Hello readers! This was an unexpected one, actually. I was reading fanfictions and then this crazy plot bunny came, and
BOOM! Fanfic, whoohoo! Also: Who Is That? is almost done: I sent it to my beta a few days ago...so yeah. Lastly, this will be a two-shot, and i will try to get the next one up as soon as I can.
Disclaimer: Okay I haven't 'disclaimed' my previous stories, but...uh...I don't own anything!
The day was young, and the guild was slowly filling up with different mages. The buzz of laughter, talk, and clatters steadily drenched the atmosphere. Cold winds blew in through the door, which was being opened more and more.
Natsu stomped over to the wooden table on which his teammates resided. Triumphantly, he shoved a crumpled, and ripped paper into their faces. Lucy looked up from the book she was working on, annoyed. Scowling, she pushed the paper out of her face and looked at Natsu pointedly.
"What?" she asked, expasteredly. "Levy has been waiting 2 months for this chapter. It's the last chapter, you know." she added matter-of-factly
Smiling, he announced, "It's a mission! It pays 700,000 jewels!"
Erza raised her eyebrow. "That's enough for all of us, including Happy." she approved, obviously impressed. "We would all have 100,000." Gray added.
Immediately, Lucy perked up. "That's more than enough to pay for my rent! My rent's only 5,000." the blonde said, overjoyed.
"So...we're all going?" Gray asked.
"Obviously, ice brain. I always pick the best." Natsu bragged, smirking. Just as Gray was about to spit out a response, Erza cleared her throat menacingly. Natsu slung his arm over Gray's shoulder on instinct, and smiled in perfect harmony with his enemy.
She nodded curtly. "Erza-chan," Wendy called, demanding her attention away from the boys, and in the process, saving them from her undying wrath. "What is the mission about?"
Tilting her head, Lucy wondered as well. "Wendy-kun is right, what's the mission about?"
Juvia snatched the paper from the table, and read aloud, "Juvia will read for Gray-chan! Save us from the evil Demgel monster. The pay will be 700,000. Please proceed to 80,12,57,28 at Highway 57, street 2095."
An exchange of confused chatter filled the table. "What do those numbers mean?" Natsu wondered aloud. Unsurprisingly, Gray replied, "I don't know, flame brain! You picked the stupid mission anyway." Quickly, he began to take his shirt off, undeterred by his actions.
"Put your shirt back on!" Erza demanded sharply, after Juvia shrieked from sheer delight, and promptly fainted. "It is-" he began, but was cut off when he touched his bare chest. "What?! Where does it go?!" He groaned, and slumped off to find his shirt, eyes darting around everywhere.
"We'll meet at the train station by 1:00 pm tomorrow," Erza ordered. "If any of you find out what the numbers mean, tell me." She left, her boots clicking as she opened the wooden doors, walking into the howling wind and down the winding road to Fairy Hills.
The weather was perfect. The sun was high in the sky, two fluffy clouds positioned in front of the sun. It was a great contrast from the gray sky the day before. A cool breeze kept everyone happy as they walked through grassy fields of morning dew and tulips.
Sounds of cheering, laughter, wolf calls, and merchants filled the cobblestone street as Lucy walked alongside Plue. Lucy had worn something different from her regular attire. She felt a change in the atmosphere, and she still couldn't tell if it was good or bad.
Plus, she deserved a break. She had discovered what the numbers were for. She curled her blonde hair at the ends and pulled them to her right shoulder. Instead of her usual skimpy skirt and shirt, she chose blue shorts, a beige, lace shirt, a sleeveless, denim jacket, and white flats.
Her keys jingled on the right side of her shorts, placed on one of the belt grooves. Finally, the summoner reached Magnolia Train Station. Lucy turned to the Spirit, smiled, and he disappeared with a pop.
Train whistles pierced the air, as she made her way to Team Natsu, who stood out like a sore thumb with Erza's wagon of who-knows-what, and Natsu's torches of fire, which he was polishing off as quick as a fox.
As usual, Natsu was the first to notice her, and called her over with shouts, which made him stick out even more. The people were now regarding them with glares and curious stares. Blushing, Lucy strode over to the group, who was, unsurprisingly, unmoved by the negative attention.
"Come on," she mumbled incoherently, walking past them to the train. "We'll talk on the train."
"Oi!" Gray called. "Which train are we getting on?" The rest of the group just walked past him and ignored the protesting ice mage.
Juvia stopped. "Juvia thinks that Lucy knows what the numbers mean and we should follow her." she explained. "O-oh. Thanks, Juvia." Gray shot her a crooked smile. Suddenly, Juvia shrieked. With a shaking hand, she pointed to his bare chest.
"Huh?! Where's my shirt?!"
The mixed group of mages finally found an empty cabin. The many people of Magnolia had found that it was the perfect day to barge in the train where the mages chose. (Really though, they were just following Lucy).
"So Luce, why this train?" Natsu asked the sulking blonde in the farthest side of the cabin, before the motion sickness set in. "Yeah, Lucy-chan. I didn't see you as a person to go to Hargeon Town. The beaches are pretty, but you said you never liked the people there." Wendy agreed with Natsu.
The motion sickness finally set in, and Natsu turned green with the pressure. He leaned out of the window, and barfed into the poor grassy fields below.
Erza glanced, disgusted, at Natsu and knocked him out with the hilt of her sword. Placing him none too softly onto her lap, she turned to Lucy, and asked, "I agree with Wendy. Why did you pick Hargeon Town?"
She looked at them, tired. "I was up all night," she began, but was cut off by Wendy's concerned cries. "Luuuucyyy-channn!" she cried. "I already told you millions of times! No staying up late, it isn't good for you! You did this before with those books. I remember!" The bluenette rambled on with her motherly lectures.
"Juvia thinks Wendy-kun should let Lucy-chan speak." Juvia interjected. The dragonslayer blushed and turned away, muttering, "Sorry," Lucy shot Wendy an its-okay smile before continuing. "The numbers are coordinates. I searched it up and it lead to an isolated island in the middle of Hargeon's sea territory." She paused, sighed, and looked out the square window.
"But, the land wasn't big enough to have 2000 streets, or 50 Highways. Then, I found this story in the library. The island, Rawrachia, was named after a magic that protects it, making it look small, so that bandits wouldn't come for their rich soil and plentiful crops. But, it wasn't all that good. The Rune Knights didn't believe them when they said a Demgel was there. They thought that the island was too small for something so big to stay."
"That's why they called us. But we have to be careful. Demgels are half demon, half angel. They are quite bi-polar. At the stroke of midnight, it turns into its demon self. Apparently, its angel self takes place in the morning." Lucy finished, looking at each of them evenly with chocolate eyes.
"That's terrible!" Wendy exclaimed, while Happy tried to give Charle a fish. "I know," Lucy replied. "Wait... Why didn't the people tell the Rune Knights about the magic?" Gray asked, shirt already gone. The stellar spirit mage pursed her lips. "With that amount of gold, soil, crops, and the main land almost corrupt, would they really trust the Rune Knights?" she asks pointedly, a delicate dark blonde eyebrow raised.
The land skimmed by, as they ponder on Lucy's question.(She was right, of course, she's Lucy). Turning their attention to her, the said mage stifled a yawn. Suddenly, they realized how tired she must actually be, the dark bags under her eyes, and her slumped posture. Now, they knew, why Wendy had been so concerned about their blonde friend.
"Lucy-chan," the water mage said, gently, to the tired girl. "Juvia thinks that you should take a nap." She looked as if she would burst out at her friend, but she thought twice, and smiled softly. "Okay." she agreed simply, stretching her arms out and leaning on the glass window to nap.
The cabin was quiet, as the small snores of Lucy filled the comfortable silence.
Hargeon Town was a sunny town. The bay nearby was beautiful; the sparkling water was a deep turquoise and the sand was a like a warm blanket on your feet as you buried it in the sand. Cold breezes carried you through town, busily picking gizmos from here and there.
Team Natsu was on their feet, reenergized. Especially Natsu. After his long nap, he jumped around as if the world depended on it. All except Lucy. She walked with a slumped posture, and her eyes were rimmed with red from exhaustion. Her girl-friends shot her concerned glances, but said nothing. "Let's stay here." Erza said finally, pointing to a small but cozy looking inn named "Honey Bunches". They shrugged, and followed the redhead.
Inside, coincidentally (not really), an array of cakes, featuring strawberry shortcakes as a specialty, cramped the front. A kind looking woman greeted them. "Hello!" she said cheerfully. "I am Rosie. Welcome to Honey Bunches! How may I help you?" Her wavy brown hair was fixed into a messy bun; a blue-and-white apron hugged her slender body, her face rosy. Lucy, who was always the one to step up first and take charge, slumped to the back and waited for someone else instead. Wendy and Erza glanced at her worriedly. "Yes, we would like 2 rooms," Erza said, then leaned over and added, "And 2 whole strawberry shortcakes." Rosie nodded, and said, "That'll be 90 jewels." The ex-quip mage fished a purse out of her armor and handed the money to Rosie. "Thank you." Rosie smiled, then showed them to their room.
The room was decently furnished. The walls were a light green, almost a minty color. The floor was a plush chocolate brown carpet, with almost unnoticeable intricate mint green swirls. A square window with brown curtains sat beside the table and chair set of cherry wood. Two twin beds with white covers and a cot sat in the middle, the rightmost one beside the cabinet.
Happy and the boys stayed in one room; the girls in the other. After they had settled in, Team Natsu set off in search of a diner to eat in for dinner. They were in luck. They found a diner almost immediately, and it was nearly empty. The mages scarfed down their food, but Lucy just picked around it.
In a few hours, the team returned to the inn, full and content. After they had showered, they fell asleep. At half-past midnight, Erza and Wendy creeped over to their blonde friend's bed, and held a hand over her forehead. "Ouch!" Wendy hissed. The girl was burning hot. "She probably has a fever." Erza said. She slipped out of the room in search of a thermometer and medicine. Meanwhile, Wendy tended to the sick blonde, placing a cool towel over her forehead. Wendy's lips were pursed in anticipation, worried that the girl would wake up. Rather, Lucy snuggled to the touch and sighed in content. The bluenette let loose a breath. Erza entered quietly, and slipped a thermometer in Lucy's mouth. With a small beep, the thermometer was slipped out. The 2 girls gasped as they read the temperature which was 102 degrees. For the rest of the night, Wendy and Erza tended to the poor girl.
Ok! Well, there you go. Not one of my best, but it will have to do. Thank you all so much for the support, favorites, reviews, and follows. You are the best. I am always open to constructive criticism, so review, PM, and stuff. Bye!
xoxo,
Katkat