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September 14th, X778
The moment she saw the situation in the circular drive, Lucy knew things weren't looking great for her. Natsu tried to stick as close to her as Erigor would let him, and Gajeel stalked along behind them. His gaze often rested on Levy, and his glare chased Erigor's group away to some degree. Erigor had directed his companions to grab the group's supplies, intent on stealing it for their own. There was still no sign of Wendy either. None of them said a word about her; they didn't want to bring attention to her.
Certainly not as they walked towards the wooden platform Lucy had seen earlier that day. The stage was the same as it had been – and entirely different at the same time. Rather than being a simple wooden platform, it was now laced with flowers and various types of plants that seemed to thrive in the warm weather, as if in celebration of the goddess that stood among the humans who called this cursed cul-de-sac home.
Something was wrong. Lucy eyed the wooden bowl in the center of that stage, which was lit by various lanterns and flashlights that had been carefully set up. She could see about a dozen other people who'd not been with Erigor beforehand emerging from their hiding places, too. Levy reappeared, casting the stage a look of disgust before hiding her emotions behind a carefully crafted mask.
Natsu's attention remained locked onto Lucy as she was pushed towards the stage. "Light the fire," he shouted over his shoulder, jerking his chin at the massive pyre that had been set up for a bonfire. Lucy hissed in protest as he pushed her up the small flight of steps, up onto the stage. Natsu and Gajeel were stopped from following, and Natsu immediately grew agitated about it, humming shrilly. Erigor stopped to eye him for a moment, considering, and then ordered Levy, "Draw wards around them. I don't want them to move freely."
Levy did as she was told, entirely unafraid of the way Gajeel stared her down or that soul-deep hum emanating from Natsu. She only knelt to the pavement, drawing runes with a piece of chalk that had appeared in her hand.
The bonfire roared to life, illuminating those who stood in the dark. It was nerve-wracking, seeing their hungry, excited faces from the stage. They murmured amongst themselves as Lucy was dragged towards the wooden bowl. Lucy tried to put on a brave face as true fear began to curl in her gut when her coat was painfully yanked off her body, tossed carelessly aside. Her breath caught when they ripped Natsu's precious scarf from her throat, too. She watched it hit the stage a short distance away, and then tried to wrench herself away from Erigor when he reached for the keys. He wrestled them off despite her best attempts, as if he did this often, and chucked them aside. Lucy's heart missed a beat. She could do nothing with the keys if she couldn't touch them.
Erigor beckoned for someone to join him. Lucy recognized Kageyama, who didn't look the least bit sorry about any of this as he ascended to the stage. "Knife," demanded Erigor without looking at him, holding his hand out, and fear swallowed Lucy whole when a pocketknife was passed over. It overrode her self-control, triggering a primal sense of "flee for your life" that Lucy hadn't felt since that Vhalis had broken into her apartment so long ago.
Lucy ripped her arm away from Erigor's tight grip. She fell back, stumbling, but didn't break stride, lurching for the edge of the stage. Natsu stiffened in preparation, eyes blazing, and something told Lucy if she could just make it to him–
A yelp tore from her throat when something grabbed the back of her shirt, hauling her back in the direction she'd fled from. Flight quickly turned to fight, and Lucy fought harder than she'd ever fought before to free herself, even as Kageyama and Erigor wrestled her back. She uttered a sharp, mocking bark of laughter when her elbow connected with Kageyama's face, earning her an ear-piercing crack and the splatter of blood over her skin. She went so far as to try and bite Erigor's hand, if only to get it off her. She kicked and thrashed, and tried everything she could think of to free herself until Erigor grew impatient with her fighting and simply dealt a blow to her jaw.
The punch sent her spinning, and there was a ringing in her ears. Lucy wheezed in pain, blinking dark spots from her eyes as she tumbled down onto the stage, immediately pinned there by a knee to her chest. She fought to push Erigor off, but failed, unable to clear her head. Distantly, she noticed her sleeves being ripped and pushed up.
For months and months, Lucy Heartfilia had prided herself on her ability to survive. Perhaps she'd not thrived, but she liked to think she'd done fairly well all things considered. She'd not had many survival skills before the end of the world, after all. She'd even outsmarted a serial killer. She'd kept herself mentally strong, the only break down she'd really had occurring in Hyacinth, after the dust had settled. Breaking down and letting everything overwhelm her would have meant her death – even with friends to help watch her back.
But she found that now, that strength she'd prided herself so much on buckled beneath the sharp edge of a knife.
Lucy screamed at the first kiss of the knife as, with Kageyama's help, Erigor began carving her flesh bone-deep. Hot tears fell despite her best attempts to push them back. The pain was like a fire beneath her skin and it drowned everything else out.
"Stop it!" snarled Natsu, unable to do anything but watch. He paced the warded circle Levy had drawn desperately, humming. His skin festered and cracked, charring entirely in some places. Ash spouted from his lips with each heaving breath, fury deafening even Gajeel, who winced at the pitch of his hum; the god of warfare seemed almost unnerved by what was happening, but said nothing. He simply stood as close to Levy as he could, with each on either side of the barrier preventing them from getting any closer.
Lucy continued to fight, even as she sobbed, her strength waning the longer she she did. It did her no good in the end. After several minutes of searing pain and crimson and glinting knives, Erigor and Kageyama finally released her, stepping aside. They looked breathless, but smug. When they'd let go, Lucy didn't have the energy or strength to get up and try to run again. She didn't even look at the marks carved into her bloodied arms.
Lucy simply rolled onto her side and curled into a ball, crying into her hands like a child terrified by the dark. Her body quaked violently with each heaving sob. Erigor clicked his tongue, frowning in disapproval at her. "Not the bravest one we've had," he said almost casually to Kageyama, who nodded in agreement, "but she'll do."
"Do for what?" Natsu barked, seething. His voice came out hoarse and choked by the smoke and ash pooling in his mouth.
Erigor ignored him and grabbed Lucy by an arm, dragging her onto her knees. Lucy gasped through her tears at the stinging bite of his fingers smearing over her fresh wounds. "We will honor the spring goddess as we do every month," he declared to those who'd gathered. "In exchange for her help in ensuring our survival during these trying times, we'll celebrate her in the ways of her own people."
Lucy hardly heard him past the ringing in her ears. She blinked blearily at the wooden bowl he forced her to bend over, blanching at the old blood stains crusting the inside of it. When it struck home what Erigor intended to do, however, she snapped her gaze up and wildly sought out Natsu. She found him staring helplessly from the ring of runes preventing him from moving. His hands were curled into fists as he stood there, horror warring with his rage.
Erigor crooked his finger. Levy peeled herself away from Gajeel, her own hazel eyes flooding with tears as she stalked forward. She gathered her filthy, tattered white dress's skirt in one hand as she ascended the small flight of steps, graceful despite everything. Lucy realized that the grief on Levy's face was the first real emotion she'd seen Levy show in Erigor's presence. The goddess's slim, pale hand shook violently as she took the blood-stained pocketknife from Erigor and came to stand over Lucy, staring down at her with self-loathing.
"I'm sorry," Levy only whispered.
This wasn't in Levy's honor. Lucy watched as flowers bloomed where tears struck the wood beneath them. Those same flowers wilted and withered away almost as soon as they bloomed. This was meant to torment Levy and remind her who had the power in this situation. It was a reminder for her specifically that Erigor could do whatever he wanted, that Levy couldn't stop him – even if it meant forcing her to slaughter someone like a sacrificial lamb.
As Levy gripped Lucy's shoulder and braced the blade of the pocketknife against Lucy's throat, desperation drove Natsu to cry, "Levy!" He attempted to reason with her, knowing she could do as much as he could about what was happening. "Levy, please. Please. She's my Favored."
Levy faltered. Lucy flinched at the stinging kiss of the knife. Hot blood trickled down her neck, staining the collar of her already ruined shirt. Lucy was too tired of it all to bother trying to twist away. As if she stood a chance against a god, who tightened her grip on Lucy's shoulder. "I'm sorry," repeated Levy dully.
There had been many, many times Lucy Heartfilia had considered what might kill her. Before everything had gone so wrong in the world, she'd considered an accidental car wreck or – preferably – old age. After the Fall, it had been by Vhalis or starvation. When Natsu had come along, it had been by a murderous man in Hyacinth or even by another god. Never, not once, had Lucy considered that she'd go out as a sacrifice to a goddess who wanted nothing more than to let her go.
Levy squeezed Lucy's shoulder once more. It was a small comfort. It was the only one she could offer. Lucy screwed her eyes shut, focusing on the screaming hum emanating from Natsu. If she was going to die, she'd take comfort wherever she could, whether it be from something as simple as a hum or even the tales she'd heard regarding what would come next–
A clatter in the bowl at her knees drew Lucy's eyes back open. She blinked in confusion at the blade that had fallen into it. She'd not expected that. Her blood, maybe, but not the knife. Erigor snapped, "Pick it up. We don't have all night and it's not going to change what happens."
Lucy was fairly sure they were all shocked when Levy breathed, "No."
She dared to look up then. Erigor was staring at Levy as she released Lucy entirely and drifted towards the front of the stage. Lucy crumpled backwards, kicking herself away from the bowl as fast as she could. Chest heaving, she watched with wide eyes as Levy gracefully knelt and extended her hands out. For the first time since they'd met earlier that day, Lucy saw Levy truly smile, her hazel eyes joyous.
"Wendy," choked out Lucy, unable to believe what she was seeing.
For it was most certainly Wendy weaving among people, dancing out of reach when they realized what was happening and began trying to snag her. Charle darted along, attacking the ankles of anyone who tried to lay a finger on Wendy. Commotion broke out when those same people realized that something repelled their touch – no, not something, but a thorny circle of branches in her hands.
Natsu roared Wendy's name in triumph. Gajeel couldn't help the disbelieving laugh that escaped as Wendy tripped to a halt before the stage and smiled impishly at the springtime goddess she'd never met. "I think this is yours?" offered Wendy, holding the crown out.
"Thank you," whispered Levy fiercely, taking it from her. Immediately, the crown burst into bloom. Wildflowers wove among the thorns and leaves sprang open. After whispering something to Wendy, who whirled away and lunged for the warded circle imprisoning their friends, Levy straightened to her feet and looked at her diale in awe.
In an act of desperation, simply to get one more victory over Levy, Erigor took matters into his own hands. He launched himself at Lucy. Natsu yelled a warning at her, and she cursed and tried to scramble away. Her arms buckled beneath her, throbbing with betrayal, and Erigor caught her with embarrassing ease, hauling her furiously towards the bowl. Lucy began fighting with as much strength as she had left, but her fingers only slid on her own blood. She cried out a plea for help when he snagged the pocketknife from the bowl. So frantic to finish his "ceremony" and torment Levy one more time, he sliced his own hand on the blade.
Levy's head whipped around the second a drop of blood struck the wooden bowl, her pretty face melting into something out of a nightmare. She paused, her diale halfway to her head. Her eyes and mouth stitched themselves shut and her nose wrinkled away into slits. Lush blue hair became more akin to the stringy clumps of a corpse. When she screamed, Lucy wished she could have covered her ears.
Distracted by the loud noise, Erigor was unprepared for a fist to strike him in the face. He stumbled back with a shout, releasing Lucy. Lucy flailed when someone hauled her back across the wooden stage with an arm around her waist, shrieking in outrage, only for a hand to clap over her mouth and silence her. Levy stared sharply at her through stitched, shut eyes, attention caught.
"Not a sound. You hear me, Luce? Not a damn sound."
Natsu's voice rasped in her ear. Ash stung her skin where it fell. She was safe. Lucy shattered. She dissolved into tears, twisting in his grip until she could bury herself against him. Natsu secured his arms around her, tucking her head beneath his chin and narrowing his eyes at Levy when she tipped her head and inhaled the smell of blood. He hummed warningly when she stepped towards him, testing the limits he hastily set.
Levy inclined her head, acknowledging his declaration, and turned back to Erigor. Fear drove him to throw the pocket knife at her. Levy hardly cared when it lodged in her side. She only hissed when gold soaked the ruined dress she wore and lifted the crown to her head.
Lucy didn't need Natsu to tell her, "Don't look, Luce." She didn't bother to try when he gently pressed her closer, hiding her face against his throat instead. She was too exhausted to care. "Don't look," Natsu repeated quietly.
But Natsu certainly did.
Lucy trembled against Natsu like a leaf as he watched Levy place her crown on her head for the first time in a number of years. That power, which would have built up in the time the diale had been separated from her, exploded from his old friend, unleashed upon everything and everyone in the general vicinity. Just as Natsu curled protectively around Lucy, Gajeel snagged Wendy and made himself into a wall between her and the danger.
It ricocheted through the air, overloading the nature that surrounded them. Trees burst into the sky. Flowers bloomed alongside weeds until one couldn't take a single step without touching one or the other. Shrubbery and vines overwhelmed and choked the houses, ripping them apart. Stubborn plantlife overturned cement until it was hardly visible beneath it all.
When it was finally over, Erigor's followers lay dead around them. The sight didn't bother Natsu, nor did that of Erigor's body lying at Levy's feet. In exchange for what he'd done to her, she'd claimed his life with the very same sacrificial pocketknife he'd intended to use. She didn't seem thrilled with it, even frowning down at the body. Wendy seemed safe enough beside Gajeel, who'd taken the brunt of it. His flesh was criss-crossed with a myriad of wounds.
Satisfied that everything was safe – at least for the time being – Natsu turned his attention onto far more important matters. He loosened his grip on Lucy, who didn't react. He hated the way her blood stuck to his skin. She was clearly exhausted and in pain. He suspected there might be some shock, too. Bruises would likely form on her face where she'd been struck; a cut bled steadily at her neck, and he hastily tore a piece from her already ruined shirt to press over it. Natsu could hardly bring himself to look at the runes that Erigor and his follower had carved into her arms. He felt sick with guilt. He'd watched, unable to lift even a finger, as one by one they'd been drawn with the blade of a knife.
Natsu was content to wait for as long as Lucy needed before she faced the world again. He glanced up at Levy, fingers gliding up and down Lucy's spine. Levy furrowed her brow as she studied Erigor's body, somewhat guilty looking. She didn't like what she'd done one bit, but Natsu didn't think the loss should bother anyone. The man had been as cruel as the one who'd attacked his friends in Hyacinth. It had simply been in a far different, almost more frightening way.
Lucy lurched away, startling him. She retched, body heaving. Natsu was unsure of what to do to help her as she vomited. Levy's gaze flicked their way – and then darted to Gajeel as he called her name quietly.
"Gajeel!" breathed Levy, breaking the alarming stillness of the air. She hurtled from the stage, leaping right off the edge. Gajeel caught her in a tight hug, hiding his face in her blue hair. Tears shone on Levy's cheeks. She murmured to him, and Natsu couldn't say he'd ever seen such a soft look on Gajeel's face before.
"Natsu?"
Wendy's voice made Lucy flinch violently beneath his touch. He looked over to find Wendy had somehow come over without him noticing. She rocked back and forth, dark eyes wide and unnerved. Just as she seemed to force herself to ignore his still ravaged appearance, he avoided looking in the direction of the bodies of those killed. Natsu thought her rather pale and ill-looking compared to her usual joyful, lively face. Regardless, Natsu gestured her over, returning his attention back to his Favored. Wendy could help her better than he could.
As Wendy knelt beside him, doing a quick once-over of Lucy's injuries while Lucy didn't seem to notice anything at all, Wendy whispered, "We should go. The Vhalis will come soon. Whatever Levy did broke the wards, I think. It's already getting colder." She puffed a soft breath to show him what she meant; sure enough, it created a small cloud. "I'll wrap her arms a little, but they don't look as if they're bleeding badly enough to be worried about immediately. I think the Vhalis are more dangerous right now."
Not one to argue at the moment, Natsu stretched out and snagged his scarf, the abandoned ring of golden keys, and Lucy's coat. He angrily shoved the keys into his pocket. They seared at his touch in return. They should have protected Lucy. Instead, they'd done nothing.
At least Lucy's coat was relatively unharmed. He hesitated to drape it over her trembling form, knowing she'd be upset with the bloodstains later, but decided that if she could complain, at least it would mean she was alive enough to do so. "C'mon, Luce," he muttered, not missing the jolt that went through her body when he gently shook her shoulder. Her breath caught as she glanced up at him, gaze hazy. The distance in her eyes made him nervous. This was so unlike the Lucy he'd come to know.
He hated it.
A scream pierced the air, distant and hungry. One or two more echoed it. They all looked in the direction it had come from. Natsu pursed his lips unhappily. It was far off, but too close for comfort. They had hours. Deciding they didn't have time for Lucy to make her own mind up about moving, Natsu wrapped her in her coat and scooped her up, barking at Gajeel, "Get our bags. We need to go."
Maybe it was because Gajeel had Levy back, but he didn't complain. He grabbed their bags as he'd been told. Levy helped him, puzzled by it, but determined nevertheless. Natsu did a final check on Lucy, who simply hid her face against him, as if trying to hide the tears that had started again. He hefted her up a little, ensuring he had a good grip.
"Come on," he muttered. He wasn't the only one eager to get out of the area. "Let's go."
One of my favorite chapters for some reason? I think it has to do with my love for true crime and interest in cult behavior. Who knows. Could also be the start of what this is going to lead into... ;)
Thanks to reviewers (MissChuchuuu, Sir Sasquatch, hopelesskar, Lycamall, XxStar'sDustxX, Meow Orbit, stranger1999, nerdalertwarning, fjsmothie, & BurstingDragons!) as well as those who favorited and followed!
