Hawkeye Chapter 23: Taking matters into their own hands...

Authors notes: This took longer than I liked...work is only part of it mainly due to trying to get into someone else's head that is not the characters I usually focus on. It was a bit hard. This chapter is a bit slow, but I promise this will make more sense as the chapters go. It's more of a basis of character thought and what's going on on the other side of the equation. Thank you for all your reviews, messages of encouragement and patience!

Levy frowns as she eyes the creepy little doll. *Leave it to Freed to be the one to bring this thing back. Maybe he was channeling Bixlow?* After putting it through every test she could think of it to see if it was an explosive, which largely consisted of her casually mentioning to a nosey Freed what she was doing before almost violently chucking it against a nearby wall. This nearly caused Freed a trip to the emergency room...

she smiles happily at the fact that she would not be bothered. Gajeel sat outside the room, not at all happy for being thrown out. Carefully she pulls apart the base of it. It looked like it might have some sort of recording device in it. Thankfully the storage medium is flash, and she didn't damage it in her "explosive test." But the look on Freed's face had been worth it... She's not sure why she enjoyed terrifying the poor man so much.

Oh.

That's right.

*Now I remember.* Nodding to herself she pulls out her laptop and sets up a dummy system within, just in case the files held anything malicious within their depths.

Distantly she hears a *thump* and sighs almost already knowing where that was from followed by a yowl. She looks over as her door is cracked open and a upset Happy speeds by her legs and into a corner. Shaking her head she hears Cana fussing at Laxus, intermittently, things being bumped into and items falling to the floor and faint gagging sounds coming from someone traipsing down the stairs.

*Lucy's going to kill them. Their going to leave their 'prints' all over everything up there-!* Levy's thought details as she opens the first file...and nearly looses her lunch.

Lucy leans against the bike looking at Natsu as he fills his gas tank. She feels the weight of her sling holster, her responsibilities, her situation and sighs. So many answers, so many questions. Why now? She wasn't even sure they *could* handle this on their own. Even with the mini army Natsu seemed to head she couldn't conceive of any of them actually getting into a fight like this.

What if someone got hurt? She wasn't even 'officially' a Fairy Tail member.

Just a tag-a-long.

On the outside causing problems for people on the inside because she's now the leader's 'girl.' Sure it included them but...they've lived alright without the knowledge for years. Would it be so bad to simply tell the feds and let them handle it?

She wasn't a fool. She knew where part of her being alright with being the lynch pin pulling all these people into the situation came from. She was a lonely girl looking for friends and acceptance outside of her carefully cultivated group. Even Levy and Bisca. Lucy knew that Laxus had already checked them out and would've run them off (or attempted to she's not sure how he would've faired against a enraged Levy armed to the teeth, Freed didn't do so well and lost his first Volvo to her).

Looking at the area her temporary tattoo once resided she sighs. In fact when was she never just a hanger on? College she guessed she did choose her majors. Maybe. But then she didn't think she did all that much. Skip-tracing was simply something she was good at and enjoyed. She was decent with people, an eye for detail, great with a gun and behind the wheel.

With the addition of Levy's computer skills and strange attraction to explosives they made a good team. They had made a bit of a name for themselves but they both had acknowledged that they couldn't live their entire lives doing that. So they had both stopped after graduating college. She started her business and Levy had went on for a masters. It hadn't technically been HER idea to bounty hunt. But rather a whim that Levy did because she thought they'd be good at it. Levy had put in their information for her, without her knowledge, initially, and simply showed up with papers she had gotten in the mail. She remembered the shock of seeing a permit with her name on it being recognized by the Country of Fiore as a registered bounty hunter.

Even the bounties Levy seemed to find them most of the time, thanks to a very helpful Guildarts and Cana...

When had she finally made her own decisions without help?

Oh, she loved Levy, and perhaps that was her way of attempting to her find independence? The small woman did take the lead about a month in to their meeting but...still. Lucy had taken the chance and spoken first.

It almost seemed like all the life changing events that's happened in her life (Save one or two) where out of her hands. Loosing her parents, finding a new home, learning about cars and learning to use a gun, drifting, where she built her shop, many of the clientele she had... almost all of it was out of her hands. Shaking her head she stares down at her shoes getting more and more irritated with herself. She didn't fault them. They where trying to help and with her abilities she was often locked away in her room due to necessity for her own sanity. But still... why had she always taken a backseat in her own life? Why didn't she make some waves? For once, she'd like to take her life into her own hands. A decision she wants to have full and total control over.

"Hey, we'll figure it out." She blinks her mind back to the present as the warmly encouraging voice floats in. Staring up at the man looking down at her with such concern in his eyes. "Oh, no it's not that. I..heh, my mind just wandered. That's all. Ready to go?"

"Yeah..." Natsu doesn't seem totally convinced but he is willing to allow her her peace for now. They both had a lot to think about.

They where driving for a good twenty minutes when the microphone on his headset buzzes with the dulcet sounds of his passenger.

"Hey, Natsu? Can..can I ask you something?"

"Yeah sure. Go for it."

"How do I join Fairy Tail?"

He pauses before answering. "Are you sure about that? Your grandfather kept you out of it for a reason."

"Yeah...he wanted to make sure I didn't cause the entire town to be destroyed due to my lack of control and thus the rampaging of super powered kids."

"No, he wanted you to make your own decision..."

"Yeah that may be part of it but you can't deny that the main reason was because of that."

"M-aybe..."

"So since I have control and I am more than old enough to make my own decision, I want to join."

"I'm not going to convince you to not do this am I?"

"Nope. You'll just have to deal with it."

"I don't have to accept you into the Dragonriders..."

"I wonder if Laxus would reform his group..."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"Dammit. Fine."

"But first... a rule: No being overly smothering and protective and stuff. I'm a big girl and can take care of myself."

"I can't make that promise. You're family even before you're my girl. I protect family. So, you get a double dose of my need to protect. I'll make sure you're safe, even if you don't like it. I won't smother you. But I will hurt and possibly kill anyone who steps over the line with you. That is the only promise I can make. "

Lucy listened quietly to the voice coming thorough the helmet mic. It was so matter of fact and confident she wasn't sure she could be to angry. Truth be told she had missed her brothers comforting presence but he could be stifling. Natsu was similar but not nearly as demanding and overbearing. He got protective but only ever pushed when he knew she needed it. And somehow he was usually right. He'd just give her this *look* and lift a brow in a silent challenge. Often times she'd attempt to rise to the challenge. Only to just lose to the fact that he already knew her well enough to tell her actual condition. It didn't help that he was just so. ..

Sexy.

Damn him.

Couldn't he have a pot belly or crooked smile? Extreme halitosis would be good too...

Be an ass hole...

Something that made her want to rip into him. Tell him he was a overprotective dick and she'd do what she wants and she didn't need his protection! She sighs softly and leans her head forward, resting it between his shoulder blades and simply inhaling his campfire scent.

Home.

He always made her feel safe, loved, protected in a way that she hadn't truly felt since she was a child. Though Laxus and Grandfather tried, often their very nervousness about her condition seemed to feed her own feelings of lack of security. With Natsu it was different.

Natsu blinks at the long silence on the other end. He had expected a fight of some sort. But none seemed forth coming. He wasn't sure but he assumed that she was silently fuming at his speech. Perhaps planning the best way to kill him after they get back home.

"Natsu? "

"Uh yes? "

"I'll accept those terms. So long as you accept that I will hurt you later if you break them. " The captain chuckles to himself. She could be nasty when crossed. He felt the press of her shoulder holster as she squeezed his waist tighter.

"Yes ma'am. "

But he wouldn't have her any other way.

"Sir, the movements of the prey has become very hard to read. I'm not sure they aren't aware of us already. I have also lost contact with Obra. Though I have always had my reservations about trusting such a unstable agent he had historically come through. Now, however, he's been off the map for over 12 hours and I cannot track him." Azuma's ever stoic voice intoned from his position at the other side of the desk. The man had a soft spot for plants and could often be found decked out in various shades of green from the tie holding back his neatly locked hair to the soles of his very sensible shoes. A bit strange, yes.

However a more loyal and better fighter Hades had yet to find.

He also had impeccable taste in clothes...

The older, bearded gentleman was sitting, sipping a glass of red wine as he glances over at Ivan sitting in the corner by the door. "Yes, things aren't progressing nearly as smoothly as I was promised. Do you have any idea why? Already they are aware of Brain's death. As I recall it was your job to cover that up. But some how the fairies are still discovering key information. Key information that I'm paying you to keep under wraps. You gave me files and a drug recipe...but I still have no soldiers. Meanwhile Markov has a small army at his beck and call! All I have are just piles of useless bodies. Now what, do you plan to do to fix this before I lose my patience with you and possibly do something you would regret?"

Ivan winces at the not so veiled threat. His guild Raven tail had fallen and been absorbed into Grimoire heart. Many of his people had been used as test subjects and only a handful have really survived with anything close to a sane mind.

Obra had been his closest.

Now he was missing. The tracking device he'd placed in the man's doll would briefly flash in and out of existence but never long enough for them to get a reading and it hasn't popped back up in hours and his hopes of finding Obra alive...dim.

The fact that the doll's tracking device was acting as thus denoted the worst already. Obra could not function very well without the thing. It was the only reason he was still a viable ally. Valuable even in the early days of this entire ordeal. If it wasn't for him he wouldn't have gotten the fomula to bargin with Grimoire heart. "I will go get the notes from my father. He works very closely with the hospital there. Many of the doctors and nurses are actually members of Fairy Tail."

"Just like you was going to get the notes from a family and ended up murdering an entire family?"

"I didn't do that..."

"Of course not, your most trusted man, Obra, did. Who could barely make it through simple missions and now hasn't returned from this past one. You'll have to excuse me if I don't find you and your people's track record reliable. If I hadn't lost two of my own I wouldn't use any of you. Well...except for experiments."

Ivan bristles but dares not say anything.

He had no support.

All his best people either left years ago, disappearing from even the far reaches of society, or where used as experiments and now couldn't even tell you their names any more (He wouldn't doubt that many of those results where disposed of).

He essentially was now a gang of one.

And really he had no one to blame but himself.

He thought his father, fanciful and foolish ('take responsibility for your companies mistake?' yeah right!).

A Fairy Tale.

But now...no.

Had he simply been allowed to bury the problem, cover it over until it all blew over he wouldn't be here. Raven Tail would be the Family of Magnolia and the most powerful in all of Fiore. He wouldn't have to answer to Pretch. If only his father had just stayed out of it, he didn't need to speak with Jude and inspire so called 'honesty' in him. If the Heartphilia's had just done what he wanted instead of listening to his Father. Instead of telling the truth.

Truth is only as you see it. And as HE saw it, the population being in the dark and living seizure free lives was better than this.

So what if there where side effects? It's not like it effects everyone.

"I will get you what you need." He bows deeply before looking back up at all present before allowing his eyes to land on Pretch.

"I swear it on my honor."

"Seeing as you have very little of that left, I will hold you to it."