8 Chapter 8

"First and foremost," Levy said firmly, her voice slightly hoarse, " Magic is real. Get that into your head now, or you're not going to last very long in this situation we're in. You already know almost everything you can about it. Thank the heavens you read what was on the website… I, myself, specialize in solid-script magic." Levy extended a hand, and with a flick of her wrist, the word "breeze" had appeared in front of them. A soft gust of wind buffeted their faces. "Gajeel's the iron dragon slayer...he eats iron," Levy added, laughing at the look on Lucy's face.

"Dragon slayer, huh?" Lucy said faintly, remembering what she had read about that particular magic. It was a form rarely seen, known for its rather destructive properties. The mages that used it were capable of not only controlling it, but also eating the element they specialized in...which definitely explained Gajeel's longing for the silverware when they'd been eating. Levy had been watching him every time he picked up a fork.

"Yep. We've got three of them in Fairy Tail...Sabertooth has two, too." Levy flashed her a smile, then continued. "Onto guilds. Our "group" is actually a guild of mages. There's a guild in each city - I think it's usually Sabertooth or the king's mages who takes care of issues in Crocus. We usually get requests along the railroad that crosses from Hargeon to Clover Town." Levy tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Natsu mentioned meeting you in Crocus after he helped you out the night you were attacked. I think he, Erza, and Gray were on that S-Class job Mira told Erza about...there was a dark guild - dark guilds have mages that specialize in black magic, seriously dangerous stuff - they had to take down."

Lucy snorted softly. "I nearly hit him with my car on accident," she muttered. A pause. "He really did leave a handprint on my car's hood!"

Levy giggled softly, then winced, rubbing her sore cheek, which was beginning to have a nasty bruise. "Anyways. Phantom Lord - Jose is the guildmaster, the one in charge - is an enemy of ours. They've been messing with us for as long as I can remember. Jose hates us. I don't really know why." She leaned her head back, gaze darkening. "Our guildhall is a really nice building - I'll take you there after we get out. You'd love it. But we have this huge board in there. Mira - she's in charge of the jobs the Magic Council gives the guild, she logs them in, makes sure we're capable of handling it, etc. - hangs flyers up on.

"A select few non-magic people - usually the leaders of the towns, mayors and what not - are aware of us. When they hear of something, they'll submit a request to the Magic Council, who's in charge of almost everything in regards to magic. The Magic Council will then hand the jobs out to whoever is in charge of that area. The jobs for the area we are in charge of are kind of split up between Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale."

Lucy nodded to herself. She remembered all of the guilds Levy mentioned; Natsu had told her about them, mentioning them as other groups. A question flashed through her mind. "Juvia and Natsu both said "Fairy Tail" when we met...and Juvia showed me the, uh, symbol thing."

"Oh!" Levy smacked herself in the head, then hissed in pain. "Yeah. That's our signal. It lets us know if you're aware of magic or not, and our emblems-" She paused, waving at her shoulder blade. "Let's everyone know what guild we're a member of. Juvia wears long dresses to hide hers, or jeans or something. Gajeel said he hide his with some of my makeup and painted over it with my eyeliner." Levy giggled at that, and Lucy smirked slightly. "If it works, I'm fine with it. Ugh," she muttered. "He's going to be pissy for the next few months...remind me to tell you how he and I met. If you think he did a good job of making me look beat up now, you should have seen me then. Anyways…

"I was on my way to Onibus to take care of a small job with Jet and Droy - some guilds have teams, I'm a member of Team Shadow Gear. It was an easy one, get rid of this creature just outside of town before the people noticed. We were ambushed by Juvia - she feels horrible about it, but she had to - and Aria. Grabbed me and let the other two go to alert Fairy Tail of what happened. Master's going to be furious...hence the alarms. Fairy Tail's on the way to rescue us. Or me, I guess. They don't know you're here and won't unless the other two tell them." Levy sighed softly.

Lucy blew her bangs out of her face. "Hopefully I'll be here with you when they arrive then." Her voice quivered, and she swore softly when something fell from her face.

Yep.

Here were the tears.

Levy didn't look the least bit surprised, only sympathetic. "It's a lot to take in," she said gently, patting Lucy's arm as she hurried to swipe the tears away. "I'm sorry we couldn't tell you sooner. It's against the laws of the Magic Council to tell those that are unaware unless necessary."

"It's okay," Lucy managed to get out, her voice choked. "I get it. Just…" She sniffed. "I…"

They fell into a companionable silence, uninterrupted for what felt like hours. And then Levy said softly, "Gajeel...he wouldn't have gone with me. When we met up? He was going to just hang out at the guildhall until I came back. But he was suspicious after that first meeting, at the cafe. Dragon slayers have a keen nose, and usually he can get a lot out of a scent. Not as much as one of our other dragon slayer - goodness, his nose is insane - but it's good. He could smell you on us-" She giggled. "Such a weird thing to say. Anyways, but he said your scent held traces of magic. So he came with me, and he confirmed it."

"Jose mentioned it," Lucy admitted, her voice rough from crying. "I think...I think he called it celestial magic?"

Levy tensed beside her. "Oh," she breathed, eyes widening. "Oh." Lucy stared at her, confused, and Levy said hurriedly, "Celestial magic...it's rare, even rarer than dragon slaying magic, Lucy. The fact that you were born able to use it... It's...oh, this is bad." Her face was troubled. "Yukino...I need to take you to see her. She's of Sabertooth, but- damn it," she hissed. The curse startled the blonde woman beside her. "Where is Gajeel when I need him!?"

"Um...Levy?" Lucy mumbled anxiously. "Are you alright?"

Levy scrubbed her hand down her face, ignoring the pain that came with it. "Yes. This is really, really bad. Celestial magic...to think that you didn't even know… Okay," she murmured, her eyes serious. "It's an ancient form of magic. As old as dragon slaying magic, maybe even older. It gives you the ability to summon beings from the Celestial Realm...and that's it, that's all I know. There's so little recorded about it, it's practically a myth. I thought it was until I met Yukino." Levy tugged on a lock of blue hair. "She learned how to use it...learning magic and being born with it is completely different. She has contracts with a few spirits, even two of the Zodiac…but I don't think her strength could even compare to someone born with it..."

"Uh, Levy?" Lucy interrupted her rant. "I hate to remind you, but I don't even know where to begin when it comes to using magic."

"We'll teach you, if you want to learn," Levy offered. "And you're going to want to. Lucy, if Jose knows you're capable of celestial magic, then others might find out, and it won't be a pretty ending for you if you can't defend yourself. And we can't help you when you're all the way in Crocus...not even Sabertooth could help you. They're pretty far away."

"Good thing I'm planning on moving to Magnolia then," Lucy said weakly. She flushed, explaining, "I, uh, don't have any friends back in Crocus. The only one I talk to on a regular basis is my publisher, and even then, it's strictly business. I was having so much fun, I figured I might as well move to where people actually like me, you know?"

Levy's eyes warmed. "You'd be welcome to join Fairy Tail."

"I hope so," was Lucy's only reply. "But first...we need to get out of here."

Hours went by and Lucy found herself wide-awake as Levy dozed beside her. There was a fierce affection for the solid-script mage in her heart, and Lucy smiled slightly when Levy mumbled something in her sleep and pressed closer for warmth. But there was also doubt and fear in her mind. Lucy desperately hoped that someone would realize she was missing. She had been meeting with Natsu. He'd realize...right?

A piercing sound filled the air and Levy jumped awake. "What…?" she mumbled sleepily.

Lucy tensed. "I don't know," she said honestly. "There's...damn it." Her voice broke in fear, trembling when light filled the darkened area. Gajeel stepped inside - and only Gajeel. Levy sighed in relief when no one came after him, hauling herself to her feet, and Lucy reluctantly relaxed.

Noticing, Gajeel growled, "Don't get too happy, Bunny Girl." His jaw clenched. "Jose's decided to see what he can do about coaxing that magic out of you. He's put me in charge of it, and he's gonna be watching. It's not gonna be fun."

"Gajeel-" Levy tried to protest as he angrily swept an arm through the bars, dissolving them into nothing.

"Shut it, shorty," he gritted out, spitting the words like they were poison. "I'm not happy 'bout it either ya know! Fairy Tail sent the first team. Do you know who was on it? The fuckin' Thunder Legion. Makarov is serious this time, Levy." He glanced her way, baring his fangs angrily. "And it's put Jose in a rush."

Lucy pressed back against the wall as he stalked her way. Levy scrambled to stand in front of the blonde woman, her form trembling. "Gajeel," she pleaded, "Please, she doesn't know how to even begin using it-"

Gajeel was surprisingly gentle as he shoved Levy aside, using one hand to keep her there despite her prying hands. The other was used to grab Lucy's harm and haul her to her feet. "Ya think Jose cares? Bastards need to get a move on, or you two are toast."

"Let go," Lucy demanded, giving a terrified whimper. Levy furiously kicked at her boyfriend, pleading with him, and Gajeel retorted that he wasn't exactly looking forward to "beating the shit out of someone who can't fend off my attacks". As soon as he'd hauled her out of the prison, he muttered a gruff word of apology before shoving Levy harshly, sending her sprawling so he could force the bars to reappear.

Lucy forced a faint smile to her face as Gajeel slammed the door shut behind him. "Move," he muttered, shoving her forward. Lucy cringed in pain when it raced through her back. She stumbled, then caught her balance. "You better pray that someone shows up in the next five minutes," he growled darkly, "Because otherwise, you're fucked."

She felt the blood drain out of her face. "What-"

"Jose's idea," he snarled harshly, "Of getting you to use magic is for me to beat the hell out of you. With solid iron. You better get moving, or there ain't gonna be much left of you, 'cause I can't do what I did to Levy in front of him and keep up my act. Ya hear me?"

Lucy gave a hysterical laugh. "You think I even know where to begin summoning magical spirits?! I can't! I can't do anything, rare magic or not! I write books! I don't fight!"

No, she definitely didn't fight.

She was very good at escape, though.

"That siren," she said suddenly when the loud noise pierced the air again. "What is it?"

"Thunder Legion," Gajeel grunted. "They're being a pain in the ass. Laxus ain't listening to anything me or Water Woman were tryin' to tell him and the others. Freed was - is - the only one listening. Makarov needs to get here."

"So Fairy Tail was here earlier than Jose planned," Lucy realized softly, then yelped when she tripped as she was shoved through a doorway. She hit the ground inside it hard and hissed when blood began to dribble down her scraped chin.

The room was massive, and made entirely of the same stone that had been in the prison. There was no windows, but blaring lights made the room impossibly bright. Standing in the middle of it was a cruelly smiling Jose. She shuddered, ignoring the agonizing pain of Gajeel kicking her forward. "Brought her like ya wanted," he growled, back to the cold and careless dragon slayer who'd do as he was told - even if he didn't want to.

Jose beamed. "Brilliant. We've done this before...you know what to do. I shall simply sit back and watch."

Lucy thought she heard Gajeel mutter something about laziness before a club made of iron slammed down on the stone only a few breaths away from her face. She cried out, ripping away. The club had replaced Gajeel's right hand, and as she watched, his left shifted into another.

Jose only laughed at Lucy's obvious terror when she stumbled to her feet. "Come now, Miss Heartfilia, surely you understand. Even a spark and we'll stop."

Lucy scrambled to avoid another blow, failing miserably when Gajeel gave a malicious grin and slammed the iron club into her at full force. There was a sharp crack and she choked, shrieking when she hit the ground. She clutched at her chest, groaning and then giving a scream when her leg was snapped beneath an iron-studded boot. Gajeel smirked down at her, but his red eyes were filled with self-loathing as he demanded, "Ready to show us what you can do yet, Bunny Girl?"

Lucy glared back up at him as Jose gave another laugh. In response, one of the clubs became a sword. She cried out when he slammed it through her shoulder, pinning her against the stone below. He growled, gritting his teeth in frustration as he did it. Lucy screeched as he yanked the sword out, rolling away to curl up and sob.

"Gajeel," Jose sang, "You're prolonging...I don't have patience today."

He sent her a look that Jose couldn't see, a look of frustration and apologies.

And then he let the blows come one after another, raining down upon the helpless woman until she couldn't even utter a cry.

Jose made a face as he swept out of the room, Gajeel close behind him, looking furious. "Pity...guess we won't have to lie to your father then. You really did die in a tragic accident…"

The second they were gone, Lucy sucked in a painful breath, no longer pretending she wasn't breathing. Agonizing pain shot through her at even just that, and she found herself unable to move. She was able to give a few desperate sobs, each one racking her form with pain and causing the blood that flowed from her wounds to flow faster. It had managed to form great big puddles of the sticky red liquid around her before she succumbed to the darkness that closed in.

So...Lucy got the hell beat out of her. But yay for at least some explanations! A heck of a lot more will hopefully happen throughout the fanfic. If you guys have any questions, feel free to let me know, and I'll do my best to answer them! :D

Reviews:

fanficlove2014: Natsu wasn't a part of the first team, as you can see, but he'll be here momentarily, I promise. Your guess was definitely correct, and as for my evil laughter...you'll just have to wait and see! ;)

Kitty Mcgarden- Redfox: Of course! :D

of the deep sea: Phantom Lord can be a pain in the ass, sneaking in when you least expect it. Yes?

Annabelle Flynn: No Nalu for you in this chapter, sorry! But don't worry, I will promise you that it WILL come some day. ;)

KaUiA: It's always weird when you guess something and it turns out to be correct, isn't it? I do that sometimes and I freak myself out when I do. Lol.

Kinsutenekochan: You'll have to wait and see in regards to Lucy's magic. Bet Natsu's reaction will be a hell of a lot different then you (and others) originally thought! :D I will agree with that last statement though. It's a good one.

LavenderMoonRose: I, personally, do think there's magic in the world. It's just incredibly hard to see. Funny enough, I had to write a journal about this thought not too long ago. It was one of the few I enjoyed writing. Lol.

AngelEmCuti: I would hope you're okay! :) I'm glad you think so!