Prologue
What is happening? Why is everyone in the guild here? And why does everyone look sad?
Chocolate brown eyes looked around the guild frantically as she walked through the guild doors observing the behaviour of everyone present whilst her silky blonde hair flowed with every movement she made. The guild wasn't cheerful like it usually was. It was quiet, almost intimidating. It was unrecognisable as everyone was brooding with his or her heads held low. The once cheerful guild that was known throughout Fiore for it's reckless and rowdy behaviour stood silent at the edge of Magnolia. The atmosphere was tense as Lucy could feel the tightness in the air. It wasn't pleasant. She began to feel uneasy about the state of the guild. Curiosity as to what caused the guild to become so silent plagued her mind, filling up with questions with each passing minute.
As she walked further into the guild, she saw her scarlet haired friend sitting on her usual seat at the bar looking down at the table. Her strawberry cake placed in front of her, waiting to be devoured but remained untouched. The icing used to decorate the cake started to melt, but it did not seem to bother Erza. Lucy could sense the anger that surrounded her dangerously, even though her outer façade displayed her usual calm and analytical nature. Lucy could see that Erza was deep in thought. She backed away and looked over to the corner of the guild where her best friend usually sat, only to see she was crying. Droy and Jet were standing behind her, looking away whilst hiding their faces, looking slightly ashamed. Lucy was surprised to see that they were not attempting to comfort Levy from her distraught state. She walked over to them and sat on a seat directly across them on their table.
"Levy-chan, what's wrong?" Lucy's eyes observed Levy as she continued to cry, ignoring her question. The blue haired wizard had her head in her hands as the tears flowed down her rosy cheeks. She didn't look up. Lucy wanted to reach out and place her hand on her friend's shoulder but Gajeel had beaten her to it. He swung his arm over Levy's shoulder, bringing her closer as he had been sitting next to her and listening as her cries became louder. She clutched onto Gajeels shirt and wept into it, staining the shirt with her endless tears. Pantherlily stood on the table with his head down, eyes unfocused as if he were lost in thoughts. He seemed to be analyzing the current situation. Lucy could not understand what was going on. She got up from her seat in front of Levy and Gajeel and went to see if she could get any answers from Cana, even though she was unsure about the outcome. She searched for Cana amongst the members of Fairy Tail and located her a few tables away up ahead sitting by herself with her cards placed across the table. As she walked up to her she noticed Cana had not touched her drink. She was holding onto one of her cards, observing it before she scrunched it, effectively bending the card beyond future use. The liquor placed before Cana remained stationary, only forming ripples with the occasional movement. Lucy heard Cana mumbling something along the lines of nothing making any sense.
That's unusual. Cana would never leave her drink just sitting there. In fact she would have a few empty barrels next to her. There's also the fact that she doesn't understand what her readings are telling her which is going to be a big problem for her.
Lucy walked around the guild to see if she could talk to anyone. She noticed Juvia was sitting next to Gray. Gray held the same dangerous aura as Erza, only he didn't look like he could contain himself. Juvia sat quietly beside Gray. Her face was void of any emotions but it was evident in her eyes that she was having an inner turmoil. Even Laxus, who was leaning against the wall behind them, didn't have his calm and collective nature in his eyes. He seemed to be frustrated, possibly even more than any other guild members. This left Lucy quite astounded. As Lucy continued to observe the guild she noticed that the Raijinshu were not anywhere to be seen. Lucy made a mental guess that they were probably currently on a job that didn't require Laxus to be present.
Lucy could not comprehend what was happening. She tried to remember what she did the night before to figure out if something had happened, but her memory was foggy. Everything that came to mind was too blurry for her to grasp. Vague colours were all she could make out of her memories. She felt a throbbing pulse go through her head when she tried too hard to remember, as if something was blocking her mind from going any further.
Why can't I remember anything? I must have had too much to drink if my memory is this clouded. But I don't usually drink! Yesterday might have been an exception.
Lucy sat at an empty table where she could observe everyone for a while. She concluded that she would have to wait until everyone was feeling better to get her answers. Looking around for the last time she noticed that the master, Natsu and the blue exceed were nowhere to be seen. This got Lucy curious. She knew they usually would be sitting at a table located near the bar so they could get their countless supply of food, but that table was void of their presence at the moment.
Lucy heard someone behind her and turned around to see Wendy was leaning against the wall, crying with Carla trying to comfort her but with no success. It pinched her chest to see her friend is such a state. She wanted to go and comfort the young girl but thought it would be best to leave it to Carla, after all, Carla always found a way to encourage the girl to save her tears. She had a strange way to get into the young girls mind. Lucy turned around and rested her head on the table. She closed her eyes and listened to the rare silence of the guild whilst thinking about the present situation.
I don't get what's happened! Everyone looks so miserable and I haven't got the slightest clue why! Whatever it is that happened, I hope to find out soon because it's starting to freak me out.
It had been ten minutes before Lucy opened her eyes to the sound of a door opening and loud wails of crying, completely silencing the noise of the door slamming shut. She saw the blue exceed fly down from the second floor and land on the table of the bar, next to Erza's strawberry cake. Tears ran down his eyes like a waterfall as his wails echoed through the guild hall, unable to hold back his despair. His eyes were red from the non-stop crying. Lucy was about to get up and give Happy a hug when Erza spoke.
"Calm down Happy, we'll sort this out." The softness in Erza's voice hid the pain she was feeling. "We'll figure it out, I promise." Lucy's eyes widened as she saw Erza turn to face Happy, sadness evident on her face. She smiled for Happy, attempting to look brave and invited him into a hug. Happy ran into her open arms and cried louder than before. He was mumbling something but it was muffled by Erza's armour. Her smile soon faded as she hugged Happy tighter. Lucy could sense an aura of anger emerging again from Erza as she tried to comfort Happy. At the bar, Mira was holding onto her younger sister as a form of reassurance. Elfman stood nearby watching over his sisters. He believed he needed to be brave for everyone.
The sound of a door opening on the second floor and being slammed shut again caught everyone's attention. Lucy watched as Natsu walked down the stairs. Lucy was about to approach him and ask what was happening when she saw the anger flaring in his eyes. It looked like his fire was dancing fiercely. He had never looked this furious before. Everyone watched as Natsu walked over to where Happy was and leaned against the bar table, ignoring the seat that stood vacant next to him. Erza let go of Happy and watched as he jumped into Natsu's arms and cried. He wouldn't stop. Natsu started to gently pat Happy's head in an attempt to calm him down.
"Come on Happy, we will figure this out." Natsu said in a reassuring manner, though his anger did not falter.
"Aye" wept the exceed while clinging onto Natsu. His tears were beginning to leave a wet patch on Natsu's black attire. It didn't seem like Natsu's unnatural body heat could dry the tears quick enough. Natsu held onto Happy whilst attempting to calm him down, unaffected by the wet stain being left on his clothes. He continued to gently pat Happy as the trembling of the exceed started to decrease and all that was left was the occasional hiccups. Natsu didn't let go of the Happy as he started to calm down gradually, in fear that the exceed was going to burst into tears again upon not seeing their blonde best friend present.
Lucy was terrified and unable to move. It became evident to her that the current situation was causing her two best friends the most pain. She didn't know what she could do to reassure them that the problem would be solved. All she could do watch as Natsu looked like he was ready to destroy something with his anger that was radiating of his skin. It surprised her that Happy seemed unaffected.
Few minutes later Lucy heard the sound of more footsteps descending down the stairs. She turned around to see who it was before her eyes widened upon the sight of messy ginger hair and shaded blue glasses. Her gaze did not leave the leader of the zodiac as she observed his features. She could see the small hint of him being distraught, though he held a stern face. He also looked extremely tired. He seemed to be analyzing the situation thoroughly in his head. Lucy knew that if Loke had passed through the gate on his own, the situation must be dire.
She saw the master trailing a few steps behind looking disturbed with the matter. She noticed his movements were a little sluggish compared to normal. He looked slightly pale and his face adorned a few more wrinkles and bags under his eyes. Lucy could tell immediately the master had not gotten much sleep. She couldn't help but become a little scared. Questions of what had exactly happened afflicted through her mind.
Master Makarov walked onto the stage of the guild and cleared his throat. Everyone turned their heads and gathered around the stage to listen to what the master was about to say. He looked distressed but quickly changed his façade to appear brave for his children. He knew bringing up the news that he was sure everyone already knew about by now would cause the atmosphere of the guild to become even more suffocating than it already was, however he needed to let the guild members know what was going through his mind. He stood on the stage quietly for a few seconds before he spoke.
"I'm sure you have all heard the news by now." The guild was silent with a few hiccups heard from Levy. He gave her a sympathetic look before facing everyone else with a serious expression again. "But I am going to say it so everyone here is on the same boat." Everyone in the guild held an expression of complete seriousness, expressing their full attention to the master. No one moved a muscle as they waited for Makarov to continue speaking.
Lucy looked around the guild as she swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. The tension in the guild hall had made her nervous. The guild being silent was never a good sign. She looked around at all the faces in the guild noticed everyone seemed to know what the master was talking about expect her. This made her extremely uneasy. She felt her palms begins to sweat from the anticipation.
What news! I didn't hear anything! And why is my heart is pounding so fast!
Master Makarov took a deep breath before he exhaled. He eyed every single guild member, mentally preparing them once again before he spoke the words that Lucy didn't expect to hear.
"Lucy is missing."