for a fight."

"Aw, come on Erza. I was all fired up," the pink haired male responded while bumping his fist into his other hand.

"And you lamely brought him down flame brain!" the raven haired male exclaimed next to him.

"What? You want to say that again ice princess?" Both guys growled at each other but a death glare from the red head silenced them. Apparently, they were scared of her temper. And they had every right to be because Lena could see how her green aura was darkening to almost a reddish hue. Her eyebrows creased from such a sight, realizing the woman wasn't an ordinary mage. Her rank of magic was near S-class if she were in a magical guild.

Next to her, Taro's head raised in interest. He peered over his shoulder to briefly glance at the red headed woman. Lena raised her brows as a beam replaced her small smile. Things were looking interesting. Eyeing their clothing, she saw the scarlet woman wore knight armor, the raven head was dressed in a dark shirt and black jeans and the last guy wore an oddly set of clothing. He wore pants with wooden sandals. His shirt had one long sleeve, while the other side was sleeveless and was baring his muscles. Instantly, she noticed the red tattoo on his upper arm and her eyes widened with surprise.

"You're from Fairy Tail?" she questioned. Since she hadn't been around people beside Taro, Zora and the others in her small group, she didn't know much about what happened in the villages, towns, or cities. She only knew about Fairy Tail because her master talked about the guild having a strong first Master by the name of Mavis.

"Yes, we are," the pink haired male responded. "Why do you ask?"

Taro half turned his body so he could see all three members of Fairy Tail. "Because Fairy Tail is known to have some of the strongest wizards," Lena said.

"You're right about that," the raven haired male said.

"Hey! She wasn't talking about you!" The pink head was about to start another fight with the raven head but an impressive growl from the scarlet woman shut them up. Lena was beginning to feel respect for her.

Lena glanced down at the bear's unconscious body. "Nice of you of guys to take that creature out. It's not an easy feat."

The red head nodded. "Yes, but that's not our true objective here."

"What do you mean?" Lena asked, feeling curious for some reason.

"Actually we're searching for our friend. She left Fairy Tail one day and we're concerned about her," the woman answered her. "Unfortunately, this bear crossed our paths."

"Oh, I see." Lena put a hand under her chin as she looked deep in thought. "Does your friend have a name?"

"Lucy." But no more words were expressed. All of a sudden a magical aura as bright as the sun overwhelmed Lena that she found herself hunched over, clutching small fists against her chest. Instantly, Taro was at her side, one of his large arms wrapped around her waist as he supported her smaller frame against him. The magical aura quickly dissipated to be followed by an inhuman growl so strong that it swept through the trees and occupants in the forest. The ground shook from beneath them.

And Lena whispered two words. "It's her."

A/N: This chapter was really difficult for me to write but I am happy to say that Lucy finally meets Acnologia. What's going to happen in the next chapter? What do you readers think?

Thank you for reading. Also, I have a copy of this story on Wattpad and I am thinking of only putting the rated M version there. This story will stay rated T because I am putting the cleaner content here.