FAIRY TAIL: What If Natsu Never Rescued Lucy from Phantom Lord?
What If Natsu Never Rescued Lucy from Phantom Lord?
Lucy Heartfilia ran away from home to join Fairy Tail, chasing freedom and a place to belong. But when the dark guild Phantom Lord sets its sights on her—and on Fairy Tail itself—the boy who was supposed to come for her is already gone, training far beyond Magnolia.
In a world where Natsu never returns in time, Lucy must face the shadow of her past alone. With the guild she loves under siege and her own secrets dragged into the light, she'll
FAIRY TAIL: What If Natsu Never Rescued Lucy from Phantom Lord? - The Celestial Spirit Princess Shatters Her Chains — Jose's Trap and Makarov's Decision
The damp air seeped all the way into the depths of her lungs. The smell of mold and rusted iron. Cold radiating from the stone walls gnawed slowly into Lucy Heartfilia's back.
The underground prison of Gran Noir. The headquarters of the dark guild Phantom Lord. A cell on the third basement level of a fortress built from the tunnels of an abandoned mine.
The morning of her fourth day since being abducted.
(...Morning, is it?)
Lucy looked up at the small light window set high in the wall. A faint white glow filtered through. Dawn had apparently broken.
Thick iron shackles bound both her wrists. Vile restraints that siphoned away her magic. On the floor, a crest to seal Celestial Spirits glowed purple. A double seal.
(But today, I'm ending this.)
Lucy pulled a single key from the pouch at her hip. A key gleaming gold, engraved with the mark of Aquarius. The key of the Celestial Spirit Aquarius.
Last night, she had found it. On the inside of the shackles, where they touched her wrists—a groove as thin as a hair. The circuit that drained her magic. And at the end of that groove, a tiny bulge. A reservoir for the stolen magic.
(If it absorbs, I just have to force it back the other way.)
There was a limit to how fast the shackles could drain magic. So she would flood them with more magic than that limit could handle, all at once. The shackles wouldn't be able to take it—they'd burst from the inside.
(I can do it. I can.)
Lucy gripped the key with both hands. Her fingertips went white.
"Aquarius... lend me your power."
She didn't speak aloud—she called out in her mind. Consciously, she channeled the mana inside her body into the key.
The shackles on her wrists instantly grew hot.
(It's draining me... but this time it's different.)
Lucy gritted her teeth. She focused her awareness on the flow of magic the shackles were pulling in. Like water running downhill, the mana inside her vanished into the shackles.
(I'll use that flow against them.)
She concentrated on the shackles' reservoir. The drained magic pooled there, swelling rapidly.
(More. More!)
Lucy slammed the rest of her magic into the shackles.
Crack.
A tiny sound.
A hairline fracture raced across the surface of the shackles.
(It's working!)
Lucy poured even more strength into the hands gripping the key.
"Please, Aquarius...!"
In that instant, the key blazed with brilliant golden light.
Thump.
The mana inside her broke free of the shackles' pull and surged into the key. The door to the Celestial Spirit World creaked open.
"—You called, Lucy?"
A familiar voice echoed deep in her heart. The Celestial Spirit of Aquarius. The water spirit.
"Aquarius... I'm not going to lose."
Lucy raised the key high.
"Please! Break these shackles!"
A torrent of water erupted from the key.
WHOOOOOOSH!
The rushing flood engulfed both her wrists. Water pressure converged on the shackles' reservoirs.
Crack-crack-crack!
The fractures spread all at once.
SNAP!!
The left shackle shattered from the inside. Then the right.
Shards of iron scattered across the cell floor.
(I did it... I did it!)
The loathsome weight vanished from Lucy's wrists. The cold iron that had bitten into her skin was gone.
But it wasn't over yet.
The crest on the floor flickered purple. The spirit-sealing crest. It drew on the magic the shackles had absorbed to maintain the seal.
(This too. I'll break it.)
Lucy aimed the key at the crest on the floor.
"Aquarius, once more!"
Again the torrent burst forth. This time, straight at the crest on the floor.
KABOOOOM!!
The mass of water smashed into the stone floor. Ultra-high-pressure water surged into the crest's circuit.
The purple light flickered violently.
CRRRACK-CRACK!
The stone floor split in a radial pattern. The crest could no longer hold its shape.
BANG!
With one final blow, the crest shattered completely.
(Double seal, broken.)
Lucy let out a long breath. All the strength drained from her body. Her knees nearly buckled.
But she couldn't afford to fall.
(It's not over yet.)
That was when it happened.
"Hey, what was that noise!"
A guard came running from beyond the iron bars. A thin man with sharp eyes. A short club in his hand.
"You—what the hell did you do!"
The man peered through the gaps in the bars at the cell, saw the shattered shackle fragments and the cracked crest on the floor.
"What... the seal's been broken...?!"
The man's face twisted in terror.
"Damn it, stay put!"
Jangling the keys at his hip, the man tried to unlock the iron bars.
But his hands were shaking.
"...I'm coming through."
Lucy rose slowly to her feet.
The man let out a short yelp.
Lucy pointed the key at him.
"Aquarius."
The torrent of water blasted the man away, iron bars and all.
KABOOOOM!!
The bars tore free of their hinges and slammed into the corridor wall. The man was pinned beneath them and went still.
(...Done it.)
Lucy stepped out through the ruined bars.
Outside the cell for the first time in four days.
The corridor was dim. Torches on the walls flickered unsteadily.
(I have to hurry.)
Lucy tried to break into a run.
But then.
"Kukuku... how interesting."
The voice came from the far end of the corridor.
Lucy's feet stopped.
Click. Click. Click.
Slow footsteps drew closer.
"To break a double seal with your own hands. You've exceeded my calculations twice over, young lady."
A man emerged from the darkness.
Tall, with long reddish-purple hair tied back, dressed in a white suit. A thin smile at his lips. Cold gray eyes fixed on Lucy.
Jose Porla. Master of Phantom Lord. One of the Ten Wizard Saints.
"...Jose."
Lucy gripped the key tighter. Sweat beaded on her palms.
"That key—so it was in your hands after all. Celestial Spirit keys respond only to the will of their wielder. Stealing them is meaningless. That's why I waited for you to use it yourself."
Jose clapped slowly.
"Magnificent. Truly magnificent. My subordinates mocked you as a 'powerless young lady,' but nothing could be further from the truth. You're far more interesting than I imagined."
"...I won't do a single thing you want."
Lucy's voice trembled, but she glared at Jose.
"Kukuku... those eyes. The eyes of one who has clawed her way up from the depths of despair. Truly beautiful."
Jose took a step toward Lucy.
"But what a shame. Every bit of your resistance is within my plans."
"...What are you talking about?"
"Do you know the real reason you're imprisoned here?"
Lucy didn't answer.
"The Heartfilia fortune. An estimated five hundred thousand gold. Certainly, that's tempting. But my true aim is something else entirely."
Jose's smile deepened.
"The Ring of the Celestial Spirit King. A treasure passed down through the Heartfilia family for generations. A legendary ring said to hold the power to summon the King of the Celestial Spirit World into this world."
(The Celestial Spirit King's... ring?)
Lucy's mind went blank.
(I've never even heard of such a thing.)
"...I don't know. I've never heard of anything like that."
"Naturally, you wouldn't. This is a secret passed only to the head of the Heartfilia family. Your father, Jude Heartfilia, is the only one who knows where it is."
At Jose's words, Lucy's chest tightened.
(Father...)
"Your father is ill now, with little time left. And he has not passed that secret on to you. In other words, even you don't know where the ring is. Am I wrong?"
"..."
"But there is a way. You meet your father and get him to tell you where the ring is. That's all. Simple, isn't it?"
Jose reached for Lucy's chin.
"So I'll have you become my puppet."
Lucy sprang backward on instinct.
"...Don't touch me!"
"Kukuku... no need to be so frightened. I'll make it easy for you soon enough."
Jose gave a light flick of his fingertips.
The next moment, something coiled around Lucy's limbs.
"Wh—?!"
She couldn't see it. But something was definitely wrapped around her. Transparent, thin, thread-like things.
"My magic—Puppet Strings. I can control the body of anyone they touch at will. Range: five meters. The distance between us is just about that."
The threads bit into Lucy's wrists, ankles, waist, and neck.
"S-stop...!"
Lucy struggled desperately. But the threads were invisible. She couldn't loosen them or cut them.
"Futile. These threads are made of magic. With your power, you cannot sever them."
Jose's fingers moved slowly.
Lucy's right arm rose on its own.
"Wh-what...?!"
Her body moved against her will.
"Now, young lady. Your father's condition worsens by the moment. If you get him to tell you where the ring is, your father will be saved. And I'll set you free as well."
"...No... no...!"
Lucy's left arm began moving on its own too. It was as if her body no longer belonged to her.
(Someone... help me...)
She screamed in her mind.
(Natsu... everyone...)
But no one came.
(...I'm trying to lean on someone again.)
Lucy bit her lip.
(No. I decided I would stand on my own.)
That was when it happened.
"—Lucy, don't you dare lose."
A voice echoed from deep in her heart.
"You chose your own path yourself, didn't you? Then protect it yourself, to the very end."
"...Yes, that's right. I'll protect my own path myself."
Lucy opened her eyes.
"I am... nobody's puppet!!"
She poured every ounce of strength into resisting the threads.
Crack.
The invisible threads groaned.
"Oh... resisting these threads with sheer willpower, are we? Interesting. But it won't last long."
Jose forced more power into his fingers.
The threads tightened further.
"Ngh, aaaah...!"
Lucy's body began moving according to Jose's will.
(I won't lose... I won't lose...!)
She gritted her teeth and kept fighting the threads.
"Lucy, you're not alone. In your keys are spirits who believe in you."
"Yes. I believe in all of you."
Lucy's body became just a little freer.
Crack-crack.
The threads groaned further.
"...What?"
Jose's smile vanished for the first time.
That was when it happened.
KABOOOOOM!!
The cell wall burst into pieces from the inside.
"—You will not lay your hands on my precious child!"
With a thunderous roar, a small figure cut between Jose and Lucy.
Short white hair. A long white mustache. A tiny body. But his presence was enormous.
Makarov Dreyar. Master of Fairy Tail. One of the Ten Wizard Saints.
"Master...?!"
The puppet strings vanished from Lucy's body in an instant.
Jose stepped back.
"...Makarov. So you came here."
Jose's voice was low and cold.
"Of course I did. I can't let you do as you please with my guild's children forever."
Makarov stood shielding Lucy behind him.
"Lucy, you did well. Leave the rest to me."
"...Master... I... I..."
Tears spilled from Lucy's eyes.
"Don't cry. You fought so hard all on your own. Be proud."
Makarov turned back to Jose.
"Jose Porla. I know all about your schemes. The Heartfilia fortune, and the Ring of the Celestial Spirit King. But I won't give you either."
"Kukuku... you'd stake your guild's survival to protect this girl?"
"Naturally. Fairy Tail is not a guild that abandons its comrades."
"Then I'll simply crush the guild along with you."
Jose's mouth twisted.
"I'll send the full forces of Phantom Lord to Magnolia. By tomorrow, your guild will be a pile of rubble."
"Try it. Don't underestimate my precious children."
Enormous magic power poured from Makarov's body.
The air trembled.
"...That magic. As formidable as ever. But you know as well as I do—my seat among the Ten was won through political maneuvering. In pure combat strength, I'm inferior to the others. Which is precisely why I have no intention of fighting you head-on."
Jose smiled.
"I'll withdraw for today. But don't forget—the real battle starts now. Your father's illness, the location of the Ring of the Celestial Spirit King—nothing has been resolved. Everything is in the palm of my hand."
Jose snapped his fingers.
In that instant, his body wa
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