DAUNTLESS
Chapter XXVIII – Warlord
"A great tactician creates plans. A good tactician recognizes the soundness of a plan presented on him. A fair tactician must see the plan succeed before offering approval.
Those with no tactical ability at all may never understand or accept it. Nor will such people understand or accept the tactician. To those without that ability, those who possess it are a mystery.
And when a mind is too deficient in understanding, the resulting gap is often filled with with resentment."
― Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Thrawn
When Lucy decided to take control of the operation, the commander didn't question her and immediately called for the other officers. Every member of the infiltration squad obeyed her orders, Gajeel and the other three took the records and ran to the cars while Gray ran down some pretty broad corridors he could barely recognize. The only question he asked was right after she ordered him to run back to the stairs.
"You sure you know what you're doing?"
"No," she admitted, "but I'm sure I know where Juvia is."
That was all it took for Gray. He would kick down doors he couldn't remember, run at full speed down some foreign corridors, take sharp turns any time Lucy told him to. At some point, Lucy wondered if she could order him to do absolutely anything and he would obey her. She would never admit such a thing, but people like Gray scared her a bit. Give them one good reason to do so and they'll completely shut their own conscience out and follow any instruction given to them. The perfect soldier.
On the screen, Lucy saw a small group of security agents appearing in Gray's field of vision, pointing their guns at him. At the very same moment, Gildarts and Erza entered the room.
"Shoot to kill," Lucy ordered without waiting for the officers' permission.
Gray didn't need to be told twice. With Lucy telling him where his enemies were and how they were moving, he was much faster than she'd ever seen him. Lucy could hear the officers talk, Natsu was telling the newcomers about what was going on, but she couldn't afford to lose focus. It took Gray less than two minutes to clear the way. Lucy released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and leaned forward, eyes stuck to the screen.
"Look at the stairs on your right," she said. "Climb them down."
He practically ran them down. When they were caught up on the situation, Erza and Gildarts came to sit beside her. Lucy briefly glanced at them before her eyes went back to the screen, Gildarts looked like he was having fun.
"Natsu told us that you took control of the operation and are guiding Gray," Erza said. "Have you been there before, Lucy?"
She didn't need to look at them to know that they all were staring at her. She shrugged.
"Turn right here," she ordered Gray before answering her friend. "I don't know. I feel like I know this place, but I can't really remember when or what I've been doing there."
The young woman involuntarily placed a hand on her stomach as if to shield it from an external threat. Just because her mind and memory were blurry didn't mean she was dumb. She was starting to understand what had happened to her, but the missing pieces were still too large for her to understand the whole picture. Natsu pointed at the screen on the right, Jet and the others were putting the records in the cars and getting ready to leave. The only car that would be waiting for Gray was hidden nearby.
"They're out," the commander said, "the only thing left is to retrieve Juvia."
Lucy nodded and pretended not to hear the edge in his voice or the way his jaw would contract at times. She assumed he was worried about Gray. The latter finally found the two large doors leading to the underground lab and the cells.
"Kick the door on the left open," she said.
Gildarts abruptly leaned forward and reached for the mic.
"Wait," he ordered. "Look at the dark spot on the door."
Lucy frowned and squinted her eyes as she observed the screen. She noticed it almost immediately and gritted her teeth. It was a mistake she should have been able to prevent, but she was tense and impatient. Gray crouched so that the camera was right in front of the spot, right by the lock.
"That's what happens when my robot destroys a lock," someone suddenly said. Everyone turned around to find Mest standing in the doorway. "The lock's broken, he can open the door normally."
"Did you catch that, Gray?"
"Yeah," he confirmed.
He didn't waste any second and immediately pushed the door open. He found long tables, large shelves and tons of jars, but no Juvia. He searched the room some more, tried not to stare at the jars, barely looked at the records.
"Where the hell is she," he groaned.
The room was pretty dark and Lucy could imagine just how agitated he felt, so she wasn't that surprised that he missed the other door. She took the mic to answer him, but Gildarts snatched it and groaned at the young man.
"Yo, Gray," he called, "if you're not calm enough to spot such an obvious thing as a door, you can leave this place right now."
The image on the screen moved as the young man turned around and looked at the other door. He groaned and walked toward it.
"Sorry," he said, "I'll be careful."
Gildarts stood up straight and placed a gentle but firm hand on Lucy's shoulder.
"In this kind of situation, experience makes the difference," he explained. "You're doing very well at commanding for a beginner, but you can rely on us too."
The young woman glanced at the officer and relaxed slightly. Sometimes, Gildarts reminded her of her father. The way he behaved and the way he spoke was so familiar she couldn't help but compare them. Her father didn't laugh as much as Gildarts, but he always had this gentle look in his eyes whenever he looked at her. It made her feel like the most loved person on Earth.
She nodded and her eyes went back to the screen as her comrade roughly opened the door. At first it was really dark in the room, but Gray opened the door wide and even the image on the screen became clearer as the weak blue light lighted it. What he found inside were large cages, beds, tables and entangled cables. Lucy held her breath when she saw the caged youngsters and the surgical equipment. She still couldn't remember exactly why and when she came here, but could feel it in her guts, she'd been there before.
Lucy and Gray both focused on the cages in search of Juvia when they heard her voice coming from the other side of the room. She cried Gray's name and you could hear the fear and anguish in her voice. He found her tied up on an operating table and Lucy didn't need to give him any order this time. He ran for the table and tore the straps off. As soon as she sat up straight, Gray pulled her in a tight hug and held her close. Lucy couldn't really see them with the camera showing her Juvia's back, but she still felt ill at ease, as if she was peeping at them when she should have given them some privacy.
"It's ok," she heard Gray murmur in Juvia's ear, "I'm here, it's ok. It's over, I'm here. We're going back home, it's ok."
It was her first time hearing Gray speak in such a gentle tone and it did move her, but they were still in danger and couldn't afford to waste much more time. Fortunately, Gray didn't them to remind him of that and moved away on his own. On the screen, Lucy saw Gray's hand cup Juvia's cheeks as he talked to her.
"We've got to get out of here now," he said. "Can you walk?"
She nodded and Lucy didn't need the cam to move to know that Gray was holding her hand. Lucy guided them through the building, making sure to avoid the narrowest corridors and helping Gray spot the enemies. They found a gun for Juvia on their way back and Lucy was impressed by how fast the nurse had recovered from her terrified state.
"I'll call the others and tell them to get ready to fetch them and hit the road," Natsu said.
Gajeel, Sting and Dan came back to cover Gray and Juvia as they ran out of the building and they all ran back to the cars. Gildarts stood up and told them he was going to report the situation to Makarov.
"Good job," he told Lucy before leaving with Erza.
Lucy watched as the cars kept getting farther and farther away from the lab and only then did she allow herself to slump into her seat and release a deep sigh. Her hands were trembling and her back ached. The commander sat beside her and took the mic to send the team a last message,
"Good job, everyone," he said, "the mission is a success. We'll party the whole night away in your honor. Be careful on your way back."
He turned off the mic and leaned back in his chair, turning his head to grin at Lucy.
"Looks like you saved the day," he smirked, "you probably had an awesome instructor."
She smirked back and shrugged.
"Not really," she retorted. "I'm just that talented. My instructor was lazy, violent and way too self-confident."
A very smug smile appeared on the young woman's face as she purposely avoided his eyes and shrugged again to provoke him. It worked far beyond her expectations and she'd probably do it again in the near future. The commander's arm suddenly landed on the back of her seat and turned her around, his face and body coming very close to her. He smirked when he saw that she hadn't moved at all, her eyes open wide and a slight blush coming to her cheeks.
"I'm too confident?" he repeated. "Are you saying there's something I still have to prove?"
Erza had closed the door behind her, probably out of habit, and the mic had been turned off. They were completely alone and that was something that hadn't happened in a long while. When she realized that, Lucy also remembered that they had only kissed once, many months ago.
"Well," she smirked back, "you've been a very good boy lately. Always busy with work, never coming closer to me than necessary."
Lucy had meant to flirt back playfully, but her words didn't affect him the way she had expected them to. His smile softened greatly and he took both her hands in his, massaging her knuckles with his thumbs.
"You have no idea how difficult it's been," he breathed. "Forcing myself to stay away from you was torture, but with that thing with Loke... I already apologized for that and I said I'd make it up to you, but I still didn't do anything."
Lucy got that the commander wanted to have a serious conversation with her and be honest about his feelings, but she really didn't want him to get this solemn.
"That's right," she said, "you said a lot of big words and broke my heart for a reason you still haven't explained to me. How are you going to make it up to me?"
The young woman was glad to see his beautiful smile come back to his gorgeous face. She wouldn't have thought it possible, but he was even more attractive when he smiled. From what Gray told her, Natsu never got a real girlfriend and Lucy found it very hard to believe.
"About the explanation you keep asking me, you'll have to ask Loke directly," the commander chuckled. "Now, about the big words..."
In one swift movement, the commander grabbed Lucy's wrists and heavily fell back on his chair, pulling her with him. In the very next second, she found herself straddling him with a very confused look on her face. The commander reached up and his hand immediately found its way to the back of her neck. He smiled gently and shifted in his seat to settle more comfortably.
"You're right," he concluded, "enough talk."
Lucy was glad that she was sitting this time, because this kiss had her melt on the spot. His arm around her waist pulled her to him in a tight embrace she wouldn't want to break for all the gold in the world as his hand kept sliding down until it settled on her lower back. She gasped when his finger brushed against her ear and he took advantage of the moment to slide his tongue in her mouth. He was hesitant at first, only giving shy, gentle licks as if he was scared to upset her. All the while, Lucy could feel the heat building up inside her, her patience wearing thin. His gentle caresses and kisses weren't enough anymore. At that moment, she wasn't the daughter of the most wanted man in the country and he wasn't a commander or a traitor anymore. She broke the kiss to move as close to him as possible and cupped his jaw in both her hands before leaning down again. Just before her lips met his again, she felt him tense and shiver as her body brushed against his member.
This time, it was Lucy that led him and set the pace. And it was much more intense. Her tongue brushed against his in slow, deep movements, her hands trailing up and down his arms, caressing his neck and ears. His skin rapidly started to heat up under her hands and he loosened up quickly, his own hands exploring her body, sending chills down her back, searching for the skin underneath her shirt. When she brushed against his member again, she heard him hiss and smirked when she realized he was hard.
The commander obviously saw that and smirked back, taking that as a provocation. He cupped her ass and she gasped as he lifted her up and turned around to sit her down on the desk. His hands going directly under her shirt, he settled between her legs and kissed her again. She responded immediately, wrapping her legs around his waist and earning a growl from her partner. Feeling encouraged by his reaction, she pulled him closer and tried grinding against him. Lust was a scary thing, especially when it was neglected like Lucy and Natsu had neglected it for so long. Natsu's reaction was very satisfying, he stiffened for a second before gripping her hips tightly, Lucy was sure she'd have bruises in the shape of his fingers, and leaned forward. Lucy fell backwards and laughed when her elbow hit something that fell down. The commander smiled back and let his hands roam the skin of her stomach, hips, ribs, breasts, all the while kissing and licking her jaw, neck, collarbone. Lucy knowing they were alone allowed herself to moan when Natsu caressed sensitive spots on her body, but she stopped his hand when he instinctively tried to undo the button of her pants.
He leaned back when she stopped him and she saw on his face that he was worried, he probably wondered if he had gone too far.
"Sorry," he breathed, "I got caught up in..."
She grabbed his shirt and pulled him back down before he could finish his sentence, but he clearly was still worried.
"Don't worry," she smiled softly, "I just think we should continue this somewhere private."
Understanding lit up his face and he smirked.
"Sure."
He kissed her again and flinched when someone kicked the door open.
"Guys, I can't find my phone," Loke yelled while entering the room before he saw both his friends in a very explicit position, "aaaaaand don't mind me, I didn't see a thing, I'm leaving now."
He closed the door behind him, but Lucy had more than enough time to see the huge smile that appeared on his lips when he caught them. She sighed and laughed when she saw how annoyed the commander looked.
"You were right about the private place," he groaned.
She would have laughed if not for the soft buzzing sound that was heard right after Natsu said this. The voice they heard next sounded distant and mechanical. And awfully familiar.
"Yeah," Gray agreed, "and make sure that the mic's properly turned off beforehand, too."
Lucy looked down and saw that the thing she had accidentally pushed off the desk during their make out session was the mic and that it had been turned on when it hit the floor.
"That was hot as heck," Sting commented.
"I want to die..." this one came from Dan.
"You sure are having fun while we're out working," Gajeel snickered.
"Ah, my phone was in my pocket from the start," Loke laughed while walking back inside.
Lucy turned back to the screens and laughed as she watched the boys grimace and tease the commander. They looked like a group of teenagers coming back home after a trip to the beach. Everyone was in a good mood, Juvia was stuck to Gray's arm, which didn't bother him in the slightest. Lucy almost couldn't believe how cheerful they could get even after everything that had happened to them, but here they were, smiling, laughing and making dirty jokes.
"You guys are officially a couple, right?" Loke asked for the fifth time. "You gotta make it official if you don't want the other guys to try and steal her away."
"This has nothing to do with you or anybody else," the commander retorted.
Lucy laughed when she realized it was almost the only thing he'd said ever since Loke came back. Since everyone was talking at the same time, she couldn't focus on one conversation only, but something caught her attention. A buzzing sound that came from one of their mics.
"I hope you're gonna give my name to your first born," Loke kept on bugging the commander, "even if it's a girl. Loke's a good name for anybody."
"I hope you'll let me be the babysitter," Sting added. "I love kids, I'm an awesome babysitter!"
"Anybody else hears that?" she asked.
"What?"
Before anybody else could answer her or even notice the sound getting louder, Lucy saw two motorbikes appear on both sides of the road. It happened so fast no one had enough time to react. The motorbike on the left side of the road came right next to the window of the car and the rider shot three times before the car swerved to push the motorbike off the road.
Lucy heard screams, curses, more shots, but the images were fuzzy and everyone was panicking.
"Guys," Natsu yelled into the mic, "what's happening!?"
Lucy couldn't understand a thing they were saying, but she saw the second motorbike fall behind the car. After a minute of chaos and uncertainty, Gray answered them.
"Get a medical team ready," he said, trying to control his voice, "Sting got shot in the head..."
oOo
Makarov ordered the guards to open the doors as soon as he heard about what had happened to Sting. Erza and her medical team were already standing in wait in the courtyard when the cars burst in, the doors sliding open before they stopped. Gray and Gajeel jumped out of the first car, carrying Sting by the shoulders. Dan and Jet jumped out of the car right after them, carrying his legs. Lucy was standing at the front of a very large crowd, but even she couldn't see Sting very well. The only thing she did see was that there was an awful lot of blood on his hair and face.
She followed the medical team to the doors of the medical wing and in the large hall, but Makarov only allowed Rogue to follow them all the way. Lucy stared at the boys running down corridor, at Sting's arms hanging, at the blood spots on the floor.
"You're thinking something stupid like you should have stared at the screens with more attention, right?"
Clenching her fists to try to keep her composure, Lucy answered a bit dryly.
"I should have," she insisted. "It was my job."
The commander sighed and gently ruffled her hair.
"It was my job as well," he reminded her. "The screens were too small for us to see the bikes in time. Don't blame yourself."
"Right," Gray agreed before she could berate herself some more, "imagine how we feel. As a team, we have to watch each other's backs. Yet, we were so distracted that we didn't hear them approach... We got careless."
"All of us are to blame for this shit," Gajeel grunted in agreement.
A heavy, but short moment of silence passed before someone they hadn't even seen coming spoke as well.
"I was the one who configured the cameras," Mest said, his voice low and trembling. "You would have seen the shooter if I had done my job correctly."
"You did amazing considering we could only provide you with some shitty material to begin with," Natsu countered.
Lucy frowned when she noticed how affected Mest looked. She hadn't realized that these two had gotten this close. That was until she remembered his relationship with Rogue. He was probably scared to death that Rogue would blame it on him if Sting died. Lucy moved closer to him and took his hand in hers. She smiled reassuringly when he looked up at her.
"If Sting had heard what you just said, he'd get mad at you and tell you to stop saying bullshit. So, when Rogue comes back, welcome him with a smile and make sure to be someone he can rely on if he needs it, alright?"
The young man straightened up, raised his head and nodded with determination.
Lucy and the others spent the next half an hour thinking about what had happened and imagining they had acted differently. Had they been too slow in the lab? Was the shooter a guard sent by Carabine Loyer? Was it a killer sent by the Octagon? Would she have seen him sooner if she hadn't done what she had with Natsu? Was it always this stressing to be the one in command?
Half an hour after Sting was taken in, Erza joined them in the hall. She wasn't smiling, but she rarely was, so who knew if things had gone well for Sting? She sighed and scratched her head when everyone jumped to their feet and stared at her. Before anyone could ask, she spoke.
"You can go see him," she said, "it's best if you see him directly."
Lucy's group followed Erza to the room they had requisitioned for Sting and the commander opened the door. Lucy gulped when she saw him. His head was bandaged and he was lying on the infirmary bed, barely conscious. He didn't even react when Lucy and her friends entered the room, his eyes barely open stuck on an invisible spot on the wall. Rogue wasn't here anymore and Lucy wondered if he had gone somewhere private so he could cry without anyone seeing him. She walked closer to the bed so she could take his hand in hers and leaned down to speak to him, her voice gentler than ever.
"Sting, can you hear me? It's me, Lucy. I'm here with the commander. There's also Gray, Loke, Gajeel, Mest, Jet and Dan. Everyone else is waiting for you to get better."
Lucy had to fight back her tears when Sting showed no sign of recognition. After a minute, though, his eyes rolled to the side and he looked at her properly.
"Lu...cy?"
Lucy's bright smile disappeared as soon as she heard Erza's annoyed voice.
"Oh, for God's sake..."
The doctor suddenly appeared right by Sting's side and smacked the back of his head, not holding back at all. The injured moron yelped in pain and massaged the back of his stupidly tough head.
"What the hell are you doing!? I'm injured, you could have killed me!"
Erza groaned and rolled her eyes.
"Nothing will kill you as long as it's aiming for your head," she retorted, "since it's completely empty."
Needless to say, Lucy and her friends were silently watching this all the while slowly coming to understand that this huge pain in the ass had been acting...
"He's fine," Erza told them. "The bullet did cut the skin pretty deep over his temple, he'll have a scar. It bled a lot because there are a lot of blood vessels in this area, but the wound's still superficial."
"Did you just say superficial?" Sting asked. "It hurts even more than when I cut my finger with my dad's knife!"
Both Natsu and Gray had to restrain her to keep her from strangling him.
Rogue came back soon after that and the group kind of decided to spend the rest of the morning in Sting's room since it was pretty cosy.
They all left the room – including Sting – to go to the refectory. It was lunch time, everyone was already there when they entered. Almost everyone cheered for them, they applauded and whistled the rescue team that managed to raid an underground lab, free their comrade and come back with important files. Sting got lots of pats on the back, words of sympathy and thumbs up.
"I'm a hero," Sting said when they all sat down. "The coolest hero in the world."
"You just got a scratch," Gajeel retorted, "and cried like a baby when you did."
"I didn't cry!"
"You cried harder than Levy did when I climbed up that tree with her on my back."
"Don't bring that up, ass," Levy groaned.
"I didn't cry," Sting argued, "I just let out a surprised yelp!"
Loke chuckled at that and glanced at the commander with a sly smirk.
"Yeah, just like Lucy did when she kicked the mic off the desk."
Lucy turned bright red as the guys all looked at her with knowing looks and smug smirks. The only one who acted like he hadn't heard a thing was the commander himself. Levy perked up when she understood one of the dirty jokes of the guys and turned to Lucy with a large devilish grin Lucy had never seen on her angel face before.
"What's that I'm hearing?" she asked with a childish voice that didn't match her face at all. "You guys were gonna go at it while at work? I'm shocked!"
Gajeel snickered and sent her a side glance that said a lot.
"Need me to remind you where we were last time we did it?"
Levy sent him a look so smug none of the guys could have imitated it.
"Need me to remind you who was the one who freaked out when I got d..."
"I got it," Gajeel interrupted her, "shut up."
Loke quickly managed to make them talk about Lucy and Natsu again, and the commander was telling them for the hundredth time that they should mind their own fucking business, when the doors of the refectory opened again. Everyone went silent as they recognized the tiny man that was happily hopping to the front of the room. Makarov cleared his throat and patiently waited for Laxus and Gildarts to join him. Apparently, none of them had agreed to hop to the front of the room as well.
"Dear children," the old man called with a cheerful voice, "I hope you've been eating well! I have some announcements to make! Don't worry, only good news today! First of all, the raid on the underground lab was a complete success, we saved our comrade, defeated the team that held the place, stole some precious files and forced the Octagon to act as if they didn't know what had been going on in there! They had to send an official rescue team to save the other prisoners of the lab!"
Now, this was a huge relief for Lucy. Before that, she actually had been wondering if she could convince the general to send another rescue team to save the others. The crowd applauded and whistled, but the old man quickly managed to make them silent again.
"Yes, this truly is worth celebrating! But before that," he turned to Lucy's table and a gentle smile appeared on his face, "welcome back, my dear daughter."
Lucy could see Juvia tried to hold back her tears, but they ran down her cheeks, eventually. Lucy cried too, this was just so touching. Juvia nodded back at him and wiped her eyes as Gray's hand rubbed soothing circles on her back.
"Then," Makarov went on, his eyes going from one daughter to the other, "Lucy. You were our soldiers' eyes and ears, you stayed up all night long and guided them through it all. We probably would have lost a comrade or two if you hadn't been there."
The crowd whistled loudly at these words, applauding and cheering for her even though the general wasn't done talking and the girl in question had turned bright red.
"You did an amazing job," Makarov said, "I'm really proud of you. Which is why, starting from tomorrow, you'll start having lessons with Gildarts and Laxus to learn how to command an army. Congratulations, Lucy, you've just become the first woman ever to earn the title of Warlord from the general of the Royal Military College."
Her friends jumped to their feet and screamed at the top of their lungs to celebrate her new title. A huge crowd immediately appeared around her as people congratulated her, ruffled her hair, laughed, cheered for her, whistled, tried to shake her hand when it was free. Lucy had never felt this overwhelmed before. She wasn't even really sure if she deserved all this, but her mind was a mess and she didn't know if she was supposed to say something.
In the midst of this human storm, she managed to catch a glimpse of the commander. He was looking at her, a smile she hadn't seen before on his lips. A proud smile. He was looking at her as if she was the most amazing living creature in the world and she didn't even think about questioning the general's decision anymore.
"Be quiet, children!" Makarov demanded loudly. "I understand how you feel, believe me, I do. But, I have one more thing to tell you."
When everyone was quiet enough, the general smirked and his eyes searched the room until he found the redhead he was looking for.
"From today on, we'll have three more priceless comrades fighting alongside us. You already know one of them."
Lucy would forever wonder how you could grow so old and still be so mischievous. She really hoped from the bottom of her heart that, if she was able to grow old, she'd be like him.
"Come in, boys."
Lucy's eyes went wide as the first man entered the room. Yeah, they knew him, alright. As soon as they saw that very distinctive mop of blue hair, everyone turned to send huge, bright smiles to Erza. She was trying very hard to keep her composure, but you could see her hands shaking a bit if you looked carefully.
"I think most of you remember Jellal," Makarov smirked.
Everyone went so wild celebrating Jellal's return they almost missed the other two men that entered the room after Jellal. Lucy was no exception, she was among the first ones to jump from their seats to run and fly into his arms, which made him feel so obviously ill at ease. Despite feeling so overjoyed, none of them forgot who was the one who was truly supposed to enjoy his return the most. It took a lot of pushing and laughing, but they managed to form a messy Guard of Honor for Jellal to walk straight to Erza.
The spy didn't waste a second and almost ran to her. She laughed and tear ran down her cheek when he reached her and immediately pulled her to him in a tight embrace. Lucy whistled and a lot of guys imitated her, laughing and clapping as Jellal finally kissed Erza. Lucy was well aware that they looked like middle schoolers, but they were having so much fun that she couldn't care less.
She didn't know why she felt like turning around at that moment since Jellal's reunion with Erza was exactly what she needed to see to make her day perfect, but she did. Her eyes briefly passed over the officers that would be training her to be an officer till they landed on the newcomers. One of them was a huge bald man with arms as large as her thighs, but it was the other one that caught her attention. A young man with slanted eyes and silver hair that looked awfully familiar.
When she did recognize him for sure, Lucy took a step in his direction, not even knowing what she really wanted to do. A hand on her arm stopped her and she stopped to look at Gray. He shook his head and pulled her away from him.
"Later," he whispered. "Now's clearly not the time."
And so, Lucy waited. She partied with the others, trying to look as cheerful as possible. She waited for hours, but her friends decided to pull an all nighter. She was starting to think that she'd have to wait until the next day to have a talk with Lyon, but the latter decided to excuse himself for the night. Lucy tried not to look suspicious as she wished the others good night and left after him. In the corridor, the lights were out, it took her a good two minutes to find him several feet away from her.
"Lyon!" she called. "Wait for me, Lyon!"
The young man froze, but he didn't dare turn around to face her. Looking at his back, she knew he had his head down and it made her think of the defeated boy he was when she last saw him. It also reminded her of the flash of silver she saw in the crowd, so many months ago.
"It's really you..." her voice was trembling. "I have so many questions..."
Just as she was saying this, someone abruptly opened the door of the refectory and fell down behind her in the corridor. She flinched and turned around, staring at the young man crouched at her feet. She recognized him in less than a second.
"Natsu!"
Panic washed over her as she fell to her knees by his side. He coughed some more and threw up, which only worried her more. When her hands touched his skin through his shirt, she realized he was burning hot.
"What's wrong? Can you hear me? Natsu? Where does it hurt? Please, say something!"
She couldn't remember a time she had been this scared, except for the night of the attack on the mansion. She could feel her heart hammer in her chest and her hands were shaking despite being firmly stuck to the commander's body. He threw up again and lost consciousness.
End of chapter 28
Holà todos! Guess who's back after a friggin long wait! I'm so sorry you had to wait so long, especially since I promised I'd be faster, but I'm either at work or with the kids, life's way too busy! Also, I got messages from worried readers asking if I'm going to abandon the story, and the answer's still ''hell no''. No matter how long it takes, even if you don't hear from me for months, I'll always come back and update until the story's over, I promise! Anyway, as a way to make it up to you, I offered some nice NaLu scenes and more are to come! Things are gonna get steamy!
Once again, to everyone reading the story and sending messages to support and help me: thank you from the very bottom of my heart! Your patience is amazing, you're angels!