PART I – Resolution
Chapter XXII – The Ice Queen
"You think my first instinct is to protect you. Because you're small, or a girl, or a Stiff. But you're wrong."
He leans his face close to mine and wraps his fingers around my chin. His hand smells like metal. When was the last time he held a gun, or a knife? My skin tingles at the point of contact, like he's transmitting electricity through his skin.
"My first instinct is to push you until you break, just to see how hard I have to press." he says, his fingers squeezing at the word break. My body tenses at the edge in his voice, so I am coiled as tight as a spring, and I forget to breathe.
His dark eyes lifting to mine, he adds, "But I resist it."
"Why..." I swallow hard. "Why is that your first instinct?"
"Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up. I've seen it. It's fascinating." He releases me but doesn't pull away, his hand grazing my jaw, my neck. "Sometimes I just want to see it again. Want to see you awake."
― Veronica Roth, Divergent
Advice: since it's been a while since the last update, you should read the previous chapter to be sure to understand everything (not that this one will be especially hard to follow).
Night of Lucy's first day at the Academy.
Makarov's office was much louder than usual considering the late hour, but it was no usual day either. The general was sitting at his desk when his grandson, Laxus, and his most trusted officer, Gildarts, all but kicked his door open and barged in.
"It's really her," Laxus groaned. "Did she become stupid during the time she was missing? Luc Heartfilia? She's lucky that the Academy's mostly under our control..."
"The girl has guts," Gildarts agreed. "Reminds me of her mother."
Makarov smiled fondly at this. He obviously remembered Layla very clearly as well. A knock on the door interrupted their conversation and Makarov nodded at Laxus, who went to open the door with a hand on the handle of his gun. A pink haired very agitated commander practically jumped inside.
"Gramps, it's really her," Natsu pointed a finger at the door as if the girl herself was there. "What do we do, now? Why the hell did she come here? Is she a complete idiot or what?"
The old man raised both hands in a reassuring gesture and called for the men's attention.
"Gentlemen, please calm down," he demanded. "Lucy's obviously here to try and find a way to get Jude out of the Pandemonium." He paused for a second to let them understand the obvious truth. "She's trying to get into the Elite Squad to be sent as a guard there."
The old man saw Natsu clench his fists and shake his head. He looked terrified.
"We can't let her do that," he stated. "I'll do anything to stop her."
Makarov himself still vividly remembered the night Erza called him after Natsu broke into the Pandemonium. He managed to open Jude's cell and was about to run away with him when he was shot. He miraculously managed to run away from his assailants, but collapsed before he was out of the secret building. Someone then dragged him out of there and left him in Erza's hands. When Makarov saw him, he had blood all over his body and terrible wounds.
"I agree," Gildarts said, "now that we've found her, we have to protect her."
"It would be more accurate to say that she was the one who found us," Laxus sniggered.
"You're all right," Makarov stated. "This girl is precious in many ways. We can't let her go to the Pandemonium, but we can't kick her out either."
"We have to tell Ultear," Laxus said. "Her return changes everything for us."
Makarov nodded slowly. It indeed did.
"Wait," Natsu protested. "She just came back from God knows where, we can't just tell her to join our fight all of a sudden."
"Obviously," Gildarts agreed. "We don't know if she's still on our side."
The commander frowned and turned confused eyes at the older man.
"What? That's not what I..."
"I know it's not what you meant," Gildarts interrupted him. "We can't let ourselves get too emotional just yet."
The young man contracted his jaw and glared at Gildarts.
"We're not talking about anybody here," he growled. "This is Lucy. Our Lucy. I've... we've been searching everywhere for her for so many years I lost the count."
"Which is exactly why we have to be careful," Laxus countered.
"Don't misunderstand us," Gildarts tried to appease the visibly furious commander, "we're all very happy to see that she's doing well, but..."
"Happy that she's doing well?" Natsu interrupted him. "You're happy? I still can't sleep at night, you know? When I'm awake, I think about the night I lost her, when I sleep, I have nightmares about that night. You're happy that she's doing well? That's awesome, really. As for me, I'm literally freaking out because she's currently quietly sleeping in her bedroom as if nothing happened. She didn't even recognize any of us!"
"Nats..."
"Don't tell me to calm down," the commander roared. "Who the hell would be calm in this situation!? We have to talk to her! We have to hear directly from her what happened after that night!"
A short moment of silence ensued before the general spoke again.
"We will," he assured. "But you said it yourself, she went through a lot. Let's give her some time to adjust to this new environment and see how much she's changed while she was away from us. In the meantime, you'll have to keep an eye on her. When we all feel ready, we'll have a talk with her. Is that okay with you, Natsu?"
Reluctantly, the commander nodded.
"Good," Makarov smiled. "Jude's daughter finally came back to us, we have to approach the situation wisely. After all, she's the daughter of one of the Resistance leaders."
oOo
"Tell him I forgive him..."
Lucy cracked an eye open and groaned in annoyance, trying to fall back asleep. She couldn't remember the dream she had, but she still felt merry from it and was pretty sure that she'd rather watch the continuation of it than wake up. She snuggled up in bed and buried her nose in the warm bolster, sighing in satisfaction when she was engulfed back in the comfortable warmth of the blankets. She vaguely noticed that the bolster was a bit hard, but she felt too comfortable to be bothered by such an insignificant detail. She froze when she felt the bolster tense and gulp underneath her body.
Slowly, the young woman got out of her daze and raised her head. Her tired eyes fell on the tanned skin of broad shoulders and worked their way up the strong neck to reach the contracted jaw. She frowned when the commander offered her a small, embarrassed smile. She was lying on him, right? And he was shirtless for some reason... She rubbed her eyes and yawned, her memories from the night before slowly coming back to her. It had been so long since she had last shared a bed with someone that she had forgotten that she tended to cuddle the others when she did.
Trying not to show how much she relished the feel of his naked skin underneath her hands, Lucy slowly pushed herself off him. When she moved, she realized that she had wrapped her leg around Natsu's and blushed madly when she felt something hard brush against the skin of her thigh. The commander averted his eyes as she got off his body and coughed awkwardly as he stood up.
"I'm going to the bathroom," he said. "Make yourself at home."
She nodded and thanked him with a small smile she hoped looked as natural as possible. She relaxed when the door of the bathroom closed behind him and stretched her back, realizing only then that the commander wasn't the only one who had lost an item of clothing. She still had her tank top, but her pajama bottoms were nowhere to be seen. She had slept in her panties, lying on a half naked commander. If possible, she blushed even more. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and shook her head, trying to fight her laughter. No wonder the commander ran to the bathroom as soon as he was free.
Sighing, the young woman jumped to her feet and walked around the small bedroom, searching for the missing pajama bottoms. She looked around the bed, behind the door, around the wardrobe and the chest of drawers: nothing. She frowned in confusion. The small room had a window, but she wouldn't have thrown them out... would she? Just to be sure, she also opened the window to look outside and sighed in relief when she was sure that she hadn't thrown her pajama bottoms out. Lucy realized that she hadn't looked under the bed yet and immediately got on all fours and bent down to do just that. The door of the bathroom opened at this very moment and they both froze when the commander entered the room. A minute of utterly embarrassed silence passed by before the commander cleared his throat and walked out of the room, heading for the living room.
"I'll make breakfast," he told her, his voice hoarse.
"Ok..."
The pajama bottoms really were under the bed.
After a quick shower, Lucy joined Natsu in the living room. He was sitting on the couch, eating cereals while watching the news on the TV. Not really understanding why, her eyes were attracted to the tight black shirt he was wearing. She felt like she had seen it before, but couldn't remember when or where. The commander always wore old clothes during training, she would have remembered him doing pushups in that shirt... He glanced at her over his shoulder when he heard her and greeted her with a quick nod before focusing back on the TV.
"Good morning. Your plate's on the counter, the juice's in the fridge."
A nice kitchen open to the living room occupied the back of the apartment and was separated from the rest of it by a high marble counter. He had overcooked scrambled eggs that would easily feed four people and prepared at least six toasts for her. She smiled softly and grabbed her plate and a glass of orange juice before coming to sit beside him on the couch.
"How's your head?" she asked, munching on a toast.
He clenched his fist around his spoon and glared at the TV.
"It's just a scratch," he assured. "What about you? Erza called me when you were in the shower. She said you had a hard time while I was unconscious..."
His eyes fell to her bandaged hand and she hid it behind her plate, shrugging. Erza insisted that she needed to have it treated properly, but Lucy assured her that she trusted her. It didn't even hurt that much anymore. She took the time to take a sip of her orange juice so her voice wouldn't betray her real feeling when she answered.
"Not really," she said, trying very hard not to remember too vividly the rough hands and the disgusting tongue of her assailant. "Don't worry about it, nothing serious happened."
Before going to sleep the night before, she had spent almost twenty minutes brushing her teeth and washing her mouth. The humiliation of knowing that she had had to let him do that to her was much more painful than her bruises. The commander's distant gaze as he looked out the window didn't go unnoticed, but she decided to keep silent and let the subject of conversation change naturally.
"Nothing serious..." the commander breathed.
Lucy frowned and turned her eyes to him, worried about the tone of his voice. Before she could say anything, someone knocked at the door. The young man hesitated and, for a very brief instant, looked at her with an expression she didn't understand. He stood up and walked to the door. Lucy stared at his back with confused eyes.
"What took you so long?" Erza growled when he opened the door.
"It took me less than thirty seconds to get the door," he retorted.
"I know," she said. "I counted."
"Of course..."
From her spot on the couch, Lucy heard another familiar voice.
"Move it, dumbass."
She couldn't see him since he was standing behind Erza, but she recognized Gray's voice and smiled at him when Natsu finally let them in.
"Yo, Lucy," he waved at her and smirked. "You look good. Slept well?"
Erza glared at him. Apparently, the doctor had told him that Lucy would have to share the commander's bed. Lucy played innocent.
"Yes, thank you."
Gray's smirk widened when he turned to his cousin.
"What about you? Had a refreshing night?"
Ignoring her friend's insinuation, the doctor turned to the commander and ordered him to sit still while she looked at his wound.
"How are you feeling?" she asked as she wrapped a clean bandage around his head.
"I'm completely fine," he assured, "you don't need to put that on my head. I look like a mummy..."
"Yes, yes," the doctor brushed him off. "How about you, Lucy? How's your hand?"
The young woman shrugged and focused back on the TV, knowing that she wouldn't be able to lie to Erza if she looked at her in the eye.
"Good," she sang. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
The redhead hummed and nodded in satisfaction, walking away from the pouting commander.
"That's good," she said. "I'll still have a quick look. How about the cut on your lip? It was inside, ri... what?"
Lucy had abruptly turned around to send an alarmed look to her friend, eyes wide open. Erza froze and arched a brow. The commander frowned as he got up, walking toward the couch.
"Her lip?" he asked.
Thanks to the many years she had spent lying to practically everyone, Lucy managed to keep a neutral face when she faced him. She shrugged and took another sip of her juice.
"I bit my lip," she lied.
Apparently, Natsu believed her. He sat down next to her on the couch and massaged the back of his neck. Erza thankfully understood the reason of Lucy's lie and kept quiet, rummaging through her bag to get a clean bandage for her hand. Gray slumped into the commander's armchair and laid his chin on his fist.
"Really?" he asked. "I thought it got cut when Dominik kissed you."
Lucy froze, her glass of juice a millimeter away from her mouth.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" her inner voice burst out laughing. "That idiot actually said it! I can't believe it, that's too funny, even for me!"
A moment of absolute silence followed her dumb friend's question and she almost managed to convince herself that her mind had imagined his words.
"The Butcher kissed you?"
The commander's voice was slow and deep, you could literally hear him struggling to keep his composure. Lucy didn't even need to look at him to know that his whole body was tense, she could somehow feel his muscles contract. She gulped, not bothering to glare at Gray since Erza was already doing it. Since Lucy wasn't saying anything, Natsu took a deep breath in and sighed.
"Guys," he called out, addressing Erza and Gray, "can you leave us alone for a moment?"
Lucy caught Erza's worried glance and prayed from the bottom of her heart that the doctor would reject the commander's demand.
"I'd rather not," she hesitated.
"Yeah," Gray agreed, "what's with the heavy atmosphere? You can talk to her in front of us."
The young woman was mentally thanking God for giving her such amazing friends when the commander suddenly got up and turned around. He didn't look angry, but he certainly didn't look relaxed either. He walked to the door and opened it in a very clear invitation for them to get out.
"Don't be stupid," he groaned. "You know very well I won't do anything to her, so get out and let me talk with her in private."
Reluctantly, the doctor and the recruit dragged their feet to the door. Before stepping out of the apartment, Erza warned them that she'd stay right behind the door and would barge in if she heard anything worrisome.
Lucy observed them and used the time she had left to think about what she'd say. She hadn't expected the commander to kick her friends out to talk to her. Why did even do that? Was he going to yell at her? Would it make him even angrier if she explained him that she was only trying to save his life? Why was he even angry!? Everything had turned out alright in the end! When the commander came back to sit on the sofa, Lucy missed the calm look in his eyes and immediately began to ramble.
"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you," she said hurriedly, "it's not like I was trying to hide it from you, it's just that..."
"Lucy..."
"… I didn't know if it was something to talk about. I mean, it's not like..."
"Lucy."
"… it's that serious. Sure, it was disgusting, but it could have been worse! Wait, that's not what I..."
The commander's large hand shot up to cover her mouth and he sighed in weariness. Then, the young woman finally noticed the softness in his eyes. He wasn't angry at her in the slightest. When he was sure she wouldn't talk anymore, he slowly removed his hand, his thumb delicately brushing her bottom lip.
"I was so worried about what would happen to you if you were away from me that I got too confident when you agreed to go back home with me," he confessed. "And you were kidnapped and beaten up under my watch."
His hand slid down to her jaw and his thumb drew small circles on her chin, sending delicious chills down her body. She was so distracted by his ministrations that she couldn't focus enough to formulate a coherent sentence and tell him that he shouldn't blame himself for what happened.
"Did you know that I became your instructor in Bob's place?" he went on. "I kept an eye on you almost all the time, I moved you to my room and I even dragged you to my place. And it still isn't enough. How far will I have to go to make sure that you're safe?"
That last question was obviously rhetorical, but she answered it anyway.
"There's nothing to do," she said. "I'll soon be exposed to dangers be much greater than Dominik. You can't do anything to make sure I'll be safe. The only thing you can do to help me is to stay alive and try not to get hurt. Because I don't think I'd have any strength left to keep fighting if I were to lose you..."
The commander's eyes found hers and she gulped when she saw how moved he looked. He was the only man she knew who could look so innocent and fierce at the same time. The image of a young boy with wild pink hair, smiling at her as they ran into the forest flashed in her mind. She didn't understand how she could have lived all these years without remembering him.
"Well," he gulped, "there's no way I'm losing you ever again either."
He leaned forward and his hand slid to the side to engulf her jaw and the back of her neck. His forehead touched hers and his nose brushed against her own when someone energetically knocked on the door.
"Guys, hurry it!" Gray shouted. "We're gonna be late!"
The commander's jaw contracted and he sighed in annoyance.
"Ignore him," he groaned.
The knocks that followed were much louder and Lucy smiled when she heard the doctor's voice.
"You better not ignore us," she warned. "I'll kick the door down if I have to!"
Lucy saw in the young man's eyes that he was weighing the pros and cons, but he eventually straightened up and kissed her forehead before going to open the door. As she distractedly looked at her friends entering the place, Lucy's mind escaped from this time and place to fly back to the past. Physically, she was sitting on Natsu's couch. Mentally, she was back in the club where she danced with the commander. Her body still remembered the feel of his hands on her skin, her heart still hammered when she thought of how close he had been to kissing her. She blushed and smiled when she realized that he already knew it was her back then.
"Come on," Gray's voice suddenly forcefully dragged her back to reality, "Ultear called me. She said she'll skin us if we're late and you know she's serious."
"I'd like to see that," Erza countered.
Gray rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Alright, Erza will survive," he corrected, "and probably Lucy. But the both of us are definitely going to die."
Gray's dramatic prayers didn't fall on deaf ears. Erza drove them to the suburbs and even reached the rural area within twenty minutes, where they found a large forsaken hangar. Erza parked the car among the trees to hide it from the road and the small group climbed down.
As they approached the gloomy building, Lucy swallowed and started sending cautious glances all around her. She felt like the main character in a horror movie walking straight to the monster's nest, carrying bacon slices in her hands. Or, better yet, like that badass archaeologist in the video games: Lara Croft. Erza noticed how tensed her younger friend was and started explaining a few things to help her relax.
"The general and his closest officers won't be here," she said, "because the Octagon's keeping a close eye on them. We'll have to attend the meeting in their stead, ask as many questions as we can and register as many information as possible."
"We're going to work as their secretaries, but we won't get paid," Gray summarized.
From up close, you could see several motorbikes hidden behind large corrugated metal sheets and rusty iron beams. Lucy started hearing faint voices from inside, but Erza's voice soon covered them again.
"From what I've heard," she went on, ignoring Gray's sassy remark, "Ultear's got a lead on who's Kyoka's spy. She's planning to use him to counter attack and possibly conduct a raid on the Pandemonium. We're also going to discuss Ivan's case, seems like he's not behaving himself even after having been sent to the front. Several sentries reported an unusual stirring near the..."
Lucy wasn't proud to admit it, but the truth was that she was a selfish human being. Ivan's case, the sentries' worrisome reports, none of that mattered to her. The leader of the revolutionary movement was planning to go to war against the Octagon to free her father. Finally, after all these years, Lucy was going to give busting her father out of jail a freaking real shot. She suddenly wasn't nervous or intimidated anymore, she could barely contain her excitement.
"But that's some pretty important move," the commander pondered out loud, "it would mean that someone is in charge of the whole thing."
"And not just anybody," Gray added, "someone who's used to command large units."
Lucy tried not to look completely lost, but she was starting to regret spacing out on her friends while they were having a visibly important conversation.
"Do you know who's our guy, Erza?" Natsu asked.
The doctor averted her eyes and gulped, nervously shaking her head.
"Um... not really," she breathed. "Alright, we're here."
Lucy and her male friends exchanged knowing glances: she so knew. The question was why was she pretending not to know? The redhead pushed open a rusty door that squeaked under the pressure and entered the dark space. Gray entered right after her and the commander followed him. He paused on the threshold and turned to her, holding the door open for her.
"Come on," he called, nodding encouragingly.
She smiled nervously and entered with him. Inside, Erza and Gray were talking with a man dressed in black. Lucy immediately noticed the shotgun in his hands and glanced at the commander. Erza turned to them and told them they'd be frisked before they'd be allowed to meet Ultear and the others.
"It's standard procedure," the doctor assured when Lucy frowned. "Don't worry, we'll be frisked by women."
The guard eyed Lucy appreciatively and winked at her.
"But I'll gladly do it if you're in a hurry," he smirked.
"Keep it in your pants," someone scolded him.
Everybody turned around to look at the newcomer and Lucy opened wide eyes when she recognized the young woman who was smirking at them. Bisca nodded at her and eyed her up and down.
"Nice to see you again," she smiled, "Lucy."
Lucy smiled back and shook her head.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here," she chuckled.
Bisca was done with Lucy in less than a minute and turned to Erza.
"You'll have many more things to be surprised about," she agreed. "Your turn, sweet heart."
Erza didn't react to the nickname and glanced at the boys, who were being checked by the – disappointed – guard. Everybody was soon ready to go and Bisca led them toward another smaller door. She half opened it and grimaced when the rancid scent of the smallest room hit her. She turned to her guests and smirked when she noticed they were either trying to cover their noses or act like they weren't bothered by the smell.
"Sorry," she laughed, "it stinks. Bear with it."
Erza, Gray and Lucy followed Bisca in the smallest room that could use some air freshener. When the blonde recruit didn't feel the commander's presence behind her, she turned around to see him talking in the guard's ear, a hand on his shoulder. The guard's eyes met hers for a brief second before he averted them and nodded at something the commander said. Satisfied, Natsu turned to the door and smiled at Lucy when he noticed she was still here.
"Still scared?" he teased her.
"I'm not scared," she retorted.
The new room was barely lighted by fluorescent tubes that created a strange atmosphere. A large metal table sat in the center of the room, most seats were already taken. Lucy automatically went to sit by Erza, the analysis of the others could wait until she was near her friends. Someone sat on the seat on her left and she wondered if it would make her look like a capricious diva if she asked him to move a bit so the commander could sit next to her. The intruder was a brown haired man sporting a huge smile that made him look like a child. He extended a hand and she politely took it.
"Hi there," he beamed. "I'm Dan. You?"
"Lucy..."
Dan's smile widened even more and he leaned forward a bit so he could look at her straight in the eye, which made her feel very uncomfortable.
"Well, Lucy," he went on, "you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met. You actually remind me of my fiancee! But she left the country without telling me for some reason... So yeah, would you date me?"
Lucy stared at him with wide eyes and wondered if she was supposed to laugh or slap his hand away. She didn't have to worry about it for much longer, though, for the commander suddenly appeared from behind them. He sighed wearily and grabbed Dan by the collar to push him to the side and take his seat next to Lucy.
"What are you doing!?" Dan protested. "You're interfering with our fate!"
"Yes, yes," the commander brushed him off.
He then winked at Lucy and she couldn't help smiling at him before averting her eyes when someone took the seat in front of her. Jellal nodded politely at her before greeting his neighbor with a distracted handshake. Lucy still had difficulties believing he was with them after everything Erza had told her about him. Lucy had never met him before the day he kidnapped Natsu for a weird training session, but she practically knew him like a brother. She knew his favourite color, his age, his full name, the story of his childhood with Erza and a bunch of younger kids. She knew that he enrolled in the army when he was 19 and got kidnapped by enemies. She knew that Erza became a mercenary at that time and broke into the enemy base to bust him out. She knew her friend was deeply in love with him. Still, now that she could see him in person, she felt like he was shrouded in mystery.
"Why are you staring so hard at him?" the commander asked, his voice low enough for her to be the only one to hear him.
Lucy averted her eyes and they pretty much automatically fell on the commander's arm. He was distractedly scratching the sensitive skin of his elbow pit, where she spotted a small red spot. The commander noticed it and stopped scratching, crossing his arms on the table to keep the small red spot out of view.
He still does it, she understood.
"I wasn't staring," she retorted, "I was spacing out."
When all participants were sitting around the table, someone at the end of the table clapped their hands and cleared their throat. Lucy quickly recognized the woman who conducted the raid on Dominik's place the day before. She looked magnificent today as well, sitting like a queen on her throne and facing the assembly with a serene look.
"Thank you for coming," she said, her voice deep and confident. "I know you took risks to be here today, especially since the Butcher's capture. I believe you've all been told about it and already know the details so let's get straight to the point. The Octagon is trying to take control over the Academy, which is under our control. My spy told me about a pretty worrisome file he found there."
"A file?" the man who spoke was tall, bulky and had a large black beard. "Did he find hints about the weak point in the defenses of the Pandemonium?"
Ultear shook her head and several men arched an eyebrow, frustrated. Lucy listened to everything carefully to fully understand everyone's reactions, expectations and projects.
"No," Ultear retorted. "I know he was supposed to focus on the prison, but he found something else in that file that deserved just as much attention. Natsu Dragneel's name, associated with Dominik's."
Lucy froze and opened wide eyes. She knew that the commander had been threatened by the Octagon to be sent to Joya if they couldn't find the Butcher, but why create an official file about it? She glanced at the commander, but the latter looked completely calm.
"Then what was in the file?" Erza asked, her voice a bit tensed.
The leader of the revolutionary movement shrugged and rummaged through the sheets of paper that were in front of her on the table.
"Mainly fake reports, fake testimonies and accusations," she answered. "They intended to accuse him of being Dominik's accomplice."
"Seriously..." Lucy heard Gray grumble near her.
Several people started talking animatedly after that and most of them just cursed and insulted the members of the Octagon. Lucy kept staring at the commander, looking for any sign of distress. He also noticed that and sighed.
"Don't worry about it," he smiled at her and ruffled her hair. "It happens all the time in the brass, I'm used to it."
Lucy was pretty sure this kind of thing was far from usual, though. In the midst of the din, Ultear clicked her tongue and it was enough for everybody to shut up. Lucy was impressed at how much authority she held on them all.
"No need to worry about it," she declared, "since Makarov handed them the Butcher and Dragneel's out of danger for now. My boy obviously destroyed the file as well and is currently investigating to find the culprit. Now, onto the next subject. Ivan met a troublesome man during his latest mission in Frego. They've both been seen near the northern border of our country, along with nearly three thousand men. The sentries sent reports to warn me about three more squads walking toward the border, each of them composed of approximately five hundred men. We don't know why they're there or what they're doing, but they have the support of the Octagon."
The leader of the revolutionaries kept quiet after that, giving them all enough time to assimilate this new information, and the very first question that was asked obviously was:
"Who's the other man?"
Ultear linked her fingers together and rested her chin on them before sending a pointed look Lucy didn't miss to the commander. She barely hesitated before answering.
"The vice-president of the Octagon, code name: Hades."
This time, every single muscle in Natsu's body contracted and he gulped loudly. Erza immediately turned in her seat to send him an alarmed look and he did his very best not to meet her eyes. Lucy frowned when she realized they both looked scared.
As a heavy silence fell upon the room, the large man with the black beard jumped to his feet and send a grave look to Ultear.
"Just say the word," he said, "and I take my best men with me and we go do the job. You know we can do it. We must try. If he's gathering an army, we're in danger for real."
Ultear held his eyes with just as much determination, her chin still on her intertwined fingers.
"You're not going," she retorted. "Not alone."
The leader of the revolutionaries sat up straight and let her eyes roam the small room.
"Warrod, Kagura, Jellal," she called. "Gather your squads and accompany him to Frego. Kill Hades and come back as soon as you can."
Just like Lucy, a lot of men opened wide eyes, but no one said anything to protest. They looked more worried about the level of difficulty of the mission than anything else. They were talking about killing a man just because he was doing something strange several hundred miles away... Wasn't that a bit extreme? Was he that much of a threat?
"What's the deal with this Hades guy?" she whispered to the commander. "Everyone looks like they're dealing with the devil himself..."
Natsu's jaw bone was easily visible when he gritted his teeth.
"That's pretty much the case," he mumbled. "He's the previous head of the Academy. He was fired for abusing several recruits... He's a dangerous man."
"Oh."
"When will you be ready to leave?" Ultear asked them.
Black beard yelled that he'd leave right away if she asked him, Warrod said he'd be ready when they needed him to be, Kagura said she needed three days to gather her team and prepare herself. Erza sent a cautious look toward Jellal when Ultear's attention turned to him.
"Same as Kagura," he said. "About three days should be enough."
Ultear nodded in satisfaction at this.
"Good. You'll leave next Friday. I'll give you as many weapons, money and material means as you need, but I can't lend you my men since this is an assassination mission and they aren't trained to be that discreet."
When everyone agreed on the terms of the mission, Ultear sighed and searched the pile of sheets of paper for one in particular. In the meantime, most people started conversations about Hades and Ivan. Frego was an allied country so what was Ivan doing over there? He was supposed to be part of a combat squad now. And what was he planning to do with his small army? Was he still working for Kyoka?
"Please, pay attention," she demanded. "We're almost done. When Warrod and the others come back, we'll attack the Pandemonium."
Now, this efficiently sent the whole room into chaos. Everyone jumped from their seats and started expressing their excitement or opposition to their leader's crazy decision as loudly as they could. Lucy's heart hammered in her chest as she waited for their leader to give them more details, but none of the idiots around her would shut up! Ultear slammed her hands on the table as she rose from her chair and a sudden silence fell upon the room as everyone quietly sat back down.
"Don't make me do this again," the woman growled. "We are going to attack the Pandemonium because we have a golden opportunity to do so."
Lucy caught several doubtful glances and inwardly growled at them. They were given a chance to fight for real, why were they acting like cowards!? Fortunately, the leader of the Rose's tear was much more used to diplomacy than Lucy was. She understood perfectly her men's fears.
"This organization was named after my mother and its aim is to honor her name by carrying on her fight," she went on. "Do you really think I would risk losing it if I weren't absolutely sure that the risk was worth it?"
A moment of silence passed, but this time the assembly didn't look doubtful anymore.
"One of our youngest members, Juvia, discovered something interesting," Ultear went on. "About one of the Academy's Tournament participants. You all remember the crazy chemist bitch Makarov warned us about? Well, he might be her spy."
Gray frowned and Lucy saw him clench his fists on the table. Lucy almost sighed when she realized that Erza and Natsu also already knew what was up and she didn't.
"This is why Juvia wants to fight in the Tournament," the leader explained. "She's got a plan."
End of chapter 22
Well, hello all. It took me one hell of a freaking long time to update, but I swear I did my best to write this as quickly as possible. I just had too much work. As usual, don't hesitate to tell me what you've thought of the chapter. While I'm at it, I'd like to thank all of you who took the time to leave a review. I'll try to answer them all as soon as I can!
I know it took a very long time to update and some of you got worried I might stop writing. I said it before: don't worry, I definitely will finish the stories, no matter what!
Reminder: I only post the previews and the news about the stories on my Tumblr blog: hungrypeanut.
Question/Answers:
Q (from 4evrDorkly17): Also I just remembered something, shouldn't Lucy tell the Commander about Bacchus? He was threatening to reveal her wasn't he?
A: Well, she had a lot of things to worry about that were more important than Bacchus, but she will have to deal with it eventually!
Q (from sarara1.8): 2 questions: Could you .the ages of the main characters or maybe Natsu, Lucy and Erza? How many chapters do you plan to write?
A: I actually partly answered your first question in an earlier chapter: I leave it up to your imagination but the first years are between 18 and 21, the second years are a bit older. Let's say that Lucy's around 19-20, Natsu's around 22-23 and Erza's around 26. As for the second question: I'm not sure yet, I only know that the story will be divided in two parts which will be composed of several chapters. We're actually reaching the end of the first part very quickly!
Q (from ): What did Jude do for him to be a prisoner of Pandemonium? How much did Layla know for said organization to kill her? Why is the enemy after Lucy and why is she important to them? I knew that Luce's important to him (Natsu) and vice versa but how much did her "like" her to the extent that he's willing to infiltrate Pandemonium for her sake? WAAAH, there's too many question lingering here xD And senpai, why do I get the feeling that somehow, now that Lucy's under Natsu's watchful gaze and under the safety of his home for weekend, "sexual" tension's rising like a burning fever? XDDD HAHAHA.
A: Long question, long answer! First, about Jude: He found out about several members of the brass (one in particular) being implicated in illegal and criminal activities (which will be detailed in later chapters), he's also one of the leaders of the revolutionary movement. Layla knew everything her husband knew and was also a revolutionary leader (but I said she had a car accident, I didn't say it was a murder, haha!). The enemy's after Lucy because she's a witness of the attack on the mansion AND because she has something very important in her possession! How much did Natsu like Lucy? Do I seriously have to answer that question? XD And yes, you little perverts, steamy scenes are coming very soon!
Q (from SeventeenRoses): Have you posted this on ao3?
A: No because I suck at using Internet, haha!
That's it for today! Once again, I'm really sorry for the much too long wait! I'll do my best so this doesn't happen again!
Much love to you all!