Friends, chapter one was reposted with major expansions on 09/28/15.


Back in the merfolk coves Lucy lived in, Mavis was respected, honored as wise and powerful. They turned to her for guidance, for help. She was the one who had given them a new life, after all. Every mermaid and merman in the cove had been saved from death and, even worse than death, from becoming dark ones by Mavis Vermillion.

But being in the guild hall Mavis supposedly created in her lifetime, Lucy was wondering what the connection could possibly be. Had the guild done a complete turnaround after Mavis passed on the title of master to the next leader? Was this really what Mavis had wanted? These people were all insane, holding swords to people's throats over something called strawberry cake, punching and fighting even if there was no purpose, yelling and hollering, and bickering all over the place.

Lucy followed Natsu down the hall leading to Makarov's office. Natsu carried Juvia in Gray's place while the darker-haired man was attempting to gather all the clothing he'd lost during the brawl. Juvia moped about the switch in vehicles, something which amused Lucy. Her bluenette friend really was infatuated with Gray, and though she was downcast now, for the most part Juvia was smiling a lot more. And that made Lucy's heart lighter. At least someone was happy about being here on land with a bunch of crazy people. Unlike Gajeel, who still resented being led around by the hand as he shuffled his feet cautiously along. Oh, well. It's not like there was anything they could do about that for now. It was time to get to work on Mavis' instructions and ask Makarov for help.

"Well, now," Makarov said as he settled in his comfortable chair, "why don't we start at the beginning?" He looked around the semicircle of faces seated before his desk, settling his gaze on Natsu with a scowl. "And Natsu, don't think I'm overlooking the reports I've heard regarding the ships. We'll be talking later." Natsu's only response was to sink lower in his chair and cross his arms petulantly.

The door opened and Gray entered the office. Since there were no more chairs, he simply leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets. Juvia sighed, dreamy expression on her face. "So," Gray started, "did I miss out on flame for brains getting told off for being stupid?"

"Though the word 'stupid' wasn't mentioned, I'm impressed you knew that was the first thing-"

Juvia's excited response was cut off by Natsu leaping out of his seat and crashing shoulders with Gray. "You wanna go again, ice breath?"

"Nah, your stupid might rub off on me," Gray retorted, even though his words were contradicted by his actions, shoving his weight into Natsu's in an attempt to push the other man away.

"All my stupid came from you the one time you ever managed to land a hit on me!"

"And my stupid came from touching you in the first place!"

"Stop shoving my shoulder and giving me more stupid!"

"Get your stupid off my arm!"

The door banged open and both men were grabbed by their collars. A severe looking Erza Scarlett held them close to her dangerous person as she gave them a disapproving look. "You two wouldn't happen to be fighting again, would you?"

The two immediately shrugged from her grasp to throw their arms around each other's shoulders in a side hug. "Of course not!" they chorused together. Lucy had the feeling this happened often.

"Good. It wouldn't do to be fighting when there's work to be done," Erza declared, strolling forward towards Makarov's desk. Lucy noted the instant Erza's gaze left them, Natsu and Gray attempted to force the other into submission by making each other uncomfortable. It was amusing and irritating at the same time. Erza continued speaking without paying them any more mind. "Have we debriefed the situation, Master?"

Gajeel stood. "No. No way. We don't need more humans jumpin' in and makin' a mess. Those two boneheads are bad enough. We don't need more trouble."

Mira, with the same pleasant smile plastered on her face she'd had since Lucy first laid eyes on her, tilted her head and replied from her spot at Master Makarov's right hand. "You do not trust us to be able to help you?"

"I don't trust anyone," Gajeel grunted.

"Then why did you come here?"

Natsu popped a finger in his mouth, then rammed it into Gray's ear. Gray hollered, grabbing at his offended ear with one hand, and swinging a vicious punch with his other. Natsu barely dodged in time. Then the two were at it yet again, punching and insulting and making it very clear that this was no ordinary guild. Erza approached with a glower, ready to distribute discipline.

"I have no idea why were came here," Gajeel said with disgust at the scene he was hearing. "Just a big mistake."

Juvia's voice held hesitation. "I don't mean to doubt Mavis, but perhaps… Perhaps we misheard?"

Lucy wondered how all three of them could have misheard the same words; that hardly seemed likely.

Gray, Erza, and Natsu stopped their yelling. Mira and Makarov narrowed their eyes in intrigue.

"Did you just say 'Mavis'?" Makarov asked.

Lucy and Juvia looked at each other. If these people knew Mavis' name, this was the guild she founded after all. Lucy nodded in encouragement to her friend.

"Yes, Mavis is the one who sent us. She looks after all of us. She is the one who saved us, after all."

By the time Juvia was done speaking, Erza was standing, arms crossed, by Makarov's left side, and Natsu and Gray were leaning against seat backs. All were listening intently.

"How is it that you know Mavis? You say that she saved you. How is this possible? She lived many years ago," Erza mused.

"What do you mean she 'saved' you?" Gray asked.

"And you said she sent you. For what purpose?" Mira added in.

Makarov picked a square frame from his desk, looking at it for a moment before turning it to face the three merfolk. "Is this the same person who sent you?"

It was a likeness of Mavis, complete with enchantingly large eyes, playful smile, and gorgeous blonde hair. Lucy nodded. That was their same Mavis.

"Our first master, out swimming with mermaids," Natsu breathed in bafflement.

"I ain't a mermaid!" Gajeel shouted.

"Course you're not, you don't even have a tail!" Natsu rebutted. Lucy felt her face twist into disbelief and incredulity. That was hardly the point, was it? Gajeel couldn't be a mermaid since he wasn't a maid. Although, she had to concede, the lack of tail was also a problem.

Makarov sighed. "Children, please. Let us start at the beginning."

Since Lucy couldn't speak without physical consequences, and Gajeel couldn't speak without damaging potentially helpful relationships, Juvia had become the unofficial spokesperson for the group. She started with the great blackness threatening their home, and went forward. Fairy Tail listened to the story once through, silent, without any questions. Lucy was impressed. She hadn't thought these people capable of silence or seriousness.

After hearing the run through, Makarov thought for a moment. "You haven't explained your connection to Mavis. You told us she saved you, but even before she transformed you into humans and sent you to land, you were trying to find her for help. Why is it you knew her?"

"When I said she was the one who saved us, I wasn't referring to her giving us legs and getting us away from the danger," Juvia replied. "She has always been a part of our lives, and we help her in gratitude for what she has done."

"What does that mean?" Gray asked.

"That's beside the point," Gajeel interrupted. "You don't need the whole backstory just to help us. The important point is Mavis changed us and told us to find you for help, and go for the Trident. Fat lot of good those instructions have done us so far."

Lucy understood Gajeel's frustration, but really, his gruff behavior wasn't going to improve their situation any. She laid a hand on his arm, trying to convey her empathy and the need for him to remain calm. It didn't really do much good. She hadn't thought it would, but she had to try. Gajeel went on, "What was the point of telling us to get the Trident? We don't even know what this thing is, or where to go."

Mira tilted her head. "I think calling Levy would be a good idea, Master. She might know where to look for information about this thing."

"And what the heck is up with telling us to try scallops?" Gajeel carried on as if Mira hadn't spoken. He was on a real roll.

A momentary pause followed his question. Natsu echoed, "Scallops? As in food?"

Juvia looked over at her companions. "You heard that as well? I thought my mind was being affected by the transformation or some other circumstance. Did you hear her mention scallops, too?" Juvia directed the question to Lucy, and clutched her hands when Lucy nodded. "That doesn't make much sense. But I do have another clue that could help us in finding the Trident." Juvia lifted her right hand, and slowly uncurled her fingers, exposing a small clam in her palm. "Mavis gave this to me, remember? She said to follow the directions carefully. There has to be more in here."

"Have you tried opening it yet?" Erza questioned, still standing rigid and tall by the desk.

"No," Juvia shook her head. "We've been a bit overwhelmed, and I didn't want to lose anything important while we were travelling."

Erza nodded in approval. "That was a wise decision. Good thinking, Juvia."

Natsu, unlike Erza, was not in a formal upright position. Rather, he was leaning over Juvia's hand, eye close to the clam in inspection, then changing senses and giving it a big sniff. Lucy didn't know what to make of his actions. Who sniffed palms like that, whether or not said palm was holding a clam?

"It smells like fish," he muttered, straightening.

"Of course it does, ya numbskull! It came from the ocean!" shouted Gray the same time Gajeel scoffed and said "It's a clam. That's no great deduction."

Crossing his arms, Natsu huffed out, "I wasn't done! If you had bothered listening through till the end, you'd know it smells like fish and chips. The kind you get at a diner that isn't by the sea, but still does everything sea themed."

Lucy didn't know what fish and chips were, but she'd gathered that diners were places to eat here on land. She didn't wish to cast aspersions on the human who'd helped them so much, but his conclusion hardly seemed a logical one.

"Why would the clam from Mavis smell like a restaurant?" Mira asked, taking the words right from Lucy's mind.

"Why do raspberries make Lucy nostalgically happy?" Natsu countered. The rest of the group blinked, unsure of how this statement was connected. Or how Natsu would even know such a thing about Lucy in the first place. Lucy remembered the happy feeling she'd had while eating the delicious red berry, but she hadn't connected the nostalgic feelings to that happiness until Natsu had stated it.

Gray protested, but Natsu cut him off saying, "It's because neither of them are originally from the sea."

"Just because Lucy likes raspberries doesn't mean she's not from the sea," Mira said. "It just means she likes raspberries."

"We know Mavis isn't from the sea because she lived on land and founded our guild many years ago," Erza complied. "But that is hardly conclusive evidence against Lucy's claims to being a mermaid."

"I never said Lucy wasn't a mermaid," Natsu denied. "I only said that she wasn't always one."

"We SAW them coming out of the sea, Natsu. Remember? Last night, Hargeon, shoreline, bloody mermaids," Gray argued.

"I'm not a mermaid!" Gajeel interjected.

"You carried one out of water, helped get him to the inn afterwards. Any of this ringing bell for you?

"I ain't no stinkin' mermaid!" Gajeel spat out, standing yet again. He had developed a tendency for doing that when he was angry.

Lucy nodded emphatically in agreement with her friend. That was an insult not only to Gajeel, but to all mermaids. The two should not be confused again. She was too refined to be classed with Gajeel and other mermen. They were so rough compared to mermaids, rough and wild. But her self-esteem aggrandizement aside, Lucy was acutely aware of Natsu's statement. Once again, Natsu was proving himself smarter, more perceptive than his companions gave him credit for.

"How did you know that?" Juvia asked quietly, eyes wide. That shut everyone up sufficiently. Her question validated Natsu's theory, meant that he was right.

Natsu grinned, placing his hands behind his head. "The nose knows!" But Lucy knew it ran much deeper than a strangely overdeveloped olfactory sense, even if everyone in Fairy Tail accepted it at face value. Was his nose really that good? She studied him from her seat. For the first time, she noticed the bare arm exposed by his one-armed dark jacket. It was very muscular, very defined. As a mermaid, she was used to being the one admired, but that didn't mean she was blind. And she could definitely see that bicep.

Makarov, who had remained silent for most of the excitement, chose this moment to speak up. Lucy shook her head, welcoming the distraction. "Does this have something to do with Mavis, child?" he asked gently.

"Yeah, it does. Now can we get on with the clam and the clues already?" Gajeel demanded.

"After we hear about Mavis, if you don't mind," Makarov countered. "She is our first master, our founder, and we are very interested in her actions. Especially when she is generally invisible to those not bearing the emblem of our guild."

Gajeel sat down petulantly, long legs extended forward, torso slumped forward and arms crossed. What a big ninny he looked, pouting for not getting his way. Lucy gestured for Juvia to carry on and answer Makarov's question. Mavis wouldn't have sent them here if they weren't trustworthy.

"Well, to tell the truth, none of us are originally from the sea," Juvia started. She continued speaking despite the shocked noises from her audience. "Sometimes, when a person at sea is dying before their time, Mavis changes them into merfolk. If she doesn't, the person can either die or be taken by the dark ones. But as merfolk, we help Mavis in trying to save others, and we do our best to live the new life we've been given."

"Huh," Gray grunted. "So Natsu was actually right for once."

Lucy knew exactly where this was going. It was like clockwork with these two men: truce, cooperation, insults, louder insults, brawling, Erza reprimand, truce, repeat. They hardly needed that right now. Before anything could happen, Lucy leaned forward across Gajeel and grabbed Natsu's wrist. He paused, mouth open in preparation to retort such slander of his intelligence, and flicked his eyes between her own and her hand grasping his wrist. When his eyes met hers again, she gave an expression halfway between disapproval towards the constant bickering, and sympathy for being called stupid all the time. She knew very well she didn't like it when her intelligence was called into question. And as she stayed there, frozen for a moment with her weight pressing down on one hand, and her peacemaking attempt stretched out and clasping Natsu's wrist with the other hand, she just met his gaze. She was surprised when the confusion in his dark eyes blossomed into a warm, gloriously happy and, dare she say, fond gleam.

"I don't know what's goin' on, since I can't see or nothin', but star girl'd better get the heck off of me right now," Gajeel said, shattering the connection between Lucy and Natsu. She released him as if stung by a jelly fish, and jolted back into her seat, back ramrod straight. Why had that look from Natsu spurred her heart into such a flutter?

Makarov cleared his throat. "As we were discussing before that interruption-" a pointed look at Gray and Natsu- "you were all transformed by Mavis. And now you help her to save others. Is that about right?"

Juvia nodded respectfully. "Yes, sir."

"Were you affected by disabilities during that transformation as well? Or were you perhaps merely restored to your original human forms by this reversal?" Makarov asked.

Lucy hadn't thought of that. Was she a mute before her new life? It wasn't something she'd ever thought about as a possibility. In fact, previous lives were hardly discussed among the merfolk as a general rule. It wasn't forbidden by Mavis; it was just something of an unspoken way of life for the merfolk. Perhaps it was because with no memories, there were also no feelings of regret or longing. There was nothing to miss because nothing was known, no people, no possessions, no anything. It was like you never even were human at all, only born a mermaid or merman in the first place.

Gajeel was the one who responded. "We wouldn't know, but I'm pretty sure that ain't the case."

"Why wouldn't you know about-?" Erza started.

"Look, can we just move on and figure out this Trident thing? We don't have loads of time to sit around and chat!"Gajeel grunted irritably.

Lucy and Juvia were in agreement there. No one wanted to open that uncomfortable discussion right now when there were so many other important matters, matters like the wellbeing of their entire home. Juvia expressed that agreement by starting to open the clam. "Why don't we see what's in this thing?"

After some work and passing the clam to a few different people, Erza used her sword to open the offending item. Lucy thought it was a miracle only the clam fell in two pieces, but then again, Erza had proven herself adept with her blade at the finite work. If the control she exhibited while threatening people and opening clams were any indication, Lucy could only imagine what she would be like in a real battle of swords. She found herself both wanting to see such skill, and wishing herself far away from the kind of danger that situation would probably entail.

Erza handed the opened clam back to Juvia. Inside of the clam, instead of a pearl or any clam meat, there was a finely folded paper no bigger than a thumbnail. Juvia pulled it out, and started to unfold it carefully. And kept unfolding, and kept unfolding, and kept unfolding, until the item was about a hand's width and as long as Lucy's forearm.

"Is that…" Gray trailed off.

"A pass-along takeout menu, the kind you can find stuck to your door despite how many 'No Soliciting' signs are posted?" Natsu grinned. "Because yes, that's exactly what it looks like to me."

"Can I see that?" Gray asked, moving forward. Juvia looked only too happy to oblige the one-man bicep boat, and handed it eagerly to him. "Thanks. It looks like it's for a place called Joe's Crab Shack." He looked up at the others. "Ever heard of it?"

Mira came forward to investigate as well. "I think the address here is for a place that is for sale because the owner is retiring. It's changed names a few times, but I think it's about to become the second location of 8 Island."

"You mean Yaji's place is expanding?" Makarov asked delightedly.

"Yes, I think he's planning on moving back here to Magnolia from Hargeon," Mira confirmed.

Gray looked at the pretty barmaid. "How do you know all of this stuff?"

Mira giggled, placing a graceful hand over her mouth. "Well, I am in charge of the guild's food and bar, you know. I do keep in touch with the other food and shop managers in the area. It's good for business!"

"Wow," Gray nodded, "who knew it would be helpful for some mermaids."

Lucy could hear Gajeel grinding his teeth and see his hands clenching. She sighed. This particular aggravation wasn't likely to disappear any time soon.

Holding it closer, Mira spoke up. "Hey, it looks like something's written on the top here." Peering down, she read aloud. "'Southwest corner, second to last booth, rear-facing seat, bottle with emblem, proceed with caution.'"

"So, it sounds like we go to this restaurant, sit in this seat, and look for something there that'll be the next clue," Natsu said.

"And try the scallops," Mira added. "It's circled here on the menu."

"Well, great, let's go. I'm starving!" And with that, Natsu burst out the door. Lucy could hear him all the way down the hall, shouting about some food and dinner time.

As Lucy contemplated the clue and instructions left for them by Mavis, she really couldn't help but think that Mavis and this guild called Fairy Tail really were connected. So far, other than a streak of insanity, she couldn't say how. But they were definitely connected.


Dear Friends,

Hello again! It's been a while, and I apologize. I fixed chapter one (at least, it's more of what I wanted before I got too excited and posted it before it was really ready), and reposted that on Monday. I have my Sweetums back after a bout of work stole his attention from anything else, so that means that chapters will be coming more quickly again because I have someone to help me with editing. Huzzah!

Mermaid Fun Fact: Aquamarine, a stone named for the Greek word for sea water, is called the gem of the sea. Legend holds that they are the treasures of mermaids, coming from their tears. It was said the stone could protect sailors, and as a charm, it was particularly potent when submersed in water, which is exactly when a sailor would need it! It's also March's birthstone.

Well, I'm still looking for a betareader, or even just someone who'll help give a once over before I post. If I can't find one, I guess I'll just do my best, and you'll get what you get.

Cheers!

Anne-Marie