The sound of the bike's motor was almost drowned out by the general hubbub of the crowd. Grey cursed under his breath as he and Juvia tried to navigate their way through the packed and narrow streets. Enticing smells of fried food from various market stalls floated through the air, making the ice mage that he had had a time for a proper meal.

There it was again. Briefly, Grey caught a glimpse of a black hood in the crowd. It seemed to watch him for a moment before being swallowed by the crowd of people. Grey shook his head and revved the engines, hoping that the crowd would part. A few people gave him dirty looks but eventually parted. He sighed in relief.

"My love, what did you see?" Juvia asked, clutching Grey's mid section as though her life depended on it. The water mage looked around but was unable to find anything hidden among the masses.

Grey inwardly shivered as he remembered what he saw looking out of the window into the alleyway. At first, he had seen nothing and had initially dismissed his suspicions as paranoia. Yet the very moment he had gone to look away, he had seen it. There hidden in the alley had been a cloaked figure, intently watching their very window. Now if this was the person that had given them the message or someone else, he could not say. All he knew was that something didn't seem right when he saw them. To make matters worse, the moment the figure noticed that he had been spotted, he had fled the scene.

"I saw someone watching us?"

Juvia unintentionally gripped him harder. "You mean "them?" She asked referring to the mysterious "they" the letter had described.

Grey gasped as he felt her hold him. "I don't know. But keep your eyes open."

Juvia nodded and glanced around. By now, their progress had slowed to a crawl as the traffic began to converge. Up ahead, they could hear faint yelling and a thick column of smoke snaking its way up into the horizon. The acrid stench of petrol fumes hung heavy in the air and the general chatter from the crowds going about their daily business.

As they came to a stop, Grey began to wonder about the letter. In truth, the scrap of paper had raised more questions than it had answered. First and foremost was who had sent it to them. All Grey had to go on was the letter R as proxy for a proper signature. He knew no one who's name began with an R (or at least none came to mind). If this was the case, then how did they find them?

Secondly was the problem of whoever "they" and "he" was. Was it possible that their target had known of their coming? Impossible. There was no way he could have known about it. And even if he had, how would he have been able to not only find out their exact whereabouts but also dispatched assassins in the day since they had set off? Grey doubted that even Mirajane hyped up on caffeine and a speed spell could spread a rumour that quick. Could she?

Suddenly Grey felt a sharp tug around his waist. On instinct, he gripped the handlebars so as not to fall off and turned to face Juvia.

"What the hell..." Grey was immediately silenced by Juvia jerking her towards the crowd. For a moment Grey sat there dumbfounded before finally getting the message. Casually looking around so as not to draw attention, Grey saw a cloaked figure heading towards them through the crowd. Upon being noticed, the figure seemed to act with more haste than before as he shoved people out of his way..

"Juvia sees another one," Juvia whispered and gestured to another cloaked figure who was pushing his way through the crowd towards them. Muttering the beggining words of a spell, Grey felt an icy aura surround him. Maybe he was wrong and it was a huge misunderstanding? After all, since when did assassins wear black cloaks and hoods in public so as to announce their profession to anyone curious enough to ask? He looked again and saw a flash of steel. No they were definitely coming towards him. He felt Juvia tensen as she prepared to defend herself. Yet something else was off. Whoever had sent these people must have known he was facing two fairy tail wizards. In that case why send rank amateurs unless..?

"Get down!" He yelled, reaching back and grabbing Juvia, pulling her off the bike. Not a second later, Grey heard an ear splitting bang. He felt dust blast his face at his body hit the ground hard. The sound of the gun shot rang in his ears and only now did Grey fully understand. The cloaked figures in the crowd weren't the assassins. They were the diversion!

"You okay Juvia?" He groaned shaking his head. He tried to stand only to find that the ground beneath his hands felt softer than it should have been. A soft squeak came from the "ground" and as the dust settled Grey realised why. In the rush to avoid the shot, Grey had grabbed the first part of Juvia he could. Now that he could see, the ice mage's face went a vivd shade of scarlet as he saw his hands grasping Juvia's breasts.

"J-Juvia thinks she is o-okay?" She stuttered, her cheeks a deep red."

"I swear I didnt mean..." Another shot interupted Grey as the high calibre round tore through his bark. The screams of the crowd were everywhere.

"Look out," Juvia exclaimed and lashed out with a water whip. Grey felt the rush of water surge past his ear. A cry of pain pierced the air and Grey turned to see one of the cloaked men fall back in pain. Within seconds however, the other was upon them, reaching back with his blade, preparing for the killing blow.

Before the blade could come arcing down, Grey grabbed Juvia and rolled them out of the way before springing to his feet. Hissing in annoyance, the assassin adjusted his stance preparing for the mage's retaliation. Clapping his hands together, Grey felt the icy power flowing through his veins. Calling out his incantation, Grey conjured a trio of spears and sent them hurtling through the air. The figure dived, narrowly avoiding being impaled by the frozen missiles.

Grey risked a glance across at Juvia. The rain woman was dancing a deadly tango with the second figure. Lashing out with a water whip, Juvia only just missed her assailant as he lept back gracefully. Hissing out a string of sibilant words, the man's hands glowed and the shortsword he was holding morphed into a two handed claymore. Requip mages. Thats all they needed.

Swinging at Juvia, the assasin placed a well aim blow at her throat. Only Juvia's reflexes saved her as the steel blade passed through the air mere milimetres from her jugular.

"Water slicer!" Juvia intoned. The wave of water that shot from her hand surged towards the hired killer like a starved wolf through an open cage. Raising his sword in blind hope of shielding himself from the spell, the man was nonetheless swept away like a leaf in a storm.

Turning at the sounds of battle behind her, Juvia watched as Grey grappled with his opponent. There came a sound like the shattering of glass as the assassin's blade clashed with the handle of Grey's ice hammer. Shards of ice flew through the air as the weapon threatened to give way. Roaring with effort, Grey shifted his weight so that the head of the hammer slammed into the into the man's jawbone with a sickening crunch. The man staggered back in agony. Juvia ran over to Grey.

"Are you alright my love?"

"I'll be fine." Grey panting, trying to offer a weak smile when just then another shot whizzed past his head. The sniper, briefly forgotten in the scuffle, had finally managed to get a clear shot.

"Get behind me Juvia!" Grey exclaimed. As Juvia ran over, she thought she saw the flash similar to that of a requip atop the roofs above her.

"Ice make Shield!" Forming as though from thin air, a large oval shield formed around Grey's right arm, large enough to conceal both of the mages. Less than a second after, Juvia heard a strange mechanical whirring before the very air around her exploded. Grey grit his teeth, his arm and the shield with it thudding to the staccato rythme of the bullets. Crystalline shards of ice ricocheted through the air as Grey's ice make magic battled the full fury or the lead storm unleashed upon it. Hairline fractures began to appear upon the surface of the ice but the shield held firm, blessed be. Grey's arm ached with the effort but he still managed to start moving with Juvia towards the town gates.

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, the sniper decided to requip one last weapon. True, the master uad wanted the wizards removed from the picture quietly. He smirked. He could either do it "quietly " or he could do it right. Resting the cannon on his shoulder, the assassin took aim.

"Say goodnight Fairies."

There was an ear splitting bang and the world around Grey and Juvia erupted into flames. Shattering his shield on impact, the force of the blast carried through to Grey, throwing him back as he tried to shield Juvia.

Ears ringing, Juvia slowly pushed Grey off of her. His breathing was rapid and his eyes barely open. Something limp hung at his side and it took Juvia a moment to realise that it was Grey's arm. A length of jagged shrapnel protruded from the limb and it was bent at a weird angle, causing Grey to groan in agony whenever he attempted to move.

A red mist descended upon Juvia. Slowly she stood up, tendrils of stream snaking away around her body. As if sensing a change in his target, the sniper lowered his weapon slightly.

"Awww whats wrong Sweetie?" He jeered. "Did you break a nail?"

"You hurt Grey Sama..." Juvia mumbled.

"I'm sorry what did you say Sweetheart?" The man cupped his hand to his ear mockingly.

"You hurt Grey Sama!' Juvia screeched like a harpy descending upon its prey, her eyes growing dark with rage.

Eyes widening, the man raised his weapon, preparing to make the shot. But it was too little too late.

"Water Nebula!" Juvia cried out. A torrent of boiling water lashed out towards the sniper, hissing as it turned to steam on the air. Screaming, the man clutched his face as it burnt and blistered before he and the entire rooftop were swept away.

Grey's mouth was agape with awe as he witnessed the spectacle. Then in stark contrast to the daemonic fury she had just vented on her foe, Juvia turned and gently helped Grey to his feet, his one good arm wrapped around her neck, the damaged one hanging uselessly at his side. Even if he wanted to, Grey doubted he would have been able to stand.

"Are you okay my love?" Juvia asked softly into Grey's ear. All around them, the screams of panicking people filling the atmosphere. Clutching his head slightly, Grey nodded weakly.

"I'll be fine. Let's try and get to the gates."

"But it isnt dark yet?" Juvia pointed out as she carried him.

Grey cursed as he realised she was right. "We'll have to wait for our contact."

Juvia nodded as they trudged through the streets. Up ahead, they could see the town gatehouse starting to appear. Sighing in relief, Juvia started to put on a new burst of speed. They were almost there.

Nearing the gate house, Juvia saw a guard slumped up against the stone walls. At first she thought that he was either asleep of drunk considering the seemingly uncomfortable position in which he was sat in. Only on closer inspection did Juvia notice the crimson stain spreading across the main's chest and the deep puncture in the soldier's armour. A metallic clash from above grabbed the mage's attention, causing both Grey and Juvia to crane their necks to the walls above. Blades locked, a lone guard struggled to fend off two more of the mysterious figures.

Juvia watched them nervously. Had both she and Grey been fit, they could have easily taken them? However with Grey wounded and herself exhausted, she doubted that she alone could take them off. Glancing anxiously at the open gates, Juvia looked at the ice mage draped around her shoulder. Grey groaned in agony and looked as though he would not survive the encounter. Neither of the figures had noticed them yet. Biting her lip nervously, Juvia made a quick split second decision.

Running as quickly as she was able, Juvia dragged Grey out of the town and into the wilderness, unaware of the gathering storm clouds overhead.