Hey all! This is my first ever Fairy Tail story. Introducing... a tough, confident version of Lucy Heartfilia! Or to put it in simpler terms, it's Lucy Heartfilia with the attitude her canon Edolas counterpart had. And the outfit too, for that matter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters!
Natsu frowned. "Hargeon, you say? Rumors of a man calling himself Salamander?"
The older man nodded. "That's right. I thought you'd be interested, so I'm passing on what I heard."
Natsu grinned. "Thanks, man! Hey, Gramps, I'm headed to Hargeon port to check something out!"
Makarov nodded. "Alright. Good luck and take care, my boy."
Natsu waved at everyone before sprinting out of the guild, Happy flying right behind him.
"Master?" Mira asked worriedly. "You forgot, didn't you?"
"Eh?" Makarov scratched his head. "Forgot about what?"
"About her!" Mira hissed. "She's coming back from her hunt, remember? She's bound to be at Hargeon right now! If those two meet, then..."
Makarov paled. "Damn, I did forget. Well... it was nice knowing the city."
"Excuse me, sir?" A train worker leaned over Natsu, concerned. "The train has arrived at Hargeon. Are you alright? Is this your stop?"
Natsu groaned weakly. "I'm never riding a train again. Ever!"
"Don't worry!" The blue cat assured the man. "It's normal for Natsu to be sick on transportation."
"Natsu, come on!" Happy urged. "Salamander should be in this town!"
"Just... let me rest for a while..." Natsu muttered weakly. Happy hopped out the window and looked up at him. "Aye!"
The Exceed sweatdropped when the train started moving again, with Natsu still trapped on it. "It departed already."
"What a dump." The girl scowled. "This place hasn't changed at all. They still only have one magic shop." Sighing, she walked inside.
The old shopkeeper looked up when his customer entered. The girl had blond hair with some of it tied in a tail at the back, and was wearing a black sleeveless vest with matching pants, shoes, and fingerless gloves. She also had a tattoo on her left forearm.
"Oi, old geezer." She greeted the man. "You got any cool stuff in here?"
The man frowned, but began to look around. "I did get some new stuff recently, but not many people in Hargeon use magic, so I mostly have things for traveling mages."
"Do you have any gate keys?" Lucy asked him. "Preferably strong ones?"
The man brightened. "I have the white dog key, but it's not very strong."
Lucy shrugged. "It's ok, I'll take it. How much?"
"20000 jewels."
The girl leaned forward. "Excuse me?"
"I said it's 20000 jewels."
Lucy reached for the zipper of her vest. "I wonder how much it really is..." She purred.
"Woohoo!" Lucy cheered. "A 50% discount! I'm a genius! A sexy one too!"
Lucy snapped out of her reverie when she noticed a multitude of girls running somewhere. "What the hell's going on?"
"You!" She grabbed a random girl and swung her around to face her. "Tell me what's going on. Now!"
"Salamander-sama is in town!" The giddy girl squealed, not even noticing how she was treated. "Hurry or you'll miss him!"
Lucy frowned and let the girl go. "Salamander?" She rubbed the guild mark under her glove unconsciously. "Why would he be here?"
"He seems popular." Lucy observed as she watched girls flock towards one spot. "Didn't think the guy was such a showoff."
"Move." The girl muttered, shoving past the crowd. "Get lost. You too. Out of my way." She pushed past the last two women and looked at Salamander.
"Huh." She frowned. "I know I never met him in person due to annoying coincidence and bad mission timing, but he doesn't look anything like he does in Reedus' pictures. Must be a fake using the name."
"This joker isn't worth my time." She muttered. "You'd have to be an idiot to fall for that Charm spell he's throwing around. Guess that explains why so many weak fangirls are here."
"Igneel!" Someone shouted, catching her attention. "Igneel!"
Lucy looked back towards the scene and watched a pink-haired boy frown at the fake Salamander. "Who are you?" She heard.
Dick move, kid. She winced as she watched the horde of women stomp the boy flat.
"Now, now." The pretender soothed. "I'm sure he didn't mean to insult me." He scribbled something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Natsu. "Here, you can have my autograph."
"I don't want it." The boy pouted, before the beating recommenced.
"He doesn't understand women at all, does he?" Lucy asked herself. "Salamander Natsu. Tch... idiot."
"I appreciate the attention, ladies." The fake smiled charmingly once Natsu was sent flying. "But I have some errands to run, so please excuse me." He leapt on a wisp of purple flame and soared away. "We're having a party on my ship tonight!" He shouted, fading away. "So please come!"
"What was up with that guy?' Natsu grumbled as he watched him fly away.
"Isn't it obvious?" A voice from behind asked him. "He likes the attention."
Natsu eyed the whip at the girl's belt nervously. "And who are you?"
"I'm Lucy." The girl smirked, reaching out a hand to help Natsu up. "I heard you're looking for Salamander. Tell me more about him."
"Sorry." Natsu stood up. "I have to ask that guy a few things." A hand suddenly grabbed him and spun him towards her.
"I wasn't asking."
"You're surprisingly nice. Scary, but nice." Natsu choked in between bites of food.
Lucy leaned back. "Yeah, I saved 10000 jewels today, so I'm feeling generous. Don't get used to it."
"Aye!" Happy mumbled around his fish.
Lucy sweatdropped as food kept flying everywhere. "So, you two are Natsu and Happy, right? I'm a mage too, you know."
Natsu eyed her suspiciously. "How'd you know we're mages?"
Lucy scowled. "I know you're the real Salamander. Why else would you run around a port city shouting the name of a dragon who vanished several years ago?"
Natsu shot up. "Ok, talk. Who exactly are you and how do you know about Igneel?"
"Sit down." Lucy sneered. "I'm a mage. Word gets around about those of us who are really powerful."
Natsu grinned at that. "So I'm really powerful, huh?"
"No." Lucy deadpanned. "You're just famous because you destroy a ton of crap every time you do something."
Natsu ignored that. "So what magic do you use, then?"
Lucy held up her key-ring. "I summon Celestial Spirits." She said simply.
Natsu's eyes widened and he turned to Happy. "Hey, Happy! Isn't there a Spirit Mage in the guild? She's been gone for a long time and I never actually met her, but she's an S-Class mage! Man, I want to fight her!"
She's sitting in front of you. Lucy thought, smirking. And you'd lose.
"I guess I'll be going." Lucy stood up and put a few bills. "You guys can go ahead and eat your fill."
Every head snapped to Natsu and Happy as they knelt in front of Lucy, bowing and thanking her for the food as tears ran down their cheeks.
"Idiots!" The blond yelled, sending them into a wall with a kick. "Stop making a scene!"
"So my guild's been causing trouble again, huh?" Lucy mused as she reclined on a park bench, studying a copy of Sorcerer Weekly. "Sheesh. The flame-brain destroyed the Devon Thief family and seven houses belonging to townsfolk along with it."
Lucy flipped the page over. "Oh, Mira's posing again. I haven't seen her in so long now. It's been two whole years since I last visited the guild, not like I hung out there much though. My whole time there was mission, mission, short break, mission, S-class mage trials, mission, S-class mission, S-class mission, and two-year key hunt. I spent a grand total of 11 days with my peers, it'll be interesting to see if they still remember me. Judging by what that Natsu kid said earlier, they do remember."
Lucy gave a large smile. "There's no denying it, Fairy Tail is the best!" She exclaimed.
"I see." The fake Salamander popped out of the bush behind her bench. "So you want to join Fairy Tail."
"Huh?"
"I've been looking for you, you know." The man continued. "I really wanted to invite a beautiful lady such as yourself to my party."
Lucy scowled. "Get lost, weirdo."
"Wait up!" The poser shouted as he ran after her. "I can get you into Fairy Tail!"
There's something weird about how insistent he is. Lucy frowned. Maybe I should see this thing through, just in case he's really up to something.
"Fine." Lucy sighed. "I'll come."
"Great!" The man grinned. "Just come to my ship this evening and I'll get you in Fairy Tail for sure!"
Lucy sighed again as the guy flew off on his weird fire. Idiot.
"So your name's Lucy, huh?" The man smiled. "That's a very nice name. It suits you."
Lucy gave a bored nod, sprawled out on a sofa and reading her magazine.
"You don't act like most girls I've met." The pseudo-Salamander observed. "You're very... different."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Lucy scoffed. "Who'd want to be compared to those weak-minded gullible fools anyway?"
The man chuckled and poured her a glass of wine. "Here you go, a festive drink for a festive party."
"Sure." Lucy grunted, taking the glass and throwing it over her shoulder without even glancing at it. "I'll have another glass, without a sleeping drug this time. That okay with you?"
"I'm impressed." The poser raised an eyebrow. "You seem both very skilled at magic and extremely confident."
"I can smell the bad body odor of your grunts hiding behind the curtains." Lucy gave a small yawn. "Why not tell them to come out, eh?"
The host snapped his fingers. "You heard the lady. Come out!"
"Excellent." Lucy noted, springing up from the sofa and grabbing one thug, throwing him into two others and knocking all three out. "Now this party can really begin!"
"You are a mage, aren't you?" The man asked casually, hidden behind his small army of grunts. "Yes, I can see your keys. That makes you a Stellar Spirit mage. You really think you can beat my men without summoning anything?"
Lucy shrugged. "You asked for it." She held up a golden key. "Open, Gate of the Scorpion. Scorpio!"
"We are, yeah!" A tanned man with a large tail appeared, cheering. "What's up?"
"Get rid of these guys." Lucy told him, pointing at the thugs.
"We are!" Scorpio grinned and sent a blast of sand at them. "Sand Buster!"
Scorpio sighed as he looked the sand-covered weakly groaning bodies. "That's it? Did someone trick you into taking a low-level mission or something, Lu?"
"Nope!" Lucy grinned. "This is just a typical evening for me. These guys wanted to see a Spirit, so... I summoned you."
"Yeah!" Scorpio chuckled. "See ya, Lu!" He shouted, disappearing back to the Spirit World.
"Guess it's my turn." The leader observed, holding up a branding iron. Before he could act, however, Natsu crashed through the ceiling.
Lucy stared. "What in the...?" Taking advantage of the distraction, a still conscious thug yanked her keys out of her hand and threw them out into the sea.
"You idiot!" Lucy screamed, tossing the same man at Natsu, who was rapidly turning green from motion sickness. "I had this covered! What are you doing here?"
"Never mind." She snapped before he could answer. "Just deal with this guy, I'll go get my keys back." Before the fake Salamander could react, she ran up to the railing and jumped over it into the water.
"Let's see." Lucy put a finger to her mouth, pretending to think. "Water + ship + idiot who can't handle moving + big wave = lots of fun! And I have just the Spirit for it too!" Lucy plunged the tip of a key into the water. "Open, Gate of the Water Bearer. Aquarius!"
A mermaid-ish woman appeared next to Lucy, carrying a vase filled with water.
"Tch." The spirit scoffed. "You again?"
"You don't have any other summoners!" Lucy shouted at Aquarius.
"A fact that pains me to this very day." The woman sighed dramatically. "What do you want?"
"Don't take that tone with me, you wet fish!"
"What are you gonna do about it, you juvenile tramp?"
"PMS-ing bitch!"
"Cheap whore!"
"Freak cosplayer!"
"Flat chest!"
Lucy grinned. "Ah, I missed this."
"Indeed." Aquarius gave a similar grin. "You should summon me more often, I have a whole notebook full of creative insults. Seriously though, what do you need this time?"
Lucy pointed at the ship. "Just blast that back to shore."
The woman nodded and prepared her vase. "Damage limit?"
"Mediocre condition, none dead, no flooding the city streets."
"Ok."
Aquarius swung her vase and a huge whirlpool formed under the ship, swirling it around and around until the churning suddenly ended and the ship was sent hurling to the shore with a large wave bearing down on it.
"Did I mention I have a friend prone to motion sickness on that ship?" Lucy asked innocently.
Aquarius burst out laughing. "That's just cruel, Lu." She smiled. "We'll, I'm done here. Don't call on me for the next week, I'll be going on vacation with my boyfriend. You know, that thing you'll never have?"
"Arrogant slut!"
Aquarius laughed again. "Take care, Lu." She told the girl as she disappeared.
"Ah, the rocking stopped." Natsu straightened up. "You. Are you a mage of Fairy Tail?"
Standing in the doorway, Lucy sighed. "Idiot, getting all riled up like that over one crook." She muttered.
The faker sneered. "And if I am, then what?"
Natsu scowled and threw a random thug at the man. "I'm Natsu of Fairy Tail, and I have never seen your face before!"
"That mark." A badly beat-up grunt wheezed, staring at Natsu's bare shoulder. "He's the real deal, Bora-san."
"Don't call me that, you idiot!"
"Bora of Prominence." Lucy muttered. "He got kicked out of the Titan Nose guild because he used magic to steal."
"Aye." Happy agreed, floating next to her head.
"Huh." Lucy mused, staring at the blue cat. "You can fly. Somehow, that isn't the weirdest thing I've seen."
"Aye!"
"I don't care if you're a bastard or a damn hero." Natsu growled. "I won't forgive you for using our name!"
"Shut up, brat." Bora sneered and blasted Natsu with purple fire. "Heh, that showed him."
"That's just awful." Natsu announced as the flames were somehow sucked into his open mouth. "I've never eaten such disgusting flames before. Are you really a fire mage?"
"This still isn't the weirdest thing I've ever seen." Lucy commented.
"You've seen a lot of things, haven't you?" Happy asked. "What's the weirdest thing you've seen, Lucy?"
"My own boobs on another body."
Happy sweatdropped and turned back to Natsu.
"Aah." The pink-haired boy wiped his mouth. "That hit the spot."
"What the hell?" Bora shouted in fear. "He just ate fire!"
"Fire won't work on Natsu." Happy commented.
"Now that I've eaten, I'm all fired up!" Natsu yelled, before putting his fists in front of his face and taking a deep breath.
"Bora-san, I've seen him before!" One of the thugs shouted. "That pink hair and the scaly-looking scarf... he's the real Salamander!"
Natsu roared as he blew out a gust of flame all over the battlefield, before jumping through it with a flaming fist and nailing Bora right in the face. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
Bora screamed in pain as he shot through several walls, bringing down an entire row of buildings.
"Natsu learned this from Igneel." Happy explained. "It's Dragon Slayer magic!"
"Interesting." Lucy remarked as Natsu spewed out more flames for some reason. "He took down half the city. This will be fun to explain."
"Aye!"
A contingent of soldiers rushed into the city. "What is the meaning of this?" The commander yelled at them.
"Crap!" Lucy shouted, grabbing Natsu by his scarf and pulling him away from a thoroughly singed Bora. "We gotta go!"
"I heard you wanted to join Fairy Tail!" Natsu shouted, as he flapped along in the breeze behind her. "I'll talk to the Master for you!"
"Aye!"
Lucy face-palmed. "Not this again."
AN: Yes, Lucy has Angel's keys. That means Aries, Scorpio, Gemini, and Caelum. For the sake of the Oracion Seis arc, Angel will still show up, but her keys will be different.
