Lucy felt Angels nose collapse beneath her fist. She heard a sickening crack, and blood exploded from Angels face. Angels head shot back from the punch, hitting the metal bars of the cell with a loud clang. Angel was out cold immediately.

Lucy pulled back, staring at her blood stained fist in shock and horror.

'I didn't think I had that strength in me.' She thought fearfully. She needed to run, to escape while she still could. Lucy looked at the open cell door, then back down at Angels unconscious form. As she looked at the white haired girl, all she could see was Angel towering over her, whip in hand, smiling that wicked grin as she beat Lucy. Mercilessly cracking her whip against Lucy's body. Brutally breaking the helpless blonde and enjoying it.

Anger consumed Lucy. Rational thought went out the window. She brought her fist down on Angel again, connecting with the jaw. Then she punched her in the cheek, the other cheek, and the nose again.

Lucy let out a loud, long scream that was a sort of angry battlecry. She couldn't hear over the sound of her own blood pumping in her ears. She was blinded by fury. And she just kept punching and screaming.

Over, and over, and over again. Until her fists were numb. Eventually, Lucy ran out of breath. Her screams cut off, and she fell to the floor. She sat, panting, her eyes shut tight, holding her aching hands to her chest.

"That's for torturing me, bitch." Lucy whispered to herself.

Then, she opened her eyes. She couldn't help but gasp. As beat up as Lucy's fists were, Angel was unrecognizable. Her face, or what had been her face, was bloody, swollen, bruised and almost…deformed. The reality of what Lucy had done came crashing down around her. It was monstrous. It scared her.

And Lucy had enjoyed doing it.

She was no better than Angel.

"No…no, oh heavens. I'm, i'm so so sorry." She sobbed, a few tears sliding down her cheeks. Lucy felt bile rise in her throat. She quickly turned away and vomited.

Hastily wiping her mouth, and spitting in attempt to clear her tongue of the vile taste, Lucy stood. She approached Angels body slowly.

Angel was not moving.

"Oh, please don't be….please please i'm sorry!" Lucy held a hand over her mouth tightly to keep herself from vomiting again. She knelt down in front of the fainted girl, reached out cautiously, and felt Angel's neck for a pulse.

Lucy shook with relief when she felt the faint beating under her fingers. She was alive. Lucy had not killed her. Now that she was sure she hadn't murdered the girl in her rage, the celestial mage knew she had to get out of that damn cell.

She rose to her feet and glanced around the awful, dirty cell one last time. She took a step towards the cell door. As she was about to leave, her eyes fell on unconscious Angel one last time. There, on Angels hip, she noticed something. 'Her whip.'

Lucy quickly unclipped it from Angel's belt, and gave a triumphant smile at the familiar weight in her palm. Though it wasn't as good as her own whip, it was a comfort to know she now had a bit of a fighting chance. She had a weapon, she was armed and dangerous.

She ran out of the cell without another moment of hesitation. Her bare feet hit the dirt coated ground with loud smacks, but Lucy didn't care about being inconspicuous.

The blonde reached the steps leading back up to the first floor of the mansion and she almost cried out with joy. She ran a little faster, ignoring the exhaustion that weighed down her muscles and tugged at her eyelids.

She was free. She was breathing. She was alive. And for now, that was enough.

At last Lucy reached the top of the stairs. There was sunlight, actual sunlight. Though Lucy had only been in the dungeons for one night, it felt as though she hadn't seen sunlight in decades.

However, Lucy had little time for relief, for a large group of guards rounded the corner of the hallway.

"The princess has escaped! Capture her!" A guard commanded.

Lucy felt a little panic looking at the swarm of guards rushing towards her, but it faded when she realized they were wearing a full suit of armour, and holding swords.

"You guys aren't even wizards? Are you?" Lucy allowed herself a brief overconfident smile, before diving into the fight.

Though her muscles screamed with every movement, Lucy attacked mercilessly. Strategically, she flailed the whip, lashing and tripping all the guards. Until they were all knocked out.

"Too easy." She huffed, in attempt to ignore the fact that she felt a little dizzy.

Lucy turned her back to the defeated guards.

That was a very big mistake.

She felt cold, armour covered hands, hit her in the back. Already dizzy and out of it, Lucy fell to the ground immediately.

"Doesn't take much to knock you down huh?" The guard who had pushed her taunted.

"Screw off." Lucy snapped. She moved to get up, but the guard wasn't planning on letting her getting away.

He slammed his metal boot down onto Lucy's bare right ankle. There was a snap and Lucy's ankle felt like it was in flames.

She let out an ugly screech of pain. Her ankle was surely broken.

"Dammit!" Lucy screamed. Tears clouded her eyes, the pain raged on, making it hard to focus. But she had to.

Lucy blinked hard, forcing her vision to clear. With a swift kick, using her left leg, she swept the guards legs out from under him. He fell to his hands and knees. Lucy sat up and quickly pulled his helmet off his head, exposing his face.

"Lucy Kick!" She yelled, her uninjured foot connecting with his forehead and nose. He wobbled for a moment, then hit the floor.

Lucy wasted no time. She stood as quickly as possible. Hesitantly, she put a little weight onto her right ankle. Immediately, more blinding pain raced through her.

She let out a mix between a scream and a whimper. Collapsing to her knees, Lucy was ready to give up.

'Leave it to Father to send a mob of castle guards to defeat his rebellious daughter.' Lucy thought with a dry laugh. She was losing hope with every minute she sat here.

Here, in the middle of a long hallway, wearing nothing but a blood stained, torn up night gown. Surrounded by unconscious guards sent to attack her by her own father. Grasping a whip that was not even her own. Her body bruised, wrists red and irritated. Her smashed ankle swelling and pulsing. Unable to walk, to move. Beaten, broken down, and utterly exhausted.

The thought of closing her eyes was tempting. Just for a minute. A small nap. Just to get some rest. Then, after some sleep, Lucy would continue to fight.

Yes, sleep first, fight later.

Lucy's eyelids began to shut.

Then she heard it. Her eyes shot open.

"No." She commanded herself sternly. She would not quit now. She would not let herself close her eyes for the fear that they may never open again.

Besides, she had heard it. Heard him.

Natsu was here.

Natsu was close.

Lucy just had to get to him, then everything would be alright. Then, she could close her eyes.


Natsu landed on Lucy's balcony, fire in his eyes. Happy's wings disappeared and the cat crashed onto the balcony in a motionless heap.

"Happy!" Natsu panicked, picking up the cat, he listened for breathing. He heard Happy's shallow breaths, and calmed down.

"Im sorry for making you exhaust your magic like that, it was unfair of me." Natsu apologized to the sleeping cat.

He hugged Happy closer.

"I promise you," Natsu whispered, "when you wake up, all of this will be over."

"You're really the best friend, I owe you one Happy." Natsu tightened his grip on the cat, and threw the sliding door open.

The room was empty. As expected.

The bedsheets were tossed around messily, not made nicely like Lucy usually had them. Natsu's heart plummeted as he put together the pieces.

They had attacked her in bed, she had struggled. How bad had it been? Where was she now? What had they done to her?

Natsu shook his head to clear it of any particularly dark thoughts of what could have become of his best friend.

He gently tucked Happy into Lucy's bed, knowing it would be far too dangerous to bring the sleeping cat with him.

When Happy was comfy, Natsu sniffed the air of the room. Lucy's scent was faded. Not good. Her trail would be harder to trace with a faint scent like that.

Cautiously stepping into the hallway, Natsu locked the bedroom door behind him, so no one could hurt Happy. Natsu acknowledged that the door's lock was on the outside, but refused to let himself think about that any more.

"Lucy. Your main focus is Lucy." He reminded himself. He sniffed around and did his best to trace her ever fading scent.

"No good, it's too weak." He grumbled to himself. As the words left his mouth, he was ambushed by what appeared to be average human guards.

They ran around the corner and froze at the sight of Natsu.

"You are not the princess, intruder." The head guard stated dumbly.

At Lucy's mention, Natsu's anger flared up again.

"What have you bastards done to Lucy?" Natsu shouted. He sprinted at the men and knocked one down with a swift punch.

"Where the hell is she?" He demanded.

"Attack!" The lead guard yelled.

The attack lasted only seconds. Natsu's flame coated fists took out the guards easily. He approached the head guard, the only man still standing, and grabbed his bicep.

The guard was trembling in fear.

"Where are the dungeons?" Natsu growled.

"O-on th-th-the f-f-f-f-first floor. B-b-b-by th-"

"Spit it out already!" Natsu shook the guard angrily.

But Natsu didn't need to hear the guards answer. His dragon ears picked up a sound much more important. A distant, pain-filled scream.

Natsu's stomach twisted.

That was Lucy's scream.

He quickly threw the guard into the wall and sprinted in the direction of the scream. Running down the grand staircase in the front foyer, down a series of dark, twisting, confusing hallways. He ran without stopping, he was so close.

He took another turn, and stumbled back. His back hitting the wall. He frantically covered his nose, and tried to hold back his vomit.

The hallway smelled like blood.

Though there was none to be seen, the smell was strong. But the smell wasn't what truly bothered him. What scared him was the question, who's blood was it? Natsu sank to his knees. The smell and guilt tying a tight knot in his gut. He gagged.

"What have they done to you Lucy?" He asked hoarsely.

This had to be it, the hallway containing the dungeon entrance. He pushed himself up, burying his nose in his scarf in attempt to block out the metallic smell. But with every step the smell grew stronger. He quickened his pace, worried that Lucy could be bleeding out that very second. He heard another distant noise, this one more of a whimper, and began to run again.

After mere seconds of running and no sign of a dungeon entrance or Lucy, and the smell of blood too strong to detect her scent, Natsu was having a full force anxiety attack.

"Lucy! Where are you?" He cried frantically. But he got no response, simply the taunting of his own voice echoing in the long hallways. Taking a deep inhale he screamed so loud it shook the walls.

"LUCY!"


Her name. She heard it. Natsu was here, just around the corner at the end of the hallway.

She had to make it.

Aggressively, she pushed herself onto her feet. The second she put weight on her right leg, she collapsed all over again. Her shoulder brutally collided with the wall next to her. Lucy decided this was a good thing. Using her shoulder and hands, she leaned her weight against the wall and began to hop and push herself down the hall.

Then she heard something else in the distance.

Footsteps, a lot of them.

She cursed under her breath. It was more guards coming for her. Where had Jude gotten so many guards so quick?

The guards were getting closer. And it felt like the end of the hallway was getting farther.

Lucy hopped faster.

Natsu ran faster.

He was panting and sweating and the smell of blood was getting stronger but he was almost there.

Lucy panted, her vision blurred. It focused, and blurred again. Her ankle was losing feeling. Just limp and useless.

'I'm not going to make it.' Lucy thought.

'I'm not going to make it.' Natsu thought.

Finally, he reached the end of the hallway, heart pounding, breaking a sweat, he turned the corner.

There she was.

Hunched over, panting, leaning against the wall, bruised and bloody, was Lucy. Her hair was disheveled and dirty, but it was unmistakably her. Natsu smiled to himself as he felt his eyes grow watery.

Lucy realized, as she was about to give up, she could hear heavy breathing that wasn't her own. She looked up, and felt immense disbelieve, joy, and relief when her eyes met the fierce onyx eyes of Natsu. He was here. Natsu was here in front of her, and she didn't have to fight alone anymore. For the first time since Lucy had run away from her apartment, she felt like maybe everything would be okay.

Natsu couldn't believe it. She looked up at him, her brown eyes widening as they met with his.

"Natsu?" There was disbelief in her voice and eyes. He felt a tug on his heart as he heard her voice again. She pushed off the wall and stood up straight. It was her, it was really Lucy. She was standing feet away from him. She was wobbling.

Natsu realized what was about to happen. He sprinted to her, catching her just in time. She fell forward, into Natsu's chest.

"Lucy!" He called her name, not bothering to hide his worry. He pushed her away slightly, ducking to see her face. He couldn't bear to get this close just to have her die in his arms. "Lucy! Open your eyes!" He begged.

To his relief, her eyes fluttered open.

"Yeah, yeah i'm still here." She whispered.

With the conformation she was okay, he pulled her back against him. He wrapped his arms around her back, burying his nose in her hair. He took a small breath. She smelled of sweat and of blood, but under it all was the familiar vanilla scent that was so very Lucy.

"You're alive." Natsu breathed.

Lucy dug her nails into his vest, burying her face in the fabric more. She nodded gently.

"And you came back for me, again. Thank you."

"I'd never leave ya Luce. I promise." Natsu pulled her to him even tighter. He had the impulse to just hold her there forever. It just felt right. It felt right to have Lucy in his arms, and he didn't want to let her go again.

Then, with a deep breath, he pushed her away, after all, he had to see her. Really see her, even if it would hurt him.

His eyes traced her body. She had a nasty bruise lining one side of her jaw. The bruises from her fathers hand still wrapped around her shoulder, and there were five new ones further down her arm. She had a deep cut across the right side of her ribs, coating her entire underarm with blood. She also had two matching slashes on the front of her arms, from blocking a blow, Natsu presumed. Her wrists and ankles had angry red rings of agitation around them, and her knuckles were a disaster of bruises, blood and shredded skin. Her body was littered with various other small scratches and dark bruises. Her pink Fairy Tail emblem was exposed, but a darker shade due to the fact it too was covered in blood. With a shiver, he realized that when it was covered in blood, her guild mark almost matched Natsu's.

Then there was her ankle. It was an ugly purple, swollen to twice its size, clearly broken. Why had she tried to walk on that?

But her stomach. It made Natsu sick. There was a very, very deep cut. It ran horizontal across her stomach, it was made visible by the coordinating rip in the fabric of her nightgown. It was a huge wound, and the blood coated an enormous patch on the front of her night dress. It was going to need stitches, which Natsu didn't have the qualifications or materials to do. But it wasn't the look that made him sick. It was the thought that, with all that blood loss, Lucy should be dead.

But she wasn't, and Natsu decided to focus on the positive, as much as possible.

"Luce…i'm so sorry. This is all my fault!" Natsu pulled her back to him, being more tender with the hug this time, wary of her injuries.

He opened his mouth to say more, but Lucy looked up at him, reaching up to grab his scarf, she shook him gently.

"I don't want to hear it Natsu. It's my fault, not yours, but we can talk about that when we get home." She gave him a warm, familiar smile, and he choked up from relief.

"Home?" Natsu asked, hopefully.

"Fairy Tail." Lucy confirmed, "I want to go back to Fairy Tail."

Natsu beamed. He had been waiting for this moment since the day Lucy left.

"Of course Luce, lets get you home." He smiled his classic toothy grin. Though, he noticed Lucy was shivering in his grip. Of course, in such a skimpy, thin, ripped up night dress, Lucy must have been cold. Slowly, Natsu unwrapped his scarf from his own neck and wrapped it around Lucy's. He held back a laugh from how big it was on her.

Lucy gasped. "Natsu, I can't…this is…"

"Don't worry about it. You're cold, so i'll let you borrow it this once, but you better take good care of it." Natsu smiled. Lucy nodded happily, clutching the scarf. He grabbed her hand, but before they moved, the guards Lucy had heard earlier finally caught up to them, and were running down the long hallway towards them.

Nastu had been so caught up in the moment he had completely ignored his dragon senses, and now Lucy was in danger again. He cursed himself for not noticing the guards sooner.

Natsu quickly stepped in front of Lucy protectively. He lit his fists on fire and got in a fighting position. He felt Lucy's cold hands grab his arm in an iron grip. He turned to look over his shoulder at her.

"Something wrong Luce?"

"Do you have my keys with you?"

Natsu's eyes widened as he realized what she was implying.

"No way, not happening." He turned back to fight, trying to brush her off gently, but her grip on his arm simply tightened.

"Yes or no, Natsu?"

"Lucy look at yourself!" Natsu shouted without looking at her. "You cannot fight like that."

"Natsu please! Let me help!"

"No."

"We're a team, aren't we?!"

"Lucy…"

"Natsu."

"Dammit Lucy, the keys are in my pocket."

Lucy quickly grabbed the keys from his pocket, and he glanced over in time to see a glowing smile spread on her face at the delight of being reunited with her spirits.

"Thank you Natsu." She whispered. Letting go of his arm, she wobbled a bit before she managed to balance in a way that wasn't too hard on her ankle.

"You barely have any magic power left, be careful."

"Says you." Lucy scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah."

With that, Natsu flung himself at the guards. Chaos broke out. Lucy raised her keys in the air, looking at the guards swarming Natsu.

"Hey guards! These are the keys you want so desperately, being held by none other than the princess herself! You want them? Come and get them!" Lucy challenged them. About half of the guards broke off and made a beeline for Lucy.

"Lucy!" Natsu called out nervously, unsure she could handle that much at once.

"Im fine!" She called back. Natsu looked over and noticed the pile of guards on the floor down the hall from Lucy's previous solo battle, and realized she would probably be okay.

"Open, gate of the Golden Bull!" Natsu heard her call.

There was a series of loud moo's and the sound of metal armour hitting the floor. Focusing on his own punches, Natsu took out the guards in front of him with various attacks.

"Natsu! Look out!" he heard Lucy cry. He turned around to see a guard right behind him, sword risen, about to strike.

Having no time to counter-attack, Natsu simply put his hands up in a frantic attempt to protect himself. But before the sword connected with his arms, Lucy's whip wrapped itself around the metal, and with a loud cry, Lucy ripped the weapon from his arms.

Natsu lunged for the guy and punched him out.

"Nice one Luce!" He shouted. She gave him a warm smile. He noticed Taurus taking out a group of guards to Lucy's left, but having turned to help Natsu, Lucy's back was open, and a man was charging. Natsu ran over and took out the guard approaching her before he could lay a hand on the celestial wizard.

"Ugh, I can't move enough like this." The girl grimaced at her ankle. "Natsu, can you give me a boost?" Lucy asked. With only a moment of hesitation, Natsu launched her into the air. She landed in a crouch on Taurus's shoulders.

"Lets get em Taurus!"

"Moo!"

Lucy dangled her whip from Taurus's shoulder.

"Grab on!"

Natsu nodded and grabbed the whip. Lucy swung the whip to the left with incredible speed, Natsu riding it like a rope. Using the momentum, Natsu took out a string of guards with a single strong kick. He let go of the rope and slid to a stop, waiting for the next wave of guards.

There seemed to be double the amount of guards from when he first fought them, but eventually, they were all knocked out.

He heard the familiar sound of Lucy fighting close by. A whip cracking, furious battlecries and loud moo's. After a long fight, the guards stopped coming.

The battle was over, for now.

"We did it Lucy! We make such a good team!" Natsu cheered.

He looked over to find his best friend, and for a moment, his heart stopped.

What he saw was a dismal looking Taurus, holding Lucy's limp body in his arms. Her arms littered with fresh scratches and bruises, whip dangling from her hand by a few motionless fingers. His scarf covering half her face.

Natsu ran to her.

"Lucy!" He placed his hands on her neck searching desperately for a pulse. "What the hell happened? She was so strong a minute ago!" Natsu questioned Taurus angrily.

"Natsu, she is not dead. Miss Lucy simply passed out from the exertion on that hot body of hers!" Taurus moo'd in approval of his own statement.

"Stop talking about her body. It's creepy." Natsu grumbled. "And if magic exertion is her problem, then shut your gate and get outta here!"

"Yes sir! Please take care or Lucy and her sweet body!" Taurus cautiously handed Lucy to Natsu and disappeared in a flash of light.

"What a creep…" Natsu complained.

"Ugh, sorry about that…" Lucy grumbled, her eyes open once more.

"Don't scare me like that Luce!" Natsu set her down so she was sitting with her back against the wall of the hallway. He knelt in front of her and checked for any more serious injuries.

"Im fine, seriously, just tired." Lucy shrugged. Natsu frowned.

"Here, take these." Lucy handed her keys to Natsu, who took them with a confused look on his face.

"The whole reason I was tortured is because my father is convinced I'm hiding these keys from him. Besides, I have no magic left to use them anyway. This way, if you have them, and something happens to me, at least my father won't get them." She explained, burying her chin in his scarf.

"Nothing's going to happen to you." Natsu's tone was serious.

"Yes, yes I know, but, just in case."

Natsu nodded and put the keys in his pocket again.

Then he heard the familiar footsteps of guards.

"Dammit, how are there so many of them?" He muttered.

"What is it?" Lucy asked, the footsteps not yet loud enough for her to have heard them.

"More guards are coming." Natsu stated grimly.

"What? Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Natsu looked at Lucy and the wall behind her, which was the only reason she was able to sit up straight. The heavy dark bags under her eyes, and her ankle even more swollen now. It became clear that if they attempted to fight this next wave of guards, Lucy would not survive.

Natsu looked down the hallway, the footsteps were getting closer.

"I hate running away." Natsu complained under his breath. Effortlessly, he scooped Lucy up into his arms, bridal style, and ran in the opposite direction of the guards.

"We're not fighting?" Lucy asked, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck to keep from falling.

"Nope, not after you almost died in that last one."

"Okay 'almost died' might be a little dramatic." Lucy argued.

Natsu shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe that Lucy still had the energy to argue with him.

He sighed. "I can't lose you Luce."

Lucy was quiet after that.

Running in the opposite direction of the guards, Natsu searched for any room to hide in. They needed to hide until the guards left, then they could circle back and get Happy. Natsu hoped the cat was okay. Without really paying much attention to where he was going, Nastu ran up a set of small side stairs onto the second floor.

He ran to the first doors he saw, deciding any place to where he and Lucy could take shelter would do.

"Natsu, wait! Not in there!" Lucy tried to warn him, but it was too late.

Natsu kicked open the double doors, and only then, did he realize his mistake.


THIS CHAPTER WAS THE DEATH OF ME IN THE BEST WAY! I had so much fun writing this chapter.

At long last! The NaLu reunion! I'm so happy their together again. As I wrote this I kept debating whether I should split up into multiple chapters but ultimately decided to keep it as just one chapter. This took soooooo long to write but i'm pretty happy with the results, and I hope you guys are too!

Side note: How is Lucy still alive? Oh, right, cause she's badass.

Get ready for some intense angst next chapter, you have been warned.

Thank you to anyone and everyone who has, followed, favourited or left a lovely review, on this story! :)

Check out my Tumblr for info and updates on this fic: a-fairy-tail44