Chapter Four: Shadows and Flames
The world seemed to have almost paused or moved at a very slow pace at least. The thundering sound of her own heartbeat slicing through the conversation around her. Lucy slowly raised her hand to her chest as an attempt to quieten the sound of fear and panic arising through her. After what felt like many painful minutes, her heartbeat seemed to calm when her fingers lightly grazed the golden key hung loosely around her neck, encasing her in a sense of warmth and comfort. Slowly, Lucy shifted her golden orbed eyes towards the man that had only recently awoken.
His strong build had taken up the entirety of the doorway in which he was leaning against, his tall frame almost reaching the height of the door frame, taking him close to six feet. His salmon hair flared out loosely around his firm face, randomly sticking out in different directions. A layer of stubble covered his strong jawline, clear from the lack of shaving whilst in hospital, but not so much that it wasn't attractive. Lucy's breath hitched as she stared at his onyx eyes through her own thick lashes, realizing his own were piercing back at her with a mixture of both calculation and unsureness. Lucy broke eye-contact and her gaze to travel down his figure. He had changed from the pale blue hospital gown that hid his toned and rugged build, into a white skin-tight shirt (which was clearly too small for him) and a pair of black trousers, topped with blue sneakers. She eyed the peculiar scarf wrapped around his neck and hung against his shoulders which had been made form some type of snakeskin. The quivering feeling of familiarity crept back through her, and the sudden awareness of her situation re-sparked her nervousness and panic. In an instant, she removed her gaze from the self-proclaimed fiancé and back to the full cup of brown liquid – coffee- that had gone cold.
"This seems like quite an interesting development since we had awoken yesterday… Lucy" a strong voice, demanded the blonde's attention, and with a quick glance to the right, she met eyes with a scarlet haired lady. 'Erza' she recalled. The red-haired woman seemed to have come to terms with the situation that had recently presented itself and faced it with a head-strong attitude. Lucy admired her courage and positive outlook, it was something she had struggled to understand herself, which had led to many sleepless nights. In a matter of days, Erza had already rallied together the patients in the hospital that were struggling with their new amnesia and making the transition to 'normal' life easier. She even had a job interview for an accounting company lined up in the next week.
"I suppose it is, I'm not quite sure I understand it all… it is a lot to take in at once" Lucy cursed herself for the quavering voice that had left her, with a tone of uncertainty and nervousness laced amongst it. Not only had she just been informed by the pink-haired male still brooding towards her that he was her fiancé, but the man potentially responsible for the bombing incident was locked away only a few doors over from where they sat in the secluded staff meeting room. Hell, he looked like the twin of her fiancé- 'Natsu' she corrected herself internally. A guiltiness bubbled in her chest – the thought of not recalling the person who was your fiancé was heart-breaking for both parties. Although, she still wasn't 100% certain that he was her fiancé, after all – she couldn't remember.
"Well hopefully we can find some more answers soon" Erza nodded to herself before turning her piercing stare towards Natsu. "Can you repeat what you remember? I would like to document it this time" she leaned towards the coffee table situated in front of her, wrapping her hands around the pen and paper and perching herself in a reporter-like position. Natsu let out a huff of his breath and pushed off the frame, before sauntering over to the chair opposite of the blonde. He watched her with a calculating gaze, almost like he was trying not scare off his prey, before meeting the eyes of red head.
"Look, there isn't a whole lot to go on, I remember smoke- a lot of red and black smoke, and the ash, it was thick and had an almost chemical-taste to it. I remember…" he looked lost in thought for a moment, before shaking his head "I remember some type of silhouette running ahead of me and black hair with red eyes… That's why they think it's that guy being locked up, but I already said I don't know for sure". Natsu finished his sentence with a bored shrug and leaned back into his chair, taking a magazine from the side table, and flicking through it with the same bored atmosphere before looking back up once more. "Plus, I remember Lucy… I remember the day I proposed to her… a day before the accident – but unfortunately you don't remember that" he huffed and went back to his magazine, a depressing atmosphere blanketing him obviously.
The guiltiness continued to bubble in Lucy's chest, and she slowly placed the coffee cup down onto the glass table. She slowly stood up and straightened out the clothes she neglected to change from before arriving at the hospital. She held a hand towards Natsu whilst Erza continued to scribble things down in a messy fashion. Natsu peered up slightly, with a cocked brow and glanced between the hand and Lucy's face. "Give me the phone they gave you, I'll put my number in it and we can talk more, see if we can't bring out the memories". At this suggestion, the pink-haired man lit up with a bright grin, one that made her stomach flip with metaphorical butterflies and a deep, familiar desire. He carefully plopped the device in his hand, and she beeped in the numbers along with her name. "Click this green envelope button to message me, and this green phone-semi circle looking button to call me. I won't pick up between 8am and 3pm on a weekday, but I will try and answer when I can". She handed the cell phone back to Natsu, before bidding her good-byes and heading out the back door from the hospital. Lucy was exhausted and really did not feel like dealing with the reporters crowding along the front.
"First a fiancé, then the supposed terrorist..." she murmured to herself once she was in the safety of her Mazda sedan. With a deep breath, a click of the seatbelt and a firm clasp of the steering wheel, Lucy sailed down the road to her apartment for a much-needed sleep.
The last few weeks had flown by at a quickened pace, each day with new events unfolding. A new person had awoken the coma each day, each with the same condition, total amnesia with everything but their name. At this rate, there were only a select few who had still not awoken, but this number was slowly reaching below ten. With the large amount of people awakening, Lucy had decided to rent out a small office-like area a couple of streets from her apartment – to act as a safe place for those who were awakening to mingle and try to recall any of the memories that had been stolen from the bombing. With the rising amount of news reporters, and the survival of the attack plastered along every billboard, television and paper, their awakening had caused quite a large amount of commotion. Every few days packages would be delivered to the building with small gifts and donations of food, clothing, and other household items, while the hospitals had built a fundraiser to help furnish the place. In no time, the building was a comfortable hang-out zone.
A quick glance at the watch hurried Lucy along as she packed the small pink handbag with her wallet, headphones, phone and keys. She rushed out the door with a quick lock of the keys and spared a glance at herself in the mirror. Her long blonde hair had been tied into a ponytail positioned at the low base of her head, secured by a blue ribbon. She had lightly applied her concealer, powder, a quick brush of mascara and swipe of lip gloss. Her petite figure was framed by a white blouse with pink roses patterned around the collar, and a black skirt reaching to her knees, with black canvas shoes to complete the outfit. She nodded and then smiled at herself before moving towards her silver car. The trip to the rented building was quick, and as Lucy pulled into the underground carpark, she spotted a familiar pink-haired man waiting by the doorway. A smile twitched on her lips, and she quickly walked towards Natsu, who had pushed off from his spot against the wall and met her half-way.
"Lucy, you look breathtaking as always" he mused, pulling the small blonde into a hug which she had happily accepted, wrapping her arms around his strong figure. She basked in the strong scent of woodland fire, and a small hum left her throat. The awakenings were not the only things that had occurred over the last few weeks – Natsu and Lucy had been talking daily, mainly Lucy talking about her interests and hobbies, whilst Natsu attentively listened. She felt a strong connection to him, a sense of belonging and trust, with a small hint of unsureness which was pushed down each time she saw him. No, she still didn't remember the love she supposedly had for him, nor the fact that they were married, but she was still happy to try and be friends. He was more than happy to oblige with that.
As they headed into the building, Lucy looked around and admired the small second-home that she had helped create. A wooden bar was positioned at the back near the door to the under-ground carpark, and two white-haired sisters, Lisanna and Mira, had taken up residence in serving drinks – "what natural talent" Lucy remembered saying the first time they offered to help. Sitting at the bar was a brown-haired woman, next to a very large white haired man. Cana and Elfman… Lucy reminded herself. Blue and black leather semi-circular couches scattered the main part of the hall, each with its own wooden table positioned in front of it, and many of the new coma patients were scattered around, engaged in rowdy conversation – some enjoying their drinks whilst others engaged in conversation. At the front of the hall was a small stage, where some of the patients had found talent in musical instruments or singing, or they would host small meetings or comedy sessions. It all depended on the day. Today was a Friday afternoon, which meant Gajeel – one of the newly awakened, was going to put on karaoke night – that was always interesting…
On the far corner of the hall, she made out the small puffs of green, blonde, blue and brown – Fried, Laxus, Bixlow and Evergreen. It wasn't hard to remember their names as they had this threatening aura of 'being better than everyone else' but they were still friendly in their own ways. Sitting on the stairs up to the stage was two blue-haired, petite females engaged in a conversation over a book – Juvia and Levy. Lucy's smile grew, she had recently became good friends with both the girls, however, was able to share her love of books with Levy like a best-friend.
A familiar redhead bobbed up from the small booth near the front of the stage, beckoning Natsu and Lucy over, which they happily did, exchanging a few hellos here and there as they walked. With a quick slip, they were both sinking into the cool material, and conversing with Erza and Gray. A smile and bubbliness crept to Lucy, it all felt so natural conversing with Erza over a slice of cake and watching the two males butt heads with one another and make jokes. It felt like home, and nothing would ruin this sense of hopefulness of finally belonging.
Shadows crept along the white porcelain floor of the hospital room, fighting for dominance against the light. Grunting and hitched huffs filled the almost silent room, louder than the irritable beeping sound of the monitor.
What an irritating sound…
Darkness filled the room, rushing up the walls and ceiling like water until the whiteness was muted. The light flickered and rattled against the bolts in the ceiling before shutting off completely – leaving him in the cold, blackness of his confinements. He tested his theory, attempting to sit up. Leather straps held him to the bed and a vicious snarl erupted from him as he snatched his hands up, breaking the bindings like a toothpick. With a swift movement, he tore the leather straps holding his legs in place and shuffled off the bed with a thump. The shadows welcomed him to the now black floor in a cool tickling, licking at his bare feet with smooth caresses. The blackness of his hair fell into his eyes and panicked bile rose into his chest from the new development.
"Shit". His husky voice came out as a whisper, antagonizing him with the scratch of dehydration. This however was the least of his concerns. Yanking the wires from his body with a deafening line of beeping, he rushed over to the mirror situated on one of the now shadowed walls and took a deep breath before looking. Red eyes pierced back at him through the shaggy cuts of his black hair. Fear enveloped him. His pulse picked up at an alarming rate. The person staring back at him wasn't himself – not the familiar salmon hair and onyx eyes… it was his tormentor, his nightmare, his brother… it was Zeref. Realization dawned over him as he slammed a fist into the glass, flickers of crimson warmth brushing against his knuckles and to the floor.
Pulling back his lips to a deadly snarl, his canines glinting through the small of light peering through the window, Natsu let out a thundering roar before engulfing himself in the shadows of his brothers' magic – spluttering to his command. A door creaked open to his left, and he turned his sharp glare towards the intrusion. Onyx eyes smirked back at him through the tussles of salmon hair – salmon hair that Natsu once called his own.
His own body stared back at him with an atmosphere of victory. "I think it's time you sleep now Natsu, after all, I need my plans to go smoothly, your cute little blonde fiancé is quite the challenge with trust". With a glide of his hand in the air, Natsu felt the corners of his vision blacken.
What was stopping Zeref from getting to Lucy now with him out of the way?