Crimson opened his eyes slowly, blinking rapidly to adjust to the sudden light. He brought his hands up to rub his eyes and yawned, looking around him at the sleeping guild members. He lifted his shoulders and stretched, another yawn tearing from his throat.

"I see you're awake." Mira called from the bar where she stood, hair slightly rumpled as she wiped out beer mugs and set them on the shelf behind her. He nodded and stood. "Yeah." He said groggily, looking over the guild members as they lay in their randomly placed and rather uncomfortable looking positions.

"Does this happen often?" He asked. Mira in turn giggled and nodded. "Honestly," She said. "I think they all secretly have a really good chiropractor." The white haired woman winked and turned to stack the mug. Crimson chuckled at this and smiled. He lifted the wooden bow from its spot leaned against the wall along with the full quiver.

"I'm going to get breakfast." He said. "You want anything?"

Mira froze. "Um, you know I could just make you something here, right? There's no need for you to go... get anything." Crimson merely shook his head. "Nope, that's alright." He said. "I'm quite the cook myself and I much prefer fresh game. I'll be going then." He waved his hand and stepped out the door.

Mira watched as he froze, his bow dropping from his hands. She rose a brow. "Crimson-san?" She said. "Are you alright?" She laid the rag on the bar counter and stepped beside him. Out in the distance she saw a beam of swirling dark light, and just past she saw another and another, making a sort of path.

"What is that?" Mira asked.

Crimson seemed to ave paled slightly as he answered in a slightly strained voice. "It's a charm hunters use in my village, the feathers we use in our hair send up a beam of light when the code-word is said. It's a type of beacon so if you're in danger, other hunters can come help you. But why are they here?"

Something suddenly clicked in Mira's mind and she gasped. "Lucy wears black feathers in her hair!" She shouted. "Could that light be her's?"

Upon hearing this, Crimson froze. "There's no doubt." He said, his eyes wide.

Quickly Mira ran back into the guild to rouse the Master, well, both of them.

Servonica glared at the two teens before her. She didn't understand. One stupid fire dragon slayer, a mage whose weaknesses were more numerous than imagined, and one weak little Blondie. Sure, so she used that weak Sugarian Balance magic and dabbled a bit in Celestial Spirits. So what?

The dark haired woman scoffed and walked away, lifting the communications lacrima from her pocket and onto the ground in front of her. As the blue beam passed over her body, she closed her eyes and reopened them to see the forms of her Commander and their patron Cardinal standing before her own holographic form. They looked at her expectantly and she smiled.

"Commander Shigure, Cardinal Shishio." She bowed slightly. "I'm pleased to report the three hostages, the blonde, the dragon slayer, and the cat, have been taken under our custody."

Commander Shigure twirled the long strands of his raven hair around his finger in thought, his dark violet eyes gleaming dangerously. "Are they resisting?" He said seriously, his eyes turning to hers. She stiffened slightly, as anyone would under such ferocity, and nodded. "Yes, the boy." She answered, not daring to take her eyes from Commander Shigure. "The girl seems much more calm, I've instructed Lamina and Kasma to be cautious of her, but she has yet to make a move."

Cardinal Shishio nodded at this, her short olive hair swishing with the motion. "Women are schemers," She said teasingly, bright emerald eyes filled with mischief. "But don't be too wary, nothing ever happens if you're too cautious. Our research shows she's the brains behind the operation, perhaps she merely chose not to fight a useless battle." Her tone had become serious, her eyes showing the emotion.

Servonica nodded. "Yes," She said. "I will keep this in mind. We shall be arriving at headquarters shortly."

The pair nodded at this and waved. "We shall await your arrival," The Commander said, the Cardinal nodding in agreement. Servonica nodded as well and waved a hand, the hologram cutting off.

Lucy watched as the dark haired captor set up the lacrima and the light surrounded her. Seeing this as her chance she looked left and then right for the two others and found them asleep not too far off, leaned against each other's shoulders. In that position the blonde could see eerie similarities in their appearance, the curve of the brow, the line of the mouth, it was possible they were related but she didn't spend too much time on it.

She'd never attempted summoning her magic anywhere other than right before her hands, and she'd definitely never tried to control them remotely, but if she was going to try now would be the time. She set her brows and thought hard. Just a dagger, nothing fancy, just the basics. She focused the magic just in front of her face and clenched her teeth as the air wavered, the dagger appearing without issue.

Now came the hard part.

The weight of the dagger began to weigh in her mind and she fought against it, struggling to hold in in the air. She clenched her teeth to the point she felt them creak beneath the pressure, but the dagger held it's spot just a foot away from her nose. Now to move it. She clenched her fists tightly, the long nails on her fingers digging slightly into her palms.

The dagger rose slightly and straightened, pointing directly at the tree in front of her. Scrunching her face she strangled the cry that threatened to surface as she drove the dagger forward into the tree. With a solid thunk the blade struck the tree, disappointingly enough it only sunk in a mere half inch and fell from the tree, disappearing once it struck the ground.

Lucy gasped, breathing hard. She hadn't felt this exhausted since she'd first started training. Gritting her teeth once more she summoned another dagger, and repeated the steps from before. Each time the blade struck the tree it sunk in a little farther until the blade went in to the hilt.

And the dark haired woman turned around.

Servoinca was surprised to see her two blonde comrades sleeping soundly as the dragon slayer did the same. They'd had to place a sleeping lacrima on his forehead as he'd tried to burn the ropes the first time. The cat still lay asleep on Lamina's lap.

The blonde, however, was leaned over and breathing heavily, her shoulders heaving with the effort. Her shin shone with perspiration and her muscles were coiled. Servonica narrowed her eyes. "What have you been doing?" She said sharply, the blonde lifting her head to look into her gray eyes with her own brown ones. She swallowed before answering.

"Trying to break the ropes," She lied. "They proved to be more troublesome than I'd anticipated." She let a small smile pass her quivering lips and chuckled. "It seems you'll be putting up with me for a while longer I'm afraid."

The dark haired woman merely raised a brow and took a glance at the blonde's wrists, still bound and slightly chaffed. She narrowed her eyes and snarled. "I'm afraid your time with me may be shorter than you think, Blondie." She spat, smiling. "So whatever it is, you're thinking of pulling..."

"Do it fast, 'cause you're running out of time."

Oh my god guys, don't kill me! I've started rewatching Rurouni Kenshin, one of my favorite anime's ever, and I'm addicted all over again. I haven't seen it in forever!

OMG Kenshin VS Saito is the epicest battle ever, maybe even epicer than Natsu vs Sting and Rogue... just saying. 65 episodes in five days. Summer at it's finest.