Missing in Action

[celestial_wizard]

Who: Lucy Heartfilia and OPEN
What: One (1) Dragon Slayer is M.I.A. One (1) Celestial Wizard is unhappy and searching.
When: 11/17/13
Where: Everywhere~
Warnings: Sad Wizards Being Sad :(


It was strange when she woke up and Natsu wasn't there. She almost expected him to always be there, or at the very least, nearby. She promised him only a few days before that she would stay close to him. She trusted him to keep her safe, and she was happiest at his side. He was her very most important and dearest friend.

He wasn't always in her room, though of late she woke up and found him in her bed more frequently. She'd gotten use to the warmth he gave off - but when she woke up that day her bed was emptier, cooler. He wasn't anywhere in the shared apartments they had, but she didn't really get worried until an hour passed with no sign of him.

So she went looking for him. Despite what was going on with the mutiny, and being unable to use the network, it was the only option she had. Erza had suggested they all split up to look for him - maybe one of them could find him in a place Lucy hadn't checked, or maybe she just missed him. If nothing else, more people searching should find him more quickly.

As for Lucy, she checked the clinic frequently, praying she wouldn't find him there, and more relieved when she didn't. Then weary, then frantic. She would be unhappy if she lost Juvia, or Erza again but Natsu... for him not to be here, she'd be... heartbroken. He couldn't be gone. He promised. And she knew going back home wasn't something they could control but ...

By afternoon her heart was heavy, calling out her friend's name until her voice was raw, part of her knowing she wouldn't find him, but still hoping she would. She wanted to cry. Wanted to, but wouldn't - not until she returned to her room and could cry in private. Instead she was knocking on every door she came to in search of the salmon haired Dragon Slayer to come up empty, and each time her heart breaking a little more. "Natsu~!"

Comments

[hotdate]

Heath had been keeping to his room during the mutiny mess, not particularly wanting to get dragged into all the (in his personal opinion) stupid infighting. Still, he smiled at first, as he opened the door for Lucy, happy to see his friend.

Her expression, however, soon wiped it away for a more concerned look.

"Hey there, Lucy. Why the sad face?"

[celestial_wizard]

Lucy had been of the same mind, not wanting to cooperate with the Initiative or those who were causing the mutiny in the first place. Maybe she understood why the were doing it - maybe - but she still didn't agree with it. Besides, considering her friend was gone, he ranked higher than whatever petty infighting that was going on. Nothing was more important.

So when Heath opened the door, Lucy did her best to smile, failing miserably. "Heath... have you seen Natsu?" She'd been with her best friend for almost a year in this place, and even back home they were always together. It was hard to believe that he'd be gone now, when she thought they would always be together. Her, Natsu, Erza and everyone.

[hotdate]

His concern grew slightly. A lost friend was a bad enough thing, but the way the atmosphere on the base is right now, it's a lot worse. You never knew if someone would snap and do something crazy.

"No, I haven't." a pause, then an offered smile. "Want me to help you look?"

[celestial_wizard]

Being careful wasn't part of the plan as far as Natsu was concerned but, she wasn't completely reckless. It was better to go with someone to help look for her friend, so she smiled weakly, nodding. "... Yes. I'd really appreciate that, thank you, Heath."

She really hoped between the them and the rest of the guild they'd find the Dragon Slayer... and hopefully he wasn't hurt. That was really her main concern. Him being away because of ANY other reason fine - she'd scold him later. But if he was hurt...

[hotdate]

Heath brightened at the possibility of helping her. As much of a jackass as he could be, he was a good guy at heart, and really only wanted his friends to be happy.

"Okay then!" he smiled, stepping out into the hall. "Let's see if we can find him and turn that frown upside down. Your smile is way to pretty to waste on looking sad."

[knightofcourage]

Emil had dimly heard someone calling outside his room for a minute or two, but he didn't realize what or who it was until the knock came at his door. The voice took a moment to place, especially because it sounded off somehow, but once he got to the door he realized who it was.

Sure enough, he opened the door to see Lucy there, clearly upset. His mind flashed to the ongoing mutiny and leapt to a conclusion, and he opened the door wider. "Lucy! Are you all right?"

[celestial_wizard]

No, no she wasn't all right. She tried to muster a smile, though it was rather subpar compared to her usual ones. "...Emil... I'm fine," surprisingly, with this stupid mutiny going on, "I'm looking for Natsu -- have you seen him? He's a little taller than me, salmon hair, green eyes..? He's the one I was telling you about." Erza would be proud of her for being so collected. When she felt anything but.

[knightofcourage]

"Natsu..." Emil ran through the last couple days in his mind, trying to remember if he'd heard that name or seen anyone close to that description. In times like these he knew that if nobody had seen him lately that was a bad sign one way or another so he really wanted to say he recalled something, but...nothing. After one last run through the previous day shook his head. "No. I'm sorry."

But seeing a friend like this, he wasn't sure he could just leave it at that. "I could help you look, if that's all right."

[celestial_wizard]

The longer Emil was silent, the more disappointed Lucy felt. The more she began to pray she wouldn't have to admit to herself he was gone. She reached up to touch the necklace around her neck, taking a breath. He was always with her, she knew, but she didn't want to settle on memories and she didn't want to settle on the tokens he gave her. She wanted her best friend back.

"I... yeah, I'd like that. It's.. not interrupting you from anything is it...?

[knightofcourage]

"No, of course not!" With everything going on Emil was at a slight loss for what to do, but even if he hadn't been friends always took priority. And although he didn't really know Natsu Emil hoped he was all right - in some way or another.

He nodded firmly, trying to be supportive for Lucy's sake. "I'd be glad to help look for your friend."

[soul_sister]

While Lucy was looking for someone, a strange sequence of improbable events was taking place. Rosette Christopher was working on a distraction with limited resources - namely, no explosions. She had searched her apartment and found a strange robotic thing, and for, perhaps, the last ten minutes had been commanding it to do her bidding. Robot arms, lasers, fetch. ANYTHING.

Finally, she kicks the roomba soundly enough for three things to happen. A. It turns on. B. She chips a part of the casing... C. The chip is sucked up into the vacuum system.

It wheezes and shakes for a moment, and goes still. Then, spinning in crazed circles, sparks in a blinding show and CATCHES FIRE.

"WAIT! AH.... WATER!"

The fire alarms go off as Rosette attempts to chase a fleeing fiery broomba.

[celestial_wizard]

The sound of chaos, screaming for water and sound of fire alarms? She doesn't think it might be related to the mutiny. The first thing she thinks is that it might be Natsu, or he might be involved somehow.

That was enough to spur her into a dead sprint, following the sound to Rosette's location, grinning in spite of herself. She knew he wasn't gone, couldn't have been. He just... got distracted, or lost track of the time.

She saved calling his name to rap on the door quickly, calming herself down. She didn't want him to feel guilty about worrying her or anything. What kind of craziness had he gotten himself mixed up in now?

[soul_sister]

The door opens, hissing wide... and a small, round robot SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEES by trailing fire. It darts around her legs and zooms on past... Rosette is not nearly so agile, chasing after the wayward mechanical fireball, she hardly SEES Lucy in her path.

[celestial_wizard]

OH MY GOD WHAT THE HECK

Lucy yelped in surprise, jumping back as a flaming roomba thing fled for dear life out of the room and down the hall. That... was probably going to be a problem. "What in the world?" She turned to the door, "Hey Nats-" COLLISION. "-OOOF!!" On impact with Rosette, the wizard stumbled backwards with a squawk, flailing an arm out to catch herself against the wall, the other grabbing at Rosette's arm.

Did anyone get the license plate of that blonde?

[soul_sister]

It would have been a secure plan. It would have stopped Rosette and elicited concern in one simple move ... except the impact put Rosette just as off balance and the arm stopping her really only reversed her own stumbling pattern to fall on Lucy.

"HEY! Watch where you're going!"

In the background, the fiery broomba turns a corner and blazes out of sight.

[have_hat_will_travel]

"Lucy, are you..."

As Pidonus came into view of Lucy, down from another hall, the question answered itself. She was frantic, and...

She trailed off. Better to let Lucy speak first, now.

[celestial_wizard]

She wasn't exactly frantic. Depressed would be a better word to describe it. Pausing from knocking on another door, she glanced over towards Pidonus for a moment, before her hand dropped to her side.

"Natsu... I..can't find him."

[have_hat_will_travel]

"... Ah."

Unfortunately, Pidonus had a good guess as to why... But she did not dare state it.

"I... Ah."

Walking in a bit, she sighed. "A... Are you all right?"

No, of course she wasn't. That was stupid to ask, and Pidonus knew it. But... Something told her that conversation was the right thing to try and do, right now.

[celestial_wizard]

Lucy was no fool. Deep down she knew the only reason Natsu wouldn't be at her side. Well, two reasons, and one of them she would never ever consider. "I'm fine.." She's not fine. But the distraction helped, and she leaned against the wall with a soft sigh, arms wrapping around herself.

".. he'll come back." She said suddenly. "He would never leave us." Hell he'd bring down the sky if something happened to her. Coming back to a place like this would be child's play. ..

[have_hat_will_travel]

"That's right. He'll be back soon enough."

Pidonus managed to smile at that. She couldn't be completely certain Lucy was right... But hope mattered, and it was a common enough thing for such disappearances to be a few days.

It didn't hurt that it wasn't part of some apparent mass exodus.

"You'll be able to keep kicking enough butt to make up his share until he's back, right?"

[small_berserker]

Lily couldn't understand why people were trying to organize a mutiny against the Initiative, when the United Earth was the real enemy. The Initiative gave them food and shelter, and at least some choice in what they did with their time here. But then, most people were accustomed to a freer life than Lily was. They had their reasons, even if she didn't understand or agree with them.

She heard a familiar voice down the hallway, calling out a name in between knocks at various doors, and turned to spot Lucy up ahead.

"Oh hi, Lucy!" she greeted cheerfully, although that cheer became muted when she realized that Lucy didn't look happy. At all. "Are you okay?"

[celestial_wizard]

Some people felt the Initiative wasn't much better than the United Earth - but Lucy didn't have as much of a problem with them. Except for abandoning the city below - she didn't agree with that either. "Lily," Lucy couldn't bring herself to smile at the girl's appearance, glancing around anxiously, "... I'm... yeah, ... I guess. I'm looking for someone. One of my friends. .. have... you seen a man about this tall, with salmon hair? He's never without his scarf. His name is Natsu."

[small_berserker]

Lily shook her head regretfully.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I've seen him around."

She was certain she'd seen someone who fit that description at some point - if only because it was hard to forget seeing a guy with hair that colour. But she'd never spoken to him before, nor had she seen that shock of salmon-pink hair in the hallways lately.

"Maybe he went on a supply run mission and didn't get the chance to tell you?"

[celestial_wizard]

That was what she was afraid of. Lucy sighed, "Okay..." A pause at the suggestion, and she shook her head firmly. "No. Natsu wouldn't do that... we're always - we're teammates, so if he got a mission, he would have come and brought me with him." She had to admit though she really really wished that was the reason her friend wasn't around.

[small_berserker]

"...oh. I'm very sorry, Lucy."

That could only mean that the Initiative sent Natsu home, and if he'd wanted to go home, that wasn't entirely a bad thing...but they hadn't sent him home with his friends.

"Maybe they'll bring him back soon."