.

We are the 0bservanc3.

We do NOT own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does, nor any characters seen within this timeline.

Well… perhaps one or two not seen elsewhere…

Read on…

And see how even small changes can alter the world.

Fairy Tail – Changed Fate

Ch.1 To Start A Journey

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Narrator:

In a land, far far away, lies the Kingdom of Fiore—a small peaceful nation of seventeen million and a place filled with magic. Found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace, for most magic is just merely a tool—a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, magic is an art and they've devoted their lives to its practice.

These are the wizards. Banded together into magical guilds they ply their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore. But there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest, one from which countless legends have been born. A guild that would no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name… is Fairy Tail.

YEAR X777 – Forest Area – The Day It All Went Down

A lush forest spread itself across acres of wilderness. The trees basked in the heat of the summer sun, dancing in the breeze while brush and undergrowth fought for room to expand. What streams cut their way through the land sparkled merrily as they babbled along their routes. A single settlement, too small to be considered a small city but large enough to have earned the title of booming town, was the only sign of human life. In the distance, a large mountain range stretched its rocky arm forward into the land beyond.

Narrator:

This unnamed forest touches on the outskirts of a town called Lapis Bula, one of the numerous outlaying villages of Fiore. It is here that agents of various merchant guilds go to resupply their stocks of gemstones of various worth, as the untouched wilderness is plentiful in such resources. It is also here that an event that will one day be marked in history books will soon occur.

In the forest, there was a tiny area where a small hill had prevented trees from growing. In this glade slumbered a young boy, appearing to be around eleven years old, wearing only a ragged pair of blue shorts held up by a rope and a scarf that appeared to be made of white scale-like material. The most shocking attribute of the boy however was not his dress, but his hair. It was pi~—salmon colored, and held no semblance of ever having been managed in any way. This was Natsu Dragneel. And he was fighting a losing battle against waking up.

Natsu groaned against the light of the sun that was battering his poor eyelids. He flung an arm over his face, hoping that would be enough to block the evil ball of fire in the sky from attacking him. It wasn't. Grumbling to himself as he rolled over, Natsu swore one day he would eat that sleep-ruining monster. As he lied there on the ground, reluctantly acknowledging that he was now awake, Natsu belatedly realized that something was wrong. He wasn't resting on the warm scales of his father's snout. Come to think of it, a deep sniff of the air revealed Igneel's scent wasn't anywhere around him.

Natsu's eyes snapped open as he jumped up.

"Hey you overgrown lizard, what's the big idea?" Natsu shouted angrily into the air. How dare that old fart just up and leave him? He'd promised that if Natsu mastered another spell before the dragon's return from the last quote/unquote meeting then they'd go to the next one together. Well the spell was mastered, and he still got left behind!

"Ah damn it! Arrgh!" Natsu stomped out his anger and spat a small gout of flame into the air, uncaring that the tree closest to him caught fire before the stream dissipated. All he cared about now was showing that stupid old lizard what happened when he broke promises. He'd wait however long it took for the dragon to get back, and when he did, oh that useless sack of scales would pay.

Growling, Natsu slumped his way to the top of the mound of earth he'd been left on and dropped himself into a cross-legged position. Huffing, the young boy clenched his eyes shut and inhaled a massive breath before letting it out as slowly as he could. If he was going to have to wait, he might as well do that stupid medi-whatever Igneel had told him about and try to visualize his Magic container again. If Igneel said it was something that all dragon slayers knew how to do, then he'd do it—no matter how utterly boring the whole thing seemed to be. He didn't get how sitting and breathing could help him beat a dragon, but whatever.

Timeskip – Ten Days Later

Natsu tried to hide it, from whom he didn't know, but he tried to hide his growing anxiety. Igneel still hadn't returned. This was the longest he'd been away from whatever temporary nest they'd made… ever. The only time that came close to this was one week a long time ago when the old lizard had forced him to go through survival training.

But even then, a small voice whispered in the back of his head, Igneel had told him what was going on, and when he'd be back. This time, he'd said nothing. He'd just… disappeared.

Natsu wilted on his spot on the hill as he mulled over dark thoughts that had been niggling their way into his mind. 'Has he abandoned me? Was I just a waste of time? Did I do something wrong?' When the tears that threatened to fall from this line of thinking clouded his eyes too much, Natsu punched himself in the face to push them down. It was stupid to think that, he decided. He'd done everything the dragon had ever asked of him, he'd even done that medi-whatever and been able to visualize his Magic container—he would have done it sooner if the old scale-face had told him it would look like an awesome flame. Igneel had even called him his son. He'd said family never abandoned family; there was no way he'd just leave if he could help it.

That's it!

An idea popped into Natsu's head. He jumped up from his spot and leapt up onto a nearby tree, climbing it with ease. Natsu stared wide-eyed at the sprawling world before him—the forest, the mountains, the little town over there, and beyond. Somewhere out in all that, Igneel was waiting for him. He could be hurt, or some dark wizards could have used some evil spell to capture him. A determined look settled on Natsu's face. It was up to him to find Igneel—wherever he was—and then they could be together again.

"IGNEEL! WHERE ARE YOU?" Natsu yelled out, knowing that he'd probably not get a response. Sure enough, no answer came to his echoing voice. "WHEREVER YOU ARE, I'LL FIND YOU!" he yelled out again. Natsu bowed his head. "That's a promise."

A deep rumble shook the air. Natsu grabbed his stomach as a hunger pain shot through him. He'd start looking for Igneel… soon. Right now, he needed food. Maybe that small town he could barely see had something?

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YEAR X777 – Heartfilia Railway Train – Same Time

A lengthy machine of wood and steel blasted its way down a set of iron tracks that cut through the wilderness. The train sped along smoothly, with no bumps or jolts felt by its occupants; such was the skill with which it had been crafted. From above, one could see that its destination was obviously the quiet town of Lapis Bula.

Narrator:

This is one of the numerous trains that run on the Heartfilia Railways, a part of the famous Heartfilia Konzern. This particular train is a marvel, as are the treasures it regularly freights from one end of Fiore to the other. However, today its most precious cargo is not a crate or box, but comes in the form of a young girl.

With her face pressed against the glass of her compartment's window, a small ten-year-old girl, wearing a pretty floral sundress of the lightest pink, stared through tear-blurred eyes at the world speeding by her. The quietly sobbing child sat back, pushing a stray lock of blonde, star-kissed hair back into its rightful place behind an ear. This little girl was Lucy Heartfilia, heir to the Heartfilia family.

'Why? Why would Daddy say those things?' Lucy thought to herself. 'What am I gonna do now?' She felt more tears flow down her cheeks as the memory of what had happened not a day prior forced itself to the forefront of her mind's eye.

Flashback

She saw her father's office door open before her. She saw the man who should have been her pillar after her mother's death, silhouetted by the setting sun glaring through the window behind him, working away. She saw, only now, as she looked back, the scowl that he barely suppressed when he realized she had come to him again. She saw herself skipping to him in her pink sundress as she called out, pleading with him to play with her. She saw herself call out again when no answer came from her father, just more scribbling. Then all she could see was his tall imposing shadow as he stood and roared at her that she was being an incredibly stupid little girl and she needed to grow up and become a lady already. That as a Heartfilia she was expected to be a pinnacle of society and pinnacles did not waste their time on childish games.

After his outburst he had gone straight back to his papers, as if he hadn't just shattered the already fragile world she had just pieced back together. She had fought back hot tears as she apologized for wasting his time and backtracked out of the room. She had soon lost the fight with her tears and had then run through the halls to her room as they poured down her face. One of the house servants closest to her, Spetto, had caught sight of her as she escaped to her room and followed. Not a minute had passed as she cried her heart out on her bed before she had heard the knock on her door.

"What happened Lucy-sama? What's wrong?" she had kindly asked. Choking on sobs, Lucy had tried to answer, however, nothing but blubbering had come out. Softly, Spetto had let herself in and sat next to her. Lucy had thrown herself at the gentle purple haired woman. In response, Spetto had silently taken her into her arms and rubbed her back. When the tears had slowed, Spetto had stood her up slowly. Face to face, the woman had gently used a handkerchief to dry the remaining waterworks.

"It'll be okay Lucy-sama. Whatever happened I'm sure the master can fix it," Spetto had soothed. That had set Lucy off again, and more tears flowed. It was then that Spetto must have realized she had made a horrible mistake, and that it was Jude Heartfilia that had made her so upset. But it was too late. Lucy had frozen, her mind a whirl of memories of life before her mother's death, her father's recent behavior, and the painful encounter she had just had.

The flashing memories had blurred until Lucy's overactive imagination had taken the lead and she had seen into the future. She had seen an older her, reduced from the lively girl she was to a lifeless doll her father moved around like a chess piece through his bids for power. She had seen herself imprisoned at extravagant parties she hated. She had seen herself being married off to an old, fat man who didn't love her as her father counted large piles of jewels. She had seen herself live and die unhappy.

She had refused this reality.

Lucy had roughly pushed Spetto away… or as roughly away as a ten-year-old could push an adult, meaning she hardly moved the woman. Her cherubic face had hardened with a determined frown. She had decided to live her own future.

Before Spetto had been able to ask what had caused her change in behavior, Lucy had run over to her nightstand and opened the top drawer. Digging inside, she had removed the false bottom—she had had a servant put it in when her father had first yelled at her about learning her mother's magic and threatened to take measures if he found anymore traces of it—and pulled out her most prized possession. The golden key had shone brightly as she held it in the dim light of the room. On the end of the key's urn-like bow, two sapphire blue symbols that resembled stylized Us—or waves—had almost seemed to glow. She had revealed her secret, the Golden Key of the Water Bearer, Aquarius—her only tie to her mother after her death.

Lucy had seen Spetto's eyes widen, and how her hand had dived into her pocket. She had then ignored the woman and darted away, running out of the room. She had heard Spetto calling after her, but she had kept running. She had slipped through a side door out of the mansion before the older woman had caught up to her and grabbed her arm.

"Lucy-sama! You can't just run off like that child. Where are you going?" Spetto had cried. Lucy had refused to be held for long, and shook off Spetto's grip. Whirling on the woman, Lucy had pointed the golden key in her hand at Spetto as threateningly as she could.

"Don't try to s-stop me! I'm l-leaving," Lucy had shouted, her young mind had cursed at her stuttering. "F-father doesn't w-want me, and I don't w-wanna be here. I w-wanna be like Mama, and m-make her proud." Lucy had glared at Spetto as the woman had stared back at her. She had known that look. Spetto had always used it when she was considering what clothes to lay out for Lucy, or how long she should make her bath. Spetto was judging her. She had been surprised then, when the woman had sighed and lifted up the hand Lucy hadn't noticed she'd been keeping behind her back, and she had noticed what was in that hand—a golden key. The key had a red symbol like the number 69 on its bow and its teeth looked like a crab.

Lucy had sputtered, her own key-laden hand dropping. Spetto had looked from Lucy to the golden key in her hand and her face had slowly changed from a look of judgment to one of utter devotion. The woman had then sighed.

"I suppose this was going to happen sooner or later, eh Cancer-san?" Spetto had asked the key. Lucy's mind had restarted at that point, and she had again pointed Aquarius's key at the woman, this time accusingly.

"What are you doing with one of Mama's keys?" she had shouted. She had remembered all the stories her mother had told her about her three spirits—Aquarius, Cancer, and Capricorn—and the adventures they had had. She had remembered that when she had asked where their keys were now, her mother had smiled softly and said they were somewhere safe. And when her degrading health had taken that sudden turn for the worst, she had gazed, wide-eyed as her mother had shown her Aquarius's key. Her world had then been rocked as her mother had handed the golden key to her, telling her to keep it close to her heart while reminding her again that a celestial wizard's spirits were friends, family, and not tools.

How had Spetto gotten one of her mother's precious keys?

"Don't be angry child. Your mother gave Cancer to me years ago. I was to hold onto him until there came a day when you might begin to walk the same path she once had," Spetto had calmly stated. Lucy hadn't known what to do with that information.

"Why don't you come back to the mansion Lucy? I wasn't the only one your mother taught Celestial Magic to," Spetto had continued. Lucy's wide eyes had stretched farther at the revelation. She hadn't known that either. "Come back Lucy, and we will teach you your mother's magic," Spetto had bargained. Lucy had dropped her head as indecision pulsed through her young mind. She hadn't known what she should do. She didn't want to stay at the mansion anymore, didn't want the life that it would lead to, but it looked like it was the only way to grab onto another piece of her mother's memory.

Narrator:

In other worlds exactly like this one but for a tiniest of differences, other Lucys stood while considering the same decision. Most would ponder and wonder, and yet see no other option but to stay in their father's mansion, under their tyrannical thumbs, so that they could learn their mothers' magic and get closer to them. This Lucy too, was about to make that same fateful decision, when…

A glimmer had caught Lucy's eye as the conflicting thoughts had begun to cloud her mind. Even in the daylight, the two golden keys had gleamed unnaturally bright. While her memory of what happened next wasn't exactly clear, she had noticed that it looked like the world had dimmed to just those two glowing keys. She didn't know how, but she had felt that Cancer's key was calling to her. The strange internal feeling had flowed through her, and without thinking about it, she had answered that call.

Narrator:

And in that act of answering, Lucy Heartfilia, without even knowing it herself, created a ripple that would change this particular Earthland far more than she could have ever imagined.

Head still bowed, Lucy had closed her eyes and looked inward. And she had seen it; the twinkling star inside of her that her mother had taught her was her fledgling Magic container. Unsure of exactly what she was doing, Lucy had reached out and touched the star. Almost seeming to be giddy to help, the star had responded. A throb of power had rushed through her body, apparently following her wish to answer Cancer's call. Lucy had panicked at the unexpected feelings rolling through her, and raised her empty hand in an instinctual reaction to ward off the roaring tide of energy.

In a flash of golden light, the Golden Key of the Giant Crab had flashed out of Spetto's hand and, a split second later, into Lucy's raised one. Struck by shock, the purple haired woman had stared slack-jawed at Lucy, who now held a key in each hand.

"R-requip magic?" Spetto had murmured, almost too softly for Lucy to hear. A sudden realization had struck Lucy at that moment; she had just stolen something. Worse, she had just stolen something her mother had gifted to a trusted friend. Guilt had immediately risen up and washed away the warm feeling her magic had suffused within her. Horrified, she had turned and fled, afraid and ashamed. Once again, her tears had accompanied her.

Flashback END

The shuddering of the train sliding to a stop rocked Lucy back to the present. The crackling of the train's intercom grabbed her attention.

"This is Lapis Bula Station, I repeat, this is Lapis Bula Station. Please exit from the left-side doors. Next stop-" Lucy didn't bother to listen to the rest of the announcement, this was where she wanted to go. Getting off here was better than riding to the end of the line; there was less chance anyone looking for her would think to stop here. Of course, that meant her father actually had to notice she was gone and care enough to have someone bring her back…so she might have been fine anyway. But Lucy decided to be careful anyway.

Standing, Lucy made sure the two golden keys she had fled with were still in her clenched fist—they were—and exited the train. Still staring at the keys, Lucy slowly walked through the homey town, lost in thought.

'How could I have just taken Cancer's key from Spetto like that? She looked like she really loved it,' Lucy thought to herself. 'There's no way he'd ever want to make a contract with me now… or even be able to.' Lucy slumped as she realized just how bad she had screwed up. Her first action as a celestial spirit mage had been to steal another's key. Her mother would be ashamed of her. The tears from earlier made a rousing comeback.

Blinded by her tears, and worry about the two keys clenched in a trembling fist, Lucy had no chance of avoiding the body she ran into. Nor did she have any chance of avoiding yet another change to the fate of the world.

"Kyaah!"

Unprepared for the collision, Lucy slammed backward into the ground. Pain lanced through her body and she crumbled into herself.

"Omph! Hey, watch where you-" The angry voice of the person Lucy had run into suddenly cut itself off.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!" Lucy, still curled into herself, blinked her watery eyes open. And immediately blushed. Staring back at her from his position on the ground was a boy who looked to be around her age, wearing only a pair of ragged shorts and a long white scarf. Realizing she was staring at his bare chest, Lucy tore her eyes away and locked onto his face. That didn't help as much as she thought it would because she then saw the most shocking feature of the boy. His hair was pink!

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YEAR X777 – The Town of Lapis Bula – Same Time

Natsu didn't know what to do with himself. After scrounging up something to eat from the trash heap behind the town's tavern, he'd decided to start his search for Igneel. He'd thought surely the people of this town would have noticed Igneel as he had flown away, they were close to his territory after all. There was no way the big lizard could have escaped notice.

Or at least, that's what he'd thought. Walking around the town, everyone he'd ask had told him the same thing. No dragon, especially not a big red one, had been seen in the area for a long time. Aggravated, Natsu had stomped off blindly. He hadn't gotten far before he had crashed into someone, falling to the ground. Already frustrated, Natsu had started shouting before he even knew what'd hit him.

"Omph! Hey, watch where you-" Then he'd seen what, or who, he was yelling at. Natsu could have sworn the world shifted, but it was probably just his imagination, when he caught sight of the small, golden haired girl that was cowering before him. She was tiny (or maybe he was just big?) regardless she looked incredibly vulnerable all hunched over on the ground. Then her smell hit him. The breath he'd pulled in to continue shouting finally registering two things in his brain.

One, the girl smelled strongly of vanilla and morning dew, and he liked it. Like, a lot. More than any cooked meat Igneel had made for dinner after a long day of training. The fragrance set his mind spinning for a moment, and if Natsu had been older he would have realized the feeling of his world's shifting solidify.

Two, the girl also smelled like water with hints of salt. That's when Natsu realized she was crying. A lot. And that's when his panic had set in. Igneel had spent weeks drilling human social rules into his head—he still had the bumps to prove it—and making a girl cry was a big no-no. He had to make this right. Somehow.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry!" Natsu shouted. The girl opened her tearful eyes and gazed up at Natsu. He took note of how big her chocolate colored orbs looked before the face they were attached to turned the color of Igneel's scales. 'Oh shit!' Natsu internally screamed. 'What did I do now? Why is she changing colors?'

Pulling himself out of his internal screaming, Natsu noticed the girl was looking at his face intently, the red hue still present in her skin. What was he supposed to do now? Igneel never mentioned that humans could change colors, especially not when they cried. Was that why guys were supposed to make sure that girls didn't cry? Was this girl gonna die?

Scrambling, Natsu tried to stand up so he could check to see what was wrong with the girl. However, the young dragon boy didn't see that his scarf had snuck its way underneath his feet in all the commotion after the two collided. This resulted in him nearly choking himself as the scarf caught under his feet and pulled tightly on his neck. More shocked than in pain when his head was suddenly yanked back, Natsu fell over again.

Lucy didn't know what to think about the pink haired boy. First he yelled at her, which she supposed she kind of deserved, and then he apologized when he noticed she was crying. Then, he tries to stand and trips on his own scarf. Lucy felt the bubbling before she could hold it in.

She laughed.

Natsu, still on the ground, froze at the sound of the little girl's laughter. It sounded nice. Like those bells he'd heard once when Igneel had sent him to a village during winter for a chore. And she'd stopped crying. Mission accomplished! He didn't know what he did, but everything was better now. A smile shone across his face at his good deed.

"That's better!" Natsu said, standing carefully this time. The girl clapped a hand over her grinning mouth and stared at him. "You're laugh sounds way better than your crying, you know?" The girl turned red again. Oh crap.

"Say, are you okay? You're redder than my dad, and he's a fire dragon," Natsu asked, concerned about the color-changing girl. What would Igneel say if he found out that Natsu had made a girl change color? How bad was that even?

"I'm o-okay," Lucy muttered through her hand. Luckily for Natsu, he had his advanced sense of hearing and heard the soft words. An incredibly large grin grew upon his face when he realized that everything was okay.

"That's great!" Natsu shouted. He stuck out a hand in front of the girl's face. Igneel had told him that humans didn't introduce themselves like dragons, instead they grabbed each other's talons—er, hands, and waved them up and down. "I'm Natsu Dragneel, son of Igneel. Nice to meet ya."

Lucy stared at the hand that had been shoved in her face. 'What's going on? Who is this kid? Did he say dragon?' Hesitantly, Lucy slipped her hand into the boy's, a small smile growing on her face. No reason to be impolite she supposed, strange or not.

"I'm Lucy. Lucy H-" Lucy slammed her mouth shut before she let slip her last name. She didn't know this Natsu, and even though he looked and seemed nice, the more people that knew who she was, the higher the chances were that someone on her father's payroll would eventually find her. Lucy looked up and saw that Natsu was looking at her expectantly. "Just Lucy," she covered her near-mistake with a hesitant laugh. Natsu's smile grew even bigger.

"Awesome!" Natsu shouted, starting to wave Lucy's hand up and down like he thought was he was supposed to. Lucy giggled at how much concentration it looked like Natsu was putting into shaking hands. A thoughtful look abruptly grew on Natsu's face. "Say, you wouldn't've happened to have seen a red dragon flying around the area would you?"

Lucy blinked. Then blinked again. He really had said dragon earlier.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't. I'm not actually from around here, so… Sorry," she said. Natsu shook his head, expecting that response.

"Wait, you're really looking for a dragon?" Natsu's smile dimmed at Lucy's question and he looked up at the sky.

"Yeah," Natsu began. "My dad Igneel is a dragon. I mean… he raised me since before I can remember. He taught me magic, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff too." Natsu's smile slipped further. "But just a week and a half ago or so, he just disappeared. He's never been gone this long and I'm worried something's happened to him."

Lucy's heart went out to the poor boy in front of her. She knew what it was like for a beloved parent to disappear. Even though she had been able to say goodbye to her mother, the pain of her absence was still hard for her to deal with. And Natsu didn't even know where his father figure was? She couldn't imagine that kind of pain.

Lucy didn't even notice that the idea of not taking Natsu at his word about being raised by a dragon hadn't even crossed her mind. Lucy tilted her head in confusion when she noticed Natsu's smile had firmed back up.

"That's why I'm out here. I've decided that I'm going to find that old lizard and beat his ass for leaving me behind," he said. Lucy was shocked. 'He's my age, and he's going to go out and look for a dragon? Is he crazy?'

"Wait a second! Aren't you too young to go running around by yourself?" Lucy questioned. "Shouldn't you wait 'til you're older?" Natsu stared at Lucy. 'She kind of has a point… I guess. No matter how awesome I am, I'm only one person. It's gonna take forever to find Igneel by myself.'

At that moment, Natsu caught sight of the hand that he had given to Lucy to shake. It was still intertwined with hers, and both hands were still waving up and down in the air. 'Huh. How did I not notice that?' he thought. Natsu's eyes traveled up Lucy's arm to the girl's face and settled once again on her brown eyes, his thoughts all the while on what she had said about being by himself.

He had a great idea!

Meanwhile, Lucy had also realized that their hands were still connected. She fought the blush that threatened to reclaim her face, guessing that Natsu hadn't figured it out yet. Glancing at the strange boy she'd literally run into, Lucy caught sight of a flash that blazed through his eyes. She tried to pull away from whatever crazy was about to explode out of Natsu, but the grip he had on her hand, while not painful, was unbreakable.

"Lucy, I just had a great idea!" Natsu shouted. "Why don't you look for Igneel with me?" Lucy's jaw dropped comically, her eyes rounding to white circles. She couldn't believe what he'd just said. Had she heard him correctly?

"W-what!? Why would I do that? Why would you want me of all people?" Lucy's voice climbed higher and higher as her emotions took an extreme turn. Her mother dying, her father becoming so cruel, running away from home, and stealing from Spetto—all of it suddenly became too much with the addition of the offer from the boy in front of her. 'Too much… Too much…'

"Isn't that what friends do? Go do things together?" Natsu asked. His brow furrowed, showing his confusion at Lucy's reaction. They'd shaken hands, so they were friends now right? So shouldn't Lucy be happy to help him? 'She's weird.'

Natsu's statement washed over Lucy's thoughts, and she felt her building panic suddenly break as this new consideration came into play. 'Friend? H-he wants to be my f-friend?'

"F-friends?" Lucy asked, just to be sure. Natsu smiled brightly back at her.

"Well yeah, we are friends right?" he asked back. Lucy glanced between their still joined hands and Natsu's beaming face. For some reason, Lucy felt like she could trust this strange boy. He had apologized—even though their collision was her fault—made her laugh—even if it was an accident—and just called her a friend. She'd never had a real friend before, one that didn't work for her father. Lucy knew her mind was made up before she'd even finished thinking it over. She felt her slight frown turn into a true smile, one she hadn't released since long before her mother died.

"Yeah, we are friends Natsu."

Natsu felt the strangest thing come over him when he saw Lucy smile. As the son of the Fire Dragon King, Igneel had helped him make his body like that of a fire dragon—he could eat fire, bathe in fire, and do almost anything else in and/or with the element. One of the side effects of that was that he hardly ever felt unpleasantly warm; his body naturally stoked his internal fire to the correct level to be comfortable. In spite of that, as Lucy smiled at him, Natsu felt a burning fire erupt in his stomach and blaze throughout his entire body. It didn't hurt, but he sure felt really weird. He'd have to ask Lucy about it some time. But for now…

"That's great! Let's go!" Natsu screamed before tugging on Lucy's hand. The small girl flew through the air behind the now running, and laughing, boy who was dragging her behind him. Lucy let loose screams of her own, ones of terror at how fast Natsu was going.

'What have I gotten myself into?'

Unbeknownst to either exiting youngster, from the shadows of an alley near them, an observing figure stepped forward. As the sun lit upon the individual, light reflected off of a pair of black sunglasses. Curled horns that jutted past the figure's face peeked out from the inky darkness as white fur shone. Unnaturally, a glowing eye glared through one of the lenses of the sunglasses.

"Could it be-e-e? Lucy-sa-a-ama?"

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