Alright so y'all are probably wondering why this chapter is so much shorter then my previous ones. Well I kind of went back and did some chopping because lets face it. Writing fifteen pages a chapter gets kind of annoying after a while so now I've dropped it down to anywhere between five and ten pages. You still get the whole plot that I wrote before, there'll just be more chapters.
Chapter 7
Natsu P.O.V.
A few hours later, I'm trudging my way home after having to deal with the police and fixing Dad's grave.
When I get up to the office I find Ghost sitting in her chair, waiting. "Natsu, I'm sorry, I couldn't tell you earlier, I would've gotten caught, but Phantom has the pouch and they—"
I raise my hand and she stops. "That's all I needed to know. Thank you, Ghost, you may go now." She frowns but leaves without another word.
Once back in our room, I shower, get changed, and walk back into the office, leaving a message for Luce, before stepping in the elevator and making my way out to the sidewalk.
Heading east, I soon reach the forest, but instead of taking the trail to Lucy's parents, I take a lower one that has only been used recently.
After an hour, I find the building I'm looking for, a run down two-story log cabin. As I get closer, I can see the Phantom crew mark painted or carved on almost every wall.
When I get close enough, I look through a window to see no one in the room, but when I look on the desk I can see Dad's pouch, so I carefully slide open the window and jump inside.
Once the pouch is in my hands, I immediately feel a weight lift off my shoulders, but before I lose the pouch, I wrap the belt around my upper arm where Dad used to always keep it.
"Well, well, what do we have here?"
I turn to see a figure standing in the doorway. When the lights flip on, I immediately recognize the figure in the door.
"You!" I point an accusatory finger at the man. "You stole from my father, you killed my mother, and Heart's parents. Now, you have to die." I growl, feeling rage at the entire situation flood through my veins.
He laughs and states cockily, "Don't be so sure about that, Salamander." Then something clicks and I start grinning. "Why are you grinning? You're about to die."
I reach behind me and turn the first of the vials. "You forget that we're in a wooden cabin."
The man pales and I flick my hand across the igniter. When I bring it around he starts shaking.
"Now, you're about to feel the wrath of the Prince of Fire." I can feel the flames licking across my fist, feeling that I have woefully missed.
I jump and grab his face with my lit hand, keeping a firm grip until he finally stops clawing at me. Then, I ignite my other fist and run my hands over the walls, effectively setting them on fire as I wander through the cabin.
Whenever I come across someone, I burn them until they stop screaming, and pass out from the pain before moving on. When the entire downstairs is thoroughly aflame, I walk out and shake the flames from my fist, gritting my teeth against the pain.
"Damn it, I held them too long." I groan, as I make my way back to town.
When I get to town I go to use my com only to find it's been melted from the flames. "Are you fucking kidding me?! She couldn't fucking make it fireproof?" I practically yell to night sky.
I pull off the useless jewelry and start jogging when base comes in view. As I walk, my sixth sense picks up a presence trailing behind me.
"What do you want, Ghost?"
The stalker appears beside me and she asks simply, "Feel better now?"
I cast a sideways glance her way. "What do you mean?"
She huffs. "I saw you go through that cabin; why didn't you let anyone know where you went? Heart is worried sick."
Frowning, I slow down a bit and turn to the assassin. "I left a note in our office."
Ghost frowns. "Where? I didn't see one."
When we get to base, we go around and enter one of the side doors before taking the elevator to the infirmary.
While we're riding the elevator, Ghost turns on her mic. "Yeah, I found him."
I look at her with a raised eyebrow and she explains. "She-Devil was asking if I had found you."
I nod, and when the doors open, I walk in to see Mira, Erza, and Gray standing around Luce, talking.
When the elevator dings, they turn towards me and Gray scowls. "Alright, Flame Brain, how bad did you burn yourself this time?"
I lift my hands and state calmly, "Relax, Ice, I only did a bit of damage to my hands." He snorts and walks over, trying to burn holes through my hands with his gaze. "Bullshit. What, did you spend the entire time in there, fists blazing?"
I shrug, but can't help the faint grin that paints my face. "Maybe, but it was worth it."
He sighs, and Erza pulls one of her long swords, pointing it straight at me. "If you do anything like that again, I will personally end your life."
I look at her and scowl. "Titania, what I do with my fire is my business no one else's." I'm so distracted with answering questions, that I don't hear Luce walk up behind me until she slaps me across the back of my head.
Turning around, I flinch at the dark aura surrounding her. "Hey, Luce."
She doesn't say anything in reply but slaps me again before walking over to the girls. I sigh, and when I feel a hand on my shoulder, I look up to see Mira looking at me with sympathy in her ice blue eyes.
"She'll calm down in a bit, you just have to give her time."
Looking back at Luce, I nod, and walk over to Porlyusica. "Hey, Doc, can you bandage me up?"
She gets up and turns my hands over, examining them and tsks. "You boys really don't know how to stay out of trouble. At least with the ladies, they know how to avoid hurting themselves if it isn't necessary."
She drops my hands and walks over to a cabinet, returning with a tube of burn cream and some bandages before quickly wrapping them. "You do understand that if you burn your hands again, before they completely heal, you'll have severe scarring."
"Yeah, Doc, I know the rules." She finishes wrapping up my left hand, and then walks back to her desk. Sighing, I cast one more glance Lucy's way before walking to the elevator and going up to our office.
Walking through the doors, I look over to see someone sitting in Lucy's chair so I ask testily, "What are you doing up here? No one is supposed to be up here at this hour."
He chuckles, then replies in an emotionless tone. "I must admit, Salamander, well done taking Heart."
I freeze, and my eyes narrow when I recognize his voice.
"It's been ten years since I last heard from you, Sting, what the hell happened?" I ask, as I quickly glance around to find his brother sitting in my chair.
Damn it, I knew I should've gotten my com replaced before I came up. I mentally kick myself after my right hand moves to my left wrist only to find my com gone.
"Since we're going on a first name basis, Natsu, what the hell happened to you?" Running through my options, I decide on the best way to buy me a little time.
"Oh, you know, having my house burned down, my mother killed in the fire, believing my girl is dead for ten years... The usual." I shrug, feigning indifference.
Finally, I land upon a plan. Gluing my poker mask, on I jump straight to the point. "Sting and Rogue, why are you here in this base? It does not belong to you, it is solely under the ownership of Draco Cor."
Sting laughs, and I can see him pulling out a dagger as he explains, "Which is why we are here; you stole Heart, so now we'll steal both mafias."
When I see a flash of blue sneak behind Sting, I let a dangerous grin flash across my face. "You've forgotten one thing, Sting."
He pauses and a blonde eyebrow raises. "Oh, and what is that?" I let out two whistles much like Luce does, and before they know what's happening, Plue and Happy jump for the kill.
After they retreat, I murmur, "We're the number one Crew in Magnolia for a reason."
I call both animals to my side and head to the infirmary, hoping the council is still there. But when the doors open, the lights are low and only Luce is there, asleep.
Growling softly, I punch the button for the 29th floor and pray to the gods that I don't die from breaking the base's number one rule.
When the doors open, I walk out and quickly make my way to Mira's door, having memorized months back who had which room number.
Knocking on the door, I only have to wait a few seconds before Mira opens it up. Her eyes go wide when she sees me standing there. "What the hell are you doing on this floor?"
I point to her com. "Call the others, there's a bit of a mess in our office that needs to be taken care of." Looking at me in confusion, she follows me to the elevator and up to the office, where Sting and Rogue still lay in pools of blood.
When Mira sees this I say sharply, "I want to know how they got in here, and find out if there are any more. I'm going back to the infirmary to keep an eye on Heart."
She nods, and I turn back towards the elevator to see Ghost, Erza, Gray, and Gajeel walking out. "Oi, Salamander, what's going on?"
Gajeel shifts uncomfortably when I turn a harsh glare his way. "You tell me, why the leaders of the Light and Shadow Crew, snuck into our office. Then ask me what's going on."
They stare at me for a moment, before rushing into the office, and I take the chance to get into the elevator and get to the infirmary. Just like last time, the lights are low, and no one's there except for Luce, who's sleeping in the bed, and the girls sleeping in their beds next to hers.
Walking over, I climb in the bed with Luce, and wrap my arms protectively around her, making sure to not let her go.
Alright y'all know the routine. Let me know what you think by leaving those reviews and make sure that if you're a new reader you fave and follow both me and this story for more.
Until next time.
Grizzly out for the night.
