Hey everyone! Decided to revise this chapter a bit. I didn't like some of the things in it and I now have a better idea of where I'm going with this. Also, after reading a lot more fan fiction, I realize I really need to make my chapters a LOT longer. This one is still short, but I am working to extend the next one by quite a bit. I hope you enjoy and please comment with any thoughts or suggestions! I'd love to hear them!

Lucy walked into the guild one bright morning. As usual, she was greeted by the typical ruckus and clamor that Fairy Tail was so infamous for. Levy waved at her enthusiastically from a table where she sat with Droy, Jet, Lily, and a typically disgruntled and groggy Gajeel. Lucy smiled at her friend and went to settle down beside her, greeted by smiles from Droy, Jet and Lily and a snort from the metal Dragon Slayer. The key mage smiled back at the first three men, ignoring the last before hugging her friend good morning.

Once she was settled in, the blonde took in her surroundings. A couple tables over from her own, Lisanna sat and talked cheerfully with the Thunder God Tribe while her muscular older brother protectively draped his arm over her shoulders as though to prevent her from disappearing again. In between the youngest Strauss's narrations of her time in Edolas, Elfman would somehow manage to interject "MAN" in whatever way he could.

The blonde spirit mage marveled at how clean the guild hall was, probably because it was morning, and wondered how long it would take before it was destroyed today. Of course, in typical Fairy Tail fashion, this thought was destroyed by the one voice in the guild she knew best- Whether it was because this was the one she heard most, or just because he was the loudest.

" OI, WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU EXOBITIONIST?!"

Lucy let out an exhasperated sigh and looked in the direction of her partner, Natsu, who was standing near the bar with Gray and a swooning Juvia.

"I just said that my magic is more beautiful and as a result better than yours. C'mon, I create art. That would be the nature of ice MAKE magic. You just break things."

Gray slapped his hands together and then quickly pulled them apart, revealing an ice sculpture swan. Juvia, sitting close by, put her hands on her cheeks and swooned, rattling on something about Gray-sama's magic being the most beautiful of all.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE! I can make things beautiful too!"

"Aye! You tell 'em, Natsu!" Cheered Happy from a stool nearby, before he was quickly distracted by the appearance of Carla and Wendy.

Ignoring his feline companion's loss of interest, the hot-headed Dragon Slayer eyed one of the barstools.

"FIRE MAKE, tree!"

In an instant, the barstool was reduced to a pile of ash. Mirajane, standing in her usual spot behind the bar, chuckled as Macao tried to hurriedly pat-down the edge his now burning trench coat. Gray smirked.

"Congratulations, flame brain. You managed to replicate a forest fire."

Mira smiled, interjecting "Gray, your clothes…" to which he responded by staring down at himself in shock while Juvia blushed and jovially blathered on about how his body was as beautiful and perfect as his magic.

"Whatever pervert! BET I CAN DESTROY THINGS BETTER THAN YOU!"

Quickly seeing where this was headed, Lucy rushed over to Natsu and grabbed his arm with one hand and, to Juvia's dismay, Gray's with the other.

"Good morning boys! HEY! You know I'm short for my rent this month. C'mon, let's go look at the request board!"

The two boys shot each other dirty looks, but before either could say anything Erza came strolling in. They closed their mouths and begrudgingly followed the spirit mage to the request board.

"Let's see… There's one about helping rescue some animals who had their home destroyed…"

She thought this over for a minute as images of Natsu trying to warm up cold animals came into her head and Gray trying to cool them down again while Erza hugged a cat while wearing one of her spiky armors. She shuddered and shook her head, quickly disregarding the idea.

Uhh, yeah, no. Maybe if it was just Wendy and I but… Not with these three.

She continued to scan the request board, when Natsu screamed right in her ear.

"WOOAH! THIS ONE! We're taking this one!"

Lucy cringed and pushed him aside to see what he was looking at.

POWERFUL MAGES NEEDED

I would like to request the aid of several powerful guild mages to take care of a threat to Fiore. Please meet me in the forest outside of Magnolia- Anywhere is fine, I will find you. Prepare to travel. Please come as soon as possible- Time is of the essence. Thank you in advance.

Reward: 5,000,000 J

Silver Celestial Gate Key

Lucy's jaw dropped at the reward amount. How in the world could a single person afford that?! To top it off, there was even a GATE KEY! A silver gate key, but still a key! Before she had time to get excited or even process this, Erza came up behind them and plucked it off the board. Wendy trotted up behind her with Carla and a dreamy-eyed Happy in tow.

"So have we decided on this one then? Seems like a good one. I'll pack my things and we'll head out first thing tomorrow morning." The red head smiled and turned to walk back to the dormitory.

TOMORROW?! Just how long does she need to pack!? Lucy sighed and buried her face in her palm. Wendy looked up at Lucy, a small amount of concern written on her young features.

"Um… Didn't the client say 'As soon as possible'? Should we really be waiting until tomorrow?"

Lucy sighed again. Behind her, seeing that Erza was safely out of sight, Gray and Natsu began throwing insults at each other again. Natsu challenged Gray to see who could 'beat up' what he assumed was a strong monster of sorts first, with the loser having to talk like Happy for an entire day. Ignoring them, the celestial wizard smiled down at the small Dragon Slayer.

"We'll see if we can coax her to go maybe later today. For now though, we may as well all go get ready too." At that moment, Lucy felt a chill behind her, followed by a wave of heat. She took a deep breath, then spun around.

"NATSU! GRAY! THAT MEANS YOU IDIOTS TOO!"