Updated: 07-02-18

Heya guys!

First of all, I want to thank you for your support during these difficult times of stupid exams!

I want to thank Mavis-dragneel-7 for being this story's first reviewer! Sweetie, you'll always have a dear place in my heart!

To Srae13: Thanks for being the first one to tell me to continue this story! I dedicate this chapter to you!

To tuiandla75: Thanks for wishing me good luck!

And also a big thanks to Keri-Jen for your sweet words!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail and sadly never will...


SweetLoveAngel2

Changing Ends - Chapter 2, Us against the World


~Dedicated to Srae13~

Brown eyes carefully inspected her surroundings, a frown creeping up the young girl's face as disappointment hit her hard.

"There's only one magic store in this town?" She asked, bending down to meet the store owner's eye level.

"Yes," The old man backed up a bit. "This town is more prosperous in fishing than Magic to begin with." Lucy straightened up, her long white dress flowing with her movements. "Only less than ten percent of the townspeople can use magic…" He explained, making Lucy sigh in irritation.

'We are aware of this already. Get a move on, Old Man!' A voice rang in her mind, making her clutch her temple.

"So this store is mainly targeting travelling mages." He continued, a bit taken aback by her sudden attitude.

"I think I've wasted my time." Lucy turned to leave, not really liking being in such a crowded place.

"Please don't say that and have a look around." The man tried to persuade her to stay, hoping she'd maybe still buy something. "We have some new items, too."

The man took out one of the items, a 'Colors', which could easily change the color of one's outfit to correspond with their mood. Lucy was only half paying attention, her eyes searching for a specific item.

"I already have it." Lucy quickly answered before the man would try and get into even more detail about the item.

'We could also just ask him.' A second voice spoke. 'It's not that hard. We have a mouth. So why aren't we using it?' Lucy sighed again at their impatience.

"I'm looking for the Keys of the Gates. Strong ones." She looked around, spotting what she had been looking for.

An elated expression crept on her face upon noticing the Key of the Canis Minor.

"How much is it?"

"20.000 jewels." The man answered.

'He's got to be kidding us, right?'

Lucy ignored the comment and repeated her question. "I wonder how much it is."

"I said, 20.000 jewels." The man looked up at her suspiciously.

'Let's just kiss him and take the Key.' Once again, Lucy pretended as if something dark in her mind hadn't voiced its desire.

"I wonder how much it really is." She leaned forward, showing her cleavage to the ogling old man.

"I guess a beautiful young woman such as yourself deserves some praise…" The man began, his finger tapping his chin in thought. "I could give you a discount… Because it's such a beautiful day…"

Lucy grinned.

"That'll be 19.000 jewels, miss." The man smiled as Lucy tried not to look hurt.

She paid for the Key in a hurry, not wanting to spend another minute with that stupid old man who didn't appreciate good looks.

"He only gave me a 1.000 jewel discount!" Lucy was talking to no one in particular, though one voice in her head felt the need to irritate Lucy even more.

'We should've just kissed him while we had the chance.' The voice spoke in an annoyed tone.

"Is my sex appeal only worth 1.000 jewels!?" Lucy let out her frustration on a billboard that crossed her path.

'Well, I think we still look beautiful.' The second voice said a little too cheerfully.

"Listen, you guys," She spoke aloud, but tried to keep her voice as low as possible. She remembered all too well how people had been staring at her on the train when she tried to shut those two up. "hush. For once, could you please just shut u-"

Lucy's attention was pulled away from the conversation as the excitement around her reached her ears.

"What's going on there?" She wondered, watching how a couple of women were squealing and screaming about something.

As the name Salamander reached her ears another big smile appeared on her face, remembering what she actually came to this town for.

'I guess we're lucky to have found him this quickly.' For once, Lucy could agree and nodded her head excitedly as she followed the women to a square.

Lucy approached the crowd as she tried to keep herself from squealing along with the others.

'Didn't Em-'

"Now hush! I can't think like this!" She ordered the two to shut up as she pushed through the crowd to get a better look.

'What's this?'

Lucy felt it too, something strange had come over her, making her heart suddenly drum in her ears.

'The lowly human thinks he can trick us.' The voices both burst out in laughter at the foolishness of the Mage in front of Lucy.

The man looked at Lucy, nearly making her faint from happiness as their eyes locked.

'Too bad our Mistress can't seem to shake this annoying spell…'

"I-I'm trying." Lucy gritted her teeth, but her body moved on her own.

"Igneel!" Lucy's eyes locked with obsidian ones for a fleeting moment before the boy's eyes darted up to meet the Great Salamander.

'Hmm, what an intriguing development.'

Lucy didn't even hear the voice in her head snicker, she could only watch in awe as the pressure on her chest was lifted. She took in his appearance; pink, rosy locks, dark obsidian eyes, tanned skin, and an incredibly handsome face.

"Who're you?" The boy asked.

"Maybe you know me as Salamander." The man struck a strange pose, but the boy didn't stay to watch. He retreated through the crowd, shoulders slumped in disappointment.

Lucy watched as the group of crazy, obsessed women suddenly turned their anger towards the boy.

The scene unfolded before her eyes, giving her more and more reasons to pummel this Salamander jerk in the face.

She saw him 'save' the boy from the aggressive crowd and give him a signature, but the boy blatantly refused, evidently getting him thrown out of the crowd.

Lucy didn't even pay attention to the smug Mage anymore, her eyes staring at the pink-headed boy who watched in annoyance as Salamander left.

"He's really disgusting."

The boy turned his head around to look at where the voice had come from, effectively taking Lucy's breath away upon closer inspection of the young man's gorgeous features.


"Thanks for earlier." She smiled, two pairs of eyes looking up at her in confusion.

"Yhurr ah naiz burrzonn." The boy spoke as he stuffed his face. Lucy let out an embarrassed laugh, not understanding what he had said at all.

'Oh, he thinks we're nice people.'

"Yhup, yhup." The cat affirmed what his companion had said.

'No, not us. The cutie thinks she is a nice person.' The other voice snickered.

'Ohh, how very interesting indeed. This is a lovely turn of events.' The first voice started to giggle, joining in on the fun secret Lucy didn't understand.

'Especially since the poor boy couldn't be more wrong.'

"You are Natsu and Happy, right?" Lucy repeated as her eyes lingered a few moments longer on the small blue cat. "I understand you, so just eat slowly." Food was flying everywhere as the two devoured their meal as if someone was going to take it from them.

"That Salamander guy was using Magic called 'Charm'." The cat looked at her as if she had suddenly grown a second head. "It's a magic that attracts other people's hearts to the caster and was already banned several years ago…" She explained while Happy munched on a fish.

Lucy paused, a frown on her face as she clenched her fists beneath the table. "How disgusting. Trying to get attention using such vulgar methods." She looked back up, the two in front of her still attacking their food, making Lucy wonder if they were even listening.

"Thanks to you guys jumping in, Charm wore off, though. I may not look like it, but I'm a mage, too." She smiled, earning herself a look from Natsu as he was ripping the meat off a bone. "I'm not a member of any guild yet, though."

She continued talking, explaining what a guild was, the two voices in her head screaming at her to just stop talking already.

"I'll surely join that guild." Lucy rested her chin on her hands. "I bet I can get many big jobs there."

"I… I see…" Natsu didn't quite know what to say.

"You talk a lot." The cat stated, making the two voices in Lucy's head yell in affirmation, giving Lucy a massive headache.

"By the way," Lucy spoke when the uproar in her head had simmered down. "aren't you guys looking for someone?"

"Aye. It's Igneel." Happy spoke before swallowing the last piece of fish.

The two explained their reason for coming to the Port Town, Hargeon, but Lucy didn't quite understand what they were saying.

"How could a human look like a salamander?" She asked, grateful the voices inside her head were still silent.

"Hmm?" Natsu stopped chewing the food he had in his mouth, looking at her as if what he was about to say was perfectly normal. "He's not a human. Igneel's a real dragon."

'We found him.'

"There's no way such a thing would be in this town!" Lucy raised her voice, not paying attention at all at the conversation that was going on in her mind.

'She's just too stupid to comprehend it.'

"Don't tell me you just only realized that!" She exclaimed when they froze at her previous statement.

'How interesting! How will our Mistress react when she finally realizes it?'

'We'll have to wait another hundred years before that dense idiot reaches our level.'

'Maybe we'll be lucky and he'll make the first move!'

'Perhaps… Though we aren't the kind of creatures that are blessed with luck.'

'That's true… But our Mistress isn't like us, is she?'

'Regretfully.'

'So she says…'

'Yes, so I say. Let us not forget who we are and what we desire. More importantly, she must not forget what we truly are.'

'We should not underestimate our Mistress. Maybe we're- No, maybe she will be the one to finally end this. After all, she wasn't chosen just because of her charms.'

"What's that about my charms?" Lucy cut in as she walked over to a bench in the park.

'Where's the cutie? Did we get dumped already?'

"We-" She quickly corrected herself. "I did not get dumped!" Lucy hissed, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself as she leafed through the Weekly Sorcerer Magazine. "Geez, you guys are driving me crazy." She sighed. She wanted to say more, but something in the magazine caught her eye.

She hugged the magazine to her chest when she saw the Drawing Card of Mirajane, squealing like a little girl as she divulged herself further into the magazine.

"Fairy Tail is the best." She gushed.

'Hmph, why are we getting so excited. Don't act like a kid. We haven't forgotten about our mission yet, have w-' The voice didn't finish the sentence, noticing the presence before he had even spoken.

"I see. You want to join Fairy Tail."

Lucy jumped from her seat, surprised to see Salamander hiding suspiciously in the bushes behind her.

'Walk away!' The voices ordered her, making her even more irritated, something that she gladly worked out on the creep in front of her.

The conversation didn't last long and Lucy was already heading towards another direction.

"Wait up!" She ignored his pleas. "You! You want to join Fairy Tail, right?"

This made her stop in her tracks, the words echoing through her mind and drowning out the voices that told her to keep on walking.

Lucy turned around, making eye contact with Salamander. A shiver ran down her spine as their eyes met, but a smirk quickly worked its way onto her face.

'That idiot! She's not listening to us at all!'

'We were told we needed to let the Mistress walk her own path…'

'Her poor lack of judgement is going to get us killed.'

"C'mon guys, where's your enthusiasm? I just got our asses into Fairy Tail!" She cheered.


'Oh my, she may truly become the death of us…'

"Focus, Lucy."

Adrenaline was rushing through her trembling frame at such a speed her heart felt like bursting.

Her teary eyes met with black ones, so endlessly empty she felt her whole mind being sucked in. Before she could lose herself, excruciating pain shot through her chest, making her body spasm and strain against the thorny bonds that held her down.

Fresh tears slipped from her eyes as she tried to blink the pain away. A bloodcurdling scream escaped her lips as a force pulled at something so deep in her core she felt as like her entire being was being torn apart from the inside out.

"Finish it." His voice was calm, yet deadly.

Eyes, as red as the hot blood that dripped down from her wounds, forced her to bite through the torture.

"C-come forth,-" Her voice failed her, air getting knocked out of her when she felt her magic collide against the darkness in her body. She gritted her teeth, digging her nails into the flesh of her palms as she continued the spell. "Lady C-"

Lucy's eyes shot open, the starry night sky staring down at her.

"It's been a while since I've had that dream..." Lucy spoke absentmindedly to herself, forgetting, for just a moment, she wasn't alone. She forced her heavy body off the bed, shivering when her bare feet touched the tiled floor. "Why did you show me this, Camio?" She asked as she walked out onto the balcony and leaned forward on the railing of the old hotel.

'You're forgetting why we're doing this, Lucy. You're forgetting why we have to endure this. You need to stop acting like a child an-'

"I must've really pissed her off, huh, Glasya." Lucy spoke to the second entity, cutting off the first's scolding. "Calling me by my name all of a sudden." She laughed, easing up the tension that had started to arise.

'Please, Mistress Lucy, we are just worried… If something happens and you die-'

'If you screw up we'll be the ones receiving Emperor Zeref's punishment!'

"He's not an Emperor yet." Lucy stated, both voices gasping at her dangerous words.

"Listen," Lucy spoke softly as she turned to head back inside. "I know I haven't done anything to earn your trust yet and I know I've still got a few things to learn – a lot of things actually – but I'm asking you guys to trust me on this." She unfastened the round golden brooches on her shoulder that kept her attire together and slipped out of the long white pleated robe when it fell to the ground.

She looked herself over in the mirror, her eyes settling on the bruise that had formed on her sternum. She traced her fingers lightly over the blackened skin that slowly started to disappear again.

She grinned widely in the mirror, snapping her fingers that made a dark purple dress appear on her naked body as she voiced her excitement. "Now, let's get this party started."


The music and the clatter of people on Salamander's boat made it almost impossible to hear the flattering words that were addressed to her.

"Lucy, huh? That's such a pretty name." The aforementioned man spoke to her with a flirtatious look in his eyes.

Lucy forced a smile on her face as she thanked the man for the compliment that had made a shiver run up her spine.

'We could've been at Fairy Tail's already…' Lucy heard Camio complain in her head, making her jaws clench as she tried not to let her smile fall. She knew what Camio was talking about, but couldn't afford to shut her up at this moment, not wanting these creeps to think she was crazy.

A smug smile formed on Salamander's face as he offered her wine that she tried to refuse.

'Be careful.' The voices warned her about the drink, but Lucy had already noticed the magical scent that the red liquid emitted.

"Try opening your mouth." He said with a smooth voice. "Pearls of wine will slowly float in." He made a motion with his hand, forcing the drops of wine to fight against gravity and drift towards her.

She rose to her feet, abruptly slapping the magical wine away that spilled all over the wooden floor.

"What are you planning?" She voiced the question to which she already had the answer. The man was amused, almost seeming impressed at her alertness.

'Behind us!'

The voices called out to her, but she remained where she was, her fierce gaze staring down at the pathetic man in front of her.

"You're a bad girl." His voice changed, his tone darker, more twisted, but Lucy still didn't move.

She let herself get grabbed from behind, feigning surprise and fear as she struggled against the not so very strong grip the men had on her arms.

"Who are you?" She demanded, needing to draw out their plans.

She was forcefully grabbed by her chin and pulled forward. "Welcome to out slave ship." Salamander spilled his secrets without any hesitation as he leaned in closer to her face.

That was all Lucy needed to hear for her to spring into action. She pulled her arm free, a grin now evident on her face as she reached for her Keys that hung on a chain, attached to a small belt around her upper leg.

Then her smile fell, her hand grabbing at nothing but air.

Annoyance hit her hard when she realised she hadn't noticed Salamander taking her Keys.

'You idiot!' She heard Camio curse at her, but she just rolled her eyes at the incessant screaming in her head.

'Don't worry, Our Mistress still has a plan!' Glasya's encouraging words backed her up.

"… a magic only Celestial Spirit Mages can use. Meaning it's useless for me." Lucy's heart sunk as she watched Salamander throw her keys away.

'A plan that has just flown out the window…' Camio's voice was soft, but Lucy could hear the anger and venom she had yet to unleash at her.

"Let me brand you as the slave you are." The man held out a branding iron, glowing red hot in her face as he brought it closer.

A painful throb pounded in her chest, making Lucy's mind go blank before the hot iron had even touched her skin.

"No…" Her voice came out in a whisper, the pain wreaking havoc in her body. "don't..."

"Don't?" Salamander laughed at her plea, but Lucy was no longer able to hear him.

'Let us take over~' The voices in her head sang to her, the pounding increasing with each passing moment, making tears stream down her cheeks as she desperately tried to push back the force that was pulling at her core. The world lost its colour and Lucy's senses were slowly being overtaken.

The dull sound of a crash reached Lucy's ears and she forced herself to look up at the source of all the commotion.

There he was; broad shoulders hidden beneath a dark coat, a scaly white scarf around his neck and rosy, pink locks that made her heart pound for different reasons.

In an instant, the painful throbbing dissipated and Lucy regained control of her senses.

"Natsu!" She wiped at her tears as a smile crept back on her face. She looked down towards her chest, the bruising on her sternum, once again, disappearing into her skin.

As soon as Natsu's body took notice of the swaying boat, he slumped to his knees, making Lucy rush towards him.

"No," He croaked as his motion sickness got the better of him. "I can't take it."

'How lame…' Camio spoke in her mind, making Lucy want to defend the poor boy, but she didn't get the chance.

"Lucy!" Someone called her from above. "What are you doing?" Happy asked as he flapped his wings to stay in the air.

'Did he have wings before?' Glasya asked the question Lucy had also been thinking about.

Before she knew it, Lucy was lifted from the wooden floor, Happy trying desperately to get her up and out through the hole Natsu had created when he had barged in through the roof.

Lucy glanced back at Natsu. He was still on his knees, trying to keep from hurling.

"Wait! What about Natsu?" Lucy knew Natsu would be able to take care of himself, knowing full well who the boy was, though seeing him in this state of helplessness made her doubt that.

Happy could dodge several attacks from both Salamander and his henchmen just in time before he casually informed Lucy that he could no longer hold his transformation.

Before Lucy could retort, they both fell towards the sea and were engulfed in its waves.

'Lucy~' Another throb shot through her chest, making her release her breath for a split second. She took in a bit of the salty water, the pounding increasing heavily.

A gleam of gold caught her eye and she forced herself to ignore the pain and reach for her Keys. She swam closer, her body protesting painfully at her movements, but she pushed through nonetheless.

She pushed herself off on the rocks as soon as she grabbed hold of the keychain, quickly grabbing Happy by his tail and rushed back towards the surface.

She gasped for air, taking in a few deep breaths before taking one of the Gate Keys between her slender fingers.

'Lucy~' The voices sang her name. 'Why won't you let us help~'

"Open the Gate of the Water Bearer!" She summoned, calling upon the spirits to aid her. "Aquarius!"

In a puff of golden light, a pillar of water arose from the depths of the ocean.

Happy looked at Lucy as if she had really grown a second head this time.

"I'm a Stellar Spirit Mage. I can use the Keys of the Gates to summon Stellar Spirits from another wo-" Her explanation was cut short when a murderous glare made her lose her voice.

"W-what are you so mad about?" She asked in a hesitant voice.

"How many times have I told you not to drop the Keys?!" She scolded Lucy with so much anger in both her voice and her glare, Lucy wanted to drown herself in the sea.

Without having to voice her command, Aquarius did what Lucy wanted and released her Water Magic on the nearby ship.

Lucy had grabbed Happy just in time before the tidal wave hit them, knowing all too well she wouldn't be spared from Aquarius' wrath.

When Lucy opened her eyes again, she saw Aquarius' form starting to fade before she informed Lucy not to bother her for a while because she was going on a date with her boyfriend.

Lucy wanted to protest, but her Spirit had already vanished to the Spirit Realm.

'Damn, she scares us…' The voices in her head trembled.

"Yeah," Lucy admitted, shaking her head. "Me too…"

She quickly got to her feet when a soaked Happy mentioned Natsu, following the cat into the lower deck of the ship.

"Natsu! Are you oka-" Her question was left unasked, the look in Natsu's eyes making her throat go dry.

Salamander was speaking to him, but neither Lucy nor Natsu cared what the creep had to say.

Natsu stared him down, pulling off his coat, readying himself for battle. Lucy's eyes stared at the red guild mark on his arm, having heard stories about it, but finding it even more amazing in person.

Lucy shook out of her trance when she heard Salamander order his men to attack. She reached for her Keys, wanting to assist the young Mage in front of her.

"Don't worry." Happy stopped her, much to her irritation.

Natsu stalked closer to Salamander, effortlessly pushing aside the henchmen that tried to block his path. "You say you're a mage of Fairy Tail…" He began, the anger he felt evident in both his voice and his actions.

"I am Natsu from Fairy Tail and I've never seen you before!"

A smile crept up on Lucy's face. Lucy had known from the beginning who he was and what he was capable of, even though she never voiced her knowledge.

"Bora!" One of the men yelled as Natsu planted his fist in 'Salamander's' face.

"Stupid! Don't tell him my real name!" 'Salamander' yelled back from the ground.

'We apologize for trying to possess your body, Mistress.' Lucy watched in amusement as men stumbled and tried to get as far away as possible from Natsu as he let his anger out for using the Fairy Tail name.

"It's okay." Lucy laughed as she watched Natsu take an attack that engulfed him in scorching flames. Happy glanced at Lucy, a frown appearing on his face at Lucy's normal reaction. "I know you can't help yourselves." She finished her sentence, her eyes meeting with Happy's.

"Who are you?" The cat asked her suspiciously, backing away a bit when she crouched down to his level.

Behind the little feline Natsu had started to eat the flames that had been surrounding him, enjoying the free meal.

"Now I'm all fired up." He spoke as Lucy engaged herself in a staring contest with Happy.

"Shouldn't we be getting somewhere safer?" Lucy stated, tilting her head a bit while she was at it.

"Natsu won't hurt me."

"I know. I just meant that we might want to get out of his way. So we don't bother him." Lucy gave the confused cat a smile before reaching out to him.

'What the hell are you doing!' Camio screamed in her head. 'You're gonna ruin everything.'

"Can you keep a secret?" Happy didn't answer, but he let himself get picked up by Lucy. "I know about Fairy Tail. And I know about Natsu. I know about his Dragon Slayer Magic and about the one that taught him, the Fire Dragon King, Igneel."

"How do y-" Lucy didn't give the small feline time to voice his question and cut him off, knowing the Military would soon arrive.

"Promise me to keep my secret and I'll tell you all about it."

"I won't lie to Natsu."

"I'll tell him too… Just not no-" Lucy's sentence ended in a scream as she was suddenly pulled backwards by her arm and she was forced to release Happy.

"Let's run!" Natsu dragged her along, a death grip on her wrist. "You want to join Fairy Tail, right?"

She made brief eye contact with Happy, who was now flying next to her. He stared at her for a second before he smiled at her and gave her a nod of his head.

Natsu's dark eyes locked with her chocolate brown ones. "Then come with me!" He gave her a toothy grin that made her heart skip a beat.

A bright smile appeared on Lucy's lips, tears appearing at the corners of her eyes. "Okay!"


And so, their adventure began anew. What awaits them in the future? Despair? Or love?

What do you think?

I know the chapter doesn't always correspond exactly to the manga and I did that because you'd be (re)reading Fairy Tail if you guys had wanted that ;)

Though, no worries, I'm not planning on going through the entire manga. I'll skip some parts unless you really want specific parts to be included! Tell me beforehand if you do ;)

I have a lot of ideas that I wanna put in, but I'm also curious about your headcanons!

I might even put some of 'em in, so don't be shy and share them with me! ;)

Lots of love!

~Angel