Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of it's characters.

Fair warning: this fic is rated M for a reason. Expect sexual themes later on.

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

"Now I see your fame wasn't misplaced."- Zane commented as he dodged another slash from Erza, while at the same time avoiding the random swords that tried to stab him. The red head was getting frustrated by his speed; since they started fighting she hadn't been able to land a single hit, at least he was getting slower.

Parrying her sword with his, the dark mage chuckled –"My turn!"

Zane unleashed a flurry of slashes, which Erza barely managed to block. However, on the last swing his sword glowed dark and managed to bypass her defenses. Thinking he had landed a good cut he was disappointed to find she had re-quipped to her adamantine armor.

"I'll admit you're good."- Erza said to the armored mage –"But with those skills you won't be able to beat me."

Zane's frown morphed into a sneer –"Really, check your armor then."

Erza felt a part of her body getting warmer; looking at the origin of it she sees some black flames slowly corroding the armor part where he had hit her. Acting fast she discards that armor part and re-quips to a faster set or armor. Zane immediately lunges to attack but notices she is now even faster than before. However, that doesn't stop him; he only needs to distract her for a few more seconds:

"Hurry up Sixring!"

"Open the gate of the golden bull! Taurus!"

The large bull man appears by Lucy's command and lays waste on the attacking enemies.

"Oh Lucy! Its always a pleasure to protect that nice body of yours!"

"Yeah, whatever"- the blond stellar mage non-chattily replies while the celestial spirit looks at her with hearts on his eyes.

Lisanna uses her take over: dragon soul and engages the mages head on with Natsu next to her, while her transformation is not as powerful as Mira's it's more than enough to pummel the enemy to the ground.

"Ohhhh! I wouldn't mind protecting that nice body too! Moo!"

Lucy's eyes bulge out at Taurus's words: "What the heck? It should be me who you're worshipping!" – Closing the gate, the bull man disappears while Lucy morale drops down.

"To think I was fighting for the attention of a bull, how low I've fallen…"- The stellar mage thinks with comedy tears coming from her eyes. While she's distracted, a dark mage manages to stand up and tries to attack her from behind:

"Lucy!"- Gray yells before turning the dark mage into a Popsicle –"Are you alright?"

"Yeah… thanks for that."- accepting his hand, she stands up and notices his (once again) lack of shirt. How he manages to do that in the middle of a fight is beyond her, but for the first time her eyes linger on his uncovered chest for a longer time.

Seeing her in some sort of trance, Gray asks- "are you sure you're alright?"

Blushing a bit she assures him she's fine, once he returns to the fight she nervously reaches for another key wondering since when Gray became better looking. Shaking her head she grabs another key to continue the fight:

"The only thing missing is Happy rolling his tongue"

The Exceed would have said his catchphrase, but he was too busy stuffing food down an unfortunate dark mage's throat.

While Natsu is fighting mages he catches a glimpse of Erza fighting Zane. The dragon slayer knows she's more than capable of taking care of herself however he notices something else; behind them a weird guy with a ponytail breaks into Angel's cell, then he grabs her by the neck and lifts her a good distance from the floor.

Lisanna launches a fireball at a group of mages and notices Natsu looking at something; realizing what it is she says to him –"Go Natsu, we'll take care of the rest!"

Sharing one look, Natsu nods and dashes of to stop the dark mage. Lisanna watches him leave before turning her attention to the remaining mages.

"Just be careful…Natsu."

"We have great plans for you…"- The mage known as Sixring bends down to grab Angel, however a fist covered in fire sends him away. Standing up he glares at the pink hair slayer

"Sorry, she's staying here"- Natsu states as he gets ready to fight. Scoffing, the dark mage replies:

"Lucky hit, however, you won't land another one."

Smirking, Natsu unleashes a Karyu no Hoko (Fire dragon's Roar), but just as it's about to hit Sixring, the dark mage vanishes in a blink of an eye.

"What the…?"

"Behind you!"

Angel tries to warn him, but Natsu is unable to avoid getting kicked in the back. Sixring laughs as the dragon slayer hits the dirt face first.

Spitting some dirt, Natsu turns and asks: "how did you manage to get behind me so fast?"

"Teleportation magic"- the ponytail man answers before teleporting once again to avoid getting hit again by Natsu. Reappearing a few feet away he continues: -"Hey! Let me explain my magic without interrupting!"

"Sixring!"- Zane yells as he blocks Erza's blade mere inches from his neck –"Stop playing around and let's get the fuck out of here!"

"Fine"- in mere seconds he appears next to Zane and touches him to later vanish, much to Erza's surprise, and later reappear besides Angel and grabs her as well. The white hair girl struggles but Zane handles her petit body while Sixring prepares to teleport.

"Not so fast!"-Being the closest to them, Natsu jumps at them just as they're teleporting. His finger manages to brush Zane's arm just as the four of them vanish.

"Natsuuuuuuuuu!"

Turning around confirms Lisanna's fear; Natsu has vanished. The moment Natsu vanished she felt…cold, as if the warmness inside her had been taken far away from her reach. Pushing her concern for his boyfriend aside, Lisanna blinks away tears before addressing Erza:

"Natsu is alive, but we need to get to him fast!" – Without waiting for a reply, Lisanna breaks into a sprint intending to reach Natsu before it is too late.

"Wait!" – Erza manages to catch up with her using her Flight armor –"How do you know this is the correct route?"

"I just know, trust me."

Erza is skeptical at first, but the determination in Lisanna is enough to convince her. The armor mage dislikes leaving the others just like that but this is an emergency: after fighting Zane for a moment she estimates his power level is just below an S class, not to mention that sword makes him a dangerous enemy. Besides, there's that other mage too, as strong as Natsu is it will be difficult for him to face them by himself.

Lisanna was having a similar thought, pushing more energy to will her legs to move faster she thoughs: "Natsu…please hold on."

Far away, Natsu reappears alongside Zane, Sixring and Angel. The dragon slayer tackles Zane (forcing him to release the girl) and readies a punch only to stop and notice he's no longer in the camp but in a rocky valley.

"What the…?"

The armored mage pushes Natsu off him and yells at his companion: "Sixring! You idiot! You brought him too!"

"It's not my fault! The little bastard must have touched you when we teleported!"

Glaring at him, Zane replies –"Then teleport us again!"

"I Can't. I used too much magic for another long distance teleport, besides…"- he then turns his attention at the recovering slayer –"It will be easier to kill him here than waiting for my magic to recover."

Grinning, Zane brandishes his sword –"for once I agree with you."

Natsu glares at the two dark mages before unleashing a Karyu no Hoko (fire dragon's roar) at the duo, Zane sidesteps the attack while Sixring teleports to blindside the dragon slayer with a punch to the gut, followed by a hit to the face. Before Natsu can retaliate the mage teleports and Zane jumps at Natsu with a horizontal slash, the slayer rolls just as the blade hit's the ground.

Not wasting time Natsu tries a Karyū no Tekken (fire dragon's Iron fist) but Sixring teleports Zane before the attack can connect. Losing him from sight, Natsu looks left and right for his opponents.

"Over there!"

Looking where Angel points, he finds the dark mages on top of a hill. –"No fair you two! Stop cheating you cowards!"

"It's not cheating, its tactic! And we're not cowards!"- Sixring yells back to the dragon slayer with a huge vein threatening to pop on his head.

Shaking his head, Zane speaks to the slayer: "with our superior teamwork you have no chance of winning." – Turning his sight on Angel he adds: "We are only interested in her, leave and we might just spare your life."

Before Angel can speak, she is interrupted when Natsu replies: "No deal. You are not taking her with you."

"You do realize she was your enemy once ago, a dark mage"- looking at Natsu with a weird expression he continues –"If the situation was reversed she would let you die without thinking it twice."

"Maybe so, but that is not the situation. I will never abandon a comrade, no matter if it's a former enemy"- With renewed invigoration the slayer fire's up –"It's our job to protect her from scumbags like you, besides I haven't forgotten that you also tried to take Lisanna away from me."

"Fine!" –Before Zane and Sixring can attack, Natsu creates fire in both hands and joins them together creating a large explosion. The explosion lights up the darkness around and engulfs both him and Angel before dissipating and leaving both dark mages with their eyes bulging out:

"That stupid slayer! Why the hell would he do that if he wanted to protect her!"

Looking around, Zane frowns –"He tricked us! Come on, let's go find him!"

Natsu, carrying Angel on his back, runs through the valley heading back to the camp. Once she thinks it's safe Angel speaks: "Put me down knucklehead! I can walk too, you know!"

"Sorry, but It's faster this way. Just hold on."

"Well, he does have a point."- Angel thinks, this way she won't get tired trying to match his running speed, besides, she is currently enjoying the closeness of their bodies. She is grateful he can't see the blush on her face caused by her line of thoughts. Gathering her wits she addresses the slayer.

"Natsu, is it?"

"Yep"

"Why are you helping me? Those guys were right; I'm a dark mage and your enemy."

"Former enemy, remember?"- Natsu corrects.

Nodding she continues –"Anyway, the point is we are not exactly friends, you could have left me behind to save yourself"

"You kinda sound like you wanted to stay with them."

"No, no, it's just that I'm just curious." – Sighing she adds –"Sorry, I'll shut up now."

Natsu stops abruptly so she removes her arms from his neck and looks at him, thinking she said the wrong words she prepares to be lashed out.

"The reason I didn't left you behind is the same as before: I would never abandon anyone, nakama or former enemy. That's just my way of thinking." – The pink hair slayer informs her with a grin on his face, completely surprising her.

"I see…"- Angel fights the blush forming on her face but fails to, a good thing it's still dark or else he would notice. Even when she was part of Oracion Seis she never really thought of the other members as friends, each one had their own personal goal and wouldn't think twice to betray each other to achieve them. She was no different; however here was a former enemy turned ally willing to risk his life to protect her.

"Thank you"

Natsu stopped checking if those mages were following and turned to the white hair girl –"for what?"

"For helping me, even if it's your job it still means a lot."

Laughing nervously he replies to her: "There's no need to thank me, even if it wasn't my job I would still protect you from mages like those guys." –Looking to change topic he adds –"Hey, those look uncomfortable. Want me to take them off."

Nodding she lets Natsu remove her magic suppression cuffs, once free she asks – "Do you have a plan or we're just running to who knows where?"

"We're heading back to the camp"

Rubbing her bruised wrists she gives him a skeptical look: "And why are you sure it's this way?"

"I just know, trust me on this one"- Natsu replies, keeping secret he can feel Lisanna down this direction. They barely take two steps before Natsu has to push Angel out of the way to avoid the deadly blade of Zane.

"Found ya"- The dark mage tries a vertical swing that Natsu dodges and retaliates with a Karyū no Tekken but, just as before, Sixring teleports Zane away to later reappear and punch Natsu in the face. The dragon slayer tries to hit him but Sixring teleports once again and elbows him from the back.

"Dammit!"- Natsu yells in frustration at being back to square one; at this rate he'll never land a blow.

"To your left!"- Angel yells to the distressed dragon slayer –"just attack to your left Now!"

Instead of questioning her, Natsu obliges and fires a Fire dragon's roar. Sixring appears just as the attack collides and his eyes widened before being engulfed by the flames.

"Sixring!"- Zane watches as the teleporting mage is put out of action by the dragon slayer, and then he turns his attention to Angel –"Damn girl. How were you able to predict his moves?"

"Predict? more like sensed his magic."- Angel smiles at the angry mage –"summoning celestial spirits is not my only talent."

"You'll pay for that!"- ignoring Natsu, Zane launches a dark wave at her, seeing no escape Angel closes her eyes and waits for the inevitable. But before the attack hits she feels a pair of arms scooping her bridal style and removing her from danger, opening her eyes she sees her savior glaring at the armored mage, her cheeks turn a tint of red at the closeness between herself and the dragon slayer.

"You bastard! To attack a defenseless person is the lowest!"

Ignoring his words, Zane launches another dark wave but the dragon slayer avoids it with ease. After witnessing the defeat of his companion, the armored mage no longer cared if he fails to deliver the girl back to his guild. Now, his only intention is to kill both of them.

Natsu avoids another wave and takes cover behind a large rock, putting her down he orders Angel to stay there while he engages the dark mage. Zane launches wave after wave at their cover just as Natsu emerges from one side and fires a Karyu no Hoko forcing Zane to end his attack. The dark mage jumps in the air to avoid the same fate as Sixring, but he is intercepted by Natsu who is waiting for him up there. The armored mage tries to retaliate with his sword but the dragon slayer is faster as he ignites his body on fire to deliver the final blow:

"Karyū no Kenkaku! (Fire Dragon's Sword Horn)"

Natsu rams him, cracking the armor in the process. A badly hurt Zane is then launched into the air to later fall back down, creating a large crater where he lands. Not giving him any room to recover, the slayer drops over the dark mage with a Karyu no Tekken to finish the job. Natsu's fist breaks what's left of Zane's chest armor leaving the dark mage unconscious.

Satisfied, Natsu yells: "Ok, you can come out now."

Angel takes a peek from where she's hiding and is marveled by the slayer's power: "No wonder Brain got defeated by him, he's just too strong."

"Oi Angel! Let's get moving. We need to return to the camp. The others must be worried"

Angel's face suddenly darkened remembering her fate; she would go back to a tiny cell in the middle of nowhere with no chance of freedom anytime soon. Even if she had a key to face Natsu and escape she realized it would be pointless, the difference in strength between herself and Natsu was just too much. Besides, after saving her and treating her with respect more than once, she now had a small crush on him.

Agreeing with him, they started their long way back towards the camp.

The sun was just starting to emerge from the horizon, after a few hours of walking Natsu and Angel could see two figures rapidly approaching them. Recognizing them the dragon slayer smiled and waved at them.

"Natsu-kun!"

Tackling him, Lisanna was instantly on top of the dragon slayer hugging him while Erza slowly approached them. The ex-quip mage was glad both Natsu and Angel were ok and at the same was astonished to realize the loudmouth of Fairy Tail was able to defeat the mages by himself.

On the other side, Angel looked with disdain at the pink hair girl on top of the equal pink hair slayer. The celestial mage felt a sudden urge to punch Lisanna in the face but with she willed herself not to do so. After all, she would never get to see the dragon slayer again once she returned to prison.

After another awkward hour the four of them met the caravan on their way back, once Wendy had cured the wounded rune knights Lahar had decided to follow Erza and Lisanna. While the rest of team Natsu was glad to see them again, Lahar spoke:

"I'm surprised to see you again."- The council mage said referring at the four of them –"But how were you able to escape from those dark mages?"

Answering his question, Erza replied: "Natsu here was the one responsible of defeating them."

"By himself?"- Lahar looked at the dragon slayer who was presuming to Gray how he defeated those mages.

Shaking her head, Erza pointed to Angel who was currently being re-cuffed by a rune knight –"Angel helped him. If you send some knights you'll find those mages beaten but not dead. "

Lahar's eyes widened just a bit before returning to their original size, it was almost imperceptible but Erza noticed it. –"Anyway, after recent events I contacted the council and they have ordered for us to return at once. "

"What about Angel? If it weren't for her Natsu would probably be dead."

Showing a rare smile, Lahar responded Erza's question: "don't worry; I will inform the council about her 'assistance' regarding the defeat of those dark mages. At much she might get a few years out of her sentence or at least better accommodations. But I'm not making any promise."

Erza was glad to hear that; at least there was a chance Angel would be spared from some of the nightmares from her past at the tower of heaven. If only Jellal and the rest could be saved as well.

The return was much quicker now that their destination was not the desert, by early afternoon they had reached the council headquarters branch in Fiore.

"This is we part ways"- Lahar said to the Fairy Tail mages –"even when we failed to deliver our escort to the designated location your assistance dealing with the dark mages was invaluable."

"Just remember what we talked about."- Erza said to the head of the 4th division.

"Of course, now you can return to your guild. After the council has informed me on how to proceed we shall contact you if we require your assistance again."

"You know, you're not such a pain once we get to know you"- Natsu said to Lahar –"That is when you don't have a huge stick up your ass."

Lahar frowned at the slayer's words but decided to let it slide this time, just as he is escorting Angel, the girl requests something to him to which the council mage agrees.

While Natsu is being berated by Lucy, Angel approached the group. Noticing her, the team gives their attention to her as she speaks:

"I just wanted to thank you for what you did back there, considering our past story."

"It was nothing"- Gray replies. The others agreed, after all they were not the type to hold a grudge (especially Lisanna, since she never met her before). Lucy however, although agreeing with the rest, was still kinda mad at her for having Gemini copying her and flashing her boobs once.

Smiling, Angel approached Natsu: "Especially you. If it wasn't for your help I would be still a captive of them." – Realizing she might never get another chance like this, Angel gives him a small kiss on the cheek, leaving Natsu with a shocked expression.

While the others watched with wide open eyes, Lisanna on the other side narrows her eyes at the fellow white haired girl, the previous feeling of indifference for the albino girl turning into annoyance by tenfold.

A.N.

Let's reply to some reviews:

Slax: Way ahead of you. Just wait for next chapter and you'll find out there's going to be trouble in paradise (Can't let everything be peaches and cream or else it gets boring)

hinata3487: Yeah, I know; it sucks when the story reaches a cliffhanger, good thing here's another chapter!

Onebean: you'll see what happens to Angel in future chapters, my friend. Part of it has been revealed on this chapter.

Fate stay darkus: I agree with you, they'll take it slow for now but expect some lemons in the near future.

freowin: I wish so to, besides writing I enjoy reading a good Natsu x Lisanna story.

And thanks to The folklistener, Dezeiver and Tha golden boy for the reviews.

The ending of this chapter might be rushed but repercussions will fall on next chapter, as for the fight scenes I like to keep them short and interesting instead of multichapters long and tedious.

You might think angel is out of character and you might be right, however I like to believe that during her life she has never been treated nicely by anyone (she was a slave forced to become a dark mage) and suddenly Natsu appears and threats her nice and with respect. Of course she would get a bit attached to the first person that would treat her like a person. There's not much info regarding her character so I'm just winging it on this decision.

Now I'm going to take a few days to rest and let my creativity juices flow before writing another chapter. Until next time.