Earthland-2, Magnolia, X784: Lucy

"Thank you so much, Mirajane!" Lucy gushed, watching from the edge of town as Team Cult Buster returned, Jellal leading them home. "I hope this isn't any trouble."

"Not at all," Mirajane insisted, smiling. "Lisanna and Loke can tend the bar while I'm doing other things, whether it's an S-Class mission or showing a new friend around."

Lucy blushed. Mirajane considers me a friend? Wow. "I still can't believe Fairy Tail destroyed two whole Dark Guilds with just two teams," she blurted.

"Dark Unicorn wasn't destroyed," Mirajane explained, one hand on her chin. "Cult Buster wiped out their chance to become a major guild in the Balam Alliance, but a few of them escaped to crawl back to their masters."

"So did Erigor..." Lucy whispered, hugging herself. Is he going to come after us?

Mirajane patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Lucy. We take care of each other." Lucy nodded, forcing herself to relax. I don't want to worry them.

"Oi, Mira!" Shou waved, grinning like Natsu. "We brought you a souvenir!" He threw Mirajane a white staff, which she caught one-handed. "This job was so easy, it was almost embarrassing. Of course, that's what happens when nii-san comes with us." The whole group was smiling, except for Jellal himself. He looks...haunted, Lucy thought. It's the only word that feels right for that expression. This is Gentle Jellal, the Shield of Fiore?

Millanna meowed a yawn. "Except there were so many of them. I'm not feeling lively at all. I used so much magic power, I'm going to need to nap all day tomorrow."

"So just like every mission," Wally laughed, resting his rectangular gun on his shoulder. Millianna pouted at him. "It's all dandy, Milli. You earned a rest."

"Hey Mira, is that the new kid?" Shou asked. Simon sighed and dope-slapped the card mage. Kagura chuckled. "Simon! What the Grim?"

"Her name is Lucy," a purple-haired woman Lucy didn't recognize interjected, shaking her head. "Hi there. I'm Ultear, and I understand you've already met the rest of this bunch."

"I wouldn't say 'met,' exactly...but I'm really glad to now!" Lucy replied, bowing.

Kagura bowed back. "The pleasure is ours." She smiled at the pair as Lucy straightened. "I hear that Mirajane-san has you keeping an eye on Natsu and Happy."

"More like Natsu and Gray," Lucy muttered, forcing herself not to pout. "I like teaming up with Natsu, at least when he's not almost getting me killed, but those two!" She snorted and crossed her arms. "It's like being a babysitter."

Jellal blinked, haunted expression vanishing. "For love of the gods, what are they doing in a team together?"

Mirajane beamed like the sun. "It was Erza's idea," she explained.

The transformation astonished Lucy. Every member of Team Cult Buster except Jellal – wait, Jellal's not technically a member, Lucy remembered – seemed to go paper-white, staring in shock. Jellal merely sighed and shook his head. "Oh, Erza. So she finally did it, huh?" he asked, chuckling. "Was Lucy the deciding factor?"

"Oh, no," Mirajane replied, still smiling, "Erza just decided to grab them while the rest of you were unicorn hunting." Cult Buster's members added sweat drops to their pale visages. "Lucy was very helpful, though. Eisenwald might have hurt a lot of people if she hadn't been there."

Lucy gulped, sure her face was as red as Jellal's tattoo. "It – wasn't that big a deal, really," she stammered. "I wouldn't have even been able to help much without Happy."

"He's pretty insightful, for a six year old cat," Shou quipped, the team recovering in an instant.

Millianna rounded on him, her tail bristling. "Never underestimate the kitties!" she insisted.

"Oh, that reminds me," Lucy said, one finger going to her chin. "Natsu asked Erza to fight him if we succeeded in our mission, and she agreed." The team froze, Jellal included this time. "That's not going to be a problem, is it?"