Hey! This is my second fan fiction, and I've been playing with this idea for a while. Characters are OOC, and the story focuses on Lucy!

This story is mostly Nalu, with hints of Gale, Gruvia, and maybe some others. I really suck at summaries, and this first chapter is just an introduction to the new world that I'm creating.

Review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. It is Hiro Mashima's.

"Ice Tiger!"

Are you serious? Is that a literal fucking ice tiger? Damn these mages were getting crafty…

The beast roared and charged forward, his cold eyes narrowing on me. His mighty paws pounded hard against the rock, gaining speed with each step. Anyone else would probably have pissed themselves in fear by now. In fact, everyone that had ever attempted to capture the Lyon Vastia of Lamia Scale had completely failed, and returned to headquarters with humiliation and shame written all over their pathetic faces. But I wasn't them. I was Lucy Heartifilia, and I never failed.

I cracked the whip in my hands against the ground and readied myself into a low crouch, a confident smirk playing on my lips. The tiger roared and stretched open his giant jaw, teeth threatening to shred me to pieces. He pounced over my head and landed where I had been a second before. He crashed into the rock beneath him, and growled angrily that he had not obtained his prey.

"Hey, pussy cat," I called, waving from behind him. He snarled and spun around to try and capture me again, but I didn't hesitate this time to return him to an inanimate hunk of ice. My whip crackled with an electric charge, and it snapped hard against his back. The tiger gave one last roar before he exploded. Laughing victoriously, I spun to meet the owner of this pathetic beast.

His cold eyes glowered threateningly, and he raised his hands to cast another spell. I don't think so ice freak. I raced towards him, lashing my whip at the ground around him to distract him. He jumped back in alarm and tried to open his mouth to shout something, but I learned that if you gave a mage a chance to talk, it would only mean your ass would be hurting later that night. From my pockets, I produced a black glob that worked as an anti-magic sticky thing… Okay so I forgot the name, and frankly, I didn't care. It worked, so who the hell cares? For now, I'll just call it Black Funk. I hurled it at his face, and it landed with a solid thud against his mouth. He screeched a muffled line of curses and worked to try to remove it, but it wouldn't come off until I pulled it off him.

"You're mine now, Lyon!" I exclaimed and aimed my whip at his side. He noticed it at the last second and was able to dodge it. My proximity with him narrowed, and I dropped the whip because it was useless in such a short range. Lyon flipped back, trying to stay out of my reach, but all those hours in the gym had finally paid off, and I caught up to him. My leg kicked high, but he swiped his forearm across his body, using it to block. He responded with a left hook, and I dropped to the ground and aimed a swift and powerful punch to his lower abdomen. He grunted, and flinched back, holding onto his aching stomach. I leaped up and used my most favorite move. "Lucy kick!"

Lyon's eyes widened in shock just before my foot connected with his chest, and he was hurled back into the mountainside and slammed against the rocks. His body lied sprawled against the ground, completely unconscious. Laughter bubbled up in my chest, and I quickly locked his hands behind his back using a special pair of handcuffs. They were designed by a great friend of mine, and whenever the one captured in their lock fought against the cuffs, they would shrink, and pull harder against their wrists. If the captive wasn't careful, his hands could actually be chopped off. I had it happen once. Nasty as hell, and I wasn't about to have that happen again.

I grabbed Lyon by his scruff and slammed him hard into the rocky wall behind him. The sudden traumatic blow shocked him awake, and his eyes opened slowly to meet my gaze. I smirked and held up the key to the cuffs. His attention honed in on the silver key swinging from my finger before they snapped back to mine and narrowed in anger. He didn't trust me, and I honestly could give a fuck.

"I have a proposition for you…" I lured and gave him a tempting wink.

Hours later, we were slamming through the doors of the police station and met with cheers of congratulations for my big haul. Lyon grumbled incoherently behind the Black Funk, and I kicked his ass to remind him who was in charge. Officers jested about how the wish a hot blonde would man-handle them like that, and I rolled my eyes. Men were such pigs. Others exchanged a few bills and coins reluctantly to others, and I snorted, having no pity for the losers. They should have known that I would be able to handle a simple ice mage.

A blue haired officer jumped off a nearby desk, and greeted me, "Great job, Lu-chan!"

"Levy-chan?" I gaped. Jet and Droy stood beside her, and I should have realized they wouldn't be too far away. They completely idolized her. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged, and gestured towards the door at the back of the room that led to the prison cells. "Just brought in Sherry from Lamia Scale." Lyon tensed in front of me, and he whipped around to confront Levy. Bad mistake. Though she was a tiny little girl, she packed a big punch. Levy sidestepped Lyon's attack, and grabbing his white hair, slammed his head hard against Droy's desk. The mage slumped to the ground, and I dropped his chains now that there was no reason to hold the brute. I exchanged a high five with Levy. She stuck her tongue out at Lyon, and I laughed at her childish antics. But, my joy was short lived. As always.

"LUCY!" a growling voice groveled grumpily behind me. The entire office fell deathly silent, and their stares all focused on the floor in a quiet tension. Even Levy looked away from me.

"Shit…" I murmured and exhaled heavily. Slowly, I turned around to face the sheriff of Hargeon. His face was hard and aged from all the hard years served on the police force. Brown eyes gazed angrily on me, and his graying hair had long relocated from the top of his head to the sides of his head and around his jaw. He crossed his arms, and I scratched the back of my head and forced a light laugh. "Hey Dad."

The sheriff also happened to be my father, Jude Heartfilia. He ignored my greeting, and his eyes flickered from the unconscious ice mage on the floor and then back to me. He sighed heavily, and commanded, "Take the mage to the prison cell with the other fugitive. I'll call AMC to pick them up." A few officers scurried off to execute his demands, and his attention snapped back to me. He lifted a large finger at me and yelled, "Your ass in my office now!"

"Technically, since I'm a Hunter I don't—"

"NOW!" he shouted, and turned sharply on his heel and stormed into his office without a reply.

I grumbled a complaint and started after him. Levy caught my hand, and whispered, "Drinks at the Iron Dragon tonight on me!" I shot her a smile and nodded. She squealed and hurried out the station.

I sighed and strolled into Jude's office. It was fairly small for what he was used to, but I can tell by the worn leather chair he sat in that he had grown accustomed to this kind of living. Of course, life hadn't always been this way for us. I sat down in the hard wooden chair in front of his large mahogany desk. Stacks of papers and files littered the surface, but he briskly brushed them aside.

He started on his usual tirade about my occupation, drawing me out of my thoughts. "How many times do I have to beg you to quit this business of hunting mages?" Jude furiously ranted.

For years, ever since Mom died in the Guild Wars and I became a sworn bounty hunter to the Anit-Magic Council, or AMC, he's been trying to get me to quit and return to his side to be the "lady" he raised me to be. Once upon a time, the Heartfilia family owned the largest estate on the east side of Fiore. We were practically royalty, but after the war, we were left with nothing. Father became an officer in the police force and has struggled to make a living for himself ever since. Of course, he was pretty well off since I had abandoned him to work on my own. Now, I travelled from city to city living in hotels as I hunted down whatever mage the Council decided to assign me. I was finally free to pursue whatever I wanted in life, and Father hated every moment of it.

He slammed his fists into the table, and I rolled my eyes at his dramatics, awaiting the inevitable conclusion to these arguments. "What can I do to persuade you to quit that damned job of yours? If it's the freedom to work, I'll give you a safe desk job here in my office. You can return home, and we can be a family again." As if. "There's a rumor that the Lord of Magnolia is single and looking for a wife…"

"Ew!" I shouted, disgusted by the idea of an arranged marriage. "The only reason you want me to settle down with anyone is so that you can rise back up to high society."

"I want you to marry because I want to see my daughter happy and safe before I die!" he argued back.

I shot up out of my seat and glowered. "Why can't you be happy for me for once? I am happy, but you're too busy sitting here dreaming of having servants again that you can't see how well your own daughter is doing!"

"You were raised a high born Lady! Act like it! I will not see my daughter living in and out of hotels, and scuffling around after mages!" he roared, jumping to his feet. His face was burning red in anger.

"Well, I guess I'm not your daughter then because that's what I'm going to keep doing!" I shouted and charged out the door, slamming it hard behind me. The office stared at me, but I shot them a threatening glare and they pretended to ignore me again. "Nosey bastards…" I murmured and fumed out the police station.

"Ugh…finally some peace and quiet!" I plopped backwards onto the bed of the hotel room I recently checked into. After the argument with Jude, I was anxious to get as far away from his as possible. Of course, I couldn't get too far since I had promised Levy to meet her at the usual bar tonight. Ugh…more human interaction. Just what I wanted right now. Not.

I rolled over and reached into my purse to retrieve my cell. Three missed calls from Mira, and four new text messages from Levy. Great. Might as well get it over with then. I hit the number for Mira and sat more erect as the hologram of the AMC popped off the screen. A few rings later, and the white haired secretary was smiling back at me.

"Hey, Lucy!" Mira waved enthusiastically. Her bright demeanor was the only reason I didn't mind checking in with the Council. After every mission, Hunters were supposed to send a message to the AMC alerting them to the capture of the assigned mage. Then, when the mage was safe behind bars of the nearest police station, we were supposed to send another message explaining the mission was complete. I had a habit of never reporting to the Council. I never liked the stuck up, pompous council members, so I was usually forgetful of a few certain rules. Of course, failure to comply with the rules meant immediate termination, but luckily, I had a few angels who looked after me.

"Was it Levy, again?" I asked, scratching the back of my head.

Mira laughed. "Isn't it always? What do you want the report to say this time?"

"Hmm…" I rolled around ideas in my head. "Just say there was a complication with the objective, and it took priority over the—"

Mira's smiling face disappeared and was replaced with a scowling, older man. I shrieked from the sudden line transfer, but Councilman Harth easily ignored it. "Lucy Heartfilia, you were ordered to retrieve Lyon Vastia, and communicate straight to the AMC upon his capture. What reasons do you have for failing the easiest the entire mission?" I opened to reply, but he cut me off. "None! There are no excuses. This is the fifth time this month, Heartfilia—"

"Hey! I'm bringing in the hardest assignments that even your best failed to—"

"They may have failed, but at least they follow protocol," he growled. My hand clenched the bed spread beneath my fingers, and I struggled to bite my tongue. Harth stroked his long white beard, assessing me. Finally, after a long consideration, he sighed. "Because of your recent accomplishments, we are willing to overlook your actions…but you will be given only one more chance. If you overstep any rule set forth by—"

"Yeah, yeah," I complained. "Get to the point."

He narrowed his eyes, and continued. "We will not hesitate to send an extraction team after you, Heartfilia. And we will try you as a mage in court." I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off by holding his hand to silence me. "You have one more chance, or else we will punish you the same way we punish those who go against the anti-magic law."

A shiver of fear slithered down my spine, and I gulped audibly. Nodding, I answered, "I understand. I will humbly serve the Anti-Magic Council and the laws set forth by the king of Fiore to protect Earthland after the tragedy of the Guild Wars."

Harth smiled triumphantly, and I wish I could slap that look off his face. "The details of your next objective will be evaluated and sent to your Cell Comm before midnight. May you walk a path free of magic."

"May you walk a path free of magic," I repeated, and he blipped off.

Anger surged deep inside to my core, and without thinking, I chunked the cell as hard as I could at the wall. It banged hard and clattered to the floor with a heavy thud. I threw myself onto a pillow, and screamed as loud as I could into it. But, my frustration and fury could not be sated so easily. I huffed and jumped off the bed. Grabbing my suitcase, I tossed it onto the mattress and started to sift through its contents until I reached the bottom where a small brown satchel lied. Hesitantly, I lifted it and stroked the soft leather. All my anger was quickly replaced with sadness, and I kissed the top.

"I'm sorry, Mom," I whispered, and slowly placed it back into the suitcase with a sigh on my lips. The Council could threaten me all they want, and command me to follow their strict rules. They could have whatever was left of this broken girl, but they could not have this most treasured secret of mine.

Quickly, I covered it up with clothes, but a pink mini skirt screamed at me from on top of the pile. I pulled it out along with a lacy black tank top, remembering suddenly my promise to Levy. Leather pouch forgotten, the thought of being in a crowded intoxicated crowd, drowning all my worries, sounded like heaven! Free alcohol? Hell yeah; let's go party!

What I didn't know then, was that entering that bar would forever change my life…

So, what do y'all think? :) Please leave an honest review! I'll update soon!