Chapter 16: Back at the Guildhall

Spetto was able to secure Lucy some packed meals as well as a carriage so that she and the others can head back to Magnolia quickly. However, the dragon slayers weren't thrilled.

Laxus excused himself by telling the group that he wanted to travel back to Magnolia through his lightning magic. There was no way in hell he would let Lucy, let alone Natsu, see him in a sorry state. Being a second-generation dragon slayer apparently didn't exempt him from experiencing motion sickness.

Enraged, Natsu told him that he was being unfair and went on and on about wanting to see him puke his guts out. He was interrupted when Lucy finally thwacked his head with her knapsack and told him to shut up.

It was already nighttime when they finally made it to the guildhall. As Lucy stepped inside, she immediately noticed Laxus across the room. Apparently, he had arrived first, and he was now conversing with a few guild members she had never seen before: there was a tall man with broad shoulders and a slightly muscular frame. He was dressed in a way that was slightly reminiscent of a knight's armor. Beside him was another man with long, green hair who wore a dark red double-breasted knee-length coat.

Dangling on Laxus' arm was a tall, curvy woman with eyeglasses. She had light brown hair and wore a green dress. She was laughing at something that Laxus said, giving Lucy a strange and uncomfortable feeling at the pit of her stomach.

But that feeling was interrupted when she suddenly received a hug from Levy.

"Lu-chan, I didn't see you this morning," the blue-haired mage said when she finally pulled away. "Are you feeling okay?"

Lucy forced smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine, Levy-chan," she told her. "How's everything here?"

"Same as usual," Levy said, rolling her eyes. "We got to hang out with Gajeel and Juvia earlier. They have so many interesting stories!"

"Er, that's good, Levy-chan." Lucy was relieved to know that Gajeel and Juvia were being received with open arms by the rest of her guildmates.

"Oi, Levy," Natsu said loudly, "is gramps around? We kinda need to talk to him before Mira closes guild." He was swaying slightly, still dizzy from the trip.

Levy nodded. "Um, yeah," she replied. "He's in his office, I think." She pointedly looked at Lucy. "Is everything alright?" she asked cautiously.

"We have information about Raven Tail," Happy was quick to answer, causing the petite mage to gasp.

"Yeah! We gotta seem gramps now and—ugh!" Unable to contain his nausea, Natsu ran out of the door and started puking outside. Happy followed suit.

"Hmm, I think I should ask Mira-san to fix him something to feel better," Levy said thoughtfully. "Do you want anything, Lu-chan?" she asked the blonde mage.

"I'm good," Lucy replied, shaking her head. "Thanks, Levy-chan."

Levy smiled and walked away towards the bar. Lucy then turned her attention back to Laxus, who appeared to have already noticed her presence. He seemed pleased to see her, and he was now walking in her direction. Lucy couldn't help but notice that the three people whom he had been talking to earlier were following him.

"Lucy," Laxus said, "I already filled Jiji in about what happened. He wants to see us in his office." Then, he frowned. "Where's Natsu?" he asked.

"He's outside, barfing," Lucy answered.

Laxus nodded. "Anyway, you haven't met the Thunder Legion," he told her, gesturing to the three people behind him. "That's Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow. They're with Fairy Tail."

"It's nice to meet all of you," Lucy said with a smile. She remembered Laxus telling her about Freed when they were locked up in Raven Tail's hideout. But Evergreen and Bickslow were never mentioned.

For some reason, the Thunder Legion didn't look friendly at all. On the contrary, they appeared to be aloof. They just nodded at her.

In truth, Laxus had ordered the Thunder Legion to behave and not say anything. Upon his arrival in the guildhall, they had told him that they went around asking who Lucy was, which irritated him.

To change the subject, he had informed them about what happened with Raven Tail and that Lucy's father had been kidnapped. Like always, they were very supportive and had told him that they were going to help out. Much to his dismay, however, they switched the subject back to Lucy again and asked if they were already together. Some friends they were.

But he and Lucy had not made any kind of official agreement regarding being together. Sure, they had kissed and made out a few times, but he didn't want to make the same mistake of assuming that he had won her over.

After this dilemma about Raven Tail, he did plan to formally ask her out again. Hopefully, she wouldn't turn him down as she did back at her place. He knew she had her own personal issues that she needed to solve on her own, but he was willing to wait and work things out with her.

"Ugh, that was so bad," Natsu's voice interrupted Laxus' thoughts. The pink-haired boy was scrambling back into the guildhall, looking pale.

"Natsu, are you okay?" Lucy asked. "I'm telling you. Your motion sickness is becoming worse and worse."

Laxus cleared his throat. "Good. We're all here. Let's go upstairs."


Makarov paced around his office, muttering incomprehensible words. He would look at Laxus every now and then, and his grandson would return the glare. Apparently, the had kids disobeyed his order about leaving the Raven Tail case to him and the Magic Council, and they had gone off to do their own investigation.

Nevertheless, he knew he couldn't stay mad since Lucy, the newest member of Fairy Tail, had already apologized and said that she only wanted to help out. And because of her insubordination, he learned that Ivan had returned to his old hideout, knowing they would take his threat about killing Lucy's father seriously. One wrong move and he would end the man's life.

That insolent brat. He knew his son was cunning and would go to great lengths to get what he wants, even if that meant hurting others in the process. Sometimes, he blamed himself for not being able to raise him better. Just like Laxus, Ivan's mother died too soon, leaving him in the care of someone who would put more effort into the guild than his own biological family.

Makarov had tried to make amends by raising his grandson, but that didn't really end well, either. He knew he had made so many mistakes, but he couldn't afford to dwell on them because he needed to be strong for the guild. As the Guild Master, he had a sworn duty to protect and guide them.

"Alright, listen up," Makarov finally said, eyeing Laxus, the Thunder Legion, Natsu, and Lucy who were present in his office. "The Magic Council is already on the Raven Tail case. They will be working with us in capturing Ivan and his followers once and for all."

Before Natsu could say anything, Makarov held up his hand to silence him. "Except for Laxus and the Thunder Legion, the two of you—" he nodded at the fire and celestial mage, "—should stay put until we find Raven Tail. Do we understand each other?"

Lucy was about to protest, but Makarov's hard expression caused her to freeze. She wanted to be part of the case since it involved her father. But maybe the Guild Master thought she would just be in the way, especially after that fiasco of capturing Raven Tail during their initial quest.

Makarov sighed. "Lucy, I can understand that this also involves your father," he said in a gentler voice. "But if you leave this case to us, I can assure you that we can get him back safe and sound."

"Gramps, c'mon," Natsu began, flailing his arms in the air. "Why can't I tag along? I wanna beat those Raven Tail scumbags up so bad!"

"Natsu," Makarov growled, "I will only say this one more time. No one else will get involved with this case. Do you honestly want Lucy's father to get hurt?"

"Well, no…" he said hesitantly, his shoulders slumping. He looked at Lucy apologetically.

"Then I want you to put your faith in me," Makarov said. He then nodded at the clock. "It's already late, kids. I'd like you to all go home and rest. And I'd like for Laxus and the Thunder Legion to be in my office first thing tomorrow morning. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," all the attendees responded in unison.

"Everyone is dismissed."


As Lucy was heading toward Strawberry Street, Natsu and Happy were walking alongside her, trying to cheer up. They kept on saying that Makarov would be able to take care of everything and that nothing bad would happen to her father.

But what truly bothered the celestial mage was that, despite her desire to save her father, she was infuriated at him for causing such shambles by affiliating with a dark guild. While a part of her was concerned about his safety at the moment, another part of her believed he deserved his fate for everything he had done. He had let his greed and selfishness get the best of him.

Was she a horrible person for thinking that way? That may be so, she thought, but she didn't care. She was so exhausted at the moment that all she wanted was to go to sleep and hope this was all a dream.

When Lucy was finally at the main door of her apartment, a wave of relief filled her whole being. She badly needed to take a hot bath before going to bed, though; that would surely ease her tensions and give her a good night's sleep.

"Thanks for walking me home, you two," Lucy said, giving Natsu and Happy a brief hug. "I really appreciate it more than you know."

"Ya weirdo," Natsu said when she pulled away. "No need to thank us. We're your nakama, remember? That's what we do."

Lucy smiled. "Well, good night."

She was about to turn around and open the door when she heard Happy whispered to Natsu, "Go on, ask her!"

"Ask me about what?" Lucy inquired, curious. She couldn't help but notice that the fire mage seemed to be at a loss for words, which was odd. He would usually just speak out his mind without a care in the world.

"Well?" she prompted.

It was at the tip of his tongue, but Natsu just couldn't bring himself to ask his nakama whether something was going on between her and Laxus.

He had first noticed some tension between those two during their initial search for Raven Tail. He didn't want to make a big deal about it, but it was just his gut instinct telling him that something was off. It didn't help that he would always hear Lucy's unsteady heartbeat whenever Laxus was near her. And the way she would look at the lightning mage...

Natsu wouldn't usually notice things like that with anyone. But when it came to Lucy, he was always observant. He had no idea why. He felt it was his responsibility to keep her happy and safe. It was probably because he was the one who had brought her to Fairy Tail.

He finally took a deep breath and blurted out, "Is there something going on between you and Laxus?"

Lucy stared at him. "It's… complicated," she replied.

Somehow, it was. She and Laxus practically hated each other when they first met. Back then, he couldn't accept her as a guildmate and would always undermine her and her abilities. That really got to her, but it only pushed her to work hard so she could prove to him that she wasn't weak. Eventually, that obsession consumed her and made her insecure.

But after a while, Laxus had a change of heart and apologized to her. He admitted his wrongdoings and even pursued her for her trust and affections. It was confusing for her at first, and she couldn't return his feelings because she was still so overwhelmed with her insecurities.

The only thing that they had in common was having crappy fathers. Yes, it was something that they could relate to. To a certain extent, they could find comfort in each other's arms. And, of course, there was that strong, physical attraction that she had with him that she hadn't felt with anyone else.

In a way, Lucy hated Laxus because he could easily trigger her insecurities without effort. But somehow, she also cared about him, not just because he was a guildmate or her nakama. It was something more than that.

Right now, Natsu was studying her, confused and worried. "He's not hurtin' you or anything, right?" he asked.

"No, of course not," Lucy replied. "There's nothing to worry about it. I promise. But thanks for your concern."

Natsu didn't seem convinced, but he nodded his head. "Okay," he said.

After a long pause, Lucy finally spoke, "Good night, Natsu."

"Night, Luce."