6: Doubt + Questions

(Lucy's POV)

I was shaking as I stared down at the tons of pictures of me.

What is this?

I saw a picture at my third or fourth birthday. I was holding a small doll, and my mom was there smiling at her fullest. My dad was smiling as well, all looking into the camera that took the picture.

What is this?!

I saw another; it was a picture of me when I was a baby in the bathtub with a pink rubber ducky with me, floating in the water.

What is t-this…?

I shivered, and looked over and over at the pictures. I looked up with fearful eyes and saw everyone staring at me. Rogue was looking at me with something like…pity? I didn't know, and I couldn't tell with him. I looked at Frosch and Lector, and I saw that they were just staring, not even sure of what to do.

Then, I saw Sting, and I was surprised to see him look determined with a hint of anger. I flinched back, out of the surprise I felt, and he just looked at me for a second then back down at the pictures, finally he said,

"Come on Lucy. Let's look around some more, and maybe we'll find out more about this bitch."

I smiled ruefully at him and nodded slowly, still in shock. He noticed, but he didn't press on.

I felt myself move forward and stumble. Sting caught me, and steadied me. I blushed, and he said,

"Lucy. Come on. Get your act together." His voice was low and soft, and it made me shiver slightly.

I was afraid.

I was afraid.

I didn't know what to do, but before I could actually realize what was happening…

I was sobbing.

Sting just held onto me as I sobbed into his arm. We were in an awkward position, with me leaning over on his arm, and him standing up supporting me with his arm.

I just continued to cry and Sting just said over and over again,

"We're gonna find this bitch and figure out what the hell is going on Lucy. Don't worry about it. Please." He sounded so strained, but I couldn't stop! The tears just fell lifelessly without any of my consent to it.

I was afraid.

My whole body shook. I was hyperventilating. Oh no…

Calm down Lucy. Calm. Down.

It told myself this over and over again, but it didn't help much. I just continued to cry; like the weak girl I am.

Sting just supported me, not saying anything for a while, and not even looking at me.

I am so weak.

I cry too much.

Like a weak person.

I cry…because I'm weak.

I shuddered again, distraught with the entire situation. Why am I being so negative with myself? I'm never this negative.

I shook my head, still upset, but finally unlatched myself from Sting's arm.

How…completely embarrassing.

I blinked, trying to clear all of those tears away. I am such a baby! I just cry…way too much, and over stupid things like this no less! I sighed, and Sting just remained silent, quietly looking at me. I didn't meet his gaze, but instead acted very interested in my feet as I finally said,

"So, yeah Sting. Good idea. Let's continue to look around." My words were forced and short, and I'm sure Sting noticed, but he just nodded and turned to look around some more. I glanced towards the others and they seemed too preoccupied to notice my glance.

Hmm.

I cleaned myself up (wiping away tears), as I started to search as well.

The house, was still creepily organized, and besides all of the pictures on the ground…it looked like a house in a movie set or something. I shuddered once again, still creeped out by everything that was going on, and the fact that this lady had my pictures!

It's just…how did she get them?

How?

I was racking through my brain for any, just any type of logical answer, but I came up blank. What was I supposed to do? I groaned, causing few glances at me, but they soon returned to what they were doing, which was searching.

We were searching for a good fifteen to twenty minutes when suddenly Sting threw up his hands and exclaimed,

"You know what?! Fuck. This. This lady must obviously be a stalker or just plain psychotic!" He glared around at the room with such a fervent look…it made me giggle.

He looked over at me, and raised his eyebrows, surprised. I stopped giggling and watched him, smiling slightly. He seemed somewhat relieved, but he tried not to let on.

"You overreact too much." Rogue stated, inspecting Sting solemnly. I let out another giggle, but then we heard a scream. All of us whipped around and Lector just said,

"Oh no…"

I quickly assessed the situation. It wasn't just a scream. It was a scream from someone who I really didn't want to see right now, but I needed to.

It was her. It was the lady.

A silence came over all of us, as we stared at each other in complete and utter shock.

"Fuck," Sting finally said breaking the silence.

I only nodded.

(Sting's POV)

My eyes felt as if they were about to pop out.

It was her.

The fucking lady who kept calling me "dearie".

The one with all of the pictures of Lucy.

The lady who made…

Lucy cry.

I shook my head. Why the hell was I so overprotective of the blondie anyways? It's not as if she's so special… why?

I was just so damn…frustrated.

And even more so, since there was not reason to be. I looked down at my shoes, trying to think about what the hell was going on. Why am I acting so…just…ughh…emotional? It wasn't me at all. Hell, when Lucy was getting tortured, I laughed. So, what is it that's making me act this fucking way. I'm not a nice guy.

I'm a jerk, but right now…I might as well as be some pussy guy who's weak.

That's what I feel like right now, and wait…why…the…fuck…am…I…looking…down…on…myself? Something's going on and I need to-

"Is it working dearie?" The lady's random question snapped me back into the present. She was looking pointedly at me, so that means the question was obviously intended for me. I just gaped at her. How come I couldn't fucking respond? I want to kill this bitch, but my feet wouldn't move, and my mouth wouldn't open.

The lady smiled, pleased and turned to face Lucy.

"How about you, dear, dear Lucy? Is it working for you?" The bitch just continued to smile at her, like none of this was a huge deal at all. Lucy looked absolutely livid.

"Who…the hell are you, lady?" Lucy hissed at her. The lady jumped back, startled by Lucy's voice and only shook her head ever-so-slightly.

"I guess it's not working on you very much…hmm…yes. I suppose that makes sense, dearie."

"Who are you?" Lucy asked once more, while clenching her teeth as of trying to restrain herself. No! Just fucking attack her! I would…if I could freaking move.

I struggled, but my feet still wouldn't move.

Rogue looked at me strange, and then stepped forward towards the lady. The lady took a step back, and Rogue said,

"So, Miss…Clara, was it, or at least that's what you told my companions and I, I would like to ask a question."

The lady's eyes bulged, but finally she said,

"I think I know what you wish to ask me Rogue Cheney, and the answer will remain a mystery unless," she looked over at me, "that dearie can ask it." Her words were left hanging in the air like some unspoken aura. Lucy somewhat brightened, but all Rogue did was say,

"And what do you think my question is? I never even said it." His tone was sharp, from what I could tell, which was a little strange, since this was Rogue who said it.

The lady only blinked at him.

"You were going to ask me about who I was and why I had dear Lucy's pictures, am I correct to assume that, or no…?" She seemed to be pretty confident about herself, and if it was me who had originally said I had a question, she would have been right on the mark, but since it's Rogue…who knows what his question actually is?

Rogue only silently glared at her and simply shook his head slowly. The lady, Clara, or whatever the bitch's name was seemed to not know how to respond, but there was no need because Rogue started to speak before she even could.

"Actually, my question was do you know where Lucy's friend Natsu is, which isn't at all what your two questions were." He gave her a forced smile, and it seemed to make Lucy even more mad.

"Yeah! Do you," She moved closer to the lady and said right in her face, "know where Natsu is? So, do you." Lucy snarled the last bit, but the lady only stepped back and laughed.

I wanted to laugh as well, but that was only because Lucy seemed to be so scary right now, even though just earlier she had started to cry just from a "touching" moment between Lector and I.

Lucy continued to wait for the lady's answer, but the bitch only giggled widely.

It was seriously freaking me the fuck out.

However, it appeared to be making Lucy seriously mad. So, I wasn't all that surprised when Lucy suddenly slapped her.

Hard, too.

The slap made a loud noise, and the bitch actually fell to the ground.

That's when I realized that Lucy could get really scary, almost like Minerva scary.

Lucy then put her foot on the bitch's chest and leaned down and pressed her arm against her neck. Her whole aura was radiating anger and rage, and I even saw Rogue back away slightly with a surprised look on his face.

"Look lady, I'm not sure how you have all of these pictures of me, and really it's seriously creepy as fuck. Now, sometimes I might just be some weak blonde-haired girl who cries a lot, but right now," she made her voice dangerously low and continued.

"I. Am. Fucking. Mad."

The lady's eyes bulged, but Lucy wasn't done.

"So…I'll ask once again, where the hell is Natsu, and who the hell are you?"

Lucy continued to keep the lady underneath her grasp, but let go slightly in order for the bitch-of-a-lady to talk.

"Fine, you dear Lucy. I'll tell you everything, even what happened to those little prostitutes who disappeared so suddenly, or did you forget about them?"

Lucy didn't make one sound at all, and she didn't make a single movement, but instead only kept her hateful gaze on the lady with an expectant look in her eyes.

So this is how Lucy is for her friends, or Natsu I suppose. I half-shuddered.

Why did Natsu bother me so much, well besides the fact of the obvious?

I stopped thinking about it, and kept m gaze on their conversation.

Lucy slowly smiled and nodded just a slow.

"Yeah…tell me where they are too, now that you mention it." She said it so calm and collected that it was freaky.

Lucy was completely not herself right now.

I was actually awed.

The lady glanced over at me, and laughed again.

"Can you still not move dearie?"

If I could shoot daggers with my eyes then I swear that the bitch would be so cut up that no one would even see her.

She chuckled and Lucy looked over at me, seeming to calm down. She looked around and seemed to notice where she actually was for the first time.

She immediately pulled back her arms and looked down at the lady in sheer horror. What was so frightening, and why the hell did she let go of the bitch?

Lucy put her hand out in front of her and then I saw them…tears.

Lucy was crying.

I saw red. That's all, and I opened my mouth to say something, anything.

Lucy continued to cry and then she collapsed down on her knees sobbing her eyes out.

What. The. Fuck. Is. Going. On?

I struggled to move, but I still couldn't.

Why not?!

I tried to tell Rogue to do something, but he wasn't even looking at me. He just looked at Lucy for a long moment while all but Lucy's sobs were heard.

He looked shocked, and I kept trying to move. To speak. To do anything, but I couldn't do shit, and it was aggravating me! Rogue just stood there with Fro and Lector at his side, all just gaping at Lucy. Yeah…she's crying, now help her damnit!

I heard another sob.

This time it was Lector.

What?!

Another gasp of sobbing.

Now it was Fro…

What is going on?!

The lady just laughed again.

"And you Rogue?" She said, as Lucy crouched beside her crying her eyes out. Rogue shook his head, but as he did…I saw something glisten down his cheeks. What? No.

Rogue was…crying?!

(Lucy's POV)

I couldn't stop crying.

The tears just continued to flow on and on.

Why couldn't I stop?

I just knelt there trying to calm myself down, but failing miserably as my short sobs continued to escape me.

I think I heard the lady laughing, but I wasn't too sure. All I could even focus on was the fact that I was crying and I still didn't know why.

Why was I crying?

Why?

I heard Lector and Fro start to cry as well, and that made me cry even harder.

Why?

Why?

WHY?!

Why was I crying?!

Why, damnit?!

The tears just flowed down my cheeks as I choked on my broken cries. I tried to blink. I tried to see, but everything was a blur.

I heard another person start to cry, but I wasn't sure who it was. I really wasn't sure of anything…just…why?

"LUCY!" My head snapped up and I almost fainted. I was expecting it to be Rogue or Sting, but instead it was…it was the idiot. My idiot.

It was Natsu!

However, no matter how much I wanted to stop crying and to start laughing…I couldn't. So instead I started to look at my tears as more of cries of joy and happiness. I looked back at Natsu and tried to smile, but I bet it came out looking freakish. I heard a hiss, and turned to see that it was Sting who delivered it. He was still in the same place, with a tortured expression on his face, and at the sight of Natsu he looked really mad.

Oh no…they can't fight. Not now, and not here.

"LUCY!" Natsu cried again, and I snapped my attention back onto him. He had started to run towards me, but he seemed to be running rather slow. I tried to stand up, to go towards him, but I felt frozen. The lady who was now standing completely above me only tsk'ed and kept her gaze on Natsu. I saw her look at Sting, but Sting was only glaring at Natsu. I turned to try and find the others, but they were all crying…?

Rogue was crying? That didn't seem to fit right in my mind. He didn't really seem like a crier, but then again, I barely knew him.

I heard a loud crashing noise, and I spun around, but everything was moving too fast.

What was going on?

I heard the lady laughing, and I saw all of the pictures of me flying in the air. I tried to see where Sting was, but he was gone…where was Natsu?

I spun around again, and saw them.

The two idiots were fighting!

However, they weren't even using their magic yet…all they were doing was slugging each other, and kicking at each other.

Why are they fighting?!

Don't those two dumbasses understand the situation we're in right now?

The lady continued to laugh, as Sting and Natsu continued to pound at each other, while the other three just continued to cry.

I was so confused, and I was damn angry! Why?

"WHY AM I SO FREAKING EMOTIONAL?!" I suddenly screamed out in frustration.

Everything became silent, and everyone turned to face me. Natsu and Sting stopped fighting, while Rogue, Lector, and Fro all stopped crying.

Even the lady who had been cackling like a crazed woman (I think she is though…) had stopped and became utterly silent. However, the moment was short-lived as the woman finally huffed,

"Well then Miss Lucy, do you understand now?"

"What?!" I asked, still very emotional.

She smiled secretly and turned towards the two idiots. She lifted her finger to point at Sting, still wearing that secret smile.

"You," she whispered. He started to scream, and fell to his ground screaming,

"LECTOR! LECTOR!"

Lector started to rush towards Sting, at his sudden plea, but just as he was almost there, the lady pointed at him and Lector started to scream as well.

I just stood there, in complete shock.

What is this…?

I heard a laugh. My head snapped up and I saw that it was Natsu. He was laughing?!

No.

No!

I didn't want this.

I shook my head over and over again, repeating that mantra in my head,

I didn't want this! I didn't want this! I didn't want this! I didn't want this!

Finally, Natsu stopped laughing as I gaped at him. The lady looked at me, and snorted.

Who is she? Who?

"Enough. Disappear," she said, and as soon as she did, Natsu faded away, while Sting and Lector stopped screaming.

Natsu faded…away? He wasn't real?

What is going on?

The lady turned towards me.

"You asked before who I am, am I correct?" She asked.

I only nodded, still frozen in shock. Sting stood up, and snarled at her. I vaguely saw Rogue behind him clutching Fro in his arms, with an expression that I couldn't place spread out all over his face.

"I'll tell you this dear Miss Lucy. I'm-"

"You're an illusionist, aren't you?" Rogue said, as he stepped forward. His face was now guarded and he still held Fro in his arms.

An illusionist?

The lady raised an eyebrow and gave a crooked smile.

"You are correct, but I'm not just an illusionist."

"What? Are you a monkey as well? Hmm? What about a bitch? Oh wait…now that's already covered," Sting said. The lady gritted her teeth, but responded calmly,

"Oh dearie no no. I am the illusionist."

"The? What the hell is that supposed to mean? Sounds more like some bullshit to me," Sting said, while scoffing.

I still couldn't move…this lady…why is she so frightening?

"It means, you precious dearie, that I'm the one who created illusion magic, and trust me…it varies in all sorts of ways. Such as," she pointed her head at where the fake Natsu had been, "creating a false image of someone who's not actually here, or…planting emotions, or stirring them up."

"You!" Sting yelled, angry. The lady ignored him, and continued to speak as another smile appeared to creeping up on her face.

"Or…illusion magic can create places and people who don't even exist, such as…the dear place that Lucy had been for quite a while now. It's uses can also make the mind believe in things that aren't real, such as the ability to move... It can be used to manipulate…control…use." She was smirking now. I glanced around, annoyed and frustrated.

This woman…she's making me doubt myself.

"Who. Are. You?" I asked, dividing each word, with a driving anger. Her smirk grew lager as she spoke.

"Who am I? Well you already know. I've told Rogue and Sting, along with those miserable cats of theirs."

"You…" Sting said.

The lady laughed again.

"I'm Clara, and now that I've finally found you Lucy…I can finally leave."

...

(Also...I'm sure you might have gotten really confused by this chapter and I am SO SORRY...everything will be cleared up in the next chapter...and there's gonna be a little StiCy love...:D)

*Well hello there readers of mine…you should know…THAT YOU MADE ME UPDATE AGAIN BEFORE MY NALU STORY! Arghhh….sorry "Completely Oblivious" readers…*ashamed*. Welllll…this chapter…was "ehh" for me. To me, it just contained a lot of mind questions, asking "Why" or "Who" so yeah…*cough, cough*. Okay this is going to be a long A/N because I'm thanking all of my reviewers! :D Here we go *determined face*!

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Thank you to:

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-Hotmesschristine- for being my first reviewer, and for reading! 3 Thank ya!

- VenusStar (can't write full pen name...sorry...Fanfiction gets rid of it...?)- for reviewing as if thinking! 3 Thank ya!

-GoldenRoseTanya- Okay, honestly…I've literally seen you review every single Fairy Tail fanfiction I've ever read…and I'm amazed! 3 Thank ya!

-Retreat- Thanks you for your supportiveness! It really does mean a lot. :3 3 Thank ya!

-ElliBloodStain- Again, for the support and just for reading! 3 Thank ya!

-Bloody. 5507 (also can't write full pen name...STUPID FANFICTION!)- Actually, thanks to you, I added Minerva to chapter two! 3 Thank ya!

-Ka-tay's mind- Thank you so much for all of your reviews and support! Leave more! :3 3 Thank ya!

-KittyKatBite- Also, thank you so very much for all of the reviews and support, but quick question...Why "Meow" at the end of every review (just curious…) 3 Thank ya!

-xxSaphireBluexx- Actually, when you told me it was "Awesomenes" that made me write quicker…so yeah. 3 Thank ya!

-Aika Miku- Thnx, thnx, thnx! I'm touched when people tell me they love it…so 3 Thank ya!

-sabrina- Thank you verrryyy much for your review! I loved your guesses and they were partially correct! So 3 Thank ya!

-Madeline-chan09- Thanks for the support on my exams, and thank you for reading! 3 Thank ya!

-1fairytaillover- lol. You're comment made me crack up for some unknown reason…so thanks for that I guess? And thanks for reading! 3 Thank ya!

-Moronandhersis- LOL! I loved your review, and actually your review is what made me update before my NaLu story…*shame on you…jk*. 3 Thank ya!

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And last but certainly not least, a thank you to one who's read three of my stories I believe…and for leaving reviews on all of them…

LucyXHeartfiliaXFan- THANK YOU (why above ^^^) 3 Thank ya!

Ohmygurdddddd….that took a while! And thanks to all of those who are following as well, and to those who fave'd it! I will try and update as soon as I can, but let me update my NaLu story first (urghh…)! Okay, well byeeee! :D (And leave a review!)