Chapter 10
Sincerely
Lucy froze as soon as she entered her mother's hospital room. The bed was empty, the white sheets still rumpled and unmade.
The blonde didn't like not knowing where her mother was, not while they were stuck in this godforsaken church that housed a horrid collection of people who would never earn her trust no matter how much they tried. Her mother's current state of being was another cause for concern too, and the thought that she'd wandered off on her own terrified the girl.
She shot back out of the door, already preparing herself for a worrisome and disconcerting search for her mother through the maze that was the many hallways of Zentopia's numerous buildings.
Just after brushing through the doorframe, she nearly collided with a cart of medical supplies that was being pushed by a short girl that looked to be around her age, the girl's wild, sapphire blue hair held back by an orange headband. The blunette greeted Lucy with a small, warm smile, though it quickly faded when she saw the panic on the blonde's features.
Lucy quickly gestured with her head towards the door behind her, her panic making her sound nearly out of breath as she questioned, "Have you seen the patient that's staying in this room?"
"Mrs. Heartfilia?" the girl's eyes quickly shifted to the name plaque just beside the door frame before looking back to the blonde, "She told the nurses that she wanted to go and pray."
Lucy's chest immediately felt stuffy. Her mother had most likely been taken to the private prayer rooms, which were the one place the blonde hadn't dared to venture to after moving to Zentopia. It was at the entrance to the hallway where the rooms rested that Zancrow had run his hands across her skin, and the possibility of what she might on the other side of those doors had terrified her enough for her to keep her distance.
However, despite her fear over what may lay on the other side, her mother was there now, and her fear for her mother was greater than any of her other concerns at the moment.
"I see," the blonde whipped around to start towards the front of the hospital, throwing a short, somewhat insincere favor over her shoulder, "Thanks."
"Wait!" the girl called out.
Lucy turned back to find the girl staring at her bashfully, something akin to admiration on her features.
"There's a rumor going around about how you're going to become Spiritual Mother. Is it true?"
The blonde's features darkened at the reminder of her fate, and she didn't care if she sounded rude as she spat, "Do you even know what that means?"
"She's the mother of all spirits, isn't she?" the blunette responded somewhat dreamily, the adoration in her tone somehow too much and wrong.
Lucy couldn't put her thoughts into exact words, but there was just something off about the girl. Not in the mental sense or the creepy sense, but in the sense that she just didn't seem to resemble the other members of Zentopia at all. She was young and obviously full of vibrancy and curiosity, and the intellect shining unmasked and unbidden in her irises set her apart as someone who would never let herself be lured in by Zentopia's enticing promises of salvation and eternal life.
"Why did you come here?" she suddenly questioned the blunette, prying for more information.
"Because I want to be saved and board the Ship of Salvation, of course."
That answer was too textbook and simple to be sincere in Lucy's eyes. Any other member of the church would've gone on for hours about their reasons, because each person had a story of struggle and tribulation, their regrets leading them to seek salvation and redemption. Every person in the church, including her father, was a perfect example of the weaknesses of human nature; of how when faced with adversity, it was inherent for most people to seek the easiest and most appealing way out of their hardships.
The blonde squared her shoulders as she faced the girl fully, leaving no room for argument, "Leave while you still can."
The blunette's sweet grin faltered, "What?"
"I'm telling you to run away from this place. If you stay here, both your mind and body will die."
Having said what she wanted, Lucy turned once more to begin her search for her mother, but the girl called out to her again.
"Then why aren't you leaving?"
Lucy froze up for a moment. Upon being told to leave their religion, wouldn't any faithful member hurry to defend and profess their testimony of their beliefs? The girl's question had definitely been unexpected, and it was the first time anybody had taken interest in the blonde in such a way. Normally, as soon as she so much as mentioned her wishes to depart from this place, her listeners would scoff and shove her desires aside, absolutely appalled by the idea of leaving the religion that had brought them such comfort behind.
But it seemed that this girl genuinely wanted to know, and the tone with which she'd asked her question gave off the impression that she wasn't going to let the blonde leave until she received her answer.
Lucy turned back to the girl to give her an inquisitive look, intending to find out exactly who she was, because she obviously wasn't a regular Zentopia believer.
Two older women suddenly rounded the corner behind the blunette, and as they began giving the girl orders to go help other patients, Lucy knew that they'd lost their chance at speaking openly and honestly with one another.
She gave the girl one last hard, critical look over before departing to find her mother, knowing that she'd have to find the bluenette later to talk one-on-one.
"No way," Juvia crossed her arms under her breasts as she leaned back against her pizza delivery vehicle, a boiling glare on her features as she suspiciously shifted her eyes between the three boys before her. "This car isn't just something I can lend to others. It's my livelihood."
"Come on, Juvia," Loke rested an elbow atop said car, leaning against it as he drizzled all of his characteristic charm into his smirk and voice in attempt to sway the blue haired girl, "We're friends, aren't we? Don't be so petty."
"We're not even that close," Juvia stated unflinchingly with a dead-pan expression, not at all moved by his charm. After all, her heart already belonged to another, and thus she was immune to Loke's suave appeal.
The orange haired playboy haughtily shoved himself away from the car, incredulously waving his arms about in the air in front of him, gesturing to himself, Natsu, and Elfman, "We order from you, like, every other day! Is this really how you're going to treat your VIP customers?"
The girl wasn't at all swayed, one of her thin eyebrows still quirked indifferently.
Natsu let out his own exasperated sigh at Loke's antics, purposefully loud enough for Juvia to overhear as he grumbled to himself, "I knew I should've invited Gray instead of you morons." He hadn't seen nor heard a word from the raven haired boy since their fight in the plaza of the bull fighting stadium, his rival simply storming away without another word after Natsu had asked for aid in saving Lucy. The salmon haired boy was well aware of the fact that he was far from having received his former best friend's forgiveness, but mentioning Gray's possible involvement in their scheme was probably the only way they'd get Juvia to concede and lend them her car.
Besides, Natsu didn't really feel too bad about manipulating the girl in that way, because he knew that his rival would come through and join their cause eventually. That was just the type of person Gray was.
"Gray?" Juvia excitedly repeated, her interest finally piqued and her eyes wide. She let out a little cough when she noticed how her outburst had startled all three boys, settling back against the car and trying to mask her sudden shift in favor by crossing her arms back under her breasts and pursing her lips, "Well…what are exactly are planning on doing with it if I do lend it to you?"
Natsu tucked his hands in his pockets, praying she didn't think he was insane as he quietly started, "We need a way to hide someone and made a quick get-away."
Her eyes widened, her gaze shifting warily between the three, "You're…you're not trying to kidnap someone, are you?"
"'Saving someone' would be the more appropriate term," the salmon haired boy supplied. "We figured our bikes probably wouldn't be the best mode of transport for such a thing."
She gave the three an incredulous look, as if she still didn't believe them, but she soon let out a heavy sigh, quickly swiping her tongue across her lips, "How will I deliver food then?"
Loke gave her a smug grin before he turned over his shoulder, sweeping his arm out in a grand gesture towards his modified electric scooter, a metal crate the perfect size for pizza's strapped onto the back of the seat with bungee cords.
Lucy nearly tripped over her own feet as she rushed down the stairs to the basement of the church, her hands coming up to brace herself on the concrete walls on either side of the staircase as she stumbled to a stop halfway down the steps upon the seeing the door that led the private prayer rooms.
Again, she was reminded of what Zancrow had done, how he'd pinned her against that door during one of her first visits to Zentopia, running his hand through her hair and across the skin of her neck and cheek. She hadn't been able to muster the courage to come back and investigate since then, too fearful of what she might find on the other side of those doors.
But now her mother was beyond them, and if the screams and cries that had issued forth from beyond the doorway the last time the blonde had been down here were anything to go by, then her mother needed her help.
Lucy slowly descended the last few steps and wrapped her fingers around the knob, a surge of resolve and conviction rushing through her as she twisted her wrist and pushed the door open.
The hallway that rested on the other side glowed an eerie bluish green, the dim, fluorescent lights on the ceiling flickering at random intervals and further adding to the unsettling aura of the space. Wooden doors littered both of the white walls, each leading to a private prayer room.
The blonde glanced through the glass windows on each door as she passed in case her mother rested on the other side, but instead she was greeted by sights that only fed her panic and terror.
The prayer rooms lacked even more light than the hallway did, some lit only by candlelight while some glowed red in the light of miniature versions of the same cross that sat atop the church's steeple. There was hardly a room that was silent, some of the individual occupants kneeled down and hunched forward in regretful prayer, some mumbling while others shrieked out their repentance aloud to the Almighty. The worst part of it all was the way their bodies contorted, a few even banging their bodies and heads against the walls or floor as they cried for forgiveness.
What scared the blonde more was the rooms she passed where there was no movement, the bodies of those inside lying motionless on the floor, sprawled out in unnatural positions.
With each room she passed, the more potent her fear swelled. Her heart hammered in her chest as she saw them: a man pounding his head against the table where his open scriptures rested, a woman spasming on the floor as she mumbled incoherently with wide, unseeing eyes, and another man lying limp, his body pale beyond possibility and coated in a thick sheen of sweat. Every room she peered into held a similar sight.
None of the rooms contained her mother, though she didn't know if that fact should've made her feel relief or worry. This hallway was a horrid place to witness, but if her mother wasn't here, then the blonde didn't know where she might be.
Her feet slowly carried her to her last hope: the very last room at the left end of the hallway.
Just as she was about to peek through the window, the door flew open, the blonde stumbling back a few steps as Zancrow emerged.
His eyes momentarily widened only a fraction at her presence before his lips settled into his characteristic, maniacal smirk.
Lucy's fear spiked at his sudden appearance, but she was still level-headed enough to remember the reason she'd come to the private prayer rooms in the first place. She leaned to look past the man in the doorway and scanned the room behind him. Her mother was there, kneeling on the floor with a book of Zentopia scripture opened in her lap.
"Mom," the blonde girl called softly.
Layla tiredly lifted her focus, her pale features lighting up a small fraction as she gazed at her daughter, remarking happily to herself, "Lucy's here."
Lucy's heated glare snapped to the blond man still standing in the doorway, cutting her off from her mother, "If you so much as laid a finger on my mom, I'll kill you."
"That's quite the scary look you've got," he chuckled as he leaned towards her.
Lucy took a small step backwards but put every ounce of effort she had left into keeping her features free of even an ounce of fear. She'd resolved to show everyone in Zentopia that they wouldn't break her, no matter what she had to endure to do it.
She felt his breath puff against her ear as he lowly whispered, "I'll just have to make sure to kill you first, then." His hand was on her cheek before she could even process that he'd lifted his arm from his side, and his face remained only inches from her own, just like it had been when he'd pinned against the door three years ago.
Lucy's hands clenched into fists at her sides, not wanting to risk making what was happening worse by trying to fight against him, because Zancrow was quick to resort to violent actions when angered. She still fought to keep her fear from gaining control as she glared at him and ground out, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Such vile words from such a pretty mouth," Zancrow lightly stroked his right thumb across her cheek as he hummed, "Three years have passed, and your skin is still very, very soft." A disappointed sigh suddenly rushed through his lips as he huffed, "It's a shame that you've been chosen as Spiritual Father's new bride. That means I have to keep you pure." He turned over his shoulder, a wicked grin on his features, "Isn't that right, Mrs. Heartfilia?"
"Yes," Layla mumbled, obviously completely oblivious and incapable of processing what the man was doing to her daughter only a few feet away, "Please take good care of Lucy and Sting both."
The blond apostle chuckled mockingly as he turned back to the blonde, stroking his fingers through her hair one last time and tucking a stray strand behind her ear as he chided, "Have a good time with your mother."
He stalked away without another word, whistling to himself all the way down the hallway and out the door, his hands clasped leisurely behind himself as he strolled, immune to the cries issuing from the doors that surrounded him.
Lucy took a moment to calm her racing heart before she entered the room and kneeled before her mother, her head falling forward as she thought over things.
She'd resolved to stand strong against all of Zentopia's fronts, but in all honesty, she didn't know how much more she could endure. It was an incredibly daunting task to face so many people who were much stronger than her all on her own, and every day she grew more worried that all of her protests would eventually be for naught.
A light palm came to rest on her cheek, one that was much more loving than the last hand that had rested there.
Lucy guessed that her fear must've shown through, her mother lightly soothing, "What's wrong, sweetie? Are you feeling sick?"
The blonde girl felt like she might burst into tears at the question. For a moment, it was like her mother was normal again. But the moment was shattered and reality came crashing back as soon as she lifted her gaze and caught sight of her mother's eyes blankly staring back.
She swallowed back her tears, forcing a soft smile onto her face, "I'll get you out of here, mom. I promise. You said that Sting doesn't want us to stay here, right? I don't want to stay here either. So we'll leave this place together."
Layla hummed softly, running her thumb beneath her daughter's eye to wipe away a lone tear, "If that's what my twins want, then I guess I should go."
Lucy nodded, "Let's get you back to your room for now, okay?"
She gripped both of her mother's forearms to help her stand, wrapping an arm around the woman's shoulder to keep her close as they entered the hallway and passed the prayer rooms, all of which had gone eerily silent.
As her daughter safeguarded her down the hall and towards the door that led to the stairs, Layla glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes fastening on her son, who stood at the end of the hallway, back by the prayer room she'd just been in.
He gave her a gentle smile, a soft nod of his head.
As the front gate let out a loud screech, Natsu pressed his frame harder against the stucco of the back of the house, the sudden fear of being caught surging through him and slowly fading as he heard their front door open and close.
It hadn't been hard to jump the wall that surrounded the home, and he'd been waiting in the dark night for nearly an hour by now.
But at last, his wait was over, because the Heartfilias were finally home.
Lucy quietly stepped into her room, playing with the bandages on her right hand as she did so. She couldn't stop thinking about Zancrow's fingers tracing across her skin. But even more so, she was haunted by the fact that even after three years, she was still incapable of standing up for herself, and she'd been just as useless against the blond apostle as she had been all those years ago when he'd pinned her against that door.
She could feel her father's presence in her room with her still, so she slowly turned to face him, sensing that he had something he wanted to say. Normally, he would've just slammed the door after her and locked her in for the night, but he was still here, standing in the doorframe and giving her an earnest, forthright smile.
"The devil may try to tempt you more now that you've been chosen as Spiritual Mother. You need to focus on praying more so that you can remain pure."
Natsu's brows furrowed as he overheard their conversation from his crouched position near the blonde's window, repeating in his head, 'Spiritual Mother?'
Jude turned to leave, but Lucy refused to let him go, numbly calling, "Do you really not understand what they're trying to do to me?"
Her father turned back to face her, his blank face letting her know he hadn't the slightest clue as to what she was getting at.
"You're practically selling me off to them!" Lucy shouted, her frustration growing at his obliviousness to the reality of the situation. "He's a man old enough to be my grandfather! Does the thought of him with me not disgust you?!"
Jude dismissed his daughter's words without a second thought, deeming them foolish, "Just like Spiritual Father, I'm never going to give up on you. You should be honored to have been blessed with such a sacred and important calling."
"Dad!" she shrieked in protest.
Her only answer was the slamming of her bedroom door behind him, the sound of a lock clicking into place following only a few seconds later.
Natsu couldn't stop himself from flinching at Lucy's unanswered cry for her father. The salmon haired boy hadn't clearly understood the situation that caused their fight, but the blonde's words were enough to give him at least somewhat of an idea, and the implications of what had been said had sent a strange combination of unsettling chills and pulsing red anger through his veins.
He forced his own feelings aside though and tucked the blonde's words into his thoughts for later examination, knowing that it would be best if he did what he came to do and got the hell out of there before he was caught.
He ducked beneath the window, slowly peeking over the sill to be absolutely sure that Lucy was completely alone in her room now. She was, just like he thought she'd be, her gaze still numbly trained on the door that her father had slammed on her only a few moments ago.
Natsu swallowed heavily, quietly lifting his fist and gently knocking on the metal bars that ran over the outside of her window.
Her focus dazedly shifted his way as if she thought the noise had been nothing of import, her eyes widening when she caught sight of him standing there, only his shoulders-up visible to her through the window frame.
He hurriedly pressed a finger to his lips, not because he thought she might scream, but because she looked like she was about ready to reprimand him for being there.
She anxiously shook her head before casting a worried glance at the door, almost as if she was giving him a warning, telling him that he shouldn't have come.
Natsu ignored her concerns and pulled his phone out of his pocket, opening his memo app and typing a message before holding the screen up for the blonde to see.
'Do you remember me?'
Lucy tentatively came closer to the glass, staring at his face for a long moment before turning her focus to his question. She returned her gaze to his for a brief second before hurriedly pacing to her desk, swiping a purple pen from its surface and coming to stand in front of the window again. She wrote on her left hand, staring him directly in the eyes once more as she twisted her wrist around, pressing her palm against the glass.
'Natsu Dragneel.'
A rush of relief shot through the salmon haired boy when he saw his name inked in purple pen, though he hadn't expected otherwise. He knew that just like he hadn't been able to forget her due to the haunting memories they shared, she probably wouldn't have forgotten him, even though he was sure she must've wanted to after what he'd done.
He erased the previous message on his phone, glancing at the bars that stood between them before typing again and holding it up once more, 'Are you locked up right now?'
Her gaze fell to the floor after it'd skimmed across his screen, and he could see her trying to hold back tears as she gave a quick, single nod of her head.
The salmon haired boy's heart lurched involuntarily at the utter heartbreak and helplessness on her features. The situation was finally becoming clearer to him, and since her father was obviously the one who had imprisoned her in her own room, Natsu knew that the Heartfilia patriarch must be deeply involved in whatever was putting the blonde in danger.
He felt that he could relate to her, his mind momentarily straying from the present and filling with thoughts of Zeref. He knew exactly what it felt like to be betrayed by a family member that had once been held dear, and the heavy feelings of abandonment and solitude were something he'd never wish on anyone.
Natsu forced his anger over what both his own brother and her father had done aside, solemnly nodding his head in understanding as he typed another message.
'So you meant it when you asked me to save you?'
He watched on helplessly as another wave of tears almost overcame her, the blonde nodding her head with more conviction this time.
After his final message had been written, he firmly connected his gaze with hers, his eyes offering a solemn vow that he really meant it as he held his phone up to the glass for the last time.
'Then wait for me. I promise I'll save you.'
She numbly stared at his message, completely still for a moment before the tears finally slipped free of her chocolate brown eyes, though to Natsu, they looked more like tears of relief than anything else. She softly nodded her head as she mouthed, 'Thank you.'
He nodded his head in return, feeling a bit choked up himself, though he didn't think he had the right to feel such a way when she was the one suffering.
He knew he should probably leave, but it felt wrong to do so when she was in tears. He didn't know what compelled him to do it, but he tucked his hand through the bars, pressing his palm against the glass and pouring all of his reassurances into his expression. He'd meant it when he said that he'd save her, and he desperately needed her to know it.
Almost as if on instinct, her left hand, the one with his name scrawled across its palm, came to press opposite of his against the glass. She rested her forehead against the window as well, and it seemed that just like he was doing his best to reassure her through his gaze, she was doing everything she could to show him her gratitude.
He reluctantly withdrew his hand, never breaking eye contact with her as he slowly backed away, heading towards the wall that surrounded her home. She gave him the smallest of shaky smiles before he turned his back on her, his hands shooting upwards to catch himself on the ledge as he propelled himself over the wall.
As she watched Natsu's form vault over the wall and the first of her sobs slipped free, Lucy pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle any of the sounds that threatened to bubble up from her chest. She collapsed onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow to better mute the sound of her whimpers, a foreign feeling of relief soothing its way through her veins.
Rescue was finally on its way, and in the form of an old, nearly forgotten friend.
Just as Natsu had taken his seat on his bike and begun sliding his helmet over his salmon tufts, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He wasn't all that surprised to see who was calling him, because he'd been right about what type of person the snowflake was.
He slid his thumb across the screen before pressing his phone to his ear, trying to keep his smile from slipping into his voice as he huffed, "Took you long enough, frosty."
Natsu let out a heavy sigh as he pulled into the underground parking garage of the club he'd been told to come to, quickly ridding his head of his helmet and nudging out his kickstand.
Gray was leaning against a nearby pillar, his maroon bowtie lopsided as if he hadn't been able to stop fidgeting with it and his hands tucked into his black slacks. He didn't lift his gaze from the floor, his voice heavy and low as he quietly began, "Is she…really in danger?"
"I don't know the specifics," the salmon haired boy admitted begrudgingly, "but she definitely needs our help. She told me so herself."
His rival finally lifted his head, his nose still colored blue with the bruise Natsu had given him during their fight in the plaza the previous night. His tone still held a dusting of distrust, but also traces of hope as he asked, "Are you really not going to run away this time?"
"I'm gonna follow this through," Natsu avowed, unflinchingly holding his friend's gaze. "I won't run away. I promise."
Gray glared at him in silence for a moment, but Natsu could tell that he'd finally gotten through to his rival. Gray believed him, he was sure, and although things between them definitely wouldn't be going to back to what they considered 'normal' for a while, it was certainly a start. And that was enough for Natsu to feel content, at least for the time being.
Another motorcycle suddenly drove down the slope into the underground garage, and Natsu's lips quirked as he watched Gray's expression change in reaction to who sat atop the bike.
It was the first time he'd seen Gray's smile in three years.
Elfman wasted no time in speeding towards them and kicking out his bike's stand, though it wasn't fast enough for Loke, the bespectacled red head shooting off the back of the bike before it had even come to a complete stop.
Loke rushed up to Gray as soon as his feet had hit the ground, obviously with the intention of tackling the raven haired boy. But he stopped short, his expression making it obvious that he was mentally replaying what had happened the last time the four of them had been together. He settled for simply setting a heavy hand on Gray's shoulder, giving him a little nudge as he looked the boy over, laughing awkwardly to cover up the fact that he kind of wanted to let himself be melodramatic and burst into tears at his relief over their reunion, "God, just look at you…Do you have any idea how much I missed you, ya bastard?"
Elfman grabbed Loke's shoulder and shoved him out of the way, filling in the space in front of the raven haired boy and giving him a look over before not-so-gently crushing the boy to his chest.
Chuckles filled the air as Natsu took in the sight of his rival being squished.
Loke haughtily stomped up to the hugging pair, obviously upset at having been shoved out of the way, "Elfman! What the hell?"
Almost sounding like he was choking back tears, Elfman proclaimed, "Hugging people is manly!"
Even though he thought he might suffocate if he stayed there long enough, Gray didn't do anything to escape Elfman's hold as his face was smothered against the larger boy's chest. His friends hadn't changed one bit. They were still just as ridiculous and stupidly loyal as they had ever been. He'd always known that it'd been foolish of him to think that they'd forget about him and move on with their lives so easily while he'd been imprisoned, but it was still reassuring to have them all blatantly show their care for him, even if they did it in rather impractical ways. His nose still ached from his fight with Natsu, and having his face smashed against Elfman's chest certainly wasn't doing anything to alleviate his pain.
Elfman finally pulled back as Loke cleared his throat, the orange haired boy clapping his hands together, "Welp, now that we're all together again for the first time in three years," he retrieved a black grocery sack from the back of Elfman's bike, smiling smugly and quirking a sly brow as he held it up for his friends to see, "How about a drink?"
The group of four had settled on an abandoned stack of crates in the corner of the parking garage, cracking open their beer cans and getting straight to business.
"So, what do we do?" Elfman started. "Should we just break into her house in the middle of the night and sneak her out?"
"I don't think it's gonna be that easy." Loke pursed his lips sourly, thinking back to their encounter with the blonde on the street in front of the billiard hall earlier that day, "And I know that this whole situation is definitely fishy, but what if she says that she never asked for help in the first place? Wouldn't that make things a hell of a lot more complicated for us?"
"That won't happen," Natsu firmly brought that trail of thought to an end, his mind filled with memories of the silent exchange he'd had with Lucy earlier. "She wants our help. I know it. Her eyes…they looked just like they did last time."
The salmon haired boy saw Gray's head fall forward in his peripherals, and he knew that the raven haired boy understood that he was referring to the conversation they'd had with the blonde before her brother had killed himself.
Loke's mouth opened as he went to speak again, but before he could, a voice Natsu didn't recognize sounded out from near the door to the stairs leading up into the club.
"Gray, aren't you supposed to be working?"
The salmon haired boy's gaze slid to the source, finding a blue haired man with a strange tattoo on the right side of his face in the doorway, a twinge of annoyance on his features, "Jose's gonna be pissed if he finds out you were here during work hours."
The raven haired boy dutifully stood, brushing his slacks off, "Coming."
The blue haired man didn't leave even though he'd received his answer, simply leaning back against the concrete wall next to the door and crossing his arms over his chest.
As Gray prepared to leave, Natsu hurried to fill him in on the rest of the details, "We're going early tomorrow morning. We want to catch them before they leave their house."
"Got it," the raven haired boy gave him a swift nod of his head. "See you at dawn." He didn't offer them anymore words of farewell, hurriedly brushing past the blue haired man and hurrying up the stairs.
Natsu lifted his beer can to his mouth, planning on chugging the entire thing and heading back to his hotel so he could get some sleep before what they had planned tomorrow. Elfman and Loke acted similar, silently gathering their things and heading back to the tan boy's bike.
"Hey, Dragneel."
He lifted his gaze to see Gray's blue haired coworker approaching them, the man's hands now tucked into his pockets and his features hardened.
Natsu didn't waste any time in being surprised that the man knew his name. He was well aware of the power, or rather the curse, that his last name held, and that there probably wasn't a single person in Magnolia that didn't know who he was.
"Do you know how Gray makes a living?" the man started, his tone full of spite. "He makes deliveries during the day, and he works here at night. He's trying to settle down, so you shouldn't try to get him involved with whatever it is you're planning."
Natsu felt fire in his veins. Looking after Gray was his job, not this stranger's, even if he'd done a shit job of it for the past three years. He clenched his jaw as he spat back, "What do you know?"
"When you get in trouble, you have your brother to rely on. Gray doesn't have anyone. You should know that by now."
Why did people have to keep bringing up Zeref? It wasn't like Natsu had asked to have an older brother like him, and it wasn't his fault that Zeref often abused the power he'd been given.
The salmon haired boy squared his shoulder, facing the man fully, "Thinking you know everything based on what you've heard is rather arrogant of you."
"And thinking that what you say will change things is ignorant of you," the man snapped back without missing a beat. He huffed out a bitter sigh, "Gray told me everything. You two come from completely different backgrounds. This conflict between you guys…it's just the way things are. Its fate."
"'Fate?'" Natsu sourly repeated, disgusted by the taste the word left on his tongue. "I don't give a shit. I'm going to change things."
The man gave him one last look that screamed 'I'd like to see you try,' huffing out something akin to a bitter laugh as he turned his back on the salmon haired boy and started up the stairs that led to club.
Natsu watched his back as he went, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
He would change things. Meeting Lucy, being in the same class as her, seeing her in the back of that van after three years…that was fate. But what was going to happen to him and Gray wasn't set in stone. He didn't care if the entire world was fighting against them, he wouldn't lose his best friend again.
Gray let out a heavy breath as he entered the locker room at the back of the club, pinching the bridge of his nose in a futile attempt at easing the pounding of his head. It was nearly five-thirty in the morning now that the club had been cleaned to Jose's standards, and he'd finally been let off for the night. In retrospect, he knew he probably shouldn't have had that can of beer with the boys earlier. The alcohol in his system, combined with his second hand exposure to the cigarette smoke and God knew what else that had permeated the air in the club that night, was seriously messing with his head and making his vision go blurry.
Jellal was standing before his own locker in the dimly lit room, already out of his uniform and pulling on a jacket over his casual clothes.
Gray only gave his coworker a subtle nod of his head before moving to his locker, ridding himself of his bowtie first since that accessory was always the most bothersome for him. His vest came off next, and his hands moved to undo the buttons of his white dress shirt. His fingers paused in their action though when Jellal hesitantly began to speak, sounding like he'd rather not be having this conversation even though he was the one instigating it.
"Gray…I know it's none of my business," he slammed his locker shut, "but don't do anything stupid. Those three…they come from a completely different background than you and me. They don't understand what it's like. Just…don't let them manipulate you into doing something you'll regret."
The raven haired boy pressed his lips into a grim line. He knew that Jellal was just trying to look out for him, but he didn't take well to people thinking they knew what was best for him. He was the only one who knew everything about himself after all, and thus he was the only one who could possibly know what he needed to do. He'd make his own path, just as he'd always done.
"I can take care of myself."
A heavy sigh slipped through Jellal's lips and he nodded his head, knowing there wasn't much he could to change the boy's mind. He paused to throw a quick farewell over his shoulder before leaving his coworker alone in the room, "See you later then."
Once he was gone, Gray's focus drifted to the inside of his locker door, or more specifically, the three pictures he'd taped to the metal. He'd mentally chastised himself for hours when he'd first got the idea to paste them there. Decorating lockers was something middle school girls did, not ex-prisoners who worked in a night club. But he'd wanted the reminders of his past to greet his gaze every day as he came in to work, to make sure he didn't forget how he'd wound up in his current circumstances and why he couldn't stray from the path he'd set himself on, no matter how much he loathed his work.
A picture of him with his grandmother was the largest, and he'd purposely taped it at eye-level to make sure that he'd see her bright smile every day. He worked for her, and for her alone, determined to make something out of himself for her sake. She'd given him everything she could, and he wouldn't let her sacrifices be for naught.
The other two pictures rested more towards the bottom of the door, definitely harder to spot and easier to ignore when he wasn't in the mood to see them. They were of him and the three boys who had been his best friends since kindergarten. The first had been taken at Natsu's seventh birthday party. Elfman stood off to one side, a book hugged tightly into his chest and a bashful grin on his features. He'd always been more timid back then, and it had certainly been unforeseen that that feeble little boy would turn into the 'manly man' he was at present. Natsu stood in the center of the photo, a bright grin on his features, proudly showing off his missing front tooth, as he held Loke in a head lock, the boy's orange haired matted with mud and his arms blurred as he struggled for freedom. Gray was on the other side of the photo, cheering the fight on and obviously having taken part in it at some point, the mud, bruises, and scratches littering his frame giving his involvement away. Although, now that the raven haired boy thought about it, some of those bruises might have come from his father instead.
The other of the two photos was more recent, having been taken at a Christmas party during their junior year of high school. They'd all been drunk off their asses, and upon seeing the picture afterwards, Gray was loathe to see himself captured in such a humiliating pose, with his arm thrown over Natsu's shoulder in comradery. Despite his drunkenness at the time, he could actually recall a few details. He and Natsu had been belting the lyrics to a Christmas jingle in chorus, trying to out sing Mariah Carey in 'All I Want For Christmas Is You.' At some point in the night, Natsu's scarf had managed to move from its knotted position around his neck to being tied around his head, and somehow, Gray had been stripped of the ugly Christmas sweater he'd worn to the party. The raven haired boy donned a festive red nose, and matching red lipstick was smeared across his cheek. As far as he could remember, Juvia had been the only one wearing red lipstick that night, but for the life of him, he couldn't recall when the hell she'd kissed him. Elfman stood behind the singing, or rather screeching, duo, enthusiastically pumping his fists in the air and cheering on their carol. Loke's arms were wrapped around Gray's arm, his cheek pressed snugly against the raven haired boy's bicep as he smiled bashfully. The orange haired playboy had always been an affectionate drunk, absolutely melting into a puddle at the slightest hint of anything even slightly fond.
Gray chuckled as he looked over the photos despite the bitterness that he still held inside himself.
Jellal had been right. He came from a background that was incredibly different than that of his three best friends. It was obvious, even in the picture of them when they were seven year-olds, his clothes a lot more rugged and even stitched back together in a few places, his frame lacking the same healthy, fully-nourished glow of the other three.
But the pictures he'd pasted to his locker door were also a testament of their lack of disregard for their differences in social status. Their dissimilarities hadn't stopped them from being friends in the past, and Gray knew full well that it certainly wasn't going to stop them now.
And just like usual, they were rushing off together to do something stupid, but inherently good-natured and forthright.
Gray quickly stripped himself of the rest of his uniform and shrugged on his casual clothes, slamming his locker shut behind him and striding out the door.
Dawn was quickly approaching, and he'd be damned if he let his friends be stupid, albeit with good intentions, without him.
Natsu started out of his almost-sleep state when the van they'd been waiting for finally appeared, and he blindly whapped at Loke, who sat in the passenger seat next to him, unwilling to take his eyes off of the van for even a second as he hissed, loud enough for the Strauss boy sleeping in the back seat to hear, "Get up!"
The salmon haired boy sunk down in his seat a bit, his eyes suspiciously trailing the dark haired woman that emerged from the van once it had stopped in front of the Heartfilia home. He clenched his jaw as she disappeared through the front gate, praying that once she came out again, she wouldn't spot them. He had parked Juvia's car down the street a bit, in the shade of a tree. Or at least they would be in the shade of the tree once the sun had ascended past the mountains that surrounded Magnolia, but at present, the sky had just barely begun to tint with only the slightest traces of orange. He figured he was far enough away to avoid detection anyway, but he couldn't help but feel on edge given what they were about to do.
In the seat next to him, Loke tiredly rubbed his eyes, and the sudden presence of massive, tan forearms leaning on his shoulder rest let the salmon haired boy know that Elfman was now awake, too.
The orange haired playboy blearily glancing around, "Why isn't Gray here yet?" At his friends' lack of response, his voice grew doubtful, "You…you don't think that guy with the tattoo changed his mind, do you?"
"Don't say that." Natsu sharply reprimanded, his eyes still fastened on the front gate, waiting for the dark haired woman to emerge again, "Gray won't let us down." To Natsu, it felt a bit like he was reassuring himself more than Loke. But in all honesty, he too, was wondering where the hell Gray was. They had agreed to meet up at dawn, after all, and the sun was rising ever higher with the raven haired boy still nowhere in sight.
Natsu's mind was snapped away from those thoughts when the dark haired woman appeared again, this time with Lucy and her father in tow. His hand shot to where he'd left the key in the ignition, twisting his wrist as the blondes and the woman entered the van.
Loke shifted anxiously in his seat as their car hummed to life, "Natsu…are we still gonna wait for Gray?"
The salmon haired boy straightened himself out in his seat, his jaw clenching at his inner conflict. He knew they could use all the help they could get, but the van was nearing the end of the street now, and if they didn't start after it, they'd lose it. He let out a frustrated grunt as he shifted gears, pressing on the gas, "Let's just go. We can't let 'em get away. Not again."
Gray cursed to himself as he ran from where his cab had dropped him off at the end of the street to the address he'd been given for Lucy's home, his heart dropping when he realized he'd arrived too late. The street was very obviously lacking the pizza delivery car his friends had told him they'd borrowed from Juvia.
But he certainly wasn't standing alone in the street. Half a dozen men and women were entering and exiting the Heartfilia house in succession, all with various tubs and cardboard boxes stacked in their grasps that eventually found their way into the back of the van that was parked in front of the home.
His hand shot to his pocket, his finger scrolling through his contacts for his desired recipient as fast as they could.
If the men and women here were doing what he thought they were, then the situation had just become a whole lot more dire.
Natsu didn't a waste a second as soon as his phone rang, sliding his finger across the screen and pressing it to his ear as he used his other hand to steer, his eyes still zeroed in on the van they were trailing as he ground out, "Where the hell are you, frosty?"
"I'm at their house."
The salmon haired boy could tell from the urgency in Gray's tone that something was wrong, and he didn't have to wait long to find out.
"All of their stuff's being cleared out."
"What?" Natsu hissed.
"They're taking everything," Gray ground out. "Natsu, you have to stop that van no matter what. If you don't, we may lose her."
The leather of the steering wheel creaked as he clenched his hand even tighter, pressing his foot down harder on the gas, "Wasn't planning on it." He dumped his phone into the cup holder in the center console as the van ahead of them turned right onto a bridge entrance, uncaring of whether or not Gray was still on the other line. He needed both of his hands to sharply veer their car in the other direction, breaking off from following the van and speeding through a side street to put himself on a path that would allow him to cut the van off at the end of the bridge. He'd grown up traversing these streets, and he'd raced through them with Gray countless times on their bikes. His knowledge of every little alley and side path of Magnolia would help him get ahead, as well as his disregard for traffic laws and speed limits, of course.
They whipped onto the bridge from the other side, far from being in the correct lain for a car traveling their direction and driving straight towards the van, on course for a head-on collision.
Natsu slammed on the brakes just as the van's driver did, the salmon haired boy's gaze determinedly set forward as he asked, "You guys ready?"
He could see Loke's knee bouncing in his peripheral, the orange haired playboy sounding more like he was trying to reassure himself as he huffed out his answer, "I'm the brother of a cop. I got this…I got this…"
"I was on the wrestling team," Elfman clenched his hands into fists. "If all else fails, I just chuck 'em off the bridge like a man."
"Then let's go," Natsu ground out.
Their doors were all shoved open at the same time and they strode forward, forming a line in font of their car with Natsu in the center, his friends at his flanks; all standing with their shoulders broad and fists clenched in determination.
Ultear sucked in a quick breath as she looked over the three boys standing in opposition to them, "It's…it's those evil spirts." Her gaze followed the salmon haired boy's, her eyes widening when she realized that he was staring directly at Lucy through the windshield, horror in her voice as she informed the three men in the car with her, "They've come to take what belongs to the Almighty."
Zancrow shared a glance with Kain over the center console, a maniacal smirk spreading across his lips as he ground out, "Well, then I guess we need to show them who they're dealing with."
Lucy continued to stare blankly forward as the two apostles exited the van, her gaze firmly connected with Natsu's. Even if he had given her all of his promises and reassurances the previous night, the exhausted, hopeless side of herself had constantly whispered haunting doubts from the back of her mind, whispering that he wasn't going to come, that he would turn his back on her like he had the last time she'd asked for his help.
But it was really happening. He'd really come for her.
She felt she might start crying when he gave her a soft nod of his head, her eyes following his lips as he mouthed, 'I'll save you.'
But she forced aside her tears, adrenaline shooting through her veins and newfound determination surfacing from God knows where. She hadn't thought she had any drive left, but now, when it counted, she was able to scrounge up whatever motivation she'd buried deep inside herself.
Natsu and his friends had come to save her just like he'd promised, but she wasn't going to just sit there completely helpless when they were out there fighting for her.
The three boys began striding towards their van, and she took that as her cue, diving forward to wrap her hands around the door handle. Ultear snatched one of her wrists before it could make it to its destination, and the blonde whipped around to face the dark haired apostle, letting loose a shriek as she shoved the woman backwards with all the strength she could muster, sending her toppling towards her father.
Natsu, Loke, and Elfman broke out into a full-on sprint simultaneously, charging the two men that had exited the van to oppose them. Elfman tackled the man that had previously been the driver, strategically taking on the more brutish of the two, knowing that his two smaller friends would've likely struggled with such an opponent. Loke went for the man with the disgusting mane of blonde hair, unskillfully launching his attack with a battle cry, his voice cracking to add to his embarrassment about his lack of badassery when compared to how his comrades were fairing. But he was certainly keeping the man's attention off of Natsu no less, which was exactly what Loke had been hoping for.
Natsu's hands slammed on the hood of the van as he struggled to maneuver around the two fights taking place, eventually deciding to just catapult himself over the front corner of the van to get to the back door on the passenger's side. His hands shot to the handle and he yanked it open with as much force as he could muster, his eyes widening at the sight that greeted his eyes.
Lucy's left wrist was caught in the grasp of two different pairs of hands, her father's and the dark haired woman's, shrieks slipping through her lips as she threw her own body around in an attempt to dislodge them. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of him behind her, and with his presence she seemed to abandon all intentions of leaving her companions unharmed, her feet flying up and kicking herself away from them with all the strength and dexterity she could manage in her panic.
Her wrist was free in the matter of only a few seconds, and she all but launched herself at the salmon haired boy, wrapping her arms around his neck. Natsu wrapped his arms around her waist in return, holding her tight against him as he spun them around, putting himself between the blonde and those still in the van.
Lucy's father vaulted over the dark haired woman and stretched his hand through the door, and Natsu wasted no time in slamming it closed, something akin to a slight thrill rushing through him as he heard a satisfying crack accompanied by a howl of pain.
The man's hand withdrew into the van once more and Natsu slid the door shut, hopefully for good, the dark haired woman inside unable to do much given the blond man now hunched over, practically collapsed on her lap. But before Natsu ran off with the blonde, he had one last clever thought, which surprised him given his normal tactlessness when it came to anxiety-inducing situations. He threw open the passenger door and dove over the seat and console, pulling the keys from their resting spot in the ignition before withdrawing his upper body and chucking them over the edge of the bridge and into the rushing river below.
He didn't waste a second more, grasping Lucy's hand firmly within his own, probably tight enough to bruise, but with the adrenaline pumping through him, he didn't have a moment to spare in concern. Besides, she was squeezing his hand back just as tightly, and keeping up with his pace just fine despite how unreal the whole situation seemed to the both of them.
As they passed, the salmon haired boy yanked the blond man with the greasy hair off of Loke and gave him a swift punch in the jaw, Elfman appearing at their side a moment later to tug the orange haired boy to his feet, his own opponent collapsed against the side of the van.
They ran back to their car altogether, Natsu practically shoving Lucy into the back seat and tumbling in after her as Loke slid into the driver's seat and Elfman into the passenger's. The salmon haired boy mentally thanked God that he'd thought to leave the car on, the dark haired woman finally out of the van and hauling after them, doing surprisingly well in her heels. Loke floored the car in reverse, the woman's hands just barely missing their hood as they sped off backwards and whipped off of the bridge. The orange haired boy quickly shifted gears and sped off down the main road, leaving the van and its occupants behind.
Natsu watched the dark haired woman's form shrink in the rear view mirror, his hammering heart finally calming down. The reality and success of what they'd just done was finally settling in, and he couldn't help the triumphant grin that threatened to break out across his features.
But the glory of the moment shattered as soon as the hand that was still grasped within his own began to tremble.
His gaze slowly traveled to the blonde, and his grin faded when he saw the tears pooling in her eyes, her brows pinched together as she stared blankly forward. He'd expected her to be thrilled and relieved that she was finally free, but still, she looked almost terrified, her bottom lip beginning to quiver.
"Lucy…" he hesitantly started, unconsciously tightening his grip on her hand.
His voice seemed to snap her out of her detached state, and the dam broke, her tears flooding down her face as sobs erupted from her chest. The hand that wasn't held within his shot to cover her mouth as she curled into herself, her eyes sliding shut and sending more tears down her cheeks.
Loke and Elfman were silent in front, though both had furrowed brows and varying degrees of worry across their features as her cries sounded in the small space.
Natsu reacted purely on his gut instincts, quickly shifting her palm to his other hand and reaching around her shoulders with his now free arm to pull her into his side. She willingly collapsed into him, burying her face in his shirt and soaking it with her tears.
"It's okay, Lucy," Natsu breathed out right next to her ear, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I won't let them take you away again. I promise. You're safe."
AN
Yeah, remember last chapter when I said that Lucy wasn't gonna be saved so soon? ...I lied ;) But we're only about halfway done, so know that we're not in the clear just yet. And was the Nalu good enough for y'all? It's been a long time coming, I know, so I hope it was satisfactory. There's definitely more on the way, too ;)
For all of you wondering about Another World, long story short: college is a bitch and free time is a foreign concept. I've started the next chapter, but finding the time to finish it is nearly impossible. However, after this round of midterms and essays is over, I hope to start pumping stuff out and I don't want to delay the next chapter too much longer! I want to have it out some time within the next two weeks if my schedule will allow me some time, just know that I haven't forgotten about it!
Anyways, thanks for reading! And a special thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed! :D
See you next Friday!