"Ah, so you four have finally returned and just-"
When Gray turned around after hearing Erza cut off her sentence, he realized that Lucy was not with Natsu, Happy and Nashi. The peach haired child was sleeping peacefully while Natsu carried her, Happy walking right next to Natsu. When the scarlet and raven haired mage peeked behind the three, Lucy was nowhere to be seen. Erza was already mad as it is since Gray nearly cut it close but the trio had arrived at ten minutes 'til midnight... and Wendy and Carla had yet to arrive.
Gray looked to Natsu, who seemed like he was angry or bothered by something and raised an eyebrow. "Where's Lucy? I thought she was with you guys?" He asked. "And what's with the gloomy look?"
Natsu placed Nashi on one of the beds and tucked her in bed, Happy snuggling in the pillow next to her. "We ran into two members of the Sabertooth guild before heading back." Natsu said as he scratched his head. "They're called the Twin Dragons, Sting and Rogue... and they're dragon slayers who were raised by dragons."
"What!?" Erza and Gray asked, Natsu hushing them so that Nashi didn't wake up.
"So? What were they like?" Erza asked, sitting at the edge of the bed with her arms crossed.
Natsu growled under his breath as he couldn't stand the arrogance of the two boys that insulted him. But then he remembered Lucy's reaction and he calmed himself down. "They're jerks." He replied bluntly. "They said that kept saying that they could've easily slain Acnologia and that they killed their dragon parents. It ticked Lucy off big time."
"Ticked her off?" Gray asked.
"Yeah... you should've seen her and Nashi." Happy said in a soft voice, remembering the face of pure malice on Lucy's face and the utter disgust on Nashi's. "Both of them became so scary... like when Nashi chased those Twilight Ogre fellows back when we first met her? I thought Lucy was going to do her Sun Crater spell."
Natsu nodded, confirming Happy's statement. "After she left them in shock, Nashi fell asleep and Lucy told us to come back here ahead of her." He added. "She said something about teaching two old geezers a lesson and disappeared to the Dragon Realm. But she should be back any time now."
After explaining the situation, the fire dragon slayer thought back to the angered look on Lucy's face. It wasn't one that out of pure hate from what he could tell, but one out of pity and shame. Lucy used many expressions to show her feelings and there was a big difference when her anger is due to hate or some other feeling. It was clear to him that his best friend was not just angry at Sting and Rogue for being arrogant, but another reason. She would have stayed in the Dragon Realm for a day by now so she should've cooled off.
"Considering she's Empress of the dragons, hearing a dragon slayer killing their dragon parent would surely anger her." Erza noted. "But we can't think of that now, Lucy will tell us when she feels like it."
"Yeah and besides, Wendy and Carla aren't back yet." Gray said. "It's not like them to not be on time."
It was around that time that Lisanna and Elfmen visited the team's room with refreshments and had asked if they were doing okay. Of course, Natsu and Happy didn't mention anything about the sabers or Lucy and just told them that they were waiting for Lucy to come back from the Dragon Realm and for Wendy and Carla to return from wherever they were. But then, the the clock hit midnight and the sounds of a bell rang throughout all of Crocus.
The lodges of all the guilds that had registered to participate began to rise thanks to some sort of mechanism from underneath and a path began to appear in front of the balcony. Nashi had woken up due to the movement, her and Natsu becoming a little motion sick from the vibrations. Suddenly, the hologram of a pumpkin man, Mato, appeared above the city and explained the rules of the the unexpected preliminary round; the Sky Labyrinth.
Of course, when he got to the bit where all five members of each team must arrive at Domus Flau in order to finish, everyone got worried because they were missing two out of the five. "Lucy should be here anytime soon, but what about Wendy!?" Erza asked.
"What about Wendy?" Lucy's voice asked as she appeared from a portal behind them.
"Lucy!" Everyone cried as they hugged her in relief.
"Um... hello to you too guys?" She greeted in an awkward fashion. "I know I've only been gone for an hour, but someone mind explaining to me where's Wendy and Carla as well as the big floating piece of trash in the sky?"
"That's the Sky Labyrinth, apparently it's a preliminary round to narrow down the many guilds that have signed up for the games to just eight in total." Lisanna said. "To pass, you just have to get all five members of your team across the finish line in Domus Flau with no magic restrictions. The problem is that you guys are missing Wendy."
Lucy thought for a moment as Nashi got up from her bed and hugged her leg. The blonde just smiled in reassurance and she looked straight at Elfmen. "I'm sure Wendy has her reasons for being here, but right now we have to work with what we have." She said as she she nodded to Elfmen. "You understand what I'm saying right?"
The male Strauss' gaze hardened and he gave a silent nod as he grabbed Erza, Gray Natsu and Lucy and began running up the path. Surprising Nashi, Lisanna and Happy. "Hey! What are you doing, Big Brother!" Lisanna called in a slight panic.
The rest of the team understood what Lucy meant and nodded in agreement with her plan. "It okay Lisanna! He's doing what he can for the guild and the team!" Gray reassured. "He'll take Wendy's place for now!"
"Lisanna! Happy! Take Nashi and look for Wendy!" Erza asked. "I'm worried that something has happened to her!"
"You can count on us, Erza!" Happy said with a salute.
"I trust you guys!" Natsu shouted. "Nashi should be able to find Wendy no problem since her nose is practically as good as mine! Just have track the scent!"
"I won't let you down, Papa!" The child said as they made their way out the lodge to look for the sky dragon slayer and her exceed.
When they got inside the maze, it was full of pathways that lead left and right, up and down, forward and backward, there was even some people upside down from what they could see. It was a three-dimensional maze and there was no way for them to figure out which was the correct way to go thanks to twists and turns. Lucy, however, seemed relatively calm and just stretched her arms and cracked her knuckles. She had just woken up from a nap before leaving the Dragon Realm, so she was fully energized.
"So how exactly are we supposed to figure the way out of here?" Elfmen asked. "We're sure to run into some other contestants if we just run whichever way."
"That's not something we can afford since only eight guilds are allowed to pass this round."
"Oh just leave that to me." Lucy reassured as her surrounded her hand with her celestial magic. "What kind of celestial mage would I be if i couldn't open a portal to the finish line?"
"You can do that!?" The other four asked in excitement to get some sleep quickly before the beginning of the games.
"Lisanna said that there were no restrictions on how to use magic." Lucy said as she opened a portal that showed the finish line on the other side. "And I do intend to show everyone just what kind of a powerhouse Fairy Tail is!"
With only a step into the portal, the team were met with the face of Mato and the poor pumpkin man stared in complete shock as he did not expect the the first place winner to arrive when it hasn't even been ten minutes yet. But seeing Lucy, he should've expected much considering the rumours surrounding her and congratulated them. Teleporting them back to their lodge are deeming them the team who came in first place out of the other guilds.
"I know that passing the preliminary round was of the utmost priority, but I'm kinda sad that we didn't get to fight some of the other teams that joined, don't you think so?" Lucy asked with a bright smile.
Their lodge soon lowered itself back down to the ground, much to Natsu's displeasure, but soon settled and Lucy collapsed on her bed with fit of laughs at how easy it was to pass the preliminary round. Elfmen had already left to where his room was and the remaining three mages just stared at the blonde girl in front of them. Natsu and Happy made it sound like she was in such a foul mood that she could be mistaken as an evil person, but right at the moment, she only looked like a cheery sixteen year old.
Then again, she was only in the Dragon Realm for a little less than an hour on Earthland, which means she was there a little over three days. Enough time to cool down her anger and deal with whatever she had to after encountering Sting and Rogue. But that didn't stop Natsu, Erza and Gray from being curious as to why she had been so angry. Sure, they practically insulted her as the Dragon Empress and the dragons, but she acted much to recklessly. Completely out of character.
"Hey Luce... you were able to deal with whatever you had to back at the Dragon Realm?" Natsu asked, not sure if it was fine to bring up the situation from before. "You seemed pretty angry..."
"We heard what happened from Natsu and Happy and I gotta say, remind me to never insult you ever again." Gray said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Is there a reason you retreated to the Dragon Realm?" Erza asked, straight to the point.
Lucy blinked and just smiled at her team, happy that she had such a caring family to support her through her troubles. So, she sat up and rested her head on the bed's headboard. "Thanks for the concern you guys." She said first. "I'm sorry if I scared you and Happy while I was angry like that, Natsu. You probably realized that my pride as the Dragon Empress was hurt, right?"
"Yeah... especially when they said they killed their dragons..." Natsu then sat down on the floor next to the bed, Gray following suit but sat on the other side and Erza sitting next to Lucy on the bed. "But you said they didn't?"
The blonde nodded and sighed, luckily her frustration had already been resolved so she can explain the situation clearly. "Sting and Rogue are white and shadow dragon slayers. Which also means they are Weisslogia and Skiadrum's kids."
"Weisslogia and Skiadrum?" Gray asked. "The dragons we first met after entering your castle?"
"Yes. Like Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel, Weisslogia and Skiadrum had gone into their bodies to counteract the growing dragon seed in their bodies to prevent dragonificiation." Lucy explained. "After I realized who they were, I got angry at Weisslogia and Skiadrum for keeping me in the dark about this and went to them for answers."
"What did they say?" Erza asked.
"Instead of disappearing, like Igneel and the others, Weisslogia and Skiadrum implanted false memories into Sting and Rogue so that they could 'have' the experience of slaying a dragon." She rolled her eyes while air-quoting 'have'. "So I punished them for not bothering to tell me that they had their own sons. I mean, they were there when I first came to the Dragon Realm!"
"Now that I think about it... you said that you had to take a piece of Igneel, Grandeeney and Metalicana's soul in order for them to summon a physical body for them to use without using your own magic supply. So how is it that Weisslogia and Skiadrum were already relaxing in the Dragon Realm before you got there?" Gray asked.
"A good question, Gray!" Lucy said as she crossed her arms, her annoyance rising just thinking about the excuse they made. "You know what those two old geezers told me? They said that unlike those three, they had magic to spare after casting the secret art to go into your bodies and separated themselves! Can you believe that!? They even laughed about it!"
Lucy's ranting made the three mages laugh and Natsu couldn't help but guess what happened next. "So, what'd you do in return?"
"I sent them to Arhad and Takeo, of course." Lucy said with no shame as Natsu and Gray shivering at the thought of the Blade Dragon King and but relaxed at the thought of his dragon successor since the three were friends. "Obviously, I told them not to be too severe in punishment since they are a part of my council. So, they were just put to helping Arhad tend to his shedded his scales."
"His shedded scales?" Erza asked. "What for?"
"He's actually planning to gift you a sword made from his scales, Erza." Lucy said excitedly, the three mages not expecting that answer. "Something about you reminded him of the previous queen and your expertise in swordsmanship has him convinced that you are worthy of wielding a sword of the strongest and sharpest metal."
Erza blushed at the thought of receiving such a treasured gift and smiled in honour. "I look forward to make use of his sword then."
"Anyway, you guys, I'm gonna hit the hay." Gray said moving to his bed and pulling the blanket over him. "I'm sure Wendy and Carla are safe and that Nashi, Lisanna and Happy have already found her... they'll tell us the news tomorrow."
"Though I'm worried... I agree with Gray." Erza said as she also moved to her bed and tucked herself in. "Wendy wouldn't want us to be exhausted for the first day of the games. We should rest up and greet her with energized faces in the morning."
Natsu on the other hand looked really worried, whether it was because there were no news on Wendy and Carla or the fact that Nashi and Happy hadn't come back yet... he didn't know. Lucy noticed his anxious expression and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and reassured him with the smile she always gave him to cheer him up. A smile that made him decide to form a team with her and the same smile that hasn't changed after seven years.
"I already had plenty time to rest in the with the dragons. If anything, I'll go back there to catch up on sleep before the games start." She said. "I'll wait for Nashi and Happy while you go to sleep, okay? We'll visit Wendy and Carla tomorrow morning."
Natsu nodded and returned Lucy's smile with his classic grin and Lucy turned off the lights and left a lap open so that she could read a book while waiting. But when she felt her blanket being lifted up, she sent Natsu flying to his bed with a Lucy kick. Gray and Erza looked at the two partners with questioning thoughts, but could only guess what happened. So they ignored Natsu's groans and went to sleep. When Lucy realized they had all fallen asleep, she couldn't help but stop reading and think back on what Kumiko told her.
"It's physically impossible for Nashi to have the same qualities as Natsu and I. The fact that she has our mixed scents practically solidifies that she is indeed our daughter, like Igneel says. If that's the case, what other explanation than..."
"Your majesty... what you're suggesting is that your daughter, our beloved princess, is a time anomaly. More appropriately, she is yours and Igneel's son's daughter in the much distant future."
"If she is a time anomaly, someone who should not be here as shown in the threads of time, does that mean someone has brought her from that future?"
"...Yes, your majesty... and we of the council know fully well who is behind that..."
"Vetani and the person or people she works for..."
"Are you sure that they will be here?"
Two people in large cloaks, their faces concealed underneath their hoods, walked through the dark alleyway streets of Crocus. All the shops were closed and the dim lights from the lampposts didn't reveal them in the slightest. One of them was taller than the other and they both sat on the ground, leaning against the wall of a building. Its shadow hiding them from anyone who may coincidentally walk by or sense that someone is watching them.
"I sensed her here... her power... it's growing stronger..."
"The first day of the Grand Magic Games is tomorrow... if everything is still the same as how it was before, there's no doubt that Fairy Tail will be there... and her."
The latter of the two looked up into the sky, the light of the full moon peeking behind the darkened clouds of the night sky. Their fists were clenched tightly, shaking slightly at the nearing events. They would be watching the Grand Magic Games on the side to look for 'her' and they will not rest until they find her. Following Fairy Tail is their best bet, Vetani already led them that far. The former noticed the latter shake and rested their hand on their head in attempt to comfort them.
"Don't worry... we'll come find you... Wherever you may be..."