Chapter 6

"My father! That cannot be true!" Lucy gasped, putting a hand to her mouth.

Juvia nodded. "I am sorry Lucy, but there were many records with his name on them. I guess that he lost some money years ago, and Phantom gave him a loan, and one of the conditions was that he was to work with Phantom and help do business with Phantom's business partners." Juvia sent a look of sympathy towards Lucy, and Lucy bit her lip.

"You had no idea about this, Lucy?" Makarov asked, looking at the blonde as well. She shook her head, glancing down at her lap, where she was clenching her hands. "No, I never knew. I.." Lucy paused, unclenching her fists., "I haven't spoken to my father since I was 16. I know that after my mom died, he had a rough time, and would be gone for weeks on end, but I was little and I'm afraid I don't know what he was doing"

Natsu reached over, and gently took her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. Lucy glanced up at the pink haired man and gave him a small smile. Seeing this, Natsu squeezed her hand, but did not let go, leaving their intertwined hands in her lap. The radiating warmth from his hand comforted her, though she had not realized how small her hand was compared to his. His hand practically engulfed her own.

"We will look into it Lucy" Makarov said. At this, Lucy's head shot up. "He's my father, I can ask him" She said seriously, but Makarov shook his head. "No, Lucy. I don't want you involved in this, it's personal, and whenever things get personal, they go wrong". Lucy opened her mouth to speak, but Makarov cut her off. "You will not go near his house, or contact him in any way Lucy, do you understand?" Makarov enunciated firmly, leveling his gaze at Lucy. Lucy clenched her teeth, but nodded. She couldn't fight against Makarov, otherwise she would never be let out of here.

"Natsu, I'm trusting you to keep an eye on her" Makarov said, turning his gaze to him. Natsu nodded, his hand tightening on Lucy's. "Yes, sir. You can count on me" He said, his face set with determination. Lucy huffed. "I can watch out for myself!" She complained. "I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about your rash decisions you always make" Makarov said bluntly. Lucy sunk down in her chair.

"Thank you Juvia, please take it easy and rest up. The information you found out was extremely helpful, and Lucy, even though you disobeyed orders, you saved the life of another Fairy Tail agent, so thank you, and do not worry about the situation with your father, we will handle it" Makarov said, standing up, and handing his stuff to Mirajane.

"Please, get some rest and heal up, all of you" Mirajane said sweetly, coming over to pat Juvia's cheek, and touch Lucy's shoulder. "Thank you" Lucy said, standing up, letting go of Natsu's hand. Natsu went over to say goodbye to Gray, and then came back to put his arm around Lucy.

"Let's get you home" He said softly, leading her out of the room. Lucy sighed, and nodded, her mind whirring with what Juvia had said.

Later that night, Lucy found that Natsu was adamant about keeping his word to Makarov. While she had insisted that she was fine, and he could leave and go home, he refused, saying she still wasn't fully healed and he wanted to keep an eye on her. However, Lucy knew he was going to be making sure she didn't sneak out to go see her father. Natsu was at a disadvantage though, because he was in Lucy's apartment, and she knew it inside and out, and had made a few modifications. As she sat with Plue on her couch, watching Natsu clean up the kitchen, she formulated a plan in her mind. Tonight, when Natsu was sleeping, she would sneak out and go look around her old house. She wasn't going to talk to her dad, because he had no clue that she was a Fairy Tail operative, and after 7 years of no contact with him, Lucy didn't know how her father would take to her being there. When they were younger, Natsu had had this habit of sneaking into her bed during the night, but this Natsu was different, so Lucy was sure he would stay on the couch tonight. To be sure, when Natsu had turned his back, she had put some sleeping pills in his food. They should be kicking in sometime soon, so Lucy was waiting for him to start looking tired, and would go to her bedroom and pretend to be asleep until Natsu was sound asleep.

As if on cue, Lucy heard the pink haired man yawn loudly. She glanced up, and saw him turn off the kitchen light, and come over to the couch.

"Tired?" Lucy asked lightly, keeping her face calm. Natsu laughed, running a hand through his hair, making it into a spiky mess. At this, Lucy bit back a smile. "Yeah, just kind hit me" He said, sitting down close to her.

"I'll let you get some sleep then, I'm pretty tired too. I think an early night is a good call" Lucy said, resisting the urge to try and tame his crazy hair. Natsu, yawning again, nodded. He reached out a hand to brush some of her hair behind her ear. "Are you okay? I know you wanted to be the one to investigate your father, and I'm sure the news was a surprise" He said softly. Natsu's hand stayed by her face, lightly cupping her cheek. Lucy reached up and put her hand over his lightly.

"I haven't been involved in my dad's life since my mom died, nothing surprises me anymore. He changed after she died, he became more secluded and cruel. Thinking on it now, I'm really not surprised at his actions" Natsu nodded, leaning forward, and lightly kissing her forehead.

"Get some sleep, Luce, I'll see you tomorrow" Lucy squeezed his hand, and let go, standing up, and turning to walk to her room. "Good night Natsu" She said softly, turning back to him to give him a small smile. Walking into her room, Lucy started to get ready. Pushing aside the clothes in her closet, she revealed a panel, with a number pad next to it. Typing in the code, the panel opened with a slight whir, revealing a wall that contained her various suits and weapons. Grabbing the black catsuit, Lucy pulled it on, and threw her hair up into a ponytail. She then grabbed a backpack, and began to fill it with the items she thought she would need. She would have to hack into the security system to get into the house, then somehow get in through a vent or an open window. Lucy knew he had guards that patrolled 24/7, so she would also have to find a way to get around them as well. Grimacing, Lucy knew this would be harder than usual, because she could not ask Levy for her help. She had begun to rely on her friend's amazing hacking abilities, but tonight she would have to go without them. And no matter what had happened in the past, Lucy still cared and thought about her father. Maybe she could get a deal with Makarov, so her father's life wouldn't be completely ruined, but she had to know the truth. If he was working with Phantom, Lucy was afraid that it would be impossible to get him free from their web. Once she had packed everything she thought she would need, Lucy grabbed a coat, and pulled it on over her jumpsuit.

Quietly opening the door, Lucy walked as softly as she could to go check on Natsu. Smiling slightly, she finds him sprawled out on her couch, breathing deeply, which meant he was fast asleep. Going back to her room, Lucy stuffed a few pillows under her blanket, so that if Natsu checked, maybe he would think they were her. From her assessment earlier this morning, Natsu had modified her security system, so it would alert him if she opened a window or a door, but he did not know that she had a vent that she hid behind a painting that she could use to get out of her apartment. After pulling the painting off of the wall, Lucy pulled the metal grate off and set it on the floor, and hoisted herself into the dark and dusty vent.

After ten minutes of crawling and navigating herself through the metal shafts, Lucy found herself behind the wheel of her car. Wincing, as she pulled the door shut, Lucy gingerly touched where she had been stabbed. She should have taken some more pain meds before she left, but she didn't want to chance waking Natsu up, since the bottle was still sitting on the kitchen counter. Lucy shook her head, and started the car, and started the twenty minute drive to her father's mansion. There was an old servant's tunnel to the south of the property, which Lucy had discovered and used to run away when she was 16. She doubted that her father had found it, because the tunnel led straight to a secret room that she found in the walls of her bedroom. Her father had stopped coming to her bedroom shortly after her mom had died, choosing to lock himself in his office instead. As the minutes passed, Lucy became more and more anxious, her fingers tapping the steering wheel. She hadn't been home in years, well, her old home. She hadn't thought of it as her home for a long time. After she had run away, she had stayed with Natsu, and his dad, Igneel. That was how she had gotten started on her path to becoming an operative for Fairy Tail, because at the time, Igneel, as well as his friends Metalicana and Grandeeney. But when a mission went wrong, all three had gone missing. All that was found was their blood. Since then, Makarov had taken in her, Natsu, Gajeel, and Grandeeney's newborn, Wendy, in to live at Fairy Tail's academy housing. Wendy was later taken in by another member of Fairy Tail, Porlyusica, who was Grandeeney's sister. From then on, her, Natsu, and Gajeel had been training to become operatives. Natsu had been obsessed with looking for Igneel when he was younger, but he had never found anything. Some hints came up, but they were rare, and always lead to dead ends. And never once during all her years since she ran away, had her father try to contact or find her. Lucy felt tears start to prick at her eyes. Blinking furiously, Lucy tried to calm herself. She couldn't deny that she missed her father, and with Natsu back, it made all those feelings new again. Since her and Natsu had drifted apart, she had been overcome with loneliness. She had already lost two fathers, and then she lost her best friend on top of it. She hoped to make this trip fast, so she could get back before Natsu woke up and noticed that she was gone. While she had been hesitant at first, she was finally getting her best friend back, and she didn't want to risk losing him again.

Coming to a stop sign, Lucy pulled to a stop, and turned left, driving until she found a tiny dirt road, that if someone had not known it was there, it would have been nearly invisible. This was a secret path that lead to her father's mansion. Lucy drove the car into the woods a few feet, making sure the leaves hid the car's presence from anyone on the main road, and got out, grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

The foliage was heavy, but with the moon's bright light, Lucy was able to see enough to accurately make her way towards the entrance to the tunnel. Stepping over roots, and ducking to make it under low hanging branches, Lucy slowly made her way to the entrance. Making sure to check for hidden cameras or other guards, Lucy found herself in front of the tunnel. The tunnel was marked by a small ledge in the forest, the ledge was made by huge rocks, that had never been moved. In between the biggest two rocks, there was a space, where someone small, like herself, could fit through. A grown man could never make it through the space, so it made sense to be an entrance that had been used by servants. The Heartfilia's had been living in the mansion for many generations, and always, had had pretty, young women and girls to be their servants. They could easily fit through the space and could escape the property if need be. However, this tunnel had been forgotten about until Lucy, when she was locked in her room, had accidentally found a loose panel in the floor under the big rug that covered her bedroom. Under the loose panel had been a lever, which when pulled, opened a small door in her closet. From the minute Lucy had found the door, she had begun her escape plan. Her father had taken to locking her in her room, so she couldn't leave or bother him. She also could not see her friends, or go to school anymore, and was forbidden to try and contact them. Her phone, and computer had been taken away. So after a few weeks of sneaking supplies, packing, and exploring the tunnel, Lucy had made a run for it. She had run all night, until she had made it to Natsu's house. Igneel had a house that was around 15 miles outside of Magnolia, so by the time Lucy had made it, she was exhausted, dehydrated, and dirty. Lucy remembered how she barely had the strength to knock on the door before her legs had given out, and she sank to the ground on their doorstep.

Squeezing through the space, Lucy grabbed a flashlight from a pocket on her backpack and clicked it on, starting to venture further into the pitch black tunnel that would take her to her old bedroom. Thankfully, the tunnel looked the same as it had when she had used it the first time, only with more dust and grime. After a while, Lucy came across a wooden ladder that lead to a door. Testing her weight on the first step, Lucy tucked the flashlight into her backpack and started to climb, pushing on the wooden door until it opened, and Lucy was able to pull herself out of the tunnel.

After dusting herself off, Lucy straightened up, and grabbed her flashlight again. Lucy inhaled sharply. To her surprise, her room was exactly the way she remembered it. Her huge four-poster bed in the middle, covered in pink frilly sheets, her bookcase filled with all her favorite books, everything was still there. Lucy walked towards the bookcase, and ran her fingers along the spines of the books, a small smile on her face. As much as she had wanted to take all these books with her, she could only fit so much into her backpack and bag that she had packed. Everything was clean too, there was no dust to be found anywhere, so her father must have chosen to have her room cleaned and kept the way it was. Biting her lip, Lucy pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was a little after eleven, and her father may still be up and working, so Lucy had to be careful. Moving to her desk, Lucy pulled out her laptop from her backpack and set it up. After she plugged it in, Lucy began to type away. Her goal now was to hack into the security feed so she would be able to see all the cameras in the hallways and be able to put them on a loop, so she wouldn't be seen sneaking down the hallways. After a few more clicks, her screen suddenly filled with camera feeds.

"Yes!" Lucy whispered to herself, pulling out her phone and quickly transferring the camera feeds from her computer to her phone. Once they were completely downloaded, Lucy checked to see if anyone was around, but all the hallways looked clear. Her father also did not have a camera installed in his office, but from what she could see, the light was not on, so he must be in bed already.

Lucy closed her computer, and stuffed it back in her backpack, which she slung over her shoulder as she stood up. With her phone in hand, Lucy quietly opened up the door to her old bedroom, and snuck into the hallway. The floor was creaky in spots, so Lucy walked as slowly as she could, checking her phone every few steps to make sure the coast was clear. After a few more turns, Lucy was in front of her father's office. She tried the handle, and found that it was unlocked, so she pushed the door inward, and peeked around the door. She found his office to be dark and empty, so Lucy hurriedly slid inside and locked the door behind her. Clicking on her flashlight, Lucy hurried to the other side of her father's desk, and began to rifle through the papers, but taking care to return them back to their original place. She did not want others getting in trouble for what she was doing. All she was finding on the top of his desk was papers for the Heartfilia's company, nothing that would allude to being affiliated with Phantom Lord. Biting her lip, Lucy moved to try and open the drawers on her father's desk. Flipping her ponytail out of the way, Lucy tugged on the drawers, but found that they were locked. Reaching into her backpack, Lucy pulled out two metal picks, and stuck them into the lock on the front of the wooden drawer.

After a few seconds of maneuvering the picks, the lock clicked, and Lucy pulled it open triumphantly. Pulling the contents out, Lucy shuffled through the papers, until she got to a fat manilla folder. Frowning, Lucy pulled it out, and opened it on the desk.

Inside were papers from a private investigation company. Quickly scanning the documents, Lucy realized that her father had been looking for her. The first date was around three years ago. Though her father had never found her, or anything about her, because her location and name was hidden by Fairy Tail, making it nearly impossible for anyone who wasn't an operative at Fairy Tail to find out anything about her. Lucy felt her lip tremble, and had to blink away the tears that were forming. So her father hadn't forgotten about her, he had tried to find her. Granted, he waited a few years, but all that mattered was that he cared. That was all that Lucy wanted; a father that cared about her and loved her.

Closing the manilla folder, and softly running her hand over the top, Lucy proceeded to shove everything back in the drawer. Pulling out her phone, Lucy quickly scanned the cameras to see if anyone was coming her way. Flipping through the different feeds, Lucy hummed to herself, until one made her gasp and throw her hand over her face. In the video, her father was being dragged down the hallway by two burly men. Lucy couldn't move as she watched a servant rush forward, only to be shot point blank by one of the men. Lucy cried out, and suddenly she was moving. Throwing the door open, Lucy grabbed a gun from the holster she had strapped to her waist, and sprinted down the hallways.

Gritting her teeth, Lucy turned another corner, and ran down the main staircase, into the foyer. Glancing at her phone, the men had taken her father to a room to the right of the foyer, and had tied him up to a chair. Jumping down the last few stairs, Lucy ran to the room, and kicked the door in.

"Stop!" She yelled, pointing her gun at the men in the room.

"Lucy!?" She heard her father gasp. She slid her gaze over him, and blanched. One of the men had a gun to his head. The other one had also pulled out his gun and pointed it at Lucy. Lucy opened her mouth to say something, but the third man turned around, with a wicked grin on his face.

"Hello Lucy. Welcome home"

I am so sorry it took so long to update! It was a combination of writer's block and work. I had a busy few weeks and I barely had even half an hour to work on this chapter so I couldn't get my ideas into words, but I finally did it! I hope you guys enjoy, and I will try my best to get back on track with my updates. Enjoy :)

-Sonchia