Chapter 1
Evening had fallen over Magnolia, the sun nearly swallowed by the ocean, and Lucy left the guild. After some walking back to her apartment (and yet another warning from the men on the boat), she made it to her home. As she opened her door, she noticed the envelope taped to the wood: an eviction notice. Groaning, Lucy scanned it over...
...to find that she had to get 300,000 jewels paid to her landlady within in two weeks.
"Idiots... if they didn't... stupid Natsu..." Lucy growled, paper crumbling in her hands as a dark aura surrounded her. She fumed for a few more minutes, then sighed and entered her abode, deciding to look for a job tomorrow. Preferably one with less opportunities to destroy things. Knowing Team Natsu, it would be essentially impossible to take on a job without some of the pay getting diverted to cover damages. The last job, a "simple" search for some plants in the forest, had ended up with an out-of-control forest fire and traumatized villagers. If Juvia hadn't been there (while stalking her "Gray-sama"), it would have been much worse. But, they went home with emptier pockets instead of fuller.
Lucy grabbed three fluffy towels and her pajamas, began to fill her bathtub with steaming water, and began brushing her teeth. She gargled. The bath was steaming after this cycle was completed. Discarding her garments, she eased herself into the comforting, bubble-free water, the tension in her muscles slowly loosening. Smiling, she closed her eyes and leaned back, calves in the air and moving in a scissor-like motion. Thinking back to her overall day, she decided it wasn't so bad until tonight.
In the morning, she'd woke up, brushed her teeth, yelled at a Happy-free Natsu when she caught him emptying her fridge, made breakfast for both her and her uninvited guest, then walked with said-guest to the guild. At the guild, she'd proceeded to try finding jobs for her Team, give up, get threatened by Juvia (Love Rival!!!), tried again, and avoided getting involved with the usual guild fight. And avoided the table thrown her way. After the fight, she'd laughed and chatted with Levy until Gray and Natsu began squabbling. That day, Erza had not only cowed both of them into submission - she had terrified the whole guild. Finally, after some more chatter, she had left, only to find the eviction notice glaring at her on her door.
Suddenly, Lucy sat up; did she hear the window open? Wrapping a towel around her body as her hair dripped, small warm droplets falling to the ground from her golden hair, she stepped out of the bath reluctantly and gingerly called, "Natsu...?"
No response.
Then: "Heya, Luce! Can I spend the night?"
Lucy rolled her eyes; of course it was her best friend and unofficial resident of her apartment. "No! Of course not!" Since he had seen her in more revealing wear before, she walked to the kitchen where he would most likely be. The pink-haired dragon slayer was there, head in her fridge. Happy was flying around the room a bit, oblivious to Lucy's annoyance.
"Natsu, how many times have I told you: DON'T RAID MY FRIDGE!" Lucy yelled, angered that this was the second time today she'd found him eating her food. He looked up, mouth stuffed with a leftover sandwich. Not bothering to swallow, Natsu spoke, "I'm hungry, thou-"
He noticed her coverage (or lack of), promptly stopped speaking, and averted his eyes. He swallowed. Lucy could swear his cheeks flushed a little. But, it was probably a trick of the light; that boy was so oblivious to anything sexual, he probably wouldn't even notice if a girl sauntered in front of him completely naked and covered in chocolate. Knowing him, he'd ask if the girl was cold. Lucy kept glaring, waiting for him to finish his sentence. Gulping, Natsu spoke up, "Sorry for eating your food," He then looked up and smiled brightly. "See ya tomorrow, Lucy!" Natsu scampered out of the kitchen and through the window, not bothering to wait for his Exceed. Lucy closed her fridge, then looked at the Exceed. "Well?" Lucy growled, gesturing at the window. Happy simply snickered and said, mainly to himself, "They liiiiiiiiiiiike each other...", then zoomed out into the streets after Natsu, barely escaping Lucy's fist.
Whatever, Lucy thought. He's just silly. He was being weird tonight though; she'd check in tomorrow. But, for now, she got in bed and slept, dreaming of finding a perfect job so she could pay her rent.
"D-Doc! The monitors!"
"What's this...!"
"Th-that's impossible!"
The girl escaped her prison, breaking the glass tube keeping her in place. The liquid, which kept her suspended, spilled to the floor in a glowing-blue mess. Ripping the life-support and chemical-pumping tubes from her arms, legs, and torso, she stood, on shaky legs, for the first time in years. Smiling, she began to massacre them with the extra magic they had given her. After all, what goes around comes around, yes?
All the while, her eyes remained dull and lifeless, even as she lurched away from the now-burning facility that used to be dedicated to the experiments run on her. Soon, a few miles away from the nearest village in the middle of the forest, what little strength she had gathered left her; her legs gave out and she collapsed, unconscious, into a pile on the green grass. The smoke in the sky blotted out the silver moon.
