(Hey it's been a while! Hope you're staying safe with this whole Covid19 stuff. Enjoy some more chapters)
Chapter 15: Normal POV:
"Whatever this is, it's getting worse." Bickslow told her. Lucy could feel his pain, although not physically, certainly emotionally. She'd watched as he struggled to breathe. As he went through a time that she didn't. With someone that wasn't her. It was unsettling but she couldn't change any of that. She couldn't control time, not like Ultear could. But she was dead, she'd learned that from Gray. Lucy pulled away from Bickslow, and could feel his hesitation. She didn't let go of him, though. She took his hand and held onto it tightly. "Then we won't separate. I promise, okay?" She declared to him, fully intending on keeping that promise. She'd never seen this man so rattled before. To her, it was strange to see Bickslow asking for any kind of help. It was strange to see him so uncertain about something. She knew she was that way too, but Lucy knew she was a little more willing to show all of her emotions. Never held back. She had an idea, but she wasn't certain it would work, considering the last time that Leo was there. The celestial wizard tried to call on her strongest spirit a few times before he'd shown up on the fourth try. It was draining and frustrating for Lucy. She could immediately see how he looked. Leo, standing before like he had once before. In front of the grave of Karen Lillian. Assimilating. She'd refused that then, she certainly wasn't going to let that happen now. If it was what she thought it was, then this was a much larger problem than they thought. It wouldn't just be inconveniencing them. It would absolutely harm others. Including her spirits.
"Is… that normal, Loke?" She heard Bickslow ask before she could. Lucy watched Leo look down at himself and sigh, "Unfortunately, yes. I'm glad you've summoned me, Princess." He answered, followed by greeting his master and friend. Despite everything, Lucy watched as Leo still managed to smile at them. "I'm happy to see you two up and not freezing to death. I only had so much time before I knew I was going to be kicked back so I did the best I could. Hoping that you'd wake up." He disclosed. Lucy didn't understand. What was sending him back? Was it the same thing that had sent herself and Bickslow back to Hargeon? It wouldn't just be them, anymore. She wondered if Gray and Wendy, Natsu and Freed were sent somewhere, if Cana and Elfman had somehow been sent elsewhere. It was becoming clearer to Lucy that this island was saying no. "You keep saying you get sent back. By what? Does someone we can't see have magic nullification?" She asked Leo. It was her best guess. Someone they simply couldn't detect, distorting everything too. Making this whole trial a magical illusion to make them terrorized and ready for literally anything, if it didn't break them first. She watched Leo shake his head. The celestial mage felt like she was still missing important information. "Unfortunately, it's not that easy. It's not someone. And I guess you could call it something. But Lucy… It seems to be our fault. Right now, our time is about as fast as yours. It's more like I can't summon myself in places you or I haven't been summoned before. You were sent back to Hargeon after a time. It's all time. Something about us, and that spell Mavis used…" She listened, waiting as he paused. It looked difficult for him to remain here. "It's like it triggered a loop, but not just for us. For anyone that's ever been on this island during that spell." He explained to them. The blonde's gaze shifted to Bickslow as he interjected. "Then what about my dead body… another Lucy screaming in the maze? What about the angry one that just walked away from me..?" The questions held emotions Lucy could justify. She felt them too. Less anger, though.
She turned her attention back to Leo as he covered his mouth, his eyes on hers once more. "It's rejecting you…" Leo said through his hand. It was directed at the both of them. He sounded apologetic. Lucy didn't like that, she wanted to know why Leo felt the need to sound so sorry. It wasn't his fault that she was aware of. Before the blonde could answer, the seith mage did so, "What are you talking about, Loke?" Lucy could feel Bickslow's hand tightening on hers as he asked the question. She returned the squeeze. To the celestial mage, Leo looked reluctant to say. She silently urged him to explain his reasoning behind the claim. "It's rejecting you, because of us. We cheat your time." He began. Lucy stood still as she listened.
"It's rejecting all of you, in time and space. I'm willing to bet there's more versions of you on this island than you realize. That spell Mavis used isn't malicious, but Achnologia is. The spell could only protect so much." Leo paused, taking a step closer to them. "It's trying to make up for the seven years it lost. Clinging to everyone else and throwing you out, Lucy. Because of us. That's why I struggle to appear." Leo seemed to finish explaining. Lucy could feel Bickslow's eyes on her. As if asking if she knew about this at all. She returned a look of confusion to Bickslow, sighing. "Is that even possible? I knew that Ultear could play with time for objects." She observed, "But.. then again, it is Achnologia… We still don't fully know what he's capable of. Do you think it was him, Loke?" She asked, watching as her spirit began to flicker. Shit. "Loke?" She called out to him, only receiving "It's you Lucy, you're the only one who can stop it, g-" He was cut off by returning to the spirit realm. Lucy continued to stare at the spot Leo was standing. She still didn't understand it all, but she had to try. Some part of her was desperate to leave, to save herself and Bickslow. Her spirits, who were clearly suffering as they were. But her core being couldn't let her other friends parish here. If the spell had turned to a curse from ill will… then her friends would be stuck until she could fix it.
Lucy refused to let her friends die because of the magic she'd chosen. If she'd really chosen it at all. She'd inherited Aquarius from her mother after her death. Knowing why her mother had died now, it made sense. Though, in a sense, Layla had passed on the ability to save the world, time and time again. Even if the problem started with them. She'd created this shimmering mess. She'd clean it up. Place the puzzle pieces, shattered in the sky, where they belonged. She'd fix the mess she created. Lucy suddenly felt Bickslow's hand adjust to lace their fingers together. Lucy blinked up at Bickslow, silently. Neither had words, but both held questions. "Any ideas, Cosplayer?" He asked. Then he grinned. Though she was still confused, at least she had some answers now. She could start there, she needed to remain optimistic to stay hopeful. She smiled back at him. "Not yet. But never let go, I can't lose you either." She affirmed. It still bothered her quite a lot that her spirits were the problem. How was she to fix that? Bickslow seemed to nod along with her. Then, Lucy moved forward, heading towards the last place she would've seen the rest of their friends. Holding tight to Bickslow's hand. In solemn silence, they walked for a while. Never really sure for how long. Between the bursts of energy and the moments of exhaustion. They pushed through best they could. Going towards the maze, although never quite reaching it. Always close but never close enough. Lucy couldn't help but feel like her entire life was one big riddle leading up to this. Now she was being tested.
But she needed help, she couldn't do it alone. Her thoughts went back to Leo. Of all the things he told them, it was the will of Achnologia that concerned her the most. The malicious creature that only wanted to destroy everything in its path. The reason they'd survived was because of their will to live. Against great power that was hardly even scratched the first time they were there when they fought him. They'd been so foolish to think they could win against such a beast in the state they were. Now, might've been better. But it wasn't the physical being of Achnologia here. It wasn't even the mental being of Achnologia here. It was simply the past will of his last attack against them. Constantly fighting against the will of Mavis that saved them. It saved them, it didn't save the island of its new problems. Since their arrival the first time, Lucy had been able to hear animals. Birds chirping. Frogs croaking. But since arriving here a second time… she had only heard Leo and Bickslow. Not even the past and future voices of their friends. Still difficult for her to wrap her head around. She grew frustrated, "It clearly doesn't want us in the maze…" She complained. Although, another thought came to mind. "Do you think… this… Anomaly has… sentience?" She asked carefully, stopping Bickslow in his tracks. The tall man looked down at Lucy. The blonde moved her eyebrows in concern. "Do you think this could be working against us in every way possible because we're messing it all up? Would it know?" She asked, sounding more afraid with each word.
She watched Bickslow frown at her. She understood, she sounded ridiculous. From the beginning of her sentence to her theory. Clearly it's not that. Why would it leave us alive? She wondered, though, if it did have sentience. Would it leave them alive because they were there from the start? Perhaps it was unbiased. That it would kill them all equally. But throw her out, let her survive to see the problem that she'd created by having her spirits exist. Lucy didn't like it. She felt like the monster here, not the time anomaly. Not the pressing issues come to light. It was her. She was the one to save them all. It had to be her. Now it seemed that she was the one to end them all. They needed a way, a strategy to get to their friends. Help them out of the horrible loop she'd unintentionally caused.
Suddenly, Lucy's thoughts had slung her back to Master Makarov. She wondered where that man was within all of this. Had he been thrown out? Was he with the others somewhere on this island? It was questions she wouldn't get answered without getting to any of them. She really did wish she had the ability that Max did, to talk telepathically to those close enough. She could get answers without taking ten hours to get to one of them. But it wouldn't be that easy. She couldn't simply call one of her spirits, either. Not with the state that the strongest one was in when she called him. It appeared it didn't matter, as Leo appeared before them once more. Though this time he appeared to be fine. Lucy frowned, "Loke?" She asked him, waiting for the spirit to answer her. "It's not good, Lucy. I don't sense as many life forces on this island from when we started." Leo confirmed. Lucy could feel tears threaten to fall, pricking her eyes as she stood stone still. Watching Leo disappear once again. "No…"
