Lucy Heartfilia:
Everything had gone to hell after Acnologia had re-appeared from wherever Eileen had teleported him to originally. His long mane was damp and tangled; well, more tangled from what it was before. His cloak was tattered and torn, hung loosely around his neck and trailing behind him.
His Crimson colored eyes surveyed the battle that took place in front of him. His pupils dilated, seeing one of the Alvarez soldiers erupting into a pool of blood. A smile had made it's way onto his bruised and scratched face, some of the cuts re-opening, and thin streams of blood trickled down his face.
Tilting his head upwards, his nose twitched several times, moving his neck slightly in different directions. It seemed he was using his enhanced dragon scent to detect something- or someone. His mouth fell into a small frown, and he began to walk off in a different direction.
A majority of the battles that had been taking place, halted simultaneously as they noticed the foreign presence of such intense magic power. The screams slowly died down and the spells were no longer casted. Everybody whirled to face the one who harbored the magic power, and when they located the person, faces noticeably paled, hands dropped and jaws fell open in complete and utter shock.
Acnologia was leaning against a tree, a wicked glint in his eye, pushing himself away from the tree, satisfied with the audience he had. "This is a warning," He growled out, and many of the mages who had gathered their senses sought themselves into a battle stance.
Creeping up Acnologia's arm, was a tide of black scales, with intricate blue scales mixed in with it, creating a small pattern. His arm seemed to increase in it's size about ten times over, and it was amazing that he could bear that weight. His arm was bigger than himself.
Sharp, black talons extended from his fingers, curling slightly. He scratched at the ground beneath him, and the talons had broken through the pavement effortlessly, creating at least five ten-inch crevices in the ground.
He nodded, before turning his attention back to the crowd in front of him. Their eyes lingered on the crevices he had just made, and a couple of them stumbled backwards, eyes widened and lips trembling. About ten people attempted to escape from his wrath, hoping to get far enough so they would not be attacked.
But, Acnologia was having none of that. His talons began to emit a ghostly glow around them, barely visible to those who looked from a distance. Drawing his arm back past his shoulder, he let a few seconds slip by, allowing the suspense to build, and the people in front of him either become more anxious, or prepare their spells.
And then he released his arm, swinging it in a wide arc at the people, as hundreds of spells were cast at him. The area was lit up into a multitude of colors, and the sounds were ear-splitting.
And that's when it happened. Acnologia's arm and talons smacked into the people, sending them flying. Those unlucky enough to be hit by the talons; they were ripped in half. Those who made collision with his arm... you could see the bones in their body break and stick out from different angles. Blood quickly seeped onto the floor, looking to be a couple inches deep.
Limp bodies quickly dropped into the pool beneath, and their clothes began to absorb the metallic liquid. Anybody who was in that crowd was dead, there was no doubt. Nobody could have possibly survived that.
And Acnologia stood in the same spot as before, his arm already shrunken back to it's original state, talons sinking back into regular fingernails. Only a few fresh scathes covered his arms and face, and little blood was drawn. His eyes lit up in overall joy, a maniacal howl escaping his lips. "That's a warning!" He repeated, though this time, there was no crowd to listen to him. "That's a warning for Zeref!"
After his small session of insanity had ended, he quickly composed himself, adjusting the cloak on his shoulders and wiping away the stained blood on his cheeks with his thumb, before turning on his heels.
And before he disappeared completely from my sight, he looked over his shoulder, sending a sharp glare in my direction, before turning and walking off once more.
-
I still sat in the same cramped den in the mountains, the same place where I had watched hundreds of thousands massacred in only five minutes. The Sky Dragon-Slayer's head was still perched in my lap, her eyes still shut close. Her Exceed, Charle, had curled up besides her, a worried expression stilled on her face.
A/N: I know I didn't add any details of Lucy's whereabouts in the beginning. I meant to do that. There is nothing that you've missed, don't worry.
My mind was crowded with questions about what had occurred. My heart still beat frantically, still frightened at the memory.
Acnologia had known. He knew I was watching. He knew I saw everything. He knew I was there. Yet, he spared me? He killed all of those people, but not me?
I could not seem to muster up any realistic and logical answer to his actions. Was this some form of torture? To leave me with memories that would forever haunt me? That would consume the peaceful nights with gory memories, that would leave me completely distraught afterwards?
The light outside was slowly vanishing, the source dipping behind the massive mountains that bordered Magnolia. Taking a glance outside, it was almost impossible to see anything that was a foot out. The bitter smell of decaying bodies and blood lingered in the air, and I tried my best to diminish it by waving my hand in front of my face a couple of times, a sour expression on my face.
I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind, reminding myself that there was a war going on and my comrades were involved. Not to mention that only one of the twelve was a challenge for a dozen of us. I felt disgusted with myself to be concerned about my well being, when, in reality, no harm was brought to me.
Frantically, I began to worry about my closer friends in the guild. Gray and Juvia... the last I had seen of them, they were squaring off against one of the twelve, Invel. That man... his Ice Magic outweighed Gray by thousand's.
Gray and Juvia were undoubtedly some of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail- truly fearsome if you combined them together. But, the Alvarez mages were not like our regular opponents. They were inhumane. They were worst than the Demons of Tartaros.
There was also Erza. She had been in bad shape the first time I had seen her. It looked like somebody had dragged her body through hell and back. She had scored us our first defeat of one of the twelve, but had suffered great damage again from it. She must have been in another fight at some other point, since there were fresher bruises and cuts and wounds. Erza can take care of herself, but in a fight like this, you would want the help in a fight.
Then there was Wendy and Charle. I was a bit concerned about them in the first place; Wendy was strong, without a doubt, but her magic was used for defense/support, not offense. I know she had been improving on her fighting abilities over the one year gap, and was much more capable than she was before, but I still worried. And Charle would throw herself in harm's way if it meant protecting Wendy.
After finding Wendy unconscious, with the right side of her stomach torn and bleeding heavily, along with tons of other injuries, and Charle collapsed a couple feet away, her head releasing a thick stream of blood, and the area around then completely annihilated, the fear for the safety of my comrades had arisen drastically.
I had patched up their more severe wounds, with the help of Virgo, we had stopped the blood flow and wrapped them up. They had been resting for hours, recovering their strength and energy. I was watching over them, making sure that nobody attacked them.
Also, there was Levy. I care deeply for her well being, and I found myself praying for her safety. Her magic was more for defense than offense, and I'm not saying she's weak. God, no she isn't. Levy is cunning, she can think on her feet quickly and can cast runes that can inflict damage on multiple people at once, and she can also cast magic that helps restore other's power.
You also had Mira. Mira is pretty hard to piss off - and when you do that, she's near impossible to beat. But, even with that, there was one dependable factor. One thing that could change the game in an instant.
Her siblings.
Lisanna and Elfman. Those two meant the world to her. She loves them so much, and I know she would do anything to save them. So... if one of the enemies were to figure this out, then, they could easily use it to their advantage. They could even get Mira to kill herself if they so desired, if it meant protecting her siblings. I was worried something like that might happen, and as capable as the three of them were, the enemies were also just as capable.
And then, finally... Natsu and Happy. Those two, I was concerned about the most. Natsu is reckless; he'll fight the living hell out of anybody he knows not to be on our side. He will run into a crowd of thousands of mages and begin attacking. He never seems to be tactical about his moves, and never has a plan. He just charges into danger like it's the only thing he knows how to do.
And Happy... well, Happy was Natsu's protector. I knew that he'd do anything to save Natsu, even if it meant diving into the middle of a war-field to get him. Happy would throw his life away in an instant to protect Natsu.
My heart felt like it was being weighed down by dread, and I let out a painful groan, placing my hand on my chest. The concern that had been lingering in the depths of my thoughts throughout this entire war, suddenly washed across my entire body.
Unconsciously, I moved myself over closer to Wendy and Charle, hovering above them in a protective stance. I knew it wouldn't be safe for me to stay here with them until they woke up, nor would it be smart. I was needed out there by my guild to help fight against the Alvarez Mages.
But, I also couldn't just head out and leave them here. They could easily be killed if they were to be found by one of the twelve, or, they could be taken hostage and used against us.
There were too many options to weigh in my mind, to decide between any alternative. It could be possible that I might be able to get them back to the guild to rest, but, who knew if it was safe? Zeref had probably already infiltrated the guild and was currently in it, searching for whatever. And knowing that, he probably had a ton of strong mages outside of the guild to protect him.
I could possibly try to contact Warren, and get him to speak out to the rest of the guild, and ask one to come to my location and help out with moving Wendy and Charle to a safer location, but...
During the war with Tartaros, Warren's telepathic communication had been disrupted by the leader of the group, Mard Geer. It was too risky to try and send out my current location, since one of the Alvarez Mages could easily be eavesdropping, and then could come and attack, or send others off to do it.
There was too much at stake to try anything that I couldn't 100% confirm to work and to be safe.
It would be a stretch to sit here and wait until somebody passes by, potentially being an enemy or a comrade. And I just flat out couldn't do that, it would be wrong.
I didn't see any other option, other than to take a risk. I was doubting my ability, a little too much. Sure, I don't have the greatest offense in the world, especially when compared to some of my other guild mates, but I could definitely deal damage and defend myself if needed to.
Besides, I was forgetting all the training I had done whilst Fairy Tail had disbanded. I could fuse the magic energy of my Spirits and myself, and take ownership of their abilities and switch freely from them. Now, we were truly fighting as equals, and not a Master and it's Slave; though, our relationship was never like that.
Crawling to the entrance of the proportional den, I peeked out once more, the nervous and anxious half of my feelings clawing for dominance for control of my actions. I swallowed heavily, body trembling as I crawled back over to Wendy and Charle. They looked so at peace, their faces calm, almost like nothing had troubled them before.
And a sense of guilt washed over me... they would have to both be dragged out into the middle of a chaotic war, and would have to fight with everything they've got against people that were far out of their league; they were a thousand years farther in experience than them... or anybody in the guild, for that matter. They'd be fighting for their lives when they can barely stand...
"No," My voice cracked under the pressure I had slipped back under, and my eyebrows knit together, in attempt to sustain the tears from falling. I had to stop hiding. As a Fairy Tail guild member, it was my duty to protect it when things got rough. And not only the guild, but the friends I loved so dearly that were also apart of it. Exhaling, I closed my eyes and then nodded. "I can do this."
Taking Wendy by her arm, I hauled her up into a sitting position. I did the same with Charle. I then hoisted myself up onto one knee, leaning over and pressing my left shoulder to her chest, before grabbing her from beneath her legs, and tossing her over my shoulder. I gathered Charle into my arms, cradling her gently before standing up.
I made my way to the small entrance that had been carved into the rocky surface long ago, peering out of it. Although it was dark out, it was still manageable to see at least a foot ahead or around you. The silence which had unsettled me earlier, was now calming and almost reassuring. There seemed to be no living thing around me.
And finally, I stepped out.
The breeze brushed against my skin, and myself, dressed in rather skimpy clothing at the moment, shivered almost immediately. My arms and legs were dressed with goosebumps, and my cheeks had attained a rather rosy tint to them. It would not be soon until I began sniffling.
"Goodness," I breathed aloud, looking around to see which direction I should head in. Heading North seemed to just lead me into the mountains, whilst heading South would just lead me into the forest. East or West. Those were my options. Thinking back to how I could have gotten here in the first place... oh, wait. Magnolia had re-arranged itself completely. All I could recall was a flash of light erupting from the ground, blinding me. And then I had ended up somewhere completely different from where I had been.
I decided that it would be best to just head East. There was a small feeling within that it was the correct way. Or that it would lead me to something... or someone. Whatever occurred was inevitable, so there was no use trying to find a way around it. I began my trek West, occasionally adjusting Wendy on my shoulder.
--
After wandering around for what seemed like ages, my legs began to feel weak. My feet had begun to ache long ago, and my legs were now following their example. My left arm had gone numb from the weight of Wendy. She was light, but bearing the weight for such a long period of time was beginning to take its toll. I was only supporting Charle with my right arm.
I knew that it would soon be time for me to take a break and rest. I felt almost relieved. But then I began to get furious with myself for feeling so. The longer I took to get where I needed to be and help, the worse it would get. I cried out in frustration, kicking at a random pebble on the ground. "Damn it!" I screamed, my voice echoing. Charle shifted in my arms slightly. I panted slightly. "To hell with it..."
I listened for a bit, anticipating a reaction to my outburst. I expected a bunch of soldiers to surge from around the corner and swarm me. But alas, nothing. Reluctantly, I began to wonder. 'Am I sure that I'm still in Magnolia? Or was I teleported somewhere else?'. That thought only brought pain. I shook my head, convincing myself that I was just nervous.
Slowly, I began to walk again, but was abruptly halted soon after. Wind began to kick up around my feet, speeding up and rising slowly. I gasped, watching as everything around me slowly began to either be sent flying away, or the ground tearing up. There was a hint of darkness swirling within, which unsettled me even further.
It soon became like a tornado that enclosed me within. I could not see anything else. "What?!" I yelled out, but it felt like the air was being ripped from my lungs. The words carried upwards only for a bit, but it was safe to bet that they were never heard by anything or anyone. I could not move my arms or hands, which meant I no longer had access to my keys. "What's the meaning of this?! I can't..." I began to let my words trail, realizing that it was pointless to even speak.
Darkness soon enveloped me completely. There was no light at all. I could not see my hands. I could not see the white fur of Charle. It was like the darkness absorbed all light... well, that's what it actually does. I felt weightless. I couldn't move. For the time that I was in there, all I felt was, ultimately, fear. That was the only thing that made up my being whilst I was encased in darkness. Fear.
But then it was like somebody turned the lights back on. I sensed myself falling, and then colliding with a rather hard surface. I cried out in pain. There were two other thuds around me - Wendy and Charle. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and blinking repeatedly, adjusting to the brightness. My vision was still blurry, but I began to make out my surroundings. A wooden floor. Tables scattered about. There was a stage at the end of the room we were in. A bar somewhere off to the left.
Wait... This is...!
"The Guild!" I shouted, struggling to my feet. Tears flooded my eyes. A smile etched itself onto my face. "Wendy! Charle! We're here!"
A chuckle rung throughout the room, eerily nearby to where I stood. I tensed up, the happiness draining itself from my body at once. I scrambled backwards, but a hand shot out and latched itself onto my wrist. My eyes traveled down my arm, and then to the slightly pale hand that had attached itself to my wrist. They then wandered up an arm that was covered by a black sleeve.
And as they made their way upwards more and more, my stomach sunk.
Because eventually, my eyes connected with a set of charcoal-colored ones. And I knew who they belonged to.
"Zeref," I spat coldly, though my voice wavered. I tried to sound unwelcoming and threatening, but it probably came out as more like hopeless and lost.
Zeref smiled coolly, crossing his legs and leaning his head back on his other hand. An amused expression was set onto his face. "Greetings," His eyes hardened for a moment, and a chill ran up my spine. "...Lucy Heartfilia."
-
Yooo.
It's been awhile lol.
I been forgot about this, to be completely honest. But I came back to it today and finished. Don't worry, this will still be an Annalogia fan fiction. It's not centered around Lucy, or the guild at all. Promise :)
Enjoy!
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