Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Forty-Eight: She'll Be Mine

"So...when are you going to make a move?"

Freed sighed and stared at Mira with a deadpan expression. He just called her on the communication lacrima that Lucy has been keeping in her hotel room, and this was the first thing that she said.

He shook his head and rubbed his temples. "Mirajane...No, I haven't. That's not exactly appropriate at the moment."

He watched as Mira nodded, a big smile still on her face and her blue eyes sparkling. She then spoke again happily, "and what's been going on? It's been a while since I last got an update."

Freed rested his hands on his lap. He sighed and answered, his eyes staring at the table rather than meeting Mira's, "a lot has happened. We got several keys at La Cour de Velours, but we didn't have a fun time. Rufus nearly died when he was forced to play Russian Roulette, I nearly got cheated in a gamble, Lucy had a panic attack, and I'm pretty sure that she had gotten injured at some point. I don't know what exactly happened to Midnight during his gambles since I wasn't there for any of them. After all of this, Rufus and I were attacked by Terra, Lust, and Nyx. I was knocked out and Rufus was captured. We were able to save him, but he was tortured while he was being held captive. Unfortunately, Terra, Lust, and Nyx escaped us."

Mira gasped, her hand over her mouth and a mixed look of horror and anger in her eyes. "That's horrible! Are you all alright?"

Freed nodded. "Mostly. When we rescued Rufus, we gained some information on how exactly Terra, Lust, and Nyx have been planning to take over the Celestial Spirit World. It's a spell that uses a magical device and all of the keys." He sighed. "We also have Nyx with us, now. He ran away from Terra and Lust and came to us."

Mira's face changed to a look of shock. "What? Why?"

Freed sighed again, continued staring at the table he was sitting at, and crossed his arms over his chest. "According to Rufus, Nyx spoke to him while he was their captive. Nyx claimed that he wanted to help us. After we got Rufus back, we spoke on the topic of whether or not we should give him a chance or not."

Mira nodded in understanding. The look on her face was unreadable. Freed could tell that she wasn't happy, but he also couldn't identify what exactly she seemed to be feeling. He was usually quite good at decoding facial expressions, so this made him feel rather uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat a little and avoided her gaze. "Midnight and I were against the idea. We both believed that we didn't need to know anything, just get the keys and turn Terra, Lust, and Nyx over to the Magic Council. Rufus was in favor. He believed that if Nyx really did want to help and tell us everything that he knows about Terra, Lust, and their plot, then we should give him a chance. Lucy made the final decision." He paused for a few beats before continuing, "she decided to give him a chance. He's staying in a hotel room with Rufus."

He still didn't look at Mira when she asked with a soft voice, "and how do you feel about this?"

Freed sighed, his head bowed and eyes staring down at his hands, which were resting on his lap. He thought about the question. How did he feel about this? He definitely wasn't in favor when the idea was proposed. He didn't believe that Nyx was needed, or that he should be anywhere near Lucy.

Now, though? He couldn't honestly say that he was one hundred percent against it. He still didn't like the idea of Nyx being near Lucy, as least not while they were alone. However, after seeing Nyx's condition and hearing about what Lucy had learned, he couldn't help but feel bad for him.

Freed sighed. "I don't know how I feel. I'm not as against him being with us as I was before, but..." he trails off, trying to figure out how to word his thoughts. "I guess I'm more open to him helping us."