"What magic do you use, Wendy?" Natsu asked, his eyes glimmering with a certain fire in them. "Let me guess, Water Magic?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm a Sky Dragon Slayer."
Natsu's jaw dropped and he gapped at her along with the rest of the guild minus Lucy and Master Makarov. Lucy smiled at her little friend. "The story's the same as you, Natsu. Now our guild has two first generation and one second."
Wendy's eyes grew wide. "You're a dragon slayer, too?"
Natsu smiled. "Yep. I'm the Fire Dragon Slayer." As proof, his hands lit up in flames. "But Lucy, we have three first generation. Gajeel's the Iron Dragon Slayer.
It was Lucy's turn to be shocked, though she didn't show it. "Is his story the same?"
Natsu nodded. "Three dragons all disappeared on the same day of the same month of the same year. Ah! This is too much."
Lucy giggled. "It's fine. I was just thinking that's all." Absentmindedly, her hand landed on her keys. She held a specific key to be exact, a clear one.
"Lucy-nee, when did you pick up that one?" Wendy pointed at her keys, excitement in her eyes.
"Oh, this is a Glass Key. I thought it was a knock-off when I first saw it. But it's real. Want to see him?" Lucy smiled. She held the key out in front of her. "Open, Gate of the Hunter, Orion!"
In a puff of golden light, a man dressed in old fashioned hunters gear. He had a bow over his shoulder and a quiver of arrows on his back and a hunting knife attached to his hip. He put a fist over his heart and bowed. "Good marrow, Princess."
She blushed. "Good marrow, Orion." She smiled. "I'd like you to meet my guild."
"I see. Good marrow, Fairy Tail. Princess has made a contract with me. I am one of eight Glass Keys. I look forward to fighting with you. I will take my leave, Princess. Fare thee well. And let the winds guide you."
"Fare thee well, Orion." She waved as he shimmered gold and dissipated into the air. Master Makarov walked over to his granddaughter.
He was shocked that she had found a Glass Key. "Where did you find this? I've heard the stories, but to think they actually exist."
She blushed again. "Yeah, he came to me. He said that the keys will begin to start looking for me. It was a little nerve wracking to see a guy like him approach you with a blank face."
"How's your luck finding Leo?" Makarov asked.
"No dice. Aries said that I'll never be able to find him. But I want him to be with her. She's always crying over him. I don't want her to cry anymore." She looked her grandfather in the eyes. "I won't give up. He needs to be back home with the rest of the Zodiac."
Makarov nodded at his grandchild. "I would expect nothing less of you."
The rest of the day was spent celebrating her return home, making new friends with Wendy and the bringing back of Laxus. Cana was drinking, Gray was stripping, Natsu was fighting, Erza was eating cake, and Laxus, Lucy, and Wendy were at the bar surrounded by other guild members asking about their travels. Yet, Lucy's eyes never remained on the people she was talking to. She was glancing at the doors almost constantly until she heard her brother lean over to her.
"You feel it, too, huh?" Laxus whispered.
She nodded. "Whatever it is, it's big."
Almost as though time had stopped altogether, the presence made itself known, knocking the doors into the wall they were attached to. In the doorway stood a hooded figure whom the Dreyars knew all too well.
Lucy clutched her older brother's arm in fear. The man suddenly bolted towards the siblings. Lucy snapped out of her paralyzed state and unsheathed her katana barely able to block the sword swung in her direction.
"Ryker! What do you want!?" Lucy growled at the man.
"Same thing as last time, Luce. I want you." He karate chopped her in the neck knocking her out swiftly. "He wants her." And with those words before anyone could stop him. He vanished, taking Lucy with him.
Laxus let out a Dragon's roar in his anger. He started to charge for the door only to be stopped by Makarov's giant hand. "No Laxus. We must be smart about this. You can't go charging after him without a plan."
"That bastard has my sister!" Laxus roared at his grandfather.
"I'm aware of that. But she is also capable of taking care of herself." Makarov paused. "I will set teams to search for her. Erza, Gray Natsu, Happy. Go look within Magnolia. He hasn't gotten far yet. I can still sense him. Laxus, Freed, Evergreen and Bixlow. You start searching the forests. Macao, Wakaba, Elfman, head for the station. Go. Now!"
The said people bolted out of the guild hall in search of the celestial mage. Mira was sniffing quietly with Levy and Laki rubbing her back gently.
"M-master?"
Makarov looked at the young sky dragon slayer standing next to him. "Yes, child?"
"Lucy-nee is in horrible trouble, isn't she? I can sense her fear even though she's unconscious. She's very scared. Ryker is the man that hurt Lucy-nee, right?" Wendy sniffled. "He's the reason she doesn't want to find love and happiness, right? He's the one who caused her to always carry that sword with her!" the young girl clenched her fists tightly. "I'll find him and tear him apart." She yelled before charging out of the guild doors to begin her self-given quest, leaving the guild staring wide-eyed at her fading figure.
She ran passed a certain Iron Eater as he walked into the hall. He looked at the little girl running away. He walked into the hall already with a scowl on his face. "Where is Star Heart?" He growled. He couldn't sense her anywhere within Magnolia. Only a distance away. "She already taking a job?"
When no one answered him, panic began to set in. He darted out of guild hall and followed the invisible trail of Lucy's magic. He ran into the forest narrowly avoiding trees and high roots. He felt a burning ache in his chest. This was a new kind of pain to him. It was like he was scared, worried for her. Like he needed to be there next to her. He put his strange feelings aside and pushed himself to go faster. He slowed when he heard the voice of a man.
"Oh, Lucy, your father wants you home with him. Isn't that how you always dreamed it would be?"
Gajeel silently went closer until they came into his line of vision. He forced himself not to growl at the sight of seeing his guild mate tied to a tree. There was a man looming over her, a feral grin on his face. She had tears in her eyes and looked far from the strong girl he had met earlier that morning.
"Your daddy wants you home, Luce." He said in such a condescending tone. "And you don't even look happy about it."
"Why would I? He sent you to come get me. If he wanted me home, he should have come got me himself."
"My, my. Still so bitter about that. I believe I apologized, didn't I?" He sneered.
"I don't care, Ryker. I'll hate you for the rest of my days. Just hurry up and untie me, Gajeel."
The man blinked at her, not understanding her words. Gajeel, however, obeyed and launched himself out of the bushes he was hiding in and swiftly knocking Ryker into unconsciousness. He untied Lucy as she rubbed the rope burn and pain from her wrists. She still had tears in her eyes, but refused to cry. Sh grabbed her katana from Ryker's body and searched his pockets for her keys. Once she found them she bowed to Gajeel.
"Thank-you, Redfox-san, er, Gajeel."
He looked at her, a soft smiled playing on his lips. "Anytime, Princess."
She smiled faintly. She unsheathed her katana and placed it by Ryker's neck. "My message to you father. She raised her arm, ready to bring her blade through his neck. Gajeel caught her blade with his gray, scaly armor.
"Star Heart, are you sure you want to do that? You'd be taking his life."
"Shut up!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. "You have no idea what he's done to me! Made me live my life in regret! My father's no better! He's better off dying!" She tried to swing her blade again, when he put his hand on top of the one she had on the handle.
"Listen, Princess. I'll do it. It'll only eat away at you. Turn around. You shouldn't see this." He looked into her eyes. She glared back at him before reluctantly turning around. Gajeel raised the sword and brought it down. "You die today." This sword hit the body, making a horrible choking sound as blood seeped from the slit in his throat.
Lucy let out a loud cry of anguish and pain. Gajeel whipped around looking at the powerful S-Class wizard on her knees balling her eyes out in front of him. He was stunned, to say the least. He expected her to be like Laxus, in a way. Unable to shed tears. She was vulnerable right now. And strangely enough, it filled Gajeel with an unimaginable amount of rage to see her cry like this. He stabbed the ground with her katana and knelt next to her, gently patting her back. He clung onto his shirt, soaking it in the process. They had stayed like that for a while, breaking apart moments before Freed, Evergreen, Bixlow, and Laxus came running into the clearing.
"Lucy!" Laxus yelled, crashing into his beloved sister. She had stopped crying at this point. She smiled.
"I guess you're still saving me over and over again, huh, Laxus-nii?" She gave him a small smile.
"I have to protect my little sister, that's the reason I created our team, remember?"
Evergreen had joined the hug, leaving Bixlow, Freed, and Gajeel standing awkwardly together. The silence between them didn't last very long.
"Thank-you for saving her, Gajeel. That man is disgusting." Freed stated.
"Who is he?" Gajeel asked quietly.
"We can't give you the full story, but he is Ryker Myst. He used to be part of the Raijinshu." Bixlow answered. "He was very close to Lucy."
"He hurt her, then?"
"Yeah. He took something away from her she can never get back."
Gajeel looked wide-eyed at them. "He didn't."
"He raped her."