This is another short chapter to progress the action. It's shorter than I'd like it to be, but I got a little stumped on parts to add and I wanted it to end on this note, so I let it be.
And here is the 12th installment of Fueling the Fire.
With just a glance, Lucy knew this man in front of her was the true culprit. His unruly brown hair brushed into his eyes and reminded her eerily of Midnight, and his eyes were cold and almost black. She now understood why all of the other mages had left so hastily, and just looking at him made her skin begin to crawl. She watched as he carefully sat down behind the desk, peering at her coldly with his beady eyes.
"Well?" he asked after a significant silence. "Aren't you going to sit and give me the information we desired?"
Lucy weighed her options and found herself unsure of the best. She could easily obey him—it would be almost too easy, with that stare he was giving her—but she didn't want to cow so easily. On the other hand, she could hold back and refuse to sit down while starting to give false information and try to turn the questioning around. She wasn't sure that he would take her blatant disregard for his obvious authority too well, but somehow she felt like his seemingly short temper would be the key to gaining the information she wanted.
She made an important decision and stiffly said, "I think I'd rather stand."
When he quirked his eyebrow incredulously, it became clear that he was unused to being ignored or, even worse, talked back to. He contemplated her for a few more moments, a slight frustration becoming visible on his features.
"I don't think you understand how things work in my office," he spoke after a long silence. The tone he used was nothing but scarcely controlled malice. The voice sent shivers down the blonde's spine and it was all she could do to keep her composure. And then he continued, standing up slowly and deliberately so that he looked even more menacing, "In my office, when I make a suggestion, I expect it to be acted upon. It would be in your best interest to come and sit, Miss Heartfilia."
The way he said her name made her extremely uncomfortable, but she still didn't want to back down. Fairy Tail didn't buckle under pressure that easily, and she hated being the exception to that particular rule. So she swallowed her fear and lifted her chin, staring him down defiantly.
"I don't know who you are, and I don't care what you want. I came here voluntarily to give you information, so shouldn't it be on my own terms?"
Lucy easily read his posture as he tensed with each word she spoke. It became startlingly clear that he was unused to being defied, and the dark, roiling, unreadable eyes he fixated on her unnerved her greatly. She couldn't contain the shiver that went down her spine no matter how she tried, but she held his gaze stubbornly. The pit of her stomach was dropping so far and so fast that she started to think she'd never be able to get it back.
It took everything she had not to leap back in fright as he slowly and calculatingly sat up, and then stood.
"Lucy," he drawled dangerously, his voice low and venomous. "I don't think you understand your current…predicament."
He started to walk around the desk towards her and she fought every instinct that was screaming for her to run. She would stand here and face him like she had all the courage of Natsu, because she was doing this for him and it would be meaningless if she couldn't at least achieve what she had been captured for. Lucy only wished that she still had her keys on her, because without them she felt entirely too vulnerable.
"The minute you were brought to my guild headquarters, you were under my power. Now that you're in my office, there is nothing you can do to resist. I would not recommend annoying me anymore if you care about what happens to your other fairy friend downstairs," he was right in front of her now, and she couldn't hide the fact that she was trembling. It was a combination of fear and indignation—how dare he threaten Levy, even after all she'd endured!—but she tried not to dwell on it too much as he carefully examined her expression. "Now, I would advise you to sit and give me the information you offered, or there will be consequences."
She had been holding herself back. Really, she had! But she couldn't put up with his threats, and she had to open her mouth. As soon as she did, she prayed desperately that Gajeel had arrived and reached Levy so that she wouldn't suffer for Lucy's misbehavior.
"I refuse!" were the first of the words that came out, shrilly but defiantly. "You think that you can kidnap Levy to lure us here, then rat it out to the Magic Council, frame Natsu, and then hurt the Fairy Tail members you've taken just for the hell of it? Are you stupid?" her chest rose and fell with the force of her conviction, but she forged on while forcing herself to ignore the fires burning in his depthless black eyes. "If you think I was stupid enough to go into a forest alone after you bastards took Levy out from under everyone's noses, think again! I wanted you to find me because I wanted to see Levy and make sure she was okay, and if I could, I wanted to know which of you assholes is responsible for attacking that Rune Knight General and framing Natsu for it!"
His expression continued to get darker and darker the entire time, but she just glared at him, not letting him get the better of her. She couldn't—not now that she'd come so far. At least she'd managed to keep it secret that she'd had someone follow her to see where their headquarters was. If she had alerted him to that fact, her plan would have been completely ruined. As it was, the plan she had finally had hope for was crumbling around her ears and there was nothing she could do about it.
"You aimed to get caught," the man in front of her said very deliberately, leaning down into Lucy's personal space to intimidate her, "and all so you could meet the same fate as your little friend. And also to find me, because I'm the one responsible for your Salamander's situation. How…admirable."
His sarcasm only enraged the already angry blonde more.
She raised her hand before she could think better of it, and with a solid SMACK, his head snapped to the side. His lips turned up in a feral snarl and Lucy felt the heat rising.
Tomorrow.
Natsu only had a few more hours until his trial, and there had still been no word about Lucy. News that she and Levy were safe were the only things he wanted or even cared about now. Even if it was the last thing he'd ever see, the dragonslayer wanted to know that the two had been recovered from the real culprits, and that they were safe. He would die with at least one fewer regret that way, at least.
Lucy wouldn't want him thinking that way, so he shook his head violently and stared into the empty cell across from his own without really taking in what he was seeing. He wasn't even really seeing what was there, anyway, because all he could picture was the cheerful smile he wanted to see again, and then the fierce, determined expression he'd last seen in the few moments of confusion as they'd been forced apart after their shared kiss. Even as she was pulled away from him, she called out that she would do whatever it took to get him acquitted—with blood dripping down her thigh from where she'd been shoved to the ground and his scarf clutched to her chest—and he had believed her. He still believed in her…but now he feared for her, too.
"Lucy," he murmured to the empty cell across from his. He wasn't sure how many times her name had escaped, he just knew that it had happened more often than it should have.
And it would happen again, and again, until he knew that she was okay.
He pulled his vacant gaze back to his own cell and caught a glimpse of that damned Sorcerer that had started it all. With some hesitation, he reached out to pick that damn magazine up and flip once more to the page that discussed the kidnappings.
The dragonslayer scowled as he remembered the way the Rune Knight that had shoved Lucy to the ground had treated her. He had told the rest of the Rune Knights that Fairy Tail couldn't be trusted, all because she had told them the truth about Levy's disappearance! The thought of it made him bristle in anger, but he couldn't do anything about it now. But this magazine was proof that at least the populace would be on the guild's side rather than the Council's side.
That was a very small solace, but one he needed as he re-read the dreaded article.
Sleep, he deduced, would be a very long time coming.
Gajeel's iron arm slammed into the back of one man's head as Erza's gauntleted fist dragged the woman into unconsciousness. Cana had tripped their guide as a distraction while Wendy used a nifty spell to put him to sleep, and Gray froze the lock of the cell door. Within, a familiar blue-haired mage waited with wide, relieved eyes…but she was alone. It was just as Gajeel had told them to start with, but it didn't make them any less agitated with these Demon Card bastards.
With a furious punch, the iron dragonslayer had shattered the frozen lock and yanked the door open with more force than necessary, sweeping into the room quickly to get to Levy's side. She was bruised and battered and beaten, although he tried to forget that he had done worse to her himself, but she looked happy to see them.
Before they could ask, however, she blurted, "They took Lu-chan to see their Boss! She lied and said she'd give him the information about Fairy Tail that he wanted, and they took her to his office!"
The petite blunette's lower lip trembled and she looked to the ground.
"Do you know where that is?" Mest asked quickly, looking up and down the halls for any signs of new people.
"N-no," she sniffled a little as Wendy squeezed forward to cast quick healing spells on a few of the worst bruises or scrapes. "I don't know where his office is, but when they left the cell, I heard them go up some stairs just off to the right."
"We can start with that," Gajeel said gruffly, dropping a comforting arm around her shoulders—although he would never admit to it—as Levy sagged weakly against him. She reached up to clutch his shirt tightly with one hand, and he squeezed her shoulder reassuringly when he felt her start to shake. In another attempt to comfort her, he spoke. "And if you guys didn't remember, you've got the senses of a dragon with you. I can smell the direction they headed after they left, and I'm sure the squirt here can, too."
"Yes!" Wendy nodded, her pigtails bouncing. "I can smell it, too!"
Mest nodded, noting the way that the tiny solid script mage seemed to deflate with relief. It was obvious that she was extremely concerned about her friend, and for good reason, if her injuries were anything to go by. These weren't the injuries of any ordinary kidnapping. No, the council member deduced as Wendy waved for them to follow her and he took up the spot beside her, these were injuries that had a purpose. These people, this Demon Card guild, wanted something from Fairy Tail, and it was something that they couldn't get just by framing one of their strongest.
In fact, the councilman suspected, what this dark guild wanted was to break Fairy Tail.
Don't they know that you can't break Fairy Tail? was the thought that flitted through his mind as he motioned Wendy back in order to peer around a corner.
"It's clear," he relayed to those behind him, and Wendy ducked out to lead in the direction they needed to go. Mest and Gajeel met each other's eyes momentarily, the latter still paying close attention to the injured girl under his arm. The red-eyed man nodded, and Mest glanced to Juvia, Erza, Gray, and Cana. The card mage was doing a rough reading while walking, and warned them that they would encounter someone around the next corner. Mest took the lead and started working his magic even before they reached the corner.
Gray dealt with both of the unsuspecting mages in an instant, and Wendy pointed a finger up a flight of stairs at the end of the hall.
The entire group turned immediately that way, Cana informing them of two more encounters coming up. Erza readied a sword, nodding in acknowledgment when the brunette included the details she had seen about the encounter. These two encounters included twice as many people than any of their others, and by the looks on each mage's face, they knew it would probably get a little loud. That meant more trouble would be coming their way.
All of that didn't prepare them for the scream.
So, here it is.
I decided to update as soon as I could because I've been having huge breaks between updates. I know I've lost some of you guys because of that (after all, only one person reviewed the most recent chapter, and it's been two months now), and I'm really sorry. I have bitten off far more than I can chew with all of the stories I have going on top of schoolwork, and there are really no excuses for something that I've done to myself.
So, again, I apologize. I've been a little stumped on this part of the story, but as soon as I get past this the rest will be easy. Please bear with me!