Light, Stasis, and Ice

Chapter 6 - Messages

Key's slipped out of Rick's bloody hands. He sighed, crouching down to pick them up. He knew he should've cleaned them in a public bathroom somewhere. He fumbles with the keys but opens the door to his apartment.

"Hey Lucy, I'm ba-" He looks around the apartment. One that looked more empty than it usually did. His eyebrows furrowed with confusion. "Lucy?" He begins walking around the apartment, eventually seeing her door was slightly open.

Walking over to the door, Rick pushes the door open fully, his eyes widened. Everything Lucy had ever owned was gone. All that remained was the standard stuff. A bed, desk, lamp. Nothing personal was there.

Rick raced out of his apartment, running as fast as he could towards the tower. Pushing past people, hopping over any obstacle in his path. He gets to the tower, and starts calling out the name of his beloved.

"Lucy!?"

He doesn't care that he's getting stares from other guardians. "Lucy!?" He calls out once more.

Rick frantically looks around, his eyes eventually seeing a familiar cloak moving away quickly. "Lucy!"

He runs towards the cloak, as it eventually begins moving quicker. "Lucy! Please, what's going on?!"

Instead of words, Lucy whirls around and a gunshot is heard. Rick's eyes widened and he leaned to the side, just barely dodging the bullet. His expression is full of shock, sadness, confusion.

"Look at yourself..." Lucy growled. "Coming back home, bloody, angry. You're a psychopath."

Rick is stunned. "I-I"

"You're a monster!" Lucy shouted. "Killing other Guardians?! It's a wonder that the Vanguard hasn't done anything about you!"

Rick's stunned and confused expression quickly turned into anger and frustration. "I'm killing shadows of yor...I'm protecting people!"

"You're killing anyone who gets in your path!" Lucy shouts back. "Next thing I know, I'll be the one dead at your feet!"

Rick takes a step forward, "I would never." He dodged another bullet. "DAMMIT LUCY I WOULD NEVER HURT YOU!"

"Sure you wouldn't..." Lucy said with venom in her voice. "But how can I be sure when your hands are always covered in blood?"

"Blood of people who have done wrong. People who have killed!"

"And what if they haven't? What if they just joined?" Rick saw the smirk on her face. It made him mad, but he stayed silent. By that point, a crowd of guardians had appeared, watching them.

"Yeah...you're silent because I'm right."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Rick saw Lucy's smirk fall off her face. "Why didn't you say anything?" Rick asked again. "In fact...you said nothing. You have said nothing since I came back from the Dreaming City. Absolutely nothing."

Rick began walking towards her, casting an over shield on himself. "No words of comfort, no words of worry. You said NOTHING!"

At that point, Rick saw Lucy's face become filled with fear. "I feel like you knew. You knew I was grieving. That I was struggling. But despite everything we've been through. All the times I said I loved you, you still said nothing."

Rick was right in front of Lucy at this point. Her sidearm was pointed right at his chest. It wouldn't have mattered if she shot him though. His over shield was too strong.

"So you know what?" He asked. Lucy looked at him with pure fear. He could see her hand was shaking. "I'll be the monster you think I am."

With a swift moment, Rick unholstered the Ace of Spades. Without giving anyone a chance to react, Rick put Ace at Lucy's head, and pulled the trigger.