An: Hey all! We're getting closer to the end. I'm guessing that there are at least five more chapters before I bring this fic to a close.
Wendy POV
"Okay you two are you ready to begin, the moment I take out an organ you have seconds to take over its function. We'll start off with one of her kidneys so you can get a feel for what you will be doing. As I told you before all you'll have to do is imagine what a the healthy version of an organ should be doing and your magic will do the rest; so for the kidney you will mainly be removing the waste from the blood, and balancing out her body fluids while her other kidney focuses on the rest. At any point you feel like your magic is at its limit let me know and we can take a break.
We are starting with the easier organs and working ourselves up to the more difficult ones. Hopefully after a the initial organs you two will have gotten used to the constant magical drain and will be prepared for the heart when the time comes. " Nick said looking to both of us for reassurance that we were ready.
Both Chelia and I nodded that we were ready to begin we all put our hands on Lucy and let our magics flow from us to her.
I closed my eyes since I wouldn't be needing them as I worked on Lucy, no need for them to dry out or irritate me. Even though it was our first run through I didn't want any distractions.
Following Nick's magical signature was hard to do considering there was a trace of it in every inch of Lucy's body since he had just finished working on extracting the poison last night. Taking a look around I was amazed, there was no trace of the poison besides the damage that I now saw clearly on almost every one of her organs.
Making my way to the agreed upon kidney I waited to see how this would play out. I had never seen an organ removed without surgery, let alone one being made. When we were all in place Nick began. The kidney that we were working on was twice the size it was supposed to be, and was beginning to turn black but all of that didn't matter as the kidney slowly began to shrink until it was no more. As soon as it had begun to shrink I felt Lucy's body strain, and started my portion of the procedure.
Minutes turned to hours as the bean shaped organ was meticulously made from his magic and bits of healthy tissue and muscle. It wasn't nearly as hard as I had thought it'd be, I could definitely feel a drain, and couldn't wait to rest for a few hours after this was done but I didn't mind, I was just so interested in watching the organ take shape and trying to figure out how he was doing everything. No matter how much I watched I couldn't figure out how it was doing it.
Is it just a spirit thing, or could I learn to do this one day? I thought.
"Wendy let go he's done." Chelia said as she stretched her legs and stood up. Before I left Lucy entirely I examined the new kidney. It was saturated in magic, not her own which concerned me because I could see her body absorbing it but I put my worries on the back burner when I felt how still I was.
Knowing how worried everyone would be and needing to stretch my legs I left the room and was bombarded by questions.
Erza POV
Four days and four nights Nick had been locked inside the room with Lucy. Doing what we didn't know, Loke said he was healing her, but from out here it sounded like torture. There were so many whimpers, sounds of a body thrashing on the bed and objects being broken that we didn't know what to think but one of the Zodiac had been posted at the door at all times so we couldn't sneak in.
The only reason we weren't storming the room was because Wendy and Chelia gave us a play through of what had been done during each session and told Both girls looked worn out and excited at the end of the day so we took that as a good sign.
But tonight something was different, all of the noises that we had all grown accustomed to hearing weren't there and the guild was dead silent for once. Exchanging worried glances with Mira, I decided that I had waited long enough. Springing to my feet I ignored the shouts of protest and flew up the stairs to where Cancer was sitting. As soon as I was by the door I could hear faint whispers coming from within.
"Lucy you're safe now. There's no more poison and all of your organs are healed. I promise if you wake up the pain you felt will be gone. Everyone misses you terribly, they've all been sending you lots of love and vowed to help you exact your revenge.
I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to heal you myself and earlier. If I had been stronger you wouldn't have had to go through so much. I love you like a sister and I thank Mavis every day that Fairy Tail took me in, especially everyone in Team Natsu. I just hope you all will be able to forgive me for not being able to doing anything to help you." Wendy said, lying her head down on top of Lucy's stomach before her breathing evened out and synced with Lucy's.
Walking into the room I picked up a discarded blanket on the back of one of the chairs and draped it across Wendy's shoulders.
It broke my heart knowing Wendy thought we blamed her for Lucy's current predicament. But we'd address that later once she was completely rested.
Wendy POV
"I don't understand." He muttered to himself shaking his head as he thought. Sneaking up behind him I followed his gaze to Lucy.
"Don't understand what?" I asked confused because I sensed nothing wrong with Lucy.
"Wh-oh, it's just you Wendy." Nick said turning to me. "Nothing, everything's fine. You and Chelia did a wonderful job. I couldn't have asked for better assistants."
Even though I was beaming at the praise I couldn't forget how worried he had sounded a second ago. Closing and locking the door behind me I inched closer to him until I stood next to him.
"You can tell me whatever it is that's bothering you, I'm a great secret keeper." I offered lowering my voice even more so the others couldn't hear me from outside the room as I looked at him from the corner of my eye. "Did something go wrong with the procedure?"
I had just asked that as a joke really, but when he got a guilty look on his face I faced him completely in shock.
"That's it! How could you not tell us before? What went wrong?" I asked, frantically turning to Lucy so I could scan her for any sign of trauma or pain. Sensing none I dug deeper until I got the beginnings of a headache coming on from how much magic I was using when I was supposed to be resting.
"Wendy stop, it's not something you can fix." He said pulling me away from Lucy and catching me as I slumped backwards. "Physically nothing is wrong with her, but she should have woken up hours ago. I don't know what else to do, maybe the procedure was too much for her in the end." He bowed his head in disappointment.
"That can't be right! She's breathing without difficulty, all of her organs are working and haven't failed once, and she has regained all of her color. We just have to wait a little while longer, she'll wake up. After the excruciating month she's been through I'm not gonna give up on her now when she's healthier than ever!" I said breaking free from his grasp to take a step towards Lucy.
Pulling me back again he sadly shook his head and dragged me back again.
"Wendy... The moment she was completely healed she should have woken up. I think... I think everything was too much for her and she locked herself away deep in her mind so she wouldn't have to deal with the constant pain. Unless you have someone who can go in to find her I'm afraid she won't wake up in fear of going through all of that pain again."
"But, we don't have anyone who can do that!" I yelled no longer able to keep my voice lowered.
In an instant there was a banging on the door and then the jingle of the door knob as Loke tired to open the locked door to no avail. Knowing he wouldn't give up until he was in here I walked over to unlock the door.
"Wendy why'd you lock the door?" He asked confused when the door finally opened. "Is everything alright- Wendy what's wrong?" Loke asked coming fully into the room when he saw the look on my face.
"Lucy...Nick says she won't be able to wake up on her own, and that someone needs to go convince her that it's safe enough to leave her safe place in her mind." I said in a rush barely containing my tears.
Taking me into his arms he hugged me tight and chuckled. "It's going to be alright Wendy, Nick must have forgotten about the king's friend. I'm sure he can find her and convince her to wake up." He said, rubbing his hand on my back to get me to calm down.
"Really?" I hiccuped.
"I'll go ask him right now. Why don't you sit beside Lucy and just talk to her, hmm? I'm sure she can still hear your voice." Loke suggested before grabbing Nick and disappearing.
Doing as he suggested I say down next to Lucy, took her hand and began talking. Talking about everything that had happened in the past month, how everyone missed her, and couldn't imagine life without her and how much I loved her.
-Loke POV-
"Old friend how is Lucy doing?" The Spirit King asked.
"She is as healthy as ever but she won't wake up and we require Pegasus' assistance, tell him." I said nudging Nick to speak up.
"I'm afraid I accounted for only the physical aspects of her healing, and completely forgot about her mental health. For people who experience as much pain and suffering as she has it's not uncommon for that person to wander into the deep reaches of their mind where they can escape all of the pain and I'm afraid that's what she has done. If it had only been for a day or two I wouldn't be here, but she has been back there for far too long and it's going to require someone going in after her to convince her to leave." He explained looking as if he was kicking himself for not thinking of it before.
"We're in luck then, Pegasus is here for a rare visit." The King said letting loose a booming yell to call his friend forth. "Dear friend I'm sorry to interrupt our visit but Lucy needs you. Do you mind going into her mind once again?"
"Anything for that delightful girl." The spirit who was nearly as old as the king said.
We watched as he stared off into the distance, all of us were surprised when in the next minute he gasped and refocused his eyes a second later. "If you had already sent someone into her mind you should have told me, it does no good for there to be multiple people in a person's mind." Pegasus said annoyed and a little miffed.
Looking to Nick we both said "Wendy" at the same time before transporting back. The moment we got back we saw Wendy's form slumped over Lucy's stomach and tendrils of magic connecting the two.
"Don't you dare touch her." Pegasus said from behind us as we moved to step closer to the prone figures. "Any interference from us could do irreparable damage to them both. We'll have to wait for Wendy to break the connection or for them to wake up."
Looking worriedly at the two we pulled up a seat and it was now our turn to wait helplessly as the guild had done earlier.
Wendy POV
One second I was holding Lucy's hand, urging her to wake up and the next I was standing in the middle of a giant house staring at a little blonde haired girl. She was ran down a hallway with some of the finest decor I had ever seen. Flinging open the door to my left she leapt into the air and into the older version of her. Lucy? I wonderedas I looked at the older woman, she was the spitting image of the girl I had grown to think of as my sister, and best friend but something was off about her.
"Lucy's dear what's the rush?" The woman chuckled squeezing little Lucy tight before dropping her to her feet.
"Mommy, mommy can I play with Aquarius today? Pleeeease!" Little Lucy whined as she tugged on the bottom of her mother's light blue day dress and jumped up and down. The perfect golden ringlets bounced in time with the little girl, catching the light make it appear that her hair was spun out of pure gold. Although she appeared to be an angel in training, that image was dashed when you saw the mud streaks in the hem of her pale pink dress and some spots further up.
"Hahaha" Lucy's mother's laugh trickled through the air making the little girl squeal with glee. "You played with her yesterday, both she and I need a rest day sweetie. How bout I read to you instead?"
For a second Lucy looked sad but as soon as reading was mentioned she brightened up and leapt into her mother's arms, making her rock back.
"Can we read the one with the dragons again mommy, it's my favorite."
"Anything for you my sweet girl, let's go outside and read."
"Layla darling could you come here for a moment." A man asked from across the library.
"I'll meet you out side sweetness." She said setting Lucy down before she walked away.
Running out of the room, Lucy headed towards the stairs but spun around when she remembered something. Running back into the sitting room that was connected to the library she hopped onto the plush couch and picked up her doll. "Sorry Michelle, I almost forgot you. " Lucy said hugging the doll in apology.
A loud bang startled the little girl into nearly dropping her precious doll. "I don't care what is going to happen in a hundred years, I'm more worried about our lives right now. You can't do this think of the risks. Think of our daughter!"
"I am thinking of her, her future. There is a chance the seal won't hold, that in our daughter's future Polaris will escape and come after every Celestial Mage. She may only be four but she nearly summoned Cancer the other day out of sheer will. She will be an amazing mage when she gets older and I don't want her to be a target. Jude can you understand that?"
"When you put it like that how could I be upset? But I'm worried about you, why can't the king find someone else?"
"We've gone over this before. Enough about this, we still have some time before it happens let's not spend that time fighting. Lucy and I will be on the terrace reading if you would like to join us." Layla said before she exited the door Lucy was standing next to. "Oh Lucy, I thought you had gone outside already."
"Mama you're not going to leave me are you?"
Little Lucy stared up into eyes exactly like hers as she waited for reassurance but it never came. Instead Layla produced a well worn book from the folds of her dress and successfully distracted the child.
All of a sudden the happy scene faded away as a new one took its place, this time Lucy looked a little bit older.
"Very good Lucy." Layla said circling Lucy whose face was scrunched up in concentration. In front of the little girl was Cancer who was flickering in and out of focus. "Lucy you have to open the gate all of the way otherwise he won't be able to stay here and can't play."
"Sorry mommy, I'm trying." Lucy whispered tears threatening to spill free .
Layla had a moment of guilt flash behind her eyes before she knelt down besides Lucy and rubbed her back. "No Lucy you have nothing you need to be sorry for. In sorry for yelling at you and pushing you so hard. It's just I want you to learn to summon your friends so you can play with them when I'm not around. Do you need a break?" Layla asked, wiping away Lucy's tears.
Lifting her head in determination Lucy took a step back and focused on calling Cancer out. "That's good Lucy, remember don't block the key from drawing power from you, the spirits need that link in order to remain in our world."
"Layla darling, the doctor is here to see you." Lucy's dad said walking up to stand beside her.
"In a minute, Lucy is so close to opening Cancer's Gate fully. If she can do this at such a young age Polaris will be no match for our daughter." Layla said looking proudly at Lucy who had stopped summoning when she had seen Jude.
"That's very nice but you know your treatments must be administered the same time each day otherwise you feel horrible the next day." Jude said taking Layla's arm to lead her away.
"But our training. Polaris isn't go-"
"Enough about that damn spirit, she hasn't even gotten free yet and she's already ruining our lives. Lucy isn't even 6 yet and you have her training every day for the past two weeks. That spirit will not take my child away from me as well as my wife. Let Lucy go to her other lessons for the a few hours and then she can go back to training if she wants to. While you get your treatment and rest." He said not taking no for an answer.
As they walked away the scene began to shimmer and change as before. Instead of a happy, lively Lucy she was very somber and looked like she had been crying recently. Following her down the hallway and outside to a fountain I watched as she sat down on the ledge and let her toes soak in the water.
"What did I tell you about summoning me in a small source of water?" Aquarius growled as she appeared in front of Lucy.
"Mommy, she hasn't woken up since yesterday, and daddy has been reading every book we have have on Celestial magic. I just needed to get away." She said quietly, watching as her feet sliced through the water. "She's going to die isn't she?" Lucy asked quietly, peeking up at Aquarius, afraid for her answer.
Aquarius lifted Lucy up into her arms and hugged her. "Yes she is, but you have to know that she doesn't want to leave you and that she will always be watching over you."
"It's all Polaris' fault!" Lucy yelled, burying her face into Aquarius' shoulder.
"Where did you hear that name?" Aquarius asked looking shocked.
"Daddy got really angry when the name came up yesterday. Dad said if it weren't for her mommy wouldn't be dying. Is that true?"
"I'm not sure about that but what I do know is that while you're out here you're wasting what little time you have left to be with your mother. So why don't you go up there and cuddle up with her and your dad." She said, swirling water around her tail so she could leave the fountain to take Lucy to her mother.
By the time they made it to her mother's room Layla's eyes were cracked open, and Jude was laying down behind her.
"Mommy, I've brought you some flowers." She said hopping down from Aquarius' arms and leaping onto the bed.
"They're beautiful, thank you. Thank you Aquarius for bringing her back." Silently leaving the family to spend some time alone Aquarius disappeared.
"Come here sweetness." Layla said opening up her arms for Lucy to climb in. All three of them were cuddled up together just basking in each other's presence when Layla's breathing grew worse and worse. Turning to face her mom, Lucy whispered something to her barely conscious mother.
"I love you mommy."
"I love you too Lucy." When the little girl finally fell asleep Layla stayed awake stroking her hair. "I tried my darling to make your future safe, but in afraid that Polaris is too strong and will escape. I hope do your sake it's not in your life time but either way beware of Polaris and her followers..." Layla said weakly before falling asleep.
Everything grew dark after that, and all I heard were quiet sobs in the distance. Sprinting towards the sounds of crying felt the floor beneath me change from hardwood to dirt. Slowing down as I got closer to the sobs I found myself in the middle of a graveyard. In front of me stood three gravestones, that had her parents' names, and one for herself.
"She never woke up after that night. Like me she became comatose and slowly withered away." She whispered.
"Lucy you're not withering away! You're healthy and safe." I said shaking the flickering Lucy.
"Ha, safe? No ones safe out there. Not while Polaris is alive. It'd be safer for us to just stay here Wendy."
"But what about all of our friends, and your spirits? Are we just going to abandon them?" I cried.
Lucy got a strange look on her face and was silent for a moment before turning away from me to kneel down in front of the graves. "They'll be joining us soon enough, Polaris will make sure of that." She said ominously. "She can't be defeated, my mother tried and failed, and even the king of the Spirit World can't do it. What makes you think I will succeed where they could not?"
"Because you're stronger than they are and you won't be facing her alone, you have all of us and your spirits who have got your back. You can't give up because you're afraid of what might happen.
"Please Lucy, you have to wake up. If you don't we will certainly be joining your parents, but if you fought with us we might actually have a shot at beating Polaris." When I saw her shake her head I went from concerned to angry. I did not just spent the better part of a week healing her for her to give up. "What happened to you? You were prepared to face Polaris alone before the accident and now you're running scared. This isn't you. The Lucy I know and love would never leave her friends to fight alone, and would never give up because she was afraid she might fail. If this is the real you then fine stay with your parents." I shouted, closing my eyes to concentrate on finding my way back to me own mind.
"Wendy are you alright?" Loke asked running up to me as I sat up.
"Of course, but that was really weird. How did that even happen?" I asked looking at all three of the spirits.
"Your connection to Lucy must be very strong for you to just fall into her subconscious like that. Did you find her?" Nick asked looking to Lucy and frowning.
"I did... We're gonna have to figure this out how to defeat Polaris without her." I said reluctantly. Seeing the disbelief on Loke's face made me cringe and turn away from him.
"That can't be right, she'd never abandon us." He said, refusing to believe it.
Before I could say anything in response Lucy's body shimmered and disappeared. "What?!" I yelled in confusion.
"I thought this would happen." Nick said disappearing too.
"I didn't mean it when I told her to go with her parents. She's not dead is she?" I cried, running my hands over where Lucy had just been.
An: Hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know what you think. Please and thank you.
Amethyst The Purple Dragon: Thanks! I'm glad you think so. I don't know if you were the first one to read the chapter but we'll just say you were. ;)
jello673: :)
Infinites Lover: Yay! :)
RebelPanda: Haha, I'm sorry you got in trouble but that's hilarious. :D
Enflura Amberflower: :P
Alaina Kuski: Thanks, I'm trying.