12 Chapter 12: Back again
Beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi
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-Ishgar, Fiore-
Sailing on the calm sea that led to the continent of Ishgar, more specifically the Kingdom of Fiore, was a large galleon trade ship; the Blue Jewel.
Carrying various assortments of raw resources, from all sorts of spices, magical items, and even passengers. It was the ideal mode of transportation if one wanted to travel between continents. And this time, the ship was loaded with several magical trinkets, forging materials and thousands of magical tomes which were all brought from the Alvarez Empire, pioneers in magical studies.
It is said to have been the birthplace of many powerful Wizards and even the King of Magic, Lord August, was said to be able to outmatch both the Wizard Saints and the Four Gods of Ishgar! Many viewed the Empire to be a sleeping dragon ready to strike.
The relationship between Ishgar and Alvarez wasn't exactly the best. On many occasions, tensions of war and invasion have been brewing, with the Magic Council resorting to building weapons of mass destruction like the R-System, to name a few, as both a weapon and shield against Alvarez. Though this has been going on for more than a century and weirdly, the so-called immortal emperor of Alvarez has never once addressed this issue, leading most to see it as a Cold War. This brought many members of the council to conclude that the emperor either died or didn't care if the matter of an invasion any longer.
But they still remained conscious of any future changes.
This didn't stop the two empires to close their trading routes, many nobles and highly powerful families relied on these trades to provide for the local economy, including the Heartfilia family. Though recently, an equally powerful entity had emerged, the Junelle Corporation. Both these powers, though rivals, have come to an understanding to influence the Magic Council and come to an unprecedented accord on never closing the trade deals with any foreign countries, including Alvarez.
And in the end, they succeeded.
And until this day, Fiore, one of the currently active fourteen countries on the peninsula of Ishgar remained the most open kingdom.
Unlike its neighboring kingdoms.
Seven and its militaristic monarchy, with the leader titled; Führer. It was the most closed-off out of the bunch. Choosing to briefly connect with its surrounding kingdoms, Seven wasn't exactly fond of Alvarez… or anyone in general.
Then came Bosco, a previously weak kingdom, which changed with Kadiz Royard coming to power. When he managed to replicate the magic of the Vulcans for human use, what would later be known as [Take Over] magic. It possessed a similar government to Fiore called the Steel Congress. Additionally, it had sea trade routes with Fiore, Caellum, and Minstrell but refused to interact with other foreign kingdoms.
The last two were also different kingdoms in Ishgar.
It was safe to say that Fiore was the ideal place for foreign relationships compared to the rest. This means that a majority of trade ships traveled between there.
"Hargeon Port in sight!" Shouted one of the sailors of the Blue Jewel from his crow's nest, alerting the crew and the inhabitants of the ship.
On this particular day, among the passengers, a special former Celestial Wizard returned to her home country once again; accompanied by a little green-haired girl. A woman whose green hair was tied back in a taut bun. Her attire consisted of a long sleeve blouse with a collar and white cuffs at the end. Similar to her daughter, she also fashioned her hair with purple cross-shaped accessories.
"It's time to wake up and get ready, Brandish dear. We still have a long journey ahead of us." Grammi said gently to her still sleeping daughter.
Though her tone was calm and gentle, her fists were tightened and shaking.
She was afraid to face her mentor once again. Layla was the one who gave her this life, she wouldn't have gotten Brandish if it weren't for the training and teachings that Layla offered when she needed the most, which allowed her to find that special someone in her travels to Alvarez. She owed so much to her, yet in the end, she was the one who failed her when she needed her the most...
'How many years has it been? Does Zoldeo and Layla-sama hate me? I wonder how Lucy-chan is doing…? I hope that she and Brandish will get along if Layla-sama doesn't turn me away.'
{Break}
-Forest-
Sitting on a log while enjoying the latest issue of Sorcerer Weekly was Lucy.
It has been a week since the attack on her former home. A week since she confronted her father and read the letter that was addressed to her mother.
After that incident, she took nearly all of her belongings and left the Heartfilia Konzen. It wasn't with bittersweet feelings that she left the place, but with determination to prove her father wrong in the future by becoming a successful wizard of Fairy Tail!
'I don't know where to start…' Should she make her way to Magnolia right now? 'I forgot to take some money with me!' It was to be expected that such a long journey would require some kind of funds, but currently, she was jeweless!
"I wonder if Aquarius will accept performing a water show for the villagers."
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"No, she'll kill me before I even realize it. Maybe, have Broly ask her instead?"
She was aware of Broly's ability to fly. He could take her to Magnolia before sundown and she won't have to spend a single jewel. But Lucy didn't want to do that, she didn't want to take advantage of his powers, just for convenience's sake.
Not to mention, traveling around would be fun, she didn't get to do so for a while since her mom died. And she really wanted for Broly to tag along.
"Speaking of him, where is he?" She spoke to herself and wandered around the farm to search for the giant Saiyan.
He had told her something about going to train his powers early in the morning. Since she wasn't an early riser, she just hummed at him before going back to sleep.
"Ah, there he is!" Lucy soon found him behind the house, where a small barren field was made for training. "Wow… it's beautiful." She saw him floating cross-legged while being surrounded by flowing green magic, or Ki as he called it.
The energy was like water, flowing up his body in a wave-like motion. It felt gentle yet powerful at the same time. Lucy approached him, looking mesmerized by the green Ki. Even while being so close up, she could feel the power behind it.
"Why is it green?" She unconsciously asked before realizing that she might have disturbed him when the energy disappeared. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to break your concentration!"
"Hn, no problem, I sensed you coming." Broly opened his eyes and for a fraction of a second, they were pure green before turning back to his normal charcoal black. He needed to concentrate a lot in order to feel other living beings' aura around him. His own Ki was so dense that it overwhelmed him, making his Ki sensing nearly nonexistent.
"And about why it's green; don't know." Stated Broly giving her a nonchalant shrug.
The oldest memory he had was of him hunting down those creatures of Vampa after waking up from his pod. The rageful power was always there since the beginning. He never had any problems calling it out, in fact, it felt second nature to him. But the problem came when he wanted to call it back in, then it became a struggle, a fight for control at one point.
"Can you change its color? Like ColorS, that magical device lets me change the color of my clothes to anything I want. I got a few of those back in my old home." Lucy said as she wanted to have a similar aura of her own.
"I… don't think so?"
"Oh! Oh! Can you make it blue—" She was unexpectedly interrupted by an outburst from the normal gentle giant, seeing his body tense at the mention of the color.
"No!"
"Eh? Wh–why?" This caught Lucy very off guard, she had never seen Broly act so angry all of a sudden. "D-do you hate blue?" That was the only reason she could think of for such a reaction. 'Aquarius will be very sad if she finds out.'
He just shook his head, becoming somber all of sudden.
"A man with blue hair and blue ki once beat me." He recalled his last moments against the blue-haired Saiyan once again, the overwhelming difference in power between them was felt even in his rageful state.
In all of his years living and battling against the infinite numbers of monsters in Vampa, not once had Broly felt the touch of death until last time.
But it also relieved him a bit, knowing that out there, there was someone who could stop him when he himself could not. But whether or not he could track him all the way out here was still a question Broly had no answer to.
"What!?" She nearly thought that she heard it wrong. "How!?" Lucy needed to know.
Broly looked at her dead in the eyes, making the young Lucy become very flustered and blush.
"He was very strong."
What? He couldn't be serious!
"That's all you have to say!? Aren't you scared that he might come here? But don't worry, if he comes here, I got your back!" If such a guy ever came to harm Broly, then she would beat him up herself! That is if she gets any stronger before that happens. 'Hopefully'
"No, he was a nice guy… and I don't think he can reach me here… I think."
Lucy was ignoring what Broly said and was busy making plans on how to take out the big jerk. Broly was already very powerful, he could travel beyond the speed of sound and created those awesome green constructs that blew things up; like that green sphere she saw last time which protected them from the elements and that other guy was still able to beat him! Still…, 'I'm going to throw Aquarius and every single one of my golden spirits at that guy when I meet him in the future. How can anyone hurt a gentle giant like Broly!?'
Like, seriously! After living with him for so long, Lucy already knew that the Saiyan hated violence in general. 'Unless he is dealing with a Gorian.' Aside from that, he wouldn't harm a fly!
Still ignoring the fact that he killed several animals to satiate his appetite.
"Why are you here, Lucy?" Broly suddenly asked, wondering why the little blond was making weird faces for a while.
"What do you mean?" Lucy said, acting clueless.
But it didn't work against him.
"After you came back yesterday, you seemed very lost. Did something happen?" Which was true. Broly noticed how Lucy would get lost in her own thoughts. Looked blankly at the sky for hours at a time when she thought that he wasn't looking.
Lucy meanwhile, just clenched her fists. Her mother's death was still fresh in her mind, it still pained her heart whenever she thought about it. Of course, it would disturb them when she found out that there was someone who might have been responsible for her death.
And she didn't know how to feel about that.
"I… I don't know." Was she supposed to get her revenge? But she didn't know the other side of the story, her mom wouldn't approve if she just lashed out like that… but still.
She felt a large hand part her head. She enjoyed the feeling very much but hated it as well as it made her feel like a kid. "You can tell me." He said as he carried a big log-tree log and dropped it on the floor. They sat down and he brought dozens of meat skewers. "Want some meat?"
Sigh
This man and his endless appetite. "You know what? Sure, why not. Well, this is what happened. After I summoned Aquarius…"
And so, she made a recount of everything that happened when she went to confront her father. From her promise to the contents of the letter as well. Lucy added how she didn't know how to deal with the situation and for the last few days, had the same thoughts constantly swimming in her head.
"... It mentioned something about a spell mom did, which was the cause of her death."
"Hn," He grunted, pondering on her words as well.
"Yeah… what do you think I should do now?"
"Ask the fish lady."
"You mean Aquarius?"
"..."
"You forgot her name, didn't you?" She gave him a deadpan look, not surprised in the slightest at his forgetfulness.
"It's a hard name to remember." He said nonchalantly while munching away on a piece of meat, not realizing how devastated Aquarius would be if she had heard that.
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Yes." He took out another piece of meat from… somewhere.
"Somehow I feel like the food is getting more attention than me." She reached for her purse and took out her key chain with all her golden and silver keys. "I tried asking Aquarius and the others, but they all ignored me and returned back to the Celestial World!" Like Aquarius just straight up ignored her and forcefully disappeared! At least Taurus and Cancer had the decency to try and think of an excuse; even if they were horrible liars.
"They must have a reason," Broly said before he stopped eating. "Hmmm?" His gaze followed the shadows of the forest where he saw something interesting. Deep within its foliage, moving like a snake, trying to remain hidden from sight was a person Broly didn't recognize. "Lucy, do you have a new boy maid?"
"It's called a butler. But no, I haven't, why?" She asked while nibbling on a carrot like a rabbit.
"..."
"Broly?" Lucy noticed his odd behavior and followed his sight to the forest behind her.
Only to find nothing unusual on her end.
"Hn, it's nothing." He said, annoying Lucy with his sudden refusal to elaborate. "Just be careful, Lucy." He warned her, not elaborating any further and returning to finish his meal.
"Why is everyone being so secretive with me all of a sudden!?"
{Break}
-Heartfilia Konzen-
Walking along the road leading to the Heartfilia estate, were two people. A green-haired woman holding the hand of a young girl who seems to be of similar age as Lucy.
"Mooooom, how long do we need to walk?"
Grammi sighed at her daughter's behavior. "Don't get all whiny with me, young lady. Walking for a bit is a good exercise and we get to see the local fauna." Brandish could be the most well-behaved child but the next moment she would change her attitude instantly. Starting to complain about a task being too tedious or boring.
"But we've been walking for HOURS! Can't we just take a carriage here? My feet are killing me and you know that I have hay fever, which causes me to sneeze a lot when there is pollen nearby."
"Oh, hush, you'll be fine, besides… we're already here." Grammi pointed ahead to the familiar mansion, where she once used to live and train under Layla-sama's guidance. The giant gates, adorned with a golden family crest, looked just like she remembered all those years ago.
Safe to say, someone was impressed by the estate's splendor.
"Ooooo! So big! You used to live here mom!?" Brandish said in awe of the place. She had traveled to many places around the Alvarez Empire. Though the mansion didn't measure up in scale to the main palace of the emperor, it still had a unique beauty of its own. She and her mom both lived in a humble apartment back in the capital, Brandish would have never guessed that her mom used to live in such luxury.
Grammi had a bittersweet smile as she saw the Heartfilia Konzen, her hesitation growing with each moment. "Once, a long time ago." She said to her daughter.
Shaking her head and renewing her resolve, she decided to just face her challenges head-on. She would accept whatever punishment Layla-sama would give her.
Walking up to the gates, she traced her steps and stopped at the edge. "Hansel?" Grammi shouted out the old gatekeeper's name who she knew for as long as she lived there. It had been more than a decade, she hoped he was still working for the family.
"Dear me… it can't be…, Grammi!?" Her worries were for nought as she heard his familiar voice. The gates opened with an old man peeking his head out, the moment he saw her face, his face bloomed in happiness as well.
"Yes! It's me! You remember me?"
"Hahahaha! How could I forget one of my main troublemakers? You and your spirit caused a lot of flooding in the garden. Did you realize how long it took me to grow those plants!?"
They both hugged each other, Grammi nearly crying from the nostalgia and happiness she felt coming back to this place.
Why did she hesitate to come back? She should have done this years before!
"Mom?"
Hearing a young girl's voice, Hansel turned his face around to spot the little bundle of green hiding behind her mother's back. He didn't have to guess her identity when he still remembered how Grammi used to look at a young age, and the green hair was a dead giveaway.
"Oho! What do I see here? A mini Grammi? Since when have you learned clone magic hahaha!"
Hansel tried to carry the young girl but felt his old bones almost give up on him. "My back!" This led Grammi to erupt into a fit of laughter, the old man was still as funny as he used to be.
"Fufufu, stop messing around Hansel-san, this is my daughter, Brandish." She urged her daughter to greet the man but the little one just shook her head and hid behind her mother once again.
Hansel just laughed at her shyness.
"Aye, you've really grown up and become a woman. Now with a twerp no less…" The old image of a younger Grammi and Zoldeo both causing him trouble as youngsters replayed in his mind. It was jarring to see the little ones grow up so fast, so quickly. 'Layla-sama would have loved to see this. But Zoldeo on the other hand…' Hansel sighed, deciding to put the matter at the back of his mind for now.
"Hansel-san… I came here to meet Layla-sama, can you let us in? I also want to introduce Brandish to Lucy-chan. The last time I saw her, she was just a baby." The moment of truth had finally arrived. In a few minutes, she would finally meet her mentor face to face after all these years.
"..."
The gatekeeper went eerily silent all of a sudden. His face lost the bright smile and turned rigid, worrying Grammi.
"Hansel-san?"
'She doesn't know…' Thought Hansel morosely, not wanting to be the bearer of bad news.
He gestured to the two inside his office near the gate without a word. Both looked confused by his actions but followed him anyway.
They all sat down with Hansel preparing his upcoming words. "Oh Grammi, you poor thing… I wish I didn't have to tell you this, especially after coming all this way."
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Grammi was at a loss for words.
"No… i-it can be…"
Her face went completely pale-white from the news of Layla's passing. Her heart nearly stopped when she heard the rest of the story concerning Lucy-chan and Jude.
"I'm afraid it is so, Grammi, since her passing 3 years ago, Lucy-sama and Jude-sama's relationship hasn't really been that good. They even had a fight a few days ago and she had since left the house." He sighed once more, "This family is in tatters and there was nothing I could do… forgive me."
Horror crept in her eyes as she realized the most likely cause of her death.
'The spell…'
"It a-all m-my fault…" Grammi whispered, her body trembling in realization.
She felt like she would have a panic attack at any moment.
"Grammi?" Hansel called her after noticing her behavior and becoming worried about the woman.
Bam!
"It's all my fault!" Grammi screamed as she fell from her seat.
"Mom, are you okay!?" Brandish came to her side and tried helping her mother up but was denied.
"Hansel, where is Lucy-chan!? I–I need to talk to her! I need to tell her the truth!" No matter what happened, she needed to tell Lucy-chan the truth. Even if the girl would hate her, despise her, Grammi didn't care. Her hesitation had cost her mentor's life… and she must face the consequences.
Hansel was caught off guard by her outburst.
"Woah there, calm down, Grammi. Lucy-sama is living in the woods—"
"—In the WOODS!?!?" Now, along with self-hatred, anger also began bubbling inside her. The picture of the young baby she once saw all those years ago losing her mother and now living outside made her want to tear everything apart! And these people did nothing to stop Jude!?
Recognising his soon to be doom unless he doesn't speak up, Hansel immediately tried to calm her down. "NO! No, I mean, not like that! She's perfectly safe and taken care of by a wonderful gentleman, who she been associating with since Layla-sama's passing."
Grammi grabbed Hansel by his collar and lifted the poor man off the ground with impressive strength, not listening to his words. "Where is she exactly!?"
Not wanting to further provoke her ire, he continued talking. "J-just follow the trail up the hill and after a ten-minute walk, you'll find a farm; Lucy lives there now… and she's quite happy about i—"
Not even giving him time to finish his words, Grammi dropped the old man to the floor and rushed out the gates!
"Hansel, please take care of my daughter, I'll be back soon!" Her voice echoed through the forest as she ran deeper into it.
"Ah, Grammi!?" Hansel tried to call her back but to no avail; she was already long gone. "That reckless girl hasn't changed a bit!" Here he was, thinking that all these years would have brought some form of maturity to Grammi. In the end, she was still acting like the same girl he knew from all those years ago.
"Mom!?" Brandish immediately tried to chase her mom but was stopped by Hansel. "Let me go!"
"I'm sorry young girl, but it's too dangerous out there without some protection! Stay here and I'll gather the others to go after her, okay?"
An enormous amount of Magic started gathering around her, "I said, let me go!! [Command T: Expansion!]"
"What the!?" To Hansel's surprise, the little girl grew to be twice as big as before! This broke his hold on her letting the young girl use this opportunity to run away. "W-wait, come back here!" He couldn't catch up to her. "Damn it! I need to call Zoldeo!" He fetched his communication lacrima and called the man but was again cut off. "Oh for crying out loud! Where is that boy now!? He's no better than Grammi!"
Hansel really wished he was back in his prime self, at least then he would have had the strength to prevent the little girl from endangering herself and possibly saving her himself.
"Oh gods above, please keep those two safe." He was left with no options but to pray and hope for the best.
{Break}
Grammi was running as fast as her legs could take her. "Haa! Haa! Lucy-chan! Haa! Haa! Whe-where are you!?" Running past the dense forest she searched everywhere for her mentor's child. "Lucy-chan!" She called out loud again, but heard nothing after that.
Unknown to her, a figure which blended in perfectly with the shadows of the forest, kept following her all this time. A sinister and crazed smile formed on the shadowy figure as it held on to a gleaming dagger, bursting with murderous intent as he slowly closed the distance between him and Grammi.
'So you finally came.'
He moved closer, his steps being shaky, but continued to move.
'I thought we mattered to you! Was everything you said, everything we've been through, was it all a lie!? Were you just using Layla-sama!?'
As it was close enough to her, it burst out from the shadows, revealing none other than Zoldeo who was waiting all this time for her arrival. 'You will pay for what you did to Layla-sama!'
He held his dagger tightly, his killing intent soaring with bloodlust in his eyes as he remembered Layla-sama laying in her bed, gone from the world. Lucy crying for her mother to not leave her, hugging her mother. The rest of the staff mourning her passing, hurt at losing someone that they saw as family. Without hesitation, he thrust the blade, ready to take revenge.
"Die!"
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu and Fate are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter.
