Target: Lucy

~*****~


"Still can't smell her?" Ballad wonders delicately as we soar through the air. I grimace and cross my arms over my chest. "Goodness, you get riled up fast when someone says they control you."

I shake my fist around. "That punk thinks she can control me?! I trained my body to resist sleeping spells, minor poisons, and even sound spells! There's no way some freaky chick with a creepy stick is gonna get me to wail on my friends!" My nose twitches violently and I grimace, gripping it tight. "Wait, I smell that funky old memento Lucy has." I mention.

My sight is momentarily blinded as a brilliant green shine fills the sky. "What the heck was that?" Ballad stammers.

"A signal flare of somethin'--" I mention as I rub at my eyes. "Somethin's wrong. We gotta find Lucy, and we've gotta hurry."

"Aye, miss!" Ballad chirped.

When we eventually find her, she was alone, trying to wake Michelle. "Lucy!" I shout as I land on the ground. "Are you guys okay?!"

Lucy stares up at me with a sad expression and begins to shake for a moment. "They were after my father's memento..." She murmurs delicately, her hands clutching on her legs as if it was going to keep her emotions in.

I don't say anything. I kneel down and lift Michelle upwards as Ballad sits on Lucy's lap, smiling up at her. "The most important thing right now, Lucy, is that you're unharmed." I explain delicately. "The second most important thing is to get Michelle to the guild hall."

"But my--"

I offer her a smile. "Your father's memento will be retrieved. I promise you. After all the time we've spent at Fairy Tail, shouldn't you know by now?" I ask as I start walking, glancing over my shoulder at her as she stumbles to her feet. "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."

Lucy seems to get her bearings and runs after me, her hand clutching onto my overcoat as if she were a small child.

Back at the guild hall, everyone went into discussion onto what happened. "What? Are you serious? The Legion Platoon?" Wakaba exclaimed.

"So, you're saying we were attacked by followers of Zentopia?" Cana asked.

Gildarts nods. "Yeah. There's no doubt about it."

"But why would the largest organized church in Fiore do something like that?" Macao wondered.

"I'm not entirely sure why. But the man I fought mentioned something about a holy war." Gildarts mentioned.

"All that matters is that they stole from Lucy!" Natsu barks angrily. "I swear, we are gonna get back what rightfully belongs to you."

Lucy nods delicately, her gaze pinned on the table. "It's not your fault they were able to take it," Happy mentioned. "That creepy girl had you under her controlling spell."

"I'm so sorry. I wish I could have done something to help you." Michelle murmurs.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Michelle," Lucy mutters softly. "It's all on me. Because I'm too weak."

I stare at her for a moment, angling my head up a little before rolling my eyes upwards and sighing. "A serious of church attacks just before the Zentopia Founding Festival. A mysterious clock hand inscribed with an ominous phrase. Which is also sought by The Legion Platoon. And now there's talk of a holy war."

"Well, there's one thing that's certain. Those guys made a big mistake when they chose to mess with a member of Fairy Tail." I mention lightly, my arms crossing over my chest as I languishly lean against the wall. "This thing is just gettin' started."

"Was anybody able to follow 'em and figure out where they were goin'?" Gray asked.

"Well, according to Warren, every single search team lost sight of them. But I agree with Aria. It's not over. Not by far." Erza stated.

Natsu slams his fist into his palm with a grin. "Oh yeah! So let's hunt 'em down and teach 'em a lesson that they're never gonna forget! Who's with me?!"

"Wouldn't be much fun if we stayed back, now would it?" I ask impishly.

"We need to try to make sense of what we're facing. The Legion Platoon attacks us to steal the clock hand, and during the battle, they mention a holy war. Why would they need that item?" Erza asks. "Does it play a role in this impending war? And to what is that strange inscription referring?"

I sigh irritably. "The clock is dangerous. I've heard many rumors surrounding some ancient artifact that was told to bring neverending chaos. Mind you, they're just rumors, but I suppose, if Lucy's managed to get the words transcribed, then it would make sense to assume that the chaos inscribed on the memento, could be one and the same with the Holy War that had been mentioned."

Natsu all of a sudden gets a pained look on his face. "I don't think your brain can handle this. You look lke you're in pain." Happy comments.

Natsu immediately flushed and turned his nose up. "Shut up, Happy."

"Chaos also means no more rules," Gray comments.

"Now this guy is makin' sense!" Natsu chirps.

"Slow down!" Ballad chirped. "The world needs rules to work like it's supposed to, so we can't just start goin' nuts!"

"Rules like taking someone's stuff makes you a thief?" Cana smirked.

"Or do unto others as you would have them do unto you?" Michelle chirps.

"Rules were created in order to protect people's freedoms and safety. Without them, there'd be strife and lawlessness." Makarov hummed.

"Do they think if they win the war they can change the rules?" Macao asked.

"I don't want those jerks deciding what's right or wrong." Wakaba hummed.

"They definitely have some warped ideas on justice, and stealing from Lucy doesn't strike me as holy." Gildarts hummed.

"We need some more clues." Lucy sighed.

Michelle's eyes cast down. "I had a thought. If they wanted the hand, maybe they're looking for other parts of the clock as well." Michelle suggests.

"If we can determine what their goal is, then perhaps we can figure out the significance of Lucy's keepsake," Erza hummed.

"I say we find out where they went, and then we can just ask them ourselves." Gray mentioned before elbowing Natsu. "Ya know? I'd like to try to make 'em talk."

"Sounds like fun to me! I'm in!" Natsu beamed.

"I don't even know where we should start looking." Lucy sighs.

"I'll see what my fortunetelling brings up," Cana suggests.

"That's right! Just leave it to my big baby girl!" Gildarts coos happily.

"You're embarrassing me!" Cana cries.

I give a laugh before heading to the doors. "I'll get in touch with a few buddies I used to roam around with. Hell, I think Marko and Cooper are due back from their job any minute now. We'll all get the word around." I hum.


~*****~


The next morning, we all headed out to Lucy's home. "Whoa, this place looks kinda familiar," Natsu chirped.

"It's where Lucy grew up," Erza commented.

"Does the family still own it?" Gray asks.

"Well, it looks like someone's been taking really good care of it!" Ballad hums.

"I suppose they'd want to keep it clean and well maintained until a buyer can be found," Carla mentions.

"Apparently, that hasn't been easy. People have checked it out, but nobody's made an offer. Well, except--" I cut Lucy off with a snort.

"Is it so bad that maybe I wanna give you your home back?" I ask irritably.

"How much money have you made on jobs, Aria?!" Gray shouts at me.

I wave my hand at him. "I do own land that does give me a pretty big sum every month in rent." I explain. "It didn't take long for me to get my horde back into regular standing. Especially with seven years of rent suddenly in the bank."

"There are such good memories here," Michelle sighs. "Your house always reminded me of a beautiful palace out of a storybook! I had so much fun here!"

"Wait, you've been here before?" Lucy asks.

My stomach twists as Michelle begins to wail again. "We-- We used to play together all the time."

"U-Uh, that's right! Of course we did!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Good going, Lucy," I retort irritably.

"Yeah, ya jerk," Natsu added.

Lucy glanced back at us in pure irritation. "You remember all the pretty clothes you made for me?" Michelle sniffled.

"Y-Yeah! Sure! I remember!" Lucy says as she taps her fingers together.

"You make clothes?" Wendy asks curiously.

"I never imagined you were the handy type," Carla added.

"I bet you two must have been adorable." Erza beams.

"She used to make the cutest outfits out of colored paper and flowers!" Michelle chirped.

"Damn," I giggle.

"Oh, wow," Gray chuckled.

"Wait, how would you be able to make clothes outta paper and flowers?" Natsu asked us. I grasped his scarf, tugged him down and whispered into his ear.

"DON'T BE CREEPY!" Lucy bellowed at us and knocking us on our asses. Erza drags all of us inside and gives us a good whallop on the head.

"Now, do you think you can finally be serious?" Erza asked us. Natsu and Gray were still feeling dazed from the lump on their heads while I sulked with my arms crossed. "Is that too much to ask?"

"No ma'am!" Happy, Gray, and Natsu exclaimed.

"Okay. Where do you think we should get started?" Wendy asked.

"Yes, and what type of clues should we be looking for?" Carla added.

"The first order of business is splitting into teams of two. Each team will take a different area and scour every room from top to bottom. We're looking for old clocks. Anything related to clocks. If something reminds you of the inscription, take note of it. And literature written in ancient Potamelian. Anything out of the ordinary. Clues may present themselves in any form, so keep an open mind." Erza explained.

We all break apart of search the house in our small groups. I have a small meltdown when Lucy mentions that she needs help with an anagram. We all convene in her father's library and I sit near the pile of letters with a pained look on my face. "Is a word puzzle that intimidating to you?" Wendy asks curiously as I peer down at a page with the letter A on it.

I scratch at my head angrily. "All these letters are just mixing up in front of me, it's hard to concentrate on 'em!" I exclaim as I grasp a paper, and in my haste, I accidently rip one. "Oh, wait, I know this word--" I comment as I toss some papers aside, earning shouts of irritation.

"Good job, Buddy!" Natsu chirped. "What the hell are we lookin' at?" Natsu asked.

We all flinch at Crux screaming. "The letters before you spell the word Myth." He says after screaming.

I glare up at him. "Any idiot could figure that out," I comment irritably. "It might be important."

"So, what can we spell with the other letters?" Erza asks. We rearrange the other letters-- I froth at the papers fluttering around-- and spell something else out. "Duo great myth." She mutters.

"Oh, I know! Check it out!" Lucy suddenly exclaims. "There's a pair of books known as the Two Great Myths! Both were written by Will Neville. One is called Life of the Clockwork and it also just happens to be where the strange inscription came from!"

"You have that book in your apartment!" Michelle states. "Isn't that right?"

"Yep! Talk about a coincidence! And the other book should be right here!" Lucy cheers. She holds up a small picture book and I sigh in relief. "Tada! Key of the Starry Heavens!"

"Isn't that just a picture book?" Natsu asks.

"Thank goodness," I sigh.

"It's not just a picture book. It's an amazing work of art!" Lucy exclaims.

"Well, whatever it is, I bet the word, key, is pretty important," Gray mentions.

Erza hums. "It seems like the perfect place to begin looking for a clue," Erza says.

"You guys think it could be another anagram?" Lucy asks.

"I hope not," I grimace. "I've got such a headache from the last one."

"Well, maybe if we look at it differently, we'll figure something out." Lucy suggests.

Carla gave a frightened gasp, causing a reaction in poor Ballad. I patted at her head as she sobbed into my shoulder. "What's the matter?" Wendy asks Carla as she stares at the book in horror.

"I don't know if there will be anything to do with the clock hand or not, but maybe my dad left some kind of message for me to find inside this book." Lucy explains. "Uh, is there something you'd like to share with the group, Happy?" She asks as Happy trots up with another picture book.

"This is one of my very favorite stories!" Happy chirped as he held up the story of the tortoise and the hare. "Some say the tortoise and the hare is an amazing work of art as well!"

"Would you be so kind as to hand over the book?" A strange voice echoed out.

"We're not gonna hand over Happy's favorite book!" I retort loudly.

There's a huff of amusement. "I don't find your joke to be very amusing. Sorry." Something forces the door open.

"What's going on?!" Natsu shouts.

"The door handle just blew up!" Gray exclaims.

"What a rudimentary understanding. What happened was the handle expanded to twice its size, which in turn, broke down the door." Says the voice as someone walks inwards through the smoke. I stare down at the cat wearing strange clothes.

"I don't believe it--" Carla gasps.

"He's an exceed!" Happy exclaims. "But he doesn't look like anyone I remember seeing in Extalia."

"He wasn't there," Ballad stammers as she peeks out from my neck. "He must've hatched from one of the eggs that were sent to Earthland all those years ago, just like us!"

"Tell us who you are!" Natsu orders immediately.

"The brains of the Legion Platoon. The name's Samuel." Samuel states.

"So you clowns came snoopin' around for us after all!" Gray snaps.

"Give back what you stole from us!" Natsu bellowed.

"I'll pass--"

"SAY WHAT?!" Natsu barked.

Cute little wings pop from his back. "I consider this an amazing feat. Really quite spectarularly played. I mean, I was certain you'd do exactly as I'd predicted by coming here and finding a clue. So, of course, you found one. I amaze myself." Samuel snorts.

"Can I turn him into a cat-sicle?" Gray asked irritably.

"Only if I can barbeque him as soon as your done!" Natsu retorted.

"Get in line, punks," I mention, tossing Ballad into the air. She gives a delighted chirp before swooping onto the ground.

"You ready?" Wendy asks.

"I am." Erza nods.

"Then let's go!" I bark. "Ice Dragon Cannon!"

"Ice Make Lance!" Gray shouts.

"You'll get nothing more from us!" Erza barks.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu roars.

At the last moment, someone appears in front of Samuel, taking the brunt of the attacks with ease and disperses it, destroying the building around us. "DON'T RUIN EVERYTHING! I JUST DECIDED THAT MY NUMBER ONE GOAL IN LIFE IS TO BUY THIS PLACE BACK SOME DAY!" Lucy cries.

"What just happened?!" Gray exclaimed. "Some guy came outta nowhere and deflected our attack!"

"Some guy? I'm the spearhead of the Legion Platoon." A new voice echoes. "My name is Dan Straight! So check me out!"

"Another personality disorder?" Happy asks.

"You guys saw what I did with my shield, right?" Dan asks excitedly. "It's called Ricochet! Get it? This baby takes any attack you can throw at it and sends it right back atcha!"

I hum in amazement. "Damn, that's a powerful shield."

"We gotta be careful about what we hit it with." Wendy exclaims.

I shrug. "More damage to the place kinda lowers the price, but I'm seriously afraid of that glare she's sending at me."

"Why do all you guys gotta be such pains in the butt?!" Natsu asked angrily.

"Come at me, it'll be the same as before!" Dan shouts.

"Not if I melt that thing first!" Natsu bellows as he leaps into the air, his arms slinging up and angling downwards to attack.

Steam hisses from my body as the shield shoots the attack back at us. "CAN WE TAKE THIS OUTSIDE?" Lucy shouts.

"That girl." Samuel points her out. "She's the one who has the book we need."

"Just relax, I'll keep it from them!" Lucy shouts. She holds up the book and peered over her shoulder. "You want the book right?" She shouts loudly. "Well come and get it! I dare ya!"

I hum delicately and begin knocking on my neck. "Don't worry, Lucy, I'll back you up." I mention as I trail after her, throwing my arm over my head. "Try your best~" I chirp loudly.

I give a sharp pivot on my feet as a giant lance slams into the ground in front of me. Just as I turn, Dan is standing there, wide eyes staring down at me. "KA-POW!" He immediately shouts, causing me to back up. "KA-POW!" Dan shouts again as he slams to his knees and pounds the ground with his fist. "Such beauty! It's as if love's arrow show me straight through the heart! But it just keeps beating stronger and stronger!"

"What the fuck?" I murmur as he continues to rant.

"It's almost too much for me to handle, but I can't get enough!" Dan exclaims before grasping my hand-- which is covered in scales and long talons. "And what do they call this loveliness?"

"Aria?" I stammer in confusion. I flinch backwards as he flails even harder at the mention.

"ARIA?! I just can't take it!" Dan exclaims before he begins repeating my name in different ways that I am so not comfortable with. He wipes at his eye after a moment. "Stunning perfection has a name! Mind if I call you Ari? Bluebell? Adorable? Ri-Ri?"

"I'd rather you didn't," I comment dryly.

Samuel sighs. "I feared for this." He mentions irritably.

Dan shouts in excitement again. "That voice! Those eyes! Those lips! That hair! That chest~" Dan chirps, his eyes scanning everywhere. I immediately sling my overcoat over my chest as I scowl. "That waist, those hips! Those legs! The perfect Fibonacci sequence in human form! Love on two legs! Beauty personified! L-O-V-E! Spells Love!"

I peer over at the others. "What the fuck?"

"True love~" Dan chirps, his hands pressed together in a heart shape.

"Aria!" I hear Erza shout and it shakes me out of my confusion.

"Stay back! No one comes between me and my love!" Dan bellows as Erza attacks, slamming her spear into the ground just as he leaps out of the way.

"Make a break for it, Lucy! They must not get their hands on that book!" Erza orders. "Aria, Michelle, you two are to join her!"

"You don't have to tell me twice, that dude is creepin' me out!" I exclaim as I back up quickly.

"As for the rest of you, cover the girls while they escape!" Erza orders again.

"Uh, I just blanked out." Wendy commented.

"We got too overwhelmed by that craziness," Gray mentions.

"Some nerve, she's totally not into guys like that!" Natsu shouts.

"Well, your ego seems to be extremely healthy," Samuel comments with a tilt of his head.

"You shouldn't underestimate us!" Dan comments.

"Let me beat up this jerk!" Natsu snaps.

"Your job here is to keep Lucy safe." Erza orders. My stomp my foot irritably.

"But I can--"

"Whether you like it or not, you've gotten his attention. It's up to you to protect Lucy, so I'd advise you to do your job." Erza snaps.

"Let's go!" Lucy orders, her hand wrapping around my arm.

I give a loud groan. "Fine!" I bark before following after them.

"I WASN'T FINISHED TALKING TO YOU!" Dan suddenly shouts.

There's another explosion as Ballad perches on my shoulder. I peer back anxiously and grimace. "Playing mouse to a freak cat and some super forward dude." I mention irritably.

"When the hell did you get here?" I hear Lucy chirp as I slam into her back.

"Just in time, I'd say. Your moves are quite easy to calculate. I simply needed to factor how someone in your panicked states would maneuver through this floor plan." Samuel mentions as I peer around Lucy.

"Time for me to shut you up!" Natsu bellows at the cat as he launches forward, fist reared back.

I give a sharp intake of breath as Dan returns and slams his spear into Natsu's chest, sending him out of the building. "Natsu!" Wendy exclaims. "How dare you hurt our friend!" Wendy cries. I feel the discrete movement of Lucy shoving the book into the back of my pants, securing it with my belt.

The hairs on my neck stand on end and I leap out of the way just in time for something to crash through the ceiling. I crash through the window and land on the ground besides Happy. "Did you see where Natsu went?" I ask in a panicked tone, my gaze looking every which way for the forward dude. "Hurry, before that freak comes back!"

Happy held up something small and I had to kneel down to peer at it. "Yeah, I kinda just accidentally stepped on him."

I inhale sharply and snatch him from Happy. "Oh, my goodness! Look at him! It's a Tiny Natsu! How adorable!" I chirp.

"By now, even you should've figured out that escape is impossible." Samuel comments as he hovers above us.

"How the heck did you shrink Natsu?" I ask as I hold up Tiny Natsu.

"Those gorgeous lips are asking the wrong person," Dan's voice leers. I immediately cringe, my spine tingling in disgust. "My weapon is Habaki. A spear that can change your size."

"So kindly hand over the book and we can be done with this unpleasantness." Samuel mentions as he lands in front of Dan. "Mary had such a heavy-handed approach to these kinds of situations. I much prefer a more intellectual solution."

"Screw you, pal!" Natsu shrieked from my shoulder.

"Catch, Happy!" I shout as I toss a fake book upwards.

"AYE, MA'AM!" Happy cheered and flew after it.

Dan began throwing a tantrum. "Hey! You can't just fly away like that!"

"Go! Go!" Natsu bellowed from atop his head.

"How simple minded," I hear Samuel comment before I feel a breeze over my back. I give a sharp screech as I slam my hands over my coat to stop it from showing any more skin to that freak. "This is the one we want."

"How the hell did you figure that out?!" I bark at the cat.

"Aw, man!" Natsu barked.

"He didn't fall for it!" Happy whined.

"Come on, spill it, ya freaky cat! You can't just tug on people's clothes without a reason!" I bark.

"I've considered every possible outcome. And I have made plans for each one of them." Samuel retorts nonchalantly. "Which means I will forever be a countless number of steps ahead of you." He gazes up just in time to see the others fly down for an attack. Dan redirects the attack as Samuel turns to us. "You can have the book back now! I've memorized every single page."

"Wait!" Lucy cries just before the attack destroys the courtyard.

I grit my teeth as I push myself through the rubble. "Goodbye, Ri-Ri!" I hear Dan shout as Samuel carts him away. "Next time we get together, let's have it be just you and me!"

"At least he left the book," Wendy mentioned as I sulked.

"After making absolute fools of us," Carla hummed.

"I can't stand guys like that," Gray growls.

"They will not be getting away with this." Erza snaps.

"COME BACK HERE AND MAKE ME NORMAL!" Natsu shouts.

Lucy grasps my shoulder as I squeeze the book against my chest. "'M sorry," I mutter to Lucy.

She offers me a kind smile. "We have the book still. It's all right. We can definitely work with this. I promise."

I crack my fist against my palm. "Gonna knock that cat off his block the next time I see him! He'll learn not to mess with us!"

Lucy giggles as I start stomping down the pathway.

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