Chapter 7

After waking up the next morning, everyone sat in the cell nervously. They didn't talk to each other, too focused on the thoughts of what could go wrong. And there were a lot of them. Only their trust in Jellal, as well as the fact that they had no other choice, kept them from getting cold feet.

Everyone headed out to the mine, where they got to work, distracting themselves from the thoughts of their plan.

Lucien was paired up with Erza again - they worked two people per area - working on the same pile of rubble. They were still doing the same work they had since Lucien's first day, and apparently, it was uncommon for them to do other jobs.

After some time had passed, Lucien finally decided to break the silence and asked her, "How are you feeling, Red?"

'Red' was the nickname he had given to Erza a couple of months prior, there was no real reason for it, he just felt like it. She was confused at first, but just went with it after a while. In turn, she sometimes called him 'Blue', because of his eyes and that he said that he could create blue flames using his magic. He hadn't given nicknames to any of the others - except for Jellal, who he often called 'Jelly' because it annoyed him - simply because he couldn't think of any.

"Do you remember when you first came here, and I asked you that question?" She asked in reply. When Lucien nodded, she continued with a smile, "Imagine I'm pulling the same face that you did."

Lucien couldn't help but smile at hearing that. It was a good thing that she could smile right now. Like his mother had told him, a smile can make everything better, even a fake one. And while he was living proof that that wasn't true, they definitely helped to make people forget about the things troubling them, albeit temporarily.

Seeing as they may not live past the next few days - wasn't that a happy thought - Lucien decided to ask something he was curious about. "Do you like Jellal?"

His question seemed to come out of nowhere to Erza, who barely stopped herself from flinching in shock, though the fact that her face was quickly turning the colour of her hair gave away her embarrassment.

"No," she quietly mumbled, fixing her gaze on the task at hand. If the waver in her voice hadn't given away the fact that she was lying, the uneasy shift of her colours would have.

Lucien gave her a disbelieving look. The part he was curious about wasn't whether or not she had feelings for Jellal, that was obvious even without his ability to see emotions. No, he was curious about if she'd admit to it out loud. But, seeing as she didn't, Lucien couldn't help but feel disappointed. Still, he decided to let it go, for now anyway, as he didn't want her to get punished for being distracted. Seeing as he let it go, Erza let out a breath of relief. She really didn't want to admit to her feelings, at least not yet anyway. But she knew the kind of person Lucien was, and she knew that this wouldn't be the last time he brought it up. He constantly teased her about them - and Jellal, not that she knew that - when they were alone.

They continued their work in silence for a couple more hours, until the whistle was blown, signalling that it was time to head back to their cells. On the way, Jellal walked up to them, and whispered as he continued to walk past, "Get ready, it's tonight."

Why he decided to whisper it to them like that, instead of telling them when they were all back in the cell, like they were now, Lucien still wasn't sure. Maybe it was so no one else overheard him. 'Or maybe he's watched too many movies,' he thought to himself with a smile.

Right now, they were sitting down, having just finished their bowls of 'food'. It contained just enough nutrients and proteins that they wouldn't starve, but that was it. And the taste was still as awful as the first time Lucien had eaten it.

Lucien was leaning against the wall, deep in thought. He thought of what life would be like in the Fairy Tail guild. He hoped they would accept him, from what he knew of the anime they would, but he couldn't help but worry. What if they thought he was cursed? Or evil? Master Makarov was always perceptive, so maybe he would realise the kind of person Lucien was. The same kind of person his father was. The same kind of person he wanted Lucien to be. Maybe they would kick him out so he didn't cause their deaths as well. He wouldn't blame them if they did. He would be sad, maybe angry, but he wouldn't blame them.

Maybe he should just become a wanderer, so that he doesn't get anyone else killed. He remembered wandering mages were a thing. Or maybe he should just live a normal life, in a random village somewhere, and stay away from all the action.

But he knew that Erza would join Fairy Tail in the future, and he already saw her as family, so he wanted to keep her safe. Plus, they seemed like a fun bunch, and he really wanted to get to know them. After all, Anime was his escape from the real world, and now he was in one of his favourites.

He always loved how everyone truly thought of each other as family. They managed to help Erza overcome her past, and brought Gajeel and Juvia away from the darkness and helped them become good people. Gajeel went from beating the heck out of Lucy, to taking a beating from Jet and Droy, and then from Laxus, all without fighting back.

And how 'the power of friendship' affected them.

Yeah, he definitely wanted to join fairy Tail.

He was selfish like that.

His thoughts were interrupted by Jellal, who sat down next to him, looking worried. Lucien couldn't blame him, he was worried too. Plus, he was probably carrying the weight of the plan on his shoulders, and he would no doubt blame himself if it failed. That was just the kind of person he was, and Lucien loved and hated him for it.

So Lucien reached over and gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder, to show his support. "Don't worry so much, it's bad for your health."

"*sigh*, I can't help it. All I can think about is what can go wrong," Jellal replied in a sad and anxious tone.

"Stop thinking about the what-ifs, what's going to happen will. You can't know what to change until it's done, and you can't go back after that. So, prepare as best as you can, and trust in yourself for the rest."

"When did you become so wise?" Jellal teasingly asked.

"My grandpa told me that," Lucien replied distractedly, thoughts of the kind old man who had helped him get over his parents' deaths filled his head. But then, like everyone else, he left Lucien alone, to fend for himself.

After that, they stopped talking, just sitting there, side by side, in silence. It was quite comforting actually, or at least it would have been, if it weren't for the nervousness and anxiousness they were feeling. They were both thinking about what would be occurring that night, and, despite how much they tried not to, the things that could go wrong.

At some point, Erza had joined them, though she said nothing. She just sat down next to Jellal, and leant her head on his shoulder. Lucien would've teased them, but now didn't feel like the right time. He just felt tired, so he decided to close his eyes for a moment.

The next thing he knows, he's being shaken awake by Jellal.

Groggily opening his eyes, he tried to blink away the sleepiness. Looking around, he realised that everyone else was asleep, well, everyone but him and Jellal. He must've slipped off to sleep earlier.

"I just woke up," Jellal explained, "we all drifted off. I'll wake up Erza and the others," just then Lucien noticed that Erza was still asleep on Jellal's shoulder, "and you go and get the wires."

Lucien nodded with a yawn, before getting up - he heard the sound of Erza waking up behind him - and heading to the hiding place Jellal had found to collect the wires. The wires were two pieces of metal, about the size of a finger, that Jellal had found one day. Lucien had been with him, and informed him of their usefulness. One of the skills his father had taught him was lockpicking, and since there was no magic in the lock to their cell, he could pick it by forming the wires into tools. Unfortunately, the inhibitor on his wrist required a special key. The reason they hadn't done so yet was because they hadn't had a plan for what to do afterwards. Now, they did.

After putting the rock back in the wall, to cover the hole where they hid the wires, Lucien returned to the others and noticed that they were all awake.

"Got them," he informed Jellal as he sat down next to him.

"Alright," he replied, before turning to the others. "Are you all ready?" He asked, receiving nods in reply. "Then, it's time we take back our freedom."

"How are you planning to get past the door?" Simon asked. Only Jellal and Lucien knew the specifics of the plan, and they hadn't informed the others yet.

"Lucien," was Jellal's answer. After they all turned to Lucien, Jellal asked, "Any guards?" Lucien had informed him of his 'special ability' that allowed him to sense the things around him as different colours.

"No," Lucien answered after closing his eyes for a second, "none of them are nearby."

Everyone was confused at their conversation, since none of the others were aware of his ability, but decided not to ask any questions for now.

They all quietly stood up and followed Lucien to the gate, curious about how he would get past. They thought he might have a key, but disregarded that thought after seeing him pull out two weirdly twisted wires.

Lucien inserted the picks into the locks, and after a minute or two, heard a soft click, and gently pushed open the gates. Everyone seemed surprised, but still hurried out of the cell and down the corridor, following Jellal's directions.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Erza asked him curiously. She had come to stand next to him at the back of their group, with Jellal at the front, and Simon, Sho, Wally, and Milliana in the middle.

"My father taught me how to pick locks," he answered quietly, before muttering to himself, "among other things."

Erza heard what he muttered, but chose to ignore it. "He sounds like a cool dad, if he taught you how to pick locks." Because in Erza's mind, picking locks was a cool skill to have, so Lucien's dad must've been pretty cool as well.

Lucien merely hummed in response, not deigning to give an actual reply. Erza must have noticed the atmosphere, since she didn't continue talking.

'Cool dad,' Lucien thought to himself with a mental laugh. The man who beat into Lucien that he would be called 'Father', and nothing else, would surely love to be called a 'cool dad'. He was to be respected, a teacher, not a friend. That's what he would tell Lucien whenever he would ask for a break in his training, before doubling the intensity, often leaving Lucien with a few more scars.

"Lucien," Erza spoke quietly, double-checking the others couldn't hear her, before continuing, "can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I like Jellal," she muttered quietly, blushing as she looked down. She couldn't bring herself to make eye contact, too embarrassed at revealing her feelings. But she felt that, since this might be their last night, she should at least say them out loud. And she knew she could trust Lucien.

"Obviously, Red, I think everyone except Jellal had picked up on how you feel," Lucien replied, taking enjoyment in her face turning red. "Jellal likes you too."

"What should I do?" She asked nervously. Lucien couldn't help but feel like he was a school kid, gossiping about crushes. At least, that's what he heard school kids did.

"Kiss him." It was a simple solution, but an obvious one. "Once we're all free, you should show him how you feel by kissing him."

Lucien didn't really see what was so complicated, but then again, he always tried to ignore what he was feeling. If you ignore something long enough, it will go away. That's what Lucien thought, anyway.

Walking away from Erza, Lucien moved to stand next to Jellal, informing him that, "two guards are heading this way from the right."

Jellal nodded, leading the group left and away from the guards. This continued for a little while, they ended up nearly meeting two other guards, before finally arriving at the building where the storage area was located.

Lucien was starting to get a bad feeling, but no one was near them according to his observation haki, so he just pushed it to the side and ignored it.

"Something wrong, Lucien?" Jellal asked upon noticing his friend was acting strange.

"Nothing," he dismissed, "just a bad feeling."

"Same," Milliana squeaked nervously, with everyone else voicing their agreement. They all had a bad feeling about this, but that wasn't really that surprising.

Jellal nodded, and the group started moving again, making their way through another corridor before going down a spiral staircase. They came to a stop in front of the door to the storage room, no one going to open the door. They were scared and nervous about what was on the other side.

Suddenly, Lucien realised what the bad feeling was about. He couldn't see anything on the other side of the door, or around them for that matter. He was so focused on escaping that he didn't notice his haki being blocked by the building.

After informing Jellal, he said, "The building probably has some magic that blocks out your senses, so don't worry about it." Jellal was worried about it as well, but it was already too late to turn back now.

Jellal turned around to face where they came from, but only saw darkness. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling he had, like someone was breathing down the back of his neck. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his nerves and reached out to grab the door handle.