Get ready people. I've got a lot planned for this one! Heads up, this will probably be one of the longest prologues of your lives.

I do not own Fairy Tail, just this story.

Silence engulfed the night. It was the perfect time for raccoons to sneak through trashcans or fireflies to light up the night sky. It wasn't however the most ideal night for a rescue mission.

There was a warehouse on the outskirts of the port town Hargeon. It used to be a boat storehouse that had gone out of business. Now it was the location of sinister actions.

Old boats were scattered across the lot, deteriorating from years of no use. The lights in the warehouse were the only sign that there was life stirring in there. From around the corner of the building emerged a man. In his arms was a firearm ready to fire. He used his breath to move a strand of his blonde hair from his face. His cloths were dark to blend in with the twilight surrounding him, however on his right peck one could clearly see the red symbol of two hammers overlapping each other.

This mark was the insignia for Tartaros, the terrorist organization. For years they had sent terror through the country of Fiore. The country would retaliate but they always seemed one step ahead of them. The only people who stood a chance against the evil that was Tartaros were the Special Forces agencies that ranged throughout Fiore.

The most notorious being Fairy Tail.

As the man continued his patrol of the area, three shadowy figures snuck behind a decaying boat, completely avoiding his line of sight. Each one was covered head to toe in black clothing like the man guarding the building. Their faces were covered with black cloth pieces and black masks making them appear like wraiths prepared to attack an unsuspecting victim. They leaned up against it for a minute or so to insure avoided detection. The smaller one of the two glanced over the side of the boat and at the warehouse twenty or so meters away. They yanked off the mask revealing their feminine features. Her brown eyes flickered to her partners as a strand of scarlet hair fell over one eye.

Even though Fairy Tail was the strongest and most well known agency in all of Fiore, even they feared the power of Tartaros. There was little known about the terrorists and to go against them blind would be suicide. Often times Fairy Tail tried to avoid direct conflict or intervention with them unless they had the upper hand, however the mission they were on wasn't a run of the mill bombing or hostage situation. Tartaros had crossed the line with Fairy Tail.

They had kidnapped one of their own agents.

"I only see one guard but there are most definitely more." The teammate closest to her removed their mask, a mop of raven hair falling over their face. He pushed it out of his eyes, flashing the tiniest remnant of a scar just below his hairline.

"Alright then. You head into the warehouse while Flame Brain and I take the sides. We'll head around the east side and draw their fire after you grab Lisanna."

"No way!" exclaimed the last team member, yanking his mask off. He had spiky pink hair shooting in all directions and dark onyx eyes that burned with fury and determination, "I'll go in and grab Lisanna. The two of you work better together anyway."

"Natsu I'm faster than you. I need to be the one to grab Lisanna. I need you and Gray to handle the guards so we can escape," said the redhead strictly.

The raven-haired man, Gray nodded his head, "You're not the only one who wants Lisanna home, Natsu. She's our friend."

"But she's my fiancée," Natsu retaliated, "I should be the one to save her." Since Natsu had been assigned to the mission all he could think about was saving his dear fiancée. He blamed himself for not watching over her and he believed it was his responsibility to bring her out of harms way.

"You think I care about that Fire Breath?" growled Gray. Natsu growled in response. Both men jumped when their redhead partner took her firearm and jabbed it roughly into each of their heads.

"Both of you be quiet!" she whispered loudly, "The longer we waste deciding who's going to do what the less time Lisanna has." That shut the men up quickly. The redhead sighed, "Natsu if it's that important then you can grab Lisanna." Natsu looked up at his partner and smiled widely. That had been the best news he had heard all day.

"Thanks Erza. You're the best."

"Yes I know," Erza nodded, "Since you're grabbing Lisanna, Gray and I will handle Tartaros' men. We'll draw them to the east side while you bring Lisanna to the van. If you don't find her within the hour then I'm going in." Natsu nodded in understanding. The agents grabbed their gear and started putting their masks back on.

"What happens if she's already dead," Gray asked. In the field they were in, death was always a possibility. Though they all wanted to believe that they would rescue their close friend, there was the chance that they were already too late.

"She's not dead," Natsu stated firmly, pushing his mask over his face," I can feel it. I won't let anything happen to her."

"I know you won't." said Erza, cocking her gun, "Remember that under no circumstances are you too reveal you're identity to the terrorists. Stick to code names, right boys?"

"Yes Erza," they said in unison. Before they had time to react, Erza jabbed her gun handle into their feet. They clamped their mouths shut to keep from screaming out in pain.

"What was that?" the redhead asked. They could see her glaring darkly at them through her mask. The two full-grown men shrunk at the sight of the scary woman.

"N-Nothing T-Titania," Erza nodded firmly. Going into stealth mode, the redhead crawled toward another nearby boat to take cover. Gray and Natsu followed close behind her, arming themselves as well.

"Do your best not to get shot," Gray muttered to Natsu through his mask. He couldn't see it, but Natsu was smirking like a madman.

"Do your best TO get shot," Natsu joked. Without another word the group split up, Erza and Gray to handle the guards and Natsu to find Lisanna.

FAIRY TAIL

Not far from the warehouse was a lighthouse. It was rarely used with the advancements in modern technology, but that night someone felt the need to start the light up once more. The lighthouse sat on a hill overshadowing the warehouse.

On the hill, lying against the cold stones on its edge was a man. He was clad in black with a thick mop of shaggy black hair. Up against his face was a pair of binoculars. Through them he could see all the happenings at the warehouse from the west side. His sight rested on an open window on what looked like the fourth story.

Next to him were his two comrades. One of them was a woman with short silvery white hair in the style of a pixie cut. She had on a black jumpsuit along with a black beanie. Attached to the beanie was a clip in the shape of a blue rose.

Beside her was what appeared to be a radio set. She put the headphones over her ears and adjusted it to meet the correct frequency. When all the fuzziness of the radio died away, she turned to her team captain, giving her a thumb up.

The captain of their group wore a black combat shirt with no sleeves. On her waist, attached to her cargo pants was a belt with three hand grenades and extra bullets in case of emergencies. Despite her tough attire she had soft brown eyes and blonde hair that went to her shoulders tied up in pigtails. On her right hand was a pink tattoo of some sort of wild cat's head. Even with her childlike looks she meant business. The captain nodded and laid down beside the man with the binoculars.

"Do you see her?" the blonde questioned her partner. He nodded lightly, eyes still focused on the window.

"Yeah, see for yourself. Fourth floor, third window," he said. He pulled the binoculars away, revealing his crimson red eyes. He handed the tool to his partner who took it and held it in front of her. She followed his instructions and gazed down at the window.

The first thing she noticed was a pure white lab coat. There was a woman with long black hair walking past the window. Her eyes were on a clipboard in her hands and it looked like she was speaking.

Another woman approached her. This one was covered from head to toe in black. Her jumpsuit appeared nicer than the other with a faux vest and black pumps. A mask covered her face with a funky black pattern decorating it.

She looked farther into the room past the two women. Her eyes settled on a third one. This one had long hair that was a sickly green color. Unlike the other two she was wearing a purple uniform, probably signifying authority over the others. She was staring at a chair in front of her. It was the person in the chair that caused a small smile to sneak its way onto the captain's face.

Strapped to the chair was a woman with short white hair. It almost blended in with her pale skin that was covered in bruises and cuts. She had on a plain light purple shirt and shorts. She didn't look special, but that was the person they were there to rescue.

"Do you see her?" the white haired woman in their own group asked, removing the headphones from her head. The captain nodded, "That's her alright. She matches the description perfectly."

"We should move out soon then," said the black haired male, "The guards on this side are rotating at one minute intervals. If we move soon we should be able to get past their defenses." As he made a reach for his supplies, the captain placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Wait a minute," she said. She readjusted the binoculars to get a closer look at the girl strapped to the chair, more specifically the mark on her leg. It blended in very well with her pale skin, but the blonde woman was able to make out its outline. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"What is it?" asked her partner.

"She's from Fairy Tail."

"What?" exclaimed the girl by the radio. She put her headphones down and crawled over to her other two comrades. The captain handed her the binoculars and pointed a finger to the window the woman was in.

"Look at her right thigh. It's hard to see but she has a white insignia tattooed there." The silver haired girl focused on the young woman's leg and sure enough, she could see the symbol for the most well known agency, Fairy Tail.

"Great," muttered the man, "The Director and Minerva aren't going to be happy about this." The captain stared down at the window deep in thought.

"Can't we still save her?" asked the girl with the binoculars. She placed them down on the stone floor and turned to her partner. He shook his head, running a hand through his dark hair.

"No Yukino, If Fairy Tail hasn't already saved her then they are already trying. I wouldn't be surprised if they already sent agents here to retrieve her. Besides, the last thing Fairy Tail wants is to have us members of Sabertooth getting involved with their mission." Of all the Special Forces agencies Fiore had, the ones that got along the least were Fairy Tail and Sabertooth. While they both fought for the same country, they were constantly at each others throats. They both competed for the top spot as the best in Fiore. No matter how hard the government tried to get them to cooperate, they just couldn't satisfy the two powers. "We should get out of here before things get hectic." The two subordinates turned to their blonde captain, who was still deep in thought. She sat up in her seat, eyes firm with resolve.

"No, we were sent here to save this woman and we're going to do it. The last thing "The Young Lady" wants is for us to screw up another mission because Fairy Tail got in the way." Of all the people who despised Fairy Tail, Director Jiemma Orland and his daughter, The Young Lady, Minerva. They loathed the fairies with a passion and could not accept less than satisfactory results, especially from their top group.

"But she's a Fairy," said Yukino, "Surely Minerva-sama doesn't know otherwise she wouldn't have had us bother saving her."

The captain's eyes flickered down to Yukino. While Yukino didn't notice it, a flickered of sadness appeared in her brown eyes. This wasn't the first time she had to deal with Fairy Tail. She had had innumerable encounters with their agents. She could not deny that they had talent in the field and if she hadn't joined Saber she might have joined them. So unlike the other people working alongside her, she did not hate Fairy Tail.

There was of course another reason.

She hadn't told Yukino or Ryos, the man with the dark hair, because she feared the way they would view her if they knew what was in her heart.

And the person who had claimed it.

She had met him on the field about a year ago. They were both fighting over a disk that held important data. Not fighting like hand to hand or with guns, but actual arguing. Even though that's what they were doing, they were both smiling like madmen and laughing in-between insults.

After that she had seen him plenty of times while on missions. They were always against each other since their agencies were competing, but they always seemed to be having a blast doing it. She struggled to deny that she had any feelings for this man because of their rivalry, along with the fact she didn't actually know his name. Like her team, everyone went by a code name to protect his or her identity. All she knew was that he was called "Salamander".

Fairy Tail's overall love for their members, talent, and her unspoken feelings toward one of their agents were the reasons she could not hate them; no matter what. The captain stood up and looked down at her teammate and friend.

"I don't care that Minerva hates Fairy Tail. We are all fighting on the same side. Just because we have this rivalry it doesn't mean we have to stoop down lower than to help someone in need." She turned to Ryos who was staring at her in bewilderment. "You and I will head down there and grab the girl while Yukino talks to us over radio."

"What if we run into the Fairies?" he asked. The captain smirked. She pulled out her pistol from it's holder. It looked like a typical pistol, however on the side of it was carved the insignia of the Sabertooth agency along with a three digit number. Holding out her gun, she cocked it happily.

"Do what we always do. Brawl until one of us wins."

FAIRY TAIL

Natsu leaned up against the wall of the warehouse, panting heavily. He had just barely avoided a guard and ruined the whole operation. The last thing he needed was to save Lisanna with a battalion of terrorists on his tail. He glanced down the corner to see if anyone else was coming and sighed happily to see the hallway empty. Tightening his grip on his gun, Natsu turned the corner to reach the next.

His combat boots thumped quietly as he ran down the hallway. He took a peak into a nearby room to see if Lisanna by chance was in there. His disappointment was evident when it was nothing more than a spare room. He started moving to the next one when his highly acute ears picked up voices. He propped himself against another wall and looked down the hall to find two people. They wore helmets and thick vests, most likely bullet proof. Natsu eyed the firearms in their hands. With rifles they had the distance advantage. He figured his best bet would be to fall back and find another way to the next floor. As he was about to turn around his boot scrapped against the ground. He clenched his teeth in surprise.

"Did you hear that?" one of the men asked. Natsu could hear footsteps approaching his location. Sweat formed on his brow in apprehension. Sucking in a breath, Natsu cocked his gun.

Go big or go home I guess.

Without a moments hesitation Natsu turned the front part of his body around the corner and fired three rounds. The men had little time to react when a bullet hit one of them in the chest and at the others leg. Natsu rushed out to the one who was hit in the chest and slugged him in the head and twice in the stomach.

As he fell over his comrade tried to fire his gun at Natsu. He missed and Natsu rushed over to him. Since he had a handy cap, Natsu aimed for the guy's leg and kicked it hard. The man was about to scream in pain but Natsu covered his mouth. He quickly head butted him, knocking him unconscious.

He looked over his handy work. Both hits had knocked the men unconscious but not before guns had been fired. He would have to worry later though. The longer he wasted the less likely he would be able to save his fiancée. He dragged the two men to a nearby room and dropped them unceremoniously. Grabbing his gun he continued his mission to find Lisanna.

FAIRY TAIL

On the same side of the building, Sabertooth's team was preparing to make entry. The captain and Ryos, who went by the code name "Rogue", ducked down while speeding toward the warehouse. When they reached the building, the captain looked up to where the window was. She nodded over to Rogue who pulled out a black bag. From it he took out a circular object with a hand grasp on the back. He pulled out a second one and handed it to the captain. She typed in something on the grasp surface and faced the object to the wall. As she did, the object was drawn to the wall and stuck to it like putty. The captain brought a hand to her ear where her radio communicator was.

"Yukino, can you hear me?" she whispered to the headpiece. Over by the cliffs Yukino was fiddling with the radio.

"Loud and clear Princess," she responded, using her captain's code name. She pulled out the binoculars and looked back at the warehouse, "There should be a room to the right of the girls where there are no guards. Stay there until I give the okay that there is no one there."

"Princess" nodded and grasped the handle of the circular object. She did the same thing with the other one causing it to stick to the wall as well. Using her strength she pulled the object off and placed it up higher along the wall. Using the old crevices in the wall for support she hoisted herself up and started climbing toward the room. Rogue followed close behind her, using the same climbing technology.

They moved swiftly up the wall up to the room Yukino was talking about. As they got there they could hear what was going on inside the room where the hostage was.

"I'll ask you one last time. How much information did you steal?" The girl said nothing and Princess heard a slapping sound.

"My patience is growing wary and I'm running out of tools to torture you. If you don't say anything then I'll just have to kill you."

"I do not believe that to be wise Kyôka-sama," said a softer more chilling voice, "Her vitals are already low. Until we know exactly what she found out we can't kill her. We still need to know if she told anyone about our plans."

"I agree with Kyôka that we just do away with her," said a third voice. It sounded oddly familiar to Princess but she couldn't tell where she had heard it. Before any of them were able to continue, a sound echoed through the building, one everyone knew like the back of their hand.

Gunshots?

"Intruders," said the woman named Kyôka, "Looks like you're friends are here to save you." Princess's dark eyes widened, a smile appearing on her face.

Fairy Tail.

"If Fairy Tail is here then we must take our leave Kyôka-sama. It is no longer safe here."

There was silence before Kyôka responded, "You are right. Tell Jackal that we are leaving Seilah and meet me at the helicopter. We'll leave the girl here."

"To let those fairies have her! Have you lost her mind? What about the plan?"

"The plan will continue on. We no longer need her. If she gets the information back to Fairy Tail then so be it. Nothing will steer us away from our present course." Silence from the other two women followed along with the sound of footsteps leaving the room. Princess looked down at Rogue who didn't know what to do. After another moment of waiting Princess decided to go ahead and climb into the room the women had already been in.

She peaked in carefully to make sure the coast was clear. The room was small, about the size of a small office. On one side of the room was a set of computers. She could see little images on them that were the feed from around the warehouse. There was also a table lined with different devices that Princess deduced were for torture with all the blood covering them. Lastly there was a chair, with a young girl strapped to it. Her eyes were closed and her breathing very calm. Princess cringed at the number of injuries that decorated her pale skin.

She hoisted herself over the edge of the window and into the room. She sped over to the door to make sure there was nobody in the hallway. As she turned back into the room she saw Rogue climbing over the windowsill.

"Guard the door while I untie her," ordered Princess. He nodded and went to the door. He past by the table with the torture equipment and stared at it sadly.

"I guess the rumors about Tartaros are true. They really are masters of torture."

"We can't worry about that now," said Princess, kneeling down beside Lisanna and putting two fingers on her neck to find a pulse, "We need to get her out of here and treated." Princess started working at the straps holding Lisanna to the chair. As she did, she saw Lisanna's body begin to move slightly. She glanced up from her work to see Lisanna slowly blink her eyes open. Her light blue eyes drifted toward Princess. Her mouth parted slowly out of pain and Princess shook her head.

"W-Who-"

"Don't talk," Princess interrupted, "You need to save as much strength as you can." She continued to undo the restraints while Lisanna weakly stared down at her. Her blue eyes fell on the pink tattoo on her hand.

"You're from… Sabertooth." Princess froze for a minute before returning wordlessly to her work. The two women sat in silence up until Princess started on the last restraint on her leg.

"Why are you saving me?" Lisanna asked softly. Princess let her hands slowly fall away from the completed strap and looked up at the white haired woman. She blinked at her innocently, a small smile forming.

"Not every Saber hates you Fairies, ne?" Lisanna sat there silently before a tiny smile of her own appeared.

"What's you're name?" Lisanna suddenly asked.

"Princess," she responded. Lisanna shook her head.

"No, I mean your real name." Princess stared up at her surprisingly. To share an agent' real name could have numerous unintended consequences, especially if Lisanna was a member of Fairy Tail. Before Princess could do anything, her voice betrayed her.

"Lucy."

"Captain," Rogue exclaimed, turning his attention away from door. Yukino gasped through the communicator. Lucy stared up at Lisanna completely petrified. She had no idea why she had spoken her real name. Now a member of Fairy Tail knew it. The blonde was surprised when a strained giggle came from Lisanna.

"I won't tell anyone. Not all Fairies hate you Saber's," she said, copying Lucy's earlier comment. Her body relaxed and she let out a relieved sigh. Lisanna's joking behavior dropped as she stared down at Lucy.

"Lucy," she said hoarsely, placing a hand on her shoulder. Lucy's eyes flickered down to the hand and back at Lisanna whose face portrayed utter seriousness. Rogue watched them in curiosity.

"Lucy. I need you to remember. I need y-you to s-see." Lisanna's eyes began to droop. Her hand shook unsteadily on Lucy's shoulder.

"Hang on!" The blonde said, actually concerned for the girl. Lisanna steadied herself once more, her eyes meeting Lucy's as they began to drift closed.

"The tiger has fallen into the abyss."

Lucy speechlessly watched as Lisanna's eyes drifted closed and she fell back into the chair. She placed a hand against her pulse and sighed knowing that she had simply passed out from stress and exhaustion. She turned over at Rogue who was just as dumbfounded as her.

"Fallen into the abyss?" said Yukino over the communicator, having heard the whole thing.

"The tiger?" echoed Rogue, "What does that mean?" Suddenly, a gun handle came in contact with the back of Rogue's head. He turned around to see who had hit him but was slugged in the nose. He fell back a few feet as the intruder hit him in the side a few times then shoved him across the room. Rogue fell on the table with the torture equipment and snapped it in half with his weight. He lay there limply as Lucy's head shot towards the person at the door. He seemed equally shocked to see her and quickly yanked off his hat and mask.

"Princess?" Natsu exclaimed. Lucy jumped to her feet.

"Salamander?"

"What are you doing here?" they both asked at the same time.

"I'm saving her!" they exclaimed, pointing to Lisanna. When Natsu saw the limp and bloodied body of his fiancée he could feel his blood churn. An unbridled rage toward Tartaros began to make his blood feel hot. Lucy noticed this and feared for his well-being. Remembering her orders to her teammates before the mission, Lucy lifted her hands into a fighting position.

"I guess we'll have to solve this the hard way." Natsu stared at her questioningly before smirking. He brought his arms up into his own fighting position.

"Ready when you are," said Lucy haughtily.

"I'm all fired up."

Lucy rushed up to Natsu with her leg already in the air. She swung at his head which he blocked with his arm. She tried another kick with her other leg which Natsu grabbed and twisted, causing Lucy to fall to the ground.

She rolled to the side and jumped back to her feet. She ran to the other side of the room where the computers were to avoid Lisanna. Natsu followed behind and tried swinging hits at her, which she dodged easily. In their many battles it was clear that Natsu was the stronger one, but Lucy was swift along with smart. Lucy threw her own punches at him, hitting him in the chest. Natsu recoiled back in surprise. He laughed.

"You've gotten better."

"Either that or you've gotten worse," Lucy shot back. Their fighting went on for another minute or two, neither one hitting any major blows.

Natsu had Lucy backed up to the computers and hit her twice in the side. Before he could land another hit, the blonde reached for a computer mouse on the desktop. She grabbed the cable and swung the mouse at him. The small device hit him in the head pretty hard. He was pretty positive it would leave a bruise.

He grabbed both of her shoulders and she did the same. They wrestled against each other, their arms aching from their fingers digging into their skin. Natsu planned on using his last bit of strength to shove Lucy so she would fall against the computers just like her partner. He didn't want to hurt her terribly.

Sabertooth always annoyed him. Their tactics were at times unethical and extremely crude. Before he met Princess he had just about had enough of them interfering with his missions, however after meeting her that changed. She gave him a challenge and that made his missions worthwhile. She was determined and smart, and might he add very pretty for a low-life Saber. If he didn't consider her a rival than he considered her a friend.

Sorry about this Princess, he thought.

He prepared himself to fling her into the computer system, only to discover halfway through that she was planning the same thing. Both of them crashed into the computer table, knocking them off and onto the floor. The crashing filled the room and they assumed the hallway as well. The table broke under their combined weight making it all the more painful.

Natsu lifted himself to see that he was hovering over Princess. She had a light blush on her cheeks, which he didn't notice. All of a sudden, the two of them broke out into laughter.

"We'll call it a draw," said Lucy. Natsu pouted which Lucy found adorable.

"Absolutely not. We both know I'm the better fighter."

"Maybe," Lucy said softly, "or maybe you were just going easy on me." Natsu climbed off of her, holding a hand out to help her to her feet. Both of their bodies ached immensely but neither complained. She let her hand linger a moment longer as the two stared at each other. Lucy's heart raced as he towered over her. Lucy opened her mouth to say something when they were brought back to the present by the sound of an uncomfortable whimper. They both turned to the white haired girl sitting on the chair. She uneasily blinked her eyes open.

"Lisanna," Natsu said, voice deep with emotion. Lucy watched curiously as he ran over to her side and fell down beside her. Natsu grabbed Lisanna's cheeks so she could look at him.

"Lisanna, are you alright? Are you in pain?" he asked desperately. Lisanna blinked once as a small smile appeared. She lifted a hand up to the back of Natsu's head. She gently guided his head and brought his forehead to hers. They sat in each others comfort, rubbing their foreheads gently.

Lucy watched the scene in astonishment and surprise. Different scenarios entered her mind as she wondered why they would do that. She didn't notice her mouth trembling until she spoke.

"Do you now each other?" she asked apprehensively. Natsu removed his forehead from Lisanna's to look back at Lucy. Natsu stood up from the ground, helping Lisanna up with him.

"We're engaged," he answered.

Lucy's breathing suddenly ceased. Her eyes drifted to their hands that were still intertwined. Never once had it crossed her mind that he was already in a relationship. He didn't really seem like the type, but as she looked at their hands and the overall image of the couple she could clearly see it.

They looked perfect for each other. She could already tell that Lisanna had a more mellow attitude to match Natsu's wild one. They probably never fought or teased each other like Lucy and Natsu did to each other on their missions. They had probably known each other for years while she only knew him for one. Their bond must have been stronger than duels and missions. Some reality got caught in the net of Lucy's mind when she realized they had one thing in common that she didn't.

They were Fairies, and she was a Saber.

Who was I kidding, Lucy thought wistfully, him and I would have never worked.

"We need to move out of here," Natsu said as Lucy contemplated her situation, "Can you walk Lisanna."

"I-I think so," replied Lisanna. She tried to take a step forward but her weak legs failed her and she started falling. Natsu caught her and helped her stand to her feet.

"This isn't good. You won't be able to get very far on your own, and with Tartaros and Sabertooth after us-"

"Sabertooth won't follow." Natsu and Lisanna's heads snapped towards Lucy who they had forgotten about. She stared at the two of them but Natsu noticed her eyes were missing a certain something that gave them character. Lucy continued.

"Me and two others from my team were the only ones sent to retrieve you. Natsu already knocked one out. When he wakes up I'll tell him you beat me and we'll get out of here." Natsu blinked in surprise at her offer. He didn't know if she was telling the truth or if she was going to psych him out in the end.

"How do I know this isn't some trap?" he asked. Lucy groaned, comically to mask how hurt she was by her position.

"It's not, trust me. We'll take the west exit to our truck and you can take the south. We shouldn't even see each other. And I overheard the people torturing Lisanna that they're pulling out so there should be fewer guards. But you have to leave now."

Natsu hesitated in fleeing. He really did care for Princess and didn't want to leave her to fend for herself. Lucy noticed the hesitance in his eyes and it crushed her heart. If he kept doing that to her then it would only make her fall even more.

"Go, take care of you fiancée," she said. The word left a bad taste in her mouth that she didn't like. Instead she walked over to where Rogue lay to take care of him. Natsu and Lisanna watched her questioningly. Lisanna was still having a hard time believing that a Saber could be so kind to Fairy. Natsu on the other hand was wondering why she would just let them leave. In the past she always put up a fight, so what made this time any different.

With nothing else to say, Natsu heaved Lisanna's arm over his shoulder and wrapped an arm around her waist. The two sped out of the room to go find their other two teammates.

Lucy watched them go over her shoulder. She stared at Natsu's retreating form with longing. When she caught herself staring she shook her head. She couldn't dwell on what she discovered. It was clear now that there could be no future between them and she would have to accept that in time.

"Lucy-sama what was all that about?" Lucy jumped when she heard Yukino's voice on the other end of her communicator. She had completely forgotten about her.

"Sorry Yukino, the hostage was just taken by Fairy Tail."

"I know. I heard the whole thing." Lucy bit her lip when she heard Yukino's tone. The blonde knew that the girl knew something. Lucy ignored her and started helping Rogue up onto his feet. He was pretty heavy, but she needed to get him out of there fast, "Yukino, do you see any guards by the west exit?"

"Sorry Lucy-sama, there's a helicopter out here and a ton of guards. You'll have to take a different exit." Lucy grumbled in frustration. She hoisted Rogue onto her back and started dragging him out of the room.

"Remind me to tell Ryos to cut back on the sweets."

FAIRY TAIL

Gray ran along the side of another longboat. He swore that if he ever saw another boat in his life he was going to scream. His and Erza's half of the mission had been a nightmare. Guards were everywhere and he felt like he was always on the tips of his toes. Not to mention he lost track of Erza.

It had gotten extremely difficult when all the guards started rushing to one side of the building. He had heard gunshots earlier and assumed that they were the reason for the hordes of people.

As three more guards ran past him, Gray prepared himself to rush into the building. Natsu was behind schedule and he had to make sure he wasn't dead yet. The guards passed and Gray sped into the building.

It was extremely dark and all the old equipment and machinery spooked him. He snuck down a hallway that led into the main room of the warehouse. Crates were pushed up against the walls of the area, being long forgotten. Thick iron beams that supported the building could be seen against the wall and up to the roof. He could see all the other floors up to the ceiling. Each area was sectioned off and protected by banisters so nobody would fall off. As Gray was mesmerized by the sheer size of the warehouse, he didn't notice the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Shoot him!" yelled the voice of a man. A couple of bullets were fired at Gray and he quickly ran behind a group of crates. Through the space of one he spotted a man with dirty blond hair with spot-like freckles shooting at him. He recognized him as the man who was guarding outside when him and his team first arrived.

Behind him were two women. One of them wore a black jumpsuit and faux vest. Covering her face was a mask with a strange black pattern on it. She too had pulled out her pistol and was shooting in the direction of Gray. The second woman had long, thick black hair held back by a white headband. She had on a lab coat and was standing close behind the blond man.

He jumped when the recurring bullets shot off part of the crate protecting him. He was starting to doubt that he would get out of this one. Just as his hopes were about to go down the drain, another round of bullets could be heard, however they were coming from somewhere else.

He looked through the cracks of the crate and gasped at the sight of the three Tartaros members being shot at from the south side. Gray took a chance and crawled out to see who was firing. He couldn't see the persons face, but she smirked when he saw a flash of red over the banister of the second floor.

"Find Salamander, Ice Boy!" yelled Erza over her shooting. Gray sweat dropped at his embarrassing code name, "I'll hold them off." Gray nodded, though he knew she couldn't see it. While the others were busy he rushed to the next hallway to find Natsu and Lisanna.

He ran up a flight of stairs toward the third floor to avoid the battle waging between Tartaros and Erza. He stopped at the foot of the stairs where he saw to regular guards caught off guard by his presence. He elbowed one of them in the gut and kneed the second one in the crotch. He grabbed the shoulders of one of them and flung him into the other one. They both crashed into the nearby wall.

He could hear footsteps approaching his location and pulled out his gun, aiming it at the hall entrance. He cocked the trigger just as a foot was made visible. He shot the bullet without hesitation.

His jaw dropped when it just barely missed Natsu's head.

"What the heck was that?!" Natsu yelled, jumping away from the spot Gray shot at. Gray's heart was beating irregularly at the thought of almost killing his teammate and childhood friend. It started to relax at the sight of Lisanna leaning into Natsu. Natsu let her go and put her up against a nearby wall. Gray was about to ask why he did that but Natsu slugged him in the face first.

"What are you thinking Ice Face? You almost killed me!" Gray grabbed a fistful of Natsu's shirt and punched him in the face in return.

"What's you problem? How was I supposed to know that was you Fire Breath?"

"You could have waited until I was around the corner before firing!"

"If you were a terrorist then that would have been enough time to kill me! You would have done the exact same thing!"

"You're right, but I wouldn't have missed your big head!"

The two grown men continued to bicker and argue; unaware that one of the guards was starting to stir. The man pulled out a small handgun and pointed it at Natsu. Just before he could pull the trigger, a foot came in contact with his face. The two men turned their attention to the man and saw Lisanna standing over him, smiling down at her handy work. She glanced up at her friends.

"What?" she asked. Gray let go of Natsu's shirt.

"Remind me not to get on her bad side." Natsu laughed in agreement. Lisanna took the gun from the man and gave it to Natsu.

"Can you walk?" he asked in concern.

"Natsu, if I can kick a man square in the face and more than likely break his nose I'm pretty sure I can walk," she said haughtily. Natsu smirked as the three of them ran back to the stairs.

FAIRY TAIL

Lucy dragged Rogue through the empty corridors of the warehouse. Sweat dripped off her face and onto the floor. Because of the helicopter outside, Lucy had to drag Rogue all the way to the south side of the warehouse so Yukino could pick them up. She couldn't wait to throw him in the back of the truck.

"Yukino are you there?" Lucy panted.

"Yes Lucy-sama, however we'll have to go under radio silence from now on. I have to pack up the radio and drive to get you. It might take a while." Lucy sighed but tried to mask her frustration.

"Okay. I'm still on the west side but we should get there in a few more minutes. I'll see you in a few." With that the radio went dead. Lucy stumbled along the hall and could see the entrance to the main area of the warehouse. Her heartbeat spiked at the sound of the gunfire.

She pulled Rogue up next to the banister. She looked down and saw two different groups shooting at each other from the north side and the south. On the north she saw two of the women and another man trying to escape the rapid fire from their opponent. On the south she saw a single woman with red hair shooting at the terrorists.

She recognized the woman as "Titania" from Fairy Tail. She often accompanied Salamander on his missions. She thought the girl was pretty cool, but she had the ferocity of a tyrant.

Lucy hoped that with everyone busy they wouldn't notice her as she got Rogue out. She readjusted him on her back and started walking again. She glanced down at the battle again and spotted something moving on the ground floor. Her eyes widened when she saw ahead of pink hair running from the north side of the building to the south exit. In front of him was another man who was firing back at the Tartaros members as they ran. Following Natsu was Lisanna.

"Hurry, the van is right outside," called Gray. Natsu sped up his pace to catch up with the raven head. He glanced back at Lisanna every few seconds to make sure she was still following.

Lucy knew that everyone's missions had spiraled out of control and it was only a matter of time before it all fell apart in their faces.

And it happened with a bang.

This bang sounded louder than all of the shots previously fired. Everything seemed to freeze as the sound of the gun being fired echoed through the whole warehouse.

All eyes were on the group of three who had been previously trying to escape. A staggered gasp escaped Lucy's mouth as she watched the group stand still.

Erza's eyes lay solely on her comrades before her. She had stopped firing long ago from sheer shock. Gray's lip dropped in unbelief. Natsu stared wide eyed at the person who had been hit with the single bullet.

"L-Lisanna?"

The woman wordlessly looked into the eyes of her fiancée before falling wordlessly to the ground. Everyone now had a view of the bullet hole in her back and the blood staining it.

"LISANNA!" Natsu tumbled over to her body and fell beside it. He gathered the girl in his arms and held her close to his beating heart. Gray's body trembled uncontrollably. His eye shot toward the Tartaros members but was shocked to find that they had already fled.

Lucy watched everything from her perch a few floors up. She could not find the words to express what she saw and how she felt as she watched Natsu wail the name of the woman he loved. Against her better judgment, Lucy continued to drag Rogue through the warehouse, tears falling with each step she took.

"L-Lisanna, please say something. Lisanna!" Natsu begged. His grip on her body tightened. He could feel the heat of her body slowly leaving her.

Her eyes flickered over to his. She looked up at him with her blue eyes that were once so full of life. A tear fell onto her cheek. She wanted to wipe it away but couldn't feel her arm. She couldn't feel anything.

"Na…tsu," she said weakly. Natsu brought her head closer to his. He whimpered loudly and despite herself, Lisanna smiled.

"I… love… you." The young girl's eyes drifted shut on her own.

"…Don't… dodge…" Lisanna's head fell over in Natsu's hold. Natsu pulled away as her body grew limp. Shuddering breaths came out of his mouth. He sucked in an uneasy breath.

"LISANNA!"

A whole squad from Fairy Tail had appeared at the warehouse the following day. Fairy Tail's director, Makarov Dreyar, found Natsu, Gray and Erza huddled around Lisanna's body. Not one of them had the will to leave it.

All of the agents from Tartaros had escaped during the night and disappeared without a trace. Nobody knew who exactly had shot Lisanna that night and all of the camera's had mysteriously disappeared.

Sabertooth found out about Fairy Tail's involvement in their mission and blamed them for interfering and stating that it was their own fault that the girl had died. Fairy Tail fought back with the same excuse. Relations between the two grew more intense than ever before. No longer was it just petty arguments but now a full on feud had started between them. Every Fairy hated the Saber's, and every Saber hated the Fairies.

And with that, two years had passed.

Wow, that was the longest prologue in the history of forever. Sorry you all had to endure through that. And before anyone asks, because I have gotten this question, NO I do not have a grudge against Lisanna. Her death is very important to this story and you will see in later chapters. I hope you all liked this and are begging for more. REVIEW! FOLLOW! SCREAM INTO A PILLOW! FAVORITE!