Finished - January 14, 2020

Word Count - 3153

Music - Audiomachine - When It All Falls Down

Summary:
A small group of hunters are targeting Lucy to take and sell for a ransom. Will Natsu save her? Or will Lucy secretly kick butt?
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The sun was setting on a peaceful day in Magnolia. The time just in between day and night, where both the sun and moon were present in the sky. Blending pastel colors of blue, orange, white and pink with the nights darker shades of navy and grey.

Lurking in the long cast shadows of the city were four strange men. Sent of a mission in search of a prize.

For they worked in a particular line of work, involving less-than-honest men. These four foreigners worked in human trafficking. Stealing people, holding them hostage and selling them to the highest bidder. Whether that be the victims original family or not, they did not care. For they were only in the business for the money.

However, they had gotten bored of kidnapping "regular" people, for they were too predictable and way too easy! They needed more of a challenge!

It was then that they were given an anonymous tip of a mage who would be easy to capture. A mage, that if their magic items were taken away, would be rendered the same as a mere human.

This was too big of an opportunity to pass up! What would someone pay for a mage!? Plus, this mage also happens to be the last remaining heir of a huge family line. A family line that once held great power. The Heartfilia line.

**********************************

A small girl sat at a round table, quietly reading a book. Her eyes gliding across the pages like a typewriter, zigzagging back and forth.  Sat next to her was one of her best friends, Levy. It seemed her nose was much closer to the pages of her book, her eyes moving quickly. Possibly the content much more tense than Lucy's was at the moment.

The rest of the Guild was always astonished that the two girls could get any reading done in the main room. Since they were surrounded by the noisy chaos of...Fairy Tail. All including; arguments, physical fights, drinking battles and bad musical presentations. But it seemed as though they didn't mind.

The celestial mage sighed and cracked her neck back into place. Slowly closing the novel, she stood and noticed how late it had become.

"I should be getting home." Lucy turned her head to Levy, but noticed that her vivid eyes had not left her book for a second.

"...Uh huh..." The small girl dully replied, her attention obviously not focused on anything besides the words on the page.

Lucy giggled to herself, having done this many times too. She knew this feeling all too well and decided to leave Levy alone for a while.

But before she left, Lucy knew that she had to tell Natsu that she was headed home. Or else he would show up at her apartment an hour later to make sure she was alright. At first she found this endearing, that he cared for her. But after a while it became quite annoying for someone to break into your house most every day. Therefore she just made a point to tell him that she was headed home.

Unfortunately, he looked to be busy in a fight. Not just a normal fight, where she could quickly interject. But not even Natsu could get a word in edge wise, and that is saying something! It seemed to be a four way brawl between Natsu, Grey, Gajeel and Elf Man. It was not pretty.

Lucy, again decided to leave them alone and simply walked to the bar.

"Hey Mira, I am heading home." She sighed, slightly disappointed.

"Thanks for the heads up, I'll let Natsu know." Mira winked, already knowing Natsu's silly routine.

Lucy rolled her eyes and walked out the large wooden Guild doors and out into the dawn. The light was perfect, not too bright and yet enough to still see clearly. Her favorite time of day!

Because she could see some stars poking their way into the skies, but yet, the sun was still out.

As she observed the natural beauty of the heavens, something moved out of the corner of her eye. Without turning her head, her eyes flashed over to place where she had seen the quick movement. But there was nothing there...strange.

Ignoring it, she kept on walking. She must had imagined it. But as she kept going, Lucy realized her eyes were not wrong. For she kept seeing dark shadows shift and move around.

It was not her imagination. Something...or someone was definitely following her.

She approached a split in the road, where she would normally turn right to head towards her apartment. But there was no way that she was going to lead whatever was following her to her home! Therefore she veered off her normal corse and headed left.

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"She sure has a long walk to her house." One of the men stated suspiciously.

"We have been this bitch around for an hour. When are we goin to take action?!" Another member of there party was obviously starting to get impatient.

However, as much as his words were crude, they were not wrong. They had originaly planned on waiting until the Heartfilia got home and relaxed before they sprung their trap. But something was off and it was taking much too long. The sun had completely set and night had taken over.

It was time to take action, they had waited long enough.

"You are right. It is time." Their leader, Dri Ungors stood from his hidden spot. No longer fearing being seen and jumped down from his spot on the roof; his counter parts tailing him eagerly. They all swiftly sprinted across the cobblestone road, silently. All four pairs of shoes not making a sound on the rocky pavement, perfecting the art of assassination.

With precise skill Dri took hold of the large sword attached to his hip and popped it just slightly out of its sheath. Readying it for attack, not to kill, never to kill. For Dri and his fellows were not murderers, but takers. Only in search of those who are willing to pay for unique and rare specimens.

The precious subject came closer into view, she was just in his reach! From the corner of his eye Dri saw his partners charge forward from behind him, in an attempt to surround their prey. A routine they had practiced, perfected and performed hundreds of times before. They would siege and trap their hostage and take them by force.

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The Guild was alive, jostled by the activity of the fight happening in its belly. Large amounts of ice, chairs, fire, tables, people and all sorts of imaginable things flew through the air. The tussle was so violent that most by-standing Guild mates fled to their own homes.

"Will you guys give it a rest?!" Erza finally let loose and stood from her chair, the only person brave enough to stay. "It is almost midnight!"

"Midnight." Natsu muttered to himself.

"Aaaaannnd?" Gajeel interjected, almost as if he was accusing him of something.

"Midnight!" Natsu perked up from the bottom of the pile of boys and climbed out. "I got to go, Im late!"

"Surprised it took him so long to remember." Grey teased and elbowed Gajeel lightly.

"Lets go Happy!" Natsu scooped up the sleeping cat, waking him up with a start.

"Did you win?" The cats ears still flopped downwards.

"Heck yeah I won."

With a grin on his face he ran out the Guild into the brisk night air. Natsu took a large whiff of the surrounding smells just outside the doors, he could smell all his friends scent trails. Basically seeing every direction they went, but one trail interested him the most. The trail that smelled the sweetest and stood out from the rest, even if it was a bit more faded than the others. Meaning Lucy had left the Guild a long while ago.

Natsu followed Lucy's delightful aura towards her apartment, when suddenly, her path took a wrong turn. This struck Natsu as odd, very odd.

Especially because they had just returned from a long mission, Lucy would never stray far from her apartment after a hard mission. At this time of night too? No way. There was definitely something wrong.

"Natsu?" Happy called out to the frozen boy. "Why did you stop, Lucy's house is that way."

"I know. But Lucy is over there." Natsu pointed his finger off into the distance.

"Why would she go way over there?"

"I don't know..." Natsu trailed off.

"She knows that you always follow her home."

Natsu's heart skipped a beat, panic running through him. "She must be in trouble, this is her way of communicating to us!"

"No way, she can't think that we are that smart!" Happy yelled in horror.

"Come on, we have to find her."

"On it!" With one swoop, Happy lifted Natsu easily into the air and they darted through the sky and after Lucy's scent.

**********************************

Dri and his partners were almost in perfect position to ambush the unsuspecting girl. Funny, for a mage, she seemed not to notice their pretense at all. Foolish little girl.

He unsheathed his sword and raised it, preparing to damage the pale figure before him. Just as he and his men were in perfect place, Dri swung his sword and sliced the girls arm. But she did not cry out, scream, nor anything of the sort. She simply froze, didn't even look at them.

"What the heck!" One of his men yelled in anger, apparently not satisfied with her lack of reaction.

It was then that Dri noticed that the arm he had sliced, it wasn't bleeding. If fact there was no cut at all. He gasped and took a step backwards in shock.

The girl before them giggled at their foolishness, but her voice sounded like twi small children. Two harmonic voices chiming together at once! Then suddenly she disappeared. Her being exploding in a small puff of glowing glitter.

"What on earth?!"

"Where did she go?"

"Maybe we bit off more than we could chew." The man next to Dri screamed.

"Shut up!" Dri slapped him in the face. "Never second guess our mission in front of the subject!"

The man gulped and nodded swiftly.

"But where the hell is she?"

All four men stood back to back in the middle of the road and surveyed the area. Attempting to find their lost prize.

"It was about time you showed yourselves, my feet were getting tired." A soft voice echoed, its tone pleasant, yet immensely annoyed. The girl emerged from the shadows in front of Dri. She looked unharmed and completely unfazed.

"You Witch."

"Who are you and why are you following me?" She questioned.

But her question was ignored as the four men took this opportunity to once again try to attack. Charging all at once at the girl, hoping their combined strength was enough to separate her from her beloved keys.

"Gate of the Lion: Loke." Lucy pulled out a golden key from her collection and summoned one of her friends.

A large yellow magic circle formed and a man arose from it bright light. Dressed in a tux, he held his fist tightly which displayed an array or golden rings.

"B-Boss!" Dri's companions stuttered in fear.

They had never seen, let alone had to fight against something like this before. But he needed to be brave, if not for himself, then for his men.

"Onward!" Dri commanded and swung his sword at the well dressed man.

Lucy simply watched in almost amusement as Loke practically danced around the men flailing around. Desperately trying to land any type of attack on him, but he whymsically side stepped and avoided all their pitiful attempts. It was quite entertaining, to see their "so called leader" try to use his sword. Which he obviously did not know how to properly use. As he swung the lopsided instrument awkwardly around like a monkey with a baseball bat. It was painful to watch.

Unfortunately, Lucy had gotten too distracted in her own amusement that she forgot about the "fight" entirely. It seemed like one of the men managed to slip by the absentminded Loke and snuck behind Lucy.

He wormed his way close enough to her that he was able to steal her loop of Keys right off her belt. Lucy didn't even notice until she left her connection to Loke leave as she lost physical contact.

"Boss! I got them!" The man behind her waved her keys in the air wildly, extremely proud.

This just got serious.

**********************************

Natsu sniffed the air, tracking Lucy's scent from the air. His mind on high alert, a critical need to find Lucy. A furious craving to know that she was safe and not in danger.

"Down there Happy!" He directed his furry friend back down to the ground.

"Aye." Happy floated lower and landed softly atop of a random roof. From there Natsu could see a scene of five people. It looked like Lucy was there, but she was surrounded by four other men. Men that Natsu did not recognize! One of these alien men was holding a sword and another was waving Lucy's Keys in the air. 

Fury boiled inside Natsu so fast, he could not stop himself from raging. He was going to kill those men for anything they have done to Lucy.

"They have her keys!" Natsu lifted his leg to jump down off the room to help her.

"Wait!" Happy pulled hm back down and Natsu fell unto his bottom.

"What the hell?!" He yelled in anger.

"Look." Happy pointed again at event below. "See Lucy's face?"

Reluctantly, Natsu looked down again to watch what was happening. Natsu was not a spectator, he preferred to take action! But for the moment he listened and took a glimpse at Lucy's face. Her expression held no fear, but instead she looked pissed off and really annoyed.

This was a look Natsu was all too familiar with, in fact it gave him chills.

"Oh no." Natsu gasped. "Lucy is going to beat the crap out of them."

"Those poor fools." Happy sighed.

Immediately following, Lucy's form started to glow. All four bandits started to scream, not knowing that she could still use her magic without her keys. When the light subsided Lucy had transformed into her Cancer Star Dress. It was a traditional style type short blue Kimono with long white sleeves. But the best part of her Dress were the long blades it came with. Two elegantly balanced swords which made the theives wet themselves.

Lucy lunged forward quickly, her moves graceful and precise. The many practice sessions and lessons with Erza had payed off and she was now a master of her blades. Lucy's fighting style was fluid and refined, almost as if she was dancing. Natsu though it attractive to watch her kick ass, in the most beautiful way. Of corse. 

Natsu noticed that Lucy was using the back of her blades to hurt but not cut her enemies. Probably because her opponents were not experienced with someone on her level. This was something that Natsu would never had thought of doing. Especially in the heat of battle, he would have gone too far and regretted it afterward. But not Lucy, she was always perceptive.

Once all four men were unconscious, Lucy rummaged through the coat pocket of the one holding the large sword. She pulled out a wallet and checked the mans ID.

"Dri Ungors. Human Traffickers?" Lucy must have recognized the name. "Vile."

Snapping her fingers, she summoned rope from the Spirit World and tied them all together. Then placed a note in their unconscious forms, probably informing who ever would find them who they were.

Walking a few steps further, she bent down and picked up something off the ground. A familiar gingle floated into Natsu's Ears. Her impressive collection of golden Keys finally returned to her belt.

He watched as Lucy nonchalantly stretched her arms above head, turned on her heals and walked off as if nothing had happened.

"Wow..." Natsu breathed.

"Lucy is amazing!" Happy cheered.

"Yeah." Natsu was speechless, yet couldn't seem to loose the smile plastered on his face.

"Come on! Lets beat her back!"

Natsu snapped himself out if his trance and agreed. Together they flew above the roofs of Magnolia towards Lucy's apartment.

The boys climbed through her window and turned on her light, so they would not scare her when she returned. They both sat on the bed and stared at the door and waited eagerly for her return.

A few minutes later,  Natsu heard the click of a door nob open and in she came.

"Hey Luce!" He greeted her happily.

"Hey." Lucy smiled back at him calmly. "Sorry I am late, I stopped off at Levy's. I left something at her house yesterday."

Natsu could tell she was lying, not just because he knew thy truth. But he could always see right through her. But it was 2:00 in the morning and he did not feel like starting anything. Therefore, he decided he would tell her in the morning.

"Its alright, no problem." Natsu saluted.

"Well, it's so late now. You guys might as well stay here for the rest of the night." She sighed.

"Yay! Sleepover!" They cheered loudly.

"Only if you actually sleep. I am going to bed." Lucy basically collapsed into her covers and was immediately out.

"Wow, she was really tired." Happy giggled. "She didn't even turn off the light."

"She sure was, good night buddy." Natsu turned off the light, locked the door and climbed into bed with Lucy.

He woundered why Lucy hadn't told him what had happened. Did she not want him to worry about her? Which was impossible by the way, he was always worried about her.

But maybe it was because this was not the first time something like this had happened to her. In fact things like this happened to Natsu a lot! Silly people trying to challenge Natsu, thinking they were better than him. Or random junkies thinking they could catch him and other such stupid quandaries.

The more he thought about it, the more likely that these events happened to Lucy too! She was a member of Fairy Tail, she was a powerful mage and came from a rich family. In fact Natsu felt foolish in assuming that this did not happen to her.

Over all he was so proud of Lucy! So incredibly honored that she came into his life and brought her light into his dark world.