Lucy slowly turned around as a thunder fell near the house, lighting up the room. Natsu's penetrating black eyes fixed on hers. The scared girl held her phone close to her chest, and bumped into the side table as she tried to back away. She couldn't even gulp nor gasp for air.
"I ... I …" She shivered, as she tried to give him an answer. She was afraid. Dead afraid. She got busted and now he was going to kill her. Or worse, he would have hated her forever.
"I ..." Lucy heard him begin to speak and quickly closed her eyes shut, waiting for his fist to hit her.
"I want to beat them all, don't you dare ... Hide ...Those stupid monkeys ...Away from me ..." Natsu closed his eyes as he fell on his back, his snore quickly filling up the room. Lucy stared at him, petrified. She was frightened to even breathe, fearing that the boy would wake up again, perhaps for real this time.
Soon, morning came around and as the sun's rays hit Gray's face, he slowly woke up. He yawned as he stretched and looked around. He raised to his feet scratching his belly and noticed Lucy in a corner. She was resting her head on her arms as she hugged her legs. The boy gave her a funny look, thinking that she had a really strange way of sleeping, but when he saw the girl slowly raise her head to look at him with dull eyes, he quickly yelled:
"Lucy!?" The boy ran to her, stepping on Natsu in the process, who woke up screaming, that is, in the worst possible way.
"Eh? What? What happened?!" Natsu leaped to his feet, his bed hair covering his eyes.
"N-nothing happened-"
"Quick, flame head, go see that chick!" As Gray screamed those words Natsu quickly jumped over the couch and ran upstairs, his scarf slipping on the couch. As soon as Natsu disappeared behind the corner, Gray turned towards Lucy and grabbed her by the arms. She looked as if she hadn't slept at all and instead she spent the night crying.
"Are you okay, girl? Did anything happen?!"
"I-I'm fine ..." Lucy sighed, freeing herself from Gray's grip.
"I just couldn't sleep-"
"Everything's alright, guys!!" Natsu shouted, sliding down the stairs.
"Lucy, how are you?!" Once in the living room, the pink-haired boy jumped down to Lucy's level and grabbed her by the shoulders like Gray did.
"I-I said I'm fine!" The girl screamed angrily, freeing herself from Natsu's grip and standing up. Her cheeks painted red like Erza's hair. She couldn't understand how those guys could touch her so freely. The worst part was that her mind was starting to fill up with naughty thoughts. A topless Gray, looking up at her with his serious face and a Natsu without his scarf scratching his pink bed hair, were so damn sexy from up close.
"I'm f-fine, okay?! I-I didn't sleep at all, okay?!" The blonde girl stormed away towards the bathroom, as Natsu and Gray looked at each other confused. Together they said:
"Did you snore? Me? I don't snore! "Soon after they were glaring at each other and throwing offensive nicknames like always. The girl quickly closed the door behind her before biting her lower lip. Even with the door closed she could still hear them quarrel. Sighing, she went to the sink and washed her face. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she groaned. Her face was flaming red.
"Damn it, Lucy, what the hell is wrong with you ..." She breathed as she passed a hand through her hair. Mastering some courage, she left the bathroom and went into the kitchen.
They don't know anything Lucy, don't worry, everything will be fine … The girl thought as she sighed.
She waited, together with the two boys, for Natsu's little sister to come. For hours, that is, and when the door bell finally rang, Lucy quickly jumped to her feet. She couldn't resist any longer between Natsu and Gray who were fighting for every small reason. At one point they started a discussion on how to put the toilet paper in the bathroom, 'over' as Gray supported or 'under' as Natsu did.
"I'll go." The girl hissed, looking over her shoulder at the boys who raised to their feet soon after Lucy. Seeing the blonde girl glare at them with all her might, they gulped and quickly sat back on the couch. They followed with their eyes the girl run up to the door and open it. She was stone-still speechless as she saw all her friends in front of her door.
"S-sorry Lucy-san, they heard about yesterday and they absolutely wanted to accompany me ..." Wendy stuttered surrounded by Erza, Mirajane, Gajeel, Levy and Cana.
"I can't afford my classmates to be hurt. "Erza said, pushing Lucy away from the doorstep and shamelessly walking into her home.
"W-what-"
"I brought some food, I hope you don't mind! I didn't know what you liked, so I did a number of things, eheh!" Mira giggled showing her 2 large bags of food. Following her into the kitchen was Gajeel, who was also carrying a giant box in his arm.
"Those cockheads wanted Wendy to come here alone, tch" The black-haired boy grumbled as he saw Natsu and Gray running around in circle around the small coffee table, while Erza was running after them waving a sword over her head and screaming 'how dare they, do such a thing'.
"Woah you sure have a nice house Lucy, tell me the truth, you're rich, eeeeh?" Cana said throwing an arm around Lucy's shoulders who looked at her confused.
"Don't worry, I like you this way too." The drunk girl whispered into Lucy's ear who suddenly became red like a tomato. With a hand over her ear, she looked at the brunette walking into the living room, laughing loudly.
"I'm sorry, Lu-chan... I didn't want to disturb you but Gajeel insisted that I came and honestly I was really worried about you after hearing what happened." Levy was the last to come in. The blonde girl sighed, face-palming as she closed the door.
"Don't worry ...Either way, now I can't say anything anymore ..."
"Wah, Erza, it wasn't our fault!" Gray yelled, throwing against the red-haired girl an armchair that the girl stopped with one hand.
"Nonsense! It's an unacceptable behavior! What would you have done if you couldn't get out in time?! "The girl roared, taking Natsu by the scarf. The pink-haired boy shrieked, asking for Cana's help, who on the other hand was shamelessly sitting on the couch, laughing at the scene while drinking from her flask.
"L-Lucy helped us out!" Gray screamed, dodging Erza's sword.
"Lucy?" The red-haired girl stopped and turned around to look at Lucy, who slightly jumped when she locked eyes with the angry girl.
"Is it true, Lucy?"
"Y-yes, ma'am!" Erza sighed as her sword vanished in the air, before letting go of her grip on Natsu's scarf. As she did that the boy quickly coughed, breathing with difficulty, before crawling away.
"At least now you're okay ..."
Well, now that you've stopped trying to kill us, yeah, we're ok ... Lucy thought, gulping. Not courageous enough to say what she thought.
"Ummm, can I know... Who told you what happened?"
"Natsu." Everyone said together, pointing at the boy in question who, feeling observed, laughed and scratched his head sheepishly.
Damn you pinky! Lucy thought, clenching her fists along her side.
"Sigh ... You can leave now ... There's no need for all of you to be here ..." Lucy shook her head, as she passed a hand through her hair. She was worried that her house would explode in any moment, knowing the kind of people that were there in front of her.
"No way, girl." Lucy heard Cana's voice say and as she raised her head to look at brunette, she was surprised to see how serious and, above all, sober she was.
"It's an unspoken rule of our school. Friends in need are to always be helped without ifs nor buts. "
"Aha, that's how it was!" Natsu exclaimed before laughing.
"But what we don't understand, is why did you do that.." Erza said, crossing her arms over her chest. Now they were all seriously looking at the blonde girl and Lucy, slightly stepping back, put a hand on her chest. She gulped, slightly trembling under their cold stare.
"W-well ... That girl ...Is a f-friend ... Of some ...F-friends of mine ..." Lucy quickly tried to find a credible excuse. But Erza, who saw right through her excuse, was now glaring at her.
"Umm, about the girl ... Lucy-san, where is she..." Wendy decided to cut the heavy air showing the blonde girl her first aid box, which she had brought with her.
"She's ... In my room, u-upstairs ..."
In the blink of an eye everyone was upstairs in Lucy's bedroom, around the bed to see Wendy curing the weak girl. Lucy was sitting on the chair of her vanity table with Levy was leaning against it, beside her. Gajeel was leaning against the door on the threshold, while Natsu and Gray were sitting on the floor behind Wendy. Mirajane was sitting on the bed next to Yukino and with a wet rag she was cleaning her face, while Erza was sitting in a chair behind her and next to Levy.
"Umm ...." Wendy started to say, her face red like a pepper.
"W-well ...T-there's no need for everyone to be here, I'm fine with a person or two ... I feel ... too observed ..." The girl whispered, as they all realized it immediately. The girl's trembling little hands, which were placed on Yukino's chest, emitted a feeble green light.
"Okay, then who's gonna stay?" Gray looked around, as he raised to his feet.
"Lucy?" Mira asked, looking at the blonde girl behind her.
"H-huh?" Lucy glanced back at her, surprised.
"If you want, I can stay here with Lu-chan, is it okay?" Levy volunteered and as a result everyone walked out of the room.
"Wait, where are you guys going?!" Lucy ran after them and stopped them on the stairs.
"What kind of question is that?" Cana asked, looking up at her with an irked eyebrow.
"We'll be downstairs, if anything happens." Erza explained crossing her arms.
"W-wait, this is my house-"
"Come on, Lu-chan, they won't do anything bad, right guys?" Levy said, putting her hand on the blonde's shoulder, who looked at her worriedly. Everyone in chorus answered yes and the petite blue-haired girl looked at Lucy with a sweet smile.
"See? Don't worry." Lucy worriedly turned her head towards the herd of people left behind her as she was pulled into her room. She was convinced that those guys would destroy her house.
"Do you need any help, Wendy?" Levy gently asked, smiling at Wendy when she turned towards her.
"U-um ..." The little girl slightly blushed before saying:
"I-if one of you ...Can wipe my forehead ..."
"Okay!" The short blue-haired girl took a handkerchief and wiped Wendy's forehead while Lucy wiped Yukino's face, which was slowly regaining color.
"I hope she'll get better soon ..." Lucy whispered to herself.
"Don't worry" Wendy replied. She smiled at Lucy when she looked up and saw that the blonde girl had a surprised expression on her face.
"I managed to get rid of the worst part of the poison ... But ... It will take...A while to cure her..."
"Why?" Levy asked, sitting beside Yukino's feet. Wendy's small and gentle face quickly showed a frown.
"They used ...Different types of poison ... I-it's hard to recognize them and eliminate them all in one go ..."
"I see ..." Lucy looked at Yukino's face. Why was she doing all this, for a girl who she didn't even know? Was it because she knew that she was also a celestial mage and therefore she felt close to her? Or was it because a voice from inside her heart, a voice that was silenced for way too long, forced her to move? Whatever the reason was, Lucy knew she was in for a lot of trouble. Not only because her classmates now knew what had happened, but also because sooner or later Sting and Rogue would have come to pick her up.
More or less an hour later, after constantly using her magic, Wendy began to feel tired. Her vision was getting cloudier and her attention was decreasing.
"Wendy, don't push yourself." Levy said, wiping her forehead again.
"If you can't do it any more, you can stop." Lucy added.
"J-just ... Just another ... Bit ..." The little girl breathed, increasing the intensity of the green light. By now, Yukino's face had a normal color and was breathing regularly. After a couple of minutes Wendy sighed and withdrew her little hands, before wiping her forehead with her arm.
"D-done!" She said, satisfied but tired at the same time.
"Thank you, Wendy, you did a great job!" Levy cheered her up.
"Let's go, I can already smell Mira's food!" And thus Wendy was helped out of the room by Levy.
"Lu-chaaan?"
"Y-yeah, I'm coming!" The blonde girl shouted back, before looking back at Yukino. She couldn't help but feel as if something bad will happen that day. Trying to ignore that feeling, she sighed before pulling up the blankets. Walking down the stairs, her ears were overwhelmed by a myriad of screams.
"Natsu, get off the coffee table and move it in a corner!" Erza yelled, stopping right in front of Lucy with her hands and arms covered in plates with food on them. Lucy wondered how she was keeping them all in balance, without dropping them on the floor.
"What ... what are you doing?" The blonde girl walked down some other steps just to see her living room completely different from how she had left it. The couch was facing the window and between it and the armchairs there were several chairs brought from the kitchen and placed in a circle.
"Hey, boss, where do I put this one?" Gajeel asked coming out of the kitchen with the table resting on his head.
"In the middle, thank you." Erza motioned with her head where the living room was.
"And you, Lucy, don't stand there like that! Go and help Mira in the kitchen!"
"Y-yes ma'am!" Lucy quickly ran into the kitchen, afraid to be struck by Erza's fury. Not even 30 minutes later, Lucy was looking confused in front of her.
"How ... Did I end up in this situation …" Lucy sighed, as she bit down on a piece of chicken. Everyone was gathered in the living room, eating Mira's food and screaming like how they were used to do at school, as the TV provided a loud background music.
"Natsu, stop stealing all the meat or I'll break your face!" Gray shouted, stopping Natsu's fork with his knife.
"Haaah, do you have a death wish?!" Natsu leaped to his feet before taking Gray by his shirt, and in doing so Wendy spilled some of her soup on Gajeel, pissing him off.
"Stop fighting, you blockheads!" Erza roared, standing up and bumping into the table. Lucy was quick enough to save a bottle of water from falling on the ground.
"And you stop stealing all the fries!" They all screamed in chorus, making Erza blush furiously before she quickly sat down.
"Ugh ...My head hurts ..." Cana said, leaning her head on Lucy's shoulder, who, overwhelmed by the brunette's proximity, jumped in her seat.
"Heeeey, Lucy, where's the bathroom in this house?"
"T-there's one next to the stairs ... O-or upstairs .."
"Hmmm ... niceeee, thanks ..." Cana breathed in her ear and smirked up at her seeing how red she had become.
"Hey Lucy can you pass me the salt?" Mira turned towards the blonde, who without even looking at her, handed her the salt. After eating almost everything that Mirajane had brought and restoring the living room to how it was before, Lucy was greeting everyone at the front door.
"Make sure to call us immediately if something happens, ok?" Erza said, while putting her coat on.
"Yes, yes ..Okay ..." Lucy timidly scratched her cheek.
"Guurl see ya at school, next time I will bring some more booze, m'kay? Kekeke!" Cana shouted, throwing an arm around the blonde, who a little taken aback tried to smile. Like the boys, Cana didn't know anything about personal space.
"Cana! At least put your jacket on! Goodbye Lucy my dear, oh, and tell me if you want me to cook something else! Next time I'll definitely come with Lisanna, you don't know how sorry she was that she couldn't come!" Mira sighed before taking Cana's leather jacket.
"Ahhh... I-I understand- Hey!" The blonde girl nodded, seeing with the end of the eye Gray quickly approach her just to mess her hair up.
"Cheerio, Blondie! Eheh"
"Lu-chan!" Levy shouted, throwing her arms around Lucy, who had to let go of the door's handle to return the embrace.
"I'm so sorry I can't stay here longer, but please, please, please call me ok? Call us, if you need it, ok? It's a promise!"
"O-ok ..." The blonde girl stuttered before watching Gajeel greet her and pick up Levy by the coat, pulling her out of the house. Even outside the house the petite girl was still screaming a couple of book names that she should have tried reading. Lucy felt her free hand taken by a pair of smaller ones and turning around she saw Wendy look up at her with giant brown eyes.
"Y-you should stay close to her ... And if she wakes up, I recommend you to give her some water to drink..."
"Okay, okay." Wendy smiled at her before she left. The blonde girl sighed tiredly, feeling as if a devastating hurricane had hit her. Being together with that group of people tired her out completely.
"See ya Luce!" Lucy heard Natsu's voice say from behind her, before a hand covered her eyes and pulled her back. A pair of hot lips came in contact with her right cheek.
"If something dangerous happens... run." Natsu whispered in her ear before he let go of his grip and ran out the door to reach the circle of people who was screaming and whistling in front of her house. Quickly the blonde girl slammed the door shut and sliding down the door she quietly heard the screams move away, becoming weaker and weaker. Touching her cheek, she scoffed.
"It's from you that I should be running, stupid pinky ..." She whispered, clutching her chest. Her heart beating like crazy. If there was anything dangerous in that moment, it was Natsu's ability to make her go insane with only a kiss.
After all of them left, Lucy went back into her bedroom. She quietly took a chair and sat next to her bed where Yukino was sleeping. As she put her keys down on the bedside table she watched with a lost gaze the girl's chest rising up and down. Suddenly her front door's bell started ringing and confused Lucy got up from her chair. Did someone forget something at her house? The unfaltering ringing was increasingly becoming longer. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt in danger. She slowly put a hand on her whip's handle and loudly asked:
"W-who's there!?" Her question was rewarded with only stronger punches and kicks against her door. Lucy gulped before she opened the door, only to see Sting and Rogue bent over themselves, heavily panting before looking at the girl. Sting suddenly took Lucy by the neck as he stormed into the house, while Rogue quickly looked around himself before closing the door behind him. Lucy was crazily trying with all her strength to free herself from Sting's grip, feeling the need to breath growing stronger. Unfazed by her struggle, the blond boy yelled in her face:
"Where the fuck did you hide her!?" The grip around her neck growing tighter. Lucy tried to tell him to let her go, but only choking noise came out of her mouth. Her kicks were slowly losing intensity.
"Sting let her go." Rogue told him as he put his hand on his shoulder. The blond hair guy glared at the girl before throwing her against the couch with a monstrous force. A scream of pain came out of the girl's mouth as she bounced and fell to the ground, before she quickly put her hands around her throat. The poor girl began to cough heavily, as her eyes were squeezed thigh. Desperately reaching for air. Unfortunately like that, she couldn't see Sting's kick that was about to hit her, so she took the kick to the face and went flying on the coffee table, breaking it in the process.
"ANSWER ME BITCH!"
"Where did you hide her, Lucy!" Rogue added, pushing his cloak away and showing his fists wrapped in a black smoke. Lucy was panting heavily and trembling as she tried to get up.
"She is ...C-cough! ...Up ..." She tried to say between a cough and another.
"Why the heck did you do it?!" Sting roared, charging at her. His fists emitting an intense white light. This time, Lucy managed to see him and she dodged him right in time. Sting's fist grazed Lucy's nose and went straight into the floor. Right after the clash everything around trembled because of the impact and big pieces of wood, coming from the broken floor, flew around the boy. Lucy kicked the boy in the shoulder in order to push herself away and moved back faster. The guy glared at her, unfazed by the kick, with his hand still locked in the floor.
"W-wait-" Lucy didn't have enough time to finish her sentence as with the end of her eye she saw Rogue appear behind her, ready to punch her. Even this time, she barely managed to dodge his attack by rolling to her right. Her face scrunched up in pain as she bit back another cry of pain. Just like Sting, the black-haired guy hit the floor and everything around them trembled.
"L-listen to me, please!"
"Why did you do that!? Are you trying to kill her!? Giver her back, now!"
"NO!" Lucy shouted back, dodging a kick from Sting and a fist from Rogue which went straight into her bookshelf destroying it completely.
Lucy desperately tried to defend herself from the two guys who were clearly stronger and quicker than her. Rogue quickly punched her as Sting grabbed her by the arm before he threw her against a black cabinet. The poor girl cried in pain as shards of glass fell on her powerless body. Lucy tried to stand up and stumbled away from the two guys in a corner of the room, near the window. Gasping for air and trembling she pulled her whip out. She didn't even have her keys with her.
F-fuck ... She thought as she remembered leaving them next to Yukino in her room.
"Lucy we don't want to do this, but we have no choice. You got us into some real trouble." Rogue said as his whole body was now wrapped in what looked like black flames.
"No, please...L-listen to me, it's not what you're thinking!" Lucy shouted, putting her arms in front of herself, trying to defend herself from an eventual attack. She knew she could no longer escape. She had taken too many hits and she was sure she had a broken leg and perhaps a few broken ribs too. Panting heavily, she tried to think of a way out.
"Bullshit!" Sting roared as his body lit up in what looked like white flames. A ray of light grazed Lucy's arm before it broke the window behind her. The girl screamed as she fell to the ground, hugging herself. Shards of glass were flying everywhere.
The power they were emitting was so strong that Lucy began to cry. She was done for. She knew she would have died if she were to be hit by any of those two monsters' fists. Their power resembled perfectly Natsu's when she pissed him off, with the only difference being that they had strange black and white scales on their body, like a dragon's.
"I-I beg you-"
"Shut your filthy mouth!" Sting screamed out, before running towards her with Rogue quickly following behind. They were both ready to punch her when they suddenly stopped.
"Sting ... Rogue ..."A faint voice, almost a whisper, said. The two guys stopped just centimeters away from Lucy's face, who closed her eyes in fear. They turned around to see Yukino's weak body leaning against Virgo, on the living room's threshold.
"Yukino!" They shouted together and suddenly out of nowhere, they heard a voice roar:
"Get away from my owner!" Lucy raised her half-lidded eyes to see Loki in the air. His fists emitting a blinding light. Seeing the angry boy, Rogue jumped away in time while Sting didn't.
"REGULUS!!" As the orange-haired boy screamed that word, his blinding fist struck Sting in the face, sending him flying against the wall and breaking it all in the process. Trembling, Lucy watched in sheer terror and with her mouth wide open, what Loki's destructive strength did. He completely destroyed her house's wall with a simple punch. Powerless, the girl fell back against the wall behind her. Her frightened eyes fixed on Loki's back, who was standing in front of Lucy while holding his right fist up. A dead serious frown on his face, which Lucy had never seen before. Who would have thought that Loki would be so scary when pissed off.
"Lucy, are you okay?!" The boy jumped down at Lucy's level before taking her by the shoulders.
"Y-yes-Argh!" She could hardly nod before screaming in pain.
"Yukino!" Rogue yelled as he approached the short haired girl who tried to take a step towards him before dropping into his arms.
"Yukino, are you all right?!" The boy stood motionless, fearing that he would have hurt her if he dared to move, his black flames now vanished into thin air.
"Rogue ... I'm ... Okay ...Please ..." The girl breathed between a gasp and a cough.
"Don't hurt her …" She slowly raised her head. Rogue's red eyes widened when they saw Yukino's pleading eyes.
"O-ok ..."
"BASTARD!" Sting's voice thundered from outside and thus his body appeared in the air above Loki, who together with Lucy, looked at him in shock. The blonde boy was about to punch Loki when suddenly Virgo's chains took him by the fist, as well as his body, and pulled him towards her. Jumping in the air, Virgo slapped her hands together over her head.
"Spica hole!" The maid chanted before her hands lit up in an intense golden light.
"V-Virgo no!" Lucy couldn't stop her spirit in time. Sting, who was under Virgo, chained up in her chains, was fully hit by the girl's monstrous blow which destroyed the floor and created a giant hole. Virgo's blow was so strong that the earth vigorously trembled, making everything drop down into the hole that she had just created. Loki, like Rogue with Yukino, picked up the blonde in his arms just in time, before he jumped out of the way through the cracked wall.
Lucy's vision was gradually getting cloudier, but at least she felt safe in Loki's arms, behind Virgo. Tiredly she looked towards her left and her gaze met Yukino's. The blue-haired girl pushed herself against Rogue's chest, who let her go without a hassle. Slowly she dragged herself toward Lucy and once in front of her, she grabbed her hands. Panting, she raised her head to look into Lucy's eyes and gently rest her forehead on the blonde's. Suddenly Lucy saw everything around her go white before she found herself in the middle of nothing. In front of her, Yukino was holding her hands.
"W-where-"
"It's like a parallel world ... Here... No one can reach us ..." The blue-haired girl explained, shyly peeking at Lucy.
"I'm sorry ... For all this ... Sting and Rogue.. They're not bad guys, believe me-"
"They tried to kill me!"
"But that's not what they wanted!" Shocked, Lucy looked at the girl in front of her. A painful frown painted on her face.
"I'm ... ... More than confident ... That they were forced to do it ..."
"W-why ..." Lucy whispered.
"Why is all of this happening to you ... It's... It's not fair ..." Yukino glanced at the blonde girl. Seeing how good Lucy was too her even thought she didn't know her, was really painful.
"It's a long story...."
"Please." Lucy asked her as she seriously stared at the short haired girl. Yukino returned the stare for a couple of seconds before sighing and looking away.
"As you know, I go... I went to Sabertooth high school ... Jienma ... The principal ... He suddenly didn't want me in his school anymore." Lucy's eyes widened.
"Wait ... I thought that Minerva didn't want you alive!" Hearing Lucy's words, Yukino's head suddenly snapped up.
"Eh ?! Minerva-sama?! No, she would never do it!... I-I'm sure, she is suffering more than Sting and Rogue ... " Yukino's eyes were full of pain.
"Your name ... is Lucy, right?" The blue-haired girl asked her, watching the blonde girl slowly nod.
"My name is Yukino Aguria. I'm a celestial mage ... Like you ... I had the keys of Pisces, Libra and ... Ophiuchus ... "
"O-O-Ophiuchus?!" Lucy exclaimed, shocked by what she heard.
"But it's impossible, to open that door you need an immense source of magical power!" Yukino smiled at her embarrassed.
"Jienma suddenly started to send people after me ... Sting, Rogue and Minerva-sama, immediately tried to stop him, but they got ... beaten up and …" The girl gulped heavily. Her lips trembled as she tried to speak.
"And eventually he ordered them to kill me ..." Lucy couldn't believe her ears. She could never understand how much Sting and Rogue were suffering. To be ordered to kill their friend, without having a chance to rebel. She could only imagine the pain.
"W-why..."
"I don't know ...But I think he was after my keys ..." Yukino said as she put a hand on her chest.
"I was afraid ... I was so afraid for my friends ... For my spirits ... So I broke my contracts with my spirits and I gave Pisces and Libra to Minerva-sama while I hid Ophiuchus in a place where no one, except me, can reach ... "
That's why Minerva gave me the missing keys ... Lucy thought, biting her lower lip. Lucy knew the pain and fear of endangering her own spirits. It was a feeling that was taunting her for years now.
"From then on things exponentially degenerate, one evening I was attacked by Jienma's men and I couldn't defend myself... They were going to kill me when Minerva-sama appeared out of nowhere and saved me ... I was brought to a hospital ... A-and from there on I don't remember anything anymore ... " Yukino said bitterly.
"I ... I didn't want this to happen ..." Lucy looked at her as she held her hands.
"I woke up hearing the screams ...Your keys were on the ground and they were shaking ... Your spirits ... They were screaming your name ..." Lucy looked away from the girl, with a distressed face. Why? She was doing everything in her power to keep them safe, so why was she constantly hurting them? She just wanted to save them, but she kept feeling how all her spirits were suffering next to her.
"I managed to fall out the bed ... And I took Virgo's key ... Obviously I'm not the owner ... but I'm a celestial mage too, so I gave it enough energy to make her pass through her portal ... She was ...She was worried and scared ... I asked her to accompany me down and ..."
"And you saved me just in time ..." Lucy breathed, finishing Yukino's phrase, who was silently looking at the blond-headed girl.
"Lucy ... We don't have any more time ... I just wanted to thank you... For saving me ..." Lucy looked back at the blue-haired girl.
"I want ..." The girl rested her forehead on Lucy's.
"I want to ... return... The favor ..." Yukino's voice was slowly growing dimmer as their body slowly faded away.
"E-eh !? W-what do you mean?! "Lucy couldn't ask her in time. Her eyes widened as she saw Yukino's sweet smile before she disappeared completely. Suddenly opening her eyes, Lucy gasped as she tried to breath. Blinking and looking around she realized that she came back to reality. Looking down, she saw Yukino sleeping in her arms.
"Lucy!" Loki shouted, as he gently shook the girl.
"I-I'm all right, Loki ..." Lucy reassured him, flinching at the pain, before looking at Rogue's figure slowly approach them. Seriously, he stared down at them.
"W-what do you want?" Loki growled as one of his free hands lit up, getting ready for another attack, but rouge looked at him unfazed.
"Yukino ..." Lucy started to say, before gulping.
"Yukino ... Told me everything ..." Rogue slightly frowned at Lucy's words.
"I didn't try to hurt her, believe me! Please listen to me! "The girl pleaded, trying to convince the boy. The black-haired boy looked at her for another couple of seconds before squatting down and taking Yukino in his arms. He turned around and walked away without saying a word.
"Rogue!"
"I'll listen to you." The boy cut her short, without turning around.
"But not now. Let's go Sting." Said that, the blond-haired boy jumped out the hole while doing a front flip. His clothes a complete wreck. He panted as he glared at Lucy who flinched back, scared for her life. Without saying anything, the boy got up to his feet and ran after Rogue. Suddenly a thunder fell nearby and in a blink of an eye it started raining.
"Princess!"
"Lucy!" Loki screamed, seeing Lucy slowly lose consciousness.
"Quick, Virgo! Try to rebuild the wall before the portal closes on us!" The boy shouted, raising to his feet. As he hold the passed out blonde in his arms he quickly ran towards the house.
"Roger." Virgo looked over her shoulder with a straight face. She watched as the boy made a big leap over her pit before he ran up the stairs.
"Brrr ... So cold!" Wendy shivered, as she quickly tried to close the windows.
"I wonder if Lucy-chan is fine...."
"Meow!" Charle meowed before she shook off some of the water that hit her.
"I think so too ..."
"Wendy, we're going!" Natsu shouted, putting on his jacket.
"Ah, d-don't be too late!" The girl quickly reached them.
"Gihi, it all depends on that guy, the sooner he chooses to talk and the sooner we finish our job." Gajeel said, putting his hoodie over his head before opening the door. Wendy worriedly looked at him leave, before bringing a hand to her mouth. She didn't like what Natsu and Gajeel had to do.
-Flashback to Lucy's house-
Walking into the living room, Natsu and Gajeel threw themselves on the couch, followed immediately by Gray who picked up the remote control and turned the TV on.
"And, now we'll wait here quietly." Erza breathed as she sat back in an armchair with a book on her lap, which a second before she took from the Lucy's bookshelf.
"Hey Erza." Natsu said seriously as the girl in question raised her eyes to look at him.
"Tell me."
"Enough with all the secrets." The temperature in that room suddenly dropped. Gray silently lowered the TV's volume, before staring at Erza. The girl glanced towards Mira, who looked back at her worriedly, before turning to Natsu and ask:
"What are you talking about?"
"I know that you're looking into Lucy's past, cut the bullshit." Erza frowned at the boy before slamming the book closed with her hands.
"What did you say?" She hissed.
"Enough with these fucking games!" Natsu yelled, standing up and immediately the book that Erza was holding clashed into the boy's face, making him fall back into the couch.
"Natsu. Lower your voice or Lucy will find out. " Cana seriously said as she sat down on the coffee table. With a bored expression she put a leg on top of the other as she moved back her long hair with her hand. Pretending to be drunk tired her out. Erza sighed as she face-palmed.
"Tell us Erza." Gray looked at her seriously as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"We realized that you were hiding something a long time ago, ya know?" Gajeel added as he emptied a pack of chips.
"Erza ..." Mirajane tried to gain the girl's attention. It was too late to pretend that nothing was happening.
"Listen." Erza sighed as she began to say.
"I'll tell you all we know, but in return, we need your help." Gray looked at Natsu and Gajeel before saying:
"You know you can always count on us, Erza."
-End of flashback-
"Don't worry. We'll be home in time for dinner." Natsu scattered her hair in every direction as he showed her his toothy grin. The little girl returned the smile before she looked at him pull his hood over his head and quickly run away.
"Why did you make me wait so much, fuck!" Gray said through his clenched teeth, as the two boys reached him under the roof of a shop.
"Hey, not my fault ok? Tin can, had some stuff to do at his workshop."
"Sure, sure, so that's how you call 'making out with Levy', eh?"
"S-s-shut up, or I'll break your face!" Gajeel blushed embarrassed as Natsu laughed his ass off.
"Let's go." Gray smirked as he cracked his knuckles.
The boys quickly ran in the rain. Reaching a scary neighborhood, they ran down a pair of stairs that led to a lead lined metal door. The boys looked at each other before Gajeel quickly kicked the door down with his foot. All the people inside suddenly stopped and looked at them. They were all strong and dangerous looking men, who quickly got up to their feet, arming themselves from head to toe before charging against the 3 teenagers.
"Those who are armed are all mine!" Natsu yelled as he jumped in the air. Putting his fists to his mouth he roared:
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" A large quantity of flames came out of his mouth which engulfed everyone in front of him. As Natsu dropped on the ground Gray shouted:
"Ice-make: Lance!" Putting his hands in front of him, lances came out of his magical circle and quickly impaled the enemies that Natsu failed to hit.
"You jackass, everybody here is armed!" Gajeel yelled before breaking a sword with his teeth.
"Iron dragon's lance: Demon logs!" The boy's hand quickly transformed into a large spearhead from which a large number of steel spears hit his targets in rapid succession.
"Shut it!" Natsu roared back as he kicked a man in the face with his foot on fire.
"Tell us, where the fuck is your boss hidin'?" Gray took a man by the collar.
"W-we will never tell you!" The man stuttered before being frozen alive.
After a couple of minutes of crazy fighting, the three boys gathered back to back.
"If this keeps up ... We won't get anywhere..." Gajeel breathed, wiping his mouth with one arm.
"Yeah ..." Gray agreed, breathing heavily.
"Tch ... Eligor, Come out!" Natsu yelled, as his whole body lit on fire.
"Who are the idiots that dare to disturb our hideout?" A voice was heard from above. The three boys looked up to see Eligor sitting on his scythe in the air.
"Boss, save us!" All the men started exulting, feeling safer now that Eligor had appeared. The so much sought man smirked down at the young boys.
"If you don't want to die, you should-"
"Eligor!"
"Natsu, wait!" Gray couldn't stop Natsu in time. The boy leaped in the air and charged against Eligor who, in order to defend himself, quickly created a wind sphere around him. Natsu collided with the ball, face first.
"Aahahaha, what a fuckin' idiot, my defense is impenetrable- E-eh?!" Eligor watched confused as Natsu's body caught on fire and started screaming.
"ELIGOOOOOR!" Slowly Natsu's face, covered in cuts, was making his way through Eligor's spinning wind wall. The grey-haired boy looked with sheer terror at Natsu's scary face.
"Y-you are not normal!" The pink-haired boy smirked wickedly.
"Gray, get out!" Gajeel yelled as he made a hole in the wall behind him.
"I-Idiot, don't do it!" Gray shouted as he backed away, squinting as he looked toward Natsu.
"FIRE DRAGON'S BRILIANT FLAME!" Suddenly the tavern where Natsu and the others were fighting exploded, leaving only debris behind.
"D-dumb freak ..." Gray coughed, shoving off some wooden planks from his back, while Gajeel on the other side grunted, as he face palmed.
"M-m-monster ..." Eligor spit some blood before turning around and seeing Natsu look down at him with dead cold green eyes.
"Speak. Or I'll break your neck. "The scary boy growled, taking the grey-haired man by the throat and raising him in the air.
"O-okay... okay...I'll t-talk!"
"Natsu, let him go, bro ..." Gray said, as he slowly approached him. With one hand the young boy was holding his left arm, which broke in the explosion. Natsu looked at him from above his shoulder before letting Eligor fall to the ground.
"W-what do you want from me?!" Eligor, stuttered trying to back away. When he slammed his back into something hard, he turned around to see Gajeel standing behind him. The black-haired boy cracked his neck before he glared down at him.
"Tell us, what do you know about Lucy Ashley." Gray said without wasting time, the rain was increasing the black smoke produced by the rubble that caught on fire in the explosion. Soon the police would have come and they would been in real trouble.
"Who!? I-I don't know any Lucy Ashley!"
"Maybe there's a way to make you remember something." Natsu growled as he raised a fist and lit it in flames. Eligor shrieked before stuttering.
"Ah! N-n-n-now I think y-yes! yes, yes, I think I know a certain Lucy, but that bitch's name was Lucy Heartfilia-Argh! " Eligor cried in pain, as his foot caught on fire. Infuriated by the fact that he called Lucy a bitch, Natsu set his his foot on fire.
"Chill the fuck out, bro!" Gajeel said, pushing Natsu away with a hand, gaining only a growl from the angry teen.
"Tell us about her. What do you know? "Gray continued to ask, looking around.
"Nothing really, just that she's the daughter of a very wealthy man! That madman offered us a lot of money to find her and bring her to him. "Gray looked at Natsu and Gajeel before turning to Eligor.
"Why?"
"How the fuck am I supposed to know!? That man isn't normal, dude ... That man must be off his rock, he told us to bring him her dead body if needed! " Natsu's eyes widened as he heard those words.
"Bro, the police is coming." Gajeel groaned, scratching an ear with his little finger. The police's ringing siren was slowly growing louder.
"Where's this asshole?!" Natsu growled, taking the scared man by the collar.
"Natsu stop, we don't have time now! We have to go! "Gray said, putting a hand on Natsu's shoulder who smacked it away.
"I'm not going anywhere, until I know where the fuck is this bastard that wants to kill Lucy!" He snapped at Gray.
"I understand you, for crying out loud! But you can't do shit from prison!" Gray snapped back at him with the same intensity.
"Listen to me for once, we'll find a way to save Lucy, ok??"
"We really have to go now, guys." Gajeel said, taking Gray's arm and putting it around his neck.
Natsu turned his attention to Eligor who was trembling in his grip. He glared daggers at him before throwing him on the floor.
"You better not say a word." The pink-haired boy threatened, as he cracked his fingers.
"If you do, next time, I will kill you for sure, got it?" Eligor quickly nodded, before watching the boy run away after the others.