I may re-write this chapter

to make it go more smoothly, I'm a little disappointed with

the ending so I may fix that before my next update.

I apologize for my absence-my explanation is in the A/N at the end

Short note-I changed everyone's age slightly

Lucy is 22, Natsu and Gray are 25 and Erza and Jellal are 26,

I felt their age more appropriate like this- even though they are still

Quite young detectives.

I left you guys on a little bit of a cliffhanger last time

I love some of the responses and I'm happy you guys like this.

Enjoy!


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War, War, is what we need-'

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Chapter 6: I'm Scared

~QOoOQ~

There wasn't much Loke could say when Lucy came into his house in the late hours of the night with her paled face. He couldn't properly ask her what was wrong when she had finally settled down with him on the couch, with her head resting on his chest and his hands running through her hair. Loke hadn't a chance to fully comprehend what was going on before his friend had fallen asleep, curled next to him with a blanket wrapped around her small body. He was worried.

When he finally had time to sit and relax, after Lucy had cried herself to sleep, the first thing he had done was call Laxus. Loke reached into his friends pocket and took her phone, typing in the password (her mother's birthday) and dialed her brothers number. "Oh My God! Lucy where the hell are you!? Why did you just leave-"

"Laxus it's not Lucy." The line went silent a moment before he heard a sigh, "Why do you have my sisters phone Leo." He scoffed quietly, eyes darting down to the sleeping beauty next to him, cheeks stained with tears and nose tinted red. "I figured you would be happy to hear that your baby sisters safe here with me." Laxus laughed, "I don't consider her safe until she is at home, in her apartment. Now tell me where she is so I can come get her."

"I don't know about that Laxus," Loke tucked a loose strand of hair behind Lucy's head as he spoke, "She's at my house with me, she's sleeping right now- but, Laxus, she came here crying."

"She did? Do you know why?"

"No, she fell asleep without talking to me; I was hoping you would know." Apparently he hadn't, Lucy had just suddenly left without telling anyone what was wrong. Laxus told him that her partner, which he found out to be Natsu, had said she answered a call for first unit; however, Natsu explained that he thinks the cause of her abrupt departure was because of it. "It worries me, the way she reacted, Natsu said that he face completely drained of color."

"I'm not sure, I'll try and ask her about it however if she doesn't wish to speak I'm not going to try and pry it out of her." He heard Laxus sigh on the other end, "I understand, thank you Leo. I'll come and get her in the morning." Loke hung up and glanced down at the blonde sleeping on him, slightly worried about the stressed look she adorned in her sleep but otherwise said nothing and released a quiet breath of air.

"Leo?" The voice of his fiancé came from behind him, her light steps following soon after, "Is that Lucy-?" Aries looked at her husband's friend with a slight frown marring her gentle features-an expression he found never suited her beautiful face. "-Is she okay? Her face looks quite pale."

"I'm not sure, she came here in hysterics." Aries sat in the chair across from the two, eyeing Lucy warily, "Laxus said that it has something to do with her line of work-though we aren't sure what it involves." His fiancé said nothing, only staring at the young girl pressed against him. He reproached her gently, "You know you don't have to worry, right? We aren't in any danger."

"I'm just worried Leo-you were once apart of all this and seeing how badly Lucy is suffering even in her sleep-" She stopped herself and swallowed, Loke quietly listening to her worry. "-My God she's only twenty-two Leo, she should be making arrangements with friends or traveling-not crying herself to sleep out of fear for her life."

"You know she chose her career-and she's one of the best in her unit." He smiled slightly and stroked his friends hair, "As for me there is nothing to fret over Aries- I quit so we could have a peaceful life after marriage."

"I know, I know you did Leo but I cannot help but worry-" She stopped herself, her voice shaking as tears gathered in her eyes, " You had a lot of enemies- and Lord if anything were to happen to you-"

"C'mere," He beckoned her over to sit beside him, she was quick to move, her shoulders jerking as she quietly sobbed and he kissed her forehead, an arm wrapped around her for comfort. "You needn't worry Aries, no one is coming here-"

"But how can you know-how can you know for sure."

"I cannot, but Aries-please trust me." She said nothing but her crying ceased into quiet sniffles and he sighed. "You know I love you right?" And when she nodded he smiled and shook her slightly, "Go on up to bed-ill be up in a minute." He watched her go up the stairs before gently moving Lucy from his side and lying her down. Loke grabbed a nearby blanket and spread it across her small frame.

"Loke?" He paused, turned toward her and stared at her brown eyes. "I'm sorry for worrying you and showing up unexpectedly this late." He smiled wryly and sat on the edge of the couch beside her, grasping her hand in his own, flinch slightly at the coolness of it.

"You know I don't mind Lucy," she smiled at his words and looked slightly relieved-perhaps she had worried whether he was mad at her, though he could never be. "Did something happen, you were so panicked when you came here." She stayed silent. "Is there something you can't tell me?"

"Not necessarily," She hesitated, "The case is just developing quite quickly and I'm worried more people will get injured in the process as we take our time decoding the map." He didn't bother to ask about what she was referring to-he knew it was confidential.

"You're hiding something from me." He accused and she denied it quickly. "Lucy how long have I know you for? I know when you're keeping something from em and if it's something that is going to put your life in immediate danger I would like to know so I can help you."

"Loke you can't help me with this-It's far greater than the both of us," The exhaustion in her voice was beginning to show but he said nothing on the topic. "Besides, I'm not going to drag you back into this shit with me-I wouldn't do that Aries."

His face twisted with worry as he attempted to understand what she was telling him, "…Is the situation that bad that you can't tell anyone."

"I don't want anyone getting hurt Loke."

"And what about you huh!?" His tone rose and he was desperately trying to control his anger, "Do you think that your brothers or I want you to get hurt? And what about that partner you have? How do you think he would feel losing his co-worker?"

"Loke this is bigger than you," She repeated again, her voice becoming forceful, "You can't help me and I beg you not to do so anyway." He couldn't believe her-he understood where she was coming from (he would feel the same if he were still doing that line of work) however if this was as big as she was imply-she would need to rely on those around her. "Just go to sleep."

He sighed and nodded, giving her a quick hug and heading toward the stairs, "Don't think I've dropped this quite yet Lucy. We'll talk more in the morning." Lights went off and he left his friend in a deafening silence.

'Thank you for coming to get me Natsu," His partner spoke quietly, her voice weak and a hint of resignation hung within it. Natsu had to hold back a grimace; it was worrying to see his usually strong and guarded partner so drained as she was now. He swallowed thickly and nodded, he didn't know how to respond-he didn't know how to approach his partner while she was in such a vulnerable state of mind. "I mean it-I just didn't really know where to go."

"You couldn't go back to your apartment?"

"No, if I did I would have to speak with one of my brothers and I'm not willing to explain anything to them right about now."

"What about the twins you were taking care of?"

"I left them with Cana, my brother's wife, for a sleepover. I'm in no shape to take care of them at the moment." He nodded.

"Is there a reason you won't tell your brothers about that phone call?"

"Why do you assume it's the phone call?"

"Come on Luce, I may be oblivious to some things but I'm not an idiot-I saw the way you reacted to that call." They stopped at a red light and he turned to her. "Now is there a reason why you can't tell anyone about this?"

"…I don't want anyone I care about involved in this, Natsu." She sighed and leaned her head against the cool window of the car door. "This isn't some simple amateur criminal, this is someone much bigger than Jackal."

He began to drive again, one hand on the wheel and the other running through his hair. "Then why not tell me. You don't want anyone you care about getting hurt, right? So tell me."

"Natsu I can't."

"You can Lucy." He glanced over at her before boldly grabbing her hand and holding it within his own. She was shaking, terrified of what he was asking of her and he knew but he wouldn't let his partner deal with it on her own-especially if it was something more terrifying than jackal. He pulled into the driveway of his apartment and gently turned her face to his, eyes locking with one another. "I don't want you shouldering something like this on your own, Lucy, please tell me." When she didn't respond he added, "you can trust me Luce."

It wasn't until they both had walked through the door to Natsu's apartment did Lucy say a word more. She was shaking in her spot on the couch, and she looked about ready to dash out of the room but he crouched in front of her-holding both her hands in his and reassured her he was there. "I wasn't always like this-so stubborn and cold, even now it's really a bluff."

"I'm assuming you've heard rumors around HQ about me? About how my mother was murdered and I was left as a warning? They weren't lying, that's how it was." She laughed bitterly. "I even remember that damn song she would sing to me during thunderstorms to get me to sleep, I shouldn't have gone to bed that night but I did."

"I woke up a little while after falling asleep, the rain was still pouring down and it was dark out, I had heard noises downstairs-my mother's voice along with another mans, it wasn't uncommon for her to bring men home, we didn't have much money and she would sneak them in when she thought I was silent. I knew she did it-I may not have understood back then why so many men came and went but she was doing it for me."

Natsu squeezed her hands when she began to shake just a little bit more. He was listening and Lucy almost couldn't believe she was telling this man something that she never wanted to bring to light again. "I thought nothing of it but I went downstairs anyways, I'll save you the details of what I saw, my mother's body lay there in the kitchen with her blood painting the floor red. She had been baking my favorite cookies at the time too-" She laughed, her voice shaking as tears slid down her face. "I hadn't noticed the man standing so close to me while I wept by my mother's body."

"Oh my God, Lucy…"

'his voice-oh God his voice was horrifying, that laugh would haunt my dreams for years later. The sick bastard wanted to play a game. 'It's all a game you see, do you know what freeze tag is little girl?' I told his yes. 'Do you know why I play this game?'I didn't-he explained that disappearance of the stars when sunrise approaches is why, the stars shouldn't be the only ones to disappear- he meant more so the constellations so the month that the constellation of whatever of the twelve Zodiacs were out-he would kill someone with that same sign. He called himself the Zodiac Killer."

"What in the actual fuck." Natsu now sat next to her, pulling Lucy's body closer to him until she was leaning against him. 'I ran from him and hid away in the basement, I was young and small so I could fit through the small spaces. 'I found you little dead body~' He tore my shirt and pressed his blade to my skin. My God there was so much blood! It hurt so god damn much! But I wanted my nightmare to end, I prayed he had killed me and I could join my mother! But I was saved by police officers who were called by my neighbors for a noise complaint."

His arms wound tighter around the shaking blonde in his arms, he hadn't known she had actually seen her mother's dead body nor the murderer himself, he couldn't have imagined-the way she became frantic when mentioning the blood chilled him to the bone. "Natsu…" Her voice was unstable and she seemed to curl more into him. "That phone call that I got-"

"Oh Lord no Lucy-"

"He's found me Natsu."

"Now she's falling down, down, down~"


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'-Steal your money and free our greed.'

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ALaViola: So firstly I would like to apologize for my extended absence, this semester
I have university level biology and chemistry as well as AP English so I am overloaded with working-not including when I have dance practices. Along with the fact that I was sick for two weeks-which even caused me to miss 2 of my exams and have a broken blood vessel in my eye from throwing up so much (TMI but oh well). Not a very good excuse but mind you, I have been exhausted-I can barely stay awake when I get home from school and then I have homework and almost all of my classes every night.
I really missed writing this story and Hell's Gate the most and berated myself
when I didn't try to write anything for any of my stories it's quite late so I
apologize if the chapter isn't well written and again I'm sorry for being gone for so long
without writing an A/N about it, believe me it was not planned.
Thank you so much for reading!

Love it? Hate it? Review!