To all who bother reading, thank you and let me know what you think! (this was posted earlier, but I made some edits)

Chapter 1

Natsu made a great partner. The fire mage was powerful and skilled, not to mention he had a heart of gold and put his heart into all his efforts. Lucy couldn't be more grateful that he tricked her into his team. A team with Natsu, Happy, Erza and Gray really did make one of the most powerful teams of Fairy Tail. They were also some of Lucy's closest friends (Levy-chan asides). Then again, that combination also made one of the most destructive teams in all of Fiore. Overall, after a mission, Lucy only ended up with half her expected income, since she had to cash most of it out as compensation for a wide array of damages.

As a result, in order to secure money for rent, Lucy developed a strategy where she would sneak off on a solo mission at least once a month, while the others were distracted with other things (Grey might get lured into a mission with Juvia, Erza might take on an S-class mission, Natsu might go fishing with Happy). Every time, she planned things out very carefully since Natsu in particular did not like her going off on her own (besides Happy always loved it when Lucy tagged along with them to go fishing). She took great pains not to be discovered, which was difficult since her teammates (mostly Natsu, Happy and Gray) barged into her house unannounced all the time. Natsu particularly had the nasty habit of coming and visiting her at night . . . and giving Lucy a mild heart attack when she would wake up with him in her bed. Why did Natsu feel the need to constantly invade her personal space? Who knew? Either way, she always made sure to plan her solo missions so that Natsu wouldn't find out until it was too late- or so that it was impossible for Natsu to come along. Once she came back safe and sound with a bagful of jewels she would return to her partner and her teammates with a big, bright smile.

Lucy knew that she was not at the same level as her teammates, but being a stellar spirit mage proved to be very effective in securing income. Her stellar spirits provided a wide range of skills that could be adapted to many different situations. She trusted her spirits completely and always fought alongside them. Gemini and Virgo helped in missions that required her to sneak around, find information, or retrieve items. Taurus, while occasionally distracted, did make a formidable adversary in combat; so did Caprico. And at all times Lucy could count on Loke- Leo the Lion. He was there for her always.

That is where Lucy found herself now- on her monthly solo mission. While the request started out as a simple assignment, it became a little more complicated than anticipated. But Lucy thought it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She had to retrieve a missing artifact from a thief and apprehend the thief too. Lucy found the thief and the artifact, but she also discovered that he was no single individual, but rather a band of rogue mages. Lucy simply attacked the mages, who were hiding in an underground cave, with Sagittarius from a secret hide out dug out by Virgo. The arrows neutralized most of them, but the remaining mages eventually discovered Lucy and retaliated. Still, it was a piece of cake. Sagittarius went back and Lucy summoned Taurus and she brought out her whip. Lucy smiled to herself and gave Taurus a high-five: mission accomplished & rent secured.

Then, as Lucy was tying up the mages she heard applause echo through the dark empty cave and felt the dark slimy intent to kill surround her.

"Bravo, bravo," a man slowly appeared from the shadows. Lucy felt fear but held her ground. She focused on keeping her feet steady and her mind cool in order to think of the best way to deal with this man who oozed evil from every pore. She could tell he was dangerous, much more skilled than the others she had eliminated. Not to mention, she had already summoned three spirits and her magic was low. Please Lucy, she thought to herself, don't panic.

"Who are you?" she tried to keep her voice steady and hide her fear. He didn't answer her, but eyed her with a smile and intrigue.

"I can't believe a little shrimp with a set of tits was able to defeat this measly group of talentless bandits."

Okay, now Lucy's efforts to not panic were failing. She was squirming on the inside. The aura oozing from the man was unsettling and his smile was haunting.

"But I must say," the man took a lazy look about him, "Thank you for saving me the work to dealing with them. Imagine my surprise when I came to tackle down this scum, and I walk in on a little girl, who took care of everything! Truly extraordinary! Even thought it looks like they are all alive. That's to be expected when you let a little girl do the work of a mage."

He took a step forward; Lucy stepped backwards. His voice was cold and he spoke slowly, "Tell me, little girl, how did you do this? Are you going to finish them? Will you kill them?"

Another step forward and Lucy couldn't hold back a squeal of panic.

"What do you want? I'm just here on a job!"

"Oh so you were paid to take out my men?"

"Wait . . ." now Lucy was confused, "You were going to take out your own men?"

"They got caught didn't they? Who keeps trash like that?"

"How could you do that?" Lucy felt the indignation surge through her and it gave her strength. She made up her mind. This man was dangerous, but she was determined to defeat him. Either way, it seemed like she didn't have an option but to fight him. How could she stand down to a man who spoke of his own team as trash? He was going to kill them!

"What do you care, little girl?" The man noticed Lucy's resolve getting stronger, he saw the glint of determination in her eyes and found it amusing.

Another step forward, this time Lucy did not step back. Instead, as if he had read her thoughts, Leo appeared and positioned himself between the smiling man and his master. Lucy smiled at Loke. Inwardly she celebrated their close bond- his ability to appear without being summoned was rare and amazing. His strength always gave her confidence. Together Lucy knew they would defeat this odd man before her.

"Lucy." Loke was uncharacteristically serious, even for battle.

At the sight of Leo, the man's smile faltered from a fraction of a second. "Leo. What the hell are you doing alive? You were banished. You should be dead."

He didn't understand why, but this man gave Loke the chills, even more so since he seemed know about his past. Loke couldn't point his finger on it, he just knew this man was dangerous, especially for Lucy, and his job was to protect her at all cost.

Lucy was about to defend her spirit but was shocked when Loke spoke first. He ignored the man- his words were addressed to her. "Lucy, we need to leave now. This man is dangerous."

His lack of faith in her stung and hurt, but she remained defiant, "No! We can defeat him Loki. I need to complete my mission."

"Lucy, listen to me," his tone was demanding and unwavering, "not this time."

"Come on Loke, I believe in us."

Loke saw the slight hint of betrayal in Lucy's eyes. She silently pleaded with him to support her, to believe in her strength, in their strength together. It hurt, but he didn't feel regret, he just wanted Lucy away from this man now.

A chuckle brought Loke's attention back to the man. "This is really amusing . . . Loke." The venom dripped from his tone. "Why would the great lion back away from a fight?"

"We're not backing down! You just watch" Lucy yelled as she clenched her whip.

"No!" Loki didn't back down.

"If you don't want to help me, that's fine, I'll bring out Caprico! Go back!" The hurt took over Lucy's common sense (it's not like she had that much magic left).

The man's laughter got stronger, it boomed and echoed throughout the cave. Loke thought his options through for half a second and made his mind.

He looked at Lucy, "I'm sorry."

"Wh-" Lucy didn't get the chance to finish her thought. Loke jabbed her with a firm fist and knocked her out. He caught her swiftly, called Regulus and blinded the man. He used that second's distraction to run as fast as he could out the cave and get Lucy away from that man.

Lucy woke up in her bed, all she remembered was Loke's last words before he hit her. She had no clue how she got back to her apartment. The minor scratches and wounds from her fight with the mages at the cave were all bandaged up, but what hurt the most was her stomach where it had bruised purple, where Loke hit her.

"Yo Luce! You're finally awake!"

Lucy jumped and squealed in surprise. In her half-awake state, she'd forgotten that Natsu more than likely would've broken into her apartment.

"Natsu! What are you doing here?"

"You're hurt! I'm watching over you, weirdo." Natsu's tone was matter-of-fact.

"Did you bring me back?"

"No, I just came to see if you had come back and I found you. Loke was watching over you."

"He was?"

"Uhhuh." Natsu watched her carefully. Lucy began to remember the events of the mission. She remembered the creepy man walking out the shadows and his foreboding presence. At first, she had been scared, but she was determined to fight him and win. Loke had come out- Lucy had thought that he had come to support her- but instead he told her to run away. His lack of faith in his own master, hurt her more than she could imagine.

"I see," Lucy said with a sad smile.

"Are you all right?" Natsu asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Doesn't seem like it to me," Natsu said although he wasn't worried any more, he trusted Loke to take care of Lucy- he was one of their nakama, after all. "But seriously, Luce, you shouldn't try to sneak of on missions on your own."

"Why not? I can handle them on my own, don't you trust me to come back safe and sound?"

"It's not that Luce." What a weird girl. Why would she worry about that?

"Of course, I trust you, you're amazing!" He grinned at her, "but aren't we a team, Luce?"

Lucy could feel his wide grin working it's magic on her, comforting her, reassuring her. It told her a lot of things he didn't say with his words.

"Besides, we are always stronger when we have our nakama close to us." His words echoed Lisanna's, what she told Lucy a long time ago on Tenrou Island.

"Princess!" Virgo interrupted them, "I came to check up on you. Loke was worried."

"Hi Virgo!" Lucy was a little startled by her spirit's sudden appearance. "I'm fine."

Virgo didn't seem reassured, her master seemed sad.

"Princess," Virgo went on, "Loke knows you must be very mad at him so he sent me. Loke also told me to tell you to please forgive him, he is sorry. He also said to trust him."

Suddenly, the hurt she felt earlier came back and tears began to well up in her eyes. Natsu began to panic when he saw Lucy cry- he had no clue as to what had happened.

"That's not fair!" Lucy cried, "How can he expect me to trust him, when he won't trust me? Aren't we supposed to be a team? Why do I always have to runaway-"

Lucy continued to cry while Virgo sat next to her and waited patiently for her sobs to calm down.

After a few minutes Virgo spoke again. "Please Princess, trust Loke. We will do everything in our power to fight along you and to protect you. That man was dangerous- he seemed to know about stellar spirits and about Loke's past. It wasn't because he didn't trust in your strength, but sometimes to fight certain enemies, you need your nakama with you to give you strength."

"Wait what happened?" Natsu began to worry again. Had Lucy really been in danger?

"I'll let you explain, I must return. Please be safe Princess." With those last words, Virgo disappeared into the spirit realm.

"Lucy," Natsu became unexpectedly serious, "What happened on your mission?"

"I guess," Lucy sighed, "I might as well tell you."

Lucy told him everything about the mission, about the thieves, about the strange man, the strong aura of killing intent, about Loke's interference. At the end of the story all Natsu did was smile at her.

"Geez Luce, don't cry over that!"

All she could do was give him a blank stare; her tears had dried out long ago.

"Don't be weirdo, you heard Virgo- it's not because you're not strong enough. Don't try to prove yourself, we all trust you."

"But what about those other mages, sure they were bad, but what if he killed them?"

Natsu became serious. In reality, he was grateful to Loke, if that man was evil enough to kill his comrades, he wouldn't hesitate killing Lucy. But now he understood the guilt that weighed on Lucy's shoulders- she wanted to save those mages- her heart was just that big.

"We don't know what happened," he finally spoke, "but it's not your fault."

"Would you runaway, knowing someone was going to slaughter people?"

"You can't think like that, Luce," Natsu tried to comfort Lucy. "But don't think about it. Come on, I told Happy we would meet you at the guild."

"All right," Lucy did her best to smile, "but let me get ready."

"Well hurry up!" Natsu began to pull her out of bed.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Lucy snapped. Natsu smiled, she was beginning to act like herself again.

"I'm taking a shower," Lucy grabbed some clothes and made her way to the bathroom. "And NO PEEKING!"

Dammit! Natsu thought. Really did Lucy know him that well?