Chapter Thirty-Nine

Their Positions

"That… is bad." Ultear murmured, crouched down beside me, watching the massive hoard of stumbling, undead citizens. They looked horrible, and the stench was enough to make my eyes water, stinging, despite the safe distance away we were.

"There's a lot of them." I whispered, horrified, "Enough… They look like the people from the Stars." Outrage and guilt swirled around inside me. A small choice chanted, all your fault, around my head, ringing like truth through my mind.

Something inside of me cracked, a tiny shatter in the control I had wrapped around myself. It was like the steel cage in my mind shifted to very, very thin glass. My power spiked, sensing that weakness and the wind around us picked up, as I continued to stare at the scene in front of me.

A soft touch to my arm made me look away, as Ultear rubbed my shoulder gently.

"Breath in. Save your strength for the big monster."

I nodded, closing my eyes and trying to centre myself. I imagined Natsu, flying, soaring way up above, strong, unbeatable. But filled with soft love and a kind heart.

I breathed out slowly after a few seconds and Bickslow murmured, "Do we attack now?"

"Not yet," Ultear murmured, "Erza and Natsu should be evacuating the last of the citizens from nearby towns and setting up the orbs."

"The orbs that will… what exactly?" Jackal asked because he hadn't been there from the inception of the plan. He had only been recruited at the very last minute and it spoke a lot of how the demons took their oaths, despite being, well, demons.

"Orbs that will create a barrier." Ultear explained, "We want to avoid casualties at any costs and the Scream Lucy is about to let out is going to be fuelled with emotion. These orbs will make sure that nothing outside of it is impacted."

"Will they be enough?"

"Erza held one when we were testing it out and told us that Lucy's scream only gave her a killer headache." Ultear stated, "If it's between a killer headache, and dying, I don't think we have much choice."

"But, Lucy wouldn't have wholeheartedly Screamed at Erza… How do you know it's going to make any difference against it this time, when she's actually…" Jackal glanced at me before stating, "Unstable."

I would be hurt that he thought that, if it wasn't the absolute truth. Unstable was the best word to call what I was feeling.

"We don't." Ultear said cheerfully and Bickslow chuckled.

Jackal just looked disturbed, "That's a lot of possibilities that haven't been thought out."

"You scared of dying, puppy?" Ultear goaded with a soft snort, eyes still focused on the swarm of people in front of us, stumbling around the forest ground like newborn deer.

Jackal didn't reply for a long moment before he shook his head, "I may not trust, or like the plan but I am here to aid Princess Lucy."

I smiled at his words, proud and flattered that he'd still stand by me even if he wasn't trusting the plan. The truth was, Ultear and I didn't trust it either. But it was what we could do on such short notice, and short people. I wanted to avoid bringing more people into it, on account of the casualties that had already taken place.

Ultear reached into her coat, and pulled out a pouch with a red string on it. I remained quiet, my heart aching for the people that I couldn't save. That I couldn't even put their souls to rest, after they had been ripped out of them.

"Do you think when I kill her, all this pain will be vanquished?" I whispered to myself softly, "Is that the meaning of fairness in battle? Kill one person to avenge many others that fell by their hands?"

Ultear turned to me, and I laughed softly, but the noise was stricken, panicked.

"I killed Miliana." I pressed my hand to my mouth, tears burning in my eyes, disgust rolling in my stomach at the idea of what monster I would become after I did this, "I killed her in defence. I am about to kill this Banshee in defence, as well… right? But what if that's just excuses? What if I was put in this world, lead blind through the start of my life, to finally witness the death I cause?"

"Lucy…" Ultear murmured, her voice tight with pain, as I closed my eyes, letting the hopeless feeling swarm me, feeling it override my senses. All my thoughts spiralled out of control, egged on by something that I wasn't familiar with. Something that I had felt a few times before, but quickly passed it off as my own exhaustion.

Wisdom swam through me, just as the thought, I should just give up and hand myself to her… Stop this bloodshed, tumbled through my mind.

I opened my eyes and smiled grimly, "Nice try, bitch." Then I flared my power up and out of my pores, keeping the noise soft, barely able to be heard. Ultear flinched back, and Jackal's ears folded, but the slithering sensation of being toyed with slid away.

The only person who didn't seem affected was Bickslow, but I would question that later.

"She's messing with me." I informed them softly, "It's a lot likes Zeref's power, but he doesn't make you doubt yourself. His power just… overwhelms you. It's physical and you can… feel it. Her's is only mental. A seed of guilt, becomes this thrashing hatred. A spec of sadness is suddenly a wave of misery."

"So, she knows we are here then." Ultear stated calmly, "There is no point in sneaking any longer."

I ran my tongue over my teeth in thought, looking past the massive amount of zombies to the grey, constantly moving wall only metres behind them. It looked like a millions snakes, created only by the mist, so hard to see but once you focused, they were there, writhing and coiling around each other.

"I need to get to the wall," I said clearly, "And bring it down."

"And I'm guessing that those lovely beings are here to stop just that." Bickslow nodded to the zombies from his spot behind us, glancing over his shoulder now and again to check for anybody that was going to rush us from behind.

Ultear dug into her little pouch and pulled out four tiny, blue stones. They were the size of her pinkie and they glittered in the afternoon sun. I didn't bother to ask her what she needed them for, trusting that she had her reasons. She closed her fist around them, then flung them towards the zombies.

They scattered along the ground making the swarm stir slightly. We waited silent, watching, carefully remaining still unless it triggered an attack. When the zombies couldn't find the meaning of the noise, they continued to stumble around mindlessly.

Then we heard it.

Pop. I pressed my hands to my ears, but immediately a smile spread over my face as the loud popping noises continued from the west.

"Natsu's got his orbs in," Ultear's words were barely heard over the noise, but it made joy surface inside me, helping to keep those dark emotions at bay.

When the noise from the west stopped, I almost sobbed in relief at the accompanying new pops from the east.

"Erza too." Ultear grabbed me in her arms and hugged me tight, as tears burned in my eyes, hope joining the joy flaring around inside me. I wrapped my arms around her in return, knowing they'd be on their way here now.

They were coming here, they were fine.

We kept the hug as short as possible but I wasn't surprised to see the tears swimming in Ultear's eyes as well, her smile as wide as her mouth would let it, showing how glad she was that our friends were on their way, that they were alive.

Bickslow and Jackal thankfully stayed quiet during our brief moment. Ultear released me, and stood up fully, stretching her back, the smile still playing on her mouth but the look in her eyes hardened.

I always forgot that Ultear had been training for battle for most of her life, and was the close guard to Jellal when they were travelling.

"Jackal, take right. I'll go left. Bickslow, get Lucy to the wall."

Bickslow moved up from behind me at her command easily, a soldier reacting to a captains orders and I was amazed at how easily they all moved, flowed around to their respective positions.

The zombies began to growl, a few catching sight of us as Bickslow softly touched my arm.

"Please Princess Lucy, allow me to go in front."

I would have argued if I wasn't staring at an elderly lady with a gaping wide mouth and very blunt, black teeth. I didn't want to imagine the pain of having that rip into your skin.

I moved behind him, and then we all moved.

One of them roared, which was followed by the shrill cry of the others and began to run. Their speed was terrifying. I stuck close to Bickslow as Jackal collided with the first pack on the right. A few seconds later, Ultear skidded to a stop and brought her hands out and up.

All the moisture in the air was zapped away, and ice erupted from the ground. They reared back, some getting caught in the attack, as a hand gripped my shoulder and pulled me forward.

Sharp teeth barely missed my arm, as Bickslow, swung around and brought his fist up.

The noise it made on impact was horrid, but we kept moving. Ultear and Jack fought relentlessly, and the explosions Jackal conjured were powerful enough to shake the ground below our feet.

Tiny cracks in the earth chased us, but they were too shallow to do much damage. Just bring the fear that Jackal, despite his amazing attitude, was a demon born for destruction.

We reached the wall in no time before and I immediately started to try and understand it. Understand how it was made, and how I could bring it down. The sounds of the battle behind us were distracting and fear lurched up my throat at Ultear's pained scream.

I went to turn around, but Bickslow caught my shoulders and focused me, "She's fine. You need to get us in." He let go when the sounds of more snarling, the angry snap of jaws got louder, hungrier.

My hands hovered over the shield, trying to understand how I was supposed to fight the snakes that reared back, ready to rip me apart if I so much as touched the wall. It was slightly see-through but what laid beyond looked like apparition.

My castle stood tall, and unbroken in front of me, twisting with the water like movements of the snakes. The columns were unmarked, and the repairs were flawless-

I stilled before turning around, realising exactly what this was.

"Jackal!" He was slashing a zombie apart, and then exploding two others when he turned to me, drenched in blackened blood, covered in angry cuts and bites. My heart throbbed but I pushed past it.

"Create a hole!"

He didn't argue, he just redirected his explosions to the floor and Bickslow grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the wall. Four zombies were after us. The floor shook, making my steps uneven, and the swarm that was attacking Ultear swallowed my sight of her.

"Bickslow, go help Ultear!"

"My job is to protect you-"

"This is a fucking order!" I shouted back, my power bouncing out, slapping into him, "Go help her now!" He jolted back, looked behind me then cursed, sprinting towards the pile.

"Keep running! If you stop running, they'll get you!" He shouted back to me and I listened to his command, picking up my pace, running towards the woods. Jackal was still trying to break the layer, but I knew what laid underneath the Star's land.

Tunnels.

Something hard and strong latched onto my ankle and I fell, pressing my lips together to muffle the Scream that threatened to pour out. I spun around, kicking and shaking myself, trying to dislodge the mouth that was gnawing into my skin.

I managed to dislodge it, pain vibrating up my senses at the deep, excruciating bite.

The child looked up at me, my blood dripping from it's mouth and moaned hungrily. It launched forward and I scrambled back, trying not to focus on the horrible pain.

A clawed hand grabbed her arm, and I watched as Jackal lifted the girl up, pressed his hand to her face… and boom. The ground crashed a few metres away, at the exact moment her face exploded into nothing.

I was gasping when he knelt over, and lifted me up easily, his face stern but his eyes so worried.

This puppy could bite, I thought back to Natsu's warning words to Ultear and how I thought they were playful at the time. I never knew how much truth laid behind it.

He dropped into the hole, landing neatly then placed me down as I bit my bottom lip, tears stinging my eyes as the wound throbbed in agony.

"Ultear?" I rasped, and Jackal looked up to the top of the cavern.

Then Ultear, dropped down opposite us, carrying Bickslow on her back. She dropped him to the floor and sent an orb up, sealing the top of the cave with no effort, like a glass wall between the hungry swarm and us.

She looked horrible, but alive, breathing.

"Is he okay?" I asked, ignoring the way Jackal probed and looked at my wound.

"He's fine." Ultear stated, "I think I accidentally got him with one of my famous left hooks, is all."

I gave her an alarmed look, as Bickslow groaned, "You kicked me in the balls woman, what is your boot made out of?"

"I'm sorry, but you were in my way. And it's not the boots, it's all ass and thigh baby."

Bickslow rolled over, hands cupping his privates, and gave her a wild grin, his tongue lolling out, "After I stopped that mean zombie from chewing on your pretty ass, you'd think you'd repay me with a kiss."

"You can kiss my ass, I was perfectly fine without your help." Ultear scoffed, but the smile playing on her lips made me smile as well, despite the overwhelming pain. She walked over to me, a bit stiffly and dropped down beside Jackal.

"Shit." She whispered, "That's deep."

"You're bitten too." I pointed to her shoulder, and her left arm.

"Not that deep," Ultear rubbed her hand over one of them, "And my power is already healing them. Jackal?"

"I've already healed most of my wounds." He agreed and I closed my eyes.

"Shit. No healer means…"

"We can't take the pain away, Lucy." Ultear stated softly, "If we keep going, you're going to be one working leg down."

"We have to keep going." I stated fiercely, "Just wrap it up."

Ultear didn't hesitate, and Jackal worked quietly as he ripped off a part of Ultear's cloak and began to wind it around my ankle. I looked over to Bickslow who was slowly standing up, also looking at his injuries.

To my amazement, he barely had a scratch on him. In fact, his skin looked like it was glowing.

Once they were done, I rose unsteadily onto my feet and limped my way over to the identical grey misty wall that was in the entrance of the tunnels as well. Ultear steadied me, let me drink some of the alcohol in her flask (for the pain, she said) before asking the all important question.

"So, why are we done here?"

"Because up there, is a trick." I stated softly, looking through, trying to see something behind the moving, swirling snakes that guarded the other side.

"How so?"

"It showed my castle as it was before, undamaged, unharmed. I know for a fact, I brought down the entire east wing of the castle, there is no way they could restore it so quickly, and even a less chance of getting it to be the exact same." I answered, before shoving my hand into the wall.

Ultear yelped loudly, ready to pull me out but nothing happened. No pain - other than the bite - and no immediate death.

"Just like I thought," I whispered, my eyes roaming the wall, "She was only powerful enough to create a different image on the surface. Underneath here, she lost some of that power."

"How do you know that?"

I licked my lips, "I can feel it." I took a deep breath in, tasting the emotions in this power of the wall, "She was frustrated. She didn't realise the Stars was such a large kingdom. I believe, if we had time and knew were to look, the upper layer would be riddled with holes in her power as well."

I pulled my hand back, watching as the snakes tried to bite, and hissed as I removed it. I rubbed my fingers together, before smiling.

"This is good news."

"It is?" Ultear questioned, her voice curious as I nodded.

"She's not unbeatable. She's not all-powerful. She's just an old Banshee with a lot of tricks up her sleeve."

Ultear laughed happily, clapping, "There's that confidence, I know and love! See this gentleman, this is who captured the heart of Natsu Dragneel, the future King of the Moltens."

I rolled my eyes as Ultear hooted. Jackal stifled his own smile and Bickslow chuckled.

"So, what do we do now?" Ultear asked, rubbing her hands together, looking refreshed and energised despite the black blood staining her skin, and the rapidly healing claw marks along her neck and arms.

"I think we…" I stared, biting my lip before shrugging, "Walk through."

And so we did.

"What, send an evil swarm of zombies with serious munchies after us but let us walk through town undisturbed?" Ultear said, a dissatisfied tone in her voice. Bickslow loitered at a few houses, for some unknown reason, before returning behind us.

"Let's not take that for granted," Jackal steadied me on his shoulder, letting me lean on him as I limped through the tattered, quiet scraps of my Kingdom. The dust had settled, giving it a dark, ethereal glow, the shadows larger and much more ominous.

My injury was an angry throbbing that was impossible to ignore, every inch I moved, it sang a praise of pain up my calf. However, the pain was helping to muddle my power, torn between the angry stark need for vengeance, and the need to protect itself from further attacks.

And since I wasn't deciding on either, it stayed just underneath my skin, jumping and prickling.

It was bizarre to believe that pain could help me control better, but then I remembered that Natsu had told me that Igneel had to use pain to teach him control also.

"I agree with the witch, it is quiet." Bickslow stated softly, his voice low and careful. As if he thought someone was listening to us and did not want them to know that he was suspecting anything.

Ultear agreed with him, reiterating her fact that it was strange that we were attacked straight off the bat and now that we were inside, we were allowed to roam - limp for my case - towards the castle that I had no doubt she had commandeered as her fortress.

A slick cold feeling wrapped its way around my spine, sliding up further and further until it was a freezing slimy cold sensation around my neck. I stopped, causing Jackal to halt as well, giving me a questioning look.

Then he yanked me to the side, narrowly dodging an arrow aimed directly at me. Ultear spun around towards the direction it came from, eyes narrowed, hands raised as if she were ready to throw up a protective sphere. My eyes strayed from her to the arrow dug deeply into the ground, the power behind it causing a splinter in the stone. A green and blue ribbon was braided into the end.

"Sagittarius." I whispered, as another arrow shot down from the heavens. Bickslow leapt in front of Jackal and I, and I felt a shout of alarm crawl up my throat.

His hand snapped up, and I watched in absolute shock as he caught it. The sheer force behind it made him slid a few steps back, but then his big hand clenched and it splintered into pieces, falling to his feet.

"Do you know whose arrows these are, Lucy?" Ultear asked, still lock and loaded, ready to attack at a moments notice. However I knew this archer, and if he did not want to be found, then he wouldn't.

"He's a guard for the Star Kingdom. One of the protectors."

"Any reason why he would be firing at the lost princess?" Bickslow asked, sidling up beside Ultear, his stance noticeably more tense.

I shook my head, before stating "He could be one of those who believes I should pay for my crimes against the Kingdom."

"So he sides with an evil Banshee responsibly for the decimation of souls across Fiora?" Ultear scoffed, before adding, "Sounds like an enemy to me. Bickslow?"

"I see a soul." He murmured softly, "Up there, in the tower to the right."

We all looked in that direction, but without the sight Bickslow obviously possessed, I could not see him. Ultear's grumpy swear made me believe she was unable to see him as well.

"Well, if he's not coming down to say hello, I'll bring him down myself."

With that said, Ultear widened her stance, sinking low to her knees. Then with a quick rise of her arms, power, an amazing explosion of purple and blue shot up from the bottom of the tower, splintering into the stone that held it standing

"Ultear…" I stated cautiously, "Maybe next time… try to aim for one of the buildings that have already been destroyed."

As the towel crumbled with a loud cacophony of bangs, thuds and crashes, she looked over her shoulder and gave me a simple smile.

"Oops."

I watched as Sagittarius, with his long mane of brown hair, and oddly shaped green tights came dashing from the decimated tower. It was obvious he was injured, even from this distance, with the way he favoured his right leg, and moved slower.

Jackal gently let me rest on the ground then he disappeared in a flash. We all watched as he launched himself towards Sagittarius, eating the distance with explosive power directly at his steps.

I struggled to get back on my feet, grasping the hand Ultear lent me, wincing when she pulled me up.

"Don't kill him!" I shouted across to Jackal who adjusted his killing blow into a slightly - only slightly - less attack. Ultear helped me limp over to them, Bickslow protecting our backs as Jackal forced Sagittarius onto his knees.

My eyes watered from the sight of him, of the long braided hair that reached his lower back, to the smiling lines around his eyes and mouth. Sagittarius had always had a smile on his face when I had seen him previously. Now, he looked as if the only emotion he had was grim.

"Alright punk," Ultear growled, "Care to explain why you were aiming for your own damn princess? Better make it good or the puppy is gonna turn you into a charred bone he wants to munch on and then bury."

I closed my eyes at Ultear's statement, feeling slightly wrong that her words made me want to laugh. Bickslow, having no previous connection with Sagittarius, had no problems chuckling at the threat.

Sagittarius didn't even look at her. He just gazed at me, eyes somber, barely breathing at his place in front of me.

"Sagittarius, what is it?" I asked, somehow already fearing the answer.

"She's got my Lyra, Princess. Captive in the dungeons. Living on nothing but the crumbs of this fallen Kingdom." His voice rasped through me, hollow and broken. Tears clung to my eyes at this, knowing that there was only one thing in the entire world that would make Sagittarius attack his royalty.

Lyra.

And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, Sagittarius breathed out, " I tried to refuse her orders, I stayed loyal for as long as I could. But… she broke my… Lyra's hands." My hands went up to my mouth, stifling the sob as Sagittarius breathed out, "And she will not let me near her so my companionship can heal them."

Memories of Lyra, the musical squire, a nymph who had trained under my mother, sitting in the gardens, delicate fingers plucking at the strings of her harp swam through me.

"She said that once you were dead, she would allow me to attempt to heal them… But even now, I fear it is too late. They have probably began to grow themselves, in the wrong places, attaching to the wrong things. I am sorry, Princess. I wish not to kill you, but there is nothing I wouldn't do to ease her suffering."

Jackal, Ultear and Bickslow were all quiet, attempting to understand a story that had no significance to them. But it held power to me. It held tremendous power, because I had never expected this.

Naive, Zeref's voice echoed through my head.

"You are forgiven, Sagittarius. Your love for Lyra has no bounds. I cannot punish you for this and I do not want to." I stated softly, before whispering, "Jackal, knock him out."

Jackal moved like a cobra, a deadly strike to the back of the head that made Sagittarius slump forward, and crash to the floor.

"Why'd you knock him out?"

"He does not need to see what is going to happen." I said quietly, my voice verging on a whisper, "Because of his weakness, he will be a distraction."

However, because of my weakness… I need Lyra and whoever else trapped in that dungeon to be not a distraction either.

"Jackal."

He straightened, reading my tone well. Because I was about to order him to do something I was positive he had never done before.

"I need you to go down to the dungeons. Isolate any threat down there, and… rescue those trapped."

To say Jackal was pleased would be a massive lie. He did not understand why I had chose him to do something that went against his very nature. Or so he said.

But he had done a fine job protecting me so far, which I had pointed out, so there was no one I could trust more to assist those injured down in the dungeons and lead them to safety.

Ultear and Bickslow had remained silent as Jackal had tried to make various attempts to explain how bad an idea it was to give him this duty. I had remained stubborn in believing it was the best course of action. I could not fight, without knowing that whoever was done in the dungeons was protected.

And despite Jackal's vehement denial, I knew, deep down to my bones, that he was the perfect fit to do so.

Ultear, Bickslow and I all remained on our path to the Kingdom and soon we were at the large doors leading into the main foyer of the castle. I took a deep breath in, eyeing the cracks that lined and splintered the wood in front of me.

"Will Jackal be able to find the dungeons?" Ultear asked, and I nodded.

"With his sense of smell, it should be very easy. They use sage and lavender to purify the dungeons. If he follows my direction, he should be close enough to the back entrance to infiltrate it." I replied, placing my hand on the door softly. I took a deep breath in, trying to sense anything from what lay within the bones and stones of my home.

And the only thing I could sense was… death.

"Whoever is behind that door has been dead for a long time." Bickslow stated, confirming what I believed.

"And if they have been placed there to die…" Ultear murmured,"It would be safe to assume they are a message to Lucy."

"There are many of my loved ones in this land. Ones I have not seen since I left." I stated softly, pulling my hand back, before breathing out, "But I have begun to anticipate the worst, and unfortunately, I believe I know exactly who is dead."

"I'll go first, in case it is a trap." Ultear pushed in front of me and I allowed it, letting myself fall back beside Bickslow. Ultear pushed on the doors, moving them inch by inch. And as they opened, she seemed to grow more tense, more serious and much more quiet.

So quiet that once I laid my eyes on the dead nailed to the wall, I could only hear my rasping breaths. My whole body shook, anger, sorrow and shock rising up in my bones, in my blood. In my soul.

"Lucy." Ultear stated sadly, stepping to the side, letting me see him. In all his glory.

My father, nailed to the wall, blood dripping from his abdomen, joining the puddle below him. His skin was pale, like crushed paper, his head fallen forward.

And around his neck, gleamed my mothers necklace, the one she had been buried with.

Hope you guys are ready for a wild ride!

Her Scream is due to finish on Christmas Eve folks, as a present from me to you)

Here is the schedule:

17 of December: Chapter 40

19 of December: Chapter 41

22/23 of December: Chapter 42.

24 of December: FINAL CHAPTER.

I want to thank all you amazing spirits who have stuck with me and my horrid writing for so long. I'd love to hear you guys scream at me, so leave me a comment if you haven't lost hope!

I'll see you on the 17th!

Stay fresh and festive

freshprincess xo