WARNING: Rated MA for Explicit Graphic Depictions of Violence, Graphic Depiction of Rape/Non-Consensual Sex, Graphic Sex, Graphic Physical and Mental Abuse, and Mental Instability. Please read at your own discretion.
I do not own Fairy Tail; All major characters depicted in this fan-created fiction story belong to Hiro Mashima.
CHAPTER 29
The feeling of featherlike water droplets showering her face was enough to rouse the unconscious blonde from her nightmare-like sleep. Bleary eyes blinked away the moisture that had started to pool on her eyelids while attempting to sit up. It was then that her groggy mind finally registered the aching pain coming from her torso. The more she strained to move from her lying position on the slippery and muddy ground, the more her body protested in agony.
The comforting wool cushion that had been used to stop their impact into the Earth had vanished, much like the pink-haired ram spirit. Aries has been forced to abandon her key holder against her will when her magic couldn't hold out any longer on just her willpower alone.
Once Lucy was finally in an upright position and able to register where exactly the pain was radiating from, the celestial mage let out a pained whimper when she chanced a glance down her body. Almost her entire torso was now covered in deep inky crimson, coming from the origin of what appeared to be four large puncture wounds from the wyvern's razor-like talons.
The distant weighty feeling of fury and despair ate at the tethers of hers and the shadow dragon slayer's bond, causing a sickly feeling to settle throughout her stomach. The blonde grimaced as minute traces of the shadow mage's emotions lingered for a moment longer, before vanishing from her completely.
The blonde could only assume since they weren't technically mated, there had to be some type of limit to the extent of their shared bond. It seems that being swept miles away by a wyvern had exceeded their boundary limit.
Desperate for the familiar hum of their bond, Lucy tried harder to reach out and brush against the dark-haired saber's emotions, but all she got was a lonely hollow feeling in the pit of her gut when she realized she could no longer feel the warmth his constant presence created.
Anxiety slowly crept up on her, like it was lurking in the inky black shadows in the very void of the absence of her's and Rogue's bond had created.
"Wh.. Where am I?" Lucy gasped as she pushed back the malicious thoughts threatening to throw her into a panicked frenzy once again. The Fairy Tail mage lifted her aching and drained body off the ground, all while trying to ignore the feeling of vertigo threatening to take her right back down to the muddened Earth below her unsteady feet.
Through the haze of drizzling rain, the blonde could make out trees and thick undergrowth of what appeared to be a densely wooded area. There was no path or even any indication of trails, just thick foliage that had small random clearing here and there.
Tears pooled into the stellar mage's eyes when the realization that she was utterly and completely lost and alone in more ways than one dawned on her. The celestial mage quickly fumbled with her key ring in search of the silver key, Pyxis, in hopes that the compass spirit could help her find her way out of the forest, or even back to her friends somehow.
"I only have a small amount of magic left, so please let this work." Lucy pleaded as she held up the silver key.
Relief swelled within her battered body as the familiar golden glow materialized, along with her selected spirit. The blonde let out a shaky sigh before bending over to catch her breath, her hands on her knees to keep her from falling forward.
"Thanks for coming, Pyxis. Can you tell me if you know which way leads to the nearest town, or to my friends?" Lucy closed her eyes and she felt her magic and her strength drain the longer her spirit stayed out.
The red compass resembling a bird let out a small chirp before its compass started spinning around franticly, only to stop to point into the thick foliage behind her. Pyxis let out a happy chirp once more before fading away in a shower of gold shimmers, letting Lucy know she was now completely drained of magic power.
"I didn't even get to ask if the direction was towards my friends or towards a town." Lucy felt her knees buckle before she ended up kneeling in the mud, trying to catch her breath. The wyvern's talons had done a number on her, and she couldn't say how deep each of the wounds were, but she knew if she didn't stop the bleeding soon she wouldn't be able to make it out of the forest, much less to get help.
Lucy looked down at her clothing, she didn't even have enough of the material left to make any type of bandage to cover her wounds after the wyvern's claws practically shredded the already barely-there material.
Panic started to form in the celestial mage. She had no way to stop the bleeding, and no more magic left in her.
Without the steady thrum of Rogue's magic and the familiar feeling of their bond, Lucy was lost and in far more danger in more ways than one. Not only is she at risk of losing her sanity to the dark shadows lurking within her body, but she also felt a growing desire to give in to it.
Though the blonde had a suspicion that was because of the dark corner in her consciousness that grated at her mind until it felt like a numb and empty shell. Rogue wasn't around to stop the inky dark wisps within her from swallowing her already fragile mind.
Lucy's heart strummed in her chest as her breathing went shallow and a cold clammy feeling rushed over her already damp skin. She was on the verge of dying from blood loss, her vision was starting to blur, and the trees almost looked like they were spinning around her.
The blonde let out a shaky breath, she had one last idea that could possibly save her life, but she would be risking her sanity in the process.
Lucy knew that her Rogue's shadows were still in her body, somewhere, even if it was currently being overpowered by the darker tainted shadows. If she could somehow utilize the inky fire-like burning tendrils, maybe she could somehow cauterize the wounds and stop the bleeding.
It was extremely risky, considering that she's barely scratched the surface on utilizing Rogue's magic, at least on this caliper, but it was the only thing should could think of that might save her from bleeding to death.
Lucy steeled a shaky and shallow breath in preparation of trying to block out any chance of the future slayer from taking control of her. She then focused her mind on her own shadow slayer and the warmth of his hands on her body, and the way it felt for his callous hands to caress her face.
The celestial mage thought only of Rogue and the way he made her feel. She grasped on to the thought of the undeniable attraction and bond between the two of them.
She imagined his playful and gentle shadows slipping around her body, the dark tendrils slowly started to materialize from within her very core, and for a split second, the blonde imagined she felt the slayers emotions.
She felt she could almost feel the pride he felt in feeling his shadows swallowing her body in their airy light grasp. Lucy gasped when she felt a barely-there twinge at the shared bond she and Rogue shared. Anguish, worry, desperation, and finally, relief filled her heart, but not emotions of her own, it was of her slayer's.
Lucy felt tears slip from her now tightly shut eyelids, her control on the slayers magic slipping slowly away as her own emotions started to roll within her and boil over. Her fear, hurt, and loneliness reaching out to her slayer, as if trying to send a signal, a beacon of light to the man so he could find her.
Lucy's hand gripped at her chest while she tried to keep the small amount of magic she conjured within her grasp from slipping away. The inky black wisps swirled around her now, reacting to her emotions, the gentleness slowly faded into violent torrents as they angrily boiled and lapped into her skin. The blonde winced as the magic slowly transformed around her from her love's magic to her tormentor's.
The celestial mage struggled with the dark and formed magic, trying to will the violent tendrils towards her blooded and wounded torso.
"You are such a fool. Thinking you can control my magic."
Lucy fought back the tears as the magic clashed within her, the control slipping from her the more she listened to such vile words.
The blackened shadows sunk within her wounds, causing the blonde to release a high-pitched wail of pain as the magic-filled her open wounds. Blood started to bubble as the dark magic burned into her, and the inky wisps practically soldered the flesh together again. Lucy endured the pain, the stench of burning flesh reaching the blonde's nose, causing it to wrinkle up at the smell. Her mind vaguely flicked to another scene where her wounds were cauterized before.
"That's right, remember how much of a dirty little slut you are and why this situation seems so familiar."
Lucy shut out the voice because as quickly as it came, the memory slipped away when the blonde slowly fell back onto the muddy Earth and back into unconsciousness. Her last thoughts were on if her idea had really worked and was she able to control his shadows.
Rogue paid no mind to the sharp pricks of scraping tree branches and underbrush as the inky darkness that blurred around him while he utilized the shadows to transport him at an alarming speed through the dense forest in pursuit of his celestial mage.
It was her blood.
Some of it must have mixed with water droplets as it rained from the sky leaving behind a very, very faint scent for him to pick up on. It was just enough for him to figure out which direction he needed to go in pursuit of her.
The shadow slayer was practically seeing red. Hearing that the bandits that had caused Lucy so much harm has escaped and were maybe coming after him had him completely irate.
No man as vile as that fiend should be able to live another day. Not if he is trying to come after his mate. Rogue will rip him apart before he even gets within a mile of Lucy. Council be damned, this time. He will make sure that bastard is rotting in the ground before even bring in the authorities this time.
Rogue's breath caught in the back of his throat while he abruptly stilled his movement. He must be getting close to Lucy because he could now feel very, very a faint tug on his magic and their shared bond. It was such a small pull, but he caught it nonetheless.
He quickly poured his emotions into the connection, all his frustrations and worry were met with Lucy's anguish and another larger tug on his magic. She was trying to borrow his shadows.
Rogue focused and sent out tendrils out towards the direction where the pull was coming from. Without a second thought, the slayer slipped back into the shadows following the trails of his magic, and soon enough, the smell of Lucy's blood.
She was still so far away, but he could finally track the blonde. A renewed relief washed over the slayer, soon he would have his mate back in his arms.
Just hang on a little longer, Lucy. I'm coming for you.
"Come brother, we are close to Magnolia now. Not much longer and I'll have that wrench within my grasp once more." The brunette man paid no mind to the fallen branches as they crunched under his boot while he clumsily and drunkenly moved throughout the forest.
Lucky for the two brothers they had come by a few cabins on the outskirts of a small village where they were able to borrow different clothes so they could shed the inmate garbs they were given during imprisonment.
The red headed brother winced with every loud snap of a branch under his older brother's careless steps as he followed the burly bandit. He did not want to be drug into a place they could potentially be caught.
The thought of slipping away while his brother wasn't looking weighed heavily on the vine mage's mind. He didn't like the way his brother was acting like an obsessive crazed man, and the more he followed him, the more he realized he never wanted to turn out like him.
"I implore you to reconsider your plan. We are so very close to being throwing back into that damn dungeon. Brother, this is a suicide mission." The vine mage pleaded one more time, causing the lightning mage to turn on his heels; fast as the lightning he wields to face the other man.
"I have already given you one warning. Tell me now, brother. Are you with me, or against me?" The lightning mage moved to take his knife from his pocket, his warnings all but have been exhausted. He will have his revenge and no one will get in his way, not even his own brother.
The vine mage backed up, knowing that what he says next could very well either kill him or keep him alive.
"I can't do this. I've done some very fucked up things in my life. I've done terrible, terrible things following you, brother. But I can't walk right back into the council's hands. You can't ask me to do this with you. I'm done being this way." The red-haired man used his magic to spring a vine from the ground that propelled him up and into the sky and away from his very angered and now lightning-covered brother.
A hot ball of lightning shot up after the vine wielding man as he used the vine to swing into a nearby tree, he landed clumsily on the branch and willed more foliage to wrap around his brother's legs and arms, causing the burly man to let out a growl as the vines tightened on his limbs.
"This is the last time I am going to ask you to abandon this quest for revenge against the woman. Leave her be, if she's even still alive." The vine mage yelled from his spot in the tree. His brother's replying answer was sending a shockwave of hot energy through the vines back to the green-eyed man.
The red-haired bandit released the vines just before the electrical charged foliage reached him. Deciding to cut his losses, the vine mage used another piece of foliage to move him further and further away from his enraged brother until he couldn't see him anymore.
He would make the track to a new kingdom, where he could start a new and honest life where he would atone for all the bad things he did under his brother's hand. Honestly, the right thing to do would be to give himself up to the magic council, but he just couldn't do that yet.
The brunette man sent wave after wave of lightning after the retreating mage. Both screams of frustration and rage left the male as he used up his magic in an attempt to kill his younger sibling.
"You'll regret your decision one day, you backstabbing piece of shit!" The brunette male now yelled at the empty and ruined foliage around him. He will take care of him when he finishes with the blonde.
The vine mage listened to the fading threats of his older brother as he traveled through the trees and further away from the enraged man, finally for the first time in a long time, the redhead left like he was actually free.
Even though, guilt and shame over his past decisions ate at him the further from his brother's hand he leaped away. How exactly would he atone for all the hurt and misfortune he caused the countless women he watched his brother torment, and sometimes even actively participated in?
The vine mage's eyes welled up with tears as grief gripped his heart. Not only did he not know where he would go from here, but he couldn't even fathom how he could start his atonement.
The vine mage stopped on a tree branch and sat down, taking a minute to breathe. A lot had happened in the past few days. He went from following his demented brother to wanting to atone for all the sins he has committed, though he knew this was a long time coming. He always felt differently about the bandit life than his brother.
Emerald eyes darted around the forest when he heard a soft groan come from somewhere off in the foliage to his left. Using his magic to lower himself to the muddy ground, the vine mage quietly walked over to where the sound was coming from. There, he was very surprised to find a woman lying bloodied on the wet Earth in basically the middle of nowhere.
I'm very sorry this took so long. I kind of finally found some motivation. I really really want to finish this story, since it's really really close to being done with. Life has been hectic. I don't really have any other excuse except for that. I hope all of you have been well through this difficult time. Please stay safe and well!