Lucy's butt hit the hard ground once more, making her groan. "Seriously?" She complained up to the sky. "Why me?" She began to get up, but something crashed on top of her, harshly throwing her to the grassy ground.
The breath was knocked out of her, and her eyes closed in pain. Whatever was on top of her groaned, slowly removing itself from her crumpled body. When she felt the pressure leave, she slowly opened her eyes to see onyx ones staring back at her.
"Luce? You okay?" He reached a hand out to her, helping her stand.
"This better not keep happening, you jerk!" She yelled at the sky. She would be damned if her bruised tush would be followed by a body slam for every level she was - literally - thrown into.
"Uhhh Luce?" Natsu was giving her a weird look.
"It's nothing." She muttered, embarrassed. She was beginning to suspect that the Princess didn't like her, since it seemed that she always landed harshly whereas Natsu now had a personal cushion to his fall. "Let's just go."
The thick jungle wasn't too hard to navigate through. It was like Lucy had an inner GPS, telling her which direction to go.
"Nee, Lucy, what do you think the tornado was for in the previous level? In the first level, there were only the Bonies."
"You're right..." Lucy hadn't thought much about it, but her partner had a good point. "Maybe there's a new threat for each time we level up?" She wondered aloud.
"Yeah, maybe." He stared up at the thick canopy above, hand behind his head.
"Looks like we have company." Lucy said, watching as the four Bonies came closer. Natsu grabbed his sword, ready to fight. These Bonies had moss growing all over them, making Lucy's stomach churn.
"Gross." She mumbled, raising her hands. She hoped that she could control her magic for once in this game.
"Don't worry, Luce. I'm sure you can do it!" Natsu grinned, making her heart stutter for a split moment. She smiled gently in response, returning her focus back to the incoming enemy. She knew she had to think of protecting Natsu in order to use her magic, but it felt like she was missing something...
"Let's go!" Natsu charged forward, Lucy right behind him. Her partner clashed swords with one of the Bonies while Lucy tried - and failed - to use her magic to take down another. The bursts were still erratic, missing her target completely.
Finally, she was somehow able to get its sword away from it, slicing its head off. She turned around and was met with a swing from a different Bonie. The sword came dangerously close as she jumped back, not holding her breath. A tuft of pink hair was visible just behind it, until it turned to ash.
Natsu smiled at his partner, but she didn't return it. In fact, her face contorted into one of horror.
"Watch out!" She raised her hand, a powerful blue burst escaping her delicate palm. It slammed into the Bonie that was about to plunge its sword into Natsu's back, reducing it to ash.
"Whoa..." Natsu whispered, staring at his partner. "That was awesome!" He slung an arm around her shoulders, earning a slight blush from her cheeks.
And it was in that moment that she realized how to control her powers. Not only was it through protection, but it was through... love.
The jungle seemed to get hotter the more they trekked through it, defeating Bonies. Sweat collected in uncomfortable places, making Lucy feel like she needed to jump into a lake. However, she was happy as she was able to take down her enemies much easier than before. She hit her targets most of the time!
"Nee, Luce, do you see those flowers?" They stopped in their tracks, staring at the large flowers. Some were red, others were yellow, and a few were blue. They resembled Venus Fly Traps, only these were about six feet tall.
"Yeah. This is the first time we've seen them so far, right?" She couldn't remember seeing anything like them before on their trek through the jungle.
"I think so." He drew his sword, just in case. "Be careful."
"Mm." Lucy crept forward, hands ready to strike down the flowers if she needed to. However, they didn't move. Not even when she poked one with a stick. She turned to face her partner, who stood a few feet back.
"I think it's safe so far." She turned back around, only to find the mouth of the flower open, saliva dripping onto her boot. She audibly gulped, fear freezing her body.
"L-Luce, slowly back away." Natsu whispered, terrified. Both had seen each other die terrible deaths, and neither wanted it to happen again.
"I-I can't. My legs won't move!" She whisper-shouted back. It was like her legs were made of stone, unable to move. The plant made a noise like it was smelling her. She shivered, her throat closing up in fear of being eaten.
The mouth opened wide, showing off its sharp teeth. She felt like if she moved in the slightest, the plant would instantly gobble her up. It reared back, ready to strike the poor blonde.
"No!" Natsu yelled, charging forward, sword glinting in what little sun filtered through the leaves. He struck the plant at its base, but the sword didn't cut through it. He stumbled backwards, landing roughly on his butt. This distracted the plant for a moment, and Lucy was able to stumble away from it, keeping her life.
She fell next to Natsu, panting. She swore to never grow flowers if she had the yard to.
"Luce? You okay?" Natsu asked, sitting up.
"Y-yeah." She laid on her back, staring up at the canopy. She was about to sit up when something gleamed in the sunlight. "What's that?" She asked, squinting.
"What's what?" Natsu stared at her, then looked up to see what she was looking at.
"In that tree. Hold on." She sat up, keeping an eye on the glint above her. The tree it was in was easy to climb, as if it were made to be climbed.
The rough bark dug into her pale hands as she scaled the tree, getting closer to the object above. She reached out, grabbing whatever it was hanging on the small limb. It looked like an ocarina.
"What..?" She turned it over in her hands. It was an emerald green color, convincing her it was made of an emerald.
She placed it around her neck with that string it was hanging from. Then she began to descend the tree, careful not to take a wrong step. She landed next to Natsu, who stared at the beautiful ocarina around her neck.
"What is it?" He asked.
"I think it's an ocarina." Lucy saw what she presumed to be the mouthpiece, and put it in her mouth. She didn't know what to play, but it was as if the notes came to her naturally. She gracefully moved her fingers, a melodic song playing through the air.
"Look!" Natsu pointed towards the flowers, which had begun to sway slightly to the music. "Maybe that's how we're supposed to get by them!"
As Lucy continued to play her sweet melody, the two slowly crept by the first flower, hearts racing. When they got by it, Natsu smiled slightly. They got through all of the flowers without losing their lives.
"Wow, Luce! That was awesome! Where'd you learn to do that?" He slung an arm around her shoulders, making her cheeks tinge pink.
"I've never played one before." She smiled, looking back at the flowers. "Let's continue on, Natsu. I want to go home."
"Aye, sir!"
(A/N)
It's been too long, I know! I'm sorry. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Leave a review!
~StarCrusader~