Lucy's POV
It has been a week since the Galuna incident, and since our team was punished by Master. Of course, neither Erza and I did nothing remotely wrong, but since we went as a team, Master felt it was right to punish all of us. The dreadful feeling from last week has yet to vanish. Moreover, it feels amplified. This sense of uneasiness is starting to weigh on me, but I do not know how to get rid of it. The feeling is starting to get in the way of my clear judgement, oftentimes finding myself paranoid with a simple matter.
To get my mind off it, I decided to take a solo mission. It paid around 10,000 jewels, and beat up some bandits in the next town. Only problem was that Erza and the boys decided to tag along. I love them, but sometimes I would kill for some alone time. The job was short and the town was in one piece, so we returned back early. I managed to put my feeling at ease, but it is still lurking.
"That job was awesome!" Natsu walks with a smile on his face. "And the town was intact," he cheers. He closes his eyes and puts his arms behind his head.
"You're just lucky I tagged along. If it hadn't been for me, you would've blown up the town. Then again you're just as helpful as Erza's suitcases." Gray dampens the mood. The two boys soon start a little argument only to be stopped by Erza and Gray's stripping. I sigh and call out my Canvis Minor Spirit, which I named Plue. He sits comfortably into my arms and closes his eyes. The little guy looks like a small snowman with arms and legs, which are not sticks.
"Sorry to break up your little scuffle," I cut in, "but why did you all come along? I mean it was a job request." I hold up the flyer with a bored expression.
"Well, we are Fairy Tail's strongest team. So we gotta stick together," Natsu answers happily. The rest of them approve, and I nod. "No job ain't tough for me, Happy, Erza, and droopy drawers."
"What am I? Chopped liver?" I mumble angrily.
"No need to get mad Loopy. We're just messin' with ya'," he tries to apologize.
"Well I don't appreciate it, and call me by my real name flame brain." I walk further up ahead. I hear Natsu fuming at me, and I slightly smile.
"I'm truly sorry for gettin-" I cut Erza off by smacking her head. The boys back away immediately, not to feel her wrath. I could care less about right now. She used me as bait to get the bandits to come out, it is only fitting I get some revenge. "You dare have the guts to challenge me?"
"You're on tomato. I got a nerve worked up thanks to me becoming a worm for fish food! Make me bait again, and I swear it'll be worse than anything." We start a small fight then and there while the boys look at us in fear. She may be the almighty Titania, but to me she is a plain old Erza, who has a completely weird common sense. "Also what kind of person asks to be smacked for a mistake? It ain't normal!" Eventually we stop to find people staring at us, but it feels different. They look more pitiful than shocked. That is when we draw our eyes up further.
"Why does the guild look so bizarre?" Erza asks shockingly. Up ahead, metal rods are coming out of the guild from every direction possible. That is the moment when I realized that the feeling has been getting, finally let loose. Cold sweat spread through my body as it stayed frozen. I manage to get out of state of shock and rush to the guild with the others behind me. The front is even worse as splinters of wood stick out. Graffiti sprayed all over the doors.
"Someone did this to our guild," Natsu states furiously. I clench my hand tightly and look down to the ground. Whoever did this, wanted something from the guild. I look up to examine the metal rods carefully. They look familiar, and judging by the fading smell, a dragon was here. Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragon Slayer of Phantom Lord. There is no mistake that the metal rods are his. That settles who did it, but why? Is Phantom trying to stir up something with Fairy tail? Why go through such extremes and violate the Guild Treaty Act?"
"Phantom did this." We turn around to see Mira holding a solemn expression. "They got us when no one was around. They got us good," she says sadly. She leads us to the basement, where everyone is until they fix the upstairs. The mood down here is worse than it is outside. Everyone sitting on the floor or at tables with multiple expressions. I may not have been a member of this guild for long, but I would be damned to let anything happen to it on my watch. My anger slowly rises, but I manage to keep it in check not to do anything rash.
The basement looks rather homey than some I have been to. Crates, cobwebs, and wooden walls with cobblestone floors. I sigh and head to the Master, who is sitting on the crate with a flushed face and beer in hand. He must be drunk to hide his anger. He knows better not to start something that might ruin the future of the guild with a rash decision. I feel sympathy for them, especially since most of them have been here longer than I have. Something tells me that this is just the beginning. "Hello kids, good to see you made it back safely," Master greets us.
"Why are we just sitting down here?" Natsu demands. They bicker among themselves while I pay little attention to them. I try to think of ways to make sure Phantom Lord pays for their destruction. They have a crazy reputation like Fairy Tail, but they have been known to come off shadier than most guilds. Not even Quatro Cerberus, and they tend to be crazy. My thoughts scramble on until I feel a smack to my butt. I blink twice and look at Master with a dumbfounded expression.
Mira scolds Master, then he runs away to the bathroom. If I stay any longer here, then I might end up destroying the basement. I need to head to the forest to take out some of my anger on the trees, and calm down. "Master is mad, but the conflict between the guilds is strictly forbidden. I'm sure Lucy can explain to you why," Mira solemnly answers. The others look to me for answers.
"All falls under the Guild Treaty Act. Conflict between guilds will result in severe punishment and the disbanding of the guild. It is to make sure that light guilds are strongly united against the dark ones," I explain. They look to be shocked by the information. After coming back from Galuna, everyone knew I worked for the council. The surprise of knowing such information should not come as a shock, but I suppose most laws are quite confusing. I sigh and make my way to the stairs.
"Where are you goin'?" Natsu asks.
"Too cool down. If I don't find something to punch or break, I might as well storm Phantom before something bad happens," I tell him and look away. I could hear Erza reassuring them that I would not go through such extremes. "Also Erza, I won't be coming home until later. Don't wait up for me." With that, I leave. I make my way over to the East Forest with Plue by my side. After hours of taking out my anger, I grow tired of wanting to fight. I lay on the ground as I let the air cool down my aching muscles. My breath paces to itself to normal. I then notice that night has fallen, and decide to head back. I look at my body, which had scratches and cuts on my arms and legs.
I call Plue to come along and grab my stuff. The walk back is rather silent and peaceful. The gentle cold wind sways past me as the night sky shimmers brightly. "We are in a big pickle aren't we Plue," I tell him. He responds with a weird 'pun', which seems to be his way of answering. "I heard for a while that Fairy Tail started to rival Phantom, but I didn't think they'd be mad over it. Kinda' glad I stuck with Fairy Tail."
I walk into Fairy Hills and to my room. I open the door to find the boys with Erza. "I'm glad you are home safely," Erza answers. I nod and look at her for her answers. "Mira decided it'd be safer for everyone to stick together since the guild has been destroyed. We can presume Phantom members are in town."
I sigh reluctantly, knowing full well her words and logic had merit in it. "All right." Erza takes a moment to look at me sternly. I gulp silently by the stern expression on her face.
"Woah, what happened to you?" Gray asks.
"Well uh...kinda' went overboard with letting my anger out. I didn't notice all of these until I cooled down." I chuckle nervously while rubbing my neck. "They don't even hurt, so don't worry."
"They look like they sting," he retorts.
"Well it doesn't. Anyways, why huddle up in our space? I mean you and Natsu could've paired up. I'm surprised they even let you two in since this is the girls' dormitory." I put down my bag and sit on the couch.
"Like hell I'm gonna stick with that flame brain. Master kinda' gave permission as long as we don't do anything, we're in the clear." I nod and breathe out in relaxation. Nothing triumphs relaxing after a workout session. Soon I hear Erza shout at Happy and Natsu for eating our stash of candies. I smile and almost tease her when I realize I am in no condition to fight. Plue comes to sit on my lap before being swooped up by Erza. She looks at him before smiling and smothering the pure spirit.
"Listen up, I refuse to let you two sleep before taking a bath. I do not want our room reeking of your sweat," Erza demands. I get off the couch and glance at Plue. Erza does not want to let the guy go, and I cannot help but sympathize for him. The boys refuse to obey her command. This gives me the opportunity to slip into the bath. I make my way to the bathroom before evidently freezing from Erza's remark. "C'mon boys, do we have to take a bath together like we were kids."
"On second thought, I think I'll go first. I need to take care of my wounds, and I don't think I can be near the three of you," I state. In a split second, Erza is in front of me and takes me inside the bathroom. She locks the door and pulls out the first aid kit. "Uh, why don't we first take a bath?" She nods and prepares the tub. In a few minutes, we are already in it. I feel content with how my muscles relax into the hot water. After a little time, we get out. Erza patches up some of my wounds on my knuckles. "Thanks." I look away.
"You should be more careful next time. Venting isn't an excuse to get hurt. Are we clear?" I nod and give her a small smile. I put on nightwear and scarf while Erza requips it. We get out to let the boys take a bath. They agree after some persuasion from Erza. "What has been bothering you?" she asks. She sits on the couch, facing me directly. I sigh and sit beside her.
"Honestly, I don't know. I just have a really bad feeling about what's about to go down. I can't shake the feeling." I fall back comfortably. "Call it a premonition or whatever, but I have a feeling that Phantom isn't done with us."
"Hopefully nothing happens. Just have some faith." She gets up and goes over to a desk to pick up a stack of papers. "I didn't know you could write," she mutters.
"When you have nothing to do after training and reading books, you tend to do things beyond your own expectations." I walk over to her. I see her struggle reading my draft. "Um, are you having trouble reading it?" Her face heats up and nods slowly. I bite back my laughter and stare at her. "Well, this is strange. Why are you having trouble in the first place? I heard from other people you taught Natsu how to read and write, so I'm kinda' shocked." She says nothing and stares at the papers with embarrassment written on her face. "I'll tell you what, why don't we go over some vocabulary after the little sleepover is done?" She nods.
The boys come out and join us. Gray dives for the stack of papers in Erza's hand. I get it and tell him to back off. The only people who can read my writing is Erza because it is funny seeing her try to read it and Levy McGarden. She is a small blue haired girl with a knack for reading. It seems to suit her and her magic. "So anyone mind telling me why Phantom attacked us out of the blue?" I ask.
"Not too sure. We have had our fair scuffles with them in the past, but nothing of this magnitude," Erza answers.
"If Gramps wasn't being such a wimp, we could've mopped the floor with those jerks," Natsu mumbles. I look at him with an odd expression.
"C'mon Natsu, you seem to be forgetting Master is one of the Ten Wizard Saints," Gray jumps in. I remember reading somewhere that Makarov is at number five on that particular list. I doubt he has any care for the rank as he does for his position as master in the guild.
"Okay, fair point. But you're forgetting that Phantom's Master Jose is also one of them. But if we were to go to war with them, which side would win?" I ask no one. Both guilds are powerhouses on their own. It wasn't until recent times did Fairy Tail start making a bigger name for themselves than in the past. Thanks to names like Titania, Laxus, and Mystogan, it's no wonder Phantom would be gunning at us for the number one spot.
"If we were to engage in battle with them, neither side would survive," Erza states. "Their strength equals ours." She stands up from the couch. "As Lucy stated before, Jose is a Wizard Saint, so he is on par with Makarov. They have an elite group of wizards similar to our S-class, known as the Element Four. But that isn't the biggest threat. I'm afraid that their biggest is Black Steel Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer." I growl at hearing Gajeel's name. That man is a jerk if I ever met one. I ran into him a few times at the council. He is what you call a special case of disgusting.
"That guy is an idiot and a jerk. I hate his guts. He may be a dragon slayer, but he got nothing on Natsu and I. If I ever run into that guy again, then I'm gonna beat the hell out of him." I close my eyes to calm my nerves once again.
"Wait, did Gajeel get raised by a dragon?" asks a curious Natsu.
"Yeah, but he never told me where his dragon went. I almost went head to head with him if it weren't for the council pitching in to stop us. If you run into him, then ask him about it." He nods then yawns. "Might as well get some sleep. It's late." I get up and stop at the hallway. "Uh, so who's taking which bed? I mean Erza and I could share one while you two share the other."
"No way in hell am I sharing a bed with a stripper." Natsu huffs. They get into an argument before being split by Erza. She finds a solution to the problem. She lets one of them sleep on the couch and other in Erza's bed while both of us sleep on mine. They agree, not wanting to get beat up again. Gray goes for the bed while Natsu settles for the couch. Both of them fall asleep immediately. Erza and I head to bed as well.
We face away from each other. I stare at the night sky through the window, finding some peace. Stargazing always seemed to calm my nerves and worries. Maybe it is because Celeste is somehow watching me from there, or perhaps there is some deep satisfaction that I am not alone in my worries. Erza falls asleep before me and ends up spooning me. She has her head buried in my chest while arms encircle around me tightly as if she is afraid to let go.
"What am I gonna do with you?" I push away some hair on her face. That is when I notice her right eye. No scar or anything around it. As if it is completely new, but I know better. She has many scars emotionally and physically, but she never says anything about it. Never let anyone know how painful it is to have them. Keeping up a wall to push anyone away with fear. "It's fine to let your guard down Erza. It's not like anyone is going to blame you for it." I sigh. She never shows her weakness or let's anyone in. It hurts watching her lie to herself and everyone, and I watch as she loses herself.
Narrator's POV (Omniscient)
The whisks of the peaceful night sways silently under the sleeping city. Everyone covered in beds with dreams or nightmares of the days ahead or before. Yet, there is a group of three wizards walking cheerfully at midnight. A young girl with blue hair trots ahead of her two companions with pride. The boys continue to have a bicker among themselves as the girl giggles at their intelligence. They grumble angrily, but never utters a word of complaint to the girl. "Aw, c'mon guys. I was only joking. Besides, we three are a team. Buck up and grow a pair and let's go to Jet's house," Levy suggests to Jet, a teenager with orange hair, and Droy, a teenager with dark black hair.
"Are you sure Levy? I mean you could go back to the dorms with the girls. I heard Mira lend permission to the boys as long as they behave," Droy argues.
"Like I said before, we are a team. So we gotta stick together." She smiles, and the boys also cheer up excitedly. They continue heading toward Jet's when a sudden sense of magic surrounds them. They get in position, but before any of them could predict what would happen, a metal rod connects to Levy's head, instantly knocking her out with one blow from the impact. Her body is sent back into some crates, where her body lies limp. The boys call out to her, but fail.
"Man, you fairies are pathetic," Gajeel teases. He jumps from one of the roofs to land in front of the two men. His built features show off his intense training he went through to attain such power. On the right bicep, lies the Phantom Guild Mark, a squiggle that ends with a dot at the top. His tanned skin, red eyes, metal eyebrows, and black hair, give him a cruel heartless look. He has a mission, and he plans to complete it with pride. "Beating you to a bloody pulp, will surely get your friends to come at us." He smirks, showing his fangs. The boys are fed up and go in for the attack.
Jet uses his speed magic around Gajeel, hoping to create a gush of air to knock make someone faint while providing a little disadvantage to sight with the dust piling up. He keeps a steady distance to make sure Gajeel's attack has no effect. Droy pitches in with his plant magic. Throwing some seeds into the ground, the vines start to go spin in the same direction as the wind. He controls his magic to make a sturdier vines to pierce through the wind barrier and capture Gajeel. After building up enough speed, Jet stops running to go help Levy.
Within the barrier, Gajeel smirks deviously. Though the plan was smart, it would prove fruitless against his magic. After sensing Jet leaving, he makes his arm into a sword to create enough pressure to cut the wind with his own force of power. After successfully cutting it down, his body is captured by vines. He growls menacingly at the attempt. He has no desire to be here, but he wants to be spared from the lecture. He decides to turn his body into metal spikes, cutting the vines quickly. The boys gasp in shock, but wears off quickly. Jet charges for Gajeel. As he is about to hit, a metal rod attacks his body, and he sent tumbling backwards. Droy uses the plants to give him a boost into the air from behind to send a kick. Gajeel catches his leg and pulls him down. Stepping on his knee, Droy cries out in pain as he feels his knee shattering.
Jet gets back up to save Droy. He gets beside Gajeel to punch him. Gajeel loses his balance and gets swiped back slightly. Jet gets into a faster speed to deliver several punches from a faster speed to create better momentum and power. Gajeel is hit mercilessly with no chance to defend. Jet kicks Gajeel in the gut, to send Gajeel falling backwards into a box of crates. Jet's breathing paces quickly and his nerves work up. He is furious that his friends are hurt under his watch while he had no chance to help. Droy with enough willpower, wraps Gajeel around the vines again with even more strength. He uses his power to wrap a piece of vine around his waist to help him move around.
Gajeel's bruises sting added with the vines crushing him, his bones hurt. His mind in a haze of things after Jet's blows. The area around him sways, but not enough to knock him out. He bites his lips hard enough to make them bleed, to register the pain to get rid of the dizziness. Jet steps forward to glare. "Why did you attack my friends?!" He growls furiously. Gajeel's ears twitch slightly at the shout, but keeps calm and silent. Instead, a malicious smirk plays upon his lips.
"Simple, I got tired of you idiots showin' up my guild. So, I decided to stop by to settle things." He lies perfectly. If they were to ever know his full intent, then it would surely put a damper on Phantom's true objective. Now or never, Gajeel once again uses the same move to free himself, and punches Jet in the face. Noticing Droy, Gajeel decides to make a sword out of his arm and cut the vines. Droy falls to the ground in a cry of pain. His broken knee giving out painfully. He clutches it in hopes to lessen the pain, but a shadow stands in front of him. Jet breathes heavily as his forehead is bleeding heavily. Several scratches all over his body from being thrown around. A busted lip and a swollen jaw. "What are we playing hero now?" he teases.
"I won't let you hurt my friends. Not while I'm here," Jet breathes out. Droy pleads to leave before it gets any worse, but they fell on deaf ears.
"I'm kinda getting tired playing with fairies. I wanted to go after Salamander or Titania. Or perhaps, Unova. I heard she joined your guild not too recently. It'd be fun to catch up on old times." Gajeel uses his metal rod to punch Jet in the stomach hard enough to form a bruise and for Jet to cough up blood. He falls to the ground clutching his stomach while he hears a laugh. Gajeel having enough of torturing the two, decides to put an end to all of this. He leans his head back while balancing his body. He breathes sharply to hold it. "Iron Dragon: Roar!" A swirl of iron directly attacks the boys as they cry out in pain.
Everything becomes silent as the wind. The path is in ruins as is the area from the fighting. Jet and Droy lie on the ground breathing heavily as their bodies cry out in pain. The wounds become worse as the blood starts to flow out slowly from Gajeel's attack. Eyes closed, the team lost to one man, who barely tried against them. Gajeel relieves a breath of victory. A swish of wind against his injuries, remind him that the mission is not complete yet. He walks over to Levy, who is still soundly passed out against the crates. He tears open her shirt to leave her in a bra. He decides to use Jet's blood and print the Phantom mark onto Levy's stomach as a present to the fairies. He picks all of them up and heads to the Magnolia South Gate Park.
He nears a big tree, that stood out against all the others. He drops the boys against the grass. He holds Levy tightly and creates spikes on his feet to climb the tree. Climbing to a good point, he creates some iron cuffs and places them around Levy on full display. He does the same to the boys before dropping to the ground. He looks at them proudly before walking back to his guild. Not much time passes by when he gets to his guild. The members are still in the guild drinking happily. He takes a seat and starts to munch on some silverware. One of the members laughs at him, but he silences them by punching them. Everyone else starts to cheer before being silenced by Jose.
"My boy, you've done well," he compliments proudly.
"I didn't think we did much to them by destroying their puny guild, so I decided to leave them a welcome gift." Gajeel smirks and recounts the events of the nights.
"Good, but make sure no one hurts the target, or else they'll be hell to pay," Jose warns. Soon the guild erupted into cheers and all goes well before one by one pass out from exhaustion.
The rest of the night passes. As the dawn of the new day arises, the damaged pathway goes under investigation. People surround the area to gasp in horror from the damage and liquids of blood. They soon follow the trail of blood, which leads them to the park. When they get there, all of their shock turns into fear. Three of the Fairy Tail members lie injured and held against the tree. Rumors ran wildly and soon, the whole town knew. The members were taken down carefully and sent to the Magnolia Hospital. The workers started to clean up the park and tree while the others put the damaged pathway under construction. The news reaches the mayor's ears.
He sighs remorsefully at the news. Considering how the guild has helped the town for a long time, he heads to the broken guild hall to break the news. He passes through the rubble of the guild and heads for the basement. As he steps down to the final step to greet, everyone stands up to see the mayor. Master and a few others step forward to see the commotion. "Hello Fairy Tail," the mayor greets with a hint of sadness.
"Mayor Gustav, what pleasure do we owe for you to come," Master says surprisingly.
"I'm sorry Makarov, but I'm not here under happy news." Everyone soon gets closer to see what Gustav means. "This morning, my workers and the citizens of the town have found three of your guild members stuck to a tree heavily injured and unconscious." They all freeze in their spot. Some start to shake from hearing the news while others remain frozen. Mira starts to tear up as Elfman goes to comfort his sister. Master stands there with a dreadful and furious impression while Natsu and his team feel their anger boiling.
"Could you tell us who they are?" Makarov asks almost inaudibly.
"I believe the hospital identified them as Levy, Jet, and Droy." Members start to cry while others rage for revenge. "According to some investigations, I believe that Phantom may be held accountable for this, but we are not sure at this time." Makarov nods. "I know this may be hard on you, but you must stay strong. I'm sure you will find a way to avenge your friends. I must get going now. Good luck Makarov." Gustav leaves with nothing more. Lucy starts to walk away from the rest of the group and heads out.
She walks slowly towards the hospital without much intent. Her anger boils to no amount and her nerves crack at her. She feels her magic bubbling up and cools it down before anything fatal occurs. She stops when she feels a metallic arm grab her arm. "Where are you going?" Erza glares at her.
"I'm going to the hospital. I need to know what those bastards did to Levy and the others." Lucy frees herself and starts to walk again. Erza joins, but the two are lost in thought. When they enter Levy's room, the boys are beside her. In the same position as her, but more gravely wounded. Both take a sharp breath before walking to each of their beds. The guilt stricken girls are at a loss of words. Though Lucy has not been a member long, she feels a sense of responsibility over her friends. A few minutes passed by, yet not a single word had been muttered.
Soon, Makarov enters the room. None of them say anything, but look toward their comrades. Makarov sighs sadly and takes a seat in one of the chairs. He looks out the window. In the far distance, lies the guild hall in shambles of the poles. He feels his pulse increase. He has been a grandfather or even a father to these kids. They had no blood relation, but it didn't stop them from having a loving bond among them. He starts to consider the consequences of going to war with Phantom, but he feels a need to do so. He needs to avenge his children, not only for their pride, but also family.
He closes his eyes and stands up. "Lucy." She turns to face Makarov. If they were to go to war, he needs to have the full repercussions. But also, whether or not if the guild will be disbanded. "I'm sure you know the full consequences of all of this." She nods, but she senses something is off. "Fairy Tail will attack Phantom for what they did. But I need to know, if that were to occur, will our guild be disbanded?"
She stays silent. She is fully aware of the situation, but the consequences heavily depended on the council. They are the control tower of Fiore, so it would stand to reason as such. She feels a solemn presence around her body. The situation seemed so dim. She puts her head down, staring at the ground. She frowns, feeling her mouth go dry. "Since Phantom attacked first, I think the guild would be in the clear. But I'm not sure. It all depends on the council and severity of the situation." She feels guiltier. She remembers a certain mission from long ago, but she forgets it. She needs to keep her head cool.
Makarov weighs the pros and cons before facing both women. "Thank you for the information Lucy. Erza get the others ready to head to Phantom, we need to show them why they never should have messed with Fairy Tail. Lucy, could you do me a favor and stay here to take care of Mira and the others?" He knows she feels, but he needs to make sure someone protects the ones who refuse to go. He wants to make sure they fall under a trick.
"Yeah, yer' right anyways." Lucy holds off any arguments. That could be settled for another. They have bigger problems to face than pity arguments. She wishes Erza and Makarov good luck before they leave. She sits on a chair near the window, beside Levy. She hates hospitals. It always reminded her of the unnecessary deaths that she failed to protect. She clenches her hand and looks at the bare room. Simple couch, table, and a television lacrima. Her knuckles sting from last night's session. She sits on the couch and turns on the television lacrima. If she ponders any longer of the situation, she might lose her mind.
Fairy Tail wastes no time to rush into Oak Town. Each member had their own reasons for fighting, but in the end it is to avenge their comrades. The walk through the town as the citizens stay far from the group. Minutes pass, they stand at the Phantom Guild Hall. An enormous medieval castle, stretching quite high, which separates into three tall stand alone towers. Natsu creates an explosion, breaking down the door while taking a few Phantom members out. "Fairy Tail has come knocking!" Makarov's voice thunders.
Both sides dash each other. Raging battle cries soar across the hall. The massive dim walls and cobblestone floor becomes floured with life. Tables and chairs scattered or broke, lie in the midst of the chaos. A brush of fierce fire runs wildly, burning several mages while others narrowly escape it. Fairy Tail splits up into two major groups, taking on each side of the opposing. Heaps of magic spill out in utter disaster as Makarov becomes fed up with the situation. From above, Gajeel watches carefully the fight below from the support beams of the hall. "They're good for a couple of losers." He smiles and waits patiently to drop in on them.
Makarov uses his magic to increase the height and strength of his power by turning into a giant. Using his arms, he creates enough wind to blow the Phantom mages away. He walks toward the middle, swiping left and right for the opposing mages while being mindful of his own. Clearing out nearly half of them on the bottom, he makes his way for the top, where clears up even more. Several try to knock him down, but all to fail with magic power surrounding him. He wastes no time to clear more while leaving the rest to his children. He reverts back to normal, making his way to the top of the castle.
He makes it up there while unleashing several loads of magic energy if anyone were to stand in his path. A few attempt to attack, but the magic power hits them before they could reach him. The magic intensifies, breaking the floor and walls around him. Destroying the door, he finds Jose sitting in a chair with a bored expression. He walks up to him and stops. "Jose," he growls audibly.
"Makarov, to what do I owe you this visit?" Jose asks knowingly. He sits up and approaches Makarov. Having enough of the nuisance, Makarov enlarges his arm and directly aims at Jose. As the rubble clears, Jose's form twitches like a hologram.
"Coward! You don't even have the guts to face me! You just ran with your tail between your legs." Makarov glares at the hologram, feeling his blood rushing.
"Now, why don't we talk this out like beings instead of barbarians?" Jose suggests.
"I didn't come here for a tea party! Why are you attacking my guild?"
"I suppose you could know. Though I don't think it would matter, considering the following events." Jose smirks and walks closely to Makarov. "My guild has been hired by Jude Heartfilia to bring his daughter back home."
"What does that have to do with my guild?" Makarov's patience draws thinner by the second.
"She didn't tell you. Ha, and here I thought you knew," he pauses before putting his arms into the air dramatically. "Jude's adopted daughter is none other than Lucy Heartfilia!" Makarov freezes in his spot. His mind goes array, before stopping. He knows Lucy is a very reserved person despite her extrovert personality. Over the past week, he has noticed Lucy's awkward silence and uneasiness. Though she was trying to fool everyone, he saw right through the little act. Did she know Phantom was going to attack the guild? He ponders.
Before he could ask anymore questions, Jose activates his magic and teleports Makarov into Aria, a member of the Element Four's, air space. Makarov finds his breathing become heavy as his body gasps for more air. He drops to his knees gasping for air. Aria comes up behind him and begins a spell. He starts to chant, and Makarov's magic drains. Using the air, the creates a strong force, pushing Makarov down. Falling through several floors, Makarov lands head first into the ground.
The surrounding Fairy Tail members gather around him quickly while the others protect them from Phantom's attacks. Natsu growls furiously as he stares at Gajeel. Some point in the fighting, Gajeel had about enough waiting and joined in. The two face off in a glaring contest. Natsu lights up his hand and charges for Gajeel. Evading swiftly to the left, Gajeel extends his arm into a rod to stop Natsu and hit him directly.
Falling to the floor and grunting, Natsu stands up clutching his stomach. He sees Makarov struggling to hold onto breathing, and vows to take Gajeel down faster. Gajeel sees the distraction, aims for Natsu's head with his rod. Natsu fails to dodge and takes the attack head on, falling back several meters. He starts to blurs and the room spins slightly. He bites his lip and stands up, pushing the aching pain. Heating up his whole body in flames, he punches Gajeel in the jaw. Followed by several kicks and punches, Gajeel uses his rod to make several to distract Natsu. Several rods break the Phantom title, and falls on Natsu.
Natsu barely dodges backward. Moving to the right, he delivers a swift kick to Gajeel's side. One hand on the ground to balance his body, Natsu lights up his other leg to knock a blow to Gajeel's face. The two struggle to put the other down despite their valiant efforts. Both of them look at the other with straggly breaths. Another tempt of charging before an block of ice blocks them both. Gajeel hears Aria calling to retreat, and immediately backs off. "What the hell Gray? I had him!" Natsu lets out his frustration.
"Look man, I get it. Master is injured and so are the others. More of them keep coming, so if we go toe to toe now, we'd lose," Gray reasons. He feels his own frustration gaining on him, but restrains his hold. He tugs Natsu toward the exit as they follow the others out.
Lucy trots her way to the guild, after securing her friend's conditions. She feels a little breather would help her clear her troubled thoughts. It is peaceful almost soothing, but that simple tranquility before the storm, scares her wits. The past two years of working for the council, taught her many things about the world. Especially her dislike for royal and powerful positions.
The idea is simple, yet the simplicity makes everything harder. One person controls the vast network while millions suffer. She felt the death and murders of many lives in her hands. Calling her a saint is an understatement. She has taken down many dark guilds, but that alone never gave her the satisfaction. A desire for peace drove her to madness. She had two goals over two years- find Celeste and keep her sanity. Mages feared her nickname, but she hates it. Priority for her death over innocents, never sat well with her.
This situation was all too familiar to Lucy. A grasp of revenge turns into a manslaughter. Though she knows neither guild is capable of such atrocities, the thought of it makes her grimace. She has faith in her guild, but she feels like a pawn in a much larger scheme. She shakes her head and continues walking. Soon, the sun is covered by a plaster of clouds. "That's odd," she murmurs.
"Drip drop," a woman with blue hair repeats continuously. She walks slowly towards Lucy. She frowns when she sees Lucy, but keeps walking. Lucy eyes the woman quizzically. She knows the sudden weather change is not normal, unless magic is involved. She guesses the woman has a hard time controlling Water Magic to cause this. "I'll be leaving now. Goodbye." The odd woman pulls out an umbrella and continues to ignore Lucy.
"Um, bye?" It comes out more of a question than an answer. Lucy starts to walk away when a figure pulls out from the ground. His brown coat and green already sends warning signals to Lucy. Then it came. Two members of the Element Four, Juvia and Monsieur Sol, surrounded her in a matter of seconds. Lucy grits her teeth and backs away from both of them. "Two versus one really ain't fair," Lucy chastises.
"We are not here to fight," Monsieur Sol chimes in. "Our task is to simple retrieve you Miss Lucy." He stands beside Juvia, crossing his arms firmly. "It would be of great help if you come willingly."
"You expect me to come easily after destroying my guild and hurting my friends!" Lucy rages. She turns to them with a scowl on her face. She clenches her fist, nearly turning white. "Right now, I only care about getting revenge for them." She gets in position to fight.
"This surely is troublesome. I'll ask nicely one more time. Miss Lucy Heartfilia please come willingly with us. Lucy's blood freezes. Her arms drop to her side while she looks at her opponents with shock. How do they know my last name!? Lucy's mind goes haywire.
"How do you know my last name?" Her voice lost all the confidence. She feels her body shaking in bits, but keeps her posture. The awful feeling rushes her system in unwanted waves. She finally understands why it is her fault.
Sol huffs in annoyance and glares at Lucy. "Your such an idiotic child! Your father, Jude Heartfilia, hired our guild to take you back home." She feels her nerves burning up. Her magic rises to lethal levels. She never called Jude her father, and now, that name is far from reality.
"I'm not going. You hurt my comrades." Her aura and demeanor turns murderous. Lucy snaps and charges for Sol. He blocks her right hand with his left, but she knees his gut. He loses his balance, and Lucy swipes his left side with her leg. He falls back clutching his side and glares at her. He ushers Juvia to stay back. He takes a deep breath and stands up.
"I suppose we could make this difficult. As a member of Phantom, I won't lose to Fairy scum!" He fumes. Sol stamps on the ground, sending a pillar of the earth towards Lucy. She jumps above and stands on it. She eyes her surroundings. She is standing in an alleyway in the middle of the city. If she fights them, then she needs to take it outside the city. The destruction was already enough, if the city gets destroyed in the process, it would be futile. She smirks, her plan already in place.
"I don't plan to lose to bastards like you!" She takes off in a running fit. Her sense of smell is dulled by the pouring rain. She feels and hears them coming for her. It takes a few minutes, but they finally make it outside the city. She stops, collecting her breath. Lucy feels the ground trembling and jumps up high. A fist of rock connects her stomach, and her breath gets knocked out of her. She falls to the ground to hear laughter.
"You're pathetic! I expected more from a Heartfilia, or should I say Unova?" She grits her teeth in pain. She energizes her fist and glares at the man. She refuses to give him any pleasure of her cries of pain, but rather power. She says nothing and charges for him. Sol already excepted the attack and creates a wall ahead of him to block her attack. Lucy uses her magic to explode the star energy beneath her feet to get higher than the wall. He looks at her in shock before jumping back to avoid the attack. The ground cracks into pieces as energy residue flows out.
Lucy brightens her body intensely to blind her enemies. She uses her hearing to get to Sol and square a blow to his face. He stumbles a little, but grabs Lucy's arms. He swipes a blow to her side and jabs her face. Lucy feels the effects of the attack, but stomps on Sol's foot. He bites his lip to stop the scream, but misses the punch to his stomach. He shakes off the numbing pain and charges at her. Both exchange an equal amount of blows before stepping away. Lucy roars a beam of energy towards him quickly.
Sol takes the hit head on and falls on the ground. He breathes heavily and smashes his hand into the ground. His magic fully allows the complete control of the earth, with a few additions to it. He gets up and clenches his fist. He stomps his foot into the ground again, but this gives him something different. The earth pulls above and circles around Lucy's body. Once it surrounds her, it tightens its hold. She cries out in pain. She gathers her magic and extends the energy to scatter from her body.
The hold breaks and she pants heavily. "That all you got?" Lucy teases him. She builds up her magic in her body at a steady pace. Feeling her veins and blood pulsing faster, she rushes for Sol. He moves to the left, but she gets him in the gut. Moving faster than before, she circles and hits him several times before he catches her fist. He grabs her neck and shoves her into the ground. He gets above her and uses his magic to cast a spell. A special ability to cause the victim a bitter trip down memory lane depending on anything. Lucy's mind and body freeze. Stones litter her body while she feels her soul evading her body.
Crystal Town had a little run in with a couple of rogue mages. Many of those mages cause harm to innocents, public property, or even in trouble in general. The nuisance of the problem spiraled out of control too quickly for the town to deal with. The town requested the help of nearby guilds to get rid of the problem, only to be given the request to Lucy.
She had been noticing the bandits' little excursion around town, which made her sick. She still had been warily watching over Erza's healing body. Erza was malnourished, and most of her body still had features younger than her current state. which posed health risks. Luckily, with enough rest and food, her body would start aging properly.
Lucy felt cheery when she heard the news. It had been over a week since they arrived, and she had been worried about Erza's health. Though she would never show or admit to Erza for the sake of showing Erza that there would be nothing to fear. Erza had been quiet about the whole ordeal. Lucy knew that Erza hadn't told her about the extent about the tower, and Lucy was never the one to push. She gave Erza the space that was needed.
Lucy was happy she was about Erza's condition, but she still felt bad about the town's position. So, she took it upon herself to get rid of the mages herself. When she told Erza her plan, the girl grabbed onto Lucy for dear life. "Are you crazy? There are more of them than you, and they're mages!" Erza yells at her.
Lucy looks at her with some confusion. "They're probably nothing. I mean it's just a few of them, so I could probably take them myself. No biggie," she reasons calmly. Erza argues with her before giving up.
"At least let me help you," Erza offers. Lucy looks at her crazily before denying the offer. "You'll need help taking them out, so let me help."
"No, you're still injured." Lucy leaves no room for argument. She starts to head out of the hospital room before she is tackled to the floor. "What's the big deal.."She trails off when she notices Erza crying.
"Please let me help you. I don't want to lose you," Erza whispers into her ear. Lucy freezes without knowing what to do. She bites her lip and sighs.
"Fine, but you have to listen to what I say. Got it?" Erza smiles and nods before getting off and lending a hand to her friend. Lucy looks at her before grabbing it. She knows full well Erza is strong, but the girl barely has any experience in fighting or magic. She makes a mental note to keep an extra on Erza.
After leaving the hospital and getting permission from the mayor, Lucy and Erza set out for the hideout. Neither spoke to the other while Lucy kept a keen eye on Erza. If anything went wrong, she would make sure Erza would get out safely. A few minutes later, and they reach the hideout.
Lucy starts off getting the easier members quickly. She knew for a fact there were quite a few, but that did not limit her options. Whatever she lacks in strength and power, she makes it up with wits and reflexes. After some time, a significant majority of the members were dealt with and only a few remained. Lucy watched Erza carefully, but noticed how resourceful Erza had been. She had been following Lucy's strategy of using her wits instead of her strength. It was relatively easy though a few times they had seen through Erza's tricks, but Lucy made sure they laid no finger on Erza.
"Lucy, are you okay?" Lucy eyes Erza carefully. Lucy's stamina started to drain as well as her magic. She needed to finish the rest of them off before it becomes too much. All those fights at the clubs and caravans paid off over the past month.
"Yeah," Lucy breathes out. "Let's finish off the rest of them. I'm kinda getting hungry." She grins cheekily at Erza.
"You're always thinking about food! Don't you think about anything else," Erza huffs out in frustration.
"Hmm, nope! Besides, food is delicious!" Lucy feels her mouth watering up. She grabs a sword from one of the fallen mages and uses it to take a few of the others out. She knew she had no clue about swordsmanship, but if it proved to be helpful in taking out enemies, then she would not care about learning it properly. She prefers using hand-to-hand combat than weapons.
Twenty minutes passed, and they managed to finish off the remaining mages. "We..we did it!" Erza cheers. Lucy smiles at her. She was proud of Erza learning to fend for herself. Lucy knows Erza would not let the past cloud judgement, but it would cause some physiological issues in the future.
"Yeah we did! My body hurts," Lucy whines. She was not invincible, but her adrenaline rushes often canceled out the pain in her body before it ran out. Lucy laughs as Erza apologies for not noticing the injuries. "It's no biggie, so chill. It won't be the first, nor the last." She feels her muscles aching, but smiles through the pain.
If time slowed down just enough for Lucy, then she could have prevented what would occur next. She watches in horror as Erza's body falls onto the floor with several sword scratches. "My, my, you children should've known not to mess with adults. Didn't your parents teach you respect for your elders?" a single mage remarks with a smirk. Lucy felt her body run cold.
"You're gonna pay!" She charges at the man at full speed. He dodges efficiently to the right. Lucy skids her feet to a stop before using her magic to explode her back, giving her a boost in speed and strength. "Celestial Dragon: Destruction Fist!" Her attack makes the tumble in his balance, but he keeps standing.
"How pitiful. I expected more from you, considering how you took out many of my men. Maybe, they burned through your magic and stamina," the mage retorts even more. Lucy grits her teeth tightly. She could not waste time on him when Erza bleeds out. She lets her magic cover herself. She feels her animal-like instincts take over. A simple do or die situation played into her mind. She glares menacingly at the mage and charges for him at a faster speed.
Having a speed advantage, she lands several blows on him. Leaving him dazed, Lucy grabs his sword and stabs him through the heart. He cries out in immense pain, but she pays no heed. "I don't forgive those who hurt my friends." She rushes to Erza and runs for the nearest hospital.
When the doctors take Erza into surgery, Lucy feels her adrenaline leave her body. She collapses into a seat. That is when she finally realizes what she did. She killed a man out of pure anger and hatred. She feels her whole body shake in fear. I killed someone and let Erza get hurt. Her subconscious repeats constantly in her brain. That was also the first time she felt helpless as she watched Erza get hurt. A looming fear of regret plagues her mind. Nothing she could do to revert time. That day she broke a promise and killed someone in cold blood.
Lucy's eyes snap open. She looks around to see she is still outside Magnolia. Her body feels numb and heavy. She tries to move her arm, but feels some restraint. Stones immobilized her movement. She hears Sol coming closer to her, and grits her teeth. She builds up her magic within her and let's it burst open. She is freed and turns to glare at Sol. He looks at her in surprise. "How can you move? It's impossible!" He loses his composure. He feels her predatory instincts and panics.
"I don't appreciate going down memory lane pal." She energizes her fists and walks closer to Sol. "But if it weren't for that, then maybe I wouldn't have the push to beat the living daylights out of you." She pushes her fist in her stomach and extends the magic to send him flying backwards. He coughs up and struggles to get up. The attack left him heavily wounded in his stomach. The star energy pierced through enough to cause blood to flow out. And with the previous injuries, he gives up the desire to fight. If they did fight, it is too much of a hassle, especially since there are other ways to get his target. He notices the amount of power she is emitting, and he knows he has nowhere enough power to beat her. He knows fully well the power of a dragon slayer. He has heard the tales of her power, and he knows better not to provoke her.
"You win, just leave me alone," pleads Sol. Lucy walks closer to him with a determined look. He can see the animal-like instincts playing her. She powers her fist and brings it closer to his face. He pleads for her to leave him in mercy, but she pays no heed. She stops and picks him by the collar.
"I'm not going to kill you," she states angrily. "But if you ever threaten my guild again, there will be hell to pay." She drops him and walks away. Sol breathes easier, but he knows he got lucky. If he had to compare Gajeel and her, then he would say Lucy has an upper hand with speed. Not to say she has power, but her speed would benefit her more in this situation. Lucy notices Juvia standing away from both of them with fear. Lucy frowns when she realizes how out of control she got. It had been a while since someone had gotten her that riled up. She has a luring feeling that it might be more common. If she fails to keep her emotions in check, then she might kill someone again. She sighs and runs a hand through her soaked hair. She comes close to Juvia without wanting to scare anyone else. "Hey, you doin' okay?" She tries to sympathize with Juvia.
"How can you.." Juvia trails off. She is utterly terrified of Lucy. The woman could have killed her comrade without a second thought, but stopped at the last second. She barely feels a fear, but at this moment, she would have no qualm in denying she feared the other mage. Lucy looks at her warily before putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Look I'm not gonna hurt you, unless you try anything funny. I'm somewhat reasonable than some of my guild mates. Why don't we try to become friends? You seem nicer than your buddy," Lucy says nicely. She genuinely feels something different about Juvia than the other members. Juvia has a looming look that Lucy has seen before, but she fails to remember what it means. Juvia looks at Lucy in shock.
"You want to be my friend?" Juvia sputters out.
"Yeah. You seem cooler than your guild. No offense." Lucy rubs the back of her neck slowly. She starts to feel the fatigue of the fight. Given her knuckles already sobbing, her mind seems to be hazy as well.
"But, I thought you hated my guild, so why be nice to me?" Juvia tries to find a logical reason for Lucy's behavior, but comes up empty-handed.
"Are you deaf? I said yer' cool like three times." Lucy smiles at Juvia.
"But I always make it rain everywhere I go." Juvia looks down towards the ground remorsefully. "Nobody wants to be my friend because of the rain, but Phantom took me and gave me a home. I'm starting to think otherwise."
"Well guilds are like that. And I think you just need some 'round yer' corner to back you up. At first I thought you had no control over your powers, but now I'm thinking otherwise. I think you just gotta find the right person to make you smile," Lucy explains calmly. Juvia looks up at her. She feels a genuine smile coming upon her face for the first time in years. "Um, not to ruin the good mood, but after this war thing is over, I think yer' guild might be disbanded.
Juvia nods. She knew some of the consequences of performing this job, and the risk of dismemberment was a lingering question. But now, she thinks that it might be good. There is a possible chance she could join Fairy Tail and ask for forgiveness for her poor choices. "If that happens, any chance your guild could offer a position for someone like me?" she asks inaudibly.
Lucy picks up and answers, "Well yeah. Trust me we are a band of misfits, who'll accept anyone." Juvia nods and decides to take Sol back to the guild hall. She would have to explain what had happened, but her heart remains content with the idea of a friend. She bids farewell to Lucy and leaves with helping Sol. Lucy sighs and falls back onto the ground. She has too many emotions bottled up, that it is confusing to tell what she thinks. Her limbs hurt a little, considering how short the fight was in terms of others she had done in the past. It is her brain that is causing more problems. If she dwells too long on this, she will lose sight of her objective.
She pushes herself off the ground and walks back to Fairy Tail. The sun is shining once again after Juvia left. She looks at herself and notices patches of blood and scratches on her body. She might have had her adrenaline on full blast to have noticed the remaining injuries. She laughs to herself when she realizes her hopeless situation. She walks toward the guild when she hears and smells people downstairs. She had a horrible gut feeling again. They had returned earlier than she had anticipated. It could mean a lot of things, but she had a looming suspicion that it might be bad.
She walks downstairs, keeping most of her emotions in line. She had to tell everyone why Phantom is after them. It would be unfair and cruel if she had not. It is her fault in every way possible. Perhaps if she had told everyone who she is from the start could this have been prevented, or maybe she could have settled things with Jude earlier. She shakes her head. Wondering about the 'what ifs' would be a waste of time and energy. Lucy steps down the final step to see everyone. Most people had bandages while others were planning. She feels her heart becoming guiltier by the second. She had never wanted harm to anyone, but thanks to her selfish choices, they had taken the blows for her. How fate loves to torment her poor soul.
"Lucy?" She turns around to see Erza looking at her. "What happened?" Now, the entire room eyed her. The stares give her a worse feeling.
"Uh, I got into a fight with the Element Four." People start to murmur among themselves while Lucy takes a deep breath. Now or never, they either accepted her for her selfish choices, or they would blame her. Either way, she would be fine with whatever paves her way. "I know why Phantom is after her." People silence down to let Lucy continue. She casts her eyes down and starts, "They're after me."
"What?" Erza questions immediately. She already has a difficult time dealing with Master's condition and leaving the Phantom guild. The last thing she needs is someone after her close friend.
"To understand why they're after me, I'm gonna tell you who I am." Erza eyes her carefully. She knows Lucy is a proud person, but seeing her so vulnerable, had made a bad feeling in Erza's stomach. "My full name is Lucy Heartfilia, and I am the foster daughter of Jude Heartfilia." Everyone expresses their own shock in a different way. Natsu and Gray get beside Erza for Lucy to continue. They could care less about who she is. All they are aware, is that someone had targeted a member of their family, and they surely would not let that slide. "One year ago, I ran away from home because I couldn't stand how he treated me. I was practically ignored by him. So I ran away and didn't bother facing him."
Lucy knows this is one mistake she could never live herself with. She truly loves the guild with her heart, but how she could face them after this, is beyond her general thought. She looks away from everyone. Nothing she says could make up for her selfish action. Her eyes grow teary, but she holds them back. She feels a hand on her shoulder and looks to see Natsu giving her a big smile. "Lucy don't sweat on it. This is Phantom's fault. And besides," he stops before turning to everyone, "does it look like anyone is blaming you?"
Lucy looks around, and everyone gives her a small smile. "But-" she gets cut off.
"No buts. We mean it. You're a member of this guild, and nothing is changing that. So cheer up, we'll get Phantom for what they did, especially to Master." Lucy looks at Natsu frantically. "Oh yeah, one of those Element Four jerks got him. He's resting back at Porlyusica's place. She is our guild's doctor I guess." She nods solemnly. Everyone cheers and becomes more motivated to get back Phantom. Erza pulls Lucy to the side and leads her near the showers in the basement. Lucy says nothing as Erza closes the door.
"No one blames you," Erza reasons. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known your father would have done this.
"He isn't my father!" Lucy snaps. "He never was back then, he sure as hell isn't now. If I dealt with him, then none of this would've happened." She puts her hands to her head. She feels so frustrated and angry.
"You're right, he's not your father." Erza comes closer to Lucy. "But like you said before, you can't dwell on what happened, but fix on what you can."
"Maybe, if I go back now, he'd stop attacking." Lucy gets pushed to the ground. She looks at Erza with shock.
"You're an idiot if you think going back will fix everything! Don't you see everyone willing to fight for you!" Erza argues.
"That's exactly why I want to end this! I don't want other people getting hurt because of me!" Lucy counters.
"Then you're a coward, if you think running away will solve the problem!"
"I never said I was running away. I just found a way to end the problem!"
"You're taking the easy way out. This is not the Lucy I know!" Erza grabs Lucy by the scarf and holds her closely. "You listen to me. No one blames or hates you. Running away will only hurt us more. Our guild's pride is also on the line, so don't even think for a second this is all about you." Erza lets it out. Her breathing becomes quick as she glares at Lucy.
Lucy smiles softly at her. She knows all too well about what happens when dwelling too much on something that has no chance of being changed. "Heh, yer' right."
"Once we deal with Phantom, we will find a way to deal with Jude." Erza lets her go. "Now take a shower, you reek of dirt. I'm sure it would do some good if you felt clean." Lucy nods and showers, leaving Erza alone. Erza sighs and puts her guard down. Today took much out of her than she had hoped. I couldn't even protect Master from getting hurt, how can I protect Lucy? She has done too much to me, and I can't even repay her generosity. She thinks. She slumps to the floor, giving up much of her body. She only wants to protect the ones she holds dear. She clenches her hand tightly. The consequences of her actions play out like a movie in her head, leaving her worse than she is. "How could I make this right?" She mutters aloud. All her hard work to become a stronger mage, still left her weak. Like she is still the little girl from the tower.
Erza is rebellious, but that slowly weighed down when Lucy showed up. Lucy gave her a reason to stay in the guild. Erza always felt her memories plague, so she often kept busy by going out on missions. Even breaking the law several times to find some peace. Now she wonders if all of that mattered since her moral and wish was broken so easily.
The End of this Chapter. I hope it was good enough to be read. The rest of the arc will mostly be in the omniscient point of view (3rd) for getting a lot more across in the rest of the story. Especially in Gajeel and Juvia's characters. I also tried to put in the dark elements that I had been planning for a while. I'll expand on them as the story progresses.
The Fairy Tail Universe is quite dark like Naruto's, but due to the light atmosphere of the show, it made it difficult to be told like Naruto. Characters like Erza, have a lot of depth into the dark world. Just to note, both girls have killed before. Erza's dark attitude will reveal itself more with the coming chapters and arcs. Mainly due to how it runs her judgement. Also, Unova is Lucy's wizard name. Might change or might not, but for it stays that unless y'all have a different idea. If you do, then do suggest.
With this chapter out now, the website is caught up with my Wattpad version, so don't need to worry about missing out.
I hope my fight scenes are getting better. I will be making them longer and more enjoyable. I'm slowly starting to understand how to debunk and write them by watching other fights both in anime and real life. So fair with me until I learn how to. Also thanks for the support. 50 follows and 32 favorites. Yee! Now that I have an idea of how the twists in the plot will work, I know how to write them. Don't know when the next chapter will be released, but it will take a while. Since I changed the minor/major details, I need to come up with a way to change how the abyss break and Jupiter canon get played. The chapters from here on out will be getting longer as the arc progresses. I already have a few ideas of how the Tower Of Heaven Arc will play out. Though the arc name will change as it will probably not follow how it is played out in the Canon for the sake of the realism of the story and progression.
Also if you guys have any questions or feedback on the story, feel free to let me know.
C'ya for now!