Me: Welcome to another chapter, everyone!
Natsu: About damn time!
M: I had some extra time today and decided to give you guys a second helping!
Natsu: Can we get started now?
M: Alright, alright. I don't own rights to Fairy Tail or its characters!
Frozen and Forgotten Feelings
Chapter 2
Gray POV
This has to be some kind of sick joke… I stared at Lucy as she collapsed against the fire breather. Wisps of frost rose from my hands as I clenched them into fists, digging my fingernails into my palms. There's no way she could forget the guild.
"Hey!"
I blinked. That lame-brain was in my face… With a shout, I slugged him across the face, sending him crashing across the room. I struggled to control my breathing, trying to force down the panic I felt closing around me.
"What was that for?!" he roared, jumping back up and marching towards me.
"Stop it, both of you." We both turned and saw Porlyusica standing in the doorway. "This is another reason why I hate humans," she grumbled, brushing past us on her way to the bed where Lucy was. "They get into fights for no good reason."
"What's she doing here?" Natsu crossed his arms over his chest, glowering at the old woman from the depths of his scarf.
"She happened to be in town getting some supplies." I explained, moving to stand next to her as she worked. "What happened exactly?"
She gave me a sideways glare that told me to step back, which I obliged, then turned back to Lucy. "She has become emotionally detached."
"How is that possible?" I asked, my hands clenching into fists again. "She was angry not too long ago, so how could she not remember an emotion?"
"Not that kind of detachment," she scolded, turning to fix us with a beady stare. "Emotional detachment can mean two different things. In the first meaning, it refers to an inability to connect with others on an emotional level, as well as a means of coping with anxiety by avoiding certain situations that trigger it; it is often described as "emotional numbing" or dissociation. In this case, her ability to cope with emotions has been removed."
Natsu, who looked totally lost, was absentmindedly munching on the foodthat I had brought with me. "What's that mean?"
"In other words," she huffed, turning to leave. "You are going to have to reintroduce her to the different emotions."
"You're not serious," I narrowed my eyes. "How are we supposed to do that?"
She glared at me over her shoulder as she left. "Start with the places she has been to. Slowly begin to tell her things that would cause her to remember emotions."
That night, I hardly slept. I couldn't take my eyes off her pale form. She looked so frail and doll-like… Her terrified expression kept popping up with guilt quick to follow. If only we had recovered faster, she wouldn't be in such a severe state. What if she wouldn't wake up in the morning? I grabbed the pillow and buried my face in it, trying to force the her pain filled expressions from my mind.
As the flame-brain ran to the lobby for breakfast, I decided to stay behind and keep watch. Raising my hand and tapping into my magic energy, creating small clouds of flurries, I extended it toward her. The flurries didn't melt when they touched her skin. That meant that her skin was colder than snow. If we didn't act fast, we were going to lose her. "Let's get started." I said as the pink-haired punk finally came back.
His head tilted, as if I was speaking a different language. "Hmph?"
"You heard me." I stood, gathering her in my arms, attempting not to flinch as our skins touched; she was colder than I was. "Looks like we have to go to her old house."
"We're walking, right?"
I rolled my eyes as he followed us out of the inn. "Like I'm going to carry her the whole way; we're taking the train, moron." As usual, Natsu got motion sick the second the train started to move. Two hours later, we finally reached her old manor. The place had deteriorated some and the garden was overgrown with weeds, but it should jog her memory somewhat. This was her beginning, and it was crucial that we started here.
"Lucy," I called, looking up. "It's time to wake up." From the train station, I had carried her on my back since Natsu could barely stand on his own two feet. Slowly, I lowered her to the ground as she rubbed her eyes. I still couldn't believe that her once chocolate eyes were now as white as her hair.
She raised her head, and scanned the area. Her movements slowing to a stop as her gaze fell on the place where her mother's grave used to be. "…"
Natsu walked up to the spot, grinning. "You remember this spot, right? It's where that giant angel stood." He suddenly froze, his eyes narrowing. "You do remember, don't you?"
The wind gently blew her hair away from her face and I gasped at what I saw: crystalline tears were trickling down her cheeks. She raised a hand and touched them, as if she was fascinated by it. "What are these?"
Stepping forward, I gently placed a hand on her shoulder, ignoring the burning sensation. "Those are tears. Usually someone is sad or happy when they cry." I looked her in the eye, searching for either emotion, but found nothing. "What are you feeling right now?"
"I feel…" she whispered, looking back to where Natsu was standing. "Like I am missing something…"
"That's a start!" Natsu grinned, walking over, draping an arm over her shoulders and pulling her towards the spot.
Immediately, her confusion turned to anger. "I don't want to go over there!" she screamed, pulling away from him.
I slowly walked up to her. "Just calm down, Lucy, it's going to be okay." My movements stilled as she turned her eyes on me. This time her eyes were full of hatred, something that I had never seen in them. "Lucy?"
"You don't know what happened…" she growled. "He hurt me in that spot…"
We were finally starting to get somewhere. Nodding and slowly motioning for Natsu to stay back, I began to whisper soft words to her. "Don't try to force it, Lucy."
"What did your father do?"
I glared at the fire-breather. "Idiot! Don't ask her that!"
She grew rigid, her eyes wide. "He was angry with me…I hadn't finished my homework for my history lesson yet…Mom had just died and he expected me to continue with my studies as if nothing had happened…He chased me to this spot and punished me in the rain…I was so angry at him for brushing off mom's death that I fought back…" her voice suddenly grew rough, and a smile graced her slips; an angry one. "He didn't know that I had Mommy's key with me…I was so angry with him that I summoned Aquarius… She was just as angry as I felt…And it felt…so good to let loose…"
I knew something was wrong the second she mentioned the celestial spirit. As she said the spirit's name, its key began to glow a dangerous red. If she tapped into her magic energy in her current condition, she could really hurt someone. "Lucy, you need to calm down."
Her wide eyes locked on mine. "The fear he showed was exciting…" A crimson tidal wave burst forth from her body, nearly washing us away. The hatred in her eyes was making my skin crawl. The platinum suddenly turned crimson, almost making it look like it was on fire, and a pink tinge entered her skin.
I nearly fell backward as waves of heat radiated from her."You moron, you forced her to remember too quickly! She doesn't know how to handle it!" I shouted to Natsu, preparing to freeze the water. "We have to get her to calm down!" When I didn't hear him respond, I looked over my shoulder to see him drifting out of sight. "You are pathetic!" I shouted at his retreating form.
Looks like it was up to me… I froze the water around me, jumped, and slid down a wave towards her, freezing the water as I went. Her eyes flashed crimson, warning me of the next wave. "Ice Make: Geyser!" The water shot upwards, surrounding and encasing her in ice, then shattered as she screamed shrilly. "Ice Make: Cocoon!" I shouted as she fell.
Her crimson eyes glared at me from the her place in the center of the cocoon as I approached her. I quickened my pace as the ice around her began to melt. "Lucy, calm down!" She broke free of the ice as I reached for her and pulled her to my chest. I winched in pain as her burning hot skin made contact with my own. So her temperature fluctuated with each emotion she felt. "Lucy, calm down! It's going to be okay!" Her temperature was about as hot as Natsu's fire. I blinked as an idea formed in my head. "Lucy, this is going to sting a little, but you need to bear it!" I clenched my hands together and covered her in ice armor.
She threw her head back and screamed, nearly busting my eardrums. Steam rose from the places her skin and the ice met, proving my suspicions. "Lucy, it's okay." I whispered, holding her tightly as I explained that her father had passed years ago. "I'm so sorry he hurt you like he did, he had no right to, but I can promise you that he will never hurt you again." I closed my eyes as her head slowly fell forward, resting against my shoulder.
The temperature of her skin started to decrease the longer I held her, even her body was starting to relax as the ice slowly disappeared. It didn't surprise me when I felt little warm water droplets drip down my back. "He…he's gone?" she whimpered, burying her face in my neck.
"He is," I soothed, holding her tightly. "I promise no one is going to hurt you again…"
She raised her head, and revealed that her eyes had grown just a hint darker, now a gray color, like my name. A small smile bloomed on my face as she raised her head. "What is it?"
"Thank you." She slumped against me as the cage evaporated, all her magical energy used.
I picked her up and carried her over to where Natsu had passed out next to the estate entrance. If this is what it took to help her learn and remember everything, I was more than willing to go to the ends of the earth for her. The real question was if we could survive the journey.
Lucy POV
I didn't know how it happened, but I found myself in the company of two boys. The one with pink hair was being loud, hurting my ears with his loud voice. He wasn't very bright, but he made up for it with enthusiasm. His smile was contagious, and could light up the room. I guess he wasn't all that bad. Then again, all it took was one word to set him off like a firework.
The other one was dark haired, and was more quiet than the other. He wasn't as hot tempered as the other was, at times, and had a habit of stripping down to his boxers. His eyes were a dark navy, similar to his hair, a color that I found almost calming.
Where did these two boys come from? I wondered, watching them talk about something. Every once in a while, I would catch a word here and there…something about "moving too fast"… I looked up at the dark haired boy holding me, and wondered how they knew me. An image of a boy without a shirt sitting in a chair suddenly flashed past me, a boy that looked really similar to the one holding me… A name leapt from my lips before I knew where it came from, catching the attention of both boys in front of me. "…Gray?"
M: So? What did you guys think?
Lucy: Yay! I'm starting to remember stuff!
Natsu: What the heck?! I'm hardly in this chapter!
M: You'll be in the next chapter, okay?
Natsu: I guess that works.
M: See you all real soon!
