Gosh, I'm sorry.

I've got two words to attempt to excuse my massive update fail: college student.

On the up side, this is a new update…finally…so I hope it flows well and thank you, those of you who have been patient with me. I'll stop my rambling now and end this with: I don't own anything but this alternative story line. It's all the property of Hiro Mashima. And now…enjoy the chapter!

The trek back to Fairy Tail that evening seemed like it would never end. The adrenaline that had previously been coursing through their veins had faded and now they had to stop numerous times for someone who had collapsed or for someone who had asked for a halt. Lucy felt like her heart was shattering with every step that she put between herself and the place where Levy was imprisoned…the place where Natsu had been taken from them.

The blonde celestial mage could hardly stand feeling like this. She wanted nothing more than to get back to Magnolia and pretend to be interested in everyone else's rescue and retrieval plans so that she could sneak away sooner and plot with Gajeel. She had this gut feeling that her plan was going to work—she need only be willing to risk nearly everything in the process.

"I just need some time…" she mused aloud before she realized what she had done. Lucy glanced quickly over to Mira, who was walking beside her, and watched as a puzzled expression crossed the white-haired woman's features. Mira turned to Lucy with this confused expression and the blonde quickly added, "I need time to think of a plan. There's got to be something I can do…"

Mirajane simply smiled softly, comfortingly, at the celestial mage.

"Just what I expected of you, Lucy. I'm sure you'll have a plan in mind by the time we get back!"

I already have a plan, Lucy wanted to tell Mirajane—really, she did!—but she just couldn't. Not now. The blonde knew that everyone would urge her to think it over more thoroughly. They'd try to make her see it as too reckless to attempt…but Gajeel and Happy and Lily would work with her, surely. Although he scarcely showed it, the red-eyed dragonslayer had a soft spot for Levy McGarden, and Happy? His help was pretty much guaranteed as soon as Natsu was taken. After all, Natsu was like a father to Happy, the only one the blue Exceed had really ever known, and the only person who had beaten Happy in calling out to the fire dragonslayer as they captured him was Lucy herself.

"Stop!"

Erza's voice commanded, breaking into Lucy's thoughts. And so for the fifth time, the entire guild came to a rest for a fatigued guild member.

"We'll take another ten minute break," Erza announced in a no-nonsense sort of way, "but then we'll be walking the rest of the way. It's not all that far, so we should be able to make it without stopping anymore."

The celestial mage knew they all needed this break, but she just wanted to keep walking. The sooner they got back to Fairy Tail, the sooner she could pretend that preparing a defense for Natsu's trial was her best and only plan…which meant that she could step out to let them discuss and then talk to Gajeel and Happy. She needed time but she just didn't have enough.

Ten minutes passed in a blur but the rest of the walk to Magnolia seemed to take forever in comparison to the mad dash toward Demon Card's base earlier in the evening. Eventually, though, the exhausted members of Fairy Tail found themselves back in their familiar guild hall, mulling over their own thoughts. The usually comforting interior now seemed depressing and unwelcoming, the vibrant individuals that often brightened the atmosphere remaining quiet…and one of them missing.

Phase one of Lucy's master plan was now to be put in motion. She had to convincingly propose to the guild at large that they needed to do their best to come up with a strong defense for Natsu's trial at the Magic Council's headquarters in Era…and that they had to do it without Levy's help. She needed to make them believe that proving Natsu innocent would be the best way to get their lovable bookworm back, too, so that they didn't try to do something that would interfere with the rest of her plan. The blonde had to make them think that pressing from defending Natsu into accusing Demon Card of not only attempted murder but kidnapping as well was the best bet.

It was going to be a challenge, and thus it would be understandable if, in the time leading up to the trial, she disappeared herself for some research.

Within one week, she hoped to initiate phase two…but first, and now, came the initiation of the entire plan as a whole.

"You're not going to like this," Lucy hesitated slightly on the introduction, but everyone in the room quieted down when she began to speak. It was almost as if they had been waiting for her to come up with some sort of idea. "You're not going to like this at all…but I think we need to focus on getting Natsu back safely first."

The blonde stepped out from behind Droy, who stared at her as if she had announced that she was pregnant, or that the world was ending. She tried not to let it get to her as she took a steadying breath—making herself sound believable would be the first step in convincing everyone else. If this was truly her decision, it would be hard for her to accept, too, and even though it wasn't her decision it was still hard to suggest it.

"Demon Card might have Levy, but we can assume that they won't kill her. They'll want her as bait to provoke us like they did tonight—and when you take tonight into account, it's already working."

"How does that make getting Natsu a priority?" Nab frowned uncomprehendingly at her and several others nodded their agreement.

"If we can't prove Natsu's innocence, the council will sentence him to death," Lucy could definitely speak with conviction here because it was true and it hurt her to think about the possibility. "They believe that he attempted to kill a member of the Rune Knights, remember? The rank doesn't even matter, although the fact that he was a general doesn't make it any better…it's just the fact that he was a member of the military. While Demon Card needs Levy alive as bait, the council might just use Natsu as an example to any guild that crosses them."

"No one crosses them like we do," Lisanna admitted slowly, looking around at all the other guild members and then stopping when she reached Lucy with her eyes.

"Demon Card does," Lucy responded shortly when attention was back to her. There; she could see the connection being made all around her. All she had to do was continue to press forward. "If we can prove Natsu's innocence, we can surely prove Demon Card's guild. Tie them together; if it wasn't our fire mages who did it, it must have been theirs."

"Wait," Mirajane and Erza spoke simultaneously then. They glanced at each other and then Erza nodded for Mira to continue first.

"Are you saying that Demon Card…Demon Card attacked the Rune Knights on purpose?!"

They were so close to the blonde's conclusion…it would have to do.

"They could have…but the fact is that we don't know…yet. So we need to find out if we can. We'll assume, tentatively, that Natsu's trial will be in two weeks. By then, we need to at least have a good defense for him. I'll be the one presenting the case, so I'll be doing my best to find what evidence I can on my own. I'll get yours later. We can be more time-specific when we know the date of the trial. Does that work for everyone? Am I being clear enough?"

"I approve," Erza said, but then continued sternly, "but are you sure you can present? I—"

"I'll present," Lucy's voice was firm and unwavering. They could doubt her in battle all they wanted to, but they would not doubt her in this. She refused to allow it.

"Then we should all get to work," Lisanna said, a somewhat determined expression on her features.

"Yes, we'll all get to work, my children," Master Makarov's voice was loud over the chatter that had risen in the room, "but it will have to wait. First things first…you all need to go rest. We can start first thing in the morning, but the priority is that you all get some sleep."

"Master—" Jet began, but was cut off.

"Everyone is too exhausted to continue. Working now will only hinder our progress in this. Go home and go to bed, all of you. I should know the trial date by tomorrow evening, and then we can work out a more rigorous schedule. Just go to sleep for now."

"The Master is right," Evergreen spoke aloud, grudgingly. "None of us would be able to understand a damn thing we read right now, even if we wanted to."

"Except for Lucy, Levy, and Fried, maybe," Bisca chipped in, stretching her sore muscles.

"Yeah, but we're down one and the other two need to be refreshed for working hard later," Cana cut in, "so everyone should just do as Gramps said."

"You heard them," Erza's voice lifted above the others as muttering once more filled the guild. "We all go home and rest. Meet up here as you wake up tomorrow. We'll go to the library in groups in rotation to prevent anyone else from being taken by Demon Card. Am I understood?"

"Aye," Gray and Happy weren't nearly as enthusiastic as they normally would have been…which was understandable, of course. All the others slowly agreed with them and teams began to group together in preparation for departure.

Erza and Gray were caught in conversation with Mira and Lisanna, though Happy had drifted to Lucy's shoulder to rest. The blonde slowly migrated out the back door to where she knew the iron dragonslayer would already be waiting to hear the real plan. She counted on him to understand subtle messages.

"Why are we coming out here, Lucy?" Happy piped up tiredly. "Erza and Gray are inside!"

"You'll see, Happy. Don't worry about it."

The door closed softly behind them, cutting off the light that had been filtering from the open doorway. Now the only light they had was coming from the windows and streetlamps, but that was plenty to see by for their purposes.

"Took you long enough, Bunny Girl," the gruff voice of Gajeel, which Lucy had been expecting, sounded out and she found his silhouette in the dim lighting. "So tell me…how much of that plan was the real one?"

Happy's face contorted into an expression of confusion and he repeated slowly, "The 'real' one?"

"Most of it, actually," Lucy said in response to the dragonslayer's inquiry.

"Okay…but it's not even half of your whole plan, then, is it?"

Good. He was catching on just as quickly as she had been bargaining for. So Lucy leaned against the side of the building as Happy hopped to Pantherlily's side. The other Exceed's brow was furrowed in concentration as he most likely tried to puzzle out what the rest of Lucy's plan could possibly be.

"You're absolutely right," the blonde agreed. "That's not even the half of it."

"Spit it out, then."

"We do need to work out a good defense for Natsu and tie it to Demon Card somehow," the celestial mage began, proceeding to slide to the ground in a sitting position. "I wasn't joking about that aspect of the plan."

"How are you going to do that when we're not allowed on the Demon Card grounds—at least until the Rune Knights leave?"

"I was getting there," Lucy retorted crossly. "See…it'll be hard to tie the crime to Demon Card if we can't even get evidence from the outside…so I was thinking that having someone on the inside would be our best bet. It would be highly beneficial to both of our causes."

"And you want Gajeel to do it?" Happy questioned.

"No…" Pantherlily guessed slowly.

"No," Lucy affirmed, shaking her head, "He'll just follow the bait. The bait will get captured and he will follow them to the Demon Card hideout. There's got to be a secret entrance—we just don't know where it is yet. From the inside, then, the bait can get information on who really attacked the Rune Knights' general while Gajeel goes back to the guild. The bait needs ample time, though, so maybe you could sneak in to get information from the bait in six hour increments?"

The last bit was directed to Gajeel, who was crouched about four feet away.

"Lemme guess…" the dragonslayer cut in before Lucy could continue with the plan. "You're going to be the bait, aren't you?"

"What?" Happy was incredulous. "Lucy wouldn't—"

"Yes, actually," the blonde cut across Happy this time, causing the blue Exceed to stare at her in surprise. She knew it—no one expected her to stick her neck out. It's no wonder that they never trusted her enough in fights.

"You have some motive, then?" Lily piped in, eyes narrowed.

Lucy slowly stood back up as she sensed the end of the conversation nearing. In the process, she nodded to Pantherlily. She straightened herself, then, to her full and rather unintimidating height.

"I believe Demon Card attacked the general of the Rune Knights directly and on purpose with the intention of framing Natsu. Why else would they have made sure that the Rune Knights made an appearance there, when fights between guilds are illegal? Someone had to have warned them or they wouldn't have shown their faces, and we know that it wasn't anyone from Fairy Tail who did it."

Gajeel and Lily both frowned similarly, deep in thought. Happy just stared at Lucy mouth agape, as he still struggled to come to terms with her decision to personally be the bait. She knew he'd understand given enough time, but he just couldn't comprehend it so soon after having Natsu ripped away from him.

"When are you getting yourself captured?"

Gajeel's question seemed to startle the Exceeds, but it was the question Lucy had been waiting. Even without her mentioning that they'd be able to save Levy in the process, not directly at any rate, Gajeel had caught on.

"Aren't you going to tell her it's too dangerous?!" Happy cried out then, eyes wide. "Natsu would!"

"Because Bunny Girl is practically his mate," the iron dragonslayer retorted. "Of course he'd try to protect her if he could…but she's sure she can do it and I'm not Natsu so I won't try to stop her."

The blonde flushed at the fact that Gajeel was already thinking of her as Natsu's mate, but she was otherwise glad that he had enough faith in her to trust her with this plan.

"Five days before Natsu's trial is when I'll get captured," Lucy came back into the conversation to get it back on track. "Four days to get the information we need and to escape with Levy after you bring the guild to the rescue…and then the last day is for travel, with the real culprit in tow. We'll go to Era to crash the trial."

She told her plan straight out, no embellishments anywhere. She neglected to mention that she was going to do some provoking and likely get injured in the process…but she knew Gajeel wasn't stupid and neither was Lily. They knew that sometimes it took some sacrifice to get what you wanted. It would take Happy longer to pick up on it, but she was pretty certain that the others had already understood the undertones of her plan.

"You're going to prepare for Salamander's defense between now and the capture date then, I assume?"

Lily's question was simple to answer; Lucy just nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Lucy…"

"I'm sorry, Happy," and she was, she really was. She didn't want to do this to him so soon after his 'father' had been taken…but she had more. "I'm so sorry…but later on I'll have a job for you to do, too, if you're willing to help me."

"Aye," the little Exceed didn't seem too enthusiastic about it, but at least he'd agreed.

"We'll talk more later," Gajeel said suddenly, his head cocked as he listened intently. "The others inside are starting to look for you now. You'd better go before they panic and start to think you've been taken by Demon Card too."

"Thanks," Lucy nodded to Gajeel and Lily. "You two go get some sleep, okay?"

"You too," Gajeel said gruffly, turning and disappearing into the night.

"That's that," Lucy said, satisfied with the conversation's progress. Phase one was now completely finished and had passed rather smoothly; she'd been able to counter every obstacle that had tried to present itself cleanly and simply. She smiled softly then and turned to Happy with as much confidence as she could. "See there, Happy? We'll get Levy and Natsu back in no time at all! Let's just go back in so we can walk back to my apartment with the others, yeah?"

"S-sure…" Happy was hesitant to agree but he let himself rise to her shoulders as she reached to let herself into the building. They were entering from the bathroom hallway, so she could say she had gone to the bathroom…that could excuse her absence.

"Lucy?" Erza's voice rose a bit from deeper in the guild and the girl in question immediately had a twinge of guilt for worrying the requip mage. Lucy still felt accomplished and excited for the plan she had set in motion, though, so she didn't let her guilt overshadow that.

"Lucy!"

Gray's voice was exceptionally more relived and when the blonde actually paid attention she realized that he was headed down the hallway toward her. Relief was etched in every feature of his face and another momentary twinge of regret passed through the celestial mage before she thought about the bigger picture gain.

"Lucy, you were starting to worry us! Why didn't you say anything?!"

"Oh…sorry. The water, you know…"

Thankfully, the bathroom was empty and just behind her, so it didn't seem too ridiculous of her to gesture at it as though she had just emerged.

"The bathroom…? First Levy, then Natsu…we were worried, Lucy."

You don't have to remind me, Gray. Don't you think I know? Lucy wanted to say it out loud, but she refrained. Instead she said, meekly and sheepishly, "I know…I'm sorry…"

"No, no, don't worry about it. As long as you're okay, it's fine!"

"There you are!" Erza's voice sounded relieved this time. Before she could begin to scold Lucy, though, Gray covered for the blonde.

"She was just in the bathroom, Erza. False alarm."

The redhead breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well then…shall we all go back to Lucy's apartment now? We all could use the rest. We all need it."

"Yeah," Lucy agreed, and she wasn't lying when she said, "I'm completely exhausted."

"Aye," Happy piped up, lazily flopping over Lucy's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The fact that Happy was sticking to her so closely made the blonde wonder if she might just be the next most important person to him, after Natsu. If that was the case, it was an honor of sorts…but it also made her realize just how much Natsu meant to everyone…not just to her.

"Let's go," Gray said, turning to the door. Erza strode boldly across the room ahead of the others and they all followed after, slipping outside and staying as close together as was possibly without being awkward or tripping over each other.

The quartet stuck together as they left the guild unwilling to lose another comrade in such a short time. There was no chatter between them on the way to Lucy's home; just stony silence as each contemplated his or her own thoughts on the events of the day.

Holy shiizzzzzzle. I'm so sorry. I've had this chapter written for quite a while, but then I lost the notebook. I finally found it and typed it and it's three in the morning and I'm supposed to help a friend study for the French final in like, seven hours and I need sleep but here I am.

I hope this chapter meets expectations! It's kind of short…but I might be keeping chapters for this story shorter. It makes it easier to update when I have time.

Also…this is kind of a filler chapter, but it sets the plot in motion…sort of. The last chapter was the kicker but this one pushes it onward.

ANYWHO. Thank you so much for reading and again, I'm sorry for the late update!