Just Misunderstood

Chapter 10

Sorry for the late update, I was just having a really hard time with this chapter. It was slow but it has some really important elements in it. But just a reminder, this is going to be a long, slow story. Romance is going to start soon but I wanted it to happen naturally. So it will take a while, and I'm sorry for that but just bare with me.

Loke just laid there, a smile on his face. He tried to stop it but he couldn't as the weight on his chest reminded him of why he was so happy. Her soft breathing was present on his neck and it sent chills down his back every time. He pulled the blanket that Virgo had dropped off over them both and hugged Lucy closer. She had dozed off while crying into his chest, naturally he had laid back with her, not to his own benefit, he assured himself. So he stared at the roof of the cave, the uneven rocks catching the light that flooded in from the outside. He ignored the cold stones underneath his back and focused on the warmth on his chest. He looked down at her, the girl he loved, the girl he treasured, the girl he would protect with everything he had. He, himself didn't know if he loved her in a romantic way or just generally. All he knew was that becoming Leo, for her, was the best thing he had ever done in all his years of life.

He was so happy in that instant, but his mind began to drift to other things. Something wasn't right with her new guild, something was very off. All of Lucy's spirits felt it, like she was under some kind of deep illusion, her mind seemed very cloudy at times now. Whenever she used her magic, she would lose control, she couldn't comprehend that she was hurting people, she wanted to hurt people. Loke shifted as Lucy moved, he looked down at her. Her blonde hair was so much longer than usual, the ends were dyed black, it looked healthy, the blonde color not fading. He smiled, that meant she was eating and sleeping well. Her magic didn't seem like it was corrupting her, which means the lacrima was setting right, her body wasn't rejecting it. Loke couldn't really think of anything else physical that could be causing her behavior. He leaned back and sighed, he wasn't going to worry about it now. He was going to enjoy this moment, with this girl.

And he laid there. He dozed off multiple times, so he lost track of time. He heard the trees outside ruffle, and the wind blow through the cave's mouth, he saw the light dim and the time pass. He didn't really realize how long they had been there until he felt his magic began to waver, he had come out on his own, not wanting to use her power. But, of course, he could stay out longer than most but it was slightly uncomfortable. He was pulled from his thoughts when Cobra stepped into the room. His coat reflecting light, and his hair looking brighter than it was. "You should probably go. I need to wake her up, we finally got what we wanted so she's gotta come help," his voice was stiff and he looked off to the side. Not meeting Loke's eyes.

"You care for her," Loke's voice came before he could stop it. He clenched his eyes closed and opened them. Silently cursing at himself.

Cobra's eyes snapped to Loke's, and his purple irises surrounding his slitted pupils pulsated. His jaw clenched and unclenched, "Not any more than a guild member would," he said minutes later. "Now hurry up and leave, we've got things to deal with."

Loke scoffed, "Quite demanding aren't we?" He slid Lucy off of his chest and onto the blanket. "Just can't wait for me to leave her alone with you."

Cobra rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm not going to do this… boyfriend drama."

"I'm not her boyfriend," Loke sat up, "Romantic relationships between spirits and wielders is strictly forbidden." He stood up, stepping closer to the man.

Cobra rolled his eyes again, "Doesn't mean you don't love her," he pointed to his ears, "Her necklace blocks her own thoughts, not yours."

Loke flinched as a bright red blush crossed his face. He looked away from the snake bearer and willed it away. Either or would have worked.

Cobra smirked, "Ha, gotcha," he ignored the twisting feeling in his gut and spoke again, "But seriously, go," he walked over to Lucy and bent over, pinching her cheek. And with a little blush still apparent on his own cheeks, the spirit melted away into gold.

Cobra watched the spot the lion had been, golden particles still floated in the air. His eyes moved to Lucy, and he pinched her cheek harder. "Lucy." She moved. "Lucy." She groaned. Cobra rolled his eyes for the billionth time that day and pinched her nose. Her mouth fell open but he held her chin, forcing her mouth to close. It took a second but she sat up, sputtering and coughing. "Oh, hey," came Cobra's innocent greeting.

Lucy glared at him, "You couldn't just wake me up like a normal person?" She rubbed her cheek. Wondering why it hurt.

"I tired, but you were to busy sleep fucking your lion," he smirked.

Lucy blushed, "I was not! I dreamed about a jewelry heist, not that that matters, but I did not have a sex dream about Loke!"

Cobra stood, "Mhmm, sure."

Lucy stood as well, a blush still on her face, "It's not like you could tell! You can't hear my thoughts," she crossed her arms and huffed.

"Yeah, but did you know how easy it is to take it off while you sleep," he added nonchalantly and turned to leave. He smirked as she stuttered and blushed. And she ran after him as he walked out.

~JM~

"Soft enough to offer life, tough enough to drown it away~," Cobra's voice was soft as he walked. He didn't really mean to say that out loud but…

"What?" Lucy asked. She looked up at him, her brow raised in confusion.

Cobra looked at her, his eyes piercing through her own, he opened his mouth. Wondering if he should tell her what he meant. "Nothing. It's just what you are to me."

Lucy scoffed while she rolled her eyes, "Sure." She kept walking, her hand moving branches out of the way and letting them go, hitting the snake bearer behind her. He only glared as he followed. They walked for a ways, the trees all blurring together. Purple flowers and brown patches of dirt were in clumps through the forest. She bent down one time while she was waiting for Cobra to finishing pissing on a tree, and she noticed a small purple flower with dark blood dried on the petals. She assumed it was from one of the light guilds or an animal had been injured. She didn't know why she felt compelled to pick it, but she did and Lucy put the stem into one of her pockets, letting the tainted petals peak out from the fabric.

They continued on, Lucy asked where they were going but only got a few vague answers in response. So she followed him, she always followed him.

She focused on his back, his shoulders were broad and he was tall. His muscles apparent even through the layers of clothing he wore. His hair was short, but it was thick. The maroon color changing to lighter and darker shades as he passed through the light and shadows of the trees. His legs were long, and the maroon pants he wore matches his hair perfectly. Black straps were wrapped around the maroon fabric and tied tight around the edges of his black boots. His hands rested in his pockets and his posture seemed relaxed. Cubellios was hanging from his shoulders and her green eyes were watching the shadows on the ground. Her eyes every once and while would land on Lucy.

And the snake, every time, seemed to smile. Then her eyes would move away, and she would become interested in something else.

They walked until, eventually, they reached another cave. This one was different than the last one. It was cold, and vast, Lucy could tell as she heard the sound of her foot steps disappear into the darkness. But strangely enough, as she was enveloped in darkness her eyes adjusted, her irises contracted away from her pupils as they tried to absorb as much light as possible. And she shouldn't have been able to see, but she could. The darkness was brightened up as she blinked. Cobra's own eyes did the same and he watched her.

"It's the dragon slaying magic. It's enhancing your senses. Vision is your most powerful sense so it's the first to be strengthened," he said as he stepped forward. Lucy nodded and continued, the strain on her eyes giving her a headache. She resisted the urge to clamp them shut and followed Cobra, but even with the eyesight she tripped on rocks and old branches. And only when she fell into Cobra for the third time he grabbed her hand with a grumble.

His hand held hers tight, he pulled her forward, making sure she didn't fall into him again. It only got annoying the first time. He watched the darkness ahead of him, he heard Brain speaking, he heard everyone else deep in the cave. It took them awhile to reach said voices but when he did he couldn't take his eyes off Lucy, as she stood next to him. Her hand was still intertwined with his own and he pretended to forget it was there.

He looked towards Brain, he was standing over the girl, a sick smirk on his face. The sky maiden was seated on the ground, her eyes had tears in them but she did not let them fall. Midnight was awake now and standing, his presence probably not welcoming for the little girl. Racer, was seated on the ground panting, sweat running down his face. Angel was seated next to him, her hand on his knee and her eyes were trained on the floor in front of her. Hoteye was leaning against the wall, his gold chain being played with by his hands.

Lucy couldn't help but focus on the girl before her. Brain stood still, his face one of malice. "You will heal him," was all he said.

"No! That's not my Jellal! Mine was from another world!" she sobbed.

Lucy eye widened as she was just now noticing the tall coffin that was standing behind Brain. The huge iron doors were open and a man was hanging inside, his arms and body wrapped in chains. His skin was pale, and decorating it was patches of blue light. It was an eerie glow of blue, one she was sure she had seen before but no memory came to mind. On his right cheek was a red tattoo, or birthmark. It framed his eye, which was closed, the red lines of the mark throwing her off. Then his hair, beautiful blue. She was so sure she had seen this man before, everything about him was screaming at her to remember. Remember something about anything about anyone. She locked eyes with Cobra and she saw the tiniest glimmer of panic in them. She narrowed her eyes at the other slayer, he did the same back. Daring her to challenge him in any serious form. She would have too, Cobra knew it, Angel knew it, Brain knew it. But everything in the room froze when Wendy was thrown across the room. Lucy snapped to attention, her eyes watching the small girl crumble to the ground. Lucy, for some reason, felt nothing. No happiness, no horror, she just watched as the girl sobbed into her hands. She now had a deep cut present on her forehead and the blood was raining down her face.

"You will heal him. This is Jellal. He raised you in those woods, all by himself. He gave up parts of his childhood for you. And you're saying you won't heal him? You won't repay the favor?" Brain's voice was ice and his look was even colder.

"That isn't my Jellal!" She cried. Cobra looked at her, he was searching.

"Mystogan?" He said out loud.

Lucy flinched as a sudden joint went through her head.

Cobra pretended to ignore Lucy's reaction to the name and he continues. "Edolas? Woah, counterparts?" He listened closer. His mind whirring as he processed the existence of a different world.

~JM~

I was so upset. I was angry and sad. I had never felt anything like this. My eyes were wide as I smelled her scent. It was so foreign but oh god, how I remembered it. In a sudden flash of blonde and black I felt the hard floor meet my back. Her familiar arms touched me, her hands, her legs. I was so afraid to open my eyes, so afraid to see if I was wrong. But I knew I was right. My eyes cracked open, and my vision was filled with her. Big, beautiful brown eyes, creamy fair skin, straight blonde hair. She was wearing black leather, which was strange, but I didn't care as I wrapped my arms around her.

"I found you," the words left my mouth. And then I woke up.

Natsu's eyes cracked open. His vision blurry. It took him a few moments to realize he was laying on the hard forest floor. Hibiki and some of the other were sitting near by. The said man was typing vigorously on archive and the others were talking softly.

Natsu's eyes found Erza leaning against a tree, her eyes were closed but her eyebrows trembled. "Erza?" His voice was groggy and his throat dry.

Her head raised and she met his eyes. They were red, and her face was blotchy. "They took Wendy," her voice was soft but it cracked with pain. He asked what happened, his voice sounding so far away. He didn't have the energy to be angry, his muscles ached and his head pounded. He just watched Erza's mouth move and listened to the words that left it. She described everything that had happened with Lucy. Well, fake Lucy, they had decided. Gray was seated not too far away from them, his back leaning against a tree, the hard bark scraping at his skin but he didn't mind. His head rolled back and he looked up at the sky.

"We can't just sit here."

"I know."

"We need to get Wendy."

"I know."

"She's so special."

"I know."

But no one moved. Their hearts ached along with their bodies and they didn't move. They really couldn't move. "What is that was really Lucy?" It left Erza's mouth. "She looked like Lucy, but it wasn't a copy of her. It looked like she tried to change her appearance, long hair, black tips. Her eyes were gold, and her clothes were so different." She pondered.

Natsu snapped his head up, "No way. That wasn't her. That couldn't have been her."

Then Gray stood, his bones creaking and his head pounding.

"Loke!" He screamed into the sky. He screamed it again, and again.

"Come on Loke! I know you can hear me! I'm one of your best friends! Come on!" But all he got in return was silence.

Natsu stood as well, his eyes wide. "What the hell Gray. The enemies going to hear us." It was so weird to hear that from Natsu's mouth. Who knew Natsu would be the voice of reason in a situation like this.

Then as if to prove a point to the dragon slayer a brilliant flash filled their vision. They heard the sound of someone landing on their feet. They heard the sound of expensive cloth move.

And once they all blinked the light away their eyes found a man. His hair beautiful orange, his suit black and crisp. His glasses reflected the sun but his emerald green eyes still shone through them. Gray smiled a huge grin, teeth and all. It had been such a while since his face had looked like that. "Loke!" It was pure joy.

The man stepped back, "Who are you, and why can I hear your call?" His voice came shakey. And he eyed the man before him.

"What?" It was barely a whisper.

Erza then stood, "Lucy didn't know it was me either."

"You mean fake Lucy." Natsu shot towards her.

Erza shook her head. "No, this Lucy. I think she was real. I think she was our Lucy." Her voice was so small and soft, nothing like Erza's voice should sound like.

Then before any of the mages could react Loke was in front of Gray, his green eyes glowing gold. His hand went out to grasp the ice mage's neck and he pinned him to the tree that stood behind him.

"How do you know Lucy! How do you know me! Why can I hear your call! Who are you!" Fangs seemed to grow from the Lion's mouth and he snarled.

"Loke! What the hell!?" Gray gasped as he grabbed at the hands around his neck, it took him some strength but he managed to push the spirit off.

"Why do you know Lucy?" His voice calmed.

"What do you mean? She's our best friend, she's a part of our team. She's part of Fairy Tail." Natsu stepped forward.

The lion spirit flinched back as a jolt ran through his head, he shut his eyes and images danced on the inside of his eyelids. Memories, of Fairy Tail, memories of Lucy with her team. So many different scenes and scents and sounds filled his mind, his heart clenched and unclenched as it desperately pumped blood through his veins.

He locked eyes with the ice mage, his green irises mixing with Gray's blue. "Gray?" It came out so light, so breathy. "Erza? Natsu?" his pupils flicked in between them all.

"What the fuck has Brain done to us?"

Shorter chapter than what I'm used too but I'm glad I got something out. ;D