TRIGGER WARNINGS: Torture (not too in depth), physical violence

Hiya! You were expecting it, and now it's here.

Chapter 17, but not just that. You probably guessed from the warnings, so I won't say too much to spoil it now. Just proceed with caution

Happy reading!

Though they both had Saturday off, they had to work Sunday and Monday. The night before, they had finally sat together to discuss Lucy's cost of living there. Now that school was over, it only seemed fair. She offered to pay extra to make up for all that he had spent for her, but he argued he didn't want her to worry about it. She decided she'd work on it anyway. Today, he was working, but she wasn't. Then they had the Wednesday and Thursday off and were on for the weekend.

As she usually did, Lucy unlocked the chain on the door in the hour before Natsu would finish work. Then, she got a text from him saying he would be heading back pretty soon. Though it was already 11PM, Lucy decided to wait for him. After all, they could both sleep in the next day. Her episode was finished before Natsu returned, which was very unusual. He often jogged back when he was alone, so for the trip to take more than twenty some minutes was odd. But maybe he chose to walk, so she put the next one on. He had to shower before they'd settle to watch a few Nine-Nine. But that episode also ended without Natsu showing up. She stood up to go check the window, but from their floor, she couldn't make out any of the faces in the street. None of them seemed to be heading to their building. Had he gone to the store? It was past midnight!

She tried to call him, but the call went straight to voicemail. Feeling her anxiety growing, she called at work. Maybe he got caught up helping with a situation above his pay grade.

"Hi, it's Lucy calling," she said when Laki answered. "Is Natsu still here by any chance?"

"Natsu? No, he left an hour and a half ago." Lucy felt anguish settle in her limbs. "What's up?"

"He hasn't…" Laki didn't know they lived together, she remembered. "He was supposed to swing by, he hasn't showed up yet."

"He probably forgot, have you tried calling him?"

"Yeah, it went straight to voicemail."

"Maybe his phone died. Don't you guys live in the same building? Just go knock on his door."

"Yeah, I'll try that. See you Friday."

"See you then!" Lucy hung up, her heart pounding. She didn't want to worry Laki too much. She texted Mavis to ask if she had heard anything and got an automated response. 'Working right now, I'll get back to you when I can!' She had to find Zeref on Facebook to send him a message, but he didn't reply and hadn't been online for two hours. Lucy realized that it was past midnight on a weekday. Of course, Zeref would be sleeping.

She rushed to her room to grab her computer – she had disabled the localisation service on it until she'd transferred all of her data on a cloud, then formatted the thing and Natsu had set it up under his account so that her father wouldn't be able to hack into it – frantically finding a news website, looking for anything in their area that could have delayed him, but there was nothing saved for a car accident that wasn't anywhere near the way home. She still looked into it, but it had been a distracted driver rear-ending another car at a stop light.

She kept Happy close to her for comfort as she looked at all the websites she could find and even turned on the radio. Even though it was almost 1AM, she considered calling Cana to come with her to try and find him. Just then, her screen lit up with Natsu's name and she answered it in a rush.

"Natsu! Where are you, is everything okay? I was worried."

"Ain't that sweet…" Lucy's blood ran cold. This wasn't Natsu. She looked at the screen again. No doubt, it was his number.

"Who is this?" she asked. "How did you get his phone?"

"We haven't just got his phone," the voice chuckled darkly. A moment later, a loud scream came through the speaker and Lucy's eyes filled with tears. Even over the scratchy speaker, there was no mistaking Natsu's voice.

"Please don't hurt him!" There was a low, dangerous laugh.

"Too late for that, honey. But I'll cut you a deal. For five hundred thousand, we'll return him in one piece."

"Five… hundred… thousand?" she repeated. "I don't have that sort of money!"

"We know who you are, Lucy Heartfilia. This should be fairly…"

"Don't do it, Luce!" Natsu's voice yelled in the distance. "Don't worry about me!" A moment later, he screamed in pain again and it ended too abruptly for Lucy's liking.

"What a loudmouth," the man groaned. "We trust that you can find the funds. If you can't make it or if you call the cop, he's dead. You have until 10AM." The line cut before she could say anything and she stumbled back, falling on her bed. Her hands were shaking so much she could barely see the screen through her tears. It took her longer than it should have, but she managed to call Cana.

"Lucy? Do you know…" Cana fell silent, hearing Lucy's shaky breath over the phone. "Lu? Talk to me, Lucy!"

"N-Natsu…" she hiccupped.

"What about him? Did he hurt you?"

"N-no… He-he… he's g-gone…"

"What do you mean, he's gone?" She could hear shuffling through the phone as Cana doubtlessly got dressed.

"He was… t-t-tak-en," Lucy sobbed. Cana paused.

"Natsu was kidnapped?" she asked.

"Y-yes."

"Gimme a sec, I'll get my dad."

"Don't!" Lucy yelped. "They'll…" she started crying, unable to voice it. Cana swore.

"I won't. Hang in there, I'm on my way." Lucy could hear the engine turn over and the call shifted to speaker. "Just stay with me, Lucy. Breathe."

...

By the time Cana reached the building, Lucy was calmer. Cana had barely pulled up to the curb that she hopped in the car.

"Where to?"

"Hospital," Lucy declared. Cana drove off toward the hospital, glancing as Lucy grabbed her phone.

"Why the hospital?" she asked. "Is he there?"

"No. I need to see Mavis. She works there."

"Alright."

"Cana, I need you to do something else for me."

"Of course. Anything."

"After you drop me off at the hospital, take my phone with you. Go to your dad or someone you trust and get it taped. I don't know if they're watching the apartment, so try to get someone to go in as a civilian and keep low profile in there. Then come back to pick me up." Cana glanced her way again as she dropped her phone and keys in the cupholder. Lucy's panic had turned into cold calculation. But then again, Lucy had come from a wealthy family. She had been abducted when she was eight and narrowly escaped another attempt when she was twelve. There was a reason why they had safe words between them.

"How much have they asked for?" she finally asked.

"Five hundred thousand." Cana let out a low whistle, then looked her way for a moment.

"Are you gonna go to your dad?" she asked.

"I need to see if Mavis and Zeref can do it first."

"You think they have that sort of money?"

"I hope." Lucy looked at her friend, her heart racing. She needed to say it. "Cana." Her friend glanced at her again, checked the deserted intersection and turned on a red light. They were almost there. She could see the building. "I don't…" she took a deep breath. "I don't think this is about Natsu."

"What do you mean?"

"Mavis is a doctor. Zeref is the CEO of Etherious Pharmaceutic. They have money. Both of them." Cana nodded, still looking at the road. "If it was about Natsu, they would have called one of them for ransom. Not me." She saw Cana's expression change as she realized what Lucy was saying.

"You really think he'd do that?"

"I hope I'm wrong. But I can't shake the feeling that he's behind this. He probably doesn't know enough about Zeref and Mavis. He would expect me to go to him and accept to give me the money on the condition that I return home."

"What are you going to do?" Cana slowed down in the hospital parking lot. The main entrance was drawing closer.

"When you're back. When my phone is taped. I'll call him. If he tells me that he'll help if I agree to come home, then I'll know for sure."

"Like hell you're going back," Cana growled, stopping by the door.

"I won't." She took a deep, shaky breath, her trembling hands unfastening the seatbelt. Then she opened the door, hesitating. Cana gave her a stern nod.

"I'll be back in two hours top," she assured. "Natsu will be fine." Lucy nodded and stepped out, opening her mouth. "I know what do to," Cana assured. "Go." Lucy nodded and closed the door. Cana hated herself for driving away, calling Gildarts on the speaker phone while Lucy rushed inside to the check in desk.

"Good evening," the receptionist greeted her, taking in her neglected appearance, the shaking of her hands, the paleness of her skin. "Are you okay?"

"Evening," Lucy panted. "I need to see Dr. Mavis Vermillion right away. It's a family emergency." The secretary flipped through a few papers and picked up her phone.

"What's your name, honey?" she asked her.

"Lucy Heartfilia." The receptionist nodded and quickly dialed an extension number.

"Hi, is Dr. Vermillion still there? Yes, thank you." There was a long pause. "Good evening, Doctor," she finally said, and Lucy leaned on the counter with the sudden wave of relief. "There is a young woman here named Lucy Heartfilia who wishes to see you, she said it was… Yes, I'll let her know, thank you." She hung up and looked back at Lucy. "She's heading over here," the receptionist told her. "You should have a seat."

"Thank you." Lucy went to sit, her body shaking too much for her to trust she could stand any longer, but her eyes kept darting to every door, waiting for Mavis. She ran in a few minutes later and Lucy rushed to her.

"Good… Oh my, what happened?" Mavis asked, taking in her appearance. She took her hand, feeling her shaking.

"I need to talk to you somewhere private," Lucy whispered, feeling her throat constrict again.

"Yukino!" Mavis called, and the receptionist quickly appeared to their side. "I need the closest available examination room."

She nodded, ran to her desk, clicked a few buttons, then, "107 is opened."

"Thank you. Come," she added, dragging Lucy along. Lucy sat and Mavis pulled a chair in front of her, quickly looking her over, assessing the symptoms she could see. Lucy looked like she was in shock, but her eyes were surprisingly focussed. "What happened?"

"Natsu," she replied. "He was abducted." A look of horror formed on Mavis's usually composed face. Lucy told her about him running late, then the call she received, her conversation with Cana, her plan and her theory in as few words as she could manage. Mavis listened closely to everything, asked few questions when Lucy skipped over details, then reached for her phone, quickly dialing a number and bringing the phone to her ear.

"I need you to come here as fast as you can," Mavis ordered calmly, without greetings. "No, I'm not hurt. Just hurry." And with that she hung up, her turquoise eyes going to Lucy. "Wait for me." And she quickly left. Lucy let her head hang back, leaning against the wall. She was starting to feel lightheaded and nauseous. Mavis quickly came back with a blanket and wrapped it around Lucy. The warmth of it was soothing. She forced her head off the wall to look at Mavis and saw the water bottle she held. Only then did she realize how parched she was. She accepted it and drank so fast she almost choked. Then she dropped it when Mavis's ringtone startled her.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled, shifting to pick it up.

"Don't worry," Mavis assured, grabbing it for her. "Breathe. I'll go get Zeref." And she hurried off. Lucy couldn't hold her head as she waited and leaned back against the wall, trying to calm herself down. It took a while before they both came back and Lucy had to peel herself off the wall once more.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" Zeref asked, kneeling in front of her chair. Lucy felt her eyes fill with tears again.

"I… I just… I w-want-him to-to co-me ho-me," she struggled to say through sobs. Zeref squeezed her hand in his.

"We can get the money together," he reassured her. "We'll bring him back."

"He-he's h-urt." Zeref tucked her hair behind her ear with a soft touch. In other circumstances, Lucy would have been surprised by his softness.

"Natsu is tough," he pointed out reassuringly. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Can you stand, Lucy?" Mavis asked her softly. She nodded and stood. Zeref took her arm to help support her and they moved to a different room that had a bed. Lucy accepted to sit on it. "You should lay down for a moment," Mavis offered softly.

"I can't," she squealed. "Cana…"

"Cana texted me," Mavis assured. "She said it's taking longer than she expected and she'll call as soon as she's on her way." Lucy didn't question it and accepted to lay down. She was fast asleep, despite her stress. Mavis held her wrist, relieved to feel that her heartbeat was closer too normal.

"Did she really text you?" Zeref asked.

"Yes. She said she got my number from Lucy's phone before she gave it to the police. I told her I'd try to get Lucy to rest a bit." He nodded.

"I'll watch over her," he promised. Mavis leaned in for a brief kiss and stepped out, going to the cafeteria to call Cana.

...

Lucy woke up with a yelp. She had had her usual nightmare, except that when she got to her room, Natsu's lifeless body was on her bed. When she didn't recognize where she was, fear gripped her heart.

"Lucy?" She jumped and saw Zeref sitting next to her bed. Tears spilled on her cheeks when she remembered what was happening.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked, patting down her pockets for her phone before remembering Cana had it.

"Less than an hour," Zeref reassured her. "Do you feel better?"

"I'll be better when Natsu is home," she groaned, sitting up, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed. "Where is Mavis?"

"She stepped out to call Cana, she should be back pretty soon."

"I hope she won't get in trouble because of me."

Zeref chuckled. "She was done at 1AM," he reassured her. "You caught her just before she left." Lucy nodded and Zeref looked at her with concern. "Mavis told me that you think this is about you," he added softly. "I don't know what happened between you and your father, but you don't have to blame yourself for any of this. We don't blame you, and Natsu certainly won't." Lucy wanted to argue, but she knew it to be true. Natsu simply wasn't one to hold grudge.

"I can't help it," she whispered in a small voice. "I… I wish I could say I never would have expected him to do something this rash but… that'd be a lie. I just… I thought he would come for me. I never expected he would hurt Natsu to get to me."

"We still don't know that it's the case," Zeref reminded her. "I know it's easy to believe, but we can't know for sure at the moment."

Mavis came back in at that moment, having changed into her regular clothes. "Are you feeling better?" she asked. Lucy nodded ever so slightly. "Cana should be here in twenty minutes," Mavis answered to her silent question.

"Thank you…" She looked at them, debating with herself for a moment. "I'm sorry, Zeref, but I need to talk to Mavis for a minute."

"Of course," he replied, standing up. "I'll go get us some coffee."

"Thanks, honey," Mavis said before he left. "What is it?" she added, sitting in front of Lucy.

"If I'm right about him being involved… Even if I can't prove it…" she took a shaky breath. "I… I'll press charge against him. For all the abuse… For…" her hands shook. She had to say it. "For raping me," she let out in a small voice. Mavis took her hands in hers.

"It's very honourable of you," she praised softly, "but you don't have to decide on anything right now, Lucy. This is a very stressful time for you."

"But…"

"But," Mavis interrupted, "if that's what you want, I need you to know that you won't have to go through any of it alone."

"Thank you," Lucy whispered, pushing herself off the bed to hug Mavis.

...

Less than an hour later, Lucy was back in the apartment, Cana still with her. Gildarts and one of his colleagues, a tech guy name Hibiki, were already inside, waiting for them. Lucy spoke a few words with them and convinced them to record her call with her father before she made it. She didn't care when Cana pointed out he would get her new number. He answered at the second ring.

"Jude Heartfilia," he replied sternly. Lucy opened her mouth to speak but couldn't make a sound. "Hello? This is hardly the time for a phone prank." Lucy took a deep breath. "Lucy, is that you?" he asked.

"Hello, father," she finally replied.

"It is you! I am so relieved to hear from you."

"I unfortunately don't have time for pleasantries, father," Lucy dropped.

"What's the matter?"

"My friend was taken hostage," she explained, her voice shaking when she remembered Natsu's scream. "I… I need your help." There was a long pause and Cana softly squeezed her hand.

"How much?" he finally asked.

"Five hundred thousand."

"How much time do we have?" Lucy had to glance at the clock. It was 3:45AM.

"About six more hours." Her father was silent for a moment longer.

"Of course, Lucy. After everything, it's the least I can do." Though Lucy didn't care much for his money, since Zeref and Mavis were already working on moving the funds, she forced herself to sound relieved.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Of course, Lucy. Which one of your friends is it? Have you called their parents?" Lucy hesitated for a brief moment, then remembered that her father knew about Natsu now – though he wouldn't know that Gajeel told them about it.

"His name is Natsu," she replied. "He was with me last time I was home." She hesitated a moment more about what to answer to the second question and was glad she hadn't said anything.

"That boy? Lucy, I don't know him. It's a lot of money for…"

"But they're going to kill him!" The upset in her voice was genuine. How could he just pick and choose who to help when he had more than enough means?

"He threatened me in my home, Lucy." Gildarts raised a brow.

"That doesn't sound like him," she argued. What had he said? She couldn't remember. "I don't remember him making any threats."

"He said he wasn't planning to become a cop. We both know what he meant by that." Gildarts eyes shot to Cana. She didn't look his way, though a smile tugged at her lips.

"That doesn't sound like a threat to me," Lucy still argued. She knew what he was doing. In other circumstances, she would have walked away from that argument, but little did Jude know that she was the one leading this dance.

"I'm sorry, Lucy dear, but I…"

"I'm begging you! I'll do anything you want if you help me!" Cana gave her a warning look, but Lucy ignored her. She had to stay in her zone. Had to imagine there was no plan B to save Natsu's life. That was the only way she could convince her father to say it. "Please, Dad," she whispered.

"If I agree to give you the money, would you consider coming back home?" he asked. Lucy's tears were real too. She had hoped she was wrong.

"I… I don't know if I can," she whispered.

"Think about it, Lucy. Just remember I will need at least an hour to get such a large sum together."

"I'll… call you back," she replied.

"Don't forget, the clock is ticking, Lucy." She hung up and turned into Cana's arms, sobbing. She had considered lying and saying they had Levy or Juvia but had reminded herself that lying could be used against her as some sort of extortion.

"He really did it," she whispered.

"I'm sorry, Lucy, but this won't hold in court," Gildarts told her.

"It doesn't need to," Lucy argued, forcing herself away from Cana. "I needed to know for me."

Cana turned Lucy to face her. "We still have a few hours before dawn, you should…" Lucy's phone chirped with a text. She almost dropped the phone when she saw it was from Natsu and opened it in a haste. Cana leaned over and Gildarts looked over their shoulder. Lucy clicked on the attachment and stared as it loaded. She wasn't ready for it. She would never be ready for it. She screamed in horror and dropped her phone, falling to her knees, sobbing. Cana was frozen in shock.

Gildarts took the phone and understood. The boy had to be Natsu. His face, his torso and his arms were covered in bruises and cuts, and his left side was covered with blood that had soaked in his grey pants. The only other thing on the picture, behind Natsu, was a television playing the news channel. "Hibiki, turn on the news." He had it up in a moment. "Go back. There." He compared the frozen frame to the picture. "This was taken a few minutes ago," he assured, showing Hibiki the picture to get his opinion. His breath caught when he took in the damage on Natsu's body.

"It was," he agreed.

"He's hurt," Lucy whispered. "He's hurt so bad…"

"He's pissed too," Hibiki noted. "Not to be insensitive," he added when Gildarts gave him a warning glance, "just look at his eyes."

Lucy forced herself up. Willed herself for the sight to come. She still wasn't ready for the injuries. It took her a moment to find Natsu's eyes. They were burning with rage and promises of pain.

I know some of you were waiting for the other shoe to drop, and there you have it! What did you think of Lucy's resolve? Who do you think took Natsu? Be back next week to find out!

Valerioux: Same! They deserved it :)

CodenameMise: It is pretty bad. Maybe I fall further into stereotype than expected lol

Bookwork129: Glad to see you on board! It's my first time writing a fic with Mavis and Zeref in it, I like the way they are here. As per prom, we had food at the hotel, but the tickets were like $70 CAD, back in 2011. Can't imagine what it'd be now.

Amy's Journal: Glad to see you joining us and enjoying it! I know 2020 feels like it's lasting forever, but I did update last week haha :) Stay tuned for the weekly updates, we're not halfway there yet ^_^