For the (hopefully) humans reading this: I'm sorry Chapter 4 took so long to update! I've been busy with summer programs, and had a crazy 4th of July week. My uncle has a birthday on the 4th of July so its a tradition in my family to light off mega-sized fireworks! The cops usually show up...to join in! :P Anyway...here is chapter 4!
Lucy jolted awake. Breathing heavily, she inhaled the air in gulps. Not sure what had spooked her, Lucy's chocolate eyes shot around the room as she searched for the cause of her alarm. Noticing the absence of a certain fire mage, Lucy's panic increased. As she stood up from the bed, she stumbled through the darkness of the room. The only visibility was given by the moon light shining through the window. As Lucy reached for the lamp, a shadow appeared in front of the window. Lucy let out a terrified yelp and quickly ignited the lamp. The silhouette disappeared and moved away towards the door. "Where's Natsu?!" Lucy thought as she began to quiver in terror. She began to back away, gradually picking up pace as she ran towards the exit on the other side of the hotel room.
POV change
Natsu sighed as he finished his shower. "Now Lucy won't complain that I smell like sweat!" He thought happily, and then frowned," Since when do I care about how Lucy thinks I smell?" Shrugging, Natsu dried off and put on some night clothes. He opened the door, only to be knocked over...
POV change (yes, again)
Lucy's body slammed into someone and she screamed. Her heart racing, she tried to push away her attacker. "No!" she protested. Reaching for her keys, Lucy prepared to fight. However, the person grabbed her arm and pinning her against their body. Tears threatened to spill as Lucy desperately fought against the strong grip. "Luce, calm down." The sound of his voice made her freeze. "Natsu?" Lucy questioned, her voice shaking. Slowly raising her head, Lucy eyes connected with Natsu's eyes narrowed in concern. Sighing in relief, she sank against him, going limp in his arms.
"Luce?!" Natsu asked," What is going on?" His question reminded Lucy of the stranger at the door, and she quickly explained how she had woken up. Gently moving Lucy off of his lap, Natsu stood with clenched fists and walked towards the door. Feeling more confident with him by her side, Lucy stood ready behind him. A soft knock startled them both, as Natsu's hand reached for the door. Swinging it open, Natsu's eyes widened in recognition, a small figure collapsed into his arms. Lucy ran to Natsu's side as he yelled," Happy!"
"Oh no!" Lucy gasped in horror at the site of the blue exceed. There were small gashes and a large scorch mark on his tiny body. There were also multiple bruises that looked painful. Happy's head turned to look at Natsu and Lucy. A smile filled with relief and crossed his face, but as he opened his mouth to speak he passed out in exhaustion.
"Happy?" Natsu begged in a trembling voice," Happy?!" Natsu began to panic as he remained asleep. Only Lucy's gentle yet stern voice kept him from shaking the poor blue cat until he awoke. Lucy moved over to Natsu's side and managed to convince him to hand her their injured friend. Training she had taken with Wendy kicked in as Lucy began to order Natsu to bring her the first aid kit and some towels. The training had been in case Natsu got hurt while acting reckless on a mission, as he almost always did. Shaking her head, Lucy brought her focus to bandaging and cleaning Happy's wounds.
After finishing making sure Happy was taken care of, Lucy moved onto her next patient. Knowing how close Happy and Natsu were, Lucy knew seeing his best friend so hurt would leave a lasting impression on Natsu. He was pacing across the floor, clenching and unclenching his fists. Lucy placed a hand on his shoulder then drew back in pain. The heat of his anger was radiating off him. "Natsu calm down before you burn down the hotel!" Lucy demanded. His pacing stopped as Natsu let out a sigh.
"Sorry Luce," he mumbled. His eyes filled with frustration and guilt caught Lucy off guard. "How could this happen?" he asked," Happy went on a mission with Wendy and Carla, but I only let him go because it was an easy mission and I trust Wendy." Sitting on the bed, Natsu bent over with his face in his hands.
"Happy is going to be fine," Lucy said soothingly. Her heart ached for him as she watched silent tears roll down his face. They sat in silence, feeling safe in each other's company, until a horrifying thought came to Lucy. "Natsu!" she exclaimed in horror," What about Wendy and Carla?" His head shot up and Natsu's face developed a grim expression that morphed into anger.
"If Happy was alone, injured. It must mean that Wendy was separated from him by force or trapped without magic power." Natsu's voice trembled in rage," Someone's going to pay for hurting members of Fairy Tail." Lucy nodded a feeling a rage burning inside her as well. She quickly summoned Loki.
"You called princess?" the celestial spirit said with a smirk. His face grew serious as Lucy explained the situation. He then nodded and disappeared, following Lucy's order's to notify the guild.
A small voice murmured in confusion behind Natsu and Lucy. "Happy!" they exclaimed and rushed over to the exceed's side. He began to cry in joy as he jumped into Natsu's arms, and then snuggled into Lucy. "I'm glad you're okay buddy," Natsu smiled as he rubbed Happy's head affectionately. Suddenly, Happy's eyes widened.
"But Wendy and Carla aren't!" he exclaimed," I went to look for help, but no one would listen to me!" Natsu and Lucy looked at each other, then turned back to the crying blue cat. Happy continued," I kept asking for help or directions, until finally a women said there were mages staying at this hotel. When I saw Lucy in the room, I was so excited that I flew into the window. The noise woke her up, but she didn't open the door." Lucy blushed, embarrassed that she had panicked so easily.
"What happened to Wendy and Carla?" Lucy asked. Tears began to drop from Happy's eyes as he tried to tell the two concerned mages. Natsu placed Happy on his lap and began to rub soothing circles on his back. Lucy watching in shock as Natsu comforted Happy. She rarely saw his soft side, and smiled affectionately at the two friends.
After Happy calmed down, he began…
"The mission was simple…help entertain the children at the L.O.V.E. Orphanage. Wendy had found the job and I overheard Carla and Wendy talking about whether or not they should take it. I wanted to spend more time with Carla so I asked if I could go with them. I was so happy when Carla said yes! After I asked Natsu's permission, we left that afternoon. It was fun talking to Carla and listening to Wendy on the train, but we got behind schedule walking because I wanted to stop and eat the fish at the market. It was getting late so we stopped at a hotel for the night. I tried to cuddle with Carla, but she kicked me out. The next morning we left for L.O.V.E. Orphanage, but when we got to where the address was there was nothing there. Then some big scary men came out of the forest and grabbed us! Carla and I managed to fly up and get away, but Wendy got caught. When Carla tried to save her, they got her too! Both of them told me to go get help. I didn't want to leave them, but then one of the men shot this weird green fire at me and it hurt so bad I fell back to the ground. One of the men started hurting me, while the others laughed. I could hear Wendy and Carla crying for them to stop but I started to black out…When I woke up Wendy and Carla were gone and I hurt all over."
Throughout the story, Natsu's face grew more and more furious. His fists clenched, he shouted," Those low life scum! I swear they'll pay for this! No one gets away with hurting my family!" Lucy nodded as she stood next to him. She could feel the heat rolling off his body in waves, but she was too angry herself to care.
"I have informed the guild, princess," Loki told Lucy as he reappeared next to her. Lucy thanked Loki, and then told him what Natsu and her had learned. Loki's face grew stormy as well. "I will tell the guild members this new information," he said.
"Be careful you don't strain yourself," Lucy warned him. Loki smirked and nodded as he once again left. During their exchange, Natsu had been pacing angrily. "Natsu!" Lucy scolded as she spotted scorch marks decorating the floor in the shape of foot prints," Go outside to calm down! If you burn down the hotel, we will be kicked out of the city!" Without a word, Natsu turned and walked out the door. Sighing, Lucy spun around to face Happy. "Are you feeling any better now?" she asked.
"Aye!" was Happy's predictable response. Lucy giggled and checked the bandages over the scorch mark. Her eyes widened at the sight of the burn. Throwing a hand over her mouth, Lucy tried not to scare Happy. The wound had a green puss surrounding the edges. The liquid made a sizzling sound as it dropped onto the bed Happy sat on. To Lucy's horror, she realized the green fire must have acidic magic in it. She immediately picked Happy up, ignoring his protests at her moving his sore body. Lucy ran into the bathroom, and started the shower water. Thrusting the confused and startled exceed under the water, Lucy washed the acidic liquid off. Not understanding the situation, Happy was not enthusiastic or appreciative and squirmed so much that Lucy had to step into the shower to hold him more securely.
When Natsu managed to calm down, he returned to the hotel. Feeling tired himself; he expected to find Lucy and Happy asleep. Opening the door, Natsu was greeted by a shocking sight. Lucy stood dripping in the middle of the room, struggling to keep a writhing Happy in a towel. "I'm trying to save your life you stupid cat!" Lucy screeched.
"Natsu! Save me! Lucy is trying to drown me!" Happy begged. Natsu looked at the two flustered and fighting friends in front of him. Deciding he would rather sleep, Natsu yawned and walked over to the bed. As he collapsed into the covers, cries of shock and anger could be heard behind him. Tuning them out, Natsu drifted off to sleep with a content smile on his face.
Please don't throw mental projectiles of pain at me! I feel bad for Happy too, but I needed to add him to the story without just having him show up. I'd love to see your thoughts and advice for my story so I would REALLY appreciate it if you review!
