Chapter 4

Three days and nights came and went, and Lucy had become a ghost.

He could smell her inside her apartment, but she wasn't answering the door, and when Natsu went up to her window to check on her the following evening he found the curtains drawn and the sash locked tight. He spent that night camped out in her yard, waiting to see if she would open her window and let him talk to her, but she never did.

For the next two days after that, when Natsu wasn't staring up at the stars from his hammock, wondering if those curtains would ever open again, he could be found sulking at the guild hall, trying to drown out the sound of her painful cries, the smell of her salty tears, and desperately tried to forget the look of sadness, betrayal, shock and anger on her face. He would stay all day until Mira would gently tell him that she had to leave for the night, and then he and Happy would slowly make the walk back to their house. Natsu felt as if he were slowly going mad.

Happy wasn't much better. He didn't really know what had happened between him and Lucy that night (because Natsu hadn't really said much of anything in three days), but it had been a long time since Natsu was this upset. Not since Igneel died, and then he went right to packing, and then after leaving a note for Lucy, the two of them set out to train and get stronger to protect everyone. Now, it was as if Natsu had lost his will to fight, a look of defeat in his eyes. It was more than the Exceed could take.

His friends noticed the change in Natsu also. Kinana watched with empathy in her eyes as she served him his meal, only to see him just push the food around on his plate. His eyes became distant, and he barely spoke to anyone. Even Gray was unable to shake him out of his funk, taunting him to try and get him to fight. Erza, having not seen Lucy for a few days now, figured the two instances were connected, but didn't know what could have happened in such a short time to cause such a drastic change in the dragon slayer's demeanor. But after three days, and watching her friend only get worse, she was going to find out.

Walking up to the empty seat next to him, she asked, "Is this seat taken?"

Natsu looked over at her from the corner of his eye, but said nothing.

Assuming the negative, Erza sat down beside him. After ordering a piece of strawberry cake, she turned to her friend and waited for him to begin the conversation.

"I feel like I messed up bad," he said quietly, "but I don't even know what I did, and I can't ask her because she won't let me talk to her. I'm trying to give her some space, but I don't know how much more of this I can take." His eyes were fixed on the plate of untouched food in front of him, threatening to well up with tears again at any moment.

Erza gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Natsu, I don't know if I will have the answer for you, but right now, you need a friend. It breaks all of our hearts to see you like this, and we will do whatever it takes to help you make things right with Lucy."

Natsu looked over at the redhead in surprise.

"We're all family here, and family helps each other. So please, Natsu," she said quietly with a smile, "tell me what happened."

Just then, the great wooden doors of the guild hall swung open and a solitary figure rushed in.

Natsu turned to look and his eyes grew wide.

When Lucy awoke the next morning, she felt as if she had not slept in days. Whatever sleep she figured she must have gotten was not restful, and her body was letting her know it. She ended up spending that first whole day in bed, staring at the picture of her mother on her desk, only getting up to make herself some tea and then going straight back to bed. After seeing Happy flying off with Natsu the night before, she had locked her window and closed the curtains. She was still too angry and hurt to talk to anyone, especially him. She heard a knock on her door occasionally and someone call for her from the other side, but she ignored it. That night, as she lay in bed, she heard a soft rap on her window and a jiggle of the sash. She let out a soft sigh, and rolled away from the window.

The next two days she was left alone with her thoughts, until finally Lucy woke up, showered, got dressed, and went to the place she thought she could find the answers: her mother's grave.

It was the first time in months that she found herself standing in front of those two stone sarcophaguses. Whoever her father had chosen as caretaker of them was doing a good job; she would have to thank them for watching over her parents so faithfully. The headstones were clean, the metalwork inlays of the names and dates bright and shining in the sunlight; the surrounding cherry trees her mother loved were recently pruned and in full blossom. It was a beautiful place, and Lucy could see why her father had chosen this place for them after his business went under.

Placing the bouquets of flowers she had brought for them on each place, Lucy stood back and looked at the large stone markers at the head of the graves. The mix of emotions she had felt the day her mother died came rushing back, but this time there were no more tears to cry. I miss you Mom, she thought.

Suddenly, a gently shimmer of light appeared next to her, and when it faded there stood a well-dressed young man. She didn't turn to look at him, but she knew it was a friend. He didn't say a word, and just stood by his master and friend, looking at the graves in front of them. After a long silence, she spoke.

"I don't even know what to feel anymore," she began. "In my head I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt me, but my heart feels like it's been torn in two. My mom didn't have to die..."

"Lucy, your mother loved you with all her heart," Loke said quietly. "She didn't want to leave you, or your father, but she understood that the Eclipse Gate had to be opened. You were too young and could not summon spirits yet, so the responsibility fell to her. She did what she had to do to fulfill her duty, as a Heartfilia, and a Celestial Wizard." Loke paused to look at Lucy. "If you want someone to blame, choose Grammi. But don't take things out on Natsu and the others. He's punished himself more in the last three days than you ever could."

Lucy turned to look at the lion spirit. "Thanks Loke," she said, giving him a smile. She knew he was right, and realized she needed to make things right with Natsu, too.

As she made her way back to town, hoping to find Natsu at the guild hall, she looked up to see an individual in a full length hooded cloak coming toward her on the path. As she approached, Lucy's eyes grew wide with recognition as she noticed the mint green locks peeking out of the hood. Just then, she felt a strong arm grab her from behind and a hand press firmly against her nose and mouth. She fought to get loose, but it was no use. Slowly her eyes began to close, and her body went limp in the stranger's arms.

When Lucy and her captors were a safe distance away, Loke appeared and watched for a moment before he flashed away. Don't worry Lucy, I'll bring help, he thought.

Reappearing just outside of the guild hall, Loke forced the great wooden doors open wide and rushed in, scanning the hall for one person in particular. When he found him, he was sitting at the bar next to Erza looking back at him, eyes wide in surprise.

"Natsu, Lucy needs our help. She's been kidnapped."

He hesitated for a moment, and then she saw a glimpse of anger in his eyes before Erza watched Natsu turn back to his plate of food.

"Lu's been...kidnapped?" Levy gasped under her breath.

"Who did this, Loke?" Erza asked.

"Where is she?!" Gray yelled, pushing up out of his chair.

"Is she hurt?" Wendy asked, eyes filled with concern.

Loke held his hands up in an attempt to calm everyone. "Just listen for a sec. Lucy was visiting her parents' graves when she was ambushed on her way back here. She was taken by a woman with mint green hair and another man. They were headed towards the mountains. But she's unconscious, and she lost her keys in the struggle," he said, holding up her pouch.

Natsu listened quietly, still focused on his now-cold plate of food.

Happy turned to face him. "What are we waiting for? We have to save her!" His eyes were pleading with him for some kind of reaction. Anything.

Natsu replied quietly, "How convenient."

Everyone in the guild hall stood in shocked silence.

"What do you mean, 'how convenient'?" Gray said angrily, stalking over to Natsu's seat at the bar.

"I mean," Natsu retorted, "she doesn't want anything to do with me for three days, and now that she needs help I'm supposed to go play the hero?"

Gray stepped back in surprise. "What's gotten into you, Natsu?"

"Nothing!...I mean...I don't know...a lot, I guess."

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"Speak English," Gajeel growled, annoyed with Natsu's hesitation. In his mind, Natsu should have been the first one jumping up and ready to bust some heads.

"She thinks that the Dragon Slayers are partly responsible for her mother's death."

Wendy and Gajeel looked at their friend in disbelief. "Why would she think that?" she said, a hurt look on her face.

Natsu spun around on his barstool to face everyone. "Because some woman with green hair told her some stuff about us, and now Lucy won't even talk to me..." His voice trailed off as he realized what had happened. "We have to find Lucy. Right now."

Lucy awoke with a headache, sitting in a chair in a dimly lit room. She noticed her hands were tied, and when she reached for her keys she cursed in frustration. As she looked around the small room, she observed there were no windows, and a bare mattress was set up on the floor in the corner. A large heavy iron door was the only way in or out.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Lucy was shocked to the person who now faced her. "You," she snarled.

The woman only laughed. "Oh come now, is that any way to talk to an old friend?"

Lucy glared at Brandish with rage. "I could never be friends with someone like you."

A smug grin crossed Brandish's face. "Pity you don't have any idea with whom you are dealing."

"You will regret messing with Fairy Tail," Lucy hissed back at the woman.

A menacing smile now played on Brandish's lips. "I will be interested to see who exactly you think is coming to your rescue, seeing as you pushed them all away after that little revelation of yours a few days ago."

Lucy's look changed from anger to terror as she realized what Brandish had managed to do. I played right into her plan, she thought with dismay. Please forgive me, Natsu!

Please, someone help me!