A loud crash came from outside. I jumped. The others looked around worriedly.
"What was that?" I asked, already standing up and heading for the front door I left the box in my spot on the couch, shoving the door open and stepping into the blinding sunlight, only to see my friends kneeling or laying on the ground, with that stupid creep from the train standing in the center, laughing.
"Natsu!" I yelled. "Gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus!" I called, slashing the key through the air and running to Natsu's side. He was badly hurt. Dirt was ground into all the cuts on his arms and chest. The sight of his blood made me nauseous.
"Lucy! Get back!" Erza yelled. Taurus was charging at Cleo, but he easily stepped out of the way. Did he follow me? Why would he hurt everyone?
"Oh, gosh, I had really hoped this could be taken care of easily. Lucy, be a dear and send back your spirit now," Cleo said in his condescending manner.
"I shall not abandon my beautiful Lucy!" Taurus pledged, running back at the blonde man again. Same as last time, Cleo stepped to the side at the last second. He swung his fist out, holding a knife, which went straight through Taurus's stomach. He disintegrated, yelling an apology. My heart hurt at the pain he must have felt.
"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" I asked, standing tall and facing the monster. He chuckled and shoved his hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts.
"We already met, remember? I'm Cleo. I'm a mage, just like you. And I want that dragon scale, along with all of your power."
"How did you know about the scale?" I gasped. Natsu groaned beside me. My eyes shot to him with worry.
"Don't worry, Lucy. I didn't hit him, or any of your other friends, hard enough to kill them. Yet." The others were trying hard to stand. My eyes watered. Why was he doing this to them?
"I used to work in the Heartfilia manor. Your mother told us, her few most faithful servants, about her past and what was hidden in the box. She only told Spetto where it was hidden, which infuriated me. I wanted the scale. Why should you have it, a bratty little girl? After dear Layla passed, I searched the entire house relentlessly for it, until your father approached me one day and laid me off. He said, with only the two of you left, there was no need for extra servants like me. I was furious. I've waited all these years, building up my powers as a wish mage, until this day occurred. Lucy Heartfilia's 17th birthday. The day she would get this package.
"I honestly didn't intend to hurt your friends. I was simply going to knock on the door and ask politely for it. You would have given it to me. They just got in my way." Erza was kneeling in the dirt, breathing hard in her Lightning Empress Armor. Gray was weakly trying to stand beside her. Happy was a distance away from everyone else, unconscious near the trees. And Natsu was still laying flat on his back on the ground. How could Cleo have done this in such a short amount of time, so quietly?
"I don't believe you," I hissed. There was no way. My mom never would have hired a jerk like this.
"You don't, don't you?" Cleo laughed. He calmly strode into the house, leaving me alone with my suffering friends. Should I go in and bring him out before he takes the scale, or should I stay and help my friends? Cleo made the decision for me when he came back out a minute later, Mrs. Spetto in tow.
"Didn't we use to work together?" Cleo asked, holding the elderly woman by her hair. My blood boiled. My friends can take care of themselves most of the times, but he was hurting an innocent woman that also happened to be close to me.
"It's true, Mistress Lucy! And he was just as rude and horrid then as he is now!" Spetto cried.
"If you were just inside, why didn't you grab the box and leave us alone already?" I asked. I'd rather he take the scale then continue hurting my friends.
"I'll get that after I'm through with you al. Now that I think about it, killing your friends will probably be the only way I can drain you of your power without a fight." The nonchalant way he said it made my anger snap.
"Gate of the Lion: Leo!" My orange haired friend stood in front of me.
"Regulus, grant me power." Loke held up his fist as golden light started to surround it.
"Why can't people in this guild just surrender peacefully?" Cleo sighed to himself. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mr. Lion. If you hurt me, I'll hurt your friends."
"You won't have the chance to," Loke said, running straight for Cleo. Cleo stepped behind Mrs. Spetto, using her as a human shield. Loke stopped his fist a millisecond before he would have made contact with my old servant.
"What I tell ya?" Cleo said, shoving Spetto to the ground a few feet away. Bero and Aed rushed from the house and helped her up. They ran together back to a waiting Mr. Ribbon, who slammed the door behind them. The curtains twitched when the 4 peeked their heads around to watch.
I breathed a sigh of relief. If nothing else, at least they were safe for now.
In the meantime, Loke was throwing punch after punch at Cleo. He took them all without stumbling.
"One benefit of being a wish mage is that I'm immune to attacks from spirits," Cleo said to me around Loke. "And now, you've annoyed me. Meteor Shower!" He raised his arms to the sky and tilted his head back, laughing maniacally. Small chunks of flaming rock fell from the sky and pelted my already bruised and bleeding friends and me, knocking us all down. Loke apologized and returned to the spirit world when the rocks started burning his suit and skin.
"I can also use the power of the stars! North Star!" he yelled. Blinding white stars flew from behind him and hit me square on, burning my exposed skin.
"Lucy!" Gray and a finally awake Natsu screamed. I was blown back through the air and landed with a hard thud on the dirt. I couldn't move. My limbs felt like 100 ton blocks. All I could do was watch as my friends stood and fought for me, getting hurt more and more, until none of them were moving. How could he be so strong? This was all my fault. Cleo raised one hand, charging up power.
"You've all been so bothersome, making me wait even longer to get my prize. Let's see how much pain I can put you in before I leave," he said, lining his hand up with Natsu.
I bolted from my place on the ground as time moved in slow motion. My body burned with the movement. Erza and Gray were gaping at the power Cleo was summoning. The air was electric. Natsu struggled to stand up. Was he planning on taking this attack head on? If he got hit with this, it would all be over for him. I can't let that happen. He can't die because of me. I dove head first into the middle of the blast.
"Meteor Magic: Granting Wish!"
That was when I made the biggest mistake of the day.
I wish this would stop! I wish I could take everyone's pain away! The thought slipped out of my mind without m noticing.
"I see your wish, and it has been granted!" Cleo cheered as I was thrown back into Natsu, who was screaming at me. Cleo vanished. Natsu and I fell to the ground, him acting as the pillow to soften the blow. It didn't matter. I was in too much pain to have felt something like that.
My ears felt stopped up. I couldn't hear anything other than my heart weakly pounding in my chest. I stared dizzily above me.
Has the sky always been blue? I wonder why. And why are there little cotton balls floating through it? Since when does cotton fly? Anguish knocked me out of my random thoughts.
My entire body was drained. I felt like I was just run over by a truck. I felt the sharp sting of cuts and bruises covering my entire body, from head to toe, even though I'd only been hit twice. None of these injuries were here a minute ago, and not all of them could have come from Granting Wish…
"LUCY!" Natsu's voice broke into my head, jerking me out of my own mind. He shook me gently, cradling my head in his giant warm hands.
"Damn it, Cleo," Erza muttered to herself, sitting beside Natsu and me. "Lucy, can you hear us?"
"Lucy?" Gray asked, crouching above me. I moaned in response. The pain was excruciating.
"Are you guys ok?" Erza asked, checking on the others quickly.
"Aye," Happy said, joining the huddle.
"Surprisingly, yes. I don't feel any pain at all," Gray admitted.
"Me neither," Natsu said, not taking his eyes off mine. Their faces were back to normal, not showing any hint of the fierce battle they'd had only a few minutes ago. Something clicked in my muddled brain. I used the minimal strength I had left to grab Natsu's hand. I dug my nails as hard as I could into his palm. Searing pain shot through my hand in the exact same spot.
"Lucy! Why would you be so reckless? You could've been killed!" Natsu scolded, uncharacteristically angry. He rested one hand on my cheek. His warmth was pleasant at first, until his hand accidently slid over one of my cuts. The pain overshadowed my now somewhat clear mind.
"He granted my wish," I whispered, closing my eyes.
And there is chapter 5! The main plot has been revealed, and I hope you like it enough to stick with this story! Happy reading, Fairies!