Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. I just enjoy writing stories about the characters

Chapter 2: The Rescue

Natsu had hoped that the presence he felt in Lucy's apartment was just his imagination. However, when she opened her door, and the all the scents from inside rushed out, he knew it wasn't. He made the decision not to go bursting in, fists blazing. Perhaps Lucy knew the person inside with her.

He knew that was unlikely though, she had only just moved in today. There wasn't really a chance of that she could have given a spare key to anyone yet.

Natsu took a deep breath and let his body dissipate once more into the shadows. He made his way up towards the apartment and placed an ear on the wall outside. The apartment walls were mostly sound proof but his sensitive hearing was able to make out conversation.

"…I bet your dad would pay a pretty penny to guarantee your safety."

Natsu snarled in annoyance. Of course this would happen. He thought once he dropped the keys off with Lucy he would finally be free of Layla and his annoying guilt. He wasn't required to do anything further than he already had but if even one little hair on Lucy's head were harmed he would feel guilty as hell.

He made his way towards the window, silently thanking the stars above that she lived on the first floor. He peered inside and took in the sight before him. A disgusting, middle-aged and bulky man had his arms around her small frame. He had a pistol pressed into her throat so hard it was probably hard for her to breath.

Natsu rubbed his temple in annoyance. If he jumped right in, he couldn't guarantee her safety. Although he was confident in his speed, he wasn't sure he was faster than a bullet if this moron's finger were to slip.

"Bruce here." The moron in question answered his cell phone, not removing the gun from Lucy's throat. "Yeah, I have her. Bring the car around quickly, I don't want anyone to see us as we make our getaway."

Only seconds seemed to pass and Natsu hear the unmistakable sound of a car approaching. It backed up through the grass and right up to her front door.

Bruce and Lucy suddenly emerged. Lucy's mouth was gagged and he had the gun now pressed into her lower back. A shot there might paralyze her for life. It was still too risky for Natsu to make any sort of rescue attempt.

As quickly as the van appeared, it took off again, tires squealing as it exited the apartment. Natsu was fast but he couldn't keep up with the speeding vehicle. He would have to rely on his powerful senses to lead him to her. He closed his eyes and focused on the scent of the vehicle quickly escaping. He could smell the pungent odor of Bruce's body odor, the slight smell of burnt rubber, and the smell of cigarette ash. He zeroed in on those scents and took off on foot. Being a demon had its benefits. He was able to blend into the darkness of the night and his speed was able to keep him within a certain range of the vehicle. This allowed him to still pick up on their disgusting scents. He dashed over sidewalks, scaled buildings and cut through parks.

He followed the vehicle of the city and into the country. The vehicle had left the pavement and passed over a few winding gravel roads. At this point he was probably about twenty minutes behind the vehicle.

The scent led him to a very old and dusty building. It was an old manufacturing plant and had long since been abandoned. The gang had taken it over to operate out of and Natsu could tell by the gross odor that they manufactured some type of drug here.

He carefully made his way around the building, taking in all the details of it. There were guards posted at each entrance and security cameras everywhere. This definitely wasn't an ordinary group of people. The cartels were dangerous and smart individuals. They had access to all sorts of weapons and even had managed to buy out the local police department.

The fact that this gang was a cartel had Natsu troubled. Cartel gangs typically already had a lot of money. It seemed very risky to abduct a high profile person such as a Heartfilia. Cartels generally did everything they could to keep out of the spotlight. Something seemed very fishy about this whole situation.

This was definitely going to be troublesome. There was going to be blood shed, that fact was unavoidable. Natsu was already very annoyed after having to deal with Lucy all evening, now he had a group of money obsessed morons to deal with. He was going to make them pay for wasting his time.

Natsu decided to enter through an entrance to the south side. It seemed to be the least guarded and the cameras around it could be dealt with. He began patting the ground around him until he located a fist-sided rock. Natsu was really banking on the hope that these guards were as stupid as they looked.

The fire demon started by removing the cameras facing the south entrance. He focused the heat of his flame magic on the cameras. The fizzled and popped as they began to fail, drawing the attention of the guards. Now that they were distracted, Natsu drew his arm back, tossing the rock with full force along the ground. He picked just the perfect angle so the rock would skid along the ground and make a lot of noise. It bounced loudly behind them before ending up in the surrounding forest.

The guards seemed to take the bait, quickly chasing the sound into the forest.

Natsu didn't waste any time. He quickly entered the building. Luckily for him the doors were completely unlocked. He quietly began working his way through the hallways, following the sweet smell of Lucy's scent. It was a breathe of fresh air compared to the disgusting smells of all the thugs around her.

He had only made his way around to bends in the hallways before an alarm started to sound. It was an annoying ringing and reminded Natsu of a fire alarm. The gang must have repurposed the old warehouse's previous fire system and made it into a functioning security system. He would have to be really careful now. Bruce was probably now on high alert and Natsu knew it was likely he still had the gun shoved mercilessly into her throat.

The building was old and dirty and the layout didn't seem to make any sense. He was very glad for his powerful sense of smell that guided him down the hallways otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to find her.

Bruce and Lucy were close, but judging by their scents they were in completely separate rooms. Natsu found this to be quite strange considering the circumstances. Surely they would be doing everything in their power to protect their hostage. Eventually Natsu came to a large and heavy metal door. Inside, he could hear Bruce speaking to someone on his cell phone.

"Yeah, I got her. We've been roughing her up a bit as you instructed… yes, the alarms are going off but I'm sure it's not anything the guards can't handle." Bruce was pacing anxiously back and forth. "We are doing everything in our power to terrify her. We will make sure she will want to return home after this."

Natsu couldn't make out the words on the other end of the phone but the whole situation was starting to feel very fishy. Why would they want Lucy to return home after this?

"Yes, of course boss. You have our word as long as you plan to pay as you promised."

Things were definitely becoming intriguing. Natsu decided after he beat the man senseless he would try to figure out who was on the other end of the phone. Why would a drug boss care that Lucy lived on her own? There were so many details that didn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Natsu heard footsteps approaching the door and he quickly dashed around a corner and out of sight. Bruce's heavy footsteps made a thumping noise as he headed back to where he held his captive.

Natsu didn't waste any further time. He dove forward, and dropped to the ground, sweeping a foot under the thug's body. The force was enough to crack the shins of Bruce and he cried out in pain. His gun and phone both flew from his fingers, skidding across the floor before coming to a stop right in front of the angry demon. He raised his foot up, smashing it down onto the gun as hard as he could. Bits of metal and bullets flew everywhere.

Natsu's eyes glowed a demonic amber as he leaned over and gently placed his fingers on Bruce's chin. A deep growl rumbled in his throat.

"Who the fuck… What are you?" The larger man cried in shock and fear.

The demon bared his fangs in clear irritation. He reached forward and worked his fingers into the larger man's shirt collar. He effortlessly hoisted his body up from the ground until his face was eye level with Natsu's own. It was an incredible feat considering their vast difference in size. He pulled his fist back and struck him, barely holding back. The force shattered his jaw and threw the man twisting backwards.

Bruce yelped in pain, clutching his face in sheer panic. Natsu decided he had punished the larger man enough and calmly stepped over his quivering body. Natsu took a few steps and picked up Bruce's phone. He slipped it into his pocket so he could study it later.

He could smell Lucy in the room beyond this one. As he approached the door separating them, Natsu took a deep breath. He focused on calming himself down so he didn't scare Lucy with his obvious blood lust.

The door wasn't locked and opened for him easily. There, in the middle of the room, sat Lucy Heartfilia. She was slumped over in a chair, her hands tied behind her back. She was badly bruised and wounds covered her body. Natsu was overwhelmed by the smell of her blood. She didn't seem to notice him as he approached.

Natsu reached out a hand and gently shook her shoulder. She whimpered quietly in response.

"No more please…" Her voice was quiet and scratchy.

Natsu was amazed that the gang of thugs had been able to beat her up so badly in just a short amount of time. He walked around behind her to examine her binds. She was bound with a pair of metal handcuffs. He leaned over and plucked a bobby pin from her hair and began to pick at the lock. After only a few seconds they came undone and he pulled them from her bruised wrists.

"Natsu…?" Lucy seemed to finally notice who her savior was. The question seemed to take the last of her strength and she finally succumbed to darkness.

Natsu sighed, leaning forward and scooping her up into his arms as gently as possible. He held her tightly against his chest, close enough that her face was buried in his throat. Her soft breath tickled his neck.

The challenge was now removing both of them from the building. Getting in had been easy, as he was able to freely dissipate into the shadows as needed. Now he had Lucy in tow and wouldn't be able to use his normal demonic abilities. And, if they ran into trouble, he would have a hard time fighting with his hands full. He supposed he could resort to kicking if needed, but he didn't want to jar her body too much based off of her condition. He wasn't sure the extent of her injuries and it was likely she had a few broken bones. There was only one way to ensure their escape.

Outside the room, he could still hear the alarm blaring loudly. There were shouts as guards began to close in on the room. It was now or never.

He adjusted her weight in his arms one last time before leaning forward and kicking the door open with his foot. A group was already was already waiting for them outside, automatic weapons pointed at them. Natsu could see the plethora of red lasers dotting their bodies, daring them to try to take a step further.

"Drop the girl!" One of the larger guards hollered.

Natsu wasn't in the mood to take any orders from an overweight thug. He took a deep breath, gathering his fire magic towards his mouth and released. A powerful surge of fire erupted into the hallway. In response to the intense heat, the sprinkler system immediately kicked on.

"What the hell…!?"

"Get out of here! This old building won't last!"

The guards panicked shouts echoed around them. Their attention was no longer on the two enemies, but now focused on a desperate attempt to survive. Smoke started to fill the room making visibility practically zero. The fire grew larger and Natsu had to resist the urge to just sit down and bask in the heat. This was his element and it was delightful for him. Lucy wouldn't be able to take the heat for much longer though so he needed to escape. He pulled her closer to his body to protect her from the flames and took off once more. He navigated his way back through the building, following the exact path he had used when he came in. Eventually they arrived outside. Luckily for the duo, no one was waiting for them as they made their escape. He carried her into the woods and up a surrounding hill before turning around to look behind them.

Most of the gang had managed to escape. The fire had just started to consume the rest of the building. It was an older building so Natsu didn't see it lasting more than half an hour tops in his flames.

The darkness inside of him was enjoying watching them suffer. He had wanted to kill all of them, and paint the hallways with their blood. They all disgusted him. They were cowards, hiding behind their guns and then capturing and hurting Lucy.

The gang's motives were still unclear but Natsu had lived long enough to realize just how unimportant money was. The fools who gave their lives to its worship didn't deserve the time of day. He turned his attention back towards the road ahead and took off in a quick run again. He was very careful not to make any sudden jerking movements as to not irritate her injuries further.

The journey back to Lucy's apartment had been a pain. He tried to keep to the shadows but toting around her body had made things more than difficult. He didn't want any witnesses thinking he had knocked out some poor girl and kidnapped her so he had to be extra careful not to be seen. Eventually, after a couple of close calls, he arrived back at her apartment. The door was still unlocked to Natsu's relief.

Natsu made his way into her bedroom and used his shoulder to flip on the light as he walked by. He gently laid her unconscious body on the bed and tried to get a good look at the extent of her injuries. He growled in irritation when he realized that some of the injuries were bad enough that they required stitches.

Natsu ran a hand through his hair, contemplating his next course of action. It would probably be best if he just dropped her off at a hospital and let them deal with her injuries. This wasn't really his problem and he had no intention to waste any more time here. On the other hand, however, he knew the gang would recover and most likely want to retaliate based on the state he had left their base. It might be unwise to turn her loose and into the hands of an ill prepared hospital staff.

He eventually decided to at least check to see if she had anything he could use to clean her wounds. He would start basic first aid so her wounds didn't fester. It was troublesome, but humans were weak little creatures. They could easily die from infection if left untreated.

Natsu headed into her bathroom and began digging through boxes trying to locate anything he could use. Unfortunately for him, Lucy hadn't had time to unpack anything yet. There wasn't any rhyme or reason for the way things were organized either. Towels, nail polish, cotton swabs, hair products…. Nothing he could use.

He growled, shoving the most recent box aside. There was only one box left to check. He all but tore the last box open and began rummaging through the contents. Near the bottom he found what he was looking for: a container with bold bright lettering, proudly proclaiming "First Aid Kit".

Of course it would be in the last place he checked.

He pulled it out and noted that it was a pretty good size and weight. There was a good chance he would at least be able to find some bandages and antiseptic.

Natsu walked back into the bedroom and laid the kit down next to her body. He pulled it open and began rummaging through its contents. To his surprise, there was a lot of stuff within the kit. He was even able to find a needle and some sutures. At least that took care of the stitches issue. He actually knew how to stitch someone up thanks to a guild mate Wendy.

Natsu returned to the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth from one of the boxes. He also found some simple hand soap, it wasn't ideal but it would have to do. He wet the cloth and soaked it in warm water before wringing it out a decent amount. He then used the dispenser to put a few tiny pumps of soap on the towel. Natsu approached her body again and began gentle circular motions along her body to clean any caked on dirt and blood. He avoided getting too close to any of the open wounds. The harsh hand soap would dry them out and hinder any healing.

He finished cleaning her and set the bloody towel down on her nightstand before returning to the first aid kid. He retrieved the antiseptic and began the tedious work of cleaning all her wounds.

Natsu sighed, it was a good thing the girl was unconscious; otherwise everything would have been quite painful for her.

After he finished disinfecting the wounds, he retrieved a needle from the first aid kit. Although he was sure it was probably safe to use, he heated it up in his hand to kill off any possible bacteria. After a few minutes it cooled enough for him to thread a suture through it.

Natsu took a deep breath, suddenly uneasy. It had been one thing to stitch his own battered body up from time to time but he had never done it to anyone else. He wiped his brow and went to work. As he started to stitch her up, she reacted for the first time from any of his actions. Even while out of it she whimpered and twitched. Natsu prayed to whoever was listening that she wouldn't wake up. This whole procedure was painful and he wasn't sure she could take the pain while awake.

Eventually he finished everything. His stitches weren't the prettiest but they would certainly do the trick. Natsu wiped the sweat off of his brow once more and sighed. He glanced down at his phone and noted the time.

'3:23AM…'

It was very late and he was tired. There was only thing left for him to do before he could retreat to the couch and sleep off the night. He reached into the kit and unrolled a bandage. He began working his way around her body, wrapping the bandages around her particular bad wounds. With one last snip, he trimmed the excess of the bandage with a pair of scissors and tied it off. He was finally done.

Natsy was mentally and physically drained. He exited the bedroom, turning the lights off while he walked out and then closed the door behind him. He was more than ready to go to sleep. He wouldn't leave her alone, at least not tonight. The gang might launch some sort of retaliation against her, especially after what he did to their hideout.

The day definitely hadn't gone as planned. It angered him to think about what would have happened to her had he not happened to be around. Lucy needed a serious wake-up call. She had been very naïve to not even consider the possibility of being abducted. She was, after all, very rich and somewhat famous. Most people of her stature lived in a secure home with security and bodyguards. Lucy apparently thought an apartment in the middle of town was safe enough for her.

Natsu kicked off his shoes before collapsing onto her couch. He buried his face into a throw pillow. He wasn't sure how he would face Lucy tomorrow. He wouldn't be able to explain off how he eliminated the gang all on his own. Natsu closed his eyes, deciding to deal with the next day's problems in the morning. One thing was certain though; Lucy couldn't stay here by herself.

"Well, I just can't believe our luck. You really are stupid." Bruce held her chin in his fingers, forcing her to look at him.

After abducting her, these cowards had taken her to some remote location. She had been blindfolded on the drive so she wasn't sure where exactly she was. Now she sat in a chair, in some random room, in an unknown building. Her hands were tied behind her back.

"Rich little bitch doesn't know how to take care of herself. You thought you were all grown up, huh? That you could take care of yourself? Didn't you even think to hire some bodyguards? When we spotted you moving with your little pink-haired friend earlier, we thought our luck was too good to be true. A Heartfilia… fell right into our laps. If we play our cards right, I'm sure we'll all end up very rich. An island retirement sounds nice right now."

Lucy glared up at him, ripping her chin from his grip. "The only place you'll end up is in jail. My dad will find you and make you pay."

Bruce laughed, pulling his hand back and striking her hard across the face. The force was enough to tip the chair over. He kneeled down and retrieved a pocketknife from his pants. "I doubt that girlie. There isn't a person alive that could track you down here." He twirled the knife in his hands. "Come now, we have to prepare you for your big video shoot later. We have to set the scene and create a sense of urgency for your daddy. A model like you should understand how important prep work is." He slashed her across the arm and Lucy cried out in pain. Blood began to pour from the fresh wound.

Was she really stupid? Had she made some terrible mistake? All she wanted to do was escape her rich lifestyle from her father. Maybe she had been a bit naïve but she never imagined something like this could have happened. Especially on her first day away from home.

Bruce reached down and grabbed her by her hair, hoisting the chair upright. He turned around and grabbed a bottle of something, shaking out a single pill. He then grabbed a cup of water and approached her.

"I'm not a completely terrible guy though. I will grant you a break from your suffering."

She felt her stomach twist in her stomach. What the hell was he planning on doing?

"Open your mouth, wench."

Lucy stubbornly refused, clenching her jaw closed tight and turning away from him.

He reached down and pinched her nose. Eventually her mouth flew open and she began gasping for breath. He took the opportunity to press the pill down her throat and dump the water in after.

"Good girl." He mockingly praised, dropping the cup to their feet. "Unfortunately this does take a bit to kick in so I guess we'll just have to have some fun for awhile."

"What the hell did you give me?!" Lucy shouted, struggling against her binds.

Bruce didn't respond, instead he walked back to the table and picked the knife back up. He wasted no further time in his torture. He kicked, punched and slashed her repeatedly. Lucy wasn't sure how much longer she could take. Eventually she could feel herself feeling hazy. Not being able to fight it, she slipped into unconsciousness.

Somewhere in the distance she could hear an alarm blaring. The loud noise woke her up but she was still quite groggy. Some time passed before she suddenly felt her hands be unbound. She shakily opened her eyes and was surprised at who she saw.

"Natsu..?"

She wasn't able to fight the effects of the powerful drug any longer and slipped back into unconsciousness.

A/N: Pretty please with a cherry on top leave a review! I only got one last chapter and it made me super sad. Thank you for all the follows and favs! I really appreciate you guys :) I need encouragement to keep the story going...