Chapter 1: He's Gone

She looks around, heart racing. She's running out of time. Running out of road. Running out of breath. The darkness is giving chase. And catching up. She pushes herself faster, lungs burning, eyes straight ahead, into the light of the exit. The darkness closes in and with a CRASH! everything goes dark. She could no longer see, could no longer hear. She reached out for something to grab onto, but to no avail. Even her feet ceased to feel the ground. She was floating.

#I was too late.# She thought to herself. #A day late and a dollar short.# Her heart hasn't slow its rapid pace. She still feels the adrenaline.

Why? Why is she feeling like this? A sound echoes in the darkness, like the sound of a music box wound just enough. She hears it again, calling her name. "Lucy..." Lucy..." She tries to open her eyes. Why are they so hard to open?

The bell-like voice calls her again. "Lucy... Lucy! Lucy please wake up!" Her eyes snap open and the light around her is blinding. She blocks out the light with her hand, groaning as she starts to feel the dull ache in her lower back.

Levy sighs with relief and hugs her best friend. "I was scared you were never going to wake up..." she whispers softly.

Lucy, confused, wraps her weak arms around Levy. "What happened..? Where am I?" Lucy asks, looking around as her eyes adjust to the light. Levy lets go and sits up, biting her lip. Lucy can see the pain in her eyes.

"Natsu's...gone."

Lucy's eyes widen. And she tries to sit up as tears well up in her eyes.

"I don't think so missy!" comes Wendy's voice as she enters the room. "The less you move the better chance I have of removing all of the dark-charged lachrima.

Lucy begins to shake. So that's what the dark mage threw at her.

The mission comes rushing back to her. Natsu, herself, Gray, Erza and (very surprisingly) Laxus were to destroy a dark guild that was on the rise. This guild called themselves the Greenbacks. Apparently they have their hands in every major corporation in Fiore, their eyes on all the large pocketbooks. They had cornered the leaders in a large cave on the seashore near a resort where they were all gathered on a "Corporate Retreat". Lucy had realized to late that she was too exhausted and too weak to fight the last one. She had tried to run but apparently she wasn't fast enough.

"Wha.. what do you mean 'gone'?" Lucy asks, terribly confused. Levy looked down at her hands.

"Him and Lisanna... They ran off and eloped..." Levy says softly.

Lucy pales as she takes that in and stares at the ceiling, eyes closing slowly as the tears come in full force.