Hey everyone! Spring Break has started and like I promised here's a new chapter!

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Here's chapter 13!

Natsu's POV

"And this," I said, pointing to the broken window, "is where they escaped."

Officer Doranbolt nodded his head, his hand to his chin and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. I could practically see the gears turning in his head as he pictured the scene I had just finished describing.

I was about to say more when I heard Lucy gasp. My head snapped in her direction and I saw her striding forward.

"Officer," she said, and the seriousness in her voice made me freeze. "I believe I know who the assailants are."

"Who?" Doranbolt asked as he returned his hand to his side.

Lucy paused. Then she said, "I—I'd rather not say it here. Can we talk in private?"

Her eyes never met mine.

The officer nodded and they left without another word. I just stood there, stunned, confused. Why—? Did she not trust me? What was she afraid to say in front of me? Why wouldn't she tell me too?

I don't think she ever fully realized how much that action hurt me. I felt betrayed, to be honest—why didn't she believe in me?

Quietly, I exited the room, my head down.

Lucy's POV

I led Officer Doranbolt to Natsu's room and shut the door behind us. He stood in the middle of the room, a little awkwardly. I took a seat on the edge of Natsu's bed.

"I—" I started, faltered, and tried again. "I believe I know who they are."

I didn't lift my gaze from the floor, but I could almost feel the anticipation rolling off of the policeman in front of me.

"And . . .?" he prodded gently.

"I think their names are Zeref and Acnologia. I don't know their last names—sorry."

Doranbolt took a moment to respond. "It's alright. Thank you for the information."

A silence fell over us then, and it was tense. I waited for him to say something—anything—but he didn't. And so I excused myself from the room. One look over my shoulder showed me he had followed.

We went back downstairs and the detective and officer conversed in whispered tones for a minute or two before wrapping the meeting up. I glanced over at Natsu, who was sitting on the couch with his head bent down.

"Well, then," Detective Lahar said, and I turned my gaze back to the policemen. "Let us know if anything happens, okay?"

"Okay," I said.

Lahar bid us good day and the two men left, leaving the four of us—Natsu's parents, Natsu, and me—in silence.

I was the one to break the quiet.

"Mr. Dragneel," I began. "I need to go to my apartment."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Lucy." His tone was sharp and protective, with a hint of worry.

"I'll be quick," I promised. "I just need to pick up something—something for school."

It wasn't a complete lie, at least.

"Lucy," Mrs. Dragneel said. "I have to agree with Igneel on this one. It's not safe for you to go right now. I'm not even sure you should go to school."

"But—"

"I'll go with her."

The three of us looked to Natsu, and I saw Mr. Dragneel tense ever so slightly.

"Son, it's not safe for you either. They saw you. They know what you look like."

"Please," I said, almost begging now. "Just give us thirty minutes."

"Honey," Mrs. Dragneel murmured, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder. From the look on her face, I guessed she could tell how much I needed to go.

There was a moment, then, in which I thought Natsu's father was going to deny us again and that would be that. But he sighed, a tired breath. "Fine," he relented. "Thirty minutes. Don't be late."

"Thank you, sir. Thank you so much," I said, and rushed to the door to pull my shoes on.

Natsu and I walked in anxious silence. I could tell he was on edge. I didn't blame him though—I was tense too. We could be attacked at any moment. Luckily, my apartment was only two blocks away from his house.

However, while it was understandable that he was stressed, I couldn't help but think there was something else too.

My apartment came into view quickly and I unlocked the door for us to enter. We stepped inside and kept our shoes on in case we had to bolt.

"What is it you need?" Natsu asked, but it was muffled because his head was already in my fridge.

"I'll get it," I said. "You just worry about not raiding my fridge."

I heard him chuckle as I walked into my room. "No promises."

My room was just as I remembered it: fairly tidy except for my desk. A couple of steps brought me to it, and I pulled open the bottom-most drawer; then opened a secret compartment within with a key from my key-ring. Inside I found a stack of papers, right where I had left them. I hurriedly leafed through the pages, making sure they were, in fact, the documents I required, before locking the compartment and closing the drawer. The papers in hand, I returned to the kitchen to find Natsu seated on the couch, stuffing yet more food into his mouth.

"Youf readief?" he asked through a mouthful of food.

"Yeah," I responded, hoping he hadn't cleaned my fridge of food.

He swallowed before standing, and that's when I blacked out.

Natsu's POV

I saw Lucy drop to the floor, unconscious, before I even had time to comprehend that the glass of the window had shattered.

Rough hands yanked my arms behind me, and that's when I knew we were in serious trouble. Try as I might, I couldn't break free of the hold the large man had on me. I couldn't even turn to confirm who it was. But I knew—I knew it was the man with the electric eyes from the night before.

I assumed myself to be correct when the other man entered through the broken window. I watched as his red eyes darted around the room, as he lowered his feet to the ground, as he moved towards Lucy.

All I could do was watch.

And so I looked on as the shorter of the two picked Lucy up and tossed her over his shoulder. My scorching gaze never left the man's cold face. He only smirked more.

"Let her go!" I roared. He ignored me, choosing instead to turn around and leave through the window. My eyes followed his every move until I couldn't see him anymore.

Desperate, I began to struggle, lashing out like an animal with rabies. I twisted and turned, trying to get free, trying to get to Lucy, to save her. Somehow I ended up dropping to my knees, bringing my captor down with me, rolling, and regaining my balance on my feet, free at last. I didn't even hesitate when I kicked the glowering man in the face.

But by the time I made it outside, Lucy was gone. The one who took her was gone too.

I turned and punched the wall.

I re-entered the apartment to find the second assailant nowhere to be found. He had escaped too.

Damn it.

Damn it all.

My hands tightened into trembling fists, my knuckles white from the force with which I clenched them.

I had failed.

I had failed in my promise to protect Lucy.

I had failed in my promise that she would be safe.

What would my parents think? Would they blame me?

It wouldn't surprise me. After all, I blamed myself.

A sob escaped my lips, a choked, pitiful sound, and the next thing I knew my legs were buckling and I was on the floor and the tears just would not stop and then I was screaming. I must've stayed there for hours, for my father eventually showed up, anxious and concerned.

And then I saw the tears streaming down his face.

And reality hit me hard.

Lucy was gone.

And it was my fault.

Sometime after he arrived, my dad called my mom to fill her in, as well as the police to get help. I was too numb to hear either side of either of the two conversations. By then my tears had dried up. My eyes stared blankly at the floor.

That was when I noticed a paper, crinkled and stepped-on, but not ripped. Picking it up, I read over it and nearly screamed again. Dad came to my side, bending down and looking over my shoulder at the file. He gasped.

On the paper, in the top right-hand corner, was a picture of the black-haired, red-eyed man that took Lucy. The paper behind it showed a picture of the black-with-blue-tips haired man that had held me back. That's when we knew what Lucy had wanted.

She was retrieving their names.

My dad took the top file—using more force than I thought necessary—so I had the electric-blue eyed man's. I read his name and bio:

Acnologia Mokushiroku

In his early-twenties, Acnologia was a ruthless and violent person. He was an assassin, and he refuses to tell what organization he worked for. In his line of work, he is known as The Black Dragon and Black Dragon of the Apocalypse because of his uniform black coat and last name. Presently, he works as a body-guard and mercenary, taking work from various clients. Not much else is known about him personally.

Skills: Master in various forms of fighting, including taekwondo, kung fu, karate, and the rare fighting style known as Dragon King.

Excelling in infiltration and stealth, Acnologia makes an excellent spy and one-man team. His stamina and agility are superb as well as his five senses.

There have been speculations that he was experimented on, but nothing has been confirmed.

I scanned over the paper once more, making sure I had read everything correctly. I just couldn't believe it—this guy was like the perfect human-weapon. He even knew a secret fighting style! There was no way I could ever beat him one-on-one. I knew that. And so did he, I bet.

I stood from the floor and turned to face my father. His hand was shaking as he held and read the paper. He might've actually just been staring at it—apart from his shaking hand, he wasn't moving.

"Dad?"

"H-huh?" He lifted his eyes from the paper, slowly, painfully, as if he couldn't believe what he was reading either. "Y-yeah?"

Something was wrong. My dad never stuttered.

"What is it?" I asked, my expression turning dire.

"I-it's nothing," he said, all together too quickly.

I held out my hand. "Let me see the file, Dad. Here, you look over this one."

"I—" He swallowed thickly, like his throat was too dry to swallow anything. "I'd really rather not."

My eyebrows furrowed, I said, "Dad, I need to see it. I need to know what we're up against."

He let out a shaky, nervous breath.

"You're right." He handed me the paper, and I gave him mine. "Just—don't panic, Natsu, son. Please, don't panic and do something stupid."

"Why would I? Why would I, Dad?" What's got you so scared?

He only gestured for me to read the file.

So I did.

My eyes first trailed to the man's picture. He looked the same, perhaps a few years younger, but the same. He had the same shaggy black hair, the same menacing red eyes, the same wicked smirk.

Then I looked at his name.

I stared at it, and stared, stared, stared some more. It wasn't computing. I was seeing something. It wasn't right. It couldn't be happening. Why was it happening?

I read his name one last time and nearly ripped the paper in two.

Zeref Dragneel

I don't know what I think of this chapter. I like the ending, but I feel like the chapter itself didn't flow all that well.

I'd love to know what you all think!

Special thanks to everyone that's stuck with me as I write this story! It means so much to me that you'd keep reading it.

I hope to write another chapter by the end of Spring Break since this one was so short, but no promises.

'Til next time!

-AlphaDemon

Review Responses (to the guest reviewers):

Kiaway - You're welcome!

LushyHeartfilia - Thank you so much! I'm so happy to be someone's favorite author! :3

Charlie Mercury - I promise I will make more! Thank you!

Guest - Thank you! And I changed her last name back to Ashley. Thanks for letting me know about the mistake!

Guest - I'll finish it, I promise! And yes they do!

Nalu4ever - You're close about who they are! They're actually mercenary-type people that he hired a long time ago, and now they have a new job. Thanks for reading and your wonderful review!

Author's Note Review Responses:

Guest - I'll make more! I'm so happy you like it!

LucyHeartfilia - I'm so sorry, A was just easier for me, but I'll try to post chapter 14 soon!

Aliciaplatypus - I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Take care!