Chapter 11: Remeeting Wendy
Truly Lucy had been lucky that it had been Jellal who had found her the day of the Fantasia parade. He did seem a little concerned about her health, as did the rest of his team who he had obviously told, but he had kept his word and not told anyone else. Or rather she believed he hadn't since no one other than those four had been watching her so closely.
Not to mention that Mira had for some reason finally backed off from her about the whole Laxus situation. Oddly enough she believed that Laxus was the reason that the guild matchmaker was now leaving her alone. At first it would seem like Mira might be wanting to say something, but then a sharp cough or a look from Laxus would result in Mira giving her a sad smile before walking off. Sad as in she was missing out on a potential couple, not sad like she knew that Lucy might be dying.
After her last episode Lucy had slept through Fantasia to the dismay of her spirits who she had told the same lie the rest of the guild believed that she had fainted. Of course Aquarius had given her that look telling her that there was no way Aquarius actually believed her, but the mermaid spirit didn't end up pressuring her for answers which she was grateful for. It was too bad Lucy had missed the parade though, but she had been able to dodge the rumors from Sorcerer's Weekly since they never ended up seeing her and Laxus in their couple like clothing. Plus the fake flirting between her and Laxus had stopped and he was back to being her normal best friend, even if he did sometimes give her sad looks that she couldn't quite decipher.
Lucy had also woken up this morning very excited because of what she knew was going to happen today. The alliance between Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, Cait Shelter, and Fairy Tail would begin today. Meaning that Lucy would soon have Gemini, Scorpio, and Aries back with her where they belonged. Not to mention that Wendy was going to rejoin the guild.
Despite her excitement Lucy was also worried about how today would end up going. This time Jellal wasn't a criminal who had been believed to be dead, and this time they wouldn't need to kidnap Wendy. Heck they might not even have a way to find Nirvana this time around no matter how much they looked. Without knowing what changes would happen though Lucy was going in blind and she was terrified. She was terrified that they might end up losing with the differences or that this time someone might actually die.
Finally like she had expected Master called her and her sort of team into the office. It seemed that despite the fact that they weren't a true team this time that Master would still ask them to do this job for him. She had been worried that he might replace them with Laxus and the Raijinshuu this time since Laxus hadn't been kicked out of Fairy Tail. Then again it might have something to do with the fact that Jellal had come out of Master's office shortly before Master had called them. Maybe their newer guild mate had decided to suggest them for this mission, but how he had gotten Master to agree to it was strange? Everyone knew that it was very difficult to get Master to do something he didn't want to do.
"You have a Mission for us Master?" Erza asked glaring at Jellal who had come back into the office seconds ago. Obviously he was planning to come with them and perhaps stop Erza from being poisoned this time around. That is if he could remember that she had been poisoned last time.
"Yes the six of you are going to help out three other guilds into getting rid of Oracien Seis. Ultear contacted someone and suggested that it was about time that they were legally dealt with and to unstabalize the dark guild's alliance," Master truly looked angry, but seemed to be accepting that he couldn't send more people.
At least he hadn't sent Laxus with them, but that could just be because Laxus was currently on an S-Class mission with his team. The timing was too much of a coincidence and she wondered if Master had sent him on the mission so that Laxus wouldn't try to stop her from going. Luckily Gajeel had knowledge of what happened last time around, so he wouldn't be too over protective when he found out she was gone. Although that wouldn't be for a while considering that he had went on a mission with Levy and Team Shadow Gear. Obviously wanting to make sure he was compelled to join them on their mission.
"What other guild's are involved?" Lucy asked trying to act like she had no idea. It seemed that other then Erza none of the team had yet to hear of Oracien Seis, and she hoped that they wouldn't cause too much of a hassle well leaving.
"Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and Cait Shelter, the six of you will be meeting them at a neutral location to discuss strategy and then go take down Oracien Seis together."
Jellal looked somewhat nervous about everything that was going to happen, maybe he was wondering if he should really interfere at all. Didn't he realize that it was more dangerous for them to bring him along with them? Who was to say that Oracien Seis didn't still know that Jellal knew exactly where Nirvana was and how to activate it? The dark guild might even end up using them all as bait against Jellal to help, but if Nirvana wasn't activate there came to be the question of how they would destroy it. Leaving Nirvana functional wasn't an option either, but Lucy still worried about the unknown variables that Jellal was bringing into this.
Natsu just looked excited still acting like the same Natsu she had originally known except this Natsu was less clingy towards her. He still loved challenging things or people that no sane person would. Truly it made her happy to see Natsu acting this way because it helped make her forget what Natsu could one day become. She wanted to stop Natsu from snapping, stop him from becoming END, and keep him the same enthusiastatic Natsu she was blessed with seeing again.
Gray and Erza were just acting normally looking like they were prepared to lay their lives down to protect others. Not to mention that they liked taking down Dark Guilds. Happy looked terrified though at the prospect, but he also looked determined in showing that he was just as much a Fairy Tail member as the rest of them.
"We best get on our way now then. It wouldn't do for us to be late if we have to meet with the other's now would it?" Lucy asked trying to hide her nervousness.
Even though she knew they had the power to defeat them she still feared that the changes in their past might have effected others as well. Who was to say that they hadn't gotten more powerful this time around? It was actually better for her that she hadn't been able to stop Karen's death because otherwise Sorano might have gotten her Angel abilities early. Even if her magic had grown in leaps and bounds Lucy wasn't going to betray this early on in the game that she was Slayer meaning she would have to use Urano Metria to defeat Sorano once again. Yet she was afraid with how much her magic power had grown that the spell might prove to be stronger then she anticipated and seriously harm Sorano or worse kill her.
"Luce-chan is right, best get going right away," Erza agreed with a salute to Master who just calmly passed her the address of the meeting place. He also handed Lucy a bag surprising her that he had already grabbed her emergency mission bag from the house. She usually had a bag at the guild as well, but her older one here was too small now and she hadn't gotten around to packing a new one yet. It seemed he had already been planning on sending her on this mission even with the differences this time around and without Jellal's interference. Really she had thought that he would be hesitant in sending her along because of how protective Laxus was over her.
Giving Master a quick hug goodbye Lucy followed the rest of her group out of the guild waving merrily at Mira as they left. It was a bit odd that this time around the whole guild hadn't been told about what they were doing. Then again that could have been the council's orders in order for them to make the mission official. At least this time they had the council's permission in writing and that this couldn't actually be used against them as the council had sneakily done last time. Hopefully this time around Lucy would be able to stop her beloved guild from being closed for a year.
Soon enough they were on a train heading to their destination. They were halfway there when something occurred to Lucy something she should have thought of earlier. Ultear had been able to remember the previous timeline once her heart was no longer soaked in darkness because of her magic. Did that mean that Charle would be able to remember as well? Obviously she didn't quite yet or she would have brought Wendy back to Fairy Tail already, but what if meeting them again was the catalyst that sent Charle to remember. Or worse what if Charle had a premonition about her whether to do with the past or future and told others that she was really Lucy Heartfilia.
Shaking her head Lucy freed herself of those thoughts there was no reason for her to be thinking of such things that she couldn't control. If Charle's magic did end up either revealing to her who Lucy used to be, or allow her to remember the other time line then Lucy would have to deal with it then. But there was no point for Lucy to work herself into a panic over something that might never actually happen. Better to just deal with it if it happened in the future and try and allow Charle to see her side of things.
Lucy also found herself worrying about what Laxus would do when he found out exactly what type of mission she was doing. Everyone knew how irrational Laxus could get after she had gone on a mission he classified as too dangerous. What if he ended up kissing her again? No way he wouldn't do that not after how angry she had gotten at him the first time. He would end up probably following her on all of her missions for a year though and not letting her out of his sight if she came back injured something that was sure to happen with who she was going up against. Seems like once she gets back from this mission she can kiss her freedom goodbye. Looks like the Raijinshuu might very well be getting their wish for her to join their team if Laxus reacted in the way she believed he would.
Even if Laxus does react badly there will still be so much good coming from this mission. She would be reunited with Aries, Scorpio, and Gemini, all of who she had dearly missed the last few years. Plus Wendy would be reunited with Myst-nii who wouldn't have to hide his face if he decided to see her, since this time he wasn't sharing the face of a criminal. Not to mention that guild relations got better after this mission and supplied them with very useful allies.
Soon enough Lucy found herself following her friends towards a familiar building. The first time she had seen it had seemed so imposing, but this time it just filled her with hope. Not to mention that if it wasn't for the fact that Wendy would be the last to arrive Lucy would have found herself running towards the building to greet the younger girl, or rather fighting the urge to do so. After all despite all she knew about the little girl she hadn't actually met her in this time just yet, it would seem odd if she acted familiar with her. She was very glad that Jellal wasn't a dragon slayer, it was bad enough that Natsu kept sending her looks probably wondering why she seemed so excited about taking out a dark guild.
"Welcome Fairy Tail mages," the familiar voices of the Trimen greeted them before the three boys did their usual routine ignoring the males in the group well going overboard with the females. Lucy had to stop herself from laughing at the look on Jellal's face as Hibiki, Ren, and Eve all flirted with Erza. Really she thought it took a lot of strong will for Jellal not to punch them or use his magic against them when they were flirting with the woman he loved.
When the three went towards her to flirt Lucy felt a mischievous smirk rise on her face. She really did hate how everyone seemed to think that she and Laxus would end up together, but it did help her keep creeps away. Well creeps and overly enthusiastic males. "Boys I'm flattered really, but if you truly want to keep any of those promises your making you should talk to Laxus Dreyar I'm certain he would be very interested in what you are proposing to me," she told them with a raised eyebrow. Watching in satisfaction as the three paled and backed away from her like she had suddenly turned green with warts.
Jellal seemed to be suppressing his laughter at hearing her name drop Laxus in such a manner. Well Erza was giving her a calculating look and Lucy just knew that her words would end up reaching Cana and Mira who would take it in completely the wrong way. Maybe she should have just let the three flirt with her they were harmless, annoying yes, but completely harmless. Unlike before though Lucy usually found herself very uncomfortable when someone flirted with her, and there was only one exception to that but she refused to believe that it meant anything special.
"Erza my honey!" Lucy heard and waited for the accompanying thump and was satisfied when Erza hit Ichiya away from her. Sometimes Lucy forgot just how powerful Ichiya could be especially when he acted so ridiculous around Erza. Yet it took a strong person to be able to get up after Erza hit them like that.
The Trimen were looking at Erza completely shocked at the fact that she had hit their sensei. A certain other person, cough Jellal cough, looked very smug after watching Erza hit the other man. It really was amusing seeing just how jealous Jellal could be now that he wasn't held back by the past and actually believed himself worthy of Erza. For the moment though he had a long way to go before Erza would accept him back into her heart.
Shortly after Erza hit Ichiya the group from Lamia Scale arrived. Lyon and Sherry looking a lot better than they had after Galuna, and it was nice seeing Jura again. Although Jura did give her strange looks and she wondered if he could sense the magic power coming from her. Hopefully he wouldn't sense anything strange about her magic since it seemed like Master hadn't, but that could just be because he had watched her grow into her magic.
Then finally with a thump and a short cry the person Lucy had been waiting for arrived after everyone had been chatting for a while. Jura, Jellal, and Lucy being the only ones who didn't seem to find Wendy's arrival like a joke. Everyone else not paying attention to her magic and only paying attention to how young she appeared, although Jura was the only one who didn't see her as a joke that didn't know of the other time line.
When Lucy's eyes collided with Charle's she knew that the Exceed remembered the other time line. She didn't seem overwhelmed by the information though making her wonder if she had remembered for longer than Lucy had expected. The only sign the Exceed actually gave that gave her away for remembering was how her eyes widened when she saw Lucy and Jellal. Luckily it seemed that at this point in time Charle didn't know who she was just yet. It seemed that the Exceed was suspicious about her though since she wouldn't have any memories of her, and seemed happy to see Happy again even if she acted aloof when he tried to offer her a fish.
"Now that we are all here why don't we introduce ourselves formally?" Lucy asked slicing through the tension filled air since the others seemed like they were going to ask Wendy to go home.
"A good idea. I shall start I am Jura Neekis of Lamia Scale one of the Ten Wizard Saints and an Earth Mage," Jura introduced himself setting the bar. It seemed that her presence and Jellal's had even slightly changed how things were supposed to happen here. Not that it really bugged her if they were acquainting themselves differently.
"Lyon Vastia of Lamia Scale an ice make mage," Lyon introduced with a roll of his eyes. Obviously not realizing that it was polite to allow those he hadn't met to know his name and seeing it as pointless.
"Sherry Blendy of Lamia Scale I use doll magic," the female wizard said flipping her long hair. Even now Lucy could see that despite her supposed devotion to Lyon that Sherry's eyes were being drawn towards love. It seemed that no matter the differences in times that love would end up always finding away if they were meant to be together.
Next the Trimens began their introductions, "Ren Akatsuki of Blue Pegasus, I'm an air mage."
"Hibiki Lates of Blue Pegasus I am an Archive mage."
"Eve Tearm of Blue Pegasus I am a snow mage."
"Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki of Blue Pegasus I use perfume magic and you all have very nice par fume's men."
Then it was time for them to introduce themselves. Although it seemed that Wendy had finally noticed Jellal and was staring at him in shock like she was trying to figure out if he was the same Jellal she had known before. Hopefully he would be gentle when he broke it to her that he wasn't her Jellal, but at least it was better than her believing that he had completely forgotten her.
"Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail I am a requip mage," Erza stated in a no nonsense tone and giving a slight bow.
"Yo I'm Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail, Fire Dragon Slayer and this is my partner Happy," Natsu said with a grin as he introduced himself and Happy who looked a little put out that he couldn't give his own introduction, but replied with, "Aye," in spite of it.
"Gray Fullbuster of Fairy Tail I'm an Ice mage."
"Luciana or Luce Redfox of Fairy Tail, Celestial Spirit mage as well as a water mage," Lucy introduced herself. No one had known that Lucy had received water magic from breaking Aquarius's key, they didn't even know she had broken Aquarius's key, so she was hoping by saying her other magic that Charle wouldn't be as suspicious of her. It seemed to work to because Charle wasn't watching her as closely although she did seem shocked at her last name.
"Jellal Fernandez of Fairy Tail I specialize in heavenly magic."
Now everyone's eyes turned to Wendy waiting for her to introduce herself. This was the point in time where Wendy was still very self conscious and she was fiddling under everyone's gazes. It would be great to watch her become too confident young lady once again, and for Wendy to realize that she could do more than heal.
"Ano, um, I'm Wendy Marvel of Cait Shelter, um I use a lot of support magic and hope I can be of use to you," Wendy said bowing. Not once mentioning that she was a dragon slayer probably because she was aware of how powerful most dragon slayers were, and she felt like she couldn't hold up to them. No one seemed to mind that she hadn't really elaborated on her magic though.
"It's nice to meet you Wendy-chan," Lucy said with a smile not wanting the younger girl to remain so afraid. Really the main problem with Wendy's magic had always been that Wendy had been holding herself back with the restrictions she believed she had. Once she realized that she could use attacks just like the other dragon slayers she became a very powerful mage despite her young age.
"Thank you Luciana-san it's very nice to meet you," Wendy said with another bow her eyes sparkling with happiness at not having been told to leave.
"I am Charle I use aera magic and am an Exceed," Charle said her introduction. Very different from last time when she had thought that she had to destroy Wendy. At least this time around she knew what was going on and would be able to protect Wendy once it was time to go back to Edolas and rescue Lisanna.
After they introduced themselves they began to share their knowledge of their mission. Although Lucy, Jellal, and Charle were all very careful not to reveal that they knew more than they were supposed to know. Actually Lucy only jumped into the conversation when necessary and tried her best to not supply any information at all. Only saying what she knew about the size of Oracien Seis and the dark guild's alliance. Nothing was said about what Oracien Seis was actually after since at this time they weren't supposed to know what they were looking for. Lucy just hoped everything would go smoothly and hoped the lack of a bad feeling meant that everything would be fine.
