Lucy woke up by being thrown on the floor. Her head throbbed as she sat up, brain still foggy from sleep. A sleepy "Wha..?" was all she could say.

She woke up instantly when she saw the scene unfolding in front of her. Three policemen were pinning Natsu to the ground, one holding his face while the other two controlled his arms. Natsu was resisting them as best he could, but they had taken away his primary weapons. He couldn't do anything with his arms handicapped. Lucy was reminded of last month, when she and Natsu had been in this exact situation. But Lucy had a terrible feeling that this wasn't going to end with a clean getaway out the window.

She went to tackle a cop, but they weren't underestimating her this time. She was caught by the waist right as she leapt, a scream shredding her throat in despair. She struggled against the arms wrapped around her, but they wouldn't budge.

"Geez," the man holding her said. "Would you stop moving?" The voice sounded familiar…

"Jacob?" Lucy asked, trying to spin around to see his face. But she caught a glimpse of perfectly gelled hair, and she knew it was him. "What are you doing? Let me help him!" They had picked Natsu off the ground now, hands clamped around his writhing arms as they lead him toward Lucy's door. He was digging his heels into the floor, but it was hardly doing anything. Tears formed in Lucy's eyes, and she pushed against Jacob again. "Jacob, please!"

"No, Ms. Heartfilia." Jacob's voice was resolute. "That monster is going to get what's coming to him."

Across the room, Natsu froze. It was so sudden that the cops leading him away stopped dragging him forward. Lucy had frozen as well, the word "monster" ringing in her ears.

"That's right, you heard me. Why don't you tell those cops dragging you away what other charges you've racked up over the years? That, along with kidnapping the heiress to the Heartfilia empire, you're also that damned—"

"NO!" Lucy screamed. She tossed her head back, feeling her collide with Jacob's mouth. He yelled in pain and flung her forward, and Lucy wasted no time in running toward the cops holding Natsu. She tugged at one of the arms restraining Natsu's arm, but to no avail. Natsu himself was not moving, all the fight drained out of him. "Natsu?" Lucy whimpered, but he didn't respond.

At that second, Jude Heartfilia strode into the room, Spetto following closely behind. He took in Natsu's restraint, the bloody bodyguard moaning in pain in the corner of the room, and Lucy clinging to a police officer without batting an eye. "Is this him, officers?" The police nodded, not fazed at all by what had just transpired in the last five minutes. Her father nodded, and gave Natsu a hard look. "You don't look like much, son. How'd you manage to escape me so long?"

Natsu didn't say anything, and Jude grabbed his chin to force eye contact. "I asked you a question, boy." Natsu met his eyes and spit on his shoes. Jude's eye twitched; he'd probably never been treated like that in his life. Lucy let out a tiny giggle at her father's expression.

Her father's angry gaze snapped to his daughter, and Lucy killed her laughter immediately. She detached her arms from around the policeman and looked at the ground, avoiding eye contact. It was the only way she knew how to act around her father; old habits died hard, especially under pressure. Jude took a step forward, and Lucy caught the guards start to struggle again as Natsu started resisting again. "Lucy," Jude Heartfilia growled. She flinched and cowered in front of him, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop whatever he decided to do. He was the ultimate authority in this house, and made sure she and everyone knew it.

"You have been a complete and utter disappointment to me, Lucy." Lucy didn't move, anger and shame swelling inside her. 'It's always been like this.' Memories of similar conversations came unbidden to her mind. "I've had you back for a matter of days and already you have forced my hand on multiple situations. I've missed three meetings with the Cobeson group alone just because of this silly rebelliousness you insist on. I have had it, young lady. No Lucky Lucy Heartfilia is going to behave this way, do you understand me?"

He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, not even looking at the hateful tears streaming down her face. He tightened his grip, and Lucy winced audibly. "Y-Yes, sir," she said, hating how pathetic she sounded.

"Good. Now—"

"Hey," Natsu growled, his voice an octave too deep for Lucy to feel safe. Both Heartfilias turned to look at him, and even Jude's normally controlled composure cracked. Natsu was trembling with rage, black eyes full of so much hate it took Lucy's breath away. His teeth were bared in an animalistic snarl, and his knuckles were popping with the effort not to explode. For the first time, Lucy was truly afraid of him. 'This is…That's the Salamander.' Lucy thought faintly.

"She's not your Lucky Lucy Heartfilia," Natsu growled again. "Stop treating her like a—ah!" The cop behind him fisted his hand in the pink locks and yanked it back, effectively shutting him up. Another cop forced him to swallow a pill, and after another brief struggle he was unconscious.

Lucy's father coughed and fiddled with his cufflinks in an effort to regain his composure. "Do with him what you want; if you want to take him to court, I have some documents you could use to ensure his incarceration. As for my daughter, start preparing her tutoring for inheritance immediately, Mrs. Spetto." Spetto nodded and hurried away, heels clicking on the hardwood. Jude turned back to Lucy. "Don't let him fool you. You are Lucky Lucy of the Heartfilia empire, and you will inherit this business. Your lessons start next week. I'll inform your school that you will be completing your diploma from home. It will be mailed here instead of being handed to you. You did this to yourself, Lucy. I hope you can understand that."

Her father walked out like he had just closed a deal with a client, not giving anyone a second glance. The cops holding Natsu up gave her sympathetic looks, but she ignored them. She walked up to Natsu's limp form. Checking to make sure they wouldn't stop her, she gave him a hug. She knew it was weird and creepy, but it felt right. She only wished he was able to hug her back.

Jacob followed the cops as they carried Natsu out of her room for the last time, leaving her alone with one thought: 'I'm all alone.'