Lucy

The Search

In Kunugi:

Levy walked back to the group assembled at the train station, dragging Lucy's suitcase behind her. She shook her head sadly at the group's questioning gazes.

"It's a dead end," she told them. "I talked to the employees. No one remembers seeing her after she checked her luggage and bought her ticket. One of the women remembers her saying something about needing to buy a few gifts, but she had no idea where she went."

Natsu leaned down and sniffed the suitcase. "Her scent is here, but really faint," he told the others.

"What hotel did Lucy stay at?" asked Juvia. "Maybe we could get some answers there."

No one knew. Levy contacted Lisanna via the lacrima. She and Mira did not know, but Mira gave them some names she had given Lucy as suggestions of where to stay.

"Might as well check them out," Gajeel grumbled, hating the sad look on Levy's face.

"We'll split up," Levy told the group. "Gajeel and I will go to one, Juvia and Gray the next, and Natsu and Happy the third one. We'll meet in the town square. There's a fountain, if I remember correctly, in the middle of it."

An hour later, all three groups met at the fountain.

"Juvia and I found out Lucy stayed at the hotel we checked out, but they weren't able to give us any additional information," Gray sighed. "She checked in the day before, checked out the next morning. She asked what time the train left for Magnolia. That's it. We even asked to see her room, but it was completely empty."

Levy sat down on the edge of the fountain. "There's got to be something! She just can't disappear into thin air!" she cried out in frustration.

Natsu was unusually quiet.

"What are you thinking, Natsu?" asked Happy, concerned for his friend as well as Lucy.

"Let's think," Levy said to the group. "She checked her bags in at the station before 10. The train didn't leave til ten. She wanted to go shopping for gifts."

Gray looked around, frowning. "There's a lot of shops in this town. Do we really want to waste time checking them all out?"

Gajeel grunted. "Shrimp, where would you go? You and bunny girl think about the same."

Levy thought for a moment, then perked up. "A book store! I bet Lu bought a book to read on the train! When we looked through her luggage, there was not a book in there!"

"Seems our best course of action is to talk to people at the book store," Juvia stated. She saw the looks on the boys' faces and looked at Levy. "Juvia and Levy will go talk to the people at the book store. Gray-sama, why don't you take the boys to that park over there," she pointed across the square, "and see if you can find out any more information from people who might have seen her."

"I don't like to talk," Gajeel told the others as they entered the park. "I vote ice boy to ask people about bunny girl and flame brain and I will look around and see what we can find."

Gray opened his mouth to protest, but the other two had moved on. "Great," he sighed. "Thanks a lot, guys."

"We'll find her," Gajeel grunted to Natsu. "Put your nose to the ground and I bet you'll pick up her trail."

"That's not a bad idea, Natsu," Happy agreed. "I'll fly overhead and see if I can spot anything."

Natsu narrowed his eyes and tried to tune in his senses to Lucy. He knew how she felt, what she smelled like (vanilla and strawberries), what she sounded like....only he kept coming up with nothing, he sighed.

"Someone has to know something," he growled to himself. "Lucy just wouldn't disappear on her own."

Something shiny by a bench caught his eye. Bending over, he saw it was a silver pin in the shape of a fish. It smelled faintly of Lucy. She had been here, but it had been days ago. He called out and Gajeel and Happy joined him. After showing his find, they panned out, looking for any more clues. Gajeel found the book, not lying too far away. Happy found the hot sauce.

All of them gave off a faint scent of Lucy, Natsu determined.

"Aww, it's a cute fishy," Happy said. "You think she got it for me? I know the hot sauce has to be for Natsu!"

Levy, Juvia, and Gray came rushing over to the group.

"They remembered her at the book store saying she was thinking of enjoying the rest of her time before the train left reading her book in the park," Levy shared, a little out of breath.

Happy shared their findings. "I can't see Lucy treating a book like this," Levy said, picking up the slightly damp book which was showing signs of mold.

"So somehow she was snatched from this spot, then," Gray suggested. "But by who? Why? The guy she was after is still locked up. Also, it doesn't explain why she didn't use her keys against whoever this is."

"Juvia wonders if whoever took Lucy locked up her keys as well."

"Even locked up, couldn't they still help? When you guys were trapped under the castle in Crocus, didn't Loke fetch Lucy's keys on his own? Why not this time?" Levy asked Natsu.

"Juvia thinks the gates are sealed. Someone has sealed away Lucy's magic."

"That would be a possibility, but we're talking dark magic here," Gajeel spoke up. "She's got that star dress magic now that makes her pretty strong. I can't see bunny girl going down without a fight."

Natsu's mouth was drawn in a grim line and he clenched his fist. "Whoever took Lucy is going to pay," he said, the simple words with his tone sending shivers down his companions' spines.