8 Chapter 8

Before Jellal could reach it, however, the door was thrown open. Standing there was one of the guards. His mask was drowned in shadows, making him even scarier.

"Aah!" Milliana screamed, startled. Lucien was surprised as well, but one guard shouldn't have scared her that much.

Turning around, Lucien realised why. They were surrounded by over a dozen guards. There was no way to escape, and they were outnumbered, so they couldn't fight back at all.

"Crap," he muttered. "What do we do now?" He asked Jellal quietly, not taking his eyes off of the guards in front, while Jellal kept his eyes on the one in the door.

"I don't know," he replied, frustrated. The plan was great. It was executed perfectly. The guards shouldn't have figured out anything until after they were gone. Jellal couldn't figure out what went wrong.

"Don't move, brats," one of the guards in front of Lucien ordered, then aimed his weapon at them, the others following soon after.

Not like any of them were going to move anyway. They were shocked, and scared. And they weren't sure what to do now. Subconsciously, they all looked towards Jellal, but he seemed just as worried as the rest of them.

"You were close brats, I'll give you that," came a voice from behind the guards. Slowly, the guards parted, and two figures made their way to the front. The one on the left appeared to be a guard of the Tower of Heaven, but without a mask on his face. He had black hair and brown eyes, and carried an arrogant look. Once he had stopped walking, he continued to speak with a smirk, "But you slaves could never outsmart your masters, and now you're going to get a fitting punishment for your insubordination."

His words brought down everyone. He was right, they were nothing but slaves. That was what all of them were thinking.

The silence was broken by a scoff from the other man. Looking closer, Lucien noted that he had brown hair with brown eyes. There was a scar going across his face, from above his left eye, to the bottom of his right cheek. He carried a black sword at his waist. When everyone turned to look at him, he started speaking, "You were outsmarted by a bunch of kids, and they almost managed to escape. Pretending to be strong in front of weak people is pathetic." He insulted the man next to him, who seemed to be a leader of this place, so easily. But the arrogant man didn't reply at all, which made the kids wonder what this man's identity was. "If it weren't for the fact that I was here, and noticed these slaves leaving their cells, you would have missed them, Passerton."

Passion was sick of the man's attitude, but he couldn't say anything about it. Not only was he not as strong as him, but he also couldn't stand up to the people behind him at all. So, he just ignored what he said, and continued speaking to the slaves who had dared to go against their masters, "Since you have decided to go against those above you, I will make sure to educate you on your places. I believe that some time in the chamber will do the job just fine." He seemed to think of something for a moment, glanced at the man next to him, then he continued, "However, seeing as we are already behind schedule on the construction of the R-System, I won't punish all of you. So, if you just betray the one who came up with the plan, everyone else will get off with a slap on the wrist."

His expression told Lucien that he really thought that he was being kind to them. But he seemed like the devil to the kids. How could they betray one of their own? Chancing a glance, Lucien saw that Sho was looking down, hiding his expression from view. However, his hand, which were clenched into fists, were shaking violently, showcasing his fear. Thankfully, the guards took it as fear for what was happening, not for fear of being identified as the one who came up with the plan.

There was no way Lucien was going to betray Sho, and he knew that the others wouldn't either.

Looking up, Lucien made eye contact with the man with the scar on his face. He stared resolutely, not breaking eye contact. Slowly, a smile found its way onto the man's lips. A cold, frightening smile, which caused Lucien to finally break eye contact.

While Lucien was busy staring, the others were freaking out. Wally, Simon, and Milliana, looked towards Sho worriedly. They were scared of what would happen to him. Erza was looking towards Jellal, hoping that he would come up with another plan to help them. And Jellal was doing just that, trying to think of another plan to get them out of this situation. But he couldn't come up with anything.

Resolution flashed through his eyes, and he opened his mouth, ready to confess to masterminding the escape, when someone spoke first, "It was me."

Recognising the voice, Jellal turned to Erza, eyes wide in shock. What was she thinking? Was she insane?

"Erza, what the hell are you doing?" Jellal whispered furiously. But Erza ignored him, choosing to take a step forward. When she saw Sho's state, she decided to sacrifice herself. Her friends were very important to her. She couldn't let them suffer.

"Don't touch my friends, I forced them to follow me. I came up with the plan," She spoke confidently.

"You did, huh," Psserton spoke. Then he grinned evilly, and continued, "Then I suppose you're going to pay the price." Suddenly, a magic circle appeared under Erza, and she collapsed to her knees while screaming in pain.

"Erza!" Jellal roared, rushing out to hold her up. "Stop it!" He screamed at the man. "She didn't do anything, it was all my idea."

The magic circle disappeared, leaving Erza breathing raggedly, collapsed in Jellal's arms. Simon had gone to stand next to her, while Milliana and Sho were looking at the scene with horrified eyes, her screams still ringing in their heads. Lucien was looking on with clouded eyes, deep in his thoughts.

"You know what?" Passerton asked. "I believe you." Jellal looked relieved, and he was about to stand, when the man continued speaking, "But, I think that I'm going to punish the redhead anyway. I've always been funny like that." He finished with a creepy laugh.

Jellal's eyes screamed bloody murder at his words, and he held Erza tight in his arms. It was obvious that he didn't intend to let go of her. But unfortunately, he didn't have much of a choice, because he was suddenly thrown into the wall behind him, hard enough to make him cough up some blood.

"Jellal!" Erza screamed. She tried to stand, but her arms fell out from under her.

Slowly, the other man lowered his hand, the magic circle that appeared in front of his palm quickly disappearing. "Take her," he coldly ordered. Two guards hurried forward, hoisted Erza up by her arms, and dragged her to stand next to Passerton.

"Erza!" Simon roared, about to charge the guards, but he was stopped by Lucien's hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he was about to shout at him, but was stopped by what he saw. Looking at him wasn't the Lucien he had become friends with - the kind, slightly introverted, jokester, who really cared about them - it was someone else. Someone with cold, emotionless eyes stared at him. Truthfully, Lucien's cold eyes scared him a little. Quickly, he broke eye contact, choosing to look down instead. But, he stood still, not trying to go for Erza.

Looking around, Lucien made eye contact with Sho, and then Milliana, silently telling them to stay still, and quiet. Finally, his eyes met Jellal's, who was still on the ground, clutching at his stomach. His eyes slightly widened in shock at seeing Lucien's cold look, but he didn't break eye contact as the others did. Instead, he stayed firm, eyes silently asking Lucien to help him up, but he ignored him, choosing to turn around and face the guards instead.

While everything was happening, Lucien had silently slipped into his oldest mask. Not the one he always wore, or had worn in a long time. This was the mask he wore around his father, the mask that was perfectly sculpted to hide any emotions, just like his father wanted. Because emotions mean weakness, and weakness means death.

All of Lucien's emotions - anger, fear, worry, and everything else - was hidden away from sight, so his voice came out with a blank tone, "I masterminded the plan. I picked the lock to the cell in order to escape, and I forced the others to come with me." He wasn't talking to Passerton, he was talking to the one who had thrown the spell at Jellal. He could tell that this person was above Passerton, and could decide to punish him instead. "You should take me instead, unless you're scared, and that's why you're taking the weak little girl instead," he taunted.

"Don't worry kid," the man started, "I was planning on taking you from the beginning." Lucien felt relieved slightly at hearing those words, but his next words changed that, "Passerton, you take the girl, and I'll take this kid."

"What?!" Jellal exclaimed. "You can't do that-!" his words were cut off by another spell from the mysterious man.

"Be quiet, slave!" Passerton roared. How dare these lowly slaves raise their voices to him, or the man next to him? "Do not speak back to your superiors."

"Take me instead of the redhead," Lucien said solemnly. This was the only plan he could come up with, and now he wasn't even sure it was going to work.

"How admirable," the man sarcastically replied. "But you misunderstand something. I was always going to take you, all your little speech did was waste your breath."

His words shocked Lucien, but he still didn't show it on his face, choosing to silently stare at him with dead eyes instead. The others, however, did show a reaction. Their eyes filled with tears, and they were angry at themselves for being too scared to do anything.

Before anything else could be said, the man continued to speak, "Passerton, take the girl away already." Passerton did as he was told, and walked off, followed by the two guards who were dragging Erza. They ignored her friends' protests, and she managed to give them a weak smile before turning a corner and disappearing. The man then turned to Lucien, continuing, "You can either come with me, or I can drag you with me, and take your little friends as well."

Looking at the other, Lucien nodded to the man before coming to stand next to him. Jellal's eyes were filled with fear and pleading with Lucien to not go, but he was ignored once again. He would've said something, but right now, all he could manage was a blood-filled cough. Lucien gave him a small smile, one which seemed off when his eyes were so lifeless, before looking away and breaking eye contact.

No words were said as the man turned and walked away in the same direction Erza went, with Lucien following at a reasonable distance. The others looked on with a mix of emotions, but no one made a sound as their friends were taken away to be punished for something they all did.

They silently followed as the guards started to lead them back to their cell. They were all staring down at the ground, hiding the tears in their eyes. This also hid the dangerous look in Jellal's eyes from the others.

###

The walk to the torture chamber was a silent one. The man had no reason to talk to Lucien. Lucien had no reason to talk to him.

Lucien was spending the time finally thinking about what happened. They attempted to escape, were caught, and now he and Erza were going off to be tortured. He was scared about what was going to happen to him, and he was worried for Erza as well.

Shaking his head, he thought of the man in front of him. He was either in charge of this tower, or had a powerful backing, since the man named Passerton treated him as a superior. He had used some kind of magic in order to incapacitate Jellal, and said that he was the one who had found out that they had escaped from their cells. So, he was the one Lucien blamed for being caught. Well, it wasn't like blaming him would change anything, anyway.

He came out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of a door opening. He was greeted with the sight of the floor as he was roughly pushed into the room. He heard the door closing behind him, and darkness filled his vision, until the lights were turned on, and Lucien could see the room properly. What he saw was a terrifying sight.

Dried blood covered the walls and floor, and somehow, parts of the ceiling, as well. Tables were placed around the room, covered in different torture devices. Some of the tables had straps on them, no doubt used to hold the victims still.

"You can call me Jacks," the man said, making his way over to some of the tools. Picking up a pair of pliers, he continued speaking, "I wonder what we should start with first, hmm. Maybe your fingers? Or perhaps I could start with your teeth instead?"

Lucien's fear was started to show on his face, and he took a trembling step backwards, and another, and another, until he hit his back against the stone wall. His hands were shaking, and his eyes were wide.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jacks asked, a strange smile making its way onto his face. His eyes remained cold, and he pointed his hand towards Lucien, "I can't have you moving about."

At the same time a magic circle appeared in front of his hand, Lucien lost control of his body. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't move at all, like a force was restraining him. Slowly, he was lifted into the air, and moved over to one of the walls.

"Telekinesis magic," he whispered. The magic had stopped his body, but he could still talk. 'Maybe the mage can't stop me from talking', he thought to himself.

"That's right," the mage replied. "I can control objects with my magic." He showcased his ability by making two metal stakes float up into the air, coming to a stop next to him. "But unfortunately, it takes up quite a lot of energy to hold a living person," as he was speaking, he manipulated Lucien's body to spread his arms on each side, "So, I'll have to find another way to hold you in place."

Lucien realised what was about to happen, and started to struggle, but he still couldn't move at all.

The stakes moved in a flash, piercing through Lucien's hands, and pinning him to the wall.

"AaaahhAaaahAaaahhh!" He screamed in pain. His screams filled the room, and tears pooled up in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. Abruptly, his screams were cut off.

"That is very annoying," Jacks drawled. "So, I took away your ability to speak," he explained, holding out his hand. A whip flew out from one of the tables, landing in his grip. "Now, I wonder how long you'll last before you break." He lashed out, and the sound of flesh being torn filled the room.