Just Misunderstood

Act 2

Chapter 29

The Fall


He fell a few feet, grass and dirt breaking his fall. Cobra was quick to stand, desperately wiping at his face, he ripped a piece of cloth from his shirt and held it to his forehead, he was dizzy, and there was a loud ringing in his ears. He whirled around, trying to blink away the red hue over his vision. He was in a forest, his eyes searched the cliff line, tracing the Crocus wall, searching for that damn wooden outlook.

Blue lightning flashed against gold and purple, the flash drawing his eyes, "Shit shit shit shit!" He shouted, he looked around and found a small stream, he kneeled down to it, quickly rinsing the piece of cloth and wiping his face. Another boom of thunder shook the ground, he whirled around looking for anything, anything that could help him.

He just saw grass, dirt and trees, and some rocks. He cursed. His heart beat wildly.

A shrill scream echoed off of the mountains and filled the forest. He barely heard it, it was just high enough to cut through the relentless ringing. He touched his right ear as liquid trickled from it, he wiped the watery blood off of his fingers.

The scream was Lucy, he knew it in his bones, he trembled.

He felt fear, it was the same type of fear that would grip and strangle him in the tower. He couldn't breathe. He pulled at his shirt collar, his fingers catching the necklace he wore, the leather strap untied and the beads fell into the grass.

He stared at them for a moment, fear wrapping around his spine. He knelt down and restrung the beads, and he remembered something, "Virgo!" He screamed, he shoved the necklace in his pocket, "Leo!"

Silence was his answer.

No, no, no.

Was she dead? Was Lucy dead? Could her spirits not cross after their holder dies?

"Leo! Please! Fuck!" He yelled at the sky, another scream bounced off of the mountain, this one was panicked, and frantic, sporadic, and continuous, it wasn't female.

He would do anything to be back there, to have his hearing back, to be next to her. The screaming stopped. And time seemed to freeze for a few moments.

Golden light filled the forest and Cobra winced, it was Virgo and Leo.

Leo fell to the ground, his knees hitting the grass, Lucy was in his arms. Cobra ran to meet them. His hands went to her face, her eyes were closed, her face pale, she was completely limp.

"He stabbed her!" Loke panted. Sweat beading on his forehead. Cobra heard him, his voice muffled and distance, but he heard him.

"Where were you!" Cobra yelled as Virgo pulled Lucy's shirt off, she was pouring spirit water into both the entrance and exit wound, holding gauze to her stomach.

"She was going to kill him, like she did Brain," Ice gripped Cobra's throat, "She didn't, she stopped, but when she has that strong intent to kill when her magic goes to that dark place, it blocks us, I tried breaking through, it took so much of my magic to push through even after her magic had dissipated."

"That doesn't make sense, her magic is her magic, why would it block you?"

"I don't know! This is unprecedented, no one has ever had the magic she has, it's different from dragon slaying, she's a holder type, it's affecting everything."

"That's why it was so damn easy for Brain to do what he did to her," Cobra growled as he moved to sit by Lucy, grabbing a washcloth that was in the kit Virgo brought, he wiped at the cut on her face.

Virgo didn't say anything as she held the cloth tightly to Lucy's stomach, her chin quivered.

"Here," Leo said, he handed him a bottle of water, "For your ears."

Cobra took it and nodded, he had almost forgotten about the ringing, "Is she going to be okay?"

Virgo finally spoke, "She should be, it didn't hit anything vital, she did lose a lot of blood though but if she drinks spirit water for the next few days she will be fine," her voice was low and Cobra could barely hear her, her eyes watered in a rare display of emotion, "I'm so sorry… it was my fault, I didn't think, I just know she needed something so I went and got it like I always do, I didn't think about being seen or anything. This is my fault."

Cobra didn't say anything, he didn't blame her, but he couldn't find it in himself to say anything to reassure her. He took a long look at Lucy's face, and leaned back, moving away to pour water into his ears.

He sat by the stream and cringed as the water entered his ear canal, it was probably one of the worst things he had felt, he let it sit and clenched and unclenched his jaw when the pain in that ear subsided he shook the water out and did the same to the other one.

It was still dark outside, and the forest was growing colder the longer the sun was gone, "We have to move, she can't handle the cold in her state, we need to get to Greentown."

Leo shook his head before Cobra was even done talking, "She can't, not until she wakes up, we can't risk moving her why it's healing inside."

"We can't stay here, we are only probably a half-an-hour away from Crocus, we had to have drawn some attention with all of that, the council will be looking for us."

Leo brushed a few strands of hair from Lucy's face and Cobra narrowed his eyes, "You're right. I'll take her to the spirit world, she'll be safe there, I should have done that to begin with," he moved to pick her up.

"I will break your arm," he growled.

"Why? It's the smart play, you can head to Enca, there is no reason for her to actually go all the way there, she's not staying."

Cobra was in his face in a second, "I don't give a shit. You're not taking her. She said she was coming with me, so she's coming with me unless I hear it from her that she isn't, you don't speak for her, cat."

Leo's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched, "Snake."

"Yeah, don't forget it. I'm not one of your light guild pussies, I will not hesitate, just because Lucy has earned my favor doesn't mean I won't fulfill my earlier threat, it will be your arm, and then your key, and then your neck, we'll see if it works if I break the real thing," Cobra growled out.

"Fine, I'll carry her. Which way?" Leo said moving to his knees at Lucy's side.

"Uh? No, you're not, I'll carry her, you go back to your world, you did your job, now leave."

"Leo, please, this is what she would want, she wanted to go with him, she protected him, I don't think it is our place to disrespect our master's wishes," Virgo's soft and calm voice broke through the rage roaring in both men's ears.

Leo threw her a glance and stood up, getting only a few centimeters away from Cobra, "If she gets hurt… even worse, if something else even remotely like this happens again, I will kill you. Spirit rules or not, listen to me, snake, you will die. I'll make sure of it," he hissed before disappearing into sparks.

Virgo stood slowly and disappeared too, returning with a couple of their bags, she said nothing as she left again, leaving the first aid kit with them.

Cobra stared at the ground where she disappeared for a little longer than necessary and tried to zone in on any thoughts or sounds of the council, no one was close to them, they were safe for at least a little while, his ears still felt heavy and weird, he couldn't quite hear as far as he usually could.

He changed his shirt, putting on the same jacket and he turned to Lucy, she laid on her side, her hand tucked under her face, she looked like she was merely sleeping. He pulled out a sweater for her and one of his haori he had packed. He dressed her quickly, not wanting to touch her undergarments even though they were soaked with blood, he figured she would wake up soon enough and fix that herself.

She shifted and groaned a few times as he dressed her, as soon as he was done the bags they flashed and disappeared, he was beginning to realize he wasn't quite sure how he felt about having all of Lucy's spirits monitoring them almost all of the time. He shook that thought away and moved to pick Lucy up, he shuffled and struggled a bit but eventually got her on his back, his hands on her thighs and her arms wrapped around his neck in response.

He started walking, the forest was thick and the night sky was cloudy, this gave them some good cover, it was late, and Cobra didn't know what time it was or how long he had really been walking when Lucy tensed against him and pulled away from him.

It was so sudden that her weight almost pulled him back, he leaned forward, holding her thighs tightly, "Luce! You're okay."

"What happened," her voice was hoarse, she leaned back into him, she tensed again, "Ow," she held her side.

"Yeah, Laric stabbed you."

He caught her up a little, as her mind was a little foggy, telling her about Virgo and Leo coming to help, he didn't mention his conversation with Leo.

"I can't believe he stabbed me, like stabbed me, with a sword, through and through. I have never been stabbed before."

He continued walking, "I don't think I have been completely run through with a sword, I've been stabbed but that was like little stuff. I'll show you the scars some time."

"Oh! I'm gonna have a scar! I have always wanted a badass scar, everyone in Fairy Tail seemed to have all these battle wounds and stuff, it was so cool, they used to sit around and show them off. I was always left out."

"I got a couple of good ones I could show off, plus this cut on my face should scar real nice."

"Oh, no," she turned his face towards her and saw the long narrow cut. It started out pretty shallow on his jaw and extended upwards to merely a scratch along his cheek, it skipped over his eye and hit his brow, a deep and jagged wound cutting through the hair and up his forehead stopping at his hairline. It was brown and scorched around the edges, the lightning in the blade ensuring that, "At least it missed your eye," came her slow response. He pulled his chin from her hand and smirked.

He kept walking, the two making idle chat as Cobra tried not to trip on thick roots and bushes. He stumbled, "Damn, my depth perception and balance are still a little off, sorry," he mumbled.

"I can probably walk Cobra, I feel better," he was already shaking his head.

"Nope, you got stabbed with a lightning sword, I got a scratch on my face, I can carry you just fine."

"Yeah but they fucked with your ears, do you even know what that thing Vince used was?

His step slowed, "No idea, it must have been some sonic contraception, made specifically to cripple my hearing, and… I couldn't hear them, that's a big problem, I need to figure out if that's a spell or something like your necklace."

Lucy nodded and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"How close are we?"

Cobra squinted at the stars, the sun would be rising in a few hours.

"Uh, an hour or two maybe, I should call Angel and Midnight, and let them know what's going on," he found a large rock and set her down as gently as he could but she still hissed and winced as he stood up.

"Virgo said to drink some spirit water, I clipped a bottle to your belt," he said as he stretched. She nodded and waved over another rock, the lacrima appearing slowly.

"That felt weird," she looked at her hand, "It took a lot more effort than usual."

"You just got run through with a sword, I imagine your magic may be a little depleted," he said as he picked the lacrima up, he called Midnight and Angel first.

Midnight answered almost instantly, "Cobra! Are you guys okay? We heard that the council got into a huge scuffle with two fugitives in Crocus," his eyebrows were furrowed, and Angel pushed him out of the way to see the lacrima. Her usual short white hair was pitch black.

"It's too dark, I can barely see you. Is Lucy okay? Was it you that ran into them?" She asked, her tone frantic.

"Yeah, and get this it was Laric," he groaned. Two heavy sounds of exasperation came from the glass device, "Yeah, that would usually be my reaction too but he actually really fucked us up this time. He stabbed Lucy, and fucked with my hearing."

"WHAT!? He stabbed her!" Angel's voice echoed across the forest.

"Jesus Christ! Angel we are criminals in a hotel room, please refrain from yelling," Midnight pushed her away, trying to get a good look at Cobra, "Is she okay?"

"I'm fine! We used spirit water!" Lucy called from where she sat a few meters away.

"Oh! Lucy! Thank god!" Angel shouted.

Midnight rolled his eyes, "I'm surprised we haven't been caught yet."

Cobra smirked and took a few steps forward, lazily pacing around as they talked, it was when he hit a beam of moonlight that Angel gasped.

"Co! Your face!"

He had almost forgotten as they talked, "Oh yeah, like I said, he got us good," he glanced at Lucy and saw her applying more water to her wound, "Both he and Vince blocked my magic somehow, the amount of people that are able to evade my soul magic is reaching a worrying sum, they also had some type of device that deafened me, I think it used compressed air, or some type of sonic type thing, I don't know, but he blew both of my eardrums simultaneously, but that was after he almost took out my eye, Lucy used her magic to get me out of there," he lowered his voice, "And then almost killed him… like she did Brain."

"What? But the spell is completely broken, we made sure of that," Angel said.

"I know, I don't think it had anything to do with the spell, I think she just saw it as her only way out, after he, you know, stabbed her."

"Then why do you sound so worried about it?" Midnight chimed in.

"Because I don't want her having to even result in that, it was my fault, I usually have no trouble dealing with Laric, he's nothing, but without my hearing, I was useless, I haven't felt that helpless since the… the,"

"The tower," Angel whispered.

"Yeah, Laric said I relied too much on my hearing, and he's right. I can't let something like that happen again. He stabbed Lucy, stabbed her, with a sword. I think she's taking it so lightly because we were able to heal it easily with spirit water, but she would have died, and if something like this happens, I don't know if Leo will be right there with water again."

"You guys will be fine, just get here, the council here has diminished, Crocus called in all the troops any town could spare so it's safer than anywhere else, so just get here, and then we will leave for the port, together, Hoteye and Racer will meet us there," Angel said.

"Will do, see you guys soon, we are probably an hour out, stay safe," he cut the magic flow.

He walked back to Lucy and knelt by her, "You good to keep going? We are just an hour away, we are going to meet them at Greentown first and then go to the port together."

She nodded and took a few sips of water. She stood shakily and Cobra went to grab her, she pulled away from his grasp, "I can walk on my own."

He sighed, "You heard me talking to them."

"No shit, you were standing fifteen feet away and I'm a dragon slayer? Do you think I'm deaf?"

"Come on, let me carry you, we won't make it there before sunrise if you walk."

"Why are you so concerned that I almost killed him? I get you think I'm some purple little flower that shouldn't hurt anyone but grow up Cobra, this is the real world and I went to the spirit world for nine months, became a dragon slayer, losing my family, and joining a dark guild in the process so that people would stop thinking of me like some damsel, I get that I'm pretty and blonde, and.. And grew up basically as a princess but I'm tired of it. I killed Brain, and yeah, I have nightmares about it but not because I regret it happening, those nightmares are caused by my choice being taken away, but I think if I was standing over Brain now, with all of the control in the world I would still kill him," she raised her voice as she spoke, "We are fugitives on the run, I am technically apart of a dark guild, I'm going to hurt people Cobra, it's going to happen. And you need to stop blaming yourself for not protecting me, that isn't your job, you may try, but you can not possibly protect me from everything," she was out of breath.

He stood still for a few heartbeats and then opened his mouth, "If not… everything, if not the world… how about this one thing," his voice trembled ever so slightly and it felt like he jabbed her in the neck with a knife, "This one thing, don't go to that place, and use your magic in a dark and hateful way like that, please. I don't think celestial magic was meant to be used like that… just this one thing, let me protect you."

She didn't have anything to say to that.

~if not the world~

She trembled.

~this one thing~

His eyes were startling purple in the moonlight and she exhaled a shaky breath. She was on an incline, her heels on the rock she was sitting on before, they were eye level. She didn't think and she moved forward slowly, her hands slid across his cheeks and to his hair, she gripped slightly and his head leaned back just enough, his eyes watched her intently, he didn't move. She was moving so slowly she feared she would change her mind, to discover this was a bad idea, she knew it was, but before she could pull away he pushed forward, grabbing her hips and pressing her to him, he rested his forehead against hers, he tilted his head up and was just a breath away from her lips, he felt her tremble.

He wasn't going to do it, he wasn't going to kiss her, he knew that, he knew deep down that now wasn't the right time, but he did it anyway. He closed the distance and his lips met hers. She pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck fully as she pressed her chest into his. His hands traveled up her back and he bit her lip, she felt herself opening her mouth, letting him push his tongue inside. The cold air around them was suddenly hot.

Cobra was by no means a virgin, he spent most of his teenage years sleeping around just to spite Brain, but as he stood there on that chilly winter morning he felt as though he had never kissed anyone before. He was nervous, a type of nervous he hasn't been in a long time. He knew why, it was because Lucy mattered, everyone else had been quickies at shitty hotels in between jobs, but Lucy was different. She was his friend, a partner, he kissed her deeper, pressing forward until she was leaning back, he grabbed her jaw, deepening so he could hardly breathe.

All thought had eluded Lucy, her loud and overthinking mind silenced in the wake of his tongue. She couldn't hold a thought long enough to even begin to talk herself into stepping away from him. It was so relieving, she felt all of the tension that had built up between them vanish. She couldn't do anything but hold him tighter. She knew it was wrong, somewhere deep down, but as she stood there, her hands tangled in his hair, she found herself unable to push him away.

~JM~

Angel waited outside of the hotel, her hands clasped in front of her while she bounced nervously on the balls of her feet, "I feel like they should have been here by now," she whispered to Midnight. He rolled his eyes but worry struck his nerves, he draped a blanket over Angel's shoulders and looked up and down the empty street. He narrowed at the very faint evidence of a sunrise. She shivered and tightened the blanket around her, "I hope Lucy's okay, she shouldn't be out in this cold with the injury she has," she rubbed her hands together in an attempt to keep her fingers from going numb.

A few minutes later, which felt like hours to Angel, Cobra's silhouette came into view, he was bundled up more than he was before, a scarf around his neck and Lucy on his back, the blonde had what looked like more than one blanket wrapped around herself, the edges falling to the sides along Cobra, no doubt keeping him warm as well.

A relieved smile crossed on Angel's face and she ran to them, Midnight not far behind. "Co!"

He gave them a smile as air puffed in between them, their breath showing in the cold air, "Hey Sorano," he leaned into her hug, and nodded at Midnight whose eyes showed his relief. Angel moved a bit of the blanket to see Lucy fast asleep, "Yeah, I think she fell asleep about half an hour ago, dozed off mid-sentence."

Angel nodded and grabbed his arm, pulling him down an alley, "Our hotel is here," they were quiet as they slipped in the back door and up the emergency stairs. They tried to be silent as they walked down the hall, Cobra having trouble navigating with Lucy and the pile of jackets and blankets she had wrapped around herself. Angel unlocked the door and held it opening, the room was dark but warm, and Cobra saw their bags piled on one of the beds as Midnight turned the light on.

He stood awkwardly in the middle of the room as he tried to determine where to put the blonde, "I got her," Midnight said softly as he pulled at the weight on his back.

Cobra let go of her legs and Midnight shifted her to his front, carrying her as you would a sleeping toddler. Cobra almost laughed as he was consumed by the bundle of blankets, Lucy's arm instinctively wrapping around the dark-haired mages' neck.

He shot Cobra a look of disdain and put Lucy on the bed as gently as he could. She mumbled a bit and cuddled into the pillows.

Cobra inhaled deeply and plopped in a chair, his hands moving to pull off his scarf. Angel was suddenly next to him with a wet washcloth, wiping the dried blood from his face.

"It's good to see you again Co, I wasn't sure we would. We haven't been separated for that long in a decent amount of time," Angel mused.

He smirked and leaned back, his breathing a little heavy, "I missed you too Sorano."

Midnight sat on the bed, a few inches from Lucy and scowled at the bundle of cloth. He pulled a few blankets from her and a few of the jackets, removing her boots and leaving her socks, "Well, I'm glad you guys found a way to keep her warm," he threw over his shoulder towards Cobra.

An uncharacteristic redness rose to Cobra's cheeks and he coughed, looking away, "Yeah, the blankets."

This didn't go unnoticed by Angel, so she packed it away for later use.

"We don't have much time, maybe a few hours tops, and we need supplies before we head out, Racer called me not too long ago and told me he wants to move up the time table, something about our boat guy contacted him and said the ship was ready sooner than he thought."

"And it will be suspicious if the ship sits there with no crew all day, damn," Cobra hissed, "Minor set back, not that big of a deal, I guess," he groaned.

"Yeah, I tried to call you again but you didn't pick up," Midnight said.

Cobra coughed again and shrugged off his jacket, "My bad."

"What happened?" Angel asked.

Cobra shut his eyes for a moment and winced, "We...talked a little about what she did to Laric, it got… heated," he said, hesitation apparent in his voice.

"Like you fought?"

"Well yeah, that too."

A groan from Lucy pulled their attention, she sat up slowly, holding her side while wincing in pain. Cobra was up and beside her in an instant, "Are you okay?"

She nodded slowly and looked around, her eyes landing on Angel, a wide smile touched her face and she opened her arms, Cobra moved back and let himself smile as Angel moved forward to hug Lucy.

"I'm so glad you're okay," the blonde whispered.

Angel nodded, "I'm glad that sword didn't kill you."

They pulled away and the group began explaining their course of action. Cobra called Racer and let them know that they would be heading to the port after they gathered some more supplies and changed their clothes.

Lucy took a quick shower to rid herself of the blood that was still on her skin and changed into some heavier winter gear that Angel had gotten from the 24-hour superstore that sold just about everything. They all were quick to pack up, sending everything that wasn't immediately needed to the Spirit World. The pull of the magic was still uncomfortable for Lucy but she quickly shook the feeling away.

It was an hour after their arrival that they were heading out the door again, the group bundled up and ready for the brisk morning air that would assault them on the long ride to the port.

~JM~

Mira was always the first one to arrive at the guild in the morning, she unlocked the doors, turned the lights on, and sorted the mail. But when she arrived at the guildhall the door was unlocked and the lights were on.

Master was sitting at the bar, his back leaning against it, he met her eyes and stood as she approached him.

"Master?" He had a scroll in his hand, "Is everything alright?"

"A Messenger from the council arrived at my home this morning before the sun was even up, and he gave me this," his face held a grim look and he gave the scroll to Mira.

She opened it and read the contents aloud.

"Dear, Makaorav, Master of the Fairy Tail Guild. We regret to inform you that we have confirmed your former guild member's whereabouts and her affiliation with a dark guild," she paused for a moment, "We received an anonymous tip that she and the wanted member, Cobra of the Oracion Seis, were heading to the port South of Greentown. We cornered them in Crocus and Lucy Heartfillia greatly injured a high ranking associate of our military. If he had not received our expert healing he would have perished," Mira's breath caught, "and the injury she inflicted on him has caused permanent mental damage and impairment. In light of this development, we have elected to deny the petition you submitted to clear the charges against her. We also regret to inform you that during the above-mentioned incident she was wounded, and our resources say that it was severe enough to most likely cause death if not treated by expert healers. We have had guards posted at hospitals and other healer's homes and workplaces all around Crocus and Greentown and as far as we know she has not received any life-saving treatment. We hope you understand our decision and because of the nature of your relationship with the fugitive, Fairy Tail will not be receiving the official bounty or mission requesting her capture, and all of its members are prohibited to assist on said missions," Mira's hand trembled, "Thank you for your cooperation."

She looked up at Master, her eyes wide, "What does this mean? Is Lucy… dead? Her wound… she can't… go to any healers, what… Master? What are we going to do?" Her eyes burned with tears.

He said nothing. His fists were clenched tight at his sides and he shut his eyes.

"Is the boat ready for the S-Class trials?

"Master?! Now is certainly not the time to be worrying about the trials!"

"Mira!"

She snapped back, her mouth slamming shut.

"Yes, Master, it is."

"Call an emergency guild meeting, I want everyone here now," he turned his back to her and started towards his office, "We have work to do."

~JM~

The ride to the port was brutal. The closer they got to the coast the colder and stronger the wind became. Lucy shivered violently, she pressed herself against Cobra and he had one arm wrapped around her more often than not as they rode. Angel and Midnight seemed to be in the same boat, the duo was shivering, both desperately trying to get warm.

Their horses raced against the wind and they broke from a tree line to arrive at the port. It was smaller than the major ones, it only had a handful of docks, and was one of the only Zeppelin Ship ports in Fiore.

"What is that!?" Lucy yelled against the wind.

"Our ship!" Cobra answered.

"What!? That's not a boat! When you say boat I think water!"

It was huge. It was still technically a boat, a ship waited at the dock, but instead of sitting in water, it was floating in the sky, a huge red Zeppelin balloon holding the ship up. The symbol of Enca was painted in black against the red.

"What? Everyone knows that you need a Zeppelin Ship to get to Enca, most of Enca is floating islands, and you have to get over the Mountains of Minstrel, if we used an actual boat it would take us months to get there."

Lucy didn't even know Enca was made up of floating islands, she knew nothing about Enca. A deep wave of panic crossed her. Cobra grabbed her waist and pulled her off the horse, he was careful of her injury, "It's okay, the boat is safe, and Enca is more or less beautiful, it rains a lot but it's got mountains and the islands are a must-see in your life."

She nodded slowly and followed the three as they descended down the stone staircase and approached the dock.

There were two ships there, about three docks apart, one had a crew pulling ropes and rolling barrels and the other one was empty. The docks themselves hung over the cliff, the old wood creaking as they stepped on it, Lucy wasn't afraid of heights but her legs began to tremble. She glanced over the side of the dock and saw nothing but white clouds, the cliff disappearing into nothing.

A man was standing in front of the ship, he was tall, his skin was dark, and his hair stark white. He was handsome, was Lucy's first thought, his dark skin held a warm glow that was beautiful but as they approached him her stomach dropped, his eyes were stitched shut.

Cobra grabbed her hand.

"Armiuyd, good to see you again," Cobra said as he shook the man's hand, "Thanks for doing this for me, I owe you one."

"You always owe me one," his voice was deep but his playful tone allowed Lucy to relax a little, "The ship is ready, it's gonna be a little hard without a crew but I'm sure you'll manage."

"Yeah, we'll be fine, thank you," Angel said as she hugged him.

"I was disappointed to hear the guild was broken, but I'm glad Brain got what was coming to him, he deserved it," he turned to Lucy, "Nice job, little lady I have heard quite a bit about you."

Lucy tensed and opened her mouth but no sound came out, her grip tightened on Cobra. Midnight shifted uncomfortably, "Yeah," it left Cobra's mouth lamely, and he shuffled around in his bag to pull out a sack of jewels.

Armiuyd held his hand out and Cobra dropped the bag into it. Despite his eyes being stitched shut he seemed to see just fine.

"I'll be back in Enca in a few weeks, I'll meet you then to set up a permanent residence, for now just stay in the guest house on my property, we'll also need to get you guys some new identities, but that's no problem for me."

Cobra shook his hand again and waved everyone on to the ship.

Lucy put her bag down and looked around, "Where's Racer and Hoteye?"

"We're here."

She turned to see the aforementioned men walking down the dock. Angel squealed and ran to hug them, Cobra met them halfway and slapped them on the back, he had a wide smile on his face.

Racer's hair was down and he wasn't wearing his normal outfit or his glasses and Hoteye was wearing a traveler's cloak and a straw hat, it was amusing to see them out of their branded outfits. Everyone exchanged their hellos and they all circled together on the deck of the ship. Lucy noticed Racer kept eyeing her stomach, "I'm okay," she said.

He nodded, "Not many can say that after getting stabbed through by a sword," he spoke softly.

She met his eyes and smiled, "Yeah it hurt like a bitch," she giggled and he smiled.

Cobra rolled his eyes and shoved in between them, "Can we start getting a move on? This thing is gonna be a bitch to get running," his eyes suddenly snapped wide open. He turned quickly and his eyes whipped to the forest line on the cliff above them, the port itself was built into the side of the cliff, and where they were was at a horrible disadvantage from anyone attacking from atop the ridge.

He scanned the cliff.

"Cobra?" Came Lucy's soft voice.

"Fuck!" Was all he managed to say before tackling her to the ground. An arrow carrying fire launched from the ridge and hit where she had been standing. The wood on the boat was moist enough to keep the fires from catching. The group hit the ground, getting behind barrels and boxes.

"How'd they find us!?" Angel screamed.

"I don't fucking know!" Cobra yelled back. Arrows were fired at them, all of them evading the zeppelin balloon like they had received orders not to let the ship drop. Cobra lunged over Lucy, pulling her behind a crate and covering her.

"Fuck!" Cobra shouted again, "Cover your ears!"

Everyone did so just as a bomb clattered to the deck and flashed a blinding light along with a deafening boom. Civilians and workers from the port and the other boat screamed and fled into the direction of the port town not too far away.

"What are we going to do?" Lucy hissed as she covered her head, arrows continued to hit the wood all around them.

Cobra shook his head, "They have the high ground, and they have archers, a lot of them, they have every advantage," his eyes met hers, "I don't know?"

"I can teleport us behind them maybe?"

"But your magic is still weak."

A sudden boom of thunder cut the conversation off, and the parade of arrows stopped. Maniacal laughter filled the silence and Cobra's blood boiled.

He stood up from behind the crate and was in front of the newcomer before Lucy could even stop him. Laric stood on the deck, his sword unsheathed in his hand. Cobra stood a few feet in front of him, a look of anger on his face, it had been a while since Lucy had seen that look.

It reminded her of how he looked at Brain.

"You stabbed her?"

Laughter bubbled out of Laric's mouth. His face was scarred, and there was a bald spot on the left side of his head where there appeared to be a dent, like a piece of his skull was missing but the skin had healed over it. Lucy's stomach dropped, she had almost killed herself making that injury, and the healers on the council had healed it that quickly.

"Stabbed her? Of course!? I should do more! That little fucking skank!" He was off-balance, his body leaned awkwardly to the left, his eyes were wide and his pupils tiny. Drool dripped out of his mouth. The hideous smile never left his face.

"Well, it looks like she did a real number on you," Cobra spat.

"Oh this!?" He gestured to his head, and leaned backward, looking up at the sky as he laughed, "It doesn't matter, it's a small price to pay for everything I'm going to do to her."

The Snake Charmer's fist was clenched at his side, and Laric's eyes slid over the different crates, "Where is she?" He hissed.

Midnight stood up to join Cobra and a dozen arrows came hurling towards the man, he didn't move, Lucy felt fear rip out of her throat in the form of a scream, "Midnight!" He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and his hand moved to deflect every single one of the arrows.

"Did you forget just how strong I am?"

More arrows came hurling towards him, he deflected them all and stood next to Cobra. More came but not even one touched either of them, Laric held a hand up and Lucy saw the glimmer of the notched arrows disappear as the archer's stood down. They melted back into the treeline.

"If you give her to me I will let the rest of you leave," his eyes slide over the crates again, "With your ship."

Angel shifted behind her crate and her cloak unfurled to the ground, Laric saw nothing but the brown fabric emerge from behind the crate before he laughed, Cobra was fast, but he wasn't as fast as lightning, Laric raised his hand with his sword and a bolt surged in the sky, Cobra was lunged forward to pull the man to the ground, but he wouldn't make it.

It must have been Lucy's dragon slayer senses but time seemed to slow down for a second, she felt the shift of electricity in the air and she summoned all the magic she could to get to Angel before the bolt hit her. He must have thought it was her.

Angel didn't have enough time to evade, it was going to hit her, but suddenly arms wrapped around her, and she was covered by a body as a thunderous boom shook the world. She and her savior were thrown forward as the blast connected with the wooden crate. As they tumbled she realized it was Racer, his stark yellow hair a giveaway as she opened her eyes. They hit the cabin wall on the other side of the ship.

Lucy watched in relief as they rolled out of the way, but didn't have time to completely register what had just happened when a thought took up all the space in her mind.

This wasn't just a ship, it was a flying ship

She looked up at the zeppelin, and where the lightning had struck the ship there was a gaping hole. It was huge, almost half of the entire balloon, Lucy watched in terror as the ship started to lean, the half that was still connected to the dock by a dozen ropes were holding the ship to the cliff but that didn't stop the ship from beginning to capsize.

Racer and Angel grabbed onto the mounted railings, Hoteye was doing the same thing, Cobra shoved Laric away from him and his eyes caught Lucy's as she screamed.

She slipped. Her nails scratched desperately at the wooden panels but gravity was their enemy right now.

"Lucy!" Angel screamed.

Cobra looked around and felt his stomach drop, there was no time, Cubellios unraveled herself from his shoulders and touched his face, they shared a quick look before her head titled in confirmation, then he threw her, the snake expanded in the air, Lucy's body fell over the edge, the only thing keeping her from death was her hands around the thin railing. Cubellios reached her and wrapped her body around Lucy's waist, the snake reached up to wrap herself around the railing to pull them both up, but Cobra watched in horror as the ship snapped down. Cubellios was thrown down, so she snapped up one final time to sink her teeth into the wood of the ship. Blood dripped down the snake's body as the wood ripped her mouth.

"Your wings!"

The zeppelin was draining fast, the air roaring rushing out so quickly it created a thunderous sound. Strong winds slammed against the cliff, causes a vacuum-like suction down into the chasm below.

Lucy knew that even if she opened her wings she wouldn't be able to fly.

Then in one disastrous moment the ropes holding the front of the boat snapped, and the ship began to drop, Racer was quick enough to throw Angel on to the dock, the girl almost rolling off the other side before he grabbed her hand, he pulled them both up and in a minute of terror turned back around to grab the broken rope, he was slammed into the dock, it was crazy, to even think he could help hold up the falling ship, that's what Angel knew, but she did the same, lunging forward to grab a rope. Hoteye jumped for the dock, his huge body crashing against it, he didn't leave any time to allow himself to feel the pain as he whipped up as well, grabbing another rope. The dock creaked loudly but for a few seconds it held, the ropes holding the front of the boat held strong, Angel and Racer both shouted in pain as the weight pulled at them painfully.

The ship slammed down, causing Cubellios to slide down a few more boards.

"Lucy!"

Her eyes met Cobra's as he latched himself onto the railing, Laric was there too, climbing up the railing, sword in hand, Cobra didn't see him, and the wind was making it impossible for him to hear.

There was too much going one, there weren't enough hands.

"Open! Gate of the Lion! Gate of the Maiden!" She screamed.

In two showers of gold, they appeared on the dock next to Racer. Virgo dropped to her stomach to take the rope from Angel, and in a second she was in the form they first met her in, the maid stood up, pulling the rope easily.

"Lucy!? Hang on, I'm coming!" Leo shouted.

"No! I'm fine for right now! Help Cobra!" She screamed.

Leo stalled for just a moment and Lucy could tell he didn't want to obey, he huffed angrily.

Laric pulled his sword back, and lightning danced along it. His hand reached out to grab Cobra, and his arm wrapped around his neck, he shouted in pain. Loke dropped on to the ship, his feet landing on the railing, his foot slammed against Laric's face but the scarred mage wouldn't budge.

An arrow whistled past Angel's head and she turned to see the line of archers standing proudly on the ridge, at least a dozen, all with arrows ready. Another one was launched towards her and she managed to avoid it, but she didn't even hear the next one, piercing pain in her shoulder caused her to cry out and she heard a few people yell her name. She looked to see a long-stemmed wooden arrow sticking out of her right shoulder, she fell to her knees.

Lucy felt like she was about to pass out as she watched the arrow enter Angel, she tried to cover herself and Cubellios in magic, to get up there and help, but she just couldn't, there was something wrong, with the sword injury and the drain on her magic she couldn't teleport, she was truly stuck here.

Lucy needed more, more hands, more people, she reached down and grabbed her key ring, and with tears in her eyes she yelled, "Open!"

Virgo whipped her head, "No Princess! You can't open three gates at once! Even with full magic that is dangerous! Please! You're too injured!"

"Don't let that ship drop Virgo!" Snapped Lucy.

Cobra's eyes widened as he watched the arrow hit Angel, and he almost completely forgot about the life or death situation he was in. He needed to help, he needed to be somewhere else, saving Angel or Lucy, he couldn't be someone else that needed saving. His eye darted to Midnight who stuck on the railing a few feet from him, his foot caught in the wooden rails. No one was going to make it to her. More arrows rained down from the ridge.

"Lucy! Don't!" Loke Screamed.

"Open! Gate of the Archer! Sagittarius!" His key shimmered brightly and he appeared on the dock.

"Miss Lucy! Oh, no! You summoned three! No! Please send me back!"

She was panting, she fell forward against Cubellios' body and tried to breathe, her entire body hurt, more arrows whistled by. "The archers," she couldn't breathe, "On the ridge!"

He was quick to turn around and he launched a volley of arrows, he rushed forward, drawing their fire away from the others. Lucy patted the Cubellios, "I'm so sorry, just hold on a little longer."

Cobra watched her head drop and his heart stopped, he bit down on Laric's arm, drawing blood from it, the red-head yelled and brought his sword up in the other hand. He was going to kill him, to slit his throat right there, but the only thing keeping Laric from falling was his hold on Cobra. Did he intend to die too?

Loke's eyes darted to Lucy and he felt her magic draining quickly, he had to act fast. Laric's sword whipped up and Loke lunged forward to catch it, he caught the blade in his hand, and he pushed forward, slipping his other hand in between Laric's arm and Cobra, and then he jumped, using his weight to pull Laric off of him, they both fell, slamming into the railing that Cubellios was desperately trying to hold on to. They both broke through the railing but Leo grabbed onto the splintering wood and managed to hang on, Laric scraped at the planks, his nails ripping out. Leo lunged forward and kicked the man away from the ship, grabbing his sword in the process, they all watched as Laric fell through the clouds and deep into the chasm below. His screams echoed against the cliff face.

Leo used the sword as leverage and pulled himself up.

Blood was pouring from the Cubellios' mouth as she held on tight. Leo laid against the railing and reached out for Lucy, his hand just inches away from hers. Cubellios hissed loudly and pulled herself up a bit, allowing Leo to reach her hand, and just as their fingers touched he began to melt.

He looked at his fingers in disbelief, "No, no, no, no, not now," tears filled his eyes and he reached out with his other arm, "Lucy!"

Her eyes were wide with tears as she saw Sagittarius and Virgo melting away too.

"I'm out of magic," she whispered.

Cubellios' strength weakened and she dropped back to where she was before, not being able to hold them both up.

"No!" Cobra yelled as Leo melted away.

"I'm so sorry princess, I… don't even think I can come back on my own, something is wrong," his voice melted away with his body. Midnight broke through the railing and Hoteye's heavy hand pulled him up just as Virgo fully disappeared, the boat slipped further down and Racer and Hoteye shouted in pain.

Midnight fell to his stomach and reached out his hand, "Cobra!"

He pulled himself up and locked eyes with his friend, "I can't leave her."

Cobra turned and jumped down, landing on a crate that was wedged between the railing and the cabin wall.

He crawled over to Lucy and Cubellios.

"Did you really think I was gonna leave my two best girls?"

The boat jolted down a little and Cobra's eyes whipped up to the dock, the ropes holding the front of the boat were tearing, and he realized that Hoteye and Racer were going to be pulled down if they didn't let go, there was no time to save Lucy and then make it back up there.

"Just go Cobra! We'll be fine, if we fall below the cloud bank maybe she can fly, or I can teleport! We'll be fine!" Lucy cried.

He didn't even look at her.

"Erik!" She sobbed. He met her eyes and he felt his heart clench, "Kiss me," she whispered.

He paused for just a second before leaning down and pulling her face to his. Even though they were at an awkward angle, being watched by their friends, and about to fall to their death, it was still one of the best kisses of Erik's life. It was quick but he felt his lips tingle as he pulled away. His mouth watered.

Lucy smiled at him and he kissed her forehead before turning around. He caught Midnight's eyes and they spoke without words, he nodded. Cobra smiled, "Get to the other boat, get to Enca, we'll meet you there," he shouted.

Midnight hesitated and Cobra growled, "There are more soldiers coming! And all of you are injured! Go! We'll be fine! I promise! We'll meet you there!"

Midnight stood up and Racer and Hoteye shouted, "We can't leave them!"

"Guys! There's no time!" Cobra yelled, the boat surged again and Racer would have been pulled off if Midnight hadn't grabbed him.

"Let go!" Cobra yelled.

Racer shook his head.

"Sawyer!" Lucy cried, "Let go! We'll be fine, we'll make it!"

Cobra's eyes followed the council troops that emerged from the woods on the ridge and he cursed. Vince was leading them, he saw his eyes scan the scene, he was looking for Laric. His eyes pleaded with Midnight and he felt his eyes sting, "Please," Cobra whispered, "Macbeth, get them to Enca safely."

The dark mage closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, and before anyone could stop him he sent a sharp wave of magic at the ropes, severing the hold they had of the boat. Lucy screamed as the ship swung down and snapped the rest of the ropes, Cobra jumped forward and wrapped his arms around her, Cubellios coiled her body around them both. The ship fell down past the clouds and down into the deep chasm, taking Lucy Heartfillia and Erik Tashirosaki with it.


~End of Act 2~

I hope you'll join me for Act 3