Happy New Year everyone!
To xHallowedFangirlx: Thank you so much!
To Lord Jaric: Yes, Ultear is aware she is the real princess. It's why she kept her as a servant, not just to torture Jellal but to eventually use her magic (because only a true Heart family member can summon the artifact.) The Six Prayers (obviously Oracion Seis lol) were made aware of this as well, but no one else. They are most loyal to the Queen, even above her children (just look at Gray.)
The group was captured, and Midnight is continuing the spell by putting them in another layer of nightmare. Dream stuff is always tricky to explain but they're progressing through the nightmares in layers.
Chapter 16: The Final Battle Part 3
When she opened her eyes again, Lucy Heartfilia and her companions were on a well-used dirt road. To one side she saw the forest, and to the other a dark city, a large castle looming in the distance.
"We're in Crocus." Lucy Heart said, her eyes wide. "This must be Erza's nightmare." She turned to the pair of Earthland mages and yanked her hand away from Lucy's grip.
"Thank you for rescuing me back there, but can you please explain what's going on? How did you know Midnight was behind this?"
"We've faced him before, in our world. Over there his magic is more like illusions than dreams, but it's the same effect." Natsu explained, still holding on to Lucy's hand. She didn't make any effort to detach herself either. "Lucy figured it out first. Her nightmare involved her spirits, but she realized that they would never act that way and so the 'spell' was broken. She interrupted my nightmare, which was about-" he coughed and had a dark look on his face. "Not important," he stepped closer to Lucy and squeezed their joined hands. She reciprocated. "And then we interrupted yours."
"I think Midnight is just trying to trap us all here in order to buy time. Maybe she didn't expect us to beat Lamia Scale- or the Lamia Court so quickly?" She theorized.
The knight held a hand to her chin, thinking. "You might be right. She must be desperate to use a member of the Six Prayers. She's not stupid or arrogant enough to think she can beat us, one on- er, six? Erza's not here but Jellal…"
"Wait. Erza is here, though. We're in her nightmare." Natsu pointed out. Lucy Heart paled at the realization, and what it could mean for King Igneel.
"Let's just focus on getting out of this." Lucy put her hand on her counterpart's shoulder. "We don't know about his condition yet at the present moment. He could be fine. Let's find Erza."
The knight nodded and led the trio into the forest, where Erza was most likely to be. They ran past nymphs relaxing in pools of water and dryads melting into their trees.
Finally they arrived at a red maple, surrounded by other, older trees. The dryads left their trunks as they turned to physical forms, all with multicolored hair and earth colored skin, different shades of greens, reds, yellows, and browns. One small dryad with petite wings and choppy red hair joined the older looking ones.
"Sisters, let us celebrate the summer."
The dryads joined hands and the trio watched in awe as they danced methodically to the rhythm of their wings beating in the wind and the melody of cloud spirits that had drifted down from the sky. It was a beautiful spectacle of nature, one like Lucy and Natsu had never seen on Earthland. This was a different kind of magic.
The young Erza, who they assumed to be the Erza they're looking for, shyly joined hands with her sisters and danced, albeit clumsily, with them. Now the question was, who was Midnight disguised as? One of the dryads?
The dancers kept spinning, faster and faster, taking Erza along with them. The trio became petrified as the dance kept moving faster with each second that passed, and Erza went from a shy smile to horrified tears.
"Please, stop!" She tried to say, but they dragged her along with them until she was tearing up from the force, unable to truly cry with the strength of the motion. The trio jumped into the circle, surprising Erza and her sisters and so they stopped. Erza was thrown to the side, sliding in the dirt.
Lucy offered her hand. "Are you alright?"
"I feel sick…" the young Erza said softly. She frowned and held her stomach for a second, and her heart clenched at the sight of a child Erza in pain. Of course, this version was a dryad with small wings, but it was Erza nonetheless. Erza, afraid. Midnight had yet to reveal himself even with their interruption, and she pitched a plan to the others.
"Let's wake her up loudly. He'll get angry again once he sees what's going on." Natsu and Lucy Heart nodded. She shot a meaningful look at Natsu, and he rolled his eyes but complied.
"Yo Erza! Wake up!"
The young dryad's eyes widened, staring at the stranger who suddenly yelled. "You're in a dream, Erza!"
Erza, with the same thunderstruck expression quickly swiveled from her spot beside Lucy, clutching onto her hand tightly. As she became lucid, the dream started to fall apart, with most of her sister's fading away. Erza took a look down at her own hands and finally transformed into her adult human form. There were bruises and cuts on her exposed skin, and her face twisted in anger. She bared her teeth and stalked into the circle where a few dryads remained.
"Midnight!" She called out.
The dryads faded away until one remained. Midnight, with the appearance of a dryad scowled at the group. He waved his arm.
"Black Nightmare!"
Lucy quickly grabbed everyone together and shut her eyes tight, preparing for the dizzy sensation that came with travelling through nightmares.
Erza didn't realize that a member of the Six Prayers had been here the whole time. Their magic aura was dangerously powerful, and no one had detected anything. Disguise charm? Regardless, this introduced a whole load of other questions, like were any of the others here?
She was relieved about one thing. She was seriously injured and couldn't remember much, but she knew that she found a medic on the Diamond's side at a makeshift camp with a few other injured soldiers. The medic had watched Erza carry the King in with wide eyes, and the whole camp shot up to see Igneel. The medic shooed them away and quickly worked on him, and managed to get a hold of Meredy to send any other free medics, mages, or even able soldiers their way.
The camp had been attacked just as Erza sat down to take a breather. It was a swarm of non-magic Hearts soldiers, and she had been quick to unsheath her sword and cut through them. It felt like they just kept coming however, and with an injured wing Erza just wasn't fast enough. The other soldiers joined in, but Erza ordered them to evacuate King Igneel instead. They escaped but overwhelmed her as she fought alone, and so here she was.
She relayed this story to the rest of the group as they explored the nightmare. According to the others, they were progressing through layers of Black Nightmare and were working as fast as possible to escape. The faster they got out of here, the bigger their advantage over Ur. She curiously swept her gaze over the landscape, noting that they must have been in the Kingdom of Hearts, which was hot like summer unlike the eternal winter back home.
"We must be in Gray's dream." Lucy Heart pointed out, voicing her thoughts.
"None of us really know him well enough to figure out what his nightmare is, or where he could be…" The other Lucy added, pointing her finger to her chin.
"Pfft." Natsu scoffed. "Gray's Gray, no matter where or how weird." He crossed his arms and seriously said, "He's sympathetic, seeing how he helped Lucy and Jellal. But because of that he's scared of his family, especially Ur who's clearly a-"
"Then," Earthland Lucy cut in. "Let's find Ur or the others. They must be hurting him."
"Let's start with the central most populated area. If they're not there then we'll head to the castle." Erza suggested as she observed the people in town hesitantly on their way to Crocus' central area. The group agreed and they moved with the flow of traffic, keeping an eye out for any signs. Erza kept her ear out as she listened to the citizen's whispers.
"She's a liar, I bet he's innocent."
"Shh! Do you want to be hanged next?"
"I'm sorry." The voice said meekly.
On the other side:
"I'm scared, Mommy. Why do we have to watch these? I don't like it."
"I'm sorry," the mother said in a weary voice. "I don't like it either, but keep your eyes as open as possible. If you look away for a second…"
The threat loomed over them, hanging in the air.
Erza clenched her fists as she listened to the fear in the people's voices. She knew, she already knew how Ur was, so this shouldn't surprise her. This was a dream, but she didn't doubt that Gray had heard these hushed words in passing for real.
From their words she figured that this must be a public execution, notorious events in the Kingdom of Hearts whenever some unlucky soul was proclaimed guilty by Ur for whatever reason. Ur, a tyrant who was particular with her words, never laid a hand on the guilty party, forcing some soldier to do it instead. Supposedly, Ur had never hurt anybody. If only through technicalities it was true, but everyone knew what happened behind closed doors and soldier's sealed lips. At any rate, Gray was certain to be here.
She didn't know him, only his public image as the softest (meaning weakest) of the Hearts siblings. She never trusted him, but appreciated at the very least his apparent uncomfortability from reports of spies. She had weak suspicions from the beginning, but wished that she had explored the possibility of working with him sooner. At least he took his own steps to help Lucy escape in the past and help Jellal survive, at the risk of his own life. He truly was deeply sympathetic, as Natsu Dragneel said. He must've been closer to their Earthland Gray than she knew, as someone who helped those who needed it.
The group came to a standstill where the crowd had bunched up. The whispers ceased here as the Queen, a couple of soldiers, and Gray stood in front of Jellal. Erza glanced at Lucy Heart, who had a hand on her heart.
Jellal was kneeling, glaring down hard at his ripped clothing and bruised knees, shaggy blue hair hiding his face. Still, she suspected that it might be formed in a scowl.
"This man," Ur pointed dramatically at the skeleton of an older teen, barely a man. "Has stolen from me! He will pay for his crimes with his life! Let this be an example to you all," her teeth showed themself as her mouth twisted into a sickening smile, like this was pleasurable to her. "Of what will happen if you cross the crown."
She took a long box from the hands of the one of the soldiers, who looked purple from holding his breath, and put it in Gray's hands. The soldier breathed, but Gray froze.
Her next words were spoken privately, but Natsu Dragneel stiffened. "She said," he whispered. "'The honor is yours.'" When Gray didn't move, Ur took it upon herself to open the box and unsheathed an executioner's sword. She forced him to grip the sword with both hands and set the box aside. Her eyes told him, "Do it, or else."
Jellal looked up at them and glared at the Queen. She opened her mouth to speak, but he spat on her shoes and she reddened in anger. The crowd gasped, and Erza simply admired the tenacity of a man who was defiant in the face of death. Lucy's counterpart had her hand on her shoulder, and Erza moved to provide the same kind of support to the Golden Knight.
They had to stop this somehow. Lucy was frozen in shock, Lucy Heartfilia was supporting her, and Natsu Dragneel turned to Erza.
"He's Ur this time, right?" She nodded. Midnight seemed to love taking a prominent role in the torture of his victims. "Then I'll yell something to distract them and the crowd. You get up there and take Gray out of there."
"Count five seconds and go."
She shrunk into herself and slipped through the gaps in the crowd until she was close to the platform. She locked eyes with Natsu Dragneel who yelled, "Hah! He improved them Ur!"
That was her cue. She leaped onto the platform as Ur scanned the crowd for the voice, voice tense with anger as she barked at the soldiers to "find whoever said that!" She reached for the stunned Gray, but on a whim grabbed Jellal by the back of his shirt. She ignored the yelp of pain, realizing that he was injured but also noting the gravity of the situation. She dragged them both behind Ur, when Ur noticed the red haired dryad and scowled. There was a commotion in the crowd as the others ran through it to meet them. The few soldiers were split between the two situations, but focused their attention on calming the crowd.
Ur, actually Midnight went after them alone instead. The group ran until they were out of his sight, hiding out in an empty shop.
Lucy Heart, who came to her senses quickly when Erza and Natsu enacted their plan, gripped Gray's shoulders and threw the executioner sword to the side. "Gray! You're in a dream, okay? Jellal is right here and okay!"
Jellal coughed and spoke, surprising them all. "We, we're in a dream?"
A double nightmare? This was news to Erza. She believed that Black Nightmare could only deeply affect one person, but Midnight must've been stronger than they realized. Stronger, and maybe also desperate. Either way he would find them soon, and they were running out of time. Gray had to snap out of it so they could escape.
"You're yourself too? I mean, you're not part of the illusion?" Lucy Heartfilia questioned.
The hazy look in his eyes cleared as he gained awareness of the situation. "Yes, I didn't expect to get roped into Midnight's trap like this. I knew they were planning on using me as bait, but that's all."
"What would've happened if… if Gray hurt you? You're really yourself right? If he had killed you in the Nightmare would you-" Lucy asked.
The tension in the room shattered as Jellal and Lucy broke down in tears. He stood taller than her and enveloped her in a hug. "My poor sister. You've been alone all this time."
She was shaking, and her voice was tight as she tried to hold back her sobs. "I thought I found some family again, and to lose you so soon after I just remembered you…"
The ground shook, a sign of Gray's realization as the dream struggled to hold the illusion together. Illusions were suggestions, trickery. Once the person knew the truth, they ceased to exist.
Midnight entered the shop as himself.
"You have one last shot. Better make it count." Natsu taunted.
Erza held the group together as the world fell apart beneath their feet.
Prince Natsu, or, he corrected himself, King Natsu stood before the mirror. He inspected himself again, smoothing down stray hairs. There wasn't much he could do about his sweaty palms, considering that no matter how many times he wiped them it would always end up the same.
If only his father could see him now.
He turned away from the mirror when he thought about how similar he looked to his father, with the same dark eyes and grin. Yet, he was also inadequate. His frame was too small in Igneel's shadow. He was weak. The kingdom would prey on that insecurity and leave nothing but bones behind as he delivered his speech.
He had prepared his whole life for this, but it was still not enough. Even an eternity of etiquette classes couldn't prepare him enough for the inevitable disappointment of the kingdom as he gave his first speech as their new king.
He cleared his throat and tried, "People of-". His voice cracked.
The door creaked open and his personal bodyguard, the Golden Knight Lucy of the Fairy Tail court stood there, ominously lit from behind. Of course she was alive and well, but nothing more than a title to him now. Once upon a time he might've smiled at the sight, and it would've been a shared smile. If he was brave enough, he'd reach for her, or maybe she'd reach for him with a hand on his cheek that would melt away all his nerves.
Now she faced him with a blank expression and addressed him formally, stiffly. "Your Highness, are you ready?"
"Another minute please."
She sighed. "I apologize if this is out of line, but the people are waiting for you. King Natsu," she winced at the words. "The show must go on."
She cracked a small smile, and he apprehensively reciprocated. Something in that smile stirred up some vague memories, memories he couldn't properly grasp. Lucy stiffened and swiftly turned from him, avoiding his face. The action saddened him, and he spoke without realizing.
"Why are you acting like this?" He was shocked at the words spilling out of his mouth, but his heart was in pain as he watched her distaste for him. He was conflicted: he knew she thought he was weak, he knew that after he became king she grew colder as he failed to, in her eyes, live up to his father. But this was wrong, somehow. It had to be wrong. This feeling was unexplainable, but he knew that this was all wrong.
He frowned. She frowned. "Natsu- your Highness, please don't. Let's go." She pleaded.
He took a deep breath. She wasn't wrong about Natsu's weakness, about his inability to be a strong leader like Igneel was. He would never be respected like his father, and he was afraid to face his kingdom. This day was meant to come eventually, but it still hit him hard every time he thought about his father being gone.
"Fine." He said curtly. She was right about him being too reckless, too emotional. Here he was starting an argument when he had to address his people. If the people didn't want him, were they really his?
He felt too small in the robe, and felt that the ceremonial scepter and crown were heavy on his head and hands, but he stood as tall as he could anyways on the balcony overlooking the space where all of Magnolia was gathered. The bite of the cold wind was refreshing and comforting. It was a friend at a time when he was completely alone. Lucy stood at his side, hands behind her back.
"People of Magnolia, of the Kingdom of Diamonds," he began, grateful to have lost the stuttering. "I address you all today as your new King-"
"You are not my king!"
"Yeah! Not our king!"
"Not our king! Not our king! Not our king!" The crowd began to chant.
Natsu froze. He honestly expected this reaction, but not so soon into his speech. Should he continue or stop? He didn't know how each choice would end.
"I agree." Lucy said. She took a step closer to him, forcing him backwards. His back was to the railing, and he held his arms in front of him. "You are not our king. Not my king." The look in her eyes was vicious, something he had never seen directed at him in his life. He wanted to weep at the sight, but stood there instead.
His voice was shaky. "Lucy, what are you doing?"
"You could never be a king fit for the Kingdom of Diamonds." She ignored him, suspiciously placing her hand upon her scabbard. "You are weak, small, a coward. Nothing like Igneel." Her sword was suddenly pointed at his throat as the crowd cheered below him, and his breath hitched in his throat. This was wrong, Lucy wouldn't go so far as to kill him. Would she?
"Magic deficiency," she scoffed. "Please. You should have never been born. I wish I didn't waste my time on you."
More than any blade, the words cut deep. In his shock he stumbled backwards and over the railing until he was falling from the balcony. It was a long fall. He would plummet to his death and land in the snow unmoving.
In his last moments he tried to remember something good, but all his memories were faint for some reason. Perhaps he was in too much shock from being about to die. Lucy's memories were tainted, and memories of his father were intimidating. The kingdom hated him, and any friends were blurred faces in his mind. He would meet a lonely and bitter end.
"Goodbye." He said to no one in particular.
The impact was softer than he thought it would be.
His eyes were shut tight and he was quivering in someone's arms. Wait, what? He fell over in surprise and looked up to see his own face staring right back at him. Bodies were piled all over each other in the snow, with his doppelganger the only one left standing.
"Got him! I win!" The twin joked and smiled. Natsu could only stare.
The bodies picked themselves up and brushed themself off. One of them was Lucy Heart, dressed in a similar winter coat as the one above. But this one had worry in her eyes, her face was red from the cold and she reached out to him with open arms.
"Natsu." She sighed softly in his ears. At the sound, something clicked in his mind. The Lucy embracing him was real. This was right. He hugged her back, reveling in the feeling of something so pure and full of love.
"You're in a dream. Please wake up." She pleaded.
A dream?
Ah. Midnight. Ur. It all came back to him.
As he came to his realization the world around them began to crack at the edges, and he wiped a stray tear from his eye. He was just happy to know that everything was alright after all.
"We've been progressing through all the dreams as we've all been caught." Erza explained. "There's only Gray left, but I don't know what to expect on the other side. Be on your guard everyone."
"Be on your guard." Lucy's voice mocked. Everyone turned to Lucy Heart, but she was just as confused as the rest of them.
"Ahem." Midnight got rid of his disguise and cast his spell again. "Black Nightmare!"
Nothing happened.
He grunted and yelled it again, frustrated by the resistance. "No, spawn another Nightmare." He muttered under his breath.
"Black Nightmare!"
Natsu's nightmare fell apart and the group found themselves in the increasingly familiar darkness, but instead of landing in Gray's nightmare they woke up to the real world.
Lucy Heartfilia blinked slowly as her eyes adjusted to the dim light again. They were in the hideout this whole time, the place where they found Jellal. He was no longer there anymore, an empty space left behind where his prison was. The mages were all tied together. Erza was tossed next to them as well, as she had been captured later. The others began to rise, but Lucy focused on the body unconscious a few feet away.
Midnight twitched and she held her breath, but he remained unconscious. His face twisted in pain and curled into himself.
"He must not have any magic left." Gray mused. "This is how people who blindly serve my mother end up, Midnight. Even if you die, she'll just replace you without batting an eyelash." He said to him.
"He won't die, right?"
"No. But he'll be sick. It seems like he seriously used every last bit of strength keeping us trapped in there."
"Let's get out of here. We can still find Jellal and summon the artifact for ourselves. Natsu?" Lucy prompted.
"Aye!" He carefully burned the ropes around his wrists away, then worked on everyone else. "I don't know why they keep using this flammable rope instead of something magical."
"Plot purposes?" Gray suggested. Everyone shrugged.
"Hush. Let's move quietly. Follow my lead." Erza directed.
As they maneuvered back through the narrow hallway, Lucy kept a firm grip on her keys. They warmed in her palm, and she felt at ease with her spirits power in her hands. Lucy Heart pressed a sequence of seemingly random stones in the ground, but a ladder extended from where they entered. If she craned her neck, she could see that a hatch had opened from the throne seat.
One by one they crawled up the flimsy ladder. Lucy had ended up being the first one out. She peered out from below the hatch but found no one around, then signaled this to the others. She grunted as she pulled Natsu up, and they helped the rest out.
They fell in line behind Erza as they searched the sitting room. They found the mess they had left from their fight earlier, but no one was there.
Lucy Heart suggested that they split up and search, but the group decided it was better that they'd stay together. The question was, where could Jellal be? He was a vital part of their plan.
"He's either in this very throne room," Lucy Heart pondered with a hand on her chin, "Or he's on the other side. It would be easier to get him out that way after all…"
"By the other side… you mean from the hideout?" Erza asked.
"Yes, although I'm sure it's surrounded."
With a hand on her scabbard, Erza sighed. "I guess it can't be helped."
The group swiftly left the room. According to Erza's instruction, they only had to circle around the tower and head into the forest. Shortly after there would be a clearing where the exit to the hideout led.
Once they got outside, Lucy shivered. She stood between the two fire mages on their team, but it wasn't enough. There was a blizzard raging outside, as if the tension from war had physically manifested into a storm. It was hard to see more than a couple feet in front, and every step was like running uphill with weights tied to your ankles.
Hopefully Aries didn't see this as misuse of her magic, but Lucy quickly changed into her Star Dress. It still exposed some skin, but the wool was warm. Prince Gray shot her a curious look, and she remembered how rare her magic was. Even on Earthland, it wasn't every day you met someone who could summon the powers of celestial spirits from another realm.
Up ahead the group could hear, rather than see, a camp setup of soldiers. Like Lucy Heart said, they surrounded the exit. Jellal was bound to be there.
"She's got us running like headless chickens looking for the old man-"
"-Kill him?"
"No."
"And this one?"
They, including Natsu, couldn't make out the answer but they were sure it was him.
Erza pointed at Lucy and her partner. "You two, cause a distraction. Lady Lucy here and I will go in without swords. Let's not use our magic unless it's necessary. The princes should wait here unless we need the help."
"Operation Rescue Jellal is a go!" Natsu whispered loudly. Lucy laughed, because what else do you do in a situation like this?
I think the next chapter will actually be pretty short, since it was supposed to go with this one. I'm inconsistent enough with updates though, and I didn't to keep people waiting longer, so I just cut it off here. I basically just threw my original plans out the window with ending at 15 chapters, but this is more fun. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter! Please excuse any mistakes.