Chapter 8: Change

Beta read by n1ch, Shigiya, Solitary heart and 8kagi.

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-Magnolia-

The beautiful streets of Magnolia, a boisterous town filled with a verdant overview of its magical landscape and architecture go hand to hand.

The streets are filled with all kinds of people from all walks of life. Each and every one of them sports a smile, giving more credence to the peaceful atmosphere. There was no suffering in sight, no slaves in chains, no mines filled with toxic dust but a genuine paradise.

This was the sight that greeted the young Erza Scarlet.

"I just wish Rob and the others were here… " She whispered to herself melancholically, grief apparent in her eyes.

After she and Rob successfully escaped the Tower and got to land safely and dropped off the very few escapees who, just like them, survived by sheer luck, they immediately ran back to the Tower of Heaven–determined to save the others they left behind.

To their horror, nothing remained of the land nor the Tower. Everything was gone, replaced by a gigantic crater. She had broken down at the sight, her friends were gone along with Broly, she wouldn't be able to see them ever again…

Rob was by her side, holding her in an embrace for the entire time she cried, consoling her as he has done so in the past.

It was all her fault, if she hadn't insisted on escaping so soon, if she had instead spent another few more weeks training her magic then she would have been able to defend herself against the guards. Broly wouldn't have lost control of himself, and everyone would have been alive.

It was too late now, she could cry and beg for the gods to bring them back but the past wouldn't change this heartbreaking truth.

After that, Rob brought her somewhere in the forest where they built a small shack, and lived there like a family. The two of them stayed there for a few months, she trained her magic to its absolute limit, not wanting to ever experience the helplessness she once did in the Tower.

Rob one-upped her training by teaching the art of [Requip], a form of magic that allowed the user to store large amounts of armor and weapons in a dimensional pocket which they could summon at any time during combat.

Erza combined her telekinesis with [Requip] and became quickly proficient with it, able to masterfully control a handful of swords in the air and launch them as projectiles. Though her armor [Requip] needed some work as she didn't really have any combat armor, to begin with, she trained it with different clothes Rob got for her.

Of course, they didn't stay holed up in the shack for days without traveling somewhere. Rob would bring her to all kinds of places, showing her the beauty of different lands and teaching the appropriate knowledge about the fauna and the many beasts she hunted down for food.

At first, Rob worried that she might become indifferent in the act of killing another living being, but Erza consoled the man that she wouldn't become a heartless killer or take away any human lives unless it's absolutely necessary–which further worried Rob.

As to make her socialize more with the outside world and grow to be a better person with a solid sense of morals, he brought her along to Blue Pegasus, where she met the master of the guild.

Erza could only describe the moment as… confusing.

A man?... Woman?... She couldn't tell.

The person was called Bob, a caring person who immediately took pity on her and did not hesitate to invite her to join the guild.

She had refused in the end, for two major reasons. First, she promised herself to join Fairy Tail and become an S rank mage there. And secondly… there was this Ichiya guy who was way too creepy for her liking, he kept telling her that she had a good perfume!?

She didn't even know what that meant!

So of course, she sent him flying through the roof with her swords for not making sense!

Aside from that, she enjoyed her time there, even did a few quests despite not being a member of the guild. This allowed her to gather enough funds to buy her first armor. The Heart Kruz, a famous brand that made top-quality combat wear.

She requested for the armor to be colored bright green as a memory of that special person. As she felt it could represent him always being there by her side and protecting her from all danger, while honoring her memory of him and her friends.

After that, she finally decided it was time to travel to Magnolia and officially join Fairy tail. Her biggest dream is to find everyone once again.

Even with the destruction that she saw back then, her heart refused to acknowledge it as the truth as she found no evidence of their demise when they searched to bury their bodies–Erza just couldn't accept it. She would find a way to reunite with all of them, especially Broly… for she had promised to show him the outside world.

"I won't give up no matter what."

Rob, who traveled alongside her and became the father she never had, couldn't help but feel proud of how much the girl grew these last few months, though he didn't have long to live–he wanted to see her join the Fairy Tail family.

"Let's go Erza, I'm sure our presence will surprise Makarov."

{Break}

-Heartfilia Konzen-

(X779, 3 years later)

A lot has changed in the Heartfilia household and unfortunately–it wasn't for the better.

Two years ago, a year after Lucy came to know Broly… her mother passed away from the illness she's been battling against for about a decade.

This piece of news absolutely broke everyone in the estate, from the servants to her father, Jude Heartfilia. Many of the neighboring villagers and past servants came to offer their condolences to Lucy and her absent father. The latter, spending more time in his office than ever before.

Their already unstable relationship became strained, he barely talked to her–sometimes not talking to her for an entire week despite living in the same house. The servants became her second family after her mother passed away and her father's constant absence. They would comfort her, look after her as if she was one of their own and she would always be grateful to them.

When she went to find companionship in the mountains with Broly, telling him she wanted her mother back, how she hated her father's current behavior, and just how her life was in shambles–the gentle giant always had an ear to listen to her grievances.

Being a man of few words and a stranger to human socializations, she saw how he would try his best to cheer her up. One time, he gave her a giant diamond ore that was the size of a boulder, because she once told him that diamonds were a girl's best friend. Broly even brought her many wild berries and fruits along with dozens of dead animal carcasses to make her a meal. Once he even brought her flying all across the region, which made her temporarily forget all of her problems at home.

The more time she spent with him, the more attached she became to Broly.

Unlike her father, he would listen to her and keep her company.

Though when the Heartfilia patriarch found out about her little excursion outside in the forest, the way he'd become furious would be an understatement.

It was at this time that the relationship between father and daughter soured even more.

"I'm going, dad! And you can't stop me!" A young preteen Lucy shouted at her father defiantly.

"Lucy Heartfilia, I forbid you to go back to that hovel of a shack!!"

"It's a farm, and don't you insult Broly's home!" She screamed

She hated whenever her father would insult Broly's home. After months of constantly egging the big guy, she finally succeeded in convincing him to build a better home than living in a cave.

The Saiyan wanted to have a farm because he liked to cook new foods and experience a peaceful, quiet life. She along with a few other servants secretly built him a shack and through the help of some earth mages they hired from the nearby guilds, made a small but sustainable farm for Broly.

She still remembered his childlike glee when he saw the place, it was the first time he hugged her… something she hadn't felt since her mother died.

"Here we go again with this Broly, that man is the reason for how you've become… what would Layla say!?"

He didn't know a single thing about her mother.

"That she loves me and supports my dream, unlike you!"

Not wishing to talk with her father any longer, Lucy left his office much to his dismay and heartache.

Outside she saw the many servants of the house, looking at her with worried expressions. "Lucy-sama… we are here for you." They didn't know what to say aside from trying to soothe her in her time of need. In the end, they were just servants of the house, neither of them had the authority nor right to get in between the father and daughter dispute. They wished Layla was still alive, she would know how to deal with this situation.

Sniff

Lucy's eyes watered from their love and kindness. "Thank you… everyone. I… I need to go somewhere other than here." After her mother died, the house no longer felt as bright and wonderful as before. It became cold and suffocating for the young girl, and she no longer liked it here.

"I-I'll be gone for a bit." She needed to just leave this prison.

Her servants all gathered around the girl and offered their support. "Don't worry Lucy-sama, we'll cover your absence as long as we can from master Jude. No matter what you decide afterward, we'll always support you. I'm sure Broly-san wouldn't mind your presence for a few days." Her closest friend in the house and a sister-like figure, Gretel, gave Lucy her approval and support. "You're a grown girl now."

Indeed she grew a lot since the first time she met Broly. She became taller and lost a bit of her baby fat, her hair grew longer as well. Her body had already begun developing, showing some slight curves here and there. The servants could already see that their young miss would grow up to be the spitting image of her mother.

"Thank you guys, but I won't be gone for long… the last thing I want is creating more trouble for you and the others."

…

After saying good to the others and packing up her bag, she ran out of the mansion and headed straight for the forest.

Running the same arduous path for so many years had made her physically fit for someone her age. Even after running at full speed for half an hour and constantly jumping over large trees and rocks, Lucy didn't break a sweat. Her excitement to meet Broly fueled her desire to travel faster and ignore the safe routes.

'Hehehe, I wonder where he'll take me next.' Lucy laughed giddily. When she first found out that Broly could fly, she was shocked, as not many magic spells allowed for such an impressive feat–aside from wind magic.

The first time, he carried her and flew her back to her house where she saw her distressed mother searching for her.

It was fun remembering the face her mother made when she saw little Lucy sitting on the shoulders of a giant while in the air.

Thankfully, her mother got along well with Broly, due to her illness, she couldn't travel very far, so she only met him a couple of times. But those were enough for her to treat the Saiyan as another one of her children. She always asked him about his health, if he was hungry and even offered him a place to stay in the mansion.

Unfortunately, he declined the offer but that didn't stop her mom from spending more time with him as well. On rare occasions, she would summon her golden spirits to aid her in traveling through the forest–of course, Aquarius was always a bit too eager to help her.

"That is all in the past now…" One-moment, life is full of colors and joy and the next it gets ripped away in an instant.

Since in her hurry she chose to take the more dangerous route, in a matter of minutes Lucy came face to face with a Gorian.

"Ah! Girl! Female! Pretty girl, hehehe!!" Just like the one she encountered years ago, this one was the same size and had that same perverted smile on its face.

"Ah, come on! Open [Gate of Taurus!]" Looking more annoyed than scared, Lucy summoned one of the many golden keys she inherited from her mother.

"Mooooo, Lucy-san I have come to protect your cuteness!" From the golden light emerged an extremely tall, heavily muscular, and athletic humanoid whose physical features were highly reminiscent of a bull, as his theme implies. His body is covered in a black and white pattern similar to that of Holstein Friesian cattle.

Among her spirit keys, he was Lucy's physically strongest Celestial Spirit.

"Taurus, can you get rid of that Gorian for me, pretty please?" She asked cutely while throwing him a kiss. She discovered Taurus was a HUGE pervert and would perform better the more he's motivated… so she used her looks to her advantage.

"MOOOOO! LUCY-SAN'S LOLI CUTENESS IS THE BEST!!" Taurus roared at the top of his lungs with his eyes taking the shape of a heart.

"I'm not a loli!"

"Cowman ugly! Me like girl!" The Gorian, seeing the appearance of Taurus became incensed and challenged the spirit to a battle.

They ran at each other and began their battle!

"Haaaaa!!"

Bang!

The beast threw his large fists at his opponent, only for the latter to block it with his giant axe. The bovine spirit smirked and headbutted the Gorian right in the face.

"Our love conquers all!" Taurus screamed.

"I don't love you like that, dummie!"

The Gorian stood back up and glared at the spirit. "Me will eat you!"

Bam!

They soon clashed once again, trading blows after blows, seeking to put down the other for good.

Some of the nearby trees either got cut by Taurus' axe or crushed by the Gorian's fists. Each using their animalistic instinct to gain an advantage over the other.

"This is taking way too long!" Lucy whined in frustration. She wanted to meet with Broly as soon as possible and get to have a fun time with him before the sun settles. 'Wait there is someone else who wants to meet him as well and finish this fight quickly!'

Boom!

She ignored the intense, awe inspiring battle going on behind her and searched for a good spot to summon.

"This will do." She soon found a flat ground where she made her preparations.

Lucy grabbed another key from her collection and a canteen filled with water. Learning from her past mistakes, she never traveled anywhere dangerous without it. After pouring a cup of water and placing it on the ground, she held the key of Aquarius in her hand and dipped it in the cup. "Open, [Gate of Aquarius]!

Another golden light shimmered in the air as water condensed and danced around the emerging golden spirit. It soon revealed a beautiful woman wearing a scandalous bikini that barely hid her breasts. An assortment of different jewels and ornaments covered her being with a recently taken care of hairstyle, which went from straight like before to curled and wavy. 'Is that make-up?' The young Lucy noticed a red sheen on the spirit lips with a darker blush on her cheeks, and light-blue eyeshadow.

"Spirit Aquarius here to fill your heart with love and passio–" She stopped, as instead of seeing the hunk of man she was gunning for years, Aquarius instead saw two sweaty and disgusting brutes eying her like a piece of meat.

Taurus soon got a nosebleed while Gorian showed a lewd smile.

"Ho ho ho! Another pretty lady! Huge boobs!!"

"Aquarius Onee-sama you look absolutely SEXY!!!!"

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Just as she was about to kill her summoner and these two pigs, she was interrupted by Lucy's next words.

"Quick Aquarius, these two are blocking our way to meet Broly!"

""-!""

"WHAT!?" The water spirits' eyes opened wide with flames of anger from the deepest pits of hell that is known as feminine fury.

How dare they get in the way of her love!

"Nobody gets in between me and my man!" She growled in fury before grabbing her urn and channeling a ridiculously immense amount of magic and water inside it.

"I'm coming my darling! [Water Torrent!]" Aquarius said as she thrust the urn in front of her releasing a tsunami-like body of water to the entire forest.

"Hey he's not your darl–wait, the water is coming for me as well!!"

Swoosh!

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!" Lucy and the rest were carried away from the flood with both the Gorian and getting crushed against an enormous boulder.

Taurus soon vanished in motes of golden light–not before muttering, "Worth it…"

The flood miraculously pushed Lucy all the way upward the forest to where Broly's farm was located.

"Whhhhyyyyyyyy!!" The girl was about to puke from the constant movement and spinning she was experiencing. Just as she was about to spill her lunch, she soon stopped moving and found herself lying on a patch of grass.

Lucy was panting from the near-death experience and from nearly drowning from Aquarius' attack.

Step

Soon a large shadow loomed over her.

"Lucy?... What happened?" It was none other than Broly. The older teenager was still wearing his iconic fur coat on his waist, while still moving around without any kind of upper clothing. The sight of his bare chest made her blush a bit, she noticed these reactions were becoming a recent occurrence as of late… It seemed to happen after her birthday.

Giving him her best smile she spoke, "Can I live with you for a bit… please?"

"Hmm?"

"Darling! I have arrived!" Aquarius soon arrived, surprising the Saiyan with her choice of clothing, before catching her in his arms, while the spirit nuzzled into his bare chest.

"What?"

Poor Broly, he was confused about what was even happening at the moment.

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The next 3 chapters are already available on my p@treon at /NimtheWriter. And 5 chapters for my Snafu fic.