Finished - June 3, 2022

Word Count - 2172 

Music - Tristan - Two Steps From Hell

**********************************

After almost twenty hours of being paralyzed, Lucy was finally feeling the effects of Clovens poison ware off. Her bones cracked and ached from the stiffness of not moving. She took her first deep breath in hours, forcing the dust beyond her mouth to fly away. 

Still not able to change her position she lay in the same spot that Cloven had left her. On her side, arms tied behind her back and looking straight ahead. 

Lucy had plenty of time to scan her surroundings, though her prospective was unchanged, she understood exactly where she was. 

She was perched atop of a ledge that hung over a deep cavern, even from her limited vantage point she could see light refracting against the rocks. There was define tally some kind of fire or even lava below. Most likely lava, for the heat was almost unbearable. especially so, after the snowy mountains. 

Every so often, the ground would rumble and a column of liquid rock would jump into view. Probably flying dozens of feet in the air, so that she might see it from her place on the cliff. Thankfully, Cloven's shield had protected her from these dangerous spouts. Nevertheless, she was having a hard time being thankful for anything Cloven had done to her. 

The earth quakes were starting to become larger and more prevalent, meaning an eruption wasn't too far behind. Lucy was sure if she wanted her friends to find her beforehand, or stay away in order to stay safe from the blast. 

Training her neck she was finally able to lift her head from the ground and turn, her neck sounding like popcorn as her joints adjusted. A verbal groan escaped her lips as she finally felt a twinge of relief. Blinking her dry eyes, she stared upwards, a completely new scenery to observe. 

Smoke was covering most of the view, so she couldn't see much passed the looming cloud of ash. Taking in another deep breath the smoke filled her lungs and she immediately coughed, trying to toxins out. 

As she caught her breath, a deep rumble shook the ground beneath her. Violently a new explosion resounded from below her and shot into the air above her head. Turning, she watched as fire, lava and large rocks darted fiercely upwards. Upon instinct, she screamed and tried to move out of the way, however, her body was sluggish and still recovering from the drugs. 

A wave of magma splashed over the shield and the large boulders bounced off the wall as if was nothing. During her panic, Lucy was able to prop herself up on her elbows. Though this action wouldn't have saved her, if not for Cloven's "precautions." 

Slowly, she caught her breath,  recovering from the moment of shock. This fire was not what she was accustom to, Lucy was very familiar with Natsu's flames. his fire was warm, lively and held a spark of life. This fire was completely the opposite. This fire was harsh, angry and lived only for destruction. She missed Natsu and the comfort of her family. 

"So you can move again." 

Lucy spun her head around to see where the voice had come from, unsurprisingly, it was Cloven. Complete in his heavy layers of white and that same white mask that covered his face from being identified. 

"You!" Lucy spat, her voice scratching from the smoke. 

"Oh how your fighting spirit assumes me." Cloven chuckled, stepping closer with each word. "Reminds greatly of your mother."

Lucy's breath caught in her throat at this new information. "You knew my mother?"

"Of course."  Cloven turned to face the cavern below and starred deep into the fiery trench. "We were inseparable, Layla and I."

Lucy pulled herself up into a makeshift sitting position, still unable to move her legs. Plus the chain around her wrists made it difficult to move around without struggle. 

"During her days at Love & Lucky, Ww were best friends. A team. Partners." Cloven continued his story. "We faced countless foes and conquered many evils together, side by side. After years of a wonderful partnership, she met him."

With the mention of this him, Clovens' mood changed from peacefully reminiscent to hostile. 

"Him?" Lucy asked, almost scared. 

"Jude Heartfilia." The name sounding as a sickness. "That dreadful man took my love away from me."

Lucy dared not speak now, in fear of upsetting him further. She especially hid the fact that Jude was her biological father.

"After she met him, she stopped coming to the guild and spent all of her time with him. She ignored her family and ran off with that stranger!"

Lucy wanted to defend her mothers reputation, but decided against it. It would only aggravate him further, which she wanted to avoid at all costs. 

Cloven continued his rant, monologuing about past ventures and good times spent with his former guild. In a way, his stories reminded her of her own experiences. The great times she has spent with Fairytail, epic adventures and grand missions. This made her pray that her life would turn out differently from Cloven's. That she might be given more time with her family. 

Midway through the endless stories, Lucy saw a dark shadow moving to her right. She turned her head slightly, wanting to see what was coming. Though she didn't want Cloven to notice her looking away from him. Therefore, using mostly her peripheral vision she watched the shadow grow larger. 

Even though she couldn't get a good look at it, she knew exactly what it was. Who it was. 

From behind a rock formation, seven figures walked. She immediately identified the colors of blue, red and pink. From the colors alone, hope swelled in her chest. Her friends had finally found her. Soon enough she would be home. 

Nevertheless, she kept her eyes forwards, not wanting Cloven to notice. Though she was able to control her body, she was unable to control her emotions. Tears sprouted from her eyes, her face still stone. 

"My dear, what is the matter?" Cloven touched her chin gently and lifted her face to his. 

Lucy met his gaze, she had never been this close to his face before. From her closer vantage, she could see dark brown eyes peeking from underneath his mask. She could clearly identify the crinkles beside his eyes lids, proving his age. She tried to hyper focus on his face, glueing her gaze at him. She would not let herself look to her friends. 

The temptation was powerful and the desire to see them begged her to look. To make sure they were not a mirage, but truly there. Yet she willed herself not to move, she would not give them away. 

However, her hard work proved in vain when a single sentence which altered both Cloven and Lucy to their presence. 

"It's so hot in here, can't you do something about it Grey?" 

Cloven spun his head around as if he was an owl. Without holding back, Lucy's eyes flitted to her friends. Happy's little remark hanging over her head. She was not imagining them, they were real. They had truly come for her. 

"Impossible." Cloven watched from his still crunched position, baffled at the speed of which Fairytail acted. 

He took specific measures to delay their arrival and yet, there they were, standing right before him. Did they love this girl so much? 

"It's a volcano Happy and I'm not your personal AC." Grey swatted his paw away, too hot for close contact. 

The joy faded from Lucy's face as she watched her friends converse as normal. Did they not see her? 

"Hey!" She called out, in hopes that they accidentally missed her, though how could they? She was right in front of them. 

Her call was ignored as she watched Erza scold Grey for hitting Happy. 

"They can't see you." Cloven chuckled, crossing his arms.

Lucy remembered the shield she was encased in, it must be why  they can't see her. 

"You cheater!" She found the strength in her numb legs and stood up in protest. 

"What do you think this is?" He tapped the enchanted bubble. "Shout all you like, they can not hear you. Nor smell you, or see you. As long as your are inside my spell, they will never find you."

As Cloven's knuckle made contact with the shield, Natsu's head swirled towards it. With his hyper sensitive ears, he must have heard the light tapping. 

"Shit." Cloven cursed, realizing his mistake. 

"You hear something, Natsu?" Wendy asked, noticing him tense up. 

"Yeah..." He trailed off and closed his eyes, focusing not the sound. After a moment, he took a few steps towards the subtle noise. 

"Natsu, Im here!" Lucy called out in hopes that he might hear her. She pulled on her chains, getting as close to the edge as possible. But Cloven had made sure that she was far enough away from all sides to break through. 

A few more steps and Natsu would run into the barrier, he was so close! Cloven was not going to accept this and strode out of the barrier. Suddenly, he was now visible to everyone. 

"You!" Erza drew her swords. 

"Where is she!" Natsu turned from Lucy's direction and faced the evil man. 

Cloven placed his hands behind his back and straightened his posture. "Once again, you are too late." 

"No! Im right here!" Lucy pulled against her restraints, trying anything to get their attention. 

"Fairytail, I am starting to doubt your motivation. Your are so slow, it seems you don't even want to win." Cloven's voice dripped with venom. 

"How dare you." Grey's fists fluttered with ice specks, ready for action. 

"Be careful. This volcano is on the verge of exploding. Any wrong move and we'll all go up in smoke."

Erza straightened, but did not put away her swords. Cloven was right, this was no place for a battle and he knew it. This was obviously planned, he picked this place on purpose.  

Even though she knew it was pointless, Lucy continued to yell at the top of her lungs. Her voice  horse in combination of the smoke and screams. However, she had to do something. She couldn't sit by and watch her friends be tricked. 

She looked around her enclosure for something, anything she could use. Her eyes stopped upon a few pebbles at her feet, dozens of small rocks littered the surface of the ground. Perfect. 

Taking a few steps back, her chains slacked and gave her more room to maneuver. She reached down and picked up a handful of the dust and rocks. She then hurled it as far as she could, making it outside of the bubble. 

She waited to see if anyone saw her simple action. It was Wendy who seemed to notice, but she didn't say anything, only starred at the teleporting stones. 

Lucy repeated her action, with a larger handful. This time, Wendy's eyes flashed with recognition and horror. 

"She's here!" Wendy pointed to the ground.

One last time Lucy hurled her pile of rubble and caught the eyes of everyone, including Cloven. 

"Liar!" Natsu rushed the white cloaked man. However, Cloven acted quicker, his anger boiling. This was not supposed to happen. This was not what he planned. 

Cloven stepped backwards, back into the safety of his bubble. Waving his arm, the shield turned bright red. The large force field popped into existence.

"Cloven, you bastard!" Natsu yelled in frustration. 

Lighting his fist, he aimed at Cloven before he could retreat. But Natsu wasn't fast enough as the shield became tangible. His attack collided with the firm barrier. 

The walls of the shield wobbled for a moment as it absorbed Natsu attack. Then the surface cleared and revealed what hid inside. 

Just beyond Clovens back, Natsu could see Lucy kneeling on the ground. She looked exhausted, but still held a fire of defiance. She dig her fingers into the dirt and threw several handfuls of dust and rocks at Cloven. 

However, this did not stop his advance upon her. Natsu watched as Lucy's lips moved, but he couldn't hear anything beyond the wall. 

Natsu continued to pound his fists against the shield as Lucy found her balance and stepped back. Cloven continued to walk towards Lucy and backed her against the wall. He could only watch as Cloven reached to his side and pulled out a large knife and lifted it upwards.  

"No!" He banged against the force field, trying to get to her. 

Just as the knife made contact to Lucy's stomach, the scene disappeared. The shield he was leaning on vanished and he fell face forwards. Natsu caught himself before he tumbled to the ground and desperately looked up. The stop where Lucy and Cloven stood was empty. The smell of blood lingered in the air as Natsu ears rang with the sound of a scream cut short, so quick he might have imagined it. 

Lucy and Cloven were gone, again.