A/N: HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to all of you who have favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. I can't believe the overwhelming response this has gotten and it inspires me to want to write more! Without further ado, here's your update!

Getting to the circus tents was a lot easier than getting inside them. While the town was considerably less busy than it had been earlier, there were still a few guards loitering around the tents. Most were strategically placed around the entrances or busy with preparing tables and such for the evening performance, leaving Natsu and Lucy to frown at them from the shadows of the nearby trees. Neither remembered seeing them so clearly earlier in the day. Although there was nothing overtly nefarious about their presence, the fact that they were there, and that some of them were clearly defending the tents from outside forces did not sit well with Lucy.

"Let me guess, this calls for a distraction," she grumbled, already hearing Natsu's words ringing in her ears before he even spoke.

Natsu was quiet, his eyes on the darkly dressed men before them. Just like the night before, there was little magical power emanating from them, but it was enough that they might pose a threat. "As much as I hate to say it, I think we better get in without using any magic," he grumbled.

Her eyes wide on her partner beside her, Lucy nonetheless immediately nodded. Like him, she could barely sense the magical power coming from the burly guards, but it was there. The last thing they needed was to alert the guards, and therefore the entire circus, of their presence. But then how would they get inside? There were so many of them (and they still didn't even know their true number), and without Natsu's fire and her spirits, she wasn't sure they could handle them all… "Then what do you suppose we do?" she whispered, her eyes narrowing and flashing in the shadows. She had a bad feeling about this…

Swallowing, Natsu smiled mischievously. It was a smile Lucy had seen far too often before and she immediately folded her arms across her chest protectively. This was what she was afraid of happening. "No!" she whisper-shouted, taking a step back out of self-preservation.

His brow furrowing, Natsu looked utterly confused. "What?" he snapped.

Still holding her arms tightly across her chest, she glared. "All of your ideas end up with me losing my clothes, and it's not happening!"

"I didn't say that!" he argued, blood rising in his cheeks at the suggestion, even though she was speaking the truth.

Her mouth hung open a moment in shock, her eyes wide as she looked up at her partner. "W-what did you say?"

He frowned, his lips pulling down as his eyes darkened. "We're just going to have to sneak in."

Ignore the question, huh? Regardless, her grip on her own arms relaxed and at the look in his eye, she had to purposefully ignore the fluttering in her stomach. There was something utterly feral about the way his eyes glittered in the shadows – the normally dark green depths reflecting back orange as though evidence of his fire burning from within. "And how do you suppose we do that?"

He shrugged as though it made no difference to him. "We're going to get dirty."

Scarcely suppressing a groan, Lucy dropped her head back, closing her eyes in exasperation. She should have known better. "Just tell me what to do."

She agreed with far less complaining and arguing than he was expecting. In a few quick sentences, he explained his plan, his eyes on the guards the whole time as he watched their movements, tracking an invisible path with his eyes as he plotted the path he planned for them to take and what they would do. More than once, Lucy caught him sniffing the wind, a distant look in his eye before he would continue. His plan was rash and reckless, but as much as she hated to admit it, it just might work.

Once the plan was laid out between them, Lucy turned at Natsu's side, their shoulders touching, as they each watched a portion of the tent. While they could hear some faint calls and shouts, both from the performers and the animals within, there was little to no sign of actual movement within. It was impossible to say whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, as it left them wondering where the performers were, and therefore where the true threat lied. Even Natsu's sensitive ears couldn't pick out their exact location.

As soon as the guards' backs were even remotely turned, Natsu took Lucy's hand in his and dragged her from the relative safety of the trees. Even though he moved quickly, his feet scarcely made a sound on the dirt road, and Lucy made even less noise behind him. He ran straight for the tent, his eye on the slight gap between where the tent was staked into the ground, pulled taut, and the ground itself. The only thing he could see was blackness behind the gap and the occasional green flash as though there were an epic-battle taking place. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, but he ignored it, instead pushing himself to run faster, gripping Lucy's hand tighter in his own as he dropped lower, preparing for the part Lucy was going to hate the most.

No words were needed between them at this point. They had, at best, seconds before they would be discovered. As the red and white striped fabric loomed before them, Natsu dropped into a slide, feet first, dragging Lucy down with him. Partially to protect her, he pulled her onto him so that he took the brunt of the slide and that her legs wouldn't get torn up by the gravel. She gasped when he spun her against him, her hands gripping his shoulders as she tucked her head down against his chest. Their feet disappeared under the tent a moment later and they both went as flat as they could, Natsu's hands unconsciously pressing Lucy tighter against him in an effort to minimize their profile. The fabric of the circus tent drug roughly over her body as the gravel dug into Natsu's back, but then they were inside.

The moment they slipped under the big top, they were surrounded by the mist that was there, but yet wasn't there. The air around them was thick and heavy with condensation, making each breath more difficult as though their lungs were filtering the much-needed oxygen through a thickened atmosphere. Without extricating herself from Natsu's grasp, Lucy pushed up against his chest, gazing down into his dark eyes. Even though it was dark inside the tent, she could just faintly make out the inner fire that always seemed to burn within his gaze, green still battling orange for dominance before her and making his eyes all but glow faintly in the darkness. The effect was only intensified with the rare flash of green energy that emanated from behind them. "You sense that?" she whispered, shivering.

His grip on her tightened the moment he felt the tremor work its way through her. The scent of fear was strong on her again, but not as bad as before, and there was something else mixed with it that he couldn't quite place. It wasn't necessarily a new scent, but it somehow made him want to hold her closer and not let her go. "Yeah," he croaked, the roughness of his voice surprising him as he mentally shook himself back into focus – a mental image of his nose buried into her neck nearly too powerful for him to ignore flashed before his eyes when the green flash went off behind Lucy. It was muted, similar to a flicker of lightning seen from far off, and so something about it didn't disturb him other than what it did to his thoughts.

Oblivious to Natsu's internal musings, Lucy carefully sat up as Natsu finally loosened his grip. "Can you see anything?" she asked, peering into the darkness that blanketed them. It took several moments for her eyes to adjust as she looked around them blindly in the darkness. Only when she realized there were slight linear strips of light streaming down around them did she realize where they were. They'd ended up beneath the stadium-style seats, the scaffolding-like supports surrounding them like a wooden skeleton. No doubt the seating was blocking the source of light around them, casting them into near pitch-darkness. Another faint green flash confirmed her suspicions.

Natsu could see perfectly fine in the dark, an added benefit of his dragon slayer senses. Even so, based on the tint of everything around them, the muted colors but yet more striking contrast, he could tell it was dark. "Of course," he all-but snorted. "And no, I don't see anyone," he immediately added, answering her unasked question. Lithely jumping to his feet, he extended a hand to help her get back to hers, sniffing the air as he pulled her to her feet beside him. "We're alone."

Although she could barely make out his features due to the light bleeding through the tent at his back, Lucy could tell Natsu was frowning at something in the distance. When she attempted to follow his gaze, she saw nothing – what light there was from beyond the seats was immediately swallowed up by the increasing mist. As soon as she thought about it, she lifted her hand toward her face, eyes wide and lips parted in surprise as she realized she could see the mist, coiling and swirling around them. It brushed against her with a physical sensation – cold like snow and yet slick like a snake. The mere thought made her shiver as she once more folded her arms across her chest, this time in a meager attempt to gain warmth. Without thinking about it, she stepped closer to Natsu, her personal space heater, who merely cast her a glance out of the corner of his eye at her closer proximity. "What do you see?" she whispered, once more peering in the direction he was looking but not able to make anything out. The faint flashes illuminated nothing in the distance.

The narrow line Natsu's lips were pressed into spoke of his sense of unease. "I can hear them but not see them or smell them," he murmured. "I see shadows up ahead that don't match the sounds." His eyes searched the area surrounding them, looking high to the top of the big top. "And then there's these flashes of energy," he mused out loud, even though the flashes were becoming less frequent and less powerful. He glanced down at the charm dangling around his neck. It pulsed faintly, the white center rippling as though it were touched by magic. Lucy immediately followed suit and looked at her own charm, the molten white center also appearing to move.

"Does this mean the mist does hold some sort of magic?" she queried, for once not at all happy about being proven right.

"At least the charms are working." He reached for her hand, for once waiting for her to delicately place her hand in his. There was something much more intimate in the act of him asking, waiting for her hand to meet his, and Lucy immediately felt warmth rise in her cheeks. She had to bite her lower lip in order to keep herself from smiling at the gesture. "You ready?"

The moment Natsu's warm and calloused fingers wrapped around her own, Lucy felt like she could do anything. He was her rock, her source of strength and support when she needed it most. Even if her heart felt like it was being crawled over by insects, her insides quivering with nervousness, his steady gaze calmed her, and she nodded firmly.

They moved together quietly, Lucy just a step or two behind Natsu as he took the lead, weaving through the beams supporting the seats in order to keep them hidden. His eyes, ears, and nose were constantly on alert as he continually scanned their surroundings, making sure they would not be taken by surprise. The mist was an unexpected complication as it distorted everything. He could hear and smell, but the sources were unclear and often not from the direction he thought. Even his sight was playing tricks on him, long shadows being thrown where there was no one. The charm on his neck grew increasingly cold against his skin, making him slightly uncomfortable, but he did take some solace in knowing that at least it was doing what it was supposed to do. The chill radiating down Lucy's left arm told him hers was working as well, which allowed him to breathe a little easier.

It took several moments to reach a break in the stadium-style seats, but it felt like forever. Natsu stopped so suddenly, Lucy ran right into his back, a soft, 'Oompf!' escaping her as she bounced off of him. "What the hell, Natsu?" she snapped in a whisper, dropping his hand as she moved to glare at him while rubbing her sore nose. His wide eyes and stilled expression stopped her, bringing forth a fresh wave of fear from deep within her gut. If he saw something that made even him hesitate… She didn't want to think about it as she slowly turned, her own eyes wide.

A side entrance to the main performance ring was before them, and by the way the ground was heavily tread upon, it was the main path. As soon as they emerged from beneath the seats, it was as though a veil had been lifted from Natsu's senses and the smell of horse, predator, sweat, dirt, and stale food reached him with such suddenness, he would have staggered had Lucy not been there. The sounds of the performers chatting and practicing slapped his ears with enough force to make him flinch – as though cotton had just been removed from his ears. What startled him the most was the proximity of performers and guards – the guards held a distinctly different scent, lacking in magic but overflowing with physical strength (and sweat). "Sshh!" he immediately hushed, his hand snapping up quicker than he intended.

Ordinarily, Lucy would have snapped at him for being so short with her, but these were not ordinary circumstances. Instead, she stepped closer to him, peering into the gray mist before them that was still dense enough to effectively obscure her vision. "What is it?" she whispered, quiet enough that anyone other than Natsu, even if they were standing right next to them, would have had trouble hearing her. It was a skill that had taken her time to perfect, something that came in handy after all their years working together.

"They're close," he murmured, leaning back into her slightly without taking his eyes off the opening before them.

Struggling to see through the barrier before them, Lucy could feel frustration bubbling within her. They needed to solve this and get out of there. They couldn't afford to spend so much time sulking in the shadows! "What do we do?" she asked, the urgency she felt coming through in her tone. "Should we split up?"

Natsu immediately didn't like the idea. She was already scared, being separate would only make that worse. He couldn't protect her if he wasn't with her and this mist clearly wasn't normal. Besides, what happened to those green flashes he had seen earlier? What were those anyway? "No," he argued, quickly shaking his head. "I'm not leaving you."

His choice of words warmed her heart and Lucy couldn't help but smile softly, Natsu's eyes nervously darting to her lips before looking back before them. His eyes drifted to the left – where the scents and sounds were coming from. "Then what do we do?" she asked again.

"You want me to be direct?" he asked, a mischievous smile breaking across his face that would normally make Lucy smile. She immediately gasped and wanted to smack it right off of him.

"You can't take them all on alone, Natsu! We don't even know how many of them there are!" she hissed.

Unfazed by her response, Natsu shrugged, peering through the dense fog once more. "You got any better ideas?"

She was quiet as she thought a moment. "Who's out there?"

"Looks like the main show from last night – the ring leader, Linkin, and the girl."

Girl?! What girl?! Lucy's mind immediately shouted, her grip tightening on Natsu's hand without even realizing it. "Girl?" she finally asked out loud, once she was sure her voice could at least sound composed.

"You know. The one that was knocking the clowns around?" When Lucy still didn't answer he added, "The one with the pink hair?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, scarcely suppressing a giggle. "Right. Her. Lady Sinara." She paused, her brow drawing down with worry she didn't bother trying to hide. "I don't like that they're all together," she admitted.

"I don't like that I was seeing green flashes of magic and now I'm not," he admitted just as easily. I don't like what they made me think about either, he admitted only to himself. Although to be fair, while he didn't mind the content of the image, the timing certainly was horrible. Regardless, it was almost strange, confessing his concerns so willingly to Lucy – more often than not he was more encouraging and optimistic, but this was anything but their typical job, and these were anything but the typical kinds of wizards they ran into.

Lucy peered over his shoulder, having noticed the lack of green flashes too, before looking into his eyes. "Who should we target first?"

Natsu thought, his mind turning over the magic he'd seen the previous night. All of them had pretty powerful magic that was unique in its own way, but he wasn't exactly sure what exactly Estobar could do. Although it was clear that since he was the ring leader he had to be quite powerful on his own – wizards as strong as Linkin and Lady Sinara would not follow just anyone. Coming up empty, he shrugged, his eyes wide as he looked at his partner. "Come on, Luce. You're usually the brains of the outfit," he smiled to hide his nervousness and to try to lend her some encouragement.

Pursing her lips to the side, Lucy cupped her chin in her hand as she ran through their options. "Is there any way to get closer?"

He looked at her as though she might be crazy, which was almost laughable, considering how he acted half the time. Despite his reservations, he once again shrugged. "We can try, but you better be ready to fight."

Curling her hand into a fist, Lucy's chocolate eyes flashed in the darkness as her free hand reached for her whip. "Now I've got a fire in my belly," she teased with a smirk.

Glowering at her before grinning, Natsu curled his hand into a fist to match hers, not able to high-five her in their current state of hiding. Their eyes locked, his glinting in the darkness like a predator's, before they both nodded and Natsu quietly stepped into the side entrance.

Their timing could not have been better, for the side entrance was unoccupied. They kept close to the walls, creeping along quickly but silently. Natsu strained his ears now that they were working properly, sensing the air with his nose with every breath. The path they were on was leading them deeper into the "tent city" of the circus – the sheer number of bodies he could smell attested to that. He was also vaguely aware that there was some magic at work that allowed the circus to use more space than it appeared to. They had already covered a lot more ground than the circus appeared to take up from the outside. What kind of magic is this?!

They hit a fork in the road, the path to the left ringing with the sound of voices while the path to the right made Natsu's nose sting with the smell of animals. Several other voices came from the right, but none of them rang with familiarity like the left faintly did. He paused for only a moment before taking them to the left, reaching back to take Lucy's hand once more for his own comfort as well as for her own. An inward sigh left him the moment he felt her hand slip easily into his.

Voices reached his ears then that made him stop in his tracks. Without realizing it, he squeezed Lucy's hand and she stepped closer, placing her free hand on his arm as she leaned forward, straining to hear whatever it was he was hearing. She had been about to say something about the distance traveled when he stopped, realizing about the time he did that they had already walked much further than they should have been able to, based on the circus' outward appearance. Curious about what caused her partner to stop, she opened her mouth to say something when she noticed the way his head was cocked to the side, his eyes slightly squinted in concentration as he listened carefully.

"I'm telling you, it will be all too easy! This town is just as trusting and unsuspecting as the rest of them." Natsu recognized that voice – it was Estobar, the ring leader.

"But there's one thing this town has that the others didn't," Lady Sinara cautioned. "Wizards. I thought we chose these towns because there aren't any wizards residing here. What are they doing here in the first place? Doesn't that worry you?!" Her voice rose as she spoke, her unease coming through clearly. Natsu could all but see her flipping a cape back over her shoulder as she saucily questioned their leader.

"We can get that from them easily enough. Won't take long. They won't be any different than the others." Natsu ground his teeth at the arrogance in Estobar's voice. He's so damn confident!

Lady Sinara wasn't satisfied. "You said she's not alone, correct?"

Estobar hesitated before he answered. "No, she isn't. But from what I saw, that will actually work in our favor."

What the hell is he talking about?! Natsu wanted to scream in frustration. Even if he understood what they were talking about, he was sure it would still seem like they were talking in riddles.

"You mean you didn't sense him, Lady?" Linkin's smooth voice finally chimed in, calm and calculating even when being condescending. Natsu could all but picture the way he would look at the pinkette, orange eyes blazing. "I'm disappointed in you."

"Fuck off, Linkin!" Lady Sinara snapped.

The sneer on Linkin's face came through in his voice. "You said Miss Ashley should prove to be a most entertaining subject. Did you get anything from her companion? You said his magic is quite strong."

"Bastards," Natsu growled despite himself, bristling at the way Linkin spoke of Lucy. He tugged her against him without realizing it, scarcely suppressing the urge to wrap an arm around her. Part of him was relieved Lucy couldn't hear what they were saying, but part of him also wished she could hear it – it would benefit both of them.

Confused at Natsu's reaction and unable to hear anything, Lucy looked up at her partner with increasing worry. His jaw was set, the muscles standing out as he ground his teeth together. His shoulders were tense, nearly trembling beneath her touch as the temperature around them slowly warmed with his rising anger. Darkness was taking place of the fire in his eyes, something that made her wary as she squeezed his hand and moved her free hand to his chest, where she could feel his heart pounding beneath. "Natsu?" she whispered. It was like he didn't hear her. The air all but wavered around them with the strength of his anger.

"Yes, her boyfriend might be the problem. I heard it in his voice when he called out during the show, in addition to what I could sense from his magic," Estobar's voice rang with caution. "We'll have to keep an eye out for him."

Wisely cautious, Linkin asked, "Do you think they were honestly just here for the show?"

Something shuffled in the room and Natsu was distinctly aware of someone pacing, probably Estobar, as he worked through his thoughts. "It's possible," he admitted, "but I got a lot of conflicting feelings from Miss Ashley so it's hard to say."

Conflicting feelings, Natsu wondered, risking a glance down at Lucy. He was surprised to find her staring up at him with stark concern written across her features, so much so that he jumped. "Luce?" he choked.

"What the hell is going on?" she snapped, still careful to keep her voice quiet.

"Hey! What are you two doing here?!"

"Shit!" Natsu muttered as both their heads snapped toward the sound. A lone guard had been making his way down the path, moving to meet the other three wizards, and stumbled upon them. Pent up rage, frustration, and confusion suddenly bubbled to the surface and Natsu's lips pulled back in a sneer as he gently pushed Lucy behind him, dragging his hand from hers with reluctance so that their fingers slowly slid apart. Despite their situation, it was enough to make a tremor run down Lucy's spin. "I was looking for you," he challenged.

"Natsu!" Lucy cautioned, looking over her shoulder, back toward what had been holding his attention so intently. She sensed a surge of magic…

"You," the guard started, and lunged forward. Natsu wasted no time in retaliating, moving swiftly and silently, which was odd for him. Lucy watched, her hands clasped in front of her chest, as Natsu refrained from using his magic and ducked under the guard's flying fist, sending his own fist up just after. His punch connected with the guard's chin solidly, sending the larger man flying back head over heels. He was immediately unconscious as his head hit the dirt first, his knees nearly crushing his own skull when he landed.

"That was highly unsatisfying," Natsu grumbled, glowering at the unconscious man before he turned to face Lucy. Her wide-eyed look of terror made him immediately turn back around, before she could even utter a sound. "Run, Lucy!" he cried, forgetting all sense of keeping their presence hidden.

"No!" she argued, moving to fight at his side.

At least ten guards were running down the pathway after hearing their fellow guard call out. They paused, like a sea of black, upon seeing the two before them, not sure what to make of the situation, especially when they saw their unconscious comrade. "How did you two get in here?" one guard snapped while two others bent to take care of the unconscious man.

Natsu's pent up rage was finding an outlet, even if he was supposed to reign in his magic. He was livid – he wanted to pummel the daylights out of each and every one of these men, whether they had time for it or not. "Easy," he taunted as he lowered into a crouch, bracing his legs wide in preparation for an attack.

"Damn it, Natsu," Lucy grumbled, pulling her whip from her belt.

"I told you to get out of here," he growled, his voice low in speaking to her. His eyes merely flicked in her direction, long enough to take in the sight of her getting into a readied stance as well, the handle of her whip in one hand while loosely holding the long tail in the other – ready to throw it out in front of her on a moment's notice.

"I'm not leaving you behind," she argued.

He rolled his eyes but smiled. He loved seeing her the way she was just then – determined and ready, her eyes full of fight and fire. "All right then," he conceded, waiting for one of the guards to make the first move. When they did, he had to restrain himself from cackling as he dodged a flying fist, dropping into a low crouch and spinning with his foot out to trip the burly man. The man took out one of his own team mates in his fall, Natsu knocking both of them out with another swift kick. He took out another as he jumped back up, launching over the guard's shoulders and kneeing him in the face. In the same swift movement, he propelled himself over with a flip and kicked the next guard so hard he face-planted, immediately out. Lucy made similar progress, her Lucy Kick sending guards flying and when that didn't work, her whip did. It only took a few moments before they stood in a small pile of unconscious men, their chests heaving from the effort, as short-lived as it was.

"That seemed too easy," Lucy admitted, brushing her hair back from her face.

"I'm sorry my men were such a disappointment." Lucy turned with a sharp gasp at the sound of Estobar's voice, Natsu immediately spinning down into a defensive crouch. Estobar looked only slightly different from how he had the previous night. He wore the same blue pants, white shirt, and black long-tailed overcoat with knee-high boots, but instead of his hair being held back in a slick high ponytail, it was messy – as though he had quickly thrown it up to keep it out of his face before officially getting ready. His eyes still shown with the same bright intelligence that was both enticing and disconcerting.

"I can't say I hired them for their brains," Estobar added with a soft chuckle, "but I would have expected their brawn to hold up a little better." When neither of them responded, he continued. "It's Miss Ashley, isn't it?" Lucy refused to answer his question, glaring at him with eyes that would make even Gray shiver with cold. "Might I ask what you are doing here? The show doesn't start for several more hours." There was nothing but kind curiosity in his voice.

"Cut the crap," Natsu snarled. "I heard what you were saying."

Lucy's eyes traveled to Natsu's back, his shoulders rising and falling heavily with his strained breaths. While it wasn't uncommon for Natsu to get so riled up, it never happened without good reason. Just what were they saying, she wondered, not for the first time.

"Oh?" Estobar asked, his eyes growing wide with feigned innocence as his hand pressed to his chest, his fingers splayed innocently. "I have no idea what you mean."

Momentarily debating playing dumb, Lucy's mind raced. She might be able to figure out more information if Estobar thought she wasn't a threat, but that was nearly impossible with Natsu threatening and posturing as he was; not to mention they had just laid out over ten guards – they'd clearly identified themselves as a threat. Better just come out with it since our cover's blown anyway… "What were you planning on doing to the town's people tonight?" she finally interjected, sure he wouldn't answer her question anyway. "What have you been doing to the towns with your magic?"

A smile creeped across Estobar's lips that made her shiver. Unlike his smile when performing, a smile that was rich and endearing, this was sneaky and reminiscent of the smile of a snake before it bites. "Why, my dear Ashley, I cannot tell you that!"

"Why not?" she asked, reverting back to using her womanly wiles and cocking one hip out to the side while pouting her lips.

Lady Sinara stepped forth from the darkness then, the green flashes that had been such a confusion to them before passing over her as though her body was riddled with electricity – something that hadn't happened the previous night. Although her eyes were blue, the green flecks flashed in her eyes, and when she raised her arm, she was even too fast for Natsu, the green bolt flickering from the tips of her fingers and striking both of them before they could so much as blink. "Stop asking so many questions."

Natsu, who attempted to shield Lucy with his body, was struck directly in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and throwing him back into Lucy. He quickly discovered the electricity look was deceiving, for much like Lady Sinara's magic involved confinement, so did her distance attack – it was like being struck with a whip made of metal chain. The wind was rushed from his lungs with a grunt as he was thrown back into Lucy, both of them crashing into the floor in a tangle of limbs. His necklace was destroyed on impact, the metal somehow heating on impact to such a degree that it melted and singed his skin, leaving an oddly shaped, curling burn in the middle of his chest.

Lucy was struck in her left wrist, as she brought her hands up to protect herself (despite Natsu's best efforts and their tumble). The strike was so painful she cried out as what she expected to be a burning pain was more of a crushing pain as the chain-like whip wrapped around her wrist upon impact, shattering the charm of her bracelet and embedding shards into her arm. The crushing pain quickly changed into a stabbing pain as the shards worked their way into her skin, causing small rivulets of blood to trickle down her arm. Although Natsu crashing into her had knocked her to the ground, so had Lady Sinara pulling harshly on the whip, still wrapped around Lucy's wrist; and she crashed to the ground extra hard with a grunt, Natsu pinning her legs beneath him. When the chain finally slipped from her wrist, it leached her courage from her, making her nauseous. The moment she realized their charms were destroyed her heart sank. "Oh no," she breathed.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! I'm sorry to leave it on such a cliffhanger (not) hehe! I hope I won't keep you waiting too much longer for the next bit, now that things are finally getting intense! :) Please let me know what you think.

I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters. They all belong to Hiro Mashima. I just own this story.