Chasing Tails

by fairydares

It's been 7 years since Natsu and Lucy's 5-yo daughter (along with several of their friends and allies) went missing, but never once have him and Lucy given up on looking for them. Yet the last place he expected to find her was a horrible, Magicless world even Team Natsu's never been to...and that's only the beginning. (sorry but please click chap 1 for full review - no more room).

4. Chapter 4: Nuts!

Chapter Summary:

Back at the guild, Lucy reflects on everything that's happened in the past seven years and worries about Natsu…then gets a nasty shock.

Meanwhile, Nashi finds Natsu's tree. They go toe-to-toe, part ways, then find trouble…together? An invitation is extended.

*Happy voice* And then…!

***Reminder to please check the tags occasionally because I update them as I realize things I should maybe warn people about. I fumble with this kind of thing and am still working on some of the outline so please be patient with me. Also if you're willing, please let me know if I've missed anything big.

***CW's/TW's for this chapter: Both Natsu and Nashi are stubborn about how they address each other (and others) in this chapter. It's not gender identity related or anything, but if someone refusing to call another person by the correct name is a trigger or just a bugaboo for you, you honestly should probably drop this story because names are (very specifically) symbolic and it's an ongoing theme. Sorry.

***Also: Stalking, harassment via text (cyberbullying), threat of assault near the end.***

Author's Notes

Hello again!

So this is long, I'm pretty sure. With the previous chapters, I was worrying a lot about word count. At some point, I realized I was worrying about it to the point it hindered my ability to write.

Then, I saw a new chapter of one of my all-time favorite fics had been published after a long hiatus. The chapter was WAY longer than any of the ones I'd put up, here…and I loved it. So I hid the word counter on my writing software and decided to quit worrying about it for the time being. It's up to you whether you choose to read/continue reading despite the length.

For those who do, I hope you enjoy!

---

"The weight of those seven years...keeps piling on." - from Episode 124, "The Seven Year Gap", (English dub, ~13:00), Lucy's line

---

7:12 PM, August 5th, Year X812 The Fairy Tail Guild Hall, Magnolia, Fiore (Earthland)

Looking up from Fairy Tail's budget, Lucy glanced at the guild's open guild door for about the hundredth time. When she saw nothing but light shining in, the frown she'd worn since Natsu and Happy left for their job deepened. The pen she gripped began to tap against the bar, drawing the awareness of a couple other guildmates nearby—not that she noticed that, either.

Over the guild's usual background noise of banter, clanking drinks, laughter, and shouts—a din admittedly quieter than it had been seven years ago—the cries of some of the children who so far made up Fairy Tail's fourth generation rang out, Luke and Kenna [*1] arguing again while Polly giggled and egged them on.

If she hadn't have been so caught up in her own mind, Lucy would already have been grimacing in anticipation of how such an encounter would turn out for her son. Possibly even getting involved before any violence could occur.

However, distracted as she was, she didn't even hear Luke's squeak of pain when Kenna lived up to her mother's legacy and gave him a swift, hard hit on the head that ended the argument. Polly finally burst into full-on laughter in the background while Luke groaned in pain on the floor, Kenna stomping off towards her older brother, Airin, who was sitting across the hall. The redhead smiled gently at her as she approached.

"Damn, looks like she got him again!" Wakaba noted around his cigar.

"Yeah, for about the fifth time today! Are you ever gonna stop pointing out when it happens, old-timer?" Macao replied.

"Who you callin' 'old timer', you windbag?!"

Their bickering continued. Yet Lucy's attention remained fixed on the door, almost as if she could make the figures she wanted to see appear through sheer anxiety.

She couldn't explain why the second after she'd sent Natsu off with a kiss, a disgruntled "love you," and a quietly added, "come back safe," unease had begun to wring at her heart—couldn't explain it any more than she could deny it.

Maybe it was because of how squirrely he'd acted about the job request. With the way he'd not-so-sneakily covered part of it with his fingers, squirmed around, and grinned like a salesman, Lucy had been sure he was lying when he claimed the request had nothing to do with their seemingly ceaseless search for Nashi. Even more sure than usual.

Even Happy had been shooting him skeptical looks. That, alone, should've convinced her to push. Plans concocted by Natsu and Happy were disastrous enough. Plans concocted solely by Natsu were downright cataclysmic.

Of course, Lucy could grudgingly acknowledge that the fiery, destructive boy she'd fallen in love with had grown into a man who showed at least some restraint—if only out of necessity. A Dragon Slayer who'd once tried to punch a wild boar only to destroy an entire mountain range and singlehandedly defeated more Dark Guilds on accident than most Wizards could intentionally didn't have the luxury of going around doing whatever the hell he wanted, whenever the hell he wanted. Something Lucy had had to screech into that unbelievably thick, spiky head of his over the years.

Fatherhood had also helped to temper his seemingly boundless rash energy. Lucy hadn't been able to help being just a bit smug when their daughter was born not only with his Magic, but with his recklessness and his energy.

Now he can see what it's like for the rest of us! she'd thought. And he had!

Well...then again, so had she. But she was used to it!

Besides. There were some things only he—the Dragon Slayer parent—was equipped to handle when it came to their daughter who was, curiously and unlike most Mages, born straight into her father's abilities. Things like a sneeze attack that almost burnt their house down when Nashi was just a week old. Or her penchant for running off much faster and more stealthily than most toddlers were able to, requiring her poor daddy to use his nose to find her at least once a day.

The Celestial Wizard's lips pinched tighter at the thought. That little "penchant" of Nashi's was something Lucy remembered with a heavy heart, nowadays.

Natsu had been on his way home from a quest with Gray when basically all of Fiore suffered that horrible, still-unexplained attack which saw over a hundred Magic-users (many of them Guild-affiliated Wizards) kidnapped.

Meanwhile, Lucy had been watching the kids by herself. A pretty rare occurrence, at the time. Between Nashi's unique needs, Natsu being a vigilant and overprotective Dragon of a dad, and Lucy's writing career hitting its peak between Nashi and Luke's births, Natsu had wound up being the more involved parent for those early years even though neither of them had really planned it that way.

He almost hadn't left for the mission at all, especially when Nashi and Luke both latched onto his ankles and begged to go with him. Lucy practically had to wrestle the little monsters off him and shove him out the door, telling him to get a move on or else he wouldn't make it back in time for the Harvest Festival while his eyes and lip wobbled.

Only partway through helping to decorate the square around Kardia Cathedral for the upcoming celebration had Lucy realized Nashi had run off on her again—despite explicitly being told not to! This had left her stomping around town with Luke on her hip, calling her daughter's name in an frustrated attempt to find her.

Not knowing that she never would.

No, she told herself fiercely, refusing to succumb to the gloom and grief which had clawed mercilessly at her for the past seven years. Not 'never,' Lucy. I made a promise...I promised never to talk like that again, not even to myself! Wherever she is...no matter how long it's been...I know my daughter, and I know she's fighting. So I'll fight for my hope, too! Even if Natsu doesn't find her this time...we will find her and bring her home, no matter what!

She nodded in determined agreement with her own thoughts, still unaware of the fact that Gray, Mira, Cana, and Jeela—all around or near the bar—were giving her odd looks and glancing at each other.

There had been a point, not long after her daughter and so many of their nakama and friends went missing that Lucy had come close, dangerously close to falling into complete despair.

She'd come dangerously close to losing the love of her life, too. To losing Natsu to her own guilt and fear and stubbornness. It had taken a lot of support and love, some of it tough love (namely, Erza) to snap out of it. To finally force herself to have a real conversation (fight) with her husband and accept the truth, that sinking into hopelessness was, in a way, just an easy way out. That he'd kept fighting for their family, fighting to correct the worst, most unforgivable mistake Lucy had ever made while she couldn't even get her selfish butt off the ground.

Of course, that wasn't how Natsu saw it. Whenever the subject came up and she mentioned what a terrible mother she'd been, he argued with her. He pointed out that he hadn't exactly been at his best either, at that point. It was true, he hadn't been, but it also wasn't his fault Nashi got taken. He'd even played dirty a couple times, and pointed out that wherever she was, Nashi would just be sad if she knew Lucy blamed herself for what happened.

It was, perhaps, the one subject where Lucy really didn't listen to him at all.

She'd always admired Natsu's strength and optimism so much. He was her hero, and she'd always looked up at him with stars in her eyes. Always taken his hand. Always listened when he said the words she needed to hear to pull her and everyone she loved through the hard times...

...With this one exception.

As far as she was concerned, there was no argument to be had when it came to Nashi's kidnapping. Other than whatever monsters had launched that bizarre and devastating attack—if it could even be called that—there was only one person to blame for the loss of her daughter, Juvia, and Harley—and that person was Lucy.

Still. As much as she still blamed herself, she was determined never to go back to that dark place she'd been in just after it happened. And she was equally determined to make it up to her daughter. Juvia and Harley, too.

That was why, as terrified as she was of losing Natsu like she had Nashi, and even though she knew that stubborn guy didn't take any missions which didn't at least possibly relate to the search for those who'd gone missing, she always let him go even if it was just him and Happy. She'd never let her own feelings distract either of them from the search for their daughter again.

What Lucy couldn't understand was why her anxiety was so much worse than usual, this time. Sure, he hadn't picked up his Mini Comm when she called a little while ago to make sure he'd gotten safely to Shirotsume, but then again, the idiot rarely did. How could he, when he was constantly breaking and losing them?! Really, there was no reason to be any more worried than normal.

So why had it gotten harder and harder to think through dread since he and Happy vanished through the door?

Her eyes narrowed at the light streaming in through the guild doors, pen tapping at an unconsciously faster pace against the bar as her lips pursed anxiously.

She wasn't prepared for her shirtless friend's huff from a couple seats down. She should've been, but she wasn't. She jerked ever so slightly, wide eyes snapping from the door to him. Gray's mug sank to the bar top with a clunk as he leveled her with an exasperated stare.

Fairy Tail's resident Ice Wizard had traded boyishness for maturity long ago, but looked much the same as he always had. Taller and stronger, with lines around his mouth and eyes, etched mostly in more recent years. Hair pushed back in a somewhat more "adult" way than it had been when they met. More battle scars across his torso and arms—even a scar across his jaw. But he was still unmistakably Lucy's teammate and friend, right down to the dark emblem emblazoned on his bare chest.

"Jeez, would you quit tapping your pen like that, Lucy? You're really putting me on edge, here. Right after I just got back from my mission, too." He sighed somewhat forlornly, and Lucy's heart ached for him. Just a few hours after Natsu left, Gray had arrived, wearing a downtrodden look that told everyone present at the guild exactly how the lead on Juvia he'd been following had panned out. Looking at him, Lucy was reminded that she wasn't the only one who'd struggled against despair since That Day, Seven Years Ago. There'd been a point when he was even closer to spiraling into complete despair than Lucy, scaring all of them.

"Ah...sorry about that," Lucy chuckled somewhat sheepishly, setting the pen on top of the notebook. "Honestly, I didn't even realize I was doing it."

"Yeah?" Gray eyed her, then scoffed. "Don't tell me you're worried about Flame Brain and the fur ball. Didn't they just leave this morning? Besides, they may be idiots, but they can take care of themselves."

"Gray, your clothes," Cana threw out casually from the table at Lucy's back, not even needing to look up from her barrel to know he needed the reprimand.

"Crap!"

"Is the job they're on really dangerous or something?" Jeela asked Lucy, perched in her usual seat at the bar a few spots down. Her favorite book, Dragon Historia [*3] sat open and forgotten in her dainty hands. Her large red eyes shone with worry and care.

Lucy turned to the younger girl. Jeela had grown up to look so much like Levy that sometimes, just the sight of her hurt. How Lucy wished her friend was there to see how her children had grown.

Levy and Gajeel were two of the Mages who were kidnapped That Day, Gajeel when he tried to yank Pantherlily and Levy out of the portal which pulled them in. Like everyone else, he'd underestimated the force with which the horrific doors were able to tow even some of Fiore's strongest Wizards, Wizards like Gildarts, Jura, and a heavily-guarded Queen Hisui—into their mysterious depths. The only reason any of them even knew something about what had happened to Gajeel, Levy, and Lily was because the twins (and technically Polly, though she'd only been a toddler) had watched them get taken.

Lucy sighed in dramatic irritability. "No, not especially. But this is Natsu we're talking about, you know? Even if a job's not dangerous...well, with him, it is."

"But Flame-Ass has always been a walking disaster," a re-clothed Gray pointed out while he settled back onto his stool, rolling his eyes. "No point getting yourself all worked up over it now, is there?"

"Now, now, Gray." Mira appeared, reaching for his empty mug. "Don't invalidate her feelings. Besides!" She lifted a hand to her cheek, beaming. "I think it's sweet that Lucy's finally finding her wifely worry!"

"My what?!" Lucy yelped.

"Huh, you think that's it?" Gray scrutinized his blonde friend like a specimen. "Honestly, I think you might be missing the mark with this one, Mira...I'm pretty sure Lucy's not capable of it."

"I don't know," Erza said, appearing from nowhere with her arms crossed over her armored chest, wearing a thoughtful expression that didn't fool a now-scowling Lucy one bit. "Given enough time, determination, and hard work, anyone can come to suit their role. Even Lucy could find her inner softness."

The Celestial Mage growled, but shook off her irritation with their teasing. She knew they were just trying to distract her, and she did appreciate it, but right now...

"Well, I am worried!" she burst, hands slapping on the bartop loud enough to make them all sober up. "I just...I can't put my finger on it, but I just feel like something's wrong!"

Jeela became thoughtful, frown deepening as she glanced behind the bar towards the closed door to the archive room. Meanwhile Mira, Gray, and Erza's looks turned wary.

Lucy glared at them. She wasn't stupid enough not to know how her outburst would be interpreted: ever since Nashi had gone missing, she'd become a gigantic worry-wort and even she could admit it. Could you blame her!? Having your kid get kidnapped did things to you!

Only one other person in the guild had turned into as much of a Nervous Nellie—and not the one anyone might have expected.

Cana's barrel thumped loudly against the top of her usual table. "You're serious, Lucy?"

Lucy turned to look at her, letting all of her worry shine through her gaze. For the millionth time, she was grateful to have an ally who didn't question or judge her constant state of anxiety. "Yes," she replied, nodding emphatically. "Look, I know I've said it before, but—"

"'But' nothin'." Cana said with finality. "If you're worried, we'll look into it. Better safe than sorry, right? I'll read where those punks are for ya." Lucy sighed in relief. If she could just know that they hadn't wound up somewhere crazy, she could wait for them to return more calmly.

"That'd make me feel a lot better," Lucy admitted, choosing to ignore the look Erza and Gray shared—though she did shoot Gray a testy glare when he sighed wearily. He met her narrowed eyes, but looked away first, obviously not interested in picking at a longstanding argument at the moment. Like he was one to get on her case, anyways. At least he and Erza were laying off, this time.

"You're doing a reading on where Dad is?" Luke asked as he came over, obviously having heard some of the conversation. He was still rubbing his head and scowling a bit.

Lucy frowned a bit at the sight of the lump he was rubbing, jutting out between blonde spikes. Kenna really needed to be more careful. "Yes," she said as he came to stand near to her.

Dropping his hand, he frowned, clearly confused. "He just left this morning though, didn't he?" [*3]

She bit her lip. "Yes..." she admitted, thinking about her words carefully. Luke was only ten. She didn't need want to scare him. "But he didn't pick up his Mini-Comm when I called. I just like to keep track of him sometimes to see if he's almost done with his mission."

Luke's face brightened. "You think he is? When do you think he'll be home? Today, even?"

Lucy smiled. "Well, maybe we'll find out."

"W-we...we could, um, just check the—"

Jeela's nervous stuttering was cut off by Cana: "Might as well do that reading, too, while I'm at it."

The words were spoken quietly, but obviously heard around the bar. Macao and Wakaba stopped bickering. Max paused in making fun of Laki for saying, "like circling around a bush swinging a bat wildly!" instead of "beating around the bush." Mira set down the tray of drinks she'd been carrying. Droy stopped inhaling his chicken leg, and Jet quit ordering him to slow down. Gray tensed. Even Luke grew more serious.

The silence was broken by a heavy "oui" from an elderly Reedus.

Laxus, who'd been sitting at the corner of the bar and observing the goings-on, as usual, sighed heavily and stood to come over. Lucy briefly met eyes with him, the sadness of losing a daughter reflected right back at her before he turned his attention to Mira, who gave him a tremulous smile. No one else moved from their spots, but the guild was now much quieter and more tense, everyone's focus on their corner, even if members like Wakaba didn't show it. Kenna and Airin wordlessly glanced at each other and stood to pull an easel mounted with a clean map of Earthland from the back corner near where they'd been sitting.

Lucy held her breath as she watched Cana shuffle her cards with intense focus.

"So...where was the job located?" Laxus asked, sidling up to stand near them.

"A little south of Shirotsume," Lucy answered. "So they should either be there or heading back..." She bit her lip, secretly hoping for the latter.

She couldn't help it. As Luke and Gray had pointed out, they'd only left just that morning. But...

Something's wrong, her heart seemed to whisper to her. Wrong, wrong, wrong...

After shuffling cards and murmuring to herself for a while under Lucy's anxious gaze, Cana gathered up her stack of cards and stood. "Bring the map over here, would ya, brats?" She waved lazily at Kenna and Airin.

"I'm not a brat!" Kenna grumped, doing as she was asked anyway.

"You gonna look for Greige, too?" Gray asked Cana.

The Cards Mage hummed irritably. "No. No point. I already tried to get a read on him while I was shuffling just now. It's the same as it's been; I can sense he's in Earthland, and I can even tell he's getting closer to Magnolia than he's been in while, but the little shit's still somehow occluding himself from my Divination."

"That stubborn idiot!" Gray growled under his breath, Erza and Lucy shooting him worried looks.

"By the way, while we're on the subject..." Cana glanced at Laxus out of the corner of her eye. "Want me to check on Mirai, too, while I'm at it?"

"Oh, there's no need for that," Mira answered for Laxus, coming to stand next to him with a slightly more strained version of her usual, sweet smile. "He called us last night. His Quest will take a little longer than planned, but he'll be home within a couple weeks."

"Still, I must say I'm surprised Greige has managed to hide himself from an S-Class Divination Mage like Cana for this long," Erza said, wheeling the conversation back.

"Could it be Concealment Magic?" Airin wondered aloud in his deep, smooth voice, looking down at his mother as he stepped away from the situated easel. Lucy noted absently that he seemed to be in a good mood, today.

Cana scoffed, tapping her stack of cards against the table to neaten them. "Doubt it...it's been a damn minute since I've encountered a Concealment Wizard strong enough to hide from my Divination. There's no way an Ice Wizard who picked up some piddly Camouflage Spell could pull it off. My first guess would be an Enchantment."

Jeela shifted restlessly on her stool.

The Celestial Mage shot the younger Mage a sympathetic look. This was a daily ritual that just never got easier and had—so far—always ended in disappointment when Cana was unable to discern even a hint as to where any of the missing might be. Although, today was a little less tense than normal because Cana would be divining Natsu's location, too.

The idiots may have gotten themselves into trouble, but there was no way they weren't still in Fiore. Normally, when they did this, Cana's cards bounced off the map with a hollow thump followed by a great shuffling noise as they all smattered on the floor. But today, they were sure to at least hear "thu-thunk" as Natsu and Happy's cards embedded themselves somewhere on the map, revealing their location.

Luke watched Cana curiously from beside her. He was quiet and thoughtful, but Lucy knew that for him, this ritual held a different meaning and weight than it did for her. He had no memories of his older sister or any of their other nakama who'd gone missing. After all, he'd only been three when they were taken.

Thus, when Lucy wrapped an arm around his shoulders, it was more for her own sake than his. The knot in her chest still hadn't loosened.

"Here goes," Cana said, raising her cards to her forehead and closing her eyes. As they began glowing, she raised her amethyst eyes and fixed them on the map before her, stark and taunting even under the guild's warm lighting. Everyone held their breaths. She threw the cards.

One thunk punctuated the great, familiar smattering sound.

Not thu-thunk. Just thunk.

Lucy went stock-still, wondering if she'd misheard.

The entire hall froze along with her as the cards for all but one of their comrades—and all the cards reserved for those known to be missing—flapped to the floor. Normally, there were at least a few seconds of suffocating grief following the ritual, usually punctuated by some sniffles from some of the guild members and murmured consolations from others. Today, for the very first time, no one's gaze dropped to the messy pile of fallen cards, and it was the shock that suffocated.

Lucy blinked at the single embedded card, a quivering slash through the name "MAGNOLIA."

"Wait..." Luke, though obviously struggling to process what he'd seen just like the rest of them, was the one who recovered enough to speak first. But it was Cana who moved. After several seconds of standing frozen as a glacier, she shook herself slightly, stomped forward, and yanked the card from the map, flipping it over deftly.

"Happy," she said, voice serious. She held the card up for everyone to see, urgency in her eyes as they met Lucy's.

Lucy blinked back, feeling briefly like she was looking down on herself from the guild hall ceiling. Her entire body went numb as her blood seemed to turn to ice. Around her, guild members started to speak to each other in alarm. Gray was reacting loudly, but Lucy was unable to make sense of his words.

Natsu's card had fallen with the rest of them. It lay on the ground with Nashi's, with Juvia's and Wendy's and Gajeel's. With Queen Hisui's. With Yukino and her son, Yutaka's. With that thought, Lucy's wide, terrified brown eyes sank to the pile. What she'd feared more than anything was happening.

No. This can't be happening. Please, no—

"Mom?" Luke turned to look up at her with wide, scared eyes which searched for answers she didn't have.

Lucy blinked several times in rapid succession, struggling to think and fighting to breathe. "I..." Her voice shook. "No...no, th-that's impossible! I don't—"

"Wait!" Jet shouted over the rising din. "It said Happy's in Magnolia, right?! Then maybe—"

"LUUUCCCCYY!" The cry pierced the rising din like one of Erza's swords through butter.

Startled by the sudden sound, Lucy reflexively jumped in front of Luke, hands flying to the keys at her hip. "Wha—?!"

Her voice was cut off as she managed—barely—to catch the bundle of blue and white which barreled into her chest. "H-Happy?!" she blurted at the small, sobbing creature.

"Lucy!" he repeated, looking up at her with a heartbreakingly devastated and terrified expression.

As his position shifted with the movement, Lucy's eyes dropped to the bundle he held to his chest and felt her heart skip several beats.

"Hold on! Is that—?" Erza started.

"It's Dad's scarf!" Luke yelled the answer to the question before it had even been asked.

The alarm around them grew louder. Questions and shouts flew from all directions.

Meanwhile, Lucy's heart stopped beating. "Happy, what happened?!" she demanded, panic sharpening her voice. "Where is Natsu?!"

"I don't know!" the Exceed wailed, distraught. Tears formed sparkling trails on his blue cheeks. "It was J-Jewel Skull! Natsu..."

The little cat ducked his head suddenly, shame tinting despair and fear.

"He didn't tell us before, but on the way there...he told m-me he thought the guild might have something to do with why H-Harley and Nashi disappeared."

A few gasps sounded, along with a couple groans.

"What made him think that?" Laxus asked sharply, his deep voice and commanding presence quickly focusing the room in a way even Master Makarov would have envied.

Happy turned his head to look at him. "There were rumors that they had something...some kind of Magical Item that allowed them to make p-people disappear all of a sudden...it was in the fine print!"

"WHAT?!" Gray shouted.

"That imbecile!" Erza thundered. "Going off alone on such a mission...by now, he should know better than to act so recklessly!"

Happy continued, "He was fighting them...they were actually kinda tough, but he was gonna win! And then...it w-was an actual jewel skull! Like a human's skull, but cov-covered in sparkly rainbow stuff! Their Master pulled it out of nowhere! It looked so stupid! We were even laughing at it!"

"Happy!" Lucy snapped, trying to get the distractible feline to focus.

"But then," the Exceed continued like she hadn't spoken, "this burst of really strong Magic came out of it! Natsu destroyed the skull with his fire, but then the Magics combined or something, and s-some of it hit him! There was a flash of bright light, and th-then he was just gone! His s-scarf was just laying there where he'd been standing and—a-and—!" His explanation broke off into wails, the tears falling thicker and faster than ever.

Laxus cursed, then waded through the panicking crowd towards the bar, shouting over his shoulder about checking the Nav Map they'd set up in the Master's Office seven years ago, Mira running after him.

"No way..." Luke whispered beside Lucy, voice shaking. "Th-there's no way...Dad wouldn't...he'd never be beaten by some loser dark guild! He's way too strong for that, right?!" His expression was desperate as he looked up at Lucy, begging her to tell him that his father was as infallible as he believed. Looking down at him, Lucy knew she needed to comfort him, knew she needed to say something to put both her son and the wailing exceed in her arms at ease.

But when she opened her mouth, comfort was not what came out.

"What?" she whispered. Then...

"What...the hell? WHAT THE HELL?!" she exploded so loudly, both boys and several nearby guildmates nearly flew out of their skin.

Little did she know that in a world where the seconds flew by faster, her daughter was screaming, too.

---

When Natsu woke up, it was to muttering. Muttering that came like a soft, annoying buzz from below, the voice somehow seeming familiar to his groggy mind.

"Huh...well, I mean, plants gotta breathe, too, don't they?"

What the hell's this chick going on about so early? his thoughts whined. He stretched his aching neck and groaning. Whoever she was, she was even worse than Lucy first thing in the morning. Speaking of which, where was Lucy? Where was he? Why wasn't he in bed? He shifted, grimacing as his aches worsened.

"W-what the hell?!" came a shrill, breathy sort of scream.

Actually, now that he was starting to wake up, he couldn't help noticing this chick really did sound kind of a lot like Luce, voice only a little higher. Also a bit more raspy, sort of like whenever she got finished screaming at him or Happy or Luke. Or all three of them.

Come to think of it, hadn't he heard another voice like that just last—?

His eyes snapped open as realization came flooding in and the memories came flooding back.

Bony Jewel. His lack of Magic. Those random brawls which hadn't gone so well. That Taco-gon [*4] fight. Nashi not remembering him. Man Cow. The fact that he was covered in aches in pains...that was because he was sleeping in a tree near her crappy apartment building, and he was sleeping in a tree because—

His gaze dropped to the owner of the voice as he leaned over, a gasp escaping him when he spotted the girl crouched at the base of his tree. She stared at it with a mixture of shock and horror, like it had just sprouted a Vulcan face.

"Nashi!"

Ignoring the way she looked up and screamed, he dropped from the branch. What he'd been more foolish to ignore was his throbbing knee. As soon as he landed, white-hot pain shot up his left thigh. He collapsed onto his back, unable to hold in his yowls of, "OW!" and "OW, DAMMIT!" as he rolled around, gripping the appendage.

"...PINKY WINGNUT?!"

The pain was so shocking, he barely registered Nashi's nonsensical screech or caught when she scrambled to her feet and leapt away. Only dimly did he register that she was gawking at him in speechless disbelief, face reddening as it contorted into an embarrassed, trembling sort of grimace.

He couldn't believe this! His knee was still this bad? A whole night had passed, and if anything, it'd just gotten worse! The pain faded to a dull throb when he sat still, gripping it at a slight bend, but his knee still felt hot and heavy.

For crying out loud, it'd been one measly kick from some loser who didn't even have Magic! Lucy had kicked him way harder than that more times than he could count. Hell, Luke landed harder hits when they wrestled, and he was ten! Just how long was he gonna have to wait for it to go back to normal? He had things to do, dammit!

Speaking of which...

Gritting his teeth, he shoved his irritation to the back burner. He lifted his eyes to Nashi. As he looked up at her—clad in some kind of workout getup with her pink hair pulled into a high ponytail, leaving a slightly messy wing of pink spilling over her wide, fiery eyes—the whole world seemed to sparkle with joy. He couldn't help but wonder if he was dreaming. Some part of him still couldn't believe he'd really, finally found his daughter. It was surreal.

Then, that guy's black threats and his stupid, beady little eyes darting around suspiciously jumped into his head, and worry snuffed the joy in his heart in a fist of ice. If just one dumb kick could put him down like this, how hurt would being jumped and beaten leave his daughter?

His eyes jumped all over her, absently ignoring the way her entire body was vibrating harder and harder (sorta like Erza after someone knocked over her cake) as he searched frantically for injuries. The icy fist seemed to tighten as he spotted bruises on Nashi's knuckles, arms, hands, the bit of stomach exposed by her cropped tank top, and the right side of her jaw slowly reddening with the rest of her face.

"Are you okay!? Did Man Cow hurt you?!" he flung the questions urgently, still lying on his back in the dirt and gripping his leg.

Nashi exploded.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE, ASSHOLE?!"

Her voice was so loud, several birds took off from the branches above them with startled squawks. Her aura boiled and seethed. She stood sideways, feet spread and a fist raised like she'd attack at any second. Her face was contorted into an expression of tremendous rage, lips pulled back to bare her teeth. Her eyes looked downright demonic.

"DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!? DIDN'T I TELL YOU I'D KILL YOU IF YOU DIDN'T LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE?! DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH? HUH?! IS THAT IT?! BECAUSE I'LL DO IT! I'LL MURDER YOUR STALKER ASS HERE AND NOW!"

Recovering in a split-second, Natsu's features twisted to mirror hers almost exactly. He shot to sit up. The abrupt motion sent more pain up his left thigh, which he ignored, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"OI! I ain't stalking you!" he snapped. He was officially past being hurt by her accusations. At this point, he was just pissed. "Now answer me, dammit!"

"Oh, you're not stalking me?! Well for a guy who's not stalking me, you sure were just SLEEPING IN THE TREE BY MY MOTHERFUCKING APARTMENT BUILDING!"

"Yeah, but that ain't because I was stalking you!" he barked, balling his raised hand into a fist like her. "It's just because I found out where you lived and decided to stick nearby so I could watch you and try and talk to you!"

"THAT'S WHAT FUCKING STALKING IS!" came her loudest scream yet.

"NO, IT ISN'T!" he roared right back.

"IS!"

"ISN'T!"

"IS!"

"ARGH!" She was impossible to reason with...she was just like her mother! Natsu shook his fists at the sky then threw them down in the dirt with a thump. He huffed a growl that almost, almost tasted of fire—but he was pretty sure that was just his imagination since the park was spinning slowly around him.

So much for giving Nashi time to cool off before approaching her again. Ain't like it was his fault, though! She was the one who caught him off-guard and woke him up, muttering around under trees first thing in the morning. She really was an impossible freak just like Lucy!

Still growling, Natsu's eyes snapped up to flicker between her bruises, the worry still wringing his heart, stoking his anger. It was that type of fretting that couldn't be shaken or ignored and which grew every second he wasn't getting answers. He knew it would burn up his ability to behave normally until he knew if his kid was alright.

"Fine!" he hissed. "If you won't answer me, I'll just make sure myself!"

He planted a hand against the tree trunk to stand, vaguely aware of the way Nashi leapt back and her eyes burned holes into him through the entire process. Rising was a slow, careful thing that made sweat bead on his forehead. His knee had turned to pure, jellified pain when he dropped out of the tree, but by taking care not to twist his leg oddly or put too much pressure on it, and with determination fueling him, he managed.

Wiping his brow and panting slightly, he briefly tested how much weight he could put on it before he whirled his attention back to his stubborn daughter, eyes sharp and red hot. He really didn't even notice that her demeanor had shifted while he focused on standing. Her fists were slightly lowered and she was frowning down at his leg, but her eyes quickly snapped back up when he hobbled forward.

"O-oi!" Her fists lifted again, eyes going wide as he approached stiltedly, but with a steady and intense glare. "Th-the fuck do you think you're—?!"

"Quit, idiot!" he snapped, easily swatting away the half-hearted fist sailing towards his shoulder—sent just to scare him back, he was pretty sure.

"What'd you just—?!"

Yet despite the lingering aggression in her spluttered words and stance, she didn't lash out again when he reached for her face, eyes going wide as her words cut off. She seemed to freeze, gaze staying fixed on him with her fists half-hovering in front of her as Natsu grabbed her chin gently but firmly, twisting her head to the side so he could look properly at the bruise on her jaw. He clucked his tongue at the color on it, but overall, it didn't look too bad. It was barely swollen. And it sure as hell hadn't kept her from talking.

Had she...gotten it during that Taco fight? Despite everything, his mind balked to accept the possibility. That would mean those Magic-less blows which had practically left him snoozing would actually have done some damage, even when she'd barely even let any of them glance her. His scowl deepened.

Dismissing that for now, he released her chin and grabbed her wrists, then eyed her slightly dark knuckles, gently pressing shaking thumbs against each one. First the lower ones, then the ones closer to her fingertips. She didn't hiss or twitch even once at his ministrations, just remained frozen as she slid slightly widened brown eyes over Natsu's own stiff, burning knuckles, dark and caked in dried blood—on full display with the way he gripped her wrists.

In fact, she seemed caught in some trance between bewilderment and distraction as he determined that, unlike him, her hands weren't injured. No split skin. After that fight he'd seen last night, that seemed almost impossible, but there it was.

He thought back, remembering how both fighters had been wearing those thick black fingerless glove-things. Maybe that's why her hands were in such good shape? Hell, maybe that's why those Taco fighters wore them at all. He'd assumed it was to try and look cool or something, but what if it was just to protect their hands because it was so easy to get hurt and so hard to heal here?

He growled in frustrated confusion. As an S-Class Mage known for his fighting prowess, Natsu had great practical understanding of injuries and pain. He kept track of bruises, broken bones, and depleted Magic as easily as he ignored all of it to overcome the odds. One glance at a comrade was enough to tell them whether they could finish a fight standing or not. It drove him crazy that here, none of the gauges he'd built over the years applied, leaving him fumbling with a single night's-worth of limited experience to determine something as important as whether his daughter might be seriously hurt.

Ignoring his irritation, he tried to focus. "No fingers broken..." he mumbled his conclusion, more for himself than anything else. Meanwhile, Nashi remained seemingly paralyzed. Natsu would use that to suss out any more injuries. Of course, the problem was, he had no clue how to physically, systematically check someone for injuries. He wasn't Wendy or Porlyusica.

How did they do it again? Wait...didn't they just kind of held their hands over people and used spells to figure out if and how someone was hurt? Obviously that wasn't an option for him. He'd just have to wing it.

Doing whatever came to his head, Natsu used his grip on Nashi's wrists to pull her fists towards him then push them back towards her shoulders, making sure her elbows bent properly before pulling her arms up into the air above her head—like she was cheering—then out to the sides, flapping them up and down like she was a bird. He figured he'd shake out any other injuries she had that way.

Unfortunately, it shook her out of her trance instead. In a second flat, her expression went from shocked and lost to pissed.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" she screeched, ripping her wrists out of his grasp and shoving his chest hard with both hands.

"Oof!" Natsu stumbled backwards, hissing as the movement forced him to put weight on his left leg at an odd angle. Steadying himself, he glared at her. "Be careful, would ya?! Geez! I just wanted to make sure you were alright!"

Still, even as he grumbled and reached down to rub at the swollen joint with a wince, he felt the frigid fist of anxiety unclench from around his heart, his ability to breathe properly returning as he realized she wasn't seriously hurt, and probably had gotten banged up during that Taco Fight.

But a second after the relief sank in, irritation came on its heels. That loser had no business bruising her when he didn't even land one good, solid hit!

If it was really so easy to get hurt here, then she should've been faster! he thought angrily, conveniently forgetting how he'd earned his own bruises and injuries. We're training the second we get back to Earthland!

Excitement perked up his heart at the thought of training his daughter's Dragon Slaying abilities again. At least he had that to look forward to, after she quit her screeching and finally opened those stubborn ears of hers.

"If I'm alright?! I thought I told you to worry about your own damn self!" Crossing her arms over her chest so her arm muscles stood out, she glowered at him. "And yet here your dumb ass is, sleeping in a half-dead tree, still looking like shit and still dressed like fucking pink-haired Aladdin!"

"Huh?" Natsu tilted his head in confusion. "What the hell's an Aladdin?"

"'What the hell's an...?' You don't know Aladdin?!" Her eyes widened in disbelief. "You know? Aladdin?" She gestured vaguely at Natsu's pants, as if that was helpful in any way. When the only response she got was a heavy, confused frown, her gesturing became slightly more animated. "You know? 'I can show you the world'?"

"Ugh, no thanks." Natsu held up a hand, wrinkling his nose. "I think I've seen enough."

"What the—?! That—NO, DAMMIT! LIKE I WAS FUCKING OFFERING!"

"Our world's way better. Trust me," Natsu continued, grinning like she hadn't started yelling again. "You'll see when we get back there, Nashi!"

"ARRGGHH! Not this shit again!" She threw up her hands, looking like Lucy whenever Natsu, Luke, or Happy managed to break something. Or all three of them did. "Firstly, it's Layla! And I don't want to hear another word about your Selena World or your Dragon grandpas or your flying cat hallucinations!"

"They aren't hallucinations!" Natsu huffed, staring daggers as she shot him a look of supreme annoyance. "Harley just can't fly here because this place is doing something gross to our Magic!"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Nashi groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"And for your information, I didn't leave that money behind. I spent it on some good grub, just like you said. So ha!"

"Wait...what?" Nashi pulled her fingers away from the bridge of her nose. Brown eyes narrowed at him in disbelief. "Hold up! You spent all that money I gave you on food?"

"Um...yeah?"

"...WHAT IN THE GODDAMN HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Natsu jumped at her volume. "That was like two-hundred and fifty dollars I left there! I told you to buy one meal, not enough for an army! What the fuck?! Were you raised in the jungle?!"

"Man, Nashi...you sound just like Lucy," Natsu half-grumbled, half-whined, rubbing an ear.

She didn't seem to hear him. "No wonder you still look like ass! I thought I told you to go to a hospital! God dammit, Pinky Wingnut!"

Natsu bristled.

"WAIT, ARE YOU CALLING ME THAT?" he bellowed, incensed. "It'll be a cold day in hell when my kids call me names that sound like something that nudist popsicle would come up with! My name ain't 'Pinky Wingnut', it ain't 'Salad-Tin'—"

"ALADDIN!"

"It's 'Natsu'! 'Dad', to you!"

"THE HELL IT IS!" Nashi raged, her entire being vibrating with anger again, face back to rage demon mode. "DON'T EVEN START WITH THAT AGAIN OR I WILL ACTUALLY FUCKING MURDER YOU!"

Natsu disregarded her vibrating as easily as he disregarded her threats. "And like I could go to a hospital! Getting Man Cow to drive me here was bad enough. No way I was doing any more pit stops in that death trap!"

He shuddered at the very thought, queasiness tilting and rocking his stomach. Just because riding in a vehicle hadn't been as bad as usual for once didn't make it his idea of a party. He still couldn't quite believe he'd watched Nashi ride that Magicycle.

"Hah? 'Man Cow'? You're saying someone named 'Man Cow' drove you here?" Nashi narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "This is another one of your wack-ass delusions, isn't it?"

Natsu growled, stomping forward belligerently. "I ain't delusional! And no, dammit! How can you not know who I'm talking about?! That asshole! Man Cow!"

She stared blankly.

"Here, look!" Scooping up a stick with a pointy-ish end, Natsu shuffled over to a dirt patch near the tree he'd slept in. He heard Nashi grumble something to herself, then sidle up behind him as he began drawing Man Cow's likeness in the dirt, muttering in concentration. "Big, round head—and! Big ears, here...lips, too...and neck! Beady eyes...weird crown hat...big necklace..."

Wait. Had Man Cow had a weird crown hat and a big necklace, or was Natsu thinking of Jiemma back when he was still Sabertooth's Master? He considered for a couple moments before shrugging it off. A little creativity never hurt anyone!

When he was done, he stood straight, nodding at his drawing. It wasn't great, sure, but it was better than any of the armor Erza had ever tried to draw. Granted, it wasn't exactly hard to draw something better than her child serial killer sketches, but still. Besides, the rudimentary lines worked perfectly for the guy. Looked just like the bastard, right down to his dumb crown hat. Probably.

"See? Man Cow!" he presented, beaming as he stepped back so Nashi could see.

With her arms crossed over her chest, she eyed the drawing with a deadpan expression for a few seconds. Then she turned to him. "I don't know how to break this to you, but Biggie's dead."

"Huh?"

"Uh, that guy you just drew? Biggie Smalls?"

Nonplussed, he tilted his head. She sighed impatiently. "Notorious B.I.G.? Tupac feud, coast-to-coast? 'Hypnotize'?"

"Alright, now you're just saying words," he groused, then waved his stick at the drawing for emphasis. "Don't you remember? That guy you fought last night! Man Cow!"

Nashi stiffened. "Wait! You mean Mad Fuck? That Biggie [*5] you drew is supposed to be Mad Fuck?! And he drove you here?!" Her arms fell to her sides, eyes wide with surprise. Then her face went all pissed again. "And just how the hell does that freakshow know where I live, huh?!"

She flung the words like an accusation, but the somber gaze Natsu met her question with seemed to take her aback. "I don't know," he answered, secretly seething at himself. He'd been too disoriented and enraged to consider it at the time, but it suddenly hit him that he should've interrogated the bastard. "Someone told him over a Mini Communication Lacrima."

"A what now?" she muttered warily.

"A Mini Comm? Like that one you have, there." He pointed to the one she had tucked in the waistband of her sleek joggers.

She glanced down at it, frowning, and brushed her fingers over the strange, black crystal. "What, my phone?"

"Is that what it's called here?" he asked, eyeing it for a second. "Well, whatever. That's why I had to come straight here. That Man Cow guy...he's after you, Nashi."

She quirked a brow, but the surprise seemed to wear off quickly as she snorted. "Oh he is, is he?"

"Yes!" When Nashi's response was to smirk and cross her arms over her chest, Natsu threw his drawing stick down and growled. "Oi, I'm not joking!"

"Oh-ho, I know you're not," she chortled. "Let me guess: Mad Fuck's pissed I beat his ass, so now he wants to 'teach me a lesson' or whatever?"

Startled by the accuracy of her guess, Natsu blinked wide eyes, reeling slightly.

She grinned more widely, crowing, "Aw, man! What a fucking loser! It's been a while since someone was lame enough to pull this shit...well, whatever. It was only a matter of time, I suppose." Still smiling, she closed her eyes, sighed, held her arms out to her sides...and then shrugged.

Unbeknownst to her, Natsu struggled to compute the gesture. Difficult, when it felt like fire was burning whatever cogs and contraptions made his brain work to an incensed crisp.

After all these years of crippling fear, he'd come dangerously close to failing to recognize his own daughter, thanks to the fact she was way older than she was supposed to be. Then, without even being given a chance to deal with the knowledge that she and Harley had landed in a universe which leached Wizards' Magic away, he'd been blindsided by the heartbreaking news that Nashi couldn't even remember him. And then, because apparently all that wasn't enough, he'd found out that that some massive, pissed off asshole had figured out where she lived and was basically hunting her down in the streets in a place where being blinked at was enough to leave bruises.

And when he told her, she laughed and shrugged.

His eyes and eyebrows began to twitch. Then his hands. Then, still without her notice, the rest of him, his shoulders bunching up furiously around his ears.

A million memories where his overprotective instincts had bitten him in the ass flashed through his brain—from torching Hargeon when that Fake Salamander threatened to tarnish Fairy Tail's good name, to Erza and Gray having to knock him out when Wendy said his mate would have to be cut open to deliver their first baby.

Every single one of them was forgotten the instant it was remembered. He glared at his long-lost daughter as she scanned the park around them, grinning like the notion of getting jumped by some revenge-bent giant bad guy was great fun. "I wonder if Mad Fuck's around here now? Maybe he's in a tree like you were!"

Natsu's last nerve exploded.

For the third time in two days, Nashi was visibly surprised when he managed to grab her.

"IT AIN'T FUNNY, DAMMIT!" The park rang with his shout. Green grass, benches, and trees tilted dangerously around him as he gripped Nashi's shoulders and bared his teeth, face contorted furiously. "DOES THIS SEEM LIKE A GAME TO YOU, HUH?! DOES IT SEEM LIKE A JOKE!?" His grip tightened as she gawked up at him slightly. "YOU'VE GOT SOME DAMN NERVE, ACTING COCKY LIKE THAT! WE'RE IN A SERIOUS SITUATION HERE, NASHI! SOME WEAK VILLAIN IS TRYING TO AMBUSH YOU BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T EVEN KICK HIS ASS PROPERLY—"

"WHAT'D YOU JUST SAY!?" she bellowed, demon aura making a reappearance to mirror his.

"—AND YOU RIDE A MAGICYCLE!" He thundered this like it was the greatest accusation he could've thrown, shaking her in outrage for good measure. "WE'VE GOT NO MAGIC, NO FIRE—HELL, NASHI, WE BASICALLY AREN'T EVEN—"

Nashi smacked his hands off her. "IT'S FUCKING LAYLA! LAYLA, LAYLA, LAYLA! LAYLA O'NEIL! GET IT THROUGH THAT INSANE, PINKY WINGNUT SKULL OF YOURS!"

"I SAID DON'T CALL ME THAT! AND NO, IT AIN'T!" he hollered, hands balling into fists before his chest. "'LAYLA' IS JUST YOUR MIDDLE NAME...YOUR NAME IS NASHI! NASHI LAYLA DRAGNEEL!"

The rage vanished from her demeanor so fast, it made Natsu even more dizzy than he already was. Her face paled and slackened into shock, eyes going round as saucers even as her hands dropped to her sides. She stepped back, away from him. "W-what...Drag...O'Neil?"

"DRAGNEEL!" he barked, pissed and hurt beyond belief that he had to repeat it. "SERIOUSLY? YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW OUR NAME?!"

"W-why would I?!" she demanded, taking another step back. As clear as it was she was trying to pluck up her rage and confidence, it was just as clear that something he'd said had shaken her. Her fists lifted at half-mast as she attempted to glare at him. "That name...that name is just ridiculous! You're lying! You made it up!"

Scowling, he limped forward through the grass, making up for the ground she'd put between them. "Look me in the eye and say that again." The command came out deadly soft, now, but carried right over the low din of the park—much of which was watching them like public theater.

And for a split-second, she did look in his eyes. Shock and confusion beamed right out of those big browns of hers—Lucy's big browns, and for that moment, Natsu felt his temper started to descend and his features soften as he thought that he was maybe, finally getting through to that stubborn daughter of his.

Then, that "phone" thing of hers made a weird noise, sorta like a hum or a growl. Nashi jolted slightly, and to Natsu's dismay, the shock seemed to snap her back to stubborn, pissy, distrustful "Layla" mode. Her chin sank and her eyes hardened under the shadow of her bangs.

"I said: You're. Fucking. Lying." She stared straight into his eyes as she snarled the words. Her aura seethed again. Then, for good measure, she added, "Pinky Wingnut."

His nostrils flared, frustration churning and roiling just under his skin, making him want to pull his hair out or maybe grab her again and shake her until she believed him. The park was still spinning even as he tried to collect himself. "Oh, yeah? Well you'll eat those words when we're back in Earthland...right before I ground you till you're old and gray for being a stubborn brat!"

He could almost hear the sound of an imaginary Lucy smacking her forehead. Truthfully, he couldn't even come up with a solid reason to ground Nashi—at least fairly; even if she was being a stubborn brat—a foul-mouthed one, at that—none of this was her fault, not really. It had just flown out of his mouth because he was frustrated beyond belief and wanted her safe.

Her entire face twitched in incredulity and anger. "Even if you could ground me, what the fuck would you ground me to, your stupid tree?! More importantly, I'm not going anywhere with you, Pinky Wingnut!"

The combination of that infuriating nickname and the suggestion that he would somehow not be able to bring his daughter home pushed him over the edge. The anger grew until it boiled just underneath his skin even as he strove to keep it locked in as much as he could.

In his most lowest, most serious, most dangerous voice yet, he growled, "Oi, Nashi...you're coming home if I have to drag you kicking and screaming."

---

It was only as Pinky Wingnut said those words that Layla finally made an important realization:

This guy was fucking dangerous.

Up until then, she hadn't seen it. Well...admittedly, the previous night, when he'd managed to grab her wrist, she'd started to get a vibe, enough of one to get the fuck away from him, too.

It hadn't held over to today, though, seeing and interacting with him more clearly. In broad daylight, she saw that there were deep, slightly dark bags under his eyes—his swollen and similarly darkening red nose telling her exactly how those bruises had formed. Then there was whatever the hell was going on with his leg, making him roll and stumble around in the dirt.

Despite the absolute fury which had consumed every fiber of Layla's being when she'd realized that Pinky Wingnut had figured out where she lived, fucking followed here there, then pranked her into thinking a tree was snoring (and wasn't he just the class clown!) she just couldn't help the twinge of...of ANGER she felt as she watched him work like a slave just to stand on his own two feet.

Beyond how injured and miserable he obviously was, he'd just seemed...well, ridiculous. Between his made-up words, his Biggie/Mad Fuck preschooler doodle, and his shouting about how Harley could fly if she just got some pixie dust or whatever, he'd distracted Layla right into another conversation despite the severe lecture she'd given herself just an hour ago.

But now? It was hard to believe this was the same guy she'd just been talking to. Every instinct she possessed blared at her as he glared heavily from beneath the shadow of his messy, dirty pink bangs, somehow radiating affirmed superiority regardless of what terrible shape he was in and how absurd he looked. A contained yet burning anger—the most dangerous kind—roiled off his skin in dark waves.

A lifetime of surviving hit to hit saw Layla backing way the fuck up, real quick before she even realized she was doing it, keeping her eyes glued to him. A stare-down hadn't been on her schedule till two days from now, but she engaged in a surprise one right there in the park across from her apartment with a homeless guy. Because apparently that was the kind of shit she was up to these days.

When she got far enough back, she stayed tense but loose, dropping halfway into stance. Somehow, the fact that he followed her with only those sharp, dark eyes and didn't move a muscle really freaked her out.

Goosebumps rose tall across the back of her neck and her arms as she slammed up her own scowl to hide her sudden alarm. Her heart pounded like a drum kit under attack from a ten-year-old.

With their eyes locked onto each other, Layla realized she should've known. Just from those eyes, she should've known. You could always tell someone dangerous by their eyes. Most people let their eyes drift around here and there and wherever, avoided committing their stare to anything for too long. It wasn't a bad thing, more like...a cooperative one. A polite one.

But fighters—people who were dangerous—they weren't like that. They looked you dead in the eye and kept their gaze steady. When their eyes moved, their pupils slipped smoothly. Even when they were unfocused, not really looking at anything, you could tell they saw everything, used to reacting to things flying in at their peripherals in a blink.

That was the way Pinky Wingnut's eyes looked. Every bit as hair-raising as the most experienced guys Layla had ever squared off against. Maybe even Mak's. It was bad she hadn't seen it till then. Sloppy. In her defense, his insane bullshit had been a really good trick—even better than the snoring tree bit.

But she didn't even have time to beat herself up over it or think too deep about it, because every instinct she possessed was screaming her that she'd better be ready to fight like hell if she didn't want to get dragged of to whatever creepy dungeon this guy called "Earth Land."

But just when the tension in the air was near thick enough to suffocate and she'd come up with a third way to incapacitate him (slam his head into the tree) he suddenly closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths. She watched warily as he seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, face jumping between pissed, annoyed, and defeated on a loop. Then, all of a sudden, he grinned widely. And just like that, all the tension in the air vanished.

Layla was left faltering and blinking like a dumbass.

"But I don't have a way back yet, so you're off the hook for now!" he said cheerfully, making her face and shoulders sag in incredulity. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna get some more shut-eye, 'kay?" And with that, he staggered off to that shitty tree and started climbing.

As she recovered from the shock of...whatever the hell that had been, Layla's confusion churned into full-on bewilderment, with hearty sides of embarrassment and anger.

"O-oi!" she snapped, sprinting over to the tree and shaking a fist up at him as he clambered and surged up the bark. He was breathing hard, but was also surprisingly agile, considering he was using just three limbs. "Get your ass back down here so I can kill you, you stalker bastard!"

Even as she roared up at him, she was infuriatingly aware of the fact that her heart wasn't in the threat like she needed it to be. It was too humiliating to fully admit even to herself, but the truth was, this guy just kept hitting her with weapons she could never have guessed he'd have on him, and she was shaken. Not only had that impromptu stare-down caught her off guard, but that stuff he'd said...

"YOUR NAME IS NASHI! NASHI LAYLA DRAGNEEL!...DRAGNEEL!...SERIOUSLY? YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW OUR NAME?!"

Unease churned in her gut all over again. It had freaked her out enough that he'd said something so similar to that name from that file, especially given that he also knew Harley's real name, but what Layla really couldn't let go of was the way he'd corrected her, the tone of his voice and the look in his eye when he'd done so. She was too flustered to pinpoint it just yet, but something about the way he'd said the words kept them trapped in her brain, and as long as they were swirling around in there, she just didn't seem to even be able to get her shit together.

Her blood pounded in her ears as she watched Pinky Wingnut haul himself over the branch with a loud grunt. Then a messy, disheveled mess of salmon hair peeked over the branch, followed by a disgruntled face. "Be quiet, would ya?" he complained. "I just said I was trying to sleep...and after you already woke me up once. Talk about rude!"

Oh, there was her temper.

"FUCK YOU!" she blared. "I WON'T BE SCOLDED BY SOME FREAK!" She punched the tree trunk. Fungus-covered bark creaked and shed under her knuckles. That tree was on its way out, alright. "YOU DON'T BELONG HERE! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY PARK RIGHT NOW!"

"Mommy, why does that pink-haired girl hate the tree so much?" some kid asked a flower purse-wielding woman behind him. From where they were standing—on the far side of the tree—they obviously couldn't see Pinky Wingnut's branch.

"Jeffrey, come away from there this instant!" the lady shrieked, grabbing his hand and dragging him away. "This is the last time I try to culture my son by taking him to one of these poor parks!"

"OI!" Layla spluttered after their quickly retreating figures, cheeks red from embarrassment and outrage as she lost the opportunity to even defend herself.

As soon as Stuffy and her brat were out of earshot, Pinky Wingnut started guffawing, bringing Layla that much closer to blowing all her gaskets. She snarled mutinously up at him while he snorted and giggled behind his hand like a five-year-old who'd replaced sugar with salt. As much as she trusted her instincts, it was almost impossible not to wonder if she'd imagined the intimidation factor when he literally laughed like "tee-hee-hee-hee!" and pointed at her.

"Aw, man! You should've seen your face, Nashi!" he crowed.

"IT'S LAYLA!"

"Nope!" he chuckled, wiping his eyes as he calmed down but kept grinning. "It's Nashi."

It took all of Layla's willpower not to go right back to the races with him. Her arms vibrated as the emotions inside her tried to explode out.

"Whatever...whatever! Fuck it!" she growled to herself, trying to tune him out and refocus. "Arguing with this guy is pointless. I don't have time for this bullshit! Four days, that's all I got...four days till the championship fight—"

"Just forget about that, Nashi," Pinky Wingnut chuckled, waving a hand as he leaned back against the tree trunk. "You ain't doing that fight. We'll be back in Earthland way before then...then you'll see some real fighting."

She nearly broke her teeth grinding them. Her resolve fractured enough for her to growl, "I already told you, I'm not going whatever sketchy Jigsaw dungeon you call 'Earth Land', you fucking—"

"It ain't a dungeon!" He actually had the gall to sound and look like he was the one who was getting close to the end of his rope. "It's a parallel world!"

"What do you think this is, a manga?" Layla taunted with her hands on her hips, knowing damn well she not only was going off to the races again but still looked insane to everyone in the park, yet somehow unable to stop herself. "Well, I hate to break it to ya, geek, but you ain't gonna find a way to another world because this is the real fucking world and it's the only one!"

"I'll find a way!" he shouted. "Someone's gotta know something!"

She snickered, smug over the fact she'd pissed him off. It was way past time for her to be fucking off, now, but she decided to savor it a little more. "Oh, so that's your big plan?" she mocked. "Going around asking randos how to get to 'Earth Land' or 'Selena World'? You gonna try to convince them they're your long-lost kid, too?"

"Huh?" His eyes widened in confusion while his brows furrowed in offense. "Of course I won't! Why would I do that? You're my daughter."

He said this with a conviction that wasn't fair game to laugh at like the other stuff, not even with how bad she wanted payback for all the shit he'd put her through. Sobering just a little, Layla briefly wondered if he really did have a daughter missing somewhere, or if she was some kind of delusion. Layla really know enough about mental illnesses like that to say.

He shook his head. "I'll find a way back. Just you watch!"

She snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that. People are going to avoid you like the plague! You'll be committed by lunchtime."

Instead of getting pissed like she'd expected, he suddenly dropped a fist into his palm, face brightening like he'd just remembered something. "Oh, that reminds me! Bring some food by later, would ya?" He leaned back against the tree like the matter was settled, setting her off even more than his words.

"YOU KNOW DAMN WELL THAT ISN'T HAPPENING, ESPECIALLY SINCE APPARENTLY, I ALREADY FED YOU ENOUGH TO LAST A FUCKING WEEK!" she screeched.

He grinned cheekily and oh, that was it! That was fucking it! She'd finally, actually had it! "You know what?" she roared, pointing up at him. "I don't even care anymore! Stay there in that tree if you want—it'd make sense, seeing as you're a fucking nut!"

"Wait! Are you telling me there are nuts in this tree?!" he gasped, eyes sparkling and drool appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"YOU—AAAAAARRGHH!"

Layla needed to get the fuck out of here, stat, or she was actually going to go to jail for murdering a man in a tree in a public park. She turned around and started stomping off with her fists balled at her sides, growling obscenities under her breath.

She knew full well she'd done exactly what she swore she wouldn't do just that morning and gotten distracted. That knowledge only strengthened her anger. How much time had she wasted with Pinky Wingnut? She still needed to finish her workout, do meal prep for the next few days (for her and Harley), prepare for the stupid pre-fight interview/stare-down...she also desperately needed to get to the laundromat before it closed.

Pausing in her storming away to finally move into her post-run stretches with unnecessary aggression, she yanked her phone out of her waistband to check the time, praying it was at least still morning—

—and froze with one arm across her chest as she was suddenly reminded of the fact it had vibrated earlier in the worst possible way, via a set of texts from a private number:

You win last night?

Nah, I kno u did...enjoy playtime while it lasts...time's almost out, bb

She stopped dead in her tracks, feeling like a bucket of ice water had just been dumped over her head. The winky-kissy face emoji punctuating the second one made spicy bile launch up into her throat.

Terror stole her ability to think, to breathe. A second ago, she'd been sweating under the sun, but now she shivered, unable to comprehend what her wide, shaking eyes were seeing.

No, it can't be...there's no way...there's no way...he found me again...

Even as she realized it, some hysterical part of her refused to believe it, screamed that it couldn't be true. She'd been so sure...so sure she'd shaken him this time. Just this morning, she'd been feeling relieved about it.

It'd been months since she'd gotten one of these texts. She'd changed numbers more times than she could count, sometimes buying burners just on a paranoid whim, only giving her info to the few people who absolutely needed it. Did one of them give it to him?

No way. Rose and Lee wouldn't, not ever. Gracie, too—they'd been butting heads more and more lately, but even she wouldn't do something that fucked up. Foster kids stuck together. Drake had plenty of money to throw around, now...that had to be how he was doing it. He must be hiring someone, some creepy hacker geek or—

"—shi? Nashi!" Pinky Wingnut's loud, worried voice pierced the bubble of horror, and she sucked in a big breath, the din of the park registering once more even as she continued to shake where she stood, now stick straight and frozen.

"What's wrong?" Pinky asked urgently, looking tense as he leaned over the branch back there, eyes wide. "You just looked at your phone thing and looked like you saw an army of Erzas!"

Only one word of what he'd said registered: "phone."

Her phone. She needed to get rid of it. Now.

Layla's hands trembled as she pried open the back, ripped the battery out, then threw all the pieces on the ground and started stomping on them viciously, not seeing the tree-dweller's bewildered stare.

"What the hell?!" he spluttered. "Doesn't that cost money?!"

Layla barely heard him over the roaring in her ears, her entire being focused on turning her phone into tiny, unrecognizable little pieces. She stomped until it looked like phone roadkill, then kept stomping like doing so would crush the fear, too.

She finally stopped when the phone was little more than dust. Bending over, she placed her hands on her knees and tried to gasp in air, but it didn't work. She couldn't breathe...she couldn't fucking breathe. It was the smoke...no, there was no smoke. Why did she always think of that when she got like this? She needed to get a grip.

"NASHI!"

"Fuck off!" she wheezed, not having the mind to correct him on her name. Her voice was high and tight as she forced herself to stand up straight, cursing herself for letting herself look so weak.

"Just tell me what happened!"

She kept breathing and ignored him, pushing her sweaty bangs back from her white face with two shaking hands.

It felt like the world was closing on her. Like that fucking tree had just fallen right on top of her then and there. Fuck...fuck! What should she do? She had no idea what the fuck to do.

"Is it Mad Cow?!"

And Pinky Wingnut was the last fucking thing she needed to keep dealing with right now. She needed to get out of here, away from him—away.

Layla forcibly morphed her expression from one of fear into one of rage, turning to glare at his bruised, anxious, frustrated face amidst a bunch of leaves. "Stay away from me." The threat in her tone was dark. His eyes widened. "If you know what's good for you, you'll just stay the hell away!"

Layla ran. She didn't listen to the yelling that followed her.

She threw herself into the routine she'd already had planned, unable to say how or why that was what fight-or-flight mode sent her doing, or even if she was fighting or fleeing. Cold sparks ignited in her surging blood as she all but sprinted back home to grab her sports bag, making sure Harley was securely locked in her room (no way she'd leave her out with Gracie living there, though the dickhead didn't seem to be around the still-messy apartment) before leaving for her standard, donut shop gym where she did her boring workouts.

She managed not to turn her motorcycle around and head for one of the clubs where she (sort of) trained for real, even though that's exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to goad some douchebags to fight her. She wanted to punch someone, kick them, beat the shit out of them and then move onto the next, and the next, then everyone until her body shut down. She wanted to scream. She wanted something, anything to drown out the thoughts streaming in like a pathetic, endless whine, her stupid thrashing heart, and the burning at the backs of her eyes.

But she couldn't do that—not the day after a fight. Her training schedule was set the way it was for a reason, with no room for flexibility now, at the eleventh hour. Four days. That was all she had. The time for fucking around was over.

Some basics drills, that was today. That, and fucking swimming—the worst possible workout for when you wanted to get out of your damn head, but one of the best for joints that needed a rest.

And so she just had to deal with her loud, annoying, frantic mind that wouldn't shut up the entire time she rode, parked, locker room-ed, stretched, lifted, shadow boxed, drilled...and mother-fucking swam. She didn't have a phone to tell her anymore, but it must have been one of her best workouts yet. She attacked every workout in full rage mode, unaware of the fearful looks she received from several casual gym-goers.

She pushed herself till her vision spotted. It still wasn't enough. Her mind still buzzed and screamed.

She wondered if he'd planned it like this, had known the day after the semi-finals was when to strike.

That'd be just like him. Just like Drake to leave her alone until she started to feel safe before showing up again, to wait until the last second before such an important fight to jump her from behind like this. Any fighter worth their salt understood the value of psychological warfare, but Mak had nicknamed him "Mindfucker" for a reason, long even before he was too deep in the darkness for any of them to reason with and too strong for any of them to face down—even Mak. Long before he was exiled from the team and kicked out of the old gym. The path he'd wound up on after everything went down had only remixed and remastered that gift of his.

Layla swam like a bat out of hell, hating the fear merging with anger under her skin. Hating how, when she finally lifted her head with a gasp, relief crashed over her as she saw he wasn't standing there waiting for her like some fucking horror movie the way her stupid brain had imagined he would be.

She hated how paranoia conjured eyes in the locker room walls while she showered, how it made enemies from the lengthening shadows as she strode back through the gym's parking lot. She hated how she didn't have a fucking phone, anymore...or someone to call and talk to about this even if she did.

Mak: six feet under.

Rose: AWOL.

And Gracie...Gracie was out of the question. All of this shit was, after all, the reason they'd fallen out so badly back in high school. It'd seemed like Gracie had let go of all that way before she asked to crash on Layla's couch (after all, foster kids stuck together) but for some reason, lately, it was like it had all come back with a vengeance. Why, Layla couldn't understand.

What she did understand was that even if she hadn't Godzilla stomped her phone to practically nothing, it wouldn't have mattered; there was no one to call.

Except for Harley, she was all alone.

The corner she fought from now, painfully empty and deafeningly quiet, flashed across her mind's eye, less an image or a memory than a predator. One just for her. It skulked and prowled in her mind, less and less worried about being seen by her as the past year had ticked down.

I...have nothing—

"Timbs for my hooligans, in Brooklyn (that's right), dead right, if the head right, Biggie there e'ry night..." Layla mumbled the song that'd been stuck in her head since she saw that dumb drawing to forcibly cut the thought off, not really even registering the meaning of the lyrics as she kicked a pebble, sighed, and mounted her motorcycle.

The sinking sun was at her back as she rode back home. The panic had turned to numb paralysis by the time she got out of the pool, so at least she had that going for her. But even as she seemed to lose feeling in her body, her mind kept rambling, the thoughts turning from scared to fucking depressing:

Even if she did have someone to call about this, what would matter? No one was stupid enough to go up against Drake, and they sure as shit wouldn't for her. "Foster kids stick together" only went so far. Only when she'd been a naive little dumbass had she thought those words were about some manga bullshit like comradery, loyalty, or—most embarrassing of all—actual love.

Mak's favorite saying had been "you're born alone and you die alone." As a brat, Layla had thought it was depressing as fuck, not to mention dumb-sounding (and had gotten her head whacked for telling him so more than once).

Now, she knew all too well how right he'd been. Thinking otherwise made you more delusional than Pinky Wingnut.

What was it she'd told him again?

She wracked her brain, turning to park on a different, more secluded street than normal out of paranoia.

Ah, that was it:

She called herself the Dragoness, but there were no real dragons. No heroes, either. No parents—bio or foster—who'd give a real, sane shit about a kid who'd been ditched in a city park with a kitten, like a couple of beer cans thrown out a car window. No cornermen for weakling losers. No one who wasn't lying when they said they'd show up when you needed them, let alone stick around when shit got bad.

She cut through an alley to enter the building from the back, glancing around her warily before she lifted her keys.

She was too broke and tired to try to flee or hide, anymore. Besides. Wherever she went, the bastard would just find her. He'd made that obvious. Layla was just going to have to keep going like everything was normal until shit hit the fan. What else could she do?

She'd never even come close to having the strength to beat Drake. Now, strength wasn't even enough. She also needed power, resources she didn't have. But she'd better find a way. Otherwise, she was basically royally fucked, because no one had her back. Magic didn't exist any more than anyone actually cared did. No one was going to save her or help her. They wouldn't even try.

The empty corner prowled around the dark edges of her mind, making her shake her head as she climbed the stairs.

Moving on autopilot to get through her next task—laundry—Layla really didn't think any more about her strange morning, about Pinky Wingnut or any of the things—ridiculous or almost sort of normal—that he'd said. Depressed thoughts choked her brain so thoroughly that she'd pretty much managed to forget all about him by the time the laundromat down the road's dryer beeped at her, signaling she could finally scrape all her clothes out.

Even as Layla walked home through the near-twilight, she was still brooding too much to think about either the strange man who'd been following her...or the information he'd given her. It wasn't until she was back on her block, with her laundry bag bumping against her back, that she was finally reminded.

The realization that she was being followed came when, out of habit, she turned to check this alley where muggers and drug dealers sometimes skulked and caught a flash of movement at the corner of her eye.

After glimpsing Stalker Boy, Layla started to panic, those texts she'd received today flashing across her mind's eye. It was happening. Time had already run out. He'd found her. He'd fucking found her, just like she thought. Fuck. Shit. Fuck.

What should she do? What could she do? She had to—

But her panicked thoughts quieted as she got a better look at the dude.

He was dressed all in black with a face mask gathered at his chin, following at an awkward distance near her flank. He jumped about five feet in the air when she turned to peer into the side-alley. His dark, almond-shaped eyes swerved all over the place until they landed on a ripped, faded poster pinned against brick. He pretended to gape at the sad-looking baby on it with way too much interest.

What a fucking noob, she thought, sweating slightly.

Still, relief flooded her. That wasn't Drake, and there's no way him or the crowd he ran with now would recruit such an amateur.

That left one likely option, but she needed to be sure. Her neighborhood wasn't exactly the best; he could easily be some random, B Rate mugger.

Thinking quickly, she played off her glance into the alley by turning into it, tucking a hand into one of her pockets and quickening her walk subtly.

Turning off the street was a seemingly stupid move—except for the fact that the space was narrow, and a quick right took her down another alley which led back to an even busier street in about fifteen steps.

Plus, it gave her the chance to narrow down what type of opponent she was dealing with. If it was just one guy, he'd be delighted she headed down the lonely, dark walkway and all too happy to follow her. She was confident in her ability to take some lone, wannabe thief without getting hurt.

If he wasn't alone, it would take him a minute he didn't have to either call up his buddies or send them around to cut her off.

When she re-emerged onto the street, five men—including the one she'd just seen—skidded to a stop at the corner, panting slightly. They were all dressed just as stupidly as him, donned in various dark clothes. One guy fisted a literal fucking balaclava. Didn't even wear it, just held it out in his hand like a dipshit.

Regardless of their lousy stalking skills, Layla's already quick pulse sped up. She kept her posture casual as she paused, pretending to hoist her bag more firmly onto her shoulder. She white-knuckled the thin, nylon rope in her fingers and forced herself to turn her back on them even though it made the back of her neck prickle. The feet shuffled behind her, a low-voiced conversation tickling her ears. Their murmured voices came off fishy as fuck, but the words were indiscernible.

She ignored and hid the effects of her nerves, slightly shaken that these guys had obviously scouted out the area and now paranoid she was being herded.

At least now she knew who she was up against. Looked like Pinky Wingnut was good for something, after all. She wondered where Mad Fuck was skulking. Another alley?

Her unsolicited informant was once again shoved out of her brain completely as it kicked into high gear, drawing up a plan.

Looking up, she saw she was heading right for her building's corner. She'd just bet they were hoping she'd lead them to her apartment. She scoffed under her breath. In Mad Fuck's shitty little dreams.

Upon reaching the corner, she crossed the road.

Looks like I'll get that fight I wanted after all, she thought with a smirk.

---

Natsu sat grumbling in "his" tree, arms folded over his chest. He pouted heavily. All day, he'd wandered around asking people about Earthland, Magic, Anima, and other worlds.

Just as Nashi had promised, he'd come up with fuck all.

Without meaning to, he'd scared off almost every single person he questioned. Well...he hadn't meant to at first, anyway.

Natsu wasn't one to overly worry himself with what other people thought of him too much, but he had to admit that by about the fiftieth person who refused to even look him in the eye and scuttled off as quickly as possible, he'd felt pretty disheartened.

Then, at some point, he'd realized that this was what it must have been like for her, when she wound up here. And he'd gone from disheartened to fucking livid. He'd wound up stomping up to people, grabbing them by the shoulders, then yelling things like, "DO YOU KNOW HOW TO GET OUT OF EARTH?" and "DO YOU KNOW ABOUT WIZARDS? DRAGON SLAYERS AND STUFF? DON'T YOU WALK AWAY FROM ME, YOU BASTARD!" and "WHERE IS FAIRY TAIL, JACKASS!?" and "SHOW ME THE MAGIC!" in their faces, forcing them to look at him, only to receive screams of terror and/or anger, which only served to piss him off even more.

A few people had tried to "reason" with him to "get help" or "let them call someone" which only served to enrage him further seeing as they were treating him like a child or...or even worse, somehow, making him yell loud enough to half clear the park.

Natsu felt like he was losing his mind. He felt hopeless. Helpless. Most of all, he felt completely, totally alone.

The slow, dawning realization of what it must have been like for Nashi was the worst part. It was fucking heartbreaking. At just five years old, this was what she'd faced: the impossible task of forcing an insidiously apathetic world to listen to her, the only way to prove her words ripped away before it could even rise to her fingertips.

Natsu would've given anything to have just an actual bad guy to face—even in his current condition—to fix this. But it was just like Nashi said: there weren't any Dragons around. You couldn't punch evil in the face when it oozed out of everything, the hurt being dealt even by those who seemed to be trying to show kindness.

It hadn't taken long for his injuries to hinder his interrogations—his knee, especially, was killing him. He'd found a park bench where he rested and brooded darkly until his leg felt stiff enough to drag back to that damn tree and miraculously clamber up with three limbs again. By then, the sun had been starting to set, and he'd been almost nauseous with hunger (thank Mavis those kids had showed him how to use that water fountain thing, or he'd be weak from thirst) but too preoccupied by one, sobering conclusion to notice:

He was nowhere near finding a way back to Earthland. He hated to say it, but while he had no intentions of giving up trying, they could really use a rescue. His best hope was that Happy, Lucy and the others were finding a way to him. Of course, even if they all managed to get here, he had no idea how they'd get back...but together, they could figure it out. He was sure of it. Right after Lucy finished deafening him for ending up here.

Now that he'd had some time to cool off, Natsu was also seriously beginning to regret yelling at Nashi and threatening to "drag her back home kicking and screaming," even if he meant it. Especially with how she'd reacted. He just...hadn't been able to help it. Her attitude, the discovery that she wasn't hiding behind an alias but genuinely didn't even remember their name, and his own feelings of helplessness had pushed him over the edge.

When her wariness had clearly moved to full fight-or-flight mode, he'd finally managed to pull his shit together, but by then, the damage had been done. Climbing back up into the tree and watching her leave had taken more willpower than kissing Gray full on the mouth would have, especially after seeing how scared she got by whatever showed up on that phone thing. The look in her eyes when she'd turned to threaten him had chilled him to the bone. As angry and threatening as she'd been trying to act, he could see the terror plain in her eyes, and it killed him to watch her run away like that.

But he'd also seen that she was close to treating him as a serious threat, and if she got him arrested or decided to flee, he had no clue how he'd find her again, let alone protect her.

Even Happy would've scolded him for not keeping his mouth shut in such a precarious situation.

"Well, what the hell was I supposed to say, huh?!" he groused under his breath, lip jutting out. "There's no reasoning with her!"

Mavis, but he was hungry.

He wondered for the billionth time if she was okay. He'd been keeping an eye out for her, amusing himself by watching a couple kids leaning against the shop next to Nashi's apartment building, smoking cigarettes like Gray used to [*7] and roughhousing, in the meantime. However, he was growing increasingly anxious the longer she didn't come around.

It was as the sun sank that she finally appeared. Only it wasn't across the street. Instead, his eyes caught her walking casually down the path towards "his" tree with a swollen, lumpy blue bag thrown over her shoulder, bouncing gently against her back.

His blood turned cold as he spotted the five men following after her, all staring at her intently as they pursued from a relatively short distance.

Natsu tensed. Just as he was about to shout down to warn her, she pulled her free hand out of her pocket and rubbed the back of her head. The words died on his lips, eyes widening.

He recognized that gesture. Too slow and purposeful to really be her scratching an itch. No...she knew she was being followed and was keeping an eye on the guys. Natsu's thoughts moved quickly as he silently watched his daughter's large, brown eyes slide sideways to peek back over the curve of her right delt through her bangs, then swivel forward as she dropped her arm. As she strode on, her expression settled into one of determination.

She'd lured them here, he realized. Was it...because she knew he was there? Was this her way of asking for help?

No, he realized quickly, irritation dousing hope as he noticed the way her eyes didn't even flash anywhere near the tree as she walked. She must've just been getting them away from the road, probably not wanting them near her home.

He glared down at her silently before turning the glare to them, thinking fast about what to do. If he'd had his Magic, he'd reveal himself now. But he didn't. He had to fight smart, stealthy.

There was nothing for it. Even without his scarf or Happy, he would have to be...ninja.

Abruptly, Nashi stopped, the men following her stumbling over each other trying to do the same quietly.

"Shut up, would you?!" one hissed loudly. "God, you guys are such dead weight...always holding me back!"

"Sorry!" the others squeaked, almost just as loud.

Natsu's face slackened in disbelief.

Are these morons serious? he wondered faintly.

"I can hear you, you fucking idiots." Nashi turned to look back at them over her shoulder. "Are you actually ever going to do anything? I ain't got all night!"

The guys briefly panicked, jumping around and whispering loudly at each other.

"What do we do?! She saw us!"

"We still don't know which apartment's hers!"

"Shit! Matt's gonna be so pissed!"

Nashi watched them with a deadpan expression. Unbeknownst to anyone on the ground, Natsu did the same.

"If we play it cool, maybe we can convince her we weren't following her!"

"What'll we tell her?!"

"Well, we're in a park...ooh, I know! We'll tell her we're dog walkers!"

Nashi's expression twitched into the one Natsu had seen the most since he'd been here: tremendous irritation.

"I CAN STILL HEAR YOU, DAMMIT!" she bellowed, making them all jump. "HERE'S A TIP, TWEEDLE-DUMBASSES: DOG WALKERS USUALLY HAVE DOGS WITH THEM!"

Natsu watched on as all the guys stared at her for a second, stunned.

"...Wait. She's right."

"Did she have to be so mean about it though?"

"Enough, you idiots!"

One of them, the guy who'd been yelling at the rest of them earlier, stepped forward and continued, "Well, well, well. I guess we underestimated your observational skills...Layla O'Neil."

She squinted at him. "No, you're just shit at this."

He reeled as if she'd been slapped, one eye spasming. "Hah!" The laugh was as strained as his little grin. "Well, whatever the case...I think we can both agree you're at a disadvantage. Five of us...and only one of you. Now,"—he took a step forward, the others shuffling to follow suit—"take us to where you live, or else—"

"Jesus Christ," she sighed over him, closing her eyes briefly. Then she lifted a hand to her mouth and roared up into the sky, "OI, MAD FUCK! QUIT HIDING!" Panic flashed across the five goons' faces. "GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE AND FACE ME YOURSELF, YOU PUSSY! DID YOU HEAR ME? COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARREE, YOU—!"

"Who's hiding?" The man who towered above all the others came striding from a small copse of trees a little ways away, glancing around the park fervently before relaxing with a smirk. Natsu's eyes narrowed, the sight of the lump on Man Cow's dumb, bald head doing nothing to ease his seething rage that the bastard hadn't listened to him.

Huh. Guess he didn't have a hat or a necklace, he managed to note despite his irritation.

"No need to shout and beg, love...I know you're desperate, but at least try to keep some of your dignity, would you?"

His posse snickered.

This guy! Natsu fumed, his fingernails dug into the branch to anchor him through the sudden wave of dizziness. He was always talking shit like that! Didn't he have any other material?! Natsu wanted to jump down right then pretty bad, but that would not have been way of the ninja. Besides, he had a better idea—one that would scare the shit out of that asshole even more right before Natsu killed him. Carefully, so as to not make any noise, he began crawling along the branch, keeping the corner of his eye on the situation as he moved.

Nashi ignored the larger man's insult, turning slowly to face the group. As her eyes moved between them, her lips curved into a smile. "So, this is it, huh?" She clucked her tongue. "Damn, this ain't even gonna be fun."

Rage flared in Man Cow's eyes, his posture growing agitated. His underlings shrank away from him subconsciously. "I'd quit acting cocky like that if I were you, you little bitch."

Natsu held in the growl, fingernails sinking deeper into bark to anchor himself against the sudden wave of dizziness. It wasn't the time. Not yet.

"Oh yeah?" The pink-haired girl's grin widened. "And why's that?"

"Because. You're going to pay for making me look bad," Man Cow hissed. A deranged smile contorted his features. "I don't know what cheap trick you used last night, but you'll be regretting it for the rest of your life. You have no idea...you're in for a world of pain, do you know that? By the end, I'll have you begging me to stop...begging for mercy...begging me to let you crawl back to the kitchen where you belong..." He giggled, eyes wide.

Natsu could feel a vein throbbing in his temple. Not yet...almost there...he growled internally, still moving stealthily. Then I'll burn the bastard to a crisp like I promised.

"Ooh, cool speech," Nashi replied sarcastically, then tilted her head. "How long you been planning this, exactly? Since I dropped you last night?" Man Cow stiffened, and she smiled even bigger, eyes widening incredulously. "What, did you seriously waste a whole day calling up these Craigslist hires just to get revenge on me?" She laughed loudly. "Wow. No bitches, much? I haven't thought about your stupid, weak ass once since I made you choke on mat. Get a fucking life!"

Now balancing on a thinner part of the branch, Natsu shot another glare at Nashi, huffing silently. She just had to goad them and make it worse, didn't she? Treating this like some fun game, acting all cocky like that...she was so reckless! Also, what was she talking about? These guys were bitches, alright.

Meanwhile, Man Cow's appearance showed that he'd just reached a new level of anger. His hands trembled and jerked. Hatred rolled off him in dark, seething waves.

He whipped his giant head around to glare back at his groupies. "Well?!" he snarled, making them jump. "Are you worthless pieces of shit gonna do anything?!"

Hesitantly, they started forward, their little second-in-command moving first while Man Cow stayed put to watch with gleaming eyes. "Do whatever you want, but don't knock her out or kill her—we need her to tell us where her apartment is. I need somewhere to take my time with her...if I'm feeling generous, maybe I'll even find a better use for that mouth of hers..."

Natsu's brain exploded. "WHAT'D YOU JUST SAY, BASTARD?!" he roared, gripping the branch to keep from tottering off in a sudden, extreme bout of vertigo.

The five goons screamed bloody murder and nearly jumped out of their skin, babbling and flying into each other's arms. Both Man Cow and Nashi jumped slightly, too, Man Cow looking around wildly while Nashi's eyes widened in realization and snapped up to the bedraggled man crouched among the old tree's leaves like a furious beast.

"OI!" she shouted as he dropped, voice pissed and alarmed.

The fucker noticed her line of sight just in time to look up, eyes bugging like evil, beady balls as they found the dark silhouette of a rage demon seemingly dropping from the sky, cocking a fist.

"NINJA ATTACK: FIRE DRAGON...IRON FIST!"

Natsu's shout was so loud, Man Cow winced. Even his own ears rang. But unfortunately, volume didn't make his Magic come back. He had never been more ready for the sweet, sweet sight of the Dragon Slayer Seal and his flames blowing an entire bastard up.

Instead, his vision flashed out the second before his fist crashed into Man Cow's nose with an impact that felt like a karate chop from a grumpy Gildarts.

Pain erupted in his wrist as he felt bone break against his knuckles, crunching audibly. He managed, barely, to flip so he landed on his back in the dirt. The impact knocked all the breath out of him and jarred the knee he'd hoped to protect, vision spotting as he struggled to take in air.

"OW!" Man Cow howled in the meantime, hands flying to his nose while blood flooded down his chin.

"PINKY WINGNUT!" Natsu heard Nashi screech. This time there was no shock or confusion in her voice, only an angry accusation.

"Don't...call me that," he squeaked like a balloon with no air.

"Oh, then what should I call you instead? 'Fucking Idiot?'" she returned loudly, irate footsteps stomping over to him. "Who the hell do you think you are, Bad Naruto!? Don't you know ninjas are supposed to be quiet!?"

"Is that really the issue, here?" one of the goons muttered.

"YOU'RE DEAD, ASSHOLE!" Man Cow finally recovered enough to howl at Natsu, voice nasally. "DO YOU HEAR BE, PSYCHO?! I'LL FUCKING BURDER YOU!"

Natsu growled through gritted teeth, trying to force his stupid, weak body to get up—or even just gather enough breath to give the bastard a piece of his mind.

"SHUT UP!" Nashi belted. "I'LL DEAL WITH YOU AND YOUR SMALL DICK ENERGY IN A MINUTE!"

There was an incoherent sound of rage. "IF YOU USELESS SHITS KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU, DO WHAT I SAID AND GET HER, NOW!"

The sound of hesitant footprints drew nearer. Even though Natsu managed to slit his pounding eyelids open, he couldn't see properly, the pain still wracking his leg and his breath refusing to return.

"N-Nashi!" he squeezed out worriedly.

"It's Layla!" she barked. "Shut up and hold still!"

Still struggling, Natsu sensed rather than heard her turn to face the group of men. Despite her order, he scrabbled slowly and fruitlessly at the dirt, cursing his paralyzed lungs.

"Still don't know how to do your research, huh, asshole?" she taunted Man Cow scoldingly. "They call me 'Tenmen' for a reason!"

There was a thwack, a "Gaw-haw!" of surprise and pain from one of the men.

"YOU SHOULD'VE BROUGHT"—twin thumps against the ground—"A LOT MORE"—the cracking of breaking bones followed by yowls of pain—"THAN FIVE LOSERS"—gagging, a sickening crunch, a thump and whimpering—"IF YOU WANTED A CHANCE IN HELL"—a thwack—OF GETTING ME!" [*7]

Her little speech took seconds, and by the time it was over, nothing but the sounds of pain and stillness hung in the air.

It was then that Natsu, finally gasping in breaths, managed to grit his teeth and rise. Gripping his wrist, his eyes lifted—then blinked rapidly as he took in the scene. Nashi, alone, stood amongst five writhing men scattered across the ground, four gripping badly distorted knees, one clutching his crotch and whimpering dazedly. Awe began to fill Natsu as he saw that she didn't have a scratch on her, was barely even panting as she rose tall to face the real revenge-seeker.

Seeing the towering asshole still bleeding and now shaking with shock and rage, Natsu shook his head and staggered forward, shoving any pride or questions about how she'd dropped all the small fries so quickly out of his head by the time he came to stand beside her.

She turned to him with a scowl. "Oi! I told you to stay put!"

"No way!" he yelled, meeting her glare. "Man Cow's mine! I'm gonna make him pay for talking to you like that!"

Something flashed over her features, there and gone too quickly to be seen clearly in the growing darkness, before her usual scowl returned. "Tch...it's Mad Fuck," she corrected.

"NO! IT! ISN'T!" came the nasally bellow of a man at the absolute end of his rope, drawing both their attention again.

"Mad Bitch," Nashi amended, waving a hand.

The man hunched over and vibrated hard, both pink-haired defenders watching him and waiting for the explosion.

"OI!" he finally burst—not at them, but at one of the groupies curled at the ground near him, crying in pain. "GET THE FUCK UP AND DO WHAT I SAID IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU! ALL OF YOU!"

"A-are you serious, Matt?!" the man squeaked, incredulous and terrified. "She...she's way too strong! Even if any of us could get up, there's no way we could beat her! We—"

Whatever he was about to say next ended in a choke as a gigantic boot stomped on the side of his face and pressed down hard.

"You think I fucking care?" Man Cow hissed, leaning over. He spat blood on the man, sneering. "Let's get subthing straight, you worb; I don't care if you're bleeding, dickless, paralyzed, or dead by the end of this." He pressed his boot down harder, the man gurgling in pain as his face went red. "I won't repeat byself: do what I said,"—he lifted his boot and stomped back down viciously—"or I'll do all those things to you...right after I bake you eat by shit."

"Dude...are you fucking kidding me? That's disgusting" Nashi muttered, nose wrinkling in revulsion, not seeming to notice how Natsu had stilled, eyes shadowed beneath his bangs.

"Well?" Man Cow yelled at them all. "Did I fucking stutter, you useless pieces of shit? Get the fuck up now, or I swear—"

"YOUR COMRADES ARE INJURED ON THE GROUND...AND YOU DON'T EVEN CARE?!" Natsu yelled furiously, veins pulsing along his arms as he stepped forward.

"'Cobrades...?'" Man Cow asked in sarcastic disbelief, then barked a laugh. Under his boot, the goon's face was turning purple. "What do you thick this is, Fairyland?" Another laugh. "This is the real world, asshole. It's every ban for hibself. The strong survive, and use the weak"—he shoved his foot down harder—"to take what's theirs! No one and nothing batters except baking sure no dirty bitch is walking around with by win—"

Rage sent Natsu moving with greater speed than he would have imagined himself capable of on his injured leg, easily swerving a hastily thrown hook, right into the larger man's guard where he sent a fist charging up into the chin Nashi had already bruised the night before.

"TALK ABOUT MY DAUGHTER LIKE THAT, AND YOU ANSWER TO ME!"

Nashi gasped behind him.

With a grunt, Man Cow's beady eyes rolled back into his head, and he crashed to his back like a felled tree.

Natsu stepped forward to tower over the felled man, face contorted into an expression of pure rage. "And it doesn't matter what world we're in—everything you just said is a load of crap!" he yelled angrily, dimly aware of movement and rustling behind him. "Anyone who doesn't look out for their comrades...they're the weak ones, and they'll get no respect from me!"

Man Cow groaned thickly. He'd be okay, Natsu could tell, but he wouldn't be moving for a while. No way he'd be coming back, either. Even if he did, him and Nashi would hopefully be long gone by then—back in Earthland.

With a sigh, Natsu turned back around. His brows lifted as he spotted the Butt Jiggle Gang wannabes staggering off into the night, leaning on each other and screeching at each other to hurry up.

"Well, good riddance," he huffed, turning his focus to his daughter. "You hurt, Nashi?"

A street lamp above them flickered on just in time for Natsu to see the pink-haired girl gawking at him in complete disbelief.

"What?" Natsu frowned.

"What...what the fuck was that?!" The question came out strangled, Nashi's hands lifting and spreading slowly in a gesture of complete disbelief.

"What was what?"

"You—that!" She gestured wildly at nothing, making his brows furrow. "All of it! The—the divebomb...the—the punches..."—she slowly reached up to pull at her hair, eyes wide in bewilderment—"and all that shit you just said! Why would you even do that?!"

Considering her, Natsu made to fold his arms over his chest only to wince as his wrist smarted. He sighed, dropping his arms again. Great. Just great. Another injury...by the time Lucy and them got here, he'd be out of working limbs, down to protecting Nashi with fingers, toes, and teeth.

"'Why?'" he repeated distractedly, getting somewhat depressed. "What do you mean? Of course I'll protect you. Why do you think I'm here?"

A mixture of shock, confusion, bewilderment, and suspicion filled her features.

"And as for that other stuff..."—Natsu's frown deepened as he scratched his head—"...well, what's to explain? That's just true. Fairy Tail members don't just go around letting shit like that fly, you know!"

"But...they were...they were trying to hurt me! And you defended them! I...I had to take them out, you know! It's not like I had a choice!" She sounded and looked almost defensive now.

"Huh?" Natsu was taken aback. "Of course you didn't! That ain't what I meant! What I meant was..." He struggled to form his words for a moment. "Everyone needs someone. Even our enemies. I'd as soon beat all those losers to a pulp as look at them again,"—he glowered in the direction they'd vanished in—"but that doesn't mean they deserve to be left in the mud by a comrade. No one deserves to be treated like that. If we all gave up on someone just because they failed or stumbled or messed up..." He shook his head. "I don't know, but that doesn't sound like any kind of world worth living in, to me."

Somewhere through his speech, Nashi's angry, guarded mask had reformed. Natsu sighed inwardly. He was tired, sad, achy, and generally miserable. If he'd thought there was a chance of getting through that thick skull of Nashi's, he'd have ignored all of it and tried—but an entire day of being treated simultaneously like shit on the bottom of someone's shoe, a ghost, and a maniac had finally made him see just what he was up against. By now, he was certain that he couldn't convince Nashi without dragging her to Earthland.

He forced a smile and lifted a hand. "Well, anyway...see ya later, Nashi."

He grimaced as he hobbled over to the tree he was coming to hate with more difficulty than ever before. "This is getting fucking old," he muttered under his breath, then sighed and reached up to grip at folds in the bark.

However, just as he prepared to jump, a hand fisted in the back of his overcoat and yanked him back, making him yelp in surprise. "Don't climb into that tree like it's your fucking house!" Nashi barked. Letting go of him, she folded her arms over her chest as he wavered on the spot, watching him struggle.

Natsu felt his irritation flash as he managed to right himself, but before he could even open his mouth to tell her off, she huffed, then asked gruffly, "How bad is it?"

"Huh?" he asked, thrown off.

One of her eyebrows twitched impatiently. "Your leg!" she snapped. "It's your knee, right? How bad is it?!"

"How should I know?" he responded once he'd recovered from his surprise. He glanced down to frown at that pesky left knee of his.

When he looked back up, he found her frowning down at it. "You can put weight on it though, it looks like."

It wasn't a question, but it called for a response. Natsu shrugged. "Doesn't feel good, but yeah."

"Tch...well, good," she mumbled, approaching. Natsu stared in shock as she sidled up to his left side, grabbed his arm, and pulled it across her strong shoulders, that permanent scowl of hers in place the whole time.

"What are you doing?" he asked, dumbfounded.

She straightened, and for the first time, Natsu noticed just how tall his daughter had grown. He wasn't exactly the biggest guy around, but he'd had a random late growth spurt just around the 100 Years Quest—common for men, Wendy had said. Since then, few women came close to matching his height, yet Nashi stood only a couple inches shorter. [*8]

"Natsu." He jerked slightly. Her eyes slid sideways to meet his large ones. "That was your name, right? Well, Natsu,"—she shifted so she was carrying a bit more of his weight—"obviously, we're going back to my place, so you can have some semblance of a chance at actually getting better."

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*1. Sort of an interesting tidbit about why I chose the name "Kenna" for the youngest Jerza child (then notes on other name choices):"In the poem Kensington Gardens, by Thomas Tickell (1722), Oberon's daughter is named Kenna." For those who don't know, Oberon and Titania are the King and Queen of the Fairies in Renaissance and Medieval literature (most famously Midsummer Night's Dream.) "Kenna" also happens to be a Japanese girl's name: "けんな."

The other Jerza child is named Airin which is meant to be after "Irene," but more of a boy's name.

The Miraxus child is named Mirai. "Why would you give him a name so similar to Mira's?" you say. Fellow writers, learn from my mistake about using placeholder names...I physically could not make myself change it after I'd written enough. Also, it's supposed to be the beginning part of Mira's name and the beginning of "Raijinshuu" ("Rai" meaning "thunder.")

As for "Luke", that name has something of a grip in this fandom thanks to content creators like rboz. I always liked it because it has the same beginning as "Lucy" and it's fun to think he was named after her.

Any name choices I didn't mention here/other name choices will be explained as we go along.

*2. On the book Dragon Historia:Yes, this is a real book from the series. Warren Rocko held and referenced it after Acnologia nuked Tenrou. (See episode 123, "Year X791.")

*3. On Natsu having left for his mission just that morning: I actually did the conversions for how time on "Our Earth" would move relative to Earthland. With that in mind, I've tried to make the events happen preeeettty close to chronological order even between the worlds.

*4. On Natsu calling the Octagon "Taco-gon" and the "Taco Fight": this is actually supposed to be something of a double entendre; aside from the meaning of "taco" which we already know, obviously, the word "Tako" means "Octopus" in Japanese (ex. the dish, takoyaki).

*5. On Layla thinking Natsu's drawing is of the Notorious B.I.G.: The famous"K.O.N.Y" [KING OF NEW YORK] PORTRAIT SESSION, of course, is what I was thinking of.

*6. On Gray smoking cigarettes: For anyone who doesn't know/remember, this is canon! Gray smoked early on in the manga. It was censored out in the anime.

*7. On Layla "Tenmen" O'Neil talking about how many opponents she can fight at once: In not Fairy Tail Fanfiction, a well-trained fighter/master can fight around 8 opponents simultaneously at most, according to my old teacher.

*8. On why I made Layla/Nashi tall: I actually did this because Jude Heartfilia always kind of looked like a towering figure to me in the manga/show. His story and how little of a role he got to have in Lucy's life despite how hard he worked to become a better man for her always made me sad, so I wanted the Dragneel kids to inherit something of him. It also made her success as a fighter more plausible, since reach is a big deal in hand-to-hand combat.

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Author's Notes:I know, I know, the "Drake" thing is a little out of left field, right? But I did actually drop hints about it earlier! All will make sense in the end :)

Next chapter will contain a lot of answers to questions I'm sure people have. I'll try to publish it more quickly than I did Chapter 4!

Thanks for sticking with me!