The Strength It Takes

Chapter Nineteen

Jack rolled over onto his stomach in his hotel bed, his eyes open wide and staring at the door to his hotel room. He had been woken up a few moments ago by something shuffling outside his hotel door and a dull thump and what sounded like a feminine groan. While he was fairly certain that none of the Fairy Tail wizards knew who he was, old habits were hard to break. Keeping his body as still as possible, he slid is right hand under his pillow until his fingers wrapped around the hilt of a dagger.

His shoulders tensed and in one smooth motion, he rolled to his feet, his dagger at his side and his footsteps soundless as he made his way to the door. With a deep breath, he reached forward and swung the door open, his muscles coiling to attack whoever was on the other side.

He took a step back when the blond mage fell at his feet. She sat on the ground in his doorway, her head bowed and her damp blond locks obscuring her face. Jack's green eyes narrowed and he held his ground. He couldn't be sure if it was his brother or if this was some ploy by the Fairy Tail mages to catch him unaware.

"What are you doing here?" he growled, his grip on his dagger tightening.

The blond gave a dry, ragged chuckle. "Some…kind of welcome…for your dead…brother," she panted, tilting up her flushed face so her sharp green eyes met Jack's.

Jack's shoulder loosened only marginally and he crouched a safe distance away. "Why do you look like you just fought the entire Fiore army and lost?"

The blonde's head thumped back against the doorway and she closed her eyes. "Some pink haired…bitch of a mage gave the blond…something that…suppresses my control. It took me…two hours…to get this…far."

Jack frowned and reached forward to grab the blonde's chin and tilt her face toward him. "Will you be able to finish whatever it is you had planned then? Or do you need me to just kill them all instead?"

Even as weak as he was, Hiro still managed to give him a sharp grin, his green eyes shining maliciously. "I'll keep her…don't worry." The blond took a few panting breaths before she staggered to her feet. "Just be…at the guild in…two days. I'll have her in full…control by then."

Jack got to his feet gracefully and looked down at the hard, flushed lines of the blonde's face. "What did you do to make the Salamander kill you anyway? I've never heard of him killing another mage before."

The blond chuckled again and peaked at him through her blond hair, the green of her eyes glowing eerily. "Just having a little fun…The fucker didn't take…the joke very well." Straightening to her full height even though her knees were weak, she met Jack's eyes. "Just be at the guild in two days. Don't worry about anything else."

A few yards away, Natsu watched the entire exchange with a grim expression. A few hours ago, he had woken to the sound of the window opening and had come to find Lucy clumsily climbing out the window and landing in a heap outside. At first, he had wanted to call out to her, to see if she was finally awake. But when he had pulled in the breath to call out to her, the dark mage's scent had filled his nose and Natsu had paused. Instead, he had opted to follow her and see where the dark mage was taking her.

As he watched Lucy and a tall, older man that bore a striking resemblance to the dark mage he had killed talk, his stomach churned. He could hear every word they were saying and it made him sick. They were running out of time.

If they didn't act fast and somehow break the dark mage's control they would lose Lucy forever.

Just as he was about to leave and go alert the rest of the guild to the new development, he saw Lucy collapse a little way from the hotel. When the other man didn't come back out, Natsu raced forward and crouched down by Lucy's head.

"Lucy?" he whispered, his hand coming up and brushing her cheek. She groaned a moment and turned toward his touch. Her eyes fluttered open briefly and Natsu felt his blood freeze when he was greeted with bright, emerald green instead of the warm brown he had grown to love. A cruel grin twisted her pretty face when she saw him.

"She's mine now, Salamander…You'll never get her back."

Natsu snarled down at him, leaning down to growl in his face.

"We're going to destroy you, you bastard. You'll never break Lucy. She's stronger than you'll ever be."

Lucy's terrible smile never left her face as her eyes fluttered closed.

"Too late. I already have broken her."

"….Lucy…wake up…need you…Lucy!"

Lucy struggled to focus her fuzzy head but she was so dizzy. Every time she tried to listen closer to the voice that seemed to resonate around her, her head began pulsing and it felt like someone had a vice grip on her intestines.

She whimpered and shivered as she curled tighter into herself. She was so cold. It felt like her blood had turned to ice. Darkness pressed against her eyelids and she grimaced when more voices echoed around her. She just wanted to be left alone in the darkness. When she was alone the pain disappeared and she floated along. Why could they just leave her alone?

"…didn't you know…foolish humans…be dead soon…"

"Lucy is…Fairy Tail mage…"

There was a moment of silence and the feminine voice echoed again.

"Strength…needs your strength…"

She shifted, lifting her legs to curl against her chest. She was so weak, even her thoughts seemed sluggish.

Where was she?

Why did she feel as though she had fought an impossible battle and lost?

Were they talking about her or someone else?

Who were all these people that kept talking?

She was so cold.

Suddenly, as if she had just been slapped, she was confronted with a wave of warmth and something solid underneath her. The same voice began speaking again and he felt so very close. Close enough to touch. She felt herself stirring in awareness as she listened to his voice.

"Lucy, I don't know if you can hear me. But…if you can, fight him. We need you here. You can't let him win…" The voice fell silent for a moment and Lucy almost cried out in desperation. She didn't want to be left alone again. "I need you, Luce. I don't know…I don't know what I'll do if you don't wake up so…just please. Lucy."

The warmth of the voice suddenly faded away and Lucy whimpered in alarm as her awareness was slowly seeped away as well. Her teeth clenched in pain as she struggled to keep conscious, to stay aware.

No. Please don't leave.

I'm so cold. Come back.

Help me. I can't…I can't…

I'm all alone.

Why am I so alone?

I just want to be left alone.

Just leave me here…to die.

(AN: I know it's been a long time and to be honest, i have to say even with the time away, I wasn't sure how I was going to keep this story going on the path it is. Every time I sat down to really start writing again, everything felt so...artificial. I think I was a little bit better towards the end, but I'm still not a big fan of how this chapter sounded. I hope you guys like it because I'm writing mostly for you guys. I hope that I can finish this and my other big story If Time Permits before I got back to school in June. I'm pretty sure that I will, but I can't make any promises. I can't tell you guys just how much it means to me to see that you guys still love this story and you still think of me. I adore you all and thank you or your continued support!)

Jane