Thump, Thump, Thump. Her footfalls rang against the old cobbled streets, and it was taking all her willpower not to stumble and twist her ankle, thus leading her to lose her quarry. The noise was almost maddening, and the only means by which Lucy kept her sanity was by repeating the mantra "I will be paid this time" over and over under her breath.
This boss was a fast one, and as her breasts bounced violently up and down, she wished, not for the first time, that they were smaller. Smaller, and less painful when running.
Through the alleys and over debris, she ran. Far behind her, she could hear the yells of her teammates, calling desperately for her to wait for them. But Lucy had her prey in her sights, and wasn't about to let him worm away to whatever hole he might hide in.
Imagine her excitement when she followed him into a dead end and realized he was trapped. Finally, she could get her money, put some of it aside for her rent and, most importantly, treat herself to a shopping trip to replace the wardrobe that the years had eaten away.
Thus, her fury and frustration were momentus when, upon analyzing his situation, the thug's leader revealed his magic power and, quite literally, slipped through a crack. Lucy tried desperately to follow him but, alas, the aforementioned body-curse played the largest role in preventing her from squeezing through the gap as well.
"No fairrr!" she whined as one arm reached desperately through the crack. Looking forward, her last glimpse of her quarry was a small, self-satisfied smirk in her direction before he ran off, disappearing into the streets and hidey-holes of the city. Knowing it was his home turf, Lucy pulled herself free and sank dejectedly to the ground. After all, there was no way they would be able to find him when he knew the ins and outs across the territory.
Finally, Lucy heaved a sigh and pulled herself to her feet. Turning, she made her way back down the alley and into the main street. It was only after an hour of walking that the Spirit Mage realized she had a small problem. In the maze-like jumble of boxes, barrels, and winding walls, it seemed Lucy had taken a wrong turn or two and was now situated in what seemed to be a rather seedy part of town. Glowering, and silently thanking her luck that it was still daylight, she turned and tried to find a ladder or staircase that could lead her to a rooftop. Hopefully a higher vantage point would allow her to spot the swath of destruction she was sure her companions would be in the middle of.
Stretching a little, Lucy felt the vertebrae in her back pop and sighed in relief. She was looking forward to being home and sleeping in her own bed. To be honest, at this point she was looking forward to simply sleeping.
Lucy was exhausted. Due to the relative rarity of Celestial Mages, many people-even the mages in question-didn't fully understand how their power worked, only that they always seemed weaker and more prone to exhaustion than other wizards. Strangers who came into contact with Lucy often marveled at the apparent difference in skill level between her and her companions, and wondered how she could possibly feel tired after bringing forth a few spirits, but they never understood that the strength of a Celestial Mage isn't drawn forth in a single direction. Rather, any time a mage opens a gate, there are multiple strains being put on his or her power reserves, leading to a faster depletion.
To the casual observer, it would seem as though Lucy's abilities would be opening or closing the gates of her spirits, and then strategically organizing the spirits in order to best utilize their strengths. While this is partially true, most never seem to realize that the spirits have very little power on their own. To be clear, Celestial Spirits are significantly dissimilar to mages. Instead of being the source of their own attacks, they act as channels, drawing on the power of their contract-holder and then morphing that power into what is seen on the battlefield. The larger a spirit's capability to channel energy, the more initial input of magic it takes to open or close their gate. This is the primary reason Lucy made such an effort to befriend her spirits. As was taught to her by her mother, by opening her heart to them, she opens the furthest recesses of her power and allows them to reach their maximum strength potential.
Despite her knowledge on the subject, Lucy could never help but grow frustrated with every time she felt her body tire before her teammates'. She could remind herself of the reasons she always tired faster, but it was one thing to know in her head, and another to know in her heart.
Lucy continued to walk until dusk was about to fall, her worry increasing exponentially as the sun inched towards the horizon. 'Why didn't I pace myself better?' she moaned to herself, wishing she still had enough power to summon one of her spirits, and all her attempts to reach high ground had been in vain. It seemed as though, what with the size of the thief problem the city possessed, any and all means to reach the rooftops had been removed. She had already tried to knock on people's doors, but it seemed as though the fighting from earlier had chased the populace indoors, and they were now unwilling to open their homes to a strange woman.
Lucy was just about to start shouting for her friends when she heard a noise behind her. Startled, she turned on her heel to look for the source. Unfortunately she couldn't see the arm snake towards her from the alley, clamp its dirty, muck covered hand around her mouth, and pull her into the shadows.
Natsu looked around curiously. It had been at least two hours since he had been pulled from the boat, and he had just realized that he hadn't seen (or rather, heard) Lucy in all that time.
"Hey, Ice prick, where'd Luce go?" he called over to the man sitting on a wall.
"Last I saw, she took off after that Geese guy. We lost track of her in the alleys and haven't seen her since. And don't call me ice prick, flame for brains. She can take care of herself, but if you're really that worried about your girlfriend, go look for her yourself" he snapped.
Natsu growled a little and shoved Gray's shoulder, "She's not my girlfriend, but tell me, is the only reason you can't get a girl because your dick shrunk with the cold?" he asked, his glower settling to a smug look as he finally had an opportunity to use the insult he'd been thinking of for a while.
To Natsu's immense satisfaction, Gray sputtered a bit before standing up to go head to head with the dragon-slayer. "I can get a girl, I just don't want to right now. You know, since you just said you weren't in a relationship with her, maybe I'll try for Lucy. After all, she'd probably appreciate a guy who didn't burn his prick off the last time he masturbated."
"Okay, Ice princess," Natsu shouted, "you wanna fight?"
"Bring it hot head!"
"You will not start anything." a voice stated behind him as a hand caught hold of the fist flying towards Gray's unguarded face. Feeling a shiver run down his spine, Natsu slowly turned his head and came face to face with his own personal demon, the great Titania.
"Y-yes sir! I mean Ma'am!" he squeaked as she released her hold on him.
"Very good. Now then, I'd say let's go check up on Lucy. She should have at least sent one of her spirits by now."
Suitably distracted, Natsu grinned and gave a mock salute. Without a word, he jumped on some stacked boxes and caught hold of the roof of a nearby building, pulling himself up much as he did whenever he broke into Lucy's apartment. Lifting his nose to the breeze that filtered through the city, he wrinkled his nose at the scents of dirt, trash, and other unmentionable objects that could only be found in a place where people lived like sardines.
It was difficult to pick out Lucy's scent; the rankness of the streets was almost overpowering his nostrils but then, there it was. The faintest whiff of it intermixed with the stench. Wrinkling his nose a little, Natsu began to run along the rooftops, following the smell that wafted through the buildings. It was fairly normal for the most part, but then, as her smell grew slightly stronger, he came across a more sour scent that intermingled with it.
"That can't be good," he muttered to himself before taking off, leaving his companions behind. Over the slate-covered homes he flew, looking for the idiot who decided tracking Lucy was a good idea.
Lucy felt the rush of air leave her lungs as she was thrown against the wall of the alley, effectively winding her. Gasping as she tried to breathe, her vision swam and her knees gave out from under her. The only thing keeping her upright at this point was the rank smelling, dirt covered person before her.
"Ugh" she groaned as she blinked rapidly, her vision focusing too slow for comfort. The sight that awaited her, however, made her wish she had just had the sense to pass out. Bald head, ratty beard, and alcohol-swollen belly met her gaze. His teeth were yellowed and his breath was sickly sweet with the scent of cigar and pipe tobacco, instantly making her stomach roll.
"'Eello there, little miss," he said, his grin spreading to reveal some missing teeth, "you led my boss on a bit of a run today, good for you, keepin' up with him like that. However, havin' that moron get picked up by some wizards wouldn't exactly work out with my plans at the moment so, not-so-good for you, I'm here to leave a message'. So, what'll it be? Since I'm a nice guy, I'll give ye a choice. A) I kill you slow-like, or B) I rape you, then kill you quick."
Lucy could only blink in response, her mind lethargic from the exhaustion of the day and the shock that was working to keep her panic at bay. "W-what?" she finally managed to intelligently stutter.
"Be quick about it, girl, before I decide for you."
Finally, Lucy's thoughts caught up with her and fury filled her gaze. "No way, you pervert, get away from me!" she exclaimed, her voice rising with each word before he cut her off with a hand around her throat.
Suddenly unable to move air past her vocal chords, let alone into her lungs, Lucy stared at him with fear-filled eyes in an ever-reddening face. Reaching up, she began to claw at his hand and kick at his shins, but her movements were curtailed when he stepped closer to her, effectively pinning her legs to the wall. Twisting his torso to the side, he was able to pin one of her arms between their chests, and grab the other with his free hand.
"Time's up. My choice, then" he said, leering at her. Lucy saw the edges of her vision began to darken as her lungs cramped, begging for air. The last thing she experienced as her world disappeared was a flash of light and a distant curse.
Alrighty then, here's the rough form of Chapter 8! I'll update it as soon as my beta gets a chance to work her magic. Sorry it's a bit late, I flew out to Denver this last weekend to surprise my sister for her baby shower. She insists on the baby being born on June 3rd, but (since both she and my mother were born on June 4th) just about everyone is kinda hoping for a three-peat! Sorry, I'm just a bit excited for my first nephew! I've already warned her that I'm going to spoil that child and be the whacky aunt for any nieces and nephews I might have in the future, especially as I'm fairly sure I don't want any kids of my own.
Welp, I'll get chapter 9 written as soon as possible. I've got finals coming up, though, so a fair warning that my business is going to increase exponentially.
A big thank you to my reviewers!
miharu15: I'm very glad I'm not the only one who thinks so, especially as I plan to turn this story into a bit of a series and eventually go over the current arc :P Also, I thank you for your compliments! It really means a lot!
Shadowwitch042190: Thank you very much! I hope I continue to live up to your expectations!
Until next time, readers!
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