"Where the hell is she?"
A frustrated Natsu spun around in the center of Lucy's apartment, his arms cloaked in fire. It generally showed up when he was upset or angry, and he was both. Why hadn't she asked him to go with her? At least he would have had a better idea of what to do! They'd been searching for hours and come up with nothing.
"Anything?" Gray's voice called up.
Natsu peered out the window he'd climbed through. Gray stood beside the canal, brow furrowed as he waited. Natsu shook his head and hopped out, landing with ease on the cobbled ground beside him. His lips pressed together, he admitted, "I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary in her place. Reeks of that bastard Loke, and their scents were there, but…"
"Any bags?" Gray asked, frowning.
He shook his head and they started pacing back in the direction of the guildhall.
"So at least we know they left here," Gray said slowly. "Maybe they decided to go to diner? I mean, it wouldn't be the first time Lucy spontaneously decided to go shopping with Levy, they do it all the time-"
"No," Natsu said, suddenly stopping in his tracks. He wrinkled his nose, backtracking a few steps. He ducked down, sniffing, and Gray snorted. "Their scents," he reported, "End here."
"What?" Gray didn't move, knowing better than to distract him. Natsu took a few steps forward again, growling under his breath as he realized that any sign of Lucy had cut off in one spot.
His gaze darted towards the canal. Water disrupted trails all the time. The amused Makarov had reported that the Council complained about it when they were chasing criminals. He sidestepped, peering into the water, but found nothing strange, his gaze searching.
Something sparkled.
"Gray," he grunted. The serious tone in which he spoke brough Gray to the edge of the canal. Gray knelt beside him, squinting, and he pointed. The water on a normal day wasn't too disgusting. Somedays, it was even pretty and nice enough to swim in. Magnolia used the canals as a way of moving shipments, and those who boated around in it weren't too bad about getting around the people. "See that down there?"
Even on pretty days, the water was dark. No one but a dragon slayer would have seen the shapes down at the bottom.
"We should have brought Juvia," Gray mused, frowning. "Certainly would have been able to help us…"
"Can you use your ice to reach it?" he questioned.
"Maybe." Using his magic, Gray created a decent pole with a hook at the end. He tested the length and added to it a few times before finally handing it to Natsu. The fire mage was careful to not let it melt in his hands, knowing that his ice didn't melt usually, but this wasn't a fight and it might.
Natsu got to work. He fished for the objects he could see, knowing his teammate's eyes wouldn't catch it. When it caught something, he made a triumphant sound and began to pull it up.
They drew a canvas bag full of things from the bottom of the canal. They exchanged a look, suddenly nervous. Neither wanted to discover a seventh body. But, nevertheless, Natsu opened it.
Objects spilled onto the street. Lots of them. Clearly belongings, all women's. Natsu narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he pulled a wallet out and opened it, reading a name aloud. "Sarah Reed," he reported. "Twenty seven years old. She lives on the outskirts of town and is married to Marcus Reed."
"Ayako Baril, member of Lamia Scale. This is the lady that Lyon was asking about when he came." Gray dropped the wallet he'd grabbed and sat back, looking horrified. "These belong to all of the dead and the missing. Sarah Reed was the third dead woman, remember?"
Natsu didn't reply. He was busy digging through the various possessions, his heart pounding in his chest. He froze when something jingled. With trembling hands, Natsu withdrew a familiar set of keys, his onyx eyes darting up to meet Gray's. He mentally recited all of the names he'd learned from Lucy. "Loke's key is hot," he said suddenly, tucking them safely into his pocket. "He knows we're here and wants to talk to us but can't."
After so long, he could read them just as easily as Lucy could.
"This is Levy's," Gray muttered, showing him a familiar headband. His hand fisted around it, rage fluttering through his dark eyes. "Why the hell did Happy leave? We could send him back to report this…"
"Help me grab it all." Natsu scooped it all back into the bag and Gray assisted him. They shoved all of the possessions in and Natsu shouldered the heavy bag with ease. "C'mon, let's head back. The Council can take a look and see if they can find anything from it."
"Yeah," Gray said roughly. "While you do that, I'll run and see if I can contact Sabertooth. Maybe Yukino can-" He cut off. He couldn't invite her to Magnolia, where she'd be put in danger. Scratching that idea, he said, "I'll see if I can run Lucy's keys to Crocus or meet them halfway and she can summon Loke for us if possible."
"He might be able to help us," Natsu agreed, his voice heated. He was furious. Someone had taken Lucy, kidnapped her and was going to try and do who knew what to her. "At least we've got control of the investigation."
Gray gave a tight smile. "What good does that do us when even you can't find anything?"
Natsu couldn't really give him an answer on the matter.
The food was disgusting, but Lucy knew better than to reject it when offered. Reluctantly, the blonde swallowed bite after bite, shoving it into her mouth. When she was done, she pushed it away, refusing to say a word under the amber eyes of gleeful man who'd introduced himself as Simon de Montfort. Levy was nearby, copying her and exchanging nervous looks with her.
Simon didn't seem inclined to make an explanation for them as the other girls finished eating. When everyone had finished, he gathered up the dishes and silverware and slid back up the stairs, humming to himself. Lucy gave it a few moments before shuddering and whispering, "What do we do?"
"Nothing," a blankly staring woman with dyed violet hair and piercing green eyes whispered. "There's nothing you can do against him."
"Great," Lucy said bitterly. "Hopefully," she continued, turning to Levy. "Natsu will have noticed something off...damn, he was taking a job."
"Like he'd leave without saying goodbye to you," Levy said with a roll of her eyes. She shifted, her knees still drawn to her chest. She rested her chin on her knees. "Fairy Tail will find us. This man...this...Simon. He's declared war on the guild."
"So you say," a soft spoken and petite woman with dark hair and black eyes whispered. Her eyes filled with tears. "You really don't understand the games though...you're new. You'll get through them. But the longer you're here, the more likely it is you'll die. He gets harder and harder and gives less chances for you to make a mistake. The winners get away with a lash each. Maybe two. The loser…"
"The last time I was in a situation similar to this, Lucy," Levy said suddenly, tugging at a manacle, "I was pinned to a tree with the symbol of Phantom Lord carved into my belly." She rested a hand over the nasty scar that both knew haunted a certain iron mage's every waking moment. "Natsu won't let you disappear under his nose like this. No one on your team will."
"Heaven have mercy on this man's soul when Erza finds him," Lucy said darkly.
Levy snorted, a smile playing along her lips. "Erza? No, no, Lucy. Gildarts is in town."
"He's screwed," Lucy giggled, the sound a little hysterical. She was upset, her lips trembling as she thought of her friends pacing through Magnolia in search of two missing family members that she wasn't even sure they'd find.
"Yep," Levy hummed, trying to comfort Lucy with a smile, but the smile broke after a few moments. "Ayako," she said, addressing another woman, who lifted her eyes. Lucy distantly remembered her saying that the meal they'd eaten was breakfast. "If that was breakfast, than when do these games begin?"
"Any moment," she replied calmly. "He'll be back down and today's game starts."
Lucy shuddered in fear at the thought and pressed her back against the wall, the chains at her wrists clanking menacingly as she hugged herself as tightly as she could. She shivered at a chill, longing for the warmth that Natsu brought wherever he went.
But Natsu wasn't there now.
And it was looking like he wouldn't be anytime soon.
So, with a proud look in her eyes, Lucy stood swiftly when footsteps on the stairs filled her ears. They other women stared at her in shock, but she ignored them. Ayako's eyes flashed with a hint of respect.
She would not bow her head before this man. She had survived as a Heartfilia at the hands of her father - though that wasn't really nearly as bad as this was turning out to be - and she'd survived Acnologia, a dragon known for slaughtering so many dragons it had become one itself. Lucy Heartfilia had survived Phantom Lord and Gajeel's brutal treatment when he'd been considered their biggest enemy and she'd survived two demons alongside Natsu, Gray, and Erza. Of course, both had been so weak, they'd broken with ease, but the point was simple:
She would not give in.
Even if it killed her, Lucy would fight to survive until her nakama came to her rescue.
When Simon found her standing, his lips curved into a delighted smile, his amber eyes glowing. Lucy scanned him defiantly, her dark eyes studying his black hair, glowing eyes, and neat and precise clothing. He looked just like any normal person from the street. She thought she might have even spoken to him in passing once or twice, and it made her sick to her stomach.
He chuckled suddenly. "You'll learn to bow soon enough," he murmured, his voice quiet and soft as velvet. Yet his eyes steeled as he suddenly barked impatiently, "Up!"
Ayako and the other three staggered up to their feet. Levy scampered up, too, hugging her arms across her chest more out of nerves than the urge to cover herself. She shivered as a breeze washed over her. He approached Levy first, something flashing in his hands, and she shrieked when he fisted a hand in her wavy blue locks. Lucy clenched her jaw as he forced her friend to her knees and went to work on shearing the hair from her head.
Levy looked near tears when he stepped back. Her pretty blue hair had been turned into a choppy mess that lay messily around her paled face. Lucy said nothing when her hair was removed in a similar fashion, leaving it cropped ridiculously short. He inspected Ayako's hair along with two others quickly before taking a quick trim off of the fourth's.
Lucy felt nothing over the loss of the golden locks that lay at her feet. Levy looked horrified, humiliated even despite the bravery she'd shown before. But Lucy had Cancer. And Cancer would fix her hair when she was freed and her Spirits returned to her side.
Their wrists were suddenly freed and Lucy rubbed the bruised flesh warily. She'd tried tugging earlier in the day, but nothing had come of such actions.
"You're new here," he said suddenly, gaze turning on Lucy and Levy as the blue-haired woman edged over to her scowling blonde friend. Lucy touched her arm comfortingly and listened. "So I'll explain the rules once. Winners get one lash, losers die. It's quite simple. The last one standing gets no lash." He hummed, rocking back on his heels. "We do one game a day here and you live as long as you can stand it. If you somehow miraculously try to get away, I kill you. It's quite simple really."
No one said a word.
Tapping his fingers impatiently together, Simon grinned. "So let's begin. Miss Heartfilia - yes, I know your names - you'll be there. Miss McGarden, over a few steps…" He directed all six of them to where he wanted and then stepped back. "Now. We're going to play a game I'm quite fond of," he said cheerfully.
Lucy took notice of how the other girls turned ghostly white.
Simon giggled like some girl that had just been noticed by the man she'd been flirting with. Lucy grimaced when he spoke, knowing fully well that this would mean trouble.
"Simon says…"
Damn bug in the website won't keep my cover up for TGOL. Blegh. Anyways...
Fun fact: The Game of Life first popped into my head when I read a prompt about a very terrifying game of Simon Says where he says "run" and the girl ends up running before getting shot between the shoulder blades by an arrow out of a crossbow.
Thanks to reviewers (LovelyLovelyLove, ThatOneFriend-3, Estella Hughes, Soul-of-glass, WhatAnimeHasTaughtMe, JadeOccelot, yorusorra, PinkFireandGoldenStars, An Amber Pen, FairyRains, Guest #1, quite-a-riot, Where'sTheFood, Moon Stone Tiger Lily, and FlameDragonHime!) as well as those who favorited and followed!
