Chapter Seven.

Laxus was in a state of shock. What had just happened? He stared at the corner where Lucy and the man had been mere seconds ago. They had vanished, the two had just evaporated. He clenched his fists, and he'd let it happen! How- why had he let Lucy investigate? He should have shoved her aside and gone over to look instead.

Why hadn't he done anything!? Laxus shouted and then banged his fist on the table beside him. Useless, useless, so very useless! He should have known something wasn't right! He should have followed the twisting feeling in his gut and taken action. But he hadn't. He hadn't acted and that had caused Lucy's kidnapping.

Laxus let his arm fall to his side and huffed. He grit his teeth together and stormed out of the bakery, slamming the door behind him harshly. He started marching towards the apartment that Lucy shared with her three friends, running when he was halfway there.

"Erza!" Laxus roared as he pounded on the front door. "Levy! Open up, now!" He shouted, not ceasing the fist that was possibly going to punch the door in.

"What is it, Laxus!? Be quiet, people are sleeping at this hour!" Erza growled when she opened the door, "Why are you here?"

"It's Lucy, a man has captured Lucy," Laxus stated as calmly as he could. He was furious with himself. So angry that he couldn't stand still, he was shaking.

"Wh-what?" Levy gasped from the top of the stairs. It was obvious the petite woman had just woken up from sleep, her pajamas were wrinkled and hair in a bedhead mess. "Lu's been kidnapped?" Levy put her hands to her mouth and tripped down the stairs. She scrambled over to Laxus, and yanked at his arm as she pulled him into the apartment.

"Laxus, calm down and sit on the couch. Levy go wake up Juvia and tell her to come downstairs, she'll want to know about this as well. Laxus, I want you to explain everything, what happened." Erza commanded, guiding the tall blond man to the couch.

When Lucy opened her eyes, she knew something was wrong right away. She didn't remember falling asleep, she remembered standing in her bakery with Laxus at her door and then- Lucy sat up at a lightspeed, looking around with wide eyes.

Where was she?

She was in a cave. Her heart lurched in her chest and she shook her head. This had to be that nightmare again, this couldn't be real. She stood up, wobbling on her legs. How long had she been out? She was deep in the cave, no sign of any outside light.

She heard footsteps coming towards her. Thinking quickly, she dropped back to the ground. She closed her eyes, tried to steady her breathing. She'd pretend to still be unconscious until whoever had captured her left.

Then she'd run for it.

Come to think of it, what did they want with her? Had she done something wrong? Were they just capturing her for ransom? Why was she in this cave, who was the person who'd taken her?

She was shaking as these questions rose to her mind. The footsteps were closer by now, she could decipher the steps to be from two different people. She lay as still as her body would let her, but she was worried they'd see through her act, know that she was awake.

The footsteps came to a stop a little ways away from her. One of them spoke, their voice low and smooth. "She's still out! I told you he used too strong of a spell on her! What'll we do if she doesn't wake up in time to get moving? I am not carrying her again!" The voice complained, making Lucy want to scowl.

"Oh, shut up will you? We'll just move out once she has woken up, so what if Acnologia did use too much magic on her? She's bound to wake at some point," The second person spoke, their voice of a higher pitch soft and misleadingly sweet. "We need to report to Kyouka, let's go."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Lucy listened as their footsteps faded. Who was Acnologia? Who was Kyouka? Who were the two that had come to see if she'd woken up yet? So many questions! Lucy bit her lip, peeping open an eye to make sure the coast was clear.

There was no sign of anyone around her. Slowly, she sat up, rubbing her aching shoulder. Sleeping on the floor of a cave was not comfortable. She wondered how Natsu could do it so easily every night.

It was dark. No sources of light to be seen anywhere. She could only see since her eyes had adjusted to the dark. What she could see was very familiar to the cave that had been in her nightmares.

She blinked as she remembered her nightmares. Could those have been linked with this? Could Acnologia, whoever that was, used some sort of spell to get into her subconscious and scare her? To get her over paranoid? To play with her?

She shuddered, what sort of trouble was she in for? Lucy stood up, her legs shaking. It was freezing in the cave. Her teeth chattered and she took a small step forward. She needed to get out of this cave and find her way home. Her friends were bound to be worried sick about her! Even she was worried for herself.

What if she never made it out?

'No, Lucy, keep it positive, you will get out and you will make it home.' Lucy scolded herself. She sucked in a cold breath of air, rubbing her arms to try and warm herself. Even with her warm clothing, Lucy was freezing. She could feel the freezing winter air from outside.

Her eyes widened. If she could feel the frigid winter air, then that means the mouth of the cave had to be close by! She hoped she could find her bearings once she was outside. If she was completely lost outside she wasn't sure what she was going to do.

She started walking again, making sure to follow the cold air and to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible. If she had been able to hear the people who'd help capture her, then there was no doubt they'd be able to hear any loud noises as well. She also assumed they'd be on careful watch, listening for any sign of her waking up.

She kept walking, the darkness of the cave not lifting at all. Why had she so foolishly walked into her bakery to investigate the intruder? She could have easily sent Laxus to do that! Though, if whoever had captured her had used some sort of magic, they could have easily teleported themselves behind Laxus, grab her and then make a dash for it. Either way, Lucy was only to blame. She should have been ready to fight! Why hadn't she Lucy-Kicked the person who had grabbed her?

She cringed, what would Erza say? She knew the scarlet haired woman would definitely scold her for not protecting herself. After giving her a huge hug, of course. No matter how harsh Erza came across, the woman definitely loved and cared for her friends. Lucy just hoped Erza wouldn't ban her from going to stargaze. Though that was most definitely going to happen.

What would Laxus do? Lucy hoped he wasn't blaming himself for her being kidnapped. It wasn't his fault at all, her curiosity was to blame! She should have let Laxus walk her home, this would have never happened if he had walked her home.

Lucy clenched her fists, she felt weak. She knew she was far from weak, she could defend herself with a sword and her bare hands, but she still felt small for not defending herself when she should have.

She was so busy in her thoughts, Lucy wasn't aware of the person walking in her direction. Though, she did feel eyes watching her. Snapping her head up, Lucy was able to take in a blob of yellow before she was sent crashing to the ground.

Her elbow cracked against the rock flooring of the cave, causing her to gasp. She felt something warm trickle down her arm and she knew she was bleeding.

"Seems our little treasure escaped!" One of the voices from before cooed. Lucy sneered at the man as he peered down at her. His blonde hair was shaggy, bangs swooped to the left side of his face. He was dressed in ridiculous attire for winter. He wore a skin tight vest, scarf, and baggy pants. What confused Lucy the most though, was the ears and tail the man had. His tail, was just as real as the rest of him, it flicked back and forth mockingly as he grinned down at her.

He made a move to swipe his sharp nails at her, but Lucy rolled out of the way. She brought her legs and feet up, kicking him in the chin as she pushed herself back up. Her left hand snatched her right elbow, the fabric of her coat and dress were both torn. The sleeve was wet from her blood and her elbow was sore from the cut.

The two glared at each other. Lucy holding her arm, the man rubbing his chin. He growled at her, much like an animal would and charged. Lucy dodged too late. His sharp nails tore through her coat, digging into her skin and causing her to bleed. Lucy reeled back her unwounded arm, driving a harsh blow to the side of his face. Her eyes widened when she realized her punch was hard enough to send him staggering away.

She backed away, then turned around and ran for it. She turned a sharp corner, clutching her arm tighter when the air turned even colder. How close was she to finding the exit to this cave?

"Hey! Get back here! Kyouka will kill me if she knows I let you escape!" The man roared from behind her. She could hear his pounding footsteps. Fear plunged through her heart, driving her to run faster.

Lucy took another sharp turn, narrowing her eyes when a blast of cold wind smacked her in the face. Up ahead, she could see the dim glow of natural light creeping along the walls of the cave. Hope squirmed its way into her heart. She started running faster, desperate to get out into the open.

She could feel the man behind her at her heels. Quickly thinking, Lucy whirled around, jumping up into the air and swung her leg around to kick him in the side of the head. Her kick sent him soaring into the cave wall. He cracked his head against the rock and crumpled to floor.

She turned around again, pushing herself to keep running. She wasn't going to feel safe until she was out of this cave and very far away from it. She could see where the light was coming from now, the exit of the cave was a hole in the ground. The slope looked difficult to climb, but as Lucy neared it, she noticed it wasn't all that steep. Without a second thought, she trudged up, climbing out of the gaping hole in the ground.

It was night time still. The moon was glowing brightly against the starry night sky. It glimmered against the soft snow. When Lucy stumbled to her feet she noticed a lot more snow had fallen, because it reached up to her ankles.

Hadn't it been cloudy? Lucy rose an eyebrow, there wasn't a cloud in sight! She began to wonder just how long she had been in that cave. She looked all around her, but she couldn't recognize any of the woods surrounding her.

The trees loomed over her, intimidating her with their bowing branches. The mouth of the cave mocked her with it's frightening darkness that looked as if it never ended. She had no idea where she was. She shivered from the cold, blowing hot breath into her hands as she rubbed them together, Lucy started walking. She hadn't a clue of where she was going though.

She hoped she would spot something familiar and be able to find her way home. The blood staining her jacket was scaring her, what if she lost too much blood? What if those people found her because of the trail of blood she left behind? Thinking quickly, Lucy rolled up sleeve, letting it rest of her bleeding wounds. She held her arm to give it some sort of support, but she couldn't stop the pain that was starting to burn her arm.

Shaking her head, Lucy reminded herself that she needed to find her way home quickly. Her eyes rose to the sky for any kind of guidance, but she still felt completely and utterly lost.

The stars twinkled at her, the quarter moon illuminating the darkness of the night. With the light of the moon as her guide, Lucy trudged on. She had no idea where she was headed, but she knew one thing. She had to get away from that cave and the people that were after her.

That rose the question as to why they had captured her. What had she done? The man she had fought; his clothing looked expensive. He had to be wealthy or well known in some fashion. He also had an accent, the accent of the people who were rich enough to own a mansion near the royal castle of Fiore.

Could he be working for the king? Lucy's eyes widened, what could have been so terrible as to grab the king's attention? She only worked a bakery on Main Street, what on earth could she have done?

Up ahead, Lucy heard the sound of footsteps crunching in the snow. She slowed to a stop, paying close attention this time. She wasn't going to be caught off guard again! She looked around her, trying to see if she could spot a place to hide. Her arm was throbbing now, and she didn't want to worsen the cuts by more fighting.

She could see a figure through the mess of snow covered branches. The person's hair stuck up in all directions, their scarf flapping in the frigid wind, beside them a cat flew in the air. Lucy's heart soared with relief, "Natsu?" She whispered out.

"Lucy!" Natsu called out and ran in her direction. He came crashing through the bare tree branches, his green eyes wide and alert. Happy flew towards her, hugging her neck and rubbing his cheek against hers. "What happened!? You friends were looking for you today in the woods, they had to stop their search at night since it was too dark, so I started looking instead. Wait, you're bleeding. Who did this." His tone went from worried to angry in a matter of seconds.

Lucy cast an anxious look behind her to make sure nobody was following her. She had no idea how to explain what had happened to her, because she really didn't know what exactly had happened. She shook her head, taking a nervous step towards Natsu, "I'm cold," She whimpered.

Natsu didn't even hesitate wrap his arms around her. His arm snuck around her shoulders and beneath her legs as he scooped her up in his arms. He grunted as he started walking. Lucy was still quivering, but it was more from fear than cold. Natsu was warm and just him carrying her warmed her up. Lucy felt safe as well.

She didn't understand how she could be so trusting from only knowing Natsu for maybe a week. She wasn't even sure if he considered her as a friend, but she knew she considered him as her friend. She curled closer to him, wishing she could be out of the cold and inside where it was nice and toasty.

She watched the sky through the gaps of the branches. Natsu didn't look down at her, to question her dazed staring, he kept walking straight eyes cast on nothing. His jaw was clenched shut, he looked furious.

He shifted his arms underneath her, hoisting her up higher so as not to drop her. Lucy gritted her teeth when her arm dragged against his chest. She cupped it in her hand, bringing her fingertips close to her face to see if it was still bleeding. It was, but not as badly.

"Who hurt you, Lucy?" Natsu asked. He sounded furious, too. He was getting warmer by the second. Lucy was worried he was going to start burning her, but he soon gained control over his heat. She could feel him clench his fists.

"I don't know his name, but he was very odd. He looked like a cross between a man and some cat. He had cat-like ears and a tail." Lucy looked at nothing as she told Natsu about the odd appearance of the man before. "He also mentioned some names. Acnologia and Kyouka."

Natsu flinched when Lucy said Acnologia. Lucy looked up at him, raising a brow in curiosity. Did Natsu somehow know Acnologia? Was there some connection?

She opened her mouth to ask questions, but Happy cut her off as he climbed down into her lap. "Are you okay, Lucy? We were really worried about you!" He tipped his head, his eyes shining with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just hurt my arm is all. He pushed me down, that strange man, and my elbow smacked up against a rock, and then when I fought back he scratched me. I'm lucky I had some of the fabric in the way, or I probably could have broken a bone with the fall and his attack could have been much worse…" Lucy mumbled. She peered down at her injured arm, cringing when she saw how bloody it looked. Then she realized something, "You guys were worried?" she asked before she could stop herself.

"Of course we were worried, Lucy! You're our friend!" Happy snapped, poking her with the tip of his tail.

"I'm your friend?" Lucy wondered aloud as she gaped at the blue cat sitting on her stomach.

"Lucy, you really are weird if you're shocked that we see you as our friend." Natsu snorted. He looked down at her, giving her a lopsided grin. "You're our friend and we're your friends, right?"

"Yeah…" Lucy muttered under breath, trying to stop her cheeks from turning red. She had embarrassed herself. A frown settled on her lips though. She was worried about the people who had captured her. Were they going to try and take her again?

Lucy's eyes widened when she realized she could have easily been killed back in that cave.

"Lucy, you look scared… Are you okay?" Happy mewed, leaning forward to look her in the eye.

Lucy's shoulders started to shake. Her mind started rolling through all the scenarios she could have gone through back in that cave. She could have been killed, tortured… so many terrifying things rushed through her mind. She curled towards Natsu, shaking her head, answering Happy's question with a silent 'no'.

The blue cat looked up at Natsu in alarm, worried they had done something wrong. Natsu's jaw clenched and he his shook his head. He knew Lucy was scared. He had been scared for her as well. He saw her as his friend, the only one who had come back after discovering what he truly was.

Feeling something wet slide down his arm, Natsu stiffened, looking down at her with a firm gaze. "Lucy, don't cry, you're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you."

She nodded her head, rubbing her tears away. "I was scared, I didn't know where I was, and I had to fight to get out." She added, throwing a wide eyed look to Natsu.

Natsu smirked, "I bet you kicked their asses, huh?"

Lucy felt a laugh bubble in her chest. She let a small smile grace her lips as the soft laugh escape her. She felt Natsu's shake with laughter, Happy was purring in amusement, and Lucy found her laughter growing louder. "You should have seen his face when I punched him! I don't think he expected me to be able to fight. Oh, and then when I whirled around to kick him in the head, he was so startled!" Lucy tried to copy the expression she remembered seeing fall on the man's face before she had knocked him out cold.

Natsu snorted, throwing his head back and cackling loudly. Lucy waved her arms around, trying to quiet his noisy laughs. She didn't know how far away they were from that cave, but she didn't want to take any chances of the people inside hearing them. She didn't want to have to fight again. She was tired and very cold.

Lucy looked up at Natsu, sending him a smile when brown eyes locked with green. Natsu gave her a lopsided smirk in return, feeling proud of himself for distracting her and cheering her up.

The walk back to Natsu and Happy's cave was quiet. Lucy had fallen asleep, the exhaustion of her fear and tears had caught up with her. Happy flew beside Natsu, whispering to him quietly, "Natsu… she said Acnologia… and Kyouka. What are we going to do?"

Natsu frowned, his green eyes hardening in anger. His grip on Lucy tightened, but he quickly loosened it when she groaned in her sleep. "I don't know, Happy, but for now, we need to make sure Lucy stays safe. For whatever reason, they want her."

"Natsu… they could be using her as bait to get you. They could somehow know that we're friends with her," Happy whimpered, his tail lowering to tuck between his legs. "What if they capture you?"

"If they capture me, then they capture me. I'm not going to let anyone hurt my friends. Just like I'd rush to go save Lucy, I'd rush to go save you, Happy. You guys are my friends. I'd rather die than allow some bastard to harm you guys." Natsu growled, his eyes beginning to glow.

Happy's ears flattened. Natsu always put his friends before himself. Happy was worried that one day it really would get Natsu killed. The blue cat didn't know what he'd do if he lost his friend.

Natsu shifted Lucy in his hold, hoisting her up with one arm, with the other he raised it to pat Happy on the head. He turned to flash the tomcat a big smile, "It's not like anyone'll be able to kill me though, right?"

"Yeah! You're the strongest man out there!" Happy cheered, flying around in circles above Natsu's head.

Lucy woke up, feeling warm and full of energy. She sat up, rubbing the grit from her eyes as a yawn split her mouth wide open. The blanket covering her shoulder slid to the ground. She looked around her room, but again was confused when she saw that she was in a cave.

Fear clutched her chest, knocking any air out of her lungs. She was about to scramble to her feet and look for an exit, but she quickly recognized where she was.

This was Natsu and Happy's cave. She was safe here. Nobody could hurt her here.

She exhaled a sigh of relief from her nose, letting her shoulders relax. She looked at the blanket that covered her, startled when she recognized it to be Natsu's vest. Lucy also noticed that her coat was missing, and that her right arm was wrapped in bandages.

"Natsu? Happy?" Lucy called out, when she didn't see either of them in the cave. It was just her and a lonely fire. She could see the old pack in the back of the cave with the sleeping bag beneath it, but there was no sign of the owners. She looked out the opening of the cave, pursing her lips when it was still dark out.

"We're out here, Luce!" Natsu poked his head around the rock wall, "You feeling okay? How's your arm?"

Lucy nodded her head, rubbing the bandage wrap on her upper arm. She wondered where they got the supplies to dress her wound, but remembering the old pack on the other side of the cave she put aside. That was probably where all their supplies were stuffed. "My arm is fine, a little sore, but that's to be expected I guess." She shrugged, pulling his vest tighter around her shoulder. "Where's my coat?"

"Oh, uh, well, it's kinda ruined from the blood…" Natsu laughed, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked towards her. He sat down across from her, staring at her with an intimidating gaze.

Lucy stiffened. He looked tense, worried even. Lucy shifted on her legs. Could he be worried about her? Worried about why she had been taken or what those people had planned to do with her? Lucy looked down at her lap, the fabric of her dress seeming very interesting all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry," Natsu grunted all of a sudden.

Lucy shot her head up, raising an eyebrow at him. Why was he apologizing? He hadn't done anything wrong!

"I wasn't able to save you…" Natsu clenched his fists.

Lucy crawled over to Natsu, placing her hand on his. She locked eyes with him, glaring at him with bold eyes. "Natsu, don't you dare blame yourself for this. None of it is your fault. And actually, you did save me. If you hadn't been there to carry me back here, I would have frozen to death. I had no idea where I was or where I was going. So thank you for searching for me and bringing me back here," She smiled squeezing his hand gently before bringing it back to her lap. Shock at how she missed the warmth of his hand in her own.

Natsu smirked and lifted his hand to give her a thumbs up. "Sure thing, Luce! If you ever need me, then I'll be sure to be there for you!" He closed his eyes, tipping his head to the side. Lucy watched as his hair bounced around with him.

Lucy looked outside the entrance of the cave again, blinking in shock when the sky was turning to a dim gray. She cast a nervous glance to Natsu, the sun was going to be up soon. What was he going to do? She bit her lip, she remembered when she'd seen him turn into a man when the moon came up, but she'd never seen him turn into a dragon. Recalling how it had been painful for him to turn into a man, Lucy worried how painful it was for him to return to his dragon form.

Lucy looked at Natsu, wondering how it was possible for him to change forms from dragon to human. She tipped her head the side, a thoughtful expression falling on her face. There had to be some form of magic involved.

"Why are you staring at me like that, weirdo?" Natsu wrinkled his nose, leaning away from Lucy. He didn't like the curious gleam in her eyes, nor the worried, but thoughtful frown on her face.

"Does it hurt?" Lucy asked softly, looking him up and down. "When you-

"Yeah," Natsu interrupted her, he crossed his arms over his chest, turning his head towards the entrance of the cave. The sky was getting brighter. His facial expression turned to one of dread. "It's less painful if I go to the spot where the sunlight or moonlight first lands, still hurts like hell, though," He laughed cruelly.

He pushed himself up onto his feet, pulling his scarf away from his neck. He dropped it down into Lucy's hands, not even glancing at her as he walked outside. She watched until he was standing in the middle of the small clear opening before his cave.

She could feel his anxiety from where she sat. She averted her eyes when Happy swooped down to help Natsu with the rest of his clothes. The blue cat flew in to take Natsu's scarf away from her, but she hesitated in handing it to him.

She cringed when she saw the glow of a bright light, knowing exactly what was going to happen. She'd see it once before. Hearing the cat in front of her whimper, she pulled him into a comforting embrace. Curling tighter around him when she heard Natsu cry out.

Was it really that painful? She peeked an eye open, risking a look to see what was happening. Her jaw fell and her eyes widened when she saw Natsu grow in size. Wings sprouted from his back, a tail started to grow, horns formed on the top of his head, his skin was no longer smooth and tan, instead, red, orange, yellow, and pink scales began to cover his body.

Lucy snapped her eyes shut when a low groan came from the back of Natsu's throat. It was one of agony and exhaustion. Lucy's lower lip trembled, oh how she wished there was way she make it painless.

She could see the light fade even with her eyes shut tight. Lucy blinked them open, freezing in place when she came face to muzzle with Natsu. He slowly blinked his big green eyes at her, lowering them to look at Happy and his scarf. Slightly shaking, Lucy gave a gentle shove to the blue cat, pushing him out of her lap.

He looked at her with sad eyes, before spreading his own white wings to fly up to sit on the top of Natsu's head, the scarf flapping behind him. "Sorry Lucy, but you're going to need to leave…" Happy's ear flicked uncomfortably, "We'll see you tonight, right Natsu?"

Natsu, the dragon, nodded his head once. Crawling further into the cave, his tail slithered across the ground, nearly smacking into Lucy and knocking her over. He lowered himself onto the ground, resting his chin over his front legs. When he saw Lucy, he narrowed his eyes at her, emitting a low sound of complaint from his mouth.

"Lucy, you need to go home," Happy translated, "Your friends are very worried about you, don't let them come near our cave, please. They might discover us, and nothing good could come from that." The blue cat murmurred.

Lucy rose to her feet, keep her eyes on the dragon and the cat. She took a reluctant step towards Natsu, placing her hand on his snout. "I'm sorry it causes you so much pain, Natsu," She whispered, eyes shining with small tears. Natsu's harsh gaze softened, his eyes widening just the tiniest bit. Sighing, Lucy turned around to leave. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled, "I'll see you guys tonight."

Her feet padded softly in the wet grass around their cave, Natsu's warmth had obviously melted the snow around the area. She wondered how anyone could miss something so strange in the middle of winter, but she shrugged it off. Barely anyone went into the woods, all because of the rumors of the monster lurking there.

Casting a glance behind her, Lucy now knew it was true. Someone must have discovered the sleeping dragon in the middle of day and ran off in terror. Why they didn't share it with anyone else, Lucy didn't understand, their story must have been brushed off as a tall tale. A foolish way to gain attention.

Lucy knew she wouldn't have believed it. Though now that she knew the truth, Lucy had a heavy secret placed on her shoulders. If anyone knew of the truth about Natsu, they'd want to chase him away or worse… kill him. She clenched her fists, body tensing in determination. Just like Natsu wasn't going to allow any to hurt her, Lucy was going to try and keep any harm away from Natsu.

She had to protect her friend.

Seeing her apartment up ahead, Lucy breathed in relief. She never knew she would be so happy to the see the worn down building. The chipped paint and old roof that was in need of repairs soon. She stumbled up the steps, shakily grabbing hold of the doorknob. She was about to swing it open, when the door was ripped away from her.

Someone came walking out, unaware of her presence and bumped into her. She nearly fell down the porch steps, but whoever had rammed into her grabbed her wrist.

"Lucy, oh my God, Lucy!" Levy shrieked, she yanked Lucy close to her chest, crushing her in a hug. "You're safe, you're okay. Oh, I was so worried!" Levy cried, her shoulders shaking as Lucy slowly wrapped her arms around her friend.

Lucy closed her eyes, tightening her embrace around her friend. "I was terrified," She whispered into Levy's hair. Her voice trembled as memories of waking up in an unknown place started to rise. The familiar feeling of that man discovering her trying to escape crept up her spine, causing her to flinch.

Levy leaned back, looking at her friend with wide and worried eyes. "Lu… Oh, goodness, you're hurt! Your arm, are you alright?" Levy gasped, gingerly holding Lucy's arm in her hands. The bandage was stained with small splotches of blood, but the bleeding had stopped. "Lucy… what happened?" Levy inquired, her brown eyes shining with relieved tears.

Lucy took a deep, shaky breath. She wanted to rest, she wanted to go upstairs, lie down in her bed and go to sleep. She knew Levy deserved to know what happened, though.

"Oh, here, let's get inside, it's freezing and you're as white as the snow!" Levy rambled, helping Lucy inside. "Erza! Juvia! Lucy is back, she's safe!" Levy yelled into the apartment.

Lucy heard two loud crashing thuds from upstairs before Erza and Juvia came bounding down, skipping a few steps here and there. Juvia cried out Lucy's name, mumbling and stuttering bout worried she had been before tackling the blonde in a death grip hug. Erza didn't even get any words out before crushing Lucy in a hug, Lucy's eyes widened when she felt warm tears thread down her neck.

Had she really worried and scared everyone that much?

"You're okay," Juvia whispered. "You gave us all quite a scare, Lucy. I was so worried."

"Don't ever disappear like that again, do you understand?" Erza let go enough so Lucy could breathe again, but still held onto her like she was going to vanish at any given moment. "Now, what happened? Why were you captured, how did you get away, and," Erza's eyes glowed fiercely when she saw the bandages on Lucy's arm, "Who hurt you?"

Lucy shivered at her the intimidating woman's tone, but started explaining. She told them how she had foolishly turned down Laxus' offer to walk her home and went from there. When she told the part where she had woken up in the cave, her voice cracked and her friends all gave her sympathetic looks. Levy reaching over and wrapping her arms around Lucy to comfort her.

Lucy left out any parts concerning Natsu and Happy. She wasn't ready to tell her friends about those two yet, nor did she think they'd believe her. A man turning into a dragon accompanied by a flying and talking cat, wasn't exactly the most convincing thing.

Though she did feel proud when she came to the part of beating up that strange man. Erza had clapped her hands together, her eyes shining. Levy put a hand to her lips, but giggled when Lucy went on about how ridiculous his expression had been. Juvia clenched her fists, smiling boldly and cheering Lucy on for defending herself so well.

When Lucy had finished explaining her terrifying experience, she told them about the names she'd heard. None of the girls reacted it to the name like Natsu had, though.

"I need to get to work, but I'll be sure to tell Gajeel that you are fine, Lucy." Erza stood up, walking towards the coat rack to take down her wintercoat. "Juvia, I want you to go to the orphanage over on Ross Lane. Ask for Makarov and Laxus, I want you to tell them that Lucy is safe."

"Juvia will rush over there now! Maybe on her way back she can find Gray and tell him of Lucy coming back as well?" She offered genuinely. She had no spark in her eye that showed she was going to see Gray just to see her love, Erza nodded her head when she recognized that. "Lucy, you must get rest! We will need to get back to the bakery tomorrow!" Juvia said over her shoulder as she rushed out the door, stumbling in her jacket.

It was just Lucy and Levy left in the quiet apartment. Juvia gone to notify Makarov, Laxus, and also Gray. Erza off to work and to let Gajeel know as well. Lucy was glad she had friends that cared about her, it warmed her heart.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Lucy," Levy sighed, hand rested over her chest. She smiled weakly at her blonde friend as she stood up, "Lucy, you need to rest, I'm sure you're exhausted from everything that's happened. First, though, you should take a nice warm bath. It's my day off today, I'll be staying home so let me know if you need anything, okay?"

The idea of a hot bath made Lucy sigh. She nodded her head, allowing Levy to guide her upstairs and into the bathroom. While the water was running, Lucy allowed her mind to wander.

Natsu had acted very odd when she'd mentioned the names Acnologia and Kyouka. The names had to mean something. Could they have been people Natsu knew? Family, maybe friends? She wrinkled her nose at that thought, he wouldn't have reacted like that in such a startled way… would he? Lucy knew what it was like to have struggles with family members.

Sadly, she knew it all too well. Her mother had died when she was young, leaving her father to take care of her. Lucy had turned to him, not knowing what to do without her mother. Her father, at the time, had simply turned her away, shunning her.

For a majority of her childhood, Lucy remembered locking herself in her room, playing with her dolls by herself or reading her books. Images of him yelling at her appeared, causing her to cringe as she stepped out of her dirty clothes.

Her childhood have been difficult, by the time Lucy had turned ten, she had attempted to run away. She could clearly recall packing her bag, packing clothes, food, and other necessary items. She hadn't even made it to town, however, for her father had come running after her, calling out to her with tears streaming down his face. Her father had scooped her up in his big arms, holding her close to his chest as he sobbed apology after apology.

With a trembling lip, Lucy sighed. She was relieved that her father had chased after her when she had tried to run away. That day was a sad, but beautiful memory, holding a special place in her heart. It had saved her and her father's relationship. She was able to write to him regularly, easily talk to him, and go to sleep knowing that he loved and cared about her.

Lucy didn't know how she would have made it without her father's loving care.

Lowering herself into the hot bath, she wondered what Natsu's family was like. Surely they had to know of his condition. Maybe his parents were also shapeshifting dragon-humans! Part of her wondered if there was some sort of magical species that existed like that. Dragons by day, humans by night.

She snorted to herself, shaking her head, there was no way that could be it. There had to be some magic involved. Natsu wasn't a werewolf, Happy had scolded her for making that joke, saying Natsu didn't like it too much. She still felt guilty about it even if it had been a few days since then. She hadn't known, she had only been teasing.

So, Lucy wondered, just what was it that made him change form? Was he cursed? There had to be some sort of spell cast on him to give him the ability to change into a dragon and back into a man. Which raised the question, was he originally human or originally dragon?

It was all so frustrating! Lucy wanted to know the truth, but she didn't want to pry or come across as nosy. Though it was plainly obvious that she loved knowing and learning things about others. She lowered herself in the bathtub, ducking her mouth into the water and blowing small bubbles.

She leaned back, resting her head against the rim of the tub. Maybe she was overthinking, but something told her that Natsu was in some sort of trouble. A nagging thought in the back of her mind, a creeping feeling in the bottom of her heart.

Whatever it was, Lucy hoped that it was only her being paranoid.

Yooooo! -dances- I got this posted a lot sooner than I thought~~~ ^.^ I'm really happy about it tbh. I DIDN'T HAVE ANY TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES THIS TIME! Except for one small scare when google docs thought it'd be funny to take forever to load what I'd written. I had a heart attack when I saw a blank page, but then suddenly SWWOOP it was there and aaaagggghhh x~x the relief I feel right now cannot be explained.

ANYWAYS I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! It took me a bit to figure out how I wanted it to go and all. Also a lot of you guys had the right guesses :D -thumbs up- Nice! Some of the guesses were spot on and others made me think, what if I had chosen a different bad guy, and made me wonder how differently the story would be written ahaha. Also can anyone guess who that strange guy was? I made it kinda obvious with the ears and tail, and also mentioning Kyouka. I actually never planned to have Kyouka and others in here! I was just thinking of ways to make my story better when BAM that idea smacked upside the head! I hope it makes my fanfic run smoother ^^

Oh and someone mentioned something about Natsu also being part werewolf? No no Lucy was just being sarcastic/trying to make a joke. So I tried to clear that up in this chapter, I hope that's not confusing -nervous laugh-

Books Books and Books

So I'm reading The Colossus Rises by Peter Lerangis! My friend got this book for me on my b-day and so far it's really cool. As I said last chapter in my author's note, I finally finished All The Light We Cannot See and omggg I finally go the papers to do the book report -sigh- I AM SAVED! I'll be able to do the assignment instead of taking a big fat zero on the first day of school. Honestly that thought alone terrified me. Getting a zero on the first day in an AP English class is NOT the best way to do things T^T

Yeeeh! If you guys liked this chapter then please leave a review! It's nice to see what all you guys liked about each chapter! So, until next time~ :)