Remember to leave a review, guys! It's inspiring! I don't want to abandon this story.
Drake groaned as the train lurched too the side. Elise was doing an amazing job and remaining quiet, although her face was completely pale. Meredy chuckled.
"Trouble?" She asked sweetly.
"Go to hell" Drake replied, clutching his stomach, feeling his dinner swirling like it was in a whirlpool. Meredy huffed.
"Is this how you normally treat people who save your life?"
"If they enjoy watching me in pain, than yes" Meredy laughed, and Elise doubled over, grabbing her knees in vain.
"Will we... *Urp* ...get home soon?" Drake whispered, grabbing Nashi's knee so that he wouldn't hurt himself. Of course, it occurred to him he was grabbing her knee rather tightly.
"I don't know, maybe in a few hours?" Meredy replied, grinning cheekily. Drake glared at her. "Sorry, not funny." Drake turned to watch the passing countryside, wondering how dramatic there entry into the guild would think. Meredy would probably kick the door in, and they'd follow, looking like battle-worn heroes. he chuckled internally. Not at all. He and Elise would probably hobble in as Meredy did her best to explain what had happened. Drake hoped they hadn't worried anyone all too much. Then again, they kind of had disappeared without a trace, so maybe they were a little more than worried. Drake shrugged to himself, wondering how weird it would be being back. It sounded strange, but after two weeks, Drake wasn't sure he wanted to be very lively. This whole experience had changed him, and he knew for a fact it wasn't for the better. He knew for a fact that his mother wouldn't let go of him for at least a few hours, which, surprisingly, he didn't mind at all, actually. He missed her more terribly than he realized. He shrugged it off, pushed the lobster back down from his throat, and tried to drift off too sleep.
Ultear just played with her breakfast, not really paying attention whatsoever to whatever Simon was talking about. Usually she listened to him politely, but she was too worried about Nashi and the others. They'd been gone much too long, and others were getting desperate, her included.
"Ul, are you even listening to me?" Simon asked, interrupting her train of thought.
"Not in the slightest," Ultear replied, turning to face him. "Sorry." They watched each other for a moment.
"Are you okay?" Ultear felt her heart beat pick up. She'd always found Simon attractive, but the concerned look on his face made her blush.
"I'm just worried about Nashi and the others." She replied, continuing to pick at her food. "I'm worried their hurt. or worse"
"Don't think like that" He said. "They're tough, they'll be fine." Ultear wanted to believe him, but it was unusual, even for them.
"But what if they are hurt?" Ultear asked, turning back to face him. He grinned and ruffled her hair.
"We kick the ass of whoever did it to them" He said. Ultear smiled weakly. Somehow, she knew that was exactly what they would do, too.
"Ultear, Simon" Ultear turned to find Master Laxus standing behind them.
"Master" Simon said.
"Gramps'' Ultear grinned as he winced.
"Have you two made any progress in locating the others?" He asked. Simon sighed.
"None. I didn't see anything when I looked into the forest. I turned back when it got dark, so maybe they went farther in." Ultear nodded in agreement. She and Simon had gone to check again yesterday, but, once again had found nothing. Master Laxus shook his head angrily.
"Damn, where'd they go?" He asked. Ultear looked down. Knowing Gramps was worried made her even more anxious. He was rarely worried about anyone from the guild.
Outwardly worried, that is.
Ultear was about to suggest something, when the hall doors flew open. A pink haired woman walked in, and for a split second, Ultear thought it was Nashi. The woman smirked.
"What, I get no welcome, or anything?" She asked, grinning. Ultear watched her dad stand up.
"Meredy? What are you doing here?" He asked. Meredy grinned even wider.
"I was just returning your..." Meredy turned around and looked confused. "Where's they go?" She asked, looking around.
"Where'd who go?" Erza asked, confused. Meredy began to tap her foot impatiently.
"Hey, come on!" She shouted out the door. "I made a big deal of coming in, the least you could is be behind me, you know!" Ultear was about to ask, when a figure appeared in the door. Ultear gasped.
Elise wandered in behind Ultear, but it didn't take a genius to figure out Elise wasn't okay. She looked battered and bruised, her foot looked awkward, and she had a dead look to her eyes. lifeless, one could say.
"Elise!" Ultear heard Levy shout happily. Elise didn't even respond, she just stared straight ahead. then, as if before anyone could even ask, Drake stumbled in, looking just as bad if not worse. He also had a pair of legs jutting out from his midsection.
Nashi's legs.
Ultear knew immediatedly out of the three, Nashi was the worst off, mainly because She was unconscious on Drake's back with a huge yellow bruise on her face. Everyone gathered around.
"Wendy!" Gramps shouted. The Sky Maiden rushed forward, ready to heal. Drake shifted so he was carrying Nashi bridal style, but their was nothing romantic about it. Nashi was completely limp and unmoving, the bruises, cuts, and broken bones apparent to all. Ultear felt like she was going to cry.
"What the hell happened to you three?" Natsu demanded, stepping forward. Drake stared at him, the same dead look to his eyes, and he slowing, and shakily, offered Nastu his daughters limp body, which he unsteadily took. It was a rush of people and unanswered questions as the three were rushed into the infirmary.
Ultear watched quietly with the rest of the guild as Wendy inspected the three of them, her hands glowing and muttering incantations. Drake and Elise were sitting up in their beds, looking much better than the pinkette. It seemed like a millennium before Wendy leaned back and sighed.
"She'll live" She reported, and the guild let out a collective sigh of relief.
"What happened to her?" Ultear heard Lucy ask sadly. Wendy sighed.
"I don't know, but this poor girl went through hell and back. She wouldn't have survived another day" That made everyone a little sour, Ultear could tell. "Broken bones, deep wounds, bruises of all different colors... what the hell happened?" Everyone turned as one to stare at Drake and Elise, who were sitting up and completely conscious. Elise was curled up into a ball, staring into nothing, and Drake was rubbing his wrists. Ultear could see that they were cut from something, almost like handcuffs.
"Phantom Dove" Meredy spoke up. Everyone turned to look at the Crime Sociere wizard, who blushed at the attention she garnered by saying that.
"What?" Gajeel asked.
"Phantom Dove, one of the dark guilds that formed the New Balam Alliance." The silence was extremely unsettling. Ultear had heard of the Balam Alliance, the three most powerful dark guilds.
"What do they have to do with this?" Levy asked curiously.
"That was the dark guild that their job was bound too, and they got captured." Meredy explained. It didn't answer any more questions then it solved.
"And they did this to them?" Natsu demanded, is voice deathly low. He was sitting next to Nashi, gripping her hand gently. Meredy nodded.
"They wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Sorano" Meredy said. "She was undercover for Jellal, and she got them out before anything too bad happened" Somehow, Ultear felt like Meredy was saying that just to cover up something bigger, but she didn't feel like asking.
"We're going to get them" Natsu replied, a deep growling sound escaping him ,which chilled Ultear. "All of them, for this"
"We don't even know where they are Natsu" Ultear's dad told him. "We'd be wasting time and energy looking for..."
"Deep in the forest" Drake spoke up, and his voice made Ultear sad. It was so devoid of what made Drake Drake. smugness, a little cockiness, and humor, all gone, replaced with a void of emptiness. "East of Watercliff town" Natsu stood.
"Back in a few days" He growled, striding towards the door, before being stopped by Lucy, who looked terrible. Her makeup was running, and she had tears streaming down her face.
"Natsu, don't" She whispered.
"Lucy, I'm going to..."
"You left once when she needed you, Natsu! Your not doing it again!"
"She wasn't even born last time!" Ultear jumped a little bit when Lucy slapped him, creating a huge sound. Natsu sighed. "Sorry, I'm not thinking clearly"
"Obviously" The conversation as too what to do continued, and Ultear felt someone tap her. She turned to find Wendy there, motioning for her to follow. She did so, and she and Simon followed her out of the infirmary back to the main guild hall.
"What is it Wendy?" Simon asked. Wendy sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"I didn't tell Natsu-san and Gajeel-san the extent of what happened, but I figured I'd tell you guys, seeing as your their friends.
"Why not tell them?" Ultear questioned.
"Because they'd fly into a rage if I said anything, and Natsu-san doesn't need to worry any more than he already is, Kinana-san too" Wendy was silent for a moment, then turned back too them. "Drake-san is the best of the three, although that isn't saying much. They've been tortured, that's much is obvious."
"Great to hear" Simon muttered sarcastically. Wendy ignored him.
"Nashi, obviously, was about to die, and I'm dead serious. I don't what they did to her, but it almost ended her. If they had been, and I'm not kidding, a few hours later than they were, she would've died." Ultear tried not too feel overwhelmed by that. A few hours from now, had they not made, the girl she considered her little sister would've been gone.
"What about Elise?" She asked weakly. Wendy sighed. That wasn't a good sign.
"Elise, well, I don't really know who to put this. She's definitely worse off than Drake, but she was... um..." Ultear's eyes widened as Wendy resorted to childish hand motions to tell them what happened.
"Mavis..." She breathed, as Simon glared at the ground. Wendy nodded. "I can see why you didn't mention it, Wendy" Ultear told her. "If you did, nothing would've stopped them"
"I know, that's why I didn't" Wendy went back to the infirmary to treat them, and Ultear stood still ,trying to process what just happened. She slowly looked up and watched the infirmary door.
If only I'd been there... God, I'm sorry Elise... I'm so fucking sorry...
Remember to leave a review!