Chapter 13: Reunions

The small golden winged half-dragon that had arrived with Laxus had defeated Acnologia to the shock and amazement of the dragon slayers of Fairy Tail. Her roar echoing in the sky her body oddly familiar to them and then they all felt immense pain their bodies twitching with it as a glow of magic surrounded them. The pain was terrible worse than anything Natsu had ever felt before, worse than anything Gajeel had felt, and Wendy feared she wouldn't be able to heal anyone afterwards because of how terrible it was. Yet despite the pain it was worth it when five more roars joined the dragons in the sky all the first generation slayers rejoicing as they saw the familiar figures that had raised them. Their bodies had somehow been hosting their dragon parents and the pain had been them finally leaving.

Natsu and the others were shocked when Igneel went towards the black dragon his eyes full of rage as he glared down at him. The black dragon shifting into the form of Eridanus the dragon who had been the mate of Freed's Aunt, his eyes kept shifting to the smaller golden dragon behind him as he bowed his head down to Igneel. All the slayers and dragons around could smell the shame coming off of the black dragon in waves as well as acceptance as if he was laying his fate in Igneel's claws.

"Eridanus what have you to say of the crimes your slayer committed?!" Igneel's echoing voice and his words causing the slayers and dragons around to stare with shock at the dragon of the Eclipse. Not believing that he had been the dragon to have taught Acnologia and in a sense it was his teaching Acnologia that had led to all of them hiding, or being in pain because their loved ones disappeared.

"Only that I did not know the power would go to Acnologia like that. My fate rests in your claws Igneel King of the Fire Dragons, I only ask that you wait to pass your judgment until after I can be sure my youngest is safe. Today having been the first day she allowed herself in her dragon form, and I fear that the magic may have been too much for her especially after her injury."

They could hear the love Eridanus had for his daughter in his voice, but the growl from Laxus stopped him from approaching her. The lightning slayer's arms were draped around the small golden winged girl his eyes hard as he glared at the older dragon. Seeing that Eridanus wouldn't come closer until he allowed it Laxus carefully picked up the winged girl in his arms being careful of her sensitive wings, making his way over to where Wendy had been clutching onto Grandeeny.

"Oi Wendy can your dragon mother heal her more, I know she'll need rest to fully recover, but I don't want her being in too much pain when she wakes up," Laxus said his voice gentle as he talked to the younger slayer.

"Grandeeny please help her if you can she's the one who dealt the final blow to Acnologia," Wendy begged.

"Of course my sweet daughter for you I would have even if she hadn't saved us from that creature," Grandeeny said her wings fluttering as she laid a claw down onto the small golden half-dragon's chest. The sky dragon sensing how much her adopted daughter loved the defeater of Acnologia so she would have helped her just for that because she knew despite her warm heart Wendy closed herself off slightly to those she did not truly care for.

The dragons around them watched as the healing light Wendy used all the time seemed pitiful compared to the brilliant white light of her dragon as she sent her magic into the golden half-dragon. Healing any problems she could sense, but knowing that the lightning smelling dragon was right in his words that what this brave girl needed most was rest.

Lucy's eyes fluttered open to the feeling of her hair being brushed out of her face and smiled as she saw the warm eyes of her mate leaning over her. She was glad to see that he was uninjured and sniffed discreetly to make sure there weren't any injuries that she just couldn't see at the moment. The room was oddly quiet and she wondered if Laxus had requested Freed to write up some runes to make sure no noise got in. Then her eyes went wide with panic as she remembered last time she had seen Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel they had been twisting on the floor in pain.

"Oi calm down Blondie!" Laxus said worry coloring his tone, "everyone's fine. Wendy and Grandeeny healed any injuries, and everyone's downstairs partying. They don't know yet that Lumina and Lucy are the same other then Wendy, I thought that was better for you to explain."

Hearing that everyone was fine Lucy sighed with relief before she stiffened again realizing what Laxus had just said. "What do you mean Grandeeny?!"

"The first gen apparently had their dragons inside them. They wanted to keep their slayer children from becoming like Acnologia and didn't have enough power to defeat him themselves. Once they sensed that Acnologia was dead they came out of the bodies of the slayers, I had Grandeeny heal you up more before she and Wendy took to healing everyone else."

Lucy was shocked and so happy to hear that her friends had gotten their parents back. Yet she was still afraid of facing them because of the lies she had told them all, especially to Freed who had been nothing except kind to her. How would he take it when he learned that she was his cousin and that she had purposely hid it from him? Before it wouldn't have been her fault because she hadn't known until she met Freed's family, but now she had purposely been keeping the information from him. Allowing his family to believe that she was nothing, but a friend of their relative's not an actual relative herself. Yet she knew that the time for lies was over, and that she needed to face them with the truth, this time there was no running away which is why she followed Laxus out of the room both of them silent. Knowing what she was about to do made it hard for them to keep conversation.

Today should be a day of celebration and love for everything going on, and for most that was exactly what today was. With Acnologia dead so many would be able to come out of hiding perhaps Dragon Slaying magic would no longer be a lost art, that was if any dragons actually trusted humans not to turn out like Acnologia. Either way the future of Fiore was certainly changing with this new information that dragons other then Acnologia hadn't gone extinct. Certainly there were only about a hundred left give or take, but there were still dragons and that was what mattered.

It was easy to hear everyone celebrating if she listened closely enough she could even hear the individual voices of those she loved. Laxus and herself seemed to be the only Fairy Tail members missing from the party, and it was driving Natsu crazy. Wendy had her hands full trying to keep him with the rest of their guild because he was worried for her, and didn't yet know what Wendy did that she had never evacuated. She wondered why no one other then Laxus and Wendy had realized that Lumina the Star Dragon was really Lucy of Fairy Tail. Did she really look that different with the additions of wings and scales, or perhaps they just didn't wish to see her lies come to life in front of them?

Opening the door at first no one seemed to notice her and Laxus standing there. Until Lucy found herself embraced by two sets of arms her older brothers scents wafting into her nose, and she allowed herself to hug them back. Fighting Acnologia had been good for her because it was finally pushing her to go in the right direction with her family. She was finally able to be at peace with both herself and her father for both of them failing to protect Fairy Tail eight years ago when Acnologia had attacked Tenroujima. It was a time of new beginnings and with time she prayed her guild would forgive her lies.

"How are you feeling Lu?" Luca's voice asked her as he and Dimitri pulled away slowly as if they never wanted to let her go.

"I'll be fine Luca."

"Come on Wendy Luce needs to be here with us! Just let me go find her already unless if you know something I don't. Mavis don't tell me something happened to her, so help me Wendy if she's hurt because you won't let me go to her," Natsu threatened, but everyone knew it was a hallow threat. It wouldn't have been if he had said that to anyone other than Wendy, but everyone in their guild knew that Natsu was incapable of harming the youngest dragon slayer she was too much like his younger sister for him to ever do anything like it.

Taking a deep breath Lucy shrugged Dimitri and Luca off of her, and they surprisingly let her go. Perhaps it was because they knew just what it meant to her to do this for herself, or maybe because Laxus had growled warningly at them, either way she was just glad they weren't holding onto her. She felt like if she allowed herself to lean on someone right now that she would chicken out and not say the words that needed to be said. Not reveal the lies she had spoken.

Even now she could see Freed and his family watching her with wide eyes knowing she was Lumina, but not knowing she was Lucy. They felt like they didn't have the right to approach her because in all intents and purposes she should be a stranger to them, and it was up to her father to introduce them. None of them knew that she was the girl they had teased about Laxus, the one who told them about Freed's relationship with Mira, that they already knew her because she hadn't allowed them into her heart.

"Wendy," she called softly, but it brought everyone's eyes away from the struggling slayers to her, "let him go. It is better he not be restrained."

She could see the recognition dawning in the eyes of the slayers from both her scent and her voice, but she could also see the doubt in their eyes. How they tried to reason that there was no way that the girl with golden wings standing in front of them was Lucy. She could feel the betrayal in the air as they fought thinking she would never keep something like this from them.

"Bunny," she heard Gajeel softly breathe as he waited for her to react someway to his nickname. Probably praying she wouldn't react at all to the nickname he had given the light of Fairy Tail, and the tears that shined in his eyes as Lucy bowed her head in shame.

"Most of you have probably heard me be called Lumina by my father Eridanus and my brothers. What you do not know however is that Lumina of the Stars is just my dragon name, all Halflings like myself have both a dragon and a human name. The name I grew up with was Lucy Heartfilia, I apologize to all of you for lying to you for the past year that I have known."

Lucy refused to raise her head at first not wanting to see the eyes marked with betrayal and anger. Hating that she would be the one to put those feelings in the eyes of the guild she saw as her family, even if she had another family, Fairy Tail would still always hold that place in her heart. Thinking that it would take them time to forgive her was why Lucy was so shocked when the guild ended up pouncing on her hugging her, and telling her it didn't matter what she was she would always be Lucy of Fairy Tail first and foremost. She had seen many times just how easy it was for her guild to forgive, but it still amazed her even now.

"So do we call you Lucy or Lumina?" Freed's mother Josephine asked a wide smile on her lips it shocked Lucy that she didn't seem angry at all. None of the Justine's did and it shocked her even more than it did with Fairy Tail.

"Why aren't you angry at me?" she whispered the pain coloring her tone.

"How could we be angry? You didn't know us at first, and I can see that you have fought desperately for your family. Your mother would be proud of you even if she would be a little disappointed that it took you this time to come clean. Despite your lies Lucy you are still a member of our family, even before we knew you were Lumina I could see Freed already took you on as a little sister because his darling Laxus-sama was in love with you," her last words caused Lucy to blush. A warm hand on her shoulder made her look back with bright eyes as Laxus stepped up behind her not denying her Aunt's words.

"Guess that means you're stuck with me Luce-chan," Freed said with a smirk from where he was cuddled up with Mira. Not even really understanding why herself Lucy burst into tears she just couldn't understand why everyone was being so understanding.

Laxus's arms wrapped around her spinning her around in his arms so that he was tightly holding her whispering in her ear trying to calm her down, what did she do to deserve such a loving mate and family? After everything she never thought that it would be so easy to be accepted for who she was, and with how they were accepting her now she couldn't help, but wonder if all of her fears had just been silly.

After that it was just a whirlwind of activity, but Laxus never left her side not for even a minute. She knew that the two of them had to discuss their relationship sometime, but today was for celebrating and reunions. She talked more with her and Freed's family telling them how life growing up believing she was Lucy Heartfilia was, as well as telling them how it wasn't until after last year's GMG that she had found out what she was. Every single moment they missed that Freed hadn't already told them about she did, well everything that she could think of before Natsu dragged her away.

Since it was due to her defeating Acnologia that they were back, all of the dragon slayers took her to meet their dragon parents. The five dragons in their human forms just like her father and brother's guild, not wanting to leave their children just yet. Igneel was just as brash as Natsu, and he seemed angry at her father, but no one would tell her why. Grandeeny was kind and had a warmth to her that made Lucy feel happy, she also seemed to be sticking quite close to Igneel and Lucy wondered if the two of them were mates. Metalicana was just as aloof as Gajeel, acting like he didn't care about anyone.

Sting and Rogue even came by to introduce her to Weisslogia and Skiadrum the two dragons being mates which was why Sting and Rogue had known each other since a young age. Even after being separated for fifteen long years they still seemed to act like newlyweds, and their love practically radiated off of the two. Despite the fact that they were polar opposites they fit well because they filled in what each other lacked, and Lucy found herself wishing that she and Laxus would have a relationship like them in the future.

Even though this year's game didn't have a winner Lucy just found herself happy that no one had died. It went to show that as long as she had Fairy Tail and Laxus behind her she was capable of anything even when it seemed to be impossible.