A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for deciding to keep up with the sequel! I'm glad the shipping of Knightwalker/Lucy isn't dead yet! (And hopefully it never has to be!)

Here's chapter 2. It's a bit shorter than the prologue, however I didn't want it to feel too dragged out. I hope you enjoy!

X791 - Two days after the Great Banquet

They'd finally made it back home. After all the hardships and pain, they managed through it all in one piece. It was time to let go and relax. So that's what everyone did. They drank, they sung, they danced, they bickered. Everything was well once again and they wanted to make the most of it. Who could really blame them?

However, a certain blonde mage was unable to crack even a single smile throughout the guild's ruckus. She'd taken a table at the corner and though everyone knew what was going on in her mind, they didn't dare approach her as they had no idea how to help her with her problem no matter how much they wanted to. They all felt a tad useless. Lucy was family and they couldn't figure out how to help her. One mage however decided that her friend needed comforting. Walking over to the younger girl, Erza Scarlet sat down next to her at the table.

"Lucy, what's going on?" She inquired gently. She had a gut feeling it had something to do with Knightwalker, but she just wanted to be certain of it.

The blonde merely stared at the wooden table, not wanting to vocalize. She knew that if she started speaking, she would more than likely end up crying. That would ruin everyone's mood and given everything they had been through only a few days ago, she didn't want that. Understanding her friend's reservation, Erza draped an arm over her shoulder and brought her to rest on her chest. Lucy let out a quiet smile at this, having remembered Erza's common habit of wanting people to be smothered by her chest out of love.

To Lucy, it had only been a little while since she'd last seen Knightwalker. But in reality, seven years had passed. Seven years since their final goodbye. Seven years since her promise to come back as soon as possible. Erza had been planning to cook for her the day she would've come back. It would have been a first. The scarlet haired woman had dedicated long hours of her time to practicing cooking. It had been an adorable gesture, one Lucy was proud of. She had gone through the accidentally burnt pasta, the partially raw chicken, the exploding pork. When Erza had felt that she was nearing cooking perfect however, she'd stopped Lucy from taste testing. She'd decided that it would happen when Lucy came back from the S-Class test. But Lucy never got the chance to taste her lover's cooking. All because of Acnologia. It seemed as though lately, he was constantly the cause of their troubles and she was beginning to get sick of it.

"You smell like her," the blonde let out quietly into Erza's chest. The latter simply looked down at the resting girl. She had a feeling the celestial mage wasn't done speaking.

"I thought I'd see her during the Grand Magic Games. But, she wasn't there was she?" She brought her head up, looking at her friend with wide eyes as though sudden realization had hit her, "Erza! What if..W-what if she was in Crocus during the tournament? What if something happened to her! What if she...What if she's..." Lucy couldn't finish her sentence.

Erza remained silent for quite some time. If what Lucy had just implied was garbage, then she would have said so. However, it was a clear possibility. She didn't want to vocalize it. She didn't want to tell Lucy that there was a chance that Erza Knightwalker was in fact dead. She was supposed to be her friend. She was supposed to give her hope, have her believe. But even she had lost hope during the dragon attack. Who was she to lie to her friend?

"I think Macao might know a bit more about what went on when we weren't here," Erza finally spoke as she noticed the man walking their way.

Erza Knightwalker had been on Lucy's mind since the moment her time was unfrozen. But there was so much happening at the same time, that she wasn't able to ask many questions about the woman's whereabouts. She'd visited Erza's little house however it felt as though it had been abandoned for quite some time. She couldn't find a single hint of her whereabouts and had no idea where to even start looking. So Scarlet might have had a point. Maybe she should've asked Macao to begin with.

"Lucy," the older man nodded as she fixed herself to look at him. "A lot's happened these last few days, and you guys went missing for three months right after you got back from Tenroujima, so we didn't really have a chance to talk."

She wiped her eyes a bit, not wanting to start crying.

"About Erza..."

When she looked at him sternly, he noticed that he had her full attention. Every word he was about to say would be engraved into her. "A month after you guys went missing, she came to me and asked to join the guild." This had Erza's eyes widen while Lucy simply smiled. Her lover had kept her promise and had made a decision. "I accepted her. She said she wanted to return the favor by doing jobs and helping the guild stand. She was clear in her intent. When you returned, she wanted you to come back to what you had left, and maybe something even better. We all know how that turned out though."

Lucy sighed. Macao continued.

"For quite some time, she opened herself up and befriended Romeo. She said that he reminded her of herself when she was just a young child. She was very protective of him, that much was certain. However, a year after your disappearance, she decided to leave."

"What do you mean by leave?" Erza inquired.

"She wanted to go look for you guys. She said that she'd understand it if I didn't want her to be a member of the guild anymore, but I made it clear that she was family. That she'd always be part of Fairy Tail. Though after she left, I didn't hear a single word from her. This was six years ago."

Looking at Lucy, he knew this wasn't what she wanted to hear. But he had nothing more to give her. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head, trying to stop her tears. "It's alright. Thank you." Even if there wasn't any hints in what he said of her whereabouts, the fact that Erza had become a Fairy Tail mage put Lucy slightly at ease. She hadn't wanted to vocalize how much she was against Erza joining the army but she was grateful she didn't have to. Fairy Tail was her family the moment she set foot on Earthland, and Lucy only hoped her lover realized it.

"Oi, Lucy! Why you cryin'?!" The voice of a troublemaker was heard behind her as he draped his arm around her shoulder.

"Natsu?"

Grinning like a fool, he pointed to his nose, "What are we waiting for? Let's go sniff out the scary knight lady!" Dragon slayers had a keen sense of smell. Natsu in fact could have been able to locate Erza! It was a chance Lucy was willing to take. Nodding to him, she got up. She wasn't sure why she hadn't thought of it before. They'd go to Erza's hut and find a clue. Any clue! It was her duty as Erza Knightwalker's lover to find out what happened to her.

A single second was all it took for Natsu to break Lucy's heart. There wasn't a single human scent in the place. All that he could smell was nature. The trees, the water, the animals and...something else. Something not quite human and not quite animal. He couldn't even get a single whiff of Erza's scent. He concluded that she hadn't been here in quite some time. But someone else certainly had, given Lucy's expression.

"Lucy? Did you find something?"

She turned towards him holding her necklace. "I...I thought I'd lost this. Erza had given it to me back in Edolas as a birthday present," she responded, clutching it tightly to her chest. "But it wasn't here when I came to find her last time..."

"That's strange. Do you think she came back and left it here?"

"But why would she do that?" Happy tilted his head in confusion.

"Iunno, maybe it's some weird message only Lucy can understand," the fire mage shrugged.

Before Lucy could say anything, Natsu's face contorted strangely. "Natsu?"

"Shh."

"Eh?"

"We're being watched." The scent was the same one that was vaguely present in the room, and they had clear killer intent. "They don't seem too friendly. Lucy, I'll distract them, you and Happy head back to the guild, got it?"

"Natsu, wh-"

"No questions!" His eyes flared up. He was serious and he was pissed. The killer intent wasn't directed towards him, but towards Lucy. Whoever this person was, they wanted her dead, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let that happen. Not after his promise to Knightwalker.

"Natsu, please wait," the knight called out to him before he got on the ship. Turning around he walked towards her.

"What's up? You wanna tag along in the end? You know, you're going to need a mark for that right?" He grinned, aware that Erza would catch on. He couldn't help it. He really wanted her in Fairy Tail.

She shook her head. "No. But, I know this is a sort of competition in your guild. And you're going to be teamed up with Happy while Lucy's going to be with Cana, but..."

She wasn't sure how to ask without seeming like a worrywart or weakling unable to take care of her own lover. However, thankfully for her, though Natsu could be stupid at times, he caught on. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he smiled his bright smile.

"Don't worry. I'll protect her, I promise. And hey, we'll be back in no time. So be patient, alright?"

She was going to mellow out and might have considered hugging him if it weren't for the fact that he pat her head as he said that. He was rewarded with a death glare and a punch to the face, causing him to fly onto the ship as she let out a large huff and puff.

"I made a promise Lucy. I'm not about to go back on it now. Go back to the guild." It wasn't a suggestion, it was an order. On any other occasion, she'd have chastised him for thinking so lowly of her, but when she felt their enemy's killer intent, she knew they were in real trouble.

"You better be careful, Natsu!" She exclaimed as Happy grabbed her and they exited the house through the window to fly back to the guild as quickly as possible.

Punching his fists together, he roared, "COME OUT YOU BASTARD!"

And so they did. It was a figure wearing a black hood, some of their long white hair flowing out. When they lifted their head up, all Natsu could do was stare. Those red eyes were so mesmerizingly terrifying, yet so so familiar.

"Y-you..." However, before he could utter anything else, the hooded person moved in the blink of an eye, connecting their palm to his chin, causing him to be thrown back, knocked unconscious.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Happy, faster!"

"Aye s-"

"HAPPY!"

They were almost at the guild. She could see its roof. Only a few seconds longer and they'd have reached it. However, just as she'd prompted him to fly faster, a large spear had made its way towards them, causing the exceed to drop Lucy from her height. Out of some ungodly miracle however, she survived her fall, surprisingly landing on some hay placed near the guild.

She let out the breath she was holding. She'd survived! As she was about to get up and dust herself however, the figure Natsu had spoken of stood in front of her.

"W-why are you here? Where is Natsu?!" She crawled away from the dangerous person as best she could. Strangely enough, said wizard didn't make any motion to move. That's when Lucy realized it. The weapon they were holding was all too familiar. Her eyes widened. What did this mean? She needed answer.

"Why?! Why do you have the Ten Commandments in your hand?! That doesn't belong to you!"

The hooded figure snickered, "How could you know it doesn't belong to me, if you don't even know who I am?"

If Lucy had even an ounce of feeling that this woman might have been Erza, she felt she was sorely mistaken. The voice wasn't the same. The way they carried themselves wasn't the same. This woman was not Erza Knightwalker! Of that...Of that...Was she so sure? The woman had white hair from what she could tell. But that was all. Would Lucy even be able to recognize Erza after 7 years? How much would she have changed?

"Then tell me, who are you? I can introduce myself too!" She needed to buy some time until Natsu got back. And she needed to figure out why this person had her lover's weapon with her.

"I have no reason to introduce myself to cattle. I'm simply here to get some work done. Honestly, failing my last mission didn't bode well with the mistress. She can be such a pain to please when she gives unrealistic jobs to complete. This however? Killing a celestial mage? I don't think it gets easier than this."

She took a single step closer. "But you know, if I fail this mission, the mistress will be incredibly angry. And I really don't feel like dealing with another round of her punishment sessions. So, you'll have to die and that will in turn," only two other words were heard as the stranger attacked the mage, "save me."

Her eyes closed shut as she held onto the necklace her lover had given her, "Erza!" She yelled out. It took all of one second. The hooded figure hesitated for a single second. That single second was enough for her to be pushed back by an explosion caused by the tip of what Lucy could only describe as the Explosion Spear.

Looking up at her saviour, the blonde wasn't sure how to feel. They were hooded as well, in black, however she noticed scarlet hair under the gown. As the spear in the new mage's hand reverted to its regular self, her enemy snarled in confusion.

"Why do you have that?! Answer me!"

"Because it's my weapon. A weapon given to me by my father."

Lucy put her hands over her mouth, her eyes incredibly wide. It was different. It was rougher, but she knew that voice. She knew it!

"You don't deserve to have it in your hands," the familiar voice let out with disgust.

"Lucy! Lucy!" It was Natsu. He'd finally woken up and was running towards them at maddening speed. "That woman!" He said pointing towards the one with white hair. "It's-" however, before he could finish, the scarlet haired figure looked to him through her hood with a glare. "...Er...za?"

His eyes widened as he fell to his knees in utter confusion. What the hell was going on?!

A/N: That's the end of chapter 2. I hope you enjoyed and will stick around for more! R&R is greatly appreciated. Until next time!