Hi guys!

Welcome back..ish.
I apologize for the delay. But like I promised back with my other story, that I will be uploading the next day. Which is today. Thank you to those who have reviewed my story. It really is a blessing. Right now, I'm at home by myself as everyone had left to go on a vacation to Fiji. But I have work so I had no choice but to stay back.
Enough of me, without further ado. I present to you the next chapter: Hand

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights goes to its respective owner, Hiro Mashima. A wonderful human blessed with this fantastic idea to create the most awesome anime.

"I said, stand back." The redhead stated with clear and sounding authority, not moving from her stance. Zeref only smiled at her before taking one step back. Lucy almost let out a breath of relief but decided to keep it together. Whatever the hell was going on, she needed to know. Quickly, the blonde rushed to Natsu and Wendy and assisted with helping them get into comfortable positions.

"I'm really sorry, Luce." The pinkette muttered underneath his breath. The entire situation around them was his fault. If only he had been more alert of their surroundings, or faster to pull her out of the building, he would have at least given them enough time to make a run for it. "This entire thing could have been avoided if only I had-" But a finger to his mouth cut him off.

"Stop it. I don't know what's going on, but right now, this is not the time and you're my only lead at figuring this whole thing out." Lucy replied, checking on Wendy's wounds.

"Why are you here, Titania?" Zeref said with a slight mock on his voice on the last word. The red-haired woman stood abruptly before slamming her spear into the ground.

"You will not lay a hand on the girl."

Zeref clocked his head to the side while still keeping a small smile. "And why not?"

"Lord Dragneel, your findings have proved nothing for the past 700 years. You are delusional over someone that is long gone for several years. Your claims about this girl being the one has no foundation for evidence. It's almost sad." Lucy watched as the black-haired teen stopped smiling. Whoever this red-haired woman was, she really didn't beat around the bush. In fact, Lucy found the entire statement brutally truthfully, even if she still hasn't gotten the gist of why this thing happened.

"I'm afraid I'll have to tell you to stand down, Erza Scarlet." Zeref eyed Laxus who nodded at the silent command. Instantly, Four thunder bolts aimed their electrifying attacks at the one named Erza. Lucy watched in horror as the redhead calmly reached an empty hand out and another spear appeared in her hand, the feel of the weapon tamed the thunder bolts which disappeared. Without batting an eyelash, Erza fixed her eyes on Zeref,

"Surely you haven't forgotten that I wield the Lightning Empress weapon."

Zeref looked unaffected by the deflection of the thunder bolts. "Of course not." A smile, "but surely you haven't forgotten about the shadows either." Suddenly, large spears was brought forth from the ground and they were as black as night. Lucy watched as the redhead named 'Erza' looked at the deathly weapons unfazed, in fact, her hand was outstretched once more, the lightning weapon in her hand vanished and light gathered to form another weapon.

"I'd appreciate if you didn't threaten my monarch, Lord Dragneel." A voice calmly stated. Coming from the side of the alleyway. A vortex was opened and a blue-haired man stepped out. Of course, Zeref turned his head slightly to acknowledge the new presence that had entered the surroundings.

"Not at all, Jellal. I just don't understand why they are protecting a mere human girl." Zeref replied, eyeing the blonde woman that was beside his brother and the blue-haired girl. Lucy turned to see the blue-haired guy sweep his hand across the air and the shadowy weapons immediately disappear and by the looks on his face, he didn't look convinced.

"I think you should go, Lord Dragneel. We don't want the higher ups to know that you've stepped into the human realm for," the blue haired locked eyes with Lucy, "...a mere human girl." Silence protruded the area but with a small smirk, Zeref and his brothers nodded and disappeared.
Lucy watched as 'Erza' and 'Jellal' turned and walked towards where she was rooted with Natsu and Wendy.

"There's no need to be afraid, we are here for you." Erza said with an assuring smile. Lucy turned to Natsu who nodded approvingly,

"Erza is a childhood friend of mine, you can trust her." Jellal swept his hands over the air twice and an object floated down into Lucy's palms.

"I believe this is yours?" Her phone.

Turning to the redhead, he reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I need to go back to the Council, can you handle things from this point?" The female nodded, and Jellal turned over to speak to Lucy,

"By the way, tell Michelle that her contract has been terminated, she can return home." And with those words said, he disappeared.

Wait.

What contract?

Her head started to hurt. Who the heck were those people? Why were they after her? Whats this thing with the Council? Her eyes darted to Natsu who looked at her worryingly. His mouth opened but nothing seemed to come out. Was he talking to her? The redhead also looked at her with that same worried look. Her mouth must've been saying something but no sound. She probably went deaf. A blue light emitted from her head as Wendy waved a hand over, also opening her mouth and saying something to Erza and Natsu. They nodded and the last thing Lucy remembered, was being gathered into Natsu's arms, Erza changing into civilian clothes and Wendy talking on the phone, looking as if she just walked out from shopping with no evidence of fighting.

What the heck was going on?

"Lucy?" The blonde opened her eyes slowly, almost cringing at the blaring light coming from the ceiling. What the heck happened to her? Slowly turning her head to the right, the blonde found her best friend crying with full tears at her bedside. She was lying back in her bed at the apartment. The wheels of her mind wasn't performing too well but she struggled to at least get something out.

"Michelle? What the heck are you doing in my apartment? I took your spare key last week." Lucy croaked in bed. Adjusting her posture until she sat up. Michelle tied her brown hair in a ponytail before reached over to grab a cool wet cloth and placing it on the blonde's forehead.

"Window." Lucy raised an eyebrow. Window? Damn her throat was hurting like hell.

"Sorry Lucy, we don't have much time." At that point, the blonde fully sat up, disregarding the brunette's protest. Her attention locked onto the shocked girl beside her. Quickly, the blonde teen threw back the sheets and searched frantically for her shoes. Michelle watched her best friend acting weirdly, nevertheless, she reached over and grasp the fallen cloth that lay on the side of the blonde.

"I didn't think you'd hurt your head too much but-" A finger was pointed accusingly as her.

"You. You owe me a good explanation. I don't know what the heck is going on around here, but I demand full explanation." The brunette had a confused look on her face. She didn't understand what her blonde best friend was talking about.

"Look Luigi, I don't know-"

"Cut the bullshit, Michelle." The blonde interrupted, "I know you're involved with Erza and Jellal." At the mention of the two names, the brunette looked away guiltily.

"How did I get home anyway? I don't even recall walking." Michelle looked at the door.

"Natsu, Erza and Wendy are downstairs in the living room waiting for you to wake up. They aren't going to say anything until you've woken up and then everything will be explained." Michelle replied. The blonde took note of the time. She had been out for the rest of the afternoon, it was going to seven in the evening. Michelle had silently waited for her best friend as she headed for the bathroom to refresh herself. After receiving a call at home from Wendy, the brunette had frantically grabbed her keys and dashed for her car, not even caring if she ran a few yellow and red lights.
The bathroom door snapped open, interrupting the silence from where Michelle waited beside the bed and with agonizing silence, the blonde changed into a shirt and shorts.
They made their way down, over to where the trio sat as Michelle stated. Erza seemed unfazed but a little guilty look was on her face. Natsu had the guiltiest face and Wendy only seemed worried about the blonde's state.

"I don't want any pity," Lucy started, "I just want the truth. Who are you people and why were those people after me?" There was a moment of silence before the redhead stood up to speak. Her eyes shifted slowly to meet the brown-eyed blonde.

"My name is Erza Scarlet. The other two, Natsu Dragneel, whom you already have been acquainted with, and Wendy Marvel." Erza paused, "We are obviously not from this world. In fact, we come from a place of magic. To put simply." Then she started walking towards the blonde.

"Those people, are Natsu's brothers. They come from the royal clan called the Dragneels. Of course, some came from sub-families of the Dragneel clan. But, there are still royal blood amongst them such as Natsu and Zeref, who hail from the eldest lineage of the Dragneel family."

"That makes no sense at all." Lucy eyed the redhead, "What has that got to do with me? I've never met them, any of them my entire life-"

"It's not really you that they want, as a person. Lucy-san." Wendy interrupted, she looked down shyly.

"Zeref wants you because you remind him of someone he used to love before the great war started in the magic realm." That sentence sent shivers down the blonde's spine. Natsu stood up abruptly and walked in front of her,

"You can't stay here anymore. You need to come with us." This got to the blonde. She glared at the pink-haired before poking her finger on his chest.

"And why should I believe everything you guys just said? How should I know that you're not part of this magical bullshit? Is this all a prank? Because congratulations, you all fooled me." Natsu grabbed her hand, anger and worry evident in his eyes.

"It's not a joke, Lucy!" He exclaimed, "I don't know what Zeref is planning but all I know is that he's after you. Earth won't be able to hide you. You need to come with us so we can protect you!" Erza walked up to Lucy and nodded as well,

"We are limited with magic when we are away from our homes. If you come with us, we can guarantee your safety. It's difficult here because if everything comes to force, innocent people will be killed."

"...Trust her, Lucy." Michelle added. Even though she still hadn't explained her purpose of this whole ordeal, Michelle felt that it would be more suitable if it was shown when they decided to go to the magic realm. Lucy eyed the occupants in her apartment. Not a single person looked unsure. If anything, she felt like the unsure one. Was it even possible that maybe this whole thing was a dream? She took a step back. A bit unsure. But she needed closure from the people who claimed about the dangers that surrounded her.

"Who are you and what is your magic and position? I can't trust you all if I don't even know you properly." Her brown eyes snapped at Michelle and Natsu, "And you two."

Erza nodded in acknowledgement. "As stated before, my name is Erza Scarlet, I use Requip magic, a spell that enables me to use any sort of armor and weapon in my inventory, of course. Wendy Marvel hails from her clan similar to Natsu. Her magic is dragon-slayer spells that commands the winds at her call."

"And I'm Natsu Dragneel, second son of the Dragneel Clan. I specialize in the dragon-slayer spells that commands fire." The pinkette said. Lucy couldn't believe it. It wasn't just long ago when she was schooling with this same goofball that was also crushing after her during their high school days. It wasn't just long ago when he was the newbie in school so because she was a nice person, she took him around and showed him the ropes. And yet, just standing in front of him, she felt safe.

"I think it's best if Michelle...told her magic when we get to the other side." Erza commented, sharing a look with the brunette. There was a moment of silence as the four magic-wielders awaited for the blonde to respond. She had been silent throughout their introduction. Slowly, the blonde raised her head and trained her eyes to the four people in the room.

"I guess we better get moving right?" She offered with a small smile. The rest of the rooms broke into determined grins and laughs.

"Glad you're onboard, Lucy." Erza smiled proudly. Before outstretching her hand and summoning another weapon as the blonde had not seen before. Nevertheless, this didn't stop her from awing at how the redhead swung her weapon, creating a bright vortex in the middle of her apartment.

"I'll see you on the other side!" Erza shouted, taking a step and disappearing in the roaring winds. Wendy followed after and Michelle also jumped too. Natsu turned to the blonde who stood still, she was taking in one last look with her apartment. He stretched out his hand towards her, indicating for her to take it.

"Come on, Lucy, I'll keep you safe." With the tears cornering in her eyes, the blonde slowly reached out and clasped his rough ones tightly.

"I've never doubted that."

Natsu grinned. "That's the spirit, Lucy!"

And together, they stepped into the vortex, vanishing into thin air.

Meanwhile, as the seconds of time continued turning, a hidden shadow stood in the upper corners of the apartment revealed itself. It dropped from the ceiling and reached over with hand to the area where the vortex once spun. She slowly unclasped the clothing that camouflaged her from the occupants that stood a few seconds ago. With a slight wave into the air, a spell opened where she stood and she wrote words into the circle with her fingertips. The tremendous energy from the spell circle instantly shut off the electricity in the entire area, affecting every building within 7000 radius of the apartment.
However, this didn't stop her from writing out certain symbols and words into the bright red magic circle. She had to get the message across to him.

Slowly, the magic circle pulsed with a need for identification. Without hesitating, the figure bit into her wrist, ignoring the pain that soared in her hand and held it over the circle. Without shadowed eyes, she looked deathly into the circle.

"Please send this to Lord Dragneel."

DUNNN DUNNN

Cliffhanger!

I absolutely despise cliffhangers when its on me. But I enjoy putting cliffhangers on other people, its fun.
Otherwise, I have schedule a time to start uploading every Wednesdays. Depending on my workload and school. A little background: I work as a junior economic analyst. So... yeah. With school, I'm studying chinese mandarin but I'm quite far from the asian threshold. Nevertheless, working and studying is time consuming but I'll never have it any other way.

Enough ranting.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as I did. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter.

Lots of love

B7K