BROKEN AND BRUISED

CHAPTER 18

Jellal sat on the table sipping his tea quietly, he continued to unconsciously tap his foot while looking around the guild. It was in the same atmosphere as it always is, save for the constant bickering and fighting between Natsu and Gray for the sole reason that Natsu is currently away.

He heaved a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose trying not to think about the thing that has been bothering him ever since last night. Once again he sighs, his hands going for his temple in order to achieve some rest from his headache.

"I swear to god, if I hear you sighing one more time, I'm stuffing your face in the floorboard."

He rolls his eyes. "And good morning to you too Ultear."

She clicks her tongue and glares at him. "She'll be fine, stop worrying over nothing."

His shoulders stiffen at the mention of her. "It's not that I am worried that she can't take care of herself, I am worried that she might get ambushed or something worse, like kidnapped."

Ultear shakes her head. "Are you creating scenarios in your head to justify your worry?" her eyes soften at the look of complete defeat from his end. "Jellal, Lucy will be fine. If you believe in her abilities then you know she will be fine on her solo mission."

"Ultear, I never doubted her in my life. But did you see the mission she took? A fucking group terrorizing a town and she took it as a solo. Ultear she's against a group, say they are all magic users, then what happens to her?"

His words made Ultear think of the worst possible outcome of this mission causing her to hiss at him. "Don't make me think of something like that."

Their banter stopped when they saw the white haired bar maiden approach them. "Sorry for interrupting your discussion, I just have something to clarify… Lucy took a mission from the board on this floor correct?"

They both nod their heads. She continues with her questioning. "Do you mind telling me which mission she took, I wasn't the one overseeing her acceptance of the mission."

Jellal was the one to answer. "It was a mission about a group of bandits terrorizing a town a bit far from here."

Sweat beads start to collect on Mira' forehead which made the air ominous around them. "Oh my… this is certainly a problem."

"Why?" Jellal and Ultear were quick on their feet.

Mira takes note of their worried gaze and gives them a sad smile. "This mission was just promoted to S-class."

Horror seeped into their bodies and made itself evident on their faces. Jellal and Ultear exchanged glances before they jumped off the table and rushed to the rest of their family.

Quickly informing them of the situation they prepared themselves to go. Meredy came running to Mira, asked her to take care of the kids, got the information she needed about the mission and told her that they were going after Lucy.

They got their stuff and walked out the door. Makarov watched them go with worried eyes. "Mira?"

She looked at him with a dejected smile on her face. "How bad is it?" he asks already fearing the answer.

"A report came in this morning, the bandits killed over half the population of the town." She answers with a sorrowful tone.

He grimaces at the news he just heard. 'Mavis help them.'

Not ten minutes later Lahar comes barging in through the doors, locking eyes with Makarov and whispering. "We have a problem."

XXX

It took her eight hours to reach the village and she finally found its path in this curvy terrain. Lucy was beyond exhausted and thought a small break was mandatory, so she took off her bag and laid it on the grass beside her as she sat down. She took a deep breath in before exhaling it, the soft breeze swaying her blonde locks softly soothing her into closing her eyes and enjoying its calm effect.

A twig snapped behind her causing her to open her eyes instantly. She pushed herself into a tree and listened to the surrounding area. She heard two sets of footsteps coming her way, embracing herself she took a deep breath and was ready to lunge at them when one of them spoke.

"Are you sure they said she would be here?" he asked annoyed.

The other one rolled his eyes. "Yes I'm sure Cobra, now get your shit together."

Lucy furrowed her brows, the way they were talking was almost as if they are talking about her and she was going to cause a rampage if her cover was blown before she even set foot in the village.

Another voice, this time feminine, filtered in on their conversation. "Cobra, Racer, did you find her?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes at the mention of these two names, she had enough of listening in on their conversation and wanted to see how they look. Because there is no way in hell that it's a coincidence that these two males have the same names as two members of her family.

She leans in quietly and immediately her eyes widen. "Oh my god!"

Before her stood five individuals, and each individual had something that made the blonde hold her laughter in.

The first one, the woman, had silver hair that was obviously dyed as the roots are blond. She wore a swan themed dress that couldn't but remind her of someone and on her head was a blue headband.

Another one, a male, had his hair dyed maroon with tips chapped showing black hair, he was wearing a long white coat and on his shoulder was as a small purple snake that kept biting his ear every now and then. The moment he hears her hisses he would close his eyes in anticipation for the pain.

The third one, also a male, had on a jumpsuit and some sort of visor on his head and his hair was blonde and pulled up in a spike. He looked rather normal except for the obvious surgery of his nose that made it seem longer as Lucy deducted.

The fourth one, a male with long black hair and some white strands. He wore some very unusual clothes and his eyes were lined with eyeliner. The thing that Lucy couldn't fathom was why this man seemed as if he would drop unconscious at any moment.

And lastly, the fifth man, had a very large build and his face was magically made out of proportions to have some kind of block like structure.

Lucy blinked back her confusion, she couldn't believe her eyes. In front of her were replicas of her own family, yet she didn't understand why. And she assumed that the only way to get an answer would be to show herself.

She stepped out of the tree's shadow and looked at all of them. They were in shock at the sight of her casually appearing from a tree that was right in front of them.

"Are you the ones terrorizing this village?" she asked with authority and noticed how each and every one of them gulped in fear. There was no way in hell that these people were the ones ravaging this village, the blonde thought. She only sensed a bit of magic as well but not one that was dominant enough to hurt a fly let alone a village, it was just a fleeting trail of energy.

"Who are you working for?" she asked another question and was met once again with silence.

Finally her patience broke, the way they were scared of her didn't make sense to her and now Lucy realized that nothing in this mission made sense. When she arrived at the train station and told them about her destination, the people didn't even know there was a village here, she had to make the walk following the description on the paper. More than that, someone was supposed to meet up with her at the base of this mountain, yet no one showed up.

"Okay. I am going to ask you a question now and you are going to answer it. I don't bite, and by the looks on your faces you seem to be expecting me. So, who are you people?" she crossed her arms and raised a brow at them.

The female looked sheepishly at her companions, took a deep breath and glared at Lucy. "We are the Neo-Oracion Seis, and we are here to take you down."

The blonde takes a deep breath and closes her eyes before she bursts out laughing. The others look at her confused and a bit enraged but she just waves them off as she tries to regain her breath.

"I'm sorry you are what? Neo-Oracion Seis? Oh Mavis they are going to hear of this when I return." She wipes the tears from her eyes as her laughter dies down.

"We mean this woman, and you will not pass us. This village is ours now." The fake Racer goes into a fighting stance and all his companions follow suit.

Lucy' smile vanishes, her glares surfaces as she lashes out her whip. "So you are the ones who hurt this village. I see, but you can't be the only ones. Well then, let's fight shall we?"

The crack of her whip started this fight and ended it as all her opponents laid on the ground defeated. She shook her head at them and took out a rope, tied them to a tree trunk and left them.

Picking up her bag, she sprinted down the road leading to the village feeling deep down that something was wrong.

Upon reaching the village, she found out that her feeling was spot on. She gasps and quickly covers her mouth at the sight in front of her.

Complete destruction of the houses, blood smeared on the road, walls and mostly everywhere. Fire was blooming from the mayor' house, and the blonde noticed a huge number of dead bodies.

The stench of death becomes overwhelming causing her to stumble to a corner and vomit there. After regaining her composure, she gets up to investigate the village. Her eyes get teary at the sight of an orphanage blown up, she notices a small hand under the rubble holding a plushy. Quickly averting her eyes her blood starts to boil at the scene before her.

"Quite lovely isn't it?" filters in a voice she hadn't heard in a while.

"You did this?" Lucy spits out.

The woman chuckles. "I wasn't the only one, but the orphanage was my doing, I found it quite amazing, they do say that one of the most beautiful sounds is that of a child talking, well in my case screaming. How have you been darling? Hope you are sleeping well." The woman giggled.

She noticed that the blonde went quiet, so she turns around and sees the blonde taking off her bag. She watches Lucy as she takes out a tie and pulls her hair in a ponytail.

"What are you doing dear-"Linda couldn't finish her words as her face was met with a fist.

"Leaving you alive back then was a mistake." Lucy whispers.

Linda laughs. "As if you are going to kill me, you are a fairy remember?"

The blonde smirks, her eyes meet Linda'. "I'm handling this job as a Crime Sorciere."

Linda widens her eyes as she understood the meaning behind what the blonde said. "Fine then, a fight to the death it will be."

Both women go into a fighting stance.

"Show me what you got Lucy." Linda smirks as her hands glow and ten golems made of crystals show up next to her.

Lucy' hand brushes over her keys before she picks one and summons it. Loke appears in a shimmer of gold with a serious look. "Are you sure about this Princess?"

"You don't have to do it, I will. I just need these golems off my back." Lucy replies as she cracks her whip.

He fixes his tie. His eyes drift a bit to his master seeing all the determination in her eyes, but also all this vengeance. He knows she will regret it later, that's why when it comes to the finishing blow, he will be the one to dirty his hands and not his Princess for he knows that she has never killed before.

The blonde summons another spirit, this time Corvus appeared in a shower of black. His wings spread around him as he readies his axes, he looks at Loke and nods, both of them having the same idea and understanding of the situation.

"You brought some new spirits. I commend you, but I don't think it will help you." she laughs as she issues an order of attack to her golems and they start running towards the blonde.

With her whip and her spirits Lucy starts fighting them off, trying all her might to reach Linda but the woman was always hiding behind her golems spamming spells from behind them. The blonde was taking a lot of damage but she didn't care, she just wanted to see that other woman dead. She knew that it wasn't only her that was thinking like that, but the shadows that she affiliates with started to feed this thought more and more to the point where all Lucy wanted to see was her hand plunged in Linda' heart.

Both her spirits took notice of that and tried several times to wake her up of this hatred but nothing worked. Corvus knew that the shadows have a part in this, but he also knew it was a small part. Lucy' whole hatred came from the scene of the orphanage, specifically from the child that was holding a plushy of Lucy in the red dress she wore at the royal banquet all these years back. A business man suggested to make some plushies for the kids to know of this hero that saved the royals.

As the fight continued, Lucy was covered in injuries but still she didn't falter for one bit yet Linda was unscathed.

"Why won't you just die?!" shouted Linda as she commanded more and more golems to attack the blonde and her companions.

Lucy looked back at Loke when she heard him grunt. Her eyes widened when she saw his desperate situation, he was badly wounded yet he kept fighting. Her eyes avert to Corvus to see that he was in the same situation. No matter how many golems they take on Linda keeps calling more and more.

And what was the blonde doing? Using her spirits to do something so unethical, she didn't call any of the other spirits because she didn't want them to be a part of what she is going to do, but did she ask Corvus and Loke if they wanted to? They would stay but for her, and she didn't want that, she didn't want them to do something that they do not agree on because of her.

So with a swish of her hand, Loke and Corvus were sent back to their respectful realms.

"Prince-!" Loke' shocked face was all that she saw before he disappeared while Corvus only looked at her with wide eyes.

"Are you sure this is a wise decision darling?" Linda mocked.

"If you think summoning spirits is the only thing I can do then you are mistaken." Lucy' hands started glowing golden.

"As if I'll let you do this spell on me once again. Golems attack!" she orders her minions as she starts conjuring a spell to end this blonde. It was a risky spell that transforms a person's own blood into crystal and it may lead to the caster's death if it doesn't work but Linda was sure in her abilities. So she starts reciting the spell and Lucy starts reciting hers.

Lucy notices the hand movements that Linda was doing and remembered the book she read. The blonde smirks as she continues with Urano Metria.

Linda widens her eyes and hurries in her spell as she called on more golems so she wouldn't be hit with the blonde's spell, but the woman didn't notice that Lucy didn't even target her with her spell, she was targeting the golems around her.

As Linda finished reciting her spell she targeted Lucy and casted it only to find out two things. One, all her golems are gone.

Two, the blonde was standing with her hair blowing behind her while she was on the floor.

She heard the blonde say. "One should know their own limits, don't you think so?"

Linda widens her eyes at what the blonde implicated. "H-how-" she choked on air as she started heaving.

"I did a reading on your magic, and in the middle of the fight I realized that all I need to do was just make you use your magic more. The amount of golems you summoned wearied you down but you didn't notice it because you already started reciting the spell and according to the book, you can't stop after you start." The blonde answered as she got closer to Linda. She kneeled down next to her and looked at her.

"I- I will not go like this!" she screeched but was unable to move her body.

Her eyes started to become teary. "It's starting isn't it?" she asked afraid.

Lucy nodded, she knew that at the moment Linda' blood is starting to crystallize and that it was a slow death.

"You- you did this… you killed me!" Linda coughs out.

Lucy shakes her head. "I didn't."

"You murderer." Linda glowers.

Lucy brings her face closer to hers and locks eyes with Linda. "I'm not the idiot who didn't know that she ran out of magic power."

The blonde backs away from her and gets up intending to leave.

"No wait- please help me. There- there is a spell to reverse the effects." But Lucy walked on leaving Linda shouting before it all quieted down.

The blonde slid down a tree and hissed as she felt around her broken ribcage.

She could feel her eyes closing and as much as she tried to resist it, pain took over her whole body and she blacked out.

XXX

Jellal and the rest just arrived to the mountain base where they saw a curvy road leading to its top. They took the road and started debating on strategies and scenarios that might have happened that they need to be prepared for.

"Why would she take on a job in a remote place like this?" inquired Racer.

Meredy turns to him. "The reward has a celestial key."

Midnight frowns, he doesn't like what he just heard. Jellal notices this and walks next to him. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Midnight nods. "Most probably it's a trap."

"For celestial mages." Ultear adds to the conversation.

"Or for Lucy." Jellal grimaces at the thought.

They continue their trek till they come across a tree. Noticing that this tree is tied with a rope, they circle it and find five people knocked out cold.

"What the fuck?" shouts Sorano.

Jellal gets closer to inspect them. "I thought I have seen it all but life keeps on surprising me. These are replicas of you lot."

Sorano wags a finger in front of Jellal. "Do not compare these…" she turns to look at them and grimaces. "These idiots to us. We may have been criminals but we were top tier in it. They are just losers." She finishes while pointing at them.

Jellal smirk at the frustrated silverette and crouches next to her counterpart. He shakes her softly causing her eyes to flutter. She wakes up groggily and mutters under her breath about a blonde.

"A blonde?" Jellal questions her. The woman flinches awake and widens her eyes at the people before her for in front of her stood her idols.

"Oh my god, you are the real angel. I am such a fan of you." she gushes over Angel while the latter just humphs away.

Jellal gets in the girl's view. "You were mumbling about a blonde. Do you know where she is?"

The woman bristles. "Oh that idiot blonde. She did this to us, and not only that but she ruined our idols. She made them good." She scowls at the end.

Sorano just about had it with this fake version of her former self, so she gets into her face and glares. "Listen up bitch, I don't have time for your games and your weird obsession with our former group. Where did Lucy go? What happened to her? Who the fuck are you working for? And is Lucy the target here? Answer these questions in this fucking order and you may fucking live. Don't and you may find out why I was labeled the crazy one back in our days. You understand?"

The woman nods her head in fear.

"Good." Sorano smiles at her then ushers her with her hand. "You may begin."

The woman swallows the lump in her throat. She was happy that she got to see a fraction of the old Angel but also scared out of her wits by the new version. "She continued down the road. We don't know what happened to her. A woman named Linda hired us to bring Lucy to her. And yes Lucy is a target here not just for Linda but for her boss as well."

"Linda!" Racer growls out.

"Should have known she would be back for revenge." Midnight bristles.

"But wasn't she in jail?" Meredy asks.

They all turn to her with deadpanned faces. Meredy rolls her eyes. "Is it that easy to break out of jail?"

They all nod their heads to her question.

"The system is broken. Anyone who wishes to get someone out of jail can easily do it from the outside." Jellal says.

"What do we do with these?" Ultear points at the knocked out group.

Just as Jellal was about to answer, he hears his communication lacrima going off. He answers it and it took a few seconds before the master's face appears on it.

"Fernandez, we have a problem." The master's face turns grim.

"Does it concern an escaped inmate by the name of Linda?" Jellal questions and by the furrowing of the master's brows he gets his answer.

"How did you know?"

"We ran into a group that was hired by her." Jellal shows them on the lacrima then turns it to him. "We are going to leave them tied here, send some knights after us to apprehend them."

The master nods his head. "Lahar is already going after you with a group of knights. Be careful kids."

The lacrima turns off. Jellal turns to his companions. "We better keep moving. We don't just have Linda on the list anymore, we have her boss and I have a feeling I know who that is."

XXX

Sounds of water dripping was the first thing Lucy heard when she regained consciousness. Slowly opening her eyes she couldn't see anything but soon enough her eyes adjusted to the darkness, enough to know that she was in a cave.

She tried to get up but hissed from the pain. Looking down on her body she found out that half of it is bandaged.

"What the fu-"

"You shouldn't be moving around." The blonde whips her head around and widens her eyes at the figure behind her. She saw her before and interacted with her.

"Coco?" the blonde tilts her head. Confusion lace her tone as she wondered how this girl came from Edolas to Earthland.

"How do you know my name?" the young girl crosses her arms and glares at Lucy with a scowl.

"Because I-"the blonde didn't continue, finally understanding what's happening here. She is this world's Coco and not Edolas'. "Never mind. You just look like someone I know also called Coco."

The young girl gets closer to inspect her wounds. "You know you're lucky Byro-san found you when he did. You were bleeding really badly and it took a lot of time to patch up your wounds."

The blonde smiles at the girl. "Thank you for saving me."

Coco humphs. "You shouldn't be thanking me, you should be thanking Byro-san. We have a lot more important things to do than help a mage who didn't know her limits-"

"Coco!" at this the young girl went quiet. She quickly got up and bowed her head. "My apologies Byro-san."

"Is she doing well?" the man asks from outside the cave.

"Yes she is." Coco replies.

"Good." He comes into the cave and looks at the young girl. "Leave us alone."

The young girl nods her head and leaves. Lucy looks at the man before her, studying him from head to toe only to realize that he is doing the same.

"We have a lot to talk about Lucy Heartfilia." The man sits down next to her. She tries to sit up and Byro helps her.

"How do you know who I am?" the blonde questions with her guard up.

"You don't have to be on edge with me, if I wanted you dead I would have left you be." He responds nonchalantly as he pours a glass of water for the blonde. "In fact, it was luck stumbling upon you when I did miss Heartfilia." He hands her the cup.

"How so?" she takes it from him.

He leans in while putting his hands on his knees. "Have you ever heard about a device called, the infinity clock?"