Original Summary has been changed cause I found a more serious way to say it~ ^_^
Original:
Sequel to the Strongest One of All (summary's included). Lucy Heartfilia has had her heart broken by Fairy Tail twice-and twice is enough. She leaves Earthland and returns a child who has only ever dreamed of the Human Realm since her sister first told her stories of it. But reality is never as good as fantasy...who are all these people? And why do they feel so familiar to her?
Summary:
Prequel ("Strongest One of All") summary included. Our memories make up who we are. The moment we lose them, our being, our sense of self, ceases to exist. So I am not your "Lucy" nor your "Lily". They suffered; I did not. I will never be them, nor will I ever understand them, because I have different experiences. So please. Stop. I am not them. I am Takara, and I do not know you.
Chapter 3
Hey guys…so you know when I said the update would be within a month? *nervously smiles* I LIED I'M SO SORRY GUYS I'M A TERRIBLE AUTHOR! *ducks*
Anyways, I lost track of time actually and life is killing me TT^TT please review guys and give me not only some inspiration for what to write next (suggestions are always appreciated, as are compliments ^-^) and encouragement to write more~
Love you guys a bunch!
Anyways, as always, responses to readers are at the bottom as well as any questions I received in my reviews! Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I, sadly, do NOT own Fairy Tail. My drawing skills are wayyyyy too bad for it…*pout*
Takara accompanied them on their way as they finished escorting their client to her destination. The obviously rich and civilian lady spent most of the remaining two days inside the (very, very large) carriage, which was apparently stocked with a variety of desserts, snacks, and complimentary drinks that the mages were not privileged to, as well as fans, cubes of ice, and two handmaidens who were at her beck and call. When they stopped to rest for the night, the two servant-girls prepared a camping tent and sleeping bag that were more like a room and bed for the lady—materials that, apparently, had been in the second carriage (which also held supplies to replenish whatever the lady had eaten up) that Erza had been towing behind her for the majority of the trip.
They arrived at the client's mansion two days after Takara had met with them, with several attacks made by desperate bandits (who were surprisingly easily and quickly defeated, though Takara supposed she couldn't really expect civilians to be as powerful as actual Mages—let alone the Dragons she was used to training against) and two made by some dark mages (who had also been relatively easy to defeat—but something about all of the others' attacks unnerved her with their extreme familiarity…)
She stood outside as the Fairy Tail group collected their pay, lingering a few meters away from the entrance of the mansion for politeness' sake, leaning against the large gate and idly playing around with her magic, sparks of magic dancing between her fingertips and occasionally forming gems and jewels that twisted around her fingers, hands, and wrists in elegant, elaborate designs then bursting and disappearing into a shower of sparks.
Sensitive ears caught the sound of footsteps echoing behind the closed wooden door; she straightened quickly, letting all signs of her magic fade away as she stuffed her hands into her pockets casually. Her eyes shifted into a slightly guilt green at almost getting caught fooling around and using her magic to fulfill her own vanity before she calmed herself down and let neutral apathy seep into her features, turning her eyes a calm gray.
"Are you guys done?" she queried, allowing a small, patient smile to tilt her lips up.
Erza nodded, "Since it's so late, we've decided to spend the night in this town and depart in the morning. The next train headed to Magnolia is tomorrow anyways, so we can spend tomorrow on the train."
Takara dipped her head in understand and fell in step with them as they left the mansion behind, trodding down the long path that snaked from the gates of the mansion to one of the main streets of the town. Discreetly, she sniffed the air and identified the origin of the scent of travelers and food.
"The closest inn is a few streets down from here," she spoke out loud, eyes closed, mind whirling and already mapping out a path to the inn, letting her senses create a mental map for her.
She knew from experience that her eyes were now a white-golden bright with intelligence. Even with her eyes closed she could tell that the others were looking at her oddly, and she knew her voice was distant and different, but she continued speaking in a manner vaguely reminiscent of a prophet or a seer.
"Straight for five streets then a left turn, and a right turn after three streets. This inn is in the middle of the town; it offers room and board and is the more-liked inn in town. The other inns nearby are: straight for six streets, a right turn, then a left turn after seven streets. Backwards for five streets, a right turn, leaving the town walls, and following the path twelve hundred meters back as it leads up to the only inn outside the town walls within five kilometers of here."
Opening her eyes as they faded back to her typical calm pale blue, Takara offered her companions a serene smile. Entering her 'trance' was something she enjoyed and looked forward to every day—usually, allowing her senses to not only expand to her range of five kilometers but also focus and narrow down on whatever she was searching for allowed her to completely unwind and relieve herself of her stress. It was something she usually did in the morning after waking up and/or (if she had time) at night before sleeping, but for the past few days, she hadn't been able to let her guard down. However, she trusted her future guild-mates enough to completely relax in their presence.
A few beats of stunned silence passed as her companions simply looked at her and Takara gazed back, eyes a tranquil blue.
"That was awesome!" Natsu burst out, hopping around and waving his arms frantically, eyes large. "How'd you know that?!"
Serene smile still lingering on her lips, Takara merely inclined her head, "I can be incredibly attuned to my senses, so I merely expanded my senses. I used my sense of smell for the most part, detecting where the scent of houses and homes were and where the scent of traveling originated from and recalled everything else from my memory as we were walking through the town."
They stared at her for a few moments, eyes blank and glazed over, having no idea what she was speaking of, before blinking rapidly and shaking their heads.
"…Alright," Gray awkwardly shifted in the blank silence, "Will you lead us there? 'Cause it's getting pretty dark."
Takara gave a single nod and moved past them, footsteps as light and silent as if she were floating rather than walking; the others followed her closely, putting the previous minute out of their mind. The young girl took a few turns and stopped in front of a medium-sized, fairly nice building with 'SUJI'S INN' written neatly in slightly chipped and faded paint on a board hanging over the threshold of the entrance.
Calm cerulean eyes met theirs, and Takara inclined her head royally.
She looks like such a princess right now, went through all their minds.
It was not her appearance that made her seem so, for all her youth and beauty and style. No, it was the dignified manner with which she carried herself, the maturity in her actions that often made them forget how young she really was, the quiet confidence and assurance she had in herself. It appeared in her dignity, her grace, her faith in not only herself and her abilities but also in those of her companions.
"There is no need to pay for more than one room; there are three futons to a room if you request it and I will be spending the night outside the town walls. I have business to conduct; I will meet you at dawn tomorrow at the train station."
With that, she gave a small bow, turned on her heel, and left.
Takara had taken the opportunity to investigate the mages' claims—not that she did not believe them, but she wanted to confirm their information. There were indeed a multitude of dark guilds around the area—all minor guilds however that she took care of with little difficulty. By the time she finished up with them, dawn was fast approaching, so the Jewel Dragon Slayer merely jogged over to the small train station of the town and curled up on a bench in front of the station's entrance.
Her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps and familiar voices, and she looked up.
"Good morning," she greeted them, eyes a tired dark gray, taking in their rested demeanors. A flash of green jealousy overtook her for a moment before she pressed that feeling down. "Did you sleep well?"
They all responded with variations of "Morning" and "Yes" as she uncurled and rose fluidly from the bench.
After they had bought their tickets, they stood at the station waiting for the train to arrive. Despite the early hour, there were still a great many people at the station; the dull throbbing in Takara's head increased at the loud, albeit subdued due to the time, noise that surrounded them.
When the train had finally arrived, she curled up in her seat and leaned against the window, eyes slipping closed as exhaustion hit.
She awoke to the train abruptly screeching to a halt, her head banging back against the headrest. Immediately, her eyes snapped open as she winced in pain.
"Ow…what's happening?" she murmured.
Erza frowned beside her, "We shouldn't have arrived yet…"
Just then, they heard a distant shout and a scream; the other passengers in their car flinched in surprise.
"Hey! What was that?" one of them whispered, a note of worry in his voice.
As the compartment door slammed open, yelps of surprise rang out. A man stood in he entranceway, non-descript and unremarkable save for the knives he was twirling in one hand. Takara narrowed her eyes, as did the other 3 mages beside her—none of them missed the whispers of magic in his knives and fingers.
"Stay calm, folks," he smiled placatingly at them, "you won't get hurt if you listen and obey. Now we'll be collecting…protection fees from all of you. We'll go down the row one by one, alright? Each of you place all your money in this," he flipped off his hat with the hand not occupied with the knives, "and no one will be hurt, least of all yourselves, good sirs and madams."
Here, he paused, eyes taking in all of them. The Fairy Tail mages' eyes were all narrowed, but Takara forced her face to relax, plastering a terrified look on it even when she was absolutely annoyed, as shown in her dark orange-red eyes.
"If any of you object however…"
A knife was suddenly flying towards Takara's face.
At the same time Takara threw up a shield of diamond in front of them, the other mages burst into action—Erza was suddenly vaulting over her shield, a sword out, Gray had frozen the entire floor in the blink of an eye, and Natsu was standing guard over the civilians in the compartment.
The other mage, caught by complete surprise, was taken down and knocked unconscious almost immediately.
Erza dropped him after giving him another punch 'just in case' and turned to the civilians.
"Please stay calm," she requested of them (as they were screaming their heads off and panicking like headless chickens). When that didn't work, her expression turned stormy, and she fairly roared, "SILENCE!"
Of course, her terror tactic worked (as always), and she was able to give them a very terrifying but completely sincere (in her desire to destroy them perhaps, Takara mused) smile that made her look rather psychotic.
"Please stay calm," Takara interjected, clambering onto her diamond shield and swinging her legs slightly as she faced them. "You are not only making a nuisance of yourselves and worsening my headache, but possibly alerting other intruders. We are qualified Mages who are now leaving to secure the rest of the train and to apprehend the others. Please lock the door until we come again and assure you that it is safe to move about."
As she said this, a magic circle was gradually spreading from where she sat on the diamond shield and the shield gradually melting into the ground to join the diamond that was creeping along the walls, ceiling, and floor to completely seal the compartment in.
"Thank you," she added belatedly as she stepped over to where the compartment door had once been. The diamond parted for her, forming an exit, and she waited until the other three mages had passed by before resealing it again. "Ciao."
"Let's go kick some dark mage butt!" Natsu whisper-cheered, grinning wildly with excitement.
Their compartment was conveniently one of the last ones on the train, and the attackers had obviously begun at the other end of the train, having caused the train to stop in its tracks in the first place.
Takara smiled slightly, eyes burning a light red in battle-excitement, and they began to split up as they moved down the train, each person taking a compartment of their own to secure with their own means.
Questions & Answers:
Q: Why didn't the client just ride a train in the first place?
A: As we see in this chapter, attacks on trains happen frequently. And as a rich snob, she can afford to pay for an escort mission. She paid extra for a strong team to protect her too, and this team in particular (and most of Fairy Tail haha) fight better in larger areas cause then they have more leeway for destruction. ^-^
Q: What do you mean by Takara 'took care of' the dark guilds? Did she kill them or something? Isn't she a bit young for that?
A: It's really up to you guys how you want to take it. I just want to say—the way she was raised in her second childhood is a lot different than how we've been raised, so she probably doesn't have too many qualms about killing. Death is simply not something she fears. And also, in this fic, the Magic Council is…well, with all the dark guilds, it probably doesn't have enough guards to go around. Or prison cells.
Q: Why was Takara so tired? She only pulled one all-nighter.
A: Unlike most of us, Takara is still ~9 years old. Thus, kid. Sure, she may be a Mage, but she still gets affected by lack of sleep as a kid. And she's probably not all that used to pulling all-nighters.
Q: What do you mean by securing the compartments "by their own means?"
A: It means that they each have a different way of 'securing' a compartment—that is, making sure it's safe for the civilians inside. For Takara, as seen, it is by encasing the entire compartment in diamond, which is known to be a very hard substance. For Gray, it is encasing the entire compartment in ice. For Natsu, probably something to do with either pranks or fire. ;) And Erza is a demon already, so probably booby traps with swords or something haha.
Q: Where's Happy during all this?
A: He's currently with Wendy and Carla. Because he's courting/wooing Carla and missions like these that last forever are always boring for him :) Wendy also likes to spoil him with treats and fish, and Carla's there, which are both great pluses and convincing arguments, so he likes hanging around with them while Natsu's gone.
Q: Why haven't you updated? And when will you update again?
A: Life. Lack of reviews, and thus, lack of motivation. *cries* help, guys. Come on, please~~~~~~~~~ I worked hard on churning out this chapter, didn't I? *sparkle* it's actually remarkably long considering I literally only started writing this two days ago as I started feeling guilty about my writer's block and life. ;) And I PROMISE—a promise I will keep this time—that I will update within one month. Actually hopefully even sooner than that cause I planned out most of this chapter for once but I felt guilty and so decided to post it before I completely finished it.
Sneak peek into next chapter:
Takara gets more memory flashes as she observes their fighting styles and as they finally arrives in Magnolia. Maybe a finally-meeting with Mavis if I can stretch it long enough~
Review Responses: I love you guys by the way. Thank you so much.
-xXChikiXx: thanks for your support! I did already answer your questions, but I'm going to post the same answer I gave you after the reviewer responses finish!
-xXShadowSoulXx: here's the update~ ^-^ glad you like it!
-Flamexofxchaos: thank you so much! No offense taken at all, I promise. I did admit how much my first story sucked before, didn't I? ;) I did write it in a rush too. I actually wrote it in a cramming session of 6 days when I was younger, struck by a bolt of inspiration, and was not being suffocated by homework and life haha.
-strongerLucy: ^_^ Thanks for your support! I'm glad you like my stories! Here's your next update~!
Thank you guys so much again!
Please review! And no flames please!
Now—a continued Q&A~
(which may or may not become a thing. I'm experimenting ;) oh and if any of you guys get confused, you might want to read this stuff. Or just PM me/review me questions I'll answer in my next installment of "The Risen Girl"~ )
Q (by xXChikiXx): And also what happened to all the other dragons, and does Takara(Lucy) know that she is a dragon, and how does Wendy and them feel about Lucy leaving in the first place at the end of "Strongest One of All"?
A: This is exactly how I responded in my PM, by the way guys.
OK, first off: the other dragons. Well, they're still around. In the Dragon Realm, that is. Takara/amnesiac!Lucy was raised in the Dragon Realm as their little "princess". In comparison to Lucy's original childhood, she grew up lavished and spoiled with love and affection. The other dragons were her "aunties" and "uncles", although now that I think about it, there were probably only a few that she knew really well.
It's hard to explain, but I suppose you can consider most of the Dragons as "family friends" who Takara/amnesiac!Lucy occasionally sees and interacts with. As expected, Gem, as Takara's teacher, will be much closer to her than that, and of course Layla, Takara's mother, will be closest of all. So basically, the other dragons are in the Dragon Realm. Hope I didn't confuse you! ^_^"
Next: As she grew up in the Dragon Realm, yes, Takara/amnesiac!Lucy knows she is a dragon. I hinted at it in Chapter 1 and in "Strongest One"-the half-dragons are, after death, become(?) dragons slightly different than the "normal" dragons. It's somewhere in the summary of "Strongest One" I put in Chapter 1. Basically, she usually stays in a human form, but she can also become a dragon.
Finally: Fairy Tail's feelings about Lucy's departure. Well...we'll get into that later. ^_^ but since you're an amazing fan and all, I'll tell you this: for those who did not doubt Lucy that much, especially those who had not forgotten her in the beginning, they are absolutely, utterly, wholly, and completely furious with the others for driving her away and breaking her trust in them.
As you see, Lucy is so affected by their betrayal that her mother, Layla, wipes her memories because of how much Lucy is suffering (and, as a mother, she naturally wishes to wipe that pain away, which she does by causing Lucy to forget everything and giving her a new life in which Layla can ensure Lucy's safety and happiness). So the ones who didn't betray her...well, they might have left the guild, disgusted with them. OR they might have decided to stay and torment the others and make them suffer.
Saa, who knows? You'll find out in the next installment of "The Risen Girl!"
Teehee, and thanks for reviewing again! Feel free to ask me any other questions you might have (and sorry for the massive blocks of text, whoopsmighthavegottenJUSTalittlebitcarriedaway?)
^_^
Please read and review guys! I love you, and I will always take suggestions on what you guys might want to see next time!
Oh, and another question for you guys: Do you guys prefer longer chapters but longer waits in between or shorter chapters but shorter waits in between? Thanks guys!
Sincerely,
Amy
PS: Thank you so much to my lovely and wonderfully patient reviewers/readers. I churned this out just for you guys~ lots of love!