It's been a week since Lucy, heir to the Heartfillia estate has gone missing.
FLYER delivered to Makarov:
Help being requested of the strongest team in Fairytail
Find and Rescue Lucy Heartfillia who is believed to have been kidnapped by the guild Dark Song.
Small black and white photo.
Reward- 1,000,000 Jewel For her safe return
Requestor- Jude Heartfillia
"Natsu, Erza, Gray come into my office please."
Natsu- "Gramps, what's up?"
"I'm sending you on a mission." He hands Erza the flyer.
Erza- "Seems pretty straight forward."
Natsu- "Whoa, 1 million Jewel!"
Gray- "I heard this Lucy chick is pretty too, sounds like fun."
Erza- "We're just to rescue her and get her safely back to her father."
Natsu- "Well why are we still standing here, I'm all fired up!"
First thing the next morning
His face a puke green, "Ugh, why do we have to take a train!" as he dry heaves for the 20th time.
"Come sit by me Natsu." Erza pats the bench next to her.
"No way! You're just gonna knock me out!"
Gray- "Fine, sit there and suffer."
Natsu- "Shut up Ice-brain!"
Meanwhile In the small village of Kagetsu, Lucy Heartfillia sits locked in a room at the Dark Song's headquarters; her keys have been taken from her. In the frame of the doorway stands the guild's Master, Karasu.
"You were supposed to help me escape my father! Not kidnap me for a ransom!" she screams through her tears.
"Well that was before we knew you were the daughter of the Heartfillia's; you are worth a lot more money than what you paid us to help you."
"Please just let me go!" she whimpers
"Not until he pays us what we asked for." He closes the door again and leaves her sobbing. She pulls her knees to her chest and hangs her head.
"Someone please help me..."
"Oi, we're here." Gray punches Natsu.
Erza and Gray help him stagger off the train. Back on solid ground he lies there for a few minutes to recover.
"Come on Pinky, let's go!"
"Ugh, shut up Icicle!"
Erza- "The Dark Song's hideout is not far from here. We can get there and get out quick and make a fast 1 million jewel."
Curled up on the bed, Lucy hears a commotion outside her cell and runs to the door.
"Master Karasu, it's Fairytail! They've been sent to rescue the girl!"
"Well Stop Them!" he shouts.
"Shit but it's Salamander and Titania!"
'Salamander?!' wonders Lucy, She pictures the cute pink haired boy she saw in her Sorcerer's Weekly magazines. 'Could it really be him?'
Sounds of explosions shake the room.
Erza- "Where's Ms. Heartfillia?!"
Bad Guy- "We don't know who you're talking about!"
Natsu- "Don't give us bulls**t, where is she?!"
Bad Guy- "I'm telling y.. Ahhhhh!" Natsu punches him with a flaming hand
"HELP!! Some One Help Me Please!!!" Lucy screams from her cell.
Gray- "You don't know where she is huh?" he grips the shirt of another bad guy.
Natsu- "Then where are those cries coming from?!"
Erza- "Eh, pay attention, incoming!" More bad guys run out in front of them.
"Tsk, that ain't nothing. Ice-Make Ice-Bringer!"
"Stop hogging all the fun! Fire Dragon's Roar!"
Lucy can hear screams and starts banging on her door again. "I'm in here!!!"
The sounds of fighting grow closer and closer until finally. "Stand back from the door!"
She feels heat and backs away. The lock begins to melt and the door swings open. Standing before her is a pink haired boy with a huge grin on his face. The grin melts away into wonderment as they stare at each other. 'She is beautiful' he thinks to himself. His heart starts to quicken like the beat of a song, pink starts to flush on his cheeks. 'He's even cuter in person' she thinks dreamily to herself. "Are you Lucy?"
"Y,yes ." She stammers, "A,are you Salamander?"
He runs his hand through his hair nervously, "Yeah, names Natsu." She starts to blush as she watches the muscles in his arm flexing. He walks up and takes her by the hand, "Come on we're here to rescue you!" He starts to run with her out of the building. As they pass Karasu's office she tugs him to a stop.
"Wait! My keys, they're in there." She pulls him into the room. Looking around she sees them on his desk and grabs them. "Okay we can go now."
"You're a Celestial Wizard?"
"Yeah, just like my mom was." She smiles. 'Her smile is just, is just...wow.' They make it out with Erza and Gray right behind them. Smoke is starting to billow out from the building.
Erza- "You're safe now Ms. Heartfillia."
"Thank you. Um are you the one they called Titania?"
"My names Erza Scarlet, this here is Gray Fullbuster, you've already met Natsu Dragneel. Don't worry, we'll get you back home to your dad in no time."
"But I don't want to go home."
Erza- "What do you mean? He said you were kidnapped by Dark Song."
"No, I paid them to help me run away from my father, but when they found out who I really was they took me hostage and tried to ransom me."
Erza- "I'm sorry, but our job was placed by your father to rescue you and return you home."
"I'm Not Going Back to him; he's just as bad as the kidnappers!"
While Erza and Lucy talk, Natsu who has been quiet up till now just continues to stare at the beautiful blonde. 'Lucy..' He's mesmerized by her big brown eyes; but the tears developing in them are pulling on his heart strings.
Gray- "Oi, Earthland to Natsu!"
"What!" he snaps out of his trance.
"If you stare any harder at her, you might go blind."
Blushing, he stammers, "I, I wasn't staring at her!"
"Uh-huh. I agree; she's beautiful." He smirks
"Keep your hands to yourself perve!"
"Oh yeah, and what are you gonna do?"
"I don't k... Just stay away from her!"
"Dude She's out of your league!"
Erza- "I'm really sorry, but it is not our decision to make. We have to follow the job's request." Sobbing loudly Lucy just hangs her head.
"Come." She takes Lucy by the arm and starts to lead her away a little roughly. But Natsu walks up and pulls Lucy into a hug.
"Geez Erza, couldn't you be a little less rough on the girl." Erza raises an eyebrow. "I'll walk with her for now okay. Come on Luce, I'm sure it will all work out." he speaks softly to her. Lucy sobs into his chest but as he rubs her back she starts to calm down. Erza and Gray both look at each other a little surprised, Natsu's never acted like this before.
They take Lucy to the train station. It will be a couple of hours before it arrives so Erza and Gray leave Lucy with him and go to get them all some food.
"Please, don't take me back to my father." She whimpers to Natsu
"I wish I didn't have to, but I can't defy Erza; she's scary."
Sniffling, "I understand. Everyone is afraid of my father too and what he is capable of."
She holds onto him through the whole train ride with her head resting on his chest. Surprisingly, being so focused on comforting Lucy, Natsu doesn't experience any motion sickness. Watching the budding relationship, even Erza starts to feel bad for her.
Walking up to the mansion Lucy clutches to his arm. Natsu offers, "Erza I'll take her to the door." She nods to him
When the doors open up, Natsu tries to let her go. She slowly releases her grip but trails her hand down his arm, to his hand, his fingers before walking in. He stands with mouth agape as the servant tells him to wait there. Just before the door closes she locks eyes with him and whispers, "Save me..."
A couple minutes later a servant comes back out with their reward and the team go back to Fairytail. He remains unusually quiet the whole way back.
Erza- "Here's the reward Master."
The three stand in Makarov's office. Natsu has his arms crossed and just stares out the window.
"Good job my brats." Looking at Natsu, "what's wrong with you boy?"
Gray- "Oh don't mind him, he was hit by cupid's arrow."
"Tsk. Just leave me alone."
For the rest of the day Natsu sits at the bar with his head resting on the counter. Picturing her face he runs her last words through his head, 'Save Me....' Sigh 'What should I do!'
"Hey Boy, come into my office."
"What do you want Gramps?" A sullen expression on his face.
"Why are you moping around?"
Sigh, "She was running away from her father, she said he's worse than the kidnappers."
"And you feel bad about that?"
"Of course! She was crying, sobbing! You could feel her pain; I could feel her pain." He mutters. "She's beautiful too, her brown eyes are so bright they pull you in..."
"Hmm, sounds like you've fallen for this one." He scratches his chin, "Never thought I'd see that from you."
"What do you mean, fallen for her?"
Makarov starts to laugh. "Natsu, you've never had a crush on a girl before have you?"
"What's a crush?"
"It means you like her." Natsu thinks about it and starts to turn red. "Oh yeah, you like her alright."
"She asked me to save her."
"Did she now?" He nods. "Well what are you still doing here then?"
"Huh?!"
"Go save her, she gave you a mission."
"But what about her father? He's powerful, he could, I don't know come after me, after Fairytail."
"Don't worry about him; we'll deal with him when it comes to that. Now get going; I won't tell anyone."
Excited once more, "Thanks Gramps!"
Running out of the office, "Happy! We have a mission!"
"Aye Sir!"
It's late in the evening as Lucy sits on her bed forlorn. 'I'm back in this hell hole!' she sobs quietly to herself. 'That bastard didn't even say anything when I returned, not a welcome back, thank goodness you're okay, nothing!'
She hears a light tapping on her balcony door and turns to look. 'Natsu!' she screams in her head and rushes over to open it. As he and Happy land inside her room she whispers, "what are you doing here!"
Grinning, "We've come to rescue you."
Her eyes light up; she throws herself onto him. As his heart starts racing again he wraps his arms around her and returns the embrace.
He wipes the last of her tears from her face and whispers, "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you anymore." "Now pack up some of your belongings and I'll get you out of here."
She smiles with happy tears in her eyes and nods, throwing a few possessions together in a bag Happy flies it down to the ground then comes back for them.
Finally outside, he throws her bag over his shoulder and extents his hand to her. "Come with me to Fairytail!"
