A/N: Just for side note, we're getting hit with a pretty intense cyclone tomorrow morning (I'd describe it as basically a hurricane to other readers) so I'll see how internet connection goes for next week. The phone lines are always the first to go I guess…but anyway, enjoy the chapter! I changed the book cover a bit but I love it now! Thank you to the 36 Favs and 75 Followers! Also a big thankyou to Bentears for the continued support! (I hope you continue to love Lucy as well!) Welcome to all new readers as well! Here's Chapter 7! Happy Update Friday!

Automatic Danger Response Mode

"Jump into the middle of things, get your hands dirty, fall flat on your face, and then reach for the stars."

Today was certainly not her day, was it?

Her fatigue was painfully visible to her Spirits and to Lucy herself, but she refused to give up. Loke, Taurus and Capricorn were all in front of her now, fighting off the surprisingly short amount of Razor Fang members. It seemed that after the explosion, Loke had appeared out of nowhere to fend many off and caused some to retreat further into the woods. Now Lucy found herself faced with the man who had caused her beloved Maiden's demise. If she hadn't of been a Spirit, he would've committed a heartless murder without batting an eye. This infuriated Lucy to no ends as she faced off with the middle-aged man. "What are you doing this for, girl?" the Mage was almost cackling at her as she managed to dodge yet another blow of darkness. "Surely not for this helpless Kingdom. I bet it's for that amazing reward money, hmm?" small charcoal coloured orbs of light sparkled around the tips of his fingers, slowing growing larger in size until his entire hand was encased in darkness alike to the aura he was giving off. Only a tainted soul could have such a frightening sense of evil surrounding them, and this Mage was giving her chills as the pulsing magic rolled up his arms like blackened smoke climbing its way towards the heavens. It sickened her to see the one responsible for obliterating her close friend right before her eyes using the same Magic he had used on her.

"Reward money wouldn't be the only reason for me to take on a job, actually." Lucy hissed through her teeth, still standing strong even with her decreased power levels. She brought her Fleuve d'étoiles to life and cracked it forwards, encaging the Dark Mage's wrist. It caught him off guard, this becoming an advantage for the seventeen-year-old. With a harsh and sudden movement, she yanked her arm backwards with as much force as possible, wincing as pain sliced through her limb. It was for a good and successful cause though, as the elder wizard was flung pasted her and straight into the remains of a tree charred and damaged by the earlier explosion. "You're wrong, because in fact…" she transferred the whip into her other hand to refrain from using the newly torn muscles in her right arm. "…I'm doing this for everyone you've hurt!" Without allowing her enemy time to recover, she tugged on her Fleuve d'étoiles once again and slammed him into the ground in front of her. "For everyone you've killed." Virgo's agonised expression was not leaving her sight, the image seeming to have been printed on the back of her eyelids. "As a Celestial Mage and as a member of my Guild, I will defeat you as I promised!" She shouted.

The Razor Fang Mage simply smirked at her with bloodied lips. "Oh really?" his voice practically dripped with sarcasm as he stared at her, almost taunting her to attack him once again as he dragged himself into a sitting position. Lucy gritted her teeth and raised her whip to deliver another blow while he was still down, but a rough hand grasped her wrist and squeezed it tightly. She gasped at the sudden pain and turned her head to find a pair of slanted hazel eyes staring back at her. One of the middle-aged man's comrades had sneaked through Capricorn, Taurus and Loke's defences, much to her surprise. Electricity sparked in the other man's free hand and Lucy instinctively jumped back, tearing her newly sore wrist from the stranger's grip just as a rustle of leaves caught her attention. The Celestial Mage could almost laugh at her bad luck as five new members, reinforcements she presumed, burst through the trees and dived for her. Today was certainly not Lucky Lucy's day, which was a surprise in itself at her regular good luck. She tried not to dwell on it in that short amount of time, protecting her head with her arms as she knew she wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

The dull sound of five bodies smacking against solid wood caused Lucy's head to shoot up in an instant. A soft gasp left her lips as she found three wooden walls and one glass wall encasing her, saving her from harm. "Horologium!" the blonde haired girl hugged her knees to her chest after draping the blanket he brought whenever summoned around herself.

The loyal Clock Spirit rose and took off running as he used the stunned Mages reactions to his advantage to get his owner to safety. "It seems I made it just in time," He said as he hurriedly journeyed through the forest. "I was currently in Automatic Danger Response Mode and I sensed you were in trouble," he added on a side note.

Lucy nodded gratefully as he carried her along. "Thank you, Horologium," she said, knowing she wouldn't have made it out of that situation without his help.

The Spirit simply nodded as he travelled. "Your Magic power levels seem dangerously low, Miss Lucy," he commented. Lucy sighed, feeling defeated that they had left behind her three Zodiac Spirits. He sensed her discomfort. "They wouldn't have been able to fight if you were taken out by the enemy in such a way." He reminded. "Your safety is our priority, after all." The silver key spirit chimed.

"Horologium-" she didn't finish her sentence as he made a pained cry and she felt her skin and clothes ache with a burning sensation.

"I guess my time is up…"was all he could muster before he vanished.

"No! Horologium!" Lucy cried as she fell onto the ground with singed clothes and burns marring her skin. She winced as she noticed the Dark Guild Mage with the power to cause explosions step out in front of her. Why had he been the only one to pursue her? Why did she even care? She couldn't get to her feet, the fatigue from her overuse of magic was finally catching up with her body. She could only wait for the final blow to be delivered as the Explosion user stalked towards her with a twisted smirk upon his lips. Her magic had expired, Capricorn and Taurus had been sent back. Virgo had been obliterated, Horologium had been blow apart. Aquarius couldn't be summoned as there was no water and she was out of Magic Power anyway. Who did she have left? Lucy lowered her head and racked her brains for an idea but she came up with nothing. The muscles in her right arm were torn and she was horrible at aiming with her left. She had no strength left to move anyway. The blanket the faithful Clock Spirit always brought with him slowly slid off of her shoulders and the red fabric pooled on the dirt around her. She was shaking from anger, fear and the cold all at the same time. Her hands curled into fists as she stared at the ground beneath her in utter helplessness.

"No more Spirits, hey blondie?" the male's tone was teasing as he reached her, yet Lucy refused to look at him. She kept her gaze focused on the dirtied and worn boots of the Mage about to destroy her.

With a groan of annoyance from the man, she felt his hand reach down and grasp her by the hair, forcefully and quite harshly bringing her head up so he could see her face. "Mornin' Sunshine," he chuckled loudly, obviously trying to make a joke from the fact that they were surrounded by black from the darkness of the night. It fell sour. Lucy cringed slightly "Ya know, it's kinda unfortunate that I have to blow up such a pretty face." He looked slightly amused, but his slanted grey eyes showed a tinge of remorse. "Sorry about this, blondie, but we can't have ya stuffing up our Guild Master's plans." While one hand held her head in place, the other was raised and brought to her face, cupping her cheek. "I'll make this quick," He muttered, half to himself. Her tearful eyes widened as she felt his hands began to heat up as he began to surge magic through his veins. She was too paralysed by fear to move as she felt her hair begin to burn slightly, the sizzling barely heard over the endless ringing in her ears. Was he really going to blow her up, just like Virgo and Horologium? "G'night blondie," The Mage whispered.

LINE BREAK

Fairy Tail was illuminated by streetlights, and the streets of Magnolia were deserted with the exception of a few souls wandering around beneath the moonlight. It was barely two hours before the sun rose and it was easy to see the fatigue on the Mages' faces as they trudged back to their Guild. Happy had flown back home by himself, yet Master Makarov had asked for Erza, Grey and Natsu to stay behind for a while before returning home themselves. Erin, the sole survivor of Terranpet, minus the Dark Guild Members, was taken in by the council for further questioning on the events that had taken place. Unfortunately for the Earth Dragon Slayer, he was seen as a possible suspect and even an ally to the Dark Guild, just for surviving without "proper evidence" to where he had been. It had angered Natsu to no end as they left the boy, merely a few years older than Natsu, behind. But they reluctantly followed the orders given to them and had finally returned back to Magnolia and found the Guild Hall empty since everyone had gone home for the night hours ago. The only Mage who was there to greet them was Mirajane, who was seated at the bar, cleaning a glass when they had entered the Hall. She greeted them with a tired smile and a wave.

"Mira, shouldn't you be at home asleep–" Erza began to scold her for being up so late but Makarov lifted his hand, the gesture causing her to halt.

"I asked her to wait for us, Erza. She'll be involved in this mission as well as the rest of you now." He explained before he turned to the Take-Over Mage. "Thank you, once again Mira, for coming on such short notice." He said with a curt nod.

Mira shook her head. "Its fine, Master." She assured, rubbing her eyes. "Oh, and I got that thing you asked for," she laid out a detailed and beautifully designed chart of sorts showing the expanse of Fiore and its surrounding fellow countries across one of the many tables. Makarov beckoned his children to follow him and they circled the table, peering down at the scroll.

"As you are all aware, the Council is involved in this crusade to bring these murderers down." The Guild Master began. "They are a serious threat to those who use Magic and those who don't and have even gone to the extent of killing children. We're unaware of their motive at the current moment, but according to reports on them they seem to be searching for something…maybe even someone." He narrowed his eyes down at the paper. "We've mapped out several places they could have gone…" he muttered in a gruff voice. "But if we do in fact track them down, you all need to be aware of the catastrophic amount of damage they can do, as we've only become recently aware of it ourselves." He warned. "The risk is much higher than it ever was before. We're only involving certain members of the Guild as they could be put in possible danger for having any information about the enemy." He glanced upwards at his brats to assure that they understood the gravity of the situation. They all nodded to show they could comprehend the circumstances, yet Natsu simply scowled down at the large sheet before them, arms folded. He was still fuming about what had occurred earlier that evening and was not enjoying the fact that they were being "warned" as such when they obviously knew what type of people they were messing with. He knew they were dangerous, Erza knew, Grey knew, hell– even Happy knew.

"Terranpet was where we believed their main base was," Makarov continued as he dragged his finger across the map spread before them, tracing a line from that town and across Fiore into another neighbouring continent. "But from Erin and other sources, they were seen heading the west and out of Fiore altogether." He shuffled to the side so Erza could learn over and observe better as he explained.

"What's the name of this stupid Guild?" Natsu suddenly demanded, slamming his fists onto the desk out of frustration. Erza scolded him for his outburst and cutting off the Guild Master, but he paid no attention. His patience had begun to wear thin hours ago and he was going to completely lose it soon if he didn't catch the name of these bastards. He needed to know everything quickly,he'd gained his impatience from his foster father and was about to smash a table if this wasn't over soon.

Makarov sighed heavily and looked up at the Dragon Slayer, his features showing exhaustion underneath the mask of seriousness he'd been wearing the entire evening. "Razor Fang," he answered slowly. "The Dark Guild Razor Fang. They're the ones committing all of the murders and thefts for what seems to have been quite some time. They're the ones who we are after." He lowered his gaze back down onto the map when the sound of glass shattering grasped everyone's attention.

All eyes shifted onto Mira, who had wide-eyes and her mouth agape in horror as her hands clasped onto nothing but air. She stumbled backwards, the glass she'd been cleaning laying in broken fragments at her feet. She'd dropped it in surprise as she recognised the name her Guild Master had uttered. "R-Razor Fang…" she echoed in a panicked voice. "You're sure? Absolutely positive that that's their name?!" she demanded.

Makarov looked taken aback but he nodded. "I'm absolutely positive." He assured. "Is something the matter? Have you heard of them before?" he asked.

"No…but this is bad…" moaned the Take-Over Mage, leaning against the bar to support her suddenly shaking legs. "If they're as you say…committing all those murders…" she raised a hand to her forehead, shaking her head in worry. "Lucy. Lucy's in danger." Her eyes met Makarov's and Team Natsu stared at her in shock as tears began to form. "Loke visited me earlier, just moments before you arrived. He asked me about the Razor Fang Guild but I had no idea that this would be linked to her…" she was almost shivering as she fretted about the Celestial Mage.

"Mira, what are you saying?" Natsu moved from the table and stepped forward, frowning at the white-haired woman's sudden worry. "What do you mean Lucy's in danger?" he narrowed his eyes, waiting for her to elaborate.

Mira looked to him and bit her lip. "Lucy's on a mission right now…" she said softly. "And…and according to Loke…apparently she was attacked. Lucy was attacked by the Razor Fang Guild…" she covered her face with her hands, mumbling something sounding alike to the words, "never should have let her gone" against her palms. Grey and Erza exchanged concerned glances as the woman continued. "She's out there by herself, Loke said she was out of Magic power a-and…" she shook her head. "You said they've been murdering left and right…"

Natsu stumbled backwards and almost fell over Grey and Erza when she wondered something aloud that made his blood run cold.

"…what if they murder Lucy?"

LINE BREAK

Now when Loke shouted "Over my dead body!" at the top of his lungs, he meant it. Even as the Leader of the Zodiacs and even if he was immortal as a Celestial Spirit, he would die for Lucy, for the girl who saved his life. "I guess I should also get an Automatic Danger Response Mode," he muttered as he shot a well-timed Regulus Blast slammed the man about to end the Stellar Mage's life straight into a tree. After catching the enemy off guard, the exceptionally loyal Lion raced back to his owner and lifted her in his arms so she rested her head against his chest and leaned against him. She was visibly shaking in his arms, clutching at the front of his jacket as she stared wide-eyed off into the distance. She could barely hear Loke apologizing for not arriving sooner and he cursed himself for almost allowing her to die. Even if he had saved her, she seemed traumatised from the whole ordeal itself, one hand pressed against the burn marring her cheek and the other grasping at the front of his suit, looking for something to grab onto to console herself.

"L-Loke…" she whispered, sniffling. "T-Thank you…thank you…" she let go of his jacket to wipe her tears as he carried her off towards the Kingdom of Constellar once again, remembering the route. "I'm sorry," she breathed.

"You don't have to apologize," Loke assured. "You nor even the royals of Constellar knew of how bad this Guild was." He narrowed his eyes, his expression serious as he thought back on the Mages they had encountered. "I've done some research from visits here about them because I was worried, and I need you to give up on this mission." When she looked up at him to protest, he cut her off. "You almost died back there, Lucy! These guys have been on murdering streaks for months now but have been undetected until recently! They're way worse than you could comprehend. If you could somehow bring them down, you'd be paid millions, not what the King and Queen have stated in their job request. This should be classed as an S-Class mission." He looked furious. "They might have retreated for tonight, but they'll be back. If you're taking anyof them on, you'll be at full Magic power levels andI'll be there." It wasn't a suggestion as his face remained serious until they reached the castle and Lucy bashfully explained what had happened while Loke refused to set her down. They were escorted to a room where her belongings had been placed and after she'd gotten dressed, she met Loke in the room as they both sat down on the large bed.

"This could probably fit all of my team," Lucy had joked when she first saw it.

Loke simply smiled at her as she got under the covers while he rested atop them. "I'll stay here for tonight," he said. "As your loyal Lion, I'll protect you during the night." He told her with a smirk.

Lucy rolled her eyes as she turned away from him, but was grateful nevertheless. "Thanks, Loke," she whispered softly. He simply nodded. He knew she needed some comfort after the near-death experience which seemed to render her quieter than usual for the rest of the evening.

He also knew that those were tears he saw as she subconsciously touched her scarred cheek during her rest.

.

..

…

A/N: LoLu is like my BROTP & Grey and Loke are also a BROTP. But yeah I love how much all of Lucy's Spirits adore her. Especially Loke and Plue. Kawaii~! So I'll see you guys next Friday!