Context: This is basically the modern world. Mages exist but they're very rare and you have to be born with the magic. It usually shows up at a young age. Mages also live for hundreds of years at a time. If you need any more clarification just drop it in a review. Enjoy.

. Servatorem .

Lucy bit her bottom lip, staring intently at the book in her lap. She sat on the park bench, next to one of Hargeon's main roads. It was relatively quiet as she read, aside from the occasional car honk and delighted shriek from a child. People passed her by, paying her no mind. Most were on their phones. Others were chattering idly with their friends.

She couldn't hear them anyway. Headphones had been placed over her ears, blasting her favorite song on repeat. She flipped a page, eyes flitting over the words quickly in suspense. In the book, an intense action scene was playing out.

To her left, someone took a seat. She hardly noticed until they tapped her on the shoulder. The blonde jumped slamming the thick, brown, leather-bound book closed. Etched simply in jagged letters on the front was the title: END.

Looking at the person who tapped her, Lucy was pleasantly surprised to see her best friend staring back at her. Her pale cheeks were tinted with a rosy hue that clashed with the soft blue waves that tumbled down her shoulders.

"Juvia!" Lucy chirped, leaning forward to wrap her arms around the azure blue haired woman after pulling off her headphones. She placed them around her neck, still faintly able to hear the hum of the song.

Juvia excitedly returned the hug. "Hello. I was just on my way to practice and saw you here. I wanted to stop by and greet you." She pulled away and grinned. She let out a small laugh that was visible in the chill of the air.

A soft smile graced Lucy's face. "Yeah I thought so," She said, eyes flitting over to the duffle bag thrown over her friend's shoulder and the easily removable shorts and tank she wore, even though it was the middle of winter. She would've asked how she wasn't freezing like that, but she had long since learned that Juvia had a strange tolerance for the cold. "Well, I wouldn't want to make you late. Text you later?"

With a nod, Juvia shouldered her duffle bag and stood once again. With a parting wave, she jogged away.

Lucy kept eyes on her until she rounded the corner and left her line of sight, then put her headphones back over her ears and went back to her book. She sat like that in peace for another hour before anything attention grabbing happened. A wind blew past her as a speeding truck tore down the street, causing the papers she had placed next to her to rustle and fly onto the sidewalk. The truck was clearly breaking the speed limit.

With a scowl, the blonde adjusted her fluffy red coat and smoothed down the skirt that partially obscured insulated black leggings. She moved the headband of her headphones so that she would be able to hear out of one ear while the other still blared the music that played from her phone. She knelt on the sidewalk and began gathering the papers strewn over the sidewalk, intent on moving further from the road.

She stuck her notes haphazardly behind the cover of the book and tucked it under her arm as she stood. She pulled out her phone to see if she had any new messages. Upon seeing none, she placed it back in her front pocket and began making her way down the sidewalk at a leisurely pace.

The blonde stumbled as a man shoved passed her in a hurry, barely able to keep from falling. She regained her balance and glared at the retreating figure. "Jerk!" Lucy shouted after the man, who's greasy dark purple hair was the only thing she could see from behind. That and the hideous shade of green that was his cloak. She let out an irritated sigh and leaned down to get her book.

One second, she was tucking her book securely inside her coat, and the next, heat was pushing at her back in waves. A scream was torn from her throat as something slammed into her from behind, sending her lurching forward. She was airborne for a second, sailing through the park before she hit the ground again.

The air was knocked out of her lungs when her back hit the earth, but her momentum carried her, causing her to roll until she crashed painfully into the statue at the center of Hargeon's park. It was beautiful, the statue. A man several feet tall holding a sharpened sword pointed downward at the ground, hovering a few meters above the earth. The whole thing was made from what she would've guessed was clay.

The statue shook from the impact, the oversized sword that was held in its hands wobbling. Lucy panted for breath as she hauled herself into a sitting position. Everything hurt. She threw her head back against the statue and cursed at the sharp pain that flared in the back of her skull. It quaked again, but she didn't pay too much attention.

At least until the sword slipped from the loose hold it had been held in and dropped toward the earth. Terror shone on Lucy's face as she numbly pulled herself away so that it wouldn't hit her face. The large weapon sliced through the side of her thigh and forced itself into the earth. One day, she'd look back and count herself lucky because she'd been able to move her head out of the way just in time.

A strangled groan made its way up the back of Lucy's throat. She let out a choked sob and brought up her hands to try and push it away, to now avail. She only succeeded in slicing her palms against the sharp edges of the granite sword. Flinching, she withdrew her hands. She shivered, noticing that the back of her coat had been burned off and only the front and sleeves attached to her arms. It didn't feel like her back had been burned, but, from what she'd gathered, third-degree burns could sing nerve ends and therefore not cause pain.

She almost screamed, almost cried for help. But then she registered the distant screams of others through the ringing in her ears and swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat. It hurt. But other people needed help too, so if it meant someone else could keep breathing, she'd shut up and wait. She bit the inside of her cheek and wiped away her tears, forgetting about her sliced palms and accidentally smearing blood on her cheeks.

With shaky hands, she grabbed her phone from her pocket and stared at the clock on her home screen. For three minutes she sat there. Three minutes of agony, during which she had convinced herself that she was going to die. She pulled up her messenger app and fired off a text to Juvia.

Her vision blurred a little as she hit send and her breathing went shallow. She looked up at the chaotic environment around her. Through the haze of her vision and the mess of first responders, she could still see the lean figure of a man approaching her. He reached her and bent down, looking into her eyes.

Relief flashed across his face and Lucy took in what she could of his appearance. His eyes were easy to focus on, the color a nice mix between black and green. The majority of his hair was black, but she could see the hints of his roots showing. She couldn't tell which color they were, since every time she tried to focus on it the image would just blur. The muscle shirt he wore was singed on the edges and she could see the red mark on his shoulder clearer than most other things.

She looked back at his face, trying to focus. Somehow, she noted in the back of her mind, the book was still tucked inside what remained of her coat. His lips moved, but she couldn't hear what he was saying with all the ringing in her ears. Her head lolled to the side. He seemed to take this as an answer, removing the heavy blade in one swift motion.

He ripped away some of her leggings, just enough space so the area around the wound was clear of clothing. Lucy stared at him as he glanced at her hesitantly. He said something again, and she nodded even though she had no idea what. He looked away again, and Lucy let her eyes droop close as he placed his hands on the bloody gash.

Flames surrounded his hands, burning her skin and causing her to jolt. She brought up a hand to weakly push him away, but it fell limply at her side, the action sapping away whatever strength she'd had left. The pain was too much. She passed out.

Lucy awoke the next day in the hospital. She didn't know how long she lay there, too tired to move a single muscle. Had it not been for the blinking of the heart monitor, she knew she would've gone insane from the silence.

Eventually, the door clicked open revealing a woman. She wore a bright white coat and had what might've been a permanent smile on her face. Streaks of gray went through her pure black hair, which was tied up into a neat bun at the top of her head.

The blonde moved to sit up, but the old woman, who she assumed to be a doctor, plucked her lightly on the forehead head. While it wasn't enough to injure her, it was certainly surprising enough to keep her laying down.

"Don't sit up yet," The woman scolded, picking up a chart clipped to the side of her bed. She flipped through the pages for a moment. Then she said, "You're Lucy Heartfilia, twenty years of age, correct?"

It sounded more like a statement than a question, but Lucy nodded her head ever so slightly anyway. "Good. I am Elizabeth. I'm one of the doctors on call and I'm going to tell you why you're here. Okay?" She didn't wait for a response. "Okay. You have minor burns on your hands and back, and also one where a sword wound on your leg was cauterized."

Lucy swallowed thickly, her throat feeling dry. "Cauterized? Why?"

As if she hadn't heard, the doctor continued scanning the chart. Finally, she delivered an answer, "To save your life. You would have died before the emergency respondents got there had it not been. You're lucky he was there."

"Who?"

The doctor hummed. "We're not exactly sure. He was in a mage guild, we know that much, so he shouldn't be too hard to find if you want to seek him out. For whatever reason, he ran away when first respondents got there. Ah, and he had a red mark on his shoulder. That's about all the description says, other than the fact that he wore a white scarf.

Elizabeth set the chart back on a nearby table with a clatter. "Right now, there's a chunk missing from your leg. If you want to fully recover, you'll have to go to Crocus for magical tissue and muscle reconstruction. Nod your head if you're willing."

Lucy gave a weak nod.

"You leave tomorrow. As all your relatives are dead, you're going to have to make a call to someone who can help you." The woman pulled a phone from one of her inside pockets and held it out to the blonde, who stared at it thoughtfully for a brief moment before taking the object.

She recognized it as her phone, and easily dialed the memorized number of her best friend. The sound of dialing commenced and Elizabeth left the room, presumably to treat some other patients. While it rang, Lucy noticed a controller that adjusted the position of her bed. She fingered the buttons until the bed was in a position to where she was upright with a slight incline to the ceiling.

On the last ring, the dialing stopped and Juvia picked up the phone. "Lucy! Finally, I have been looking for you all morning. I was worried after you sent that message,"

The blonde could hear the relief in the swimmer's voice. She wanted to cry and scream about how fucked up life was for her to be screwed over like this. She sucked in a deep breath and then spoke, "Juvia, I have to go to Crocus," She informed, spotting a glass of water next to the flowers on her bedside table. She began taking slow sips as she listened to Juvia's response.

"What? Why? You need to stay in Hargeon. Especially at a time like this," Juvia questioned.

With her throat feeling much better, Lucy delivered the bad news. "I got caught in the blast. I need to go get magical tissue reconstruction on my leg."

There was a long moment of silence. "...Do you want me to go with you?" Juvia said softly.

"Please,"

"Okay. I'm on my way to the hospital. Lucy...you're going to be okay, right?"

"I don't know."

This was just a fun little prompt to get me back in the writing mood. I have all theses ideas for Celestials but the problem is I'm having trouble working them into the storyline. I don't want to, but I think I'll have to take it down again and start it from the Tenroujima arc. Honestly, I'm not having fun writing it anymore, and I know I won't until I get to that part.

Anyway, hoped you liked the maybe-oneshot. I won't post it as complete because I may come back sometimes but tell me your opinions in the reviews anyway :)