CHAPTER 27

"Are you serious?!" Natsu exclaimed into the phone, "You've got recruits already?!"

Lucy laughed and nodded, "Yep! They're practically popping out of the woodwork now that the guild's official! Master Makarov is being really careful screening them though. He doesn't want anyone to join who's just here to spy on us or anything."

"Man this sucks!" Natsu huffed, "I wanna fight them all already!"

"You're not supposed to be fighting them at all!" Lucy scolded, "Master Makarov says guilds are supposed to be like family."

"So's Gajeel and that doesn't stop me." Natsu pointed out reasonably, "Not that I'll be fighting him anymore for a while."

"Now Natsu..." Happy huffed in the background, "You know you still need to settle into your power."

"I know that!" Natsu huffed, "But cool stuff is happening back home!"

Lucy giggled, "I can introduce you if you like?" She offered, "I'm not far from the construction site where we're building the new guild hall."

"Nah." Natsu shook his head, "I'd rather see it all put together." He grinned, "I'm curious about these new people though..."

Lucy smiled at the lead in, "Well, everyone already here in Magnolia joined of course. Then there's Master Makarov and Laxus of course. Not long after the word spread we picked up a dark fae, Freed, a half-fae half-gorgon, Evergreen, and another necromancer named Bigslow."

Natsu's eyebrows rose to his hairline, "A necromancer for real? He's not crazy?"

"Well I wouldn't say that exactly..." Lucy drawled with a wry look, "But he's not dark. He actually devotes his energy towards helping ghosts with unfinished business pass on."

And hadn't that been a crazy meeting. She'd been there for the trio's application to join and had just about had a heart attack when the crazy eyed man had gleefully introduced his 'babies'. She'd almost started a fight when he'd mentioned the souls within the dolls fought for him.

It had taken some firm demands for an explanation from Master Makarov, and Freed exasperatedly giving the details, for them to understand the full situation. Which Lucy was personally grateful for. Bigslow was a lot of fun to talk to even if he was sometimes exasperating, and it was fascinating seeing how he practiced his necromancy.

It was so very different from her own but at the same time so similar to the sort of thing she did.

"I'm glad you've made friends Lucy," Natsu's voice came over the receiver, softer this time and tinged with a pleasant relief. It was low and rumbling now, unlike the sharp and broken yelps from adolescence and it sent a delightful shiver along her spine. She sighed happily into the way it sounded.

"Yeah, but I'm still missing my best friend," Lucy admitted to him. She could hear Natsu and Happy falling silent on the other line, just the soft sounds of his breathing.

"How much more do you think it'll be Natsu?" Lucy asked him.

"It's hard to say," Natsu found his voice after a minute, "I'm hoping..."

"I'll come back to you the moment I'm done," Natsu promised, something in his voice pitching dark and soft, "nothing will be able to stop me from getting back to you the moment I know it's safe."

Lucy's breath caught a little by the sheer passion in his voice. Her fingers tightened around the phone and she bit her bottom lip.

"Good," The words ghosted back to him, sounding far more breathless than she intended, "because I miss my best friend."

Natsu made a quiet noise at that, something that seemed torn between a grunt and a whine.

"Damn straight you better! I don't want you to get all distracted with all your new friends and stop calling me!" Natsu protested, his territorial whine coming out. Lucy laughed, knowing it was killing him to know that there were so many new people around her that he hadn't personally vetted.

"If I did would you come back faster?" Lucy smirked into the receiver.

She could practically imagine Natsu's hackles rising at the empty threat. He growled over the phone, clearly unhappy.

"Lucyyy," he whined.

"I kid, I kid! I'd miss you to much to even make it through the first day," Lucy laughed at his sulking, "but seriously, are you going to be okay by yourself during this final stretch? Gajeel will be back here soon and Levy is a little worried about you being by yourself."

"Just Levy? Damn, I must be losing my touch," Natsu's smug voice returned.

"Shut up, everyone is concerned about you on your own! Are you going to be okay?" Lucy snapped at him, causing her demon to laugh harder.

"Relax Lucy, I have Happy. He does plenty to help me out, and he does a good job of keeping me safe while I'm surging," Natsu said with amusement, "besides, Gajeel has barely gotten to see Levy since their honeymoon. I don't need him to watch over me, they deserve to be back together."

"How sweet," Lucy was a little surprised. Until Natsu continued of course.

"Yeah, and he needs to make sure all the people creeping in on his turf are up to snuff. He'll catch anyone hiding anything on his territory and turn them inside out so I don't have to worry about it," Natsu said lightly.

"How... graphic," Lucy cringed.

"Thanks!" Natsu spoke happily.

Lucy rolled her eyes a little at the chirpy response. Some things clearly never changed and never would.

"So how are you doing Luce?" Natsu asked after a moment, his tone oddly serious, "You haven't talked about the cultists much lately."

She sighed a little, "That's because I've stopped hunting them." She replied, "For now anyway." She looked up to watch a bird flying by, "And I think that might be for the best. I was starting to get obsessed, and as much as I want them out of my life I can see now the way I was going about it was wrong. If that makes any sense."

There was quiet on the other end as Natsu shifted, "Yeah." He murmured at last, "Yeah it does. I hate Acnologia too, but going back to hell to hunt him down... I couldn't do that. It would make me just like him in a way and I don't want that."

"Yeah." Lucy agreed, "I'm not going to lie though... it's been harder than I thought. Not so much stopping the constant traveling, but getting used to the idea of how a guild really works. It's weird to look at some of these people and think 'family', and yet that's sorta what we're starting to become." She laughed a little, "I think I'm starting to enjoy it. It's nice having more than just our immediate family and friends to lean on."

"That's what nest's supposed to do according to dad." Natsu replied, "The good ones anyway. Gramps must know what he's doing if he's making it all work. Have any jobs started coming in yet?"

"Plenty!" Lucy giggled, "Master Makarov put Mira in charge of handling job requests and looking after the guild hall. What's built anyway. I don't think I've ever seen her so happy. Mostly they're small ones, and Master is the one who picks the groups. He says he wants us to have a chance to work with all types before we start forming our own teams. I've actually enjoyed it. Though Erza's gotten into a couple of fights."

She grinned as Natsu burst into laughter, "Oh man! I'm sorry I missed that!"

"Soon Nastu." Lucy promised softly, "I need to go now though. I promised Freed I'd let him pick my brain about the sort of enchantments my family uses. The general ones anyway."

"Okay Lucy." Natsu rumbled, and Lucy shivered a little at the near purr quality, "You take care. I miss you."

Her heart thumped a bit at the way he said that and she smiled, "Yeah..." She breathed, "I miss you too."

She looked down at the phone as the call ended and tried to ignore her stab of disappointment. She really wanted to call him to her side right now. Phone calls were barely enough to get her through the day as it was. Much longer and she wasn't sure she would be able to resist the temptation.

She sighed and stowed the phone away so she could do as promised and meet up with Freed. It didn't take long to locate him, discovering that he was close to Levy around the perimeter of their guild.

They looked like they were in a deep discussion, but Levy caught sight of her within moments and waved her over with a welcoming smile.

Lucy smiled and joined them to where she could see Freed drawing intricate symbols into the very dirt around the guild.

"Good afternoon Miss Heartfilia," Freed said politely, "I am pleased you have joined us today."

"There's really no need for formality Freed, you can call me Lucy," she spoke kindly to the dark faerie, who regarded her with a calm stare that bordered on the unnatural.

"How odd, you give your name freely to a dark fae" Freed observed, "we are not known to be gentle with names. That shows...trust."

Lucy felt her heart clench in a bit of sadness at that particular truth the fae spoke with.

Of never being able to speak to someone so familiarly as by their name out of the unspoken fear people held for him.

It made her remember all too clearly that while their challenges were all different, they made up who they were. And it made Lucy doubly happy they had decided to do this. To give these people a safe place.

"You're a Fairy Tail member, I have as much to fear from you as I do my own familiar," Lucy responded evenly.

"Ah, the infamous familiar, Natsu," Freed smiled and shared an amused look with Levy, "I wonder when we shall meet him. Or if he truly exists."

"Trust me, he exists," Lucy rolled her eyes and set her hands on her hips, "and you'll regret wanting to meet him when he finally shows back up. He'll be sniffing all over you until he decides he likes you or not."

"How decidedly unpleasant sounding," Freed said breezily but with a smile.

Lucy laughed at his words and merely shrugged back at him.

"Anything I can do to help?" She asked instead, changing the subject from the demon she missed so much.

"Indeed!" Freed spoke with excitement just edging the outskirts of his regal voice, "Your family possesses some of the strongest protection wards. Levy and I are currently constructing protections for the guild and wished to incorporate some of yours into our own."

He hesitated.

"If that is, of course, alright with you?" He asked, seeming to find his manners again.

Lucy smiled at Freed and nodded, "Wards are not my specialty by any means as I prefer more active offensive and defensive magics." She admitted, "But my family has some very powerful ones that I would happily see used here for our new guild."

"It wasn't just the guild we were hoping to ward Lu." Levy grinned excitedly, "If Freed and I are right about the types of protections in your family library we could potentially ward the whole town!"

Lucy blinked, "You think it could stretch that far?"

Freed nodded, "Potentially yes. I shall have to study them to confirm the theory, but based on what Levy has said Gajeel told her of the protections on your family's former estate then it's possible we could encompass the entire town." His lips twitched, "With a bit of assistance from our script magic of course."

Lucy hummed thoughtfully as she rummaged into her bag and pulled out two very thick tomes and a memory orb, "These are the memories and compilation of work done by my great-great-great aunt Annette Heartfilia." She told them, "She originally created the wards to protect the family holdings before they were forced to abandon them due to war."

She cracked one of the tomes open, "She didn't use script magic though. Not like what you two do. Instead she used anchoring stones like these here."

"A standing circle with the protected within." Levy breathed, "Genius. It looks almost like it's based off a fairy circle..."

"You're close." Fred corrected her, "This is actually closer to the entrances to fairy halls. They're built upon a similar principle, but one is to transport and one is to protect. See the difference in runes here?"

"Yes I do." Levy nodded, "I hadn't caught that. Do you think we could extend something like this to all of Magnolia?"

"Potentially." Freed mused and looked up at Lucy, "Are you familiar with how she powered these?"

"Not intimately, but I remember there was a blood sacrifice involved." Lucy replied, "Something about transferring life to the stones so the land itself could power them?"

Freed nodded, "I'm familiar with the concept. It's a common one in dark fae magic. By specially cleansing and preparing the ward stones and then bathing them in a sacrifice of blood the stones themselves gain a dim life. When done correctly they become powerful channels for the ambient magical energy."

"It's not harmful is it?" Levy asked in concern, "To the environment I mean."

"No." Freed shook his head, "Left unattended, they will drain the nearby power for a time, but once the sequence is fully charged it becomes self sustaining."

"What would happen if everyone in the guild were to contribute to them?" Lucy asked, "And every time we passed the boundary we added a little more? Like... a very large house ward?"

Freed's eyes lit up at the idea, "Yes!" He breathed, "That would do it!" He looked at Levy, "And if we redirect the natural ley lines as we talked about... we could even begin to build a node of our own directly under the guild hall where the keystone would be!"

"We'd have to ensure the stones were well protected in their own right if we did that." Levy hummed, "And we still need to see to the defenses of the hall itself. But that would be incredible..."

Lucy smiled as she watched the pair put their heads together and the conversation dissolved into jargon and ideas that quickly lost her. It was nice to see them working on the project so eagerly. She looked around a little, and felt a warmth in her chest at the sight of everyone working together to build their hall.

The need to remain officially out of sight hadn't slowed them down at all either. They'd simply begun constructing Fairy Tail as an official bar and tavern. With Mira doing the majority of the cooking it was guaranteed to be a favorite spot, and with the subtle protections that only those needing them would cross the threshold... they could afford to be a lot more open than some others she'd heard of.

There was definitely something to be said for hiding in plain sight.

"Well well, this wasn't precisely what I was expecting to find here."

The voice, strangely familiar but different, spoke up behind Lucy.

She turned, curious and surprised by the sudden presence she hadn't counted on, hands flying to the keys at her side. Only to stop when her eyes fell on the familiar tall man standing behind her.

Even with a hood cloaking most of his face and hair, the recognizable tattoo on his cheek gave him away.

"Jellal!" Lucy burst out, her eyebrows flying into her hairline as the man smiled and drew his hood down to his shoulders. The outer tunic was a plain, sleeveless gray, while the undershirt he wore beneath was white and long sleeved, with leather bands securing the fabric over his forearms.

He held a quarter staff strapped to his back, and the way he held himself kept his shoulders straight and chin lifted.

"You're back! Does Erza know?" Lucy demanded as she ran over to him and gave the surprised man a tight hug.

Not having expected it, he caught her with a chuckle and pulled her in, dropping Lucy down to her feet after a quick circle.

"Not yet, I had aimed to surprise her," Jellal admitted, "you are looking well. Been studying hard?"

"Yes," Lucy smiled at the man who had sent her letters every now and then with fascinating stories of where he had been and small scraps of magic he collected along the way he thought she could make use of.

Ever progressing on his original promise to her.

"I'll admit, I still haven't made sense of that celestial body scroll you gave me. I'm not sure how to incorporate it into my magic," Lucy pouted at him, still going back to perhaps the toughest lesson he had tried to give her at the very beginning.

"Give it time. It's very advanced magic, and you'll figure out your answer soon," Jellal chuckled and fished in his belt to retrieve another small scroll, "in the meantime though, I found this that might be easier for you to master. Powerful and still very difficult, but I believe you are up to the challenge."

"Oh yeah?" Lucy asked, making grabby fingers for the scroll and long since having trusted Jellal's judgement to stay away from anything dark. He was practically a zealot about personally staying away from anything that could sway him back into Acnologia's reaches, and as such avoided passing off anything to Lucy he thought would do the same.

Jellal chuckled and held it just a little out of her reach over her head, "Indeed, and if you wait patiently for it — I may even give it to you."

Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and gave Jellal a pout and very expectant look. The man laughed at the insolent expression on her face and dropped the spell in her hand.

"Urano Metria," Jellal announced, "the spell to control the heavens themselves. It is an ancient spell connected to the zodiac and closely blended with celestial body magic. Which I think you might find... will help you with that other project you are working on."

"Is that supposed to be a hint? You say that every time," Lucy drawled at him but eagerly sliced open the wax seal and smiled brightly.

"All lessons are steps to the right direction Lucy," Jellal said sagely.

He looked up to see Erza terrorizing Gray and Elfman by the support beams. His expression lit up and he edged around Lucy, "now if you excuse me... I need to give greetings to the Queen of our people."

Lucy turned and looked over her shoulder at where Erza seemed to turn her terrifying factor up past eleven and Elfman began to apologize while wrapping up Gray in his arms like a shield.

"Go and get her loverboy," Lucy teased Jellal, who smirked back at her before nervously swallowing.

"You think holding my brother hostage will gain you any leverage?!" Erza roared, "Think again!"

"Uh Erza..." Gray said nervously, "Could you maybe put the sword down? Erza!"

"Don't worry Gray." Erza soothed, "Your pain will be..." She stumbled to a halt, her eyes going wide as she looked beyond them.

Confused, the two men turned to find a familiar mop of blue hair and a smile staring at them. Though their owner only had eyes for the redhead.

"I may be mistaken, but I'm not certain spilling Gray's blood would help finish this lovely building." Jellal chuckled.

"J-Jellal!" Erza exclaimed, her ire forgotten in an instant. Her sword vanished as she rushed to hug him much the way Lucy had, "You've returned." She breathed and looked up at him fiercely, "For good this time I hope?"

Jellal chuckled at the unspoken threat of imminent pain and dismemberment if he answered wrong and nodded, "Yes." He agreed, "I've learned as much as I can overseas, and done as much as I can while there to repair the damage I've caused. What remains only time and diligence can mend."

"Then that's enough for me." Erza declared with a smile, "Have you greeted Lucy yet? I know she was also looking forward to your return."

"I encountered her downstairs." He nodded, "She was discussing protections for your new guild and this town with Levy and another."

He took a breath, "Erza, my journey away is complete." He said formally as he pulled out a carved box from within his cloak, "I promised you before I left that I would court you as you deserve before we traded vows. I intend to keep my promise." He opened the box, revealing a pair of beautiful, if deadly, hairsticks, "Would you accept these as a token of my commitment?"

Erza gasped at the intricate weapons as if she had been presented with a beautiful ring encrusted with beautiful jewels. Her hands flew up to her mouth, breathing out her awe over shining eyes.

"Yes Jellal," she breathed fervently, watching the smile burst out over his face.

He wasted no time, sweeping her into his embrace and tugging her in close. His arms fell around her, drawing her in close. Her eyes shone with a happiness he reflected back at her, heart leaping and sharing the space with someone she loved.

His mouth captured hers, their lips finally meeting as they had been yearning to for years. Jellal's journey was over. While he would no doubt bear his sins forever, he would be able to obtain this small sliver of peace now.

"You've come to join Fairy Tail then?" Erza breathed hopefully when they separated.

Jellal's eyes widened, his mouth falling open and dropping silent. He hadn't expected a question such as that, so he breathed out and simply blinked.

"I don't know... if I can be accepted into a guild Erza " Jellal spoke carefully, "I have travelled to atone for myself, but I am... hardly a shining example of what represents a good heart."

Her hand settled over his chest, eyes very warm as scarlet hair separated them like a curtain.

"Fairy Tail can give you a second chance. It has given us all one," She spoke fiercely, "Come. Let us go meet the Master. He will judge your heart better than you."

Jellal yelped a little as Erza grabbed his hand, and with very little warning was dragged away from the smirking Gray and Elfman.

Jellal found himself being dragged through the construction, an unmistakable nervousness burrowing into his chest as he was pulled past all types who had gathered in Magnolia. Demons, werewolves, fae, witches, gorgons, elementals and so forth. It was precisely the world he had wanted to create, and now his beloved was taking him to the master. To determine if he was worthy.

A tiny old man was seated on the bar that had been constructed outside, laughing at something a much taller and broader blond male had barked out. He spotted Erza and Jellal coming, and the latter felt his heart freeze in his chest at once as he recognized the man and all of his might.

That was Makarov, a wizard saint and formerly of the magic council.

Jellal knew at once the man was aware of the full extent of his crimes. This would be no easy judgement.

"Well, I must admit this is quite a surprise." Makarov mused aloud as Jellal was pushed forward by his betrothed, "Jellal of the Amazons, formerly known as the dark wizard Jellal Fernandez. What brings you here?"

Jellal steeled himself and bowed his head, "I've returned from a long journey overseas to recover from Acnologia's possession of me." He replied, "I've done what I can from afar to repair the damage I've caused. Though I know there are some things no actions can truly atone for."

"Indeed there aren't young man." Makarov replied sternly, "However, that doesn't answer my question. What brings you here of all places?"

Jellal blinked a little uncertainly, "My... friends." He replied in some confusion, "My beloved is here. As is my younger sister in spirit and her family. I had hoped to be near them rather than return straight to Galuna."

"Younger sister?" Laxus asked curiously and Erza smiled fondly.

"He speaks of Lucy." She replied in amusement, "I believe my betrothed would officially adopt her as kin given the chance."

Jellal flushed a bit, "Our magic is very similar." He replied sheepishly, "And after everything she and Natsu did for me..."

"Yes, I've heard the tale." Makarov replied, "It was that which allowed this guild to be formed in the first place."

His eyes locked with Jellal's and Jellal tried not to cringe or sweat under the steely gaze. Rumor had it that the elder was a giant, or maybe a titan, or descended from them. Even as harmless as he looked there was no question the old man was dangerous.

Whatever Makarov saw there, however, seemed to please him as a smile spread slowly across his face and he stood up with a stretch.

"It's a strange thing time." He mused, "It gives a perspective others don't always see. And what I see before me is a young man attempting to right past mistakes the best way he knows how." His expression softened a little, "And that is all anyone can reasonably ask of a person." He picked up a stamp and Jellal's jaw dropped.

"You... would accept me?" He asked in disbelief, "After everything I've done? You don't even know me! To say nothing of my connection to Acnologia still being far from healed closed!"

"Your connection to Acnologia will remain until that dragon is dead." Makarov replied gravely, "And nothing can change that. However, Lucy speaks highly of you and your determination not to allow the demon access to you again. More importantly, I see a young man who has come far to pay for his crimes. And I would not get in the way of that now." His smile widened, "After all, there are few here who are sinless."

He held up the stamp, "Fairy Tail is a place for second chances. A place where the lost, the dispossessed, and the outcast can find refuge and a family. If you're willing to commit to that family... you are welcome among us."