Just Misunderstood

Chapter 17

Defiance


Midnight laid Lucy down against the old wall of a house, her eyes cracked open and she groaned. "Lucy, it's okay, we are here now," Erza whispered as she grabbed the blonde's face. Lucy looked up and her eyes shone gold before she slipped back into sleep.

Midnight growled and stood up, "I thought for sure the spell would break when she defied Brain."

Gray nodded and sat beside the blonde, she was asleep, her body drained but even Gray could feel the pure power coming off of her in waves. "She has gotten strong hasn't she?" He looked towards Midnight.

He shrugged, "She's a slayer, of course, she is to some degree. I haven't seen her fight much, but from what I witnessed with the rest of the guild…. She was able to withstand Brain's spell and powers long enough to get them all away from here," he leaned against the wall and sighed, "But if you really want to know more, ask Cobra when he gets back. He… cares for her and has actually combed through her mind. He knows everything about her, even more than you guys at this point," Midnight closed his eyes, "Probably more than she knows herself."

"He cares for her?" Jellal said slowly, "I don't remember a lot, but I got the impression Cobra didn't care about anything other than himself."

Midnight shrugged again, "You'll have to ask him."

"Is he even coming back?" Hibiki asked impatiently.

Midnight cocked his head, "Yes, you should have seen his face when Lucy chose his life over hers. He was almost heartbroken, I saw it in him. I saw it in his eyes. That man has always been so good at concealing everything he is feeling. But with this girl, he is so vulnerable, it almost makes him weak. But I can tell it is causing him to fight harder. He pushed himself because he doesn't want to die, he wants to be with her. I'm not sure if even he knows that."

Gray sat back on his heels and looked at the ground, a single purple flower grew in the dirt floor of the house they were hiding in, it didn't have sunlight or water, but somehow it was there. He picked it up, and held it close to his chest, "Even love can grow without proper conditioning, look how Cobra grew up? That tower," both Erza and Midnight tensed and looked at the other, "You guys have every right to hate the world, you have every right to want to see it burn, you grew up without love and it hurt you all. It still must hurt today, you guys couldn't love, you weren't taught to love. You didn't know what the word meant. But now," he looked at Erza, and his eyes slid to Jellal, and then Lucy, "Love has come anyway, it has a way of doing that without knowing, you guys, despite every reason not to, learned to love and be loved in return. And now Cobra, who probably never thought he could ever, ever, love anything, has now found something he can cherish."

Erza stared at Gray with wide eyes, "Gray?" He shook his head.

"Sorry," he stood up and wiped the dirt from his pants, "I wouldn't know anyway."

He left the small base they have been setting up and stood outside, his hands in his pockets. Erza looked to Midnight and he was just staring blankly at the ground, his red eyes burning a hole in the dirt. "Do you think he loves her?" Lyon asked slowly.

"If Cobra was going to fall for anyone it would certainly be Lucy," Midnight whispered, "And if that is the case, maybe, one day, she could love him too."

~JM~

Cobra woke to the quiet sound of sizzling. His eyes blinked open slowly and he sat up. Poison dripped from his mouth and onto the pillow, where a small puddle of it was melting soft cloth of the pillowcase. He curses to himself and put the still damp, now cold, washcloth on the chunk now burnt out of the pillow.

"You drool in your sleep," Loke laughed to the side, "Well, kinda." The spirit sat with his legs crossed on the floor, a blanket draped over his shoulders. Cobra rubbed his eyes and glared at him, he looked around. Angel was curled on the end of the bed, her hair in a towel and her eyes were closed and her breathing even. Racer and hoteye were asleep on the ground, varies pillows and blankets thrown around them. Loke pushed up his glasses and stood, stretching his legs out. "I haven't been here for long," he looked around," they were asleep when I found them.

Cobra stood from the bed and brushed off his pants, "How long have we been asleep?"

"Probably an hour or two."

Cobra nodded and rubbed his eyes, "Well… I guess we should get ready."

Loke nodded.

Cobra sighed and sat on the bed, shaking Angel's shoulder and saying her name, after a few times she sat up groggily and rubbed her face, her towel falling off and exposing her damp hair. Racer and Hoteye were up with a few calls of their names. Loke pushed a small piece of metal into Cobra's hand, it was cold in his palm but he knew what it was right away. He shoved it in his pocket and turned away. "Are you sure you wanna do it this way Loke?"

He laughed, "No," his smile fell and a sad one replaced it, "But it is the only way."

The snake charmer nodded, "You got the other thing?"

Loke nodded and held up his wrist, "Straight from the king himself."

"Good."

"Off to save the princess?"

Cobra smiled and slung his coat on, the white material fluttering down to meet his body, "It's only fair," he locked eyes with Angel and winked, "She saved us first after all."

And even Cobra didn't know if he meant it physically or emotionally, but he knew, she had definitely saved them.

~JM~

Brain looked to the horizon, his eye glowing green, a malicious smirk on his face. Natsu sat to his side, unbound but unconscious. Brain looked down at him with disgust, "You are most likely the reason why I lost Lucillia," he growled, he threw his hands up in frustration, "I could have taken this world with her power," he paused and sigh, "I could have taken the Spirit World with her power!" He spoke softly but angrily, each word leaving his mouth as violently as a bullet leaving a body.

"I will deal with her after Cait Shelter is eliminated, I won't let them live another day, they are the only ones that can seal away Nirvana, and I will not let them do it again," he whispered to himself.

He turned towards Natsu, "In the meantime, I can get rid of another problem," his body erupted in green magic, sloppy viridian tentacles rose around Brain. "One less light mage, one less problem."

The magic pooled into Brain and then shot towards Natsu, and his eyes cracked open just in time to see the flurry of green magic deflected off into the cliffs across the valley. Standing on the top of Nirvana, in between Brain and Natsu stood a dark-haired mage. His hair long and his skin white, he looked up at Brian with glowing red eyes. Red and black swirls clouded around him. "Macbeth?"

Midnight growled at the name, "Don't call me that Brain."

Brain stepped forward, almost looking hurt, "You left me too," he touched his face, where Midnight's line of allegiance was supposed to be was nothing but smooth skin.

"You didn't even notice?" Midnight spat, but there was a sad tone to his voice.

Brain shook his head, "Macbeth you are my son, I love you more than anyone of the others."

Midnight's magic wavered, and he stood up a little straighter, "One day you will cast me out like you did them," he almost seemed to be convincing himself more than anyone. Erza and the rest pulled themselves up on the ridge, her chocolate brown eyes locked with Midnight's red ones. "He's my father," he whispered sadly.

Brain sneered as he saw the rest move beside Midnight, making obvious they were with him. Erza stood in front of the dark haired mage, a sword was pulled from its world to enter her hand. She pointed in at Brain. "He isn't yours anymore Brain," more swords centered themselves around Midnight, mixing into his dark swirls and spinning around him slowly. Midnight looked up as tears filled his eyes, "I just want to sleep Brain, you promised me I could."

The gray-haired man growled, "You are working with them?! The Light Guilds! How dare you? I raised you! I cared for you! I saved you from that tower!"

Erza stepped forward a sword pointed at Brain's throat, "You used him! Like you did the others! You saw a damaged kid! One that needed guidance! And you took advantage of that! You did that to them all!"

"Erza Scarlet, correct?" He spoke slowly. She flinched, the tip of her sword lowering a few centimeters, "You know that I looked at you when picking my pawns? You were weak, but once you awakened your power you had incredible potential. But after Jellal overthrew the cultists and freed us… he told me not to touch you."

Jellal's eyes widened, "We've met?"

Erza stepped back, her grip loosened on her sword, and she felt the magic swell before she could react. She was thrown backward and Midnight barely had time to catch her before she slammed into him, they both toppled to the ground. An icy cloud rose around them all and then shards as sharp as blades fell from the sky above Brain. Gray and Lyon stood, back to back, ice forming around them. Brain rolled his eyes and the gravity increased in the area, the ice breaking under the pressure and the other mages dropping to their knees. "You guys really are no match for me," he slid his eyes over them all, "I can kill you all with a snap of my fingers."

Midnight groaned, his body erupted in black and red streams of magic, they flicked around violently like a tail of a lizard. His eyes shone a vicious red that rivaled the crimson blood dripped from his lip. He stood straight, his magic canceling Brain's out. Glittering swords suddenly appeared around him again, solid steel swirled with his own blades of black and red. Shurikens of ice joined the swords and twisted and spun, mingling with the other forms of magic, soon a crystal ice dragon appeared from nothing to dance and play among Midnight. Swirls of air and puffs of earth joined and soon Midnight was a beacon of every power of every mage with him.

Erza and Gray struggled to sit up, small smiles of unsure trust adorned on their faces. They weren't sure if they could really put all their trust in Midnight but they knew it was necessary. He needed it to fully defeat Brain, and none of them, in their injured states, could even dream of taking him on alone.

Midnight stepped forward causing his father to step back, "You can't betray me like this," he screamed while launching an attack at his son, a steel sword shot forward to deflect the magic. He stepped forward again, and Brain yelled in frustration, he attacked and attacked, but it was futile while everything was deflected. Midnight surged forward, as fast as a shark through water, the magic hissed against Brain's skin. The mage growled and grabbed Brian by the neck and held him over the edge of the tower.

"Macbeth! Please, you are my son!" He cried as he struggled against his grip. The suffocation magic swirling around them both and stopped Brain from freeing himself. Midnight shook his head and looked away.

"You have been in control too long, and if Cobra has gone so far as to betray you… then I must do the same," he looked into Brain's eyes and the glowing red faded from his own. "Cobra is my brother, Angel my sister, the others my family. Why would I chose you over all of them?" He whispered quietly.

Brain saw him falter, his grip loosened slightly and Midnight hesitated. Brain choked out a laugh, and swung his foot up, kicking his son in the chest and pushing him back, they both stumbled back onto the hard stone of the tower, the magic on the others released and they heard gasps of relief fill the area as they stood. Brain grabbed Midnight's wrist and cackled loudly, the magic on his son exploded outwards, leaving Midnight thrown to the side, Brain screamed as he was launched near the edge, "If I'm going, you are coming with me!" A stream of green grabbed Midnight at the ankles and pulled him towards the edge, the dark mage was pulling at the ground, his fingernails being ripped off on the stone. His panicked eyes met Erza's and she screamed a sound of terror as she jumped forward. Her hand reached for him, but as her fingers brushed his, he was pulled off the edge, down over the drop of the tower.