Hey Mslead here for your Sunday update! Although I guess now it's technically Monday. My bad I've had a bit of a busy week and a hell of a lot of personal stuff going on so excuse the late update. Anyway here ya go! Enjoy!

CHAPTER 26

Old
Crafty, cunning. If someone tries to take advantage of someone else, who is too cunning to be deceived, he might say "I'm a little too old for you."

Natsu growled and tugged against the cuffs irritably. Without the key this was going to be obnoxious to get out of. Which was no doubt his queen's plan. He eyed the beam he was cuffed to speculatively and gave an experimental yank. Maybe he could break it out?

A wicked smirk curled his lips and he jerked on it again. The sound of wood straining and cracking reached his ears and he cackled a little as he pulled hard. The cuff around his wrist dug in a little as he did, but it wasn't nearly strong enough to bother his hide and in a few moments the beam splintered and cracked apart.

The sudden laxness startled him a little, even though he'd been prepared for it, and he stumbled a bit before catching himself. However, his triumphant grin quickly morphed into intense worry as he looked in the direction Lucy had gone. He hadn't been delayed for long, but finding her in this mess would not be easy. The warehouse had been hard enough.

At least he knew where she'd end up.

He growled a little at the thought and took off running, only remembering at the last second to pull out his lacrima and dial Gajeel.

"What is it runt?" Gajeel grunted as soon as he answered.

"We found it." Natsu growled shortly, "You can't miss it from the station. Place reeks."

"Heh. Guess your nose ain't useless after all." Gajeel snorted, but Natsu didn't respond to the bait.

"Lucy's gone." He growled darkly, his grip on the lacrima tightening.

"What do you mean gone?" Levy asked in the background in alarm.

Natsu didn't reply for a moment, "There're too many captives." He replied tensely after a moment, "She went in to keep 'em from gettin' caught in the crossfire."

"Gave me a souvenir before she left though," Natsu held up his wrist to show it in the lacrima, "I hope you guys kept yourself a spare key."

"How'd the hell did Miss Heartfilia manage to wrangle you?" Gajeel scoffed, amusement coloring his voice.

Natsu's cheeks reddened and he huffed under his breath, his eyes flashing around. The reminder of Lucy's sneaky kisses to the forefront of his mind.

Oh he was definitely going to have his revenge.

"Don't worry 'bout it," Natsu grumbled, his jaw locking as he focused his gaze in front of him, "Just meet me at the station and we'll figure out what to do from there."

There was no point in busting in now to 'rescue' Lucy. Not when it would go precisely against the point they thought of.

Natsu hated to admit it, but it was a good plan.

Even if it was annoying that Lucy had come up with it under such circumstances.

He trusted Lucy would give them a signal, even though his stomach was tied up in knots over what could be happening to her.

Not that he doubted she was in too much danger now that he thought about it. Not with her spirits looking out for her. The glowy cat especially seemed awfully fond of her. And if Natsu's memory served him right, Leo was the one spirit who could easily fight and emerge outside of his gate without his mistress' direct commands.

The thought brought him no small amount of comfort, and the knot of anxiety in his belly loosened a fraction. It wouldn't diminish his revenge on her one iota of course, but at least he could worry a little less about her.

By the time he made it to the station Gajeel and Levy were already waiting for him. He ignored the smirk on his brother's face at the sight of the cuff dangling from his wrist in favor of presenting it to Levy, who quickly unlocked it for him.

"Plan?" Gajeel rumbled.

Natsu glanced at the sun. It was getting into afternoon, and there was no telling if Lucy had been taken yet or not. No doubt she had to do some setting up of her own before that could happen convincingly.

"Plan B." He replied, his expression hard, "There's not enough time to hunt her down, an' much as I hate to admit it her plan's a good one. There's well over a hundred people in there. If someone ain't there to calm 'em down an' look after 'em..."

Gajeel nodded grimly, following exactly what Natsu meant, "Alright. We're gonna have to hurry then. Not a lot of time to set somethin' up."

Even less since it was just the two of them. But they would think of something. They had to.

"It'll be alright Natsu." Levy spoke up, dropping her hand on his arm, "Don't worry."

Natsu flashed her a brief smile and nodded, "Let's get movin'."

-::-

Meanwhile Lucy was doing precisely what Natsu expected she was. Preparing to be 'kidnapped.'

It had taken a bit of convincing with Leo to get him to join in on her plan, but he kept a firm grip on her keys so they wouldn't be taken by the people who would be holding her hostage.

With Leo set into place, Lucy got herself ready. The important thing was to look the part of someone who was an easy target for kidnapping. It wasn't something she was looking forward to with any sort of relish, but she knew if she stood a chance it would be doing this on her terms.

So she looked the role of a rich heiress, not an impossible feat for her. She dolled herself up, making doubly sure to have washed off the dirt from her hands and face. While there wasn't much she could do about her traveling clothes, she had long since learned it was more about how one carried themselves than it was how they were dressed.

That was how she found herself walking back in the seedy looking area they found the warehouse before. She attracted all sorts of gazes, and she steeled herself before squaring up her chin to approach one of the more suspicious looking men floating around.

"Beg your pardon sir, but I believe I'm a tad lost," Lucy said airly, patting her gloved hands across her skirt and lifting one to fan at her bosom. She internally rolled her eyes at the way his eyes dropped down to her cleavage.

"It's awful hot too, I don't suppose you could spare some time for a lady looking for some directions and shade?" Lucy fluttered.

The slimy looking man gave her a once over, his eyes passing across Lucy from head to toe, as if assessing her worth.

And after a long, almost insulting moment, he smirked at her and nodded.

"Reckon I can," He said gruffly, "Follow me miss."

Lucy tried not to show how tense she was as she vapidly followed along with him, but she couldn't make herself relax. She knew there would be an ambush of some kind and her instinct was to fight the moment it appeared. Fortunately, her act allowed her to explain her tension away as movement so it was doubtful her 'guide' had even noticed.

Of course, that assumed her 'guide' had bothered to tear his gaze away from her chest when he wasn't looking where he was going.

She just hoped this one was one of the ones working for the kidnappers and not just a creepy perv or she would have to start all over again.

That would be very annoying.

He guided her to a surprisingly quaint little café and gestured to a seat in the shade with a smile, "Does this suit miss?"

If anything his smile was creepier than his stares had been.

"Oh yes!" She exclaimed breathlessly, "Thank you so much good sir! It's been such a long day!"

"I'm sure it has." The man smirked, and signaled to a waiter, "Something cold for the lady and myself. It seems she's overdone herself in this heat."

Lucy was a tad impressed. This wasn't a typical stop like a saloon, and it even had its own wait staff. Typically only the very rich had that. Which made it all the more suspicious that such a place existed in this part of town.

Clearly this was a halfway point of sorts, and Lucy smiled gratefully when the waiter brought back a flavored fruit drink of sorts. No doubt to hide the taste of a barbiturate.

Everyone here had to be in on the secret some way or another. Otherwise the operation simply wouldn't work. She eyed the steady business around them with a critical eye.

The best fronts tended to be businesses which were actually successful, which was why she imagined Heartfilia Rails were used to begin with. Aside from convenience.

It was a shame a place like this was no doubt being used for smuggling. Lucy gasped and made a show of dropping her handkerchief, fluttering her hands as she bent to fetch it.

While she was bent, she dug a finger into her cleavage to pull out a small sponge she could hide in the palm of her hand.

She wasn't going to drink if she didn't have to, but she certainly had to fake it.

Lucy smiled as she straightened up, "So sorry about that!" She exclaimed and lifted her glass.

She was careful to adjust her grip so her hand curled naturally around the lip, and with it the sponge, before lifting it towards her mouth and seeming to drink. The liquid immediately hit the sponge, and she was quick to set the drink back down with a pleased sound.

"Oh! That's lovely!" She gushed, "Thank you so much!"

She favored the man opposite her with a smile, "So do you think you can help me find what I'm looking for?"

"Oh I'm certain I can." He smirked as he leaned forward, "Just what was it you were trying to find?"

"Well-" Lucy began, and blinked a little as if her vision had suddenly gone blurry, "Oh... that's strange..."

"Are you alright miss?" The man asked with such false, sugary, concern it made her teeth ache.

"Oh yes, of course." She smiled, making a show of attempting to straighten herself up, "I was going to ask if you could help me find..."

She swayed again, and stumbled to her feet, "What's wrong?" She breathed breathlessly, silently thinking she should get an award for this acting, "Everything's fuzzy..."

It took all her will not to react as she 'fainted' dead away, and even more not to brace herself for an impact with the ground. Fortunately she needn't have worried. The strong arms of the waiter snapped around her waist before she hit.

Lucy let her weight go limp and dead in the waiters hold, her head rolling backwards.

It was a struggle not to react as she was picked up and carried off by the men. So far, everything was going according to her plan.

As she was dragged, none too gently into the back room, they began to speak freely now that they believed she was unconscious.

"It's a shame we can't sell this one. She'd fetch a lot. Did ya see her?" The man she had been speaking to before was patting her down as he spoke, and Lucy tried very hard not to react to his lingering touches.

They certainly patted with too much thoroughness at her bosom, and Lucy had to fight the very real impulse to kick at him. His touches were hard and unfamiliar. Cold.

They were completely different from Natsu's hands, which felt strong and sure. Confident in a way that left him gentle, warm in a way no other man could match, and lingering in a way that left her aching for more.

Luckily the men pulled away after not finding much on her, their voices loud and unhindered by their audience.

"We gotta turn her over for the shipment. Bora's fallen behind on his most recent shipment, guess not even using Salamander's name is giving him enough revenue," He grunted, "Every head we get has gotta go towards the dark wizard."

Lucy remained limp and pliable as they trussed her up and prepared her for transportation. The whole time they talked about how much profit they were losing off her by sending her to Zeref instead of selling her. The conversation made her want to retch, and she had to carefully swallow back bile. To these men she was nothing more than an object. A thing. She had no feelings or desires of her own so far as they were concerned, and everything in her screamed furiously that she show them just how much of a person she was. Until they were black and blue.

It was disgusting, and she suddenly had a lot more sympathy for the noble girls she'd met over the years who had been put into arranged marriages. Her father had never done that, and the one time someone had tried to approach him with such an offer he'd flatly refused unless she was happy with the match.

It had been a short lived proposal.

However, she shoved her disgust down as they moved her to a wagon and covered her, lamenting they couldn't even take a taste of her 'goods' the whole way. She'd known what these people were going to be like the moment she'd come up with her plan, and nothing had changed.

She just hoped she could keep up her acting long enough to get into the warehouse and put with the others. Because if she heard, or felt, much more she was going to lose it.

Luckily the trip was relatively short and though it was hot in the wagon neither man was able to molest her during it.

The arrival at the warehouse, however, was a much nearer thing.

The transition to shade was noticeable, and she quickly made sure she was still relaxed, but she could hear the rattle of chains and the whimpering cries of women in distress. Her heart broke and bled for them as her imagination supplied her with all kinds of horrifying causes for those soft cries, and she unconsciously tensed for a fight as the blanket was whisked off.

"Pretty one ya got here, an' looks like she's startin' to come around," a new voice drawled out, "It's a shame she's gonna fall in love with a rugged handsome fella like me. I can't let Lord Zeref know!"

Lucy resisted the urge to spasm when large hands grabbed her and hoisted her into the air.

Lucy's eyes fluttered open to take stock of her surroundings and found she was being carried by a large man with wild black hair as they roamed into a familiar warehouse. Though, for a mercy, there was no sign of the horrors she'd been imagining being visited upon the women around them. There was distress, oh my yes, but of the more ordinary kind. She prayed with all her might that was the only kind they were dealing with, and vowed that it would be the only kind they suffered from here on out.

She glanced up, and nearly grinned as she caught sight of something red flickering like flames at the top of the roof before it was snuffed out.

Natsu.

Immediately, she felt at ease, knowing her partner was nearby and out of his cuffs. He would no doubt be riding out hard to get to the tracks since night was falling, but he knew where she was now.

That alone made her feel a mountain of relief.

She quickly closed her eyes again as she was shifted, making soft sounds like she was starting to come to, but as she was sat down and opened her eyes again her scream of surprise was not feigned at all.

Staring down at her was a man that was at least twice the size of Gajeel, but looked like he'd been made out of badly molded dough. He was even a powder white.

"Oh look she's awake!" The man exclaimed happily and grinned as he clapped chains on her, ordinary non-magic suppressing ones she noted with relief, "You stay here and be good okay?" He asked as he patted her on the head as if she was some kind of puppy, "I know I'm irresistible, but I've got work to do before I take you and your friends to Master Zeref."

Lucy blinked at him, completely at a loss for what to say. Was this guy serious? Surely he didn't think she would act up because she... the very thought made her shudder.

This guy was like Loke only worse. At least Loke was actually handsome even if he wasn't her type.

Thankfully it didn't seem he expected a response as he ponderously turned around and lumbered into another part of the warehouse. She shook her head a little and looked over at the nearest slaves, who were staring sorrowfully at her.

"It's going to be alright." She murmured to them.

They glanced at each other for a moment and one shook her head while she turned away. The other reached over and tentatively laid her hand on Lucy's arm.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, "I really am. None of us will survive this, but your fate will be the worst. All the pretty ones like you..."

Lucy shook her head firmly, "You don't understand." She said softly, casting a wary eye over to their guard, "It will be alright. My friends and I will make sure of it."

Alright guys Mslead here! Here is your sneak for the last chapter of Act 2! After that we're on the count down of Act 3 which is the finale of our story! So stay tuned we're on the downhill slope starting Sunday! As always thanks for your reviews! You keep us going!

Loke nodded and swept into a bow before Lucy, "Be careful princess."

He smirked at a bit of the stink eye Natsu gave him before he disappeared in a flash of light.

Lucy turned her attention to the rest of the people gathered around, and she clasped her hands together, "Please listen to Natsu. He'll be able to take you safely away. Just do your best, alright?"

Natsu took a deep breath, stepping forward. He could feel Lucy's eyes on him, imploring him to put these people's minds at ease. She seemed totally at ease with her trust that he would do precisely that. Humans in a crowd like this had always unnerved him, always made him uneasy. But they were scared, and Lucy was counting on him to help.

He turned to them, groping for the words to say despite not really good at speaking.

Instead he lifted his head and smiled.

"Follow us and you'll be safe! You're goin' home."

There was a moment of silence following his simple pronouncement, but gradually smiles began appearing on faces as people began to process his words. Smiles that held excitement and an eagerness that hadn't been there before.

Lucy had said the same, and had kindled their hope, but the same words spoken with such confidence by her man had them starting to really believe it. Lucy smiled proudly at him, which made him want to puff his chest out and roar, before leaning over to give him a quick kiss.

"Come join me when you're done." She breathed, "I want to fight with you for a change."