Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Laxus slid through the bustling streets of Crocus, vibrant colors and thick scents of perfume and food an acute attack against his sensitive senses. He kept his soundpods firmly over his ears, the familiar rock music drowning out street hawkers and children screaming. His bag a firm weight over his shoulder grounded him, each step taking him down the road and away from his latest month-long camping binge. Anything to get away from people he no longer knew how to deal with. A pity that he needed an honest shower and half decent supplies, or else he might just go feral.

He’d been to Crocus before--a few times even--but he never got used to the sheer overwhelming amount of sensory input. Magnolia was a decent size, sure, but also significantly calmer and far more familiar, making it easier for Laxus to ground himself among the sounds and scents. He tried hard not to think about what it looked like the last time he saw it. What damage he had caused.

Stepping out of the way of a mother and her three rambunctious children, Laxus spied a reporter he recognized from Sorcerer Weekly and promptly made his way down a smaller side street. The last thing he wanted was to be asked for an interview over why he’d left Fairy Tail. He could see the headlines now-- Markarov Dreyar’s Grandson Expelled for Holding Magnolia Hostage! Yeah, not a chance.

The scent of parchment and ink caught his nose, familiar from years spent near constantly with Freed. Tucked down the small street he was on, there was a small storefront with gentle fairy lights sparkling through its huge windows. Above the door, a sign proclaimed Terra Bank’s Tea and Books . It was the sort of place Freed would beg they’d stop at and the rest of the team would hem and haw and bicker but go in anyway and end up spending hours together in the quiet. 

Not for the first time, Laxus felt a twist of longing for easier days. He couldn’t even remember the last time the Thunder God Tribe had enjoyed a peaceful moment together like that. Years ago, likely. 

Through the windows, he could see it wasn’t very full though even this side street was cramped, people bumping into Laxus every few moments. The thought of a break from the obscene crowds and connection to before he fucked everything up was too tempting to ignore. 

Inside, the place had one employee doubling as cashier and barista, an older woman starting to gray at the temples, and a handful of people sitting in the scattered tables and plush armchairs or browsing the wildly organized shelves. When Laxus paused his music, he found the store must have had exquisite sound canceling wards, because not even his enhanced and delicate hearing could pick up a single sound from outside. He left the soundpods on--he hated the sound of heartbeats that seemed to intrude on his every waking moment--but kept his music off so he could bask in the quiet. It was an easy choice to grab a strong black tea and interesting looking history book and settle at a back table. He stretched out his legs, settling in and making it clear he didn’t appreciate company.

The tea burst across his tongue in a robust mix of blood orange and pomegranates and for a brief moment he was reminded of the time after he first met Evergreen when she tried a new perfume every day, each fruitier and more expensive than the last. It’d taken him a week to snap at her--she’d been wearing some demon-concocted scent of apple blossoms and strawberries that had given him a migraine--to either choose one or leave off all together. It was the first time his team realized he had enhanced senses, though the explanation didn’t come for some time. Ever, Laxus recalled fondly, had shoved her whole collection under his nose and demanded to know which ones were too strong and which ones he liked.

He wondered if she still wore the same huckleberry perfume now that he wasn’t around anymore. 

As reminiscing often did those days, Laxus wondered where the hell he was going next. Money wasn’t an issue yet, his savings having been quite large to begin with after half a decade of S-Class jobs and only minimum spending. It wouldn’t last forever of course, and at some point he’d have to consider long term plans. Gramps, the soft hearted geezer, had told the public that the Battle of Fairy Tail was a Fantasia stunt gone too far, so Laxus hadn’t been Black Listed by the Magic Council. He could join a guild if he wanted; with his strength and reputation, few would turn him away. It would probably be better than this random wandering he’d been doing, living in the wilds with nothing but his regrets for company until necessity pushed him to the nearest civilization.

The place where his guildmark once was seemed to burn a little, though Laxus knew it was just his imagination. Gramps had removed it so quickly at his expulsion he’d barely felt a thing then, much less months later.

His nose twitched, drawing his attention away from his thoughts and the unopened book in front of him. Eucalyptus and spearmint, he noted, something distantly familiar but not immediately identifiable. Sweet and soothing but not overpowering. The soft click of a heel caught his ears through his soundpods and he turned to the side.

Lucy Heartfilia, looking as gorgeous as ever in a blue miniskirt and white halter top, stood holding a steaming cup of tea not five feet from Laxus. For a half second he wondered if she’d curse him out before she left--he wouldn’t even blame her for it, considering how much of an absolute ass he’d been to her.

She didn’t curse at him but she also didn’t leave, which he found significantly more surprising. It had been months since he’d seen anyone from Fairy Tail and he had no doubt his actions were still remembered and scorned.

Lucy didn’t seem to care, only gave a small half smile and said, “Laxus, I didn’t expect to see you. What brought you in here?”

He had to blink, struggling to catch up to the apparent lack of a grudge. “Avoiding the crowds,” he replied, figuring it was better than admitting he was brooding. Confusion followed by sympathy flickered across her face--he figured she had plenty of experience with sensitive dragon noses. “Is Team Natsu here for a job?” Laxus would rather avoid Natsu if possible. There was no way to stay unnoticed with him around.

“Just me,” she told him. After a moment’s hesitation, Laxus pulled his legs back and gestured. She took his offer with another smile. “For some reason everyone is taking a million jobs this month, all solo.”

He did some quick calculations to figure out the date and realized it was later in the spring than he’d thought. “The S-Class Trials are in a week. Everyone will be trying to impress Gramps to earn a spot as a candidate.” Lucy ah ed in understanding, sipping her tea. Peppermint, by the smell. “What job are you on solo?”

“Just a simple research and scouting request. Some old ruins were discovered outside of town and the client wants a mage to make sure the area is secure and the ruins aren’t still active.”

“I didn’t know you were familiar with ancient spell sites,” he said, impressed. He hadn’t realized she was the brain of Team Natsu, though it seemed obvious in retrospect.

“I read a lot.” She shrugged. “I’m no Levy or Freed, but I can manage the basics.” He nodded, trying to ignore the sharp pain at the reminder of the guild. He hoped they were all okay. It’d probably be an ass move to ask about them after what he did. Lucy tilted her head to the side, brown eyes flicking over him. “You’re welcome to join me, if you’d like. I could use some muscle in case it does turn out dangerous.”

Laxus took a deep breath to unclench his muscles before he said warily, “I’m not a guildmember.”

“You don’t have to be to consult,” she countered. “Tell you what, I’ll even split the reward, 70-30.” She gave a catty smile, clearly baiting him. He didn’t care about the money of course, and probably would’ve agreed in a second if the job actually sounded dangerous. He’d fucked up once with Phatom Lord and he wasn’t planning on making that mistake twice.

“Why?” he asked wonderingly. “After all the shit I pulled, why offer me-” he cut himself off, unable to figure out how to end that sentence without sounding pathetic. Why offer me companionship or forgiveness?

Her smile softened and she leaned across the small table to flick his forehead. “Don’t be a dumbass, Laxus. You fucked up-” the bluntness was welcomed, though it was probably the most crass he’d ever heard her, “-but that doesn’t mean you’re a monster. Just that you needed to get your head on straight. I forgave Gajeel for torturing me, why wouldn’t I forgive you when I know that, when it mattered, you never saw us as enemies?”

He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, unable to say a thing to that. Laxus knew he didn’t deserve forgiveness for turning on his family and betraying their trust, but he also wasn’t a good enough person to refuse it when offered to him. The situation was made worse that it was Lucy--the only interactions they’d ever had were negative, each worst then the last. Unlike Natsu or Erza, she hadn’t known him as a child or considered him family for years. They were basically strangers and he’d wronged her personally, even before Fantasia. 

Lucy grabbed her tea and stood. “Meet me at the north gate at nine tomorrow morning.”

Laxus stood so quickly his chair clattered, reaching out to gently grab her wrist. She was so fucking tiny , he thought. Yet he knew she’d beat Bix and survived Gajeel--only a fool would think her weak. A fool like him . 

He waited until she met his eyes, pale brow raised in question but not a trace of fear on her face. Even after he’d gotten into a death match with two dragon slayers, she didn’t doubt her safety with him. It felt like a punch to the gut. “I’m sorry,” he burst out. Her lips parted in shock but he kept going, unable to stop now that he’d started. Not apologizing to anyone but the Thunder Legion and Gramps had been a lingering guilt for weeks. “For all of it, but Phantom Lord especially. You were a guildmate that needed help but I was a dick and never should have said any of that crap or refused to fight.” He heaved a breath, wondering when it became so hard to apologize to people outside his immediate circle. He wasn’t even sure he was doing it right, so he added lamely, “I’m sorry.”

A bright grin took over her face, eyes crinkling. “Forgiven,” she said as if it was that easy.

Maybe it was.

Lucy leaned outside of Crocus’s north gate, absentmindedly running her finger along the curve of her Star Whip. The morning mist had already burned away, but the sky was filled with thick clouds that did nothing to stop the dry heat from clinging to the back of her shirt. The humidity was absurd and she desperately wished for rain. Or at least a cool breeze. For mid-spring, it was far too hot and she wished the heatwave had waited until she was back in Magnolia to strike.

Somewhere inside the walls of the capital, a clocktower clang-clung ed nine times. Lucy didn’t really know why she’d invited Laxus to join her, besides the fact that she hated doing jobs solo--it was maybe easier without her team causing chaos, but there was something hollow about not having companionship while she worked. She’d seen him there, in her mother’s favorite bookshop, and had been reminded so viceserely of the first time she’d visited Crocus after Layla’s death that she just couldn’t have left him alone. And she’d meant what she said about forgiveness--Laxus, while scary strong and more than a little surly, wasn’t a bad person. He’d even apologized for his part in the Phantom Lord fiasco which she hadn’t been expecting at all. She doubted, though, that he cared enough to join her on a horribly simplistic job like this one. It was probably insulting, considering his previous status as S-Class, and she wouldn’t blame him for not showing up. 

Okay, maybe she’d blame him a little.

The bells finished echoing, the city already a bubble of activity and the road full to bursting. Beyond the edges of the paved path, the forest was a tangle of vines and limbs, the shadows beckoning temptingly. Surely it was cooler in the shade?

A minute ticked passed, then another, and Lucy finally acknowledged that Laxus had likely decided that hanging out with the rookie was beneath him. She shrugged away from the wall, sighing as she tugged her frizzing hair into a high ponytail. Maybe she’d summon Plue to keep her company on the hike.

“You’re not allergic to raspberries, are you?”

Lucy’s neck snapped around, finding Laxus standing a few feet away holding two tall to-go cups, liberally beaded with condensation. It was such an unexpected and domestic sight that she had to blink to confirm it was real. “What?”

“Raspberries.” Laxus gently held out one of the cups. “I also have normal ice tea, but I don’t like you enough to suffer raspberries for you.”

Laughter bubbled up before she could stop it, enjoying his blunt honesty. At least some part of Laxus was still normal. 

She took the offered drink. “The only thing I’m allergic to is kiwis, so thank you.” The flavored ice tea was cold and soothing, a welcomed relief from the heat. She tried not to look surprised at Laxus’s presence. “You have everything you need?”

He nodded his head and she started to lead the way into the forest, grateful for the solid treads on her boots as they began ducking and weaving through the trees. The ice tea helped keep her cool even when the shadows of the jungle did nothing to help the humidity. 

“So,” she started explaining, a little uncomfortable with the pure silence. Team Natsu was never silent and she didn’t really know how to deal with it any more. “The site was discovered about a week ago by the head of a logging company when he tried to scout a new location for his headquarters. Naturally, the Historical Protection Society is demanding the land to investigate and naturally the CEO wants to destroy the whole thing.”

“Who’s the client then?”

“The Crown,” she replied. Laxus grunted in what she thought might be surprise. Or maybe disdain. Hard to tell. “In the court hearing to settle the matter, the CEO let slip that he saw runic writing on the walls and ground, so the Crown got wind of the situation and declared it a mage matter until the Council cleared the area. They’ll have specialists out here in three days for the actual archaeology part, but they wanted to make sure the area wasn’t an active ritual or spell first.”

“And of course the Council couldn’t send the Rune Knights first,” he grumbled.

“Of course not,” she laughed. “Then they’d actually be useful.”

It didn’t take long for them to find the area she’d been directed to. It was clear by the several felled trees and scattered stumps that the CEO had actually started to clear the land for construction even before the whole mess started. One stump, partially torn up with its roots half dug in and half creating a twisting curtain, had a wide line of caution tape around it. They carefully dropped their empty cups there.

“Doesn’t smell like anyone has been here recently,” Laxus assured her. 

“Good. Try not to set off some ancient spell of ultimate destruction, would you?”

“I’m not Natsu .”

She huffed a laugh, dropping under the tape and stepping gently closer to the hanging roots. She could see that beneath them a hole opened into pitch black and the ground crumbled a little beneath her feet. Careful of her weight, she picked up a nearby rock and dropped it down. 1, 2, clunk . 

“Well at least it’s not deep,” she muttered. 

“Hold on, there’s something here,” Laxus said. He crouched behind her, reaching out a hand and letting it spark with electricity. She saw what he meant; on the underside of the tree stump, a piece of stone was wrapped in the roots. The tree must have grown around part of the ruins.

“Those are…Ponin runes I think,” she muttered. 

“Can you read it?”

She grimaced, staring at the complicated mess of twisting symbols and square markings. “Do I look like I’m a thousand years old?”

Laxus huffed, so close to her the breath tickled her neck. “I don’t think you want me to answer that question, Blondie.”

“Okay, rude. And you're blonde too, dumbass.”

“I wear it better,” he said with a smirk.

She snarled, rolling her eyes. “Mavis save me from cocky men.” She stood from where they were crouching, bracing one hand on his shoulder as she unwrapped her whip.

“What are you doing?” Laxus demanded, eyeing the weapon like he thought it might bite him.

“What do you think, Sparky? I’m going down. Hold this.”

He took the handle without question, though it might’ve just been the surprise of getting bossed around by her. She wrapped the end around her arm and hand, and then carefully, feeling for harder packed dirt as she went, started descending into the hole.

“Is there a reason I’m not just jumping in?” Laxus demanded above her. 

“Because you spark magic everywhere and I don’t want it setting something off,” she snapped. Everything around her was pitch black, only the dim lighting of the forest above her letting her see the wall right in front of her. It wasn’t dirt, as she’d thought, but solid stone liberally carved with markings. She reached the floor easily, releasing her whip and reaching for the magic-free glow stick she’d brought for this. It cracked loudly, but lit up the space in a bright blue light. 

“Holyshit,” she couldn’t help but say. The room was small, only seven feet in every direction, but every inch was covered in mosaics. Where they’d fallen off or degraded, she saw more Ponin runes she couldn’t read. Besides some minor rubble that she expected had come from the tree growing or being pulled up, the only thing in the room was a pedestal with a bowl made of dark stone she’d never seen before.

Behind her, something thumped on the ground and she whirled only to see Laxus standing up.

“What the hell? I told you-”

“Relax, I’m keeping my magic on lockdown.”

She glared at him, but there was none of the small sparks of lightning she usually associated with him so figured it was probably fine. Hopefully.

“What is this place?” he asked, slowly examining the mosaics on the wall. She nearly followed him, but something caught her eye. Carefully, she used her foot to brush away some of the dust and rock on the ground.

“I’m not sure about the walls,” she admitted, “But I think this floor is a map.” Laxus turned toward her and they both stepped back. The mosaics were made of shells and colored rocks in a variety of shades, but the floor had one long, thick line of dark blue, interspersed with bits of browns and greens like islands. At the halfway point, right under the pedestal, a mass of red cut through it abruptly, creating a massive T, only for the blue to continue on the other side. On either side of the dark blue, running parallel, were two thinner pale blue lines. The rest of the floor, outside of this centerpiece, was teal. A thin line of black connected various groupings of the green and brown dots. Some of them were in the large center blue, but just as many were in the rest of the floor.

“Thirty,” Laxus counted. “You think this is somehow a map to thirty different islands? In what sea?”

“Not one I’ve ever seen,” Lucy admitted. “What’s on the walls?”

“Weird shit,” he said bluntly. “I think under the dust it’s meant to be mostly white, but there are a bunch of swirls of color, like some weird collection of balls. But the weirdest part is that.” He pointed to the far wall, where her light hadn’t quite pierced. She stepped closer, silently damning dragon slayer senses. 

It was slightly damaged, various shells and stones having fallen to the floor or degrading over time. But the image was clear and startling. On a wall of pure black, a white skull over crossbones grinned out. 

“Well,” she said, trying not to find it unbearably creepy, “That’s…something.”

Laxus snorted, gently tracing one of the Ponin runes that was visible. “You have any idea what this place was for?”

“No, but the fact that the runes are covered up and they sealed this place tells me it’s probably not still active.”

“Sealed?”

“There’s no door and it was buried under ground. My best guess is that they put the roof on after everything else to seal it and then made sure to plant trees around it.”

Lucy stepped closer to the center of the room, hoping the pedestal would be similarly inactive and she could get out of the creepy area. Something about the room was making the back of her hair tingle.

The bowl was a thick basin made of a dark stone that, when she tapped, made no strange noise. Laxus came closer, scratching at it a little and scowling.

“Not sure, but I think that might be harder than steel.”

“What’s it smell like?”

He scowled at her. “Why?”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve never seen it before but I need as much information as possible to turn over to the Crown. So, Sparky, what does it smell like?”

Laxus growled low in his throat but obediently took a deep breath. His irritation disappeared with a blink and he took another, less angry breath. “It--that doesn’t make sense.”

“Care to share with the class?”

“The ocean,” he offered, openly confused. “It smells like a salty sea breeze.”

Lucy didn’t bother trying to hide her bafflement. “What the hell? You think it was mined from the sea bed?”

“How should I know?”

She huffed, rolling her eyes and closely examining it. There were more Ponin runes carved on the outside, but what drew her attention was the inside. Twelve markings curved around the edges, a thirteenth at the bottom. Each one was unique, though all of them looked like--

“Are those depicting…Gate Keys?” Laxus asked.

She didn’t answer, too busy staring. They weren’t any Gate Key she’d ever seen, having what seemed to be an animal head instead of teeth and a constellation pattern she didn’t know on the other end.

She reached out, gently tracing the curve of a horse head. Laxus sucked in a breath, but it was too late. Something pricked her finger, a bead of blood welling up and falling before she could yank her hand back. Laxus cursed fluently in several languages, pulling Lucy hard against him as light burst from each Ponin rune, making the mosaics glow.

The last thought Lucy had was that it wasn’t balls depicted on the walls, but strangely colored fruit.

Chapter Text

In the dusty streets of Tamarisk, Alabasta, Laxus deftly avoided colliding with civilians and sailors alike. The swift sea breeze swept away some of the thick scent of body odor and heavy spices that were favored in the desert country, which he was grateful for as he slid towards the docks and the taverns therein. The air was so thick with ethernano that it made his skin itch for a good fight, magic bubbling in his veins, though he pushed it down.

While Tamarisk, as the port town on the west side of the Sandora River, still had heavy business despite the ongoing civil war, the effects were just as felt. Storefronts were boarded, everyone walked with their heads down and hoods up, and the cemetery outside of town was bloated. Laxus, recognizable in town by now, returned what greetings he got on his way to The Serpent’s Crown and ignored the heavy feeling of tension in the air. He didn’t need enhanced senses to have heard the rumors: Marines had landed today and would be in port for three days before they moved on to Nanohana. And they weren’t here to help the war.

Half a block from the waterfront, The Serpent was as dreary as ever, somehow managing to be both water logged and bone dry at the same time. The sign swung with only one chain, the other having broken ages ago, and the few windows were too grimy to let much light in, leaving the whole place dim even during the day. The place was too cheap to spice as much as everywhere else and too proud to use anything but soap and cloth to clean. It was, in short, an absolute hole in the wall that only stayed in business thanks to its prime real estate and even then barely hung on.

Laxus loved it.

He exchanged half hearted grunts of greeting with Uma, the broad shouldered woman who owned the place, slapped Navi’s hand away from his purse for the third time that week before slipping the boy a bill with a clap on the shoulder, and slid into the very back table, pausing his music. The tavern was quiet enough that he didn’t need it, just the soft muffling of his soundpods. 

Lucy didn’t even look up from the papers in front of her, only slid a nearly full glass of grog across to him. The water shortage meant it was cheaper to get than an actual glass of water and Lucy had probably saved most of it for him instead of wanting to get a second. He grimaced, annoyed that she had to even worry about something like that. Laxus knew it was his stupid pride, but it galled him that she didn’t have all the creature comforts she was used to. 

He took a sip and then nudged the glass until it hit her arm. She looked up, glaring, but he only glared right back and kicked her under the table. She muttered a curse in Fiorian at him, but took a decent sip before setting the glass down. They left it in the middle as a compromise.

It almost scared him, how good they’d gotten at silent communication in the last eight months. 

Of course, landing in another dimension where you had no friends, no support and no understanding of the world around you could do that to two people. They were only lucky that what the locals called Linian--this world’s version of Common--was similar enough to Boscian that Laxus and Lucy could get away with people thinking they just used a different dialect. It had still been hell to get fluent enough to be understood fully and at the beginning they were totally lost if someone spoke Alasian, the local tongue. At least now they’d picked up enough to get by.

Those first few days had been the hardest, as they scrambled to understand what was happening. Lucy had compared it to what she called the Edolas Fiasco--and wasn’t it hilarious that Fairy Tail had ended up there after he’d left?--but unlike Edolas, Terra had no similarities with Earthland. This wasn’t a parallel universe but a totally different dimension.

They’d been lucky to meet Uma who, while firm and severe, was sympathetic enough to allow them to stay in the attic in exchange for Lucy doing her accounting. She’d offered them one free meal a day, but they tried not to take her up on the offer. They knew how tight her money was and how much she struggled with the war. She had a son that was a rebel and a wife that was a loyalist. It wasn’t that unusual, they’d realized quickly. It was what had led them to quickly becoming mercenaries--the civil war had made traveling dangerous and plenty of civilians wanted protection, though most couldn’t pay much. 

Lucy finished some calculation or another and stacked all the papers together, sliding them into a folder that she stacked on the side of the table. “You hear about-?”

“The white hats? Yeah.” It was easy to slip into Fiorian together, though they were still careful about what they said. Their accents were distinctive and Fiorian--or a version of it--seemed to be the national language of the West Blue, so it wasn’t impossible someone would understand what they were saying. Just unlikely, considering Alabasta’s location in Paradise. “You find anything?”

She shrugged, ripping a napkin into pieces. Laxus swallowed his remark about undue aggression down--he could smell the blood on her and knew she always got melancholy when her cycles came. Something about it made her think of Earthland. Probably the desire for an honest shower instead of basic scrubbing and the occasional public bath in the river. 

“The Captain is apparently decently famous in the East Blue,” Lucy murmured. He didn’t ask how she learned--Laxus had the enhanced senses, but Lucy was scary when she decided to use her Spirits to their full effect. He’d seen a lot of Gemini in recent months. “Guarded the entrance to the Grandline for a few years and nearly completely cleared out Loguetown.”

“Where the King died?” Laxus asked in surprise. The legend of the Pirate King got tossed around more than anything else around there, though no two stories ever agreed on anything about the man. Except that he was the undisputed king.

Lucy hummed in agreement. “Apparently, some rookie with the highest East bounty right now--Straw Hat, I think--anyway, he got to Loguetown and escaped right under his nose so now Captain Smoker is on the warpath looking for him.”

“Lovely,” Laxus grunted. “Must mean Straw Hat is in the area. Think he’s headed here specifically?”

She pursed her lips, pausing in her war against napkins. “Maybe. Two of the starting islands lead here, if the bookstore is reliable.”

“So, thirty percent chance?”

“Twenty eight and a half. And that’s not how probability works.”

He huffed a laugh, glad to see she wasn’t too far gone into her mopping. “Yeah, yeah princess, whatever you say.”

“I hate it when you call me that,” she whined, not for the first time. “I wasn’t even titled, you know.”

“You realize that doesn’t make you sound any less like a princess to me, right?”

“Heathen,” she muttered. He took the chance to nudge the cup towards her again. She took it without complaint but placed it firmly on his side of the table. Touche.

 He heard the footsteps a few moments before the door blew open, and Laxus took the chance to relax into the booth, spreading out to make himself look larger. He’d found that, apparently, six foot three barely counted as average by Terra’s standards. Lucy, at five two, was tiny. 

Lucy’s eyes flitted to the door, distaste flashing through her brown eyes before she refocused on him. In the mess of napkin remains, she drew a cross. He didn’t need her warning to know it was the marines. The loyalists would be wearing clanking armor and the rebels were subtler than a platoon of men reeking of gunpowder and sea salt. 

Almost overpowering all of the rest of the scents was smoke though. Cigar smoke, the kind that reminded Laxus of Wakaba and Macao. 

Lucy began chatting blandly in Linian about Yashna and how her bookstore was doing and oh, maybe they could go help Tivi with the delivery he was getting tomorrow. Laxus made the appropriate sounding grunts and swallowed back the last of the grog. Around them, what few patrons were still present eyed the marines and went back to their limited conversations. 

From the corner of his eye, Laxus saw what he assumed was the captain sitting at the bar, wearing an open white jacket with nothing underneath and white pants tucked into combat boots. A jitte rested against his back, which Laxus found interesting; it wasn’t a common weapon. His white shock of hair stood on end and Laxus figured he could smell him a mile away--he had two cigars lit and nearly two dozen more tucked into pockets. He was also, Laxus noticed irritatingly, over half a foot taller than him. He could never tell Lucy it annoyed him though, or he wouldn’t hear the end of it about egos. 

Next to the captain, a woman with dark blue hair and a blade at her side wearing a far more uniform outfit joined him. The rest of the squadron filled in the seats, which Uma looked at with disdainful eyes. Like much of Alabasta, she had no love for the Navy that sat back and did nothing to help her country. She served them anyway, speaking curtly but taking orders. The marines, Laxus noticed, all had a peculiar accent he’d never heard before. No doubt Eastern. 

Lucy and Laxus stayed sitting for a few more minutes before he stood, offering her a hand. She took it and let him keep a hand on her back as she swept up the file and they made their way behind the bar. Uma nodded her thanks, though a voice rang out before they could slip upstairs.

“You two don’t look local,” the captain said.

“Can’t say we are,” Laxus replied simply. Under his hand, Lucy’s back had gone rigid, though she turned to offer the marines her attention with a simple disinterested look. “My wife and I are Western.” The lie, spoken so many times, was easy on his lips. A married couple traveling together earned less questions than unexplained companions and invited less invitations than siblings. Lucy had even stopped blushing every time it was brought up--a feat, considering she’d been the one to suggest the lie and had gone red through the whole conversation.

“You look like fighters,” the captain probed.

“In this day, everyone is,” Lucy countered coolly. Laxus admired her ability to be both disdainful and flippant at once. It was a marked difference to her normal personality. He knew she hated it, so he offered a comforting circle against her back, letting the marine see it. The captain’s eyes narrowed, tilting his head.

“Ever consider the Navy?”

Laxus couldn’t help his bark of laughter. “Can’t say we have good relationships with authority.”

“Pirates?” 

“Please,” Lucy huffed. “Just mercenaries. And unless there’s a law against offering to guard caravans, I’m not sure what the point of this conversation is.”

Suspicion flashed across the captain’s face and he leaned towards them. Laxus tried to push down the sparks that wanted to fly--they didn’t hide their powers, letting their clients believe they were Devil Fruit users, but he didn’t want to give anything away. 

“Mercenaries, eh? Ever do a job for Baroque Works?”

The name came from out of nowhere, and Laxus didn’t have to fake his confusion. He exchanged a look with Lucy, but she just shrugged. “Can’t say we have,” Laxus told him. “If you’ll excuse us.”

He left before the captain could ask anymore questions, careful to keep his senses alert. They made it upstairs with no problems, and ducked into the cramped attic that served as their bedroom. Laxus had offered, more than once, to drag up a second mattress so that Lucy could have at least a semblance of space, but she’d pointed out that there really wasn’t space for it and it was suspicious anyway. She was right, as always, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed the half annoyed, half resigned face she had every time they walked in from the cramped spiral staircase. A double bed was pushed against one wall, tucked under the sloping roof. There was a wardrobe, a chest, and a single decrepit rocking chair that Laxus had spent a week sleeping in stubbornly before Lucy had put her foot down, annoyed with his complaints about his back. The single, tiny window was as dirty as all the rest in the building but at least could be opened for a cool breeze from the ocean. They couldn’t both stand up at the same time in the available floor space, so Lucy went and curled up on the bed so Laxus could take off his shoes and throw his coat over the chair.

“Did you eat?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said simply, though he knew it was a lie and knew she knew that he knew it was a lie. 

He sighed sharply but didn’t insist. Laxus didn’t want either of them going back to the first floor while the marines were around and didn’t have the energy to start an argument. 

“I’ll see if I can’t hear anything about Baroque Works tomorrow,” he offered instead. 

“Alright.” He waited, but she didn’t say more. She picked instead at the thin, threadbare sheets. She didn’t complain about them; she never complained about anything. He almost wished she would because at least that would be normal. The old normal anyway. 

“Do you-” she bit her lip, refusing to look at him. He took a deep breath and didn’t prompt her. It must have been a bad day, after all. “Do you think they gave us headstones?”

Scratch that, it must have been one of the worst days. On bad days, Lucy wondered how Fairy Tail was doing. Only when she was spiraling into guilt and despair did she hypothesize on how the guild was responding to their disappearance. Laxus never had any good idea on how he was meant to comfort her--Lucy was the kind one between the two, the empathetic person that always knew what to say. Laxus could only give her one thing: the truth.

“No,” he said bluntly. She bit her lip, still refusing to look at him. “Until they had a body or some other proof, there was no way they’d believe you were gone. They’re Fairy Tail mages--they’ll give up when they’re dead and probably not even then.” He didn’t mention how no one would be looking for him. It was a non issue and wouldn’t help the guilt she’d carried since they ended up here.

Her shoulders loosened a little as she sniffled. Laxus pretended he couldn’t smell her tears or see the dark circles she kept trying to cover under her eyes. He couldn’t give her much, but he could at least give her some sense of dignity. 

They got ready for bed in silence, an old routine that was as well worn as their layered Alabastian cloaks. Lucy headed to the bathroom on the second floor and Laxus changed into low slung sleeping pants while she was gone. They switched, and by the time he got back, she was curled in bed, wearing one of his older shirts. It was cheaper, she’d defended the first time she’d done it, than wasting money on getting her own set of pajamas. Laxus never quite had the words to tell her that covering herself in a dragon slayer’s scent made a very specific statement. 

He turned off the single oil lamp and slid into the sheets, the ruff tug of them irritating his skin. Laxus ignored it with the ease of old habit, settling down onto one of the two understuffed pillows. The bed was small enough that, even pressed against the wall and tucked under the sloped roof, Lucy was still brushing against his arm. Outside, he could hear the ocean slapping gently against the shore and the clunk of boats bumping the dock. The streets still held the babble of voices but loudest of it all, without his soundpods on, Lucy’s heartbeat pounded a few inches away. 

Fingers gently brushed against his side in question, and he shifted himself closer, lifting his arm in invitation despite his surprise. Lucy usually tried to stay on her side, as much as possible, until they were both asleep and started curling into him only in the very darkest hours of the night. Now, she slid over and rested her head on his chest openly and relaxed further against him when he hesitantly brushed his fingers through her hair. 

They didn’t talk about it, the same way that, outside of one furious fight shortly after they arrived, they didn’t talk about how they got there. He missed, viserely, Evergreen at that moment. She’d always been the one to smack Laxus and Bickslow around whenever they started brooding. He couldn’t count the number of times she’d forced them to get drunk and talk about what was bothering them until they felt better. Ever would know how to comfort Lucy, and Freed would know how to design a spell to get them home and Bix would make stupid jokes while plying them with cookies until they had no choice but to be in a good mood.

Laxus didn’t offer Lucy any empty platitudes; they’d moved well beyond them. Only gave her what comfort he could as they drifted to sleep, still so far away from home.

Lucy closed Crux’s gate with only a half hearted goodbye. At her waist, Loke’s Key pulsed with comfort, which she was grateful for. If she’d been cut off from her Spirits when they landed in Terra, she would’ve gone insane. As it was, she waffled between freezing fury and heart wrenching guilt for what she’d put them through.

Her Spirits were still connected to the Celestial Spirit World, which she was glad for, but they were entirely separated from the other Spirits and could no longer see into Earthland at all. Loke described it as an island within the stars that they couldn’t leave. Not even the Spirit King would speak to them. They were as trapped and cut off from their family as she was from hers and knew only as much as she did about Terra. Crux was trying to reach out and collect data from the local history, but it was slow going and he had no idea what spell was used to send them here. No one did.

The door swung open, revealing Laxus already shrugging out of his coat. The ass didn’t even have the decency to pretend Alabasta’s dry heat affected him--something about lightning being even hotter than the surface of the sun. 

“Find anything?” she asked him, moving to the bed so he could have the chair. She crossed her legs, murmuring a quiet thanks when he handed her a panini from one of the carts down the street. 

“There are mutterings that the rebels are losing patience and going on the move soon,” he replied. He toed off his combat boots. “Something weird though--Baroque Works? Overheard two guys muttering about it. Seems to be boosting the rebels’ ranks.”

“The rebels have the funds to hire mercenaries?” she asked doubtfully around a mouthful of bread and lamb.

“No,” Laxus said flatly. “Which is why it’s weird. They might be a third faction, but I don’t know enough to guess at their goal.”

“Great,” she groaned. “Because that never ends poorly.”

He huffed a laugh, leaning back and closing his eyes. Lucy realized he looked as tired as she felt, and familiar guilt squirmed in her gut. She never should have touched that damn bowl. 

“Crux have anything?” Laxus asked.

“The usual.” Which was a polite way of saying absolutely nothing . Oh sure, he was picking up some details about the greater politics around the world, and there was something about a pirate called Rocks from nearly forty years ago, and a list of islands that had been destroyed in the last two decades but nothing about home . Crux was certainly digging up a bunch of information that was probably important, but none of it helped them.

“Maybe we’ll find something in the desert,” Laxus muttered.

She looked up, confused. “Desert?”

“Got us an escort job to Ido. We leave in the morning.”

She balled up the paper bag and threw it at his head. He caught it without opening his eyes. “Ass! Why didn’t you tell me, I need to pack.”

“I told you now didn’t I?”

She muttered a curse at him, kicking his legs as she tried to collect the few clothes and toiletries they’d managed to collect during their long months here. Escort jobs were their most common and involved long days of travel to various oases with no guarantee they’d get a job heading back towards Tamarisk. Uma had agreed to keep the attic for them for up to two weeks without news before she would try renting it out to someone else.

Ido wasn’t far though, only two days north west of Tamarisk. She doubted it’d be any different to the many other jobs they’d taken.

A tall, dark haired woman slid a thin file across to her nominal partner. He flipped it open, lifted a judgemental brow. “They’re making a decent name for themselves in Tamarisk and the surrounding towns,” she explained simply.

There was a thick beat of silence, broken only by the gentle swoosh of a bananagator swimming past. “Recruit,” her partner grunted. “And if they resist, eliminate. Nothing goes wrong.”

Nico Robin, a survivalist above all else, dipped her head in agreement. “As you wish.”

Lucy was proven wrong almost immediately.

The next morning was as hot and dry as every morning before, the frigid night gone as quickly as it came. Laxus and Lucy grabbed a cheap breakfast from Uma before making their way through the twisting alleys towards the outer road where they’d meet Asim, their client and the head of the caravan. 

Lucy stepped around a corner, only for Laxus to grab the back of her cloak and yank her against him. She kept her feet by pure instinct, looking up as two sets of boots thudded against the ground.

A pair had dropped from the roof. The man was thin and short, about Lucy’s height, with dark hair and a mustache that curled strangely, like two sideways 6s. The woman had a shock of bubblegum pink hair in two buns covering her ears and dark, wrinkled skin. Both wore simple, layered cloaks that were common in Alabasta with travelers. 

“Absolute pleasure to meet you,” the woman cooed. “I’m Miss Mother’s Day and this is my partner Mr. 6. We have an offer for you.”

“A business offer,” Mr. 6 clarified. “A once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Lucy kept one hand on her whip, the other brushing against her key ring. Behind her, Laxus was a strong wall of muscle, the scent of ozone that constantly surrounded him growing significantly. His soundpods sparked, lightning dancing across his hand in an unmistakable threat. Mr. 6 and his partner shared an intense look, though didn’t seem surprised. Devil Fruit users were nearly common in the Grandline.

“And what business opportunity would that be?” Lucy asked warily. “Because, no offense, but we tend to take offense to ambushes in empty alleys.”

“Ah, well, you see,” Mother’s Day said, “The first rule of Baroque Works is secrecy .”

Which is why you’re telling us before we’ve even been recruited, Lucy thought blandly. It was almost comforting that people could be stupid in this world as well. 

“But should you join, you’ll be rewarded in the utopia the boss will create,” Mr. 6 assured them. “All you need to do is follow us for your first set of orders.”

“Ah,” Lucy nodded. She didn’t need to look at Laxus to know his opinion on this--neither of them would ever willingly work for some faceless boss. Gramps had taught them better than that. “No thanks.”

The pair froze, apparently shocked that their recruitment speech hadn’t the desired effect.

“Well, that’s a pity,” Mother’s Day sighed. “Now we have to kill you.” 

Mr. 6 lunged forward, a long wicked looking knife in hand. Lightning cracked through the air and both fell unconscious within the second, the gun Mother’s Day had tried to pull clattering to the ground. Lucy hadn’t even needed to unhook her whip. 

“As flashy as ever, Sparky,” she praised, stepping forward to pat them down. They had a handful of cash which she took without regret--she’d stopped caring about stealing from assholes about three months ago--and an eternal pose to Alabasta which she took just to be spiteful. Besides that, there was nothing. 

She huffed, grabbing Gemini’s Key and summoning them with a flash of light. Mini and Gemi danced around in greeting before transforming into Mr. 6.

“Anything interesting?” Laxus asked.

“Give them a second to sort through the memories,” she snapped back. “Do you know how hard it is to download a person’s life experiences in one instant?”

“Baroque Works,” Gemini, in Mr. 6's body, said shortly. “A criminal organization involved in Paradise, East and South Blues. Supposedly a bounty hunter organization, its true goal is to create a perfect utopia--by taking over Alabasta.”

Laxus growled a curse. “Any specifics on the plan?”

Gemini shook their head. “Head to the capital after recruiting you two. Orders were to be delivered there in a few days.” They gave Lucy and Laxus a short rundown of the hierarchy and general numbers of the group. It was lacking any details, so she supposed she had to admit they were a little capable of secrecy.

“At least ten ability users huh,” Lucy groaned. “Alright, I need you to do one more thing for me Gemini, then you can go home.”

The orders were easy to pass on, and while Lucy trusted Gemini to complete them, she and Laxus hurried to the meeting spot for their client. They would need to finish this job quickly and then look into Baroque Works. They might not be part of a guild anymore, but they weren’t the kind of people to let a coup go unchallenged.

“Captain Smoker!” Tashigi shouted. He turned at the call, pausing in giving the order to set sail. All around him, his men were getting ready to head for Nanohana at his order. “Sir, you need to see this.”

Smoker grunted, but followed her to the brig. It was empty--or was meant to be at least.

Two people he’d never seen before, a man and a woman, were tied up behind the bars. Pinned to the woman was a note; Figured out who BW is. Please interrogate them instead of us next time. ~Lucy Heatfilia and Laxus Dreyar.

“Who the hell?” he wondered.

“I believe they were the couple you spoke to in the tavern,” Tashigi offered quickly.

“I know that,” he snapped at her. There were plenty of rumors about the married mercenaries around town; they were well liked. “I meant who the hell got onto this ship, into our brig, and back off completely unseen?”

Tashigi paled, running out of the room to do a full check of the ship. Someone, Smoker swore, would end up paying for this lax security.

The job was disturbingly easy and Laxus tried to take comfort in it. Asim was a warm hearted older man who feared bandits and the general dangers of the Sandora desert. Laxus zapped a few giant lizards; Lucy used Scorpio to dig out a camel from quicksand; the traders offered them good food and fun stories of before the country was falling apart. It was the most fun they’d had in a while and Laxus was glad to see Lucy smiling and joking.

Neither of them forgot about Baroque Works, or trying to get home, but both problems felt distant under the alien constellations and shifting sands. Whatever spell was used to send them here was so completely unknown to them that they had no way to reverse it and it was clear, by this point, that if Fairy Tail was looking for a way to them, they hadn’t found it yet.

That had been the main reason they’d agreed to stay in Alabasta. Laxus had wanted to go looking on other islands for answers--just because Alabasta didn’t seem to have magic specialists, didn’t mean nowhere did--but Lucy had made the point that Master had known what mission she was taking. While her coming back late could be dismissed by bad weather or a complication in the job, by the time the group got back from the S-Class Trials they would’ve realized something had gone truly wrong. If they retraced her steps and ended up coming through the same spell they had, they likely would end up in Alabasta. So they’d stayed, hoping every day for some sign that one of their family had come for them. Yet eight months had gone by and it was still just the two of them. 

Laxus knew he’d have to bring up the option of leaving again, and soon. He didn’t particularly want to travel by boat anywhere, but Alabasta didn’t have the answers. He refused to believe there was no way home, though. There had to be. 

Ido, like many Alabastan towns, was built around an oasis. The white stone walls glowed in the bright day light and the vegetation was a vivid difference to the empty golden desert sands. They stayed for a night, unsurprised when they found that there wouldn’t be another caravan leaving for over a week and thus they were thoroughly out of work. Asim paid them at least, the full fifty thousand berries they’d agreed on and the mayor was kind enough to offer them as much water as they could carry, which Laxus was grateful for. 

He could teleport back to Tamarisk, but there was no way for him to carry someone with him when he did, which meant he and Lucy were stuck walking. They left after only a night, but they were both in significantly better moods on account of having a full bath and sleeping in a plush bed for once. 

The sun beat down, the sands stretching out in every direction after they mounted the first dune outside the city gate. At his side, Lucy huffed, readjusting the thin cloth of her hood to better cover her mouth. Laxus started doing the same, but paused when something caught his eye. 

“Is someone walking alone?”

In the distance, a figure walked around the edge of one dune, disappeared behind it, and then reappeared again at the other end. Lucy squinted her eyes, and together they watched him begin another loop. He disappeared from sight again only to reappear significantly closer, with no insight on how he got there without them seeing.

“Do you think he’s lost?” Lucy suggested.

“Or maybe just an idiot,” Laxus countered. She glared at him and set off down the hill, ignoring all his shouts. “Mavis save me from bleeding hearts,” he muttered. “Damnit, Blondie, wait for me.”

He caught up just as Lucy got within shouting distance, waving an arm high above her head. “Excuse me!” The figure froze, turning to them, a hand on the pommel of one of his three swords. He was probably around Lucy’s age, but well built and clearly an experienced fighter by the way he eyed them up and down. Laxus slid to a stop behind Lucy, carefully keeping an eye on the man. He didn’t trust this not to be a trap.

“Who are you?” the man demanded, short green hair sticking out from his headpiece. 

“I’m Lucy Heartfilia, this is my husband Laxus.” She smiled at him, warm and concerned. “Are you lost? It’s strange to see someone traveling alone these days.”

“Just got separated from my crew,” he said shortly, his accent the same strange lilt as the marine captain’s. From the East, then. He looked Lucy up and down, then flicked his eyes to Laxus, before slowly relaxing his grip from his blades. Three katanas, Laxus could see now. “I’m Roronoa Zoro. What are you two doing out in the middle of nowhere?”

“Mercenaries,” Laxus answered shortly, ignoring the fact that a city was not even half a mile away. “Just finished taking a caravan to Ido. Where’s your group headed? We’re familiar enough with the area to give directions.”

“Yuba,” Zoro responded shortly, eyes narrowed.

“That’s not far from here,” Lucy said. She exchanged a wide eyed look with Laxus. No , he tried to silently tell her. There was no reason for them to involve themselves with a single suspicious character in the middle of the desert. But he’s lost, her big eyes seemed to point out. He shook his head. She pouted. Laxus scowled. Lucy stopped pouting in order to glare. It was a very familiar glare, one that all the women in Fairy Tail managed perfectly. It was the you’re an idiot and I’m going to do it anyway so are you going to help or not? glare. 

Laxus sighed in defeat.

Beaming, Lucy turned to Zoro who had a bemused look on his face. “We’ll guide you. We might run into your group on the way, so just keep an eye out.”

“Alright,” Zoro nodded slowly. Laxus had no doubt he was suspicious of them, but had little choice considering the situation.

Lucy resettled her bag against her shoulder before setting out northward. Zoro took two steps--going east for some reason--before Laxus cleared his throat and pointed after Lucy. Zoro’s cheeks went red and Laxus couldn’t help chuckling. It reminded him so much of the wild characters in Fairy Tail that he found himself relaxing despite himself.

“You said you’re in a crew?” Laxus prompted after some time of hiking. “Pirate or marine?”

“Pirate,” Zoro answered shortly. He eyed them both, but neither of them cared much about allegiances.

“How long have you all been together?” Lucy asked. “You don’t look much older than me.”

“I was the first recruit, about ten weeks ago. The rest have been collected between then and now. Seven all told.”

“Small crew,” Laxus whistled. “Impressive you’ve all made it this long.”

“You’ve been mercenaries for a while?” Zoro asked.

“Eight months here in Alabasta,” Lucy answered simply. “But we’ve both been fighting for a lot longer than that.”

“Westerners, eh?” 

Neither Laxus nor Lucy responded with more than a vague shrug. They knew little about the West Blue--only what they’d learned in books or from rumors. Besides the fact that it was more common for personal names to come first and Fiorian was apparently spoken, they doubted anything about Fiore would be similar enough to the West Blue for them to get away with talking in detail about it.

The wind changed abruptly, blowing towards Ido, instead of away. A mess of scents, far more than the normal territory ones, blew across. He sneezed twice in quick succession, sickeningly sweet perfume overcoming his senses for a moment.

“Sparky?”

He shook his head, looking at Zoro. “Your crew wouldn’t happen to involve someone that wears way too much perfume would it?” Zoro paused, eyeing him, before nodding sharply.

“Our navigator.”

“This way then.” He tugged then both a little more westward, following the truly atrocious scent. He tugged on his soundpods when he started making out voices in the distance, unwilling to deal with the sensory overload of six more strangers.

It didn’t take long. A few more minutes and they saw a line of people walking slowly across the sands. Zoro breathed an open sigh of relief before sliding his way towards them. His crew paused when they caught sight of him, two young men waving their arms in greeting, while another lit a cigarette that Laxus could smell from there. Lucy stopped, watching the reunion with a smile and far away look in her eyes. Laxus nudged her, tapping the back of her hand gently in reminder.

They’d find Fairy Tail. One day. And until then they were together. 

Lucy took a deep breath, smiling at him. He took a step back, ready to start heading back towards Tamarisk, when the ground in front of them exploded into a blast of sand as a body landed in front of them. Laxus spluttered, stepping back warily as one of the young men--slim, short, younger than Lucy and wearing a straw hat--landed in front of them.

“Yosh!” he exclaimed. “You helped Zoro, right? Thanks a bunch.”

“Uh, sure,” Lucy responded. “It wasn’t any trouble.” The rest of the crew closed the distance, and Laxus got his first good look at them all. The first thing that he noticed was how young they all were. He doubted if any of them were twenty yet, nevermind older. There were two women, one reeking of perfume and the other keeping her face hidden in the folds of her cloak. There was a blond, the smoker of the group, a dark skinned long nosed man, and, of all things, a reindeer in a hat walking on two legs. 

“Reindeer?” Laxus couldn’t help but ask.

It grew into a massive gorilla. “I’m a rei--wait.” The reindeer-gorilla--why was he even surprised by shit anymore?--shrunk back down into his small form. “You knew I was a reindeer!”

“Well, yeah. You have horns and the wrong coloring for a white-tail.”

The reindeer did a strange little wiggle dance. “Aw, saying that isn’t going to make me happy you big jerk.”

The blond spun his way forward, getting onto one knee and taking Lucy’s hand. “Ah, is this a goddess among men I see-” He was cut off as Lucy, likely on instinct from years of dealing with Taurus, kicked him hard enough to send him flying.

“No touching, perv!” The blond landed upside down, face buried in the sand.

Zoro barked a laugh. “I knew I liked you for some reason.”

“Shishishi!” The straw hat kid laughed, not seeming worried as the long nosed man tried yanking the blond back to his feet. “I like you guys.”

“Thanks,” Laxus said drily. “Who are all of you?”

“Oh, me?” He grinned, smile wider than anything Laxus had ever seen. “I’m Monkey D. Luffy. I’m going to be the King of the Pirates.”

Lucy and Laxus exchanged a bewildered look, unsure how to react to that.

“Uh, good luck?” Lucy offered hesitantly. “Watch out for the Yonko when you hit the New World.”

“I have no idea what any of that meant,” Luffy claimed simply. “Ne, hey. You two should join my crew.”

“No thanks,” Laxus said immediately.

“We’re independent, these days.” Lucy concurred. 

“Luffy!” one of the women--the one stinking of lotuses--shouted, smacking him upside the head. Clearly they didn’t care much about hierarchy on the crew if the captain got smacked around like that. “Stop inviting strangers to join our crew.” She turned to them, smiling tightly. “I’m Nami, the navigator. Thank you for bringing our resident gorilla-”

“Oi!”

“-back, and I’m sorry my captain is an idiot.”

“It’s alright,” Lucy said sympathetically. “I get it. Sometimes the idiots are just too charming.”

“Why are you looking at me when you say that?” Laxus grumbled. “I’m nowhere near as bad.”

A pang twisted in his chest, though he pushed it away. This was the closest they’d gotten to mentioning the guild in a cheerful way for months. 

“Nami,” Luffy whined, dragging her name out. “They’re super smart and they helped Zoro. Why wouldn’t they join our crew?”

“Maybe because they have their own lives?” Nami explained exasperatedly. 

Laxus paused before he could say something, looking nearby. Zoro and the blond likewise shift into battle positions. Nami didn’t seem to notice and Luffy, much like Lucy, seemed not to be worried at all. 

A giant lizard burst from the sand, causing the camel to rear, the two girls to scream and Zoro to draw his swords.

“It’s a Sandora Lizard!” the hidden woman cried out.

“Don’t worry,” Lucy assured. The sky rumbled and then with a crack from apparently nowhere, a lightning bolt struck it through the neck. “Laxus has plenty of experience killing them.”

“Holyshit,” Nami breathed.

“You know,” Laxus drawled. “I should start making you hunt them. You’re getting lazy, princess.”

“Lazy?!” she countered. “Just because I’m not a Mavis cursed monster like you doesn’t make me lazy .” There was a rumble in the ground, the sand shifting under feet. Laxus braced Lucy but otherwise didn’t react.

“Oh, no,” the unnamed girl muttered. “They always hunt in pairs!”

“Not now,” Lucy snapped, unfurling her whip with a loud crack as she twisted Taurus’s Key in the other. The bull appeared in a flash of light, lunging at the second beast just as Lucy caught one of its legs in her whip and yanked. It flipped into the air, Taurus coming down in a single cleaving attack. 

“Oh wow Miss Lucy,” Taurus leered. “You’re as gorgeous as ever. Do you think-”

“Thank you for your help, Taurus,” she cut in, waving him away. “We’ll talk later.” His gate closed with a half-hearted moo of disappointment while Lucy whirled on Laxus again. He tried not to grin at the attitude she was showing. It was preferable to her moping. “Now where was I?”

“Joining my crew!”

“Ri--wait, no.” She glared at Luffy, but he was practically vibrating in place, eyes sparkling. The reindeer and long nose man were similarly impressed while the blond swooned to the side. 

“You guys are so cool,” Luffy insisted. “What Devil Fruits did you eat?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Laxus said simply. “We have our own goals to worry about.”

“Um, excuse me?” The last girl slowly slid off the camel, stepping forward. In all the chaos, her hood had slid away to reveal olive skin and sky blue hair. Laxus had the uncomfortable sense that he’d seen her somewhere.

“Princess Vivi,” Lucy exclaimed, eyes wide. “I thought you were meant to be missing.”

“It’s complicated,” the princess said. Her eyes were trained on Lucy’s hip where her key ring sat. “B-but those keys. Can I see them? Just for a moment.”

Lucy instantly tensed, eyes narrowing. “Why?”

“I think I’ve seen one before.”

Chapter Text

Lucy sucked in a sharp breath, feeling like the whole world was falling away. The supposedly missing princess of the kingdom was standing in front of her, saying she’d seen a Gate Key before. It was impossible. Crux and the others had told her they had no idea where they were and had never heard of a Celestial Mage summoning from somewhere other than Earthland. 

Beside her, Laxus put a firm hand against her back, bracing her. She thought she might fall down without it. 

Slowly, never letting go, she spread her Keys across her palm and held it out. Vivi stepped closer, as did the rest of the crew. The long nosed man that hadn’t been introduced reached out, but a small electric shock hit his outstretched finger and he yanked it back.

“No touching,” Laxus growled, which she was thankful for. There was no explaining how uncomfortable a stranger touching her Keys made her; there weren’t enough words on the planet to say how personal and intrusive it was.

“Have you really…?” Lucy trailed off, unable to finish. Unwilling to hope.

“The one I saw is a little different,” Vivi says apologetically. “It’s made of seastone and has an animal head on one end and an engraved constellation on the other.”

“Seastone?” Laxus asked. “Harder than steel, darkly colored, possibly mined from the ocean bed?”

“Yes, that would be it.”

Lucy couldn’t help the keening sound that came from her mouth, thinking of that damning bowl. She rehooked her key ring to her belt, hands shaking.

“Laxus,” she managed.

“I know.”

“ Laxus .”

“I know , Lucy.” They exchanged looks.

Lucy couldn’t believe it. For months they’d found only dead ends, nothing to indicate any connection to the spell that had sent them here. Her Spirits didn’t know anything, magic didn’t seem to exist outside of fruits here, and the geography just happened to perfectly match the map on the floor they’d seen. Too many questions and no answers had been driving her crazy.

She missed Magnolia, and her apartment, and her team. She missed Fairy Tail. 

“It shouldn’t be possible,” she told him, because it was true. Silver and Gold. Those were the Gate Keys.

“Your mom?”

She sucked in a breath, but shook her head. “Not a word. She would’ve told me.”

He pursed his lips. “I don’t like it.”

“You don’t like anything,” she snapped back, though she knew what he meant. It was too convenient, running into this lead out in the middle of the desert by accident. Her shoulders sagged. “It’s the only lead we have ,” she whispered, rubbing her guildmark. Laxus’s eyes snagged on the movement as he heaved a sigh, scrubbing a hand down his face.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt,” Nami cut in and Lucy was reminded that they had an audience. Luffy, strangely, was the only one that didn’t look confused; only understanding and determined. “But only lead to what ?”

Lucy stared Laxus down until he admitted, never looking away from her, “Our only lead to get home .” 

It was as much of a surrender as she was going to get. She twisted to look at Vivi. “If you’re traveling with pirates, I assume you’re aware that Baroque Works is after your country.”

“Ah, yes. How did you know?”

“Tried to recruit us,” Laxus explained. “Didn’t go so well for them.”

“Laxus and I are mercenaries,” Lucy told the princess. “And capable ones at that. We can be in Alubarna by daybreak to offer our services to King Cobra. We know from the Mr. 6 pair that they had orders to head for the capital, and I suspect everyone else will too.” She grabbed Vivi’s hands, holding them close. “We are capable and willing to help your country. All we ask for in exchange is that you let me see that Gate Key when the war is over.”

Vivi stared back at her, sympathy bright in her eyes, before asking quietly, “You can’t go home?”

Lucy tried not to let her face crumble, but didn’t think she managed. “Our family likely thinks we're dead.”

Nodding firmly, Vivi said, “Okay. Just let me write you a letter.”

Lucy beamed. For the first time since they landed in Terra, she actually had hope.

 Laxus kept a firm grip on Lucy’s thighs wrapped around his waist, the desert sand blurring underneath his feet. On his arm, the new bandage irritated his skin, but he allowed it. 

“If I accidently hit you,” he warned, trailing off.

“You won’t,” she assured him. He wished he had her faith in him. Laxus didn’t often use his lightning to augment his speed for long runs--it used up a lot of power and it was usually just easier to teleport, not to mention it meant lightning was sparking liberally across his lower body. 

When they’d left the Straw Hat Pirates behind, Luffy still insisting they should join his crew after Baroque Works was dealt with, Laxus had thought Lucy's travel plan involved Scorpio. It wouldn’t be the first time he made an appearance to help them in the desert. He hadn’t realized her plan to get them to the capital quickly was for him to carry her and then run.

She was lucky that Laxus had massive amounts of magic and stamina. 

“We just need to sneak into the palace,” Lucy assured him, tapping where Vivi’s letter was tucked in his jacket pocket. 

“I don’t think stopping a criminal syndicate led by a Warlord is going to be as easy as you make it sound,” he warned. 

“Sure it will,” she dismissed. “After the Straw Hats make it to Yuba they’ll…” she trailed off. “Uh, Laxus? Why exactly were they heading to Yuba anyway?”

He nearly stumbled, but quickly rebalanced. “How should I know? Look, we’ll just have to have faith they have a plan. Probably.” 

It was their only hope after all. They needed that Key, and in order to get it, Alabasta had to survive Baroque Works first.

The sun was just starting to tip across the horizon as they slipped into the palace. Dawn was quickly dragging away the chill night, but already the king and his chief advisers were in the throne room. Lucy doubted they had the peace of mind to fall asleep. 

She and Laxus dropped down onto the balcony with soft thuds, and the guards whirled to face them.

“We come in peace,” Lucy announced. “With a letter from Princess Vivi.” The king, an older man that was darker colored than Vivi, waved the guards away. Lucy started to kneel, but the king ordered her to stop.

“No one needs kneel to me. May I have the letter?”

Looking surprised, Laxus handed it over. 

Lucy kept her breath even, not daring to show how desperate she was. If, for whatever reason, they were turned away, they would have to go to extreme lengths. She would do anything for that Key, now that she knew it was there. 

King Cobra loosed a thin breath, nodding. “Welcome, Laxus and Lucy. Your help is appreciated. If you’ve been running all night, please take a few hours to rest and refresh yourselves. Chaka and Igaram will give you orders when we have them prepared.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Laxus cut in before Lucy could complain. If the information the Straw Hats shared was true, then they had little time to relax. “We should warn you that we have reason to believe that Baroque Works has plants in both the rebel and loyalist armies.”

He grimaced, Chaka cursing to the side. “We know. At the moment, we dare not take steps to identify too many of them in case it scares them into taking drastic measures.”

“Later it might be too late,” Lucy pointed out.

“A risk we’re faced with,” Chaka agreed. “We’re trying to identify and remove some subtly, but doing so without being found out is…difficult.”

She acknowledged the problem and was quietly sympathetic to the kingdom. How hard was it to live knowing your comrades might be traitors, ready to stab you in the heart?

“If you have identified one that’s perhaps higher ranked I might be able to help,” she offered.

Igaram furrowed his brows. “Excuse meh--ma ma mah!--excuse me, but how so?”

“One of my abilities allows me to copy the visage and memories of a person,” she explained shortly. She didn’t think she’d ever used Gemini so much as she had since coming to Alabasta--they were useful for helping them learn the language and understand the world at large. “If you have someone who knows the identity of other traitors-”

“Then we can pair them with true loyalists and keep a watch on them,” Chaka finished. “We do have one in custody, though I can’t be sure they know the identity of all the other plants.”

“Even a few would be a boon,” Cobra decided sagely. He nodded gratefully. “If you have the energy to do it now before you rest-?”

“It’d be preferable, actually,” Lucy admitted. “I’d like to be at full strength before the fighting starts in truth.”

“Follow me then,” Chaka ordered. And with that, they headed down into the depths of the castle. At least it was clear Lucy could help with something; maybe this battle would go well after all.

Laxus splashed his face, rubbing away what sleep lines he’d managed in only two short hours. Above the sink, the mirror reflected back his shirtless torso, the black curl of his tribal tattoos--a homage to his mother--a stark contrast to the tanned skin. There was a gap in the black lines where his Fairy Tail mark had once been, a stark reminder to how he’d failed the one thing he’d always wanted to protect. On his right arm, a simple black X stood just as stark.

“Mr. 2 has the Clone-Clone fruit,” Vivi explained shortly. “So be careful.”

“That’s right!” Luffy exclaimed, rustling through one of the bags and pulling out a thick black marker. “Give me your arms, okay?”

In short order, both Lucy and Laxus had been drawn on and a simple bandage tied around it. “An X?” Lucy asked.

“‘Cause we’re pirates,” Usopp explained, with a proud smirk.

“It’s a mark of our friendship,” Luffy added, more serious than they’d seen him. It would’ve hurt less to be struck, Laxus thought. Beside him, Lucy gradled her hand. “So don’t wash it off, okay?”

“A mark of friendship, huh?” Laxus muttered, staring. He’d already worn a mark of friendship before and had failed it utterly. He’d been careful to leave it undamaged when he’d washed up and felt stupid for doing so. It was just a way to tell each other apart with a shapeshifter around. A good idea, all things considered. Yet here he was, having a crisis over it. It wasn’t a guildmark--wasn’t even a serious alternative. Pirates, if they were inclined to carry a mark, tattooed their jolly roger. Even then, it was usually only done by the older, more serious crews from the previous era. 

Eucalyptus and spearmint drifted into the bathroom. He didn’t turn to look at Lucy, comforted stupidly by the fact that she’d managed to find the same soap from Fiore and kept using it all these months. Some things didn’t change.

She stepped up next to him, gently rewrapping a bandage over the drawing. “He reminds me of Natsu,” Lucy admitted quietly.

Laxus didn’t have a way to respond to that. He knew exactly what she meant; the same stupid happy-go lucky smile combined with unimaginable depths of pride and love for his chosen family. He would’ve fit right in with Fairy Tail.

She gave a final tug before stepping back and he looked up. He couldn’t help the amused snort. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in pants.”

Lucy glared, tugging at them. She had on dark blue breeches tucked into her sturdy black boots and a white and gold crop top that she’d wrapped a purple pashmina shawl over. 

“I can wear what I want, thank you very much,” she scolded. She paused, before giving a sheepish smile. “And Lord Chaka offered me any clothes I’d like for the upcoming battle and these were the nicest so…”

He rolled his eyes, flicking her gently in the head, ignoring her subsequent swatting. Stepping away from her, he shrugged on the silk blue button up that he’d been provided with, followed by his usual coat and boots. “Not judging. They’re a good look--more reasonable too.”

“Oh come on. Evergreen wore only ball gowns.”

“Not saying she didn’t.” He wondered when they’d stopped dancing around mentions of the guild or the past outside of grieving. Maybe the mention of a new Key was giving Lucy more than a little hope. “I was constantly trying to convince her otherwise.” He looked her up and down. With her hair tied into a high ponytail, her whip and Keys at her hip, she looked more ready for battle than usual. “I’ll never get why you girls all wear extreme get ups and then bitch when they end up destroyed or you get a ton of skin showing.”

She narrowed her eyes sharply, jabbing him in the chest. “It’s because of pervs, you ass. Do you know how much it sucks to constantly have to hide behind layers just to avoid the creepers? Why is it so bad we’re trying to be comfortable with our bodies and expecting a little human decency at the same time?”

Laxus pursed his lips, but tilted his head in apology. “Alright, alright. No using common sense and fashion together again, I get it.”

She huffed. “Like you’re one to talk anyway. All the men end up taking off their shirts every time we fight.”

“They get in the way,” he defended. “Like big skirts.”

Before the argument could descend further, Chaka and Igarem burst into the room. “Have you seen the King?”

“What?” Laxus demanded. “No, of course not. What happened?”

“He’s vanished!” Igarem wailed.

Chaos controlled the city center and Lucy panted with exertion. All around her, rebels and loyalists struck each other down, guns and swords and debris flying. It was a mass riot more than an organized battle, blood and dust so thick in the air it clung to her skin. 

She and Laxus had been trying to subdue the fighting since the rebels’ had first stormed the capital, but with the king missing, traitors in every faction, and the Straw Hats present but fighting to subdue the Baroque Works Officers, they were fighting a battle of attrition and losing badly. Laxus had power for days, raining lightning on any that he could, but any of his mass area attacks ran too high a risk of killing innocents so he was stuck with small, personal attacks. Lucy had kept Scorpio’s Gate open for what felt like hours now, fighting by his side and using weak, wide area attacks to get as many people down as possible. Sweat coated her body, her pashmina lost somewhere in the early minutes of fighting. The sun beat down mercilessly, an ever watching judge to the bloodshed.

A hand grabbed her shoulder and she reacted on instinct, ducking down and twisting, coming up with a high kick.

“Whoa!” Nami leaned back, dodging as she spun a blue staff and slammed it into a wild man with a sword to Lucy’s left. “Not the enemy.”

“Sorry,” she gasped. Scorpio came up behind her, intercepting a gunshot with his tail before lashing out. Her magic gave a twisting pull. She sucked in a breath. “Scorpio, go home for now. Thank you.”

“Of course Miss Lucy.” He looked her over, concern hidden in his eyes as he stuck a tongue out in a grin. “Until next time.” His Gate closed in a shower of gold, and she breathed easier with no more pull on her energy.

She lashed her whip out, twisting around the arm of a sword wielder behind Nami and throwing him to the side.

“We have a problem,” Nami explained, ducking under a flying canon and lashing out between one person’s legs. “Crocodile planted a bomb set to be fired in ten minutes. No idea where.”

Lucy cursed in all seven languages she knew, twisting around to look for Laxus. “Where is that sparky fucking-”

A flash of lightning cracked across the sky, hitting three men with BW tattooed on their arms that were getting close just as Laxus appeared at her side. His coat and shirt were missing, and even he looked scratched up and bruised. Lightning sparked liberally over his body. “You called?”

“What’s the chance you can sniff out a bomb?” Lucy demanded without preamble.

“In this mess? Zero. Not even Salamander could and he has the better nose.”

“Then get looking the normal way,” Nami demanded. “There’s a bomb somewhere around here and I’ll be damned to hell before I let Vivi lose her country to some hopped up logia.”

Running through a capital city embroiled in the climax of a civil war wasn’t her idea of a good time. Yet there they were, all the Straw Hats minus Luffy--who was apparently off fighting Crocodile himself--running around. Laxus used his better speed and stamina to cover more ground, but by the time they were down to only a few precious minutes left, even he had nothing.

Which was when Vivi remembered the clock tower.

“You’re sure the bomb is up there?” Laxus asked her.

“It’s the only possible place,” she panted. Her face screwed up, frustration and despair clear. “But there’s no way to get up there in time.”

Laxus ruffled her hair, face determined. “Don’t worry about that, princess. I’m not nicknamed the Thunder God for nothing.”

His whole form sparked and then he was gone, shooting up into the air and to the top of the clocktower. Lucy could just vaguely make out the form of two Baroque agents getting very quickly barbequed.

“Well,” Nami muttered, staring. “That’s one way of doing things.” 

“Don’t doubt Laxus,” Lucy said confidently as the rest of the Straw Hats gathered around, each looking significantly worse for wear. “Where we’re from, he’s one of the strongest people there is.” 

Laxus appeared by them in another flash of light, looking grim. “That bomb is on a timer.”

“It’s what ?!” Lucy screeched. 

Laxus ignored her, looking at Vivi. “Where’s the nearest open area with no civilians for miles?”

It took Lucy a second, but she realized what he was planning. “Are you nuts? If you get caught in a city destroying explosion-”

“I won’t,” he said firmly, looking at her. “I’m faster than some stupid bomb.”

“Th-the desert,” Vivi muttered, palling far too quickly. “The only place with enough space is the desert.”

“Too far,” Laxus growled. 

Lucy shook her head, looking towards the mess of fighting bodies that were only a few streets over. They needed to find a way to stop the fighting and they needed to get rid of the bomb and they needed for Laxus not to die while doing it because she might actually go insane if she lost him. 

An idea trickled in, completely bonkers and likely to get her yelled out to hell and back if they survived. Which was a pretty big if.

“In your fight in Magnolia, you flew,” she said. Laxus tilted his head in a so-so way. “Can you carry the bomb into the sky? High as you can and then teleport at the last second?”

He grimaced, but nodded. “I’ll try. See if you can’t get the fighting to stop.”

He disappeared the next second, which Lucy was grateful for. She was about to do something he would likely disapprove of. “Vivi,” she demanded. “How stable is the ground under the main square?”

“Uh, very?”

“If I’ve learned one thing today,” Usopp announced, “It’s that no ground can withstand the Straw Hats.”

“What are you planning?” Zoro asked curiously.

“Something that’s liable to put me out for the next few days,” Lucy admitted. Sanji began worryingly cooing, but she waved him off. “Perv over me some other time. I need you all to start pushing the fighting into the plaza, as tightly packed as you can.”

“We’re rounding them up?” Chopper asked. Above them, Laxus began lugging what was truly a massive bomb out of the clocktower, lightning sparking around him.

“No time!” She pulled out Virgo’s Key, already summoning. “I’m just going to need you to trust me.”

They didn’t have long, but by some miracle Lucy managed to keep her magic up long enough for Virgo to dig out right beneath the central square. The fighting was getting louder and louder, and underneath the square, in a small tunnel opening above the bottom of the pit Virgo was digging, Lucy held out for as long as she could. She needed the fighters to have a moment of hesitation, just one second of pause. 

She gripped a second Key, Aries warming in her hand. She’d never summoned two Spirits at once before, though she knew her mother had been capable of it. After how long she’d kept Scorpio out earlier, and with only a few hours rest, she doubted she’d be conscious for long.

Lucy focused, pushing away the doubt. She had to do this; for Vivi, fighting so hard for this country that had welcomed Lucy in; for Uma, who had been given them a roof and bed as best as she could; for herself and Laxus, so they could maybe find a way back to Fairy Tail and all their friends that waited for them.

“I’m a Fairy Tail mage,” she swore firmly. Far above where she stood hidden, a massive explosion bombed across the sky. “Open, Gate of the Lamb!” In a shower of golden light, Aries appeared. Lucy stumbled to her knees, gasping at the sharp pain twisting through her chest, her magic being sucked out. Overhead, the ground stopped shaking and Lucy marshaled herself enough to order, “Virgo, now! Aries, immobilization wool, as much as you can!”

Virgo lifted a hand from where she stood at the bottom of the pit, a magic circle appearing on the roof of their quickly made cavern. In a burst of magic, the ground fell away, Virgo closing her Gate as her job completed. Lucy let her go, grateful for the lack of an extra strain as Aries pulled on Lucy’s power to fulfill her orders.

Men and women, loyalists and rebels and Baroque agents, they all came flying down in a surprised mess of bodies. Aries shouted out, pink spell circles appearing at the end of her hands as she summoned wave after wave of pink fluff, catching and entangling them all in a mess. There were more shouts, people struggling to get out, but none of them could move even enough to grab their own weapons, much less attack.

And then, above it all, standing at the edge of the crater, tall and proud, was Princess Nefertari Vivi.

“Please stop! Stop fighting everyone! You’ve been tricked and betrayed but it’s over now!”

Quiet fell and rose in patches, a mass of loyalists calling for the Princess, then rebels rising up to curse her for abandoning them. Vivi was openly weeping, Nami holding her up at her side. Lucy held onto Aries’s magic with everything she had, keeping her there and feeding the wool so it wouldn’t disappear and ruin everything.

“I’m sorry for how you’ve all suffered,” Vivi called down. “I’m sorry for the drought; for the brothers and sisters we’ve all lost; for the peace and prosperity that was ripped away from us. But the war is a lie! Outside forces have been conspiring to pit us against each other and we must not let them win.”

“Where’s your proof?!” Someone in the pile of bodies shouted. Lucy’s vision was blurring too much to see who. Just a little longer . “The king had dancepowder!”

Another figure, tall feathered, flew into the hole to land on the wool. A cry of “Lord Pell!” went around just as he reached down, yanking the person who’d been talking up. He tore off the man’s sleeve, revealing a tattoo.

“Here’s your proof!” he called. “Baroque Works has infiltrated both sides of war to keep us fighting. If you truly care about this country, then you must help us find the true traitors!”

Lucy collapsed fully, a hand catching her. It was hard to sort out noises, Pell and Vivi falling into the background. The hand was broad, rough, and warm. Familiar, she knew.

“-ondie. Blondie. Damnit, Lucy, look at me!”

She startled her eyes open, finding a blur of yellow above her head, smelling a little like cooked chicken. On her other side, Aries was weeping. “Lax? Wait, don’t cry, Aries. You did so well.”

“Miss Lucy, please stop hurting yourself,” Aries sobbed.

Lucy didn’t understand what she meant. She wasn’t hurting--she was actually nice and cool, like she was floating in a bed of wool. 

“Lucy.” Laxus slapped her face gently. “Lucy, you have to close her gate.”

“Wha?”

“You did it Lucy, you stopped the fighting. Now you have to close her gate.”

She struggled to make sense of the explanation. She understood the words of course, so many words. Something about Aries? Was Lucy the one keeping her here? That wasn’t good. She’d probably gone over time.

“Aries,” she muttered, slurring her words. “Gate…close.”

It felt like a bucket of water had been dumped over her head, the sudden release of pressure she hadn’t even realized had been there. Her magic was gone, an empty void inside of her. Her body felt distant, like she wasn’t really in it. Something wet hit her face as she was jostled.

“Don…cry.”

“I’m not crying, you dumbass,” Laxus growled. “It’s raining.”

Lucy fluttered her eyes open--had she closed them?--and saw heavy gray clouds floating in the sky, a gentle rain slowly turning into a true torrent. There was shouting somewhere nearby, and then closer, a jostle of voices she thought she should know.

“Is she okay?”

“What the hell did she do?!”

“Set her down so I can take a look.”

“Lax?” she muttered out between his growling answers.

“Yeah?”

“I’m’ma sleep now.”

She felt a huff of breath dancing across her hair and thought she must be in his arms. “Yeah, alright princess. You do that.”

Chapter Text

Laxus watched in bemusement as Chopper once again scolded Zoro. The infirmary--which had been firmly over taken as an HQ for the Straw Hats--was filled to the brim. Vivi had been sleeping with in there with them for the last few days, and slowly everyone awoke from their injuries, all save Lucy and Luffy. Chopper hovered constantly over both of them, concern and confusion prevalent. Laxus had explained, with only a little hesitation, that Lucy and he weren’t Devil Fruit users but had innate power that had to recharge. Lucy had gone far over her limit and would sleep for a few days and be weak for a few more beyond that.

Laxus had spent all the hours at her bedside, mentally rehearsing the lecture about being aware of her limits and not tipping into Magic Deficiency that he planned on giving her for the absolutely idiotic plan she’d used. Aries, in the brief moment of panic when Laxus had come back down to find Lucy collapsed and shaking, had said Lucy had opened two Gates at once, though only briefly. Laxus hadn’t even thought that was possible. Of course, when it came to Fairy Tail mages, he supposed that word had no meaning.

He’d been only minimally hurt and more exhausted by the long hours battling, his lungs flaring up in pain as they often did when he’d pushed his stamina too far. He might have plenty of magic, but too long battling tended to bring back his old illness and weaken his constitution. When Chopper, his overseeing doctor, had learned about this, he’d shoved a mess of immunity boosters at him and had him smoke some sort of herb to open the pathways in his lungs. Laxus hated to say that it worked wonders.

Sanji, the cook, had approached him on the second day, and offered apologies for flirting with his ‘wife’ and promised to treat her with proper respect therein. Laxus had been baffled by the comments before realizing that Lucy had told Zoro they were married as part of their cover and must have finally told the rest of the crew. Sanji had shoved a plate of--frankly incredible--food into his hands and left behind Laxus could fix the confusion.

Usopp and Nami, who Laxus realized were the weakest crew members and significantly more wary of strangers in general, both warmed up to him quickly when he offered a few comments on how lightning functioned to improve her Clima-Tact’s abilities. When he’d mentioned that her lightning was tasty--since he’d managed a few bites of it in all the battling--it had earned him a bewildered look from both. Somehow, him having this strange quirk was what made them relax completely around him, as if being bizarre was a prerequisite for being accepted in their hodgepodge group. Zoro, when he’d heard the full story of Lucy and Laxus’s contributions to the battle, had nodded in respect and stopped keeping any wary eye on them.

Laxus was, in short, completely baffled by the whole lot of them. Vivi laughed and joked, more calm then the rest, which he was grateful for, but fit in with them just as well as the weird doctor or crazy navigator. They were an insane group with a variety of power levels, goals, and personalities, yet were also a perfectly functioning team. Either Zoro or Sanji was present the first day, before they decided Laxus was a trustworthy guard. Chopper treated everyone, Nami checked and triplechecked funds and supplies, Usopp maintained their weaponry and all of them, always, operated around their unconscious captain like he was the center of their world. 

Watching over them from the corner, soundpods on but silent, he couldn’t help but be reminded of home.

“Just like Fairy Tail, eh?” 

He whipped his head down, finding Lucy awake, brown eyes heavy as she watched Zoro and Sanji get into an argument, Nami stepping in to smack sense into them both. A smile played around her lips, fond and sad.

“I could do without Natsu and Grey 2.0,” Laxus finally said. She looked at him with a half-hearted glare, blowing hair out of her face. He brushed it aside for her, then carefully helped her sit up, offering water. 

“No lecture?” she teased between sips.

“Oh you’ll get a lecture,” he promised. “During training. With me.” 

She paled, suddenly wide awake. “Oh, no no, that’s really not-”

“You want to open two Gates at once?” he cut in. “Then you’ll work on your damn magic core.”

Dispair and pride wared across her face. “I did do that, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, and stopped all the fighting while you were at in,” Zoro added. They turned, finding the crew all looking over as Chopper began giving her a check up. “Hell of a job, Lucy.”

“Yes, thank you,” Vivi added. “Without you, I don’t know if we could’ve stopped the fighting.”

Lucy’s face went red, and she waved their praise away. “It was the least I could do, seriously.”

“Would’ve preferred you not to keep two Gates open,” Laxus muttered mutinously. 

“Oh, hush,” Lucy snapped. “I’m clearly fine after some sleep.”

“It’s been two days,” he said drily. 

She paused, blinking, before she smiled sheepishly. “Heh. Oops?”

“Be that as it may,” Vivi offered peacefully, stepping forward as Chopper declared her healthy, but on bed rest for another day. “I think you earned this.” She held out her hand.

Beside him, Lucy stopped breathing. Slowly, hands shaking, she took the dark key. It was the length of her palm, the bottom a three dimensional horse’s head, the other end a flat shield with a constellation Laxus didn’t know. All the stars in this world were different then the ones in Earthland, so he figured this must be one of the local ones. It looked exactly like the carving Lucy had pricked her finger against. 

He took a sniff. “Sea salt,” he murmured to her. “Just like the bowl.”

Lucy took in a breath that was half sob, running a finger over the stars. “W-what constellation is this?”

“Ah,” Nami blinked, looking surprised and curious. “It’s the Horse, one of the twelve zodiac.”

Lucy’s head snapped up so fast he heard her neck crack. “Zodiac?”

“Yes?” Nami leaned back, startled by the intensity. “Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Zodiac are-”

“I know what a zodiac is,” Lucy murmured, reaching for the key ring Laxus had left under her pillow. He didn’t bother asking how she knew it was there. “But the zodiac I know are Leo, Virgo, Taurus-”

“Oh!” Sanji interrupted. “You’re talking about the western zodiac. Here on the east side of the Red Line, the constellations are different so people use the eastern zodiac.”

“I read about that before,” Nami added faintly. “The different constellations I mean. But I hadn’t realized the zodiac were so different.”

Laxus ignored all of them, watching Lucy closely as she examined the Key. The stone was actually a very dark blue, he realized, instead of black as he’d innitially thought. Like all the rest of the Gate Keys he’d seen, it had a small hook at the top meant for a ring.

“Blondie?” he asked quietly. “Is it actually a Key?”

She nodded, eyes brimming with tears. “Yeah,” she said thickly. “I can feel her--she’s impatient.”

“Uh, maybe this isn’t the best time,” Usopp broke in. “But what exactly is your power? And what do you mean her ?”

“The short version?” Lucy explained. “My Keys allow me to summon Spirits that represent the constellations to fight with me. The silver are your normal constellations; the gold are the western zodiac. I didn’t know…there’s never been any indication-” She cut herself off, biting her lip. 

“Can you summon it then?” Chopper asked excitedly.

“Aboslutely not,” Laxus snapped. 

“Sparky-”

“Don’t ‘sparky’ me. If that Key takes half the magic of a gold you could damage your core or worse . No summoning for at least another day.”

Lucy pouted, but nodded grudgingly. She looked up at Vivi. “If its alright, Princess, I’ll summon it when I can before returning the Key.”

“Oh, you misunderstand.” Vivi waved her arms, looking startled. “It’s yours forever.”

Lucy’s eyes widened. “I couldn’t. Do you have any idea how rare these are?”

“More reason for you to keep it,” Vivi said firmly. “It’s been doing nothing but gathering dust for the last eight hundred years in our vault. You helped save this country, so I have no problem giving you one of our treasures.”

Lucy grimaced, clutching the Key but clearly reluctant. “I only meant to speak with the Spirit, Princess, not make a contract. I really couldn’t take a national treasure-”

“You can and you will,” Vivi declared. She softened, smiling. “And please, call me Vivi.”

With a slow nod, Lucy gave in, gently slidding the Key onto her ring so it pressed against Aries’s. “Thank you, Vivi. This means more than you can know.”

The mood lifted significantly with the matter settled. Luffy was still asleep, and Lucy confined to her bed, but everyone was healing well and for the first time in ages, Laxus dared himself to hope that they might find a way home.

“Are you sure you have the power for this?” Laxus fretted.

Lucy rolled her eyes, turning her back to him. They were out in a courtyard that had minimal damage, Luffy nearly vibrating with energy, the rest of his crew watching on with various degrees of curiosity and enthusiasm. Luffy had woken up that afternoon, promptly ate enough for a million people, and declared he was still hungry. While the cooks got ready for a feast to celebrate the end of the war, Lucy had decided she felt well enough nearly four days after the battle to summon the seastone Key. Luffy, when he’d heard that Lucy’s powers centered around summoning Spirits, had demanded to watch. Since the Key was Vivi’s to begin with, Lucy couldn’t really say no to the audience. Besides, at this point even Laxus looked at the pirates with a little fondness and she trusted them enough to not freak out if something about Earthland slipped out.

“I feel great, Sparky. There’s so much ethernano in the air I could drown in it.” Whatever made up the oxygen on Terra was significantly thicker in magic particles then even Earthland. It was why Lucy hypothesized the people here, even the civilians, were so much stronger than non-mages back home.

He grumbled a little, but stepped back finally. “If you pass out again, I’m doubling the training I have planned.”

The thought made her neck sweat. “Aye, sir.”

Laxus huffed a laugh at her imitation of Happy and on the sidelines, the Straw Hats all perked up when they realized it was beginning, falling quiet and putting all their attention on her. Lucy blocked them out, focusing only on the dark Key in her hand.

It thrummed with energy and she could feel the Spirit on the other side--wild, impatient, more than ready to be summoned. Whoever she was, she didn’t seem to care about who did the summoning, as long as she got out. If there really wasn’t any mages in Terra, as she and Laxus suspected, then when was the last time a Key had been used in these lands? Vivi had mentioned the Key had gone untouched since her family was given it to protect eight hundred years ago. Lucy couldn’t image being alone for so long.

She lifted her arm, breathing deeply and beginning to channel her magic. The only way to get answers to any of her questions--the only way to know if this Key could tell her how to get back home--was to summon it.

“I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits, now! O spirit, answer my call and pass through the gate! Open, Gate of the Horse!” She slashed the Key through the air, a golden spell circle opening before her as, with a sudden drain on her magic not unlike Virgo or Aquarius, a Celestial Spirit appeared before her.

Unlike Sagittarius, Lucy realized immediately that this Spirit didn’t just pretend to be a horse. Four long legs, covered in a midnight blue coat of soft fur, leading up to a tapered waist and the dark skinned torso of a broad shouldered, muscled woman wearing a thick leather jerkin, two black hilted swords, connected by a chain of metal, peeking over her shoulder. The centaur stretched her arms, spine--human spine--cracking as she twisted around. Her tail and long wild hair were as black as the void between stars, and across the bare skin of her torso--which meant most of her well muscled arms and her collorbones--Lucy could see Ponin runes tattooed in blue all over. She suspected it continued under her leathers.

“Yahoo!” Horse called out, cantering in place. Her face, roughly hewned with a large scar crossing over her nose, was twisting into an expression of absolute joy. “Oh, hell yeah, it’s been forever since I got out.”

“So cool!” Luffy squealed, lunging forward only for Laxus to intercept him.

“Let her complete a contract first, dumbass.”

Horse twisting around, eyes settling on Lucy. “You gotta be a Heartfilia,” she declared.

Lucy sucked in a breath, nodding her head. “Y-yes. How did you know?”

“Knew your ancestor-” she cut herself off with a sudden hiss as several of the Ponin runes glowed silver. “Ah, fiddlesticks. Forgot about this blasted thing. ‘Fraid I can’t tell you much.”

Lucy’s attentioned sharpened, taking a step towards her. The centaur was the size of a war horse, making her much taller than Lucy. She scanned the Ponin runes, but couldn’t read them any more than she could in Earthland. “I’m familiar with Spirits being limited in what they can tell me in accordance to the laws set by the Spirit King,” she said simply. “But I’ve never seen a Spirit with magical markings like these. Are they a secrecy spell.”

Horse didn’t disagree or confirm, only grin and look down at her. “You’re hell of a smart cookie, aren’t you?”

Lucy couldn’t help her blush--any time a Spirit approved of her, pleasure surged. “My name is Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Layla Heartfilia.”

“You can call me Mă, Gate of the Horse. Absolute pleasure to meet a Celestial Mage such as yourself.”

Lucy smiled at Mă, warmed to find her so open and kind. She shared a look at Laxus, who was holding a hand over Luffy’s mouth to stop him from interfering. He offered her an encouraging nod.

Now or never.

“If you could,” Lucy started, careful of how she phrased it, “I’d like you to tell me all you can--without hurting yourself or breaking your laws--of how you came to be here and if you know a way back to Earthland.”

“Earthland, eh?” Mă breathed, smiling a little. “Haven’t heard that word in centuries.” She shook her head gently. “I’m sorry, Lady Lucy. I can’t tell you how to get back.”

“But there is a way,” Laxus insisted, arms loosening. Luffy slid out of his hold, but looked far more serious then moments prior. His dark gaze darted from Laxus to Lucy to Mă and back again.

Mă didn’t answer, which Lucy figured was the only way she could say yes without triggering the secrecy spell she was under. It gave her an idea though. She prayed it worked.

Keeping a careful eye on Mă’s reactions, she said slowly, thinking carefully as she went. “You knew an ancestor of mine, who was a mage. Your previous master, maybe.” Mă gave no reaction, only kept looking at Lucy steadily. She went on, gaining confidence. “For as long as there have been Heartfilia’s, we have had one daughter every generation, and one daughter only. If that’s true, than my ancestor must have found a way back to Earthland.” Again, silence. “But she left you here,” Lucy murmured. “She left you here, and the other Sea Keys if they exist. But why ?”

“It has something to do with the Poneglyphs,” Vivi guessed. Lucy looked over at her.

“Poneglyphs?”

“Ancient stones with an unreadable language left over from the Void Century, eight hundred years ago.” Vivi waved to the tattoos on Mă. “Those are the same markings. The Nerfetari family was entrusted with a stone at the same time we received that Key. Our duty has been to protect both since then.”

Mă only grinned widely at Lucy. “Quite the theory, isn’t it?”

So yes , she thought. Somehow, someway, these Keys--and possibly the way home--was connected to the Poneglyphs.

“Vivi,” Laxus asked, soundpods sparking. “Do you know how many of these Poneglyphs there are?”

Vivi gave a helpless shrug. “At least a dozen, maybe more. It’s illegal to study or look for them though, so I couldn’t tell you where others are.”

Laxus met Lucy’s eyes, and she saw her own thoughts reflected back at her. A lead. A possibility. One of her ancestors had been here, in these lands, and left her Keys--her friends --behind, tied by some sort of secrecy spell cast by the stars only knew who. She had no idea what any of it meant, but it was the only chance they had to find their way home. Something about the Sea Keys was directly tied to Earthland. She just had to find out how.

“Well,” Lucy said finally, bolstered by Laxus’s firm nod of support, “I guess that means we’ll just have to find them and collect any Keys as we go.” She turned to Mă, finding the centaur looking at her with something soft and fond in her gold eyes. “Will you make a contract with me? I could use a few new friends to help me out. If not, I’m sure Vivi will keep you protected here.”

“Ha!” Mă’s tail swatted. “As if I’d want to go back to some dusty old vault. But you misunderstand something, Celestial Mage.”

“Oh?”

Mă’s eyes glinted as she pulled out her two swords slowly. From months of working with Erza, Lucy recognized them as two scimitars, the curved blades a deep, void black, the chain connecting them together the dark blue of seastone. “Stone Keys, as we were once called, do not make contracts as traditional Spirits.” She bent her front two legs, kneeling down. Lucy sucked in a startled breath, eyes wide as Mă’s head met her eyes levely, her swords crossed in front of her. “I once swore to fight for another Celestial Mage, and I will gladly swear the same to you. My blades and magic are yours for as long as the stars burn, Lady Lucy.”

For a half-second, Lucy had no idea what to say; no Spirit had ever held to this much formality--tradition?--with her. Then she grinned, reaching out to clap Mă on the shoulder now that they were the same height. “I’d much rather you fight with me, than for me, Mă. All of my Spirits are my precious friends, and you are no different.”

Mă barked a laugh, standing as she sheathed her swords. “A Heartfilia through and through, eh? I’ll be glad to join you then. I use Territory magic, but its a heavy drain on my summoner’s power, so I try to supplement with swordsmanship.”

“I’ll call you sometime to talk abilities,” Lucy promised. She had no idea what Territory magic was. “Are you sure it’s okay to call you any time?”

“Not like I have anything else to do,” Mă shrugged. “The Spirit World here isn’t connected to the one in Earthland, so things like time don’t work the same. If you haven’t, you might want to ask your Spirits if they want to renegotiate their contracts.”

Loke had vaguely told her the Spirit world was different here, but she hadn’t considered that the Spirits might have different needs. She suddenly felt awful for not asking. “Thank you, I’ll be sure to do that. Until next time.”

Mă gave a jaunty salute as she faded, her gate closing in a shower of gold.

“At least it’s something,” Laxus said into the silence after she was gone. “Far more of a lead than we had before.”

“More questions than I started with,” Lucy complained, but shook off her depression. Laxus was right; this was a net positive, even if they hadn’t gotten answers immediately. 

“Laxus, Lucy.” She looked up, startled at Luffy’s serious address. For a moment, his eyes were shadowed under his hat, before he titled it back, grinning so widely it had to hurt. “Join my crew.”

It was such a simple request, clearly more intense then the last time he asked. And this time…Lucy didn’t deny him immediately.

She had often thought of herself as Lucy of Fairy Tail, and her loyalty to her guild was absolute. She doubted she would ever join another, no matter if Blue Pegasus or Lamia Scale offered and even the thought of doing so made possessiveness rise in her chest like a cobra. Fairy Tail was her guild.

But the Straw Hats had grown on her quickly, especially in the last day and a half. They were wild characters, bright and strong, each with their own goals but oh so determined to see them all completed. A crew of dreamers, Nami had called them all in half exasperated fondness the night before. They had all fought for Vivi’s country simply because she was a friend who had asked for help. Usopp had told her--with severe embellishments--that Luffy had helped him defend his home island simply because Usopp had fed him. She liked them and they reminded her so much of Fairy Tail it nearly hurt.

And they weren’t really a guild.

She turned to Laxus, leaving the decision to him. She knew he struggled with people trusting him and hadn’t joined any guilds after the Fantasia battle. He’d been there for her so much while she struggled with her guilt and frustrations since they’d come together. Lucy would take his lead on this.

His eyes, bright orange in the bright light, darted down to where her guildmark was. Laxus’s shoulders loosened, and she knew what he would say before he even opened his mouth.

“Might as well,” he agreed. Luffy whooped with joy, and even Zoro cracked a smile. “But there’s something we need to do before we leave Alabasta.”

Lucy was glad he had the same thought as her. She hadn’t yet washed off the X on her arm, but it wasn’t quite what she needed to feel complete. “We might need your help, Vivi, if you think you can keep a secret.”

The princess blinked once, before grinning widely. “Anything for a friend.”

Laxus leaned back in the baths, careful not to get his front wet, groaning as old tension bled out of his muscles. Considering the life they’d been living in Terra, and post Fantasia before that, he didn’t think he’d had a good hot bath since he had left Fairy Tail. Usopp and Luffy splashed not far, Zoro meditating as Chopper rubbed his back. Cobra and Igaram joined Sanji in relaxing back. Laxus could just make out the sound of Lucy waving away questions about the wrapping on her shoulder, as he’d done about his torso, on the other side of the divider.

The right side of his ribs was tight and itchy, but he ignored it with ease. He wondered if Lucy was struggling with hers but decided a little irritated skin had never stopped her from doing anything.

Sanji stood up, identifiable even with Laxus’s eyes closed by the heavy scent of cigarettes and spices that followed him everywhere. “Hey, Your Majesty, where are the women’s bath?”

“Right over the wall.”

“Your Majesty! Your daughter is over there.”

There’s a stirring of water, all but Chopper and--surprisingly--Zoro getting up. Laxus gave them two seconds of building ozone before he smacked Sanji with a small bolt without even moving. The room dead silent very quickly.

He opened one eye to glare at them all. “If any of you so much as think to peek on the girls, I’ll feed you to Lucy’s Spirits for lunch.”

Usopp was the first to back off, eep ing in fear and dragging Luffy away with him. Chopper didn’t even bother checking on where Sanji twitched, just making sure his nose was above water where he groaned in pain. Both the king and captain of the guard cleared their throats and pretended not to have been contemplating looking on a bunch of girls a quarter of their age.

Mavis save him from perverts.

Zoro caught his eye, tipping his head in silent respect. Laxus nodded back, deciding that at least someone on this crew of idiots was decent. 

“You aren’t picking fights are you, Sparky?” Lucy called over the barrier.

He snorted, leaning back. “Just protecting that dignity of yours you’re so proud of, Princess.”

Her bark of laughter echoed into the rafters. It was a good sound to hear.

The next afternoon, the crew hung around the Going Merry, the slightly beat up ship, off the coast of Alabasta. Lucy, to Laxus’s never ending surprise, had kept several sets of breeches and harem pants and had changed into a dark purple pair of them when she realized that sailing was a lot colder on the ocean than she had thought it would be. Most of the crew was in pajama’s or lounge wear from their midnight ride, except for the crossdressing ballerina that had been guarding the ship. Bon Clay, while a member of Baroque Works, was apparently also a friend. Laxus wondered if the comparisons to Fairy Tail would ever end, or if he should just expect all their enemies to eventually become allies. 

His nose twitched, ink and parchment and something heavier--coffee maybe--caught his nose. He twisted his head, looking around the ship, but couldn’t place the scent. The small space was hell on his senses as he tried to place what was and wasn’t normal.

“Sparky?” Lucy called. She raised a brow at him. “You okay?”

He gave a tight nod. “Trying to figure out the ship’s usual scents is all.”

“Oh yeah,” Zoro looked up from leaning against the mast. “You found Nami by her smell in the desert. You a zoan?”

He pursed his lips, but figured that if they were joining the crew, hiding his powers would just come back to bite him in the ass. Besides, they had none of the stereotypes about ancient magic that Fiore did.

“I’m what’s called a dragon slayer,” he explained shortly. “Second generation lightning type. Besides being able to eat and attack with my element, I have all the endurance, reflexes, and senses of a dragon.”

“His hearing is his strongest,” Lucy added, because she was a tattletale. He glared, but she only shrugged. “Better they know then accidentally deafen you in the middle of battle.”

“Is that why you wear the earmuffs?” Chopper asked.

“Soundpods,” he corrected. “I can have them play music to drown out the really intense noises. But yes, even when paused they muffle sound. I’d rather not go around hearing all your heartbeats.”

“You can hear heartbeats?” Nami asked.

“Oh, music? I want to hear!” Luffy cried, lunging forward. Laxus side stepped him, using the captain’s momentum to launch him into Usopp who had his ‘I have an idea!’ look on.

“I’m sorry, are we ignoring the part where he said dragon slayer ?” Sanji exclaimed. The whole ship paused, looking at him and blinking almost insync.

Then they promptly all started shouting, killing his ears even through his soundpods.

“Oi, oi,” he grumbled, waving them quiet. “I can’t explain if I have a migraine.”

Lucy laughed, cutting across all the hubbub. “You guys want the short version or the long version that involves a bunch of magical theory?”

“The first,” came the unanimous response.

“Where we’re from magic is an every day part of life,” Lucy explained simply. “Mages like Laxus and I tend to join guilds that allow us to take on jobs--a little like mercenaries but everyone has magic. There are a million and one different types, but Laxus uses an ancient magic called Dragon Slaying which was designed to fight and kill dragons when they were still alive. He’s one of five-”

“Seven,” he cut in. “I know of two third generation slayers. Know idea if they’re still alive or where they ended up, but they existed.”

“Really? I had no idea,” Lucy said.

“You mentioned generation before,” Sanji pointed out. “What does it mean?”

“It references how we learned are magic,” Laxus explained. “First generation slayers learn the magic directly from the source--dragons themselves. We know of three. Second generation, like me and one other, got our powers from Lacrima--a magic stone that holds power--being implanted in our bodies.”

“You’ve had what?!” Chopper screeched. “I need to know these things for your medical file.”

“I’ve absorbed it fully,” Laxus pointed out. “It won’t even show up on body scans anymore.”

“What’s third generation then?” Usopp cut in. “Being the child of another slayer?”

“That’s fourth,” Laxus said. “And to my knowledge, purely hypothetical. There are two third gens; they’re the ultimate combination of both previous generations. They were taught by a dragon and then had a lacrima matching their elements implanted.”

“Oh,” Lucy murmured, eyes wide with sympathy. Laxus knew she’d figured out how he knew about them, or at least had a guess.

He didn’t like thinking about the implementation process. How scared he’d been as a ten year old already used to the idea of dying. He definitely didn’t like thinking about being sixteen and getting dragged into a bunch of court proceedings when it was discovered the researchers that had implanted his lacrima kept going despite the procedure becoming illegal. The white and shadow slayers had been the only two survivors from the second round of experiements, and he’d only seen their files briefly when they’d been entered as evidence. He had no idea where they were now. 

“Where your from dragons are still alive?” Luffy asked excitedly.

“No,” Laxus replied, because whatever Natsu said, they were all long gone. 

“You don’t know that,” Lucy snapped. “Igneel and the others could still be alive.”

“If they were, Natsu wouldn’t still be looking for him,” he argued. “Never mind metal head and the girl you told me about. You don’t think their parents would’ve stuck around if they could?”

Lucy glowered, but Laxus didn’t back down. The chances of the dragons being alive was zero and the sooner she and the others accepted that, the less they’d hurt later on.

“The dragons vanished seven years ago,” Lucy explained to the wide eyed crew. “Public records state they died four hundred years ago-”

“That’s what I’ve heart,” Nami agreed. 

“-but all three of the first gen agree that their parents disappeared on July 7th. Wherever they went, if they’d been hunted or killed it would’ve made the news.”

Laxus huffed but kept his mouth shut. It wasn’t worth the argument. 

“Um, setting that aside,” Sanji started. “What about your magic Lady Lucy?”

She sputtered, staring at him. “Just Lucy is fine, Sanji.”

“No, no please. You should be treated with as much respect and reverence as Miss Nami and Princess Vivi. Besides, all your Spirits call you that.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ve been trying to get my Spirits to call me ‘Lucy’ since I was eight years old.” Laxus barked a laugh, distinctly recalling Lucy admitting that she’d been the one to encourage Virgo to call her ‘princess’. She glared, daring him to say it aloud. “To answer your question,” she finally said. “Celestial Spirit Magic is also an ancient magic, but its not classified as Lost like Dragon Slaying despite there only being a handful of us celestial mages left. As Mă pointed out, the Heartfilia line has been producing celestial mages for as long as our name has existed. My mother before me and her mother before her, we’ve all kept Keys as our friends and partners.”

“Quite the legacy,” Usopp whistled. “It reminds me of how I, the Great Captain Usopp-”

Whatever newest story was coming from the ‘Great Captain’ got cut short by the boom of a canon firing. Laxus cursed, realizing he’d stopped paying attention to their surroundings. In the meantime, a fleet of ships, flying Marine flags, had gotten close enough. The first volley of metal spikes hit the side of Merry with a distrusting groan and crunch.

“Shit!” Zoro got to his feet, shoving Usopp towards the ropes. “Drop the sails. We got to get out of here.”

“What about Vivi?” Nami called. 

“It’s past noon and she hasn’t come.”

“She’s coming,” Luffy countered. “I know it!”

“Damn it, Luffy, we don’t have time! She’s a princess, let her stay if this is her choice.”

While they argued, another round of harpoons had been sent. Laxus cracked through the air, smacking one away. He tried to electrocute another, but the metal was tough enough not to so much as waver in the air. The old fashion way it was. 

Next to him, Lucy called out Sagittarius, and he began shooting. He didn’t have the power to destroy the projectiles, but his aim was so superb he knocked each just enough off course to avoid the most damages to the Merry. Lucy began helping Usopp with the ropes, Zoro and Sanji defending the other side of the ship as Nami began screaming orders. 

“Aquarius?!” Laxus called out, redirecting one harpoon to hit another two off course. Behind him, Zoro cut one into neat chunks as Sanji kicked yet more away. They never seemed to stop though, and Merry took one hit, than another and another. Chopper ran down to start repairs.

“Do you want to get washed up along side the marines?” Lucy yelled back. “Even if she didn’t do it to spite me, they're too close! We’d get caught in the ensuing tsunami.” 

He muttered a curse, twisting as Sanji called a curse to see a varietable wall of black steel coming towards them. “Down!” he ordered. Sanji and Zoro dropped to the ground as Laxus sucked in a breath, magic circle glowing to life in front of his mouth.

“ Lightning dragon roar! ”

Energy crackled through the air, hot and fast and bright, thunder booming in the sudden shift of air temperature. The harpoons didn’t melt--what the fuck were they made of?!--but they warped enough that, combined with the sheer power blast of his attack, they went flying off path and splash harmlessly into the water.

At the bow of the Merry, Luffy’s eyes glowed with excitement. “Holyshit, my crew is so cool!”

“Be impressed later!” Zoro snapped. “What’s our plan for getting out of here in one piece?”

“Oh, shit,” Lucy cursed. Laxus snapped to look at her, but she was uninjured, holding a spyglass and looking off at one of the ships. “That’s Captain ‘Black Cage’ Hina. This formation is her specialty; her Devil Fruit means they will never run out of harpoons.”

“That’s great Lucy,” Usopp cried sarcastically, “But how the hell do we get out? We’re all going to die!”

“Get on the rudder if you’re going into hysterics,” Laxus snapped at him. “Nami, which way do we need to go?”

“Perferably hard to port!”

“Hina is on our starboard,” Lucy added, knowing after months of working together that he was trying to get the lay of the land. “Each ship should be manned by anywhere between 50-70 men, weakest between the two large masts.”

“How do you even know that?” Nami asked wildly.

“Lady Lucy is so smart~” Sanji cooed.

Laxus took in the situation in a single glance. Port, like everywhere else, had two marine ships filled to the brim with navy officers and massive fruit-made harpoons. Alabasta was behind them at this point and was just as much a death trap as running into the ships. They needed an opening and needed it now. That meant the ships needed to go down. 

Well hell. Laxus guessed it was time to show off a little.

“Captain, can you get me a distraction at our bow?”

Luffy grinned, reaching for the pile of harpoons Chopper had left on deck. “Leave it to me! I’ve always wanted to try this.”

“Get ready to sail for port as soon as I open the path,” Laxus ordered and Nami immediately took over, calling sailing positions. At the front of the ship, Luffy began hurling harpoons back at the marines, drawing most of the fire as one, then another, began taking on water. In a flash of lightning, Laxus speared upward and across the water, pausing above the two battleships blocking the Merry’s way. Most of the men were looking towards Luffy or the ships he was attacking, and by the time a lookout pointed him out, it was too late. 

Between the two masts, Lucy had said, so he aimed his attacks there. 

With a gathering of magic in his hands, Laxus reached heavenward, spell circles opening as he began the incantation. “ Plunge from the heavens and reap destruction. Raging Bolt! ” Two massive bolts of lightning, far more powerful than his simple unnamed attacks, speared downward in a flash of light and sound, striking the ships in their mid decks. With a crack and crunch, their collapsed inward like tinfoil, the ships quickly beginning to sink. As gravity began to reassert itself, he flashed back to the Merry where it was limping it’s way forward, skirting the edge of the coast.

“So cool!” Usopp and Chopper called as he landed. He got his footing just in time for a hard wave to hit, the Merry bobbing along. Bile rose quickly, and he had to bend over to keep it down.

“Chopper, I think your motion sickness meds are wearing off.”

“So lame!”

He snarled, but it came out half gurgled. Lucy patted his back sympathetically and he took deep gulping breaths of her scent to refocus himself, trying to push down the nausea. Gods above, why did dragon slayers have to get motion sick at every little thing?

Chopper hurried to give him another handful of pills, which he didn’t hesitate to swallow dry. They left a chalky taste on his tongue, but he was grateful for the reprieve as Usopp called out that he’d spotted Vivi on the shore. From the island, speakers began echoing out her voice, bringing it all the way to them.

It became clear immediately that she wasn’t there to join them. 

“So that’s why,” she cried out, sniffling openly. Nami and Luffy were both weeping alongside her, and Lucy had to send Sagittarius away when he started on the hystronics. “That’s why I can’t come with you. But when the time comes, if we ever meet again, will I still be one of you? Will you still call me friend?!”

Laxus was suddenly reminded, viscerally, of leaving Fairy Tail and the hole it had opened in his chest when Gramps had expelled him. He couldn’t imagine the strength it took to leave willingly--Vivi was a stronger person than she looked.

Nami cut Luffy off before he could give away their connection to her, the marines still far too close for them to have a proper goodbye. But, like his Gramps, Laxus knew not all goodbyes had to be words.

“There’s something we can do,” he pointed out, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “One thing that any Straw Hat would understand.”

Luffy’s eyes lit up in understanding, and as one the Straw Hats turned their backs on their crewmate.

Vivi’s last look of them would be of their backs, arms lifted high to showcase the X inscribed on each of them. A symbol of their friendship that would last far beyond the drawing.

With that silent goodbye, the Straw Hats left Alabasta behind.

Chapter Text

The marines fell behind them quickly, which Lucy was grateful for. Her magic stores weren’t fully refilled yet and she wanted a chance to speak with all her Spirits about their contracts before getting into another battle. As the Merry set off, the crew finally had a chance to relax.

“Well, that was nasty,” Lucy sighed.

“Oh yes. But you all did very well. Your magic is indeed interesting.”

“Than-wait who?”

Laxus reacted first, yanking Nami and Lucy, the two closest to the stranger, back. 

“Miss All Sunday!” came the various shouts, so Lucy assumed she was an ex-Baroque Works agent. Mr. 0’s partner, based on their information from Mr. 6. 

“What are you doing here?” Nami spat, looking far coolder than Lucy had ever seen.

“It’s your captain’s fault,” she replied simply. She was a tall, dark haired and dark skinned woman, older then them all, with no clear weapon on her, though that didn’t mean much. “And you can call me Nico Robin.”

“Oh, thank you!” Sanji cooed, though Luffy only tilted his head in confusion.

“All I wanted was to die,” Robin said simply. Lucy froze, sympathy welling. She knew the feeling. Luffy didn’t look surprised. “But you made me live, so now I want you to take responsibility for it. I want to join your crew.”

“Okay.”

“No way!”

“Um,” Lucy cut in, raising her hand a little. The crew all twisted to look at her. “Hate to interrupt, but weren’t we all okay with Bon Clay a little while ago? What’s different about her?”

An uncomfortable silence descended on the ship, no one quite able to respond to that.

Finally, Luffy waved his hand dismissively. “She’s fine, guys. I say she joins.”

That, it seemed, was that. Robin gave a short introduction, quickly winning over most of the crew. Lucy left them all to it, taking the time to explore with Laxus so they could familiarize themselves with the ship. The only bed, she realized, was in the women’s quarters and would absolutely not fit Lucy, Nami, and Robin. There was a couch at least, so she wouldn’t have to squeeze into the men’s room. Maybe Usopp would be able to find a way to install a hammock without taking up too much space.

The ship was small and, if Luffy recruited anyone else, likely wouldn’t fit the crew. She had taken a lot of damage already, but was clearly well loved despite her size. Lucy ran a gentle hand over a wall, the wood seeming to hum under her fingers.

She climbed back out after removing the last bandage around her arm, stepping from the storage room to find Laxus, of all people, quietly chatting with Robin on deck. She supposed that he, of all people, could relate to going from enemy to ally. Plus, Laxus and Lucy had no prior experience with Robin to taint how they saw her. As far as Lucy was concerned, she was as much part of the crew as Juvia and Gajeel were of Fairy Tail.

“Oh, Lucy,” Nami said, leaning over the railing of the upper deck. “You won’t mind sleeping apart from Laxus, will you? I thought about converting the storage room into an extra sleeping space, but the Merry isn’t really big enough for us to go without storage and we don’t have an extra mattress anyway.”

Lucy wondered why Nami assumed she’d need to sleep with Laxus, but shook her head. “Not a problem. I was just thinking I would ask Usopp to see about making an extra hammock that was maybe collapsable. Laxus can sleep wherever; he’s used to being barbaric.”

Across the deck, he snorted loudly but didn’t start an argument with her. He must still be a little seasick. 

“I could maybe whip something up,” Usopp added thoughtfully from the railing. “I’d have to install a sliding panel maybe…” He trailed off into mutterings. 

“Thanks, Usopp,” Lucy offered honestly. “Let me know if you need help.” 

He waved her off. She was just contemplating asking Nami if she could read some of the books in the girl’s room when someone grabbed her arm in a firm grip. She jumped, finding Luffy suddenly beside her and staring down at her shoulder.

“You got a tattoo,” he said strangely, which drew the attention of the whole crew. Even Sanji and Chopper poked their heads out of the galley.

“Uh, yeah.” Luffy poked it and Lucy tried not to wince at the still slightly inflamed skin. The white skull and crossbones contrasting with the brightly colored straw hat was an abrupt difference to the pink emblem on her hand, but she liked it all the same--it fit oddly well on her shoulder, just where Natsu had his guildmark. Luffy still hadn’t said anything, so she added, “Is that okay? Where Laxus and I are from, when you join a guild you take on their mark.” She waved her hand in example. Luffy barely glanced at it before he whipped his head to where Laxus stood on the other side of deck.

Obediently, he lifted up his shirt, revealing the right side of his ribs. His tattoo was bigger than Lucy’s, stretching all across his lower torso so the top of one of the bones just barely touched his older tattoo. Lucy tried not to be distracted by how good he looked with it.

Abruptly, Luffy grinned widely. “Shishishi, I wished you’d told me. I would’ve gone with you guys.”

“Sorry-”

He waved her off, clearly not worried about it.

“I never considered getting our jolly roger as a tattoo,” Usopp said. “Is it common for crews to do it?”

“Some of the older ones do it to show pride,” Lucy explained. “Or just because the crew is so big they need a way to identify each other. The Whitebeard Pirates are especially known for it--all of the Division Commanders have tattoos and a lot of the crew wear the mark on their clothes.”

“Oh, like Ace,” Luffy said simply.

“You know Fire Fist?” Lucy asked, surprised.

“Yeah, he’s my big brother.”

She boggled a little at him, comforted when Nami shook her head. “Believe me, we were shocked too.”

“You’re pretty well informed,” Zoro pointed out.

“Two of my Spirits, Crux and Gemini, are good for information purposes. Plus, I love to read.”

“And Laxus did very well in that battle,” Nami agreed. “We tend to fight solo, so it was impressive to see you pull us together like that.”

“Experience,” Laxus grunted. “I used to lead a team.”

“Then it’s decided,” Luffy announced with a clap. “Lucy will keep knowing things and Laxus will keep making plans when we have to fight as a crew. With Robin knowing about assassination and old stuff, all we need is a musician.”

“‘Knowing things’?” she wondered with a laugh. “I suppose I could have worse jobs on this ship.” She contemplated telling Luffy that she had a Spirit that could sing, but decided that it would probably crush his enthusiasm when she explained she could only call Lyra three days a month. That reminded her, she would need to speak with all her Spirits tomorrow to check in with them on their contracts.

“At least the crew is well rounded,” Robin chuckled. “Though if I may, Ms. Informant, I do have one question.”

“Just Lucy is fine, Robin,” she breathed, exasperated by the significant lack of people using her name. “What is it?”

“Where are you and Mr. Strategist from?” Laxus mouthed ‘Mr. Strategist’ in confusion. Robin ignored him. “I’m from the West Blue-” that explained her accent which was almost Fioran, “-and have never encountered any ‘mages’.”

She met Laxus’s eyes, but he only shrugged. She figured that was his way of saying he didn’t care if they shared the truth or not. Honestly, Lucy didn’t care about keeping their origin a secret--sooner or later it would come out, and she’d rather her crew trust her then worry about deceit.

“That’s because we’re not from the West Blue,” Lucy said simply. “A little over eight months ago, Laxus and I were in Earthland, a separate dimension from this. We were on a job investigating an ancient ritual site that I accidentally activated. We’ve been trying to find a way home ever since.”

There was a mess of shouting at that, but the general gist was disbelief, which Lucy didn’t blame them for.

“Honestly,” Laxus groaned. “Where did you think we were from when we told you we had a completely different power source then Devil Fruits?”

“The moon,” Usopp and Luffy said immediately. Lucy decided not to question it. 

“So that explains your conversation with Mă,” Sanji breathed, lighting a new cigarette. “Why you were asking her if she knew a way home.”

“There’s no magic here,” Lucy said. “Even though the air is full of ethernano--the source of magic--the people of this world seem to have evolved to be stronger without using magic at all. But a Gate Key? That’s pure magic, just like in Earthland. And Mă said she uses magic as well, so it makes no sense at all for her Key to be here.” Lucy scowled, head pounding at the questions that were flying through her head. 

“So that’s why you want to find the Poneglyphs,” Nami concluded. “To find your way home.”

“They’re written using Ponin runes, which is what the ritual had,” Laxus added. “Not that either of us know how to read the damn things.”

“Wait,” Robin cut in. “The Poneglyphs? How are they involved?”

“Not sure yet,” Lucy explained. “Except that they definitely are. Ponin runes haven’t been used for spell casting in over a thousand years--we barely have any written proof of them existing and no one has managed to decipher them. Yet the ritual site we were investigating was covered in them and Mă has a whole bunch tattooed across her skin in some sort of secrecy spell that has to do with the Void Century.”

Robin reached into her pocket, pulling a notebook and sketching something before turning the book towards Laxus. “Did they look like this?”

“Yep,” Laxus agreed after a moment. “How do you know Ponin?”

“Because I’m the only person alive who can read them.”

Lucy sucked in a breath, unbelieving of her luck. What were the chances? “Do you know the name Heartfilia?”

Robin shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’ve been searching for answers since I was eight years old and I still know precious little about the Void Century. My people discovered that by combining certain Poneglyphs that describe history into one, the Rio Poneglyph, someone could discover the history of the Void Century. The Alabastan Poneglyph was my last lead.”

Lucy wilted, but shook it off quickly. “We’ll just have to see about finding more, then.” She grinned at Robin’s startled expression. “I mean, that is why you’re on this crew, right?”

She relaxed a little, her clever blue eyes examining Lucy closely. “Yes. I’ll be glad to share information with you as we go.”

“My head hurts,” Nami complained, cradling her skull. “Ancient spells, weird alphabets. My life used to be so normal.”

“I know that feeling,” Lucy agreed sympathetically. Sanji appeared just then, offering out a tray with a sort of desert she’d never seen. 

“Then please, Lady Lucy, take this snack to restore your spirit.”

She laughed, spirit indeed lightening at the simple chaos that immediately ensued as the various men of the crew complained and Sanji told them to wait their turn. “Thanks, Sanji.”

She scooped up a bite, but reared back when Laxus tugged her hand up and chomped down on her spoon. Sanji puffed up like a bullfrog as Lucy slapped Laxus’s shoulder, but he only lifted a brow.

“Kiwis.”

Lucy deflated, handing the desert to him and smiling apologetically at Sanji’s bewildered face. “Allergic, sorry.”

“Oh, don’t apologize! I should’ve asked.” He looked between the two of them. “Are there any other diatary needs I need to know about?”

“Just kiwis,” Lucy told him.

“I don’t drink coffee,” Laxus added after a moment’s thought. “And too much cinnamon makes me sick.”

“Wait, you too?” Lucy looked at his vaguely scrunched face, as if the very thought of the spice was making him ill. “I thought Natsu was just weird. Is it a dragon thing?”

“Like how dogs can’t have chocolate?” Sanji asked.

“I resent the comparison,” Laxus muttered. “But yes. A little is fine.”

“This reminds me,” Chopper cut in. “If you guys have a second, I need to ask you some questions to finish filling out your medical files. You too, Robin.” 

The crew broke up their unofficial meeting, going their separate ways and settling into sailing. Lucy was impressed with how quiet it actually became, for a given definition. She’d have to get used to sailing, she thought. It involved a lot less activity then living in Magnolia.

Lucy had never been so wrong in her life.

“Twenty degrees starboard!” Nami shouted over the raging winds. 

“Someone get that line,” Zoro roared, fighting alongside Usopp to raise the sails so they didn’t flip.

The ship twisted into a hard current, Nami screeching more orders as Lucy ran around deck alongside everyone else. Well, almost everyone.

A flash of lightning got cut short.

“Laxus Dreyar, if you don’t stop eating and come help, I will use your spine as a flute!”

He would not be sick, Laxus promised himself. He would not be sick .

The current rose into the air, twisting around like a giant sea snake that the Merry rode along on, the whole crew screaming porfanities when it suddenly froze solid from a gust of blizzarding wind and they did a barrel role back towards the ocean.

Oh gods, he was going to be sick. 

Why did it have to be boats ?

Lucy stretched as she finished getting ready, slidding the hammock along the pole Usopp had installed so it could be tucked behind the couch during the day. At her desk, Nami muttered to herself, an abacus clacking at her side. Robin was already up and gone, of course--she was usually the first one into the kitchen for coffee. 

Lucy leaned over Nami’s shoulder, humming and pointing to a few numbers and their corresponding items on the supply list. “If you buy this and this from one vendor you could argue into one bulk price that knocks off ten percent,” she offered. “And don’t bother calculating for my wardrobe price--the money from Laxus and I’s last job will pay for the few things we need, and I can maybe ask Virgo for an outfit or two in case of emergencies.”

Nami blinked, looking at the list a little more. “Oh! That would cut twenty percent, wouldn’t it?”

“I said ten.”

Nami waved her away, making the adjustments. “I’ll get twenty, don’t worry. You sure you don’t need more clothes? I saw you didn’t have any pajamas.”

“Like I said, we’ll figure it out ourselves,” Lucy promised. She knew that the Straw Hat finances were tighter than usual with the addition of three more mouths to feed. “I’ve been stealing Laxus’s shirts for ages, he’ll keep living with it.”

Nami snickered, looking up to grin at her. “Oh I’m sure.” Lucy wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but before she could ask Sanji announced breakfast. 

All meal times were a chaotic affair, she’d learned over the last three days. Luffy had even worse manners than Natsu, constantly launching his hands to steal everything that wasn’t aggressively guarded. Laxus had realized the first day that his lightning had no effect on their new captain, which left him annoyed and perfectly willing to stab the rubbery limb with a fork if it got too close. Lucy kept to Laxus’s side and let him and Luffy fight it out. 

Chopper and Robin chatted about medical terms, Sanji begged Nami for a new locked fridge, and Usopp regalled the whole table with the newest in a long line of insane stories that only Luffy truly believed. It was a strange normal, but one that Lucy was slowly starting to appreciate.

“Miss Informant,” Robin eventually said. “You mentioned, I believe, that one of your Spirits has Poneglyph tattoos?”

“Oh, yes. Mă, the Gate of the Horse. I think it might be a secrecy spell.”

Robin hummed, curiosity shinning in her eyes. “I’m not sure I understand the magic part, but I’d be pleased to translate.”

Lucy grinned, nodding. “I can ask Mă if she’d allow it.” She paused contemplating for a moment. Her magic reserves were full again after a few days of minimal magic and good food. “I’ve been meaning to speak with all my Spirits about their contracts, and I need to talk with Mă about her abilities anyway. I’ll start with her, if you’d like to join me.”

“You can summon them all in one day?” Laxus added, one brow raised. “Even your Golds?”

“As long as I stretch out the summonings and don’t keep them open for long, I should be okay,” Lucy said thoughtfully. She grimaced, “Though I’ll probably sleep like the dead tonight.”

“That’s okay, Lady Lucy,” Sanji assured. “I’ll take your watch shift, if you’d like.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother.”

“Not at all! It’s my pleasure the be of use to a lady such as yourself.”

“Perv,” Zoro muttered distainfully, which had Sanji twisting around to look at him, scowling. Lucy tuned out the ensuing argument with long ease.

Luffy bounced in his seat, leaning across the empty table to meet her eyes with a huge grin. “Can I watch? I want to meet the rest of our nakama!”

The room paused, everyone looking startled, before nodding in agreement. “We should be aware of their various fighting abilities,” Zoro added thoughtfully.

“And I’d like to know if they need medical treatment,” Chopper agreed.

“Don’t forget dietary needs.”

Lucy couldn’t say a word as the whole crew chatted about her Spirits so easily like they were one of the crew, as if they were all people. Her Keys were her oldest friends in the world, and it warmed her more than she could possibly say to know that this new crew saw them as equals just as much as Fairy Tail did.

“Neh, Lucy,” Chopper said worriedly, checking her over frantically. “Why are you crying? Are you hurt?”

“Hungry?” Luffy added.

“No, no.” She shook her head, wiping away her tears as she grinned. She hadn’t noticed she’d started crying. “I’m just happy is all. I’ll do my summonings on the deck, if it’s okay with everyone.”

A general murmur of agreement rose up, though they all kept sneaking concerned looks at Lucy. Laxus alone knew the stereotype of Celestial Spirits being used as tools or worse, but he didn’t add anything. Only joined Zoro in a workout on deck as breakfast broke up.

Lucy summoned Mă first, Robin standing nearby with her notebook and looking more lively than she’d seen her before. With a flash of golden light, the Gate of the Horse crossed through and cantered in place.

“Thought you forgot about little ol’ me,” Mă teased, reaching for her swords. “Alright, who we fighting?”

“No one,” Lucy replied with a laugh. “I wanted to talk abilities with you, but first, would it be alright if Robin took a look at your tattoos?”

Mă paused, eyes sharpening. “Tattoos?”

“I can read them,” Robin said with a calm smile, her eyes hungry. “I’d like to translate them, if that’s okay.”

For a moment, Mă looked completely dumbfounded before she gave a slow nod. “Yeah, sure. Translate.” She stared at Robin for a moment. “You a Kozuki?” 

“No.” Robin took a step forward, eyes sharp. “Who are they?”

Mă opened her mouth, but the runes around her shoulders suddenly flared silver and she winced.

“Don’t answer anything you can’t,” Lucy told her. “I don’t want you hurting yourself.”

Robin looked absolutely fascinated, but Mă obediently shut her mouth, shrugging out of her jerkin so she stood in nothing but a band around her breasts. Somewhere on the top deck, Lucy heard Sanji swoon, but ignored it as Robin went from fascinated to utterly baffled. 

“Impossible,” she breathed, stepping closer and beginning to frantically write.

“Care to share?” Lucy asked.

“They’re Poneglyphs, but they aren’t using the usual grammatical structure. I’ve never even seen …” she trailed off, muttering feverishly as she made a copy of Mă’s tattoos. 

Lucy heaved a sigh, shaking her head. Of course it couldn’t be easy. “While she does that--Mă, can you tell me a little more about your abilities? You mentioned swordsmanship, but what is Territory magic?”

“Spacial manipulation, in short.” She lifted an arm, only to pause when Robin made a displeased sound and switched to the other. At the palm of her hand, a sphere of black and purple energy appeared, looking like a nebula or space painting. Lucy felt the sudden pull on her magic. “I can take one thing and send it somewhere else, myself and people included, trap someone within a spacial pocket and suck the energy from them, and create implosions by collapsing the space within an area.”

Lucy boggled at her, unsure where to even begin.

“Dangerous and versatile,” Laxus summarized, lifting a weight idly. Lucy tried not to stare at his topless body. Why did he and Zoro feel the need to always work out half naked? “What’s your range?”

“Depends on my master,” Mă said apologetically. “It uses a lot of magic and I can’t handle the drain by myself.”

Frowning, Lucy grabbed one of the fishing poles and passed it to her, pointed at where Luffy sat on the Merry’s head, watching the proceedings with great intensity and excitement. 

Mă obediently sent the pole away, it disappearing from her hand and appearing from another palm of purple and clattering into Luffy’s lap. He gave a cheer as Lucy grimaced, rolling her neck.

“How bad?” Laxus asked.

“Worse than Aquarius or Virgo’s abilities, not quite as bad as Loke’s Regulus.” She looked at Mă. “I assume distance and weight are factors.”

“Yes, Lady Lucy. Implosions depend on strength and size.”

Lucy nodded in understanding, looking to Robin holding one of Mă’s arms up so she could read the runes on the underside. “How’s it going Robin?”

She didn’t say anything for a minute, before she stepped back and snapped it journal shut with a clap. “I,” she began grandly, “have no idea what any of it means.”

The whole crew sucked in a breath, Robin beaming at them all. “The individual words, yes, but Poneglyphs depend so heavily on context and a single stroke can completely up end the meaning. This,” she waved at Mă and her tattoos. “ This is a giant puzzle that will take me weeks to figure out.” She grinned, an honest smile with her eyes crinkling and her head tilted a little to the side. Lucy realized Robin was much cuter than she’d thought. “Thank you.”

“Pretty sure I didn’t do anything,” Mă said. “But you’re welcome.”

“Thank you for your help,” Lucy told her. “And your time. I promise next time to have something for you to fight.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Mă cheered. She gave a salute as her gate closed. “‘Till next time, Lady Lucy.”

Robin wandered off to begin translating, so Lucy took a deep breath to begin summoning the rest of her Spirits. For the most part it went very well, many of them renegotiating their contracts simply and easily and introducing themselves to the crew. Of course, there were some memorable occasions. Like the fact that Luffy was apparently desperate for a musician.

“You mean you can sing anything!?” Luffy squealed, shaking Lyra by her shoulders. She didn’t seem to mind, grinning back at him.

“Of course!” She looked to the side a little, “If Miss Lucy would summon me more, of course.”

“Lucy!” Luffy scolded. “You should keep Lyra out more. Like all the time.”

“I can’t do that dumbass! It violates our contract.” Lucy huffed, folding her arms. “Besides, keeping her here take’s magic, and I can’t keep a Gate open forever.” She was reminded of Karen, suddenly, and felt a shiver go up her spine. 

“But she’s a musician!” Luffy pointed out. “All pirate crews need a musician.”

Nami groaned loudly from the galley. “For the last time Luffy, musicians aren’t vital!”

To the very startling discovery of how Gemini could copy Devil Fruits.

“They’re like Bon Clay!” Chopper cheered, dancing around with a transformed Gemini. The two Choppers spun in a circle, pausing to face each other. Usopp quickly starting calling for bets on which was the real one. One Chopper raised a hoof, the other mirroring him perfectly. He pulled off his hat and put it back on just as the other did the same. Both Choppers did a little wiggling dance.

“It’s even better than Bon Clay,” Robin noted blandly. “He couldn’t clone animal bodies.”

“Still can’t copy his Devil Fruit,” Zoro snorted. 

As if to disprove him, the two Choppers’ routine escalated, both clapping their hooves together and growing into Chopper’s human point. One Chopper grinned as the other one boggled alongside the rest of the crew.

“Oh,” Lucy said idly. “Gemini, are Devil Fruits close enough to magic for you to copy?”

“Yes, Miss Lucy.” Gemini popped out of Chopper’s form, the two little blue Spirits doing a little dance in the air. “Easier, even.”

“Cool!” Luffy yelled, which had been happening often during Lucy’s summoning. “Me next, me next!”

“Sorry,” Gemi cooed. “Can’t,” Mini agreed.

“Aw, why not?”

“You’re too strong,” Lucy explained. “Gemi and Mini can only transform into people with magic as strong or weaker to my own. It’s why they can’t turn into Laxus. I don’t know how that translates with your fruit, though.” Gemini shrugged, unable to answer.

“What about Zoro?” Nami asked. “Or Sanji? Neither of them have Devil Fruit powers, so you must have stronger magic than them.”

Gemi and Mini danced over to Zoro, looking at him closely where he leaned against the mast. He raised a faint brow at them, but with a sharp burst of magic, they turned into a second Zoro. The real one grinned sharply, pulling out Wado and lunging upward. Gemini-Zoro blocked with an identical sword, once, twice, before suddenly dropping the form. Zoro barely managed to pull back his attack to stop from hitting them.

“Sorry, Miss Lucy,” the twins chimed. 

“It’s alright,” she assured them gently. “Can you tell me what went wrong?”

They tilted back and forth for a moment, considering. “He doesn’t have magic,” Mini said slowly. “But there’s something else…” Gemi agreed, trailing off. They shook both their heads.

“They also had my skill but not my strength,” Zoro added. “Muscle memory, but not the muscles.”

“So limited to my strength still,” Lucy figured. 

“So much for them copying a Warlord and winning all our fights,” Usopp muttered sadly.

“As if I’d ask them to do that!” Lucy barked.

“Yeah, Usopp,” Luffy scolded. “We have to win our own fights. Otherwise where’s the fun?”

“But if they have the skills of who they copy…” Robin murmured. “Could they help me with Poneglyphs?”

“Or when everyone is hurt,” Chopper added. “It’d be a big help after fights to have another set of hands.”

“Depends on if I have the energy to open their Gate after a big fight,” Lucy pointed out. “But yes, I don’t see why they can’t help every now and again. I’ll respect all of your privacy, of course, if they end up transforming into you.”

“Wait, what does that mean?” Sanji asked. “It’s just like the Clone-Clone fruit, isn’t it?”

“Gemini absorbs the memories of whomever they transform into,” Lucy explained. “That’s how I’ve been learning so much information.”

“Ah,” Robin said tightly, looking uncomfortable. “Maybe not, then.”

All the way to learning that there was someone as terrifying stubborn as Aquarius.

“If you can control water, why haven’t you been helping out?” Nami demanded.

Aquarius, floating peacefully above Merry’s deck, sneered down at her. “Do I look like I care if you idiots get caught in a few bad currents?”

“Bad currents? Bad currents ?! The Grandline is an amalgamation of impossibilites stuck on top of enigmas, all controlled by cartoon logic,” Nami seethed. “And if you don’t help out the next time I’m trying to navigate us through a maze of cyclones and hurricanes, I’ll skin your tail one scale at a time and turned you into a purse!”

“You’re threatening me ? Listen girly, I’ve been controlling water since your ancestor was a tadpole . I’d sooner drown this ship and feed it to the kraken as an apetizer before playing taxi for you ungrateful welps.”

“Should we stop them?” Luffy wondered.

“Too scary,” Lucy and Usopp replied.

By the end of the day, Lucy was thoroughly exhausted, magic deepleted but in the way that made her feel accomplished. She’d had to stop several times for snacks--and once for a whirlpool that kept chasing the ship--but by the time dinner rolled around, she’d spoken to all of her Spirits, making sure they were doing alright and finding out if they wanted to change their contracts. Most had said they’d be amiable to more summoning days, and all had agreed that, in a new world that seemed to be shapping up to be even more dangerous than Earthland, they were willing to come for emergencies outside of their usual hours. Lucy knew she’d try to avoid calling for them even during emergencies, but was glad to have the backup. 

Even better, all the crew had accepted her Spirits, quirks and all. Virgo was well loved for her masochism, Sagittarius had bonded with Usopp, and Nami had been ecstatic when she realized that Pyxis could differentiate between the magnetic pulls of the Grandline islands and thus meant they could travel outside of the order of the Log Pose. Of course, he couldn’t tell them how far the islands were, only the directions, which meant that following the Log was still safest. He did manage to point out an island that had been just outside of their site range which Laxus discovered when he’d launched himself into the sky to check. By Luffy’s order, the crew had taken a short detour to make landfall for the night.

Laxus had missed land so much. Over the three days since Alabasta, Chopper had been trying a variety of nausea medication to try and overcome his motion sickness, but most wore out so quickly he had to take it six times a day, which simply wasn’t viable. He’d been holding it together by spite and will alone, and nights were the absolute worse, when the noise of everyone sleeping all added to the mess of slapping waves and creaking wood until the world was spinning around him and he just wanted to die. Laxus had used a hammock exactly once before realizing the constant rocking of it made him want to die even more than usual, so the men of the crew had agreed to let him use the couch in their room full time, instead of rotating as they’d been doing.

They docked the ship just as the sun was descending, but it was clear the island was small and uninhabited; Luffy announced they’d spend tomorrow exploring, but demanded a party to officially celebrate the new members of the crew. 

“And it has to be three times as loud!” he announced, hollering as, with the ease of long practice, the crew all piled onto shore, pulling out the rum and the food. It didn’t take long for everything to get going, and Laxus realized quickly that this was a crew that partied just as hard as Fairy Tail. Lucy begged off of summoning Lyra since she was still tired from earlier, but that didn’t stop the crew from managing a wide range of off key songs and dancing, the food and rum flowing thick and quickly. Even Zoro, who Laxus had spent the most time with as their personalities meshed well, was just as loud and involved as Sanji and Nami.

Laxus retreated to the edge of the group, leaning against a tree where the hollering was manageable underneath the protection of his soundpods. Lucy spun around, arms hooked with Usopp and laughing brightly at some wild tale he was spinning. He was glad to see the joy so openly on her face after months of despair in Alabasta.

“Too loud for you, Mr. Strategist?” Robin asked as she approached.

“Most things tend to be,” he told her honestly. He’d enjoyed their discussions on history and the value of knowledge over the last few days--light hearted debates that reminded him painfully of Freed in the best way. Laxus slid to the side, offering her a spot tucked into the tree roots. She joined with a small smile. “It wouldn’t kill you to use our names,” he added, deciding that he’d kept quiet about it long enough.

Her smile tightened a little, eyes wary. “Where would the fun in that be?”

He didn’t buy her bullshit for a second. He knew what keeping yourself separate on purpose looked like. Laxus had done the same thing in Fairy Tail, so caught up in his own strength and his desperate desire to make a name for himself outside of his grandfather’s shadow and meet his father’s expectations. Only with the benefit of distance and contemplation did he realize how lonely he’d been, desperate for someone to see him for more than the latest in the line of Dreyars. The Thunder Legion were the only ones who’d seen Laxus, but that was because they were the only ones he let close. The entirety of Fairy Tail had been his family, and he’d been the one to throw that away.

He didn’t know how to tell Robin that without sharing more than he was willing, though, so settled on saying, “Would being our friends really hurt you that badly?”

She didn’t respond, only looked out over the party. Nami, Zoro, and Lucy were slumped together, the former two encouraging Lucy to take a drink, then another. Laxus had never seen Lucy drink alcohol before, and expected her to thoroughly regret it in the morning. Usopp, Luffy, and Chopper danced around with chopsticks stuck up their noses, for whatever reason. A fire crackled merrily in the middle of the group, their ship bobbing along with the curling ocean as the stars watched on. 

Later, much later as the party was winding down and Laxus started herding a bunch of drunk teenage pirates to bed, he caught the lilt of Robin’s voice, so low only his extreme hearing caught on.

“It’s not me I’m worried about hurting.”

Chapter Text

“Sail ho!” Usopp shouted down, a few days later. The crew had spent a day gathering fruit and vegetables from that small island together--officially, at least. In reality, there had been a lot of running around, lost fruit buckets, and Lucy getting her ass kicked into gear by Laxus when he decided he felt good enough to start training her. The fact that she’d been suffering her first hangover ever hadn’t seemed to slow him down. 

The sky was overcast, mist rising thickly over the ocean. Nami suspected they were between island climates at the moment and had kept them all on edge with abrupt orders to change this line and that all morning long. They’d barely finished lunch, Lucy hoping to find time to discuss with Crux what he’d found about popular islands in Paradise, when Usopp shouted down from the crowsnest.

“Marines off port side!” he added and a streak of cursing rose from Nami, echoed by Luffy’s laughter. Nami ordered the sails dropped despite Luffy clearly gearing up for a fight. Lucy thunked her head against the galley wall, sighing deeply.

“No peace at all.”

“You’d be bored otherwise,” Laxus pointed out, stepping outside and squinting off towards where a white sail was getting closer. He looked a little green, so she figured Chopper was experimenting with his medication again. She couldn’t exactly say he was wrong.

“They’re pursuing,” Usopp called down. Then he gave a screech, jumping so badly he tumbled down the mast. Landing on his head didn’t seem to deter him, as he jumped up and shouted, “It’s Smoker!”

“Smokey?” Luffy asked, grinning. “We should go say hi!”

“Idiot, he’ll want to fight,” Sanji told him. 

Luffy tilted his head to the side, looking puzzled. “Well, yeah. Isn’t that what I just said?”

“What kind of relationship do you guys have with him?” Lucy wondered.

“Friends,” Luffy said.

“Enemies,” most of the crew chorused.

“Rivals,” Zoro decided, which Lucy thought made the most sense. Not the way Natsu and Gray were rivals, but something in a similar vein.

“What does it matter?” Nami shouted. “We’re getting out of here.”

“No way,” Luffy vetoed, crossing his arms. 

“Don’t think we’re getting much choice,” Laxus cut in. He reached a hand out just as there was the unmistakable sound of canon fire. Lightning raced to meet the balls, igniting them before they could hurt the Merry. The marine ship was closing the distance extremely quickly, coming perpendicular to them and on a direct intercept course; the mist had kept them hidden until it was too late to run. Lucy was already starting to make out the form of people running around. “Lucy, who do we need to worry about?”

She startled, shaking her head to organize her thoughts at the abrupt address. “Uh, Commodore Smoker-”

“He got promoted?” Usopp demanded.

“-after Alabasta, didn’t you read the paper before we left?--Commodore Smoker has a smoke logia, impossible to hit. No idea how his powers would interact with our magic. His second is Ensign Tashigi, swordswoman. Both fiercely devoted. Crew should be about forty strong, mostly rank and file.”

“Chances of getting out of here without a fight?” Usopp whined.

“Zero,” Nami gasped out, staring at the ocean as if it was about take a bite out of them. It wouldn’t be the first time. “A whirlpool is forming, hard to starboard!”

As if her words were the herald, Going Merry shuddered, the currents abruptly pulling her in. The crew jumped to attention, Robin blooming arms to yank the whipstaff but it was already too late. The portion of the ocean between them and the navy ship seemed to open up, water quickly spiralling and bringing them in. Merry, much lighter than the heavy battleship, whipped through the water, heading straight towards where it was similarly fighting in vain to avoid getting caught in the currents.

“Looks like you’re getting your wish,” Robin idly noted. “Assuming we don’t die.”

“Less morbidity, more moving!” Nami ordered. “Haul the ropes, bring in the sails, and someone get on the whipstaff proper!”

In front of them, the battleship raised its sails, slowing down further in the current. Laxus paused where he was yanking a rope, looking to Luffy.

“We still getting in a fight, Captain?”

“Hell yeah!”

“Fuck no!”

Laxus ignored Usopp’s dispair, shouting to Nami over the heavy winds, “Lock our masts!”

“Are you fucking out of your mind ?!” she screeched in return. “The Merry is a third of their size, we’ll be dragged into their-” She cut off, clearly guessing at what Laxus was trying to do. Grimacing fiercely, she began shouting a series of complicated orders that Lucy struggled to follow, but who’s purpose quickly became clear.

The Merry gained on the navy, until they were so close she could see individual sailors shouting warnings. Tashigi, hair plastered to her skull from the waves, appears over a railing, eyes wide and startled. A mess of white and blue began running around, Smoker towering above his men and shouting orders; they started to gather on the edge of their ship. With Nami’s guidance and exacting orders, the Going Merry drew even with the massive battleship, managing to put the marines between them and the center of the pool. The pull of the water meant the ship was tilting, which Nami used to expertly tangle the two masts and rigging, until the Merry groaned loudly, but slowed to match the battleship’s speed. The deck shook, knocking near everyone over, but Luffy launched himself onto the enemy deck with a gleeful shout, just as Smoker shouted an order to board.

“Sanji, Zoro and Robin on guard!” Laxus ordered. “Lucy, Luffy, and I board. The rest keep the ship above water.”

“That’s not as easy as you think it is!” Usopp snapped, struggling with pulling a rope taunt to save their sail from being ravaged as a wild marine swung a cutlass at him. Arms bloomed from his neck, snapping it quickly. Lucy flinched from the merciless death, but shoved that aside to deal with later. Laxus hauled her over the railings, jumping to the higher ship with ease. She rolled as he dropped her, coming up with a snap of her whip that lit it blue and gold as she tugged out a Key.

“Open, Gate of the Crab!” Cancer appeared in a flash of gold, immediately lunging for a swordsman coming for Lucy’s back and snapping the blade between his scissors. 

Luffy’s leg went through Smoker as the captain burst into his namesake. Laxus followed up immediately with a lightning infused punch, but similarly hit nothing.

“Laxus!” Luffy shouted, sounding the closest to angry he’d ever heard him. “This is my fight.”

Normally, Laxus would respect the sanctity of a one on one, but the wind was roaring, the ocean was pissed, their crewmates were being pressed back on their ship, and none of the Straw Hats could actually hit the main enemy. “Sorry Luffy,” Laxus grunted, because he owed some measure of respect to his captain, even if he had no idea how to show it. “But we’ve gotta prioritize keeping him away from the crew.”

He ducked just as a smoke-fueled punch came at him. Luffy yelped and jumped over Smoker’s jitte.

“Funny seeing you here,” Laxus called, trying to figure out how to bypass his entagibility. Usually with elemental mages the trick was to use their element against them--or to have such a wide gap in magic that you overpowered their magic with your own. Somehow, he doubted either would work here. “Your second didn’t seem to have a problem letting us go.”

“Tashigi told me about that,” Smoker growled. “And how you protected the crew.” His arm dispersed into a wide net, Laxus falling back as Luffy slammed a foot through Smoker’s back. The distraction worked. As Smoker spun to face Luffy, Laxus lunged forward, a bolt of lightning racing through Smoker’s body with no effect.

“What can I say. They remind me of my family.” A truth. The Straw Hats were the exact same kind of crazy as Fairy Tail, to such the extent that it sometimes hurt.

“Your family full of criminals?” Smoker accused, stabbing at Luffy with his jitte. Luffy knocked it away with a kick, then used Laxus as a spring board to throw himself bodily at Smoker. It worked about as well as anything else.

“Depends on who you ask,” Laxus admitted. Damnit, there had to be some way of hitting Smoker. “Can you honestly say our crew are the worse people out here?”

“No,” Smoker said without hesitation. His eyes narrowed, teeth clenching on his two cigars with a scowl. “But you’re still criminals.”

There was no more talking after that. Only fighting for their lives.

Lucy snapped her whip up, catching a marine in the arm. With strength built over months in the desert, she threw him up and over her head, slamming him down into a group of incoming sailors. Someone was shouting orders about the rigging and sails, and Lucy left any of the marines working the lines alone. She didn’t want the ship to capsize.

She wasn’t used to fighting large groups of scrubs, and she took a second to wonder why Laxus had wanted her on the boarding team. Somewhere on the ship, lightning flashed and Luffy laughed brightly, knocking out entire swaths of the crew with a single attack. Lucy kept up best she could, Cancer watching her back and catching swords as easily as he defeated the simple mooks. 

A body flew in front of her, nearly catching her nose as she dodged backwards. It crashed into one of the walls, the dust clearing to reveal Smoker himself. He was as big as he’d been when she’d first met him in Alabasta, two cigars in his mouth and his weapon drawn. Luffy bounced down in front of her, Laxus at his shoulder. He spared a glance to look her over, what she thought might be approval in his eyes. 

Smoker stood slowly, staring from Lucy to Laxus. “Knew you two were pirates.”

“We weren’t at the time you asked,” Lucy pointed out. 

“Tch,” he threw out the stubs of his cigars, glaring at Laxus. He must have been the one to actually land a hit on Smoker. “Your bounty isn’t nearly high enough.”

Lucy blinked, startled. They hadn’t received a single Newscoo since they left Alabasta, so the last paper she’d read had been the one announcing Crocodile’s defeat, nominally at the hands of Smoker and Tashigi, followed with their promotions. Had Laxus gotten a bounty since then?

“Luffy!” Nami screamed over the sound of the ocean churning and the fighting. Another crash hit the deck of the marine ship, revealing itself to be a bruised and cut Tashigi, looking furious and hurt. She’d clearly gotten into a fight with Zoro. “We need to go, I got us a way out of the whirlpool!”

Lucy started heading towards the railing, ignoring whatever scuffle Laxus, Luffy, and Smoker had that allowed the crew to retreat. On the Merry, Marine bodies lay groaning or dead from a variety of wounds, which Luffy quickly scooped up into an elongated arm and dumped back with Smoker. Robin used her abilities to pass over whichever ones he’d missed as Nami began leading them to detangling their masts and quickly and smoothly escaping back out to sea.

That quickly they were out of the fighting, Lucy bruised and hurting, but none the worse for wear, as was much of the rest of the crew. Laxus had a quickly darkening black eye, and looked so nauseous as to be barely standing. Still, he took the time to look her over and give a firm nod. “You did good.”

She blushed under the praise, glad that she’d managed to be of use to the crew. “Yeah, well, even I can fight the cannon fodder.”

Laxus huffed a laugh, running a hand over her hair as he went to sit down, cradling his ribs. Lucy stared after him, too warm from the gentle touch. He so rarely gave physical affection that she forgot sometimes how nice it was when he did. He’d never flinched away when she reached out, but she tried to respect his boundaries--it was nice, she thought, when he reached for her first.

“How does he have a bounty?” Sanji whined. “He just joined the crew.”

“He did destroy two battleships,” Robin pointed out. “I got my bounty after something similar.”

“You have a bounty?!” Usopp cried. “Does everyone secretly have a bounty but me?”

Laxus snorted at the dramatics, sitting back and enjoying the show. The morning after their run in with Smoker had them all lethargic, taking their time to lounge in the galley. Of course, considering they were a crew of nine on a six person ship, lounging involved a hell of a lot more squishing then any of them were really comfortable with. Outside, a steady rain fell, so heavy that even Luffy didn’t want to go out in it, and only Nami telling them to adjust the sails would get any of them off their asses. It meant that they were all shoved around the table and fighting for space; Laxus leaned against the wall, Lucy pressed against his side with Chopper in her lap.

“How high do you think it’ll be?” Chopper asked. 

“Higher than Luffy’s,” Zoro decided after a moment. “He fought a bunch of chumps in East Blue but didn’t have nearly that amount of destructive power.”

“You’re forgetting something,” Lucy pointed out. “If they released a bounty for Laxus’s part in Alabasta, then Luffy’s has probably gone up.”

“You think?” he cheered. “I bet it’s almost as high as Shank’s!”

Lucy choked on a breath, staring at him. “Not a chance in hell, do you even know how high his bounty is?!”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the poster,” Luffy replied. “But probably high.”

“Very high,” Robin agreed drily. “Though that does remind me. Ms. Informant, can’t you simply ask one of your Spirits about the news?”

“Not really how it works,” Lucy said apologetically. “Gemini can only take the form of someone with a very short range and Crux specializes in archived information. I have him looking into history because it’s easier for him to get old copies of newspapers and history books then the new stuff. Of course, if I get one of the new newspapers and give it to him, then he’ll have it archived, but I still need it first.” 

“It is strange that we haven’t gotten a Newscoo yet,” Sanji murmured, pouring tea for everyone, ladies first. “When I was at the Baratie, even when storms blew us off our usual routes, they always found us just fine.”

“It’s because all of the islands in this stretch of ocean are uninhabited,” Lucy answered. “The only Newscoo stop is a pirate island which always gets the papers late, so they don’t fly this route as much. The weather we’ve been having also probably means that if there was one, it could’ve just missed seeing us.”

“You’re so smart, Lady Lucy,” Sanji cooed.

“So we’ll see Laxus and Luffy’s new bounties when we hit land,” Usopp concluded. “I bet Luffy’s will triple, and Laxus will get half that. Taking down Crocodile doesn’t compare to two measly battleships.”

Laxus huffed a laugh, lifting a brow at him. “Measly, eh? Guess next time I’ll let you do it.”

Usopp gulped, but was saved by Sanji shaking his head. “No way they’ll up Luffy’s bounty that high if they’re trying to hide what happened. Seventy million max, and Laxus will get Luffy’s current of thirty.”

“Seventy million isn’t bad,” Lucy agreed. “I think that’s Roar of the Seas’ current bounty.”

“Who?”

“Scratchmen Apoo? Captain of the On Air Pirates?” Only blank faces greeted her. Robin hid a smile behind her tea cup. “Honestly, don’t you guys pay attention to anything outside of this crew? He’s an up and coming rookie like Luffy. There’s quite a few, actually, this generation.”

“Why would we bother with that?” Luffy said dismissively. “That’s why we have you.”

Lucy seemed caught between being flattered and exasperated. “You know about Red-Haired Shanks but no one else?”

“Well, I know Shanks.”

Even Laxus whipped his head around at that. He largely let Lucy handle the information, passing on whatever he learned to let her figure how it fit into the world at large, but even he knew about the Yonko.

“How?” Lucy demanded.

Luffy grinned, big and fond as he looked at his hat. “He landed at my home island when I was a kid and used it as a base for a year. When he left, he gave me his hat and I promised to return it to him when I become a great pirate.”

“That’s why you want to be Pirate King,” Laxus realized. His respect for his captain went up a notch--he’d thought him much like Natsu, wanting strength for strengths sake, which wasn’t wrong but also didn’t seem to encapsulate the full story. Reaching for greatness for the sake of a promise made as a child was something he could relate to, though Luffy seemed far less poisoned by it than Laxus had been.

Maybe joining this crew wasn’t so bad after all.

They hit a bad wave and he felt bile rise in his throat. Then again, fuck boats.

Lucy approached Merry’s figurehead slowly, dawn spreading across the sky like reaching fingers. The crew was up early, breakfast already had, and Luffy sat over looking the water in his favorite seat as he often did. Lucy didn’t want to disturb him, but she’d found herself constantly replaying their battle against Smoker. How easily Robin had gone for a quick kill. An assassin, she’d claimed when she joined, and only now was Lucy starting to understand what that meant. Perhaps worse was the way no one else on the crew seemed to worry about it. Even Chopper and Usopp, both she considered more innocent than her, hadn’t blinked when they’d had to wash blood off the deck. Only complained at the chore like it was any other.

She’d known violence in Fairy Tail. She’d fought for the lives of herself and her friends time and time again. Lucy never held back and yet--and yet.

Luffy tilted his head to side eye her before he scooted over and patted the seat beside him. Careful of the rocking ship, she clambered up and sat on the softly worn wood of Merry’s sheep head. She pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them to save space. Luffy didn’t say anything, which she thought was strange. He always seemed so big and loud, but he was younger than she was and had been at sea traveling for less time than she’d spent in Fairy Tail. 

She realized, eventually, that he was waiting for her to start.

“Do-” She bit her lip, trying to find a way to put it that didn’t sound judgemental. Lucy was coming to love this crew as she loved Fairy Tail, but she also wanted to understand . “Does the crew usually kill their enemies?”

Luffy didn’t say anything for a minute, simply looking out to sea. Then, seemingly from nowhere, “Lucky Roo shot a bandit when I was seven.” She recognized the name as one of Shanks’s lieutenants, but didn’t understand the importance. She stayed quiet and let him continue. “The bandits had come to Foosha before but Shanks had refused to fight them even when they tried picking a fight. I was pissed, so I went off myself and the leader got a hold of me. Shanks and his crew showed up right before he could kill me. One of the bandits held a gun to Shanks’s head--he didn’t even flinch when Roo pulled the trigger from a foot away. It was the first time I’d seen someone die.” He fell quiet again, and Lucy looked for something to say, more confused then anything, when he started speaking again.

“A few months later was the first time I killed someone.” She sucked in a sharp breath, tears welling at the thought of Luffy--sweet, loud, heart of gold Luffy--taking a life so young. “My brothers and I spent a lot of our days in Gray Terminal, a trash heap. Pirates and bandits and all the rest hung around and we stole from the lot of them, getting into fights most of the time. One day, I hit a little too hard at just the wrong spot and he didn’t get back up.” He shrugged, looking largely unbothered, as if it was just a fact. The sky was blue, the ocean was big, and little boys killed to survive. “I don’t like killing, I think it’s dumb and means people can’t keep fighting for their dreams, but sometimes people die.” He looked at her then, eyes hard and fierce. “This isn’t a game, Lucy. All those marines, every pirate we come across, they’ll all want us dead. I won’t let anyone on the crew be cruel or kill for the joy of it, but sometimes people are going to die. We’ll hit too hard, or bring a house down, or they won’t get a doctor in time. Every day we sail is a day we’re putting our lives on the line, and it’s true for everyone else too. Can you live with that?”

She considered it, looking out into the wide blue ocean. Lucy had only ever seen her mother die but she was familiar with fighting for her life. She’d done it time and again for Fairy Tail. During all of those battles, was there someone that didn’t make it? Did one of the Eisenwald mages get to a healer too late; did all of the Phantom Lord fighters survive their guild hall crumbling around them? It disturbed her that she didn’t know. Laxus, for all he hadn’t been willing to kill during Fantasia, had likely taken more lives than just that of beasts. Could she keep going like he did, like everyone on the crew did? Death was a part of fighting, though only now did it occur to her that sometimes she might be the one bringing it.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be willing to take a life,” Lucy admitted. “But maybe I can learn to accept the collateral.” She looked at Luffy, suddenly feeling ten years old and without a mother again. “Does that make me weak?”

He reached up, taking his hat and pressing it onto her head gently. The straw was well worn and soft, a newer string falling across her neck. “No,” Luffy told her. “It just makes you kind.” 

Laxus lounged at the bottom of the stairs leading to the forecastle deck, music turned up to tune out Lucy’s softly whispering voice from where she sat with Luffy. Sanji had tried to approach with a midmorning snack, but had silently conceded to turning away when Laxus glared him down. The rest of the crew found elsewhere to be, giving Lucy and Luffy privacy over whatever it was they were talking about. 

He tried to pretend that the salt water he was smelling was from the ocean. Lucy’s business was her own.

Eventually, whatever chat they were having seemed to calm down and Lucy returned Luffy’s hat, gently stepping over Laxus’s sprawled body. He caught her arm gently, pausing his music to better focus on her. She had Plue curled in her arms, a furrow between her brows, and a very faint redness to her eyes. She paused when he caught her, smiling as her shoulders went loose. 

“I’m okay,” she promised, which was a notedly better response than ‘I’m fine’ so he let it go. 

“You look like you need a nap,” he told her, which was as close to asking if she was sleeping as he’d get. They were doing better about idle mentions of Fairy Tail, but there was still plenty they weren’t talking about. The fact that she had two of his shirts for nightgowns and used to curl into him when they shared a bed being at the top of the list.

She laughed, a soft wet sound that made him tug her down on impulse. She went, pulling back his coat so she could curl into the soft fabric. He’d had to ask Nami how to protect it from water damage--which had put him several thousand in debt to her--but it had stayed as soft as it was when they’d arrived. Luckily, the thin rubber lining between the layers of fabric hadn’t deteriorated at all, so it was as lightning proof as ever. Laxus stretched an arm around her shoulder, pulling the coat tight as a blanket. Plue snuggled into the crook of their bodies, hugged like a teddy bear against her chest. She was asleep within seconds.

She really must not have been resting well.

Laxus settled back, letting the growing familiarity of water against the hull and murmur of voices from his crew lull him.

Lucy’s nap came to an abrupt end when Usopp screeched a wordless warning. Beneath her, Laxus lunged up so fast, battle ready in a blink, that she went sprawling on the deck. 

It gave her a perfect view of the ship falling from the sky.

Chapter Text

The first prickle of unease came when the birds fell down. Laxus supposed that the falling ship, weird gorilla salvager and crazy fucking sky shadows should’ve been enough to make him wary of wherever they were heading next, but he tended to be numb to insanity after growing up in Fairy Tail. 

Someone shooting three birds from so far away he couldn’t hear the shots? That wasn’t insane, just threatening. 

The bang of the galley door cut through Usopp’s denial of a shot being possible, Lucy looking triumphant and annoyed. “I was right,” she declared, which probably would’ve had more of an effect if anyone had ever said she was wrong.

“About what, Lady Lucy?” Sanji simpered.

“Jaya. It’s a small island, with only one civilization--Mock Town, a pirate haven that is such a cesspit the marines don’t even bother burning it to the ground.” She paused before adding more normally, “Also, supposedly the island discussed in Noland the Liar, if that means anything to anyone.”

“Wait, really?” Sanji perked up. “Like, the city of gold?”

“Gold?” Nami demanded, appearing from nowhere. Laxus inched slowly away. “We could all use some gold.”

“Just a legend, dearest Nami,” Sanji told her apologetically. “From a North Blue fairytale.”

“You’re Northern?” Laxus asked. “Your accent is Eastern.”

He gave a shrug. “I grew up there.” 

Laxus didn’t ask for details, though he wondered. He and Lucy had poured over maps for ages--going from one Blue to another wasn’t so easy. Lucy, strangely, made a strangled little sound but shook her head when they all turned to look at her. She didn’t look at Sanji as she said, “Be that as it may, everyone be on guard. The only law in Mock Town is that the strong survive.”

“I’ll guard the ship then,” Laxus offered. He didn’t particularly want to go run around a town full of criminals where he’d no doubt get dragged into something. Besides, someone had to keep watch for Mashira, who they’d certainly pissed off when Laxus threw him off the ship. Standing on the docks would be more than enough of a break from the ship, though if they were really going into the sky, he had the vague sense it’d be awhile before he had the chance to enjoy solid ground again.

“Do we have to stop there?” Usopp quivered. His legs were shaking so hard his knees were knocking and Laxus had to take a deep breath to remind himself that electrocution wasn’t the correct response to cowardice. No matter how much it’d worked for him in the past.

“We need information if we’re going to--guh-- sky island ,” Nami muttered. “If it’s even real.”

“It’s real,” Lucy and Robin agreed. The former continued. “Crux found rumors of there being an entrance to an entire ocean in the clouds around something called the Jewel Tree Adam, but we have no way to get there so we’ll need another way up.”

“And I’m afraid we’re in desperate need of more supplies,” Sanji added. “While I welcome Lady Lucy and beautiful Robin, I didn’t account for three new mouths to feed when we shopped in Alabasta.” He side eyed Laxus. “Or having a second Luffy on the crew.”

“I don’t have nearly as bad of manners,” Laxus argued. The ship shifted under his feet in a sudden swell, and the colors around him seemed to spin for a second before calming down. Chopper was still trying to find a nausea pill that worked for his constitution but this newest set had some…side effects.

“But you do have as big of an appetite,” Sanji muttered with a grimace. “I didn’t think it was possible.”

“Magic takes a lot of energy,” Lucy said apologetically. “Dragon slayers especially, since their magic is so deeply ingrained.”

“Be glad I’m not Natsu,” Laxus grumbled. Lucy nodded in agreement. 

The docks came into view, and soon enough the crew was tying down the Merry and splitting up. Sanji took off, Nami, Zoro, and Luffy heading in another direction entirely. Laxus hit the dock with a gentle thump, rolling his shoulders to loosen some tension. He raised a brow when Robin walked down the plank.

“Where you going?”

“I do believe Miss Navigator will be quite displeased if I continue using her clothes, to say nothing of Ms Informant.”

“Oh, let me come with you,” Lucy called, jogging to catch up. “I’d like to see if I can’t get some local information using Gemini. And maybe an idea of what crews are as violent as the papers make them out to be.” 

Robin paused for a moment, then nodded. “If you’d like.”

“Watch your back,” Laxus warned. He didn’t particularly like the idea of Lucy running off without him, but she was a capable mage and Robin would watch her back. Literally, even, with her Devil Fruit.

Lucy waved him off as she disappeared into the throng of the crowd. The town was ramshackle and boisterous, reeking of piss and watered down alcohol. Aggression was thick in the air and Laxus’s keen senses could hear at least half a dozen violent brawls across town. Maybe he should’ve gone with Lucy after all.

Above where he’d settled, Usopp struck a pose on deck. “Right! Led by the Great Captain Usopp, the Merry guard force shall be undefeated!”

“Is that why you’re shaking?” Laxus couldn’t help but point out. 

Usopp whirled on him immediately, glaring down. “I’m shaking from excitement, I’ll have you know. Why, there was one time when-”

“It won’t kill you to admit you're scared,” Laxus snapped, annoyed. Usopp gave a full body flinch, looking away from him to bite his lip. Laxus hadn’t dared to turn on his music, lest someone try sneaking up to the Merry and he didn’t hear them, which made it almost laughably easy to hear the grinding of Usopp’s teeth. Guilt squirmed in his gut, and he tried to imagine what gramps would say.

“What’s wrong with being scared?!”

“Nothing.”

Usopp paused, shoulders lowering from where they’d hunched up. Laxus was hit with the realization that Usopp was a kid . He’d barely been seventeen a month when Luffy had come to pick him up and hadn’t made mention of a parent once in the whole time Laxus had sailed with him. Occasionally a girl named Kaya would come up, but little else. He wondered if, like when Laxus was seventeen and suddenly an S-Class mage, Usopp believed he had to be unafraid to be strong.

“I’m scared a lot of the time,” Laxus admitted, which wasn’t a lie, though not something he’d ever said to anyone before. The year away from Fairy Tail and all expectations attached to the Dreyar name had given him the distance to truly examine the effects of his childhood and what it meant for him. Including the toxicity he’d inherited from Ivan. Gramps would be better at the whole comforting thing, but Laxus could try. “Do you think I’m weak?”

“You’re probably as strong as Luffy,” Usopp said immediately, then blushed. Somewhere in the storage room, Chopper muttered to himself about doses and herbs. Laxus let Usopp have the quiet to think. If he decided he didn’t want the conversation to continue, Laxus certainly wouldn’t push it. “Do you…” Usopp sat down, letting his legs hang between the railings so they brushed not far from where Laxus sat. “How do you keep going? If you’re scared.”

“I remind myself what I’m trying to protect. And that if I can’t do it, someone will be nearby to pick up where I left off.” It’d been a central tenet of Fairy Tail, that they were all a family that worked together. He’d forgotten that, somewhere along the way. “What are you Usopp? And I don’t mean your dream.”

He paused, brows furrowing as he slowly said, “A…sniper?”

“The Straw Hat’s sniper,” Laxus corrected. He’d quickly realized that, though he and Lucy might be the ones with the jolly roger tattooed, the one thing everyone on the crew had was a deep unending pride in sailing under Luffy. Usopp’s shoulders straightened almost immediately, so Laxus continued. “You aren’t meant to be the vanguard or the strongest member. You have me and the other guys for muscle and sheer brutality. Your job is to watch our backs and give us support, either in the field or by maintaining weaponry. Don’t forget that.”

A light went up in his dark eyes. “‘I can’t cook or lie’.”

“What?”

“It’s something Luffy said, back in Cocoyashi when we were fighting Arlong. ‘I can’t navigate, or use swords. I can’t cook and I can’t lie! That’s why I have friends.’”

“There you go,” Laxus told him. “Even Luffy can’t do everything. You do what you can, and we’ll do the rest, whatever comes.”

“Even if I’m scared?”

“Especially then.” Laxus patted his hanging foot, careful to keep any sparking away from him. He had a lot more respect for Usopp than he would have a year ago. “The fact that you’re scared but keep pushing forward anyway is what makes you brave.”

He blushed, even his dark skin heating up all the way to his roots. Usopp bit his lip, then asked quietly, “Do you think my dad gets scared?”

Ah . Fathers. Laxus was familiar with how much of a volatile topic that could be for a seventeen year old boy. “I don’t know who your father is,” he said delicately, watching carefully for an explosion. “But if he’s human, I expect so.”

“He’s one of Shanks’s lieutenants,” Usopp explained. “The sea called him when I was a baby, so I haven’t seen him for a while. I’m going to be a brave warrior, just like him.”

‘The sea called him’ sounded like an excuse to abandon a kid to Laxus, but he didn’t say it out loud. Shanks was one of the Yonko and Laxus had no doubt that his lieutenants were just as infamous as the captain himself, and Usopp clearly thought he needed to live up to the legacy.

“I think he didn’t get to where he is without being afraid sometimes,” Laxus offered. He scrambled to figure out how to explain that even if he wasn’t, sometimes dads were toxic pieces of shit that didn’t deserve a kid’s time of day. And certainly weren’t meant to be emulated. Of course, if someone had told Laxus that at seventeen, he would’ve fried their asses. “I’m a Dreyar,” he finally admitted, before realizing that meant exactly nothing to Usopp. He didn’t interrupt though, just watched closely as Laxus leaned back and stared at the sky. He hadn’t talked about this before, and he was finding it harder to get the words out then he expected. “My great-grandfather was Yuri Dreyar, who helped found Fairy Tail alongside First Master Mavis. My grandfather is Markarov Dreyar, who is the current Fairy Tail Guild Master and Fifth among the Ten Wizard Saints, which are the strongest mages on the continent. My father is Ivan Dreyar, who beyond being an S-Class mage that formed his own guild after his expulsion from Fairy Tail, is also a grade A asshole.” Usopp gave a bark of laughter, which Laxus appreciated. It was easier to laugh over Ivan; it made the hurt linger less. “I get what it means to have a heavy legacy to carry--in Earthland, everyone knew me as Markarov’s grandson, or the next Dreyar. Anything great I did was expected and any shortcomings seen as disappointments.” 

Laxus shook his head, cutting himself off. He was getting off topic. “What I’m trying to say is that whatever your father has accomplished, it has nothing to do with you. If you want to be great or brave or whatever else, do it for yourself, not him. Because if you do that, then no matter how high or low you go, you’ll always have done the best you can.”

Usopp didn’t say anything for a long minute, and Laxus left him to it. He had no idea what he was doing, spouting that kind of bullshit off the cuff. Lucy was the one who knew how to comfort, not him. 

Not far, a group of gruff looking sailors started pointing at the Merry, muttering to each other. Looked like the ship would need defending after all. Laxus stood, sighing at the loss of a peaceful afternoon.

Behind him, Usopp clambered to his feet, pulling out his slingshot. Laxus raised a brow, impressed at the determined glint in his eyes. Usopp grinned a little shakily, but loaded up a pellet with steady hands. “Don’t worry, I’ll watch your back.”

A smile tugged at Laxus’s lips as pride swelled in him. Whoever Usopp’s father was, he was lucky to have a son like him. “I’ll trust you then.”

Lucy wished she’d worn one of her pant sets to explore Jaya, but it wasn’t like perverts staring at her miniskirts was anything new. At least with Robin, wearing all tight leather and acting deceptively pacifistic at her side, Lucy wasn’t getting ogled alone.

“Will you be sending out your Spirits?” Robin asked idly as she dodged a reaching hand, a limb blooming as fingers snapped with a sharp crack. Lucy didn’t even flinch at the sound--they’d seen worse in the five minutes they’d been walking the streets.

“Already did,” she replied, eyes categorizing the various jolly rogers she was seeing around town. It reminded her a bit of the way her tutors would quiz her on the crests of various noble families. “Gemini is moving through the town, copying random people and sending the information to Crux. I’ll get a breakdown of it all later.” Bayan Pirates, Hanging Pirates, Amber Pirates, Bellamy Pirates . It was a who’s who of Paradise’s new generation of criminals. Lucy followed Robin into various stores, surprised when she found that most of the owners were unharmed and quite polite, a vast difference from the mess of clientele. Probably were considered off limits by some strange code of honor that only the locals knew.

They spent a little time shopping, though Lucy didn’t bother with anything--what few things she did need in her wardrobe she wouldn’t buy in a town like that one. There weren’t any recent newspapers, and the weekly set of bounties wouldn’t get there till the next morning, so the mystery of Laxus’s bounty would have to wait to be solved. Lucy spent the time chatting with the employees, picking up bits and pieces of what the local news was instead.  Last week, Eustass ‘Captain’ Kid had swung through and destroyed an entire block during a card game. Apparently, Bellamy ‘The Hyena’ and ‘The Executioner’ Roshio were the two biggest bounties on the island and everyone was holding their breath to see if the two would go at it. The way the locals talked, Lucy figured they might as well be commenting on the weather.

Considering the crash of windows and mass panic that hit a few minutes later, centered a few streets over, Lucy was rather sure they did, in fact, go at it.

“You’re very good at charming people,” Robin noted after one stop. 

“I had a governess that was big on using feminine wiles,” Lucy told her.

“You’re a noble?”

Lucy grimaced. “First generation business heiress. And not anymore; I ran away right before my seventeenth birthday.” 

“Disliked the corsets?” Robin teased. “Or did the skeletons necessary for business dissuade you?”

“Neither,” Lucy replied honestly. She’d always known business was cutthroat, and it never bothered her much. “My father was talking about selling me in marriage. I decided I would rather be destitute and free than rich and trapped.”

Robin paused, turning away from where she’d been idly watching two horrendous drunks begin to fight. She scanned Lucy in one long look that made her skin prickle. “Yes,” she finally murmured. “I suppose I can’t disagree with that.”

“What about you?” Lucy asked, trying hard to sound disinterested. Robin, she’d quickly realized, did not enjoy talking about herself or her past. Outside of mentioning she couldn’t go back to her home when she’d first joined the crew, she redirected any inquiries about herself. “What made you want to be an archaeologist?”

She was silent as they walked, and Lucy assumed she would be getting no answer. She touched the brass chain around her neck--Lucy had gotten only one good look at the locket Robin always wore, but knew it was as long as hand wrist to fingertips and half as wide. The etching, a huge, towering tree of some sort, was well worn but the necklace was clearly loved. Wherever she’d gotten it, Lucy had never asked. Robin carried it the way Lucy carried her Keys; with the weight of memories and legacy. 

Then, quietly, Robin said, “My mother. She was a historian of the Tree of Knowledge on my home island. She left when I was very little, so I studied under Professor Clover in the hope that when she came back, she would take me with her.”

Lucy didn’t need to ask to know Robin’s mother was gone; she was familiar with the look of a girl that had lost someone they loved young. “Every Heartfilia that came before me was a Celestial Mage,” she offered. “My mother, Layla, was the strongest person I’ve ever met and taught me everything I know. I want to make her proud.”

Robin paused, something strange coming over her face before she softened, a smile spreading. Small as it was, Lucy thought it might be the first true smile she’d seen from Robin since Mă was summoned. “If your mother was anything like mine, I’m certain that she couldn’t be prouder of you.”

Lucy had to look away, blinking away sudden tears. She always missed her mom, but some days it was harder than others. She could only hope Robin was right and Layla was watching her from the stars.

“Lunch?” Robin suggested after a moment of letting Lucy get control of herself. “I’d like to ask some questions about Sky Islands.”

“Sure,” Lucy agreed, shaking away her grief. “I have some questions about the map we got. There’s something weird about the geography.” Weird about the entire situation, actually. And not because they were trying to get into the sky.

“What the hell?!” Lucy exclaimed.

All around the Merry, bodies were piled up, barely twitching. Most had the tell-tale burn marks of Laxus’s attacks, but quite a few had bruises or growing welts. Sanji, having arrived at the same time as Robin and Lucy, watched in silence. Lucy tried not to look at him; what he’d said about being from the North Blue had set off alarm bells in the back of her mind, but she didn’t have the time to look into it just yet. From the crowsnest, Usopp waved his slingshot in victory. 

“We’ve been protecting the ship all afternoon!” he called down, grinning wildly. Lucy wondered where the fear of earlier went. Laxus, standing on the dock and knocking another body onto a leaning tower of enemies, only grunted his assent. 

“Find anything interesting?”

“A few things,” she admitted. Her Keys glowed softly, signaling Crux finishing sorting through the information Gemini had gathered. “Old legends about gold and huge bells, mostly. What’s up with Zoro and Luffy?”

“Nothing,” they both responded, flinching a little where Chopper was dabbing disinfectant along a mess of injuries. 

“O-kay?” Lucy looked to Laxus, but he only shook his head. “Based on your fights in Alabasta, I didn’t think anyone on this island would give you trouble. I mean, Bellamy has the highest bounty, and he’s a chump.”

“Bellamy?” Nami growled, face dark where she leaned against the wall. “ Bellamy ?! You know about him, do you?”

“Nami,” Luffy cut in, frowning at her. He didn’t say anything else, but Nami snarled at him and fell silent.

“I feel like I’m missing something,” Lucy muttered. 

Laxus snorted, patting her back as they joined the crew on the ship. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Well,” Robin started, looking amused. “I think I might have found a way to Skypiea.”

Nami went from wrathful to downright demonic . “I don’t want to hear it! Sky Island clearly isn’t real-”

“Actually,” Lucy interrupted. Nami cut a glare toward her, so vicious she eep ed and jumped behind Laxus. He breathed a deep sigh, but let her peak around his back while she hurried on. “There’s a diver on the other side of the island, called Mont Blanc Cricket! Everyone says he’s a crazy dreamer but I think he might be descended from the Mont Blanc Noland that found the city of gold.”

“Gold?” Nami blinked, instantly calm. “Well, I guess we can go and look into it then.”

“Yosh!” Luffy exclaimed, sitting upright in abrupt excitement of having a goal. “To the other side of the island. Let’s find a way to the sky!”

Mont Blanc Cricket was a tall, broad man that was indeed the descendent of Mont Blanc Noland--and he had been killing himself slowly via deep diving to find the city his ancestor claimed so ardently was real.

Lucy sat among her crew as the sun tipped through the sky, rapidly heading toward dusk, listening to a story of an unwanted inheritance passed from generation to generation, the Mont Blancs forever marred by how Noland was declared a liar and executed for his crimes. Cricket landed on Jaya by pure coincidence and hadn’t left since, sure that the island had sunk just as Noland claimed. Surely Noland’s log book, so detailed on the culture and lives of the Shandorians, so passionate about his friendship with the great warrior Kalgara and the great Golden Bell, could not be a fabrication.

As the crew oohed over the gold bars Cricket produced, Lucy instead leaned forward and clasped his hands. He startled, staring at her. “You said you can get us to Skypiea, right?”

“Yes. Mashira, Shoujou and I can alter your ship some. Why?”

“Then come with us.” The whole room fell silent, staring at her in surprise.

“Lucy,” Zoro warned, frowning. “That’s not your call.”

“No,” she agreed, looking towards Luffy. He was watching her carefully, head tilted to the side. “But knowing Luffy, I assume he wants to help Cricket fulfill his dream.”

“Of course,” he replied without hesitation. “They’re our friends.”

Cricket cleared his throat, face reddening. “Be that as it may,” he said, “I don’t see what that has to do with me coming with you. My business is with Noland, not the Skypieans.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Lucy declared. “Nami, Robin, where are those maps?” Both quickly offered the two maps the Straw Hats had gotten their hands on that day. One old and labeled Skypiea , the other new and marked Jaya . Lucy grabbed them, clearing space on the floor with Laxus’s help and laying them out. “Something’s been bothering me today,” she explained, carefully folding the edges of the papers. “First, was the map of Skypiea. See, I talked to Crux and everything he’s found says that there is no earth in the sky. Islands and the oceans they float on are all made of clouds--it’s why dirt is actually very valuable up there. Yet Skypiea-”

“Is an island made of dirt,” Nami breathed, eyes widening. 

“Exactly,” Lucy agreed. “Then I got the map of Jaya today, but it’s weird as well. Geography in the Grandline is weird, sure, but usually islands are still made from shifting tectonic activity, just like in the Blues. Where Mock Town is, you can see that by how the sea bed is inclined. But on this side of the island…”

“There’s a cliff,” Cricket agreed. “The island ends and you drop into the ocean. That’s why I agree that Shandora fell into the sea.”

“And that’d make sense,” Lucy admitted. She carefully lined up the two maps. “Except you explained about knock up streams and how they are active specifically in this part of the sea, in a huge area. Add to that Noland’s log book describing the island and you get this .” Leaning back, Lucy waved her arms in a ta-da motion.

“A skull,” Robin breathed. “‘The city of gold lies in the skull’s right eye.’ Which means-”

“If Noland was telling the truth about the city,” Cricket murmured, hand skimming over the map of Skypiea. “If he wasn’t a liar like everyone said, then the city isn’t at the bottom of the ocean.”

“It’s in the sky ,” Lucy finished triumphantly. She looked up, scanning everyone’s faces. The monkey brothers were tearing up, leaning on each other as they wailed. Cricket was shocked into silence, Nami was drooling at the thought of the gold, the rest of the crew were in various amounts of excitement and Laxus--

Laxus watched Lucy, something fond in the curl of his lips and a look in his eyes she didn’t know how to read. She swallowed as he stared at her, warmth burning her cheeks when he didn’t say anything only kept watching her.

“Hey, pops,” Luffy said, staring Cricket down. He grinned, bright and wild. “How about it? Want to come find the city of gold with us in the sky?”

The shock melted off his face, quickly transforming into just as big of a smile. “Yeah, kid. Why the hell not?”

“Well,” Mashira clapped, standing abruptly. “Then we best get to modifying that ship of yours! She’s not going to fly by herself.”

All at once the crew got into action, scrambling over each other to start helping with the Merry. The question of how they were going to go South where the next knock up was due in the morning was answered with the simple use of Pyxis, who could easily tell the direction, even with the various islands of the Grandline interfering, which left the whole crew to start getting ready for the trip into the clouds.

Most of the men helped the Saruyama Alliance repair and change the Merry, adding wooden wings to help balance and a rooster’s comb to the figurehead. While that was happening, at Nami’s urging, Lucy used Virgo to fill up several barrels with dirt to trade. She wasn’t sure it’d be worth anything, considering Skypieans clearly had a piece of an island, but Nami had heard ‘valuable’ and was dead set on getting whatever money she could get her hands on. Especially if that meant selling dirt. Robin, meanwhile, started making use of her Devil Fruit to make a copy of Noland’s log book while she loaded goods onto the ship. Through the night they worked, occasionally taking breaks but always knowing they were on a tight schedule if they wanted to get out to sea on time. 

And then Bellamy ‘The Hyena’ showed up.

Chapter Text

The scent hit Laxus first. The construction was enough to drown out most things, though the arguing about whether the Merry was coming to the end was the loudest. He blamed Zoro and Usopp’s yelling on why he didn’t hear the intruders’ ship. But the scents--those came easily on the wind; blood and steel and sweat, some rich cologne and perfume, all covered in the sea salt that marked any regular sailor. 

“We have company,” Laxus called, and the entire group came to a grinding halt. He stepped toward the edge of the clearing, nudging Lucy behind him. Nami followed her, Luffy and Zoro stepping up as Sanji pulled the rest of the crew further back. For all that the scent was thick on the wind, it took a few minutes for the source to become obvious.

The man in the front was tall and darkly skinned, a blue captain’s coat weighing down his shoulders. He walked like a man accustomed to violence, and the crew behind him was as richly dressed and even more swaggering, a range of gruff men and gold digging women that were more fangirls than members of their crew.

“Well look at this,” the captain laughed, and Laxus placed him as Bellamy, the idiot Luffy hadn’t determined as worth the fight earlier in town. “The weaklings are hanging out with the old idiot! This day keeps getting better and better.”

Luffy stepped forward, beyond where Laxus and Zoro blocked the way towards the crew. He was frowning, arms crossed and hat shadowing his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard that the old man found some gold.” Bellamy grinned, licking his lips. “Hand it over before I have to hurt you.”

“I wouldn’t mind some time with those chicks either,” one of his crew called and a chorus of callouts spun through the air. Rage spiraled through him so abruptly he couldn’t swallow the growl that ripped through his throat. Lucy, safely among the Straw Hats, groaned loudly.

“Why is it they’re always perverts? Just once I want an asshole that doesn’t think with his dick.”

“You’re asking for too much,” Robin sighed. “Only three things are eternal in the world; stupidity, greed, and perverts.”

The taunt calmed Laxus some, a good reminder that Lucy and the others were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves.

Bellamy cackled. “Don’t worry ladies. We can show you how real men do things.”

Nami muttered an insult under her breath before raising her voice. “We’re on a schedule, boys. Clean up the trash.”

“Would you like the honors?” Laxus offered Zoro. 

He huffed a laugh, pulling Wado in one smooth move. “Sure. If Luffy leaves us anything.”

Luffy’s hat was still tilted downwards, but as Bellamy, clearly fed up with the banter, took a step forward he looked up. The sudden blood lust in the air was unbelievable, and Laxus couldn’t figure out how anyone would ever think that Luffy was weak. 

“You want pops’s gold?”

“What are you going to do about it?” Bellamy taunted, then lunged . He’d clearly eaten a Devil Fruit--something spring related, as his lower legs turned into metal spirals and he jumped forward, faster than most could track. Luffy didn’t even blink, only waited for him to close the distance. As Bellamy’s arm stretched out, Luffy grabbed his wrist, twisted it using Bellamy’s own momentum, and then buried his other fist straight into his face. 

Bellamy hit the ground with an earth shaking thud, leaving a crater in his place. While some of his crew stumbled back in fear, his second, who Laxus thought had a stupid name like Sarquiss, stepped forward with a snarl. “The fuck you think you’re doing? Bellamy, stop playing around and show them who you are.” The figure on the ground didn’t move, his eyes solidly rolled back into his head. Sarquiss’s anger shifted to startled shock and growing fear. “Bellamy? What are you-”

Zoro leveled his sword, gently placing it against Sarquiss’s neck. He froze, staring up at Zoro's shadowed face.

“Well look at this.” Everyone paused as Lucy hummed innocently. Peeking over his shoulder, he just made out a Newscoo taking off into the sky as Lucy shuffled through a stack of bounty posters. Smiling, she looked at where the Bellamy Pirates were shaking in their boots. “Bellamy ‘The Hyena’, 55 million right? Rather a paltry sum, don’t you think? Especially compared to ‘Oni Hunter’ Roronoa Zoro, 60 million, ‘Thunder God’ Laxus Dreyar, 70 million, and Monkey D. ‘Straw Hat’ Luffy, 100 million berries .” She held up the three bounty posters, Laxus’s photo having clearly been taken as he’d floated in the sky over the two marine ships, lightning arcing across the sky from his position. Zoro’s picture, taken during his battle with Mr. 1 with his eyes shadowed and his grin vicious, truly did make him look like a demon.

“A h-hundred?” someone whimpered. 

Grinning widely, Laxus let lightning spark across his shoulders. Zoro, similarly, bared his teeth. He leaned close to where Sarquiss was shaking, staring directly into his eyes.

“Boo.”

The Bellamy Pirates screeched like little bitches, barely catching their captain when Laxus kicked him over as they hightailed it away.

Zoro snickered, sheathing his sword and offering Laxus a fist bump. Amused, he returned it, turning back to where the crew was already back to arguing.

“How come Laxus’s is higher than Zoro’s?”

“Because he did more public damage, duh.”

“The mosshead has a bounty, but not me?!”

“Guess the government knows what’s up, curlybrow.”

“Wow, a hundred million. That’s huge.”

“You’re the second rookie from this year to crack a hundred before hitting the end of Paradise.”

“There’s someone as strong as Luffy?”

“Eh, it’s complicated. I’ll tell you later.”

“Woah,” Cricket breathed, watching the crew. “You guys really are crazy, huh?”

“Of course,” Luffy told him. “I am going to be the Pirate King, after all.”

The Going Merry bobbed happily in the center of the whirlpool, seemingly uncaring of the wild chaos her crew was becoming. Most were rushing to grab onto something, Laxus having long gone a pale green color even as the water flattened into a glassy surface. The pause was just enough for them to look over and see an unfamiliar jolly roger, but before anyone could figure out who it was--though Luffy certainly seemed to recognize the large, black haired man--the ocean erupted.

Cricket managed to grab the back of Usopp’s suspenders right before he fell off, and the rest of the crew stumbled into each other. The knock up stream threw the Merry into the sky, wind tearing into them all until Lucy was shivering with the wet and cold. Luffy shouted his joy, and soon enough Nami was barking orders, as competent a navigator riding a pillar of water into the sky as she was on the normal ocean. 

Before they knew it they were tipping off the water and onto an ocean of pure white.

Laxus gripped Merry’s railing, desperately trying to swallow down the bile. He liked to think he was getting used to controlling his motion sickness, considering he’d been living on a ship for the last fortnight, but absolutely nothing could prepare him for a giant stream of ocean currents launching the ship into the sky. The cloud ocean had less currents and waves than the one below, which he appreciated, but it did not stop him from wanting to die.

Someone rubbed a hand through his hair, and only the gentle smell of spearmint and eucalyptus stopped him from ripping their arm off. Instead, he leaned into Lucy as she pulled his head into her lap, tugging gently at the hair at the base of his skull. He focussed on that instead of the groaning and shifting of the Merry. 

“That sucked,” Lucy murmured. 

He huffed a laugh, nodding into her thighs. “Never again.”

“I can’t believe it.” Laxus lifted his head at Cricket’s exclamation. He was looking around, eyes wide as a laugh, more than a little hysterical, bubbled out of his mouth. “It’s real. It’s real .”

“Shishishi, of course.” Luffy huffed when his laugh ended. “Anyone else having trouble breathing?”

“Air is thinner up high,” Laxus told him. He sat up, breathing in deeply. The electricity in the air was thicker than at sea level, which he figured was because of their altitude. He’d probably be okay to fight--dragon’s were sky creatures, after all. “Everyone will probably be a little weaker until you acclimate.”

“I don’t feel that bad, actually,” Cricket said, cracking his arms. 

“Probably because you’re used to oxygen deprivation,” Chopper guessed. He clambered to his feet, looking around with wide eyes. “So this is the sky.”

“It is gorgeous,” Lucy admitted.

Usopp laughed, tugging off his shoes. “And I, the Great Sniper Usopp, shall be the first person to swim in the sky!”

“Maybe tie yourself a rope first,” Laxus suggested. “Unless you want to take the express route back to Jaya.”

“Eh?”

“Oh.” Lucy blinked in realization, leaning over the rail to look at the white fluffy cloud that they were floating on. “If we’re in the sky, then there must be no ocean bottom.”

“On second thought,” Usopp gulped, putting his shoes back on. “Maybe going for a swim is a bad idea.” 

Laughter bubbled around the ship and Laxus took a minute to bask in the sheer strangeness of being part of it. He’d grown up in Fairy Tail and had gotten his mark at eleven, right before Ivan had taken him to get his lacrima. Yet he’d never felt like part of the whole; the Thunder God Tribe had been his and they’d certainly worked and spent time as a unit, but too often they were ostracized from the guild as a whole. It’d been his fault, he knew, since he’d refused to spend time around those who’d only see him as Markarov’s grandson. Here though, with Lucy asking Nami questions about the wind and currents and Zoro and Sanji arguing and the three youngest daring each other to bungee jump off the ship, he didn’t feel like he was on the outside. Not with Robin quietly at his side, looking with wide eyes at the ocean in the sky they’d found and Cricket climbing the mast to get a better look out. Each person was different and separate and yet all part of the crew. 

This, Laxus realized, was what he’d never seen in Fairy Tail. Not because it wasn’t there, but because he’d been blind to it.

“We got company!” Cricket shouted, just as Laxus heard two sharp bursts of air. He stood to see a dark skinned man with a tribal facemask and grass skirt skating across the ocean, holding an orange shield in one hand and a bazooka in the other. He whipped around the Merry, kicking up waves that sent the ship rocking. Immediately, bile rose in Laxus’s throat and he bent over to keep his breakfast down. The native lunged onto the ship, dodging Sanji’s kick and knocking him away with his shield. Laxus could just make out fluffy white wings curving up on the invaders back as he dodged Luffy, putting him in the deck with a single kick. All three of their main fighters were much slower, Laxus realized, and cursed the thinness of the air.

The man lifted his bazooka, aiming towards the mast. Before Laxus could lunge forward to stop it, Cricket dropped down and knocked the weapon to the side. A blast of fire burst out, flames barely licking at Lucy’s hair as she dove out of the way.

“We’re not looking for a fight,” Cricket told him, moving into his space and kicking upward. The stranger leaned back to dodge, then brought his shield around to block the ax kick Cricket slammed down with.

“Too bad for you, Shandora will not back down!” 

Cricket froze, eyes widening for a single moment. It was enough of a distraction for the man--Shandorian?--to bring his bazooka around, releasing a pillar of flame. Cricket dropped underneath it, just as Laxus got enough control over his body to lunge up with a lightning fist. The Shandorian blocked, snarling as Laxus used his better height and broader shoulders to leverage downward.

Behind him, Cricket called out, “Do you mean Shandora as in Kalgara?!”

His head snapped toward Cricket and Laxus used the opening to kick out his legs and yank away the bazooka. The barrel was hot, but he managed to toss it to the side.

“How…” The Shandorian pulled off the mask, face a rictus of anger and confusion. “How do you know that name?”

Cricket stood up slowly, as did the rest of the crew. Chopper passed Laxus a few pills, which he took gratefully. The sky tinted a little green, but he stopped wanting to vomit his lungs so he figured he’d take the win. He really needed to talk to Chopper about the side effects.

“My ancestor wrote about him,” Cricket admitted. “I’m Mont Blanc Cricket.”

With a sharp inhale, the Shandorian took one step forward, eyes wide. “Are you descended from Mont Blanc Noland?”

“I am.”

With a laugh that was partially closer to a sob, he shook his head disbelieving. “I am Wyper, descendent of the great warrior Kalgara. My people have been passing down the story of our ancestors' friendship for four hundred years. We’ve been waiting for our chance to fulfill Kalgara’s last wishes.”

“Is that why you attack any strangers that show up?” Lucy muttered snippily. 

“I took you for one of God’s groups,” Wyper explained.

“God?” Usopp demanded. “As in capital G, almighty being in the sky, God?!”

“A tyrant and nothing more,” Wyper spat. “God is the title Skypieans give their ruler.” He shook his head, scanning them. “If you follow the milky road you’ll land at Skypiea, where you will be sacrificed to their god for his amusement.”

With a screech, Nami lunged toward Luffy, wrapping her hands around his neck and shaking him back and forth. “Do you hear that?! Sacrifice! Why did you make us come up here you forsaken little-”

“We’re already here,” Laxus pointed out. He swallowed his flinch when she twisted to stare at him, murder burning in her eyes. “Better to figure out how to stay alive then worry about why we’re in this mess.”

She snarled, but let go of their captain. Luffy scratched his head. “If god wants to fight, we’ll fight him.”

“Idiot!” Usopp barked.

Wyper made a confused little noise, staring at them all like they were crazy. Laxus was unfortunately familiar with the look. “If you’d rather avoid Skypiea-”

“We would,” chorused most of the crew.

“-then I will lead you to the Shandia village.” He paused, looking toward Cricket. “Any descendent of the great Noland will be welcomed among us, as will your companions.”

“Thank you,” Cricket said, a little bewildered. He turned to Luffy who nodded his head.

“Yeah okay. Everyone, set sail to Shandia!”

Like Lucy expected, Shandia was settled on and into the clouds. Wyper led them through a thin cloud river that went away from where their Log was pointing but ultimately brought them to another settlement. The village used packed clouds and animal leather and scales to build tipis, and as the Merry was docked and the crew disembarked, Lucy could see how everyone worked together to prepare the resources. A circle of children were helping sew clothes and a group of adults tanned what looked like sea king leather. Wyper was greeted widely and enthusiastically, the children all looking up to him and the adults with deep respect in their eyes. The Straw Hats, by contrast, got a variety of distrustful and confused looks. Lucy didn’t blame them.

The chief came out to meet them as the rest of the village gathered around. Wyper murmured something to the chief, who, with a growing grin across his face, stepped forward towards Cricket.

“Is what Wyper says true? Are you indeed the descendent of Mont Blanc Noland, the friend of the great warrior Kalgara?”

“Yes,” Cricket said without hesitation. He waved to the crew, where Nami was keeping a tight grip on Luffy’s shoulder to stop him from running away to do god knew what. “The Straw Hat Pirates brought me to the sky so that I could find out the truth of what happened to Shandora, as Noland was executed before he could.”

“Executed?!” Wyper demanded. “Why would he have been executed?”

Cricket pursed his lips, looking uncomfortable as he explained, “He told his king of the city of gold, and was ordered to lead him there. Upon finding the city gone, the king executed him for his crimes. He’s been known as Noland the Liar since.”

A gasp slithered through the crowd, no one looking as devastated as Wyper himself. The chief bowed his head. “Then you can only have our deepest apologies for failing your ancestor.”

“Um,” Lucy stepped forward, dipping into a shallow bow. “I’m sorry for interrupting, Chief, but I have to ask. We were under the impression that the part of Jaya, the island where Shandora had been built, had been sent into the clouds. Since your people are living here in the clouds and not in the city, I have to ask. What happened four hundred years ago?”

Most of the people gathered around scowled and looked away, the warriors especially gripping their weapons closer. It was Wyper that spat on the ground and growled, “The Skypieans came and took our land, our pride. They call it Upper Yard and use it as holy land for their precious god ; the Fire of Shandora has not been lit since Kalgara lived.”

Lucy swallowed, sympathy welling at the sheer pain in the explanations. For a people so tied to their past--a culture proud of their history--to have lost such an important part of their people, must be unbearably painful for them.

“I will tell you the story, if you wish,” the chief promised. “But first, perhaps a meal to celebrate the reuniting of our peoples.”

“Food!” Luffy cheered in agreement and without further ado they got swept up into a feast.

Lucy spent time speaking with Laki, a female warrior and confidant of Wyper’s, and learning as much about sky culture as she could. It turned out that while they didn’t have much in the way of natural animals on cloud islands, there was a vast array of sea life living in the White Sea--which is what they’d landed on after the knock up stream and was 7,000 meters above the Blue Sea--and the White White Sea--which was where they were now and where most sky islands drifted, being 10,000 meters above the Blue Sea. Further, while they seemed to have no idea about most ores or materials like rubber or concrete, besides what little had been traded over the decades, they did have something called Dials. Dials, as Usopp soon discovered to his utter joy, had a variety of purposes, from holding heat or sound to creating water streams or gusts of winds. They looked like shells, just with little buttons on the apex of their spirals--using some of the earth barrels Nami had insisted they brought, Usopp traded for a ton. 

Eventually, those in the crew who cared about the details of the situation--namely, Nami, Robin, Lucy, Laxus, and Sanji--settled around the chief while the rest continued the party and trusted Lucy to tell them anything they truly needed to know. 

Which is how they learned the truth of what happened four hundred years ago. While Noland had returned home for several years before setting out to bring the king he served to Jaya, the earthquakes he’d written of in his log book grew more and more frequent until eventually a knock up stream burst from underneath Shandora and launched half of Jaya into the sky, alongside every Shandian. They did indeed land next to Skypiea, but the God of the time decided that any amount of ‘vearth’ was holy and therefore his. The Shandorians, weak from being sent into the sky and utterly lost, fought bravely to hold their city but were eventually driven out. Kalgara spent years trying to find the Golden Bell and ‘Light the Fire of Shandora’ to guide Noland back to them as the two had promised. But the great warrior died in battle and the bell, the pride of Shandora that they’d guarded since the Void Century, hadn’t been since.

“Eight hundred years ago,” Lucy murmured. She exchanged a look with Robin, who was equally as bright eyed at the hint of another clue to what happened during the Void Century. 

“You’re still at war, then,” Laxus said. “With the Skypieans.”

“Yes,” Wyper growled immediately.

“Of a sort,” Chief agreed with a nod. “The previous God, Gan Fall, had been willing to enter into peace negotiations with me.”

“It never-”

“Enough, Wyper. I am an old man and wish to see this war end in my lifetime.”

“What happened?” Robin asked. “To this Gan Fall?”

“He was usurped,” Chief explained. “Six years ago a man called Enel brought his four priests and an army. Upper Yard fell to him in a single day and he has ruled as a tyrant god since.”

“Don’t speak of him outside of the village,” Wyper warned. “His Mantra is wide reaching and his power is devastating.” He eyed Laxus, who’d been sparking far more than usual since they’d gotten to the sky. “Not unlike yours.”

“He uses lightning?” Lucy asked, relaxing when she received a nod. Either Luffy or Laxus would be able to deal with him easily, then, considering they were both immune. 

“What is Mantra?” Nami said.

“The ability to hear the voice of people’s souls,” Laki explained. “It allows the user to predict attacks and, with a large enough range, track them. Enel and his four priests can all use it. Worse, Enel’s ability is so advanced he can hear people talking, even from miles away.”

Lucy groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Not another Cobra.”

“You have experience fighting a Mantra user?” Laki said. “Impressive.”

“Not really,” she muttered. Natsu had been the one to fight the Poison Dragon Slayer. She’d been useless in that fight, like usual. If it wasn’t for Hibiki, she never would have beat Angel, much less helped against Nirvana. “And it sounds a little different. Cobra could hear souls, so he knew what we were thinking, not just our future movements.”

“There are legends about that,” Chief said. “Of Mantra so powerful it lets one hear the true being of others.”

Laki sucked in a deep breath, standing up and abruptly looking around. “Laki?” Lucy wondered. “Is everything okay?”

“Where’s Aisa?”

“Aisa?”

“One of ours, she has Mantra and is constantly getting into trouble.”

Lucy scanned the crowds, picking out the rest of the crew easily. All except one. “Uh, where’s Luffy?”

Laki and another warrior called Kamakiri went off to hunt down Aisa and Luffy on Upper Yard, leaving the rest of the Straw Hats to hang around and wait. Lucy watched as Laxus frowned seemingly at thin air, sniffing then breathing through his mouth. His scowl deepened.

“Something to share with the class?” she finally asked, bemused.

“The air is weird.”

“Well, we are ten thousand meters in the air.”

“Not that. There’s always a certain amount of electricity in the air because of the atmosphere. When we got to the White Sea it was thicker, more present.”

“We’re closer to the troposphere so I guess that makes sense.”

“That’s what I thought,” Laxus agreed, but he was still frowning, his fist clenching so hard lightning sparkled along his knuckles. Careful to touch only his sleeve to avoid an electrocution, Lucy rubbed his arm until he relaxed. Finally, he admitted, “There’s not as much in this area. Considering what the chief said about God using lightning…”

“You think he’s spreading it out into the air?” Lucy frowned considering what she knew about lightning magic and Devil Fruits. At her best guess, she figured Enel must be a logia, though she wasn’t sure how that translated compared to other elemental mages she’d met. Juvia could travel through sources of water, and had often caused effects on the weather. “Why?”

“Don’t know,” Laxus said. “But I think the reason that the Shandorians haven’t been destroyed yet is that their village is hidden from whatever he’s using.”

That comforted her at least. There were plenty of children and civilians in the settlement and she didn’t want any of them to get hurt. Before she could consider a way to figure out why, exactly, Enel was spreading so much electricity through the air, a commotion near the entrance of the village caught their attention. Alongside the rest of the crew, they pushed their way to the front, finding Luffy kneeling before a young, dark haired girl who was sobbing into his shirt. Beside them, Laki looked on in resignation.

“T-the voices,” the girl wailed. Lucy figured that it must be Aisa, the Mantra user. “The voices just keep disappearing! They come to Angel Beach, or Upper Yard, but no matter what, they always go silent. I can’t stand it anymore, I can’t I can’t I can’t-!”

Luffy detangled himself from her, reaching up to put his eponymous straw hat firmly on her head. Lucy knew from experience how comforting a gesture it was. Aisa hiccuped, looking up from the too large hat to stare at Luffy’s darkened face. 

“Don’t worry Aisa,” he promised her. “By the time we’re done, the only silent voice will be Enel’s.”

He stood, looking over to find his entire crew lined up on the edge of the growing crowd, Wyper and Cricket beside them. Luffy scanned them all, before stopping on Laxus.

“I want them destroyed .”

Laxus nodded simply, lightning sparking across his shoulders. “Then it’ll be done.”

Chapter Text

Shandorians beat drums to signal war, Laxus learned. And all that night, they filled the air. 

He had no idea what Luffy had seen on Upper Yard with Aisa to make him so dangerously furious, but in the end it didn’t matter. He’d decided Aisa and the Shandorians were friends and that meant they were going to help them. Laxus didn’t know when, exactly, he’d accepted Luffy as someone to listen to; maybe when he’d fought beside him against Smoker back on the ocean; maybe when he’d seen his injuries after Luffy defeated Crocodile; maybe even so far back as in the desert, when Luffy had first decided he wanted Lucy and Laxus on his crew. Whatever it had been, Laxus hadn’t hesitated to start making war plans when Luffy gave his order.

Lucy, of course, was as necessary to Laxus’s plans as ever. She’d spent the evening discussing the details of Shandorans and Enel’s priests, even before Luffy had gotten back, so she was ready to tell him anything he needed to know. Where she faltered, Laki stepped in easily, or even little Aisa with her Mantra ability. Wyper had, without hesitation, insisted that the Shandorians were fighting as well--it was their war, he’d said. They’d be the ones to fight it, even if Luffy had claimed Enel would be his enemy.

In the end Laxus gave people their opponents and told them to win or deal with him taking over their training. Having seen the copious amounts of bruises Lucy had at the end of her training, they were all very sure to promise him that they wouldn’t fuck up his plan.

After that, all that was left was to get some rest. 

Lucy groaned as she clambered over a huge tree root, muttering curses as she followed along the winding white cloud river. Upper Yard, as it turned out, had the same jungle and intense flora as Jaya had--except it was about a dozen times bigger. Something about growing in the sky made plants hardier and far larger, meaning instead of a regular ass jungle, she was struggling through one that was big enough to make a dragon look small. 

Laxus caught her under her arm and hauled her up, which she was insanely grateful for. She was less grateful for what came out of his mouth next.

“We’ll split up here. Keep following the river and you should hit the Ordeal of Balls.”

“Yeah about that,” Lucy said nervously, scanning the trees for enemies. Her and Laxus were seemingly alone, but everything about today was making her uncomfortable. “Are you sure about this? I mean, Sanji would do better as one of the Priest’s opponents and I’m really not-”

“If you’re about to tell me you’re not capable,” Laxus interrupted with a flat look. “I will personally kick you into the cloud ocean.”

“It’s true,” she muttered, looking away. All she could think of were all the times Team Natsu had to save her ass, or that she’d barely managed to scrape by from pure luck. This was bigger than her or Laxus--all the Shandorians were counting on the Straw Hats to help them win a war that’d been going on for four hundred years. She couldn’t be responsible as the one that fucked it up.

Sighing, Laxus tugged her closer, until he could frame her face and press their foreheads together. Lucy went red instantly, but the warm calloused palms kept her still as Laxus caught her eyes. She couldn’t help but notice that the orange had hints of brown and yellow. In the back of her mind, in the part of her brain that always cataloged everything but hadn’t been used for months and months, she mentally contemplated how she’d write about them.

“I trust Luffy to beat Enel and Zoro to beat Ohm. Cricket and Wyper will handle Gedatsu and I’ll take out Shura. The rest of the crew is heading for where Shandora should be while the Shandorians handle God’s army. Sanji needs to be with the rest of the crew in case one of the Priests intercepts them.” Laxus kept his voice factual, which calmed her wild heartbeat. He didn’t look away from her as he went on. “You, Lucy Heartfilia, will be more than capable of taking out Satori. Your wide range of abilities with your Spirits makes you a perfect match to his Ball Clouds; and I know how strong you are.”

“I don’t feel it,” she whispered. His brow furrowed and she finally found the strength to look away from his eyes. The sheer difference in their height meant she was staring at his shoulder, but that was better. “Every time Team Natsu got into a fight, there was always someone there to bail me out. Hibiki saved my ass when we fought Oracion Seis, Natsu tag-teamed with me in Edolas-”

“And you kicked Bix’s ass on your own,” Laxus cut in. She huffed, looking at him, but he didn’t stop. “You’re the one that defeated Angel, not Hibiki. You’ve saved Natsu’s ass just as much as he’s saved yours and, in case you’re forgetting, you’re the reason we managed to stop the fighting in Alabasta. You and your stupid double summoning.” He knocked their heads together, smiling a little when it drew out a scowl. “You’re scary as shit when you want to be, princess. And if none of that is enough?” He looked down to where she’d wrapped her hands around his wrists. Her Fairy Tail mark stood as stark and loving as the day she’d gotten it; on the same arm, the Straw Hat jolly roger grinned up at her. “You’re a Fairy Tail mage and a Straw Hat pirate. Show that asshole what that means.”

That, more than anything, sunk in. Lucy would never be as strong as Laxus or the other monsters on the crew, but she knew what it meant to carry the pride of something on her skin and in her heart. She sucked in a deep breath, memorizing the faint ozone and rain that Laxus always smelled like, before straightening her shoulders.

He grinned, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “There’s the badass I know. I’ll see you soon.”

Laxus vanished in a flash of light, teleporting away, leaving Lucy standing alone on a massive tree root, suddenly, stupidly aware of how close she’d gotten to Laxus over the last several months.

Oh , she thought distantly, wondering what the hell she was meant to do with the warmth curling in her belly. She spent months sharing a bed with him, had seen him topless often over the weeks on the Merry, had leant on his strength time and again when the distance from Earthland threatened to break her. Only now, ten thousand meters above the ocean and in the middle of a war against God, did she realize that she might, maybe, just a little, have a crush on him.

“I’m so fucked,” she breathed. She shook her head, slapping her hands to her cheeks. She didn’t have time for a mental breakdown. Laxus and the others were counting on her, so she couldn’t let them down.

Careful to keep her eyes peeled, Lucy began scrambling through the jungle, keeping the lazy white river of clouds to her right. It didn’t take long for her to regret agreeing to this--the trees and vines were all titanic and scrambling over and around them was quickly tiring her out. With a heavy pang, she missed Happy; she’d even take his fat jokes right about now if it meant not having to continue hiking. 

She paused on top of a particularly mossy root, carefully balancing so as not to slip as she breathed deeply, bending over to catch her breath. Something brushed past her back, sending her upright with a yelp. A cloud danced past her, a perfect round ball of white, as big as she was tall. Lucy swallowed, turning to look deeper into the trees. All around, other clouds gently floated, bumping into each other and spiraling lazily through the air.

“Ho ho!” someone called. Looking up, she saw two balls stacked on top of each other. The top one laughed again, though, as the bottom spun in a slow circle, revealing it to be a person. He was top heavy and wearing a white suit with yellow buttons and had possibly the stupidest face she’d ever seen. All the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, well honed instincts absolutely screaming that she was in danger. “You must be one of the Blue Sea invaders. I’m Satori, and this is my Ordeal of Balls.” He grinned, orange hat shadowing his glass covered eyes, the shadows of the trees making the down pointing wings on his back seem far bigger. “There’s only a ten percent survival rate.”

Wyper startled at the hand by his face, but after a moment reached up to grasp Cricket’s arm. He was yanked up onto the crumbling stone building, the swamp cloud falling away from his ankles. What a strange feeling it was, he considered, to have an equal he could trust to have his back. Perhaps that was why Kalgara missed Noland so much.

“So this is what my ancestor found on Jaya,” Cricket murmured. “Gotta admit, I expected more.”

“These are only the outskirt ruins,” Wyper told him. He scanned the area, frowning when he still couldn’t find Gedatsu. They weren’t far from Giant Jack, the beanstalk twisting into the sky and uniting multiple levels of island clouds above and into Upper Yard. He and Cricket were on the edge of where the jungle met island cloud, old crumbling buildings standing like fallen guards across the white ground. They’d already run into plenty of swamp clouds, so Wyper knew they were well into Gedatsu’s section of the island. Now they just had to find him.

“Cloud hammer!”

Or maybe not.

Wyper jumped off the building with a flip, activating his cloud skates to keep him above the swamp. Cricket cursed as he jumped to another piece of rubble. Together they turned towards another building, where Gedatsu slowly walked out of. He was silent, lips pressed together and arms stretched out in an X in front of his body.

It seemed they’d found the Priest of Swamp.

Laxus sped through the forest, idly noting that emotional outbursts were a new side effect of Chopper’s medications. It’d been pure instinct to comfort Lucy physically, as he’d learned helped her best. He’d meant everything he’d said of course--Lucy was quickly becoming a mage to be reckoned with--but even now, coming down from whatever adrenaline he’d been riding, he grimaced at the sheer excessiveness of what he’d said. Laxus didn’t want Lucy to think he was trying to get into her pants, or fuck up the friendship they’d built together in Alabasta. She’d become someone he respected and truly treasured and he didn’t want to fuck that up by saying something stupid like an asshole.

The trees blurred around him as he kept moving, jumping from root to root. Lucy probably wouldn’t be upset with him, since she tended towards more tender moments with her team, but Laxus still swore to talk to Chopper about how he made the medication for the crew. Maybe if he-

A slight whistling through the tree was his only warning. Laxus tried to jump back, but found he couldn’t move, something tangling around his limbs. A form dropped from the sky, and he realized he was a fucking idiot. Ordeal of Strings, of course . 

Lightning crackled all along his body, not destroying all of the invisible strings holding him--what were they made of?--but they loosened enough that he could lean out of the way of the javelin that jabbed into the space where his throat had just been. It slid through the tree trunk like butter, the red metal quickly causing smoke. The bird Shura--for only one priest was described as riding a bird--was riding on turned its head, beady eyes glinting as it opened its mouth. Laxus had a split second warning of a growing red spark in its throat. 

Magic bursting across his body, he teleported to a tree branch higher up, just barely avoiding getting barbecued by the fire breathing bird.

“Let me guess,” Laxus said drily. “You’re Shura, one of Enel’s priests, and this is the Ordeal of String.”

“You already know. Good.” Shura and his bird launched into the air until they were eye level with Laxus. Both seemed to have the same malevolent grin. “Then you already know you’re going to die.”

“Not the first time I’ve heard that,” Laxus pointed out. Then they were too busy battling to do much talking.

Luffy ignored Zoro as he engaged some dude with a cloud sword and a big dog. He kind of wanted to pet the dog, but he had no patience for that right now. He was pissed, Aisa’s tear stained face haunting his thoughts. And Luffy knew who was responsible.

They were somewhere above Upper Yard, on a floating cloud group clinging to the giant beanstalk that Aisa had told him to head toward. In front of him was a sprawling complex of low, white stone buildings. People scattered around, servant girls running and various guards easily falling to his simpler attacks. 

He reached the front doors, watching passively as they crumbled from his kick. Taking a few steps forward he saw only one person present, a tall, lanky blond that lounged across a throne. The figure turned, his massive earlobes shifting with the movement. 

“How interesting,” he laughed.

Luffy looked up from under his hat. “You Enel?”

“And if I am?”

Luffy took a deep breath, launching a punch in the next moment, fast as a bullet. Enel didn’t even move; when the fist connected, his eyes seemed to pop from his head. The next moment he went flying, body hitting and crumbling the wall behind the throne. Luffy snarled, one punch not nearly enough to calm his rage.

This was the man that was keeping Wyper from going home. This was the man that had the city of gold that was Cricket’s dream. And above even all of that, he did the unforgivable. 

“You made Aisa cry,” Luffy accused. “So I’m going to kick your ass.”

Robin gratefully accepted Sanji’s help up. Beside her, Chopper was checking that none of his medical supplies had busted. Wherever the snake had come from, it was gone now, vanishing into the depths of the forest.

“Was that a giant snake?” she wondered idly. The fauna in the sky was truly fascinating. She wondered if she might find a book on local biology.

“Oh no,” Sanji fretted. “Where’s Miss Nami?!”

“Likely with Mr. Sniper,” Robin pointed out, already continuing the hike towards the right eye described in Noland’s logbook. They were close to the ancient city; she could almost taste it. After a moment of wavering, Chopper trotted after her and Sanji followed. 

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Chopper assured Sanji.

“Or perhaps they were eaten.”

“Not helpful, beautiful Robin! Oh, Nami dearest, how I hope you’re okay!”

Nami struggled to right herself, a little amazed that she was even still alive. Alongside her, Usopp twitched with fear, jumping at every shadow--which was everything, since they were in a pitch black cave. Nami cursed, but got her Clima Tact to light up with a held thunder orb. It revealed a mess of broken stones (boring), old bones (ew), and-

“Gold!” Everywhere she looked was gold and jewels, gems of all sorts. She pulled a crown off a skull and ignored how the skeleton disintegrated to get a better look at the inlaid rubies. 

“Nami, look.” She turned to find Usopp holding something up. She almost dismissed it, since it was neither shiny, nor valuable, but then she did a double take. On second thought, it was extremely valuable.

“Is that one of Lucy’s Keys?!” Nami snatched it from his hand, ignoring his spluttering. It certainly looked like Mă’s Key--made of seastone with an animal head on one end and a constellation on the other. This one, however, had the serpent’s constellation and a snake head, instead of a horse's. “What is it doing here?”

“Well,” Usopp started, perfectly calm, which Nami knew meant he was about to freak out even more. “I think the real question is ‘where are we’? I mean, weren’t we…” The ground started moving under them. Nami had really hoped she’d dreamed how they ended up here. “Swallowed by a giant snake?!”

Chapter Text

Luffy cursed as Enel teleported away, barely into their fight. He’d been startled, for some reason, when Luffy had been unaffected by his lightning. Didn’t he know that wouldn’t work on rubber? Must be an idiot of some kind.

Still, now he needed to find him again . Damnit.

“Straw Hat!” Luffy turned at the call, finding none other than Aisa scrambling around the destroyed walls. Zoro’s fight must have been getting serious, because Luffy didn’t remember breaking most of those. Probably. “I can still hear Enel, so I’ll guide you to him.”

“Really? Great!” Luffy scooped Aisa up, settling her on his back so she could give directions. Like hell would he let the stupid lightning bastard get away.

Lucy closed Sagittarius’s gate, cursing Mantra in her head. She hoped the stupid priest could hear it. She’d been warned that the priests could predict movements before they were made, but hadn’t truly realized how annoying it’d be in a fight. Her respect for Natsu defeating Cobra went up a little more.

Satori gave another stupid ‘ho ho!’ laugh that made her want to kill him. Lucy was burnt, bleeding, had flowers in her hair and was absolutely covered in fish guts. She had never quite hated anything as much as she hated these stupid ‘surprise cloud balls’ that were absolutely filling the air or the ridiculous ball man that controlled them. 

“You know,” Satori said idly, jumping his way cheerily from one floating ball to the next, occasionally doing a pirouette that sent it spinning in her direction. She ducked one, only for a few birds to pop out and sing a little song. In her distraction, another floated too close before it burst into a hundred tiny glass shards. She gasped in pain, lunging backward. She overbalanced, but used her whip to catch herself on a vine and swing herself to another perch. “Your ability is truly fascinating. How is it you can summon servants to fight for you?”

She snarled, rage rising so quickly it left her dizzy. “They are not servants. They’re my friends and partners.” Lucy did a mental scan of her magic--she’d only used Sagittarius so far, and not for long, so she was doing well. Maybe it was time to take out the big guns. She found the Key she wanted easily, slashing it through the air. “Open, Gate of the Horse! Mă!”

In a clatter of hooves and golden light, she appeared with a war cry. Quick as a mustang, Mă grabbed Lucy’s arm and swung her onto her back, just in time to avoid an absolute barrage of clouds. Mă jumped off the branch, teleporting as they crested and appearing on another huge branch. Lucy gasped at the suck in her magic, but was glad for it when the mess of clouds exploded with a rain of rocks. 

“And they have different abilities too,” Satori exclaimed. “How exciting! What a pity that God is not taking new followers.”

“I would never follow someone like him,” Lucy snapped. She patted Mă’s shoulder. “Thanks for the save.”

“Sure thing! I take it we’re kicking Ball McGee in the ass?”

“Yeah.” Lucy eyed him as he began sending another wave of clouds at them. Mă’s ability was teleportation in essence--Lucy doubted she could use any of the more advanced abilities with her power level. That was alright. Teleportation was all they would need. “And I know how we’re going to do it. Think you can lend me your power?”

With a bright, sparkling laugh, Mă pulled her scimitars out, snapping them together at the hilt so they created one double bladed weapon. “Always, Lady Lucy.”

☉

Laxus dodged another piercing attack, bringing his leg up in a high kick. The lightning attack hit the damn bird--Laxus thought it might be a huge vulture of some kind--sending it squawking. Before he could press the advantage, Laxus found himself once again stuck. 

He snarled, sparking lightning all across his body. Sadly, the nature of cloud string was that it was still made out of cloud, and therefore absorbed lightning. His power lit the jungle spanning web up, and even burned away some of the thinning strands, but he was back to where he’d started; stuck. 

Shura got control of his mount and swept up, but Laxus avoided him and the string trap as he’d been doing--by teleporting away. It was a stop gap measure, since Shura was staying firmly in the mess of webs which he was avoiding in a manner that could only be described as somehow . Laxus needed to defeat Shura, and to do that he had to get close, since the bastard was far too good at dodging his ranged attacks. He had a nasty suspicion that Shura and the other priests had experience dodging angry lightning users. The fact that he could predict movements didn’t fucking help.

Laxus wasn’t running low on magic yet, but that didn’t mean much; battles of attrition were always full of nasty turns. He’d just have to end this, once and for all.

Luffy cursed as he fell off of Enel’s flying ship. He wasn’t entirely sure where the thing came from, only that Aisa had pointed to it as it rose out of a hill and said that was where Enel was. Now, after another brief exchange where Luffy had discovered that melting gold hurt , he had a giant ball of gold attached to his arm and dragging him down. At least Nami would be happy that he found the gold. 

The black clouds puffing out of the golden ship did not inspire confidence though.

Lucy whipped another cloud ball towards Satori, watching as it ricocheted off of the one he sent and quickly dissolved into a mess. The priest, significantly more disheveled than a few minutes ago, cursed as he was forced to dodge. Mă sucked a ball heading for them into her sphere and it appeared behind Satori in the next moment, ramming into him and bursting into a mess of vipers. Only a quick grab onto a passing cloud saved him from plummeting to the ground.

Mantra, Lucy had figured out, could not predict moves that weren’t directed with intent. Which meant that Satori’s great weapons were also his greatest weakness. Now, if only they weren’t hundreds of feet into the air, she might feel confident. As it was, she was glad her mother had taught her to ride bareback, because only Mă’s speed and ability were saving her life. Lucy’s magic was starting to flag, though, and she knew she needed to end this soon. On the bright side, Satori seemed to agree if the mad rage glinting in his eye was any indication. 

On the bad side, he showcased this by stringing together a snake of cloud balls.

“Mă,” Lucy warned, gripping the back of her jerkin tightly as they braced. The first ball hit them--an acrid smelling smoke screen which was ironically perfect. With a burst of magic, Mă redirected the rest of the string of clouds, and Lucy watched with watering eyes as they slammed into where Satori was standing. Gunpowder, a burst of sticky looking vines, and a trio of explosions all went off at once, sending him flying down below. 

Mă jumped from branch to branch down to the ground, each step jarring Lucy’s injuries. By the winding cloud river, Satori laid unconscious. Vindictive pride swelled in her chest; she’d managed to defeat him all on her own. Maybe Laxus was right about her being stronger than she thought.

Lucy slid gratefully off of Mă, wincing at her ribs. They were probably broken, but that wasn’t the worst injury she’d ever had. So long as she didn’t need to fight anyone else seriously she should be okay. Laying down sounded like a great idea right about then.

“I hope Laxus and the others are alright,” she murmured.

Mă made a surprised sound, pointing up and away. “Is that Laxus?”

Lucy dragged her head off the ground. The sky was black with clouds now, and though she hadn’t thought much of it before, she had been hearing various bursts of lightning for the last few minutes. She’d assumed it was Laxus in his own battle. Now she wasn’t so sure.

Mă pointed to the sky above Skypiea proper, the cloud island that the Straw Hats had yet to visit at all--and the one their logpose had been pointing to. A black mass of clouds, visibly bursting at the seams with lightning, was hovering just above the tallest buildings. She’d never seen Laxus do anything like it; of course, Laxus had no reason to be over there. But he wasn’t the only lightning user on the island.

“Oh Mavis,” Lucy breathed, injuries forgotten as she scrambled to get back on Mă. “Get us over there now! We need to evacuate the people.” A lightning bolt shattered the ground where she’d just been standing, pain lacing through her body in a starburst. She didn’t let it slow her down. 

Skypiea was filled with people and if Enel was filling the sky with massive amounts of lightning, it wasn’t for anything good.

Laxus managed to complete his magic circle, the same one he’d used against Mystogan but far more wide reaching. With a shouted incantation, he filled the entire forest with light, so quickly even Shura and his stupid bird couldn’t avoid it. They fell to the ground shortly after and he was glad to stop for a breath. He’d used more magic then he’d meant to, but his injuries were minor. Ish. 

The burn on his hip was likely to scar. At least it hadn’t damaged his Straw Hat tattoo. 

A boom of thunder shook the very air, and he wrenched his head up. He hadn’t noticed during his fight, but it wasn’t just his power lighting up the forest and sky; the thickest storm clouds he’d ever seen were filling every inch of the horizon. Worse, he saw the center of the storm--a massive roiling ball of pure lightning--hovering above Skypiea. Even with the distance, he could sense the energy in it, greater than the Thunder Palace or any attack he could ever bring to bear. Likely greater than all of the magic in his body could produce at one time. A bolt of it shot down, destroying a tower of clouds.

Laxus was teleporting in the next second, traveling through the air as just another flash of lightning. 

Luffy ran up Giant Jack, dragging the ball of gold behind him. It slowed him down a little but it wouldn’t stop him. Far to the side, the storm clouds roiled, crackling with energy above an island he could just barely make out. They hadn’t had time to explore it yet, but he couldn’t worry about it right now. He trusted someone on the crew would figure it out--Laxus, probably. He’d been really annoyed when Luffy called dips on Enel; he’d wanted to at least try to take a bite out of the logia, which Luffy could appreciate. 

He turned a corner and there, about even with his height, was the huge golden ship that Enel was flying, hovering right next to something caught on a floating island cloud. Something big and gold, moss covered but etched with markings Luffy didn’t know. 

The Golden Bell of Shandora. 

It didn’t take Laxus long to get to the island proper, coming down into a mess of chaos. Men in white uniforms and two blonde women were directing an evacuation, a riot of people with wings swiftly stampeding through the streets and towards the docks.

“Laxus!” 

He turned at the shout and saw that one of the blondes he’d dismissed in a brief glance as a local was actually Lucy. She was wearing the same sort of half shirt half dress that the locals did, in a deep red color, but it had clearly been pulled over her shirt and skirt in a hurry. She smelled of fire and blood, and favored her right side, but didn’t seem otherwise harmed. Tension bled from his shoulders and he reached for her before he could stop himself.

Lucy slammed into his side, right on the burn, hair frazzled. Laxus swallowed back his hiss of pain and put up with it until she pulled away. “The clouds-”

“I know,” he assured her. He looked up, another bolt shooting from the sky. He jumped to intercept it, swallowing the energy down. The boost of energy made him feel better, but this didn’t seem like something that a little snacking could fix. A pity it was his only option. When he landed, he pushed Lucy towards the fleeing refugees. Most of the town seemed to have emptied out, which he was grateful for. If he fucked this up- “Get going,” he ordered. 

“What? What about you?” He didn’t say anything, only looked up. Was the ball of lightning getting closer? Lucy sucked in a sharp breath, horror and realization playing across her features. She’d always been too smart for her own good. “Are you nuts?!”

“I’m their only shot,” he told her.

“A dragon slayer can’t eat energy stronger than their magic,” she snapped back. He didn’t try to argue that his magic was stronger than some little logia. It’d be a lie and they both knew it; the maelstrom above their heads crackled as if in answer. It didn’t change the facts though.

“If that attack hits, this island will be vaporized. Their homes, their livelihoods, all gone in a blink. I can’t let that happen.”

“You will die!” Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she lunged forward to grip the edges of his coat. He let her shake him back and forth. “Natsu barely had a few mouthfuls of ethernano and was sick for a week; if you try to consume all of that energy at once, your magic container will crack and you will die .”

“And I can’t stand by and do nothing while a city is threatened!” He bit his lip as soon as the words were out. He hadn’t meant to let that slip, but already he could see the understanding pass over Lucy’s face. 

He’d threatened Magnolia with destruction by lightning. He’d willingly destroyed and held his home hostage, had let his power and insecurities control him. Laxus would be dead before he let that happen to someone else. 

“Miss!” One of the white hatted officials ran up. “Everyone else has been evacuated and I’ve sent men to speak to the Shandorans. We need to leave.”

Laxus detangled Lucy’s hands from his coat, pulling back. She didn’t look away from him, but a stubborn set came to her jaw. “Go ahead, Captain. I’m staying here.”

“Lucy-!”

“If you’re going to do this then I’m not leaving you,” she spat. The local captain looked between them, but gave a brisk salute and headed off to the final ship. Above them, the clouds gave another clap of thunder.

“Don’t be stupid,” Laxus argued, panic rising in his chest. If he wasn’t able to swallow all the energy before his container cracked, then it was highly likely that there would still be some destruction. Lucy could be caught in the crossfires. 

“I’m not being stupid,” she countered, reaching out and pulling his shirt up to press her hand against the tattoo of their jolly roger. “I’m trusting you to do this.” She swallowed, meeting his eyes. He could feel her shaking, but she didn’t waver in her decision. “And I’m trusting you to survive it. Us Straw Hats are good at doing the impossible, right?”

A lump rose in his throat and he did his best to memorize how she looked. Her hair was frizzing, she had a split lip, was covered in blood and something else that absolutely reeked, but her eyes showed only trust and determination. Laxus had never seen someone so beautiful. “Right,” he finally managed. Thunder boomed, louder now, and the energy in the air reached a wild crescendo. They were out of time.

Laxus swung his coat over Lucy’s shoulders, wrapping it tightly around her. She practically swam in it, but only nodded when he ordered, “Keep that on you. And take cover.”

For a moment she hesitated, and Laxus had the stupid urge to kiss her, since he likely wouldn’t have a chance in the future, but decided that was an asshole move. He was trying to avoid being an asshole these days. In the end, Lucy backed up and took cover behind some overturned carts and Laxus was faced with the task before him. 

The only chance he’d have of this working is if he emptied his magic reserves first, to allow the best chance to absorb all of Enel’s attack. Except he had no good place to discharge his power--he couldn’t throw it into the sky, because it’d only mix with Enel’s and then make it impossible for him to eat; he couldn’t send it into the ground without destroying the island he was trying to save; to one side of the island were the refugee ships and to the other was Upper Yard and all his crew.

Laxus didn’t have time to consider his options, so with a wild prayer that Mavis still watched him even though he wasn’t a Fairy anymore, he did the only thing he could do; he pumped his magic into the air. 

There was always a certain amount of lightning in the air from the atmosphere. On Skypiea and Upper Yard, it was concentrated, which only now did Laxus think was Enel’s doing. So he pushed his magic out along those same pathways. Out and out, careful not to overload any one area and accidentally create a full bolt of energy, Laxus dumped his magic into the air. Down he spun into his core, into his second origin, and out he dragged it all. It made him dizzy and left him feeling pulled in a hundred directions, like he was spreading himself thin over the sky. Words filtered in, disjointed and confusing.

“I am glad to call you my friend, as our ancestors did.”

“God, please protect us.”

“Straw Hat! My name is Gan Fall, and I can help you.”

“Robin! Are you okay? Damnit, Chopper, wake up!”

“You dare to defy me?! I am God! And this imperfect world will fall.”

“I won’t let you get that bell!”

Again and again, some voices familiar, others totally alien. He could hear them all, was connected to each of them, for a few precious seconds. This, Laxus realized, must have been how Enel used his Mantra to hear everything on the island. 

The realization was ripped from him as all of his magic disappeared. He gasped, darkness pushing the edges of his vision, pain racking his body. He clung on to consciousness with every inch of his will. He couldn’t fall yet; not while Lucy stood behind him. Not while the Skypieans were begging for a miracle.

Above him, the sky flashed with light. Hell rained down.

Laxus opened his mouth as the power erupted, pure destruction barreling towards him. He sucked in, swallowing mouthful after mouthful of energy. It fought and burned going down, crackling against his skin. He didn’t stop, only reached out and grabbed and grabbed, unwilling to pause for even a second. 

Pain like he had never known it radiated from every inch of his being. Laxus felt as if his veins and nerves were dying one by one; his very magic aching with the sudden influx of power. He took every watt into his body, felt it fill his second origin, his core, up and up until it was too much, until he was too full and was about to burst. Still he didn’t stop, not while Skypiea was at risk.

It was the longest three seconds of his life.

By the time it was over, the clouds were black and empty of power, floating gently above the island. Shopfronts and homes stood unharmed all around him, brightly colored banners cheerily lining the street. Laxus faltered, his knees buckling, lightning sparking freely across his body. His ears were ringing and everything hurt; all around him his awareness was both all encompassing and quickly fading. Too full still, magic falling away from his body like dropping petals. A bolt shot off him, and he barely gained enough control to shoot it up.

Something touched him, and he pulled his eyes open--when had they closed? Lucy sat in front of him, which was wrong for some reason. He knew. Too dangerous. He couldn’t control-

“-release.”

He blinked, sluggish. His whole body was encompassed in lightning, yet she didn’t let go. Only held onto his wrists. 

“Have to…energy…up.”

Lucy flinched, tears running down her face. She was hurting but Laxus couldn’t figure out why. 

Magic bubbled in his chest and energy surged across his body, into the air.

Oh. He hadn’t considered what he’d do with the energy when he had it. Then again, he had expected to be dead right about now.

“Laxus!” The voice cut through. Lucy’s voice. Why was she still holding onto him? He had to be hurting her. “Send the magic up. You have to let it go.”

He could do that. If Lucy was asking then it had to be important. He just needed to send the magic back. One attack should do it.

“Please, Laxus.” 

He pulled back from her, tipping his head back so he was looking at the sky. The clouds were falling away, blue coming through. If he hit that it would be okay. Then he could rest. 

Opening his mouth was painful; pulling on the magic burning its way through his system was worse.

Still he did it.

Enel turned away from Luffy, scowling at the still standing Skypiea. 

“How?!” he snarled. Luffy clung onto the old man as he guided his weird bird horse around the flying ship. Enel absently slung a javelin of lightning their way, but they avoided it easily. “How could anyone stop the Raigo?”

From Skypiea, a pillar of lightning sprung into the sky, bright yellow and crackling with power. Luffy didn’t need super hearing to know it was Laxus’s roar attack. 

“Hey Enel!” Luffy yelled. He reared his arm back, letting the gold act as a counterweight. “You know what they call Laxus on the Blue Sea? The Thunder God! And there is no way-” the bird rushed forward, then dropped away, slinging Luffy forward. Enel turned to look at him, rage painted across his face. “-we’ll let you destroy this island!”

Luffy hauled the golden ball forward, slamming it into Enel’s gut with all the strength he could muster. He slammed back, over the railing of the ship and still further, into the side of the huge golden bell. The ball on Luffy’s arm broke away, Enel falling unconscious as he tipped into the sky. The ship stopped flying, dropping down like a rock. The bell tipped over the edge, falling last and loudest. Luffy laughed, bright and satisfied when he heard the ethereal song of the Golden Bell.

And for the first time in four hundred years, someone lit the Fire of Shandora.

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