So this chapter ended up being longer than I thought, I actually had to stop myself from writing more or else this chapter would have been 10,000 words. Chapter 4 is already in progress!
Lucy's eyes slowly slid open when she felt someone shaking her awake. The first thing she noticed was that her head was throbbing and her eyes felt swollen. There were rocks digging into her skin but she didn't know why.
"Lucy?"
She turned her gaze to the person next to her, and her eyebrows furrowed. "Lyon?" She whispered. Why was he here, and where was Sting?
Wait.
She gasped and shot up, hissing in pain when her forehead collided with the Ice Mage. She rubbed at the sore spot and gave an apologetic look the the groaning man. "Sorry."
"It's alright." He sighed, standing and helping the blonde up. "I'm more concerned about you. Why are you passed out in the middle of the woods? I didn't think these two goons would give you a hard time since you've beaten Sherry before." He motioned to the men trapped in ice behind him.
She felt anger and sadness wash over her as she remembered the previous night. "I was camping out with my partner and we were ambushed. They took him." She whimpered.
Lyon nodded, not sure how to comfort her. They've barely spoken, he only knows her as Gray's friend and guild mate. He only knew her name because of Sherry. He jumped when there was a thud behind them and he whirled around, his hands clasped together and ready to fight. He blinked when he saw a small red animal on the ground below a tree. "Is that a cat?"
Lucy gasped and ran to the bundle of fur on the ground, scooping him into her arms. "Oh Lector, you're okay." She hugged the crying exceed to her chest.
"Why take Sting?" He sniffled.
"I don't know, but we'll get him back." She brushed her fingers over the soft fur before turning back to the man. "I need your help. I'll pay you any amount you ask, just please, help me." She begged.
Seeing the desperate look in her eyes made his stomach turn. He wasn't very good at comforting people, and less so women. She clearly needed help, and who was he to deny someone that he tried to kill back on Galuna. "No need for payment, we shall find him together."
Her heart swelled and she couldn't stop herself from throwing her free arm around him in a hug. She felt him go rigid and hugged tighter. "Thank you do much."
Lyon blushed and didn't know where to place his hands, so they stayed twitching at his sides. "Yes, of course. It's no big deal."
She pulled away and gave him a smile. "Maybe not to you, but it means the world to me." She stepped away from the uncomfortable Ice Mage and wiped her tears. "Sorry, I tend to hug before thinking." Her gaze landed on the two men coated in ice. "Are you here alone?"
Lyon nodded as they made their way to the cowering pair. "Yes, I am a solo mage after all."
"Well, no matter." She huffed, letting the still weeping cat climb to her shoulder. "If Gray can defeat a Shadow Mage, then I know you can too."
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, a small flush returning to his cheeks. She didn't think he was weak after he was defeated by Gray? She still thought of them as the same level? That was... oddly warming to hear. "Do you know where he went?"
She shook her head. "No, but I bet these guys might."
He nodded. "You're right, but how are we going to get them to talk?"
She gave a devious grin and held up a golden key. "I have just the Spirit that'll make these guys talk. I just need some water."
Five minutes.
Lyon shivered from his hiding place behind a tree at the thought. It only took the Mermaid Spirit five minutes to turn the two hulking men into blubbering messes. Lucy had asked him to wait with the cat behind a tree while the spirit got to work, and he had never been more thankful that he complied. The screams that they let loose were still echoing in his head.
"You can come out now!"
He almost didn't want to, but when he saw the little cat hurrying over to the blonde, he got his legs to work and followed after it. He noticed that the men were gone and furrowed his brows. "What did you do?"
Lucy shrugged. "Lector didn't need to see it, so we sent them off." She knew Aquarius had a soft spot for Sting, so she figured that the mermaid would be the perfect option for getting info from them. She had no idea why she loved the little boy so much, but she also didn't know why Aquarius did most of the things she already does, so Lucy never questioned it.
Lyon slowly nodded, jumping when the spirit turned on him. "Y-Yes?"
She pointed her urn at him and scowled. "You better get him back."
He blinked when she vanished into golden light. He turned his curious gaze the the blonde in front of him. Was their guild full of crazy people? "What did you find out?"
She picked up Lector who was patiently waiting at her feet as she answered him. "Apparently their leader, Neerus, steals magic from others. They've been looking for Dragon Slayers, and that's why they terrorized the town that I helped for my mission. They heard that one was residing there and they thought they were hiding one, but it turns out they just got false information." She let out a sigh as she pet a now purring Lector. "I guess that explains why he was able to use different spells. I just hope we can save Sting before he loses his power."
"And what spells did you witness? I need to have at least a small understanding of his magic before we fight." Lyon said.
"From what I saw, he used Shadow Magic, Sleep Magic, and something that stopped my spirits from closing their gate. There could be more, though." She explained.
"Right, and I assume you know where to find them?"
She nodded and held up a silver key. "Just leave it to Pyxis."
Sting groaned as his eyes slowly opened, a dull ache in his head. The room that he was in was dark, but he was still able to see most of the things in the room with his enhanced sight. He felt that his back was against a pole, his hands bound tightly behind it. He could tell that they were magic concealing cuffs since he couldn't feel his magic flowing through him like he normally did.
He could hear faint screams coming from a different room, and it shook him to his core. They were pained screams, and the person was begging for help and for whoever was hurting them to stop. He soon realized that the voice was rather high, but not like a woman. Was it another kid like him?
He struggled in the cuffs, trying his hardest to break them and set himself free. The chains rattled against the pole as he tugged at his binding. The screams died down, and Sting froze in fear as he heard footsteps approaching him. His heart pounded in his chest, all he could do was wait. His head whipped to the side when the metal door to his room creaked open and he was met with a grinning face.
"I see that you're finally awake, perfect." The man said.
Sting recognized him as the leader that took him. "Where am I? What did you do with Lucy?"
"The girl?" He spat. "She's long gone, never to find you."
Sting growled. "She'll find me! And when she does-"
"If she manages to find me, I'll make sure to kill her this time." He lifted his hand, his grin turning malicious when a white light formed in his palm. "I decided to give your magic a little test drive, not bad." He waved the glowing hand in front of the trembling boy.
Sting's eyes widened. "You stole my magic?"
He chuckled and dispersed the magic in his hand, waving it to light the candles in the room. "Just a little. I need it to be a lot more powerful before I can claim it all for myself. I already have another subject who's doing lovely, but I needed one more Dragon Slayer to complete what I seek. And just my luck that you happened to be the opposite element."
Sting furrowed his brows. Another one? What did he mean by that? From what he could remember, the only other Dragon Slayer that's not on Tenrou should be Cobra, but he was locked in prison. Was there another Dragon Slayer that they didn't know about? "Why are you doing this?"
The man shrugged. "Why not?" He enjoyed the disgusted look that was directed at him. "Let me just clean up and we can start your turn."
Sting pulled at his binds roughly, trying to break free once more. "Let me go you Bastard!" He yelled, glaring at the laughing man until the door shut behind him. He trembled in the now empty room and he brought his knees to his chest.
He wanted Lucy, he didn't want to be locked away here with some psycho. He felt tears well in his eyes when he thought about her and Lector, his two best friends. He didn't want to hear the whimpers coming from the room next to him, the pleas for help and the answering cackle.
He was scared. He didn't think he was ever this scared in his life, he hoped that Lucy got to him soon. He needed her help, and so did the poor soul next door.
He jumped when his door swung open once again. "Let me go or you'll regret it." He ground out, unconsciously moving back when the man stalked forward.
"I regret nothing." He smirked, waving his hand to make the pole behind the young boy vanish. He loved the terrified look he got as he grabbed the back of the boys shirt, dragging him out of the room.
"Let me go!" Sting struggled in the hold, frantically kicking his legs.
"I'll let you go soon enough." He chuckled, opening another door. Walking further into the room, he lifted the boy onto a metal table before pushing him to lay down.
In the blink of an eye, Stings hands were no longer bound behind his back, but instead they were spread open at his sides. His ankles were next, and he thrashed around as much as he could. "You Bastard!"
"Now now my little Dragon Slayer, no need for insults." He laughed.
Sting frantically looked around, his heart dropping when he saw all of the different tools hanging on the wall. The stench of blood and sweat made his stomach churn painfully, bile rising in his throat. Was this really how he died? Tortured before having his magic stolen from him? He couldn't see the person that he heard crying out earlier, and he had to wonder if they were still alive. Was Sting about to suffer the same fate?
"I suppose I could introduce myself before we get all personal." He gave a sickening giggle. "My name is Neerus. Yours is Sting, right? That's what the girl called you. Speaking of that girl, she was quite the looker wasn't she. Is she your sister? I'd love to get my hands on those delicious hips."
Sting sneered and thrashed once more. "Don't talk about her like that you pervert!"
Neerus feigned offence, placing a hand to his chest. "Me? A pervert? I may be a murderer, but I am in no way a pervert."
Still pulled back, terror washing through him. He already figured that he was a murderer, but for him to joke about it? That was sick. "Are you going to kill me?"
Neerus laughed and pulled something from a tray next to him. "Not intentionally. I'll do what I must, and you just try to survive." He held a small ball between his index finger and thumb, bringing it in front of the Slayers face so he can see. "This here is a power lacrima. Each one has their own abilities according to how it's created. This one is a Dragon Slayer lacrima, much like the one that Laxus has. But he wasn't a Slayer to begin with, he was just given the power by one." He gave the frightened blonde a cheeky smile. "Now, what do you think would happen if I implanted a Dragon Slayer lacrima into a real Dragon Slayer?" He placed it back down and chuckled. "It'll amplify your magic by tremendous amounts, making you a double Dragon Slayer of sorts."
Sting shook his head violently. "Please don't." He whimpered.
Neerus picked up a pair of scissors and showed them to the blonde. "You're going to become very strong, and I'm going to enjoy claiming that power as my own." He used the scissors to cut Sting's shirt up the middle. "But not just yours, I have another Dragon Slayer here that I'm going to use as well. Once yours is inside and your magic gets nice and cozy with the lacrima, I'm going to merg both of your powers and use it for myself. Shadows and light, what a perfect combination." He sighed happily at the thought.
A Shadow Dragon Slayer? Sting had never heard of one. Were there more Slayers in hiding? He didn't think too hard about it as his shirt was pulled open and the terrifying man grabbed a scalpel. His eyes widened in horror and he shook his head. "No, please no. Don't do this!" He cried, pulling at his bindings.
"Try not to move too much or you'll end up killing yourself before I can do it." Neerus cackled as he brought the knife to the pale skin.
"You can't! Please, stop!" Sting let out a scream as it dug in to him, black dots spotting his vision as he felt it slide down his stomach to tear open his flesh. Tears poured out of his eyes and he let out a choked sob, his hands clenching into tight fists. It hurt, it hurt so bad that Sting couldn't focus. Slender fingers slid into the open wound and he let out another scream. He could feel them wriggling inside of him, trying to find whatever he was looking for. A pleasant noise left Neerus suddenly and Sting heard shifting before he felt something else being slid inside of himself. The lights above him became blurry and the laughing was muffled. His head felt dizzy and before he knew it, everything went black.
"Okay, if we keep following North, we should be coming up to a patch of roses to show where the magical barrier is that's keeping their base hidden." Lucy said as she walked quickly down a dirt path.
Lyon was following closely behind. "How will you know which roses are the right ones?" He asked.
"Roses don't naturally grow in these woods." She stated simply, her eyes darting around the area.
He could see a thin sheen of sweat on her skin and frowned. "Maybe we should take a break, you seem tired. We've been walking for hours."
She shook her head, her hold on Lector tightening. "We can't, I need to help him."
Lyon sighed and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. "We won't be any use to him if we're exhausted by the time we get there. We've been practically running this whole time."
Lucy glared at him and pulled her arm back. "He's been gone for ten hours, who knows what they've already done to him. The more time wasted, the bigger the chance that he's going to be killed."
He glared right back at her. "Clearly they needed him for something if they were targeting him, how can you be so sure that they'd kill him?"
Her mouth clamped shut and her gaze turned towards the ground. "I... I don't know." She lifted her gaze and felt her bottom lip trembling. "I'm just so worried, he's just a kid."
He didn't know what to do when the first of her tears started to fall. Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut, no matter how much his feet were begging for a break. When she let out a sob, he stepped forward and awkwardly placed a hand on her head. The memory of her saying she liked hugs filled his mind and he carefully pulled her head down to rest on his chest. Her arms instantly wound around him and a blush appeared on his cheeks. "There, there." He mumbled, stiffly patting her on the back.
She let out a quiet laugh at the feel of his rigid form and pulled back. "Thank you, I know this must be awkward since today is the first time we've said more than a few words to each other. I really appreciate it."
He gave a small nod. "Of course." He shuffled in place at the silence that followed, not sure what to do now.
"Maybe you're right, we should take a quick break. Now that we've stopped, I've realized how tired I am." She sighed, crouching down to take a seat in the grass.
"Just a short one, and then we'll be off." He promised, walking over to sit next to her.
"Can I ask you something?" She asked after he settled.
"You just did." He chuckled.
She rolled her eyes and lightly bumped his shoulder with hers. "You're an ass."
He shrugged, giving her a small smirk. "What is it you wanted to ask me?"
She brought her knees up so Lector could lean his back against her thighs while he sat in her lap. "Why did you agree to help me?"
He hummed and turned his head to gaze into the empty forest. "Think of it as an apology for Galuna Island."
She rubbed Lector's ears, listening to him purr in contentment. "That was a long time ago, you've more than made up for it with Nirvana." She gave a small laugh.
"Then it must be my golden heart." He joked.
"I could have sworn it was made of ice." She teases.
He chuckled once more and shook his head. "Touché." They sat in silence after that, the cool breeze drifting passed them. Lyon didn't think it would be this easy to talk to her, or that they could joke around together. He had agreed to help her because the desperate look in her eyes pulled at his heart, even if he barely knew her. He couldn't bring himself to turn her away, he would feel like the biggest scum on earth if he brushed off someone willing to give everything for his help. But, taking into account that their enemy has the abilities to steal magic from mages, he wondered how many different magic types Neerus could use. They also had no idea how many people will be at the hideout, what if it was dozens?
An idea came to mind and he pulled out his travel lacrima. "I'm going to contact Jura for support, he took a mission not too far from here. If we have his help, we'll definitely get your friend back." He sent a burst of magic into the ball and waited.
Lucy stared at him in shock as he talked to the other man on the lacrima. She couldn't believe he was so willing to help her in any way he could. She was beyond grateful for his help, and she'd be thanking him for the rest of her life. Jura would be a huge help to them. While Lyon was very strong, they had no idea what laid ahead, whether it be something extremely difficult, or a walk in the park, it never hurt to be prepared. She would get Sting back, even if it meant putting her life on the line.
Sting's eyes slowly creaked open, a dull ache in his head. His breath came out in shallow pants, and he hissed when a light shone right in his eyes. He turned his head away before opening his eyes once more to get a look at his surroundings. He was still in the same room that he had passed out in, and his arms and legs were still bound to the metal table. The smell of his own blood was almost suffocating, but he was confused as to why his stomach wasn't in pain. He could have sworn Neerus cut him open, the memory of the pain was still fresh in his head. He could still remember the feeling of the fingers pressing into him, and a wave of nausea washed over him.
"You're awake."
He flinched at the soft voice behind him. He could tell it wasn't Neerus, but it still surprised him. Turning his head the other way, his eyes widened when he saw the young boy with black hair on a table next to him. They were only a few feet away, and Sting had a clear view of the red eyes filled with despair. "Who are you?" He rasped.
The other boy shifted slightly. "I'm Rogue, what's your name?" His voice was timid and scratchy, as if he hadn't had water in days.
"I'm Sting." He said, his heart squeezing at the sight of the battered boy next to him. "How long have you been in here?"
Rogue sniffled quietly and lightly tugged at his bindings. "A couple days before you arrived. I... I don't think we're going to live for much longer." He whimpered.
Sting clenched his fists. "We'll get out of here, I promise. Lucy will save us." He gave Rogue a determined look.
"Who is Lucy?" Rogue asks.
"She's my best friend, and I just know she's been looking for me. She'll help both of us, she's a strong Fairy Tail mage." He tried his best to give the Shadow Mage a reassuring smile.
"Fairy Tail?" Rogue said breathily. "You mean it?"
"Yeah, and I'm gonna be the newest recruit when she rescues us." Sting swallows dryly, his throat itching painfully. "You should come with us."
"You... want me to go with you?" At the blondes nod, he gave a timid smile. "Would I be able to make friends there?"
"Well, there isn't many people our age there so it's hard to find friends." He tugged at his bindings. "But, I'll be your friend."
Rogue's eyes flared with just the barest amount of life, a small flush on his cheeks. "I'd like that." He turned his gaze away for a moment, the pink leaving his cheeks before he turned back to face the blonde again. "Why do you think he's doing this?"
Sting stared into the sad red eyes and frowned. "Some people are just crazy. He told me that he wants to combine our magic to make himself super strong. I'm not sure why he wants to be so strong though."
Rogue nods slowly. "Adults are weird."
Sting let out a puff of a laugh. "You're telling me. Fairy Tail-" His mouth clamped shut when he heard footsteps approaching their room. He could tell that Rogue heard it too by the way his red eyes widened and a look of fear crossed his features. He had to wonder how much Neerus had done to the poor Shadow Dragon, he figured that he already had the lacrima implanted in him and that's why they were in the same room. But that also meant that Neerus might merg their magic any minute now, why else would he put them in the same room? He hoped that Lucy would get to them soon, or else he may never see her or Lector ever again.
Neerus swung the door open with a large grin on his face. "The time has finally come." He sang, prancing over to the scared duo.
"Tell me why you're doing this." Sting demanded, tugging at his chains.
"This again?" Neerus sighed. "There's no point in telling you if you're gonna die." He placed his hands on the table that the blonde was on and started pushing it closer to Rogue.
A shiver ran through Sting and he swallowed, his dry throat constricting painfully once more. "It's because you're not actually strong, you just steal people's strength."
Neerus paused before glaring down at Sting. "What do you know, Boy?" He seethed, roughly slapping him.
Sting's cheek burned but that didn't stop him from glaring daggers at him. "You're weak." He spat.
"I'm not!" He brought his fist back before slamming it against his face. "I'll become stronger than Zeref, and no one can stop me!" Another punch. "I'm the strongest!"
Rogue whimpered as he watched Neerus beat the blonde, blood dripping from Sting's nose and lips. "Please, stop!" He cried, flinching when the fierce glare was turned toward himself.
Neerus roughly grabbed Sting's face, his nails digging into his cheeks. "Do you wanna take his place?"
Sting growled and bit the hand between his thumb and index finger, his canines easily sinking into the flesh. He squeezed his eyes shut when he heard a scream and blood filled his mouth. It made him want to gag, but he kept tightening his jaw until his teeth met and the hand was pulled back. He spat out the small chunk of skin and snarled at the screaming man.
"What the fuck?! Why.. why did you do this?!" Neerus screeched, holding his injured hand to his chest while blood spilled over his arm. He quickly turned and stormed out of the room so he could stitch himself up.
Sting was panting by the time the door slammed shut, and the taste of blood became strong. He finally let out a gasp and turned his head, retching loudly as nothing came from his empty stomach.
"Are you okay?" Rogue asked worriedly.
Sting spat on the ground before turning his head to face Rogue, who was now a lot closer. "Yeah, but I don't think he's going to let that one go."
Rogue cringed at the blood covering his mouth. "Why did you do it?" He whispered.
"To buy us time, I guess. He was pissing me off, and I didn't want him to hurt you." Sting didn't know how much longer they had, he wanted Lucy to be the one barging through that door, not Neerus.
Rogue's heart swelled. He did it so he wouldn't get hurt? He was so kind. "If we make it out of this-"
"When we make it out of this." Sting corrected.
"Right," Rogue gave a small smile. "When we get out of this, promise that we can stay friends forever?"
Sting blushed softly and nodded. "Of course." He didn't know how he could feel happy when he was in a deadly situation like this, but Rogue calmed him. The Shadow mage somehow made him feel like he needed to protect him, and he wasn't sure why.
The door slammed open once more and the pair gasped, not hearing the steps this time as they were too focused on each other. Neerus stormed in, marching his way over the the blonde. "You're gonna regret that, you little shit." His hand was wrapped tightly in bandages, the blood already seeping through the cloth.
Sting clenched his teeth and tried his best to not let his fear show. "I regret nothing." He shot back the words that Neerus told him before.
"Cocky Bitch." Neerus glared, fisting his good hand tightly in the blonde locks. He chuckled when he heard a whimper and used his bandaged hand to carefully grab a knife. He wrenched Sting's head back and holds the knife to the small throat. "I'm gonna have so much fun cutting you up. But don't worry, I won't kill you until after I've obtained your magic."
Sting felt the blade slide it's way down his neck and to his chest. The hand left his hair and instead grabbed the knife so his injured one could hang limply at his side. The knife dug into his chest and Sting bit his lips, not wanting to give the asshole the satisfaction of hearing him in pain. It wasn't as bad as earlier, but it still burned.
"C'mon, if you don't make some noise it'll be worse for you." When the blonde still didn't make a peep, Neerus sneered and raised the knife high. Just as he was about to slam it into his shoulder, there was a loud bang as the building shook. "What the hell?" He turned around, glaring at the open door.
Sting watched as Neerus placed the knife down and ran out of the room. His heart pounded in his chest from both fear and relief. He wondered what that noise was, and why it caused the whole building to shake. His eyes widened and he tried to focus his sense of smell, hoping it really was Lucy.
"What was that?" Rogue gasped.
"Shut up." Sting mumbled. He could hear fighting from outside, but couldn't pin and specific voices. He sniffed, trying to find a scent other than blood, rotting wood, and metal. He sniffed again and found dirt, then grass. He furrowed his brows as he tried to concentrate on shutting those scents out but he couldn't. He sighed in frustration and knocked his head again the metal under him. "Dammit, I can't smell who it is."
Rogue tugged at his bindings as he stared at the other Slayer. "Do you think it's Lucy?" He asked hopefully.
"I think so." Sting nods.
Lucy sent another attack at a man that ran after her, her whip coiling around his wrist so she could pull with all her might to send him flying. "Fuck, where is he?" She shouted, looking around the clearing for Neerus.
"He'll be out soon enough, and then you must rush in!" Lyon called as he made an Ice Sheild to protect them when arrows came flying. He watched as a stone pillar slammed into the archer and he let out a sigh, his shield disappearing. "Thank you, Jura."
Jura nodded, his hands folding in his sleeves. "I'm happy to help."
The door finally swung open and everyone turned to see Neerus with a deadly glare. His eyes landed on Lucy and his glare hardened further. "You. I'll make sure to kill you this time, and I'll have that little blonde brat watch." He brought his good hand in front of him before shooting a sharp shadow at her.
She gasped when a stone wall was suddenly in front of her to stop the attack, her head turning to look at Jura in thanks. She jumped out of the way as another shadow was sent at her, landing next to Lyon. "Distract him as much as you can so I can slip in." At the Ice Mages nod, she moved out of the way so he could send a Snow Tiger at him.
Flames burst from Neerus' hand to melt the ice, clicking his tongue in anger when the tiger burst through the flames to continue charging at him. He jumped to the side before merging with the shadows. He would need to get rid of the Ice Mage before having his fun with the girl.
Lucy ran to the hut when Neerus was distracted, slipping through the front door and closing it behind her. The first thing she noticed was that there was a putrid stench in the hut and she placed a hand over her nose. It was a lot bigger on the inside then it looked on the outside, and there was a long hallway with multiple doors. A few of them were open, but she would be checking every room until she found him. She walked over to the first door on the left and pushed it open, scanning the room before shaking her head when it was all just boxes. She turned to go to the room next to it that had a door open and walked inside.
She gasped at the sight of the dozens of different sized cages filling the room, some empty and the rest with rotting animal corpses. She gagged and held her stomach, about to turn and slam the door shut when she heard a whimper. Her eyes widened and she quickly looked around, trying to figure out where she heard it. She walked further into the room, checking each cage for life. Then she saw it, a trembling green cat cowering in the corner of a cage. "Oh my god." She whispered before walking over to the cage. Her eyes welled with tears at the sight of the dirty cat, noticing a lock on the too small cage. When she couldn't find any keys in the room, she pulled a golden one from her pouch and summoned Cancer. "Please help me with this." She pointed at the lock.
"My babies are not made for locks, Baby." He huffed, snipping his scissors in the air.
Lucy looked up at him with sad eyes. "Please."
Cancer tightened his hold on his scissors before nodding. "Just this once." He said before getting to work on the lock.
She smiled when it fell and she gave him a quick hug. "I'll make it up to you, I promise." When he vanished, she turned back to the cage and slowly opened it. "Hey, Little Guy, I'm not gonna hurt you." She watched as tear filled eyes met her and her heart squeezed. He looked like Lector, was he and exceed too? She gasped when he suddenly sobbed and ran at her, hugging her outstretched hand tightly.
"Save Fro?" The cat sniffled.
She had no idea who Fro was, but she gave a nod. "I'm here to save everyone." She gently hugged the cat to her chest and walked out of the room. She was an animal lover, and it killed her to see all of the corpses in there. She was glad she was able to help one at least. She jumped when she heard rattling of chains and hushed voices in a room with an open door further down the hall. She wanted to rush in to see if it was Sting, but she knew better. With slow and quiet steps, she made her way closer to the room, the green cat held protectively in her arms.
Lucy peeked around the doorframe and saw two metal tables next to each other with bodies on them. When she looked closer, she could see blonde hair and a crystal earring. She quickly looked around the room and when she saw that it was clear, she rushed inside. "Sting!" She whimpered.
Sting inhaled sharply before letting out a sob at the sight of the woman. "Lucy, you came for me."
She sniffled and brushed his hair out of his face. "Of course I did." She leaned down and gave him a kiss on his forehead.
"Frosch!"
She jumped at the voice and looked at the other table, her heart dropping when she noticed it was another child. She felt the cat wiggling in her arms and put it together that the cat was the boys friend. She walked around Sting's table and placed the sobbing cat on his chest. "Are you okay?" She asked the boy, brushing her fingers gently over his cheek.
Rogue flinched at the touch, his chains rattling quietly. "I-I am now." He whispered. He recognized her, he had seen her on the cover of sorcerers weekly when he was walking passed a magazine stand one day.
She glanced around the room and sighed in relief when she spotted a key on a table. She quickly grabbed it before unlocking Sting's wrists and ankles, doing the same for Rogue after the blonde boy was free. Sting rubbed at his wrists while Rogue hugged the little cat. His short black hair was messy with dirt and blood, and it broke her heart. "Let's get you two out of here."
Sting sat up and looked down at his stomach, his brows furrowing when there was no cut or even a scar. He placed a hand over his stomach and felt his lip tremble. "Thank you for saving us." He felt the tears slide down his cheeks.
Lucy's own tears fell before she hugged him tightly. She had no idea what he had gone through, but she would make sure it would never happen again. "Let's go home."
It took me a while to decide if I wanted to post this, I didn't know if it would be too dark. Oh whale, hope it wasn't too bad!
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