Chapter 2
It was a beautiful, sunny day. While different sea creatures happily swam in the ocean, white fluffy clouds drifted across the sky. A small ship can be seen sailing around the sea as if looking for something.
"We have to find them." A now older-looking Bisca said to Alzack.
"Yeah." Alzack sadly replied.
'7 years ago was too painful, it still is.' Alzack grimaced at the thought. Today was the day Tenroujima Island, along with other Fairy Tail members, mysteriously vanished. No one saw it coming. For everyone, it was shocking and heartbreaking. All of Fiore had given up in searching for them, but the remaining Fairy Tail mages (and some other guilds) did not.
Bisca and Alzack remained vigilant for any sign of Fairy Tail mages as the ship continued to sail.
"LOOK!" Bisca yelled, pointing to a ghost figure standing on top of the water. The figure ran as if leading the ship towards somewhere. Following the figure, an island appeared out of nowhere. It wasn't just an island, it was Tenroujima.
As the ship landed on the island, Alzack and Bisca started their search. It was a miracle, everyone was unharmed and young. They were the same as how they looked 7 years ago. Just what on Edolas had happened
As everyone finally gathered, the ghost introduced herself as Mavis Vermilion, Fairy Tail's First Guild Master. She explained everything, including why the members never aged and were frozen in time.
Fairy Tail,
"I'll promise to pay back the money next month." Macao yelled.
"That was something you said last month. This is not going to sit well with our boss." A black-haired mage that has a scar on his left eye yelled angrily as he grabbed Macao by the collar of his clothes.
As Macao was about to be hit, a foot kicked the mage in the face, sending him flying to the other side of the guild. As he crashed towards the other end of the guild, the Fairy Tail mages looked at the source of the incident. Eyes widen in surprise at the sight of a pink-haired mage smiling goofily at them.
"We're home!" Natsu shouted and grinned at them.
"EVERYONE'S BACK." The mages who were left behind after all these years started crying and cheering. They finally came back. Fairy Tail is now complete.
The whole guild started celebrating. 7 years passed by so fast and they were gonna make up for those lost times. As everyone smiled and cheered, Macao approached Makarov.
"Master Makarov, there is something you need to know…" Macao started as he and Makarov went to a quiet place to talk.
Hearing Macao's reports made him anxious and sorry. In the time they went missing, they have lost a lot. In order to keep operating the guild, Fairy Tail had to borrow a lot of money and was now in debt. As Macao continued on, the mage's last report was what caught his attention the most.
"I see. Then it is time." Makarov sadly replied and headed towards where everyone was.
In the midst of the celebration, Makarov stood at the now run-down stage and got everyone's attention. He cleared his throat and started talking.
"As you all know, we have been asleep for the past 7 years. It might seem like it was just yesterday, which it was for our case. But for the family we have left behind, time continued on for them. I'm sorry we took this long. We're finally home." Makarov said.
Makarov watched as the guild cheered and started making a racket. He saw Macao approach the celestial mage and whispered something to her. The mage's words caused Lucy's eyes to widen in surprise.
'So he finally told her.' Makarov thought as he saw the scene unfold before him. He cleared his throat once again which caught everyone's attention. Silence was heard and the guild members all stared at the master with curious eyes.
"Lucy my dear, we have prolonged this too far. Have you made a decision?" Makarov's voice shook as he stared into the blonde mage's chocolate eyes.
All eyes shifted towards the Heartfilia. The members were shocked to see her crying in Macao's arms. The room was silent, only Lucy's cries echoed throughout the guild.
"I'm *sob* sorry master *sob*" Lucy managed to say between her sobs.
Flashback: A few minutes ago,
Lucy turned around as she felt someone patted her on the back. It was Macao.
"Lucy, I need to tell you something..." Macao started.
"Sure. What is it Macao-san?" Lucy happily smiled at him. Macao felt guilty telling her on such a joyous moment, but she needed to know as soon as possible. He then leaned forward and whispered in her ear.
"Lucy, I'm sorry to inform you that your father passed away." Macao sadly whispered.
End of flashback.
The guild was taken aback by the Heartfilia's sudden response to the master's question. They knew that this day would come, but it was just too sudden. It was true that they agreed on respecting her decisions about her leaving the guild, but they never expected that she would leave immediately.
As her sobs still echoed throughout the guild, the master couldn't handle it anymore and hugged the celestial mage.
"My child. There is no reason for you to be sorry. We respect your decision and you will always be a member of Fairy Tail." Makarov said as tears strolled down his cheeks. He fully understood that it was hard for her to make this decision.
Macao had told the master that Jude always came by the guild and helped them financially throughout their absence. When Jude passed away, they felt ashamed to ask Sabertooth for assistance. That was why they ended up borrowing money from other guilds instead.
As tears were shed, the guild respected her decision. They ended up group hugging Lucy. They were sad about her leaving, but she promised she would visit the guild during the weekends. And as they all know, a celestial mage never breaks her promise. That was a good enough reason for them.
"Lucy dear, whenever a mage wishes to leave Fairy Tail, they are expected to follow three rules." Makarov said breaking away from the hug.
"Number 1! You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live." Natsu continued and held Lucy's hand.
Everyone's mind drifted to memories of them and Lucy as they tried to keep their smiles on.
"Number 2! You must never use former contacts met through your being in the guild for personal gain." Gray said as he placed an arm around Lucy's shoulder.
"And number 3! Though our paths may have diverged, you must continue to live out your life with all your might, you must never consider your own life to be something insignificant, and you must never forget about your friends for as long as you live." Erza finished and hugged the celestial mage which resulted in Lucy's head slamming into Titania's armor.
Everyone's smile suddenly died down when they heard the last rule. They knew that this façade wasn't going to last, they were really going to miss their celestial spirit mage.
"*Sniffle* Thank you. *Sob*" Lucy said as tears uncontrollably fell down her cheeks. With that said, everyone also started crying and hugging the celestial mage.
A few sobs later, everyone settled down and started celebrating for Lucy and for the return of the Fairy Tail members.
Meanwhile, at Magnolia.
Minerva, Rogue, Sting, Rufus, Yukino, Orga, and the exceeds have just completed one of Sabertooth's missions and are on their way to Lucy's apartment.
"I'm sorry, but I don't get you. Why do you have to buy a bouquet on this day every year? Was she really that special?" Orga sighed as he walked alongside Yukino.
BAM* Yukino hit Orga's head from his insensible remark.
"Orga! You idiot! Didn't they already tell us? Lucy-sama is very special to them, as she is to me. When I was younger, I admired her as well. I had read about her when she got featured in a magazine. She was deeply concerned about her spirits, and I aspired to be like her. I was devastated when I found out she had vanished. I promised myself to follow in her footsteps." Yukino said, her eyes filled with admiration and sadness. Orga responded with a grunt as he continued walking.
Hearing Lucy's name only made the other four mages and the two exceeds sulk in despair. They just remained silent as they looked down at the stone pathed road heading towards the apartment.
Lucy's Apartment,
Minerva was trying her best not to cry as she placed a bouquet of roses in front of Lucy's picture. She stood there silently between the crying Yukino and Orga, who apparently was easily moved by Lucy's beautifully tragic story.
Rufus had removed his mask in order to pay his respects to the celestial mage. As tears streamed down his cheeks, he clutched his mask in his hands.
Sting and Rogue remained silent. They suppressed their sobs while holding their crying exceeds. Silence was the only thing that could be heard throughout the apartment.
'Please come back.' Thoughts that echoed through everyone's mind.
Memories of Lucy flooded their minds as the pain of 7 years ago surfaced once again. They couldn't find her no matter what they did.
Flashback: 7 years ago,
"Minerva! We have to turn around! The boat is gonna sink! We have two useless dragon slayers with us!" A 12-year-old Rufus screamed as he was holding on to the mast of the ship.
The morning after Lucy and the others went missing, Minerva and the gang headed out to sea to find them. Being at sea for 15 hours wasn't enough for them at all, and somehow they were now caught in a terrible storm.
"Fine! Let's go back! Lucy-nee just wait for us! We'll come find you again tomorrow!" Minerva screamed as she asked for the ship crew to turn back the ship.
"Ugh…" Two dragon slayers that were unable to move due to motion sickness replied in unison.
The next day they went to search for her again but it was unsuccessful.
Days turned into weeks.
Weeks turned into months.
Months turned into years.
Still no sign of her after searching for 7 years.
End of flashback.
Fairy Tail,
Many mages had passed out from drinking, others were busy eating their hearts out, and others talked about what had happened in the years they had missed.
Lucy sat with Natsu, Gray, Erza, Wendy and the exceeds. She was sitting between Natsu and Gray, the exceeds were on the table, and Erza and Wendy were across her. They were all exhausted and overwhelmed with everything that had just happened.
Natsu, Wendy, and the exceeds had just fallen asleep with their heads on the table which Lucy found adorable. She played with Natsu's hair as she listened to Erza complaining about the amount of cakes she had missed eating during her years of absence. While listening, exhaustion can be seen conquering Lucy's body as her eyes start to feel really heavy.
As sleep had taken over her body, she had unconsciously leaned towards Gray's body, making her head rest on the ice mage's shoulder. Surprised by the sudden happening, a blush appeared on the ice mage's face.
A flash of light appeared, followed by the appearance of another Gray. Juvia, who was about to murder Lucy for putting her head on the ice mage's shoulder, collapsed with hearts in her eyes after she saw another Gray-sama.
"Gray's opinion on Lucy… Newcomer to the guild…" the twin Gray started. The appearance of Gemini had attracted the interest of the whole guild.
" Possesses some skill… More naive than she appears to be..." The twin continued. The members were looking at both Gray(s) confused. What was Gemini's purpose in revealing the ice mage's thoughts?
The real Gray, who had the celestial mage's head on his shoulder, was processing the events that were happening right now. He was so confused. He felt like he had heard this story from before.
"A Celestial Spirit Mage…" Gemini continued as members were now closely listening to the copy-cat ice mage.
And then it clicked. The real Gray realized what was happening, he heard this story from Lucy herself after the Oracion Seis mission. Where Gemini transformed into him as bait to lure the other members out.
"Wait! Don't finish that-" The real Gray shouted at the fake Gray but was cut when Gemini continued.
"Pretty damn cute." The guild went silent. They were looking back and forth at two Gray(s). The fake Gray was smirking evilly at the blushing Gray.
"Why you! Ice-Make: Ice Geyser." Gray casted as his left hand supported the sleeping Lucy and his right hand froze the ground trying to impale the smirking Gemini. Gemini smiled at the guild members one more time and returned to the spirit world unharmed.
"WOOOOOH!" The guild went wild. They did not expect Gray to like the celestial mage at all. They were slightly relieved that Juvia was unconscious at the moment, or else it could've been pretty ugly. They started teasing Gray with "You liiiikeee heeeer~" remarks.
All the commotion woke up the Natsu, Wendy, and the celestial mage. Lucy jolted away from Gray's grasp and innocently asked, "What'd I miss?"
"Ohh. Nothing.~" The guild chorused leaving Lucy and the two dragon slayers clueless.
"Lu-chan, I think Gray has a fever." Levy innocently cooed at Lucy. Oblivious to what happened, she turned to Gray and looked at him. He was indeed red and appeared to have a fever. Lucy rested her hand on his forehead, her face inches away from Gray's. The ice mage's blush grew redder, eliciting snickers from other members which Lucy didn't notice at all. Gray was so embarrassed that he jolted away from Lucy. In the process of avoiding her, he fell on the floor face first.
"Luce, I'm fine!" He said this as he stood up, his face flushed.
Lucy, still oblivious to the laughing members, simply stood up and let him be. She bid the other members farewell and returned home. It was indeed a tiring day.
"Ne ne... Isn't this fun Gajeel? Now we can tease Gray about Lucy." Levy snickered as she told Gajeel. The Iron Dragon Slayer stood up with a pissed off look and muttered 'No it isn't' and walked out of the guild.
"What's up with him?" Levy mumbled and continued reading.
"Ara ara… Looks like we have another one." Mira smiled as she gave another cake to Erza.
"Indeed this is very intriguing." Titania agreed as she watched the Iron Dragon Slayer walk out the guild.
Lucy's Apartment,
"Minerva! Yukino! Hurry up! We're hungry." Sting grumbled as he lay motionless on the couch.
SHATTERS*
A plate was launched toward Sting's position. The boys were frozen by Minerva's sudden action that they decided to just shut up. Never ever anger Minerva. Rogue cleaned up the shattered glass while the unharmed Light Dragon Slayer groaned on the couch.
"You know, you really should stop doing that." Rogue said as he walked into the kitchen, tossing the shattered glass into the garbage.
"Can't blame me because today's a special day." Minerva replied bitterly as she placed the food on the table. Yukino and Rogue just remained silent.
A few minutes later… "Itadakimasu!" The Sabertooth mages said as they happily munched their food. Sting was gobbling up as many as he can, while the others sweatdropped at his actions. At least he was happy.
Meanwhile, Lucy unlocked and closed her apartment door. She was so happy she was home. She had definitely missed this for the previous seven years. She went straight to her bedroom, oblivious to the people in the kitchen, and flopped on her bed.
Kitchen,
"Did you hear something?" Rogue asked as he heard a click. They paused and looked at him with confused eyes.
"Nevermind. Must be my imagination."
He swore he heard something.
Lucy's room,
"I feel like I'm missing something… or is it someone..?" Lucy pondered as she snuggled on her bed.
'IT WAS MY RENT!' Lucy screamed in her thoughts as she jolted up from her bed. She searched around her room hysterically, hoping to find something she could use to pay her rent. In her search, her gaze landed on a picture frame beside her bed.
Lucy took the picture frame from the table. Her hands shook as she examined the photograph, and her eyes widened in surprise. Her eyes welled up with tears. "Sting... Rogue... Lector… Frosch…" were the only words that came out of her mouth before the picture frame fell from her grasp and she collapsed to her knees.
CRASH*
Kitchen,
CRASH*
"AN INTRUDER?!" Minerva, like everyone else, stood up in alarm. They had to pick this one out of all the days!
"It came from Lucy-nee's room!" Rufus said with a deadly aura surrounding him. Someone had the audacity to break into their apartment on such a special day for them.
They headed immediately at the source of the crash, they were definitely not going to let the intruder off the hook.
Everyone stormed in the room and were in their fighting stance position, only to be greeted by a crying Lucy on her knees with a broken picture frame on the floor.
As tears streamed down her cheeks, the crying celestial mage looked up at them and smiled.
"I'm back, guys" Her voice was weak but was heard by them.
Silence. Words didn't come out of their mouths. They couldn't believe what they are seeing. She came back. She looked the same as the day she suddenly vanished.
"Min-chan, Rouge, Sting, Rufus, Lector, Frosch..." Lucy softly spoke, her voice shook as her tears continued falling.
"FINALLY! YOU CAME BACK. AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! I- I- I MISSED YOU LUCY-NEE!" Minerva shouted and started crying, she lunged herself to Lucy hugging her tightly.
"We never stopped believing in you." The crying Rufus said as he joined Minerva in hugging Lucy.
"Please never ever leave us again." Sting cried as he hugged Lucy.
"Ruuushii!/Fairy-shaaan!" Lector and Frosch cried.
"Please promise us that you'll stay with us from now on." Rogue also sobbed as he and the exceeds joined the hug.
"I promise." Lucy said with tears in her eyes.
Orga and Yukino, who were crying the hardest were so moved by the scene. "WAAAHH~! LUSHI-SAMA. THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL." Yukino wailed as she cried with Orga in front of the hugging mages.
"That *sob* is so beautiful! *sob* We *sob* want a hug too! *sob* Huhuhu!" Orga cried hysterically as he pulled Yukino towards Lucy and they both joined the group hug.
-Chapter 2 Fin-
Omake:
"That *sob* is so beautiful! *sob* We *sob* want a hug too! *sob* Huhuhu!" Orga cried hysterically as he pulled Yukino towards Lucy and they both joined the group hug.
Orga's action caused everyone to be knocked out of the hug. He ended up hugging Lucy all by himself.
"Umm. Mister? Why are you hugging me?" Lucy awkwardly said as she received a bone-crushing hug from Orga.
BAM*
Minerva together with everyone whacked Orga in the head.
Orga laid unconscious on the floor as the others engulf Lucy into another hug.
-Omake Fin-
A/N: Thank you for the reviews on chapter 1. Please do tell me what you think of this chapter. What pairings would you like to see in the future? See you in the next chapter!