So I had managed to whip this up to post. I hadn't heard too much of a response from the last chapter, I hope it wasn't terrible!
I always worry about those things, since it's a lot of time/effort, even for 3000+ words.
I don't like to disappoint!
Anyhow, Lucy will get stronger. Do not fret! But, I gotta lay the groundwork. Patience!
Thanks for reading and reviewing! I have way surpassed my hopes and dreams for this story.
I'm almost to 40 reviews, and to me, that's fanfreakin'tastic. I can't thank you all enough.
Now enjoy some action! :D
***
"Natsu!" Happy cried as the dragonslayer's body was flung out the door and into the street. Actually, it was more like through the door...
"Ice make--" Gray began, slamming his palms together.
"Can it!" Adie bellowed, a steel-toed boot landing a swift kick to his abdomen. She punched him in the throat, paralyzing his voice box. His eyes watered from the contact, and he fell to his knees, clutching his throat.
A few villagers were coming out of their homes and shops to watch, curiosity evident on their faces. It wasn't often that such things occurred in the often peaceful village.
Natsu slid across the ground as stones ripped his skin raw. For a moment, he remained motionless, stunned from the sheer strength from the woman. He hadn't expected her to throw him--literally--from the store. He wondered if her insane strength had anything to do with the gauntlet he hadn't noticed her wearing before...
"You do not come here and trash my shop!" she sneered.
"Like you did to our Guild?" Natsu retorted in kind. Her eyes widened in shock at the realization behind his words.
"Gotcha!" he hissed, as he pushed himself off of the ground and maneuvered himself behind her. He managed to hook her arms behind her back with his fierce strength. She fought his grip to no avail--the position didn't provide her with much to in order to counter it. She opted to swing her head back, connecting it with his nose.
"Fuck!" he roared, taking a few steps backward, glaring angily. "It's broken!" He raised a few fingers to his nostrils, then examining the dark fluid coating them. Blood continued to trickle from his nose. A tiny drop splattered on the dirty earth.
"Improvement to your face, Dragonslayer!" she mockingly hissed, as he warmed up a fiery fist. She, too, prepared to land a blow. But, before they could collide, she suddenly stiffened, her body ceasing all movement. Natsu stopped his fist from connecting—a mere inch from her face. Her eyes looked glossed over, as if she was looking through Natsu and his two companions.
He shot a worried glance over his shoulder before realizing there was nothing behind him. "Hey! Fight back!" he pouted.
She blinked a few times, her far away look fading. "Something is wrong..." she whispered.
"What's that mean?" he was confused by her sudden pacification. "We're in the middle of a fight here, lady!"
"I can feel it," she shook her head, as if it were something too difficult to explain in words. Suddenly, her face lit up with a fearful recognition. "Lucy!" she whispered, looking around frantically.
"What about Lucy?" Natsu panicked. Adie was again looking at him with a far-off look, her pale eyes glazing over.
Natsu grabbed the front of her plaid shirt, pulling her toward him. "What about LUCY!" he roared in her face.
"Got to...find her," Adie replied weakly, her voice barely more than a child-like whisper.
Why did she suddenly care about Lucy? He wondered. Who is she?
A sudden, slight plopping sound caught him off guard, and he drew his hands back. Natsu realized that his enemy was no longer wearing the same clothes that she had on in the store. Instead, she was equipped with a pair of black, knee-high boots with golden wings embroidered on them. She also looked to be wearing a snug, dark body suit. Around her waist was a belt, equipped with a few holsters complete with shiny, odd-looking pistols--their handles carved with foreign patterns. Clips of ammunition were comfortably attached to the flexible belts encircling her right thigh--obviously for her weaponry. On her back were two harnesses, each one holding a long katana with red diamonds etched on the black hilts. Whatever she had ex-quipped for, she meant business.
"You can ex-quip? Like Erza?" Natsu wondered aloud. He eyed her gear suspiciously. She looked equipped to take out a small army. Who is she?
She was tightening the belt around her waist, ensure that her unfamiliar-looking weapons were amply loaded. She replaced them in their holsters, moving next to the switchblade she had tucked into the left side of her belt. The deadly three-inch blade glinted in the sunlight, as she watched Natsu as she replaced the knife. Her hand moved over to the next weapon. It was a longer knife, its ivory hilt the only thing showing from its case.
"I guess I can," she tugged at her boots.
"You guess?" Gray asked, his voice slowly coming back. "That's not an easy ability to master."
"Sorry, I omitted a few things," she shrugged, making a few, last minute adjustments. She slipped her fingerless black gloves over her pale hands. She flexed her pale knuckles through the fabric, as if reveling in the feel of the gloves on her hands. Her eyes glinted with something that neither man could place his finger on. She looked...almost joyful.
"Can't talk now," she replied softly, her eyes fading out of focus again.
"Hey!" Natsu growled, "Stop doing that!"
A sudden, terrifying shriek rang out through the air. "What the fuck was that?" Natsu's eyes were round with fear and concern. He turned his head in every direction, "Where's it coming from?"
Gray was staring at the two mages as he clutched his still-sore throat. "Outside of the village," he croaked hoarsely.
"That is where we are going to find Lucy!" Adie murmured. In an instant, the woman disappeared, leaving the three teammates to find the source of the scream on their own.
*****
*****
"NO!" Lucy screeched, as she saw the creature lunge through the bright light toward Loki. Its mouth closed around the angle of where his shoulder met his neck. Leo's glasses were knocked from his face, as he tried to pry the creature from him. As its teeth sank into his neck, a sickening crunch was resonated through the air.
"LOKI!" Lucy screamed, as she ran toward the spirit. He attempted to mutter something, but he could only gurgle from the effort. Spirit and monster tumbled backward in a blur of motion, as Loki's body suddenly went very still. Lucy screamed again, this time distracting the monster. It looked up at her, its jaw dripping with Leo's warm blood.
"No no no no!" she wailed, staring at Loki's still form. She knew he was still alive. She could see him blinking slowly, his breathing barely making his chest rise. He had appeared in her time of need, as he always did—sensing when his damsel was in distress. Like usual, he pushed her aside, telling her to stay back. But this time, he had underestimated the enemy.
Lucy's fists tightened around her whip as the creature lurked toward her with its jerky movements. Lucy glanced at Leo one more time, before deciding her fate. She would die next to him, at the hands of this filthy creatures. But, she would not let this monster see her fear. No, she would fight with everything she had, keys or no keys!
"I'm sorry, Loki," she murmured as she reached for her whip—her only weapon. She could see him trying to shake his head. More blood spurted from his wound, some even trickling from his mouth. His windpipe was partially crushed from the injury. With a crack, she freed her whip, readying herself to put up a fight. The monster blinked at her, angling its head with interest. A gruesome, twisted smile broke across its rotting face as it hissed. It almost looked happy that its prey was going to put up a fight.
Before it could make another move, Lucy managed to capture its leg with her whip, pulling with all of her might. The creature was thrown on its back, scrambling to get back on its feet. It glared at the hateful whip, snarling at it. Before Lucy could release the grip, the monster wrapped two bony hands around the whip itself, tugging. Lucy jerked forward, realizing its intent. It was toying with her. She pulled back, quickly realizing she was no match for the creature's brute strength. It pulled again, this time hard enough to knock Lucy on all fours. She looked up at is loomed over her, Leo's blood still dripping from its jowls.
Is this how I am supposed to die? she silently screamed to herself.
A blur of material and a loud shot rang out. The creature's head jerked at the impact as it fell to the ground. Undeterred from the pain, it slowly tried to stand. Lucy looked toward her savior, only to find a lone, blonde woman.
"A-Adie?" she weakly called out. She was ashamed at the current situation.
Adie didn't turn to look at Lucy, instead, squinting at the ugly monster as it gnashed its teeth at the two women, its crimson eyes rolling in its head. Adie risked a peek at Leo, assessing his damage. Her eyes widened momentarily, as a slight sheen coated her upper lip. Lucy could see her sharp intake of breath.
"Take care of Leo! Stop the bleeding!" she commanded loudly, as she took aim once again. The creature attempted to lunge at the blonde woman, despite the large chunk blown from its neck.
Another shot echoed through the open field, and the creature fell yet again. In an instant, Adie was standing above it, emptying her clip of ammunition into the humanoid being. It reached a claw into the air, swiping its wrist at its captor with each bullet that pierced its body. It jerked with each impact.
Lucy quickly ran to Leo, pulling his head into her lap. Tears sprang to her eyes. "I'm so sorry!" her voice cracked, as she attempted to stop the bleeding.
She glanced at Adie in time to see the other woman unsheath a long katana from her back. With an almost imperceptible flick of her wrist, the monster's head rolled away. In an instant, the body exploded into a pile of ashes.
The worst was over.
In a blink of an eye, she was at Lucy's side, her hands wandering over Leo's body. "W-what happened?" she asked, her voice shaking with panic. "Not you! Don't answer!" she glared at Leo as he tried to open his mouth to speak. He took in a raspy breath, nodding his head slightly. He closed his eyes, wincing at the pain.
"H-he tried to protect me," Lucy sobbed, rocking back and forth with Leo's head in her lap.
"You have to force him back through the gate!" Adie barked.
"How?" Lucy wailed, her body shaking with fear.
"Your keys!" Adie bellowed. "Use your fucking key!"
"I don't have them, remember?" Lucy shrieked.
Adie's face registered their previous conversation. "Shit!" she muttered. "How did you--," she shook her head, "Nevermind, that's not important right now." She leaned over Leo, grabbing his chin in her hand.
"Leo! Look at me!" He opened his eyes, they looked paler than Lucy remembered. Was he not going to make it? "You know what I have to do, right? It's the only way, unless you can return yourself."
He weakly nodded his head, indicating his weakened state. He could not return on his own accord, and Lucy had no key to force his return through the gate.
"What can you do?" the Stellar Spirit mage felt a ray of hope as the tears of regret streaked her face. Could Adie help Loki return through the Celestial Gate? Did she have that ability?
Wordlessly, the pale-haired woman ex-quipped the lionshead key that Lucy had witnessed days earlier. Adie closed her eyes, mumbling something that Lucy couldn't understand—as if in another language.
"What are you going to do? He's—he's not breathing!" Lucy panicked. Adie opened her eyes, as she completed the unknown chant—they were a deep, dark purple, her irises unrecognizable from her dark pupils. She held the key above Leo's still chest--as if she were wielding a knife.
"No! What are you going to do!" Lucy shrieked, suddenly fearing what Adie intended.
"You want to know a little about me?" Adie's voice sounded harmoniously grating, as she replied to Lucy's protests. "Start trusting me! Now!" She brought her hand down, hard, plunging the key into Leo's chest.
No, his heart!
The key glowed a faint white, before absorbing into Loki's chest. His body went rigid, his chest rising toward the sky. His body began to glow white as he became more translucent.
"What's h-happening?" Lucy sobbed, partly in awe of whatever had just occurred. She was sure that she just witnessed Adassandra stab him in the heart with the strange key.
"He's going home," she replied calmly, her eyes still a deep violet as she watched Loki's body disappear.
"H-home?" Lucy echoed hopefully.
"Back to the spirit world," Adie explained, as her key dropped into her lap. Her eyes returned to their normal, pale blue hue. She quickly picked up the key, and it disappeared from her hands.
"You...you saved him?" Lucy weakly asked. Adie nodded, as if afraid to speak.
"Thank you," Lucy replied a lone tear streaking down her cheek. "Thank you...I thought I lost him."
"You almost did," she replied softly, chewing her lip. "How did you--" she looked over Lucy's face. "How did you summon him without your keys?"
"I don't know," Lucy shrugged. "He always seems to show up when I need him." Her brow knitted in concentration, "Virgo had been able to do it, too."
Lucy noticed the look of concern and confusion on Adie's face. "What?" she asked, suddenly feeling defensive.
"Nothing," the blue-eyed woman answered softly. "I-It's nothing."
Lucy had the feeling it was something. But, she was too weary to argue or ask any more questions.
"Are you scratched or bitten?" Adie grabbed Lucy's arms, pulling up her jacket sleeves to examine her.
"No, I'm fine. Thanks to you," she whispered. "I owe you my life." Adie's face paled at the statement. She opened her mouth to reply...
"What the hell happened here? Lucy are you alright?" Natsu huffed. Happy had dropped him onto the ground, and Gray was following some yards behind. The dragonslayer had witnessed the faint glowing from their direction—it was what had led them to the two women.
"I-I don't know," Lucy responded, as she stood on shaky feet. Natsu lent her a hand as he examined her face, pushing her sweaty hair from her forehead. He wanted to get a good look at her, to make sure she was indeed alright.
"We need to get back to the village, before the scent of blood attracts more," the equipped woman commanded, quickly jumping to her own two feet.
"But you--" Lucy began. The shock was wearing off, and a new whirlwind of questions were swirling through her head.
"Not up for debate!" Adie snapped, her expression silently promising Lucy that she would answer any questions at a later time.
"What made those noises?" Natsu asked, peering off into the forest, "I couldn't see it from above..."
"Adze," Adie answered, as she closed her eyes and stretched her neck. It had been a while since she had fought. She knew she would pay for it tomorrow.
"Vampires? Those were vampires?" Lucy blurted.
The weapon-clad mage turned to glare at Lucy, incredulously. "What did you expect? Handsome sparkly creatures?"
Lucy stared blankly at the charred form of the horrifying creature. No, they were definitely not good-looking. Or sparkly. She shuddered from the memory of its face. Its eyes. Dark as blood!
Adie cast one last glance over her shoulder, scanning the forest's edge. "This isn't over. Not yet. I can sense more of them. Get inside and we'll get the villagers to safety."
"What are you going to do?" Gray asked, as Natsu was all ears. It was the fight the dragonslayer had been waiting for.
"We are going to have to kill them. Every last one of them." Her voice was stoic, holding a tiny hint of something Lucy felt was akin to regret. She would ask the woman later, when they were out of harm's way.
"Yes!" Natsu smiled, raising his fist in the air. It was his first real smile of the day.
His feet had quickly carried him