Love and Lucky

As twilight fell in Magnolia, the bell tolled, creating a very loud and audible chime that reverberated around the area. Ping trudged through the alleyway while carrying what looked like brown bags of groceries or food. She looked ahead of her with a strict emotion. She flashed back to when she was so close to eliminating the Avatar, but she was quickly overpowered and had to retreat. She had disgraced the Fire Nation by running away but she had to so she could get another chance to kill him again! There was a thought that kept nagging her, however.
"The Avatar… can use magic…! He's more of a threat than ever to the Fire Nation. He must be taken care of soon," she growled from within her own subconscious. Concentrating on these thoughts, she failed to notice a hooded figure walking in the opposite direction. Ping saw the figure just in time but expected him to move, and when he didn't the resulting collision made Ping drop the groceries she was carrying. This world continued to make Ping lose her patience; she didn't know why Chun and Hen liked it so much. She glared at the figure that had bumped into her laying on the ground. In the commotion, his hood had fallen off, showing his face which sported a blonde beard. "Watch where you're going you filthy peasant!" She snarled. She picked up the groceries and continued her walk to the others but not before leaving a few choice words for the man. "Weakling rats like you who roam the streets disgust me! And vermin like you… need to be exterminated!" Ping spat before continuing on her way. The man, looking slightly shaken by Ping's words, continued on his way as well.
----Meanwhile, inside Fairy Tail, Lucy and Katara were sitting at a table together. The former had her head down on the table. Gray, Elfman, Juvia, Ty Lee and Toph were sitting at the bar while Mira dried some plates, her expression as cheerful as always.
"It's been awfully quiet around here these days," Ty Lee commented.
"At least things have died down since the whole Avatar State fiasco, but I'm bored as hell." Toph said, planting her head on the bar.
"Aw, don't be like that Toph!" Mira said. "It's nice to have days like this once in a while. It is kind of lonely, though."
Katara noticed that Lucy was looking rather glum. "Lucy, is everything alright?"
"I'm just worried about how we are going to make rent this month. And you already contributed your share," she whined, flat tears going down her face.
"Now that you mention it… Hey, why don't you go on a job?" Katara inquired.
"I wish I could; Natsu, Aang, and Happy are out on a job right now. I don't want to have to do a job alone."
"Well then, why don't the two of us go on a job? I mean sure we live together, but we rarely work together you know."
Lucy stood up in surprise. "Are you sure about that? I mean wouldn't you rather go with Ty Lee or Toph?" she asked feeling unsure about herself.
"But I haven't been on a job with you before. Think about it, it will be just us girls. It'll be fun."
"Seriously?" Lucy lightly gasped.
"Yeah, why not?"
Katara was slightly surprised when Lucy hugged her. The blonde was comically crying. "You're awesome, Katara! Thanks for being someone I can always count on."
Katara smiled warmly after Lucy's surprise embrace. "Yeah, what are best friends for?"
The others at the bar were watching their interaction. "Those two have really gotten along well," Mira commented.
"You got that right Mira." Ty Lee chirped. "Katara's aura is blue and wavy, similar to the calmness of the water. Yet Lucy's is like golden sparkles, which indicate how kind and pure she is. They may be different but they both flow really well."
"Juvia has also noticed this as well when we were in the Tower of Heaven," Juvia said.
"Kinda hard to disagree with you guys, Sugar Queen and Princess are scarily similar, in that they are both hot-tempered, easily angered, saps, and total cry-babies." The group laughs at Toph's comment. However, the blind Earthbender quickly felt a presence from outside the guild doorway. She shifted her feet to get a better feel of the person.
"Hey, Toph, you alright there?" Elfman asked.
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Just testing something." Toph could feel the presence leave and her thoughts began to race. "I don't know who ever that guy way, yet there was something… familiar about him." As Toph was thinking, Gray was glaring at the doorway as well.
Lucy put on her jacket. "So, let's head home." Lucy said.
Katara gave a nod but she felt a hand grab her wrist. "Huh, Toph?" She looked to Lucy. "It's okay, I'll catch up."
"Okay." Lucy began walking out of the guild.
"What's up Toph?"
"I think Lucy's got a stalker and not the good kind."
"You think it could be… them?" she asked.
"If you mean the guys from the Fire Nation who are after us…? Doubt it… His stance seemed weak for some reason, yet it slightly feels familiar to me. Lucy could be in danger; we have to make sure that nothing happens to her."
"Okay," Katara nodded. Both girls followed Lucy by a fair distance as she walked back to her home.
----Lucy balanced on the wall that separated the street from the river while Plue walked next to her, shivering as usual. "Tomorrow's… gonna be a fun… day of work!" Lucy sang to herself.
The usual person who rowed his boat across the river saw her. "Lucy, be careful," he warned.
"I'm fine, just fine!" she assured. "I wonder what I should wear tomorrow?" she asked herself.
"Be careful on your way home." the boater said.
"Thanks." As she walked with her eyes closed, the same figure that was lurking around earlier in the day was looking at Lucy from an alley. The blonde, sensing a weird presence, stopped walking to find the mysterious, cloaked figure staring at her. When she sees him, she gets frightened and begins to jog back to her apartment and Plue was keeping up the same pace beside her. "I knew it! Someone is watching me!" She turned to see the figure running to keep up and when he saw her stop he ducked into an alley, but he wasn't doing a very good job of being inconspicuous because Lucy could fully see the cloaked figure. Lucy was shocked. "He's following me!" She started sprinting and turned around but the figure was gone. Plue, feeling exhausted, disappeared in a yellow light, going back to the Spirit World. She was slightly relieved to find that the figure wasn't following her anymore. That was until she heard in a bellowing voice…
"Lucy!"
Lucy comically screamed, but before anything could happen a large stream of water was shot from the lake and into the hooded figure which sent him jetting to a wall. He tried to get up but saw that his hands were encased in ice, freezing them to the wall. He then noticed rock restraints binding his midsection and legs so he couldn't escape.
"Not a very skilled stalker, are you?" Toph said, making Lucy jump in surprise. Katara ran up to the two of them. "Lucy, are you okay?" she asked with worry.
"I'm fine. Thanks, you guys." The restraints holding the man were released and Toph grabbed the figure by the collar and lifted him to his feet. Toph made her right hand into a large earth gauntlet and reeled it back.
"Okay pal, you've got about ten seconds to explain why you're stalking our friend; and if I don't like it, you better be ready for the most unpleasant dirt-fight of your life!" Toph threatened as she cocked her rocky fist like one would cock a gun. Lucy removed his hood and was surprised at who it was.
"No way… father?" Lucy whispered.
"Yes, Lucy it's me. Your dad…" Jude said as his hair was a lot longer and his beard grew, indicating that he had been on the road for a while. Underneath the cloth, he wore his brown suit and purple tie.
Toph tightened her grip with her left hand. "Wait, you're Lucy's dad!? The same prick who sicced Phantom Lord on us!? That makes me wanna pound him even more!" she exclaimed as she pulled her right arm back even further.
Katara angrily had her arms folded. "After all that you've done to Lucy and our guild, I don't see why I shouldn't let Toph pound you."
"Well, that's one vote. What about you Princess? You want me to give the old man what's coming to him?"
"N-no. I'll handle this," Lucy said in a stern tone.
"What!?" Toph exclaimed.
"Lucy, are you sure?" Katara asked.
The blonde mage nodded. "Yes, he's my father so that make it my problem. Don't worry I'll be fine."
Toph released her grip and let the earth on her right arm fall to the ground. Both Katara and Toph walked away but not before Toph gave Jude a hard punch to his ribs. "I'm watching you!" Once they are gone, Lucy looks at her father.
"Why are you here and… what's with those clothes?" Lucy asked.
"Heartfilia Railways was confiscated," Jude said. "I've lost everything, my company, my home, my money." Lucy gasped at his revelation. "All the private property was used as collateral, see… Is this my reward for being a serious businessman all these years instead of spending time with my family?"
Lucy still had a slight glare on her face. "W-wait, the house? That's where mom's grave is!" she exclaimed. Jude handed her a piece of paper which Lucy accepted.
"I transferred it here," he said. "It's not so much sad, as it is laughable. That much wealth, gone in an instant... All my long years of achievement, to naught in a single night…" he said while looking at the sky while raising his arms up to his sides. "The money I worked so hard for, I even sacrificed my family. It's laughable! What a farce!" With that he began laughing in a psychotic manner while Lucy clenched her hand that held the location of her mother's new resting place.
"Why have you come here?" Lucy was glaring at her father, clearly not interested in what he had to say.
"To see my daughter's face, Lucy."
She turned away from him. "Why now?" She turned back to him. "And I remember telling you not to lay a hand on Fairy Tail!"
"I don't have that kind of power now. I only came to see how my daughter was doing," he said with a slight smile. Lucy stared at the ground, her face twisted in anger. "Please, don't give me that kind of look. I'm sorry about everything that happened." He apologized. "I don't plan to stay here long. I'm going to go work at a trade guild in Acalypha. I'm going to start all over again."
Lucy turned to face him again. "Acalypha?" she questioned.
"You'll see it soon if you travel west from here."
"I see." Lucy had her eyes closed. Maybe she and her father could repair their broken relationship…
"So about that Lucy. I'm going to need some money." … or not... Lucy's eyes began to grow. "100,000 jewel would be enough. Would you lend it to me?"
Lucy was shocked that he was asking for so much, far beyond what Lucy currently had. "T-that much money? There's no way I have that!"
"That much? It's just 100,000!" He yelled. "You're my daughter. I'm sure you have that much money lying around." Lucy could hardly believe what she was hearing.
"What the hell are you spouting?"
"MONEY!" He exclaimed. " I am setting my pride aside to beg you for it! Yes, even I! Now, give me money!" he rudely demanded.
Lucy began to have flashbacks of how badly her father treated her. "I don't know what you're saying…"
"Is this any way to treat your father? After everything I have done for you? I have made so many sacrifices for you, and this is how you repay me?"
Slap. 
"I told you back then, remember?" Lucy said, fuming. "I never wanted dresses, a fortune, or anything fancy - all I ever wanted was to be respected! Fairy Tail is a much more loving family." Lucy paused to calm her breathing. "…And the same goes for you, Father." Lucy continued. "You don't have any fortunes waiting for you!" When Lucy said this, Jude was beginning to shake but he didn't give up.
"LUCY!" He yelled.
"LEAVE!" She screamed. "If you come near me again, I'll get my friends to deal with you!" She ran past her father and he extended an arm to reach out to her but he didn't follow her. He turned around and started walking away. Lucy had tears developing in her eyes. "I don't believe it! How could he stoop so low!?"
Lucy was close to her apartment and looked down the alley that was in between it. "You guys can come out, I know you're there." Lucy said with a sniff. Both Katara and Toph step out into the moonlight to face Lucy. "How much did you guys hear?"
"Enough," Katara responded.
Toph punched her fist into her left palm. "That scum, I can't believe he did that. Hey Lucy, I can still feel his footsteps. If you want I could knock all his teeth in."
"No, he isn't worth the effort," Lucy said.
Katara gave Lucy a concerned look and saw that she was on the verge of crying. "Would you like some company?" Lucy nodded gratefully.
…
The three girls later get to the apartment. Toph's eyes grew wide. Lucy noticed that Toph stopped walking. "Toph, what's wrong?"
"I'm so getting tired of this." She stomped hard on the ground which sent a small earth column to a wooden wall that was by the river. An explosion of earth occurs and Gray is sent flying out and lands in the street.
"That hurt, you jerk!" Gray said lying on his butt in nothing but his boxers.
"Gray." Lucy said, surprised.
"Gray, why are you lurking around?" Katara asked.
"Duh, he's following Lucy too." Toph joked. "Well, you're wasting your time. Lucy loves Natsu, so you're making your move a little late buddy." She smirked.
"H-hey that's not true!" Lucy retorted.
Gray began to explain himself. "I heard that Lucy was being followed by someone suspicious, so I couldn't leave her alone. I came to see how she was doing." He began to look away in slight embarrassment.
Toph stifled a laugh before she said… "He liiikes her!"
Gray's head grew in anger. "What kind of a running joke is that!?"
"Yeah, we get it you're a perv, Gray." Toph said.
"NO I'm not!"
Katara gave a neutral look to Gray. "Gray, you're wearing nothing but boxers."
"See! The stalking, the perverse stripping problem… sounds like a full blown per-"
Gray got up and he growled at Toph and made a column of ice speed past her. "I ain't gonna let you say it, no way!"
"What? The fact that you strip and stalk girls makes you look like a giant per-"
"Shut up, you mud throwing brat!" Gray said getting into a fighting stance.
"So it's a fight you want. Alright, I'll be glad to kick your ass into next week. Since Gajeel is on a job, I guess you'll suffice."
The two began fighting and a dust cloud was made. Lucy was screaming to the two of them. "Please don't fight in front of people's houses!" Lucy yelled. She gave a sigh and Katara placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You and I both know that this will go on for a while. Let's just get inside." Katara led the two of them inside and Lucy smiled at the usual hijinks that were happening in front of her.
…
They both enter the apartment and Katara plops herself down on the couch and gave a long sigh. "What a day." She noticed Lucy looking to the ground. "Lucy, what's wrong?"
"Katara, is it alright if I ask something personal?" Lucy asked.
"I don't see why not, sure. What do you want to ask me?"
"What… what is your father like?"
"Well, what else is there to say? He's a great guy but, three years after Mom died he left to go fight in the war. So that left Sokka and me with our Gran Gran. I was even mad at him for a short time, but he's very caring and persistent, he'll never give up until the very end. Honestly, I couldn't ask for a better father."
"Sounds like an awesome guy." Lucy complimented with a smile.
"Yeah, he sure is. I just hope he's doing okay back in our world."
"Yeah." Lucy nods but her smile disappears and she looks down to the ground with her bangs covering her eyes. "Hey, just between you and me… I've always been… well… kinda jealous of you." Lucy admitted.
Katara was shocked to hear that, so much so that she stood up to her feet. "J-jealous of me?"
"Yeah I mean, you lost your mom just like I did; but you still had your dad, grandmother, and your brother; albeit an annoying one, but you weren't alone; you always had someone. You're way more put together than I am. I didn't have anyone after my mom died; sure I had a few maids and stuff at the estate, but it wasn't the same. My dad may have still been around, but as you know it wasn't exactly a happy time for me. Who I really had was just Aquarius, and well… you know how she is, but I liked her company. I was… just… so alone."
Katara could sympathize with Lucy, even though Katara had lost her mother as well, she still had supportive people around her. Lucy, on the other hand, had close to no one to be there for her.
"Heck, I'm even jealous of Zuko! His dad was WAY more horrible than mine, and look at how he's doing now." Tears were starting to fall from Lucy's closed eyes. "Even after all of this, all my father wants from me is money!" She exclaimed. "Nothing has changed; all he really cares about is his money."
Right after Lucy said this Katara quickly hugged her. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. I knew it was bad, but I had no idea of how much you suffered. And you're wrong if I was put into the same situation that you were put into. I don't think that I would be so well put together as you said. But that doesn't mean you're not strong yourself."
They both let go of each other and Lucy gave Katara a questionable look. "What do you mean?"
"Despite everything you've been through. You're still on your feet, trying to make a living. Despite what happened, nothing stopped you from joining Fairy Tail. You have your own place, a job. You may have been through a lot, but you're not rock bottom; and you never will be, not when I'm around. Fairy Tail has been there for you no matter what. And I'll do the same, it's the least I can do."
Lucy rubbed her eyes. "Thank you so much Katara."
"No problem Lucy, we should probably get some rest for the job tomorrow."
Lucy balled her fist and pumped it. "Okay." She confidently said.
----The next day, Lucy was sitting at a table with Katara and Toph. 
"So, you feeling alright since last night, Princess?" Toph asked.
Lucy smiled. "Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better."
"And if he shows up again, just say the word and I'm going to throw him into the dirt," Toph said with a wink.
Lucy smiled and closed her eyes. "Y'know I'm actually considering it."
"Family issues?" the three faced Mai who was giving her regular stoic face. "I can relate too."
"Mai, how did you-?"
"I heard this while Ty Lee and I were on the way to Fairy Hills, that and Toph calling Gray a pervert."
Toph smirked. "Heh, guilty as charged."
"So, what was your family like?" Lucy asked.
"Hmm, well just like any other dysfunctional family. My dad was very high up in the Fire Nation hierarchy, so naturally, all eyes would be on us. They made sure that I was their perfect little girl, well behaved and well mannered. My reward, anything I wanted… Materially speaking, of course, family love was way out of the question."
"I guess I'm not the only one who dealt with something like this," Lucy said.
"If it were up to me, I would have let Toph hurt him." Mai said.
Katara stands up. "Well, should we go on that job now?"
Lucy excitedly stood up. "Yeah."
"Hey… mind if I tag along." Toph asked. "Since Gajeel isn't here, it's kind of boring around here without constant fighting going on."
"Sure, you're my friend too." Lucy said.
"Alright, time to bust some heads…" Toph excitedly said.
"Hey Mai, do you want to come too?" Katara asked.
Mai shrugged. "Why not? Beats just sitting here. Plus, I'm sure Ty Lee can just hang out with Suki or something. So what kind of job are we going on?"
"I uhh… actually, haven't thought about that." Lucy said.
Mai showed the group a wanted poster. "Well, I was going to do this job with Ty Lee. We have to catch this guy named Velemo. He uses powerful magic apparently."
"How much is it worth?" Toph asked.
"600'000 jewel per person." She looked at Lucy. "That enough for your rent Lucy?"
"Are you kidding!? That's enough for six months! Let's do it!" Lucy excitedly said.
While they were standing before the request board, Macao and Wakaba were talking at a table over a couple drinks while Mira was standing over them. "Hey, did you hear what's happening in Acalypha?" Macao said.
"Some trade guild was being held up by a group of armed robbers." Wakaba replied.
"Damn, what a shame."
Lucy had a concern on her face. "Acalypha?"
"And that armed group is actually the Dark Guild, Naked Mummy." Macao added.
"Seriously? Then the army ain't gonna be able to handle them…" Wakaba said before Mira gave her input.
"Lately, the number of Dark Guild incidents has increased a lot. It could be very dangerous."
Lucy remembered that her father said that he was going to work in a trade guild in Acalypha. Right after remembering his words it all hit her. "Father!" she thought. She started to clench her right fist. "It doesn't matter what happens to him… it's not my job…"
Toph sighed and walked over to the table. "Yo, guys! Where is this happening!?" She yelled as she and Lucy moved over to them.
"Toph, what are-?" Lucy started.
"That's where you wanna go right, I could feel you trembling."
"Even if he is that man… I have to save him!" Lucy said with a determined face.
"Well, it looks like we are going to save him," Toph said.
Katara and Mai walked over to the two. "No matter what Lucy, we're with you."
"Lead the way." Mai said.
Lucy had a determined face. "We have to go now!"
The four began running out of the guild to make it to Acalypha before anything horrible would happen.
----Meanwhile, in a forest outside of Magnolia, Hen and Chun were both in the middle of training. Chun looked to be meditating while Hen was throwing large, sharp boulders at targets that were drawn on trees. One of them was Natsu, Toph, and Ping.
Hen made a large boulder rise out of the ground, he shifted his foot forward and threw a punch, and the rock disintegrated the tree that had Ping's face on it. Hen looked to be sweating.
"Wow, just make sure not to destroy the entire forest while you're at it," Chun said narrowing his eyes at him.
"I won't make any promises, little lady." Hen turned and winked at her.
Chun made a small flame appear above her right hand. "…I've never seen fire as pretty as yours," Chun remembered that Wendy said this to her.
"Hey Hen, can I ask you something?"
Hen walked closer to her. "Alright, go ahead."
"Do you think my flames are pretty?" Chun asked while turning her red cheeks away.
"Huh, that's a weird question to ask an Earthbender don't you think?"
"Uh… yeah… I guess you right…"
"Though I will say that your purple fire definitely a lot better than seeing, the regular orange flames of death, and the blue fire of heartlessness." He said referencing Azula which forced a giggle out of Chun.
"Hehe, you always know how to cheer me up." She laughed. Chun quickly started firing short blasts of bright purple flames in all directions.
Hen saw a large pile of pebbles in the distance, he smirked after seeing them. "Yo, now it's my turn to ask you something."
"Well I won't make any promises about the answer, but go ahead."
"How hot is your fire?" Hen asked.
"Huh?" Chun forced out in a confused manner.
"I have an idea I wanna test out. You wanna help me?"
"Hmm, okay. The truth is I don't really know how hot my fire is. They don't really teach you that in firebending school." She sarcastically said.
"Don't worry. Just shoot the most powerful fire you can to melt those pebbles over there." Hen pointed to the pile of pebbles.
Chun took a deep breath. "Well, this plan has to have some meaning." She shot a stream of fire that engulfed the pebbles. Her flames were covering the pebbles and they were blanketed in an orange glow.
"That's right Chun, keep it up!" Chun was starting to sweat but increased the intensity of her fire so she wouldn't disappoint Hen. The rocks began to clump together while they began to melt. Once the pebbles melted, they were turned into molten lava. Chun stopped her flames and Hen walked forward.
"I'll take it from here kid." Hen was in an Earthbending stance and he was focusing on the lava and he was performing fluid movements but nothing happened.
"Is this a Lava dance I don't know about?" Chun asked.
"Give it time," Hen said while sweating. He tried moving his hands upwards.
"Are you trying to-?"
"Hold on!" soon the lava began to slightly move upwards. And it bubbled. Hen smirked. "I think I got it! Chun, prepare to be amazed!" he made the clump of lava rise up into the air and Chun's mouth was agape.
"WOW!" she exclaimed. "Are you actually…?"
"Awesome!" Hen exclaimed. "It worked! Chun, you and I just invented Lavabending!"
"Hen, just… wow… I've never seen anything like that!" Chun then makes a wide smile and gets close to Hen. "How did you-?"
"Well my dear Chun, Lava is basically melted rock; plus I've seen Kobu bend water and since both water and magma are liquids and all. I studied his moments and…" he moves in a much more fluid and flexible way and he was controlling the lava in the air.
"That is amazing!" Chun exclaimed.
"Hehe, got that right, kid." He playfully puts her in a headlock and started to noogie her.
Chun was laughing as this was happening. "Stop Hen, you're going to mess up my hair!"
"Too bad!" he laughed.
Kobu saw this happening from a distance and he turned around and rolled his eyes. "Ugh, those two better keep their oogies to themselves," Kobu said to himself.
----Lucy, Katara, Toph and Mai got to Acalypha via the train and they saw there was a huge crowd of people in front of the Love and Lucky merchant guild. Those people were prevented from entering. The people were very worried as they really wanted to know what happened to the hostages as they were related to some of them.
There were guards from the Magical Council that were blocking the people from entering. "Everyone, remain calm. We've put up requests for assistance at nearby wizard guilds." One of the guards said. "It's dangerous so stay back!"
The four girls were behind the panicking people. 
"So how do we get in?" Mai asked.
"There's no time to figure it out, we need to get in there now!" Lucy exclaimed, she ran into the crowd.
"Lucy wait!" Katara chased after her.
Mai sighed. "You wanna wait until they get back?"
Toph shrugged and sat on the ground.
Lucy and Katara in the meantime were pushing through the panicked people and ran past the guards, but they were quickly stopped as their arms were grabbed by two of them.
"Hey, wait!" Lucy exclaimed.
"Hey, now… Civilians can't go inside!" the one of the guards explained to the two.
"Hey, I might have family in there!" Lucy said.
The guard's head grew slightly. "I said NO!"
Katara and Lucy were dropped back behind the panicking crowd in front of Toph and Mai. 
"Hey, welcome back…" Mai dryly said.
The four were now hiding behind a corner. 
"There just isn't getting through to them." Katara said.
"We've got to do something… something…" Lucy said.
Mai was pinching the bridge of her nose while Toph yawned. The taller girl cleared her throat loudly so Lucy and Katara could hear. "Ahem!" they soon paid her attention. "I feel like I shouldn't have to tell you this, but." She pointed to Toph. "We have an Earthbender right here, remember?"
Toph smirked while her arms were folded. "Man, you two really are alike; you forget all the important stuff."
Lucy and Katara's foreheads turn blue and they quickly facepalm.
Toph made a large hole in the ground before looking to Lucy and Katara. "Ladies first."
----Inside the Love and Lucky guild, there were hostages tied up in one corner of the room. There were Naked Mummy members with some of them holding magic shotguns.
"What? I thought a trade guild would have a ton of cash, but this is it?" one of the Naked Mummy members complained. As they were collecting all of the jewel they could.
"We should have just gone for a bank instead."
A bald headed member holding a shotgun yelled… "Shut up! We ain't got no time! Hurry and put the money in the sacks!" He saw the Love and Lucky merchants struggling to get free and he shot a round into the air leaving smoke around him. "Shuddap, you!" He moved over to one of them who was saying something but couldn't sound it because of the tape over her mouth. "Huh? 'mmph, mmph, mmph?' Your butt itches or somethin'?" He got impatient and he was suddenly a fair distance away from the hostages and aimed his shotgun at them. "If we don't get this money, we're in big trouble!" he angrily said.
One of the other members tried to calm him down. "That's enough man!"
"We have no time!" A bright green magic seal appears in front of his shotgun and he starts firing. He Shot bullets that looked like coloured balls with eyes but suddenly a rock wall bursts from the ground and blocks the bullets.
"What's this?" the man asked before a rock pillar was thrust into his stomach which sent him flying back.
The rock wall was let down and standing in front of it were the four girls and Toph was standing in front of them with a smirk on her face. "Did someone call for an ass kicking!?" she yelled.
Lucy had one of her keys in her hand. "Gate of the Golden Bull! I open thee! Taurus!" shooting out of the ground was Taurus and he stood in front of the four girls.
"MOOOO! I shall protect you, Lucy-san!"
The Naked Mummy members were stunned. "A cow?"
"No, it's a spirit!"
"Why are these girls here anyway?"
"Damn it, they are from an official guild!" the leader said after he got back up.
Mai had one of her knives in her right hand. "Too bad for you guys, I'm bored so I need to take it out on somebody!"
Lucy undid her whip. "Let's do this, girls!" the four charged to them with Taurus in front of them. He threw his ax at them which scared most of them, making them scatter.
Katara was shooting water from her water whip and was freezing the criminals to the wall. One of them tried running from her but she tripped him and he fell hard to the ground.
Toph was sending tiles to the heads of the Naked Mummy members which was knocking them out. One of them who was still standing silently pleaded to Toph not to hurt him. "What's that… I can't hear you… You want to get hit as well?" The man was sweating. "Alright." Toph made two tiles rise from the floor and crash into the sides of the guy's head.
Mai was easily fighting the Dark guild members who were coming at her at the same time. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but these guys are even more annoying than Bickslow!" out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of them about to fire his magic shotgun at her as a green seal was in front of it. Mai quickly tossed one of her arrows into the hole of the gun and blocked the exit point, causing the weapon to explode.
It was just the supposed leader left and Lucy was running to him. "The final blow!"
"Oh, crap!"
"Lucy…" She got close and she finally unleashed her attack… "Kick!" she comically threw her foot to his face and he fell back to the ground, unconscious.
Katara and Mai had their eyes wide open while Toph was laughing. Mai regained her focus and threw her knives to the hostage's ropes, immediately freeing them.
Toph surveyed the scene around her. "Aw man, finished already? At least make it a challenge."
"You seriously have to stop hanging out with Gajeel." Katara said.
"Ha, can't stop me Sugar Queen."
Mai walked up to Lucy. "Not to judge you or anything but… 'Lucy Kick'… for a supposed writer, your creativity could use some work."
Lucy folded her arms and looked away with an anger tick on her head. "Shut up!" After the hostages were freed, the guards from the Magical Council rushed in and they began arresting the downed members of Naked Mummy.
Soon they were surrounded by the workers who were in danger and they were thanking them while also complimenting them on their magic. Everyone clapped for them and Lucy began to look around. She felt Toph tugging her arm.
"Your Dad ain't here, I don't feel him anywhere," Toph said with a slight hint of disappointment.
"Well, our job is finished, time to head back," Mai said.
Lucy though really wanted to stay and look for her dad. "Well yeah, but…"
"If he really isn't here, then that must mean he's safe. That's all that matters." Katara said.
"Yeah, don't feel bad," Mai said with her usual lack of compassion. "We saved all these people, so we did well."
Lucy looked down. "Father…"
...
The four were outside as the day looked to be coming to an end. They were about to leave but Toph stops and so does Katara. Lucy stopped as well.
"Hey, why did you guys stop?" Mai asked.
"Lucy?" they all heard.
They all saw Jude standing a distance in front of them with a satchel over his shoulder.
"It's him alright." Toph slightly growled.
Mai's eyes slightly grew. "Wait, you're the guy…? To be honest I expected someone who looks less like a hobo." Toph snickered at her comment.
Lucy, on the other hand, had her right eyebrow twitching. "Don't tell me… You're only just now getting to town."
"I don't have any money, so I walked all the way here." Jude said.
Lucy's eyes became white as she hadn't expected her father to walk all the way. "So all that was for nothing!?" she thought, but she quickly became annoyed with him. "And wait, you wanted to borrow 100,000 for traveling money?! What kind of warped pricing sense do you have!?"
"Hey, Princess… you want me to take care of him?" Toph asked nudging her shoulder.
Lucy slightly jumped back. "N-no, I just wanted to talk."
Toph sighed. "Okay, we'll leave you to it." Toph, Katara, and Mai were about to walk out of earshot but Toph stopped to Jude's side. "You try anything, and I'll send you flying to the moon!" She joined the other two which left Lucy alone with her father.
"You sure have some very interesting friends, though that doesn't explain why you are here."
"Why? Because I heard the guild you were headed to, was attacked!" Lucy replied.
Jude looked to see the Guards from the magical council escorting people outside the building, while others started to chase down a number of Naked Mummy members who escaped.
"You came here worried for your dad?" he asked.
Lucy turned away. "As if! I'm outta here!" Lucy closed her eyes and began walking to the others.
"I see…" he said while he watched her leave. "Thank you."
Lucy stopped walking for a moment. "Don't get any strange idea." She sternly said. "It's not like I've forgiven you."
Jude looked disappointed. "Yes, that's fine. It's only natural." He remained silent for a while before he continued. "You have traveled quite a long way, indeed. I have also. That gave me a lot of time to think. I apologize about yesterday. I wasn't thinking straight." Lucy continued walking. "I regret what I did. It's shameful. I am going to change who I am. Even without money, I made it here. I'm sure I can do anything… This guild is the place I met Layla… I mean, your mother." When he mentioned Lucy's mother, she immediately stopped.
"When I was thinking about going independent, that was right when you were in your mother's stomach. The two of us quit the guild. But right then, the guild's signboard broke. 'Lucky' turned into 'Lucy'. That was quite a strange thing. The two of us decided that if we had a daughter, we would name her 'Lucy'."
"What?" Lucy responded after a long silence. She turned back to her father with a small smile. "Don't decide your daughter's name on a whim like that."
Jude cracked a small smile too. "You're right, sorry about that. But I'm glad I got to see you. Not as Lucky Lucy of the Heartfilias… I was able to see you as 'Just Lucy' like you wanted to become."
Lucy still kept her smile. "I…"
"Yo LUCY!" she heard. She turned to Toph calling out to her. "ARE YA DONE YET!?"
Lucy waved the back of her right hand to her father. "Stay well, Father."
She left with the four girls. "So that's it, he hunts you down. We find him twice and we don't get to hit him! Not even once!?" Toph complained.
Mai gave a sigh. "It is a shame really since we had to cancel that job. And it was ripe for the taking too."
"Yeah… sorry about that." Lucy apologized.
Jude looked up into the air as he watched Lucy and the others leave. "Layla… I was such a fool…"
----Meanwhile at the Naked Mummy official guild headquarters, which was situated in a very run down town that looked abandoned. The sound of a beating was heard and a large person with a primate-like face was beating the bald person that led the robbery of Love and Lucky.
"What about the money?" the primate faced person dryly asked with the purple Naked Mummy guild symbol on his nose.
"I'm swowwy! An official guild got in our way. We couldn't get out hands on anything!" he cried. It was revealed that he was tied upside down and the larger figure was pushing the body of the bald person with a wooden bat. "Please, save me!" he pleaded.
"What about the money?" he repeated.
A laugh was heard and it came from a dark skinned figure that was in a white suit with sunglasses over his eyes and had a large afro. A purple Naked Mummy guild symbol was printed on the afro. "You said the same line twice! If they ain't got it, they ain't got it, Gato."
"This isn't a time to be laughing, Zato." The large figure said in his monotone voice. "We're coming close to the deadline for paying our dues to Oración Seis. This isn't a time to be laughing, Zato."
"Haha, you repeated yourself again, Gato." Zato laughed.
"There ain't any Dark Guilds that disobeys Oración Seis… There ain't any Dark-"
"I heard you the first time! Those bastards suddenly upped the money payments they demand. What in the world could they be up to."
As this was going on, Kobu who was in a dark cloak was listening in. After hearing all he needed, he walked out of the building.
----Elsewhere that had many towers made of rocks. A figure was looking at a thunderstorm. "I can hear it," he said. He looked like he was talking to a snake. "The sound of the changing of an era… The sound of eyes opening… The sound of something beginning…" one more flash revealed the person talking.
"…The breaking of the light!" this figure looked to have tanned skin with short, spiky red hair. He was wearing a white coat with a black shirt underneath. The purple snake was being held by him. This was building up to something huge. "…Yes, even you… Avatar… I can hear… the sound of your defeat!"