Hi all
I don't know if it's a sign that someone out there hates my stories but this is my third laptop. The newest I just bought broke because my stupid (I do have to admit though, he's pretty lean with them muscles bulking) little brother opening it a tad bit too strongly, accidentally leaned on it and it snapped the screen off. ALL MY STORIES. ALL MY HOURS AND NIGHTS PULLED TO REWRITE THEM. ALL GONNNNNNEEEEE. I CRIED REAL TEARS GUYS. REAL. FAT. FUCKING. TEARS.
AND LET ME TELL YOU, I WAS NOT HAVING IT AFTER BEING FED AND PAMPERED BY HIM. NO MATTER HOW MANY APOLOGIES HE OFFERED AS A SACRIFICE TO ME.
BECAUSE HERE I AM, ABOUT TO REWRITE THEM ALL AGAIN FOR THE SECOND TIME. MY FUCKING GOOOODDDDDDDD. I CAN BARELY REMEMBER IT TWICE!
Preview:
"And all preparations are complete?"
"Yes sir." A man replied to Jude Heartfilia, who was walking around the roundtable at their meeting. His eyes fixed on a couple of documents that were laid before him on the wooden table.
"What about Ycul? Have you heard anything from her?"
"Yes. They will begin their movement at the same time of the operations."
"That's good. That is very good." He smiled to himself. Lisanna sat at the head of the table. Identifying each aspect of the plan that might lash back at them if the plan were to fail. A smile was plastered on her face.
Fairy Tail wouldn't know would hit them worse
Natsu clenched his fists tightly. Not sure when the weird feeling in his stomach would go away. He knew that if he ever went back, he would definitely get an ass kicking from a certain blonde. Or… she would ignore him for the rest of their lives. Not wanting to talk to him. At this point, that thought alone seemed very attractive to the pink-haired male.
"I really fucked up there." The agent murmured to himself. After that weird exchange with his blonde partner, the sudden shock to reality scared him. Resulting into a quick dash from it all. He remembered the way Lucy felt against him. The way her lips slowly opened to him. The way he saw her eyes shimmer the shiniest after they pulled away.
And he just had to screw it all up in a mere time span of less than thirty seconds.
He won't lie though. Kissing Lucy was probably the best things that ever happened to him and he'll be damned if someone else grabbed her attention.
"What the hell is wrong with me-"The cutting tone of his phone sliced through his thoughts. Slipping his phone out of his pocket, his eyes scanned the identification before holding it to his ear.
"Salamander here."
"Natsu! Oh thank god – look, we don't have much time." Levy's voice cut through the technical device. The noise half deafening to his sensitive ears. He pulled away from the device briefly before holding it back to his ears – noting the heavy tension on her voice. An emergency of the sort.
"Levy? What's wrong-"
"We don't have time explaining it all. Just listen to us."
"I'm listening-"
"-the mission. You can't continue with the mission, Natsu. It stops now. Come back right now. We can't risk it. There's a possibility that you are the next target. There's possibility that you might-"
Natsu pulled the phone away and glared it. The noise was becoming louder and louder and he could only just pick out the words that the blue-haired girl was conveying to him. Easier said than done.
"Levy – I can't hear you properly. You keep cutting off and there are some things I can't make out-"
"She's saying ditch the mission, idiot. You and Lucy need to come back now." Grays' voice cut in. Anger evident in his words and the pinkette knew that this was serious business.
"Got it. I'll head back now." Yeah. Back to the hotel to get a beating within an inch of his life from the blonde agent that was probably waiting with every torturous device under the sun.
"-contact. You both are in danger. She's after you, Natsu. L- - is after you!"
"Natsu?" Another voice came from the back of him and the named male turned around quickly. Silently cursing at the uneventful change because of the confusing conversation he was having with Levy and Gray. Seeing her face, the pink-haired male slipped the device back in his pockets before slowly raising his eyes to the blonde.
How she managed to come from behind him without letting out a single noise questioned his own morales as an agent.
"Hey Luce," he smiled towards her but it was immediately shot down with a face full of hidden tears. Her skin bleeding with evidential shards of glass in her skin. She was breathing heavily, looking as if she was running a marathon. She didn't have any shoes on and the sight of light cuts and scratches caused him to frown at it all. He looked at the blonde, noticing the dried streaks of tears on her face. Noticing streaks of dust and marks on her face.
"Luce-?" In an instant, she darted forward, grasped his hand and broke them towards the darkness without uttering a single sound. The only padding of footsteps bouncing off the walls.
"Lucy? What's going-"
"There was an ambush – I didn't see them coming and I only broke away at the last minute." Her breathing was heavy. Laced with anger and determination for a route of escape. Silently, the pinkette accepted her words and followed with the blonde. Noticing how she was still running barefooted.
"Lucy – your feet-"
"Will be fine. I'll be fine. Just keep running." Her cold voice snapped back in response. Sensing her foul mood, the blonde led the way to take another turn to the left. Both agents running into a dark alleyway. After stopping briefly, with the blonde taking cautious looks outside where they had been running, she sighed slowly before leaning her back against the brick walls of the alleyway.
Natsu cleared his throat nervously. Unsure whether to cut the silence or just begin talking. After his little noise, the blonde had snapped her eyes at him angrily. She pushed herself off the wall and stomped her way towards him. Eyes fueled with what? He didn't know. Just that alone made him scared.
"How dare you."
She didn't know what the hell she was saying at this point. After his grand escape out the hotel, basically leaving the blonde alone – it hadn't been a full five minutes since he left when a sound knocked carefully on the window. Fully alerted at that point, the blonde had only managed to roll towards the floor before the whole thing unfolded.
Sounds of gunshots and the smell of ammunition drifted into the air. Windows shattering and yells bouncing off the hotel room. In a swift motion, a smoke bomb rolled right where she was crutched, exploding the room into a mask of cloud and throwing the blonde off from her hiding spot. Without waiting, she dashed forward towards the windows behind her. Ignoring the scorching pain of glass digging into her skin, she only managed a roll after her landing before taking off in a full sprint.
Bullets being shot to her from above at the hotel room where she once occupied a few seconds ago.
Her first thought was to find Natsu quickly. After achieving that and running for a temporary hideout for the time being, she didn't know how to talk to the pinkette after he literally kissed her a few minutes ago.
"Lucy?" He was waving his arms in front of her. Trying to grab her attention. Snapping back into reality, the blonde pushed him backwards until he was slammed against the other wall of the alleyway.
"I don't know what the fuck you're playing here but you need to straighten your priorities up. Whatever they are." Her words were harsh but he believed that she was angry. Absolutely livid about the whole situation. Whether she was talking about their little exchange or the sudden turn of events with their pursuers, he didn't know which was worst.
"Lucy – look-"
"If you're going to confuse me, then leave me the hell alone. If you're going to continue with prancing around, always fucking up this mission, then it's best if you leave this to me. I don't know why you're called the most prodigal agent in the organization but from my experience, you're the worse." Suddenly, heated words turned into silent sniffling between sentences.
"You were hailed as one of the best agents to work with. I heard all about your successful missions. I heard about it all. The great Salamander. The great and amazing Natsu Dragneel. But I just can't deal with all these… feelings, Natsu. I can't deal with being confused of whether I'm just another temporary fix or not." She looked at him with anger burning in her eyes,
"Whatever you reasons are, get your act together. Tomorrow is our last night of planning this mission and if we are going to fuck it up because of an issue that can easily be resolved, then mavis, help me, I will end you." She pushed herself away from him. She didn't know which part made her angry. Was it because she was left to fend for herself against them or because she was left alone. She didn't know anymore and suddenly, she didn't want to know.
The blonde began to walk towards the other end of the alleyway, the sound of her feet slapping the concreted ground brought the male back and his eyes stared at the blonde.
"I knew that we weren't compatible, Natsu. But I still had faith in you. I believed you changed but like many times, I'm always the one taking the risks." Her feet wasn't stopping. "I'm always the one fixing it all." His mind willed for her to stop before she took the last step from the alleyway.
"I'll find a way to contact the headquarters. At least be prepared for tonight. I'll meet you at the same spot beside the docks before we begin the operation. I'll just find some place to cont-"His legs carried him forward until his arms grabbed her wrists and tugged her around. Twirling the blonde on her heels until she was facing him.
"Lucy." She stared at him with hatred. An irritated look plastered on her face.
"What the hell do you want?" If he was someone else, he'll probably cower in fear at her face. Fortunately, he was Natsu Dragneel and that meant he was ballsy enough to stand his ground.
"Levy and Gray contacted me. They want us to abandon the mission now. Something came up. So for now, we are to head back to Magnolia."
Silence drifted into the alleyway where they stood and Lucy tugged her hand away from him. Her eyes full of hurt and anger still twirled within those chocolate orbs.
"That's… that's fine by me." She turned again to leave, "When do we leave?"
"We best head over to the airport. From that point, we should contact them and let them know. They would probably tell us what to do from that point on."
"Okay." Her feet moved forward. Stepping out into the moonlight. Just a small step that left Natsu into a whirlwind of panic.
"Lucy – wait." She stopped. Just one step out of the darkness where he could see her form fully with the assistance of the moonlight.
"Back at the hotel…I just want you to know that…" Lucy inwardly braced herself. That's all she's ever known. Rejection. It's always like she had known and she knew that this was going to come. She was just a replacement for someone else. A temporary fix. Heart clenching painfully within.
"I understand." She cut in. She couldn't risk for him finish his sentence off. After what happened, she didn't want him to say it to her face. No.
"Y-you do?"
"I do." She replied. "I just need time right now. I need a bit of space to think. At least lend me that much. I'll see you at the airport in two hours." Lucy didn't wait for his response before making a mad dash outside. Leaving him alone in the darkness.
Unbeknownst to the both of them of a girl that sat above the alleyway. Typing away on a laptop and smiling to herself. Filling the report in faithfully and sending it away with a tap of a click. A pitiful smile on her face.
It was all going as planned
"This doesn't make any sense." Erza pondered. Files of documents stacked onto the table like towers daunted them. They were settled in Levy's room – growing through the files of their agents. After contacting Natsu, their connected was abruptly cut off and it was replaced with a person laughing.
The familiarity of that laugh sent shivers down their spines. The laughter bounced off the speakers in Levy's room and echoed like a bad nightmare, reliving again in their dreams.
After that strange occurrence, the screens in Levy's room darkened and lit up in pure white. A pair of eyes stared back them. Filling the screens in the room. In an instance, a file was received into the computer. Just sitting there. Taunting them. With its hidden secrecy that had the potential to destroy everything.
'Read me.' On the title of the folder. As the blue-haired girl opened the file, there were twelve subfolders packed away. Neatly recorded by date. Each date had a certain familiarity to it.
"I don't understand it either Erza." Levy commented. She pulled out a chair and sat beside the other two who was sifting through the papers. She had finished printing everything on that folder, double checking it twice for virus and surprisingly, found it clean.
"Where do we even begin?" The comment drifted from the male. Gray swallowed nervously. He wasn't too sure if even wanted to be involved in this crazy mission with Natsu and Lucy.
"We'll start from the beg-"
"No. We'll start from the recent one." Erza cut in quickly, looking at Levy with a determined look, "If we are going to get to the bottom of things, I suspect that we start with the dates that have passed." She pointed to the rest of the folders.
"We have three folders that have been dated today, tomorrow and the next. In order to understand them first, I believe we should start with the folder today."
"True. We don't want to spend too much in the past." Levy commented, eyeing the folder that was dated today. Reaching forward, she grasped the folder and popped it open.
Just reading the first few sentences, Levy skipped more until it landed on a packed pile of images, her mouth dropped in horror and she pushed herself away from the table. A silent scream escaping her lips. Seeing the short outburst from their friend, Gray and Erza immediately stood to view the contents of the first folder. Pushing past some papers until it landed on screenshots of people they knew too well.
"Natsu is going to kill whoever did this."
Images of Macao, on the floor with tears in his eyes – dead, with his son on a separate image, tied to a chair and shot dead as well.
Images of four members of their organization – dead – the same four that was sent many weeks ago.
Images. Vivid images that brought fresh hatred to the surface. Erza pushed through and picked up the last couple of images that left the black-haired male seething.
A vivid picture of Lucy barely escaping an ambush.
An image of Natsu standing by himself.
An image of them fighting in the alleyway.
The last and final one of Lucy walking away.
Erza turned the picture around and narrowed her eyes at the commentary of the image.
"Poor things. It would be a shame to see them dead too."
"Son of a bitch." Erza hissed with a slam of her fists on the table. Her eyes darted to Levy before glancing to Gray.
"Call Makarov. We've got some urgent business with a certain member-"She stopped before shaking her head. "No… a certain ex-member of the Fairy Tail organization." Gray nodded before making mad dash outside of the room.
The red-haired girl walked to the blue-haired and pulled her to the table. "I think you and I know who's behind all these notes. I want you to find a link to the person who sent these folders to us. I want a contact name and a trace. I want you to lock on with this person and make sure you've completely encrypted all her data. I want that data sent to me as soon as possible – be it small or big." The red-haired stepped away and began her walk towards the exit of the room. "I also want that clear recording of the laughing person."
"What will you be doing, Erza?" The named woman stopped briefly before turning her head slightly.
"I'll be grabbing Elfman and Mirajane for much needed assistance for a specific task. Afterwards, I want you to start preparations for an all-out attack in Acalypha. Ensure that all protocols are met and everything is on standby at my command by the end of twelve hours." She turned back to face the door once more.
"They made an enemy out of Fairy Tail." She whispered to herself, "How long would you need before you complete the procedures?"
"Less than two hours." Levy replied with a determined look on her face. Her fingers readjusting the orange bandana on her head. Swiftly brushing her blue hair back.
"You've always exceeded my expectations, Levy." The bluenette puffed out a breathy air,
"And I'm not stopping now."
Two hours.
Two long and excruciating hours of huddling and hassling until she was given somewhat decent clothes to change. After having a shower at a public hot spring nearby, the blonde burned through her ragged and bloody clothes. Nothing more than a simple shirt and black jeans. Slipping them on, the blonde stared at herself in the mirror of the bathroom.
She couldn't remember what exactly made her to overreact the way she did with Natsu but she couldn't contain her anger anymore. After being led on like a lamb to the slaughter knowingly, just seeing him push away from her after their exchange at the hotel hurt a lot.
Leaning on the porcelain sink and just staring into blank, brown orbs that stared back. Nothing but pure silence filled the room. Just being alone in the bathroom.
"Breathe Lucy…" She whispered to herself like mantra. Over and over again. Gathering her courage and her thoughts, the blonde switched the faucet on and briefly ran the water over her face.
"You can do this…" Redoing her hair into a ponytail, the blonde sent another look into the mirror before leaving the bathroom.
The airport wasn't too far from where she was. Just only a few blocks away. After arriving to the departure area, it wasn't too long until she spotted a mop of pink hair a couple of steps away from her. Seemingly looking for the blonde too.
"Over here, Natsu." She called out. Stepping until they were just a few feet away. The pinkette rubbed the back of his ear nervously. Eyes straying from hers in attempt to avoid her gaze. He quickly cleared his throat and offered a sheepish smile.
"Looking forward to going back?" He only received silence as a response. Slowly looking at the blonde, he silently noted how she just looked really effortless in casual clothes. Though he had no idea where she had gotten that from.
The tone of a notification sounded from the phone he was holding. Checking the senders' identification, he opened the message and signaled for Lucy to check out the contents.
"Lucy…" the pinkette started, looking at the blonde who had switched out of her casual attire and was slipping into a black number suitable for an assassin. They had received new orders from Makarov. False alarm apparently.
At the mention of her name, the blonde looked up from where she stood with one foot on a chair and slipping a pair of knives into her stockings. Her brown eyes looked at him with a calculated look. The pinkette swallowed nervously before taking a stride forward, this action causing the blonde to narrow her eyes.
"I just want to clear the air with you. We need to talk." There was a flash of anger upon her face. Natsu wasn't too sure of whether it was a good idea to speak to a seething agent holding knives at her legs.
"Talk? There's nothing to talk about, Natsu." She replied coldly. Returning her attention to her previous chore. Natsu clenched his fists by his side.
"Yes there is. And we can't ignore it. We can't put this off anymore." He replied, striding forward and at this point, the blonde had straightened with both legs on the ground.
"Put exactly what of, Natsu? What are we ignoring that is so important to talk about?" Lucy said, "We are on a mission. A mission that is important to me and important to Fairy Tail. I'm not going to waste my time arguing over whatever the hell you're-"
"I'm talking about us!" Natsu yelled. Eyes scrunched up and face turned into a scowl of irritation. "I'm talking about what we have." The blonde sputtered at his words. Without missing a beat, she stomped towards him and prodded his chest.
"There's no us, Natsu." She began, "there was never any 'us' to begin with and there would never be. You're the kind of person that will hold onto the past because you're scared of change. You're scared of the future. You're scared of taking a chance and making mistakes."
"And you're the same as well." Natsu retorted, "You're always hiding behind your many masks and protecting yourself too. You're always being cold and not opening up to me. How can you say that I'm the one that is scared of change when you're not giving me the chance?"
Lucy let out a light laugh. "Chance? How many chances do you want, Natsu? Tell me and I'll keep resetting your attempts until you get it right. I gave you a chance when you left me in Magnolia."
"What about at the hotel room? When I kissed you. Were you giving me a chance then?" That sentence alone sent the blonde into silence. Her face heating up in a slight dust of pink. Natsu leaned down towards her.
"I told you that I wanted to do that for a long time. My actions said it all for you to understand. You said you understood but clearly you don't." He reached up and grasped her hand at his chest. "You clearly don't understand at all."
"This mission comes first at all cost." Lucy responded at last. Her mouth finally finding the courage to move after his blunt direction to their kiss at the hotel. "You need to remember that I didn't come to play around and be a temporary fuck but to complete what I have been tasked with-"
"What? A temporary – what the hell, Lucy-."
"-and I'm not going to allow this kiss to screw this up for me so fuck you."
Natsu blinked with his mouth going slack at the sudden curse from his blonde partner. "Fuck me?"
"Yeah. Fuck you."
Without missing another beat, he wrapped his fingers in her golden locks and pulled the blonde into a deep yet sensual kiss that exploded with feelings. Her protests silences by his lips. Her knees buckling under the sudden overwhelming action but he hoisted her form his body tightly. Wrapping an arm around her small waist and tugging her head back slightly, deepening the kiss. His fangs nipping slightly on her lips, earning a small moan from the blonde. Leaving her lips to trace his own down her throat, nipping at the skin carefully yet gently. Softly enough for the blonde to wrap her fingers into his pink locks and tug them towards her. Digging the smirking pinkette into her skin.
Natsu then proceeded to return back to her mouth. Coaxing her and bringing her over the edge with his lips.
He didn't care anymore about the mission. What mattered was this entirely fragile bond with Lucy that was about to break underneath the stress and fears of-
Lucy pushed her mouth away from his. Exhaling much needed air into her lungs.
"Wait – I'm, I just… wait." The girl breathed deeply. Cheeks flushed with color and hair disheveled. At this point, the pinkette chuckled lightly,
"That mind-blowing, huh?" This earned a glare from the blonde. "Aw come on. Don't be like that."
"I'm still mad at you. And you can't just kiss me whenever you feel like it. I don't even know how to comprehend this at all."
"Easy. Don't."
"What the hell was that?"
"I don't know. I don't where this came from but only one message has been intercepted."
Levy couldn't believe it. She was in the middle of writing a message to Natsu and just when she was about to send it, the message was intercepted and another text had replaced it. It was coded and sounded just like hers.
"What did it say?" Erza was by her side the minute she head that Levy's programme was overwritten by something. The bluenette nodded before typing away at her keyboard. Bringing up the code box of the message that she managed to scan before it disappeared.
MAY APRIL KNOW ABOUT RADICAL ONLY VIRTUES. –BLAZING STARS REMAINS IN THE FLOWERS. STRIKING WEEDS OF TOMORROW. FLOWERBEDS ARE FOUR GARDENS AWAY. TWO THOUSAND PETALS. STRONG YET FRAGILE.
"Even I don't know what that means." Gray intercepted from the side after receiving his own message from Levy to come to her room for that viewing.
"May April know about radical only virtues – that's the sender – meaning Makarov." Levy replied, following the next few words. "Blazing stars stands for Natsu and Lucy. Remains in the flowers means for them to stay in Acalypha. The town of Acalypha is known for their flowers."
"Wow – I guess you do learn something everyday-"
"That's not the point Gray." Erza said, "they told Natsu and Lucy to stay in Acalypha, stating that the mission will begin its schedule attack on the operations tomorrow. They will be staying somewhere four blocks or streets away from the designated attack and two thousand in cash will be sent to them for preparations.
"Meaning…?" Levy stared at the boy before sighing loudly.
"Meaning that whoever sent this to them knows our structural coding system. They've associated the keyword into the coding. I just can't figure out what the last one means."
"It's a threat to us." Erza replied, "Strong yet fragile. A simple term for our two agents. Both who are very strong physically and mentally but incredible vulnerable emotionally."
"And I think I know who else can embed that commentary on a folder." Levy added, punching a few more buttons that indicated her source.
"No way…" Gray began as a face popped up on the large screen. Levy nodded almost hesitantly,
"It can't be… she's dead!" The black-haired male yelled. "You don't expect me to believe this, do you?"
"That's the point." Levy replied and Erza nodded in a silent agreement. "She doesn't expect us to believe that she's alive."
Yay. Another chapter done!
IM SO SORRY FOR THIS STORY BEING DELAYED FOR SOOO LONGGGGGG IM SORRY
B7K