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Lucy sighed, folding her arms and putting her head down on the bar. Since her team ran true to form, she didn’t have enough money to comfortably make rent this month. Nobody but Mira seemed to have noticed her moping, and she raised her head as Mira slid her a glass of orange juice with a questioning look. “I don’t have enough jewel to make rent,” she explained, stirring her juice with its straw, “our last job would have had me set, but then Natsu and Gray got into a fight and destroyed the roofs of a few houses and a shop. The town billed all of us, not just those two.” She took a sip.
“Oh, dear. That does sound like them!” Mira replied, polishing a tray. “If it’s really going to be an issue, I might have a job that you can take.”
“What is it? I’ll do just about anything.” Lucy replied, feeling hope for the first time since the job went south.
“It’s up north. There’s a woman who lives in a forest, and her booby traps have made the path impassable. The local town uses the path for trade and travel, so they need it. The mayor wants someone to go talk to her and talk her down.”
“That doesn’t seem like it's a wizard’s job…” Lucy said, curious but still wary.
“Well, the woman is also a wizard, and she used magic to place the traps. The mayor thinks that only a mage would be able to get past all of them in one piece. But it’s more of a… delicate job that I don’t think fits the rest of your team,” Mira explained. She was right, of course. Natsu was too volatile, Gray would just get pissed off, and past diplomatic missions that Erza had taken just ended in more bloodshed. Wendy was too young to take it. It looked like the only member of Team Natsu that could reasonably finish this job was Lucy Heartfilia. Seeing Lucy’s hesitance, Mira sealed the deal, “It pays 20,000J.”
“I’ll take it! Lucy Heartfilia, chief diplomat of Fairy Tail!” Lucy stood up from the barstool, arms raised in victory.
“I thought we gave that title to Levy after the Great Mouse Incident 3 years ago…” Mira muttered, fishing the flyer out from the file private job offers were kept in. “Here you go, I’ll let Master know about it, but you’re free to go!” Lucy grabbed it and started reading, waving as she walked out the door to pack.
Two hours later, Lucy was on the train to the town of Lilyvale, a few hours north of Magnolia. The flyer just said to meet the mayor at the Town Hall, and she would get her instructions from there. She got off, grabbing her bag, and started looking around for the Hall. She didn’t see it, but saw a clock tower a few blocks away from where she was, and figured it was as good a place to look as any. As it turned out, it was the town hall, and she took a steadying breath before going in. This wasn’t her first solo job, she had been on dozens by now, but it was the first solo job she had taken in a while, and she was still keyed up from her rush to get to the village. Lucy opened the door and walked into a waiting area, with a desk in front and a few chairs dotted around the room, with halls to different offices leading away. She walked up to the receptionist, flyer in hand. “Hi, I’m Lucy, from Fairy Tail? I took the job that the mayor is offering,” she said, handing over the flyer as proof.
“You’re taking over the Rana job?” the receptionist asked, peering over their glasses to look at the stamp Mira had placed on it, signifying that it was official. “Good luck, a few wizards have tried but no one’s succeeded. Or even came close,” they said, looking up at Lucy with a knowing expression. “The mayor will see you now, it’s through that door.”
Lucy followed their gaze and, thanking the receptionist, went through the door and down a short hallway, to the door that said MAYOR on its plaque. She knocked, and heard a stern voice say “Come in,” She went through the door to find a man sitting behind a large oak desk, with a window illuminating him from behind, making it hard to see his face. The desk was covered with an assortment of books, pens and documents all haphazardly spread across it. “Take a seat, Ms. Heartfilia,” he said, gesturing towards a green armchair that was obviously there for visitors. She sat, nervously picking at a piece of lint on her skirt. “Fairy Tail sent you?”
“I’m from Fairy Tail, yes,” she replied.
“Good. The job is relatively simple. A few weeks ago, a witch named Rana set booby traps and pitfalls all along Mayfly Lane. She lives down the lane, and all the traps are between the town and her cottage. Nobody has been able to get in or out of Lilyvale in weeks. You see, Mayfly Lane is the only way out of the town other than the railroad.” Lucy had noticed this. On maps, Lilyvale was in a bowl-shaped valley, with only one pass and road in or out. The railroad went through a tunnel in the mountains, so people still could leave, but it was expensive and not suited for the daily trade of fruits and vegetables, perishable meats and cheeses, or smaller vendors and businesses who couldn’t afford the train fare to get all of their items into the town. “Rana’s tantrum is throwing all business in town off,” he explained, confirming Lucy’s suspicions. She nodded through his explanation. “The job is basically to get through the traps and talk to her about why she’s doing this, and to get her to stop. By force if necessary,” he continued.
“Do you know anything else about her? I’m trying to see what I’m dealing with here,” Lucy asked.
“We don’t know much else, but she is a wizard who was also trained as an apothecary, so be careful about anything she tries to give you to eat or drink.”
“Alright, go down Mayfly Lane, talk to Rana, don’t eat anything, and save the town? That’s an easy day for Fairy Tail’s chief diplomat!” Lucy said, standing up and shaking the Mayor’s proffered hand.
“I thought that title belonged to Levy McGarden…” the mayor muttered. After I finish this job, that title will be mine. Lucy thought. Nothing like a little competition to get her fired up. She left the Hall, found the inn she had booked, placed her bags down, and set off down Mayfly Lane. This is going to be so easy.
Three steps forward on the lane, and Lucy fell down a pitfall. She was familiar with the ruse, after Galuna Island, and cursed herself for not being more careful. Of course, the bottom of the pit was filled with knee deep mud that clung to her boots. She was able to climb out easily enough, and got the worst of the mud off in a nearby puddle. Resigning herself to being more careful, she continued on, avoiding an obvious rope strung across the dirt road. The forest pressed in on both sides, and she couldn’t see more than a few meters into them. Once it started to get dark, she would probably have to turn around and try again the next day. While she was distracted thinking about this, her foot brushed against a seemingly inoffensive mushroom, which turned out to be very offensive. A feather-light string was attached to it, and once it was tripped a volley of arrows, rocks, and spears all came hurtling towards her. Ducking her head and dropping flat on the ground may have gotten her dusty, but she avoided the worst of the blows. A few rocks and the side of a spear hit her, but only enough to bruise lightly. Dusting herself off, Lucy got up again, and kept walking.
The next section of road was covered in leaves in an uncanny pattern. It looked exactly if someone had laid them all out to make it
seem
natural, but had failed miserably. Cautiously, she reached out a toe and poked one, only for the ground under and surrounding the leaf to crumble away into another pitfall. She would have to be very careful here. Unfortunately, Gemini wasn’t available to summon this week. They had transformed into Happy a week before for a prank, and she could use some wings right now. But, Gemini was currently on a two-week spa retreat, and she was on her own.
Unless…
“Open, Gate of the Ram, Aries!”
“H-hello, what did you need?” Aries asked.
“Can you lay down a layer of wool over this section of the path? They’re pressure activated, and I need to get to the end,” Lucy explained.
“Of course! Wool Wall!” A layer of pink, soft wool coated the area, just strong enough for Lucy to walk on. She did so carefully, sinking up to her ankles with every step. At the end, she thanked Aries, then sent her back to the Spirit World. After taking a breather, she felt like someone was watching her, but couldn’t see into the woods enough to see anyone. Must be my imagination.
Lucy looked up at the sun and saw that she only had a few hours of light left, and decided to sacrifice safety for speed. She could see a plume of smoke ahead, and knew that it was Rana’s cottage. Unfortunately, in this act she didn’t notice the ring of liquid around the path, and stepped in the middle of it, triggering a switch that caused the liquid, which turned out to be kerosene, to catch fire. Luckily, she was in the middle, and only got singed a little, but she was still trapped in a ring of fire. She didn’t have any water to summon Aquarius with, and started to panic a little. Until the flames started to move unnaturally to a spot behind her, accompanied by a noise she knew from countless battles and days spent with the noise maker. Sighing, she turned around, only to see Natsu eating the last of the flames that had engulfed her. “What are you doing here? This was a solo job,” she said, nowhere near surprised.
“It’s always more fun when we’re together!” he replied, giving her a grin.
“Not when I can’t make rent again because you’re a pyro,”
“C’mon I’ve already come all this way, you won’t even notice I’m here,” he said, still smiling. Lucy knew that he was impossible to send away, and resigned herself to having to do the negotiations with Natsu by her side, adding in tactless commentary.
“How did you even get here? I had Aries pull back her wool pretty quickly after crossing,” she asked, possibly a little later than she meant to.
“Oh, I just cut in through the woods. Faster that way,” he replied, starting to walk towards the smoke plume. Of course. He was the one behind the feeling of being watched. Natsu didn’t even think about talking to the mayor about the job specifics, choosing instead to follow her blindly so she wouldn’t be lonely on her decidedly solo job. It was so typical of Natsu that she had to bite back a grin.
“Let’s just get this over with. The basic version is that this witch named Rana set all these traps, and the town sent out a job offer to negotiate with her to get them off the lane.” At the back of Lucy’s mind, she thought that she was forgetting an important detail the mayor had mentioned, but couldn’t remember. Just then, they came across a small, gray-bricked cottage with a pond in front and geraniums in the front window boxes. The plaque on front said Rana’s, so it was the right place. “Remember, this is my job, and your job is to stay quiet and still. I need to pay rent.”
Lucy knocked on the lilypad shaped door-knocker a few times, before the door opened to a young woman in a simple green dress and a straw hat with a matching ribbon around the brim. She had curly, dark hair and a no- nonsense look on her face.
“What do you want? I set those traps for a reason. Go away,” she said, trying to shut the door, but Lucy put her foot in the door frame before it was closed.
“The Mayor sent me. I just want to talk and see if there’s a compromise we can come to about Mayfly Lane,” she explained. Rana looked mildly interested in this and opened the door to invite them. As Lucy walked in, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been forgetting something. Natsu followed her and they sat down by the small table Rana indicated. She went into a small kitchen, and came back a few minutes later holding a teapot and some mugs, pouring some out for all three of them. Natsu and Lucy both thanked her for the tea, and Natsu took a sip just as Lucy realized what she had been forgetting.
Be careful about anything she tries to give you to eat or drink
. “Natsu, wait!” Lucy reached across the table to stop him from drinking, but it was too late. There was a *
poof*
and a plume of green smoke around him. Standing, Lucy looked at where Natsu had just been. In his chair, there was a small frog, ribbiting nervously. “We weren’t supposed to drink anything…” Lucy finished, looking at her best friend, now the size and color of a leaf.
Now what?
After grabbing Natsu with all the dignity she could muster, ignoring Rana cackling in the corner, and heading out the door, Lucy let out a sigh of frustration. Natsu hadn’t even done anything wrong, she had just forgotten the Mayor’s instructions and been careless. “Are you okay? Other than the frog thing, of course, but are you hurt?” Lucy pointedly ignored how insane she looked to any passerbys, and watched closely for Natsu’s reaction. He simply peered up at her through large, black eyes.
“That’s great. He’s completely a frog. Listen, I’m going back to the village and we can get the train back to Magnolia tonight.”
He ribbited in response.
“I’m worried about this curse. Its reversal might be time sensitive, like the Changeling curse, and I think the guild will have the resources we need to undo this,” she sighed, putting him on her shoulder as they walked back, through the woods. Natsu gave her no help about where the mud was bad, or where the thorny bushes were, and it was slow going. Eventually, they made it back to Lilyvale, and to the inn. Lucy grabbed her bags and kept Natsu hidden from the receptionist as she checked back out. So much for an easy job.
It was late by the time they got to the guild. Late enough that nobody was there and Lucy resolved herself to just go home and forget this whole nightmare of a situation. She contemplated going to Natsu’s cottage to at least let Happy know what was happening but he would just be asleep. Walking along the canal, a frog on her shoulder, nearing the early hours of the morning, she could almost fall asleep while walking, but she slumped up her stairs. After setting Natsu in a bin with some water in a dish, she kicked off her boots and got into bed, falling asleep once her head hit the pillow.
After only a few hours, she was awoken by the sounds of Natsu ribbiting.
He’s probably hungry. What do frogs even eat?
That last thought dragged her fully into consciousness. Opening one eye, she peered over the side of the bin on her coffee table, and groaned. Yesterday hadn’t been a dream, and her best friend was, in fact, still a frog. She grabbed a quick shower and breakfast, before scooping Natsu up and heading back to the guild for answers.
As she walked into the typical Fairy Tail shenanigans, she started to frantically look around for either Mira or Levy. Mira would be able to contact Gramps and Porlyusica, and Levy knew a lot about spellbreaking. Luckily, Mira was tending the bar, and was startled when Lucy slammed her hand down on the bartop. “Mira, we have a problem,” she said, placing Natsu gently down on the counter, letting him hop around as he pleased.
“Why did you bring a frog in? Is it injured? Magical?” Mira asked, pausing polishing a glass to look at Lucy, concerned.
“You know that job you sent me on yesterday in Lilyvale? Turns out that Natsu followed me, and managed to get himself turned into a frog by Rana, the witch. I had to quit the job and bring him back,” Lucy sighed, as Natsu hopped on the back of her hand.
“Oh my, that may be a problem. What spell was it?” Mira asked.
“That’s the main issue. It wasn’t a spell, it was some kind of potion. The mayor had warned me against drinking anything she offered me, but Natsu just barged in and didn’t notice until it was too late. Can you call Porlyusica for me? She’s probably my best bet to solve this.” Lucy explained.
“I would, but ironically enough, she is out of town at a conference on poisons,” Mira sighed "she won’t be back for at least a week. Hey Levy! Can I borrow you?” she called across the room.
“Yeah, what do you want Mira?” Levy looked up from the novel she was reading and walked over to the bar.
“Lucy has a problem. Do you know anything about breaking potions’ hold on people?” Mira gestured to the frog, who was looking around at all the noise and movement of the bar. Lucy launched herself into the explanation of what happened, and when she was done was discouraged by the look on Levy’s face.
“Since it’s a potion, not a spell, my hands are kind of tied. I’ll go home and try to see if I have a book on something similar, but I don’t know anything off the top of my head.” she said.
“I’ll take a look at the guild’s library,” Lucy picked Natsu up and put him on her shoulder. “If anyone sees Happy, let me know so I can talk to him about this,” she called over her shoulder, and headed downstairs.
After a few hours, she had finally found some information on Natsu’s affliction. She ran upstairs, and found Mira, Gramps, and Levy all talking quietly and urgently. “I found something!” She held up the book on potions and poisons she had found, and opened it to a marked page, trying to keep her hand from shaking “Good news, at least we know it originates from lily pads. The bad news is there’s a time limit. Three days from when it was first taken. That leaves us with two days now until Natsu is stuck as a frog forever.” Lucy looked up at the shocked faces around her. “And the worse news is- nobody knows the cure.”
Soon after that, the entire guild was searching through the library, in magic shops all over town, and casting various spells on Natsu to try and break the curse. They took him to magic specialists who tried salves and spells, but nothing had much of an effect. One spell turned him pink, but that was as close to their real Natsu as they got that first day. Lucy felt like there was something she was forgetting but couldn’t grasp it, especially after such a long day. Happy had been updated on the situation and was staying at the cottage. Lucy took Natsu home that evening, but with a better terrarium she had gotten from a pet store and more food befitting of a frog. She fed him some mealworms and a few crickets. She slept fitfully, trying to ignore what future could await Natsu.
The next day, she woke up early to get to the guild. It was the last day they had to fix this issue. Freed was there, and tried his enchantments, but he couldn’t set the rules against something he didn’t know the nature of. The enchantments only served to make Natsu a size bigger, and people then started to realize that magic wouldn’t work on it. As a final resort, Mira had been working all night to perfect a transfer of her own Transformation magic and felt confident enough to try it.
They all gathered around her and Natsu, hoping it would work, because they were running out of time. By Lucy’s prediction, they had only six hours left before the spell was permanent. Mira first transformed herself into Natsu, then tried to push the transformation onto the frog. Eventually, she broke the spell off and turned back. “It won’t work. He’s too much of a frog to be able to use magic. I needed his magic to be able to latch onto mine, but he just can’t do more. Magically speaking, he’s a frog.” The crowd dispersed, leaving Happy and Lucy alone, staring at their friend.
“We’ve tried everything. But it hasn’t worked.” Lucy said morosely.
“I know. I even sent Carla and Wendy over to the village to get Rana and take her here to interrogate. But she had packed up and left town. There wasn't enough time to hunt her down. Porlyusica is too far away to get here in time, even with our wings.” Happy looked like he was about to start crying, and hugged Lucy to hide the tears that slipped out.
“I know. We’re not going to quit. Even if the time limit runs out. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to bring him back.” Lucy hugged Happy tighter and let a few of her own tears spill out.
In the final hour, with no more leads, no more tricks, no more spells or solutions to try, Lucy took Natsu home. A depression had fallen over the guild, as what had originally been a quick problem to solve, a distraction from their everyday, had turned into them losing the heart of the guild, their friend, their teammate, and family. Lucy had wanted to be alone with Natsu when the transformation became permanent and took him back to her apartment. The rest of the guild, understanding how close the two were, respected the decision. Happy was at his home, wanting to be alone to grieve his best friend. When she got home, Lucy tried her best not to think of how many times he had barged into her apartment or even been there waiting for her to get home. Natsu had truly loved this place. Wait. Her thoughts paused on the word. Love . How could she have forgotten? In all the stories when situations like this had played out, it was always true love’s kiss that turned the frog back into the person. And if anyone was his true love, it was Lucy. From the beginnings of bringing her to the guild, protecting her from Phantom Lord, uprooting a cherry tree, or becoming END when he thought she had died in the war against Alvarez. Natsu loved her, and Lucy loved him back. And so, with only a few minutes until the curse was permanent, Lucy gathered her courage and pressed her lips to the cold, moist skin on the top of his head. I love you. I’m sorry it took me so long to realize. For a moment, nothing happened and she started crying again. There was no more time for another solution. Then, suddenly, she wasn’t holding a frog but had her arms wrapped around Natsu. Her guildmate, her best friend. Her true love. They were standing embracing each other, and she finally looked up into his eyes. “Thank you, Lucy,” he said, and leaned in for another kiss.
Nothing really changed between the two after that night. They would always be together, had always been together, and nothing could change that. They just continued their relationship as they always had, but if they slipped away to steal a kiss or slept in the same bed some nights, it was nobody’s business but their own. They relished in the quiet intimacy that had always surrounded them like an old friend. Lucy always knew- had always known- that Natsu was her true love, and nothing could change that, from monsters to demons to being changed into a frog.