Hello my dear readers. I know it's been more than a month since I last updated a chapter, at least one with writing, and I know I promised at least monthly updates. But that wasn't the case this time. I'm taking five college courses and they got the better of me sooooo . . . Yeah, I apologize for the slow updating on my part. Good news though, this is 100% a new chapter, and a relatively long one at that, at least by my writing standards, that I have written instead of sleeping.

So, please enjoy!

Italics = Lucy's Dream

Previously On Fairy Tail - Just Another Zombie Apocalypse:

Lucy opens her mouth, lips forming words, yet no sound emits from her vocal cords. The remainder of Lucy's energy drains from her weakened body.

The last thing Lucy sees is the female figure shooting her right hand out towards Lucy, as the world seems to fade from her sight.

The Mysterious Figures

No One's POV:

Lucy is trapped. Not in the sense that she is locked away somewhere. No, instead the better term would be to say that Lucy is stuck.

Stuck in her mind, her subconscious. Stuck awake and responsive, but unable to move her body at will. Stuck in the light, a room surrounded not by the lights of the human world, but instead, she is stuck in a room composed entirely of a pure white glow.

Suddenly, a distorted voice calls out her name. Almost like the voice is calling from far away, yet in her ear at the same time. This is not the voice of a stranger. No, Lucy knows this voice like she knows her own.

This voice, it is his. Her lover, her husband, her everything. This is Natsu's voice, calling to her and only her.

Her transparent body, covered in a white gown made of the same light composing the entirety of the room, whipped around. In the distance, another translucent figure stood, wild pink hair noticeably contrasting with the color scheme of the room.

Lucy tries to move, to force her body to reach out towards him, but she remains stuck. Unable to get to the only person she desires to see, to hold, to love.

Lucy fights the hold, the cage trapping her in her subconscious. She fights with everything she has, and she succeeds. Or at least she begins to, moving her right arm to reach out towards the figure. A motion which is quickly ceased when a strong, unrestrained wind abruptly begins whirling. Forcing her sense of awareness out of her hidden subconscious and straight back towards the real world.

Still, No One's POV:

Lucy's eyes shoot open as she quickly sucks in deep breaths of fresh air. The top half of her body flies' forwards into a sitting position, waking with a start.

Panicking, Lucy begins frantically eyeing the entirety of her surroundings. Brain desperately attempting to decipher her current location. Slowly, she turns her head from the right to the left. Her frantic heart rate slows down a short bit, as her brain recognizes that she is still in her makeshift camp.

She lets out a deep sigh, one where you can practically hear the relief expelling from it, as she slowly closes her chocolate brown eyes. Her arms move to hug herself as her muscles begin to relax ever so slightly. There she sits, convincing herself that the danger is gone and that she is, in fact, safe. Safe from both the monster that tried to eat her and from the two mysterious figures that suddenly appeared before her in her greatest time of need.

Lucy does not know how long she sits there, but when she opens her eyes again, she expects to find the same serene forest she had when she first awoke. Instead, she finds a face.

Moving faster than she ever has before, Lucy jumps back. Shuffling across the forest floor on her hand and bottom. Eyes never losing sight of the new figure. Red eyes bore into her own brown ones, as the crouching figure tilts his head to the side. Unkempt, midnight black hair falls alongside the motion, the figure curious to the reaction of the strange blonde.

Terrified, Lucy never stops moving. Trying desperately to get far away from the rough looking male. Small rocks and tree branches cutting into the skin of her hands as continues to grasp at the forest floor beneath her. An action which is swiftly halted when two soft hands grab at her shoulders from behind. Almost immediately, Lucy's body freezes stiff. Her muscles tightening in pure fear of her predicament.

A low, soft feminine voice breaks Lucy's trance. "It's okay", the voice states, "We're not going to hurt you".

Upon noticing that Lucy was no longer attempting to flee the continent, the woman's hands loosened their grip as she began speaking again. "We're the ones who came to help. Remember, you were screaming bloody murder when that deader attacked you!" Slowly, as if approaching a scared child, the woman completely let's go of her grip of Lucy, moving around Lucy's body to face her.

The woman's frame invades Lucy's vision, stunning her. Not through shock or terror, but through sheer captivation. Soft, dark blue hair falls down the woman's back in waves. Almost resembling that of an ocean. A creamy, milk-like color glistens the woman's unflawed skin, contrasting with her male accomplice's tough, lightly tanned skin tone. Light pink lips turn slightly upwards, a soft smile forming on the woman's face as her midnight blue eyes study Lucy, waiting for a reaction from the confused blonde.

The bluenette speaks again, assuming that the dazed and fearful girl will not speak first. "My name is Juvia", she explains pointing at herself, "and that scary looking monster over there is Gajeel".

One slight time skip later:

The three figures sat around a fire. Lucy sat comfortably on a log, while the man and woman, now identified as Juvia and Gajeel, sat on a second log located on Lucy's right.

"We were walking through the woods, not far away, when we heard you scream", Juvia exclaimed. "It was extremely loud, like an alarm -".

The man scoffs at his companions' words. "An alarm? More like a banshee!" he grunts.

Juvia's face contorts into an annoyed expression. Reaching back, she swings her right hand towards the back of the rude commenters head. Smacking Gajeel upside to head. To which he responds by winching and cradling the injured spot with his. A confident, yet amused, smirk laces Juvia's lips as she proudly says, "Ignore him, a rabbit has more brain cells than he does''. A statement that a tense Lucy cannot help but to chuckle from.

The blonde's reaction draws the two companions' attention back towards her. "So, Bunny Girl" Gajeel questions as Lucy looks towards him, "What's your story?"

Almost instantly, the air seems to become still. Lucy presumably caught off guard by the unexpected personal question. Opening her mouth, Lucy tries to answer, but her mind and lips fail to form words. A sad glint passes through her eyes and she becomes lost in her own thoughts, breaking her previous eye contact with Gajeel. Noticing Lucy's distress, Juvia sends a warning glare Gajeel's way, simultaneously elbowing him in the gut for having the audacity to utter that question to someone who is quite obviously not emotionally prepared to answer.

An awkward silence fills the air as Lucy continues to avoid answering. In an effort to fix his mistake, Gajeel remembers something he had picked up the day before. Reaching into his back pocket, Gajeel pulls out a worn-out book adorned with a dark red cover, handing it to Lucy. "Found it on the ground after you passed out yesterday. Figured you might want it back" he explains, "I promise only Juvia looked inside!"

"No, I didn't you dark vampire, cosplayer looking wannabe" she counters. Yet again, Juvia glares at Gajeel as they begin whisper-bickering at each other for the millionth time that day.

Unbeknownst to them, Lucy slowly starts to tear up again. Thankful for the two kind strangers who not only saved her life, but also returned her journal, the last thing she has remaining of her mother.

Meanwhile, the two survivor's bickering becomes short-lived, as their exchange is interrupted by the sounds of Lucy's low sniffles. Overwhelmed by the events preceding and following the small groups encounter, Lucy begins to softly cry, tears streaming down her porcelain cheeks. Turning towards Lucy, Juvia and Gajeel sit in silence, each contemplating what actions to take next. Leaning towards his left, Gajeel whispers, "Do something" in Juvia's ear.

Surprised, Juvia whispers back, "What so you want me to do?"

Exasperated, Gajeel's answers, "I don't know, and I don't care. I'm not good with crying women, and you're a girl who knows girly emotions, so make her stop".

Juvia's facial muscles scrunch up, forming a pissed off expression. "Okay, I'm about two seconds away from slapping you so hard that you end up with permanent brain damage".

Noticing Juvia's sudden change in mood, Gajeel's eyebrows raise as his face becomes adorned with a surprised pikachu look. Before Gajeel can retort, Lucy sobs worsen as she begins crying uncontrollably, loud sobs wracking her slim frame in harsh trembles. Deep, rough whimpers fill the air as Lucy claps her right hand over her mouth, attempting to silence them. Her frame collapses as she presses her chest to her thighs, eyes and head facing the forest floor. Silently, Juvia gets up from her spot on the adjacent log, moving to lend a comforting hand on Lucy's shoulder.

In a moment of emotional weakness, Lucy jumps upon feeling the hand touch her shoulder. Looking up, she spots Juvia and subsequently flings herself at the unsuspecting bluenette, wrapping her arms around Juvia's neck.

Juvia, not expecting the sudden movement, tenses. Weeks of fighting the undead sending her muscles into an automatic preparedness for a fight. After a few long moments, Juvia's body and mind recognize that the crying girl is not a threat and relax. Bending her knees, Juvia begins slowly sinking to the ground. Pulling the weeping young adult down with her.

There, Juvia feels Lucy's pain. So, she allows Lucy to cry into her shoulder. Even when the sun goes down and the tears dry up, Juvia stays in that comforting position on the dirt filled forest floor. She stays, not because of a sense of duty, nor of pity. No, Juvia stays because Juvia knows. She knows what it feels like to long for the past, for the dead, even for a lover whose status and location are unknown.

So, even when her feet fall asleep and her throat becomes parched, Juvia will stay there as long as Lucy needs her to.

So, it's a little bit sappy at the end, but oh well. I write it, I post it, I don't sleep because of it; and that's the way I like it.

Fun Fact: Rabbits have just under five hundred million neurons in their brain, while humans have over eighty billion. So, Juvia is implying that Gajeel is more stupid than a rabbit.

Also, I wrote this beginning at one o'clock in the morning, so please be forgiving if it is not superb writing on my part. I'm tired, but this chapter has been gnawing at the back of my head for quite a while and I had to get it out before my homeschooling college life decides to find yet another way to destroy what little is left of my free time.

Also, I would greatly appreciate it if you could spread the word about my book as not many seem to be reading it compared to the thousands of reads in the first chapter from like two or three years ago. Then again, that's probably because I went so long without updating it.

Any ideas for Lucy, Juvia, and Gajeel in the next chapter would be greatly appreciated, as I can't think of anything. If I use your idea, I will credit you. But no reunions with other characters yet, as I plan for that to come a bit later in the book.