Yeah, I jumped the gun. It's early guys and dolls...
DISCLAIMER: Oh geez. Just let me get this thing written up. Ahem. I do not own Fairy Tail and as much as I'd love to have a Loki and/or Lucy plushy on my bed I do not have one. (I would like one though…)
I suggest rereading the last parts of chapter 7...get the feeling back.
Ch 8: Subtleties
'There are words missing in these quotation marks.'
-Anonymous
"Now that was…interesting." Loki sighed, shutting Lucy's door. His hand still holding on tenderly to Lucy's small hand. Feeling her wiggle in his grasp, he let her go. He noticed her dazed expression as she drifted to a wooden chair.
Tilting his head, he quickly closed the space between them to lean before her, taking her hands into his.
"Darling, are you okay?" He wondered at her abnormal silence. Had he broken her?
"I-I'm sorry, but really…this—this feels ridiculous," Lucy whispered finally as his fingers brushed lightly over hers. Looking up at him, she searched his eyes before looking away to shake her head with a pained smile on her face. "…unreal even...I mean…look at us. Look at you. This—this doesn't make sense."
'Do I really…deserve this? Deserve you?'
He chuckled, realizing why she had gone demure. It was funny, the feisty woman before him had such sharp claws, and something had finally made her so quiet and small. Taking one hand, he brought it to his lips, leaving a small peck. His eyes piercing into hers.
"Lucy…I want you."
Her breath hitched.
"There is no other girl right now other than you in my mind. Why do you think you aren't worth my time?"
She blinked, her mouth gaping and closing like a goldfish. She wanted to be his of course; it was just that little feeling of insecurity, of being worth less than what he deserved, that brought her down. Suddenly her eyes widened at the feeling of being lifted off the chair. Her hands clung tightly to him as she pressed her head tightly into the crook of his neck.
"I don't care about those 'other girls' since the only one I care about is the girl right here." He hummed happily into Lucy's ear before placing her down onto her own bed before sitting onto it. He blinked as she quickly scrambled out of his grasp, and beneath the covers. Her large brown eyes and pink cheeks being the only things visible beneath her white sheets.
He laughed melodiously. Lucy tilted her head at the sound.
"God you're so cute. Lucy, what do you expect of me? I don't take advantage of women…unless they want me to." He winked, causing the girl to sink further into the covers. Yep, there went her rosy cheeks. He sighed realizing that wasn't a good idea especially with Lucy's surfacing insecurities.
"Ah…but princess…you're being so quiet. I don't know what you want."
Lucy poked her head out of the covers slightly, cocking her head to the side. Her lips pursed as she stared him down.
'I want this to work. I want to love you. I want—'
"You…just be here, with me. T-that's fine for now…" She whispered, her hands reaching out from the comforters to cling to his shirt.
Easing into the hold, he smiled soon placing another kiss onto her forehead. "So I'm guessing you're going to let me court you huh…?" He wondered, his hands finding her waist beneath the comforters. His curiosity perked at the feeling of something lacy hugging against Lucy's sides.
Ignoring the thought, he felt her nod against his chest, clinging closer to him.
"Okay then…my starlet." He smiled, not realizing a similar smile adorned the stellar mage's face.
Nuzzling up to him, she sighed. It only took minutes for her to doze off, entering sweet oblivion.
The last thing she heard was the sound of his voice.
"Sweet dreams princess."
..
..
..
..
..
..
'Sweet dreams my ass.'
Once again was she in a shadowed world of darkness, hinted with speckles of grey here and there. Lucy rubbed at her skin, finding herself in a white silk gown she couldn't remember even choosing to wear that night.
'I didn't even change…'
She looked down at her feet, her toes wiggling experimentally as she wondered if this was all real.
Was this really a dream?
She pursed her lips in thought. Her feet began to move beneath her, her mind blank until she realized it was her who was driving the motion. There was no puppetry behind all this. It was her own body following the thoughts of her mind; thoughts, driven by pure curiosity.
And curiosity killed the cat…so to say.
Driven like an animal to a watering hole, she thirsted for the answer to this damned world she found herself in night after night. The visit to this realm would not be futile. She wanted explanations.
One thing for sure she knew was the world around her was eerily silent. The pitter-patter of her feet hitting the unknown substance of the floor was lost. Nothing hit her ears, except that of a static noise; an annoying high pitched buzzing which disappeared and reappeared frequently.
Her feet continued along an invisible path, the noise suddenly returning after a moment of pure unadulterated silence. It was louder than before, and it was increasing in volume. Lucy flinched, her hand going to her ears. It didn't help at all as the noise was coming from no exact origin.
Her eyes twitched at the noise, the high-pitched squeals and low buzzes did not feel right at all to the girl. She could only shut her eyes in pain even as a glimmer of light passed through her eyelids.
Soon after, the noise of irregular notes had ceased. It became a pleasant hum, similar to a beating heart. The tune felt as if it was radiating warmth in the cold world she first fell into. One brown eye peeked open, wondering what had happened, only to find herself looking towards a familiar creature, who always appeared in the darkness in her dreams.
A lion.
It cocked its head aside, looking at the girl in the white gown. Feeling uncomfortable, Lucy crossed her arms against her chest at the penetrating green eyes.
"You female…are an interesting choice for the star wielder." The lion rumbled, the sound raspy as his maw opened and closed forming words Lucy easily understood. The stellar mage stood agape as she heard the feline talk fluidly.
A chuckle rolled off the lion's mouth. "Why do you look so shocked? Haven't we encountered each other before? In your dreams perhaps?" The cat grinned, his teeth shining from the glow emitted from the lion's fur. Lucy gulped, misunderstanding the pleasant smile for something more predatory.
She did recall the lion, always seeing it roar sadly as a small woman faded away into the pitch black. It was always the same thing when she saw the lion. It's cry was something she would never forget. As she began to form words on her lips to agree, she paused discovering she had no voice. Her hand lightly grazed her neck as she stared fearfully at the lion. If it attacked her now, there was no way anyone would hear her scream. Not like there was anyone else in here besides this annoyingly bright lion. She nodded slowly, her eyes not leaving the feline.
Again it laughed, amused at Lucy's discovery. "You have no rule here…much like as if you were a mere shadow upon the wall. Silent and meant to only be a mirror to another, in this world that is. However, that is a problem…"
With the flick of his tail, a set of glowing orbs flew past him, leading towards Lucy. Gasping silently, she stepped back, her hands in front of her in fear. She soon realized the orbs were not hurting her.
They felt warm in her hands, the light they gave off bright and lively. She stared at them in awe, fascinated at the display of magic. The orbs then coalesced into a gold feather pen, clean cut and new. She scanned the golden feather and its silver tip before looking at the lion. She gave a questioning look, gesturing to the pen then back to the animal.
"It is for you to talk—or to write if you are more technical." He tilted his head, easing her into writing something.
She blinked, wondering if the lion was insane. Surely, she couldn't use this. There was no ink! No paper! Her mental complaints jarred to a halt when she realized the pen in her hands was no normal pen. Hell, who expects a pen given to you by a lion—a glowing one at that—to be normal?She snorted, deciding to write the simplest question.
'Who are you?' Were the words scrawled in the air, the golden manuscript floating delicately and flowing in a wavelike fashion as it spun like ribbon towards the being that stood a small distance away. It raised its eyebrows at the question then at the writer.
Lucy put her hands to her hips and pouted, awaiting an answer.
The lion shook its head. "You Lucy Heartfilia, do not know me?" He asked.
Lucy widened her eyes, her hand immediately scrawling something quickly, into the air. The lion not awaiting a question moved closer to the girl leaving a trail of gold light in his wake.
'How do you know my name?' She wrote, her words expressing her shock. She gasped at the sudden closeness of the lion before her. Unlike before, the ribbon of words flipped to show the lion the sentence. His eyes glimmered.
"There is a reason for that Lucy. Much like the reason you appear here night after night. A reason—"
'Lucy.'
Two heads shot up at the sudden call. The lion growled, getting Lucy's attention. "—as I was saying, a reason I have no right to tell you yet. Time is short for you in this realm of the stars."
Lucy raised her hand once more to question again, only to find a paw on her wrist. Looking up, the lion shook his head.
"There is little you can ask, until you know who I am. My girl, how can you not know? Are you blind?" The lion stared.
'Lucy…'
Lucy frowned deeply ignoring the call of her name as she looked over the lion once more. It glowed, brightly in fact. The only thing that came to mind that seemed relative to the lion and the light was Loki.
She stilled, her fingers pressing tightly on the feather pen before she scrawled Loki's name into the air.
The lion smiled slightly. "You're getting warmer Lucy Heartfilia. But really, do you know my real name?"
'Lucy…!'
Before she had the chance to raise the pen, a sudden blinding light flashed at her eyes, the whisper of the lion's name leaving her lips as she felt herself awaken with soft cotton fabric brushing against her skin.
"Regulus…."
Erza had enough of calling Lucy who slept like a log in her bed. She also had enough of the strange assortment of clothing draped upon a nearby desk and chair set.
Tossing away the strange cup and string clothing piece she found in a drawer, she pulled open the curtains, the sun blasting forward onto Lucy's face.
"Lucy! Get up, we have to go!" Erza sighed, her frustration disappearing at the sight of the girl in bed. A bemused look appeared on her face.
'So that's why she had a tie on the chair…'
She never knew of what happened between the mage and her playboy after they sped off out of the guild garnering some shocked and upset faces. She didn't understand the guild's shock at the whole scenario anyway; Loki dragging her through the mess hall and Lucy blushing madly. Seeing Lucy on the bed however aroused her suspicions.
Erza prodded the girl, only to get her hand swatted away.
"Stop doing that…" Lucy grunted, turning in the bed as she creaked on eye open in annoyance.
"Well, I wouldn't be doing this if you didn't do a specific someone last night," Erza humored, leaning against a desk. "Lucy...Lucy...what drove you to doing such a deed?" She hummed before raising her eyebrow at a pair of sunglasses resting upon the desk. Snatching them up, she placed them onto her face, making several faces at the dazed girl.
Immediately she shot up, looking around to see if that 'specific someone' was around. Looking to the girl with the blue shades, Lucy noticed Erza shaking her head.
"He had to run an errand," She answered, noticing the stare Lucy was giving her. Erza saw the lion spirit a few minutes ago scrambling to find something before disappearing in a fog entirely. "It's a wonder how he was able to stay the night Lucy. Doesn't your magic keep him here?"
Lucy groaned, her hand wiping her face. "We didn't do anything or anyone he just put me to—damn it!" She exclaimed rushing to cover herself. She had realized she didn't have anything on, except for a lacy set of underwear she put on yesterday.
'Good job picking the finest day to wear these Lucy Heartfilia…'
Lucy snorted, realizing how she found herself in such indecent clothing.
'He must've noticed them…of course he'd strip me down to just this...pervert.'
She sighed deeply, flopping back into a pillow.
"I still don't get why you wear those frilly things Lucy….especially that thing around your chest—doesn't it bother with everything else?" Erza questioned, pulling off the shades and chucking them aside to the far corner of the room. Seeing Lucy blush and turn her head aside, Erza could only shake her head in confusion before frowning at a set of colorful bruises trailing Lucy's neck.
"Did he do that to you?" She pointed, to Lucy's neck. The thought of the lion spirit strangling the girl came into Erza's mind.
Lucy widened her eyes
"Gah! Erza! Get out!" She complained with a heavy blush upon her cheeks. Slapping a hand over her neck, she rushed to the bathroom to get dressed.
Natsu grumbled with his eyes narrowed in scrutiny toward Lucy who sat at a table searching through her mother's book. She hadn't taken the time to talk to anyone despite Erza who walked in with her and gave the stellar mage angry frowns.
Lucy sighed, flipping through another page as she nibbled slightly on the tip of a pair of blue shades. Natsu raised an eyebrow at the familiar object in Lucy's hands.
'Damn….why are they so familiar?'
"What are you staring at Natsu?" Lucy questioned, her eyes glancing up towards the male who somehow had leaned over her.
He only blinked before shooting away in quick apology. Situating himself farther away onto a bar bench, he continued to narrow his eyes at the girl, trying to recall why the hell Lucy seemed so different. Her clothing was as skimpy as normal. ("Hey!" She screeched, chucking something his way. He must've said it out loud.) Her hair was down, a more recent change to her features. Her scent—
Natsu twitched. A light bulb flickered on in his head.
"Have Lucy and Erza arriv—oh yes there they are," Makarov called from the stairs, hopping down with a disgruntled Grey in tow. "I need you guys to run another errand for me, include these two nitwits while you're at it." He snorted, pointing to Grey, who was being mocked by Kana for getting stuck on the balcony, and Natsu who was now glaring holes from afar into a befuddled Lucy.
Erza nodded, grabbing Natsu by the scarf and dragging him out to the front of the Guild.
Makarov blinked, he hadn't even told her what they were going to do! With a sigh, he shoved Grey out the front door, barely grazing Natsu and Erza with an elongated hand. Then he turned to the researching Lucy.
"Natsu's acting strange…Master." She mumbled feeling his gaze while she turned through pages of notes.
Giving Natsu a look, he shook his head. "His love life isn't as important as what I'll be telling you," Makarov frowned, crossing his arms. "So, ignore the moron for now."
("HEY! I ain't no moron!")
("Keep thinking that Natsu…")
("You wanna start somethin'?")
Lucy looked up. "What do you mean? He has no interest in me." Lucy scoffed, looking back down at the book halfheartedly. Even though her eyes saw words, none of it was computing as the thought of Natsu's love life came to fruition.
"It's in the boy's eyes. He's concerned about something and it seems it's you," He shrugged before taking his cane out and smacking it into the pages Lucy turned to. Her attention now laid solely on him. "Either way, I'll need you to go to Ambrosia."
"Wait what?…Master do you mean the beach!" The thoughts of white sand and clear water appeared through Lucy's mind. She couldn't wait to hit the resorts situated on Ambrosia's famous beaches. She surely needed some time to clear up her thoughts about a specific someone…possibly get a pedicure…
"Not on vacation, I'm afraid," Lucy frowned at his words. "This is more of a business trip," He answered, tapping his cane into Layla's spellbook. "Bob caught whiff of a beast appearing on Ambrosia beach. One of his members….Hibiki Laytis, I'm guessing, was sent along with guests from Lamia Scale to fight it off. Hibiki and one of the Lamia Scale members were not heard from since."
Lucy widened her eyes. What beast could've caused them to disappear? She only hoped the two were safe where ever they were lost.
"From what we know, someone did get back to their guild and she'll be in Ambrosia for you to talk to."
The stellar mage raised an eyebrow at the word she. Lucy had a strange feeling she knew this she from somewhere before. She pursed her lips.
Noticing her space out again, Makarov tapped harder into Layla's book. "Seriously girl, I need you to listen! Your mother's work is intertwined with this as for sure a beast that's described as a 'huge fucking crab that breathes fire' is obviously not an attraction at a five star beach. Someone must've found whatever lullaby it was and released it."
"So your saying—"
He nodded solemnly.
"Grimoire Heart is involved."
"Are you serious?" Grey gaped, staring at the hundreds of bikini-clad women running up and down the sandy beach. He grinned lecherously. Now only if—
"Don't get any ideas lover boy and keep your clothes on! You have Jubia to deal with at home." Lucy scowled, smacking him upside the head. There was no way in hell he'd get off scot-free with his ideas especially with Jubia as his girlfriend. She paused, realizing the information she had just spoke out loud wasn't official news. Well…it wasn't even news.
Grey scowled at Lucy, his eyes relaying a message saying, 'How the hell did you know?'
She only chuckled nervously before abiding her time by looking for Sherry, the girl she assumed would be in Ambrosia.
"So you and Jubia…?" Natsu grinned, leaning closer into Grey's violated face.
"Good choice." Erza commented to Grey as she paused to question how the girls fought in such clothing.
The group continued around before finally deciding to dress down. Lucy decided to go through her luggage for a sun dress and a scarf. The scarf looked strange on the girl, but no one decided to confront her about it. Grey and Natsu went for the more basic look and for once Grey's lack of attire was appropriate for Ambrosia. Erza deciding to stay safe remained clad in her armor…just in case.
A hearty chuckle caught the attention of the group as they filed out of a nearby lodge.
"Erza? Even after three years you wear such armor? Well at least you're a beacon on these sandy shores, the shine you give off! The shine!"
"Hey! It's the girl with that rat….what's her name?" Natsu mumbled over to Lucy who only face faulted at the question. The girl fumed, stomping up to Natsu and prodding him harshly on the chest. Angelica behind her chattered angrily.
"My name is Sherry you idiot! Too bad Lyon isn't here or I'd—"
"Where exactly is Lyon, Sherry?" Grey questioned interrupting her tirade.
Sherry frowned, her hands making work with the pink wrap tied across her waist. Her eyes lidded in sadness. Soon enough water swelled up in her eyes and tears began to fall. Quickly she ran into the chest of her large blue rat before turning towards Team Natsu.
"He disappeared." She whispered harshly.
"The monster was huge….large claws and it breathed fire—"
"It's a dragon! We're going to fight a dragon!" Natsu yelled excitedly, launching up and grabbing Happy by his front paws to spin him in the air.
"N-natsu!" He yelped, his vision going foggy before he blacked out in dizziness.
Lucy shook her head, pressing down on the blue shades on her face. "My mama never sealed a dragon lullaby."
"Heh. Tough luck Natsu." Grey scoffed, leaning against the wall.
Natsu glared at Grey as he slowed down in his spin quickly realizing his friend went limp in his grip.
The group, including Sherry and Angelica, sat in Lucy's hotel room. Erza, Grey and Natsu each had their own rooms respectively each one connected to the other. Lucy's room was large much like the other rooms, containing the normal necessities of a hotel suite along with a Jacuzzi and a stray newspaper left by the previous room owner.
The same newspaper that had a headline stating the city of Hepatica was attacked by a large three headed beast, later taken out by an unknown group of people.
Lucy sighed, her hands flattening out the edges of the paper Makarov gave her a while back. Many of the lullabies lay on the page crossed out magically; the only one not covered in streaks of red being The Warm Lullaby. Looking over the page in her mother's book, she stopped at a specific line, her finger indicating the monster Sherry was describing.
"It's a Karkinos, a large crab," She mumbled, somehow thinking about her stellar spirit, Cancer at the same time. Shaking her head out of those thoughts, before she accidentally summoned him, she continued down her mother's article searching for other information. Lucy raised her eyebrow in amusement at certain parts.
'Now this is interesting…'
Sherry tilted her head, her rat doing the same at Lucy's happy gestures. Pouting angrily, she waved her hands in the air. "Girl, stop studying that book! My Lyon is missing and we got to kill that damn monster to save my boyfriend!" She screeched, her hands landing flat on the carpeted floor. She then leaned towards Lucy who looked perturbed.
With a sigh, Lucy shut the book. Being civil towards the girl who Lucy knew hated her was quite hard to do, as she recalled many moments where Sherry's dolls attacked her.
"Yes I know…but…we can't kill it. We could only return it back to its normal form," She pointed to the parchment with the lullabies, specifically at the morning star. "That's the only thing we can do to stop it besides sealing it, which I can't do without the spell." She finished with finality, her finger now tapping at a part of Layla's book, which had a huge ripped page.
"I thought searching for anything that could stop it quicker would help." Lucy added quietly, her hand running down the spine of the book.
Sherry frowned, disgruntled.
"We might end up destroying a lot of things…" Erza muttered, knowing what Makarov would do if he heard a place like Ambrosia went off the map. He'd keel over then and there.
"We're going to have a reenactment of Poppy?" Grey questioned from his post.
"Possibly." Lucy replied, a grim expression on her face at the thought.
"Heh," Natsu chuckled as heads turned to the dragon slayer. "Still, we just got to knock it out right?"
Heads nodded. One seemed frustrated at the idea.
Natsu sniffled, rubbing his nose. His mouth curled in a grin. "Well then….let's get the party started! That beast's going down, Fairy Tail style!"
"Oh god…." He moaned, as the jet ski bobbed up and down in the waves of the Fiore Sea. He slacked against Grey's back, drooling, as they got closer to an island not too far from Ambrosia's coast.
Sherry from Angelica's back pointed to the island, directing Team Natsu to dock there.
Finally off the water, Natsu slumped onto the sand, which felt more like large rocks rather than the soft sand of Ambrosia. Grey frustrated at the dead weight he had to carry, dragged it further up the rock like beach to more grassy land where Lucy and Erza awaited them.
Happy fluttered down from the air before Lucy, handing her the book.
Sherry and Angelica plopped down as well. The Lamia Scale puppeteer sat on Anglica's shoulder, her eyes a bit distant as she looked into a far direction. Her small hand rose and pointed ahead.
"We were told that it came from here, on Anemone Isle. It attacked us a bit farther up from here and Hibiki and Lyon fell into an underground cavern. The Karkinos fell in as well…but it was still alive from what I saw. Fire plumed out of the holes. They're not hard to miss…" She trailed off, giving a small pat to Angelica. With a stream of chatter, she went back into the air.
"Hey wait!" Cried Lucy, aiming to reach for the rat. "Aren't you coming with us?"
Angelica stopped. Sherry looked down at Lucy and shook her head.
"If Lyon's dead…there's no way I'll be able to live with that. I'd rather hope he was alive than believe he was gone. So please…find him for me. Bring him home." With her last words, Angelica fluttered further away, glimmering tears sliding down Sherry's cheeks.
Lucy clenched her outreached hand bringing it to her side. With the nod of her head, the group began their trek into the forests of Anemone Isle.
Anemone Isle was covered in trees and shrubbery, rich with the colors of deep purples and blues. It was as if the place was covered in an night glow, despite the sun peaking through the high treetops above them. An occasional squawk of a bird would break the silence of the place…along with Happy's humming and growling stomach.
The sound of cascading water rushed to their ears as they trekked further. Natsu hurrying forward, quickly found himself before a ravine, a strange scene surrounded by rocks and a plethora of black lilies.
"Wasn't there supposed to be a hole in the ground here?" Lucy questioned.
Grey sighed and walked a bit away from the group to following the ravine, for the smell of the black lilies were quite annoying to his nose. "Maybe it's over—agh!" He yelled, his feet feeling the floor break beneath him, dropping him into complete darkness.
"Grey!" Erza, Lucy and Natsu called, each of them heading over to the hole before they each fell into the hollow ground.
Happy, confused, quickly dived in to follow them. His tail barely engulfed by the hole as it swallowed him.
A woman with long black hair stood in the fire light, held by another being. Her eyes lay on two males, one clutching his arm in sleep while the other lay limp against the other male's side with a huge gash across his leg. She tilted her head suddenly at the sound of screaming. A pleasant smile adorned her face.
"…We have visitors."
The fire bearer fidgeted the light casting on him as he turned a torch. A small tattoo of a thorned heart visible on his cheek shined as the fire cast itself on the orange ink.
"What do you want me to do Ultear?"
A smile adorned the woman's face, her long fingernails clawing at the glass orb in her palm.
"Let them find their friends…and the lullaby."
Eyes widened, and a mouth sputtered. "W-what? Are you kid—"
Ultear narrowed her eyes. "You heard what I said."
With an angry sigh, the fire bearer sifted through his cloak, pulling out a yellowed piece of parchment. Silver writing smeared upon it. His voice echoed through the cavern, a mist of magic flowing with every word.
Ultear frowned, placing her orb onto the ground to quickly throw an object down into a cavern.
The fire bearer's torch was next to fly into the dark.
From what they could see, a shadow grew, taking the form of a crustacean. It's roar echoing through the island's caverns.
"—Hey" A masculine voice called.
Lucy winced, her arm scratched up from the slide down into the cavern. She blinked, her head a bit jumbled at the drop. She remembered Grey falling into a hole and then they followed. Where was everyone?
"Crap…I should've checked if this place was magic or something—"
"Princess?" A voice rung out, as a hand reached out to her in the dark.
"Stop calling me—Loki?" She stopped in her complaint realizing whom she was talking to. Her hand ran across his face and her finger grazed his lips as she tried to see if it was really him.
His hands grazed across her arms, as he chuckled into her ear.
"Interesting greeting hun…why are you down here of all places?"
"I-I don't know. Grey fell and then…" She trailed off, unable to see anything. "Can you...?" She mumbled, requesting light.
"Uh...if I recall, I'll blind you for the next 24 hours? So yea, not possible," In the dark he scratched his head. "Why not call that unicorn of yours?"
'Oh I forgot.'
She paused, shuffling for her keys trying to recall the exact shape and form of the Monoceros gate. For sure, it had a spiral tip to it and the horse's head replaced the head of the key.
'Ah ha!'
Lifting the key ring up, she twisted, watching the glimmer and streams of white magic before a loud pop echoed in the cavern.
The clacking of hooves was evident along with the snorting of a horse.
'…?'
"Good gosh—It is extremely dark in here!" Cero whinnied.
"No shit Sherlock." Loki grumbled, angry at the horse. Maybe suggesting the unicorn was not a good idea. He had forgotten how pompous the animal was.
"Excuse me Leo, you ignorant feline! Honestly the nerve of animals the likes of you!"
"Watch me make mince meat of your rear you stubborn jackass!"
"How dare you! I'm a Unicorn!"
Lucy face palmed. "Cero, I'm sorry to summon you like this, but please light our way."
A silence cut through the bickering in the dark.
Cero snorted. "Fine. Fine then. As long as your lion does not touch my coat."
Lucy blinked, her eyes fluttering as light streamed into her eyes past the sunglasses still situated upon her face. Looking around, she realized how high of a fall she had looking above her at the hole. Cero stood before her, realizing where they really were and began trotting around to get a better look. He blared past Loki, blinding him as he rubbed at his eyes.
He looked quite different without his glasses.
"So your eyes aren't blue…." She mumbled as she stared at him. He caught her gaze.
"…but yours are…with my glasses." He replied, amused by the sight of her wearing them. So, that's where they had gone!
Hearing his comment, she quickly took them off and offered them back to him.
Loki shook his head.
"Don't worry. They look cute on you." He winked causing Lucy to smile softly before she smacked him on the arm in embarrassment.
"Let's get out of here…then maybe we could talk about other things." She said before calling over Cero so they can travel through the tunnels.
"Just talk? Why not continue with that night at—ow!" He cried as she punched him.
"Y-you're insufferable!"
"I love you too~"
"…Ouch."
"Erza? Erza is that you?"
"Yeah...it's me Natsu," Erza hissed, pulling herself up off the rocky floor. A spike of pain shot up her arm. It was movable but it hurt like a bitch. "I think I dislocated my arm." With a scowl, she popped back the shoulder, emitting a small cry. At least the pain was ebbing.
"Where is Grey? Happy? Lucy?" Natsu wondered, lighting a fire in his palm. A dull light was streaming from one of the caverns and getting closer. The other was dark and a rumbling was echoing from it.
Voices were coming from the lit hall, the light coming closer every second. It was the sound of hooves and whispering voices.
"Who are you?" Natsu yelled over to the light, causing it to stop for a moment and only to increase in speed. The clattering of the hooves increased in volume.
"Natsu—" Erza scolded, unsure if the light was even friendly.
"Natsu?" Lucy called, along with Cero and Loki. She quickly launched herself at him in a hug. "Thank goodness you're all okay…Natsu?" She questioned, noticing how stiff he was under her grip.
Natsu's eyes were furious at the male behind her. Loki seemed to catch on. Their eyes never wavered from the other.
Natsu finally understood why Lucy seemed so different, the blue sunglasses were blatantly obvious.
Lucy looked between the two while Erza shook her head. She noticed tense standoff building between the two testosterone driven men. Lucy stood oblivious.
"As much as I'd love to see you guys fight it out, we have to find Grey," Erza snorted, grabbing Natsu out of Lucy's grip. "Lucy, keep Loki with you."
Natsu growled at the command.
Lucy nodded automatically not understanding what just happened. Tugging on Loki's cuffs, she pulled him along, soon realizing his hand tightly wound against hers.
"C'mon…we got to find the lost sheep."
The said lost sheep was scrambling about.
The roaring of fire behind him was not a pleasant sign. However, he did find the two lost mages. Hibiki and Lyon were with him being pushed along in a transmutated ice cart. All in the meanwhile the trio were under the attack of a strange crab like being chasing them around.
"What the fuck!" He yelled as the Karkinos roared, its large claw hitting the ceiling. He mentally smacked himself for deciding to look around and then fall into a pit, right before a huge-ass fucking crab that breathed fire.
He so was going to take a vacation after this.
Honestly he was getting lucky as he ran through the caverns, barely any light guiding him except for now and then the beast breaking through the caverns and letting light stream in.
But there was this strange light coming closer, with the sound of thundering hooves.
"…Grey!" Voices yelled to him.
He widened his eyes in recognition as he sped to them; Lucy mounted on Cero as she wielded the Sweet Lullaby pausing to launch a few arrows at the Crab and Natsu, Erza and Loki dashing forward immediately as they began to make haste with returning the beast to its morning star state.
Cero whinnied as he stopped before Grey sniffing the unconscious mages in the ice cart. "Why in heavens—are those humans dead?"
"Hush Cero…." Lucy patted before dismounting. "Grey go help, I'll take care of these guys." She smiled, not wanting to get involved here anymore. There was something else she was deeply concerned with, a specific someone who wasn't with them.
"But—"
"Don't worry, I'll handle them!" She grinned, telling Cero to place them onto his back. Reluctantly he did so before Lucy led Cero to get out of the tunnels.
It was havoc. The ceilings were crumbling at the chaos happening in the caverns. Lucy panted as she ran with Cero through the caves her mind boggled with the layout of the place. It was a maze full of twists and turns and ridiculous to go through if one didn't have a map. If only she was able to go through all the tunnels at once…..
"Wait, Cero stop." She commanded to the Unicorn, causing him to cock his head aside with the weight upon his back.
"Hurry up Mistress Lucy, this is hard on me…and on you." He replied, referring to the magic Loki and Cero were drawing from her.
She waved it off. True she was a bit winded but that didn't faze her. She needed to use this key. It was a fox head key, the teeth replaced with three foxtails.
'Open! Door to the Fox…'
"Vulpecula!" She yelled, turning the fox key, summoning a red fox with three tails. Its smiling eyes greeted Lucy.
"Hello Lucy Heartfilia. It's been quite a while. Once every other week is our contract no?" It spoke, its voice heavy with a French accent.
Lucy nodded. Cero only narrowed his eyes, before shaking his head. He seemed disgusted with every other being besides himself and Lucy.
"Very well then. Pirouette is my name, what shall I help zee with Master Heartfilia?
Lucy smiled, enamored with the cute fox. Patting her head, Lucy asked Pirouette to scout the caverns for an exit along with a certain feline. She hoped one exit led to the ravine. It made sense if the caverns opened into it.
Pirouette bowed her head, her smiling eyes opening as she split into several more foxes. Her three tails merged into one. The clones dashed through the caverns while one fox stayed with them as she sat in concentration listening to the rest of her kin.
"My master…it will take some time—"
The roaring of the Karkinos was getting louder. Heads turned to Pirouette.
Pirouette blinked.
"Okay….maybe a few seconds."
Finally Pirouette's tails returned, and her eyes returned to their normal smiling selves. At the same time, another fox scampered out of a tunnel, holding a certain blue feline in its maw. The cat's large orbs seemed frantic, as it tried to flail while his scruff was held by the fox.
"Lucy? I'm scared…" Happy cowered, looking at the other fox, which was certainly much larger than him. He held the book out as a shield hoping not to be eaten.
Lucy reassured him that was not the case as Pirouette's clone placed him in Lucy's hands, grinning all the same.
Then much like the other clones, it disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
Pirouette nodded, spinning into the direction to the ravine. "We can go—" She began only to pivot towards the source of a rumbling noise.
Eyes widened.
'Oh no…'
The wall collapsed behind them, revealing the dark blue shell of the Karkinos. Erza stationed on its shell drove several of her swords into the beast while it collapsed into the ground from a high kick supplied by Loki and his Regulus magic. Natsu and Grey, sliding beneath the large crab, blasted its legs all in one fluid motion.
"W-what?" She looked agape. The caves shaking harder at the damage created.
'It got here so fast!'
"Master Heartfilia! We must go! Safety yes?" Pirouette cried, nodding in fear before dashing into the caverns to the exit. Cero followed after, holding to his mission of caring for the unconscious mages upon his back.
Lucy looked divided, wondering what she should do. The beast was still alive and kicking, looking as if it wouldn't turn into its morning star form anytime soon. She hesitated, revealing her bow once more aiming for the eyes of the Karkinos.
"Lucy don't!" Loki yelled as he dodged a claw barreling down on him. "Just get out of here!"
"Yea Luce! We got this bastard!" Natsu growled, blocking fire with fire.
With a sigh, she nodded, following down the lit path the noise dulling behind her. They told her to run, it was what they wanted right? They were fine….they were all fine….
'Fuck it. They're not fine.'
She turned around immediately running back, her energy depleting. It didn't seem like it was a good idea, but who was there to scold her? However before she could travel any further, she leaped back at the sound of crumbling rock.
She saw the faces of her friends fighting in the cavern, she saw the sparks of metal hitting rock, fire clashing with fire and ice melting away into a cool haze.
And she saw the shocked faces (and wished they saw her own,) as the cave opening collapsed before her.
Fin~ Ch.8
A/N: And I am back! From an extended vacation which never existed!
I thank you all for everything as always, and I am thankful for the comments and suggestions.
I do apologize however for my extended absence, as I know it wasn't just related to school work. (honestly, I don't have a test every single day, that's ridiculous.) Mainly it was plot-wise, since I had to rewrite several points of it, as those said points had holes in them along with the fact that they were improbable.
That along with my little mind wandering into new fascinations, the need for more research (Which does constitute a lot of this story. Go ahead and find the underlying meanings of almost every single thing in here!), growing plot bunnies for other stories (Gosh these little ones are rabid!) and whatnot have bogged me down.
Oh and strangely, I've been more accustomed to calling Lucy and Loki as one being instead of two: Luki, Locy etc. My sister who doesn't know much about Fairy Tail, but knows the pairing, thought it was funny as I jumbled up their names in normal conversation.
So yes, I hope the chapter was satisfying! I'll be writing soon. (Sticks the normal 'Please Review' comment here.)
