A/N: Well, hello! It has been 3 years since I have updated this story. I have to admit that one of the biggest reasons I stopped updating on this story is because I fell off Fairy Tail since it ended. And the 100 Year's Quest hasnt really captured my attention like the original story. But, I recently re-watched Fairy Tail and Star Wars and my motivation is at an all time high! So, without further ado...

War of Fire

-O-

Chapter 7: Introductions

There was a small flicker of light down the hall, encompassed in complete darkness outside of the dying fire that hung from the wall. Old, magic enforced, rustic bars were grounded as they trapped prisoners of war securely and without any sense of escape. The dungeon was dark and dreary, with no light seeping in or out. Moans and groans of the prisoners travelled throughout the prison as the cold air bit at their lungs.

A tall man walked down the hall, his footsteps loud against the frozen floor, hands resting behind his back as he took a meticulous look at every prisoner. Next to the man, stood a creature of the mountains, a Vulcan. The Vulcan sniffed, rubbing at the drainage from his nose.

Vulcans resembled that of primates often found in the jungles of the land. Like primates, they shared similar characteristics to humans in relation to their build and stature. But Vulcans were dimwitted, their speech limited and chopped. They understood simple commands and could hold basic conversation Mountain Vulcans had very distinct features with their elongated chins and prolonged ears. They had pointed heads with large arms and hands with a very muscular torso.

They were one of the few creatures that also possessed magical and combat abilities. Their strength was terrorizing, and they were able to use possession magic, which made their species quite useful.

So useful that Zeref's army was not opposed to using them for smaller projects across the land.

"Visit not expected from you today." The Vulcan spoke, leading the tall man down the prison hall.

The tall man remained rigid in stature, his blue trench coat swaying lightly with the cold air that swayed. His hair was held together in a ponytail that laid perfectly against his shoulder, tie perfectly set over his chest. His glasses rested on the top of his nose, dark, red eyes piercing the Vulcan.

"Lord Zeref sent me after we received your message of your new influx of prisoners." He spoke, voice stern and curt. The Vulcan scratched at his chin, then shrugged shoulders.

"What so special about prisoners? We get prisoners all time." The Vulcan questioned, obviously more perceptive than his brethren.

"That is not of your concern." The blue haired man answered curtly. "Now, lead me to the leader of this raid."

The Vulcan did not answer and merely led the tall man down the pathway.

"He not say who he work for, but found this."

The primate handed the glass-eyed man a parchment. It was tied off with a single string of rope. The man took the parchment into his hands, eying it carefully. When he attempted to undo the string, he was met with a zap, the man hissing at the burning sensation on his gloved fingertips. The parchment fell to the floor and the blue haired man narrowed his eyes.

"We tried same. Couldn't open."

Grabbing the parchment off the floor, the man tightened his grip around it and looked over at the Vulcan.

"Take me to him."

He was led to a steel door, covered in ice, the only opening was a small window with two bars.

"Surprised he alive. We tortured and starved him, but man does not die."

A glare settled over the man's face, red eyes sharply piercing through the Vulcan. The primate began to shiver, a cold sensation sudden overtaking him. The air thinned, the Vulcan falling to his knees, reaching for his neck.

"Can't… breathe…" The Vulcan struggled, eyes bulging from his head. His toes and hands were turning purple, his lower body slowly freezing over.

"You imbecile." The man started, leering down at the creature. "We specifically instructed you to leave this one alive."

The blue haired man kneeled, grabbed the Vulcan by the top of his pointed head.

"But how can we expect any different from a filthy creature like you?" The air around them warmed, the Vulcan gasping and coughing as he physically gulped for air. The ice remained at its feet, leaving him planted to the floor.

"You will come when called for or you will lose more than your feet."

He opened the door, eyes narrowing as he searched for the resident of this cell. A clink brought his attention to the corner of the cell. There sat a man, feet bound by chains, his dark blue hair ragged and hanging over his face. The man's face was shielded by the strands of his hair, an icy beard covering the bottom half. He seemed starved, the clothes barely hanging on his body. He could see the ugly and screaming bruises on his skin, dried and frozen blood on the walls and floor around him.

"Well, well." A broken and dried voice spoke from the seemingly dead body. "Aren't I lucky?" He coughed, barely moving from his spot.

The man glared.

"I must have done something badass if the Great Winter General, Invel Yura, has paid me a visit." The sniveling man in the corned continued to speak, shifting in spot.

Invel walked further into the cell. "You will be wise to watch your next words, scum."

The man chuckled darkly, finally looking up at Invel.

The Winter General almost broke character as the chained man looked up at him not with defeat or sorrow, but with a resistant fire in his dark, black eyes.

"At least I'm not a sniveling, ass kissing dog."

His jaw steeled and Invel reached quickly for the man in the corner, his gloved hand grabbing him by the neck. His fiery red eyes glared as the air thinned quickly, ice building around the cell and splintering from his hand around the prisoner's neck.

The man gasped, his hands attempting to pry Invel's fingers off his neck.

"T-touch-y." He gasped and Invel gripped harder.

But then His Majesty's words came back to mind, his sole purpose for visiting this god forsaken place. The Winter General released the man's neck and dropped him to the floor. The man began to choke and Invel released the freezing temperatures in the room.

He collected himself once more, pushing his glasses up his nose, straightening out his trench coat and fastening his belt around his waist.

The blue haired man glared at the pathetic man at his feet, clearly hanging onto his life by the barest thread. But despite that, despite his appearance and state, Invel saw the fire and hope that lay in his dark eyes.

Disgusting.

"If you want to live to your next meal, you will tell me what this parchment is and who you were delivering it too." It wasn't a question; it was a threat. Invel was not giving the prisoner any option as he spoke curtly.

"I have nothing to say to you imperial bastards."

The man then proceeded to spit on his shoes, balling back into the corner of the wall. Glaring harshly at the prisoner, Invel was wanting nothing more than to snap his pathetic neck in half. But not one to defy His Majesty's orders, he dismissed his murderous intent.

Instead, he delivered a swift kick to the rib cage.

The man fell to the floor, coughing blood and heaving.

"I will not ask again." Invel threatened as he knelt next to the prisoner, grabbing him by his hair and pulling him up to look into his cold, red eyes.

"Go to hell, bastard."

The Winter General tightened his grip and flung the prisoner into the wall with a loud smack. The walls shook, the pathetic rebel trembling on the floor. A gust of icy cold air swirled into the room, Invel's eyes turning an icy white as the air frosted.

A pair of Vulcans were dragging their mangled brother when the screams of the prisoner rang throughout the hall. They flinched as they harsh whips and a suffocating, agonizing yell rip across the hall. The further down the hall they trekked, the warmer the air became.

The cold had never bothered them before, but the Vulcans were starting to believe that Hell wasn't just an agonizing, burning sea of endless flames as the screams carried deep into the mountains.

.

Lucy quietly followed Mirajane down into the living quarters, taking in the site of the Resistance camp. It wasn't like anything she imagined, but nothing that she expected either. There were a few people walking up and down the hall, greeting Mira with smiles on their face.

"So, Lucy. Where are you from?" The white-haired woman asked.

Not wanting or ready to reveal that part of herself yet, Lucy took a moment to reply. And while Mira's kindness seemed genuine, Lucy wasn't sure who she could trust just yet. Even though she was in the resistance now, part of her was still weary.

Mirajane must have picked up on her uneasiness as she stopped walking and looked at her with understanding eyes.

"I know what you're feeling, and I know it seems difficult to share something as small with someone you don't know." She started, her voice so soft and gentle, it almost made the blond cry. "This war has changed all of us, taken so much from every one of us."

Mira's voice broke at that last sentence, seeming very personal.

"But!" Gone was that pain, and in place was a bright smile. "We here in the resistance are family. We support one another. We may not always get along, but we all have the same goal. To defeat the empire and take back our land."

Mira took her hands and squeezed them tight. "So, rely on us. Because from now on, you will always have someone to watch out for you."

The thought warmed her, and Lucy didn't know why, but she got such a strong, motherly vibe from this woman. She felt like she could fall into Mira's lap and find a solace and comfort she hadn't felt in so long. The same essence Lucy got from her mother, Mira had it too.

"Thank you, Mira." She squeezed her hands back and the white-haired woman released her hold.

They continued walking and Mira showed her to the woman's dorms.

"This is the woman's quarters. Every member is paired with a roommate, unless they have special permission to be in single rooms, which we don't have many and are usually saved for certain members." She went on to explain and Lucy was confused.

"What type of resistance members need their own special room?"

Mira giggled. "You will see."

And that was how Mira left it as they continued their journey.

"We have two common rooms, one for the children, which we were in earlier. The other for the adults."

"The Commander and Makarov mentioned they house families here?" She asked, wondering where they stay.

Mira nodded with another smile. "That's correct. They stay in the family dormitories on the other side of the base. We usually like to keep the children away from the practice fields and weapons area."

Lucy laughed, seeing as how that could result in disaster.

"Do you have any other questions?" She asked sweetly, her smile so bright.

Lucy strained a smile as she shook her head nervously. The white-haired woman giggled.

"Oh dear. It seems like you've had a long trip, haven't you?" She asked and the blond snorted, laughing as she rubbed the back of her head.

The events of the last week sort of just filled her mind. Between fighting Bora, meeting Natsu, almost blowing up Hargeon, and joining the Resistance, Lucy was thinking that "long trip" didn't even seem to cover it.

"You could say something like that."

"Well, why don't we get you settled and cleaned up, put something in your stomach, and then get you a tour? The day isn't going anywhere, and we have plenty of time."

The thought of getting an actual shower instead of just cleaning herself up at the nearest stream or river sounded fantastic. Then it donned on Lucy, did she smell and look that bad?

Mira must have read her mind or her body language, or both because she began to laugh again, followed with "It seems that your journey has taken you there and back and I think a good bath will do good for your soul."

Lucy almost cried at that thought.

"We have bath houses and showers in each dormitory and a mess hall where you can grab yourself something to eat if you continued down the hall. I will take you there once we stop by your room."

Her own room.

For the last two years, the celestial mage had been living on the run, going inn to inn, finding whatever tree had a comfortable enough spot, or camping out in a cave for several days. The only home she knew was no longer deemed safe.

Lucy didn't even know where to call home anymore.

She almost teared at the thought.

"And here we go! This will be your new home! Your roommate will be Levy which I have a strong feeling the two of you will get along just great!" Mira smiled brightly and Lucy held her reservations for now. She wondered what this Levy was like and if they would matter of fact get along. Not that Lucy ever had an issue getting along with people, but it's been hard to make friends these past few years.

Slightly nervous, Mira knocked and they both heard the sounds of footsteps, and a small "Coming!" to the door. When the door opened, both Mira and Lucy were met with a rather petite woman, blue hair and brown eyes. A yellow bandana was holding her hair back and she was wearing a nifty pair of red glasses. She had on an oversized sweatshirt and leggings, clearly lounging around.

The blue haired woman smiled as her eyes laid on Mira.

"Mira, what brings you all the way down here?"

The snow-white haired maiden tilted her head towards Lucy and Levy looked at her with wide eyes.

"Levy, this is Lucy! She is a new recruit and will be your new roommate!"

Levy took a minute to take her in, and Lucy just smiled nervously.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Lucy stated anxiously and Levy gave her a small smile.

"Likewise! Come on in!" Levy opened up the door wide and both women walked in, Lucy taking in the sight of the room.

It wasn't anything that Lucy had grown up with. No secret compartments behind her bookshelf where she could summon Taurus or Aquarius. No private bathroom or playroom. No windows to look outside to the rising sun or sparkling stars. And there was certainly no grand bed that was four times her size.

The room was medium sized with two beds on each side of the walls, a small closet and sink. Her side was empty, save for the two massive piles of books that laid on her bed. The blonde picked up on some of the titles and made her excited wondering if her new roommate was as big a book nerd as she was.

While it wasn't the mansion she was used too, Lucy couldn't help but smile.

This was her new home.

A little dark, funky smelling, and dingy, but it was home.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Let me move these books! I swear, I have more books than I know what to do with sometimes!" She chuckled as she started grabbing her books from her bed and stacking them next to hers.

"Here, let me help!" Lucy offered and Levy thanked her. Mira joined in too and that's when the blonde mage had an opportunity to really look at Levy's side.

If Levy was anything like her side of the room was decorated, Lucy had an inkling the two girls would get along well. All over her wall were clippings of the resistance and their efforts against the empire. There were photos and scriptures, torn book pages with highlights and scribbles all over. On her makeshift nightstand, there were more photos, a small lamp, and more books. Her sheets were crumbled at the foot of the bed and she had more scattered papers and pens/pencils all over her bed.

This mess reminded her of her mother's desk when her mother was working as an ambassador for the people and the empire.

"Sorry for the mess! I wasn't expecting a roommate today!" She laughed in embarrassment. Lucy waved her off after she dropped the books.

"If anything, I'm the one imposing. Sorry for dropping in all of a sudden!" She apologized but both girls just sort of sighed in relief.

"Okay Lucy! I will let you unpack your stuff and get settled. Levy, if you don't mind, could you show Lucy where the showers are? I'll swing by in a bit to give you the rest of the tour." Mirajane asked, but Levy shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, Mira. I'll finish showing Lucy around! I know you're busy upstairs!"

The snow-white haired maiden smiled graciously and nodded. "Well Lucy, I will leave you in Levy's hands. If you need anything at all, you know where to find me, okay?" She grabbed the blonde's hands and clenched them tightly. Lucy smiled sincerely, appreciating Mira's kindness.

The white-haired woman stepped out of the room and disappeared down the hall, leaving Levy and Lucy alone. Lucy dropped her bag at the foot of her bed and all but collapsed onto the mattress. The mattress wasn't very comfortable, but it was better than the cold dirt in the forest or the sand under a washed-up boat.

"You sound like you've had a long journey here." Levy said as she sat on her bed and sat criss crossed, still smiling.

Lucy laughed, thinking of this week's past events. It was hard for her to believe that at the start of this week, she had nothing. She was on the run from Duka Porla and the empire with only Taurus and Aquarius and her two silver keys.

Now she was an official member of the Resistance and acquired an additional golden gate key, Cancer.

"I never imagined I would ever be here, if we're being honest. I've read on the Resistance my entire life, but I never thought I would actually be in it one day." Lucy explained and Levy nodded, almost nostalgically.

"Well, thank you for being here, Lucy. We couldn't continue this fight without people like you joining the cause." Lucy simply smiled, not really knowing what else to say.

"Anyway! I will say I am happy to finally have a roommate again. It's been somewhat lonely without one. My last roommate transferred to a different base when her team got assigned a new mission. So, I've been on my own for the last few months."

Lucy rose a brow. "That happens?"

Levy nodded, shrugging her shoulders. "Sometimes. Not very often though. Usually you have your home base but make your trips based off your assigned missions. Sometimes missions can last anywhere from days to years. Only S-class mages primarily go on yearlong missions though."

"S-class? As in the same s-ranked mages from when guilds were still legal?" She asked and Levy seemed surprised she had knowledge of them as she rose her brows.

"Yes actually. Exactly like that. After the empire outlawed magic and the Resistance was created, call it nostalgia I guess, but the founders wanted to keep the same form of rank throughout the Resistance."

That made sense, Lucy thought to herself.

"Matter of fact, Mira is an S-class mage."

Lucy was drinking her water when she nearly chocked on it. She placed it down on her bed and started to cough at the idea of that sweet, kind woman being an all-powerful mage.

Levy laughed, handing her a towel. Lucy thanked her and wiped the water from her face.

"I know. Hard to believe looking at her, isn't it?" Levy said and Lucy nodded, giving her back the towel.

"I could hardly sense her magical power when we first met, so I thought she didn't hold any! I would have never known she was an actual S-class mage just looking at her!" Lucy sat flabbergasted. How could someone like sweet Mira who looked so innocent be an S-class mage?

Levy's face fell solemn, her eyes treading away from Lucy and landing on a photo on the wall. Lucy noticed the change in atmosphere almost immediately. She followed the blue haired woman's eyes and found them staring at a photo on the wall.

Lucy's eyes went wide as she saw what appeared to be a young Natsu out of all people, chasing a dragon-cat looking creature, grabbing onto it by the tail. Behind him stood a group of children, a younger Levy looking astonished and waving her hands in the air. Next to her stood a young girl with the same white hair that Mira had. Her hair was in a bob cut and her eyes were bright blue just like Mira's. Behind her, stood what looked like Mira but Lucy really couldn't tell. The girl shared the same face, but instead of that sweet smile, it was a snarky smirk. And she was dressing in a dark skirt and tube top. It was night and day.

"Mira was one of the youngest in our base to become an S-class mage. She was powerful, even for our age." She spoke, but her tone was somber, and Lucy's heart ached, because she felt like she knew where this was going. "She had a younger sister, Lisanna."

There was a sullen smile on Levy's face and Lucy closed her eyes, hating this war more and more every day.

"After Lisanna died, Mira changed, and she took a different role in the Resistance." Levy explained. Lucy opened her eyes and bit her lip. "It changed her completely, but she still wanted to do what she could for the Rebellion."

"A lot of us here, we grew up knowing nothing but the Resistance. Both my mother and father were freedom fighters." Her eyes went to the photo on her nightstand. It was a family photo of a younger Levy being carried by two adults. What she assumed was her father had a younger Levy on his shoulders while her mother was hugging them both.

They looked like such a happy family.

"They both died in a raid almost ten years ago." Levy took a deep breath and looked back at Lucy with a small smile. "This war has taken so much from all of us, I'm sure yourself too or else you wouldn't be here."

The celestial mage thought of her mother and her ruinous father.

"It's only right that people like Mira and I and everyone who has lost something continues to fight. We can't let the sacrifices of our loved ones be in vain. It would be a dishonor to them and their memory."

"I'm sorry about your parents, and Mira's younger sister. It seems like you were all good friends back then." The blue haired woman smiled then waved Lucy off.

"I'm the one who should be sorry. Bringing up such a depressing topic after having only met. Usually it takes me a few beers with Cana to get this sentimental." Levy laughed and Lucy smiled, not knowing who Cana was but she appreciated Levy opening up to her more than the girl knew.

"I don't know Lucy. There's just something about you that makes me feel like I could just talk to you so easily."

The blonde blushed, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

"I could say the same about you, Levy!"

And Lucy truly meant that. Levy felt like a long-lost friend, someone that she was separated from at a very young age and now are just meeting for the first time in years.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing that we were roomed together, isn't it?" Lucy grinned at Levy's comment and stood up, stretching her aching muscles. She winced slightly; her side still not completely healed since her run in at Hargeon.

"I'll say!"

Lucy proceeded to remove her cloak, dropping it to the floor and kicking it aside, thinking about how it needed a good wash. She removed her knee-high boots and relished in her feet being free from their confinements.

"By the way Lucy, you mentioned earlier that you could read magical wavelengths?" Levy asked her as she dumped her pack onto the bed. She pursed her lips, realizing how little Lucy actually had to her name.

"Huh, oh yeah." It wasn't something she really spoke about, considering it was a rare talent these days. Not many could read magical wave lengths. The most experienced mages could tell what type of magic a mage used from one read. Lucy was nowhere near that level.

"Wow, that's impressive! You don't really hear mages having that ability anymore." Lucy agreed. She was the only other person she knew that had that ability. Though, she would guess Makarov and Mavis could too.

"I wonder if they hide it because they knew the empire wants it." Levy nodded in agreement to her statement.

Lucy untied her waistband and pulled her keys away. Always paranoid about any falling off, she did a quick count and smiled when she saw three golden keys shining back at her. She placed them on the bed and heard a loud gasp.

"You're a celestial mage!?"

The blonde yelped slightly as Levy came next to her and looked at her keys so studiously and with eyes filled with wonder.

"Yes?"

"I have never met a real celestial mage before! I've just read about them in my books!" Levy was excited, the blonde could tell as she looked at the keys in fascination. Lucy giggled slightly, excited to see someone else as excited about her keys as she normally was. "Do- Do you mind if I take a look at them? I've never seen the keys in person."

Lucy hesitated for a moment, very possessive of her keys. In the last week, she had lost them three times. And Aquarius was sure to remind her of it each time she had been summoned. These keys were all she had left of her mother; the keys and just the memory of her. Yajima had warned her before she left Hargeon to be cautious, to not trust so easily. He warned her of great adversary's and enemies. He warned her of the journey her search would take her on.

But he also told her she would meet great allies and to rely on the support of her friends.

Levy seemed like someone she could trust. She seemed like an ally that could rely on in the future.

"Sure."

The blue haired girl smiled brightly and thanked her. She grabbed the keys off the bed and inspected them, muttering something under her breath that Lucy couldn't quite catch. She couldn't help but laugh at Levy's excitement.

The celestial mage continued to clean out her bag, shoving away her notebook back into her bag, stuffing her extra pairs of clothes into her closet and stuffing her extra shoes under her bed.

"So, you're a holder type of mage, right?" Levy questioned and Lucy nodded.

"That's right."

"We only have two other holder types of mages here on base. Cana and Loke. She uses cards while Loke uses a ring."

Lucy raised a brow. She hadn't met another holder type of mage. Everyone she had crossed path's by so far were all caster types. The blonde made a mental note to talk to both these resistance members later and inquire about their magical abilities.

"What type of magic do you use, Levy?" The blonde asked.

"Script magic! I sort of developed it myself!" Levy explained as she put the blonde's keys down and Lucy cocked her head in confusion. "It's nothing to sing home about but I materialize solid words and cast magic based off of the scripted word."

"For example-" Levy grabbed a red ink pen from her makeshift nightstand and wrote "light" in the air.

Suddenly, Lucy was blinded by a shining light.

The light disappeared moments later, and Lucy's mouth was agape.

"Wow! That was amazing, Levy! I've never seen anything like it!"

The blue haired woman rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oh, you're too sweet, Lucy. It's nothing crazy, nothing like Natsu's or Erza's magic, but it definitely gets the job done!"

That was the second time she had heard Erza's name now and it was evident that Levy knew Natsu since she had not only named him but had a photo with him on her wall.

"Anyway, I'm sure your starving and are wanting to get cleaned up! I can go ahead and give you the tour around!" Levy scuffled around the room, grabbing a change of clothes. Lucy looked down at herself and realized she didn't have a large variety of clothes she could change into.

"That would be great!" Lucy smiled, and grabbed what remained of her three alternating outfits. She pursed her lips, settling for her sleeveless, high collared shirt and blue skirt with her knee-high boots. Her hair would remain in its bun until after her shower, she decided.

Levy giggled. "Once you get settled, we can get you over to the civilian area and find you some clothes."

Lucy raised her brow, clearly confused by her statement.

"You really have no idea what you've brought yourself into, have you Lucy?"

Apparently not.

The blonde thought to herself. Levy smiled again and lead her through the long, corridor that would eventually lead them to their area of destination.

Lucy thought of Natsu as they continued their trek through the corridor. Betrayal shot through her as she remembered the shivering ice encompassing her body. Her entire body was frozen over, her mind turning black as the ice trapped her.

And the last look she saw was Natsu's guilty, onyx eyes.

The logical part of her understood why he didn't warn her ahead of time. It was definitely a standard protocol, putting a new member through interrogation. But she would be lying if she said she wasn't hurt by it. Lucy knew she was being childish, getting worked up over something neither she nor he had control over.

She did wonder when she would see him again. Based off the photos on Levy's wall, Lucy could obviously infer that they knew one another. So, she hoped it would be soon, especially if Lucy mentioned something to the blue-haired girl walking in front of her.

Levy seemed kind enough to reunite them.

But as they trekked into the unknown tunnels of the Resistance, Lucy couldn't help the ball of nerves in her stomach, knowing that both adventure and peril were near in her future.