FOUR: What Hurts the Most?

"I wish I had Wendy's powers right about now," Lucy said as her eyes fell upon the barely breathing ice mage. A tear escaped her eye, and it was quickly followed by another. The next thing she knew, she was on her knees, beside the half-conscious lad, pouring out her emotions. "I'm sorry, Gray."

"Don't… cry," Gray hoarsely mumbled. "The last thing… I want… to see you do… is cry."

"But I…"

"No, you gotta… be strong, Lucy. There's still… seven more to go."

"But I can't do this!" she cried out. "My spirits... are hurting. Their minds might be twisted, but those feelings must stem from something, right? I never even noticed that they had those kinds of problems. What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to face them?"

No words came forth from Gray's mouth. Giving the blonde mage a false sense of hope wouldn't do them any good. She knew as well as him that their chance of making out of that predicament was second to none. He silently prayed for a miracle as he allowed his consciousness to leave him.

"Gray! Hey, this is no time to sleep! Gray!"

No amount of nudging could wake him up, so she eventually sighed in resignation. She tore part of her skirt and wrapped it around the profusely bleeding wound on his shoulder. She lied down beside him, resting her head on his chest and wrapping her arm around his waist.

"Too bad you can't hear me but I'll say it anyway. If I'm going to die here, I'm glad I could die with you. You've always been looking out for me, and you've always made me smile. I wish I had more time. I want to do a lot more things with you. I still wantto see you fight with Natsu, break into my apartment, get stalked by Juvia, accidentally strip in public, become an S-class mage, and a whole lot of other things. I…"

"I can't take it anymore!" a loud voice suddenly pierced the air, prompting Lucy to jump to her feet and pull out her whip.

That voice, she thought. That voice can only be…

Two hands materialized from behind her and latched onto her wrists. She tried to squirm free but found herself being overpowered and forcefully turned around.

"You're cruel, Lucy. You're too cruel," the stellar spirit remarked. "How could you do stuff like that when you know I'm watching?"

"I wasn't doing anything bad! And how was I supposed to know you were watching?"

"That's not good enough! What am I to you Lucy? Huh?"

"You're my friend! All of you are. So please stop this and come back already! I need you guys."

"You… need us? You need me? Since when did you become such a liar?" he asked, glaring daggers at her.

"I'm not lying! Let go of me already, Loke. You're hurting me."

"No! I'm not letting you go, ever. You say I'm your friend? You say you need me? I say you're lying! And don't talk to me about getting hurt. The way I see it, this pain I'm causing you right now can't even compare to the pain you give me."

"What in the world are you talking about? I've never hurt you. I've…" Her statement was cut short when she was harshly slammed to the ground.

"Again with the lies? You've hurt me a lot Lucy," the orange-haired boy said as he made a pained expression. "I give you all my love but what do I get? I get to see you flirt with some other guy! I know it sounds selfish, but seeing you happy with someone else is really painful. What does that stripper have that I don't?"

"A sane mind!" she screamed. "Snap out of it, you idiot. What happened to my prince charming? My knight in shining armor? I thought you were always going to protect me."

"Why should I protect someone who makes me feel like trash? All I wanted… was for you to love me."

"But I do love you, you idiot!"

"Lie after lie… Can't your mouth produce anything but lies? I've had enough of…" The sharp sensation of her hand on his cheek stopped him from finishing his statement. His gaze lost all traces of hatred as he looked at her, utterly bewildered.

"Stop calling me a liar 'cause you and I both know I can't lie about my feelings."

"Lucy…"

"Do you know the feeling of a star that has lost its place in the sky? You asked me that question once, didn't you? Well, even if you lose your place in the sky, there's always going to be a place for you in my heart. So... please give me Loke back!"

The tears came welling back up as she fell to her knees. The stellar spirit froze, not knowing what to do. If he wanted to, he had the perfect opportunity to attack. She was completely vulnerable, but a voice kept tugging at him at the back of his mind. It kept asking him the same question over and over—What are you doing?

He knelt before the sobbing blonde, his hand gently grabbing the base of her chin and tilting it upward till their eyes met. He had removed his sunglasses, so Lucy could clearly see the tears clouding the spirit's eyes. His face took on a different kind of pained expression—one of guilty agony. Before she could say anything, his arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her and pulled her up against his body. He gently nuzzled his head against her collar, and Lucy felt something moist against her skin.

It was his turn to cry.

She let one hand rest on his head, fingers intertwined with his orange locks, while the other gently stroked his back, sending a silent command to not hold anything in.

"L-Lucy, what's… going… on?" he softly murmured. "Everything's spinning. I know I hurt you, and I'm really sorry, but I don't know why I did it."

"Loke…"

"I'm angry at you, but I don't know why. My head keeps telling me I should attack you, but my heart keeps trying to hold me back. I'm… really confused."

"Fight it, Loke! Some strange magic is making you do this. If you can just fight it…"

"Please close the gate before I do something unforgivable."

"I wish I could, but I didn't summon you so I can't force the gate to close. Just… stay strong Loke. I need you. I don't think I can fight the other six spirits on my own."

As if on cue, pink clouds started swirling around them, filling the area like a thick fog.

"I knew she wouldn't like it if I hugged you like this," Loke said, slowly breaking the embrace.

"She? You mean…"

The clouds began clumping together, encasing the lion spirit's body until the only part left uncovered was his head.

"So soft… My eyes are getting heavy… Sorry Lucy, I need to… take a nap."

"Hey, wait! Don't fall asleep! Loke!"

She tried to reach out and pull him loose but the pink lump suddenly shot into the air and landed several feet away from her. The fog around them started to clear, revealing a pink-haired woman in a white wool dress. She took her spot beside the sleeping spirit, affectionately brushing away the stray strands of his hair before turning her gaze towards Lucy.

"I'm sorry," she spoke out, "but Leo is mine!"

A/N: I smell a catfight brewing in the next chapter. Oh yeah, the two sleeping beauties are gonna wake up soon as well.

November's creeping up fast, and that means I'll probably be too busy with NaNoWriMo to update my fics. Sorry to those who look forward to this; I might have to make you wait a whole month. But don't worry, I'll post two or three chapters the next time I update this one. Well, till then! Wish me luck with my novel. XD