Constellations of Time
Summary: In an attempt to stitch broken bonds, Jude Heartfilia creates a guild dedicated to Lucy named "Sabertooth." Asking her to join the guild, Lucy decides to give an answer after S-Class Promotion Exams. But in a turn of events, she and her guildmates have disappeared together in Tenroujima. [Lucy X Various]
A/N: Made some grammar and story revisions. If you read the previous version of Constellations of Time, welcome back and expect some minor changes! If you're a new reader, welcome to the harem! I hope you enjoy the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Chapter 1
It was approximately 2 weeks before the S-Class Promotion Exams, and the guild was in chaos. Chairs can be seen flying everywhere as guild members were fighting over requests; some were passed out on the floor due to exhaustion, while others watch in amusement. With all the guild's commotion, a certain celestial mage can be seen sitting at the bar counter watching Mira approve never-ending requests. Sighing at the sight, she stood up and bid farewell to everyone.
Walking on the stone pathed road, she smiled at the thought of the S-Class Exams. Just recently, Cana asked her to be her partner with the exams, which she gladly accepted. The idea of new challenges and adventure excited her. It was her first time experiencing an event like this, and she was definitely looking forward to it. Getting lost in her thoughts, she hummed happily, walking towards her apartment. Getting near her home, she saw a familiar figure standing in front of her apartment. As she slowly approached, the figure turned around and met her eyes. Shock can be seen on Lucy's face at the sight of that man.
Lucy headed inside her apartment with the man following close behind. As soon as they entered the apartment, she faced the man and crossed her arms.
"What are you doing here?" Lucy asked coldly. It was heartbreaking enough that her father asked her for money a few weeks ago, and then he appears in front of her again.
'Why must he come again? Does he need more money? Does he still even care for me? Did he regret his actions? WHY?' These thoughts ran through her mind as she waited for his response.
"I wanted to tell you that I'm doing good in my new guild. Before I joined, we met at the front of the guild, remember? When I entered the guild, it was destroyed. So I asked around what had happened to one of the members, and it turns out a blonde celestial mage single-handedly helped them. They said that the mage took out all the dark guild mages and left without leaving a word. But one of the members overheard the mage looking for her father at the guild." Jude said while smiling warmly.
It was true that she was indeed reckless in accepting a job request last week. She heard that the mercenary guild that her father was working on was attacked by a dark guild. Even though he was cold to her, she still loved her father and wanted to save him. After finding out that he wasn't there, she left immediately. She later found out that her father literally walked all the way to the guild for 3 days without any money on him, which made her feel guilty.
"I know it was you. Thank you, my daughter." Jude said with tears in his eyes as he hugged Lucy.
The celestial mage froze at the sudden action of her father. His embrace was warm and soothing, something she yearned from him for all those years. Tears fell down her cheeks as her heart suddenly exploded with these emotions that she tried to hide after her mother's death. Jude stroked her hair as she continued crying in his arms. This was a new beginning for both of them.
After a few minutes, they decided to catch up. Jude sat on the couch as she watched Lucy prepare tea for him. He smiled at the sight of how his daughter has grown up so well.
"So, father, how is your new guild? Have you made any friends?" Lucy said as she placed a cup of tea in front of her father.
"Oh, it has been so much fun. I really bonded well with my mercenary friend named Jiemma. We were actually planning on creating a guild." He replied nonchalantly as he sipped the tea that his daughter made him.
"Oh really? I see. That's nice." Lucy said as she sipped her tea. Within a couple of seconds, the words her father said synced in.
"WAIT- *cough* *cough* WHAT?!" She suddenly spat the tea she was drinking and started coughing abruptly.
Jude just laughed heartily at the sight of her daughter. Lucy frowned and then laughed with him. After the laughter died down, Jude then explained why he decided to create a guild.
"When me and your mother were still dating, we would always talk about a guild where our child will happily grow up in. We actually decided on creating one after you were born. But your mother's health gradually fell and we just couldn't find the time to construct it. After she passed away, I overworked myself and even shut people out of my life, including you, my only daughter. As our business fell and I ran out of money, I decided to start again from scratch and build the guild of our dreams. I entered the mercenary guild, and there I met Jiemma. We became really good friends, and it turns out we each share the same dreams; one of those dreams is building a guild where a family can grow together happily. So, we decided to team up." Jude said while smiling.
Lucy had trouble syncing all the information in her head. After a while, she understood her father's situation and accepted the facts.
"Well, to be honest. With a few approvals of the council, our earnings, and a few loans here and there, the guild is now under construction." Jude smiled more as he said the news. The celestial mage hugged her father and congratulated him on his new goal.
"What's the guild's name?" Lucy asked curiously.
"Me and Jiemma actually thought of a good one! It's based on Jiemma's daughter and your name." Jude exclaimed with happiness. Lucy's eyes sparkled at the thought of it. She was amazed at how far her father had already planned through.
"LUMIN." Jude's eyes sparkled as he said it so happily. Lucy facepalmed upon hearing her father's response. She frowned and started nagging him.
"What? That's so ugly. Change it." Lucy said with utter disappointment.
"But Lushi~ Me and Jiemma like that idea a lot! Apparently, Jiemma's daughter also laughed at the guild name idea." Jude sulked. Lucy just patted him on the back and assured him that it's gonna be okay.
"It was either that or Sabertooth. Jiemma's daughter suggested 'Sabertooth.' What's even good with that name? It's ugly right?" Jude sulked even more.
"Sabertooth eh? It sounds so good! I like that." Lucy said happily as Jude sulked even more than before.
Jude hugged Lucy one last time as he headed out of her apartment. They had a fun time catching up with each other, telling each other stories and happenings, including the S-Class Exams. As Lucy was about to close the door, Jude stopped her and said, "Will you join Sabertooth after your S-Class Exams? I know you love your guild, but I also want to fix the bond I broke with you. I want to make it up for all those years we lost. If it's okay with you, I also want to talk to your guild master about this."
The blonde was speechless. Her joining Sabertooth? What about Fairy Tail? She smiled weakly and said, "I'll think about it. Can you wait for my answer after S-Class Exams?" Jude smiled and nodded. He then left and headed home.
For the next few days, Lucy knew that her father went to Fairy Tail to ask Master Makarov for his approval of letting Lucy join his guild. So, she decided to take the train and roam around Fiore a bit to relax her mind from all the events happening around her at the moment. As she sat next to the window, she thought of things she would do while roaming Fiore. She eventually fell asleep with Plue in her arms on the way to her destination.
Lucy woke up to the sound of passengers exiting the train; this was her stop. She wore a black cloak and left the train. Deciding on what to do first, she sat on a nearby bench and opened a map. One particular location caught her eye.
"Isn't this the place where Sabertooth was going to be built on?" She asked herself as she pointed her index to the map location. Curiosity got the best of her, and was now heading towards the guild location.
It took her a couple of minutes to arrive at the location, but it was worth it. Following a dirt path, she found herself standing amidst a field of flowers. There stood in front of her was a massive unfinished guild. Many workers were busy carrying materials and doing construction work. They barely even noticed a certain celestial mage roaming around the construction site.
Continuing on the dirt path, it led to another garden where a 15-year-old girl was seen picking flowers in the garden. The girl had short dark violet hair that reached her shoulders, and wore a pink frilly dress. As she took another step, she accidentally stepped on a twig which caused it to snap.
SNAP*
"WHO'S THERE?!" The girl shouted as she immediately positioned herself in a fighting stance.
"Woah there tiger! I'm just passing by. My name is Lucy. What about you?" Lucy smiled at the girl.
"Lucy? You mean Heartfilia?" She lowered her guard as soon as she heard the celestial mage's name.
"How? How do you know me?" Lucy asked, alarmed.
"My name is Minerva. I am Jiemma's daughter. Uncle Jude told me a lot about you. Sorry about earlier Lucy-san." She blushed as she apologized for her actions. Lucy found her adorable.
"Well, nice to meet you Minerva-chan. Can I call you Min-chan? You see I always wanted to have a little sister." She smiled warmly at the space manipulation mage. Minerva blushed even more and nodded as a response. What was this warm fuzzy feeling?
A couple of minutes later, Lucy found herself tying Minerva's hair into cute dango buns at each side. So this is what it felt like to have a younger sibling. It felt really nice. Thus, Minerva's dango hairstyle was born!
Meanwhile at Fairy Tail,
"I see Master Jude. Still, it is Lucy's decision if she will stay with us or go with you. She is family after all. We will respect any decisions she will make." Makarov said with a heavy heart.
"Thank you Master Makarov." Jude smiled and left the room.
Makarov sluggishly went outside his office and looked down from the second floor. He sighed.
"Brats listen up. I have an announcement to make."
Back to Lucy,
After bidding farewell to Minerva, Lucy was now eyeing for a cake shop. Passing by countless shops, she suddenly stopped when she heard a muffled sound from somewhere. Following the sound, she ended up in a small alley away from the busy streets. There she found 7 figures, one was a 12-year old-boy covered in blood holding a red exceed, two were knocked out on the ground, and the remaining four were beating up the poor boy and exceed. In one swoop of a key from a certain celestial mage, the boy disappeared.
"Where the hell did he go?!" One of the figures screamed on the now empty space where the boy was once there. As the four turned around, they saw the 12-year-old boy and exceed being carried by a maid with pink hair. Before the boy could even blink, he was already behind the celestial mage.
"Thanks Virgo. Open! Gate of the Bull! Taurus!" Lucy shouted, earning a 'Yes Hime-sama' from Virgo. Within a second, a flash of light appeared and came out a bull carrying an axe. Lucy charged together with Taurus, and all four figures were knocked out easily. The blond boy was awestruck with the celestial mage. The blond boy had a hard time knocking down two of them, but she easily managed to take out four guys at once. His eyes sparkled in admiration. He wanted to be like her, someone as strong as her. Someone who could protect others.
Lucy then approached the boy, and asked if he was alright.
"I'm okay. Thank you onee-san." The boy blushed as he hugged his exceed closer. The celestial mage patted his head, and replied, "No problem. My name is Lucy. And you are?"
"Sting Eucliffe. And this is my partner Lector." The boy said shyly. His legs were shaking, and he was covered in wounds.
"Well, nice to meet you Sting and Lector. Let's head out, so I can treat your wounds." Lucy said as she squatted her back facing Sting. Sting was confused by her actions, and stared at the mage.
"Well? Hop on. You don't even have the strength to walk." Lucy chuckled. Sting accepted her offer and they both headed to town.
A pink creature had collided with Lucy while she was giving Sting and Lector a piggyback ride. Lucy squatted down and looked at the creature, still holding Sting. It was yet another exceed! It was a green exceed dressed in a pink frog suit. The exceed's eyes welled up with tears, and the celestial mage apologized to the creature.
"No. No. It's not fairy-san's fault. Please help Fro. Fro's partner has been captured by a dark guild." The exceed said pleadingly at Lucy. Fro, as the exceed said his name was, was really desperate in saving his partner.
Lucy not knowing the details blindly followed Fro, still carrying Sting behind her back. Her magic was low, and it was risky. They arrived into a deep forest, and Sting sensed enemies. "Lucy-nee. Are you sure about this? What if this is a trap? How can you save someone you don't know?" Sting said with worry in his eyes.
"You must be joking right? I just saved you, and you lecture me about saving someone I don't know." Lucy joked to Sting. The dragon slayer blushed at her remark, and this didn't go unnoticed by Lector. The red exceed chuckled at the sight of a blushing Sting, earning him a 'Shut Up' from the boy.
Inside the guild, a 12-year-old black haired boy spat blood on the ground as one of the mages kicked him for the 20th time.
"Look kiddo. If you just let us take that lacrima of yours, then you wouldn't have ended up in this situation. We already set your little pink friend free. The best thing you can do for us is to cooperate. Beating up two weaklings are not enough to stop us from getting that damn lacrima of yours." An old man in his 60s spat as he kicked the poor boy again. As the man was about to land another hit, a large explosion occurred.
BAM*
The celestial mage broke the door which caused tons of heads to turn to her direction. She set down both Sting and Lector, and pulled out her keys. She scanned her surroundings, there were about 20 of them. She couldn't possibly take them head on all at once. Then an idea struck her. A swing of her keys was all it took; a flash of light emitted revealing another person. It was the exact same person, but wearing only a bath towel. This incident caused a few nosebleeds throughout the dark guild.
"GEMINI!" Lucy complained at the sight of Gemini. She looked for Fro only to find that the exceed was now with his beaten up partner. She froze at the scene. How can they be so cruel? She glanced back at Sting to see that he too was also having a nosebleed.
"I don't have time for this!" A member of the dark guild exclaimed. He ran towards Lucy with a knife in his hand, but he was immediately avoided by Lucy. She was pissed off already. Her moves were becoming slower and slower. She has to end it now. Without hesitation, she took Gemini's hand and started casting a spell.
"Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens...
All the stars, far and wide...
Show me thy appearance...
With such shine.
Oh Tetrabiblos...
I am the ruler of the stars...
Aspect become complete...
Open thy malevolent gate.
Oh 88 Stars of the heaven...
Shine!
Urano Metria!"
As both Lucy and her spirit chanted those words, beams of light started gushing out and wiping the whole guild in the process. All dark mages were passed out on the ground. Sting, Lector, Fro and his partner were all uninjured but unconscious from the spell.
The celestial mage ordered the 'now clothed Gemini' to carry the unconscious Sting and Lector, while she carries the other two unconscious Fro and partner back.
They made their way through the forest after leaving the now-destroyed dark guild. The sky was the first thing Lucy noticed as they emerged from the forest. It was almost dark and she did not have enough money to stay at a hotel. Lucy and Gemini hurriedly boarded the train with the four unconscious 'acquaintances' to return to her apartment.
"I guess Fairy Tail will have to wait." Lucy murmured as she gazed at the four sleeping figures in front of her.
The celestial mage arrived at the apartment with the aid of Gemini. When she opened the door to her apartment, the fragrance of vanilla and strawberry filled the room. The mage arrived at her house covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. She grinned as she sat the four exhausted visitors on the sofa. She thanked her spirit and sent it back to their realm.
The celestial mage rushed to the bathroom right away. Lucy sighed as she began to fill the tub with water. She was tired, and when she looked in the mirror, she was fascinated by her appearance. Her body was covered with cuts, dirt, and blood. It's no surprise that the locals gave them strange looks. She grinned at herself in the mirror and began to undress. After filling up the tub, she submerged herself in.
"What a crazy turn of events. Who knew that a casual stroll in Fiore could lead to this?" She whispered. She giggled at the thought of Minerva and her four new guests. It was fun and unexpected.
Lucy dried herself and put on her clothes after spending some time washing herself up. She headed to the living room and gazed at the four sleeping figures. They sure had a particularly trying day. She then went into the kitchen and began preparing a meal for all five of them.
While she was preparing dinner, the aroma filled the room, causing all four guests to awaken. All four of them jolted out of the sofa, and stared at each other. As Sting and Lector stared at him, the black-haired boy was on his guard. Sensing his partner's tense state, Fro jumped in between them and explained that Sting was an ally along with someone called 'Fairy-san.'
Both teams settled down, only to discover that they were no longer in the dark guild. This alarmed the four of them once more. Who wouldn't be surprised if they awoke in a strange place?
When Lucy heard noises in the living room, she figured that they had already woke up. She paused what she was doing and walked over to the 'guests'. She laughed at the sight of them being on high alert. They were such adorable kids.
"Well good morning sleeping beauties! I see that you are awake now." Lucy said with a smile.
"Fairy-san!/Lucy-nee!/Lushi!" Shouted Fro, Sting, and Lector together. For a brief moment, the black-haired boy was perplexed, but he soon realized she was the one who targeted the dark guild. Fro took a step forward to introduce Lucy to his partner.
"Fairy-san! This is Fro's partner, Rogue. Rogue-kun, this is Fairy-san!" Fro said with a huge smile. Rogue took a step forward and bowed to the celestial mage.
"Thank you for saving me and my partner Frosch." He said while still bowing. Lucy chuckled and patted his head softly as a response. This caused Rougue to look up at her. She smiled at him.
"Lucy-nee! I also want to thank you again for saving me and Lector." Sting said with sparkles in his eyes. He was obviously amazed at the celestial mage, she was like his hero.
"I'm glad I could help. Now, go to the bathroom and wash up. Just toss your dirty clothes into the clothes washer. Fortunately, due to umm... reasons, my friend Gray left a lot of his extra clothes here. *Lucy's face flushed as she remembers Gray's habit of stripping*. They may be a little large for you, but they'll suffice. We'll eat dinner after that. Okay?" Lucy said.
The boys, along with the exceed, quietly nodded and walked to the bathroom. One thing was certain, they were indebted at her.
After the boys and exceeds had washed up and put on the clothes that had been given to them, they went to where Lucy was. As they got closer, the scent of food grew stronger and stronger, causing their stomachs to growl even more with hunger.
They arrived at the room and found a sleeping Lucy who was resting her head on the table. The food was already prepared and Lucy's smiling face can be seen as she was silently sleeping. Oblivious of their feelings (of hunger), the boys blushed at the sight of her, and silently stared at her more. The silence was broken by the growl of their stomachs causing Lucy to wake up. She wiped her watery eyes and blushed as she realized what had happened. She dozed off while waiting for them. She brushed that thought and blush away, made them sit with her, and they all ate.
"So, are you also dragon slayers? Three of my dragon slayer friends have exceeds." Lucy asked while not overstepping her boundaries. Both nodded. They remained silent. Lucy figured that they do not want to talk about this subject. Lucy knew just how heartbreaking it is to lose someone you love at such a young age. She didn't ask any further questions and decided to wait until they begin to open up to her.
After conversing, eating and cleaning up, Lucy and the four were now getting ready to sleep. The bed was big enough for everyone as she recalled the times when Erza, Natsu and Gray would sneak into her apartment to sleep with her. As she closed the lights, she lay between Sting and Rouge. She gently asked. "Do you guys have any place to stay?"
Silence and darkness filled the room as Lucy stared at the ceiling waiting for their response. Still, none of them answered. She knew what that meant. She hugged them gently. Her embrace was warm. It felt like home.
"Want to stay here with me?" Lucy could feel them hug her back, she could feel them crying. No one had treated them like that since their dragons vanished; instead, they were either targeted or pushed away. Lucy was the first to extend her arms to them.
Lucy smiled as the two boys and exceeds have fallen asleep in her arms. She was definitely gonna take care of these four and treat them as family. With those thoughts, she fell asleep.
The next morning, the celestial mage woke up with no one beside her. Did they leave? Why would they do that? In a panicked state, she ran outside her room to find the four cooking breakfast.
"Good morning Lucy-nee! We made breakfast!" Sting happily chirped as Rogue finished setting up the table. Lucy exhaled a sigh of relief and happily ate breakfast with them.
"Lucy-nee, we're thinking about joining a guild." Rogue said as he happily chomped down his breakfast.
"Of course! We don't want you to use your money to pay for everything we eat." Sting continued as he ate another piece of egg from his plate. Lucy nodded and inquired as to which guild they wished to join.
"Sabertooth, of course!" said all four cheerfully.
"Lucy-nee did say it was her father's guild." Rogue began
"We'll just train until the guild is fully built." Sting added.
Lucy smiled as she continued to eat with them.
Lucy left her apartment a couple of hours ago and was at the guild at the moment. All four of them decided to stay home and rest for the day. There magic hasn't fully recovered yet, and they didn't want to burden Lucy from spending her day at her guild.
The celestial mage sighed as everyone was still busy doing jobs. A pair of hands grabbed her shoulders, causing her to shriek in surprise. She turned around and saw that Natsu and Gray were the owners of hand, which made her sigh in relief. She smiled at the two idiots and wished them good luck. As she was about to leave, both stopped her.
"Luce is it true that your leaving Fairy Tail? Did we do something wrong?" Gray asked with a shaky voice.
"Luce..." Natsu couldn't say anything. His bangs covered his eyes as he looked down at the ground.
"Guys. I- I don't know yet. I also don't want to leave the guild." Lucy was startled by their sudden questions. Ofcourse she didn't want to leave. But what about her father? Not every father would go building around a guild dedicated for their own daughter. Sabertooth was also special.
"I-" Lucy was cut off when the master suddenly appeared.
"My child. Everyone knows already. Brats. Listen well. Lucy is family. Who says that she'll be gone forever? We all know that bonds are important. And Lucy and her father's bond is something irreplaceable. She can always visit us. The decision will always be upon Lucy herself." Makarov stated holding back his tears.
Everything was clear to Lucy and the guild. A few glances were exchanged, and everyone burst out laughing for no apparent reason. What on earth were they thinking? No matter what guild she is in, Lucy will always be family.
Eventually, everyone stopped taking job requests and started partying.
"But Lucy~ Are you really sure you don't want me to set you up with anyone in the guild? I can see potential husbands for you. Think about the blond babies you could have!" Mira excitedly said as she handed Lucy a glass of alcohol.
"No thanks Mira." Lucy sweat dropped and drank the alcohol that was given to her. She wasn't a drinker, and boy was it a big mistake.
"Is anyone interested in our dear celestial mage?" Mira shouted to everyone with sparkles in her eyes. Everyone was silent at the sudden question of the demon queen.
"Miraaaa~ Shut up. My head hurts~" Lucy whined as she was already drunk. Everyone laughed at her actions and started to party again.
Lucy somehow managed to go home all by herself. But little did she know that four of her guild mates actually secretly followed her until she got home.
"Ara~ Ara~ I didn't know our Lucy was this famous." Mira giggled as she noticed four certain members were gone as soon as Lucy left.
The exams were now three days away. Lucy, Sting, Lector, Rogue and Frosch decided to head out to the construction site of their future guild. As they were nearing the site, Sting and Rogue already rushed to the place with their exceeds following closely behind. Lucy looked around and noticed a blond 12-year-old boy staring at Sting and Rogue.
The celestial mage then approached the little boy and greeted him. The boy was surely surprised but politely greeted the blonde lady who had greeted him.
"My name is Lucy, I'm a celestial mage. What's your name? Are you a mage too?" She asked gently trying not to scare the boy.
"My name is Rufus, I use Memory-Make, it allows me to memorize other forms of Magic." Rufus stated. Lucy smiled at his actions. She could tell that he was very uncomfortable speaking to her, and tends to look down on the ground as to hide his face.
"Why do you hide your face from me? *pout* A cute boy like you shouldn't be hiding his face from anyone. Even a stranger in a mask can conceal his face, but not his emotions." Lucy said randomly as she took Rufus' hands and pulled him to where Sting and Rogue were. Rufus was taken aback by her actions and remark. He thought that if he hid his face from the world, everything would be fine.
'Perhaps change isn't so bad after all.' As he was introduced to Sting, Rogue, and the exceeds, Rufus reflected. They later discovered Minerva and were introduced to her as well.
For the next days, Lucy, Sting, Rogue and the exceeds kept visiting the unfinished guild. Minerva and Rufus also kept visiting to meet Lucy and the gang.
"Goodluck tomorrow Lucy-nee!/Lushi!/Fro thinks so too!" Everyone cheered as Minerva gave a cake to Lucy.
"Thank you guys." Lucy accepted the cake and hugged them.
It was now time to return home. She bid farewell to Minerva and Rufus. She waved at them, "See you in a week!"
And with that, the S-Class Promotion Trials started in Tenroujima.
Three weeks have passed and news about Tenroujima had spread throughout Fiore. They couldn't believe it! The island, together with all the members are missing! This has to be a lie!
'SHE HAS TO BE ALIVE!' These were the only thoughts that raced through the minds of Sting, Rogue, and the exceeds.
"Don't worry. Lucy-nee is alive. She's strong." Rogue said as his furry friend cried in his arms. All four were completely heartbroken with the news. Lucy made everything possible, she was the person who opened up their heart to lots of things, she opened up new bonds for them, yet she suddenly disappears just like their dragons!
"No matter how long it takes, we'll wait for you Lucy-nee." Sting said this as tears streamed down everyone's cheeks.
"Jude. Everything will be fine. Have faith in Lucy." Jiemma said, his eyes welling up with tears as he tried to comfort Jude. The Heatfilia was a mess, his house was a mess, everything was a mess! After calming Jude down, he bid his farewells and exited the Heartfilia's house.
"We'll be the strongest guild in Fiore. That way nothing like this will ever happen again." Jiemma whispered as he went home.
If they only had power, they could have prevented it from happening…
"LUCY-NEE!" Minerva screamed as objects flew everywhere. Minerva had kept her hair the way Lucy had styled it after their first meeting. She was like a sister to her, and she was her first friend. People would always push her away because of her abilities, but Lucy was different. She accepted Minerva wholeheartedly.
"Please come back…" Minerva whispered. She sat there, sobbing uncontrollably, with broken objects all around her.
After that incident, Minerva had shown less emotions. Her personality had shifted dramatically as a result of the loss of a dear friend from this world.
Rufus was heading home when he noticed a mask lying on the ground. He smiled at the thought of the celestial mage's remark, "Even a stranger in a mask can conceal his face, but not his emotions." he whispered.
"Did you hear? All Fairy Tail mages that went to Tenroujima disappeared!" A guy chatted with his friend. This definitely reached Rufus' ears. He stood there shocked at the news he heard.
"Lucy-nee was..." Rufus couldn't even finish his sentence because tears already streamed down his cheeks. The Lucy-nee she adored had vanished, the one who had changed his perspective and made him smile. This is not possible.
He picked up the mask after looking at it on the ground. Keeping his emotions and face hidden from view.
"You were correct, Lucy-nee. I can't hide my emotions." He mumbled as he walked away, crying behind the mask.
7 years has passed, and still no sign of them…
-Chapter 1 Fin-
A/N: Okay! That was long. I altered a lot of parts, but still kept the parts I really liked such as how Minerva's dango hair bun was born and why her personality changed to the one we know, why Jiemma is obsessed with power, Rufus' mask and other things. Thank you for reading! See you in the next chapter!