{Lucy POV}
Words couldn't express the shock I was feeling.
"G-Guildmate...?" I asked, though it was muffled by the hair.
"That's bullshit!" Natsu yelled. I looked back at him. "You guys are crazy!"
"Oh? But it's true." Master Ivan said, shrugging. "She belongs to us."
"Are you blind? Can't you see the guildmark on her shoulder?" Gray asked. "That's a real mark, not a fake like yours!"
"Then I'll just stamp over it again." Flare said. I widened my eyes as the heat started to warm up my shoulder. I moved around, trying to distance myself from the flaming hair as much as I can.
"Mmmph!" I muttered, a tear already falling from my eyes. I didn't want to go through the same hell again. Flare creepily laughed.
Suddenly, Natsu lunged, grabbing the piece of hair and literally ripping it off. Flare shrieked, and the tightness around me released.
I fell to the floor, and Natsu hurriedly carried me back to my friends.
"Hey, you ok?"
A breathy gasp escaped my lips as relief washed over me. I nodded, relieved that I was alive. I calmed down, and looked at Flare. She was frowning. "She's angry..."
"That doesn't scare me one bit." Natsu said, huffing. I smiled slightly.
"You...You...!" Flare screamed, and her hair extended towards me. I flinched, and covered my face with my arms.
"Not today, fire hair freak!" I looked and saw Natsu grab her hair. I widened my eyes.
"Well, we weren't trying to cause a commotion, but if one of your kids hurt one of mine then I guess we just have to fight back." Master Ivan said.
"Lucy!" Gray threw something at me, and I caught it.
"My keys!" I opened my pouch up, making sure I had all of them. I sighed with relief.
"Lucy!" Something wrapped around my ankle, and pulled me up. Then it wrapped around my limbs.
"I'm going to stamp you right!" Flare yelled angrily. I clenched my fists, my eyebrows scrunching down.
"I have the advantage here." I muttered. I felt the patterns on their key.
"Open, gate of the twins: Gemini!"
"Piri piri!"
I was released, and thanked the twins.
"Blondie...!"
I landed on my feet. Natsu was next to me.
"Fire Dragon Talon!"
Flare stopped it with her hair. I took out another key.
"Open, gate of the Crab: Cancer!"
"Ebbie."
He cut Flare's hair, much like the GMGs. She glared at me, gritting her teeth. "My hair...! No, my precious hair!"
I'm not going to lie, I was scared. The memory of her burning my hand made me nervous and jittery. My gloves were gone somewhere, so the mark showed proudly. I didn't like it.
"Hey, don't be scared." Natsu said, running to my side. "I'm here, right?"
I took a deep breath.
"Yeah...Yeah, you're here. I'm not scared."
I clenched Cancer's key. He stood next to me as well. Behind us, and sometimes next to us, the Raven Tail members were fighting. I gritted my teeth, as Master Ivan and I made eye contact. He smirked.
However, he was punched by Master's big hand, and I knew he was done for. I turned back to Flare. Her hair suddenly started to spread. The hair appeared around me like a cocoon, and I felt the heat.
"Lucy!" Something wrapped around me, and I heard the explosions all around me. I flinched and tensed...
But there was no pain. I moved my head a bit, and saw a familiar white scarf...
"Natsu!"
"I'm good, I'm good!" He said, letting me go. "I can handle this kinda stuff."
I looked at his body, but he was completely unharmed. I sighed with relief.
"You really ARE a reckless idiot! Don't protect me like that." I said, looking back at Flare. She was beyond angry now.
In a sudden movement, I was wrapped with hair.
Fast!
Her creepy eyes stared at me as she tilted her head. "I'm going to KILL you Blondie!"
I struggled against the bonds, and screamed as she squeezed me tightly. It was so tight; all the air in my lungs escaped.
"Lucy! You bastard...!"
"Now for the best part!" Flare said, as if she was announcing her favorite part in a play.
I saw the light slowly creep up from her roots, inching its way towards me. She wasn't just going to burn over my guildmark: she was going to burn my entire body.
"Lucy! Watch out!"
I couldn't grab my keys, and I was panting.
Suddenly something slashed behind, and I fell, the pressure lifting from my arms. I gasped.
"Lucy!" Erza caught me, and helped me up. "Are you ok?"
She had her sword in her hand. I nodded. Natsu was on the floor, glaring at Flare.
"You...!"
Flare looked like she was running out of ideas.
"Dammit...Dammit!" She screamed. Just as she was about to attack again, something LARGE landed on her, and she collapsed.
It was her entire team...in one, large pile. They were all unconscious. At the top of the pile was Master Ivan.
"Bastards..." He muttered, barely able to stand. I backed away, and Natsu pulled me back. Master walked up to them.
"We beat you. Leave." Master said, his voice dangerously low.
"She still belongs to us!" Master Ivan said. I clenched my fists, but Master punched him in the face. Ivan grunted.
"You will never...NEVER be able to compare yourselves to us." Master said. "The gap between us has grown, to a point of no return. Look at you: Can you hear yourself? She BELONGS to you?"
I took a step back, trying to relax myself from the pressure I felt. One thought led to another, and before I knew it, an unbearable guilt was starting to fill my chest.
"Lucy is not an object." Master said. "She is human. It is your fault for making her think and act like this."
"She does not belong to you!" Ivan roared, making me flinch.
"Of course she doesn't, you baka!" Master said. "She doesn't belong TO us! She belongs WITH us!"
His sentence resonated with me, sending goosebumps down my arms, as everyone started to speak up.
"Lucy is our family, and if it means saving our family, we will do whatever it takes." Erza said. "Can't you see?"
"A family protects each other." Gray said. His shirt was gone. "Your guild won't do shit even if she were in danger, would you?"
"You guys..." I muttered.
"Don't even think about taking Lucy from us." Natsu said behind me.
A tear fell from my eyes, but I quickly wiped it away.
"A guildmark doesn't decide which guild you're in." Gramps said. "It's heart."
Gramps grew his hand and grabbed all of them. "Now leave, and never return!"
They were LITERALLY thrown out of the guild.
