BROKEN AND BRUISED
CHAPTER 25
They both waited tensely for the bell to ring, signifying the start of their match up. Five seconds later the bell rung and Lucy immediately was on the move.
"Open, gate of the bull, Taurus!"
Taurus materialized next to her and swung his axe at Flare who dodged it easily. Lucy took out another key and called out for Scorpio who sent a sandbuster towards Flare.
Flare laughed before her hair grew and blocked the attack.
"Her hair grew?" Natsu asked bewildered.
The commentators were excitedly explaining and talking about the match that was unfolding before them, each sharing their own view of what was to come and how shocked they were to see celestial spirit magic being used and that Lucy was able to summon two at once. Not only them but other guilds were also astonished that she was able to perform such a feat knowing that it wasn't a magic that is that powerful.
"She sure is showing us something," commented Jura-san, his teammates nodding in approval.
"Taurus, Scorpio, now!"
"Let's go Taurus. We are!" laughed Scorpio as he readied another sandbuster, only this time it was sucked into Taurus's axe.
Taurus ran towards Flare and started chanting, "Sandstorm axe…" he jumped at her and swung his axe, "ALDEBARAN!"
Sand flew everywhere and it even got into some bystanders' eyes. Flare was pushed back into the wall on the opposite side while screaming, she redirected her hair to cushion the hit. She stood up and grinded her teeth. "You blasted Blondie!"
"Nice work you two." Lucy praised her spirits that were disappearing back to their world when a hair attack shaped like a wolf came rushing her way.
"Open, gate of the crab, Cancer!" he came in a flash and shredded Flare's hair.
She sat on her behind, looking horrified at her cut up hair and watched as Lucy high fived her spirit before he too disappeared.
Never in her life Flare hated anyone as much as she hated the blonde that was before her. She got up and plunged her hair in the ground, redirecting it so it was just beneath Lucy where it surprised the blonde and caught her legs. Flare swung her around before she lit her hair on fire causing the blonde to hiss in pain which enraged Flare more. She wanted to hear her scream and beg her to stop. In her blinded rage she didn't notice the whip that came her way and flipped her in the air.
They both landed on the sand, Flare with a bewildered look on her face.
"Sunshine sure is toying with her." Cobra chuckled as he watched the battle, he knew Lucy could have ended this battle in mere seconds. The power difference between Flare and his sister was unbelievable.
The trimen were remarking that even though they never saw her, they heard a lot about her from her teammates and were glad to see her in such good shape.
Jellal's eyes zeroed in on her burnt shoes, hoping that it won't be a problem for the blonde, but he heaved a sigh when she threw them to the side and commented sadly that they were one of her favorites. He chuckled at that last bit, only Lucy would whine about clothes in the middle of a battle.
Flare on the other hand, was about to combust from the immense rage she was feeling at the moment. "My hair… didn't do that much damage?" she asked herself as she looked at the blonde's scorched shoes. Something bobbled inside of her and she was ready to let it out. 'Who does this blonde bitch think she is? Everyone will weep in front of my power!'
She once again plunged her hair in the ground but this time Lucy was watching her so she jumped back and narrowed her eyes.
'Weird, I don't sense her at all.'
"What are they doing?" asked Gray as he watched them just standing in the arena.
Lucy looked around her but there was no sign of magic near her at all. She looked back at Flare only to see her staring at her with her head tilted. She pointed with her finger to the stand where all the members of Fairy Tail sat. Lucy's eyes roamed the stand to see her family cheering her on, she allowed a smile on her face only for it to be wiped off when she saw the red strand of hair near none other than Layla's head.
Flare giggled. "If you don't want anything to happen to you little companion, then sit tight and don't fight back. You aren't allowed to use your magic, or surrender and even make a sound. You will be my punching bag for the remainder of the time we have and I will make a complete laughing stock out of you. And remember, if you move or do anything at all, I will end this little's girl life right before your eyes." She smirked maniacally as she looked at the blonde whose eyes were glued in Layla's direction.
"Go mama, you can do this!" her little girl cheered as she waved for her.
Laxus growled as he got up and was about to teleport towards Layla when Jellal grabbed him.
"Watch."
Laxus looked at him with a raised eyebrow, he knew that Jellal and all the others would in no way let anything happen to the kids. So why weren't they taking action? He looked to see Gajeel and Natsu also restrained by others of Lucy's family, they were tense but they weren't fearful and it made Laxus wonder about their weird behavior. But he also couldn't just stand there and watch as his kid was used as hostage, so he pushed off Jellal's hand and was about to summon his lightning when a sudden immensive surge of power made him instantly turn back to the arena.
Flare laughed before she flung her hair and went to grab at Lucy before she recoiled back in shock and screamed in pain.
Flare looked at the strand of hair that was under the ground, the one she was using to threaten the little girl, only to see that it was scorched to the root. She touched it and winced at the burn she felt. Her eyes quickly averted to the blonde and was about to shout at her when her words got stuck in her throat. The entire arena was quiet as they watched the blonde with bated breath.
There was her opponent, the girl from Fairy Tail that she was fighting, the one she thought was going to be an easy fly to beat and rejoice in the praises of the people, yet that same girl was looking at her with eyes that were set aflame. She was glaring at her so intensely Flare thought she was being burned by that look only. And then there was her clothes, they were changed into a long red skirt and a red tube top. She wore detached sleeves and her now loose hair was flowing behind her, the tiara and necklace glowing brightly. Her red lips were set in a flat line till they pulled up into a smirk so devilish that Flare found herself quacking in her boots.
Laxus, and he summarized that not only him but the whole stadium, was transfixed by her. He watched as Lucy closed her eyes and flames erupted from around them, circling them and forming an arena of their own.
"What the hell…" Sting muttered as he watched the blonde in the arena.
What Lucy did next shocked the entire stadium, the commentators not saying anything to not disturb this scene, but also because like the rest of the people, they couldn't say anything, because Lucy was, in the middle of a battle, dancing.
Not only was she dancing, but she was also humming a tune she was dancing to. She twirled, her hair and long red skirt moving with her as she opened her arms and twirled once more before she put her arms above her head and dropped them slowly while bending down in a bow before she stood straight and squared her shoulders. She looked straight ahead at Flare and it was then that the redhead knew, that no matter what she did, she could never win against the blonde.
Lucy resumed her dance and the flames surrounding them grew in intensity. Slowly, the flames started closing in on them till they almost consumed them. Flare woke up from her reverie and tried to attack the blonde, yet the flames would protect the blonde each time. They wouldn't let any attack reach Lucy at all and it caused the panic in Flare to rise.
But fear took over when she saw Lucy lit up in flames as she slowly rose to the sky, her hands in a prayer and her eyes closed while her voice sounded in the entire arena.
"Oh celestial phoenix,
Heed your master's bidding
And grant me thy power
To annihilate all that is corrupted,
Let this dance be our promise
That all evil shall be purged."
The blonde's eyes opened, golden irises glowing so brightly as the sky split open and something red and orange descended from an orange gate. It circled around them before it stood behind Lucy and it was now that Flare could tell what it was.
A phoenix, a bit taller than Lucy and definetly wider than her, glared down at her. It was completely erupted in flames and looked as if it was waiting for something.
Flare wondered what it was waiting for but she soon got her answer when she saw Lucy's arm rising and pointing at her. She backed away, her eyes widening at what she now understood was about to happen.
"Celestial purification." The blonde said so calmly and the whole stadium watched as the phoenix rose in the air before it descended directly on Flare.
"NO! NO! I SURR-" she screamed as she put her arms in front of her to shield herself from the attack, cursing in her head at whatever stopped her from surrendering, but nothing came.
The sky cleared out, the attack vanished in thin air, and all that was left was Lucy falling from where she was in the sky.
Laxus, Gajeel, Cobra, Natsu, Jellal, Gray, and Sawyer all jumped to catch her. She landed safely between them, and they tried to wake her up but couldn't. She was out cold.
They looked at Flare to see she was completely shocked, still trembling from her place, but then her fear ridden face split into a grin as she realized what happened.
"You are nothing but small fly after all." She laughed.
The commentators, after recovering from the entire shock, announced Flare as the winner.
"But what a spectacle show! Too bad Lucy-san may not have had enough power to carry on such an attack! But for a celestial mage to perform such a spell, such an incredible performance." Jenny, one of the commentators said.
But almost everyone knew what really happened and Makarov glared at the stand where his son's guild resided. "You would stoop so low, huh Ivan?"
"What happened?" Romeo asked sadly.
"Someone interfered in their fight, which is against the rules, but I suppose they hadn't caught on to that." Mavis answered, her tone flat as she stared at the arena before them. Flare was waving for the crowd that was cheering her on while Lucy's family carried her to the infirmary.
She never saw the girl, never met her, but she was immensely shocked by the sheer power that Lucy showed today. She knew that if it wasn't for that interference, Lucy had this battle in the bag. Her eyes roved towards Ivan still standing there, creepily smiling as he watched Flare going back to her stand. She wondered just what on earth this man wanted. Her eyes flit towards Makarov who was eerily quiet only to find a vein popping out of his neck as he gritted his teeth.
'Ah! It seems he too is wondering the same thing.' She thought to herself before her eyes wandered back to the arena.
Rogue and Sting were still not over the shock of what just happened, but they were forced to snap out of it when Minerva laughed and commented about how much the blonde haired girl was pathetic. They were going to refute, to say something, but they were quietened by the one person they never thought would speak out of turn.
"Minerva-san, what Lucy-san just accomplished isn't something known to happen ever!" Yukino turned from the railing she was supporting herself on to face Minerva as she continued. "I have read before about celestial mages using the power of the zodiac keys but it's very hard to accomplish. No that's not right, it's near impossible to happen for the price for such a power is high and no one was ever stated that they were able to use this power, that's why they never mentioned what the price was. But for Lucy-san to use the silver keys' power like this, she must be really powerful." She finished with an awe in her voice.
That awe was trampled on in mere seconds when Minerva slapped Yukino. The white haired girl held her swollen cheek while she tried to hold back her tears by biting her lower lip.
"Powerful? Ha! Don't make me laugh. I hope I can go against her to show you what true power means. And Yukino…" she got closer to her and lowered her face to her level, her glare causing the white haired girl to whimper. "Never again speak out of line with me, you got off with a slap, the next time I won't be as merciful." She then turned around and walked off, her heels clicking on the pavement as she left their stand.
Yukino was able to release the breath she was holding and lowered her head. She was about to cry but forced herself to stop when she looked around her and saw that everyone was looking at her with disdain.
"Complimenting the opponent? Just what on earth was the master thinking when he allowed you into the guild?" Rufus commented as he looked away from her, as if the mere sight of her brought him discomfort.
She left the stand they were in before anyone else added to what Rufus said. She wanted out of this guild and she wanted it so badly but she didn't want the humiliation that came with leaving said guild. She never felt this warm feeling that was usually talked about in other guilds, in Sabertooth it's only the strong can survive while the weak get trampled on, just like what happened with her moments ago.
"When will it end?" she whispered to herself as she slid down the wall she was leaning on, hugging her knees to her chest and crying silently while not noticing the person that was watching her from the shadows.
"I will make sure that she regrets the day she was ever born, that fucking bitch." Seethed Sorano as she watched her sister cry, her legs itching to run towards her and embrace her. She came to Sabertooth's booth to see her sister but she chickened out when she heard her sister talk about Lucy, and was about to leave when she heard the slap and stayed for the rest of the conversation that took place. She only hid herself in the shadows when Minerva opened the door. She took a step back, planning to go back to where the rest of the Fairy Tail members were when a hand pushed her out of the dark corner she was in.
She stumbled forward and turned around abruptly to yell at whoever pushed her when she saw the face of the man she loved smiling warmly at her.
"Um, who are you?" Yukino timidly asked as she rose from her spot on the floor.
Sorano froze, her back facing her sister as she looked at her lover mouthing her the word 'Go.'
She turned slowly and watched as Yukino's eyes widened.
"O-Onee-chan?" she whispered to herself before she shook her head, trying to see if Sorano would disappear from before her or won't. When her sister remained, new tears formed on the corner of her eyes as she ran towards her. "How?! Where were you?! I thought you- I thought you died."
And Sorano embraced her tightly, crying silently as she pat her little sister on the head while she whispered repeatedly, "I'm sorry!" to her.
After a while they both settled down, Sorano pushing herself away from her sister as she caught her eyes and said. "Yukino, did this bitch ever hit you before today?"
Yukino widened her eyes, her little form trembling as she remembered the bullying that Minerva made her go through, but she wasn't going to admit that to her sister, so she shook her head in denial. "No, she didn't. I just crossed the line with what I've said that's all."
Sorano crossed her arms. "Excuse me, what the fuck does that supposed to mean? Who does she think she is to slap people around? And what did you even tell her to consider it as crossing a line?"
Sorano waited while her sister fidgeted in her place. At the panic that was clearly evident on Yukino's face, Sorano softened and hugged her once more.
"Yukino, there is much that I need to tell you. Let's meet tonight at the bar near the stadium, and then you can tell me what you've been doing and I can explain a lot of things to you. Is that good for you?"
Yukino wanted to agree with what her sister said, she wanted to tell her that yes she'll be there, but then she remembered that they were going to hold a training session in the guild and she got a warning the last time she missed one cause she was sick, so she couldn't miss it no matter what. Minerva was here to replace her if something were to happen to her but Yukino wasn't going to let that happen. She will prove them wrong and win her matches.
So she let her go of her sister reluctantly. "I would love to, but I'm…"
Sorano closed her eyes and let her shoulders slump. "I see… I know I messed up a lot in my life and I know that I have done a lot of wrong things, so I understand if you didn't want to associate with someone like me-"
"NO!" Yukino's tears flowed once more as she held onto her sister's shoulders. "No!" she repeated once more while Sorano looked at her with wide eyes.
"I don't care what you have done, I know that you will always be my big sister no matter what. It's just, that the guild is holding a training session tonight that I can't miss. That's all."
Sorano blinked slowly. "Oh." Her cheeks were then set aflame at the embarrassment she was feeling. "I understand now, hehe." She then smiled brightly, "Well then, let's meet up after the games are done. Deal?" she extended her hand and without missing a beat Yukino shook it.
"Deal, I can't wait!"
They went different ways after their exchange, Yukino with a bright smile on her face and Sorano humming happily.
"That went well," Macbeth commented as he stepped out of the shadows.
Sorano shrieked as she readied her hand to punch whoever scared her in the face. Her arm fell when she realized who it was. "You scared me! And did you stay the whole time?"
He chuckled as he brought her into a hug. "It wasn't my intention, I just wanted to stay and check up on you. I didn't mean to intrude."
She wrapped her arms around him, melting in his hug. "I'm glad you stayed."
Their moment was ruined when they heard Mato announcing the end of the second battle with Ren Akatsuki from Blue Pegasus and Arana Webb from Mermaid Heel, with Ren being the winner.
"We should get back to the games," Sorano said.
"We should check up on Lucy." Macbeth sighed as walked towards the infirmary.
"Wait, why? What happened to her?" she rushed to stand next to him as he explained how the fight went down, leaving her gasping and enraged at the unfairness that went down.
XXX
When the door to the infirmary was busted open, Porlyusica was ready to throw hands until she saw Lucy being carried in by seven men who were very much enraged by the looks on their faces.
"What happened?" she rushed towards the girl as Jellal put her down on an empty bed.
Wendy straightened up to see what happened to her comrade while she listened in on the men's conversation. When they were done, Porlyusica nodded her head in a grim manner. "I see. I will need to check on her magic reservoirs to see what's up with them. I will let you know about the results once they are done. Now, leave. You are disturbing the patients."
They were pushed out of this door in an instant, but none of them moved from their place, all deciding to remain there for some time.
"That was such a low blow," Sawyer commented as he laid his back on the wall.
"Tell me about it." Jellal huffed as he sat on the floor, he knew he couldn't stay here long, he had a game against Jura soon and by the sound of the cheers he heard coming from the stadium he knew it won't be long before he got summoned into the arena.
"First using Layla as hostage-" a growl permeated the air between them, it was low and dangerous, as if a warning to not bring up that particular factor.
All eyes were on Laxus, but he paid them no mind, his eyes were focused on the closed door on the infirmary. No one said anything about his growl, because everyone else understood that going near a dragon slayer's kids was the equivalent of a death wish.
"And then intervening from the stands." Sawyer sighed, "This was such a low blow for her now. It's gonna work against us with the shadow in her."
The third match of the day ended with Orga's win against Warcry from Quatro Cerberus, and the matchup between Jellal-currently known as Mystogan- and Jura was announced.
Jellal got up from the floor and dusted himself. "I need to prepare for my fight. I'll come back immediately after I am done."
Not soon after he departed he returned with a defeated sigh escaping him, accompanied by both Macbeth and Sorano who had amused smirks on their face.
"I heard you lost." Gajeel gihi'ed.
"To tickles." Sawyer snorted.
Sorano shook her head at Jellal's exasperated look. "You should have seen it coming. Anyway, to more important things, how is Lu?"
Right as she said those words, Porlyusica opened the door and sighed once she saw that they were all still gathered in front of the room. "She's fine, just needs some rest. You can take her back to her room."
The men nodded their heads and Jellal went in and carried Lucy in his arms. They all then proceeded to their hotel where before they went in they saw a man bare chested wearing dark blue armor plates on his arms leaving the tavern with a bra in his arms.
Macbeth shook his head. "I don't even want to know."
Jellal immediately headed to the top floor and went into her room. He laid her down on her bed gently and turned around to find team Natsu waiting for him.
"She just needs some rest." He reassured the rest that weren't with them.
"We know, Natsu and Gray told us." Erza said as she sat next to Lucy, moving away the strands of hair that were on her face.
"It was a really unfair thing what happened. She was doing so well, I am so surprised by how far she's come, though I never doubted that she can do that and more," Erza whispered gently as she looked at Lucy's sleeping face.
Jellal nodded his head. "Indeed."
He went to the door and before he closed it he addressed them. "Rest up now, I'm sure we'll all do better tomorrow." He closed it and left, leaving behind him a flushed Gray and Erza and a grinning Natsu and Elfman.
"Why are you embarrassed?" Natsu asked Gray with the goofiest smile on his face.
"Just… shut up Flamehead!"
"Wanna go Ice Princess?!"
A bonk could be heard in the room followed by two sets of whines.
"If you wake Lucy up, I will make sure that neither of you see the next daylight." Erza warned in a low tone causing the two to huddle up together and say 'Aye!'
She rolled her eyes and dragged them out of the room. "Come on, the master is waiting for us downstairs." Elfman followed after them and closed the door behind him.
Lucy opened her eyes the minute she heard the door close and burst out crying. She huddled into her cover sheets as she hiccupped at the complete failure that happened today. She knew someone intervened, she knew someone ruined it for her, but she cannot get over the fact that she humiliated herself and her team and her guild out there. She promised to right the wrongs and yet here she was making more mistakes, costing her guild more because of her failures.
"Lucy-san, don't cry. Fro doesn't like seeing someone cry." A shaky voice said from the balcony and Lucy immediately straightened up in her bed.
"Frosch?" she asked, bewildered.
He flew in and sat on her lap. He laid his paw on her cheek and said. "Lucy-san, you were amazing today."
"I… was?" she questioned, unsure of the truth in his words.
He just nodded his head enthusiastically. "Mhmm, you were. When Fro saw you dance, you looked like a fairy. Fro was so happy to watch you fight."
"Really?" her voice cracked, almost relieved at what the little exceed had just said.
She hugged him close to her as she cried, thanking him repeatedly while she patted him on the head and he just snuggled into her. He waited till she calmed down before he moved away from her. "Fro needs to go, or else Rogue would be mad when he finds out that Fro is missing."
She nodded her head. "Thank you for the pep talk Fro, you helped me a lot."
He smiled happily before he flew out the window. Lucy walked out to her balcony and laid her elbows on the railing.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day and she's going to make up for her mistakes. She caressed her forehead and smiled.
After all, she had an ace up her sleeve.
In the infirmary, Charle sat on Wendy's bed as she relayed to Porlyusica the vision she had.
"A white knight, a magical array, Mercurius falling and Lucy singing?" Porlyusica hummed to herself. "Interesting vision indeed."
A/N:
I am sorry about the delay on this chapter, it was supposed to be up way before but I started college again and my schedule is hectic. It's supposed to be better now (I hope).
Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Also, on a side note, the site seems to be lagging because it keeps showing me 0 views on my last chapter although there are reviews on it. I don't know what's going on and I hope it gets fixed soon.
Signing out,
KAWAIINECKO!
