Please enjoy yourself!

Chapter 4. Disappeared without a trace

A few minutes later Mirajane woke up. It took a great effort to her to raise her head. Her vision cleared up bit by bit … and then she noticed the empty bed.

For a second she just stared at it. Realizing that the dying girl was not there, she was seized with fear and her face became as white as her hair.

"Wake up, Lucy! Levy is disappeared! There is no trace of her!" she yelled as loud as she could.

Her shriek not only woke up Lucy but also startled the entire guild. Many of the mages weren't sleeping; hearing the yell, they immediately left their rooms and ran to see what was going on.

The Celestial Spirit mage jumped on her feet. Her expression was terrified.

"What do you mean, Mira-san?" Lucy asked. She was still half-asleep.

Mirajane couldn't answer; she just pointed at the empty bed.

Before Lucy could ask "How is this possible?" the door opened and Erza rushed into the room. She was dressed in her armour as usual and was holding a sword in her hand.

"What is going on here? I heard a scream…" the red-haired mage said. She hadn't finished her question when the other guild members appeared (with Levy's team mates and Gajeel at the head). Some of them were wearing dressing-downs but the most of them were fully dressed.

"Levy is disappeared!" Mirajane and Lucy exclaimed in one voice.

"What?" Jet and Droy exclaimed in one voice. That was the only word they could say.

"But how…?" Gajeel managed to pronounce.

"By heaven, I don't know. I… I must confess that I was asleep for a minute. When I woke up, I saw that she wasn't here!" Mirajane explained.

"It seems that she has left the guild!" Lucy stated. Her voice was trembling.

"That's impossible! Just think! Levy was so exhausted that she wasn't able to stand firm on her feet, not to speak about walking! How could she get out of the bed?" Erza asked.

The others stared at her.

"You are absolutely right, Erza," Fried said after a few seconds silence. "But then… What had happened? I don't understand…"

"I'm afraid that there is only one explanation. Someone had entered the guild and kidnapped her," Titania declared. "In my opinion, it can't be anything else."

Everyone looked at each other. There was logic in Erza's words.

"Kidnapped?" Mirajane whispered in horror.

"But who could do it?" Cana wondered.

"That's very strange…" Gray muttered.

"Listen to me, let's split on groups and search around for her!" Natsu suggested. "If it happened just minutes ago, she couldn't be far away! Maybe she is still in Magnolia!"

"Well, let's search for her but I'm afraid that it will be a waste of time…" Erza said under her breath.

-ooo-

Everyone scattered in all directions. Just as Erza had predicted, all their attempts to find Levy were fruitless. There was no trace of her and her supposed ravisher.

When the sun rose, Fairy Tail mages began to return to the guild one by one. They were totally discouraged. The bright summer morning was in contrast with the chaos in their minds.

There was the same question in everyone's mind. Who had kidnapped the dying girl? Was it a friend or a foe? And more importantly, what was his (or her) reason to do it?

"Most probably she has been kidnapped by a member of a dark guild," Makarov said.

Mirajane couldn't stop crying. She felt herself guilty for Levy's disappearing. She was so upset that she couldn't even do her usual work.

"It's my fault… I shouldn't sleep even for a second! How could this happen? Who knows where Levy is now!" Mirajane whispered. Her tears streamed down her cheeks. She buried her face in her hands.

Fried folded her in his arms in an attempt to console her.

"It's not only your fault, Mira-san. I also fell asleep, after all!" Lucy said. "I'm so sorry!" she added, turning to look Jet and Droy.

"What will we do now?" Jet asked.

Nobody answered him. All people in the hall were asking themselves the same question.

Fairy Tail members were absolutely sure that Levy had died already. There was no way for her to be alive. Porlyusica had said that she wouldn't outlive the fatal night.

At the same moment the door opened. Natsu, Gray and Happy entered the guild hall.

"Did you find something, boys?" Erza asked.

"Nothing… It seems that Levy is just vanished from the face of the earth!" Natsu answered. And the Fire Dragon Slayer didn't know himself how true his words were.

"Aye…" Happy added.

Gray didn't say anything, only sighed.

Gajeel seat himself in the nearest chair and ran his fingers through his long black hair.

"That's a nightmare! It can't be anything else! Oh, I want to wake up already!" the Iron Dragon Slayer thought desperately.

It seemed to him that his entire world had crushed. Tears rose in his eyes and it took him a supreme effort to force them back. He tried to hide his emotions but everyone guessed what was going on with him.

-ooo-

At the same time…

Levy woke up and found that she was lying on a bed. She was still exhausted but now she didn't feel such an unbearable coldness. Definitely she was better than earlier.

"How long had I slept?" she wondered. "Well, it doesn't matter, I'm better now!" Her only wish at the moment was to see her team mates… and Gajeel. The thought about them made her smile.

But when she opened her eyes, her smile faded and her heart stopped beating. The girl cast a glance around and her eyes widened in shock.

"Is this a dream? It seems so…" Levy said to herself. "Or maybe I have hallucinations?"

She definitely wasn't at the guild. There was no trace of Mirajane and Lucy who should be besides her. The room she was lying in was much bigger than her one. The sun was raising and the entire room was bathed in bright light.

Then she remembered what had happened during the night. An unknown man had appeared in her room and had taken her with him despite her attempts to put some resistance. His words echoed in her head: "I want to save your life, Levy. But in order to do that, I must take you with me. This is the only way for you to live."

Obviously he had brought her here. But where was that "here"? What on earth was that place?

"I see that you are awake," a male voice said. Levy recognized it immediately. It was the same voice she had heard during the night.

I will be very grateful if you send me a review! (I just want to know if someone is enjoying this story. Of course, I don't expect only positive reviews. If you don't like something, please don't hesitate to tell me.)

Do you think that I should make this story a tragedy? Or maybe I should think up a happy end for it? Please tell me what you prefer. I will respect your wish.