Thoughts: 'Yo'

Dialogue: "Yo"

There were those moments in life where time slowed to progress at a rate so sluggish; everything around that person became startling in its clarity. The congregation of foraging mosquitos, the heated floor, the dynamic intensity of this place. It all came to her in slow motion, sliding in front of her eyes like high end quality photographs. Lucy had frozen as his face came nearer, brain going into a complete shutdown. His breath was harsh, hot and it was astonishing how he made her feel, good yet wrong, an emotion encompassing her being like a closed glove. The imagery of cotton balls clogged her ears, his voice sounding an ocean away despite their closeness.

And of which lasted all of ten seconds as her senses came spiralling into her like an icy blizzard, knocking away her hypnotization.

Enjoyed her, did he? Would he also enjoy a fist in his pale face?

Lucy chose to forcefully not think of her incapacitation, trapped like a blind fish in a net. She turned her cheek away and his nose bumped into her skin, breath cooling her heated flesh that had nothing to do with the muggy weather. "Stop..." Tears did not prickle her eyes as she expected, and she raised a disbelieving finger to her cheek, swiping and searching. Dry as the summer dessert, her hand fell limply by her side.

As quickly as the word flew out of her mouth, he'd snapped back away from her, as if she burned. If she chose that moment to look up into his eyes, she'd have found the ordinary deep colour of black ink set back in place, not the colour of bleeding crimson which had snared her into a statue.

"You've grown careless in my company." the words were soft, but curling with anger and a more intimate silver lining within his deep voice that she did not want to identify, pick it apart and find meaning in its confusing depths. His large hands quickly seized her hips and jerked her forward.

"Nhg!" her tongue was stubbornly glued to the roof of her mouth as her recklessness plummeted and distress overcame her. Her hands glued onto his firm chest and struggled to push him back. He did not budge however, standing firmly in place as he gripped her to the point of pain. Lucy snarled into his face, unsticking her useless tongue to rasp: "Stop it."

He used his thumb to tuck her wandering bang behind her ear, holding her tightly with the other arm. "Has the almighty guild of Fairy Tail grown so arrogant as to not teach their underlings of the simple yet cautionary rules when prancing around with dark mages?" The words dripped with mock, tone acidic. His other arm circled her waist inappropriately, "Were you not the one to boastfully remind me of your distrust?" Lucy refused to whimper as the hands around her squeezed harder than the vines he'd freed her from. "Yet is seems you are nothing more than a conceited mage with an attitude problem, how disappointing." The hands dipped to the small of her back, caressing her through the cloth. The heaviness eased. It felt nice. She felt dirtied.

"Do not insult Fairy Tail," she managed to grit out, despite the attack of her character. She took offence at the blatant mockery of her guild, her own feelings locked away heavily, buried deep in a chest. How dare he state they were the arrogant ones? Did he not have a mirror to stare into? "You have some gall to preach about egotism, almighty Zeref." her brain sizzled in sporadic bursts, mainly filled with insults she wanted to call him as he nuzzled into her neck, inhaling her like a lover. He culled down her words, "I do not flaunt myself like your guild." Lucy bared her teeth in response, lip curling but he was not done.

"I find myself fascinated with the sheer audacity…" he purred into her skin, ignoring her trembles, mouth poised above her beating pulse point. She wondered if her could her heart tha-thump like a frightened mouse. "In which you pose yourself to me…as if I were some common civilian with the wit of a thug..." his sharp incisors nicked and blotted her skin, she flinched in response. "Is beyond amusing…" his voice carried through her ear drums, like a loud siren. The receptors in her ears blared as the unsaid warning carried through; she was walking a tight line-his hand reached up and clasped her stiff nape. "Perhaps your negligence to where our alliances stand…" he nipped at her creamy flesh again and she hiccupped a flustered yelp, "Will be your undoing. Then perhaps you will learn your lesson with mistaking me for one of those fools."

Oh this philosophical prick. It was her fault, Lucy agreed in pathetic admittance. Her misguided expectations, no matter how far they sat in the far corners of her mind, whispering sweet nothings and sly recommendations to think she could talk, ask even, for her enemy to help.

"That..." her tongue felt thick, like cement had been poured down her throat. "Only makes me human." It sounded lame and anticlimactic. The man with his strong arms around her only laughed, a twisted sound that encased her like a film of forbidden honey, it made her shiver, and made her heart in its boned cage start with a foreboding thrill.

"You have much to learn of the ways of the world, youngin'." Her face scrunched up with disdain as his hands travelled over the curve of her thighs, close to grasping her bottom. "I could teach you." he murmured hotly.

Lucy stumbled out of his grasp, which he allowed, in fury, "Just-don't," her hand braced her whip, "Don't come near me." He took one step forward and she didn't hesitate to slap him across the face, a loud smack which echoed. A red hand print splashed against his left cheek. He clenched his jaw, "Resorting to violence since you have no more words to speak?" A smidgen of condensation, "Is that how you resolve your fights?"

Lucy was mind blown, truly, "What- just. We are on a completely different wavelength here!" The shout of her voice jarred her, "What is wrong with you?"

She hadn't noticed before, but the noise level had dramatically decreased. She shifted on her feet, defensively positioning her body. "I grow tired of this quarrelling, Lucy." He told her coolly. The heat in his gaze was diminishing. That angered her even greater.

Lucy swallowed, throat tight and burning with rage, "You sure like getting in my personal space, disrespecting my guild and belittling me," she snapped hoarsely, jutting out her chin in haughty move. Zeref gazed at her with now evident boredom, as if he hadn't touched her with his hands and denied her freedom. Her tightened lips pursed into a venomous scowl, "You are despicable."

They could both acknowledge without words that this 'relationship' of theirs had irrevocably changed.

Azure blue, Hazel and dazzling Azure gleamed and pulsed with raw magic in the confines of complicated runes. They pushed inward with a deep analysing power, locked in a circle around the innocent gold Keys that they surrounded. Colours substituted themselves to apparent death, glowing spectacularly before fading away as more overwhelming colours like Deep Ocean blue, Pale Moonlight and Dark Muddy Earth took over. The keys jingled and glistened a silvery sheen, as if they were crying.

"How much longer?" Distorted voice whispered their gathered impatience. A large industrial bell chimed above their collective heads, rattling the rickety stone walls with its oppressive twang.

"Cultivating them will take much more time than predicated," The cloaked figure that stood on a podium watching the Keys was displeased, hands fisted to the point where blood flow clogged and his hands turned a ghostly white. "Gather your resources and retract time from the rest of your projects." He barked the order. His subordinates below scattered in a flurry to do his bidding. "Pull the reserves out of the vault, bring them here at once!"

"So we wait?" Another cloaked figure of different colouring, frayed grey, made a sound of disappointment. They were so close.

"We do not have the rest and these keys are stubborn." The apparent leader said, shrouded in dark green and fingering a gaudy ring on his thumb. "The process will take much longer with their absence and we had no more time to waste on retrieving them." The acrid smell of decaying bodies polluted the air, the heavy clunk of machinery drumming along screeched into their ears. "So unfortunately, due to those heathens destroying the gate and that stupid woman we will have to wait a little bit longer."

The one in the green kneeled on the ground, staring hungrily at the rising plumes of magical strings coming out of the Celestial Gate Keys. "We will finally rise."

Something in her had hardened that day. The chill that settled over her rattled her bones and cooled her blood. The cold could not be warmed, even with the aide of the sun. Conversation between them became a stilted repast, unsaid resentment flooding off her in waves. She found him infuriating and disgusting, he found her insufferable-as he'd so graciously let her know. Their explosive argument meandered into a slow drill of quiet, the shitshow where he'd lost part of his control was doubly awkward and pilfered any substance of communication they could have further had. That was two days ago.

She pulled at the wilting weeds beside her feet, verdant colour severed off from the idyllic jungle. He said he enjoyed her. That could allude to different meanings. Sexually, intellectually or the added comfort of a warm human body lying next to him in the dead of the night? She could only take blind guesses. He also labelled her as arrogant, the bastard.

Sinking her toes into the mud, a cool wash of soggy earth pooled over her appendages. She should visit the waterfall again; her clothes were wrinkled and smelled. The humid weather had dulled her fiery will; her competence about navigating herself away and from him and this place failed her. She was stuck here.

Lucy plucked at a recovering scab, combed her thin fingers through her hair then picked the crust out of her eyes in a measure of cleaning up. Lucy was on her own, figuratively, only partly dependent on him for safety. That irony was not lost on her. If only she had the power of instant transportation. Swiping up some mud in her hand, she smeared the weight onto her face and arms to cool down her body temperature.

If she was going to be stuck here for an innumerable amount of time, then she might as well test out a theory she'd been considering for months. One constant that she did not miss were the interruptions in her daily life. Natsu was obnoxious and liked to crawl into her bed, but she loved her best friend. Gray liked to rummage through her panty drawer, the pervert and Erza stole all of her sweets. She did not miss being exploited of her generosity.

Which now brought her to the 'theory'.

Bearing in mind of her past accomplishments, which saved their collected asses many times, she still felt lacking in the department of combat. Lucy was aware of her disadvantage when relying solely on her keys. It stung to admit how self-conscious she felt about it, like she didn't contribute enough on their team missions. They never said anything about it, they didn't need to- they appreciated her. She knew that.

Yet, that didn't change her feelings on the matter and now she was without them, Keys and Teammates: bare and weak. "Better time than any to test this out." She laid her whip in front of her and crossed her legs, cracking her knuckles before relaxing her body. Breathing through her nose, she clenched her abdomen and dived into her soul- drudging up her core energy.

Every mage had core energy, anything else was just extra. She still didn't get the schematics of the whole 'magic' distribution, but so far she could conclude that magic was a pain. Lost magic, dark magic, old magic, light magic- it all varied on the pain-metre. Some mages had spectacular core power, but very little opportunity to show it. It was definitely unbalanced, despite the small population of mages that existed. Now that she had released Second Origin at the Grand Magic Games, giving her a lovely boost of power, it had also broken open a door to allow her to attempt to learn new magic, spells and harden the spiritual container inside her soul. A great opportunity for her to learn how to defend herself properly and renew her own core energy.

Initially, when she began practicing this exercise back home she'd never gotten very far. It took a tremendous amount of effort to blank your mind, like a canvas devoid of any paint and reach into yourself, create a big enough opening and fall right in. And now, any progress she had went slack with disuse and getting back to the right point took time. An hour, or probably two passed by when she began, then finally her core chimed with a distinct tinkle and her breath hitched as she tumbled into her dreamscape in one fell swoop.

Within this dream state she was allowed free roam to test, build her walls back up and solidify her relationship with her core magic. Her spirit's presence was heavily felt, gaping black holes in the large coils surrounding the pink walkway. Interesting, what her soul conjured for her. A path to walk on. She read about astral planes before, the feeling of floating through, and the freeing sensation of shedding your troubles from the outside world. Her senses heightened to innumerable measures and she stopped, breathed-though there was no air- and grinned, listening to the sweet lullaby of her soul calling out to her.

It was about time she did something she wanted.

The translucent wall shimmered with unmoved intention, profound in its defiance to protect itself and hold. A pale hand was placed on its surface, pumping out dark magic and siphoning the natural energy from the environment to speed the process up. The ground, as an after effect from channelling such heavy magic had blackened in a radius of three hundred metres in every direction. The hand had been there for nearly eight hours.

A faint shrill tickled the unfamiliar person's ears when the spell at last yielded results. The creator of the barrier felt nary a thing but a slight combustion of power as the wall finally began to crack and splintered like a web, spreading slowly along the previously invisible dome.

The stranger's coal dark irises exploded with manic delight, "Well, that wasn't as difficult as I expected."

In the southern exterior of his majikəl barrier some 300 kilometres away, he felt the bursts of near indiscernible disruption thinning out towards the south west. He frowned. The journey to inspect the wards could not be entertained, not with Lucy in the vicinity. He began digging a hole in the ground, dirt entrapped under his fingernails as he pushed his energy into the shallow hovel. The black magic spilled out of his palm and pooled like viscous liquid, before being layered over with soil.

He waited a few minutes for his summon to form, a tiny shadowy creature digging its way out of the sodden earth. It blinked, white pupils understanding as he instructed, "Take a scout and search the perimeter on the southern front, report back to me as soon as possible." Its small whiskers twitched twice, before scampering off into a shrub of budding orchids.

A hush soon fell upon him, wind stilled as she made her anticipated appearance, bringing a lush growth with her. The illusion was deceiving, the excessive florae sprouting from the ground were not real, and her ethereal glow was a trick for the eyes. He speared upwards, not turning to face her; instead allowing his senses to feel her intangible form float above him, neither reaching for him nor settling on the ground. Something foul wrinkled his nose, "Hello Mavis."

"It has been a long time, Zeref."

"Indeed it has."

Her presence, so long ago which he thirsted for, now unceasingly reminded him of his damned infliction and the foul feeling developed with a vengeance, hiking up his mouth into a sneer and tying his gut into knots. She was not welcomed, not anymore. "So, what do I owe for this unwanted visit? Come to see your forgotten murderer and relive the memories?" he drawled lazily. Her aura tempted him, tendrils of light magic and a soul so blinding and full of possibilities. He gritted his teeth.

Behind him Mavis cocked her head, long hair curling around her small body, "How long do you intend to keep her here?" A genteel smile lifted her face, entirely overlooking his insensitive comment. He did not have to see to know her face was set kindly, annoyingly. He could feel it.

Inspecting his crusted fingernails in a deliberately calm perusal, he replied: "As long as I see fit." Selfish. The air rapidly shifted intosomething more colder.

"You're playing a perilous game here, Zeref. You already know Lucy is a Fairy Tail member and she's Layla's daughter, I would have been inclined to think you're not aware of your indiscretions but then again i'm not one to be in denial and you are no fool." He considered her at last, her incandescent light burning into his sight unrelentingly. The smile had dropped, in replace of a blank face and a line of her lips. He raised a hand to shield his eyes, 'Too much light.'

"An astute observation of yours, Mavis." It came out snarky, against his intentions on a somewhat civil conversation; but then again they weren't talking to catch up like old friends. The hollow crevice in his heart shuddered darkly, "I have been aware the moment I saw her." He was not an idiot; Lucy resembled Layla and had the fiery essence of Anna, he could not have ignored that shrieking fact.

Her eyes widened painstakingly as she inhaled sharply. "So why do you continue this farce of a relationship? On what grounds do you have to keep her here in captivity?" Although the words were hard, no feature on her face twitched. It was infuriating for him to see. This stoic mask she placed on did not fit her, probably never would. "I want you to release her." Ah, a power play, is that why she remained suspended in the air?

"Why should I answer to you?" he replied, a question for a question, "Is my business not my own?" He shook his head and sat down, enjoying the frigid wash of anger that splashed into her jade eyes. She could keep up a well enough façade, but those eyes of hers revealed everything. He relished the irritation in those orbs, "It is funny that you think I'd give in to your demands. I haven't done any harm to the girl, I simply enjoy her company."

"You have no right."

He closed his eyes slowly, shutting out her visage and the world around them. "Perhaps you'd want me to take on a more active role in the current peace?" He paused, smile sardonic. "Shall I release you from that crystal tomb and reveal what that guild's prized Natsu is to the whole world?" The words were chilling, coming out of his mouth in a consistent stream of self-hate and annoyance. His nostrils flared, "I doubt you would want a war to come to fruition." Threatening felt like a dirty cheap tactic, he grasped his dirtied hands to keep himself grounded, less he lash out. 'I don't want to…. Don't push me Mavis…'

"Natsu?" she dared gasp. Now he wanted her to leave. "And no i don't want to wage a war against you and your demons." She spat the word out like something derogatory. "I just want my guild member home." She narrowed her eyes, "If you even dare reveal what Natsu is,"

"Natsu will learn of his origins one way or another, it is inevitable." His words cut into her self-righteous speech, the feeling of wanting her gone increasing restlessly.

"You are cruel Zeref."

"Leave."

"Zeref…"

"Leave my presence, I will not heed any warning or threats you've bothered to come here and deliver. I've heard what you wanted to say and have no further patience to continue this conversation."

The slightest touch of fury painted her small face, dishing out her own threats and spitting venom in return. "I may not have access to my physical body, but know this, Lucy is a Fairy Tail mage and I will not have you corrupting Anna's descendant. If you harm her, if you push forth for a war, to obtain Fairy Heart, I will unearth Fiore's full power and meet you blow for blow."

He felt compelled to smirk and so he did, "And what about Natsu?"

"I will continue to lie." He faltered at the hurt that panged him, profusely shaking it off like a speck of dust- weakness- that'd stuck to him.

"You've become quite the wretched manipulator, Mavis. Holding lies and threatening to unveil a secret that has kept your country safe?" She would allow that guild to unlock Lumen histoire, delicate and capable of mass destruction just to duel him? Laughable, really.

Her spectral form flickered, the wind picking up with a slow draft, "I really did love you." Her solemn face would stay in his mind for hours yet before he buried it down to the recesses of his memory, "And you've become so ugly."

"Love made me what I am."

The frustration showed, "Release the girl or I'll tell the guild of her whereabouts and let them come."

"I'm not going to and they will not find her."

Her eyebrows rose to her forehead, "I managed it."

"You were only able since I let you in."

The look of pure, unfiltered shock strengthened him, made him feel a little less regretful for what he was about to do. "What-"

"Be gone Mavis, it was a pleasure seeing you again." And like a vacuum her form disappeared to a single point and zipped out of the air with a zap. He placed both of his hands on the ground and muttered an incantation, "lōˈkāSHən läsˈpərsən!" The Loss of Memory, the spell would allow her to remember them talking but it has purged her mind of where he resided and Lucy's presence, gliding out of her recollection and leaving the useful space void.

"I am sorry."

Writing hurts. You know what might soothe my ache, some reviews.