A/N: Why hello there, dear reader! Yes, it's really me, hime. And yes - I've come back from my writer's block (that lasted for almost a year, wow). I apologise to everyone who was looking forward to this chapter and lay waiting even though it never appeared.
I've spent my whole day reading through and making little edits and changed to names / team names, etc, so if things are different, then don't worry!


"Night, Lucy."

"Goodnight!"

"- cy! Lucy! Earth to Lucy!" Sting towered over Lucy and shook her shoulder lightly, trying to get her to wake up. Saying that Lucy was a light sleeper was the biggest understatement of the year – day after day, Sting struggled to get his blonde partner to wake up.

"Oi, Lucy!" He frowned, clicking his tongue impatiently. Today he was fed up with Lucy's crazy sleeping habits, and demanded to be respected like the 'gentleman' he was for willingly agreeing to try and wake her up every day.

"Up we go!" He smirked, sliding his arms under Lucy's body and carrying her up, bridal style. The sudden movement made her eyelids flutter and she winced as the sunlight from her poorly curtained window shined on her face, illuminating every strand of her bed hair.

"W – what? What's happening?" she grumbled softly, rubbing her eyes. Her head swayed and legs dangled as she was carried from her bedroom to the kitchen, where Rogue was making pancakes for breakfast. The smell wafted through the apartment, and soon after the two blondes entered the kitchen, several growling noises escaped from their stomachs.

Rogue rolled his eyes and snickered at the two, their hunger obviously going out of control. Sting put Lucy down with a small –oomf! and whispered softly to her, "Wake up, sleepy head. Breakfast's ready."

He then proceeded to sit down on the chair next to her, all the while trying to contain his hunger for food. Rogue, reading Sting's thoughts entirely, replied with a," Don't worry, it's nearly finished. Just wait a little bit longer." During the 2 or 3 minutes Rogue poured the maple syrup and cut-up strawberry cubes on their finished breakfasts, Lucy had finally woken up.

Her eyes managed to stay open and her attention span had increased so that she was now prepared to eat her delicious, home-made breakfast. As it was served, the trio wolfed down their meals in the blink of an eye. They then indulged in their everyday activities – brushing teeth, taking showers if needed, getting changed etc.

1 hour later, they had all changed – Sting and Rogue into their normal attire, and Lucy wearing denim light wash shorts, a cuffed white v-neck top and her favourite combat boots. Of course, she also wore her belt and kept her whip on there, just in case.

They headed to the guild - which was a routine they would have to get used to every day – in search for some work. The fact that it was Team Colossal Dragon's first mission excited them to the point where they were beaming with the happiness the whole time to Fairy Tail.

"Good morning Lucy!" Mirajane called from the bar as she swiftly cleaned a few wine cups.

"Mornin," Lucy replied roughly, walking up to S class section of the jobs. "Are you two ready to experience an S class job? From what I remember, they're a little challenging~" she teased her two teammates.

"Of course! What do you think we are, weak?!" Sting huffed at her, examining the board together with Rogue.

Thieving Dark Guild!

"My name is Erwin and I'm a travelling merchant. I've heard that there's a Dark Guild named Bloody Ghoul who like stealing goods from merchants like me and even from the townspeople. Please help!

Location: Hosenka Town

Reward: 700,000 jewels

"Oi, this looks alright. Not too easy, not too hard. Is this good enough for you?" Lucy pointed towards the flyer, examining her nails as she waited for her two partners to read it. They both nodded and Sting headed towards the Master, flyer in hand.

"Master, we're going to take this quest!" Sting beamed, proud of himself that he had an S class flyer in hand.

"Oh, right. Good luck to you three," he grumbled, still half asleep. "Mira, where's my beeajjjmopeqvmvipeqee…."

Sting snickered and ran towards the doors of Fairy Tail and shouted, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's hurry up and go!"

-X-

"We're nearly there, so please, keep your vomit in your mouths," Lucy pleaded, sitting far away from the two dragonslayers whose faces were currently a sickly green, hands covering mouths.

Sting groaned and turned his head towards her. "That's easier said than do -"

Lucy visibly flinched as she heard Sting gulp down the vomit that had made its way up its throat. "That," Lucy muttered, "sounded like the most disgusting thing in the world. Now I feel like throwing up."

Rogue chuckled at the two's antics as he managed to supress his own desire to spill out his breakfast all over the floor. "Come on Sting, you can do it," he said, patting Sting's back lightly.

"nononoono don't do that or I'll –"

But it was too late.

-X-

Lucy shook her head silently as she refrained from watching Sting wipe his mouth with a tissue. Rogue stood next to her, crossing his arms and sighing.

"That sounded like and looked like the most horrific thing that my eyeballs have ever come across in my whole life. You have now been awarded the title of "The Most Disgusting Dragon Slayer. I am now traumatised for life." Lucy's hand was itching to punch him, but she didn't want her hand to be infected by Sting's vomit.

"Heh. You should give that title to Natsu instead," he smirked. Before Lucy could say anything back, the train came to a stop and Hosenka Station.

"Well, time to get off," Lucy sighed, peeling herself off of her seat. She took in a deep breath and sighed in contempt at the fresh air at Hosenka – a scent that anybody would agree was nicer than dragonslayer's vomit.

"Should we grab a bite to eat or meet our client straight away?" Lucy asked, turning around to her two teammates.

"I'm not that hungry, and I'm sure Sting doesn't want to eat anything right now – unless he wants to taste his own vomit right, Sting?" Rogue chuckled.

"Oh shut up Rogue, it's not funny," Sting pouted, punching him weakly on the arm.

Lucy shook her head and smiled. "Alright, straight to our client it is!"

-X-

An hour later, the three of them had received a more detailed description of the dark guild terrorising the town. Bloody Ghoul was quite a new Dark Guild, but had quickly increased their members from a mere 6 to at least a dozen or more. The worst thing is that the group usually spilt in half – one behind the merchants, and one in front – so that they couldn't escape.

Lucy swore to Erwin (the client) that she would keep this request anonymous and that the guild would be defeated as soon as possible. He thanked her, even going so far as to bow, and wished Team Colossal Dragon good luck.

"Where are these bitches? I want to bash them up now!" Sting yelled, a fire burning in his eyes.

"Indeed. Their wrong-doings are low, even for a Dark Guild. They're more like a wild group of bandits," Rogue sighed, shaking his head in disapproval.

"We'll have to wait first. I've got a plan," Lucy said, her tone dead serious.

"Hidake, Holo!"

An odd black blob appeared in front of Lucy as she chanted out its name, giving Lucy wave with its icky hand.

"What would you like me to do today, Lucy?"

"Could you transform into a carriage with horses, please? Make it similar to a merchant's cart."

"Sure thing!"

And just like that, her request was fulfilled. A wooden wagon, complete with two horses being held back by reins disappeared. You two pretend to be cargo at the back, and I'll be the wagon driver. Wait for my signal before you attack them, got that?"

"Alright, let's do this!" Sting yelled out excitedly. Rogue ushered him to the back of the wagon and Lucy took her position of the wagon driver at the front. With a quick whip of the reins, the two fictional horses started moving, their hooves clopping across the dusty ground.

All was still in the past few minutes. They went further and further away from Hosenka Town until it was but a tiny speck in the distance.

"Nothing's happening," Sting yawned, his excitement dying down. He stretched out his arms and stretched his legs, trying to make himself more comfortable on the cool, bare floor.

"Quiet, Sting. They're coming. If you would stop moving around and listen, you'd be able to hear them."

Sting did as he was told and faintly heard the clopping of horses. Rogue strained his ears and did the same, both trying to estimate how many people they were up against.

"Ten…no…fifteen? Twenty? I can't tell," Rogue sighed, shaking his head. "Are you sure this is going to work, Lucy?"

"Trust me Rogue. When have I ever let you down?"

Rogue could practically hear the grin through the wooden wall that separated them, imagining her beautiful, long, blonde hair flowing in the wind as she did so. Rogue slapped Sting on the head and signalled him to get into position. With a glare and a grunt of disapproval, Sting did as he was instructed.

"Well well well, look'o we have 'ere. A nice lookin' merchant making her way outta town. You ain't so bad on the eyes, now are ya, babe? Where are my manners – I'm Kirihito. Kirihito Warui, guild master of Bloody Ghoul. And you are…?" the crude man's sentence trailed off, expecting Lucy to answer. She eyed him carefully – he was a tall man, his spiky brown hair looking much like a hedgehog. A few fleshy scars showed up here and there on his face and an unlit cigarette hung from the corner of his mouth. His black cape made it hard to analyse him any further, she noted as more of his "lackeys" started appearing.

"I'd like to go to the next town please, and I would appreciate it if you left me alone," Lucy said, unwavering. Of course she wasn't afraid – these thugs were nothing against her power.

"Looks like she ain't gonna give up. Get her, boys." As soon as the orders slipped out of his mouth, 10 – no, 12 – people came charging at Lucy.

"Now!" she yelled, jumping high into the air as one tried to hit her with a flying dagger.

"Hidake, Leo, Aries!"

"Holy Ray!"

Everything moved fast paced as the battle took place – Loke had quickly used Twister, sending 5 of the men and their horses spinning into the air while Aries quickly summoned her wool minions, ramming their horns into their limp bodies as the twister subsided.

"HIYAHHH!"

Kirihito charged at Lucy with a dark red ball of energy in his right hand, left hand holding the reins of this horse.

"Take this!"

In the blink of an eye, Lucy grabbed her whip and snaked it around the horse's leg.

"Celestial Blast!"

A blinding light winded around the whip and it electrocuted Kirihito, leaving critical burns all over his body, even underneath his cape. Lucy then somersaulted forwards and landed her Lucy Kick! at him, hard. The force knocked him off the horse and he squealed like a little girl as he fell, screaming 'come back, you stupid horse!' to the animal as it ran into the distance.

"Nebula blast!" Kirihito smirked as another dark ball appeared in his hands and he fired at Lucy, causing a huge explosion.

"That outta teach you mages not ta mess with Bloody Ghoul!" he cackled, elbows planted into the floor. "What did you just say?" Lucy murmured angrily as the smoke cleared. She stood, unscathed, in the exact same spot as she was dug the heel of her shoe to his chest and the floor underneath him cracked. "So, you decided to make the townspeople your prey, huh? Such an innocent village doesn't need thugs like YOU tampering with it," Lucy spat in his face, leering down at him. "The next time you call trouble, Fairy Tail will be on your ass in no time," she jeered.

"F – Fairy Tail?" He repeated, a flabbergasted expression plastered all over his face. Lucy rolled her eyes and ignored his cries of pain and she continued applying pressure to her foot, looking over at Loke and Aries. They had long finished with their fight – after their opening moves, Aries had trapped the men together in a big ball of fluffy pink wool, making them relax.

Aries and Loke stood calmly next to each other, having a nice conversation about a party they had attended the other day. At the party, Scorpio had accidentally flipped Aquarius' switch by flirting with one of the mermaid spirits in the hosts' pool. As a result, she had fired powerful jets of water at him, hurling him into a stone waterfall and crashing into a crowd of people. Lucy shook her head with a smile on her face.

Over on the other side of the wagon, Sting and Rogue had successfully tied up their enemies and were now dragging them to the wagon. "I think you went a bit too hard on them, Sting," Rogue said, walking with his blonde partner as they walked to the wagon. "Who cares? They were a dark guild. No need to go easy on them!" Sting grinned, clenching his fist in the air.

"Loke, Aries! Put those guys in the wagon, will you? Feel free to go after you're finished. Oh, and take this guy too." She kicked Kirihito into the general direction of her spirits and moved to climb on the wagon, only to be stopped by Loke. Of course.

"Princess, would you like me to –" He was quickly cut off with a glare right in his face, Lucy's aura making his hair stand on end.

"How about –"

She shot a beam from her fingertips at his ear, just cutting off a few stray strands. "Don't make me ask you again," Lucy replied coolly as he laughed nervously.

"Well, I'll be going then…" He disappeared into the air along with Aries who had finished her job, leaving Lucy to climb on the wagon and assume her position. She embraced the warm rays of sunlight, letting them bathe her face. The stillness of the scenery allowed her mind to filter all the unneeded thoughts away. Lucy sat there for a while, blank faced, just enjoying the silence that was almost unattainable back at the guild.

"Hey, you two! Feelin like some take away tonight?" She looked behind the wagon and was met by her two now very enthusiastic partners rushing towards her. Lucy narrowed her eyes and recognised this act - she was about to be met by a huge glomp.

And to this, she refused.

"What was that for?" Sting had whined moments later, caressing his sore head.

"That wasn't entirely necessary, was it?" Rogue murmured under his breath.

The questions were left unsaid as they were suddenly pulled up violently by Lucy. "Of course it was necessary. You know how much I hate it when you two rush towards me like that," Lucy frowned, now searching through her silver keys. Rogue and Sting leaned forwards and glanced to each other, and smiled knowingly. "But you know we don't mind it when we do this!" Sting chuckled, giving her a big, warm hug. Lucy flinched at the sudden contact but relaxed into it as she continued searching for the key she needed. "Only this time, you got it?" Lucy laughed.

"That's what you said last ti - ouch!"

"Hidake,Telle!"

"Telle the teleporter, at your service! Where would you like to go today, Lucy-sama?" Lucy replied with her destination - Hosenka Town, of course - and in a matter of seconds, they arrived. Seeing as Telle had disappeared as soon as they got there, Lucy went inside Erwin's (the client) house and explained what had happened. The trio spent the rest of their day throwing the members of Bloody Ghoul into prison cells and were ecstatic when they collected their reward.

"Thank you for all your help! Are you sure you don't want to stay the night? We wouldn't mind having some company overnight!" Erwin offered, the tooting of the soon-to-come-train sounding in the distance.

"It's fine, you've done more than enough for us - the food was delicious! You have a wonderful wife. Make sure you treasure her," Lucy said.

"Thank you again! We'll never forget you!" By now, he was crying, small tears rolling down his face.

"Well then, we're off! We'll make sure to visit!"

Lucy hustled Sting and Rogue onto the train, picking one of the last seats in the carriage. This time, she sat as far away from Sting as she could, and threw a vomit bag at his face. "Please don't vomit again," Lucy pleaded. Rogue looked at Sting with the same eyes. The latter scoffed and stared at his teammates. "This time, I'll make sure to aim properly!"

"Hey - wait, don't come closer!"

"Get away from me!"

"NOOOOO!"


A/N: Hooooray for character development (not really)! I hope you all liked this chapter - I worked my hardest to squeeze out all the ideas in my brain! I'll make sure to keep updating from now on, so I hope all of you are looking forward to that heheh.

Also, thank you to everyone who answered the poll - there were more answers than I thought they were! I love you all, as always!

edit: wow I just read chapter 422 (I think it's 422) AND LUCY HAS NEW MAGICAL POWERS. AND IT'S KINDA LIKE THE MERGING ONES IN THIS FANFIC? but not really. well, they're similar. I'm super happy right now because something similar happened in the recent chapter heheheheheheh c:

Make sure to review & read / support my other stories: Valentine's Day, Darkness, Of Dragonslayers love and best friends, The proposal, Fairy Tail Academy and Sweet Revenge!

- hime