The team had already headed out, and was currently hiking through the jungle, getting bitten by mosquitoes.
"I'm gonna catch malaria at this rate." Gajeel muttered. "How much further?"
"Not far." Gray replied. "'Bout a mile."
"A whole 'nother mile? How far is this thing?"
"Dunno, but hey, at least you're exercising."
"Oh, like I need to." But he stayed silent after that.
"Hey, guys." Lucy said after a while. "Hasn't it been a mile yet?"
"Yeah, according to the homing beacon I put on Jellal, we should be right above it." Gray studied his phone intently. Though it couldn't really be called a phone anymore after he and Gajeel gave it some major upgrades. It was almost as useful to Gray as his laptop. Almost.
"You screwed up!" Natsu accused angrily. "We've been walking for miles in this stupid jungle for no reason!"
"Shut up, Natsu, I'm thinking."
"Oh, gee, didn't know you were capable of that!"
"WHAT DID YOU – "
Erza shot them both an angry look, and he shut up. Levy, meanwhile, was frowning at a couple of rocks.
"What's wrong, shrimp?" asked Gajeel.
"Pre… flying rock…joy…" she muttered, which made absolutely no sense at all to anyone but Levy.
"I know!" Her eyes lit up, and she furiously started digging. "C'mon, gotta be here somewhere…"
She unearthed a normal-looking root and let out a happy cheer. "Yes!"
"Uh, Levy?" Natsu said, looking confused. "That's a piece of – "
But he never got to finish, because they all suddenly fell – right through a trapdoor that hadn't been there just a second ago.
xXx
When Erza dropped from the sky and landed on Jellal's head, he thought,
Yep. This is it. I've finally gone off the deep end.
But then he got a good look at her. And realized,
Nope. Not even in my deepest dreams could she look that good. So that means…
"Hello, Jellal." Erza's eyes sparkled. "We're here."
Jellal's mouth fell open. "That was fast."
"We try." Gray said. "C'mon, let's blow this popsicle stand. Erza, cut the ropes."
Erza did. Then, she gave Jellal a bear hug that expelled every single last bit of air in his lungs.
"Um, Erza?" Lucy said, looking at Jellal, gasping, his face purple. "I think you should let go of him now."
"Oh, yes. Of course." She released him. "Are you alright?"
"We've got bigger problems than whether or not I'm alright." Jellal replied. "I found out what Angel's goal is. Apparently she and her psycho family are looking for some kind of mind-control device. And she just stole the key to it off me."
"Wait, wait, wait, hold it." Sting held up a hand.. "You had the key to a mind-control device?! And you never told us!"
"Well, I didn't know I had it until Angel stole it off me." he admitted.
"Then what're we waiting for?! I don't want Angel in control of my mind!" Natsu exclaimed. "Which way did they go?!"
Jellal pointed to a door that led to the rest of Brain's hideout. "That way."
"All right!" Romeo cheered. "New mission!"
xXx
"So, this is the deal. You provide us with the money we need to pull off this operation, and we give you the Heartfillia girl. Is that correct?" Brain asked.
Jose nodded. "Correct. And you can do whatever you like to her, just bring her to me alive."
"Hmm… Are you sure you're not getting the short end of the stick here? I get a mind-control device, you get a lousy teenage girl. Isn't that a bit unfair?"
"Oh, I have my reasons. Lucy Heartfillia has insulted me too many times. I will do almost anything to capture her."
"Very well, then. My Angel has taken the key from the Fernandez boy. We'll both have what we desire soon."
"Good. Very good. I'll leave you to your work, then."
"Right. I'll see you, Mr. Phantom."
"All right, Brain."
xXx
If there was one thing that Lucy Heartfillia was afraid of, it was her father.
Jude Heartfillia was strictly a business man, with no room in his life for family. Even so, Lucy's childhood was all right, filled with toys and servants to look after her.
But that all changed when she turned seventeen. When Jude decided that she should get married, to expand the family business.
The boy in question was a spoiled brat with absolutely no brains, who only wanted to get married to have more servants to tend to his every need. Lucy had hated him at first sight.
But of course, her feelings didn't matter to Jude, who insisted that she do it, no matter how much she begged. So Lucy had run away from home. By far the best idea she'd ever had, as it led to being accepted to the Academy, and ultimately, to Natsu Dragneel, who beat Spoiled Brat by five thousand percent. So you can see why Lucy never wanted to return home ever again.
Unfortunately, Jose showed up. And now she was faced, yet again, with her horrible, cruel, father.
It wasn't just the whole marriage thing that made Lucy hate Jude. It was something else. Something she would never forgive him for. Never, ever.
So, as she walked down the dark passageway with only Natsu's torch to guide the way, she thought that if only she could get close to Jude, she could do it. The Ultimate Plan she'd wanted to unleash upon him ever since she ran away.
Maybe, just maybe, if she took out Jose, then Jude would come after her himself. And when that time came…
Those were Lucy's thoughts as she walked down the hallway, her footsteps pattering against the cold stone.
The team had split up again, and she was paired with Natsu, who was humming a happy tune at the prospect of being able to kick Jose's butt yet again. He was leading, her hand in his, practically skipping with childish glee. It cheered Lucy up.
"Hey, Luce." he said, noticing her expression. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She forced a smile. "Bad memories."
"Your dad, huh." He nodded sympathetically, and Lucy flushed.
"He's not my dad. Not anymore."
"Then we both know how it feels to grow up without a father." he said quietly, turning and walking on. Lucy blinked. He grew up without a father?
Her face grew hot. She'd known Natsu for months, and she'd never known about that at all. Actually, she realized, she didn't know anything about the rest of the team's families. And she'd never bothered to try to find out.
"What happened to your dad?" she ventured. Natsu stiffened.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." she said quickly, seeing his expression.
"He left." was the reply. "Just up and vanished into thin air. I'm still looking for him."
The pain in his voice made Lucy feel like a Class A jerk. "Gosh, Natsu, I'm so sorry…"
"What's there to be sorry about? He was a cool guy. And then he vanished. I like to think that he worked for the government or something, and got sent away on a big mission. I like to think that's what happened to Mom, too."
"Your mom…""
"Never knew her. Didn't know I had one until I learned I was supposed to."
Lucy shut up then. Obviously the subject was a painful one, and she'd rather not go any further. But it made her wonder. What about the others? What about their families?
Maybe someday she'd find out.
But not for a bit. Yay! Backstory time! Jude did something awful to Lucy! Natsu's dad went poof! Who knows what happened to his mom?
Am I the only one who wonders what happened to the dragon slayers' actual parents in Fairy Tail? I mean, it just makes you curious, doesn't it?
Oh, well, I'll stop babbling on now. Enjoy the extra long chapter! Oh, wait, you already did. Oh well…
Water, out
