I got a shaker too, the kind of sound that wants to make you move

Bring in the uke, we'll complete the groove

Let's gather round and sing a song

The next morning, all of the prisoners were forced to get up at eight in the morning.

Natsu groaned as he staggered out into the sunshine, blinking when the rays of the sun hit his eyes. He was lined up with the rest of the criminals as some sheriff that was supposed to be supervising took role as if it was a classroom on the first day of school.

"Natsu Dragneel?" the sheriff said in what Natsu that was an annoying, almost high-pitched voice.

"Here," Natsu grumbled. The sheriff snickered at the name "Dragneel", and Natsu glared.

His laugh is even worse, Natsu decided.

Almost right after Natsu's name was called out, Gray Fullbuster's was as well. Natsu quickly recognized him as the young man from the night before - the one he'd sat in the carriage with and almost fought.

"Bastard," Natsu muttered. It was aimed towards Gray, but he'd spoken so softly that no one heard him.

After role call, all of the prisoners were lined up where the train tracks would be soon completed. It was already mapped out that the railroad would run past the outskirts of Era - where Natsu was - after coming from the port Hargeon. Then it would continue past a city called Magnolia and another town. There was one planned train station also being built out in the middle of nowhere, and another station in one last town before finally finishing at Clover.

In the outskirts of Era, there was a giant forest that the railroad would be built through. Although the forest was dense before finally becoming farmland, when the governments of Fiore and Pergrande had mapped out the railroad's locations they had already cleared out most of the trees that the path was supposed to go through. All that left for the prisoners to do would be to build the actual railroad itself.

"Alright!" the high-pitched man said. "My name is Sheriff Zancrow and I don't want any funny business. I have been hired to supervise you until the railroad is complete! If anyone decides to speak out, they will get a year added on to whatever sentence they have already received! Two years if they rebel, and three if they escape!"

Zancrow paused for a moment before continuing. "This project should take anywhere from a year to three before the construction will be complete. You will finish serving out your sentence here, and if your sentence ends before the railroad is finished - too bad. No matter who you are, even if you only have one month left to serve, you will still work on the railroad without benefits or money until these tracks are finished."

Natsu narrowed his eyes. There's no way I'm working on these tracks for so long! I was supposed to be free in a few months!

Not even a day out working on the train tracks, and Natsu was already thinking of a plan to escape.

A few criminals over, Gray was thinking the same thing. He had a feeling that his trial, originally supposed to only be a few weeks away, was now being pushed back until the railroad was complete.

Cursing, Gray picked up the tool he was supposed to be working with, although it was hard with shackles around his feet and handcuffs on his wrists. After a few minutes he finally found a way to hold the tool without any trouble and started to work.

Lucy was working with Levy on one side and another female criminal on the other. She complained to Levy as she dropped her tool many times and also found it hard to pick it back up because of her restraints.

"This is unfair!" she said as she attempted to pick the tool back up for the fifth time.

"It really isn't," Levy agreed. "I'm already sweating and we haven't been out here for more than fifteen minutes!"

"It's the summer weather. The temperature must be a hundred degrees outside! I wish we could escape, but..." Lucy looked around to make sure Zancrow wasn't around. He wasn't - instead, he was watching Droy work, although the fat man was having trouble. Lucy lowered her voice as she said, "I can barely move in these handcuffs. They dig in my skin."

"I can't have three years added to my sentence," Levy said.

Lucy nodded. "Neither can I - but at the same time, I'm not working on this stupid railroad!"

"Should that be counted as speaking out?" Zancrow asked Lucy as he walked over. Lucy stiffened when she realized that the man, with long and spiky blonde hair, had heard her complaining.

"No...sir," Lucy said, gritting her teeth. "I was just joking?"

Rolling his eyes, Zancrow turned away. Lucy wondered how he wasn't hot and stuffy - although Zancrow had odd sandals and a short sleeved shirt on, the long dark pants made Lucy feel warm just by looking at them.

Lucy tried to work, but it was just to hard for her to. She saw Levy struggling as well but the blue haired young woman wasn't having as much trouble as Lucy was. After dropping her tool for the ninth time, Lucy was ready to give up and scream.

"Excuse me," she heard the person on her other side, opposite from Levy, say. She turned her head to see a woman with red hair. She had eyes that seemed to glare at everything she looked at, and Lucy shrunk back.

"Yes...?"

"You're holding it wrong. Hold long objects like this." the woman with scarlet hair shows her how, even with handcuffs, she was able to effectively hold the tool Lucy was supposed to be using.

After a few seconds of fumbling with her tool that she had just picked back up, Lucy found that the stranger's way was much easier than her original. "Thank you!" she said. "What's your name?"

"Scarlet. Erza Scarlet. And aren't you Lucy Heartfilia? I read about you in the news."

"That's me! Thanks again, Erza," Lucy said as she turned the other way to show Levy.

"Hold on, Lucy," Erza said. Lucy faced the redhead again.

"Is there something else you wanted to say...?" Lucy asked.

Erza started to say something Lucy didn't understand, but paused when Zancrow walked past them once. After he was far enough away, Erza whispered, "I heard you discussing escape?"

"Yes," Lucy said in a lower voice. "Why do you ask?"

"I have a plan, actually," Erza said. "I have been thinking about it ever since I was told that we were to work on this construction of the railroad. However, it requires more than one person..."

Lucy's eyes brightened. "Okay - can we include Levy and her two friends in on this?"

"It depends. Too many people may ruin this plan I have," Erza said cautiously. "But if possible... then yes."

Construction went on. The building of the railroad took an unexpected turn when, later in the week, it started to rain. All of the criminals got a day off as they stayed in their cells, which held about six people. Luckily, Erza, Lucy, and Levy were all put into one cell and so they were able to talk about escape in hushed whispers. They also discussed how they had been placed in jail - Lucy explained her father's actions, Levy talked about how she was raised homeless and parentless, but when asked Erza had said that her reason was "too long of a story". Lucy saw that Levy was elated when Erza was okay for including Jet and Droy, but they never got a chance to talk to the two boys.

However, there were two more boys that the three girls met: Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster.

It had been random - every day, the prisoners were put into a different order on the tracks, so it was only the first day that Lucy had been working next to Erza and Levy. She'd worked beside Erza another day and Levy on a third, but a few days after the rain had finally stopped, Lucy was not placed next to either Levy or Erza.

"Gray Fullbuster. You?"

"Lucy Heartfilia. Nice to meet you."

"Same."

They worked for a few minutes in silence before starting a small conversation. More like, Lucy talked and Gray listened, commenting every once and a while. Finally, Zancrow told them to shut up and go back to work, so they were silent once again.

Lucy thought about Erza's plan - so far, all they had was a tiny structure of how they wanted their escape to happen, but not much. All they knew was that they needed at least two people and a distraction.

"Hey, Lucy," Gray said, jerking Lucy out from her thoughts.

"Zancrow," she hissed.

"Zancrow's on the other side. He can't hear us," Gray scoffed.

Lucy nodded. "Then what do you want?"

"Do you have a plan for escape?"

Levy meeting Natsu had been very similar, although louder and filled with more of Zancrow's threatening to extend their sentence if they didn't stop talking. Both times, Levy and Lucy had said yes, but didn't elaborate.

Until, that is, Gray approached Lucy and Natsu came up to Levy.

It was on their first break day - one day a month, Zancrow gave them a day off. The criminals had been working for exactly two weeks. The criminals were all allowed to talk in the compound that they were staying in, although numerous guards as well as Zancrow were stationed around all exits and doors.

Erza, Levy, and Lucy were sitting at one table alone, working out the details of their escape. Jet and Droy were getting food and hadn't yet been told of the plan, but Levy said that she would tell them as soon as possible. Then, two boys had happened to sit down on different sides of the table at the same time.

"Hey! I was here first!" both boys said to each other. "Go away!"

Natsu growled. "Stop copying me, Fullbuster!" he yelled.

At the same time, Gray said the same thing but adding Dragneel instead of his own last name.

Both leaned over the table and glared at each other. "You wanna go?!" they shouted furiously.

Gray pulled back an arm as Natsu got ready to punch. Their fists flew at the same exact time, and -

Bam!

Erza had punched both boys at the same time. Natsu and Gray slumped back, each with bloody noses from the force of Erza's punch.

"That hurt!" Gray and Natsu both whined.

"You two! Shut up! Why are you here?" Erza demanded. The pink haired man and the dark haired man faced her, eyes wide with fear.

"I - uh - I was told you guys were thinking about leaving this place," Natsu squeaked.

It took a few minutes for the five of them to organize. Erza was furious that Lucy and Levy had both told others about wanting to escape.

"Does anyone else know?" She asked, glaring.

"N-no!" Lucy whimpered.

"I d-didn't tell anyone else," Levy promised. Erza kept glaring at the two girls until she decided that they had been put through enough torment - which they had, as the two other girls looked like that they had been to Hell and back.

"Good. Now, since you two have included these two men - Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster, am I correct?" Erza asked the two, and they quickly nodded. "Yes, since you have decided to include Fullbuster and Dragneel, they will be a part of our plan. Their strength may come to our advantage," she said, smirking. "On a day when Zancrow is not paying attention..."

The pieces put themselves together in Erza's head, yet she still couldn't complete the puzzle. She thought about the amount of people who were supposed to be in the plan - seven in all. Erza, Lucy, Levy, Natsu, Gray, Jet, and Droy - that many people probably all couldn't escape. Plus, she didn't even know why most of these criminals were even in prison other than Lucy and Levy.

"Natsu," she said. "Why are you in prison?"

Natsu grinned sheepishly. "Uh... accidentally destroying several buildings and a couple of fights. And arson."

"So your specialty is... destruction?"

"Yeah."

"What about you, Gray?" Erza asked.

"Stripping."

Erza frowned. "Stripping would normally be considered legal. Unethical, but not illegal..."

"In public, Erza," Gray replied, coughing. "My job is not stripping. I had a different occupation and I was in college. And the stripping was accidental, like Natsu's mindless destruction. I was just walking and then, all of a sudden, whoa! There went my clothes! Actually, I'm surprised it hasn't happened to me while working out here yet."

"How does that even happen?" Lucy asked.

"It's a habit, okay?" Gray grumbled.

"Hmm... usually, that would only result in a fine," Erza said. "What else did you do, Gray?"

"Nothing else," Gray replied.

Erza stared at Gray's face. Something told her that he wasn't telling her everything, but... she knew how to tell if a person was "evil" or not a "good" person. Gray seemed alright - maybe misguided, and maybe having the unfortunate stripping problem, but all in all, she knew that she could probably trust him with her life. Erza decided not to press.

Natsu, too, although not with anything easily breakable. Levy and Lucy were both good girls, and from their stories Erza concluded that the reason Lucy was even in jail was because her father had enough influence to put her there. And if Jet and Droy had been with Levy, then they were good people too. Levy seemed to be the sort of person that could also easily tell if a human had a good character or not.

"...Alright," Erza said. "Let me tell you what I have so far on my plan..."

Three years before...

Erza Scarlet, 21, walked aimlessly into a cafe. She walked up to the counter and ordered a cup of black coffee. It was not until she sat down with a steaming cup that someone else joined her - a man with blue hair and a bright red tattoo, wearing simple clothing. Erza, meanwhile, had a white blouse and a short, dark blue skirt.

"Erza," he greeted.

"Jellal," she replied, smiling. "How are you today?"

"...Busy." The tone of his voice made Erza tense. She set down her cup onto the table.

"What's going, Jellal?" she asked, smile gone and face suddenly serious.

Jellal opened his mouth to speak, first looking around the cafe before lowering his voice slightly, as if he had a deep, dark secret to tell and she was the only one who could ever know. In fact, she was the only one he ever wanted to know. "Erza... they've found me out."

Erza blinked, shaking her head. "Excuse me?"

"I have to go into hiding. They know that I'm Seigrain, Erza."

"'They'-"

Just then, there was a shout from the front of the cafe. One of the workers was shoved aside from where she was standing as several angry and tough looking men came into the cafe. After a few seconds of looking around, they headed straight for Erza and Jellal's table, where the two were sitting, frozen in shock that Jellal had finally been hunted down by his worst enemies.