So how's everyone doing this fine Saturday? We just got a new kitten today and she's a fuzzy ball of cuteness... But enough about me, I know the reason why you came here; it wasn't so you could read my ramblings (but if you did, you're awesome and I truly appreciate it! :D). So let's get on with another chappie of Hey There!

Disclaimer: I own two cats! … Not much else though… My older one says "hi" btw; she played with the keyboard and added 6 extra pages of random characters and spaces…

Hey There… Ch. 4

"So are ya ready to go meet Fairy Tail Lucy?" Natsu asked, ready to leave the infirmary. At his question, Lucy stopped her interrogation and realized that she had many more pressing questions that needed to be answered first.

"Yeah," Lucy quickly replied and let go of Levy's arm. She then quietly followed Natsu and Levy out of the infirmary and into the main hall. Lucy didn't know what to expect from an underground mage community, but she definitely didn't expect this; the guild hall was currently engulfed in a guild-wide brawl. It didn't take long for Natsu to find Gray and get lost in the crowd.

"Is this normal?" Lucy hesitantly asked. At Lucy's mystified expression, Levy giggled.

"Pretty much. It's especially bad between Gray and Natsu. They usually go head-to-head at least once a day." At this, Lucy sweat dropped. At LEAST once a day?! These people are crazy! At the edge of the fray, Lucy spotted Erza sitting at the bar enjoying a piece of strawberry cake, seemingly oblivious to the ongoing war behind her.

"Shouldn't we let Erza know that she's a little too close?" Lucy asked hesitantly. As Levy was about to answer, Gray was thrown across the hall and into Erza's cake.

"Gray," Erza said in an icy tone that chilled Lucy to the bone. "While I appreciate you testing your skills against our friends, you made a dire mistake when you decided to land on my favorite piece of cake that I had been saving for three hours. This blunder might cost you your life." With this, Gray paled and attempted to scramble out of the way of Erza's wrath, but failed miserably. The redhead caught the black haired male by the belt of his pants (he had somehow lost his shirt in the battle) and proceeded to unleash her fury upon the fighting guild members using Gray as a weapon in one hand and a wicked looking sword in the other. When did that sword get there?! Lucy's thoughts screamed as she watched absolute chaos ensue.

The fighting lasted for a few more seconds before sounds of large doors slammed open and a gust of wind swept about the room.

"How many times have I told you brats to stop fighting in my guild hall?" a loud voice boomed over the cacophony of the brawl. Everyone paused and looked up to a towering individual on the second floor balcony. "Do you know how many complaints I've received from the magic council in the past 48 hours alone? What do you expect me to do about your rowdiness? Not to mention I'm getting yet another report of Phantom Lord activity. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

The guild hall was completely silent for once. The members looked uncomfortable under their master's gaze. After a long moment, the master sighed and shrunk down to a measly three feet.

"Ah, what am I saying? Screw the council! Fairy Tail has done things their own way for hundreds of years, we're not going to change now!"

Shouts of agreement rang throughout the guild hall and Lucy couldn't help but smile at the morale of this group. The guild master then held up his right arm in a fist, turning the back of his hand away from himself and sticking out the index finger and thumb. The crowd reciprocated the gesture with a unanimous shout, "For Fairy Tail!"

"Alright you brats, carry on with your business quietly. I don't want to have to pay for repairs this week and I have more important meetings that I need to see to." The master huffed and walked away from the balcony.

"How did your guild master change his size so easily? Was that some kind of magic?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, that's Gramps' form of magic: the titan. He's crazy strong even for an old geezer. You definitely don't wanna mess with him." Natsu grinned.

"Natsu, I want you to bring Lucy and follow me," Mirajane said as she suddenly appeared next to the pair.

"We going to Gramps now?"

"Yes, he told me that he wanted to speak with you two personally to assess what you saw for himself. He needs to determine if there needs to be any precautions for jobs from now on."

"Gotcha. Well come on Lucy! Time's a wastin'!" Natsu said brightly and strode off in the direction Lucy assumed was towards the guild master's office. They ended up walking up a flight of stairs to the first room available on the second floor. As they walked in, Lucy noticed that the master's office was fairly neat except for a pile of magazines in the corner that looked suspiciously like "adult" prose.

"Thank you for bringing her in Natsu!" the elder man grinned as he looked up from the large stack of papers on his desk. "Oh, I forgot!" the guild master then retrieved a lighter out of his desk, grabbed up the pile, and promptly lit it on fire.

"Yes!" Natsu shouted gleefully as he grabbed the burning papers with his bare hands and shoved them into his mouth like it was some type of candy.

"Eh?!" Lucy squeaked as her eyes nearly flew out of her head. The guild master chuckled a bit at this exchange and propped his head on one of his fists.

"From what Mira told me, you know that Natsu uses fire magic. He considers his element a delicacy and this will save on dumpster space." The old man shrugged. "Alright, it's time to get down to business. Please tell me about your encounter with Phantom Lord." At this, Natsu became very serious.

"A few minutes after I had started returning to Fairy Tail with Lucy in tow, I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye. I set her down and almost immediately afterwards, I engaged with some masked members of Phantom. I could tell they were grunts and I could easily take 12 of them without breaking a sweat. It was the last four with brass knuckles that made me have to break out my powers. I just superheated my fists as a warning and they realized who I was and retreated; no doubt to call for reinforcements. I tried to keep it low-key just in case there were any innocents nearby. I highly suggest that we at least travel in pairs from now on. I was clear of their territory the entire time and they attacked me first. They're really starting to piss me off Gramps." The master was quiet throughout Natsu's report, taking it all in.

"Your idea about the partners is very good. I'm definitely going to implement it. I know that most of our members can handle themselves out there, but this is more for keeping our magic on the down low for the moment. Plus it'll be easier to fend off surprise attacks if there is someone watching your back. I'm concerned that Phantom is going to try to start to 'merge' businesses with us very soon. I want to make sure that all my children remain safe throughout the transition." The master then paused and looked at Lucy.

"Miss, I'm very sorry that you happened to fall into this squabble between guilds at this moment. I'm afraid that I cannot allow you in good faith to leave here without someone escorting you. I know that you are not one of us, but you were seen with one of our own and in turn, that paints a target on your back. Do you have any pressing matters that will need to be attended to immediately?"

"Well, I live in a one bedroom apartment alone, except for my dog, Plue. I write columns for the 'Weekly' magazine and I can do that remotely if I need to. I'm just going to have to get my dog and clothes." At this the master nodded.

"Very well, after I'm finished talking with you, I'll send you and Natsu to go fetch your things. We'll put you up in one of our rooms above. Natsu, you may leave now. Make sure you tell Mira to inform the guild about our new policy." Natsu nodded and then quietly exited the building.

"Is there a reason why you wanted to speak to me alone?" Lucy asked, growing slightly concerned. The elder man sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"My name is Makarov Dreyar by the way. Please don't call me 'sir'; just call me Gramps or Makarov. I always feel older than I am when I hear the term 'sir' pointed at me. I just have a couple of questions I wanted to ask you without an audience," the master replied smoothly, clasping his hands in front of him on the desk.

"I hope this goes without saying, but you won't publish any of what you witnessed tonight right? I'm afraid that we must remain a secret to the world as we know it today."

"Don't worry about it," Lucy said with a small smile. "I won't tell a soul."

"Good! I'm glad I won't have to erase your memory!" Makarov said with a serious face that caused Lucy to shift her feet uncomfortably.

"How much did you see of Natsu's fighting?" At this question, Lucy was shocked. She didn't know what questions to expect, but this certainly wasn't one of them.

"Um, well… When he saved me from my attacker, Natsu didn't use any magic at all. I just thought he was some type of super combat savvy vigilante badass or something and even when he told me about taking me to 'Fairy Tail,' I had no idea what he was talking about. He didn't even use magic fighting off 12 guys and is was as he said; I didn't see any magic until he briefly ignited his fists as a warning. Well, one of the guys that attacked him with brass knuckles was about to punch his face and I guess Natsu used some of his magic to heat up the guy's knuckle, because it was smoking as the guy threw it off. That was all the magic he used." Makarov breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he finished talking, which made Lucy raise a concerned eyebrow. "Am I missing something?"

"No, not at all! I'm just impressed that Natsu reined in his desire to set everything on fire. I guess you could say that he's something of a pyromaniac." At this Lucy sweat dropped. Makarov chuckled and his lips pulled into a small grin. "That's just Natsu's personality! I wouldn't be concerned if I were you." They both shared a comfortable moment of silence before the older man shifted in his chair.

"Have you noticed anything strange lately?" the guild master asked as he stared seriously at Lucy. Lucy snorted in response and smiled.

"Other than a whole secret underground society of magical folk that the general public have no idea about? No, I can't think of anything." Makarov chuckled again and shook his head.

"Ok, well if you notice anything that concerns you, please feel free to come talk to me at any time." Lucy nodded and smiled in response. She didn't know why, but she felt like she had known the guild master for a very long time and could actually come to him with problems for guidance.

"Well if that's all, I'm going to go find Natsu to take me to my apartment for some clothes. It was nice talking to you Mr. Makarov."

"You may leave now. I hope that you will remain safe on your outing!" The master cheerily replied and bade Lucy a polite farewell as she left his office.

As soon as his office door shut, Makarov turned around in his chair and closed his eyes. I don't know what I felt just now, but if that young woman has magic, she either doesn't know it or she's hiding it very well. Something tells me that I'm going to have to keep an eye on her…

Lucy found Natsu rather easily; he was sitting at the bar that Mira was currently working eating something that was definitely on fire. As Lucy sat beside him, Natsu turned to face her with a smug grin on his face.

"So you think I'm a vigilante badass huh?"

"You heard that?!" Lucy yelped as she felt her entire face heat up from her blush.

"Yep!"

"Oh how cute!" Mira squealed as she walked over to their side of the bar. "I know that you two will-"

"Mira! Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Lucy commanded. Natsu was impressed that Mira didn't retaliate and simply responded with a pout.

"I just thought it was such a great coincidence that he saved you…" the last of Mira's comments were lost under her breath as she turned to tend to another customer.

"So, when are we leaving?" Lucy asked as she watched Natsu continue to inhale his meal.

"Where're we goin' Lucy?" Natsu asked with an overstuffed mouth.

"To my apartment. I need to get some clothes and my dog since I won't be living there for a little bit. You ready?"

"Yosh!" Natsu exclaimed as he gulped down his last bite. "I'm all fired up and ready to go Luce! Tell me which direction we're headed in and we'll get started!"

At his new nickname, Lucy couldn't help a small warm feeling in her gut blooming, but she quickly dismissed it.

"Okay! Let's go!"

I'm so excited about my new reviews, favorites, and follows! I want to sincerely thank everyone who contributed their input to this story and I hope that it continues! I'm currently working on the cover art, any ideas are welcome.

Personal shout out to MarSofTheGalaxies, fanficaddict14, the guest, Mezatron, chelsannful, Alyss Hatter, AlphaFemale101, animalover, ficlovernalufan, and Cami-chan23 for your reviews! Thank you so SO much and I hope that you all continue enjoying the story!

Well that's all for now folks! See ya next time! :D