Okay, so we're going to move along to the next arc (if you want to call it that?). I hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. If someone asks, tell them that I wish I did, but I don't… unfortunately…

Hey There… Ch. 13

"OW!" Lucy wailed as she swatted Natsu away from her. "What part of 'I'm injured' do you not understand?!"

"Uh, I forgot?" was Natsu's sheepish reply. Lucy rubbed her temples to prevent a full blown headache from forming and glared at her partner and good friend.

"Natsu, I know that it's been, wait how long has it been since I was awake last?" Lucy interrupted her own train of thoughts.

"You've been out for four days so you wouldn't have to endure the pain of the more extensive injuries being mended…" the pinkette trailed off and looked away from the blonde in the bed.

"Oh…" was Lucy's eloquent response.

"I'm sorry if I seemed too excited, but it doesn't suit you to be in a hospital bed unconscious… ya know?" Natsu said with an apologetic grin. Lucy sighed and ran a hand through her hair, instantly regretting her decision.

"Ugh, I need a shower…" Lucy grumbled to herself and rested her hands in front of her. "Do you know where Wendy or Porlyusica are so I can get the run down on what needs to happen from here?"

"Yeah, I'll go get them!" Natsu exclaimed almost too quickly as he stood and bolted out of the room.

"Lucy-san!" Wendy exclaimed as she glided into the room. "I'm so glad that you're awake! You had quite a few serious injuries when you came in…"

"Finally that brat is awake!" barked a pink haired woman as she marched into the room with a scowl. She glanced over Lucy with a critical eye that made the blonde shrink under her gaze. "I was beginning to think that my efforts in trying to heal you were going to waste."

"How bad were they?" Lucy said in a small voice.

"Well, they definitely weren't the worst I've seen, but if you had gotten to the guild any later than you did, you could've had some serious complications," Porlyusica grumbled as she came and checked on the various equipment around the bedridden blonde. "Eight broken ribs, four more bruised, broken right ulna, some blunt trauma to the head, and your left femur was snapped clean in two… It was a wonder that you were conscious when Natsu brought you in…" the old healer trailed off and stared openly at the blonde in contemplation.

"This isn't the first time I was severely injured," Lucy chuckled as she drew her face up in thought. "I guess it reminded me a lot of the last time and I was pumped full of adrenaline…"

*flashback*

Mama!

Mama!

You have to get up Mama! I don't know what's going on…

A seven year old Lucy came face to face with her mother's attacker. The way he grinned at her made her skin crawl and her stomach drop.

*end flashback*

"Well, whatever happened last time, your injuries this time aren't anything to sneeze at," the pink haired woman scoffed and unhooked the blonde from some of the machines. Lucy shook her head slowly to rid herself of that awful memory.

"Thank you so much for taking care of me!" Lucy said quickly to the older woman taking some final notes before freeing her from the last of the machines. "I'm sorry if I didn't sound grateful; it's just that I was reminded of some unpleasant memories…" The Porlyusica gave a hard stare to her patient before her face turned once more into a scowl.

"I've cleared you now so you're free to leave. You might feel a little sore for the next few days, but come back to the infirmary if you feel any actual pain. Now scram!" the crabby old woman barked and Lucy quickly obliged.

"I'm so glad to be back in my bed," Lucy sighed in relief as she flopped on it after she finished taking her shower and changing. Even though she had slept for the past four days, she felt absolutely exhausted.

"Hey Lucy, what happened to you before?" a curious Natsu asked as he poked his head in her bedroom window.

"Eeek!" the blonde squeaked as she promptly fell off the bed in fright.

"Sorry! I didn't think you'd be so jumpy!" Natsu quickly apologized and hopped in the window to pick Lucy up off the floor.

"What have I told you about sneaking up on me and entering my apartment without asking?" Lucy asked as she recovered, rubbing her temples once more.

"I really wanted to know what happened to you the last time… I accidentally overheard you talking to Porlyusica on my way out…"

"Oh. That…" Lucy trailed off with a grimace. "I'm not sure that you'd want to know… Oh wait! Where's Levy and the rest of team Shadow Gear? I have to go apologize to them!" Lucy started as she tried to get off the bed.

"They're fine Luce," Natsu said in a low tone as he prevented her from leaving the room. "I wanna know what happened to you." Lucy gulped as she propped herself up on the wall behind her bed. The gaze that Natsu's eyes were giving her showed an eerie calm that she was almost certain was false.

"Well, when I was little, my mother and I were attacked…" Lucy started off slowly and watched Natsu's face closely. "My family started off very poor. I didn't know it at the time, but my father started getting involved in some highly illegal activities in Fiore's underworld. Before I knew it, we moved into a humongous mansion with all kinds of servants and anything that you could possibly imagine. I was thrust into a high-class society who looked down on my family because of the speed in which we accumulated our wealth, and looking back, I can't say I blame them. Most of the circles that my father ran in were with families from old money and he was always working on some deal or another proposal."

Lucy sighed and looked out the window. "I was constantly under supervision and was raised to be an elegant lady to marry off to a rich tycoon to secure my father's wealth… What I didn't know was that the man that Father was grooming me for was the leader of the underground. When I was seven, Mama and I were travelling home from a business meeting separately from Father. Our car was attacked right when we entered our property and we were chased into one of the guard house residences on the border. Mama told me to run… and I did," Lucy stopped and took in a shaky breath.

"I ran into the house and hid in a closet. I heard the voice of a man and Mama arguing somewhere else in the house and I just closed my eyes and tried to make myself as small as possible. A little while later, I heard screaming and sounds of things being thrown and broken and then I heard a gunshot…" Lucy's voiced wavered and her knuckles turned white from the grip she was giving to her knees.

"What happened Luce?" Natsu asked in a quiet voice that brought Lucy out of her morbid train of thought.

"I… I ran out of the closet… towards the direction of the gunshot and I found Mama on the floor. She was covered in blood… Her eyes were closed… She was just so, so still. I crouched down next to her trying to wake her up…"

*flashback*

Mama!

Mama!

You have to get up Mama! I don't know what's going on…

"Oh how cute! The little brat came to check on her Mommy! Guess that saves me the trouble of finding her later," a man smirked to himself and walked over to a terrified little Lucy.

"What happened to Mama?" Lucy whimpered as she clutched at her mother's cold skin…

"The same thing that's going to happen to you after I get what I need. Hopefully, you can prolong your life by answering my questions. By the time your Daddy realizes what's going on, it'll be too late." The man pick Lucy up and threw her into a wall, winding her.

Why is this happening to me? I don't understand-

*end flashback*

"Luce! Lucy! C'mon, snap out of it!" Natsu yelled as he shook her out of her memories. When he saw that she was back in the present, the pinkette sighed in relief. "I was thinking for a second that I lost you. Are you okay? You're crying…"

"Yeah, I'm fine" Lucy quickly shook her head and gave a weak smile and as his last words sunk in, she brought up a hand to her cheek and realized it was wet from tears.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to; I think I get the gist of it…" Natsu said lowly and pushed a blonde lock of hair behind her ear.

"Thank you," Lucy whispered as she gazed into the pinkette's concerned onyx orbs. "I actually haven't told anyone about that… Thank you for listening."

"Any time," Natsu said softly and brought Lucy in for a hug. The pair sat like that for a while; Natsu holding Lucy as she cried silently into his shoulder.

After Natsu left Lucy to sleep, Lucy decided that it was a good idea to get something to eat since she hadn't eaten real food in four days. As she was getting settled on a barstool, she heard an angry uproar growing loader by the second behind her.

"You can't seriously take those guys in Gramps!"

"Oi Makarov! What're you trying to pull?"

"Is this some kind of joke?"

Lucy turned around in her chair to see a growing mass of Fairy Tail mages shouting and waving their fists up at the balcony, where Makarov, Gajeel, and a dreary woman in all blue stood.

"Calm down ya spoiled brats!" the guild master bellowed and the angry hoard quieted down considerably, although low grumbling could still be heard. "I don't care that they were part of Phantom Lord in the past. These two mages here came to me personally and apologized for their guild's and their own personal actions regarding us. They are mages just like the rest of us and want to do mage work for a living. Since Phantom Lord was disbanded, how do you think they will find work now? Would you rather them turn to a dark guild instead?"

The response to the latter question was sheepish and grudging. A lot of wizards looked at each other and shook their heads before they casted their glances elsewhere. Lucy looked at the two ex-Phantom members and noted that their expressions were grim and composed, as if they fully expected to be ridiculed and thrown out.

"Well I think it's better that they were here instead of somewhere else," a loud conclusion came from an unconcerned Natsu, picking at his nails on top of a table. All eyes shifted to him as he glanced up at the trio on the balcony. "I mean, we can watch them more closely if they are members of the guild right? They would also have to answer to us if anything went wrong. There were murmurs and grumbles of agreement and then all eyes shifted once more up to their guild master.

"Thank you for understanding. As of right now, these two are the newest members of Fairy Tail. Meet Gajeel and Juvia," Makarov said as he motioned towards the wizards on either side of him. "You don't have to forgive them right away, but I will not stand for any uncalled for cruelty towards them; they were just following the orders of their master after all." At his last comment, Gajeel and Juvia flinched and cast their eyes away from the onlooking crowd.

Shortly afterwards, everyone dispersed and the two mages descended down to get food to eat. They were shunned by most of the Fairy Tail members and sat at a corner table away from everyone else to eat in silence. Shaking her head, Lucy stood up and took her own food over to them. All conversation stopped in the guild hall as the fairies watched the blonde sit across from the two ex-Phantoms.

"Why're ya over here blondie?" the pierced man asked Lucy in a low tone as he carefully eyed the rest of the onlookers.

"I thought that you two might want someone to talk to regarding any other questions you might have. Although I'm also new here, I think that I should be able to answer most questions you have," Lucy said quietly and bit into her sandwich. Gajeel and Juvia stared at her in shock as Lucy calmly went about eating her meal.

"Juvia thanks Lucy-san very much," the water mage said as she bowed to Lucy. Gajeel just kept silent as he watched the blonde mage eat in confusion. As he started to open his mouth, the black haired male saw Natsu walk over to the table.

"I need to talk to you in private bolts for brains," the pinkette murmured lowly as he yanked Gajeel out of his chair and tugged him into a room behind the main hall. Brushing himself off after Natsu let go, Gajeel stared at the pinkette in suspicion.

"Whadda ya want pinkie?"

"Look at me," Natsu quietly commanded and Gajeel looked into a fiery gaze. "I'm not saying I forgive you for what you did, but I will allow you to be around to get back on your feet. If you EVER hurt any of my partner or any of my comrades again, I will end you."

Gajeel watched in silence as the fire wizard spun on his heel and strode out of the room. Damn, Gajeel thought to himself as he took his place at the table in the corner with Juvia and Lucy. I hope that Juvia doesn't get the same threat…

Number 13 down. So how's that for a Lucy Heartfilia backstory (or some of it)? Yay! Gajeel and Juvia are now officially fairies! I'm pretty sure I'm going to be all over the place when incorporating canon characters/bad guys into the story line, just so you know. I definitely realize it's not following the correct timeline, but I have a reason (I think…).

Shout outs to Animallover, Appledapple, MayleeLynn64, Cat, fanficlove2014, Alyss Hatter, Gokuu the Carrot, fanficaddict14, and ficlovernalufan for your awesome reviews! Alsom thank you anndark for your PM! You might not think much of it, but having someone think I should enter a contest for recognition is a serious complement to me! Thank you so much!

I hope to see everybody in the next chappie, so buh-bye for now! :D