A/N: This is my first fanfic, so please bear with me! However, Fairy Tail and all related characters belong to Mashima. At best I can only claim the ideas behind the OCs. Also, I want to thank Deathsembrace137 for permission to depict Lucy as an S-class mage courtesy of her "A Love of Lightning" story - I don't know if I could have started writing this story without that starting point! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!
PS - I've rewritten the story with actual names for OCs! Don't forget to review after reading!
Chapter 1
It was a night like any other typical night – only a few people were walking around Magnolia at this late hour, while many Fairy Tail mages continued to enjoy each other's company at their guild hall. Erza and Lucy had just returned from the latter's first official S-class mission, and as exhausted as they both were from chasing down a dark guild terrorizing a town to the east they stayed at the guild partying with everyone else, tired enough to not be bothered by Natsu and Gray brawling again but not so tired that they wanted to leave for home too soon. Apart from the fact that most of the Fairy Tail mages had drunk more than they normally would, it seemed like any other ordinary night for Fairy Tail and the residents of Magnolia.
Hidden in the shadows, however, a man watched the Fairy Tail guild hall vigilantly for any signs of a certain blonde girl said to summon spirits through various keys she always carried. Though his body ached for rest, he knew that losing consciousness now before he could track Fairy Tail's resident Celestial mage would bring much more pain. Suddenly a device crackled to life as the man heard a voice ask: "Any status update, Manny?"
"Nothing yet," replied the man known as Manny while he kept his eyes peeled for any indication that Lucy Heartfilia might have started leaving the guild hall. "Everything set for your side?"
"Yes sir," the voice replied. "Inform us when she leaves and follow her here. Over."
In an entirely different world, Jade suddenly woke up with a start. Looking at the alarm by her bed, Jade quickly realized that there was something amiss as she never woke up on the rare days off before her alarm rang at 0930. Feeling too uneasy to return to bed, she began trying to think of what could have caused her to wake up so abnormally when she suddenly remembered what her boss said about abducting Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail. Turning on her computer, she plugged it into her and began searching for whatever information was known about Fairy Tail and their Celestial mage. As much as she disliked most of the made-up stories posted as "reality" on FFnet she felt drawn there as though something truly important had been buried amongst the rubble. Her eyes fell on one titled "A Love of Lightning" by someone using the pen name Deathsembrace137 and, feeling that that particular story may be what she was looking for she quickly pulled out a set of tarot cards and cast them about – much like Cana would, without realizing that fact – and read them to see that this was the story she was to comb through. Suddenly her eyes shot wide open and she realized that she would need to traverse the not-so-insignificant distance to Lucy's house as quickly as possible. Barging into her (work) partner's room, Jade quickly found the person she was looking for and ran over, shouting "Grant! We need to get to reach Fairy Tail, pronto! Grab your stuff and follow me!"
"But wh…" Grant started only to be cut off by Jade saying that "I can feel something bad is going to happen if we don't – I'll tell you more on the way there." Grant nodded understanding to Jade and soon followed her out heading towards Magnolia. Suddenly one of their devices crackled to life and despite the static in their reception both could hear Manny's voice saying "Celestial mage … left guild hall … red-head girl … Initiate. Over." As if those words had removed a blindfold, Grant now realized what made the usually stoic and emotionless Jade feel on edge as they raced against time to reach Magnolia.