~CHAPTER 2 – FIRST MONTH~
~LUCY~
I shook my head, trying to get my hair out of my eyes. Instead, I only managed to scatter drops of sweat and get more runaway strands to stick to my face. Loke came back with his fists clenched, another swing already in motion. Keeping my hands behind my back, I narrowly dodged his hit and tucked my legs in a low jump as his foot swept under me, aiming to send me sprawling. He spun around with a roundhouse kick on the way and I rounded out my back, letting his foot pass through the empty space my stomach had once occupied. Capricorn blew his whistle and we separated, the lion spirit adjusting his glasses while I wiped sweat away from my face.
The initial training plan had merely included improving my magic capacity so that I could break down the barrier. However, on the second day we barely survived a monster attack and Capricorn decided to round out my training to include physical strengthening, not just magical. By the end of the first month I could proudly say that I had progressed immensely, now able to beat a monster one my own without relying on my spirits. Of course, if a horde of them decided that I was tasty I'd still end up dead without the spirits, but that only provided motivation for me to keep pushing myself to get stronger.
"That was better, Miss Lucy. Tomorrow we can speed up the attacks." Capricorn spoke with a slight bleat, his voice approving. Loke raised his hand for a high-five and I accepted. "Ten minutes break, then go for a run."
"How long?" I asked, planning my route.
"An hour should suffice." The goat spirit answered. I nodded and pulled out a water bottle Virgo had brought from the spirit world. I hadn't been able to find any supplies in the woods, so they had all been supplied by the pink-haired maid. Whenever I saw her, the empty cherry-wood frame from my memories popped up in my mind. No matter how many times I racked my brains, trying to remember what I'd forgotten, it never came to me. The ten minutes slipped away with record speed and I took off, keeping up a light run. The forest was a strange place, having no obvious end. I could run in one direction for forever and still end up back at my camp. The only real guidance I had was the barrier between me and my lost memories.
A fresh layer of sweat trickled down my back and I picked up the pace, my bare feet pounding into the grass as I ran between thick trunks shrouded in mist. Too late did I hear the low snarl and ended up nearly kissing another monster as it darted out of the fog. I danced back a few paces and let my frantic heartbeat settle while we stared at each other, the beast deciding if I looked delicious enough to be worth his time. They were all similar, each having a low reptilian body covered in scales and a single diamond-shaped spot on their faces, right above their mouths. I guessed them to be related to dragons, but whenever I thought about it I would get a splitting headache. This one was dark blue in color, his tail black and curled around his hind legs. He was considerably small, compared to the ones that usually showed up. I'd guess he was still growing. A long forked tongue peeked out from between his non-existent lips and the tip of a sharp canine stood out against the dark scales. I'd never really noticed hos sharp their canines were, but not that I thought about it…
"Crap." I muttered as black flashed across my vision. Another forbidden topic, and the worst time to get hit by a headache. I quickly cleared my thoughts and darted in for an attack, striking the lizards across the diamond and immediately withdrawing as his tongue lashed out at my arm. The diamond was their single weakness, but anyone who was too slow would loose their arm to the venom on the tongue. With a soft hiss, the lizard turned tail and scrambled away into the fog. I'd been right about his being a kid. Adults wouldn't give up until they were dead, while the kids would scamper off after the first successful hit. I resumed my run and pushed myself harder, running in a flat sprint. When I was just about done, I pushed myself for a few more minutes before finally slowing my pace to an easier speed.
"If I run out of magic, I squeeze it out from tomorrow's!"
I stumbled and fell as the words burst out of my head, accompanied by a handful of knives stabbing at the insides of my head. My right hand shot out to cushion my fall and I heard a sharp crack as my body met the ground, pain ripping up the limb without mercy. A soft moan escaped my lips and I rolled over, desperate to get off the crushed arm. It lay limply of the forest floor, broken and useless. Using my teeth, I ripped away the bottom of my shirt and fashioned a sling, wrapping my freshly-broken arm and doing my best to ignore the pain shooting through my wrist. Cursing silently, I forced myself into a standing position and continued my run, now focused solely on returning to the camp. Within minutes it emerged from the mist and I was greeted by an impassive Virgo, ready with a splint.
"Your arm, Princess." She held up the splint and I freed my arm from the sling before holding it out to her. She worked methodically, calmly setting the break straight and binding it tightly. I thanked her and summoned my trainers, Loke and Capricorn, who had differentiating opinions on my break.
"Lucy! What happened?" Loke immediately panicked and rushed over to examine my arm.
"I remembered something and I fell. It's fine, a clean break." I mumbled. His gaze zeroed in on me.
"What did you remember?"
"Just some words: If I run out of magic, I squeeze it out from tomorrow's." I quoted. The lion spirit's eyes widened.
"That's from Edolas." He said, and a smaller flash of pain popped out at his words.
"Edolas?" I asked. He nodded, some excitement present in his eyes.
"You heard it! The barrier must be weakening." He said cheerfully. Capricorn nudged him aside and inspected my arm.
"This could be good for your training." The goat spirit bleated thoughtfully. "You will have to practice with you left arm until your right one heals, Miss Lucy."
"So I'll become ambidextrous." I clarified. He nodded in satisfaction and I sighed. This was going to be difficult.
~ERZA~
I poked at my cake, trying to find some comfort in the sweet but missing it entirely. Today's job had not gone well, to say the least. This time, we'd taken Juvia to round out the team, but she just clung to Gray like a mollusk and ended up distracting him during the fight. Needless to say, Gray's absence during the subduing of the dark guild had put extra pressure on Natsu and me, sending the dragon slayer overboard. He ended up destroying half of the town in a mindless rage and I had to knock him out using Flame Empress armor. The reward had been revoked completely and we had to carry an unconscious Natsu back to the train station. He'd woken up right as we were boarding and immediately started a fight with Gray, one that blew out of proportions before I could step in. The trail had exploded and we were told to walk back home and never set foot in that town again.
"Maybe you'll have better luck next time." Mira said quietly. Neither of us had any real hope in her words. Without Lucy, we seemed to be falling apart. More fights, less coordination and unity – it was all spiraling towards disaster. I pushed the cake away and spun my stool around, ignoring Cana choking on her drink in surprise. Natsu was chatting with LIsanna and she was laughing at something he'd said. Gray was having an arm-wrestling contest with Gajeel and Juvia stalked him from behind a column.
"They seem to be getting along rather well." Wendy pointed out softly, nodding towards Natsu and Lisanna.
"Yeah." I sighed, looking over at the pair. "Maybe she'll help Natsu with the season this time, if Lucy doesn't return by then."
"I'm sure she will. She knows exactly what it would mean if Natsu went berserk." Charla sniffed.
"Do you want my fish, Charla?" Happy asked, drooling over the white cat. She let out a sharp breath and turned away from him.
"No. I've told you already: I don't like fish." She snapped. Happy plopped down on the table next to her and began eating the fish himself.
"Aye!"
I pushed away from the bar and walked over to the request board. Various jobs sounded appealing, but one caught my eye. A hefty reward, too.
"Hey, Wendy?" I called, pulling the request away and striding over to Mira.
"Hm?" The young girl looked up from her cup of milk.
"Would you like to go on a job with me? It's an investigation of a recently cursed forest. Good pay, too." I handed Mira the request and she marked it in her record book, pulling out an information slip.
"Sure! Are we leaving now?" Wendy replied eagerly. I nodded and she scooped up Charla before slipping off of her stool.
"Good luck you two!" Mira called as we exited the guild. We stopped briefly by the dorm so I could pack some food and money into a small bag before setting off. We were nearing Magnolia's border when Wendy looked at me strangely.
"Erza, where's your luggage?" She asked. I shrugged.
"I don't feel like carrying it around." I muttered. She nodded softly and we resumed a comfortable silence.
"Can you tell us more about the forest?" Charla spoke up. I pulled out the information slip Mira had given me and scanned the small text.
"Something about an impenetrable barrier surrounding the forest. We're asked to take a look and see what can be done about it. Apparently, the lizard beasts that live there are part of an important ritual and the barrier prevents the villagers from accessing them." I summarized. "It's pretty close to Magnolia, so if we walk we should be there before sundown."
"Ok. How long ago did this curse happen?" Wendy wove her way around a maze of large stones.
"About a month." The timeline struck me as rather coincidental. "Are you thinking about Lucy?"
"Yeah. Maybe this curse will give us a hint about what happened to her." The wind picked up and one of her pigtails has swept into her face. She patiently brushed it back and jumped over another rock.
"I hope you're right." Charla muttered. I nodded in agreement. Information on Lucy, any information, was vital. We had two more months left until the season, and the clock was ticking.
XXXXX
We stood in front of the woods, neither noticing anything out of the ordinary with the exception of the thick mist. I couldn't see anything past a few feet. Wendy took a long sniff and a small frown creased her face.
"Strange." She murmured. "I'm picking up a definite stop in scents a few feet ahead."
I strode forward, keeping a hand out in front of me, and in four steps my palm was met by a hard surface. I could feel the magic pulsing along the barrier and quickly withdrew my hand.
"You were right. It's definitely here." I touched the barrier again and a quick jolt that registered as electricity ran through my body. I requipped into my Lightning armor as a precaution and continued to explore the surface of the barrier while Wendy watched. Feeling nothing but a smooth surface, I changed back into my casual clothes and stepped away.
"We should go to the library and see if we can find anything. Levy's away on a job with Gajeel, so we can't ask her." Charla recommended. I nodded and swung my pack over my shoulder before setting out towards the small village. Their pride and joy was a massive library, one that would make Levy and Lucy have stars in their eyes. We reached the towering building in minutes and slipped in, taking care to be quiet.
"I'll search the spells section, you search the curses." I whispered to Wendy. She nodded and walked off to find the right row while I slowly strode along the isle, my eyes skimming the titles. Every few tomes I would pick one out and add it to a rapidly growing pile in my arms. The row ended and I had three or so piles of thick tomes, most on barrier spells. With a suffering sigh, I pulled out a chair and flipped the closest one open to the table of contents. Wendy came over with another pile that rose over her head, Charla flying above and holding it down to keep it from toppling over. This was going to be a long search.