A/N: Hooray! 21! My favorite number!
First off, sorry last chapter was so gruesome. Weird how my story took a total 180 with its atmosphere in the course of three chapters. I honestly didn't expect it to get so gorey. Jasper was originally meant to be a snarky, sly OC, so really I'm not sure how she developed into a sadistic psychopath with a love of causing people pain and suffering.
I'm sure you all are curious about who it was that saved Lucy, but…
I'm going to be a jerk and am not going to reveal who it was until the next chapter.
Sorry.
Happy Halloween everyone!
Enjoy :)
…
Natsu's POV:
...
When Natsu and Gajeel let Levy look at the flag, they didn't get any good news. They did get a name to go with the symbol, but it's a name that behind it has a reputation of being almost impossible to track.
The emblem on the flag left by the people who kidnapped Lucy was of the dark guild Blood Eagle. Blood Eagle was headed by a man named Jupus Thuning and specialized in "retrievals". In other words, they were professional kidnappers. Anyone that anyone wanted captured called up Blood Eagle and the people taken by Blood Eagle are never found.
Alive that is.
According to Levy's records, that Salamander guy who tried to kidnap Lucy the first time was a high ranking member of Blood Eagle. His actual name was "Bora", but he went by a different name every time he took a job.
But one thing bothered Natsu.
Who hired Blood Eagle to kidnap Lucy?
Since Levy revealed who it was that was behind Lucy's kidnapping, Natsu had been pacing around the store while the rain poured outside. In his hand was Lucy's headband. It had been washed clean of her scent, but for some strange reason Natsu felt desperate to hang onto it. Like if he kept the headband in his hand that it would keep Lucy alive somehow.
A heavy hand clasped onto Natsu's shoulder, stopping him mid-pace. The pinkette's head snapped up to face the blood red eyes of Gajeel Redfox.
"What do you want iron breath?" Natsu asked, dully.
"Quit pacin' Natsu. Keep that up and you'll wear a ditch in Levy's floor."
Natsu twitched. "You said my name. You didn't call me 'Salamander'."
"Yeah, well now that I know the meaning y'ah see behind that name, I decided ta stop callin' y'ah that." Gajeel said, flashing his crocodile smile at Natsu, (A/N: Side note. Was there ever a time where Gajeel called Natsu by his actual name and not "Salamander"? Because I don't think there was.) "What's got y'ah so antsy anyway?"
"Lucy's in serious trouble and here we are sittin' here waiting out a storm." Natsu growled, "Why won't I be antsy?"
"I have to agree with Gajeel." Lily said, hopping on the tabletop, "Pacing around the store isn't going to bring Ms. Lucy back any faster. I can understand your concern, but we have to approach this with extreme caution."
"We're all worried about Lu-chan, Natsu." Levy chipped in, "But Blood Eagle is a guild full of people who are professionals at kidnapping. If we aren't careful, they'll disappear without a trace and we'll never find her."
"But the question is, what did they want Ms. Lucy for in the first place?" Lily mused.
Gajeel turned to Natsu, "Sala-er, Natsu, where was that Bora guy headin' the first time Bunny Girl got snagged?"
Natsu crossed his arms and shrugged. "We got the guy on a train. It was stopping at a few places so it's hard to tell where exactly he was takin' her."
"Natsu, what was the train's final destination?" Levy asked, pulling out a map and spreading it on the table.
Natsu tapped his chin in thought. That was a while ago and the name didn't really stick in his head.
"We don't have all day Natsu." Gajeel muttered sourly.
"I'm thinking! It's not a name I remember well!"
"Y'ah think you'd remember the name of the town your girlfriend was bein' hauled off to against 'er will!" the half-Iron Dragon said, getting up in Natsu's face.
"I was more concerned with turning that Bora guy into a lump a charcoal! So sorry I don't remember the name of the town!"
Tension continued to simmer between the two half-dragons, each one gearing up for a fight. That is until...
"Solid Script: Rain!"
...a letteral rain cloud poofed into existence above them and ice cold water dumped on their heads. Natsu quickly jumped back, away from Gajeel in an attempt to avoid the rain dump. To no anvil unfortunately. The water dumped on both of them, plastering their gravity defying hair flat to their heads.
Neither one of them was exceptionally happy with being wet again. Especially Gajeel.
"What'd y'ah do that for Shrimp!?" he demanded.
Lily offered an answer with a disapproving headshake. "Honestly Gajeel. You and Natsu need to stop picking fights with one another."
"You guys got way out of line." Levy said firmly, "I'm not going to tolerate you two tearing up my store."
Natsu and Gajeel grunted under their breath and shook themselves like dogs, sending water droplets in every direction. Levy threw her hands up in front of her face to protect herself from the spray.
"Hey! What are you two? Dogs? Don't shake yourselves off like that!" Levy protested.
"Technically, we are animals." Gajeel said, running a hand through his hair.
"Our dad's are dragons after all." Natsu agreed, wringing out his scarf, which also had gotten soaked.
"True, but your dads are dragons not dogs." Lily said.
"Butt out Lily!" Gajeel shouted.
The half-Iron Dragon soon eventually got into a shouting match with the ebony cat, leaving Levy and Natsu to watch. Levy sighed and looked looked at Natsu with an expression that clearly read: "can you believe that this man in my boyfriend?".
Natsu simply shrugged, but then resumed trying to figure out what the name of the city was. Until a bit of potentially useful information came to mind.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, "I remember something!"
Gajeel paused his argument with Lily and looked up at the half-Fire Dragon.
"What is it?"
"The name starts with a 'K'!"
Gajeel face-palmed, Lily sighed, and Levy sweat-dropped, all three staring at Natsu with the same expression. Natsu didn't really understand why they were like this. A letter is better than nothing, right?
"Natsu. There are hundreds of cities with names that start with 'K'." Levy said.
"But Erza said that it was mainly just housing for tourists and servants." Natsu protested, adding on to what he said earlier.
The petite bluenette stared at Natsu in surprise.
"That actually narrows it down significantly." she said, rushing back to her map and running a finger over it as if tracing something, "Ah ha!"
"What'd y'ah find Shrimp?" Gajeel asked, walking up behind Levy so he could see the map over her head.
"Konzern."
Natsu perked up at the sound of the name, the memories of what events transpired before the train could reach that city making Natsu's blood run ice cold.
"That's it. That's the name of the last stop on the train Salamander was taking."
"Konzern, huh?" Gajeel muttered, "Now what would a slime ball like Bora be doin' headin' for the Heartfillia estate?"
"Unless, his client was there." Levy suggested, "Blood Eagle was usually hired by people who wanted to get someone back and the heiress to the Heartfillia fortune disappeared a year ago without a trace."
"A year ago? Ain't that around the time y'ah told me y'ah met Bunny Girl?" Gajeel asked.
"Yeah it was...Oh my gods." Levy muttered.
"What?" Natsu asked.
"Lucy...she's got to be the missing heiress." Levy said, shock written on her face, "I-It makes sense. I mean, wh-why else would Blood Eagle be hired to kidnap her?"
Natsu stared at Levy for a moment, processing the words the Solid Script mage just said. The more he thought about it, the less sense it made. Lucy, a noble's daughter? Natsu couldn't see that at all. She acted nothing like a noble. She was loud, clumsy, showy, and...and….well….kind. Lucy acted with kindness and understanding towards everyone that they'd met together. Nothing like what Natsu had heard Jude Heartfillia acted like.
Even a hermit like Natsu knew of the Heartfillia's reputation. Jude Heartfillia was probably one of the most cold-hearted businessmen in all of Fiore, meaning he was not well known for his kindness and compassion.
"Waita minute. If Bunny Girl is the missing heiress, wasn't she gone fora year?" Gajeel asked, crossing his arms, "Why would Mr. Heartfillia want 'er back now?"
Natsu clenched his fist against the table he was leaning on. "I don't know, and I don't care. But if the man that hired Blood Eagle to kidnap Lucy was her father, he's gone way over the line."
Levy nodded sharply in agreement, determination and disapproval written clearly on her pixie-like features.
"If Lucy wanted to go back there, then she would have said something about being a Heartfillia." Levy stated, "And Lucy didn't say or make any indication that she was really Lucy Heartfillia the whole time I knew her. Heck, she didn't even tell me her last name. It was always just 'Lucy'."
The familiar sensation of heat shooting through his body greeted Natsu as his anger towards this man he'd never met grew. His dragon scales were rippling under his skin as the urge to nail that jerk in the jaw with a Fire Dragon's Iron Fist grew.
Natsu growled in frustration and stormed towards the door, "I'm gonna give that guy a pieca my mind. He's forcin' Lucy into something she doesn't want and there's no way I'm lettin' that happen."
"How do y'ah even know this isn't what Bunny Girl wants?" Gajeel asked.
Natsu stopped dead in his tracks.
"Gajeel!" Levy hissed, slapping the tall man on the chest.
Natsu scowled at the floor. "After I beat up Bora, Lucy was crying. She said she was scared that no one was comin' to save her. If that isn't a sign that she didn't wanna go home, I don't know what is."
Natsu could feel Gajeel's eyes burning holes in him for what felt like an eternity until the sound of heavy boots thudding across the wood vibrated through the floorboards until it passed. Natsu could only stare in confusion until Gajeel pushed him aside and opened the door, letting in a blast of cold, wet air.
"Well? What're we waitin' for? Let's go pay Bunny Girl's old man a visit."
Despite both Natsu and Gajeel being closer to the door, Levy was the first out, umbrella in hand and Lily on her shoulder. The sight of Gajeel freaking out was a sight that Natsu couldn't help by snicker at.
"L-Levy! What the heck do y'ah think you're doin'?"
"Lucy's my best friend and if Jude Heartfillia is responsible for her kidnapping, then I'm going to give him a word or two myself."
"Shrimp, this ain't safe." Gajeel assured, a surprising gentleness in his voice, "There's a dark guild involved and they're experts at kidnappin' people. I don't want y'ah gettin' involved in that."
"Too late Gajeel." Levy said, firmly, "I got involved when they kidnapped Lucy. I'm coming whether you like it or not."
Gajeel grunted. "Lily, help me out here. Tell 'er it's too dangerous for someone as small as her."
The ebony cat crossed his furry arms, his eyes glinting with apology directed towards the half-Iron Dragon.
"I'm sure that Ms. Levy can handle herself Gajeel. You need to have more faith in your mate."
"Girlfriend." Levy corrected.
The half-Iron Dragon grumbled crossly for a moment. "Fine, but stay close. You're so small I'd lose y'ah in an instant."
Levy scoffed, unconvinced. "We both know that's not true Gajeel."
As Levy and Gajeel were having their lover's conversation, Natsu was growing more and more impatient. Waiting around while his friend was in danger of losing her freedom was not sitting well with the half-Fire Dragon. The urge to run off to the train station, despite the fact he would fall victim to his motion sickness coupled with the pressure of the looming presence of the Ember Moon* was growing by the second.
Finally he couldn't take standing still anymore and pushed his way past Gajeel out of the bookstore and weaved by Levy, heading in the direction of the train station, ignoring the discomfort of being in the downpour once again.
"Oi! Natsu! Where the heck do y'ah think you're goin'?" the half-Iron Dragon called.
"I'm not gonna wait around for y'ah while we're losing time!"
After that, Natsu didn't really care if Gajeel and Levy were following him. He had to hurry before the Ember Moon rose tomorrow night. When he got to the train station, Natsu realized that he would need money to pay for his ticket.
Groaning in annoyance, Natsu remembered he had no money. He had spent all his remaining money on his train ticket to Hajimari and he didn't have time to get a side job.
"Looks like I'm walking." he muttered to himself.
Part of him was glad for that because he wouldn't have to deal with his motion sickness, but the other part of him was really pissed off because the Ember Moon was the next night and half-dragon or not, he wouldn't be able to make it to Konzern in time to avoid that.
Natsu was debating whether or not he could scrap up the money he needed fast enough, until a familiar metallic scent washed over him. The half-Fire Dragon side-stepped just in time to avoid getting a hammer fist on the head, courtesy of a certain half-Iron Dragon.
"Oi Natsu, what the heck do y'ah think you're doin' runnin' off without us?" Gajeel fumed.
Natsu blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
"We're coming whether you like it or not Natsu. Don't forget that Lucy's our friend too." Levy agreed.
"Besides. It doesn't look like you're going to get very far with no money to pay for a ticket." Lily agreed.
Gajeel's expression darkened threateningly.
"How exactly were you plannin' to get to Konzern then?"
Natsu sweat-dropped. "Running?"
"Yer an idiot. Y'ah know that?"
Levy stepped in between the fuming half-dragons, once again preventing a catastrophe for the second time within the span of thirty minutes.
"It's okay Gajeel. I've got enough to get tickets for all of us. There's no need to throw a fit." the petite girl assured.
Gajeel shot a final pointed glare at Natsu before backing off. Levy was true to her word and the group of three (plus one cat) boarded the train. The infernal thing hadn't even started moving and the half-Fire Dragon was already feeling sick, but Gajeel didn't look like he was feeling any better. When Natsu took his seat, he noticed that he was still clutching Lucy's headband. After all this time, he had completely forgotten he was holding it.
The loop of fabric had long since dried off in his hand, revealing the fabric's true color.
A sakura pink.
The same color as his hair. Natsu couldn't help but smile to himself. He knew that Lucy must have gotten this headband long before they had met, but it's still a strange cosmic coincidence. Almost like their meeting was fated.
That could be looking too much into it, because come on. It's a headband. Nothing mystical about it, just a simple headband.
But it was Lucy's headband, and that was enough to make it special to Natsu.
A new spark of determination ignited in his heart as he stared at the headband clutched in his hand.
He would find Lucy and he would free her from her father and he would do whatever it took to do it.
However, these determined words were lost as the half-dragon's motion sickness kicked in as the train started down the tracks.
...
A/N:...This chapter was obviously a filler. I needed to give Natsu this information and get him moving SOMEHOW, cause last I checked Natsu isn't psychic. But mostly a lot of GaLe and Natsu, Gajeel, and Levy now know that Lucy is the missing heiress to the Heartfillia fortune. Sorry I'm such a jerk and didn't reveal who it was that saved Lucy. I was planning on doing it this chapter, but then this whole thing with Natsu got so long that I've moved it to next chapter.
I WILL do it next chapter, promise.
One more thing. The Ember Moon.
I know none of you know what that is because it's an astronomical event that I made up just for this story. IT IS NOT A REAL THING. In this story, the Ember Moon is essentially an extended Blood Moon, but instead of looking blood red, it looks like the moon is on fire. The moon will be present all throughout the next day, because it will be visible with its distinct flame color until the sunsets. What the significance of this event is to Natsu, I'm not going to say yet, but it will be VERY significant later on.
See y'ah lovely people next chapter :)