Chapter 23: Normal POV:
How will we get there without it throwing us back? A question Lucy didn't have an answer for. Like the rest of this nightmare had been. More questions than they had answers for. The celestial wizard flinched as Bickslow suddenly hugged her. She didn't hug him in return until her feet left the snow. Her eyes locked onto Bickslow's chest in front of her. She tried to see around him but could only see darkness until her feet landed on cobblestone. Then it was a familiar sight once more. Only last time she had landed on his lap. Had he been prepared this time? How did he know to hold onto her? Lucy stumbled with Bickslow before the man took her hand. Lucy took one look around and saw that there were people on the ship this time. Their guildmates, appearing as though they were waiting like they had… hours ago? Lucy's internal clock told her it felt like it was nearing late evening by now. But she felt like she had been alive for a lifetime. Awake for a lifetime. Mouths were moving but there was no sound on the ship. Not even from her other self and Bickslow on the front of the boat. Pointing at the sky. She heard the Bickslow next to her speak, lifting his hand as the one on the boat did. "That's…" She followed to the sky, her brown eyes catching glimpses of the shattered and disregarded pieces of blue and white. "That's not good." He declared.
Lucy wondered why it was like this. She wondered if the Anomaly was mocking them now. They were its plaything. The closer they got to the answer, the more it was showing them just how wrong they were. Just how out of their depth they were. The reach they had, was undeniably short compared to the apparent infinite power this thing had. It was reaching far. She wondered how far any other way this Anomaly had reached out. Would it hit the other continents? Other Kingdom's? Would they be able to stop something like this? Dragons were one thing. Demons were another. But something they couldn't see save for a shimmer in the sky? For a third time, it was because of her magic. Lucy realized that the Anomaly wanted her spirits. Their time that they had allegedly stolen from it while they all slept here for seven whole years. But seven years for her was twenty eight days for her spirits. Lucy frowned. "None of it is." She agreed with Bickslow, feeling his hand hold tighter to hers. It was comforting to the next thought she had. All the years she'd had on her spirits. All of the time she wondered if they felt slower while outside their realm. The spirits time, faster than hers. Faster than this world. She wondered if that's what Anomaly was after? She is what stood in the way of it?
Bicklsow's voice brought her out of her thoughts, "Do… do we take it back?" he asked. Lucy couldn't think of another way back to the island other than by boat. She just… wouldn't stand near the edge again. Not after almost drowning and freezing her body to death. Lucy knew if she made it out alive, she would be more weary of the ocean. She didn't like it, but it was their only choice. "We have no choi-" then she was cut off. Her feet were off the ground. Her body was suspended in air for just a second before she was completely enveloped in water. Hand holding tightly to Bickslows. She was cold again. Frigid and stiff as her body felt. Water filled her mouth in surprise as they felt the same shock of wet and cold. The Anomaly had moved them again. The blonde tried to swim in the direction she thought was up, hoping, praying it was up. But she was mid-sentence before they were moved. She had already lost valuable oxygen she needed. She couldn't swim fast enough. She could feel herself slipping for the second time. Hand refusing to stay clamped down on Bickslows. More water filled her lungs as her body forced her to try and breathe. Her barely open eyes were blurry. But she could still see them. Hundreds. Thousands. Hundreds of thousands, even. Of their faces. The amount of times they had drowned. Their other selves had drowned. She wondered if she was next. She wondered if any timeline of herself and Bickslow would ever make it out alive. Lucy screamed at the sight. The fear, the fatal damage this Anomaly had done. Fighting so many of them all at once, and one by one simultaneously.
The cold had shocked her body. The water had been guided by the shape of her lungs. The dark had shrouded her eyes. Lucy thrashed weakly once more and then she felt herself fade from consciousness.
Freed's POV:
The green haired man sighed as Wendy told him she didn't know where anyone was except for Natsu. Who was bound to an hour away from them. "Well, I suppose we'll have to walk in that direction, if that's the only one you can pinpoint still being… well… here?" Freed hesitated. "Here, why don't we expedite this?" He suggested, getting down on his knees. "I'll give you a piggyback ride to him. You just keep trying to smell for others, alright?" He asked, trying to sound like he wasn't ordering her around. The young woman might have been younger than him, but he was certain she could be just as clever. Freed saw Wendy nod with a smile and climbed on his back. Her arms loose around his neck. Freed took the moment to adjust before he summoned his Dark Écriture Wings. He then held the sky dragon slayer's legs and lifted them off the ground. For a good half of an hour, they flew between trees and roots. Over and under the different fauna on Tenrou Island. Strangely, Freed could see a massive staircase the closer they got to the Tenrou Tree. The closer they got, the more he could see of it, the more he realized it was made of ice. "Wendy, do you see the ice staircase?" He asked the girl, feeling her nod. "I do. Do you think Gray went up there to find everyone else?" She asked in return. The scripture mage hoped that was the case. It would be the direct ways of the direct man he knew. "Let's go see." He declared, moving them higher in the air. Upon reaching the top of the tree, however. He didn't see anyone. No Gray. Quietly, the man hummed in confusion to himself, then he moved closer to the center of the tree. SLAM. He felt something hit him and Wendy, knocking them down. The moment Freed got himself reoriented and stood back up, he looked at what had hit them so hard.
Lucy. For him, it had felt like only ten minutes ago they had seen each other. But it looked like those ten minutes had not been kind. Freed stood stark still for a minute. Processing the sight of the guild's happy celestial wizard. She was wet, nearly soaked with water. Lips and fingertips blue. The part that stunned him the most, however, was her eyes. Open and unmoving. Void of emotion. The realization dawned on him. She was not breathing. It seemed Wendy noticed just mere seconds before he did as she rushed to the celestial wizard and immediately went to work in healing her. If she could. Freed could see from where he stood, nearly three feet in front of her, that she was gone. He didn't know her as well as the others did, but he still felt tears well within his eyes. He could hear Wendy crying out her name. "Come back, Lucy." She pleaded with her. Freed moved himself closer and knelt down beside the women. He placed his fingertips on Lucy's neck, trying to feel for a heartbeat.
When Freed didn't find anything, it felt strange to him that he felt surprised. Surprised that his deductions were right. He wanted to be wrong, of course. But he knew it looked like she had been drowned. His eyes looked to Wendy who remained healing the woman, "Can you tell me how long she has been dead for?" Freed asked the girl, hoping it wasn't long. Wendy nodded, sobbing between her words, "Maybe… About a… a minute?" She whimpered. Freed nodded. "Then don't stop. There's a chance." He told her, then he stood back up, pulling out his sword. As quickly as he could, outlined a box around the three of them. Clearly there was some threat on the island again if Lucy was in this state. He felt the need to remedy their unpreparedness. The man then wrote simple rules in his runes. Those not of the three of them in this box could get in and cause harm. In any way, shape or form. For good measure, Freed added the names of them. He then turned back to face Lucy and Wendy. "Luce?" Freed heard Natsu's voice. He turned to see most of the rest who came to the island standing about thirty feet from them, holding a four foot long ice box. "Natsu?" Freed asked, "Gray?" Freed frowned. They looked distraught. "Did you… just get here?" He asked, wondering how he didn't see them all on the staircase. Or when he landed here. "What happened to Lucy?" Natsu asked, gently placing down the ice box with Gray.
Freed could hear coughing behind him before he could answer Natsu and the rest. Abruptly, Freed turned around to see Lucy clutching at her chest and coughing up water. It was a miracle that Wendy had been there when she was. But Freed didn't understand how Lucy got to the top in this condition. She looked recently drowned. Unless she had been thrown up here by someone or something. Freed looked back to the group that stood before them. Of all of them, Gajeel and Juvia were the only ones to look angry and horrified. Not just sad and confused. With haste, Freed removed himself from the box and moved closer to them as they closed the distance to him. Gajeel spoke up, holding Levy close to him. "Did… did she drown?" He asked quietly, seemingly avoiding the words from reaching the blonde's ears.
Freed nodded slowly, "It would appear so… Dead for a minute, Wendy had informed me." He explained, watching the eyes in front of him dart from him, to Gajeel to Lucy and Wendy and back to him. Suddenly Natsu grabbed Gajeel's shirt and readied a fist. "You said she was fine, that doesn't look fine to me!" Natsu yelled. But Gajeel didn't flinch. Didn't move. Didn't do anything except stare at Natsu. "I told you, things don't work the same anymore, idiot." He sighed heavily. "She could've been running around for an hour while we stood here for five minutes. Remember that time thing I was talking about?" Gajeel growled, motioning both of his hands towards Lucy. The blonde struggling to sit up on her own. Wendy helped while still healing her. Natsu finally let go of Gajeel and remained angry. Freed could see the concerned expressions. He wasn't sure they could look worse than they already did, but clearly he was missing something.
The rune mage pointed at the ice box and asked what it was for. At first, no answers came. No one wanted to answer that question. Freed couldn't tell, but it seemed bad. How bad, was up to them to tell him. The box was far too small for someone to fit in laying down. More tears spilled from Gray's eyes. Levy's. And Lisanna's. All Freed could hear was Lucy gasping for air now. Silence was cut off with the woman actually breathing something that was meant for her lungs. He supposed his answer could wait. Freed moved back to Lucy and could hear the others following him. He entered the rune box and knelt down again. Eyeing Wendy for an answer before he focused on Lucy. Wendy nodded. "She seems okay now." She answered quietly.
"Bicks.." The blonde croaked. Freed watched Lucy try to stand on her own. "Hey, Freed, what's the deal with the runes, man?" Natsu asked behind him. Freed offered his hand to Lucy and helped her up, the woman leaning on him to stand. "I only put them up as a precaution. Someone drowned Lucy and-" He was cut off by Lucy, "Bickslow… Where…" She sounded out of it, inattentive. Freed wondered if she meant that Bickslow had done this to her. He frowned. Hardly believing that his friend could do such a thing. He knew Bickslow could be strange but murder like this was very unlikely in his mind. Freed felt out of a loop. He raised an eyebrow and tried to get Lucy to speak more. "Bickslow drowned you?" He asked her, unsure of his question in the first place.
Freed could hear Gajeel snort from the other side of the rune box. Freed shifted his gaze to the iron dragon slayer, furrowing his eyebrows in concern. The man seemed to be chuckling now. Freed held his confusion. "You haven't been here long, have you?" Gajeel asked him. "This place's time is fucked. Leo told Lucy that some Anomaly is trying to steal time from her spirits. Long story. Bickslow would not drown Lucy. You can trust me on that one." Gajeel disclosed. Freed knew he was out of a loop now. Things have happened that he wasn't aware of and he needed to catch up. For now, he remained quiet. His opinion wouldn't matter until he had all of the details. Abruptly he felt Lucy leave his support and fall to the foliage below them with a thud. She scuttled away until she looked up at everyone and began to cry. "Where's Bickslow?" She wailed, shivering as she pulled her legs in. "Freed, let me in so I can help her." The rune mage heard Natsu once more.
Quickly, Freed nodded and began to just dismantle the rune box. Erasing his own rules. It was a good thought, for the moment. But from what he picked up, it wasn't going to save them from what was out there. Time being the enemy, whatever that had meant. Not someone. He watched in awe as Natsu rushed to Lucy, giving the woman a gentle hug and warmth. He was the best one for that job. Lucy didn't move away but she looked up at everyone else expectantly. Like they knew where Bicsklow was. Almost angry. "Luce, what happened to you?" Natsu asked.
For a minute, Lucy was silent. Shivering until she warmed up. Looking like she needed rest, but was forcing herself awake. Freed could see everyone was silent and waiting, too. "Bickslow. Have any of you… seen… him?" She asked, before looking around. She could still feel snow below her. But, leaves too. Not grass or dirt below her. She left Natsu's arms and stumbled as she stood up. Likely realizing she was on the tree and not in the water. Freed shook his head. "He's not up here, Lucy. You fell into Wendy and I.. out of nowhere, it seemed. You were lucky Wendy was here when she was." He affirmed.
The celestial wizard began to cry once more. "No. No no no no no…" She faltered, moving her feet towards the edge of the Tenrou Tree. She looked out over the edge, towards the water. Where the ship was. "Bickslow's still out there. I need to get him! He's…" She paused, holding back a sob, "He was in the water with me." Lucy fell to her knees. "He should've gone with me. Here. I must've let go." She let her sob escape. Sounding grainy. Freed could guess it was her lungs, coming back from the dead.