the bones of our past - Lockwood x Lucy

Even in Death

A/N: Alright, so this is where we definitely stray a bit from the canon lore for the sake of me making some ✨ creative✨ decisions, and even though I'll do my best to connect it as closely as possible, just a quick heads up that some things beyond this point will not be perfectly explainable by canon!

Also, and I mean this in the kindest way possible, I hope you weren't having a good day before this.

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The ghost had taken hold of Lucy again, but this time, it hadn't dragged her away.

There were no memories, no visions. No pictures of pain except for the one already in front of her.

And Lucy supposed this was exactly what the ghost wanted: To watch her being tortured. To witness firsthand, using her own eyes, how she succumbed to the exact same fate they had. How she, too, suffered until there was nothing left of her.

And having to watch an unknowing Lockwood meet upon Sam whilst not being able to move even a limb of her body, even the tip of her tongue? It was the highest form of torture Lucy could imagine.

The truth was that the ghost didn't have to use visions or echoes to hurt her this time. Keeping her locked up inside of her own body was already enough.

Of course, Lucy tried to fight it. Tried to gain back control over her arms, her legs, her mouth. But her hand was far from her necklace's pendant, and the ghost kept her in an iron grip, more determined than ever not to part with her. Not now, when it was finally getting what it wanted.

So all Lucy could do was watch.

And the ghost made sure Lucy saw everything. By the power of its presence in her head, it freed her vision from the shackles of darkness.

For her, the room was filled with light. Almost blindingly so.

So she saw Lockwood draw closer with his shovel, his skin still half-frozen. She heard him shout for Sam to get away from her, and she watched Sam taunt him, offering him his own rapier for a duel Lucy knew he'd never planned on fighting fairly.

And, of course, she also witnessed Sam vanishing into the room with the sources as soon as Lockwood's flare had burned out, carrying a grin and a gun when he came back.

That was when desperation joined Lucy's struggle against her ghost-lock. Mindless of the pain it caused her, she tried to strain against its hold, against the space it occupied in her mind. But however much she fought, however much she tried to wriggle free, the ghost only pushed back harder, squeezing the air out of her lungs until she tasted blood.

She couldn't move an inch.

It was done with her games, with all her little tricks to escape it.

She was still fighting it when Sam raised his rapier to have a go at Lockwood from his right side.

Miraculously, Lockwood blocked the blow and even managed to cut Sam and throw his rapier right out of his hands. But of course, Lucy knew it wouldn't matter.

Sam had never aimed for Lockwood with his rapier to actually take him down that way. No, he'd only struck to find out where exactly Lockwood stood.

He'd only struck to make sure his shot wouldn't miss.

Unable even to close her eyes, Lucy saw all of it: The gun firing, emitting a bright flash of light. The wound appearing on Lockwood's stomach and the blood staining his white shirt. His confused look when he felt it. His stumble backwards.

Lucy could do nothing as Sam stepped closer to him once more and hit him over the head with the back of Jacobs' gun.

She could do nothing as Lockwood tumbled to the ground, clearly unconscious.