Chapter Five - Revealed
Natsu burst into a raging flame as Lucy's own magical aura flared uncontrollably. Their magics seemed to collide; Natsu's dark, black speckled flames and Lucy's own golden light merging into a beautiful shade of crimson. The light dissipated, returning to a dull glow as the now crimson light twisted in on itself, forming gorgeous coils and speckles of light, floating between them.
Lucy and Natsu stared at it unmoving, as the light uncurled, floating towards them, lengthening as it closed the distance between the pair.
One end of it coiled around Lucy's pinkie as the other end did the same around Natsu's.
It was the Red String.
The guild was silent. Slack jawed as they witnessed the events unfolding before their eyes. Natsu Dragneel was a Bound? Lucy on the other hand, despite the overflowing happiness she felt in finding her soulmate, was distraught at the events of the past day.
The Red String between Natsu and Lucy began to glow, its already overwhelming strength increasing a thousandfold. It glew like so for a minute, before coiling in on itself, disappearing into the chests of both Natsu and Lucy. The binding was complete.
Lucy shuddered. Tears threatened to spill, and she shook in distress. Her voice cracked as she spoke the words that lurked in each thought she had.
"What's happening…? Where am I? Why was I falling out of nowhere? Tell me!"
The man in the suit cleared his throat.
"Princess- "
"And stop calling me that! Where did you even come from? What is this place!" Lucy choked on the sobs that threatened to tear out of her throat. Each swallow was difficult as she strained to take in air.
"Child, why don't you explain what's happened to you first?" A new voice entered Lucy's ears, and she snapped her eyes up. The old man wore a fur lined golden coat, his wise eyes comforting her. "My name is Makarov Dreyar, the Master of this guild, Fairy Tail."
"I-I was at the carnival yesterday. I went to this fortune teller; she said her name was Ultear Milkovich." She heard a sharp intake of air from a man beside her, but she paid him no mind. "She knew my mother's song, and she told me to go to the Kardia Cathedral the next morning, so I did. Then this guy I've never seen before told me to go to the Eclipse Gate in Crocus, and then I saw this blue cat, and then I accidentally went through the Gate and here I am- why is it even daytime! What's going on!" Another sob ripped out. "This all sounds like magic! There's no way it isn't!"
"Well, my dear, of course it is magic. And- this carnival? There was none yesterday. As for where you are, you're in the town of Magnolia, of course. This is the wizarding guild, Fairy Tail. Surely you've heard of it?" Makarov observed the undone girl before his eyes with an intense gaze. She looked so.. Familiar…
His eyes widened as the image of a certain golden haired queen entered his mind. 'No way..'
'Guilds? There's been no guilds in Fiore since almost a 1000 years ago! What is this man talking about? And wait.. Did he just say magic-' Lucy's thoughts jumbled up into one, large, foreboding realisation.
"Old man, what's the date?" Lucy spoke, dread filling every fibre of her being.
"It's the 7th of July."
"No- I mean, what is the year…?"
"Lady- " The man from before - raven hair, and a cool presence - spoke up, only to be cut off.
"Just tell me!"
"It's X784, my dear."
Lucy's jaw dropped in shock.
"X7-784? What..?" Lucy clutched her head in shock, still processing everything. Her tears poured out, her wall breaking. "No way… Where I come from.. No- When I come from, It's the year X2084! I've been sent back in time!"
Makarov's eyes widened, a short gasp being stifled by those in the guild. He watched from the corner of his eye as Natsu brought his hand up to his head, his eyes darkening in frustration.
"Council, assemble. Child, come with me. Loke, you too. Fairy Tail, the show's over. You may all leave." Makarov announced, his tone authoritative.
Lucy watched as the man in the suit - Loke, she assumed - helped her up, and she gripped his arm like a lifeline. She paid no mind to her supposed soulmate as he gathered himself. Something about him seemed… off.
A few moments later, the Fairy Tail Council were gathered at Makarov's office, and introductions - a mere formality, being rushed so they could get to the meat of the situation - began. So far, Lucy, still distraught, only gathered the names of the people at the table. She was told that not everybody was present, though.
Gildarts Clive, supposedly the strongest wizard in Fairy tail, and right hand man to Master Makarov.
Laxus Dreyar, the grandson of the Master.
Mirajane Strauss-Dreyar, Laxus's wife, and a terrifying wizard, which Lucy couldn't understand for the life of her. She was the sweetest person around!
Erza Scarlet-Fernandez, who'd shown up as soon as she got word of the situation. She was also said to be terrifying, and this time, Lucy could see it. Especially the way she scolded everyone upon arrival- even Gildarts!
Jellal Fernandez, Erza's wife husband, was apparently an active member of Fairy Tail, and promoted to S-Class upon joining. He is said to be as powerful as Gildarts, which is a statement.
Gray Fullbuster, who has a stripping habit, and an unhealthy obsession with Ice.
And of course, the man she was seated beside. Natsu Dragneel.
"Yo! I'm Natsu Dragneel! Nice to meetcha!" There was no further introduction, or background information of him. His carefree, wild personality was completely the opposite of her own reserved demeanour. Why in the world was he her soulmate?
There was also The Mystery Man, who revealed himself as Loke. Jellal, on the other hand, announced almost immediately after hearing about the interaction between Natsu and Lucy that he'd wanted to speak with Makarov, Loke, Natsu and herself after this brief meeting.
"Master, I'd like to request that Loke, yourself, Natsu, and his Bound are the only people to be involved in this matter. I'm afraid it is a serious situation." Jellal's cool voice pierced the lively atmosphere, leaving it dead silent.
"I was just about to suggest that myself. I agree with Jellal. This is a very serious matter. The stars sent me here to make sure that this does not leak." Loke responded.
There was a huge uproar, of course, the other members displeased with the decision of leaving the details out from them. It was only silenced once Erza stood up and ended the brawl.
"Child, please introduce yourself. Once you do, This meeting will be dispersed and the few Jellal mentioned, please stay behind." Makarov declared.
Groans spread across the room, silenced immediately as Erza casually cleared her throat.
Lucy coughed. She wouldn't have to do much explaining at this present moment, but she was still very nervous. She fiddled with her fingers, gathering courage as she composed herself under the watch of the Fairy Tail Council.
"Well, my name is Lucy Hea-" She got up to her last name before Loke's hand was slammed over her mouth in a flash. Loke shot her a fearful look, before composing himself and looking at her kindly.
"Nope! Your name is just Lucy!" He spoke. He cooly removed his hand, adjusting his tie absentmindedly. "Go on, Lucy."
"Err.. Apparently my name is just Lucy. So uh.. Hello Fairy Tail? I'm a college student- well I guess none of that matters. I'm 22, if that means anything now. Hello!" Lucy finished awkwardly, still trying to figure this mess out. Why had Loke stopped her?
"Alright, meeting dispersed. Everybody get out!"
In a flash after Erza's angry growl, the meeting room was cleared leaving only Lucy, Jellal, Loke and Natsu in the room. Despite the silence of the two S-Class mages, he knew exactly what was up. He knew precisely what was up. Lucy here, was his Bound. And that in itself could cause the destruction of humanity. His patience thinned, and Jellal seemed to notice. Loke, too, eyed Natsu warily.
Natsu held back a chuckle, despite not wanting to be here. Jellal asked those that knew of Natsu's true form to stay back, and if Loke, the Leader of the Celestial Spirits and the Stars was in the room, things meant business.
"Lucy, your full name is Lucy Heartfillia, is it not?" Jellal spoke cooly.
Natsu's eyes widened.
"HEARTFILIA!?" He screamed in anguish. "Hold on- you mean to tell me- Lucy? Fuck!"
"Natsu. Quiet down, please." Makarov spoke. Natsu only ignored him. She's a Heartfilia? His Bound? Fate was cruel.
"Uh yeah, I'm Lucy Heartfilia. I don't know why all of you are freaking out, but you should know that I grew up with a lady named Ms Spetto. Apparently I was abandoned. I have no clue how she knew my last name was Heartfilia, or anything. I just grew up with her. Honestly, I tried looking into my past before; I found nothing. I have no clue who I am."
Jellal and Loke exchanged knowing looks.
"Spetto, huh?" Natsu murmured under his breath. This went unnoticed by the small group. Oh, this meeting was pointless for him.
"I also have these keys. Apparently I've had them since I was abandoned." Lucy carefully took out the 10 golden keys, their beauty not fazed by the harsh tension hovering in the air.
Jellal's mouth parted in shock.
"You are the Holder? You have 10 of the Golden ones? This is very surprising; no wonder the Eclipse gate let you through. Yukino must have been on the other side with the other two at the exact same time, then. You were pretty lucky- or unlucky, Lucy. "
"No.. I was specified a time. This man - he never gave me his name, and this woman by the name Ultear Milkovich. And the blue cat, I suppose. He had this little green sack tied to him, too. If he's here, I'm totally murdering the stupid-"
"You can't kill Happy!" Natsu interrupted.
".. Happy?"
"Yes happy! That's the cat! He's my friend, an exceed. Wait- if Happy was there, I should've been around too, did you see me?"
"No, I never did. I suppose that's why my stupid soulmate tug made me find you in this timeline, isn't it?"
"Soulmate tug?"
"Yeah, that's what I call the pull you feel in your stomach. You feel it too, right?"
"No, yeah I get that, but soulmate? We call them our Bounds. Like, for example, we're Bound pairs. Something like that. Soulmate sounds weird, just like you, Loony!"
"I'm not weird! You're the weirdo! You have pink hair! And the name's LUCY!"
"Tch- it's Salmon, Luce. Get it right!"
"I said my name's Lucy!"
"Sorry to interrupt your little quarrel, but Lucy, did you say Ultear? She's been missing for years, actually, that's the reason Crime Sorciere split up.. No matter. I suppose time will tell- literally." Jellal chuckled. "Back on topic."
"Loke, I guess it will be your turn, now. Explain about the keys, and everything. Your expertise is all we have." Master Makarov spoke.
"You seem to have misunderstood, Master. I cannot reveal anything the Stars deemed confidential, and that includes our dear Lucy's past. Natsu's memories too, of course."
Scratch that, maybe this meeting was important for Natsu.
"What do you mean, my memories! It's all your damned Stars fault! And that old 'Stash-face! You can't take something of mine and deem it confidential- "
Loke stopped him with a deadly glare, his magic beginning to flare in a golden haze. His words were laced with venom, and he hissed them out with disgust.
"Son of Fire Dragon King Igneel, do not raise your voice against the Leader of the-" Loke, though, was cut off as waves of Black Magic rolled off of Natsu's frame.
Lucy could swear the world stilled.
"And do not forget who you are speaking to, Leo, the Cowardly Lion." He growled deathly. His words sent shivers up Lucy's spine, and froze the members of Fairy Tail to their spots. Even Loke stilled at his assertive words, his magic dimming.
Natsu began to rise in the air, a dark crimson, almost black hue appearing in his flowing blood, lighting up his veins. His eyes darkened, as he bore his teeth at the Leader of the Celestial Spirits.
"Do not forget, you cowardly Lion."
Loke sneered as memories from centuries prior returned.
And just like that, Natsu's feet touched the ground, the Black Magic dissipating. He cleared his head, realisation of what he had done returning to his body.
"Sorry, I- I lost control." Natsu's eyes flashed to Loke's. "With my Bound in here, the seals I placed are weak, Le- I mean, Loke, so you'd better watch what you're saying." He spat the last words, gritting his teeth. He clenched his fists, digging his nails into his flesh. He returned his gaze to Makarov, who watched from the sidelines, unable to do anything against the two entities in his guild. "Master. Lucy shall be placed in my team. I'm leaving. I'm aware of what happened. Give her a briefing on how this world works, Loke. I'm trusting my Bound with you, better take care."
Natsu rolled his shoulders, and locked eyes with Lucy, taking in her startled demeanour. He groaned inwardly, pissed at himself. 'Stupid, stupid!'
Giving the shaken girl a large smile, he walked in front of her, scratching the back of his head.
"Hey Luce! I'll see you tomorrow at the guild hall! I'll show you around Magnolia, how about that? I'll bring Happy, too! Cya soon, bye!" And with that, Natsu had jumped out the window of the third floor, and Lucy barely made out a flash of blue as white wings spread around Natsu's shoulders, carrying him away into the sky.
It was only then that Lucy noticed the darkening sky, signaling the afternoon coming into a close.
Lucy looked away from the window, a yawn escaping her throat at the events of the day. She rubbed her eyes exhaustedly.
"Princess, if you ever need me, just touch this key and call my name. Until you learn to use your magic, I'll come out on my own power. Your Bound did trust me with you, after all. I can't believe it. The Dem-" He cleared his throat, covering his slip up, as Makarov and Jellal eyed him harshly. Lucy only looked confused. Well, Lucy would find out soon. 'She is Layla's daughter, after all. She'll find out very soon.'
With that last thought lingering in his mind, his lips stretched out into a small smile. "See you soon, Lucy. Take care." He stroked her hair with a kind smile, disappearing in a flash of gold.
"Lucy, please get some rest. I'll call Mirajane to take you to one of the rooms we have on the second floor. When Natsu gets here tomorrow, we can decide whether you will join Fairy Tail or not, though you most definitely will. I just can't imagine the tantrum Natsu will throw if he hears that he missed his Bound's marking!"
That thought put a smile on Lucy's face. She'd finally belong somewhere.
"Call Loke up tomorrow after you get your Fairy Tail mark, then he will explain to you how this world works.. Unless Natsu wants to do it himself." Makarov spoke, standing up as Jellal left the room with a smile.
"Yeah, of course… Master."
Author Notes
Thank you so much for all the support, guys. I'm super grateful!