Hello again mina! ♥  Here is chapter twelve; I hope you like it!  I dedicate this chapter to bookloveforever, I hope you are liking this story!  Thanks so much for all the complements you have given me on my stories, it means a lot to me, truly! :'D  Well, I also hope the rest of you enjoy it too, hehe! ^^  Please: feedback is very much appreciated!  Well, until next time!♡

♥ ♡ яу-¢нαи ♡ ♥

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Everyone had finally finished rebuilding the guild.  It was good as it was going to get, anyway.  Back inside, everyone was trying to celebrate the rebuilding of the Fairy Tail Guild as much as they could, but the knews of Daronyt and their doomed future still layed heavy on their minds.  Natsu and Gray were fighting though which seemed to lighten the mood quite a bit, and make everyone enjoy just being together for now.

By this time, everyone was either sitting and talking or eating and drinking.  Some people were making a ruckus while others were not.

Fairy Tail would never change.

Makarov and Erza were talking in hushed tones on the side of the bar area, while Natsu dug into a mound of food with Happy by his side.  Juvia was obsessing over Gray, while Carla was scolding Wendy for being so doubtful of herself.

Suddenly, the door swung open.

Mira was the first to stop, and she widened her eyes in surprise when she saw a little girl standing shyly and a little frightened in the crack of the doorway.

"Hey, look!"  Natsu replied through a mouthful of food.  "It's a kid!"

The little girl cowered slightly as Team Natsu and the other guild members approached her at the door.  She had short blonde hair and green eyes, and was wearing a blue dress.

Erza stepped forward, putting her kindest face on.  "What are you doing here, child?  Are you lost?  This is no place for kids."

The little girl shook her head.  "I-I came to ask you something."  She replied in the cutest little girl voice.

Natsu bent down next to Erza, along with Gray.

"T-This is Fairy Tail, right?"  The child asked, her hand near her mouth in nervousness.

Natsu nodded, a kind smile on his face.  "Of course it is!"

Makarov stepped forward.  "What can we do for you, child?"

The little girl shook her head again.  

Suddenly, she spotted the guild mark on Natsu's shoulder and everyone else's body, and remembered the woman's pink mark just like it.  "So it is the same mark!"  She suddenly exclaimed, awe making her mouth widen.

Everyone looked at the little girl with surprise.

"There's a lady with blonde hair who has the same guild mark as you!"  She continued.

"Lucy?"  Mira guessed.

The child nodded vigorously.  "Yeah!  She needs your help!"

Everyone stopped slightly.  "What do you mean?"  Natsu asked, suddenly curious.

The little girl had tears in her eyes.  "The woman from this guild is seriosuly injured!  She was attacked...and I think she's dying!"

Everyone froze, the air running cold.

"What...?"  Natsu whispered, cold surprise running through his body.  Suddenly he started to react.  "L-Lucy!"  He stood abruptly.  "Can you take me to her, kid?"  

The child nodded, and Natsu picked her up.

"Happy!"  He exclaimed with urgency.  "Let's go!"

"A-Aye sir!"  Happy exclaimed, and with a squeal of surprise, the little girl and Natsu were swept into the air.

"Master-!"  Erza was able to choke out, adrenaline starting to pump through her body.

Makarov nodded.  "Take Wendy with you!"

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"Which way?!"  Natsu exclaimed over the wind, looking around wildly for any sign of Lucy.  "Where is she?!"

"Calm down, Natsu!"  Happy mewed, despite the obvious worry on his face.

"That way!"  The little girl exclaimed, pointing down into an ally.  "Hurry, Mister!  She was hurt really bad!"

Natsu's sense of urgency grew as Happy sailed like a dart through the sky, descending as fast as he could to the place where the little girl had pointed.

With a gulp of surprise, Natsu spotted Lucy's crumpled figure at the end of the ally.  "Lucy!"  He exclaimed, having Happy take ahold of the child as he dropped from the sky.

Plummeting to the opposite side of the alley, Natsu made a mad-dash for Lucy, skidding on his knees and picking up dust as he got closer to her.  When he came to a stop, he froze in complete awe and horror and Lucy's appearance.

She had horrible scrapes all over her body, and a steady stream of blood trickled from the tip of her lips and forehead, forming a very small pool of blood under her cheek.  Her clothes were in tatters, and more bloody cuts resided on her legs.  She layed half on her side and half face-forward, one of her hands extending out in front of her.  That hand in itself was injured too.  Large bruises that were almost black coated the naked part of her back, along with the back of her shoulders and her face.

"Lucy!"  Natsu exclaimed, fear blooming in his eyes.  "Oi, get ahold of yourself!  Lucy!"

While Natsu had been pleading to Lucy, Wendy and the others had arrived, and Wendy ran over to drop to Natsu's side.  "Oh no..."  She murmured, her eyes becoming black slits of horror.

"Wendy!"  Natsu exclaimed with urgency as he clenched his teeth stressfully.

Wendy nodded, her face turning serious as she set to work.

"Hang in there, Lucy!"  Carla exclaimed, still in her flying form.

"Did...Zeke do this?"  Gray growled.

"...Look."  Natsu murmured, his voice seething.  His eyes were covered however, and his face was impassive.  He had Lucy in his lap, but his hands were shaking as he guestered to the marks on her throat and shoulders.  "Bruise marks..."  Natsu explained, growling as he tightened his hold on Lucy.  "...from hands!"

"That bastard!"  Gray exclaimed, his eyes narrowing in disgust.

"Where are Lucy's keys?"  Erza asked, looking around the area.

"She never had them."

Everyone turned to look at the girl.

"How do you know?"  Happy asked, and the little girl looked away shyly.

"I watched the very end, when the evil man disappeared.  I didn't see any keys on her at any time."

"Then Lucy must have beem ambushed when she was at home."  Erza thought aloud, her eyes narrowed in barely controled anger.  "And didn't have time to fight back before she was forced outside her apartment, however that happened."

"We should go check it out."  Gray suggested.  "Natsu and Wendy can stay here while we go and see what exactly happened at Lucy's apartement."

"He attacked her with a disadvantage?"  Natsu spat, his eyes still hidden.  "He's gonna get it!"

"Natsu..."  Wendy murmured, looking over at him with awe yet sadness.  Suddenly she gasped.  "Look, everyone!"

Lucy was stirring.  Her eyes shook as she opened them.

"Lucy!"  Natsu exclaimed, along with surprised noises from everyone else.

Lucy smiled sadly, despite the obvious pain flashing through her eyes.  "I'm sorry, everyone.  You're always there for me yet I'm always getting into trouble..."

"That's not true!"  Wendy exclaimed.  "And besides, we always know you're there for us too, Lucy!"

Lucy's eyes teared up, and the slightest trickle of blood fell from the corner of her mouth.  "But...I couldn't do anything!"

There was a small silence.

"What are you talking about?"

Lucy looked up in surprise, dragging her blurry eyes to Natsu.  "Natsu.."

Natsu's eyes were still hidden, but he was smiling.  "What could you have done, Lucy?  Zeke caught you off guard, and played dirty by taking your keys away!  Being okay now is just to show how tough you are on both the inside and outside!  And besides; he knew if you would've had your keys you would have kicked his ass!"

Lucy looked surprised for a second, but then looked away sadly.  "He let me live."  She suddenly started to cough, and everyone tensed with worry.

Natsu widened his eyes in surprise when he saw how intensely Lucy was starting to cry.

"Just to keep the fear alive..."  She croaked, starting to shake.  "He won't stop..."

"Try to calm down, Lucy."  Wendy replied, trying to soothe Lucy as she continued to heal her.

"How am I supposed to do that?"  Lucy blubbered, raising a hand to hide her eyes.  "When I know for sure that Zeke is trying to resurrect Daronyt?"

"..What?"  Erza murmured, surprised.  "It's...been confirmed, then?"

"M-Mhm.."

There was a small silence, but then - surprisingly - Wendy broke it.  "You should try to get some sleep, Lucy.  You want to heal quickly, right?"

"Yeah, but--"

"It'll be good for you."  Natsu interrupted, trying to give her a sympathetic smile.  "We can catch Zeke together once you wake up again."

Seeing no reason to refuse, Lucy's eyes slowly began to close and she slipped back into the blackness of pain, passing out.

After a minute of silence, Natsu set Lucy's body softly onto the cement, and Wendy took over more fully.  She, along with everyone else, stared after Natsu as he walked a few paces away.  His eyes covered in shadow, he stopped near the side of the wall, his clenched-fists shaking.

All of the sudden Natsu slammed his left fist sideways into the conrete wall, making it splinter and crack.  Bits of rock flew from the collision, yet Natsu's face was still neutral.

"Natsu..."  Gray murmured with understanding.

Suddenly Natsu lifted his face, and it revealed a face soaked with fury and vengeance.

"That bastard.."  He growled.  "I'll burn him to a crisp for doing this to Lucy!"

Natsu felt flames not only lick in his anger, but his entire body.  He was furious; he loathed Zeke and wished to pay him back right here and now for what he's done so far.  He picked the wrong guild to mess with, and Natsu's anger grew the more he thought about it.  Natsu had reached his limit.  He wasn't going to put up with it anymore.

"He messed with something precious to me, and won't get away with it!"  Natsu continued, growling.

He was at his boiling point.