I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, I really had no intention of taking this long, but a lot of other things topped fanfiction as a priority. I've had this about half finished for months now and it's been driving me crazy not finishing it, so I'm glad it's finally done. And it's my longest chapter yet. Enjoy!
As a side note I have been getting a lot of questions about the nature of Hikari's summons and I would like to clear this up. Yes, it is dangerous for the FULL sommoning with the incantation and all; but she has an informal summon similar to Loki's where she can cross over on her own like him as long as she has an active contract and summoner, and this seals a good portion of her powers that cause the fast magic drain that can be fatal for prolonged periods. It was explained in Chapter 2 with Horologium. Sorry for any confusion.
Chapter Six
The blaring of Lucy's alarm jolted her awake early the next morning, sending her crashing off the bed in a heap of blankets and sheets. Groaning, partly in pain and partly in annoyance, Lucy levered herself up into a kneeling position, still cocooned in her blankets, and turned off the alarm with a solid smack.
It took a moment for the fog of sleep to dissipate from her mind to remember why she had set her alarm so early (the birds had barely begun their morning song), when Erza's tearstained face flashed through her mind. That alone was enough incentive to venture out of her warm little nest and start her morning ritual of bathing, dressing, and eating without complaint. She locked up her apartment, grabbed the suitcase she had packed in preparation the night before, and headed off to the guild.
Erza's red head was camped out in from of the notice board, watching the entrance like a hawk when Lucy walked in, sighting in on her immediately. Lucy started to make her way to Erza even before she flagged her down.
"Lucy, good you're here," Erza greeted her. She had her usual mountain of luggage next to her. Lucy vaguely wondered if she would survive it toppling on her if it leaned just a little more to the left…
Lucy shook her head, sending her blonde locks flying as well as her irrelevant and morbid thoughts, focusing once more on her surroundings, excluding Erza's baggage. "Where are Natsu and Gray?" she asked, not having spotted either a distinctive lack of clothing or pink head in the guild yet.
"They haven't arrived yet." Erza began to frown in displeasure.
Sensing impending danger for her two male and cat nakama, Lucy quickly covered for them. "I'm sure they're on their way." Hurry up! She thought. Or else you guys will get a beating!
Erza seemed to be appeased by her explanation, and nodded decisively. "I will give them five more minutes to get here."
Lucy sighed in relief, grateful that Erza had calmed down. After a moment too long of silence, Lucy felt that something was wrong with Erza. She glanced back up at her friend and noticed that she was staring broodingly off into a deserted corner. It dawned on the blonde that Erza was still worried over the matter with Gerard.
"Erz-," Lucy began, but was cut off by two familiar raised voices.
"Out of the way, ash for brains!"
"You get out of my way, droopy eyes!"
Both females turned toward the commotion and there were their missing teammates, Natsu and Gray grinding their foreheads together as they ran, not paying attention to their surroundings and almost mowing non-guild member patrons, so as to glare at each other more easily. Happy floated contentedly above their heads, used to this routine from the two rivals-slash-friends.
Lucy's brown eyes rounded, glancing quickly between Erza and the two fighting mages speeding there way here, she sidled off to the far side of Erza. She couldn't help them now, so she might as well put herself out of danger.
Happy noticed the two young women before the either mage, noted Erza's frown and Lucy almost hidden behind Erza's luggage, and swooped down to Lucy's waiting arms.
"Not going to warn them, Happy?" Lucy asked absently, eyes still glued to the scene in front of her.
"Aye," the little blue exsheed nodded, also watching their teammates. "Erza's already spotted them."
When Gray and Natsu finally noticed their companions, and so Erza's glower, they skidded to a halt a couple feet in front of the armored mage. "E-Erza!" They exclaimed in unison, faces paling and exaggerated expressions of surprise and horror were comical to the spectators. They braced themselves for the inevitable pounding…but it never came.
Instead Erza just said, "We're going to be late for the train. Let's get going." And the proceeded to pull her baggage behind her.
Both couples of nakama were shocked. Normally Gray and Natsu would at least get a thump on the head for openly fighting with each other in Erza's presence, but she just ignored it and walked away. Natsu was so shocked he didn't even react to the mention of a moving vehicle.
As all four trailed in Erza's wake, Gray leaned over and whispered to Lucy. "What's wrong with Erza?"
The blonde could only shake her head mutely. Gerard's disappearance was Erza's secret to tell, and she wouldn't break her friend's confidence in choosing to tell her out of all the others she could have.
None of the team noticed the figure that broke from the shadows to follow them.
The clacking of the train was punctuated by the sound of Natsu being violently ill. Lucy was fervently grateful she had thought to bring a bucket for just this kind of occasion. Especially seeing as his head was in her lap again.
A clearing of her throat brought their attention to Erza, sitting across from Lucy with Gray to her left and the window to her right. "Our mission-" she began, but broke off, looking sharply to the door. Everyone else, with the exception of Natsu who had passed out on Lucy's lap, followed her gaze to the cabin's door just in time to see a shadow drop away from the window.
Gray, being the closest to the door currently able to stand, wrenched it open. And who it was froze him to the spot, his eyes wide with a curious mix of horror and relief.
"G-Gray-sama," Juvia whispered bashfully, averting her eyes. "He-Hello."
Seeing as Gray was speechless and seemed to have forgotten how to move, Lucy spoke up from her seat. "Why don't you come in, Juvia." She didn't see the point in asking why Juvia was here, it was fairly obvious. Wherever Gray went, Juvia was sure to follow.
She made a mental note to ask Hikari again later why she had shoved Gray onto Juvia.
Erza understood this too, but still had to clarify the reason, if only for Gray and Natsu's sake. So after Gray finally resumed his seat, this time next to the door and Juvia, she asked the inevitable. "Why are you here, Juvia?"
Juvia fidgeted uncomfortably as she answered honestly. "Juvia saw Gray-sama, Erza-san, and all of you leave together, and Juvia wished to join you."
"Of course!" Happy spoke up from his perch on Lucy's head. "You're our nakama!"
"Happy's correct," Erza said with a faint smile. "All you have to do is ask. And we still haven't had a mission with you since the Oración Seis."
Juvia's face brightened at their reassurances. "Really?"
Surprisingly it was Gray who answered with a weak but real grin. "Of course. You're always welcome with us."
Juvia's answering smile was radiant.
Running her fingers through Natsu's pink hair, Lucy felt content and secure with all of her precious nakama surrounding her. Fairy Tail wasn't just friends, they were family.
"Ahem," Erza coughed, calling attention back to her. "I was just about to explain the mission when you came in, Juvia." The water mage nodded, face serious now that work was involved. "Now, the request is from the Duke of Sunsdale in Eastern Fíore."
Lucy twitched a little, startled. She knew the Duke through her father's work connections (Sunsdale was a huge city with just as huge a railway station owned by her family), but she was more familiar with his daughter, Jachina. They had been friends as children, shoved together when their fathers met to discuss business. But they grew apart as they grew older. Jackie, as was her preference, had been more interested in material matters than Lucy, and while she was still a good friend to her, they didn't have much in common any longer.
"There has been a series of kidnappings of young women this past week-" Lucy tensed, praying that Erza wasn't going to say what her gut was telling her she was, "-along with the Duke's eldest daughter, Jachina. In total, there are fifteen girls missing."
She let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, looking down so no one would notice her severe reaction to the news.
Natsu's dark eyes stared up at her in concern, having been able to feel and see her reactions up close. His mouth opened, but Lucy shook her head minutely, mouthing 'later' down at him. He hesitated a moment, but nodded slightly a second later.
"They have been confirmed to be held at the dark guild Bloody Claws a few miles outside of the city limits." Erza continued, thankfully oblivious to the silent conversation on the opposite side of the cabin. "They believe the guild wishes to sell the girls to the Black Market."
Juvia gasped softly. "Those poor girls."
Poor Jackie, Lucy thought, her stomach twisting in a parody of Natsu just a little bit earlier.
Erza nodded in bitter agreement. "Our job is to infiltrate the guild, locate the girls, and safely take them out. After that, we are free to do as we wish with the guild."
"Crush them," came Natsu's soft voice, fierce with righteous fury.
Gray smiled savagely. "I can't wait to teach them a lesson they'll never forget."
Lucy nodded, not ready yet to speak without her voice wavering, but just as determined.
"Juvia will make them pay for doing that to women."
"I knew we would all agree, but we have to prioritize the hostages' safety first. That means no picking fights until all the girls are out of the guild. Understood?" The red headed mage looked warningly at Natsu and Gray. At their confirming nods, she reached into some hidden pocket and pulled out a scroll and what looked like four paper bookmarks with obscure symbols on them. She passed three out to Lucy, Happy, and Gray and keeping one for herself before rolling out the scroll, revealing it to be a map of the dark guild, explaining. "Those pieces of paper are spelled to be used to contact each other. Use them to contact the rest once when you've found the women, and second when you have brought them to safety." Everyone nodded. "Good. Now Gray and Juvia will take the east entrance, Natsu and Happy the west, I'll take the front and Lucy will take the back."
"Why is Lucy going through the back?" Happy asked, pouting a bit at not going through the more dangerous area.
"Because she is the least likely to cause a scene," Erza stated practically.
Happy still wasn't completely mollified, so Lucy attempted to entice him with something more exciting. "You and Natsu can pretend to be ninjas again."
"Ninjas? Nin nin!" Happy's eyes shone as he contorted his paws into a ninja-like pose, dissatisfaction already forgotten.
Lucy giggled at Happy's antics along with the rest, forgetting her concerns until the train came to its destination.
Bushes rustled adjacent to the north entrance of the Bloody Claws fortress. A blonde head suddenly burst out of the centermost bush, glancing side to side quickly. When she didn't see any signs of dark mages Lucy crept quietly out from under the foliage. Keeping her eyes locked on the door, she didn't notice the shadow rounding the opposite corner until it was too late to turn back, the door just inches from her outstretched fingertips.
Hands roughly grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth before she had a chance to scream. "Quiet, girlie, or I'll have to get a bit rough with you, if you catch my meaning," spoke an oily voice spoke close to her ear. Lucy stilled immediately, alternately cursing herself that she got caught so early on and trying to figure a way out of this mess. The dark guild member, because that was what he clearly was, continued on obliviously to Lucy's thoughts. "Well this is a lucky catch, the boss will be pleased. We were just short a girl for the pay off, too. And you are certainly a good catch." The Fairy Tail mage could just feel the leer he was giving her generous bosom and curvy figure.
Lucy stiffened indignantly at his comments, rational and thought out plans going out the window as she acted on instinct. Jamming one three-inch, Heart Kruz brand leather boot heel into her assailant's toes, and taking advantage of his reflexive loosening of his arms, she twisted like a cat and shoved him against the brick wall. Fortunately, as luck had been the inspiration for her name and her nickname, Lady Luck always seemed to smile upon her in times like these and the man was knocked out cold against it.
Lucy panted slightly in front of him, giving a swift nudge to make sure he was truly out before relaxing and reaching down to her belt for a specific key in her collection. Finding it, she stated quietly, "Open, Gate to the Twins! Gemini!"
As the flash from the summoning disappeared, the two twin Stellar Spirits occupied the previously empty space. "Long time no see, Lucy!" they exclaimed in unison.
"Hello, Gemi, Mimi." Lucy smiled affectionately at her Spirits. They bounced over to her and hugged her legs. Not being able to resist, Lucy bent down to give the twins a hug with a huge grin. How could anyone not love Stellar Spirits? Aquarius popped into her mind, tidal wave at the ready, and it suddenly became clear, at least on Aquarius's part.
Giving herself a mental shake, she focused back on her mission and straightened. "Could you two transform into that man-" she gestured to the unconscious guild member off to the side, "-and see if he has any idea where some kidnapped girls are being kept?"
"Sure thing!" they responded, glowing and coalescing into the man who had attacked her. After a pause, the Stellar Spirits/mage answered. "The girls are being held near here on the third floor."
"Thanks." Lucy was excited to learn that she was closest to the girls, knowing how they probably felt since she had been in their position before too. Most of all, she wanted to save her friend. This time she was going to be the knight saving the princesses. Now it was time to put her plan into action.
Mage and Spirits leaned together conspiratorially. "Gemi, Mimi, here's what we're going to do…"
So far so good, Lucy thought. Too bad I'm probably going to faint before we get there. Her current position, being slumped over the transformed Gemini's shoulder, had all the blood rushing to her head, making her woozy, and all the steps leading to the third floor weren't helping with all the extra swinging her torso, and thus her head, went through.
On the other hand, she deemed a little dizziness was worth it since her plan was working perfectly. They had only passed a few Bloody Claws guild members, which was weird, but all of them hadn't even batted an eyelash as their 'fellow guild member' walked past with a girl slung over one shoulder. The way this was going, this mission would be completed in no time.
Of course, all good things must come to an end.
"Marco, what are you doing up here? You're supposed to be doing border patrol." A voice called down from the direction they were currently heading in. Lucy had to remind herself to keep limp.
"Found another for the boss," Gemini-as-Marco answered, patting Lucy's rump as emphasis. Even though Lucy knew it was for the sake of continuing anonymously, she couldn't help but grit her teeth at being touched like that without her consent. An image of Natsu flitted through her head and she frowned reflexively. What was that idiot doing in her head now?
While Lucy's inner monologue had gone on there had been silence from the mage at the top of the stairs. Finally he ordered. "Bring her here."
With no way to refuse, Gemini finished their way up the staircase and stopped in front of the man.
"Put her down over here." He must have gestured because Lucy felt Gemini set her down gently on the cold wood floor.
Without warning, Lucy heard the bang of a gun and felt the Gate of Gemini close. Her eyes shot open in alarm, automatically sitting up. The man standing in front of her could only be the unfortunate Marco's brother, both sharing the same squinty eyes, burly build, and small chin. "I knew that wasn't Marco. Did you think I was stupid? He would never bring a girl here without going straight to the boss."
Lucy cursed inside her head at the turn of events, trying to subtly reach for her keys, planning to bring out Cancer, her quietest attack based Spirit. The cocking of his gun stopped her cold.
"Ah, ah," he wagged his finger at her, and then gestured with the same hand, making her fly up against the wall. His magic started choking her. "A Stellar Spirit mage, huh? Well I won't give you a chance to summon another. I'll have to give you a special punishment for whatever you've done to my brother."
The lack of oxygen became greater as he constricted the spell more around her throat. Her first instinct was to call for Natsu, the one who had always saved her, but her head rejected the impulse with the cold logic that even he wouldn't be able to hear her with her voice almost completely silent.
Almost out of air, with black spots dancing across her vision Hikari's voice drifted across her foggy mind. "If you need me, call my name."
Grasping onto that last thread of hope, Lucy used her last breath to choke out, "…Hi…kari…."
Light blazed next to Lucy's suspended form, and the startled dark mage swung his gun around as the figure, still half made of golden light, lunged for him, sweeping his gun to the side with one hand and smashing his face into the wall with the other. The last thing that Marco's brother saw before the darkness took him was a figure wrapped half in light and half in darkness, eyes burning with the fires of hell.
Lucy groaned, gulping desperately as she fell down to the floor, blacking out momentarily before the magic relinquished its hold on her. Hikari stepped over to her, squatting down to meet Lucy's eyes.
"You alright?" The spirit asked in a quiet, controlled tone.
Lucy nodded, still not up to speaking.
"Good. You scared me for a second, little one."
Lucy tried to smile, but didn't think she quite managed it. But Hikari seemed to be reassured by it, and that was what mattered. Lucy pointedly didn't look at the man on the floor with blood trickling down his head. "Is he dead?"
Hikari shook her head. "No. Just unconscious."
Lucy nodded, not knowing how to feel about her answer. So she turned her mind to other concerns.
"I'm weak," Lucy said dejectedly. "I couldn't even handle one mage."
"Yeah," Hikari confirmed. Lucy's head snapped up to her, shocked to hear it put so bluntly. Hikari met her gaze seriously. "But that's mostly because you're comparing yourself to your teammates, who are monster mages. On your own you come out about average. Physically you have a lot of room for improvement, but magically…"
Lucy blinked, feeling her spirits start to rise at her friend's words.
"You have the ability to summon multiple spirits at once, which isn't exactly common. You have a lot of magical ability latent inside of you. Problem is, you don't seem to know how to control it yet." Hikari eyed her speculatively. Then she grinned, the one that always signaled trouble for the people around her. "We're going to have to fix that."
There went her warm, fuzzy feelings right down the gutter.
"Anyway, what are you doing in a dark guild?" Hikari asked, moving right along, putting training issues aside for more pressing matters.
Lucy watched her warily for a second, but decided they had wasted enough time. The shot that had put Gemini out of commission should be have been heard by someone, and they were bound to be on their way. Taking a calming breath she answered, "Rescuing a bunch of kidnapped girls. We need to get them back to the Duke of Sunsdale's manor."
"Ah," Hikari's eyes darkened and she pulled Lucy up with her. "Where are they?"
"Down this hall, I think. That's where Gemi and Mimi were heading, at least."
"I can probably help you get them to the Duke's faster than going out a door."
Lucy looked at her companion curiously as she helped her down the corridor. "I can transport them through the shadow roads."
Lucy nodded, too preoccupied to give that comment the attention she normally would have. They were at the only door in this hallway. She reached out after a deep breath and opened the door.
It swung inward, revealing a group of girls of varying ages all bound and gagged. They watched the two intruders with fearful, hopeful eyes.
"Hi, I'm Lucy from Fairy Tail, and this is Hikari. We're here to rescue you." Lucy said lamely. She swept the room with her eyes, trying to find Jachina. She couldn't. Lucy stumbled up to the nearest girl; she was about her age with dirty blonde hair. She removed the gag, asking desperately. "Do you know where Jackie-Jachina is?"
She coughed slightly, and then said in a voice raspy from screaming. "The master of the guild, Günter, took her to his quarters about a quarter of an hour ago."
Lucy's breath caught. Jackie had been-. Her mind clamped down on what it was about to imagine. Lucy still had time it, hadn't been that long ago. "Where is Günter's room?"
"The western tower, down the hall and to the right. It's the biggest door with the guild's symbol on it."
Lucy thanked her, and then straightened, turning back to Hikari who was watching her warily. "Hikari, can you get them out of here?"
"Yes, but-"
"Hikari. Take them to the Duke's." Lucy's tone left no room for argument as she issued the order.
The silver cuffs around Hikari's wrists began to glow at Lucy's words. Hikari's eyes widened as she replied stiffly, "Yes, Mistress."
Lucy smiled tightly, sad that she had to order the spirit, her friend, but she had to save Jackie and these girls needed to be taken to safety. She whirled around to the door and was almost through when Hikari's voice stopped her.
"Be careful."
"Thank you." She answered without looking back and then ran out the door. On her way she pulled out the slip of paper Erza had given her, activating it.
"I found the girls, but Jackie's missing," Lucy said into the spelled bookmark, forgetting in her panic that the others only knew Jackie as Jachina. "The rest are on their way back to the Duke's mansion in Sunsdale with one of my spirits. I'm heading to west tower on the third floor now to get Jackie."
Natsu peaked around the corner, Happy hovering just above him copying the movement. Like before at the Waterloo manor, Natsu's scarf was wrapped around his head, ninja style. After a cluster of guild members walked down the opposite hall both Fairy Tail members leaped out from their corner, chakra signs at the ready. They grinned at each other, Happy muffling his giggles. This was a cakewalk.
Lurking stealthily from statues to pillars, they made their way through the western part of the fortress. The stone walls gave the place a dark, dreary décor that had Natsu's nose wrinkling in disgust. The only thing he could find likeable at all about this place was the greenery all around it, from the ivy half covering the walls and windows to the dense, surrounding forest. That and the awesome man eating plant he passed in the first floor gallery. He wished he could stay and play with it, but the mission (and beating the bastards up) was more important.
Natsu hadn't been able to ask why Lucy had looked so terrified when Erza had told them about the kidnapped girls, but he had a guess. She probably knew that Jach-person, with how she lost all the color in her face when her name was said. That knowledge just made this mission all the more important to Natsu.
…He still wanted to fight someone though (preferably strong).
Natsu was pretty sure that the kidnapped women weren't in his and Happy's part of the building. There were no female scents anywhere around here (all he could smell was man stink- the bad kind that comes from no contact with any cleaning substances and washings- and the decaying mold of the house itself), but he had only gone through the first two floors and there was still one more to check.
As the pair made their way to the stairwell the spelled paper began to glow. The pair stopped and, seeing as no one was around to hear, let the message come through. They both heard Lucy's panicked voice. They could hear her footsteps as she ran, punctuating the severity of the situation with puffs of breath.
"Who's Jackie?" Happy asked with a frown.
"Lucy's friend," Natsu answered with a grin starting to spread across his face. He was sure this was who Lucy had been so worried about. And the third floor in the western tower was one of the last places for Happy and him to search... He cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "Why don't we go help her out?"
"Aye sir!" Happy exclaimed, fisting a paw in the air.
Gray and Juvia looked at each other after listening to Lucy's message. The ice alchemist was the first to break the silence.
"Let's go wild."
Juvia nodded, giving a savage grin Gray didn't think her capable of. Despite himself he thought it made her look sexy as well as dangerous. He was glad she was on his side. He mentally shook himself, focusing on the task at hand; bringing down a dark guild.
Both readied their magic and began their mini-war on the Bloody Claws guild.
Erza smiled grimly as she pocketed the slip of paper. Turning, she ex-quiped her favorite armor to deal with multiple opponents, the one that had labeled her as the Titania. The long white skirt billowed as she stepped out into the open, gaining the attention of all the dark guild members in the vicinity. A veritable armory of swords floated above her, and her winged armor glinted in the vague light of candles and the meager sunlight shining through the windows.
"Come!" she shouted out in challenge. A sea of mages descended upon her from all sides.
Lucy really didn't know how she got into these messes. Was it Fairy Tail's curse? No, that couldn't be it- things like this happened before she entered the guild. Still… it happened a lot more frequently (make that almost constantly) since she had met Natsu. Really, every single mission, job, or outing with at least the trio of Natsu, Happy, and her always seemed to get out of hand.
…Maybe there was a pattern to this.
"Lucy!" Jackie hissed from beside her, breaking her idle contemplation. "Move over!"
"I can't! I'll fall off!" she hissed back, glaring at the brunette from the corner of her eye. Most of her attention was focused in front of them, trying to keep the dark guild-master in her line of vision.
The arrogant jerk had been strutting about like a rooster in front of a pair of hens, puffing out his chest feathers. He had made it plain that both Jackie and she were to fight over him while he watched on and he would "reward" the winner with his "attentions" and the privilege of being his personal bed warmer.
Lucy thought he was delusional.
Hence why she and Jackie were suspended on a giant metal beam, only just big enough for two grown women to stand side by side on, a couple feet above a mud pit while the sick pervert of a mage was watching them from a ratty thrown-like chair to the side of the huge wooden four poster bed on a slight platform.
Currently both girls were eyeing the Sludge Pit of Fashion Doom in distaste, silently debating whether it was worth it to jump down and try to make a break for it or staying up on the beam (which was starting to wobble from the weight) to try to piece together a plan of some sort. Neither was willing to risk it just yet. Jackie because she was a sheltered young lady with delicate sensibilities, and Lucy because she was wearing her new boots and didn't want to ruin them just yet. Even if she hadn't been a bit of a tomboy to begin with, being in Fairy Tail had beaten the squeamishness out of her – for the most part. Especially considering what Günter's magic specialty was.
She looked longingly over at her key ring clutched carelessly in the hand of her captor and cursed herself silently in her head for just barreling on into the room with only a half formed plan and a panicked state of mind. It only worked well for Natsu, it seemed.
Günter caught her eye and gave her a greasy smile as he licked his lips in anticipation, making Lucy shudder and look away. She really wished Natsu was here.
"Lucy… thank you for coming for me," Jackie said quietly.
The blonde gave her friend a quick but heartfelt grin. "That's what friends are for." The brunette heiress grinned tentatively back.
"This is just nauseatingly priceless," A nasally voice broke their quiet moment. The two young women glanced down at the dark mage as he sneered up at them from his throne-like chair. "But I've waited long enough for either of you to come down from there, and I think I'll give both of you a little help." As he finished the last word he gestured, and the mud from the pit shot up and pushed them off their bar, their shrieks cut off before they barely even began.
They hit the surface with a splat and were eased inside its slippery embrace, too dazed to move for a second. Lucy regained her senses first, partly because of having been in situations like these more than she would care for, and partly because a sharp object bit into her side at the bottom of the admittedly shallow pool. Jackie gasped as she surfaced beside the Stellar mage and Lucy looked over to make sure she was alright, sludge sliding uncomfortably down her face.
Irritably grabbing at it, Lucy's hand closed over a palm-sized rock, most likely left over from making this pit in the first place. She paused, in the middle of pulling it up to chuck it away, when it dawned on her that it could be used to help her somehow get her keys back. If only she could figure out how…
The clacking of Günter's boots on the stone floor gave her the answer as he came closer to get a better view. She carefully gauged the distance from beneath her muddy brows, and when he was close enough, lobbed her impromptu weapon at his head.
She missed.
Not by much, but she had, and she silently cursed herself and her awkward throwing skills. Whips, fine. Balls, rocks, and throwing projectiles? Not so much.
Günter's attention was solely on her now, and while she was relieved he wasn't paying attention to Jackie anymore, a small part of her wished he would turn his gaze elsewhere. He reached out and she felt the mud answer him, raising her up to meet him as he stopped at the edge of the pit.
"Well aren't you the feisty one," he commented. Lucy spit in his face, not able to move any other part of her body successfully. Instead of looking disgusted or annoyed he just grinned all the wider at her action, his black beady little eyes glinting, sending a chill of unease down Lucy's spine. "I love to break the feisty ones."
Lucy's eyes widened to rims of full white around the dark brown as a shudder of fear swept through her. More mud trickled and hardened around her mouth, effectively gagging her protests.
"Lucy!" Came Jackie's cry of horror and sick determination behind the blonde, and she could just picture her friend getting up and charging forward from the one large squelching noise and the splashing sounds that followed.
Günter gestured negligently with his free hand and Jackie's shout of surprise was quickly muffled. Lucy wished she could somehow turn around, but his magic mud was like steel around her, and she could only pray that their captor hadn't permanently harmed Jackie.
Her focus was brought back abruptly to the man in front of her when his hand grabbed roughly onto her ample breast, squeezing it painfully, making Lucy wince in pain and humiliation. She forced herself to glare in impotent rage at the smarmy little bastard, refusing to give him the satisfaction of letting him see her fear or making a sound.
The harsh lust there would have broken a lesser woman, but Lucy was a mage of Fairy Tail, and even as she felt tears sting at the back of her lids she refused to let them fall. Still, she couldn't help wishing a pair of dark jade eyes was looking at her instead.
"You'll do for my new toy," Günter murmured, leaning forward to her face. Lucy squeezed her eyes shut so she wouldn't have to see her first kiss be stolen from her. The contact never came.
A roar echoed through the chamber, accompanied by a stream of fire slamming straight into Günter, knocking him off his feet and into the opposite wall.
Lucy felt a moment a pure relief while only one thought crossed her mind and finally let her tears spill. Natsu came.
And then there was fire surrounding her, carefully drying the mud caked around her body, turning it brittle, and suddenly Natsu was in front of her, his pink hair unmistakable, wreathed in flames and reaching for her. He grabbed a part of her waist peeking out from her earthy prison and yanked her out. For a brief moment before she was encircled in his arms she caught a glimpse of his face through her tears. She had never seen him look so enraged, so murderous scales, had started to appear along his body, and it scared her for a moment even knowing it had not been directed at her.
But only for a moment. The safety of Natsu's embrace calmed her, gentle despite his temper as he pressed her face against his bare chest.
Natsu, for his part, had never been so furious. Not even when Gerard had almost killed Erza, or the old guild had been destroyed. Seeing Lucy touched like that set off a switch inside Natsu that he hadn't even been aware of. She should never be touched like that by another, especially against her will. Not his Lucy. The maggot would pay for touching what was his. A haze of red coated Natsu's vision. His normally rash tendencies tripled, loosening his tongue.
Lucy felt Natsu's chest vibrate from the growl that issued from the back of his throat at the mage's approach after he had recovered. Her tears had evaporated from the heat he was generating. His arms tightened around her.
"She's mine," he hissed. His eyes seemed to glow from the flames.
Lucy felt her insides heat at Natsu's declaration, as well as her cheeks, which confused the hell out of her, as anyone else saying that would have gotten the cheese kicked out of him, courtesy of her new steel-reinforced Heart Kruz boots. But there in Natsu's arms she just wanted to melt. He was he best friend, always there when she needed him (many times when she did not) and saving her time and again. He was the first she looked to when the monsters came (literally and metaphorically) and from the moment they had met he had pushed his way into her heart and claimed a good chunk of it for his own. She had just refused to acknowledge the fact now glaring her in the face because she had been scared and convinced it never would have come to fruition. Stars above, Lucy thought in amazement. I'm in love with Natsu.
"Cheap whores like her belong to everyone," Günter shot back nastily. His magic rose about him as he began to call upon a powerful spell. The dragonslayer snarled back in wordless rage.
"Natsu?" Lucy managed to whisper, still a bit overwhelmed and hating herself for it, but managing to bring his attention back on her. Stepping back a bit Natsu looked down into Lucy's wet mocha-colored eyes. His expression instantly gentled but didn't lose the intensity. He gave her a once-over, cataloguing her injuries, his face tightening at each new blemish.
"Stay back, Luce," he said steadily, eerily calm for his show of anger and the still intense aura of fire around him. She opened her mouth to protest, a little freaked by his mood swings and the intensity of them, but he cut her off. "Go help your friend."
Reminded of Jackie and the job they had been hired to do Lucy turned her head to see the brunette heiress in the same predicament Lucy herself had been in just a minute ago with Happy perched on top of one mud encased shoulder. She took a deep breath and nodded back at her partner. "Alright."
He gave her a feral grin, fangs flashing. "Good. I'll take care of the mud man."
Lucy turned and headed to the glint of metal that was her ring of keys that Günter had left on his chair when he had dropped Jackie and her into the mud pit, ignoring the loud clashes of the fight. She caught a glimpse of the dark mage finishing his spell just as she was about to reach the raised section of the floor.
The floor bucked, hairlines fractures splintering under Lucy's feet, causing her to lunge forward and grab her keys when she stumbled. The cool metal was reassuring in her grip and she squeezed it tightly to her breast in a moment of satisfaction.
Her quiet respite of relief was shattered as chunks of stone hailed down around and she turned to look, the noised of the fire and earth mage's battle filtering through the block she had placed against it.
Somehow Günter had managed to raise a huge amount of earth and vines from below his room and was directing them to swat the dragonslayer out of the air as he dodged, burned, and ripped the plant-life and soil away, trying to get close to the other man who had barricaded himself in a giant cocoon of vines.
…And was that a mutated Venus flytrap?
Lucy shook her head and focused on her job, mentally flipping through what Spirits would be useful for freeing Jackie as she carefully made her way back to the other two occupants of the room, Happy a blue beacon easy to spot through all the gray, green, and brown.
Hikari was taking care of the other abducted girls and Lucy didn't know how long that would take, so she couldn't call her. There was no water for Aquarius; she would just blow them all away anyway. Lyra, Crux, Horologium, and Plue were out; they were strictly passive keys, not for any fighting. Virgo was a digging kind of girl, and Scorpio's lasers could accidentally hit Jackie. Maybe Loki, but Lucy didn't feel up to his flirting at the moment…
And then the perfect idea hit her. Lucy grinned as she skidded to a stop in front of Happy and the Jackie mud state, grabbing the proper key.
"Open, gate to the Golden Bull! Taurus!" she exclaimed.
"Moooooo!" Taurus bellowed as he formed from a nimbus of light in front of his summoner, flexing his huge forearms in a bodybuilder pose. "Helloooo Lucy!"
Lucy smiled at the bullman and asked, "Can you pull Jackie-," she gestured to her captive friend "-out of the mud please?"
"Anything for youuuu!" Taurus snorted, ogling Lucy's chest. Lucy sighed, feeling drained from all the emotional, physical, and magical hurdles she had been through today, too tired to put up her usual fuss about Taurus's pervertedness. She knew he wouldn't actually do anything to upset her. Both Happy and the Spirit noticed and the exsheed jumped to the blonde and snuggled against her while the Spirit pulled the other girl out of her cage of mud.
Jackie spat the mud out after Taurus set her down and looked over at Lucy in sympathetic understanding. Günter had been preparing to do the same thing to her before Lucy had barged in. "Will you be alright?" she asked her blonde friend quietly.
Lucy just nodded with a grim, bitter smile. "You?"
Jackie drew in a shuddering breathe. "Yes."
"Lucy?" Happy looked up at her, small feline face screwed up in concern. "Are you okay?"
She smiled gently down at him, stroking his head in reassurance. "Just fine. I've got a job for you." His ears perked up as he gave her his full attention, willing to do anything to help his nakama. "Can you fly Jackie home for me?"
Happy looked like he wanted to protest but Lucy forestalled it by telling him, "She is one of the girls listed in the job. And the mission takes priority since I'm okay."
The little cat still looked dubious but nodded reluctantly at her reasoning and spread his wings, gliding over to the brunette. She looked up and gave the unhappy exsheed a small smile in gratitude. Just as happy lifted her off the floor she caught Lucy's eye then glanced meaningfully over at the pink haired mage currently blowing the room to pieces. Jackie smiled mischievously at the Stellar mage. "He's hot."
Lucy flushed crimson, spluttering as Happy flew his giggling passenger out the door. She took a deep breath and called herself, looking back at the waiting Stellar Spirit at her side.
"Can I do anything else for youuuu?" Taurus eyed his mistress seriously.
"No Taurus, but thank you," Lucy smiled.
"Then I shall take my leaaave!" And then he puffed out of this plane of existence and into his home one.
Now alone save the two battling mages, Lucy looked around for a relatively safe place to wait. With the mood Natsu was in she didn't think he would appreciate her trying to help and she'd more than likely only be in the way.
Natsu was well immersed by this point in the focused clarity battle always brought out in him. It was one of the things he loved about fighting. But this time he wanted to get close enough to just pummel the other man instead of his plants. Sure, he'd gotten a few shots in, but nothing close to what he deserved.
Gritting his teeth against the image that was seared onto his memory when he and Happy had made it to this huge bedchamber, he let loose another roar of flames, finally turning the last of the pervert's defenses into ashes.
The enraged dragonslayer was on the dark guild master before he could blink.
"Don't – you – ever – touch – Lucy – again!" Natsu ground out between punches until his opponent was almost unconscious. He pulled him up by the front of his faux-silk shirt so he could glare into his frightened, beady little eyes. "And if I ever hear you doing something like this again to any other girls I will personally track you down," Natsu threatened menacingly.
Günter nodded frantically. Natsu grunted, accepting his answer, and bashed his head in on a nearby boulder to knock him out. The harsh crack was savagely satisfying. That issue settled, the fire mage turned his attention back to his pretty blonde teammate. When he didn't immediately see her, Happy, or the other girl he took a deep breath, scenting the air and headed towards where the scent of mangos was the strongest.
He found her sitting behind a pile of rubble close to the double doors, staring down at her keys with an unreadable expression, her brow furrowed pensively. "Luce?" he called out tentatively, crouching down in front of her.
Her head jerked up, eyes wide and startled until she recognized him and began to smile. Just as quickly something seemed to occur to her, and her face turned tomato red and she jerked away from his gaze, hunching in on herself and wrapping her arms around her. This action did not have a very good effect on Natsu's here-to-for ebbing panic.
"Luce? Are you okay? Lucy?" She wouldn't meet his eyes even after he grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly, just hid farther behind the curtain of her hair. Why wouldn't she look at him? Natsu thought in alarm. Did that bastard mud mage do something else to her-? "I'll-," he growled, turning in the direction he had left the dark mage in a crumpled heap, standing up in a violent movement.
"No! Natsu, no!" He looked down at her, still poised to stalk back to the unconscious mage. Lucy still wasn't directly looking at him, just flicking her eyes up furtively from under her lashes. She fidgeted uncomfortably on her perch. "That's not it. That's not…" Her voice dropping in pitch as she trailed off, she fixed her gaze on a spot just over his shoulder.
For a minute he was puzzled, but then it dawned on him. He hadn't even truly thought about what he'd said earlier, it had mostly just been a reaction to seeing Lucy touched like that. And he could guess her answer by her reaction.
It was just the wrong one.
"I see," voice stiff, Natsu twisted his face away. Lucy brought her gaze back at his tone, confused. "Forget about what I said, then." Lucy caught an expression of pain flash across his face before he began striding away.
Blinking, she almost didn't catch the significance of his attitude before she realized that this was Natsu and of course he would take her reaction the wrong way. He thought she didn't like him in that way, mistaking embarrassment for rejection. She huffed a little in exasperated affection. Only Natsu. He didn't know the meaning of embarrassment.
And he was getting farther away by the second.
She hopped off her stone perch and hurried after her friend, calling, "Natsu, wait up!" when he didn't slow immediately she tried another tact. He was already out the double doors. "Please stop and listen to me, Natsu!"
Halting abruptly, he didn't turn to face her, and she skidded to a stop a few feet from his tense back. Insecurities long suppressed jumped at her now, making her doubt her resolve, but she knew Natsu couldn't wait forever and neither could she. Gulping, she screwed up her courage and asked awkwardly, hesitantly, "What did you mean back there, when you said I was yours?"
Angling his body so he was half facing her, half facing the empty stretch of hallway, his eyes bore into her a moment, searching for her motive. It took all she had not to shudder under that fierce gaze. Finally he answered, "I meant that I want you as my mate."
Lucy sucked in a breath, feeling as if she'd been sucker punched in the gullet and she blushed crimson. The fire dragonslayer had always been blunt. Now it was Lucy's turn. Taking a few steps forward mocha brown eyes met dark jade. "Does that mean you love me?" Try as she might she couldn't hide the slight tremble in her voice.
"Yes." The raw honesty in his voice was enough to break through the last Lucy's fears and hesitant immobility.
She close the rest of the distance with quick, sure steps. Reaching him in a matter of seconds she saw his eyes widen before she closed her eyes, leaned up, and softly kissed his lips, feeling him tense up under her hands braced on his forearms. The blonde lingered for a few moments before pulling back. "Me too," she whispered, a light dusting of pink gracing her features.
Natsu grinned widely down at her, clearly over the moon with her answer and action, then reached out and grabbed her back to him, actions always speaking louder than words to him, kissing her fiercely.
It wasn't a practiced kiss, clearly both parties not having much, if at all experience, but no less heartfelt and satisfying for the young couple. And as it continued on each began to learn a little how to go about the business of kissing and what their partner liked.
They finally pulled back panting and breathless at a falling rock echoing hollowly through the empty corridor.
Natsu looked down at her, eyes very dark and an elated and satisfied grin on his face, making it hard for Lucy to concentrate even with her flustered state. "W-we should get going and tell the others the mission's done. They'll be getting worried soon." Lucy muttered, trying to focus her priorities. There would be time for this and the discussion sure to follow later when the threat of one of her guildmates walking in on them making out wasn't so apparent.
"Alright," Natsu agreed. He took off again towards the stairwell, but this time his pace was slow enough for her to easily keep up, and he reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight.
Lucy smiled a full-fledged one she didn't think she would be getting rid of for days as she happily walked alongside the most important person in the world to her.
I didn't expect to take this long, but better late than never, right? As a side note, it will probably take a while to update again because I'm taking summer classes that start soon and will really be hitting the books.
Anyway, as a little treat for having to wait so long for an update I'm throwing in a deleted scene, one of the discarded ideas on how Lucy and Natsu get together. I liked this one too much to just throw it out. Enjoy!
Natsu found himself on his butt on the ground before he could really grasp what was happening. A steel toed dark boot slammed down between his legs, too close to his vital parts for his comfort. He gulped, looking up at his tormentor. Hikari leaned down until her face was mere inches from his and said in the most menacing voice her had ever heard from her, made more intimidating by its quietness. "If you don't get in there and tell her right now, I'll make sure you are never able to think about a girl in that way again." The boot tapped between his legs, giving a very clear impression of what she meant. "Get it? Got it? Good!" Natsu started choking as she hauled him up by his precious scarf and threw him threw the curtained entryway of the bathroom, landing with a thump against the far wall.
When Natsu finally regained his senses, he looked up to find Lucy's shocked brown eyes peering at him through the steam of her recently finished shower. "Um, it's not what you think, Luce," he began nervously, raising his hands placatingly as she started trembling.
Even with impending danger, he couldn't help noticing how beautiful she looked.
Until next time! Questions, comments, concerns, opinions? All are welcome!
~Moonlight Through the Water