Lucy blinked several times at the cave entrance disbelievingly, half expecting Natsu's grinning face to appear with a big "got 'ya" expression plastered across his face. Much to Lucy's dismay, though, he never came back.

Her eyes flashed back to the pirate ship, and she squeaked in surprise when she met the glares of every shipmate on deck.

The Captain stepped forward towards her, and Lucy flinched back instinctively despite being separated by a body of water. "Another conquest of Natsu's, I presume?"

Lucy winced. Was he implying that Natsu brought back lots of girls? Did he use them and throw them away like her father had done to so many women after her mother? She didn't want to believe it, but really, how much did she know about this boy?

"Stand up, girl. Let's have a look at you."

There was an aura surrounding the Captain that was so powerful Lucy felt obligated to obey. She stood reluctantly, straightening her back proudly and dusting off her silk pajama pant set that she still wore from the previous night. She bravely met the strong glare of Captain Hook.

His eyes swept across her body, goosebumps blossoming across her skin at the slimy feeling his gaze left behind.

"I am no conquest." Her voice came out stronger than what she thought her racing heart would allow.

He smirked, raising an eyebrow as he responded mockingly, "Well, you definitely don't belong here."

She silently cursed Natsu for abandoning her. He was so going to get it the next time she laid eyes on him. "And who are you to tell me where I do and do not belong?"

His smile widened. "I am Captain Hook, and you'd do well to remember that one."

Lucy swallowed thickly but before she could respond, he made some gesture at his men, and she felt her heart skip a beat when his crew all began moving at the same time- all directly towards her.

Squeaking, Lucy rushed into action. Darting to the edge of the ledge, she peered over the side and swallowed nervously at the steep slope. She was almost positive the weird glittery dust that Natsu had given her had worn off, so there was no way that she could simply fly herself down. She'd have to slide.

Shrugging her book bag off, she hugged it, with Plue yipping indignantly inside, to her chest. Glancing at the pirates who were beginning to board small canoes to make their way safely to her, Lucy lowered her body to the edge and pushed herself down the slope before she could overthink it. To prevent her body from raising off of the rocks, Lucy attempted to flatten herself as much as possible, using her hands to hold onto the slope as much as she could.

Tears sprang to her eyes at the near unbearable pain of the sharp stones digging into her many bruises and slicing open both the palms of her hands and her legs.

It seemed like minutes had past but she stumbled to the ground in a matter of seconds, scrambling up as she swung her bag over her shoulder once more. Without so much as a glance back, she dashed through the cave entrance with her heart pounding in her chest and her body sore from the abuse of her slide.

Shielding her eyes from the bright light peeking its way through the tops of the trees by the rising sun, Lucy chose a random direction and continued to sprint away from the pirates.

With branches slapping against her face and arms and her legs protesting every step that she took, Lucy lost track of how much time she had been running for. Her ragged breath had begun to sting her throat, and her legs felt like lead moving through mud. Before she could collapse of exhaustion, she broke free of the woods and found herself once again at the edge of the island on the beach.

Her breaths began to come in short gasps as the events of the day started to catch up with her. Leaving her father behind to come to a strange land with a boy who she didn't even know.

Lucy scowled upon thinking of Natsu. That damn pink haired idiot had abandoned her.

For all he knew, she could be dead. Her heart hurt for some reason when she thought about how he wouldn't even care.

She was a fool to have come, and she walked briskly to the edge of the water to sit bitterly on one of the large boulders bordering the ocean.

How the hell was she supposed to get back home now? She couldn't fly. The fairy dust or whatever sorcery Natsu had used on her had clearly expired, and she was rendered defenseless in a land full of violent pirates.

Her head sunk into the palms of her hands as tears began to swim beneath her eyelids. Not for the first time in her life, she had absolutely no clue what to do.

She wondered briefly if her mother would ever find out or even care if she died right then and there.

"Excuse me, but who are you?"

Lucy jumped, her eyes flying up in surprise to find… a mermaid?

"Close your mouth, you strange girl. Something nasty might just find its way in." Another voice shook her out of her trance, and Lucy was startled to find that there was a group of three of them. A blonde, a brunette, and a redhead leaning up against the large stones watching her curiously as their green tails flapped through the water behind them.

Embarrassed, Lucy realized that her jaw had indeed dropped, and she was quick to close it as a heated blush spread across her cheeks.

In a world with flying and pirates, were mermaids really that strange?

As Lucy's eyes dropped shortly to the shells that somehow clung to their breasts, she came to the conclusion that it was in fact very strange.

Licking her lips nervously, Lucy stood before brushing off her pajama bottoms. "Well, I'm… I'm Lucy. I'm not exactly from here."

The brunette, who had spoken first, rose her eyebrows condescendingly. "You don't say."

The redhead, who had jabbed at her before, grinned leeringly. "Why don't you go back to where you come from then? Freak."

Lucy narrowed her eyes. From the looks of it, not all mermaids were like Ariel. "I would love to go back home, thank you. This place is a disaster."

The blonde giggled, whispering behind her hand loudly, "She can't know what a true disaster is if she leaves home with hair looking like that."

Lucy scowled at the outbursts of laughter. Marching up to the edge of her boulder, she placed her hands on her hips before sneering down at them. "Why don't you go back to where you came from before I chop you up and make sushi out of your tails?"

The three mermaids exchanged mischievous looks before turning and grinning maliciously at her. The brunette spoke first. "Was that a threat, girl?"

Lucy rolled her eyes at being called "girl" once again. "Take it as you will, I couldn't care less."

The blonde clapped her hands together in excitement. "Oh, did you hear that girls? It was a threat!"

Before Lucy to take a step back from all the dangerous looks that she was receiving, a hand reached out and latched itself onto her ankle. Gasping, Lucy immediately tried to pull herself back but with one quick yank, she found herself submerged in the ocean.

Salt water filled her gaping mouth and burned its way down her throat, and she instinctively began choking. Several pairs of small hands were grabbing at her dress and she could feel herself being pulled deeper into the depths of the sea.

Her eyes flew open in fear, and through the blurriness she could just make out the faces of her tormentors.

Was this what drowning felt like?

As soon as her eyesight began fading away, Lucy was yanked up hard by her book bag and pulled out of the water.

Immediately, she began sucking in oxygen while simultaneously attempting to expel the water from her body.

She could feel herself falling into a warm body, the unknown person shaking her wildly, but she focused on staying conscious and catching her breath.

A whimper from her bag had her body run cold. Plue.

With renewed strength, Lucy jerked away from her savior and pulled her book bag into her hands. Yanking down the zipper, she picked up Plue as she let her bag fall onto the rocks.

Clutching her soaked, but breathing, dog to her chest, Lucy gave a small sob of relief. He must have held his breath by some miracle.

A snide voice came from back in the water. "What is that thing?"

Anger filled her entire body and it was as if her nerves had been set on fire. Plue could have died. As she opened her mouth to scream at the idiotic mermaids, though, more water made its way up her throat.

Her savior, who Lucy realized to be Natsu at the sight of his pink hair, took Plue before she could drop him and she noted him being placed safely on the shore in her peripheral vision.

As Lucy spluttered and coughed out all of the water from her burning lungs, Natsu appeared again and steadied her with a firm hand gripped around her forearm as he clapped his free hand on her back hard. Finally finding her voice, she rasped out, "You… You could have killed my dog!" As if in response, Plue yipped indignantly from the shore.

Natsu blinked, stunned briefly, before turning a stoney glare to the mermaids who shrank down into the water in fear. "You could have easily drowned them both. The hell is the matter with you?"

The blonde, who Lucy decided she hated the most, fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously up at Natsu as she pouted. "But Natsu-kun, we were just playing. We didn't even know she had a dog in her bag, honest!"

Natsu scowled fiercely, his grip around Lucy's arm dropping so he could clasp her hand with his, much to the irritation of the mermaids. Lucy found her face lighting up in embarrassment as she realized how nice and warm his palm felt against hers. "Asrai, don't play with me. She's nakama now, and we don't mess with nakama."

With loud huffs, both the brunette and redhead dove back into the sea with one last hate-filled look sent Lucy's way. The blonde, Asrai, remained, her eyes flashing between their intertwined hands and Natsu's face. Lucy almost pitied her at the sheer amount of pain shown in her bright blue orbs.

… Almost.

A somber look overtook Asrai's beautiful face, as she bowed down her head in admission. "I really am sorry, Natsu. I didn't…" Her eyes flashed towards his hand gripping Lucy's tightly. "I didn't realize how much she meant to you."

Lucy glanced up at Natsu curiously, but he was facing the opposite direction with his bangs hiding his real emotions. Lucy wondered at the history that they so obviously had and shifted uncomfortably at the new tension thick in the air.

Asrai's eyes met her own, and Lucy suddenly felt much more uncomfortable and confused at the major shift in personality. Asrai spoke softly, "I am sorry. From now on, you're a friend of ours…?"

Lucy bit her lip nervously, but with no sign from Natsu. she responded in kind. "Lucy."

The mermaid flinched and proceeded to smile sadly. "Lucy. Natsu and Lucy, just as Cana said. Goodbye."

Lucy could have sworn there had been tears in Asrai's eyes but she crossed it off as nothing. It could have easily been water.

Before she could confront Natsu for how he had left her earlier (and probably, maybe, thank him for saving the lives of her and Plue), his hand yanked itself from her grip and he began to stalk off towards the forest almost angrily.

As Lucy stood there uncertainly, she watched the retreating back of Natsu and feared briefly that he was leaving her again. He stopped several feet away, though, his back stiff as if he were contemplating something important. It better not be whether or not he was going to abandon her there because he was the one who brought her here, and she'd be damned if he thought he could leave her to fend for her own-!

Natsu broke the awkward silence as he turned towards her and gave her his signature face splitting grin. Lucy rose her eyebrow in confusion. This guy was definitely bipolar. "You ready to meet Fairy Tail, Luigi?"

Her forehead ticked, and suddenly the events of the stressful day were catching up to her once again like they had been before meeting the mermaids. "IT'S LUCY, DAMN YOU." Before she could lunge and send him the Lucy-kick she originally intended, she lost her balance on the slippery rocks and felt her body tip backwards.

She met Natsu's shocked expression before the back of her head slapped against something hard with a large crack, and the world around her went dark with one last fleeting thought of how painful she was going to make Natsu's death.

Author's note: y'all, I'm the worst. I nearly failed out of college my first semester & I have no dang excuse. Take school seriously friends, it is sooooo easy to screw it all up. Starting next chapter now, so it'll be out within the week!

Also, I love all of your guesses! Two of you guessed correctly :-)

-K