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Fallen Star

By

Im ur Misconception

Disclaimer: I do not own either Fairy Tail or the Xeno game series...But one day, I will! Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and Namco and the game creators (Too many to list) own the Xeno game franchise!

Notes: Okay, so I know a lot of you have no clue what Xenosaga or even Xeno gears is. A brief break down according to my mind. XenoGears is a game that came out in the early 90's for the PS1.. yes you read that right, Play Station 1.. And a cult classic and hard to find game in any condition. It revolves around the main male and female protagonist, Fei Fong Wong and Elly Van Houten. Each has a past that spans over several hundreds of years. It is a Mech, Tactical RPG! For back in the day on the PS1 it's graphics and Animated scenes were mind blowing amazing. Enough said on that one, since it is best for you the readers to do some minor research into this game on your own. As for the Xenosaga, which came out in late 2002 and early 2003. (I picked it up in February of 2003 for the first time) While it is a PS2 game, it is a lot of animated scenes and navigation sucked a** to sure on the first damned map. Actual Game play in the first one was well...little to nothing, and grinding for levels, items and stuff was tedious. But the story line was well worth it, as was the characters and their development. This series span 3 games, which gives you a small peek at Fei and Elly from the Xenogears games in the third game, which had a lot of squeals of delight from not only me, but others of this series. As the games progressed the battle system slightly improved, graphics got better, but the cut scenes stayed the same.....@.@! Still again I would suggest you the readers do some look up on the game it's self, as it is easier to find if you don't mind going old school on the PS2.. Wow the that makes me ancient since I started out on the Atari, NES and Famcom when they came out...one imported from japan... Now on with my damned story! (takes place right after the GMG, before the current arc.)

'Like all things, it started out with a dream I had one night. Now don't get me wrong, dreams are usually dreams. Nothing too special to take note of; hell most aren't even remembered after we awaken from our slumber, but this, this one was different for some reason. And it started a chain of events that altered not only my own life, but that of my nakama. If I could go back and redo it, would I change any thing.... ******** NO!' I wrote at the top of the blank journal page, before looking over to my bed and my spouse. A small smile splayed across my lips at the sight of him still snuggled into the mattress, with the blanket pulled up high enough, that only his silvery tuft of hair was visible.

Leaning back into my chair, as I watched him sleep, my eyes closing as I recalled it all. To me it was time to record what had happened those twenty years ago. A part of me still had a hard time believing that a dream had brought this person into my life. Sighing, I brought my hand up to my mouth, stifling an early morning yawn, all the images coming easily to my mind as I sat there with my eyes closed. Opening my eyes, I looked down at the small paragraph I had already written, and with a quick peek out of the corner of my eye, I picked up my pen once more and began to write, telling the amazing story that led to my current life.

Year X971 Magnolia

With a jerk, I sat straight up in my bed, glancing out my window to the morning skyline. It was just starting to turn a beautiful orange and pink, laced with hues of gold and fading indigo. Blinking, I lifted my hands up to rub my eyes, my body shaking from a mix of the early morning chill and the dream I'd had. Staring down at my body as it shook slightly under the pink comforter, I tried to process what my mind had conjured while I was asleep, the images so bright and vivid in my mind, letting me know that this dream wouldn't be fading anytime soon.

It had started out nice enough, 'I had been walking along a beach that was rather familiar. It was early morning like this, but warm outside with a sweet yet salt tanged breeze. At some point I had looked up into the sky and saw what I thought was a shooting star streaking across the sky. Of course I had come to a stop and watched it make its way across the sky, only to realize that it was heading in my direction, descending quickly. A jolt of shock shot through my body, before a feeling of excitement washed over me, making my body move towards where the star was projected to land. After all, it wasn't every day that a falling star landed near a place that is easily accessible to normal people.

My feet started out walking, my heartbeat picking up in eager anticipation of being the first to find, see, and explore the fallen star. Before long, I was running full tilt out onto the soft white sand of the beach, the cool ocean water hitting my feet. My eyes never left the star as it continued the trek towards the rocky out-cropping down the beach. So, when it impacted, the fact that there was no earth-shattering sound, or a quake of any sort, caused me to wonder, but still, my feet kept moving forward like they were possessed by something. Soon enough, I came to the out-cropping of rocks, and climbed up and over into an alcove that made this area feel all the more familiar, but what had my attention was the small, and I do mean small, crater and a white light that was the fallen star.

Now, I may not know a lot about meteors and stuff, but it struck me as curious that there was no deep crater and a lump of metal, dirt, gems and such as they have been reported to be. No, instead the fallen star just seemed to hover there floating. A feeling of anxiety washed over me as I came to stand at the edge of the crater, feeling an odd but familiar magical power coming from the floating star. Swallowing, I reached out, against my will, to touch the star, causing it to glow ten times as bright, engulfing me as I closed my eyes from the harshness of the light. When I opened them again, the light was rapidly fading, or rather shrinking into a condensed form. My hand brushed against something soft, like the feathers of a dove, and I looked down, only to be shocked by what I saw, making me scream.'

Looking down at my hand now, my mind refused to show me what I had seen at the end of that dream, though my hand still felt that feather-like softness against my palm. With a growl at being unable to recall what I had seen, I tossed the covers from my legs and climbed out of my warm bed. As it was the first week of August, the day would only be getting hotter, and I had to get to the guild to see my teammates. With a sigh, I padded over to my dresser, pulling out clean undergarments and clothes for the day, my mind still replaying all those vivid images as I made my way into the bathroom for a really hot shower.

Fairy Tail Guild

As I entered the guild, I was a bit taken aback by how quiet it was, and looking around, I found only Wakaba, Macao, Elfman and Mirajane in there. Wondering exactly what time it was, my eyes snaked to the only clock in the guild to see it was 6:30 am. Feeling my jaw drop in shock at how early I had arrived at the guild, I heard a soft tittering laugh. With the comical expression of shock still on my face, I turned my head to look at Mirajane, who was staring at me. Quickly shaking my head, I made my way to the bar and sat down in my normal spot.

“Morning Lucy. You're up early; what is the occasion?” she asked in a rather curious voice.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, I replied to her, “I had a dream. It startled me awake. It felt so real, Mira.”

At my words, she stopped what she was doing and looked at me thoughtfully for a few minutes, a small smile on her full lips, her eyes twinkling in a mischievous but knowing manner. Feeling a shiver run down my spine, I schooled my body to keep it from actually shivering. Mirajane tilted her head to the side as she hummed softly to herself, watching me carefully, causing me to feel rather self-conscious.

“You know what they say about dreams like that, Lucy?” She asked me, her voice so sweet and innocent.

Knowing I was gonna regret this, I took a deep breath and said, “No Mira, I do not know what they say about dreams like that. Care to enlighten me?”

Again she hummed to herself, that small smile on her lips as she stared at me. Then, in the next second, she turned around, giving me her back as she reached for a cup. Still humming almost happily, she turned to face me once more, placing the cup in front of me. Her eyes had that twinkle in them, but were now rather serious as she bent down behind the counter. Once she straightened herself, she held a jug of orange juice and poured it into the glass, before nudging it towards me. Obligingly, I took it, mumbling a quick thank you, as I took a sip of the cold, tangy liquid.

“It means it will come true, Lucy. Well, parts of it will, depending on how realistic it was, and how familiar it seemed to you.” Her voice was a soft whisper as she looked at me.

I knew that look oh so well, since she was the nosiest person in the guild, next to Cana, though Cana usually used her cards to find out what she wanted to know, when she was refused the answer. Mirajane on the other hand, could either 'innocently' badger it out of you, or scare it out of you. Not wanting either of those to happen, I set the now half-empty glass on the counter, frowning as I did so. It was just a dream, and one that I couldn't even recall the ending to, except my hand as I thought about it once more, felt that feather softness against the palm. Without realizing it, I rubbed it on the counter top, as if trying to wipe the feeling away, only to feel Mirajane's hand cover mine. I looked down to see what I had been doing, and then back up to see genuine concern on her face.

With a soft sigh, I withdrew my hand from hers and in a hushed tone, recalled verbatim the dream to Mira. When I finished, I looked at her, seeing shock on her face. It was actually rather amusing to see her with such an expression, and to know that I had made her a bit speechless, as she worked her mouth with no sound coming out. Deciding that I would wait until she was able to speak, I picked up my glass of Orange Juice and began to sip it once more, wanting it to last as long as possible, while using the cup to hide the smile on my lips. For a few minutes, I waited, watching as she slowly recovered from her obvious shock.

“Lucy, that is a rather incredible dream. The fact that you are still recalling it so vividly means it has a high chance of actually happening, but I think it is a bit odd that you can't seem to remember the end of the dream at all. And stop rubbing your hand on the bar; you might give yourself a splinter,” Mira said, the last bit admonishing.

Looking down I saw that I had subconsciously started to rub the hand on the counter again, the hand that had touched the feathery softness. Pursing my lips, I lifted it up, seeing how red the hand had become, my palm rather irritated. Shaking myself, I looked back to Mira, readying myself to ask her for 'advice' on this, since the dream hadn't been what she thought it would be. As I opened my mouth, the doors to the guild crashed open, followed by a loud, eager voice that I knew so well. Smiling quickly to Mira, I looked over my shoulder to see my team mate Natsu come in, waving and bellowing hello to Wakaba and Macao. Since he hadn't noticed me yet, I figured that I would take the initiative.

“Good Morning Natsu! I see you're in your normal high spirits this early in the morning. Where is Happy?” I said, raising my voice enough to be heard over his rambunctious one.

A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth, as the room became silent once more. Natsu turned slowly around, blinking like a barn owl, as he looked at me, making it harder for me to keep the smile from my face, as I watched his face morph into one of happiness. I loved to watch his ever-expressive face change like it does. Natsu was honest to a fault, if not dense, always wearing his heart on his sleeve, so to say. Finally, after a few seconds, I couldn't' help myself, I burst out into a wide grin and a fit of giggles, watching as Natsu half-jogged towards me, pulling me into a warm hug, making me sigh contentedly.

“Yosh Luce, what are you doing up so early? I thought you said you liked your beauty sleep. Is something wrong? Do I have to beat someone up? And Happy is still sleeping,” he gushed as he held me, slightly crushed to his chest.

Lifting my hands up, I pushed him away so I could breath and talk more easily, “Simply put Natsu, I had a dream. So nothing is wrong, no one to beat up, but thank you for your concern. Hey, wanna go on a mission with the rest of the team? I want to get my rent money for next month early, as well as spend some time with you all. I mean, we haven't really done a mission since we all started to train for the Grand Magic Games,” I answered, laughing lightly, suddenly feeling very glad that my hand no longer had that odd sensation to it.

Natsu let go of me as he listened to me speak, then climbed into the seat next to me, ordering his normal flaming chicken and a glass of milk. Turning, I glanced at Mirajane once more, getting a look from her that told me she wasn't finished with me yet, as she left to get Natsu his food. With a slight tilt of my head, I looked over to Natsu who was a bit silent. It was something he had been doing more often after the Grand Magic Games. Then again we had all changed in one regard or another since the end of it. Natsu was still Natsu, but he was more thoughtful, taking his time to think things through, even if it didn't pan out very well most of the time. That made me smile as I watched him think, before he lifted his hands to his hair and ruffled it with a low groan of frustration.

“Okay, Luce. Was it an exciting dream? Did you get to eat a lot of food or maybe kick someone's butt? Will you tell me about it, please?” he asked in his normal exaggerated, happy way.

I started to tell him about the dream, but stopped as the feeling of it being wrong washed over me. “Not right now Natsu, okay? I don't wanna talk about it right now, but I can tell you that it wasn't about food, or kicking someone's butt, you silly goof. “ I knew there was a small, but sad smile on my lips.

Turning my gaze from Natsu to look over the bar, I noticed that Mirajane had come back, and by the look on her face, she had heard the entire exchange between us. As she placed the food and drink before Natsu, who dug in whole heartedly, she gave me a rather pointed look. Shrugging my shoulders and shaking my head, I lifted my glass to take a drink, only to find it empty. Placing it back on the counter with a sigh, I shoved it towards Mira, who filled it up instantly. The look on her face was a mix of understanding and curiosity. The fact that she said nothing made me feel a bit more at ease.
Soon enough, Erza and Gray walked in together talking, both having a worried look on their faces. I wondered what was up, but was unable to ask because Natsu had begun shouting at Gray to fight him as he launched himself from his stool. This brought a lot of laughter from the other members in the guild, as Erza's gaze swept over me. If I hadn't been looking at her, I might have missed the look of relief that flashed in her dark brown eyes, before she growled at Gray and Natsu. The two immediately stopped their fight, standing at attention, and shouted 'AYE' in unison. The sight of them doing that made me burst into a small fit of giggles, as Erza made her way to sit in the seat Natsu had just occupied.

“Morning Erza! How are you? And why did you and Gray look worried when you entered the guild?” I asked slightly innocently, knowing it was because they had to have invaded my house this morning, only to find I wasn't there, my bed still unmade.

There was silence from her for a few seconds before she replied in a calm and slightly condescending voice, “Because Gray and I stopped by your house. We entered and you were not there, and the place was a mess. Of course we were worried, since usually it takes a lot of bribing and threatening to get you out of bed this early. What did you expect Lucy?”

With a sigh, I looked at her, replying in a monotoned voice, “I appreciate your worry, Erza. I really do, but you know there are gonna be days where I wake up early too. Now don't say a thing, since I know they are far and very few to begin with, but I had a dream that woke me up early. And no, I wont talk about it.”

My brown eyes had found hers as I spoke, and pinned her own dark brown eyes so she couldn't look away. Normally, I couldn't even hold her gaze for that long, since it was usually taken as a sign of defiance by her, but this time, she just stared at me in amused shock, a slight nod of her head indicating that she understood and wouldn't ask more. Her agreement made me feel a bit more relieved, since she was usually such an aggressively curious person. So, we sat there in silence, watching as Gray and Natsu stood together, faces pressed against each other in a silent war, and I shook my head at them, glad that they didn't seem to change to much.

Standing up and straightening my skirt, I coughed and spoke up loudly to get their attention. “Hey you two, why don't we find a mission and go do it! I mean, we haven't done a mission in about four months now, right? Not since before the training for the Grand Magic Games. Let's see how rusty we have gotten, since we are now the strongest guild in all of Fiore once again.” I made sure to make my voice eager and excited as I spoke.

The two boys looked at me in dumb struck awe, as I heard Erza stand up behind me, her hand dropping to clasp my shoulder and squeeze it lightly. I smiled widely, my lips curving upwards in happiness, that these were my precious team mates and nakama. Without waiting for the boys to say a thing, I slipped from Erza's grasp and walked to the Mission Board, which was overflowing with requests. It made me happy to see the guild back to what it was seven years ago, before the Tenrou Island incident. Quickly, I scanned over what was posted before I spotted one that was seemingly perfect. Grabbing it from the board, I half-skipped back to where Erza stood with Gray and Natsu beside her, noting they were all watching me with a odd mix of emotions on their faces.

Shaking my head, I held up the request, speaking merrily, “How about this one? It wants us to take care of a gang of bandits that have been harassing a small stead of farms. The pay is 450,000 Jewels, and they don't care if the bandits are run off, killed, or brought to justice, which means that Natsu can go a bit wild if we aren't too close to the farms themselves. I think this would be a great warm up mission, don't you think?”

It took them all a bit to register what I had said, as I stood there looking at them, the smile on my face only getting wider at their expressions. Waving the request under their noses, I started to laugh. The three of them reminded me of the three stooges when they acted like this.

“Okay, that sounds feasible. Go show it to Mira to get it recorded in the book, Lucy,” Erza said first, getting a hold of herself.

“Cool, not a bad choice Lucy,” Gray mumbled while looking at me strangely.

“I am getting all fired up! Let me go get Happy,” Natsu shouted as he ran out the door, barely missing Laxus and the Raijin Tribe as they came in.

Rolling my eyes and openly laughing at Natsu's antics, I waved a quick hi to the group before turning to the bar. Mira was standing there waiting, since she, like the rest of the guild, had heard me when I read off the quest. Quickly, she got the log book out and opened it. With a quick peek at the mission sheet, she recorded it, before looking back up at me, her eyes dancing. I was about to turn around and leave to get ready, when I felt a hand on my arm. Glancing down to see that she had grabbed me, I stopped to look at her.

“Lucy, do me a favor while your out on this mission okay? I want you to take an empty journal and write down any dreams you have, and if you have that dream again, record it in detail, more so if there is a change to the dream. When you get back, I want to look at it. I wasn't kidding that dreams like that have a chance of coming true, more so if the dream is repeated several times,” she spoke softly, her voice a very serious whisper.

I was taken back a little bit by how serious she was acting, but I just nodded my head in acceptance of what she was asking me to do. Walking away from her, back to my team, I heard Erza tell Gray to get himself packed and make sure that Natsu was at the train station in an hour. When she turned her gaze upon me, I knew I fell into that same stipulation. So with a smile and nod of my head, the three of us headed out of the guild, to our respective houses. The only exception to this being me stopping at a general store on the way home to buy a empty journal, and a few ink pens to write with. I figured there would be no harm in doing as Mirajane asked, especially since she was so serious.

Fallen Star

By

Im ur Misconception

Disclaimer: I do not own either Fairy Tail or the Xeno game series...But one day, I will! Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and Namco and the game creators (Too many to list) own the Xeno game franchise!

Notes: Okay, so I know a lot of you have no clue what Xenosaga or even Xeno gears is. A brief break down according to my mind. As before I ask that if you don't know the games, please go and google them. I have found on Youtube.com that you can actually watch all the cut scenes from Xenosaga Episodes...if you have a lot of free time. And thank you to those you, who have reviewed. Now on with my damned story! (takes place right after the GMG, before the current arc.)


(Time Skip a week later)

I snapped my eyes open as the train came to a lurching stop, giving me a view of the ever familiar, bustling train station in Magnolia. Letting out a soft sigh, I sat up as the feeling of being watched washed over me. Slowly, I turned my head away from the window to find Erza sitting across from me staring intently with darkened brown eyes. Knowing that I must look a sight with sleep-puffy eyes on top of purple bags under my eyes, all I could do was smile at her. In her lap was Natsu passed out and drooling a bit in her lap. I turned my gaze from them to the person sitting to my immediate right, only to confirm what I already knew - Gray was sitting there slouched, arms over his chest, oddly enough with all his clothes on, staring at me too.

“Lucy, are you sure you're okay? You look like the living dead,” Gray said softly, worry lacing his deep baritone voice.

Turning my head forward, I dropped my gaze to look at my hands in my lap. I knew where this was going, since it had been happening for the last four days. I still didn't want to talk about it, but they had begun to really pester me. Taking a deep breath, I stood up quickly, wobbling on my legs before my balance decided to orientate me. Giving a snort of annoyance, I walked to our cabin's door and opened it.

With a glance over my shoulder, I snapped, “I am okay. Thank you for your worry, but this is something that I want to deal with on my own. Please, just leave it alone. I am going to go report to Mira and the Master that we are back, so take your time.” I knew my eyes flashed with anger at them as I finished speaking.

Not waiting to hear what they had to say, I quickly marched down the hall to the exit. The dream hadn't bothered me for the first few days of our mission. When we reached our destination, I had gone to explore the small city, and had somehow come across a small, hidden book shop. With Mira's words literally banging around in my head, I went in and asked if they had any books on dreams. The lady looked up blinking, a small smile curving her heavily painted lips, as she pointed out the section. I was a bit shocked, if not outright amazed at the amount of books they had there, and quickly got to scanning the books, thanking the Kami's silently that I had brought my special reading glasses.

It was a bit hard to choose the books from their titles, but eventually I found one that struck a chord with me. It was titled 'Dreams, Notions, Understanding and How To Control Them'. Immediately, I opened up the book and read the small excerpt. It spoke of Lucid dreaming in great detail and how your subconsciousness recognizes it and allows you to manipulate the dream to some degree. This intrigued me greatly, and so I bought the book and a few others by that author. The knowledge I learned about dreaming in the coming days set me up for where I was now.

Our mission required us to travel out into the local wilderness to find the bandits' hideout, and take them out. Dead or alive, according to the job request, though there was a bigger award if we took them alive. Amazingly enough as each day went, I started to apply the knowledge from the books at night to my dreams. I had quickly learned that when I looked down to see what I was touching, I would immediately be woken up in a cold sweat. So by the second night out, in the dream I was looking to the left, right, and up into the sky. Hell, even back behind me I looked, and all I had discovered was that there were beautiful white feathers on the ground to either side of me and nothing above except more feathers falling. Behind me was just my footsteps in the sand, leaving me only one thing left to do. Look down at what my hand was touching.

The effect of trying to manipulate my dreams was exhausting my body, but thankfully, my teammates were not too picky or anything about it. Though they did keep asking me what was going on, because they were truly worried about my health. Still with all this, we completed the mission with barely any hitches, bringing almost all of the bandits back alive. Since there was no damage done to the city, just the surrounding forest, we got all of the reward and extra. Now, I was back in Magnolia with the Jewels to pay my rent for at least three months straight, plus extra for food and personal stuff. I was ecstatic, and the fact that the guild was coming into view, only made me more giddy. I knew what I was planning to do was gonna make my teammates upset, but I needed the time alone to get this dreaming stuff sorted out in a quiet place.

“Hello everyone!” I called out as I quickly made my way to the bar.

“Welcome back, Lucy! Where is the rest of Team Natsu?” the white haired take-over mage asked, scrunching her eyebrows together.

With a small sigh, I reached into my bag and pulled out my journal, placing it on the counter and sliding it towards Mira, whose eyes lit up like a child at Christmas. I pressed my lips into a small line to hide my oncoming smile as she lifted it up and began to flip through it quickly. After a few minutes, she closed it and looked at me, her blue eyes darkening a little, as she finally got a good look at me.

“Lucy, this is amazing, but you're overdoing it. You look like you haven't gotten any sleep in the week you've have been gone. Go report to Master, and please consider some time off, away from the guild, to catch up on your sleep. You collapsing or getting ill will only cause your friends to worry more,” Mira whispered softly as a sad smile turned the corners of her lips.

When she finished speaking, I stepped away from the bar and nodded, before turning to make my way across the worn wooden floor to the Master's office. I gave a small nod of my head to Team Raijin sitting next to the door like always, and inwardly flinched at the various looks of shock, worry, and horror on their faces as they took in my appearance. Swallowing a retort, I lifted my hand and knocked on the door to the guild office, not having to wait more then a few seconds before I heard the worn-out voice of our guild Master Makarov telling me to enter. Reaching my hand out, I grabbed the handle, turning it and pushing the door open, so I could enter.

“Good afternoon, Master. I'm here to report that we finished our job, and with no damage or casualties,” I said softly, my eyes resting on the small, bald figure sitting behind the desk.

“Really now? That has to be a first for Team Natsu. It makes me feel a few years younger,” he said with a wry chuckle as he lifted his eyes to look at me, only to frown before speaking again, “Child, what is wrong? You look like you haven't slept in a while. Will you...or can you tell me what is going on?”

I nodded my head only once before stepping towards him. “Well, I have been having re-occurring dreams, and this is the result. This is why I would like to request some time off to take a vacation by myself, Master Makarov.”

The smile on his face as well as the nod of his head was all the answer I needed. Letting out the breath I didn't know I had started to hold, I laughed happily and waved good bye to him. Turning, I made my way back out of the office to hear the rowdy voice of Natsu as the rest of my team entered the guild. Their presence let me know what my next task was, and I wasn't looking forward to it. Closing the door behind me and leaning against it, I watched Gray and Natsu suddenly got into a name calling match with shoving involved like normal. Erza, on the other hand, was making her way towards me pointedly, her eyes pinning me with a look that said I was not getting away this time. Slowly I nodded my head, letting her know that I would talk to her. Then pushing myself away from the door, I met her halfway across the room, motioning to a nearby table.

Soon enough, Gray and Natsu joined us after Erza yelled at them for fighting again. I knew there was a small smile on my lips at the antics of my team and family. Never could it be said that I didn't respect and love them dearly. I watched them act and react in their normal manner, but after a while, I cleared my throat rather loudly to get their attention, as I kept my gaze on the scarred wood of the table top. When it finally got quiet, I knew I had to start explaining things.

“Thank you all, for worrying about me, and once more for taking care of me on this mission. I owe you guys some sort of explanation as to why I am looking like I am right now. I have been having the same re-occurring dream since before the mission. It continued while we were away, and I'm sure in the coming days, I will keep having it. That is what has been taxing me,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper as I finished speaking, raising my gaze to peek at each of them.

To my surprise and shock, they were all just silently looking at me, waiting for me to continue speaking. Erza's face lit up as if she was highly interested in this knowledge, Gray had a slightly contemplative look on his face, though it looked rather dour, and Natsu looked confused and was picking his nose with his pinky, which usually indicated he was either bored or didn't care. All this caused a warmth to spread through my chest, as if my heart was warmed by the familiarity of it all, and I couldn't keep a small giggle from escaping my lips at the sight they all made.

“There you go, Lucy. That is the first time in week that you have laughed. So, why don't you finish telling us what you need to tell us,” Gray said, his voice warm yet distant.

Once more, I nodded my head, keeping my gaze on them. “Well, because I have been dreaming the same dream over and over again, I have done some minor research, and have found several things. Apparently, this could be a precognitive dream, meaning that it can very much be an omen to an event in the near future for me. That's why I told the master I am taking a vacation, on my own, without any of you there. I am going to the hotel and beach that we were suppose to train at for the Grand Magic Games, “ I explained, my voice trailing off at the end.

Each of my friends' faces became blank, though their eyes showed me what they thought of it. Erza showed hurt and anger in her eyes, on top of the worry she had been attempting to mask. Gray once more looked thoughtful with hurt lacing his dark cobalt blue eyes, and Natsu just sat there blank-faced with his jaw open as if to catch flies. Silently, I counted down from ten in my head before he jumped up, and exploded.

“WHAT! Wait Luce, what do you mean alone? Why would you do that? We are your team mates, your family. You need us to protect you! Why would you go away alone?” His voice reverberated around the room, sounding hurt and angry, making the guild go silent.

I slumped slightly into my chair, as if trying to hide myself from the gazes of my other guild mates. The heat rushed to my cheeks, letting me know I was thoroughly embarrassed by Natsu's outburst. Narrowing my eyes, I watched both Erza and Gray jerk him back down into his seat, before they looked at me, catching the angry look in my eyes. Being mentally and physically tired didn't help improve my mood in the least with his actions. In fact it made me more irritable, and I stood up to look at Natsu rather pointedly.

Speaking loud enough for all of the guild to hear me, I gave my reply to Natsu, my anger and annoyance clear in my voice, “Yes Natsu, without you or the rest of Team Natsu. I need some time to myself, away from my house and the guild. Everyone at one point or another needs time to themselves. What's going on right now is something that I want to resolve on my own, and it hurts me to hear you say that I basically can't be on my own without you and the rest of our team to protect me. I AM NOT A HELPLESS WOMAN! That is why I am taking a vacation away from you guys, so there is no random breaking into my apartment at all hours of the day. This is final. I will be leaving in the morning.”

Not waiting for a reply, I turned and marched away from the table to the door. Once outside, my anger faded away rapidly, making me feel ashamed of my own outburst, and as I started down the hill towards the town, I felt my eyes start to burn. Moments later, my tears built up and began to slip down my cheeks, leaving scorching twin trails. Lifting up my left arm, I wiped them away, before I shook my head and began to run towards my house, where I would begin to pack up and get ready to leave in the morning.

Fallen Star

By: Im ur Misconception

Four days into the vacation:

I leaned against the edge of the railing to my hotel room, my eyes fixated on the horizon where the sun was setting and slowly turning the ocean's blue water into a blazing fire of golds, reds, and oranges. A small smile played on my lips at the sight before me, and I felt a small pang in my chest at not being able to share this with my teammates or anyone from the guild. They would all be taken away by the simplistic beauty that Nature was providing in that moment.

Closing my eyes, I let my mind wander from thing to thing as I thought of the last four days with no interruptions from my teammates, which left me completely amazed. Ezra had kept her word and very well, and I wondered how to make it up to her. Opening my eyes, I let a wide grin curve my lips as the perfect idea came to me. I would bake her a three-tier strawberry cake. Of course I would have Mira help me since baking wasn't exactly my forte. The last time ended in a smoky burnt disaster that put me staying a few days with Levy in Fairy Halls.

With a shake of my head, I pushed away from the railing, turning easily to make my way into my room. Taking in a deep breath, I threaded my fingers together, raising them above my head and feeling the muscles in my body roll and pop as they stretched. With a soft laugh, I felt a timid tingling run through my body as one of my spirits called out to me. Letting my hands drop to my side, I stroked my fingers over my keys until they landed on the one that felt warm to my touch. Not even looking, I took it from the key ring and raised it up.

“Open Gate of the Ram, Aries!” I called out, feeling my magic well up in me before focusing into a wave that traveled down my arm and into the key.

Soon enough, the key glowed brightly, then with a loud 'POOF' Aries herself appeared before me, bowing as she spoke. “Please forgive me, Lucy-hime!” Then she stood straight looking at me with timid brown eyes.

With a quick shake of my head, I stepped forward, embracing her in my arms. “There is nothing to forgive, Aries. What do you need?” I asked softly, letting her go and stepping back.

She blinked her eyes a few times before she smiled brightly at me. “I just wanted to check on you. We all felt a small sense of loneliness from you. So I, uh opted to come and check on you,” she said, her voice in its normal soft, shy timbre.

Unable to help it, I chuckled lightly before replying. “I am okay. Just watching the sunset again, thinking how great it would be to share with my teammates or even the whole guild of Fairy Tail is all. Nothing to worry yourself about, but thank you for looking out for me.”

Aries smiled and clasped her hands to her pink wool-covered chest, a look of complete relief crossing her face even as she smiled warmly at me. It made me very happy to have such a strong bond with my spirits. It was one of the many things my mother had stressed to me, that they are not servants but friends and family members. And as such, I always took great pains to make sure I treated them that way and never broke my promises to them or anyone else.

Motioning for Aries to seat herself on the bed, I rotated so I was facing her as she moved and sat down. Once she was situated, she looked around the room, taking in what it looked like while giving a small nod to herself. When she finished, she looked at me, her body relaxing quite a bit from its normal tense state of nervousness. Aries opened her mouth, ready to say something when a loud bang had both of us jumping up startled as the door to my room burst open, spilling out a head of pink hair and one of black.

“Dammit Natsu. Why don't you ever listen. She came here to be by herself. Let her alone, you idiot flame brain,” Gray growled as he sat atop Natsu, pinning his prone form to the floor.

With a growl, Natsu pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, shaking his body like a dog to dislodge Gray, while barking back, “Because I am worried about her. Lucy is a kind person and very important to all of us in this team. I don't like her being alone for this long. If Erza hadn't taken us on that stupid mission you Ice Princess, I would have followed her a lot sooner.”

I stood there watching them struggle with each other, a tic twitching under my left eye as I felt the left side of my mouth quirk up into what could be taken as a snarl. Crossing my hands under my breast, I felt my fury rising like a blazing aura around me, just as Erza showed up, her eyes going wide as they saw me in all my angry glory. Giving a nod of her head, she stepped back away from the two males still struggling in the doorway. At her assent I let myself smile in a delighted manner as I saw Aries in my peripheral vision flinch away from me.

Letting out a laugh that had to have sounded like a crazed person, Natsu and Gray ceased their fighting and looked at me, fear and horror causing their eyes to go wide. I walked towards them, stopping once I was only a few feet from them and squatting down. “While I will admit I was starting to miss you guys, I would rather be torturing you, delighting in your pained screams right now. What part of a vacation for myself do you not understand, Natsu? As you can see, I am perfectly fine and to boot I have my spirits with me to protect me. So what makes you think I need to have you here to make sure I am safe and not alone ?”

Quirking an eyebrow, I watched Gray scramble up and off Natsu, quickly backing up until he bumped into Erza, who just clamped her hands down on his shoulders. Natsu laid on the floor, becoming very still as if any movement would provoke an attack, his Adams apple bobbing up and down with each breath he seemed to gulp down. His green eyes went very wide, while the pupils became small little pin pricks as they stayed glued to my narrowed eyes.

In the next instant, I was standing up, turning around, and walking back towards Aries. My hand already at my hip, twitching over my whip Fleuve d'etoiles, I looked at Aries whose eyes were as wide as they could go, as she sat there shaking in awe and fear of me. It wasn't often that I would get this angry and show it as well, but Natsu and his single mindedness just seemed to press that button. I softened my look at her with a small smile while darting my eyes from her to the window and back again.

Quickly she grasped what I was implying and nodded her head. Then letting my face go hard once more, I turned to look back at Natsu, who was still on his back on the floor staring at me, his gaze a mix of fear and worry. “Well the damage is done Natsu, and while the idea of just hitting you over and over again tempts me, I think I will refrain, since I won't be able to get rid of you at all for the rest of my vacation. But truth be told, my trust and respect for you has seriously plummeted,” I said in a low hurt voice, and with each word, I took a step backwards until I felt the balcony railing against the small of my back.

With that, I turned away from my teammates, refusing to see the looks they were giving me. I placed my hands on the rail, easily lifting myself onto it, so I was sitting precariously. With a sad shake of my head, I pushed myself up and over the edge, free falling from my balcony as a collective gasp was heard from everyone in the room. My eyes were trained on my balcony as a blur of pink and black barreled over it. A few seconds later, I saw all three of my teammates staring down at me in utter horror just as Aries caught up to me, pulling me into her arms.

My body going lax, I let the tension from my anger disappear as Aries deftly maneuvered herself so that she would land with me cradled next to her. The moment we hit the ground, I felt my body jerk from the impact. Grimacing a bit as it took me a few second to orientate myself, I felt Aries let me go. As I lifted my head up, I saw her scanning me over with worry in her eyes until she was satisfied that I was fine, before smiling and nodding her head.

“Lucy-hime, I suggest you take this time to run. Erza will hold them back for a few minutes, but you know Natsu and Gray will break free to come find you and check on you. Uh.. Um.. and please Hime! Do not ever do that again. I was so scared I might not reach you quickly enough,” she said in a shaky whispered voice before she poofed away in a cloud of pink smoke.

Knowing I was grinning like a complete fool, I turned around and started to walk briskly away from the hotel, ignoring the people staring at me like I was some kind of freak or stunt artist. With each step, I subconsciously picked up my pace till I was at a slow but steady jog. Choosing to hazard a quick look behind me, I found that there was no longer anyone on my balcony which spurred me to break out into a full-on run.

The warm evening breeze beat at my face as I quickly made the steps leading to the beach. Putting on a spurt of speed, I leaped easily down them, landing with a slight jarring tingle in my legs, before twisting my body to the right as I pushed off in that direction down the beach. The startled and angry shouts of people behind me blended with the frantic yells of my teammates as I continued to run along the beach with laughter erupting from my mouth and the tang of the sea burning in my nose.

Keeping my focus ahead of me so as to avoid anything that was on the sand, I felt a wave of familiarity wash over me. My mind told me this had happened before, and I gave my head a small shake just as a burst of white light flared in my peripheral vision. I blinked my eyes rapidly to get the dots of color from my right eye, only to feel a sense of urgency take control of my body, and I partially turned my head to see what caused that bright flash of light even though I knew what it was already.

There is was, a ball of light streaking across the sky rapidly, its trajectory easy to follow. In my head, I could see the small alcove where it would land, so turning my head and focusing completely ahead of me, I pushed myself forward at a faster past. Before long, I could feel my lungs starting to burn and my strides continued to lengthen as I propelled myself forward towards the small alcove that was coming into sight. Just then, that ball of white light came into my field of view as it made its final decent.

The sense of urgency to get to whatever was falling out of the sky sent adrenaline running through my veins. My heart was beating wildly against my ribs as I kept spurring myself faster and faster as if this was something utterly momentous. Shouts from Natsu started to reach my ears, letting me know that at least he was catching up to me quickly. With a small shake of my head, I pulled my arms in closer to my body and leaned forward, giving it one last spurt, making my legs and sides ache in rebellion at the overexertion I was taxing them with.

In seconds, the white meteorite came into my line of sight just before it impacted. My body instantly reacted by jumping straight up into the air and forward like a professional long jumper, allowing me to avoid the ground shaking as I witnessed sand explode up from the beach, hiding the meteorite from my view. All the while, I was silently thanking the Kamis for that dream now, as shouts of shock, panic, and irritation reached my ears from not just Natsu, but Gray and Erza as well. This elicited a small laugh from me as I landed with a small stumble before sprinting forward the last few feet.

I neared it, seeing it float above the small crater that was created from its impact, beautiful white feathers all around it just like I dreamed. Slowing myself down, I came to a complete halt, standing only a few feet from it, a knot building in the pit of my stomach as my nerves finally caught up to me. This was always the point in the dream that took that turn causing me to wake up. Swallowing, I took the last few steps so that I was standing next to it, looking down, and I felt an itch start in the palm of my hands as I instinctively fought the urge to back away.

Finally I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths before slowly reaching my hand out like in my dream. Cracking my eyes partially to watch as my hand entered the light, I felt a warm tingling sensation creep over my hand, giving me a soothing calm feeling. Opening my eyes all the way in surprise, I stared down at my wrist then my forearm as it disappeared, that warm tingling making its way up to my elbow before my hand connected with that feather softness. I gasped in surprised shock at how soft it actually felt to my hand.

The whole time in the background, I could hear the sounds of my teammates. Not wanting to break away from what I was doing, I didn't turn around as Natsu cried out to me, a thread of panic lacing his voice. “Luce don't touch it. You don't know what it is.”

Blinking at the panic in his voice, I slowly turned my head to look at all three of them standing there, mixed emotions on their faces. So I did the only thing I could do, smile reassuringly at them all before turning back to what I was doing, only to give a small cry as the white light swelled up, engulfing me and I was sure the whole area. This caused me to go stiff with fright as a weight seemed to fill my hand, pulling me down to the beach with a small oomph. The light faded away again, leaving me to blink my eyes to clear my vision as I tilted my head downward.

What I saw was shocking to say in the least. The first thing that met my gaze was what had felt feather-soft to my hand. It was nothing more than white hair that looked almost like downy feathers of a baby chick. Letting my gaze continue to travel forward, I found that it framed a heart-shaped face of warm, caramel skin, only to lose my breath as a pair of eyes opened, revealing twin orbs of the clearest cerulean eyes, reminding me of the ocean of Tenrou Island.

Unable to help myself, I felt trapped by those eyes, and I sucked in a soft breath, only to hear an amused chuckle erupt before a soft, almost melancholic voice spoke. “Uh, excuse me, but could you please maybe stop fisting your hand in my hair. It is rather uncomfortable, Miss.”

Letting out a small eep, I relaxed my hand that had, in the play of events, curled up in the feather soft hair. Feeling heat infuse my cheeks, I attempted to scoot back only to stop as I realized the only thing holding this person's head from the sand was my hand. My eyes still riveted to the ones in front of me, I gave an awkward smile. “Sorry! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to, I.. I guess it just happened when the light erupted, and then uh...your weight brought me down.... Not that you're fat or heavy or anything, but the shock value of the situation and uh.. oh um... I ...erm...I'm rambling, aren't I?”

My words earned another soft chuckle from the person below me. “It is alright. I don't blame you at all, Miss. In all essence, it is actually my fault, not that I had planned to cause anyone problems. But Miss, if you don't mind, would you allow me to stand up? I do think the people over there seem a bit tense, so if you know them, you should go over and assuage their worries.”

I nodded my head numbly as I slowly slipped my hand out from under the soft head of hair, and gave a small pout as they sat up, breaking my view of those amazing eyes. They stood up with a bit of stiffness before proceeding to dust off what looked like a pair of white sweats with blue and yellow accents and black straps attached to a black belt. My gaze climbed their body, finding it clad in a blue and yellow vest over a skintight black long-sleeved shirt, showing off a wiry frame that was well muscled and quite obviously male.

As I continued my perusal of them, he turned to look down at me in my kneeling position in the sand, before extending a hand to me. I flushed at being caught staring and looked away as I hesitantly placed my hand in his black-gloved hand. Feeling a warm tingle run up my arm once more, I recalled that I had felt this type of feeling once before. A soft tug on my arm brought my body easily to a standing position, giving my turned head a good view of my teammates. They all looked pensive, causing me to flush in embarrassed shame, and I swiveled my head to face the stranger and slowly removed my hand.

“Uh, thank you for the help up. Uh, my name is Lucy Heartfilia, and I guess uh...welcome to Earthland and the Fiore continent,” I said in a soft voice, stepping back to put some distance between us.

The man tilted his head to the side as if contemplating something before breaking into a soft, warm smile. “Thank you Miss Heartfilia, I appreciate your warm welcome to this planet. You may call me Chaos, but again please, if those are your friends, assuage their worry for you.” Once he finished, he waved his hands in a comedic shooing gesture.

With a short laugh, I smiled back before turning and walking to my teammates, only to be promptly pulled into a fierce hug by Erza as Gray rubbed the top of my head affectionately. Turning my face so a cheek was resting on Erza's chest plate, I saw Natsu give me an intense once-over before turning his attention back toward Chaos. His green eyes narrowed in a glare as he moved to place himself between him and the new man, making me feel a bit annoyed and upset since Chaos hadn't done a thing except fall to the beach unharmed.

“I don't know how you fell from the sky, or even why mister. Do you come from Edolas? What are your intentions here in Earthland?” he half-growled out at Chaos, making me flinch in Erza's arms as I felt her shift and Gray's hand go still on my head.

It was silent for about a minute before Chaos spoke up, “Is Edolas the planet..or world on the other side of the barrier in the sky? As for my intentions sir, I do not know really. This is a new place for me to have a new start, or that is what I was told by God before I was put on my descent.” There was a brief pause before he continued, “I understand if you do not wish to believe me. Most of my prior life would be unbelievable to anyone, should they actually hear it.”

There was a small pang in my chest at his words, at how sad and hurt he sounded, like he had just lost something very precious to him. It was a feeling I knew very well, with first the loss of my mother Layla, then my father Jude. Slowly, I lifted my hands and pushed myself away from Erza, glad when she let her arms drop. Gray removed his hand from my head, before placing it on my shoulder as his gaze met mine, telling me that he too noticed the pain in Chaos' voice. Taking a step away from Erza, I could see in her usually guarded eyes an echo of pain at all she too had lost in her short life. Reaching up a hand to touch her shoulder, I nodded my head at her.

As the three of us had our moment of shared loss and pain, Natsu started speaking again. “You are not from Edolas, but Kami sent you to our planet? You bet I don't believe you. That sounds like something from a child's fairy tale. How is anyone supposed to believe something like that, huh?” His words were curt, seemingly distrustful and hostile.

I was shocked at Natsu's tone of voice and actions, since to me they were uncalled for. Knowing it must have shown on my face, I watched Erza step around me as she spoke, “NATSU! What do you think your doing? This young man hasn't done a single thing to warrant your hostility. You are misrepresenting not only yourself, but our guild as well. Apologize to him right now!” Her voice was that cold and sharp tone when she got angry and had to reel someone in.

Turning around, I saw Natsu go stiff as a rod as he said a choked and panicked 'Aye!', then apologized to Chaos. Though it sounded insincere to my ears, I knew Erza would leave it at that. Giving Natsu's back a hard stare, I let my gaze go towards Chaos who was standing there, unfazed by all this as he relaxed with a smile on his face. It made me feel a bit reassured that he wasn't offended in the least.

“I am sorry for his sudden hostility towards you, Mr. Chaos, but like everyone on our team, we are all protective of Lucy. She is a sister to us and a very valuable member of our team. If you don't mind, I would like to hear more of your story before I pass any such judgment, though I do not detect any lies or hostility from you. Is this amenable?” Erza said in her normal friendly yet stoic voice.

My eyes dartted from Chaos to Erza, then to Gray and Natsu. The latter seemed to have relaxed, but those who knew him would see that he was still guarded, restraining his emotions. I couldn't help but wonder just why he was acting like he was right now. I wasn't hurt and nothing happened to me or any of us at all, so for him to be like this confused me. I shook my head as I returned my gaze to Chaos, who had a contemplative look on his face, obviously thinking over what Erza said.

As I watched him come to his decision, my eyes once more sought out his, and I let myself get lost in his gaze. “Thank you very much Ma'am. I appreciate your kindness. I will tell you as much of my tale as I can.” he said, that smile so soft and warm gracing his lips again as a look of aged wisdom shone in the depths of his eyes.

Letting out a soft sigh, Erza spoke once more in her normal manner. “Good, this is acceptable. Let me introduce the group and myself to you,” she said as she stepped into my field of vision, turning and pointing at each of us in turn. “You already know that the young lady is Lucy, the one with the pink hair is Natsu as you heard, and the last of our group with the black hair is... GRAY! Put your clothes back on this instant!”

Pressing my lips together, I tried to swallow my laughter at Gray's normal antics as he sputtered about how his clothes disappeared before he started to put them back on. Glancing over, I saw Erza place her fingertips to her forehead and shake her head with a look of exasperation and just a faint tint of pink gracing her high cheekbones. Keeping my eyes on Erza, I heard Gray come back to stand by me, knowing he too was flushed with embarrassment at his odd quirk.

“Please forgive him. He has a strange habit of stripping at random, anywhere at anytime. Now to finish the introductions, I am Erza Scarlet, S-class mage of the guild, Fairy Tail. Now, it is getting late. Please follow us back to the hotel where we will eat, rest, and talk. Then we will make a decision of what to do with you,” she said, her voice going low and grave at the end, leaving no room for error in what she thought.

Once Chaos nodded, Erza turned on the heel of her foot, marching back down the beach the way we had come. Giving a shake of my head, I too turned to follow, but not before waving at Chaos to come and join us. An amused smile curved his mouth, reaching to his eyes and making them sparkle like gems in his face. Giving a soft chuckle, I saw that Erza and Gray had put some distance between them and us, so I jogged a bit to catch up. Natsu joined me shortly, wrapping his arm around my shoulders like he tended to do, though it felt different this time, and off behind us was Chaos, following close behind.