Author Note: Wow this has been a long time coming! If you weren't aware this story is a rewrite of another story I wrote on this account...and that story is a rewrite of my first story that I wrote on another account.
It's really interesting seeing how this story has evolved over the years and I truly didn't think I would ever get the chance to write this story again after forgetting my login to this account.
But hey third time's the charm right? So without further ado, here is my third version of The Celestial Angel! Thank you for reading :)
A Strange Day
In a dense forest located in the west of Fiore, Mikkel was sitting on the ground in the clearing where his family lived in a cabin.
He was currently focused on making a flower bloom with his newfound magic. Mikkel pushed back his straight dark green hair out of his face with one hand while the other hovered over the flower bud slowly opening. Sweat beaded up on his skin and he licked his lips expectantly, this was the closest he had gotten to succeeding since he had started practicing.
"Mikkel! I told you and your brother to get me firewood an hour ago! Best you go now before your dad gets back!" His mother's shrill voice shattered his concentration causing the magic seal under the flower to shatter as well.
Mikkel groaned and thought about saying something back but decided against it considering his mother had already chased him around with a wooden spoon for talking back earlier that week. He stood up, brushing his sweaty palms against his worn brown trousers and turned to his little brother who was feeding a squirrel a few feet away.
"Come on Sam!" He said as he began to walk towards the familiar trail in the woods he had been on hundreds of time. His little brother pet the squirrel, seeming to talk to it before he stood up, and ran to catch up to Mikkel.
Sam was practically the spitting image of Mikkel when he was younger other than his mint green hair compared to Mikkel's dark green but they couldn't be different personality wise. His little brother had always been so reserved and gentle to contrast Mikkel's more turbulent personality but they were still able to get along.
"How was your friend Rocco today?" Mikkel asked referring to the squirrel that his brother had befriended as he kicked a small rock farther down the trail. His brother had swore that it wasn't just different squirrels every day when Mikkel had suggested it.
Sam frowned and he cocked his head to the side as if he were confused. "He was okay but he was worried about something, he told me to be careful."
Mikkel kicked the rock again as they caught up to it and then paused. Sam took a few steps before he noticed that Mikkel stopped and he turned back to look at him. Mikkel kneeled down and looked at his brother in the eyes, two ice blue stares meeting each other. "There's nothing to worry about Sam, nothing happens here you know that." He assured his brother and mussed his hair before rising and continued on the trail.
As if sent by a higher being to prove him wrong, a loud boom resounded throughout the forest sending flocks of birds into the air. Mikkel and Sam flinched, he grabbed his brother close to him as he looked back down the trail. Dread filled him as he realized that the sound came from the direction of their home. Him and Sam traded a look before they both went running back to the clearing.
Mikkel and his brother emerged from the woods in a flurry, and immediately skid to a stop, shocked at what they saw.
A dark olive skinned woman was sitting on the ground. Her head whipped side to side along with her waist length brunette braid with silver strands mixed in, a bewildered expression on a face that Mikkel could only describe as ageless. He openly gaped at the woman, she looked some sort of queen by the way she was dressed. A flowing white silk dress cinched with what seemed to be a solid gold chain that matched the many bracelets that adorned both her arms, each encrusted with a multitude of jewels, and gold charms of heart and stars decorated throughout her hair.
Mikkel knew he wasn't the best judge considering he lived such a secluded life but there was no doubt in his mind that he would probably never see a woman as beautiful as her again.
Her eyes which were the color of amber locked with his and he gulped, overwhelmed at the intensity of them and the years he sensed behind them.
"You, boy, what year is it?" She said with an authority of someone who was accustomed to a leadership role.
"What year?" Mikkel said in a perplexed tone, thrown off by the question.
Sam step forwards and answered in his stead. "It's X784." He answered.
Surprisingly, the woman started to giggle, a pleasant and silvery sound that slowly evolved into a full laughing fit full of mirth and lasting long enough for tears to spring up in the corners of her eyes. She wiped them with the back of one of her hands as she her laughter died down.
She stood up, a sight that sent Mikkel's heart racing as it revealed a slit in her dress that travelled all the way up to her upper thigh, exposing more olive skin along with what looked to be a pearly white tattoo of a symbol Mikkel had never seen. It looked to be an "O" except it didn't connect on the bottom, instead it split and turned outwards either way.
"I'm going to need new clothes and directions."
Magnolia (A Month Later)
The sun was setting in the beautiful town of Magnolia. The town's stone buildings were cast in a pink glow as the sun descended behind the horizon. Cutting through the town at multiple points was a canal that would empty out into the sea past Hargeon Town to the south, walking beside this canal, absent of the boats that usually filled it, was a blonde girl and a creature that looked like a snowman.
Lucy Heartfilia sighed as she undid the blue cloth holding her side ponytail, her signature hairstyle. Her spirit, Plue, wobbled next to her. "Puun." He said as he almost fell into the river from trying to catch up to her. He put an arm on her leg and looked up at her.
Lucy looked down at Plue and smiled sadly. "I hope you're right Plue." She said as memories of the day before filled her mind.
Flashback
It was a week after Magnolia had returned from its adventure to Edolas and there was a lot to celebrate for Fairy Tail, the strongest guild in Fiore, and prized possession of Magnolia. Most Important of all the reasons was the return of Lisanna Strauss, the sister of Mirajane and Elfman, who was presumed dead years ago after her sudden disappearance.
In typical Fairy Tail fashion, Lisanna's return party had been just as noisy, merry, and spirited as expected. Maybe more so this time considering the party had lasted almost a week now. The only time that Fairy Tail was quiet was the early morning and Lucy was determined to use these quiet hours to get back to work. The rant that her landlord had given her the day before about her rent being overdue still ringing through her head as she climbed the steps up to Fairy Tail and opened the door.
She winced at the state of the main hall of the guild, furniture and bodies were strewn across the floor. Hungover mages stumbled around as if they were zombies, nursing headaches and nausea with anything available.
Lucy made her way to the board filled with pinned jobs that any Fairy Tail mage could take, stepping over a passed out Cana, and past a puking Alzack to reach her destination. Once there, she looked over the available missions, vetoing anything that was too far away, didn't get enough money, or required finesse considering how destructive her team was known to be.
Finally, one stood out to her:
Dark Guild Activity in Rosewood
Recently there have been multiple disappearances of our villagers and we believe it may be connected to a dark guild. Please send help as soon as possible before more villagers end up missing!
Reward: 100,000 J
"That seems perfect! Natsu, Gray, and Erza can beat whoever it is up, and I'll be able to pay off my rent!" Lucy thought and ripped the paper off the board.
She walked over to the bar where Mirajane was cleaning dishes and mixing together homemade hangover cures for the mages that were awake. The white-haired mage smiled at Lucy once she saw her sit down at the bar. "Good morning Lucy!" She exclaimed cheerily, much to the ire of the mages around her. Mira turned around and began to throw strawberries and bananas into a blender.
Lucy smiled back as she laid the paper out on the bar table in front of her, watching as Mira added milk and ice to the blender. "Good morning to you too Mira." She said at a lower volume and slid the paper across to Mira. "Can you sign off on this mission for Team Natsu?" Lucy asked over the sound of the blender's blade grinding the ingredients together.
"Of course, Lucy!" Mira said as she poured the pink blend into a cup and setting it down in front of Lucy.
"Is your rent due soon?" Mira asked, her eyebrow raised and a questioning look on her face.
Lucy sighed and took a quick sip of her strawberry banana smoothie before answering. "Unfortunately, yes. How did you know?" Lucy asked.
Mira stamped the bottom of the piece of paper approving the mission for Team Natsu, a safeguard put in place so no one took a mission that would be too dangerous for them. It worked…most of the time.
"The only time you don't get dragged on a mission by Natsu and Happy is when you're dragging them on a mission to pay your rent last minute because a certain someone spent all their money on clothes." Mira explained with a teasing tone and Lucy's face reddened.
"That may be true but this time I have an excuse! Between Edolas and the weeklong party for Lisanna I've had no time!" Lucy exclaimed and Mira teased her a little more before someone else called for the barmaid's attention.
Lucy swiveled her stool around and watched as people filtered in and out of the guild as she absentmindedly sipped on her smoothie . The buzz of conversation slowly got louder and louder as more mages woke up or arrived. Eventually, in the crowd she spotted a familiar shock of blue hair and quickly got up from her stool, and rushed over. As she got closer, she was able to see her target properly in the crowd.
"Levy! Good morning!" Lucy said and watched as her friend's face lit up once she saw the blonde coming towards her. The petite Solid Script mage had her hair tied up with an orange bandana, as usual, and was wearing an orange tank top, black denim cut offs, and simple leather sandals. It was never an unusual sight to see Levy with books and today was no different, she was carrying a stack of book precariously teetering back and forth.
Levy returned the greeting and Lucy rushed to help her best friend, taking a few books off the top of the stack and helping her over to a table where she could set them down. The two friends settled into casual conversation, talking about books they were reading, gossiping about embarrassing things their guild mates had done over the past few days, and just generally enjoying each other's company.
Eventually Lucy saw, well, rather heard Natsu entering the guild hall. She glanced over at the pink haired dragon slayer and couldn't help but smile at his rambunctious nature. She also couldn't help but notice that he arrived with Lisanna. Lucy's focus had drifted from her conversation with Levy and she quickly snapped her attention back to her friend who didn't seem to have noticed Lucy's inattention. "… Isn't it so romantic, Lu? Childhood crushes reunited after all those years! Using every waking minute to catch up on lost time." Levy swooned and sighed with a dreamy look in her eyes.
Lucy frowned and wondered how the conversation had led there. "You really think Natsu and Lisanna are that close?" She asked, fidgeting uncomfortably on the table. She had noticed that he was spending a lot of time with Lisanna and less time with her but that wasn't out of the ordinary considering the circumstances.
Levy cocked her head to the side and followed Lucy's gaze to the Dragon Slayer and Takeover mage. "I was talking about a book I think you'd like Lu." She looked back at Lucy and grinned, reaching over to place her right hand over Lucy's. "Besides everyone knows Natsu is crazy about you, he's practically your loyal puppy dog." Levy teased and giggled when Lucy started to blush from the comment.
Lucy's hand shot out from under Levy's and she covered her face with both of them. "Natsu loyal? He doesn't follow anything I say! And what do you mean 'everyone knows'!" Lucy's voice was muffled behind her hands. Lucy felt her cheeks heating up even more at Levy's giggling. Lucy brought her hands down and stuck out her tongue childishly at her friend before standing up quickly. "Maybe you should stop worrying about the boys who like me and more about the ones that like you." Lucy shot back.
The blonde pointedly looked behind Levy and her friend turned around to see what Lucy was looking at, letting out a tiny yelp when she saw a certain Iron Dragon Slayer walking towards her. "Good luck." Lucy waved goodbye at her friend and smirked at her gaping face as she left Levy alone with Gajeel.
By now Fairy Tail was back to normal, people were yelling, dancing, fighting, and laughing. The noises blending together to create a comforting cacophony for all of the members of the guild. Lucy was quickly able to spot Natsu, Elfman and Happy dancing goofily on a table, Gray, Erza, and Lisanna stood next to the table cheering them on.
Lucy weaved her way through the crowd and once she neared the table, Gray called out a greeting to her quickly followed by everyone else around the table. "Hey everyone! I have great news for Team Natsu, I found a mission that sounds perfect for us!" Lucy announced cheerily and handed the paper to Erza.
Erza nodded along as she read the piece of paper. "That is a great idea Lucy! It's about time we get back to normal and start going on jobs again." Lucy smiled at her scarlet haired friend; she had always admired the woman deeply. Along with being one of the most powerful mages Lucy knew, Erza was also an awe-inspiring leader for both Team Natsu, and the guild as a whole.
"You heard the women Flame Brain, stop embarrassing yourself up there and get ready." Gray said as he stripped off his shirt and dodged a fireball from Natsu at the same time. Lucy shook her head fondly at his antics. The Ice Make mage was another who she had come to respect and love deeply. He had welcomed her with open arms into Fairy Tail and was always there to cheer Lucy up when she needed it.
Happy jumped down from the table into Lucy's arms. "Hi Lushy!" The blue exceed greeted as he nuzzled into the blonde's chest.
"As annoying as the little guy can be, I can't imagine life without him anymore." Lucy thought as she held the cat-like creature.
"I'll go…" Natsu jumped down from the table and landed next to Lisanna, throwing his arm around her shoulder as he continued. "…As long as Lisanna comes along with us!" Natsu finished and looked at Lisanna expectantly.
Lucy smiled faintly at the scene, knowing exactly how Lisanna must've been feeling at the moment. More so than anyone else, Natsu had become synonymous with home for her. He was her best friend, her savior, her partner through thick and thin, and she treasured what he had given her greatly.
Lisanna started to refuse but the combined efforts of Natsu and Happy were able to convince her to agree with Natsu's request. "Are you sure Lisanna?" Elfman asked as he too climbed down from the table with a concerned look on his face. It made sense to Lucy why he would feel cautious considering he had just got his sister back after years and years of thinking she was dead.
Lisanna nodded vigorously. "Of course, Elfman I survived in Edolas all those years, I'm sure I can survive a simple mission." She said and gave a reassuring smile to her brother.
"And we would never let anything happen to her, right Luce?" Natsu asked and his gaze shifted to the blonde. Lucy gulped but quickly smiled and nodded her agreement.
And just like that the newly expanded Team Natsu was on their way to Rosewood, a small town about an hour east of Magnolia by train. They all filed into the train, Lucy, Gray, and Erza squeezing into the booth on one side and Lisanna and Natsu sitting across the table which Happy stretched out.
Natsu groaned as the train whistle shrieked throughout the station, telling the passengers it was time for departure. There was the familiar sound of the gears grinding against each other as the train began to move and on cue as always, Natsu slumped over from intense motion sickness. His head fell back against the seat and slowly inched down until gravity led it straight into Lisanna's lap.
Lisanna just giggled and began to absentmindedly play with Natsu's pink hair. The Dragon Slayer groaned in contentment at the soothing sensation. Gray was amused, as always, at Natsu's achilles heel, and made a snide remark that Natsu quickly rebutted with a childish comment. This of course led to a full-blown argument with Erza playing referee and Happy acting as an instigator. Lucy tuned her teammates voices out to just a buzzing in the background as she looked out the window and admired the landscape flashing by.
It was a beautiful day, the sun shining down on hills covered in lush green forests that was undoubtedly the home of many animals and magical creatures. It made for a lovely train ride and Lucy barely noticed the how long the it took before they arrived at their destination.
The Fairy Tail mages disembarked from the train, Gray having to allow Natsu to lean against him for support, and made their way into Rosewood.
They were met with the usual bustle of a town in the middle of the day. People running this way and that, merchants pestering travelers and locals alike, carriage drivers shouting at pedestrians to move out of the way. All of it blended together to become a very familiar sight. Lucy began to wonder why a dark guild would target a place such as this one when they tended to go for smaller villages with less people. Her musing was cut short as she heard Erza calling to her. Everyone in her group was already ahead a few paces and looking back at her expectantly.
"Sorry! I'm coming." Lucy hurried down the steps and jogged towards her friends but just as she neared them, she accidentally bumped into someone hard enough to send them both falling to the ground.
Lucy closed her eyes and braced for impact but was pleasantly surprised when she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her up. She opened her eyes and saw Natsu smiling at her. "Still as clumsy as always." Happy taunted while floating above Natsu's right shoulder.
Lucy stuck her tongue out at the blue exceed before looking at who she ran into. Lucy openly gawked at the person currently sitting on the ground. They had to be one of the most beautiful woman Lucy had ever seen. Sun kissed skin, long legs, a curvy figure, full heart shaped lips, and wavy brunette shoulder length hair packaged in a stunning golden yellow silk dress that ended mid thigh. The brunette woman opened her almond shaped eyes, revealing brilliant amber pupils, and Lucy could have sworn she glared at her for a second before her features smoothed into a friendly smile.
Lucy quickly went over to offer a hand to help the woman up but she got up on her own, appearing to not even notice Lucy's hand. Now that Lucy could get a closer look, she could make out freckles on the woman's face, every one perfectly placed across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Lucy felt her face heat up as the woman looked deep into her eyes for what seemed like an eternity.
"S-sorry I wasn't looking where I was going." Lucy sputtered and her eyes widened as she she looked down and saw an obvious dirt stain on the woman's dress. "And your dress! I can pay you for the cleaning…eventually." Lucy offered even though she could tell the dress could very possibly be worth her rent.
The woman shook her head, her hair bouncing hypnotically before she spoke in a singsongy voice. "Don't worry about it." She said as her gaze shifted to Natsu. Her smiled deepened into a flirtatious one. "I have to get myself a boyfriend like that. Seems so handy." Lucy glanced over at Natsu and saw his face redden while he struggled to say something.
"I-it's not like that." Lucy tried to explain as she turned back towards the woman but found that she was talking to no one. The woman was already a few paces away and Lucy couldn't help but admire the way she seemed to glide instead of walk, her hips swinging side to side smoothly as the crowd parted to give way to her.
"Well you don't see someone like that everyday." Gray commented, still staring at the woman's retreating figure.
"Stop drooling Ice Brain." Natsu said while he also ogled the woman.
Erza came up behind them both and grabbed their collars, starting to drag them in the opposite direction that the woman was going. "Let's get going, the mayor is waiting for us." She said in a forceful tone that invited no arguments.
Lucy looked over at Lisanna and Happy and shook her head while chucking lightly. "Let's go before Erza drags all of us." She suggested and Lisanna giggled while nodding before the three of them jogged to catch up to their guild mates.
As they walked through the wide pavemented streets, Lucy could easily see why the town was named Rosewood. In the middle of the road, a raised median was used as a garden that held every color of rose Lucy had ever seen along with some that she didn't even know existed. Throughout the rose garden, admirers were leaning in to smell the flowers and she also spotted a mage watering the flowers with a spell that caused a small shower to rain down over them.
The crowd thinned out considerably as they travelled further from the train station. Eventually, the only ones walking the wide streets were the Fairy Tail mages along with a handful of pedestrians here and there. They reached a square where their street intersected another, separating the square into quadrants. Each quadrant was occupied by a lush field of grass and large rose gardens. In the center, stood a marble stature of man handing a delicately carved rose to a woman.
Directly in front of them was what they assumed was the town hall. The building stood out against every other due to its size and that it looked newly built compared to all of the others that showed the wear and tear of time.
A group of children were running around in the field to the Fairy Tail mages' right, chasing each other with sticks until they saw Happy, and then they started to run after the exotic blue exceed. "Help me!" Happy shouted as he flew away from the kids trying to capture him while the rest of Team Natsu laughed.
Just as Lucy moved to go help Happy, the doors to the town hall flew open, and an older woman with graying hair dressed in a modest blue dress came out. "Stop bothering our guests, you brats." She shook her hand at the kids chasing Happy. They skid to a stop and visibly paled at the sight of the old woman.
"It's the hag! Everyone run!" One kid with a mop of light brown hair exclaimed and the group of kids bolted away in different directions. The woman shook her head and muttered something under her breath in an irritated tone as she watched the kids bolting away.
She turned to face the Fairy Tail mages, her frown deepening even more somehow. Lucy stepped forwards and opened her mouth to speak but the woman ignored her, turning around, and walking back into the building. "Well she seems lovely." Lucy thought to herself.
The woman glanced back at the mages with an annoyed expression on her face. "Well are you coming?" She asked.
"Old bag." Gray said under his breath while glaring at the woman's back.
"What was that?" She asked without turning around and Gray quickly responded that he said nothing. Happy sputtered, holding a paw to his mouth as he tried to hold in a laugh, and Gray swiped at the exceed as the rest of the team entered the town hall.
Lucy and everyone else were led up a flight of stairs to a large double sided wooden door with ornate carvings decorating them. "The mayor will see you now." The lady said as she opened the doors and ushered them in.
Lucy's eyes widened as she took in the scene in front of her and went to cover her eyes with her hands. She heard a squeak come from Lisanna while Erza struggled to say something. A woman was sitting on a desk across the room and a man was standing as close to her as he possibly could, his hands pressed against the desk on either side of her as he leaned in.
"Mayor!" The old lady said in a shrill voice with her hands on her hips. The man, presumably the mayor, jumped and turned around quickly. He appeared middle aged with cotton candy pink hair slicked back, sea-foam green eyes, and a goofy smile. He was wearing a black pinstripe suit that with an impeccably clean white tie that matched his belt and shoes.
He cleared his throat a few times while adjusting his tie. He stepped to the side to reveal the person he was standing so close to and Lucy let out an involuntary gasp when she saw the gorgeous woman she had run into earlier. "I could've sworn her dress looked different…" Lucy thought. What she had remembered as a relatively modest summer dress now had a plunging v-neckline that exposed a generous amount of the woman's cleavage.
The eccentric looking man finally got a hold of himself and stepped towards the mages, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder while grinning brightly. "Why you must be the Fairy Tail mages! Your assistance is appreciated and couldn't have come any sooner." He bowed while spreading his free hand in a flourish. "I can take it from here, Isabelle." He said, dismissing the older lady with a wave of his hand. She very visibly rolled her eyes and snorted as she left the room, closing the door behind her, and leaving the Fairy Tail mages with the mayor and the mystery woman.
The mayor took a few steps towards Team Natsu until he was standing in front of Lucy. "Let me introduce myself, I am Asher, the mayor of this humble town and this beautiful mage was just offering her help in this problem too. It will be great to have two beauties such as yourselves assisting us on this case." The mayor winked at Lucy and grabbed her hand in a seemingly practiced gesture, leaning down to press a quick kiss against it.
The woman jumped down from her spot on the desk and walked over to Asher and Lucy. "She is a beauty isn't she?" She asked rhetorically with a relaxed smile on her face. Lucy felt shiver travel down her spine as the woman's gaze focused on her.
"I must get going Asher, darling. But it looks like you are in good hands." The woman said and placed her hand on the mayor's cheek in a caress.
"So nice to bump into you fine people again, maybe our paths will meet again." She chimed as she glided past Lucy and her guild mates, patting Lucy and Natsu on the arm, and smiling warmly at Lisanna before leaving.
"There's something so…off about her." Lucy thought, still not able to shake the goosebumps she was feeling from the woman's gaze.
Once again everyone seemed to be in a stupor from her presence, not noticing she had left until the banging of the door swinging shut shocked them all out of it. The mayor shook his head and his eyes widened when he saw the Fairy Tail mages as if he was seeing them for the first time again before his face relaxed back into the same grin he wore before.
"How rude of me, please sit!" The mayor gestured towards the couches that stood opposite of each other in the center of the room and while they were seating themselves, he walked over to a table behind his desk, and picked up a glass full of an amber liquid. Lucy sat on one couch with Erza, Gray, and Happy settled in her lap, and across from them Lisanna and Natsu sat together. Once they were settled, they introduced themselves as Asher poured the liquid into a smaller glass.
Asher walked back around to the front of his desk and turned to look at them as he started to brief them on the situation. "As I'm sure you know the request we sent, over the past few weeks, there has been a worrying increase in disappearances of our townsfolk with almost no clues as to why, and only one man returning." Asher explained and then took a drink.
"Has the man who returned said anything about what happened?" Erza asked and Asher put the glass back down on the desk.
"Unfortunately not, the man who returned is different…" Asher sighed and took another drink, this time drinking long enough to finish the liquid and setting the glass down a little harder than last time.
Gray leaned forwards with his elbows against his knees. "Different in what way?" Gray asked.
"It's hard to explain…it seems as if he has just gone mad. Another townsperson found him at the edge of the woods on the outskirts of town and since he's been brought in, all he's done is babble about nonsense like wine." Asher said in a frustrated tone.
Something about what the mayor just said piqued Lucy's interest but she couldn't put her finger on it just yet. "Is it possible to go see this man?" Lucy asked and Asher nodded after a moment of thinking.
He led them out of his office and back down the stairs and then down another flight of stairs into a basement. Asher walked up to a wooden door and raised a finger to the lock, his fingertip started to emit a soft pink light, and Lucy heard a click. He pushed open the door and turned back to look at them. "It's not a pretty sight." He warned and motioned for them to step into a dark room
Lucy cautiously led her group into the room that was solely illuminated by the daylight filtering in from one window on the wall across from them. Asher summoned an orb of pink light that flew into a lacrima hanging above them, casting a glow over the entire room, revealing a disheveled looking man rocking on a cot. He was muttering something to himself too quietly for Lucy to make out the words.
"Patrick." Asher said gently but the man seemed undisturbed by their presence. He said it once more in a firmer tone and the man abruptly stopped his babbling, turning to look at them, his eyes widening, and his lips working as if he meant to say something. The man had shocking green eyes that were glossed over as if the man wasn't really seeing them and a mess of copper colored hair that matched his full beard. Lucy could see that he was normally a handsome man if not for the manic look in the eyes and unkept appearance.
Asher nodded at Erza and she approached the man slowly. "Patrick, we heard that you disappeared, can you tell us anything? Where did you go?" Erza asked gently.
Patrick seemed to be in deep thought for a few seconds before he began to speak. "I-I tasted the wine…I didn't want to but I did." His voice rasped out of his mouth. "I need more, I need more, I need more…" He trailed off, his voice cracking as he began to rock in a ball again.
Asher sighed and raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. Erza glanced back at everyone and Lisanna stepped up next. The white haired mage put a hand delicately on the distressed man's shoulder. "Patrick did you see anyone else when you were gone." She asked and was met with silence before all of a sudden the eyes snapped open, Lucy noticed that they were surprisingly clear and aware compared to a minute ago. He reached up with surprising swiftness and grabbed Lisanna by the shoulders, knocking her over, and kneeling over her.
"You! You were touched too! You were touched by one of them too!" He frantically shouted manically before Natsu grabbed the man and threw him against the wall. Lucy gasped as Natsu protectively stood over Lisanna and she could've sworn she heard him growl. And to her further surprise, Erza brandished a broadsword, pointing it towards Patrick, and Gray started to emanate a cold aura.
The man began to whimper as he put his hands over his head and Lucy hurried to stand in front of him, facing her friends. "What's wrong with you guys? He's obviously not well!" Lucy scolded her teammates. She had never seem them act so unnecessarily aggressive against an innocent like that.
Natsu stepped forwards too, a dark look clouding his face, and Lucy swallowed nervously. "What's wrong with you, Lucy? He could've hurt Lisanna!" He said as Lisanna got up and clung to Natsu's arm.
"Thank you so much Natsu." Lisanna gushed and Natsu smiled down at her.
Lucy was completely dumbfounded but before she could say anything, Asher stepped in to interject. "Why don't you all go back upstairs while Lucy helps me with Patrick?" He suggested but was said in a tone that said it was anything but a suggestion. The others filed out of the room, Natsu casting one more glare back at Patrick before leaving.
Lucy helped the mayor bring Patrick back to his cot, each taking an arm to guide him. And as they gently set him down, Lucy saw a strange green symbol on the man's hand. It looked to be a ring of vines, intricately interwoven with each other. Lucy wasn't sure exactly where but she had seen the symbol before. "Has Patrick always had this tattoo?" She asked the mayor, pointing it out for him.
Asher studied the symbol and shook his head. "Not that I can remember. Do you think it has something to do with his affliction?"
"I don't know, just a hunch I guess. Have you had a healing mage come to check on him yet?" Lucy asked as they walked out of the room, stopping so Asher could close the door, and lock it with the same technique he used to open.
"We've had the local healer check on him but she wasn't able to diagnose what was exactly wrong with him." Asher explained as they walked back up and saw the rest of Team Natsu talking to Isabel who was grabbing a young boy, who Lucy recognized from earlier outside the town hall, by the ear.
Lucy nodded along absentmindedly. The symbol still bothered her. "We have a very talented healer in our guild. She's gone on a mission right now but as soon as she gets back, I'll ask her to come." Lucy said.
Asher turned to her, grasped one of her hands in both of his, and kneeled down on one knee. "That would be wonderful! Thank you ." He said while bowing his head.
Lucy brushed off the gesture as best as she could, embarrassed at the grateful display. As soon as Asher rose, they joined up with her teammates and Isabelle who was in the middle of lecturing the young boy.
"…this is a matter for adults so let them handle it!" Isabelle finished, letting go of the boy's ear. He scrambled away from her while holding his ear, glaring but obviously trying to hold back to tears.
"I'll take it from here Isabelle." Asher said as walked over to the boy and kneeled down so he was face to face with him. "Christian, these people are from Fairy Tail, the strongest guild around!" He said in an animated voice while he gestured towards Team Natsu. "And they're going to try their hardest to find your dad and everyone else too, don't you worry." Michael's sulky expression lightened considerably and Asher ruffled his hair before telling him to go play with the other children.
Asher stood up with a deep and weary sigh, turning to face the Fairy Tail mages with a somber look on his face. "That was one of the missing men's son…He's a rambunctious little rascal but he's a good kid. He looks up to his father so much…I can't break the news to him yet." His hands started to shake and he clenched them into fists.
Natsu stepped up and slammed his right fist into his left palm, creating a tiny spark of fire. "And it's our job to make sure you never have to! You can put all your face into us!" He roared in his usual tone, full of confidence. Lucy felt relieved Natsu seemed to be back to normal and nodded enthusiastically along with everyone else.
"You said Patrick was found in the forest right? Well I say we go explore." Lucy said and Erza nodded in agreement.
Asher started to tear up. "Thank you, thank you so much."
Isabelle sniffed and looked away to the side. "You Fairies are as proud as ever I see." Her tone was severe but she wore a knowing smile.
They wasted no time in leaving the town hall in the direction of the woods. As they walked, Natsu and Lisanna lagged behind, stuck in what seemed like a very intimate conversation. Lucy walked ahead of them, following closely behind Erza, Gray, and Happy who were leading the way. "What was that all about earlier with Patrick? Even Erza and Gray were acting weirdly. And then what did Patrick mean about Lisanna being touched too? And something about that symbol still seems familiar. Nothing is adding up about this mission." Lucy was lost in thought, contemplating everything that had happened that day, trying to piece it together, but failing every time.
Within about ten minutes, they had reached the edge of the forest, and it didn't take long before they found the ruins Asher was talking about. The abandoned stone buildings were beginning to crumble from neglect and vines and moss grew over the stone. Most of the buildings could hardly be considered so anymore they were that derelict but there was one large stone building that was relatively intact.
Natsu charged into the building in typical Natsu fashion, dragging Lisanna along with him while Gray, Erza, and Lucy searched outside. After some time passed however Lucy started to get worried.
"They've been in there for a long time." Lucy noted as she and Happy walked over to where Erza and Gray were crouching under a stone structure that resembled an arch.
"They have been, let's go check on them." Erza said and began to walk towards the building where Natsu and Lisanna had disappeared.
A shirtless Gray stood up from under the arch and stretched. "I don't know we might want to give them a few more minutes. Don't want to walk into something we don't want to see." Gray said suggestively and winked at Lucy who instantly began to blush.
"Shut up Gray! Stop being gross." Lucy pushed Gray and he stumbled into the building, quickly disappearing in the dark entryway. "And put on your shirt!" The blonde exclaimed.
Happy flew up until he was face to face with Lucy with a familiar mischievous look on his face. "Is Lucy jealous?" He asked, holding the 's' in 'jealous'.
"You shut up too you damn cat." Lucy swung at Happy but the exceed gracefully twisted in the air to avoid the blonde. Lucy chased Happy as he flew into the building ahead of her. Once the blonde entered, she slowed down, unsettled at how dark it suddenly became, and how quickly she lost sight of Happy. She called out for her teammates and was met with silence every time, the darkness weighing on her more and more every second that passed.
Now that Lucy eyes had adjusted to the sudden darkness, she could take in her surroundings. She was in a small room made completely out of stone, bare of anything except a doorway. Lucy noted the inside was significantly less run down than the outside of the building. Through the doorway, Lucy could see the soft glow of something up ahead. "Going down a creepy hallway with a light at the end? Just another day of being a Fairy Tail mage." Lucy muttered to herself before taking a deep breath, inhaling through her nose and exhaling out her mouth.
Steeling herself, Lucy began to walk down the stone corridor towards the light. Continuing to call for her teammates as she went and getting no response every time. The only sound other than her voice was her boots clicking against the floor, adding to the frightening atmosphere. Eventually, Lucy was able to make out the source of the light at the end of the hallway.
"A lit torch…did Natsu light it?" Lucy wondered aloud and grabbed the torch from the wall. Using it to light the hallway as it turned sharply to the right. She turned to look back the way she came and was shocked to see that she couldn't see the light from the entrance anymore.
"Something is definitely up." Lucy said just as she heard growling coming from her right. She quickly turned towards the noise, holding up her torch to a passageway that she swore wasn't there a moment before. More surprising than that, however, was what was in the passageway. Lucy opened her mouth but found she couldn't even produce a scream due to cold terror that rushed through her body as the monster standing in front of her came into light. It was a gangly beast with disturbingly long bony limbs, the gray leathery skin was pulled tight against seemingly only bone, a lengthy tongue fell out from a mouth full of pointed teeth, and strangely it had no eyes or ears, only a smooth plane of skin where they would be.
The monster stood on two legs but was hunched over so far, its arms almost dragged against the floor. Lucy stood petrified as it tasted the air, its tongue swiping from side to side a few times before all of a sudden it shrieked, and leaped towards Lucy. Lucy barely registered the blade-like claws the beast had before her body reacted instinctively and dropped to the floor. Lucy heard what sounded like metal grinding against stone as the creature leaped over her and looked up to see a deep gouge in the wall to her right.
Finally, Lucy felt the adrenaline kick in, and gained the ability to move again. Not wasting a single second even to look back, the blonde began to run down the passage the monster was previously in. "You've got to be kidding, why me?" Lucy asked herself as she heard the piercing cry of the beast echo throughout the hallway again.
Lucy reached down to her belt, grasping for the metal ring that held all of her Celestial Spirit keys, and audibly gasped when her hand met nothing. She looked down, still running, and frantically searched for her keys. She cursed and her mind raced as her situation turned from bad to terrible. She glanced behind her and was surprised to see the monster running along the ceiling a few feet behind her, its claws digging into the stone.
Lucy stopped abruptly and turned around, raising and throwing the torch still in her right hand at the monster in one fluid motion. She turned back around and began to run again, hearing a shriek that implied the torch met its mark.
Lucy was barely able to see in the darkness but made out that the path branched to the left and right ahead. She quickly decided to go to the right and sighed in relief in when she saw that there was a door at the end of this hallway. She sprinted with every ounce of energy that she had left, ripped the door open, swiftly entering the room, and slamming the door shut. Looking around the room, she saw a bookcase to the right of the door and hurried to the side of it, pushing against it with all of her body weight, and slid it across the stone until it was blocking the door.
Once the door was barricaded, Lucy collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily as the adrenaline wore off. Once she caught her breath and felt her heart beating at a normal pace, she looked around fully. Lucy found herself in another small room, similar to the first one except this one had torches on every wall and candles on a table in the middle that illuminated the room. She also noted grimly that there were no other doors in the room.
The blonde stood up and began to pace as the full gravity of her situation set in. "Okay Lucy your teammates are missing, your keys are missing, you're being chased by the scariest monster you've ever seen, and these ruins are unbelievingly intact for, you know, ruins." Lucy said and groaned in frustration; she was so close to realizing the truth, but it eluded her whenever she got close to it.
Lucy's intermission was interrupted by banging on the door quickly followed by the sound of wood breaking apart and the bookcase crashing to the floor. Lucy backed away to the opposite wall and reached down to grab her whip, surprised but not completely that it was her normal leather whip that she had lost in Edolas, and not the magic Flueve d'etioles that she was gifted from Virgo.
The monster climbed over the bookcase into the room, once again tasting the air just before its head whipped to face Lucy. She jumped out of the way as it leapt at her once again, diving to the side, and striking out with her whip. It let out an ear-piercing screech as the whip's tip cut into its side. Purple blood began to ooze from the wound and Lucy took the monster's distress as another opportunity to strike it. She scored another hit on its leg and felt accomplished enough to try again but this time it was ready and as soon as the whip got close, it was cut into pieces with one quick swipe of the beast's claws.
Lucy cursed, throwing away the remnant of her whip, and was shocked to see that the wounds she had inflicted were already closing up. She looked over to where the door would've been, hoping to escape, and felt all hope leave her body when she saw that instead of the broken door, she saw a smooth stone wall.
And just like that it all clicked, it was if there was a haze on her mind that lifted, leaving her with one revelation. "I'm trapped in an illusion." Lucy realized and in a flash of golden light, Loke appeared in front of her.
The lion Celestial Spirit raised his right palm towards the ceiling. "O Regulus grant me your strength!" Light coalesced into Loke's palm causing it to glow and as the monster leapt towards him, Loke clenched his shining hand into a fist. "Regulus Impact!" Loke sidestepped the creature's claws and slammed his fist into the grotesque face. As Loke's fist connected, a roaring lion's face made of light materialized and the creature was blasted away, slamming against the wall, and collapsing onto the floor.
Loke turned around and smiled warmly at Lucy. "Your knight in shining armor has arrived!" He winked and Lucy couldn't find words to sum up her relief so she just hugged Loke as tightly as she could. "Hugs from Lucy are the best!" Loke swooned and returned the hug just as tightly.
"How are you here?" Lucy asked as they separated.
"You've been trapped in an illusion of your own mind but through the connection that Celestial Spirits share with their mage, I was able to come here once you realized this is all fake." Loke explained and put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "You need to break out of this, Lucy. Close your eyes, focus on what's real, remember why you came to these ruins. This illusion magic is strong, but I know you're stronger." Loke reassured her.
Suddenly, the monster started to move again, slowly standing back up. "Just focus Princess!" Loke said one last time as he turned around to fight the beast again.
Lucy wanted to help but reminded herself it would be pointless to. Instead she sat down on the ground, crossing her legs, and closing her eyes. She breathed in and out, focusing on her inhale and exhale, and began to feel something like being lost deep down in an ocean, unconsciously floating. She tried her hardest to follow Loke's instructions. "This is all fake…I'm in the ruins with my team…We're here to save the Rosewood villagers…This is all fake…" Lucy repeated this mantra over in over in her head and began to feel control enter her body, instead of floating through the water, she was now kicking and pulling frantically, bringing herself closer and closer to the surface.
Something was trying to pull her back down, getting stronger the closer she got to the surface, but she fought against it with every ounce of her strength. "This is all fake!" Lucy thought one last time as her head broke the surface and she took a breath of air.
Lucy's eyes shot open as she took a deep breath in. She was in a dilapidated room made of stone with moss covering it. Multiple parts of the ceiling had collapsed, letting in moonlight to bathe the room in its glow. She was propped up against a wall with the rest of Team Natsu, Erza to her right, and Natsu to her left. Lucy noted that they had their eyes open and disturbingly they were completely black as if the pupil had swallowed everything up.
Lucy's attention was quickly drawn to the center of the room where a huge finely carved wooden table was standing. On either side people were laughing, shouting, dancing, and drinking what Lucy could only assume was some strong alcohol from bronze chalices.
At the head of the table to her left, sitting in a throne like wooden chair, was a man that Lucy could tell was the mastermind behind all of this. He was a fair-skinned man with mostly straight shoulder length auburn hair that curled slightly at the end, had crystal clear honey colored eyes that were glossed over, and was wearing an ecstatic smile that scrunched his face. He was dressed in a white toga draped over one shoulder, exposing half of his slender yet toned pale chest, simple brown sandals, and what seemed to be a crown made of vines was tangled in his hair. Overall, he had a thrown together at the last minute look but somehow that didn't detract from his attractiveness, it added to it.
A woman's irritated voice suddenly broke through the noise of the partying drinkers. "Can you shut your fanatics up so we can talk like civilized adults!" Lucy instantly recognized the voice and turned her head to the right to see the woman in the yellow dress sitting on the other end of the table in another throne-like chair. Her arms were folded over her chest and she wasn't smiling for once, instead her lips were set in an unamused line.
The man answered in a raucous voice while raising a golden chalice with deep purple gems encrusted in it that overflowed with a dark red liquid. "Drink a lil' bit! Have some fun! Since when were you all business and no fun?" He said and the woman slammed her hands against the table suddenly, the many expensive looking bracelets running up her arms clinking together.
"We both know why! And we both know it's better that I'm here rather than someone else." She seemed to imply something important to the two of them and the man's mood instantly seemed to dampen, the grin he wore on his face disappeared.
He snapped his fingers and all of a sudden the loud ruckus quieted as the people's mouths shut closed and they sat back in their chairs, not moving a muscle as if they were turned to stone. "You make a compelling point." He said and stood up from his throne slowly.
The woman glanced side to side at the frozen people and grimaced. "So creepy. Your magic has always been a little too over the top for me, I prefer a more…subtle approach." She said and the man let out a humorless laugh.
"All I'm hearing you say is that I'm the stronger and more fun one." He said teasingly as he rounded the table towards the woman. "Before we get down to business, looks like we have a very rude spectator who hasn't introduced themselves." His gaze fell on Lucy and she jumped. She quickly scrambled to her feet as the woman's eyes went to her too, an unreadable expression on her face.
The woman stood up too and went to stand by the man. "And there's the cherry on top." She said in a flat voice.
The man's right eyebrow quirked up as he looked at Lucy and the woman. "You know this girl?" He asked and the woman's face twisted in a forced smile.
"Just can't seem to get rid of her today." She answered.
Lucy felt her face heat up from frustration as the two looked at her. 'I need to take action!' Lucy thought as she reached down for her keys.
Lucy raised a golden key as she chanted a familiar phrase. "Open Gate of the Lion, Loke!" A brilliant light flashed throughout the room and when it died down, Loke was revealed.
"Good job breaking out of the illusion, Lucy. Now, let me handle this part." Loke said with a smirk as he step forwards and adjusted his tie.
The woman cocked her head to the side, looking as if she was examining Lucy all over again for the first time. "What a handsome Celestial Spirit." The woman said and sent a flirtatious smile at Loke.
The lion spirit started to grin goofily and he waved at the woman. Lucy slapped him on the shoulder. "Focus Loke! These guys are bad! Attractive woman included." She admonished him before turning her attention back to them. "Who are you guys and what are you doing with these people?" Lucy asked in the most demanding tone she could muster.
The woman completely ignored her and turned to her companion. "I would stay and help but umm…I don't want to, this is your mess, and I'm not really dressed for the occasion." She giggled with an amused expression on her face. "I've finished my pitch anyways. Don't forget the city of Dahlia in a week, I hope to see you there." She grabbed his chin and looked at him intensely as she continued, all pretenses of amusement long gone. "For your sake and mine...but mostly for yours." She finished.
With that remark, the woman started to saunter towards Lucy. Loke stepped protectively in front of her and the woman waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry lion man like I said I'm not dressed for a fight." Lucy stepped around Loke and faced the woman, trying hard to meet her deep, probing gaze with one of her own.
Without warning, the woman raised her right hand and rested it on Lucy's left cheek. Her hand was surprisingly warm against Lucy's cheek and for some reason she felt herself growing calmer as soon as it made contact. "Good luck. Let's have a drink together next time." She said and before Lucy could react the brunette walked past her, exiting the ruin through a gaping hole in the wall behind Lucy, her figure quickly getting swallowed up in the darkness of the woods.
"Why is the bad guy wishing you good luck?" Loke asked, still keeping an eye on the other man who was blankly staring in the direction the woman disappeared.
Lucy shook her head, a bewildered expression on her face as she answered. "I have no idea." Lucy couldn't piece together anything about what had happened today ever since she had bumped into that woman.
Her attention focused back on the man as he walked back to the throne he was sitting in before and picked up his chalice. He tipped his head back, downing the contents of the chalice in gulps before setting it back down. He wiped the line of wine dripping down from his lip with the back of his hand before speaking. "Usually I'd be down to party with you guys for a while but I've been put into a bad mood. Your friends will show you out." He snapped his fingers again.
Lucy reached down to her belt and activated her Flueve d'etoiles, the stream of water ringed with gold snaked down and coiled at her feet, ready to bend and strike at her will.
"Stay back Lucy we still don't know wh-." Loke cut himself short as he glanced over at Lucy and promptly tackled her to the ground, rolling with her so she ended up splayed on top of him. Lucy raised her head and saw a sword floating where she had been standing and paled when she also saw Erza standing in her Heaven's Wheel Armor, raising a sword towards her and Loke.
Lucy heard Loke yell her name faintly before she was thrown to the side again, she felt herself roll and then she quickly got to her knees in time to see lances made of ice descend on Loke with a crash.
"Loke!" Lucy scrambled to her feet and without thinking ran the few paces over to Loke. She dropped to her knees next to him. He was already kneeling with one fist against the ground to support him. His suit was torn in multiple places and he was bleeding from various cuts but other than that he didn't seem to have any major injuries.
"I hate to say it but I think we should run, Lucy." He said between labored breaths, focused on something in front of him. Lucy tore her eyes from her spirit to look at what he was focused on and froze at the sight. Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Lisanna were standing in a line in front of them, all with their magic activated and blank expressions on their faces.
The swords that floated around Erza started to sail towards them and Lucy quickly struck out with her whip, the magic weapon wrapped around the hilt one of sword as Lucy whipped it to the side, making it collide with another sword that clattered uselessly to the ground. Lucy continued to maneuver her whip, keeping the flying swords at bay.
Loke took the opportunity to get up and rush at the possessed Fairy Tail mages. "O Regulus grant me your strength!" Loke chanted as light coalesced into his palm. His hand curled into a fist and magic blasted from his hand into the ground, causing it to crack and crumble.
The Fairy Tail mages scattered while jumping out of the way, distracting Lucy enough for a sword to slip through her defense and score a shallow cut on her side. Lucy let out a hiss of pain as she pressed her free hand to her side, backing away slowly. She saw Loke turn and make a move as if to come back to her side but his eyes widened when his feet were suddenly encased in ice that began to snake up his legs.
"Watch out Lucy!" He called, pointing to her right where Natsu was standing before the ice completely covered Loke. Lucy could feel Loke go back into the Celestial Spirit Realm as she tried to side step away but her feet became trapped in ice too, unable to break out as Natsu stepped forwards, and opened his mouth in a very familiar way. His cheeks puffed out as he breathed in, and as he breathed out, a crimson magic seal appeared in front of his mouth. He didn't say it as he usually did but Lucy didn't need him to to know she was in trouble, a ferocious fireball shot out of Natsu's mouth towards her, and she let out a yell, bracing for the impact.
"Flame Rend!" Lucy heard someone say as they landed in front of her, she opened her eyes just in time to see someone wielding a katana that with one stroke, cut Natsu's fire in half, creating a wall of flame on either side of Lucy that quickly dissipated. The sword stroke also seemed to somehow create a shockwave that sent Natsu rocketing into the wall behind him. The wall crumbled instantly, burying the dragon slayer under rubble.
The stranger turned towards her, raising their katana, and resting the blunt end against their shoulder. Lucy could now see that her savior was a man. A very physically impressive man who stood at least a head and a half taller than Lucy and looked to be at least 50 pounds heavier than her in what she was sure was muscle.
His clean shaven face was framed by thick eyebrows and strong, defined cheekbones. Those along with his broad nose that looked as if it had been broken more than once, full lips set in straight line, brilliant amber eyes that seemed to glow, a scar scored along his right cheek down to his jaw, and another small one cutting into the end of his left eyebrow completed his imposing appearance. His pitch black hair was tied back into a top knot that rested on the top of the back of his head, leaving only a few stringy pieces to hang down on either side of his face.
The stranger was wearing a traditional black kimono tucked into black hakama with a thick red sash tied around his waist and a white haori with red and pink lotus flowers decorating across it.
"Stay behind me." He told her in a deep voice that matched his appearance. He didn't wait to see her nod before he turned around, holding his katana back out in front of himself, gripping the hilt with both of hands, and this time facing the man who seemed to have been petrified with his chalice clutched in a white knuckle grip.
"Just how many more strangers am I going to meet today?" Lucy thought and as if she jinxed herself, two more figures dropped from the sky, landing a few feet to the left of Lucy though they were hooded in body length, impeccably clean, white fur trimmed cloaks so Lucy couldn't make out any of their features.
"This party is officially the worst! Attack! Kill them!" The man at the table shrieked and snapped his fingers again. The statue like people began to move, each grabbing a knife from the silverware set in front of them before they rose simultaneously, and began to run towards Lucy, the newcomers, and the rest of Team Natsu. As soon as they moved however, of the hooded figures raised a clouded crystal orb that looked like a lacrima, and threw it down hard against the ground.
Lucy heard the sound of glass breaking and suddenly the room was filled with a thick black smoke. Lucy dropped to the ground, unable to do anything but listen to the sounds surrounding her. She heard the samurai's deep voice say something she couldn't make out, a woman's voice, someone yelping, and then nothing.
The smoke quickly dissipated and Lucy found herself surrounded by the collapsed bodies of the villagers and her teammates. All signs of the samurai, the two hooded figures, and the man controlling everyone were gone. Lucy took a ragged breath in and out as she slowly climbed to her feet.
Lucy wanted desperately for anything to make sense but knowing she wouldn't get an answer anytime soon. Her contemplation was cut off by someone letting out a pained gasp. Lucy's head turned around to the source of the noise and saw that it was Lisanna.
Lisanna was lying prone a few feet away from Lucy and as she neared the white haired mage she heard shallow labored breaths coming from Lisanna. She dropped to her knees next to Lisanna and ran over her body with her eyes, trying to see if she was injured at all but finding nothing
Lucy rolled Lisanna over onto her back and once again tried to find any sign of injury while calling her name a few times, trying to stir the mage, but she didn't respond. Her already pale skin was now white as a sheet and she was covered in sweat. Lucy continued to call her name but the Take Over mage remained unresponsive.
She heard footsteps rushing towards her and looked up as Natsu dropped down to his knees next to Lisanna also. "What happened?" He asked in an emotionless voice. Lucy opened her mouth to explain that she didn't know but Natsu's head whipped over and the glare he gave her shut her mouth as if he had closed it physically. "What did you do, Lucy?" His voice was dripping with accusation and dripping with venom.
"Get back." Natsu practically growled the words at her and Lucy gaped at her at him. He said it again and she began to feel the air growing hotter. Shocked and slightly scared, Lucy listened, and shuffled back a few feet from the couple.
"I'm sorry…" She said in a dejected tone but her words must've fallen upon deaf ears as Natsu continued to stare down at Lisanna.
Gray, Erza, and Happy quickly joined Natsu, circling around Lisanna while trying to puzzle out what happened to her while Lucy sat back on her knees and watched, unable to do anything. Her hands balled into tight fists as she tried to stop the tears of frustration from rolling down her cheeks.
Lucy looked away to the side through an opening in the stone wall out into the dark forest, not wanting her teammates to see her tears. As she gazed out, she suddenly saw a figure in the woods. Blinking away tears, she stood up and narrowed her eyes, trying to make out who or what the figure was. She began to think they were one of the people in the white cloaks from earlier. But just as quickly as the figure appeared, they disappeared in a flash of white.
It might've been the exhaustion or the tears still in her eyes but Lucy could've sworn the figure had wings.
End of Flashback
Lucy finally reached her apartment building and stopped at the door as she remembered what happened after she saw the mystery person disappear.
Luckily, Asher had shown up soon after with a group of townspeople, having grown worried after Team Natsu had disappeared for hours. They were relieved to find all of the missing people but found that they were in the same state Lucy found Lisanna in. Everyone hurried out of the ruins, carrying the unresponsive people with them.
Lisanna and the others still hadn't awoken when they reached the town hall and at Asher's insistence for their help, they were able to borrow a magic carriage, allowing them to rush back to Magnolia. The way back was completely silent except for when Natsu's attention was diverted from staring at Lisanna to yelling at Lucy while she tried to weakly defend herself.
They arrived at Fairy Tail well past midnight, bringing Lisanna to the infirmary, and while Erza went to go retrieve Makarov, Natsu confronted her one last time.
"You should just go home Lucy." He said. His voice as cold and sharp as steel.
"What are you talking about? I'm worried about Lisanna too." Lucy said, looking into his eyes and trying to see any ounce of the Natsu she had come to know but was met with onyx walls.
"Go home! I don't want to see you". The last thing he said to her before he turned away and went to go sit on Lisanna's bedside.
Lucy stood there, despondent as tears ran down her face for what felt like an eternity before she was finally able to walk home. Exhausted both physically and mentally, she fell asleep as soon as she laid in bed.
The next day, Lucy woke up way past noon, which was very uncharacteristic of her, and found that unfortunately the day before wasn't all a dream. All day she stayed in her apartment, trying to summon the courage to go to Fairy Tail to confront her friends, and not finding it until late in the afternoon.
When she arrived at the guild however, she was told that Lisanna had been moved to Porlyusica's cabin in the forest where the medical advisor for Fairy Tail could watch over Lisanna. So she ended up walking home dejected and at a loss of what to do other than try again tomorrow.
And that caught her up to where she was now, standing in front of her apartment door with tears streaming down her face as the last words Natsu said to her echoed in her mind.
Plue tried to comfort her once again and Lucy attempted to stop her tears, but she was unable to.
"Thank you Plue." She thanked him and pet his head once before closing his gate. Lucy wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks, opened the door to the apartment building, and shut it behind her, hoping the next day would be easier but knowing deep down that it wouldn't.
Unbeknownst to Lucy, she was being watched as she walked home that day. One of the voyeurs stepped back from the ledge of the building they were watching Lucy from and sighed loudly. "Now that we lost both of our targets, we have no leads in case the two of you forgot! We need to question her about what she heard and what saw." A woman's irritated voice said.
Another one of the figures stepped back. "Don't forget about how she broke out of the illusion too." They said.
The last figure who was sitting on the ledge with their feet dangling over the edge twisted around to look at their companions. "Okay so which one of you wants to interrogate the miserable girl who hasn't stopped crying all the way home?"