Thank you all so much for you patience! I hope you will all enjoy this new chapter, next chapter will introduce a lot of new characters!
Thanks for proofreading CJ!
''Here, take my hand, we gotta hurry!'' Natsu said before grasping Lucy's hand and pulling her out of the hole in the ground.
As soon as Lucy could look over the edge of the ground, she was met with the gazes of the rest of the group. She quickly got up and dusted herself off. ''Where did we end up?''
''In a forest just outside the prison's gates, m'lady,'' the newly acquainted girl informed them. ''This should give you a head start to get away from the guards.''
Lucy's head snapped back to the prison building behind them, from which alarms still resounded from within the walls.
''There's no more time, we gotta run!'' Erza commanded them.
''Is no one gonna question the fact that Lucy summoned a random maid who can dig holes at the speed of light?'' Gray asked.
''We just busted Erza's boyfriend out of prison,'' Natsu replied, ''I can't see how that's any less bizarre.''
Gray let out a groan of frustration. ''I'm so done with this nonsense.''
The group made a run for it and managed to reach their cars unseen. With screeching tires, they slipped and drifted off the parking lot and back to town.
Lucy felt her consciousness slowly coming back until she realised she was awake. It was still dark. Disorientated, she reached for her phone on her nightstand. 3 am.
She let out a deep sigh and rolled back to the other side of her pillow. It took a few seconds before all the memories of the night before came back to her and her eyes shot wide open. The man who had mistaken her for her mother, her new golden key, the wild ride back in which she had held Natsu's arm as he recklessly drove them home and him enjoying every second, pretending they were in an action movie.
It hadn't been a dream. They really had broken someone out of prison. Lucy panicked. What if they were caught on CCTV? What if Erza's boyfriend actually was a convicted murderer and it had all been a setup?
She quickly grabbed her phone again and sent Natsu a message.
Did you get home safely?
A buzz resounded from the other sound of the room and a light lit up from the couch.
''You've got to be kidding me,'' Lucy sighed as she got out of bed. In the faint light of the streetlamps peeking through the sides of the curtains, she saw Cana hanging from the other side of the bed. She was completely out and didn't look like she would wake up soon.
Lucy carefully tiptoed to the other side of the room and picked up Natsu's phone. Just before the screen went dark again she recognised something on the screen and hit the button on the side to see it again. She felt her face flush when a selfie of the two of them appeared on the lock screen.
''Luce?''
Lucy almost jumped out of her skin when the blanket on the couch started to move.
''Is it morning yet?'' Natsu asked as his messy head popped up from beneath the blanket.
''Idiot!'' she hissed and looked over her shoulder to see if Cana had noticed the intruder yet, ''why are you here?''
''I had to make sure you were safe,'' he said sluggishly, half sleep-drunk, and immediately fell back asleep.
Lucy felt her heart make a little jump and a blissful warmth spread across her chest. ''Thank you,'' she said before leaning over and planting a kiss on his forehead.
The next day, Lucy found herself waking up all alone. Even Cana, who usually slept well into the day, had gotten up already.
Shit, she thought and jumped out of bed. Did she see Natsu?
She ran to the kitchen and was met with the answer. A blue haze had filled the room and Cana was desperately trying to sabotage the smoke alarm to prevent it from going off.
''Oh, good morning Lucy!'' Natsu enthusiastically said, holding a pan with a completely charred omelet. ''We tried to make breakfast since we're leaving in an hour.''
''Leaving?'' she asked before breaking out in a cough. Then it hit her.
''Camp starts today?!''
''No shit,'' Cana replied. ''Did you really forget?''
A loud, long honk resounded from the streets below.
''Erza is fashionably early as always it seems,'' Lucy sighed before heading downstairs.
She opened the door, expecting only Erza to barge in and start baking cookies for everyone to bring along on the training camp they had ahead of them. Instead, she found two people on her doorstep. Erza, and a very oddly dressed Jellal.
''Hi Lucy!'' Erza said lightheartedly, ''are you ready for camp?''
''Hey!'' Lucy said as she gestured them to walk in. ''to be honest, I haven't even packed yet after all that happened last night...''
Erza nodded. ''Understandable.''
Jellal hadn't said a word yet. He was probably overwhelmed by all that had happened. No one but Erza and Mirajane knew how long he had resided in jail. It was hard to see, since he was wearing a large beanie and had a large scarf draped around his neck, but his face seemed hollow and his eyes empty. He had obviously been through a lot. Lucy wondered how the two of them met each other.
They greeted Natsu and Cana and Lucy left the kitchen to pack her suitcase.
Mindlessly she threw what seemed like her entire wardrobe in, preparing for every type of weather.
''Weird, right?'' she heard Cana say behind her. Lucy looked up. ''I mean, we have no idea who these other mages are and what we'll be prepared for.''
''I don't know,'' Lucy replied, '' I actually wonder how strong my magic has gotten and how to use it better.''
''You're a natural, that's obvious,'' Cana said with envy in her voice.
''Hey, we're not letting this magic stuff get between us,'' Lucy said as she closed the case and stood up. ''Natsu and I also had arguments about this when my magic hadn't resurfaced yet. Levy's hasn't too. It will come, I promise.''
''Have you forgotten that they're hiding something from us?'' Cana said sternly. ''Something is lurking in the shadows, I can feel it. And when something happens, I-''
Lucy stepped forward to hug her friend tight.
''When something happens, you have an entire group of mages around you,'' she said and felt her friend break down in their embrace.
''I want to protect you guys too,'' Cana softly cried, ''I just wish I knew how.''
A silence followed. Lucy took a deep breath and gripped Cana's shoulders as she gently pushed her back.
''There is something I need to tell you before we go,'' she said, ''I promised Natsu not to tell but I can't keep things from you, you're my best friend.''
A tear-stained face looked at her in confusion. ''What this all of a sudden?''
''The professor visited Natsu and me around 2 weeks ago. He told us he had proof you were involved with criminal activities and we had to turn you over to him or he would go to the police...''
Cana stiffened. ''W-what are you talking about? Criminal activities?''
''We stood up for you, but I know you've been sneaking out at night.'' Lucy looked at her with pleading eyes, ''please tell me we were right.''
''I practised my cards at night with the Strauss family,'' Cana said in disbelief at what she just heard. ''Mira helped me build up my magic powers. I could have sworn I didn't wake you up. You can ask her, I swear I'm telling the truth.''
Then it dawned on Lucy. ''He never had any evidence in the first place...'' she whispered to herself. ''He needed a way to trap you.''
The treeline next to the road became thicker and thicker. Soon they would reach the dense woodland on the outskirts of the city of Clover, known for its mountainous region and endless forests. It was somewhere in those woods where the camp would take place.
All of their cars followed Laxus in his SUV, who was the only one instructed with the route to the secret meeting place.
Today would have been the day of Natsu's brother's trial but was postponed due to his declining health. The group had urged Natsu to join later to be with his brother, but he was determined to join his friends.
From the passenger's seat, Lucy glanced into the mirror only to see Juvia had fallen asleep on Gray's shoulder. Cana was very busy taking pictures of the scene and Gray couldn't protest without waking her up. Lucy couldn't help but chuckle at Gray's increasingly desperate facial expressions.
She looked back out of the window. Lucy felt thrilled and anxious at the same time. The thought of meeting other mages was exciting, but the lack of confidence she had in her own magic-wielding abilities was holding her enthusiasm back.
How many of them would be there? Dozens? Hundreds? What if she didn't fit in?
A sudden warm touch to her thigh freed her from her spiraling thoughts. She turned her head. Natsu still had his face on the road and gave her leg a little squeeze.
''You've got us, don't worry,'' he said.
She lay her hand on his and squeezed it back.
''Gross,'' Cana said, sticking her tongue out, ''can y'all get a room already?''