It was a bright and sunny day outside, Lucy strolled into the guild, smiling and waving at both her friends and several new comers. Since they had stopped both Zeref and Acnologia, they and the other guilds that had fought with them found themselves with tons of people wanting to join. Makarov turned most of them away, he could tell they were there just to be able to say they belonged to the guild, but there were several like Ant and Nixton that he had allowed to enter because they had that special something it took.
Lucy settled at the table where her team sat, each talking about what kind of job they should take next. Lucy had just sent out her manuscript to be published, so she was feeling up to a job, it would take her mind off of waiting until she got a response, from wondering whether it would be negative or positive. Natsu flashed her his wide grin before he said "Lucy agrees with me, don't you Lucy?" Instantly on the alert and suspicious, Lucy asked "What am I agreeing to?"
Gray smirked at Natsu as if to say "I knew she didn't" while Erza turned towards the blond and said "Natsu was saying we should take one of the jobs to go after some of Zeref's remaining followers." Lucy considered this, perhaps she could find Aquarius' key! It hadn't shown up in Magnolia and she was desperate to find her friend so she could ensure she would be treated well. So Lucy found herself nodding and saying "Okay, sounds good to me."
Gray spat out the drink he was sipping on, causing Juvia to come hover over him, asking if he was alright, while Erza cocked an eyebrow as she asked "Really?" Even Natsu was staring at his friend, not that he wasn't excited about her agreement, but he was genuinely surprised that she had agreed with him. Wendy just sat there with her chin hanging wide open.
Lucy laughed at the responses she was getting, before replying to Erza "I know it's surprising that I want to do something so dangerous, but I have nothing better to do at the moment, and if we can take down Zeref and Acnologia, then we can take down anyone! Besides, if I die, it might ensure my novel's success." Happy chortled behind his paws as he teasingly said "Leave it to Lucy to think of money." Lucy rolled her eyes good naturedly as Natsu bolted for the request boards, he wasn't going to chance Lucy backing out.
He soon returned with one and they all agreed that it was a good one before he took it up to Mira to let her know they were heading out on it. Then they all left to grab their bags with a promise to meet by the train station. Once they were all present and the train had arrived, Wendy cast Troia on herself and Natsu, though the effects weren't as strong for the pink haired dragon slayer anymore, much to his dismay.
XXX
Finally they arrived at the last train station, Natsu's Troia spell having worn off some time ago and he questioned why his tummy hated him so much. Even though Wendy's hadn't worn off, she joined Natsu in kissing the solid ground as Lucy bemoaned how much of a bad influence he was on the young, blue haired mage. Erza glared at the trio and said "Stop fooling around and be on your guard, this isn't the home of the dark guild, but it is one of the towns closest to it."
Everyone nodded and cautiously followed Erza through the town. They found a well-kept inn to stay at and dropped their bags off, they wouldn't want them near the fighting after all. It was decided they would search the town in small groups to see if they could find any signs of the dark guild just to be sure they wouldn't run into any unexpectedly. Gray and Erza would go one way, Wendy, Carla and Happy another with Natsu and Lucy taking yet another. Happy claimed he was going with Wendy and Carla to protect them, but everyone knew he was just wanting to spend time with his fellow Exceed.
All would take a loop like pattern that would bring them back to their inn at the end of their walk. Lucy and Natsu did their section in relative silence, each just enjoy the other's company and the warm sunshine that made everything just the perfect temperature. Natsu looked over at Lucy a few times, able to see she was in deep thought. "What's on your mind Lucy?" he finally asked.
Lucy looked up, rubbing the back of her head and, with a worried smile on her face, she turned to him and said "I was just thinking about my manuscript. What if the publisher doesn't like it?" Natsu gave her a reassuring smile and said "Of course they'll love it! Levy said it was good and what I was able to read of it when I was sneaking a peak here and there was awesome, I can't wait to read all of it." Lucy blushed at his praise and then she got an annoyed look on her face as she said "Wait a second, you read it?! What did I tell you about reading it!?"
Now it was Natsu's turn to rub the back of his head, nervously chuckling before he said "Not to? I didn't really mean to, I saw some of it one day and I started reading it and I was hooked before I realized what it was. I couldn't put it down though until I heard you coming back into the room and ever since then I couldn't wait to get a chance to sneak in a bit of reading it here and there." This gave Lucy a cause to pause, if a non-bookworm like Natsu liked it, that meant it stood a good chance of catching the eye of those who sold them right?
Deciding to let it slide, she instead stopped walking and pulled Natsu into a hug, surprising her pink haired friend. "Thanks Natsu. Hearing that you enjoyed it makes me feel better about its chances. Natsu smiled at the top of her head, returning the hug as he said "Happy to help!" The conversation flowed between the two of them for the rest of their search, though neither of them stopped looking for any dark guild members. None were seen by them or their friends however so they retired for the night.
XXX
The next morning they all got up and headed in the direction that Erza said they would find the dark guild. How she knew, no one dared to question her, but her source must have been good for they soon stumbled upon the dark guild headquarters. "So what's the plan?" asked Wendy, Natsu grinned and said "Punch them until they don't get up!" Lucy rolled her eyes at his suggestion but before she could come up with something better Gray, Erza and Natsu charged the dark guild.
Lucy looked helplessly at Wendy before they followed their friends, Lucy calling upon Loke and Wendy using her magic to push the enemies back. Everything was going good… until it wasn't. Lucy wasn't sure what happened, but suddenly Loke was taken out with one hit and she found herself face to face with the dark guild's master. The old woman smirked at Lucy and said "What's the matter Fairy? Did I clip your wings by removing your weapon?"
Lucy glared at the woman and said "Loke is not a weapon, he is my friend. I'm going to make you regret bragging about hurting him." The woman laughed as she asked "With what dearie? Your magic energy is already low, you won't be able to call forth another of your "friends" and my magic can take you down in a second so your whip is worthless." As the older woman continued to laugh, Lucy hated to admit it, but she was right. Nothing she could do would be enough, not on her own at least.
So like many times before, Lucy called out "Natsu!" The woman continued chackling, thinking Lucy was calling for someone out of fear. Boy was she wrong. Natsu was by Lucy's side in an instant, glaring at the chackling, old woman he asked "Who's the lady choking on a chicken Lucy?" The old woman started sputtering as Lucy said "The guild master, I thought you would like to help me take her down for what she did to Loke."
Natsu burst into flames as his glare on the old woman deepened and he said "Nobody hurts my friends and guild mates and gets away with it." The old woman gulped, her magic, while not nullified by fire, did little damage to its wielders on a normal mage, this one was something else, a monster, a demon! Lucy stood beside Natsu, fists in a tight grip and said "I'm with you Natsu, let's teach this dark guild master a lesson!" Natsu attacked with his fire talons, coinciding with Lucy's Kick.
As the older woman went flying through the air, Lucy used her whip, wrapping it around her feet and yanking on it to slam her to the floor. As the dark guild master tried to get a shot off on the Celestial mage, Natsu pummeled her with a wing attack. The old woman's stamina wasn't what it used to be, so she lay panting on the ground, admitting defeat, much to Natsu's disappointment that the fighting was over. When the dark guild members saw their master admitting defeat, those still standing surrendered or ran.
After securing them, Erza called the Magic Council to let them know that the job was complete, both so that they could get paid and someone could come and collect them. Lucy smiled at Natsu from where she laid on the ground, regaining her energy and said "Thanks for the help Natsu, couldn't have done it without you." Natsu grinned and said "No problem Lucy, thanks for calling me in to join the fun." Lucy laughed as an answer, holding out her hand so he could help her to her feet.
Much as she wanted to rest, the safety of their inn sounded better than the floor of the former residence of a dark guild group. Seeing how unsteady she was on her feet, Natsu asked "Hey do you want a piggy back ride?" Lucy considered this for a moment before accepting, Erza giving one to an equally drained Wendy. Gray had volunteered to keep an eye on the dark guild members until whoever was coming to collect them did so.
Carla and Happy flew on ahead and Erza moved at a fast pace, leaving Natsu and Lucy behind shortly. Lucy unconsciously nuzzled her face against Natsu's shoulder, finding a comfy spot to settle it. She loved the heat that was her partner's natural body temperature, it helped to relieve her already aching muscles. Soon soft snores from Lucy could be heard by Natsu, who grinned and continued to move as carefully as he could so as not to jostle her awake.
Once they reached the inn, Natsu was faced with a dilemma. Lucy was still sound asleep on his back and he hated to wake her, but how did he get her off him without doing so? Erza dropped off Wendy in her room that she shared with Carla and found Natsu staring at the door that led to her own and Lucy's room. "Need some help Natsu?" she asked. Natsu nodded and said "I don't want to wake her up." Erza opened the door and entered the room before him, making her way to the side of the bed.
Between the two of them, they got her in bed without waking her, though she curled in on herself now that the heat source was gone. The two exited the room and not too long later, Gray joined them in the lounge area of the inn. As Erza and Gray talked, Natsu thought about how strong Lucy had become since he first met her and smiled. Perhaps she would come with him when he finally decided to do the one hundred year quest.
I called it interlude since this is just my take on something that took place in that one year between Acnologia's defeat and 100 Year Quest.
ATTENTION! PLEASE DO READ THE NEXT PART!
So I'm working on two big stories right now and just felt the need to write something as a way of a break from them, to give my brain a chance to come up with some fun stuff for them. Both are Fairy Tail stories, though one is a crossover with Kingdom Hearts. The other is a longer, more in depth and changed version of Dragon Scale, basically it's the story I would have told if I wasn't making it into a one shot as both myself and a few others said they wished there was more to it. It will start out in the same spot and have a few similar points, but there are so many differences with it compared to Dragon Scale.
Once I have four or five chapters of it done (currently have two) I will start uploading once a week as I also want to include characters that you guys would like to see and I'll need time to work them out and incorporate them. Those already in it, planned to be in it or mentioned are Jude, Layla, Igneel, Grandeeney, Lucy, Natsu, Zeref, Mavis, Wendy, Romeo, Happy, Carla, Lily, Gajeel, Levy, Jellal, Erza, Yajima, Laxus, Gray and Juvia so if you have someone you want to see, good or bad, let me know! I am planning for this story to be longer than most of my other stories, I'm trying to take it slow and not rush to points I am excited to get to.