Special thanks to: westerngoddess, LovelyLovelyLove, TheAliceHuntt, leoslady4ever, swallowmysoul, Akira Kuchiki, Cosmo333, sassykitten1701, Anoriel Thiliedis, Numinous-Alqua, LucyxAnyoneShipper, LadyAllyssa, KatieBoom, Bentears, kurahieiritr JIO, OtakuuA, and Faery'sConfessions.

I do not own Fairy Tail. Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

Please do not expect another update on this story for a few weeks, because I am working on a project.

This chapter is dedicated to leoslady4ever, LovelyLovelyLove, and LucyxAnyoneShipper. I love you girls and I hope that this chapter can give you a few minutes of peace. Plus…I think you will like the ending. xD

Lucy opened her door to see a delivery man holding a giant white box with a shimmering blue bow on it.

"Ms. Heartfilia?" the delivery man asked as he held up the clipboard, "You have a delivery from Captain Lahar."

Lucy's mouth went slack as she signed her name and received the present. She thanked the delivery man and then closed the door behind her. Tonight was her date with Lahar and she was a mixture of nervous and sad. She didn't have romantic feelings towards Lahar in anyway; however, she did enjoy his company. He was intelligent and calm which was a nice change of pace compared to her rambunctious team. Yet deep down in her heart she felt like in some way that she was being unfaithful to Jellal. She knew that feeling that way was ridiculous, because he was the one that clearly ended things, but she had fallen for him hard and would never forget her time with him.

Lucy's sad trance was broken when Erza tapped on the door and came in, because she was coming over to help Cancer with helping Lucy get ready. Erza's eyes widened and asked, "What's that?"

Lucy saw that Erza was looking at the box before she replied, "A present from Lahar, but I haven't opened it yet."

Erza looked concerned because she didn't like any of this. There was something about Lahar that irked her. She knew Mest thought he was great, but Lahar had never once shown interest in Lucy until she was attacked. Nor did he care for Fairy Tail. It just didn't sit right with her.

"Do you want me to open it?" Erza asked sternly because Lucy was just staring at the box still.

Lucy blinked in surprise before she replied, "No, it's fine! Sorry, I was just thinking."

Erza knew what, or rather who, Lucy was probably thinking about. Then the red head said, "Lucy, you don't have to go tonight if you don't want to."

"Erza, it's fine. It's really not a big deal," Lucy sighed as she began to unwrap the large bow.

The girls' eyes both widened when Lucy pulled out the dark blue glittery ball gown with elegant matching gloves. Lucy grabbed the note that was inside the box and it had the most beautiful penmanship she had ever seen:

Lucy Heartfilia,

Please do not think I doubt your sense of fashion. On the contrary, your tastes would probably far exceed my expectations. However, I saw this and thought of you and your spirits.

I am looking forward to seeing you again tonight.

Sincerely,

Lahar

Lucy took a deep breath and she handed the note to Erza. The redhead read over the letter as Cancer came out to start on her hair and makeup. Erza didn't know what to say. She didn't want to keep pushing Lucy towards Jellal if he really did want nothing to do with her; however, Erza didn't believe that for a second. Something was up, she just didn't know what.

After an hour, Lucy looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at Cancer's work. Erza nodded her head in approval as Lucy did a slight turn to watch the ball gown shimmer.

"You look stunning, Ebi," Cancer stated proudly.

Lucy loved how Cancer grew her hair out slightly and put it in soft ringlets that flowed. He had a tiny star broach that he had clasped into her hair on the right side to hold it up partially. She felt like a princess.

Erza almost started crying, much to Lucy's amusement, because Erza thought Lucy looked so beautiful. The red head dried her eyes and stated, "Well, I hope you have an enjoyable evening."

"Thanks Erza," Lucy whispered back with a faint smile just as Cancer disappeared back into the Celestial Realm.

A few moments later, the girls saw the carriage that Lahar had for Lucy pull up. Lucy felt a wave of anxiety hit her, but she grabbed her clutch bag and then Erza helped her fasten her keys on her leg under her dress.

The two went outside and just as Lucy climbed into the carriage, she turned to Erza and said, "I'll call you tonight on my communication lacrima the moment I get to my room at the inn."

Erza let out a faint laugh and replied, "You better. I hope you have a good time."

Lucy gave her friend a pained smile before the carriage took off. Erza watched as the carriage disappeared down the streets of Magnolia then frowned when a deep rumble of thunder echoed across the sky. She looked up and saw that it could rain soon so she decided that she better go get Mest. Her body felt on edge like something was wrong. Lahar and Lucy bothered her and she felt like it was more than the fact that Lucy was heartbroken over Jellal. However, Jellal was still her top priority and even though she and Mest had cooled down on their hunt for him over the past week—something in Erza's heart told her that she needed to find him fast.

Jellal and his team approached Crocus. They could see all the guests arriving at the Gala and it was a larger affair than they had first realized. Meredy had agreed that they should hang back except for Cobra and Jellal. If Cobra could get close enough, but remain out of sight then maybe they finally had a chance at finding out who was kidnapping all of the children.

Jellal was put out. He did not mind that the others were hanging back; however, Sorano had once again made a pass at him and when he rejected her again she immediately began to make his life as miserable as possible. She rarely stopped complaining and almost put them in danger a few times on the way. Meredy had kept the girl in check, but even Meredy's patience was even running thin.

On the other hand, Jellal was not relieved to go with just Erik because the man had repeatedly berated him over his treatment towards Lucy. Jellal still didn't fully understand why Erik was so invested in his and Lucy's relationship and any time he asked him, Erik only replied that his mind needed some goddamn peace and quiet.

However, nothing seemed to put Jellal on edge more tonight than the idea of seeing Lucy again. He missed her so much and when he had found out that Lahar had invited Lucy as his guest, it nearly crushed him. Yet he knew it was his own fault. He wanted nothing more than to go back in time and beg Lucy's forgiveness, but now all he could think was that maybe it was too late. Maybe she really had moved on and it wasn't with him.

Lucy had finally made it to Crocus. She could see thousands of lit lacrimas that gave the area an almost romantic glow and saw several carriages arriving and dropping off high members of society. There were several she did not recognize, which did not surprise her given that she had been out of high society for some time; however, there were still quite a few that she did recognize and she hoped that she wouldn't run into anyone who would bombard her with questions about her and her Father.

When her carriage stopped, the footman opened the door and just as she stood up a torrential downpour of rain came falling from the sky. She let out a heavy sigh because it was as though the sky could feel her pain. She almost wished she had listened to Erza and not come at all. She was miserable and it would be hard to hide that she wasn't, even though she didn't want to be—for some reason she just couldn't get Jellal out of her head tonight.

Lucy closed her eyes and was about to step out of the carriage in the rain when an umbrella appeared over the edge. She peaked out of the door and saw Lahar waiting for her. He looked completely different than usual. Although his hair was still in a similar fashion, he wore a dark tuxedo with white gloves and a deep blue tie that matched Lucy's ball gown perfectly.

He smiled politely at her as he reached out his hand and said, "You were correct; we do always seem to meet in the rain."

Lucy's depression lessened as she smiled back and took his hand before she replied, "Indeed, I often find myself to be correct."

Her eyes widened when Lahar actually chuckled as he escorted her towards the building. She could hear people whispering about them and she tried to ignore the comments and she noticed that Lahar didn't even seem to acknowledge anyone else when he said, "By the way, the dress looks rather lovely on you."

Lucy blushed because she realized that she hadn't thanked him yet for the present so she quickly said, "Thank you very much for it. You really didn't have to."

"Nonsense," Lahar replied in a brisk tone, "Now that I see it on you, I would have paid even more for it."

"You're very kind," Lucy said politely.

"I don't know if anyone has ever called me kind before," Lahar stated.

Lucy nodded before she teased, "It might be difficult if you are always arresting everyone."

Once again Lahar chuckled at Lucy's wit and he handed his umbrella to one of the doormen. Lucy's eyes widened when they entered the elegant room with tall marble pillars and the largest clear chandelier she had ever seen. Soft violin music was playing and several people were already performing the waltz.

Then Lahar said, "I saw Princess Hisui yesterday and unfortunately she could not attend tonight, because she was rather excited about seeing you this evening."

Lucy replied as Lahar handed her a glass of champagne, "That's too bad, it would have been nice to see her again."

Lucy and Lahar chatted politely in-between several people coming up to speak with him. It almost reminded her of when her Father used to drag her to events and he talked shop with all the other men. She was bored to tears as she guzzled down her first glass of champagne.

Jellal and Erik had made their way inside of the Gala. They were up on the second floor that was supposedly roped off for maintenance; however, Jellal couldn't seem to find any work being done. Lucy hadn't made it there yet and unfortunately he recognized several people there from when he used to sit on the Magic Council.

Then he turned to Erik and asked, "Do you hear anything yet?"

"Other than a bunch of old fat guys looking to cheat on their wives tonight? Nothing," Cobra grumbled.

Jellal just nodded and then he froze. His eyes widened when he saw Lucy walk through the door with Lahar. She looked absolutely breathtaking in her gown and Jellal could feel Erik's gaze look at him before he too looked at Lucy.

Then Erik cleared his throat and said, "Well damn, if you weren't into her so much then I'd definitely try to go for her."

Jellal ignored the comment but then in his peripherals he saw Erik tense up. "What is it?" Jellal demanded know.

He watched as Erik's eyes narrowed towards Lahar and Lucy before he replied, "It's not about the kids. It's about that motherfucker."

Jellal looked back at Lahar before Erik growled, "He's using her because of you."

"What do you mean because of me?" Jellal asked trying to keep his voice calm.

"He knows Doranbolt altered your memory after the Dragon attack because he was fucking there and hiding. He knows you like Lucy and thinks she will lead you to him," Erik spat out.

Jellal could feel his body shaking in anger before Erik added, "That's not all."

Jellal couldn't ask what, because he knew Erik was going to tell him anyways, "Even though Captain Fucktard wants you, he is liking Lucy and you probably wouldn't like the things he is picturing on doing to her tonight or rather wanting to do to her—he isn't going to rape her or anything though."

Jellal could feel his jaw clenched. He wanted to intervene, but he didn't know if he had a right to. What if Lucy liked Lahar too?

"She doesn't," Erik smirked because he could hear Jellal's thoughts as clear as a bell, "She's waiting for you."

Jellal looked at him then Erik grinned, "Remember when you first had us join your shitty ass team? I could barely read anything off of you. The other day when I said I wanted some damn peace and quiet is because ever since you went on this perpetual quest to be an asshole and a martyr for no fucking reason, I've barely gotten a good night's sleep. You will speak to her tonight, you will stop being an asshole, or otherwise I will kidnap her myself and force you to talk to her."

Jellal couldn't help but smile faintly before he replied, "I won't let her go home with him."

"Bout damn fucking time," Erik grumbled.

Erik and Jellal watched as Lahar led Lucy toward the dance floor and before Erik could goad Jellal into stealing her way, his face grew serious and he said, "Holy fuck, we need to get everyone out of here right now."

"Would you like to dance?" Lahar turned to ask Lucy.

Lucy gave her second champagne glass to one of the wait staff before she replied, "Sure, that sounds lovely."

She took Lahar's hand as he led her to the floor and then just as the music started playing a woman started screaming. Then before Lucy could react she heard a loud boom and Lahar tried to push her out of the way as debris from the ceiling began to fall down around them and the chandelier came crashing to the ground. Lucy couldn't hear anything over all of the explosions even though she could see Lahar saying something to her; however, they were separated in the crowd from everyone trying to get outside because everyone was in a panicked frenzy.

Then Lucy felt like her legs wouldn't even move as the ground began to shake violently and the marble floor that was now covered in glass and injured bodies began to crack. Her hearing finally came back just before she heard Lahar yell, "LUCY! TAKE MY HAND!"

She finally found him in the crowd again and just as she was about to reach towards him, the floor gave out from under her and everyone near and she watched as Lahar's eyes widened in horror as she fell out of his grasp and heard him scream her name again. She could hear people screaming around her and she felt tears run down her face as she readied her body to feel incredible pain and possible death.

Suddenly, Lucy felt a familiar surge of powerful magic before she felt two strong arms grab her. Her eyes opened in shock and saw Jellal's face next to hers. He used his meteor magic to get them safely away from the destruction just as she started crying. Then she heard his pained voice whisper to her, "I told you that I'd always catch you when you fall."

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