The Magical Bond Between Two Hearts
Chapter 24: Struggle
You can do this…no turning back since you rushed in there yourself without thinking.
Lucy's eyes darted to each of the shadowy dogs standing around them. She could tell that they were only focused on her now, which she didn't mind. As long as the others were safe.
You're an idiot but…I have to get stronger.
She took one step forward towards them, noticing that the dogs took a step back. As if they feared her, and knew who she was. Yet they stayed put after that, growling at her and getting ready for an attack. Lucy was ready for anything, though she could feel the curse was growing every time that she wanted to use her powers. It was as if the curse was making her weaker in power with each time she used it.
She lifted the sword she had conjured up, looking at where each of the dogs were at, and charged. There were about six of them when she first attacked, but as she charged half of them disappeared.
Three left.
One shadow dog charged with its teeth bared, ready to bite but Lucy quickly dodged and smacked it away with the blunt end of her sword. In the corner of her eye the dog was motionless.
Two.
The rest circled around her as if they were planning or in an act of desperation. She focused on the two, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. As they finally lunged at her, she took them down in one swipe. She then opened her eyes and knew that they were all gone.
None left. Thank goodness for that.
Lucy stood there motionless for a moment not because of the shock of the curse slowly starting to spread again, but because she did not know what to do next. Since she had saved her friends' lives right then.
I don't think they know who I am though, she thought to herself.
Maybe…I should keep it that way.
Resolved she slowly turned to the group, her face still covered from the hood she had put up over her face. Two of them she recognized, but the one blue skinned woman was not familiar to her. They all looked awed and surprised as she stood there motionless again.
What should I do? I can't talk to them at all without using some magic. There must be some way to….
She realized then that Shane had disappeared, thinking that she probably lost him after going to investigate alone.
"Um…thanks," the blue skinned lady said after a long pause.
Lucy not knowing how to say 'you're welcome' without her voice, only nodded once in response. It seemed to do the trick as she could see the group was relieved. Lucy was relieved herself that they didn't question her, so she decided to take a few steps away to see where Shane had run off to.
"Wait, hold on a second."
Lucy almost tripped over herself but stopped and turned her head back seeing that it was the little girl that had spoken up.
"Do you by chance…know where we can find a messy short haired girl with gold eyes?" she asked.
It took a lot for Lucy not to move knowing that the girl was talking about her. She blinked not knowing what to do and how to respond.
"Kid, what are you doing? This person doesn't seem to want to stay here or talk with us."
"But I was just asking a question. Besides you were the one that went to look for her first."
Lucy blinked as she watched the two argue, making sure her hood was pulled tightly over her head.
"Enough you two!" the blue haired lady shouted at them as the area around the group grew quiet. She stood up and walked a bit toward Lucy. "Who might you be if I may ask?"
The girl gulped silently and tried to think of a way to talk to them. She stared down at the sword still in her right hand and got an idea.
If I can't talk to them…I can always write something.
Taking the sword, she wrote four letters that spelled out her name: L-I-L-Y. She then pointed to the name with her sword, and with her free hand pointed to herself.
"That's a lovely name. I'm Sorceress," the blue haired woman said sweetly to her.
Lucy tried to remain motionless and to not show much emotion. She simply nodded and looked down in thought. I should at least help them find their way back, it's the least I can do. Maybe Shane will understand…
She looked up and pointed in the opposite direction that she was facing. Looking back at them she could see that they were confused as to what exactly she was doing. She sighed softly in frustration as she pointed to herself, then to them, and then back at the direction she pointed before.
"So…you want to take us that way?" the kid asked tilting her head.
Lucy nodded again twice. She then turned around again and headed in the direction she pointed at. She wasn't quite sure if they would follow, yet this was the least of her worries as she felt a twinge of pain going through her body.
It's getting worse. User I hope this doesn't take hold of me now before I help them get out of here.
Lucy was surprised to hear some pairs of footsteps trailing behind her. She took a quick glance behind her to see that they were following her some little ways behind. She breathed a quiet sigh seeing that they took her offer to escort them back to where they belonged.
Her mind then traveled to where Shane could have gone. The last thing she remembered was that he went off towards the sounds, which were her friends. She could hear whispers from behind her, but was too preoccupied with worrying about Shane to listen to what they had to say.
He couldn't have gone far…does he know what happened?
At about the same time she thought about this, the girl heard a commotion behind her. There he was, standing in between her and the three that were following her from behind.
O - O - O - O
Ralph could see on the other girl's faces that they weren't exactly sure about this mysterious person named Lily. He wasn't exactly sure who she was either, other than she could not talk or refused to. Vanellope sat on his shoulder as he lumbered behind Sorceress with the cloaked figure in the front leading the way. It was silent, not only from them but the place around them seemed to be quiet. And dark.
He sighed as he pulled out the small ring that belonged to Lucy.
"You really miss her, dontcha?" Vanellope's voice asked breaking the silence.
He simply nodded, continuing to stare down at the ring. She must be so scared right now. Where could she have gone?
"Hey, you know how Lily appeared out of nowhere to save us right?"
Ralph turned his head to meet the racer's gaze.
"What about it?" he whispered his eyes going between Vanellope and the figure leading the way.
The girl narrowed her eyes and said nothing as she was deep in thought.
"I…have this feeling that she's…very familiar," she answered.
"What do you mean?"
"Well…" Vanellope paused looking around, "Did you hear that?"
"What?" Ralph asked stopping in his tracks. He looked around the dark trees, but could not see anything.
A loud yelp caused him to look forward again. He blinked almost surprised at what he saw.
It was a shadow. But it looked more human than the ones he had seen being around Lucy. He was standing in between them and the figure in the lead. She had turned around as well and was motionless. Ralph frowned and stepped up to whatever it was. Getting closer he could see that it took the shape of a man, a mask placed over his eyes.
Wait…why does this look…?
He suddenly realized something, and clenched his huge fists together.
"You!" he growled.
O - O - O - O
Shane had found whoever was behind them, but was even more worried that Lucy would go off on her own when he specifically told her to stay put. Following her up until she was leading them somewhere, and then made his move. He was going to protect this girl no matter if they were her friends or enemies.
But he was a bit shocked when the giant stepped forward, apparently having seen him before. His eyes narrowed as the giant stepped forward to challenge him.
"You better step back if you know what's good for you." Shane said growling back at him.
The giant however did not move, but only stood his ground. Shane could tell that this was going to be messy. Before he could grab the sword from his belt however something wrapped around his arm. Expecting it to be a sneak attack he snapped his head.
But was met with Lucy's figure holding him back. Through her cloak the man could see a pleading look in her eyes. She didn't want him to attack. He contemplated this, if he should attack, or follow Lucy's wishes. His free hand fell to his side slowly, away from his sword. His head turned back to the giant with a glare.
"Why are you all out here?" he asked with a scowl on his face.
There was nothing but silence at first, then the little girl spoke up.
"We're here to find a friend of ours. What's it to you?" she asked giving him a frown.
Shane balled his hands into fists, but did nothing feeling Lucy's arms still around his.
"You should not go walking around here all carefree. It's dangerous here," he said keeping his stance.
"Obviously we can see it's dangerous," the blue woman replied beginning to float from the ground.
He was about to protest when he felt a tug on his arm. He turned to stare at Lucy who seemed to want to say something to him. She made gestures with her hands, pointing to herself, the direction she was heading and back to the group.
"You're leading them out of danger?" he asked puzzled, "Why?"
She simply shrugged, grabbing her left arm. She then pounded her chest and puffed up in confidence. Shane was a bit surprised to see her confident that she could do this on her own, however with the two shadow twins still lurking about he felt that she wasn't really safe. Even with the giant with them.
"You know Lily?" the blue woman asked making him take a glance at her, then Lucy with shock. Through the cloak though she gave a glaring look. Like she didn't want him to tell the three who she really was. He sighed rubbing the top of his head.
This is going to kill me for sure.
"Yes. We're…comrades I suppose. Both lost in our own way I guess," he said with an unsure shrug.
The giant gave him a stern but weird look. He glared back at him, judging him silently.
He felt another tug on his arm however and turned to look at Lily. She had a terrified look on her face. And with good reason.
Two figures stood in the path in front of them. Shane immediately kept Lily back from them realizing that they were the twins. He could hear that the others had stopped moving as well when they appeared. His hand slowly went to the hilt of his sword.
"Well…look who it is," the male of the twins jested.
"Shane. How are you all the way out here in this place?" the other twin added in.
He could feel the cold stares on him, while Lily was grabbing onto one of his wrists tightly. He decided to not say a word, but slowly unsheathe his sword, pointing it at the twins.
"Oh? He wishes to challenge us sister," the brother smiled as he too drew his own sword, only the blade was not there, only shadows. The other did the same, the sword the same as well.
As Shane was prepared to fend them off he felt another tug on his wrist. Lily was looking at him with pleading eyes, showing the sword she had kept in one hand this whole time. He sighed, not wanting the girl to fight alongside him and knowing she would definitely be killed.
"Okay, just…keep out of danger," he told her in a whisper.
The girl only nodded now facing the twins with the sword in both her hands.
"Two on two. This should be interesting," the twins said at once before charging forward.
0 - 0 - 0 - 0
Focus Lucy. Stay calm and find a way to beat them.
Glancing back and forth between the twins she charged towards them as well with Shane close behind. She could see he was worried that she wouldn't be able to do it. But she wanted to fight, to get stronger.
She raised her sword and slashed diagonally towards the female. A sharp ringing from the clashing of swords echoed through the empty silent forest. The girl jumped back when the shadow girl pushed her blade towards her. She went to attack again, each time a sharp ring would echo.
Quickly glancing to Shane he was not having the best of luck. He was constantly trying to hit the other shadow, but would get more knocked back from each push the shadow would make.
RIP!
The sound of cloth being sliced had Lucy turn to face the shadow girl again. She gave her a taunting grin, spinning her sword around once.
There!
The cloaked girl charged at her, the sword being semi dragged on the ground. Her opponent made a move to counter, however…she was aiming for something else. She could see her enemy's face changed to horror as she slammed the blade to her back. The shadow gasped as it quickly slammed her elbow into the girl's stomach. The impact caused her to fly back a few feet onto the ground. Lucy shook as she sat on the ground, trying to get up.
All the while she could see the other three were shocked, looking as if they wanted to intervene. A chill ran through her as she heard a high piercing screech coming from the sky.
"Very nice moves stranger. But not good enough," the shadow girl said with another taunting smile.
Another shout was heard as she could see that Shane was forced to the ground as well. He looked to be more beaten up than she was, however Lucy didn't move as something was pressed against her chest. She looked at the shadow with glaring golden eyes. If she could speak she would ask why…but the curse was still affecting her greatly.
The air suddenly changed from the eerie stillness to an electrically charged silence. All four of them stopped from this sudden change in the air. Almost immediately blue lightning struck right down at the twins causing them to back away and regroup to each other. Lucy shielded her eyes before hearing another loud screech, this time closer to her.
"Hurry, grab the boy!"
Still shielding her eyes, she barely noticed that she was being sprung to her feet and leaving the ground entirely. When her vision cleared all she could see were pink cotton candy clouds and the fading light of the sun. Lucy was entranced staring at the clouds for what seemed like a very long time.
"What's the big deal?!"
This brought the girl back down to reality as she took a look around her. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Shane flailing his legs, and the lady from before…Sorceress but she was flying with strange wings. And speaking of flying…
She heard a loud chirp from below her. When the girl saw what it was she almost gasped.
Tobi?
The cybug had grown to huge proportions to carry her, and two others: the small girl who was sitting on his head with a huge grin on her face, and the giant who was right in the middle of her and the kid. Suddenly she remembered what had happened. He had grabbed ahold of her as she was blinded and jumped onto Tobi, who had dived down to catch them. She sat there with an awed look on her face.
"You should be thanking us for thinking on our feet. Else you two would have a game over."
Lucy realized that it was Sorceress talking and glanced back at the two flying right beside them.
"We could handle it on our own." Shane snapped back still flailing his feet.
"Oh really? It looked like you were holding back. Like you knew who they were."
If only I could talk and explain it to them. Lucy was getting a bit anxious, wanting very much to say something if the curse would let her. And yet…it would reveal that she wasn't Lily at all.
"Are you alright?" a small voice chimed in next to her.
The girl flinched to see the small child had made her way from the front to the back of the cybug. She had almost forgotten that Vanellope could glitch so easily if she wanted to. Lucy nodded, her hands gesturing to the clouds.
"Yeah, they really are something aren't they?" the kid smiled staring up at them.
Lucy thought for a moment before placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. Then patting her own chest with the palm of her hand three times. Vanellope looked at her in confusion, making the girl sigh in silence.
"It's okay Lily. You like the clouds right?"
She pulled the cloak over her face a bit more and removed her hand from the kid's shoulder. Why does Ralph always have a way with words?
Before she could try to communicate the three of them both gasped as the cybug had landed in a part of the forest they had not seen before. The creature chirped before its green eyes looked back at the three passengers. Lucy immediately pushed herself off his back and landed on the ground. She looked to see that Sorceress and Shane had already landed before they did and were still arguing back and forth. She made a move to walk towards them and placed her hands between them. She made worried hand gestures and movements wanting them to stop.
"Wait…what's that on your hands?" she heard the blue skinned lady ask.
This made her stop and look down. Her hands had almost turned black. Her eyes widened as she backed away from the two, hiding her hands behind her cloak again.
Oh no…it's happening faster than the previous times. I thought that I could control it…
"She has the curse like me."
Lucy blinked in surprise glancing over at Shane, who's expression had turned serious.
"It…wouldn't happen to be the shadow's curse would it?" Ralph inquired joining the group with Vanellope on his shoulder. The girl took a small step away from him, to be safe.
Shane looked at him a bit stunned, "Yes, it is. How…? Never mind." He looked up to see the light growing dimmer in the sky.
"We should stay put for the time being. It's…very dangerous to travel by dark." the boy said after looking silently at the sky for a moment.
Lucy nodded in agreement, keeping a sure distance from everyone. Soon enough the others nodded in silence as well. Knowing that they would stay in this place she decided to sit and think. Ten minutes passed as she watched a fireplace grew from the four building it. She heard Shane say that any light would keep the shadows at bay. Even the twins.
The twins…they knew Shane. I knew he was with the Shadowman from what he told me. I thought that maybe, just maybe I could show that I was brave and good enough to fight them off…
I had it in the end…how could I have been beating down so easily? I could have taken her down but…why couldn't I?
Lucy silently cursed herself. She wanted to be strong, to fight off anyone to survive. But she couldn't even do that on her own. Sighing she hugged her knees to her chest, looking up at the first glimpse of stars.
I…don't think I've ever seen Sugar Rush at night before.
Unknown to her, as she was staring up at the sky, her body subtly began to shake. Her magic was slowly starting to succumb to the shadow's curse once again. For ten years she was able to fend off the darkness, but now she was really struggling to stay herself.
For Lucy knew if she gave in, her friends would not survive what was to come if she became one of them.
As the girl struggled to keep herself a secret, and keep herself together, little did she know of what the others were up to.
With a shaky sigh she decided to remove the hood from her head.
A/N: Oh wow it's been...what over a year since I last wrote a chapter?
I suppose I should explain why I haven't been writing very much lately:
-Work. I had gotten a very good paying job in December of 2016. Though it did come with me working more than 8 hours on most days, working 6 days a week with one day off (sometimes two or three on occasion). So I would not have time because I would either be getting up early in the morning just to leave for work or come home too exhausted to write anything.
-BIG Writer's block and procrastination: I had this in the works at the time. But for some reason the story kept changing in my mind and I couldn't get a really good one to stick onto the events. Sometimes my mind would think of good plot points that happen after what I would currently be working on (and I would think of that more than what I have to write first). And there was also the fact that I kept putting the writing off.
-Lack of creativity. There was a long period of time when I couldn't do anything creative and I stopped drawing and writing because of that. It was only through group contests on dA that I was able to get back in the groove. And for my writing I have my wonderful fiancee to thank for getting me started and encouraging me. And to my best friend and big supporter of this story (To which we both know who it is) I also thank for getting me back on my feet and encouraging me to do my best. This is for you my friend, after waiting so long for an update.
So yeah guys, if any of you are still dedicated to this story, I'm really sorry for the long wait for the update. I hope you can forgive me if the writing seems...a bit rusty. I hope you guys enjoy. Until next time.