Glory and Gore

Hatred

"You want to hold your shoulders high," Natsu said, stepping towards Lucy and adjusting her stance. "Knees bent slightly. Hold the knife steady in your hands."

Lucy had her face messed up into a frown, focused on every piece of advice he was giving her. "Okay."

"You don't want to rush anyone—you aren't experienced enough. That will come with practice." He explained. "For now, evasive moves and defense is what you want to focus on."

Lucy nodded.

They'd spent the day travelling from the old base—the beautiful mansion, ironically dubbed by the brotherhood the bridge—to the new base: a ratty, small, old brick building nestled in the shadows of the forest with a 180 room bunker hiding below it. The bunker wasn't anywhere close to the beauty of the mansion, but it was impressive. High tech kitchens, plain yet accommodating bedrooms, a massive gym and training area for the thousands of brotherhood members arriving.

Brotherhood members from all of the different branches and bases gathered at the new base. Gajeel had informed Lucy that this particular base was called the iceberg—he didn't explain why, but the small little house and the looming bunker beneath it made the visual pretty clear.

The thousands of men had convened at the iceberg in order to set a retaliation plan in motion. The brotherhood wasn't going to simply sit back and allow the shadows to attack—the brotherhood intended to act first, to get the shadows on the run. They weren't going to be passive about this. They were going to strike first.

Salamander had insisted on training Lucy upon arrival. She was exhausted and her energy was depleted, and she just wanted to go to Salamander's room and crawl up in his bed—she didn't get her own room; the higherups of the organization took offense at the idea of a mere hostage getting guest treatment—but he hadn't let her. He'd warned her about the dangers of what was coming, of what they would have to face—the shadows coming in full force—and she'd grumpily agreed.

They'd gone to the gym in the bunker. Lucy didn't like it—it was a gym straight out of an 80's movie. The lights were too dim and the walls were all brick and it stunk like men and sweat. But Natsu had pulled her into the boxing ring, made her take out her knife, and had started to teach her.

Gajeel watched from the sidelines, shouting out some advice to her as the lesson progressed.

When they'd first began, she could barely hold the knife properly. By the end, she was wielding it like the weapon it was—and dodging some slow punches Natsu threw her way.

"Great job, champ!" Gajeel had shouted at the girl, clapping from the edges of the ring.

Other brotherhood members in the area gave them strange, suspicious looks. Salamander and Gajeel training that girl they'd taken from the shadows' bar? It was a recipe for disaster. Still, the others said nothing. They wouldn't dare—not to Salamander.

Lucy couldn't help but grin at the black haired boy, turning her determined glare back to Natsu.

He'd been different with her, here in the training ring. She'd thought he would've reverted into that cruel, brotherhood-created monster that he seemed to become when weapons and violence were at the forefront—but he didn't. In fact, he was...gentle.

There was a tenseness in his muscles, but watching her learn to grip that delicate blade...there wasn't any anger in his expression. And when he got to the gritty parts of the lesson—like how to hold the blade so it would slash an enemy's stomach more directly—he was soft spoken, not pushing her too far.

Lucy would listen to his words, and he would slowly walk her through the move; then, she would practice it on him at full-speed.

"Are you sure?" Lucy asked, hesitating. She didn't exactly want to stab him. "I might hurt you."