"What am I doing?" Lucy asked herself as she walked across the tarmac, her heels clicking across the cement. Her pink duffle bag rested against her side as it hung from her right shoulder. After leaving Urano Metria, they were driven to a private airfield where a white plane awaited them. Natsu had explained to her that once he agrees to meet a client, a private plane was made available to him. It was one of his rules that he would never accept a treasure hunt request until he met the client in person. This was where his talent with reading people came in hand. He had to interview the client first, yet he never knew where he would end up or who the client was until he arrived. Most of his clients preferred anonymity until the actual meeting. All those factors had made Lucy wary about going treasure hunting now, so as the plane came closer, she asked herself again, "What am I doing?"
"Getting on a plane," Natsu yawned, several steps behind her.
"But we don't even know where we're going or who we're even working for!" She stopped at the foot of the stairs leading into the plane, contemplating whether or not to actually go through with this. It had only been two days since Natsu had come back and now she was jetting off to some unknown location with him. This wasn't something she would normally do. Was she making a mistake?
Lucy and Natsu had grown a little closer, but she still knew so little about him. All she really knew was that he was a treasure hunter; he was arrogant, demanding, and narcissistic; he irritated her with his smirks; and he had a weird obsession with black clothing. Still, she remembered how he had surprised her by giving Levy and Gajeel the Iron Maidens; how he didn't want to be a stranger to her; how, sometimes, when he smiled it would light up his face; how he could constantly make her heart turn into an acrobat; how fiercely he made promises as if he was offering his own life; how he had comforted her without making a big deal out of it.
What she knew really wasn't a lot to go on. There was too much mystery about him. She didn't know what Natsu had said to Virgo, but she liked him. Levy seemed to like him, and Gajeel and Wendy grew up with him. Gray didn't like him, but Natsu hadn't really given him much reason to.
Gray. She thought about her best friend. He was still gone on his business trip, and she hadn't heard from him. He hadn't texted or called her since he left her that voicemail almost two weeks ago. She wondered what he was doing now.
Lucy sighed, gripping the railing of the stairs. I'm only going since everyone at work was worried about me. A couple days away from the office will be good. I'll recharge my batteries and then get back to work.
Natsu yawned again. He had caught up with her and stood behind her. His eyelids were drooping, exhaustion etched on his face.
He looks like he's about to fall asleep, she thought as she started climbing up the stairs.
Inside, cream-colored leather seats filled the space. There were four seats on each side of the plane – two sets of chairs faced each other with an oval window between them. Rich mahogany wood panels covered the interior walls, making Lucy feel like she was inside a lounge instead of a plane. She could see the back of the heads of the captain and co-pilot as they fiddled with the control panels in the cockpit. The back of the plane showed three doors. One was labeled for the bathroom, the second was labeled for storage, and the third door was unlabeled.
Lucy took a window seat on the right side of the plane, setting her duffle bag on the chair facing her. She didn't mind flying. Often times she would travel with Virgo and a few employees to meet with their branch offices across the country or to go to different conferences. Her usual flight routine consisted of plugging in her headphones and listening to music while she shuffled through more work. It made the longer flights more bearable. When they took a rare overnight flight, Virgo would give her an eye mask to help her sleep since the overhead lights bothered her.
Natsu trudged into the plane, dropping his duffle bag into a chair and collapsing into the seat next to Lucy. He raised his arms over his head as he stretched, yawning loudly.
"Why are you so tired?" Lucy asked. Natsu reclined his chair, crossing his arms behind his head.
"Just the thought of flying makes me sleepy," he replied closing his eyes. "Wake me up when we get there, will yah?"
Before she could respond, a flight attendant appeared from the unmarked door. She was wearing a crisp blue skirt suit and red kerchief tied around her neck. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a neat tight bun, and her full lips were painted with red lipstick that matched the color of her kerchief perfectly.
"Good afternoon," she greeted them with a sparkling smile. "My name is Louisa, and I'll be attending to your needs throughout your flight. The captain is finishing the final preparations before take-off, so we'll be departing within a few minutes. Before we depart, we have a few amenities available to make your flight more comfortable." Louisa held a small remote in her hand and pressed a button. A flat screen TV began to emerge in front of them, rising from the floor. The screen flickered to life, displaying multiple movie titles and popular television shows.
"We have several movie selections for you to choose from in order to pass the time. You can access the web with this device as well." She handed Lucy the remote indicating the buttons to press to activate the different options. "I'll be able to offer you refreshments after we take off, but is there anything you might need before then?"
Lucy looked at Natsu waiting to see if he would respond, but his eyes were closed. Shaking her head slightly at him, Lucy returned Louisa's smile. "May I have a blanket?" Lucy asked.
"Certainly, ma'am." Louisa walked back through the door and returned a moment later with a soft tan blanket.
"Thank you," Lucy smiled. Louisa gave a slight nod before returning back through the door.
Scrolling through the options, Lucy stopped when she saw the complete works of Indiana Jones and selected it. She snuggled into the soft blanket, reclining slightly in the chair.
"Time for some research," she muttered as the plane started its ascent.
Louisa returned shortly after take-off with a cart filled with delicious snacks. Lucy chose a water and popcorn mixed with chocolate. It was one of her weird snack habits; Gray would often tease her when they watched movies together. The buttery popcorn mixed with the sweet chocolate bites was the perfect complement to any movie.
The end credits for the third movie were scrolling across the screen. Louisa had already taken away the remnants of the popcorn and chocolate Lucy had munched on. The fourth movie was about to start, but Lucy's eyes were getting heavy. They still hadn't landed, and Louisa was not allowed to divulge any information to Lucy, no matter how nicely she asked.
Natsu hadn't moved since he fell asleep before take-off. His mouth hung open slightly as he slept. Just looking at him made Lucy's eyelids droop even lower. The fourth movie was starting, but Lucy couldn't keep her attention on it. Snuggling more into her blanket, Lucy relaxed and fell asleep.
"Lucy. Lucy, wake up."
She opened her eyes slowly, still groggy from her nap. Natsu was shaking her shoulder gently, both their duffle bags hanging from his shoulder. The plane was dark with the floor lights illuminating the way to the exit. She stood, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Outside the window, the world was dark. She could see it was already night, stars peeking through the cloudy skies.
"Where are we?" she asked, following Natsu out of the plane.
"I'm not sure, but-" He stopped at the foot of the stairs almost causing Lucy to knock into him.
"Natsu?" She followed his line of sight to a black car that was parked a few feet away. Two men in black suits stepped out of the vehicle. One was massive, broad shouldered, bald, and rippling with muscles. The other was average height and lean with black hair that rested on his shoulders.
"Never mind; I know where we are," he said as he glared at the men.
"Natsu, what's going on?" The men began to approach them, a dark glint in their eyes as she fixed her gaze to them. She noticed they were both carrying black cloth bags in their hands and wearing black leather gloves.
"Lucy, listen to me," he grabbed her hand and started walking towards the men. "I need you to trust me right now. Disregarding how this may seem, you're not in any danger."
"Mr. Dragneel," the shorter man called out to them, his voice thick with an Italian accent, "I believe you're familiar with what happens next."
Natsu scoffed. "After all this time, is this really necessary?"
"Quite," the other man answered with a similar Italian accent.
"Is what necessary?" Lucy asked, fear creeping into her heart. Her eyes darted from the men and to the black bags in their hands. Despite what Natsu had said, everything screamed she was in danger. She wanted to run. She wanted to get back on the plane and go back home. It was stupid and foolish to come here in the first place, where ever 'here' was.
"Ah," the lean man answered, "you didn't tell her?"
"There was no time. I just figured out who my client was as I stepped off the plane."
"Well, allow me to, then." He turned towards Lucy holding up the black bag. "You see, my dear, we have been ordered here to transport Mr. Dragneel and yourself to a particular secret location. However, in order to keep it a secret, you're going to have to be blindfolded."
"Why is it a secret?" Lucy took a step back away from the men. Natsu's hand squeezed hers, sending a silent message.
"She sure does ask a lot of questions." The other man acknowledged, annoyance coloring his tone. He stepped forward, his body towering over them. "We don't have to blindfold you. We can just knock you out if you prefer."
Lucy gasped, and Natsu stepped in front of her. "Enough," he said, his tone hard. "Take us to your boss before he has to start looking for a new lackey."
The man glared at Natsu, but his partner put a hand out to stop him from saying anything further. "Quite right, Mr. Dragneel; we have a schedule to keep."
"Lucy," Natsu said as he turned towards her. "Everything's fine. I pr-" The bald man placed the black bag over Natsu's head, tied it off, and began to lead him back to the car.
Lucy took another step back, but bumped into the other man. "Forgive me, dearie," he said as he placed the other bag over her head. What am I doing? Lucy asked herself as the world went dark.
Being driven blindfolded in an unknown country to an unknown location to an unknown client with two unknown men was far from her daydreams when she imagined herself as a treasure hunter. This was by no means fun or exciting; it was terrifying. She wanted to go home. She had enough of this adventure.
The car came to a stop, and she heard the engine cut off. Leather clad hands guided her out of the car and up a flight of stairs. They entered an elevator, and she felt their descent. Her heart was hammering in her chest as they continued walking down a hallway, turning left here, down a flight of steps there, turning right and then left again. Lucy tried to keep track of their steps, but she lost track after the fifth turn. Where the hell are they taking us? she thought as she heard a door open. Natsu had told her to trust him. He told her she wasn't in any danger, yet she couldn't believe that. The fact that she wasn't even allowed to see where she was being taken to meant that the client had to be someone who couldn't afford to let others know where he was. This secrecy meant he had a lot to lose. If the client was willing to go to such lengths to protect his secrecy, it meant he would go to even greater lengths if he felt it was threatened. How could she not be afraid? How could she trust Natsu given the situation at hand?
She was angry at him, angry because he didn't warn her about this. He had made treasure hunting sound so glamorous – an adventure she was missing out on. Come treasure hunting with me, he said. It'll be fun, he said. Yeah, more like: Lucy why don't you take a break from work to work on…you know…getting yourself killed. If I make it out of here alive, she told herself, I promise I'll-
The black bag was removed from her head, causing Lucy to blink hard as she adjusted to the light in the room. Once her eyes adjusted, she noticed she was in a richly furnished office. Rich mahogany seemed to cover every surface: from the walls to the floor and even the sculpted wooden designs on the ceiling. The furnishing was also made of polished mahogany. A large desk with a red velvet surface was situated before them, an imposing leather armchair paired with it. A few feet away from them, there was a seating area with four large brown, leather armchairs, two on either side of a wooden trunk. A fire roared in the background; a familiar painting sat atop the mantle. The darkness of the room was broken up by the green potted plants placed on side tables and tucked away in corners, as did the warm tan rugs on the floor. The overall effect of the room made Lucy feel small and meek. That's the point idiot.
The two men that had brought them there stepped away from Natsu and Lucy to stand in opposite corners of the room.
"He'll come now," Natsu whispered to Lucy. "This particular client of mine has a flare for the dramatics." Natsu stood beside her, arms crossed and looking more annoyed than anything. How can he be so calm? Lucy thought as her eyes darted around the room, searching for an exit or a weapon she could use to defend herself.
A section of the wall opened, and two gruff looking men entered, wearing similar black suits that their escorts were wearing. They stood behind the desk on either side of the chair. A moment later, a short round man entered, taking a seat at the desk. He was mostly bald except for the small patch of hair on the very crown of his head. He was dressed in a brown suit with tiny white strips running through it. Like Natsu, he wore a lot of rings on his fingers, but his were gold with giant precious stones fixed in them. Beside his obeseness, Lucy was impressed by the man's mustache. It was long and thin, curling back on itself at the ends.
"The Salamander arrives." The man smiled wide, a shiny gold tooth glinted at them. He spoke with a same Italian accent, but his voice was much deeper than the other two men.
"Salamander?" Lucy looked at Natsu, hoping for an explanation. He ignored her, his gaze fixed on the man in front of him.
"Was all this really necessary Gold Pistol?" Natsu motioned to the two men behind him. "I recognized your style the moment I stepped off the plane."
Gold Pistol smiled wider as he shrugged his shoulders. "We've worked together before Salamander. You have your rules as I have mine. But now let's discuss why I've flown you all the way out here. We've known each other for some time now, so I believe we can skip the formalities. I'm in quite a hurry to procure this piece." Gold Pistol snapped his fingers, and the man on his right set a brief case on the desk and opened it. Inside was a single blue file.
"Inside is a picture as well as a detailed description of the treasure I need you to procure for me at the upmost haste. There is also a report of the last known whereabouts of the treasure and eye witness accounts. Unfortunately, my team was unable to find this treasure, but they were able to gather intelligence indicating it might be still within the country."
Natsu took it and stilled when he saw its contents. "This…is the treasure?" His eyes flickered to Lucy's, before he closed the file hastily.
"Yes." Gold Pistol stroked the ends of his mustache as he spoke. "I know it's not my like my usual requests, but it is a treasure I need you to secure immediately. For a man with your talent and… eh… background, this hunt should be a cinch."
"I decline," Natsu said, tossing the file back into the briefcase. "Alright, Lucy, let's go." Natsu grabbed her hand and started leading her away.
"Wait, what was the treasure?" Lucy asked.
"No need to worry about it," he reassured her, but Lucy was unconvinced.
"S-Salamander!" Gold Pistol yelled after them, standing in his chair.
"Like you said, Gold Pistol you have your rules, and I have mine. I refuse, so we're done today. Call me when you have a treasure worth hunting."
"How dare you say that!" a shrilly voice called after them. Lucy turned around to see a woman had appeared and was glaring daggers at them. She was beautiful with a slender figure, long legs and a curvaceous body. She had long, wavy blue hair that stopped at the center of her back. She was wearing an expensive-looking outfit that consisted of a cream-colored dress made from silk and red heels that Lucy looked at with envy. Diamond earrings hung from her ears, and a blue sapphire glittered at her throat. However, it was her eyes that Lucy noticed were truly worth admiring. Her blue eyes were narrowed towards Natsu, but they held a fiery passion in them. "He's worth more than any treasure in this world!"
"Juvia?" Gold Pistol brow furrowed.
"He?" Lucy stopped, becoming more confused by the situation. She was scared and wanted to leave, but something felt off. Why won't he tell me what the treasure is?
"Natsu, let go." Lucy retrieved her hand from Natsu's grasp and went back to the brief case and took out the file. It took her a moment for her brain to realize what she was seeing. "But this can't be," Lucy thought as she saw the treasure. Treasure was gold or jewels or ancient artifacts. It wasn't supposed to be; it shouldn't be-
"Gray!" She gasped as she stared at the picture of her best friend. He is the treasure? But I thought- He was supposed to be on a job. What does this shifty character want with Gray? "Tell me!" She demanded, slamming the file down on the desk. "What do you want with Gray?"
"Lucy, calm down." Natsu took a step towards her, but Lucy's glare stopped him.
"Calm down? How the hell am I supposed to be calm?" she shouted, unable to look at him. "They want Gray, and I want to know why!"
"That emotion." The Juvia's eyes widened. "What exactly is your relationship with Gray?"
"Gray is very special to me," she answered.
If he was in trouble, and she didn't do anything to save him, she couldn't bare it. These dangerous people wanted him for some reason, and she wanted to know why. She was going to protect her friend, no matter what. Lucy could feel tears welling up in her eyes. The thought of something terrible happening to Gray made her heart ache. He was her best friend after all.
"Special?" Juvia's face contorted. Her eyes went cold and narrowed as she glared at Lucy. Her lips drooped down and parted to form her scowl. Her hands bawled into fists, shaking at her sides. An aura of anger and hatred rolled off of her. The beautiful woman now resembled a demon.
"Juvia will not let you steal Gray away from her. Gray loves Juvia. Juvia will get rid of her love rival to make sure he stays with Juvia."
"Love rival? No, Gray's just-"
"Men," Juvia snapped her fingers. The four men in the room snapped to attention. "Kill her."
"Wh-"
In a whirl of motion, the two men leapt over the desk, pinning Lucy to the ground. She cried out as they held her down. The lean man that escorted Lucy and Natsu to the room pulled out a small blade and handed it to his partner who held it over Lucy's body. He smiled darkly as he plunged the blade towards her. Lucy shut her eyes and screamed.
"As if I'd let you!" she heard Natsu shout. A man yelled in pain, and the blade clattered on the ground. Opening her eyes slowly, Lucy saw Natsu was standing in front of her. The yell she heard came from the man who was wielding the blade. He was now lying on the ground, cradling his broken wrist. The blade he tried to kill her with was lying on the ground by Juvia's feet.
"Gold Pistol," Natsu's voice was cold and dark, making Lucy shiver with fear. "I'll locate the treasure for you. But if you don't tell your goons to let go of my partner, I'll remind everyone in here why they call me Salamander."
The tension in the room was heavy; Natsu's words made the men that held her down tremble. Gold Pistol swore under his breath but motioned for his men to release Lucy.
"Uncle-" Juvia began to protest, but Gold Pistol silenced her with a look.
"Men, escort my niece back to her room. Her assistance is not needed with these business matters." The two men that held Lucy down moved away from her and towards Juvia.
"Don't touch Juvia." She smacked the hand away from one of the men and turned her glare to Lucy. Juvia's eyes were burning daggers into her. Juvia hit the hilt of the blade with her heel, causing it to leap into the air. She snatched it from the air and pointed it at Lucy, as Natsu moved to stand between them. "Bring Juvia's fiancé back, or Juvia will finish what she started." She shifted her glare to Natsu. "Juvia loves Gray more than Juvia fears the Salamander." Her heels clicked hard on the ground as she turned and stormed out of the room with the two men trailing her.
"Rocco."
The lean man straightened to attention as he turned towards Gold Pistol.
"Yes, boss?" Rocco answered.
"Take Frankie out of here. I'm tired of listening to his whimpering."
"But, boss-"
"I'm not accustomed to repeating myself, Rocco," Gold Pistol warned.
"R-right. Of course, boss." Rocco moved to assist his partner, easily shouldering the larger man's weight as the pair exited the room.
"Salamander," Gold Pistol sighed as he sat down heavily in his chair. "I trust you understand that I meant you no disrespect – you or your partner. Juvia…well, my niece can be a little of a romantic."
More like psycho-maniac, Lucy thought as she picked herself off the ground. She almost killed me. Her body was trembling at the memory. There was no way she was going to give Gray to Juvia.
"Let's just put this small matter behind us, shall we?" He clapped his hands and smiled wide, his gold tooth flashing. "I'm happy that you've accepted the hunt, but now I have less charming business to attend to. As always, my resources are at your disposable while you're hunting. You'll make better use of them than my men did anyway. Also, as an apology for what just occurred, I'll increase the payment for your services once you deliver the treasure to me."
Gold Pistol jumped down from his chair and waddled over to Natsu. Natsu's face was set in a chilly glare, but Gold Pistol just smiled up at him. "Oh, how I have missed that look, Salamander. It reminds me when-"
"Gold Pistol," Natsu warned, his voice hard.
The man's eyes flickered to Lucy, causing a devilish gleam to appear in his eyes that frightened her. "I see." He curled his mustache with his hand again as he turned away from them. A section of the wood paneled wall opened up, revealing an exit.
"I trust you can see yourselves out, Salamander. We'll see each other again soon enough."
Natsu didn't say a word, throwing one last glare towards Gold Pistol as he grabbed the file and Lucy's hand, walking out of the room. They were in a large hallway; red carpet made up the floor, and exotic portraits hung at intervals on the wall. Natsu walked fast turning right, then left, and right again, leading her down long hallways and up a flight of steps to an elevator. It wasn't until they exited the elevator and were walking outside that Lucy realized Natsu had perfectly memorized the route Rocco and Frankie had taken them.
The black car they were driven in was still parked out front. Natsu opened the passenger door quickly.
"Lucy, get in," he ordered.
"No."
"No? Lucy, come on. We need to leave." He looked around the area, as if he was expecting someone to stop them.
"I'm not going anywhere with you!" she yelled. "Not- Not until you tell me what the hell is going on." She stood on the steps, glaring at him. So many things had happened to her since she agreed to go treasure hunting with him. She was kidnapped and almost killed. Her body was still trembling, remembering the look on Frankie's face as he plunged the blade towards her. Leaving with Natsu had been a mistake, and she knew that now. Nonetheless, despite everything that happened to her, nothing compared to the fact that Gray was in trouble.
What truly made her angry was that Gray was in trouble, and Natsu had not wanted to help him. She remembered the look he gave her when he saw what the treasure Gold Pistol wanted. He had refused Gold Pistol's request and tried to stop her from seeing what it was. He was going to abandon Gray and pretend like nothing happened. She knew they didn't get along, but that was going too far. Gold Pistol exuded danger, his crazy niece Juvia was psychotic, and now Natsu agreed to bring her best friend to them. There was no way Lucy was going to let that happen to Gray.
"Lucy, I'll explain everything, but not here," Natsu pleaded with her, but Lucy wouldn't budge.
"No. I need answers now. Where am I? Who is Gold Pistol? Juvia? Why did they call you Salamander? How do you know him? What do they want with Gray? Why did you agree to help them capture Gray?" She crossed her arms and glared at him." Natsu, I promise you I won't go anywhere with you until you start talking."
Natsu swore under his breath as he slammed the car door. He turned his back to her for a moment. She could see his shoulders rise up and down as he breathed in and out deeply. When he had calmed down, he faced her. His face was hard, matching her glare with one of his own.
"You're in Italy, just outside of Rome, I believe," he said as he climbed the stairs towards her.
"Italy?" Lucy looked around, hardly able to discern anything in the night. All she could tell was that they were standing at the entrance of a very large mansion. The surrounding area was flat and dark, shapes blending together in the night. Alhough, that would explain all the Italian accents.
"Gold Pistol is Juvia's uncle. But more importantly, he is also the leader of the Italian mafia. Boss "Gold Pistol" Salvatore Lupo." Natsu stopped a step below hers so they were at eye level.
"The- The leader of the Italian…mafia?"
"The princess just had to go and get himself involved with the wrong people," he mumbled.
"But why would Gray-"
"I don't know. But I won't answer any more of your questions until we're away from here," he cut in. "So please, Lucy, let's go." His features softened as he pleaded with her to leave.
Lucy still had so many questions, and the answers he did give her only created new ones.
"Fine. I'll go with you because I need your help finding Gray." She walked down the stairs, looking back at him as she passed him. He was staring down at her, relief in his eyes that she was finally going with him. "But don't misunderstand." He stilled on the steps, hearing the ice in her tone. "I won't hand Gray over to them."
It was quiet in the car as Natsu drove them away from the mansion. Lucy stared out the window, lost in her thoughts. The Italian mafia... Gray… Fiancé? None of it made any sense. He said he was commissioned to do some work overseas for a rich man. Was that man Gold Pistol? And what about Juvia? Lucy remembered the passionate way the beautiful woman had looked when she spoke about Gray and how angry she had gotten when she thought Lucy was her love rival. Was Gray really her fiancé? No. There had to be more to the story. Gray wasn't the type to fall in love so quickly. His heart had scars, just like hers. That was one of the reasons why Lucy and Gray had become so close. They respected each other's walls.
Natsu pulled up to a tall, skinny building. Even in the dark, she could tell that the building was painted a light blue; it had large windows with white shutters and dark vines clinging to the sides of the building. He turned off the engine and got out of the car. Lucy followed him and watched as he opened the trunk and retrieved their bags. There were three steps that led up to the brown door. A wrought iron knocker was hanging in the center of it. Natsu fished in his pockets and pulled out a set of keys. Selecting one, he lifted the knocker and inserted the key into the keyhole behind it. A click sounded, and the door opened. He ushered her inside and locked the door behind him.
"Are you hungry?" Natsu moved deeper inside the building, turning on lights as he went.
"No." Almost getting killed and finding out her best friend was wanted by the Italian mafia didn't give her much of an appetite. "Where are we now?" she asked as she followed him. He led her to a large kitchen with bright Tuscan yellow walls and dark wood floors. One wall was composed entirely of brick with two oven openings. The kitchen was equipped with modern appliances, all stainless steel. There was an island in the middle with a brown marble top and four stools pushed up against it. Pots and pans hung from the ceiling, as did potted plants that tumbled out of their containers. It was bright and cheerful in the kitchen, unlike how Lucy was feeling.
"In Rome," he answered. "This is one of my dad's houses. Well, technically he gave it to my sister."
"You have a sister?" Lucy asked as she took a seat on one of the stools.
"Yeah. She's older than me and from my other dad's first marriage." He dropped their bags onto the floor and grabbed two wine glasses from the cupboard, setting one in front of Lucy. Disappearing through a door, Natsu returned a moment later with a bottle of wine. He uncorked the bottle and poured the contents into their glasses, filling them with a rich red wine.
"Even though you're not hungry, I think you could use a drink." He reached into the refrigerator, pulling out some cold chicken, cheese, tomatoes, and a bowl full of green and purple grapes. He grabbed a loaf of bread from the counter and a knife from a drawer. Assembling the ingredients, Natsu made a quick sandwich and pushed the bowl of grapes towards Lucy.
She chugged down the wine. Her nerves were on end at the moment. Her body had stopped trembling, but inside, her emotions were on overdrive. Natsu poured her another glass, but she stopped herself from downing it. She needed to keep her wits about her. She had to focus on finding Gray and rescuing him from the mafia, and to do that, she needed answers.
"Alright; start talking, Salamander."