I would like to start by saying thank you to those who read faithfully. I promise not to disappoint you during this last installment.
Strap on your seat belts kids, we are in for a rather bumpy ride!
Bring it on!
~Chrys
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Chapter 1: Civilization
Fiore, is a land where many Mage guilds flourish, but for one certain guild's circumstances guild they trouble seems to revolve around its core members no matter the circumstance. Rumors had been flying around about the infamous Mages guild, Fairy Tail, and the supposed absence of the three most unique members of said guild. Wendy Marvel, Gajeel Redfox, and the notorious Salamander, Natsu Dragneel, the resident Dragon Slayers.
Reports of the trio venturing out of an S-ranked Mission, where no details were to be reveal even to the member of the guild themselves, had spread far and wide. Several attempts had been made to appeal to Laxus Dreyer as well as Lucy Dragneel for details on what kind of mission could keep the trio away for more than three months, but the only comment either had given were. "That information is classified. Have a good day" or in Laxus's case. "To hell if I know, piss off!"
Inside the Guild, tensions were running high, as no word of the Colony had come in for over a week. The ever present feelings of foreboding cast an eerie shadow over the faces of the guild members, as they patiently waited for their comrades to return. Time was ticking away, and each mage did his or her best to prepare for the battles that were drawling nearer by the day.
The sun cast long shadows on the earth, signs of dusk coming to wrap the earth in the blanket of night.
From the woods appeared a group of nine cloaked figures covered in mud and remnants of melted snow.
Slowly they made their way to entered, Oleander, a small town in the Kingdom of Seven. (located north east of Fiore) The town lay nestled against the great Western Mountains of Seven. Being a town shadowed by a great mountain, the traveler's found it to be nearly vacant.
With their hoods pulled over their faces, the group made their way to the only inn located in the small town. Silence filled the air as they walked through the town. The crunch of fresh snow was the only sound to break the serenity of their little hike.
When they found the inn, the thought that it was larger than expected came to their minds simultaneously. The wood work suggested that the building was well taken care of, and the delicate paper screen doors gave it an elegance that was unlike the rest of the small town.
"Excuse me ma'am, can we have your largest room, if it is still available ." A female voice asked as she set a large purse on the counter. The little old woman who seemed to be taking a nap jumped a little as it clanked loudly. "We will only be spending one night, that should be substantial compensation for the accommodations." The old woman looked at the purse for a long minute before surveying the traveling companions. Once she was satisfied with her observation the old woman offered a smile, she hopped down from her seat and motioned for the group to follow.
"Yes, yes dear, right this way." She took a moment to bow, as did the travelers. "I have just the perfect room for you lot." The old woman offered another kind smile before they set off walking down the halls of the inn. With out warning the old woman stopped. "You are fortunate to find the only hot spring this far beyond Fiore." The old woman gave a child like giggle, as she opened the screen door to the room.
"Do you offer food ma'am, we are rather tired and hungry from our travels." The female asked, keeping her face hidden behind her cloak.
"Of course dear! I will bring some up in a little while, you and your companions, just enjoy the bath." The old woman smiled sweetly before she closed the doors.
The second the click resounded through the room, a collective breath was released, and a pink hair man threw off his cloak with a tired smile on his face.
"Man, I'm beat!" Natsu stretched his arms high above his head with an exaggerated yawn, before falling face first in the middle of the room and swiftly drifted off to sleep. The females giggled at the man's antics.
"Aye, sir!" Happy yawned as he walked over and flopped down right next to Natsu, curling into a cute ball before falling asleep himself.
"Hot springs! Hot Springs! Hot springs!" Levy cheered in a sing-song voice, prancing around happily, as she threw off her cloak. She immediately ran to the back door, sliding it open to have a look. Sure enough they were given a room with a private entrance to the springs, as well as their own private out door showering area. "Ladies first!" She pulled her pack off before grabbing Wendy and Lucy on her way back out the door. "Come on Charle!" She hollered over her shoulder.
"Make sure Natsu doesn't eat all the food before we're done, ok Laxus!" Lucy called before the screen door was pushed closed again. The female mages made their way over to the changing area, Levy stripped down as they walked.
"This is amazing! Look they have robes out here! Sweet, we don't have to go back in to get changed!" Levy was ecstatic to not only get a hot shower, but also to get a good soak in the hot spring. Maybe she would finally get the dirt out from under her nails, and get the matted dirt clean from her short blue locks.
"This must be the Honeymoon suite, either that or the presidential suite. It's certainly VIP standard." Lucy joked as she let the shower run over her sore body. Wendy turned to the other to and just giggled cheerfully as she cleaned herself.
"We are only three days walk, max from the mountains!" Levy exclaimed joyfully as she eased herself into the springs, a satisfied 'aww' escaped her lips as her muscles loosened in the warm liquid.
"If we keep to our schedule, we could probably make it in a little over two." Lucy stretched before lowering herself into the water next to Levy.
"Lucy-nee when we are done I wanted to show you that magazine I picked up, it the issue of Sorcerer that featured Levy's wedding, and you!" Wendy smiled brightly as she jumped into the spring, splashing the other two in the process. "There is a large article with pictures! I've been holding on to it for MONTHS now!" Wendy continued, as Levy and Lucy splashed her in the face.
Laxus leaned against the wall, keeping his cloak on, he listened to the conversation the girls were having, just to make sure they weren't trying to hiding anything from their other companions. He was still unsure of his cousin's actions, and knew she could hide the pain when necessary.
Three more days, were they finally that close? It had been longer than they had originally expected, much longer actually. So far they had run into several groups of bandits, large winged beasts, and even a pack of Valkons. It was worthy training for the two weakest of the group, but they had been slowed down considerably, they were two months behind schedule to be exact. Everyone was on high alert now that they were finally drawing near to their destination, any more distractions might cost them more than they were willing to pay.
Gajeel seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Laxus, keeping his cloak wrapped tightly around himself. Gajeel threw a blanket over the idiot who fell asleep in the middle of the floor, to keep the old woman from asking questions. He then took the opposite side of the room, protecting the main entrance. The men stayed silent, listening to their female companion enjoy the first real comforts they had been able to find in weeks.
There was a knock at the door. "You're dinner Miss" the old woman called.
"We are in the spring, can you bring it into the table for us?" Lucy called from out back. The door slide open, the old woman and a much younger woman (Probably her grand child) came in with trays of food. Laxus saw the blankets twitch, but Natsu seemed to stop in his tracks. Laxus smirked to himself, knowing that Lucy probably scolded him silently.
"Will there be anything else tonight, Miss?" The old woman bowed at the main door.
"Thank you, that is all." Lucy called. The old woman excused herself, closing the door on her way out. Laxus waited a few moments for verification. "It's safe now, Natsu if you eat more than your share I will punish you severely!" Lucy hollered, returning to her soaking. The lump under the blankets shuttered before coming out to look at the food.
Laxus removed his cloak, reaching over to grab his cousin's pack, he quickly shuffled through it to find the communication lycrima. He pulled it up to his face and connected to Fairytail, Mira-Jane's face came into focus "Laxus?" Mira sounded a tad bit disappointed. "Where's Lucy, I have things to update her on!" Mira's brow furrowed as she waited for a reply.
"Well hello Mira-jane, yes I'm doing very well! Nice of you to ask. How is everything going with you?" Laxus mocked, sarcasm dripping from every word. Mira gave him a stern look still waiting for him to get Lucy. "She's in the bath right now, can you just give me the update on Gramps, it's been more than a week since the last time we got to contact you." Laxus tried to contain his irritation, but he knew he was being louder than he wanted. It really didn't matter though, Lucy could just listen through his thoughts if she wanted.
"He's stable, even flirting with his 'pretty nurses' if you know what I mean" Mira laughed at the thought. "We are taking good care of him." Laxus relaxed a bit at the good news.
"Can you let him know we are about three days from our destination?" Mira nodded with a happy smile. "Also tell him that we'll try to make it back faster than we got here." Laxus smirked as Gajeel and Natsu shot twin glares in his direction.
"Of course, everyone will be elated to here that you will be coming home sooner rather than later. Oh, Laxus, can you tell Lucy that Cana is still abstaining for her training, she hasn't even asked for a drink this past week. Everyone has been working hard! It's kind of odd you know to see you walking around but knowing it isn't you... Jellal has your old personality down to a science I swear!" Mira giggled before continuing. "Oh and let her know I caught two ice mages out by the lake looking rather cozy. Ultear seems proficient in playing Lucy, too! We miss you all, can you tell them that?" Mira giggled, causing Laxus to shake his head, leave it to Mira to play match maker at a time like this. "Oh and tell her that Erza has been taking care of the paper work this week! It's actually been easy since Natsu hasn't been around to destroy anything!" Natsu growled before shoveling more food into his mouth.
"She probably already knows. Anyway I've got to cut this short, keep up the good work!" Laxus looked over to the door as it opened. Lucy nodded making her way to the table. "Bye Mira." Laxus put down the lycrima and went over to the table. Natsu had finished his portion and gone back to sleep in a matter of minutes. "I don't get what you see in him Lu." Laxus poked the fire mage in the stomach with a grimace.
"You're a guy, I hope you don't see what I see." Lucy couldn't help but giggle as her cousin shot her a heated glare. In some ways Laxus wanted to pretend that Lucy was still the same little girl he had trained with as a child, so talking about adult things made him some what uncomfortable. "Come on, Natsu is a wonderful person and you know it! He is loyal, honest and loving. Not to mention he is great at a lot of other things." This comment made Levy giggle, and Laxus choked trying not to relieve the churning of acid in his stomach.
"Eww. I don't need to hear that!" Laxus turned back to the table of food. "Man I don't even know if I can eat now." Laxus continued to complain playfully.
"Really? More for me then!" Lucy giggled when Laxus quickly scooped up his portion of the meal, despite his earlier protest.
"Hey Lu-chan..." Levy looked over at her friend with a critical eye.
"W-What?" Lucy asked nervously looking down at herself.
"..."
"Levy-chan you are acting like a weirdo!" Lucy squirmed under the gaze of her friend.
"Have you been sneaking extra portions?" Levy tilted her head trying to get a better look. "It looks like you put on a pound or two." Levy teased, poking Lucy in the side. Lucy's face turned bright red, as she crossed her arms over her chest. Wendy let out a squeak from Lucy's other side.
"I agree with Levy-nee! You do look like you gained some weight!" The younger girl pointed to Lucy's upper half. "I've noticed that you are leaving an extra button undone!" Wendy giggled. Lucy glared at her two friends before taking her portion of food over into the corner, grumbling about people being mean.
Once Gajeel and Laxus were finished eating they headed out to the spring for a much needed bath. Lucy decided to kick the sleeping Natsu and Happy out to join them before the dirt of their clothing and hair got incrusted in the floor.
The three female mages and Charle pulled out the mats and set them up around the room. Over their months of travel a routine had formed, and assigned sleeping places were developed. Once their work was finished Wendy pulled the Magazine out of her bag and brought it to the others. Wendy flipped through till she found what she was looking for.
"Oh look here is the article I was telling you about!" Wendy handed the magazine over to Lucy, with a sly smile.
"Big Changes at Fairytail!
-Violet Brant
I have been most fortunate to be invited to the Fairytail Guild once more to interview a certain Celestial Spirit Mage. Though it has only been a few months since my last encounter with Mrs. Lucy Dragneel, it seems a lot has happened in this span of time.
Many rumors have been circulating recently about changes for this infamous guild, and I was given the privileged of getting the truth from the source itself. It has been officially announced that there are two candidates for the Fifth seat as Master of Fairytail.
Laxus Dreyer- Grandson of the current master. He is a formidable mage with Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic. Though he has only recently been reinstated to the guild, hopes for his assent to Master are high when speaking to his guild mates. He is a man shrouded in mystery, as not much is know about his personal endeavors, he seems to keep his work life and personal life separated, so not many that I interviewed were able to give me any details. Laxus gives off a cold demeanor, and stands away from the crowd as though he is watching over them. He is a brave and prideful mage, and there for stiff competition! He has often been referred to as one of the strongest mages Fairytail has to offer!
Lucy Cassiopeia Dreyer Dragneel- Long lost grand daughter of Master Makarov. She is the most powerful Celestial Mage, holding the title of the Celestial Queen. Her magic is on a level I have never seen before. She holds all twelve of the Zodiac spirit keys as well as the Crystal Key of the Celestial Goddess. Lucy is able to summon any spirit at will, I have observed her personal protectors for myself, they acknowledge themselves as the Celestial Royal Guard. They consist of four of the most powerful Spirits of the Celestial Realm. And this is only her holder magic. Lucy possesses a Celestial Magic that is akin to that of 'Heavenly body' that the escaped convict Jellal Fernandez is known to use. I have witnessed her sense of justice and pride, as she punished Three Mages who had abused their contracted spirits. She wields a golden blade that should strike fear into the hearts of any of her enemies. From the conversations I have had with Master Makarov, he desires Lucy to be the one to follow in his foot steps.
I was fortunate to get the opportunity to sit down one on one with Mrs. Dragneel, she graciously shared her story with me in the hopes of setting things right from my last article about her. Her past is a sad one, and I will be honest that just remembering the look on her face as she spoke of her family brings tears to my eyes. The woman I met at her wedding only a few months ago, seems to have developed layers that I never dreamed imaginable. Not only is she able to smile no matter the situation, she is merciful and forgiving as well.
Her life is truly inspirational, and she is only in the beginning chapters of her tale. I wish her all the Luck in the world as she faces off with her cousin Laxus in the battle for the Seat of the Fifth Master of Fairy Tail!"
Lucy looked over the pictures of her match against the Celestial Mages, and found that Violet had captured a shot of her fighting Bastion as well. A satisfied smile crept over Lucy features as she continued to read about Levy's wedding.
"SO?" Wendy put her face in front of the magazine with a smile. Lucy let out a laughed before answering.
"And Vulpi doubted my plan! It worked like a charm!" Lucy put the magazine on the floor in front of her before standing to stretch.
"You planned all that?" Levy looked at her friend in disbelief.
"Most of it, I knew the three were looking for me the second I voided their contracts." Lucy's smile faltered momentarily. "Bastion on the other hand, I wished I had known that it was him, but the damage to his thoughts is so sever that it impairs my ability to understand him at long ranges." Lucy looked uncomfortable for a minute, but shook it off with a smile. "Well that should serve as a deterrent for any mage who had hopes of picking a fight while we are gone. Hopefully the knowledge that Laxus and I are going to be present at the guild in competition will be scary enough to keep unwanted guests away." Lucy crossed her arms over her chest laughing at her genius.
"Alright Mrs. Evil Overlord, I'm going to bed now." Levy rolled her eyes before making her way over to Gajeel by the back door. Panther Lily settled down into her lap before they curled up on the mat to sleep.
"I'm going to bed as well." Wendy rubbed her eyes before making her way to her mat in the corner where Charle was already settled in for the night. Lucy yawned and moved to snuggle next to her snoring husband.
"Night." She closed her eyes, letting her fatigue catch up to her.
Laxus propped himself against the wall, right next to the door. He knew that he would sleep lightly in order to kept on guard. He vowed to protect his family with his own hands and by heaven and hell, he'd be damned if anything happened to them because he let himself relax in the comforts of the inn. The room fell nearly silent, save for Natsu and Happy's snores.
(Lucy's dream)
I was laying down on something soft and comfortable, my body was tired and worn. Pain suddenly engulfed my entire body, causing me to scream out in agony.
"Just kill me!" I screamed, the pain was more than I could bare. "Please, just kill me!" My mind was in a fog from over exertion and fatigue, I opened my eyes, temporarily blinded by the brightness of the room.
"Luce, no one is going to kill you, so stop asking." Natsu seemed nervous as he grabbed for my hand.
Breath...
"Lu-chan just a bit more and you'll be ok, promise!" Levy said from the opposite side of the room. I tried to look at her, but another wave of pain cut off all thoughts. I screamed out against the pain, gritting my teeth.
Breath...
"I'll give you something for the pain, Lucy-nee, just hang in there!" Wendy wiped the sweat from her forehead as she worked. The pain intensified, and I found myself unable to breath.
So much Pain...
Need to breath...
God it HURTS!
"Lucy! You need to breath or you'll pass out!" Natsu's voice became a panicked squeak as he patted my face with a damp cloth.
Breath...
"M-M-Ma-k-ke i-i-ttt STOP!" I screamed as another wave of pain consumed me.
Lucy shot up breathing heavily. Quickly she looked over her limbs taking stock that everything was where it was meant to be, and in one piece. She cursed loudly looking around the room. Her eyes fell on Laxus who was looking right back, eyes blurry with exhaustion and worry.
"What was this one about?" His voice was hoarse from lack of sleep, but coated in pure concern.
"I was in a room, in excruciating pain, begging for death. Levy and Wendy were trying to help, but the pain only got worse. It hurt more than when I got caught by my own explosion." Lucy sighed, laying back down on her mat. "I felt so scared." Lucy stared at the ceiling. "It hurt so much I couldn't breath."
"Don't worry, if you saw Wendy there then I'm sure she was doing her best to heal you." Laxus kept his voice even, and tried his best to sooth his cousin's nerves. "You should go back to sleep, it's still early." Laxus gave his cousin a tired smile which she returned.
"I'll take guard duty for a while, you need to sleep a little too or you'll be no good to us." Lucy laughed, as she made her way over to the door. Her mind continued to play her dream over and over, analyzing every aspect for some clue as to what had been going on. She desperately wanted to know why she was in so much pain, and why her magic wasn't enough to heal it. After all she could heal herself now, she didn't need Wendy, unless she had used all her magic supply... could she have truly run out her magic supply? Lucy watched the others sleep on in peace.
**Flash back**
"Lucy, are you ok now?" Wendy grabbed on the the older woman, tears pouring down her face.
"What happened?" Lucy rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palm. "Where are we anyway?" She looked around and shivered against the cold.
"Lyra put you into some sort of Magical Coma." Natsu who had backed away so Wendy could examine his wife said from his spot on the ground. "We've already passed over the board into Seven."
"How long have I been asleep?" Lucy's voice became panicked.
"Two weeks, it's been a pain carrying you, brat." Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest.
"GAJEEL!" Levy smacked her husband with her bag before turning to her friend. "It doesn't matter how long you were out, how are you feeling?" Levy watched Lucy as she tried to remember what happened.
"Vulpi! I have to apologize!" Tears spilled freely from the blondes eyes. There was a familiar puff of smoke, revealing four figures.
"It's not that Bad, Lucy. I've already healed a long time ago." Vulpi gave her his best goofy smile. "What kind of friend would I be if I couldn't handle a little fight anyway." Lucy rocketed across the space, throwing her arms around the fox.
"I'm so sorry I lost it like that! I promise from now on I call Lyra to sing to me instead of fight!" The four spirits gather Lucy in a tight hug. "How is Grampa, please tell me he's ok."
"Mira says he is stable, but he'll be bed ridden for a while." Loke answered. "The old man won't give in that easily." This brought a smile to her face.
"Thank goodness." Lucy turned back to her other companions, running over and wrapping her arms around Natsu. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it!" She buried her face in his jacket.
"I already knew that." He offered a soft smile, wrapping his arms around her waist. "We are going to stop at the inn in this town, do you think you can walk now?" Lucy pulled back and laughed.
"We are going to head back. Call if you need anything." Loke said with a wink.
That night they rented three rooms, giving the couples some much needed alone time.
**End**
When the sun rose in the morning, Natsu was the first out of bed. He looked around and found Lucy sitting on guard duty, her eyes were half closed. "Luce I'll take over, go lay down till the old lady brings up breakfast." Natsu made his way over to Lucy who let out a large yawn. She got up and wrapped her arms around her husband.
"Thanks, I guess I am getting tired again." Natsu buried his face in her neck breathing in deeply. He stopped for a moment and pulled back.
"You feeling ok Lucy?" As if on cue Lucy felt her stomach churn.
"I'll be ok, just need some rest." She smiled weakly before making her way over to cuddle with Happy. Natsu watched with curiosity, that was a strange dreams she had last night. Natsu had developed a habit of inspecting her dreams after the first couple week of their journey, because Lucy wouldn't always talk about them openly. Some were gruesome, depicting people getting ripped to shreds by dark hooded figures, others were happy and light, where Lucy and her friends sat around a table in the guild gossiping.
The one that had really worried Natsu the most was a dream she had not that long ago, he remembered the fear that crept into his stomach as he watched her memories.
(Lucy's dream)
It was raining...
The sound of water hitting the roof of the Church echoed around them, the sky was crying, giving it's last farewell.
They were surrounded by figures hooded in black, the sounds of sobbing echoing painfully in their ears.
Lucy stood in the cemetery, crying, she held on tightly to Natsu's arm as she sobbed.
The name on the grave wasn't clear, but the date of death was X794.
Natsu looked around, trying to hold back the tears, but a small voice calling out broke him and he fell to his knees eyes spilling over.
The rain beat down on them, the other figures fading away. Only Lucy Natsu and the small voice remained in front of the grave.
He hoped that he was wrong about who's grave they were standing in front of, but deep down he knew he was right. Lucy wouldn't look away, she held on as though releasing Natsu's arm would allow the world to end.
The rain pounded against them, beating the harsh reality of loss into their hearts.
(end)
Natsu wrapped his cloak around himself, when he heard a knock at the door. "Miss we've brought breakfast for you and your companions." The little old lady called.
"Thank you for your hospitality." Lucy replied from her space on the floor. "Would you be so kind as to leave it there, I'm afraid one of my companions is not feeling well, I would rather not risk your health any further." The old woman wished the young lady good health and made her way back to her post. Natsu waited for the signal before opening the door to gather the food.
"Breakfast!" He yelled waking the others up. "As soon as we are done, we should get out of here!" There was a murmur of agreement as the nine companions dug into their food.
::A/N:: In case you are wondering why they are hiding themselves with cloaks, the answer is that they are famous, and don't want to get recognized. The land of Seven is technically to the East of Fiore, but the Mountain range I'm talking about is North of Magnolia. If you get confused let me know and I'll send you a link to a map of Earthland! Anyway, they will be getting to the Dragon King's Lair with in three days so long as things go according to plan. haha that's silly, to think anything would be easy for this gang. Let me know how it is!
