Episode 4: Lucy's Dream

Magnolia- Fairy Tail Guildhall

A hot cup of tea in her hands, her favorite seat at the bar, and the inane chatter of her friends promptly blocked out. For Erza Scarlet, such was the start to a perfect day. However, on this particular day, even with all three necessary ingredients, something still didn't feel right. It'd been bugging her for some time now, a nagging suspicion that refused to leave her subconscious, but the reason for it (as of yet) had remained a mystery.

Shrugging it off as her mind playing tricks, the scarlet haired mage went back to her daily ritual. After a sip of tea sent a warm sensation through her body, she set the cup down and let a out a relaxing sigh. Curiosity alone sent her attention across the bar, where Mirajane's innocent stare was hidden behind a beauty magazine.

"You've been reading that magazine all morning" Erza said, her voice catching her friends attention. "You could at least sit down and read."

In response to the suggestion, Mirajane merely glanced over the top of the magazine, no doubt confirming who she was talking to before she spoke. "Huh?...oh, here you go Erza." Clearly not focused on the conversation, Mirajane blindly set a fresh slice of cake in front of the scarlet haired mage.

"Uh...are you feeling alright Mira?" Erza asked, already a few bites into the cake. "You seem a tad unfocused."

Still not responsive to her friends voice, Mirajane stepped forward, placing her magazine on the counter between them. "What do you think of this dress?."

With only a casual glance downward, Erza immediately raised her eyebrow in disgust. "A little revealing don't you think?."

"It's for Lucy" Mirajane answered matter-of-factly.

Another look down, and Erza couldn't help but grin. "In that case, I guess it could work. But why are you looking at a dress for Lucy?, it is a present or something?."

For a moment, Mirajane didn't seem to understand the question, casting a confused look across the bar. "Oh, she didn't tell you?" the girl half-asked, a wide smile spreading on her lips. "She finally got a date...and it's with Natsu!."

The guildhall went silent after Mirajane's poorly contained outburst, attracting the attention of everyone within earshot. What followed was a series of blank stares. Wendy looked to Gray, Gray looked to Juvia, Juvia looked to Lisanna, and so on, until every last member of guild had confirmed what they'd just heard. Like the silence that came before it, a mad fit of laughter broke out in perfect unison throughout the guildhall.

One of the laughter's biggest contributors, Gray held his side in mocked pain on his way across the room. "Oh man!, that was a good one Mira!" taking a seat beside Erza (one of the few not laughing), the shirtless man made no attempt to control his emotions. "Could you imagine Natsu on a date?!, I don't think he even knows how to pick up a fork!."

"It does sound a little...unlike Natsu" Wendy admitted, climbing onto the seat on Erza's opposite side. "Are you sure you didn't misunderstand Lucy Miss Mira?. Maybe she just went on a job with Natsu and Happy."

Along with the small girls words, Mirajane was met with three less than convinced stares, five when Juvia and Lisanna walked over to join their friends. Under the combined sets of eyeballs, the white haired mage visibly shrank. That is, until a violent shake of her head brought a resurgence of confidence. "No no no!, Lucy specifically told me Natsu asked her out on a date!. It was right after I showed them that new quest in Soveria."

"New quest?" Erza asked, gently pushing a bare plate across the counter. "Mira, could I see that request for a moment?."

Taken aback by her friends question, Mirajane quickly shook it off and nodded her head. "Well of course, I left it right under...".

Mira's sudden silence was all Erza needed. "Uh huh, they stole another quest" she proclaimed while standing to her feet. "Come on Gray, we should be able to catch the train if we leave now."

"Now wait a second" Mirajane said defensively, still looking around under the bar. "Maybe I just misplaced the request, give me a minute to look before you start jumping to conclusions." As if on cue, a messenger bird flew in through the guildhalls open front door. Chirping happily, the small bird dropped a single letter on the counter, only leaving once it watched Mirajane pick up its delivery.

Sharing a short look with her friends, Mirajane opened the letter and set it down for all to see. The letter cast a small projection of an older looking man, one Mira recognized as the same man who'd sent request they'd been talking about.

"That's the Mayor of Soveria" Lisanna said, sounding rather proud of herself. "Looks like Natsu and Lucy did lie to you sis, sorry."

Before Mira could open her mouth to reply, the projection promptly cut her off. "Miss Mirajane Strauss, this letter is to confirm that three of Fairy Tails mages: A Mr. Natsu Dragneel, Miss Lucy Heartfilia, and...er...Happy: have officially accepted my job request. Anyway, please note that all three have been paid in advance, per the agreement, and insure that your guild Master receives my thanks." With that, the projection offered a quick bow before disappearing completely.

No one was laughing by this point. Rather, the bulk of the guilds attention was focused solely on Mirajane, who's expression was hidden behind a wall of white hair. "Go get them."

Everyone along the bar (save Erza) inched a few steps back, but even the scarlet haired mage managed a shudder when Mira spoke again. "I said go!."

Gray and Erza were on their way with a simple nod, leaving Wendy to leap down off her seat in pursuit, as well as grab a confused Carla on her way out the door. "Wait for me guys!, I've never been to Soveria before!."

"Be careful Gray!" Juvia yelled to the half naked man, "I'll be waiting for you to return!."

"Go easy on them Erza!" Lisanna added, a wide smile on her lips.


Soveria- Market District

Walking the streets beside a giant clock turned a fair amount of heads, but Natsu could've cared less about the extra attention. After all this time, he'd gotten pretty used to Lucy's weird actions. In fact, it surprised him it'd taken the girl this long to break out the spirit, given that they'd been walking for at least an hour now.

Although, in a way, his friends laziness was a godsend right now. For one of the first times in his life, Natsu needed a little time to himself. Mars's words still refused to leave his thoughts: "This city is dangerous right now, you make sure to keep that girl safe."

A requip wizard, leader of the cities police force, and a man of such large stature. If Mars said this city was dangerous, even he knew it was smart to tread carefully, especially considering that something in this place could be draining their magic this very second. But, troubling as it was, that alone wasn't what was bothering him.

He'd known accepting such a strange request could be dangerous, hell he was hoping it would be. No, it was that Mars had specifically mentioned Lucy, that's what was keeping him from concentrating on the task at hand. Why Lucy?. In an entire city of wizards, why had Mars thought it necessary to mention her?.

Was she in some greater danger?. Maybe something about her magic that makes her a target for whatever is causing this?. Or maybe he was just being paranoid. Either way, it was clear this job was going to live up to his expectations, and then some.

"Alright, the end of this block is it for this district" Happy said, attracting Natsu's attention away from his own thoughts. "That policeman guy searched a lot of this area already, lucky he gave us his map huh Natsu?."

Before Natsu could answer, Horologium cut him off, speaking for himself rather than the girl inside him. "Beg your pardon sir, but I believe madam has fallen asleep, and my time is just about up." When Natsu stopped and gazed inside the grandfather clock, the spirit spoke up again. "Would you like me to wake her before I depart?."

"Uh...no, it's fine" Natsu answered after a moment of thought, "lend me a paw here Happy, I'll just carry her on my back till she wakes up."

Between the two of them, Happy and Natsu managed to position the girls body atop the latter's back. When Horologium waved his goodbye and disappeared from view, both wizards started down the street once more. Following Happy's guidance, Natsu sniffed his way through the remainder of the market district. Confident nothing in this area was the cause of the cities suffering, they made a beeline for the next district.

Along the way, Natsu couldn't help but notice how crowded the streets were this time of day. Crowds of varying sizes always seemed to be walking passed him, and traveling the roads was next to impossible given the sheer amount of magic-mobiles. Even so, the loss of magic power was all too evident everywhere he looked. For every group that walked by, he'd notice two or three people with the same soulless gaze as Mars, and even though several magic vehicles traveled the roads, very few of them did so at more than a snails pace.

Now that he noticed it, it was impossible to ignore, and quickened his steps all the more as he walked. Although, after remembering the teenage girl resting over his back, he forced his ambition back a few notches. After all, him getting worked up wasn't going to save this towns magic. Slowing back to a reasonable speed, Natsu ultimately came to a stop at the end of their current block.

"Looks like there's a park just down the road" Happy said, still reading the map held in front of him. "It's not checked off the map, we should probably search it while we're here."

Natsu nodded to the flying cat, and both started across the road the second traffic came to a stop. On the other side, a slight incline forced Natsu to reposition his grip on Lucy's legs. As a result, the girls hands lightly gripped the front of his shirt. "N...Natsu."

"Yeah, whats up?" Natsu asked in a low whisper, certain he'd heard Lucy say his name. When his only answer was silence, he turned his head to find the girl still fast asleep. "Huh, that was weird."

"She's still asleep Natsu" Happy stated, "she must be dreaming". Even as he said it, a sly grin began to cover the majority of the cats mouth. Speaking in an almost haunting tone, the devilish cat flew inches away from Lucy's ear. "Lucy, this is your subconscious. From this day forward, you will buy Happy a bucket of fish every time he asks for one."

Matching his friends grin, Natsu held back his laugh for fear of waking Lucy. "That's a good one Happy. Now tell her that every time Erza orders cake, she has to steal it from her and eat the whole thing in one bite."

Happy was less successful at suppressing his laugh, but all the noise garnered from Lucy was a quick moan. "N...Natsu."

"No good" Happy said, rather disappointed. "She just keeps saying your name, I bet she's yelling at you in her dream."

"Wouldn't be the first time" Natsu agreed.

After crossing the street, a small paved path led both wizards into the park. Looking around as they walked, Natsu grew to greatly appreciate the change of scenery. Given the choice, he'd take the soft sway of tree leaves over a blaring horn any day. Not only did the park create a pleasantly fresh air for the man to take in, but it also harbored far less people than the city around it.

Aside from the occasional jogger, picnicking couple, and simple pedestrian, most of the park was surprisingly empty. For that very reason, he made decent time through the large area, reaching its center in just a minute or two. A sparkling lake ahead of him, Natsu took a moment to sniff around as Happy flew up beside him.

"I don't think we're gonna find anything here Natsu" Happy said, folding up the map and placing it back in his knapsack. "Maybe we should just...".

"Wait" Natsu cut off his friend, still sniffing the air around him. Following the scent, the man found his gaze stone set across the lake, where a small building sat on a pier over the lakes edge. "Hey Happy, I think that place sells food!."


Magnolia- Lucy's Home

Happily humming to herself, Lucy walked up the steps leading to her room. Once inside, she promptly closed the door behind her and fell face first onto her bed. Smiling as the sunlight warmed her skin, she rolled onto her back and grabbed a familiar novel off the dresser.

As the minutes turned into hours, the girl lost herself in the words of her favorite author, never even noticing when the sunlight around her was replaced with moonlight. It was a soft tap that finally pried her eyes away from the book, drawing them instead to the window a few feet away.

"Come in Natsu" she said, thankful her friend at least had the manners to knock this time.

With no need to look, Lucy turned her attention back to the book. While Natsu opened the window and climbed inside, she reluctantly set the book down on her blanket. "Alright, what was so important it couldn't wait till morning?."

Obviously confused, Natsu crossed the room with a lighthearted shrug. "Nothing really, I was just walking by and noticed your light was on." Taking a seat at the edge of the bed, the mans curiosity caused him to pick up the book she'd been reading. "Should have figured you were reading, you want me to leave?."

"No, you can stay", the words came before she had a chance to stop them. Truthfully, she'd just been thinking about calling it a night, but there was something about the way Natsu was acting. The look in his eyes, the way he'd sat down by her feet on the bed, without so much as a moments hesitation. He wasn't acting like himself, and she wanted to find out why.

At least, that was the plan at first. By the time she was done thinking, and focused her mind back on her friend, she instantly felt a gallon of blood rush to her head. Natsu was now lying down directly beside her, his carefree eyes aimed at the ceiling. "N...Natsu. What are you doing?."

"What?" her friend asked innocently, "you said I could stay." Turning his head to meet her gaze, Natsu's eyes slanted in disapproval. Without a word to explain his actions, the man rolled onto his side and brought his hands behind her head. Before she could ask what he was doing, Lucy felt her hair fall free of both its binds.

Looking rather proud of himself, Natsu pulled back his hands with a wide smile. "There, you look prettier with your hair down."

"N...Natsu", unable to keep herself from blushing, Lucy turned her head to face the wall. "You're acting weird."

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked, clearly confused by her reaction. "I thought girls like it when you compliment them?."

When she heard the tone of her friends voice, Lucy immediately regretted her previous reaction. Maybe she had overreacted just a tad. This was Natsu after all, it was entirely possible he was just trying to be nice.

Swallowing her own emotions (along with a sizable lump in her throat), she turned back around. Mere inches separated her face from Natsu's, causing her heart to skip a beat as she attempted to speak. "I'm sorry, this...it just isn't like you."

From the look in his eyes, it was easy to tell that Natsu hadn't heard a word she just said. Ordinarily, she'd take this opportunity to scold the man for not listening, but this time, she had no choice but to let it slide. Before she could even open her mouth, Natsu started to lean in, clearing the space between them in the blink of an eye.

Lucy's eyes went wide the second their lips touched. More out of reflex than anything, she jerked back her head and sat up as her face turned bright red. "What are you doing?!."

"Isn't is obvious?" Natsu answered, his voice extremely calm given the situation. "Why'd you pull back?, I thought you liked me too."

Her mind going a mile a minute, Lucy tried her best to keep from freaking out. Still, she was unable to meet her friends eyes. "What...what about Lisanna?."

"You like Lisanna?."

"No!" Lucy screamed in protest, a childish giggle escaping through her confusion. "I meant...I thought you liked Lisanna."

Sitting up himself, Natsu ran a hand through his hair. "Oh" he said, his voice much more serious than before. "Yeah, people keep telling me that. Honestly though, I really don't think either of us thinks of each other that way." A hand on her chin, and Natsu slowly guided Lucy's eyes to meet his. "Lucy, why do you think I was walking by your house this late at night?. I love...".

"Hey Lucy!. Lucy!.Lucy!."


Soveria Center Park

"Lucy!, wake up already!."

Her eyes opening at Happy's ear shattering voice, Lucy's mind fought to take in her new environment. Sitting at a small round table, outside what appeared to be a lakeside cafe', surrounded by a handful of trees and several freshly cut fields of grass. The other tables around her were mostly empty, but the few that weren't seemed to be trying to ignore her presence.

"Luce" Natsu said from his seat across the table, "what are you doing?."

Now fully awake, Lucy finally realized the position she was in. Not only was she seemingly making out with the air, she also had Happy trapped in her arms, pushed him hard against her chest as the poor cat struggled for breath. Immediately releasing her grip, she let Happy fly back onto the table before turning forward in her chair. "Sorry Happy, are you okay?."

"I'll be fine" the cat answered weakly, spinning in tipsy circles all over the table. "I'm sorry I tried to brainwash you, but that's no reason to choke me to death."

"You were really going nuts there Lucy" Natsu said while simultaneously stuffing his face, "that must have been some dream you were having."

After a series of deep breaths calmed her down, Lucy was finally able to match her friends gaze. "Yeah, it really was."