A quick update while on the road. Hunting for 22. ammo for tomorrow's competition. Behold what is possibly my favorite chapter! The next one is too, but I'll leave that there.

~Soprana

Carcere della Signoria was the proud prison of Magnolia, set on stories of underground cells and stacked into a tower of justice: Justice for the rich and influential. It served as an overbearing weight on the poor and defenseless, a mockery of what once was a system for the people.

The full moon rose over the overbearing building, torches burning and flickering within the iron barred windows. All around the perimeter, guard patrolled in groups of four or more, marching silently for a change.

"Found the guards." Gray mused with no humor, crouched with Laxus on a far rooftop. They littered the streets, clogging the main yard, and decorated the close rooftops around the penitentiary.

"Perceptive of you." The blond assassin remarked dryly, already tense and ready. His S-class aura had clicked into place, fingers gripping his sword anxiously. Still, the pair waited for Erza to return.

Titania was a master at infiltration and deception...as well as intimidation. If anyone could scope out the condition of the young heiress, it was Erza.

Until then, no action would be taken. Though, Laxus would not put it past the scorned Templar Order to install a nasty surprise for any careless fools planning reckless rescue operations: assassin and civilian alike.

Lady Lucy was loved by most in the town and rebels that did not associate with the assassins might just create a mob before the prison doors. It would be a poor effort against the amount of guards but would be a worthy distraction to allow a smoother infiltration.

It was possible to just fight the path inside, just like swimming up river against a current. They could sneak in, assassinating as they were seen. They could wait until dawn, hijacking the execution march to the gallows or steal Lucy away before the firing squad assembled. Laxus assimilated the many options presented with a critical mind, planning ever possible option or place for failure.

Erza hoisted herself up by the edges of the shingle tiles, crouching perfectly balanced between the platform and the backwards drop to her death. Her silver armor shone in the moonlight, her hair reflective as pools of blood on stone. Stern hazel eyes locked with Gray's and Laxus', signaling her completed task.

"She is alive but not in a perfect condition, I am afraid. Through thorough interrogation, she refused to speak." With a proud quirk of her lips, Erza continued, "She earned herself the cruel side of Sir Jose. I do not know if it is the noose or the fire squad that will claim her."

"Stubborn," Laxus hissed, a tiny sliver of pride matching Erza's crossing his face, "-but brave."

With a slow adjustment of his shoulders, he straightened up, his tone commanding and unyielding. "So, here is what we must do. Gray, clear out all guard to the east. Clear out the passageway that street-workers use to avoid traffic." He watched Gray nod in a show of comprehension, assuring the blond man it would be done. "Keep it clear for when Erza and I come out with Lucy. We will get her to Fairy Tail and out of her death sentence-"

In a blast of air and a scrape of metal on stone that startled all three assassins, a man in black robes leaped from the opposite side of the building, tearing across the line of villas to the side of the prison, tight-walking cords and bounding over balconies with record speed.

"What the fu-Natsu?!" Gray yelped, catching sight of the pink hair in the moonlight.

Laxus blinked before snarling, flipping a rude gesture of the middle finger to Natsu's back. "That-ugh- fucking fool!" The older Dragon Assassin hissed, snapping his fingers to draw Erza's and Gray's attentions off the fading mass of idiocy.

"New plan. Erza, you clear out the passage. Gray, you distract the guards on the outside when signaled. Both of you hire any hands you come across to help: mercenary or otherwise. I'll scout. I know there is a Templar lurking somewhere. This is obviously some sort of play." He turned his electric blue eyes to scout the far rooftops, spotting a lone figure perched on a far steeple, facing them. "-and they wait for our first move. Very sporting." He murmured, drawing his blade.

"Move out."

The banisters and grooves of the walls allowed for quick and easy climbing. With every push of his legs and pull of his arms, he rose along the side of the prison, using the cell windows as footholds while expert eyes scanned for the next point in his ascent. The only sound that kept Natsu company was the occasional breeze along the building, the scrape of metal on stone, his gear shifting with the more daring leaps, and the fearful whimpers of inmates his presence had awoken. From the outside, he could still smell the musk and decay in some of the cells he clambered past, knowing his target would have the luxury of the top cells due to her status. Muscles burned from tension as he inched sideways along a concrete cuff, onyx eyes set on a single brick out of place for his next stepping stone.

Lucy was in this terrible place, alone and probably hurt. The man did not know, having only caught the final tail of the conversation between his comrades. He only needed to hear her name, however, before the blind panic and urge to save her now came over him like a bucket of chilly water. He absolutely had to save Lucy.

Was she scared? Natsu loathed to think of that bright blonde quivering in fear. She always looked better when she smiled and laughed. Fear was something tainting to her personality. Natsu felt fear, fear that she was hurt, fear that Jose was still with her. Fear that something terrible may happen before he even got the chance to save her.

Stop it, he demanded in his mind, scaling the wall recklessly once he reached the decorative curves and pillars.

Above all else, Natsu Dragneel was angry, so unbelievably angry. How dare Jose, or anyone for that matter, place her in this dingy prison? How dare anyone try to take claim over her life and declare the right to end it! Natsu was angry at the Templars, Jude, this damn building. He was also furious with himself. Had he been in town, he would have heard about her arrest sooner. What if he had not heard the bell and the team failed in retrieving her?

Lucy would have been executed. She would have hung by her neck until dead...and he would have been unable to save her because she would have been dead by dawn. Traitors hardly survived a day after discovery.

He just had to get to her, to find her and assure himself that she was safe. Well, she would be safe once he found her.

Finally reaching the top, he anchored his grasp on the edge of the tower, peeping over the corner to see two guards strolling around, having spitting contests whenever they met at the same corner. Watching and calculating, Natsu waited until one passed by his position before he leaped up and seized the man around the neck with his right arm, left hand pressing the guards head further into the crook of his elbow. Time for this guy to take a nap, Natsu thought darkly, constricting his grasp.

The captive guard gave a wheeze, a small whoosh of air in an effort to call out, only hindered by the constricting of his windpipe. Natsu held him fast, waiting as he felt the strength leave his foe's limbs. "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep-" The assassin whispered quickly, adding more force to his squeeze to speed up the process.

"Hey!" A shout startled him to notice the second guard running at him, dagger raised. In the span of a second, the captured guard went limp, and Natsu lashed out his leg with the speed of a striking cobra, firmly kicking the approaching assailant with a boot to his gut.

While the other guard dropped his weapon to curl over in pain, the pink haired assassin released his previous prey to grasp the other guard by the sides of the head, bringing the skull down to meet his upcoming knee. With a crack of a breaking nose, the second guard crumpling beside his comrade with a groan.

Slowly, he patted them down, swiping any extra weapons or coin they possessed before turning to glance at the trap door into the top floor.

"I am coming, Lucy."

A wolf whistle from a passing guard awoke her from a light slumber, her tired body shifting uncomfortably as she struggled to check that all her assets were covered. The skirt of the dress was beyond saving, her mid thighs visible, straps slipping off her shoulders when she became careless in movement. With great effort, she slumped against the wall, curling up at the leering stare of the still present guard. Only when he began to walk back down the corridor did she close her eyes, trying to escape back to blissful unawareness-

-and wait for dawn.

Lucy almost achieved it, the calm bliss, until a clattering sound echoed from the end of the corridor. Perking up, her ears strained to hear more. Booted footsteps were steadily approaching, the clinking of weapons against armor and cloth harshly sounding off the silent stone walls, rustle of a cloak accenting the sounds like a cherry on top.

The guard was returning.

Coiling away, Lucy situated herself on her straw bed, angrily glaring at her bare and dirty feet. She was not some animal to leer and taunt at. The blonde already accepted her humiliations for the night, ready to face her fate in the morning. Can they not give her a few minutes of solace? They already tied her arms and feet together, preventing her from moving about the cell freely.

The footsteps came even closer, pausing right outside her cell. The woman refused to look, keeping her head down and eyes away. If she did not acknowledge him, he normally walked away for another pass.

Instead of a mocking whistle or a callous taunt, the jangle of keys greeted her, drawing her attention. She snapped her head up to glare at the hooded figure, noting with relief that it was not a guard nor the warden. That did mean that she instantly trusted this mystery person. The door swung open, and Lucy inspected for anything she could recognize. The black cloak and leather cuffs were strange to her, the hood shadowing the face of the intruder.

Reaching up, the stranger pulled the hood back, revealing the gaunt and worried face of Natsu. He looked more frustrated now that he had a chance to inspect her, his fists opening and clenching as his jaw tensed.

"Natsu?! What are you doing here?!" Lucy hissed, not connecting the fact of a possible rescue in her future. In all reality, any thought of escape was missed in her thoughts. How laughable. Fairy Tail always found a way.

The pink haired man did not answer, stepping forward to kneel and untie her bound limbs with surprising gentleness. All the while, he gave away his thoughts with grimaces and closed expressions at the sight of her chaffed, raw skin and her beaten appearance.

Natsu remained unnaturally silent as Lucy rubbed her wrists and glared up at him. "This is a trap! You have to get out of here! Did anyone else come? They need to run-!" Her voice was quivering from the effort not to scream the words. He was not listening the whole time, just staring at her wounds with this expression so unlike all the smiles and laughs that made him Natsu.

The pink haired assassin cut her off, placing a warm hand on her abused cheek gently, the corner of his eyes tightening at her reflexive flinch. "Not without you." He growls, betraying his internal anger at her situation. His arms are trembling with barely controlled rage, the only reason he remained here with her was because she was the important thing, not beating the living shit out of any man that hurt her.

The blonde woman stared back at his deep, dark eyes, her own brown orbs watering. Out of all the people she met in Fairy Tail, Natsu was the closest to her. He cared more than her own father ever did.

Allowing him to survey the rest of her wounds, she tryed to quell his anger each time a new type of infliction on her body came clear to his sight with happy but weak smiles and shrugs. "Can you walk?" He suddenly asked seriously, hands guiding her to sit up slowly.

When the woman bit her lip in uncertainty, Natsu sighed and turned to present his back to her. "Get on." He commanded softly, listening to assure that all the obstacles he encountered on the way down were still...handled.

"How can you fight when I am burdening you?" She snaps back stubbornly, meeting his scowl with a fiery glare of her own. Snorting after a few seconds, Lucy forewent Natu's disapproving look in an attempt to stand using the wall as a support, revealing even more abrasions on her skin from the long drag to her cell.

The assassin did not wait, yanking her to him and hoisting her over his shoulder, ignoring her indignant yelps and whispers to put her down. She squeaked in shock when his large hand came down to steady her, resting on her rump as he lifted her and trekked out of the prison cell.

Instead of heading down, Natsu surprised the blonde by carrying her towards the top of the tower, revealing piles and lumps of unconscious guards in their wake. At her silence, Natsu grunted, muttering, "They are sleeping, do not fear."

The former heiress did not question him, knowing the man that carried her valued life above anything else. It was one of the things she admired about him, after all this time.

The top of the prison was refreshing as it was daunting, the night air significantly better than the musk of the prison cells. The moon shone down, illuminating what the torches could not reach. Though, she had little time to admire the atmosphere because Natsu set her down and fished out a small pouch from the depths of his cloak.

"Wha-"

"Here Luce. This is a parachute. Follow the instructions and float down to the ground and meet Gray or Erza. They will get you to safety." He murmured quickly and urgently, not letting her get a word in as he shoved the pouch into her hands.

"But Na-"

"Leave the rest to me. Just go. I will handle things here." He added with a cocky grin that did not reach his eyes. Sweat beads traveled down his brow, shimmering in the night lights. He just would not let her speak.

"No! I-"

"Do not worry, Luce! This is nothing!"

Frustrated tears formed as Lucy continuously failed to get a word in. He just would not shut up!

The pouch fell as her hands released it, letting it drop to the floor between them. Lucy, ignoring his stunned stare, grabbed the sides of his face, pulling him close to connect their lips. It was a desperate connection, one that the woman poured everything into. He was hot and moist, lips soft despite the foul speech that could come from them.

Under her touch, Natsu stiffened as his hands hovered over her body without daring to touch her. Then, he relaxed, bringing his fingers to brush her hair from her face. His lips moved across hers, much more heated and fierce than the chaste beginning. An arm snaked around her waist to pull her up against him, his free hand tangling in her hair.

Her own fingers tangled in his pink locks, her senses taking him in completely: his scent of straw and gunpowder, his abnormal warmth beneath layers of weapons and cloth, the hitch in his breath before he nipped at her bottom lip before pulling away slowly.

Sometime during the moment, Lucy's and Natsu's eyes closed. The blonde woman opened her eyes to witness the assassin slowly do the same, a dazed wonder in his face. "Luce-," He breathed, watching stray tears trickle down her cheeks.

"Running away by myself? No way. I am staying with you, Natsu. Nothing would make me happier." The blonde breathed softly, her hands still in his hair and his arms still holding her close. Together in the moonlight, on the top of Magnolia's prison, but Lucy was happy to be with Natsu above all else.

The Dragon Assassin blinked with a small blush, an aghast and awed expression on his face before he huffed, releasing her to pick up the pack and hand it back to her.

Seeing the protest in her face, Natsu placed a finger on her lips with a reassuring smile. "I will be right back...and we will leave together, okay?" His tone was tender and shaky, as if he struggled for air.

The woman stared before nodding, the trust plain as day on her face. "Aye, sir."

"Stop! There's been a break in!" A man yelled, jogging up the stairs from the depths of the prison. With a quick inspection, Lucy recognized him as the Warden with a shiver that was not missed by her friend.

"A prisoner has escaped!"

With a gleeful snort, Natsu sprinted towards the door, jumping and kicking the Warden with both feet right as he reached the top of the stairs. With a wounded cry, the Warden fell backwards, rolling down the stairs in a flurry of limbs. With the grace of a cat, Natsu landed in a crouch before the stairs, placing a hand over his brows to watch the decent of the prison official. "There he goes!" He cackled before showing a toothy grin to his blonde friend.

"I will be back soon, I promise!" He assured with a final laugh before skipping down the stairs, kicking the Warden further down the flights every time he came across the heap of man.

Lucy stood alone on the roof, a smile on her lips as she held the pouch close. Natsu tasted of sunlight and passion, much like how she knew the man to be deep down.

Together, it was always more fun.