Chapter 2

The fire never hit the tiny Exceed. Laxus used his magic to transport himself behind the Exceed and scooped her up right before being burned by the other Fire Mage, who shot another blast of fire right at her. The fire went straight for Natsu who had still standing behind where she used to be.

He consumed the fire hungrily with a satisfied smirk, and then released it in his Fire Dragon's Roar. The blast knocked out the first wave of Mage's the stormed the guild. Still, more Mages rushed in through the doors.

By now everyone had joined the fray. Both Exceeds and Mages alike, attacking the oncoming enemy.

Meanwhile, Lucy was shocked into silence, still mourning Loke, though he wasn't dead forever. Laxus was fiercely protecting the tiny bundle, still upset, in his arms. He continuously released his magic to shock the enemy, while dodging or taking every hit to make sure the Exceed remained unharmed.

Both Laxus and Natsu had been so distracted that neither paid attention to the Exceed's scent. If they had, they would have immediately recognized the fur ball to be none other than Lucy.

However, two other Dragon Slayers caught the blonde's scent right away when she first entered. At the moment, Gajeel and Wendy were the only two people in the guild who knew that the little yellow Exceed was Lucy, though it confused them how it could be possible.

The two Dragon Slayers feared for the blonde. She was in very capable hands, if anyone could protect her; it was the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Unfortunately though, this means she would be right in the center of the fighting. This put Wendy on edge, she knew Lucy was capable of taking care of herself, but she wasn't herself.

On the other hand, Gajeel was angered by the blonde Dragon Slayer's stupidity; he dared to put the Light of Fairy Tail in harm's way. Regardless of belief, he cared deeply for the Celestial Spirit Mage. After all, it was Lucy and Levy that first truly accepted him into the guild, despite his past transgressions as a Phantom Lord Mage. Though, they both had the most reason to resent him.

That was all the reason he needed to rush to Laxus' side. He needed to get Lucy away from the battle. He couldn't risk her getting hurt. Within seconds, he was by the other Dragon Slayer.

"Laxus, let me see the Exceed," Gajeel demanded urgently.

"What? No, I got this under control, Metal Head," Laxus growled back. He refused to relinquish his hold on the new Exceed. This was his chance to finally have one of his own. He would never let harm come to her and he would never let anyone take her away.

"Listen to me, Laxus. I will protect her," he enunciated carefully, trying to assuage the older Dragon. "I know you can protect her as well, but I want to get her away from the fighting. I won't let anything happen to her, I swear," he spoke with a serious sincerity he knew the other man could pick up on.

Laxus let out a frustrated growl before he begrudgingly handed the Exceed over to the Iron Dragon Slayer.

Without delay, knowing the guild was doing an outstanding job at crushing the attacking Mages, Gajeel took off with Lucy. He slipped out one of the guild's back entrances.

Wendy who hadn't taken her eyes of the yellow Exceed once, soon followed after the duo, Carla flying next to her.

She found the two had already greatly distanced themselves from the guild, as Gajeel had sprinted away. Wendy and Carla picked up their pace, lest they get left behind. She could always follow their scents, but she still felt uneasy about the whole situation and didn't want to lose sight of her blonde friend turned feline.

Eventually, Gajeel stopped in a park, allowing the other Dragon Slayer and white Exceed to catch up.

"So you know it's her too?" Gajeel grumbled out.

"Yeah, I'm surprised Natsu and Laxus didn't," Wendy replied softly. Carla just watched to two with interest, trying to understand the situation.

Silence only engulfed the area, neither knowing what else to do. Finally giving up on figuring out what the two Dragon Slayers meant, Carla began to speak, "What do you two mean? Who is she?" She asked, gesturing towards the yellow fur ball in Gajeel's muscled arms.

Before Gajeel or Wendy could answer her, Lucy finally decided to join the conversation. "Well, Carla, it's me, Lucy!" she revealed almost excitedly, a slight smile adorning her furry, little face.

Carla just stared wide-eyed at her fellow Exceed. She attempted to say something, anything, but the words were stuck in her throat. How? It's not possible. She couldn't quite understand if what she was seeing was actually in front of her.

Seeing her friend at a loss for words, Wendy asked the question on everyone's' mind, "How?" Everyone waited and listened intently for the small Mage's answer.

"You all know I was on a solo mission," she stated, everyone nodded. "Well," she paused, collecting her thoughts, "um, in my reward, I got this ancient book. When I stopped for a lunch break, I opened it. But when I opened it, I was blinded by a bright light, and well, I was an Exceed . . ." she trailed off with a nervous laugh.

"Is that even possible?" Carla asked in disbelief.

"Apparently so," Gajeel answered gruffly. "If I wasn't seeing it, I wouldn't believe it. But Bunny Girl is definitely an Exceed," he added.

"Gajeel, I don't think you can really call her Bunny Girl anymore," Wendy said nervously. "She's an Exceed now."

A deep, rumbling laugh left the older Slayer. "I guess you're right, unless . . ." Gajeel began thinking up ways to acquire a bunny costume that would fit an Exceed, an evil smirk on his face. Lucy's fur stood up on end at the face Gajeel was making.

She struggled in his arm, but his grip on her wasn't budging. Another booming laugh came from the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Nah, you'll always be my Bunny Girl, whether you're human or a cat, nothing will change that." His voice held pride.

"Aw, thanks. You're so sweet," Lucy grumbled up to her companion. He just gave another chuckle in response.

"Um, do you want to go back to your apartment?" Wendy asked.

"Actually, I want to go back to the guild. We should be helping them fight the other Mages!" Lucy replied with determination.

"No, I will not put you in danger," Gajeel growled. He could see she was about to argue so he kept talking before she could start. "I know you can take care of yourself, hell, you're strong, Bunny Girl. But I refuse to let you try to fight this battle as an Exceed. What are you going to do, scratch their eyes out?" He asked her rather rudely.

"Maybe I might just scratch yours out," she huffed, annoyed with his attitude.

The eldest of the bunch started chuckling at her childish behavior, unable to contain his amusement. He suddenly became serious. "I'd like to see you try, little kitty," his voice lowered to intimidate the tiny fur ball in his arms.

Lucy only glared back into his red eyes. "We need to help them," she growled to infuriating man.

"And I said no," Gajeel stated sternly. His eyes narrowed down at the Exceed, challenging her to fight him on this.

She just huffed angrily up at the Slayer. "I'm a Mage of Fairy Tail; I will not back down from a fight. There is no way I'm going to sit around doing nothing when our friends are fighting for our guild. And you," she used her paw to jam into his chest, "should be there helping as well. We need to help them, Gajeel, please?" she desperately asked.

Gajeel's expression softened, understanding her need to fight alongside their family. He just feared that something would happen to the little Exceed. He couldn't ever let anything happen to her. He promised himself to protect both Lucy and Levy when he joined this guild and he felt letting her fight was a bad decision. No, I can't. I'm sorry, Bunny Girl.

He strengthened his resolve, hardening his voice slightly to give himself more authority. "No, I can't put you in harm's way. It's for your own good."

He started walking in the direction of Lucy's home, Lucy struggling to get out of his grasp. He called over his shoulder to the younger Slayer and Exceed, "You two coming or not?"

"Gajeel," Wendy said softly. He stopped and turned to face her, his studded brow rising slightly in question. "I think we should go back to the guild," she stated nervously.

His eyes narrowed dangerously and let out a threatening growl. He had come to view the Sky Slayer as a younger sister and he felt betrayed for her not taking his side, especially because he knew she cared deeply for the Celestial Mage and would never want to put her in a situation she could potentially get hurt in.

Wendy only slightly flinched at Gajeel's sudden change in body language. She knew he would never hurt, but it just shocked her to see him react to her this way. He wasn't exactly the gentlest person towards her, but was significantly kinder than this.

She shook herself for courage before speaking up again, "Gajeel, I think it would be alright if we took her back. It . . ." she paused as he growled again, unsure if she should fight the older Slayer on this. I need to, for Lucy. She inhaled deeply, calming her nerves before continuing, "It will be alright, think about it. She has not only us, but the rest of Fairy Tail looking after her. No one will be able to get to her. She will be safe," she ended softly.

Again, Gajeel found himself hesitate and wanting to return to the guild. However, he still felt uneasy about bringing Lucy into such a dangerous place. She can't protect herself, not like this. I have to protect her.

He sighed deeply, "I can't, Wendy. I can't take that risk," he whispered. Guilt kept him from letting her return to the guild. He hurt her once, far more than some of their enemies, now he had to make up for that by doing everything in his power to protect her in this vulnerable state.

"But Pantherlily has no problem staying safe. Even Happy and Carla are fine, and they're Exceeds. We can protect her," her voice quivered, she knew she was fighting a losing battle, but she didn't want to let the person she looks up to like a sister down. Lucy has done so much for me and I can't even do this for her. Tears began to well up in her eyes at the hopeless feeling.

Gajeel froze, his eyes widening in shock. He hadn't meant to make Wendy cry, he just wanted to protect Lucy. He growled lightly in frustration, not sure how to deal with the situation.

"Please," Gajeel said brokenly. Lucy halted her persistent struggling as she heard the desperation in his voice. She immediately felt bad, never has she heard him sound like that. He just wants to keep me safe.

"Hey, Gajeel," Lucy softly spoke. "It's alright; we don't have to go to the guild." He relaxed greatly in relief. "Unfortunately though, we can't go to my house. I locked it up on when I went on my mission. Loke put my keys in my bag, which is still at the guild from where it had dropped when he was attacked."

"My place then?" he asked. Lucy nodded, feeling excited to see where her friend lives. After getting her confirmation, he looked over to Wendy. "Sound good to you?"

"Yeah," she said, still disappointed that she wasn't able to help Lucy.

"Alright, then let's go," he demanded. He strode off in the opposite direction to his home. He made sure to stay far away from where the guild was since he would have to pass it to get to his place from where they were.

Now I can keep her safe, he thought happily.


Author's Note: So yeah, sorry about taking so long. All mistakes are mine, sorry about them. Hopefully there isn't too many. This chapter pretty much was to establish the relationships of these characters. They are pretty chill with each other and are closer than in the anime. Also, I have no clue what I'm doing with this story...ideas and feedback will greatly appreciated. :)

Review Response:

booklover21567: I did...finally x)

Lucy x Dragneel: Aw, thank you very much! :)

kurahieiritr JIO: Yeah, that's why I wanted to write it. Something different, since I come across the same general stories again and again. Now if only I knew where I was going with this story...Anyways, you're welcome. :)

queenpragmatic: Dang, you got it, good job. Did I make it too obvious? I'll try to work on that. And sorry for making you try to contain your excitement for so long, this chapter isn't even that exciting... °~°

breeanna carita: Yay! And yeah...sorry for taking so long. But hey, I finally wrote more. x) Also, you need to watch Fairy Tail, it'll be easier to understand once you do.

Charstar1fun: I finally did, and thanks! :)

magician720: I'm tempted to ask you what the name of the other story is, but if it's incomplete and doesn't look like it's getting an update again, then I probably shouldn't. This story will be continued, just slowly, sorry... °~°