Shattered Dreams ||Nalu||

Chapter Six

Lucy's dark eyes fluttered open, a weak groan of pain escaping her as she sat up slowly, rubbing her head as she tried to clear her mind of the blurriness. How long had she been unconscious?

"Damn it!"

A blast of ice entered her vision, just moments away from striking her, and she gasped, rolling out of the way and shoving herself to her feet. Okay, so she hadn't been out for very long. She reached for her keys, which had fallen to the ground, letting her fingers wrap around Virgo's key. Gray swore, sending an Ice-Make: Lance attack at their opponent, who merely chuckled darkly, a wall of black deflecting the blow. The ice-make mage looked fairly beat up, already covered in various wounds, and Lucy felt a flash of guilt. It was always him getting injured.

Lucy glanced over her shoulder. Surely Erza would have evacuated the people and would be returning soon, right? Or Natsu would have dealt with the people below and would come to help soon. Her gaze settled on their enemy and the space he stood in front of. There was a huge flight of stairs behind him, which meant that they were getting closer.

"Look out!" Lucy's head snapped up at Gray's shout and she dove out of the way when a ball of black energy crashed into the spot she'd been standing in. She winced when some strange searing heat nicked at her, slicing a deep gash in her arm, but ignored it, instead darting forward. "Gray! Keep distracting him," she called, somehow managing to duck around the furious enemy as she made a run for the stairs.

Gray grinned. "On it!" Before the strangely cloaked man could do anything to stop her, he launched a full out ice attack on him, effectively keeping him from sending any more of his strange black energy after her.

Lucy stormed up the stairs, panting for breath as she turned to climb another flight, thoughts racing through her mind.

"There's a couple dozen people, stationed in various areas around this room and the one they're in."

If Natsu was correct, then she'd have to be careful and pray that someone showed up to help her upon reaching their goal, because while she knew she could match some people in strength, she was nowhere near capable of fending off more than one mage at a time. Virgo's key was still held tightly in her hand, which had been slicked with the blood that dripped down her arm, striking the floor with the soft sound of dripping liquid.

She ducked behind a corner when she caught sight of someone approaching, watching as they raced down the stairs without noticing her. Two or three more were close behind, all hissing words to each other, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she wasn't discovered. So this was the floor their captives were hidden on. She swept down the hall at a run when she thought it safe. She paused at every room she came across to check for them, but found nothing.

So it made sense that the second the last door was opened, she had to duck to avoid a wall of stone sent flying at her head. A mage, dressed in a cloak similar to the leader's, glared at her. Lucy caught sight of a sobbing woman holding a wailing infant behind him, entrapped within a stone cage, probably created by the very mage she found herself fighting against.

"Ah, Miss Heartfilia."

She whirled around, the blood draining from her face when the leader of the group appeared behind her. Part of his mask had been cracked, she noticed with satisfaction. She just hoped Gray was okay. The stone mage relaxed, smirking and cackling now. "Stay back," she warned, preparing to summon Virgo's key.

"I'm glad you could make it," he went on as if she hadn't said anything. His voice was muffled by the mask, but not enough to hide the power behind it. "We didn't intend for such damage to happen, you understand. You see, we merely wanted to check up on you. We only wished to see how you were doing after my pet attacked you." Lucy's eyes became slits as she glared at him, her grip on Virgo's key tightening enough that her knuckles became white. "Feeling alright? Any lasting damage?"