Chapter edited 8/26/18.
They weren't making sense again.
"To reach our heaven we must first experience hell," Midnight said, his eyes skating around the room. Lucy recognized the room, the one they kept her in. But something seemed wrong as she looked at the space.
She wasn't being held down to the floor by that nightmarish rune magic. Instead she was standing in the corner, staring at herself across the room. The Lucy lying on the floor had her face turned into the ground, her shoulders shaking from the pain as blood dripped down her back, little drops splashing into the concrete beneath.
Across the room, Lucy looked around. It was like having an out of body experience, seeing what she went through. It gave her a different perception, but she wasn't sure she wanted it. She wasn't even sure why she was there now. Still, for once she didn't feel any panic.
"We already went through hell," Racer interjected, cutting off whatever Midnight was going to say. "We just need to break the contracts between this girl and the celestials. Once we do that we can use the keys to embody the evil the Tower of Heaven created."
Lucy blinked, staring at the people before her. Even now that sounded like such bullshit. Who believed that?
"And then we'll be free," Angel agreed, the trio nodding.
Lucy blinked. She somewhat remembered these conversations from her time in the basement, but she'd never been able to lift her head up and look at her captors. The pain and weakness her body felt overpowered the ability to do simple things. Looking back, she couldn't even recall if they were all standing in the room during this conversation or not. It could've been something she overheard while they screamed upstairs.
"It will cleanse of us our sins," Midnight agreed. "Once we can use the celestial spirits to anchor the sins of our souls, the spirits themselves will take on the pain. We will get our happy ending."
Again, she couldn't believe the nonsense she was hearing.
"But how are we going to keep her like this?" Angel continued. "Rusty said he can only keep using his Arc of Enbodiment magic to keep her here so much longer. If we don't get him what he wants soon he'll let the spell lapse, and all her spirits will be able to come out and fight us."
"Then we need to make another deal!" Racer cried, jumping up and down. Lucy wasn't even sure that ever happened. "I won't let this go! If you really think this is the answer to all of our problems, how could you be prepared to let it go? Rusty doesn't hold all the cards here."
"He holds enough," Midnight said. He leaned forward, grabbing Lucy's blonde hair to lift her head up. She remembered that part, the pain substaintial considering he'd ripped some of her long locks out just before this conversation happened. "Don't give up on us yet, blondie. If you die the contracts will be broken and your spirits will be released. We won't be able to trade with their souls, and we can't have that."
"She won't go yet," Racer agreed. "It's not yet time to die, Heartfilia."
Lucy gasped, jerking up in her bed. She was soaked in sweat, the sheets and pillow damp as her eyes darted around, looking for the source of her fears. Trembling hands reached out and grabbed the damp fabric, gripping until she could feel her nails digging into her skin even through the barrier.
A dream, just another dream. She was in Freed's house, behind barriers even Rustyrose couldn't duplicate. They would have to fight to get in.
That didn't make her feel better. She might not be in any immediate danger now, but her spirits were. All they wanted was to sever Lucy's contracts with her spirits, but not kill her until this was done.
It didn't make any sense. None of it did. She wasn't even sure she'd heard things correctly anymore.
Reaching up a trembling hand she tried pushing her hair out of her face, but her fingers just wouldn't work. After her fourth try she gave up, dropping her fingers back to the blanket.
She'd been crying, but she guessed not loud enough to wake Freed. For three - no, it had to be the fourth now - days he'd been very close by her side, and she assumed if he heard her having another nightmare he'd wake her up. Glancing at her door she realized it was cracked, so she had to be decently quiet. He'd probably done it as a precaution, just like every other night here.
Clenching her eyes shut, she tried to steady her erratic breathing. Usually when she did manage sleep, the only thing that came were nightmares. She hadn't had a dream recently that reflected upon her experience. She hadn't even thought of the others involved until tonight.
Angel.
Racer.
Midnight.
Rustyrose.
Names that scared the ever living hell out of her. Even if Angel hadn't wanted to dirty herself by torturing her, she still played a part. Thinking of the names her friends named off just caused her heart to ache.
Poor Freed, he practically begged her to give him something to work with, and she just couldn't vocalize what was going on in her head. It caused anxiety whenever she thought about it, and dissolving into tears was something she'd done one too many times. She didn't want to again.
But she couldn't just ignore it. The longer she let her fears overcome her logic the more danger her spirits were in. It was selfish to not say something, and even worse to let her fear overtake her when she could be doing something about what happened. But Midnight and the others literally abandoned her in the basement that fateful day, left for dead, and she couldn't erase the terrifying thoughts that continued to circle in her brain.
She needed to do something. She needed to get back at them for what they'd done.
Looking towards the door again, she wished she knew what time it was. Bothering Freed every night would get old real quick, and it definitely wouldn't make him thrilled to have her as a houseguest. But with her dream burning in her mind, she wanted to tell him more while her emotions were high and the memory vivid. If she waited she'd lose her nerve and disappoint him again.
Maybe he wouldn't mind.
Her knees almost buckled when she stood up, fear crawling up her back. The idea of talking about what happened made things that much more real, and she wasn't sure she wanted that. But if she didn't do it now, she wasn't sure when she'd work up the courage to do so again, and everyone would keep looking for the wrong things and the wrong people.
She found Freed's door half open, much more inviting than she expected. Honestly she wasn't sure why he kept putting up with her when it was so much extra work.
He looked so peaceful when he slept, his long green hair fanned out rather pretty across the pillows. In the shadows she could just make out his silhouette on the bed, blissfully ignorant to her tortured thoughts.
It seemed almost inconsiderate to wake him up. Clenching her hands together she swallowed her fear, forcing herself into the room. She had to do this.
She really wasn't as quiet as she thought, literally walking into his bedframe as she debated how to talk to him. The man was up in an instant, and she shied away when she realized his eyes were glowing with magic.
Freed relaxed almost instantly when he noticed her, the angry energy in his eyes disappearing. She noticed he'd decided to start wearing shirts to bed, perhaps remembering her reaction the last time. "Lucy, what are you doing in here? Everything alright?"
She nodded, noticing the way his brow furrowed. "I-I need to talk to you."
He frowned. "Are you okay?"
She almost nodded to ease his mind, until she realized it wouldn't solve anything and shook her head. Before he could ask what was up she spilled her guts, relaying everything about the dream filled memory that she could in one exhausting breath.
When she finished Freed seemed troubled, shifting in bed to sit on the edge, turning on his bedside light. She had yet to move from the foot-board, her hands gripping the top like her life depended on it.
In the light she could see his expression more clearly. His features remained neutral, an air of calm resting there that didn't reach his eyes. In fact if she looked into them she thought she might die from the levels of hatred boiling there.
"You saw all of those people in the house?"
She hesitated before nodding, watching the way his brows furrowed together. Outside she could see the sky beginning to brighten, and soon the sun would rise.
That meant four days passed since he'd found her. It felt like more time should've passed.
"Thank you for telling me," he continued, standing from the bed. He gestured to the mattress, waiting until she sat stiffly at the end before continuing. "The guild will be happy to know who they need to search for. But I thought you said something about the Seis being disbanded-"
"They are – were, I'm not sure. Only those three members remain. I-I told you about Cobra already… they are the only three members I saw."
Freed's expression darkened. "And Rustyrose, he's not part of their team. He's one of the people from the Seven Kin of Purgatory. What's he doing with half of an old team?"
She shook her head, unable to answer. She didn't know a lot about what was going on, most of the team's discussions taking places in rooms she wasn't in. She didn't understand why they would be teaming up together, much less how they met Rustyrose.
Lucy knew Freed was more familiar with the Arc of Embodiment wizard, having actually fought him on Tenrou. This was someone he could relate to much better than the Seis, who he only encountered briefly.
It didn't actually make her feel better. She didn't know how he or anyone else would take the news, and what kind of conclusions they would come to.
"I just don't understand the keys," he continued, muttering quietly. She wasn't certain if he was speaking to her or himself. "The logic makes no sense, and I've never heard of using celestial spirits for this type of ritual. And there are a lot of insane ideas for celestials. But this…"
His voice trailed off, lost in his own train of thought. Lucy turned her eyes down, fingers twisting in her lap. The dream brought back bad memories, but at least it wasn't another trip down memory lane of being tortured. She couldn't take reliving that every night.
"Maybe Cobra will know something…"
She zoned out, feeling her eyes growing heavy. Restless sleep gave her body little relief when she passed out, and sitting on Freed's bed now she was overcome by how comfortable it was. Her eyes drifted shut before snapping them open again, unwilling to sleep.
It sure was comfortable though, and she did feel better when he was nearby.
Lucy let her eyes fall closed again, her head sinking down, her chin resting on her chest. A few moments wouldn't hurt…
Freed left Lucy in his room when she passed out, deciding her need for sleep was more important right now than trying to interrogate her. She would wake up eventually and hopefully she'd still be in the mood to talk.
Besides, he was still waiting to see if anyone could locate Cobra. Supposedly Kinana knew him at one point or another, but they were still waiting to see if she could convince him to come and talk. From what he'd learned of the dragon slayer, he wasn't the easiest guy to work with, and he had an awful lot of attitude.
Freed paused at his kitchen table, thinking that over. Come to think of it, he sounded a lot like Laxus and Natsu. It would be great if they could talk to him. Out of everyone he seemed the most likely to be able to understand what was going on.
To the same extent, if Rustyrose was involved, maybe Meredy would be beneficial too. The problem with getting ahold of her was Crime Sociere was always on the move, and they were a pain to track down according to Erza's ramblings.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. There were a lot more people involved than first anticipated, and it would be a pain to contact all of them to get to the bottom of things. Not to mention there was no way of knowing when the last time was that they spoke to one another.
It was all really infuriating. How were they supposed to get her keys back when they didn't know where to look next, and all the useful people weren't even around?
He pursed his lips. They should just send someone to go talk to Crime Sorciere. Probably Erza, since she had the best connection to the guild. Meredy would probably be extra helpful if she went, and Lucy's friends would feel useful given a task.
He just wished he felt useful. He helped her, but only when she would accept it. It was a lot of sitting around waiting for other people to figure out what to do next. He couldn't go off looking for people when she needed him here, but it was frustrating. He wanted to take out some of his anger, and any member of the team that hurt her would do. But he couldn't do that until they actually found them, and Lucy was okay being without him.
At this rate, he was pretty sure it would take a while either way.
With a sigh he decided he'd need to let the guild know about what Lucy told him so someone could go looking. Just last night he spoke with his team about how certain members of the Seis may not be involved, including Angel. They were pretty far off.
What else were they wrong about?
A knock at the door ruined his train of thought, and Freed wondered if he should kick out the barrier a couple feet so people would stop knocking all the time. Glancing up the stairs he noted that Lucy still seemed to be asleep, which was better than nothing.
She was strange with how she reacted. Her friends frightened her but she was okay around his. He wondered if it was because his were more withdrawn and had less emotional attachment, or maybe just because his tended to be less physically friendly.
Walking to the door, he sighed when he spotted who was outside. Yet another friend wanting to check in. He'd really have to get used to this.
"Natsu," Freed said, nodding when he opened the door. Apparently the slayer wasted no time racing between cities. He didn't appear to have Happy in tow, and he was only panting a little, sweat dripping down his cheeks in the early morning light. He must've pushed himself pretty hard to make it to Crocus and back so quickly.
At this rate he was going to kill himself.
Natsu panted, resting one hand on the doorframe. "How's… Lucy?"
Freed couldn't help but smile. He might be a moron sometimes, but his concern for his friend was sincere. He was pushing himself a lot to try and help her. "She's getting along. She just fell asleep again a little while ago."
He nodded, taking another heavy breath. "Oh… good. She loves sleeping."
Resisting the urge to tell him how incorrect he was Freed cleared his throat, adverting his gaze. "What are you going here? Did you just get back into town? You look like you've run yourself ragged."
Natsu lifted his head, smiling. "I have to. Whoever hurt Lucy deserves to suffer too."
Freed nodded, totally in agreement with the slayer. Natsu might be rash, but since he'd found Lucy the pinkette did nothing but try to help find her attackers. He may not go about things as reasonably as he should, but his heart was in the right place.
Who could fault him for that?
"Come in and get some water," Freed said, stepping back from the door, "before you pass out on my porch."
"Hey, I'm not that exhausted," he argued, shaking his head as he walked in. Almost immediately Freed could see his ears perk up, nose twitching. "Lucy… she still doesn't smell quite like herself. But, she smells better than before. I at least recognize her now."
"She hasn't had a shower yet," Freed snapped, his voice a little angrier than he intended. He grabbed a glass, forcing himself to not slam it on the counter. "I can't just force her to shower. I'm sure her scent will be more obvious after that."
Natsu nodded, and Freed was thankful Laxus didn't drone on about Lucy's scent when he visited. He didn't really like the constant reminder of it. Of course she'd smell different, and if that wasn't bad enough telling a girl she smelled weird was a recipe for disaster. "Sounds like she's sleeping peacefully."
Well, that's different.
"Did you find what you wanted in Crocus?" Freed asked, handing him the glass. Natsu, distracted, nearly dropped it as he refocused his attention.
"Uh, no, not really," he replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I couldn't pick up anything new at the house you found Lucy in." His grip tightened on the glass, expression darkening. "All the other scents were overwhelmed by her blood."
Freed frowned, wondering why Natsu did this to himself in the first place. Hadn't his summary of the home built enough of an image for him? Freed found the scene haunting and the blood overwhelming, but he didn't have a dragon slayer nose to deal with. Natsu already went back once with his team to Crocus, continuing to force himself to return to the scene would just damage his psyche.
"Lucy may have told me something that will help," he continued, smiling when Natsu's ears perked. No matter how crazy the man could be, he would do anything to help Lucy and he would be able to relay Freed's information to the guild without the rune mage worrying about when he would see someone again.
He just hoped the dope didn't run off with the information to handle everything himself. That would backfire spectacularly.
"Tell me," Natsu said, his tone deadly serious. If there was one thing Natsu didn't mess around with it was his friends.
Freed relayed what Lucy told him, watching Natsu's expression darken the more people he named off. When he finished Natsu stood, shattering the glass in his palm.
"Did you have to break it?" Freed sighed, stepping in the way when the pinkette tried to bolt. "Remember what I said, running off won't help. We don't even know where these people are right now."
"It doesn't matter," Natsu seethed, and Freed raised an eyebrow when his hands lit themselves on fire. "I'll kill them all for Lucy."
"That's not the point-"
"I-"
Natsu stopped, his head immediately whipping upwards. Freed watched his eyes dance around the ceiling following a distinct line. He didn't need to be told what Natsu was listening to, he was already aware.
Lucy was awake.
Immediately the flames in his hand winked out, his face sinking into a mixture of fear and uncertainty. He hadn't seen his partner since the day she went to the guild, sobbing and terrified of all her friends. If Lucy was up and potentially coming downstairs to see what the noise was, there was no way to predict how it would go.
But Freed couldn't stop it. They were best friends. They needed to see each other at one point or another.
Natsu turned slowly at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, his eyes wide with fear. Freed stood just behind him, tilting his head when Lucy emerged at the bottom to stare at her longtime friend. He hoped things went well.
Natsu spoke first, his voice coming out barely audible. "Lucy."
She didn't smile at him, instead staring at him with wide eyes for many moments. Now that she'd gotten a bit of sleep over the past hour or two she looked slightly better, not so weighed down by the bags under her eyes. She still hadn't had a shower since the first day, her scent musky but not unfamiliar. Just different. Even Freed could sense that without Natsu's enhanced nose.
Freed titled his chin up, meeting Lucy's eyes across the room. So far confrontations between her friends hadn't gone well. If she gave any indication that she couldn't handle having Natsu there he'd be forced to remove the slayer, surely at the cost of his entire house. Natsu would not go easy.
Lucy wet her lips three times before speaking, one hand still gripping the banister. "Natsu."
He moved like he wanted to hug her but stopped short, and Freed wondered briefly if he'd learned not to from Erza. No, he doubted the slayer made it back to the Guild Hall yet. Most likely he'd come here first, hoping beyond hope that he'd get to see his partner. More likely, he could smell her fear.
Lucy hesitated, taking one step back when Natsu moved closer. He didn't try again, something that surprised Freed. Her lips trembled when she spoke once more, her other hand coming to clench on the fabric of her shirt.
"Where… where were you?"
Almost instantly, Freed watched the fight leave her partner. Usually Natsu had something to say about everything but he was strangely quiet towards Lucy, the guilt eating him alive over what happened. The pinkette fell down onto his knees before her, and Freed briefly wondered if something was wrong with him.
"Luce… I'm so sorry."
The pair shared a moment, Lucy moving to kneel before him as well, sitting just out of reach. Freed could sympathize with Natsu, remembering that every other time Lucy was tortured he came to her rescue. This lasted longer and cut deeper, and he was nowhere around when she needed him the most.
He wondered if it would fracture their friendship now that Natsu knew who had attacked her, and more importantly knew that these were people he'd defeated in the past. The weight of the guilt must be crushing.
"It's okay," Lucy said quietly, her voice echoing in the quiet room as Natsu began to sob, something the rune mage rarely saw. She didn't offer him any lies but she did surprise Freed, reaching across the space to gently grab his hand. Natsu reacted, clenching down on hers as he continued crying.
Throughout his breakdown, Lucy never tried to pull away. Despite her reaction to Gray and Erza she didn't seem afraid of Natsu, letting him hold her hand as he fought through the guilt. Perhaps it helped that he didn't try to hug her, able to pick up on her emotions even better than his friends.
She shot Freed a look as he cried, something he didn't expect. Her eyes weren't asking for help, but there was an understanding there that he hadn't seen in days. She had depended on Natsu a lot for all the adventures that led up to this one, and it was the first time he'd truly let her down.
Freed didn't have to ask her what the look meant. He could read it in her eyes. She could forgive Natsu, but the same level of trust wasn't there anymore. She was afraid of so many people, and it took a lot for her to trust anymore. She forgave him, but she wasn't looking at him for help or comfort.
She was looking at Freed, and he felt the added weight rest on his shoulders. Like it or not she depended greatly on him now, and he felt it was a connection that would not soon be severed.
It added additional pressure to finding her attackers and stopping them. He knew she wouldn't rest easy until that day came, no matter how many protections were in place around her and his entire house.
And he knew, despite her condition now, Lucy would want to fight in the end. It was in her nature to keep going. Freed just wasn't sure how long it would take for her to reach that point.
He sincerely hoped there was no need to face off with them again for a while.
When Natsu's cries quieted he bowed his head, releasing the tight grip on Lucy's hand. She snapped her wrist back almost out of instinct before realizing what she'd done, her expression softening as she rested her hand in the space between them.
"I'll make it up to you," Natsu said, his voice gaining volume as he spoke. "I swear it Luce. I won't rest until they pay for what they've done."
She tilted her head at that, Freed realizing she had no idea Natsu knew others had attacked her besides Midnight. Before she admitted to him who else was present throughout that week, everything was speculation. "You don't-"
"Please Luce," he interrupted, his voice practically begging, "let me do this for you. Let me help, somehow. As soon as there's a lead, I'll go stop them all if I have to. Anything to get you to be your old self again."
Lucy nodded stiffly, and Freed wasn't sure if she took Natsu's words well or not. The pinkette stood, offering Lucy a hand to stand. She took it after a moment's hesitation, putting space between them again.
Natsu sighed, the pain evident in his voice. "I'll make it up to you Lucy, I will."
She didn't say anything else, letting his words hang in the air. Natsu seemed to take that as a sign to leave, nodding towards Freed as he turned to go. The man noted his opposite hand bleeding, clenched tight so Lucy wouldn't notice. He must've cut it when the glass broke.
When the front door banged shut Lucy relaxed, some of the tension in her shoulders disappearing. She glanced around the room before her eyes rested on Freed, holding his gaze briefly before dropping.
"Was he bleeding?"
Freed smiled, finding it endearing that she was so worried about her friend given the condition she was in. Moving towards her he grabbed the glass intended for himself, hoping she didn't notice the shards on the floor.
"Just a little," he replied, handing her the drink. "Don't worry though, it's nothing serious."
She nodded, rocking on her feet a moment before speaking again. "What did he mean… when he said they?"
Freed flinched slightly, realizing she'd noticed Natsu's wording. He'd have to tell her he already relayed the information to the slayer, and hope she didn't freak out that he'd run off to handle everything himself.
He was beginning to worry that might be the case. Hopefully the slightly rational side of Natsu that had begun to show itself would win out and he'd take the information to the guild instead of trying to take on everything himself.
He hoped so anyway.
"We should sit," Freed said, nodding to the living room. "I guess I better explain myself."
A/n: Hope you like it! What's this, a new chapter in a week? Yes, I did find some time to do real updates! The next one probably won't be out as quick, but I've gotten a solid outline done to the plot should flow a little smoother now. Let me know what you think! Also, the lingering questions about the motives of Midnight and the others are appreciated! It's not all explained yet, but I'm not so sure I did a good job in this chapter explaining anything. Until next time.