Chapter 19: Locked and Loaded
This car ride was interesting compared to others according to Gajeel. He was forced to sit in the back seat with Loke one side and Romeo on the other. At first, he was a little grumpy for being stuck in the back, but was gleeful to learn that he got first row seating to NaLu flirting.
At first they were all business with Lucy radioing in to the teams.
"Hey, umm… we found Laxus and we're about to pick him up again so we'll be heading to where we branched off. Also, the mission is over, so abandon your posts and hurry. We need to get to base fast."
Cue the instant response, yet Mirajane's response rang the loudest.
"What do you mean again?"
Lucy cringed.
"Well, it turns out that Laxus was pretty much okay other than a self-inflicted wound and a bruise, so he insisted that he help out and I think he's helping Gray rescue Juvia right now, so…"
Lucy winced at the simultaneous screaming coming from the microphone.
"Yeah, okay. Natsu, you handle this."
"What?! No way in hell am I getting near this. Besides, I'm driving."
"And? We'll just switch."
"Nope. Not doing it."
"Gajeel then."
"Yeah?"
"Can you handle this?"
"Sorry, no can do. Gotta watch the prisoners."
Unfortunately, there was more yelling when they heard the word prisoners.
"I swear I leave you guys for 1 hour. 1 HOUR and suddenly we have prisoners and a captured team member along with Laxus in action." Gildarts growled into the walky-talky.
"Look. Main point is we have to meet up where we started, so shut up and listen to me." Lucy snapped. The car swerved thanks to Natsu flinching in surprise and Lucy, Gajeel, and the prisoners were all sent flying.
"Holy shit Natsu if you don't start driving correctly, I'm gonna put you on walky-talky duty." She hissed.
"Um… Hello?" A deep voice emitted from walky-talky. "
"Laxus?" Mirajane gasped.
"Mira? The hell are you doing in Sector 1?"
"Looking for your sorry ass you ungrateful twit."
"Alright… I deserved that. That aside, we need to head back to base quick." There were some audible gun shots and a young girl swearing.
Wendy.
"Whoa-who-whoa. Wait. What the hell happened?" This time is was Jellal speaking.
"Well, we got Juvia, but they psychos don't really like that, so… We're kinda on the run right now since we had to leave our car."
"GImme that Jellal! Okay, where are you?" Now it was Erza.
There was some other conversation and Laxus relayed there current location.
"Alright, so then the closest people are Mirajane and Elfman. They're coming to pick you up. Anything else to say?" Erza asked.
Natsu grinned as he tried to snatch the walky-talky out of Lucy's hands.
"As a Co-Team Leader, I have something to say," he announced once he successfully stole it.
"Who made you team leader? As the most experienced here, I think I should be the team leader? And who's your partner?" An irritated voice complained. It was Gildarts obviously.
"Well, since Luce and I came up with the plan and we organized everything, we are the leaders naturally. And you're a sourpuss, so you're unqualified."
Lucy snatched it back.
"Now is not the time to argue, so hurry up and get moving." She tossed the damned machine behind her and started to mumble.
"Well don't let Erza hear you say that or you'll be beaten to a pulp." Natsu snickered.
Lucy blushed. She had been complaining about Erza's stubbornness to follow directions.
"Well… You know I'm right."
"I don't think Erza would agree though…I mean, if she found out…."
Lucy glared. "But she's not going to find out is she...Natsu?"
Natsu shrugged. "Who knows? I mean, while I would really like an extra dessert when we get back, I think Erza would really want to know…"
"Fine."
Gajeel accidentally let out a sigh, reminding the two that they had company.
"Look, hurry up and drive faster Natsu." He chided. The car accelerated and they zoomed through the streets. Lucy stared at the streets, devoid of zombies, who were currently concentrated at the abandoned blow-up stations.
"Where are we going?" Romeo asked.
"Somewhere, kid."
"But like… where? Sector 2? 3?"
"As I said… somewhere."
"Gajeel! Be nice," Lucy warned.
"And mind your own damn business. Just continue flirting or whatever," Gajeel huffed.
Lucy flushed.
"That's it Natsu! Kick him out! I've had enough of him!"
Natsu looked at Gajeel and then to Lucy, and then back again.
"Nahhh…. Too much work. Besides, I can see the others from here."
"Huh? The others? Where?"
"See that red speck over there? That's Erza and Jellal. They took my truck."
"Are you sure? I mean… it could be any car."
"Excuse me? I know my truck."
"Yeah, yeah. It's your truck."
"Seriously!"
"What? I said yeah, so hurry up."
Natsu grunted. "I'm going so fast already though!"
Lucy laughed. "And has that ever stopped you?"
Natsu smiled. "No way in hell! I'm all fired up Now!"
[time skip]
Gajeel was relieved to finally meet up with the others as he could escape the suffocating scent of obliviousness. Everyone seemed to be alright, just a few bruises and scratches. No bites. No casualties.
But then Laxus had to ruin it with the whole 'I'm being chased' routine as Elfman's truck sped right past them. They were hollering.
"Hey Luce?"
"Yeah?"
"Think I can beat them home?"
Lucy's eyes widened. "Don't you dare." She hissed.
Natsu snickered as he slammed the pedal.
"Damn it! Natsu slow down!" She screamed, but her words went unheard as the other cars caught on to Natsu's brilliant idea.
This way, they had a quicker return time, much to Laxus' relief, but Lucy kept an eye out to see if the attackers were falling behind. They weren't, but Natsu reassured her that the guards would deal with them.
"Let's hope."
Of course, once they neared the base, they started shouting at the guards.
"YO GET YOUR ASSES READY AND SHOOT THOSE BASTARDS!" Gray screamed from his car. Luckily, someone heard him and immediately alerted his companions as they observed the high speed car chase.
One aimed his gun and shot.
"Idiots," Natsu swore as he swerved the car to miss getting shot. "Do they even know how to aim?"
"Apparently not," Gajeel replied as he saw Jellal do the same thing. "Guess that means we have to do it."
Lucy's eyes widened. "You're not gonna… kill them… right?"
Natsu laughed. "Not by bullets. It's against our rules, but if they die in a car crash, then it should be alright."
Lucy was about to say something sassy when she was cut off by another sudden swerve. "I swear to god, it's like they're shooting at us."
Natsu looked at Lucy for a second before returning his gaze to the road. "Holy shit, Luce, you're right. Who the hell is up there?"
Lucy grabbed the radio and furiously shouted into it.
"Anyone know who is up there?"
Fumbling could be heard on one line.
"Mest. Why?" It was Cana.
Lucy didn't know who that was, so she asked Gajeel to let Natsu focus.
"I think he joined a couple years ago. It's a bit fuzzy." He said.
Lucy nodded.
"Okay. So, I think he's shooting at us rather than our new friends." Lucy declared.
"Are you sure?"
"Well, Natsu's had to dodge about 5 bullets so far…"
"WATCH IT DAD! Holy shit, Lucy you're right."
"Pass it on. Something's wrong." Lucy commanded and returned her attention to the guards.
"Got i- HEY!"
There was that annoying fuzzing noise that signaled a cut in the connection. Lucy froze. There was no way this was happening.
"Cana? CANA?" Lucy yelled.
Lucy immediately rolled down her window and tried to lean out of the car to see if Cana was okay.
"Yeah, not a good idea Bunny Girl." Gajeel said and pulled her back down as Natsu made a rather sharp swerve.
"But Cana…"
"is alright. The walkie-talkies were old anyway." Gajeel reassured Lucy.
"Guys, shut up so I can focus." Natsu hissed. They were almost at the gate and their chasers were gaining on them since the swerving and dodging slowed them down.
"Luce, I need you to tell Gray to open the gate."
Lucy nodded and tightened her grip on her walkie-talkie.
"Gray, you there?"
There was some cackling noise before she heard a broken up voice.
"Sorry, you're breaking up," Lucy cried. "Can you say that again?"
" ... is speaking. She will tell Gray Darling what he needs to know."
Lucy assumed it was Juvia. "Open the gate."
Some chattering could be heard.
"Gray and Juvia are wondering how."
Lucy looked to Natsu and swore her heart fluttered at his grin.
"Yo Water Girl! Tell him to run it down." Natsu shouted.
"Okay. Juvia is on it."
Natsu laughed and accidentally closed his eyes for a split second, but that was all it took. One moment of sloppiness. Carelessness.
"NATSU!" Lucy screamed as she felt the bullet hit a tire. Natsu instinctively slammed the brake, but that was a bad choice. The car skidded and flipped. It rolled across the once beautiful grass and didn't stop. Glass crunched and metal dented.
The last thing Lucy remembered was whispering, "Natsu," before it all when black.
BOOM! Yeah, so the interesting thing is that I did have an update schedule so I'm trying to catch up :) Also... new song for chapter titles! It's called "Fire in My Soul" by Walk off the Earth. Once again, I found it in a Fairy Tail AMV by AnimeSafeHaven and I thought the song fit the fanfic.
Ushindeshi: Correct! Hope you enjoyed this one.
Fairytailshipper2017: Thanks! Hope this one was good too!