A young Celestial Spirit wizard was located at a tall chair in the center of Fairy Tail's bar, sitting in a precarious position that radiated gloom and dramatic sadness. This wizard may have been a gorgeous, easy-to-talk-with woman, but her current state of being scared everyone else away but the closest of friends and confidants.
"Having trouble getting a job, Lucy?" Mirajane Strauss, a beautiful, kind wizard who worked at Fairy Tail as the bartender and server, questioned in a sweet, quiet voice. She looked gently down upon the curvy blonde slumped over the bar's counter, a concerned expression donning her face. Mira acted as a motherly figure of the rowdy Fairy Tail guild, when in fact she was just a few years older than Lucy, who was still a teenager.
Lucy whimpered to the polished wooden surface, "No, it's not that, it's just that THEY ALWAYS GO OVERBOARD!" her voice rising in pitch while she lifted her head and scrunched her eyebrows at the older wizard. "Whenever we find a good job, those three always find a way to make sure we aren't paid. In fact, I do believe the mayor of the next town over still wants US to pay THEM for all the damages we caused last time! How am I ever going to be able to pay my rent?"
"I see," sympathized Mira, "well, how about you go on a mission solo? I wouldn't have a problem with it, and I'm sure they won't mind as well. As long as it's not too difficult, I give you my permission." The white-haired girl casted a pointed, knowing look toward the now uncomfortable mage in front of her, knowing that crafty Lucy had sneaked past her and overloaded herself with too many grueling, difficult jobs. Lucy's apartment was cheap, but it certainly wasn't free; she needed the money from any request she could find.
Lucy sighed, graciously thanked her friend with a small smile, and ambled over to the large request board to find a variety of strange job offerings. She cocked her head to left, letting her silky, shoulder-length hair fall to one side. Two particular requests seemed to catch her keen eye at once. One job offered 200,000 jewels to anyone who could act as a therapist for a famous singer that was going through a terrible rough patch, another giving 50,000 jewels for anyone interested in participating in a drinking contest. She zeroed in on the latter, seeing that the proprietors of an old pub were looking for more business, and a few of the boisterous members of Fairy Tail were just what they might need to attract more customers. Lucy shook her head and giggled, tearing the piece of paper from the board and rushing over to a mage whose passion happened to be alcohol, and who was currently finishing off her third barrel of the good-weathered morning.
While Lucy excitedly explained the odd request to Cana, who sighed a "Sure, whatever" in response, Happy the Exceed, Natsu Dragneel, and Gray Fullbuster entered the loud wizard's guild. The latter two were arguing over who would win in a fight, and their quarrel quickly escalated to a small brawl. Soon, the two violent boys were in an all-out war, both damaging various parts—and people—inside the large stone building. Natsu's infamous "Roar of the Fire Dragon" would be frozen into a jagged ice wall by a smirking Gray, but Gray's Ice Make Lance would frequently be deterred from its original path by a powerful fire kick/punch from Natsu.
They continued this pattern, even disregarding Gajeel's threats to bash their heads in when he was caught in the collateral damage of a Flame Elbow, until the frightening Titania, Erza Scarlet, forcibly stopped them. With an angry glint in her dark brown eyes, she rapidly slammed their heads into the hard flooring using only one of her armored hands, causing a small crater in the perfectly formed stone. She reprimanded the muddled pair, reminding them that the guild was shabby and damaged enough already. Grumbling, Gray and Natsu glared at each other one last time before walking in opposite directions. Erza, satisfied, turned and walked smoothly to the bar to ask Mirajane for a slice of her favorite dessert, strawberry cake.
Suddenly, Gray was lovingly glomped from the side by his personal stalker, Juvia Loxar. She sobbed her happiness at his return with her blue-haired head supported by his muscular chest, while he simply tried to wriggle out from her surprisingly strong grip. When he finally succeeded and got up from the ground, dusting himself off, most of his clothes had been stripped off. Juvia gave the young man a classic up-and-down while flushing like a wild strawberry, the light red coloring coinciding well with her choppy azure hair. He seemed not to notice her intense gaze, instead focusing on getting his bones and joints in their correct positions.
While this small event occurred, a certain son of Igneel was making his way over to Lucy Heartfilia, who had been talking excitedly to Cana about the drinking contest that would happen the next day. Natsu threw his arm around the teen's shoulders, greeting her with a large, goofy grin that showed his pointed canines.
"Ack, Natsu, your head is hard as a rock!" Lucy exclaimed as their heads were bonked together by Natsu's rough physical contact.
"That's because it is a rock," said Cana, between large gulps of beer. She reached up with her fist to knock on his head, like you would a door. "Hollow inside, though."
Lucy chuckled at the last comment, while Natsu immediately flared up. Hot flames surrounded the hot-head's ripped figure, none burning his body or the minimal clothing he wore. Lucy found it rather stifling to be in his close presence so she silently backed away, leaving Cana to the impulsive fire mage. She sweat-dropped but did nothing else to provoke him, unlike Gray, so he let the tiny insult go. Instantly, the flames disappeared. Breathing a sigh of relief, Lucy stopped worrying over whether the guild would be destroyed. For now.
That is, until the current master of Fairy Tail, Makarov Dreyar, burst through the wide double doors of the guild entrance. Conversation ceased as all members turned, with stares ranging from curiosity and boredom to fright and concern. The tiny old man was panting, with salty perspiration dotting his chartreuse green skin. Erza flitted to his side, catching the old man when he lost his balance. The only other time he'd been in this condition, everyone remembered, was when he'd almost died from a loss of magic energy.
"Guu… Erza, is…that you?" he drawled, seeming to confused. He sharply sucked in a deep breath as his face puckered in pain. "The—the dark guild Shadow Knight is c-coming. Be… prepared," the man slowly finished, his frail tanned hand falling from the grip of Erza while his onyx eyes seem to empty of all emotion.
Everyone sat in stone silence, not believing what they had just witnessed. But a fraction of a second later, as if they'd just been electrocuted, they responded. Going into a full-scale panic, the wizards started preparing for war. The oblivious townspeople of Magnolia could easily hear the frantic orders being yelled, and they curiously craned their necks, wondering what had caused such a serious uproar in the constantly cheerful group of mages.
A few members—Erza, Mirajane, and Gildarts—had known that Shadow Knight would soon make a move to eliminate all of the light guilds, but none had known when, why, how, or whom. Now two pieces of a mysterious puzzle were in place: Fairy Tail was being attacked first, and in a very short period of time. The three dragon slayers Natsu, Gajeel, and Wendy could already feel a malicious and dark presence; they could smell death charging toward them.
Hope you've really enjoyed this at least half as much as I have! Not too shabby for a first-timer, eh? Please feel encouraged to rate and review; constructive criticism and ideas to improve both my writing as well as this particular story are greatly accepted. This is an interesting and fun story to write so far, and I'll definitely continue this, possibly stretching it out and adding a few subplots and surprises in there somewhere :) Thank you, and God bless!