And here, I present to you, Chapter 5 of Poisoned! Enjoy!

A huge thank you to CoSmO333, PeyPeyPeyton22, An Amber Pen, Guest, and MylifeisCANDY for reviewing! Thank you guys so much, your reviews made my day! And also to everyone who faved/followed this story, thank you for your support! You guys are awesome. :)

'What the - '

Immediately, Lucy's hands were raised above her head in a defensive position as a massive wooden table sailed towards her. 'Lend me thy strength, Taurus,' she mentally enchanted as light green orbs of magic traveled up her arms in seconds.

Crack!

Every pair of eyes in the guild turned to the source of the resounding noise of wood cracking against flesh. Many gasped as they took in the utterly destroyed wooden table lying in splinters in front of a lone figure; some blinked in disbelief and astonishment as they realized that the person who had so easily broken the heavy mahogany table with just their bare hands was, in fact, a petite blonde woman; and some others were screaming profanities along the lines of 'are you fucking insane, woman?'.

Lucy glared at her Guardian. 'I had it perfectly covered and you know it, Cobra!' she hissed, slightly embarrassed for being coddled by the maroon-haired mage in front of her dream guild.

(And yes, he coddles her. Very often, in fact, even if he doesn't admit it. 'Lu, drop that sword you'll hurt yourself!', 'Lucy Heartfilia, you let go of that boar right this instant!', 'You could have gotten hurt, ya little brat! What were you thinking strangling a Wyvern?', 'That whip isn't a tool, you moron!'...And other countless times. For the record, she never had serious injuries other than the usual bruised ribs and occasional broken bones.)

Cobra glared right back at the blonde mage. What was she thinking? She could have gotten hurt, or worse! No, what was he thinking when he agreed to join Fairy Tail with her? This guild was obviously, undoubtedly off-their-rockers insane. Screaming humans and demonic, well, demons and flying tables all in one day? Nope. Cobra was not ready for his Master to endure this...inhumane torture!

'Lucy, that table was flying at you at 89 miles an hour, and in an optimum position to severely fracture your skull. If you had activated Taurus' magic one millisecond too late, you would be lying in a bloody mess right now,' he ranted. Lucy rolled her eyes.

'Well, that didn't happen and I'm fine so stop-' she stiffened, swiveling around to face the guild members. She tilted her head and took a deep breath as her eyes roamed the guild hall before fixating on one spot on the second floor, right next to where a short, dwarf-like man was standing.

She walked forward, her eyes narrowed in suspicion and curiosity. A few skeptical mages blocked her path but she easily pushed past them, ignoring their shouts and threats, as she made her way to the stairs which led to the second floor.

Then she stopped.

'What's she doing?'

'Who the hell is she? Is she a Phantom?'

'Fuck, I knew those bastards would do something sneaky like this, fucking cowards they are.'

'There's someone,' she said, pointing her finger to the empty space beside the short man-child. 'Sitting on the banister of the stairs. Right there.'

All of the members visibly stiffened.

'How did you -' A white-haired beauty stepped forward, only to be stopped by Cobra, who growled at her in warning.

'Can you not feel her presence?' Lucy asked again, curiosity overtaking her as she went up the stairs to stand next to the spot she was pointing at. She touched the banister lightly and paused.

'Why, hello,' she heard a soft, feminine voice say.

Lucy stiffened for a moment, causing the snake guardian downstairs to tense as well, before relaxing. 'Hello, Miss Vermillion, pleasure to meet you,'

'Interesting,' Mavis said, turning her head to look at the newcomer. The petite ghost smiled before jumping down from the banister she was sitting on. 'It is not often visitors are able to sense my presence. You are a special one, dear child,'

The man beside her gaped at Lucy, his eyes wide open in surprise.

'Y-you can see her?' he questioned, his firm gaze locking onto Lucy's brown eyes.

Not breaking contact with the First Master, the blonde mage shook her head and said, 'No, I can't. But I can sense her. Her soul is a bit hazy, but her presence is strong. I can feel and hear her but I can't get a hold on her feelings. I suppose that's because you have her soul trapped somewhere else?'

Makarov as well as most of the guild members gasped while Mavis' smile grew wider. 'Truly gifted. This one is strong, Makarov. In more ways than one,' The ghost winked.

Lucy blushed at the praise, pleased to have her skills acknowledged by the great Fairy Tactician herself. 'Thank you, Miss Vermillion, it really is an honor to have spoken to you,'

Mavis grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, then turned to Makarov - who was still trying to recover from his shock - and said, 'Well, what are you standing there gaping like a fish? Give the girl her mark for Ishgar's sake!'

The said man coughed and gestured a hand towards his office. 'If you may,' he said to the mysterious blonde. 'Oh, and bring your partner here as well. I have much to say to you...without the presence of prying ears,'

Lucy nodded politely and sent a telepathic message to Cobra. The Guardian followed her into the office seconds after.

Once they were settled down, Makarov's face became serious. 'Who are you, exactly?' he asked, slightly wary of the newcomers. Cobra let out a sigh of exasperation while Lucy answered, 'I'm Lucy Heart -' She caught herself in time and let out a small cough to cover up her slip. 'Sorry, most people just call me Lucy,'

Makarov's eyes instantly narrowed. 'What did you say your last name was, child?'

A deep, resounding hiss was heard from the blonde's partner. But Lucy laid her hand on Cobra's and the hisses became softer. 'My last name is of no importance. I'm just a mage wanting to join your guild along with my best friend, Cobra,' Lucy finished, looking at Makarov with an unyielding, fearless gaze.

'Ha, remember who dragged my ass all the way up here, brat?' Cobra scoffed, causing Lucy's face to heat up in embarrassment. 'Oh shut up, Cobra!' She gritted out, a glare worthy of Erza was aimed at the said man, who only smirked in response.

Makarov smiled at the sight of the couple in front of him. They seemed normal enough...well, as far as the Fairy Tail standard of 'normal' goes. After all, there were already a bunch of people eavesdropping behind the closed door of the office, plus a few others who were screaming about betting money on the new arrivals. Yep, perfectly normal.

'-the one who got me killed by Aquarius!'

'Oh yeah? I remember telling you, repeatedly, that you had to focus more! And did you fucking listen? Nope!'

Makarov cleared his throat deliberately, gaining the attention of the bickering mages.

'Well, I suppose last names aren't really important, and the details about your magic and whatnot surely can wait till after the party,' The twin stares of surprise and confusion made him chuckle. Ah, these two would fit just right in. 'What? This is Fairy Tail after all, and we are known for our extravagant celebrations,' He grinned, eliciting a bright smile from the blonde and a subtle upward-twitch of her partner's lips. 'Now, where and what color?'

'Welcome to Fairy Tail!', greeted the previous fair-headed beauty as Lucy sat on the bar stool facing the kitchen. She tapped her fingers against the counter and smiled brightly albeit a little nervously at the gorgeous barmaid in front of her. 'Um, thanks?' she said, suddenly shy as she reminded herself that it was the Mirajane Strauss of Sorcerer Weekly talking to her. She was also acutely aware of the fact that Cobra had abandoned her in favor of the dark, gloomy corner of the guild hall, leaving her all alone to deal with her first conversation with one of the most famous mages in recent history.

Mirajane shot her a blinding smile, 'So, what's your name?' Lucy relaxed slightly and replied curtly, 'Lucy, and you?' She tried not to slam her head on the polished wooden counter. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Who doesn't know her? Okay, deep breaths, Lucy, calm down, she's just a mage like you. Yeah, a really, really pretty mage who used to be an S-Class Demon Take-Over Mage who could take down entire fucking buildings without breaking a sweat. Cobra, help!

The snide laughter from the corner of the building caused the blonde to clench her fists in order to stop herself from breaking the bastard's spine.

'-ello, Lucy? Lucy? Time to get back to Earthland,' Mirajane teased, causing the distracted blonde to flush in embarrassment once again.

'Oh, s-sorry,' she stuttered. 'You were saying?'

Mirajane giggled, 'I'm afraid you missed my wonderful introduction. Anyway, I'm Mirajane Strauss, part-time model of Sorcerer Weekly and resident barmaid of Fairy Tail, but you can call me Mira. Nice to meet you, Lucy!'

Lucy smiled, feeling a bit more comfortable with the gentle white-haired mage. 'It seems like all I've been saying today is 'nice to meet you too',' she joked, getting a bark of laughter from a brunette standing not far behind her.

'This one's interesting, eh, Mira?' The approaching brunette said, causing Lucy to jump as a huge barrel was slammed onto the wooden counter. 'I need a refill, by the way. And none of that fruity shit you gave me last time. Damn, that was nasty as fuck,'

Turning to Lucy, the voluptuous brunette grinned, 'Well, what's your name, hon? Betcha many of those bitches out there have been wanting your name since you first stepped foot into the guild,'

Lucy blinked, a bit taken aback by the brunette's straight-forward attitude. 'Lucy,' she said, hoping that the woman wouldn't pry for her last name. Thankfully, she didn't seem to take note of the blonde's nervousness.

'Cana Alberona. Card Mage of Fairy Tail,' Lucy smiled. A holder mage as well. Good. She could probably have a nice spar with this woman, judging by her magic reserves. However, something felt rather...off about Cana's soul. Being a Celestial Mage, Lucy was always in tune with spirits. And although she couldn't read souls as good as Cobra, she could sense people's presence from a certain distance and that itself was an accomplishment for her, considering how her strength relies much on her connection with spirits and realms.

(Celestial Magic is the strongest medium for spirits from other realms to pass through, exceeding other Holder Type magics, since a Celestial Mage had to not only power their spirits' attacks but also maintain the spirit's gate to Earthland during the duration of the fight. Unfortunately, this was also the reason why Celestial Mages - who actually have remarkable magic reserves - to be seen as weak, because most of their magical energy is being used by their spirits, thus leaving the mages vulnerable. Therefore, Mildean's spells were a ground-breaking invention as they provided Celestial Mages with the ability to protect themselves if they were left without their keys.)

'-ucy! Lulu! You in there?' Cana called out, snapping Lucy out of her thoughts. Lucy sighed, she can't believe she could still recite an entire paragraph from her mother's books on Celestial Magic after, what, six years? Giving the confused Card Mage a small smile as she stood up, she apologized, 'I'm sorry, but you'll have to excuse me for now. I'm afraid I have some business to attend to seeing how I have not secured a place to stay yet,'

She glanced discreetly at Cobra, who was already on his feet and moving towards the guild doors after hearing her. Lucy turned to look at Cana and Mira once more before bidding goodbye again. She didn't catch their amused smiles as she jogged to catch up with her spirit.

The moment the two of them were out of sight, the previously silent guild erupted into excited chatters and rumors about the new members were already flying around the hall.

'Those two are certainly mysterious, aren't they?', mused Cana as she downed another barrel of beer at the counter. 'That Lucy girl didn't even tell us much about herself before she hauled her ass after that yummy partner of hers,'

Mira giggled and continued to polish the already sparkling-clean glasses. 'She didn't seem to realize that the entire guild was eavesdropping on our conversation,' continued the brunette, somewhat conflicted about the blonde mage, before shaking her head and gulping down her drink. Mira inspected her glass she was polishing and said, 'I don't think so,' Cana glanced sideways at the barmaid skeptically. 'She seemed lively enough when she came in with that guy this morning, so what do you think made her so quiet and tense when it came to matters concerning her name and magic?'

Cana burst out laughing, causing Mira to pout. 'I think you're looking too much into it,' she said, wiping the tears that leaked from her eyes from her laughing fit. 'I also think you're jealous that Laxus was staring at Blondie a bit too long when she came in,' Cana piped, a sly smile growing on her face as she watched Mira turn red and splutter indignantly that she doesn't care what that lightning freak does.

'Chill, Mira, I think it's pretty obvious that she's already taken, what with the hisses coming from Mr Tall-Dark-and-Handsome,' Cana winked. 'You'd think he was jealous over something,' she drawled, a smirk on her face.

Mira unconsciously let out a sigh of relief - causing Cana to let out another bark of laughter - before changing the subject. 'Well, there's no doubt that they'll be in a big surprise when Natsu comes back from his mission with Happy,' the part-time model said.

'Yeah, I can already imagine what that buffoon's gonna yell when he's back,' the brunette said, an exasperated frown on her face as she pictured the reactions of the new members. If the maroon-haired hunk really was Lucy's significant other, things will not go down well when that idiot comes back.

As Cana grabbed her new barrel of beer from Mira, she noticed a small spark in Mira's eyes which hadn't been there before Lucy's arrival. 'Fuck,' she muttered. That's not good. That was Mira's 'Cupid Look', the look that promised months of love potions, hours of being stuck screaming in a closet and tons and tons of suffering. Romeo still had scars from his last 'play-date' and he was freaking four!

Cana sneaked another glance at Mira and confirmed her initial hypothesis. The matchmaking demon was ten seconds from asking poor Reedus to draw up dozens of elaborate pictures of Lucy with her partner, Natsu and every other decent-looking guy in the guild in the search of her new 'ship', whatever that meant.

Oh, how Cana prayed for Lucy's poor soul.

'Something's up with you,' Lucy whispered to Cobra, as she licked her strawberry ice cream. He ignored her, opting to watch the children who were playing hide-and-seek in the park. Fucking blind goblins. He's right behind that tree, you moronic twat!

'Cobra,' Lucy said, turning her head to look at her Guardian who was still studiously ignoring her. Lucy fumed, knowing very well that he could hear her. Then she deflated almost instantly, already guessing why he was mad at her. 'I know you're angry at me for forcing you to join Fairy Tail,' she began, her eyes downcast. 'And I know I wasn't being fair to you. I'm sorry for doing that,'

Cobra continued to look away from her. Lucy felt a painful tug at her heart.

'I'm really sorry, okay? I know it was wrong of me to treat you like that and I won't do that again. I promise! I just - really wanted to give you a chance at a real life; to show you what...' she hesitated, her voice suddenly melancholic. '...what a family feels like,'

'It's not you,' he growled. Lucy's head snapped up in surprise. 'Wha-'

Cobra's dark, amethyst eyes bore into her soul and she gasped as she felt his pain through their bond. 'C-Cobra - '

Lucy felt a chill run through her as she saw the conflict and anger in his beautiful eyes. He was telling the truth. He wasn't angry at her...no, he wasn't angry at all. So what was it -

'I felt her presence,' he said, his fist clenching and unclenching. His defined jaw was tense and Lucy gently laid her hand on his right knee, rubbing small circles to comfort him, just like she always did when he was on the verge of breaking down.

Cobra let out a shaky breath as he felt Lucy's warm, familiar fingers on his knee. He never knew what comfort and love was until he met Cubellious. So when she was taken away, he was reintroduced to pain and rage and hatred. He only needed to kill one more Master and he would have Cubellious and all his memories back. Once he was free of his 'duties' as a Guardian, he could find Cubellious and bring her back somehow. He was strong, he had no doubt he could do it. The Great Lion had done it twice, sacrificing himself for his beloved Ram, so why not him?

But Lucy came and suddenly he was reminded of how sweet, how nice, how good love felt. It was like Cubellious all over again. And he knew he could never hurt her, much less kill his Master. Now, looking into Lucy's brown eyes, he could feel her gravity pulling him towards her again. He remembered how close he was to falling, but he could feel himself pulling back.

A small anchor was holding him back. An anchor with beautiful, rich violet scales and emerald green eyes. If he was the King of Cobras in the Celestial Realm, she was his Queen of Vipers.

The name had been buried deep into the recesses of his soul, but today, he heard a whisper of her soul in his head when Lucy was talking to the barmaid. The smallest hint of her presence was there, residing in the memories of the white-haired mage.

'She was here,' he whispered to Lucy. 'Cubellious was here,'

Lucy's eyes widened and she gasped, a brilliant smile growing on her face. 'This is wonderful! Did you talk to her -'

'No, she's gone now,' he hissed, a spine-chilling sound that felt like the kiss of death.

'They took her away from me,'

Whoop whoop! There's the cliffhanger I've been wanting to put in this story since I started it! But don't worry, there's more. ;) So, how was it? Please leave a review to let me know. Reviews are love, and I can't get enough of them!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! *throws glitter*