Chapter 20

"Damn it" complained Natsu as he put his hand to his head in frustration. "Another fucking dead end" said Gray. "It should not be this damn difficult" said Erza. Jellal and Lucy just looked at each other. "We've been searching for a fucking month and found nothing!" yelled Natsu. The guys turned when they saw Lucy punch a wall with her fist and look at them with a darkened expression. "Alright..we're going to the gym now" Jellal said authoritative. "Huh?" said Gray and Gajeel. Walking over to them, Erza and Jellal looked them right in their faces. " I know you two aren't blind , look at them" directed Erza as they all looked from afar as they saw Natsu pull Lucy into an one arm hug as she put her arms through his and up his back. Their faces showing anger, frustration..and hint of sadness. Turning their attention back to each other, Erza said "they are two hits away from snapping and going after someone. They are pissed which they should be but they can't let themselves take it out on a innocent person." "Which they are close to doing" Jellal finished. "They have been good up to this point, but their patience and restraint is wearing thin and It's only a matter of time..so we're going to the gym. That's an order" "Yes sir' responded Gajeel and Gray.

"Lucy, Natsu, come on. We're headed where you can let your frustration out" They released from each other hearing Jellal. As they walked over silently, Gray grew very wary as he saw the dark and angry faces they had as they got in the car. "You know what, I think I'm gonna go home for the day guys" Jellal nodded his head understanding. "You sure?" asked Erza. "Ohhhh yeah" assured Gray. "You coming Gajeel, get in now if you are" he said. "Come on you " Gajeel teased. "Your telling me, you want to deal with two pissed off Dragneels and one of them mind you is nicknamed dragon! And watch them explode on you? Hmm?" Gray asked skeptical raising his eyebrows. "On second thought, yeah I think I'll pass too. The feeling those two are giving off right now..that's scary" he said as him and Gray got in the car and sped off. Erza and Jellal watched Natsu and Lucy through the rearview mirror and saw what Gajeel meant. They were silent but their body language told her and Jellal all they needed to know. They were ticking time bombs waiting to go off and they both knew why. Natsu and Lucy had them looking all over Fiore for a whole month and couldn't find anything. Every time they got close , it would turn into nothing and nobody they visited would say anything. Erza watched the disappoint chip away at them slowly. Even Lucy, who had been the hopeful one for a while, she was becoming very angry. Jellal and Erza both knew Natsu and Lucy would never give up looking for their daughter but they were going to spit fire along the way if they kept going they were. They had hope going to the gym might diffuse some of the rage Natsu and Lucy were carrying.

Once they got to the gym, they had the silent Dragneel's put on a pair of gloves and warm up on some punching bags. It worried Erza that she didn't hear anything from them minus a few grunts. She expected them to yell or something, anything to release what they were feeling, "Natsu, Lucy , stop and come over here" said Jellal as the two obediently walked over. "Natsu with Erza, Lucy your with me" Jellal directed as Natsu let out an annoyed sigh and followed Erza while Lucy went with Jellal. They all got into the two fighting rings they had. Putting his hands up, he saw Lucy's fiery expression as he said "come at me" Without a single hesitation, she went right at him surprising him for just a second as he wasn't expecting how aggressive she was coming at him. She landed a hard kick at his side as he grabbed her foot and yanked it but it did not pull her down. "Natsu, I know your angry" Erza said as she dodged a fist that came flying at her. She dropped to the floor avoiding it as Natsu stood there for a moment with his fist out. "You know nothing" he said in a low hostile growl.

"What?" she said. "I said you know nothing..because you don't!" he yelled angrily as he turned towards her and went to kick out her feet as she flung her legs up avoiding his kick. "You have no clue of the hell we are going through right now" "Natsu" "NO" Lucy interrupted "He's right Erza, you can't understand the pain we are experiencing" her voice full of rage. "And why is that?" Jellal asked knowing the answer but he wanted them to get the anger out. "YOU DON'T HAVE A CHILD!" Natsu and Lucy screamed. "So that make's it okay for the way you two have been acting then?" Erza directed them both as Natsu swung at her but Erza lowered and jabbed him in the stomach moving back a couple inches but that was it. " We're angry, I don't give a fuck what anyone else thinks" said Natsu as he took another swing at her . " Lucy, do you feel the same way then?" he asked as she angrily tried to kick at his feet but he skipped around her. "Yess! There is no way anyone can understand unless you're a parent.! I know you two care about her but god damn it you can't imagine" she snapped angrily as she made her way behind Jellal and kicked him in the back sending him to the floor.

Putting her foot on his back. She punched him in the back. "Trying over and over and over!, coming back with nothing every fucking time…IT'S INFURIATING! , OUR CHILD IS OUT THERE SOMEWHERE she screamed as Jellal surprised kicked her sending her to the floor. Getting on top of her, he held her arms down and looked at her. "Lucy" he said with sympathy. "NO, LET ME GO NOW. FUCKING LET ME GO NOW JELLAL!" she pulled her legs to her and kicked at Jellal making him let go as he fell back onto the matt. Erza and Natsu who had been watching turned towards each other as Natsu glared at her as he hopped out of the ring and over to Lucy. "Fight us both, over there on the matts, now" she told them as Jellal got back up on his feet. "You alright?" Erza asked. "Yeah, fine, just sore" he replied as he walked over to Erza to meet the other two. "What the hell are you two doing?" Natsu asked sounding fed up. "You two are going to explode on someone if you don't get what your feeling out" "we'll get it out alright, once we find that fucking woman who stole our daughter" snapped Natsu. "And until then ,what , your going to bottle it up, no we wont let you. You two are not leaving this gym until you get what your feeling out" "Fine!" they said as they launched for them.

Erza and Jellal had their work cut out for them as Natsu and Lucy weren't holding back any punches. They used everything they had been taught and put it to good use. "Natsu, Lucy" "AHHHHHHHHHHHH" they both screamed as they both kept going. "Stop!, your going to kill yourselves if you keep this up" warned Jellal as neither of them seemed to listen. Erza and Jellal then gave each a look and in perfect synch, they pulled a move bringing Natsu and Lucy to the floor. They attempted to get but they were pushed back down. Jellal looked hard at them and said "let it out…NOW!" They looked at him and Erza and shrieked. Their cries were wracked with pain and anger as they got to their knees. Jellal's face softened as he heard them as he let out a relieved breath. Going hoarse, their cries got quieter as they each had their hands out in front of them steadying them. "Natsu" "Lucy" Panting heavily, Lucy said "it hurts" "I know" Erza said softly. "Do you feel any better now?" asked Jellal. They both regretfully nodded their heads as Jellal and Erza held out a hand helping them to stand. Natsu wrapped an arm around Lucy as she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest. "We're sorry" apologized Natsu. "Understood" they replied kindly. " We are just soo..tired of not finding anything" "We've searched all of Fiore Natsu" "Then maybe we stop looking here" said Natsu shocking the other two. "Lucy, what was the name of that damn town Evelyn grew up in?" " I don't think there was a name but maybe once we're out of Fiore, people might know" she said. "I'm done being fucking nice" said Natsu. "It's time to start asking questions" Lucy nodded in agreement as they turned their heads to the other two. "So?, your saying you want to hunt?" Erza asked slightly impressed. "Yes" answered Natsu and Lucy. "Well then..Natsu, you remember that room when you first got here? "You mean the one you wouldn't let me go near, yeah I remember" he said annoyed. "You weren't ready but now you both get to see" Erza said with a slight smile as she walked over to it and pressed numbers into a key pad unlocking it.

Getting their attention, Natsu and Lucy walked over as Erza opened the door and turned on the lights. Their jaws dropped as they saw an arsenal full of guns. "Holy shit" exclaimed Lucy and Natsu as they were completely shocked. "Guns!" "We're a mafia gym, you guys can't really be surprised" said Jellal with humor. "It's not for the public of course, only those we choose specifically get to train with these." Explained Erza "And if we are going to start knocking down doors and not taking no for an answer, your going to need these" said Jellal. "Alright!" said Natsu with a grin on his face. Lucy got a bright smile on hers making Jellal and Erza very happy. "Also, if your going to be our leader for Magnolia , your going to need to know how to use these" said Erza. " I never said I was going for leader guys. I just want my family back" said Natsu. "You may not get a say in the matter, you are the son of one of the big leaders Natsu" said Natsu. Getting a very annoyed look on his face, Natsu said coldly "No one is going to make me do fucking shit. I am going to get my daughter back and after that..then maybe I'll take the position but I'll damned if anyone tells me to do anything" he finished as he grabbed Lucy's hand and had them go get a drink of water.

Erza and Jellal chuckled as they watched them. "Sounds like a leader to me" said Erza. "I agree" replied Jellal. "The one thing that can make a leader is saying they aren't one. Despite him almost flying off the handle, I'm seeing more and more that he could do it" "We need to give him time Erza, he's right about one thing and that Layla needs to come first. This isn't something to push on him. You know as well as I do, to be mafia leader is not easy" "I know but I believe Natsu could do it. It runs in his blood. Despite having that horrible woman for a mother" "we'll see. For now let's get the guns and call Gray and Gajeel." "It might be a good idea to wait until morning, we just got the two of them to calm down, last thing I want is rile that back up again. Besides Gray and Gajeel said they were going home" said Erza. Letting out a breath Jellal said " yeah your right, hey you two, we're headed home for the night. We'll come back first thing in the morning. He saw the disappointed looks on their faces but he also saw Natsu put a hand on Lucy's shoulder calming each of them making him smile. "Nice job Natsu" he thought as he watched Erza close the door and lock it back up. They watched them again and saw a slight change in Natsu's and Lucy's demeanor as they were driving. They weren't as angry anymore and both of them saw hope in their faces when they brought out the guns. "Nice work bringing em out Erza" Jellal said quietly. "well I figured, if things were going to get messy then at least give them the means to do so rather than take it out on somebody innocent." "We're still going to need to watch them. The last thing any of us needs is for one of them aiming it at the wrong person. If we only knew the name of that town. It would make things so much easier" Once they got back, they ate something and showered off then went into their rooms for the night. Laying across Natsu's chest with his arm over her, she loved his warmth and snuggled right into him.

"Natsu?" she said softly. "what's up baby?" "do you think we were too quick to accept the guns?" she gripped at his skin as he gently took her hand and squeezed. "No Luce. I don't. We've done everything right so far. We haven't hurt anyone or wrecked anything. It's time to stop fucking around and get some real answers. It might be brutal, but we have been driven to this. Evelyn should have known it was coming when she took Layla. Having said that, are you going to be alright?" he asked looking down at her. "yes, your right. It's time to stop messing around. It's time to bring our baby dragon home. If she has so much as laid a finger on her, I'm gonna.." she said , her voice getting irate "Ho, ha easy there baby, save that rage for when we find her. Don't need my wife loosing her fire too early" He grabbed her chin and had her look up at him. "you are sexy as hell though when your mad." "I'll remember that when I'm mad at you" Shaking his head, he slightly closed his eyes and in a seductive voice said "shut up and let me kiss you" she didn't fight it as he brought her face to his and the passion she felt in that kiss made her want to stay right there forever.

His tongue asked for permission to enter so she let it as it explored her mouth. She grabbed his cheek and held it there as he had her cheeks in his. He released a couple minutes later as he softly laid kisses upon her neck and started sucking on it making her release quiet moans. He switched to her other side and did the same as her fingers ran through his hair. After a minute, he looked up at her and grinned. "That's it for tonight" he said as he laid back down and brought her back to him. "Hmph, that was a tease Natsu" she whined. "ha, oh baby you know I'll make you wet whenever you want. Just name it. Just tomorrow is going to be big day, don't want to keep us up all night..cause you know once we start…hehehe" "Yes…I know. This is your fault for getting me warmed up" "If you want it that bad…then I'll do this" he said as he danced his fingers down her body and under the sheets. He pulled her to him as he slipped his fingers down and right into her clit. Lucy gasped loudly as Natsu put a hand over her mouth. "Shhhh, no screaming tonight" he whispered in her ear as he went in and out. She grabbed at his hand muffling the sounds he knew she was making, and he loved it. "Damn Luce..guess you weren't joking..your wet already" He started going faster as he watched her face go red as he held his hand over her mouth. He kept going until he saw her eyes roll in bliss and let out a breath. "Did you climax then my love?" he asked teasingly. She nodded her head slowly as he removed his hand from her mouth. "I love you" "I love you too Luce" She turned herself towards him as he wrapped his arms around her. " I can't wait to hold her again" she whispered. "I can't wait either"

Evelyn dropped a plate of food in front Layla as she sat there with her legs pulled up into her chest. "You are just being stupid at this point. Do you think your parent's want you to starve?" "No…they want me home" Layla said coldly. "This is pathetic child, they aren't coming. Just get used to it". "NO, THEY ARE COMING, YOU'LL SEE THEN YOU'LL BE SORRY" she hollered at her. "If they hadn't come now after a month, what makes you think they are still coming" "Because! Mommy doesn't give up and daddy doesn't either. He is going to hurt you when he finds me" "Your mother is the reason your in this mess. If she had listened to me and left when she did, you wouldn't have to be in this room" "Shut up!. You were going to take her away from daddy again. You wanted me and mommy alone…to take away my family" she said getting emotional. "No child, it would have only been your mother, you would've still had your father" "BE QUIET, YOUR LYING YOU MEAN LADY!" she screamed at her. "WE HATE YOU AND WILL NEVER DO WHAT YOU WANT SO YOU CAN FORGET MAKING ME DO WHAT YOU WANT" Evelyn in that moment lost every bit of patience she had as she unlocked Layla's cuffs and threw her over her shoulder while Layla was screaming. She kicked and punched at her. They got to the punishment room where Evelyn threw her to the floor. Emma had come in behind them. "Yes, lady Dragneel?" she said as she looked at the angry child. Pointing a finger at her, Evelyn said through heavy breaths "Make..her…sssscream" as Emma got a wicked grin on her face. Walking toward her, Layla tried to run but Emma grabbed her as she scrambled to get away but couldn't. Emma very quickly threw the shirt up over her head and to the side and tied her hands above her. Layla trembled as she knew what it meant. She looked and glared with Evelyn with hatred in her eyes. " This should be something they might want to hear" Evelyn said to her. She pulled out her phone and started dialing a number as she waited for it to be picked up. Holding Lucy in his arms, Natsu heard his phone go off on the side table. "Who the hell is calling me this early?" he said very sleeply as Lucy heard him and rubbed her eyes. Picking it up without looking at the I.D, he lazily said "hello". "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, DADDDDY!" His eyes went wide as he quickly moved and fell out of the bed. "Natsu!, was that?" Lucy asked fully away now. He nodded his head putting the phone on speaker. "Natsu" "Evelyn, you fucking bitch. Where is Layla?" "Oh you want to know okay" she said pulling the phone away.

"DADDDY ,MMMMOMMYY..AHHHHHHH" she shrieked in pain. "LAYLA!' they both screamed at the phone as Natsu tightened his grip on it to where he wanted to crush it. "LEAVE HER ALONE YOU FUCKING PSYCHO" screamed Lucy" WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER!" screamed Natsu. "Well I'll say this, she's got a rebellious streak like no other. I have tried again and again to persuade her to me" Natsu couldn't help but smile at his daughter for not giving in and staying strong. "This morning, she was nothing but defiant so she is getting her deserved punishment. " DON'T YOU LAY A HAND ON HER" screamed Lucy. "Shut your mouth you damn tramp, you're the reason this is happening. If you had just listened to me" "Don't you fucking dare blame this on Lucy" Natsu said in a low intimidating voice. "You hated Lucy from the start, you would have done all this shit anyway so don't even try and say you wouldn't. Layla!, listen to me baby girl. Your mommy and I are coming for you. Stay strong baby, I promise it won't be much longer" "DADDY!" "I swear we are coming baby girl. Just hang on a little longer. We love you more then anything" "LOVE YOU TOO…AHH" "STOP TORTURING HER!" he screamed at her, his rage boiling. "You shouldn't have said that, your giving her false hope. We know you two will never find us." "Don't be so sure about that" he said confidently as he grinned at Lucy who did it back. "Hmph" "we found your hometown and we're going to get some answers" Silence was there for a moment as Natsu said "Oh , no comeback or retort" "You'll never find anything! About me..or about him" her voice trembled. Natsu grinned as he heard it. "Layla, listen to me baby girl because I know you can hear me. Do not give in this woman, keep doing what your doing. We are so proud of you" "You are?" "Yyyes baby girl, you have done such a great job holding out this long" said Lucy getting emotional. "I love you mmmommy..ddaddy" "We love you too Layla.. take me off speaker you bitch" he said darkly as Evelyn did what he said and held the phone to her ear. "we are coming for you fucking heartless bitch. Keep your eyes open because when you blink very soon, we are going to be there..and I'm going to rip your heart out and turn it to ashes" "Gggood luck with that" she stuttered as Natsu hung up.

Shaking , Lucy with tears in her eyes said "that's our babby ..ssshe's still fighting. " Taking her into his arms, he put a hand to the back of her head and rubbed it. "I know, I know" "We have to ggget her back,now Natsu..we..we" "I know baby. Don't worry. We're as good as having her right now" "Wwhy?" she asked wiping her tears. " …she was afraid. That fucking cold heartless bitch was afraid when I mentioned her hometown. There's something there she doesn't want us to see and I bet you that's where will find the information on where she is." He grabbed her shoulders with a confident smile "Don't worry Lucy. We're bringing our baby home" She threw her arms over him as he had a gentle smile on his face. "Don't cry , it's alright baby" "I ccant hhhhelp it. Sssso happy we're going to bbbring her home" He released her and nodded his head. "Come on . Time to get dressed and let the others know what's going" he said in a positive voice.