AN: The long-awaited next chapter.


With that pep talk, Cana finally turned around with a chuckle and damn near busted open the door. "Heya ladies, come join me for a drink as we get to know the new member of Tartaros!"

'Oh boy,' Lucy blanched. Today was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

.oOo.

To say Lucy was blind-sighted the moment Cana dragged her into the room and announced unceremoniously who she was, would be an understatement.

The first thing she noticed after she was forced inside was the large bar to her front decorated in manicured marble and accentuated with moody lighting. The expanse of which highlighted a seemingly endless stock of spirits and liquors. There was a warm fireplace going brightly to one side with velvet lounges and chairs, and on the other side was a man-made waterfall shining in the same warm umber colors as the bar making the water splash to gold. This room seemed more sophisticated and private than the other part of the building, giving off the vibe of a much higher class.

However, as beautiful as the room was, it was the women that sat mingling within it that were even more so. Least to say, it was extremely intimidating when the room full of impeccable faces synchronously turned towards her sloppy arrival.

After an extended moment to stare that bordered on becoming rude, Lucy felt her mind start to divert down a path of ways she could escape to avoid facing further embarrassment. She was close to making the final decision to skedaddle when a pretty girl, maybe a couple of years younger than herself, with scarlet eyes and wavy pink hair tied into a high ponytail became the first of the group to come up to her. She wore a short red dress that showed off her toned legs and stylish black boots.

Stalling a few steps behind her was an elegant dark-haired woman that had equally as shockingly hued scarlet eyes yet hers seemed more piercing and calculating than the younger girl's. She wore a white fitted turtleneck crop top and low-riding blue jeans, and yet she made such a simple outfit seem refined and expensive.

Despite the pink-haired girl being the first to make her move, the older woman was the first to speak, she not waiting a moment to outpour queries. "So you're Natsu's new girl huh?" Her eyes never strayed once from Lucy's as she asked her question.

"New?"

"Yeah! She's the Lucy girl! How lucky!" The younger girl answered, tilting her head to the side as if Lucy was an interesting zoo animal. To her she probably was.

"Lucky?"

"Heh, Lucky Lucy, has a ring to it."

Flabbergasted by their quick assumptions of her, Lucy frowned, thinking to herself that she never thought her situation was ever 'lucky'.

"Natsu must really trust you if he brought you to our Headquarters, Lucy-sama." The pink-haired girl giggled, peering closer to the girl and easily making her nervous.

"Just Lucy is fine. A-And what do you mean? This is just a public bar isn't it?" Lucy was smart enough to realize that this place was definitely not just a public bar and by the twinkle in the older woman's eyes, as she turned her head to the blonde slowly, she also wasn't fooled in the least.

"No silly, there's a lot more going on here than rowdy college kids and all the booze they try to drink." The younger girl supplied, giving Lucy an honest smile, mistaking her naivety.

Lucy brushed some of her hair behind her ear before smiling back. "Oh really—?"

"Interesting." The other woman spoke, getting Lucy's full attention. "My name is Ultear and this is Meredy. I am second in command to Jellal Fernandes and Meredy works under me…"

From across the room, Lucy looked up from the two after hearing a woman chuckle. "Interesting indeed, Ultear. So you are the infamous Lucy Heartfilia, huh?"

The blonde's eyes widened, taking in the new woman. She was sitting at the bar with her body halfway turned to force one's gaze to go up the length of her sculpted bare leg, open from the deep slit of her plum-colored dress. The fabric clung sinfully to her hourglass shape, the top part daring to expose her breasts as two strips of fabric crossed her chest and met behind her neck. Her makeup, like her dress, was dark, topped off with equally as dark purple lipstick, and her light green hair fell straight down her back. Lucy couldn't believe her eyes at just how sensual and sexy the woman was.

Lucy looked up from the woman's smirking lips to her heated blue eyes and felt the hairs on her arm stand up and a striking fear hit her chest. As sexy as this woman came across, she seemed equally-no, even more so dangerous.

A long slender arm languished at the woman's side before she picked up a lowball glass from the bar. It held a dark liquid that seemed to glow under the lowlights of the room.

"My name is, Kyoka," her eyes twinkled with delight as her full lips met her drink.

Lucy didn't realize her breath was caught nor the tense stance of Cana and the other two women beside her. The room seemed to heat up as everyone waited for what Kyoka would do next.

"Come, have a drink with us, sweet little Lucy."


"...Jude Heartfilia isn't where he says he is. Not even close."

"Okay...? Why should we care what happens to the old coot, wasn't he the one who killed our leader?" Jackal obnoxiously blurted.

"Idiot." Laxus huffed across from the man. He sat seemingly bored with the conversation already, relaxing back in his seat with his large arms crossed.

"Whatcha say lightning rod?!"

Golden bolts for eyes struck the excited man, rectifying the outburst with the look alone and quickly making him sweat, "I said what I said, you're an idiot." Laxus bared his teeth with his words, getting his point across with every syllable.

"Shut up you two! You should know better than to speak out of turn when your commander is present." Erza spoke from the screen her body was confined in. "And Jackal if you can't understand the magnitude of Jellal's statement, I suggest you leave." She glared heatedly in the man's direction. Even in 2D, the strength of her presence was felt.

Jackal sucked on his teeth, feeling cornered by the pair but trying his darndest to not let it show.

"Now, now Erza, I respect what you said about handling ourselves in a certain manner around our master," Mard Geer started, bowing his head towards Natsu, "However, unless you and Laxus know something everyone else doesn't know, I have to say I also don't understand the concern for the Heartfilia patriarch as well. Much more respectfully, of course." He finished, cutting his eyes down with disdain at Jackal who sat next to him.

"I don't say this often for good reason, but Laxus is right." Gajeel cackled at the far end of the gathered group. "Yer a buncha idiots!"

Jellal rolled his eyes at the ensued onslaught, shuffling his papers as he tried to ignore the up-tempo of arguments that chorused the room as Gajeel continued to laugh on. He chanced a side glance at his boss seeing that throughout all the ruckus he had finished a large sandwich and was now nonchalantly picking his teeth with a toothpick not paying anyone any mind. The man barely seemed to notice one of the servants picking up his plate or refilling his Cognac as he sat lounging with his arm across the head of the chair.

He understood that Natsu already knew about Jude being missing and that he wasn't going to get many surprises from him but he was amazed by how well he was taking everyone's insubordination, although not uncommon for the group, they were taking it a little far. As uptight as Natsu was after his father's passing, he was expecting more fanfare on the topic. Maybe this Heartfilia girl really was calming Natsu down, as Gray said.

Thinking he would have to take control of the group himself, Jellal moved to open his mouth but was stopped coincidentally when Natsu spoke ahead of him.

"Jude Heartfilia had nothing to do with Igneel's death."

The room became deathly silent after that, not even a cough was heard as they watched their leader pull an innocuous toothpick from his mouth and then light it on fire with his lighter. He continued to light it until the wax melted off and it finally held a burn.

Grinning widely at the light, Natsu surprised everyone by flicking the wood behind his back and out of sight.

Jellal felt himself start to sweat. Scratch what he previously thought, the Lucy girl was making him even more insane instead.

"Master Dragneel...what do you mean by that?" Mard Geer hesitated to ask.

A long moment landed on the group as their leader's wide smirk slowly turned to the man making him visibly tense. "Hmm, good question. Jellal would love to explain it to ya! If you all'd just shut the fuck up!"

Everyone in the room blanched.

Jellal sighed, looking up across from his seat on the right side of Natsu to see Gray smirk. The man had been quiet the whole time along with Lamy and Guildarts who weren't big arguers. Instead, Guildarts stayed focused picking his nails and nursing his drink, while Lamy tinkered with some complicated-looking device, giggling to herself, but they both did look up at Natsu's outburst.

Natsu's heavy gaze fell on Jellal and he took that as his cue to finally continue.

Sighing, he started once more. "Natsu is right, Jude himself had nothing to do with the death of Igneel. In fact, he had no idea of anything going on, even his kidnapping, until his death."

A chorus of gasps echoed throughout the room.

"Then…" Erza started.

"Yes, Acnologia headed this," Jellal answered, nodding towards her and causing the woman to curse under her breath.

"Sounds good to me. That just means we put all our focus on that fucker and take him out!" Jackal once again spoke.

"Unfortunately it's not that simple." Jellal sighed, "Much like the late and great Igneel, we assume that Jude Heartfilia is in a similar position. We believe he has been kidnapped and will soon be killed."

Natsu raised a brow at that, hearing what he had suspected so bluntly stated in front of his subordinates. Jellal and he had discussed Jude's recent movement and unknown wellbeing up to this point as suspicious, he even concluded it in his mind that this was the end result, but saying it out loud put a whole nother weight on the situation at hand.

Truthfully, he wasn't even completely certain until this point that Jude had nothing to do with Igneel's death either. It was only due to the serious tone in which Jellal left messages on his phone about today's meeting and the fact that the blue-haired man and the resource team had yielded that they had gathered so much information to back it up that made him let go of his stubborn belief.

He considered what this meant for their moves going forward.

What this meant for...Lucy.

However, his suspicions weren't completely wrong. Natsu was not lazy on such an important matter and little did Jellal and everyone else know, he had done his own research. Since the meeting at the warehouse, he had put in more effort to get down to Jude's true hand in the whole situation. He spoke to some known affiliates of both Jude and José with the most lucrative source coming from Ivan Dreyar.

Ivan was one of Jude's closest business partners and although he hated Natsu, he squealed like a pig when poked hard enough—and boy did he poke hard, with multiple sharpened blades. The information he found out was juicy, so much in fact that he cursed himself for not going to the man sooner. It was thanks to Gray that he even remembered the man, his second in charge once again brought up their past interaction when Ivan cursed José under his breath after Natsu bought Lucy at the club. They made their move a few nights ago, Natsu took Gray on a two-man job to find Ivan's whereabouts, afterward, they told no one. Surprisingly, he wasn't hard to find, nor to corner despite him always talking a good game.

That same night was also when things were still tense and awkward with Lucy and him and they were barely talking. Honestly, his standoffish behavior was partially due to what he found out, he realized he needed the time to wrap his mind around everything.

While Jude didn't have direct knowledge of what would happen to Igneel, nor did he wish his death, he was definitely working with José to take blows at his father. At the time, the promise of gain was so enticing to Jude that he ignored signs of José doing deals with Acnologia, but it quickly hit the fan when he found out Igneel was killed.

Natsu didn't learn much besides that, feeling like there could have been another motive. However, luck wasn't without him that night and Ivan gave up delicious information on José's potential whereabouts tonight. Speaking something of some shipments being carried up to the docks and that the man would be there. He knew he could find out all he needed to know and more after he got his hands on the slimy snake. Natsu took another sip of his drink to hide his grin at the prospects.

Overall, his feelings toward Jude were complicated. Mainly because it involved Lucy. Jude wasn't completely innocent, but he found himself warring with the idea of him truly deserving to die. He still made detrimental moves against his father even after earning his trust, which other men have died for less than.

In the moments he was feeling righteous, a flash of Lucy's face would go through his mind and he'd remember the promise he made to her not to kill her father so long as she was compliant. Natsu wasn't the one holding Jude hostage, but he felt guilty at the thought of not caring if he died.

These were his thoughts the whole time he and Lucy weren't talking. A wave of anxiety would fill him as he questioned his resolve on both sides of the fence, even if Jude was behind everything. Would he still want him to die? Or would he feel remorse at the thought of Lucy going through the same thing he did?

"Jude's death may not seem too important to you all, but—Lamy," Lamy cheesed at Jellal, sending him a peace sign with a giggle before pushing a large button on the device she was tinkering with.

Instantly the floor-to-ceiling window blacked out, black panels cascading down its front until the room was pitch black. Not a second went by in the darkness before the window turned into a large monitor and the lamps around the room startled on.

"These are the company's assets, their financial holdings, and accrued wealth. Along with which are the smaller businesses under Heartfilia Corporations and their shareholders." Numbers flew by on the screen as Jellal stated them, he continued to watch everyone else instead of the screen with confident ease. "And this is the business's total worth." An obscenely large number popped up at the end. He watched as eyes were bugged out and mouths were hung, contrastly, Jellal found himself amused by Natsu's yawning. "With all this being said, I think it's obvious now why Jude being kidnapped is a problem."

"Heartfilia Corp has been second to none for generations until Dragneel Enterprises came along. They have old money and hands in pots you wouldn't believe. If this power went into the wrong hands, even with Dragneel Enterprises somehow staying afloat after the loss of our figurehead, we would be quickly pulled under."

"But we have the Heartfilia girl, don't we? Wasn't that the point of getting her so Natsu would have rights over the company?"

"Not quite…"

Everyone's attention was soon back on the screen as it flashed to another picture. This time, blown up on the large screen was a photo of none other than José Porla.

"When Jellal said Heartfilia wasn't behind Igneel's death, he meant Jude specifically. There were still some dubious parts of the underbelly that had a hand where it shouldn't have been." Gray spoke up for the first time during the meeting, his face frozen with annoyance.

"Correct. This man, José Porla, was working behind Jude's back with Acnologia. He would go between the two, acting as Jude's right hand even while making plans to kill him and take his fortune. We found out this information thanks to Laxus and his group doing stealth and infiltration." Pictures of José walking into Acnologia's notorious bar and a few other of him talking to the gang leader's affiliates. "They followed the man for numerous months since Igneel's untimely death and were able to get this information. "

"Although Jude isn't completely clean in this situation, he still took the money that was obviously being wired over from old execs at our company, he was still a piece of shit bastard. However, he wasn't the one with intentions to get your father killed." Gray spoke once more, his eyes directed at Natsu as he recanted the information they got from Ivan.

"José Porla got something from Jude that will damn us all…" Jellal looked around the table at everyone, "a change of will."

"You can't be serious," Erza spoke.

"Well fuck me sideways," Gajeel sighed.

Gildarts let out a small chortle while pouring himself a new hefty glass. He had been quiet until now, taking it all in, but even he had to react to that one.

"Sorry to cut the tension everyone," Lamy interrupted, standing from her seat, her face suddenly serious. "We've got breaking news.."

The lights dimmed once more as the screen cut on to the news. A woman with short chin-length raven hair stepped onto the scene, her pretty face took on a serious scowl as the headline flashed across the screen, CEO of Heartfilia Corp. Steps Down.

"Unfortunate news today as I've gotten word from my producers that CEO of Heartfilia Corporations, Jude Heartfilia has publicly stated that he is stepping down and formally retiring…"

"What in the fuck...it's happening all over again." Gajeel lamented, taking on the screen with wide eyes.

Natsu clenched his fists, feeling his heart start to race. This still wasn't outside of his assumptions on where he thought Acnologia would be, but his body still reacted anyway. Deep down he realized it was because he felt like he was reliving the situation with his father all over again.

Sighing as the lights went up once more, Jellal looked at his watch reading the time. It was exactly 3 pm. They may already be too late.

Glancing over at Natsu, Jellal took in his serious expression, his lip twitching as he realized Natsu was already looking at him.

"Where are we now?"

Jellal hoped the somber look to his eyes told the man all he needed to know. "Before I show you the last video, I need to tell you how we got it so that you know how we'll beat him."

Natsu nodded, leaning back in his chair.

"After Kyoka finished off Totomaru and Aria, we got rid of their bodies at one of Acnologia's warehouses."

"Were you able to find out anything else from them?"

"Well, after what you did to Totomaru, he was unfortunately out until the next day. Lamy gave me a steroid to inject straight into his heart. It woke him up like intended, but he was delirious. There wasn't much we could get out of him even with Seilah doing hypnotherapy, but he did tell us one thing…"

"And.." Natsu motioned him to continue with raised brows.

Jellal signaled towards Lamy once more and she started up the video.

"He told us about a key player in the plans to take down your father's company. Once we knew who it was, Lamy and her team were able to go through all of their information with a little work and we found everything. It did take time though, only just this morning were all of the files fully downloaded, unfortunately, it left us with little time. We found this video, the videos of your father, Jude's bank statements and routing numbers, his private company codes, even sensitive information pertaining to when Dragneel Enterprises started up. This was no outside man who could trick your father of all people to lend such serious information."

Natsu turned stone cold, his heart already telling him the answer before he could even believe it.

'What do you want, Natsu?'

"I-It's your mother, Natsu," Jellal finally relented as the video started to play, "Juli Vermillion is working with Acnologia."

Before Natsu could even react to the information he was suddenly given, the shifting of information on the screen stilled onto a lone video that quickly played.

Natsu felt his heart seize and his throat tighten. He could tell by the look in Jellal's eyes as the blue-haired man finally glanced up to the screen, that whatever it was wasn't good.

"Hello, Lucy."

Feeling a chill go down his spine that threatened to shoot his subconscious back to that day, to that time when he learned of his father's murder, Natsu willed himself to look up at the screen and see it again with his own eyes.

There standing in front of the camera was Acnologia, his sharp grin taking up the expanse of his face as he stared into the lens.

Behind him was none other than Jude Heartfilia.


"So Lucy, what brings you to us?" Kyoka quickly questioned once the blonde warily took her seat at the bar. Despite Lucy putting a polite distance between herself and the woman it still felt like they were too close and Kyoka gazed at her as if she could see everything that she would want to hide. During this time as the intimidating woman looked her over, Cana had swept behind the bar to start anxiously mixing Lucy a drink. She could tell by the brunette's uncharacteristic silence that even she was nervous.

"Hmm?" Kyoka intoned, her bright blue eyes peering over the girl dangerously, "Don't tell me Dragneel-sama forced you to get babysat as he discussed business."

Lucy bit her lip, not noticing the twinkle that it brought to the other woman's gaze. "Well.." She was too focused on the thought that that was exactly the reason why she was brought here, to answer quickly.

"Thank you," Lucy distracted herself for a moment with the pink concoction Cana slid over to her thanking the woman not only for the drink but for more time to think up an answer. So on edge, she forgot to turn down the alcohol due to not being old enough to drink it. Either way, she didn't think Cana would care much that she was a minor.

The drink seemed fruity and sweet based on the color, realizing that Cana was able to quickly guess her tastes. Having tried little else besides wine, Lucy wasn't sure what she'd like but sweet was definitely a place to start, however at this moment, anxious and being stared down by a frightening woman, Lucy couldn't help but wish Cana had given her a strong shot instead.

"If I'm being honest, that's probably partially it. However, it would be a lie if I said I wasn't interested in Natsu's other business." Especially with how many people seemed to run in fear from just the name of it.

Kyoka raised a sharp immaculate brow. Pursing her dark painted lips, her face seemed to glow under the warm lights. Lucy once again was taken aback by how beautiful the woman was, her features were entrancing and alluring from her thick long lashes to her full plump lips yet sharp from her high cheekbones and piercing eyes. She was like a viper, pretty to look at but be careful because within a second it could be ready to poison you with a bite.

"Do you truly know who Natsu Dragneel is? How he owns all of this? All of us?" Kyoka gestured around the impeccable room and the women who resided in it. Lucy saw the other women's faces again, Meredy, Ultear, Cana… their expressions ranging from emotionless to slightly concerned. It was then she noted another pretty girl with long dark hair she had yet to meet in the corner next to the fireplace, her eyes focused completely on her book.

When put to the forefront, Lucy did have to put to scale just how powerful Natsu was, there was no question each woman in the room had an aura of power to them, they were not ones to easily be tamed and yet Natsu accomplished just that. It made Lucy remember how the bustling-shoulder-to-shoulder bar was easily parted by the pink-haired man when they made their entrance, all without Natsu having to blink, along with every other moment the man seemed to flex his reach. Lucy never really thought about it, used to powerful men in her life just like her father, so it made sense why she wasn't so easily impressed. However, now that Kyoka brought it to her attention, Natsu was definitely on another level.

"He's a billionaire," Lucy replied simply, a slight shrug at her shoulders. "Igneel ruled this city with only my father as competition. They're known for their seedy business practices that got them ahead." The blonde reasoned, twirling her black straw in the fluorescent-colored drink, and pointedly ignored Kyoka's gaze.

Kyoka chuckled, admiring her childish behavior. Patronizingly going along with her route of conversation, "And do you know just what kind of seedy business it is that Natsu runs?"

"I have a deep hatred towards your father for what he did, but I've decided to get back at him the unconventional way and not kill him."

Lucy remembered the way he threatened her father with death, how he threatened anyone that got in his way with violence. Of course, she knew he wasn't working on the side of the law, she wasn't an idiot. But unlike the reaction most would think she should have like concern, she never pushed it because similar questions with her father never ended well. If she ever dared to have made Jude Heartfilia feel chastised or interrogated, her punishment would have been fierce but not swift. Probably multiple days holed up in her room without release with access only to the average meals per day or a beating that left her bedridden for just as long. Lucy was resourceful and quick, she learned early what to and what not to say around her father, so during a time that Natsu and he had more similarities than differences she was never inclined to question him.

A Psychologist could do a study on her and they would probably be mesmerized, she thought self-deprecatingly.

"No, what does he do?" Lucy finally sipped her drink, noticing at her side that Cana was throwing back shots of her own and felt her palette dry at the act of liberation from such a tense conversation. She also took note of Meredy and Ultear calling for Cana to pour them one, while the unmet girl from earlier was still by the fireplace glued to her book, seemingly uninterested.

"Ah," Lucy looked back to Kyoka in time to see her slick gaze go from the tip of the blonde's toes to the last hair above her head. Her blue eyes bated longer at the hike in Lucy's short dress and the low bust at her top. Both areas slightly showed the love bites and bruises Natsu left on her body. The girl easily flushed at the memory. "I'm sure we both know that he is not a pure man…"

Lucy felt her stomach clench. A pure man would not teach her the things that he did, she agreed.

"For one, Dragneel-sama is the boss of the largest contraband pushing gang in Magnolia." Kyoka relented after taking a sip from her drink.

That garnered the attention of the ebony-haired girl in the corner as she quickly lifted her head to their conversation.

"He has killed, robbed-"

"Kyoka-sama, should you be telling her this?" The girl interrupted, her soft feminine voice heard for the first time.

"It's fine Seilah-"

"Bu-" Kyoka gave the girl the most wicked look Lucy had ever seen. It caused the girl to freeze and quickly shut up. And although the older woman's gaze wasn't directed her way, even Lucy felt a cold pierce down her spine that felt like sharp cold nails jabbed through the tendons.

Continuing once more, with an elegant swivel of her head back to Lucy that had the girl jumping in her seat, Kyoka finished. "He has destroyed the lives of countless men." She deadpanned. "Dragneel-sama is a master in his craft, humbled only by his late father. The way he tortures a man, with his eyes soulless and devoid is an art. The name of his dynasty leaves fear in everyone's heart...he's more than powerful, he's...delicious." She finished with a smirk. She didn't blink as her ocean eyes continued to stare Lucy down throughout her speech.

"Sounds like a billionaire to me." Lucy quipped instead of giving in, ignoring the quiet giggles and chuckles from the other girls at her derisive comment. Instead, she focused on the harsh sound of air coming through her straw that announced her drink was done. With large round eyes looking up to the brunette still behind the bar, she watched as Cana winked back before getting ready to remake the sweet alcohol again.

"Cute," Kyoka finished off her drink as well, her tone noticeably tight.

With a skill that impressed Lucy, Cana used one hand to shake Lucy's drink within the mixer and moved the other to repour Kyoka's drink.

"I like you," Kyoka said, garnering Lucy's attention once more. The affirmation surprised the girl and caused her to hiccup. The alcohol flowing through her made her rethink a second drink, but she wasn't going to say anything against more liquid courage.

"I've been trying to conquer Dragneel-sama since I joined Tartoros." Lucy's brow twitched, "And while I will not stop trying-even if you marry him and have his children, I can see why he likes you so much, probably even love."

Lucy choked, 'L-Lo-what?' That's it, this woman was insane.

"But that's not all you have to worry about."

"W-what do you mean?" Lucy didn't feel like her eyes could blink any wider.

Kyoka slowly and seductively stood from her seat, once again showing off her killer body and curves. Lucy was so amazed that she didn't realize when the woman had grown closer until she was leaning over the smaller girl.

"I won't just be coming after Natsu." She whispered, her beautiful face looming over the other girl's. Her eyes were bright and playful yet struck a fear in Lucy she couldn't compare. Kyoka's lips twisted up and showed her pearly whites almost threateningly.

"I-I have to go to the ladies' room," Lucy finally spoke, sliding out of her seat on unsteady footing then quickly scrambled towards the door.

She was surprised when Cana didn't follow right behind her but noted Ultear asking for another drink as evidence to why she was slow to the girl's escape.

Lucy felt appreciation that she could find a moment of peace after such an overwhelming day. First waking up to a vulnerable Natsu that caused her to have remarkable feelings of which she wasn't ready to digest, then those feelings being dragged away when he acted like a mammoth and almost killed a man in front of her, to now being talked to like she was prey by a scary seductive woman. She knew she had to get out of there as she quickly snuck out of the door and down the hall before the brunette could catch up.

Letting herself sigh and acquaint with the less tense surroundings of the hallway, Lucy hiccuped once more and quickly realized how much the one drink actually affected her. While not drunk, she could feel the effects and noted in her head that she was most likely a lightweight. It was a good thing that at that moment she'd left because she could positively feel the weight in her bladder.

After walking down the hall for a couple of minutes, and turning right at its junction, Lucy was somehow able to find a bathroom. Lest to say, its opulence reflected the rest of the building. However, it was finding her way back to the room with all of the girls that she found she had a problem.

Thankfully, releasing her bladder had sobered Lucy up a bit more as well so she was able to focus more on her location, but the welcome was moot because everything looked the same. It was at the end of another hallway that she decided to leave her luck to chance like she did with the bathroom and pushed open a random door into a room.

There, in all his glory, she saw her father.


AN: So this may be kind of a mean cliffhanger, I'm sorry for that, but it is a vital turning point in the story so I had to do it. Hopefully, I'll finish up with this next chapter sooner than later despite my track record LOL. Anyways, I always have a lot more to say here in hindsight, but in order to not ramble I'll just finish off by saying I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I know it's a little info-dumpy and filler-ish, but no matter how much I wish I made this story more PWP instead, I, unfortunately, gave it a complex plot vetoing even the idea of back to back lemons. Don't worry though, I've been in the mood to write it so we will soon be back to our heavily programmed smut soon.

In the meantime, tell me what you guys think about the added layers to the story. What do you think will happen next, etc? Your guys' reviews are what motivate me, honestly, even if I don't always reply. I essentially write for myself but life has a way of sidetracking my hobbies and a nice little review always helps me refocus.

And there I go rambling again...