Chapter 7
"Master?" Two figures stood before her and beside the small man, was Mirajane. Lucy looked at them with sad eyes. She was the first to break the silence. Well, not exactly. The night was already silent to begin with and even her audience didn't even utter a single word during her fight with her teammate. "I'm sorry, Gramps."
"Gramps, don't be too harsh on her. Erza was…" Laxus walked towards Lucy. Truth be told, the urge to protect Lucy was too much too bear that he was silently and tensely pleading and praying to all gods that she was in no way hurt.
"It's alright. There's a spell upon her, isn't it?" Makarov cut Laxus' explanation, knowing too well what the fight was all about. Lucy and Erza were more than team or guild mates, they were friends and treated each other as family. There was no way in God's green Earthland that both will fight each other in a death battle. Both blonds nodded their heads.
"Where's Natsu, Gray and Gajeel?" Mirajane asked Lucy.
"I don't know. They said they'll be back in an hour but they left around 8 this evening." Lucy answered. Even she was wondering where on this planet did those three went. Come to think of it, even Lisanna, Juvia and Levy were not among the crowd.
"Macao, Wakaba, carry Erza back inside." Makarov instructed both men which they immediately complied to. This was no time to be fooling around, especially when the Master was not in the mood for jokes. The other guild members followed after them, leaving Lucy and Laxus in the middle of the dark street.
"Are you alright?" Lucy turned her attention to Laxus, worry etched across her face.
"How about you, Mrs. Dreyar?" It was the thing he was itching to ask her minutes ago when all he can do was watch and wait while Lucy fought Erza.
"Still in one piece." Lucy answered with a weak smile.
"The wound? Has it closed?" Lucy tried to peek at his shoulder to double check if there were any wounds. She was relieved when she only found some blood stain on his shirt and not a full blown gash.
"Yeah. It's just a minor scratch, anyway." Laxus gloated at her reassuringly.
"Remind me to thank Wendy later for the favor." She patted him on his chest and just went along with his gloating. Men. Some things will never change about them.
Somewhere on the streets of Crocus…
"Damn, you failed me, Titania!" Mnemosyne cursed under his breath as he watched the scenes unfolded in his Lacrima. If it wasn't for the meddling of Makarov and Mirajane, that brat should have been dead by now.
"No worries. There will always be other opportunities to take all of her powers." He calmed himself in the dark alley. Throughout all of his five months of researching, he has discovered another way to harvest other mages' powers, dead or alive. But, seeing as the girl's too loud to keep as a pet while he performs the extraction of her Magic, he might as well just kill the blonde to make things easier and faster. After all, a single life won't matter when he has the power to take the throne away from Acnologia and Zeref.
"Soon, this world will be mine to take and the Dragon King and the Black Wizard will bow down to me." He snickered.
It was a gloomy morning. The sky was far too dark and the rain it brought was too heavy. Emotions were everywhere. No, there were no emotions; there was just a single one. It was sadness. People clad in black attire were gathering and all of them were carrying umbrellas to defy the rain. The floors were tiled and the area was surrounded by thick trees and there stood on the center was a statue. It was an angel. The statue was an angel but even she, in her all of her concrete form seemed like a grieving mother to her child's death.
"Hello?" She walked slowly towards the crowd. She can't see their faces for their back was facing her but something feels familiar. This scene, somehow she has seen this. She looked at her hands. Her eyes saw only black. She too was clad in the same clothing, carrying an umbrella.
"Here lies our beloved…" The Master spoke but his voice broke on the last word and all he can do was sob and rub his hands on his eyes. Everyone followed. She heard sobbing and mourning. She sped her pace but stopped short when she saw them. Their hair was far too familiar to be mistaken. A team was surrounding the concrete angel. Heads bowed down, they laid the grandeur selection of flowers at the angel's foot. The color was far too contrasting in such a gray day. She can't see who it was they were grieving so she walked closer. The closer she gets, the sound of cries were overwhelming her, making her knees tremble. She counted the people who stood in the centermost part.
Raven…
Salmon…
Blond…man
Wait, that's not right. The team has a blond but it was never a man. It was a girl.
"Lucy…" The blond man sniffled. His muscles were bulging in his dark suit but despite the masculine monstrosity he was, his eyes were red and his lips were trembling. He knelt down and placed a ring on the tombstone. Horror filled her as her thoughts were confirmed. There, engraved on the limestone was the name of a beloved guild mate.
LUCY HEARTFILIA
Beloved friend, family and Master of Celestial Spirits
July 1, X767 – January 3, X795
The Celestial Maiden
"Lucy!" Natsu shouted in the silent skies. He threw away his umbrella, letting the rain drench him. He was the very first person the blonde met and as such, he was the most affected. The guilt that he felt after Lisanna's pseudo-death returned with renewed and stronger intensity.
"Calm down, Natsu…" Gray tried to pacify him but when he saw Salamander with all the grief, his guard dropped down significantly and he began to sob just as much as his male teammate. They might fight at times but…but…this…this thing was a whole new level of insanity. Lucy almost died months ago but even if it was luck that brought her back, they were still thankful to have her in one piece. This time, there was no turning back. Luck has run out for all of them and her supposed death was only postponed. No miracle, No nakama power will bring her back to life.
"…" Erza was beginning to stir.
"Charle, it seems that Erza is waking up." Wendy addressed the ever silent Exceed. The bluenette volunteered to watch over Erza while the others went their own separate ways to sleep in their rooms. They were now in the lounge area of the inn they were staying.
"Uhhh…my head hurts." Erza sat up groggily, rubbing her temples with her fingers but despite that, what she felt was much worse. She saw it all; the fight between her and Lucy. Her body was moving on its own and she could only watch in horror as she raised her sword and almost dealt a fatal blow on her friend. Thank Mavis, her Spirits were able to stop her body from killing their master.
"Erza-san, are you alright?" Wendy approached the patient, readying her Magic in case Titania was still hurt.
"I'm fine. Thanks. You should get some sleep now." Erza dismissed and smiled at the girl as she saw that the time on the clock was not well-suited for teenagers. "Um... Wendy…" She called back just as the Sky Sorceress was taking the stairs.
"Yes?" Wendy turned her head back.
"Where's Lucy?" Scarlet stood up, she was still swaying but rest assured, she was fine and that the spell placed on her already faded.
"Oh, she's sleeping in her room. It was pretty much a rough and long day."
"Okay, thanks." Erza motioned for the two to go upstairs. 'Kill Lucy.' She could still remember those words and the way she acted towards her teammate. Guilt gnawed at her conscience. Lucy almost died months ago and here she was, doing exactly the same thing, trying to bring her to her death. 'I'm sorry, Lucy.' Death. The dream. Tears began to stream from her eyes at the realization on being used by Mnemosyne as an instrument to kill a family member.
"Erza, are you crying?" Jellal was there, descending the stairs together with a pajama-clad Lucy. It seems that they were together for some time now as both of them are fully awake and holding a cup of hot chocolate.
"I-I…" She was overwhelmed by what she saw. Those two were together deep in the night but before she could respond, the inn doors opened and there stood three happy couples, Natsu and Lisanna, Gray and Juvia and Gajeel and Levy. That moment, she felt that she was all alone, no companion or love, she will die old, alone and done for. Her eyes continuously went back to each pair until it finally landed on Lucy.
"I quit Team Natsu."
A/N: Hello, readers! Today, I have found a free time on my ever-busy schedule and therefore, I lunged at it to write this chapter. I am so sorry if I wasn't able to update like before but rest assured, I will keep my promise. Thank you for all the support you gave me. Please do leave reviews because that is where I am getting the strength to continue.
Mromero18: Yep, it was damn but I hope you find this chapter more damn. Hahaha :)
Kuro-fudo-no-otoko: And here's the update, my friend. I really hope you find this better than the last chapters :D
By the way, guys. I have uploaded a new fanart on my DeviantArt account. I hope you'll visit it. Thanks!
Here's the title: Team Natsu (Un-chibi Version)
