Chapter Text
A large crowd was gathering on the first floor of the guild. Makarov stood on the rail of the second floor with a blank look on his face. Crowds of wizards stand in front of the stage. Makarov looked at them with A serious face, “LISTEN UP YOU BRATS! We will be hosting the S-class trials this year! Only one of several candidates will be chosen! Those that will be chosen for the trials are Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Elfman, Cana Alberona, Freed, Levy, and Mest!”
Cheers for those chosen were heard throughout the guild. Lucy felt a bit left out, most of her group were going to Tenrou Island. She looked back at the stage Makarov was making another announcement, “I will be leaving Lucy in charge!” Once again yelling ensued but this time shouts of shock.
Gray looked confused, “Lucy?”
Natsu chimed in, “Why Lucy?”
Lucy pointed at herself, “Yeah! Why me?!”
Makarov grinned, “Because she’s the only one who can complete my paper!”
Lucy stared at him with anger, “SO ALL I’M GOOD FOR IS PAPER WORK!?” The blonde raised her fist that Erza lowered.
The redhead beamed valiantly, “Not just paperwork! You are one of the few that can handle these chaotic morons!”
Natsu whispered, “You mean threaten?”
Gray nodded, “Lucy is scary just like Erza.”
Erza glared at the two knocking their heads into each other, “Lucy will be an amazing temporary master!”
Makarov’s eye twitched, “ENOUGH! Lucy is not only good at paperwork, but can round up your brats with one look. We will set out tomorrow and be returning in one week! Lucy, I’m counting on you.” He raised his hand high in the hairy extending only his pointer and thumb, grinning widely, “Let’s do this Fairy Tail!”
The whole guild cheered and drank the night away. Slowly the crowd dispersed on their way home. A tipsy Lucy holding Plue walked home determined, “I’m going to be the best temporary guild master!”
– The Next Day –
Lucy walked into the guild hall with her head held high, many members had partnered up with those going to Tenrou Island, so half the guild was gone. She walked up to the bar where Kiana was at, “Hi, Kinana!”
She smiled back, “Good morning master!”
Lucy blushed, “You don’t need to call me master. It’s only going to be like this for a week. Just call me Lucy.”
Kiana shook her head, “No can do master. It may be temporary, but it would be subversive to call you anything but master.”
Lucy sighed, “Fine! But once this temporary master thing is over, no more calling me master.”
Kiana gave her a thumbs up. Lucy ordered a strawberry milkshake and brought it up to the master’s office and relaxed, “Maybe this won’t be so bad afterall.” She turned towards the stack of paper sitting on the desk and groaned, “How did master let it get this bad?” Lucy sat down and got to work on the stacks of paperwork.
– A Week Later –
Lucy was lounging in the guild master’s office, after finishing up the last of the paperwork. She wore old headphones she found in the office and was scrolling the lacrima pod that was with it. Listening to one of the playlists when the door bursts open revealing a teary eyed Romeo and a panicked Macao. Romeo rushed forward to Lucy, “Master! Rune Knights are here and demanding to see you.”
“What?!” Lucy abruptly stood up and stared at the two, “We haven’t caused any incidents this whole week! Where are these Rune Knights?”
“They are downstairs and requesting to see you.” Macao replied in a serious tone.
Lucy walked out the door followed by Macao. Wakaba was trying to reason with the Rune Knights. “You guys can wait here for our master!”
Lahar stood in front of a battalion, “This is urgent! We need to speak with the temporary master!” He turned his head to see Lucy rushing down the stairs taking off her head phones. She walked up to the two men and pushed them apart, and glared at Lahar.
“Under no circumstances can you yell at my guild member. So I suggest backing up and telling me what the hell is so urgent that you are yelling at my guild members.”
Lahar had a bitter look on his face, “Four days ago a large amount of magic was detected near Tenrou Island that suddenly vanished as soon as it appeared. We sent out ships immediately, we were unable to locate Tenrou Island, only remains of the Fairy Tail ship were found.
Lucy falters, “Let’s…let’s continue this in my office.”
Lahar signaled for his battalion to leave the guild while he and Lucy climbed up the stairs into her office. She leaned against her desk as Lahar started to explain what happened. As each minute ticked by Lucy gripped the desk harder and harder, not letting her tears fall. “Is that all of it?” Lahar nodded. “Please leave. I will need to inform my guild.” Lahar left and Lucy followed behind him. Lucy stood at the end of the second floor balcony watching as Lahar left and the doors to the guild closed. She saw the nervous faces of her fellow guild mates, “The Rune Knights detected a large amount of magic coming from Tenrou Island that disappeared as fast as it appeared. When they went to where Tenrou Island is located, nothing but debris was found…” The whole guild went silent and some, like Jet and Droy, cried at the news. Lucy just stood there as she watched everyone break down feeling helpless, there was nothing they could do.
——
The next few days went by in a blur for Lucy, all she did was work during those days, new sets of paperwork came in. Most of it revolved around the members that went missing, Lucy refused to sign off on their death certificates. She sent letters to Blue Pegasus requesting their aid in investigating what happened on Tenrou Island, and paying them a hefty amount of course. The blonde worked tirelessly to keep the Rune Knights from interfering in Fairy Tail’s investigation while also keeping the apartments of those missing from being rented out again. The guild simply didn’t have enough funds to keep rents paid and keep the guild hall up and running.
Lucy was about to lose hope when someone knocked on the door. She sighed, “Come in.” A worried Macao and Wakaba walked in followed by her father. Jude Heartfilia stood awkwardly as Lucy glared, “What is he doing here?”
Wakaba frowned, “Master, he’s here to help.”
Macao added, “At least we think so.”
Lucy stood up from her desk. She blankly stared at her father, “Why are you here?”
“I have come to apologize.”
She scoffed, “Apologize? You apologize? After everything you’ve done to me?! To my real family?!”
Jude got on his knees and bowed, “I know I have no right to ask you for forgiveness. After all the things I have done to you and the Fairy Tail which you and your mother loved so much. But I want to atone for my sins! I want to become the father that you deserve!”
“Why?! So you can take the last bit of money I have for you so called business ideas?! If what you want is money, then I don’t have it!”
“No! I don’t want your money, Lucy! I…I promised your mother I would take care of you after she died, and I did an awful job of caring for you. But I want to be here to care for you now. When I heard about what happened on Tenrou Island. I was so worried you had died. I rushed to the guild and…”
Lucy let go of her fists and got down on her knees to hug Jude. She cried in her father’s arms and asked through tears, “Papa, they are gone! Everyone is gone!”
Jude cried with her, “I Lucy, I know. You loved them so much.”
Lucy held on tighter before letting go, “I stayed behind as a temporary master. I’ve been trying to get started on our own investigation. But we just don’t have enough money!” She held her head in her hands. “Do I spend about three months of the guild’s expenses on an investigation that could be futile?! What about the possessions of those who went missing? Do we keep them or sell them? What about the existing members? They are starting to leave in hoards, jobs aren’t coming in anymore. I don’t know what to do! This was meant to be temporary and now I’m the official master of Fairy Tail!”
Her father stroked her hair, “Lucy, this is for you.” He handed her a briefcase. “During our time apart I have restarted the Love and Luck merchant guild. I am being paid almost the same amount as the railroad business, I’ll give you five million jewels.”
Lucy pushed him away. “No! I don’t want your stupid money! Your just going to hurt me again!”
With a pained look on his face Jude explains, “It was your inheritance, Lucy. It was what your mother left behind and I selfishly invested it into the Heartfilia Railroad business.” He pushed the suitcase towards Lucy, “I have been saving up in hopes of returning it to you. And maybe…just maybe if I save up enough money I could get back the Heartfilia estate, your mother loved it dearly…and her resting site is there.”
Lucy stared at it warily and took the brief case, “I’ll take it and this doesn’t mean I fully trust you after what you’ve done. But, I am willing to try and mend our relationship and maybe I can trust you again…”
Jude smiled, “I would like that…”
Macao and Wakaba beamed at the two. Wakaba with a cigar in his mouth knocked on the door gaining the attention of the two, “I hate to break the heartwarming moment, but Master needs rest. She hardly slept much these few days.”
Macao nodded in agreement and walked over to Lucy gently holding her arm and guiding her to the infirmary, “Come on, let's get you to a bed.” Jude took the briefcase from the floor and put it on the desk in the office and followed Macao, Lucy, and Wakaba down the stairs. Lucy collapsed on the bed instantly falling asleep.
Waking up Lucy felt refreshed for the first time in a while. As Lucy left the infirmary she noticed how dirty her clothes and hair were becoming. ‘Let’s go home. I need to take care of myself…’ The guild was empty, Macao and Wakaba had closed up last night, exiting the building Lucy and watched the sunrise. She had some time before everyone would start coming in for the day. Entering her home it was eerily quiet, nothing had been touched, Lucy went straight to the bathroom and got a warm bath ready. Stripping she stood in the shower washing away the stress of the past few days, Lucy soaked in the tub for about thirty minutes when a loud crash came from her room. Quickly standing up and getting a towel and her keys, she left the bathroom quietly, “Natsu?” Peering into her room it was empty, no traces of her team that would occasionally break into her apartment. Lucy let out a pitiful laugh, “Of course it wasn’t Natsu. It can’t be Natsu…” For the first time Lucy was able to process what had happened. She let out loud cries and called out the names of her guild mates. Eventually she opened the spirit gates she once kept sealed, Lucy had stopped all her spirits from summoning themselves during her grief stricken work spree.
The next day Lucy fell into a depressive state. It was a cycle of working, sleeping, and crying, for a while. One of those days Ichiya stopped by. He walked in with a sullen face, “Where is the temporary master of Fairy Tail?”
Kiana beamed, “Master is in her office on the second floor. Do you want me to take you there?”
Ichiya shook his head, “This is a journey for me. Man~.” He walked up the stairs with an unusual look of sorrow on his face.” He walked up to the office door and knocked.
“Come in! The door is unlocked!” Lucy sat at her desk with messy hair and stacks of paperwork. She had a hopeful look in her eyes when she saw Ichiya enter. “Ichiya! Have you found any signs of Tenrou Island?”
Ichiya gave her a pitiful look, “Lucy-sama, I have to apologize. The investigation found that Tenrou Island has been magically destroyed. We have reason to believe that those on the island have perished from the spell. This is the official written report on our investigation.” Ichiya gritted his teeth, “On behalf of Blue Pegasus, we send our condolences.”
The last bit of hope that Lucy clung onto shattered. It was all over for her, her family, her support system, and her life was all gone. Tears came flooding out, Lucy gripped her chest, “The payment of three million jewels will be transferred to your guild in three days' time. Thank you Ichiya, you may leave.”
Ichiya looked hesitant to leave but did so anyway. He walked back to his guild with a solemn look on his face.
Lucy silently cried for a few minutes, tears not relenting as she combed through every paper. Once she finally calmed down Lucy walked out of her office to face the hopeful guild, she stood at the ledge where Master Makarov would stand. All eyes were on her in an instant, this was the fateful moment the few remaining Fairy Tail mages were waiting for, “Blue Pegasus has finished their investigation of the Tenrou Island. It was discovered that Tenrou Island was most likely destroyed with a spell. Large amounts of magic was located where Tenrou Island once stood. We have likely reason to believe that those on the island are dead…” Taking in a deep breath Lucy stared down her guild mates, “All of them are dead. I have signed their death certificates.”
Everyone was crying heavily and Lucy had joined in the group's mourning. Romeo stood and angrily yelled, “NO! They can’t be dead! I won’t believe it!” He ran out of the guild, Macao ran after him.
Lucy’s heart broke even more at the sight of her family grief. Going down the stairs Lucy walked up to the bar and grabbed a bottle of whatever alcohol was closest. She walked home occasionally taking sips of alcohol. Once she was inside her apartment she looked to the place where her family would break into and fell to the ground. Lucy broke down crying, she was too weak to keep her spirits’ gates closed, Virgo and Loke immediately summoned themselves. Loke rushed towards Lucy picking her off of the ground, “Lucy!” He held her as she cried in his arms, “Loke! I can’t do this! I miss them too much! How am I supposed to live while half of those I loved are gone!”
Loke tightened his grip on Lucy, “It will be hard at first, but over time you will learn to live with the pain.”
Virgo took Lucy from Loke to help her shower and get dressed. Once Virgo finished she put Lucy in bed. Lucy wallowed in her bed. The lion spirit took off his suit jacket and put it on a chair before walking over and joined the blonde in the bed. He hugged her tightly and tried to soothe her to sleep. “Shhhh…it's okay.” Virgo quietly left for the kitchen and made enough food for a week. Loke held Lucy until he ran out of magic. Lucy laid in her bed unable to sleep. Time felt both long and short. When the sun had risen, she resolutely got up and wrote a letter. Grabbing her keys she flatly called out, “Open. Gate of the maiden, Virgo.”
The spirit immediately answered her call, “How are you feeling Princess?”
Lucy shook her head, “No. I need you to go to the guild hall and tell Macao or Wakaba or anyone in fact that I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep being the master of Fairy Tail.” She handed her the letter she had written earlier.
Virgo looked shocked, “But you-”
“Virgo! Please…I’m tired. I….I can’t….do it anymore!”
Virgo took the letter with a frown on her face, “Yes, Princess.” She silently left for the guild.
When Virgo left Lucy went back to her bed and continued to wallow instead of sleep. She stayed in her bed longing for those she lost. when a loud knock on the door stirred Lucy from her bed. She took a pillow to mute the noise, but the banging on the door seeped through regardless. Sluggishly Lucy got out of bed and dragged her feet all the way to her front door. She wiped away a few tears as she opened the door. In front of her was a large group of the remaining mages in Fairy Tail led by Romeo. The young boy called out, “Master!”
Lucy shook her head, “I’m not your master anymore.”
Romeo looked at Lucy with glassy eyes, “But master! We need you!”
The blonde growled, “I’m not your master! I refuse to lead this guild when I can barely keep myself together! I’m not a good master…” She let out a sigh, “I’m miserable. I’m tired. I’m a mess.”
Wakaba threw his cigar to the ground, “Well so am I! But I know that you are what we need! You handled all the guilds paperwork, the finances, the investigation into Tenrou Island! You think we didn’t know you used part of your inheritance in it, but we do!”
Kiana nodded, “Yeah! You made sure that we still had jobs coming in and made sure we were comforted when we were scared! You have done so much for us.”
Macao walked forward and hugged Lucy, “You were amazing these past weeks. You will do just fine as our official master. We are still Fairy Tail and at Fairy Tail we are family!”
She shook her head, “Anyone could have done the same as me.”
Romeo yelled in disbelief, “How many times do we have to tell you?! There is only one Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail! No one can replace you!”
Lucy felt pride swell in her chest as each member expressed their gratitude toward Lucy. She wiped the tears off her face, “Okay, okay, I’ll continue to be master." The mages cheered loudly. Lucy raised her hand to pause the cheering, "But you guys seriously need to tone down the amount of property damage. I seriously had a hard time finishing all the paperwork Makarov left behind and I don't know if I can handle anymore complaints.”
Everyone started laughing. Macao ruffled Lucy's hair, "We all promise to be extra careful on missions from now on." He turned to the crowd, "Am I right guys?!" The Fairys cheered in affirmation. Lucy grinned, "Now lets head back to guild! Our nakama may no longer be here to celebrate with us, but we can celebrate for them! Kiana, we are bringing out all of the reserved booze we have!" The group walked to the guild hall where everyone drank the night away. The future was unknown, but they had a reliable master to keep them on track. The next few months went by in a blur, everyone was still in mourning but people were returning back to their everyday lives. The Luck and Love merchant guild and Fairy Tail signed a five year contract stating that the merchant guild will only hire mages from Fairy Tail to escort their merchant ships. Many new jobs were sent due to the contract. Fairy Tail was flourishing. Lucy and Loke began daily training with Lucy in order to increase her magic pool. During an ordinary day an unexpected person also made their way to the guild.
It was a normal day for Lucy, head to the guild, finish any new paperwork, train with Loke, and relax with everyone at the guild for the remainder of the day. But today, when Lucy was partying with her guild mates after her training, the guild’s door opened to reveal three hooded figures. Lucy was a bit tipsy but quickly sobered up when she saw the suspicious figures. Walking up to them she smiled, “Hello! Welcome to Fairy Tail!”
The tallest of the three walked up to her, “Are you the master of this guild?”
Lucy nodded, “Are you here to join?”
“We might be interested…” He took off his cloak revealing Jellal in all his glory. “That is if you will have us.” The two others behind him removed their cloaks to reveal Ultear and Meredy.
Lucy’s eyes widened, several members got into attack position, some of the newer members were confused but were ready to attack too. “What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in prison…”
Ultear and Meredy joined in, “We broke him out of jail.”
Lucy looked glum as she looked Jellal in the eyes, “Why are you here?”
Jellal bit his lip, “We wanted to atone for our sins, so we are here to apologize for all that we have done.”
Meredy nodded, “Yeah! Do you know where Juvia is? I promised the next time we meet I’d tell her about all the good I’ve done!”
Lucy sighed, “I guess you haven’t heard yet…Juvia and many more went to Tenrou Island for our guild’s S-class trials. A test to see if a Fairy Tail mage is ready to be an S-class mage. The island disappeared, an investigation found that the island was destroyed with a power spell. I was the temporary master at the time, now I’m the official fourth master of Fairy Tail.”
The trio’s eyes widened in horror. Jellal fisted his hands, “Was Erza on the island?” Lucy nodded sadly. Jellal's face scrunched up in pain and let out an empty laugh, “The whole reason I came here was for Erza. I finally remembered everything. When we were enslaved, when we were all friends, when I fell in love with her.”
The whole guild let their guard down and let tears shed. Lucy walked up to Jellal and hugged him, “You miss her...I miss her too. We miss all of them.” Letting go Lucy had a small smile, “Join Fairy Tail. It would have made Erza happy to have you in our guild, Meredy and Ultear too, all of you can join.”
Jellal looked at his two friends who both nodded in agreement, “We will join, if you’ll have us, but you will be making the Magical Counsel and Rune Knights enemies if you let us join.”
Lucy grinned evilly, “That if they know Jellal Fernandes has joined, luckily Mystogan happens to be in Edolas right now.” Kiana walked over and handed Lucy the guild stamp, “You will be Mystogan till we can get your sentencing overruled or pardoned. Now where do you guys want your guild mark? Sorry, Jellal you don’t have a choice.”
Ultear smiled, “I’ll have mine on my back.”
Meredy beamed, “I want mine on my thigh!”
Jellal reminisced, “If I remember correctly Mystogan’s mark is on his left chest.”
Lucy nodded, “Impeccable memory, as expected.” She stamped each of the new members. Once she finished stamping Ultear the whole guild erupted in cheers. Romeo ran to hug Lucy’s leg, “Does that mean they are nice wizards?”
“Of course! They are Fairy Tail mages now!”
Macao took a huge sip of his beer at the bar with Wakaba, “You know that means right?!”
Wakaba let out a huge puff of smoke, “Lets party! Kiana, three rounds of beer for our new nakama!"