A/N - I realized after publishing the first chapter that I completely forgot to thank my betas for what they were able to do so far to help me on this.

Kiri and Legends did fantastic while dealing with life. Sorry that I love screwing up dialogue and action beats!

Also, thank you to everyone who has commented so far! Glad you have been enjoying the story so far!

Enjoy the chapter!

RE:Script

Episode One: Hargeon

By Genavere

Chapter One

"Miss Lucy, are you certain this will be enough?"

While Capricorn tended to enjoy his tailored suits and proper manners, he could understand why she had asked him to change his clothes for this particular mission. And why she had not asked Taurus to assist her.

"As long as we keep your head hidden and we keep a low profile, I think it will work perfectly. There! All set."

The young woman stepped back and nodded in approval of the hood that covered most of the ram's inhuman looks and the ragged clothes that he donned. They matched hers quite well, which he was pleased with.

"What form of mission will we be performing today for such appearances?"

She attached her key satchel to the belt that held up her three-sizes-too-big torn jeans and swiftly covered them with an even larger sweatshirt. They were not the most flattering of clothes, but literal beggars could not be choosers in this world. "Well, the owner of the magic shop said that the docks needed some help moving cargo boxes."

"Are you certain you will be capable of such manual labor, Miss Lucy?" Concern for his charge left him wondering if she had been pushing herself too hard the last couple of months. Without the protection or clearance of an official guild, she could not get jobs that would have fit her caliber of a Celestial Wizard. But with the threat of being found hovering over her head constantly, he understood her reluctance to approach any.

They had discussed many times several options of guilds, but her heart would only settle for one. "But how do I even get into an official guild? Is there a test? Do I have to tell them my last name? What if they reject me?"

Such needless worries his young mistress fretted about when he knew the value of a Celestial Wizard, especially one of her bloodline. Since the days of her ancestor, Anna, he had served the Heartfilia women through all their struggles and achievements. Any guild she deemed worthy to have her would be honored for such an esteemed line to enter their ranks.

Convincing her of that high praise remained to be the difficult part.

While she held grace and beauty like those before her, she also had a brilliance none could deny. Unfortunately, her lack of confidence and traumas of the past held her back from a greater purpose.

Lucy lifted her arms and flexed, the sleeves of her sweatshirt hanging down like stretched skin made the action rather unconvincing. "I'm fit as a fiddle and ready to prove that I have what it takes to be on my own!" The smile on her lips died before they could reach her crinkled eyes, and they both knew it.

Neither said anything, and to keep her bravado up, he flexed his own arms and offered a smile. "Then let us tackle this challenge together-r-r!"

Gathering the bag that held all her belongings in it and her own cloak, she led the way out of the rundown inn they had managed to stay at for the night. It had been the cheapest, and they required no documents, both of which they were short on—the documents due to her current status, and the jewel after the purchase of a silver gate key the day prior.

Even after working in the magic shop, translating several books that the owner had been scammed to purchase, and getting a large discount, they had just enough money for food and a place to stay for the next couple of nights. It had been like this since she had called upon her spirits for help to run away from the place she had once called home.

"Miss Lucy." Capricorn kept his voice low as they moved through the darkened streets of early morning. A quick glance down the alleyways showed those who were down on their luck or had slept where they passed out from whatever pleasures they had sought out the night prior. Having his young charge so close to such realities soured his pride. "You did not explain to me why you are not going back to the magic shop."

In the chill of the morning air, the baggy layers she wore to keep warm and the hat hiding her hair kept him from noticing each of her body movements from behind. But he had been by her side from the day of her birth even as he served her mother, and the slightest rise in her shoulders caught his attention.

At the magic shop, her spirits had stopped coming out while she worked on translating and working in the back after she promised each of them that she could handle it. With translating, she needed all her energy to stay focused and concentrate on the task. Even after years of tutoring and study, learning different languages and translating them had been a stumbling point for her.

"I did everything I could do there," her reply came, soft and tired. "All the books he needed had been translated, the accounting books had been cleaned up, everything had been organized and set up in a way that would make things easier for him."

Under the weight of her bag, he watched her shoulders shrug. "He said he would give me a good word to other shops, and suggested the docks until others asked for help."

Knowing her tutelage and her attention to detail, none of what she explained surprised him. Being trained to take over the family estate when she grew up had left her with knowledge most in the small harbor town would never receive. Taking a page from Aquarius' page, he straightened his back and strolled faster to walk beside her. "Then, might I suggest we make haste to the docks?"

Her eyes lifted and met his. The smile that had refused to surface in the brown eyes earlier finally made an appearance. "Sure!"

#####

A belch escaped Natsu and he held his stomach in desperation. Still green from the train ride, he leaned against a wall and took several deep breaths. "Never,"—he fought back another belch that he knew would not just be air— "I am never riding the train again."

"You always say that." His companion, a blue cat named Happy, looked up at him and offered a handkerchief. "It has peppermint on it. Teach said it would help the nausea."

"Gettin' rid of transportation would do the same…" He pressed the piece of fabric against his mouth and nose, fighting the urge to throw up. Then the strong scent of the crushed leaves in the fabric hit him. "So…strong…!"

Tears welled up in his eyes and he itched his nostrils.

"You weren't supposed to shove it against your face like that, Natsu," Happy said and shook his head.

"You could have told me that before I did!"

"You didn't give me time!"

High-pitched squeals caught their attention as a pair of women took off running in a direction away from them. While people running from them, mostly due to Natsu's actions, occurred frequently enough for them to not think much of it, the giddiness of the sounds they made did. They shared a look and decided to head toward the commotion.

Outside the rows of buildings on the cobblestone streets, a courtyard with a large flowing water fountain had a large group of people huddled around it. With keen eyesight, he could tell that most of the people in the group were women, though there were men, too. They all stared upwards at a man dressed in a bright violet cape standing on the edge of the fountain.

Arms stretched out wide with the sleeves of an immaculate white shirt rolled up to his elbows, purple flames bounced between his open palms and swirled around in spectacular fashion. The crowd ate it up, cooing and cheering. When the fire disappeared, he would reach out to adoring fans and touch their outstretched hands. Many of the women let out a breathy scream, fainting against their jealous friends

"I don't get it," Happy frowned, having flown his way up onto Natsu's shoulder to watch the scene. They could see he had fairly tanned skin from their advantage point, but that made it harder to discern if there were identifying tattoos or guild marks. "Why are they so happy?"

"I dunno, buddy," he frowned.

"Do you think he's our target?"

"Heh," he cracked his knuckles and grinned, "only one way to find out! Let's get closer."

As he ran down the cobblestone roads towards the crowd, another figure stalked towards the preening male from the opposite direction.

Fists clenched, the anger boiling inside had set her on the path of violence. Before he had ventured back to the Celestial Realm, Capricorn asked her not to do anything she would later regret. No promises had been made. They both knew in her current mood, there would be no other choice than to confront the pompous asshole who stole a day's work and pay from her.

When Lucy arrived at the docks that morning, the lack of ships concerned her. For a harbor town, fishing and trade ships were in and out of port all year round. If there were no ships, that meant no products to fill the shops or for merchants to take inland to the other cities. And if the vanity products were not important, produce certainly was! But along the large harbor, only small fishing boats came in using the smaller docks on the far edges.

She shared a concerned look with Capricorn before going to a couple of men who looked like dock workers. "Excuse me, I was sent here by the gentleman at the magic shop in town. He said there would be work to do?"

The men looked her over and shrugged. Travelers usually came looking for side jobs to fill their wallets until the next city. And the docks were the best place to go that always needed more hands. "I'm 'fraid yer luck is just rotten, miss."

She looked at the dock worker who spoke to her, meeting his squinted eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he scratched the back of his balding head, "if ya had come by yest'rday, yer'd been in luck, but some wizard threw in lots of jewel late yest'rday and rented up the 'hole place."

The others nodded and added to the conversation. "I heard he even flew in. Big cloud of flames under him."

"Yeah, and the dock mister got so mad. Face just red! All thought he'd have a heart explosion," another added, laughing. She did not know exactly why the thought of someone dying would bring laughter, but in that moment, it did not matter.

"But why would there be no work?"

"Yeah, with that guy renting up the docks, no one but the army can use them," the dockhand shrugged. "We were all told we'd be given part of a day's work of pay, so that's nice."

That was nice for them, she thought bitterly. Who had the power and money to do such a—An icy hand gripped her heart and caught her breath. Had he found her? Did he send a wizard to track her down and they were limiting the escape routes?

A hand rested on her shoulder and squeezed. The pressure calmed her as Capricorn stepped next to her. "Excuse me, gentlemen, but do you happen to know why they rented the docks out, and if they have a name associated with them?"

Not for the first time since she had received Capricorn's key did she realize how blessed she was to have him by her side. Being a runaway would have been near impossible without his patience and steady nature.

The first dockhand pushed his lips out, she thought it resembled a pout or a duck-face, and nodded slowly. "'Ell, this ship's 'is." He motioned to the large ship in the dock. Lights were strung around the decks and boxes of crates labeled 'Wine' sat on the upper decks. A party ship. Great.

"Yeah, and from the rumors I heard," the third dockhand leaned in, ready to tell them a secret, "he went around boo-sting he's some famous lizard from a fairy place."

A famous lizard? Fairy place? Rolling around the words in her head, the latest edition of Sorcerer's Weekly had mentioned the great success Salamander of Fairy Tail had achieved with destroying an abandoned village that needed to be cleared. It briefly mentioned other points of damage he had done that had not been requested, but they tried hard to keep those as footnotes near the bottom of his article.

"Do you mean, Salamander of Fairy Tail?" They had to have heard wrong. Why would such a renowned wizard come to a place like Hargeon to throw a party? Fairy Tail was located on a giant lake that near resembled an ocean. He could have stayed there and not disrupted people trying to work.

"That's it!" The other dockhand gave his friend a narrowed look. "Really? Lizard from a fairy place? You drinkin' on the job again?"

"Yeah—no!"

If Salamander of Fairy Tail was here…she worried her lower lip between her teeth, zoning out the arguing of the dockhands. Fairy Tail held all her dreams of becoming a wizard. If there were any guild strong enough to protect her, it would be them. But could she convince him to let her join?

""Ey, miss?"

She blinked rapidly and looked at the first dockhand. "Sorry, I was thinking a bit. What did you say?"

"He said that you might want to steer clear of that guy," the second answered.

"Why's that?"

"Yeah, well…he was saying that he will only accept the most beautiful of men and women, and you lookin' a bit young," the third shrugged.

Brows furrowed, she glanced at Capricorn and then the men. "I don't understand…"

The three men leaned in closer to her, and instinctively, her and Capricorn did the same. It felt like they were sharing secrets with her, and if there had been work available, she felt that they would have been some great personalities to pass the day by faster.

"'Hat guy's a snake," the first hissed.

"He'd ruin you any chance he got. Don't let him even look your way," the second warned.

"Yeah, he bad news! Gonna try sleepin' with all the women," the third shook his fists.

"Listen to your uncles," the second pulled her attention back to him. "Don't approach him and don't go on that ship."

Their warnings had been sincere, and even Capricorn agreed with them, but the thought that someone she looked up to turned out to be such a creep clouded all rationale.

Anger flushed her cheeks, and her footsteps quickly turned to huffed stomps on the cobblestone. Salamander of Fairy Tail or not, the fact he threw around his reputation and ease of money in the face of those who had to work for theirs added to the fire building. He was an entitled jerk who looked down at those less fortunate. Just like those from the life she ran away from.

It had not taken long to find where he had been gathering his potential 'guests' for the party; one only had to follow the giddy laughter and excited squeals that led her directly to him. He stood high and mighty on his water fountain throne, using his magic in a way no respectful wizard should.

Her eyes narrowed. He had ruined her plans to earn enough money and potentially find additional work, and he dared to dress like some half-baked noble. That shade of purple had been out of fashion in the upper class since she had been a child!

Whether it was from the fury she exuded or her ragged appearance, the crowd parted easily for her. The disturbance to his show caught his attention, and she saw the way his nose wrinkled and the judgement that passed over his features. Fine by her. He was certainly no looker himself.

A perfect showman, the look disappeared in a blink and he smiled at her. "My, what a lovely—!"

Without a thought, her legs had taken the step up onto the fountain right to him and mete out her vision of justice. Water splashed over the edge of the fountain from the mass of his body falling into it. The skin of her knuckles burned and instantly turned red from the abuse of meeting the thin flesh under his chin.

Shoulders shuddered with each breath. Every fiber screamed that it had not been enough.

"You uncultured swine!" her voice rose above the murmuring of the crowd. From her raised perch on the edge of the fountain where he had been, she shoved her fists against her hips. "Using your magic like it's some paltry magician's trick and taking away work for those who need it!"

Her annoyance only grew when she turned to the crowd of overzealous women who returned her glare. While they outnumbered her, she knew that if they decided to jump her the water in the fountain would play a huge role in washing them all away—herself included.

"Do none of you have any self-respect? Why are you throwing yourselves at—" Words caught in her throat as arms wrapped around her chest, pinning her arms tightly against her sides. At first, she tensed at the thought that she would be thrown to the ground. If she managed to roll as Capricorn had taught her, she would be able to walk away with only a few scratches.

Then, she tensed for a completely different reason. The arms around her loosened enough that one of them began to move upwards in a way that sent a shudder through her. Through the fabric of her clothes, she felt an arm pressed up into her breasts and a breath of air slithered across her cheek.

"What is this hidden under these clothes?" His voice, only a whisper, echoed loudly in her ear. With a wince, she tried to pull away from him, but the movement against her side brought a strange sensation over her. Her heart pounded against her chest, but it fluttered at the feel of his arms wrapped around her. Heat rose up in her chest, spread over her cheeks and to the tips of her ears. What…what was happening to her?

A new face broke through the crowd, pulling her attention to it. No, she realized, it was not a face, but a shock of pink that adorned the head of the person rushing toward her. The heat that pooled in her chest diminished and a different sort of heat fixated on the wrist the newcomer grabbed.

Inside, something shattered and left her breathless as she was dragged through the crowd.

"Come on, weirdo!"

They ran through the courtyard and down a few back alleyways, dashing around each corner until she felt she would be sick from how fast they were going. Still, through the entire way, not once did the grip on her wrist loosen or tighten to the point of pain. And the heat from him traveled all the way up her arm. Just that touch alone felt warmer than the chill of Salamander.

When they finally came to a stop somewhere in the back alleys of the port city, he let her wrist go and fell forward. She followed suit and gasped for breath. It had been a long time since she had to full-out run like that.

After a few mouthfuls of oxygen, she pushed her hair back from her face and combed her fingers through it. It always got unruly under her hat to the point that it often took an hour to get the knots out. Her eyes widened.

Patting the top of her head, she looked at the ground for any sign of her hat, but only sludge and garbage filled the narrow space between the buildings. Panic surged upward. Without her hat, anyone hired to track her down would have an easier job of it. The last time she had been found, it had been nearly the end.

Hands grabbed her shoulders, jolting her from the panic clawing at her sanity and back to her surroundings in the alleyway. A shaky breath filled her lungs and she focused on the noise coming from the person who had dragged her there. Blinking, the corner of her lips tugged down as the person in front of her…laughed?

With his head bent downwards, all she could make out of his features were the pink locks she noticed earlier and his shoulders that bounced along with his laughter. A large travel pack with a bedroll gave her some clues that he was also a fellow traveler looking for work in the area.

Maybe a wizard down on his luck, or someone also on the run.

"That…" he took a deep breath and threw his head back with more laughter. With his mouth wide, she took notice of the sharp fangs. "That was great! You really socked him!"

Except for her self-defense training with Capricorn, she had never been praised for punching someone. That had been something completely frowned upon. She still remembered the stern talking to she had received as a child after hitting a boy who had pushed her.

A familiar warmth covered her cheeks, and she realized it felt really nice to be complimented by someone with no obligations to praise her.

"Thanks." She offered him a smile and scratched her cheek in embarrassment, "I wouldn't have normally done that, but…he really made me mad."

"You looked 'bout ready to end him," he cackled, wiping his eyes of tears. "I know a few others who are just as scary as you. I bet they would be thrilled to meet you."

It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dropped over her head and the bucket followed soon after. Had this been a trap to lure her away from a public place and kidnap her? Anyone could have been hired by her father, or someone who wanted to use her for ransom.

Self-consciously, she tugged on her hair and looked up and down the alleyway. Were there others who were around there? Waiting for the signal to jump out and grab her? She reached down with her free hand toward her keys.

"By the way," he pulled back from her and held out his hand. The grin on his face startled her at how large it was. If she were to describe it, she'd say it was encompassing, spreading over his entire face from his crinkled eyes, his revealed dimples, and the slight crunch of his nose. It made her reconsider her previous misgivings and feel a spark of hope. "My name's Natsu Dragneel, what's yours?"

A/N - My favorite part of this chapter (besides Lucy punching Bora) are the Uncles at the dock. They came out of no where while writing this and they became my favorites. I hope you all enjoyed them, too!

Reminder that chapters come out every two weeks! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and will see you on October 6th!