FIRST: When I don't update, it's not because I just want to torture you. So please, please, don't message me and ask when the next chapter is going to be, okay? I'm not going to abandon this story. It's so close to the end, so why would I? I'm sorry that you guys sometimes have to wait a while, but I promise you that it's not because I'm trying to be cruel. It's just because my time runs short and I get busy sometimes. Please be patient with me, okay?
Now.
Oh, dear, what's going to happen? I guess you're ready to find out, eh? Here you go: chapter 14 of Until She's Home Again is here!
I could feel my fury mounting as Narcissus smirked at me. Innocent civilians began to stream off of the derailed train and Lyon and Sherri busied themselves for a few short minutes by turning them away from where a fight was brewing. I was thankful for that much; I didn't want any innocents to be hurt in the blast I felt was coming, or by the cruel man I was facing off against.
"You intrigue me, Lucy," Narcissus admitted, taking a step closer to me. Despite the fact that this man's mere presence disgusted me to my very core, I refused to shrink back from his advance. I stood firm, staring him down just as he was inspecting me. "How is it you've survived so long? It's clear you haven't found a cure, so how…?"
"I thought we'd already answered that for you," I said, glancing at Lyon and Sherri as they faced the two of us once more. "A mage of Fairy Tail never gives up."
"I beg to differ," the dark-haired man said as he took a step nearer to me. "When I first sat near you on the train, you had the look of someone who had given up on everything."
"You reminded me that there are other things worth living for," I cast a mocking grin at him, knowing it would anger him. "My friends are still out there, still hoping to find me. If they can still believe in me after all this time, why shouldn't I believe that there's still hope, too?"
"Because there isn't any hope for you," his tone was meant to make me feel a fool, and it made my blood boil even more than before. This revolting man had caused everything, knowing that there wasn't a cure and knowing he was signing me away to my death, as he had done to other women before me. How many women had he done this to? How many women had died because of him, leaving behind their family and friends? The thought made my anger grow, but I knew that if I got too angry it would do more harm than help in the fight that was rapidly approaching.
"There's hope as long as I believe there is," I snapped back, not even flinching as golden magic leapt from my left ankle to my opposite shoulder. I even heard it crackle in the air. I couldn't suppress this attack much longer.
"You're an arrogant fool, aren't you?" Narcissus asked me as an eyebrow rose so high that it was disappearing into his hair. His accusation made me bristle.
"I think you've mistaken me for yourself," I said coldly. "I don't know anyone else so arrogant."
I wasn't ready for the blast of his magic that caught me right across the stomach, forcing me backwards and knocking me to one knee. It hurt more since I hadn't expected it, and I had a small coughing fit. The only thing I could hear over my own ragged breaths was his laughter.
"Look here!" he had finally stopped laughing and began to speak. "You're just as weak as you've always been! I thought there was more to you than that, but I guess I was wrong. Your first hit was just a lucky shot, wasn't it, Lucy? If this is all you've got, then there definitely isn't any hope for you. You're trying your hardest to suppress an attack…but that attack will get the best of you soon, won't it?"
I grit my teeth, forcing myself to my feet.
"Say that again!" I shouted, my voice sounding much more confident than I felt. I shifted my feet and used my new position to get a boost as I charged toward Narcissus. Golden energy—my magic—was swirling around my hand furiously. It took a lot of concentration to focus this extremely volatile energy, and I hoped I could hit my target.
"What's this…?" Mirajane mused as the guild crowded into the flower shop around the objects that the kind owner had shown them. The white-haired woman was picking up a folded up piece of paper while Erza, Gray, Happy, and Natsu were too busy staring at the black wig and talking in hushed voices.
"This…it's the exact same style that Layla has, isn't it?" Gray asked, holding the wig up and straightening some of the hair.
"Aye," Happy said, staring at it and lost in thought from his perch on the check-out counter.
"But…what reason did she have to lie to us about what she really looked like?" Erza mused, touching the wig hesitantly. "Why did she say all those horrible things about Lucy when she was just going to come visit the Heartfilias' graves anyway? Did she know Lucy? Does she know where she is?"
Natsu remained silent, unable to bring himself to say the only thought that was in his head: Maybe Layla is Lucy, guys.
He didn't have any clue how right he was until Mira let out a strangled gasp and the folded paper slipped from her hand.
"Sis!" Elfman caught Mirajane before she could fall and Lisanna caught the letter, looking down to read it with Bixlow peering over her shoulder. All of the guild members were focused on the letter, though they couldn't see it, and everyone knew something was odd when Lisanna gasped, a hand coming up to cover her mouth, and Bixlow murmured, "Shit."
"What is it?" Levy took the note from Lisanna's hand worriedly, Gajeel hovering over her shoulder as she read it. Her eyes grew wider and wider as she went down the letter, and her eyes were watery at the end as she turned to look at Gajeel. The tall dragonslayer took the paper from the bookworm's limp grasp before someone else could and handed it straight to Natsu, who was standing extremely close.
"I think you'll want to see that," he grunted before the small blue-haired solid script mage tackled him around the waist, her nose buried in his chest. In other circumstances, it might have surprised the guild that Gajeel didn't push Levy away but instead took it in stride, putting a hand somewhat comfortingly on her back. All eyes were drawn now toward Natsu, who was reading the letter with a serious expression, brows furrowed.
He reached the end of the letter and cursed vehemently under his breath, shoving the note into Gray's chest and turning to the flower shop lady.
"Which way did she run?"
"She went to the train station; I followed her far enough to see her get on a train heading north."
"Thanks," the dragonslayer forced out, before he and Happy disappeared out of the doors with all due haste. No one was talking to anyone else, and Levy was still silently crying into the intimidating dragonslayer's chest.
Gray's reaction was similar to Natsu's and he shoved the note at Erza, turning and following in Natsu's footsteps. Juvia had no idea what this was all about, but she followed instantly after Gray, and after recovering, Mirajane rushed out followed by her siblings and the Raijinshuu. Cana soon followed, in between her father and Laxus. Erza finished reading, shoved the note at anyone who was nearby, and nearly broke the door off of its hinges in her rush. There was nothing on Erza's mind but the desire to catch up to Natsu, Gray, and Juvia as she rushed blindly after her guild mates. She quickly overtook Cana, Gildartz, and Laxus in her frenzied dash.
It had not taken very long for the flower shop to clear out after the letter circulated. Alone in her shop once more, the older woman bowed her head slightly and let out a small sigh. She couldn't help but wonder if she had done the right thing, telling the mages of Fairy Tail what she had found, and yet she couldn't think of doing anything differently even if she had the chance to. Whatever that girl was going through, didn't she need her friends at her side? And reasoning with herself in that manner made the betrayal she'd somewhat orchestrated seem inconsequential. Surely the blonde girl would see that the woman had only done what she thought to be right, wouldn't she? After all, the blonde girl was definitely the Lucy of Fairy Tail—the girl that the infamous guild had been searching for since her disappearance three and a half years ago—and she probably needed her friends back just as much as her friends needed her.
Natsu and Happy were already in the air, following the train tracks that headed north.
A blast sounded in the air and sent both combatants backwards. I stood up straight, frowning at the staggering enemy. He had managed to get a shield of his weird wind-like magic up in time to block the brunt of my punch. It had still had some impact, though, so I wouldn't give up. As long as I was fighting for something, I would never let him get the better of me. Not now. Not ever again.
I charged in again, not even waiting to catch my own breath fully. My left fist flew forward when I neared Narcissus, but again he got some of his magic up to block it. Once the newest blast was over, he leapt away and landed behind me. Before I could turn, wind sliced into my back and I fell forward. I winced, but my reflexes were good and I managed to turn my collapse into a flip. I turned in midair, once more facing the dark-haired man even as he was charging me. I leapt out of his way and when I landed I was already turning to meet him, striking at him with a fist that was alight with my magical energy.
The backlash of the punch and of his hasty wind shield made us both slide back once more.
"Tell me I'm weak one more time," I spat, flexing my fists.
"I'll tell you a hundred times if it pleases you," Narcissus quipped back, lashing out with wind once more. I side-stepped most of it, but a slice still appeared on my cheek, stinging. "Weakling."
Instead of charging him out of anger, to his chagrin I simply let out a laugh. His next blast of wind caught me at my left hip even as I tried to dodge. This blow had torn open the pouch I kept on my belt and caused my shrunken novel to fall to the ground. I didn't pause to pick it up, partially because it would cause an unneeded distraction and also because the shrinking charm had fallen from it, restoring the volume to its original, more cumbersome size. I nearly tripped over it as I avoided the next attack but I paid it no heed, leaping forward to lash out at Narcissus with my fists once more. In return, the cruel mage tried to bat me away. I didn't let the battering faze me in the least, instead forcing my way through all the wind attacks until I reached him and could attempt to hit him.
Finally, one of my punches landed on his jaw, sending him back against a tree at the edge of the field. I hadn't noticed how far away from the train our battle had ranged, but I was glad we were at least a hundred yards away. He stood, staggering, and glowered at me. I just cheekily smirked back.
A spark went from the fingertips of my left hand up to my ear, and I flinched.
Another spark went from my right knee to my left hip, stinging all the while.
I couldn't let it overcome me now, not when I had the upper hand. So I did my best to focus my increasingly volatile magic to my fists and charged once more at the man who had caused everything. My first fist practically pulverized the trunk of the tree that Narcissus had slammed against and my second punch was deflected, forcing both of us back. Now we were among the trees but neither of us lessened our resolve. If it was the last thing I did, I would make this man pay for everything he had done.
My next punch was purposely directed at the ground, blasting the earth up around Narcissus and causing him to stumble.
I flew into him while he was still off-balance in a flying tackle that sent both of us out of the trees once more. Rolling a few times and landing farther from the trees than Narcissus had, I quickly climbed to my feet. It took my opponent a few minutes longer to stand.
"You've…got a little more bite than last time, I suppose," Narcissus grunted, dusting off his once immaculate clothes.
"I wonder why," I said dryly, ignoring the mounting dread of the next attack. I knew that it would be worse than the others, especially since I was suppressing it for so long and giving it time to build. It didn't matter that I was using some of the energy, because there was so much more building up that I couldn't possibly use before it was replenished.
It was flattering to know I had that much magical potential, but knowing that it could cause my death soured that opinion.
Natsu examined the ground for as far as he could see, cursing himself for being so stupid. He'd had suspicions the whole time, but he'd never connected Layla to Lucy completely. Now that he knew they were one in the same, he thought himself to be the biggest fool in the world. He wondered if his ignorance made Lucy feel lonelier, and if it had, he wanted to make it up to her.
Happy was holding up well over the distance they'd already covered and Natsu wondered how much longer the Exceed could keep it up.
"Lucy, where are you?" the dragonslayer muttered lowly. A glint of metal met the corner of his eye, and he turned his gaze to it, trying to make it out.
I couldn't hold in the grunt of pain as Narcissus blasted me backwards again. I felt the bile rise in my throat but I held it back, forcing myself to stand straight once more. This man would not get the pleasure of seeing me give up.
I was Lucy of Fairy Tail, and it was high time I proved that.
A primal sort of battle cry flew from my lips as Narcissus charged toward me and I charged back. I dodged the wind he sent my way and planted my glowing fist firmly in his stomach. The explosion as I released the energy sent us both backwards, but my enemy received most of the force. He tumbled head over heels a few times before landing on his back. I started toward him again, watching as he climbed laboriously to his feet with a glare on his handsome features.
"You won't hold up for much longer, Lucy," he taunted as three separate sparks leapt around my body.
"I won't need to in order to beat you," I said with more courage than I was currently feeling. In my heart I knew he was right, and it was just a matter of time before the power burst forth in the worst attack I'd yet been faced with. There was no doubt in my mind that this blast would be strong enough to kill me, but I'd be damned if Narcissus was still standing when it happened.
Another gust of wind was directed my way and I didn't even flinch when it sliced open my left shoulder. I did wince, however, when wind directly behind it sliced open my right side. The second cut was deeper and bled a little more and would probably inhibit my movement to some degree. And it was then that I decided it was time to use my trump cards. I just hoped beyond hope that they weren't still angry at me for what I had previously done.
My fingers found the ring of keys on my right hip and pulled it out of the pouch I'd been carrying it in. There the golden keys that had been so useful to me when I wasn't too stubborn to use them during my 'illness'. Alongside them were the silver keys of those who weren't necessarily useful in a fight, but were still good to have at my side nonetheless.
"Open, Gate of the Virgin, Virgo!" I dragged her key down through the air and there she appeared next to me, just as always.
"Am I to be punished, Princess?"
A small smile crossed my face at this response. I had expected it—or I would have, if I hadn't been so cruel to my spirits when last we'd met.
"Of course not, Virgo," the words came out softly, almost tenderly. "Do you have a whip stored away somewhere that I could use?"
"Would you like me to go get one from the Spirit Realm, Princess?"
"If it's not too much trouble," I nodded, grasping another key and dragging it sideways through the air even as Narcissus noticed what I was doing and leapt toward me with a feral growl. "Open, Gate of the Bull, Taurus!"
The perverted celestial spirit I had called landed squarely in front of my opponent, mooing. I would have laughed at this if I wasn't in my current situation. I still grinned at the look that Narcissus wore on his face. I realized that I hadn't had the chance to call out Taurus last time I'd faced this man, so he hadn't seen the half-bull half-man celestial spirit that wielded a giant axe.
"Here you go, Princess," Virgo's voice said beside me at that moment, and I turned and looked at the maid of the spirit world. In her hands was one of the whips that would use my magical energy as the flail. It was just what I needed.
"Thank you," I took the handle and immediately a tail of golden energy burst from the designated area. Another smile spread across my face at the familiar feeling of a whip in my hand and my spirits beside me. But I was missing one of the most important spirits. I knew he'd be angry with me, but I would have to chance it. I didn't think he'd refuse me, though. And so I took his key firmly in my hand and took a deep breath, slashing diagonally through the air in front of me.
"Open! Gate of the Lion, Loke!"
"It's about damn time, Lucy," his voice growled to me, though not entirely in anger. And now the feeling of fighting with a few of my spirits felt right again.
"I was thinking the same thing," I admitted to him, my eyes on Narcissus as he tried to batter the giant bull-man with wind and failed because of the flailing axe. "Taurus! To me!"
Taurus perked his head up and then bounded back to me. I guess he could sense the gravity of the situation, because he didn't dare make any of his perverted comments right at that moment. He had an expression of utmost seriousness on his features and I nodded to him.
"Do you guys know who this is?" I asked lowly, facing the glaring enemy.
"Do we need to?" Loke asked, clenching his fist. "He's your enemy, Lucy, and that's all that we need to know."
"He's the one who forced me to have Magical Overflow."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the lion stiffen and Taurus nearly dropped his axe in surprise. Virgo also stiffened, but it was less noticeable than her glare at the man responsible.
"Lucy—" Taurus began.
"We're going to take him out," I flicked my whip at the oncoming wind magic and effectively stopped it from hitting us. "We're going to take him out," I repeated, "but we need to do it pretty quick. I'm pretty sure that he doesn't have any clue how to cure me, and I doubt that we could force it out of him soon enough even if he did. Do you guys understand?"
"Princess, you sound as though you're not going to make it much longer…" Virgo trailed off.
"Dammit, Lucy, you're about to have an attack!" Loke cursed a few times under his breath. "C'mon—we have to get started if we're going to take him down soon. Lucy?"
"Loke?"
"Don't die on us."
With those wonderful words of encouragement, my arguably strongest spirit sprinted at my enemy, his own fist glowing with what I knew to be his Regulus Impact. Taurus bellowed and ran—more like lumbered—behind, swinging his axe back and forth in arcs. Virgo disappeared into the soil at my feet, deep enough that the earth didn't move as she traversed underground. And I flicked my whip experimentally one more time before letting out a battle cry and running forward, sidestepping a blast of wind in the process.
Loke's Regulus Impact didn't land where he'd intended, as Narcissus stepped out of the way just in time. The earth three feet to the right of the enemy blew up, scattering dust and dirt and grasses everywhere. Taurus roared—or, rather, mooed furiously—as he neared the dark-haired mage. Wind buffeted him back, sending his axe spinning away and landing not even a foot away from me. It was actually Virgo's 'attack' that mattered most, because rather than trying to damage Narcissus herself, I saw her hands come up out of the ground and grasp his ankles firmly. I leapt as soon as I saw this, lashing out at him with my whip and sending a surge of energy into the spirit world's weapon.
My whip caught Narcussus across the chest and at that moment Virgo let go, so he tumbled backwards again. Loke leapt on him, getting a few regular punches in before he had to leap away to avoid a blast of wind. Narcissus managed to climb to his feet, holding himself off the ground on a cushion of air, and scowled at us.
"Lucy. Are you so weak you have to count on these riffraff to help you?"
"They're not riffraff," my response was shaky with barely contained anger. How dare he talk about my spirits like that? "They're my friends."
The laugh that was his retort made my blood boil once more. The odd wish to have the king of the spirit world as a celestial spirit I could summon ran through my head. But he was not a spirit I could summon, and I'd have to make do with beating the hell out of this man on my own. Except I wasn't alone anymore—I had my other spirits beside me.
"Virgo," I said as the spirit reappeared next to me from below ground. "Can you give me a boost to his height from underground?"
"You want me to…push you up, from underground? Is that right, Princess?"
I just nodded once in affirmation.
"Lucy, what are you thinking?" Loke asked, not in disbelief but because he truly didn't understand what I was getting at.
"You'll see."
Virgo had disappeared beneath the ground again, and as Taurus, with his retrieved axe, defended Loke and I from another blast of wind, I cried, "Now, Virgo!"
Almost the entire guild was running now, following the train tracks north. Those who hadn't read the letter had now been enlightened by those who had, and everyone was determined. Even in her slight hysteria, Levy had been sensible enough to stop at the train station and ask when the train north had left and it was thanks to her that they knew the train had derailed for unknown reasons. It only increased the need to find Lucy.
Pantherlily had already transformed, as he could now hold his bigger form for an indefinite amount of time, and Levy was actually upon the shoulders of Gajeel, her face tear-free and determined. She was keeping an eye out for what was farther ahead of the main body of the guild, warning them about any bridges that were coming up that they couldn't see. Mirajane was in cheetah form, far ahead of many, and Lisanna was right with her as a small finch.
Master Makarov was upon Elfman's shoulders much like Levy was on Gajeel's, though he wasn't quite as high so he didn't call the warnings out. Jet, although he had speed, chose to stay with the majority of the guild, sprinting forward out of sight occasionally only to come back and tell everyone how far ahead team Natsu and Juvia were.
The water mage, for her part, was keeping pace with Erza and Gray, and Natsu was far ahead of them in the air. Wendy was being carried by Charle right alongside Juvia and had been the one to tell the oblivious water mage why everyone was running. It had only increased the determination running through the former Element Four member—Lucy's absence from Fairy Tail had caused everyone pain, so now that she was so close, they had only to find her in time. She didn't know what they could do, but she would do anything to bring a smile not only to Gray's face, but to everyone else's faces, too.
Gray's face was full of determination. He was so focused on the task at hand that he still had every single article of clothing on. The jean jacket he wore flapped around him, but he didn't care, nor did he care about how the rest of his clothing tugged at him. What he cared about right now was reaching Lucy. He knew that he had already forgiven her for everything she'd said to them as Layla Heart.
Erza was much the same. Her armor was hot and heavy and her hair stuck annoyingly to her skin from her sweat, but she didn't care. Her precious nakama was so close now—had been so close for weeks—and she would do anything she could to get Lucy back. Lucy had already been forgiven by Erza, as well, because the redhead knew that the blonde had been trying to protect them.
Erza, Gray, and Juvia had learned about the derailed train from Wendy and Charle.
Ahead, in the air, a certain pink-haired dragonslayer was descending toward the gleaming metal he had earlier spotted. He hadn't known that the train had derailed and if he wasn't being so watchful, he might not have seen it despite its size. His eyes were skimming over the scene frantically and he heard a collective gasp from the crowds of people huddled near the train. He spotted the mage floating in the air, and even as he watched, something flew up toward that mage at a rapid speed. His heart nearly skipped a beat.
"Lucy?"
"Narcissus!" I shouted, ramming into the mage forcefully. Virgo had done exactly as I had asked and even if I had originally intended to just knock him out of the air with my whip, this could be better. I wrapped my arms around him in a parody of an embrace as my momentum knocked both of us off of his little cushion of air. We were fifteen feet up and when we hit the ground, with Narcissus on the bottom, it knocked the wind out of him. I grasped his collar tightly, crouched over him, and yanked his head up to my height.
"Are you feeling lucky?" I asked him darkly. His eyes widened at the swirling magic that was surrounding us.
"Lucy!" Loke's voice sounded frantic and the shout of "Princess!" from Virgo and "Luuucy!" from Taurus were not much different. I hated to leave them like this, but if it was how it had to be, I would do it.
"What—you don't have to do this—" Narcissus tried, and I could tell he was frightened. It was a welcome change of attitude from him.
"So you're not feeling lucky?" a sickening sort of grin was spreading across my face. I could feel it twisting my normally cheerful visage into a grotesque parody. And still I held him, not willing to let him go just yet. "I think you deserve a little taste of your own medicine, don't you?"
"No—please!"
I couldn't keep the attack in check any longer even had I wanted to, so it burst out in waves of golden energy, stronger than any I had ever faced before. And yet I bit my screams back, forcing myself to accept the pain as it came. Instead of my screams, the piercing shrieks of the man who had never felt what he had caused rent the air. And despite everything, I couldn't help but pity him because he really was pathetic.
When he went limp, unconscious in my grasp, I used all the force I could muster to throw him away from my agonizing fire of magical energy. And still, I did not cry out or fall to the ground just yet. I closed my eyes and tilted my head up, my blonde hair whipping wildly around my face. I missed seeing my blonde hair every time I looked into the mirror, and now I wouldn't get to see it anymore. But, I mused, wasn't it worth every minute? Maybe Narcissus would learn, after this, not to do it again. Or maybe he'd be even more determined, but I was positive that Sherri and Lyon would make sure he went to jail for a while.
The gashes I'd received earlier from my enemy's wind attacks began to sting and to widen and suddenly, I was even more acutely aware of everything.
It was more agonizing than I had realized and my knees buckled. I hit the ground hard, hugging myself tightly as I fought against the shriek that wanted so desperately to rip from my throat. How had I not noticed this before? How had I been seemingly immune to the feeling of being ripped apart from the inside out, by my own magic?
I could hold it no longer, and the shriek ripped from my throat. The pain was more than I had expected, or had even experienced in any other attack. It was just like I had assumed it would be, and ten times worse. The torment I was going through—what had I done to deserve it all? And yet, not for the first time, I realized that I would never wish this pain on anyone else. Not like Narcissus had done before he actually felt it for himself.
"Lucy!" the shout came again, Loke's voice seeming louder than before. Once more, the shouts of Virgo and Taurus followed, and even Sherri and Lyon called out to me this time. I heard a sharp cry from Sherri and knew instinctively that she'd gotten close enough to be injured by the maelstrom of energy surrounding me. I felt like a horrible person for causing her pain. And the pain I had once caused Loke because of this.
"I'm sorry," I choked out when one of my screams came to an end. My voice was hoarse, my throat raw from the screams that had ripped through it, but I still said it again while I could fight back the next shrieks. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
A crackle sounded, and an explosion inside my little tornado of energy sent me down to my elbows, a loud cry escaping my lips, but I forced myself back up soon after. I felt blood on my face, my hair sticking to it, but I was still alive and still in agony.
Why did everything have to end like this?
"Lucy!"
That was a different voice. I almost dared to hope it was him, but not quite.
"Lucy!"
And there it was again. A shriek was once more ripping from my lips, so I couldn't clearly hear the voice anymore. I didn't think it could be him—I'd only left them a short while ago, so they couldn't have found out so quickly!
My scream sputtered into a gasp as arms encircled me.
"Lucy! Luce…"
My voice was hoarse, but I still said again, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"
The arms around me only tightened, and in the swirling vortex of golden magic, I saw the tell-tale pink hair I had been both hoping to see and dreading to see. I wanted to push him away, but my arms were too weak and his were too strong. Besides, it was Natsu and I knew he wouldn't give up when he put his mind to something. Even when I heard him hiss in pain, I knew he wouldn't give up on me.
I really didn't want things to end this way.
NOPE. This is not the end just yet. But what will happen in the last chapter?
You'll have to wait and see.
OH. And since I'm tired of typing this in every reply to your marvelous reviews (haha) I'm going to say right now: I'll try to have the next chapter by the end of March, but I can't promise anything right now because, once again, school is getting hectic. So please be patient with me!
Haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading.