Summary: Heavily inspired by Doctor Who's Turn Left episode. Lucy turns right instead of left and never goes to Hargeon. The consequences of such a decision is disastrous.
Pairings: Natsu/Lucy, Natsu/Happy/Lucy friendship, Lucy/Mavis friendship, implied Zeref/Mavis, implied Zeref/Lucy friendship, implied Lucy/Cana friendship, implied parental Aquarius/Lucy, implied parental Master/Natsu, implied parental Macao/Natsu, implied parental Gildarts/Natsu, implied Strauss Siblings feels, implied one-sided Freed/Laxus, and lots and lots of other family and friendship feels also implied.
Author's Note: Thank you all for giving me over TWELVE THOUSAND AND FOUR HUNDRED reviews! Warnings the following chapter contains mentions of rape, torture, and lots and lots of character death.
The air of the bazaar market was stifling.
Their hundred year quest had taken them to a far and distant foreign country where it was hot and dry and fascinatingly different. Lucy had found herself separated from the others, at her last glance Erza had been sampling the local cakes, Natsu and Happy were stuffing their faces at another stall entirely, Gray was hiding from the officers for breaking the laws of nudity (they were much stricter about public indecency in this country), and Wendy and Charle disappeared round the jewellery stalls as they sought out presents for their fellow guild members.
Lucy herself had been seeking both souvenirs for her friends and knowledge - a sighting, a rumour, a whisper, anything – on Aquarius' key.
She weaved through the stalls as her eyes took in the delights and her ears listened out carefully.
She almost missed the gypsy woman she was so absorbed in her task. The young, dark, mysterious woman stepped in her way with an enigmatic smile. She was the stereotypical gypsy with her many bangles, large hoop earrings, and thick dark curly hair half hidden by a scarf wrapped round her head.
"Tell your fortune, pretty lady?" she called out persuasively. "The future predicted, your life foretold."
Lucy carefully sidestepped her. "No," she said politely, "thank you."
If she wanted her fortune told she would ask Cana.
Cana's cards tended to be more accurate after all.
"Don't you want to know your future?" the gypsy woman asked alluringly. "Don't you want to know if you would be happy? If you would have any adventures? If you would end up with the man of your dreams?"
"I am happy," Lucy laughed, "and I do have many adventures."
"You have hair the colour of gold," the gypsy woman said persuasively. "The reading is free for those with hair the colour of gold?"
"Well," Lucy shrugged, "I can't say no to an offer like that, can I?"
After all it wouldn't hurt her to have some nonsense said for free, and who knows? Maybe the gypsy knew something about Aquarius' key.
Lucy allowed the gypsy woman to herd her into her tent. It was overwhelmingly bright with various jewel coloured materials overlapping on the walls of the end and the incense burned so strongly that Lucy choked and coughed as she sat down on the table.
"Your palm, please," the gypsy woman demanded as she held out her hand, "I will read it to tell you your future."
Lucy obeyed without a second thought and tried not to cringe when the gypsy woman gazed intently into her palm. A red nailed thumb stroked her skin in slow circles which caused Lucy's skin to prickle with discomfort.
"Oh you're fascinating," the gypsy woman purred. "I see so many people in your life, so different, so interesting, but one stands out the most. A man, strong and brave, burning with life and fire like no man before, the most remarkable man." Lucy felt her cheeks burn at that as Natsu flashed across her mind. "How did you meet him?"
Lucy raised an eyebrow at that. "Aren't you supposed to tell me?" she asked cynically.
"I see the future." The gypsy woman said flatly, "Tell me the past. When did your lives cross?"
"Oh, that's a story," Lucy laughed sheepishly as she remembered the fake Salamander, Natsu eating her out of her last thousand jewels, her stupidity, Natsu's motion sickness, Aquarius' tidal wave, and Natsu destroying part of the town before he dragged her away for the adventure of a lifetime. "A destructive and rather embarrassing story," she tacked on.
"But what led you to that meeting?"
"Oh well," Lucy said vaguely, "I ran away from home and I just wandered round…."
"There was a decision though," the gypsy woman persisted, "When was that moment? When did you choose?"
"Oh I wouldn't worry, dearie," the old lady crooned, "if you keep heading the way you were going you'll read the main road, now if you go right, you'll read Walla-"
"Walla? As in the biggest magical city in all of Fiore?! Lucy interrupted excitedly. "They must have lots of magic shops with celestial keys and other spells!"
"You turned left," the gypsy woman murmured, her hands suddenly dug into Lucy's and Lucy's spine stiffened as she realised there was something not quite right. The memory had been too intense and strong, the incense was becoming too overwhelming, and for a moment Lucy could have sworn she heard something clicking and clacking in the back ground. "But what if you turned right?" the gypsy woman hissed. "What then?"
Lucy tried to pull away at that. "Let go of my hands!" she cried out as she struggled against the gypsy woman's tremendously strong grip.
It felt like her hands were trapped in a vice.
"What if it changes?" the gypsy woman insisted. "What if you go right? What if you could still go right?"
Something crawled up on the back of Lucy's chair she could hear it clicking and clacking away as she tried to desperately pull herself away from the insane fortune teller's grip.
"Stop it!" she shrieked. "What's that?" she tried to look backwards but it was too late. She felt something dig into her shoulders as it latched onto her back. "What's on my back?!" she cried out fearfully. "What is it? Wha-"
"Make the choice again, Lucy Heartfilla," the gypsy woman commanded. A little part of Lucy wanted to know how she knew her name but her body suddenly felt heavy and her mind was being dragged back into the past. The smell of the trees in the forest, the cool breeze against her skin, the sweet, elderly, lady standing before her. "And change your mind," the gypsy woman said hypnotising. "Turn right."
Lucy's mind fogged over entirely as her sight clouded over. "I'm turning…" she murmured.
"Turn right!" the gypsy woman cried out. "Turn right!"
"But that's not where you want to go," the old lady said sternly.
"It's not?"
"No, you want to go left," the old lady told her, "to Hargeon, it's a little port town but there are many magic shops," she explained to her, "and since they trade with other countries there will be more exotic magic available including celestial keys."
"Thank you," Lucy said politely, "but I think I'll go to Walla. There's more chance of finding what I'm looking for."
"But-!"
"Thank you again!"
"Turn right, and never meet that man!" the gypsy woman cackled. "Turn right, and change the world!"
Lucy reaches the fork in the road just as the old lady said she would and immediately, without a second thought, she turns to the path on the right. Straight into the bright, vibrant, city of Walla where undoubtedly she would find some rare celestial magic.
She doesn't give left (and Hargeon) another thought….
The world Lucy knows suddenly dissolves around her.
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTTFTFT
The last few weeks have been pure hell for Natsu.
First his lead to find Igneel in Hargeon turned out to be nothing, then some freaking smug arse pretended to be him in order to lure girls onto a slave ship, then Natsu found himself stranded on said slave ship struck with severe motion sickness while Happy was held captive. The stupid slave traders had the sheer nerve to plan selling Happy on the auction as an oddity! When the boat finally docked and Natsu was led out he was then able to fight his way out for freedom when he was suddenly arrested for battery and assault, and (can you believe it?) human trafficking. It took him forever to finally get home since Bosco authorities felt the need to keep him for questioning.
It was mind numbing to be asked the same questions over and over again but eventually they believe him and he was put back on another horrible, evil, boat back to his own country.
When he finally crawls back home he finds everyone wearing black bands on their arms and looking utterly miserable.
He is horribly reminded of Lisanna.
"Yo!" he called out as casually as possible. "What's up?"
Everyone looked up sadly – well apart from Laxus who looked as emotionless as ever – and it was Erza who steps up hesitatingly. Her face is uncharacteristically soft as one of her brown eyes swelled up with tears.
"Natsu," she said gently, "while you were away-"
"No," Natsu mumbled.
"Macao went out on a job," Erza carried on, "alone in the mountains."
"No," Natsu repeated loudly.
"He was outnumbered-"
"No!"
"He got possessed at first but then-"
"NO!" Natsu bellowed. "I said no! Not Macao!"
"Natsu!" Erza snapped sternly though tears were now flowing freely on her face. "Macao is dead. We buried him this morning."
Natsu shook his head, unable to believe it, Macao was one of the cornerstones of his parental figures. He had Igneel (who abandoned him), Master (who hadn't moved from his vigil over a glass of scotch), Gildarts (who was also gone and will probably never come back), and Macao. They were his teachers, his carers, his loved ones.
Macao had taught him tricks with his magic, how to control it, how to manipulate it, and he had also taught Natsu to laugh and have fun again.
"…Romeo," he said numbly as the image of the six year old boy crossed his mind, "where's Romeo? I need to see him."
Several guild members exchanged pained glances and Master groaned piteously as he hunched over his glass.
"….Natsu," Mira said hesitatingly, "….Natsu…..Romeo….Romeo left he guild."
"WHAT?!" Natsu roared furious and disbelievingly all at once. "Why? How? Where did he go? He's six for Christ Sake!"
"Romeo asked for help," Mira said regretfully, "he knew something was wrong and asked us for help."
"And no one gave it?!" Natsu yelled. "Why wouldn't someone help him?!"
"It was just Vulcans," Gray spoke up quietly. Guilt was engraved into his face, the shadows in his eyes were stronger than ever before, and for the first time ever Natsu didn't want to punch him. He suffered enough. "We didn't take it seriously."
Natsu felt sick to the stomach.
Whatever happened to the supportive family Fairy Tail once used to be?
Or did it never exit to begin with, and Natsu was finally waking up from the delusion?
"All right," Natsu gritted his teeth, "but that doesn't explain where Romeo is."
"We tried to stop him," Elfman said sadly, "but it's unmanly to try and force someone to stay when they don't. Master had written a letter of introduction to the other guilds. Romeo is hoping to find a home with one of them."
Natsu couldn't stand it anymore. Macao was dead, Romeo was gone, and no one was doing a bloody thing to take care of him! He was tired, sick, hungry, and stank to high heavens. He didn't want to speak to another person ever again.
With a ferocious glare at everyone, Natsu turned round and marched straight out of the guild building.
(He didn't notice that he brushed past a sad, tired, Levy who clutched a blonde wig in one hand and a priceless gold key in the other. The key will end up locked in the archives as no one needed a celestial key when they all had their own magic.)
The next few days were suffocating as everyone grieved but just when he thought things might get a little better – when he, Erza, and Gray set out for their first ever job as a team – it all suddenly gets worse than he could ever imagine.
Master is dead.
Their parent, their saviour, their guardian, their leader…..he was dead….gone….forever…
There had been an evil plot by a dark guild to steal Lullaby, one of Zeref's deadly demons, and when the trio (and Happy) tracked them down they got trapped in a train station and by the time they persuaded one of the members to tell them everyone, help them get out, it was all too late.
The funeral was awful.
It was a mass one, Master wasn't the only guild master to be murdered, and all the guilds stood as one. Natsu caught a glimpse of Romeo protectively tucked under Jura's protective arm, but the little boy avoided anyone with a Fairy Tail mark on them.
As soon as the funeral was over and the other guilds departed, Laxus drapes himself lazily on Master's favourite bar stool and thumps his muddy feet onto the bar.
"Listen up, you morons," he barked, "I'm the leader now!" he jabbed a thumb smugly into his own chest as if to emphasis his point. "And there's going to be some changes around here."
And that is when everything really does go to shit.
"Oh hell no!" Cana shrieked as she placed her hands on her hips. "I ain't following you arsehole! You'd have most of us kicked out within a blink of an eye."
"How dare you speak to Laxus-sama like that!" Freed shouted indignantly. "Laxus-sama is a god and we should all be grateful to have such wonderful leadership as his to follow!"
"I would rather eat glass," Mira said frostily, "now get your feet off of my bar…..now!"
Laxus doesn't move a single inch as his smirked with infuriating smugness. Unsurprising, Mira suddenly lost her temper and shoved his feet off with all her strength.
"If anyone should be leader," Wakaba said from the corner, "it's Gildarts. He's the most senior member now."
"Well Gildarts ain't here," Laxus said smugly, "I am."
"You're also not our first choice!" Levy huffed. "This isn't a monarchy. Just because you're related to Master by blood doesn't mean you automatically inherit his place. Guild masters can be elected and I am not giving you my vote!"
"Yeah!" Jet and Droy agreed in unison. "We don't want you!"
"Well," Bickslow said aggressively, "we do!"
"We do! We do! We do!" his dolls chanted mindlessly from behind him. "We do! We do! We do!"
"I nominate Erza," Gray spoke up suddenly, "she's the best leader we can have."
"No way!" a random member from the back shouted. "Mystogen is stronger magically!"
"He's also not here!" Cana pointed out. "Like Gildarts," she added very bitterly, "I say Mira should be our leader."
"Laxus!" Evergreen hissed. "It shouldn't even be questioned. Laxus is our way forwards!"
Sparks shoot out of everyone's eyes as they all glower at one another. Natsu shuffled awkwardly on his feet as a horrible, sinking, feeling settled in his stomach. He didn't want Laxus to be leader. Laxus was a prick. He thought he was better than everyone else and would have all of them thrown out within weeks. But at the same time he didn't want Mira or Erza or Mystogen or whoever to take over either.
He wanted Master!
The tiny pervy old man who could silence them all with a shout. The cheerful, friendly, adult that always made them welcome. The wise, solemn, leader that always gave out the best advice.
There was a hole in Natsu's world that could never be filled again and it looked like everyone else felt the same as they turned against one another.
Their parent, the man who could keep them all in line, was now gone forever and it looked like that soon so would their family altogether.
Fairy Tail was now on the cusp of civil war.
(Unbeknownst to anyone because there was no Lucy to choose it for, because Master was dead, because there wasn't a time or need to prove himself, Natsu never takes the S Class Job and so Lyon succeeds in freeing Deliora only to find disappointment and death as Ultear effortlessly guts him. The demons continue to forget themselves until the last one dies.)
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT
Lucy was in a different city altogether as she nursed a coffee and pursued the latest Sorcerer Weekly magazine.
Her life had been no better than it was these last few weeks.
She was still on the run from her father, she was still trying to find more keys, she was still trying to get stronger, and she was still no nearer in realising her dream as a guild mage/famous writer.
Still, it could be worse.
She had just read in an article about the awful deaths of the many guild masters and the speculation of who exactly who was going to be the new Master of Fairy Tail. The other guilds had confirmed their next leaders with ease but Fairy Tail didn't appear to have a successor in place yet. Lucy was glad she hadn't joined a guild yet, after all, she could have be in that position, someone who had lost someone she loved and uncertain of what her future will be.
She felt a twang of sympathy for Fairy Tail and quietly wished them all the best as she took another heart-warming sip of her coffee.
"It's terrible, isn't it?" a sweet voice chirped and Lucy glanced up, startled, to see a small, pretty, blonde girl sitting opposite her. Her hair was long and fair, her eyes the sharpest jade green, and her smart office wear didn't quite suit her childish body. She looked like a little girl trying to play grown up. "Fairy Tail, I mean," the girl continued, "such a horrible tragedy."
"Awful," Lucy agreed, "couldn't anyone have prevented it?"
"I don't know," the girl said softly, "I think you could have," her piercing green eyes shifted to just over Lucy's shoulder which made Lucy shift uncomfortably. Everyone kept looking at her back these days. She didn't know why but it was fricking uncomfortable. "You could have saved them all."
"Me?" Lucy laughed weakly. "Yeah right. I'm nothing."
"You should give yourself more credit," the girl said quietly but firmly, "you're more important than you realise." Lucy opened her mouth to argue this. She was, after all, just another stupid socialite that barely had the guts to run away from the life she didn't want. "Lucy!" the girl interrupted sharply. "You have to forgive them!"
"What?" Lucy blinked bewilderedly. "What are you talking about? And how do you know my name?"
"They don't know any better!" the girl said hurriedly, ignoring Lucy's questions, "they haven't been shown love or light yet. They haven't been taught better yet."
"No seriously," Lucy shook her head, "what are you talking about? And why do you keep staring at my back?!"
"Lucy!" the blonde girl said sternly. "Run!"
Lucy didn't get the chance to move a single muscle when she is suddenly yanked out of her seat and thrown to the ground. She groaned as her body burned with pain and just as she tried to scramble onto her hands and knees she is suddenly lung into the air again.
Only this time she is held by a prison of water that was suffocating the life out of her.
Through the blurry blue walls of her prison she can make out a small, blue, girl and a tall, hulking, black man.
"Drip, drop, drip, drop," the blue girl said monotonously, "we have successfully captured Lucy Heartfilla."
"Gihihihihihi," the black man sniggered, "that was way too easy," he half complained, "we better get some serious fun out of this."
Lucy gurgled on water as she tried to shout out her demands for answers. She catches sight of the blonde girl once more, her green eyes dark with sorrow as she mouthed a silent apology, Lucy would have made some sort of rude gesture but the water burned her lungs out and it all went dizzyingly dark.
She wakes up in a prison cell two days later.
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT
Phantom Lord, Fairy Tail's greatest enemy, was disbanded.
It had something to do with an heiress or whatever, they had apparently accepted a job to return her home but instead kept her to hold her ransom. What Phantom Lord hadn't counted on was the powerful connections of the father and before they knew it they were legally crushed and majority of them thrown into prison as the heiress was safely returned to her home and now happily married to a Duke or something the like.
Usually this sort of new would have Fairy Tail partying in celebration. One of their rivals was finally having justice served to them.
Unfortunately though celebration was the last thing on anyone's mind as the divide within the guild had only deepened in the last few weeks.
Loke had vanished entirely.
(No one notices in time to find him as the celestial spirit succumbs to his illness and vanishes entirely into gold stardust scattered into the winds.)
And then Erza was kidnapped and her body washes up on the beaches days later. A horrible dark magic was used but backfired terribly on a rogue council member and the Magic Council is too busy cleaning up their own corruption to notice the ongoing battle in Magnolia.
Natsu talks to no one now.
No one but Happy that is an even then it was only to comfort the little guy and to tell him to stop crying.
Everyone wants him to pick a side. No one cares about Erza or Loke or Master or Macao, they had all been forgotten. All that mattered was who was going to win the bloody leadership.
Natsu hates it all.
His family has all but destroyed itself.
It boils over on the day the Fantasia Parade was supposed to happen.
Not that they had prepared to do one. Without the leadership of Master, without Erza's bossiness, without Loke's flirty suggestions for what the girls could wear, and without Macao helping with the tech and perving at the girls, no one has accomplished anything in organising the parade. Mira tried but she was also fending off Laxus' attempts to control the guild and wasn't able to do much.
Laxus, however, had planned out a brutal scheme to finally take control of the guild.
He manipulated them all to fight one another in the streets of Magnolia. Only the strong and powerful were to stay in Fairy Tail.
And then, to really ensure they would obey him, Laxus had sent up some lightning lacrima balls above Magnolia.
They were all too busy turning against one another, screaming into each other's faces for betraying each other, punching, kicking, and casting offensive spells, that no one thinks to stop the lacrima balls.
The timer runs out and Magnolia is filled with screams.
By the time the Rune Knights storm into the streets, majority of the magicless population is dead. They are completely fried from the electric shock, their bodies burnt to a black crisp, and the smell of burning flesh suffocates the normal nose let alone a Dragon Slayer's nose.
Laxus sat there on the floor with a dumbstruck expression as if he couldn't believe that he had actually done what he did.
It made Natsu want to punch him but he couldn't move either because he really couldn't believe that Lacus did what he did either.
They, with their in fighting, and bitterness, and lack of control, had actually managed to harm the people they had once sworn to protect.
They had completely destroyed their home and their right to be guild mages.
Natsu snarled when a Rune Knight suddenly shoved him against a brick wall and slapped on some anti-magic rune cuffs onto his wrists.
"You're all under arrest!" Lahar barked. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do say may be used-"
"No!" Laxus cried out. His voice is hoarse and almost broken as the pained expression on his face. "Wait!" he said much more firmly. "It's not their fault. It's mine. I did it. Arrest me."
"Laxus-sama!" Freed moaned. "You shouldn't-"
"It's my fault!" Laxus snapped. "I made my friends help me. The rest of the guild were just trying to stop me. I did this. I," he choked slightly as the guilt actually seemed to hit him, "I killed these people."
"Very well," Lahar said unmoved, "but everyone is needed for questioning anyway."
So Natsu was still led away handcuffed as were all the other Fairy Tail mages. He could see Mira and Levy weeping, Cana scowling furiously, Bickslow and his dolls were finally silent with guilt, and so many others were bruised, bleeding, and completely broken.
They don't stop asking questions.
It's the same ones all the damn time and Natsu loses his temper every five minutes. Eventually though the Council realise the truth and Natsu, and so many others, are finally set free while Laxus is imprisoned for life.
Fairy Tail, however, is completely and utterly no more. The Council made its official ruling for it to be disbanded and even if they didn't those that survived Magnolia made it clear that they never wanted Fairy Tail back again.
They all went their separate ways. Not one single person wanted to be near the other again (apart from Elfman and Mira who seemed to cling to one another when they realised neither one could ever visit Lisanna's grave again) and Natsu watched, miserable as hell, as his friends took off without ever saying goodbye.
Fairy Tail was now gone forever.
Natsu was now homeless.
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTTFTFTFTFTFTFT
Today was Lucy's wedding day.
She wished it wasn't but she had no choice in the matter. After she had been kidnapped by Phantom Lord, she had been held by them for days while Gajeel Redfox took great delight in beating her black and blue. Her father had rescued her by using the full force of the law and his money but the result was that she was locked back in her gilded cage.
Without her whip or her keys.
She had been promised that if she went through the wedding she would get her keys back. And after several, unsuccessful, attempts of trying to find her keys, Lucy had given in and allowed herself to be sold off.
Anything to get back her only friends in the world.
"You look beautiful," one of the seamstresses said to her reassuringly, "the perfect blushing bride."
Lucy took in the horrendous white lace and pearl monstrosity that her father had commissioned for her and tried to smile radiantly.
It came out as a grimace.
"Yeah," she mumbled, "perfect."
"Cheer up!" the seamstress said. "It could be worse. You could have lost your home." Startled at the bitterness of the seamstress' voice Lucy glanced down to meet the jade green eyes of the blonde girl from before. She almost yelped in fright. "Have you heard?" the blonde girl carried on. "Fairy Tail has been disbanded."
"Yeah," Lucy said warily, "they kinda deserved it though. Who attacks the town they have sworn to protect?"
"It could have been prevented," the blonde girl shook her head, "you could have saved them from themselves."
"Me?!" Lucy cried out. "What could I do? I couldn't even save myself." The blonde girl said nothing and Lucy's skin prickled irritably as those pretty, sharp, jade green eyes flickered to her back. "What's on there?" she snapped. "Why do you keep looking at my back?!"
"I don't keep looking on your back," the blonde girl lied with the biggest, fakest, innocent expression Lucy had ever seen. "Why would you say that?"
"Because it's the truth!" Lucy hissed frustrated. "Everyone keeps looking at it. The maids keep screaming or crying at the sight of me these days. What's on there?!"
"You're not ready," the blonde girl shook her head, "you don't even believe in yourself. How can you believe what I have to say?"
Lucy snarled wordlessly at that and went to turn so she could actually physically look at this frustrating and ambiguous person….
…..only to find she was alone in the room.
She barely had a moment to panic over this when her father suddenly knocked on the dressing room door and Lucy soon found herself firmly escorted down the aisle.
The wedding was perfect, as was the reception, and nothing intervened to rescue Lucy from this terrible fate as she was suddenly made into a Duchess of a faraway land.
Her husband was seemingly polite and courteous if distant and a little cold and for a moment Lucy thought they could come to a friendly accord.
….right until the Wedding Night.
"I, erm, don't really know what to do," she admitted nervously as she clutched the duvet close to her chest, "I've never done this before."
"You don't do anything," her husband said coolly as he methodically undid his belt buckle, "you just lay there and keep your legs open."
It was then when Lucy realised that she had never left the hell Phantom Lord had put her in. in fact she was in a place even worse than hell because while they had kept her in a dank, dark, dirty cell and had treated her like crap, they had never broken her spirit.
He might have broken her bones and made her bleed but at least Gajeel Redfox never raped her.
(Meanwhile no one knows this but roughly the same time a little girl with long blue hair died trying to save her home from the magic known Nirvana. Ironically enough it gets destroyed by the very same people who had activated it as all of their hearts were purified by it. They all wept for the brave sky maiden before they turned themselves in to the authorities.)
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT
Things get worse for Lucy.
She didn't think it would. What could be worse than being raped repeatedly by the man who vowed to love, honour, and cherish you? But it does.
She had only been in this marriage for two months and she doesn't think she could last any longer.
She lays motionlessly on her canopy bed as she stares blankly up at the ceiling of it. Her eyes are dull and her body, her soul, her mind, and heart are all completely empty.
She had just suffered the worst, bloodiest, miscarriage that she was sure a woman had ever endured, and now she merely wished she was dead.
They told her she might not be able to carry another child again which led to her husband bursting into her chamber and screaming in a furious frenzy.
"WHAT USE ARE YOU?!" he bellowed near the end. "IF YOU CAN'T FUFIL A WIFE'S DUTY THEN WHAT ACTUAL USE ARE YOU?! ANSWER ME YOU WORTHLESS WORM!"
She had said nothing as she continued to stare blankly at him and that had earned her a hard slap that left a faint bruise on her cheek.
She didn't care.
She had pinned her hops of making life bearable with this child. To give this child all of her love and cherish it completely, and now it was gone.
She couldn't explain how it happened only that she felt this huge burst of magic. Something, somewhere, had completely shattered and it caused a huge magical tidal wave that was apparently felt by all mages everywhere.
Her body reacted to that horrible sensation by rejecting her child.
And now she had nothing.
Her whip and keys were now being held ransom by her husband as her father had betrayed her again.
She sobbed at the thought of it all.
"Hush," a soothing voice murmured as a cool but gentle touch brushed over Lucy's forehead, "hush. It'll be all right in the end. We will fix this."
Lucy's eyes flickered open to meet the jade-eyed, blonde-haired girl that has been following her all year. "….You," she croaked, "How are you here?"
"I have my ways," the blonde girl said mysteriously as she pressed a glass against Lucy's lips. Lucy opened her mouth to let in the refreshingly cold water past. "The magic you felt today was Edolas collapsing."
"Edolas?" Lucy murmured dazed. "What is that?"
"A whole parallel world where everything was different," the blonde girl said softly, "you were supposed to save it."
Lucy snorted at that.
She was far from hero material and she wished this girl realised it soon and left her alone. She couldn't save herself from a paper bag right now let alone a whole world that was on the verge of collapsing.
"Lisanna Strauss is now truly dead," the blonde girl said mournfully, "and her siblings will never know."
Lucy wanted to scream and shout that that wasn't her fault. That she doesn't know these people and had nothing to do with them so why did this girl keep persisting in telling her these horrible things? She wanted to tell the blonde girl to go away and never come back.
She didn't have to because as soon as she opened her eyes again the blonde girl was missing.
The next few months had been spent recovering, pretending to the rest of the world that she was the luckiest, happiest, prettiest girl alive while secretly behind doors her husband hit her and she desperately wanted to get out. She went to balls, charity events, high afternoon teas, all while inwardly screaming at her situation.
It is almost Christmas and she is at a ball when she spots the blonde girl again.
Their eyes met across the dance floor when the little girl suddenly jerks her head in the direction of the French doors leading out into the gardens. She then suddenly twirled away and dashed out of those doors as Lucy raced after her.
The little girl ran out into the maze, darting round every twist and turn, until she suddenly halted to a stop at the centre.
Lucy panted as she tried to catch her breath. It came out in little white puffs from the cold which caused her to shiver.
The grounds were all covered in snow after all.
"What?" Lucy demanded. "What is it now? What horrible thing happened that is blatantly my fault this time?"
"Cana Alberona is dead."
"I don't know who that is!" Lucy cried out despairingly. "I never met a Cana in my life. How is that supposed to be my fault?"
"She was passed out drunk in the snow," the little girl said flatly, "she had drunk herself unconscious out of her pain and misery. You were supposed to find her. You were supposed to take her home and warm her up. You were supposed to give her hope."
"How?!" Lucy wailed. "How am I supposed to do that when I don't know this person?!"
The blonde girl shook her head, "You're not quite ready yet," she said, "when you are. I will come back to you and this time you will come with me."
And with that she faded, she literally vanished, right before Lucy's eyes.
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFT
Natsu had wandered the country alone with Happy for seven years.
They had seen amazing sights, met the friendliest people, and done some pretty exciting things and they had also seen some awful things, battled the worst of the worst, and barely escaped with their hands clean from blood. There was no doubt they had lived life.
But they had not found a home yet either.
"I want to go home!" Happy wailed. "And I mean home home. I want to go back to our hut and fish out of our stream. I want to go to Fairy Tail and be fed fish by Mira and be scolded by Erza and watch you fight Gray."
"I want that too, Happy," Natsu scowled, "but we can't. There's no home to go back to."
They have this argument every couple days for the last seven years.
It was incredibly frustrating.
In the end Natsu decided to attend the Grand Magical Games in hopes of finding a new guild. He was tired of being alone. He still hadn't found Igneel and he missed having people to come back to when he has reached another dead end in his search.
He didn't know what to make of the bustling, exciting, city filled to the brim with flowers and excited faces. He had become rather detached by the things that used to fascinate him. He was also rather unimpressed by all the guilds. They all seemed to be nothing but a boastful waste of space.
He almost gave up until he saw her.
Her long, golden, hair had caught the corner of his eye but what really caught his attention was the fact that she was blatantly running away from two thugs that were chasing after her. She weaved through the crowd gracefully with one hand desperately clutching something to her chest. She could have gotten away completely but one of the thugs grabbed her by the hair and hauled her back.
Natsu hated seeing something wrong like that, more so when no one else stepped up to stop it. No seemed to pay this girl or her thugs any attention and the injustice burned Natsu up.
"Oi!" he yelled. "Lug-heads! Pick someone your own size."
And with that he smashed his fist into Thug One's face before he whirled round and gave a firm kick into Thug Two's stomach.
The fight was pitiful at best, and Natsu had them knocked out within a handful of really boring moments, but the grateful look in the blonde girl's eyes made it all worth it.
"Thank you!" she said vehemently. "Thank you so much!"
"No problem," Natsu shrugged, "why were they after you?" he asked curiously. "Are you a thief or something?"
"No!" the blonde squawked indignantly as her cheeks flushed bright pink. He didn't know why she was so mad. He thought it was a rather valid question seeing as she was holding some rather shiny, special, looking objects while being chased by thugs. "I am the Duch – I, erm, mean I am Lucy, nothing else, no one special or anything, just Lucy," she hastily corrected herself as she clutched several gold keys to her chest possessively, "and those horrible thugs just attacked me for no reason."
"Uh-huh," Natsu said disbelievingly, "whatever you say Luigi."
"Lucy!" she snapped. "My name is Lucy."
"That's what I said," Natsu grinned, "wasn't it just what I said, Happy?"
"Aye Sir!" Happy grinned back cheekily. "Luigi is very weird."
"THAT'S NOT MY NAME!" Lucy shrieked furiously. She then blushed brightly in embarrassment. "Sorry!" she apologised hastily. "I, erm, seem to have lost my temper. It won't happen again."
"Why not?" Natsu pouted. "It's hilarious."
Lucy's eye twitched irritably at that. "Look if anyone asks you didn't see me, got it?" she said sternly. "You look the other way and you don't see where I'm going."
Natsu frowned at that. He didn't like the sound of this at all and he really didn't like the look of the days old bruises he could see peeking out of her sleeve. "That depends," he said, "exactly who are running from?"
"….my husband," she admitted reluctantly, "I am leaving him."
"Did he do that?" Natsu nodded to her bruises in disgust. Lucy didn't answer which he took for as a yes and almost spontaneously burst into furious flames on the spot. The idea of any arsehole hitting his wife gnaws at Natsu. It wasn't right whatsoever! "Tell you what," Natsu said loudly, "I'm here looking for a guild. I lost mine ages ago but it means I have experience on taking job requests. If you like, I can be your bodyguard till you're wherever it is you need to be to be safe."
"I….I…I… don't have much money on me," Lucy stammered out. "I could only get away with so much and it will be a while before I can find work."
"That's all right," Natsu shrugged, "I can work for food only."
"….Okay!" Lucy's smile was slow and small but it was radiant and made Natsu's heart do a really weird flippy floppy thing. "Then I would like you to help me get out of this city and to safety in exchange for all of your meals."
"Deal!"
They shook hands and for some reason it felt like they should have done this long before. Natsu dismissed it quickly and ignored Happy when he started teasing both him and Lucy about how they 'liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike' each other. Instead he focused on Lucy and got her to talk.
They talked about everything and nothing and Natsu quickly learned he thoroughly loved to wind her up by calling her 'Luigi' because she went all bright pink and shout-y and stamped her foot a little bit.
Lucy, however, quickly learnt that it might have been cheaper to pay Natsu in cash as he practically ate her out of pocket on their first meal together.
They laughed it off though and when they huddled up together at night for warmth, Natsu is half convinced he finally found the home he was looking for.
Though, of course, it doesn't last.
The King's powerful magical police force consisting of five super-powered freaks arrest them first thing and Natsu suddenly finds himself charged with the laughable accusation of kidnapping some Duchess or whatever. He and Happy are separated from Lucy and held in chains in the dankest, dampest, dungeon ever known to man.
Natsu seriously thought he saw mushrooms growing out of the walls.
When he thinks he's finally going to be executed though a man in white shining armour releases him.
"Lady Lucy has explained it all," he said formally, "and we now know that you have not kidnapped her but saved her from a desperate situation. If the Royal Family had known the Duke's true nature they would certainly not have lent aid to find Lady Lucy and return her."
It takes seeing Lucy in one of those silly, frilly, ball gowns to realise that she and Lady Lucy are one and the same.
"I don't get it," Happy said bewilderedly as he made himself at home on Lucy's lap, "why are they only believing we didn't kidnap you now?!"
"I made a bargain," Lucy admitted as she pursued her lips, "they found out I am a Celestial Mage and they need my keys and me to open the Eclipse Gate."
"The whatty gate?" Natsu repeated.
"The Eclipse Gate," Lucy said firmly, "it's some sort of time travelling gate that only the twelve zodiac keys can unlock. They found some that had been confiscated from criminals the Magic Council had arrested before, another Celestial Mage has been abandoned by her guild recently, and another key was found on this island alone, they were missing mine and one more but they can work it without all of them."
"Uhuh," Natsu nodded confused, "and what does this Eclippy Gate thing let them do?"
"Eclipse Gate!" Lucy snapped irritably and Natsu couldn't help but grin at her facial expression. She was just so fun to wind up! "They want to use it to kill Zeref and save the world," Lucy said in a much softer voice, "I'm not sure if time travel is a good idea. Who knows what we could accidentally change. It's very dangerous."
Natsu thought about it seriously. "My guild master was killed by Lullaby," he said finally, the pain of it all still ached keenly just saying those words, "my guild then fell apart quickly afterwards. If Zeref died before he could make Lullaby then my home and family will still be there."
"Please!" Happy tugged at Lucy's dress sleeve. "Please Lushy! Go back and save our family."
"Well," Lucy bit her lip, "….how can I say no to that?"
And so when the Eclipse starts, Natsu and Happy are given front row seats to watch Lucy and another Celestial Mage (Yukino, she had shyly introduced herself as) opened the gates to save the world…..
…..and instead delivered chaos and fire as several gigantic, violent, Dragons burst through the doors and attacked the city.
Natsu couldn't remember what happened.
It's all one big, horrible, devastating, blur as buildings burned and crumbled around him. He barely got Lucy out there alive. He was determined he wasn't going to lose her though. She was the first person in seven years to make him think he had found a home and he wasn't going to lose that. She wheezed and choked as smoke filled her lungs and there was an awful lot of blood coming from a head wound that meant he had to carry her out of the rubble to safety but she was at least alive and holding on.
Unlike Happy whose wings were drenched in blood and his body completely unmoving.
FTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFTFFT
The war with the dragons drags out for three years.
The humans are all but annihilated and Natsu and Lucy continue to lose good friends that they had made on the battlefield. In an act of desperation they war council activated the secret anti-magic spell Face to drain all the magic away and kill the dragons.
After all the dragons are magical beings born from magic and without it in the earth, the air, in their very beings, they would all die slow and agonising deaths.
No one expected the consequences though.
With all magic gone the seal on the book of END unlocks and Natsu is lost forever.
"There's no need to cry, Lucy," he said unemotionally as he pressed his unyieldingly cold lips against her tears, "I will keep you safe."
And so Lucy was bundled into another gilded cage.
Only this time she was the Queen of the Demons with a population that desperately wished her dead and all hope truly gone. The world was crumbling around her as humanity steadily died out and the demons, under END's rule, wrecked chaos and destruction.
"This can't be it," she murmured sadly as she looked out bleakly from her bedroom chamber window. She had been locked away in the highest room in the tallest tower with only servants and the demon wearing Natsu's face as company. "This can't be how the world ends. There must be some way I can fix it. I have to fix it."
She turned to look at the mysterious blonde girl that has been following all these years. The girl was now dressed in a pale pink frilly dress and her shoes were abandoned, it made her look more fae than ever.
"You're ready," she said softly as she held out her hand, "come with me."
Lucy took her hand and was somehow lead away out of the tower past the guards with the greatest ease. They travelled quickly back to the now abandoned town Magnolia where the girl – Mavis, she had introduced herself in the course of their journey – herded her into the half-destroyed, desolate, guild building.
"Ah!" a soft voice uttered. "Lucy Heartfilla, at last."
A pale skinned, dark-haired, boy stepped out. His eyes were deep, dark, pools that sucked Lucy in with the contradicting sorrow and pleasure within in them.
"Erm," she murmured, "hi."
He smiled warmly at that. "Hello," he replied gently, "so you're the girl that the world is centre round."
"What?!"
"Zeref!" Mavis chided. "Don't tease her. It took forever to convince her to come, we still have to persuade her to actually help us fix all of this."
"Zeref?!" Lucy yelped. "As in the darkest, evil, most powerful mages of all history. As in the guy that did THAT to Natsu and destroyed his soul completely. As in the guy that-"
"I have done a lot of wrong in the last four hundred years," Zeref interrupted patiently, "but it was never my intention. I only ever had three goals and they have all been prevented by the Gods, and you."
"Me?!" Lucy squawked. "What did I do? I didn't do anything!"
"You turned right," Mavis said, "when you should have turned left. It destroyed the whole world because you took the wrong turning."
"WHY?!"
"Because you are a Heartfilla," Zeref said quietly, "and Heartfillas are nothing but the most charismatic of leaders. You take your surname quite literally. You are the heart of Fairy Tail."
Lucy wordlessly shook her head. She didn't know what to think let alone say about this. She couldn't really believe it.
"Hey," Mavis called out softly, "want to finally see what's on your back?"
"….okay."
The change of topic had been so abrupt and swift that Lucy could do nothing but agree to it and she then soon found herself standing in the middle of a circle of mirrors with Zeref and Mavis behind the ones in front of her.
"There are made from magic from the Celestial World," Zeref informed her, "you'll need to utter a celestial spell and it will reflect of all these mirrors to bend reality and show you what is truly on your back."
"Okay," Lucy shifted nervously, "what's the spell?"
"You know the spell Lucy," Zeref said softly, "just because you don't consciously remember it doesn't mean you don't know it. Just close your eyes and let your instincts take over."
Lucy eyed him sceptically.
For someone who was supposed to be the all-knowing, all-powerful, evil he was really half-arseing on this one.
She did, however, obey his instructions and took a deep breath.
And then something clicked.
"Survey the heavens, open the heavens, all the stars and wide, show me thy appearance with such shine," she chanted quietly to herself, "Oh Tetrabiblos, I am the ruler of the stars. Aspect comes complete. Open thy malevolent gate. Oh 88 stars of the heaven. Shine. Urano Metria!"
She could feel the stars surround her as magic surged through her skin. It had been so long – so very long! – since she felt the celestial power brush against her.
"Lucy!" Mavis called out. "Open your eyes!"
Lucy scrunched her eyes closed even tighter. "Is it there?" she asked hesitatingly.
"Open your eyes," Mavis insisted, "look at it."
Lucy shook her head rapidly. "I can't!" she wailed.
"It's part of your Lucy," Zeref said quietly but firmly, "look!"
Lucy opened her eyes with the greatest reluctance. Staring back at her was her own reflection multiplied at various angels. She looked too skinny from her own inability to eat which made her eyes look bigger than usual and more sunken into her face and there was black smudges under her eyes but this all paled in comparison to what was clinging tightly to her back.
There, leeching the life out of her, was a gigantic, hideous, black beetle.
Lucy screamed.
"It's okay!" Mavis said reassuringly. "It's okay! It's okay! Calm down Lucy," Lucy ignored her as she turned round and round frantically and frantically as she tried to desperately swat at the evil bug. "Lucy, Lucy! It's okay!"
"What is it?!" Lucy shrieked fearfully.
Zeref and Mavis exchanged glances and both shrugged. "We don't actually know," Zeref admitted.
"Oh!" Lucy huffed. "Thanks!"
"We know it feeds off time," Mavis said, "by changing time. By making someone's life take a different turn, like, meetings never made, children never born, a life never loved. But with you…"
"But I never did anything important!"
"Yeah, you did," Mavis said, "we told you. You turned right instead of left."
Lucy muffled her mouth to smother another scream. Only this one was pure frustration as she still didn't understand why one small choice from one small, insignificant, person could change the whole world for all the worse.
"Okay, okay," she breathed deeply as she tried to calm herself down, "What can I do?" she asked. "How do I get rid of it? How do I fix it all?"
"Glad you asked!" Zeref beamed. A Lucy felt an ache at the sight of his bright, deceptively innocent, boyish grin that she thought she would never see again. "You're going to travel in time!"
"HOW?!"
"The Eclipse Gates may be destroyed but the celestial magic used still exists in you," Zeref explained as he held out a lacrima ball that buzzed with magic, "this is the last little bit of time magic that I had taken from a witch called Ultear," he looked regretful at that and Lucy had a strong, niggling, suspicion that Ultear had been killed at Zeref's hands. "When you summon a spirit they will take you into the celestial world and you will use this to guide you."
"But I don't have my keys anymore," Lucy said dejectedly, "I can't get into the celestial world.
"Here," Mavis offered a gold key, "we were able to salvage this from the wreckage in Crocus."
Lucy's heart skipped a beat.
It was Aquarius' key.
With a glass of water in one hand, Lucy hastily summoned her cranky, irritable, spirit and the imposing mermaid glowered down at her.
"It's about time!" she snapped. "Come on then," she grabbed Lucy roughly by the waist, "let's go and fix your mistakes."
"Have you thought out your strategy?" Zeref inquired. "You will have to convince your past self to go left, remember."
"Yeah," Lucy smiled sheepishly, "I thought I might just run up to her and shake some sense into her."
Amusement glittered in Zeref's eyes. "I would have liked to have seen that," he murmured, "you Heartfillas are so stubborn I suspect you would have created a whole new meaning to arguing with oneself."
"All right, enough yapping," Aquarius said briskly, "we still need to send the brat back in time if we're going to have her fix anything."
Zeref nodded solemnly before he inclined his head in a farewell gesture to Lucy.
"Good luck!" Mavis called out.
Lucy tried to say goodbye but the gateway between worlds suddenly slammed to a shut and Lucy's eyes were dazzled by the various colours and shimmering lights and sparkles of the celestial world as she suddenly hurtled down a tunnel of memories that flashed by far too quickly.
The gateway opened out again and before she could say something, anything, Aquarius dumped her onto the ground.
"It's all up to you now," she said gruffly, "try not to disappoint me."
And with her usual abruptness Aquarius vanished. Lucy stumbled back onto her feet and looked hesitatingly around at her surroundings. She could see nothing but woods, the trees, the greenery, all blinded her after so much desolate, burning, wasteland that had become her home in the last few years.
Her eyes watered at the smell of trees, flowers, and life itself.
It had been so long!
She tried picked a direction and ran at random. Hoping desperately that she could find her past self and convince her to turn left. She ran and ran and ran until she came across the road to Walla…
….only it was below by a good thirty or so feet.
She was on the clifftops and her past self was somewhere at the bottom.
She would never reach her in time.
It was a split second decision.
She really didn't have to think about it because there was nothing else left for her to live for. She had so little to begin with and she really wanted a world where she would see that bright, mischievous grin properly…
Lucy turned her back to the road, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.
For a moment it felt like she was flying and then suddenly it was a terrifying plunge….
Lucy was stuck behind some serious traffic.
It didn't surprise her too much because Wala was such a bustling, busy, place that there must be lots of carriages and traders trying to get in. yet it felt too clogged up and people were barely moving to the point it seemed like they were going backwards.
"What happened?!" she demanded. "Why is no one moving?"
"Some crazy chick just jumped off the ledge!" a young man said excitedly. "She's splattered across the road. We're waiting for the authorities to clear her up so we can move."
Lucy grimaced at the tasteless wording. She felt a smattering of sympathy for the poor soul drive to suicide but mainly she just felt irritated. She was hungry, smelly, and desperate for a toilet. A real one. She couldn't wait any longer to make any actual progress.
Then she remembered the old lady said Hargeon wasn't so far on the left….
"Screw it!" she snapped to a decision. "I don't have time or the patience for this. I'm going left!"
Lucy felt heavy as she laid there on the ground.
Her body was heavy and broken and she's convinced she can feel the blood flooding her lungs as it got harder and harder to breathe. There was a crowd of people around her, shouting, and yelling stuff she cannot make out, bumping into one another, all pointing and staring, but none of them, absolutely none of them, compared to Mavis.
Her jade green eyes locked onto Lucy's as she knelt down beside her.
"Thank you," she murmured as she stroked Lucy's hair, "thank you so much. You're going to save them all now."
Lucy would have said something but her voice seemed lost when she tried to open her mouth and instead she blinked.
"When you get back," Mavis said quietly, "when you see Fairy Tail again, I need you tell them this…." Mavis leaned in and whispered rapidly into Lucy's ear.
The words washed over her as the world got darker and blurrier. Lucy was barely aware of Mavis's breath tickling the shell of her ear and the words got fuzzier and fuzzier the darker everything became –
THUMP!
"UuuuuuuuuuAHHHHHHH!" Lucy gasped loudly as her eyes shot open. "Oh my God!" She shrieked as she turned to see the dead beetle on the ground by her feet. "OH MY GOD!" she repeated loudly. "What the hell was that?! What did you do to me?!"
The gypsy woman flung Lucy's hands away from herself and stared at Lucy in horror. "What are you?" she sounded utterly terrified. "What on earth are you?!"
And before Lucy could respond the gypsy woman backed out of her tent fearfully before she took off in a full out run.
Lucy blinked rapidly as all the memories of that horrible, dreadful, nightmare of a world quickly became more and more distorted.
"There you are!" Lucy whirled round to find Natsu, Happy, Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Charle all rush in. they were so hasty to get in that they all collided into one another and Natsu was sent sprawling onto the floor. It didn't stop him though from jumping straight back onto his feet with an easy grin that made Lucy's heart leap. "We thought you fell in a well or something, what are you doing, Luce?"
A wretched sob yanked itself out of Lucy's throat before she could form a coherent reply and she flung her arms round a startled Natsu. "It was so horrible!" she wailed. "The things she made me see!"
Natsu awkwardly patted her on the back as Erza gently coaxed an insane babbled explanation from Lucy which led to everyone sitting down in the tent as they all eyed the weird bug creature that laid dead on the ground.
"Fate is an amazing thing," Erza said sagely, "for such an insignificant decision to have such a massive impact…." She shook her head, "it just goes to show there is a plan for all of us."
"You don't think it's….you know…." Lucy mumbled, embarrassed, "too vain to think I make that much of an impact?"
Lucy had expected Natsu, Gray, and Happy to all laugh at her and tease her for thinking so highly of herself. She thought Erza would think this was nonsense and Wendy to say something kind while Charle would hide (badly) how much she disagreed with it all.
Instead they all seemed to believe her and believe her to be all that important.
"Lucy," Happy nuzzled her, "I was there remember? At Fantasia, I was by your side."
"Yeah," Lucy said bewilderedly, "so I remember but what does that have to do with anything?"
"We would have torn ourselves apart," Happy said sadly, "We were turning on each other and gave no thought to the lacrima balls Laxus had set up. It was you that inspired us all to work together. You that that rallied us to unite. You that got us all to defeat Laxus and keep our guild going."
Lucy blushed brightly at that.
She said some cheesy words that she does, unashamedly really, believe wholeheartedly but she didn't see how that meant she was so important.
"I can see why you're so important," Happy said, "but don't let it get to your head, Lushy!" he scolded her. "You're big and squishy enough as it is!"
"Why you little-!" Lucy cut herself off as an image of Mavis flashed before her mind. Her temper faded in an instant as a new sinking, dread, filled her stomach. "Mavis!" she cried out. "Mavis was there!" she carried on quickly at the confused expressions on her friends' faces. "And guys she warned me, just at the end, she told me that Fairy Tail was in danger. That we have to go home!"
"Well then," Erza said firmly, "there's no arguing he matter, is there?"
"Yosh!" Natsu agreed as he pumped a fist in the air. "We're going home!"
And with that he stood up and offered Lucy's his hand which she accepted without a second thought. She couldn't help but laugh delightedly as she dragged her onto another new, exciting, adventure….