EXTRA LONG CHAPPY! Sorry for the wait!
In fact, that was where Lucy was exactly right now. She peeked behind a suit of armor, looking at the two guards below. She smirked, back to her regular cold self again.
It was the same as last time, she mentally complained. BOR-inggg!
"Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!" The guards looked up for a split second before a two well-placed punches to their heads made them fall unconscious. Lucy smirked.
"Thanks Leo." She smiled kindly to the ginger-haired Spirit. He seemed concerned.
"Are you sure this is okay? Doing this without backu—" The bandit scowled and forced his Gate closed.
"Yes, I'm sure." She snapped to the empty air. Lucy descended the stairs, drawing her new dagger [courtesy of Virgo,] into her hand. The whip would have been too long to use in the small space below her.
Lucy slipped around the corner, listening to the voices for thirty seconds. She counted three, two masculine and one feminine. Three guards were all that separated Michelle from herself.
The bandit dashed around the corner, hitting the first man under the chin with the hilt of her knife. His eyes rolled to the back of his head but the unconscious man didn't even have the full time to hit the floor before the next one was knocked out also.
"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Someone shouted, and a fierce wind blasted Lucy back, making her crash into the wall painfully. She heard a sickening snap, and the pain in her arm was incredible. She bit her lip to stop herself from screaming, but everything turned blurry and the floor started spinning.
"Oh, are you okay?" Someone cried, running up to her. Lucy looked up, switching her knife in her other hand, preparing to knock out the other guard and fixing her arm. By the sound of it, the limb was broken. Lucy winced, struggling onto her knees as she looked at her last opponent.
It was Princess Wendy, looking down at her concernedly. "What are you doing here?" Lucy blinked.
"I... uh..." She couldn't hurt a damned little kid! Despite her need to break Michelle out, hurting kids was just... no. Seeing as Wendy wasn't moving or attacking her, Lucy didn't do anything in return. Not that she could, anyway, the pain her in arm stopped herself from making many coherent thoughts.
"Lucy!" Lucy zoned out to behind the princess, looking at the cell. Even moving her head hurt. She smiled though. Michelle was there, holding one hand on the bars to get as close to the blonde bandit as she could, while the other wrist was cuffed to the wall. Something warm filled Lucy's chest.
"Hey Michelle." She winced, "G-Good to see you okay." By the looks of it, Michelle was healing nicely, with freshly applied bandages and a small plate of food beside her. Her eyes were wide, mostly focusing on the bandit's arm.
"Oh my god, are you alright?" Michelle continued staring.
"I'm fine, I'm fi-NE!" Lucy squeaked when she attempted to get up, holding her arm and groaning. Wendy kneeled next to her, but the blonde pulled away fast. "What are you doing?"
"Healing your arm." Wendy explained. "You won't be able to go that far with a broken bone." Lucy opened her mouth to speak, but the girl cut her off. "Michelle is my friend, and she isn't spending her time locked in a cell. Go."
Lucy blinked, at a loss for words. A pale light emitted from the princess's hands and the girl reached out, snapping the limb back in place. The bandit winced at the sickening sound, but when Wendy pulled back and she moved her arm, she almost sighed in relief.
The princess seemed woozy, and suddenly she fell to the side. Lucy jumped forwards to catch her, putting her gently to the ground.
"I'm fine, I'm fine..." Wendy grinned weakly. "Just gotta recuperate some Magic." Her brow creased, and Lucy put her gently on the floor.
"Thank you so much Princess Wendy." Lucy bowed; feeling like the little girl deserved it. The blue-haired maiden smiled in response.
"The guard change is due in a few minutes." Wendy told her softly. "So go before anyone notices. I'll pretend." Lucy bent down to shuffle through the out-cold guard's key ring. She took it off his belt and proceeded to try all the keys until the lock to Michelle's cell clicked open. Lucy scowled, looking at the cuff attached to Michelle's wrist. She would have to search the ring again.
Something made a loud clack against the cement floor next to her. The bandit looked over at the silver key Wendy threw. "It's the key to the cuff." Wendy explained exhaustedly. The blonde nodded, taking the key and unlocking Michelle's arm from the chain.
The little blonde threw her arms around Lucy, making her stumble. "are you okay? How did you make it out alive? I was so scared and worried and..." Lucy patted her back.
"Sorry Michelle. I'll have to explain it to you later. We don't have any time for chit-chat. Remember what I told you before?" she asked quickly. "About the safe house?" Michelle nodded.
"If we get separated, meet me there." The older sister told the little one. Lucy gave Wendy an appreciative glance before heading up the stairs with Michelle.
"It's the same plan as before. They won't be expecting us to come back the same way, but we'll watch our backs more so we don't get caught." Lucy looked down at Michelle's medium-dark blue clothes with distaste. They weren't fit for sneaking around.
Celestial Spirit clothes were too bright... Lucy scowled. "I'll work with what I got." She said to herself quietly, checking the outside room for people. The Grand room was empty. She looked at the two guards at her feet, still unconscious. She pushed the bodies down the stairs, smirking. That was easy.
Lucy took Michelle's hand and crept through the halls, walking all the way to the Gardens. She watched her back carefully, making sure no one crept up behind her. Michelle remained silent, following the elder bandit without a word.
The reached the double glass doors to the Gardens safely. Lucy looked behind her, ears straining to hear footsteps while she inspected outside. There were four guards in sight, two red and two blue. The guard wrinkled her nose, seeing if she recognized any of the men.
She froze. One of the men was big and bulky, with bright, unmistakably yellow hair. "Those uniforms represent mages, and we have strong ones. Especially a yellow-haired one, Do Not cross him. You'd be screwed in a second." Natsu's words echoed in her head. She peered at the man one last time before pulling Michelle away.
"Wha— weren't we supposed to be there?" Michelle whispered. Lucy shook her head, gritting her teeth, almost grinding them together.
"No. One of the guards is supposed to be strong. I don't want to take risks with you." She said harshly. Michelle swallowed but followed along. The bandit followed another route, not too far from the Gardens, and slipped outside.
Two hedges separated her and the guards. She swallowed, creeping quietly through the path, eyeing the large wall not too far away from her. Lucy quietly unlatched her grappling hook, and Michelle stepped forwards.
SNAP.
A guard, by the name of Thomas, ran through the ballroom, easily finding the Lord and Queen sitting at the head table, chatting animatedly to each other with Metalicana. The man pushed through the remaining crowd, panting slightly from the run.
"Sir, I apologize, but this is an emergency." Thomas cried, careful to keep his hands to himself. Igneel scowled. "I'm sorry, Lord Igneel. We need to speak in private. Immediately." The man swallowed, trying not to freeze under Igneel's cold stare.
"Yes, fine. If it is an emergency then it had to be dealt with." He stood up, walking out of the room with the man into an empty hallway.
Thomas managed to speak. "I-It's a competitor from Prince Eucliffe's district, named Minerva. She attempted to steal the Dragneel kingdom's resources by marrying herself to Natsu and then using the land to fuel her own count—"
"That's enough." Igneel rumbled, rubbing his forehead. "She is a problem that needs to be dealed with, obviously."
"She kidnapped a girl also. Using a third-degree Magical thought collar for mage's. An illegal device in Fiore." Thomas said quickly. "Prince Gajeel got the girl out somehow." The redhead nodded.
"Could you give me your Magical Shock device?" Igneel asked, holding out his hand. Every guard held a taser-like device that could shock people unconscious. The older man didn't want to possibly start a war by burning the princess of the Orland Kingdom, so he would shock her instead. Thomas handed the device over reluctantly, and Igneel spun around to get rid of this nuisance.
Igneel walked back to the ball, lounging around and inspecting for a black head of hair. He remembered the lady quite well; unfortunately, she was one who left an impression. Igneel wrinkled his nose and scoffed. She wasn't pretty, with all that makeup crap put on her face. And if she thought Natsu would marry himself to her?
Igneel would have had a heart attack if his son chose that lady.
Finally, he stopped a raven-haired Minerva sipping wine on a little single-person table. Some of the red-wearing guards close to her were eyeing the lady whenever they thought she wasn't looking. Minerva scoffed and rolled her eyes at them as Igneel walked up to her.
"Hello. You are Minerva Orland, correct?" He said. The lady looked up, smirking softly.
"Yes, indeed I am, Lord Dragneel. I am honored to know that you remember my name." She stood up and bowed.
"May I speak to you in private? It is only for a few short seconds." The man asked, trying not to show distaste in the woman. She was uptight and she thought she was better than anyone else. Plus she'd kidnapped a girl and was planning to leave the Dragneel Kingdom bankrupt. She made him sick; but he tried not to show it. His face remained impassive.
"Yes, Lord Dragneel." There was a challenging glint in her eyes, and the eldest Dragon Slayer noticed. He responded with a silent challenge of his own, eyes sharpening and turning a little more slit-like. The lady smirked and followed him outside.
"You've figured it all out?" she asked coolly. Igneel snorted.
"Come with me willingly or there will be hurt." He couldn't believe how many criminals had attacked the castle recently. It was like a bandit magnet at the moment, for god's sake, he thought.
"But what did I do wrong?" she batted her eyelashes mockingly. Igneel growled and stepped forwards, but found himself stopped by a sort of wall. He pressed up against it, growling.
"A Space mage, eh?" he rumbled, blasting the wall with fire. The barrier held, only barely. For a second, Igneel could see it as it truly was, a purpley spiraling wall in constant motion. The Dragneel king punched the thing, stepping back and finding himself in a box. He scowled, punching the wall again. It cracked.
"I suppose my plans are ruined now. I must go back to Jeimma, I suppose." She scowled, but turned back to the angry Dragon Slayer, the only thing separating prey from predator the tiny barrier. "Pleasure doing business with you, Igneel." She bowed, turning on her heel and walking away.
"GUARDS!" Igneel yelled from the top of his lungs, meaning everybody in the castle heard him clearly. Minerva smirked, her back facing the Dragon Slayer as she walked away. Igneel smashed into the barrier until it snapped and broke.
"ORLAND!" Igneel stomped after her scent until he met up with a huge group of guards. Gray ran up to him, his uniform put on, visibly, Igneel could tell, quickly.
"Lord Igneel. Minerva has teleported somewhere. We are trying to locate her, but at this point, she could be anywhere. Even outside. She may have gotten awa—"
"Boooys..!" The guard and king spun around to look at the figure standing there, softly smirking. There was a ball underneath her arm. Igneel recognized it as a communications lacyrima. She must have used that to contact her father, Igneel growled. "I just wanted to get this before I left." Minerva opened up a Space to deposit the ball in.
"Now I just have to give retribution to that little twerp for giving me away." She growled, and Igneel's eyes widened. The little girl that she kidnapped? He thought, eyes widening as Minerva disappeared.
Gajeel looked over at the little girl beside him, reassured that she was fine and sleeping peacefully for the thirtieth time that night.
The Iron Dragon Slayer had taken Levy to the infirmary, but she'd fallen asleep as soon as she drunk a glass of water and hit the bed. He guessed that the beach-lady didn't feed her much, and a growl rose in his throat. He was careful to be quiet though, not wanting to wake her up.
Gajeel decided to stay here. Not because he cared for her or anything, just he might as well stay here, since there was nothing to do anyway. He huffed, turning back to look at the wall.
About half-an-hour later, there was a sudden stirring in his gut, like something bad was going to happen. His forehead creased but he stood up, growling. It was just a sense, telling him to get up and watch outside. He leaned on the doorframe, just as Minerva appeared in front of him.
"You're the one who kidnapped that girl, right?" he growled, recognizing the uptight woman who blocked his way that night. The woman smirked.
"My name is Minerva Orland. I am here to give retribution to the girl who gave me away. She is in the infirmary, yes?" He growled in response.
"You're not getting past me. It was wrong to hurt the Shrimp and you're not doing it again."
Lucy's eyes widened and Michelle raised her foot, seeing the stray branch underneath that she'd crushed. Lucy took Michelle's hand and turned back, bolting for the doors. Everything to Lucy seemed slow-motion.
The ground where they were once standing exploded. The two bandits were thrown forwards by the blast and face planted into the dirt. Lucy and Michelle coughed, but the elder blonde scrambled to her feet, pulling Michelle up and running. She opened the doors hastily and turned down the hallways, not caring if anyone saw at this point. In fact, no one seemed in the hallways, but Lucy could hear distant banging of a fight.
"Michelle!" she cried, pulling her hand more. The girl nearly tripped but managed to stay on her feet.
She heard the yellow-haired mage, she assumed it was, talk into a communications lacyrima fast. "Guards needed at the east end. Golden Spirit trying to escape with the girl again." He growled and chased after her.
Lucy brought out a Key. "Open, Gate of the Twins and Scorpion, Gemini and Scorpio!" She screamed, heart pounding and blood hammering in her ears. The two Spirits emerged, charging and holding the man back. He disappeared around a corner, until Lucy judged herself far enough from him.
She knew the guards would find them eventually, so she continued running, their quick footsteps echoing in the halls. Michelle and Lucy were panting heavily.
They reached the Grand Hall safely. Lucy looked at the grand doors. She wasn't planning by the front door, but she supposed she had no other options. Before she could move, dozens of soldiers filled the room, surrounding the two bandits. They all pointed their spears at her.
"Halt!" Gray shouted. "You have the right to remain silent, Golden Spirit and Michelle." The older bandit growled, trying to see an escape point. She swallowed, not seeing one. All the spears looked mighty pointy to her.
She transmitted her thoughts to one of her Spirits, hoping he'd hear her. Luckily, he did, emerging from his Key with a large golden flash, blinding everyone. Leo smiled at the girls, kicking some guards away to make a path for them to run.
She didn't know why she'd only noticed at that moment. Lucy turned around, and there she was; a green-haired girl hiding in the shadows, a sniper aimed for her heart. Before she had the time to scream, or alert Leo, the gun shot. Time slowed down.
And then someone threw themselves in front of her, taking the bullet previously aimed at the bandit. Someone who had pink hair and wore a scarf around his neck.
I'm sure you know who it all is, BUT! It's late and I cannot give you more chappies! MWAHAHAHA! Sorry this one took so long, blame it on RPing forums and life. and school... god, I shouldn't be making excuses like this... AW, I can't do replies, sorry! Thank you so much MythandFairyTailLover, Jesselyrics, Edolie [btw, you were the only one who answered my other question. Everyone, thank this girl/guy for shooting *blank!], Alycat, Lolibeagle, 1fairytaillover, Fairy-Tail's-Dragon, FTastarossa, paniccatthediscofreak7, PrettyKitty280, HikariYume07, BlossomsCherry, Sofia3, CazalezAngel, LiLiRoSe98, Scrat, and last but not least Talia! I wish I could reply to you all but then this story would be like, mostly replies!