AN: A reviewer said that in the fight with Lucy vs. Gajeel, I under sold her since she should be a lot stronger than Gajeel at this time. I re did the fight. I need Lucy to end up pinned to the tree for plot purposes but I changed the fight. I hope its better now.

Chapter 12

A month after their first sparring session Natsu managed to reform Team Natsu. He would have managed to do it sooner if Erza hadn't gone on an S-class mission. He gave her some time to heal since she had some bandages on her when she returned. Then he finally got the chance to ask if they could join her on a couple missions.

They were once again called the strongest team in Fairy Tail. Once Gray agreed to try going on missions with them, Lucy couldn't help but laugh, two dragon slayers (when Wendy joined them), an S-class mage, an ice mage and a stellar mage made a powerful force to be reckoned with however Lucy was just glad that she had her team back.

The guild wasn't the same, but then again the main reason for that was because she was different this time. She wasn't a stranger to all of them. She was Natsu's wife and technically a mother. No one interacted with her the same way they did the first time that they had met. Lucy understood it. The different ways people treated her but they were also different.

Mystogan and Siegrain were around a lot more and they seemed to have a little bromance going on with Laxus. The Thunder God tribe was already orbiting around the Strauss siblings even though it was obvious that their friendship was still very new.

Bisca and Alzack seemed to be more aware of each other. They were not comfortable in their relationship the way they had been when they returned from Tenrou Island. It was more like they were still finding their feet in their new type of relationship. While everyone else seemed to be comfortable with the changes in their guild mates.

Lucy had already befriended Levy and the two girls could often be found in the guild gossiping and trading books. Lucy was even encouraging her to learn more powerful defensive magic. Wendy would often join them and Levy would give her different medical textbooks that she managed to find. Wendy learned that more she knew about how the body worked the easier it made it to heal with her magic.

Lucy was extremely proud of how far Wendy was coming with her magic. She was so much more powerful than she had been in the last timeline but it seemed like she was just more confident in her abilities. It helped that she understood what she was doing thanks to Natsu's careful training so she understood her capabilities.

After Team Natsu's first mission Lucy declared that Erza and Gray would join in the training sessions that Natsu held for her. Just because they were back didn't mean that she was going to stop training and then there was the fact that they destroyed the entire town.

There was no way she was going to wait for them to figure out how to work together. She remembered that conversation fondly. No one wanted more training after all the work that they had been putting in recently. Gray had thrown a little tantrum about the extra work Lucy wanted them to do and everyone had gotten a glimpse of evil Lucy.

"Why should I spend more time with flame brain?" shouted Gray.

Lucy glared at him so fiercely that he nearly wished he could melt into the pavement. He half wished that it was Erza he was facing because that woman was bloody scary when she wanted to be. At least he knew what Erza would do to him if he pissed her off. Lucy was an unknown.

"You will be attending because if we are going to be on a team together then you will get over this pettiness. Your fights might be amusing when we are in the guild but when on a job the two of you cannot coordinate with each other. We ended up ruining their farming fields. That means they probably won't be able to grow food and sell it which means that we just ruined their income for about six months and we have none of the reward and I have a child to feed."

Gray would never admit it but angry Lucy was not something that he ever wanted to see again. He rather have Erza on his case because she was merciless when it came to their mistakes and he felt about three inches tall when he realized what the damage they had caused would do to the town. He never really realized the effect of the damaged lands would have on the villages in the area.

"We have to be able to work together and I know you two can do it. You just want to act like a little kid but here's a newsflash for you, he grew up now its your turn."

Lucy turned to Erza and raised an eyebrow, "Will you join as well?"

Erza smiled at her and nodded her head, "It is a good idea. We cannot afford to keep getting in each other's way. We could end up hurting the civilians in the process."

Their first training session was nearly a train wreck but after a couple of days they found their rhythm. Gray would probably never admit it but the he and Natsu did work well together when they were focused on the enemy and not each other.

They still brawled but they were more responsible about where and when so that no one got caught up in it. Lucy realized that Gray had matured a bit since Natsu wasn't egging him on as much anymore

In the first time line Erza and Lucy had trouble connecting to each other. It wasn't either girls fault but they had been very different in the beginning. Erza had been protecting herself from her past and Jellal and everything that happened to her. Erza had made herself into a strong woman and a protector. One who never wanted to show any weakness and had a hard time letting people close to her heart. She struggled with her girly side and wasn't always comfortable around Lucy.

Lucy on the other hand had been very naïve. The opposite of Erza basically. Lucy was a girly girl who didn't know how to reach a woman of such strength and she didn't have much in common with her. They were friends there was no doubt about that but they hadn't had much time to get to know each other and connect as the only girls in the group. Eventually they built a strong friendship but it had taken time, a lot of time.

Lucy was determined to change that and since Erza wasn't carrying around so much guilt over the past she believed that it wouldn't be as hard as it had been in another lifetime. One afternoon after they sparred Erza explained her past to everyone. It was only new knowledge to Gray but it showed her trust and her faith in her team. It also helped everyone understand her now because Lucy doubted that they would be going back to the Tower of Heaven.

Erza explained about Jellal and how he had been possessed and then he ended up being saved. Gray found out that Siegrain had changed his name and left the past behind him. Erza also assumed that Mystogan was really his twin.

They would tell her about Edolas when Siegrain decided to do that-if he ever decided to tell her about it. Then team had a group hug and went back to training but when they were done, Lucy insisted that Erza accompany her when she went shopping.

Erza struggled with her girly side but slowly Lucy chipped away at her issues. She started slowly so she didn't overwhelm the other girl. She showed her little things like make up, manicures, hairstyles, new clothes, shoes and Lucy spoke to Erza about guys all the time. Lucy blushed ten shades of red when she asked about her sex life with Natsu but Lucy answered her questions.

Erza would also spar with her whenever they had time, showing her new ways to use her weapons and show her new moves that she could learn. They had a much more solid friendship than what they had in the previous time line.

Gray and Natsu were always as close as brothers even though they acted like rivals and this time around they were much more in synch. The only time they really fought in synch was during the Tartaros battle. Now they could read each well and even though they fought with each other they both knew that he would fight to protect Natsu and the family that he had created.

The fact that Natsu trusted him to protect Lucy and his daughter if something went wrong almost made the ice mage tear up even if he never admitted it. He had for a long time been alone and now he wasn't. He still couldn't believe that flame brain decided to get married and adopted the cutest kid on the planet. However Natsu trusted him to keep them safe if something happened.

Sometimes he would wonder how the hell he managed to find a new family especially after what happened the last time he sought to create a family. Then Lucy would smile at him warmly and feed him and he realized that this woman that Natsu found was his little sister now.

She managed to burrow a way into his heart and they were family. Gray knew he would die for his family. That blue haired little girl was his niece and he would kill anyone that tried to take her away. He would even protect Natsu, to ensure that he made it home at the end of the day because someone was waiting for him to come home.

They went on jobs, hung out at the guild, trained and ate at the Dragneel house. Gray and Erza often shared one of the guest rooms in the house since they stayed over a lot. They knew they could use both rooms but they didn't want to cause too much of a mess for Lucy to clean up.

The boys had spent their childhood together and Gray didn't mind sharing with her. They shared one room with Erza on the bed and Gray on a sleeping bag on the floor. They contributed to the food money that Lucy spent every month since they spent more time in this house than in their own places.

Four months after Lucy had joined the guild Erza woke up earlier than Lucy. She opened the windows to let the morning air when she noticed that there was a package outside her home. She carried it inside and placed it on the kitchen counter waiting for Lucy to wake up while she did some exercise.

Once Lucy was awake she noticed the package and raised a questioning eyebrow at the red haired woman. She simply shrugged and said that she found it outside the house. There was an envelope underneath the package.

Natsu plucked it out of her hands and read it out loud.

Lucy & Natsu

Keep the package safe.

I'll be in Magnolia soon to pick it up.

Stay safe.

Yours

Papa

Gray raised an eyebrow at her and questioned, "Papa?"

Lucy simply shrugged, "My father sent us something to protect. Why?"

She tore open the paper and found what looked like a jewelry box. It wasn't very big and it looked similar to a music box. The box wasn't even heavy and it was locked.

Lucy slapped Natsu's wrist when he moved to try and do something stupid like burn the lock off. She took the box away and put it inside her bedroom. She stared at the wooden box for a moment wondering if she should just let Natsu open it.

She bit her lip and shook her head. Her father told her to protect it. If she opened the box and found something fragile it would end up broken by the end of the day. She put the box in the closet with the rest of the boxes that she had in there, hiding it in plain sight. Her father would come and take it off her hands soon. She could always ask what was inside then.

"Do you know why he sent that to you?" asked Erza and Lucy shook her head.

"He said he'll be by soon to pick it up so I'll wait and ask when he gets back. So no Natsu we are not going to force it open. We might damage something inside. He might have thought someone would steal it. There had been some maids that stole stuff from the house."

Gray narrowed his eyes in confusion, "Maids?"

Lucy shrugged once more, "Before I married Natsu, my name was Heartfilia. As in the heiress to the Heartfilia Konzern. I still technically am the heiress but papa doesn't need me to run the business. It will probably be passed to one of my children if they want it or I'll sell it."

That sparked the whole conversation about why she gave up the life of an heiress for the life of a mage. There were also questions on how she met Natsu if her were an heiress. Gray even asked her about her father and if he allowed them to leave. Lucy explained that it was his idea for them to get married and they agreed.

They had to go on to explain that they actually did want to get married but they hadn't been expecting it to happen so soon. Lucy explained her mothers passing, her father and their issues but that it eventually got better between them. Honestly, they spent the whole morning bonding over her past.

"Could it be something dangerous Lucy?" asked Erza when they had the full story and they finally started discussing the package again.

Lucy shook her head, "I highly doubt that. Its probably something valuable. My father isn't a mage so he wouldn't have any dangerous magical artifacts and he would tell me if he was sending something dangerous to me. He knows I have Wendy to think about. He wouldn't put his granddaughter in danger."

Three days later they actually forgot about the box. They had gone with Erza as her backup on one of her S-class missions and when they returned the guild was as lively as ever. Mira had recently started to take on more bar-maid duties. She preferred to only go on S-class missions every couple of weeks instead of going with her siblings on every request.

It seemed that no matter what happened Mira was destined to become the head bar maid even if she wasn't afraid to punch people in the face this time. Elfman and Lisanna were doing well without Mira to fall back on. They wanted more experience without her as a crutch and she was tired of going out all the time. It seemed like after all the time she had spent fighting she didn't mind only going on missions that paid well now and then giving her some down time.

A week after they had forgotten about the package, Team Natsu had been hanging out at the guild. Mystogan and Siegrain had left a couple days before they returned on a job. Wendy had been sad that she missed both of them while Lucy and Erza were discussing the job that they had just returned from when Natsu turned sharply and narrowed his eyes at the door.

"Lucy." The blonde woman turned sharply towards his urgent tone of voice.

She was about to question her husband on the urgency of the situation when the doors were thrown open. A blonde man wearing a torn suit, stained with blood fell through the doors silencing the guild. The man was a stranger to most of them they were so shocked none of them moved but Lucy did.

"Papa." She cried out and raced towards the fallen man with tears in her eyes.

Master Makarov immediately stood no trace of humor on his face or in his eyes. The stern expression deeply contrasted with the jesters outfit he was wearing. Lucy's team immediately tensed for battle while Mira and Laxus suddenly grew very focused searching for any hint of a threat. Lucy turned the man she claimed to be her father onto his back. Wendy moved next, crying for her grandfather as she skidded on the floors of the guild in her haste to heal him.

"Mama, the blood loss, I can't heal it." She whispered.

Lucy looked at the young girl with unseeing eyes. She was too lost in the horror in her own head to process anything. Natsu took hold of her shoulders and pulled her towards his chest and away from his unconscious form, trying to get her to snap back to reality.

"We'll take him to the hospital. You did all you can Wendy. The blood loss can be dealt with in a hospital. Luce, you gotta let him go darlin'."

"Natsu." She whispered but the young woman looked lost and afraid and she didn't know what to do.

Jude grabbed his daughters hand and pulled her down roughly, "He'll come for the box. Don't give it to him. Don't let him get away with it."

Lucy was shocked back to reality at his urgent tone of voice and she grabbed his hand back, "What's inside papa?"

Jude took a deep breath but he was struggling to maintain consciousness, "Evidence. Murderer." He whispered to her before falling unconscious again.

Lucy stared at her father confused but Master Makarov put a hand on her shoulder while Natsu and Laxus appeared next to her. At the sight of so many of her family, she knew that she had to let him go. Her father needed help and clinging to him like this wasn't helping anyone. Her family was here. They would protect her and they would help her find answers.

Levy stood just outside the guild and said, "Solid script: Gurney"

Laxus and Natsu carried the man to the gurney Levy created. They took him to the hospital while Lucy processed everything that just happened.

"Lucy what was he talking about?" asked Master Makarov and Erza was the one who answered.

They led Lucy to the bar and placed a milkshake in front of her while Erza told them about the package her father sent her almost a week ago.

"He was coming to pick it up." she whispered and Makarov stared at the young girl. There was something they were missing here.

Lucy seemed to sense what he was thinking and spoke again, explaining who her father was and he power that he held.

"I don't know what he's talking about though. He didn't say anything. We write but he doesn't talk much about his work. He sent me the box but he just told me to keep if safe until he came for it. I thought he believed the maids might steal it."

"Your father said that whatever he sent you was evidence probably in a murder investigation. The person he caught probably did that to him. It is possible they were trying to get evidence back. We'll keep a look out for him and your team can protect your home. The person that did this will eventually show themselves and then we will make them pay. We do not take attacks on our family lightly."

Natsu found Lucy in their bedroom while Erza went to the guest room since it was closer to the back door while Gray decided to sleep in the lounge. Happy decided to sleep in Wendy's room on her bed and far away from Carla. The white cat nearly gorged an eye out when he tried to snuggle up to her on her bed. He wanted to keep an extra eye on Wendy just in case someone tried sneaking in or breaking in they had all the exits and entrances covered.

"Luce you holding up okay?" he asked her and she shook her head.

"This never happened before. He was never attacked Natsu." She replied and he held her tightly to his chest as she cried.

"This isn't your fault Lucy. You didn't make him do anything."

"But Natsu I-" and that was far as she got because he covered her mouth with his hand and shook his head.

"You are not a God Lucy. Things will happen that we don't expect and it won't be your fault. People get hurt every day and that isn't your fault. As we change things with the best intentions in mind we cannot protect the people we love from life itself. Bad things happen and sometimes there's nothing we can do to stop it but we can make sure that we learn from it. We'll find whoever did this and then we'll make sure that they never do it again but that's all you can do."

Lucy sighed, "When did you get so smart?" she asked him as she calmed down and Natsu rolled his eyes at her as he replied, "I listened to you."

They shared a kiss which led to a pleasurable night for Lucy. The thought of checking the box had come to mind but at the same time she didn't want to look inside. It was possible that if she brought attention to the fact that she had it then it could be stolen.

It was also possible that they would destroy the evidence inside. Her father was not a stupid man. She remembered the safety precautions he had installed on her mothers jewelry box. If she tried to force it open they could compromise the evidence inside.

In the morning when the Team went to the guild and found it destroyed by iron poles. Lucy paled as she realized that somehow Phantom Lord decided to pick a fight about six months too soon and she had no idea why.

She and Natsu shared a look and he immediately pulled her aside, "Do you think this is about what my father sent me?" she asked him and Natsu shrugged.

"Jose was involved in some shady shit. When he was arrested it was a big thing but we didn't pay much attention to the details so its possible but I don't know." He replied.

Lucy bit her lip as she stared at the destroyed guild, "It could also be because Siegrain joined Fairy Tail. He is an ex-wizard saint. Jose attacked the last time because Fairy Tail was getting too powerful. People were talking about Laxus, Mystogan, Erza, Mira and even you, the Salamander. Maybe having another powerful wizard sent him over the edge."

Lucy watched as the master refused to start a guild war over something as trivial as a destroyed building. Since no one was inside it when they attacked he didn't really care. Makarov also had to wonder for a moment whether or not this attack was related to the one on Lucy's father. However without proof he didn't have much of a choice but to wait and see what the magic council would do.

Lucy on the other hand knew that the Master lived in the guild that meant that he was here the first time they attacked. He was here last night when Gajeel attacked as well. The fact that he wasn't going to attack or even stop the attack sent a much more powerful message.

Their attack was so pathetic that he hadn't even bothered to stop Gajeel and he could have done so. Makarov had been here instead he let them do whatever they wanted. She also believed that Jose knew that the master lived in the guild. The fact that he didn't attack back was probably the reason why he ended up sending Gajeel after Levy and her team. Jose was trying to force Makarov to take him seriously. It would work but it would also cause his downfall.

The building didn't make the guild. Makarov insisted that he didn't have a reason to accept such a poor invitation for a war. The respect that she held for the master grew. She knew that Laxus was probably here as well when it happened and the master held him back. The fact that Laxus was able to keep his temper over something like this was actually surprising to her. He was becoming the man that she had known years before his time.

She couldn't help but be proud of him for manning up and taking responsibility for his actions. She also couldn't wait for the absolute terror he would bring to Phantom once Makarov finally allowed Laxus off his leash. The only reason he wasn't moving was out of respect for the Master.

Lucy knew that this would escalate but for now Team Shadow Gear was out of town on a job. Gajeel wouldn't be able to attack Levy so for now her best friend was safe. Jose wouldn't just let it go. Lucy wasn't stupid enough to believe that just because Levy wasn't here now meant that this wouldn't escalate into a full blown war.

Someone would be attacked and once it happened Master Makarov would march. Natsu was already trying to keep an eye on everyone in the guild but so far nothing was happening. It was just a matter of time before something happened. They all knew it would get worse but no one knew what would happen. Lucy knew Natsu was frustrated because it didn't happen this way the first time. All they could was keep an eye out for Gajeel.

Lucy decided to go visit her father in the hospital while they waited for the other shoe to drop. Most of the guild members were already accounted for so she had no idea who he would attack or even when it would happen. There was no point in sitting around doing nothing.

Lucy stayed at the hospital until sunset and then she went and picked up some groceries so she could make dinner. Erza and Gray would probably stay as well. She knew that Happy and Carla were with Wendy, keeping an extra protective eye on the young mage. Natsu was at the guild probably making sure that everyone was there or that they got home safe.

As she passed Magnolia Park she heard something that made her blood run cold. Lucy dropped her groceries and ran. She heard Levy scream and she heard Droy call out some sort of attack and a very familiar laugh that sent shivers down her spine.

Lucy looked down the tiny hill not far from the tree that they had to pry Levy off so long ago. Lucy saw her best friend and her team fighting with everything that they had and then some. She winced when she noticed that nothing seemed to hit him.

Lucy noticed Levy's bags strewn about the top of the hill. Levy probably went tumbling down when he attacked her. They were headed back home to the guild when Gajeel caught them unaware. Levy hadn't even known about the attack. Lucy felt her jaw clench in anger. She owed Gajeel a punch in the teeth for beating her during the Phantom debacle the first time and for this mess.

She was not dressed for combat. Lucy was wearing jeans and a pink top with some black lace. She didn't like to flaunt her body so much anymore. She didn't like the attention she drew and she hated the fact that no one took her seriously when she dressed like that.

Lucy didn't have the time to care about her clothes getting ruined. There was no way in hell that she was going to pry her best friend off a bloody tree ever again. She requipped the Libra key to her hand and opened her gate by merely calling the spirits name.

Her spirits gravity magic trapped him place and stopped his advance on Levy and her team. The force of gravity created a crater in the ground. Lucy could hear Gajeel cursing and tried not to grin. She kept sending him crashing into the dirt every time he tried to force his way out of Libra's gravity spell. Lucy flew down and took a protective stance in front of her friend.

"Levy return to the guild. Tell the master that Phantom attacked you. Tell him that one of the S-class wizards in Phantom uses airspace magic to steal magic and that he can hide his presence in the air space and send Natsu to me."

Levy started to protest when Gajeel started moving and Libra increased her power to keep him place and Lucy turned and hissed at her, "He is a dragon slayer Levy. We can't beat him but you have information and you're injured and I can keep him busy. Go now."

Levy hated what she was about to do. She didn't want to do it but with tears in her eyes she turned and ran with Jet and Droy hot on her heels. She didn't look back. Levy didn't think she could bare seeing Lucy standing there over that monster all by herself. She was determined to get to Natsu because he would kill the other dragon slayer for touching his precious wife.

Gajeel sneered at the blonde woman with the pink mark on her hand. He smirked a celestial mage was useless without their keys. Before he could try and take her keys or even try to figure out where she was hiding them since she wasn't wearing them in plain sight, she called out something.

"Star dress Sagittarius."

Lucy powered her arrow with Loke's power and she felt immense satisfaction when she managed to break his iron scales with her arrows when they hit his arms. Gajeel narrowed his eyes at the new Fairy. She managed to break his scales and that was something the little blue haired girl couldn't do. At the same time she wanted to keep distance between them.

The fact that she chose a long distance fighter was proof of that. She knew that he was stronger and she didn't want to fight him in close quarters, knowing that he would probably snap her bones in half. She had magic power, he could feel it. However he was bigger and stronger physically. If she exhausted her magic too quickly he would break her bones if he managed to hit her.

Gajeel growled when she shot two arrows at his knees with lightning speed. He realized that he underestimated the woman. The speed at which she was firing those arrows were doing more damage than he anticipated. He used his breath attack to make her get rid of that bow and arrow because those things hurt like bitches.

Lucy saw the breath attack coming and she jumped over it. The bow disappeared in a flash of light and she called her whip to her hand. She managed to flick her whip at him a couple of times. He cursed out loud when the diamond at the end of the whip, encased in light ripped his iron scales apart.

Gajeel was even more shocked when he realized that the diamond ripped into his skin underneath his scales. He was already bleeding shallowly and it fucking hurt every time she managed to land a hit on him. He responded by hitting her in the stomach with his iron club. She coughed up blood.

Lucy gasped in pain and cursed herself. She had been trying to plan her attack and didn't see the club coming. Lucy lost her concentration and fell out of the sky. She rolled through the grass and coughed up some blood. She hadn't been wearing any protective gear. That punch knocked the wind out of her.

He laughed at and sent the club at her again. Lucy tapped into the Cancer stardress and used the knives to intercept the iron club. Lucy managed to catch her pole before it hit her body but Gajeel could extend the bloody pole.

Once he hit her knives he continued to extend the beam, driving her downwards and backwards. Lucy felt the skin on her back peel off as she went sliding in the dirt. She groaned out in pain. Those fucking iron rods hurt more than she remembered.

When he beat her in Phantom he had been bored and posturing to the others in the guild. He didn't use magic on her. He just roughed her up by tossing her around. Most of the bruises came from crashing into the walls and floors. She could remember being hit by the club once and then hitting a wall before Natsu showed up.

Now she was sure he broke a rib and she had to blink the dark spots out of her eyes. She was not going to down after one hit and eating some dirt. Not after all the training that she had done. A fairy always gets up that was Natsu's mantra. He said it every time he convinced her to get back on the beam and face him again and again. Lucy got back up and wiped the blood from her mouth.

She glared at him as he stood over her pining her to the ground with that club. Lucy dropped the knives which gave her a split second to wipe his feet out from under him. Gajeel saw the move coming and jumped backwards giving her enough room to move. At least he wasn't pining her to ground anymore.

He narrowed his eyes when she requipped two keys to her hands. Lucy opened the gates of Scorpio and Virgo and donned her star dress for Taurus. She needed his strength and then she went after him with her hands glowing with Loke's power.

Gajeel learned his lesson with her bow. He would never let her use it again but he recognized the power that was covering her hands. She grinned as he carefully took note of where she was standing. He was probably looking for the two spirits that she called out. She didn't give him time to find them. Lucy went after him throwing punches and kicks as fast as she could.

Virgo already dug several holes all over the place and then she returned to the spirit world. Scorpio provided cover with his sand distracting and confusing him before returning as well. She needed to limit his senses as much as she could but Gajeel was getting used to her fighting style.

"Guess your guild ain't all trash girlie you were fun to fight." He sneered at her before using his breath attack again and clearing away the sand.

Lucy drew her staff and cursed violently. She had been doing well against him once she limited her senses but he managed to keep up with her speed. She was going to switch between long distance attacks and close quarters.

However she couldn't keep in close quarters for too long. His physical strength greatly surpassed hers. He was beating her bloody with every hit he got in and there were many. She was taking too much damage in close quarters and he wasn't giving her the opportunity to create distance. He noticed that every time she managed to get some distance between them she pulled out a new trick.

Lucy's arms were sore. Her body was bruised and she was not getting anywhere fighting him. It was like hitting a brick wall even covered in Loke's power. She could feel her knuckles split from where she was punching him. She could feel her blood running down her hands and eventually he got sick and tired of her. He didn't even give her time to try and cast a more powerful spell. He tackled her and they both fell through one of Virgo's holes.

They rolled through the unstable ground. Virgo had created an uneven ground so that he would lose his balance but he didn't care. Gajeel was covered in his scales which protected him. Lucy didn't have any armor. Her plan was to send him flying through the craters, keeping him off guard and on unstable ground. However he never gave her the chance to put her plan into action.

Gajeel had picked up on the fact that she would need some distance to pull of her tricks. He kept the fight in close quarters and became frustrated with the fight. Even though she was taking more damage, Gajeel was still bleeding and bruised in several places. She even managed to bust his lip and nose.

He pulled her down into the craters with him. They rolled through the uneven ground, knowing that the holes had compromised the land. It was like fighting in a collapsing tunnel. Lucy called Aries and the spirit covered the place in wool before returning to the spirit world.

Lucy had been trying to limit the damage her body was taking. Dragon Slayers had tougher skin and they were harder to bruise but Lucy was just a normal human. Her bones were screaming as the iron dragon slayer slammed into her. She didn't know if the ground bruised her or the iron body of Gajeel who was still kicking and punching every chance he got. Lucy was trapped between collapsing tunnels and the iron body of Gajeel.

They both fought as they climbed out of the tunnels. They were biting and clawing at each other until they managed to get to more stable ground. The craters that Virgo had created weren't that big but they did destroy half the park.

Gajeel hit her with his breath attack again and she immediately spun her staff. It created a mini circle of fire that absorbed the impact of the breath attack but not completely. She was sent flying backwards when Gajeel moved, taking the opening. His breath attack and her shield obscured her vision for the few seconds it took for the attack to be absorbed. He was waiting behind her.

Before Lucy could even realized that Gajeel had moved he already sent a punishing round house kick to the back of her head. She probably got a concussion from the force of that kick.

Lucy staggered to her feet, trying to clear her vision when the pillar pierced her flesh. He had pinned her to the bloody tree. She felt her hand twitch with the need to smack that smug grin off his face.

"In the end, you couldn't stop me either. I'm still the strongest."

"Don't think this is over." Replied Lucy.

She was tired and those few words had taken the last of her strength. She could have kept going but then he impaled her to the tree. The amount of blood she was losing made her head spin even more than the concussion.

The pain was worse than anything she had ever felt. She couldn't keep her eyes open. Her head was pounding. She finally just passed out seeking the bliss of the darkness where she wouldn't feel the pain anymore with a smile on her face. Natsu was on his way. He would miss Gajeel but this would not go unanswered.

Levy ran for the guild, stumbling and confused at the state it was in. Levy, Jet and Droy didn't know why the guild was destroyed or when it happened or why but for now they ignored the damages to the guild.

Levy started calling for Natsu. He had to be able to hear her by now. She had been running so fast and hard she couldn't get enough air into her lungs to call for him before. Now at the steps of the guild she forced her lips to speak his name.

Natsu met her outside and his eyes widened at the state she was in. She huffed out that Phantom attacked. When she said Lucy's name Natsu was already moving towards the park uncaring of anything that anyone said. Levy didn't even get the chance to explain everything that happened but they heard all they needed too. The rest of the guild took off on his heels with the Master in the front.

Gajeel was gone by the time they arrived. The Master and the rest of the guild came to an abrupt stop at the sight of the park. They stared at the amount of destruction that surrounded them. Nothing had been spared. There were holes in the ground, craters from where someone had landed roughly, blood in some places but the tree was the only thing standing even though several others were in pieces.

"Lucy." Natsu whispered her name in horror.

The blonde woman opened her eyes when she heard him. Wendy neared them and Natsu could hear their daughter gasp. He immediately covered her eyes not wanting her to see Lucy like this but he had a feeling that she had managed to catch a glimpse of Lucy hanging there. She probably would never be able to forget it.

"Gave him a good trashing Natsu, broke his nose and tore his scales." She whispered and coughed up some blood, "He got a lucky shot."

Makarov stared at the blonde woman that he had only known for a few months. Lucy was so much more than just another new guild member. She was Natsu's wife. Erza and Gray had claimed her as a younger sister. She was a mother to another dragon slayer that she had brought to the guild. He didn't even want to think about what Mystogan and Siegrain would do when they heard about this. They all knew that they cared for the blonde woman as a sister.

He could feel his grandsons magic crackle. He could feel Erza's and Grays anger but Natsu's was so different. His anger was like a calm ocean. A fury he was barely restraining and when he let it out there would be nothing that survived his wrath for this.

Makarov took a deep breath and his cane shattered in his hand as he glowed with power, "They destroyed a building and I didn't care. However no parent will stay calm when faced with their child's blood. Gather your brothers and sisters. We march to Phantom. We march to war."