Leaving to become stronger

Part One

Lucy sat up and cold sweat completely covered her face.

She covered her face with her right hand, trying to recall her dream.

'What the hell was that?' she thought.

Inside her dream, was a voice trying to tell her something.

Or, trying to warn her of what's about to come in the future.

Lucy woke up dazed and shook her head off.

She took a bath and headed towards the guild.

When she got there, it was the same as usual.

Same riot caused by two idiots named Natsu and Gray

Dreamy strawberry cake eater, Erza.

A stalker behind one pillar, Juvia.

A bookworm translating ancient scriptures, Levy.

A drunkard, Cana.

Lucy sighed and figures it was the same chaos they created every morning.

She trudged towards Mirajane, whom was smiling at her softly.

She ordered her favorite milkshake.

''Wanna give it a go, droopy eyes!'' idiot number one shouted, challenging the raven haired ice maker.

''I ain't backing down on this one, squinty eyes!'' retorted the idiot number two, accepting the salmon-haired boy's challenge.

Flame-brain idiot accidentally sat on Erza's cake and both faced the wrath of a monster.

-After a few minutes-

''Oi Lucy, wanna go fishing with me and happy?'' Natsu asked draping his arm on her shoulders casually.

''I'll pass.'' Lucy answered while smacking his arm off her shoulder.

''Aww! But this'll be fun!'' he says childishly.

She shrugged in response.

"I guess she doesn't consider us fun, Happy..." Natsu says making her guilty.

"Aye..." Happy says gloomily.

Lucy could no longer handle the guilt.

Lucy stood up and head towards the guild front doors then turned to them.

"Are we going or not?!" Lucy crossed her arms on her chest and smiled at them.

Natsu and Happy cheered victoriously.

-While fishing-

"Hey Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"Hmm?" Natsu turned to look at her, briefly.

"How long are we going to fish? We've been here for hours, and you haven't even got a single fish." Lucy complained.

"She's right, Natsu! I'm starving!" Happy complained and dropped to the ground then laid there for a while.

"Oi Lucy, I'm bored." Natsu whined.

"What am I supposed to do? You're the one who invited me here!" she argued.

"Can't you sing and dance on a maid outfit?" he suggested and held his laughter.

Lucy smacked his head in response.

"That totally pisses me off, you idiot!" she yelled in frustration.

They looked at each other angrily, then burst out laughing.

-The next day-

Lucy entered the guild on chaos.

Tables and chairs flying around and she managed to safely cross to Mirajane's side unscathed.

She ordered her favorite milkshake and chatted with Mirajane merrily.

Lucy turned to look at her guild mates and noticed that the noises died down a little bit.

Then, she found her salmon-haired best friend approached her.

"Oi Lucy, what'd ya say we go on a mission, today?" asked the flame brained idiot.

She thought for a moment since she was kind of exhausted, watching the whole guild on chaos.

'Well... Alright.' she sighed.

'I needed money to pay for the month's rent anyways.' she added casually.

'Aye sir!' says Happy.

They looked around the request board for a mission.

"Here! Let's take this!" says Natsu, pointing at the request he has in his hand, clearly excited.

"What's it about?" Lucy asked, curiously.

"Somethin' bout a stick?" he shrugged, not caring at all.

"Let me see!" Lucy declared, snatching the paper off of Natsu.

Lucy looked carefully at the paper.

The crooked rod has been missing for a week.

A wooden artifact with said dark presence, must be recovered at all cost.

Its location is in Acalypha.

"Well, it is near, so I guess it should be fine and it pays well too!" Natsu exclaimed, fist pumping excitedly.

'Hai. Hai.' Lucy nonchalantly responded.

"We're coming with you!" Wendy excitedly exclaimed.

"We sure are." Erza said calmly.

"I ain't letting you have all the glory, shitty flamer!" Gray said, crossing his arm around his chest.

"What did you just call me, Hentai bastard?" Natsu roared angrily, and they started to brawl.

'The... crooked... rod... huh...' Lucy says each word slowly

'The crooked rod... Sure looks suspicious...' she thought quietly as she examined the paper once more.

'I have a bad feeling about this.'

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Next Chapter: The Enchanted Twig