"Excuse me miss, care to make a wish?"
Lucy turned to look over at the peddler that had addressed her, her expressionless face morphing to curiosity. She had been wandering through Fiore aimlessly for year, trying to find something to grant her purpose again. Training with her spirits was not enough, she needed something more. When Makarov had disbanded Fairy Tail half a year ago, her world crumbled around her. One by one people she called her nakama left Magnolia one by one and if they did not, they had already moved on with their lives.
It left her all on her own. She would have gone off with Natsu and Happy but they had left for their training trip before the guild disbanded and before she could go look for them. So, she was left with no choice. The celestial mage ended the lease on her apartment, packed up her things away into the Celestial World, and began to walk with no destination. She had hoped to run into any of her friends, but she never did.
So, this is where she found herself. Alone in some random town with no one else with her other than her celestial spirits and the memories of her nakama. The peddler did not break eye contact with her once and Lucy could not help but feel her heart squeeze at the word 'wish'. There were so many wishes she could think to make: to be able to speak to her mother again and feel her warmth; to restore Aquarius' key so she could summon the mermaid again; to know where Natsu and Happy are.
More and more wishes ran through her mind, and the peddler urged Lucy to sit in front of them. The blonde did as she was told and looked down at the pink guild mark on her right hand. "I'm sorry, but what do you mean wish?"
The peddler took something out of the sack next to them and waited for Lucy to hold out her hand. When she did, a seal was placed on her palms. It was quite heavy, but the blonde was not as surprised considering how old it looked. Its block foundation was dusty gold, small cracks and crevices littering the surface. The swirling details decorating it impressing the blonde of its precision. On top of the block sat a small statue featuring the torso of an angel draped in cloth, its hands raised above eye level and cupped together.
"The angel on that seal takes the wish you make and lifts it to the heavens. All you must do is write your wish on a piece of paper and stamp the seal right underneath it."
Her eyes shook the more the peddler talked. Perhaps, with the seal, she could bring her nakama back together again. "And... there are no limits to this wish?"
They shook their head. "None my dear," they said, before they brought their finger to their lips. "But... do think wisely before writing your wish. For once you use it, there is no turning back and only you will have the power to end it."
Lucy stared at the peddler before looking down at the seal before her. She did not really understand what they meant by her ending it, but her temptation was strong. She pictured all her friends that she wanted to see. The nakama she wished that had not left her. Wendy. Carla. Levy. Cana. Gray. Erza. Aquarius. Happy. Natsu. The weight of her heart tightened again. Perhaps this was the world allowing her to be selfish. Or she was just too emotional that she was falling for a dumb scam.
She looked at straight into the peddler's eyes. "How much for it?"
"Hmm... how about you think of it as a thank you gift for allowing this old person to babble," they said, closing Lucy's hands around the seal. "I truly hope you receive what it is that you wish for."
The celestial mage bowed in gratitude and began making her way to an inn to rest for the night. Maybe she would treat herself nice for once since she had left Magnolia. It had been far too long since she had some self-care; take a nice warm hot bath, write some of her novel, eat a good meal, etc. And if she had some time and a good mood, she might just indulge herself in a wish. And who knows? The adventure she was looking for might just find her instead.
Even though she had thought all that before she went to bed last night, Lucy did not expect an adventure to actually find her. It was usually Natsu that found it. Sure, she liked surprises every once and a while but this surprise was definitely not what she expected. Well, in all honesty, she did not know how to feel about it. Because she did not know where in the heck this surprise had brought her. One moment she could swear she was sleeping at an inn, but now? There were four pairs of children's eyes looking at her.
"Are you sure it's her?" a girl with deep violet hair asked.
"She's the one in all of Papa's pictures at home, so she's gotta be," another girl with peach hair said.
A boy with navy hair had a perplexed look. "Yeah, she definitely looks like the one in the pictures Auntie Mira showed us."
The last one, a boy with dark turquoise hair nodded excitedly. "It's definitely her! I've seen her in my mom's pictures too!"
Four children no older than the age of seven surrounded Lucy as she sat on the ground. She could see a town down the horizons, and by the looks of it, it looked a lot like Magnolia. The children then crowded around her in pairs, each taking one of her hands to help her stand up. In the midst of her confusion, Lucy stood up and stared back at the kids. One of them, the girl with peach hair, caught her attention and she could not help but think that she looked like someone she knew.
Her hair was a mixture of straight and spiky (how it worked was beyond Lucy's comprehension) that went down to the middle of her back; her brown eyes had flecks of onyx in it and was sharp with a bubbly roundness to it, but it all added to her overall cuteness; she was dressed in a maroon sweater that was slightly oversized and a brown skirt, slung across her shoulder was a small pouch. She took a look at Lucy's right hand and when she saw the pink guild mark, she stared at Lucy with excited happiness.
"Hey, you're my mom, right!?" she asked, catching the blonde woman off-guard. "Papa's gonna be so happy, let's go to the guild right away!"
The peach haired girl jumped to grab Lucy's right hand and immediately began to drag her into town. The three other children ran after her, flustered at the sudden marathon the other girl started. "Nashi! You can't just run off like that! You'll get us in trouble with my mom!"
"Get off my back, Senna!" the peach haired girl, Nashi, shouted back. "Once they see that I found my mom, they won't get mad at us!"
"H-Hold on! Where are you taking me? What's going on here!?" Lucy demanded.
As they ran through town, Lucy was definitely sure, she was back in Magnolia. But it looked exceedingly different from the last time she had seen it. It looked like they had expanded different areas in the past six months; old shops upgraded their spaces and new streets opened up. People, who were on the path the children were leading Lucy on, all paused their movements as they watched them pass by. Their eyes trained on the blonde girl with shock, confusion or bewilderment.
Lucy could hear bits and pieces of the whispers they were spouting. Phrases like 'oh my gosh', 'is that really her', and 'she looks younger' left their mouths like a blizzard. She could tell they were talking about her, but then she would hear other whispers. From what she could gather, it had to be about the children. 'I can't believe they actually found her', 'it's been two years', or 'they're sure to be shocked' were among of the few things she could make out.
But then, when she looked up at the building the kids were leading her to, her eyes widened in shocked. As they approached the horizon, a building sat at the edge of town with a large body of water creating a painting perfect landscape. It was large, standing proud and tall, while the loud bustling noise that came from it was something that Lucy could just cry hearing it. The orange flag that had been in tatters the last she has seen it, flowed with the wind.
The Fairy Tail guild, the home she had been wanting to come back to, was finally fixed and had everyone she missed inside. The kids pushed the guild doors open with quite a bit of force, yelling their return, and the blonde woman was ready greet her guildmates after such a long time. That was the case, until Lucy took one good look at everyone inside. Namely those a part of Team Natsu and all the kids that ran through the hall. It made her stop moving just short of the guild doors.
"There you are Storm, me and your mom have been looking all over for you," a certain shirtless man said, his words alone making Lucy's jaw drop. "Where did that pyro's kid drag you off to this time?"
Storm, the navy haired boy, immediately ran up to the shirtless man and Lucy could only gape as he patted the child's head fondly. "We just went exploring into the woods for a bit, but don't worry, we didn't go too far."
"That's my responsible little man."
"Dear, could you hand over Umeko's baby bottle?" a woman of long blue hair asked, while rocking her crying baby. "It's about time she starts to eat."
"Salamander's kid didn't do anything freaky to you, did she Gale?" a gruffy man asked.
Gale, the turquoise haired boy, crossed his arms and scoffed. "Of course not," he replied as a matter-of-factly. "you think I would let that fireball mess with me, old man?"
"Well considering who her father is, we can never be too sure." a short woman also with blue hair said as she embraced her son.
"Senna, they weren't committing any funny business were they?" a red headed woman clad in armour asked all the way from the bar.
Senna, the violet haired girl, walked into the guild to meet up with a boy with platinum blonde hair. "Well, I wouldn't say it's funny business exactly," she explained, looking around the guild. "Is father here?"
"He's out on business with the others."
The celestial mage gaped in utter shock, not understanding the sight before her. Older versions of her friends littered the guild hall. Gray and Juvia were talking to that Storm kid while the water mage fed a baby; Gajeel was making fun of Gale while Levy watched the two of them bicker with a fond smile; and Senna was the spitting image of Erza but with violet hair. It was a strange sight. One that made her realize that the wish she made last night was not granted in the way she intended.
I wish to see all my friends in Fairy Tail again.
Lucy was reeling. Either she was stuck in a dream or that seal sent her to some different universe or different time. Was it like when Future Lucy used the Eclipse Gate to go back in time? Time magic like that should not be possible, only the Eclipse Gate had something of that power. But Lucy had to admit, the seal did grant her wish. It may not be the same Fairy Tail she knows and loves, but its still Fairy Tail nonetheless. And she told herself that she would do anything to see them again.
Nashi looked to the blonde woman and could see her eyes shaking. She assumed it was because it had been so long since she had seen their nakama that she was rendered completely paralyzed. She hadn't let go of her hand, in fact Lucy held onto it tightly, and that meant she was preparing herself. The peach haired girl sniffed the air, sifting through different scents until she found one of ash and forestry. She pulled Lucy forward so they could enter the guild.
"Whoa, you kids back already? Where's Nashi?"
When she heard his voice, Lucy gasped when her eyes fell onto that head of pink hair. He was still as handsome as she remembered, his hair still a messy kind of spiky going every which way. The scarf he got from Igneel still wrapped around his neck. Even though he was physically mature, his aloof and manic attitude was still ever so present in his eyes. His muscles was more toned and that iconic grin she used to see every day was plastered on his face. His blue exceed even still sat on his shoulder.
The blonde woman must have missed Natsu and Happy more than she had realized. Even though she had not seen them in over six months, and had been longing to see them again, a tornado of feelings went through her mind. She wanted to scream at him, Lucy Kick him for leaving her behind, go over to hug him senseless, and cry. But her thoughts were completely interrupted when Nashi announced her presence.
"Papa! I'm back!" she cried, putting all the attention on her. "And guess what! I brought Mama home!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, all the older guild members mirrored Lucy's own shocked expression the moment they turned around and their eyes laid on the celestial mage's frozen form. Many of the girls covered their mouths in shock, tears building up in their eyes while the boys just stared at her in disbelief. Lucy could only assume they had missed their Lucy much like how she missed her Fairy Tail. But then that begged the question: where was her future self and why was Nashi looking for her?
Natsu's eyes shook with an expression that Lucy could not understand. She had seen many expressions on his face, but this one was not something she had seen before from what she could remember. He was the first one in the room to move, Happy jumping off his shoulder, and walked up the stairs so that he was in front of the blonde woman and the peach haired kid. Once he was, Nashi let go of Lucy's hand, leaving her to stand in front of everyone by herself, and hugged her dad.
"No way..." he mumbled.
Nashi looked up at her dad with a confused face. "Papa?"
His gaze did not leave Lucy's and the tension in the guild was thick. It was like time had frozen over. Lucy could feel her heart squeeze. "Luce...?"
"Natsu." she replied under her breath.