Thanks for the support, guys! You make this so rewarding ^^

Zero0o0zero – thank you! :3 Gajeel is so awesome, right? :D

Aikoyu Saotome – I'm really glad you have such a good opinion about this story! :D I really do appreciate your input as a Beta-reader, it gives me the confidence to put out my work with the assurance that it's at the level it should be X3 and thanks so much! That you think I'm good means a lot to me ^^

And without further ado, here's chapter two! (Excuse the random rhyme, that was completely unintentional X3)

2. Best of You (Foo Fighters)

I've got another confession to make

I'm your fool

Everyone's got their chains to break

Holding you

Were you born to resist, or be abused?

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

I needed somewhere to hang my head without your noose

You gave me something that I didn't have, but had no use

I was too weak to give in, too strong to lose

My heart is under arrest again, but I break loose

My head is giving me life or death, but I can't choose

I swear I'll never give in, I refuse

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

Has someone taken your faith?

It's real, the pain you feel

Your trust, you must confess

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

Has someone taken your faith?

It's real, the pain you feel

The life, the love, you've got to heal

The hope, the starts, the broken hearts

Your trust, you must confess

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

I've got another confession, my friend

I'm no fool

I'm getting tired of starting again somewhere new

Were you born the resist, or be abused?

I swear I'll never give in, I refuse

After nine months of near isolation living with the mage in that cabin in the countryside, Shock was more than a little intimidated by the sheer number of people that roamed the streets of Magnolia.

Peasants, hawkers, stall owners, merchants, wealthy businessmen, young children…all of them flooded the cobbled streets in a vibrant, pulsing crowd of people. And they certainly were a noisy bunch, too.

Shock frowned, pulling her long coat tighter around her body, effectively hiding her charms from view. The last thing she wanted was some street urchin taking an interest in them, even though she had cast protective spells over them before she entered the city. She swallowed nervously. The loud noise level reminded her all too vividly of the battlefields she had been forced to fight on during her conscription. Except instead of the screams of her comrades and the boom of cannon fire, there was the hollering of the merchants advertising their wares and the rattle of wooden carts over the bumpy cobblestones.

Shock had to force herself to take a deep breath and relax. This wasn't a battlefield. It was a city. A perfectly normal…city.

She pursed her lips in concentration, searching for any sign of the road that would take her to Fairy Tail. The city was so vast - she didn't have a clue where she was going. Shock spun n a little circle, scanning the street markers for any clue to which direction to go.

Her attention was drawn to a pair of people pushing their way through the bustling street. Or, more accurately, one person pushing and shoving through while dragging another more hesitant person behind him. Shock wasn't sure, but it was possible that the one in front was making more of a noise than the entire crowd combined.

He had the most oddly coloured hair – sort of a pale shade of pink – and a silver scarf wrapped around his neck despite the intense summer heat. He dragged a large-bosomed blonde woman behind him, who was seemingly as lost in the bustling city streets as Shock was. Then something else caught the Charm mage's eye – the guild stamp on the man's upper arm.

It was the guild stamp of Fairy Tail.

Shock's mouth set itself in a determined line as she pushed through the dense crowds after the noisy pair. This was her chance to find the guild – she couldn't afford to lose them now.

It was tough work following them, that was for sure – the pink-haired mage literally blasted through the crowd, leaving scores of dazed citizens in his wake. Shock felt sorry for the woman he was towing behind him – she looked ready to drop dead from the embarrassment of it all.

Eventually, she managed to tail the pair all the way to a large wooden building near the centre of the city. The pink-haired man barged inside, and even from her position across the street, Shock could hear the obnoxiously loud, "WE'RE BACK!" that followed.

She took a moment to assess the guild she now stood before. Months of hoping and dreaming, and finally she was here. She stood dwarfed in the building's large shadow, slightly intimidated by the sheer size of the establishment. Her eyes eventually came to land on the wooden beam supporting the entrance of the building. The guild's name and emblem was proudly emblazoned on the well-worn wood.

Shock smiled before gingerly pushing the front door open and stepping inside.

She was greeted by a scene of complete and utter chaos.

Chairs and tables were thrown around the room, glasses smashed over heads and fists connecting with various other body parts. There barely seemed to be any people in the room who weren't involved in the gigantic brawl. In the centre of it were the pink-haired man she had followed earlier, and another black-haired man of around the same age. Shock was slightly taken aback by the black-haired mage's blatant lack of clothing. She leaned a little to the left as a beer tumbler came flying at her head, letting it smash harmlessly against the door. And yet, when Shock looked closer, everyone seemed to be…smiling.

The entire fight seemed to be like a friendly brawl with a sibling…the entire place reminded Shock of a family.

"Shock! Shock, is that you?" the Charm mage was suddenly alerted to another presence hurtling towards her from the side. In less than a second, the bubbling ball of energy that was Levy McGarden slammed into her.

Shock grinned and returned her old friend's near-suffocating hug. "Levy! I'm so glad to see you!"

"It's been years!" the blue-haired solid-script mage exclaimed, releasing Shock and holding her at an arm's length to get a good look at her. "Where have you been?"

Shock smiled ruefully and shook her head. "It's a long story."

Levy's grin settled into an understanding smile as she nodded. "One I'm sure you'll tell me in due course. What are you doing here, of all places?"

Shock sighed, smiling as she looked around the noisy guild hall. "I came looking to start a new life here. Think you can help?"

Levy's grin returned. "You bet!" she paused, looking at the chaotic fight still raging around them. Levy rolled her eyes and took Shock's wrist.

"You'll have to excuse them, this is a regular occurrence," she explained as she led Shock around the outskirts of the room. "They're like a bunch of little kids sometimes."

Shock just laughed. An odd sensation filtered into her heart, something akin to contentment. Well, as close to contentment as she had ever come.

Maybe this place would be the family she never had.

…

About an hour or two later, Shock had been introduced to most of the Fairy Tail mages - after the brawl had been firmly silenced by Erza and Master Makarov, of course. Levy had explained to her that the pink and black-haired mages who had been fighting earlier were long-time rivals, but were much closer to best friends than either of them would be willing to admit. The obnoxiously loud one was called Natsu, and he was a flame mage trained in the magic of Dragonslayer. That piqued Shock's curiosity quite a bit – the old mage had told her that that kind of magic had been long extinct, along with the dragons that had developed it.

The black-haired boy was Grey Fullbuster, an ice mage. Shock could understand why he and Natsu were fighting all the time – fire and ice didn't exactly mix very well. Though Levy had tried to explain it, she still couldn't figure out why he had an odd habit of stripping his clothes at any given time.

Erza Scarlet was like the law-enforcer of the guild. Everyone was scared of her, especially Grey and Natsu. Shock only had to take one look at her glare and threatening suits of armor, and she was inclined to agree with them.

The blonde girl Shock had first seen Natsu with was Lucy. Levy spoke very highly of her, saying how she was an aspiring author and the like. Shock had chuckled. Levy liked everyone who loved books as much as she did. Shock was pleasantly surprised to find out that Lucy hadn't joined much longer before she had – it comforted her that she wasn't the only newbie around with much to learn.

Now Shock sat at one of the recently replaced picnic tables in the guild's bar with Levy and a few of the other mages – among them were the solid-script mage's team mates, Jet and Droy. Shock found it quite amusing how both of them seemed head over heels for Levy and she just completely ignored their advances.

The Charm mage absent-mindedly rubbed her lower back – over the spot where she had just received her guild stamp. She seemed to be re-assuring herself that it was actually there – that she had made it to her goal after all and it wasn't just some antagonizing dream. She would finally be able to stop running. She could finally start rebuilding the shattered shards of her life and move forward. She had found Levy. Levy would help.

Shock listened to the group that surrounded her as she sat at the table. Erza, Grey, Natsu, Lucy, Jet, Droy and another new member Levy had introduced as Juvia had all been trying their best to make her feel at home. Shock let a small smile curve her lips as she watched them laugh, shout, argue and smile together. This is what it should have always been like. A family.

But, as much as they had tried, they just couldn't seem to draw Shock into their conversations. She would answer their direct questions with one-word replies and nods or shakes of her head, but nothing more. Shock bowed her head and sighed ruefully. After all those years in the camp, not being able to interact with her fellow inmates, she still wasn't used to having the attention of so many new people. As much as she wanted to fit in, she just couldn't find it in herself to let those walls she had held so firmly in place to protect herself drop even a fraction.

She wanted to be part of their family, she really did. But right now…she just didn't feel strong enough. In time, Shock was sure she would be able to adjust, get stronger, let go of her demons. But now…it was too soon, too much.

Leaving the others to what seemed like quite an involved conversation, Shock let her gaze wander around the large guild hall. She took in the warm wooden furniture and counters, the thick beams supporting the pitched roof overhead, the notice board at the other end of the room displaying all the jobs the guild had been requested for. The room was basically empty because of the sheer number of mages who had gone out to complete the jobs on the notice board.

She let her eyes trail over the polished table, still astounded as to how different this place was from the camp. Nothing here was dirty, the people were nothing close to hostile, there were no guards. There was no cold.

But as soon as the thought entered her head, Shock's gaze landed on a dark figure hunched over one of the table further down the room. One look at the mage's face told her that, even here, there were people as cold as the permanent ice from the conscription camp.

Long, mane-like hair, dark clothes, metal studs along his eyebrows, chin and on either side of his nose…but his eyes – one look at those eyes, and Shock was left with a sense of confusion she hadn't felt in a long time.

The stranger's eyes were so cold – Shock could feel a chill creeping up her spine by just glancing at them. He glared around the room while tearing into what looked and sounded like a tin can, his entire body radiating hostility. But when Shock looked at his eyes, all she saw was…weariness. Maybe even a hint of loneliness. It just didn't add up – this guild…everyone she had met was so open, so welcoming, and yet there sat one of their fellow mages, completely isolated and alone. It didn't make sense to her.

Levy, noticing her friend's distraction, hadn't been paying much attention to the argument raging at their table. She watched Shock look around the room, chuckling at the wonder in her eyes. It made Levy think about what terrible thing could have happened that had made Shock such a reclusive creature, so different to the outspoken girl she had once been.

Levy followed Shock's line of sight as it travelled around the room, and eventually came to rest on Gajeel, who sat a few tables away. Levy sighed. The ex-Phantom Lord mage still refused to interact with anyone in the guild, especially after the incident with Laxus…

Shock was slightly startled when Levy's petite hand rested on her shoulder. Prying her eyes away from the human ice block a few tables away, she transferred her questioning gaze to Levy's smiling face.

"That's Gajeel, in case you were wondering," Levy explained, motioning her head towards the black-haired man. She was careful not to raise her voice too loud so the others wouldn't hear – they were still a little…unreceptive to the new mage.

Shock looked back at Gajeel, who had by now managed to polish off three more tin cans and seemed as irritated as ever. She glanced at Levy again. "Why's he all alone when there are so many friendly people in this guild?"

Levy smiled ruefully, something Shock didn't miss. She had seen her fair share of rueful smiles in the past ten years. Shock raised an eyebrow, prompting Levy to explain.

The solid-script mage sighed. "Gajeel used to be a mage for a guild called Phantom Lord. He did some...undesirable things against this guild." Levy frowned, looking between Shock and Gajeel. "We don't know why he joined, but since he has, he's tried his best to redeem himself for past wrongs. But the people here aren't so forgiving for some of the things he did."

A contemplative expression settled onto Shock's face as she returned her gaze to Gajeel. "What sort of things?"

Levy's tone was very hesitant when she answered. "Things best not discussed at hostile tables."

Shock nodded. She knew Levy would tell her later. Her eyes didn't stray from Gajeel for a while, though. Everyone has their scars; things about their pasts they would rather keep hidden.

And she was determined to find out what they were.