Shadows
Chapter 10: Caged Part 1
"It was mine." Lucy spoke for the first time. She hadn't really said anything until then, stepping out into a patch of golden light near a wall. Everyone turned to face her. "Well, I think it was." Lucy added after a thought. Surprise rested subtly on her face, as if she hadn't meant to say anything at all. It died a moment later. Instead, her eye brows knitted together with a strained expression, as if she was trying to remember something she'd forgotten. Maybe she was.
Moonlight streamed in through the small barred window high up the wall near the ceiling. It's cold, soft light ran over her palms. The flickering images of her nightmare crossed her eyes in a blur. Lucy let out a shocked gasp, staggering back a step away from the door. "Luce, you alright?" Natsu whirled up beside her. His glowing fist pushed back behind him as he straightened his arm to keep the fire a safe distance away from her.
"Yeah...fine." Lucy dismissed him with a flick of her hand. A small shimmer of irritation and hurt leapt over his expression but lost against his concern. "Just thought I saw something." Lucy tried to ignore his eyes burning into her. Brown eyes turned towards Erza for relief. Still, the red-headed picked the obvious question.
"Why do you think this cell was yours?" She asked. Either way, Lucy wasn't escaping from that one. Lucy let out a last frustrated growl, dropping her head into her palms. Her fingers raked through her hair with irritation.
"I don't know." Lucy whined. "It just look familiar, like I saw it in a dream somewhere." Lucy sighed and dropped her hands. She looked up to the sympathetic stares around her, ignoring the dull throbbing at the back of her skull.
"That dream could have been a recalled fragment of your memory." Erza said.
"Probably." Lucy grumbled tiresomely, as she lent back against the wall behind her. Something dug into her back, pressing uncomfortably between her shoulder blades. "What the-" Lucy growled, turning to investigate. A black iron ring protruded from the wall. Brown eyes glared at it curiously. A chain of matching metal links clung onto it. Her eyes traced down its tail, following it across the floor like a slithering snake.
A sharp gasp caught on the lump of her throat as Lucy tumbled backwards.
"Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed in shock, catching her as she fell. Light was swallowed by the darkness as the flame distinguished. "Lucy are you-" Natsu tried but cut himself short at the small, snuffed whimper squeezing out of the girl's mouth.
Suddenly, she shoved him back, clawing frantically at her arms and legs.
"Natsu? Lucy? Where are you?" Gray called out, moving wearily in the darkness. Light blazed once again in the corner of the room like a beacon. It dimmed as Gray and Erza came running over. Lucy scratched and shoved at her flapping wrists and ankles. Blind terror completely overtook her face. She pushed as far back against the wall as she could, desperately trying to get away from whatever was on her. "Natsu, what's up with her?" Gray asked cautiously, sinking down to a crouch beside the distraught Natsu.
"I- I don't...know." Natsu stuttered, his voice growing frail and cold.
"Lucy, calm down!" Happy tried, fright shaking his words.
"It won't work." Erza interjected. "It seems she's trapped in a half-dream-like state. I think she's hallucinating."
"That's more like a nightmare, if you ask me." A voice echoed behind them. Everyone whirled on their heels, staring into the black abyss besides the open, metal gate. A shady figure hid just out of reach of the light.
"Who are you?" Gray snapped, his hands rubbing anxiously against each other.
"Don't recognize me, boy?" The voice whispered teasingly. A gasp escaped Gray's lips in surprise. It quickly twisted into a threatening growl as he began to realize.
"Silver." Gray hissed. The figure moved forward, stepping slowly out of the shadows. Long, black legs stretched up to a tight white shirt over a broad, muscled chest. Long, grey hair spilled down loosely around his sharp features. Pale skin and dark ashen eyes like muddy snow.
"So you do remember. I'm glad." His cold eyes moved carefully over each of them. As they moved over Natsu, they seemed to hesitate for just a second longer. Then they seemed to skip straight to Lucy. Then back, and forth again, jumping between the pair. When he stopped, a small smile began to creep up the edges of his lips. "I see a familiar face. Who might you be again?" His gaze directed at the dragon slayer.
"None of your goddamn business." Natsu barked, not holding back on expressing his resentment to the man.
"You shouldn't say the lord's name in vain, Dragneel." Silver purred. "You barged in on my kidnapping attempt. Gotta return the favor."
"I never gave you a favor in the first place, you-" Natsu growled. Lucy squirmed behind him, instinctively catching his whole attention. A thought registered on his face as his eyes flashed back to Silver stood in front of him. A strong, muscled arm stuck out protectively over Lucy. Onyx eyes snapped onto Issac, fastening his gaze with powerful intensity.
Erza couldn't be sure, but it look like the fox may have flinched, just a little. Issac shrugged it off. "Your girl, she's had a hell of a bad time down in these cells." His voice sounded odd, almost purposefully detached as his eyes flickered to the blonde behind him.
"We know." Happy quickly bit back. All the fur on the back of his neck stood up with anxiety.
"Not quite, exceed." Issac retorted, then quickly dropped the matter. Issac's hand moved so fast they couldn't even see it coming. One second in was stuffed casually in his pocket, then next thing they knew, he was armed. In his hand, he held a long silver hand gun. It was pointing directly at Lucy. Natsu couldn't move quick enough to respond as the hammer clicked against the back of the gun. Its silenced bang froze Natsu in his steps.
Time caught up with him and the dragon slayer was already moving to her side before he realized it himself. A red-tailed dart stuck out the side of Lucy's neck, a red- blue liquid quickly draining out of it. Natsu wasted no time in plucking it out, sending it flying across the room. It hit the far wall and shattered into a thousand pieces of glass.
"Lucy!" The group shouted, quickly surrounding her.
"Lucy?...Luce?" Natsu called. His hands placed on her cheeks, turning her to face him. Lucy's head rolled forward into his palms as her body collapsed against him. "Luce!" Natsu exclaimed.
"What did you do?" Erza roared. Black armor coated her in head to toe as she unsheathed a lethal black blade.
Lucy's body rolled off Natsu's shoulder, slipping towards the floor. The dragon slayer quickly caught her, pulling her into his arms. Light once again dispersed as Natsu moved his hands. Darkness swallowed up visibility.
Erza hissed, shooting forward through the void. To Erza, sometimes sight wasn't always necessary. The long, thin blade cut through the darkness. Its swift slim edge clashed against the skin of the silver gun. Sparks flickered and died, lighting the shiny surfaces for a split second. The quick, sharp ring of metal colliding rippled through the small cell.
"Natsu!" Gray's voice snapped from the space near the dragon slayer. "Light this."
"What?" Natsu grumbled, half-distracted with holding the unconscious mage.
"Light this!" Gray barked impatiently. Natsu shifted Lucy's weight into one arm, lifting up the other. Fire coated Natsu's fist in orange, lighting up the surroundings. Gray sunk to a crouch, holding a long baton of ice in his hand. Cloth wrapped an end which was dipped into the glove of fire around Natsu's fist. Flames leapt onto the cloth, beaming light and scaring away the shadows of the cell. Natsu caught sight of the bare bed and realized where Gray had got the cloth. He had been curious about that at the back of his mind.
The ice mage lifted it above his head, reaching the corners of the dark. Erza's blade struck out furiously at Silver, travelling so fast it became a flickering blur.
Silver only used a small silver gun to meet Erza's swing with ease, which was practically impossible. His arm seemed to disappear and reappear quick enough to deflect each swing of the reequip mage's sword. As soon as she hit, her sword had already rebounded, ready for another shot.
"You're mistaken, Titania." Silver's voice grumbled impatiently.
"You just attacked Lucy!" Erza retorted, throwing her blade his way.
"That is exactly where you are mistaken!" Silver growled in the an irritated tone, fending off Erza's attack. He made no attempt to fight back, just simply tolerating what she threw at him.
Natsu held the limp Lucy pressed gently against his ridged shoulder, stiff with fear and rage. Slow deep breaths brushed the bare skin of his shoulder. Her heart beat was steady against his chest.
Natsu really wished, deep down, that he could go and beat the hell out of the guy. That fiend shot Lucy with some crazed-up juice. They didn't even know what it was, never mind what it was going to do to was the only reason he didn't move, because he couldn't find the strength or the courage to leave her.
A soft grumble broke Natsu from his stiff fluctuation of emotion and thoughts. Night eyes whirled next to him, meeting a soft pair of chocolate pools fluttering open. The blonde mage stirred as she raised her chin up to see the dragon slayer. Her gaze looked directly at him. But it was weird. She was there, next to him, but Natsu couldn't shake the feeling that she was somewhat separated from him, behind a glass wall that he could never break. "Luce?" Natsu muttered.
Gray and Happy drew themselves away from the fight, turning to see the awakened Lucy. Relief swept across their faces, scaring away the anxiety that had pulsed through their veins. "Lucy, you're okay!" Happy wailed, crashing into her chest. Natsu's arm, still wrapped protectively around her shoulder, managed to take the force of Happy's abrupt attack on Lucy.
"Whoa, Haps. Careful." Natsu cut into the cat's sobbing. His voice was gentle and cautious, in the caring way. However, something in his tone indicated he was weary and uncertain. Onyx eyes never left Lucy's gaze like they were trying to see something that floated just beneath her surface. Happy slowly pulled away, looking tentatively at Lucy, sensing Natsu's feelings. Brown eyes scattered over his blue face, looking at him with an unsettling transparency. At the same time, she looked at him with big trusting eyes like a baby would to their own mother. It was definitely strange.
"Hey, what's up with Lucy?" Gray asked unnervingly. The ice mage crouched down beside the dragon slayer, giving his own unsettled assessment of the blonde with sharp, dark eyes.
"I dunno." Natsu replied. The words began to tumble out of his mouth, his eyes scanning her frantically. "She- I mean, she's awake and breathing. But- she looks..."
"Dazed." Happy filled in. It was rare for Natsu to panic. When he did, his voice seemed to heighten just a little. It would really only be noticeable with Happy's sensitive cat hearing. It was easy for the feline to tell Natsu's emotions.
"Lucy?" Gray spoke in a gentle, soothing voice. He waved a large hand in front of her face.
Lucy turned to look at him with calm, fixed eyes. Normally, people who looked at him that way always sent a shiver down his spine. That was because he could always see them judging and thinking about him with echoing transparency.
Looking at Lucy as she was then, he had the strangest sense of calm ease inside him. Lucy always had a little bit of that look in her eyes every now and then, it nearly always gave him the creeps when she did it. Those times it was on purpose. But in the present, there was an undeniable innocence with the way she looked. There was no judgment, prejudice or anything hidden behind her chocolate brown orbs.
"It's like she's not thinking." Gray muttered aloud accidentally.
"I should give you more credit, boy." Silver seemed genuinely surprised behind him. Gray hadn't realized the absence of metal crashing against each other until just then. Erza moved closer, raising a sharp black sword in Silver's direction. Her eyes watched him with caution, but her body gravitated towards Lucy. Erza's clear eyes scanned her thoroughly. Lucy didn't seem too bothered by it, her attention was still locked onto Gray's face.
"What do you mean?" Gray hissed, tasting the bitterness in his mouth that laced every word he threw at the fox-like man. He really didn't like him.
"You're right; She isn't thinking." Silver explained. It seemed like he gave little concern for the blade grazing his neck.
"What did you-" Gray's face burst with anger.
"It's not permanent." Issac promptly cut him off. "It'll wear off in about ten minutes or so." Frosted grey eyes looked at Lucy tiresomely. His quick response wasn't feeling as threatened as it did tired. Silver seemed to be bending his patience just talking to them. For simple reasons, Gray really felt like pushing it. Probably not a wide choice. Gray untangled the desire to punch Silver square in the face, and turned to Natsu.
Lucy's calm body sat propped up, her eyes curiously assessing her folded legs beneath her. Somehow, she lifted herself up, regained her footing and stood. At first she swayed a little, but managed to keep her balance. Big brown eyes met them at face-level, watching with simplicity, her expression soft. One look, and it was easy to read the kind of relationship she had with you. It was so strange. The usual dominance of her emotions, or the guard that was always up, wasn't there. wore some kind of physiological armor. Didn't everyone? Then again, hers had always been thicker than most. It had thinned considerably since she had been at Fairy Tail. Still, her trust was shielded and at the same time, generous. Natsu always liked that about her. Looking at her unprotected, open, vulnerable self, Natsu couldn't help but soften. It was hard not to see the smallness of a child inside her. The expression lifted a foggy memory up into his thoughts. The same gaze rested in her eyes on the night Jaedou has attempted to kidnap her.
It had obviously failed back then, but Lucy's mind had seemed like a shallow pond. It was easily seen if he looked past the pain, lostness and fear that-
Natsu quickly squeezed his eyes shut. The rest didn't need to be repeated, it was enough just to recognise the link.
The affects of the potion was already beginning to slowly fade on her face. Small quizzical and curious phases flinted in her eyes. The thoughtfulness that always seemed to glow in her honey eyes was returning. She was always thinking about something. Maybe that was why she looked somewhat alienated and foreign to him before.
Blackness swarmed on the outside of their little ball of light. Her surroundings fell out of focus. Faces hovered around her. Lucy looked from one to the other. Feelings bubbled to the surface of her heart, as she gave each one a lingering stare. Many times, she tried to think of their names, but couldn't quite grasp them. It was like trying to pick up something slimy that always seemed to slip through her fingers. Out of all the faces, one caught her eyes. Her heart squeezed, raditating pulsating warmth down her bones. It was like a little fire in her heart. A flame lit in her mind, burning steady and constant. Fire burns but her flame was different, it didn't burn things, it protected them. It protected her. That kind of sensation bubbled like eletricity, shocking every cell in her body to life. "Natsu," She murmered, feeling the words slide of her tongue fluently, and ordinary. At the same time, a hot, painful and consticting feeling squeezed her stomach, making a subconscious sadness echo.
Why was she sad?
Next Monday; Chapter 11; Caged Part 2
Lucy fights the effects of her potion, while Silver's motives are revealed.
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-A-ccentric