Natsu seemed distracted throughout his whole mission with Lisanna. Why did he have this weird niggling feeling in his stomach for leaving Lucy like that? She's strong and capable of many things, so why? She did say something about a group of dark mages, which sound strangely familiar.. argh!
"Natsu! Focus on the mission, you haven't forgotten yet have you?" she teased.
"Huh, yeah. Lisanna? What did we have to do again? I forgot," he asked absent-mindedly. She simply gaped at him and huffed at his ignorance towards her. That's when something lit up in her brain. Smirking only slightly, she stepped onto her tippy toes and swiftly gave him a peck on each cheek. His eyes noticed Lisanna for the first time, eyes widening after processing what had happened..
Grinning devilishly, he looked dangerously about to see if anyone was nearby (which was strange for that to even cross his mind, given that he was in a desolated forest) and started chasing after her in preparation of a hardcore tickle attack. She giggled at this, and started running aimlessly through the Purple Forest until she tripped over a large lump that was hidden beneath purple (and oddly, green polka-dotted) leaves. "Wha-?" she asked in a daze, her head spinning from impact. She eyed the lump curiously before uncovering it, and to her great astonishment, it was the gem. "Natsu, I found the gem!" she shouted happily, "and it's so beautiful!" Amazingly beautiful, indeed. It was a gorgeous aqua-green color and it stood out in the midst of the forest (scientifically speaking, it stood out b/c its chemical properties radiated a glowing green in the Purple Forest). In order to camouflage properly, it reflected the purple light from the forest, making it all the hard to find.
"What did I miss?" Natsu stopped his attempts to tickle her, for he had gotten tired of it a long time ago and settled with just chasing her instead for no particular reason. "And why are you staring at a rock..?" He stared at Lisanna in confusion.
"It's not a rock stupid," she giggled and rolled her eyes at his idiocy, "it's the gem we were searching for!"
He blinked a few times and scratched the back of his head. "That's what we were looking for?" he asked sheepishly. She sighed. Pursing her lips in a tight circle, she deliberately walked past him and ignored him the rest of the way. All that could be heard in the forest were the loud pleads for attention and constant complaints of boredom from a seemingly desperate and sorrowful man.
It took him days to reach the guild on foot. Bitter, painful, torturously long days. The guild was surprisingly peaceful (although in a good way) during that time, thanks to the absence of a certain dragon slayer. Managing to open the large guild doors, his body collapsed entirely in fatigue and exhaustion. Mirajane watched in horror as she took in the sight before her. "Wendy?" she gasped out.
"Already on it Mira-san! You can count on me!" She was already healing his minor cuts and bruises with precision and grace and worked her way up to the huge gash on the top of his forehead. With the last finishing touches, she stood up from her position to brush herself off, only to pass out from the toll the magic had taken on her. Before she hit the ground, Charle swooped in and came to the rescue, scolding the now unconscious girl.
"You need to stop pushing yourself Wendy! Look what you've gotten yourself into! You're lucky I was here to see this coming," she sighed and worried for her childhood friend.
"Waiiit, Charle! Do you want some fish?!" a familiar voice shouted out from behind. She could smell the fish nearby, and was dangerously tempted, but motherly instincts took over.
"Thanks for the offer Happy, but it is better if you just leave," she replied stubbornly, and continued her way towards Grandine's household.
Happy, feeling rejected and lonely as ever, flew to a corner and ate the fish in sorrowful silence.
Almost everyone in the guild crowded around Gray, watching his every movement and anxiously waiting for an explanation. Gray, feeling newly reborn and refreshed, slowly opened his eyes and stared at the hundred sets of eyes looking back into his expectantly.
"Where's Lu-chan, Gray?" Levy was able to place herself on the front (being small and petite did have its perks) and amber eyes showed concern for her friend.
"We.. were ambushed and I-I couldn't fucking save her!" he fist pounded the floor, and refused to look upon his guild members. His voice was hoarse from the lack of food and water, only adding on to the dramatic feel.
"I forgive you Gray-sama! Everyone makes mistakes!" a voice shouted out amidst the crowd.
"…"
"Gray, do not put this onto yourself. You tried your best and that is all that matters." Despite the sharp tip of her sword threateningly poking his neck, she sent reassuring words for her ice-make mage. "Now if you would tell us her whereabouts, we will come to her aid."
"About that.." he replied sheepishly, his hand scratching the back of his head. "I really don't know where they went." Everyone practically sweat-dropped at the comment.
"Well, I will need some more information in order to research these ambushers. So, while we still can, we could head back to the scene and search for some clues," Levy suggested.
"I have the paperwork for the mission!" an angelic voice chirped, whom Gray assumed was Mirajane. A bunch of 'excuse me's' and 'thank you's' could be heard amongst the murmurs of the crowd. As she trekked her way to the front, he could smell the pleasant aroma of food and orange juice. "I batched up some cheese sandwiches and juice, Gray. You must be starving!"
"Th-thanks Mira," he nodded gratefully. She smiled beautifully in response, long locks of silver hair flowing along her back and shoulder. You could make out a puff of steam erupting from the crowd if looked close enough.
"I'll cook for you Gray-sama!"
As Gray tried to ignore that last comment, the guild doors were slammed open by Natsu and Lisanna. "We're back guys!" The fire dragon slayer instinctively searched for blonde hair, but he found no trace of his favorite bubbly mage.
"…" Most had apparently lost interest in Gray's dramatic entrance and subjected to their seats.
"Just what I needed," he sighed. Despite the guild's strange behavior towards him, Natsu paid no heed.
"What did you say stripper?" he asked threateningly, now head-to-head in preparation of a manly brawl with Gray. Gray's forehead throbbed in anger and annoyance. As he never backs down from a challenge, they both settled for an intense staring contest between each other. Finally noticing the tensed atmosphere, Natsu immediately stopped his antics and looked about curiously. "What's up with you guys? Did something happen?" Not wanting to be the ones to tell him of Lucy's disappearance, they ignored him and continued to converse with each other. "Oi! I'm talking to you guys. Old man? Is this some sort of prank? This isn't funny!" he pestered and waved conspicuously in front of their faces. As he looked back towards the front door, he noticed Gray, Erza, Levy, Mirajane, and Lisanna stare at him with widened eyes.
"You ignorant fool," Makarov muttered, "you're still not catching on and it's been half an hour already." He remained cross-legged, not twitching in the slightest.
"Oi! That didn't answer my question. Why isn't anyone talking to me?" he continued bugging everyone, desperate for some answer.
"Natsu…" Erza growled, becoming sick of his pesters and an unfortunate tick appearing on her forehead. His head slowly turned in horror, for he saw the great Titania angered for reasons unknown.
"Y-Yeah? Me and Gray are the best of friends! No need for violence Erza!" he laughed forcibly and hooked an arm around Gray. Erza harshly punched Natsu square in the face, and her expression immediately changed from sour to calm.
"This settles things. Now, Natsu we are forging a rescue plan for Lucy and your pestering does not help our situation at hand." At this, Natsu became silent and was overwhelmed with shock.
"W-What the hell?" He turns to stare at Gray, who accompanied Lucy during the mission. His eyes cast downwards in shame, knowing how Natsu's overprotective being towards the celestial mage would result in him never forgiving him of his mistake.
"I-I know, I'm sorry man. I couldn't protect her, I-I didn't have any other cho-"
.
.
.
"Where is she?" Natsu had rammed him against a near wall, his rosy bangs covering his enraged eyes. Gray watched expectantly at the teen before him, eyes still expressing an unmistakable shame. The guild around him seemed dull in Natsu's eyes. "..where."
Gray widened his eyes only slightly as Natsu slowly lifted his head. "Is."
"..Lucy?" His eyes had grown a light green, the way it usually turns when in the heat of the battle.
Knocking out of his stupor, he choked out, "We're trying to figure that out right now.." Natsu's grip only tightened around his neck, lifting him higher off the ground.
"Natsu! Gray! Stop this madness," Erza shouted in concern for the both of them.
"Gray-sama!" (We all know who shouted this.) Both attempted to interfere, but held their ground when Gray motioned for them to stop. He knew Natsu needed this, and embraced for his attack.
"Natsu…" Lisanna whispered. Hearing her acknowledgement, he merely glanced at her before turning back to his victim.
Gray's eyes shut tightly, here it comes. Nothing happened. Confused, he peeked an eye open as he heard crumbling noises beside him. Natsu had punched a hole in the wall instead. "Dammit! This is all my fault. Why can't I protect the ones I care about?" Especially her.
Gray shook his head. "You didn't know that this would happen. Nobody did. And we want to beat them up as much as you do, but right now, we need a plan."
"Mira-san, about the paperwork, can I see it?" Levy asked during a heavy silence, already brainstorming the possibilities of her current location.
"Of course Levy!" she replied cheerfully. As she skimmed through the papers for any sort of guidance, she abruptly glanced at Natsu and paled.
Lisanna stepped up and comforted her, "What is it Levy?"
"No-it can't, but it could be..w-why would they want Lucy though, it makes no sense!" she spluttered uncontrollably.
"Levy, any idea on who the culprit may be?" Erza demanded solemnly.
"W-Well, it's just a hunch, but I think the ones who have captured Lu-chan are from the guild Zanthos.."
Makarov raised an eyebrow at this, "Hmm? That could be a problem."
Everyone, who had been secretly listening to their conversation, murmured the same questions to one another, "Why did that guild sound so familiar?"
Levy mustered up her courage and spoke to the crowd, "They are the ones who have been in ruins for 10 years. The Magic Council posed them as a threat, and acted upon it before they could become stronger. A supposed giant meteor crashed onto their guild and they double checked for no survivors. It was also said to have been filled with haughty dragon slayers." So that's why that place sounded so familiar.
They resumed their plans, and resolved to venture to the place where Lucy and Gray had been ambushed. As they tweaked and added onto their plan, Natsu impatiently tapped on his foot, mentally cursing himself for not being able to sense Lucy's foreboding danger. Never again.. he thought. And with that, he strode off to Lucy's apartment, pledging to stay by her side 24/7.