Previously...

"I-is that...?" I asked Dani and Michael, who both nodded in astonishment.

"Pen-san..." June said as she slowly turned to me. "What's going on?"

"Y-you'll find out soon enough..." I said. "It's not scary, though. Promise."

"Promise?" She asked.

"Yeah!" I said. Now, the rest of us stared randomly at the screen, waiting for a new group of Fairy Tail characters to show up. I guess keeping it a secret from June was a major fail.

Chapter 19:

Detective Ash Lyre

.~ … ~.

MY P.O.V.

"No way! Seriously?" June gasped in shock. The-screen-glowing-representing-the-end-of-the-wor ld aside, I've informed her that the cosplayers she invited in their library/living area are the real Fairy Tail and Sabertooth members. Of course I asked them beforehand while on the way here, so there was no need to ask them again. Even though this is the first time we met, this is also the last time she'll live an ordinary life, so I might as well give her sufficient info on the things that were going to change. That, and I wasn't going to get away with an excuse like her laptop was malfunctioning. No one touched it except her, and no one knew the condition of the laptop except her.

"T-then," She continued, pointing to a certain Iron Dragon Slayer. "That's the real Gajeel, right?" I looked at her with a raised eyebrow for a moment, then took a glance at Gajeel, who just shrugged, then back to June. I nodded at her, making the latter smile in excitement. But just before she could do anything, the screen's light grew brighter, and we had to avert our eyes before it temporarily blinds us. The lights scattered across the room and blocked us from figuring out who the next group of Fairy Tail members would be. It lasted for about a minute or so, and finally, the the light faded and died out completely, leaving the laptop screen black and empty.

I blinked out the little rays of light within my vision and quickly scoured the area near the laptop. Usually after that, there would be Fairy Tail characters would be lying on the floor. But this time, there was...

"Nothing...?" I asked in disbelief. Quickly, my question was followed by the voices of everyone either gasping or gawking at the lack of unconcsious people on the floor.

"Wait..." Dani said, looking at the laptop. "That was it? Where are the Fairy Tail members? Lamia Scale? Blue Pegasus? Anyone?!"

"This is certainly strange..." Erza muttered, walking towards the laptop. Just as she tried to touch the keyboard, we were in for the biggest surprise of Erza's life. We heard a sudden shriek from above us, and before anyone could look to see what it was, a large number of people crashed on the scarlet-haired mage. A cloud of dust formed from where the crash landed, making us cough and temporarily losing our vision again. There was something familiar with that voice, but I forgot where I heard it.

"It smells like alcohol..." Natsu whined.

"You're right," June said. "I don't recall having alcohol near the library. In fact, drinks with heavy alcohol are not allowed here..."

"Like, seriously?!" A voice inside the dust cloud yelled. That was the same voice everyone heard before a pile of figures landed on Erza. I wonder if she's okay. More importantly, the dust cloud was clearing up, and I gasped in surprise at the people I saw.

On top of a slightly annoyed Erza were, Evergreen, Bickslow, Freed, Laxus, and on top of them all, sitting cross-legged and wearing a shocked expression, was the guild's resident card user, Cana.

"Cana-san!" Wendy exclaimed with glee. She looked really happy finding other members were here now. I'm feeling a bit of that Fairy Tail feel right now, seeing them all rowdy, smiling, and shouting at their friends if they were all right.

"No shouting in the library, please." Mira said in a stern voice. Everyone quieted down a bit, to which Mira nodded to. She then went towards the group, where Cana was staring down at a cowering June.

"Welcome, Cana..." Mira chimed. Immediately, the brunette steered her eyes towards Mira, and a smiled filled her face.

"Mira-chan!" She exclaimed. She got off the Raijin Tribe and Erza, and ran to hug the white-haired mage. "We've been looking for you! Oh, and I see everyone's here as well! This is great! We finally found you guys! We finally... found you..."

With her arms draped around Mira, Cana slowly brought her knees to the ground and began to sob loudly. Mira knelt with her and hugged her as tightly as she could as well. Her blue eyes were shining with tears she's trying to hold back.

"We missed you, too..." She said, soothing her back with her hand as the brunette's shoulders shook.

"E-everyone... at the guild... has been worried sick about you!" Cana exclaimed. "Why didn't you bother... coming back?!"

"It's not that we didn't want to come back," Lucy interjected, kneeling beside the two of them. "We just couldn't find a way to get back yet. We all missed the guild so much. We miss everyone in Fiore, as well."

"I wouldn't mind going back to the guild, as well..." Rogue muttered. "It has been a while since I saw it."

"Fro thinks so, too..." His frog/cat companion agreed. I stood by watching them agree to their statements, saying how much they miss their guild and how much they wanted to return. Laxus and the others were already standing and conversing with Natsu and the others, with Natsu challenging Laxus to a fight again despite Gray and Happy's warnings. They really seem like a rowdy bunch, and I still love them for it.

But, there's something that's been bothering me all this time, and I can't shake the feeling in my chest. Just by looking at them, I'm feeling something, but I don't lnow what it was.

'It would be nice if they stayed, but...' I looked down, and saw that my hands were slightly balled and shaking a little. 'I don't know what to think anymore...'

"Pen-san...?" June asked, making me turn to her.

"Y-yes?" I chuckled awkwardly. "Is there something you're confused about or anything?" Hearing that, she shook her head and smiled.

"I was just wondering if all of you wanted to stay here for dinner..."

"DINNER?" Natsu asked. "Man, this girl's great! Free food!"

"Natsu, that's not a very nice way of saying things." Lucy reprimanded. "It's Pen-san's decision whether we stay or not, right Erza?"

"That's right." She said. "We have yet to gain any valuable knowledge regarding this world, so we shouldn't do anything too hasty."

"But staying over here for food isn't a hasty act, is it?" Sting asked, holding his stomach. "I mean, I am getting pretty hungry..."

"Then you don't eat." I said in a malicious voice. "Everyone can stay as long as Sting doesn't eat!" Before anyone could answer, I added, "Just kidding!" Everyone then laughed as they saw Sting's suddenly panicked face sigh into a bit of relief before growling at me.

"D-damn kid! That wasn't funny!" He growled. I looked at him with a blank expression, humming to myself for a few moments. "W-what?" I continued to stare silently, and then, I covered my ears and waltzed around the library.

"What the hell are you doing, you little-"

"Ahh! Ahh! I can't hear you!" I said, interrupting the blonde's insults. I ran and skidded to a stop in front of Natsu and Laxus. "Natsu, you guys can stay and eat. It'd be rude for us to decline June-san's kind invitation! And Laxus-san," I turned to the giant. Seriously, he's even taller than me. "Have Dani-san and Michael-san explain the situation here, I'll be right back."

"Eh?" Lisanna asked as the others cheered for free food and Erza and Mira quieted them down. "You're not eating with us?"

"It's not that," I said, waving my hand. "I just want to get some fresh air. After all, running around the mall all day wasn't the best use of our time." I hinted a jab at Sting, and the others just laughed it off.

"Very well," Juvia declared. "We shall stay here and eat. Juvia can get some alone time with-! Kyaaa!" She was blusing and holding her cheeks, and steered her body to look at Gray. But the stripper prince wasn't where he was earlier. And when Juvia looked again, he was seen being dragged by Dani to the far side of the library. She glanced at Juvia a bit, then smiled devilishly, trying to copy that stupid black and white bear we saw from another anime, then returned to conversing with Gray, who looked uninterested in their conversation.

"Give me back my Gray-sama!" The water woman exclaimed. As she ran to Gray and Dani, Mira tapped me on the shoulder and gave me a cup of tea.

"You should drink some first," she said. "It'll give you some energy."

"O-okay," I said, graciously taking the cup from her hand. "Thank you, Mira-san." The white-haired mage smiled and nodded, then went back to the kitchen stationary to see if there was anything for them to serve to all of them. Michael was filling Freed and Cana in on the situation while the others remained seated, talking to each other. I downed the tea in one giant gulp, regretting the bitter aftertaste, and setting the cup down on the cupboard near me.

"Well, I'll be off!" I said. "I'll be back before 8 pm, on the dot. So if I don't come back by then..."

"We celebrate?" Sting mused with a cup in hand.

"No," I argued. "That just means I don't have my own sense of time~"

"Be careful, though, Pen-san..." June said, holding with her shaking hands a tray full of teacups. "T-they say there's a homicidal maniac recently wandering the streets, looking for easy victims at night."

"Don't worry about it," I said, crossing my arms near my chest. "I'm perfectly capable of handling myself in dangerous situations. It's what I get from watching anime and reading manga!"

"I-I see..." June chuckled a little. "Well, dinner won't be starting until 8, though. So please, feel free to wander around the neighborhood and be back by that time. If you don't, we might get worried..."

"I told you it'll be fine!" I assured them with a hearty laugh. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." With that being said, I went out of the library and headed down the opposite way to where the mall was. The other side of this place was an urban neighborhood, filled with apartments and shops. There were dark alleys everywhere and tons of trash in said alley; a perfect place for a homicidal maniac to come wandering around. Well, I guess I should still be careful, I wouldn't want anyone worrying about me, anyway.

.~ … ~.

I explored the inner workings of this town, window shopping and sometimes buying some cheap souvenirs from the stores. I got a bookmark with a cute stuffed toy tied to it, and some of those fancy elastic used to tie necklaces together. I figured I would make some for the others since I haven't done anything for them actively. All I did was let them stay in our house, which wasn't really a voluntary action. They could have stayed if they wanted, and they could've found someplace else if they didn't, so this will be my way of repaying them. I went to another store down the street, entering a store with an eerie feeling. There was something off about this store, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Anyway, enough about that, I need to see if there's anything I can use to make Fairy Tail necklaces. The shop owner was a tall person, presumably in his late fifties since he was balding and had gray hair. He was on the other side of the counter, seated neatly on his red sofa as he read the evening newspaper. He had his feet up on the counter, which was really odd considering he should be experiencing back pain by now. Either way, it's not my problem.

"Hello, good evening." I said coming near the counter. The old man groaned in question as he brought his wrinkly face away from the newspaper and brought his eyes to mine. He had the typical wavy mustache any cliched old man would have, and it suits him very well. He was also wearing a pair of thick-rimmed glasses, making it hard to see his eyes from where I was standing.

"Oh, why hello there." He said in a gruffy old man voice. Very typical. "I don't think I've ever gotten a customer at this hour. Usually, everyone's at home by now eating dinner." The old man gave a hearty laugh as he said this. "Now, what can I get for you, laddie?"

"Yeah, um... Do you have anything that can be used as a pendant for a necklace?" I asked. "I'm planning to make a necklace for my friends, you see..."

"Ah, I see..." He frowned, a little disappointment in his tone. "Alas, young lad, I don't have anything you are looking for. All I have here are antiques, and no one in the city seems interested in this kind of stuff anymore... I think I have to close this old shop soon..." He sighed tiredly as he brought his feet to the ground, standing up and getting out of the counter. "It's closing time, anyway, so please be careful on the way out."

"O-oh..." I muttered, feeling a bit sad that I mentioned something I shouldn't have. I should buy something from his store to make him feel better, but as to what, I still have to look for something. I scoured the contents of the antique store, trying to find something that could catch my interest. And there, by the stack of old books, lies a small, dusty pocketwacth. I don't know how it got my attention, but I was instantly drawn to it when my eyes landed on it.

"Hey, mister..." I called. "Is this for sale?" Bringing the pocketwacth to his range of vision, he walked closer to me and examined the item.

"Yes, it is." He said. "It's an old pocketwatch from a rich family in the 18th century. It was said to be cursed, and anyone who owned it would have bad luck wherever they go. But as you can see, that doesn't seem to be true for me, 'cause I'm still alive!" He gave another heart-warming laughter from his statement, and I laughed with him. I swear, if you listened closely, you could mistake him for someone younger than him.

"That's great, then! Because I'd like to buy this watch, please." I said, getting my wallet from my pocket. As I did, the old man brought his hand in front of me and sighed.

"No, laddie." He said. "No one's ever bought anything from this shop, and it's pretty useless trying to keep it up and running. But you're the first person whose ever spent this much time in this place, and is actually willing enough to buy something. You've made this old man smile..." He then used that hand to get the pocketwatch, and used the other one to make my hand hold on to the watch.

"I want you to keep this, as a sign of our friendship." He said. "And if you're ever in any deep danger because of it, I'd like you to think of me, and I would do my very best to try and help you with these brittle bones!" Once again, he gave a hearty laughter, and that made my heart a little lighter.

With a bow, I said, "T-thank you so much, mister! I'll be taking good care of this! Don't you worry, I'll keep it safe no matter what!" I returned the eager grin he had with a gracious smile of my own. It feels really nice to able to help like this. It feels really rewarding, if I do say so myself. We stood there for a few minutes, me admiring the new watch I got, and him admiring the look of gratitude I had. Then, he looked at the old grandfather clock just beside the door.

"Oh dear, it's closing time!" He exclaimed. "Sorry, laddie, but I have to close up now. I'm really glad to have this visit. Please do come again."

"Oh, okay." I answered. "Please be careful out there, mister. I heard there was a homicidal maniac wandering around..."

"Don't worry about me, laddie!" He exclaimed as he puffed out his chest. "Nothing's going to take this old man down!" He burst into laughter once more, and I laughed with him again.

"Well, good night, then..." I said, going to the door. He waved at me goodbye and turned around. The oddest of things, though. When he turned around, I could have sworn I saw dark brown hair on his back. But I thought I was just imagining things. I mean, he is an old man, and it's getting quite late in the night, so I must have things mixed up.

.~ … ~.

The moment I got out of the store, I remembered why I was outside in the first place. I wanted some time to think for myself. There have been too many events recently, and I can't keep up with them. I just needed some space to clear my head. First off, I figured this would be the most important, but the connections we're having with Fairy Tail are going to make it harder for them to leave. I don't know why I'm thinking like this, I mean, everyone's been through this here-and-go routine ever since the series started: Fairy Tail makes friends and they leave with smiles on their faces. But that's only because they know they can see each other again. As for us, I don't know if we'll ever meet again once all of this is over and they go back to their world. If it's just me, I wouldn't want them to leave, but for the sake of everyone in their guild, they have to return. Just remembering the state Cana was in earlier made me tear up a bit.

Shaking my head, I strolled down the street and made sure to go back straight to the library. It's getting pretty late, and I'm getting hungry. There were fewer people than expected as I walked past the shops. All of them were closed now, probably fearing the homicidal maniac still lurking around. Suddenly, a shiver ran across my spine. The tingling sensation wasn't a pleasant one, that I can tell, and I could feel someone's eyes locked on to me. As casually as I could, I turned my head to one of the shops to get a glimpse of my back from my pheriperal vision. And my suspicions were true, after all.

There, near one of the streetlights in the far corner of the street, was a shadowed figure who appeared to be looking right at me. With fear striking me, I made the stupid mistake of turning around too quickly, as well as increasing the speed of my steps. I saw the shadow move about carefully, as if it was trying not get my attention. I clicked my tongue at this; so I really was the target. I looked directly in front of me, the street was only short stretch and a turn to the library. I could probably sprint all the way there and tell the others about this. It's worth Sting's berating if I could survive this night.

So, steeling my nerves, I turned my head once again to see if there was anyone still following me. But to my surprise, what I found wasn't a shadowy figure lurking near the streetlights.

"Nothing...?" I asked aloud. I could have sworn there was someone following me, but I guess it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I sighed in relief and proceeded to go back to the library. Just as I turned around, however, I bumped into someone, causing me to step back a few inches.

"Oh, sorry about th-!" My eyes widened in fright when I was faced with the person I bumped into. A shadow looming over me, with eyes as cold as the night, and that psychopatic grin he was wearing did not make me feel any better. The gleam of the knife he was holding was a pretty obvious hint of who he was. I cold sweat ran down my spine as he opened his mouth to say something.

"Good night, kid..." He sneered.

"Good night?" I suddenly asked. "What? Are we gonna sleep here out on the streets? What are we, hobos?" I chuckled. 'I have no idea what I'm doing...' Is what my brain was telling me. This reflex better work, or else I'll be sashimi.

"You need a better catchphrase, mister!" I continued, trying to buy some time and hoping someone will come and see this killer. "You're so cliched, it's boring!"

"W-what?" The killer asked. "What the hell are you talking about, kid?! I'm gonna kill 'ya, can't you see this knife?" He held out the knife above his chin to show me.

"Well duh," I rolled my eyes. "I noticed that already. Sheesh, for a homicidal maniac, you sure are an idiot. Can't even hide your own murder weapon... Loser!" The remark I made seemed to have made him shocked, seeing as he took a step back at what I said.

"D-damn you!" He growled. "Enough with your nonsense! I'll cut your head off!"

"Ooh, so scary... Not!" I quirked. "Announce it to the whole world, why don't you? How much dumber can you get?" I may have gotten a bit carried away, though. Because the moment I stopped myself, he tried to plunge the knife down on my shoulder. Good thing I managed to get away before that happened.

"What?" I asked with a chuckle. "Too much?" He wasn't responding anymore, which was bad. Really bad. I suddenly remember who it is I was dealing with, and my knees began to wobble uncontrollably. I couldn't move as the knife was poised up in the air, about to strike me. All I did was close my eyes and tried my hardest to think of happy thoughts before this idiot ruins my night.

A few seconds have passed, and I haven't felt the cold metal. There wasn't any movement at all coming from the other side. Hesitantly, I peeked one eye open, and was shocked and filled with relief. The killer was somehow paralyzed, eyes wide and shivering a little from who-knows-what. That's when I noticed another person behind him, holding a taser of sorts. The little thing packed so much electricity that I could see the blue sparks it was emitting. Within seconds, the killer was on the ground, knocked out with his eyes open.

"Man, that was close." The person from behind him said. I looked over to him to get a good look at his face. He was taller than me, had brown eyes, and looks the same age as me. He had dark brown hair covered by a detective's hat, and he wore the typical Sherlock Holmes attire. He also had a magnifying glass on his other hand, the other containing the taser used to contain the homicidal maniac.

"Hey, are you alright? You're not hurt anywhere, right?" I shook my head at his question, still really shocked about the almost-getting-killed part of this particular scene.

"Oh, good..." He sighed in relief. "The office is gonna eat me alive if they found out this guy's hurt another person. I've been trying to catch him for the past few days now, and the office is making a big noise about it. I don't know why, though. He's pretty easy to catch, but he goes out at random. I can't really tell his attack patterns, too, so I had a pretty hard time in the end. But look who's on top!" He gave a hearty laughter, on which I tilted my head to. That laugh sounded really familiar, but I can't place my finger on it.

"Oh, sorry for rambling..." He said as he looked at me. He gave me a wide grin, making his achievement quite clear to him. Catching a homicidal maniac is quite a feat, and he should be proud of it, I guess. But then there's that grin.

"I feel like," I muttered. "I've seen you before... Have we met?" I asked him. He tilted his head at my question and made a sound of questioning as he put the taser back in his breast pocket.

"Ah, that's right, I haven't introduced myself yet." He bumped his head with his fist gently before crossing his arms. "My name is Ash Lyre, Junior Detective! Nice to meet you!"

"A detective?" I asked once again. He nodded his head and extended his hand to me. I took it cautiously and he shook once before letting go. He then smiled at me, to which I responded to. Then, he took rummaged his pocket and pulled out a cellphone. Before anything else, I noticed something in his pocket that was really familiar. The wavy mustache the typical antique-shop owner had was in his pocket.

"Hey," I called him. He was dialing some numbers on his phone at the time. He turned to me as he placed it near his ear.

"Yeah, can I help you?" He asked, directing at me. I cleared my throat a little and started to speak. But then he held one finger up and pointed to the phone, asking a silent request. I nodded and obliged, seeing as it must be very important. My eyes darted back to the homicidal maniac, and noticed that he wasn't properly secured. He could wake up at any moment and Detective Ash was off guard.

'I guess I could help...' I thought to myself. With the elastic I bought earlier, I brought the killer's wrists together and tied them up really tight. Ash caught me doing something to the culprit, but loosened his supposed-to-be glare when he saw me securing him. I stood back up and waited for him to finish his phone call.

"The police will be here in a few minutes to apprehend this criminal." He said. "You're lucky I was around the vicinity, or else you'd be the one on the ground!" He gave yet another hearty laughter.

"Yeah, thanks for that, Detective." I said with a gracious smile. "Oh, and thanks for the pocketwatch, too~ It was nice of you to give it for free!" With that said, he stopped his laugh midway and looked at me skeptically.

"H-how did you know I was..."

"You really should fix you disguise more, Mr. Detective," I chuckled. "I saw you hair staning on the back of your head."

"A-ahh..." He chuckled nervously. "W-well, at least it was just you who saw that, right? There's really no bother. Anyway, you should go home now, your family might be worried about you."

"Oh, that's right!" I exclaimed, remembering what time it was. "I better get going now! My name is Pen, by the way."

"Pen?" He chuckled. "That's a weird name... I like it! See you later, Pennirino!"

"P-pen-what?" I asked as a drop of sweat rolled from my forehead. "W-well, I'll be going now. See you later, Mr. Detective."

"No formalities, please!" He said as he crossed his hands. "I'm only seventeen, give me a break!"

"Oh, can I call you Ash, then?" I asked, to which he nodded to. "Okay, then. Goodbye, Ash-kun..."

"You sound like we're not going to meet again, laddie." He smirked. He reached for something from his breast pocket and gave it to me. "My card. I told you that pocketwatch was a symbol of our friendship, right? So if you want any mystery solving done, leave them to me!" Yet another hearty laughter burst out of him. He's really a carefree person.

"Great!" I exclaimed. "Well, see you later, Ash-kun! I'm sure we'll meet again somewhere!" He nodded at this as I walked away, turned to a corner, and headed back to the library. Tonight was certainly a fun evening, and judging from the ruckus I'm hearing inside the building as I approached it, dinner will be, too.

"You stupid idiot! Get out of my face before I kill you!"

Or not...

Looks like I updated! :D No, I did not abandon this story! I was just taking a break! I missed writing this story so much! Q n Q Please bear with me if I update really late again... I can't stand it when I'm late at things... =-= Oh, and sorry it this is a bit shorter than the others... I still haven't gotten my groove back yet...

Anyway, presenting the second character, and the second winner of the contest, ASH LYRE! XD As you can tell, he's a detective! And this his first appearance in the story! He'll be appearing more and more later as the story progresses, but for now, let's focus on what's happening in the library! Who was that? Why are they fighting again? And what ever happened to the guy in the mall?! XD More questions, and answers, to come on the next chapter of "Me and Fairy Tail"!

Please support my other fan fiction as well, like "Royal Academy", "Demons of New Earthland", "After School Fun", and many more! Plus, to those who want to make more OC's, please look at the bottom section of my profile~ :D

Ja Ne~