The Iron Dragon of Magnolia

Chapter Nine: Hidden

Lucy, on a sudden urge of guilt and protectiveness, hastily stood up and had her hand on the opening of her hood. Levy immediately grasped the blonde's wrist pulling her down to avoid attention from the two soldiers in front of them. The blonde's eyes shot an angry look to the blue-haired girl.

"Levy-chan!" Lucy whispered. "Let me go and get out of here while you still can!"

"I won't let you waste your life away Lu-chan!" Levy said, tugging on the blonde's wrist a little harder now. "Think about what Gajeel and the others have done for us? And what about the miller's family? Do you want to put their almost-deaths in vain?"

"But Levy! Natsu is going to-"

"Be fine!"

"What?!"

Levy pointed to where Natsu and the other soldiers along with Jose Porla were. "He's going to be fine! Look!"

The blonde turned to see Natsu's body set aflame, the other soldiers weren't coming close to him. The arrows shot towards the fire Dragon Slayer were turned into ashes. The soldiers were backing away from him. Jose was getting irritated more so by the second.

Natsu took the chance and ran in the direction of the town. The only path leading back to Magnolia was by the crowd near the mill and on a bridge over the canal. Lucy knew that she would be caught by his sense of smell. If he did she knew that he would reveal who she was.

As Lucy sunk deeper into the crowd, hoping to not be noticed by the Dragon Slayer, Jose's fists were shaking with pure rage. "After him you fools!" he yelled to the soldiers.

They started shooting arrows at him once again, but they were burned instantly when nearing Natsu.

The Dragon Slayer caught a whiff of something sweet. Lucy? he thought to himself. Natsu knew that scent anywhere, it was permanently engraved into his memory since the day he met her. He looked around, trying to find the source of the smell.

And his onyx eyes were locked with doe brown ones. His eyes widened when he caught a glance of the face those eyes were on.

Lucy held her breath, he had seen her. Natsu had seen her. She was good as dead now. She wasn't prepared for anything that would and actually did happen next. She wasn't ready to be taken into custody and she certainly wasn't ready for what Natsu did after he saw her.

Natsu kept running. Lucy blocked out any other sound, even blocking out Levy, and had her ears set on Natsu's boots clacking against the cobblestone bridge over the rushing canal. Her eyes peered from the hood, watching Natsu's fleeting self run to Magnolia.

He…He didn't rat me out…Why? Lucy asked herself, biting the corner of her lip in the process. She stood up to follow the knight, but was pulled back by Levy shaking her head.

I have to get the attention on me, Natsu thought as he ran right pass Lucy. If not, they'll definitely find her.

Jose held his hand up, aiming towards Natsu's back. "Dark Beam!" he yelled.

From his fingertips, a few beams of a dark purple light with shades of black formed and were shot at Natsu like bullets. Most of them, Natsu managed to dodge but some did hit his legs and arms.

"He can use magic…Dammit!" Natsu muttered to himself as he kept running on the bridge.

A beam that Jose shot hit Natsu. The magic went through the left side of his back and pierced through his chest. Natsu spat out blood and toppled to the side. Levy had immediately wrapped her arms tightly against Lucy who held a hand over her mouth to stop her from screaming. Natsu lost his balance was he leaned on the side of the bridge and fell over, into the rushing canal.

Gray and Erza ran from the crowd to the part of the bridge where Natsu fell into the canal. Jose and the other soldiers ran to where they were and continued to shoot arrows into the water, on Jose's orders. Lucy took this chance to run to the base of the bridge, followed by her blue-haired friend and white dog.

"He's good as dead," Lucy heard Jose say from the bridge. "Gray, Erza, clean up here. As for everyone else, we'll head back into town. That blonde witch can't hide from me forever."

Lucy stiffened at the word. Witch. She had been called that before. It was only because she seemed to enchant the male population of the towns they've traveled to by making them fall in love with her. It wasn't just her, she's seen other gypsy girls be in her situation. But, unlike her, she's seen most be killed. The blonde didn't want to end up like them. No, she wouldn't end up like them.

She looked up to see that Jose and soldiers were riding back into town. Lucy took off her hood and handed it to Levy before stepping into the water.

"Lu-chan! You're gonna get sick!" Levy said. "Do you realize how dirty that water is?!"

"I don't care Levy-chan," she said back to her. "I have to find him."

"That was a fatal shot Lu-chan. I don't think that-" Levy was cut off by the sound of splashing water, finding that Lucy had dove underwater. The blue-haired girl sighed, "Jeez. What am I going to do with you?!"

"Hey! What are you doing there?!" Levy turned around to see the redhead and the black-haired soldiers standing right behind them.

Levy clenched her teeth together. This is bad!

"Wait…Aren't you one of the wanted gypsies?" the redhead asked.

This is really bad!

"Where's the other then?" the black-haired soldier asked.

Lu-chan! Hurry! Levy thought as her teeth grinded together. "Uh…what are you doing here?"

"We asked you first."

"So?" She was so dead.

"GAH!" They looked to see that the blonde had surfaced with Natsu in hand. He was unconscious, but his heart was luckily still beating. "Levy-chan! Help me get him out, will ya-Oh shit." Her eyes were locked with the two soldiers.

"Flame Brain…" the black-haired man said.

"You…" the redhead said.

"Me," Lucy said. "Listen, you can deal with me however you like, but let me treat him. He'll die if we don't."

{Line Skip}

From the tower balcony, Gajeel could see fires erupting all around the city. Most were in the slums or by the countryside. Jose hadn't set the main part of town aflame, seeing that the cathedral stood proudly in the centre of it all.

The three cats sat on the railing, taking in Gajeel's stern facial features. He slouched over the railing of the tower. His eyes were narrowed, overlooking the city lines, probably trying to find the two gypsy girls with his enhanced sight. His lips were pulled back in an unfriendly frown.

Happy placed a paw on Gajeel's shoulders as he stood up, pointing his fish to the city. "Don't worry Gajeel! They're fine!"

"How can you be sure Happy?" Carle asked.

"I know…Because it's a cat's intuition!" Happy said happily.

"Really now?" Gajeel asked, unconvinced. He leaned to the side to let his head rest against the palm of his hand, his red eyes were closed. "Oi Lily! Carle! Do you have this 'cat's intuition'?"

Carle shook her head.

Lily grinned evilly. "I have no idea what that cat's talking about."

"That's because only super-special-awesome cats have it," Happy said, pouting and sticking his tongue out to the other cats.

"But they're so much cooler than a silly cat like you Happy," Gajeel said in a taunting tone. Though, he was worried about the Bunny-Girl and the Shrimp, his three friends were trying their best to make him forget about it for a little while.

"You're so mean Gajeel! Carle! Lily!" Happy yelled, his white fluffy wings spread out. "I'm running away and never coming back!" He started flying to the door and collided with something soft and squishy. The cat's eyes looked up to see large, brown ones peering down to him.

"Happy? What's wrong?"

Tears started filling up with eyes. "L-LL-Lushie!" The cat cried into the blonde's chest. "Gajeel's being mean to me!"

"Gajeel!" Lucy yelled. "Didn't I tell you not to pick on Happy!

Gajeel looked over the indoor railing to see that the blonde and Shrimp had returned with an addition three people. A redhead female soldier that held a mighty aggressive aura around her and a dark-haired soldier that had somehow lost his clothes along the way.

Lucy was looking to where Gajeel was, seeing that Gray had lost his clothes…Again. "Gray, your clothes."

"What? AH! Where are they?!" He started looking around the tower for them.

"I swear, we're going to tape them to you one day," Erza said, Levy nodding her head in agreement.

The third person was that pink-haired soldier that was looking for the two gypsy girls the week before. But he wasn't in good shape. He was covered in makeshift bandages and was being carried by the redhead on her back.

"Gajeel," Levy said, "I'm sorry for worrying you, but-"

"I wasn't worried," Gajeel said.

Levy gapped at him, "You weren't?" And I thought he had something special. She pouted.

"Nah." He nodded towards Lucy. "I knew she would look out for ya, so I didn't need to be worried."

Lucy smiled and caught the blush slowly appearing on the petite girl's face. "Anyways, we need your help. This is Erza-" Pointing to the redhead. "-And Gray-" Pointing to the black-haired stripper. "-And Natsu." Her smile disappeared when introducing the pinkette. "Natsu's badly injured and we need a place to hide him from Jose."

"From the old man? Why?"

"Well…he kinda disobeyed him at the miller's," Gray said. "Got himself 'killed'." He placed air quotes around killed.

"We were hoping you would be able to hide him up here," Levy said.

The iron Dragon Slayer wasn't one to disobey his master after a failed attempt the week prior. But one look into Levy's hazel eyes and he was done in. He couldn't say no to the shrimp. And he knew that Bunny-Girl wasn't going to take no as an answer.

He turned around, walking deeper into the tower, "Follow me."