Hey guys, we're back with the final chapter of the phantom lord arc! Sorry that it took us so long to get this out to you, things once again got a bit complicated in real life due to work and family issues.
There is another reason however why this took so long. This story is the first time either of us have ever really tried to write a romance. It was a bit...Harder than what we expected. We wanted to get it just right. It took us a while, but I think we did just that.
Regardless, I really want to thank you all for all the support you've given us. It really does mean a lot to us when we read your reviews, letting us know what we did right, what we could improve on, it all makes it a much more fun experience. Thanks to you guys, we're almost at 500 reviews. I'm proud of that, I really am.
But enough talking, lets get right into the chapter you've all been waiting for!
Levy McGarden, Wendy Marvell and Carla stood by themselves in the white room that belonged to Sylphia Nelia Labelle. The goddess had vanished, taking Bambietta Basterbine with her. All they could do was wait then for there return.
However, the only one who came back was Sylphia herself. She appeared at the center of the room, looking as cheerful as ever.
"Miss Sylphia," Wendy said, taking one step forward. "Where's Bambi? She... she didn't go back to her world did she? She didn't..."
Wendy's face began to quiver, her lower lips trembling as her eyes watered. Sylphia was here but Bambietta was not by her side. She had gone home. Back to the world from which she had come. She had said she would not do that but it was just like with Grandeeny and Jellal Fernandes.
Wendy had lost one she cared for. "Bambi..."
Wendy began to drop to her knees, the gravity of the situation dragging her down. She did not make it far though, Sylphia appearing before her. Crouching on one knee, the goddess caught Sylphia and held her gently.
"It's okay Wendy," Sylphia said sweetly, one hand against the Sky Dragon Slayer's back, the other running th,rough her hair in an attempt to calm her down. "Bambi's still here. I just sent her to Lucy, that's all. And soon they'll both be back for you."
Wendy perked up then. She sniffed back her tears and smiled. "You mean it?"
"Of course," Sylphia said as she stood up, all the while ruffling Wendy's hair a little. "Everything will be fine. It's just that I think Bambi and Lucy need some time alone together is all. So I sent her off. And I was looking to send you three back to Fairy Tail. But I need you all to do me one little favor..."
Levy was curious, if not the slightest bit skeptical. "What's that?"
"Don't mention anything about me, okay?" Sylphia said as she clasped her hands together. "Or that Bambi's from another world. I mean, if she wants to tell others, okay, but I'd rather the whole fighting on behalf of me thing stay under wraps until the time is right."
Levy was unsure of how to react to a goddess asking for favors in such a mundane, human manner, but she was beaten to the punch when it came to giving an answer.
"Okay!" Wendy said with youthful energy. "Our lips are sealed!"
"You have my eternal gratitude," Sylphia said sweetly. "Now off you go...
Lucy Heartfilia had returned to the home in which she had spent the better part of her life, the very place she had grown up, with a plan. Knowing full well that the war between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord had been an indirect result of her running away, she had decided to take responsibility for it all. Fairy Tail had stepped up and fought against Phantom Lord to save both Lucy and, when things had gone out of control, Magnolia from Jose Porla's apparent madness. Now it had been Lucy's chance to return the favor.
It had all been so simple. She would go home and speak with her father, to make things clear why she had left home and how she could only view him as an enemy if he were to ever attempt to visit his wrath upon Fairy Tail by trying to hurt it through financial or political means. Then she would walk away, never to return to the place that had once meant so much to her. She would turn the page on the part of her life that felt like it had ended alongside her mother's untimely death and return to her new home, the place where she felt she truly belonged. She would return to Fairy Tail and leave the past behind.
However, the best laid plans had been rent asunder when the past and present had come into contact with one and another. As Lucy had reached the crescendo of her declaration of independence, as she had prepared to finish saying what she had to her father and walk away from him once and for all, Bambietta Basterbine had arrived.
It was as if she had appeared from out of nowhere, a strange popping having been the true sign of her arrival. Bambietta had seemed in a slight state of shock from her own sudden arrival and then, without warning, she had collapsed the moment she had seen Lucy. There had been a faint amount of blood dribbling from her nose, a sign that she may have been involved in a fight before her unexpected appearance at the Heartfilia mansion.
Lucy had intended to make her leave but now she could not. Bambietta was unconscious and, as her father had made very clear, been bleeding upon his expensive carpeting. So Lucy had spirited Bambietta away, to find her a place to rest and be taken care of until she woke up.
Sitting in a chair by the side of the bed she had deposited Bambietta in, Lucy waited with some degree of restlessness. Hanging from the one of the bed's posts was the outer garments of Bambietta, her coat, cape, gloves and hat hanging from it in that order. Her boots were by the bedside, having folder over slightly at ankle's height. It was just another sign that Lucy would have to wait even if she wanted to go home, to return to Fairy Tail. She wanted to go back, but Bambietta was a part of the guild itself, as well as Lucy's friend and roommate. Her wellbeing came first.
"Bambi..."
Lucy looked down on the sleeping Quincy. The bed's blankets were pulled up over her shoulders and beneath her chin. Despite her sudden fall, she looked so very peaceful in her slumber. Lucy had grown far too used to seeing Bambietta at two extremes. Either she was acting out, as if to appear larger than life, or she was at times seemingly small and fragile, as if her past was tearing her apart. Now, however, it was different. She seemed at peace.
It warmed Lucy's heart.
Still, she was confused. "Bambi, what are you doing here? This was... This was my problem and mine alone." Lucy's hands closed as she held them over her lap, the wizard closing her eyes as she lowered her head. "You all... fought so hard for me, so I have to do this for all of you alone..."
There was silence then, Lucy subjecting herself to the darkness of her shut eyes. Then, without warning, she felt something make contact with her right hand.
"I won't let you go it alone," Bambietta's voice said quietly. "Whatever you're doing, we're in this together, Lucy."
The Celestial Spirit mage opened her eyes, her gaze focused downwards. She could see her hands, closed as they were, but there was a third hand not belonging to her. Bambietta's hand, the Fairy Tail emblem upon it, was resting atop Lucy's right hand, leaving her emblem to peak out from between the Quincy's fingers.
"Bambi..." Lucy titled her head back up, taking notice first of Bambietta's arm outstretched from beneath the blankets, then the Quincy's smiling face atop the blankets. "You're... okay."
"I'm more than okay," Bambietta said. "I'm..."
The Quincy paused for a moment, reflecting on all that she had learned from Sylphia.
"I'm better than ever," Bambietta finished before she glanced around from her position on the bed. "So, uh, where are we?"
Bambietta had to admit it, the room was so very nice looking. It almost reminded her of the home she had once had in Fioritura. This, however, was so much more luxurious than even that.
Lucy was caught off guard, having expected Bambietta to know where she had appeared. She had thought the Quincy arrived in some peculiar fashion of her own means, but it was clear that there was another mystery behind it all. "This is... the Heartfilia mansion."
"Oh." That was all Bambietta could say at first. She remembered well what Lucy had said about her family, her father, back in Magnolia. "Then this is... This is..."
Bambietta glanced around once more, her eyes perceptive enough to notice the cabinet full of books on Celestial Spirits, several Sorcerer's Weekly magazines lying atop it. She not only knew where she was, but the exact specifics of it.
It was enough to make Bambietta's face glow red.
"I'm in Lucy's bed." It was barely a whisper, Bambietta stared blankly up at the ceiling as she tried to process it all. "Eeeeeee..."
"Are you okay?" Lucy said, honestly concerned. "You look like you're getting warm. A fever?"
"No, no," Bambietta said, trying to keep herself composed. "I'm just hot is all."
Sitting up, Bambietta pulled the blankets off herself and shifted so that her legs dangled off the side of the bed. She looked at Lucy, noting the faint color of her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Bambietta said. "I mean, I know what you told me about your dad and-"
"No, I'm not okay," Lucy interrupted, a hand reaching up to cover a side of her face. She chuckled slightly, one that Bambietta could tell was born from a nervous disdain for where she was. "I didn't want to ever come back here again."
Despite what those who knew or at least thought they knew her would say, Bambietta was not one for performing actions with no thought behind them. Oh yes, she was impulsive, but there was always a driving force behind anything she did. All of it was deliberate and focused, even if spontaneous.
However, with Lucy she found her body moving of its own accord, as if her instincts were focused to such a degree that thought was unnecessary. In that brief moment where Bambietta was left in surprise by Lucy's statement, her body took control and forced the Quincy to hug her friend tightly.
Lucy was as surprised as Bambietta, yet neither resisted the moment. Lucy relaxed, her hands opening as she reached out to return the embrace. Her chin lowering down upon Bambietta's shoulder, Lucy tried to fight back the feelings bottled up since seeing the family mansion again.
"This is where... all the memories of my mother reside," Lucy said, her closed eyes watering. "And she's not here anymore! Her love's not here! All that's left... all that's left is him! And I can't... can't deal with it anymore!"
Bambietta tightened her grip, the action deliberate. She did not know what to say, how to respond with words proper, but she knew she needed to say something, anything to comfort Lucy. Yet nothing came. She was out of her depth, the Quincy lost in the outpouring of Lucy's own emotions. All she could do was remember her own mother, her own father, but she dared not try and impart her past experiences to Lucy as wisdom or knowledge. All there was in her past was pain, the failures of a daughter who had lost it all time and time again.
So Bambietta stayed quiet, doing the only thing she could. She listened to Lucy.
"There's... nothing here anymore!" Lucy cried. "I had to run away! Because... because... There were times that... that... I wished he was gone if it meant my mother could still be here instead..."
"Don't say that," Bambietta managed to get out. It was again a true impulse, her voice working before her mind could hope to. Bambietta had to wonder if this was love in its truest sense, to act without thinking, to strive forwards on pure instinct and nothing more. Was this the effect Lucy had on her tired soul? However, Bambietta was left then with no follow up, no grand statement to make to bring peace to Lucy. For she had felt the same when she had been a child who had lost her mother to both her own foolishness and the cruelty of a Hollow. All she could do was hold Lucy tight, hoping that was enough.
"This place..." Lucy whimpered. "It brings out the worst in me..."
An awkward silence fell upon the room, the only sound Lucy's sobs. Bambietta tried to think of something, anything, to say. However, before she could even formulate a comforting response, fate stepped in. She could hear the door to the room opening. Peering over her friend's shoulder, Bambietta could see the light of the hallway peering in to the dimly lit room, a man standing there.
It was the man Bambietta had seen upon her arrival. The one she could only assume was Lucy's father, Jude. His presence was more than enough to leave Bambietta letting go of the hug, her body once more ruled by an instinct that she did not quite comprehend. She could only chalk that up to the stern look upon the man's face.
"I see that your friend from work is feeling better," Jude said rather curtly. "As that is the case... Lucy, can we talk in private?"
Bambietta watched as Lucy ran a hand across her face, taking with it any remaining tears. Her expression hardened right before the Quincy's eyes. Then it vanished as Lucy stood up and turned to face her father. Her movement did not stop there, however, the wizard walking away.
"I have nothing more to say to you, father," Lucy said as she walked past her father and out into the hall.
Then there were two, a prospect that Bambietta did not find appealing in any way, shape or form. She sat on the bed, while Jude simply stood silent in the doorway. "Well," Bambietta whispered under her breath, "this is awkward."
There was a part of Bambietta that wanted nothing more than to lash out at Jude, to yell at him for his part in causing Phantom Lord to attack Fairy Tail, but she tried so very hard to bite her tongue. Lucy had no doubt done the same when she had come here and that was her place to do so. Bambietta had to worry if Lucy would forgive her for doing the same. She spoke ill of her father and Bambietta understood that, but there was something else she understood.
No matter how much she had looked down at her own father, there was always that one part of her, born out of childhood innocence, that loved her father. No doubt Lucy held it within her heart as well, a light brighter than Bambietta's own had ever been, and the Quincy refused to do anything that would cause it to reject her actions.
So she kept silent as she reached down to put her boots back on. She would say nothing to instigate a problem or argument. However, if Jude were to say something inflammatory to her, Bambietta had to imagine there would be no problem if she returned the favor. So she waited, curious to see what Jude might say.
"Tell me, is my daughter happy in Fairy Tail?"
Bambietta stopped putting on one of her boots, her mind caught up in momentary shock. Of all the things she had expected Jude to say, this was not one of them. She had been preparing herself for a war of words, not a conversation. Still, that did not mean she would be adverse to engaging in a minor one nonetheless. "Maybe you should have asked someone that before igniting a guild war."
Jude's eyes narrowed, the man clearly not appreciated Bambietta's choice in words or the tone that had delivered them. However, much to the Quincy's surprise, he did not simply walk away. No, instead he simply repeated himself, though his own tone of voice was harsher. "I'll ask again. Is my daughter happy in Fairy Tail?"
Bambietta had to admit one simple thing; she was impressed. She had expected Jude to either walk away or fly off the handle at her. Either would have been fine. Preferable to an actual conversation even. However, she could see that he was not the kind of man who would make things easy.
Bambietta had to wonder if this was a part of why Lucy had left.
"Yes," Bambietta said simply as she finished putting on her boots. She began to reach for her cloak and hat, putting the former over her shoulders. "She's very happy."
"I suppose that makes once of us then." Jude's head lowered for a moment, the man turning his back on Bambietta as if to leave. It was almost a relief to Bambietta, to see this awkward conversation come to an early close.
"So why would you want to ruin it for her?" Bambietta bit her tongue, wishing she had not voiced that question. Now the conversation was going to continue.
Jude stopped in his tracks, the man looking back towards Bambietta. "Her mother was happy when she in a wizard's guild as well."
Bambietta watched as Jude closed his eyes for a moment, his shoulders sagging. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, as if the man was struggling to continue speaking to someone who may well have been a complete stranger. Bambietta, meanwhile, did not even know where to begin. Her mouth remained closed, her voice silent, her instincts either abandoning her or simply deciding to behave.
"When we first met," Jude said at last, breaking the uncomfortable quiet, "Layla was a wizard of the Crystal Toad guild. We only crossed paths briefly when our professions as wizard and merchant crossed paths. I had, after all, hired her for protection during my travels. She was a lovely woman, one who was seemingly never without a smile. However, when I saw her a year later by sheer chance, she had had retired from both the Crystal Toad guild and from her life as a wizard. Her body... simply wasn't able to handle the pressure of being a Celestial Spirit wizard. It broke her heart as I could clearly see. But...""
Jude walked towards Bambietta in a sluggish manner, taking a seat on the chair that Lucy had once occupied. As little as Bambietta had known him, she had at least determined he was a man of great inner strength, at least judging from how he had seemed to carry himself both when she had seen him earlier and when he had shown up only a few minutes ago.
Now he simply seemed tired.
"I believe I made her happy." Jude leaned forward on his chair, weary eyes looking down at the floor. "Maybe not as much as magic did, but enough that she... she began to smile again."
Bambietta did not know at all what to say. This was not how she had hoped this day would go. She had come here to see Lucy, not engage in an incredibly awkward conversation with her father. Besides, she simply wanted to be angry at him, to scorn and chastise him for what he had set in motion with Phantom Lord.
No, not just for that. For everything Lucy had said about him. However, now that she was seeing Jude in the state he was in, Bambietta felt pity. Oh, it was mingled with her anger, but it was tempering that very same anger as well.
Why did this have to happen? It's fine, Bambi. Totally fine. He's all distracted and quiet, so you can just slip away and find Lucy. Then everything will be just fine...
Bambietta stood up and began to move forward. Yet a most peculiar thing happened. She turned on her heels, reaching out and gently patting Lucy's father on the back of a shoulder. "Hey, Jude, don't be sad. You took a sad song and made it better."
Bambietta noticeably cringed. What the hell am I doing? I was supposed to walk away and find Lucy, not try and play nice with Jude here by botching Beatles lyrics. Damn it!
Bambietta had had her chance to escape but now she had lost it thanks to her own unexpected actions. However, social interactions such as this were far above her understanding. Worse, there was one question in particular she had to consider.
"Why... why are you opening up to me like this?" Bambietta asked, her next statement one of both trying to help Jude move forward for herself to get out of this conversation. "I mean, you should be telling this stuff to Lucy, not me. So go on and get her."
"It's not that simple," Jude replied, her voice quiet.
Of course it isn't. We wouldn't want that, would we? Nooo... Bambietta kept that feeling to herself, though she almost wished she had verbally expressed her misgivings. Then, without warning, she did. "Of course it isn't. Not after you nearly ruined her happiness."
Bambietta felt Jude flinched, her hand still on his shoulder. She did the same, quickly wondering why she had spoken so callously. Then she had to question herself for even caring. She was Bambietta Basterbine, a Quincy who had no fear of speaking her mind to ravenous monsters or those who held themselves up as gods of death. Why should she care then if she hurt the feelings of a man who had wronged the family she had discovered? Who had wronged the woman she cared for? Who had wronged Bambietta herself through his actions?
Because, Bambietta said as she looked down at Jude, ihe's only human. And we're all we've got in this world or the next. And... because...
Bambietta held her thoughts still, waiting for Jude to lash out at her with words of his own. That, once again, would be easy to counter. However, while he did speak, it was not with an anger she could stand against, but a withering determination.
"I was doing what I needed to to protect Lucy and her future," Jude said simply enough, though his tone was wavering. "It's all a parent can do for their child."
However, that determination was enough to make Bambietta snap at last.
"Protect her future? You didn't see the pain you caused! You weren't there to see her cry over what you did by hiring Phantom Lord!" Bambietta's expression hardened as she stood up and moved away from Jude. She turned around to look down on him, her fire ignited. "I did! I had to see it! I had to watch as Lucy suffered because you had to be a self important jackass with delusions of protecting her future!"
Jude remained silent, leaving Bambietta unsure of his true reaction to her outburst. However, there was a large part of her that simply did not care what it was. When he had spoken with what sounded like a trace of remorse she had felt pity for him. It was only when he displayed any sense of determination for his choices that Bambietta had felt her anger become stoked, leaving her unable to control herself fully.
"You're so damn afraid that being a wizard in a guild is going to end badly for Lucy... That it's going to end up like it did for her mother... That you're willing to fuck it up yourself? That you just want to pick up the pieces so badly that you'll break her life yourself? Is that it?" Because if it is, you're more fucking pathetic than my own worthless dad was!"
Bambietta began to shake, her hands on the verge of closing into fists. Her heart was suddenly beginning to raise, as if speaking of her own father had stirred something with in her that she dared not feel. As if the obedient and broken little daughter she had been so long ago was still buried within her soul.
"I..." Bambietta's voice paused, the Quincy staring blankly without anger. "I just..."
That was enough to finally stir Jude's own anger. The older man shot up to his feet, his eyes blazing. "Don't you dare come into my house and speak such things! I love Layla! I love Lucy! I want what's best for her! And it doesn't matter what some wizard with daddy issues has to say because I know I'm right!"
Bambietta flinched as Jude's eyes borrowed into her own, his face so close she could practically feel his breath upon her skin. She had clearly crossed a line, yes, but now had Jude done the same. Bambietta's right hand closed altogether, magic energy drawing into it. Gone was the little girl she had once been, the one who had suffered under forced obedience. In her place was Stern Ritter E beginning to surface. A button had been pressed, anger giving way to a vengeful yearning that had been nurtured for decades.
No, I'm a member of Fairy Tail now. I need to act like a grown up. This isn't what Makarov would. Or Wendy. Or Sylphia. Or Lucy. Or... or me?
Bambietta's entire body relaxed, magic no longer drawing into her fist. Her hand fell open then, Bambietta trying to steady her soul. She looked at Jude, trying to forget a part of what he had said in his rage. The Quincy had wanted this after all, to counter his emotion with words and not actions, so she was going to see that through to the end.
"Everyone thinks their right," Bambietta said with little emotion. "Me, you, wizards, Soul Reapers and Quincy. But you got a guild destroyed. Not Fairy Tail, but a guild nonetheless. Now all those wizards don't have a place to call their own anymore. And do you care? Do you even care that Phantom Lord hurt innocent people to get to Lucy? That they freaking crucified one of her friends? That they kidnapped someone she was caring for? Do you even care that they were going to destroy Magnolia with a damn Jupiter Canon? Do you care that one of their own fucked with my head with some damn spell or whatever and made me suffer through every damn awful thing in my life?"
Jude's face contorted. He wanted to lash out, to argue against this woman who had shown up at his home uninvited and unexpected, but he could not find the words to speak. He had heard enough of Phantom Lord's actions in the paper during the immediate aftermath. However, to read the print that described it all as a observer was nothing compared to hearing of it from one who had been effected by his unintended actions.
"You break Lucy's heart when she found it you were the one who hired Phantom Lord," Bambietta hissed. "Do you even give a damn? Or is that all okay because your so damn right in wanting to ruin Lucy's present so you can fix her future yourself?"
Bambietta spun on her heels, not willing to hear anything Jude might have to say. She walked towards the door, putting on her hat as she did so. She hastened her step, opening the door and bathing the room in light. She was one step away from the freedom that she had longed for since this conversation had started. However, Bambietta stopped in her tracks and looked back at Jude. It was a hardened expression, one that was annoyed with him to no end.
That expression quickly faltered when Bambietta saw Jude clearly. He was sitting once more, now on Lucy's bed. Elbows resting on his knees, he was not even looking at Bambietta. Whether he was angry still or once more distraught, Bambietta was not entirely sure.
"I lost my mother when I was young too you know," Bambietta said. "And I miss her with all my heart, even now. But my father? All he wanted was to continue the Basterbine bloodline no matter what the cost. That's all I was good for, even if he said he was doing things for my own good. He's dead now too and I... I don't miss him it all."
Bambietta's lower lip quivered for a moment, her eyes beginning to glisten around the edges.
"No, not at... not at all." Steeling her resolve, Bambietta tried to keep her composure. "So what to you want to be, Jude? The father that Lucy will always love or the one she spend the rest of her life trying to forget?"
That was it. That was all Bambietta had left to say. She stepped out into the light then, closing the door behind her and leaving Jude by himself.
The man remained where he sat on the edge of Lucy's bed. Glancing towards at the nightstand beside it he saw a plush bear. One of its eyes was missing, replaced by a button. Jude reached out and took hold of the bear, memories flooding back to him. Of Lucy crying when it had lost an eye, of how busy he had been in his office that he could not help and of how happy Lucy had been when Layla had sown the button on.
Holding the plush close, Jude closed his eyes. While he had not known it, Bambietta had come close to lashing out at him at the end. However, it did not matter. She had done something just as severe even while remaining calm.
Words, after all, hurt.
Bambietta stood outside the room she had just left, her back up against a wall. Her body felt as if it was electric, her heart racing. Lifting her right arm up, she looked into the gloved palm of her hand. She flinched, the thought of what she had considered doing floating about at the frayed end of her mind. Reaching up with her other hand, Bambietta clasped it around her wrist. Pulling her right arm down, she tilted her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. She began to breath slow and easy to try and compose herself.
"Violence is so much easier than talking things out. I guess I'm just going to have to get used to this sort of thing..." Her head falling forward, Bambietta steadied her emotions. She laughed a little, knowing full well what had pushed her only minutes earlier. "Whatever. It's not like I ever denied I have mommy and daddy issues..."
Pulling herself away from the wall, the Quincy let her spiritual senses flow outwards. She had come here to speak with Lucy and she wanted to see that through. No longer would she let bloody noses, fainting spells or talks with a mustached man get in the way of the course of action she had decided upon.
It was not long before Bambietta felt Lucy's magic signature nearby. Her feet beginning to move, Bambietta began to walk down to the hall, her breath caught in her throat. There would be no more distractions. No more Giselle. No more Sylphia. No more Jude. No more of her own questionable tendencies and impulses pushing her.
No, Bambietta would not be distracted any more. She would not. She was going to speak with Lucy, to say what she had longed to say for so long now. Perhaps there would be happiness at the end of Bambietta's confession. Perhaps there would be sorrow at the end of her conversation with Lucy. Whatever the case may be, Bambietta was willing to do what Levy had pushed her towards.
She was going to take the plunge.
Her pace quickened, footsteps giving way to Hirenkyaku. Bambietta moved down the halls of the Heartfilia mansion, the Quincy taking corners in a reckless manner. Soon she found herself pushing open the double doors of the main entrance, Bambietta sensing Lucy outside.
The Quincy stopped in her tracks then, taking note of the conditions outside. The sky was dark with clouds, a torrential downpour of water drops descending down and splashing against the ground.
"It's raining," Bambietta sighed, her eyes half closing as her shoulder sagged. "Figures. This is such a good sign..."
Bambietta shook her head before slapping her cheeks with both hands. They curled into fists of determination then, the Quincy's expression hardening.
"Screw you, rain!" Bambietta shouted, her confidence beginning to overflow. "I am the silver lining to your dark clouds! I hope! Whatever! Let's do this! Yeah"
Having psyched herself up as best she could, Bambietta focused. Her senses honing in on Lucy's magic, the Quincy bolted forward with Hirenkyaku once more. Her boots splashed through puddles, the Quincy growing ever closer to the one she longed to see. It was not long then that she got her wish. Bambietta froze in place, Lucy not a few yards away, her back to the Quincy.
Bambietta felt her heart race for a moment, her willpower pushing past all limits. "Lu-"
The Quincy's voice was caught in her throat, her vision no longer tunneling towards the Celestial Spirit wizard. She could see what was in front of Lucy, what she was looking at. A granite headstone that had but one name engraved upon it.
The name of Layla Heartfilia.
Bambietta began to open her mouth, the Quincy hoping to say something, but she stopped before even a sound could be uttered. Lucy herself was speaking, her voice a faint whisper that could only just be barely heard.
"I'm so sorry but I can't stay here, mom. I want to, I really do, but this just... can't go on. He doesn't love me, not like you did. I'm just a means to an end. I'm not his daughter, just the heir to his legacy and money. I'm just a Heartfilia here. But with Fairy Tail... I'm Lucy."
Bambietta shut her mouth, knowing that she had no place where she was now. Turning on her heels, the Quincy prepared to walk away with Hirenkyaku, leaving Lucy none the wiser of her presence. This was something she could not intrude upon with her confession, a private moment that she knew was meant for Lucy and Lucy alone.
"Bambi?"
The Quincy stopped completely, her breath seizing up. "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hear anything."
"N-No, it's all right." Lucy's right hand reached out, touching down upon Bambietta's shoulder with a gentle nature. "It's just... you must think I'm weird. First the letters and now this. It's not like my mother can even hear me."
Bambietta turned her head, looking over her shoulder. She could see Lucy's face, the skin wet from either tears or the rain, Bambietta did not know. She could only hazard a guess that it was both. However, she could also see that Lucy was shaking slightly, as if a shiver brought about by the cold rain was running up her body.
Reaching up, Bambietta undid the clasp of her cape. In one swift motion did she turn around and drape the cloak over Lucy's shoulders, hoping that it would warm her to some degree. However, just as before, she wanted to say something but could not.
"Thank you," Lucy said softly. "The rain was sudden and I..."
Lucy's eyes went dull as her head tilted downwards, her expression growing sullen.
"Look at me... First Fairy Tail had to protect me and now you've got to keep me from getting a cold like this. And I'm... talking to someone who can't even hear me while I... can't even have a proper conversation with my father. I'm pathetic."
Bambietta once more acted on an instinct that superceded her own thoughts. She stepped forward, arms wrapping around Lucy tightly. "Don't... don't you talk about yourself like that, Lucy. I won't have it..."
Lucy surrendered herself to the embrace, her head leaning forward until she was sobbing into Bambietta's shoulder. "Everything with Phantom Lord, it's the fault of my father and I..."
"We fought for you," Bambietta whispered. "It's the least we could do. That I could do. And you... you came here to fight for us, didn't you?"
"I thought I would be strong," Lucy replied. "I told my father everything I had to and then... I couldn't leave. And now I'm... I'm... faltering. This is my home, Bambi! Just as much as Magnolia is! But I... I don't belong here. I can't be here... It... It..."
"Hush." Bambietta brought one hand up, gently holding it against a shoulder of Lucy's. "I'm sorry, Lucy. If I hadn't shown up, you could have left with your head held high. This is all my fault."
Bambietta knew this was not the time or place for anything but compassion. She would not admit her feelings to Lucy, not under these conditions. So she remained quiet, Lucy's quiet sobs the only sound left, at least until another broke the silent.
"No," a voice called out from afar, "I'm afraid you made it quite clear that the responsibility lies upon my shoulders and my shoulders alone."
Lucy opened her eyes, allowing herself to peer over Bambietta's shoulder. The Quincy turned her head to the side, looking back. The both of caught sight of Jude Heartfilia standing in the rain, an umbrella held above his head and another two hanging held by his side. What was most telling, however, was the crestfallen expression etched upon his face.
"And I..." Jude continued. "I would have to agree."
Jude stepped forward, the older man handing the the two spare umbrellas to Bambietta and Lucy both. Bambietta, sniffling a little as a chill ran down her body, quickly opened her hers. Lucy, however, left hers to hang from one of her arms as she crossed them both across her chest.
"Father," Lucy said, having little more to say than that, at least for now.
"Lucy, I..." Jude stumbled upon his words, the older man unsure of how to walk through the moment. "Please use that. You'll catch a cold."
"I don't need it." Lucy stepped past her father, Bambietta's cloak moving slightly in the air as it hung off the wizard's shoulders. "I suppose I'll have to talk to mom later."
"I worry too much about the future and you look to the past." Jude's eyes closed for a moment, his voice a whisper. "Neither one of us can just focus on the present. I'm sorry that you inherited that trait from me."
Lucy stopped her movement then, the wizard turning. "Dad, I-"
"I'm sorry!"
Jude turned to face his daughter as well, the man barely able to hold his umbrella above his head with an unsteady hand. So lost in the moment had he raised his voice, though not in anger but with what regret he could feel. It lowered in tempo then, Jude trying to compose himself as best he could.
"Lucy, I want to apologize for everything. For Phantom Lord. And for..." His nerves shot, Jude's arm fell to his side, the umbrella with it. It dangled from his hand, rain splashing down upon his bowed head and shoulders. "I'm a terrible excuse for a father."
Lucy stood still for a moment, looking at the man who had helped bring her into this world. He was so different now from what she was used to, the stark determination and desire to be correct having all but fallen away. She could only recall one other time she had seen him like this, his drive having faltered.
The months following Layla's unfortunate passing.
Lucy felt her lower lip tremble for a moment, the wizard making certain to open she had been given. Holding it over her head, she moved forward. Reaching out with her free hand, she took hold of Jude's own, as well as the handle for the umbrella barely within its grasp.
"Dad, don't be like that," Lucy said quietly. "You'll catch a cold."
Jude exhaled then, as if ridding himself a breath he had held for far too long. He let Lucy lift his hand up then, the umbrella soon shielding him from the cold rain. "Lucy, I-"
"Let's go inside," Lucy said, the wizard moving towards the house. "I... I think we need to talk."
Jude nodded in response, the man turning his gaze to look back. Bambietta could see his eyes looking past her and towards the headstone she was near. A faint glimmer of longing flashed through Jude's irises before he shifted his gaze towards Bambietta. He said nothing but the Quincy was more than willing to assume that he was trying to thank her for speaking out against him. That, after all, pleased her.
Then Jude began to walk towards his mansion, only a short few yards behind Lucy. Bambietta was left alone in the rain, her feelings left to wait a little longer. This, however, was a distraction she welcomed.
Sylphia Nelia Labelle stood alone in her domain, the goddess looking down at two orbs floating before her. One showed a Quincy standing alone in the rain. Another a Quincy standing alone in a forest. Bambietta Basterbine and Giselle Gewelle. She watched them both for diverse reasons that, in the end, led to a unified concern.
"You two both are..."
"Are what?"
Sylphia stopped then, leaving both orbs to vanish from sight. She could feel a great presence within her realm in the clouds, a darkness encroaching on the purity of light she had created. It was a familiar show of power, one she had seen time and time again throughout the ages.
"Ankhseram," Sylphia said calmly. "What do I owe for this visit?"
The god made no motion to appear fully, Ankseram simply allowing his presence to swarm the room. "Why did you give your champion the option to destroy mine?"
"You saw that, huh?" Sylphia was not worried, not in the least, but she did not like the notion of her fellow god keeping such an eye on her. She offered him freedom to do as he pleased, why could he not do the same? Regardless, she did hope that he had not overheard what she had called him when whispering to Bambietta. "You needn't fear. I knew she would make the right choice."
"A test then?" Ankhseram bellowed, his own curiosity piqued.
"I suppose so," Sylphia answered simply. "If you want to view it as such, please, be my guest.
"Foolish." Ankhseram was unwilling to truly bend to her judgment. "You are far too willing to trust the humans to their own devices."
"And perhaps you are too quickly to judge them," Sylphia countered. "And to cast judgment on them. Why else would you have chosen Giselle Gewelle?"
Ankhseram was quick to speak back, his power surging throughout the room. "I will not have my decisions questioned."
If the flexing of his shadowy might was meant to intimidate Sylphia, it had little affect on the goddess. "Then I ask you to respect mine as well. I simply want for our champions to step past their differences and work together as you and I have begun to do."
"So be it." Ankhseram had little else to say, the god slipping away and leaving Sylphia's domain to return to its pristine beauty. "Do as you will."
Feeling herself to be alone once more, Sylphia brought the orbs back into view. She looked down at Bambietta and Giselle, the goddess hoping that against all odds the two would someday find it within themselves to move past their pain and accept one and another for who they truly were.
"Lucy, I... I love you."
Those were the words that Bambietta had longed to say for some time now, each and every syllable having rested atop the tip of her tongue. She was looking forward, cheeks faintly red, her eyes bashful and unable to follow look straight ahead. Yet despite the bashful and perhaps timid way she was carrying herself, there was some relief for Bambietta in declaring her love at long last.
However, there was one slight problem.
Standing before Bambietta and listening to her every word intently was not Lucy Heartfilia but instead Bambietta herself. Or, more specifically, her reflection in a mirror. It had been two hours since Lucy had gone to speak once more with her father, Bambietta having tried to keep herself entertained in the meanwhile. She had perused a few books in the Lucy's room, the Quincy finding an adventure novel by a Zekua Melon quite wonderful. She was going to have to buy a copy of book back in Magnolia for herself. However, her desires skittering about in her mind, Bambietta had grown restless and began to do all that she could to psyche herself up for the inevitable. That was precisely why she was speaking to herself before the floor mirror.
"No, no, no, that's so not me." Bambietta rested a hand on her hip in a posture that she could only hope exuded confidence. She smiled and nodded her head at herself in the mirror, her eyes carrying a sly gaze. "Hey, hot stuff. Guess who loves you. Yeah, that's right. It's me."
Bambietta stared at the mirror for a moment, her posture shifting as she shook her head.
"Hell no, I look like a freaking idiot trying that!"
Sighing, Bambietta tried to think. This was a lot harder than she had ever expected. Oh, she had had past encounters with Askin Nakk Le Vaar and Meninas McAllon, but those had just been sudden flings, a brief display of spontaneous desire on both sides. What she felt for Lucy was different, Bambietta could tell that much. The problem was she did not know how to properly express herself.
"Damn," Bambietta whispered. "It's not easy being a Quincy in love..."
For a moment did Bambietta consider letting things proceed as they would. She would stop overthinking things and just go with the flow. She would say what she had to say without giving it a thought. Yes, that would be the easiest route, to allow herself to say the words as natural as she could. So she began to step away from the mirror.
However, she stepped right back, her thoughts plaguing her. She could not mess this up. She dwelled on her desires altogether, trying to piece together the best possible way to give voice to them. Body language. Posture. Attitude. It all ran through her mind.
Her body remaining relaxed, Bambietta took her hat off and let it hang off an index finger. She casually began to spin it around as she looked at the mirror. "Lucy, I just want to say that-"
"Say what?"
"Ah!" Bambietta froze up on the spot, the Quincy reacting as if an electric current had run up and down her entire body. The hat spun off her finger and into the air, leaving her to scramble to catch it with both arms. She managed that, though barely. Eyes widening, she whirled around and found Lucy standing at the doorway of her room, Bambietta's cloak draped over her arm. "I-I-I just wanted to say that... Zekua Melon is a great writer! Yeah!"
Laughing nervously, Bambietta ran a hand through her long hair. The Celestial Spirit wizard was quite confused as she walked over to Bambietta, handing the Quincy back her cape.
"You were practicing saying that in front of a mirror?"
"Of course I was?" Bambietta felt some sweat run down her face. She tried to calm down, feeling like a child caught with her hand in a cookie jar. She put her hat and cloak back on, all the while trying to compose herself. "Are... are you okay, Lucy?"
"Well..." Lucy took a deep breath. "Things are better with my father."
That did not entirely answer Bambietta's question. "So... you're happy, right?"
Lucy's head lowered for a moment, her right hand moving across her torso until it was able to grasp her left arm above the elbow. "This isn't why I came here. I wrote off him and this place months ago. But... This is as much my home as Fairy Tail. And the one I share with you, Wendy and Carla. And he's... my dad."
There was another deep breath then, Lucy looking up at Bambietta with eyes that appeared on the verge of crying, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Yes" Lucy managed to say. "Yes, I'm happy."
"Good." Bambietta held her hands together by her waist, the Quincy's thumbs nervously twiddling. "Say, Lucy? I lo-"
Bambietta stopped dead in her verbal tracks, once more finding it hard to simply say what she wanted. No, it was more than that. She knew better than to simply come out and say it. She needed to broach the subject calmly and without haste. No doubt just speaking her feelings so directly would cause problems.
Thats how it works right? Damn it, I don't know
"You what?" Lucy asked, not sure what Bambietta had been about to say.
"I loathe zombie novels?" It was not untrue, especially now, but Bambietta knew that was certainly not where she wanted to go with things.
"Oh," Lucy said, not sure how to process that. "That's okay I guess. They're not for everyone. I can't say I find much appeal in them myself."
Yeah, this conversation isn't getting awkwardly stupid or anything? Zombie novels? Really? Bambietta suddenly felt small, as if the pressures she was forcing upon herself were closing in. She was suddenly feeling claustrophobic in her own body, the butterflies in her stomach threatening to overwhelm her. Reaching up with one hand, Bambietta tugged at the collar of her shirt. "Hey, can we... maybe go outside for a little walk? I'm feeling a little hot."
"I guess we could," Lucy said, glancing out the bedroom window. "The rain's stopped after all."
Lucy slipped out the doorway, Bambietta joining up by her side with a step of Hirenkyaku. It was, however, only one step and nothing more. Bambietta's heart was racing and she simply wanted to get outside to breath, to relax, to feel far less constrained. However, she did not want to leave Lucy's side, even if she was seemingly incapable of expressing herself.
It bothered Bambietta greatly. She who had always made certain to wear her emotions on her sleeve at all times, was left tongue tied and ineffective. She had to remind herself that this was different form before This was not anger, this was not sorrow, this was love she felt. That was something she could not bring forth and simply ask someone to take.
So, as they walked down the hall, Bambietta remained silent. Lucy as well, leaving the Quincy to wonder if she could sense the awkwardness that was radiating of her. For the moment did Bambietta feel numb save for the heartbeat seemingly reverberating across her body. Time had no meaning to her, feeling both an eternity and a second at best, leaving her to wonder how long they had walked before Lucy opened the double doorway to the outside. As Bambietta stepped out on the mansion's ground, she realized something.
She had practically been holding her breath since leaving the room.
She breathed in the, trying to keep herself calm and collected. "Lucy..."
It was barely audible, the faintest of murmurs escaping Bambietta's mouth. Lucy did not even hear it, the wizard taking a step forward. Her hand held together behind her back as she looked up at the sky. The darkened clouds had all but moved on, leaving the canvas atop the world clear to all.
"It's beautiful," Lucy said softly. "I always did find starry nights comforting. When I was young, my parents and I, we would almost always look out to them when we could."
Bambietta took a step closer to Lucy, seeing how content she appeared as she looked up into the sky. The Quincy considered saying what she wanted once more but something else came out instead. "Do you want a closer look?"
Flustered and off balance by her own feelings, Bambietta acted on impulse without receiving an answer. Tentatively did Bambietta reach out with one arm, wrapping it around Lucy. It sent a spark through the Quincy's body but she did her best to show no outward reaction. Lucy, however, was a little concerned not by the contact but by what Bambietta was planning. "Is this safe?"
"Don't worry, Lucy" Bambietta said as the magical platform began to rise. "I've got you."
"You've got me?" Lucy said with an embarrassed blush, the wizard not entirely sure what Bambietta was going to do to get her into the sky. "Who's got you?"
Bambietta gave her guild mate and friend a reassuring and confident smile. "Me."
Solidifying the magic particles around her, she brought into existence an ethereal platform of blue energy beneath the feet of both herself and Lucy. It was no different than the one she had made back in Clover Town when Wendy had wanted a closer look at the battle against the invading monsters, though this one came about easier. It began to rise up from the rain slicked grass, taking Bambietta and Lucy up slowly but surely.
"Bambi..." Lucy said as she began to cling to Bambietta tightly, the wizard glancing down off the sides of the wide platform. A part of her did not particularly enjoy that the solid blue energy that composed it was partially transparent. Still, she remained as calm as she could. "I trust you."
The Fairy Tail guild members rose to new heights with each passing second, as if they were to leave behind their earthly attachments. Bambietta wanted to simply bring the one she loved as close as she could, to show her the stars she found such beauty in. She could not give a view of the world that Sylphia had granted her, no, but she would try her very best.
However, there was one other reason she had gone to such lengths. Bambietta had to hope that this was as far as she would have to go to find the breathing room and solitude that would allow her to go the distance. Hoping that it was enough, she brought a stop to the momentum of the magic barrier she had crafted.
Lucy looked around, eyes sparkling almost as much as the lights in the sky. "Bambi, I... thank you."
Bambietta smiled a bit, the Quincy kneeling down on magic construct. It was not anywhere near tiring to have created, maintained and controlled it, but she simply wanted to relax in some form or another. That and she did not want to be on her feet when she finally spoke. She wished the same for friend. "Hey, Lucy..."
Lucy looked down at Bambietta, the wizard kneeling down beside her. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," Bambietta said quietly. "It's just... We're very much alike, aren't we?"
Lucy did not know what to say. "Bambi?"
"My mother... she always brought me out to see the stars too." Bambietta's head lowered slightly, her voice becoming a low whispered as her nose wrinkled. "She always said that no matter how dark the sky would get at night that the stars would always guide us to tomorrow. And that no matter how sick she got, no matter how weak she felt, that she wouldn't surrender because... I was her star. And she was mine."
Bambietta exhaled deeply. Lucy tentatively reached out to her, stopping only when the Quincy looked at her.
"It was the same for you, wasn't it?" Bambietta asked.
Lucy held her hand away from Bambietta, the wizard more than willing to answer honestly. "Yes."
"Like I said, we're alike." Bambietta smiled faintly as she looked away once more. "We both needed new stars we got it in Fairy Tail. I'm just glad... you found them quicker than I did."
"Bambi..."
"Some stars aren't meant to be trusted. They draw you in like a moth to the flame but they're just damned black holes that refuse to let you go." Bambietta spoke with a hush, her face trembling with equal amounts of sorrow and anger. The fusion began to fade, however, the Quincy remember the choice she had made when Sylphia had presented her with two paths to consider. "But Fairy Tail... it's become my guiding light. Erza, Wendy, Levy, Natsu and..."
Closing her eyes as she tried to fight back any tears, even if they were born of happiness, Bambietta turned to her friend with a bright smile.
"You. You're my biggest star, Lucy."
There was a silence then, Bambietta feeling her face grow warm. What she had said was far from what she had practiced in front of the mirror over and over again. It was far from what had been skittering about on the edges of her mind for so long now. It was not what she had planned to say and yet she could not help but feel it was the proper way to go about it.
However, Lucy was just the faintest bit confused. "Surely people like Erza and Natsu are bigger stars than I ever could be."
"Don't sell yourself short. Erza's a big star. I mean, she may as well be Fairy Tail's sun. And if it weren't for her, I... I wouldn't be here. And I wouldn't have been able to meet you. And that... that..." Bambietta paused for a moment, the Quincy trying to collect her thoughts and push past the barriers that seemed to thwart her emotions. "With you it's... it's different, Lucy. When we first met I wasn't sure what to think of you. Fairy Tail was just a bump in the road and nothing more. I just wanted to get my feet wet in Fiore and that was all. I was a fool. Fairy Tail is... You are..."
Bambietta took a deep breath.
"You've been nothing but kind to me."
"Hasn't everyone in Fairy Tail?" Lucy asked. "I mean, we're all family, right? And Levy-"
"She... she's my friend," Bambietta whispered, a faint smile on her face. "And you both offered me a place to stay. I just didn't want to inconvenience anyone, especially since she had that pain in the butt Evergreen who'd have jumped at the chance to whine about a guest at Fairy Hills. And you... you wouldn't take no for an answer."
"I couldn't just leave you outside," Lucy replied. "It wouldn't have been right. And I didn't have any problems with my landlord, so-"
"You were stubborn with your kindness," Bambietta interrupted. "We had just met and you were determined to put a roof over my head. And you've put up with my snoring until Wendy could do something about it. You have no idea how much that means to me."
"Don't joke," Lucy said softly.
"I'm telling the truth. I'm not used to... real kindness. That's why I wasn't entirely sure about Fairy Tail. But you... " Bambietta paused. "Don't ever sell yourself short, Lucy. You've got so much potential to be what you want. I've read that rough draft of your story and-"
Lucy's eyes widened. "You what?"
"I... I was bored one day, okay?" Bambietta said, not daring to look at Lucy. "And it was good. Great even."
"But you can't just go around-" Lucy stopped in mid-sentence. "It's good?"
"I'll be honest," Bambietta continued. "I do like to read, but I prefer a more visual medium. But the way you right... I could see it clearly in my mind. And when I got to where you left off, I wanted more."
"Oh." Lucy was unsure to say. "Maybe I'll have to just try and make my way as a writer. I mean, I've done nothing but cause trouble for Fairy Tail."
"Don't you dare talk bad about yourself," Bambietta said, the Quincy not wanting to hear such things. "What happened with Phantom Lord wasn't your fault. How many missions have we been on? You've done your part and so much more. I mean, you caught Natsu, Gray and Erza in traps on Galuna Island!"
"Those were accidents!" Lucy exclaimed.
"But they worked," Bambietta replied. "You even got that adorable little squeak out of Erza. So props for that. And you beat that lady with ratzilla back then too. You've got so much potential."
Lucy spoke with some hesitance. "Y-You think so?"
"Call it a sixth sense," Bambietta answered. "I mean, you already snuck out on an S-Class mission and helped complete. And you've only been in Fairy Tail how long? I mean really... Natsu, Erza and Gray have been in Fairy Tail since they were kids, right? You've go so much potential. I know you'll be S-Class someday. You and me, we'll both..."
Lucy's face turned a shade of pink. "Bambi, you're making me blush."
Bambietta looked at her, the corner of her lips tugging upwards a bit. "I know. It looks good."
Lucy blinked. "Huh?"
Bambietta blinked as well, the Quincy having found herself incapable of looking towards the light. "I... Uh... You're... That is... How should I put this?" Stumbling over her words, Bambietta glanced away. "You're a blond bombshell? I mean... Yeah, that... that works. I mean... Wow."
Lucy's blushing was unable to stop, even if she was slightly thrown off. She did not mind the compliment, it was simply unexpected. "B-Bambi?"
Bambietta, meanwhile, just sighed. This was it. It was now or never. She had to take the plunge. She had dipped her toes in the water more than enough. "Lucy, what I'm trying to say is... For a while now, I've..."
Bambietta's face began to turn so as to look at Lucy's own, but she could not fully do so.
"I've..." Bambietta forced the words at with wavering willpower. "I've fallen for you."
"Bambi..." Lucy tried to speak up. "I-"
"I know." Bambietta was quick to interrupt, her heart and soul having prepared for the worst. "I know this must be super awkward for you. But I didn't know what to say and Levy said it was okay and Wendy said it was okay and I know I'm not good enough for you but I love you and-"
Her voice having begun to run out of control, Bambietta forced herself stop. She looked at Lucy then, eyes meeting her own.
"I love you, Lucy."
Bambietta's face trembled for a moment. She had said it. She had finally said it, yet she had no idea what to say after. So she waited quietly.
"You... love me?" Lucy was at a loss for words, her body acting on pure instinct. She leaned in close, allowing her arms to tightly embrace her guild mate.
Bambietta gasped, the contact both welcomed and unexpected. "Lucy?"
Lucy pulled back from her guild mate, keeping her eyes locked on Bambietta's own. "I just... don't know what to say. I-"
"I'm sorry," Bambietta interrupted, the Quincy all but ready to pull away from the embrace. "I made this awkward for you and... Forget I said anything!"
"No." Lucy shook her head. "I... I don't mind. I mean, I like guys, don't me wrong. But I always... Look, I- I always looked up to Mirajane and Erza when I was planning on becoming a wizard, you know? They were strong, fearless and... and beautiful. I admired them so much when I read about them in Sorcerer Magazine. And I..."
"I know. I remember Oshibana Station." Bambietta smirked a little, her voice raising in pitch to better sound like Lucy's own. "That was so cool! I think I may be in love!"
Lucy blinked, her mind wandering back to Erza laying waste to the forces of Eisenwald. "Ah ha, you... remember that."
"Sorry." Bambietta did not mean to tease her.
"No,it's okay." Lucy's blush faded ever so slightly. "But you're different. I didn't look up to you before meeting you in Fairy Tail. I just... got to know you for who you are, Bambi."
"And that's not someone who's good enough for you," Bambietta interjected.
"Don't even say that," Lucy replied. "You're a lot nicer than you give yourself credit for. I mean, sure, you get a little battle crazy, but-"
Bambietta raised an eyebrow to that. "A little?"
"Okay, a lot," Lucy said, correcting herself. "But almost everybody in Fairy Tail is crazy in their own way. And I mean... you fought against Eisenwald to the bitter end. You helped Gray on Galuna Island. You fought to avenge Levy, you took on that monster for Wendy's sake in Clover Town and... And you were right by my side against Phantom Lord."
"I... I just like to fight," Bambietta said softly. "Like you said, I'm a battle junkie."
"No, that wasn't it," Lucy said. "When I was about to give up... you were there for me. You gave me peace. And I can never thank you enough for that."
"You..." Bambietta remembered well, how she had come out of the trap that Hanza Nukui had arranged for her, the one that had almost turned her own soul against her. She remembered how she had come back to reality only to find Lucy standing between the shinobi and herself. How it had been Lucy's voice that had pull her free from her own internal hell. "You already have."
"Bambi, I..." Lucy's face moved closer, the wizard leaving her mind to remain quiet and allow her instincts to do as they would. In an instant did her lips make contact with Bambietta's own.
Bambietta felt her eyes go wide in surprise but she was unwilling to do anything else but surrender herself to the kiss. Then it was over, as fast as it had begun. "Lucy..."
"Bambi, I guess what I'm trying to say..." Lucy smiled, her blush never fading. "I'm willing to give this a chance."
Bambietta could feel it, as if her heart was about to burst from her chest with joy. Her stomach, which had been in knots only a moment before, now felt as if it was filled with butterflies. "Lucy..."
Overcome with emotion, Bambietta leaned forward and returned the favor with all the pent up emotion she had within herself. She kissed Lucy, her arms wrapped around the wizard in an embrace all her own. It was no simple peck, but a tender moment beneath the night sky that neither Quincy nor wizard hoped would ever end.
However, something shifted through the canvas above, a shooting star slicing through the darkness. It was enough to leave Bambietta and Lucy both to pull away from each other follow the star's path with their eyes.
"It's beautiful," Lucy whispered.
Bambietta could do nothing but agree. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."
Quincy and wizard stayed still on the platform of magic, content in each other's company as they looked up at the diamonds in the sky.
Natsu Dragneel was not the type of man to simply rest on his laurels when he was worried about his fellow guild mates. It had been but a day since Levy McGarden, Wendy Marvell and Carla had shown up in the guild as if from thin air. The trio had spoken of how they had gone to find Bambietta Basterbine, who had gone to find Lucy Heartfilia. They also spoke of how the other two would no doubt return soon.
Night had fallen, the sun rising on a new day and yet neither had returned. There had been no job request taken, that much Natsu knew. He had been informed of such by Makarov Dreyar himself. So now all he wanted to do was to go out into the world to bring them back. It had not taken much convincing yelling from himself to get Gray Fullbuster to agree with him, Happy by their side, but there was one problem.
They were only a yard away from the guild master's door but could not easily advance towards it thanks to some unexpected actions from those who also called Fairy Tail their home. Wendy was valiantly pulling on Natsu's arm, Levy doing the same to Gray and at last Carla standing defiantly in front of Happy.
"Come on, let go!" Natsu shouted, the wizard not willing to pull too harshly from Wendy's grasp. "I need to go find our friends!"
"They'll come back!" Wendy yelled in return. "Bambi promised me! And she's got something she needs to do! I can't have you messing it up!"
"But they could be in trouble!" Natsu retorted. "After all that Phantom Lord trouble I can't take any chances!"
Liltotto Lamperd stayed seated, knowing that there was little she could say to Natsu to calm his nerves. He was a charming fool but a fool nonetheless. She knew he would not listen to reason when his heart was in the right place. At least not from her. Besides, she knew she did not have to even try to do anything as someone much better suited to resolving the situation was moving past her.
"Natsu! Gray! Happy!" Erza stepped between the trio and the doorway, her hands on her hips. "That is enough! Phantom Lord has been defeated. I'm quite sure Bambietta and Lucy are fine, so you will let them be."
Natsu, Gray and Happy froze up on the spot, their struggles to either break away completely fading. "Yes, ma'am!"
"Whew." Wendy sighed in relief as she felt Natsu no longer trying to escape her grip. She let go and took a step. "Thank you, Erza."
"Think nothing of it," Erza said as she stepped towards Natsu, the S-Class mage draping an arm over the Dragon Slayer's shoulders. "There's nothing to thank me for. Natsu is the one you should thank for being so level headed."
Smiling, Erza pulled the Fire Dragon Slayer in for a hug as a show of appreciation. Unfortunately for Natsu it left his head ringing as it slammed into Erza's breastplate. "That's me..." Natsu gasped. "Level... headed..."
Liltotto had to hand it to Erza, she was truly one of the few who could keep Fairy Tail's more hotheaded members in line. A boon when the guild was home to Bambietta Basterbine herself. Still, despite her not outwardly showing it, Liltotto was concerned for her friend. She hoped that all was going well.
Then, as if to answer the curiosity of those in Fairy Tail, did the guild hall's doors begin to swing open. The light from outside began to shine inwards, two figures beginning to walk in.
"So what were you two up to?" Natsu asked. "Some kind of tough job request? Don't tell me you snuck off to do an S-Class mission without me!"
Bambietta and Lucy both felt a shiver run down their spines, Erza suddenly glancing towards them.
"No, no, no," Lucy stammered, waving both hands in front of her. "We just took a little trip was all. Everything's fine and S-Class mission free."
Stepping towards Natsu, Bambietta nudged him in the ribs. "What's the matter? Afraid I'll be S-Class before you?"
"Heck no!" Natsu retorted. "Even if you were, we'd still have our rematch eventually!"
"We could do that right now," Bambietta said slyly as she leaned in closer to Natsu. "If you've got enough of a fire in your belly."
Natsu leaned in closer as well, his and Bambietta's cheeks practically pressing together as they glared at one and another. "Bring it on! I wanna see the power you used to beat that Phantom Lord ninja!"
"That's Mister McNinja who I beat," Bambietta countered. "But I want to see the kind of strength you took down Kusaka with!"
"The Ice Dragon Slayer?" Natsu shrugged. "Fine by me! Let's-"
"Break it up, you two." Bambietta and Natsu suddenly found themselves separated, Liltotto standing between them and pushing them to the sides. "Can we have one day without a friendly fight breaking out in the guild already?"
"A real man would never ignore a chance to fight!"
Before both Liltotto and Bambietta's eyes was Natsu flung to the side, Elfman having suddenly attacked him. As if on cue, a brawl broke out in the guild hall, one spurred on by the likes of Natsu, Elfman and Gray. Erza stepped into the midst to try and bring order to the chaos before Makarov would have to resolve matters himself. "That's enough, all of you!"
Despite the fight that had broken out, Wendy smiled. While there had not been any doubts plaguing her, hers a trusting soul, she was still overjoyed to see that Sylphia had spoken the truth and that Bambietta had returned to Fairy Tail. Holding her hands behind her back, Wendy took a step towards both Bambietta and Lucy, speaking quietly. The was something she was curious about, even if she was incapable of asking directly in front of the others. "Bambi, is... is... is..."
Wendy could not help but stammer, the question she wanted to ask not one she could do so easily. Much to her good fortune, however, Levy moved beside her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I think she wants to ask if everything's okay, Bambi."
Bambietta glanced at Lucy for a moment, as if wanting her own opinion on the matter. The wizard nodded her head slightly. "Yeah," Lucy began to say with a smile. "Yeah, I know it is."
Levy felt her heart practically skip a beat at the good news. She could see Bambietta mouthing the words 'thank you' to her before the Quincy knelt down by Wendy.
"Of course it is, my little cheerleader." Bambietta said as she gave Wendy a hug. "I told you I was going to take care of you, didn't I? Me and Lucy. And... And I'm here to stay."
Things were silent for a moment, as if the brawl within the guild hall was worlds apart from Bambietta and the others. However, it was not long before one object, an orb of ice, flew across the room and struck Bambietta on the head. The Quincy fell back from Wendy in a daze, her back upon the floor.
"Hah!" Natsu shouted in the distance. "You missed me, Gray!"
"Bambi!" Wendy gasped as she looked down at the stunned Quincy, Bambietta's eyes threatening to roll back into her head. "Oh no, she's-"
"Just fine!"
Bambietta suddenly sprung up, a fire lit in her eyes and a smile on her face. She stepped up on to her feet, the Quincy glaring at the battle of Fairy Tail that Erza had yet to bring under control. Worse, Bambietta could see that she had ended up participating in it.
Shaking her head as if to clear it, Bambietta pushed her cape up over her shoulders so that the bulk of it hung down her back. She also began to roll up her sleeves. She began to take a step forward, Lucy giving her a look.
"Hey," Bambietta said with a shrug. "I'm just being little old battle crazy me."
Lucy herself shrugged before she winked at Bambietta. "Have fun."
"Good grief," Liltotto said as she watched the battle continue. "This guild will never change."
"I know. Isn't it great?" Bambietta said as she moved past Liltotto and into the fray, a wild smile on her face.
Liltotto herself smiled just the faintest bit as well. "You wouldn't have it any other way."
"Lucy and I may have found true love..." Bambietta whispered to herself as she let Blut Arteria flow through her veins. She leapt towards Natsu then, her voice raising into one of reckless abandon. "But this Quincy's fairy tale isn't over yet!"
Well everyone that's it. Finally, Bambietta let Lucy know just how she truly felt, and it looks like the two of them are gonna get along just fine. It was hard for us to get this done right, taking us weeks just on the confession alone, but finally, FINALLY we have the latest chapter done. But ebefore I continue, I have some words from the writer himself, Ankoholic.
"And there we have it, another chapter of A Quincy's Fairy Tail has come to a close. However, this one is different than the others. If this was a books series, than this was the conclusion to volume one. If this was a television series, than this was the first season finale. If this was a movie series, than this was simply the conclusion of the first film.
This was the end of the beginning.
Much has happened for my favorite Quincy since this story began back in 2015. She has traveled across the endless sea of anime and manga to find a new lease on life. She found herself a new family. She has fought self-styled grim reapers and masked monsters and maddened guild masters, oh my! She has made friends, so many new and one old. She has even found herself in the role of a big sister to Wendy Marvell, or perhaps even a mother. Who would have imagined?
But most important of all, she has begun to find happiness. And the path to that began with Fairy Tail. And that path will continue. Bambietta has at last come to truly trust in Fairy Tail. She has at last found out why she was brought to the world it exists in. More importantly, she has finally found the strength and courage to speak of her feelings for Lucy Heartfilia. The Star Knight and the Celestial Wizard have put their faith in each other.
However, this is not the end of the journey. No, it is simply the conclusion of the first great step upon it. Many battles will await Bambi and Fairy Tail in the future. New friends, new foes, new challenges. Both the familiar and the unfamiliar. All of this and more await them in the future.
So I wish to thank you all for sticking with Bambi, Fairy Tail, Goshinzilla and myself through the beginning of this journey. You all have my eternal gratitude. And remember...
Bambietta Basterbine will return."
Indeed she will. As of now, the two of us are putting this story on a 6-7 month hiatus. The reasons behind this are simple. Ankoholic has had a rough couple of months, and he needs some time to really rest and get over some stress. Besides that, we also want to figure out where we want to go from here. We have ideas to be sure, but its better to figure out what will happen next by properly planning things out as well as we can, and not come up with things on the fly.
Worse case scenario, this is at least a decent ending point, so if for some reason this story ceases to continue, think of this as the ending. However, the odds of that happening are practically nonexistent, as me and Ankoholic want nothing more than to continue this adventure. We'll be back and with a lot more fun ideas with it. More bleach characters, more of Bambietta and the others past, and more fun from the cast of fairy tail.
Thank you for reading, and we eagerly look forward to hearing what you think.
Till we meet again!
