AN: This chapter is going to have a lot of time skips, this is basically Lucy and Natsu training for the rest of the year and everyone else returning to the guild and getting a glimpse of what they're capable of after their training and the return.
Chapter ten
Natsu and Lucy had a bet on how long it would take for Mira and Erza to return to the guild. Natsu said another two weeks while Lucy bet another month would pass. Natsu grumbled about her always being right when Erza and Gray returned on the first. A month after his mission with Happy by then they had been in the past for four months and a week later Mira was back as well.
They had placed the bet while they were trying to figure out when they would have to leave for the island. When Natsu returned from his mission with the silver key, Lucy hugged and kissed him in excitement. He had brought her the key to the hunting dogs, Canes Venatici. They were expert trackers and protector spirits. They were large, black and silver, winged wolves and Lucy absolutely adored them. Natsu made a mental note to find her more gate keys if her reaction would always be like that and these spirits weren't perverts so that was a plus.
While Natsu had been away Lucy had summoned Aquarius. While she had trained with her spirits and using her star dresses she never found in herself to take that step. Lucy had not summoned Aquarius not since she had found herself in the past. She would often spend time running her finger over the unbroken key unable to bring herself to actually summon the fierce spirit.
Lucy for a long time had seen Aquarius as a link to her mother and as her big sister. The spirit was always angry and whenever summoned. She rarely did as she was asked often abandoning her and Lucy never really brought herself to broach the subject of her treatment by the spirit.
In a way, Lucy knew that Aquarius didn't like her. Aquarius didn't think she was as good as her mother and she never wanted to hear the confirmation from the spirit. Then everything changed because she sacrificed her key. It was time for Lucy to put on the big girl pants and finally do what she should have done a long time ago.
"You finally summoned me." Said Aquarius looking around and finding that Lucy had summoned her from a pond in the woods.
Lucy nodded, "I didn't know what to say."
Aquarius scoffed, "You never do. You have no grace unlike your mother."
"My mother is long gone Aquarius and you need to deal with it. She was your friend and you loved her but here's a little newsflash I loved her too and I needed her more than you ever would."
The spirit didn't say anything and Lucy for the first time got angry at her, "Let her go Aquarius, because she would be ashamed of the way you are treating her daughter."
Aquarius raised an eyebrow at her, "You think you can tell me what to do?"
Lucy folded her arms, "I'm giving you a choice either you work with me or I can give your key away. I won't have you and your mood swings affecting my battles. You can either do as I ask when summoned and we work as a team or I give you to someone that you will listen too. I won't ask you to like me but I am telling you that you will respect the fact that I am your key holder. What do you want Aquarius?"
The spirit smiled at the girl. It had been a long time since she smiled in this world, and said "I'll stay with you. Terms of our contract don't change. You finally grew a spine kid I can respect that."
Lucy smiled too knowing that she had done something right. She managed to earn the spirits approval and she knew that while Aquarius would never be all soft and cuddly she would at least work with her now and that was enough for her.
Erza and Mira immediately got into a fight when they both returned and Natsu resisted the urge to dance. At least he won the bet on how quickly they would get into a fight. After a bloody, dangerous battle that would have probably killed regular mages Erza had come out on top by a hairs breath. This made it the fourth time that they had fought seriously and the score was currently tied between them.
Mira had already decided on another match to which the master replied that the rule was that if they fight in the training room then they couldn't challenge the same person within for six months afterwards. It was mostly to ensure that they didn't break the rune barrier and he was trying to keep the amount of times they nearly killed each other down.
Mira was different when she returned. She was calmer, less angry but at the same time she was still dangerous. She was wearing a pair of tight skinny jeans and boots with her normal purple crop top. She wore her hair down with tiny braids woven together and loose curls. She smiled more and was a little kinder but she also punched people if they annoyed her. It was actually a good balance of 'The Demon' and normal Mira that only her siblings got to see.
Natsu actually liked the new Mirajane. For a long time it was a little jarring for people to see Mira as a helpless little girl and after Lisanna that was what she essentially became. When she was able to transform again she still hid all her power and underneath a mask. This Mira wasn't afraid. She was powerful but kind at the same time without hiding any part of herself away.
Lisanna and Elfman had several new souls that they could use as well as being able to do multiple takeovers. It was an advanced technique for mages who used that magic since turning from one soul to another without messing up took a lot of magic and concentration. It put them on a very different level than they had been on when they left. Master had been proud at how much dedication they had put into their training.
Lisanna immediately came up to Natsu when they returned and asked if they could go on a job together. They often worked together when she wasn't going on S-class requests with her sister. She was confused when Natsu turned her down and disappeared from the guild a little later.
"What's with him and where is Happy?" asked Mira not liking how sad her sister looked.
She knew that Lisanna had a crush on Natsu. Everyone knew that she liked him even though they weren't really sure how much of it was the fact that they were best friends or just teasing. The two of them did spend a lot of time together and they were friends but no one was really sure if they would be a couple.
Mira thought that Lisanna just wanted to be with him because it was easy. They knew each other well and spent all their time together. If they started dating no one would really bat an eye because everyone just kind of expected that they would end up together. Lisanna was comfortable with Natsu and it wouldn't be such a big leap if they ended up in a romantic relationship but Natsu seemed off.
Macao simply shrugged, "Happy hasn't been to the guild a lot but he comes in with Natsu sometimes. As for Natsu he hasn't been spending a lot of time in the guild. He said he was training but he seems distant almost like he's lost in his own head a lot."
Lisanna didn't know what to make of it but she shook her head and smiled. He was Natsu, everything would be fine. She would just try again later or maybe ask him on a date. They weren't kids anymore and she did think that they would make a good couple. They could give it a try and if it didn't work out which she highly doubted then they would always be friends.
Erza on the other hand was discussing how far she had come in her training. Her requipping was nearly instantaneous and she was able to access different parts of her armors as needed. In the other time line that was only something that she had learned to do sometime during the Grand Magic Games when she wore her Flame Empress Armor but used the weapon from her Sea Empress set. Her speed had also basically tripled in the time that they were away.
Gray's ice magic had always been fast but it had taken him a few moments, now his molding was almost as fast as Erza's requipping. He also managed to come up with more moves. A lot of his molding was done using his imagination. Gray did however have a few signature moves. Now he had a whole bunch of new moves as well as a faster reaction time.
Their magic levels had all increased in their time away. All in all it was everything that Natsu had hoped it would be when they first left for their training camps. They needed to be the monsters that monsters feared and they had come a long way.
In the four months that they had gone away they had caught up to the level that they had been on two years into the future. However Natsu knew that it would be extremely hard to get them to keep training. No one would want to continuously train all the time not without a reason. The only reason he and Lucy were so obsessed with getting stronger was because they knew what was coming.
Natsu didn't bother fighting Gray when they returned. He went on a couple of jobs while they all returned making it seem like he was really busy so that they wouldn't bother him too much. It also helped to keep Lisanna away from him and not tagging along all the time.
He had already spoken to Lucy who agreed to go to one of the many islands with Wendy to practice her magic ensuring that no one learned of her and their relationship before they were ready to have that conversation.
It took Erza about two weeks to get fed up with his new behavior and come looking for him and by then Natsu was gone. He left a note that he and Happy were going to train and left with Lucy. He sent a note to the master as well letting him know that he was leaving for a while and then they all just disappeared quietly before anyone could track them down.
He didn't want anyone going to his house only to find it rebuilt and redecorated. It was obvious a woman lived there but people rarely went to his home. Sending the note to the guild ensured that no one would go looking for him. By the time Erza started asking questions, Master Makarov already had answers for her.
Wendy had already asked her master for permission to go learn more about her magic and he had gladly given it to her. Natsu and Lucy went to pick her and Carla up. Happy immediately fell in love with her and she immediately stuck her nose in the air and ignored him.
Lucy giggled remembering that his pursuit of her heart had not failed. Carla had eventually come to care for him even if she hadn't admitted it so Lucy left them alone. They would figure things out on their own. It was kind of funny to see Happy and Carla together again especially when she knew that eventually Happy would find a way to win her heart even though he was currently sulking as the white cat ignored him. She wondered if this was how Mira felt when she was shipping people together.
Jude told them that he had bought an uninhabited island that was infested with some beasts and he wanted them to clear them off. He was going to turn it into a resort and if they got rid of the beasts then he was going to give them a cut of the profits.
Lucy didn't really want him to do that but he replied that it was payment for her work so she should just let it go. Lucy gave up. Her father was determined to spoil her even if she wasn't going to the perfect heiress she was still his princess.
Lucy was admittedly proud of her father and how far he had come in the recent months. They wrote to each other weekly and he always replied to her messages. She always knew that he was a good man at heart. He hid it under layers of ice but he had eventually proven that he did care about her and her happiness. She was proud of the fact that they had a real relationship this time around and that she managed to make a truce with Aquarius. She was able to pull the people that she loved the most as close as possible now all she needed to do was join the guild and find her friends again.
Three months after Natsu and Happy left the guild on their training mission, Laxus finally returned to the guild and he was smiling. The master nearly had a heart attack but it seemed like all the rage and hurt and confusion that Laxus had been carrying around for so many years had finally settled.
"What happened to you?" he asked his grandson in private.
Laxus laughed, "Siegrain beat my ass for an entire month every time I said something about power and strength and being better. Then Mystogan would ask where I got that idea from and for the first time, I actually wondered the same thing. Ivan said and did a lot of things but I couldn't let him control me even when he wasn't around. His way of thinking I've seen where it leads and that place scares me. I finally understand why you do what you do."
Mystogan merely told the master when he asked him what happened was, "We encountered a dream mage. He was the reason the mission was an S-class. He trapped us in our lives only where we saw what would happen if we made the bad choices. I saw what could have possibly happened if I chose to stay in Edolas where I would never truly be happy. Siegrain saw all the bad things he did and would continue to do if he was still possessed and Laxus saw where he would eventually end up if carried on down the path laid out in front of him by Ivan. It rattled him."
On the bright side, Laxus really did learn a thing or two from Siegrain. He was even more of a monster than he was before he went on that job which meant that they were all progressing well. When they returned, Siegrain went to Erza and explained everything that happened. Then he gave her some time to process and two days later their reunion was a happy one where she forgave him and he told her what happen to the rest of their friends.
Erza hoped that they would come find her one day and he assured her that they knew where to find her when they were ready. Afterwards he was introduced to the guild as Siegrain and that he was Mystogan's twin brother and that was the reason why he hid his face. The guild partied and got to know their new members even Cana and Gildarts showed up meanwhile Natsu and Happy fell off the face of the earth.
Natsu, Lucy and Wendy were on the island for eight months. Wendy would meditate with Lucy in the morning while Natsu destroyed parts of the island while he trained. Then they would break for lunch and Natsu would take over her training showing her more dragon slayer magic.
He taught her how to control her dragon senses and she would spar with him for hours while Lucy worked on her magic or fought some of the beasts. She always fought within hearing range of both dragon slayers just in case.
One day nearing the sixth month they spent on the island they got separated. They fought off some of the more dangerous beasts on the island and Wendy had been at the limit of her magic power shouted for 'mama' and Lucy heard her.
Lucy's heart leapt into her throat and she donned her Sagittarius star dress and powered her arrow using Loke's Regulus power. The amount of power from the arrow with the strength of two zodiacs blew a hole through the creatures head which was followed by Lucy's muttering of, "Don't touch my daughter."
The conversation following that incident had poor Wendy blushing ten different shades of red. The girl was so young she didn't remember her birth parents. Wendy knew that her dragon had loved her very much but she had never referred to Grandeeney as her mother. She had been her teacher and mentor and in many ways her parent but she had been so young when she left.
Lucy was the only woman who took an interest in her. Lucy worried not only about her magic but her health, happiness and interests. She was the closest thing that she had to a mother even though technically Lucy was only eight years older than her. She was embarrassed to make a claim like that without asking for permission.
Natsu was also in a father type of role since he was taking care of her. He was teaching her and protecting her even though he was only ten years older than her. It was weird to see them as her parents but she couldn't help but wish that they were her parents. When she lived here on the island it was like having a family something that the young girl always craved.
Natsu didn't mind. Wendy had always looked up to him and taking care of her like this had only felt right. They didn't mind if she referred to them as her parents and they didn't care about what people would say.
People said stupid things about Fairy Tail all the time but Wendy also didn't want to disappoint her master. She couldn't just abandon the guild that had been her home for so long. When she asked if she could go with Natsu and Lucy he simply gave her his blessing.
"This is a small guild Wendy with no children and we don't get many visitors. I hoped that you would go with them the first time, when the man with the blue hair came back looking for you but you were not ready yet. There is a whole world out there my child, you should be exploring it."
Lucy went and visited her father as well and then introduced him to Wendy. He had been happy to see that they already expanded their family and Wendy was such a sweet child. It was nearly impossible not to like her. They spent three days with him before finally going back to Magnolia.
When they returned Mystogan and Siegrain were waiting for them. They all caught up on everything that they had missed out in the guild and Wendy decorated her room that she would share with Carla while everyone at the guild calmed down with the news that Natsu had returned.
He hadn't remembered to send word that he hadn't died and everyone had been very worried since he disappeared. Mystogan and Wendy spent some time together. He did see her as his little sister which was weird for him since she called referred to Lucy and Natsu as her parents.
Natsu was spending time at the guild trying to survive the wrath of the Titania while Lucy and Wendy had just finished shopping for new clothes for all of them. Wendy had grown in the time on the island and she had become more toned as well.
They needed new clothes and some stuff for Wendy's new room. Once they were done with that they both agreed that it was time that Lucy and Wendy joined the guild. They decided to go tomorrow because Natsu was dragged by Erza for a job. He would be back later today and then tomorrow they would go to the guild and face the music.
The night before Natsu had taken her to their old training area where he set up a table and two chairs. He severed her dinner and then they slow danced under the stars. It was beautiful and unexpected and she didn't know what to say when Natsu brought her here. He grinned at her and reminded her that Mystogan was taking care of Wendy for the night and even though she didn't need a babysitter.
"Why did you do this?" she asked him and Natsu merely buried his head in her neck and breathed in her scent.
"Things are going to get crazy, real soon. I just wanted a romantic evening with my wife before everyone steals you away."
Lucy blushed as she peppered his face with kisses, "As crazy as life gets, as long as I have you by my side we'll make it through."
Natsu kissed her underneath the stars with enough fire that he would be branded into her very soul. Lucy moaned as he sucked on the flesh of her neck giving her a nice big hickey that would mark her as his and then gave her his famous fanged grin as she scolded him for leaving it in such an obvious place.
Lucy was wearing shorts and a sports bra while she meditated or tried to mediate as her thoughts kept going back to last night in the woods with her husband. She finally gave up when she sensed someone's presence in the woods.
They were a little farther out than usual. To be very honest Lucy had no idea where they were since Wendy was still trying to get a hold of all her senses and was busy hunting Carla through scent and sound.
The little blue haired girl had just taken off in multiple directions while Lucy ran after her testing her speed. They had wandered far away from their original training place and she was sure that she was going to have to get a look above the trees to figure out which way was home.
It was a good exercise. One she and Natsu both did often on the island. These woods were also a new place with different scents so that it added to the difficulty. Lucy didn't actually know how close to the guild she had gotten until Mystogan came upon her in the woods. He had just left the guild barely five minutes ago and they were extremely close to the guild.
He was going to tell her how close she was but she attacked him with her staff. Mystogan grinned at the fierce expression on her face even though her eyes were still warm. This was probably payback for attacking her when she tried to get his attention the first time they met.
He was shocked to see that she had gotten better, way better. He was actually going as fast as he could to keep up with her attacks but he smirked when he noticed that she was beginning to tire. She could match speed but not for long.
Lisanna heard the sound of sticks hitting together and narrowed her eyes wondering where it was coming from. She unconsciously got up and followed the sound. Mira and Elfman noticed her leave and went to check on her when she started to walk towards the woods.
She was using her animal soul cat. Lisanna was trying to learn partial takeovers like ears of the cat and wings for flight however it was a slow going process. The move was extremely advanced. She could change one part of her body without tapping into the full soul so far. She currently had cat ears perched on top of her head, without the claws and tail.
However her cat ears were picking up the sounds of battle. It was frustrating that she had made so little progress but she knew that this would take a lot of time. The only thing she could do was practice on her own while she tried to figure out what was going on with Natsu.
Lisanna found Mystogan. They could tell them apart because Mystogan was the one who carried the staffs on his back even though the twins dressed similar. He was in a heated battle with a blonde woman who was half dressed. The two were moving quickly and she couldn't see a guild mark so she assumed that she was an enemy.
Lisanna wasn't going to get involved. Mystogan was more than capable of handling himself and she didn't want to get in his way however the staff the woman was using changed into a whip and caught fire. Lisanna's body tensed as she watched the fight get even more dangerous.
The blonde woman swung towards Mystogan who dodged her first strike but didn't notice that the whip of fire was circling back around and about to hit him from the back.
Lisanna changed into her animal soul tiger and pounced towards the stranger hoping to knock her off balance so the whip would miss his neck. Mira saw her sister move to attack the woman who was attacking Mystogan when they heard a young voice call out, "Roar of the sky dragon."
The roar was unlike anything Mira had seen because it wasn't made of fire. It was a powerful blast of wind that sent Lisanna flying back to the guild which was only a few yards away. The crash made so much noise that Fairy Tail came charging out, guns drawn.
Mira saw red when her little sister was attacked and changed into her Satan Soul and sent out a stream of darkness towards the person who attacked.
The blue haired girl was standing at the back of blonde woman who looked over her shoulder and noticed them after the blue haired girl attacked. The blonde woman's eyes widened in shock or terror they weren't sure but she glowed gold and in a burst of light she was holding a bow. She drew her arrow back, the arrow charged with a dangerous looking light and locked eyes with Mira and declared, "Not my daughter Demon."
She let the arrow go. It moved faster than Bisca's bullets and it hit Mira in the chest, blasting her backwards and into a tree which shattered from the impact.
Elfman went running towards the blonde stranger who attacked both of his sisters. He changed into a beast soul when their audience gasped at the sight of the young blue haired girl being pulled behind the blonde woman so that she would be shielded or maybe she hid behind her probably in terror of the large angry takeover mage charging towards her mother.
Mystogan just watched it all in slow motion as the train wreck unfolded in front of them. He seriously couldn't believe that something like this was even possible or that a single misunderstanding could cause so much chaos. He didn't even know if saying something would make them stop and he knew that it probably wouldn't work. They were all running high off the adrenaline from battle and Lucy was standing her ground. Mainly because Wendy was behind her and he really needed this to stop before someone got hurt.
Elfman in his beast soul form came to an abrupt halt when a wall of flames appeared out of thin air that prevented him from moving forward. Even three feet away he could feel the heat from those flames promising to burn him alive if he took another step closer.
The master let out a sigh of relief. He was about to stop them. It was obvious that Mira was protecting her siblings but there was also the fact that the blonde stranger only took action when they threatened her so he did want to speak with her.
The wall of flames appeared just in time stopping the fight from escalating so he turned towards the familiar pink haired dragon slayer who was stalking forward with Erza and Gray trailing behind him in confusion.
Natsu ignored whatever the master was about to say and reached down and picked Elfman up by the collar and stared into his eyes before growling out, "You ever charge towards my wife or my daughter again and I'll turn you into ash idiot. You could have hurt her."
There were several gasps of shock. Someone possibly Macao had fainted into Wakaba's arms. Elfman was so shocked that he dropped his transformation. Lisanna came running towards them just in time to hear him claim the stranger as his wife. She gasped and turned to him possible to ask if it was true when the blonde woman walked through the wall of fire.
Erza was the only one who managed to ask, "How did you pass through the flames?"
Lucy smiled sheepishly at her, "As his wife his fire doesn't harm me. His magic recognizes mine and refuses to hurt me. I'm so sorry this really is my fault. I didn't know I was so close to the guild and then I was sparring with Mystogan and Lisanna didn't recognize me. She thought I was trying to hurt him. She was only trying to protect her friend. I'm really sorry for all the confusion."
Mira walked up to her, dropping her transformation and let out a gasp, "You were the girl. The one with Natsu in Clover Town. You helped him save us."
Lucy nodded, "Hai, I'm Lucy Dragneel." She held out her hand for Mira to shake and when she did she tightened her hand around hers and said, "You ever aim at my daughter again and I'll kill you."
Gray couldn't help but stammer out, "Daughter?"
He was so confused. Everyone knew that Natsu was hopeless with girls so how the hell did he get married and why the hell did he get married. He couldn't get the words of 'wife' and 'daughter' to stop ringing in his ears because this was some sort of alternate reality. This couldn't be real.
Lucy nodded to Gray and then hit Natsu on the back of his head, "Let him go. He was only trying to protect his family now get rid of the flames so they can meet Wendy."
Natsu dropped Elfman and the wall of flames disappeared leaving them staring at a blue haired young girl, "This is Wendy our adopted daughter. She's nine years old and she is the sky dragon slayer."
Everyone smiled at the young girl and called out their greetings before Erza cut them all of, "Natsu, when did you get married?"
Everyone turned towards him and waited for the answer, "Over a year ago. We never had a ceremony we just signed a marriage certificate."
Lucy sighed and Wendy was hiding behind Natsu, "I was going to introduce you tomorrow. Lucy decided that Wendy was ready to join the guild and she wanted to join as well."
The master walked towards the beautiful young woman and smiled gently at her, "Why did you wait so long? You are my child as well. You married one of my children after all."
Lucy blushed, "I wanted to finish learning my magic. My mother passed when I was young and she gave me her keys. I wanted to finish my exploration of the magic before I joined a guild. Natsu was training me to fight while I learned magic."
Makarov saw the gold keys that she held in her hand and he raised an eyebrow, "Stellar magic. You are a celestial spirit mage. May I know how many keys you have?" he asked as he passed her the guild stamp.
Lucy marked her hand in pink and then marked Wendy's shoulder in blue and they both returned the stamp to him. They had returned to the guild by then and they settled on to the bar. Natsu sat down and Wendy perched onto his lap whispering into his ear.
Lucy smiled at him, "Nineteen, I hold all the zodiac keys master."
There were several gasps of shock as many knew how rare the gate keys were when she requipped her keys into her hands showing them 13 golden keys.
Erza couldn't help but ask, "I thought that there were only 12 zodiac gates."
Lucy smiled, "The thirteenth gate is the rarest key there is and one of the most powerful. Some say it holds the darkness of the spirit world others say it was simply forgotten."
Natsu turned to Lucy, "Nineteen keys? I thought I gave it to you for your birthday."
Lucy narrowed her eyes at him, "You cooked dinner for my birthday without burning anything. Wendy had to help."
Natsu looked even more confused, "Our anniversary?"
Lucy rolled her eyes, "You got me another book on requip magic because I couldn't figure out how to requip my keys. That really expensive book that you hated because it took me so long to read and I unintentionally ignored you to read it."
Natsu dug into his pocket and pulled out a silver key, "I got this as part of a reward for a job. I thought you would like it but I don't know which one it is but I could have sworn I gave it to you."
Lucy studied the key for a moment and then squealed and kissed him squarely on the mouth, "It's the key to the Leo Minor. You found Loke's little brother. I love you Natsu."
"I love you too Luce." He replied and Wendy hid her blushing face in her hands.
Some people laughed at Wendy's reaction, some laughed at the dopey grin on Natsu's face from his kiss but many just stared at the three of them in shock not really believing what they were seeing. Natsu sighed internally. Things were going to get really crazy now that they all knew it.
Loke on the other hand deemed it a perfect time to open his gate, "Princess did I hear you say my name?"
Natsu growled at the lion haired man, "She's mine, piss off Loke."
The man simply smiled, "She is my master. I shall be by her side forever."
Natsu growled louder, "Keep your paws off."
Lucy rolled her eyes, "I did say your name Loke. Natsu got me the key to Leo Minor."
Loke narrowed his eyes at the key and swiped it from her hand, "There is no spirit here Lucy."
Everyone went silent as they stared at the exchange. It seemed really important and serious, "Cub faded Lucy. He was kept out in this world too long. He disappeared."
Lucy stared at her spirit in horror as Loke clutched the key in his hand, "May I keep his key?" he asked her and Lucy mutely nodded her head as she disappeared.
"Natsu can we go home?" she asked as the pink haired man gathered her into his arms and left the guild silently.