Chapter 10 already, time goes by so fast. Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites.
Lucy frowned slightly, trying to think of a way to respond to Loke's question. There were many reasons she tended to be standoffish when someone showed any interest in her. Despite the want for attention and pride in her own appearance, there was a lack of knowledge when it came to how to handle certain situations. Like how to act when a guy liked her. She freaked out enough when Mirajane mentioned Natsu having a thing for her and that turned out to be completely wrong. Thinking he was asking her out when he only wanted to borrow Virgo, she was never going to live that down.
"I-It's just embarrassing… and half the time I don't know what to say," the blonde admitted. "Compliments are fine but when it comes to the other thing… I don't mean to push people away, it's just a reaction." Lucy stopped her sentence there, hoping that was a good enough answer for him.
"Maybe you should listen to what someone has to say before rejecting them completely," Loke suggested. "It's not that hard hearing someone out."
"Easy for you to say. You're used to that kind of attention," she replied with a sigh. "And it's not all that simple when you get noticed by guys that flirt with anyone. Like Hibiki, Ren, and Eve. I'm pretty sure they say just about the same thing to any girl."
"They never change," he mused to himself. The spirit knew The Trimens members pretty well since Karen was in Blue Pegasus and dating Hibiki for quite some time. "For all you know, the right guy for you could be closer than you think."
She saw the way he moved a little bit closer and she lost the conviction to render a coherent response. He was obviously referring to himself without saying it directly. Giving him a chance to prove his feelings wasn't the difficult part. It was the mere fact that they were master and spirit. To make things more problematic, they were separated by two different worlds. On top of it all, she didn't know what it was she felt for him. But that shouldn't even be a question. Things had to say platonic between them.
"Hey you guys! Erza's back," Mirajane called out, startling the blonde, who was in deep thought at the moment. Lucy practically fell out of her seat as soon as the outside voice reached her ears. Loke on the other hand shifted further away from the celestial mage in a matter of seconds. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything," she said in her usual soft tone. Having the feeling she did, nervous laughter escaped her lips before an apology was given.
"You weren't," Lucy remarked with a shake of her head. "Anyway, I should probably talk to Erza alone. You don't mind do you?"
"No, go right ahead," Loke sighed heavily to himself. The last thing he wanted to do was force his feelings upon her. She had to see if for herself, but even if she did, there would be many complications when it came to maintaining a relationship. Making it a rather daunting thing to ponder at, despite how he felt about Lucy.
The hazel eyed man didn't feel the S-class wizard's look of concern towards him. He was too busy watching her walk away until she was lost amongst the crowd of people.
Erza smiled upon seeing her friend approach. "Mira told me you wanted to talk to me about something," she said, curious at what it could be. Lucy nodded her head, taking a seat at one of the tables that were more secluded from the other guild members. Lucy wore a serious expression on her face, therefore the armored mage knew whatever needed to be said was no joking matter. She too became solemn. "So, what's this about?"
"We might have found a way to get Loke back to the Celestial World," Lucy told her. She crossed her arms and leaned on the table. "There's only one problem though. Loke and I found a similar incantation spell that might be able to help us if we were able to talk to someone who knows how to perform it. Levy thinks it would help us decipher the code easier if she was able to understand the form of magic it was drawn from."
"Okay, but what does this have to do with me? If you need my help with something all you have to do is ask," the redhead said back in a humble voice. Looking up at the blonde, she could see she was a little hesitant to continue.
"Well, you see the magic we need to know more about is the kind that Jellal uses," Lucy informed her, speaking in a low tone. She didn't know how Erza was going to react hearing this. "I know he's in jail but I figured if you came with us we'd have a better chance at getting the Council to let us talk to him. But I understand if you'd rather not see him right now."
"Jellal?" his name came out in a small whisper. It was hard to know what was going through her mind at the moment; however for a second she saw the wizards eyes soften. The blue haired man had caused her so much trouble in the past and yet she still had very strong feelings towards him.
Just from seeing the way they were with one another that one time, the young Heartfilia understood why she would be having hard time figuring out what to say. The two of them were meant to be but fate always ripped them apart in the cruelest of ways.
"This information is absolutely necessary to retrieve?" Erza asked once she was able to find her voice again.
"Yes," the blonde mage reluctantly answered. "Like I said, if it's too hard for you to see him again, you don't have to come. I just thought you should know and considering how the Council members see you as a highly respectable wizard. It would probably be beneficial for you to be with us."
Lucy's eyes lowered to the table. She hated seeing Erza like this especially after knowing their difficult past. A long silence passed between them before someone spoke up.
"If it's that important, I'll go," Erza declared. "Loke is a member of Fairy Tail and it's my duty to do all I can to help him out… I just hope Jellal regained at least some of his memory. If not, it's hard to say how helpful he can be."
She tried putting up a strong front, but her heart wavered at the thought of seeing him again. What would she say when she saw him? What would he say? Simply put, it would be awkward. Although things seemed to have a way of smoothing out once a conversation started.
"Are you sure?" Lucy asked. She could tell her friend was holding her feelings back, trying her best to be stoic about the whole situation, but she knew better than to believe her passive attitude. Erza gave a nod of reassurance so for now she wouldn't question her further. "Okay, we'll be leaving soon. Just let me know when you're ready to go."
Lucy left and when back to where Loke was, hoping she did the right thing by asking Erza to come along.
Erza, Lucy, and Loke headed to the Magic Council's Fiore Branch by train. Levy decided to stay behind and try to find out some more information. Natsu wanted to come along but Erza said it would be better if he didn't. She didn't want him losing his temper if things didn't go as planned and end up getting them thrown in prison again.
The ride there was mostly silent but moments of quite conversation occurred. Within a few hours they reached their destination. Erza took the lead into the building, saying it was best for her to speak with them alone and told the two of them to wait outside the room. Lucy was about to object but Loke silenced her.
"She has talked to the Council before, so it's better that we don't go inside," the lion spirit told his key owner. She nodded her head and leaned up against the wall waiting for Erza to return. Loke soon joined her, resting his back against the hard surface as well. The morning event's still ran through his mind and the obstinate silence between them soon became unsettling.
"Have you been here before?" Lucy asked, trying to start conversation.
"Yeah, a few times actually," he replied with a nod. "After some jobs I would have to stop by since most of the ones I took involved catching criminals. Much like the ones I saved you from a while back."
"Yeah, those guys were kind of creepy," she said, regarding the past event. "To think things could have turned out differently if we didn't run into each other that night. We would never have talked and I wouldn't have known something was wrong until it was too late."
"Why were you out at that hour anyway?" Loke questioned. "Shouldn't you be more aware of the fact that some people are just waiting for a girl, such as yourself, to be walking alone in the streets."
The blonde crossed her arms. "Let's just say Erza, Natsu, and Gray take pillow fights to the extreme and I kind of got knocked out of the room. So, I decided to take a walk and wait for their apocalyptic war to be over."
"Those guys can make anything into a competition," he uttered. "The five of you certainly make an interesting team."
Lucy agreed with him and turned her attention to the door. "I wonder what's taking her so long. I hope everything's going well. Those Council Members aren't very flexible when it comes to the rules, but I'm sure that Erza could convince them to give us some time to talk with Jellal." Loke knew the Spirit King was the same way, in either place laws were enforced and punishment for breaking them could be severe.
"Who is this Jellal guy anyway and how does Erza know him? Considering the fact that he's in jail, are you sure that we should be asking him for help?" Loke inquired, taking things into consideration.
Lucy was aware that he was already her spirit by the time Erza was brought to the Tower of Heaven, but he had no idea what happened there or what went on during the whole Nirvana thing. She should have explained things earlier to him.
"I'll tell you everything I can later. Now just isn't a good time to talk about it," the blonde replied. Of course she would leave out any details Erza wouldn't want her to say. Thinking about past events, she was reminded of something. "There's actually something I've been meaning to ask you about."
"And what would that be," Loke asked, looking down at her.
"Why were you on a date when I needed your help in Edolas?" she asked dejectedly. "You said you'd be there anytime I summoned you but I guess going out with another girl took priority over me?" Lucy lowered her arms from their crossed position, apparently more bothered over the whole thing than she led him to believe.
He wasn't going to tell her the actual reason he went on that date. He needed to get Lucy off his mind and thought another girl could distract him, but he should have known from past experience that it never works. "I sent Virgo in my place, so it's not like I completely abandoned you. If you and I went out then perhaps I wouldn't feel the need to date someone else."
Lucy gave him a doubtful look. "No offense, but you're not exactly a one girl type of guy." She turned towards him a little more, wondering what kind of response he would make. She didn't mean anything by it, yet what she said was kind of true.
"Depends on the girl," he countered with a small smile.
"Have you ever even been in a serious relationship before?" Lucy turned her focus towards the ground, feeling a slight flutter in her chest at the notion, making it hard time maintaining eye contact after a comment like that.
"The thing is I can't say I have. After leaving Blue Pegasus, I always dated more than one person at a time. Even before the whole ordeal with Karen, I just never found much of a reason to. No relationship I've ever been in was meant to last forever. Although, you should know you mean more to me than any of those girls." She saved his life after all and gave him a reason to keep living. How could he not have fallen in love with such a beautiful and compassionate woman such as her?
Before Lucy could make a response the doors opened revealing Erza and a small purple frog-like creature besides her. He had an unpleasant look on his face the moment he stepped out into the hallway. He carried a small wooden staff that was coiled at the top and had the symbol of the Rune Knights on it.
"This is Nadal," Erza announced. "He's one of the guards in charge of watching over Jellal. He'll be accompanying us while we speak with him."
Lucy suddenly moved away from Loke when she noticed Erza looking at them. Gazing down at the frog-like being, she tried her best to act friendly towards him, despite his sour look. "Thanks for letting us talk to Jellal-"
"I was the one who opposed to this from the start," he said interrupting the blonde. "I heard about how you tried to stop his arrest. If anyone attempts anything funny the Council will have you thrown in jail," he added, pointing his staff at her as it glowed a deep purple. No one knew what it was capable of but they didn't want to find out either.
Lucy found herself backing up into Loke's chest as the weapon was fairly close to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she could feel his fingers tighten. The spirit glared down at the frog for threatening the Celestial Wizard. "You shouldn't swing your weapon around so lightly," he mentioned. "In the end I don't care who you are or how important you stature is. If you harm Lucy, I can't be held accountable for my actions. So, if I were you I would lower the staff." His voice came out more intimidating than either of the girls though it would have. The blonde knew he was protective over her, but standing up to a member of the Council was just crazy.
The frog ignored the warning and took lead heading down a number of hallways and down a few flights of stairs with the others close behind. Lucy could tell Erza was a bit tense just from the way she was walking. Seeing Jellal after all this time wasn't going to be easy for her. Lucy felt a little bit bad for forcing a reunion upon them, but she also believed they needed to have one.
They passed by many cells until they came upon the one Jellal was in. He was moved from the other prisoners quickly for this specific meeting. Instead of bars like a normal holding facility used, there was a cerulean magical barrier most likely there to block any magic from aiding in an escape.
The blue haired man looked up the moment he heard impending footsteps. The first one he set eyes on was the redhead herself. "Erza," he muttered out with the slightest bit of shock. Surly he wasn't expecting a visit from her anytime soon. Looking at one another, they both remained silent.
Loke had never seen Erza this way before. Her stance was more together than normal and under speculation; he'd say she even looked a tad nervous.
"I'm only giving you twenty minutes so make it quick," Nadal remarked, standing off to the side.
"Erza, what are you doing here?" Jellal asked. His eyes stayed focused on the woman clad in armor, hardly believing she was a mere foot away. He stood up to be more at her level. However, she suddenly turned away from him. Knowing they had a time limit, she couldn't just talk to him like she wanted to.
"I came because one of my friends needs your help," Erza replied, getting back to her more businesslike voice. He nodded for her to continue regardless of the fact that many questions raced through his head. She motioned for the spirit to come over. "I don't have time to explain everything, but Loke has spell placed over him and because of it he can't return to the Celestial World. His magic is being blocked and we need to find a way to remove it as soon as possible. The markings are similar to some of the spells you use. Could you take a look at it and see if you could tell us anything about it, preferably a way to get rid of it?"
"I'll see what I can do," Jellal replied, tearing his gaze from childhood friend. Loke gave his jacket to Lucy and showed the markings to the wizard. He looked at it the best he could through the blue colored wall separating them.
After a minute of studying the mark, he turned back to Erza. "I have only seen this specific kind of magic one time before. But the details are sketchy at best."
"Since Loke isn't human, we're pretty sure it has a different effect on him," Lucy said, speaking for the first time. "It was meant for me and we don't know much about it so if you can tell us anything, I'm sure it will be useful." The smallest amount of guilt was still evident in her voice which bothered Loke more than it should have. She watched as Jellal brought his hand up in thought. The only sound heard was that of a foot tapping from Nadal.
"With something like the self-destruction spell the only one who could deactivate it was the one who knew the cancellation code. I'm going to say that only the person who put it on can break it." Jellal informed them.
"So you're saying that we can't do anything to get rid of it then?" Lucy asked.
"I'm not saying it's impossible for someone else to do it, it just won't be easy. If I was allowed to use magic, I'd probably be able to figure it out and remove it a lot quicker than someone who doesn't use the same type." He looked down for a moment before glimpsing over at the blonde. "The thing about this spell is, it's doing more than just preventing him from returning back to his world."
"What other effect could it possibly have?" She grew worried at the tone of his voice.
"Besides blocking his magical energy, it's slowly draining it and we all know what happens to Celestial Spirit's when their magic is gone," Jellal told her. Lucy grew tense at his words, almost wanting to say he was lying.
"They disappear," Loke said in a somber voice. His posture was still, but his mind was attempting to contemplate Jellal's words.
"How much time do we have?" Erza questioned, urgently. "It's already been a few days."
Jellal thought about it for a moment. "I can't say for sure. It all depends on how much magic he has left and how quickly it's leaving his body."
"I lived in this world for three years before starting to fade away," Loke mentioned. "I'm sure it won't be that difficult to be here for a few weeks even. If needed, I could always rely on Lucy's magic." He didn't like the thought of using any of the blonde's energy though. Despite the different circumstances, that was the exact reason why Karen was killed. Even if Lucy was stronger and could call out more than one spirit at a time, the idea was formidable.
"Even so, I don't want to see you going through that again," Lucy said dismally, turning towards Loke. Her hangs were together, almost as if she was trying to keep herself calm.
"It will be fine." Loke smiled in assurance, nonetheless the new found information was hard to handle.
Erza faced the blue-haired man again. "We already have two people who can use Letter Magic, but they can't do much of anything without knowing what to look for."
"It's not difficult. Tell them to do more research on Darkness Magic. If they learn more about it, then it shouldn't be hard for them to either rewrite the inscription or cancel it all together. But it's not going to be a simple thing to do." he told them, aware that time would be running out soon. "Other than what I've said, I can't be of any more help."
"That's alright. You did more than enough," Erza told him with a small and somewhat sad smile. "At least now we have a decent starting place. I'm sure that Levy and Freed can figure out the rest."
"You have ten minutes left," Nadal told them as he was still in an angry mood. He had been watching them closely to make sure they weren't planning on helping him escape or anything.
Lucy looked back and forth between Erza and Jellal. She wanted to ask more questions, but knowing they both had unresolved issues, she decided they should have the chance to talk with one another even if it was just for a few minutes. "We're going to give you guys some time to say goodbye," the young Heartfilia stated, taking hold of Loke's hand, pulling him with her. "Thanks for all the help."
"Lucy, wait," Erza called out, but by that time they were already gone. She looked up at Jellal and his eyes fell upon her at the same moment. Alone for the first time in a while, she was at a loss of what to say first. There was simply too much going through her mind to know how to properly start a discussion. However, she wasn't about to waste the opportunity.
At least they're actually talking about relationships. I would say that counts as progress. Technically, it's only been a few days that Loke's been staying with Lucy and I don't want to rush things between them. So, I'm trying to develop it slowly, as you guys can probably tell. Since I left the chapter off this way, there's obviously going to be more Jerza in the next one. I hope I'm keeping them in character. Don't forget to review.