We Have to Talk

A/N: We start off the buildup to Tower of Heaven with a rather slow chapter. There's no action, but plenty of emotions and developments to be had.

There're a few surprises in this chapter that I wonder how everyone will feel about. I think they will be pretty fun to delve more into later.

Make sure to comment your thoughts, I love hearing reactions to my ideas, both positive and negative.

The fight with Jose now over, the Fairy Tail members who had invaded Phantom Lord's fortress reunited with the rest of the guildhall to celebrate their victory against not just the Element 4 but a Wizard Saint as well.

They were all banged up from the battle, their bruises and cuts from the battle clear as they walked back to rest of their friends, smiles on their faces, nonetheless.

"We're back guys!" Natsu cried, goofy smile on his face like nothing was different.

Everyone cheers at the return of their saviors, congratulations on a job well done going around to everyone.

The only one who is still upset is Lucy, a frown on her face as she looks down at the rubble that used to be their guildhall. "Everyone… I… I'm so sorry."

"You've been through a lot, haven't you Lucy?"

Everyone turns to face the voice and gasps at what they see.

Makarov, standing perfectly fine as if he wasn't a sickly green a few hours ago. "Don't let it get you down."

"Yeah, let's see a smile Lucy," another voice calls out, this one being from Levy, her and her friends recovered. "We won, so you don't need to be sad."

Makarov then starts a speech. "Lucy, though we may not be able to share our feelings of joy and sadness entirely, we share them nonetheless. It's part of being in a guild. One person's happiness becomes everyone's happiness, one person's anger becomes everyone's anger, and one person's tears become everyone's tears. There's no reason for you to feel guilty, so don't get upset. You already know how much everyone here cares about you."

Despite him saying otherwise, Lucy does cry one last time, though she tries to cover her face.

"Hold your head high, my dear because you are a proud member of the Fairy Tail family."

At that point, Lucy's emotional high over the past few hours reach a fever pitch, her wails coming out full force as she lets all the pain, anger, sadness, frustration, and guilt pour of her.

"I'm so glad… That I finally have a place… that I can call home."

Some time later…

After the battle was concluded, the Rune Knights chose then of all times to show up, and after that it was a whole week of questioning from them until they were free to go. Thankfully, all the evidence points to Jose being the aggressor, so Fairy Tail will probably be fine and get nothing more than a slap on the wrist. (Having a previous and present Wizard Saint in the same guild probably helped with that.)

In the meantime, Ur, Sting, and his cat Lector all joined the guild. Sting and his cat were rooming with Natsu and Happy, both ecstatic to have protégé's for them to teach.

The guild had been under reconstructing as soon as the questioning was ever, and everyone did their best to try and pitch in.

Emphasis on try.

"You got a problem?" Gray pushes his face against Natsu, a blue aura around him.

"Yeah, your face!" Natsu screams as he pushes back.

"Enough!" A wooden beam smashes down on top of them, pushing them into the ground. The culprit was Erza in a construction uniform. "Quit lollygagging and get back to work!"

Nearby, Asta was carrying a dozen wooden logs as well, his muscles working overtime to carry all that weight. "Hey, Yuno, check it out!"

He then turns his head to see Yuno using his wind to carry twice as many logs with ease. "What was that, sorry I was too busy being helpful." Yuno playfully ribs.

Asta growls before charging off to get more wood, declaring that he would lift three times as much wood as Yuno. (Spoiler: He did not.)

"Hey, Yuno." Mirajane walks over, still in her normal outfit and carrying refreshments for everyone. "Care for a drink?"

"Sure." Yuno accepts a mug and starts drinking. "This taste's really good, thanks a lot, Mira."

"Don't mention it." Mira responds with a playful wave and a light blush on her face. "Think of this as thanks for getting me my magic back."

Yuno looks at her with a confused face. "I should be the one thanking you. If you didn't use you Takeover back there, we were probably screwed, thanks a lot."

Nearby, Noelle was simply sitting on the sidelines. "I refuse to waste effort on such activities. I'm a royal, I don't lift heavy things."

Mimosa sighs next to her. "If you can complain about lifting, then you can help me, and Mira hand out drinks to everyone else." She then shoves and a tray into Noelle's hands and pushes her away, Noelle indignantly whining the whole time.

At that moment, Charmy barges in and shoves food in front of Yuno's face. "Oh, Yuno! Why don't you also take some of my food for dessert?"

"Oh, thanks. I'll make sure to enjoy it." Yuno says, but in Charmy's eyes, Yuno is all romantic looking. She then falls back as her heart is hit by a figurative arrow.

Mira looks down at Charmy who's soul starts leaving her body. 'No way, does Charmy like Yuno too? Well, no matter, I would never lose to her in terms of looks.'

That's when Cana comes in, her face red and a bottle of booze in her hand. "Yo, Yuno. Why don't you come over with me and get wasted?"

"It's the middle of the day, how are you already drunk?" Yuno asks.

"Don't worry about it here, take the bottle." Cana shoves the bottle into Yuno's arms before leaning next to his ear and whispering, "I already took a sip."

Yuno just looks confused as to what she was insinuating, but Mira and Charmy (who had recovered from her lovesick heart) were silently enraged.

'Oh no,' Mira thinks. 'I can handle Charmy, but if Cana is also gonna fight for his affection, then it might be hard.'

'La!' Charmy exclaims inwardly. 'These two are also trying to devour my Meal Prince?! I'll have to work extra hard on my meals to win his love!'

'Yuno's the only man in this guild with any class.' Cana thinks. 'Plus, if he can get a literal supermodel like Mira to be interested, then I want in.'

Macao and Wakaba had been watching the whole scenario and their jaws had dropped.

"Hey, Natsu, are my eyes playing tricks on me?" Wakaba asks, dumbfounded.

"If you mean, seeing Cana, Mira, and Charmy all fighting over Yuno?" Macao responded dumbly.

"Then I guess I'm not crazy. Man, this new generation sure is lucky with the ladies." Wakaba tries to distract himself by smoking his pipe again.

A Few minutes later…

A shirtless Gray was sitting with Natsu and Ur, (her guildmark on her left leg), taking their break.

"Man, when's our lunch break." Gray complains with his shirt off. Suddenly, a burst of water shoots by, soaking Natsu and Happy in water.

"What the hell was that?" Gray is bewildered the event, which only increases when he looks down and sees a pink lunch box for him.

He then opens it, revealing food in the shape of his face and other items writing out 'LOVE' to the side. "Why is it my face?!"

Ur then nudges her student in the shoulder. "My oh my. It looks like you have yourself a secret admirer."

"Pfft. Yeah right." Gray scoffs. "I can't eat this. It's too weird."

Behind a nearby rock, Juvia was distraught as her darling found her meal unappealing. 'I spent three whole days on that, how heartbreaking.'

"Who said you could take a lunch break?!" Erza booms onto the scene, her presence dominating as always until she sees Gray's lunch box. "Is that your face made out of veggies?"

Erza immediately stabs a fork right into meal Gray's eye, freaking him out as she and Natsu enjoy eating his face.

Gray eventually relents and tries it out. "Man, this is pretty good. I'd love to meet whoever made this."

Juvia swoons in the background at hearing the aim of her affections unknowingly praise her. "Oh, I can't wait to have 33 babies with you my darling Gray!"

"Oh, so you're my student's new stalker." Ur pops up right next to Juvia, who starts to shriek at being discovered by her before Ur covers the water mage's mouth.

"OK, you calm down now?" Ur asks. Juvia nods.

"I'm gonna move my hand now, don't scream." Ur says. Juvia nods.

Ur moves her hand away from Juvia, who takes a moment to breath for speaking. "How did you know Juvia was hiding here?"

"Oh, let's just say I'm pretty good at sensing people when they watch my student for hours on end." Ur responds, her voice thick with sarcasm.

Juvia gasps. "Gray is your student? Juvia would never have guessed since you're so young. I thought you were another love rival in Juvia's quest for Gray's love."

Ur chops Juvia on the head. "Let me stop you right there. First of all, or reasons I won't go into, I was in a situation for over half a decade where I didn't age. Before that, I taught Gray to use magic."

"Secondly," Ur continues, "I would never be in love with someone like him. I practically raised him and besides, he strips all the damn time."

Juvia decides not to comment on the fact that Ur is in only her bra and panties right now.

"Lastly, why are you being weird about the whole romance thing? If that was any indication, my dumbass student isn't gonna fall in love so easy." Ur finishes.

"Well, it's complicated," Juvia says while poking her fingers together. "Juvia was a part of Phantom Lord, and I helped them kidnap Ms. Lucy Heartfilia the first time. I feel bad about, and I want to show that I've changed."

Ur puts her hand to her chin. "Hmm. Well, kidnapping my old friend's daughter is kind of a bitch move, but otherwise you seem nice enough. I think you're too good for my student, but love is love. Just try not to be a creepy stalker."

As Ur and Juvia talk discuss matters of love, Loke walks in looking pale and thin. "Hey guys, can you give these to Lucy?" In his hand is the key ring that holds all of Lucy's gate keys.

"Thanks man." Gray responds as Natsu takes the keys. "We haven't seen you in a while. Plus, you look paler than usual."

"Oh, it's no big deal. Being a gentleman is pretty draining." Loke tries to laugh it off, but everyone looks at him worried.

"Well, we haven't seen Lucy in a while." Natsu says. "She's still bruised from the fight against Phantom, so me and Happy were gonna go and check on her. You can come with and give her keys back."

Loke shakes his head. "Nah, you know I can't be around Celestial wizards."

Loke then walks off silently, as if a specter was following him. 'It won't be long… Karen.'

"Lucy!" Happy shouts outside Lucy's apartment window.

"How are you feeling!" Natsu yells before realizing the only ones inside are Erza and Gray. "Where is Lucy?"

The four of them search the apartment for clues as to where Lucy went before Erza notices a note on her desk. "What is this?"

Erza opens it and gasps in shock. "It can't be. This letter says that she's going home."

…

"WHAT?!"

Lucy stops in front of the gate of her childhood home, reliving the bad memories of her past. Specifically, her first birthday after her mother's death.

On that day, she had tried to give her a father a simple rice ball as a gift, hoping he would enjoy it. Instead, her father was enraged, swatting aside the treat like it was nuisance and screaming at her to go back to her room. Lucy had left the room in tears, and after that, she had never tried to initiate a conversation with her father again.

Lucy took a deep breath before walking into the estate. It didn't take long for her to be swarmed by several maids that remembered her from childhood. She enjoyed reconnecting with them and talking to them about her travels.

They were the only good memories she had in this place.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

A servant then emerges from the house, telling Lucy that her father wanted to speak with her.

A servant told her.

He couldn't even be bothered to walk outside his own house.

Lucy was then put into a fancy dress that her mother used to wear, a sad smile on her face.

There's no going back after this, and that's fine.

Lucy then walks into the room where her father, Jude Heartfilia is.

Jude immediately makes it clear what the intent of the meeting was with his posture alone. Lucy hadn't spent years in fancy balls and galas without picking up on cues like that.

Jude had his right-side facing Lucy, only his right eye looking at her. He had a proper stance, and his arms were folded behind his back.

The stance of a man who was mad that you're wasting his time and even didn't want to waste the effort scolding you.

Lucy had several conversations with her father like this in the past. Whenever he caught her spending time meant on pointless rich people topics summoning spirits instead, this is how they talked afterwards.

Or rather, how Jude talked. Lucy would simply respond "Yes, sir," and "Sorry, sir" before leaving back to her room.

But not this time.

Lucy Heartfilia was not the same fangirl that left this house one year ago.

It's about damn time her supposed father saw it too.

As Jude keeps talking (Lucy not paying any attention to what he's saying), Lucy puts out her hand, a sign for him to stop talking. "Father, I don't know what you thought this meeting would be, but it is not how this meeting is going to go. I came here hoping that maybe, just maybe, you would have something to say that would change my mind. Maybe, I thought that you could change in a year almost as much as I have. But no, I was wrong, you're exactly the same.

"I don't care what you had to say to me, it was clear before I entered the room that you had no desire to talk things out. You had already gotten rid of that option when you tried to have my friends killed. You even destroyed an entire other guild, and now they're all out of a job and my guildhall was destroyed.

"When I left this house, it was because I knew that my freedom would be gone the day I turned 18, when you were just going to wed me off so you didn't have to deal with me. I was just going to be a baby maker for both you and the man you chose for me until I gave you a suitable heir. Let me make it clear to you…"

"That. Shit. Is. Not. Happening."

Jude sputters at her vulgar language, but Lucy puts her hand up again.

"I'm not done talking."

"I spent a whole year exploring the country, finding new people who weren't of high standings, but living much more fulfilling lives than the hell that you wanted for me. I'm no longer the little girl that was too scared of her 'father' to speak up for herself. I joined Fairy Tail, my real home, where I met the greatest people the world could possibly have gifted me.

"I am Lucy Heartfilia! Not the heir of the Heartfilia fortune. Not the wife of a sleezy royal. Not even the daughter of Layla Heartfilia. I am Lucy Heartfilia, a member of Fairy Tail! I have a crappy one room apartment that my friends break into all the time. I can barely pay my rent on time. I usually have to do twice as many missions than usual because the people I hang out with break stuff all the time. But I would never give that up for some stupid fortune!"

RIP

Lucy then rips up the dress that she's wearing from the front. "All of this was to say, 'Don't ever mess with my real family again!' You've seen how we treat our enemies, and if you ever try this again, you will be no exception!"

Lucy then walks away from him, still talking the whole time. "I leave you with these words. I know what I want to do with my life now. It is a path that I know my mother would have been proud of. I will be someone that can be a shield to my friends whenever people try to hurt them. I won't let anyone else have their life taken out of their control. I promise you, the next time you see me in the news, this is what the headline will read…

"Lucy Heartfilia, of the Fairy Tail guild, has become the Wizard Queen. Goodbye… Jude."

Lucy slams the door behind her, but despite the vicious words that left her mouth, her eyes are still full of tears as her time with her father ends.

Lucy stands in front of the grave of her mom, a somber expression on her face.

"Goodbye… Mom."

…

"LUCY!"

"Huh?" Lucy turns around to see Erza, Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Ur running towards her. "What are you guys doing here?!"

They explain that they found Lucy's note and brought Ur since she knew where Layla lived. Ur then walks up to Lucy, a serious expression on her face. "So, you're going to be Wizard Queen like Layla, huh?"

Lucy meets her stare with an intense one of her own. "Yes. I know that she may not have wanted me to go down the same path as her, but it's the path I will take all the same. It's the path that I've chosen for me."

The two then have an tense stand off for a minute before Ur smiles and puts out a fist. "Well, then, you've got a lot of hard work ahead of you."

Lucy smiles as she meets Ur's hand for a fist bump. "I know, and I won't shy away from it. I'll make sure to ask for help from my elders sometimes."

Ur's smile then disappears as she looks towards the mansion. "I think I need to have a few words with your father."

"Don't be too rough on him." Lucy says as Ur walks away. "I think that he's still in shock from the lashing I gave him."

Erza then pulls Lucy's head into her thankfully not armored chest. "I'm so proud of you Lucy. Seeing you take on your father and a Wizard Saint was inspiring. I will gladly train you alongside Asta and Yuno in the ways of swordsmanship."

Lucy's face loses all color as she remembers the state Yuno and Asta were in not too long ago. "Um, I know I said that I wouldn't shy away from hard work, but can I take a rain check on that training?"

"Nope"

"Okay…"

Lucy then looks at Natsu, who had been uncharacteristically silent this whole time. "Um, can you guys give me and Natsu some space? We have to talk."

Inside the manor, Jude Heartfilia was sitting in his office and thinking back on what his daughter said to him. He thinks back on every interaction he's had with his daughter over the past 7 years and concludes…

"That was the first time she's tried to talk to me in 7 years. Layla… What happened to me?"

"You failed."

Jude turns to face the voice, his face one of shock. "It can't be… Ur? Have I lost my mind entirely today?"

Ur shakes her head. "You lost your mind a long time ago. I'm alive, for reasons that you don't deserve to know, but I'm not here to reconnect with you. I'll be honest, you were never my favorite person, but Laya saw something in you that I never could. When she told me that she was pregnant, I was so happy for you two, and I hoped that you two could have raised her right. I guess I was half right."

Jude slams his hand on his desk and stands up in anger. "Don't lecture me on how to raise a daughter, Ur! You didn't even raise yours for that lon-"

A shard of ice shoots past his head into the window behind him, shutting him up instantly.

"You don't wanna finish that sentence."

A blue aura surrounds Ur, causing Jude to slump back down in his chair.

"Now then, where we?" Ur rhetorically ask. "Oh, right, your shit-tacular job at being a father. I couldn't believe the words that came out of Lucy's mouth as she described the life she lived after Laya's death. Grief doesn't last 7 years, Jude. The one and only reason your daughter left you is because of you. Nothing more, nothing less. That's all I have to say for you."

Ur then walks back through the door but says one last thing before closing it.

"When was the last time you even thought of Layla?"

SLAM

Back outside, Lucy and Natsu were standing by themselves, an awkward air in between them.

"So, that kiss, huh." Lucy tries to break the silence with a joke, succeeding in making Natsu laugh.

"Yeah, it was something." Natsu responds. "Look, Lucy. I'm sorry for springing that on you on out of nowhere. I was just thinking a lot about the people in my life that I've lost in my life, and I realized that I couldn't just let the chance slip away."

Natsu then clasps both of Lucy's hands together, making her blush madly. "I love you, Lucy Heartfilia. I want to keep going on missions with you for the rest of my life, and I promise to always be there whenever you call for me. I want to experience the world has to offer us and then some, together."

"I love you too, Natsu." Lucy's eyes are full of tears at hearing Natsu spill his feelings to her. "When I was a kid, I would always dream of falling in love with a handsome prince who would sweep me of my feet. Instead, I found myself being dragged off by a dragon back to his lair back in Hargeon, and despite the rent problems and almost dying multiple times, I never regretted it for a second.

"I know that I could never hope to replace Lisanna in your heart, and I know you don't want me to either. Instead, I'll be glad to place my heart in your hands. I dived headfirst into being a Fairy Tail wizard, and I'm happy to do the same with loving you."

The two of them lovingly gaze into each other's eyes before their lips meet for their second kiss, the promise of many more in the future contained within that kiss.

Once the kiss ends, Natsu glances at her neck. "Um, Luce, since we're together now, we have to the whole mating thing, unless you want to wait on that."

Lucy shakes her head. "It's okay, Natsu. I understand that it's just part of being a Dragon Slayer, so go ahead and do what you need to."

Natsu then leans his head down and bites Lucy on her neck. As the pain in Lucy's neck passes, her blonde hair gains a pink strand. Once he's finished, Lucy pulls a hand mirror out of her purse to look at herself.

"I guess pink really is my color." Lucy laughs as she looks down on the guild mark on her right hand, also in pink.

"So, Luce. You ready to go back to Fairy Tail?" Natsu puts his hand out to hers, the same smile on his face from when they left Hargeon.

Lucy doesn't have to think about her answer.

That night, Lucy returned to Fairy Tail, and everyone was surprised at her new relationship with Natsu, but ultimately, everyone was happy for the two of them.

Erza was shocked, saying that she had no idea about their feelings, but also demanded that she be present for the wedding, causing Lucy to freak out as that was not planned anytime soon. Gray was stunned to find out that Natsu had managed to get another girlfriend, but chose not to comment this time.

Asta had stars in his eyes at seeing the formation of a couple while Noelle and Mimosa were too busy thinking about him to comment on their fellow royal's love life.

Mira was especially happy, not just because she was a hopeless romantic (and especially not because she won a lot of money on the NaLu betting pool), but also because she was glad to see Natsu sharing his heart with someone after her sister.

Yuno did not care.

The next day, everyone at Fairy Tail was excited as they were finally able to start taking on job requests again.

"So, Lucy, you and Natsu are together now?" Noelle was sitting next to Lucy at the makeshift bar manned by Mira and Mimosa. "Why would you ever be with someone so vulgar and rowdy?"

Lucy laughs off Noelle's words, knowing she didn't actually hate Natsu. "Well, sure he can be loud and annoying sometimes, but he also has a soft side that I love seeing too. He brought me to Fairy Tail in the first place, and I don't think even spending the rest of our lives together will be enough to show my full gratitude."

"Hmph, whatever." Noelle scoffs. "I would never fall for someone like that."

"Oh reaaaaaaaally?" Mira draws out, making Noelle blush. "What about a certain short swordsman with no magic, huh?"

"What are you talking about?! There is nothing going on between me and Asta!" Noelle exclaims.

"What's this about me and you, Noelle?" Asta asks, popping up right behind Noelle alongside Yuno and making her shriek.

"Nothing!" Noelle exclaims in attempt to distract Asta. "We are on the same team, nothing more!"

At that moment, Lucy's grimoire opens, and out of it pops out a chibi version of Celeste, the same size as Liebe and in her usual outfit. "What are you doing outside the grimoire, Celeste?" Lucy asks.

"Well mother, I felt very strong emotions nearby, and I wondered what it was about." Celeste then turns to point at Noelle. "Noelle's emotions are spiraling wildly, and it seems to be about a large deal of compassion she has for someone."

"W-w-what do you know, you tiny brat?!" Noelle stutters before Yuno's grimoire also opens and Bell pops out.

"Sister! You've finally gotten out of that stuffy book!" Bell shouts as she flies up and the two exchange hugs. "I'm so glad that we can finally talk to each other again."

"Me too, big sister." Celeste responds. "You've found your master, and I've found my mother, so it's going to be splendid."

"I never agreed on the whole mother thing." Lucy's comment is ignored as the two tiny girls embrace, though soon Asta's grimoire also starts floating.

"If everyone else is gonna pop out, then so will I." Liebe's voice is heard before he appears as well. "I haven't actually met the spirit yet, and I gotta say, not impressed. Hehehe."

"Oh, you just wait you fiend! I'll get bigger one day, and then you won't be laughing so much!" Bell fumes at Liebe's comment but is completely ignored as Liebe turns to Celeste.

"And you are an…" Liebe trails off once he looks at her, his world blown as he looks at the heavenly girl. In the Underworld, most demons were guys, and you'd be lucky to find any that would be called 'attractive' by any standards.

Liebe was not a nice guy, he only cared about one other person's safety besides his own (and a faint liking for a blue cat that has a similar past to him), and if the rest of the guild dropped dead, he probably wouldn't blink an eye.

But some say Liebe's hear grew three sizes that day, as he laid eyes upon an honest to god-

'Angel.'

Liebe then immediately poofed back into his grimoire, confusing everyone.

"Hey man, what was that about?" Asta asks he shakes the grimoire, Liebe not responding in any way. "*Sigh* I guess I'll try and talk to him."

Asta walks away into a secluded are by himself where no one else is. "Alright, Liebe. It's just you and me. You wanna talk about your weird attitude back there?"

Asta's grimoire opens once more, Liebe appearing again, but this time, a faint blush on his cheeks, shocking Asta as he has never seen Liebe have a nervous expression before. "Dude, what happened?"

"Why… why didn't you tell me…"

Asta looks at Liebe with a confused look on his face. "Tell you what?"

Liebe then soars right up to Asta's face before yelling. "Why didn't you tell me she was so cute!"

…

…

…

"HUUUUUUUUUUH?!"

As Asta deals with the revelation that his devil partner has found his first crush, a disturbance was caused by Erza flipping a large table that makes a loud crash. "Why don't you tell the others how you feel!"

The person she's yelling at turns out to be Laxus, who is doing his usual jackass routine. "Sure. This guild is full of losers and weaklings. Especially those suckers over there."

Laxus points at Levy, Jet, and Droy, their injuries still visible from their beating by Gajeel. "I don't even know your names, so why should I be surprised that you got your asses kicked around like a soccer ball."

He then turns to where Lucy is sitting at the bar. "And let's not forget the rich little princess wannabe wizard. She's the reason that those Phantom losers even attacked us in the first place."

"Laxus!" Mira starts to argue with him before Lucy raises her arm, signaling her to stop.

"So, Laxus, you want to place blame on people, then what about you? I seem to recall that you didn't even bother showing up. Meanwhile, the weaklings that you mocked managed to defeat a wizard saint, included this so called 'princess.'" Most of the guild watches in silence as Lucy stands up against one of their strongest wizards.

Laxus doesn't lose any of his arrogant attitude in his response. "Well sometimes ants band together and get luck, but why should I have gotten involved anyway? Though if I was there, then the guild wouldn't be in such a sorry state! Hahaha-!"

Laxus's laughing is cut off as he suddenly turns into lightning to dodge Lucy's thrown Oathkeeper shield that soon returns to her arm. "If you're just going to laugh at everyone else's hard work, then I'll gladly shut your mouth for you."

At this point the everyone's jaw almost falls off their face, most of them fearing for the Celestial wizard's life after launching an attack at Laxus.

"So, the princess decides to lord over her subjects?" Laxus mocks with a grin on his face.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy looks at him perplexed.

"Well, it's simple. You and those two are only worth being in this guild because of your family name's." Laxus points at Noelle and Mimosa, both looking at him with angry expressions on their faces. "Well, let me tell you, when I get control of this guild, weaklings like you will be first to go! Then I'll turn this trash heap into an actually respectable guild!"

Laxus then walks away, having made no new friends with his puffed-up ego as usual. Natsu walks up to Lucy and gives her a thumbs up. "Great job standing up to him, Luce! I was gonna slug him if you didn't do it, so good job! You're getting rivals and starting fights, just like a Fairy Tail member should!"

"I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing." Lucy rubs her cheek with sweat going down her face.

Erza then comes in and pushes Erza's head into her chest like yesterday, though this time she is in her armor, so it hurts a lot more. "Every day you impress me more and more Lucy. Standing up to a bully like Laxus is something that you will have to do more in the future, so never back down."

"Ok… thanks." Lucy moans, her head still reeling from the collision with Erza's armor. Lucy then reorients herself before she gains a bashful expression. "Um, you know there's something I've been meaning to ask you guys, now that the whole Phantom Lord business is over."

Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Happy look at her with a confused look on their faces before Lucy continues. "Do you guys want to formally form a team with me? I know that Natsu and Happy won't leave me alone, but you two aren't formally part of our group yet. Besides, I want us to continue being Fairy Tail's strongest team."

"I'd be glad to assist you whenever the need arises." Erza answers proudly.

"Yeah, besides you're going to need help whenever Flame Brain gets himself in trouble." Gray teasingly remarks. ("HEY!" Natsu shouts, though he is ignored.)

Lucy smiles as her friends accept her offer. "Well then, I guess we're officially Fairy Tail's strongest team."

"Hey! Who said that you guys get to be the strongest team!" Asta appears having finished his conversation with his partner. "Team Black Clover is obviously way stronger than yours!"

Asta then points at Lucy. "Hey, I heard that you beat Jose when I was unconscious, and that you also said that you would be the Wizard Queen. Is that true?"

Lucy nods her head. "Yeah, it's all true. I understand that you and Yuno also want the same thing, but I feel in my heart that I need to do this. I understand if you two don't want to hang out with me anymore."

Lucy attempts to bow her head, but Yuno stops her by putting his hand on her shoulder. "I thought you knew what kind of people we are. We're not gonna stop being friends just because you have the same goal as us."

"That's right!" Asta says as he puts his hand on her other shoulder. "You want to be the Wizard Queen just like us, that makes you our most dangerous rival."

The two brothers then put out their fists, leaving room for Lucy to join in. "This is the sign that we use to make our promise." Asta explains. "We would be happy to have you as a rival."

Lucy looks at them, shocked at the fact that they so easily accepted her despite their conflicting paths, but smiled as she joined in on the fist bump. "Then I guess you two are my first rivals."

"Alright!" Asta cheers. "Now then, since we're rivals, we have to see whose team will help them rise to be Wizard King first!"

Natsu then comes in and wraps his arm around Lucy's waist. "Hey, don't forget about me! I don't really care about the whole Wizard King thing, but I'll help Luce out every step of the way."

Lucy blushes at her new boyfriend's display of affection but finds that it isn't too different from how they usually communicate.

"Also, I want to get in on this rival thing too!" Natsu shouts, shocking everyone else.

"Didn't you just say that you didn't care about being the Wizard King?!" Asta asks incredulously.

Natsu shakes his head. "Nah, I'm talking about something else. My father Igneel was the King of the Fire Dragons, so in a way, that makes me the Fire Dragon Prince. If Lucy's gonna be the Wizard Queen, then I'll just have to be the Dragon King."

Everyone's brains take a moment to register what Asta said before Noelle is the one who reacts first. "Wait a minute! You're telling me that you're technically a royal dragon?!"

Natsu nods his head. "Yeah. I'm not the only one. Hey Sting!" Sting (who was arguing with Romeo over something stupid) walks over, his rival and cat following behind him. "Your dragon was royalty too, right?"

"Oh… uh yeah. Weisslogia was the King of the White Dragons." Everyone's jaws drop at finding out the two boys that were literally raised in a cave were also royalty, so much so that no one noticed Sting's awkward attitude when talking about his dragon parent.

Romeo can't believe what he's hearing. "Wait, so you're supposed to be a prince? You definitely don't look like one."

Sting pops out of his funk instantly to argue with Romeo again. "Yeah, well you're stupid, and I can tell just by looking at you."

The two boys then get in a scuffle, causing a dust cloud. Everyone just turns their head's to look at Natsu and Gray, their stares saying a thousand words.

"Why are you looking at me? It's not my fault that those two picked Natsu as a poor role model." Gray comments.

Natsu then shoves his face into Gray's, both of them getting back into an argumentative mood. "Why don't you say that again, you naked popsicle?!"

The two of them get into a scuffle of their own right next to Romeo's and Sting's, causing everyone else to sweat comedically.

"I love him, but why did I have to fall in love with such a handsome moron?" Lucy moans. Mimosa and Noelle agree with her in their heads about an ash blonde swordsman. (Noelle immediately rescinds that mental admittance of her feelings about Asta.)

Erza puts her hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Don't worry Lucy. I will help you get Natsu under control momentarily. Think of it as your first lesson."

Before Erza can implement the impromptu teaching session, someone taps her on the shoulder, causing her to turn around and gasp. "Mira!"

Indeed, it was Mirajane, having changed outfits while no one was looking. (She learned to change clothes really fast when she was younger in an attempt to compete with Erza. She still lost compared to re-quip speed.)

Mira was now in a black short sleeved leather jacket, her arms also covered in fishnet sleeves up to her fingers. Her shirt was a deep violet, almost black halter top that left some of her midriff showing as well as a circular boob window for her sizable cleavage. She had a black skirt and black stockings on her legs that went up to her knees. Her hair was not in its usual front ponytail style, instead a black ribbon held up her hair in the back.

"Since I'm getting back into being an active wizard, I figured I would go back to my old outfit style, but with some new changes." Mira says with a smile on her face before turning to Yuno. "Also, I wanted to ask if I could join your team, Yuno."

The dust cloud containing Natsu and Gray stopped fighting right in the middle of their fight, hands in each other's faces and mouths.

"Did she just say what I thought she said?" Natsu said with Gray pulling on his hair.

"Yeah, she did?" Gray answers, Natsu's fist an inch away from his face.

The boys then went back to fighting, not caring enough to stop completely.

"Hey! I'm the leader of Team Black Clover, why are aren't you asking me?" Asta complains, only to pushed aside by Noelle. "Fool, I am a royal, so obviously I'm the one in charge."

Both of them are ignored.

Yuno accepts her offer easily. "Sure, but why did you want to join our team?"

"Well, if you're going to catch up to Lucy's team, it would be better for you to have an S-Class wizard, so the Galuna Island incident doesn't happen again." Mira then gives a hard glare to Asta who suddenly finds the ground very interesting.

"Plus, I need to get back in the swing of things so I can catch up with Erza. And now you have an advantage over their team with five wizards." Mira does not mention the obvious intent to try and hit on Yuno more, but Charmy and Cana seethe quietly from the sidelines.

"Hey, what about me?" Happy moans with a sad cloud over his head.

Mira pats him on the head. "Oh, I didn't forget you Happy, you're just as important as everyone else, you're just not a fighter. Here's a fish."

Happy immediately perks up as he begins eating his yummy fish.

"So, you think you can make up for two years' worth of lost time, and catch up with me?" Erza asks with a menacing aura.

"Of course, though I'm sure I can give you a good fight right now if you want?" Mira responds to Erza's violent aura with her own.

The two of them then cause another dust cloud next to the boy's, causing Lucy to sigh in exasperation. "I thought those two were better than that."

Asta seeing the other rivals turns to Yuno, but before he can utter a single syllable, Yuno says, "No."

Asta then turns to Lucy but before he even opens his mouth Lucy shouts, "Hell no!"

At that moment, Ur drapes her arm over Lucy's shoulder. "Hey, since we're messing with team formations, why don't I join your team, Lucy?"

Lucy gasps. "Wait, really? I'd be glad to have you on my team, since you were my mother's rival. I'm sure Gray will glad to hear that too."

The three prospective Wizard Kings/Queen then put their hands together once more, all of them speaking their motivations.

"To see a world where we can protect the ones we love…" Yuno says.

"To prove to those above us that anyone can be worth something…" Asta says.

"To make a future where everyone can decide their own fate…" Lucy says.

"I will become the Wizard King/Queen!"

Geez, things are really going off the rails now, huh?

Let's start with Lucy and her father. I love everything about Lucy and her standing up to Jude, and I wanted to keep that same triumphant energy, but with a slightly more aggressive Lucy. Lucy won't be a complete badass yet, but she is slowly growing into being one on the level of Erza and Mira.

Next is her and Natsu. I worry that I may have rushed the relationship a bit too much, but there is no other time to organically implement their romance for a long while, so I did it now. I didn't have the scene go on as long as Natsu and Lisanna's, but that's because we're gonna get to see how their relationship will develop over time the longest of any couple by far.

I also changed the confrontation with Laxus this time, Lucy throwing an attack the arrogant jackass for talking down on her and her friends. Laxus has a particular disdain for Lucy, Noelle, and Mimosa because he sees them as only having worth because of their family's name. Wonder if that sounds familiar…;)

Moving on from Lucy, we also got a surprise from Liebe on Celeste. I didn't want Liebe to just be a constant dick, so I decided to make it that he cares about three people early on. Asta because obviously he would; Happy because he sympathizes with his backstory having lost his human mother due to someone else taking control; and now Celeste, who has managed to worm her way into his heart by just existing.

Yuno has finally started the path of oblivious harem protag that has multiple girls fight over him without realizing why, and beautiful woman just fall into his lap.

Ur was also fun to write this chapter. I love how she doesn't care about anything and just says things as they are. The scene with her and Jude was also a fun addition, and her joining Lucy's team is the first of many plans I have for her.

Speaking of new team members, in this chapter, Mirajane officially joins Team Black Clover, both to get close to her not-so-secret crush, but also reigniting the rival between her and Erza. I came up with Mira's punk design based off of her younger versions with some changes. If you couldn't tell between her and Celeste, I really like wearing gloves that don't cover your fingers. Blame children's anime like Pokémon and Bakugan for that.

Final thing before I finish is the mention of Dragon royalty this chapter. I'm changing some things about slayers and their magic.

1. Sting and Rogue will not be 3rd generation Dragon Slayers. I don't really like how it's handled in canon, and they won't be needing it in this series.

2. All of the dragon raised kids were raised by royal dragons. Metallicana and Skiadrum were Dragon Kings, and Grandeeny was a Dragon Queen. The title is not inherited, it will be earned at a certain level of power for any slayer of any generation, but not for a looooooooooooooooong time.

3. Despite Mimosa getting her God Slayer powers through a lacrima, she will be treated like a 1st generation slayer. It's so she can get a dual element form later in the series. (Don't ask me what it will be, I have no idea yet.)

With all that out of the way, next time we still have some cleanup to do on arcs. Lucy and Asta are gonna have very tiring nights of different kinds, but ultimately, we have a bit more set up for the arc before Jellal can show off his plan in this series. How fortunate.

Next Time: Stars Weep, Eyes Cry, and Heaven Calls