Chapter Two
AN: I got the idea for Lucy's new weapon from shadowhunters, it works like Izzy's bracelet but it doesn't look like a snake.
Jude Heartfilia was not a nice man, not like his late wife. Layla had compassion in spades. She was fierce in her protection of those she cared for but at the same time she was a bleeding heart. She never wanted anyone to suffer. Layla didn't hold grudges she always told him that life was too short to waste time hating people.
She said that hate took so much energy she never could hold onto it for long. She claimed that it would only poison her heart and she was too busy loving the people who loved her to bring herself to hold peoples actions against them.
His daughter was so much like her mother and it wasn't just the fact that they shared so many facial features. It was her heart as well. Lucy yearned for adventure all her life but she had such a gentle heart that he feared that she would be taken advantage of and be left heartbroken. The world could be a cold cruel place and that was something that he had inadvertently shown his daughter in his desperate attempt to protect her from the world.
He knew that he was nothing like the two women that he was blessed to know and call his family. He was ruthless, cold, stubborn and strong. He set his sights on what he wanted and he didn't let anything or anyone get in his way. When they did, he completely and utterly destroyed that threat. That was probably the reason why he had managed to build one of the largest businesses in the world but without his wife there was no one left to soothe his rough edges.
His wife was the best part of himself and he had wronged his daughter. He didn't mean to do it. He had honestly believed that she would be happy in the life that he was providing for her.
Lucy didn't smile or laugh instead she walked around like a lifeless doll. Jude had the feeling that if his wife had known what he was going to do to his daughter she would have killed him. As gentle and caring Layla had been, she had fire in her soul. She had a strength in her that made him a better man and losing her had been like losing a piece his sanity and soul.
He wondered for a moment when he began to think that wealth would Lucy happy. Both he and Layla had next to nothing when they first started out. She had been in a guild earning money and trying to save up for a house and he was an up and coming business man. He hadn't actually had much back then.
Layla had believed in him and his vision. She knew that he would one day make the business world kneel before him. He was a stubborn man she would say with a smile and then with joy in her eyes she would tell her friends, 'he'll make the world bow to him before he bows to it'.
She would say that he had a spine of steel, strong and unyielding when it came to what he wanted but he wondered when those things had become bad parts of his character. When his heart had turned to ice and he supposed that it happened as his beloveds body turned cold so did his heart. As much as it hurt him to see his daughter and remember what he had lost, Lucy was a part of Layla. The best parts of her and the best parts of himself. She deserved better from him.
Layla would never have let him choose his daughter's future for her but then again Layla had once been a mage. She firmly believed that every person should have the chance to choose their own path in life. As a parent the only thing that he should want for her was to be happy.
He obviously wished that she would have just been happy to live as an heiress. To become the wife of another business man and help to grow his business. However, Lucy was more like than Layla than he believed and it wasn't just in her looks. She had fire in her soul and she wanted to go on an adventure.
There was a part of him that wished that she wouldn't choose such a dangerous profession. Mages died all the time or they went missing but then again it was the path that made her happy. She didn't want fancy clothes and jewels she had wanted a family, love and to live her life to the fullest.
Fairy Tail had given her a family. They were a family that had the guts to fight against him to protect her from him. That boy, the one with pink hair he would do anything for her. After all he came here and faced him without fear because he loved her and he was determined to take her home.
He hadn't announced that he was seeking a groom for his daughter so there would be no backlash if he didn't say anything. He would need an heir though, someone who would take over the business. He would put it in Lucy's name for now, maybe one of his grandchildren would want to take it over. It wasn't like Lucy didn't know how to run the estate but for the first time in a long time he took a look at the estate he created and said he had enough.
He had dived into his work desperate to try and get Layla of his mind once upon a time. She had haunted his every step and every waking moment. He missed her and he felt so incomplete without her that he put all his energy into his empire.
However as his empire had been built a little bit of his precious daughters happiness had been chipped away and now he knew why he couldn't get Layla off his mind. She was punishing him for abandoning their daughter in her time of need. When he was supposed to stand strong and be her pillar of support he crumbled. Then she went of seeking what she was denied in this house.
Lucy would never be the daughter he pictured to be and that was probably what was going to make him so damn proud. The perfect heiress didn't exist and she would never be like the other high society ladies but she would be so much more. He would right his wrongs and he would do everything he could to ensure her happiness. He owed her that much.
A businessman with ties to nobility getting involved in politics wasn't something new to the country. There were many high council members who had been running estates before they decided to try having a vote in politics. They were not members of the Ten Wizard Saints. No, that was the Magic Council who oversaw the guild activities however there were several powerful politicians who oversaw areas in Fiore. A step higher than Mayor but lower than King.
They took care of some of the larger problems that a mayor couldn't deal with. They were able to get information from the magic council and they often gave money to areas in the country that were suffering. There were also areas that had been destroyed due to whatever magic battle that had taken place that the town couldn't repair and neither the King nor the council could deal with it.
The King and the council couldn't always foot the bill for extensive damages and some smaller areas and villages would almost always get over looked. Here he could do something good with all the money that was just lying in the bank. The towns often offered some type of repayment so it wasn't like he would come out with nothing.
It wasn't much in the long run but he could pass information to his daughter and try to protect her guild as much as possible. It would also help them to know that they had someone looking out for them. Guilds didn't have much respect but he could ensure that they were given a bit of a heads up if the council tried anything.
From what Lucy had said Fairy Tail hadn't been a favourite for the magic council, this way they would know if the council tried anything funny. It wasn't like they hadn't tried to disband the guild or make them pay heavy fines or just generally cause them trouble.
He knew at the back of his mind that all this was more than a little bit crazy. The talk of time travel and dragons and dark wizards that should have died more than four hundred years ago. Then again he knew that Layla done something drastic which led to her illness and no matter how much he had raged at her and then begged and pleaded she never told him what happened.
Once the worry had set in, when she first told him of her illness she refused to tell him what she done to lead magic deficiency syndrome. Apparently she opened a magical gate which let dragons and dragon slayers into this time period. No matter how insane it sounded or how unbelievable he did know his daughter and Lucy didn't lie.
She would sigh and furrowed her brows and grimaced but she didn't lie. When she didn't want to do something she always made sure he knew that she wasn't happy but she did what she was told because she wanted to make him happy. That kind of made him feel like a horrible father.
"You're taking this better than I thought you would." Lucy was standing in the doorway of his study, watching him as he sipped his scotch.
"I made many mistakes Lucy but I know my daughter and I know that she would never lie. Besides having a pink haired young man stand in my dining room with a wall of flames around him kind of puts things into perspective."
Lucy could feel her mouth twitch as she struggled to hold back her grin. She never heard her father use dry wit like that but then again she barely spoke to him in all the years that they lived together. Jude on the other hand ignored the flash of humor in her eyes. It was nice to see some emotion from his daughter for a change rather than just resignation.
She took a seat in front of his desk and smiled. It wasn't the smile of a naive young girl but the smile of a confident young woman who was happy to be in his presence. Somehow his little girl had become a beautiful young woman. A woman Layla would have been proud to see, one that he almost didn't get the chance to know.
"Natsu isn't very tactful but his heart is in the right place." She replied smiling as she thought of her partner and all the crazy antics he had gotten in while dragging her along.
"Tell me about him Lucy, I would like to hear about the person that gave you a family."
Lucy's eyes got that faraway look that she usually had when she got absorbed in writing a chapter as she described Natsu, "He is as fiery as the magic he uses. He goes all in no matter what it is. He is also a very simple sort of person he knows what he wants and he always goes after it. He loves with everything that he has and he protects his family as fiercely as a dragon. He is a good man with a good heart. He has his short comings and he drives me crazy but I couldn't imagine my life without him. He makes me laugh and the happiness of his family is his main priority."
Jude smiled as she spoke of him, her eyes shining brighter with every word spoken, "Are those the reasons you love him?"
Lucy blushed but instead she asked, "How did you know?"
Jude laughed, "A father knows when his daughter is love besides it was easy to see in the way that he looked at you. I once looked at your mother the same way."
They talked for hours about her mother and their adventures. There were a lot of things that she had never known about her mother and her father. The way they fell in love and their wedding and her as a baby and how scared he had been to be a father. He messed up a lot of things when Layla died but she was still here and so was he and that was enough to try and make a better future. She warned him about getting a good accountant just to make sure there was no funny business with their accounts
Natsu was gone for three days when he returned to the guild many people noticed something was different with the dragon slayer. Natsu was calm and that was something that usually never happened, even when he failed at finding his father when he took off on his many trips to find him.
Natsu always returned happily kicking open the door and calling out his greetings. This time he opened the door and walked in, calling out a greeting softly and with a soft smile before going to the bar where Bisca was on duty for the day. Happy flew to him happily asking him why he left and where he had gone but Natsu seemed sad when Happy reminded him that he went away.
"What's the matter Natsu? Did you go looking for Igneel again?" asked Happy, munching on a fish and Natsu just shook his head.
"I found some answers Happy." He replied and he ordered some food and sat and ate quietly.
Master was worried because he never saw Natsu act like this before. To him the change in behavior had come out of nowhere and he didn't know what was happening to his child. The truth was that Natsu felt weird because Lucy's scent wasn't in the guild.
She hadn't been living here yet so her scent wasn't anywhere here and he felt weird without her. He had known Lucy for so long that not having her scent around him was strange. When he left for a year he took several of her scarfs with him so that he would have a piece of her and he already missed her.
To everyone else it might not have happened but to him he was fighting a war less than a week ago. He had heard her heart slow down. She had been practically dead and he was forced to admit that in those moments he had been powerless. Natsu could have lost her, forever and he really didn't want to be here right now. He wanted to be next to Lucy ensuring that she is alive, to hear her heart beat.
Everyone who knew Natsu knew that he wasn't good when it came long term strategy sessions so having him here at the guild without Lucy was a very bad idea. He didn't want to mess anything up. He knew that Lucy had a point when she said that too many people knowing would change too many things. They wanted to keep their changes to as little as possible but anything they did would cause ripples so they couldn't ensure anything would happen the way they remembered it.
Natsu looked up and saw Ezra and Mira arguing and he smiled for a moment. After Lisanna died their rivalry died as well but the truth was that Mira pushed Ezra just as much Ezra pushed Mira. Many of their spars had Ezra or Mira learning new things and getting more powerful. When Mira retired there was no one around who could give Ezra a real fight and she stopped pushing herself as hard as she did now. If Mira never retired then her rivalry with Ezra would survive and the two of them would probably get a whole lot more training done because they were so determined to beat each other.
Lisanna was powerful as well but two years in Edolas and she missed out on so much. Elfman on the other hand he was always a little timid. After Lisanna died he wanted to step up and protect his family but he was very careful when it came to using his magical power. He only attempted another beast soul takeover during the Phantom Lord drama two years later. Mira and Elfman had been afraid to use their powers and Lisanna couldn't use her takeover magic in Edolas putting her out of the game for two years.
He saw Gray sitting in a booth alone. The ice mage usually worked solo or with Loke or Ezra or whoever asked really but since Loke never joined the guild he assumed that the man was probably lonely. He thought that maybe when Lucy joined back up they could reform Team Natsu a little earlier.
He could annoy the ice mage into a couple more fights more often forcing him to train a little harder. If he really thought about it, this was two years in the past. Gray needed a good kick in the ass to get back up to the right level. He didn't have his devil slayer magic yet but his ice make magic was second to none before he got that from his father.
Gray was probably the best friend that he had even though the two of them fought so much. The fact was that he would trust the ice mage with his life but they didn't have that relationship yet. It made him kind of sad to realize that he never really reached out to Gray. He was always sort of quiet and preferred his own company but that was only because he felt guilty about what happened to his mentor. Natsu was just too wrapped up in his own drama to realize that back then.
Natsu had forgotten that even though the guild meant so much to him things had been different before Lucy came to Fairy Tail. The team that they formed kind of had them facing off against everyone's past at one point and overcoming their past. Natsu had always spent most of his time going on missions to get stronger or looking for his father. He had never really spent time in the guild, with his friends and really bonding with them. That only started happening when he met Lucy.
When he met Lucy finding Igneel wasn't so important anymore. He still went off looking for him but taking care of Lucy had been his priority. That was when he slowly calmed down and formed his own team, strengthening the relationships that they shared.
He actually started living in the moment instead of searching for someone from his past. Igneel was always at the back of his mind but the raging desire to find his father and demand answers about the past weren't so important anymore.
It still meant a lot but he also learned that there was more to life than searching for answers of the past. He finally started to live in Fairy Tail with his family and build a future with the people in his present instead of wondering about the past.
He noticed Laxus and his team sitting up in the S-class lounge and remembered that the lightening dragon slayer still needed a good kick in the ass. The last time Laxus understood the meaning of family and strength and what it truly meant to be a Fairy Tail mage was after he had been expelled. Tough love from his grandfather after he went a little bit insane, actually his team had their own issues as well.
Evergreen had that silly grudge about the name Titania and being the most powerful woman wizard in the guild. Freed and Bickslow just kind of followed Laxus but Natsu had a feeling that Lucy wasn't going to stand for their attitude not after getting to know them when they finally pulled their heads outta their asses. They were gonna have to deal with him and he had no idea how to do that since this was Laxus they were talking about. He was no where the near the level that he had been on in the future but still- Natsu was talking about Laxus here.
If Laxus did manage to pull his head out of his ass early he wondered whether or not it would be a good idea to introduce him to Wendy. Laxus was much older than the other dragon slayers and he managed to master his magic without a dragon to teach him. Wendy ended up mastering dragon force but when she had first come to the guild she was very quiet and unsure of her abilities. It might be a good idea for him to train her a little bit especially since Wendy never had anyone to actually teach her offensive magic. She learned from watching him.
Lighting and air magic did complement each other and it would probably teach Laxus a few lessons about being a role model. If it came down to it he would teach her as well. Natsu didn't mind but he had a feeling that Laxus and Wendy would have a lot to learn from each other. Natsu would teach her how to fight but Laxus could teach her so much more and he was sure of that if only he wasn't such a jerk. He would probably make her cry currently.
While he thought of Wendy he also remembered Mystogan and he wondered whether or not the man would want to stay in the guild. They could always go to Edolas and deal with the king like they did the last time and he was sure that if they planned everything better. Then they could probably find someone better to be the King or Queen of the place.
Mystogan only stayed in Edolas because it needed him but he had spent most of his life in Earthland and as a guild member. He hadn't wanted to be King but they kind of ran out options in the end. He seemed happy but he wondered what choice he would make if he had more time to think about it.
Natsu was sure that Lucy could find a way to ensure that he came back with them if he chose too. He felt like Mystogan deserved to choose how to live his life without the pressure of an entire kingdom on his shoulder and if he chose to leave then they would give him the farewell ceremony.
Thinking about Mystogan also led him to thinking about Jellal and the fact that it was kind of his fault that they lost the Etherion cannon. He also killed a lot of people in the council and he made Ezra cry before nearly killing himself, getting rid of the possession, getting amnesia, going to jail and then becoming some sort of vigilante.
Thinking about Jellal made his head hurt because the fact was that everything that he did was just so crazy and confusing. His plan was way too detailed for him to understand and in the end he only kicked the crap out of him because he made Ezra cry.
He thought that maybe they should just destroy the island before he tries to kidnap Ezra. He would run the idea past Lucy if they found a way to undo the possession then maybe they could give Ezra her friend back and gain another powerful ally without making him a criminal.
He thought about Ultear for a moment remembering her as being part of the guild that Jellal created but in the end he largely decided to ignore her interference. He knew that she faced Gray on Tenrou Island and got some sort of reality check but he wasn't really sure what happened mostly because she was not his opponent.
He supposed the best thing to do there was to leave her to Gray. She was his teachers daughter or something like that. It was a family issue as far as he was concerned and she was too large of a piece. They couldn't tangle with Ultear without taking on her guild and no one was ready for that.
"Are you alright Natsu?" asked Lisanna and Natsu was pulled out of his thoughts and smiled at her.
She seemed so much younger than the person he remembered but then again she was only sixteen years old. The last time he saw her she had been nearly twenty. He actually didn't know what happened to Lisanna during the war. He lost sight of her some time during the second wave and he didn't even know if she had still been alive when he was facing Zeref.
He smiled at her, relaxing a little in her presence, "Yeah I am, sorry for just leaving Happy with you without any notice."
Lisanna narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. He was still sort of distant he relaxed a little bit in her presence but there was still something off about his behavior.
"You know Happy is always welcome with us Natsu but where did you go? Did you get another lead on your father?"
Natsu didn't want to lie to anyone but at the same time he didn't really know what else to say. He also noticed at everyone was looking at him, waiting for some sort of answer. He sighed, now he understood what Lucy meant when she used to say that the guild was nosey. No one could keep any type of secret.
"I found some answers Lisanna. I'll be going away for a couple of weeks while I sort some stuff out."
Natsu knew he was being vague but the truth was that he would be going away for a few weeks. He saw a couple jobs near Clover Town where Mira would take the S-class mission. He decided to take those jobs and that he was going to be as careful as humanly possible so that he got the whole reward so that he could sort out his house.
He already knew what he wanted and this time Lucy wasn't going to get the chance to make excuses and act oblivious. Then again he hadn't figured it out until after Lisanna returned from Edolas and realized that the feelings he had for her and the ones that he had for Lucy were very different things. This time there was going to be no mistakes or misunderstandings, they had lost more than enough time.
"Hey Happy, I got a few jobs for us buddy, we better get packing." He called out as he left the guild.
Lisanna watched him leave confused at the sudden change in behavior. She assumed it was because of whatever news that he had gotten from wherever he disappeared too. She hoped that everything was going to be alright.
Master knew that he had taken three jobs. All near the same areas so he would probably be gone for 10-12 days at the most. They were mostly easy things, like taking out a couple of bandits and tracking some missing people so he wouldn't take long to complete the missions. He just hoped that he would limit the damages but then again seeing the condition that he was in he worried for his child. Whatever happened to him seemed to have caused him pain and no one had seen Natsu like this before. He was usually always happy and energetic.
"Do you think he's alright Master?" asked Ezra and he honestly didn't know what to say.
"I'm sure he just needs some time and he'll be back to his normal self in no time." He replied and prayed that it was true. Although he wasn't sure if Ezra had heard him or not since she was currently brawling with Mira again. He sighed, his brats were a handful.
Lucy needed to be in Clover Town in three days. She had spent a lot of time with her father she had also been preparing for her trip to Fairy Tail with Natsu. She hoped that she would be able to rent her apartment again.
"Lucy I know you need to meet up with Natsu but before the two of you journey to the guild I would like you both to come back here. At least two days and then you both can leave on your adventure."
Lucy didn't know why her father was asking for them both to return but it wouldn't make much of a difference. She supposed it wouldn't be too much of an issue to return home and say her proper goodbyes. She already had plans to visit him since their relationship was so much better now.
Her father gifted her a new outfit just before she could leave. It was a dress in a dark blue colour with a turtle neck design with no sleeves. When she put it on she noticed the five pointed star pattern on her belly and the high slits on the sides of the dress, going all the way up to her hips. She had black leather skinny leg pants underneath it and sleek black combat boots.
She fixed her hair in her signature hairstyle, grabbed her keys and attached them to her hip where he had a special pocket just for them and then he handed her a silver bracelet. There was an odd diamond in the middle and Lucy could feel faint traces of magic on the bracelet. She picked it up curiously and raised an eyebrow at him and he smiled.
"I remembered you telling me about your choice of weapon. You got the whip because it was the only thing you could afford at the time but you grew to be very good at using it. A whip is good for long distance fighting and if you cannot call your spirits and someone gets in close then you need another weapon. I had this enchanted and made from the remains of a magic scepter."
He took the bracelet out of the case and wrapped it around her wrist. He pointed to the stone, "Send a pulse of your magic into the stone."
Lucy did as he instructed and sent a pulse of magic onto the bracelet in a similar manor as to when she would brush against her keys.
She was shocked when the bracelet unwrapped itself and grew into a wicked silver whip with a diamond at the tip for even more damage. She gave it a few tosses to get used to the weight and she absolutely loved it. Jude smiled at the joy in her eyes. He finally got it right, finally managed to get her something she obviously adored.
"Send another pulse of magic when you flick the whip and this time think of a staff." He said shocking her out of her mini practice session. Lucy raised an eyebrow in his direction and then did as she was told. The whip elongated into a staff roughly as tall as her shoulders with the diamond much larger than before sitting on the top.
"If you practice you will be able to shoot magic blasts out of the diamond. Be careful doing that will drain your magic quickly. I was told its similar to light magic and there is one more thing I can do. Send another magic pulse into the staff and this time break it in half."
Lucy was left holding a pair of escrima sticks in her hands and he chucked, "Just in case you're somewhere where the staff is too long you can break it half and use it. It only has those three types of weapons but I thought it would serve you well. You said you wanted learn to fight better but didn't want knives or swords so I got the next best thing."
Lucy absolutely adored her new weapons and hugged her father tightly before setting off to meet Natsu.
"One last piece of advice Lucy, learn requip magic. It doesn't have to be on a large scale but enough to put your keys in a dimension only you can access and call them to you if someone steals it. It was something your mother once told me that she wished she had done as it would have made her life easier when she had been mage. She never really had the chance to learn before we retired."
She flashed her Heartfilia signet ring to the train conductor and he let her on without a ticket. One of the perks of owning the train station was that she got free rides. She mulled over what her said and she felt a little foolish that she never tried to do something like learning requip magic. Then again she never trained her magic much until it was far too late but she decided that she would look into it.
As she stared out the window she realized how late it had gotten. She would worry more later but for now she settled in and waited to arrive in Clover Town to finally see Natsu again.