"WATCH OUT!"

"What the hell is wrong with you two?!"

"U-um...Y—guys can stay with me."

"Son of Igneel, we are going to have a little chat."

~

Natsu stares pensively at the woman before him. Body tense and ready to brawl, now that she nullified his magic, he wasn't afraid of mono on mono, even with a woman.

He kept his fists clenched and ready.

"You needn't be so tense, young man. I am not here to bring you harm." The woman frowned.

"Yeah right! Why would I believe you?!" Natsu spat hostilely, eyes steadily trained on the purple-haired woman.

"Considering I have not attempted to do so should have convinced you." The woman stepped forward.

Natsu wanted to back away, but his legs were stiff; frozen to the place he stands. He couldn't understand what had gripped his body.

Barking out soft, cruel giggles, "Ah, well, it would not be an attempt. If I had wished you dead, you would be."

"What do you want then? An autograph?" Natsu sneered at her despite the ominosity in her cold glower.

"Oh, you do have that fiery tongue. Your attitude is all Igneel." Her eyes narrow dangerously before she flits her hands together in front of her, swiftly gliding in a circular motion. "Fret not, Prince. I approach to discuss an important matter at hand."

Natsu doesn't say anything. What'd this creepy lady want? He swore her patience was ticking into murder. His eyes train on her form as she vultures around him. Heart pounding so harshly and frantically, he thought it'd pop from his chest.

"That is?" Came to his voice finally, all hoarse and dry.

"Lucy Heartfilia."

The Dragon Slayer blanched. Lucy? How'd this hag know her? A flurry of buried emotions swirls throughout his body heatedly. The aching in his canines triggered a hardened memory.

He could taste Lucy's blood on his tongue. Her sweet metallic blood made him yearn for another taste. The aching sensation quickly flames that hunger, the desire. Eventually, it pooled in his groin. The monster within scraped the surface of its cage, yowling to be set free. It wanted her. Wanted to bask in her presence. To see her. To feel her. If only...

"A month or four ago, you found yourself...overwhelmed with a powerful compulsion, " How did she know this? "You only shook yourself back into reality after you had done away with the Heartfilia girl."

Gulping dryly, Natsu sweat profusely. He didn't want to, he had kept telling himself. Taking advantage of Lucy...hurting her the way he did...he knew it was wrong. It affected him terribly, but this...this—the creature inside him was and is very difficult to control. He battles with it constantly, only to be burned from the inside out. The monster enjoyed Lucy's pain. How she trembled in his hands.

Natsu couldn't be any more disgusted and horrified with himself. He knew Lisanna was right; Loke was right.

He was evil.

He supposed it was the man in him that refused to openly accept the fact of misdoings.

Natsu glowers at the woman, fists tightening. His teeth pierced the insides of his lip as he clenched his jaw.

"How do you know that?"

First, this strange bitch appears of the blue, nullifies his magic, and then begins to bring about what he's done? What the hell? Who the fudge is she to preach his sins like some goddamned song?

"Oh, Princey, you'd be astonished of the things I know." The woman smirked triumphantly, rather achieved gaining the mage's attention.

Natsu says nothing when the woman appears just before him, at arm's length, but before him. In the blink of an eye, the woman seized his neck with her hand, he flinches and attempts to escape her swift action, but she holds him in an iron grip. Her fingers were cold to the touch. It was like getting into a fight with Stripper. She was freezing. Like death.

She leaned in close, so close her red-stained lips grazed his cheek to his ear.

"I shouldn't!" The woman moved her face away from Natsu's, causing him mild confusion.

What was she planning? To seduce him? Kill him? Kidnap? What is it that this woman approached him for?

"Listen, lady, I'm outta here. You're fudging nuts!" Natsu goes to back away, but his feet are still magically glued to the forest floor despite him wiggling and squirming his legs.

"Oh, but leaving now would indicate you do not want to know of your child?"

Child? An icy feeling overwhelmed Natsu's senses, body losing any healthy pigment once again. No. Lucy wasn't...she wasn't! The last he saw her...she wasn't!

After being subdued by the monster within him, it was dark. And hot. And after he came out of it...he...he...

Goddammit. Why? Why? WHY?! Why him?! Why Lucy?!

The woman studied Natsu and his pitiful breakdown.

"Dragon's enter their heat at summer's end, boy, " She spoke rather confidently. "Tis the natural order of great, powerful beasts. They take what they want, whenever they want and please themselves. What you have done, " The woman pauses, a smirk splits her face, a blue mist drafting in curls. "Is merely a primal instinct. You've done me an incredible favor, Son of Igneel."

"What the hell are you—" Natsu growled only for the woman to grab both sides of his face and connect her mouth to his.

"Mmpff!" Natsu recoils back, shoving the woman back and stumbling a few feet away coughing violently while hunching over.

"I take it you do not smoke?" The woman licked her lips and dragged her thumb over her bottom lip.

"What the fucking hell lady—" Natsu begins to retaliate

"Calm." The woman spoke and the dragon slayer fell into a trance-like state. Her cold red eyes flickered Natsu's body. "As of today, Son of Igneel, you are under my control. My Elites have failed a task at hand, I'm thinking you may be of more use, " and with a short pause, Evanora folds her arms over her torso. "Bring me Lucy Heartfilia. Discreetly, if you can. You will have time to create enough hell after my plans succeed. Do you understand me?"

Somberly, Natsu nodded.

"Good. Do hop along." Evanora lifted her arm above her head, ready to snap her fingers. "Do not fail me."

With that, the devious dame disappears within a flash of smoky lightning, leaving a clouded Natsu behind.

~

"Pancakes!" Erza's voice squeaked out in a panic.

"You're doing great, sweetie!" Mira giggled out in encouragement while the red-haired mage mutilated the poor breakfast food in order to scrape it off the pan.

"The smoke alarm is gonna go off!" Lisanna cried, eyebrows crinkling together with mild concern.

"No, no! I've...got...this!" Erza grunted out, the spatula slipping and catapulting the flapjack on the ceiling.

I giggle out as Levy and Wendy yelp, possibly afraid of getting food on them, but I couldn't tell. I'm too busy being amused by the sight of Erza making an attempt at cooking. When the girls arrived last night, it was quite a surprise.

Scared the bejesus out of us, but it turned into a slumber party, well, sort of. I suppose they wanted to spend time with us before we left the next day. While Cobra and Midnight bunked in the living room, I was stuck in Lisanna's bed, squashed in between the S-Class mages. It was kind of weird.

I guess after a long while of being away from those who love you and want to cherish you, it puts an empty hole in you. Being cooed and praised for the baby inside me, well, it's really weird. I've only had Yukino and Makarov to do that, and now, I've got a handful of close friends supporting me. Melts my heart and makes me wanna cry.

Despite my fears rearing up, the friendly gestures and reminiscing reassured me.

"Want some?" Erza looked at me.

Oh boy. She stood in front of the stove, scraping a burnt pancake from the pan. Just inhaling the burned scent churned my stomach and I could feel the bile trying to creep up my throat again.

"Uh...n-no thanks, Erza." I politely decline her offer, immediately regretting doing so when the swordswoman became depressingly crestfallen.

"You need to eat, Lucy; we can't let you go a day without eating!" Mira smiles softly, gesturing for Erza to switch places with her.

I pat my friend's shoulder apologetically when she slumps into Mira's seat. The redhead goes on to mutter how badly of a cook she is and how she couldn't do anything right. The guilt sets inside me. I probably should've accepted her offering, especially after all her hard work to make it too.

Soon enough, the burned pancake smell is replaced with a mouth-watering aroma of sizzling bacon, omelets, and fresh, unburnt pancakes. I'm overcome with unkempt hunger and any feelings I had vanished with the blink of an eye.

"Oh, Mirajane, you are a Godsend!" I clasped my hands together, practically drooling.

"You and your friends should eat, " the white-haired she-devil smiled kindly, sliding a plate in front of me. "I figure they'll want to keep up their strengths as well."

I almost frown at her words. She's genuine, but I can easily see the wariness in her blue eyes. Yes, we've got a...rocky past with Midnight and Cobra. Though Makarov and I explained the two were in process of being free men, she didn't--couldn't trust them. It's obvious why she wouldn't allow herself to. They did try to kill us at one point in time.

"Great! I'm on the verge of dying from starvation!" Midnight's voice carries from the living room, where he and Cobra are apparently grounded to.

I roll my eyes at his exaggerated words, but I couldn't help to agree with him.

"We should eat and get ready for Makarov, " I say after a minute of a thoughtful pause. "We've got a long day ahead of us."

Both men shuffle into the kitchen almost like zombies, bellies probably rumbling like an earthquake.

"Wait, " Levy speaks up surprised. "What do you mean? Are you leaving already?"

That earned many eyes to train on me. Oof. Um, how do I explain? Should I just say, "Well, I came back for twenty-four hours only because I'm in danger, and if I stay too long, I'm still in danger so..." AH! I can't spill the beans like that. They deserve a much better explanation.

"Yes, " I finally speak up, almost too terrified to look my friends in the eyes. "Our tickets aren't refundable, I'm afraid. A way to and back kind of thing."

"Oh." The gloom set in over the food.

"It's okay!" I quickly try to avert the depression. "You can always visit me in Crocus!"

That didn't really help my case at all. It only seemed to confuse the women and the young girl. Confusion, displeasure, and frustration.

"Why? Why do you have to go at all? We're family! We--we can help you! I don't understand! It's like you're just gonna up and disappear all over again!" Levy tearfully expressed herself.

I fall into silence, chewing my bottom lip anxiously. I know telling the truth would hurt them all, well, Lisanna already knew what's happened. I could see the pain of keeping someone else's secret flash through her eyes.

"I--" I begin, a sigh cutting my voice off. "It's complicated, Levy."

"How is it complicated?" Erza spoke up this time, narrowing her brown orbs at me dangerously suspicious. "Are you not telling us because you're afraid? Has someone hurt you? What keeps you from telling us?"

Okay, ouch. The redhead hit all the sensitive points of my brain. She pries, eyes crinkling, willing me to give in to her incessant jabs.

I want to tell her. I want to lunge into her arms and cry like a little baby and confess it all. Part of me wants nothing but to tell her so she can protect me like a shield.

But...As much as I wish to spill my guts, I just...I just can't. I can't drag them into my drama. They don't deserve to be in this.

I notice the tension thickens with each passing second I don't answer.

"Oi, " Cobra's tone was firm. "Stop yer damn interrogatin'! She ain't some criminal!" His body moved closely behind me, almost giving me comfort as I'm stared down by the woman.

"You're not--" Erza begins to protest.

"He's right, " Mira cut the woman off quickly. "We shouldn't demand answers if Lucy is not comfortable expressing herself."

Erza is taken back at the statement, but she bites her tongue despite wanting to rope answers from me. She succumbs to this silence that soon becomes long and awkward.

"Let's eat up! I don't know about you, but I'm positively famished!" Wendy chirps, Carla who sat quietly next to her Slayer nods, sipping her cup of tea.

"Here you are!" Mira slides plates to each individual, food piping hot and ready to be devoured.

The mage received multiple "thanks", "looks good", and "thanks, Mira!"

"I'm glad I can help! Now, eat up!"