Disclaimer: I do not own either Fairy Tail or the Xeno game series... But one day, I will! Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and Namco, and the game creators (Too many to list) own the Xeno game franchise!
Notes: Okay, so I know a lot of you have no clue what Xenosaga or even Xeno gears is. A brief breakdown, according to my mind. Xenogears is a game that came out in the early '90s for the PS1.. yes you read that right, PlayStation 1. And a cult classic and hard to find the game in any condition. It revolves around the main male and female protagonist, Fei Fong Wong and Elly Van Houten. Each has the past that spans over several hundreds of years. It is a Mech, Tactical RPG! For back in the day on the PS1 it's graphics, and Animated scenes were mind-blowing amazing.
Enough said on that one since it is best for you the readers to do some minor research into this game on your own. As for Xenosaga, which came out in late 2002 and early 2003. (I picked it up in February of 2003 for the first time) While it is a PS2 game, it is a lot of animated scenes and navigation sucked ass sure on the first damned map. Actual Gameplay in the first one as well...little to nothing, and grinding for levels, items, and stuff was tedious. But the storyline was well worth it, as were the characters and their development. This series span three games, which gives you a small peek at Fei and Elly from the Xenogears games in the third game, which had a lot of squeals of delight from not only me but others of this series. As the games progressed, the battle system slightly improved, graphics got better, but the cutscenes stayed the same... . ! Still again I would suggest you the readers do some look upon the game itself, as it is easier to find if you don't mind going old school on the PS2. Wow, that makes me ancient since I started on the Atari, NES, and Famicom when they came out...one imported from Japan... Now on with my damned story! (takes place right after the GMG, before the current arc.)
Like all things, it started with a dream I had one night. Now don't get me wrong; dreams are usually dreams. Nothing too special to take note of; hell, most aren't even remembered after we awaken from our slumber, but this one was different for some reason. And it started a chain of events that altered not only my own life but that of my Nakama. If I could go back and redo it, would I change anything... Fuck no! I wrote at the top of the blank journal page, before looking over to my bed and my spouse. A small smile played across my lips at the sight of him still snuggled into the mattress, with the blanket pulled up high enough that only his silvery tuft of hair was visible.
Leaning back into my chair, as I watched him sleep, my eyes closing as I recalled it all. To me, it was time to record what had happened those twenty years ago. A part of me still had a hard time believing that a dream had brought this person into my life. Sighing, I brought my hand up to my mouth, stifling an early morning yawn, all the images coming quickly to my mind as I sat there with my eyes closed. Opening my eyes, I looked down at the small paragraph I had already written, and with a quick peek out of the corner of my eye, I picked up my pen once more and began to write, telling the amazing story that led to my current life.
Year X971 Magnolia
With a jerk, I sat straight up in my bed, glancing out my window to the morning skyline. It was just starting to turn a beautiful orange and pink, laced with hues of gold and fading indigo. Blinking, I lifted my hands to rub my eyes, my body shaking from a mix of the early morning chill and the dream I'd had. Staring down at my body as it waved slightly under the pink comforter, I tried to process what my mind had conjured while I was asleep, the images so bright and vivid in my mind, letting me know that this dream won't be fading anytime soon.
It had started nice enough; I had been walking along a somewhat familiar beach. It was an early morning like this, but warm outside with a sweet yet salt-tanged breeze. At some point, I had looked up into the sky and saw what I thought was a shooting star streaking across the sky. Of course, I had come to a stop and watched it make its way across the sky, only to realize that it was heading in my direction, descending quickly. A jolt of shock shot through my body, before a feeling of excitement, washed over me, making my body move towards where the star was projected to land. After all, it wasn't every day that a falling star landed near a place that is easily accessible to ordinary people.
My feet started out walking, my heartbeat picked up in eager anticipation of being the first to find, see, and explore the fallen star. Before long, I was running full tilt out onto the soft white sand of the beach, the cold ocean water hitting my feet. My eyes never left the star as it continued the trek towards the rocky outcropping down the beach. So, when it impacted, the fact that there was no earth-shattering sound or a quake of any sort, caused me to wonder, but still, my feet kept moving forward like they were possessed by something. Soon enough, I came to the outcropping of rocks and climbed up and over into an alcove that made this area feel all the more familiar, but what had my attention was small, and I do mean little, crater, and a white light that was the fallen star.
Now, I may not know a lot about meteors and stuff, but it struck me as curious that there was no deep crater and a lump of metal, dirt, gems and such as they have been reported to be. No, instead of the fallen star just seemed to hover there floating. A feeling of anxiety washed over me as I came to stand at the edge of the crater, feeling an odd but familiar magical power coming from the floating star. Swallowing, I reached out, against my will, to touch the star, causing it to glow ten times as bright, engulfing me as I closed my eyes from the harshness of the light. When I opened them again, the light rapidly fading or rather shrinking into a condensed form. My hand brushed against something soft, like the feathers of a dove, and I looked down, only to be shocked by what I saw, making me scream.'
Looking down at my hand now, my mind refused to show me what I had seen at the end of that dream, though my hand still felt that feather-like softness against my palm. With a growl at being unable to recall what I had seen, I tossed the covers from my legs and climbed out of my warm bed. As it was the first week of August, the day would only be getting hotter, and I had to get to the guild to see my teammates. With a sigh, I padded over to my dresser, pulling out clean undergarments and clothes for the day, my mind still replaying all those vivid images as I made my way into the bathroom for a scorching shower.
Fairy Tail Guild
As I entered the guild, I was a bit taken aback by how quiet it was, and looking around, I found only Wakaba, Macao, Elfman and Mirajane in there. Wondering precisely what time it was, my eyes snaked to the only clock in the guild to see it was 6:30 am. Feeling my jaw drop in shock at how early I had arrived at the guild, I heard a soft tittering laugh. With the comical expression of shock still on my face, I turned my head to look at Mirajane, who was staring at me. Quickly shaking my head, I made my way to the bar and sat down in my usual spot.
"Morning, Lucy. You're up early; what is the occasion?" she asked in a rather curious voice.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, I replied to her, "I had a dream. It startled me awake. It felt so real, Mira."
At my words, she stopped what she was doing and looked at me thoughtfully for a few minutes, a small smile on her full lips, her eyes twinkling in a mischievous but knowing manner. Feeling a shiver run down my spine, I schooled my body to keep it from actually shivering. Mirajane tilted her head to the side as she hummed softly to herself, observing me, causing me to feel rather self-conscious.
"You know what they say about dreams like that, Lucy?" She asked me, her voice so sweet and innocent.
Knowing I was going to regret this, I took a deep breath and said, "No, Mira, I do not know what they say about dreams like that. Care to enlighten me?"
Again she hummed to herself, that small smile on her lips as she stared at me. Then, in the next second, she turned around, giving me her back as she reached for a cup. Still humming almost happily, she turned to face me once more, placing the cup in front of me. Her eyes had that twinkle in them but were now rather serious as she bent down behind the counter. Once she straightened herself, she held a jug of orange juice and poured it into the glass, before nudging it towards me. Obligingly, I took it, mumbling a quick thank you, as I took a sip of the cold, tangy liquid.
"It means it will come true, Lucy. Well, parts of it will, depending on how realistic it was, and how familiar it seemed to you." Her voice was a whisper as she looked at me.
I knew that look oh so well, since she was the noisiest person in the guild, next to Cana, though Cana usually used her cards to find out what she wanted to know when she was refused the answer. Mirajane, on the other hand, could either 'innocently' badger it out of you, or scare it out of you. Not wanting either of those to happen, I set the now half-empty glass on the counter, frowning as I did so. It was just a dream, and one that I couldn't even recall the ending to, except my hand as I thought about it once more, felt that feather softness against the palm. Without realizing it, I rubbed it on the countertop, as if trying to wipe the feeling away, only to feel Mirajane's hand cover mine. I looked down to see what I had been doing, and then back up to see the genuine concern on her face.
With a soft sigh, I withdrew my hand from hers and, in a hushed tone, recalled verbatim the dream to Mira. When I finished, I looked at her, seeing the shock on her face. It was rather amusing to see her with such an expression and to know that I had made her a bit speechless, as she worked her mouth with no sound coming out. Deciding that I would wait until she was able to speak, I picked up my glass of Orange Juice and began to sip it once more, wanting it to last as long as possible while using the cup to hide the smile on my lips. For a few minutes, I waited, watching as she slowly recovered from her obvious shock.
"Lucy, that is a rather incredible dream. The fact that you still recall it so vividly means it has a high chance of actually happening, but I think it is a bit odd that you can't seem to remember the end of the dream at all. And stop rubbing your hand on the bar; you might give yourself a splinter," Mira said, the last bit admonishing.
Looking down, I saw that I had subconsciously started to rub the hand on the counter again, the hand that had touched the feathery softness. Pursuing my lips, I lifted it, seeing how red the hand had become, my palm rather irritated. Shaking myself, I looked back to Mira, readying myself to ask her for advice on this, since the dream hadn't been what she thought it would be. As I opened my mouth, the doors to the guild crashed open, followed by a loud, eager voice that I knew so well. Smiling quickly to Mira, I looked over my shoulder to see my teammate Natsu come in, waving and bellowing hello to Wakaba and Macao. Since he hadn't noticed me yet, I figured that I would take the initiative.
"Good Morning Natsu! I see you're in your normal high spirits this early in the morning. Where is Happy?" I said, raising my voice enough to be heard over his rambunctious one.
A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth, as the room became silent once more. Natsu turned slowly around, blinking like a barn owl, as he looked at me, making it harder for me to keep the smile from my face, as I watched his face morph into one of happiness. I loved to watch his ever-expressive face change like it does. Natsu was honest to a fault, if not dense, always wearing his heart on his sleeve, so to say. Finally, after a few seconds, I couldn't help myself, I burst out into a wide grin and a fit of giggles, watching as Natsu half-jogged towards me, pulling me into a warm hug, making me sigh contentedly.
"Yosh Luce, what are you doing up so early? I thought you said you liked your beauty sleep. Is something wrong? Do I have to beat someone up? And Happy is still sleeping," he gushed as he held me, slightly crushed to his chest.
Lifting my hands, I pushed him away so I could breathe and talk more easily, "Simply put Natsu, I had a dream. So nothing is wrong, no one to beat up, but thank you for your concern. Hey, do you want to go on a mission with the rest of the team? I want to get my rent money for next month early, as well as spending some time with you all. I mean, we haven't done a mission since we all started to train for the Grand Magic Games," I answered, laughing lightly, suddenly feeling very glad that my hand no longer had that odd sensation to it.
Natsu let go of me as he listened to me speak, then climbed into the seat next to me, ordering his usual flaming chicken and a glass of milk. Turning, I glanced at Mirajane once more, getting a look from her that told me she wasn't finished with me yet, as she left to get Natsu his food. With a slight tilt of my head, I looked over to Natsu, who was a bit silent. It was something he had been doing more often after the Grand Magic Games. Then again, we had all changed in one regard or another since the end of it. Natsu was still Natsu, but he was more thoughtful, taking his time to think things through, even if it didn't pan out very well most of the time. That made me smile as I watched him think before he lifted his hands to his hair and ruffled it with a low groan of frustration.
"Okay, Luce. Was it an exciting dream? Did you get to eat a lot of food or maybe kick someone's butt? Will you tell me about it, please?" he asked in his usual exaggerated, happy way.
I started to tell him about the dream but stopped as the feeling of it being wrong washed over me. "Not right now, Natsu, okay? I don't want to talk about it right now, but I can tell you that it wasn't about food, or kicking someone's butt, you silly goof. " I knew there was a small but sad smile on my lips.
Turning my gaze from Natsu to look over the bar, I noticed that Mirajane had come back, and by the look on her face, she had heard the entire exchange between us. As she placed the food and drink before Natsu, who dug in wholeheartedly, she gave me a slightly pointed look. Shrugging my shoulders and shaking my head, I lifted my glass to take a drink, only to find it empty. Placing it back on the counter with a sigh, I shoved it towards Mira, who filled it up instantly. The look on her face was a mix of understanding and curiosity. The fact that she said nothing made me feel a bit more at ease.
Soon enough, Erza and Gray walked in together talking, both having a worried look on their faces. I wondered what was up but was unable to ask because Natsu had begun shouting at Gray to fight him as he launched himself from his stool. This brought a lot of laughter from the other members of the guild, as Erza's gaze swept over me. If I hadn't been looking at her, I might have missed the look of relief that flashed in her dark brown eyes before she growled at Gray and Natsu. The two immediately stopped their fight, standing at attention, and shouted 'AYE' in unison. The sight of them doing that made me burst into a small fit of giggles, as Erza made her way to sit in the seat Natsu had just occupied.
"Morning, Erza! How are you? And why did you and Gray look worried when you entered the guild?" I asked slightly innocently, knowing it was because they had to have invaded my house this morning, only to find I wasn't there, my bed still unmade.
There was silence from her for a few seconds before she replied in a calm and slightly condescending voice, "Because Gray and I stopped by your house. We entered, and you were not there, and the place was a mess. Of course, we were worried, since usually, it takes a lot of bribing and threatening to get you out of bed this early. What did you expect, Lucy?"
With a sigh, I looked at her, replying in a monotone voice, "I appreciate your worry, Erza. I do, but you know there are going to be days where I wake up early too. Now don't say a thing, since I know they are far and very few, to begin with, but I had a dream that woke me up early. And no, I won't talk about it."
My brown eyes had found hers as I spoke and pinned her own dark brown eyes so she couldn't look away. Usually, I couldn't even hold her gaze for that long, since it was traditionally taken as a sign of defiance by her, but this time, she just stared at me in amused shock, a slight nod of her head indicating that she understood and wouldn't ask more. Her agreement made me feel a bit more relieved since she was usually such an aggressively curious person. So, we sat there in silence, watching as Gray and Natsu stood together, faces pressed against each other in a silent war, and I shook my head at them, glad that they didn't seem to change too much.
Standing up and straightening my skirt, I coughed and spoke up loudly to get their attention. "Hey, you two, why don't we find a mission and go do it! I mean, we haven't done a mission in about four months now, right? Not since before the training for the Grand Magic Games. Let's see how rusty we have gotten since we are now the strongest guild in all of Fiore once again." I made sure to make my voice eager and excited as I spoke.
The two boys looked at me in dumbstruck awe as I heard Erza stand up behind me, her hand dropping to clasp my shoulder and squeeze it lightly. I smiled widely, my lips curving upwards in happiness, that these were my precious teammates and Nakama. Without waiting for the boys to say a thing, I slipped from Erza's grasp and walked to the Mission Board, which was overflowing with requests. It made me happy to see the guild back to what it was seven years ago, before the Tenrou Island incident. Quickly, I scanned over what was posted before I spotted one that was seemingly perfect. Grabbing it from the board, I half-skipped back to where Erza stood with Gray and Natsu beside her, noting they were all watching me with an odd mix of emotions on their faces.
Shaking my head, I held up the request, speaking merrily, "How about this one? It wants us to take care of a gang of bandits that have been harassing small stead of farms. The pay is 450,000 Jewels, and they don't care if the bandits are runoff, killed, or brought to justice, which means that Natsu can go a bit wild if we aren't too close to the farms themselves. I think this would be a great warm-up mission, don't you think?"
It took them all a bit to register what I had said, as I stood there looking at them, the smile on my face only getting wider at their expressions. Waving the request under their noses, I started to laugh. The three of them reminded me of the three stooges when they acted like this.
"Okay, that sounds feasible. Go show it to Mira to get it recorded in the book, Lucy," Erza said first, getting a hold of herself.
"Cool, not a bad choice Lucy," Gray mumbled while looking at me strangely.
"I am getting all fired up! Let me go get Happy," Natsu shouted as he ran out the door, barely missing Laxus and the Raijin Tribe as they came in.
Rolling my eyes and openly laughing at Natsu's antics, I waved a quick hi to the group before turning to the bar. Mira was standing there waiting, since she, like the rest of the guild, had heard me when I read off the quest. Quickly, she got the logbook out and opened it. With a quick peek at the mission sheet, she recorded it before looking back up at me, her eyes dancing. I was about to turn around and leave to get ready when I felt a hand on my arm. Glancing down to see that she had grabbed me, I stopped to look at her.
"Lucy, do me a favor while you're out on this mission, okay? I want you to take a blank journal and write down any dreams you have, and if you have that dream again, record it in detail, more so if there is a change to the dream. When you get back, I want to look at it. I wasn't kidding that dreams like that have a chance of coming true, more so if the dream is repeated several times," she spoke softly, her voice an earnest whisper.
I was taken back a little bit by how serious she was acting, but I just nodded my head in acceptance of what she was asking me to do. Walking away from her, back to my team, I heard Erza tell Gray to get himself packed and make sure that Natsu was at the train station in an hour. When she turned her gaze upon me, I knew I fell into that same stipulation. So with a smile and nod of my head, the three of us headed out of the guild to our respective houses. The only exception to this being me stopping at a general store on the way home to buy a blank journal, and a few ink pens to write with. I figured there would be no harm in doing as Mirajane asked, especially since she was so serious.
TBC!