Chapter Nine: Locked Up

Lucy awoke with a start, her hand reflexively flying up to her neck; she was breathing normally again much to her relief. When she focused her eyes on her surroundings, she realized that she was no longer in the woods but rather in a cell with a small amount of light coming from the barred entrance. She could smell the scent of the earth all around her.

With a groan, she slowly sat up and then saw a familiar figure standing a few feet away with his broad back turned. His blond hair and ridiculously tall frame were unmistakable. "Laxus?" she called out in a hoarse voice. "Where are we?"

Laxus turned around to face her. "Lucy," he uttered, his expression looking surprised and relieved at the same time. He hurriedly crouched in front of her. "You okay?" he asked, his eyes searching.

"I think so," she replied, meeting his concerned gaze. She began skimming her fingers carefully along her neck, feeling her bruises there.

He nodded, still watching her carefully. "We're underground. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, really," she assured him, shooting him a quick smile. She tried to get to her feet with Laxus' help, his large hands holding each of her elbows for support. Then, she dusted herself off.

Lucy tried to remember what happened in the woods, and the memory of it slowly came back to her. The ambush. Flare's magic incarcerating everyone in midair. Laxus getting stabbed… She let out a startled gasp.

"What is it?" the lightning mage asked quickly, frowning.

"You… you were hurt," she stammered, looking up at him in confusion. "I saw you bleeding out…"

"No, no, I'm alright," he said soothingly. He gestured at the stitches in his bare body. "See? I'm not bleeding. Those bastards stitched me up somehow. I'm guessing they still want me alive, so I'm good."

She nodded, biting her lip. "That's… that's good to know."

Yeah, there's definitely no need for me to tell her that my father wants to see me suffer as he extracts the dragon lacrima from my body, he thought, watching her pale face.

Both mages continued to stare at each other in silence for a moment until Lucy finally cleared her throat and said, "We should break out of here."

"Believe me, I tried. But Raven Tail placed an enchantment spell in this cell so we couldn't get out," he said darkly. "If only Freed was here."

"Who's Freed?"

"Ah, you haven't met him yet, but he's with Fairy Tail. He can set up or break any enchantment spells. He is, after all, a letter magic mage."

"I see. He sounds incredible to me."

"He is."

Lucy suddenly thought of summoning her most recently acquired celestial spirit, Virgo, to dig a hole out of this cell. She quickly tried to grab her celestial gate keys in her belt. But, to her dismay, they weren't there.

"Oh, no. Where are my celestial gate keys?" she cried, frantically scanning her eyes on the ground to see if they might have fallen off somehow.

"Raven Tail must've taken them while you're out," suggested Laxus grimly, narrowing his eyes. "Unfortunately, even if you do have them, I don't think you'll be able to use them anyway."

"What do you mean?" she asked anxiously.

"One of Raven Tail's guild members, Obra, placed a magic canceling mark on our bodies," he explained, pointing a finger at the right side of his bare chest. "I can't even summon a single lightning spell."

Lucy saw a dark mark on his body that was reminiscent of a trident. Then, she tried checking herself and found hers imprinted on the left part of her abdomen. "No, this can't be happening."

"Don't worry. I'm sure our comrades are on their way to break us out of here. Right now, we don't really have a choice but to sit tight."

"Yeah. I guess."

Laxus watched the celestial mage as she moved toward the corner of the cell and then sat with her legs stretched on the ground and back leaned against the stone wall. She was now examining her slender neck with her fingers.

Not knowing what else to do, he walked over to her and perched beside her with his legs crossed.

"Do you bruises hurt?" he asked quietly.

"A little," she replied. Then, she clasped her hands together and sighed.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing... Well, I was just thinking how right you are about me being a weakling." She let out a mirthless chuckle. "I was so useless out there in the woods."

He frowned. "Come on. Don't say that."

"It's true, though. I couldn't even fight, and look where it got me."

"We walked into Raven Tail's trap, and they ambushed us," he reasoned with her. "We weren't prepared for that, so don't be hard on yourself."

Lucy was quiet for a moment. "This is weird."

"What is?" asked Laxus.

"You trying to comfort me," she answered him.

"What's so weird about that?"

"Are you kidding me? You're always trying to get me to quit Fairy Tail, remember?"

Laxus bowed his head in shame. "Gomen ne. It was for selfish reasons, and I regretted it."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"The things that I did to you and everyone else—I know they're unforgivable. I was blinded by my anger. At that time, I wanted to reform Fairy Tail so badly that I didn't realize it was me who needed to change for the better." He looked at her for a moment. "And it wasn't exactly because of your dad's money that I agreed to take on his job request to make you quit the guild," he admitted ruefully.

"What do you mean?" asked Lucy, confused.

"Your dad said that he'd tell me where my old man was if I make you leave Fairy Tail for good. Somehow, he knew about his whereabouts. He even recognized me. At that time, I was desperate to find my dad that I was willing to betray you—or anyone who'd stand in my way."

Lucy was stunned by this revelation. Could someone really go that far as to betray a comrade so they could see their loved one?

Besides, how could her father know the whereabouts of Ivan? She did remember that Jude had a history of hiring mages in the past; he probably had dealings with the illusion mage at some point.

But if her father knew about his whereabouts, did that mean that they're still in contact with each other? Why would her father affiliate himself with a dark guild?

Lucy's mind was swirling with so many questions that she thought her head was about to burst. She wanted answers, but she knew she would only get them if she talked to her father.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you any of this," finished Laxus regretfully.

"Well, as much as I want to punch you in the face, now's really not the time to do that," she told him. "Let's just hope that our friends find us here so we can finally break free and stop Raven Tail."

He looked at her thoughtfully. "If punching me in the face would make you feel better, then I certainly wouldn't mind," he said. "Why don't you take a swing at me?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at him. "If you're asking me to punch you so that you'd be rid of your guilt, then you can forget it."

"There's no way your punch can make me forget the things that I did," he declared vehemently. "I'll always carry the guilt with me to the grave."

"Why are you asking me to punch you, then?" she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

He shrugged. "Because you said you wanted to."

"Yeah, more than anything, but I'm not going to, okay?"

To Lucy's astonishment, Laxus leaned forward and gestured her to hit him across the face with his index finger. "You can punch me right here," he told her. "Go on. Hit me. What are you waiting for?"

Bewildered, she quickly pushed her hand against his bare chest to put a safe distance between them. "Stop it. I won't do that."

"Why the hell not?" he growled, catching her hand and holding it in his. When she tried to pull it away, he only tightened his grip and then brought her hand up to his face. "Just hit me already. Right here."

"I said no," she snapped, glaring at him. She could feel the heat rushing to her face when she realized that she was already touching his face, which was looming over hers at the moment.

"Why? Why won't you hit me?"

"Because this is crazy, and I don't want to hurt you!"

That stopped him. "I see," he murmured, letting her hand go and drawing back. He sighed in frustration and then leaned back against the wall.

Lucy pulled her knees close to her chest and then wrapped her arms tightly around her legs, trying to steady her emotions and herself. "What is it with you?" she finally asked him.

Without looking at her, he said, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

Laxus cast a glance at her. "It's just that… I like you."

It took her a few moments to register what he just said. "You what?" she uttered in disbelief.

"I said I like you," he repeated as he ran a hand down his face. "I know you probably think I'm insane, but—I really like you."


"Why the hell are you calling me at this hour, Ivan? I'm very busy right now." Jude Heartfilia's rumbling voice could be heard from Ivan's communications lacrima.

"I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but I have something important to tell you, and it can't wait," said Ivan in a sarcastic tone.

"I don't need your services at this time. I will call you if I do. Do we understand each other?"

Ivan's expression hardened; he always hated the other man's arrogance. He could still recall the first time he had accepted a job request from him. The task had been pretty easy; he only needed to spy on other Konzerns and report his findings to his employer.

As an illusion mage, Ivan proved to be an efficient spy, so the tycoon had called on him every few months and paid him well. Jude had benefited from learning the weaknesses of his business rivals, helping him eliminate them from the competition, so their alliance went on for many years.

Ivan cleared his throat. "The thing is, sir, your daughter is in my main hideout. I had to lock her up because she and her Fairy Tail friends tried to capture me and my guild."

"What?" yelled Jude. "What do you mean my daughter is locked up in your main hideout? I am still your employer, you dumb fool! I demand that you return her to my mansion at once!"

The illusion mage sneered. "I will return her to you as soon as you find me a generous buyer for my dragon lacrima. Not unless you want to buy it yourself."

"How dare you involve my daughter in this bargain?"

"You see, you haven't called on me for months now, and I'm running a little low on funds."

There was a pause. He could sense his employer seething on the other line.

"Fine," the tycoon said finally. "I'll buy that damn lacrima of yours. You name your price."

Ivan grinned. "Now we're talking."


Lucy's face was on fire; Laxus had just told her something that she hadn't expected—at all. She started recalling her unpleasant encounter with him after Phantom Lord, the way he criticized her for being weak, and the measures he took so she would quit Fairy Tail. And now he was telling her that he liked her?

But then, she could remember those times when they were alone in the infirmary and the way he held her rather intimately in the woods. Laxus always had a reason to touch her and made her feel… different.

"Hey, hey—I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," the lightning mage uttered, snapping her out of her reverie. Then, she saw the worry in his eyes. "I did, didn't I?"

"Well, sort of," Lucy managed to say. She averted her eyes from him, feeling abashed. "I mean, no one's ever told me they like me before." She covered her face with her hands to hide her embarrassment, but then Laxus leaned forward and gently tugged at them so he could look into her eyes.

"Just forget what I said, alright?" he told her softly, watching her scarlet face. Her delicate features now looked more beautiful to him than ever.

Although Lucy was facing him, she still refused to meet his intense gaze. It was just too awkward for her. "How can I possibly forget what you said?" she muttered as she tried to wiggle her hands from his grasp, but Laxus wouldn't let her go.

"Why are you reacting this way?" he asked curiously, his eyes searching. The blonde chick was blushing furiously, and he could sense her nervousness. Was it possible that she harbored feelings for him, too?

"Because you're too close," she complained halfheartedly. His musky scent started to fill her senses that it was driving her mad. Unbeknownst to him, she was struggling desperately to keep herself afloat in her own mind.

"Please look at me." His voice sounded so deep and held a blazing intensity in it that she finally did as she was told. "I just need to know. Do you like me as well?"

"Laxus," she said helplessly, "now's really not the right time to be doing this…"

He cupped her face with his hands. "Do you?"

"Y-yes," she admitted in an exasperated tone. "But we shouldn't be doing this right now. We're locked up, and we should be working on breaking ourselves out…"

Unable to stop himself, Laxus leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her fiercely. He felt her stiffen, her small hands trying to push him away, but he held on to her in a tight embrace and didn't stop until she finally opened her mouth and returned his kiss with unhidden fervor. Lucy's whole body quaked as she felt the heat radiating from his, consuming her completely.

Moments later, they broke apart, breathing heavily. With their foreheads pressed together, Laxus murmured, "Lucy, listen."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I'm breaking us out of here."

Within seconds, streaks of electricity started thrashing and crackling all over the cell, illuminating the place.