"Crimson Scale" Said Natsu, staring at the tiny piece of card in his hand.

He flipped it over, showing the letter 'CS' printed on the back in bold red.

"Natsu explain, what's Crimson Scale?" I asked, needing to know what the hell he was going on about.

"I should have known!" He yelled, getting up from the floor and angrily putting on yesterday's jumper, previously laying on the end of my unmade bed.

"Natsu!" I said, trying my hardest to get his attention. "What's going on, tell me!"

He looked at me in the eye, rage tearing through his gaze.

"Crimson Scale have my father." He said, walking out of my room with me following him.

He entered his room across the hall, grabbing a rucksack and throwing random things inside.

"They're a group, a gang you could say. They do horrible things for people to get money, but are very hidden about it." He said, now turning to look at me again.

"Do you know what they want?" I asked nervously, wanting to help but not knowing how.

His gaze left mine as he walked over to the far end of his room where his wardrobe stood. He opened it, pulling out piles of clothes from the bottom until he came across a small shoe box at the back.

He pulled it out, placing it infront of him as he kneeled on the floor.

He slowly clipped off the lid, putting it carefully to the side. Inside the box was a replica of Natsu's well-known muffler.

"Your scarf?" I asked, sitting beside Natsu; the box infront of us.

"No, its what's inside." He replied, delicately taking out the scarf and unwrapping it.

Fold after fold, there seemed to just be more and more scarf, until finally a golden object was revealed.

He took it out, placing a golden key in the palm of his hands.

"This is what they want. It opens something very important... and dangerous I guess you could say." Natsu told me.

I took the key from his hand, examining it intensely. It looked fairly unused, still maintaining its golden sheen.

"So are you going to do it?--What they asked?" I questioned Natsu, handing him the key back which he re-wrapped into the safety of his second muffler.

"I don't know... this key... it's dangerous. If it was to get into Crimson's hands it definitely wouldn't be good. But... they have my dad." Natsu ranted, not knowing what to do. "I need to find a way to get my dad and keep the key."

"What makes this key so dangerous Natsu?" I asked, not understanding how a key could hold such importance.

He sighed, looking at the floor with what seemed to be deep thought. I took his hands in mine and looked up at him, trying to reassure him that everything would be okay.

"There's a safety deposit box in one of the train stations just outside magnolia. Inside is a letter. This key opens the box." Explained Natsu, staring down at his hands.

"A letter? Why would they kidnap your dad for a whole year, for just a letter?" I asked, not at all understanding the concept.

"It's not just a letter Lucy." Sighed Natsu. "People would kill to get their hands on it.

I looked up at Natsu.

He looked tired, defeated... lost.

I knew this was a hard situation for him. His father had been missing for a year, Natsu not knowing whether he was alive or not. Now all of a sudden he gets a letter from a gang saying they have his father and will give him in exchange for a dangerous key that unlocks the door to some kind of important piece of paper with words scribbled on...

It seemed pretty unbelievable.

"Well, what are we going to do?" I say, standing up and placing my hands on my hips in a determined manor.

"We are doing nothing." Said Natsu, getting up and placing the shoe box back inside the wardrobe beneath the pile of clothes.

"On Monday, you're going to go back to school. And I'm going to sort this out." He said, turning to looked at me sternly. "I'm not letting you get involved with this Luce. It's too dangerous and I can't bare to let you get hurt."

I studied him. His facial expression was hard, showing his seriousness. But I looked into his eyes, seeing their usual soft look. I knew he needed me. He couldn't do this alone.

"No." I replied, folding my arms across my chest and not breaking eye contact. "I'm not letting you do this alone Natsu. We're doing this together and were going to find a way."

He looked at me, shocked by my certain opinion on not leaving him.

"Lucy you can't come with me. I need to do this alone." He said, looking at me with pleading eyes.

"No Natsu. You can't do this alone. You don't know who you're up against and what they're capable of." I fretted, not giving in.

I walked up to him, placing my hands in his as we stood in the centre of his room facing eachother.

"So. When are we heading out?"

-

It was Sunday morning.

All of Saturday, Natsu and I had come up with our plan of action. First of all we will head to the train station, take the letter from the safety deposit, then we are to meet the gang with the key, take Natsu's dad back and hopefully call the police before Crimson find out the letter is gone and come after us.

"Natsu, it's time." I said, sitting up in my bed, shaking his bare shoulder gently. Eventually he awakened, stretching his arms above his head as a deep yawn escaped his lips. Together we stumbled out of bed, eyes trailing along eachothers awful bed looks that we loved about eachother so much.

After showering and getting dressed, I grabbed a coat, my keys and an apple, before heading out of the door behind Natsu.

We quietly crept along the dead hallways of the dorms. Seen as it was 3am, we had to be as quiet as possible.

The darkness of the night was still around, only the dull light of the moon lightened our path to the car once we reached outside. We headed to Natsu's car, knowing that this was when our plan was about to begin.

The drive was over 3 hours. Hence, us heading out so early. We needed all the time we could get if we were to pull this off.

Eventually, Natsu and I arrived at the train station. We parked the car outside and went over the plan.

"Okay Natsu, you stay in the car, an I'll run in there, unlock the box and take the letter." I said, grabbing my empty rucksack I brought along and slinging over one shoulder. Natsu nodded in agreement as I opened the car door and stepped out.

I looked back to see Natsu's worried face through the window. I gave him an encouraging smile, before turning around and heading into the dead station.

The building was huge. It's walls were off-white, leading up to the high ceiling with glass decorations across the top. The floor was a dark, grey stone colour, contrasting with the walls. It was a surprisingly famous landmark too.

I observed the station, looking at the people dotted around and hoping to God that they wouldn't notice me, and better yet, not remember my features.

I walked quietly, trying not to break the already existing silence of the station. Due to the time of morning, there were only around six people in the giant room, leaving me with a little more slack. Five were on the opposite side of the tracks, meaning only one was here. It was man.

He was sat on a bench near the lockers, reading a newspaper that he rested on his crossed legs. He wore a black hat and coat, making me feel a little suspicious, but I brushed it off and confidently passed him, towards the lockers.

I took the key out the pocket of my hoodie. I placed it in the door of the corresponding safety deposit box, before turning it. The clicking of the lock echoed throughout the station, making me look up from nervousness. I looked over at the man on the bench; he was now looking at me. I gave him a quick nervous smile, before turning back to the locker and swinging open the door.

Inside was a mini metal safe. I swiftly slid it of the the locker, letting my arms take its weight. The heavy weight of the box surprised me, ending in me nearly dropping it and letting a small squeal escape my lips. I managed to grasp the box, now aware of its unusually heavy weight for just a letter, but I just assumed the safe was adding the weight.

I wrapped it under one arm, using me free hand to lock up the safety deposit box, and place the key back into my pocket. I supported the box beneath and headed back out of the train station. By now my heart was beating uncontrollably, making me feel shaky. I felt the burn of the mans' gaze on me as I walked passed, but I ignored it and just walked quicker.

"How did it go?" Asked Natsu as I plopped myself into the car seat with the safe on my lap. I shut the car door, took a deep breath, before looking at him.

"Fine, but it was scary as hell." I told him, taking another breath to calm myself down.

"There was this creepy man though. He was dressed like some kind of spy or agent from a movie..." I explained to Natsu, his gaze becoming hard with worry. "He was watching me the whole time. It was weird."

"Was there anyone else there?" He asked, not yet starting the car.

"There were a few people on the other side of the tracks, but they all looked pretty normal."

Natsu sighed, swiping his hand through his hair.

"Lets go." He said, turning the keys in the ignition and starting the car. "I'm sure he was just a weird, old guy, don't worry about it... And thanks Luce."

I gave him a small smile and looked down at the safe sat on my legs. I started twisting the knob on the front, seeing if it would magically open for me, which it didn't.

"What are gonna do this with?" I asked Natsu as I continued to fiddle with the box.

"I guess we haven't thought that far yet..." He said, chuckling. "We'll figure something out."

He turned the car into the road and we set off to our next destination.