The Phoenix Initiative

Chapter 4:

Adrenaline

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This went against most of what Lucy believed, but she forced herself not to dwell on it. After considering numerous theories to finding her way into the library, she had successfully found the weak spot she needed. There was an old door crammed between the neighboring building, supposedly used for a close exit in case of an emergency.

Upon further inspection, Lucy could see that it was left unguarded, and wide open for her. It was practically a beacon calling out for her. She sneaked up, her paranoia high as she did so, and tried to open the heavy door. It was held together by metal though, rusted shut, and a great big lock hanging off the handle. It didn't budge an inch when she tried shoving it.

Lucy held back a frustrated sigh. She peered down to her feet and picked up a large stone, lugging it over her shoulder to smash down on the lock. She panicked at the loud 'clang!' it made and hurried to crush it open. With another hit or two, the lock fell off and she kicked away the evidence. Tugging on the old door harshly, it finally flung open and she scurried in, her fingers trembling. She closed it quietly and glanced around to the eerie silence that now enveloped her. She was stunned to a silence of her own though.

Giant, magnificent walls of books surrounded both her sides like a long, endless tunnel. The ceiling seemed to reach the sky, and Lucy suddenly seemed very small by comparison of the place. She began walking, half her sights in awe of her surroundings and half looking out for any more guards that might be patrolling around. She went down what seemed like a maze of bookshelves and display cases and checked the old spines of the books for anything relevant or helpful. Nothing she found was though, and as much as she admired the collection, anything that didn't mention sorcery was useless to her.

Lucy did have a plan. Although she was rejected allowance into the sections that she wished, she did know someone who wouldn't be. Sneaking in such a highly guarded place like this would have been idiotic if she didn't have a clue where to go inside. Before everything that had happened, before she had even met Natsu, Lucy stayed in this town for a while. She met someone here as well, a friend, and last she knew of her whereabouts, she was working for this particular library as a book keeper. Though her clearance was low the last time they had spoken, Lucy heavily hoped that she might have been promoted in the time she had been away.

Lucy stealthily made her way through the grand halls, peering around every corner and turn, and headed towards the more historic side of the library. If she knew one thing, it was that her friend loved anything ancient.

Making her way, a sudden blue blur stopped Lucy on her toes. She recoiled, and felt her heart jump up in a sudden sense of nostalgia. A tiny woman sat before Lucy at a large desk, her face buried in her arms with her eyes glued to a book. It was almost exactly how Lucy remembered her. Her wild blue hair was enough to showcase her fiery spirit, despite how small her figure was. She was a good friend to the widow.

Lucy walked over calmly, trying to seem casual. "Levy?"

The woman looked up from her book, her eyes growing wide at the sight of her friend. She stood up, nearly speechless. "Lucy?"

Said woman managed a smile to her as she closed the distance between them.

"I didn't know you were allowed clearance back here," she said, surprised, "It feels like I haven't seen you in decades."

"I know," Lucy hugged her friend, pulling away with a relieved sigh. "I am sorry I haven't visited more. Things have been…tense."

Levy grew a solemn pout on her lips, "Everything okay? Last I heard you were off in Magnolia right, with some hunk for a husband~"

Lucy felt a sharp twist in her gut, a cracked laugh escaping her lips. She focused all her efforts at the task at hand though, a sudden and unwanted flash of a bloodbath making it hard to think. She took Levy's hands though, and stared at her friend in a way so she could speak mentally.

"Listen, Levy, I do not have much time," she began, stepping in closer as the smile fell from Levy's lips, "I am not supposed to be here. I know I have no right to ask you this, but I need your help. I need it, Levy."

Levy grew concerned quickly, "What happened?"

Lucy still had yet to decide whether or not to tell the truth. She wanted to keep her entire ordeal under wraps, it would cause an unnecessary disruption and only stir up drama, and Lucy had no time to deal with any of it. She didn't want to go into detail to explain all of the stepping stones that had led up to this moment, and she didn't have the time anyways.

"There is too much to tell, I just need you to trust me."

"Wait," Levy spoke up suddenly, her eyes growing wide, "You sneaked in here Lucy, you could be killed!"

"I know," Lucy heaved a sigh, "But it is important. Listen, is there a restricted section somewhere? Someplace where is probably very off limits?"

"Yes, the entire place, Lu." Levy seethed, pulling her friend away to hide her out of sight. "What do you need a restricted section for?"

Lucy began to say it, but she stopped on her tongue. She pondered if there was a way of saying this without making her sound insane, but given the topic, she already knew there wasn't.

"Magic, Lev," Lucy whispered. She stared into her friends eyes deeply, seriously. "Is there anything on magic here?"

Levy didn't seem to know how to answer. She appeared well over speechless, and even a little flabbergasted. "Magic? You trespassed over royal property to look for some fairy tale?"

"Not a fairy tale," Lucy urged, "I am serious Levy. Sorcery, something about Alvarez or the dark lord. A spell maybe?"

Levy could see the anxiousness that thrived in Lucy's eyes, and she felt unnerved by it. She realized then that her friend was serious about this stuff, and wondered with amazement how she even came to know about any of this.

"I…" Levy hesitated on saying anything. She paused for a moment, thinking deeply. "I am not completely sure, Lucy."

She hated how her friends face seemed to fall.

"But, there might be."

Levy looked around for guards or anyone else, knowing full well she could be beheaded for saying any of this, and stepped in closer to Lucy. "I have…heard rumors. Seen things, in my time working here. There is a part of the library where not even I can go, only the kingdom's most high officials can enter there. They take books and documents sometimes, and I remember distinctly one of the novels a man had been carrying was about as old as time itself. It had something about ancient runes written on the spine, but I could only see from a distance. No one has told me what they keep in there, and I know better than to ask."

"But Lucy," she continued, before a word could be spoken, "How would you know anything about this? Why do you need to go in there?"

Lucy stared at her friend desperately. She didn't know how to respond, and truthfully at that. "I need information on something in there. I have to know if–"

Her body tensed up as a swarm of doubtful thoughts clouded her. She breathed out her nose and calmed herself. After a moment she felt Levy clench her hand, bringing their eyes back up to meet.

"You can't really believe in this stuff Lucy," Levy prodded, meekly, "I know the legends as well, but anyone knows better than to actually fall for them."

Lucy was starting to think she was going insane for doing just that. "I have to see for myself. Can you help me?"

Levy seemed hesitant on answering. She looked at Lucy though, one of her closest friends, and didn't fail to notice how unlike herself she was. She was no longer such a beacon of sunshine as she remembered, she seemed tired and weary in her eyes, and like there was a storm behind those chocolate irises she was hiding. She wondered with so much curiosity about her needs that she could feel it eating her alive, but even Levy knew that this was no place to discuss it.

"Okay," she agreed, taking in a deep breath, "I can get you inside."

After a long discussion about the guard interval times that Levy had come to memorize, the pair had finally settled on a solid enough plan.

"I can distract him once he comes back, give you some extra time, but it I cannot promise it will be long." Levy whispered, as they both peeked their heads around the only entrance to the restricted quarters. "They will search you if you get caught, so try not to steal anything. I have paper and chalk on me now, so write down what you need and hide it well."

Handing the items to Lucy, the woman gave a thankful smile. They were waiting for the next change in guard staff, anxiously, and Lucy gave a solemn glance to her friend.

"Not if, when I get caught." she corrected, evenly.

"No no, do not be so–"

"I should get caught." Lucy intervened, "The posts take too long to change and the longer I stay in there, the more dangerous it is. The quicker I'm caught, the easier they will go on me."

Levy didn't like the plan, and frowned noticeably.

"Trust me, it is better this way." Lucy soothed, "When that guard comes, I will only have a few minutes. The door will be open, and you can point me out and say I was trying to sneak in. Make it seem like it was a failed attempt. A win for the both of us."

Levy still didn't seem to like it as much, but she quietly agreed as the time for the change in staff happened. The man got word he was relieved of his duties, and left the wooden door openly for the two to take.

"Okay, go!" Levy waved her off, following her trail to the open hall.

Lucy quickly ducked into the room, the door creaking from it's old hinges and saw barely anything. There were no lanterns lit, only a soft stream of sunlight that made it through a window made it bright enough for her to see her own feet. She left the door open a crack, and quietly looked around, nearly coughing at all the dust that laid around.

The room was twice as small as Lucy had imagined. The stone walls were lined with bookshelves again, only they seemed as fragile as they looked. The books looked centuries old, and Lucy was worried to even touch one, in fear she might destroy it unintentionally. She remembered she was on a clock then and hurried to scour the wooden bookshelves, trying to read the old handwritten cursive words scrawled on the spines of books.

She sorely wished she could have more time to look at what this room had to offer. What she found stunned her in many ways. There was an overwhelming amount of ancient legends stashed away here, dead languages were kept, old documents of historical figures were preserved, and not to mention some of the kingdoms classified secrets as well.

Lucy skipped over all of those though, and a wide variety, and stopped at a certain spine. Alvarez: The Inside Truth. She almost picked that one out, but forced her hand past it. The only thing she needed was The Phoenix Initiative. She founds documentaries on more than she imagined, about the sorcery said to come from Alvarez and first-witness accounts on the Dark Lord from centuries ago. She even found a book on the idea of dragons roaming the earth before humans. It pained her to turn away such knowledge.

With a shaking breath, Lucy fell to her knees and looked along the edges of the shelves for anything that had to do with a spell. She was ecstatic to actually find a section that held spellbooks. She scoured it eagerly, and with a skip of her heart, her eyes landed straight on a long, thick book with branded letters on the leather spine. The Phoenix Initiative.

She picked it out hesitantly, an overwhelming sense of curiosity purging through her, and brought it to the wooden table that sat in the midst of the room. With her distance closer to the door now, she distinctly heard Levy laughing from outside, already in a conversation with the new guard.

Panic bubbling inside the woman, Lucy hurriedly cracked it open and flipped through it. She just needed to know how to complete the spell, not anything else about it. The pages were thick and old, but the amazingly detailed drawings inside had Lucy completely engrossed. Beautiful sketching's of a fiery bird decorated nearly every page, showing in detailed processes how a mortal could die in the most gruesome of ways, and yet their soul could still be brought back to life. The history of it Lucy only saw a glance of, something about a powerful being in Ishgar who created this spell to counter destruction, and skipped right by the rest of it to the making of the Initiative. She saw there was more pictures then, her eyes hungrily soaking in the knowledge and scribbled it all down onto the paper Levy gave her.

Lucy flipped til the end of the book and heard Levy struggling to keep the conversation alive, and put it back in it's place carefully. She skipped to the door then, peeking out the crack to see Levy had the guard's back to her. She thanked her mentally and slid out, turning her figure back towards the door.

"Amazing, I know–hey! Who are you?" Levy sputtered out, whirling the guard towards Lucy.

Lucy faked being surprised then, her hand on the closed door's handle and saw the guard stomp straight up to her.

"The security these days," Levy muttered, as the man took Lucy by the arm, "Sir, she's clearly just some tourist looking around aimlessly, escort her out?"

The man glared at Lucy, "She should be brought to the authorities, her crime–"

"Oh please, look at her." Levy waved a careless hand, "She's as dumb as bricks, she cannot even speak. How do you think that will look for you if someone like her managed to get this far? Just take her out back."

Lucy stared at the man warily, trying her best 'clueless' look and glanced to Levy's charade with gratefulness. He mused over what her friend said, and sighed out with a scratch of his neck. "I suppose. Just, keep your mouth shut, got it?"

Levy smiled, "Mmhm."

With that, Lucy was led outside. The man pushed her out roughly, and as Levy suspected, searched her clothes and bag. Coming up with nothing, Lucy was left alone, with the scrap of paper buried deeply in her corset.

"Did you get it?"

Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice. Standing outside Levy's house until her shift ended had made the woman anxious in her place. She was convinced any guarding official that passed by was coming for her, despite the tracks she so cleverly covered from the library and tried her best to seem inconspicuous.

Lucy whipped towards her friend now as the sun had begun to set in the horizon and mobs of locals made their ways home after a full day of work. She smiled of relief and held up her scribbled notes.

"What I could, hopefully it is enough." she said.

Levy breathed out a smile herself, and turned to open up the door to her home. "You could have made yourself at home, you know." she stated, "You used to live here with me, or have you forgotten all our special memories already?"

Lucy let herself after Levy and chuckled, "I could never forget all those nights I had to sleep next to you, Lev. You kick like a child having a nightmare."

The book keeper pouted at that comment and ignited the fire to make her tea. She said nothing though, knowing well she couldn't deny it and offered Lucy a seat at her kitchen table. "So? Tell me what you got?"

"Right," Lucy eagerly spread out her notes across the wooden space.

Levy came over soon enough with her two tea cups and offered one to her friend, looking curiously over her shoulder at what Lucy had managed to gather.

"I found the section where they explained the requirements for the spell and got down everything I could," she said showing her friend, "The only problem is I have no idea what the hell any of it means. I had no time to write down the explanations, much less read them and try to memorize it."

Lucy was already tired of reading those notes. She had done so over and over trying to understand what in the world half of these 'ingredients' were, but she was officially stumped. It frustrated her, but as she was knocked out of her trance by Levy's movements, she felt a sense of hope begin to bloom inside her.

Levy slowly slid into the seat next to her, her eyes kept solely on the notes Lucy had gathered. She stared at it in such a way that had the widow concerned.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, peeking over her shoulder.

Levy seemed to read the scraps of paper over and over. "We all know the fairy tales Lucy. You know, pixie dust and singing animals, and the worst of it being a simple sleeping curse."

Lucy, noticing her troubled tone, sat down at the kitchen table next to her. They both had pushed away their mugs with disinterest. She was about to speak up about how this wasn't like a fairy tale, as she had voiced before, but something told Lucy that Levy knew very much this fact. Perhaps it was the familiarity that gleamed in her eye.

"Lucy," Levy licked her lips, hesitating in such a way that made the air tense. Suspicion rose in Lucy, one that said that her friend might know more than she let on. "This magic you have here, it is not any of the magic that are known by legends or fantasy. You are dealing with something entirely different."

Lucy was confused. "What do you mean? What are you not telling me, Lev?"

Levy looked guilty, she wasn't trying to hide it. She turned closer to her friend and stared at her with a surprising amount of confidence. A concerning amount.

"This is not any magic Lucy, what you have here? This is dark magic Lucy, black magic." she stated, intensely,

Lucy's head whirled, "W-Wait, you mean there are types? Wh–"

"Black magic is the most dangerous kind Lucy, it's unpredictable and highly risky and–"

"Lev–Lev," Lucy stammered as they stumbled over each other. They both looked at one another. "How do you know this?"

"You are just going to have to trust me Lucy, I promise if I could tell you everything then I would, but I cannot." she insisted, gently. She stood up in dismissal. "I cannot help you."

Lucy felt her hopes shatter a bit. Not even her most trusted friend would help her figure this out? She hated to admit it, but Levy truly was the only real friend she had. Yet, apparently, there were secrets worse enough to keep from each other.

"It is okay," Lucy muttered, feeling like a nuisance suddenly, "You have already helped me enough today, thank you."

She stood up from her seat as well, planning to take her leave, but Levy caught her arm. "I wish I could help, Lucy. Truly. But I cannot."

Lucy nodded, disdainfully, and turned to leave again. She felt another tug on her arm though, but it felt unsure.

"I might…know someone who can, though."

Things grew quiet as Lucy looked behind her. She saw her friend step in closer, as if she were paranoid that someone might be listening in.

"There is said to be someone in the swamps straight out of town. Someone who lives there, and is sure to know more about that spell of yours than I ever could."

Lucy felt her stomach churn in an anxiousness. Yet, hope being the cause of it, had her heart pounding in adrenaline. "Really? In the swamp? Where?"

Levy kept nudging closer, her gaze wary, "West. Straight west, for about a kilometer. But, you have to be careful okay?" she looked worriedly at her friend, unsure.

Lucy nodded obviously, but the grip on her arm had doubt filling her soul.

"I'm serious, Lucy." Levy stared at her, harshly. "Something about that swamp is far from right. Something about that woman is far from right–"

Lucy wondered at that moment if Levy had had enough personal experience to be this concerned.

"She is said to be a dangerous witch, Lucy." Levy admitted, softly. "And that swamp is no walk in the park either, there are things in there that–"she forced herself to cut off her speech, "Let's just say there is a reason we have direct routes in and out of this city, Luce."

The widows stomach still churned, but not in the hopeful way from before. She felt her fingers tingle in an unusual way.

"Okay," she breathed out. She nodded to her friend once more, in a more comforting way that she knew she needed to see, "I will be careful."

Levy went back and gathered up her notes for her. She handed them to Lucy with a solemn smile. "It was good to see you, Lucy."

She smiled back, gently. "Thank for everything. Truly, I cannot repay you enough."

Levy lead her to her front door, and opened it to let her step out. "You can just visit me more often and we can call it even."

They both laughed, and then they hugged.

"Good luck," Levy said.

Lucy waved and left down the road, leaving Levy to her house, and life again. Lucy on the other hand, left west. It was sunset, the sky was casting bright hues of pink and orange, and she wanted to get a move on before the last part of her light was gone. She was sure Levy wouldn't of minded if she had stayed the night, but she figured she had been enough of a burden on her for one day. She had already risked so much, with her job and freedom, she didn't want her friend to have to risk any more.

So, Lucy set out to the Shirelong Swamp, to find the witch that would give her what she needed.

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to be continued...

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sorry for the humongous wait! Anyways, introducing a distant favorite of mine next chapter, i'm super excited :)

review!