[Tempy]

I need to stop letting music distract me and influence the stuff I write.

Locked Girl

A LuteciaErioCaro fic (if you squint you may see some romance, otherwise, it's friendship)

Song is based off of:

Spoiler for this video:

Lyrics are in English, bold and italicized. Go here for Japanese lyrics.

And without further ado...

Spoiler for ラクト・ガール:

Locked Girl

In a dark and gloomy room, a recluded girl is buried in books.
“What do you want today?”
And just as expected, the words come from beyond the door:

Caro Ru Lushe shuffled through her tiny cottage, her cloak pulled close to stave off the autumn
chill. Even as a fire danced with dinner simmering over it, she could still feel the cold running
through her limbs. This cold had been with her ever since she moved here, an escape from a
reality she could not live in. Only a few years had passed since the last major incident, and yet
so much had happened.

She felt that she was drifting away from her closest friends, watching them afar as they grew
closer and closer. Erio-kun, Lutecia-chan, they seemed to do so much together now, sometimes
with her, sometimes just those two. It broke her heart in a way, as she was left out of even the
most basic of activities. Those fears of loneliness and abandonment Caro had dispelled with
Fate and Erio gradually returned with terrible ferocity. Worry and anxiety gnawed and chewed
at her until finally, the final straw.

They had kissed! Not a friendly or familial kiss, but a romantic liplock that one saw between two
people deeply in love.

Unable to watch them any more, Caro ran away and found safe haven within a tiny cabin on a
Bureau-administered planet.

Locked Girl? You gotta be kiddin’! Open up this door!
I’ll definitely grab you by the hand and take you out.

They visited often, almost too often for her comfort. Caro couldn’t bear turning them away all
the time, but it was fairly frequent that she just locked herself away in her cottage, letting her
mind run free in novels and fiction. At least here, in those books, her heart could not be broken.

Try as those two might, however, banging on the heavy wooden door, they could not stir the girl
to action.

In a room full of dust, a coughing girl closes her book.
“This has nothing to do with you.”
No way, ze. You’re always inviting me, and you seem about to break.

“Caro, come out! Please! You’ve been in there for so long! Don’t hide from us!”

They tried. Really, they did. Often, and as best they could, they would knock on that locked
door and beg for Caro to return to them. More often than not, they would get the same answer:
a muffled reply turning them away.

“Ne, Lulu, should we try another day?” the girl’s companion suggested, a similar look of
disappointment on his face.

It was true: Erio and Lutecia had gotten very close over the years; an outsider may even
consider them to be a romantic couple. Yet in reality, they were only as they had always been:
close friends. Guilt lay heavily upon their shoulders, however, as their closeness had caused
this situation. That kiss was an accident, dammit! But neither of them could sort out their
feelings yet, not while their friend suffered because of it.

Their triad was incomplete, a great hole whereas a normally solid shape would take. They had
to get Caro back.

“This isn’t fair, Erio-kun,” Lutecia grumbled as she leaned against a tree, a hand pressed
against her face. She was so tired, but she knew she could not rest. Not yet.

“No, it isn’t. But we can’t give up now,” the boy sighed in response. He made a tight fist and
stared at it, frustration stirring his rage. They were so close, but so damnably far. “I refuse to
let her stay that way! We’ve no other choice. Tomorrow… tomorrow we’ll do it. We’ll free
her from her prison.”

Locked Girl? You gotta be kiddin’! Listen to this feeling!
I will cry out your name, and make you turn to face me.

The next day came far too quickly and far too slowly as two teens walked quietly up the hill.
At the top, they could see the quaint little cottage just moments away, their goal entrapped
within. No longer could they simply stand back and watch their precious friend rot away –
now, they would act. Their quest would not be easy one, however.

A dragon stood in their way.

“Even you, Friedrich? Protecting your master, regardless of her situation… how beautifully
loyal,” Lutecia murmured.

Perhaps Caro knew of what they would try, or perhaps Fried had decided to take things into
his own hands. The little dragon roared in response, a bright glow encompassing its little body.
In an instant, the tiny creature grew to enormous, powerful proportions beyond its flight form.
No… this time, Friedrich was ready to fight.

The purple-haired summoner was already moving, quietly chanting an aria for which to summon
her own servants. A single hand stopped her in mid-cast, however, as Erio stepped up to meet
the dragon head on.

“Go! I will be his opponent! She’s waiting for us, that Locked Girl. Waiting for someone to
save her.”

With a florish, Erio readied his spear. His fight would be a tough one, but he would endure.
Looking over his shoulder, he gave his friend a reassuring smile.

“Go save her.”

A locked girl, closed in tight.

She ran with all her might, the sounds of an incredible battle between knight and dragon echoing
behind her. The urge to stop, to look behind her, was incredible. Yet she knew that she could
not hesitate in her steps – Caro was waiting for them, for her.

But one barrier remained in her way.

“Caro! It’s me! Open the door!” Lutecia’s voice was abnormally loud quiet meadow; she had
to be, if she wanted to be heard through the thick door. For a moment, the bug summoner’s
heart froze. No response came from within, a solemn quiet that terrified her. But finally, she
heard it, a muffled voice through the heavy wood.

“Go away! I can’t do this anymore!” the sobs came through, shaky and heavy with fear.
“Just… just let it go and leave me alone!”

From beyond the door, a scratching,
Murmuring voice mixed with tears:
“Don’t mind about me anymore.”
I’m tired of this response
So I called her name once again.

“Let it go? You think I can just let it go?! Caro!” Lutecia shouted at the door, the air around her
crackling with magical lightning. A Belkan spell triangle formed by her feet as she summoned the
power from within. Though a summoner, she had made sure to learn a few offensive spells just
in case, and this one in particular was a joint effort between she and Erio. Subaru helped too in
making the spell, but much of the work was done by them to make their own Buster.

“I can’t let it go. Caro! If you won’t listen to me, I’ll make you listen!” A brilliant ball of
condensed magic crackled in her hand, the size of a basketball, and ready to break down the
Wall of Jericho.

“These are my feelings! Our feelings! Please don’t ignore them anymore!”

A girl in the shadows, covered in knowledge.

Through the door, Caro couldn’t see the incredible flash of light as Lutecia’s spell went off, but
she could hear it. Ten seconds later, she could damn well feel it too. A great thunderclap, an
earthshaking roar, and the heavy barrier that kept the two apart and protected the dragon
summoner from the outside world was blown to tiny bits.

Locked Girl? You gotta be kiddin’! The door is already open.
As much as you cry, there’s nothing here for you.

Lutecia stepped over the debris with confident strides, her goal right in front of her. Sitting on
the floor, blown back by the force of the spell, the ruffled white cloak of Caro Ru Lushe
covered a terrified tear-stained girl. She stopped a mere foot away, bending over gracefully to
speak with her friend.

“Long ago, you saved me from my own anguish. You and Erio-kun, brought me from the
darkness and showed me the glorious light of the day. Now, it’s my turn to save you,” she said,
holding out a delicately thin hand.

Caro stared at the offered hand with uncertainty and worry. Would she just be wasting her time
if she were to go out? Would she feel the same despair and misery that had haunted her for so
long? That fear kept her hand from reaching out, but deep within her, a tiny voice cried out. It
had felt the emotions, the longing and the love behind the magic. With every beat of her heart,
that voice grew louder, stronger, blowing away the insecurity that kept her hidden.

And it cried out her love for them.

With a shaky hand, Caro grasped Lutecia’s outstretched hand and allowed herself to be pulled
away from her shattered prison. Imagine her surprise, then, when Lutecia brought her head in
close and kissed her on the lips.

“There. Now we’re even,” Lulu winked as she pulled back.

Locked Girl! Let’s go! Open up this door.
I will grab you, and I’ll definitely take you with me!

The sun was incredibly bright as she was drawn into the sky, her hand tightly clasped with her
fellow summoner. The wind whipped around them, both strongly and gently, as if welcoming
them back to a place long missed.

“Isn’t the day beautiful?”

Caro opened her eyes and looked up, gasping as waves of nostalgia washed through her. How
long had it been since she had seen the crisp evening sky, to see cotton-like clouds floating
gracefully upon a blazing canvas of red, indigo, yellow, and orange? Her windows gave only a
fleeting glance, but to be so close in the air… exhilarating.

Two girls riding the red-tinged sky.
“Fly a little slower.”

Ahead of them, waiting patiently in the gorgeous sky, was a boy with fiery red hair. A huge grin
threatened to split his face wide open as he watched the girls approach. Next to him, her
ever-vigilant dragon.

Lutecia-chan… Erio-kun…

How long since she felt this wonderful? This happy?

“…Yes… it is…”

So? Where shall we go?

Yeah, I know Lulu seems OOC, but it's due to her growth and change in the years following StrikerS. She did seem far happier in the epilogue, and this is how I feel she'd change after some time.