In an instant Natsu was out of the bed on the other side of the room, throwing on his vest and cloak and picking up his pack. He turned in time to see Meredy's shirt fly into his face and in the few seconds it took for him to toss it away she was dressed and ready to go. He whispered, "I'm going to throw some flames at the door, then we'll go out the window."

She nodded and Natsu positioned himself in front of the door before shouting, "Roar of the Fire Dragon!" and letting a torrent of flames rush from his mouth and impact the door, throwing it off its hinges and into whoever was behind it. He could hear the yells of pain coming from the men as he turned and followed Meredy as she jumped out of the window. They landed in the street and Natsu looked up to find that they were surrounded by Rune Knights. The commander pointed at them and shouted, "Surrender! You have nowhere to run!"

Meredy muttered, "Attack, and then split up. We'll meet back at the castle."

Natsu nodded and then flung himself to the left at two Rune Knights. He caught them off guard and simultaneously punched both of them, throwing them into separate groups of other Rune Knights and opening a gap in their circle large enough for him to sprint through. He glanced back and saw Meredy breaking through the other side of the circle of Rune Knights and thought, 'Good, now I don't have to go rescue her.'

He spotted an alley and turned down it throwing up the hood to his cloak as he ran. When he got to the end he turned left and found himself on a deserted side street with a few shops on it. All of them were closed. He sprinted a few blocks and ducked into another alleyway before cursing under his breath, "They couldn't have come at a better time? Nobody's around this time of night to blend in with."

"Oh, I wouldn't say nobody's around."

He whirled around at the sound of a deep voice behind him and saw a man, slightly taller than him, similarly cloaked.

Natsu growled, "Who the hell are you?"

He couldn't see the smile under the man's deep cowl as he said, "Someone you desperately don't and do want to meet."

Natsu glared and said, "That doesn't make any sense."

The man pulled back his cowl to reveal a rather normal looking face that Natsu couldn't really see in the darkness. He had short brown hair that looked almost black in the moonlight. Natsu couldn't distinguish anything about the man that would make him stand out at all His face was shadowed by the darkness but even that didn't make it look sinister, just more normal. He turned his brown eyes on the Dragon Slayer and said, "I am Kalnas, of Whispering Void."

Natsus face darkened and he said in a low, dangerous voice, "Then I'm about to destroy you."

Kalnas laughed, "You don't seriously think you can fight me do you? I saw your little fight with Titania. You're nothing special."

Natsu slammed his fists together igniting them and said, "I don't need to be special to beat a dark mage like you."

Kalnas settled down into a fighting stance and said, "We'll see won't we Salamander."

The dragon slayer charged forward and threw a punch at his opponents' head, which the man ducked under. He quickly followed it up with a flurry of punches and kicks that the man dodged with ease. His last punch blasted through a nearby wall as the man sidestepped him. In the moment that Natsu was off guard from his punch the man unleashed a devastating kick that threw Natsu out of the alley and back onto the main road. He slid to a stop and sprang upright as the man calmly walked out of the alley and said, "Pathetic. I don't know why we wasted time going after you first."

Natsu growled, "I'll show you then."

He inhaled deeply and cupped his hands over his mouth before shouting, "Roar of the Fire Dragon!" and letting loose a torrent of flames at Kalnas. A few seconds later when he cut it off all he could see in front of him was a wall of steam. When it dissipated a moment later he was standing where he had been with his hand held out in front of him, and a smile on his face, "Good! Give me a reason to be here!"

Natsu didn't answer him, instead rushing forward and swinging at him shouting, "Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"

It nearly connected but Kalnas surrounded his hand with water and then let Natsu's fist smack into his palm. The fire and water burst into a scalding steam that forced Natsu to jump back, 'What the hell? Heat shouldn't bother me but it felt like I was getting burnt by the steam.'

Kalnas laughed, "What's with the surprised expression Salamander? Don't you recognize one of your own kind?"

Natsu was taken aback, "What?"

The man hooked his thumb toward himself and said, "I'm Kalnas Aquanus, the Water Dragon Slayer. My dragon was Aquinilius."

The fire dragon slayer was dumbstruck, "What the hell?"

Kalnas laughed again, "The look on your face is priceless. You'd think you would stop being surprised every time you meet a new dragon slayer. There are more of us than you think."

Natsu's face hardened, "I don't care who or what you are. You're part of the guild that killed Lucy, so I'm going to destroy you."

The water dragon slayer shrugged, "Not really. All my guild did was tell the other guilds what the objective was; they came up with how to do it."

Natsu roared, "I don't care! You started it! It's your fault she's dead!"

The other man shrugged nonchalantly again, "Probably. I don't care either way. We're pretty new to the pedestal of power so we decided to do something to make people notice. Taking down Fairy Tail is the perfect way to announce to the world Whispering Void's ascension. We've already removed the Salamander and Titania. I guess your little girlfriend was a bonus, she wasn't even on our radar of strong mages."

Natsu was shaking with rage and fire was beginning to coalesce around him, "How can you be so nonchalant about killing people?"

Kalnas laughed, "Who cares about other people? As long as I'm on top, I don't give a damn about anyone else."

The fire dragon slayer let his restraint go then, a pillar of fire coalescing around him and towering into the air. He didn't care that it would act as a beacon for the Rune Knights chasing him. Kalnas smiled and water appeared in the air and began swirling around him, "It seems I've driven you over the edge Salamander, let's have some fun then!"

Natsu didn't waste any more time talking, instead charging forward with a roar, "Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!"

His flaming fist was blocked by an orb of water that exploded into a cloud of steam. Natsu kept going though, ignoring the steam as it scalded his exposed skin and dampened his clothes. The steam blocked his vision though and so his now flameless fist went through the empty space that Kalnas had previously occupied. Purely on instinct Natsu immediately turned and threw up an arm, not a moment too soon. A kick that would have slammed him face first into the ground only caused him to stumble backwards. Kalnas was no fool though, and followed up with a barrage of kicks and punches that Natsu struggled to block, 'Damnit! This guy's faster than even Erza.'

Natsu found his chance when he jerked his head to the side to let a punch that would most likely have broken his nose sail just past his ear. Kalnas overextended and Natsu quickly grabbed his arm, spinning around and using his own body's leverage to throw the Water Dragon Slayer into a nearby building, 'Good thing this is a commercial district or this could get ugly.'

"Roar of the Fire Dragon!"

"Roar of the Water Dragon!"

Natsu had tried to take advantage of any momentary lapse of concentration on the part of his opponent but apparently being thrown into a building and crashing through stone walls wasn't enough to rattle Kalnas. The breath attacks connected and Natsu could have sworn that his was more powerful, but it was his stream of fire that was overwhelmed and he was struck by Kalnas geyser.

The Fire Dragon Slayer was thrown backwards and crashed into the building behind him. He had to blink his eyes a few times to bring them back into focus and a moment later he stood up. He glanced around his surroundings and was surprised to find that he'd crashed into a bakery, 'No wonder my landing was so soft, I landed on a strawberry cake…'

His heart missed a beat but he ignored it, instead walking back over to the hole he'd put in the wall and clambering back out onto the street. Kalnas was waiting for him and the man said, "Not bad, but you can't beat me."

Natsu snorted, "Ask everyone else that's said that and see where they are."

Kalnas laughed, "Oh certainly you may be more powerful, but I have a fundamental advantage that you can't overcome. My water will always quench your flames. Anytime you try and attack with your magic, I already have the perfect counter."

Natsu couldn't refute his logic but growled, "It doesn't matter how many advantages you have, you're going down right now."

His opponent suddenly got a faraway look in his eyes that Natsu recognized telepathic communication. Natsu took a moment to force flames into the palms of his hands, his soaked state was not helping, before shouting, "Brilliant Blaze of the Fire Dragon!"

He brought his hands together and threw the large fireball he created at Kalnas. The man's eyes shifted back into focus and he threw himself to the side to avoid the attack. He couldn't avoid all of it though and part of it hit his leg, scorching it, and the ensuing explosion slammed Kalnas into another wall. The Dragon Slayer quickly recovered and stood up, although he seemed to be limping slightly. Natsu grinned, "Looks like I can hurt you after all."

Kalnas only shook his head in annoyance, "My partner decided to share some news with me, it momentarily distracted me. You got in a lucky shot, it won't happen again."

Natsu's interest was piqued though, "What did your partner say?"

His opponent smiled then, "Wouldn't you like to know. You really would, it involves your little pink haired friend."

Natsu's face immediately darkened and he growled, "What the hell did you do?"

Kalnas couldn't help but laugh, "I think you're going to lose two girlfriends this year."

The way he said it put Natsu over the edge and he said quietly, "You can threaten me, you can do anything you like to me, but I will not allow you to take someone I love away from me again."

A look of sick joy flashed of Kalnas' face, "It doesn't matter, you can't win against me. Your fire is useless!"

"Who said anything about fire?"

A look of pure confused passed over Kalnas' face as Natsu said darkly, "Lightning Flame Dragon Mode!"

Flames began to swirl around him like normal, but now electricity began to snap through the air around him as well. The electricity arced through the flames and around Natsu and the force of the magic he was exuding caused Kalnas to take a step back, "How the hell can you have two elements?"

Natsu blurred forward and grabbed him by the collar, whispering in his ear, "Know your enemy before you make your move, or just be so overwhelmingly powerful that it doesn't matter."

He proceeded to toss Kalnas contemptuously into the air and threw his head back, bringing his hands up to his lips to create a funnel and shouting, "Roar of the Lightning Flame Dragon!"

A swirling vortex of flames and lightning cut through the predawn darkness and slammed into Kalnas. It didn't just stop there; it went thousands of feet into the air, lighting up the entire city for a few brief moments with its intensity. When Natsu cut off the stream from his lips darkness returned and he watched Kalnas' shape fall to the ground in a heap. He calmly walked over to see that the man lay in the middle street, his clothes in tatters and the hair on his head standing straight up. Natsu grabbed the man by the collar and hauled him upright, seeing that he was still conscious, "Now, what the hell did your partner say."

The man, who was completely unburned after facing the Fire Dragon Slayer yet still beaten, stuttered weakly, "How…?"

Natsu snorted, "Water conducts electricity moron. Your guild is just like every other dark guild I've ever taken down, convinced of its own invincibility. No one could ever take you down, because how dare they fight back? Well, I'm fighting back, and I'm coming for your guild. Nothing is going to stop me from tearing it down brick by brick and annihilating the mages inside. Now, what did your partner say?"

His last sentence was shouted and Kalnas flinched, "My partner got the drop on her and knocked her out, the Rune Knights captured her."

Natsu nodded and without another word slammed Kalnas face first into the ground. He left the man lying in the middle of the street, blood leaking out from beneath his face and soaking the cobblestones. The Fire Dragon Slayer put up his hood again; it had fallen down during the fight, and quickly walked through the city as sunlight began to poke down at his eyes. He knew that people would discover the mess the fight had made quickly and getting away from the scene of the crime was in his best interest. Unfortunately, he didn't know where the Rune Knight headquarters was in Oshibana and so as at a loss for what to do. He was also tired from the fight and being woken up in the middle of the night, 'Flame Lightning mode really takes it out of me. I doubt I'll go into a coma again but I don't think I could even take on the Popsicle right now.'

A thought struck him, 'They have to move Meredy sometime, and they'll probably move her to Era for trial. The Rune Knights use prison carts, not trains, and so they'll have to take the road to Era. If I wait by the road for them to come by I can ambush them and save Meredy.'

This thought brightened his face and he strode towards the outer gates, intent on heading out of the city. His stomach rumbled though and he frowned, 'I didn't eat much last night, and it looks like I won't be able to get food for a while. I should get something before I leave, but I can't just walk into a reputable establishment, I'm a wanted criminal!'

It was still quite early, hardly anything was open, and as Natsu walked he passed by another bakery his stomach rumbled again. He saw an open sign hanging in the window and the smell of fresh cooked bread was beginning to waft out of the building, "Hardly anyone is out right now, maybe if I'm quick.'

He sidled up to the shop and glanced in the window, noting that the only people there were a bored looking elderly man behind the counter and his elderly wife in the back, pulling a loaf of bread out of the oven. Natsu gulped and swallowed at the sight and scent of the food and his resolve hardened. He quietly pushed open the door and stepped inside, leaving the hood of his cloak up as a precaution. The old man looked at him and said immediately, "I don't do business with cloaked strangers, take off the hood or get out of my store."

Natsu was reluctant but the smell of food was skewing his judgement and so he slowly pulled off the hood, letting his distinctive pink hair out into the open. The old man didn't stiffen or react to it, just saying, "Glad you had sense, now what can I get for you."

Natsu glanced at the glass display case and said, "Two loaves of bread is just fine."

The old woman looked up from the back and chuckled, "This one's got an appetite. I've got two loaves that are about to come out if you want to wait for them to be hot."

Natsu grinned and said, "I'd love to."

This seemed to put the old man into a grouchy mood, "Alright, just sit down and don't make no trouble."

Natsu went to sit down in a chair and as soon as the man turned his back on Natsu the old woman winked at Natsu, causing him to chuckle. The old man brought out a newspaper from behind the bar and the shop was silent except for the light humming of his wife. A few minutes passed and Natsu noticed that the old man was now glancing at Natsu and then back at the paper. A few moments later he drawled, "Pink hair ain't too common. You wouldn't happen to be the reason for that ruckus with the Rune Knights last night would you?"

Natsu broke out in a cold sweat and put as much sincerity into his voice as he could, "I wouldn't know sir; I just got into town this morning."

The old man's wife came up behind him and glanced at the newspaper before glancing at Natsu and saying, "Stop it you old fool, this boy looks like an honest lad, so don't be accusing him of anything."

He grumbled, "I'm not, but wasn't there some criminal that escaped a while back with pink hair? Used to be part of one of those mages guilds?"

The old woman went back into the back to pull out Natsu's bread but said slightly louder from back there, "There was, but do you think a wanted criminal would be out and about at a bakery buying bread?"

Natsu almost couldn't keep a straight face as the woman came back with his two loaves wrapped up, "I followed that story in the papers and I didn't believe it anyways. Fairy Tail won the Grand Magic Games, none of their mages have a bad bone in their body."

With a wink the old woman handed the package to Natsu and said, "On the house, you look like you need it."

The boy did look like he needed it. He hadn't noticed in his haste to get away but his cloak was covered in dust, and strawberry cheesecake. He could feel bruises forming all over his body and his shirt clung too tightly to him, courtesy of being blasted with water. Natsu thanked the woman profusely and backed away quickly, exiting the shop and hearing the outrage of the old man who was trying, and failing, to argue with his wife about giving their wares away for free.

He stepped out the door and noticed that people were starting to move around, and that shouting could be heard from the area he'd had his battle. Natsu frowned and quickly turned, exiting the city as fast as he could. He walked down the empty road and quickly found a spot not far off of it where he could wait to ambush the Rune Knights. He sat with his back against a tree where he had a good view of the road, but no one on the road would be able to see him if they didn't know he was there. Natsu didn't mean to, but his sleep had been interrupted last night, and after eating one loaf of bread he quickly fell asleep.

Natsu woke up when he fell from his position against the tree. He groaned while sitting up muttering, "Even the hammock was better than this."

He glanced around and then, 'Crap! What if they moved her while I was asleep!"

The frantic boy got up and hurried to the road, checking it for fresh tracks. Luckily the only thing deeper than feet were more than a week old and he gave a sigh of relief. He glanced around and noticed that the road was still empty and an impish grin spread over his face, 'I've always wanted to try this.'

He quickly set to work and by late afternoon his trap was set, 'If this works I'm definitely going to pull a version of this on Meredy when we get back to the castle.'

His work done he sat back down in his spot and glanced up at the sky. The sun was just starting to set and he knew it'd be dark soon. Wiggling around trying to find the perfect position he got comfortable and settled in for a long night. When the sun was fully down he grabbed the second loaf of bread and scarfed it down, 'I wish I had a fish to go with it… or Happy to catch a fish to share, although he might not.'

With a chuckle at his erstwhile feline friend he leaned his head back and was soon asleep again.

His sleep was interrupted again, but this time by wheels crunching down the road. Natsu opened his eyes and was instantly alert. He moved towards the road and crouched down behind a bush, stilling his entire body until he looked like a natural part of the underbrush. A few moments later a wagon appeared, with several men walking in front and behind it. Natsu grinned, 'These Rune Knights won't know what hit them, it'll be over in moments.'

He waited until the small column was exactly where he wanted them before shooting a small fireball to his left. It hit the vine he'd wrapped around a branch and quickly burned through it. The log that he'd put in place in the tree swung down in a perfect arc, ready to smack the Rune Knights into unconsciousness. Natsu readied himself to go after the Rune Knights in front of the cart but stopped and gaped at what he'd done. The Dragon Slayer needed to work on his timing, because the log swung down and hit the cart, sending it tumbling end over end into a tree on the other side of the road. Natsu groaned at his own stupidity and muttered, "She's going to kill me when I get her out of there."

He charged anyways, catching the first group of Rune Knights gawking at the overturned cart and blasting all of them away in a few seconds. The Dragon Slayer charged towards the group that had been behind the cart but they were better prepared and one of them swiped at him with the staves they carried. It didn't matter, because Natsu jumped over it, over the entire group, and as he flew he shouted, "Roar of the Fire Dragon!"

A torrent of flame consumed the second group of Rune Knights and when darkness returned all of them were unconscious on the ground. Natsu looked around to make sure that he hadn't missed any before hurrying over to the overturned cart. He leapt on top of it and pried open the door, sticking his head inside. He was immediately hit in the head with something hard and overbalanced, falling into the cart. When he got his bearings Meredy was standing furiously over him, wearing the magic sealing handcuffs that he realized were what hit him, and she shouted, "Why the hell did you knock the cart over!"

Natsu grinned sheepishly, "I missed?"

The pink haired girl stared down at him and then sighed, "I had things under control."

Natsu snorted, "You're wearing magic sealing handcuffs, how is that having everything under control?"

She used both hands to point and Natsu saw two unconscious Rune Knights laying in awkward positions on the other side of the cart, "I knocked out my two escorts as soon as we got on the road, one it got late and the Rune Knights got tired, I was going to slip away."

Natsu looked dumbfounded, "But… but… I saved you!"

The girl patted his head, "I know, and it's very sweet, but I didn't need saving."

The Dragon Slayer crossed his arms and pouted, "Fine. See if I try and save you again."

He could see the smile that crossed her face as she leaned down and kissed him lightly on the cheek before breathing in his ear, "Thanks Natsu."

Both of them smiled and Natsu stood up, clambering out of the cart and then helping Meredy out. He quickly found the unconscious captain and the keys that he carried, unlocking the cuffs on his partner. They pair set off into the darkness and traveled for a few hours before finally deciding to stop and rest in the few hours before dawn. Natsu found a small rock overhang in the side of the hill and they both crawled under it, using their cloaks as pillows before settling down beside each other. Meredy whispered, "I'm sorry we didn't get anything. Oshibana was a complete bust."

Natsu chuckled, "Not really. We may not have gotten any information, but I did get to blow off some steam."

He could barely make out the cocked eyebrow on her face in the darkness and responded, "I met one of the Whispering Void mages."

Meredy inhaled sharply, "That's how they caught me. One of them must have gotten the drop on me."

Natsu nodded, "The guy told me as much after I beat him like a drum. Although, he probably won't be telling anyone anything else for a while."

A warning sound came from Meredy's throat but Natsu just chuckled, "It's kind of hard to talk with a broken face. He'll live, but he'll wish he wasn't a cocky arrogant bastard of a dark mage while he's doing it."

His companion relaxed and then reached over to pinch Natsu, "Don't joke, it's not funny."

Natsu scooted closer, wrapping both arms around her and saying, "Fine, now can we just get some sleep? My sleep pattern's been really messed up the last few days."

All he got was a nod as Meredy snuggled closer to him, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"Goodnight Natsu."

"Goodnight Meredy."

{A/N} Sorry it's been so long without an update guys. Life happened, and some more life happened, and I worked on other stories. I kind of lost what I wanted to do with this one but I think I've found it again and hopefully I'll be updating a lot more. As always, thanks for reading.

Andril