A raven haired boy ran with all his might through the streets of Magnolia, a terrified look on his face. The burning on his chest and side was insignificant compared to the sorrow the boy felt. He sped up even more once he reached the foot of the small hill leading to his destination.
"Guys!" He panted as he burst through the twin doors of his guild, getting everyone's attention on him "It's terrible!..." He paused once more, struggling to catch his breath for just a little
"What's wrong, Romeo?" The white haired barmaid asked as she handed him a glass of water, a frown intruding her delicate face. Romeo downed the water in two gulps and handed her the glass back, his hands trembling terribly
"Mira-san, it's terrible! Lucy's in the hospital!" He yelled, and the guild became deadly silent. The shock wore off quickly as four mages sprinted past Romeo and Mira, presumably heading to the hospital, and after a few seconds, the entire guild ran after them
Romeo tried to tell them what had happened, but all he could say was 'blood' and 'She was screaming so much'. Macao decided it was for the best if he took his son home, before the boy have himself a mental breakdown. Now all the members of Fairy Tail had to do was wait, and hope for the best
"Damn it!" The pink haired man yelled as he hit the wall in front of him, before he resumed his pacing.
"Natsu, calm down. You're making everyone else anxious." The red haired woman scolded him from her seat. Even though her posture didn't give out any signs of nervousness or worry, one look at the scowl on her face was enough to send any grown man crying for their mommy
"How can you be so calm, Erza?! We've been here for two hours already, and they don't give us any information on Lucy, and they won't let Wendy go and heal her!" Natsu shouted at Erza, his emotions getting the better of him. Unfortunately for him, the woman's emotions weren't under control either.
She quickly stood up and grabbed the front of his collar, bringing him nose to nose with her "What makes you think I'm calm, huh?! Just because nobody else is pacing like a lunatic and making dents on the walls doesn't mean we're not worried about Lucy!"
The already hot headed man put his hand on top of where she was grabbing him "Well, then show it, damn it! I'm not wearing an armour over my heart like you do!" He shouted back. The woman gasped and he immediately regreted saying what he did once he glimpsed the hurt in her eyes. Erza brought back her fist, ready to make Natsu join Lucy in her hospital visit
"Erza! Natsu! That's enough, both of you." A short old man barked at the two of them, bringing them both to their senses "Everyone's worried." He added, his voice somber with worry
Erza let Natsu go "You're right Master, I'm sorry, everyone." She said, turning to the rest of her guildmates and bowing her head slightly. Nobody said a thing, all of them understood their feelings. She turned back to Natsu "I'm so-"
"Sorry, Erza" Natsu said loudly, bowing deeply. His bangs hid his blushing face "I said nasty things to you." He added, still bowing
Erza patted his shoulder with a sad smile "It's okay Natsu. I also let my feelings get the best of me" Natsu tried to give her one of his famous whole heart grins, but failed miserably. Erza patted his shoulder once again and returned to her seat, resuming at glaring at the wall in front of her.
Everyone else sighed once Natsu went back to pacing at the small hall
"Gray-sama? Is there something on your mind?" The blue haired girl asked to the man beside her. She had been staring at him intently, and not only he didn't tell her off, he had a thoughtful expression. Like there was something else besides Lucy's state weighing on his mind
The raven haired man snapped back to reality "Oh, it's nothing, Juvia. I'm worried about Lucy." He smiled at Juvia. The fact that she didn't make any comment about her 'love rival' went for showing her worry about her friend. 'I wonder if Lucy's attack has anything to do with the rumors I've heard of the biggest bounty in history being announced in the underworld. I hope I'm wrong.'
The waiting room would crumble from the tension coming from Fairy Tail, if possible. There were metaphorical cracks in the air, and none of the nurses dared come and tell them off for disturbing the order in the hospital. The tension reached it's peak when a doctor with round glasses called out for the family of Lucy Heartfilia. All members of the guild jumped from their chairs as if they had been bitten and ran to the poor doctor, bombarding him with countless questions. "Is she okay?" "When will we take her home?" "What happened to her?" "Why did you take so long to call us?" "Is she dead?" "Where are the hot nurses?" Erza and Mirajane -in her Satan Soul form- knocked the ones who asked the last two questions all the way back to the guild. That seemed to quiet the guild members
"Be quiet and let the doctor talk." They spoke in unison, a black aura emanating from them. The members of Fairy Tail squeaked and nodded at them
The doctor cleared his throat "As I was saying, I need to speak to her family."
"You're looking at them." Was the chorus from the entire guild
"Is that true?" He asked for confirmation
"Yes. We're all family." Master Makarov said seriously
"Hmmm." The doctor decided not to ask any further questions "The patient's condition is stable now." A round of cheers erupted from the guild, everybody hugging each other, some crying tears of joy. The doctor waited long five minutes until the cheering and laughter died once Makarov asked them to
"What happened to my kid?" He asked
"She was poisoned. There were large ammounts of a substance lethal for mages. It reacts with their blood cells, blocking the hormone responsible for controlling the flow of magical energy within one's body, depleting their magical energy, and consequently leading to death. Thankfully, your comrade avoided death due to her above average magic reserves."
That caused another round of cheers
"So Lucy didn't die because she's strong!" Gray shouted with glee
"Yeah, duh, of course she's strong. This much won't kill Lucy!" Natsu shouted back, overjoyed as well
"Says the guy who was ready to murder someone in this hospital!" Gray shouted at Natsu. Instead of getting into a fight like they always do, the two mages hugged each other, chanting 'She's alive, she's alive!' to the entire world to hear, their laughter echoing though the halls of the building
"You may go see her, she is conscious, though I'm afraid to tell you that a maximum of four people are allowed. I also need to ask of you to keep the noises to a minimum."The doctor explained to them
The mages decided that the Master, Wendy, Natsu and Erza should be the first to visit Lucy. The rest of Fairy Tail went back to the guild, plans of the greatest party ever being discussed loudly by them. Happy and Mirajane went to Lucy's appartment get her a change of clothes, and Gray went somewhere, saying he had something to find out.
"Lucyyyy!" Natsu shouted and jumped to his friend, but Erza roundhouse kicked him to the opposite wall
"Natsu! The doctor just told us to keep quiet! " she barked at him
"You too." Makarov pointed out, chopping her on the head
"Guys!" Lucy greeted them with as much energy as she could, given her condition "You can't imagine how glad I am to see you."
"How are you feeling, Lucy?" Wendy asked
"I am lots better! My body doesn't hurt as much. You would've totally freaked out if you were there, Wendy!" Lucy chuckled "I coughed up sooo much blood!" She made an exaggeration with her hands "Poor Romeo, I have to apologize to him later. Speaking of which, I'm so-" before she could finish her sentence, Makarov muffled her with his hand
"Don't you even think of apologizing for this." He said to her "I'm sure it was scary, huh." He said in his usual grandfatherly tone, patting her on the head. Lucy covered her face with both hands and nodded, her muffled sobs became the only sound in the suddenly too small room
"I thought I was going to die." She sobbed out
Erza sat down on her other side and put Lucy in a side hug, letting her tears soak her now armor-free chest. When Lucy's breath had evened out, both Makarov and Erza got out of the bed, leaving their celestial mage to sleep undisturbed. Erza dragged Natsu out of the room, sensing his shaking shoulders from where she had gripped him
"Gramps..." He called for Makarov, his voice a low growl "I wanna kill who did this to Lucy." He said, his face shadowed by the low lighting of the hospital
"Me too, Natsu." Whoever did such a thing to one of Makarov's brats had just gotten themselves a death sentence
"They said they poisoned Lu-chan's coffee." Levy said softly to Lisanna as she brushed away a stray piece of hair from Lucy's face
"Such a thing... why would anyone target Lucy?" Cana wondered aloud
"Maybe it's her father once again? I was told he tried attacking her before."Lisanna suggested
"No, that can't be it. What kind of parent plans the murder of their own child?" Cana reasoned
"Besides, Lu-chan told me he lost all his fortune. Whoever targeted her didn't do it for her family's money."
"Hmmm. Now I'm completely lost!" Lisanna moaned as she ran her hands through her hair in frustration "I can't see any other reason for someone to go after her."
"Maybe they're after her body. I mean, it's one of her only good points." Cana elaborated after the numb stares she received
"You don't have to be so rude, Cana." Levy deadpanned "Her keys are all intact, so that can't be it either."
"It's not revenge either, it was more like an assassination attempt than anything." Lucy said, making everyone else notice she was awake. The other three girls in the room jumped out of their skin
"Lu-Lu-Lu-Lucy! You're awake!" Cana shrieked and started laughing maniacally "Since when were you awake?"
"Sometime after I found out someone tried to murder me because of my sexy body." She gave a dramatical sigh "I mean, it's my only good point." Her eyes filled with fake tears
"Hey, you, Lucy! Don't go around changing what people say just to make them feel bad."
"But you said that." Lucy turned her head to the side, pouting
"I didn't!"
"I mean, I do have a body most girls would kill for, especially those that have their bellies becoming round from drinking too much."
"You wanna fight, brat?!"
"Cana, apologise." Levy demanded, chopping Cana on the head
"Sorry." Cana finally said, fidgeting with her fingers
"It's fine." Lucy said smiling brightly
"So, how do you feel?" Lucy sighed. It was the fifth time she's been asked this question
"I'm loads better. The doctors said I should stay here for two more days, but if I'm feeling better tomorrow I'm going to discharge myself. I don't even understand why I should be kept cooped up here when I'm not feeling anything anymore."
"You'll stay here for two days." A fifth voice joined the conversation, making Lucy jump out of her skin
"Mira! You came visit me!" Lucy said overjoyed as Mira stepped through the doorway
"You'll stay here for two days." Mira repeated herself with a dark smile
"But I'm-"
"Two days."
"As I said, I-"
"Two. Days."
"No, I'm-"
"Oh my, I brought you enough clothes to last you a week, I wonder if I should go tell the doctors to keep you longer, so my work isn't wasted." Mira wondered aloud, bringing a hand to her cheek
"No! I'm going to stay here the two days!"
"Oh my, oh my, I wonder if two days is really enough time?"
"Please! Let me stay here for two days!" Lucy made a move to kneel, but Mira seemingly teleported to her side and pushed her back to the bed
"You have to rest." She demanded in a dark tone, daring Lucy to protest
"Yes, ma'am." Lucy cowered under her covers
Lisanna, Cana and Levy sighed at the two
Gray hid himself in the shadows as he staked the dark guild in front of him. He was waiting for the building to become emptier, so it would be easier for him to invade it. He'd been doing this the whole evening, and was becoming bored out of his mind, so much so he was making small ice soldiers with his magic, and making them battle each other
"Gray-sama, what are we waiting?"
"It's still packed with people, if I go there by myself it will be too reckle- AHH! JUVIA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" he shrieked at her
"THERE'S SOMEONE OUT THERE! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, KILL THEM!"
"Great, look at what you've done, they know we're here!"
"Gray-sama was the one who shouted." She pointed out as an arrow shot past her head, which she liquefied. Gray flushed bright red at having his mistake pointed out
"I WOULDN'T HAVE SHOUTED IF YOU DIDN'T SCARE ME, SO IT WAS YOUR FAULT FIRST!"
"Oh my, is Juvia a bad girl?" She asked as she wiggled her hips, her eyes in the shape of two hearts
"Your head is one thing that's gone bad here."
"Well, there's no use crying over spilled milk, so let's go!" She exclaimed merrily pumping her hands in the air "We just have to destroy that dark guild, right?" There were stars glinting in her eyes at the thought of fighting as a pair with her Gray-sama after so long -which was in fact no more than a few weeks-. She might even let one of the thugs at the guild harm her, so that Gray-sama would get all protective. 'What do you think you're doing to my Juvia?! I'll kill you if you touch my woman again!' KYAAA! No, no, you mustn't, Juvia! You can't become a burden to Gray-sama. Besides, Juvia might die from happiness if she heard such a thing coming out from Gray-sama's mouth, and her love rival would have him all for herself! Such a thing would be unforgivable!
Gray couldn't see what was going on in Juvia's head, so he mistook her excitement as it being simply due to the fight 'Natsu's rubbing off on her.' He thought sadly as he shook his head, heading to the guild after her
With the added stenght of Juvia, it wasn't an impossible feat for the two mages to subdue the dark guild. Their coordination was impeccable, their magics complemented each other, and Juvia would mercilessly slaughter any coward who tried to attack Gray from the back
"That's enough, Juvia." Gray said when he noticed Juvia was still brutalizing the girl who had dared call her Gray-sama a hottie. The nerve! Only Juvia was allowed to call Gray-sama a hottie!
"No, you're not." Gray deadpanned. Oh my! Did she say that out loud?! "It's completely written on your face." Juvia pulled out a pocket mirror, but frowned when she didn't see anything on her face "It's an expression, dummy." Gray sighed with a small smile
"Gray-sama, why did you choose to attack this guild? I doubt they did something deserving of this." Juvia questioned as she gestured to the destruction of the guild around her
"Oh trust me, they did." He moved to wake up the thug who looked to be the one in charge of the paperwork in the dark guild "Wake up!" He kicked the guy, who moaned and opened one of his eyes before shutting it quickly and pretending to have gone back to sleep, sweating bullets. Gray sighed, having seen through the pathetic acting "Well, if he's not going to wake up, I guess I'll have to freeze him and drag him back to the guild. He might die in the way, though." The man shrieked and jumped up before kneeling and begging for forgiveness "Where is your bountybook?"
"I-It's in the hidden space under the last drawer of the cabinet. Sir."
"Juvia will get it." The water mage said as she quickly retrieved the heavy book
"Um, boss, what are you looking for?" The thug asked in a pleasing tone, but Gray was having none of it so he planted his feet on the guy's face, who then diverted his attention to cradling his bleeding nose
Gray flipped through the bounty posters, skirming through assassination requests of princes, celebrities, politicians, even the nice lady of the market had a bounty on her, though thankfully it was so small she didn't attract the smallest of attentions. His eyes finally landed on the most prized paper in there. He clicked his tongue when he saw the photo of his friend, but he paled completely once he saw the reward for her. Juvia looked over his shoulder at what had him like that, and gasped at the bounty as well
'Bring me the heart of Lucy Heartfilia. The crow will contact the one who holds the organ. Any forgery shall be punished with death
Reward: 500,000,000,000 J'