The 12 Strizers

by Erzats

2 years after the war with Alvarez, peace returned to Fiore. But for the mages of Fairy Tail and their friends, it won't last. 12 warriors coming from an unkown place are coming for them. Who are they and what do they want ? They'll learn it the hard way. OCs, created by me. Multiple Pairing (Nalu, Gruvia, Gale, Rowen, HappyxCharla and others). Advices welcomed.

15. Chapter 15 : Homecoming and changes

And here we are again for the continuation of our Fairy Tail fanfic, with a return to Magnolia, meetings, changes of attitudes and a need to have a break. I hope that this will please you.

Let's not waste any more time and let's go !

Ah, and I am not the holder of the rights of Fairy Tail, only my OCs belongs to me.

Chapter 15: Homecoming and changes

If someone had told him that one day he would take the train willingly by himself, he would never have believed it.

But this is exactly what was happening to Natsu right now. After defeating the fire Strizer Jameson with Lucy's help, he had to find alone a way to go back home because the transport he used to come, in this particular case Lector, had returned to the guild after he had led him here. DO he had to reach the closest city while carrying a still sleeping Lucy, the latter exhausted by the fight. He had walked during approximately 3 hours with the sun heating his skin before finally reaching Drastara, a thermal city known for its volcano heated hot springs situated in hillside, at the end of the day. Not wanting to lose any more time, worried by the burns Lucy had on her hands and feet, he had to, alas for him, go to the only way which he had to return as quickly as possible to Magnolia : the city's train station.

Naturally, he was assaulted by nausea just as he had put a foot aboard what was for him a real torture device. But for Lucy's wellbeing, he gathered his strengths to try to hold on and went to one of the cabins, lengthening Lucy on one of them, putting the head of the blonde on his knees, as she was used to do to calm his nausea. But he was in the worst shape possible and that only got worse when he felt the train beginning to move.

His face now was of a sickly green shade and he felt like dying, the need to vomit becoming more and more powerful. But he was pulled out of his thoughts by a voice which he didn't know.

- " Sorry, can I sit here ? There is no more room in the other cabins. "

Raising his head, Natsu saw that it was a young woman. She had long wavy hair so shiny that they almost seemed to change colors according to the ambient luminosity, but they mainly seemed to be light brown, even blonde. In the same way, her eyes were similar to a kaleidoscope, mainly blue but they shone with many colors, like green, grey and even yellow and red. She was tall, being easily 1m80, reaching 1m90 with her whites heels. She wore a pair of slim jeans which were sticking to her long legs, she had a pink pullover knotted around the waist and a docker of the same color with the text ' Diamond in the rough ' written in black on it, with a deep cleavage showing her big chest and showing her midriff. She wore a lot of jewelry, rings with many kinds of precious gems on her fingers, a pendant shaped like a horse, hoop earrings and golden bracelet. She held a handbag in her arm, she had sunglasses on her forehead and she was dragging a suitcase behind her. She looked like this kind of girl which were obsessed with clothes and which spent their days giggling and swooning over guys. In other words, not the kind of girl he liked.

After his inspection, Natsu silently agreed, letting this young woman sit down in front of him and placing her suitcase in the space over the seats. Seeing the evident illness of her neighbor, the young woman looked for something in her bag and took out a small plastic bottle which contained a strange orange liquid.

- "Here. Drink that. You will get better."

Natsu remained forbidden one moment, eyes aimed at the bottle before admitting that he couldn't get into a worse shape than he was already, so it was worth a shot. So he took the bottle, already opened, and brought it to his lips. The slightly viscous beverage slid down his throat, disgust showing on his face.

- "Yuck ! It's horrible !" Complained the mage, his neighbor finding it quite funny.

- "It's normal. But you are in a better shape, isn't it ?"

Natsu gave himself some time to think and realized that, if he still was far from being at the top of his shape, he was much less nauseous, as his complexion suddenly less green could testify of it.

- " Yeah, I'm feeling better now. Thank you, uh… " began Natsu before realizing that he didn't know how she was called. Which the stranger noticed.

- " Rachel. And you are from Fairy Tail, right ? That's their symbol on your shoulder, isn't it ? " Noticed the young woman while pulling her hair back to put them in a ponytail.

- " Yeah. My name is Natsu and here, it's Lucy. " Introduced Natsu by looking at Lucy, who was still sleeping. Rachel looked at Lucy, in particular her hands, a little bit worried.

- " Is she okay ? She looked badly hurt. "

- " Yeah, we had a bad encounter a few hours ago. I'm returning us to the guild so that she can be looked after. " Explained Natsu, because since he know a lot about burns, he suspected that waiting too long to heal those burns wasn't a good idea, but he had no choice.

- " Wait, I think that I can do something for her. " Tried Rachel by searching in her suitcase and taking out a small first-aid kit which she opened without any further ado. " I have a kit to appease burns in there. It won't cure burns like those but that will be better than waiting for you to reach your destination and make thing worse." Seeing this stranger looking after Lucy's hands made him realize that he also had to get rid of his apriorism. This girl seemed like a nice person if she was taking care like that of somebody she didn't know. After a few minutes of silence during which she finished tending at Lucy, Rachel got up with a small smile.

- " You are too cute, you both. When did you two began dating ? "

- " What ? No, we aren't going out together. " babbled Natsu, taken aback by Rachel's sudden question.

- " Ah. That means that I have the field his clear, then. " Suddenly said Rachel cheerily by sitting down next to Natsu, showing her already impressive cleavage even more, giving him a teasing look. " What do you say, big boy ? "

Natsu's reaction came quickly and like expected. He began blushing while trying to move back, not succeeding in doing so, stammering and stuttering as if someone had put his vocal cords in a shaker. He was especially surprised by the nerve of this girl who was flirting with him while he still had Lucy sleeping on his knees. But when after a few minutes of total embarrassment Rachel moved back roaring with laughter, Natsu didn't know what to think, completely lost.

- "You should have seen your face, it was too funny!" Rachel burst out while going away from Natsu. "Don't worry. I know that I might not necessarily look like it, but I never steal other girls boyfriends. And even if you are not together, yet, it is clear that you are head over heel for her." She paused, thinking for a moment before starting again. "If you want, I can give you some advice so that you can be more to her liking."

The proposal of the young woman made Natsu think. He wanted to change for Lucy but he had no idea on how to proceed. He wouldn't mind a little help.

- "I would like to, but a train ride is going to be a little too short for that."

- "I know that. But I'm soon going to open a clothing store for women, men and child in Magnolia. And because your guild is based there, you could come to see me for more advice. At one condition." Added Rachel, suddenly overly serious.

Natsu squinted his eyes, as if he got ready to try to find the dirty trick in this condition.

- "Which one ?" The question was welcomed with a smile by Rachel.

- "You make me some advertisement at that guild of yours ! If mages as famous as yours come to my place, it will attract a lot of customers." Natsu almost face faulted, realizing that it was no tricky condition, just a business agreement of some sort.

- "Well OK. We are starting with what ?" Threw Natsu, apparently satisfied by the way things were going.

- "Start by describing to me how you usually are and I'll give you advice according to that."

Having put Lucy off his legs and placed her head on his scarf which he had folded to act as a pillow, Natsu began to answer Rachel's questions, not missing an advice, ready to change for what he hoped to be the best.

/- Magnolia -/

When Lucy woke up, she was surprised noticing that she was not in the same place as when she had fallen asleep. After a little more analysis, she realized that she was in a train and judging by what she saw through the window of the cabin, she was back at Magnolia.

" Wait, does that means that Natsu took the train by himself ? Is the world coming to an end ? "

Speaking about Natsu, she noticed that she had his scarf under her head like a pillow of some sort but the Dragon Slayer was nowhere to be found. At least, it was the case until he reappears in the corridor, nauseous as usual.

- " Ah Lucy, you are awake. We needs to hurry or the train is going to leave with us. " Announced the young man by holding himself to the wall whereas Lucy got up, giving him his scarf back. It was at this moment that Lucy noticed the bandages around her hands and feet.

- " You looked after me ? With what ? "

- " It was another passenger in fact, she had what was needed. But that is not totally cured. It's just the time for us to return to the guild. " Natsu explained while Lucy had difficulty standing because of her bruised feet. He thought again about one of the advice he got from Rachel and approached Lucy.

- " Wait, Luce. I am going to carry you up to the guild. "

- " But no, it's not necess... Hey! "

Lucy hadn't the time to finish her sentence that she found herself swept off her feet by Natsu. But while she expected to be put on his back, or even on his shoulder like a potato bag, Natsu carrying her bride style, putting her against his torso, making the young mage blush but didn't protest. When they arrived near the guild, Lucy was surprised that she was regretting that this closeness had to be interrupted so early. But she was not able to reflect about it any longer that Natsu had opened the doors of the guild, drawing the attention, then the enjoyment and the concern of their friends.

- " Natsu! " Shouted Happy by throwing himself on his partner. " Where were you ? "

- " Lucy-san ! What happened to your hands ?! And your feet ?! " Wendy said worried by seeing the bandages which the young woman wore, the concern intensifying when she removed them to see the wounds from up-close. " OH MY GOD ! How did you do that ? "

- " She plunged them into the lava to melt the chains that held her prisoner. " Explained Natsu without any filter, shocking all the present mages, who turned their head to the blonde who was taken to the infirmary by the young Dragon Slayer.

- " She did what ? " asked Laxus completely shocked (no pun intended), not believing what he heard. " Wow, she is a lot more strong than I though. " The compliment from Laxus, and the waves of approval which followed, made Natsu proud of his Luce, but a little bit of remorse darkening slightly his mood by recognizing that she had always been strong but that he had never noticed how much before. But it's the kind of mistake that he won't do any more.

/-2 weeks later-/

Lucy did not know in which world she had landed. It's as if after she collapsed from tiredness at mount Drastam, she had woken up in another dimension. A dimension where Natsu had been replaced by a wiser and caring version of himself. And honestly, she didn't know if she should be delighted or frightened by such a change.

At the beginning, she thought that it was due to her wounds and her convalescence. He volunteered to help her shopping for example, carrying her bags, because she had been ordered not to use her hands to make sure they don't get hurt any more than they already were. Watching him following her everywhere, helping her for everything he could, she expected that, as usual, he would takes things too far, doing as he please as always. But it is exactly there that it began to become strange for her. He hadn't insisted and gave her autonomy back without any question. It was already disconcerting, but not as much as some of his other changes which were almost unnatural. One day, she was going to go out of the guild to leave for a mission with Levy when Natsu had called her.

- " Where are you going, Luce ? "

- " I'm going on a mission with Levy. And before you ask, I … "

- " OK, be careful. And have fun ! "

Lucy almost had an heart attack. She was persuaded that Natsu was going to try everything to go with them, doing the same kind of shit than when she had left for Akaruidesu, but instead of that, he had just accepted the fact that she was leaving on a job and had even encouraged her. She had to admit that this new Natsu almost frightened her. She especially wondered what happened to him to make him change like that and so suddenly ? Her head full of questions, she returned back home to relax but she realized by reaching her plate that it wouldn't be possible.

Indeed, she opened the door of her apartment and was welcomed by Cana, collapsed on her armchair, guzzling a nth bottle of alcohol without flinching.

- " *sigh* Cana, what are you doing at my home ? Except drinking, of course."

- "I saw in the cards that you were going through a difficult moment right now, so I said to myself that you would need a little of support." Answered the card mage by lowering her bottle. "And I am sure that this has to do with Natsu."

- "Well, all right." Granted Lucy by sitting down on her sofa, pulling her legs against her chest. "It is just that his behavior suddenly changed so much. It is so strange and I don't know how to manage all this."

- "Come on. It's not as if he had changed that much. You aren't going to lose the Natsu you are crazy in love with, don't worry." Casually answered Cana by sending a small provocation at Lucy who blushed deeply.

- "I AM NOT CRA …" *DING-DONG * Lucy was literally saved by the bell when the bell of her apartment was heard, intriguing the 2 young women who wondered who it could be at this hour. Lucy got up and opened the door, coming face to face with the last person whom she expected to find here.

- "Yo, Luce. You dropped your purse by leaving the guild later. I suggested returning it to you. Here." Explained Natsu by giving the purse back to its owner, who reached out without being aware of it, paralyzed in shock. "Well, I'm not going to linger here, I have to met Happy at the house. See you tomorrow." And he left as simply as he had arrived, without a word, leaving behind him Lucy, still completely gob smacked, taking a step back and closing the door, turning towards Cana who, like her, was bewildered to the point where she dropped her bottle which went to roll on the ground of the lounge. Their state was however understandable seen they had just seen Natsu coming at Lucy's …

… By passing through …

… THE FUCKING DOOR !

- "OK, I take back what I said. There is really somethings wrong with him !" Admitted Cana by getting up from her seat.

- "See ! That's what I just said. I don't know what to think of it anymore." Added a completely confused Lucy. Suddenly, Cana's face illuminated.

- "I KNOW ! We are going to take a few days of rest. There is a nice place where I always wanted to go. Natsu might be going through a temporary phase and when we will return, it will get back to how it was before, I am sure of it."

Lucy balanced the pros and the cons of Cana's proposal, before smiling to the latter.

- " OK, we can do that ! When are we leaving ? "

- " We can go there tomorrow. I am going to go back to Fairy Hills to pack my suitcases. I'll meet you at the station tomorrow morning at 9 am, OK ? " Proposed Cana by going to the door.

- " It okay for me. See you tomorrow. " And Cana left, letting Lucy prepare her own suitcase before going to bed, while thinking of Natsu and his changes.

" One day, I'll find what make you act like that, Natsu. You can believe it. "

/-The next day, Westcoal Town-/

Lucy and Cana had just got off the train which had led them to Westcoal Town, a mining city in the southeast of Magnolia which was also the favorite city of the Connell family for a very good reason, it was a city which looked like a typical city of their country of origin. It was thus basically a city in the Far West style with wooden buildings, including great classics like a saloon and a pawn shop. Even the inhabitants seemed to have gone out of ' The good, the bad and the ugly ', with firearms on their belt, cowboy's hats, spurs and everything, as much for the men as for the women. Lucy and Cana had decided to put in the mood by following the same dress code, thus wearing pairs of jean shorts, boots of brown leather with spurs on the heels, brown sleeveless vest wore over a black docker, the whole accompanied with the 10-gallon hat that went with it. If they had done that, it is also because the city celebrated the birthday of its foundation, just 100 years ago, and that the city was having a festival to celebrate this. With multiple games, for the most part non-magic, was available almost everywhere, the 2 mages sailing between them. Well, it's what Lucy would have wanted to do, but Cana had other plan and she had thrown herself in a saloon as soon as they arrived and had begun to drink glass after glass of whiskey, Lucy looking at the scene half-amused, half-embarrassed.

- " I now understand the reason why she wanted to come here so much. "

Deciding to let her friend have fun on her own, Lucy walked in the streets of the city, letting herself carried by the sound of the shouts and songs, several times interrupted by gun fire without any consequence for the party. However, when she arrived near a shooting range, a voice startled her.

- " Go, dad ! You are best !" Roared a little girl, apparently very cheerful. Lucy had the feeling that she knew this voice and by going back to its source, she noticed that indeed, she knew this girl because it was Asuka, who was just standing in front of her mother Bisca, both concentrated on the shooting range where Alzack, gun in hand, was taking challenge after challenge without stopping, winning them all easily, much to the joy of his daughter. When he had finished, he returned towards his family under the applauses of the public.

- "YEAH ! You are best, dad !" Shouted Asuka by throwing herself into her daddy arms who lifted her up with a big smile.

- "Without a doubt. But when it came to precision, you would not have been that lucky against me." Bisca said, Alzack not trying to deny.

- "And that would not disturb me in the least." He admitted then kissed his wife under the eyes of their daughter who laughed wholeheartedly. This show warmed at the heart of Lucy, who imagined herself instead of Asuka, in the arms of her father with her mother, when they were a happy family. But her vision fell out for a brief moment and she saw herself instead of Bisca, with Nastu replacing Alzack with a blond child in his arms.

"WHAT? No, no, no! I can't think like that. I don't even know where I am right now ! Stupid imagination !"

Shaking her head, she went to the small family which were very surprised to see her.

- "Lucy ! What are you doing here alone !" Asked Bisca while Alzack put Asuka on the ground.

- "In fact, I am not alone, but Cana stopped in a saloon and I don't think that she is going to go out of here soon." Lucy said with an embarrassed smile which made the Connell smile to. "And you, what are you doing here ?"

- "This city was founded by people coming from our home country. And everything here reminds us our childhood. We often come there, in particular to allow Asuka to discover what we had grown with. And since it's the city anniversary, we had to come."

They then take the decision to walk together, Lucy refusing the proposal at first, not wanting to bother their family moment, but the insistence of the Connell made her change of mind. They had a walk, going from games to games, either by pure desire for a challenge, or to please Asuka who wanted to play a lot of game. Everything went well and our small group spent an excellent morning. When came noon, they stopped in a restaurant, which was also a saloon, with a small scene, a background music played by an old piano, a bar where was leaned several people and a gaming room to play poker. Join by Cana who revealed that she had spent almost all of her morning in this place drinking, the 3 other adults sighing of exasperation while Asuka laughed wholeheartedly, without really understanding what she meant. The meal went well until the arrival of a trouble-maker who entered the building and there was a kind of strange vibe coming out of him. He a white cowboy hat with a brown thread around it, a black T-shirt wore underneath a brown sleeveless vest whose sleeves looked like they were torn away, a pair of jeans torn in several places with two cartridge belts around his waist hanging on each side with two Colts on his hips and to complete the whole, a pair of brown boots with spurs. His hat hid the top of his face, but it did not hide a naughty smile who drew even more the attention of the customers and owner of the saloon.

- " Hello, mister. What can I serve you ? " Asked the barman by addressing the stranger who was now leaning on the bar.

- " A whiskey. " He simply answered, the barman placing his order in front of him, which he downed in one sip.

- " Hum. This whiskey's not bad. Almost as good as those from my Far West. " admitted the newcomer with an amused tone, the mages of Fairy Tail feeling something almost dangerous coming from this guy.

- " Far West ? Never heard of that. " Admitted the barman under the others customers eyes who were intrigued by this stranger as much as the faeries.

- " Say, owner, there is a thing which I would like to enjoy and I am sure that you have that in this establishment. "

- "And what is it exactly ? " The question made him smile even more which made the uneasiness of the customers and mages grew even more. And when the answer arrived, the mages understood why.

- " Fairies's tears. "

The 4 mages jumped out of their chairs, Bisca lifting Asuka in her arms, the little girl not understanding what was happening except that her parents were suddenly tensed. They had finally understood why this guy felt like a threat.

- " So you are a Strizer! Is that it ? " Threw Lucy, on her guard beside Alzack who was ready to unsheathe his guns and Cana who had her cards in her hands. The stranger laughed lightly by lifting his hat then turned to the mages, not paying attention to the rest of the customers, revealing clay colored eyes and hair of the same color in wild locks with a lock falling in front of his eyes.

- " That's right, my little lady. And now, I think that you know what that means. " Announced the Strizer before realizing that all the customers and even the barman had pointed a weapon at him. However, he was not intimidated in the least. " You have balls, I can't deny that. But you have to learn to know when you have no chance of winning against someone. "

DIRT BLAST !

He then stomped on the ground, causing a sort of explosion which caused an eruption of earth which filled the saloon and pushed away all the people present inside, the establishment exploding under the pressure of this mass of earth that appeared out of nowhere. When the mages came back to their senses, they were the outside of the bar, half buried under a huge mass of dirt.

- " Is that… dirt ? How did he …? "

- " ASUKA ! Where are you, dear ? " Bisca's cries interrupted Alzack who turned to see his wife looking everywhere around her, her daughter nowhere to be seen.

- " Are you looking for her ? " Answered the Strizer, drawing the attention of the fairies who were struck by horror. The Strizer held Asuka by the collar, the girl struggling with all of her strength without succeeding in releasing herself.

- " Hey, you coward ! She has nothing to do with that ! " Shouted Cana, whereas the Strizer still had a small grin.

- " You don't have to worry about her. I have no intention of using her in any way. " He answered while placing Asuka on a stone plate that appeared by his side, bars appearing around her to form a cage keeping her prisoner. " But we are going to let her look. That should be very funny for her to see her friends and parents get wrecked. "

- " Shit up and come here so that we could destroy you ! " Commanded Bisca, rifle in hand, her maternal instinct giving her the need to charge and mutilate the one who had kidnapped her daughter.

- "I'll come, but you'll be the one who will be destroyed. But first, let me introduce myself. The name's Alexander Miller. Strizer of the earth. "

SHURIKEN CARDS !

STONE WALL !

By hearing Cana call her technique, Alex made a simple stone wall appear in front of him just as cutting cards approached him, the cards sinking into the wall which cracked under the impact.

- " Spare us the presentations, we already know who you are. "

- " I see that you are in a hurry to be crushed. " Teased Alexander by making his wall burst, the stone shards swirling around him. " Very well. In this case, let's not waste any more time in useless gossips. "

The mages took a stand, Asuka looking at the scene powerless and at the same time, in the neighborhood of the city, a silhouette approached, attracted by the magics emanating from the city. What everybody ignored on the other hand, was that an event nobody would have was able to foresee was going to occur in this battle.

And a small cliffhanger to finish this. I hope that you all liked this chapter. I'll see you all soon enough for the next chapter and a fight which will be surprising. See you !

Next time: a mountain of difficulties. The power of a father. A royal intervention.