BROKEN AND BRUISED
CHAPTER 21
Lucy sat on a chair in front of her desk. She lets her head fall on the chair as she lays back and close her eyes.
"Lucy-san, you did all you could. You cannot beat yourself up for something that you weren't responsible for. This man planned everything from the beginning, there was nothing to be done. On another note, I just wish to tell you that you are quite an amazing person."
"Me? How am I amazing Lahar-san when I-"
"You are amazing Lucy-san because of how much influence you have on a person. I wish to tell you that Jellal and the rest helped with the memorial for the villagers, I even saw Ultear pray for them."
The blonde opens her eyes. "Amazing person my ass…"she mutters under her breath.
"You are indeed."
A voice filtered in the room causing the blonde to jump from her seat. "Ultear?" Lucy sighs and her shoulders slump in relief.
The time arc mage shakes her head and looks at the clock that reads 3:00 am. She turns to Lucy and with a stern voice calls out to her. "Lu."
The celestial mage lets out a breath. "I don't want to hear it."
"No you will." She grabs a chair and sits in front of the blonde. "Lu, you can't save everybody. You and I both know that it is a fact."
"But-"
"No!" she holds up her finger to shush the blonde. "We all did everything we could but we weren't able to in the end. So do you know what we should do? We work harder the next time."
Lucy got out of her chair and started pacing around. "You're talking about this mistake as if it's something simple like crashing down a building. A whole village died Ultear."
"Trust me I know. I helped in burying the villagers."
Silence ensues in the room. Lucy sits back in her chair and apologizes to the time arc mage. The latter just takes a deep breath calming herself before talking again. "We were sure that we were going to save them, but things happened and they were avenged for by the execution of this fucker. It was already a lost cause, and I guess the hard part is accepting that fact especially for someone like you who always seeKs an opportunity to help."
The blonde looks up at Ultear with unshed tears. "I guess so."
Silence once again falls between the two before Ultear opens her mouth. "You have been training nonstop ever since we came back and it's been a week Lu. You haven't been sleeping well, nor eating well. You need to take care of yourself."
"I just… never want to feel this helpless ever again."
"You aren't helpless."
"Then tell me what can I do without my keys?"
Ultear answers without missing a beat. "You can kick ass, make any man whimper in pain with that whip of yours and the first to use magic without your keys. Don't underestimate yourself Lu."
"I wasn't any of those in front of him."
"You were at a disadvantage and even so you put up a fight, you didn't back down." Ultear sighs then continues. "Lu, stop being so hard on yourself and I truly wish someday you could see yourself the way I see you. The way we all do."
Lucy sends Ultear a soft smile. "Thank you, I'm sorry lately I've been like this."
"Don't worry about it, we all have those kinds of days."
Lucy walks to the bar and pours two glasses of whiskey, she hands one to Ultear and motions for her to follow her. They go out to the balcony where they sit on reclined chairs and drink their beverages.
"Lahar told me that you prayed for the villagers. I never knew you were a believer."
Ultear snorts. "Neither did I. That was until something happened that made me believe that there is someone out there looking out for us."
Lucy raises a brow at her answer. "Oh! And what is that something that made you believe?"
Ultear looks at the stars twinkling in the night sky with a small smile on her face. "It's a secret." She whispers.
The blonde chuckles quietly to not disturb the atmosphere. "Keeping this from me and the fact that Laxus is the one who rescued me. My, my, since when did you start keeping secrets like that from me dear sister?"
Ultear almost chocked on her drink. She coughs a bit before she turns to the blonde. "You remember?"
Lucy nods her head. "I do."
"Then what happened?"
The blonde looks at her sideways with a smirk before crossing her arms and answering in a haughty tone. "And why should I tell you? After all you are keeping secrets from me, I get to as well."
They look at each other before they both laugh. Lucy tells her what happened then and Ultear contemplates her words before she asks her. "What do you think is gonna happen tomorrow when they return from their trips?"
"I don't know. I just hope that their travels were safe."
"Though, I have to warn you that Jellal thinks Laxus might not remember since he wasn't in control when that happened."
Lucy considers Ultear' words and nods her head in agreement.
Soon enough their glasses were empty and the two girls were sleeping next to each other.
XXX
The next day Lucy enters the guild with her kids in tow. She finds everyone busy talking about something that seems to be weighing on their minds. She searches for Mira and catches her cleaning the bar counter. Lucy goes up to her and greets her. "Hey Mira, how are you? And why is everyone so somber?"
Mira averts her gaze to Lucy and smiles. "Hey Lucy, I'm good what about you? Fancy seeing you in the guild after a whole week of not showing up once."
The blonde smiles sheepishly as she answers. "Right, I'm sorry about that. I was just going through some things."
Mira giggles and pats the blonde on her shoulder. "Don't worry about that, I was just teasing. You just had us worried."
"Thanks Mira, and sorry again. Now what's up with everyone else?"
Mira sighs dejectedly before she answers. "Everyone is anxious now that the GMG is close and especially because the master announced yesterday that he is considering letting Fairy Tail participate this year."
The blonde widens her eyes in surprise. "Really?"
Mira nods her head. "Yes, but they are afraid that we're going to lose just like we did all these years past."
"That's quite understandable."
Mira picks up a mug and starts wiping it. "It is, especially when they saw Natsu get his ass beat up by Max today."
Lucy almost jumps on the counter. "Wait! They're already back?!"
The bartender giggles at the blonde's enthusiasm and nods her head. "They did. Currently they are in the master's office talking."
"I see, thanks Mira." Lucy waves at the silverette then heads to the table Raijinshuu were sitting at to see what her kids have been doing while she was talking to Mira.
She finds them each sitting on a member's lap and telling them stories about their picnics, their school activities and every other thing they did in their lives. She sits with them and listens to her kids' ramblings.
Thirty minutes later, the dragon slayers walk out of the master's office and go down to the hall. Lucy was about to go catch up to her brothers when Makarov cleared his throat and stood on the railing.
"Listen up brats, I have decided. We will be entering this year's Grand Magic Games that is three months away and we will restore Fairy Tail to its number one spot. So I need you all to drop what you're doing and start training immediately, the members that I have chosen to participate in the games have yet to be decided so I wish you all the best of luck." With that he hopped off the railing and went into his office.
Chatter soon filled the guild, some excited about the games and some thinking that maybe with the returned members they stand a chance at finally winning.
Lucy sat down with a frown on her face. 'Grand Magic Games huh?' she sighed with her shoulders slumping, she already failed Fairy Tail with her latest mission and now she feared she would do the same in the games.
She felt a poke on her nose and shook her head before looking at the retreating hand of Bickslow.
"What's got you in such a foul mood Cosplayer?"
She gave him a small smile. They didn't know what happened and it was for the best that they don't.
"I-"
"SUNSHINE!"
Cobra tackled her to the ground in a hug cutting her answer to Bickslow.
"Sunshine, the sandwiches you made were the absolute best." He said as he completely laid his weight on top of her.
"Get off me you fu-" she eyed her kids and saw Cobra' smirk. "You big idiot!"
He chuckled as he got off of her and helped her up. She huffed as she fixed her clothes before he ruffled her hair causing her to glare at him.
Before she could start berating him on tackling her to the ground she was swept into another hug. "Missed you Bunny. He's right though, your sandwiches were amazing."
Lucy smiled into his chest and hugged him back. "Glad you liked them, I'll make some more for you sometime." She pulled back and looked up at Gajeel. "So how was your trip?"
Before Gajeel could answer Cobra shoved him into a table behind them causing him to fall on his back and turned to his Sunshine. "Um excuse me Sunshine, why does he get the warm welcome and I get the cold one?"
Lucy rolled her eyes. "I swear to God you act like a kid sometimes Erik."
"How was your trip Erik? Did you have fun Erik? Oh, you liked the sandwiches Erik? Well of course I would be happy to make you some more Erik!" cobra crossed his arms while looking at his sister before he pointed an accusing finger her way. "You're picking favorites."
Lucy shook her head with a smile on her face. "How was your trip Coco-nii? Did you have fun Coco-nii? Oh, you liked the sandwiches Coco-nii? Well of course I would be happy to make you some more Coco-nii!"
She heard her brother growl at the nickname causing her to giggle. She was about to talk when she widened her eyes and quickly moved out of the way.
"Sunshine why are you-"
He flew across the guild and landed on a table near the wall. Gajeel retracted his iron club before yelling at the poison slayer. "Learn to respect others' personnel space you fuckin idiot!"
Cobra quickly got up from his place and looked at his sister. "If that was me, I would be ten feet under for cussing in front of the kids. See? I told you, you are picking favorites."
Gajeel answered with pride washing over him. "Of course I would be the favorite, that's because I am not an idiot fucker like you!"
"What was that metal for brains?"
"You wanna go poison snake?"
Lucy was on the side laughing as she looked at the scene unfold in front of her.
Gajeel got close to Cobra and took him by the collar. "Fine, let's do this outside!"
"Lead the way Iron rod!"
"Don't test me toxic bitch!"
They both get outside and turn the corner where they take a deep breath. Cobra turned to Gajeel and glared at him. "Did you had to throw me that fucking hard?!"
"Aw, did I hurt your feelings princess?" Gajeel gihi'ed while Cobra growled.
"At least we got her to laugh." Cobra sighed as he sat on the bench outside.
"You got the news of what happened?" Gajeel asked the poison dragon slayer.
"Yup. This has taken a toll on her, I can see it and feel it."
"Her soul?"
Cobra nodded.
They both sat in silence for a while before Cobra turned to Gajeel. "What are you going to do now?"
The iron dragon slayer inhaled deeply. "I don't know. I don't want to leave her alone but I also need to train. I need to catch up on those seven years I lost."
"Understandable."
Gajeel raised a brow at Cobra before he chuckled earning a confused look from the poison dragon slayer.
"What's got you chuckling like a mad man?"
Gajeel narrowed his eyes at him before he relaxed his shoulders. "Never have I thought in my life that I would be talking to you like this so casually."
Cobra snorts. "Trust me, the feeling is fucking mutual."
Gajeel smirks then rolls his eyes when he hears what Cobra said next.
"But anyway, no one can resist these charms so it was bound to happen."
"How she puts up with you I don't know it."
"Actually it takes a lot of willpower to calm myself down but the thought of having witnesses to murdering my brother is what stops me."
They both turn around at the sound of their sister.
"Excuse me Sunshine, but I am always innocent and you just love to bully me."
"Well excuse me Coco-nii, but sometimes I wonder if I have four kids instead of three when dealing with you so… yeah." Lucy shrugged her shoulders and sat between them.
"I was just talking with the rest about where we're going to train and thought of our beach house in Hargeon. You up for it?" Lucy smiled at her brothers.
"Beach house in Hargeon?" Gajeel inquired with a quizzical look.
"Yup, Jude left it as a gift for us." Cobra answered then turned to his sister. "That's a great place, also quite secluded."
Lucy nods her head in agreement before standing up and leaving. "Great, I'll tell the others. I also invited the Raijinshuu and if you want to invite some one Gaj-nii you can~"
Gajeel growled at the teasing tone his sister took in the end. He looked to see Cobra watching him with an amused look.
"So…" Erik started. "I see you like seafood."
"You mother-"
He barely dodged in time from an iron club while cackling like a maniac with the iron dragon slayer following close behind his ass.
XXX
Laxus and his team arrived at the train station and waited for the blonde to come. He turned to his team and sighed when he remembered the conversation they had before.
"Laxus-sama I am begging you let us go there for only a week and then we'll go where we intended to." Freed begged the slayer with his companions backing him up.
"Yeah, we missed Cosplayer and we want to hang out with her for a bit before we go training on our own."
"We also want to see the kids and it would be a good way for you to start making it up to her." Evergreen ended.
So here he was waiting with his team for the blonde to come and escort them to her beach house. In all honesty he wanted nothing more than to spend some time with Lucy and the kids but he was afraid.
Because every time she looked at him, all he could see was her crying out for him to stop hurting her.
He truly wanted to make it up for the blonde but he just didn't know how. And he feared that acting up on that intention could further damage the blonde and that was the last thing he wanted.
He took a deep breath and sat on a bench. Ten minutes later, he spotted team Natsu going their way, behind them were Gajeel, Levy and Lily.
Evergreen greeted them with a smile. "I suppose you are here for the same reason."
Levy answered with a wide smile on her face. "Yeah Lu-chan invited us to her beach house."
"Speaking of Luce, where is she?" the fire dragon slayer looked around him trying to spot his blonde friend but to no avail.
"I don't kno-"
The staff running off and giving orders cut off Bickslow' thoughts as they lined up in an orderly manner.
They saw Lucy and her family coming down the pathway and every single worker there bowed deeply and with unity declared. "Welcome, Lucy Heartfilia-sama."
Lucy bowed her head in appreciation and addressed her subordinates. "Thank you for the warm welcome, I hope everything is alright."
They all nodded simultaneously once straightening up.
Lucy turned to the one standing in front of the line. It was an old woman with her black hair pulled up in a tight low bun. Her almond shaped eyes held kindness in them as she was addressed by the blonde.
"Greta-san, I hope everything is prepared."
"The train arriving shortly is reserved only to you and your companions Lucy-sama, the first class seats have been prepared and the spare bedrooms are ready. The menu has been adjusted like you asked with adding more meaty meals and a compartment for the dragon slayers has been installed with soft beds for their rest. I hope you have a wonderful journey." The woman named Greta gave the blonde a polite smile and a small dip of her head.
"Thank you so much Greta-san." Lucy smiled at the woman before she turned to her companions.
"You really thought of everything." Macbeth chuckled as he ruffled her hair causing the blonde to pout for messing her hair.
The others stood silent. It was so weird for them to see the former criminals show this much affection and openly so.
"You have a knack for messing up my hair don't you?" the blonde glared playfully at Midnight who shrugged.
"I'm the one who made your hair so I can fix it up anytime."
Lucy was about to retort when she heard the train whistle. She beamed at her companions with open arms. "Come on everyone!"
XXX
It was a long ride and everyone was exhausted, though thankfully the compartment Lucy had prepared for the dragon slayers made the ride much more bearable for them.
When they reached the beach house, the sun was already setting. But that didn't stop them from skidding to halt and doing a double take.
Sorano watched them stop and turned to them with a quizzical expression. "Is everything alright?"
Erza was the first one to recover. She pointed to the building that lay on a small hill. "Will we be staying in that?"
Sorano followed her line of view then looked back at her. "Yes we will. Is there a problem?"
Macbeth stood beside her with an amused expression. "I think they are just shocked Sorano."
Sawyer sidled up next to him. "I bet. Remember the first time we visited this place?"
Richard chuckled as he walked past them, gazing at the large white villa with black linings that overlooked the sea. "Like it was only yesterday." He said in only a whisper as he remembered the first time they came to this place. It was on Sorano' birthday and the blonde wanted to make it special, so she told everyone that they were off duty for a week and they all came here and enjoyed their time in this haven.
They continued forward and reached the gates where a number of butlers lined the way of the pathway leading to the villa. Upon seeing the blonde and her companions, they bowed in respect and chorused. "Welcome back, Lucy Heartfilia-sama and her lovely family."
Lucy, once again, bowed her head in appreciation to the lovely welcome. "Thank you all and it's good to see you again." She turned to the head of the butlers, an old man with greying hair but still held a physique build and an air of authority. "Sebastian-san, how have you been? I hope everything has been received and understood."
"I am relieved that you arrived safely Lucy-sama. Everything has been received and your orders have been fulfilled." He extends his arm for her and Lucy links his arm with his. "If you come this way, I will explain everything."
He gestured to the other butlers who hurried and took the suitcases of the blonde's companions.
Sebastian took charge and led them through the pathway. "Lucy-sama, the rooms have been prepared, runes have been placed around the perimeter and a secluded area was found near here if any of your companions wished to let the beast within wild."
"Awesome, thank you Sebastian-san."
"Dinner has been prepared with respect to each person's preferences."
"Ever the observant and caring caretaker, huh?" the blonde smiled as she kissed him on the cheek. He gave her a small smile then led them to the dinner table.
Food of all kinds was prepared and the smell was intoxicating to all the ones present there.
"I'll always know this smell no matter where I go." Cobra smirked as he heard the man he was thinking of grumble from behind him.
"Of course you do, with the amount of times I caught you trying to steal food I was making."
Cobra turned and gave the chef a lopsided grin. "Zeno, my man. How are you doing? Did you miss me?"
"The days you were gone in were the best I ever had." Zeno replied without missing a beat causing the poison slayer to frown.
Zeno then turned to Lucy. "I hope you enjoy the dinner Lucy-sama."
He bowed and left them to themselves. Lucy tuned to the rest and invited them to the table.
Each took a respective seat and started eating. Natsu, surprisingly, was eating like a human being and not like a dragon on a rampage which earned him a few weird looks.
He swallowed before he answered the question that no one voiced. "All of this looks like fancy stuff and a pain to clean, I don't want to cause trouble."
"Where is Flamebrain and what have you done to him?" Gray asked incredulously.
"Shut it Ice princess!"
Layla turned to Gray with a beaming smile on her face. "You're an ice princess?"
Gray almost chocked on his food while Natsu laughed at him. He wiped his mouth before he replied. "More like an ice prince."
"Then why are you taking your shirt off?" Red piped up from next to his sister.
Gray looked down to find his hands lifting his shirt without him even realizing. He quickly put them down and averted his eyes from the two innocent kids. "A bad habit of mine. Sorry!"
Justin perked up. "Mommy told us about this habit of yours, and also about all the trouble you go in because of it." He giggled in the end.
"I want to have this habit. Is it fun?" Layla asked and almost everyone on the table either chocked on their food or spit it.
"Not five minutes into dinner and you are already influencing the little girl into bad things. Damn it Ice block!" Growled Gajeel as he looked at Gray who stared back in disbelief.
"How the hell is this my fault?!" Gray asked in his defense.
Layla looked at the mess that was about to transpire and giggled before she settled back on her chair. Lucy looked at her daughter then shook her head at her antics.
"Munchkin, you're becoming quite devious. What happened that made you take on this devilish plan of yours?" Cobra inquired as he tried to recover from almost chocking on a fish.
"I have you as an uncle. It was going to happen event-u-a-lly." She smiled at herself when she was able to say what she classifies as a hard word.
Gajeel guffaws at the look of complete shock that was evident of the poison slayer's face. Soon the rest joined him, even Laxus' lips twitched upward when he heard that response. He couldn't help but feel pride with his daughter.
His mind stopped at that. He looked at Layla who was giggling before she turned to him and gave him a dazzling smile. His heart fluttered at her cute expression and he wanted nothing more than to just spend time with her and his boys. His gaze averted to the two bickering kids who were fighting over who gets to sit next to Bickslow and who next to Freed. Eventually his teammates picked them and put them in their laps, that way they can be close to both.
He was surprised at how fast he was accepting of them. He and his dragon both. Maybe it was because that Laxus always wished for a family, he was never vocal about it but he knew on the long run that he wanted to settle down and have a home to return to and a person waiting for him.
He shook his head to clear his mind and focused back on his meal. Right now, he needed to repay his gramps for everything he's done and then he could focus on paying back Lucy. But he was still going to get closer to all of them or try to at least. He knew he wasn't great at making conversation and he was usually a very private person. No one knew anything about him except his team and gramps. He was drawn out from his musings when he heard a soft voice talking to the head butler and the chef.
"Zeno-san, Sebastian-san, thank you so much, everything is perfect!"
They both bow their heads in respect. "It was our pleasure Lucy-sama/Anything for you Lucy-sama."
After their meal, Sebastian takes them onto a tour of the villa before bringing them out of the building and leading them onto a path towards the hills behind the villa. Just before that Lucy puts the kids to sleep and leaves them in the care of her people.
"This is quite the majestic place." Erza commented as she looked at the greenery that was surrounding them.
Gray nods in agreement as Natsu stares at everything around them.
Sebastian stops and turns to the group. "Lucy-sama, we have a surprise for you and your companions. It was discovered here a while back that there was hot water coming from the caves so we set up a small cabin and got to work."
"You're kidding?!" Sorano was practically jumping on her two feet from excitement.
"You guys set up a hot spring?" Meredy shouted in glee as she joined Sorano is her excitement.
Sebastian gives a huff of amusement at the two girls before him before he clears his throat. "Indeed. Ladies, please follow Mine-san…" he gestures towards a maid who was already waiting for them there. She bows then straightens up and asks the women to follow her. "While gentlemen, follow me please."
Fifteen minutes later the girls found themselves in a cabin preparing themselves. The hot springs was surrounded by swaying sakuras and a fountain at the back that had the design of a beautiful angel holding on to a lion. Sorano was the first to finish undressing, she puts on a towel and gets closer to the pond.
She takes off her towel and dips herself in the water. The warm water causes the white haired woman to groan in pleasure. "This is heaven."
Lucy snorts at the white haired girl. "Careful what sounds you make, the guys are next door and have four dragon slayers with them."
Sorano gives her a smug smirk while Lucy rolls her eyes. Currently they are the only two out there, the rest of the girls are still getting ready.
"So, wanna tell me how you really feeling or are you going to keep this façade of yours?" Sorano suddenly asks.
Lucy sighs as she sets her keys next to her before she slid in the water. She breathes in and relaxes her body, letting the hot water engulf her in its care.
"Maybe, if you tell me who are you crushing on?"
Sorano was quickly in front of Lucy' face with a blush adorning her face. "I'm not crushing on anyone."
"The blush on your face tells a different story."
"It's because of the heat."
"Whatever you say."
Lucy smirks at the stink eye that she received for Sorano. The white haired was about to retort when Lucy spoke again.
"I'm fine really, still a bit shaken from before but better."
At that moment the other girls came in and enjoyed the water.
"So Lu-chan, you got your guild mark back?" Levy wondered as she looked at the blonde.
"I did." Lucy holds up her right hand and shows her the pink insignia of Fairy Tail.
They share a small smile before Lucy turns to Erza who cleared her throat.
"Can I ask you something Lucy?"
The blonde nods and waits for the red head to continue.
"I heard that you continued on your father's path. Didn't you dislike this type of life before?"
Lucy ponders that question for a while before she answers. "I did. But after everything that happened, I grew to love it. I guess what I hated back then was why I was being taught all of this, but after I reconciled with my father, things changed. I started doing this because I like it."
Erza smiled at her. "That's good to hear."
They chatted amongst themselves about different things. Levy, Evergreen, Wendy and Erza asked the blonde a lot of questions about her work and all the different things she did in those seven years while Lucy was more than happy to indulge and give answers.
Half an hour later, they decided to head back to the villa. Wendy went ahead of them and they told her they would be right behind her. Just as Erza was about to follow her, she heard the blue haired girl scream.
Alarmed, all women put on their towels and rush to the girl only to find her on the verge of tears with Carla trying to soothe her.
"Wendy, sweetie, what happened?" Lucy kneeled next to her and softly asked the girl hoping to calm her down.
The little girl looked at her before she pointed at the closet behind her. "All… our clothes… are gone!" she said between sobs.
The blonde immediately straightened her back and opened the closet.
Nothing, there was nothing there.
Not their clothes, not the robes they were supposed to wear, nothing.
"Who the hell would steal our clothes?" Meredy asked and backed out once she saw the aura radiating from Lucy, Sorano, Ultear, Levy and Erza.
"Um guys?" the little pinkette was trying not to squirm in fear.
"You don't think it's them do you?" Sorano asked in a monotone voice.
"They have a lot of idiots with them so it's possible." Evergreen replied with a glare.
"Well, let's ask them shall we?" Lucy said with a sadistic smile on her face.
"Yes, let's ask them." Ultear flashed a smirk mirroring that of Lucy'.
"What harm can be done?" said the Titania as she cracked her knuckles.
"Well then Lu-chan, lead the way!" Levy smiled widely but almost everyone felt the rage rushing through her.
Hello everyone.
I just have a couple of things I'd like to say about the next chapters.
One, I will give my baby justice. Lucy will be badass but not over the top, which makes sense since she trained continuously for SEVEN years. Meaning, she can hold her own against Titania and can win.
Two, next chapter marks the beginning of the GMG. Can't wait! I already started working on it. Also would like to point out that I will not be changing every single fight, just some of them while the others will stay the same.
Three, I apologize that this chapter is somewhat of a filler but after the fiasco of the last one I guess it was needed.
That's all and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Till next time.
SIGNING OUT, KAWAIINECKO!