Assessing Lucy

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

June 4, x784.

Around the time the usual training session ended at the guild hall, Elicia and Lucy returned from shopping and putting all of Lucy's new furniture in her apartment. However, just as they walked into the guild hall, they saw a young boy, about six years old, with black hair and eyes shouting at Makarov.

"He's been gone for a week!" The young boy shouted in agitation. "But he said he would be back in three days!"

"Listen, Kid." Makarov said in an annoyed tone. "Macao is a wizard. A strong one. You need to have more faith in your old man."

"Oh, it's little Romeo." Elicia said after noticing who the boy was.

Romeo, or Romeo Conbolt, is the son of Macao and his ex-wife, Enno. Coming to love wizards and magic because of both his parents occupation and former occupation respectively, Romeo spends as much of his time as he can at the guild hall. So, everyone knows him.

"Why won't you just send someone to MT. Hakobe to help him if he's in danger?" Romeo asked on the verge of tears. "I hate you all!"

As he spoke his last words, Romeo kicked Makarov in the shin, causing the old man to grab his leg and hop around in pain. Then, Romeo ran past Elicia and Lucy before exiting the guild with his tears finally falling from his eyes.

Shortly after Romeo left, Natsu also got up from his seat at the table with his friends. Then, without a word, he walked out of the guild's front doors. Happy also followed him, flying through the doors before landing on Natsu's shoulder.

"Bye Lici, bye Lucy." Happy said, waving at the girls as Natsu walked away.

"Huh? Where are they going?" Lucy asked as she watched Natsu walk away. "He didn't even say hi."

"They're probably going to find Macao." Elicia replied. "Most of the members in the guild have lost their parents or grown up without knowing them at all. I bet he doesn't want Romeo to go through the same thing."

"Huh?" Lucy exclaimed, turning her attention toward Elicia.

"Natsu also doesn't know where his father went." Elicia continued. "One day, his father left him in a forest and just disappeared."

"That's…" Lucy muttered, not knowing exactly what to say.

"Oh, and did I mention that Natsu's father was a dragon?" Elicia asked with a smile.

""A what?" Lucy exclaimed loudly.

At the same time, Lucy imagined a large, winged, reptilian being breathing fire and destroying a town.

"Yeah, I guess I could see that." Lucy said with a nod.

"Anyway, do you wanna go with him?" Elicia asked with a smile.

"Is that okay?" Lucy asked curiously.

"Why not?" Elicia replied with a shrug. "I'm an S-Class wizard, so it would be much safer, right?"

With that, Elicia turned around, not before winking at Alfonzo, who was sitting at their usual table, though. Then, she headed toward the Escalade that was parked just outside the guild hall.

It did not take long for Lucy to follow her with a smile on her face.

About ten minutes later, just as they left the town gates, Elicia and Lucy saw Natsu walking down the road toward Mt. Hakobe.

*Honk!* *Honk!*

Hearin the car horn behind him, Natsu stopped and turned to see where it came from. Not long later, Elicia pulled the Escalade up next to him and rolled down the window.

"Hey there, need a lift?" Elicia asked with a smile.

Immediately, Natsu's face paled at the thought of riding in a vehicle. However, he also understood that he would arrive faster if he accepted the offer. So, firming his resolve, he reached for the driver side's back door. However, before he could open it, a loud shout stopped him.

"Hold it right there, Natsu." Elicia shouted as she pushed her own door open. "There's no way I'm gonna take the chance that you're gonna puke all over the back seat. You're riding back here."

As she spoke, Elicia walked toward the Escalade's trunk. Then she swiftly opened it and laid a tarp down behind the backseat. Once she was done spreading it out and using her threads to secure it, she patted it a few times with a smile on her face.

"Come now, your chariot awaits." Elicia said with a smile.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Mt. Hakobe.

"Macao~~~! Where are you~~~?" Natsu shouted in an attempt to find Macao.

A few hours after picking up Natsu and Happy, the group of four were walking through a snowstorm while climbing Mt. Hakobe. While Elicia, Natsu, and Happy, who sat on Natsu's shoulder, waled as if they were completely unbothered by the temperature, Lucy was not having such a good time.

"Why does it look like this isn't bothering the three of you at all?" Lucy asked while hugging herself and shivering.

"Because it's not?" Natsu replied in an uncertain tone.

"That doesn't answer my question!" Lucy shouted in an irritated tone.

"Well, it's because Natsu's naturally high-temperature is keeping himself and Happy warm." Elicia said with a shrug.

"And what about you, Lici?" Lucy asked, turning her attention to the older girl.

"It's because I'm circulating my magic power at high-speed." Elicia explained. "And that's what's keeping me warm. You'd be surprised just how much your magic power can regulate your body's functions."

"I'm circulating my magic power, too." Lucy said with her teeth chattering. "But I'm still freezing."

'That's one thing we'll have to work on in her training.' Elicia thought. 'She may be circulating her magic power, but it's way to slow to make a difference. She really needs more control. And her reserves are a little low, as well. She probably hasn't done much in the way of real training before.'

In fact, that was the whole reason Elicia tagged along on this trip. In the canon version of events, Natsu basically handles the whole situation alone. But that's after interrupting the fight between Lucy and the vulcan that serves as the antagonist for that episode.

'Fonzie won't be able to make a training plan without knowing what she's capable of, after all.' Elicia thought to herself as she continued walking along with the group.

"Ugh… I can't take this!" Lucy shouted. Then, she reached into the pouch on her waist that held her Celestial Spirit Keys and pulled out a silver key before channeling her magic power into it. "[Open! Gate of the Clock Constellation, Horologium]."

A moment later, in a flash of light, a bipedal grandfather clock with arms and a… face on its clock face appeared In the place where Lucy once stood. And sitting inside the clock, visible through the pane of glass on its front, was Lucy, huddled up and rubbing her arms. At the same time, her lips were moving, but neither Elicia, Natsu, or Happy could hear what she was saying.

"Huh? We can't hear you, Lucy." Natsu said while cupping a hand around his ear.

"It's way too cold out there. She says." Horologium said, relaying Lucy's words. "I'll stay in here, where it's nice and warm. She continued."

Before anyone could respond, a shadow appeared from the snowstorm. Then, it quickly approached and kicked Natsu from behind, sending him flying a short distance away from the group. Then, it grabbed Elicia, who continued to smile without resisting. A moment later, it jumped in front of Horologium, staring into the spirit's interior. Or, to be more precise, staring at Lucy, with a perverted gaze.

"Is that a monkey? She shouted in a disbelieving tone." Horologium said, relaying Lucy's words.

"Woman! Woman! Me like woman!" the monkey, or vulcan said excitedly.

A moment later, the ten foot (3 m) tall vulcan, picked up Horologium with one hand. Then, with Elicia in one arm and Horologium in the other, it jumped away, returning to its lair.

"Damn it!" Natsu shouted as he returned to where the group once stood. "Get back here! Give back Lici and Lucy! And where's Macao?"

Natsu quickly followed the vulcan as best he could while Happy flew ahead to make sure Natsu didn't lose it.

A few minutes later, inside an ice cavern, the vulcan put Elicia and Horologium on the ground. Then, it started dancing around the cavern while beating its chest in happiness.

"Why does it look so happy it caught us? She asked in a confused tone." Horologium said. "*Gasp* Is it going to eat us? She asked, now sounding a bit scared."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it wants to eat us." Elicia said in a disgusted tone. "But not in the way you're thinking."

"What do you--- Are you serious? She asked in abject horror." Horologium said.

"Yeah, vulcans are perverts that kidnap women all the time." Elicia replied. "I remember coming here during their mating season on a quest a few years ago. That was horrible."

"Woman! Woman!" The vulcan shouted as it ended its dance.

After dancing, the vulcan approached Elicia and Lucy with a lecherous smile on its face.

"This is so--- *Beep* *Beep* *Beep*" Horologium began to say, relaying Lucy's words.

Before he could finish, however, an alarm sounded. Then, Horologium burst into a cloud of smoke. In the next instant, the sound of Lucy falling to the floor of the cave could be heard.

"Horologium! Where did you go?" Lucy shouted in a tone of despair.

"Sorry, but it would seem my time is up." Horologium's voice echoed throughout the cave.

"Give me an Extension! Please!" Lucy shouted as she backed away from the approaching vulcan.

"Woman! Woman! Me like woman!" The vulcan chanted.

"Elicia, save me!" Lucy said while running behind Elicia.

"I think you should try fighting it, Lucy." Elicia said, still smiling despite the situation they were in.

"But you could beat this thing in a second, right?" Lucy asked, not understanding why Elicia wanted her to fight.

"Yeah, that's true." Elicia replied with a nod. "But you won't always be with me. I have to make sure that you can defend yourself. It will help us know what kind of quests you can take, too."

"But…" Lucy started to speak in protest.

Before she could finish, however, the vulcan was punched in the face and sent rolling to the side.

"Natsu! You found us!" Lucy cheered happily.

"Hey, monkey! Where is Macao?" Natsu shouted, ignoring Lucy, who was clearly unharmed.

"Huh?" The vulcan grunted, confused by Natsu's question.

"A man… He came here before us." Natsu explained.

"Oh!" The vulcan exclaimed at the explanation.

Then, the vulcan pointed in a certain direction. A moment later, it started walking in that direction. Natsu, thinking the vulcan was leading him to Macao, followed with an excited smile on his face.

Eventually, the vulcan came to a cave exit that was not too far away. Then, he pointed outside. Following the vulcan's directions, Natsu walked out of the exit. When he did, he saw that it led to a cliff. Naturally, this made Natsu worried, thinking that Macao had fallen off the cliff.

"Macao! Are you down there?" Natsu shouted down the cliff. "Hold on, I'll--- Ahh~~~~~~~!"

Taking advantage of the fact that Natsu's back was facing it, the vulcan kicked Natsu in the back, sending him over the cliff. Then, it turned around and returned to the cave.

Unbeknownst to the vulcan, however, a blue blur flew down the cave after Natsu.

"No like man!" The vulcan said as it returned to the cave with Elicia and Lucy. "Me like woman!"

"Hey, where's Natsu?" Lucy asked with worry in her tone.

"Don't worry, he's fine." Elicia said. "Now, go and beat that thing."

"You're really not gonna fight it, are you?" Lucy asked with her shoulders slumped.

"Nope." Elicia replied with a smile.

"*Sigh* Fine." Lucy said as she took a step forward.

Seeing Lucy walk toward it, the vulcan started breathing heavily with its nostrils flared and steam shooting out of them.

"Eww! So gross." Lucy said as she reached into her pouch once again. Then, she pulled out another key. Though it was golden this time. "[Open! Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus]!"

In the next instant, a minotaur with white and black patterned fur, black wrestling trunks, black boots, a nose ring, a red studded belt with a golden buckle around its waist, brown fingerless gloves, a cowbell around its neck, and a second belt worn around its torso from its right shoulder to left waist that secured a massive axe to its back appeared.

"Well, hello Miss Lucy." Taurus said as soon as he appeared. "I see you're looking moo~ighty fine today. Oh, and who's this fine lady you have with you?"

"Ugh… Taurus might be just as big a pervert as that monkey." Lucy said in an exasperated tone.

"It's nice to meet you, Taurus." Elicia said with a smile. "I'm Elicia. And you better not get any funny ideas. My fiancé is a great cook and he's really good at cooking steak."

At that, Taurus shivered.

"Get away from my woman!" The vulcan roared before the conversation could continue.

"Your woman?" Taurus said as he turned around with his eyes narrowed. "Thems fighting words."

With that, Taurus charged toward the vulcan, pulling his axe off his back along the way. Then, with the skill of an expert, he swung the axe at the vulcan's chest. To the vulcan's surprise, the axe arrived much faster than it expected and it was struck. However, due to its natural magic power defense, It was not cut. However, it was sent flying into a cave wall.

Just as Taurus was about to follow up, he felt a high temperature next to the side of his head. Turning toward the high temperature, he was shocked into stumbling back. What he saw was a flame floating only inches away.

"Hey, Lici!" Natsu, the source of the flame, shouted in an agitated tone as he was immobilized by an uncountable number of threads. "What's the big idea? And why are you stopping me from beating up the new monster?"

"Alright, take it easy Natsu." Elicia said with her hands extended toward Natsu. "How would you feel if someone interrupted your fight? This one's Lucy's."

"Huh?" Natsu showed confusion.

"Besides, that's not a monster." Lucy said, pointing at Taurus. "He's one of my spirits."

"Huh?" Natsu grew even more confused. This time, they could see question marks made of fire floating over his head.

"Just sit back and watch." Elicia said, pulling Natsu next to her. "You can step in if Lucy can't handle it."

"Tch! Fine." Natsu said with a click of his tongue.

"Get 'em, Taurus!" Lucy shouted.

"Ah, Yes, Miss Lucy." Taurus said, putting his game face back on. "And if I win, how bout giving me a little s-moo~ch?"

"I'll think about it." Lucy said with annoyance. "Now, just take it down."

"Yeah!" Taurus cheered excitedly.

With that, Taurus charged toward the Vulcan, swinging his axe masterfully. Although most of the swings missed, the few that landed dealt significant damage to the vulcan. Eventually, the vulcan was able to make some distance. As soon as it did, it charged toward Lucy.

The vulcan, though not particularly intelligent, was smart enough to understand that Lucy was the one in control of the big cow that was beating it up. So, it wanted to use her to stop it.

Meanwhile, Lucy backed away from the oncoming vulcan, not knowing what to do.

'It looks like we'll need to make her capable of fighting independent of her Spirits, too." Elicia thought to herself. 'I wonder if Sorano would be willing to help with that. Either way, teaching her how to fight shouldn't be too hard… I hope.'

While Natsu was ready to charge forward to protect Lucy, Elicia simply flicked her fingers. Then, Lucy was yanked out of the way of the charging vulcan.

"How dear you attack Miss Lucy!" Taurus shouted in anger. Then, he leapt into the air with his axe raised over his head. [Rampage]!"

In the next instant, Taurus swung his axe down as he fell.

*Boom!*

When the axe collided with the ground, a localized earthquake was created. The strange thing about this earthquake, however, was the fact that it only affected the ground in a straight line toward the vulcan. As it traveled forward, many rocks were thrown at the vulcan, pelting it with small and large projectiles.

Eventually, a roc larger than it could handle struck the vulcan and sent it flying into the wall of the cave, unconscious.

"Taurus, you did it!" Lucy cheered happily.

"Now, how bout that s-moo~ch?" Taurus asked.

In the next instant, however, Taurus was covered n a golden light before disappearing.

"Maybe next time, Taurus." Lucy said while shaking her head.

"No! My s-moo~ch!" Taurus shouted with despair in his tone as he disappeared.

"Now, we need to find Macao!" Natsu shouted as he charged toward the unconscious vulcan.

However, before he could cover half the distance, the vulcan began glowing in white light. Then, it's figure started to shrink. By the time the light stopped shining, it had taken the form of an average sized man. And when the glow disappeared completely, it revealed Macao, also unconscious.

"Macao?" Natsu asked in confusion.

"The vulcan must have possessed him." Happy said. "That's how vulcan's survive after all."

"We can talk about that later." Elicia said in a serious tone. "For now, we need to treat his injuries."

With that, Elicia started making bandages out of her threads while the other three started wrapping Macao's injuries.