Hi, ;)

I wanted to make this a christmas-kind-of-chapter, but I didn't - because it wouldn't fit. xD Hope you'll like. : P

Chapter 18

"What the hell are you doing, Lucy?" Lucy asked herself and clenched her fist. After Loki left her, she had collapsed to the ground, crying. She lay there now, staring at the sky with old tears drying on her cheeks – she didn't feel like brushing them away. The blood pumped through her head and she felt sick, like all air had been pressed out of her lungs and she just got her breath back.

She felt weak – she had always been. She had always needed protection, had always been unable to fight when it counted, and had always been saved in the end...but no longer. She could no longer be saved in the end, because everyone that used to come and dry her tears away had forgotten about her. She had been erased from all her supporters and saviours' minds. No one would come and help her. She had to take action…alone.

"Today…" Lucy said and sat up. "Today I will save you…Gray!" In that moment a snowflake fell from the dark clouds and melted in her hair.

Mako felt his breath hurt all the way down his lungs, but he didn't stop for a second to gasp for more air. He hadn't told Gray what the shadow mages had shown him, and he didn't plan on it either. The memory made him shiver and run faster.

"Mako, you should take it easy," Gray mumbled while putting his shirt on again (for the third time since they had started running).

"You don't understand," Mako said between a gasp, his breath forming little white clouds in the growing cold. "Alica was a dark mage before she met me, if all her memories about me are gone, then…"

"Did she lose her memory?" Gray asked surprised, finally drawing even with Mako.

"Yeah…and you did too," the orange-brown haired boy answered, looking his way for barely a second.

"Huh?" Gray said and tilted his head to one side, eyes clouding with confusion.

"You forgot the girl you love…loved," Mako corrected himself and looked at Gray with a sad expression. Gray pulled his eyebrows together and stared at the ground. He suddenly stopped and Mako ran a few more steps before he too stopped and looked back.

"Girl I love…" Gray said and scratched his cheek in wonder. "You said it was the girl from before, right? Lucy?" He placed a hand on his head and looked up at the sky. His dark eyes focused on something in the sky and the sun reflected on his expressionless face.

Lucy…the name didn't seem familiar. Her blonde hair and sad eyes said to him nothing.

"I don't know her," Gray mumbled and lowered his head to look at Mako. "If you're right and I once loved her…I don't anymore."

"What are you trying to say?" Mako asked. His voice suddenly became colder and his eyes turned hard as stone. "Are you saying you won't fight for her?"

"Maybe…"

"Gray!" Mako said and walked toward him. Gray held his ground and looked at Mako while he slowly came closer.

"What?" Gray asked, "I don't know her …"

"Shut it!" Mako commanded and grabbed his shirt. Gray narrowed his eyes, but didn't move - he had seen it coming.

"I bet Lucy's just one of your friends…you just want me to save her, right?" Gray said. Mako's eyes widened in surprise, and his grip loosened slightly before tightening again.

"What are you saying? You love her!" The last part was almost a command. "It was obvious to everybody who saw you together!"

"I would never love a girl that troublesome," Gray said, his eyes shadowed in darkness. "All I saw on that horse before was a little, confused girl, who had no idea what to do. Of course I will help you, but don't expect me to love such a weak…"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Mako roared, and his fist came so suddenly that Gray didn't have a chance to defend himself. Mako's fist hit, packed with unexpected power, and Gray fell to the ground with a ´urgh´ of shock and surprise. Mako's eyes were blank and his chest heaved up and down in rhythm with his panting. Gray came to a sitting position and looked at Mako with serious eyes.

"Are you satisfied?" he asked and narrowed his eyes.

"No!" Mako responded without hesitation. "If I could punch the memories back in your skull, I would keep going 'til you were unconscious."

"That's...deep," Gray said sarcastically. He got back to his feet and wiped some dirt off his pants. "Why do you even care, if Lucy's not your friend?"

"Because …" Mako said and lifted his head, eyebrows pulling together with a pained scowl, "if you have lost all feelings for Lucy…that means Alica has lost all feelings for me too."

Alica fell to her knees with her head bent back and stared up at the ceiling, red liquid from her plants blending into the darker red of blood. Her chest moved slightly up and down and her whole body trembled in fear.

"Why?" she whispered to herself. "Why is the feeling gone? The feeling I had for so long. I didn't want to kill, because of something important, but…." She lowered her head and covered her face with a single hand. "The feeling is gone." She giggled silently. "I want to kill again – the feeling is gone."

"Please …" a voice whispered. Alica yanked her head up in shock and her eyes widened in surprise. The silhouette of a young girl appeared; her voice was weak, it shook, but Alica heard it. "Please, don't hurt anymore of my friends." Alica giggled, audibly this time, and stood up again. Levy's slim figure moved into the light of the nearby broken window.

"I have nothing else," Alica said, her spine tingling with excitement. "I have only killing."

"Then…" Levy murmured and lifted her head. Blood ran down her forehead and one of her eyes was slightly more closed than the other, but her expression was strong. "Then, why didn't you kill anyone?" she asked, her voice gaining strength. Alica jerked back. "The feeling you were talking about …"

"Shut up!" Alica interrupted with a scream and a plant shot up from under Levy and punched her into the back wall. She cried out in pain, and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get the air formed into words, she blacked out, falling to the floor like a doll.

Alica looked around. She had made a whole Guild of powerful mages unable to fight in less than five minuets. She had missed this power – no matter how wonderful the strange feeling that used to warm her heart had been. She had missed being powerful. She had held her powers hidden all this time, but now all her suppressed magic was released.

"Alica," a whispering voice said, and a chill ran down her spine. She turned around and faced three dark shadows. Black hoods covered their faces and they all held their hands toward her. "We have long awaited your recovery."

"Shadow mages," Alica whispered and looked at them with a sad expression. She turned and bowed her head a little. "I apologize for running away. I don't know what happened."

"Don't worry, you were caught in emotions, but we took care of all of that," one of the mages said; his voice sounded soft, less terrifying.

"Emotions?" Alica whispered and her eyes widened. "Love?"

"Yes, that would be a suiting word," the mage said and removed his hood. At the very sight of the person, Alica's eyes filled with tears.

"Master," the young girl said and fell to her knees, bowing her head in respect. "I truly am sorry."

"I believe you," the man said and smirked. "I have missed you my dear. You made it hard for us when you left." His face was pale as snow and a pair of red eyes shone brilliantly in the middle of all the white. His hair hung dark down his head and stopped just under his cheekbone.

"But don't you worry anymore," he continued and helped her back to her feet. She looked up at him, tears shimmering in her eyes, and he stroked her cheek gently. "We were lucky that you were seduced by such a weak man – even though it's kind of ironic." He laughed gently.

"Did you kill him, Rei?" Alica said hopefully. "I don't want him to separate us again!"

"Don't you worry," he repeated. "We tricked their idiotic fathers into erasing your memory. You won't have any feelings for him anymore – you won't miss him," Rei said with a smirk and let his fingers run through Alica's hair.

"And his father?" Alica asked.

"Both killed," he answered.

"Both?"

"Another girl got mixed in," Rei said apologizing with a look. "But that won't make any difference. Let's just go home."

"Yes," Alica said and closed her eyes, "that sounds nice."

"ALICA!" a female voice suddenly yelled. Alica opened her eyes and looked at the person whom had yelled her name. A blonde girl stood in the doorway, her eyes hard as stone, a key already held in her hand, ready to be used. Flakes of snow blended into her blonde hair and her cheeks were slightly pink, probably from running in the cold.

"Alica, please wake up," the blonde girl yelled.

"Lucy!" Gray suddenly exclaimed and blacked out.

Don't you love cliffhangers? : D Review please. :)