All because of a fight and a job request

Ch14

Levy pov

I made it back to Magnolia when I jumped off the train.. I was exhausted. I barely slept.. my mind was racing. I couldn't believe it, Lucy, after these three months was alive! But she's in trouble! I run as fast as I can back to the guild.. I have to get to master.. he has to know so we can figure out how to save her! We have to save her!

Natsu pov

I've been a depressed and irritable mess these past three months.. I've not gone on any jobs. For the first two months I was doing nothing but look for Lucy. Screaming at people "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL!" While shoving her picture in their face.. leaving fliers at every business and home all up and down Fiore.. traveling on my own to see if I just happen to come across her.. and nothing. I don't want to say that I'd given up.. cause I still have hope she's out there somewhere alive, that we WILL see her again but.. after her being gone for so long, and no one turning up ANYTHING.. I just couldn't stop myself from falling into a depression.. I moped all over the guild.. I moped at home.. I wasn't myself anymore. Gray even stopped pickin fights with me.. Lisanna tried getting me to do anything to help get my mind off how worried about Lucy I was, but it never helped. I'd started going to Lucy's apartment to just lay in her bed.. and still have her scent around me.. it's begun to fade away.. but I can't help it.. I miss her. I really miss her. I feel so empty inside without having her around. To at least hear her voice, to see her smile.. my heart aches at not knowing where she is, or if she's okay.. and especially at how things were left between us when she left.. I still blame myself for her disappearance. If I hadn't broken her heart and told her to leave, she wouldn't have felt the need to get out of here as fast as possible. She'd still be here. I'd at least know where she was at that she was okay..

I woke up in Lucy's bed.. I did what I always do, I turn over hoping to see her sleeping face next to me but... just like every morning, I see nothing but an empty space next to me.. I contemplate even getting out of bed.. but decide to. I had to.. in case today was the day she returned to us. At least that was always the hope.. I drag myself out of her bed and leap into her window to leave.. I turn around to look around one last time before dropping to the ground below and head for the guild...

*short time skip*

I walk through the doors and head to my usual spot in the back of the guild at one of the tables, and lower my chin to it.. Happy flies to me like he always does and sees if I wanna go fishing or take a job.. or even just eat. "No, thanks Happy... I just wanna sit here today... if I get hungry enough, I'll walk to the bar and ask Mira.." That's the other thing about me that's changed.. my appetite is more or less gone. Everyone's kinda gone back to their normal daily routines after looking for Lucy for so long and still turn up nothing.. it irritated me. How can they smile? How can they laugh? How can they carry on while she's out there somewhere? I slammed my hands on the table and stood up and was about to leave when in comes Levy, slamming and running through the doors, getting everyone's attention, before she puts her hands to her knees bent over huffing and puffing for air and falls to her knees and shouts out, "MASTER.... WHERE'S MASTER!?!" She's trying so hard to catch her breath. Gajeel's already run to her side and is helping her up off the ground. "Mira! Go find master and bring him down here!" he shouts. "Of course!" Mira leaves the bar and runs upstairs to get gramps.. Gajeel walks her over to a table to sit down and is rubbing her back as she takes in deep breaths..

Everyone, including me, has crowded around Levy asking what's going on.. "Its about.. Lucy.... I've found her!"..... "WHAAAAT??!" everyone shouts. My heart skips at beat.. she's alive? "What really?? You found her Levy?" asks Wendy. "Oh thank Mavis, is she okay? Where is she? Why hasn't she returned with you??" Erza demands. "Would you guys back off and give her a chance to even BREATHE??" Gajeel suggests annoyed. "MY CHILDREN!!" We all turn to see Gramps from the upstairs stair case.. "Allow Levy a moment to catch her breath.." He and Mira begin their descent down the stairs and make their way to the table.. "Now Levy, what was it you needed to tell me? Is it about Lucy? Were you successful in your search?" Wait he knew she was out looking for her?? After finally getting her breath back she says, "Yes, yes it is! I found her master, she's alive! I found her all the way up in Isenberg!" I interject, "But me Wendy, and Gajeel were up there and we couldn't find her! No real trace of her was found to suggest she went anywhere from her last location!" She whips her head in my direction and slits her eyes, "maybe if you actually tried to go into any of the surrounding towns to look for her, you would have." Guilt hits me like one of Erza's take downs and I shut my mouth and sit back.. Levy then continues.. "but she's in trouble! She's being kept prisoner at some tavern by this woman named.. oh gosh what was her name??? Madam something... Lavern?" Levy furrows her brow and twists her lips in thought then shouts, "That's it! LaVey. Madam LaVey. Master, I've never felt such an evil dark presence within a person before. This woman may as well be evil incarnate!" Master has his eyes closed listening closely rubbing his chin and answers, "tell us everything you've discovered Levy.. start at the beginning."

Levy recounts everything about Lucy she discovered. Everyone is left shocked with O shaped mouths at what we were just told. Except for me... I am seething with white hot rage. I'm gonna kill this Madam LaVey. I explode in flames as I shout, "I'M GONNA KILL LAVEY! WE HAVE TO SAVE LUCY!!" aaaand then I'm hit with a massive gramps fist and am pinned to the ground before I have a chance to dart out of the guild! "KNOCK IT OFF NATSU! I understand your anger, but we can't just go barreling in without a strategy or plan of attack in unknown territory." I slip my head out from under gramps fist, "What's to plan?? Run in, kick ass, defeat the bad guy, rescue Lucy and bring her home! LET'S GOOOOO!" Levy had tears streaming down her face and says in a harsh voice, "Do you think you have any sort of right to even go after her and bring her home?" I stop shouting and squirming to look at Levy.. everyone has stopped to look at her.. Juvia steps behind her and says, "Levy is right.. Natsu, it's your fault she even ran away in the first place!" They're not entirely wrong.. I look down disappointed and ashamed with myself.. everyone is exchanging confused glances when Gramps speaks up, "Natsu, what do they mean?" He lifts his fist off of me and I sit up and don't move as I hung my head low enough for my hair to cover my eyes... "Natsu?" Erza asks. I sigh and Happy lands on my shoulder.. I look up at him to see him just nod his head at me.. I let out another sigh and begin to explain... I wish I hadn't.

Everyone is PISSED. Gray yells, "YOU FLAME BRAINED IDIOT! WHAT'D YOU GO AND SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT FOR? YOU KNOW LUCY BETTER THAN THAT!!" I get it, I royally messed up and told her to just leave the guild. but their reactions pissed me off as well cause they had been no better than I had! and before I can shout at them Levy beats me to it, "NONE OF YOU HAS THE RIGHT TO BE ANGRY WITH NATSU EITHER!!.. yes, granted, be angry he told her to leave, cause we all know how much the guild means to Lucy and what it has done for her, but NONE OF YOU ARE ANY BETTER THAN HIM!" her tears won't stop falling and have soaked her shirt and the table she was leaned over. Everyone stops shouting at me to look at Levy completely surprised she could bring herself to talk that way to the guild. Levy is typically not confrontational, so this is outside of her normal character. Erza, lightly puts her hand to Levy's shoulder but she shakes it away to Erza's dismay. "WHERE WERE ANY OF YOU BEFORE? HOW COULD YOU ALL JUST FORGET SHE WAS STILL HERE?! EVER SINCE LISANNA CAME BACK TO THE GUILD.." she pauses, and looks at Lisanna who she sees has flinched at her words, "I'm not mad at you or blaming you at all Lisanna, but.." she goes back to directing her statement at the guild, "..ever since she's returned.. everyone seemed to forget all about Lucy.." She then stops and looks back at me and her anger is reignited, "The worst part of it all Natsu? She told me and Juvia that you hurt her the most.. YOU. YOU were supposed to be her best friend. YOU were supposed to be someone she could always run to with ANYTHING and feel safe in that fact... but when Lisanna returned you discarded her like she was nothing. She told us that she felt she was only a replacement to you for Lisanna and that for the first time since joining the guild, she felt completely alone." she pauses and clenches her teeth, and slams her fists to the table, "SHE LOVED YOU AND YOU SHATTERED HER HEART!!" My heart completely stops.. she loved me? What? Me, of all people?? I didn't think it was possible to feel even more guilty than I did, but here I am feeling a hundred times worse.. she stands up to look at everyone squarely in the eyes, "Although I place most blame on what's happened to Lucy on Natsu.. aside from myself, Wendy, Juvia, Mira and Master? You all share blame! The five of us were the only ones who continued to engage with her as if NOTHING had changed... I thought this guild was a family??!" She slides out of the booth and pushes past people and walks away to be alone, Gajeel runs after her. And leaves us all to sit back and think about how we'd treated Lucy in the last months she was here before her disappearance..

Everyone was hanging their heads low in shame.. some had tears in their eyes, some furrowed brows in thought. "How did none of us notice what we were doing? Or what it was doing to Lucy? How could we allow ourselves to hurt one of our own and not notice for so long??" Erza asks to no one in particular. She was angry and disappointed with herself.. we all were. Gramps speaks up, "I give no excuses, however, that being said, we were all excited and relieved to have a once presumed fallen comrade, return to us.. after so long we had her back among us.. it's understandable to become wrapped up in the celebrations and ride on that excitement... we still owed Lucy better than that. My children, Lucy I know will forgive you when you all see her again... after we rescue her and beat down the bastards that have kept her from us!" Everyone perks up at his words and shouts "YEAAAAA!!!!" I slam my fists together and smirk, "I'm all fired up! What's the plan?"