A/N: Hello, it's me.

Enjoy this chapter that took me much to long to write and should be better quality but alas here we are. Please review, they really make my day. School is kicking my butt and I could use something good. And if you have any positive criticism, that'd be great.

Also no translations this time for trigedasleng. It's more fun for me this way *wink wink* (if anyone wants to know where I get the majority of the translations from, it's from trigedasleng . info / dictionary / )

Sidenote though I actually do have a plan for this story and that's like, the first time I ever actually tried writing anything knowing what I want to have happen lol.

Chapter 6: Gray, Hainofa Kom Azgeda

Natsu wasn't really sure what was so special about what Lucy and Jellal said, but he could tell it meant a lot to Jellal. In the few short days he had known them, he never saw Jellal smile so wide-only when Wendy was around. He wanted to ask, but he didn't think he would really understand anyway. He didn't understand them, just as he was sure they didn't understand him or his people.

"How long should it take us to get there?" Lucy asked from beside him, her eyes bright in the darkness. They had only been walking for about half an hour and he could tell she was struggling to keep up with his pace.

"Three days or so, would quicker on horseback," he replied, keeping his voice low and steps light. He couldn't say the same for Lucy, her feet were heavy, breaking every branch and twig in her path.

"You've got to be kidding me," she groaned, causing Natsu's eye to twitch in irritation.

"That's just to the border, and luckily for us, their Capital isn't any further than that. It could be much worse," for their limited supplies and his sanity.

"Well, I'm sorry but I'm not used to walking long distances. The Ark was very limited in space," Lucy let out a laugh, though he didn't quite understand why. "In any case, why is the Capital so close to the border? That's a bit weird, isn't it?"

"If they lived any further north they wouldn't be able to survive. Too cold." He glanced at her, taking in her thoughtful expression. He never thought much about it, so he wasn't sure if that actually was the answer, but it made enough sense to him. She most likely thought the same way when she was explaining their technology to him. The things that they used every day to live seemed so obvious, but the more he thought about it the more he knew that was wrong.

"Do you think we could actually ride a horse at some point?" she asked sounding like a small child. He held back a smile, instead focusing on their immediate surroundings.

"You're being too loud," he stated, stopping in his tracks, "we'll be noticed." She stopped, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"Well, what do you expect me to do about it? I'm being as quiet as I can." He narrowed his eyes, thinking. He understood that this was hard for her. She didn't grow up hunting and stalking prey like he did.

His eyes widened as an idea popped into his head, and while it wasn't a permanent solution-and would slow them down-it would work for now. He turned his back to her and bent down, craning his neck to look at her with a gesture to get on.

"You want to give me a piggyback ride." It was more of an accusation than a question and he rolled his eyes in response.

"If scouts hear us they'll shoot to kill, so it's this or risk getting hit." They didn't have time to argue either and she knew it. With a sigh, she moved forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"If you drop me I'll be the one doing the killing," she threatened, but he could hear the smile in her voice. With a smirk, he stood up, pretending to topple over as he did.

"Ahh, Lucy! You're so heavy!" he whined, grinning as she smacked his shoulder.

"Oh shut up and walk." He grinned, for some reason feeling lighter than he should.

"We'll know when we're close to a large body of water. I've only seen it a handful of times after coming with my father to alliance meetings when I was young. I haven't been back in years," he spoke softly and Lucy could imagine what he was feeling. She missed her mom. It was like a deep hole was left in her chest, something she didn't think would ever be filled.

"It's quite beautiful, actually," he continued, and Lucy stayed silent as she walked beside him, doing her best to keep her steps light. As much as she appreciated being carried every now and then, she didn't want to burden him. He was obviously tired and in need of a good nap.

"I can't wait to see it. I never imagined I'd get to Earth, you know. I could write a million stories about Earth and what I thought it would be like, but it was always just a dream." None of the stories she made up could even begin to compare to reality. She wasn't sure if reality was better, though. This Earth was scary and uncertain and she was wandering around trying to stop a war with someone who doesn't know what basic technology is.

"So what changed? You never really told me why your people came down here." He glanced over at her, eyes curious and unsure, bright green eyes, flecked with bits of gold, shining almost like a gem. There weren't many people on the Ark with light coloured eyes. She found it fascinating.

"We were all prisoners on the Ark." She began, noting the quick flicker of shock on his face. "Up there, every crime is punishable by death when you're over eighteen. Luckily, my birthday isn't for a few weeks." She sighed, tugging on her sleeves as she tried to think of how to explain to him what had happened. "My mother discovered a flaw in the system of the Ark, one that should never have been there. One that we should have had time to fix. We were running out of oxygen." She took a deep breath, clutching the bracelet around her wrist as if it was the only thing keeping her alive. "My mother thought the people deserved to know. I found out about her plan-and I agreed. So they-" Deep breath. In, out. She ran her hands through her hair, trying to clear her mind. She hated talking about this. "They floated, err, executed her," she clarified at the confused look on Natsu's face, "and they locked me up so I wouldn't tell anyone. And that's why they sent us. We were good for nothing kids who were expendable. They didn't actually believe that the ground was survivable, but they needed to make time for everyone else. We might have bought them another few months, at best."

He stayed silent for a few minutes and the pair continued to walk, the sounds of nature never being so clear to Lucy. She always tried to fill the silence, her time in solitary were unpleasant memories she didn't care to relive.

But the birds singing in the early hours of the morning made her mind relax and the unease she had been feeling started to dissipate.

"You think our ways are violent," Natsu started suddenly, causing her to jump a little, "but your people killed one of your own for trying to save everyone." His gaze met hers, no sign of accusation in his eyes, only pity. "Maybe we're not that different after all."

He didn't say anything else and neither did she, both staring straight at the path ahead of them. It was true, after all. Killing was killing, and who were they to say the end justifies the means?

"I am sorry, Lucy," he stated, his voice unnaturally soft as he turned to stare at her, a sadness visible in his features. "I know what it's like to lose a parent. Especially when it was an unfair death."

"We're here." He stopped in his tracks, staring straight ahead. She followed his gaze, eyes widening at the site in front of her.

"Wow," she breathed, at a loss for words-something that didn't happen to her very often.

"In the winter this is frozen over, making it easier to get across. Unfortunately for us, we have to take a boat." Natsu left her standing in awe for a few moments, and if she were honest she barely noticed he was gone. Before she knew it he was back, dragging along the most dangerous looking 'boat' she had ever seen. Granted, it was the only boat she ever saw, but she rests her case.

"You're joking right?"

"If I'm joking you're not loud and annoying." He countered, canine teeth visible as he grinned at her. "Well come on then, we don't have all day. Get in. I'll push and jump in."

With great resistance, she climbed in the front of what she assumed was a canoe, gripping the paddle he handed to her so hard her knuckles were white with strain.

"Relax, sky girl. I've travelled by boat many times. I know what I'm doing." He was laughing at her-which she highly resented. As he pushed the canoe into the water she felt her heartbeat quicken and her fears mounted. She didn't know how to swim or paddle or even hold her breath for very long. She was not okay with this.

"Well, I don't. I don't at all. I don't know how to swim Natsu. I can't do this." She was panicking, her throat felt like it was closing up and suddenly she was rocking forward as the canoe fully submerged, then back as Natsu jumped in and grabbed her shoulders, holding her steady.

"Trust me. I won't let you drown. When this is all over, I'll even teach you to swim." He gave her shoulders a squeeze, then suddenly the pressure was gone. She still felt anxious, but she wasn't scared for her life anymore.

Natsu would protect her. She would be fine.

"Let's just get this over with," she sighed, thrusting her paddle into the water.

"It's not funny!" Lucy exclaimed, ringing her hair out as she shivered from the cold and wetness as Natsu laughed at her.

"You're wrong-it's hilarious. You should see yourself!" Lucy wished she could strangle him, but instead she settled for glaring.

"Need I remind you we're on a serious mission?" She sneezed, groaning in defeat. She would have to take off her shirt, and probably her pants, to let them dry. Wearing them soaked would just make matters worse.

"You're right, I'm sorry, here," he laid his weapons on the ground so he could pull his long coat off, offering it to her.

"Thank you," she grabbed the coat, reading herself to take off her damp clothes before she noticed he was staring. "Excuse me." She said, staring right back at him. He didn't seem to get the hint, however.

"Could you please turn around?" she asked politely, not wanting him to take his coat back. It was freezing out.

He just raised an eyebrow before turning his back, picking up his weapons from the ground. "I suppose I could have warned you that the boat would be unbalanced when you got out. I'm sorry for that."

Surprised, Lucy didn't say anything back and just wrapped the coat around, using his belt to tighten it so it worked more like a dress.

"No real harm done, I guess," she offered, picking up her wet clothes and sighing as she rolled them into a ball to carry. "Where to now?"

The question seemed pointless, seeing as there was a huge structure smack in front of them; it was visible from the other end of the lake. But maybe they were heading to somewhere more conspicuous, so had no idea. Natsu didn't offer up much information about anything.

"The Azgeda citadel. Straight ahead." He didn't even wait for her to respond before he started toward the towering structure. It was tall, insanely so. Straight, narrow, with a sphere near the top. It also looked like the top was broken, and she would have been surprised if it wasn't. It almost looked familiar to her, probably from a picture in one of her history books.

"How are we supposed to get in?" she asked, hoping he had a plan that wouldn't get them killed.

"Easy. We let them come to us. Azgeda soldiers are always patrolling this area. We just have to request an audience with the Prince." He sounded so confident Lucy almost believed it would work.

"How do you know they won't just kill us?" It was a reasonable question she thought. There was a lot that could kill a person on Earth, the most dangerous thing was simply not knowing. And she certainly didn't know a lot of things.

"I don't."

"Hod op!" someone shouted from behind, and an arrow whisked past her head and shot into a tree. She held her breath, limbs frozen from fear.

"Chon yu bilaik?" A group of grounders appeared in front of them, arrows nocked and ready to shoot, others carrying swords and daggers.

"Ai laik Natsu Kom Trigeda. En ai gaf chich op Hainofa Gray kom Azgeda."

They waited, holding their breath to see what the Ice Nation soldiers would do. While Lucy wasn't positive on what Natsu said, she figured he asked to speak to Gray. And she hoped and prayed they let them.

"Chon dison bilaik?"

"Lucy kom Skaikru."

The grounders looked uneasy at Natsu's words, a few of them talking to each other and Lucy wished she understood what they were saying. She looked at Natsu and noticed how his shoulders tensed and his face stayed completely blank. She wondered how he did it and felt strangely sad that he did it so well.

"Mafta osir op!" The grounders shouted, gesturing for them to follow. She stayed still, waiting for Natsu to tell her what to do.

The grounders grabbed her by her arms, jerking her roughly forward. She saw Natsu move, almost in a blink of the eye, as he punched the grounder who grabbed her and replaced their hands with his own.

"Ai na goch em op," he growled, throwing his bow to the ground, "oso ou na kok au."

Some of the grounders seemed to resist whatever Natsu said, but the one who seemed to be in charge stopped them from advancing on them, snapping a short, "en's na bants." And then they were off and Lucy could barely feel her legs, the only reason she was still standing was Natsu's arm wrapped around her waist. He was practically dragging her around.

"You need to get a grip," he whispered in her ear, his hand pressing in on her waist. "You can't look weak. He won't take you seriously."

Nodding, she took a few breaths and steadied herself, the shock of their situation wearing off and the feeling in her legs coming back. His grip didn't loosen on her, something she appreciated. She could make herself look brave as hell, but she was still terrified. And he knew it.

"I hope you're not afraid of heights," he joked, distracting her from the grounders who kept staring at them and whispering things she didn't understand.

"I guess we'll find out," she let a smile slip out, thinking about how she really shouldn't be afraid of heights. But up on the Ark, there was no way to fall, no way to jump or be pushed off. She never had to be scared of falling.

"We're here." In front of them were a set of simple doors and strangely she was surprised. She expected something more overwhelming and grandiose. "Now to get to the throne room."

Lucy did not like how he said that.

"And how do we do that?" She questioned, knowing she wouldn't like the answer.

"We climb."

The inside was ice. Completely ice. As she looked up she saw that it was almost like an ice shaft, the dents clearly visible where people climb. She had a lot of doubts about this, mainly how this was all still here and functioning, and she couldn't help but wonder how much longer it would last.

"Of course, that's if we didn't know about the actual way up." Natsu went and talked to the leader grounder who nodded, and then they were following him outside of the building again and toward another door. It was hidden slightly behind a wall of ice and blended in so well she never would have guessed it was there. "The other entrance is toward those off who attempt to attack Ice Nation, but it wouldn't hold if that was the only way in and out."

There was what she thought was an old elevator with the door missing in the room, wire rope attached to it and extending so high into the building she couldn't see the end. The rope was looped around multiple pulleys, with multiple grounders stationed in the room who she assumed operated the system.

She almost wanted to take her chances with the ice shaft.

"Are you sure this is safe?" She asked, cautiously following him into the elevator.

"Am I dead?" he retorted.

"I guess that's a good point." He was still breathing, and he said he came here a lot as a child.

"Besides, the ice shaft is actually used for executions. Wouldn't want to risk someone falling on us on our way up."

Before she could respond the elevator started to move and she wasn't used to it so she started to fall forward before Natsu reached out and grabbed her.

"Careful, ai skaifaya. Can't have you dying just yet."

The elevator came to a rough stop after a few minutes of silence. She didn't know what he called her, and she didn't want to ask.

They strode forward, past a number of soldiers who were standing guard in the circular room, and Lucy forced herself to not look out the windows surrounding them. They finally approached what appeared to be the Ice Nation throne, with a man with dark black hair and a scar decorating the left side of his face. Needless to say, he gave her the chills.

"Natsu kom Trikru. This is a surprise." He drawled with a gravelly with a hint of an accent. "And of course Lucy kom Skaikru. An honour."

She felt it was anything but.

"Haihefa Silver, I apologize for the unannounced visit. However, we wish to speak to Hainofa Gray." Lucy wanted to laugh at how polite Natsu was being, but she supposed he didn't want his head cut off.

A glint caught her eye and she glanced down, and to her horror, the throne the king was sitting was situated over what appeared to be ice, frosting up the legs of the throne. She could clearly see the ground below them, and she realized in that moment that she was afraid of heights.

An ice floor, she thought, no believing that's what it really was. It had to be glass. But still, how was it so durable?

"I thought as much. He'll be right up. In the meantime, sky girl, why don't you tell me why you're here and why I shouldn't have you killed?" She felt a lump in her throat, surprised by his bluntness. And then she got angry. This wasn't her, their, fault that they were on Earth. The 100 while guilty in many ways, were victims in this scenario. And she was over people accusing them of something they had no control over.

"If you want to kill me, you would have already, so can we all just drop the pointless threats at this point," she saw Natsu smirk out of the corner of her eyes, giving her more confidence to continue, even with Silver showing no change in his features. "Our home was dying. So, our leaders thought it was necessary to send me and my fellow 'sky people'," she mocked, hating the name, "down here, even though they didn't think we would survive. They sent us to our death, we had no idea anyone was living on earth. So I'm sorry we're an inconvenience to you. But I'm not dead yet, and I don't plan on dying soon." She let out a long breath and felt a strange kind of relief after her little outburst, followed by embarrassment. She didn't realize she was holding so much in.

"Well, that certainly is quite the women you've got there, Natsu."

A deep voice sounded from behind them, amusement clearly evident.

Lucy felt her face heat up, slowly turning around to face the newcomer.

Her eyes met dark blue, feeling a chill run down her spine.

His lip quirked, hand resting on the handle of a sword attached at his waist. She gulped, for some reason much more terrified of the man in front of her than of the King.

There was no doubt. This was Gray.