Hot and Cold

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."