Author's Note: Lucy has found herself in some serious problems, hasn't she. How would you react if one day you wake up and you're suddenly in a completely altered version of the world you used to live in? Well, right now we don't care about you because we're all too busy laughing at Lucy's reaction. Here it is, Chapter 2, Twenty Years ago. R&R, IF YOU DARE!
Chapter 2:
Twenty Years Ago
"EH! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN TWENTY YEARS!" Lucy's yell shook the entire building, upstairs and down and awoke a sleeping Happy from his nap on Natsu's shoulder.
Everyone looked at Natsu, shocked by his words, none more shocked than Lucy. Suddenly, a familiar chuckle echoed through the halls and yelled, "Natsu, you mad genius, you actually pulled it off!"
Their eyes locked on to the other end of the room while Happy, in his usual energetic voice yelled, "AYE!"
Soon, everyone's favorite lightning mage emerged from behind the bar. He hopped over the table and walked towards Natsu and the others, his usual smirk on his face. Lucy stuttered, "I… I thought… you got kicked out. Why are you here… Luxus?"
He grumbled, "You only could be from twenty years ago. I came back about fifteen years ago."
He turned his head to notice Erza holding down the two young men. The two were shocked by his glare and bowed their head low. In perfect sync, they said, "Excuse the intrusion, Master Dreyar."
They bolted downstairs, leaving the older members of Fairy Tail to discuss. It seemed like Lucy wore the same puzzled expression from since she arrived to this strange place. "Master? How many masters does Fairy Tail have, and of all people Luxus is one of them?"
Natsu held his forehead with his eyebrows furrowed as he grumbled, "I was just about to explain before Luxus interrupted, things here are very different than it was twenty years ago. As you can see, most of Fairy Tail's older members are gone, but its much deeper than that."
Natsu gestured for the others to follow him to an empty table on the other end of the room. Luxus, Erza, Gray, and Lucy followed him, making their way through the crowd of on-looking fairies while Happy hovered over Natsu's head. Lucy nervously looked at the crowd, taking note of missing faces. Mirajane, Elfman, Wendy and Charle, Juvia, Gajeel, Levy, Bisca, some of the less important members, they were all missing.
They sat around the table. The tension in the air was high as they glanced at each other giving Lucy a nervous feeling in her stomach. She slouched in her seat as she nervously asked, "So… you mind telling me what's going on here."
They all glared at her sharply which scared her a bit. Gray averted his eyes from Lucy to stare at Natsu and growled, "Where'd you get the money to start the project? And why'd you test it on Lucy?"
Natsu rested his head in his palms, his elbows on the table. "I should just tell the story from the beginning, that way I can answer everyone's questions at once, That should be okay, right."
Happy sat on the edge of the table, right next to Natsu whom was at the end of the table. Erza and Gray sat next to each other along the side and across from them was Luxus and Lucy. "Natsu you should start from the beginning of Zeref's coup de main, that way Lucy can catch up too." Happy suggested.
"Zeref?"
"That's right. It would probably only have been a few days until it happened, that is, from the time I brought Lucy from. I remember, it was twenty years ago. Suddenly a dark, evil mist overwhelmed the sky. Red lightning bolts could be seen flashing through the sinister shrouds that covered the sky…"
-Fairy Tail Flash Back (Twenty Years Ago)-
"Everyone, come inside. Hurry." Mirajane announced.
The panicking mages filled the guild and shut the door behind them. "The sky, its black." Happy whimpered, standingon Natsu's shoulder, hugging onto the dragon slayer's neck.
Erza approached Makarov, attempting to stay calm in this almost apocalyptic scenario, and asked "Do you have any idea what's happening?"
In a serious and stern tone, he muttered "If it is what I think it is, then we're witnessing the final moments of the magical world as we know it today."
Shock could be seen in the faces of everyone present and an utter silence filled the room. Natsu slammed his hand on the bar table and sneered, "What do you mean last moments? What ever that cloud is, we can just blow it away, don't underestimate us Gramps, and definitely don't give up on Fairy Tail's abilities."
A rise of confidence and energy filled the room, however Makarov didn't seem to change. With eyes averted from Natsu, he gravely said, "That cloud of malice you see is nothing more than a message… A message from Zeref. He has… returned. And is much, MUCH stronger now. I am not doubting your abilities, but there's no way at this moment, you will be able to defeat him."
Lucy was no doubt terrified, "I thought Zeref died, what do you mean he's returned? It can't possibly be him."
"Zeref promised that on the day of his resurrection, he will send a shroud of darkness over all of Fiore. He said that it would be the signal for the building of his empire, his new era. He will kill all those who were responsible for his death, and also all those who oppose his kingdom. He will absorb the magic from the generations after his overthrow. To him, this is nothing more than a sick game."
Suddenly a violent and sinister snicker echoed throughout the streets of Magnolia. "This would make a wonderful place to start my kingdom, after all, it was Fairy Tail that destroyed most of my toys. Deliora and Lullaby, very unforgivable." Suddenly a violent tornado formed in front of the Fairy Tail guild, shattering windows and destroying the door. The mighty gale rushed throughout the guild, the mages had to hold on to whatever they could to avoid being swallowed by the black tornado.
Mira held onto the bar table for dear life, but lost her grip and was being pulled into the tornado. However, Gajeel let go of the table with one hand and extended a steel pillar to catch her. As she grabbed onto it, he retracted it and reformed his arm, holding Mirajane tightly to his chest. "Thank you, Gajeel. I really owe you one."
Gajeel, with his usual sneer muttered, "Don't mention it." His tone scared Mira a bit until she looked carefully at his face and could see a slight blush and a small underlined smile. She giggled a bit to herself, it was her first time seeing an expression like that on the cold, iron dragon slayer's face.
Wendy inhaled deeply and used Sky Dragon's Breath to dispel the tornado. The dense black clouds scattered back up to the sky, leaving behind a figure. It was a man with long black hair covered by a tall purple hat and blood red eyes. He wore a purple coat and pants and had a black insignia on his torso. His glare was sharp, as if it could slice through the air itself and choke you. His malicious aura was visible as the red aura seemed to gush from beneath his feet. Just looking at him struck the mages dumb as they could barely even breath, as if terror was strangling their hearts. This man, he was definitely no ordinary mage.
Master Makarov muttered under his breath, "Zeref." Just as sudden as he could speak, Zeref released a flood of magic into Fairy Tail. It engulfed the entire guild, busting through parts of the wall, flowing through the open cracks and holes. The magic was as thick as a sea of goo, drowning the members of Fairy Tail. Eventually, the dense magic became too much for the newly remodeled guild, and the walls gave way, just in time for the mages to be washed out of the guild and finally gasp in some air.
When they opened their eyes, Zeref was nowhere to be found. Only his taunting message he left behind, could be heard echoing through Magnolia and possibly even the whole of Fiore. "Take heed to my words, these are your final moments of joyful freedom. As of sunrise tomorrow, the Kingdom of Fiore will be under my control. I will be the only one permitted magic and all my laws are final. Guilds must disband and the use of magic is illegal. All those who oppose my words will be dealt with, I personally assure you of that."
Just as he promised, the next day at sunrise, a large sinister-looking palace shot up from the ground in the center of Magnolia. It looked as if it was tearing through the sky itself, creating ripples in its wake. The other-worldly ripples released demon-birds into the skies. They were completely black with red, beady eyes and featherless. Their wings resembled those of dragons, large and fearsome with the shrieks of banshees. They screeched as they covered the skies. Swiftly they descended on the citizens of Fiore, forcing some into their homes and causing others, mostly small children, to reach an untimely demise. Some acted as thieves, stealing lychrima and other magical objects from mages and merchants and carrying them back to the palace.
The whole time, Zeref watched from atop the highest tower in the palace, snickering at the devastation he created. Nothing he did before could compare to what he was planning to do. He watched in amusement as he noticed some of Fairy Tail's mages attempting to fight off his birds and guide people to safety.
The birds would often gang a single member of Fairy Tail, but be forced away by another. However, one group of birds grabbed Levy in their beaks, struggling against Jet and Droy to carry her away. They were able to successfully force Jet and Droy back as they flew away with Levy, back towards the palace to store her with all the other goods they stole.
In pure anger and rage, Jet and Droy attempted to run towards the palace to face Zeref themselves, however they were stopped by a concerned Titania. "Idiots, I understand that you want to save Levy as soon as possible, and so does the rest of us. But honestly, who do you think would last longer, Levy, or these innocent civilians and children? If you two go now, you would only provoke Zeref, whom doesn't seem concerned at all with Levy's being there."
"But, Erza…"
"You would only destroy her chances of surviving."
Although they didn't want to face facts, they knew Erza was right. Meanwhile, members were starting to team up to better protect themselves. Makarov was in the very front of the fight, beating down the birds and knocking some out of the sky while in Giant mode. Erza stayed with Jet and Droy along the front lines with Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Juvia, and Gajeel coming up right next to them. Elfman, Cana, and Macao lead another team along the center, taking care of any birds that got behind the front line. Bisca and Alzack took higher stations, shooting down birds from on top of buildings. Meanwhile Mirajane and Readus lead the back team that was to guide civilians into their homes and take out any birds that got too close.
Even in this formation, the birds seemed overwhelming. Endless and relentless, the birds just kept getting back up and fighting, tiring out even the strongest of mages. However, the mages just kept fighting and even gained the help of other mages nearby. When all the civilians were safely inside their homes, the birds suddenly seemed as if they were withdrawing their attacks.
The relieved fairies soon found themselves in a panic as all the birds suddenly swooped down and alarming speeds all at the same time, crashing through homes and kidnapping many young adults, but only young adults. No children or the elderly were taken. Before the mages could do anything to defend the hostages the birds had already ascended back to the skies, on their way back to the palace.
Zeref rose to his feet as the birds dropped their captives into the palace. He chuckled a bit as he announced, "These people will become my officers, building the cities of my dreams, which in your cases would be your worst nightmares, and bringing all troublemakers to my attention."
Zeref leaped from the building, gracefully floating down to the ground. He slammed his hand to the ground and formed a magic circle around the entire Kingdom of Fiore. The confused Fairy Tail members looked around to see what was happening. "It seems as if nothing has happened, doesn't it? Actual, nothing has happened, or at least not yet. This spell will prevent your miserable future offspring from inheriting magic. Also, this spell cannot be destroyed or removed by anyone, it will only disappear on my deathbed." he smirked as he spoke, confident, if not arrogant, that he would never be defeated.
-Fairy Tail Flashback Ended-
Lucy trembled in her seat, "That's terrible. But, I still don't get it, what happened to Levy? What happened to everyone else?"
Gray explained, "Levy was brainwashed along with those guys Zeref took to be his officers. Right now, Levy's treating us like an enemy, just like Zeref commands her to."
Erza continued, "As for your other question, many of the mages grew impatient, especially after Master Makarov's assassination, so they formed teams and left Fairy Tail to face Zeref on their own." she turned her head with remorse, "If only we realized what they were about to do before they left, then maybe we could have stopped them."
Natsu continued, "Others who left Fairy Tail had their own personal reasons. Zeref seems to really have an interest in the dragon slayers, so he's constantly sending his officers to attack Fairy Tail. That's why Wendy left, she said she didn't want to cause any trouble and there was no way to convince her otherwise. She left about ten years ago."
Happy also wisely explained, "As the number of members went down, everything got real crazy. So a second Fairy Tail was formed called 'New Generation Fairy Tail' or 'NG Fairy Tail' for short. Natsu's in charge of those guys and Erza's the master of the original Fairy Tail. And Luxus is the overall master. He settles disputes between the two guilds and acts as master when the two guilds occasionally have to team up."
Lucy still didn't seem to completely understand, and it was made painfully obvious by her awkward expression. Natsu smiled and said, "We'll explain better in the morning, meanwhile you should rest up for the night."
Gray quickly volunteered, "She could stay with us, it doesn't seem like anyone else is going home."
Lucy quickly rejected his offer claiming, "Sorry I don't think I'll feel comfortable around you for the night."
"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on him, Lucy." Erza reassured.
"Why? Are you coming too?" Lucy questioned, still a bit confused.
"Of course, it is my house too."
"You and Gray live together?"
Gray muttered, "Of course we live together, we're married."
Lucy was shocked stiff while Luxus burst into laughter at her reaction, stating, "I thought it was pretty disgusting when I found out."
Suddenly he was silenced by a metal fist in his face as Erza punched him out of his seat. As he got back up lightning was pouring from his mouth as he exclaimed, "Son of a… Who the hell do you think you are?" He shot a bolt of lightning from his arm, which Erza quickly dodged and requipped into her Lightning Empress Armor.
The bolt of lightning hit Gray, leaving a slight singe on his upper arm. He slammed his hand on the table and growled, "Bastard, you trying to pick a fight."
Natsu snickered a bit and said, "You better stay out of this Gray, it may be a bit too intense for…" He was interrupted by a ball of ice that came flying at his face.
Soon everyone in the guild was fighting and destroying everything. Some of the members from NG Fairy Tail came upstairs to check it out, but was immediately blown back by a force of magic. Lucy, just as she did in the past, sat at the table watching everyone go crazy. She giggled under her breath, "This is definitely the Fairy Tail I remember, even if it got a bit older, it hasn't changed a bit."
Omake: A section for things I wanted to put in at first, but changed my mind cause they were probably too stupid or something, but were still too funny not to mention, (or at least I find 'em funny).
Mirajane and Gajeel scene:
Mira held onto the bar table for dear life, but lost her grip and was being pulled into the tornado. However, Gajeel let go of the table with one hand and extended a steel pillar to catch her. With all the debris and dust flying around, Gajeel couldn't keep his eyes open and so he left this operation to feeling. Suddenly he felt a tug at the end of his pillar and quickly retracted it. He quickly opened his eyes only to see Mirajane's clothes in his hand, but no Mira.
He turned back to see Mira being pulled into the tornado in only her underwear as she yelled, "Gajeel you idiot!" Many of the men in Fairy Tail who turned to look ended up losing their grip at the sight of Mira's body and were sucked into the tornado behind her.
Author's Note: That's the only omake for now. Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, this is probably my favorite story that I'm working on.
Hehe, I'm gonna use this to my advantage *ahem* I'm asking everyone who's reading this now to please visit this website blackkat13 (.) weebly(.) com. Its my personal website and its new, so I need content and that's what I'm asking everyone for. Anyway, Gonna get working on the next chapter as soon as I can. Don't forget to review!