Chapter Three: Support
Lucy… thought Erza, as she walked towards the guild from Fairy Hills. Her mind was clouded with thoughts but everyone knew better not to disturb her when she was in this state, where are you? Are you OK? Why did you leave?
Finally, she reached the doors of Fairy Tail and went in, going straight to the bar where Mira looked as if she were expecting her, "Well?"
"I went to her apartment last night and this morning," said Erza, frowning, "She isn't there."
Mira sighed, "It's been a couple of days. We should tell the Master." She pushed over a plate of shortcake.
Erza pressed her fingers to her head and stared at the cake wearily. Somehow, the thought of eating cake while her friend was potentially close to death or worse, already dead somewhere made her sick. She pushed the plate back to her, "No thanks."
Mira stared wide-eyed at her, "You don't want your shortcake?"
Erza shut her eyes and tried to think up a positive situation Lucy might be in, "No."
"Lucy's still gone," said Natsu and Gray as they went up to Erza and Mira.
"I know that," said Erza, rather snappily, "Sorry. It's just; I'm really worried about her. Let's go up to the Master."
They went to the Master's office and knocked before coming in. The Master was already standing there, pacing the room, a frown set into his face, "Still missing, is she?" There was no need to specify who 'she' was.
"Yes, sir," said Mira.
Makarov sighed, stopping his pacing and closed his eyes. He stayed silent for a long time to the point where he could be mistaken for having fallen asleep standing up.
"Um, Gramps?" said Gray.
He opened his eyes, "All right. I'll give you four a special mission to track her down. Discover what she's doing. If she's fine and visiting relatives or something, leave her be. If she is in trouble, help her and bring her home. Do not tell anyone about this mission, understand?"
"But, sir," said Erza, "If Mirajane were to suddenly go on a mission when she no longer has any will to fight, it will definitely raise questions."
"Just say you are going on a mini-holiday," said Makarov, "With the amount of luggage you always take, everyone will believe it." He turned to Natsu, "We're counting on your sense of smell, Natsu."
"Yeah," said Natsu.
"You'll leave immediately," said Makarov, giving them a serious look, "We have to find her."
"Hai," they all said, going back down to the rest of the guild.
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I woke up the next morning again. I was sleeping a lot now. Another meal waited for me in a corner of the room. I crawled over there and picked it up. It was ramen with some soup and vegies and meat. It was actually quite a big bowl of it despite being leftovers.
I ate it all and saw they had collected the bowl from before. I went outside and saw they were all already awake despite it being quite early. Retina looked at me when I came out, seeing the bowl in my hands, "Oh, you finished. Good. We're arriving at Demon Crosses soon, so…"
I bit my lip. I had no idea how to save my father and co. from a whole guild that were probably equally as strong as this team. I hope Infra and the others had understood my plan. As I thought about that, the carriage suddenly stopped.
"Are we here?" I asked in a small voice.
"Nope, we're just in Estonia," said Araluen, "These people don't like us here. Put on your cloaks," he said to the other two who promptly did. He looked at me, "You could probably pass as a normal citizen. Just keep your distance from us but at the same time, discreetly follow us."
I nodded, "OK."
As we got out of the carriage, the trio pulled their hoods over their faces and walked into town. The town was very olden-day like. It had wooden houses and people wearing simple cotton clothes, mostly plain coloured and without patterns. Many of the citizens were also shoe-less. They had market stalls and one-storey large houses. The ground was plain dirt with no stone covering it like in Magnolia.
I looked away every now and then to look absent-minded but discreetly checked on the three people in front of me to make sure I was going in the right direction. I also noticed the townspeople gave a wide space around the three, scowling and frowning at them. They were also gawking at me, the one with different coloured clothes with patterns and shoes. I generally really stood out, so much for blending in as a normal citizen…
Finally, we reached a thick forest full of trees with minimal walking space so we had to go in a single-file line.
"Estonia is famous for its amount of trees," said Araluen, "That's why they have so many wooden merchandise and houses. I suppose they also have the cleanest air," he chuckled, "But this dense, easy-to-get-lost-in forest is why we set up our hideout here. We know this place by heart; this whole area's our territory so anyone who decides to fight us here is sure to lose."
I gulped. The chances for me were just getting lower and lower. Now I had to fight in an insanely dense forest!
"But why would you set up a hideout in the foot of a dormant volcano?" I asked, "Isn't that… dangerous?"
"Not really," said Aston, "It's our home. We have a… sense when it'll erupt. An addition to our five senses I suppose."
"Oh," I said. But it still seems pretty dangerous to me…
After hiking for about an hour, we finally reached the volcano. It was massive with a flat top and steep sides. A rather large, dark building was at its foot.
"Here we are," said Aston, taking off his cloak, the others following suit.
More like an abandoned castle than a guild, the building had turrets and large double doors. The walls were black stone and the overall building was about twice the size of Fairy Tail. A large metal plate was set in the stone above the double doors with the guild's mark on it: two scythes crossed over a flame in the middle and fire creeping up the length of the scythes. I looked at the trio, for the first time noticing their marks. Retina had hers on her neck and stood out because of her short hair, Aston had his on his left bicep and Araluen had it on his right.
"Well, let's go," said Retina tugging me along. Now she had her cloak off, she had a punkish look to match her hair and deep voice. Her black sleeveless top had a laced-up back and was plain at the front. She also wore black skinny-leg jeans, her black boots going up to her knees and indigo-coloured accessories including a spiked choker around her neck.
Aston was dressed in black and white clothes. His black, sleeveless top showed off his biceps and he wore white pants with black lining, similar, I couldn't help thinking, to Natsu's with his black sandals. He wore a couple spiked necklaces around his neck.
Araluen was dressed differently. Instead of the punk style, his outfit was like Gajeel's, but in light grey with darker grey patterns.
As we went through the double doors, the people inside whipped their heads around. I looked at them, sensing a strong feeling of déjà vu. The guild reminded me strikingly of Phantom Lord. Evil looking people drank rum, the whole place was dark and the occasional blood splatter was on the wall. It wasn't the neatest place.
As I was about to ask Retina what I should do, I heard the sound of someone walking down the steps. A large, muscly figure walked towards us dressed like the devil in black and red. His cold glare was enough to make me turn away. This must be the Master…
"You got her," he said in a slightly deep voice. It reminded me of Laxus', "Well, good job, once again, my strongest team especially with your new additions."
"New additions?" I said, confused, "What— Ow!"
Retina's kick was sure to leave a bruise, "Shh!"
The Master eyed her suspiciously, and then turned back to the rest of the team, "Anyway, good job, especially you, Araluen," he nodded at him, "I was right to make you the leader of this group. You will be a fine Master when I decide to step down."
"Hai," said Araluen.
"For now, however, just put her in the cell in the back until we need her again."
"I will," said Retina, taking my hand and tugging me off, "Come on, hurry up."
I stumbled after her, nearly tripping over she was tugging me away so fast. The other members gave smiles of approval at Retina as she went past. Soon, we were in a long corridor with rooms on either side, each one with a barred window.
"Where's my father?" I asked once we were out of earshot.
"He's locked up, obviously," said Retina, nodding at one of the doors on one side of the corridor. She quickened her pace, until I practically had to sprint to keep up with her. We reached a room where she pushed it open.
"And what was that man talking about, 'new additions'?" I asked.
She paused, one hand on the steel door. She said quietly, "I don't have to tell you." She pushed me inside and shut the door. I heard the click as the door locked and the sound of her footsteps as she walked away.
What is with her? I thought, sitting down on the cold, stone floor, first she's cold, then she's nicer and now she just confuses me. But my father is here and I have to help him.
I went to the door and tried to open it or jimmy it or something but it was securely locked with a key so I couldn't just undo some magic seal to open it. I sighed and sat down, frustrated. Why couldn't something go my way today?
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"This trail leads to nowhere!" complained Natsu, after sniffing out Lucy's trail. They stopped in front of a wooden hut perfume store, "Lucy's scent… I can't smell it anymore."
Erza gave out a little growl of annoyance and marched into the store where a woman looked up, "Is there something I can help you—?"
"Have you seen a blonde girl, blue and white clothes, black boots, a belt with keys on it?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact…" said the woman.
"Where did she go? What perfume did she buy?" asked Erza, "She's a friend of ours and we think she might be in trouble."
The woman looked startled but brought out a perfume bottle, "I believe she bought a sample of this, miss." She sprayed a bit in the air.
Even at a distance, Erza could smell it and it was awful. No, even worse than that. Holding her breath, she yelled out, "Natsu!"
The Dragon Slayer came in and immediately reeled back out, "Oh, God! What is that?"
"Just smell it," hissed Erza, "Lucy's probably wearing this to put you off her trail. We'll follow her this way."
"I'm put off her trail all right!" said Natsu, not breathing, "I think I'll remember this scent without directly smelling it so let's go."
"What's going on?" asked Mira.
"You stink!" shouted Gray at Natsu, "What the hell are you wearing?"
"Eau De Toilet Cleaner, what the hell do you think?" said Natsu.
Everyone's so uptight… thought Mira, sighing, Usually Lucy would be the one calming down everyone… Lucy… She sighed again and went to calm down everyone. They did but they still seemed stressed and therefore, angry.
Lucy was the support for this team, thought Mira, looking at the squabbling team. Even Erza joined in instead of stopping it with a threat like usual, now she's not here, they're all falling apart.