Chapter 20: The Disastrous Play
Erza quietly excused herself from the conversation and walked towards the women's restrooms where she locked herself in a toilet stall and cried. Tears of happiness ran down her cheeks as she remembered Lucy's words. "Kagura…your alive! Thank goodness your alive!"
Erza heard the restroom door swing open and tensed when she heard Lucy's voice. "It was you, was it not?"
It was not a question, but a statement. Erza knew this, and yet for that reason more terror overcame Erza than any innocent question could produce.
"Lucy…I…" Erza stammered, not sure what to say.
Lucy sighed. "I connected the dots when I remembered Kagura saying her saviour had scarlet red hair."
Erza heard the creak of the toilet door when Lucy leaned against it. "I will not tell a single soul, for it is not my story to tell… But Erza, when you do one day decide to tell it, just know that I will be there for you."
Erza walked out of the stall and sniffled, wiping her tears away. She smiled sadly at Lucy. "Thank you, lucy."
Lucy just smiled. "You know, I do not think crying suits you. I like seeing you as the mighty warrior that you are."
Erza placed an armoured hand over Lucy's and gently patted it. "Thank you."
Lucy walked out of the bathroom alongside Erza before they went their separate ways.
As Lucy made her way towards the bar that Mirajane started tending, she started to panic when she realized she didn't have her keys on her. She patted down herself to try to find them to no avail.
Mirajane was wiping down the bench when she saw the look of worry on Lucy's face. "Lucy, are you okay?"
"I…I lost my gate keys, Mira!" Lucy looked around the newly rebuilt guild, hoping to see them somewhere. "I think I might have lost them during the battle with Phantom."
"Oh no. I hope no one stole them." Mirajane replied.
"I hope so too. That's why I am going to look for them." Lucy said.
Just as Lucy was about to walk towards the two massive doors, they opened, revealing a sickly Loke carrying her ring of gate keys, with sunken cheeks and dark rings under his eyes.
"Loke!" Gray shouted in shock as he ran over to his friend. "Where were you? You were gone for three weeks, are you okay?"
"Haha! I'm fine, I was just out searching for these keys of Lucy's." Loke replied.
Lucy cautiously made her way towards Loke. "My keys…"
"Here." Loke placed them in Lucy's hands. "It took me a while to find them, and when I did there was some kind of spell on them, stopping the keys from reaching for your magic, Lucy."
"Thank you so much, Loke." Lucy said, with a huge smile on her face.
"Well, see you around." Loke said, casually waving goodbye until he walked out the guild doors.
"Hey, Loke! Wait up!" Gray yelled, running after his friend.
Lucy held her ring of keys in a tight grasp, caressing the gold and silver objects in apology for dropping her dear friends.
When her fingers touched the Key of the Water Bearer she whispered the chosen incantation, and in a bright flash of light Aquarius appeared.
She embraced Lucy in a tight hug. "Lucy I am so sorry for not being strong enough, for not being there for you when you needed it the most."
Lucy soaked up the loving warmth of her oldest friend, and in that vulnerable moment she burst into tears, crying into Aquarius's chest.
Mirajane watched on with a loving smile as she saw the scene unfold before her. "Lucy is truly blessed to have so many people care for her."
"Yes, as we all are." Said Makarov as he sat on the bar top, looking out at all his children.
"It is okay, really. Do not worry about it." Lucy said.
Aquarius protested. "No! I should have been there to hel-"
Lucy shook her head. "It's over now. We all did what we could."
Aquarius let go of her key holder and smiled. "Since when did you get so wise?"
Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "Between the two of us, someone has to be."
"Cheeky brat." Aquarius said as she flicked Lucy's forehead.
"Hey!" Lucy yelled, only to see the mermaid spirit dissolve into light, back to the spirit world.
With nothing to do for the immediate future, Lucy headed towards her petite friend who was sitting off in a corner reading quite a hefty book.
"Hello Levy!" Lucy greeted with a smile.
Levy looked up from her book and smiled back. "Oh! Hello Lu!"
Lucy looked around, noticing the two young men who always sat by Levy's side where missing.
"Where are Jet and Jroy?" Lucy asked.
"They went on a job, saying they needed to get stronger." Levy murmured.
Lucy pulled out a seat from under the table and sat down. "So, what are you reading there?"
"Nothing much really, just the latest edition of 'Spells and Weapons' is all." The blue haired girl said, trying to sound happy.
Lucy's face lit up with a smile. "I loved reading those books as a child, it was so fascinating learning about all the different kinds of magic out there in the world."
Levy smiled and turned the page of her book, and the blonde noticed her friend's hands trembled every now and then, as if it was a challenge to just hold the book.
"Yeah, I loved these books ever since-" The book Levy was holding fell from her grasp and tears welled up in her eyes. She just sat there, staring at the book on the ground as her tears hit the wooden table. She hated this, crying over her injuries. Levy wanted to be strong but sometimes it was all too overwhelming.
"I hate him, Lu. I hate him so much!" Levy cried. "Ever since Phantom lord I…I just can't…"
Lucy placed a hand over Levy's trembling one, noticing the scars on her hands. "I know, Levy. And when I find him, I'll rip him in two. He will not get away from hurting you or team shadow gear!"
Levy sniffled as she wiped away her tears. She watched as her blonde friend picked up her large book and placed it in front of her. "Thanks, Lu."
Lucy just smiled. "No problem, after all what are friends for?" Lucy pulled out a chair next to her petite friend and opened the large book, flicking through it.
"What are you looking for?" Levy asked.
"Does this have anything on celestial magic? The previous editions did not have much." Lucy said.
Levy's face lit up in excitement. "Oh! Yes! On page 428 there should be information on celestial magic, although I doubt it's anything you don't already know."
"Well, let us find out, shall we?" Lucy said, smiling at her friend.
The morning flew by for Lucy and she enjoyed spending time with Levy. She loved that there was at least one person in the guild who shared her passion for literature.
Later on, Lucy ate an early lunch and was about to turn around and head to the request board when Natsu ran straight into her, knocking both to the floor.
"Ow, Natsu!" Lucy grumbled, as she got up from the floor. "Why did you just come running like that?"
Natsu scratched the back of his head in boredom. "The stripper made me slip."
"Oh I see." Lucy replied.
"Anyway, I came to you cause I have a job." Natsu said.
Hearing Natsu's words, Lucy only just noticed the flyer in the dragon slayer's hand. "What's that?"
Natsu smiled brightly. "We haven't been on a job together since we got that book for that Melon guy, and I think we ought to go since we're a team and all."
Lucy put her hands up to her mouth in shock. "So, your saying that after everything that happened you still want to be partners?"
"Of course, we do, right little buddy?" Natsu said, looking at the blue exceed floating nearby.
"Aye Sir!" Happy yelled.
Tears started streaming down Lucy's face as she took in everything Natsu said.
Natsu started to panic, not liking to see girls cry. "Oi! Whatcha crying for? I thought you were happy?"
Lucy laughed. "I am happy, these are happy tears."
"Now let's see what this job is about." Erza said as she walked up and snatched the flyer out of Natsu's hand.
"Good going flame brain! You made Lucy cry." Gray said.
Natsu turned around, fists aflame and ready to strike. "Oi! What cha say that for ice stripper!"
"You wanna go?" Gray replied.
"Of course, I wanna go!" Natsu yelled.
But before either mage could start their fight two metallic gloved hands came down hitting their heads. "The only place we shall go is to this mission. Understand?" Erza said, as she glared at the two men before her.
"Y-yes Erza!" Natsu and Gray stammered out.
"We shall meet at the train station first thing in the morning." Erza announced, before walking off.
Later that day, in the early evening, Mirajane was serving up some pasta she had just cooked. She handed Lucy a bowl filled pasta with a fork, and she did the same for herself.
Both young women ate in silence as they recalled the emotionally draining day, they both had. From Lucy waking from her three-week coma to telling the guild the truth about herself and her past, to Mirajane having the shock of a lifetime when the celestial mage rocked up to the guildhall with Natsu in toe, and hearing about her horrific childhood.
Mirajane picked up some pasta and twirled it around her fork, not having much of an appetite after the day she had. She looked up and smiled slightly when she saw Lucy scarfing down the food and holding out her bowl and asking for seconds.
As the silver haired mage was dishing out another serving of pasta, she asked the one question that had been on her mind for almost the last month. She placed the bowl on the table and put the scoop down. "Hey Lucy? Do you really want to still leave the guild?"
Lucy shook her head. "No, I just thought back then that I was a nuisance- to you, Natsu, Gray, Happy, Erza, and the rest of the guild…I…" Tears hit the table as Lucy unexpectantly started crying.
Mirajane came up and hugged Lucy from behind. "You are never and will never be a nuisance, Lucy. You understand?"
The blonde stopped crying and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yes, I understand."
"Now how about your seconds?" Mirajane said with a smile.
It was late at night and despite being tired earlier, Lucy could not get any sleep so for hours on end she would just lie on her back and hope for the sleep that would never come.
Lucy turned to the window by her side and looked out at the moonlight that shone through the curtains. Lucy thought back to what Mirajane said to her the last time she had slept there.
Lucy felt the mattress move as she heard Mirajane get out of bed, but before she could fully leave, Lucy grabbed her wrist.
Mirajane turned around in surprise. "Lucy! You almost gave me a heart attack."
When her blonde friend didn't respond or release her grip from her wrist Mirajane sighed and sat back down. "Lucy? Is something bothering you?"
Lucy's lips trembled as she spoke. It was hard to bring up those painful memories and long conversations, but she was sick of crying, sick and tired of all the damn secrets. "My heart was always open… but I locked it behind a gate where no one could hurt me, where I was safe."
Lucy released her hold on Mirajane's wrist and choked down a sob. "I-I never wanted to burden everyone with my problems, so I thought that by leaving I would save you all the pain and trouble that follows me."
"But…" Mirajane whispered out.
"But I was wrong." With trembling lips Lucy continued. "I will never regret opening my heart to you…and…"
Mirajane watched as the moonlight illuminated Lucy's face and her blonde hair shined like pure gold. "…I forgive you."
Mirajane broke down when she heard those three words. She embraced lucy in a tight hug and cried into her shoulder.
"It is okay, Mira. Please do not cry." Lucy said, rubbing circles on the take over mage's back.
Mirajane sniffled then let go of Lucy. "Thank you, I needed that."
"It is okay, I will always be here for you. After all we are sisters are we not?" Lucy asked.
Mirajane giggled as she stood up. "Yes, we are. Now come on, it's really late. Let's have a glass of water before we head back to bed."
"Yeah, okay." Lucy replied sleepily.
The morning train ride to the town of Onibus the next day was quicker than Lucy expected. Maybe it was all the excitement of being in her first play, after all it had been a regular occurrence to go to the theatre to see the largest play when her mother was alive.
"I can't wait to be in my first play!" Lucy said with stars shining in her eyes.
"Our job is nothing more than staging, pulling levers and such." Erza explained as she walked towards the theatre dragging her giant pile of luggage behing her. "But of course, hopefully with a little bit of persuasion the producer would not mind putting myself in the play."
"I wouldn't say 'persuasion' exactly, more like terror." Gray said, only to apologize when Erza threatened him.
"By the way, Natsu why did you pick this kind of job? This isn't your kind of thing." Happy said as he floated around his friends.
"I just thought that with everything Lucy's been though it would be nice to do something she might like." Natsu mumbled, embarrassed to say it out loud.
"Aww, that is so sweet, Natsu!" Lucy cooed.
"Anyway, we are here." Erza said, brining all their attention to the large theatre they were staring at. "Let us make our way inside, shall we?"
As the group of Fairy Tail mages walked inside they were met with the owner of the theatre, nervously pacing around the room muttering to himself. When he stopped, he saw the mages standing before him. "Ahh! Hello, are you perhaps the Fairy Tail mages sent to help me? By the way I am the theater owner, Rabian."
"Yes, we are here to help with the staging." Lucy said with a smile on her face.
"Oh, yes, about that." The theatre owner said. "It seems that all my actors ran out on me after the last play bombed."
"Well then…" Erza stated, "...if you need actors then you have them right here!"
"Heh, this could be interesting" Gray muttered.
Natsu shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, this might be fun."
"Yes! We shall put on the best play Onibus had ever seen." Erza said.
"This will be my time to shine!" Happy declared.
"My dream of being in a play is finally coming true, mama." Lucy said.
The group of Fairy tail mages where in the back room where all the costumes and make up resided. They were all discussing ways to make the play a success.
"…Well, with the way things are Rabina said he has no money to hire any musicians, and I for one wouldn't want to go to a play without any music." Gray said.
"I could always summon Lyra for the day of the play, after all it falls on one of the few days I can summon her." Lucy replied.
"Great thinking Lucy!" Erza said as she smashed Lucy's head against her armor in a hug.
"Ow." Lucy mumbled in pain.
"We all know who I will be playing…" Gray said.
"Who Gray?" Lucy asked.
"The prince of course. Who else could do it? not flame brain over there." Gray said, pointing over his shoulder to the sight of the dragon slayer shooting flames into the air, trying some king of party trick.
"You wanna go!" Natsu yelled, as he ran up to Gray and was about to punch him with a flame coated fist.
"Oh, you wanna go?" Gray exclaimed, ice forming in his hands as he readied himself to fight Natsu.
"That is enough of you both! If you cannot be civil and agree then I shall be the knight!" Erza exclaimed as she punched both young men on their heads.
Lucy sighed. "Will the two of you ever grow up? Besides Erza would make a perfect knight!"
"Yes, Lucy. That sounds like a fine suggestion. Furthermore, Gray shall be an evil king and Natsu and Happy can be the evil dragon." Erza said.
Natsu high fived his small exceed partner. "All right Happy! We get the best part!"
"We sure do Natsu! I mean what could be better than a dragon?" Happy replied.
After a long week of preparation and rehearsals Lucy and the others where finally ready for the opening night.
Lucy was backstage, pacing around nervously. She could hear the chatter of the large crowd before the play was to start. Carefully, Lucy opened the curtains an inch or two and scanned the crowd.
The blonde had hoped that she would find someone from Fairy Tail, after all Erza had notified the guild a week ago that they would be away for a while longer than anticipated.
Lucy sighed, not seeing anyone she knew until she spotted a head of ginger hair sitting in the back row of the theatre. "Loke!" Lucy turned around and ran towards Natsu. "Natsu! Loke is here! He must have heard about the play!"
"Of course, that bastard would be here, he's the type to enjoy this kind of stuff." Natsu said, hanging from the ceiling of the theatre, stuffed inside a rather large red dragon costume.
"Yeah, he always tried to drag me here a few years back." The ice make mage said, who was sitting on a crate nearby.
"Everyone!" Erza said, moving off to the side of the stage. "The play is almost about to start; I would suggest we all get ready."
Everyone mumbled in agreement and before long the curtains parted and bright lights shined down upon Lucy.
Lucy cleared her throat in her nervousness before she started. "I am Princes Ellie and the soon to be ruler of Nikola Kingdom."
Lucy walked to the center of the stage before she was grabbed at the waist by; "Gray! I-I mean Sieghart! What are you doing here?"
Gray held Lucy in his arms bridal style and laughed. "You will never inherit the kingdom because, I, The great and mighty Seighart! Shall kidnap you and take you to Darkness Kingdom!"
"Wow! The crowd loves this stuff, their eating it up!" Happy squeaked from atop Natsu in his dragon costume.
"Of course, It's Luce. She can do anything… but I don't like popsicle over there hitting on Lucy." Natsu grumbled as he puffed out a flame in annoyance.
"Natsu! Don't do anything stupid!" Happy chided.
"When have I ever done anything stupid little buddy?" Natsu asked. Happy simply rolling his eyes, knowing the worst was about to come.
"Oh! Would my loyal knight please come save me!" Lucy proclaimed as she was being dragged away by Gray.
"You call and I shall arrive!" Erza announced as she backflipped onto the stage.
The audience applauded the impressive backflip.
Erza was wearing a clunky suit of slightly rusted armor, which the redhead unsurprisingly made it look so natural as she moved and jumped around a barrage of Gray's ice spears.
Erza summoned a sword and ran towards Gray, only to come to a rushing halt as Gray said his next lines. "Halt! You shall go no further! Come Dragneel!"
Gray held the ice blade to Lucy's neck and Lucy tried not to laugh as the icy blade tickled her neck, the blade which looked more like a popsicle from her angle.
The audience watched on in awe as a large, shadowy figure slowly descended from the top of the stage, spewing fire. That awe dissipated instantly as they saw a what looked to be a young man squirming around in a sleeping bad, with paper wings taped on and a flying blue cat holding him up by a piece of rope tied around him.
The crowd erupted into laughter, but that laughter soon turned to screams as the so called 'dragon' was spewing fire in every direction.
Lucy watched on with mild amusement as she saw the stage curtains catch on fire. That amusement died however as she saw the back of her large, flowy dress catch fire. "Gray! Gray! I need ice! I am on fire!"
"Alright! Ice mak-" Before Gray could fully perform the spell a plank of wood from the now burning roof fell and knocked Gray on the head, rendering him unconscious.
"Urgh! Gray!" Lucy shouted, as she looked back and saw the unconscious Gray.
"Don't worry Lucy! I will save you!" Was all Lucy heard the redhead yell before her dress was completely ripped to shreds.
Lucy looked down at herself in shock and saw her own naked body, then she heard the wolf whistles and yelling. Her face became scarlet. The shock and horror of being exposed in front of so many people filled her with rage and with a menacing look in her eyes, she ran after the scarlet haired mage off the stage.
Up above Natsu laughed heartly as he watched the entire theatre collapse as blasts of magic from his two female teammates brought down the house.
A few hours later Lucy was now sporting a tank top and a pair of mini shorts courtesy of Erza as she stood outside the collapsed building nearby a vending machine.
"That was a good performance." Loke said, walking up to the blonde.
"You where watching?!" Lucy yelled, shocked and embarrassed.
"Although I never took you to be an exhibitionist." Loke chuckled.
"I am not!" Lucy screeched, punching him in the arm.
"Okay, Okay." Loke held his hand up in surrender and proceeded to purchase two sodas from the vending machine.
He threw one at Lucy and she caught it. "Thanks."
"No problem." Loke shrugged. The ginger haired man looked down, noticing Lucy's arm was normal again. "I see you got your wish."
"Yeah…I did." Lucy murmured, before taking a sip of her soda. "Hey, do you have a wish, Loke?"
Loke looked up and saw the first star in the late evening sky. "Yeah, but someone like me can never have their wish granted."
Lucy cocked her head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Loke sighed, drinking the last of his soda before he crushed the can under his foot. "I've been going around and visiting my favorite places because I… truth be told… I'm dying Lucy. I don't have much time to live."
Lucy's heart sank as she heard Loke's words, she knew what it was like to lose someone, but she couldn't comprehend herself ever dying. Lucy embraced Loke in a tight embrace, tears spilling onto his furred jacket, when suddenly he started laughing.
Lucy let go of Loke and her frows furrowed in confusion.
Loke combed a hand through his hair to try and compose himself. A devious smirk formed on his face "I can't believe you fell for that! It's one of the best tricks in the book, especially to get a girl."
Anger built up inside Lucy as she heard Loke's callous words. Tears where streaming down her face in sorrow as she slapped him.
"H…How dare you! How dare you make light of such a terrible situation, let alone using it to pick up women! Someone who has never seen the person you love the most die will never understand!" Lucy screamed, walking off into the night.
Loke brought up his hand to tough the left side of his now quickly swelling face. " Just what have I done?"
I am so sorry it took seven whole months to update this story. I am so sorry if anyone thought this story was dead and buried. I can assure you all that i will complete this story no matter how long it will take. I promise to try my best to at least to get one chapter out a month from now on.
I had some really bad medical and family problems last year that prevented me from working, but i am now better and fully recovered. Thank you all for sticking around and reading this silly fanfic of mine.