Chapter 7

The excruciating pain Lucy felt as the beautifully decorated blade drove into the hollow of her left shoulder almost made her pity their opponents when Natsu would unleash his flames upon them.

Almost. Those guys definitely had it coming to them.

The burning sensation she felt reached all the way down to her fingertips, and although she clenched her teeth and closed her eyes tightly, she refused to give Brandish the satisfaction of hearing her scream. She felt the sensation again as Brandish pulled the blade out and, shrinking it back to its original size, pinned her left hand against the wall and stabbed the dagger through Lucy's wrist. Her right hand shaking, she reached up and grabbed hold of the hilt, only to find that when she tried to pull the dagger from her wrist she could not; the blade had found its way through and into the wall, causing Lucy to grunt from the effort in disgust.

When Lucy did manage to open one eye enough to look at Brandish, she noticed the woman reaching for a second dagger, but instead of enlarging the blade as she did before she opted to grab hold of Lucy's right hand, driving the second dagger through her other wrist, pinning her defenseless in a crucifix pose against the wall. This time her attempt to maintain her composure was less successful, as she had to bite down on her lower lip until she could taste the blood in her mouth. Feeling her heartbeat throbbing in her ears, she tried to use her wrists to pull the blades out of the wall behind her, a futile effort to free herself. Adrenaline nearly overwhelming her stressed body, Lucy opened both eyes to stare angrily at Brandish. When she spoke, it was between shaky breaths.

"Why...are you...doing this? You know...my mother didn't...have Grammi killed. Why...are you still...out for...revenge?"

"This isn't about revenge," Brandish answered coldly. "This is about making sure your little friends have a trail to follow." She paused briefly, taking Lucy's chin into her hand. "Getting my revenge is just a bonus."

Shock and confusion filled Lucy's eyes, her mind struggling to focus on anything other than the pain. Why on earth did Brandish go through so much trouble to bring her...wherever-she-was...and torture her, only to want her friends to find her?

Why was she trying to lure them away from the guild?

Brandish's agitation was almost tangible. "You really are clueless."

Lucy's only response was another angry glare.

"Did you honestly think this had anything to do with you?" she continued. "Don't flatter yourself. You may have thought you saved your friend that day on Tenrou Island, but in reality you only succeeded in sealing his fate."

Angrily baring her clenched teeth, Lucy's brow began to drip with sweat. Brandish responded by punching her in the side, causing Lucy to grunt in pain. She tried to catch her breath before meeting her gaze again. She was beginning to feel lightheaded, and she was struggling to keep her feet beneath her as her knees threatened to buckle. But as much pain as she was in at that moment was not enough to prevent her from snarling a response.

"What's that...supposed...to mean?"

A ghost of a smile flashed across Brandish's face. "His Majesty has personal business with Natsu Dragneel, and no one is going to interfere. In fact," she added, "His Majesty asked me to thank you for your help."

"WHAT IS...ZEREF...GOING TO...DO TO NATSU?" Lucy yelled as Brandish walked toward the door. A quick rap on the door and it opened.

Looking back at Lucy, she simply answered, "They have a fight to finish," and walked out the door closing with a heavy "bang".

When she could be sure that Brandish was gone, Lucy finally relented to the weariness, the adrenaline rush having passed. Her knees gave out at last, and a new wave of pain racked her body as her full weight came down on the blades, her body now held up only by her wrists. A blood-curdling scream filled the room, and a mentally and physically exhausted Lucy couldn't hold it back.

"Natsu?" Levy heard Happy ask nervously.

The blue-haired Solid Script magic user had been sitting down to rest her aching feet, but hearing the tension in Happy's voice, she turned to look his way. Next to Wendy and the Exceeds, Levy was by far the shortest in the group, and as a result took the shortest strides. Wendy had been carried a good portion of the way by Carla, but Levy had been running the whole way. And although Lily had offered to carry her for a bit to let her catch her breath, she politely declined; she hated the thought of being seen as weak, and appreciated the fact that Gajeel's Exceed companion did not press the issue further. She had asked to come along on this mission, and could not afford to be the weak link in their chain.

When Natsu responded, she couldn't tell if the unsteadiness in his voice was out of fear or anger. Eyes wide, her gaze quickly shifted to Gajeel and Wendy. Judging by their reactions, they could smell the blood as well.

That was all the motivation the group needed to continue the advance. Natsu surged ahead, yelling for Happy to get him in closer. "Aye sir!" he answered, grabbing Natsu and taking to the sky. Wendy and Carla followed, knowing they would now be needed once Lucy was found.

"Come on," Erza said from beside Levy, preparing to begin her ascent up the mountain. "The rest of us will have to follow on foot."

"Lily," Gajeel said suddenly, "keep an eye on the Shrimp until I get up there."

"I can take care of myself!" Levy snapped back, as the black Exceed gave a nod and grabbed her by the back of her dress before lifting her upward.

She was fairly certain she heard a distinct chuckle from below as she and Lily raced to catch up to the other dragon slayers.

"Take Lucy's keys with you," Loke called, tossing her belt with the pouch and whip up to Levy. "I will wait for you all in the spirit world until Lucy summons me." Levy caught them and flashed the spirit a smile as his figure faded away.

Then, as if out of nowhere, a man appeared to face the remaining wizards on foot. A thin, young man of average height with spiky, dark-colored hair, he wore dark-colored trousers and a dark-colored blazer, both of which have plaid designs on their outer linings. Underneath his blazer, he had a light-colored shirt with a large collar that he kept upturned. He sported a striped bandanna and a pair of chopper-style glasses on his forehead. He eyed his opponents with disgust until he noticed Erza among them. Turning his attention to her, his disposition instantly changed to a brighter one as he flashed her a smile and said, "Why, hello gorgeous, what are you doing with these losers?"

Erza, Gray and Gajeel all looked at the man in utter disbelief.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING LOSERS?" the guys demanded in unison.

"Who are you?" Erza inquired.

"The name's Marin Hollow," he said, taking a sweeping bow, "and I'm from the Brandish Squad, a part of the Alvarez Empire's Army." He looked up at Erza and smiled charmingly again. "And who is the lovely lady?"

"Where's Lucy?" Gray growled, unapologetic about interrupting the pleasantries between them.

Marin's smile faded slightly as he turned his attention to the ice wizard. "Ah, you must be the friends she keeps talking about. We've been expecting you."

"Let us pass," Erza said, her voice taking a threatening tone, "or we shall make you. Requip!"

Nothing happened.

Erza's eyes grew wide in surprise.

"Erza, what's wrong?" Gray asked, glancing over at her.

"I...I can't requip into any of my armors!"

"Of course not. Space is something I control." Marin's smile was gone as he eyed her, no longer in a good mood.

"Control space?" Gajeel thought out loud.

"The Area," Marin answered. "It allows me to instantly equip anything I wish. Spacial Magic is useless against me."

Erza's face filled with horror as she looked down to see her lower body beginning to disappear. "What's...happening?" she gasped.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot," Marin said, holding a finger up in front of his face, "those that try to beat me at my own game have a special place."

Erza cried out as her body quickly disappeared.

"ERZA!" Gray shouted, reaching out to grab her. Unfortunately, all he managed to come up with was a fistful of air.

Gajeel and Gray looked at Marin with murder in their eyes.

"WHERE DID YOU TAKE ERZA?!" Gray snarled.

Marin looked back at the men with a smile. "Didn't you hear me? She's in a special place I set aside just for magic users like her. As for you two...," the smile suddenly became more sinister, "you can die right here and now."

Natsu's anxiety only increased as they neared the small room carved into the mountainside, the smell of Lucy and blood both growing stronger. Suddenly, the sound of a blood-curdling scream assaulted his eardrums. As he and Happy approached, he could now see the space jutted out slightly from the rock face, creating a roof of sorts but also a landing area for just this occasion. Dropping down with Wendy, Carla, Levy and Lily right behind him, the group surveyed the situation. The smells they were following became nearly overwhelming to the dragon slayers' senses. It didn't take them long to find the air shaft; it was no greater in diameter than a drinking glass, but when they tried to look down it to see if Lucy was visible, Wendy noticed a rock that had lodged itself halfway down the shaft. The sky dragon slayer let out a gasp. Not only was the rock impeding their view into the room, it also limited airflow as well.

If Lucy stayed in that room for an extended amount of time, she would slowly suffocate.

Having the most slender arms in the group, Levy got down on her knees and tried to reach down the shaft and dislodge the stone. She managed to get her entire arm in up to her elbow, but it just wasn't far enough to reach the stone; the air shaft was longer than they had realized.

Pulling her arm back out, she decided to try calling down to Lucy instead. "Lu! Can you hear me?" she hollered. "If you can hear me, say something!"

No response.

Rising to her feet, she took her index finger and began scribbling something in the air. "Solid Script: Hole!" Then, sweeping her arm across her body, causing the word HOLE to appear on the ground in front of her. "There. Now we can get in there and find out what's going on."

"Nice work Levy!" Natsu said, smiling for the first time in days, jumping onto the word and falling into the room below. Wendy and Happy were right on his heels. Levy, Carla, and Lily - assuming his Battle Form - decided to stay topside and scout for a possible ambush.

The smell of sweat and blood was almost unbearable for the dragon slayers; their heightened senses were now working against them as they stood and looked at Lucy. Arms spread apart and held there by the daggers that were stuck into her wrists, the poor woman looked as though she were the subject of a makeshift crucifixion. Rushing over to her, Wendy supported her limp form as Natsu yanked the blades from her wrists. Calling to Levy for a rope, Wendy and Natsu, holding Lucy against his chest with one hand and the rope with the other, held on as Levy and Lily (mostly Lily) pulled them out.

Gently the two set her on the hard floor and Wendy began assessing her injuries. There were several small scrapes and bruises on her legs, but nothing that needed to be worried about at the moment. The stab wounds to her wrists and the bruised side would probably be the easiest to heal, but the shoulder would only be able to get emergency treatment until they could get her to the infirmary. Putting her hands out over Lucy, Wendy got right to work.

Natsu stood over the girls and watched Lucy's shallow breathing, replaying the time he found her on Tenrou Island in his mind. He clenched his fists at his sides so hard his arms shook. There was no way this was happening.

Not again.

It was Happy that stated the obvious. "Lucy's hurt pretty bad," he said quietly.

Suddenly, Lucy's eyes opened and she looked around her, appearing confused as to how she ended up outside. And then, her eyes rested on Natsu's face.

He was so relieved to see her looking around that he almost knelt down to hug her, but the next words he heard stopped him in his tracks.

"Natsu, you shouldn't have come."