Through the blinding light of day, two small figures shot into the guild hall. Wings beat the air around, one blur after the other crashing into heads and mugs, pursued closely by several shouts from wizards whose drinks were toppled in the confusion. Some turned to look, some laughed, but most carried on with their day. The blue blur darted behind Mirajane's head at the bar.
"It's been a few years since I've seen everyone," Lucy Heartfilia thought. She stopped in front of the guild, looking at the doors that had changed so often in her time there, but it was always the same guild on the inside, always the same heart, and she'd missed it so much in the past ten years. "I wonder how different it'll be…." She walked up to the doors, felt the solid oak beneath her hands before she pushed.
Crashes and a loud jumble of shouts and laughter filled the air as sudden fights broke out all over the guild hall. Lucy walked into the middle of chaos. She just watched it all and for a moment, smiled. "Nothing's changed." She thought. Suddenly a mysterious object rammed into her head, nearly knocking her off of her feet. In shock she looked to see what it might've been, and said, "Yep. Nothing's changed". From across the room she heard a familiar and welcome shrill yell.
"Mira, save me!" Happy gripped Mirajane's head tightly in fright, but she only smiled and laughed as the other flying figure stopped before her to stand proudly amongst the spilled beer mugs. The little dragon thrust his head back and let loose a small stream of orange flame.
"I am Igneel Dragneel! " came a tiny voice from beneath the flames. Mira peeled Happy out of her hair. 'Igneel?!' Lucy thought. But, it couldn't be. Lucy had seen Igneel herself, once, many years ago, and he was more than a foot tall.
Mira smiled brightly at the flying blue cat, "Seems to me that what you really need is a dragon slayer". A gruff voice piped up from the bar, "Well you know if Igneel is here, Natsu can't be far behind." The tiny dragon stomped angrily in puddles of beer, shooting more flames into the air. The doors to the guild hall groaned, and Lucy turned to see who was coming in. Daylight limned over the little thing from behind and a silhouette emerged in the doorway of Fairy Tail.
"I heard someone call for a dragon slayer." With a big smile, Natsu Dragneel stepped in with a look in his eye that made the tiny dragon stop in wide-eyed fear. In seconds Natsu was flying toward the bar, a trail of fire and dark laughter in his wake. Mira only had time for a nervous smile. In a burst of flame and a loud crash Natsu sat on the bar with the little Igneel's head trapped under his arm, laughing as the dragon protested and writhed violently. In the space where the small dragon was ensnared, there was a popping sound as a puff of smoke enveloped the small salamander, only to clear and reveal, to no one's surprise but Lucy's, a small white haired boy with blue eyes still kicking and yelling, his father still laughing.
'Take-Over magic?' Lucy wondered out loud. 'Natsu… I heard about your little boy'. She smiled. 'They look so happy.' Natsu and the boy's fight had turned into laughter on top of the bar; even Mira who was holding a lump on her head was smiling with them. In a way, some things had changed. Happy flew up from behind Mira and noticed Lucy first. With tears in his large eyes he smiled wide and then dove at her. "LUUUUUCCCYYY!"
He crashed into her arms and hugged her. "Lucy! I've missed you!" She hugged him back.
"Happy, it's been so long!"
"I know! You've gained weight!" Nothing's changed.
"I HAVE NOT GAINED WEIGHT! I AM AS CUTE AND SMALL AS I'VE EVER BEEN!" Lucy was furious.
"Lucy! It's been so different without you! Have you met Igneel yet?"
"Ig-neel?" She looked over at the white haired boy who was sitting on Natsu's shoulders.
"Aye! He's Natsu and Lisanna's!"
"That explains why he can do Take-Over magic. He looks so young though; how old must he be? Eight? He's going to make for a powerful wizard if he can do magic at this age."
"Natsu couldn't teach him Dragon Slayer Magic because only a real dragon can do that; but that hasn't stopped little Igneel from trying to be just like Natsu."
"Like father, like son." Lucy smiled. At that moment another voice answered.
"He really is just like his dad." Lisanna stood with her head cocked to one side as she looked at the boys with a bemused smile, then she turned and grinned at Lucy. "I didn't know you were coming back. How was your trip here?" Lisanna asked Lucy as they hugged.
"It was a nice long train ride. I started work on a new book on the way here. "
"Yes, I've heard Levy raving about the last one your last novel; she carries it with her everywhere, I think she's read it thirty times already. If she finds out that you're around here she'll go nuts."
"Yeah... this trip was a last minute plan, or I would've written. I'd love to see Levy, where is she?"
"Out on a job with Gajeel. They're so cute together," Lisanna's smile widened as she looked toward her boys. Lucy wondered if she meant the compliment for Igneel and Natsu or for Gajeel and Levy; either way was true. As Igneel climbed all over Natsu, Lucy saw just how much he looked so much like Lisanna.
"He may be just like his father, but he's beautiful like his mother." Lucy noted.
"Thank y—" Before she could finish they were separated by a stream of fire. When the flames faded moments later, Lucy was covered in ash. Happy jumped up into the air, "Lucy, you're smoking! And you smell like fried fish!" Lucy grabbed Happy's tail from the air and swung him into a wall. In the direction of the flames were the little dragon and Natsu spitting streams of fire into the air like monsters.
"Lucy!" Lisanna began to apologize but Lucy waved her hands,
"It's okay Lisanna! Really!" she laughed, "It would be worse if his grandfather Igneel were also here. Then the destruction would never end." The guild hall suddenly began to shake. The little dragon stopped stomping and looked toward the door.
"Gramps!" the boy Igneel, shouted. Lucy stood in shock. 'No way.' The doors of Fairy Tail quivered and began to open. Light filtered through and a shape from outside began to settle into a more recognizable form. Lisanna smiled.
"Oh good, he's home!"
"What?!" Lucy couldn't believe it. Then Natsu jumped up and yelled,
"Gildarts!" 'Gildarts?'Lucy thought. Oh. It all made more sense now. Even with nearly a decade having passed, Gildarts was still handsome and as popular as ever as he passed through those doors, entering the hall. He was like family to Lisanna and Natsu. Every member of Fairy Tail surrounded him to ask him about where he had been, what he had been doing. Little Igneel tried to push through the thick crowd but couldn't. He momentarily turned into a dragon, flew high into the air, and then transformed into a little boy again, dive bombing into Gildarts, who caught him in a hug and laughed.
"Look how much bigger you've gotten!"
"Gramps, I've learned a lot since the last time you came!" To Gildart's surprise the boy transformed into a small dragon and leapt into the air. "Fight me!" Igneel spit flames at Gildarts, but with little effort and the flick of a wrist he was sent crashing into a pillar. Ignoring Igneel who had transformed back into a little boy and was lying on the floor, Gildarts walked up to the bar where Natsu stood with a smile and the two greeted each other.
"That's some boy you've got there," Gildarts laughed. "He wasn't transforming the last I was here. You're going to have to teach him to pick his battles."
"I have; he picks battles all the time! Now fight me!" Natsu looked ready to fight for a moment, but then he stood straight and laughed, "It's good to see you again Gildarts! What brings you back?"
Lucy laughed nervously. It was a little weird to see Natsu forget about a fight so easily. Maybe being a dad changed him. Or perhaps Lisanna calmed him down. Natsu exchanged a few words with Gildarts before his Lucy caught his eye.
"And Lucy's here too?" He turned to her very nonchalantly.
'Of course he only just noticed me', she thought, 'This is Natsu after all.' Laughing a little she put her hand to her head. After a moment of thought he yelled.
"LUCY!" He ran and hugged her. "How long have you been here? What are you doing here?!" He narrowed his eyes and raised an eye brow. "And where have you been? You just stopped visiting."
"I've only been standing right here for a few minutes already. I've been feeling a bit uninspired lately with my writing and I really missed Fairy Tail, so I thought I'd come back for a little while, find some adventure. And I'm sorry I've been gone for so long…" Lucy didn't like to think about it. "I really did mean to find time to come here. This has become home, after all." Natsu didn't even wait,
"Well, now that you're back, the team is back together! Let's go on a job!" Natsu started to walk off toward the job board.
"Hold it!" Lucy called. Natsu stopped in mid-step. "I only just got back, I'm not really interested in going anywhere just yet. Besides, I'll be here a while, there's plenty of time for that later. I still haven't really met Igneel."
Natsu pondered this for a minute, "Oh, yeah, that's right. You never did meet him, did you.." He turned to look at the little boy who was just beginning to scoop himself up off of the floor and hobble over to the group. Natsu fell silent looking at the boy and just smiled. Suddenly, Lucy noticed something was off about Natsu's appearance. It wasn't that he had acquired a few new scars since she'd last seen him, or that his vest was different. Then she saw it. Around the neck of little Igneel was the scarf that Natsu received from his own father; the scarf that Natsu never took off. 'Wow. He gave it to his own son. It's passed on down a whole generation.'
Igneel stood by Natsu's leg. "Igneel!" Natsu barked. The boy stood up straight and alert at the call. Lucy didn't expect the tone. Natsu looked seriously at the boy. "I want you to meet someone important. This is Lucy Heartfilia. She is one of the strongest Celestial Wizards out there. She has saved my life, and the lives of countless others in the past. I am lucky to call her my friend." Natsu nodded toward Lucy with a small smile. The boy looked up at her in wonder.
"It's nice to meet you Miss Lucy." Igneel bowed his head to her. Lucy was shocked at how polite he had suddenly become. Natsu beamed.
"His mother taught him how to talk to people, she's pretty scary to him when he's not polite", Natsu crossed his arms proudly.
"It's wonderful to meet you too, Igneel. " Lucy looked at the boy ; his spiky white hair, Lisanna's eyes, and Natsu's scarf. She crouched down to his eye level. "You know, your father is one of the strongest wizards alive. I think you're going to be just as great one day." The boy smiled and then began to talk quickly.
"I'm going to be better! My dad's the best! I'm going to be just like him one day, but even stronger, and then I'm going to beat him, and I'll beat Gramps, and I'll beat Gajeel and even Aunt Mira! I'll be the greatest S Class wizard Fairy Tail has ever had!"
Natsu joined in, "You'll be the greatest wizard anyone in the world has ever known! But, it's going to take more than power." Igneel looked up at his dad, listening intently for the secret to greatness. "It's going to take love. Your friends are what make you strong. One day you'll see how important they are. They're family." Igneel looked at his dad in admiration. The boy looked across the room and without another word walked away toward a table near the center of the room. Lucy watched, wondering what he was up to. There he tapped on the shoulder of a dark haired little girl and seemed to be exchanging a few words with her. Lucy jumped when she got a good look at her.
"Natsu, why is that little girl only wearing a bathing suit?" Igneel seemed to be saying something to the girl. The girl narrowed her eyes and in a puff of mist Igneel was covered in ice. "Wait… that can't be… Gray –?" Before Lucy could ask, Natsu was no longer near her; he was on the other side of the guild, nose to nose with Gray Fullbuster.
"Hey, what's the deal with your kid?!"
"My kid? Yours is the one that started it?!"
"Maybe if his father wasn't such a loser, Mr. I Wear a Vest But No Shirt!"
"At least I don't strip in public! Put some clothes on pervert!"
"Well, it's just like home, only more so now; there are two Natsu and two Gray." Lucy mused aloud.
Igneel and the little girl in the suit were nose to nose like their fathers, calling each other names.
"Big mouth!"
"Slanty eyes!"
Mira walked up to Lucy, "looks like another Fairy Tail couple in the making" she smiled. Suddenly Gray, Natsu, Igneel, and the little girl all simultaneously shouted that it would never happen. Gray and Natsu went at it again,
"What, my kid isn't good enough for yours?!"
"Not in a million years!" The kids looked embarrassed and angry now and wouldn't look at each other, but at least they had stopped fighting. Fairy Tail rumbled again from its very foundations; Lucy wondered what it was. This time it wasn't Gildarts; he was already there. Suddenly Gray and Natsu froze, one holding the other by the neck, one grabbing the other's shirt. A voice thundered and seemed to come from every direction.
"Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, cease your fighting NOW!" Lucy was terrified. She turned anxiously to Lisanna.
"Who…is..that?"
Lisanna gave a small nervous laugh, "It's just Erza." From the second floor, Erza jumped down to stand face to face with Natsu and Grey, fire blazing in her eyes. Suddenly, her voice became very sweet and cold.
"For the sake of the children," Erza smiled. The kids backed away from her slowly, and then ran outside. Natsu and Gray let go of each other, helping one another to stand up straight before hugging. She smiled big, "That's so much better. What a beautiful example of friendship for Igneel and Ur!" Natsu looked toward Lisanna, Mira, and Lucy. Erza turned too and in the seconds it took Lucy to realize what was happening, her face was already being hard-pressed against Erza's armor in an embrace.
"Lucy!" Red hair streamed over her face and she got a mouthful. "The guild has missed you so much! You're back, and Gildarts has returned for a little while; the guild should do something to celebrate!"
"Hard" Lucy squeaked. Erza let her go. Gray shuffled up to Lucy, Natsu still attached to his side in a stiff hug.
"Lucy," Gray watched her with surprised eyes. "It's good to see you." It had been years. She had heard on the way there about Natsu having a son, but she had heard nothing about Gray having a daughter.
"Gray, it's really good to see you too. Was that your daughter I saw earlier?" Gray blushed a little.
"Yeah... Her name is Ur."
Lucy hesitated. "Who's her mother?'
"That's….complicated." Gray's face looked somber and Lucy shivered a bit. It was then she realized she had probably said something wrong.
"I—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I shouldn't have asked,"
"Oh, no, it's fine!" He cut her off. "No, what I mean is, she is my daughter, but at the same time, she's not. You haven't been here, so you don't know…" 'Know what?' She wondered. She looked to Natsu who was standing with arms folded, looking at a distant wall. Gray began to talk.
"Ur was Juvia and Lyon's daughter. A few years ago, the two went on a job together, and they didn't come back. We don't know what happened. Ur has been in my care since." Lucy said nothing. She had wondered where Juvia was, but she hadn't imagined this. "Anyway," Gray cleared his throat, "she doesn't call me Dad or anything, I'm just Gray; whenever Lyon returns he'll still have his title, and his daughter will be one of the strongest Ice-Make mages to exist thanks to me. " 'Gray…' Lucy thought. 'First your parents, then Ur, and now Lyon… I'm so glad that you have Fairy Tail, and that little Ur has you. Ur hasn't even had a chance to choose the life of a wizard; it just fell to her.'
"Stop staring at me Lucy, it's creepy".
"Oh! Sorry! I wasn't staring, I was just zoning out!"
Happy flew up over Grays shoulder and purred, "She llllllikes you!"
"Stop it!" Lucy dove at Happy who dodged her effortlessly while singing out a chorus of 'llllikes you, lllikes you'.
Lucy sat at the bar and watched as everyone scurried to decorate the guild. The members of Fairy Tail could find almost any event as an excuse to celebrate. It was one of Lucy's favorite things about her guild family; they were always trying to have fun. Perhaps it was the only way to really overcome the sadness they encountered as mages. She thought of little Ur losing her parents, and the new foster family that embraced her. Ur's life as a wizard would possibly only bring about more loss, and her new family consisted of people who put themselves in harm's way every day. Lucy thought of her own life with Fairy Tail. She chose it for herself with the conviction that she would take the danger of loss any day just to be a part of them.
Natsu dragged a heavy banner across the floor and stopped in front of Lucy with an irritated look on his face. "Hey… how come Erza isn't making you do anything. It's your party, isn't it?" Mira popped up from behind the counter and startled them both.
"Erza said that Lucy and Guildarts don't have to do anything because the celebration is for them." Mira Jane smiled brightly. Happy lifted a heavy looking bag of decorations over their heads and complained,
"Lucy should help, she could use the exercise."
"Stop making fat jokes already!" Lucy screamed. Suddenly across the room a large boom echoed as a plume of smoke and mess of noise grew. Fire was racing up a banner that hung by one side. "Those two are going to destroy everything around them, just like their parents always do." Lucy sighed.
"What are you talking about? Lisanna doesn't go around destroying things. She's not like Mira. Ur's the monster; Igneel's just enthusiastic ." Happy dropped his bag of decorations on Lucy's head.
"They llllllike each other!" Both Lucy and Natsu grabbed Happy by the ears.
"Stop that Natsu!" Lisanna stood before him and Happy with a basket in her hands. "Is that any way to treat family? It's simple sibling jealousy". Natsu looked down and kicked at the floor as Happy flew into Lisanna's arms crying loudly.
"Nobody loves Happy anymore!"
"Oh Happy," Lisanna said, cradling him. "You'll always be our first born. I love you, and Natsu loves you. Natsu, tell him you love him." Natsu crossed him arms and looked somewhere out the corner of his eyes. Lisanna's face went dead pan. "Natsu. Tell. Him. You. Love. Him." Natsu mumbled what sounded like IloveyouHappy.
"Great!" Lisanna smiled. "Now hug!" She thrust happy into Natsu's chest, and Natsu smiled a little. To Lucy it was like watching two children play house. But it was more than that, because it was real. She'd never been able to imagine Natsu this way. The entire time that she travelled with Natsu, he was focused on saving everyone – this version of him, away from the constant strife of battle, was simply different. As Natsu and Happy went to go hang a banner, Lucy turned to Mirajane.
"Hey, Mira?"
"Hm?"
"Natsu has changed a little, hasn't he."
Mira looked up to the ceiling in thought. "Well, I think he's changed to be even more Natsu-like than he was."
"What do you mean? This is what Natsu is really like?"
"He's still Natsu, but years ago, when Lisanna disappeared into the Anima, part of Natsu went with her. I never thought I'd see that part of him again… or Lisanna. I thought death had taken them. Natsu was always fighting, but Lisanna saw more in him than that, and what she brought out of him, she took with her to Edolas. Then, when you came to Fairy Tail, you were kind of like Lisanna; and a little of Natsu came back, but still, Lisanna had that part of his heart with her still. When Lisanna…died, well, Natsu disappeared a lot back then; he didn't speak to anyone for a while. Eventually, he decided it was time to be strong... Did you know, Lisanna was the only one who didn't tease him about his saying that his father was a dragon? He wanted so badly to find Igneel. It became the only thing he cared about. Following some bad information he went off to a city in search of his father, but he returned and brought you to us instead. But that part of Natsu you're seeing now? That's what Lisanna brought back from Edolas." Mira smiled and leaned on the counter watching Happy play with Lisanna and Natsu. Lucy smiled too. Natsu finally seemed to have some peace. Though, it was still weird to see him do something other than pick fights or eat.
"Mira? Do you think this kind of peace can last in Fairy Tail? I mean, this is a wizard's guild; the life promises as much danger as it does adventure. It seems as though it's been too long since something has threatened the Guild… it feels like being in a dream, knowing you're going to wake up." Mira frowned a little.
"No, I don't think this peace will last either. As long as there is the desire for power, there will be those who try to abuse it. The world is full of powerful wizards, and Fairy Tail too is full of powerful wizards, including Natsu, and we are a threat. Sooner or later, we'll have to protect our family again, and protect those who cannot fight for themselves; but, for now, I'm trying to enjoy the peace and the memories that we are making. I just worry about the children. Ur has already lost two parents. " Mira paused. "But Gray believes they'll come back. Perhaps they really are still alive. Lisanna came back, and so many of us feel that anything is possible after that. I'm believing in a miracle for Ur's sake." Lucy glanced around at the guild hall, breathing in the familiar smells, taking in the familiar laughter and imprinting into her memory the new scenes before her. She thought of how Fairy Tail had once saved her.
"This place is her miracle."