Just Misunderstood

Chapter 20

The Stars Fall

He splashed his face quickly before running the cloth under the fall of warm water. He turned off the faucet and he caught himself in the mirror. His eyes were red and puffy, and dark bags hung under them. His skin was blotchy and a deep gash was bleeding on his forehead. He pressed the cloth to the cut and looked down. Crimson red stained his hands, it was all the way up his arms, dripping down his skin. He dropped the cloth and grabbed the edges of the porcelain sink, his jaw clenched and he tore off his shirt. He wiped the blood from his chest where it had seeped through his clothes, he rinsed the washcloth and wet a few more, after grabbing a couple towels he exited the Cait Shelter bathroom.

Lucy sat with her hands in her lap, her eyes void as she stared at the ground. Cobra walked slowly to her, his knees hitting the floor by the bed. He looked up into her eyes, and he smiled softly, "Hey…" he whispered, his hand gripped her thigh as she met his eyes. They were still a vivid gold and his were striking purple like always. He rubbed her knee and slipped her jacket off, her shirt followed shortly and she allowed him to clean her, he rubbed down her arms and up the sides of her body, ridding her of the blood that now tainted her brightness. He pulled her leggings off and was to distracted with cleaning the blood from her calves and knees to even notice the smooth texture of her bare legs.

She leaned back and he stood to lean over her, he exhaled while wiping her face. His hand went to support his weight behind her and his knee was in between her legs, but Lucy just watched his face as he scrubbed her own. She leaned forward and her hands went to the sides of his face and he flinched back, the washcloth dropping between them. His eyes widened as she wiped the drops of blood on his cheek that had dripped down from his forehead. A small smile graced his lips and he leaned forward as well. It was such an intimate position, but neither of them saw it as that. It was just them, together. With emotions or without them, they were there in that moment. Alone and just silently enjoying whatever peaceful time they could get.

"What in god's name is happening right now," a grainy voice said from the doorway. Midnight stood his arms crossed over his chest. He watched as Cobra jumped back, he shirtless and Lucy only in a thin bra and panties. Cobra scrambled and wrapped Lucy in a towel.

"What the hell?" He growled, but it came out more like a whine.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we do have a problem, the council is near… Don't you hear them?" He asked, his eyebrows raised in question.

Cobra listened closely and heard the distant chattering of men at the Nirvana crash site, but it was muffled by the blood pounding in his head, "Uh, yeah," he looked at Lucy as she looked up at him. A towel was tightly draped across her body, hiding what needed to be covered but he saw the blood drying in her hair and the overall stain of red on her skin.

"Shit, where are the others? We need to get back to the guild and grab what we need," he sighed as he grabbed a shirt provided by Cait Shelter.

"Then what? They know who we are now, no doubt, and now with Brain gone we won't have the protection magic anymore, they are going to find the guild," he panicked.

Cobra put the shirt on and pulled out the clothes for Lucy, he handed them to her and she nodded slowly, he motioned towards the bathroom and she got up to change.

"Then we run Macbeth, we will run. We can… we can split up, Angel and Racer and Hoteye and then us three. Harder to find us if we are separated," he spoke slowly, and then glanced towards the bathroom.

"You're taking Lucy? Why? Fairy Tail is here they can take her-," he spoke but as Cobra met his eyes Midnight understood. He couldn't leave Lucy alone without him, he was the only one that could break the spell, he couldn't let her live with what she had done today. It was partly his fault, and she didn't deserve any of what happened here. He needed to stay with her.

Cobra said nothing as he shook his head slowly, he sat back on the bed, a heavy sigh leaving his mouth, "Can you please go tell Erza? You guys seem a lot closer than me and her, plus I don't want to deal with her."

Midnight's face lite up like a neon sign and he backed away, "Why do you think we are close, we aren't, we have barely spoken, plus I think she likes Jellal," he stuttered.

Cobra rolled his eyes, "Oh, and by the way, what are we going to do about Jellal?"

"I figured he would go with the Fairies, or the council would take him for his past crimes," he spoke as he turned to leave.

"Good luck with Erza."

"Good luck with Lucy."

~JM~

Midnight ran quickly out of the hut and towards the main guild hall. He huffed as he pushed the cloth to the side and he found Jura bandaging Eve while the young boy sipped a bowl of soup. The boy stiffened and his face grew stern, but Jura whispered something and he nodded slowly, looking away and sipping his bowl. Jura stood, "How may I be of assistance?"

"I'm looking for Erza," he spoke quickly, his heart racing for some reason.

-running make the heart beat faster-

"Her, Jellal, Wendy and the rest of the Fairies headed out to the crash site, they wanted to speak with the council about Lucy and everything before they got here," he said.

Midnight's heart dropped.

-so does something else-

He dashed out of the hall and raced through the thick brush of the forest but it seemed like he was moving through water. He heard the loud voices of the council and sudden clashes of battle. He pushed forward, his heart not slowing for a single second as he burst into the clearing.

"He is our ally! Past or not! He helped defeat this evil and he doesn't deserve to go with you!" Natsu was already in a fist fight with several guards, Gray and Wendy shouting words to convince the council. Jellal stood behind the soldiers, handcuffs on his wrist and surprise on his face.

"Please! If you take him away Erza will be inconsolable!" Gray yelled shortly, his face morphing into anger as they continued to fight Natsu with no regard for anyone else. He growled and jumped in, pulling away guards that had begun to crowd Natsu.

He shoved some of them aside and reached for Jellal, "Please! Jellal come with us, you can't leave Erza, not again! We are with you, you need to stay!" He shouted.

Midnight stood shocked, none of them noticing him yet.

"Enough!" Lahar's strong voice rang out, "Arrest them all for obstructing government officers and aiding the escape of a criminal!" Even more guards poured forward, restraining the others and Midnight rushed forward. His hand going to Erza's arm. She turned around, and he flinched away when he saw tears forming in her eyes. Her mouth trembled, but she pushed him behind her and held his hand.

"That is enough! We are a light guild! We do not interfere with the arrest of criminals. I am sorry Lahar and I will take full responsibility for my guilds actions. You can take Jellal, he is a wanted criminal," Midnight felt her shaking but he stayed behind her.

"What? Erza no!" Natsu shouted.

"Shut up!" She yelled.

Jellal's eyes softened and he smiled at Erza, she held his gaze as she held her head up, "I remember now…." he whispered, "It was the color of your hair, I could never forget."

She flinched back and Midnight squeezed her hand.

And they all watched as Jellal stepped into the van, and the guards filled out of the clearing, "I will meet you at Cait Shelter, we have more to discuss, like the whereabouts of Lucy Heartfilia and the rest of the Oracion Seis," Lahar spoke.

"Lucy? What about Lucy, she was under a spell she wasn't actually apart-" Natsu started but Lahar stopped him.

"I know what happened here today, guild members from Naked Mummy explained everything, and I do not care that she or the rest of the Oracion Seis helped defeat Brain and Zero. They are all still wanted for crimes prior to that," she locked eyes with Erza, "Even Lucy, who was only recently placed under a spell. She joined the dark guild full well knowing what she was getting herself into."

Midnight stiffened, "No she didn't we never told her we were a dark guild," he whispered.

Erza nodded but stayed silent. "Can you get back, just, get Lucy out of here. You all need to run, take Luce with you she isn't safe here anymore. She would never win in an official trial, we need her hidden until we can clear her name. I am counting that you guys can figure a way to break the spell, and only then can we even begin discussing more with the council," she whispered back.

He nodded, and stepped back into the line of the trees, and raced back off into the direction of Cait Shelter.

"What was that?!" A guard shouted.

"Who was that?!" Another sounded.

"Nothing but a midnight breeze," Erza said as she looked up at the night sky, "What a day."

~JM~

Lucy emerged from the bathroom wearing a red dress provided by Cait Shelter, her eyes searched the room for Cobra who was sitting on the bed. He was bent over, tying up his boots. "Hey," he said as he sat up. He pulled a duffle bag off the bed and walked to her side, he grabbed a few things in the bathroom and shoved them in the bag. He raced around the room, filling the bag with the few things Cait Shelter had kindly given them.

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked.

Cobra slung the bag over his shoulder and tilted his head towards the door, "Council is close, we are gonna meet the others at the guild, get the necessities, and then… well I guess, we run," she followed him out the door. Angel stood outside, a similar bag on her back, she smiled.

"Hoteye and Racer just headed out, they are gonna destroy any incriminating documents and try and relocate the valuables," she fell into step beside Cobra and Lucy.

"I gotta tell Jura we are leaving and then we can head out, shouldn't be a long trip at all," he looked back at Lucy, "The guild hall is actually a lot closer than you'd think."

The trio dropped in at the main hall and told the Wizard Saint of their plans, which was risky in itself, but he understood. It even seemed like he was going to try and help their cause. Then after a few minutes, the three exited the building. Cobra dug a small crystal out of his pocket and grinned. "Oh shit nice, I lost mine years ago," Angel smiled.

"I know me too. I found it a few weeks ago, thought it may come in handy."

"What is it?" Lucy asked quietly.

He cocked his head, "A spelled crystal, one-time use, he breaks it and it will transport us to the guild," he smiled, "the best way to beat the council there."

Cobra grabbed Lucy's hand and Angel grabbed Lucy's. He took a deep breath and whispered words left his mouth.

-take us home-

And with that Cobra broke the crystal on the ground and they all disappeared in a shower of blue sparks.

~JM~

Lucy exited her room with another box in her hands, she set it down in the main hall and waited for Cobra and Angel to put the rest of their things there. "Huh, looks like that's everything," he nodded to Lucy and she waved her hand over the stack of boxes and bags. They disappeared into the spirit world, where they would be safe in while they traveled. "Alright girls, immediate necessities in your backpacks, gonna be a long road ahead of us, no looking back," he turned to them and a sad smile crossed his face as he looked at Lucy. Her eyes downcast and gold as ever, still as empty as they were when he left.

Angel touched his arm, "Do you wanna try?"

"Yeah, it's really now or never, I wanted to do it out on the field, but we were too late, but if we do it now maybe we can stop her from hurting anyone else," he looked down, "she won't come back from something like that, Zero was one thing but," he shook his head.

Angel pulled out her key ring, the golden spirits clanking softly. Cobra stepped forward and pulled Lucy's backpack out of her hands. His heart thumped painfully in his chest, his blood rushed in his ears, his hands trembled slightly. He took a long deep breath and exhaled slowly, he opened his eyes and pushed any fear down deep inside of him. He needed to do this.

Angel pressed her hand against a key and the room was full of golden light for a moment before Leo stood with his arms crossed. Lucy immediately stiffened. Her heart beat a little faster, her eyes widened a little wider, she froze. She itched to get near him, to separate the hand that Cobra was placing on his shoulder.

-nothing can touch him-

It was screaming in her head, she stepped forward but Cobra interrupted.

"Lucy, I need to know," Cobra started, his voice soft, "Did you feel anything when you did… that to Zero?"

She shook her head, "I don't feel anything."

"Don't you find that weird?"

"It feels like nothing."

He stiffened and then looked down, "Alright, so, you wouldn't care if I, let's say, destroyed Leo's key and killed him where he stands?" He let a smile grow on his face, but a dead weight fell into his stomach.

"Cobra," Angel said as she stepped forward.

"What? She doesn't feel anything? Love anything? Anyone? Let's see that, shall we? This damn spell can't be that fucking strong, nothing is that strong. Nothing this evil anyway, Zero is dead, and no matter the anchor this spell needs to go, we can't run from the council with her like this. She doesn't care if we are caught or if we kill along the way, and that isn't good, we can't leave a trail of bodies and we can't have someone that can jeopardize our location. We need Lucy, not Lucillia. And if it takes killing her precious little spirit then so be it," he snapped.

"You seriously think that will work?" Lucy's voice came out quick.

"Worth a shot right? And if I'm wrong oh well, the world loses one more arrogant, horny cat, but we can sure find out."

"You're bluffing," she spoke quietly.

"There's that pesky attitude again, why are negative emotions always the first to push through?" He settled his hand on Leo's neck and the Lion stiffened. She looked at him with lifeless eyes and that image, especially with the sin he was about to commit, would haunt him for years to come.

"Lucy please, you can stop him, he isn't bluffing," Loke whispered, his eyes wide with fear. Cobra pulled him closer. He held out a key, and Lucy's throat closed up. Sitting in his palm was Leo's key, it's glow was dimmer than usual and the gold almost looked silver but her stomach still jumped up into her mouth.

She held his gaze, "You can't destroy-"

His fist closed and she heard a nauseating crunch. Golden dust puffed out of the sides of his fist and she felt something snap in her chest as loud gasp left her mouth. He opened his hand and the pieces fell to the ground, disappearing before hitting the floor. She stepped forward her eyes whipping up to meet his gaze. His hands were on either side of Leo's head, "No, it's not possible," she choked out but held Cobra's eyes, a cold hardness glazed over them, his jaw clenched. Then his purple eyes closed and he turned his head, Lucy saw his hands tense, "No sto-" a sickening crack silenced her.

Leo's body fell slowly to the ground, his knees hitting the wood first, then the rest of him. He laid on his stomach, his head bent unnaturally to the side. Her chest imploded, she felt her entire rib cage fall into her heart as it hit the roof of her mouth. The golden shields on her eyes that marked the hold of the spell cracked, and then shattered, the golden flakes fell towards the ground, disappearing like the dust of the key.

Lucy fell to her knees beside her lion, she fell hard and a crackling sob left her mouth, she tried to breathe but she couldn't. No air would enter her lungs, tears filled her eyes and fell down her face. "Loke?" She fisted her hands into the thick material of his suit. "Loke!" Cries left her and Cobra stepped back, the pure sadness in her cries causing his chest to tighten painfully.

He swallowed hard, his voice cracked, "You feel that Lucy? The crushing pain, the unbearable guilt? That's grief, that's emotion."

-the stars fall-