Her Scream; Chapter 41

Their Battle

Ultear watched, impressed when Lucy's hand laid waste to the big double doors leading to what she could only assume was the grand hall. The plan had gone a little awry but luckily, she had foreseen this version of events, and had let Lucy know in advance of the multiple possible routes it could go.

The only thing she was unable to see was the end result.

Each one of the possible timelines went blank towards the end, her sight losing its focus. It wasn't necessarily a good or a bad sign, but a sign nevertheless. If she focused on Lucy, it would follow all the way to this exact moment. To the doors splintering and exploding just with the touch of her palm.

Then blank.

She opened her mouth to congratulate Lucy on that kickass move, following Lucy inside the room when Lucy buckled.

Her knees smacked the floor, echoing through Ultear's ears. Ultear moved instinctually, her guard going up, crouching down beside her, placing a hand on her suddenly freezing cold skin.

"Luce? What's wrong?" Her eyes moved over Lucy's body, trying to find some sort of injury that could ace caused this. Then something thick, dry and hot wrapped around her ankle. She twisted away from Lucy to pry it off but it clamped down tightly. It yanked her across the hard floor, straight into another wall.

Pain radiated up her spine when it smacked against the still healing wound she had graciously given to her by Minerva.

"Flare. Don't be so rough with your toys. Who knows when you will get the chance to play with such a delightful witch." A smooth, almost beckoning voice stated, a sickly amused tone in her voice. Ultear's eyes found the target immediately.

All things granted, she was… smaller than Ultear figured. In fact, she looked very young. Short light purple hair curved against her pale, almost porcelain skin and she wore… a very strange get up. In fact, it looked like she was in the robes of a castle maid. Her gaze, a cool, almost soulless purple gaze was centered on Lucy.

Ultear didn't like it one bit.

The brand around her ankle tightened even further, until Ultear could hear her bones squeak under the pressure but she just gritted her teeth and moved her eyes to focus on the one who was holding her.

'Flare' was the image of her name. Long, fiery red hair, longer than Erza's, the length unlike anything Ultear had ever seen, was stretching out along the floor. Ultear glanced at her ankle and cringed.

She was being held, by hair.

"What the hell have you done with Lucy?" Ultear snapped, pulling herself onto her hands and knees, unsure how to snap Lucy out of whatever trance this bitch had put her in.

The mysterious V simply smiled, "I have not done anything to her. I believe she is just in shock that I am here."

"She knew you?" Ultear demanded, her patience wearing thin at the way the Banshee's smile turned sadistic.

"I was her most precious confidant, but I would hardly say she knew me."

"Virgo." Lucy croaked out, and Ultear recognized the name immediately. Virgo, Virgo as in the maid who had died, and caused Lucy's awakening. Ultear remembered the vision she had played the night Lucy had been found at the Molten's and felt pure rage fly through her, her power bouncing around inside of her, ready to tear apart this castle brick by brick to avenge Lucy.

Because of this… bitch, Lucy had lost her Kingdom, her father and had weeks upon weeks of torturous experiences.

And… Acnologia.

"Hello princess. I am glad you could finally come and see me. I was worried you had forgotten me."

"How… are you still alive?" Lucy's voice shook, her power long forgotten in the face of someone she loved and cherished. Ultear felt like tearing off her own foot to protect Lucy from the harsh truth she had not yet seen.

"I believe it was my sixth awakening. Admittedly a little tricky to maneuver but I managed it."

Lucy blinked, then whispered, "What?"

Ultear's heart broke at the look in Lucy's eyes at that moment, that moment where she realized a beloved friend throughout her life was nothing more than a lying, deceitful snake that played everything out perfectly throughout her life.

Virgo inspected her nails, "It was not easy. I was buried under the rubble of the castle, the aftermath of your first scream. Then I had to somehow manage to get far away from your father without being noticed. Luckily for me, Aquarius left quite quickly to avoid prosecution for not joining your hunting party and Leo… well, he was just a prancing kitten for the King to order around in your absence. If those two had realized… well, it would not have been as easy as it was."

"Easy." Lucy choked out, "How is any of this easy? You died. I held you in my arms."

"You did. It was precious. My death was the perfect instigator to fast-track your Banshee power. If I had been a nobody to you, it wouldn't have exploded so marvelously." She paused, as if brewing over her words but Ultear had a feeling she was only choosing the ones that would hurt the most.

And she was right.

"Of course, when I returned to see your father… you should have seen the look of hope on his face. He just wanted his daughter back after all. Like most men, he had crucially reacted without thinking. He thought, that if you knew that I was still alive, he could return things to the way they were."

"Stop…"

Lucy's soft plea made Ultear struggle against that hair holding her, hissing when two more thick bundles of it wrapped around her wrist, holding her in a tight unwavering, and uncomfortable position.

"He welcomed me in so warmly too. Holding me close, as if I was a savior to him. Truly precious."

"No… you were my friend, I loved you. I mourned you."

Virgo giggled, "You were my puppet. If you had not had the Banshee line, I would have waited for your daughter, or your daughter's daughter, for the chance to complete the animal spirit circle."

They were both so quiet, so unbelievably quiet that Ultear wanted to scream. Yell for Natsu or Erza, hope they got here in time to stop Lucy from ultimately surrendering. Ultear could see her doing it, thinking it was the right thing to do, to save Virgo.

But Ultear had seen that mad look in a person's eyes before. It said they were old, and they were through with playing nice.

Lucy sucked in a shaky breath, raising her palms up to her face to rub at her cheeks. Virgo seemed to relish in her emotional distress and it made Ultear want to push her boot right through her skull.

"Now," Virgo stated, when enough time had passed for Lucy to say anything, to do anything, "If you keep still, I'll take that pesky lion right from you and you can die peacefully. The way a princess should die."

Ultear struggled harder as Virgo made her way over to Lucy's kneeling form, her steps light but confident, much like a fairy. She could see the power bounding off, a constant, endless shadow of that power.

The hair shifted and lifted her, stretching wide as if to pull her apart at the joints but Ultear could hardly notice, eyes stuck on Lucy. It was like she was watching the spear again, watching Lucy die right before her eyes. She was unable to move, to struggle, to fight.

To scream.

Ultear's heart picked up when she watched Lucy's lips part slightly.

Natsu let his flames burn the zombies to ashes at his feet, shocked that he felt a little guilty with how things had turned out. Their souls were never to be saved again. They were just gone. He didn't know how that worked in the grand scheme of things, when he had believed that there was no 'other place' and that once you were dead, you were dead.

That was before he met Lucy and he witnessed with his own eyes some higher power taking over and helping her move these souls to another place. And Lucy had envisioned the other place more than once, saying it was 'bright', and 'warm.' He figured that if anyone had an idea of where they were going once they were finished this life, a banshee would.

"That's most of the prisoners out into the caves. Ultear's barrier is still holding up so they should be safe until the worst of it is over." Jackal came jogging over as Natsu stepped back and watched Gajeel tear them to shreds with his iron. The torn pieces just wiggled about and rolled after him, aching to tear him apart in retribution.

Natsu lifted his hand, scalding welcoming heat erupting from his palm to char the pieces left.

"Good. Gajeel will stay here with you, help move them to the outer edge of the orbs."

"Like hell I will, Princess Erza promised me a fight goddammit and that little nymph princess promised me a name!" Gajeel argued, and Natsu let a little smile spread over his face, imagining Lucy's bliss at being called a 'nymph-anything'.

"You'll get both of those when you stay here. There is still a horde above the cave. Get your rocks off with them."

"I will much better aid to Princess Lucy by her side." Jackal stated stubbornly, his ears folding down against his skull. Natsu glared at him, a unneeded remark on the tip of his tongue about how he wouldn't be an aid to anyone if he didn't run along.

Then he remembered Lucy wasn't here to scold him for being mean to Jackal so he opened his mouth to say it anyway.

The Shriek that rumbled through the Kingdom made the very ground shake and Natsu's head swelled with pressure, his mouth shutting tight. Buildings that had already been structurally damaged, crumbled and swayed threateningly with the sheer force of the power exploding through the ruined Kingdom.

He was running towards the castle, wings snapping out of his back before he knew it.

"Get the innocents out of here!" He commanded back, leaping off from the ground into the air. He followed the scream to its exact location, diving in through a whole in the ceiling, just as Erza was slicing her sword through a woman's arm.

Her look of relief almost made him smile but he just bypassed her entirely and flashed into the room. Ultear seemed to be having her own trouble with a freaky girl with long red hair, that seemed to possess magical power.

He moved his eyes to find Lucy, when her body slid in front of him, moving like liquid grace. He reached out to grab her, noticing the cuts along her arms and shoulders, black blood seeping from them. Power came smashing at them and Lucy Screamed.

The power that sought to smash was flipped, turned inside out and thrown back at a small woman, with odd purple hair and a disturbingly familiar face.

"Natsu, evacuate the building. Get everyone out." Lucy rasped after she finished the Scream, as they both watched the Banshee across from them struggle to get herself back on her feet.

He didn't argue, he could tell she had noticed something they hadn't and if she needed everyone out, then he wouldn't hold it up. Ultear had heard the command and tried to disengage from the woman she was fighting but her long hair just wouldn't let up. Natsu ran to her side, grabbing her by the back of the shirt, trying to predictict where the creepy girl was going send her power next.

He swiftly dodged her, swinging Ultear around his back protectively then opening his mouth to let out a bellow of fire. Ultear then ducked low, slamming her hands together then bringing her forefingers upwards, a triangle of ice shooting up from the ground, capturing Flare.

"I got this, Bickslow is on the first floor. I'll grab Erza and Lucy on the way out."

"What would your father say if he heard you screeching like a bat out of hell, princess? I doubt he would be very impressed." Virgo taunted, her breathing hardly faltering as I panted, my power trembling inside me from the multiple hits I was taking, and the attacks I was throwing out.

"Don't talk about my father." I spat angrily at her, dodging a precise strike of her power that cut into the stone wall behind me. Only to have another aimed blow take me off my feet. I slammed into the ground with a groan.

"Fine. What shall we talk about then?"

"Why did you kill me the first time? Why not just take my soul then?"

"Because your great ancestor Leora stifled me. The lion has the unique ability to possess dominance over its land and other people. Leora built a magical circle under the Stars castle before she went away with Acnologia. This magical circle inhibited the ability to take the soul anywhere else but within the circle."

"Why kill me?" I demanded angrily, staring at her with tears in my eyes, angry for being so naïve and emotional even after everything she had done.

Virgo smiled sweetly, and the look was so familiar it left me breathless.

"Why not?"

Her power was way too fast for me to put up a barrier – and even if I was quick enough, I had never properly trained for defensive. I was only good – partially if anything- at offensive. That's why when her angry but perfectly controlled power came from underneath my feet, I could do absolutely nothing to block or stop it.

Bones in my legs splintered entirely, and I screamed, but this time, it was in pure pain. It made her skid back a few steps and I dropped to my knees, agony spearing up my senses. When she shook herself off and gave me an annoyed look, I knew that I was done for. She would kill me and everyone I loved.

I had fooled myself into thinking that I could take her on power alone. She was stronger, faster and more experienced. And she was riding on a lack of conscience and humanity.

I still remembered the day that Father had introduced us, I was only eight or nine and she was so much older. She introduced herself as a young immortal, and her smile was so warm and pure. It was only a year before Mother died, and she was nothing like I had ever met before.

Memories of us exploring the castle, of me telling her exactly where all the best hiding spots were, where the castle had been expanded after the war.

Expanded, after the war.

Leora built a magical circle under the Stars castle… This magical circle inhibited the ability to take the soul anywhere else but within the circle.

I was sure she was aware of this, had asked me all those questions not out of curiosity, but out of the need to know exactly where she could kill me and where she couldn't.

I smiled as hope lit up from my chest.

Erza.

I could vaguely hear Ultear fixing up the endings of the fight a few meters away from me as I sent out a pressure wave at Virgo. She skidded back again as I began to crawl, to pull myself along the floor. One of Virgo's screams had created a large crack in the very foundation of the castle, stretching deep into the castle's floor, going through the first floor, and even deeper past the dungeons.

It was a wonder this old thing was still standing up.

Erza. I whispered again, throwing my hand out at Virgo, tears dribbling down my cheeks as I dragged myself away from her steadily increasing footsteps.

I am almost done here, Natsu is on his way back up, we will be there shortly.

Behead the bitch for me, will you? Her shock and horror rebounded through the link but I closed it tight, finally reaching the crack. It was wide, a lot wider than what it looked like and I knew I could easily fall down, deep into the ground.

I moved my feet closer to me, just as Virgo finally reached me.

"Why bother running? There is nowhere to hide."

I smiled up at her, not saying anything, my legs screaming in pain. She frowned deeply before shrugging, lifting her hand to deliver the final blow and take my soul.

Dying this time was a lot easier, but a lot harder at the same time. Her power was ripping away at my very bones, tearing around skin, muscles and tendons. But the hope that I would come back was enough to leave me smiling and silent.

And just as the last murmur of my heart was going, she leant over and the marks on my skin began to fade, hers growing more vibrant and her power practically throbbing all around me like a deadly cobra.

"I'll have that soul now, princess."

But when she reached out, she could find nothing.

I wanted to say something witty, say something about the fact that when I was a kid, I didn't know left from right. But instead, I just gasped for breath and kept my eyes on her face. The look of shock and anger she had when she realized she couldn't pull my soul from me was excellent.

The way she shoved me, my body tipping back, unable to move as I began to plummet down the canyon she had formed as absolutely frightening.

The last image of two deep red rings stretched as wide as they could go, and glowing red eyes filled me with warmth.

I'm back!

I'm in a massive rush to get to work and wanted this out before I get there.

Once again not edited - but seems like the vast majority of you don't really care!

Heaps of love to you all - including that special someone who I saw hanging about in the comments, you know who you are ;) - hope me putting out this constant trash awakens your writing again!

Let me know your thoughts sweeties,

Stay fresh!

xo freshprincess