Chapter 2: A New Quest Begins
Lucy lurched up from her bed, sweat beading on her forehead. She frantically looked around her. This was her room, she was in bed, nothing seemed different but…Why did it seem so real..?
"Hey Lucy!"
"Kyaaa!" she screeched, promptly falling off her bed in a face-plant.
"Natsu!" she shouted, rubbing her sore nose as a blue cat with white wings flew in through the window landing next to her.
"The way you fell off your bed was very uncool, Lucy." The blue cat said nonchalantly.
"Shut up Happy! Like there's a cool way to fall off a bed!" Lucy glared at them both. "And what did I tell you about coming in through the window? Use the door for once!"
The pink haired mage just sat on the windowsill, grinning broadly at the blonde key holder.
"But that's no fun Luce," he said happily "besides, we should do a job today! That last one we did didn't turn out so well…"
Lucy winced as she remembered the burnt remains of the town she and Natsu were supposed to be protecting.
"Aye…" Happy said, rubbing the back of his head. "We ended up owing them more money than the job was worth…"
" That's exactly why I shouldn't go with you two." Lucy growled. She was still annoyed at the pair for barging in as they did.
"Aw don't be like that, Luce."
Natsu bounded off the windowsill, landing right next to her and slung an arm around her shoulders. Lucy suddenly felt heat flood her cheeks as his face came within inches of her own.
"We make a great team!" Natsu grinned.
Lucy shifted uncomfortably under the weight of his arm, trying to hide the blush she knew was growing on her face.
"Yeah…I guess."
"Great! Now get ready and let's get going already before all the good jobs are gone." Natsu got up and walked out of her bedroom, Happy floating closely behind him.
Lucy sighed. She had noticed how the panic she felt earlier had abated the moment she saw his face, but there was still an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.
It…it felt so real. Who were those two? And Natsu…he's here right? So that means it can't have been real if he's here! But then, why do I have this feeling…?
As an image of Natsu's limp body flashed through her mind, Lucy shuddered violently.
No! She thought, shaking her head. He's here and alive! That's all th-
A large crash sounded from where Natsu and Happy just walked off too, interrupting her thoughts.
Silence followed for a few moments after.
"Natsu, I think you broke it." Happy's voice chimed.
"Me? But you were the one who picked it up!"
"Aye. But you got excited and tried to grab it."
Natsu made an exasperated noise somewhere between a gasp and a gargle.
"That's because you said it was cool!"
"No I didn't."
"Yeah you did! You were like 'Natsu, this looks cool!'"
"That's not a good reason for you to get all excited."
"So you admit you said it!" Natsu shouted, triumphantly.
"Nope."
Lucy's eyebrow twitched as she listened to the entire argument from her room, feeling the anger and irritation coming back.
They'll never change…she sighed inwardly as she got up to see what they had demolished this time.
Lucy walked briskly through Fairy Tail's double doors, Natsu and Happy trailing sluggishly behind her both supporting large, swollen red bumps on the side of their heads.
A raven haired man clad in only his boxers snickered at the sight of a defeated Natsu.
"You two pissed Lucy off again? Man, you never learn." Grey said, laughing.
"Eh? You say something pervert?" Natsu glared. "Try putting some clothes on, snowflake."
"What'd you say flame head?"
"You wanna go perverted popsicle?"
Fire and ice stared each other down, tempers flaring. They tensed ready to lunge at each other when a single voice rang out.
"Natsu! Grey!"
They both froze, fear slowly creeping onto their faces as they turned to see who had spoken.
A girl with scarlet hair wearing Heart Cruz armor was striding towards them, pulling a mountain of luggage behind her.
"You two quit your senseless fighting already!" Erza shouted. "We have a job to do!"
"Y-yes, ma'am!" Natsu and Grey said, simultaneously.
"About time…" Lucy sighed, eyes narrowing. "So Erza, what's this job about?"
"Do we get to beat up some troublemaker?" Natsu asked excitedly.
"If anything, you're the troublemaker Natsu." Lucy said pointedly, flashing him a quick glare.
The excitement left Natsu's face in an instant, replacing it was a small pout. Grey laughed at him behind Erza's back.
"Well," Erza stated. "Some ruins have been excavated near a town and it's thought to contain some really rare treasures or historical artifacts."
"Sounds like a pretty good deal." Grey said. "What's the problem?"
"The town keeps sending groups to investigate the ruins and bring back anything they find, but each group keeps disappearing."
Lucy's eyes widened in shock. "You mean the ruins are…are haunted?"
"It's hard to say…" Erza said, thoughtfully. "The only person to make it back was from the first group, but he has no memory of what happened to him or his group within the ruins."
"Maybe he ate a bad fish?" Happy nibbled on the fish in his hands.
"I doubt that would lead to memory loss!" Lucy snapped.
"You're so mean, Lucy…"
"Anyway," Erza said, cutting in. "Our job is to figure out who or what is behind all of this, put a stop to it, and rescue the missing townspeople from the ruins. It may not be haunted but I suspect powerful Dark Magic is at work here."
"You said 'who or what?'" Lucy asked, staring blankly at Erza.
"Mhm."
"Wh-what if it's a…" Lucy gulped. "G-g-ghost?"
"So we beat up the ghost." Natsu said.
"Like it's that easy!"
"Why not? I'll just burn it to a crisp!" Natsu smiled evilly, fire flickering at his fingertips.
Grey laughed. "It'll take more strategy than that, Natsu."
"Let's get going guys, we mustn't keep our client waiting." Erza started to walk outside the guild.
"ALLLRIIIGHT! I'm all fired up!" Natsu shouted as he ran after her. Lucy, Grey and Happy followed close behind.
A small man sat on top of the railing on the second floor, looking down at the group excitedly leaving for their mission, his face grim.
"Master Makarov, is everything alright? You look troubled." asked a young, beautiful girl with white hair.
"Hmm? Oh it's you, Mirajane…" replied Master Makarov. "No, no. Everything is fine."
"Master, I can tell when you're not telling the truth." Mirajane smiled. "Please tell me what is bothering you?"
Makarov sighed. "While I doubt these ruins are haunted," he grunted. "it still makes me uneasy. Those kids might be taking on much more than they expected."
"This is Natsu, Lucy, Erza and Grey we're talking about here. I'm sure they can handle anything that comes their way." Mirajane smiled reassuringly. "They are a great team. It's why you chose them in the fight against Oracion Seis, was it not?"
"That may be so, but I fear that this challenge will be far greater than the Oracion Seis."
Mirajane's eyes widened in shock.
"Master, what do you know about these ruins?"
"Let's just hope that I am just being a worried old fool." Makarov's eyes darkened. "If these ruins have any connection to what I think, we will all be in terrible danger."
"Aw! Do we have to take a train?" Natsu whined, already turning a slight shade of green.
"We can't there by foot. It'd take us days! Our client wants to see us tomorrow." Erza sighed in annoyance. Natsu's motion sickness can be more than troublesome.
Lucy giggled as Natsu's face turned a deeper shade of green.
"Don't get sick before we're even on the train!" Grey shouted.
"C'mon, let's get going." Erza said. "We don't want to be late."
Erza strode into the train as the rest of the group followed. They found a small isolated compartment in the middle of the train and took their seats. Natsu trailed far behind them, wobbling towards the compartment. He plopped in the chair beside Lucy and let his head fall back against the window heavily.
Lucy sighed. "Do you really have to get like this every time you're on transportation?"
"Ugh…uhh…hrmf!" was Natsu's reply, his face turning pale as the train started to move.
"I guess it can't be helped…"
They sat in silence for a while, each member consumed with their own thoughts. The train hit a bump and Natsu flew forward, his head falling onto Lucy's lap.
"Natsu! What are y-?" Lucy stopped as she saw his face contort in pain as the train hit another bump. Her hand quickly flew to his forehead. "Natsu are you ok?"
The instant Lucy's hand touched his forehead, Natsu seemed to relax. Lucy smiled warmly as Natsu let out a sigh of relief as she began to softly run her fingers through his unkempt, rose-colored hair.
He looks like he's feeling a little better. Lucy giggled as Natsu shifted his head so that it was completely on her lap. When he accomplished this, he sighed again and a content smile spread on his face.
He's so cute like this… Lucy felt a small blush creep onto her cheeks as she continued to stroke Natsu's hair. She was completely unaware of everything around her but the pink-haired mage in her lap.
Erza raised an eyebrow as she watched this unfold, curiosity growing within her. She had never seen Natsu act this on any sort of transportation, but here he looked as if nothing was bothering him. Erza glanced at Lucy's blushing face, then at Natsu's content smile then back at Lucy. A small smile began to tug at her lips.
Well, this is interesting… The train jolted to a stop, pulling Erza out of her thoughts. She took note that Natsu hadn't reacted at all to the sudden movement of the train.
"We're here guys. Let's go meet with our client." Erza said. Lucy snapped back to reality when she heard Erza's voice. She quickly stood up, letting Natsu's face slam against the wooden floor.
"Oww! Lucy! What was that for?"
"Ahh sorry!" Lucy called nervously as she quickly followed Erza and Grey off the train.
"What's with you?" Natsu asked as he followed her shakily. "You're all red."
"It's nothing!" Lucy said shrilly, quickly turning away from him as she felt her blush deepen. She sped up to catch up to Grey and Erza.
Natsu turned to Happy, looking bewildered. "Lucy's acting pretty weird."
"Aye."
An hour later, they stood in front of a fountain in the middle of the town.
"He's late!" Erza growled.
"Relax, he probably got caught up with something. He'll get here eventually." Grey waived his hand dismissively.
"But still, Erza's got a point. It's been an hour already and I want to get this job over with." Lucy mumbled.
"Please excuse me being late."
They all turned toward the voice to see an old man hobble to them.
"I had fallen down the stairs and couldn't get up for a while. My name is Fermon. I take it you are the mages from Fairy Tail?" the old man said.
"Yes we are," Erza said. "I think we have enough information for the mission. You want us to find and exterminate what is causing these disappearances and, if possible, rescue the missing town people?"
"That is correct." Fermon nodded. "But that can wait until morning. We will not send you out to these cursed ruins at night."
Lucy blinked. She hadn't even noticed the sun was already setting. Erza nodded in agreement.
"Yes, it would be unwise to face whatever may be lurking in those ruins in the dead of night."
The way she said that sent shivers down Lucy's spine.
"We have your rooms ready for you. In the morning when you are all well rested, you can venture into the ruins."
They all nodded in agreement, eager for some rest.
Far above the unsuspecting heroes, a large furry foot stomped on the edge of a cliff. A tall dark figure loomed over the town and smiled, bearing sharp white fangs.
"Ahh, so the Master was right after all. The Fairies have taken the bait. Looks like the fun can finally begin."
A deep laughter rumbled from his throat as the sun finally set, cloaking the town in darkness.
Chapter 2 up and running! Hope you guys like it.
I'm working to get chapter three up as soon as possible.
Please read and review!