A/N: The chapters are coming out pretty quickly right now because I have HUGE writers block over the second part of my Zombie AU so I'm hoping this clears my head a bit and gives some room for me to finish that up.

Five hours into the trip the group had switched things up a bit. Gajeel now sat in the passenger seat and Gray was driving with his iPod headphones on blaring music into his ears. For 5 years he had been saving the thing, only turning it on when he absolutely needed to calm himself but now with the discovery of the Jeep and power cords in said Jeep he was having fun just listening to what he loved. Natsu sat in the back with Lucy, twirling his lighter in left hand and resting his head upon the right one against the window. Lucy looked over at the man and noticed caught a glimpse of the letters that were inscribed onto the side of it.

G.C.

"G.C.? Who's G.C.?" Natsu stopped fiddling with the lighter and slipped it back into his pocket without taking his eyes off the passing trees outside the Jeep. There was an eery silence for a minute or two before he finally spoke.

"My sensei. I knew him since I was a kid, owned a dojo near my house." He paused before continuing. "We were on our way to a martial arts competition in Chicago when the world went to shit. We kept going and found Gajeel in downtown Columbus and Gray on the outskirts of Lexington. Five years of travelling across the continent and we were all still together. He taught us, protected us, kept us all safe. Then a couple weeks ago-"

"Shut up." The two jumped when Gray's voice came from the drivers seat.

"What?"

"I said shut up. We just met her. I know you need someone to talk to about it but she ain't the right one." The only sound for the next couple minutes was Gajeel's snoring and the rumbling of the engine.

"I'm sorry." Lucy looked down at the floor of the vehicle. "I know how hard it is to lose people." A tear strolled its way down her cheek.

"Who were you with before you found us?"

"A band called the Celestials-"

"Never heard of them."

"They were more Indie Rock than anything. They were good though, they had a good sound. I was going around with them on their tour and we had just hit Cincinnati when everything happened. I've been wandering ever since." More tears joined the first one and soon the blonde was crying away with Natsu and Gray sitting awkwardly beside and in front of her. When she had finally calmed down a little bit Gray continued his interrogation.

"What were you doing on the road with a band? Were you like the stage manager or something?" Lucy shook her head.

"No, nothing like that." She almost seemed embarrased when she continued. "My father was um, was the owner of their record label and I was the one that convinced him to sign them." Gray and Natsu started laughing.

"Rich girl eh? So who were you fucking in the band that convinced you to do it?" Her mouth dropped and she gave Natsu an incredulously insulted look.

"How dare you! I would never-"

"Come on, spit it out." Gray stared at her from the rearview mirror.

"Loke their lead vocalist." Lucy crossed her arms and glared at the two men who both just laughing. After a couple minutes they finally both calmed down enough to talk again.

"Okay. Okay we'll stop. We're sorry." Natsu sounded genuine enough which made Lucy smile a little bit at the man.

"Wanna explain why you have pink hair?" Natsu brought a hand up to his hair and twirled some of the longer strands.

"Dyed it pink when I lost a bet. As far as some guy with a doctorate or something can tell, it has to do with the radiation that was thrown into the wind. I don't know of the details but essentially the chemicals fused to the hair DNA or some bullshit. All I know is this is the end result! I've even shaved my head completely and it all came back!" He laughed until a loud bang caused a hole to appear in the windshield and then the back window.

"FUCKING HELL!" Gray hit the brakes and pulled a gun from his left holster. Gajeel woke up a second later and pulled both of his pistols out while also unbuckling his seatbelt. Natsu from the back tossed his pistol to Lucy who caught it with expert hands and waited for the Jeep to stop. Gray hit the emergency brake near his foot and spun the Jeep so that its passenger side faced the road and the four jumped out and behind the wheels of it with Gajeel launching himself across the arm rest and through the drivers side door that faced the way they had been coming from. The echoes of the rifle that had put a hole in the windshield could still be heard way off in the distance but when it faded nothing could be heard save for the chirps of random insects and birds that flitted their way through the trees on either side of the highway. The four sat with baited breath, waiting for something to happen. Finally Gajeel yelled out.

"Whoever the fuck that was you woke me up from my nap!"

"Sorry! Needed to get your attention." The womans voice came from right above them. As a group the four raised their guns and flattened their backs against the pavement to get a better shot.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A gruff male voice called to them from the trees and the group finally looked at their surroundings. Including the sillhouette that was standing on the roof of the Jeep, they were surrounded by five people. On their right was the man who had talked; muscle bound in every way and holding what looked like an M16 in his hands. Beside him a busty woman with long brown hair and rectangular glasses held a standard hunting rifle. Both were wearing camo military uniforms. On their left the same military uniforms but two men instead both holding M16's as well. The one of the right was taller with dark purple hair, his shorter friend on the left had long green hair that was scraggly and unkempt.

"Get up slowly and put your weapons on the ground." The sillhouetted woman called to them from the top of the Jeep. The group did everything they were told and voluntarily raised their hands as well.

"Good!" The woman jumped down and turned to them. Short, white hair and wearing what looked like a black Navy Seals tactical uniform and boots she came up to Natsu and looked him up and down. She carried an M107 rifle over her right shoulder and held her chest out enough to pop her bust as much as possible. "Bag em!" Before they could react sacks were thrown over their heads and the world went black.

1 Hour Later

Natsu was sure they were in Monroe now. He knew he had been put in the back of a pick up truck because it was incredibly windy and the noise from said wind was louder than normal. The truck had slowed down just now and Natsu was pretty sure there was a second one behind his that held the rest of the company. Suddenly the truck started taking turns and Natsu knew they had definitely reached a town, probably Monroe since it was the closest one. With a squeak the truck rolled to a stop and Natsu was hauled out with a grunt and led up what felt like stone steps. He heard the groaning of doors and before he could take in anything else his hood was pulled off and Natsu was left standing in the middle of a wood furnished courtroom. On his left were the empty benches of where the Jury would normally be and on his right a huge table where he could see all their weapons laid out. It was in front of Natsu and the others that had been lined up beside him that his attention was brought to suddenly. Where the desk for the judge should have been was a large chair and in it sat the most beautiful woman Natsu had ever seen. Her long white hair flowed down to the middle of her back at least, her gorgeous, curved body fitting perfectly into an officers uniform and piercing blue eyes boring deep into her core.

"My name is Colonel Strauss formerly of the United States Army and now Chief Commanding Officer of the Town Republic of Monroe. You have thirty seconds each to state who you are and where you are going or I will kill you. Before you start let me make one thing clear; I am not joking and I will know if you are lying."

The plan was laid out, the wheels were turning and pasts were being shared. Of course when do plans ever go as they're supposed to? Don't know when the next chapter will be out! Read/Review y'all and thanks!