I do not own Fairy Tail. I wouldn't know what to do with it if I did.
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...
Magnolia was always a big town. From its very location to its outermost borders, anyone could see that it was always meant to be a bustling town. The founders of the city had a great vision of what the town should and had came to be ever since they began construction. Flanked by two ridges, it nestled comfortably in its space, never finding the need to expand. It seemed to have the whole valley as its playground.
The canal was a curious thing. One could wonder how the planners managed to build around what was once a river, and cram it into a canal, where it had full access to human contact, sanitary or otherwise. Still, it remained clean, and if one were to fly over the city, particularly on bright summer day, the canal, winding like a snake across the breadth of the city like a snake at rest, would shine brightly in its shimmering blue glory.
Cutting right across the city was Main Street; a wide pathway that stretched from the limits of the town down south, right towards Fairy Tail uphill. In the middle of it was the cathedral, where another street intersected it, making a white marble cross in the heart of the city, laid out over the winding S of the canal. The city was bright, especially today. The heat made no effect on the people of Magnolia, as they casually strolled about in the morning light, save for one person who elected to stroll about the town in a heavy black cloak.
His steady posture, his unbroken stride, and his unseen face spelled trouble. People stayed out of his way as he briskly walked to wherever he was going. The figure arrived at the big fountain in the middle of the town square, and made a beeline for the river.
No one paid him attention despite their distance towards him, and he finally arrived where he was headed. A nondescript apartment, with no irredeemable features amongst the hundreds of similar buildings in town. Yet he waited in an alleyway a ways off of it, a dark figure that no one wanted to notice.
Then, when the pink-haired mage stepped out of that apartment, the figure watched as he walked away, vanishing into the throng.
The figure dipped his head, as if nodding. Then he vanished. A child in the distance desperately tugged on her mother's skirt, pointing at where she saw the cloaked man vanish. But the mother would not listen. She was busy chatting with a friend about the dangerous Fairy Tail mage who went missing.
In her apartment, Lucy turned, feeling as if someone was watching.
"Natsu's AWOL?" Gray asked in disbelief.
Mirajane nodded as she wiped clean a stack of plates on the bar. "Yeah. Last he was here he was perfectly fine. Then he stopped showing up. Some of the others went up to his house to check up on him."
Gray sipped his mug of beer. "And they found…?"
Mirajane pursed her lips. "The house was a disaster. It was a huge mess inside. Furniture toppled over, everything was on the floor. They couldn't find Happy either."
Gray grit his teeth. The grip he had on his beer tightened, and he sipped it sparsely. All around him, Fairy Tail was carrying on as usual. People were just hanging out on the benches, or checking the boards for work. The Master was gone today, talking to the higher-ups about work, and making sure to mention Natsu. Apparently, Natsu's stunt at the forest shocked a bunch of citizens, and made the Magic Council notice Natsu. Makarov made sure to include this in his piece, but nothing sure could be done, now that one of Fairy Tail's most infamous members had gone AWOL.
"What did the Council have to say about Natsu?" Gray inquired.
Mira shrugged. "No word yet. Master returned without even a word. He just snuck back into his office."
Natsu as a concern for the Magic Council deeply concerned Gray. Natsu could be one mean mother when he got worked up. To be considered a threat by the higher-ups, along with his AWOL status…
Gray drummed his fingers on the bar. He finished his beer quickly, and left the guild without another word.
It was another beautiful day in Magnolia, but he didn't feel like taking another stroll across town. He stopped at the middle of Main Street, and made a decision. He took the streets away from town, and went for Natsu's house.
Gray didn't necessarily worry for Natsu. The two of them could be major headaches when the time came. However, he had to do something about this. Natsu was a comrade. Natsu was a member of Fairy Tail. Natsu was…
"Natsu!" Lucy cried out, gripping his arm tight enough to leave marks.
Gray stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at the ground, refusing to leave a particular spot on it. Suddenly the air seemed cold, and the spot on his gut that came upon hearing about Natsu grew deeper and deeper.
The bushes behind him rattled. He spun quickly, already posing for an easy combat stance.
Suddenly the bright day was a little too bright. The blinding sun shone against the trees, casting enumerable dark shadows all over. Dark spots, that seemed to be looking at him, watching him.
He felt someone behind him. He spun quickly, and before he knew it he had launched a razor-sharp icicle toward a tree. The tree rattled, loose leaves falling to the ground like artificial rain. Somewhere above, a disturbed squirrel ran for shelter.
Gray pressed on to the solitary cottage beyond the trees.
He arrived at the clearing. He stepped onto the clean field of grass, and he marveled at the sudden silence. Walking through the forest, one was surrounded by the chirping of birds, the rustling of tree branches and bushes. As you stepped onto the wide clearing in the middle of the forest, where the Dragneel household stood, a sudden silence would envelop the senses. It was like stepping into a big bubble.
Gray looked up. The sunny sky was now partially covered in clouds. Birds flew lazily by, and the trees swayed in a clean, hypnotic motion. Gray felt the urge to close his eyes, and breathe the stillness in. He did just that, and pressed on.
He could not count the countless times he and Natsu fought, played, and messed about in this same clearing. Even back when they were kids, when they weren't wreaking havoc in the guild downtown, they retreated to this same spot. Here, they could fight all they wanted, with little regards to their surroundings. Gray had more than once covered the entire clearing in ice, which nearly froze the soles of Natsu's feet, and Natsu had only burned the whole forest down twice in his life. Quite an achievement, as it was Natsu.
However, Gray strode briskly towards the cottage. He took a moment to take it in, but he had to see.
He had to see what had happened.
He could see that the senior members, particularly Erza or Laxus, had taken it upon themselves to block off the house. The door was closed, and from where he was standing he could clearly see a spell on the doorframe, outlining it in mystical letters emblazoned in sparkling red.
Levy, he thought. He approached the door nonetheless. He peeked at the windows, and could only see his own reflection staring back at him. Took him a moment to see it was another spell.
No peeking allowed, Gray thought, and inwardly smiled.
He looked at the spell on the door, wondering if it could withstand, say an ice blast from him.
You did try it once, he thought. You nearly destroyed the whole house.
Then he thought of something. He put his hand on the knob, turned it, and the door obediently swung open, although the spell was still on the frame.
Gray smirked. Of course they wouldn't forbid us from trying to enter, he thought. Probably it was Erza who requested it.
It was still dark inside, though. Too dark to see anything inside, like looking into an abyss. Another safety spell for peekers? He thought.
He stepped into the abysmally dark doorway, and saw what was inside. He gasped.
Furniture toppled, items and unmentionables on the floor. Books, towels, frames; broken, opened, and spread out on whatever surface they could find. Gray looked at the floor; the carpet slashed multiple times by what looked like claws.
He looked and saw that the walls the same fate as well. Claws, seemingly slightly bigger than a bear.
Gray stepped carefully. If he didn't quite catch what Mira described, he could very well catch it now. Even the mattress was upturned, the pillows and the blanket on the floor-dirty and rugged, as if a big bear stepped on it and went to work.
Or something else that's bigger and with claws.
Gray could only clench his fist. He went to the kitchen, and saw that the cupboards were empty. The pantry had been raided. Could it be… he thought.
Then he opened the closet, checked its contents. I knew it.. he thought. Several of Natsu's few clothes were gone.
Gray grit his teeth for the second time that day. That idiot…
Gray hurriedly stepped out of the house and walked quickly away. He had to tell the others. Or find whoever it was that got the same idea he did.
Erza. He thought. If there was one other person who knew Natsu as well as he did, it was her. And he had an idea what she'd be doing right now.
Erza Scarlet closed the door to Master Makarov's office, lingering there for a moment, then briskly walked away. Her armor clicked and clanked as her brisk steps echoed on the wooden floors of the guild halls. Anyone familiar with the Scarlet Knight of Fairy Tail would go up to her to say hi, but notice something different in her, and shy away.
She had perfectly good reason to appear this way, it seemed. Everyone had heard of Natsu's sudden absence, and the Council's inquiry into the matter. The same was everyone was aware of Erza's reputation, they were equally aware of Natsu's willpower. If his behavior seemed erratic, there was a good reason for it. Even those outside Team Natsu had a perfectly good and justifiable idea of what can go wrong, especially when Team Natsu was involved.
And now, Natsu Dragneel is AWOL, and the Council's concerned.
Erza stepped out into the bright morning and made her way to Fairy Hills. The usual people greeted the famous knight good morning, hello, and she gave them a smile and return. As she'd stride past them, the smile she wore would drop back into a thoughtful frown. She had a long history of keeping her thoughts and worries to herself; this was no exception.
Fairy Hills was a short walk from the guild. She opened the double doors to her apartment, and strode through the long hall that led to her lush-sized bedroom. As Erza Scarlet, she was paid a big sum each month. She never was lacking in anything material. Truthfully, she didn't particularly care for her stylish apartment, but years of being a respected mage had made her ignore modesty when she could afford it.
Her apartment occupied a higher storey in the building, where inside her bedroom the windows of the quarters would afford a slight view of the landscape. The sunshine pouring out from the large windows would be enough to illuminate the room, making the chandelier hanging from the ceiling necessary only when she had guests around. Erza gazed out her window, watching the rooftops of the houses and buildings of distant Magnolia. Then her gaze went farther on, towards the hills and forests beyond the hills.
"He's out there somewhere." Gray from behind said.
She heard the door open, but rightly guessed it was him. "Whatever got into his mind, I wonder." She said without turning. "You're not allowed to be here."
"If it's something important, then I had to talk to you." He replied.
She turned around. He was standing in the doorway. "I'm going out to look for him." She eyed him from head to toe. "You'll need to pack up if you're coming with me."
He held up a satchel he had been holding behind him. He smirked at her. "I even bought underwear." However smug his smirk was, his eyes were dark, downcast.
Erza nodded. "Good. We'll set out today."
Gray nodded back. "Aren't we forgetting someone?"
Erza's lip tightened. "Gray, you've seen the marks in the house. Perhaps it might be a little too dangerous for her this time…"
Suddenly Lucy emerged from the hallway outside, pointing an accusing finger at Erza. "Now hold on just a minute!" She said. "No way you're leaving me behind!"
Erza seemed a little surprised. "Lucy?"
Lucy stiffened her lip, and nodded. "This is non-negotiable, okay? I'm coming with. He's my…friend too."
If Gray noticed the soft way she said the word 'friend', he seemed to ignore it. He put both hands on his hips. "Well, that's settled."
Erza seemed to consider for a moment, then nodded. "I can't deprive you of this. Alright. "
That day three people walked away from the city limits, vowing to not come back until their friend was with them. What lay ahead, or why this happened in the first place, they did not know. They had dealt with monsters before. But the possibility of monsters among them did not enter their worries.
"Mifflin?" Lucy asked.
Gray nodded. "It's likely that Natsu stuck to the roads. He'd never go by train. Only one road that passes through town, and Mifflin is the closest town to Magnolia accessible by it."
Lucy looked at the map Gray was holding. Magnolia was at the southeast section of the Fiore. Although the railways stretching from Hargeon down south passed it and continued up to Onibus, only one road passed through it. This road stretched far out to the west, winding through the mountains, where the trains couldn't go. The other end of the road stretched east, cutting through the forest right next to Magnolia, and crossing the river that connected to Akane Beach, and to the sea.
"He's probably not going west, either." Gray said, looking at the map. "There's nothing out there for miles. So following the road east leads us to Mifflin."
Lucy perked up her glasses. Mifflin was a small town beside the eastern river. "Do you guys think we'd find any more clues if we went to Natsu's house?" she inquired. "Or have you guys found anything useful already?"
"Nothing useful left there." Erza replied. She was kicking at a tree, trying to scrape off mud from her boots. "We already checked it first. Aside from evidence of a clawed monster attacking, it's mostly a mess. Levy sealed it off from outsiders, but anyone from the guild can get inside."
"And Natsu packed up before he left." Gray added. "If he had a map or a plan, he bought it along with him. It's highly likely he'd have just followed the roads."
"So he's likely to pass through the Mifflin…" Lucy concluded.
Erza had scraped off the last traces of muck from her boots and walked over to where the other two stood. She pointed at Mifflin. "That's still a ways off from here. If he walked, likely he's in the forest by now."
All three nodded. Gray hired a carriage to take them to Mifflin, and in an hour they were sitting speeding towards the small town.
"Any thoughts on why he'd run off like this?" Gray asked.
Erza's eyes narrowed in thought. "I tried to read the scene best as I could. It seems that a monster attacked Natsu's house. Judging by the witnesses' testimony to his little 'episode' at the farmlands, he seemed to have been chasing after it."
"Why would he want to chase after a monster that's already trashed his home?" Gray asked. "Natsu's bold, but he's not stupid."
"Unless the monster took something from him…" Erza offered.
The carriage could have gone faster, but the driver was instructed to take it slow, as they were trying to watch out for him in the areas they passed. Gray and Lucy sat together, Erza opposite them.
Gray leaned forward. "We both saw the house, Erza, and we both know Natsu. What could possibly make Natsu run after a…thing like that? He had little prized possessions, and I doubt any he might've had would make him shoot out a pillar of fire into the air in rage."
Erza slightly cringed at that. Natsu had already burned a large portion of the forests around Magnolia down twice in the past. Everyone in Fairy Tail, including and especially her, had made him promise severely never to make any fire-related antics in his home in the forest again. Many times had she and the senior mages discussed whether Natsu would be better of living in town, but then the image of Natsu burning down an entire neighborhood stuck to their minds and they never decided on it.
Still, though Natsu's little bout had barely touched the trees, most of the farmers and citizens living in the wooded areas had complained. They knew him well, of course, and had grown wary of the well-meaning yet wild fire mage. They had been through both times he had burned the forest down, and each time they cursed him, crying for punishment. Which was delivered, albeit in a manner fitting to the guild. The people, on the other hand, would've preferred jail time.
Master Makarov, however, managed to talk with them. They calmed down, and had actually sighed in relief once the master told them Natsu would be staying in the guild for a while. That was a week ago.
"I doubt that Natsu wouldn't be able to handle it, whatever it is." Gray said. He leaned back on his seat, quietly watching the woods roll by the window. Erza seemed thoughtful, and refused to relax. When the great Scarlet Knight of Fairy Tail was in the middle of a great battle, she wouldn't be as anxious as she was now, worrying about one of her greatest friends. Lucy watched her silently think, and could almost hear her thoughts.
However, she was lost in thoughts of her own.
It didn't take long before she woke up again. It was late in the afternoon, the dusk settling over the city, making the citizens settle down themselves.
She sat up, and was not surprised to find that her body ached from the waist down. She shook her unfocused mind awake, and gently hugged herself, the room suddenly getting cold.
Very slowly, she starts moving her legs. The effort seems ridiculous, but as her shaking feet hit the floor, and her trembling knees almost failed to support her as she stood up to get to the bathroom, she has to walk slowly, before she collapses to the floor.
She bit her lips. Slowly, she steadied herself. Her hips felt numb, her muscles stretched and sore. She almost made it, until her knee gave out, and she leaned on the wall to support herself.
She heaved a sigh, and, gritting her teeth, forced herself to walk. One step, then another.
Finally she reached the bathroom. She reached for the chair, then sat on it as she opened the faucet to fill the tub. As the sound of the gushing water filled up the space of the modest bathroom, Lucy just sat beside the tub, her gaze fixated on a particular tile on the far wall.
Finally she gathered enough sense to turn it off as the tub filled up, and, shedding what little clothes Natsu left on her, clambered into the tub.
The water was cold, but Lucy barely shivered. She hugged her knees, and stared at the water for the longest time. At least, it was what she appeared to be doing. For the longest time, the only sound that could be heard was the dripping water from the faucet.
Finally she moved. She took a scrub began cleaning herself, but stopped. She seemed surprised, as she saw droplets of red in the bath water. She gaped, as if unable to comprehend what she saw, and then carefully moved her hand up to her shoulder. When she felt it, just on the spot around her collar, she gasped in pain. She carefully touched it again with the extreme tips of her fingers. They were lighter than last times', but she could still feel it cut deep. When she looked at her hand, it had blood on it.
Then she looked at the floor, and saw a trail of blood drops on the clear tiling. She got out of the bath, dripping wet and naked, and stepped outside of the bathroom.
She looked down. Though her floor was a dark mahogany, the crimson droplets of blood on the floor was unmistakable. Then her gaze fell to her bed, and saw on her clean white sheets, a dark patch of blood.
Lucy just stood for a long time. Then she placed her hand on her neck, feeling the bite marks, and suddenly they hurt. They stung her right down to the flesh beneath her skin, searing and twisting, like vampire's bites. She gasped as the pain throbbed, and sank to the floor.
"Aren't you warm in that?" Gray asked.
Lucy was careful not to let her derailed thoughts show on her face. Gray looked at her with a blank, almost disinterested look. However, she knew him well. Underneath it was great concern for his friends and allies.
She adjusted her turtleneck sweater and smiled. "No, actually it's pretty comfy."
Gray pondered this. Then he placed his hand on her forehead.
"What're you doing?" Lucy asked.
Gray let his hand rest there for a moment longer, then drew it back. "Thought you might've had a fever."
Erza looked up. "A fever? You, Lucy?" she asked.
Lucy shook her head, still smiling. "No no, Erza, I'm fine, really."
Then she turned to Gray. "And you've never questioned my fashion choices before."
Gray smirked. "Do you want a compliment?"
She winked, and her smile turned into a smirk. "Wouldn't hurt to compliment such a cute girl, would it?"
Suddenly the picture of Lucy beneath him, writhing and moaning, her young and strikingly mature face twisted into an unabashed expression of pleasure, shot into Gray's mind and it took him much of his mental willpower not to let it show on his face.
The best he managed was to keep his gaze on her linger for a moment too long, under which Lucy strange, before he said, "You wish." And looked away.
Lucy could swear she saw something beneath his stare, but she instead took out a book from her bag and began reading.
Both ignored each other for the rest of the journey. Opposite them, Erza had a thought.
Happy's stomach audibly grumbled, but he clutched his tummy as if to silence it. He panted, looking all around him, although the place he was in was dark, and the ground he lay on was rough and dry.
He waited until it slept. It slept unevenly; sometimes only for few hours, in the afternoon and night, and sometimes for long stretches of time. He could tell, not because it snored or something. If it did snore, he didn't know if it sounded like how normal bears snored.
Then again, he only called it a bear because it was the closest thing he could compare it too.
Happy's stomach grumbled again, and he bit his lip. He didn't dare make a sound. He didn't want to yell, to speak, even to cry out. He didn't dare call its attention towards him. He didn't know what else it was capable of.
Happy trembled. He closed his eyes and thought of fish. Good, raw, maybe even cooked fish. Salted, lightly fried. He'd be glad to have even smallest pieces of bone. However, it was dark and cold here, and he could feel it around him. As if the slightest move would anger it.
And he really didn't want to anger it.
Happy continued thinking about fish. Fish was good. Fish was the best. Almost as good as…
"Natsu…" he whispered. Yes, almost as good as Natsu. He'd give anything to be with him again. But Happy's eyes flared open as he felt something.
Somewhere around him, it woke up.