beanea04

[beanea04]

Natsu & the Dragon Egg

         This is the mysterious East Forest found in Magnolia. A place overflowing with magical power of which many tales are told.

"Oh come on I have a novel to write you know," Lucy complains. Instead of relaxing at her apartment and writing she was dragged out into the middle of the forest to fish with Natsu and Happy. "Why'd you have to drag me along on your stupid fishing trip?" 

"Eh stop complaining. Besides you just said you had writer's block, didn't ya?" Lucy only gives the fire wizard a side eye while she rereads her manuscript as Plu shakily clings onto her leg.

"Aye. And nothing can get your creative juices flowing like a change of pace."

"Yeah, but why does it have to be fishing?"

"Cause fish is my very most favoritest food, of course. And Vela said that if I catch a really big one then she'll cook it up for dinner for me."

"You're missing the point. I'm asking why I have to fish for your favorite food."

Natsu's line starts to bob up and down. "Woah, I got one!" 

"Watch out! Looks like a whopper!"

"Leave it to me! Ahhh!" He pulls on his rod with all his might until something breaks the surface. Out from the waters pops up a gigantic red fish with orange fins. It could easily be double the size of Natsu.

"It's huge!" Lucy screams out.

"Oppa!" Happy cheers.

"What does that even mean?!"

Not far away Reedus is sitting on a cliffside observing the scene. He decides that this is a memory that three would probably want to keep so he draws them in his notebook. "Look at that. Just like the good old days."

"Fishy wishy nummy yummy get in my tummy!~" Happy sings as he jumps around in joy. "Oppa! Yum! Yum!" Plu follows the cat's lead and does his own little shaky dance. 

"I knew you were immature, but this is a new low." But Lucy's insult gets ignored as the cat suddenly lets out a loud and horrified scream at the sight before him.

"Oh yeah! That looks tasty!" It turns out Natsu had gone ahead and cooked the fish himself.  

"You ruined it!" Happy cries. "Fish taste better if you eat it raw! And Vela said that should prepare it extra special for me tonight!"

"Why would I wait for her when it only takes a sec to grill it up?" 

"Cause that's how I wanted to eat it!"

"I caught it so I eat it my way. If you're gonna complain go catch your own." Natsu picks up the giant fish and starts to munch away.

"Don't do it!"

His friend's pleas do nothing to deter him as he continues to chow down. Much to the disgust of the celestial wizard. "Eww, he's eating it bones and all." 

After devouring the entire thing Natsu lets out a satisfied burp while patting his stuffed stomach. "Man, that hit the spot." But he fails to realize how betrayed a certain cat feels.

"How could you?" Happy then breaks into tears and runs off dramatically in the other direction. "Fine our friendship is over Natsu!"

"You're quite the drama queen, aren't you?" Lucy comments.

Seeing that Natsu is still seated and pouting Lucy asks, "You gonna follow him?" The boy only turns his head stubbornly in response. "Oh, give me a break. Keep up that tough guy act and you'll never get the girls to like you." 

Her saying that brings back memories of certain someone from Natsu's past. Lucy sees him get up and assumes he's going to find Happy and apologize. "Alright that's the spirit. Go apologize and-"

"Just shut your mouth for once," Natsu coldly demands.

Not having ever heard Natsu use that tone before, especially with her, Lucy starts to shake just like Plu is doing in her arms. "What was that all about? Scary."

Natsu and the Dragon Egg 

The Fairy Tail Archives where the guild's records are stored.

Lucy walks in and sees Mirajane up on ladder presumably doing some upkeep. "Hey Mira! What are you doing up there?" 

"Just a bit of reorganizing that's all."

"Oh I can help with that!"

Mirajane finds the younger girl's enthusiasm for such a mundane task quite adorable. "Are you sure you want to?"

"Yeah! I'm good with boring stuff." As Lucy gives a wink and a thumbs up Plu pops up behind her and gives a hum of agreement.

During their reorganizing Lucy decides to vent to Mira about what had just occurred with Natsu. "And then he just stormed off! What a jerk right?"

Mirajane only giggles in response. "Maybe, but that's what makes him so cute."

"You really think so?"

"Of course! You're attracted to Natsu's boyish charms too aren't you?" Mira gives the blonde a close eyed smile. 

"What?" The absurd accusation shocks Lucy so much that she ends up losing her balance on the ladder she was using. As a result, she's sent toppling over into a large pile of books.

"Lucy?!" Mirajane calls out to her in concern.

"Hahaha..." Lucy can only laugh off her embarrassment.

"You, ok?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I guess ladders aren't my strong point." But unearthed from that tumble is an old picture of some of the guildmembers back from when they were kids. "I found an old painting."

Mira looks over Lucy's shoulder as the blonde holds it up. "Oh I remember that."

"Is this everyone when they were kids?"

"It sure is."

Her attention is fist brought to a little boy standing with a smile and no clothes except his boxers. "This must be Gray, and that's gotta be Vela." She points to a little girl with her hair up in a high ponytail held together by that same white ribbon, and wearing a cute light blue long sleeved dress that ends at her knees with cut outs at her shoulders. Lucy also takes notice of how Gray is giving Vela a piggyback ride in this photo. It's nice to see that the two haven't changed much over the years.

"But who's that next to him?" She points to little brunette girl wearing an orange dress. "Cana?" She notices the two old timers in the background but appearing much more youthful. "Woah Macao and Wakaba. They look so young." Obviously she recognizes Natsu right away as he's depicted as the focal point of the paining. "Oh, I recognize that spikey head anywhere. Natsu hasn't changed a bit. And what's with the little blue dragon?" She's referring to the one that Natsu was riding in the picture.

"That's Happy," Mira cheerfully answers.

"Ah!" This only further confuses Lucy and concerns her. But this has her thinking of something that she's been wondering for quite a while now. "I don't know if you even know this, but how did Natsu and Happy first meet anyway?"  

"Let me think. When that picture was painted, I hadn't been a member of Fairy Tail for very long myself. The time sure has flown by."

"Hey Natsu!" Makarov calls out.

"He went out," answers Wakaba who has a much fuller head of hair.

"Something about a fight," Macao adds with a knowing look.

Outside Natsu and Gray are at once again. "I'll show you!" the pink headed boy yells.

"Let's see ya try!" The boys keep throwing punch after punch at one another while members of the guild observe in amusement. They eventually move the fighting to inside the guildhall all while a quiet little girl looks on in worry at her brother and best friend fighting.

"Back then Natsu and Gray were little balls of hate. They'd fight every time they ran into each other."

"Doesn't sound like much has changed."

"Flame brained lizard!"

"Undie flashing freak!" But before the two can start throwing hands their separated by a certain redhead.

"Alright that's enough out of you."

"Of course there was always someone to break them up."

"Let me guess Erza."

"Mind your own business for once!" Gray complains. 

"You want a piece of me too, ya jerk!?" Natsu challenges. 

"If you insist." Hearing her agree the boys let out war cries as they go in for the attack. But they're left groaning on the floor sporting new bumps on their heads after a single hit. "Now behave. No more pointless fighting from you two. It always ends up leaving Vela with so much work."

"You just got lucky," Gray grunts out.

"I'll win next time," Natsu groans. 

"But luckily for those two they had their own personal nurse back then."

"I guess she's always been stuck cleaning up their messes."

The two boys are now sat upright as Vela tends to their wounds. "When are you guys gonna learn to stop challenging Erza?" She gives the bandage on Gray a final pat. "It never ends well and you guys know I hate when you fight."

"Natsu was always getting into fight like that. Of course he acted like that's what he wanted. But sometimes I'd catch him with a sad look on his face. Then one day..."

Natsu's punching pictures of Erza and Gray that he had tied up to a tree in the middle of the woods. "Stupid Erza and Gray. You stink!" He backs up to make this final blow really count, but he misjudged how sturdy the tree actually was as he pulls away with a now red and throbbing hand. "That didn't hurt at all," he groans. 

But because of all the punching a large object falls and hits him square on the head. It turns out to be a large white egg, almost the size of Natsu, with strange blue markings. "Woah, what the heck?" Seeing the cool new thing he's discovered the boy decides that first thing he should do is how it off.

"Hey, you guys!" he calls out as he excitedly carries the egg over his head into the guildhall. "Check out this awesome egg I just found!"

"Where in the blazes did you pick up that thing?" Makarov inquires from his usual position at the bar. 

"I found it in the East Forest."

"The East Forest?"

"Look at that," jeers Gray. "Guess you're good for something after all." That remark earns him a gentle elbow to the side from Vela. He ignores her and continues his antagonizing. "Gonna fry it up for us?"

"You should worry more about where your clothes are than that egg." At Vela's remark Gray looks down and realizes that he is in fact currently in his boxers. He lets out a yelp at the fact. 

"I ain't gonna fry this. Can't you see it's a dragon's egg? I'm gonna hatch it." Natsu brings the egg closer to his chest as if the ice wizard could steal from him at any moment. 

"You sure? I don't know if it's dragon though. It could be anything for all we know," Vela comments as she goes to get a closer look.

"Look at the marks on the side of it, sis. They look just like dragon claws right?"

"I don't know about that," Gray comments. 

"I guess if I squint a little." Vela brings her face even closer to the egg, now placed on the ground with a cushion, with her eyes not almost closed shut in attempts at seeing what her little brother does. 

"So anyways Gramps," Natsu says. "Why don't you hatch the dragon with a spell?"

"Gah, don't be a fool." Makarov's sudden insult surprises the three kids. "Using magic for such a purpose would dishonor the miracle of life. You see life is born from love and love alone. No spell can transcend that power."  

Natsu can only give the older man a blank look in return. "Sorry Gramps, I don't think I'm following ya."

Makarov can only sigh at the boy's cluelessness. "Then you'll understand when you grow up."

"He's saying that if you want it to hatch you have to work hard to make it happen on your own," Erza interjects. "Since you usually just burn and break things all day, it might be nice to try something more productive for once."

"Erza," Natsu gasps.

"I didn't hear you come in," Gray stammers.

"How was that job you went on?" Vela says.  

But before the redhead can answer she's interrupted. "I've been looking for you Erza," Mirajane calls out. "Why don't we pick up where we left off? Come and get some."

A little girl with bobbed white hair and wearing a pink dress turns to Mira and asks, "You're gonna fight again?" She bears a striking resemblance to the Strauss siblings. 

"Mira," Erza replies. "You know now that you mention it we never did finish our match. Did we?" This gets the two girls all fired up. 

"HUH?!" Lucy gasps as she points at a younger girl wearing all black and a scowl. "Are you for real? That girl is you?"  

"Yep! Surprised?"

"Yeah, this doesn't look like you at all. And wait...you said you were picking a fight with Erza?!" Mira gives no verbal answer instead she only giggles at the memories. 

"I'm gonna bury you alive!" Mira screams.

"I'll make you beg for mercy!" Erza yells with equal intensity. The two girls' fists met head on and from there they start to trade blow for blow all around the guildhall.

"Is that armor your training bra?!" Erza's sent flying back by Mira's kick.

But Erza is quick to return the favor. "Like showing off your love handles?!"

"You ugly prude!"

"You stupid witch!" The two are now locked hand in hand in an intense stare off. 

"Way to keep it classy girls," Vela mutters.

"Oh sure, she's all mad when we get in a fight, but she can wreck the whole guild whenever she wants?" Gray asks sarcastically at Erza's hypocrisy. 

"Just wait," Natsu mumbles determined as he cracks his knuckles. "One of these days I'm gonna give them a beat down they're never gonna forget." 

"Ah give me a break," the little girl from before says as she walks over to the trio. "Keep up the tough guy act and you'll never get the girls to like you."

"Shut up Lisanna! What do you know?"

Suddenly he feels a sharp pain in his ear as someone harshly tugs at it. "Manners, Natsu. That's no way to talk to girls," Vela scolds.

"Now don't be mean. I was just about to ask if you needed a hand raising that egg."

"You wanna help? Really?" With a final rug Natsu finally gets his sister to let go.

"Mhm! I've never tried raising a dragon. I bet it'll be real fun."

"I don't know if fun's the right word," Gray comments.

"It'll certainly be a lot of work," Vela adds. 

Natsu ignoring their doubts only focuses on getting that egg to hatch. "So how are we sposed to make it hatch?" 

Lisanna thinks for a moment before answering, "I think you just warm it up."

"What? For real?" This will be a piece cake for someone like Natsu then. He starts to heat up so he can get started. "Looks like I'm the right man for the job." To everyone's horror he picks up the egg and then begins to breath fire directly onto it. 

"Not like that Natsu!" Lisanna cries.

"You'll end up cooking whatever's inside alive!" Vela warns.

Seeing the girls' distress Gray is quick to kick the fire breather away from the fragile egg. "Are you stupid?" The egg now appears to have a light blue tint on top as if it were sweat dropping. 

"Geez, careful," Lisanna scolds. "Like Vela said we're trying to hatch the egg not poach it."

"Yeah, you're right," Natsu sheepishly admits.

"Sit back and let my magic handle this." A pink magic circle appears before Lisanna as she begins to glow. "Take Over: Animal Soul!" The girl is now a large green bird with pink tipped wings.

"Woah, you're a bird!" Natsu gasps.

"Aw, so cute!" Vela gushes.

"Oh, I get it," Gray says realization at what Lisanna plans to do.

The girl, now bird, curls one of her wings around the egg while waving the other for emphasis. "They're experts when it comes to hatching eggs."  

"Wow you're so smart Lisanna," Natsu praises.

But amistd all the admiring Elfman lets out a soft sigh at the scene in front of him. Cana taking notice asks, "Aw Elfman, what's the matter?"

"My little sister's perfected the full body take over but I'm still having trouble with it. I'm a sucky wizard."

"Oh I forgot you guys use the same magic."

"If I was as strong as her, I could turn into a bird and look for my parakeet."

"Parakeet?"

"We used to be the best of friends." Elfman begins to reminiscence on his pet bird with a red head, orange body, and its sweet chirps. "Until he flew away."

"That's so sad."  

"Man, I wish I had an egg to hatch like they do."

"Aww! So that's really Elfman?" Lucy asks as she looks at a young boy in a neat blue suit wearing bashful smile. It's much different than the hulking guy that shouts out man every other sentence. "He was such a cute little guy." 

"Oh yeah. He hasn't changed much at all." Some would beg to differ. 

Magnolia South Gate Park

Natsu looks at the egg in anticipation as Lisanna keeps it warm with her wings and body while Vela is sitting next to the large tree to make sure nothing happens. At least until she has to meet up with Gray so they can go on a job together. However, the boy's intense stare has started to become a little unnerving. 

"You're starting to make me nervous," Lisanna says.

"The egg'll hatch if we sit like this?" Natsu asks while continuing to stare.

"Mhm, it gets kinda boring though."

"Don't worry you guys I'm sure something will happen soon. You just have to be patient." As soon as Vela says that the egg starts to shake.

"Woah it started moving?" As Natsu starts to crawl closer to it to get a better look the egg suddenly jerks out of Lisanna's grasp shocking all three kids. "What's going on?" The egg then bounces right into Natsu's arms. 

"That was strange," Vela comments.

The egg then stilled. "Huh? Looks like it calmed down."

"Hey! Maybe the egg's trying to say something," Lisanna suggests. "Like it wants you to warm it up instead."

"Yeah, you really think so?" Vela's face is now inches away from the egg. She's hoping she'll get to see it move this time.

"Yeah. Doesn't it seem like its happy now?"

"Hey egg you wanna be with me?" A series of light tapping sounds can be heard from within in response. "I think it said yes."

"See what'd I tell ya?"

"Right as always," Natsu praises. 

"Just make sure not to squeeze to hard little brother," Vela reminds. She then spots Gray in the distance waiting for her. "Well I've got to get going now guys. Good luck with the hatching!" 

As she catches up with the ice wizard he decides to ask her about the progress of the egg. "So how's the egg doing? Has the idiot fried it to a crisp yet?"

Vela slightly elbows him for calling her brother an idiot. "No, he hasn't. And for your information he's actually been doing a pretty decent job so far. This is the first time I've ever seen him be so patient and gentle with something I'm real proud of him." 

Gray only hums in response before thinking of something else that's been on his mind. "What do you think will even hatch from that thing? I mean do you really think a dragon's gonna come out of it? You keep saying your mom was a dragon so you must know what the eggs look like."

"Sure my mom was a dragon, but I had never seen her lay any eggs before. It could be a dragon for all I know. I just hope it turns out cute. Maybe even fluffy." Vela starts to blush and get all starry eyed at the thought.

"It's an egg. When has something fluffy ever come out of an egg before?"

"I don't know you might be surprised. Either way there's going to be a new addition to our family, so it's still exciting." 

"Yeah, I guess," Gray reluctantly agrees. "Now come on we have to hurry and catch the train so we can get this job over and done with by lunch. We can be in Oak Town in the next two hours."

"Train?" Vela whimpers. She thought this was a local job. At the thought of riding a train she's starting to have second thoughts. "You know what I think I'll pass on this job. I can always rearrange mine and Natsu's grocery budget until next week."

Vela tries to make a quick getaway but she was too slow as she suddenly finds herself being dragged by the back of her dress. "Nice try, but you're gonna have to be a lot quick than that."

"Dang it." All she can do now is accept her fate.  

A few days later a certain lightning mage was getting filled in on recent events. "You kidding me? A dragon's egg?" Laxus asks the older men. He had just gotten back from a job, and he can't believe what he's hearing. "Don't tell me you believe in all that garbage."

"I don't know," Macao responds. "Natsu and Vela say they were raised by dragons so why not?"

"Yeah, like I buy that."

A voice from down below suddenly pipes up. "But it's true I was raised by a dragon." As Laxus turns around Vela comes into view with her face turned up at the teenager and set into a defiant pout. "She was my mom and her name was Cosmologia. She's the one that taught me magic. I told you this already Laxus," she sighs exasperated.

He only lightly scoffs. "Yeah, yeah. I don't need to hear it again squirt." Laxus gently turns her around by the top of her head. "Now go run along and play kid."

His dismissal only causes her to pout further. "I'm not a baby." Suddenly one of her cheeks gets tugged on.

"Yeah, sure you aren't." The younger girl tries to swat the lightening mage away but is unsuccessful.

"Give 'em a break they're kids," Wakaba chimes in. "Lisanna even made a little bitty house to protect the egg."

"You guys are lame." No longer caring for this Laxus walks away searching for something better to do. But not before ruffling up Vela's hair before he leaves causing the ribbon to fall out and her hair to become loose. Annoyed she goes to fix it. 

The older men pay no mind as they continue to gush about the sweet little romance blossoming between the two kids. "That's so cute," Macao gushes.

"Puppy love," Wakaba coos. But a certain someone overhears this and is not too pleased. Mirajane lets out a growl before chopping the table the two men were sitting at in half with her fist. This causes the two men to jump back in surprise and Vela to get so scared she takes cover underneath another table. "What the heck's your problem all of a sudden?!"

"Can't you just sulk around like a normal teenager?!" Macao and Wakaba are upset at their gossiping being interrupted not to mention their drinking. 

Mirajane doesn't answer she only starts to shake in rage. "I knew something was wrong when she didn't stop by the guild. So she's been hanging out with Natsu has she? She can't be friends with someone from Team Erza!"

"She is seriously Poed," Macao mutters.

"Try to chill out! Jeez!" Wakaba suggest exasperated. Seeing that Mirajane does not intent to adhere to their advice Vela decides that for the time being she's much safer under the table. Later in the day Natsu and Lisanna burst into the guildhall. Apparently, they had lost the egg and think that one of the members must have taken it.

"Alright, which one of you stole it?!" Natsu demands.

"We don't want your dumb egg," Gray retaliates.

"I don't know anything about it," Cana says. "Maybe Vela knows, but I have no clue where she is right now." They then hear snores coming from underneath one of the tables. Gray leans down to check where the sounds coming from and he finds Vela. Curled up in bawl taking a little snooze, and for some reason she's using his clothes as makeshift pillow.

"Hey Vela. Wake up." He gently shakes her awake. She rubs her eyes and hums in confusion before crawling out from beneath the table bringing Gray's clothes with her. "What were you doing under there?"

Still trying to rub the sleep from her eyes Vela says, "I was hiding from Mirajane earlier cause she was super angry about something and scaring me. But I guess I must've fallen asleep while I was under there. Here's your clothes back."

Gray takes them while rubbing her head. "You're really weird sometimes, but thanks."

"More importantly have you seen my dragon egg sis?" Natsu frantically inquires.

"The egg?" Vela hums. "No, I haven't. I hope you guys find it before it hatches though."

Natsu then sets his sights on the resident moody teenager. "Laxus was it you?!"

"Yeah, right," he sarcastically replies.

The dragon slayer then moves onto his next target which is the redhead by the request board. "Ok Erza, out with it already."

"Now, now," she tries to placate. "Let's not jump to conclusions. It wasn't me."

"What about you Mira?" Lisanna asks her older sister. "Have you seen the egg?"

"No, fraid not." Mirajane then turns towards the younger pink haired boy and begins to antagonize him. "You ate it, didn't you pinky? Just admit it."

"Mira," Erza scolds. 

"Give him a little credit," Vela adds. "He's not that dumb...well anymore at least." 

Natsu's face grows dark at the heinous insinuation. Suddenly he lunges towards Mira and aims to punch her in the face. "You're going down!" But this also causes Gray to be knocked down as collateral damage along with Vela causing them to end up in a big pile of limbs on the ground.

"Yeah well bring it on! I'll skin you alive twerp!"

"Natsu watch where you're punching stupid!" Gray yells back as he helps Vela up.

"Whatever I'll fight you too!"

"I should've just stayed under the table," Vela groans. Erza runs over to calm everyone down, but they all still continue to fight. They get so rowdy to the point that the old timers at the bar get annoyed.

"They're at it again," Macao observes.

"Man, what are we going to do with these kids?" Wakaba complains. "Hate to think what the guild's gonna be like in a few years."

"They only fight because they acknowledge each other's strength. And when they see themselves in one another it makes them strive to improve," Makarov states. "In other words there's nothing to worry about."

Laxus having overheard believes that to be the biggest piece of crap he's heard all day. "Yeah, you wish."

Now that everyone is separated from one another Natsu begins to cry from frustration. "You're so mean. I just want my egg back!" Vela has him in a tight side hug while Erza tries to comfort him by rubbing his shoulder.

"Come on," Gray complains at his upset. Vela gives him a look that makes him turn quiet.

"Aw look at you crying. How cute," Mira mocks.

"I'm not crying!" 

"You have to quit teasing him about it," Erza scolds. She then directs her attention back to Natsu. "Now, would you please stop crying?"

"I'll make you cry!" Vela does her best to wipe his tears so he can at least save a little bit of his dignity.

Erza wanting this whole ordeal to end murmurs to Mira, "Hurry up and give him the egg back alright?"

"I told you I ain't got it. It looks like you ate it porky."

"What did you call me?!" 

At the two girls continue to fight Lisanna breaks into tears over what may have happened to their egg. "Poor egg," she whimpers as she tries to dry her tears. 

Cana then remembers something Elfman had mentioned yesterday. "You know Elfman told me how jealous he was of your egg the other day." Lisanna yelps in surprise.

Natsu having overheard is outraged. "He's the one who ate it?!" 

"No, he'd never do that," Lisanna defends.

But with perfect timing Elfman walks in holding the egg which is perfectly safe. "Hey, sorry guys."

"It was you all along wasn't it?!" Natsu acuses.

"The egg," Lisanna cheers.

"I didn't mean to steal it or anything. It's just you toss and turn so much in your sleep I was afraid you wouldn't keep the egg warm enough."

"Wait a sec," Natsu starts.

"So it's ok?" Lisanna finishes.

"I'm not very good with magic, but I stuck close to it all night and kept it warm with my body heat."

"Oh I get it now," Natsu says impressed. The two kids express their gratitude. "You sure are a real man." 

Now that the mystery's been solved the two older girls go right back to fighting. "And you blamed everything on me. Typical."

"Well, that's because things are usually your fault." Before things can escalate any further the egg begins to shake and tapping noises can be heard from the inside. A giant crack is then formed at the very top causing everyone to gasp.

"Now what?" Laxus says to himself fed up with all the commotion from today. Seeing that the egg's about to hatch everyone gathers around to get a closer look at what might pop out.

"It's hatching," Lisanna cries. 

As everyone starts to crowd together Vela somehow gets pushed to the side. And seeing as how she's much shorter than everyone else she can hardly see. She tries jumping up on her tip toes but that fails. The girl's about to resign and give up on getting a peek until she's suddenly lifted up into the air. Vela now found herself much able to see once more thanks to the extra leverage from the impromptu piggyback Gray decided to give her. 

A glowing ball of blue light suddenly springs up into the air. As the light slowly diminishes everyone sees that what had hatched as a small blue kitten with wings and a cheerful smile. 

"Woah it's a freakin' cat!" the two older men exclaim.

Vela squeezes Gray's neck a little tighter in excitement. "I told you it would it be cute and fluffy." He only lets out an amused huff in response.

"It has wings!" Natsu exclaims as the cat gently flaps them overhead. "Is it a bird?"

"No, it's a cat," Lisanna corrects. "A blue cat."

The cat then lands on top of Natsu's head as its wings disappear in a soft bright pop. It suddenly sits upright with his paw held up in a wave as it lets out a small, "Aye!"

"He's so cute!" Lisanna gushes.

"I know!" the rest of the guild squeals in agreement with hearts in their eyes.

Then a small blue parakeet flies in and lands on Elfman's shoulder. "Huh? It's a parakeet." Seeing what had landed on his shoulder the boy begins to jump and down in joy. "My best friend's back! Ohoho! Hey buddy!"

"Yeah, right. His parakeet was red," Mira confesses to Erza.

"You see that?" Lisanna asks while grabbing onto Natsu's arm. "A minute ago everybody here was all worked up. But now they're happy." The cat is now peacefully sleeping in Natsu's arms. "He's almost like a blue bird of happiness isn't he?" 

"Happiness, huh?" Natsu contemplates. "Well, in that case I'll name him Happy."

Upon receiving his new name the cat's ear twitches in response before he lets out another cheerful, "Aye!" 

"Happy the Dragon!" Natsu starts to sing as he dances around with the cat.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail Happy!" Vela cheers. 

"It's not a dragon," Mira interjects.

But despite their new member not being a dragon Reedus decides to depict him as such anyways. "Oh well, I'll paint it as one anyway." It will make for a fond memory.

"I see," Lucy says. "That was a totally cute story." But Lucy can't see the slight frown that had taken over Mira's face. "I really hate to see those two fighting."

"The closer two people are the more they fight. It's fine," Mira reassures.

Very abruptly Makarov runs into the room looking for some extra hands. "Hey Mira think you can help me for a sec?"

"Of course!" As Mira and Makarov leave the room Lucy looks over the painting one last time to see if she missed anyone.

"Now let's see. There's Erza, Gray, Vela, and Mirajane. That's Laxus and this girl must be Lisanna." Out of all the people in this picture she's the only one that Lucy hadn't met yet which was strange seeing as how close she was to everyone else back then. "That's weird. If she's Mira and Elfman's sister how come I haven't met her yet? I wonder where she is?"

A/N 

On to the Phantom Lord Arc. With the introduction of Juvia I'm interested to know what you guys would prefer to have her and Vela's relationship be. I'm a little stuck on their dynamic. Some ideas I have are sticking with plain old love rivals (like how Juvia is with Lucy), friends but Juvia is still obsessed with Gray, or instead of obsessing over Gray I could do a 180 and have her obsessed with Vela in a more admirational way instead of romantic. Let me know what you guys would want to see.

See ya next time :)  

[beanea04]

Changeling

          In a land far far away lies the Kingdom of Fiore. A small peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic, found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most magic is merely a tool a mundane part of everyday life. For some however magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice, these are the wizards. Banded together in magical guilds they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless ledges have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name is Fairy Tail.

        However, submitted for your approval, a type of magic that is particularly eerie. A spell that may cause the minds of you, our dear readers, to leave your bodies and be transported to that far away magical realm. Don't panic.

Erza slams open the guild doors and brings the group of five front and center. "Is Master Makarov here?" Hearing her harsh tone and seeing the firm body language, the rest of the guild can get the signal that they should all stay out of Erza's path. Except for one. 

"You're finally back from your island getaway," Mirajane says as she approaches the group. "So how was it? Did you have fun?"

"It was work not a vacation."

"Uh Mirajane," Lucy softly interjects. "I wouldn't joke with her right now."

"Where is Makarov?" Erza continues to ask.

"He went out of town for some kind of last minute council meeting or something like that. He's been gone since yesterday," Macao answers. Upon hearing that the boys and Vela all let out a sigh of relief. They're saved, at least for today.

"Well that was a close one." Natsu is now back to wearing his usual easy going grin and is no longer sweating buckets.

"Yes," Gray cheers as he does a small fish pump. "We won't have to deal with that until Gramps gets back."

"Oh thank goodness! I wasn't ready to stare into the face of death! I still got eight more lives!" Happy cries with tears of relief streaming down his face.

"Now I have time to get my story straight. Hopefully I can work it enough that Gramps will let me off a little easier than you guys," Vela says as she being plotting. She may not be able to lie to her fellow guildmates, but she can certainly spin the retelling of the events to work in her favor. 

Their reactions only leave Lucy in more fear as she still has no clue what that is referring to. "I can't stand it anymore! You guys are really freaking me out! How's he gonna punish us?! I can't die now I'm still young and I have so much to live for!"

Lucy's panic attack had set Erza over the edge with their complaining as she yells back at them, "All of you shut up!" Her sudden outburst causes the girls to cling to onto one another and funnily enough the boys do the same thing. "Do you know when the Master is planning to return?" 

"No," Mira answers truthfully. "But I would imagine that he would be coming back anytime now." 

Erza turns back around to address the offenders. "Now listen up you fools! You're not getting off the hook. You broke guild rules by taking on that S-class quest and for allowing it to continue." She gives a pointed look towards a certain celestial dragon slayer who tries to avoid her gaze. "Prepare to be punished."

At the mention of punishment, the boys let out rather girlish squeaks and go to cling onto the nearest thing which just so happened to be Vela. Normally she would push them all off, but she's quite scared too so the extra arms around her is rather comforting.    

Right next to the big cuddle fest Lucy is having an existential crisis. "How do I prepare myself if I don't know what's going to happen?!" 

"Well was nice knowing ya," Wakaba teasingly calls out to them. He then pulls out a smoke and starts to mutter to himself. "It's a crying shame. Those two boys are one thing, but I can't believe Lucy's getting punished too. Not to mention Vela, I always thought she was one of old man's favorites. Oh, you poor girls." 

"You poor girls?" Lucy whimpers as she overhears this.

Vela on the other hand is too focused on an entirely different part of his speech. "I'm one of his favorites?" She gets all starry eyed which is a stark contrast to Lucy as she had suddenly gotten unusually pale.

The boys meanwhile are quite peeved at the disregard for their well beings. "What's the deal man? How come you don't feel sorry for us huh?" Natsu interrogates as he makes his way over to the smoker.

"Why are ya lumping me in with this loser?" Gray asks. At the insult punches start to get thrown and grunts of pains can be heard throughout the guildhall.

'What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I don't even want to be in the same sentence as you. Do I need to draw you a picture?" Flames and ice can then be seen coming from that tangle of limbs.

"A big part of being a man is owning up to your actions," Elfman chimes in. "Ya hear that you two? It's high time for you to man up."

Happy comes flying by now with tears of sorrow as he complains about being forgotten. "It's not fair! I'm the cutest one here so how come nobody feels sorry for me!"

"Would somebody please tell me what's going to happen to us?!"

Changeling 

Seeing as how they won't be facing punishment today Natsu, Gray, and Vela head over to the request board. On there Natsu sees a flyer with strange text on it, an image of a pair of eyes and a caption above saying Read Me. "Man, that's one creepy looking job request."

"Mhm, yeah it is," Gray agrees.

"I feel like the eyes are staring at me wherever I go." To test this Vela starts weaving between both boys as her eyes never leave the paper. Getting a little fed up with the constant movement Gray places his hands on her hips to keep her still. 

They then hear Loke's voice from behind them. "You guys are back, what's up?"

"Hey Loke," Vela waves from her spot in front her Gray as his hands are still around her. The man gives her a charming smile back in return.

"Not much man," Natsu says without looking back as he's still focused on the strange text. "What the heck I can't even read it."

"Read what?" Lucy asks having overheard.

Her sudden appearance causes Loke to freak out. "Woah! You're back too Lucy?!"

"Geez, it's real nice to see you too. What is your problem with me?"

"I-uh...nothing!" Loke tries to make a quick escape, but he failed to notice a certain redhead blocking his path.

"No way!" she calls out to the group currently on probation. Loke is left on the floor dazed as he had run headfirst into her armor. "You will not be taking any requests."

"Real smooth," Lucy comments as she's crouched next to Loke's unconscious form which Vela is now poking. 

At the sudden uproar Cana finds that she can no longer enjoy her drink in peace. "Do they have to be so noisy?"

"Who cares? They are like the coolest," little Romeo says from beside her with a slight blush on his face and a grin full of admiration. 

"You're kidding me, right? ichisaru

Natsu ignoring Erza now has the flyer in hand. "Decipher this text and I'll see that you'll...increase your wealth by 500,000 jewel. This one sounds like a winner to me what do you think?" he asks Happy.

"Sure does!"

"So it's a translation job? That's a weird request for a guild," Gray comments.  

"And that's a lot of money for something as simple as that," Vela adds.

Natsu has set the job request on a nearby table so everyone could have a better look. Upon closer inspection Gray takes note of the symbols. "Wait that's some kind of crazy ancient stuff. No one's gonna be able to read that."

"Hold on, it's written in modern letter too," Happy points out.

"I thought I told you no jobs."

However, they all seem to ignore Erza's words as Natsu leans forward to see for himself. "Oh yeah I can totally read that. Let's see ugo deru rasuchi boru kania." At the nonsense he had just read Natsu holds his head in frustration. "What the? That's crazy."

All of a sudden, a bright light engulfs the six and the still unconscious Loke. The two old timers take notice of this and decide to check it out. "What's going on?" asks Macao.

"That's just sad. Those kids are so scared of the Master's punishment they're actually sweating rainbows," Wakaba observes.

Even Macao can tell that is not what's happening. "That's enough booze for you."    

The glow ends leaving them all utterly confused. Suddenly 'Gray' begins to shiver. "So cold!" He even tries to hug himself for warmth. 

"What? Ice wizards don't get cold you big crybaby," Elfman says at the absurd statement. 

"I'm serious you guys, c-can somebody turn up the heat before I freeze to death in here? P-p-pretty p-please?" His shivering had increased tenfold, and a light sheen of frost is being emitted from his body. This request leaves everyone in the guild bewildered. 

Then 'Vela' perks up in alarm. "What the? What's going on? My chest feels really weird all of a sudden. Like it's heavy. My back's killing me." As she goes to lean over on a table for support everyone else takes note on how much deeper her voice had suddenly become.

"Hey, are you feeling alright Vela?" Macao asks in concern. "Your voice seems awfully low."  

"Yeah, I'm fine. I really don't feel all that different," comments 'Lucy' in response. 

This only confuses Macao further. "That's great Lucy, but I was asking Vela."

"What are you talking about I-" 'Gray then takes notice of 'Vela' bent over the table and 'Lucy' standing contently on the other side of himself. "What the?!"

'Loke' then wakes up from his mini siesta. "That's weird. I don't remember laying down on the floor like that." As he gets up he clutches his head in pain as he has no idea what he did to have it hurt so much. 

'Natsu' gets a weird smirk on his face and goes to push up glasses that aren't there. There also seem to be sparkles floating around him now. "Hmph. Hold on, I thought I was the one who was on the floor." At that moment he realizes who he's standing next to. The boy lets out a loud screech and bolts it for the door.

"Hey! Where are you going little bro?" 'Lucy' calls to him.

"Yeah, where do you think you're going dragon breath?!" 'Vela' then takes a pause and pales at the sound of her own voice. "Why do I sound like a girl?"

"I'm no doctor, but I'd say it's probably cause you are a girl." This has got to be one of the most confusing days that Macao has ever experienced.

"Why is everyone behaving so foolishly?" The little blue 'cat' asks in oddly stern tone not fitting for his personality. Or his body for that matter as he's standing with his hands on his hips in a rather firm and composed disposition. 

"Oh wow, Natsu! Check it out!" 'Erza' cheers with a blush on her face and in a higher pitched voice than normal. But she can't find the boy in question. "Where did he go?"

"I'm standing right here," 'Loke' says in response. "Why's this place so dark?" 

"I could be wrong, but I don't really think I've always had these." Erza then begins groping and squeezing her chest. "Have I? Have I?" This causes the men in Fairy Tail to blush and gain stupid grins on all their faces.

It also causes 'Lucy' to be appalled at this unusual behavior and Happy to be outraged. "Show some decorum Erza. That's so unladylike."

"Why you!" As 'Happy' goes to aim a kick towards 'Erza's' chest she suddenly requips back into her standard armor leaving his little paw to be in pain. 

"Hey and I got cool armor too."

'Happy' is now keeling over on the ground in utter despair. "I don't understand what's happened to me. I've never felt so tiny and weak before. It's like I've somehow requiped into a cat."

"Why do they have to ruin my quality drinking time?" Cana complains.

"They're so cool they couldn't ruin anything," Romeo says in response. 

"Kinda their thing."

"Ok I'm starting to get really freaked out," 'Gray' panics. "First I'm totally freezing now there's some creepy lookalike of me."

"What are you talking about?" 'Vela' asks.   

"Oh dear..." 'Lucy' sighs now understanding at what had just occurred.

"How can you be such an idiot? Don't you realize that has happened to us?" Happy addresses the group. Loke's wearing a confused snarl instead of his usual charming grin. Vela is standing slouched in a rather undignified position. Gray has his hands held up to his face in distress. Lucy is standing more or less the same but has an air of distressed maturity surrounding her now. And Erza is staring wide eyed at the cat. "We've all switched bodies."

"What!?" Four out of the five cry out.

'Loke' kneels down to get eye level with the cat. "Stop fooling around Happy."

"I'm Erza you dimwit!"

"If you're gonna yell at me Loke, do it to my face!" Erza, or really Happy, cries out.

"Silence!" the actual Erza commands.

"You mean..." 'Gray' worries.

"Yes, Natsu and Loke, Gray Vela and Lucy, and worst of all Happy and I. We have all switched bodies."

"HUH?!" 

"Why's switching with me the worst of all?!" Happy complains. 

During all this commotion no one had noticed the return of Master Makarov. "The ancient unpala spell has been cast. You kids aren't feeling like yourselves today huh?"

"Master your back!" Erza says with relief as she toddles over to him with the rest quick to follow.

"Gramps!" Natsu exclaims. 

"I had noticed that request on the board. By reading what was written on that page aloud you've cast a powerful spell of personality transference. And that spell is called the Changeling," Makarov explains.

"That sounds scary," Lucy squeals. 

Gray then grabs Loke's shoulder which he assumes to be the real Natsu. "So, you're really Natsu right?"

"Yeah," he hesitantly answers. He was right to be as Vela, actually Gray, now has him in a chokehold by the collar of his jacket.

"You idiot! What did you do to us?!"

"Me?! All I did was try to read the stupid job request. Would someone please turn on the lights?! Come on!"

"They're already on, little brother," Lucy, or rather Vela sighs in weariness.   

"That's enough Vela, er Gray," Master intervenes. "For wizards this spell switches more than just your bodies. It switches magic as well." 

"What?!" they all cry outraged. 

"There's one other thing you should know," he adds. "If the Changeling spell is not undone within 30 minutes from the time it was initially cast, you will never return to the way you were before. Or so says the legend at least."    

Natsu scrambles over to the rest of the guild. "Do you know how many minutes we've been mixed up for?"

"Sixteen," Mirajane answers. "So you have fourteen left." This causes everyone to further panic.

"Gramps isn't there any way to lift the spell and change us back?!"

Makarov begins to think. "Since this is such an ancient magic. It would only stand to reason that I..." He pauses in what most assume contemplation, but Vela has a feeling it's more for dramatic effect. "Don't know." Everyone's left appalled by his answer.

Not caring for their despair Makarov walks over the pile of despair and heads towards the bar. "I must say I'm disappointed I was so looking forward to punishing you. But it looks like you've got your hands full for now. Best of luck to you kids."

As everyone wallows in their lost hope, Mirajane takes notice of one the one person who seems to be taking this body switch with relative ease. "You seem to be taking things rather well, Lucy, uh I mean Vela."

"Yeah, well, I would say out of all of us I got pretty lucky. Other than a change in physical strength and stamina I feel more or less the same. So worst case scenario for me would be some extra training and maybe more shifts at Sorcerer Weekly for some extra cash. But at the end of the day I'm still a cute girl that practices celestial magic even if it's not through dragon slaying."

Upon hearing how happy go lucky she's being Gray gets the sudden urge to strip. "Alright that does it! I can't take it anymore!" He starts by pulling of Vela's outer dress, causing the rest of the boys to blush, but it isn't until he goes for the bodysuit that Vela chooses to intervene.

"I was fine with the dress, but you're taking it to far with the suit!" Vela punches Gray, or rather herself in the back of the head, but it seems to have no effect. Oh no! I forgot how much weaker I am in this body, or maybe my original body is too strong. Either way I have to stop him fast. Luckily Lucy takes notice of the girl's panic and acts quickly. 

"Let go!" But Lucy is quick to restrain him by the arms.

"Get a hold of yourself! Do you really want all these people to see Vela naked?!" Upon hearing that Gray stops struggling, but he's still itching to take something off.

"So even though Gray's in Vela's body he still likes to take off his clothes," Happy observes. He suddenly gets a great idea. "Then that means."

"That means what?" Erza questions. She has a feeling she knows what he's thinking and it's going to lead to nothing but embarrassment for her. "No Happy!"

"This'll be awesome! Ok here I go!"

"Happy stop this at once!"

"Requip!" Her demands fall on deaf ears as Happy begins to requip into one of Erza's many armors. "Check me out you guys! Yay!" But instead of transforming into one her sets of armor Happy had changed into a one-piece bathing suit and pigtails with fish clips. He was even holding a fishing pole. "Tada!"

"Why would Erza have that as a requip?" Vela says to herself.

The guys on the other hand have a completely different reaction as they now all have blushes on their faces with steam coming out of their ears. "Woah! Erza looks smoking hot!" 

"How dare you!" As Erza goes to lad a punch she's stopped by her own elbow. But the worst part of it all was that Happy wasn't even trying to block her attack. As the reality of her new body begins to set in Erza falls into a deep despair. "No this can't be. I was an S-class wizard and now I'm so weak."

"Man, I was trying to change into one of those cool suits of armor she has." Vela does her best to try and comfort them both by patting Happy on the shoulder and scooping up Erza into her arms. While the girl, now cat, tries to fight it at first she ultimately gives in and lets herself sag into Vela's embrace.

"I see. We switched our magic with each other, but everyone totally stinks at it," Natsu observes. 

"Hey Loke," Wakba calls out to. "Or whoever's inside him."

"Geez it's me, Natsu ok?!" 

Wakaba ignores the yelling and asks, "Have you figured out what magic he uses?"

Elfman also curious eggs him on by saying, "Yeah come on. Be a man kid. Show us."

They bring up a good point as Natsu is also rather curious, but he doesn't really feel anything. I don't know. I don't feel anything happening magic wise. Everything just kinda feels fuzzy. At the frustration of not knowing if he can even do magic anymore, he cries out, "I don't know if I can take this pressure anymore!" 

At that moment, Natsu, who's actually Loke comes running in with fire spilling from his mouth. "Hey guys! You gotta help me!"

"What's with that fire?" Macao asks.

"It's like he's drooling," Elfman says.

"Well, that's certainly not threatening," Mirajane comments amused. 

"No, but it is gross." Vela then feels Erza leap out of her hands and begin to fly. At least someone has a decent grasp of their new body.

"I must admit flying is way more fun than I thought it'd be." But who's she kidding. Even if flying is fun she wants her old body back. "I shouldn't be wasting my precious time like this! I need to be changed back at once!"

As she flies off Vela can only mutter, "Wow, talk about volatile."

"What are we gonna do?" But as Lucy lets out a long sigh of desperation ice begins falling out of her mouth. 

"Hey Gray, or uh Lucy," Mirajane calls out. "You're dropping ice hun."

"I hate this. Why me?!" As she continues to whine more and more ice falls from her mouth.

"Oh man, now the floor's gonna be all wet," Vela says as she tries to pick up all the ice cubes from the floor, but they just seem to keep on coming. This only causes Lucy to become even more upset.  

But her woes are halted by a sudden voice calling out, "No need to worry Lucy." It turns out to be Levy who's standing with firm determination as Team Shadow Gear stands on either side of her.   

"Levy it's you," Lucy cheers as the small girl winks at her in response. 

"The Shadow Gear Team is here to save the day," Droy says. "You guys'll be back to normal in no time."

"Oh yeah. No sweat," Jet adds.

However, despite their bravado they don't actually plan to help themselves. "Now do your thing Levy," they both cheer as they gesture for the girl to move forward.  

"When you boys say we you really mean her right?" Mira asks rhetorically.

"That's usually the case," Vela comments. The two boys can only chuckle embarrassed at being called out by the two girls. 

"You're so sweet to help us," Lucy gushes.

"Anything for my girl." Levy then holds up her hand to partially cover her mouth as she whispers. "Besides I want to read your novel. And it'd be kinda weird talking about it with Gray." Lucy nods in agreement.

Natsu desperate to get back into his own body urgently asks, "What are you gonna do?"  

Everyone who had been switched are now gathered around Levy as she sits at a nearby table with several books on translation surrounding her. She is also now wearing a pair of wind reader glasses while holding up the job request. "I do know a thing or two about ancient texts. I'll start by taking a look at what's written on the flyer itself."

"Sounds good, but do it quick," Gray urges.  

Erza then jumps up onto the table to address everyone. "Listen up everyone." However, her speech is muffled as her mouth is biting into a fish. "We need to let Levy work in peace."

"Uh Erza." Vela points towards the girl's mouth. This captures Erza's attention and as she looks down she realizes what's in it. The explains why her mouth had tasted so odd.

"Why did I have a fish in my mouth?!" she cries in despair as she spits out the fish.

"Cause they're yummy." Happy now also has a fish in his mouth to prove his point but this has Vela rather disgusted seeing as how he's in Erza's body.

"Eww Happy! Spit that out right now."

"Huh? But why?" he whines.

"Cause you're not a cat anymore you're a girl that can't digest raw fish. Now spit it out." With a sad sigh he does as he's told but goes to the corner to sulk right after.

Ignoring the shenanigans around her Levy does her best to crack the code. "Ok, ugo deru." As she goes through book after book she makes good progress, but they're running short on time. 

"Please hurry," Loke pleads. "There's only ten minutes left." 

"Hey, you sure it's safe to read the words out loud like that?" Gray does not want to be switched into anyone else's body. Just thinking about going into Natsu's sends shivers up his spine.

"Don't worry. It's totally safe as long as you don't read everything in the correct order."

"Loosen up a little Gray Levy knows what she's doing," Vela assures. 

"Easy for you to say. Out of everyone here you got a lucky break." 

"True, but questioning Levy's methods isn't going to make her work any faster. Besides is being in my body really that bad?"

Gray chooses not to answer. Instead he turns his head and crosses his arms underneath his chest in defiance. But by doing so he only adds more emphasis to them. It's not awful, but my back is killing me. Upon pushing Vela's chest further up his thoughts drift to other places. Do these things really weigh that much? I don't get it. How can something so soft cause so much strain? 

Letting his intrusive thoughts win Gray proceeds to do what Happy did moments before in his new body. Which is to grip the sides of Vela's breasts and give them a good squeeze. Unfortunately for him she notices and is not stuck inside a feline body so she can reprimand him properly. "Gray! Stop doing that!" Vela emphasizes her point with a solid whack to the back of the head, but it doesn't seem to affect him much.

"Huh? I barely felt a thing when you hit me. I guess being stuck like this isn't so bad after all."

"That's so not the point!"

Gray brings his hands up in surrender. "Yeah, you're right, sorry. Let my impulses get the best of me. Won't happen again."  

But their conversation is then interrupted as Natsu begins to panic. "There's not much time! Agh, I can't take it!" He starts to clutch in head in what seems to be confusion. "I feel so weird! Change me back!" 

"Aw, I don't think it's all that bad." Happy then gets all excited once more as he wants to give Erza's magic another go. "One more time. Re-"

"I swear you'll lose a life cat!" Even though Erza's stuck as a cat her yelling still scares Happy greatly. He has no choice but to listen. 

Levy then shuts her book closed which has everyone stop what they're doing in hopes of good news. "So how's it going Levy?" Lucy asks.

"Have you figured it out?" Natsu questions in desperation.

Unfortunately, there is no good news. "No, I'm stumped." This sends the other two into another wave of wailing frustration.

"Oh no. I never thought my fate would be to live off my days as some strange flying cat."

"What's so terrible about that huh?" Happy had somehow gotten his hands on another fish, but Vela is quick to snatch it out of his mouth as well.

Right next to her Gray is going through his own inner turmoil at hearing the bad news. He lets out a frustrated yell and makes another move to strip from Vela's bodysuit. Upon seeing this the rest of the men in the guild give off excited cheers.

"I told you I draw the line at the bodysuit!" Vela is quick to try and restrain her own body. But seeing two pretty girls go at it in a cat fight is equally as riveting so the men are still cheering. 

"I feel so funky," Natsu groans.

"The girls are never gonna talk to me now," Loke complains.

Despite everyone expressing their grievances Romeo still wants to be included. "I wanna switch with someone." 

"Not with me kiddo. I'd die if I was underage." Cana then begins to chug her barrel of ale. 

Admist everyone's panic Levy tries to offer some reassurance. "Look I know you guys are freaking out but I'm still working on it ok?" 

"How much time do we have?" Natsu asks. He can't take being in the flirt's body any longer.

"About eight minutes," Macao answers. "Hate to say it but you might want to start preparing for the worst." The thought of never returning to normal only causes a great wave of sadness to wash over the group. 

Seeing how desperate the situation has become Jet and Droy figure to contribute the only way they know how. Which is to cheer on Levy. They're both now wearing arm and headbands with the Fairy Tail insignia while Droy is pounding on a large drum that says Levy Love on the side and Jet starts dancing(?) with a Fairy Tail fan.  

They both start to cheer as well. "Go! Go! Go Levy!"

"Those two guys are just her personal cheerleaders?" Wakaba asks incredulously. 

"What else is new?" Vela sarcastically asks. 

"So deru is...oh I see. That must mean," Levy mutters to herself as she pours over the countless books in front of her once more.

As more time passes the switched group can only wait together in silence. Having to acknowledge the elephant in the room Gray is the first to speak up. "So what happens if we end up getting stuck like this?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Natsu asks.

"Are we just gonna try and adjust to our new bodies and go back to work?"  

"Well yeah I guess we'd have to. It's not like we have a whole lot of options."

"Whatever happens is totally fine with me! If I stay quiet everyone'll be nice to me cause I'm scary now!" Happy cheers.  

This causes Erza to side eye him but that comment about her being scary sent her over the edge. "What?"

"Well no one asked for your opinion did they, stupid cat!" Lucy fires back. Out everyone here she feels that she got the shortest end of the stick. Well except maybe Erza but at least she was stuck as something that's still cute. On the other hand Lucy's stuck as some stripping pervert. "I just wanna be a cute girl again." She then starts to cry.   

She and Loke both open their mouths to groan and cry but fire and ice start to flow from them once more. "Are those frozen clunks of drool?" Natsu points out in disgust. "That is so gross man!"

"I'm not a man! And I know it's gross! You think I'm doing this on purpose!" As Lucy continues to shout insults ice is sent flying everywhere as a result. One actually ends up hitting Vela on the forehead leaving the smallest imprint.

"I understand where you're coming from Lu, but could you take it a little easy with the ice?" Noticing how Vela is attempting to cover her face from further hits Gray tries to rub her forehead in comfort. While the girl is thankful for the gesture it's still really strange to be on the receiving end of this treatment from...well herself. 

All of sudden Lucy's sudden rant comes to a halt. "What is it Gray? Er I mean Lucy." Erza asks. 

"I just realized something if we get stuck like this forever then none of us have a clue on how to use our magic anymore...If we did take a job then we'd never be able to finish it!"  

"Oh, jeez you're right!" Natsu groans in realization.

"We stink," Gray agrees.

"And that means," Erza starts.

"We're the weakest team in Fairy Tail now!" they all exclaim together.

"I'm sure it's not that bad you guys. Eventually we'll all get the hang of it and besides there's no time like the present." Vela suddenly gets up to demonstrate that with a little extra effort and hard work they can get back to being the strongest. "Open Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!" 

In a flash of light, the bull is standing before them in all his muscled glory. "You called Ms. Lucy!" But as the bull turns to look at his wizard he notices something off about her. "Your body is still totally rocking but there's something not quite right about you."

Vela can only sweat drop at the spirit's comment. "Uhh yeah about that..."

But Taurus interrupts her before she can explain. "Until you fix whatever's going on here, I'm going back home. See you Ms. Lucy!" And in another flash of light, he's gone. 

Seeing that Vela was able to use Lucy's magic the others are inspired to give it a try as well. "Let's do this Happy!" Natsu shouts out while posing.

"Aye!" Happy gets into a similar position.  

"Ice Make Something or Other!" No ice appears unless you count the cubes still falling from Lucy's mouth.

"Celestial Dragon Shiny Punch or whatever!" Gray calls out. But the only thing that happens is a sad spark of light that forms at his fist until it eventually fizzles out.

"Oh wow! Being able to fly is so fun!"

No matter how hard they tried they still all sucked. Instead of embarrassing themselves further the group decides to go back to sulking. "NOO! What's the point of living if I can't even burn stuff anymore?!" Natsu rants.

Erza joins in on the venting. "I am an S-class wizard, and I refuse to be part of the weakest team in the entire guild! If only I wasn't trapped in this form." 

"You're mean!" Happy complains. "I don't understand why you're complaining so much I liked being a cat!" All of a sudden he jumps into the air with his arms spread wide only to fall flat on top of Erza crushing her. 

"Just what were you trying to do there Erza ur I mean Happy?" Macao asks as Erza struggles underneath the weight of her body.

"Ever since we switched she's been saying mean stuff, so I got mad and tried to fly away. But I couldn't fly away. Cause I don't have my wings anymore!" 

"I-I'm sorry I was mean. I promise I'll be-" But Erza passes out from exertion before she can finish apologizing.  

"Yes! That's it!" Levy suddenly cheers. This causes those still conscious to surround her workstation. 

"Really? So you can lift the spell?" Natsu asks with anticipation.

"Come on! Do it!" Gray demands.

"Manners, Gray," Vela says to the boy now girl by flicking her own forehead. He only grumbles in return while rubbing the now bruised area. 

"This is what it says. May this eternal exchange provide you with eternal happiness. Kinda cute isn't it?"

"Aw yeah it is," Lucy agrees. 

"I guess, but it doesn't really explain why it's on a job request," Vela comments.

"May this eternal exchange provide you with eternal happiness, huh?" As Loke repeats the phrase this only confuses them all further.  

"Yeah and?" Natsu's starting to become rather agitated by all these mysterious sayings. 

"In other words, everybody who's been switched by this spell will live happily ever after. You're so lucky," Levy explains. "I'm so glad I figured it out." 

But upon hearing those words the others are only more convinced that they're all going to spend the rest of their lives in the wrong bodies. Natsu suddenly starts screaming in Levy's face in frustration. How can he be happy if can't be a dragon slayer anymore? "Oh no way! Are you telling me we're gonna be stuck like this forever?!"  

"We wanted you to lift the spell not read it. Remember?" Gray reminds. 

"Not that knowing the translation was useless or anything. We were just hoping to return to normal," Vela adds. 

"Oh, that's right. Sorry," Levy apologizes embarrassed at having forgotten.

Not wanting the girl to stress herself out Lucy tries to gently reassure her. "You've got this. I have faith that you can do it, but you've got to work a little faster kay? Maybe there's some kind of code or hidden message in the words, you know something like that."  

"Yeah, good idea." With Lucy's encouragement Levy gets right back to work along with her cheer team. Droy now has two drumsticks for maximized drumming and Jet is now sleeveless. 

"Go! Go! Go Levy!" they continue to cheer. 

"Isn't all that racket gonna distract her?" Wakaba wonders.

"Nah, they're just trying to get her pumped up," Elfman reasons. "And they need all the help they can get." 

"Go! Go! Go Levy! Yeah!"

"Ugh, I'm still not seeing any kind of a pattern here," Levy vents. "It doesn't seem to make any sense. Ugh!"

"Three minutes left," Macao reminds everyone.

"Three minutes!" Lucy cries out still with ice spilling out, but this time Vela is prepared. She stands next to the girl with a small bowl held underneath her mouth which catches all the stray ice.

"Well this is it. For the rest of my life," Erza contemplates. "Fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner." She starts to shed some tears at the thought of what the rest of her life may look like in this new body. "I worked so hard. And now I'm going to spend the rest of my days chasing mice and little pieces of string!" In her grieving she starts to fly off.

"No wait come back here Happy I mean Erza!" Loke calls out.  

"Sorry I got upset," Happy apologizes to a now sulking Erza who's trying to hide away in one of the dark corners of the guildhall. "I know this is hard for both of us."

"Really?" Erza asks while turning back around to face Happy or actually herself. "You do?"

"Now's not the time for us to be arguing like this. Will you please forgive me?"

"Yes, of course. I hope you'll forgive me too." 

"Aye," Happy then holds out a peace offering which turns out to be a big blue fish. "Here's a little something to make you feel better."

"A fish I-" Upon realizing what it is Erza bursts into tears again and flies off once more. "Don't want it!"

"Could you be anymore clueless?!" Lucy complains.

"Nice going Happy," Vela sarcastically says.

"Have you figured it out yet?!" Natsu questions. He's starting to get really antsy.

"The situation is dire with just one minute to go," Macao says before Levy can answer.

Being reminded of how little time they have left is the last straw for the former dragon slayer. "I don't recall asking you for the time so shut your trap kay?!"

"Jeez I was trying to help."

"Ok I think I've almost got this last part of it worked out," Levy murmurs to herself. 

Behind her Jet and Droy continue to her cheer her on but now they are joined by the likes of Elfman. He too is now also wearing the same arm and headbands and is waving around a Fairy Tail fan in extra support. "Work it Levy! Yeah! You're on fire!"

"He's too good at that," Wakaba observes disturbed.

"Yeah, who would've thought?" Vela comments. But she's more surprised at the fact that he hasn't called the small girl a real man in his chant yet.

"Still trying to break the spell, are you?" Master Makarov inquires with no real worry in his voice. He finds this whole ordeal rather amusing and much better than any punishment he could have ever made them suffer. 

"Look if you're trying to teach us a lesson here, we've learned it already, ok?" Gray says aggravated.

Master Makarov suddenly gasps in what seems to be realization. Erza is quick to respond, "Yes Master?" 

But then all Makarov does is shrug as he still has no clue. "Nope never mind kids, I'm drawing a blank." This causes the two boys and Erza to fall over in exasperation.

Gray in his panic tries once more to strip. "AHH! We're not gonna make it!" 

But before he can he's stopped by a pair of arms clinging onto his arms and shoulder. "Enough with the bodysuit! All you're gonna end up doing is giving everyone a peep show of me!" Vela screams at him. 

"Let go of me!"

"Not until you get it under control!" But Vela's arms begin to slip seeing has how her own body is physically much stronger than Lucy's. Seeing her struggle Lucy decides to intervene as well as she too uses her new body to subdue Gray. It's successful but just barely as all three continue to struggle against one another. 

"You guys have about 40 seconds left, more or less." Macao calls out. "Starting now!"

"What do mean by more or less?!" Natsu asks panicked.

Makarov's face suddenly lights up. "I just remembered something about the spell." 

Everyone gathers around him. "What is it?" Erza asks once more.

"While it can be lifted, I'm afraid that it has to be done one pair at a time. Meaning it's impossible to change all of you back at once."

"What?!"

Right behind Natsu Macao can be seen holding up a large cue card that says 30 seconds left on it. "30 seconds-ish."

"Which pairs going first?" Gray asks. 

"It should be me and other me. Don't you think?" Natu says.

Loke agrees while still trying to push up glasses that are not there. "Sounds good."

"That is so not fair. I think it should be me, Gray, and Vela. We're the only group of three so we should go first."

"Personally, I don't really mind-" Before Vela can continue Gray puts her head into a chokehold while covering her mouth so that they don't ruin their chances at getting switched back first. Getting restrained by my own body. How humiliating.  

"Hold on! As Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard, I should go first. It's for the good of the guild!"

"Well I don't care either way," Happy comments. 

"Well Vela's also one of the strongest female wizards, so that point's completely void," Gray argues. The group only descends into further chaos as they argue about who should be switched back first.  

"This is getting ugly," Wakaba observes. 

Mirajane tries to look at one of the few silver linings. "At least they can't use their magic against each other." 

"Just 15 seconds left," Macao calls out.

"Hold on you guys! I got it!" Levy yells amidst all the fighting. 

"And 12, 11..."

"Seriously?" Lucy inquires. 

"Alright I'll try to explain this to you really quick."

"And nine, eight urhg!" Macao's countdown in interrupted as he's flunf face first into a nearby table by Natsu, or really Loke's, fist.

"No time just change us back! Hurry!"

"Yeah right! Kay here goes!" The flyer on the table begins to glow with that strange light from before. "Ainak urob ichusar ured ogu! Ainak urob ichusar ured ogu! Ainak urob ichusar ured ogu!

As Levy continues to chant the strange text from the request begins to fly all around them. The words then form a strange spiral leading all the way up to the ceiling of the guildhall. Until it eventually expands into the sky and causes one more giant burst of light before disappearing.

"Hey I'm back to normal guys!" Lucy.

"Me too," Gray says.

"Me three!" Vela says as she jumps up with joy before swinging her arms around the other two in an impromptu hug. She then squishes both of her cheeks against theirs as she brings them in closer. 

As she lets go Gray lets out a sigh and responds with, "Man that was close." But as he opens his mouth ice continues to fall out. 

"So now you're drooling ice cubes on purpose?" Wakaba asks.

Vela starts to laugh at the embarrassment on the boy's face. But she's interrupted as she suddenly can't see. It turns out Gray had thrown her red dress back over her head but she's having trouble trying to navigate her way to the head opening. 

"Ahh! I can't find my way out! Help!" As the girl continues to flail about it's now Gray's turn to laugh. But being the nice guy that he is he still helps Vela get herself situated. Even though this earns him an upset pout in return which causes him to retaliate by pinching the girl's cheek before he's swatted away. 

Lucy goes over to show her gratitude to the person that helped return them all back to normal y giving her a big hug. "You're awesome Levy!"  

"That's right!" Levy congratulates herself. 

"Oh yeah," Droy says.

"Our cheering worked huh?" Jet asks.

"You gotta tell us. How'd you do it?" Lucy asks.

"When I realized the words themselves had no meaning I decided to read them backwards." This answer intrigues Vela as well as she joins the two girls to look at the flyer. "It's actually an old trick. Ancient languages usually didn't have that many letters, so sometimes they had to be a little bit more creative with how they used their words. That's why when I reversed the words it reversed the spell too."    

"How cool. I never would have thought of that," Lucy remarks. 

"We owe you big time Levy," Gray chimes in.

"Yeah, I'll say. I don't how much longer I could take of Gray trying rip my clothes off every other second." Gray blushes at the girl's rather suggestive words causing the other two to laugh. But Vela none the wiser only grows confused at his and their reactions. "Huh? What did I say that's so funny?"

"Uh it's nothing ignore them," Gray quickly interjects. She's still so confused.

"Don't worry about it," Levy says in response to Lucy's praise. 

But all that relief is quickly cut short as Natsu and Loke let out sighs as they then shout out, "I'm still in the wrong body!"

"What?!" all three girls exclaim.

"Me too," Erza groans out while shaking. "I'm still a stupid cat." 

"Wow! You mean I get to stay like this?" Happy cheerfully wonders. All three girls are left stunned at the fact that only one pair was switched back.

"Well that does it for time," Macao says as he holds up a little sigh with a zero on it. "Ya did get one pair switched back so I guess that's something to be proud of."

"No this can't be happening! There must have been some kind of mix up!" Natsu starts to plead with script mage. "Please Levy there's gotta be something else you can try!"

"Sorry," Levy sheepishly replies as she goes to examine the flyer once more. "Maybe I didn't pronounce it right."

"What?!" they all shout in surprise.

"So that's it! We're stuck like this forever?!" Natsu exclaims.

"I can't spend the rest of my life as some pink haired fire drooling freak of nature!"

At hearing the unfortunate news Erza tries to convince herself that this is all a dream and not her new reality. "Wake up Erza! This is all some horrible nightmare. You need to wake up!"

"Oh come on, relax. It's not all that bad," Happy attempts to reassure her. 

"Now, now don't lose heart," Mirajane says but there's something off about her. Her voice is significantly deeper and scratchier, but the way she's sitting is even off. She's cross legged on the bar counter and holding Makarov's staff behind her head. "There's gotta be another way. Huh?"

"Something's not right," Makarov comments in a much higher voice. "Hey guys did I get shorter?" He starts to look around at the others for confirmation.  

"Oh no! Mirajane!" Lucy cries out.

"Don't tell me that Mira switched bodies with Gramps!" Gray shouts out equally as surprised.

"That's so gross!" Vela chimes in. 

Realizing who's body he's in Makarov becomes much more upbeat about this whole situation. "Oh boy! You won't hear me complaining about this!"

The same cannot be said for Mira as she starts to freak out. "AHH! This can't be happening!"

"Who else?" Erza asks ominously.

That question is quickly answered as 'Elfman' is seen chugging down a large barrel of booze and 'Cana' is now stood at full attention. "All of you need to just man up and get over it ok?" She then starts to sniff herself. "What's the deal? Why do I smell like a brewery all of a sudden?" 

As 'Elfman' puts down his barrel he also starts to freak out as he looks from himself to her. "What the-? Hey, how did-?" His face suddenly grows pale. "Oh man I-I really think I might need to take a bit of a nap right now." He then promptly passes out falling from the table he was previosuly sitting on.

"Hey uh Droy," 'Droy' says before he gasps as he turns to look at the man.

"Yeah? What is it now Jet?" The man also lets out a similar gasp.

The two start flail about as they point at each other. "Hey man stop looking like me!"

"I don't think anybody's gonna be able to tell the difference with you two." Makarov does have a point. He then gets a creepy grin on his face. "But in my case having a body like this is a dream come true!" In Mira's body Makarov lays down on his stomach is what is meant to be a seductive pose while winking. 

"He's creeping me out!" Mirajane cries. "Levy please help me!"

The four people that were not affected by the body changing spell can only look on in shock at how the chaos from before has now seems to have multiplied. "Sorry but I think I'm in way over my head here," Levy says.  

"This is awesome!" Happy cheers. "Everyone's someone else now!"

Natsu would beg to differ. "Have you gone completely nuts?! THIS IS HORRIBLE!"

Magic is not a toy. In the blink of an eye, it can turn your world on its head. The very fabric of your being can be pulled from you in an instant. Until next time.  

[beanea04]

Reach the Sky Above

"Natsu, we're going to destroy the moon." 

That gets said boy gets all starry eyed and excited. "Really?!" Lucy, Gray and Happy on the other hand let out noises of shock and have lost all color from their face and eyes.

"It's the only way we can change the villagers back to their human form." Upon hearing this the villagers begin to shout with glee.

"They're really gonna do it. We get to watch it happen!"

"That's right! And we're all finally gonna be human again!"

"Where you wanna go?" Natsu inquires as he bounces up to Erza in excitement. "Do you think we should climb up to the top of the temple? It's a lot higher up there."

"We'll do it from here. The villagers can't go near the temple, and they need to witness this."

"I don't know what she's thinking," Gray says to Lucy and Happy. "I mean she can do some amazing things, but still."

"So, what do you think she's gonna do to it?" Lucy asks still wide eyed.

"This is exciting, huh?"

Lucy disagrees with the cat. "More like terrifying." She then turns to the person that this should matter to the most out of all of them. "Hey Vela, aren't you at least a little bit worried? I mean what if by some slim chance they actually succeed. What's gonna happen to your magic?"  

"I'm not too worried about it. Just put your trust in Erza guys."

Erza is now clad in black and yellow armor that covers the entirety of her body. The gloves have enlarged hands, fur trimming, and it comes with striped horns on her head. "This is Giant Armor. It increases my strength and allows me to throw farther. And this," She then summons a large spear in matching colors. "This is the Spear of Haja. It repels darkness." 

The villagers all gasp in awe. Even Natsu starts freaking out. "Woah, I see what you're planning now! You're gonna use that spear to knock the moon out of the sky."

His answer causes the rest of the team's eyes, sans Vela, to darken at his stupidity. Give me a break that's never gonna work they all think.

"That's right. But I'm afraid I'll need more strength than this armor can give me." She turns to the fire dragon. "So Natsu I'm going to need your fire power as a boost. Whenever I begin to throw the spear, I want you to hit the back of it with your flames. Now we'll have to time our attack perfectly, but I think you should give me just enough power to do the job."

"Sounds like a killer plan to me." 

"Then let's do it." 

"They don't really think they're gonna pull this off, do they?" Gray wonders.

"Well, I think they've totally gone off the deep end this time," Lucy says.

"I think you two will end up being surprised. There's no telling what can happen when those two work together," Vela contests.

Reach the Sky Above

Erza and Natsu are now stood on the tallest watchtower in the village. As Erza pulls back and aims her spear Natsu is stood behind her waiting for the signal. Her armor begins to glow and a magic circle appears in front of the spear. "Now!" Natsu punches the end of the spear with all his might which sends it flying up into the sky. His punch was so powerful that the straw roof had fallen apart from the blast.

"She did it!" Happy cheers.

"This is bad," Gray mutters.

"What are they thinking?" Lucy gasps in disbelief.

On the other hand, Vela's thoughts are somewhere else. "I hope the damage to the roof doesn't come out of the reward," she wonders.

"Kinda missing the bigger picture here, V," Gray deadpans. 

Everyone looks on in anticipation as the spear continues to soar towards its target. "Almost there," Erza calls out with determination. The villagers begin to murmur amongst themselves in hope while Natsu giggles from excitement.

The spear makes contact which causes cracks in the moon start to form. The villagers gasp while Lucy and Gray scream out, "No way!" But it's not the moon that had been shattered, it was the sky. As all around fragments begin to crack and crumble into a light sprinkle of dust down below.

"The moon," Natsu gasps.

"it's still there!" cries Chief Moka.

"It wasn't the moon that shattered," Lucy holds out her hands trying to catch the small flecks, "it was the sky."

Natsu leans over the railing to get a better look down below "What the heck is going on?"

"As a result of the spell a noxious membrane was covering the island," Erza explains.

"What?" That was a lot of big words for Natsu.

"The Moon Drip released evil energy in the form of a gas. That gas crystalized and formed an invisible shell in the sky that covered the island. That's why the moon looked purple here."

"It's also why I've been feeling off ever since we got here," Vela explains to her three teammates next to her. "Because of the shell the moonlight was being filtered through that evil energy ended up being put into my body as well."

"So that's why you've been so groggy at night," Gray says in realization. Vela nods happily in response. 

Meanwhile the villagers have all began to glow. "Now that the shell has been broken everything will go back to how it was three years ago," Erza says. But after the glowing had subsided the villagers remain in their monstrous forms. 

"What's wrong?" Gray asks. "They're not transforming."

"Oh no," Happy sighs sadly.

"That's because these are their true forms," Vela answers.

"What? I think the lack of moonlight is still messing your head V." Gray takes the sides of Vela's head into his hands and starts to inspect it as she has a head injury. The girl pouts in response and swats him away.

"No, she's just fine Gray." Erza has climbed down from the tower and regrouped with everyone else. She's also changed back into her regular set of armor. "The Moon Drip had no effect on their appearance. However, it seems to have altered their memories." 

"What do you mean?" Lucy inquires.

"They think they're humans who have been transformed into demons. But it's the other way around." 

This makes Lucy and Happy recoil in surprise. "Wait so you're saying... they're really..." Lucy trails off.

"Yep, their demons," Vela finishes. This causes the two and Gray to shiver at this discovery. 

"The villagers have always been demons," Erza says.

Natsu, who is still atop the tower, has his mouth hung open in shock, Happy is flying around, and Lucy's face has turned red while she falls to her knees on the ground.

Gray goes up to one of the villagers seeking confirmation. "Hey, is that true?" 

"Well, maybe. My memory's hazy. We all looked pretty human when you met us didn't we."

Erza steps in to clear up their confusion. "Yes, because you possess the ability to take on human forms. Your false memories led you to believe that your temporary states were actually your true forms. In reality you were demons who had fallen victim to the Moon Drip's side effects."

"Hold on," Lucy interrupts. "How come Lyon and the others weren't affected?"

"I assume it's because their human. As far as I can tell demons were the only ones susceptible to the memory loss. I knew what was going on as soon as the villagers told me they were unable to go to the temple along with how Vela told me they reacted to her magic."

At Lucy's confused look Vela steps in to elaborate further. "The moonlight collected there was sacred therefore creatures of darkness couldn't go near it. My magic also holds holy properties which can fend off those same beings. Which explains their reaction to it when I used my star feathers to disperse the jelly."

Lucy knocks her hand into her fist as a lightbulb goes off in her head. "Oh, that's why Erza asked Natsu instead of you to help her."

"That's right. If I had used my magic it would've have been a pretty unpleasant experience for the villagers." 

"You're quite the detectives," a familiar voice says from behind. "I knew I could trust you and your friends." Lucy and Gray gasp in shock when they turn around. It turns out to be Bobo, but now fully transformed and alive. "Thanks wizards. I owe ya one."

"A ghost!" Lucy shrieks while gripping an equally terrified cat.

"You're the guy from the boat!" Gray points out. Vela and Natsu only look on in surprise as this new development. I didn't see this one coming Vela thinks to herself.

The Chief is frozen at the sight of his thought to be deceased son. "Bobo," he whispers. 

The other villagers are all in similar states as they too believed that they had killed him. "But I thought you were-" one them starts. 

Bobo gestures over his chest. "Getting stabbed in the chest hurt pretty bad, but ya gotta do more than that to kill a demon. Hahaha!"

Gray interrupts his laughter with his own thought. "But on the boat, you just disappeared into thin air." Bobo then leaps into the air suddenly causing the wizards to yell in surprise.    

Now with a large pair of wings Bobo is floating in the air. "I really hope you kids can forgive me for not telling you the truth sooner."

"He can fly?" Gray gasps with his mouth hung wide open. Vela also staring at the man in astonishment takes her hand and closes it for him.

"I was the only one who didn't have any memory loss. I had to leave cause everyone went nuts. I knew I was a demon but everybody else suddenly they thought they were cursed humans."

As Bobo starts to laugh in glee once more Chief Moka begins to cry. "Oh Bobo." Suddenly a pair of similar wings sprout from his own back as he races to bring his son into a long-awaited embrace. "Bobo!"

His father's tight grasp surprised him at first, but Bobo happily accepts it. "I'm so glad you finally snapped out of it Pops!" Seeing the father and son reunited and emitting such joy the rest of the demons sprout their own wings and join them in celebration. 

"You're alive!"

"We've got Bobo back!"

"We missed you!"

"Yep," Erza confirms. "They're definitely demons."

"I don't know," Natsu says as he too has rejoined his friends on the ground. "If you look at their faces, they kinda look more like angels to me." At Natsu's words the rest of the group looks up at the villagers and smile. 

"Let's have a feast tonight to celebrate!" cheers Chief Moka. "It'll be an all-out demon party!"

"I don't know if I'm rowdy enough to party with demons," Lucy says unsure.

"Me either," Happy agrees.

"Come on you, guys! When will we ever have this chance again? Besides, if you can party with Fairy Tail you can party with anyone!" Vela encourages.

The villagers and the wizards are now all sat in front of long tables that are overflowing with all kinds of food. While the rest chow down on fish, stew, and all other kinds of delicacies Natsu is munching on some flames. 

Rather than eat at a table Gray is sipping on his own bowl off to the side. "How are you feeling? You're sure looking a lot better," a blue colored demon girl comments to him.

"Do I know you?" he asks in confusion. Although she does sound familiar to him.

"Maybe this'll help." She then transforms into the girl that Gray had met earlier at the storage unit.

"I remember you," he says in realization.

Three other demon girls have gathered beside her now. "I look a little different now, huh?" She transforms back into her original state. 

Gray shows a little bit of surprise on his face but is quick to recover. "Yeah."

One of the girls goes to crouch at his side. "Just so you know every girl in our village has totally fallen for you cause we think you're like the coolest guy ever!" She starts to sway back and forth with a light blush on her face.

Another occupies the space on the opposite side. "Yeah, she's right! We think you're super awesome Gray!"

A third one gets close to his face. "But you probably think we're cuter in our human forms, don't you?" 

"No," Gray disagrees. "That's not necessarily true. I think you ladies look fine the way you are." This causes all three of them to squeal and gush even further.

"You've got to be the sweetest guy I've ever met!"

"You know just what to say to a girl!"

"Let's hit the dance floor! We'll teach you the Demon Wiggle Waggle!" All three of them begin to pull Gray off the ground and lead him in the direction of the dance floor.

Lucy, Erza, and Happy all take notice of this. "It looks like someone's getting a little attention from the ladies," the former teases.

"He'll scare 'em off sooner or later," Happy contests.

"And it looks like he's not the only one." Erza gestures in the direction away from the table they're currently sitting at. Not far is Vela who had been laid out on her back enjoying the glow of pure moonlight in two nights. However, she is no longer alone as a group of demon boys have also begun singing her praises. 

"It was so cool how you protected the village from those goons!"

"And your magic was just beautiful! Even though we can only catch glimpses of it..."

"But it's nothing compared to your own beauty!"

Vela puts her hand up to her cheek as she flushes at the barrage of compliments. "Aw you all are so sweet!"

"We were actually wondering Ms. Vela..." the demon starts to trail off has he turns red in slight embarrassment.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" his friend finished for him.

"A boyfriend?" She's caught off guard by their sudden inquiry. "Well no-" A hand suddenly reaches out and grabs her arm. She's then pulled to her feet and is being dragged away to a table by a certain ice wizard.

"She hasn't eaten yet, so you guys can get to know her later. See ya," he says without looking back. Vela slightly turns around and gives them a parting, albeit awkward, wave. 

"What was that all about?" she asks Gray.

He doesn't turn around as he guides her back to the table where the other girls are sitting. "You haven't eaten all night, and I know how cranky you get in the mornings when you skip meals."

Vela scoffs. "I don't get cranky."

"Yeah, and I don't strip." Vela only pouts in response to his sarcasm. It's also at this moment that Gray takes notice of how she's dressed or rather the lack thereof. "Hey, what happened to your dress?"  

"Hm? Oh." Vela looks down at herself now realizing herself that she had been walking around in only her bodysuit. "It got snagged on some rocks when I was fighting that masked weirdo. I had to leave it behind so I could chase after him. Guess I hadn't realized I was still dressed like this until now due to all the craziness of the past few hours."

"Well, it's kinda chilly so here." Gray removes his dark blue button up and drapes it over her shoulders leaving him shirtless. Vela is compliant but confused. But I'm not even cold. Whatever, he must want to strip and knows I won't lose his shirt. 

She puts her arms through it but leaves it unbuttoned as it falls to around her mid-thigh. As Vela goes to sit down next to Erza, Lucy takes note of her new attire. "I didn't know Vela gets cold so easily," she comments to the redhead.

"She doesn't. Due to the nature of her magic, it would take temperatures of extreme lows to even remotely affect her." 

"But then why did-" She pauses as a thought pops into her head. Oh, I get it now. Real smooth Gray. Lucy takes a small glance at the ice wizard who is keeping the purple headed girl occupied with food while he waves off more of her admirers from approaching.  

Once everyone gets settled Chief Moka decides to address them. "I have to admit I was wrong about humans." They turn to look at him to continue. "All of these years we've chosen to hide from the outside world. We were so afraid that others would judge us by our appearance."

"You know the curse?" Bobo interjects. "That was just a rumor we spread so no one would come to the island and bother us."   

"Well, it worked cause the sailors at the dock were terrified," Lucy says. "Nobody wanted to come here."  

"I know," Chief Moka responds. "And it's a shame, but after meeting you we've changed our minds. You've restored our faith in humans and now we're not afraid. We're ready to go out and befriend people from other lands."

"That's good," Erza encourages. "Friendship is a beautiful thing. It's an emotional bond that transcends one's physical appearance." They all smile at the redhead in agreement.  

In the midst of the celebration two unfamiliar sets of footsteps can be heard walking straight for the festivities. Everyone halts in their conversations as they realize who had shown up. It turns out to be Yuka and Sherry. 

Their sudden appearance causes the villagers to start murmuring in worry at the thought of what other trouble they've come to cause.

"Oh no, not again."

"It's the Cold Emperor's minions."

"What are they doing here?" Vela wonders.

"Don't know, but I'll take care of it." But before he can move to stand Vela puts a hand on his shoulder. She knows he can take care of himself, but he's still recovering from the injuries he got from his earlier showdown with Lyon. He's not pleased but he adheres to his friend's gesture. 

Erza stands from her seated position "How can I help you?"

"You Fairy Tailer's are tough. The Cold Emperor's so banged up he couldn't even make it down here," Yuka says.

"That's why we've come to pay you a visit in his place," Sherry adds. 

"Wait just a minute," Lucy also goes to stand, "I thought we were cool. Didn't Lyon tell you guys what happened?"

"Yes, but that doesn't matter to us," Yuka interjects.

"We wanted to settle things with you ourselves," Sherry says. Erza narrows her eyes in suspicion. 

Natsu is quick as he runs to front having put down the torches he was feasting on. "Alright, why don't you show me what you got?" Always eager to fight he sets his hand ablaze in anticipation.

"Wait, Natsu," Bobo interrupts. "Thanks for the help, but we can't keep relying on you so let us fight 'em."

"He's right. We got these clowns," a large purple demon agrees.

"If we want to keep our village safe we've gotta protect it."

"Normally I would agree with you gentlemen, but I think it's best if I handle this one." Erza heads to the front of the group to confront the two challengers.  

"We meet again Titania of Fairy Tail. You gave quite Angelica quite a beating earlier."

"She seems like a formidable opponent." Vela only scoffs at Yuka's bravado. He didn't even beat Natsu, so there's no way he'll stand a chance again Erza. 

"Watch out for that creepy chick!" Lucy warns. "She can control inanimate objects." 

"And don't even bother trying to use your magic against old mega brows," Natsu calls out.

"Is that so? In that case," Erza charges at the two with her fists swinging. "I'll do it the old-fashioned way!" She kicks Sherry to the side and elbows Yuka in the face effectively knocking both to the ground.  

"Holy," Natsu mutters.

"She didn't even have to use any magic," Lucy observes in awe.

"That's the great Erza for ya!"

"Would you cut that out?" Lucy's getting a little tired of the cat sucking up.

"You're truly an amazing warrior," Sherry states as she struggles to get up.

"No kidding," Yuka agrees as he cradle his chin. "We're no match for you." Sherry smiles in accord.

Seeing their surrender Lucy is left confused. "Wait, so you're not here to attack us?" 

Their faces are now wearing expressions of sorrow. "I doubt this is going to make up for all the trouble we've caused you," Yuka begins. "But we wanted to apologize in person."

"Oh, so you guys came to settle things in a good way," Happy states in realization.

Sherry continues, "The Cold Emperor told us everything. Thanks to you we can finally let go of the pain Deliora caused us so many years ago."

"You mean you were victims of Deliora too?" Gray inquires.

"When we were children the monster ravaged our village. We watched it murder all of our friends and family," Yuka says.

"Cold Emperor had a plan to kill the demon once and for all. That's why we joined him."

"You see, we wanted revenge, and we were so focused on getting it we never realized we were hurting innocent people." 

"We were so blinded by out hatred that we ended up acting no better than the demon itself. From now on we'll treat other people with respect and love." At the mention of love it almost seemed like Sherry began to sparkle.

"Alrighty then!" Natsu cheers. He had managed to sneak over to the two so he could wrap his arms around them. "You guys should join in and stick around for the feast, eh?"

"But we were enemies a second ago," Yuka argues as he tries to escape the tight grip the fire wizard has on him.

"I don't think it's a good idea because I'm trying to watch my figure and-" Her reasoning is cut off by a groan as Natsu had pulled herself and Yuka in closer and even tighter.

"Enough with the excuses. Live a little, would ya?!" The two suddenly find themselves kneeling at a table amongst the villagers they tried to kill holding cups. Natsu cheers from his spot across from them. "Ok, Now I'm ready to party!"  

The next morning Natsu can be spotted snacking on some of the left-over torches from last night. But he notices the absence of some others. "Where'd eyebrows and love girl go?"

"Like typical party guests they stuffed their faces and took off," Happy answers.

"They probably went back to Lyon to make sure he's doing ok," Vela guesses. She then lightly bonks Natsu on the top of his head. "And don't talk with your mouth full."

Vela goes over to where Gray and Lucy are sitting as the blonde is checking over the ice wizard for injuries. Lucy notices a slight mark above his left eyebrow. "I think it's gonna leave a scar."

At the mention of the scar Vela gets close to Gray's face and pushes up his hair back to get a closer look. "Oh yeah she's right. The bandage must have gotten blown off last night."

"Whatever, it doesn't matter to me," he says in response. He turns away from Lucy, but he doesn't make a move to be rid of Vela's inspecting hands.

"On your face?" Lucy asks in surprise. She'd hate to have such a visible mark on her face permanently.

"I don't mind having a few scars as long as I can see 'em. It's the ones you can't see that sting."

Lucy's a little taken aback by that answer. "Well, aren't you a smooth talker."

Natsu having joined the rest is confused by Gray's answer and also slightly annoyed at his act of trying to be suave. "So, you've got invisible scars?"

"Shut up Natsu! Every time I say something cool you gotta ruin it!"

"How was that cool?"

Vela moves her hand away from Gray's forehead. "Yeah, I kinda have to agree with Natsu. That was a little corny." Gray's face turns annoyed at the dragon siblings ganging up on him. "But I do have to admit," Gray turns his face back to Vela, "the scar does make you seem a little cooler."

At the unexpected compliment Gray's eyes slightly widen and his cheeks turn a light shade of red. He turns his face towards the ground flustered. Lucy starts to giggle at his reaction while Vela is confused as she tries to get him to face her again. However, every time she attempts to see Gray's face he turns the opposite direction. Natsu is still confused but feels he should be annoyed at the older boy.

Now packed and ready to go Team Natsu stand at the front gates about to return to the guild. The villagers have come to see them off, but Chief Moka is surprised at what he had just heard. "What? But Miss you deserve the reward so take it please."

"Thank you. But your gratitude is payment enough," Erza rebukes.

Behind her Natsu and Gray are busy shoving at each other's faces which is luckily hidden behind Erza's outrageous number of suitcases "That's nice but you should take the money," the Chief urges.   

"We can't because your request was never officially accepted by the guild. It fell into the hands of foolish wizards trying to prove themselves and a senior who didn't have the heart to say no." Vela's amused grin from watching the boy's fight turns into a grimace of embarrassment as she catches the tail end of Erza's sentence. She's never gonna let me hear the end of this. 

This causes the Chief to laugh is amusement. "Foolish as they may be, if it wasn't for them then we would have never been saved. What if I give you the money not as a reward, but instead as a thank you gift. It's the least I can do after everything you've done for our village." 

Natsu, Gray, and Lucy look at the redhead in anticipation. Will she really let them keep the money? "Well, when you put it that way you make it hard to say no." The Chief and villagers let out a sigh of relief at being able to repay the wizards in some way. 

"She's really gonna take it," Gray murmurs excitedly. 

"We're rich!" Lucy quietly squeals. Natsu doesn't say anything, but flames do shoot out of his nose.

"I'm sorry," Erza continues. "But accepting your reward would be contrary to our guild's principles. However, we'd be happy to take the gate key you offered along with it."

"The gate key?!" the boys scream in disbelief.

"Come to mama!" Lucy cheers.

"Well at least we're not returning entirely empty handed." Vela finds the celestial mage's delight quite adorable. I wonder what spirit it is.  

"Well at least let me take you back to Hargeon," Bobo insists. 

But still Erza refuses as she has a much better form of transportation planned. "Thank you, but I have a boat waiting, sir." This leaves Bobo and his father confused.

Now gathered at the beach everyone sees a large pirate ship waiting for the swordswoman. "A pirate ship?" Gray says as this was the last thing he had expected.

"Are you kidding me? Did she highjack it?" Lucy can only imagine what the S-class mage did to convince these guys to give her a ride back.

"This is awesome," Happy says in excitement.

Vela starts to shiver in fear. "That looks like my worst nightmare." She turns to look at the feline in desperation. "Any chance you can fly me back Happy?"

"Sorry, no can do. My little wings would never make it all the way back." 

"Aw, man..."

The captain of the ship is waving Erza and the rest of them to come aboard as his men are shouting out with glee in the back. "Har me beauty!"

"Me beauty?" Lucy asks.

"That's right. They've become quite fond of me."

"That's the great Erza for ya."   

"Jeez, you're such a suck up."

"Ahoy, come aboard me ship mateys!"

"Mateys?" Gray says to himself.

Lucy starts freaking out at the thought of setting sail with a bunch of pirates. "I don't wanna! I'm not riding that creepy boat!"

Upon hearing this Natsu turns to the girl with a smile. "If you wanna swim I'll join ya."

"Are you insane?"

That doesn't sound like that bad of an idea to Vela "I'll do it with you lil bro! Hey, why don't we race while we're at it?" Natsu nods in agreement and enthusiasm at the thought of added competition. She's about to strip from her dress which would leave her in only her bodysuit, but she's put over Gray's shoulder before she can.

"Nope, we're getting on the ship. You'll just have to suck it up and deal with it." He starts to head towards the boardwalk.

"You're the worst," Vela whines. 

"Well, you can complain about it all you want on the way back while using me as your personal pillow. That is if you can keep your breakfast down."

He'd just stepped foot on top the ship and Vela is already starting to feel her motion sickness set it. "Shut up, pillows aren't supposed to talk." Once he set her down, Gray sits right next to her so she can lean against his shoulder. He only sighs in amusement and pats her head in response.

As they set the sail the villagers call out final goodbyes and thank yous. "We thank you! We hope you guys can come back one day!" Bobo shouts. 

Natsu is leaned over the railing too sick to his stomach and Gray is holding up Vela's hand in a pseudo wave as he knows she would feel bad if she didn't properly say goodbye. On the other hand, Erza sends the villagers back a serene smile while Lucy enthusiastically waves and yells back, "Yeah you betcha!"   

After agonizing hours at sea, the wizards have finally made it back to Magnolia. "We're home!" Natsu cheers.

"Aye, sir!"

"I'm bummed. All that time and hard work for some lousy gate key," Gray complains. 

"Yeah, and that S-class reward was big time money," Happy agrees.

"Hey, stop complaining you two it's unbecoming." Vela steps into pace between the two. 

"She has a point," Erza agrees. "Besides it wasn't an official job. Just be glad you got something."

Lucy is happy to agree with the two girls seeing as she was the only one that got something out of the job. "They make good points guys."

"That's pretty easy for you to say you got a reward," Happy argues as Lucy sports a satisfied grin. "Can we sell it?"

This knocks Lucy out of her smugness as the question is completely absurd. "How can you even suggest that Happy?! You guys just don't get it they're hard to come by. Sure, there are lots of silver gate keys but there are only twelve gold zodiac keys. And I'm lucky enough to have five."

"You should really listen to her boys. Throughout my entire career as a wizard, I had only met one other member of the zodiac before Lucy joined," Vela adds. Lucy's about to ask her which one but is interrupted by a certain pink headed moron.

"Hmph, it's too bad they're all crazy," Natsu pettily shoots back.

"You had better watch your mouth you punk! Me and my celestial spirits are gonna be stronger than you someday!" 

"Don't let his idiocy get to you, Lucy. He's just upset because he came home empty handed and without a promotion." Lucy smiles back at the girl in gratitude while Natsu starts to pout at his older sister's words. She may be right, but he doesn't want her to know that. 

 Gray stops walking curious about the key now. "So, which one of the zodiac keys did you end up getting?"

"It's Sagittarius the Centaur."

"It's a horse man?" Gray clarifies. He imagines a blue horse with an orange mane wearing a purple tee and khakis. 

"Well, yeah but it's more like this." Luc pictures a typical image of a centaur firing an arrow.

"I figured it would look something like this," Vela chimes in. She pictures a man wearing a horse costume with his face sticking out of the horse's neck. He's also saluting while holding his bow.

"That seems way off," the other two argue. 

On the other hand, Natsu is imagining a creature with a creepy face on a flower-like head and a body made entirely of tentacles. "And that is not even close, dummy" Lucy harshly disagrees. 

"Like sister like brother," Gray mutters. Vela is still confused on why her image of Sagittarius seems so ridiculous. 

"You're all so carefree," Erza interjects. "It's almost as if you've forgotten you face punishment when we get back to the guild."

This has all four of them stop in their tracks and look back at Erza with their faces significantly paler. "But why?" Natsu whines.

"Everything worked out in the end! Can't we just forget the whole punishment thing?" Lucy begs. 

"You're right everything worked, but only because I came here and finished the job none of you were qualified to do. Stealing an S-class quest is a serious offense." 

'Well, I'm technically S-class, so I guess that means no punishment for me." Vela tries to hurry and run home. "Anyways good luck you guys I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Not so fast." Erza is quick to grab the girl by the back of her dress and lift her slightly above the ground. "While you may be S-class, you showed poor judgement by allowing these three to continue on this job instead of taking them home. You may not be punished as severely, but there will still be consequences."

"Dammit..." 

"We said we're sorry," Lucy insists. 

Erza lets out a long sigh as she also sets Vela back on her feet. "If you promise that you'll never do it again then I don't think you'll need to be penalized by the guild. Unfortunately, I don't have any say in the matter. Your fate is in Master Makarov's hands. So, I'm sure you'll be facing punishment."

Happy starts sweating profusely. "Now I'm scared! You think he's gonna make us do that?" 

At Happy's question Gray suddenly crouches down and grips onto his head. "Just kill me now! I don't think I can live through that again!"

"You guys are freaking me out!"

Natsu still doesn't seem to grasp the gravity of this situation. He puts a hand on Lucy's shoulder and attempts to reassure her. "Don't let em scare ya. I'll talk the old man out of punishing us. That guy loves me."

"I don't know if you should do the talking."

"Yeah, cause if that's the case then we're doomed." This makes Natsu glare at his sister. She ignores it as she's too busy trying to go to her happy place instead of thinking about what's in store for them when they get back to the guildhall.  

"Natsu, you can't talk your way out of this one. Good luck with that." Natsu's smile fades from his face as Erza drags him by his scarf to the guildhall.

"No save me!" He can only reach back helpless as he's dragged away as Erza's dark chuckles echo throughout the street. "Anything but that! Nooo!"

Between Natsu's screaming, Gray's shaking, and Vela's dissociation Lucy is left pondering about the horrors that's about to come. "Would somebody please tell me what that is?! I'm totally freaking out!"

[beanea04]

Burst

Burst 

"Oh man, I'm wasting my time on you," Natsu says as he and Vela continue to stare down Zalty.

"You're right, I've been so blinded by this guy that I've lost focus of the bigger picture."

"Let's finish this right now, sis."

Vela nods in agreement, but before they can even move two flying orbs come out and attack. "Look out!" Vela manages to doge but only just barely as she had almost lost her balance off of the ledge. Unfortunately, Natsu wasn't as lucky as he got hit straight in the temple. 

"Ready when you two are go ahead and do your worst, Salamander and Asteria." The orbs continue to fly around the room in rapid zigzag patterns. 

"Why you!" Natsu grunts. As the two orbs come flying back towards them. The two counter them by punching the orbs head on with flames and light. They shatter but they don't remain in that state for long as Zalty holds out one of his hands and the orbs are exactly how they were before. It's as if they had never been broken in the first place. 

Caught off guard the dragon slayers are left wide open with orbs striking both of them in the gut which causes them to let out grunts of pain. It's just like before. These things are what mut have kept me from getting back up down there, Vela thinks. 

"But we broke it, right?" Natsu groans uncertain.  

"I have the ability to control an object's time. Meaning I can take the crystal back in time before it was broken."

"What kind of magic gives you that power?" Natsu asks. If it's the kind of magic I suspect it is then we're in big trouble. Vela begins to sweat at the thought of her theory being true.

"I practice one of the lost magics called the Arc of Time. it's extremely rare and quite powerful. Would you like to see what happens when I throw these crystal balls into the future?"

The orbs are sent soaring back at the two, but their speed seems to have increased tenfold. They seem to be coming from everywhere at once causing Natsu and Vela feel as if they were being attacked from all directions. Vela can barely keep track of them as she struggles to land a single hit.

She calms her breathing to focus and lets out a loud grunt as she takes out both of the orbs with a single punch. This is still pointless as both orbs repair themselves immediately. One goes to knock Natsu in the back of the head while the other aims for Vela's back. 

"You're light and fire won't help you!"

"Oh yeah!" Natsu responds outraged. He goes to take a swing at one the orbs, but it stops right before his fist can meet it. "It stopped in midair."

"Yes, I also have the ability to freeze an object in time."

"Nice, trick but I'd be more impressed if it worked on people," Natsu taunts. 

"It's because he can't," Vela responds. "If he was able to then there would be no need for the Moon Drip ceremony."

"An astute but correct observation Asteria. It is in fact powerless on living things. Since Ur turned herself into the ice that encases Deliora I cannot simply turn the time on that ice to its pre-frozen state. Hence the use of Moon Drip."

"Let me ask you something. Why are you guys doing this?" Natsu can understand why Lyon wishes to revive Deliora but what does this guy gain from it all. In the background Deliora can be heard trying to remove himself from the ice. "It seems to me like you're working hard trying to revive this demon just so Lyon can kill it to boost his ego. That's great for him and all, but what do you get out of it."  

"He's right. What do you all gain by unleashing this monster onto the rest of the world?"

"I can't say. I've only recently joined them, so I don't know enough to speak on the others behaves."

"And yourself? What's your objective?" Vela inquires.

"You both certainly know how to get straight to the point." Zalty starts to laugh again which is really starting to piss Vela off. "The Cold Emperor Lyon is an arrogant twit. He doesn't stand a chance against Deliora. That's where I come in." 

"If we can't kill him we're in major trouble," Natsu says mostly to Vela who nods in agreement. He turns his attention back to Zalty. "Unless you're gonna defeat it yourself." 

"Don't be ridiculous I want to control the demon." Natsu's and Vela's eyes grow wide at this revelation. It's just like with Erigor and Lullaby. When are these lunatics gonna learn that they're not gods? Vela's hands clench at her sides.

"You see there are spells that give the caster power over a mortal monster like this one here. With a single spell I'd become the most powerful man in the world because I'd have a demon at my beck and call." 

"Talk about a lame answer. I'm sorry I even asked. That's what you're after?" Natsu complains.

Vela decides to add in her two cents. "I was half expecting an answer of revenge, but you're just like all the other dark wizards who want to 'rule the world'. Always so predictable." She crosses her arms in disappointment.

"You think just having a monster's gonna make you tough? No way."

"I suppose you're both too young to understand right now. But one day you'll realize how important it is to have power on your side."

"We don't need any more power," Vela starts as Natsu ignites his hands while she Vela summons her Full Moon spell and draws her bow. Thankfully since the Moon Drip is using a minimal amount to light Vela has some of her magic power back. Which means she can use her arrows again. 

"That's cause all our friends in Fairy Tail have got our back."

"If you let your cockiness get the best of you," Zalty then conjures a large black magic circle above him. "You will fall exactly like the ceiling above you."   

"That trick won't work on us again." Vela shoots a multitude of arrows which causes the ceiling debris to crack into even tinier pieces and be scattered around them instead of on top of.

"I've had enough of you and your buddies screwing things up for the people on this island. It's time I put a stop to it!"

"You don't seriously believe you could stop my Arc of Time with your puny flames do you."

"He may not be able to stop it, but I can certainly slow it down." Vela prepares more arrows that are glowing even more brightly than the last. "Now Natsu!"

"We don't give a crap about your stupid magic!" As Vela fires off her arrows Natsu jumps off the rock their standing on and sends a wave flames much larger than the ones from before towards a multitude of crystal balls. "I just want you off this island!"

With the combined power of Natsu's flames and Vela's arrows the orbs all shatter at once. And due to the property of the arrows they aren't able to repair themselves in time to come back to Zalty's aid. In the cloud of smoke Natsu emerges with a flaming fist heading straight towards Zalty's face. "I may not be able to control time, but I can see the future. And I see me kicking your butt and sending you flying!"

As Natsu's fist meets Zalty's cheek the man is sent flying down below into a small rock structure. But the two don't have time to celebrate their victory as the ice has completely melted into the ocean. 

Deliora lets out the biggest roar yet which shakes the entire island. Natsu, Vela and now Gray, who has finished off Lyon, stare in absolute horror at what has been unleashed. Gray standing waist deep in water collects some of it into his palm. "Thank you," he whispers into the air hoping his master can hear him from wherever she is.  

At Gray's whisper the two in front take note of his presence. "Gray!" Vela calls out. The two rush over to him with Vela once again checking him over for any major injuries.

"Hey! what are you doing here?" Natsu asks.

"Natsu, Vela," Gray sighs out.

"There's only one thing we can do now! We gotta take that thing down!"

"And we have to hurry before it has a chance to reach the villagers," Vela adds with urgency. 

Crawling on his arms is Lyon who is still deluded by his fantasy of defeating Deliora even in the condition he's in. "None of you are strong enough, but I am. I will defeat it."

Gray can only sadly gaze at what his old friend had become. "Lyon..."

"I'm going to surpass Ur, finally." He trails off in mad laughter.

"You can't fight. You can't even get up off the floor," Natsu protests.

Vela may not like the guy, but she doesn't want to see anyone else get hurt tonight. "You'll only end up getting yourself killed."  

Deliora lets out another yell which only fuels Lyon's ideas of grandeur further. "I've waited so long for this moment." Lyon has brought himself to a kneel but still looks as if a light breeze would knock him over. "She was strong, but not strong enough to kill that demon. I'm going to do the one thing Ur never could." 

"Finally, my dream will be fulfilled!"

With a quick chop to the back of the next Gray sends Lyon into another bout of unconsciousness. "You've caused enough trouble." He starts a slow trek towards Deliora filled with determination. "I'll clean up the mess you made."

 Vela's eyes widen as Gray positions himself in a stance that is unfamiliar to her. That's not the usual motion he does for his maker magic. Just what exactly is he planning. It's his next words that has her start to shake in fear. "I'll seal the demon myself." 

"Iced Shell!" Just like before a tornado of wind and cold begins to surround Gray as the large magic circle beneath he starts to illuminate the room. 

"Don't do it Gray! Do you have any idea how long it took me to melt that ice?!" Gray ignores the injured man. "Sealing it away isn't going to stop me! I will not rest until I've finally defeated Deliora!"

"I can't worry about the future! I have to do this to keep it from killing us all right now!" But before the spell can really take affect, he feels a pair of arms tightly cling around himself and sees a flash of pink and white stand to block his view. "Vela, Natsu?!"

"Why don't you let me handle this?" Natsu boldly asks. 

"Don't be stupid you two! Just get out of my way!" Even though he says this Gray does nothing to push Vela off of him.

"If I didn't let you do it before why would I let you do it now? And good luck trying to shake Vela off. Now that she's here there's no way she'll let you go through with it." Her arms tighten and her face is buried deeper into his back at the mention of her presence. 

"We're not gonna let you go out like that!"

"He's right! If we're gonna take down Deliora and die trying, then we'll do it together! No sacrifices!" Vela cries.

"Go ahead and cast the spell but I'm not moving," Natsu resolves.

"And I'm not letting you go."

"You guys," Gray whispers to himself while trying to look back at the girl's face. Deliora lets out a final roar that can be heard all throughout the temple. It rears back its gigantic fist and aims at the first thing it sees, Natsu. "Natsu!"

"I'm not giving up til the bitter end!" As Natsu's flames meet Deliora's fist a shockwave of fire and green light shines throughout the cave. Natsu pushes with all his might until finally everyone hears a crack.

It starts throughout Deliora's hand until eventually they start to form all around his body. Lyon stares up from the ground while Gray, partially shielding Vela, watches in astonishment as the demon starts to crumble right before their eyes. "What the?" Natsu looks down at his hand. "I'm stronger than I thought."

"I don't think that's what happened little brother," Vela sighs breathlessly.

"What? No way," Lyon gasps. "But that can't be!" Fragments of Deliora's corpse crumble into the waters below. "Deliora was already dead." The overflow in water starts to pour out from cracks in the temple walls. "For ten years, Ur has gradually depleted the demon's life force. And what we saw was nothing more than its last dying breaths." 

Lyon slams his fists into the ground as he cries tears of pent-up sorrow and frustration. "My dream is dead. There's no hope now. I will never surpass Ur."

"Wow, she did all of that," Vela breathes. 

"Man, your teacher was pretty awesome," Natsu praises. 

At the realization that his teacher had saved him one last time Gray begins to sob. "You saved my life again. Thank you, Ur." Upon hearing his cries Vela keeps her arms around him and squeezes. Natsu can only smile at the two as everything has finally come to a close.

The ice that was once Ur, melted and became water that flowed into the open sea. Lucy and Happy join the rest with the cat flinging himself into his best friend's arms. Even though she's not physically with us. Natsu's joy is short-lived as he notices the angry redhead standing right behind him. He tries to flee, but her tight grip on his scarf stops him from doing so. Gray says she's still alive. Vela is too relieved to care that she's even here as she runs to give Lucy a great big hug which the blonde happily returns. 

Not too far away Gray is helping Lyon back to his feet so that they can all finally leave such a decrepit and cursed place. And I think he's right. From the sea she'll be able to watch over her beloved students forever. I can almost hear her saying, please don't fight anymore.

As the temple begins to settle everyone makes it outside to the beach. Natsu and Happy throw their arms up into the air in celebration of their victory. "Oh yeah! That's right, we won!" Natsu sings. 

"Aye, sir!"    

"You know I was kinda worried for a while there," Lucy comments. Gray and Vela lean contently on a nearby rock as they listen to the younger girl. "But it all worked out thanks to your amazing teacher."   

Natsu begins to jump with joy. "We totally finished an S-class quest all by ourselves!" This ticks Vela off a little. I was there too and I'm S-class. Did this moron just completely forget that? She begins to pout, but Gray takes notice of this which leads him to quietly chuckle to himself at seeing the girl act so childish. He gently pats her on the head in reassurance that he remembers she was there. 

Lucy has sparkles surrounding her as she begins to imagination what this could mean. "Do you think Master Makarov will let us on the second floor?" 

It seems they had forgotten about who was here as she sends them all an icy glare that means nothing good. This causes all of them to halt in their joy as its instead replace with an overwhelming sense of dread. Yeah, we're all done for. I can only hope that Master and Erza go a little easier on me since I'm still S-class. I can only hope it stays that way once we get back.  

Lucy grabs her face in terror. "Oh no! You're still gonna punish us huh?"

"Isn't there something that you're all forgetting about?" Erza rhetorically asks. Lucy's too busy shaking to form an answer anyways. "You came to the island to help the villagers. The request was for you to return them to their original form. You still haven't completed your S-class quest yet."

"But I don't understand. The curse should be lifted now that Deliora's dead," Lucy answers.

"Wrong," Erza refutes. "This curse you keep talking about never had anything to do with the demon. The villagers have been affected by the intense magic energy released from the Moon Drip spell. In other words, Deliora's death isn't going to change their current situation whatsoever."

"Wha-? Oh no!" Lucy gasps.

"But since Deliora's dead there's no need for the Moon Drip to be performed anymore. So over time shouldn't they return to normal?" Vela asks with her hand held to her chin. 

"Possibly, but they hired you all to resolve this issue now. We don't have the time or the luxury to wait it out," Erza answers.

"Well, then we'd better go and change them back," Natsu cheers with his hand out for a high five. 

"Aye, sir!" Happy reciprocates Natsu's high five. 

"Yeah, but we don't know how," Gray argues. But he remembers how someone here had been staying on this island for over three years. "Lyon, do you know?"

Said man is currently sitting against a large rock stewing in his defeat. But still he answers. "To be quite honest I don't have a clue."

"You don't know?" Natsu sasses.

Happy follows suit with a "What?" 

"But they told us the curse started about the same time you guys got here," Lucy reasons. 

"When we first arrived three years ago, we were aware that there was a village somewhere on this island. But we had absolutely no reason to communicate with the villagers, so we left them alone. And they never came to the temple to see what we were up to." 

"In three years, you never once met?" Erza inquires.

"I don't understand. The light from the Moon Drip is so bright you can see it from practically anywhere on the island. it's kinda weird that they saw it every night and never went to investigate," Lucy comments.

"The villagers weren't transformed by the Moon Drip. It doesn't affect the human body."

"What?" Vela gasps. 

"Yeah, right," Natsu says sarcastically. "You're just saying that so you and your lackeys will be off the hook.

"Just think about it. I've been exposed to it as long as they have, and my appearance hasn't changed one bit." 

"Oh yeah, that's true," Lucy agrees.

"I wouldn't trust them. Those villagers are hiding something. But I'm sure you guild wizards can handle it."

"We're not done with you," Natsu starts. "You destroyed the village and uhmp" However, he's interrupted by an armored hand smushing his cheeks together. 

"That's quite enough Natsu." Erza then relays the information she had gotten from Toby. Turns out himself and all the others were victims of Deliora's past rampages and were seeking revenge. Lyon convinced them all that he was the only one that would be able to kill it and be rid of it for good. "They were only doing what they believed to be right. So there's no need to criticize him for it. Let's go."

Erza begins leading the way back to the villagers. "But what are we gonna do to lift the curse?" Natsu wonders.  

"I have no idea," Erza responds truthfully.

"Oh great," Lucy sighs. 

As the rest go to follow the redhead Gray takes one last look at Lyon. "What are you looking at?"

He leaves him with some parting advice. "I know you don't want to hear it, but you really should join a guild. You'll make new friends, meet new rivals, and maybe even find a new dream to live for."  

"Whatever," Lyon mutters. "Just get out of here."

"Hey Gray! Are you coming or what?" Vela calls back.

Gray smiles and responds, "Yeah, I'm coming." As he catches up to her, she gives him a gentle smile which catches him off guard. "What’s that look for?"

"Nothing it’s just…" Vela trails off. "You've really matured from all this huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when we first found out about Lyon you were dead set on beating him into the ground. But now look at you, encouraging him to find a new path in life and a better purpose."  

"Yeah, well," he takes a small peek at the shorter girl next to him. "I didn't want him to lose himself to that darkness."

Vela's smile brightens. She then grabs onto Gray's arm to pull him towards the others. "Come on let's catch up with the others. We'll never hear the end of it if we get left behind, and I don't wanna dig myself further into Erza's bad graces." She gives off the slightest shiver at that thought.

Gray chuckles at the look of slight fear on her face. "Alright, alright I'm coming."

The group have made it back to the storage area where the villagers were all meant to be. Except there's nobody there to greet them. "That's weird where is everybody?" Happy asks.

"Are you sure they came here?" Natsu questions skeptically.

"Yeah, this has been their camp," Lucy answers. "I wonder where they could have gone."

"HELLO!" Happy yells.

Gray starts to head into a nearby tent. "Since we're here, I'm gonna grab bandages and some medicine."

Footsteps can be heard quickly approaching them all from behind. It's one of the villagers who has now completely transformed into a scaly green lizard monster. "You finally made it back. There's something you need to see. Please follow me to the village." 

It turns out the villager has been completely restored back to its original state. "Woah are you kidding me?" Lucy says as she continues to gaze in wonder at the newly fixed villager.

Happy can't tear his eyes away from the mysterious sight either. "Yesterday it was a total mess, but now it looks perfect."

Natsu starts to bang away on one of the nearby houses. "What's going on here? Everything's back to how it was. It's like the village went back in time."

"Back in time huh?" Vela murmurs to herself. It couldn't be though...right? But even if it was what was the reason?

"Now that it's fixed you probably shouldn't touch anything, kay Natsu?" Lucy sweatdrops.  

"Are you saying I destroy everything I touch?!"

"That's exactly what she's saying, so pipe down and behave yourself ok?" Vela starts to pull on one of his ears.

"Owowow! Ok, let go already sis!"

Natsu's brain finally starts to process what he had said, and he begins to think of Zalty. "Was it him?" he whispers to himself. "Nah, couldn't be. Unless he had a change of heart." But seeing as how he had already beat that guy Natsu doesn't really want to put anymore thought into it. So, he turns around and starts to walk around the village. "Ah who cares?"

"Not me," Happy says as he begins to hover over Natsu's shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asks. She feels Vela put her hand on her shoulder.

"It's nothing important right now, Lucy so don't worry about it." Vela gives off an easygoing smile even though this whole ordeal has totally perturbed her. There's no way that guy had a change of heart. There has to be some ulterior motive. "Hey, why don't you and I go grab our stuff before we forget hm?" 

While the rest of the village could be seen rejoicing over their restored homes, Chief Moka remained kneeled in front of his son's grave. Lucy spots him on her way to grab their supplies which stops her in her tracks. Bobo's grave is back. I'm so glad, and I'm sure the Chief must be relieved.  

She and Vela walk over to the old man. At the sound of their footsteps, he turns and says to them, "You and your friends used magic to restore our village, didn't you?"

"Not exactly," Vela murmurs. But it was too quiet for the Chief to hear. 

Over hearing this question Lucy struggles to give a response as she's just about as clueless as they are on how the village became restored. "Uh well sir, that's not-"

Chief Moka stands interrupting her. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. However, I must know, when are you wizards finally going to destroy the moon for us? Well?!"

His sudden outburst causes Lucy to start shaking in nervousness and Vela to sweatdrop at his pushing. Upon hearing this Erza walks over to the group. "Destroying the moon is a simple task sir."

"Say what?" Vela asks incredulous. She can't be serious right now, right?

"What the? Did she just say that with a straight face?" Gray asks the flying cat.

"Aye. Maybe she's gone crazy." 

Erza ignores her teammates' ramblings and continues to address the Chief. "But before I do that, I need to ask you all of few questions. Would you be so kind as to call everyone together for a meeting?"

The Chief does as he's asked. Now every villager is gathered round to listen to what the wizards have to say. "Let me make sure I have my facts straight," Erza starts. "The first time everybody in the village took on these demonic forms is when the moon began to turn purple. Is that correct?"  

"Yes," Chief Moka confirms. "During the day we're fine, but when the moon comes out we transform into what you see now." 

Erza begins to pace back and forth. "And the moon first turned purple three years ago, right?"

"Wow, has it really been that long?" one of the villagers says.

"Yeah," another confirms.

"We've learned that the Moon Drip Ceremony has been performed on this island every night for the last three years. And every night it produces a stream of light so brilliant you couldn't possibly have missed it." Erza pauses and beckons Vela over. The younger girl adheres and goes to stand next to the redhead.

"Vela since your magic is uniquely tied to the moon you have to pay close attention to it. In the last three years had the moon ever appeared different to you?"

"No, I suppose it hasn't. But there is definitely something off about it here. I've been feeling funny ever since we got to this island."

As Erza starts to walk again Vela follows, but all of a sudden, the swordswoman missteps and falls into Lucy's pit trap which had also been restored. Unfortunately, due to the sudden tumble Erza had tries to grab onto the nearest thing to catch herself which just so happened to be Vela. The two are sent falling into the hole while letting out very girlish shrieks. 

This isn't surprising for Vela as they've heard that same shriek every time she spotted a bug at the guildhall. It was probably what Natsu heard the most when they used to travel together. But for Erza this was surprising as the noise she made didn't exactly align with her regal knight image. 

"Woah even Lucy's pitfall is back," Happy comments.

"She screamed like a girl," Natsu whispers incredulous in reference to Erza.

"It was actually kinda a cute," Gray adds. He doesn't specifically say a name, but no one really has to take guess seeing as how his eyes haven't left the purple haired girl as she crawls out of the hole in embarrassment.  

Lucy doesn't focus on that as she instead starts to sweat about Erza's reaction when she finds out it was her trap. "I am so gonna be dead meat when she gets out!"

Having climbed out of the hole, Vela goes to stand next to her friends once more but this time with a completely red face. Gray snickers at this, but it only leads to him getting elbowed in the gut. Erza, on the other hand, nonchalantly pulls herself up and continues as if nothing happened. "Seriously, didn't you ever wonder where that light was coming from?"    

"She got up like nothing happened," one of the villagers whispers.

"She must be pretty tough," another responds. 

"I don't understand. Why didn't anyone investigate?" Erza continues. The villagers all look at one another in embarrassment at this accusation. 

"Well," Chief Moka begins. "We would've looked into it but according to village law our people must never go near that temple."

"But who cares about village lore when your own people are dying?" Lucy reasons. "You obviously knew there was a problem cause you contacted the magic guilds."

"Oh, well..." but Chief Moka trails off.

Erza fed up with these nonanswers and going in circles demands, "Why don't you tell us what's really going on here?"    

"To be honest, we don't even know that ourselves. Allow me to explain. We've tried to investigate the light many times. We take up weapons we've never had to use, I trim and style my sideburns, and then we venture into the jungle towards the temple. But we could never get near it. We'd get close enough that we could see it through the trees, and then suddenly we'd find ourselves back at the village gates."

"But how's that possible?" Lucy wonders.

"We got into the temple without any problem at all," Natsu says. "How weird."

"We didn't say anything to you earlier cause we were worried that you wouldn't believe us," a villager reasons.

"We're telling you the truth. We've tried to go back to the temple many times, but not a single villager has ever been able to get inside," another adds.

"I get it, but to confirm my suspicions I only have one last question. Vela," Erza suddenly turns towards said girl. "Have you ever used your magic around the villagers?"

"Yeah, I have, but the one time I did they all seemed to..." Vela's eyes widen in realization.

Erza nods at her in confirmation. She then starts walking towards the center of the village while requipping into a different set of armor. "Natsu, come with me. I'll need your help to destroy the moon."

[beanea04]

Eps 15 & 16

A/N: Combined these episodes into one chapter as they are too short separately. 

As Gray finishes explaining to the rest that his Master, Ur, is actually alive within the ice, Lucy and Happy notice something odd about the temple in front of them. Lucy's head tilts as she asks, "Hey guys, is it just me or does that temple look a little crooked right now?"

Happy's head does the same. "What happened to it?"

"I'm guessing Natsu," Gray responds. 

"Me too. And if it was him, I can only assume that Vela isn't too far behind," Erza adds.

"He's the only one to do something that crazy and Vela's the only one crazy enough to help him pull it off." As Gray keeps talking Lucy and Happy continue to stare at the destruction in awe. "It's a pretty great idea if they did it on purpose since the temple's tilted like that the moonlight won't hit Deliora."

Lucy straightens her head with her hands and says, "You mean his habit of destroying stuff actually came in useful for once? And Vela actually approved?"

Happy tries to do the same as Lucy but his head just won't budge. "My head's stuck! Looking sideways at that crooked temple hurt my neck." He keeps pushing with all his might until his head finally snaps in the opposite direction with a resounding crack which causes Lucy to shriek in disgust.

"Watch out!" All of a sudden Erza punches the two out of the way as she senses another's presence. Several flying disks are sent their way which she and Gray dodge effortlessly. "Who's there?!"

While Erza did have good intentions her execution could use a little work as Lucy and Happy end up slamming against some trees, hard enough to knock the wind out of them.

A hoard of cult members appear all brandishing large axes and swords. "We've tracked you down Fairy Tail! We won't allow you to interfere." 

"Not these guys," Gray complains.

"Lyon's minions?" Erza clarifies.

"They're all around us!" Lucy exclaims as the goons have them cornered from all areas. 

"Aye," Happy agrees with his head now stuck in the other direction.

"I can handle this myself," Erza declares as she summons one of her swords.

"You sure?" Gray asks. He knows she's strong, but he would feel bad about abandoning the rest of them to take care of a personal agenda. 

"I'll take care of them. You go and settle things with Lyon." 

"We'll fight with her," Lucy assures as she holds out her whip. "You just go and do what you gotta do."

"Aye." Happy even has a fish skeleton as a weapon.

"Thanks, you guys." Gray then sets off in hopes that he isn't too late. I gotta tell Lyon that Ur's still alive. The only person who can stop him is me.  

Meanwhile Vela is trying her best to keep with the masked man's scent as she runs through the temple. I can still smell him, so he shouldn't be far. But the longer that she's been tracking him the odder his scent is becoming. He definitely looks like a man and sounds like one too. But he smells a lot more like a woman. 

Turns out the scent has led Vela back to where they first started which is the bottom level with all the destroyed pillars. She moves quickly behind a wall, so she remains unseen as the element of surprise is her only advantage seeing as she has no clue what kind of magic this mysterious man uses or his strength.   

She watches as a large magic circle appears in front of the man. Slowly the pillars that she and Natsu had destroyed were seemingly fixing themselves. What kind of magic allows him to be able to do that? Vela sneaks closer before she finally decides to pounce. 

She quickly sends several star feathers towards the pillars. This knocks them over once more, but it also alerts Zalty of her presence. "Well, what do we have here?" he asks. "It seems a little pest has snuck in."

"How are you doing that? It took us forever to knock those pillars down, and you can restore them with a snap from your fingers. That's so unfair."

"I practice a form of lost magic quite similar to that dragon slayer magic of yours." The man holds out his hand and conjures another magic circle which repairs the pillars that Vela had just knocked over. "Now that I've told you, you could at least return the favor by allowing me to know how is it that you found me so quickly."

"I followed your scent even though it's kinda off. You smell a lot like a perfume some of my guildmates were back home. It's really off putting and starting to piss me off. Not to mention the disregard for all the hard work that Natsu and I put in down here. Guess I'll just have to fix that myself." Vela reels back her arms and yells out, "Celestial Dragon Wing Attack!" The large explosions that follow after sets of a chain reaction causing the pillars to all crumble.  

But as long as he's still standing then all my hard work will just go to waste. Upon realizing this Vela sets her sights on her next target, Zalty. "Now to deal with you. Celestial Dragon Roar!"

Zalty dodges but not before attacking with his own magic. A magic circle appears on the ceiling above Vela. This causes that area to crack leading to stray rocks and boulders to fall on top of her. She blasts it away, but instead of scattering the rocks float back to their original positions. What the hell? His magic works that fast?! 

"I shouldn't be surprised seeing as how I'm face to face with Heavenly Goddess Asteria. I suppose it would take a little more than that to knock you off your feet. Guess I'll have to go a little more extreme." A magic circle double the size of the last appears above Vela once more. She goes to move out of the way but before she can a something whizzes past her face.

What was that? The object comes back but this time it slams into her back causing her to be knocked off her feet. As she goes to stand back up that same object plus another hits her again keeping her down. It's almost as if they were moving at supersonic speeds. Crap! There's not enough time for me to move. The ceiling comes crumbling down burying Vela beneath the rubble. 

"Now that the distraction is out of the way I can finally work in peace." Zalty resumes his task of restoring the temple as Vela is knocked unconscious from the blow.   

Back in the throne room Natsu and Lyon are in a stalemate. "This could go on forever. So do yourself a favor and give up."

"I would never give you that satisfaction."

Natsu ignites his hands once more. "Then you're asking for it."

The room fills with frost. "Oh, am I now?"

Before someone can strike the ice on the side of wall begins to crack. "What the?" Did Vela finish off the freak mask guy? Natsu thinks to himself. But it wasn't Vela, instead stood Gray which is one the last people Natsu expected to turn up. "Woah it's Gray." 

"Leave him to me," Gray demands as he begins to walk towards Lyon. "It's time we settle things once and for all."

"No way man! You already lost to him once."

"And it's not gonna happen again. I'm ready to end this now."

"You seem awfully confident." Lyon isn't at all swayed by Gray's sudden appearance he beat him once before and he can do it again.

"You were right, Lyon. I'm the one who's to blame for out master's death." Lyon's gaze hardens at the mention of Ur. "But you're no better. You threaten my comrades, brought harm to the villagers, and now you're trying to destroy what Ur gave her life to create. It's time we accept our punishment. Together."

Lyon finally takes notice of the stance that Gray had taken. "That stance...not the Iced Shell!"

"Iced Shell?" Natsu says to himself confused. That term seems really familiar. It all finally clicks as Natsu remembers what Gray had said about his master down in the cave and how Lyon had mentioned that she had been dead for several years.    

"Are you insane? You wouldn't dare." Lyon still believes that Gray doesn't have the guts to be able to pull off such a sacrifice. 

"If you wanna live change the villagers back to their human forms. And then leave this island and never return." A large magic circle appears underneath Gray. "If you'll agree to that then I'll stop. Otherwise, this is the end."

"That so? Well, I don't believe a word of it. You're bluffing."

A whirlwind of cold and ice begin to surround Gray as the magic circle glows brighter. "No, I'm not."

"You'll die!" Lyon cries out as he tries to knock Gray off his feet to stop him. It's futile as the power of the Iced Shell is too much which causes Lyon to be thrown back. 

"Don't do it!" Natsu strains against the harsh winds.

"All these years I've lied to myself. I didn't want to admit that Ur died because of me. But she did and it's time I took responsibility. So I will here and now. I'm not afraid to die if that's what it takes." Gray's entire body has begun to grow white.

"Stop this now!" Lyon demands. 

Gray's body begins to crack. "What's it gonna be Lyon!? Are we gonna die?! Or are we gonna live?! It's up to you!"

"You wouldn't! You're not brave enough to give your life! You're nothing but a coward!"

"Just watch me."

"Don't do it!" Natsu pleads.

But it falls on deaf ears as the spell begins to complete. Natsu, Vela, Erza, all my friends in Fairy Tail the rest is up to you. I don't wanna leave you, but my time is up. "Iced Shel-" Luckily, he's stopped by Natsu...with a punch to the face.

"Shut up!"

Lyon can only look on confused by what just happened.  

"Natsu!?"

"You can't just bust in and steal the scene with a bunch of fancy talk. Get to the back of the line, pal!" 

"Back of what line?"

Natsu points his thumb at himself. "I was here first, so it's my fight. And besides you wouldn't even be next cause then it would be Vela's turn."

"What?!" That outrageous statement is enough to bring Gray back up to his feet. "When I got here the first words out of my mouth were leave him to me!"  

"Yeah, and I said no way man like a second after that."

"Why you?!"

"What? You want some?"

Gray then grabs Natsu by his scarf. "I don't care who said what I've gotta score to settle with him you understand?! And I'm ready to die if that's what I gotta do!"

It was at the mention of dying the Natsu reaches out and pries Gray's arm off of himself. "Yeah? And how's dying gonna settle it? Huh? Cause it sounds like you're running away to me. Man, if Vela were here to see this she'd call you a coward."

Before Gray can respond then entire temple begins to shake again. "What now?" Natsu complains.

Once the everything settles Natsu starts to aggressively pound at the ground in frustration as the temple has somehow righted itself. Which means that all his hard work had gone to waste. "This is bad," Gray states. "Now the moon's gonna shine on Deliora." 

It's at that moment that Zalty comes running in. "Pardon the interruption."

"I should've known," Lyon comments. "I take it you did this?"

"Indeed I did, sir. The moon will be out, so I thought I'd take the liberty of straightening the temple for you despite a minor disruption that occurred along the way."

"That weirdo fixed it all by himself?" Gray asks incredulously. 

"And after me and Vela went to all that trouble to mess it up too." Natsu then remembers who was following the guy and how he had faced a 'disruption'. "Hey, so what'd you do to fix huh? And what'd you do with my sister?!" 

Zalty only laughs in response.

"Tell what you did you jerk!"

The odd man only continues speaking with Lyon. "Now that everything else is in order I suppose I should commence the Moon Drip Ceremony." As he goes to head back there's a sudden rumbling that can be heard from down below. 

"Get back here you little freak!" Vela comes bursting out of the ground with her sights set on Zalty. She's missing her red dress which leaves her in only her black bodysuit and seems to be a little roughed up, but fine otherwise. "All that hard work for nothing! And who do you think you are leaving me buried underneath all that rubble!? I had to leave behind my favorite dress because of you!"

She goes to land a punch at his head, but Zalty only moves to the side and runs towards the exit all while still laughing. Instead of crushing his head in Vela only causes more ice chunks to break off...and for the temple to shake a little. "Don't think that you can run from me you little freak!" She's quick to make chase. 

Natsu goes to follow suit as he's decided that he also needs to teach that guy a lesson. "Wait for me, sis! Who does that jerk think he is to ignore me?!"

"Natsu!" Gray calls out.

"I'm gonna pound him a million, no a billion times! I'll let you handle that ice guy." Gray nods in acknowledgement. "It'll look bad if you lose again."

"Yeah."

"And not just for you."

"I know what you mean."

"But for all of Fairy Tail," they say together. 

Natsu and Vela are still trying to catch up to the masked man. For such a short guy he sure is fast. "Get back here and answer my question already you freakshow! Come on man, why won't you just tell me how you fixed the temple?!"

"Stop trying to interrogate him and focus more on catching him, Natsu!" 

Zalty finally stops and conjures a magic circle above his head which causes part of the ceiling to come crumbling down.

"Not this again!" Vela complains as she jumps up to destroy part of it with her fists alight.

"That all you got?!" Natsu destroys the remaining pieces with his own flaming kick. "What a joke!"

Zalty then smirks as he waves his hand. This causes the ceiling to go back to exactly how it looked before. It was that exact spell that caused the pillars to become whole again. "There you have it. That's how I fixed the temple after you so rudely titled it."

"Well what kind of crazy magic is that?!" Natsu questions outraged at the nonanswer. 

"If you really must know I practice one of the lost magics. In other words, both its strength and side effects are so powerful it has been erased from history as we know it."

"Seriously?" Natsu gasps. Just what kind of magic is able to reverse things back to the way they were in such a short amount of time, Vela thinks to herself. 

"That dragon slayer magic you and your sister practice is no different."

"Really?" It's at that moment that Zalty vanishes into thin air. "Where'd he go?! I'm sick of chasing him around I wanna fight!" Natsu complains. He wants some more answers and action. 

"Did you really not know that we practice lost magic?" Vela questions her little brother. She thought it was kind of obvious that they did.

"Well, I don't know I had never really thought about it before."

"Natsu, have you ever even met anyone else who has practiced dragon slayer magic?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Really? Who?" Vela asks intrigued. Has he really met another dragon slayer before? How come he's never told me this?

"You, duh." A loud smack can be heard echoing throughout the room. It came from Vela's palm meeting her forehead. 

"Besides me, you idiot."

"Oh." Natsu puts his palm up to his chin in a thinking motion. "Then, no."

Vela can only throw her hands up in the air and keep walking. "Ugh, let's just go and find that masked weirdo."

Zalty had teleported himself straight to Deliora as he prepares for the final Moon Drip ceremony. "At long last."

"There you are!" a voice calls out from behind him. It's Natsu and he's charging full force towards the man with a fire punch prepped and ready. "I'll burn that grin right off your face!" However Zalty dodges just like before, so the only thing Natsu hits is the rock he was previously standing on. 

Zalty just keeps on laughing as he lands on a rock ledge higher up. "Must have taken you a while to come up with that one. I take it that you used the same method as your sister to find me?" 

"Yeah, and she was right you do smell like lady's perfume."

"Hahaha! I would love to stay and chat, but I've got more important things to do right now. Like reviving Deliora."

"Heh, just forget about that it's not gonna happen, ok?" 

"Really? And why is that, pray tell."

"Cause Gray's gonna kick that ice guy's butt," Natsu declares while pointing a steady finger at Zalty. "And any minute now I'm gonna kick your butt like a billon times. But only right after my sister as she gets first dibs. And then this will all be over."

"We'll just have to see about that. And just where exactly is that sister of yours?" 

"Right here!" a voice calls out as the wall behind Zalty is crushed. Vela had finally managed to land a hit right on his face, but she had to do so without magic as she needs all the magic she can get just in case Deliora is resurrected. 

That punch had caused Zalty to be thrown a couple of feet down below onto another rock formation. "It's no matter as you're still too little too late." The man then looks in the direction of Deliora as he cradles his now aching cheek.

"That's moonlight," Natsu gasps. "There are people up there doing the ceremony right now?"

"But there's no one else here except..." Vela trails off as she remembers the third person that was there during that briefing in the throne room "That damn dog!"

"Hahaha, you're correct once again Ms. Asteria but since it's only one person that means the Moon Drip isn't terribly powerful right now." Compared to the last time they saw the Moon Drip in action the stream of light is much slower, but it's still causing the ice to rapidly melt. "However, that's hardly a concern since we've already gathered plenty of moonlight. We just need to give it a little nudge to finish the job like this."

All of sudden a large dent is created in the top of the ice. Whatever Zalty had done it had managed to somehow speed up the process even more. "Ahhh! This can't be good Deliora's ice is melting like crazy!" Natsu shrieks. 

"Just what kind of magic does this guy use?!" Vela screams in frustration. 

"I gotta go stop that guy before things get ugly." But as Natsu, and Vela, starts running back towards the exit Zalty decides he has other plans in store for them. He causes a part of the ceiling to become loose once more and fall on top of the two. They're flung to the side slightly disoriented by the surprise attack. 

"Sorry but you brats aren't going anywhere. Looks like chasing after me was a mistake, Salamander, Asteria. Better luck next time, eh?"

As Zalty's chuckles echo throughout the cave the dragon slayers begin to grow annoyed at how this guy seems to be underestimating them. "Enough with your stupid laugh already!" Vela shouts as both she and Natsu aim powerful kicks of magic towards him. 

Zalty only moves onto another ledge. "Are sure you both want to do that? Using your fire and light magic like this? Might make the ice that's sealing Deliora melt faster." 

Natsu only goes in for another kick while Vela does the same with a punch from above. "If it could be melted by our magic you wouldn't have gone to all this trouble," the latter states.

"Bluff all you want but once we're done here all I gotta do is stop the Moon Drip and its game over," Natsu adds.

"I must say I took you both for foolish children, but when push comes to shove it seems you're both surprisingly clever."

"Hey, don't go lumping my intelligence with his just because we use the same magic," Vela rebukes.

"So not the time, sis." The temple begins to tremble as the ice continues to melt into the ocean. Then a resounding roar echoes throughout the island. "IT'S SO LOUD!" Natus is trying to block out the screech by covering his ears.

"AHH! IT FEELS LIKE MY HEAD'S GOING TO EXPLODE!" Vela is attempting to do the same, but it's futile for both due to their close proximity to the monster and sensitive hearing. 

The rest of the ice finally gives way freeing Deliora after almost a decade of entrapment. "Yes, it's free!" Zalty cheers. Natsu and Vela can only look on in absolute horror at what had just been unleashed back into the world. 

[beanea04]

Just Do Whatever!!!

It's the following morning and the villagers are making do with what they have which are only a couple of tents. Inside one of these tents is Gray who is wrapped in bandages laid out on a cot. With a grunt of strain, he gets up and observes his surroundings. The last thing he remembers is Natsu knocking him out and falling back into a comforting warmth. "Where am I?"

As he leaves the tent a village girl with short black hair and a half transformed blue leg approaches him. "Oh, thank goodness. I'm glad you're awake."

"What is this place?"

"It's a storage area that's not too far from the village. Everything was destroyed in the attack last night, so we decided to come here for shelter." 

"The whole village? That's horrible." One of the few things that Gray can remember from the night before was how Lyon had ordered some of his followers to destroy the village and all the people within it. I can't believe it. They actually went and did it. He then clutches his chest in pain. 

"You know it was a miracle that Natsu, Vela, and Lucy were here. Thanks to their bravery everybody was able to make it out alive."  

"So, are they still around here somewhere?"

"Yes. They actually wanted me to show you to their tent once you'd finally woken up."

"Which tent?"

She points across the settlement. "They're waiting for you in that big one, right over there."

He was expecting to see Natsu, Vela and the others there waiting to catch him up on last night's events. Instead upon entering the tent he sees something that makes his entire body freeze up. On the ground tied up in rope are Lucy and Happy with tears streaming down their faces, but right next to them is the last person he wants to see right now.

"You made me wait. Not smart." Erza is sitting next to trapped duo on a crate. Her face is sporting a glare that makes even the ice wizard cold.

"Erza! Why are they tied up?"

"Lucy's got me up to speed with everything that's happened. I thought you and Vela were sent here to stop Natsu and these two fools. Needless to say, I'm disappointed." She gets up from her sitting position to get closer to him. "In Vela especially." 

"Where are they anyway?" If they didn't come back here after saving the villagers, then best case scenario is that they got lost and don't know where the rendezvous point is. Or worst-case scenario is that they were apprehended by Lyon and his cult and have been taken prisoner. Gray would rather not think about that second option. 

"That's something we'd all like to know."

"The last time I saw them they were fighting against the Cold Emperor's lackeys," Lucy chimes in. "But when we went back to where the village was there wasn't any sign of them. Wherever they are I hope they're okay. Anyways since we couldn't find him Erza demanded we take her to you, but I had no idea where you ended up."

Happy adds, "So I did some scouting from up in the air. And from up there I could see that the villagers had moved into this storage area."

"Ok," Erza says as she starts to make way towards the exit of the tent. "We're going to search for Natsu and Vela and then we're going back to the guild."  

"But we can't leave the island just yet!" Gray exclaims. "If Lucy filled you in then you know exactly what these villagers are going through right now." 

Erza unwavering only says, "And what would be your point?"

At the temple rustling of leaves can be heard along with a yawn. It turns out this yawn came from Natsu as he and Vela make their way towards the entrance. "Man, I finally come up with the perfect plan and then I go and oversleep."

"I wouldn't call it perfect, but it definitely exceeded my expectations of you."  

"Whatever, you're just mad I thought of it first before you did. Who knows maybe you're becoming dumber because of that Moon Drip. Now everyone will finally see who the smarter sibling is." Right as he said that Natsu had tripped over a loose root and fallen face first at the temple entrance. It was almost as if the universe was listening.

"Smarter sibling huh? Yeah, right. Like that'll ever happen." 

"Whatever," Natsu says as he gets back up. But seeing as how they had made it to their destination he grows more serious. "Alright let's do this."

Back at the tent Erza still unwavering does not spare Gray a glance. "I came here solely to apprehend these fools for breaking the rules of the guild. I'm not interested in anything other than that."

"Rules?! Have you even seen what's happened to the people on this island?"

"I have."

"And you're still just gonna turn your back on 'em."

"Their request is posted on the board of every guildhall. The villagers would be better served by those who are cleared for S-class. You're not qualified."

"Well, what about Vela, she came with us and she's qualified."

"While that may be true, she didn't officially take on the job. And she still disobeyed the guild's rules by allowing the four of you to continue. In fact, her disobedience is much graver than the rest of yours. As an S-class wizard she should show better judgement. I wouldn't be surprised if she was stripped of her title once we get back. That is if she and yourselves aren’t expelled instead." 

"How can you be so heartless?" Gray can't believe how Erza was willing to let these people continue to suffer even though they could do something to alleviate it right now. Not to mention how nonchalant she was when mentioning the possibility of Vela getting demoted from a position that she worked so hard for. 

Somehow Erza's glare became even colder when she turns around to look at the ice wizard. "What did you say?" Gray may as well have been six feet under by now.

"That's no way to speak to the great Erza!" Happy cries out in fear of being next.

"You suck up," Lucy muttered. 

Erza summons one of her swords. "Have you chosen to defy the guild's rules as well." She points the blade just underneath Gray's chin. "You'll face the same punishment."

Instead of backing down like Erza expected him to do Gray grips the blade and points it at his guild mark. Although his grip is shown to waver due to the sheer amount of strength he has to use, he does not submit. "Do what you must. For me there's no other choice to be made. I can't walk away from what I know is right."

This gets Erza to falter which allows Gray to move past her and towards the exit. Lucy and Happy can only look on in surprise at how the swordswoman was letting him go without further injury. Right before he leaves, he parts with, "I'm seeing this through to the end and you can't stop me."  

The tied-up duo's hearts are practically bating out of their chests. If Gray wasn't around anymore then that meant Erza could only direct her anger on the two remaining wizards. As she turns around to glare at the two Lucy begins to beg. "Please don't get mad at us! We don't have any control over Gray!"

Happy decides to beg as well in hopes of trying to reason with Erza. "He's not feeling like himself right now cause he lost a fight to his old friend!" 

Erza brings her sword up and swings but instead of punishing them like Lucy and Happy expected her two she sets them free. "These events are intolerable. We'll deal with the immediate problems for now."

At her change of heart Lucy and Happy jump with joy and proclaim, "Thank you!" This was almost too good to be true.

"This doesn't change anything. You're still going to face punishment."

"Yes mam," the chorus. Guess it was too good to be true.

Meanwhile back at the temple Lyon is currently berating Toby as he was the only one able to make it back. "How pathetic. You're the only one still standing Toby." 

Toby lets out a whine in response. Lyon moves to sit down on an obnoxiously large throne. "Those Fairy Tail wizards they're quite impressive."

Toby thinks back on his embarrassing loss and pipes up with, "Hey can we keep that whole shocking myself thing a secret?"   

A third man wearing a red and white mask with a green fur trail attached and a brown cloak sneaks into the room. "This unfortunate turn of events could put the resurrection of Deliora in jeopardy."  

"Zalty, you're stealthy as ever," Lyon comments. 

"If all goes as planned the demon should awaken at some point tonight. But we have to keep an eye on those wizards. If they were to interrupt the Moon Drip ceremony, then Deliora would forever remain entombed in ice. Salamander, Titania, and Asteria are quite powerful they could easily foil our plans."

Lyon not at all dissuaded by those names responds with, "As always you seem remarkably well-informed." He conjures up a bit of ice in his hand to demonstrate his own power and how it shouldn't be underestimated. "No mind. I can't say I'm worried. Those fools may be strong, but they're no match for me."       

"I was hoping you'd say that, so it's very reassuring to hear." Zalty then slightly bows. "But still allow me the honor of joining you in battle for old time's sake." 

"Hold up!" Toby interrupts. "I didn't know you were a wizard too!"

"Yes. It's been a while since I've used it, but I've dabbled in a particular form of lost magic." 

"Sure, we could use another wizard." With Yuka and Sherry out of commission it wouldn't hurt to have another set of hands at the ready. All of sudden the temple begins to shake.

"It's an earthquake!" Toby screams in panic. The other two begin to think this as well until the temple suddenly shifts completely to the left. What kind of earthquake can cause that?

Along with falling rocks and debris, resounding booms and other explosions can be heard from below. "I don't think so," Lyon interjects. 

"It's all coming down!" Toby cries out.

From the bottom level Natsu can be seen kicking out pillars with his fire while Vela is doing the same by detonating her star feathers. Since the temple is now completely shifted many cult members end up tumbling down to the ground. 

Seeing as how the all the left sided pillars have been destroyed Natsu sends up a breath of fire causing the stone above them to be destroyed. The fire almost ends up singeing right through Toby if he hadn't moved out of the way. 

"What is the meaning of this?!" Lyon cries out.

"We're in trouble," Toby whimpers as he had seen what the fire mage can do firsthand.

As Zalty peers down below all he can say is, "I should've known Salamander would make the first move, and usually not far behind him is Asteria. It appears we have visitors, sir." 

As Lyon and Toby restabilize themselves they can see five floors below Natsu and Vela with very satisfied smirks on their faces. Natsu begins to laugh at the irony of it all. "You know I usually end up breaking stuff by accident. It's kinda funny how hard it is when I'm doing it on purpose."

"Normally I would discourage this kind of behavior, but for once it works out in our favor. And besides," Vela then send out one last slew of star feathers towards the last pillar which causes the temple to shake once more. "I've never gotten to really let loose with these before. It's pretty fun." 

With his veins bulging out of his forehead Lyon shouts down, "What are you doing here?"

"We're knocking this place over," Natsu answers. "Then you won't be able to shine moonlight on that demon you got underground."

"And hopefully the rest of my magic power can be restored, so I can finally kick all your asses for what you've put the villagers through."

"Insolent fools," Lyon insults. "Just who do you think you are? You dare challenge me?!"

Toby is still confused by the whole ordeal. "Ok, would someone please explain what's going on cause I'm lost."

Zalty ever the KnowItAll answers, "Evidently these wizards are the reason this temple is now tilted. I assume the support pillars on one side. Doing so caused the temple to shift in that direction. This in turn will prevent any moonlight from shining directly onto Deliora. It's an ingenious plan. I'm actually quite surprised that dolt was the one who came up with it." 

"Ok, but what about what she said. What does she mean by that?"

"Based off of what I know about her magic my guess is that the Moon Drip is affecting her magic power. Leaving her at a significant disadvantage during the night."

"So you gonna fight us or what?!" Natsu exclaims while using flames from his feet to have himself hover above the ground. Vela goes to do the same, but her entire body seems to glow as light streams from her feet. 

"Flames shoot from his feet? And what kind of magic is that girl using?" Lyon asks in astonishment. 

"When we fought that guy he was able to shoot fire from all over his body. But that girl didn't even use magic, so I have no clue," Toby answers. 

Natsu and Vela, done with their blabbering, propel themselves up and straight into Lyon's gut. But instead of hearing a grunt of pain his body shatters into ice. "What the? He's fake." Natsu says.

"Natsu, behind us!" Vela calls out.

The real Lyon who is stood behind them prepares to attack. He sends out a stream of ice birds at an alarming rate. "You can't dodge them in midair!" he says arrogantly.

Natsu lets out a breath of fire that propels him underneath the birds and avoid being hit. One the other hand Vela, instead of dodging, uses her star feathers to destroy them. While she was busy with that Natsu twists himself to be doing a one-handed handstand which allows him to shoot of more fire from his feet directed towards Lyon. 

He gets out of the way, but just barely. "What kind of ridiculous magic is this?" 

Still in the handstand position Natsu shouts out, "Fire Dragon Roar!"

Vela having landed next to him does the same. "Celestial Dragon Roar!" But before the combined attack can hit their mark a large hole opens up beneath which sends the two tumbling down towards the bottom once more.

Zalty smirks at their swift forced exit. "Very fortunate, Cold Emperor. Luck is on your side."

While Lyon and Zalty remain relatively unscathed, Toby was not as fortunate as he appears to be burnt to a crisp. "Can we keep the whole Toby got charred thing a secret too?"  

Lyon, ignoring the latter, confronts Zalty on his interference. "What did you do?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me. Your magic had to have caused that hole in the floor."

"Heh, don't you have ever the watchful eye. Please allow me to explain my actions, sir. You're the only one strong enough to defeat Deliora, so it's imperative that you remain safe until it's resurrection."

The room's temperature drops enough for Lyon's breath to be seen as he speaks. "Are you suggesting that I could fall victim to such poultry magic?" At Zalty's suggestion at being weak Lyon has the entire room encased in ice. 

"Leave me," Lyon commands as Natsu and Vela have managed to crawl their way back up. "I can take care of this myself. Once I finally defeat the demon everyone will worship my name, Cold Emperor Lyon. I've worked too hard to let brats like them tarnish it."

"As you wish," Zalty adheres.

There's something seriously off about that guy. I just can't put my finger on it. Vela hurriedly climbs out of the hole and follows after the man. "Take care of this guy, Natsu. I'm going to try and stop that freak in the mask." 

Natsu nods in acknowledgement. He then directs hist attention back to Lyon. "So you wanna try to defeat Deliora?" He has now also pulled himself up from the hole and is standing head-to-head with Lyon. "The thing looks half dead already. So let me get this straight, you're going to all this trouble to melt that ice just so you could fight it?! That's pretty messed up if you ask me."

"I must rise above Ur's legacy." The room grows even colder as Lyon sends even more ice birds to attack. "I will not rest until I've fulfilled my dream!"

Natsu manages to dodge them once more. "Why go this far?" By dodging the birds smack into the surrounding ice causing even more of it to crack. "Can't you just challenge her and be done with it?"

"Well, I would if I could. But Ur has been dead for years."

"I didn't realize that she ended up dying when she sealed it."

"Yes, but she'd still be alive if it wasn't for Gray!" Lyon tries a different approach and conjures another ice bird, but this time it's directly behind Natsu. This catches him off guard as this one actually managed to hit him.

Although the bird did manage to hit him, his forearms are what took must of the damage. "Look I don't know what happened to you in the past, but I do know what you're doing in the present. And it's hurting a lot of innocent people, and since you don't seem to realize that yourself." Natsu conures a large swirling ball of flames in his hand. "I'll have to knock some sense into ya!"

[beanea04]

Natsu vs Yuka the Wave User & Vela vs Toby

On top of the temple, Gray lays on the floor badly beaten from his battle with Lyon. Fading in and out of consciousness he envisions himself laying in the snow while hearing the voice of his old master Ur telling him to get up as he's surrounded with a comforting warmth. However, as the voice continues it begins to fade and shift into one that is much more grating. 

"Get up, Gray," Natsu says while standing behind him while Vela is holding his head in her lap to check him over for any fatal injuries. "Man, you look rough. He beat the snot out of you, huh?" 

"Natsu, Vela what are you doing here?"

"We couldn't remember how to get to the village, so we headed back here to look for it."

"And it's a good thing we did," Vela adds. "Who knows what could've happened to you if we didn't come back." 

"I would've made it back somehow." Vela only makes a tch sound while lightly rolling her eyes. Despite the obviously fake bravado being put on she continues to keep Gray's head in her lap and even starts to stroke his hair. 

"Hey, I see it now." Natsu then takes hold of Gray's collar and starts to pull him up. "Come on, let's go."

"Wait, I can walk." But Gray struggles to even stand up. There's no way he'll make it back to the village in this state. However there's only one thing on his mind right now. "Where's Lyon?"

"Don't know. By the time we made it back everybody had vanished," Natsu answers as Vela is too busy making sure Gray doesn't topple back over from his injuries.

Gray starts to stumble forwards, but Natsu grabs onto his shirt collar once more to keep him steady. Seeing as how the ice wizard is in no condition to walk on his own Natsu picks him up and sets him onto of his shoulders. Well, the ice that is covering what would be his shoulders. 

"Natsu you should let me carry him back," Vela insists. "You're already lugging around that big hunk of ice. Carrying that and Gray will only slow us down even more." She goes to take Gray but Natsu backs away. "Natsu, just give him to me already. Stop being so difficult about this."

As she goes to make a grab for him again Natsu takes another step back. "No way. I don't want him getting all touchy feely with you on the way back like when we took down Eisenwald. It's weird." Gray's a little too out of it to have heard, but this accusation causes Vela to flush. 

"Fine, whatever. Let's just get a move on already."

"Alright. Now hold on Gray, we have to hurry and get back to the village before they do." 

Gray begins to reminisce about the day he left to go fight Deliora on his own all those years ago. He remembers Ur begging him not to go as he was no match for the demon back then, maybe even now he's still no match for it. Then he thinks back to the start of this quest when he screamed at Natsu and the others to come back home as there was no way they were ready for a job of this caliber. Just like how Ur pleaded with him to stay. "Hey," he whispers.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry." This confuses Natsu what's he sorry for getting back up? "I'm sorry I didn't believe in you. I'm no better." At this realization Gray begins to cry.

"Oh, Gray," Vela whispers. 

"Quit feeling sorry for yourself cause you lost a fight!" Natsu roars. He doesn't want any pity, nor does he think that Gray should stew in his own. "You're a member of Fairy Tail. And we don't give up when times are tough, so just put it behind you and keep moving forward."

"Oh great, now it's even harder to run." Natsu starts to pick up the pace but due to all the extra weight he begins to tip over. He would've fallen and dropped Gray too, if it weren't for Vela who was already prepared to help brace him. 

"I told you Natsu. Just give him here and focus on trying not to topple over you ice cube."

Natsu grumbles out complaints but relents anyway. Gray is now being carried by Vela piggyback style quite similar to when they were chasing Erigor in Clover. "Ok, let's move!"

"Right!"

A little while later the trio are only about halfway through their trek back to the village which is much farther away than they need to be. Natsu being encased in ice and Gray fully unconscious certainly isn't helping, but on top of all that Vela is beginning to slow down. Natsu takes notice of his sister beginning to lag, "Hey, you doing ok?"

The added weight of the ice wizard on her back isn't helping speed things along, but what's also not helping is the lack of moonlight. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"   

"Don’t worry about me right now. Just focus on walking so we can save the village."

"But you're-"

"Natsu just drop it."

The boy grumbles but he agrees. He’s not too happy about this though and he’s not going to let this go anytime soon. But for the sake of the villagers, he's going to have to for now. 

Natsu vs. Yuka the Wave User & Vela vs. Toby

Eventually the three make it back to the village where the gate has been shut closed. I should probably call out to let them know it's us. Just as Vela's about to do so the door begins to open. She thought that everyone would be relieved that the three of them had made it back, but her ears pick up what seem to be yelling.  Are we too late?! Is that why they're all screaming?! She also spots of familiar pink haired spirit. Is that Virgo? What’s she doing here?

"Hey guys!" Natsu yells out. "Are you ok?!"

All of sudden Lucy starts flailing her arms about while screaming "Stay right there! Don't come any closer!"

"What?!"

"You guys, stop please!" Natsu and Vela skid to a halt in front of what seems to be a poorly hidden trap. Is this what everyone was so worried about? Vela thinks while looking down at the pile of grass right in front of them. Guess I know why Virgo's here. And no offense to them but what idiot would fall for that? 

Lucy lets out a sigh of relief at their stop. However, it seems Vela had thought too soon as one of the biggest idiots she had ever known is standing right next to her. "What's with the grass?" Natsu then takes a cautious step onto it causing him to fall in a rather deep hole. This causes everyone to sweat drop at the fire wizard's stupidity. 

"He actually fell for it," a villager sighs out. 

"Yeah, I'm sorry we ever doubted you," another says to Lucy.

The blonde on the other hand can only let out a disappointed sigh at her trap being destroyed. "It's ruined."

Vela peers down into the hole that now contain a heap of grass and an idiot she calls a brother. "You have got to be one of the biggest morons in Fiore."

"Very funny. But we don't have time to play practical jokes on each other."

"Don't talk to me it was Lucy's dumb idea," Happy shrugs.

"I should've known!"

"It wasn't a joke it was a trap!"

"I'm glad you're ok," Happy calls down. "I was worried about you."

"Yeah, I'm fine but Gray's down for the count."

Lucy turns towards Vela who is still holding the ice wizard. "The guy in the mask beat him that badly?"

She goes to respond but is interrupted as Natsu suddenly cries out, "Hey Vela, look!" As she goes to take a peek, she notices her brother back to normal no longer a giant ice cube. "The ice is gone. Woah, it must have cracked when I fell."

"See, told you the pitfall would work," Lucy says with a little huff of embarrassment as that was not at all what it was intended for. 

"Actually, I think it wore off due to us being so far away from that lunatic's range of magic," Vela interjects. 

"I'm free!"

Gray, off of Vela's back, is placed onto the ground with the assistance of three villagers. "Gray," Lucy gasps in worry. 

However, Natsu takes note of the three henchmen from earlier or more so the lack thereof. "So how come Lyon's lackeys haven't made it here yet?"

"You know that's a good question," Lucy agrees. She then puts her thump and pointer finger up to her chin in contemplation. "They left for the village before you, but you guys got here first. I wonder what's taking them so long."

"And at the pace we were going it was basically guaranteed for them to make it back before us," Vela adds while Natsu nods in agreement. 

Lucy suddenly very determined commands, "Ok guys, hurry and cover up that hole." 

"They're not gonna fall for that," the two dragon siblings deadpan.  

All of a sudden one of the villager points up to the sky while saying, "Over there." As everyone goes to look up, they can see a large flying rat overhead carrying a large bucket filled with who knows what. "It's a giant flying rat!"

"It's carrying a bucket!" another points out.

"What?!" Lucy's very dismayed at her, well actually Virgo's, hard work going to waste. "But now my pitfall trap is totally pointless." 

"So not the issue right now Lucy," Vela comments.  

Up above a droplet of a mysterious green liquid falls from the bucket and heads towards the village below. It's aimed directly at Lucy who is curiously looking at it with her arms wide open. At the rancid smell of the jelly Vela quickly warns, "Wait, don't get anywhere near that!" 

"Watch out." Luckily Natsu manages to tackle the celestial wizard down to the ground and out of the way. As the green droplet settles the dirt beneath it begins to sizzle away. At that sight Lucy's face goes pale at the thought of it touching her. "That smell I knew the stuff was deadly."

"That's cause it's double poison jelly," Vela says as she runs over to make sure they're both ok. "That must be the reason why we beat them to the village. They were too busy prepping." 

At the realization of the other wizards' intentions the villagers begin to panic as in a matter of seconds their village and themselves could all be melted away. "That big flying rat has a whole bucket full of it!"

"No! They're gonna dump it right on us!"

From on top of the rat Lyon's henchmen can get a good view of the villagers. "Hideous," Yuka mutters. Natsu and Vela flinch at hearing this. "Who would have thought that the Moon Drip could turn people into these beasts?"

"They look like the demon children of Deliora," Sherry adds. Toby only happily barks in agreement. "Angelica, would you do the honors?" At the girl's command the rat squeals in delight as it then tosses the entirety of the bucket causing the rest of the acidic jelly to spill down below. 

"How are we going to protect ourselves from acid jelly?!"

At Lucy's panic Natsu begins to run towards it while Vela heads atop one of the tallest structures in the village. "I want everybody to get into the center of the village!" he commands. He then looks towards Happy who's already flying towards him. "Ready to fly Happy?"

"Aye, sir!" The two take off into the air as the everyone else makes a break for it with three villagers carrying the still unconscious Gray.

But Chief Moka refuses to move from his place in front of his son's grave where he's desperately clutching the tombstone. "I'm not going! I won't leave Bobo's grave!" 

One of the villagers turns back to yell, "But Chief that jelly's gonna get ya!"

Up above Natsu conjures up a large fireball and directs it towards the giant mass of jelly. At the same time Vela up on the highest vantage point she can reach jumps up propelling herself with light boosters coming from her hands. She then holds her arms in an X motion and releases her star feathers in tandem with Natsu's flames. 

"Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" 

"Celestial Dragon Star Feathers!"

The explosion created from both attacks causes the jelly to disperse and hit the surrounding area of the village leaving the center unscathed along with its people. However, something odd that Vela had noticed was how the villagers all seemed to flinch at the sight of her magic. That was strange. What was with that reaction? It wasn't from the shine or the heat seeing has how they had no problem looking at Natsu's magic, so what could it be? 

The three atop the giant rat can only look on in shock at this grand display of power. "They dispersed it," Yuka gasps.

"That boy's a fire wizard?!" Sherry questions. "And what's with the feathers?!" 

As the jelly continue to rain down in droplets one heads directly towards where Chief Moka is still standing. "Oh no, Chief!"

Everyone looks on in horror at the sight of the droplet touching the ground and releasing a large stream of smoke. Fortunately, instead of seeing the Chief's charred remains the villagers spot Virgo who's holding the Chief up thankfully unharmed. "Do you wish to punish him for disobeying you?" 

"Virgo!" Lucy cries out in joy.

As the last of the jelly begins to dissolve and the dust starts to settle the villagers can finally see the devastation that has been brought to their home. Other than the ground in the center they were standing on, everything else was turned into ash and dirt. "The village has been completely dissolved," one says.

"This is terrible," another sighs.  

"Is anybody hurt?"

But off in the distance the Chief notices one other thing that had remained unharmed. "Bobo's grave's still standing." However, that relief does not last as a foot suddenly knocks it over. The three lackeys begin to make their way towards the villagers to finish the job they were ordered to complete.

"The Cold Emperor ordered us to eradicate the village and its people." Sherry flicks one of her pigtails in a haughty display. "We were trying to show mercy by making your deaths quick and painless. But since that didn't work we'll have to resort to bloodshed."

"50 villagers, three wizards, shouldn't take more than 15 minutes," Yuka observes.  

"You ready?" Natsu asks the others with a look of determination. 

"Yeah," Lucy replies while adjusting her belt that was holding her keys.

"Count again cause there's four wizards!" Happy exclaims with a paw in the air frustrated at being overlooked again.

Vela does not give a verbal response, but the sound of her knuckles being cracked can be heard. Unbeknownst to her and the others Gray begins to stir at the commotion. 

"How dare they, such disrespect," Chief Moka says in rage as he had just witnessed his son's grave being desecrated by these miscreants. In a sudden outrage he screams out, "They kicked over Bobo's grave!" It gets to the point that he has to be restrained by three other villagers trying to tell him to calm down as it would do no good for him to confront those foes.

He only grows more restless at their attempts at calming him so as a result the trio take him to safety with the rest. "I'm not afraid of you! Let me down! Let me teach them a message!"

The Chief's screaming also seemed to have brought Gray back from complete unconsciousness as he tries to stand up to help defend the village. Key word being tries as he keeps swaying back and forth on his feet due to his injuries from his previous fight with Lyon. "Let me help you."

"Gray, you came to!" Lucy gasps. 

"Not gonna happen," Natsu argues. "We don't need your help."

"He's right. You should go with the rest of the villagers to safety. We can handle these guys on our own," Vela adds. 

"Natsu, Vela don't do this to me-" He lets out a sudden grunt of pain as Natsu punches him in the gut while Vela catches him from behind.

"Just lie down and get some rest," Natsu suggests.

With what little strength he has left Gray grips Natsu's scarf and whispers, "Someday I'll kill-" He passes out back into Vela's arms before he can finish.

Lucy can only look on shocked at the two's actions. She had sort of expected this from Natsu, but for Vela to go along with it was surprising. "But why?"

"They're giving Gray some tough love," Happy answers. "Natsu knows he's in no condition to fight so he had to stop him. And Vela could never hurt one of her friends, but she knows that this was necessary for Gray to be safe."

"That means deep down they really do care," Lucy says. She had never realized just how close those two boys really are. But this moment had solidified that.

"Will you make sure he stays safe for us?" Vela ask as Gray is now slung over the shoulder of one of the villagers.

"No problem Ms. Vela." The villager then towards the rest and signals for them to start moving. "Alright let's go." They then set off to get to a point of safety.

"We're not leaving until every person in this village is dead. Angelica." Sherry then turns towards her rat which gives off a squeak of acknowledgement. It suddenly jumps up into the air with Sherry held in its grasp. They seem to be flying in the direction that the villagers had set off on. 

As the rat passes by them overhead Lucy screams out, "We're not gonna let you get away with this!" Caught up in the moment Lucy had apparently grabbed onto one of the rat's claws and is now up high in the sky. "Oh no! I got excited and grabbed on!"

"Yep, she's stupid," Happy comments to Vela.

"Well, she's certainly passionate I'll give her that."

"More like insane!" Natsu contests. 

Lucy begins to knock her fist into the claw she was hanging onto in attempts to get it to land. "Leave the villagers alone! They didn't do anything to deserve this!"

Upon hearing the commotion Sherry turns around to look at the newfound nuisance. "What does she think she's doing?"

Getting a little desperate Lucy begins to tickle the rat at the end of its paw. "Are you ticklish?" 

"Try all you want it's not going to work." Sherry is proven wrong as Angelica bursts out screaming in laughter. "Angelica?!" Due to her body being taken over by shrill cackles Angelica's tail slowly begins to stop propelling.

"You have to fight it! Keep spinning your tail!" However, this does nothing as the rat begins its fast descent towards the ground. "We're going down!"

"I did it!" Lucy's triumph does not last as she too begins to scream out in terror at their abrupt crash landing. "Why did I do that?!" 

The girls could be seen sent flying towards a forested area not far away from where the village is. "Oh great, he's gonna be ticked," Yuka complains in reference to the Cold Emperor.

But Toby does not seem to pick up on this as he screams at Yuka, "I don't have any ticks!"

"I wasn't talking about you."

"Do you think she made it?" Natsu asks. "That big rat might have crushed her."

"If so she's probably a goner," Happy responds.

"Nah, I'm sure she's fine. Lucy's a tough girl," Vela argues. She can't believe how little faith they have in their new member. 

Happy then has his wings appear and flies off in the direction that he assumes Lucy had landed. "Still, I'll go and check on her."

"Thanks, be careful," Natsu says. Now all that's left in the desecrated village are the two dragon slayers, eyebrows, and dog man. "We'll stay here and deal with them." Natsu and Vela jump down towards the two with the latter headbutting Toby which sends him flying several feet backwards. 

Natsu then sends a heap of flames towards Yuka. But instead of singed eyebrows he sees a blue shield protecting the wizard from the fire. "A wizard who can breathe fire, I see. Don't tell me you're the Salamander from Fairy Tail I've heard so much about? And judging by her earlier display of power I'm guessing that's Fairy Tail's very own Goddess Asteria."

Natsu and Vela are now stood back-to-back with him facing Yuka and her facing Toby who had recovered from her quick attack. "I'm good," he calls out after awkwardly flinging himself upwards. 

"You know we used to be members of a famous guild ourselves. So, you shouldn't blow us off." Yuka's voice only grows more arrogant as if being part of famous guild equates to being a great wizard. "In fact, Iron Rock Jura used to belong to the same guild. Surely you've heard of the Lamia Scale." 

Having enough of this guy's blabbering Natsu sends off a stream of fire towards while Vela does the same to Toby with her light magic. Yuka had sent up one his shields, but Toby wasn't so lucky as Vela's light had managed to catch his hair on fire.

"Hey, cut it out! Listen when I'm talking to you!"

"Why?" Natsu grumbles. "You think we care what guild you're from or who the other members are? We came here to help the villagers and you're the ones who put them in danger. Which makes you Fairy Tail's enemy and that gives me more than enough reason to fight you." 

"Hey Toby just stay back. You don't need to get involved I've got this. Just take care of the girl."

As Natsu and Yuka begin to duke it out Vela focuses on Toby. I should try and preserve my magic until morning considering how half of it is gone until we can get rid of the Moon Drip.  

"He's crazy Yuka! Watch out!"

"Hey, you should be focusing on me! I'm your opponent." 

"I'm not scared of some chick." Toby raises up his arms in front of his face in an X motion. His nails had grown longer and turned green. "I'm even stronger than Yuka is. Check out my mega jellyfish paralyzing claws. Bet you'll never guess what these babies can do." 

"Paralyze you?"

"Woah, how did you know that? Hey, you got ESP or something?"

"No. You're just real dumb." Vela can only look at the man deadpanned. This guy thinks he's stronger than Yuka. Yeah, right.

This seems to set Toby as he goes to strike at Vela's head. "Nobody talks to me like that!"

"Watch it," Vela says nonchalantly as Toby keeps trying to get a hit on her. He's faster than Yuka I'll give him that. 

"With just one swipe from my claws. You'll be frozen waiting to die."

"Hey, hold on a moment." Vela puts on her hands on the side of her head. "You got a little something right here."

Toby does the same which causes him to puncture himself with his own nails. He lets out a scream as the paralyzing effect takes place which leads to him passed out on the ground. "Man, he's gotta be one of the biggest idiots I've ever met and that's saying something."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsu asks with a glare.

Vela just gives him a sweet smile. "Nothing," she hums.

"Tch." He's not satisfied by that answer. "Anyways did you have to keep toying with him for so long? We both know you could've ended the whole thing with a single hit."

"I know, but I want to preserve my magic power just in case. Half of its being taken up by the Moon Drip, so I don't want to take any risks until morning. Besides there has to be someone left standing to be able to send a message back to Lyon that we're not giving up."

"Yeah, I guess." Natsu then moves over to where Bobo's headstone had landed. "Here we go." He then takes the stone and placed it back where it belongs. "We're gonna find a way to change your people back to normal Bobo. I know we will. And I promise you, we will avenge your death."

Vela is now looking off in the direction that Happy and Lucy went. It's been quite some time, and she hasn't heard anything from that area, so she's starting to worry. "Do you think Lucy and Happy are doing ok?"

"You're the one that said Lucy can handle herself."

"I know but still it's been a while, and I haven't heard anything come from that area." Vela gets a glint in her eye as she turns to look at Natsu with a smirk. "And besides you're one to talk Mr. Worrywart."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were practically begging Happy to go and check on her."

"I wasn't begging!"

"Sure, sounded like it to me."

"Whatever." Natsu stands to his full height. "We should probably stay here for the night. Just in case any more of that guy's goons come back."

"That’s probably a good idea. We might end up leading them to the villagers if we try to catch up with them now." Vela turns to look back at the two passed out bodies behind her. 

She flicks her head in their direction. "Let’s move them further away first. I’d rather not sleep next to the guys that just tried to kill us."

Natsu agrees so he slings Yuka over his shoulder while Vela starts to drag Toby by the arm. After dumping them a couple of miles away the two settle themselves in what used to be Galuna Village. They’ve set up a fire and makeshift beds made from leaves. The two are also starting to plan their next move. 

"We should probably start to think of how we can stop this Moon Drip or at least delay it so we'd have more time." Vela lays back and looks up at the moon in wonder. "If only we could redirect the moonlight somehow." 

"Redirect it?" Natsu suddenly perks up. "Oh, I know the perfect way we can do that." He gets up to his feet and starts hastily making his way in the direction of the temple.

"Hey, where are you going?" Vela calls out as she begins to follow him. 

"I know how we can stop the Moon Drip, but we have to hurry and get back to the temple. The sooner we get started on this the better."

"Just hang on a second." They had already made it a good distance away from the remains of the village. Actually, they were already about halfway to the temple. "Let's take a second to breathe for a moment before we go enacting this great plan of yours. It'd probably be better for us to get some sleep now instead of half-assing it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Natsu plops down onto the ground and gets ready to sleep. "But first thing tomorrow morning we have to act fast so we can kick their butts."

"Yeah, I hear you little brother. But for now, just focus on getting some rest, ok?"

He lets out a loud yawn. "Yeah. Goodnight sis."

"Goodnight Natsu." As the two drift off they fail to notice a masked man hidden in the treetops waiting for their next move.

[beanea04]

Moon Drip

   In a land far far away lies the Kingdom of Fiore. A small peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic, found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most magic is merely a tool a mundane part of everyday life. For some however magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice, these are the wizards. Banded together in magical guilds they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless ledges have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name is Fairy Tail.

"Deliora," Gray growls out.

"You sure this is the demon your master sealed away?" Natsu asks.

"There's no doubt about it."

"I wonder why it was transferred all the way from the northern continent to Galuna Island," Happy says aloud.

"You don't think this demon could have something to do with the island's curse, do you?" Lucy looks towards mainly Vela for answers seeing as she is the most experienced wizard here.

But before the girl could answer Gray says, "I wouldn't be surprised if it did. It may be enclosed in ice but that thing's still alive."

Upon hearing that this thing could still put up a fight Natsu starts to get fired up. "Sweet! Give me a go at it I ain't afraid of no stupid demon!" He starts to wind up his right arm in preparation.

"You know brute force isn't the only way to solve a problem, Natsu," Lucy states matter of factly.

"That has got to be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard you say," Vela says.  

"A little fire ought to do the trick." This sets Gray off as he goes to sock Natsu hard right in the face. Normally this wouldn't raise any red flags, but the intensity that Natsu was hit with was a major indicator that something was seriously wrong. 

"Gray what the hell?!" Vela goes to check on her brother's cheeks while giving the ice wizard a stern but concerned look. 

"Gray just punched Natsu!" Happy cries.

"Well, this wouldn't be the first time he's done that," Lucy states. 

Natsu holding his cheek and slightly brushing his sister off asks, "What's the deal? What'd ya hit me for Gray?"

Gray had a panicked and intense look on his face which clued Natsu in on the gravity of the situation. Not to mention how being in the mere presence of Deliora really seems to be affecting the ice wizard. "I don't want you and your flames anywhere near it. If that ice melts and Deliora's revived, there's no way we'd be able to stop it."

As Natsu gets up he points out, "Come on, do you really think a huge chunk of ice would be that easy to melt."

"He's got a point," Vela intervenes. "I mean do you really think Natsu is capable of that. I don't even think my own magic would be able to put a dent in this thing right off the bat."

Upon hearing their reasoning Gray begins to calm down if only slightly. "No, I guess you're right."

Lucy approaches Gray from behind and places a hand on his back hoping to check in on how he's doing. "Hey, are you ok?"

"I'm the one who got hit for no good reason! Watch your temper man!"

"Please you're one to talk," Happy points out.

"Well, that's what you get for being so insensitive." Vela goes to push Natsu to sit down. "Now shut up and listen for once."

"Many years ago, my master, Ur, casted a spell called Iced Shell on this demon, enclosing it in form of ice that can't be melted. It's so strong that even the most powerful flame spells have no effect on it. If they knew that the ice couldn't be melted, then why did they bring it here?"      

"Well maybe they didn't know," Lucy suggests. "They might have brought it here to try to melt it somehow."

This only enrages Gray once more. "But why would they do that?!"

Lucy grows sheepish under his scrutiny. "Uhm, I have no idea." 

"Hey, Lucy was only trying to help. There's no need to take your anger out on her, ok?" Vela scolds. 

Gray's glare softens but he doesn't acknowledge her. He only continues to stare at Deliora. "I just don't get it. Who would bring Deliora here and more importantly why?"

"We need answers." Natsu then jerks his thumb in the direction those three others went. "Let's go find those guys." 

"Yeah, ok," Lucy agrees. 

But before they can head off Gray interrupts with a stern, "No. We're gonna stay here and wait."

"Wait for what?" Happy asks.

"For the moon," Vela answers in place.

"The moon?! But it's the middle of the afternoon!" Natsu cries in shock as he does not have the patience for a ten-hour stakeout. He starts to wave his hand back and forth offhandedly. "Forget that. If I have to hang out here all day, I'll die of boredom."

Lucy choosing to ignore the boy's complaints, along with everyone else, asks the two. "But why does the moon matter?"

Gray answers, "I have a feeling that the curse on this island and Deliora are somehow connected to it. And I heard those guys we saw earlier say something about collecting moonlight."

"I heard that too," Lucy adds. "I guess waiting till nightfall is the only way we're gonna find out what's going on."

"I'M NOT WAITING! WE GOT WORK TO DO!" But despite his temper tantrum not even five minutes later Natsu is sprawled out on the ground asleep and snoring without a care in the world. 

"Well, that was fast." Lucy observes. 

"Aye."

Moon Drip

"Must be nice," Lucy comments with slight jealousy. "He doesn't have to worry about anything but eating, fighting, and sleeping."

"Aye. That's Natsu for ya."

"I gotta admit I'm a little bit jealous."

"You really shouldn't be," Vela interjects. "That carefree attitude is due to his lack in mental capacity." This causes the blonde and the cat to giggle in agreement. The only one not laughing is the ice wizard who's currently siting the closest to Deliora seemingly lost in thought. 

Lucy then starts to whine from boredom as they still have a couple of hours to go until the moon appears. "I know I agreed to wait but this is so boring." 

"Aye," agrees the cat sitting on the rock next to her.

"I have some cards and dice if you guys want to play." Vela then pulls out a small pouch, containing said items, from in between her breasts. 

"Uh...do you always carry those with you?" Lucy asks. But she's got nothing else to do so she might as well go along with it. But before she can agree a paw is quick to grab onto the side of her shirt and give a slight tug. "What is it, Happy?"

With a paw partially shielding his mouth in attempts to be discrete Happy says, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Lucy only hums in confusion. "It may not seem like it but Vela's a total gambling addict. If you say yes to one game, you'll end up playing until you've got nothing left."

"You know I can still hear you two right. And we don't have to play with stakes for now even though that is what makes it fun." Vela starts to shuffle the cards back and forth with a very unsettling grin on her face. "Don't worry Lucy it's your first time so I promise I'll go easy on ya."

Yeah, that look you're wearing says otherwise. Lucy just gives a little wave of dismissal with a smile and a sweat drop. "That's ok, I think I'll pass for now." Since no one was willing to play with her Vela starts to put away her things with a pout on her face. The celestial spirit wizard then gets a great idea. "Oh, I know!" She pulls out one of her silver keys and calls out. "Open Gate of the Harp Constellation, Lyra!"  

In a puff of pink smoke appears a young girl wearing a bright pastel outfit with white wings on her back. She is also carrying a large blue harp on her back while waving enthusiastically at her wizard. "Oh wow! I haven't seen you in forever, Lucy!" 

"Hey, Lyra!"

The sprit then seems to get a little miffed about something as she draws closer to Lucy's face. "Say, how come you never call me anymore? It's not fair. I would love to help you out, but you ignore me meanie." 

Vela can only blush from cuteness aggression at the sight of the new girl. Aw she's just adorable, especially with her wings and little bonnet.    

"Meanie, huh? You're the one who told me you were only available three days a month."

At the mention of her stingy availability Lyra tries to backtrack. "Are you sure about that?"

Happy can only sigh in exasperation at this exchange. "Great another weirdo." Meanwhile Natsu is still fast asleep, and Gray is too absorbed in memories from the past to be paying attention to the girls. 

"So, what would you like me to sing? Any requests?"

"Nope, whatever you want," Lucy answers. 

"Do you know any songs about fish?" Happy inquires. 

Lyra ignores the question and gives Lucy a big thumbs up and a cheerful smile. "Kay! I've gotta song I think you're gonna love, Lucy!"

"Lyra has the most beautiful signing voice," Lucy compliments. 

Happy still salty about his request being ignored snaps back with, "Well Mira's a singer too ya know. And she sings songs about fish for me."

"Just be glad Lucy is willing to give us free entertainment. Now hush up and listen," Vela interjects. 

Lyra then begins to strum a beautiful soft melody on her harp. The girls and Happy close their eyes in bliss as the sound of Lyra's singing and even Natsu starts to smile in his sleep. However, the song seems to have the opposite effect on Gray as his shoulders begin to visibly shake and quiet sniffles can be heard. 

At the sound of his cries Lyra ceases singing. "Huh? Gray, what's wrong?" Lucy asks.  

"Nothing. I'm fine." The shake in his voice says otherwise. 

"You seem upset," Happy gently comments. 

"Well one of Lyra's talents is singing songs that relate to what her audience is feeling." 

"Did her song make you cry?"

“I…wasn’t crying.” Everyone knows that Gray’s lying through his teeth, but they’re all too polite to say anything else.

Lucy trying to lift the mood suggests to Lyra, “Maybe you should sing something a little more upbeat.”

“You should have just said that in the first place,” Lyra cheerfully points out.

“I think we should skip the song,” Gray interjects. “We need to be quiet. We don’t want to be found out.”  

Lyra had returned to the spirit world as there was no more need for her singing and with their entertainment gone Happy and Lucy ended up falling asleep from boredom. The only ones left awake were Gray and Vela who had done nothing but worry about her friend after his reaction to Lyra’s song. She has no idea what he’s going through his mind right now, but what she does know is that it can’t be anything good. 

In hopes of comforting her friend, or at least taking his mind off of things, Vela moves from her spot next to Lucy and goes to kneel in front of him. “Hey,” Vela starts off. “I know you're going through a tough time right now and you may not want to talk about it but just know that I’m here for you. I don't want you to lose yourself to whatever dark thoughts are going through your head right now. So instead of dwelling on them just remember that I'm here for too, ok?”   

She goes to put her hand on his shoulder to give him a comforting squeeze, but it's stopped before she can make contact by the boy leaning his head into her shoulder and letting out a deep sigh. She moves her arms around him to give him a comforting squeeze and at the gesture Gray's body slightly sags. It's as if all his built-up tension is being released through this simple hug.

One of Vela's hands begins to rub up and down his back while the other goes to smooth back his hair. Gray moves back into his original position which leads Vela to letting go rather reluctantly. "Thanks. I get that I haven't been the most pleasant guy to be around right now, but..."

"Hey, there's no need to apologize."

Gray disagrees. "No there is. I've been nothing but a pain since we've gotten to this cave. You guys are only trying to help, and I've been taking out all my frustrations on you guys. Especially Natsu. And for that I am sorry."

Vela only gives him a gentle smile. "Well, he did kind of deserve it."

Gray softly laughs in response. "Yeah, I guess." His attention then shifts to how the girl in front of him seems a little out of it. As if she's in need of a nap. "Hey, are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It's just that ever since last night something seems kinda off about you. You just seem tired."

"It seems to only happen at night. Probably has something to do with the moon. I start feel all sluggish and slow like my energy’s been cut in half. But luckily the sun helps me regain that lost energy, so I’ll be fine."

Gray moves his own hand onto Vela's shoulder. "You sure?"

She gives him a smile and squeezes the hand that’s on her shoulder. "Yeah, I'm sure. You don’t have to worry about me. Just focus on the bigger problem at hand. I'll be fine, promise." Gray returns her smile but thinks to himself No point in telling me that. I always worry about you. 

All of sudden the room begins to shake causing the others to awaken from their daytime naps. "What's that weird noise?" Lucy asks groggily trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. 

"Is it night yet?" Natsu asks in alert. 

A large magic circle then appears on the ceiling casting a strange purple light down onto the ice encasing Deliora. "It's a beam of light," Lucy exclaims.

"Shining down from the ceiling," Natsu says in awe. 

"But why is it purple?" Gray interjects. 

"It must be moonlight," Vela answers. 

"What's going on?" Happy whimpers. "I'm getting scared, Vela." Upon hearing this the girl picks him up into her arms. 

"It's shining on Deliora," Gray says. 

"I don't think that's a coincidence," Natsu says.

Vela agrees as the moonlight shining down on them is just as, if not more, unsettling then the night before. "It's definitely not."

"Let's go." Gray starts to head towards the cave's entrance. "We have to find out where the light's coming from." They all head up a long winding staircase that leads back to the room they originally fell from. On the floor is the magic circle with moonlight flowing down from atop the ceiling. "Why would someone cast a magic circle inside this old temple?"

"Let's find out," Natsu declares. The group makes it outside to see a group of people in a circle chanting some incantation. They all hide behind a nearby rock wall to get a better view. "What are they doing?" Lucy hushes Natsu in fear of being found out.

As the people continue to chant, a series of magic circles leading all the way up to the moon continue to draw out its light. "The moon," Gray says in awe.

"Looks like those robed freaks are chanting some spell to collect the moonlight," Natsu observes.

"And shine it on Deliora," Lucy adds. "But what for?"

"Now that we've gotten closer I recognize the incantation they're saying. It's a Belianese spell called the Moon Drip," Vela explains.

"Mind filling us in on what that exactly means, sis?"

"They're using the Moon Drip spell to melt the ice surrounding the demon underground so they can resurrect it."

"What?" Natsu gasps.

"They can't," Gray interrupts. "The ice used in an Iced Shell can't be melted."

"I hate to say it, but that's not entirely true. While the Iced Shell is strong, it can be melted using Moon Drip. Focused moon energy can break any magical spell. It's actually pretty similar to my Full Moon spell, but this is much more powerful judging by the number of wizards up ahead."

"Oh no," Happy whimpers. 

"Idiots!" Gray exclaims. "They've never witnessed the wrath of Deliora."  

"I think what the islanders believe is a curse against them may actually be side effects of the Moon Drip," Vela continues. "Concentrated moon energy can contaminate a body not prepared for the effects. I'm afraid those poor islanders have been exposed to way too much of it." 

"I'll make 'em pay," Natsu snarls. However, before he can make a move to strike Lucy is quick to stop him. By elbowing him right in the face.

"Someone's coming this way," Lucy states. The three people down in cave beforehand appear along with a mysterious figure whose face is covered by an armored headpiece with horns like a ram and long trail of purple fur at the back.  

"What a waste," Yuka complains. "I lost so much precious sleep for nothing." At the mention of sleep Toby begins to doze off right behind him. "We searched all day for the intruders but never found a trace of them."

"Maybe there wasn't any!" Toby shouts.    

Sherry then chimes in with, "I'm afraid I have some sad news Cold Emperor." The Cold Emperor in question turns his head to acknowledge her to continue. "We thought we had intruders during the day, but it seems they got away somehow. I cannot speak of love in this situation."  

"Intruders?" the Cold Emperor says. At the sound of his voice Gray's eyes seem to widen in what seems to be shock maybe even in recognition. 

"So that guy's their leader," Natsu says.

"He's trying to act all high and might wearing that stupid looking mask," Lucy huffs.

"I don't know I think it looks kinda cool," Happy shares.

"The horns are a bit much in my opinion," Vela adds. 

"Has Deliora been awakened yet?" the Cold Emperor asks. 

"It should be later tonight or tomorrow," Sherry answers. "So-"

However, she is rudely and very abruptly interrupted by the dog man. "Which one girl?!" 

"The time has almost come. If you see those intruders again kill them. I don't want anyone getting in my way." Gray can only continue to stare unwaveringly at the Cold Emperor. Vela takes note of this as his eyes haven't left the man since he first appeared. Does Gray know who this guy is? 

"They must have been villagers," Sherry assumes. "They're the only other people on this island." 

"Then destroy the village." The Cold Emperor is meet with agreements from the other three. 

"What?" Natsu hisses.

"But the villagers didn't have anything to do with it," Lucy whimpers. 

"This guy's an absolute lunatic," Vela sneers.  

"Yeah. We gotta stop him," Natsu implores. 

"It's a shame there has to be bloodshed." But the easygoing smile on the Cold Emperor's face and his steady voice say otherwise. 

"That voice...no. It can't be." Gray's eyes seem to light up in both realization and despair as he can finally place who that voice belongs to.  

All of a sudden Natsu stands up on the small wall they were all hiding behind and shouts out, "I've had enough of this sneaking around business!" He then intakes a large gulp of air and expels it all out as a huge burst of fire. "It's not the villagers we're the intruders you're after!" 

At his outburst Vela can only stare mortified at her brother's brash actions while Natsu has a very self-satisfied grin on his face. "Well, there goes the element of surprise."

Lucy can only sign in resignation as she states, "Geez. I guess there's no turning back now, huh?"

Sherry then spots the guild mark on Natsu's arm. "I know that mark. They're from Fairy Tail."

"Interesting. Those villagers must have gone to the magical guilds for help," Yuka states. 

The Cold Emperor does not sway his decision despite this new revelation. "Don't worry about them. Go eradicate the village."

"What?" Lucy gasps.

"But why?" Natsu questions. 

The Cold Emperor's fists tighten as he declares, "Anyone who stands in my way whether deliberately or not is my enemy."

"SAY WHAT?!" Natsu then starts running towards the man intent on striking first with Gray quick to follow and Vela right behind them both just out of Lyon's eyesight.

Gray then jumps up into the air while demanding "Stop this crazy ceremony right now!" When he lands, he sends a large shockwave of ice towards the man. This causes the three lackeys to jump back, but the Cold Emperor retaliates with his own magic which turns out to be the same exact kind as Gray's. The mystery man sends out a similar wave of ice which causes the two attacks to explode on impact and cancel each other out.

"He's an ice wizard too!?" Happy exclaims shocked. Vela can only look on in awe at how similar Gray and this man's magic seem to be.

"Lyon!" Gray calls out. This shocks the others as it turns out Gray does know this man from somewhere. "How could you? Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"Oh, Gray. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" The rest stay quiet as this seems to be a rather personal moment for the ice wizards.

"Why would you revive Deliora?"

"To think that you were one of the wizards called to this island to help those poor villagers. Did you come knowing you would find me? Or is this just mere coincidence? Not that it makes any difference to me."

"An acquaintance of yours, Cold Emperor?" Yuka asks. 

Instead of answering the Cold Emperor now identified as Lyon only reminds the three of his earlier command. "Do as you were ordered. I can handle the intruders on my own."

The three leave in a rush with a resounding, "Yes, sir." 

Their sudden departure causes Natsu to start freaking out as he begins to flay about like a fish. "Hey wait! Come back here!"

At the sight of Natsu running towards Lyon Gray tries to warn him. "No! Natsu, don't go near him!"

But Natsu being Natsu he does not listen. As a result of this he ends getting surrounded by a sudden barrage of cold air which causes his whole body to become encased in ice.   

"Natsu!" both girls call out in worry.

Gray then turns to Happy and directs, "Happy get Lucy out of here!"

Seeing as how the fight has quickly gone south Happy agrees with an "Aye." He then lifts Lucy by the back of her top and flies away towards the village despite Lucy's protests. 

Gray then sends out another barrage of ice, but Lyon is able to counter with an ice shield. Meanwhile Natsu is still struggling to free himself from the ice. "What?! No, I can't move!" 

"Hold on! We can't just leave Natsu like that," Lucy pleads as Happy flies them farther and farther away from the rest.

"He was hit with a type of ice magic that instantly freezes the air. If we had stuck around there any longer, we probably would've been frozen too," Happy explains.

"Who cares we gotta save him!"

At the thought of how he had to leave Natsu behind Happy begins to tear up. In a wobbly voice he cries, "But who's gonna save the village if all of us are turned into ice!" 

His crying makes Lucy realize how upset he is over leaving his best friend behind even if his sister was still back there to help. "Oh, I'm sorry Happy. It must have been hard for you to leave him behind." At Lucy's acknowledgement of his decision Happy steels himself and stops crying determined to get to the village in time.

Seeing this Lucy tries to quell his worries with reassurance. "Don't you worry I'm sure he'll be fine. Ice is no match for a Salamander, right? Plus, Vela's still there to back him up."

"Aye."

Back at the Temple the remaining four are now in a standoff. "You distracted me long enough for the blonde and the cat to escape. Quite chivalrous if it weren't for the one that had to get left behind." He gestures towards Vela who had run over to check on Natsu. "But even if that one had escaped as well, it would ultimately still be pointless. There's no way those two can stop my minions."

"Don't underestimate the power of Fairy Tail wizards," Natsu grunts. He then turns towards Vela for help. "Now get me outta here, sis!"  

"On it!" Vela summons her Full Moon spell and prepares to shoot her moon arrows at the ice surrounding him to dispel it. But the spell starts to fizzle out before disappearing completely. "What the hell?" Vela says to herself.  But before she can fully grasp what had just happened a shove from behind sends her and Natsu tumbling down the mountain. "Ahhh!"

"What's the big idea, Gray?!" Natsu calls out before he and Vela disappear behind the trees and shrubs.

The two had finally come to a stop when the large block of ice had managed to get wedged between the earth with Natsu stuck face first into the dirt. Vela's trying to pull him out by the legs, but he keeps squirming around just making it more difficult for her. "Hold still so I can pull you out!"

"I'm trying!" Seeing as how she's unable to pull him out Natsu releases a breath of fire which propels him upwards and back onto his feet. He then starts to shout in the direction of the temple which is now miles away. "Gray you punk! Oh, you're gonna pay for this!" 

Wanting to be freed from his icy prison Natsu lights up his hand with flames to melt it. But it seemingly has no effect on it. "My fire power isn't making a dent in this ice. Man, what's the deal?" He turns around looking at his sister expectantly. "Quick use your arrows on me so I can go give Gray and that weirdo a price of my mind!"

"I would if I could, but you saw what happened up there. I'm pretty sure all of the moon's light is being directed towards melting Deliora."

"Why does that matter?"

"It matters because certain spells require the use of moonlight. Like my arrows for example." At this realization Natsu's face drops into an O.

"We gotta get back to the village. If you can't get me out, then I'll just have to run." Natsu then starts hopping from one foot to the other. He just about tips over after every step. "Oh man this is harder than I thought it'd be."

Vela's quick to correct him. "Man at this rate we won't make it back to the village until morning."

"By the way do you remember where the village is?"

"No not really. We should head back to the temple and go from there we'll have a better chance of making it back if we can get to higher ground."

"Alright, let's go. I have to give these people a piece of my mind!"

[beanea04]

The Cursed Island

         In a land far far away lies the Kingdom of Fiore. A small peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic, found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most magic is merely a tool a mundane part of everyday life. For some however magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice, these are the wizards. Banded together in magical guilds they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless ledges have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name is Fairy Tail.

"Say what?" Wakaba exclaims in disbelief. "One of the jobs from the second floor is missing."

"But the jobs up there are S class quests. Anyone know who took off with it?" questions Macao.

"Well," starts Laki "it's either someone really strong or really stupid."  

"I know." From up top Laxus can be seen sitting at a table on the second floor with his arms crossed and leaned back in a relaxed state. "A little blue cat flew up here and ripped it off the board."  

Mirajane is shocked at this revelation. "It was Happy?"

Everyone else begins to murmur about why the cat would do such a thing.

"He must have stolen it for Natsu and Lucy."

"That's crazy. What are they thinking?"

"They've got some nerve taking on an S-classed quest."

"I don't know if I'd call it nerve, but it's definitely dumb."

"That's a serious breach of the rules," Laxus comments with faux concern. "Hey, Gramps! Stunt like that will get you kicked out of the guild, am I right? Not that it matters it's not like those three losers are gonna make it back alive from an S-class quest." The Master only remains silent. 

Mirajane heads upstairs to confront the blonde. "Laxus, if you knew why didn't you stop him?"

"Oh, lighten up. All I saw was a blue cat flying off with a piece of paper in its mouth trying to act all sneaky. I had no idea it was Happy. Besides Natsu's not cleared for S-class I never dreamed he'd break the rules, especially with that sister of his always looking over his shoulder like a hawk." Laxus finally decides to actually acknowledge Mira's presence, and he sees her sporting a look that he hadn't seen in years. Mira's usual gentle and kind smile is gone and in its place is a glare that's reminiscent of who she used to be. This only further amuses him. "Hmph, you haven't given me that look in a while."

"This isn't good," Makarov finally utters. "Well, which job was it?"

Mirajane, still with her gaze set on Laxus. "For lifting the curse on Galuna Island."

"WHAT?!" 

"Galuna Island?!" exclaim the two older men of the guild.

"Are they insane?!" screams Laki.

"They're even dumber than we thought?!" yelled out the two gunslingers. 

"Laxus go and fetch them at once!" commands Makarov.

But Laxus has no intention of following orders. "Yeah, right. I got better things to do, Gramps. And besides everybody in Fairy Tail is supposed to be able to take care of themselves. Right?"

This outrages the Master even further. "I don't care how you feel about Natsu! The fact is you're the only one strong enough to bring him back by force."

 Gray looks as though he's about to disagree with the Master but is interrupted by a sudden flash of movement. It turned out to be Vela as she had just made it back from her previous job and slinked into the guildhall without anyone noticing amidst all the confusion of the missing request. While she didn't appreciate Laxus insulting her brother, she could at least acknowledge that the stunt he and Happy pulled had been idiotic at best. But she drew the line at the blonde insinuating that he didn't give a shit whether their guild members came back dead or alive. That's when she snapped.

She had used one of the tables to give her a boost as she jumped up towards the second floor, Vela then grabbed onto the railing and put all her weight onto her hands as she proceeds to swing her legs back and successfully kick Laxus off his chair. Unfortunately, while Laxus had been forced out of his chair he had also managed to block most of her attack, so majority of the impact went towards his forearms which he used to cover his face. "What the hell was that about, shortie?!"

Vela straightens herself up and looks at Laxus with a glare painted on her face. "You know exactly what that was about. How could you say something so horrible about people who are meant to be your friends, your family!? Being part of this guild means that we all have to look out for each other, but you don't even seem to give a damn!"

"Those guys are not my family!" Laxus then gets closer to Vela and towers over her all while wearing a sneer on his face. "The only person that's my family is the old man. But I can't wait until he kicks the bucket, and I take over this joint." He bends down to get even closer to her face. "And my first order of business is gonna be taking out all of Fairy Tail's weak links. Starting with that pest you call a brother."

Vela's face grows furious as she goes to retaliate by raising up her fist surrounded with the bright glow of her magic, but she's interrupted by the cry of her Master. "ENOUGH!" 

She goes to put her fist down but doesn't back away. "End this ceaseless fighting at once! We have much more dire matters at hand!"

Seeing that the Master was right, Vela lets out a deep sigh. "You're right Gramps." She gracefully jumps down from the second-floor ledge and begins walking towards the door. "I'm the only other person here who can bring that idiot home. And as his older sister I feel responsible for the trouble he's caused, so I'll bring him home to make up for this transgression." 

This captures Gray's attention. "Sorry Vela," he says while getting up from his chair which causes her to pause. "But I'm afraid I gotta disagree with you."

The Cursed Island

Meanwhile all the way over in the port town Hargeon are Lucy, Natsu and Happy trying to find a way to Galuna Island. However, this place has the blonde feeling a little nostalgic as this was where her adventure with Fairy Tail first began. "Wow, this brings back memories. It seems like only yesterday when we met her for the first time."  

"It practically was yesterday," Natsu says in response. He wasn't wrong as Lucy has only been in the guild for about a week or two. "You don't have to get all mushy."

"Yeah," Happy giggles. "You sound like an old lady."

Lucy's bliss in reminiscing is put to an end at this comment as she turns to glare at the duo. But she doesn't dwell on their insults for long as they have a job to get to. "Well let's go find a boat that's gonna take us to Galuna."

But as she begins to walk towards the ports Natsu yells out, "Are you crazy?! Forget the boat! Why can't we all just swim for it?" 

"And you think I'm the one who's crazy?"

The trio tries to find a boat to take them to the island but so far they are having no luck. It seems that not a single sailor was willing to take them to the rumored Cursed Island. "Galuna Island?" one sailor asks. "No way. Not for a million jewel."

His friend standing next to him expresses the same concern, "Around here it's bad luck to even mention that name."  

They try again with two other men only to end up with more refusals. There's only one more man they haven't spoken to yet, but he's still reluctant. "Don't know why you'd wanna go there, but no sailor worth his salt is gonna take you to Galuna. Not even pirates'll go near that place."

"Are you serious?" Lucy asks distressed.

Natsu on the other hand is overjoyed as swimming seems to be their only option. "It looks like we're gonna be swimming after all."

"Sure does," Happy agrees.

"We're not swimming, Natsu!"

Their little spat is then interrupted by a pair of hands being placed on their shoulders. A voice behind them then says in a sing song voice, "I found you~"

They all scream and turn around only to see Gray with a smug smirk on his face. "It's Gray!" Lucy exclaims.

"What are you doing here?!" Nastu asks in a panic.  

"Gramps found out about your hair brained scheme. He sent me to bring you back."

"Why?! We're not in danger yet!"

"That's exactly why we've come to stop you. If you come back now you might avoid being kicked out of the guild. Maybe."

"Kicked out!?" Lucy screams. She's only been with the guild for a couple weeks she can't get booted now. But something Gray said didn't add up. We? Is there someone else here with him? 

"I don't care I'm going on this S-class quest," Natsu says with determination. 

"Man, you're way out of your league here just come home. When Erza finds out about this, she's gonna be so angry." Gray then turns to address Natsu and Happy specifically. "Not to mention the ass kicking Vela's waiting to give you two."

"Uh Oh!" they all say in fear. 

Happy then flies over to Gray in hopes of escaping punishment. "Please, Gray you gotta save me. I told them this was a bad idea, but they forced me to come along."

"You are such a liar!" Lucy screams.

Natsu still not deterred by the threats. "I've gotta prove my power to Erza and Vela. So, like it or not I'm doing this." 

"Master ordered me to bring you home." Gray moves his face closer to Natsu's "I'll drag you back to Fairy Tail if I have to." He then conjures up a big block of ice in his hand. "Don't make me hurt you, buddy."

Natsu does the same with his fire. "I'd like to see you try!"  

"Magic?" This showcase of magic captures the sailor's attention. "Excuse me. but are you wizards?" His inquiry causes them all to momentarily pause "Have you come to lift the curse on the island?"  

"Yeah," Natsu says enthusiastically.

"Well maybe," Lucy adds unsure as she doesn't want to risk getting kicked out of the guild over a job that wasn't even her idea to take in the first place.

"Not gonna happen," Gray grumbles out.

After a moment of silence, the sailor gestures to his small boat with a, "Get in."

"What?" Lucy asks shocked as he seemed to be rather reluctant a few moments ago.

"Seriously?" Natsu asks.

"No way." But before Gray could stop them Natsu gets a creepy grin on his face. He then takes Gray by surprise and kicks him hard on the back of the head. 

With Gray now knocked out Natsu puts him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "We're ready when you are sir."

"You sure we should bring him with us?" Lucy whispers.

"We can't let him go back and tell the guild." Natsu then starts to tremble at the thought of who the guild might send after them next. "Cause the next person they'll send is Erza or even worse Vela." At the idea of that Lucy begins to shake as well. Maybe they should bring Gray along with them.

"It's too late for that," a second scarily familiar voice calls out causing all three of them to freeze. Standing up on the stone ledge behind them is Vela and she does not look happy.

"Vela?!" Lucy cries out with fear.

"Sis! What the hell are you doing here?! I thought you were supposed to be on a job!"

She jumps down and makes her way towards the trio so that she is now standing right in front of them. "I was but I finished early. Just in time to hear about your idiotic plans from Master." 

Natsu starts to back up. "No way, I can't go back now! This is my chance to finally prove myself to be strong enough for S-class!"

"You can do that through the trials. Just be patient it will happen someday, but not today. Now, either you three can come quietly or I can force you all to go back." Vela's hands are now surrounded in a glow of light.  

Lucy with a look of defeat on her starts to make her way towards the older girl but is stopped by an arm being held out in front of her. "I'd like to see you try!" Natsu exclaims as tosses Gray onto the boat so he can have use of both his hands, which are now lit aflame. 

Vela can only sigh in resignation as she expected nothing less from her younger brother. "Fine. But remember you've given me no choice." She starts to run towards him with her fist pulled back ready to strike at his head. But just as she's about to make contact Natsu is pulled up into the air by Happy leading Vela to fall straight onto the boat. "Ahh!" Due to her harsh landing the boat begins to sway back and forth causing her to start to feel ill. Happy sets the boy down and the two give each other fist bump for their quick thinking. 

Natsu then gestures to the other two to get on. "Quick this is our chance!" Happy hurries and flies on but as Lucy tries to do the same she is almost sent flying back due to the rocking of the boat. She's about to fall back, but luckily Natsu catches her by the waist just in time. "Hurry up, Lucy! There's no time for your clumsiness!" 

"Right!" Everyone climbs aboard and sets off towards Galuna Island.  

"And then"

The group is now halfway towards to the island. Natsu is hanging halfway over the boat's edge on the verge of spewing his guts into the ocean. His sister is in a similar state using a tied-up Gray's lap as a pillow. Lucy is also beginning to freak out as they are now in the middle of the ocean in complete darkness as night has now fallen. "Ok, now I'm starting to get scared."

"Well, look on the bright side at least you're not tied up!" Gray then turns to the sailor who's standing with his back towards the rest of them. "This is your fault too, buddy! Why'd ya decide to let us on?"

"The name is Bobo," the man says as he turns around. "And if you must know I used to be a citizen of Galuna Island, but I had to flee. I just couldn't take it anymore." His face grows grave. "I should warn you tragedy befalls anyone who steps foot on the island. There's no avoiding it that is unless you're able to lift the curse." Bobo then lifts up his cape to reveal his left arm which is dark and corroded like that of a monster. "This vile demon curse."   

Happy, Lucy, and Gray look at it in shock with the latter saying, "Woah, your arm. What happened to it?"

"Is that the curse?" Lucy mutters. At this point even Vela's interest is peaked despite her ongoing pains as she also moves her head slightly to get a better look.

Bobo does not answer their questions. Instead, he looks up and says, "We're almost there." Up ahead a small island with a glowing light above it can be seen. "That's Galuna Island." Everyone turns to stare in awe at the mysterious island. 

"That's weird," Lucy begins to say. "Why's the mountain top glowing like that?" But when she turns around hoping for an answer Bobo is nowhere to be seen. "What the-" She blinks hard and does a double take. "Where'd he go?!"

"Did he fall out?" Gray uses what little movement he has to turn to look overboard. 

"It's like he disappeared into thin air!" Happy comments.  

Natsu and Vela are still in too much discomfort to realize Bobo's disappearance or the waves that have suddenly gotten much choppier. "What's that sound?" Lucy asks.

Gray hears it as well. As he turns his head his eyes grow wide at what he sees. "Uh Lucy," he tries to call out.

The blonde turns around to spot the giant wave heading their way. "AHH! TSUNAMI!" The boat is then lifted up several feet up into the wave.

Gray tries to keep everyone calm as the worst thing they can do is panic. "Now don't panic! Just hold on!"

"Happy can't you grab onto the boat and fly?!"

"I'm not strong enough!" The boat finally capsizes sending everyone onboard falling into the dark waters below.  

The next morning Lucy awakens on a beach, groggy. "Where am I?" Not far away is Natsu, Gray with his arm slightly on top of Vela whose hair is all strewn about, and Happy who is face down in the sand with only his bottom half sticking up.

They're all unconscious and surrounded by what remains of the boat. "What a mess," Lucy mumbles to herself as she begins to make her way over towards everyone else.

The Cursed Island of Galuna. 

"Looks like we made it you guys!" Natsu exclaims with joy.

"We're lucky that wave washed us ashore," Lucy comments.

"Well, I don't know if I would call it lucky," Gray says in response. 

"Yeah, I feel like I swallowed half the ocean," grumbles Vela.

"I can't help but wonder what happened to the guy that brought us here," Lucy thinks aloud. "Right after he told us about the curse he vanished."

Natsu not caring about what transpired on the boat is only focused on exploring this cool new island "Forget about that stuff for now and let's go exploring!"

"Aye!"  

"We've been here for 30 seconds, and you guys have already forgotten about the mission," Lucy says in astonishment. Lucy then pulls out the flyer for the job. "Apparently there's only one village on the entire island. The village chief is the one who originally put in the request, so I guess we need to try and find him."

"Not so fast," Gray interrupts from behind as he starts to get up from his crouched position next to Vela who is now fiddling with her hair as it had gotten lose from its original braid.

"Give it up, Gray," Natsu replies in retaliation. "You can't take us back to the guild now that our boat's been destroyed."

"You're right. I'm coming with you." This causes the other two's eyes to widen in suspicion. "There's no way I'm gonna let the two of you clowns, make S-class before I do. And if you were kicked out the guild would be pretty boring. Gramps'll be upset but if we pull this off, he won't stay mad at us for long." This causes all of them to smile. "Let's go."    

"Wait a second!" Vela screams out at having been forgotten. This causes all of them to freeze in place. "I can't allow this ill-conceived scheme to go on any longer."

"Why not?" Natsu whines. "It's not like you can drag us all back without a boat."

"Yeah, the idiot's right. We may as well finish the job." Gray then leans in closer towards Vela's face with a mischievous grin on his face. "And do you really want to spend that much time on a boat again so soon? Out at sea with all that rocking about?"

Vela grows slightly pale at the thought but shakes it off. "It doesn't matter. I know you all want to prove yourselves, but you should do it the right way. Not by taking shortcuts." At her refusal to budge the rest get dejected looks on their faces. "We'll still head towards the village, but only to ask for some help. Not to accept the job. Got it?"

At the risk of their job ending before it can even begin Natsu does the only thing he can think to do. Which is to appeal to Vela's sense of guilt. "But think about it, sis. That job has probably been up on that board for a while now."

"I suppose so, but what does that matter?"

"The flyer said that there's a curse on this island, so who knows what kind of troubles those villagers have had to go through."

Happy catching onto Natsu's plan sneakily grins. In a great dramatic act, he flies over to Vela with tears in his eyes and a paw held over his forehead as if he were about to faint. "He's right, we may finally be their saving grace, but alas I guess they'll just have to wait for help for who knows how many more years. But I guess we should just head back and forget all about them leaving them to their suffering."

Vela knows they have a point, but the job should be officially taken on by a qualified wizard. If we all head back to the guild now Gramps might not punish them as harshly. Like expulsion. I know they'll be disappointed but it's the most reasonable option. Natsu and Happy can see that Vela hasn't quite been swayed so it’s ok to plan B which stands for beg. So they proceed to whip out their best sad puppy dog eyes. Or in the latter's case kitty eyes. 

Lucy's baffled at this sight as she had never seen the two boys act like this before. She leans over to whisper to Gray, "What the heck are those two doing?"

"Vela may be hard on the two, but you gotta remember at the end of the day they're still her little brothers." Natsu and Happy have only inched even closer to the girl whose resolve is beginning to crack. There even seem to be tears forming in their eyes now. "And believe it or not there are times she's completely wrapped around their fingers."

As the boys keep inching closer and closer to her Vela's resolve begins to slip. That’s so unfair. They can’t look at me like that. They’ll know I’ll crack.  

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Vela mutters to herself. She turns her attention back to the boys. "Fine, you guys win. We'll check it out, but if it is something that I deem impossible then we are heading straight home. And remember I have seniority here so what I say goes. Understood?"

"Aye!"  

The dreaded keep out sign. 

It's nightfall now but they had all finally made it to the outskirts of the village where they were faced with a large gate and fence that surrounded the entirety of the area. "Well, we found the village," Gray comments. "Now what?"

"Check out that gate," Natsu observes. "When they say keep out, they mean it."

Vela nods in agreement. "Yeah, no kidding."

"Hello," Lucy calls out. "We're here to help you!"

There's a moment of silence. At the sound of no answer Natsu suggests, "Let's bust in."

"No way!" both girls scream back with Vela giving him a light smack on the back of the head.

But then a small shadowy figure appears from atop one of the fences and calls out, "Who goes there?"

"We're wizards from Fairy Tail responding to your quest," Lucy replies in a valiant tone.

"Why weren't we notified when you accepted the job?" the guard questions.

"Um well-," Lucy begins to stutter.

Gray thinking fast answers, "There must have been a mix up with the paperwork."

"Yeah, a real big mix-up if you ask me," Vela mumbles sarcastically. This causes Gray to nudge her in the side with his elbow. 

"Then let me see your emblems right now!" The members all do so without question. At the sight of the guild marks the guard lets out a breath of relief and calls out, "They're here! They're really here!"

The gate begins to raise to allow the group of wizards in. "It's like we're walking into a giant monster's mouth," Happy offhandedly comments. 

"Are you trying to freak me out?" Lucy asks. 

In front of the wizards are a large group of people all shrouded in long tan cloaks and matching face coverings. At the front stands an older man holding a wooden staff with a stone moon on top. "I'm Moka the village chief. On behalf of everyone here I welcome you. Pleasantries aside there's something you need to see." 

He turns back to the rest of the villagers. "Now my people." They all let their cloaks fall to reveal that they all are suffering from the same affliction that Bobo was. Some had deformed arms or legs while others had horns growing out of their heads. 

"It's just like what happened to the boat guy," Gray observes. Lucy and Vela hum in agreement.

Natsu's eyes also pop out at the sight of the chief in surprise but it's for a completely different reason. "Oh wow, your sideburns!"

"Not that," the chief explains. "I was trying to show you what's happened to my arm." He then slightly lifts his right arm up to show that it was enlarged, blue and deformed. "Everyone on the island has suffered horrible disfigurement because of this curse. Not even the animals have been spared." 

"Please, excuse me for asking," Gray starts, "but what makes you think it's a curse, sir? It could be some kind of infectious disease."

"We've consulted with dozens of doctors, young man. But they all agree that no such diseases exist. You see our symptoms began the same time the moon fell under an evil spell."

"The moon?" Vela whispers to herself.

"What kind of spell?" asks Lucy.  

"Since ancient times this island has absorbed the light of the moon. Causing it to glow almost as beautifully as the moon itself. However, several years ago the moon's color began to change, and an eerie purple glow was cast upon the island." 

"So, the moon turned purple?" Natsu clarifies.

At that moment the sky begins to clear. "It's coming out from behind the clouds," Happy whimpers.

With the clouds moved the group of wizards can see that the village chief is telling the truth as the light of the purple moon illuminates the village below. "Oh wow, it really is purple," Lucy gasps. 

"Man, that's creepy," Gray adds. Vela says nothing as she continues to stare at the strange sight. Usually, the shine of the moonlight would be a welcome feeling for the dragon slayer, but it's only making her feel uneasy. On top of that she's begun to develop a slight headache and is feeling a little sluggish. 

"It's the curse," Chief Moka cries as he begins to sweat. "Stand back. The change is about to begin." All the villagers begin to shout out in pain with several trying to brace themselves by grasping their heads. 

"Woah, what the?!" Lucy exclaims while everyone else looks on with widened eyes. One by one each villager begins to transform into monstruous figures. 

"They're changing," Gray bluntly states.

"Yeah, I see that!" Lucy replies back with worry.

"Why is this happening to them?" Natsu questions.

"I don't know, but this is much bigger than we realize," Vela says. 

"I'm sorry if our appearance frightens you," Chief Moka apologizes. 

Vela tries to comfort them as it is obviously through no fault of their own for their appearances. "You don't have to apologize."

"Yeah, it's ok," Gray agrees. "I'm just completely confused."

"You poor people," Lucy empathizes.

"Oh man," Natsu starts to grin with a happy blush on his face. "You guys look so cool."

Everyone else can only let out an astounded "Huh?" as that is the last thing on anyone else's mind as of right now. Vela's palm meeting her forehead can also be faintly heard over the confusion.

Natsu not at all offput by the villager's now monstrous appearances only continues to gush. "It's awesome, you've got horns and stuff. I'm so jealous."

"He thinks we look cool?"

"No one's ever said that to us before."

"Natsu," Lucy begins to scold, "you're being insensitive. They don't wanna look like this."

"Seriously? My bad, then I guess we should help 'em out." At this revelation Natsu begins to awkwardly rub the back of his head. He still thinks they look pretty cool though.  

"That is why we're here," the cat reminds him.

"Get a clue, man," Gray complains. 

"Would you please use your head for once?" Vela says through her embarrassment.

Chief Moka tries to get everyone back to the problem at hand. "Anyways, as you've witnessed whenever the purple moon shows its face in the sky, everyone in the village takes on a horrific demon form." 

A child transformed into a yellow demon with holes in his head begins to cry as his mother tries to comfort him. This causes the rest of the villagers to follow suit as they have no idea how much longer they can take this suffering. 

"If it isn't a curse then what else could it possibly be? We'll return to normal when the morning comes, and the sun has risen. However, there are some poor souls who could no longer switch back to their human forms for they have lost their minds."

"How sad," Lucy comments.  

"The fate for them, these unfortunate souls in the grip of magic," the chief's voice fills with grief and regret. "We've no choice but to put them to death."

This surprises the Fairy Tail wizards as they had no idea how badly this curse was affecting the people of this village. "But they might change back to normal someday," Natsu tries to reason. 

"If we wait for that to happen then the monsters will surely kill us all. We've tried capturing them, but they always broke free. It's no use." Chief Moke begins to cry as he holds out a picture. "Once it takes hold there's no way to save them. I should know I was forced to kill my very own son."

As he tilts the photo so the rest could see they all gasp in shock. The picture is of the man who sailed them to Galuna Island in the first place. "That's the guy from the boat," Lucy says. "We just saw him yesterday he-"

But before she can continue Gray hurries to quiet her by letting a soft shh as this information may cause the village chief even more sorrow. "Now I understand why he disappeared on us like that. He's dead but his soul can't rest in peace." 

Lucy's eyes widen in disbelief at what she had just heard. A ghost? Chief Moka, thankfully not having head the conversation bows his head pleading, "Please lift the evil curse from our island. If this goes on much longer, we may all fall victim to it. We'll die."

"We're not gonna let that happen," Natsu exclaims with determination. "We can fix this I promise you."

"There's only one way this wretched curse can be lifted." Chief Moka then looks towards the sky. "The moon. The moon must be wiped from the sky." Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy can only stare at the man as the task that's required of them sounds completely absurd not to mention impossible.    

Vela, on the other hand, only looks at him in contemplation. Destroy the moon huh? 

Later the village had provided a hut for the wizards to sleep in for the night. As the others unpack and get settled Happy is leaning against the open window staring at the moon and its ominous purple glow. "I never knew the moon could be so creepy. Whenever I would see Vela use it in her magic, I always thought it was kinda pretty. But I'm honestly starting to rethink that."

Lucy not far away is unpacking her backpack getting ready for bed when she hears this. Seeing that the window is open she calls out "Hurry and close the window! You heard what the chief said we gotta stay out of the moonlight. You may not care, but I don't want to risk turning into some freaky looking monster." 

Natsu lounging on a nearby chair expresses his doubts about the request. "I'm not so sure about this job guys."

"Do these people really think we can destroy the moon?" Gray asks. 

"I wonder how many punches it'll take. You think I can handle it."

"Are you kidding?!" Gray's eyes practically bulge out of his head at that incredulous idea. "Don't be stupid man."

"Natsu there's not a wizard alive who's strong enough to do that," Lucy tries to reason.

Vela who had shut the window Happy was using closed is now leaning up against the wall with her eyes closed. She was deep in thought, but that was interrupted by the idiotic debate going on around her. "Natsu, even if we could destroy the moon, I wouldn't let you even try to attempt it. Need I remind you that the moon is where half of my magic comes from. So if the moon were to disappear then so would half of my magic power."

"But that's the job we were hired to do, isn't it? We can't take a job then back out cause that would make Fairy Tail look bad. And like you said sis, that's only around half you'd still have the sun and the stars to rely on." He then mutters quietly to himself, "Plus if it were to leave you being only half as strong maybe your hits wouldn't hurt so much." Unfortunately, with Vela's sensitive hearing she had heard that as well causing Natsu to get a shoe to the face leaving a large red mark in its wake. 

"What they're asking can't be done." At this point Gray starting to get really fed up with the fire breather's stupidity. "How are you going to get to the moon anyway?"

"With Happy."

The cat lets out a small noise of surprise and replies, "I don't think so."

"Ok," Lucy starts, "if we can't destroy the moon, but if we do some investigating, we might be able to find a different way to lift the curse from the island." 

Vela begins to walk towards the blonde. "That's a good idea, Lucy. In the meantime, we should all-" But she's stopped midsentence by a shirt being thrown into her face.

"You kids can do what you want, but after the day I've had I need some shut eye." Gray is now stripped down into nothing but his boxers as he prepares to go to bed. 

Lucy having removed the shirt from Vela's head pleads, "Please don't take off anymore."

"Ok, our investigation starts tomorrow morning." Natsu then plops belly first onto the futon on the right with Happy laying down next to him on the same futon. "I'm hitting the sack."

"Me too."

Gray follows suit on the futon on the left. "Sounds like a plan to me."

All that's left is a singular futon in the middle, thankfully just large enough for the two girls to share. "I hope you don't mind sharing, Lucy. If it makes you feel any better, I'll take the left side in case Gray starts to strip in his sleep." Vela then starts to get under the covers.

"Kay then." Lucy beings to rub her eyes as the exhaustion of today is beginning to catch up to her. "I'm pretty sleepy too. Goodnight." 

In the middle of the night Happy had somehow made it off of the bed and right above the girls' futon along with the pillow Natsu was using. Speaking of the pink headed boy he was now sprawled out on his back all over with half of his body not even being covered by the blanket anymore. Gray was in a similar state, but his left arm was wrapped around the front of Vela's chest who was sleeping on her side with her back towards the ice wizard and had both arms wrapped tightly around his.  

The blonde is laying on her back trying to drift off into dreamland but is failing to do so due to all the noise from the obnoxious snoring. Her eyes pop open and as she sits up. "So loud. How am I supposed to sleep when the beast and perv keep snoring?" Lucy turns to look at Vela who is in nothing but blissful unconsciousness. "How the heck is Vela able to sleep through all of this?" 

The next morning the group heads towards the gates to begin searching for clues on how to end the curse on Galuna Island. "It's so early," Natsu yawns. 

"Yeah, I'm never up at this time," Gray agrees with sleep still clinging to his voice.

"You two kept me up all night and I'm not complaining. So, stop complaining and let's go."

Vela who had been basking in the sun's rays to get rid of the weird sensations the moon gave her last night chimes in. "She's right. If you boys want to prove yourselves worthy of being S-class, you need to learn to endure many hardships which includes early mornings." 

"Alright," the three sigh out.

Lucy then pulls out one of her silver keys. "Open, Gate of the Clock Constellation! Horologium!"

The clock man appears from above humming and says, "The time is 7:48."

"I never knew there was talking clock in the celestial world," Vela comments while inspecting the celestial spirit as she had never seen him before. He’s kinda cool looking. 

As the group begins walking Natsu wonders aloud. "You really think we'll be able to find another way to lift the curse?"

Gray replies back with "Well, we don't have much of a choice. The village may think the moon's cursed, but everyone else likes it. And destroying it might really mess things up, Vela most of all."

"You're right!" Natsu exclaims. It seems the gravity of the request is finally catching up to him. "If we didn't have the moon the tides would get all crazy and at night the sky would be pitch black,"

Happy then flies up next to the two boys to add in his own two cents of concern. "Without it salmon could go extinct and they're my favorite fish."

"Uh, what about it impacting Vela's magic for the worse?" Gray asks with a sweat drop. He's astounded by how often those two think about food.

"Would you guys keep it down? We don't know what's lurking out here so we should draw any attention, the lady demands impatiently." Lucy is now sitting inside her celestial spirit while Vela is walking in pace with him as she remains gazing up at him in wonder.   

Natsu not failing to notice how often the celestial wizard uses this spirit to get out of the simple act of walking snaps back with "You should walk on your own."

Gray can only nod in agreement. "He's right. Do you just summon your spirits cause your lazy?"

Lucy fed up with being pestered goes on to explain her worries. "Listen, this curse is freaking me out. We have no idea what we're up against and I'm scared. She says nervously." 

"Are kidding? This is awesome S-class quests rule!" Natsu cheers with his hands up above his head.

"Yeah, I bet I could probably freeze that stupid curse."

"You guys are idiots, she retorts disparagingly."

"Aye."

Vela not wanting the younger girl to continue to stew in terror tries to quell her fears. She gets in front of the clock's glass door and begins walking backwards so she can be face-to-face with the girl inside. "Don't forget, Lucy, that I am an S-class wizard and in order for this to all go smoothly I promise I won't let anything happen to you. So, try not to worry yourself too much, ok?" 

Lucy smiles in relief and gratitude at the comforting words, but it soon disappears as loud booming stomps can be heard from behind them. "What's that?" But as Natsu and the rest turn around they're faced with a giant mint blue rat wearing pink bows and a pink and black hat. "Woah, what the?!"

"It's huge!" Gray calls out.

"I think it's kinda cute," Vela offhandedly comments. She thinks the outfit that the rat is wearing is quite flattering. 

"What are you waiting for? Beat it up you guys, she yells frantically."

As the rat begins to prepare to attack Gray yells out "Ice-Make Shield!" This blocks the group from the barrage of dust spewing out of the rat's mouth which causes Vela to start sneezing. 

Unfortunately, Gray underestimated just how much there would be and how fast it would spread. A cloud of the strange dust forms getting all over the boys and Vela causing them yell out in distress and her to keep sneezing. Lucy can't even see them anymore due to all the debris no matter how hard she pushes her face up against the glass. "Oh no, what's wrong?" 

It was at that moment she notices a sneaky newcomer in her space. "Did you seriously just sneak inside here?" He only smiles in contentment while she gives him the stink eye. "Aye, answers the little blue cat." Horologium beings to cough as well while the sound of a timer begins to go off, signaling he's at the end of their agreed time.

Lucy and Happy are not left in the open where they can also get a whiff of the fumes. They both go to cover their noses as they both yell out, "Stinky!" At the sight of the wizards discomfort the rat begins to laugh. 

"It's a rat!" Lucy screams. Natsu and Vela don't have to time to revel at the sight of the thing as they're too busy trying to recover from the noxious smell the dust left.   

"Come on, Natsu! Get up, man!" As Natsu is busy crouching down on the floor in discomfort, Gray helps Vela up as she uses her sleeve to cover her nose. 

"The smell knocked 'em out," Happy observes. 

"Let's go!" Natsu screams as he runs away while holding both hands over his nose. 

Vela is right next to him being dragged by the arm by Gray. Her free arm was still being used to shield her nose. "You don't have to tell me twice!" 

The rat continues to send blow after blow towards them causing Natsu to clench onto his nose even tighter and Vela's sneezes become more frantic. To buy them some time Gray lets go of Vela's arm turns around and yells, "Ice-Make Floor!" The ground behind them becomes covered in ice causing the rat to slip, lose its balance, and land hard onto its back rendering it unconscious.

"You should've done that in the first place!" Natsu complains.

"Shut up, Natsu!"

While the boys are arguing Lucy and Vela spot a temple like building with a crescent moon on the entrance not too far away. "Look there's some kind of building over there. We should go hide while we have the chance," Lucy says.

But the boys are too busy swatting at the rat's head wanting to get payback for the foul-smelling attack. "We should kick its butt while we have the chance!"

The celestial mage can only hang her head in disappointment. What else was she gonna expect. "Gimme a break."

Vela starting to get fed up with the idiot duo's stupid antics conks them both on the head. "Stop aggravating the poor thing. It's already down." As the boys begin to rub their heads, Vela grabs them both by the collars of their shirts and starts to drag them towards the temple. "Now, stop acting like fools and let's get to the temple."

"Aye..."

The Temple of the Moon 

The interior of the temple is just as decrepit as its exterior. Pillars are broken apart and toppled over, plants have overtaken most of the walls, and there's a thin layer of dust in the air. But the rundown appearance does nothing to take away from just how expansive the temple really is.

"This place is massive," Lucy gasps in awe.  

"Yeah, and it's falling apart," Natsu observes while looking at a fallen pillar.

"I wonder how old it is," Gray wonders aloud.

"It has to be at least a few decades maybe even centuries based on how everything's falling apart." To prover her point Vela goes to gently tap her knuckles against a still standing stone pillar. The part she touched breaks off at her gentle touch causing a wave of dirt and dust to appear in her face. "Achoo!"

"Bless you." Lucy goes to hand the girl a handkerchief she had in her pocket. Vela takes it and begins to wipe her nose while shooting the girl a grateful smile. 

Natsu then notices carved out symbols high up on the walls. "What are those?"

"They're moons," Gray answers. "It makes sense Galuna used to be called Island of the Moon."

Lucy places her hand under her chin in thought. "A moon island, a moon curse, and weird moon symbols. You really gotta wonder what all of it means. Do you have any idea, Vela?"

"So far no, but there's an odd sensation I'm getting from this place."

"Maybe it's another sneeze." Vela, with a deadpanned face, elbows the ice wizard for that comment. 

"Man, this place is a wreck." Natsu moves over to start stomping a foot onto the floor. "This floor doesn't even look safe to walk on." But despite making this observation he continues to keep pounding on it.

"Well don't go stomping on it," Lucy points out.

Vela starts moves towards Natsu to see the floor for herself. "Yeah, I don't think that's a good idEAAH!" As she says this the floor suddenly gives way underneath the two sending them tumbling down below. This then sets off a domino effect which leads to the rest of the ground to give way leading to the other three to follow suit.

"Natsu, you idiot! Look what you did!" Gray screams while falling.

After what had seemed like forever, they had all reached the bottom. Natsu pops up from the middle of the pile rocks that fell along with him. "Hey, is everybody ok?"

Lucy sitting atop a rock right next to him can only say, "I'd be better if you hadn't knocked out the floor!" 

Vela, who had somehow landed on top of Gray only asks, "Just what the hell were you thinking, Natsu?" She then moves off of his back and helps him sit up. The girl then goes to check on Happy who had been lying on his back unmoving.

"Well, here's a thought if you think before you act maybe you wouldn't cause so much destruction!" 

Once they all make sure each one of them have sustained no major injuries Team Natsu turns to look at where they fell from. From the looks of it they seemed to have fallen several meters underground. Lucy in a desperate voice asks the blue cat, "So can you fly us out of here, Happy?"

"No, sorry," he says dejectedly from the safety of Vela's arms. She starts to rub his head in comfort. 

"We're underneath the temple," Gray observes.

"I wonder just how far down we are," Vela wonders. "Hopefully there's a way out of here." Seeing as the cave was quite dark Vela moves Happy over to one arm and uses the other to create a small ball of light on her hand which illuminates the cave.

"Wow! It's a secret cave!" Natsu, with not a care in the world only raises up his arms in glee and starts to run towards the only other tunnel connected to where they all fell. "This is so cool! Let's go check it out!"

Gray fed up with his antics yells after him, "Would you quit running around like a crazy person!?"

"He never learns, does he?" Vela asks her little blue friend.

"Aye."

The tunnel had led to another open area where the temperature had seemed to drop drastically as the floor was covered in a light fog of frost. "Woah." Natsu stops in his tracks with his eyes set on something higher up.

"Natsu?" Lucy says concerned. 

Vela not far behind asks, "Did you find something?" Happy is now clinging onto her piggyback style as to not get left behind and so she can keep providing some light for the rest of the group.

"What? Something wrong?" Gray asks.

Natsu still looking in the same direction, "Hey guys, what's that?"

As the others walk closer, they all freeze in shock at the sight before them. In front of them at the center of the cave is a large body of ice but it's what is inside it that has everyone bewildered. Encased in the massive slab of ice is gigantic monster roughly the height of the cave with large claws and horns.

Gray seems to be the most affected as he begins to shake and develops a quiver in his voice. "That's impossible. It's Deliora." He starts to walk towards the edge of the ledge they were standing on almost as if in a trance. "But how? How could this happen? Why is it here? WHAT THE HELL IS IT DOING ON GALUNA ISLAND?!"

The rest of them surround him in concern with Vela putting a hand on his arm. "You've seen this thing before?" Natsu asks.

"There's no...no way." Gray's whole body begins to tremble. Vela goes to wrap her arm around his waist in case he keels over.  

"You've gotta calm down Gray." It seemed like Gray didn't hear Lucy's advice, but Vela could tell he was trying to as his breathing became labored in an attempt to calm his nerves. She starts to rub small comforting circles to further aid in calming him down. 

Once Lucy sees that he is no longer on the verge of a panic attack she gently asks, "So, can you tell us about it?"

"It's Deliora, the Demon of Destruction."

In typical Natsu fashion he repeats back, "Demon of Construction?"  

"Destruction," both Happy and Vela correct with sweat drops. 

Gray, for once ignoring Natsu's stupidity continues, "But why is it here?! It doesn't make any sense!"

It's at that moment Vela and Lucy hear sets of footsteps behind them and their approaching fast. "Quick, everyone behind those rocks," Vela quietly whispers. 

Coming from the entrance of the cave is a man with blue hair and large matching eyebrows. Walking alongside him is another man that is shirtless and bears a strong resemblance to that of a dog. "The voices seem to come from down here," eyebrows says. Team Natsu watches them hidden behind the rocks. "I hate being awake during the day. So, Toby, were you exposed to the moon drip? You've got those pointy ears."

"I already told you they're a fashions statement, you jerk!" 

"Lighten up, I was just teasing you. You don't have to be so mean about it."

Lucy with her head partially sticking out from their hiding spot says to herself, "Huh, the moon drip. Could that be the name of the curse?" Vela pulls the younger girl back behind the rocks as she hears a third person approaching. 

This time it is a woman with pink hair in pigtails and wings on her back. Vela can't help but take notice of the girl's outfit as the style bears a very similar resemblance to the rat's they had encountered outside. Why do I feel like the two are connected somehow? 

The unknown girl walks over to the two other men, they seem to be companions of some sort. "Yuka, Toby, something terrible has happened."

"What now, Sherry?" Yuka asks. Toby only gives a slight whining growl in acknowledgment.   

"It's Angelica. She's been attacked and I'm sad."

"You're moping around cause somebody beat up your stupid pet rat!?" Toby growls out.   

"It's not a rat," Sherry protests. "She's a brave hunter prowling around the jungle to protect us. She is love."

"I don't know who these people are but talk about a bunch of weirdos," Lucy whispers. "Especially the chick with the pet rat."

"Judging by the scent I picked up off 'em they're not from the island," Natsu observes.

"And they don't look like they have the demon curse," Happy chimes in.

"Intruders you say?" Yuka says. 

"And it's almost time to begin collecting moonlight again." Sherry lets out a sigh, "Oh this makes me so sad. This news would displease the Cold Emperor. We should get rid of them before he finds out. Yes, we must find them before the moon's first light."

"Agreed." Once again Toby only gives a growl of agreement in place of words.

"Since they've seen Deliora we can't allow them to live. we'll give them the gift of eternal rest. We'll give them love." From behind the rocks Vela lightly gags at the girl's weird sentiments. What the hell is with girl and love?

Toby wanting clarification asks, "You're talking about death, right?"

In the distance the three heard a sudden noise. It sounded as if the rocks had been disturbed. "What was that?" Sherry asks.

"Over there." With Yuka leading them down back where they came from the three disappear from sight.

The Fairy Tail wizards come out of their hiding spot just as Happy flies back to them. It turns out he was the one that had caused that distraction. "Nice job, cat," Lucy compliments. 

"Aye."

"Come on, we should've grabbed 'em and beat some answers out of 'em," Natsu complains. 

"Not yet, we've gotta do some investigating."

At Lucy's reasoning Natsu only grows more displeased at how much mystery is truly surrounding this job. "Man, this job keeps getting more and more complicated."

Vela puts her hand on her little brother's shoulder. "Which is why we can't be so hasty, Natsu. We need answers and we're not going to get them by constantly resorting to our fists."

Happy then flies over and asks, "But who is this Cold Emperor guy?"

"Deliora. I still don't understand what anyone would want with him. And how the hell were they even able to find it."

"Was it hidden somewhere?" Lucy asks.

"It was sealed away inside a glacier on the northern continent. A decade ago, this immortal demon ravaged Isvan and countless people lost their lives. The woman who taught me to use my magic, my master Ur, sacrificed everything to seal it away. I don't know if it has anything to do with the curse on this island, but I do know that it doesn't belong here." 

At the anger Gray's feeling, ice begins to emit from his clenched fists. "This Cold Emperor, we have to find out who it is. If they tarnish my master's legacy, then they're gonna regret the day they were born."

[beanea04]

Natsu vs. Erza

        In a land far far away lies the Kingdom of Fiore. A small peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic, found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most magic is merely a tool a mundane part of everyday life. For some however magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice, these are the wizards. Banded together in magical guilds they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless ledges have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name is Fairy Tail.

Natsu vs. Erza 

Team Natsu had finally made it back to Magnolia after aimlessly wandering around Clover Canyon for a couple more hours. Now back home safe and sound at her apartment Lucy is sitting at her desk and writing a letter to her mother about the crazy adventure she had just gotten back from. Eisenwald's failed attempt to attack the guild masters with Lullaby ended up being big news. It made all the papers, and it seemed like everybody was talking about it. Before joining Fairy Tail I never would have imagined I'd be part of such a big event. It feels awesome, but I'm not gonna let it go to my head. It still makes my heart skip a beat when I think about everything we went through. I heard that the authorities caught most of the Eisenwald members who were involved. They even got a hold of Kageyama, so that's reassuring at least. The scary thing is they still haven't been able to track down Erigor. I'm worried he might show up at Fairy Tail looking for revenge.

However, despite this concerning thought Lucy continues to write with a smile on her face. But I'll be ok because I'm with the guild's strongest team. Erza, Gray, Vela, and Natsu have my back no matter what. Not to mention Happy. Fairy Tail is awesome and my fellow members are really great people. In fact, Vela's in my kitchen right now cooking up some lunch before we head to the guildhall together. So don't worry mom I'm doing fine. P.S. Please don't tell dad any of this kay?      

She signs off on the letter and seals it into a pristine white envelope with a red wax seal marked with the letter L. Now that that's out of the way Lucy begins to think of what she plans to do with her day. "Maybe I'll do a little shopping later today. I should ask Vela if she wants to come with." Lucy then stretches her arms above her head. "Saving the world from evil is cool and all but sometimes it's nice just to relax at home."

"Man 70,000 jewel a month is dirt cheap for a place like this," a voice says behind her. It turns out to be Gray who's currently lounging on one of her chairs. Only is his underwear. "You totally scored, Lucy."

"Intruder Alert!" Lucy kicks dead center in the middle of Gray's chest. "No stripping in my house buddy!"

"Hey, give me a minute to explain, would ya?! I was naked when I got here."

This does not appease the blonde at all. "Get out. And if you're not willing to go quietly then I'll just have Vela make you."

"What? Vela's here?"

At the mention of her name the girl in question steps through from the adjoining room while carrying two hot plates of steaming vegetables and cooked steak. "Hey, what's with all the yelling? Is everything ok in here, Lucy? I have lunch ready if you're hungry..." Her voice trails off as she notices Gray still standing in only his underwear. She then sets the plates onto Lucy's desk and looks back at Gray with an eerily calm smile on her face. "Gray did you just break into Lucy's apartment?" 

He starts to sweat and begins to stutter over his words. "Well, I uh, you see..." 

As Vela starts to get closer to Gray, she also begins to crack her knuckles. "And why the hell are you only in your underwear?" Lucy can only look on in anticipation for what the girl might do to the ice wizard. 

She pulls her right arm back so she can take a swing at his head, but she's stopped by Gray's yell of "Hang on a second!" Her fist stops an inch away from his face. "I figured Lucy wouldn't remember, so I came by to remind her. I guess it's a good thing you're here too then, Vela cause I don't think you'll want to miss it either." Vela only looks at him confused while he gently pushes her fist back down to her side. 

"Remind us about what?" the blonde asks.

"Well, let me try and jog your memory. Remember when Natsu challenged Erza at the train station? They're about to fight their rematch."

Cut to the front of the Fairy Tail guildhall where a massive crowd has surrounded the two aforementioned wizards chanting out "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Lucy and Vela burst through the crowd to get a better view with the former yelling out, "No way! They're really going through with it!"

"I can't believe I completely forgot about this," Vela says to herself. 

Mirajane now noticing the two latecomers turns to greet them, "Oh hey Lucy, Vela!"

Behind her is her younger brother Elfman who adds in, "Well if those two value their manhood, then they'd better go through with it."

Mira turns to her brother in concern to clarify, "Erza's not a man."

Macao overhearing their conversation pipes in with "But you gotta admit she's manly." And he's not wrong.

"She's certainly more manly than the rest of you," jokes Vela which gets her some pointed and offended looks.

Lucy on the other hand is worried about what this fight could do to the state of Fairy Tail's newly formed strongest team. "Aren't you worried this fight could tear our strongest team apart?"

Gray not looking away from the two in the center can only ask, "What are you talking about? Our strongest team?"

"You, Natsu, Vela, and Erza, you dummy. You're the four strongest wizards in the guild."

"We are? Yeah, right. What idiot fed you that line?" The idiot in question being Mirajane who goes from happily smiling to crying into her hands at the indirect insult. Gray having seen that he had just called one of the nicest girls in the guild an idiot and made her cry tries to back pedal. "Wait, you're not an idiot, Mira."

"Smooth move, Gray," Lucy says sarcastically. 

"First you break into Lucy's apartment, then you go and make Mira cry." Vela then glares at Gray. "What's next? Are you going to try and steal some of my jewels next time we go on a job together?" He can only glare at her in response as she goes to comfort the crying girl.

Elfman ignoring the mess going on around him goes on to say, "I'll hand it to Natsu and Gray they're tough little dudes. But neither of them are even close to being the strongest. There are guys in Fairy Tail who are stronger than both of them combined." He then points his thumb towards himself. "Like this guy."

Levy standing with Team Shadow Gear nearby chimes in, "But calling Erza the strongest woman in the guild is a pretty safe bet. But there are also the few times when Vela can even outdo her."

Vela now holding Mira in a soft embrace and patting her back only blushes in response. "Nah, I haven't really properly beaten her since the S-class trials, so I wouldn't go placing any of your hard-earned money on me." 

Jet adds, "As far the guys, it's a tough call, but I'd put my money on Laxus or Mystogan." 

Mira trying to wipe away her tears, but not successfully, tries to clarify her point. "All I meant was the four of them work well together and they have the best team chemistry in all of Fairy Tail."   

Lucy is baffled by this explanation as the whole point of her tagging along on the Lullaby mission was due to Natsu and Gray inability to get along. "Ok and this is coming from the same person who sent me on a mission to keep Natsu and Gray from killing each other when Erza wasn't around?" 

"I gotta say I'm pretty psyched to see how this fight turns out," Elfman comments.

"Oh yeah?" Gray responds. "I'm sure she'll end up moping the floor with him."

Vela joins the two men and puts in her own two cents. "I know he's my little brother and I should probably root for him, but I just don't think he's on Erza's level yet." 

Erza, with an easygoing grin on her face says to Natsu, "It's been quite a while since we squared off like this, hasn't it, Natsu?"

"I was just a little kid back then." Compared to Erza's laid-back nature Natsu is filled with determination. "Today's gonna be different. Cause I'm taking you down Erza."

"Well, I'm not going to go easy on you. In fact, I have the perfect armor for this occasion." She starts to prepare to requip into one her unique sets of armor.  Her hair is now in two pigtails with black hair accessories and is wearing a red and orange bodysuit with black accents and two large wings at the back. She's also wielding a sword of a similar style.

"That's Flame Empress Armor," comments Macao. "Good choice against fire magic." 

"So now Natsu's flames will only be half as effective," adds Laki.

"Come on, Erza. At least give the kid a fighting chance," begs Wakaba. 

Happy has a look of contemplation on his face. He then hands over some of his money to Cana who is standing in front a small bowl full of cash. "Put me down for Erza in the first round."   There is also a scoreboard showing how many people have bet on each contender. Not to mention the many bottles of ale surrounding her.

"You're betting against your own best friend?!" Lucy says in disbelief. "Why are you guys picking sides? I don't want either of them to lose."

"Get into the spirit, Lucy. Look, even Vela put down some money." However, Gray's attempts at persuading the blonde fails, as her disbelief is only increased at hearing how Natsu's older sister is also participating in this crude act.

"What?!" Lucy then turns to look at the older girl in question. "Did you at least bet on Natsu? I mean he is your younger brother." Vela only gives off a nervous and slightly embarrassed chuckle in return. "At least have a little faith in him!"

"Wow, Flame Empress Armor, huh?" Natsu chuckles. "Good news for me. That means I can turn up the heat as high as I want to."

"Round One Start!" 

At Makarov's signal Natsu charges first with his fists aflame. But Erza dodges and goes to take a swing at Natsu which misses. He then goes for a kick but is blocked by her sword. They trade blow after blow with Natsu's flames coming close to nicking some of the spectators.   

The only thing Lucy can say at this grand display of magic power is a shocked, "Woah."

"See? It's a good fight, huh?" Elfman goads.

"This fight sucks," Gray complains. "I'd much rather see Erza and Vela go at it. At least then there would be a little suspense." Vela only lightly knocks his head to the side at that idea, with him grinning underneath her palm.

But just as the fight looks as though it's about to come to its climax everything stops at the sudden clapping of hands. A frog like being from the Magic Council walks towards the middle of the circle and announces, "This fight is over. May I have your attention please? I have come here on behalf of the magic council."

"No way," whispers Levy.

"Seriously? Why would the council send her here?" questions Jet.

"Am I the only one who noticed she's a frog?!" Lucy asks as no one else seems to be freaking out over this. 

The frog woman continues, "As a result of the Eisenwald incident a member of your guild has been charged with 11 counts of criminal property damage. Erza Scarlet you are under arrest." 

"Huh?" Natsu gasps in shock. "You're putting her under a what?!"

"And then this happened"

After Erza had been placed under arrest and taken to face the magic council, the rest of the guild all went back into the guildhall. They are now all sulking about what just transpired. Except for one. "This isn't fair you guys! Let me out of here!" Since Natsu was not willing to sit quietly and wait he had been transformed him into a small pink salamander, and he was currently being held inside a small glass cup.

"Natsu, try to calm down," Mira suggests. 

"Let me out! Pretty pretty please?!" 

Mira knowing what's to come if she does let him out stays put in her position behind the bar. "You'll go on a rampage."

"I promise I'll be good I swear! Now please just turn me back to the way I was before!" 

Mira bends down to get on the lizard's level. "The second we turn you back, you'll run out to save Erza."

"Give me a break! I couldn't care less what happens to her!"

"Even if you wanted to help her it's not like we can face off with the council," Gray tries to reason. 

"But don't those jerks on the council realize that Erza did what she had to do to save the lives of the guild masters from those bad guys and their evil death flute?!"

"If the magic council says you're guilty than you're guilty end of story. They don't care what we have to say."   

Elfman sitting with Loke and Laki voices his own thoughts on the matter, "I just don't get it. We've destroyed plenty of stuff in the past and they never made a big deal out of it."

"I know," Laki agrees. "It doesn't make any sense."   

Lucy lying halfway on the table comments, "It's like there's some other reason for this." Fed up with everyone just moping around she gets up from her seat and yells, "This is wrong! We should be there to testify!"

"But Lucy," Nab starts to say.

"We're not going to court," Makarov declares. 

"Why not Master?! We all know she's innocent. We can't just sit here and let them lock her away."

"Even if we left this very second there's no way we would make it there in time."

"But-" Her counter is then interrupted by more of Natsu's complaining. 

"I've been stuck under this stupid glass all day you guys! It's getting hard to breath! Come on you gotta let me outta here!"   

"You sure you want out?" Makarov then turns a keen eye towards the glass holding 'Natsu'. The salamander then gets a contemplative look on his face as if he were weighing his options. This confuses the rest of the guild as he's been yapping their ears off about his freedom. "What's the matter? It seems you've lost the fire in your belly. And your sister has been awfully quiet ever since we stuck you in here."

The other guildmembers finally take note of how Vela had been silent throughout this whole exchange with her back turned to the rest of the guild, so no one would be able to see her expression. Her hair is also noticeably not in its usual braid as it spills down to her waist. Usually when Natsu gets into one of his moods Vela is never afraid to put him back into his place, but she has made it a point to ignore him this time. Makarov then sends a blast of light towards the glass knocking it over. But instead of Natsu it's actually Macao that comes tumbling down.

"It's Macao!" Levy cries.

"That was you?!" the rest of the guild questions. 

Macao with an embarrassed blush on his cheeks and bashfully rubbing the back of his head goes on to explain. "Yeah, sorry guys. But I owed Natsu a favor. I turned myself into a salamander, so that everybody would think I was him. Meanwhile Vela helped him sneak off." The girl only continues to stand with her back to everyone else. 

"Do you know where he went?" Lucy asks.

Gray having known the pink haired idiot for most of his life had pretty good idea of what he's planning. "He went after Erza, didn't he?" 

"Yeah, 'fraid so," Macao confirms. 

"You gotta be kidding me?! That idiot'll probably try to fight the whole council," Elfman adds.

Makarov wanting this endless speculating to cease, "Would everyone just calm down? We've no choice but to wait and see what happens."

"Well, at least now it makes sense why Vela's back is turned and why her hair's down," Levy observes.

Seeing as Lucy is still relatively new to the guild, she has no idea what the shorter girl is talking about. "What do you mean, Levy?"

"Usually, Vela has a great poker face, but it's a whole 'nother story when it comes to lying or keeping secrets from her guildmates. She's got a pretty obvious tell she can't help when it comes to us."

"What would that be?"

Gray having made it over to the girl goes to turn her around. "This." As Vela is made to face everyone else Lucy can see that her cheeks are covered in a red hue. Gray then tucks her hair behind her ears to show off how they're an even brighter shade. Vela only goes on to lightly smack Gray as she puts her hair back in front of her ears and pouts. Gray only chuckles in response. "She turns into a little tomato." 

"It's not funny stop laughing!" The ice wizards not at all perturbed only continues to tease her by lightly pulling on her cheeks. "Hey! I swaid stawp!"

Eventually Gray does stop his teasing but there is still one thing on his mind. "Since you don't seem all that worried about Natsu running off towards the council, do you know what he's planning?"

Vela gets an embarrassed look on her face "Vaguely. Before he left he had me grab himself a red wig and various miscellaneous items for what I think he intends to be makeshift armor. Let's just leave it at that for now."

"Yeah, I think that'd be best for my sanity." 

The next day Natsu and Erza are released from their temporary jail cells and return back to the guildhall. "Who would'a thought fresh air could smell so sweet?" Natsu cheers while running around the guild due to being stuck in a cell for most of yesterday. "I'm gonna breath it in all day! It's the sweet smell of freedom!"

Macao, Droy and Jet can only look on in annoyance at his incessant screaming with the latter voicing everyone else's thoughts aloud. "Shut up," Jet mutters. 

"Put a sock in it man," Droy agrees.

On the other hand, Mirajane finds his enthusiasm quite cute. "Isn't he precious when he gets all excited?"   

At another table Lucy is feeling mentally exhausted from the all the worrying she had done yesterday. "I can't believe that stupid arrest and trial were just for show. All that worrying for nothing."

Upon hearing this Gray also begins to understand the purpose of the magic council's decision. "So she wasn't a sacrificial lamb but a scapegoat."

Elfman can only deadpan at his dry delivery. "You must be one heck of an ice wizard cause even your jokes leave me cold." To take his mind off of it he calls out to the hyperactive dragon slayer. "Hey Natsu, you gonna finish going man to man with Erza?"

"Uh oh," Lucy mutters in worry.

"Oh yeah I forgot about that." At this reminder he turns towards said woman who was currently nursing a drink and venting to Vela, who was sitting next to her, about all the trouble her brother had caused yesterday. Vela who would much rather be anywhere else decides to stick it out as she is also partially to blame for Erza's extended stay at the Magic Council the other day. "So what do ya say? Wanna pick up where we left off?"

Erza still annoyed from the previous day's events stiffly replies, "I'm not in the mood right now."

Vela having been subjected to Erza's sour mood for the past couple minutes tries to dissuade Natsu from doing anything foolish. "You should seriously listen to her right now, Natsu. You caused a lot of trouble for her yesterday. I don't want you to put her in an even worse mood." She also doesn't want to have to tend to the bruises that he's in for if he does keep antagonizing her.  

Natsu not heeding their warnings still decides to charge headfirst with full intent on finishing their fight from yesterday. "I'm not letting you off the hook that easy!"

"I swear." Erza grumbles exasperated. All Vela can do is closer her eyes shake her head in disappointment. Erza stands abruptly and socks Natsu right in the gut putting him down for good. Everyone else can only let out gasps of disbelief and slight fear. "How's that? Are you satisfied?"

"And he's out!" Happy announces.

Elfman and Gray fall into hysterics at the embarrassing loss. "Way to go champ!" Gray calls out mockingly. 

"Guess we know who the real man is!" Elfman follows.

Mirajane also looks on amused but looks over at Makarov as he gives off a slight sigh. "Sir, is something wrong?" 

"I'm fine, just sleepy" Makarov then slightly tips over. "He's coming." The moment he says this the Mirajane falls to the ground completely knocked out. The rest of the guild following suit as one by one they all begin to drop like flies dead asleep. A mysterious man covered head to toe walks into the guild heading towards the request board. "Mystogan." 

He then walks up to Makarov to show the job he had chosen and utters a simple, "I shall return."

"No, wait. Lift your sleeping spell before you leave."

He does as Makarov requests as he begins to take his leave uttering a simple "5...4...3...2...1"

Everyone wakes with a start. Well almost everyone as Natsu still remain blissfully asleep. Coming from their sudden unconsciousness everyone is slightly groggy still trying to come completely to. "Oh man. Was Mystogan here?" Jet asks. 

"What a jerk," Droy comments.

"Does he have to put us to sleep every time he comes here?" complains Levy.

At the mention of someone new Lucy asks, "Who's this Mystogan guy?" 

"For one he's a contender for Fairy Tail's strongest wizard," answers Elfman.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Gray confirms. "And for some reason he doesn't want anyone to see what he looks like. So, whenever he comes here to take a job he casts a sleeping spell."

"That's kinda creepy."

"Master Makarov's the only person here who's gotten a good look at his face," Gray continues.  

"That's not true. I've seen him before," a voice says from above. It followed by a condescending chuckle.

"Laxus?" Elfman calls out.

"Talk about rare," Macao adds.

"You're never here," Wakaba agrees.

"And here's another contender," Gray says with a hint of disdain in his voice.

Leaning on the second-floor balcony is a young man with blonde hair and a lightning shaped scar over his right eye wearing a long black fur coat and spiked headphones. "Mystogan's just a little shy. You should all respect his privacy." 

At hearing Laxus' voice Natsu is brought back to the world of the living and of course the first thing on his mind is to brawl. "Alright Laxus, you and me right now!" 

"Getting your butt kicked once today wasn't enough?" Gray asks sarcastically. 

"Yeah, pal." Laxus' mocking grin continues to remain on his face. "If you can't even win against the redhead, why bother with me? You're not even a match for your own sister. A fight between me and her would be much more entertaining."

Erza peeved off at the backhanded compliment shoots a glare at him. "What are you trying to say?" 

Gray tries to calm the woman down. "No need to get all worked up, Erza." 

Laxus then extends his arms out towards the rest of the guild. "I'm saying that I'm the guild's strongest wizard." 

"Then come down here and prove it."

"You come to me little man."

"With pleasure."

Vela knowing that Laxus would not go as easy on her brother as Erza did tries to stop him. With an outreached hand aimed for his shoulder she calls out, "Wait Natsu-" But he's too fast and goes to make his way upstairs but is luckily stopped by Makarov as he had enlarged his fist and slammed it down on the boy's entire body.

"You're not allowed on the second floor Natsu. At least not yet."

Laxus continues to jeer at the pink haired boy. "Hah, think you made him grumpy."

"Shut up!" Natsu strains from underneath all the weight.

"That's enough out of you, Laxus!" Makarov demands.

But he doesn't stop his jeering there. "The most powerful one in the guild isn't a chick or some hooded weirdo. You want to know what the strongest wizard looks like." He points his thumb at himself as he shouts out, "You're looking right at him!" Natsu, Gray, and Erza give him pointed looks but don't dispute his claim. However, it's also at that exact moment that a series of feathers are sent hurtling towards him at lightning speed. Laxus dodges, but just barely. 

"Woah!" Lucy yelps in surprise. She turns to face the culprit who is currently staring at the man with a hard look devoid of emotion. It's a face Lucy had never seen Vela make before. Throughout the short time she's known the girl she had shown to be stern for sure, but never anything like this. 

Instead of being enraged like Lucy thought he would be, Laxus only begins to laugh. "Not bad, shortie. But that won't be enough to beat me. And don't forget who taught you some of those tricks. You're only as strong as you are because of me."

Eventually Laxus leaves as he claimed he 'had better things to do' and the rest of the guild dispersed. Her first impression of the man left little to be desired, but it also raised many unanswered questions. She decides to head to the bar and seek her answers out through Mira. "Hey Mirajane, what was the Master talking about earlier? Why can't we go up to the second floor?"

"That area's reserved for advanced members of the guild. The jobs that are listed on the request board up there make the ones listed down here look like child's play in comparison. They're called S-classed quests."

"S-classed?"

"They're jobs so dangerous that one wrong move could be your last. But with that risk comes a higher reward. Master Makarov hand picks the ones he thinks are capable of handling these jobs. There are only six people in the entire guild who are considered S-class. That includes Laxus, Mystogan, Erza, and Vela." Mirajane attempts to take the girl's mind off of it as it's not something she should be thinking of right now. "I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, Lucy. In my opinion there's no amount of money that's worth risking your life over."

Lucy smiles in agreement. "Yeah, I agree." She then remembers the other thing she wanted to ask Mira about. "I was actually also wondering about something else that Laxus had said earlier today."  

Mirajane hums in response. "What would that be?"

"Well, he said something about how he had used to teach Vela and that her strength is because of him. What was that supposed to mean?"

"Laxus wasn't always like how he is now. He may have not been the nicest guy and he still liked to keep to himself most of the time, but for some reason he had developed a sort of soft spot for Vela."

"A soft spot? Can't imagine a guy like him having it in him."

"Oh, but it's true. Vela had accidentally caught him out on a job once and she became absolutely captivated by his magic power. After that she began to follow him like a little duckling pestering him about teaching her some tricks. It bothered him at first, but she wore him down eventually."

"Wow, never took him for the teaching type. Do you have any idea what he taught her?"

"I honestly have no clue. They kept their meetings pretty secret from the rest of the guild, but it must have been pretty powerful spells considering how Vela had become S-class the following year. That's probably what he was referring too when he mentioned her strength."

"Woah, really? Maybe I should get Vela to train me." Having experienced the girl's power firsthand Lucy begins to daydream of what could happen if she did get in some extra training with Vela's help. In short it entails of Lucy rising through the ranks of Fairy Tail and eventually making a boatload of cash, so she'd never have to worry about rent ever again. 

"I'm sure she'd be willing to help, but I do have to warn you." This knocks Lucy out of her daydream. 

"Warn me about what?"

"Well, Vela and Natsu used to train together all the time when they were younger but stopped because Natsu claimed he wanted to be more independent and that he didn't need his sister always one upping him."

Lucy hums in response, "Yup, that sounds like something he would say."

"After she had gotten promoted, he figured she could give him some pointers the next time the trial would roll around. They had probably only been training together for a couple weeks at most before he called it quits."

"That doesn't sound like him at all."

"I know, but you should have seen the poor thing. Even though it was only a few weeks Natsu definitely looked worse for wear. He also started having nightmares about their training sessions for months afterwards."

Lucy only sweat drops and as she imagines what kind of hell Vela put Natsu through. If she was willing to go that extreme with her own little brother, then what torture would she be put through. "Yeah, maybe asking Vela to train me will be Plan B."

Seeing how dark it had gotten Lucy decides to head home for the night. She says goodnight to Mirajane and heads out. On her way back to her apartment she spots Vela wearing her backpack heading in the direction towards the train station. Lucy calls out to the girl with a wave, "Hey, Vela."

Vela stops and looks towards her guildmate with a smile. "Hey, Lucy. Are you heading back home, now?"

"Yep, it's been a long day, and I need to catch up on some sleep. What about you? Where are you off to?"

"I'm heading out on a job that will hopefully only take me overnight to finish, so I should be back by tomorrow. I went to go see if Natsu and Happy had wanted to come along, but they weren't home when I stopped by. I was kinda hoping I would find them with you, but I'm guessing you haven't seen them either, huh?"

Lucy can only shake her head. "Nope, sorry. I haven't seen them at all, but if I see them tomorrow, I'll pass on the message."

"Thanks, Lucy." Vela adjusts the straps on her backpack and prepares to head off. "Well, I better head out. Try to keep the boys out of trouble for me, ok?"

Lucy waves the girl off with a grin as she starts to get farther and farther away. "Will do. And good luck on the train ride since you won't have your trusty pillow." And by pillow Lucy means Gray's shoulder and this insinuation causes Vela to lightly blush and walk faster while Lucy's giggles can be heard in the distance. 

As Lucy enters the road of her neighborhood she starts to think about the hierarchy of wizards within the guild. Wow Mystogan and Laxus. That is so cool. I can't believe how many famous wizards are in Fairy Tail. She imagines a flow chart with the Master on top, then the four S-class wizards, Natsu Gray and herself next as they were dubbed the strongest team, and everyone else on the bottom. "And I think I'm starting to figure out how everybody's ranked within the guild. Gotta start working my way to the top." 

Just as Lucy unlocks her front door she is not greeted with a calm and cozy atmosphere, but instead with the two resident troublemakers working out. Happy's lifting weights and Natsu's doing push-ups but at least he had the decency to grunt out a, "Welcome home."  

"AHHH!" After getting over her initial shock Lucy kicks Natsu out of her bed while screaming "You guys stink! Why don't you jerks work out at your own house?!" 

"Now Lucy if we wanna work together like a team," Natsu then holds up a pink dumbbell "we gotta train like one."

"We thought you'd like the pink dumbbell." This 'thoughtfulness' does nothing to quell Lucy's annoyance. 

"I don't care what color it is I'm not lifting weights with you!"

The boys', not getting the message, only shrug and move onto the next step of their workout which is pushups. "We gotta kick it up a notch if we wanna beat Laxus and Erza. Not to mention Vela."

"Aye, sir."

"I just want a little peace and quiet. Now get out!"

The morons still do not listen and instead start to do pushups even faster. "Don't worry we'll train quietly, Lucy," Natsu whispers.  

Lucy begins to cry. "Why does this kind of stuff always happen to me?"

"I've made a decision," Nasu suddenly announces stopping his pushups. This gets Lucy's attention. "Our team is ready for the big time, S-class."

"Yeah!" Happy agrees as he holds up a job that had clearly been stolen from the second-floor request board. "Check it out." 

This makes Lucy's hair stand right up. "How did you get that?! I thought we weren't allowed to go on the second floor!"

"Well, I just climbed the stairs and took it!" the cat cheered.

"You little cat burglar!" That nickname only makes Happy giggle with joy. 

Natsu then butts in with a thumbs up. "Since this is our first S-class quest we decided to go with the smallest reward we found on the board. But 7 million is still a lot of jewel." 

"We're not ready for it! If the Master knew we had this job request he'd be furious! And what the hell do you think Vela's gonna think huh?! Is this why she couldn't find you guys earlier?!" 

"Yeah, but I think he'll end up being proud of us if we actually pull it off. The same goes for Vela imagine how psyched she'll be when she hears about how her little brothers can handle an S-class quest all by themselves."

"Mhmm" Happy hums in agreement. "And we knew she would be leaving for an overnight job today which is exactly why we had to do this now. We can surprise her by the time she gets back. I also heard how she told you to keep us out of trouble and what better way of doing just that than by coming with us."

Lucy can only sigh in exasperation. "You know this may be the dumbest thing you've ever done, Natsu. If you want to rise up the ranks you should try following the guild's rules. You could even try going back to training with Vela." 

"Jeez we're never gonna make S-class with that attitude and like hell I'd ever go back to training with that monster."

"Well then you can handle this on your own. I'm staying right here. I'm sure Vela will understand I couldn't stop you guys."

"But the job is saving a tropical island," Happy tries to tempt. 

"Really?" Lucy asks intrigued as she begins to hear tropical music in her head.

The boys then get creepy looks on their faces as they both chant out "It's the cursed island of Galunaaa."

This brings Lucy off board once again. "No way. Definitely not going now." The boys only creep closer still waring those creepy faces. 

"I'll give you half the fist I catch Lucy."

"What kind of incentive is that supposed to be?!"

"Fine, we're outta here."

"Aye."

"That's the best idea you've had all day." But she hears her window being opened instead of her front door. "Hang on..." She catches Natsu jumping out of it and clinging onto Happy as they fly away. "For crying out loud would ya use the door?!" 

As she goes to turn away, she notices the paper that had been left behind on her bedroom floor. This causes her immediate panic. "Oh no! They left the job request here! Now everybody's gonna think I'm the one who stole it! What'll I do?!"

In the middle of her panic attack Lucy notices a smaller fine print underneath the 7 million jewel reward. "Is this for real? On top of the giant reward you also get a gate key!?" She hums in contemplation but eventually grins and laughs in glee. She heads out of her apartment with the request and calls out to Natsu and Happy, who suspected she would change her mind as they were waiting for her on the nearby bridge, "Hey wait up you guys! I've decided to come along!" 

The following day Mirajane went upstairs to do some upkeeping on the second floor. It was at that moment she noticed one of the flyers had been torn off from the request board. This had sent alarms off in her head as no one had come downstairs to notify her that they would taking that job. The only answer for this would be that it was stolen. In a panic Mirajane rushes back downstairs calling out, "Master! I don't know what's happened, but one of the S-class quests is missing!" The Master who was calmly taking a sip of his morning tea takes one big gulp and does a spit take. 

A/N 

This marks the start of the Galuna Island Arc I just wanted to say I'm only 1/4 of the way done with it and I have just started school again. This means that it may take anywhere from 2 weeks to a month before my next update as I like to write out the whole arc and post those chapters all at once. So my updates will always be very sporadic.

Anyways thanks so much for reading and don't be afraid to post comments I'd love to hear from you guys :) 

[beanea04]

Natsu Devours a Village

          In a land far far away lies the Kingdom of Fiore. A small peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic, found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most magic is merely a tool a mundane part of everyday life. For some however magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice, these are the wizards. Banded together in magical guilds they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless ledges have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name is Fairy Tail.

Natsu Devours a Village

Happy can be seen walking towards the edge of a cliff. His paw accidentally knocks over a small pebble causing it to fall down to the depths bellow. At the sight of this dead-end Lucy screams out in exasperation. "Oh, jeez! Come on Happy, don't tell us that you got us lost again?! We've been walking for forever and a half and we still haven't found Magnolia yet! Why are we following a cat anyway?!"

This is Web Valley, hidden deep within Clover Canyon. Here countless fissure produced by ancient earthquakes form a fearsome maze. Many adventurers either brave or foolish have entered this place only to decorate its landscape with their bones.  

"What do you mean again?! How rude! I wasn't lost last time, so this the first time I've gotten us lost!"

"First time or not let's just try to make it our last, ok?" Lucy pleads. 

"Man, I want some food," Natsu complains as his stomach growls. 

Gray glares back at him as he's not the only one that's starving. "We all do. Talking about it just makes us hungrier." 

"I can't help it if I'm hungry, jerk!"

"No, but you could stop running your mouth, can't you?!" 

The Master interrupts their bickering with an abrupt, "Listen up!" His face then turns into one of tired desperation as he grumbles out, "We need some food." 

"Yeah! We know!" the boys answer back.

"Enough," Erza says sternly as she tries to get everyone to focus on making it back to the guild. However, all anyone could focus on was her growling stomach. Everyone can only stare at her deadpanned.

Natsu feeling petty, "Your stomach's trying to tell you something huh?" 

"No, it's not you're hearing things." 

"Uh, yeah. Real convincing Erza," Gray says sarcastically.

"Just give it up, Erza. There's no coming back from that," Vela comforts as she pats Erza on the shoulder.

All of a sudden Happy gets a wide-eyed look on his face and screams in utter joy. "What are you excited about?" Natsu asks trying to see what Happy does.

"Down there! Look, Natsu! Look!" Natsu, and everyone else as well, goes to look over the edge of the cliff where Happy is. Down below he can see several colorful flying fish. They all seem to be screaming out various chants of how they're able to fly. "Those are winged fish! They're a legendary delicacy, and they're super yummy from what I hear." Happy starts to run back and forth all while chanting "Yum, yum, yum!" It gets to the point that Vela has to restrain him in her arms. Upon hearing this everyone comes to the same conclusion. 

"A legendary delicacy?" Gray says to himself.

"Winged fish huh?" Erza thinks aloud.

Natsu practically drooling at this point. "Sounds good to me."

Master Makarov puts his hand on Happy's shoulder and says to the cat "Well done, Happy. You make this old man very proud." All while tears are streaming down his face and his stomach's rumblings can be heard.

"Get a hold of yourself, Gramps!" Vela exclaims in shock at the old man's reaction. 

Lucy not too keen on eating strange fish tries to take their minds off their hunger. "Guys, enough with the growling stomachs." However, this comes to bite her in the ass, as at that moment hers does just about that. 

"You were saying?" Gray says smugly. 

"Shut up."

Happy now with a fishing pole in his paw declares, "Now, time to fish!"

Each one of them are now sitting over the edge of the cliff with their fishing rods casted out. But unluckily they are having zero success in scoring lunch as all the fish keep on flying past them while continuing to shout out nonsense. "Come on you stupid fish, just shut up and let me eat you," Natsu complains. 

Happy determined to try these legendary fish chants out "We gotta fish harder guys!"

"How does one fish harder?" Vela asks herself.

"I don't know," Lucy starts as she's beginning to second guess how badly she wants to satiate her hunger as eating odd fish she had never heard of before doesn't sound all that appetizing. "Are you sure these things really taste that good?"

Erza on the verge of desperation for some food grunts out a stern command of "Be quiet and fish. Anything edible will do. We can't all be like Vela so we have to take anything we can get." 

"I didn't know you were that hungry!" Lucy exclaims wide-eyed. 

"You're all going in my belly! Right now, ya hear?! Happy's gonna eat you fish!" Despite his prior demonstration of determination Happy gets up from the ledge and sets his fishing pole down. "Whatever, I give up."

"That was fast!" Lucy exclaims incredulously.

"Well, I couldn't catch a single fish," the cat says dejectedly with downcast eyes.

Lucy now crouching to be closer to the cat's level tries to encourage him to try again. "You really want to eat one dont'cha? You shouldn't give up so easily." She then gives him a bright smile. "You can do it little guy." However, this does the opposite of what she intended. 

"I can't help that I'm little!" Happy goes running off with tears running down his face.

"What?! I thought I was cheering you up!"

Vela then comes into view as she scoops Happy up into her arms and begins bouncing and shushing him like a baby. "It's ok, Happy. Lucy didn't mean it." Happy whimpers and snuggles in closer to her chest. "You may be small, but that just adds to your cuteness."

"Really?" Happy looks up still sad, but there are no longer any tears. "Do you think so?"

"I know so." Vela then starts heading back to the cliff. "Don't worry I won't stop trying until I can get you that fish. Plus, I might have better luck than the rest since I seem to be the only not being driven mad by their stomach for once."

Lucy having now joined the duo turns towards the older girl and says, "You know earlier Erza said something about how we can't all be like you. What exactly did she mean by that?"

Vela answers with a smile, "She was talking about how I'm not as hungry as the rest of you due to the nature of my magic. Like Natsu I'm able to consume my element to not only give me strength but to also satiate my hunger." She then turns to look towards the sun. "Since my element is light, I can use the natural sunlight and even moonlight to replenish myself."

"Wow, that's amazing. You must never go hungry then huh?"

"While it does help satisfy me, I can't rely on it forever only temporarily. I don't consume the sun's light like I would with regular light magic. I actually absorb it through my skin, so while it can keep my hunger and exhaustion at bay it's not a permanent solution."

"You're kind of like a tree in that sense then," the blonde responds amazed at the versatility of Vela's magic.  

Vela gives off a little chuckle. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But even trees need some fertilizer at times, so let's get back to fishing and give it our all." 

"Yeah!"

Eventually they finally do manage to catch something, but it's only a singular winged fish. Meaning that either they would each have to settle for having a single bite each or letting one person eat while the rest starve. "That was harder than you'd think," Lucy sighs out exhausted.

"Yeah, I didn't think that something so small would cause us all so much trouble," Vela agrees. She also swears that she can hear the fish saying that the end is near, but maybe it's just her mind playing tricks on her due to the first pangs of huger beginning to settle in. That fishing took a whole lot out of her.

"All that trouble for one fish," Erza remarks. 

Natsu then fries it up with his magic and with slight annoyance he turns towards his best friend and says, "Go ahead and eat it, Happy." 

"But that wouldn't be fair to you guys, would it?" 

Gray not wanting to look at the damn fish anymore replies with, "It's way too small to split up. If we had a bite we'd just want more."

"Hurry up and eat it before we change our minds!" Makarov demands as he's beginning to lose his patience.

"OK!" Happy now with stars in his eyes and all his previously shown guilt vanished prepares to eat the fist. "Don't mind if I do!" As he begins to bring the fish towards his mouth the rest of the group can be seen watching on in utter despair. Makarov has tears streaming down his face, Natsu is reaching out his hand as if he could still try and grab a bite while Vela is trying to pull it down, Gray is pulling on his hair, Lucy has an air of agony surrounding her, and Erza has her back turned with her arms crossed.

As Happy continues to gobble up the fish, Lucy mutters out, "Who knew one fish could bring so much joy? I never thought I'd be jealous of a cat."

All of a sudden Happy's lips pucker and his eyes bulge out of his head. He lets out a yell of "GROSS!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Lucy screams in outrage. All that time and effort wasted on the cat's seemingly great idea just for him to spit the whole thing out.

Since the fish are seemingly unappetizing and the effort of trying to catch another one would be too much, the group decides to continue walking in hopes of discovering something edible and preferably tastier to eat. "I hate to say it but," Natsu begins.

"All that fishing," Gray starts to say.

"Made me hungrier," finishes Makarov. However, at this moment they all stop. Right in front of them appears to be a decently sized town. This means that there will hopefully be someone to point them back in the right direction or better yet offer them some lunch.

"A village!" Erza calls out eagerly. 

"Houses," Gray says with equal amounts of joy.

Happy grins as he comes to a realization. "And that means there must be..."

"FOOD!" Natsu shouts as he takes off into a sprint with the rest following behind. However, their joy is put to a halt as the town is seemingly deserted. There's not a person in sight and the only thing that can be heard is the wind.

"There's no one here," Gray states in surprise.

"It does seem awfully quiet, doesn't it?" Lucy says.

"Yeah," Vela then begins to sniff the air. "It smells kinda weird too. I just can't put my finger on it."

"Maybe they're taking an afternoon nap or something," Natsu suggests. "Hey anybody here?!"

"We're starving like crazy out here! Somebody cook us some dinner!" Happy shouts out. 

Vela lightly bonks the two on the heads. "If they are sleeping then the last thing these people'll want is being woken up by a bunch of lunatics yelling about food. And don't start shouting out demands at strangers it's rude."

"Sorry ma'am," they apologize together. 

Lucy also decides to comment on the cat's lack of manners. "Wow, Happy. Ever hear the word please?"

They all stand in the town square waiting for a response. But one never comes. "Do you really think the whole town's taking a nap?" Gray asks sarcastically.

"Well, it's either that or they all got drunk and passed out," Makarov answers. 

"Not all of us are like you Gramps," Vela points out.

"Yeah, I think that only happens back at the guild," Lucy agrees. 

"Huh, we do love our spirits don't we," the old man says in response.

All of sudden Natsu breaks into a sudden sprint as he sets his sight on the nearest house, hoping to fill his empty stomach. "You guys can stay out here all day if you want, but I'm gonna find a kitchen to raid!"

"Shame on you for even thinking about robbing this place, Natsu." But contrary to his words Gray is running right beside also hoping to find some grub.

"You're just mad I thought of it first."

"Both of you stop!" Vela is right on their heels in an attempt to stop them from robbing a poor family blind of all their food. "We can't just go barging into other people's homes no matter how hungry you guys are! Don't you have any manners?"

"Manners Shmanners! All I can think about it chowing down!" Natsu replies back. However not wanting to make his sister any more annoyed, Natsu at least knocks on the door before heading inside. "Hey anyone home?" Hearing no response he begins to knock more frantically. "Come on give us something to eat, we're dying!" 

The boys then slightly push open the door to the small house and peek inside. Inside on the dining table is a basket a bread along with steaming hot bowls of soup, but there's not a single trace of its occupants. "Looks like nobody's here." Gray and Natsu, with Vela trailing behind, start to head inside.  

"Who cares? There's food." Natsu then picks up a piece of bread from the table and sniffs it. "Good, it still smells fresh. Open wide."

However, Erza stops him before he can actually take a bite. "Not so fast."

"What is it now?!" Vela then goes to grab the bread out of Natsu's hand to sniff it herself. While she's doing this, she's using her free hand to keep her brother at bay as he keeps trying to make swipes for his bread.

"There's something strange here."

"She's right. Who would leave a table full of food just sitting there like that?" Gray's question brings up one of Vela's own.

"And if someone cooked this, then where are they now? This food seems to be straight from the oven, but we haven't seen a single person since we've arrived." 

Natsu giving up on getting his bread back from his sister, is handed another by Happy who is holding his own piece. "How should I know?" He then turns towards the cat and raises up his bread. "Anyway, ready to dig in, Happy?"

"Aye!"

But just before he can finally take a bite, he's interrupted by a stern call of his name coming from the two S-class wizards next to him. Trembling in fear he replies to them with a shaky "Yes, ma'ams."

"We need to investigate the village first. We've held out thing long, we can hold out a little-" Just then Erza's lecture is interrupted by yet another loud grumble from her starving stomach. 

"What she means to say is that we have no idea what could have been used to make this food. It could be poisoned for all we know. So just suck it up and-" Vela's own stomach then gives off a loud growl of its own. It seems that the hunger has finally started catching up to her. Plus being inside the house for so long and away from the sun wasn't helping. Gray snickers in response to the dragon slayer's face going red with embarrassment. While Vela can't get her stomach to stop growling, she can at least stop Gray's teasing which is done by a thorough smack to the back of the head. 

"I think your stomachs might have different plans," the celestial mage says in amusement. 

"Yes, but which one do we listen to?" Makarov asks as he knows the girls are right, but that food just smells so damn good.

Erza trying not to seem fazed by her hunger or the growling continues to dish out orders. "Search the area for mushrooms or anything that looks edible. And don't eat the food in the village, ok? While you're all doing that Master and I'll try and figure out what's going on."

"Yeah, Yeah I hear ya. Let's go Happy." 

"Aye."

Lucy then gives a look of disdain off to the side as she comes to a realization. "Wait why mushrooms?"

Lucy, Vela, Natsu, Gray, and Happy are now all outside scourging the forest for mushrooms which there seem to be an abundance of. However, the blonde doesn't seem too keen on eating them. In fact, she might be more willing to go back and try to catch more flying fish. Behind her Natsu can be heard muttering to himself. "Stupid Erza. How am I supposed to get full on a bunch of mushrooms? That food back there looked really good too." Vela is currently lying down on a nearby tree's branch bathing in the sun to replenish some lost energy. Hearing Natsu's complaints she throws a small pebble which landed right in the middle of his forehead. "Hey! What was that for sis?!"

"To get you to stop complaining. All your whining is going to give me a headache at this point."

"But I-" He stops his rebuttal as he then spots the wide plethora of mushrooms ranging in all different sizes and colors. "I take it back! These look tasty!"

"But why mushrooms?" the blonde continues to wonder.

Happy then jumps in to answer in a know-it-all manner. "It's so obvious, Lucy."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Natsu's gonna eat a poisonous mushroom, then something weird'll happen to him." The cat then gives her a wink. "You know the cliche, right?"

Natsu already stuffing his face to the brim with the vegetation says with a full mouth, "Give her some credit Happy. You'd really think I'd fall for some lame gag like that?" He turns to face them with at least six different mushrooms spilling out from his overstuffed mouth. "No way."

Vela then picks up a nearby mushroom that bares a very similar appearance to shitake mushrooms. She gives it a sniff but decides against eating it as the smell is giving off an odd odor. Hearing Natsu down below she sarcastically grumbles to herself, "Yeah, because you're way too smart to fall for something like that." If only she had a jewel for every time she had heard her brother say something along those lines, she'd never have to work again.  

Natsu then turns back around with his mouth still stuffed and his arms now full of all different kinds of mushrooms. "These mushrooms aren't very big, but if I keep eating a ton of them, I'm bound to get full sooner or later." 

"And here comes the setup," Happy says. 

Gray also chewing on a mouthful of mushrooms mutters, "Better start picking faster." Lucy can only laugh in worry. It's at that moment that Natsu's face turns into a grimace of pain. He then begins to clutch at his throat as though he were chocking.

"Hey, are you ok, Natsu?" Lucy asks.

"And here's the gag!" the cat says in excitement. 

A large pink mushroom with yellow spots then pops out from on top of his head. "That was scary."

Lucy with her eyes bulging out screams "Your head is scary!"

On the other hand, Happy seems rather disappointed with this development. "I was hoping they would turn him purple." 

"That's what you were hoping for?!"

Gray hearing all the commotion asks, "Hey, what are you all worked up about?" He also has large mushroom on top of his head. The only difference is that his is blue.

Lucy not wanting to bother explaining what she had to bear witness to only turns aways from the boys and tells them "Just take a look at one another, ok?"

"Why?" they both ask just as they turn to look at one another. It's at that moment they gasp at one another's appearance and start to break out into laughter at how ridiculous the other looks, not realizing the predicament that they were both in. 

"Hahaha there's a mushroom on your head!" the fire user exclaims. 

"Oh yeah, well I bet yours is bigger than mine!" It is. "I wish you could see yourself you look so dumb!"

"Not as dumb as you do!"

Lucy tries to get them to regain their sanity by calling out "This could be really bad! Who cares how you look! Guys..." Unfortunately, they only continue to bicker and with Lucy's attention solely focused on them she fails to notice a certain feline creeping closer and closer to the mushrooms. But luckily Vela does.  

"Happy." This causes the cat to jolt in surprise. "I really don't think that's a good idea."

Happy turns to the girl with tears in his eyes and a trembling lip. "But Vela I'm just so hungry, and the mushroom looks so good." He then starts to nuzzle his head into her legs. "Please oh please can I just have this one right here? I promise I'll be good for the rest of the day."

This only causes the girl to sigh and turn around as she can never resist those damn sad cat eyes. "Fine, do what you want. But don't come crying to me when you end just like those two fighting idiots."

In the background Natsu and Gray can still be heard fighting. "Hey droopy eyes, what the heck are you laughing about, huh?"

"Me? What are you laughing about shroom head?" They then begin to physically fight as well as still hurling insults.  

"You can fight later worry about the mushrooms first!" Lucy's shouting finally causes them to break apart from one another panting. "Come on guys, turn off the stupid, would ya?"

"Lucy!" Happy then appears with showing off his find. "I found a big one." The mushroom he had been previously looking at is now in his hands and upon closer inspection it seems to be around the same size as Happy.

"Holy cow that's big! I don't even want to know what that would do to ya."

Natsu comes over and is impressed by the obvious size of it. "Oh man wow! It's huge!"

"Yeah, it's so big we could eat of it for days," Gray agrees. 

"I'm kinda surprised Happy can lift it at all. I mean it's practically the same size of the little guy," Vela chimes in.

"How about we hold off on eating anymore of these today?" But just as Lucy suggests that Happy takes a large bite of the stem. This causes Lucy to grab him by his still chewing cheeks so she can try and literally shake some sense into him. "After all this and you still shove one of those things in your mouth like it's no big deal! Spit it out Right now!"

"But it's yummy!"

"Vela come and make him spit it out! Why did you let him even get his grubby paws on it in the first place?"

"He's already practically swallowed it all, spitting the rest out isn't going to do anything. Plus I already tried to warn him of what could happen if he eats it. Now he'll just be facing the consequences of his own actions."

It's at that moment that Happy starts to grimace and clutches onto his throat just like Natsu did. A tiny light pink mushroom then pops out on the top of his head. Causing Lucy to let out a loud scream and Vela to release an exasperated sigh.

"Well, I guess that happens to everyone who eats these things, huh?" Natsu observes.

"I wonder if the villagers knew some way around this problem," Gray ponders.

"I didn't see or smell any mushrooms back at the village, so maybe they haven't, and they leave all these mushrooms alone knowing something like this could happen," Vela replies.

"Well, if they do eat them maybe they like the way it looks?" Natsu wonders. 

"Yeah, maybe we'll be in style when we get back to town," Gray agrees. At this thought the boys start sharing a small chuckle with one another.

Their laughter causes Happy to burst into tears and cry out "It's not as funny this time!" As he runs straight towards Vela's already open arms as she had a feeling something like this would happen. 

"Were you trying to be funny?" Lucy asks incredulously. She then turns around and notices that Natsu's mushroom seems to have doubled in size in such a short amount of time. "Uh, Natsu? Is it just me or is your mushroom growing?"

Happy turns to cry into Vela's chest. "Aw! How come he always gets the good gags?!"

"This is why I told you not to eat the mushroom, Happy." Vela then sets the cat down as he continues to pout. She then turns towards Natsu and Gray. "I don't think that those mushrooms are harmful, but just to be on the safe side we should try and get them off you boys right now."

"How are planning to do that sis?"

"I'll just use my star feathers to cut them off. I usually use them as mini explosives, but as long as I don't will them to detonate, they actually make pretty handy knives." She then holds up her arms into an X motion and prepares to take aim. "I don't usually miss, but I don't want to accidentally end up hitting you boys in the face. So do your best to stay still, ok?"

The mention of those razor-sharp feathers makes the boys start to shake in fear as this brings back memories of them as kids and being used as her practice dummies as punishment whenever they misbehaved. "I'm sure we'll be fine sis. Why don't we just wait it out?" Natsu asks with a notable tremble in his voice.

Gray now sweating also ties to convince her not to. "Yeah, there's no need for you to waste your energy on us. We're fine."

"Don't be silly boys, I've been sunbathing the whole time we've been out here. I have plenty of magic energy I can spare. Now like I said hold still." She then releases her arms from the X formation and with a shout of "Star Feathers!" As the black shining feathers head straight towards the boys' heads, they duck out of the way at the last minute. "Hey! I said hold still!"

"No way! You're just gonna end up maiming us or worse!" 

"Yeah, I'm with Natsu on this one I'm sure this whole mushroom thing will sort out on its own!"

"It may also not, which is why we should take a more direct approach!" Vela sends out more star feathers causing Natsu and Gray to roll out of the way once again. This ordeal goes on for a little longer until a terrifying roar, almost like a giant beast's comes from the direction of the village. 

Vela stops to listen. Natsu also looks up and asks "You hear that?"

"What is it?" Lucy asks. It's at that moment the mushrooms on top of the boys' heads begin to glow. Everyone looks on in worry for what might happen, but all that occurs is the mushrooms falling right off.

"Yay! The mushrooms are gone, now!"

Lucy wanting the cat to suffer a little more turns and points out to him, "Not quite. Yours is still going strong." Happy lets out a scream of anguish at this news.

Lucy, Vela, Gray, and Natsu all start running back towards the village with the latter calling out "Erza! Gramps!"

Happy on the other hand is still worried about his own predicament. "Get this thing off of my head. Its' not funny when the joke's on me."

Right as both groups make it back to the village center the lines on the ground begin glowing with a mysterious red light. Upon noticing this Natsu calls out to Happy. "Be careful, Happy."

The cat also noticing the strange glow lets out an affirmative, "Aye." 

Some of the buildings also begin glowing and appear to be shaking as if they were transforming into something else. "Woah, what's with this place?" Natsu asks.

"Why is everything moving?" Lucy questions with terror in her voice.

Happy forgetting the severity of the situation chimes in with, "It looks like the houses are having a dance party huh?"

"I think you're missing the point here," Lucy comments.

"Not the time, Happy," Vela adds.

Makarov looking at the markings on the ground says to himself, "It can't be."

Gray now with his shirt off and getting into a fighting position calls out, "It's time to rumble, Gramps."

But before Gray or anyone else can move to strike Makarov urgently exclaims, "No wait!"

"What? Why?"

"We need to get to higher ground." Makarov starts to turn towards one of the nearby cliffs. "There's something I have to check."

"Alright guys, let's go." At Erza's command the rest begin to follow suit. "Try to stay close."

From atop the cliff the Fairy Tail wizards can all see that the village has now completely transformed into a cluster of vicious monsters. All looking for their next meal. "Oh man, looks like we got out just in time," Natsu comments.

"Yeah, any longer and we'd all be monster chow," Vela says. 

Erza now realizing what those marks were on the village ground says, "Now I see. It was a magic circle."

"So that's what those markings were. It all makes sense now," Vela adds. The rest turn towards the girls in shock.

The Master confirms the girls' trains of thought. "That's right. Those lines we saw in the village were carved into the ground to form a massive magic circle. A circle used for a type of magic that was banned many years ago. A form of sealing magic that is known as Alive."

"What does it do?" Lucy asks.

"See for yourself." Makarov then gestures to the several beasts down below. "It's exactly what it looks like. It has the ability to turn inanimate objects into living creatures. It appears the villagers cast the forbidden spell, only to end up being eaten by the very monsters they brought to life." 

"But why would they use magic that's been banned?" Lucy continues.

"This village," Erza begins to answer, "was home to a dark guild."

"No way," Natsu gasps in shock. It's one thing for it to be a couple of bad eggs, but an entire village is insane. 

"I figured as much. Who else would be willing to use such dark and powerful magic?" Vela says.

"While I was investigating, I came across a collection of magic tools tucked away in a shed. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were tools used to practice black magic."

Makarov chimes in with his own theory of what most likely happened. "Knowing how reckless dark guilds can be, they probably thought up some crazy plan and wound up getting burned in the process. But there's one thing we should be grateful for."

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?" Natsu inquires.

"Wait, I think I know what's he going to say and I think I'm going to have to pass," Vela chimes in.

"The dark guild's mischief brought these creatures to life, and most living creatures can be turned into...Food!"

The Master's response makes Lucy let out a gasp of surprise and slight disgust, Vela to sigh in exhaustion, and the boys begin to smirk. "That smirk makes your nakedness creepier Gray." And Lucy wasn't wrong in her observation.  All of a sudden everyone's stomachs let out one loud simultaneous growl which echoed throughout the whole canyon.

"Now time to chow!" Natsu gleefully exclaims.

"Yeah!" Happy shouts out with the mushroom still on top of his head. "I'm right behind you, Natsu!"

"At this point I don't even care what they taste like!" Gray adds with equal enthusiasm. 

However out of all of them the first to head straight for the pit of monsters is Erza. As she dives headfirst towards them Lucy lets out a cry of "Even Erza's gonna eat those things?!"

It's at that moment that Natsu, Gray and Happy follow suit with the pink headed wizard saying, "Time to get my grub on!"

This just leaves Lucy, Vela, and Makarov left standing on the cliff. "Wait, you're crazy!" the blonde screams out.

"Save some for me, you two!" Makarov calls out while holding up a peace sign.

"Try to finish this quickly, I'd like to make it back to the guild before sundown." Vela then directs her attention towards Natsu and Happy. "But don't eat too fast or else you'll both end up having stomach aches that I'll have to nurse you guys back to health from." Upon hearing this Gray begins to snicker at how the flame brained idiot is being babied by his older sister. Realizing he's being made fun of, Natsu can only stick out his tongue in retaliation while also slightly blushing from embarrassment at his sister's nagging. Seeing as how Gray had begun to make fun of her little brother Vela decides to even the scales. "And Gray put your clothes back on. I don't think even the monsters want a view of all that." This then causes the boys to reverse roles.

Natsu is the first to land and as he comes face to face with a large gray serpentine like monster he calls out "Listen up, dinner! Before I eat you let me tell you a little secret." The creature begins to roar. "I'm an awesome chef and..." Natsu then sets both his hands on fire "I love to flambe!" He then jumps towards the monster while shouting "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" He manages to hit is square in the throat. "Sorry pal, but you're toast!" He then hits it on top of its head with another "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Now that the monster is severely weakened Natsu goes for the finishing blow. "Now that he's cooked..." He then kicks into a nearby cliff causing a landslide of rocks to fall onto of the monster taking it out for good. Natsu lets up a peace sign while saying "We'll cover him up and let him steam for a bit."    

Not too far away Gray, still shirtless, is working on cooking his own dinner. "Normally I'd save dessert for after the meal, but not today." Two large monsters start heading straight towards him with its jaws unhinged but Gray calls out "Ice Make Fishnet!" which causes all the monsters to become frozen in their spots. "Anyone want to try a monster popsicle?" 

Off to the side even Happy has decided to take down on his own monsters. The monster in question being that of a small chair which Happy is fending off with a club with nails sticking out of it. "Even if you're a chair you can't taste worse than a winged fish!" The chair starts to get more aggressive with its attacks. "Hey!" The chair then strikes at where Happy was standing causing the cat to fly up into the air and land on the chair's seat. It then starts to try bucking Happy off while also running away causing the cat to let out screams of fright.

Vela seeing all this go down thinks to herself. I'm sure he'll be fine. If he gets too far I'll go get him, but for now this can be teaching lesson in why he should listen to me. It seems that the mushroom still on top of his head isn't punishment enough.   

Lucy having caught up to Erza calls out to her, but the redhead only calls out. "Stand back. It's time to start cooking."

"Uh, cooking with what?"

Vela having caught up with the two girls puts a hand on Lucy's shoulder and says, "Just wait and see."

Erza then requips into a white apron with blue bow on the front and frills with a black bodysuit on underneath with a large chef's hat and wielding two large cooking knives. There are also several more floating above her along with some ladles. She then takes several large swings towards the monsters which cuts them up into several tiny pieces which all accumulated into a large pile.     

Lucy can only look on in shock a that sheer amount of bite sized sticks that seem to keep raining down. Vela only looks on in amusement and slight disgust as the scent coming from the monster's is quite unappealing. "The trick is to cut them into perfectly bite sized pieces that are 5 centimeters long and 4 millimeters wide."

"I think you got a little carried away!" It's at that moment Lucy notices the swordswoman's choice of clothing. "And what's with the weird outfit you're wearing?"

From atop his perch on the cliff Makarov can hear various calls of "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" "Ice Make Knuckle!" and a cacophony of Happy's terrified screaming and Erza's battle cries. "I wish they would hurry. I'm starving here."     

Down below Natsu's monster is now charred and steaming from underneath all the rubble which means it's time to chow down. "Time to dig in!" Natsu then breaks off a piece from one of the tentacles sticking out. But before he can take a bite, he sees Happy wrestling with the chair still. "What the heck's going on with, Happy? I don't care how hungry he is, he can't eat a chair."

Back with the girls Erza turns to Lucy and suggests, more like commands, "Lucy, go ahead you try it first."

This causes her to raise up her arms in an X motion and with a scowl on her face replies, "Not a chance!"

Vela pipes in saying, "You are the one that jumped in headfirst to make these things our dinner. You should have the first bite Erza, don't make Lucy your sacrificial lamb."

"Fine, I'll do it." She then picks up one of the many sticks. 

"That's cold, Erza! You were trying to make me your personal guinea pig just like Vela said, weren't you?" Happy can be seen still going at it with the chair behind them which grabs Lucy's attention. "Um, do you think we should help him?" 

"No just leave him." Vela then crosses her arms with a pointed look on her face. "If things get out of hand I'll get him, but for now this is his punishment for not listening to be earlier about the mushroom and then whining about it."

"Wow, that's pretty harsh."

"Yes, Vela has barely any tolerance when it comes to Natsu and Happy going against her better judgement." Erza then mentally prepares herself to take a bite from the monster. "Well here goes." A resounding crunch can be heard as she bites the stick in half.   

"So, how is it?" Lucy asks in curiosity. Erza doesn't verbally respond. She instead hands the remaining half of the stick to Lucy for her to try for herself. This causes Lucy to sweat drop, but she replies with a reluctant "Alright you win." She then takes the offered food but turns to the other girl beside her. "Do you want to split this with me, Vela?"

"No, but thanks for the offer. I think I'll still just stick with my sunlight for now." Vela then turns her face to side to hide the slight grimace that has made its way onto her face. If those things taste anything like they smell then I don't think I'll be missing out on much.   

Meanwhile Gray has also broken off a piece of frozen monster for himself to try. "Well, it ain't pretty. Hope it tastes better than it looks." 

As all three take a bite, all their faces transform into expressions of disgust as all let out loud yells of "Gross!" 

Natsu then head back to where Makarov is sitting and asks the old man, "What were you thinking, Gramps?! There's no way we can eat this nasty stuff!"

Gray equally as peeved off yells, "You trying to kill us you old geezer!?"

Erza sticking with a calmer approach only agrees, "True. I would hardly call this edible."

This causes Lucy to then turn her anger towards Erza as she still offered her a bite even though the redhead already knew it was foul tasting. "If you knew it was hardly edible why'd you force me to eat it?!"

"Sometimes she can be a little petty, Lucy," Vela tries to comfort the girl. It's at that moment that the chair and Happy end up ramming into a cliff wall causing them to end up in a heap on the ground. It also causes Happy's mushroom to finally fall off. 

"You're mushroom finally fell off, look," Gray comments.

This only causes the cat to start yelling out in annoyance and frustration. "I don't care about the stupid mushroom! I wanna know why you guys didn't help me!" Natsu and Gray only stare at him in confusion. "How could you be so mean? I thought we were friends!"

"We are," Natsu reassures with certainty. 

"You were just goofing off, right?" Gray asks. 

That question causes Happy to go white in shock at how little his so-called friends cared about him. He then turns towards a certain purple headed mage. "Well, what about you, Vela? I know you saw me and you're not as dumb as those guys are, so you knew I needed help."

"Yes, I did. But I thought that chair could help teach you a lesson in why you should listen to me about not eating strange things."

Happy has look a realization of his face at the fact that Vela is still slightly mad at him for disobeying her. The cat now learning his lesson goes up to nuzzle her legs with a defeated look on his face. "I'm sorry, Vela. I promise I'll listen to you next time you tell me not to eat weird mushrooms."

Vela not being able to resist his cute charm only sighs. "Ok, you're forgiven." She picks him up into her arms to give him a snuggle. "And let's try for there not to be a next time, ok?"

"Aye."

The two then rejoin the rest of the group catching Erza asking, "What are we going to do now? I would rather starve than eat more of that stuff." 

"Guess that's what we get for trying to cook up a bunch of monsters," Gray says.

"Man, this sucks. All that barbequing made me even hungrier than before," Natsu adds.

As Vela is still absorbed in trying to comfort Happy, one those giant monsters appear right behind them. As it goes to take a bite out of them Natsu knocks it down while yelling out a "Look out!" 

Gray then hurries towards the two and leads Vela away from it with a hand on her waist. But this is of little to no use as the whole area is surrounded by those things leaving them all cornered. "Man, these things are nasty," the ice wizard comments. 

"In more ways than one," Erza agrees.

"Yeah, there's something really off about them," Vela says.

Seeing as how they're only way out is to fight that is just what they all get ready to do. "I'm gonna blow you all to pieces!" Natsu then jumps up into the air with a "Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" Which knocks a lot of the monsters down.

Not far away Gray shouts out an "Ice Wall!" causing several of the creatures to become stuck in ice. Erza has requiped into her Heaven's Wheel Armor which slices up several of the beasts at once.

Since Vela had been sunbathing all day, she gathers all that accumulated light energy into her hands and does a large sweeping motion while yelling out a cry of "Celestial Dragon Solar Wind!" This releases a broad flaming arc that sliced and burned all the creatures in her path.

Lucy seeing how everyone else is giving it their all says, "I want to help!" She then grabs one of her golden celestial keys and calls out "Open Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!" A large cow like being with a large axe appears with a resounding moo. 

There seem to be hearts in his eyes and steam coming out of his nose as he gazes in a creepy way at his mage. "You're looking smooth as usual Miss Lucy."

The blonde used to his "compliments" only replies with "Less passion more bashing."

"She loves my moooves." And the sprit begins to do just as he was commanded. With one swing of his axe into the ground several of the monsters are cut up and sent flying into the air. However, even with all the fire, ice, sunlight, and weaponry going on there seems to be no end to the beasts.

"They just keep coming," Natsu observes.

Vela blasts one of the monsters away just for another to take its place. "It's like they're never ending." 

The monsters then all begin to start thrashing wildly even knocking into the cliff sides. "Great, what's happening now?" Lucy worriedly questions. 

A bright purple glow appears beneath them which seems to engulf the monsters. "That magic circle!" Gray calls out.

"Are you kidding me?" Natsu complains. 

Happy not being able to read the room comments, "Oh wow! It's so pretty!"

"You're missing the point again! What's going on in that messed up little head of yours?!" Lucy asks incredulously. 

"This is bad," Erza says to herself. The monsters seem to be shrinking into the ground and all their thrashing about is causing all the cliffs to become unstable. Especially the one that the Fairy Tail wizards are all standing on. "Run for it!" Erza commands, but it's too late as the ground gives way and they're all sent spiraling towards the bottom.

It's a little while later and they all seem to be unharmed as they have all resumed their trek to the Fairy Tail guildhall. What has also resumed is Natsu's complaining. "I'm starving, like for real."

Happy then flies by also complaining but instead about the long journey back and his exhaustion. "I can't walk another step you guys." 

"Well good thing you have wings unlike the rest of us you show off," Gray comments as the cat has been flying in front of them the whole way from the village to now.

"He has a point, Happy. So for now try to keep the whining to a minimum. It's starting to give me headache," Vela points out.

Lucy still thinking about what transpired at the village says, "I still don't get what happened." 

Erza also still confused on recent events turns towards Makarov, "Um, Master?"

"Yes?"

"I'm not satisfied with your explanation, sir."

"That so." 

Instead of pit of monsters a group of wizards now stand before the Fairy Tail team. "Now spill it," Natsu demands. "What were you trying to pull?"

A woman with short black hair sitting in front answers him. "We were using the magic circle to cast forbidden spells. But those monsters appeared and took over everyone in town."

Erza chimes in "So the monsters, we fought, you were all trapped inside of them?"

At this revelation Lucy becomes even more revolted at the fact Erza made her try one of those things. "Ugh, you made me taste one of those things." Vela starts to pat the girl's head in sympathy.

A man with a coconut tree for hair adds "When you stepped into the circle it activated the spell, and we no longer had any control of ourselves."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that happening again," Makarov reassures which causes the guild of wizards to let out gasps of shock.

Natsu equally as confused asks, "What do you mean by that, Gramps?"

"There's no need to sweat the details, my boy." Makarov then directs all his attention towards the villagers and begins to lecture them. "Now as for all you villagers, you should be grateful that someone came along to free you from your possession. I assume you've learned your lesson from this gross misuse of magic and as long as it doesn't happen again I won't report you to the council. Is that a deal?"

The woman from earlier answers with "Yes, of course. We never want to go through that again. Thank you so much."

"You have our word," says the coconut haired man. Makarovs nods in approval.

Erza continues with her questioning "When we finally defeated the monsters, it seemed to activate some kind of self-destruction spell within the magic circle. That's when you came in. In the blink of an eye, you saved us, freed the dark guild from the takeover spell, and destroyed the magic circle before it flattened the village and everyone in it. How did you do it?"  

"I'll tell ya someday. But what matters now is..." His train of thought is then continued by everyone else.

"We're still hungry!"

A/N

Just wanted to leave a small note to mention that I really love a lot of the fillers that are part of Fairy Tail. Some make great transitioning points from arc to arc and others just have a lot of moments that can be used to delve deeper into Vela's character and the interpersonal relationships she has with the other guildmembers. So I will be writing for quite a few of them with exception to a few *cough* Daphne Arc *cough*. 

Anyways thanks so much for reading and don't be afraid to post comments I'd love to hear from you guys :) I had been thinking about the moniker I gave Vela in Fairies in the Wind (Heavenly Goddess Asteria) and was wondering if you guys like it or if you have some better ideas I would love to hear them cause I'm honestly kind of iffy about it right now. 

[beanea04]

The Light of Fairy Tail Masterlist

Summary: It's the Fairy Tail guild as you know and love them, but this time there's an added twist. Meet Vela Zephyris a talented young wizard who only wants to protect her friends and family. Join her adventures with Team Natsu where there will be friendship, laughs, and even a little romance. (Will follow the anime. Magic created by user Deathgr was given permission to use. Crossposted on AO3 Fanfic and Quotev.)

Prologue

The Wizard in Armor & the Mage in Moonlight

Fairies in the Wind

Flame & Wind

The Strongest Team

Natsu Devours a Village

Natsu vs. Erza

The Cursed Island

Moon Drip

Natsu vs Yuka the Wave User & Vela vs Toby

Just Do Whatever!!!

Eps 15 & 16

Burst

Reach the Sky Above

Changeling

Natsu & the Dragon Egg

[beanea04]

The Strongest Team

       In a land far far away lies the Kingdom of Fiore. A small peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic, found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most magic is merely a tool a mundane part of everyday life. For some however magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice, these are the wizards. Banded together in magical guilds they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless ledges have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name is Fairy Tail.

Years ago, the evil wizard Zeref crafted a skull shaped flute infused with black magic. It is known as Lullaby, for its melody causes those unfortunate enough to hear it, to fall into an eternal slumber. The battle for the possession of this forbidden instrument is being waged at this very moment.   

Constant barrages of wind are causing Natsu to use all his force just to stay standing. 

"Natsu!", Happy cries out worriedly.

"Hehe, now do you understand little fly?" Erigor is still surrounded in his wind armor, rendering him almost untouchable. "Your fire can never defeat wind!"

"This is intense." Natsu's arms are crossed in front of his face. "It's like standing inside a typhoon!"

"It's time to bow your flame out for GOOD!" The winds grow even stronger. Enough to send Natsu almost toppling over the edge of the tracks again. "Now, Storm Shred!" Wind in the shape of sharp edges burst out of the storm mail. They're fast, but Natsu's faster as he manages to dodge every hit.

He uses his flames to propel himself up towards Erigor, but he's stopped midway by the wind. "I have to break through", he grits out. But it's still no use as he's thrown back down again. "I can't even get close enough to land a punch on this guy. Now what?"

The Strongest Team

"Feeling a little frustrated? Don't be too hard on yourself, you never had a chance against me", he stops to chuckle. "Don't worry I'm going to put an end to this now. My Soaring Phoenix Magic rips everything to shreds." His Storm Mail is not spiraling all around him in different directions. It's as if each of his limbs is covered in a mini twister. "Emera Baram!" Several magic circles appear.

"That's a dangerous spell, Natsu!" Happy warns. "Whatever you do don't let it touch you, ok?!"

Erigor holds out both of his pointer and middle fingers out in front of him in the shape of an X. "Goodbye Fairy Tail fly!" The winds are stronger than they've ever been before. A whole onslaught of wind travels down the tracks and gets a direct hit on Natsu. 

Happy sees him fly overhead and land hard on his back. He looks to be stunned, but there's no time to rest as Erigor prepares for his next attacks. "Come on, Natsu! You have to get up! Hurry!"

"Hohoho, I'm surprised his body is still in one piece after that attack! Not too shabby for a wizard so young!" 

"Natsu!", Happy exclaims as the dragon slayer is still on the ground unmoving.

"After I play a melody on the Lullaby for those old guild fools, they'll be joining you in your eternal rest!"

At the mention of the masters being harmed, Natsu finds the strength to get back up. "All you talk about is that stupid flute!" He then takes off his vest and throws it into the wind, leaving his upper half in only his scarf. "If you wanna kill the guild masters then you're gonna have to get past me!" 

"You tell him Natsu!", Happy jumps up overjoyed

"Impossible! How are you even standing?!"

"Enough talking! It's time to start fighting!" He engulfs his hands in fire and jumps towards Erigor. "Come on!"

Erigor having already been through this routine knows that the fire user's efforts are futile. "I told you; you're wasting your time!" He's right as Natsu gets shoved back.

His whole body is then covered in flames as he grips onto the side of the tracks. "No! What's wrong with me?! I can't even get close to him!" He starts to melt and bend the railways as he grows more infuriated with himself. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I HAVE TO BEAT HIM!"

He lets out a loud cry that resonates to the rest of the canyon. His outburst causes his fire to grow and get even hotter, some of it even splitting off onto different rocks. What is this? Erigor looks on in confusion. The angrier he gets, the more intense his flames become.

"Wow," Happy says in awe at the power of his best friend. "He's really doing it. He's changing the direction of the wind."

Natsu continues to cry out as his flames get even more intense. He even breaks apart the railway he was holding onto in half all while covered in a constant stream of fire. Erigor is beginning to see the predicament he is now in. "The flames of emotion. But how could that be?! It's an ancient magic. Where did this kid learn how to use it?" He begins to feel something off with his magic as his body is slowly descending towards the ground and his armor is starting to weaken. "It's drawing my wind towards him?!"

Upon hearing this Happy gets a great idea. "That's it!" He turns to grab Natsu's attention. "Natsu!"

Amidst his shouting Natsu still turns to give his friend attention. He probably just wants to warn him to be careful again. "Huh?"

However, it's actually the complete opposite. "You stink," he starts to wave around his paw in a whatever motion. "Just give up and let Gray handle this cause you're never gonna win. No wonder he's Vela's favorite." 

The flames go out completely as Natsu stands stunned in utter disbelief. But then the sound of tick marks can be heard as the flames somehow get ever larger as Natsu, screams out "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Erigor is not completely uncovered as all his wind is being used to fuel Natsu's fire. "His flames are blowing away my storm mail." The wind is now completely gone. "Curse you."

Natsu's flames are heating the air around him. Happy begins to explain the situation to himself. The hot air creates a vertical updraft which also creates a low-pressure area. It's wind always blows from high-pressure to low-pressure areas. 

"I'M GONNA TAKE YOU DOWN!"

For the first time Erigor seems to be in fear for his life. His fire magic is so strong. Surely, he couldn't be... But his train of thought is interrupted by Natsu heading headfirst straight into Erigor's gut. "Fire Dragon Soaring!" This causes Erigor to go flying into the air. The dragon slayers, they truly exist. He then lands headfirst into the ground and is buried waist deep into the rock.

"Did ya like that, Happy?" Natsu needs to make sure that the cat knows he's better than Gray.

"You showed him if you mess with the Salamander, you're gonna get toasted!" Happy cheers matter of factly. 

"You weren't too sure of me earlier," Natsu's still feeling a little petty.     

Happy not wanting to get into trouble for his insults put on an innocent facade hoping to put everything behind them. "Cats have a really bad short-term memory you know."

Erigor can be seen completely unconscious, but that doesn't matter to Natsu right now. What does is that Happy knows Natsu's the best. "You said I'd never be able to beat him and that I should leave it to Erza or something like that and that Vela doesn't believe in me." 

"Woah, your memory must be even worse than mine. I said Gray not Erza," the cat says. "And I never said Vela doesn't believe in you just that Gray was her favorite." Honestly the cat believes that there's may a smidge of truth to that one, but Natsu doesn't need to know that. "But it doesn't matter cause you won Natsu!" 

Natsu lets it go and decides to bask in the praise instead. "You bet I did!" he says with a carefree smile. "But I'm not really sure how I pulled off that last attack."

"Guess you're just that awesome!"   

"I guess so! Hahaha!" But what they both fail to see is how Lullaby's eyes begin to glow.

However, it's gone as quickly as it appeared when Natsu hears a sudden cry of his name. "Natsu!" It was Lucy as she and the rest of the group have finally caught up with him in the magic mobile.   

"Hey! You guys just missed seeing me beat Erigor!"   

"Aye!"

"I'm proud of you," Erza says breathlessly as she's completely exhausted from driving at practically full speed the entire day.

Vela is now out of the torture machine and is leaning heavily against Gray with one of her arms around his shoulders and one of his around her waist, as she's trying to stabilize herself. At some point when getting out of the car, Gray had lost his shirt and thankfully only that. "Yeah, you did great little brother."

Erza is in a similar position as her magic energy is dangerously low. Lucy's trying to help support most of her weight, but the sight of the powerful wizard so exhausted worries her. "You gonna be ok, Erza?"

Erza smiles at the blonde reassuringly, "Yes, don't worry about me."

Kage, now feeling slightly better, has also gotten out of the car to see if what he's hearing is really true. No way! Erigor never loses. He gulps at the realization of just how powerful Fairy Tail wizards truly are.

"I can't believe you had such a hard time with this guy," Gray comments towards the pink haired wizard while still supporting Vela.

"I never said that! I took care of him, didn't I?"

"I was kinda worried for a while there." Happy says, mostly directed at Vela.  

"Whatever," Gray then makes note of Natsu's state of dress. "You look pretty stupid wearing a scarf when you're half naked."

"Like you have room to talk. Not to mention you're getting all touchy feely with my sister." Natsu then tries to bat Gray's hands away from her, but the ice wizard backs up in response, so he misses.

This goes on longer than it should, so Vela decides to take matters into her own hands. "Would you two quit being so childish?" She then smacks them both upside the head. "If you guys can't behave then I'll just have to keep discipling you until you do, but I don't think either of you want that do you?"

The boys now sporting fresh bumps let out simultaneous, "No, ma'am." This causes Lucy and Erza to giggle at how the boys were putty in Vela's hands. 

At the sound of Lucy's laughter, Natsu turns towards her and demands, "Hey Lucy, gimme your clothes." 

"In your dreams!" she yells.

That ridiculous request earns him another smack. "What did I just say Natsu!?"

This whole spectacle causes Erza to laugh a little harder, now feeling a sense of peace wash over her at the immediate threat no longer being an issue. "Anyways, well done Natsu. Thanks to you all the guild masters will be safe now." Lucy and Vela both nod in agreement. "While we're here I think we should go stop by the guild masters conference to tell them what happened and ask them how we should properly dispose of the Lullaby flute."

"Might as well since we're so close to Clover," Happy chimes in.

"Ok, but this time I'm flying with Happy," Vela then towards Natsu, "And you can experience what I've been through for the past hour."

"Sounds, good to me!" Happy says as his magic power is almost completely back after flying with Natsu and Clover isn't too far away from where they currently are.

"What?! That's not fair, he's my best friend!" Natsu whines.

"Too bad. Think of it as your punishment for scaring me half to death when you ran off on your own."

"But sis!"

However, their playful banter is interrupted by the sound of the magic mobile's engine being started. Everyone manages to dodge out of the way just in time before Kage could run them all over.

"Kage!" Erza cries out.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Gray demands while helping Vela back onto her feet.

Kage, in the driver's seat of the magic mobile, uses his shadows to pick up Lullaby and makes his getaway. "Lullaby's mine now! Shouldn't have let your guard down, flies! HAHAHA!"   

Everyone can stand frozen in shock. "That jerk!" Natsu howls.

"This is how he pays us back after saving his life?!" Lucy screams out.

"After him!" Erza demands.

Vela then turns towards Happy and urges, "Happy come on, I'll use my light as a booster so we can try to catch up to him!"

"Aye!" Happy then picks Vela up and begins to fly after Kage.

"Hey sis! Where are you guys going!?"

"I'm gonna try and catch him!" Vela then produces light from her feet which act similarly to Natsu's fire boosters. "Don't worry I'll meet you guys there!" The girl and the cat are then gone in an instant. The rest make do on foot.

Hours later when night has fallen, the royal magic army have assembled in numerous squads all heading towards Clover. "We have received reports that Eisenwald is plotting to murder the guild masters at their conference in Clover," one of the captains say. "I won't let that happen on my watch. We have to stop them. Let's show those wizards the might of the Fiore Army!"

"Yes, Sir!" the rest of guard chant.

In a different area Kage has finally made it to the conference hall and is planning what his next step should be. Yeah, this'll work. Surely they'll be able to hear Lullaby's song from here. Finally, the time has come. Kage's distracted by noises coming from behind him, however.

It seems to be Master Makarov who is sitting by himself on a rock near where Kage currently is and not far from the conference hall. He seems to be reading an issue of Sorcerer Weekly and ogling at the pinup models. "There's some hot little numbers in this week's issue. Wow young wizarding ladies are so much more powerful now than they were back in my day." He then looks up with a blush on his face, not noticing Kage's presence but Kage has noticed his. "And sexier too." But then he suddenly gets up from his seat. "Gah, I don't have time for this! I need to catch up to those fools before they can destroy and entire town." 

It's at that moment Makarov finally notices the man behind him. In his utter embarrassment he tries to hide the magazine behind, realizing that the young man had already seen he tries to make up excuses. "It's not what it looks like!", he starts to flail his arms about. "I was doing some research on female wizards! It was innocent and I have no reason to be ashamed!"

"I don't care what you're doing," Kage sighs out exasperated. 

It's at this moment the old man sees how Kage's entire torso is wrapped in bandages. "You've been hurt badly boy. You shouldn't be wandering around in your condition." 

"Yes, sir. You're right." Kage then recognizes the symbol on Makarov's shirt. Hold on, that's Makarov, the master of the Fairy Tail guild. Why do I keep running into these flies? But before Makarov can go back to the conference hall, Kage realizes that this is the perfect opportunity. "Excuse me", he calls out and then holds out Lullaby. "I don't suppose you care to hear a song. They wouldn't let me play my flute while I was in the hospital." This causes Makarov to pause. "It'd mean a lot to play for someone again."

"That's one creepy looking flute you got there."

"I know, but it has a beautiful sound."

Makarov hums in contemplation. "Well, I should be going, but I guess one song couldn't hurt."

"Oh, thank you." Kage's face then morphs into a sinister smile. We win. "Be sure to listen carefully, ok sir?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Kage then holds the flute up to his lips. This is it. But Kage hesitates as he remembers the words of all his guild members. About how stupid legal guilds were and how they'll finally be able to take back their rights with the use of Lullaby. But he also remembers the words of the Fairy Tail wizards and how despite everything he had done to them they were still willing to try and save him.

Up on a nearby cliff Team Natsu can see Kage about to play Lullaby for their master. "There he is", Gray says.

"Gramps!"

"Master!"

However, their calls for their master are interrupted by a hush from Master Bob. His sudden appearance causes the boys and Lucy to spring back in surprise. "We're just about to get to the good part", he says. Master Bob then gets a good look at the two boys and gets a dreamy look on his face. "Well, aren't you boys yummy. So adorable." Natsu and Gray start shaking.

Lucy can only look on in confusion at who this strange man is. "Who the heck is that guy?!" she whispers in Erza's ear. At this point Master Bob had managed to get so close to the boys' personal space they had no choice but to fall backwards as to not get smothered. 

"Master Bob," Erza answers. 

"Erza, honey you have really filled out. You and Vela have gotten so mature since the last time I've seen you girls."

Lucy only contorts in surprise at her answer and the man's comment. "You're telling me that weirdo's the Master of the Blue Pegasus guild? And speaking of Vela where is she? I thought she would've beat us here." 

"I'm over here," said girl replies from her spot up against a tree trunk while holding Happy currently eating a fish. "And even though Master Bob is a little eccentric he's still a respected wizard."

"How long have you been there?!" Lucy asks.

"I only got here about a half hour before you guys. I was gonna go and try to stop Kage, but Master Bob told me to just wait and see, and I trust his judgement." She turns to look at said Master. "However, I would appreciate it if you left the boys alone. They've been through a lot today already." Natsu and Gray are now using Vela as a shield with their heads peeking out over her shoulders. 

"Oh, my apologies deary. I didn't realize you were so possessive. Now I understand you're just looking out for your brother, but don't forget to let that boyfriend of yours have some breathing room." This causes all three of them to have their hand stand up in surprise. 

"What?!" You've got it all wrong sir. Gray and I aren't together," Vela says trying to keep her composure, but the blush on her cheeks says otherwise. 

"Yeah, we're just friends!" Gray is now standing a couple feet away from the girl as if she had just burned him. And it would look as if she did considering his entire face was red hot.

"Yeah! My sister would never date someone like Gray! She deserves way better than some undie flashing freak!" Natsu exclaims while stomping his feet and pointing at said "freak".

"Would all of you pipe down?! We're trying to listen!" Erza shouts above the chaos.

Down below Kage has yet to start playing Lullaby's melody and Makarov is losing his patience. "Well? I can't wait all night, young man." Hearing this, Kage goes to put the flute towards his mouth.

"Oh no!" Erza gasps.

But Master Goldmine, who's leaning against a nearby tree, is trying to enjoy the show, and all the extra racket isn't helping. "Can you guys keep it down over there? We're just about to get to the good part."

"He's with Quatro Cerberus!" Lucy exclaims in realization. 

"That's their master, Goldmine," Erza responds.

Makarov has just about had enough of this man's stalling and is at the end of his rope. "Well?" The flute's eyes begin to glow. I can do this Kage thinks to himself. I just have to play one song and that will change everything. But just before he can finally begin Makarov turns to look at him and as if he had read the young man's mind he says, "Nothing's going to change." Kage's eyes widen. How did he know that's what he was thinking.

"You cannot change the fact that those who are weak will forever remain weak." Makarov continues. "Now maybe it's just me, but I don't think that's a bad thing." Everyone up on the hill is also listening to Makarov's speech. "We humans are weak creatures by nature. Our insecurities are the reason that guilds even exist, and they're why we have friends." He turns around to give a knowing look. "When we're surrounded with allies it's easier to stay positive about the future. Think of it this way, if we're clumsy we may stumble and bump into things, but as long as we have faith in our future, we continue marching forward. Our inner strength emerges on its own." Kage looks thoughtful and has completely lowered the flute from his lips. "But we have to choose that path and pledge to live our lives to the fullest. Don't let that silly flute get in the way."

All Kage can do is stare and contemplate the wise advice that was just given to him. Finally, he drops the flute and falls to his knees in a deep bow. The rest of the Fairy Tail wizards look on relieved. "I surrender."

They all rush to join their Master. "Master," Erza calls out with a relived smile on her face.

"You stopped him!" cheers Natsu.

"Good job, Gramps," Gray compliments.

"I guess we had nothing to worry about after all," Vela says. 

Makarov is stunned at seeing his children this far from Magnolia. "Wha- How did you kids end up in Clover?"

"Master Makarov," Erza then slams the Master's entire body against her armor in a hug which catches him very off guard. "Your words have touched me so deeply that I was almost moved to tears." But the Master can barely register her words as her strong grip and sudden impact from her armor have left him a little dazed. 

"Well, it looks like we got here just in time to Gramps talk his way out of another one," Gray says with his arm wrapped around Vela's waist as she jumps up and down in glee. Masters Bob and Goldmine have joined the rest, Lucy is checking on Kage, and Natsu is aggressively patting the top of Makarov's head. 

But this joyous moment is interrupted by a sudden demonic laugh coming from the flute as its eyes start to glow. It begins to emit a dark aura and shouts out "I've grown tired of you cowardly wizards and your antics!" Everyone looks over in horror at the fact that the flute has seemingly come to life.

"Something came out!" Happy shouts as a large magic circle appears overhead.

Purple lightning begins to rain down as black smoke fills the air. "I can no longer hold back! I shall come forth to devour you myself!" The flute has now transformed into a gigantic monster made entirely out of wood. It stands taller than even the mountains. "I shall feast upon your pitiful souls!"

"It's so big!" Lucy screams.

Happy not one to miss an opportunity claps back with "Way to state the obvious!"

Kage had never expected something like this to happen as Erigor had never mentioned that the flute was a living being. "What is that thing?! Erigor never said anything about a monster!"

"We're in a pickle," Master Bob sighs.

"It must be a demon from the Book of Zeref," Goldmine answers. The rest of the guild masters start running out of the conference hall in terror. 

"Why did the flute turn into a monster?!" Lucy asks.

"That's what Lullaby's true form looks like in the flesh," Goldmine says. "It's forbidden black magic, living magic, Zeref's specialty." 

"Living magic?" Erza says to herself not beliving what she's hearing.

"I never knew such powerful magic existed," Vela adds.

"Who's Zeref?" Gray questions. "Wasn't he some ancient wizard?"

This time Master Bob answers. "He's the most evil wizard the world has ever known. He was very powerful in his day, but in my wildest dreams I never thought his dark legacy would pop back up again." 

Lullaby then leans down in order to get a closer look at which soul it should consume first. "Now then, which of these delectable souls shall I dine on first?"

"Delectable huh?" Natsu then turns towards his sister and Gray with childlike curiosity. "Do you think souls are really that tasty?"    

"How should we know what they taste like?" They say together. 

"Always thinking about eating!" Lucy says in exasperation from the boy's obsession with food.

"Natsu and Gray get everyone to a safe place!" Erza commands.

"Quit barking orders!" Natsu says in response.

Gray for once agrees with him "Yeah, you're not the boss of us!"

Fed up with their defiance Erza glares and says, "Just do it!"

The boys then go skipping off arm in arm with a simultaneous "Aye! Aye!"

"Another bad Happy impression," Lucy observes.

From the other side the Royal Army has finally made their appearance. One of the captains calls out "No giant wooden demon is gonna scare off the Fiore Army! CHARGE!"

"YES, SIR!"

But before they can even move the demon tuns around and lets out a demonic screech. "You doubt my power?! I'll prove it to you!" It then lets out a giant beam of light towards one of the mountains blowing it to bits in an explosion that nearly blind everyone in the aftermath. 

The guards and everyone else look around in astonishment at the sheer magnitude of the creature's power. One of them asks "Captain, are we scared yet?!"

"Now men, retreat! Run for your lives!" And they all go to exactly that.

"I have no need for those pathetic humans." Lullaby then turns to look back at the remaining wizards. "I prefer the taste of a wizard soul, and I will consume all of yours!"

"Oh, yeah?!" Natsu shouts in defiance. "I'd like to see you try! Bring it on, big guy!"

The rest of the guild masters have backed up a safe distance and with complete faith in the Fairy Tail members they let out a loud "Good Luck!" 

Lucy not as sure says to herself, "Can those four defeat Lullaby on their own?"

Trying to be helpful Happy suggests, "You should help them."

"Normally I would but none of my celestial spirits are available right now, and I'd just probably just slow them down."

"Good excuse," the cat says knowingly.  

"Don't judge me cat!"

Lullaby then lets out a horrific scream causing everyone to try and cover their ears, but it's futile. Well, everyone except Makarov as he has complete faith in his wizards. 

"Ready?" Erza asks the three with her sword drawn.

"Oh yeah!" they all respond. They all leap straight into action right towards the beast's face.

"Requip!" Erza begins to requip into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. "The Knight!" She takes two large swipes at the monster's sides. This causes it to cry out in pain. 

"Ice Make Lance!" Several shots of ice attack Lullaby all at once not giving it a moment to rest.

"Celestial Dragon Full Moon!" Vela conjures up a blue bow from the stray light of the moon she collected. She then fires off several light blue arrows at once. All hitting their intended target.

"Now it's my turn." Natsu then jumps into the air with a cry of "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" He lands a punch directly on the demon's cheek. 

The guild masters look at them all with awe at the beauty and power of their magic. "He just punched the demon with fire!"

"I didn't know ice magic could do that!"

"Look at that! She's harnessing power from the moon!"

"The girl can requip her armor!"

The four of them all land on separate smaller mountains. Lullaby is starting to get fed up with their mealtime being delayed and goes to take swipe at them in an attempt to take them all down at once. "You are making me angry!" They all jump out of the way in time, so the only thing Lullaby hits are the rocks. 

Erza goes to take another swing, Gray creates a giant crossbow that lets out a multitude of ice arrows, and Vela produces some of her star feathers causing them all to explode and burn against Lullaby's side. Finally, Natsu jumps up once more saying "I'm not finished with you" and lets out a loud cry of "Fire Dragon wing Attack!"

Kage looks on in awe at this group's teamwork. "That's incredible! Their combination attacks are so powerful!" 

"And they're in sync!" Lucy says equally as fascinated. 

"Aye!"

Lullaby having enough of their insolence begins to power up to play its melody of death. "This can't be good!" Lucy cries out.

"Here comes its song!" Happy warns.

Lullaby's scream begins to get louder and louder and the plants nearby are all starting to wither and die as their life force is being sucked out. "Look all the plants are dying!" Lucy observes.

"Lullaby is sucking the life out of them!" Happy adds.

"Just one note and your souls will be mine!" Lullaby then goes to let out it's song of death, but all that comes out is a disappointing whimper.

"What happened?!" Lucy wonders.

"Nothing happened!" Happy answers with earplugs put in just in case.

Even the demon is confused as to why it can't play its song. "I don't understand, why can't I play my melody of death?!"

"It must be because of all those attacks!" Kage gasps in realization. 

"They punched so many holes in that thing it totally messed up its sound!" Lucy says.

"That's not all," Vela starts. Everyone turns to stare at her in confusion. "Those arrows I hit you with weren't any ordinary arrows. They were made from the moon's light."

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?" Lucy inquires.

"Oh, I get it!" Happy then goes on to explain what Vela meant. "The moon has properties that allow it to undo magic, so those arrows Lullaby got hit with not only physically damaged it, but it also weakened it's magic."

"Woah, that's so awesome!" Lucy exclaims as she's just now realizing how versatile Vela's magic really is. She turns towards the girl with stars in her eyes while Vela only holds up a peace sign while sporting a smug grin. Seeing as how the demon's music can no longer play, she goes on to attack it even further. "All that buildup for nothing. Talk about going out with a whimper."

Happy jumps in as well. "Yeah, flutes are pretty lame to begin with."

Lullaby not wanting to bare this humiliation any further cries out with a notable cracking in its voice howls out "You dare mock me!" It then proceeds to kick over another mountain and stomp about like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

Gray seeing its about to attack the guild masters moves quickly. "Ice Make Shield!" His shield manages to block the fire from causing any real harm to anyone else.

"Oh wow!"

"That boy's maker magic is spectacular!"

Lucy is confused upon hearing that term. "What's maker magic?"

"Its users can give magic energy a tangible form." Happy then gets an odd look in eyes. "However, there's another type of magic that can destroy it."

"I WILL KILL YOU ALL!" As Lullaby goes to take another step further, it notices that its flames begin to disappear. The demon turns its head towards the direction the flames seem to be gravitating towards which turns out to be Natsu and Vela turning them into a late-night snack.

"Oh, yeah? Now I've got a fire in my belly!" Natsu exclaims while his sister is wiping her mouth with a satisfied smile.

"Wait, Vela can eat fire too?! I thought her element was light based!"

"It's actually all cosmic forces," Happy begins to explain to the celestial wizard. "While she'll get more magic energy from both sun and moonlight, she can consume all magic energies that use cosmic forces like fire and even lightening."

"YOU'RE BOTH NOT HUMAN!" Lullaby goes to punch at the ground Natsu and Vela were standing on. "YOU'RE MONSTERS!"

Luckily, they both managed to evade and land on the demon's extended arm instead. They both start running up it go get closer to its weak spot so they can end its reign of terror for good. "Oh, like you can talk!" they both scream out as they jump towards its face.

"STOP CLIMBING ME!"

"Requip!" Erza then changes into black armor with wings and a matching sword.

All the men below begin to swoon with hearts surrounding them. "Her armor is lovely", one comments.

"It's called Black Winged Armor, and it amplifies the power of her attacks!" another swoons.

"Ice Make Saucer!" A large spinning disk with blades is sent straight through Lullaby's torso almost cutting it completely in half. It then lets out another scream of pain as Erza manages to quickly fly past it and cut at its face with her sword. Realizing that the monster is on its last legs they call out to the dragon slayers to finish it off.

"Natsu! Vela!" Erza cries.

"Now!"

"We've got this!" They call back. Vela goes to strike first as she begins to coat her arms with black starry tornadoes. "Celestial Dragon Wing Attack!" The beast is knocked back by several explosions it got caught in.

"The flames of my right hand and the flames of my left. Put the two together", Natsu brings both hands up above his head where he has now conjured a giant ball of fire. "And this is what you get! Fire Dragon Brilliant Flame!" This causes Lullaby to let out a final shriek of pain as its monstrous form is no more. All that's left is the powerless flute and flurry of debris that look a lot like sparkles.

The four Fairy Tail wizards stand victorious as the various on lookers praise them for being their saving grace. "Well done," Makarov congratulates as he knew his wizards would be able to do it.

"You're amazing!" compliments Master Bob.

"You made defeating Zeref's demon look easy," adds Goldmine.

Lucy laughs in joy while Kage is still in disbelief at the utter power the four in front of him hold. "I can't believe how strong they are." When the dust clears Natsu, Gray, Erza and Vela can be seen practically unscathed. "Wow, are all of the Fairy Tail wizards as powerful as these four?!"

Lucy takes this as an opportunity to gush about her guildmates. "There's no doubt about it! This is the strongest team!" 

"Aye!" 

Makarov also takes this as a moment to gloat. "We're an awesome guild, aren't we?!" 

"Great work out there guys!" Lucy exclaims.

Natsu tries to brush off the compliment. "Thanks, but it wasn't a big deal." 

"Yeah, piece of cake," Gray agrees. They all go on to laugh in joy.

Kage stares at them in gratefulness as they got him to see the error of his ways. "They may be a bunch of fools, but they're stronger than I am." He then feels a hand land on his shoulder. All of a sudden, he's pulled into an uncomfortable embrace from Master Bob.

"Young man," Master Bob then starts rubbing his cheek up against Kage's. "We've gotta get you to a doctor, you precious thing."

"I can feel your stubble!" Kage cries out.

"I can't exactly say I know what just happened, but it's obvious we owe a big round of thanks to the Fairy Tail guild," Goldmine comments. However, the rest of the guild masters are a little unsure as they're looking on at the aftermath of that fight.

"Even so I must say," one of them starts. Vela then lets out a loud gasp which causes Erza to turn around and let out one as well. This then makes Natsu and Gray look back behind causing to give off similar reactions. It turns out the members had completely destroyed the conference hall. In its place is a massive crater. "They went overboard!" all the guild masters finish.

Makarov starts groaning in agony at the thought of the scolding he'll get from the Magic Council and at the fees they guild will have to pay. "The conference hall's been destroyed!" Lucy states.

"Aye!" Happy doesn't seem too surprised. "There's also a couple of mountaintops missing!" It's at that comment that Makarov seems to pass out as his spirit has begun to leave his body. "Something came out of his body!" Happy exclaims.

Natsu only laughs at this revelation. "We really made a mess of the place, huh?!" This causes almost everyone else around him to yelling as he doesn't seem to realize that he caused much more damaged than the actual demon.

"Please forgive us, Master!" Erza cries as she begins chasing around the Master's floating spirit in an effort to both apologize and but it back where it belongs. 

"I guess kids do take after their parents," Goldmine comments.

"They remind me of us when we were young wizards," Master Bob reminisces.  

"Back in ancient times?" Kage jokes.

"You know, when I was younger, I looked just like you Kagey," Master Bob adds. This causes Kage to let out a loud gasp of disbelief. Master Bob then pulls out a picture of when he was younger along with Makarov Goldmine and three others. "We had so much fun back in the old days. We were mischievous kids, so the council was always angry with us for one reason or another." Master Bob then points to handsome slim young man with flowing black hair and in a purple suit. "You see that stud in the aubergine suit? That's me." 

Kage seeing the slight resemblance let's out a scream at this revelation. "You gotta be kidding?! I'm gonna be bald and fat!?"

Goldmine tries to get his mind off of the thought of his possible future. "So, what do you think? Now that you've seen what it's like to be part of a legitimate magical guild."

"They're much more fun than the dark guilds." But Kage can't focus on Master Bob's words as he's still thinking about the fact that there might be a chance he ends up looking just like the Master of Blue Pegasus. It gets so bad that his spirit leaves his body just like Master Makarov's did.

"Something came out of him."

While Goldmine and Bob are trying to talk to Kage the rest of the guild masters have slowly begun to advance towards the Fairy Tail wizards for the destruction of the conference hall. Natsu not realizing the trouble he's in asks, "You guys trying to catch somebody? I'll do it for ya!"

This causes an uproar of "You're the one we're after!"

"Oh, yeah I forgot!" He then starts to laugh uncontrollably. 

"Don't act so casually about this, Natsu! You're the reason they all have it out for us now!" Vela scolds as she pinches Natsu by the ear.

"What?! Last time I checked we both played a part in taking that thing down! And plus, you're the older one, so shouldn't you be the one setting a good example? I was just following your lead, so if anything, it's all your fault, really!" 

"What?! Why you little-" Vela goes to make a grab at Natsu, but before she can Gray hoists her up by the waist over his shoulder. She's now hanging like a sack of potatoes. "Gray!? What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She then tries to squirm her way out of his hold, but his grip only tightens. "Would you let go?!"

"Nope, no can do!" He then starts to run with the rest of Team Natsu following as the other guild masters have had begun to make chase. "You can scold him later, we gotta get out of here first!" 

"Let go of my sister, you ice freak!" 

[beanea04]

Flame & Wind

     In a land far far away lies the Kingdom of Fiore. A small peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic, found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most magic is merely a tool a mundane part of everyday life. For some however magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice, these are the wizards. Banded together in magical guilds they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless ledges have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name is Fairy Tail.

The Oshibana Train Station 

Erza and Vela headed back inside the train station to tie up the remaining members to keep them from escaping. They've also started to interrogate each of them in hopes of one of them revealing Erigor's true plan or for a way on how they can escape the magical barrier. Erza is holding up a man, separated from the rest, by his collar while Vela is holding up her fist lit with her magic, so he doesn't try anything. "Just forget about it ladies. I already told ya there's no undoing Erigor's barrier. You and your buddies are stuck."

"Erza, Vela!" Gray calls out from the upper level, causing both girls to drop the man they were questioning and focus on Gray instead.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were with Natsu!" Erza demanded.

"We decided to split up."

"What?! Why would you think that was a good idea?!" Vela asks worried at the thought of her little brother possible facing Erigor and whatever other goons are still lurking around by himself. She knows he can take care of himself, but things have changed. 

"Never mind that now. Listen I just found out Eisenwald's real target is Clover, the next town up."

"What?" the female wizards say. 

"Erigor's heading towards the conference as we speak. He's planning to use the Lullaby to kill the guild masters."

A monstrous aura surrounds Erza as she picks the dark wizard she was questioning back up, "Why didn't you tell me?!" He starts to shake in absolute terror. She lets him go, however, and starts to explain their current dilemma to Gray who most likely hasn't seen outside yet. "There's a problem, the station is surrounded by a wind barrier."

"Yeah, I know. I saw it earlier." Gray is now on the ground level with Erza and Vela. "If you try to break through that thing, it'll make mincemeat outta ya."

"I've already tried that," Erza says while nodding to her scuffed up arm.

"And I tried throwing some of my star feathers at them, but that just ended up exploding in my face." She then gestures to the bump that has slightly gone down. "Literally." 

"Whoa is your arm ok?"

"That's not important. What is is getting out of here." 

Gray then walks over to Vela to closely inspect her forehead by placing his hand on top of her head and getting closer to her face for a better view of the injury. He has to bend down to do so as she's a couple inches shorter than him. "How about you? That looks like it might leave a mark."

"Don't worry about me I'll live." Vela then takes Gray's hand off of her head and pushes him back by the chest. "Like Erza said there's more important things we have to deal with right now. We have to stop Erigor before he reaches the guild masters' conference."

Erza then turns to the two with a revelation. "Wait a minute, I remember them talking about someone named Kage back at the pub. We have to find that man. He was the one that broke Lullaby's seal."

"A dispeller huh?" Gray then comes to the same conclusion. "A seal breaking wizard. He can take down the wind barrier." 

"That's what I'm hoping now let's start searching," Erza declares but Vela thinks she might know where he's at.

"Hang on, I think Kage's the one that was glaring at Natsu when we first came in. He's probably the one that got his ass kicked on the train. My guess is that wherever Natsu is that's where Kage will be."

"Good thinking, but there's a small problem," Gray starts, "We have no idea where that fire breathing idiot is. He could be anywhere at this point."

"Hello," Vela then points towards her nose brimming with confidence "Are you forgetting that my nose is practically better than Happy's? With my sense of smell, we'll find him in no time." 

Just as the three leave the man that Erza had yelled at begins talking to what appears to be no one. "Karacka, how long are you gonna hide back there?"

A magic sela then appears on the wall, with the man Lucy is meant to be looking for appearing through it. "I'm sorry but I was scared."

The other man can only scoff. "Find Kage before they do. Go now." 

Karacka begins to sweat. "No please don't make me you know I'm no good in a fight Byard."

"Calm down," Byrad eyes narrow, "It's a simple job. Even you can handle this." 

Flame & Wind

"Ugh this is useless. I can't find him anywhere."

"Aye," Happy agrees as he and Lucy continue to walk down an empty hall.

"What do you say we just head back to where Erza and Vela are?"

Happy screams in terror in answer, he even stopped flying.

"Woah what's with the crazy reaction?"

The cat trembling now explains why giving up is just not an option. At least not when it comes to Erza. "Erza gave you an order to go after the fat man, so you have to do what she says Lucy! Ignoring an order from Erza is never a good idea, she's gonna be super angry with you. And if I have to watch her punish you it's gonna scar me for life!"

Happy's talk has not got Lucy shaking as well, "What kinda punishment are we talking about here?!" But she momentarily stops freaking out as she remembers the other person who was there when that order was given. "But what about Vela? I'm sure she'll understand and since she doesn't seem to be all that scared of Erza, I bet she can talk her down from punishing me."

However, this bubble of hope is quickly burst. "Yeah, I wouldn't count on that. Vela may seem pretty chill at first, but once she's on a job she's all Ms. No Nonsense." Happy turn around and starts thinking of all the times he and Natsu had gotten in her way, accidental or not. "I still have nightmares about when me and Natsu used to work with her. I can never look at leather the same ever again." Happy now has tears streaming down his face. 

Lucy realizing there is no option but to continue starts to move even quicker than before. "Hey, I was just kidding! I would never give up on a mission like that!"

"The thought of an Erza and Vela smackdown scare some sense into ya?" 

"Shut up stupid cat! Whay are you even following me?!" 

All of sudden explosions can be heard from the right side of the station with some new renovations being added to the ceiling. It seems that Natsu has lost his patience and is trying to goad Erigor out from wherever he's hiding. With large flames swirling from his hands Natsu shouts out, "Erigor! Come out come out wherever you are!" And he starts blasting holes throughout each new room he enters. 

"You in here?!" But what Natsu had overlooked was the foreboding shadow that had been watching his every move.

Kage then descends from the shadow attached to the ceiling. Jeez hasn't he ever heard of using a door. He starts to get closer and closer as Natsu begins to slow down. Now that Erigor made it out to safety this kid doesn't pose much of a threat. His shadow starts slowly creeping up behind the dragon slayer. I could just let him go. But what would be the fun in that. Kage then moves to knock Natsu through a stack of barrels. "There, I've wanted to do that for a while now. Had enough Fairy Tail insect?"

Natsu struggles to back on his feet. He manages eventually, but not without getting his head stuck through a painting. He screams outraged, "Not you again!" 

Kage laughs at the buffoon standing before him. "Wow, you look like an idiot." 

"Aw shut it doggy!"

Natsu's mispronunciation of his name really sets off the shadow user. "Get it right, it's Kage!" He even starts to stomp his feet like a toddler. "The name is Kage!"

"Same thing really."

"Anyways, I think I've got you all figured out this time. You eat flames to increase your power. Isn't that your big trick? Shouldn't be hard to stamp out." 

Natsu, enraged at the disrespect towards his magic, throws the painting off of him as his head begins to catch fire. "Now I really wanna teach you a lesson, but I don't have the time!" He holds his fist out as a threat. "Tell me where Erigor is!" 

"You think I'm just gonna tell you that. If you really wanna know then you're gonna have to beat it out of me." Kage then summons his shadows once more and sends them all flying at Natsu in the form of multiple fists. "Knuckle Shadow!" 

The attack was blocked by Natsu and as a result leaves him relatively unaffected. "So I get to knock you around and I get the info I want? That killing two birds with one stone. I'm getting all fired up."

The blows from their fight start to affect the whole building. "Why is the building shaking like that?", Lucy wonders with a tremor in her voice as she has no idea whether the shockwaves are from Erigor or her destructive teammates. 

"What's with the shaking?" Gray says out loud as he stops running.

"I'm pretty sure it's Natsu, I can smell his flames from here." Vela says while starting to run faster. "Come on he's close." Gray and Erza quickly follow after her.

Meanwhile Kage is using everything he has just to land a single hit on said fire user, but he's just too quick for him as each one is a miss. Alright Fairy. "Snake Shadow!" Kage realizing he's going to have to go all in in order to defeat this fly summons a large nest of snakes all with their fangs bared. "You can't run this time! They'll tear you to pieces!"

"I got this." But Natsu doesn't seem too worried. "Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" He brings both his arms up and swings then back down towards the charging snakes, sending a barrage of fire their way causing them to be destroyed. 

Kage can only stare in disbelief at the sheer magic power this one wizard can have. "Impossible! He was able to defeat them with one shot!" In Kage's eyes Natsu is a monster with glowing red eyes ready looking for his next victim. "So much power. I didn't think wizards like this existed."

Natsu summons a fireball and still pumping with adrenaline rearing to go another round. "Are you ready to talk? If not, I've got a fireball with your name on it." 

"No! You're a monster!" The biggest explosion yet can be heard throughout the entire building.

"Was that him!?" Gray asks alerted by the gigantic boom that just resonated throughout the walls.

"Yes," Erza responds.

"Yeah, he's just through there," Vela says as she leads them to the next room.

"Was that Natsu?" Lucy asks to Happy as they're on the opposite end from where everyone else is.

"Aw man, look what you made me do. I was trying not to mess up the whole place this time. My sister's here somewhere and I know she definitely heard that blast. Now I'm gonna be in for an earful from her and it's all your fault." Natsu starts to walk towards Kage who is now leaning against a wall covered with a large scorch mark with himself being in a similar state. "Anyways I feel better. Sorry I had to take you down diorama."

"I told you it's Kageyama," the man says in a raspy weakened voice. 

"Whatever, tell me where Erigor is or your gonna get toasted." 

Kage lets out a humorless laugh. "He's long-gone you idiot. He's not even in this station anymore."

"What?!" But he's interrupted from questioning further by a familiar voice. 

"Natsu!" Erza calls out with Gray and Vela running on either side of her. "Do not harm him! We need him alive."

"What have I told you about keeping damage to a minimum?!" Vela scolds. 

"Way to go you fire freak," Gray jeers.

Natsu's confused at this because wasn't Kage the bad guy? "Huh?" But his confusion is halted as he sees Erza run up to him with her sword drawn and Vela with her fists glowing with light. He quickly starts to beg for forgiveness for whatever it is that's he done as he values his life. "I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry! AHH!"

He and Kage both let out screams as the shadow user was the one they were truly aiming for. Erza's sword had landed in the space right beside his head while one of Vela's fists had landed on the opposite side. "You will dispel with wind barrier, and you will do so without complaint", Erza demands. 

"And if you try anymore funny business then you can say goodbye to your eyesight." Vela then starts to move her glowing hand up towards Kage face to get the message across. He only whimpers in surrender. 

Natsu lets out a moan of relief but is still shaken up by his life almost flashing before his eyes. "Just do it man, these chicks are real monsters!"

"Shut up Natsu!" Gray is getting more and more annoyed with the fire breathing lizard. 

"Understood?" Erza and Vela ask.

Kage concedes "Fine I'll dispel it." But before he can he lets out a groan of pain as everyone else lets out gasps of shock. A hand had come through the wall and is now sticking out of Kage's abdomen. Kage only knows one person capable of that type of magic. "Why, Karacka?"

The man in question begins to tremble as he remembers what he was told to do by the other members of the guild. It's a simple job. Even you can handle this. You have to kill Kageyama. Although he had successfully completed his task, he only feels great shame at what he had done to his guildmate.

"Kage!" Erza calls out as Vela catches him before he can hit the ground.

"No! He was our only way outta here!" Gray says distressed. But Natsu can't focus on their escape right now. The only thing on his mind is how a fellow guildmember, a comrade, could do that to one of their own.

Vels is now holding Kage's head on her lap while Erza tries to stop the wound from bleeding. She's also trying to keep the man conscious "Kage don't you dare die on us! We need your help! Do you hear me?!"

"I think we're losing him Erza." Gray also starts to check his vital points. 

"Don't crowd him too much, you might make the injury worse than it already is," Vela commands as she gestures Gray to back up a little.

"You're the only one of us able to dispel the wind barrier. Just hand on!" Kage can only groan in pain at the redheads yelling.

Natsu's fists clench as he begins to tremble with rage. "How could you do that to one of your friends?!" Flames engulf his whole body. "He's a member of your guild! He trusted you and you tried to kill him!" Karacka sensing his impending doom disappears back into the wall, but this doesn't stop Natsu.

"I'll cook you!" he screams as he charges to where Karacka had sunken in to. He manages to get a direct hit by blasting the wall apart. "Is that how you dark guild wizards treat each other?!"

Kage is now fully unconscious and only seems to be getting worse. But despite this Erza continues to plead to him "Please Kage, just stay with us."

Gray has now moved up beside Vela on the other side of Kage's head and tries to tell Erza all her pleas are falling on deaf ears. "He's unconscious. It's just no use."

"Hey, what are do-," Vela starts asking as the redhead moves over her but is interrupted mid question. 

Erza not knowing the meaning of giving up, takes Kage from Vela's lap and begins vigorously throttling him back and forth. As if that would cause him to be miraculously healed. "We can't let him die he's our only way out of here."

The two wizards can only sweat drop at the absurdity of it all. "But there's no way he can use his magic in his condition," Gray tries to reason.

"If I force him to he will!"

Vela then jumps onto Erza's back and locks her arms around her neck in a chokehold in an attempt to stop her from making the man's injuries worsen. "Not even you have the power to do that! Just let go of the poor guy already!"

"Get off Vela! Give me a moment I'm sure it will work!" Erza starts to swat at the top of the other girl's head while still shaking Kage. 

"At this point all you're going to accomplish is giving Vela a concussion!" Gray states as he tries to pry Vela off of Erza's back while also trying to keep the swordswoman from hitting him as well. 

It was at this moment that Lucy and Happy had rejoined the group and it is not at all what they were expecting. Natsu's breathing heavily and glaring at a giant hole in the wall, Erza is shaking an unconscious Kage back and forth while Vela is trying to seemingly choke her, and Gray, having given up in interfering, is just staring at the two girls as they cat fight. "Umm, bad timing huh?" Lucy says as Erza and Vela continue to screech. 

"Aye," Happy shakily agrees. 

This is Clover Canyon. A canyon so deep many believe its treacherous walls actually rise up from the abyss. The only way across is this single train line.   

Erigor can be seen standing on the train line so close to his final destination. "I'm so close to Clover and the guild masters I can taste it. And what's more the magic energy I used creating that wind barrier is almost fully recharged." He lets out a slight chuckle as he looks to the sky. "Now it's time." Erigor starts to fly above the track. "You fools not only took away our work but you also robbed us of our rights. Now I'm going to make you pay." He then shoots forward at blinding speed. "The Reaper's cleaning is nigh."

Back at the Onibas Station Team Natsu along with Kage are all gathered outside trying to figure out how to get through the barrier. Vela is also catching up Lucy, Natsu, and Happy on what Ergiror's true plans are. "What Erigor wants to use Lullaby on the guild masters?!", Lucy exclaims. 

"We have to stop him!" Natsu shouts. 

"That's easier said than done." Erza then gestures towards the barrier that's keeping them from following him by train. "Erigor has cut off our only means of reaching Clover and is headed there by air."

"I'm pretty sure we could catch up to him on the magic mobile," Gray suggests. "But we can't do anything until we figure out how to get on the other side of this barrier."

"How are we gonna do that?" and upon hearing Lucy's question Natsu begins to charge forward in hopes of using brute force to take down the barrier.

"Wait Natsu don't-", but before Vela can finish warning her little brother, Natsu is being shot back from being overpowered by the wind. "Would you just stop and listen to me Natsu? I already tried that it's no use. The barrier's too strong to be overpowered by brute force alone."

Lucy looks at the poor guy as he had been charred by his own flames while Gray can hardly believe he has to be on the same team as that moron. "See that's what happens if you try to bust through. That's why you should listen to your sister more fire clown."

Erza tries once more to wake the seriously injured man. "Kage, wake up! You're our only hope right now."

Natsu, the stubborn flame brain that he is, gets back up once more and keeps on charging at the barrier. "I've gotta try to break through!"

 Punch "We have"

 Punch "to save" 

Kick "Makarov!"

He only ends up back where he was when he first started hitting it. "Natsu!" Lucy cries out while Vela goes to check on him.

"Cut it out you idiot. Just like Vela already said, brute force isn't going to do you any good," Gray reminds him. 

Lucy turns to look at the ice wizard in desperation. "Isn't there anything you can do? If you'd try freezing it, maybe Natsu and Vela can melt it." 

"If I could I would've done that already. And Vela has enough injuries from that stupid thing as of now."

"What? You're hurt Vela?" Lucy turns to the girl to see for herself.  

"It's only a bump. I was being stupid earlier, I'm fine. Gray just likes to worry," as Vela quells Lucy's concerns Gray tchs in response. Meanwhile Natsu is getting ready to for another charge, but Vela is quick to notice. "Natsu knock it off already before you get seriously hurt!" He goes for it anyways and seems to be making little to no progress while shouting out in pain as the wind starts to cut him.

"Natsu!" Gray yells in exasperation.

"Would you stop trying to be the hero?! You're gonna get torn to shreds!" Lucy exclaims. 

"They're right! For once would you just listen to us little brother?!"

"Damn it! I don't know what to do!" Erza says feeling frustrated at herself for not having any solutions. 

As Natsu gets blown back once more Lucy is quick to catch him and tries to keep him from trying again. "I said stop it!"

Natsu lets himself be held as he's also starting to believe it's pointless. "Crap," he mutters. He then turns around to look at Lucy in thought. 

"What? What's the matter?" the celestial wizard is worried that he might be hurt from all that thrashing about. 

Instead, he jumps out of her arms with a loud gasp of realization. He then starts to smile as he gets closer to Lucy's face. "We could use your spirits!" She can only look at him in confusion as none of the spirits she currently has are made to deal with their situation. But Natsu continues, "Back at Everlue's I was pulled from one place to another through the spirit world!"

"You did what?!" Vela exclaims as she grips onto his shoulders and begins to check him over. "How come you haven't told me that?! Do you know how dangerous that is for someone like you?! Normal people aren't supposed to go through into the Celestial World it's almost impossible to breathe, they'll die!"

"Vela's right and besides a celestial wizard can only open a gate wherever they're standing."

"Huh?" Natsu does not seem to get it, like much else.

Lucy seeing this begins to dumb it down for him. "Ok, let me simplify this for you. Even if we could pass through the spirit world, we would need another celestial wizard to open the gate outside the train station for us to pass through."

"You're totally confusing me just hurry up and do it. Besides she can help you." He then turns to point at Vela. "She's a celestial wizard too, so problem solved."

"I'm a celestial dragon slayer Natsu, I can't summon any of the spirits I can only force them to go back to the Spirit World."

"What? You can do that?" Lucy says intrigued.

"Yeah, I can. It's because my magic has the same essence of Celestial Spirits, so I can siphon their own magic energy to recharge my own. With silver key spirits they get sent back almost instantly, but gold keys take a little bit more time. And besides" Vela then starts to shake Natsu back and forth "I'm on the same side of the station you idiot, so even if I could summon them, it'd be pointless! Would you please use your head for once?!" 

"See Natsu, I told you I can't! Not to mention the very act of a human entering the Spirit World is a serious breach of contract." Lucy says to him as he's being held in a chokehold by his sister. "I didn't care when you did it because it wasn't my key it was Everlue's."

"I don't get your guys' magic at all," he complains while rubbing his now sore neck. Vela only glares at him as she has tried several times in the past to get him to be able to understand the depths of celestial magic. 

However, this conversation finally reminds Happy what he was meant to tell Lucy earlier. "Everlue's key...hold on." Happy also jumps up in remembrance just like Natsu had and runs over to Lucy. "I just remembered Lucy!"

Lucy a little freaked out turns in on herself. "Remembered what?" 

"What I was trying to tell you on the way here!" The cat's shout sends Lucy reeling back. 

"On the way here? Oh yeah, you mean when you kept calling me weird?" she says sarcastically.

Happy then holds up the gold key of Virgo. "Look!"

Vela gasps in shock and Lucy does the same while demanding to know, "How'd you get your paws on Virgos' key?!" She then starts to squish the cat's lips together while the boys stare at the odd scene and Vela inspects the key further. "Didn't Vela at least teach you that it's wrong to steal things?!"

Vela pipes in with a, "I sure did!" and starts to scold the cat like she's his mother. "You better explain yourself right now Happy or you can say goodbye to all that fish I brought back for you."

Happy desperate to clear his name and save his precious fishies, "But I didn't steal it, Virgo asked me to give it to you!" This causes Lucy to let go of his lips causing him to fall back into Vela's legs. 

Gray getting fed up with everything, "Come on guys. We're wasting way too much of our time listening to this nonsense."

Natsu is still confused. "Who's Virgo?" But then he remembers that ape of maid he saw at Everlue's mansion. "Oh, wasn't she that big gorilla looking maid?"

"Apparently her contract with Everlue was broken as soon as he was arrested," Happy says while waving the key towards Lucy. "Before we all left that day, she said that she wanted to sign a new contract with you, Lucy."

Lucy doesn't seem all that pleased with this news. "Great, I get a big ugly spirit. Anyways thanks for letting me know, but I'll have to deal with her later. If you didn't realize it, right now we need to find a way out of here."

The cat then gets a little dejected. "But-"

Before he can finish his sentence, Lucy is squeezing his cheeks apart having enough of his sidetracking. "Shut up!" A monstrous aura quite similar to the one Erza had earlier appears. "Why can't you just meow like any other cat?!"

Gray seeing the resemblance, "She can be pretty scary huh?"

Natsu already used to it says, "Must have learned it from Erza. Or maybe Vela." 

"Lucy, stop doing that. He's only trying to help," Vela says as she picks him up and nuzzles him into her chest. 

Happy begins to cry, "I'm sorry. I thought that since Virgo controls holes, maybe she could dig through the ground and get us to the other side of the barrier." He then looks up at Vela with the saddest eyes. "Do I at least still get my fishies for trying to be helpful?"

"She can?!" Erza asks after overhearing their conversation.

"Seriously?!"

"Uhhh..."

"You're right! She can!" How could Lucy forget something like that.

"Aww! Of course you do sweetie!" Vela starts to stroke his head and soothe him. She then turns to give a stern look directed at Lucy. "I think you owe him an apology missy."

Lucy goes to pluck Happy from Vela's arms, with him still holding the key, and begins to praise him. "You're so smart Happy! Why didn't you mention that sooner silly kitty?"

But Happy gets out of her tight grip and flies right back into Vela's arms. "Because someone was pinching my face. And Vela's right I am owed an apology."

Lucy then gets down on her hands and knees and begins bowing. "My most sincere, humble, heartfelt apologies. I promise I'll make it up to you." She then starts begging while swaying from side to side still on her knees as Happy looks down at her from Vela's hold while holding the key up. "Just please let me have the key."

"Give me some fish and all is forgiven."

Erza knowing they've wasted enough time nods to Lucy to summon the spirit. 

Lucy holds out the key and chants, "I call upon thee, in the world of the celestial spirits, and now I beckon you to my side at once." A magical circle appears below her. "Pass through the gate. Open Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!"

Tunneling from underneath the ground pops out a beautiful slim young woman with pink hair, dressed in a maid's uniform, and wearing shackles around her wrists. While in a bow she says, "You summoned mistress? What can I do for you?"

Lucy is astonished as this is not the Virgo she remembers. "Who are you?"

"What do you mean Lucy? That's Virgo," Vela answers.

Even Natsu knows this as he had gone up to greet the spirit. "What's up, Burger? Man, you look great, you've lost some weight." 

The spirit not at all offended responds, "My name's Virgo. I apologize for any trouble I might have caused you."

"She didn't just lose weight Natsu!" Lucy cries out as she was expecting the gorilla from before to appear.

"What do you mean?" Gray asks as he had never seen Virgo's previous form.

"She's like a totally different person!"

"I'm a very loyal spirit who'll do anything to please her wizard. So, I try to take on whatever form my wizard will find most appealing."

"I don't know." Natsu starts to comment, "I kinda liked it when you were all big and tough looking."

"Did you really? Well then," Upon hearing this Virgo reverts back to the way she was before when she was under contract with Everlue. "I can change back if you like." Shocking Lucy but most of all Gray and Vela as it's their first time seeing this form. Vela even ends up hiding behind Gray in her shock still holding onto Happy while peeking over Gray's shoulder.

Lucy not at all pleased by having her spirit take commands from someone other than her yells out, "Don't listen to him! I'm your wizard and I like the other form better!"

Virgo then changes back into her petite form. "As you wish mistress."

Vela then comes out from behind Gray and goes over and slams her fist right to the top of Natsu's head. "Oww! What was that for sis?"

"She's not your spirit, she's Lucy's, don't go giving her commands like that unless you ask Lucy first. Got it?" Instead of answering Natsu only grumbles. Displeased by this Vela raises up her fist once more and repeats "I said, GOT IT?!"

"YEP, I GOT IT!"

Lucy starts to explain the situation to Virgo as they're really pressed for time after that whole ordeal. "I'm afraid we don't have much time. Can we work out the contract details later?"

"Of course, whatever'd you'd like mistress."

"Do you really have to call me mistress?" Virgo's eyes had been zeroed in on the whip around the celestial wizard's waist since she first appeared, hence the current title.

But Virgo, ever the one to please, suggests different names that Lucy might find more appealing. "Would you prefer if I called you Queen?"

"No," she says in distaste. It's not awful but it doesn't really feel like her. 

"What about Princess?" Now that she can work with.

"Oh yeah, that's more like it." Even though the matter is urgent the rest still can't believe that Lucy's having this discussion now of all times. 

"Princess? Yeah, right," Gray mumbles to Vela sarcastically.

"Just let her have her fun for now, she's been through a lot today," the purple haired mage whispers back. 

"Hurry it up ladies," Natsu butts in as he's also getting sick of being stuck. 

"Yes, sir." Virgo then bows as a large hole appears underneath where she was just standing. Noises that sound like drilling can be heard getting farther and farther away from the barrier.

"Oh, wow look at her go." Gray looks down the newly created tunnel impressed. 

"She sure is efficient," Vela says as she leans over the edge to get a better look.

"Nicely done Lucy." Erza then pulls Lucy's head towards her chest in a one-armed hug, but she may have also given Lucy a minor head injury due to her armor. 

"Alright guys, it's time to bust out of this joint." Behind Gray he and the others can hear some jostling and grunting. Natsu had went back to grab Kage and now has him slung over his back. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I know he's one of our enemies, but I'd feel guilty if we just left him here to die." Vela and Erza look at Natsu in admiration and pride. My little brother sure has grown. Vela smiles to herself. Kage, at this moment, had also regained slight consciousness just in time to hear what Natsu had said. 

"And here's what happened next"

The Fairy Tail wizards have made it outside the barrier, with all their clothes and hair are being blown by the intense winds. 

"Looks like we made it out!" Gray has to raise his voice due to the sheer volume the barrier is still causing.

"Let's head toward Clover!" Erza seems to be relatively indifferent towards the gusts other then her hair being blown this way and that.

Lucy isn't faring as well. "Whoa! This wind is crazy!" She's trying to keep her short skirt from blowing up and accidentally giving the others a peep show.

Virgo sensing her Princess' distress steps in to help. "Princess, I'll keep your panties from showing!" She goes to knell behind Lucy and uses both hands to keep her skirt from flying up. However, she seems to forget about her own.

"You just worry about your own!" Lucy pleas as Virgo's dress begins to fly up.

But before Virgo can accidentally flash Gray, who's standing behind directly behind her, Vela steps in. "Don't worry Lucy I've got her covered." She then uses the same technique that Virgo is to keep the spirit's skirt down. Vela's not really worried about her own as she's wearing a bodysuit underneath her dress, and the slits were already pretty wide to begin with, so it's not like she's showing off something that you can't already see.

However, this doesn't stop Gray from getting stunned by the sight in front of him. "Oh, wow," he mutters with his eyes wide open and face completely flushed. Vela's dress had flown so far up that the bottom half of her bodysuit was completely revealed to him. While it's not as revealing if it were panties instead, but he still felt pretty flustered as he can see part of her rear on full display, and he's gotta say it's pretty nice. 

His train of thought gets interrupted by a sudden smack to the face. "Quit looking at my sister all weird, you perverted flasher!" For once Gray doesn't fight back as he feels he kind of deserved it this time.

Kage having been placed on the ground by Natsu, so he could get his hit in knows that even though they've managed to make it out, they're still too late. "It's no use, you'll never be able to catch up to Erigor. You can't stop us, we've won." The four of them can only look at him grimly, until Vela notices something off.

"Hey, where did Natsu go?!"

Gray notices another someone missing as well. "Happy's not here either!"

In Clover Canyon, Erigor is getting closer and closer to the conference building. "I can see the town up ahead. A bit farther and I'll have revenge." But there's a certain annoying buzzing that's interrupting his thoughts.

It's Natsu hanging onto a flying Happy, and he's using flames coming from the bottom of his feet to catch up to Erigor. "We've got you know. Didn't know cats could fly at Mach speed, did ya?!" He then lets go of Happy and kicks down Erigor causing all him to fall towards the train tracks. Subsequently, Natsu had also managed to accidentally hit Happy during the blast as he starts falling as well. Luckily Natsu catches him before he can make impact. "You, ok?"

"Yeah, but I'm so tired I can't fly." Catching up to Erigor and getting scraped by Natsu's fire had sapped up the last of the cat's energy.

"Don't worry, buddy. I think I can handle it from here." 

"You again?' The sound of Erigor's grating voice reminds Natsu to focus on the enemy as his best friend will be fine. "You're one of those pesky Fairy Tail flies. What are you doing here?"

Natsu gets ready to finally take down this guy and show him that Fairy Tail is not to be messed with. "I'm not letting you get passed me, you dress wearing windbag!" 

On the other end of the tracks the rest of the team had all piled into the magic mobile, Kage included, with Erza at the driver's seat once more. Gray and Kage are sitting on one seat each keeping a large amount of distance between themselves while Lucy and Vela are seated across the latter using the other as her personal crutch because her stomach truly has it out for her.

Kage breaks the silence, "Tell me, why are taking me with you?"

Lucy with pure certainty in her voice, "Because you obviously need a doctor." She then glances down at her poor motion sick friend who's trying her best to pay attention. And quite frankly so does she. "And since everyone left town, you'll have to see one in Clover. Try and show some gratitude," she finishes haughtily. However, she missed the true meaning behind his question. 

"I don't understand. Why are you helping me? We're enemies." This causes Lucy to pause, but Kage keeps mumbling off possible reasons to himself. "Oh, wait I get it, you're taking me hostage to try and make a deal with Erigor. Well, you can forget it, he could care less about me or any of his men."

"Jeez lighten up dude," Lucy sweat drops.

"If you wanna die we can make that happen," Gray suggests, but then his hit in the forehead by a tiny spark. He then turns to glare at the person responsible but she's back to focusing all her energy on not ruining Lucy's cute outfit. 

"Chill Gray," Lucy says a little freaked out by the jump to the extreme.

But Gray isn't done, "There's a whole lot more than just life and death you know." This captures Kage's attention as he had never thought about that before. "You should try to look for the positive. You and your Eisenwald pals."

Before anyone can respond the vehicle hits a sudden pothole causing everyone to scream and be jostled about. They're practically lifted almost entirely from their seats. Vela almost loses herself but manages to stop the contents of her stomach from flying just in time. Lucy's butt manages to hit Kage squarely in the face before she drops back down into place.

"What happened?" Gray calls out to Erza.

"It's ok, everything's fine now."  

Vela is now somehow strewn across both his and Gray's laps with her facing towards Kage's side. She was really tempted to just let everything go onto his pants for payback for what he did to Natsu, but before she can fully commit Gray had pulled her back entirely into his lap. They are now sitting where she originally was with Lucy, with him dusting her off as if Kage had cooties.  

Lucy, kneeling in front of Kage, is attempting to apologize for possibly giving Kage new injuries. "I'm so sorry."

Her earnest apology doesn't seem to do it as Kage snaps back with, "Could your butt be any bigger?" As he holds onto his now bruised face.

Lucy starts screaming outraged, "Sexual harassment!" she turns towards Gray who is covering Vela's ears, "Kill him Gray he said I have a big butt! You're not seriously going to let him get away with that are ya?!"

"Geez, so much for having a serious moment." He pushes his hands even harder against Vela's ears as her face starts to contort in discomfort at having to deal with Lucy's wails in her sensitive ears on top of her queasy stomach. "And will you keep it down? You're yelling is just going to make Vela worse."

In front, Erza is beginning to look worse for wear as the use of so much magical energy is starting to affect her. She's started to sweat and there are now obvious bags under her eyes. My vision is getting blurry. I must have used more magic energy than I thought. Natsu, you have to stop Erigor. Erza tries to push on and will the more magic into the vehicle to drive even faster, but at this point their only hope is Natsu. It's all up to you now. Don't let me down.

Natsu is staring down Erigor not a hint of fear in his voice, "I'm gonna burn you and that stupid flute of yours to a crisp!"

Erigor is not the least bit intimidated. "So you were able to break through my wind barrier. You little flies can be such a nuisance. Now get out of my way kid." He goes to move his scythe in an offensive position. "Or else." A large blast of wind is sent towards Natsu, extinguishing his flames and almost knocking him back.

"Is that," Natsu lets out a groan as he's using all his might to stay upright "all you got?!" He leaps high into the air with all his limbs alight with flames. His sights are then set on where Erigor's standing and proceeds into a nosedive. Erigor doges just in time, so the only thing Natsu did was leave a giant crater in the tacks.

But he quickly recovers and goes to strike again. Erigor uses his scythe to block the incoming fist, but the pure power emitting from it is frightening. Impossible! He uses his flames to jump and to strike. Erigor floats up into the sky. I underestimated his power. This might actually be a challenge.  

"Come on! What are you doing up there, you coward?!" The fire dragon slayer starts hopping in place throwing a mini tantrum. "Come down here and fight me like a man!"

"Don't get too cocky, fly!" Erigor looks to be summoning another burst of wind, but it's much more than that this time. "Storm Bringer!" What he summons is an entire tornado with Natsu stuck in the middle.

Happy can hear Natsu screaming in disorientation inside of it as he's being spun about at supersonic speed. "Natsu!" Desperate to save his friend, Happy tries to see if he has just enough magic energy to fly, but all he can managed is having his wings flicker out for a quick second before disappearing altogether. "It's no use, I don't have enough magiv energy."

"AHHH!" Natsu screams as he's thrown completely off the side of the bridge. 

Erigor looks down at him in victory. "Hahaha, let's see your fire power get you out of this."

"Natsu!", Happy calls out as Natsu begins to get smaller and smaller. 

Heading towards the ground headfirst Natsu seems to be completely calm if not a little caught off guard. As he head dives further and further to the bottom, he crosses his arms and legs and begins to think. "Man, this sucks. I wasn't expecting that at all. What am I gonna do now?" He then topples from one rocky cliff to the next with three larges bumps on his head. His vision starts to tunnel in. As he reaches out a hand in hopes of grabbing on to something all he can say is "Sorry, Gramps..." 

Flashes of the past start to appear in his mind particularly when he first started getting training to better his fire magic.   

"Come on, Natsu, you can do better than that", Macao encourages while producing a large blue flame from his fist. "Now watch how I do it." The blue flame then picks up a mug of beer all without spilling a drop. "See?"

Natsu, a couple years younger, is watching, impressed, wishing his flames could do that as well. "Oh, that's awesome!" 

"Yeah, it's called Purple Flare, and even though it's fire it can do a lot more than just burn things."

"How come my fire burns everything it touches?"

Macao only looks down at him with a fatherly smile. "Cause you don't know how to make it not burn. You gotta learn that if you wish for it deep down in your heart the fire will do exactly what you want it to." Natsu continues to stare open mouthed. "Once you've mastered that, then not even wind or water magic can beat you."

The boy only grows more confused. "That doesn't make any sense." 

All of sudden from the depths of the canyon a large burst of fire emerges. Erigor jumps back in complete horror as he believed his final obstacle to be dead. The flames then turn into a giant dragon claw that grips onto the train tracks with Natsu being pulled from beneath. 

"Natsu!", Happy cheers with tears in his eyes at the sight of his best friend unharmed.

He's then pulled safely back onto the tracks. "That was a close one." Natsu then looks down at his hands. "So that's what you were trying to tell me. I think I get it now."

Erigor's face shadows over at what the boy had said "But that's impossible."

"You must be cold up there half naked like that", although he's one to talk as all he's wearing is an open vest. "Want me to warm you up?!"  

"Your flames are powerless against me!"

"Oh, yeah", Natsu gets ready for what he is sure is one of his most powerful attacks yet. "Let's see about that." He readies himself by gulping in a big breath of air and puffing out his cheeks and finally lets it all out. "Fire Dragon Roar!" 

Flames upon flames are directed all at Erigor. He tries to stop it "Storm Wall!" But it's all in vain as he's still left with some scratches. I can't believe this kid. There's no rhyme or reason to his attacks. When the dust clears Natsu can be seen grinning. Is this what all Fairy Tail wizards are like?! Erigor is still floating up in the sky. "Although your powers are remarkable, I'm afraid your still no match for me", he still sounds so sure of himself. "Enough of this cat and mouse chase! It's time to get serious."

This only has Natsu grow more invigorated. "I'm ready when you are!"

"Storm Mail!" Another tornado of wind, bigger than all the rest, spirals around Erigor like armor. "Here I come." It gets blasted all at once and heads straight for Natsu. Natsu goes to throw a punch, but it had no effect and he's thrown back a little.   

Erigor is now standing, directly in front of Natsu, fully cloaked in his winds. "What's the matter? Can't handle the breeze?"

"Coward! You just had to go and wrap yourself in a wind barrier!" It's no matter to Natsu as he's not giving up. "This'll break through it", he then takes one last big leap towards Erigor and strikes "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" But upon making contact the fire is immediately extinguished. Natsu can only stare incredulously. "I don't understand. Why did my fire go out?"

Erigor laughs at his suspicions being proven correct. "Just as I suspected. You're completely helpless without your flames. Looks like I have the upper hand."

"No way!" But another gust of wind sends him skidding back a few feet.

"Unfortunately for you, the winds of my storm mail attack blow outwardly. If you get to close, it'll smother your flames leaving you powerless against me!"

"Oh yeah!?" 

"Fire can never defeat wind!" 

[beanea04]

Fairies in the Wind

       In a land far far away lies the Kingdom of Fiore. A small peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic, found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most magic is merely a tool a mundane part of everyday life. For some however magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice, these are the wizards. Banded together in magical guilds they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless ledges have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name is Fairy Tail.

Here in the town of Clover, you'll find the building where the guild master conferences are held.

A bald man of a large build with small white wings on his back and blue guild mark of a Pegasus on his right upper arm directs his attention to Master Makarov. "I'm jealous Makie, your wizards are all full of life and they're such cutie pies," he says with a blush on his face. 

This is Bob, Master of the Blue Pegasus guild, and just in case you were wondering he's a man.

"I hear you've got a girl that gave some big shot quite the spanking."

Makarov is currently sitting atop a table with his legs crossed and chowing down on a turkey leg while drinking some booze. "Oh, you must be talking about Lucy. Yeah, she's our newest recruit and she's got a body that won't quit." 

This causes Bob to turn away and cover his eyes. "Oh, so naughty!" 

At another table a different voice chimes into the conversation, "I wouldn't be joking around if I were you Makarov." This grabs the Fairy Tail master's attention. A man with shoulder length blonde hair, black shades, and a red spiked collar turns around.  

This wizard in named Goldmine. He's the master of the Quatro Cerberus guild.

"Your wizards may be spirited, but you gotta admit they go overboard sometimes." He then begins waving his half-eaten kebab at Makarov. "Some of the council members are worried that Fairy Tail is going to end up destroying an entire city one of these days. Can't say that I blame 'em"

"Gah, let those blowhards worry, what do I care? They're just jealous my wizards are hot."

"Oh Makie, you shouldn't talk about your little wizards that way. You're such a scoundrel." 

A blue bird wearing a black pointed hat then flies into the conference room chanting out, "Master Makarov! Master Makarov!" It appears to be holding onto a letter with a Fairy Tail wax seal. "I have a letter from Miss Mirajane, sir."

"Oh, thanks a lot."

"No problem!" the bird then proceeds to fly away as Makarov begins to unseal the letter.

He waves his finger over the seal and as he does so a magic circle appears with an image of Mirajane popping up. "Hi Master! I'm glad you made it to the conference safe and sound."

At the sound of her sweet voice other guild masters begin circling around Makarov's table to get a glimpse of the beautiful girl. Makarov wanting to make all the others jealous begins to gloat, "See? This here is our poster girl Mirajane, grab some eye candy boys." They all gasp in awe and a few begin to wolf whistle. 

"Ooh la la," comments Master Bob.

Goldmine can only subtly agree. "That's Mirajane? I haven't seen her in a while. She sure has matured."

The image of Mirajane continues as she begins to talk about what's recently transpired at the guild. "Oh Master, you're not gonna believe what happened. It may be the greatest thing in the history of Fairy Tail."

The Master curious, urges her to go on, "Really?"

"Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Vela have all teamed up together. An amazing combination huh? In fact, I think they may have formed the strongest team that Fairy Tail's ever seen. Sorry to bother you, but I just had to send a quick note to tell you the exciting news."

However, to the Master this was anything but exciting. While those four were some of Fairy Tail's most powerful wizards they were also the most destructive. This news isn't causing the joy that Mirajane thought it would. Instead, it's having the complete opposite effect as his eyes have gone white and he's begun shaking and sweating profusely. He can only let a quiet, "Those four..."

The letter then ends with Mirajane signing off with a cheerful "See ya soon, Master!" Makarov is left in a frozen like state with his hands hanging low at his sides and his eyes and mouth left wide open.

"What's wrong Makie?"

"I guess the council have reason to be worried, right?" That last comment from Goldmine was the finishing straw as it sends Makarov flying backwards in his stupor. He then begins to twitch while thinking to himself I can't believe this is happening. Those four really could destroy an entire city. The conference ends today so I can be back at Fairy Tail by tomorrow afternoon. I just hope nothing crazy happens between now and then. Oh, please let nothing happen

Fairies in the Wind

Kunugi Station 

There are currently numerous armed royal guards standing in front of the train station trying to calm the townspeople. After the recent attack from Eisenwald people are in a panic and are looking for answers and reassurance that they'll be safe.

"Some guy with a scythe and a bunch of his lackies took over the train!"  

"I think I know who they are. They're the dark guild punks, who've been hanging around town the past few weeks."

Right above the station on top of an overlooking cliff is Team Natsu listening in on the townspeople's shouts and complaints. Happy and Lucy are sticking their heads out the window, so they can listen in better. "I can understand cars and boats, but why'd they wanna highjack a train?"

The cat continuing to look down below agrees, "It doesn't really seem to be a really good choice for getaways since it can only follow the tracks it's on." 

"Yes, that's true, but they are quite fast." Erza now seems to be taking a rest from driving in order to prepare for what's to come.

In the backseat Natsu is sitting on the floor hunched over the seat trying not to barf while Vela is attempting the same thing. But she is instead using Gray's shoulder as support. "Then I guess it's up to us to figure out where those Eisenwald guys are going in such a big hurry and why." And although trying to seem cool and nonchalant about the whole ordeal, he is once again in nothing but his boxers.

"You're naked Gray!", Lucy exclaims in shock.

"Am I?"

"Yeah, you are..." Vela manages to get out before going back to groaning against his shoulder.

Lucy goes back to looking down below at all the armed men. "The military's already been called to action, so it should only be a matter of time before someone catches them." 

"I hope that's the case, Lucy." Erza then turns back around to start the magic mobile up once again so they can keep searching for Erigor.  

Erza in her rush to put a stop to their evil plans, drives rapidly throughout the town knocking over a barrel and almost running over some bystanders. Gray is once again atop on the roof and looks concernedly at the redhead as he can see more and more of her magic power being used to power the engine. "Stop Erza! You're going way too fast! You're gonna overload the SE-plug!"

"There's no telling how many innocent people could die if Lullaby's song is played. I can't slow down; we have to stop Eisenwald before it's too late."

"But at this rate you're gonna use up all your magic before we even start fighting!"

Erza not at all deterred by this possibility only continues to drive faster now with a determined look on her face "Well, then I'll just have to rely on hand-to-hand combat. Besides I've got you, Natsu, and Vela as backup." 

In the back Lucy is sat by the window with Vela in the middle clinging to Happy, who's on her lap, like a lifeline in an effort to not blow chunks while Natsu isn't even on the seat. Like his sister he's moaning in discomfort on the ground trying not to barf. Happy has his arms crossed as he feels like he's forgetting something. "I feel like there was something important I was supposed to tell you Lucy."  

"Oh really? Well, what was it?"

"I don't remember. It was just something about something I was supposed to tell you." Happy then tries his hardest to remember, "Uhm your-" 

Natsu still in pain doesn't really know what's happening around him all he can focus on is how his stomach is trying to kill him. "Totally sick for real..."

Happy points his paw up with a, "That's it!"

Lucy not at all impressed shouts, "Are you kidding me?" Natsu then hangs half his body out the window almost falling completely out. "Careful Natsu you're gonna fall out!" 

"That's what I'm aiming for," he groans out.

"Honestly that doesn't seem like too bad of an idea." Vela then tries to do the same thing after setting Happy down, but before she can Gray's arm comes down from up top and gives a slight flick to her forehead. This causes her to go right back into her seat still with an upset stomach and now a throbbing forehead.

"Don't even think about it, V," he says while watching both sides of the windows now to make sure she does not attempt that again.

"Oh man..."

Happy now being squished by Vela once more goes back to thinking. "Umm...so if it wasn't that Lucy's totally sick then what the heck was it? Something weird like that." As he keeps trying to remember Lucy is trying to pull Natsu back into the vehicle. "Lucy's weird? Hungry? Fishy?" At the mention of fish, the cat begins to get sidetracked. "I like fish, wait, fish, weird." 

At this point Lucy has managed to successfully get Natsu fully into the vehicle once more and is getting a little fed up with the cat's mumbling. "Why are you saying I'm weird?"

"What's that up ahead?" Erza calls out as she sees rising smoke in the distance. 

Oshibana Station

"Please stand back! The station is currently closed due to a train derailment!" calls out a worker with a megaphone as more and more people begin to gather due to the commotion.

"A derailment? Are you serious?" 

"Well, I heard that the station's been taken over by a group of thugs." 

The worker continues to call out to the people trying to diffuse the situation and avoid injury. "We ask that you please stand back." It's at that moment that a certain redhead grabs onto his shoulder and demands his attention. 

"Excuse me, what's going on?"

The man not happy at being interrupted responds with a snarky, "Why would I tell you lady?" Erza not liking this answer slams into him which knocks him out cold. She then proceeds to the next worker and asks him the same thing and when he also fails to answer her, she hits him too. This process continues as she believes that someone will answer her eventually.

Lucy, supporting a still dazed Natsu with one of his arms slung around her, can only look on in disbelief and embarrassment. "Seems like her questioning method's a little counterproductive." 

Gray, while giving Vela a piggyback ride, responds with, "Erza's got her own way of getting things done." He is once again naked which is more of mystery than the other times considering how he's been carrying Vela this whole time. And she appears to be holding them now.  

"Where are your clothes?" questions Lucy as she is slowly losing her sanity. 

Erza finally having gotten answers, and with a number of unconscious workers surrounding her calls out, "The Eisenwald guild's inside. Let's go!"

"Right," answers Gray still in his skivvies.

"So, I still gotta drag this one around?" complains Lucy as Natsu is still using her like a human crutch.   

"Sorry..." he mumbles in response.

"Sorry to you to Gray. I'm feeling a little better so you can put me down if you need to. I don't wanna slow you down while we look for them," Vela replies from his back.

"Nah it's cool, you're not that heavy. Plus, you're kinda like my own little backpack like this. It's kinda nice." He gives her a smile which she slowly, but happily returns, while slightly tightening her arms around him still holding onto his clothes.   

"And then" 

The Fairy Tail wizards, sans Vela and Natsu as she's still being carried by Gray and Natsu is being dragged around by Lucy, are now running through the station searching for Eisenwald. Erza is leading at the front while relaying what she's learned from the station workers. "A small army unit stormed in earlier, but they've yet to return. I'm guessing that they've been caught in battle with the Eisenwald forces." Lucy lets out a small noise of terror at what she sees before her. 

Up ahead lies the armed men that were sent in previously. All of them having been defeated.

"They were completely wiped out," Happy cries out in shock.

"They were up against an entire guild of wizards," Erza observes, "A small contingent like this would never stand a chance against such a powerful group." Team Natsu continues down the hall, following the trail of fallen guards, as they know they're getting close to what they're looking for. 

They reach the end of the hall into a large open room where they hear a laugh come from up above. "Welcome! Step into our parlor Fairy Tail flies." The entire room is filled with the entirety of the Eisenwald guild, including Kage.       

"Whoa! There's so many of them!", Lucy says with Natsu now draped over her like a blanket. Vela on the other hand is now standing on her own next to Gray as she knows that they'll need all the power they can get in order to stop the entire Eisenwald guild.

Erza looks towards a man, with white hair, blue tattoos and holding a large scythe. He's sitting atop a stopped train so he can be seen above the rest. "You fiend! I take it your Erigor." The man only chuckles in response.

Lucy sensing what's about to go down has put Natsu on the floor and is trying to shake him to attention. "Come on, Natsu we need your help!" 

Happy, being Natsu's best friend, knows that it's gonna take a miracle for Natsu to be up for a fight anytime soon after what he's been through today. "Good luck! Between a train, magic mobile, and your shaking it's a motion sickness triple combo!" 

"I'm not a vehicle!"

Kage can only look on in disdain at the semi unconscious wizard as he was the one that caused him to get in trouble with Erigor, and now he wants payback. "Hey you! It's your fault I got in trouble with Erigor. Get up." 

His demand manages to grab Natsu's attention. "I know that voice." 

Erza with no fear, "We're not threatened by any of you. Tell me what you're planning to do with Lullaby."

"Oh, you haven't heard yet?" Erigor then uses his magic to make him fly up and hover above the rest. "What do all train stations have?"

"He flew!" Lucy says surprised. 

"It's wind magic," Happy answers also in shock.

Erigor then lands on top of the PA system which makes Erza realize what the dark wizard intends to do with the demonic flute. "You plan to broadcast Lullaby's song?!"  

The man only begins to laugh at the horror in her voice. "Thousands of nosy onlookers have flocked to this station to get a glimpse of the action. Who knows? If I raise the volume enough, I may be able to extinguish the entire city with my melody of death."

"What reason do you have to commit such a heinous crime against the innocent people of this town?!" Erza demands.

"This is a cleansing of all the fools out there who failed to appreciate the rights they hold so dear. Who remain willfully ignorant of the plight of those who've had their rights stripped away. They've committed the sin of turning a blind eye to the world injustice. Therefore, the Reaper has come to punish them!" 

Lucy in her disbelief at this madman's flawed reasoning, "But killing them isn't gonna help you get your right back. It's only gonna make it worse. That's the whole reason you were kicked out of the wizard league in the first place!"

"At this point we've given up trying to regain our rights. We want power! Then we will be able to wash away the sins of the past and take care control of what happens in the future!"

"You guys are completely insane!"

Kage is now crouching down with his left hand touching the floor. "We're rolling in a new age of darkness!" He then begins conjuring a magic circle getting ready to attack. "Course by the time it gets here you flies will be long gone!" Several shadows made into fists burst out of the ground and rapidly speed towards the celestial wizard. But before they strike her, they're intercepted by a barrage of fire as Natsu is now fully alert and ready to protect his friends. Kage can only look on in annoyance at the pesky fly that's come to get in his way once more. "You again?!"

Natsu looks back at him with a cocky grin. "Eisenwald dude, I knew I recognized that voice."

Lucy thankful for being saved and relieved at Natsu being himself again cheers out, "You're back to normal!"

"Oh wow, looks like we've got ourselves a party here, huh?"

"No Natsu! These are the guys we have to fight!", Lucy says exasperated.

His face then shadows over in anticipation for what's about to go down, "Like I said it's a party." 

Erigor's lackies just chuckle at the delusion of the group wizards. Who do they think they are trying to take down an entire guild with only five people? The Fairy Tail flies flew right into my trap. Everything is going exactly as planned. But I will not rest until they have heard Lullaby's melody of death. Then we'll finally have revenge against those who wronged us.

Lucy placing all her hope into her new comrades points at Erigor and shouts, "This is the strongest team Fairy Tail has to offer! You'd better be ready!" 

However, instead preparing to fight Erigor begins to use his wind magic to fly upwards towards the ceiling. "I leave them to you! Show them the terror of the dark guild Eisenwald." He then vanishes into thin air. 

"HE DISAPPEARED?!" Lucy and Happy shout simultaneously. 

Erza knowing that time is of the essence turns towards the boys. "Natsu and Gray, go! I need you to stop him." They look at her confused. "If the two of you work together not even Erigor the Reaper can defeat you. I'm leaving him in your hands." At the news of having to go off together they begin to butt heads and sneer at one another. That is until Erza turns around to yell at them. "What did I say?!"

They would rather take on Erigor then deal with Erza's wrath, so they put their arms around each along with plastering on fake smiles and with a simultaneous "Aye!" they run off leaving a cloud of dust behind them. Now only the girls and Happy are left with the entirety of the Eisenwald guild. 

"They ran off!" shouts one of the Eisenwald members. 

"They're going after Erigor."

Upon realizing this one of the members extends black vine like whips from his hands. "I've got it." He then uses them to propel himself up onto the railing of the overheard balcony. "I, the great Rayule, will take them down."

Kage wanting to get revenge on a certain pink haired fly declares, "I'm coming with you." He then summons a large magic circle underneath him. "That pink haired dimwit's gonna pay." He then disappears into a large shadow.

"We'll catch up with them once we've finished up with the rest of the men here, okay?" Erza says while she looks towards the hallways Natsu and Gray ran off into.

"Right," Vela responds while cracking her knuckles and prepping herself to give these Eisenwald guys a beat down.

On the other hand, Lucy is anything but ready. "Three girls against an entire magical guild?!" The men start to laugh at hearing this.

"Mama always told me not to hit girls, but I can make an exception."

"I'm sorry ladies," another man in the front starts to say as he begins cracking his knuckles. "But you're not gonna be as cute once we're done with ya." 

"But without my stunning beauty I'll be totally helpless." Sparkles are now floating around Lucy as she places her hands on her face in an overly dramatic way.

Happy, who is floating next to her, tries to snap out of her delusions. "This is no time for daydreaming Lucy!" 

"Let's do this!" Erza shouts as she holds out her hand. A sword then appears from thin air and lands into her hand.

"It came out of thin air!" Lucy exclaims. "A magic sword!"

Erza now holding the large blade out towards the dark wizards yells out, "If you insult the Fairy Tail again in my presence, I swear none of you will live to see tomorrow!" The men not heeding her warning all jump towards her with their own weapons drawn. But Erza manages to take down a handful of them with a single swing.  She then jumps towards another group of them and knocks them back with another blow. 

"I'll show you." The man and two others then try to hit the swordswoman with light magic, but before it can reach her Vela jumps in front and begins to devour it. With Vela consuming their magic, Erza takes the chance to leap away and summon a spear instead.

"Now it's a spear! And Vela's eating their magic just like Natsu does!" Lucy says with her eyes blown wide. 

With her spear Erza manages to defeat even more Eisenwald men with another singular attack. Vela, after consuming the light magic spell, turns around to attack some men trying to get the jump on her. "Celestial Dragon Roar!" A beam of golden light traveling at great speed causes the men to pushed back before a large explosion of plasma hot light engulfs them. She turns to do the same thing to another group of men while Erza changes her spear to twin swords. 

"Vela can consume magic just like Natsu?!" Lucy exclaims. And then all the pieces start coming together. "Wait, since she can consume magic and gets motion sickness just like Natsu then that means..."

"That's right Vela's the celestial dragon slayer!" Happy finishes.  

"It turned into twin swords? And that other girl ate the spell?" exclaims a large round man wearing a red cloak. 

"I've never seen anybody be able to requip as fast as this chick! And what's the deal with that other girl?! How can she consume magic energy like that?!"

"What's requip?" Lucy says to herself.

"Magic weaponry isn't that much different than your celestial magic Lucy." Happy explains. "The user can summon different weapons they keep stored in another dimension, and when the user switches between weapons it's called requipping." 

"Wow, that's incredible!"

"You ain't seen nothing yet. Erza's just getting warmed up!"

The round man from before gets startled at hearing both the girls names. "Erza?! Vela?!"

Lucy wanting in on the actions and wishing to impress the two girls reaches for her celestial keys. "It's time for me to kick butt too!"

The cat gasps in bewilderment. "Why do you have to go and try to steal the spotlight from 'em?"

Lucy simply ignores him and raises up one of her golden keys. "Open Gate of the Giant Crab, Cancer!"

A man with crab legs extending from his back, two pincers on top of his head and holding a pair of scissors appears. He also seems to be humming to himself. He then turns towards his wizard. "You need me to fight these dudes, baby?"   

Lucy looking smug, "Yeah take 'em out with style!" The dark wizards not at all intimidated, begin to hurl insults at the spirit, specifically about his haircut. 

"I ain't ever seen such a stupid haircut!"

"You look like an idiot!"

The crab not liking this one-bit rushes at them with his scissors drawn and begins to cut. This causes all their weapons to break apart. But that wasn't the only thing that was affected as now all the men sporting bald spots in various places. A little retribution for what they said about Cancer's own hair. "Like your new style, baby?" They all pass out from embarrassment.

"Wow Lucy! I never knew you were a celestial wizard. That was so awesome!" Vela says with intrigue as her dragon slaying magic is actually closely connected to that of celestial spirits.

"Vela's right I have to say that was impressive."

Lucy blushes from the two girls' praise. "Oh, thanks but it was no big deal!" She then gives herself a thumbs up as she had accomplished what she was aiming for which was getting an in with Fairy Tail's top female wizards. "Alright! I totally scored points with them!"

"That's what you were going for?!" Happy says in disbelief.

But this glow of praise doesn't last long as Erza starts to contemplate how Lucy was being addressed by the spirit. "However, this crab spirit of yours, the way he calls you baby. I find it rather insulting."

This sends Lucy into an inner turmoil as she has just fallen out of Erza's good graces. "Points unscored."

"Getting a little sidetracked Erza," Vela mentions. "There's still a lot more we have to deal with." The dragon slayer is correct as they've only managed to take down about half of the entire guild.

"I thought we took care of most of them. Annoying, but I'll wipe them out." A large magic circle then appears beneath her. Erza's entire body begins to glow, as her armor disappears with the light. 

The men can only focus on the fact that the woman apparently getting naked and not on how royally screwed they are. "Wow her armor's disappearing." One says as he and all the rest watch on with hearts in their eyes and steam coming out of their ears and noses.

"Scummy perverted men! Take this!" Vela says while aiming a kick towards a few of their heads. "Celestial Dragon Claw!" Waves of light sprout from her feet when she swings her leg down. The waves then cause an explosion to go off.

"Most magic swordsmen only have the ability to swap their weapons, but Erza is able to swap her armor for wizarding armor that enhances her abilities. It's a talent that only she possesses," Happy explains to Lucy as she watches completely enthralled. "That's what makes her magic special. A technique called the Knight."   

Erza at this point has transformed into an elegant gown covered in plates of armor with wings sprouting from her back. "Oh wow!" Lucy says in admiration with hearts in her eyes, the dark wizards also being in a similar state.

"I never get tired get tired of that," comments Vela as she takes a momentary pause from kicking the rest of the wizards' asses.

"Now dance my swords!" A large circle of blades begins to spin around behind the swordswoman preparing to strike. 

The rest of the wizards can only look on in terror as one of them recognizes who Erza is. "I knew it. It has to be her!"

Erza then swings her arms, holding one of her swords, above her head, and calls out "Circle Sword!" and as she brings her arms down all of her swords follow suit and takes out most of the remaining members out with one strike. There are only two left standing.

"Woah, she took most of them down with a single swipe." 

"Aye!" 

One of last standing men prepares to strike as he starts to run towards Erza while gathering light in his fists. "Alright you're dealing with me now!"

His friend, however, tries to warn him in vain "Don't do it Byard! Do you have any idea who that woman is!?" But before he can land his attack Vela runs in front of Erza with her fists alight in a much brighter and hotter form of light. 

"Man, you guys are starting to piss me off. You call that light!" She then starts to run towards the man with her fists aiming towards him. "Well take this! Celestial Dragon Bright Fist!" The wizard is then sent flying back towards the opposite wall covered in burns and smoke emitting from his body. 

"She's Queen of the Fairies Titania Erza! And I recognize that other girl's magic now! She's known as the Heavenly Goddess, Asteria!" Erza seeing that almost all of the guild has been defeated requips back into her standard armor.

Lucy continues to look at the two of them with hearts in her eyes. "Oh man I think I'm in love!"

The only remaining man starts to flee towards the nearest exit. "Forget this, I'm outta here!"

"He's probably going to try to find Erigor now that his tail's between his legs," Vela observes while continuing to look at where he last ran off to.

"Yes, I think you're right," Erza agrees. She then turns towards Lucy. "You should follow him."

Lucy in surprised can only ask, "Who me?"

However, Erza not wanting to deal with backtalk glares at her and sternly says, "Just do it." 

"Whatever you say! I don't want to make you angry!" As Lucy rushes off to find the guy Happy follows suit.

"Well, she seems eager," Vela comments as the blonde hurried away.   

"Vela you should go as well." But just as Erza says this, she begins to sway and falls down to her knees. Vela seeing this drops down as well.

"No way, you've clearly overdone it just like Gray said you would." Vela then starts to put Erza's arm around her shoulder to help her stand back up. "I'm not gonna leave you like this. Besides Lucy seems like a more than capable wizard, I'm sure she'll be just fine. And don't forget Natsu and Gray are running around here somewhere."

Erza can only look at her longtime friend and smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thank you." She then looks up towards the ceiling and mutters to herself in a silent plea. "Please boys, please don't fail us." 

Meanwhile Natsu and Gray are running toe in toe together on the hunt for Erigor. But just because they were ordered to look for him together that doesn't mean they have to like it. "I can't believe she's making us work together," Gray complains. "What was she thinking?!" 

"Obviously she wasn't thinking. Everybody knows that fire and ice don't mix."

"Yeah, and why does she always have to be so freakin' bossy?!"

"She should ask us to do stuff instead of ordering us around!" 

The boys then stop running just to turn and look at one another so they can each say, "I don't need your help I can handle Erigor all by myself!" They then clash their heads together while baring their teeth at each other like wild dogs. "Are you copying me?!" they say still simultaneously.

At this point the boy notice that the hall splits into two different directions which makes them realize they'll have to split up. "Which way do we go?" Natsu inquires.

"I guess we'll have to split up." 

Natsu faces the right while Gray faces the left. But before they depart from one another Gray has some parting words. "Natsu, we're up against an evil freak who's getting ready to unleash a deadly spell." He then turns to face Natsu with a grin on his face and one of his hands raised in a fist. "If you find him give him a thrashing."

Natsu looks back with a similar grin to match. "You don't have to worry about that. I've got a bone to pick with that jerk from messing with Fairy Tail." He also goes to raise his fist in confirmation. "I'm gonna burn him to a crisp."

The boys laugh with one another before realizing that they're getting along. They turn away from each other with their arms crossed in pettiness. But Gray quietly mutters, "Don't die on me."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. I'm just saying don't get hurt or Vela will come for both of our assess." He then starts to run off into his designated hallway. "Later loser."

Gray comes to a stop as he also realizes that Erigor's plan is. He looks up at one of the loudspeakers. "So that's it. Erigor's going to play the Lullaby through the speaker system."

The Broadcast Studio

Gray kicks down the door just to find it empty. "There's nobody here?" He walks further in the room to investigate. "Maybe I was wrong about him broadcasting it over the system's PA." However, Gray failed to realize a certain dark wizard creeping in from an open ceiling tile. Rayule then sends down his black tendrils in an attempt to hit the ice wizard. Fortunately, Gray moved out of the way right before they could get him.

Rayule then begins to slowly descend from the ceiling by hanging from those same black appendages. "That was a pretty good guess pal. But our plan isn't as obvious as you might think." 

"So, tell me what the plan is, and you won't get hurt."

While that's going on Erza has made it to the station balcony with the help of Vela. She's holding a megaphone in her hand as she gets ready to address the thousands of townspeople down below. To grab everyone's attention Vela sets off a small explosion of light from her fingers into the air. "If you value your lives then you will leave this place at once. This stations' been taken over by evil wizards. They are threatening to broadcast a deadly spell over the loudspeakers that will kill everyone here." The crowd begins to panic. "I beg you run as far as you can!" Everyone starts doing as she says. 

A nearby worker confronts the two. "Hey lady why would you make everyone panic like that? And what's with the light show?"

"I would rather that then watch all of these people die." 

"And relax it was only to grab their attention. It's not like I did any real damage," Vela responds.

Erza noting that most of the workers were still here warns them too, "In fact, you gentlemen need to evacuate as well." As everyone begins to get farther and farther from the station Erza and Vela try to contemplate what Erigor plans to do next as all of his victims are long gone. "Now that we've cleared everyone from the station, I wonder what Erigor's next move will be."

"Probably nothing good, so we should get a move on," Vela replies. But as both the girls begin to turn back towards the station, they see something that leaves their mouths dropped open in shock. Behind them is giant cyclone of wind surrounding the entirety of the train station, and it doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon.

"It's some kind of wind barrier," Erza says while staring mouth agape. Erigor then flies down from above right behind them.  

Back in the broadcasting studio Rayule and Gray are still going at each other's throats. "There's no escape", Rayule begins to say as he whips back his black bands, "From my urumi." 

"Ice-Make Shield!" Gray stops the bands just before they can reach him by creating a large shield out of his ice.

"This punk uses ice magic?!"

Gray then goes in for a finishing blow. "Ice-Make Knuckle!" Rayule is then knocked back by several ice fists hitting him back through the wall rendering him unable to fight. "This is your last chance to tell me what you're planning." Gray starts to walk closer to where the Eisenwald member landed. "You're not gonna broadcast the Lullaby song over the PA system?"

Rayule only chuckles in response. "Erigor's magic sealing barrier should be activated by now." 

"Erigor's what?" 

"He's created a wind barrier that will keep you insects from escaping."

The barrier seems to have grown even larger now. And Erigor is still floating above Erza and Vela, overflowing with excitement at the thought of getting to take down two of Fairy Tail's most powerful wizards, but he has other things he has to attend to. "I've always wanted the opportunity to fight the Queen of the Fairies and their Goddess. But unfortunately, I don't have time to play with you right now." He then raises his hand up and casts a spell that causes the girls to be transported into the wind barrier.

"Erigor!" Erza tries to go after him, but is stopped by the constant barrage of wind circling them. Her armored hand makes slight contact with it, but it's so powerful that it blasts her back.

"Erza!" Vela runs over to check on her friend. "Are you ok?"

"It's useless. There's no way either of you will ever be able to break through my magic sealing barrier. You see it's one way only, and if you try to escape the wind will tear you apart." 

Erza now a little scuffed up and leaning slightly on Vela shouts at him, "What is the meaning of this you scoundrel?!"

"We've wasted enough of our time on you Fairy Tail flies. Now if you'll excuse me." Erigor then flies out of sight. 

"Come back here!" But Erza's cry falls on deaf ears as Erigor had already left to fulfill the rest of his plans. "Curse you Erigor! I will find a way to stop you!"

"So, this station wasn't his target after all. This was just a decoy he used so he could trap us here," Vela says while trying to come up with ways to get them out of this dilemma.

"Just what is he planning?"

Gray is now holding Rayule up by his collar. "Why don't I get straight to the point here, buddy?! Tell me what the plan is or else!"

Rayule, despite the predicament he's in is still smiling. "We knew you pests would cause problems, so we lured you here and trapped you. The only reason we took over this station is to block traffic to the final stop. We didn't want any trains getting into Clover Station."

"Yeah, why?"

"Cause that's where it's all going down. Clover's just beyond a giant canyon and this train line is the only way in and out of town. Unless you're able to fly like Erigor."

"So, the Lullaby's in Clover?"

"You know what else is there right now?" Rayule starts to discreetly extend his urumi once more. "Think hard and you'll get it." Just as he extends them to entrap the ice wizard, Gray manages to evade just a second before they could restrain him. He's also starting to put together what Erigor's true intentions are. Clover, that's where the conference is being held. So, this was their plan all along. They're targeting the guild masters.

"Hahaha! You finally figured it out huh?" Rayule then tries to go in for another blow. "Well, it's too late to stop us now!"

Luckily Gray manages to block again. "You Eisenwald thugs must be pretty brave taken on such a powerful group of wizards." 

"Those ignorant old fogies won't know what hit 'em once Lullaby's song starts playing. There's no way Erigor's plan will fail." He moves his black bands to strike one more time and this time he's successful. Gray is now ensnared in them. "For you and your little Fairy friends are stuck in this station, so there's nothing you can do about it. Soon we'll have our revenged on everyone who tried to keep us down." His grin starts to turn more manic. "When we're done they'll be completely wiped out."

As Rayule was too busy monologuing he failed to notice how the temperature of the room had started to drop as Gray had begun to freeze over his bindings, causing them to snap off with the flick of his wrists. "That's not gonna happen." Rayule's feet have now been frozen to the ground along with the entirety of his lower waist, rendering him practically immobile. Gray starts treading closer to him. "Now get this straight! When you mess with the guild masters then you mess with all of us! They may be old fogies but they're the closest thing we have to parents." Gray then places his hand onto Rayule's face preparing to turn the rest of him into a popsicle.

On the opposite side of the building Natsu is still running around looking for Erigor, and he's starting to lose his patience. "Just come out and fight already!" But fast on his heels is a shadow hiding a certain wizard looking for his payback. Looks like it's about time for me to strike. 

Back at outside of the station Vela is closely inspecting the barrier while Erza is now standing on her own as she declares with the utmost certainty, "We will stop you."

"What if I try this?" Vela wonders as she then throws her arms up into an X motion and then releases the position. "Star Feathers!" A volley of black starry feathers outlined in gold light, are thrown at the barrier. Unfortunately, their explosions have little to no effect on the barrier, some even get thrown back at Vela's face which causes her tumble back. "Ahh!"

"Vela are you alright?!"

Vela coughs out an "I'm ok." But there's now a giant bruise on her forehead.

"Are you sure? That looked painful."

"It's just a bump it'll go away soon. Besides we've got bigger issues to deal with." Vela then turns to glare at the barrier determined to find a way through. 

Lastly Lucy and Happy are also running through halls still trying to accomplish the task Erza sent out for them to do. "Now where did that fat one run off to?"

"You better find him or else Erza's gonna strangle you," Happy reminds in a singsong voice. 

"Ahh!" 

Gray is leaving the broadcasting room with a chill in the air following him. "When I get my hands on them, I'll show 'em Fairy Tail can be much more terrifying than any dark guild." As he begins to walk away in hopes of regrouping with the others a frozen Rayule statue can be seen left in the room.   

[beanea04]

The Wizard in Armor & the Mage in Moonlight

        In a land far far away lies the Kingdom of Fiore. A small peaceful nation of 17 million and a place filled with magic, found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most magic is merely a tool a mundane part of everyday life. For some however magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice, these are the wizards. Banded together in magical guilds they plant their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore, but there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest. One from which countless ledges have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name is Fairy Tail.

"Hey Mira! Can we get three beers over here please?"

"Be right with you!", replies a beautiful young woman named Mirajane who is currently holding a tray of drinks and fretting about the Fairy Tail guildhall serving its members. 

An older man by the name of Wakaba is sitting nearby smoking and grabs her attention. "So, when are you and I gonna to go on a date Mira?" he questions with an attempt at a charming smile.

A young girl with short purple hair and round frames by the name of Laki grimaces at the pathetic attempt and retorts, "Will you leave her alone?!"

With an easygoing smile Mira, not off put by the come on, says in return, "Wakaba there's one small problem," And in a puff a pink smoke turns her face into that of a rounder older woman with cakey makeup and frizzy brunette hair. "You already have a wife."

Wakaba then jumps up in surprise with a yelp, "AH! I hate it when you do that it's so creepy!" While Laki only giggles in response.

Sitting a table over trying to enjoy their drinks are a young woman and another older gentleman by the names of Cana and Macao. "I wish I could drink in peace for once," Cana says while bringing her mug of ale up for a sip.

"Well, if you didn't drink all day," retort Macao as Cana has already been through quite the amount as she was surrounded by two empty bottles.

At the bar was Fairy Tail's resident fire dragon slayer with his head leaned down and sporting a dejected look on his face while his exceed Happy was happily munching on a fish. "I guess we should try to find another job."

Temporarily stopping his munching Happy looks up and with a cheerful tone responds with, "Aye, we're running out of food money." As food is a constant on his mind. 

Their new friend Lucy only looks towards the two with a blank face. "If we'd taken that 2 million jewel reward, we'd be sitting pretty." She then looks toward the job board. "I guess I'd better find work too."

The Wizard in Armor and the Mage in Moonlight 

Lucy is contemplating which job she should take on, so she'll be able to pay her rent on time. "Hmmm... finding a magic bracelet, breaking a spell on a cursed cane, reading someone's love horoscope, hunting a volcano demon?!" she exclaims with surprise. "Geez I had no idea wizarding jobs were so varied."

Mirajane then walks up to assist her. "Well let me know if you find one you're interested in taking on. The master's away at a conference, so I'm covering for him."

"What kind of conference?" Lucy asks with a head tilt.  

"One for guild masters. Every once in a while, they all get together to talk about the state of things. It's like the magic council but not." In order to better explain Mira turns towards a nearby man of a rotund build. "Excuse me Reedus, could I borrow a light pen?"

The man turns and in a light French accent agrees with a, "Oui." He then holds out to Mira a small pen, but it appears to not have any ink. 

A light pen is a magical item that allows the user to write in the air.   

Turning the pen in front of herself Mirajane proceeds to draw a diagram depicting the hierarchy of the magical world of wizards. "The council, Era, is the most powerful organization in the magical world. It's only one step below the government. It has ten members and it's their job to uphold all magical rules and regulations, and if a wizard breaks magical law they would be tried by the council." Now pointing towards the middle of the picture, "Then there's the different guild master leagues, which are local groups who work together. Then the individual masters. It's their job to pass on the decrees of the council, they also communicate with other guild masters on a regular basis. I guess you could say they're the glues that holds all of us together, which is a pretty stressful job."

"Woah, I never realized that all the magical guilds were interconnected like that."

"It's important that we cooperate with one another, otherwise our system would fall apart." 

Out of nowhere with a flame on his finger to overcast a shadow onto his face, Natsu appears with a creepy smile on his face in an attempt to scare Lucy. "And then the guys in black would show up" It works as she then gets shivers up her spine. "Hahaha! That was almost too easy," Natsu gloats with his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.  

Annoyed by his little prank Lucy gives him a small glare, "Are you trying to scare me to death?"

Mira interrupts with a pointed look saying, "But seriously the guys Natsu's talking about exist." She then draws a small circle outside the rest of the chart that says Dark Guild. "They're the dark guilds. They've chosen not to join any of the leagues. They're the bad apples and most of them are involved in magical crime."

"Woah," Lucy responds with a more relaxed but attentive look.

Behind her Natsu, still with his hands behind his head, only continues to smile. "Would you just go and pick us a job already?" 

With her attention brought back to the dragon slayer Lucy only looks on with continued annoyance. "You have got to be kidding me. What makes you think I'd want to do that?"

"Well, we are a team now, aren't we?" 

Happy butts in off to the side with a cheerful and mildly bossy response of, "Yeah and we picked the job last time. It's your turn to pick, so get to it." 

"Just forget it cat. As far as I'm concerned, our team has been disbanded. And besides you guys didn't actually want me you just needed me last time because I'm a blonde." 

Ignoring her sour mood Natsu only turns toward her and says, "Don't be ridiculous that's not the only reason we picked you. We picked you cause you're so nice." However, Lucy still seems to be a little dissuaded despite the compliment. 

From afar Gray grabs her attention, "Hey Lucy, I wouldn't stay with those losers if I were you. You'll get plenty of offers from other teams." However, what he failed to realize is that he was currently only in his underwear.

"Your clothes Gray," Cana reminds him with the upmost nonchalance as she is too busy trying to get to the bottom of her drink.

"AHH!" he screams in surprise and embarrassment as he begins to flail about. 

"Jerk," calls out Natsu.

Not one to back down Gray squints his eyes and proceeds to go forehead to forehead with Natsu. "Did you just call me a jerk dragon boy?"

"And what if I did? What are you going to do about it!?"

"You mouth breather!"

"At least I'm not a coward!"

"You're a spinless wimp!" 

"You're a freak!"

The two now encased in auras of fire and ice continue to lash out insults at one another. While Happy stands off to the side, "Looks like they're at it again." And right behind Happy is Loke trying to use his charm and suave to convince Lucy to team up with him, and possibly even go on a date.

"Why don't you join the team of love with me, Lucy?" Later tonight, just the two of us," he says with an arm around her shoulders, a charismatic smile on his face and sparkles all around him.

Lucy not convinced in the slightest only looks on with mild confusion. "Do what?" 

Loke replies while pushing up his glasses "You're just so stunningly gorgeous, I have to keep my shades on when I look at you, or I'll be blinded by your dazzling beauty." As he says that a gleam appears across his glasses only to reflect the disgusted look the celestial wizard was giving him.

"Girls fall for this?" And as Lucy says this a sudden gleam brings attention to her belt that’s holding her celestial keys.

In surprise Loke jumps back in alarm asking, "You're not a celestial wizard, are you?!" with all the charm and cool from his voice vanishing. 

"Huh?"

To answer for her Happy pipes in with a fish in his mouth "Yup! She's got cows and crabs and stuff."

"AHH! Crushing fate why must you toy with me so?!" In further despair and now moved to tears Loke turns around and proceeds to dramatically run out towards the exit of the guildhall. "I'm sorry, but you and I can't be together, my dear!"

Lucy weirded out by the whole ordeal turns toward Mirajane, "What got into him all of a sudden?" 

"Loke has a bad history with celestial wizards, and rumor has it he dated one and it didn't end up very well," Mira answers with a closed eye smile. 

Still looking towards where Loke ran off to Lucy can only say "Well I'm not surprised he...WOAH!" The blonde is then interrupted mid-sentence as Natsu crashes right into her.

"That looked painful," Mira comments with no surprise as this has always been a normal occurrence at the guild.

While the duo is still in a pile on the ground, Gray is standing triumphantly and flexing while still in his skivvies. With a tick mark on her head Lucy can only stare of dazed and peeved. "Would the two of you knock it off already?"

"Natsu started it I'm just following through."

Now with an entire barrel propped up next to her Cana, now bothered, goes on to ask Gray "Where are your clothes?" Once again Gray jumps up in surprise.

Out of his daze Natsu surrounded by fire with a sneer on his face goes on to point out with a snarl "Well you're the one who was provoking me, you dirty slime ball."

"Oh, yeah? Well, what exactly did I do to provoke you, you fire clown?"

"You pervy flasher!"

"Pink haired punk!"

Cana, along with the rest of the guild, ignore the two as their arguing is nothing new. Her only focus is getting to the bottom of her barrel, as she picks it up and proceeds to down it in its entirety. Lucy now also off the floor can only stare on at this childish display "Lame insults guys." 

"They start to run out," Happy retorts. The two continues to hurl insults at each other while all the other members can only laugh. Lucy now with a look of contentment joins in. However, that's all interrupted by Loke who slams the door open with a panicked look on his face. 

With complete fear in his voice, he exclaims, "Bad news!" The whole guild stops what they're doing and quiets down staring on with worry. "It's Erza and Vela. They're on their way here!" The whole guild jumps up in terror at hearing the news. Even Natsu and Gray are frozen in fright. 

Lucy only going off the impressions Natsu and Gray gave her the day before, can only look towards Mira for answers. "Wow just mention Erza and Vela and the whole place freaks out." 

Mirajane the only person who has remained calm just continues to smile and proceeds to say, "Well Erza is the strongest female wizard we've got in Fairy Tail, not to mention Vela isn't that far behind in terms of power, and they're both more than a bit intimidating."

Off in the distant, not far from the guild, a booming pair of footsteps can be heard along with the shadows of two young women with one carrying a seemingly large object.

"That's gotta be them," Laki says shaking in her seat.

"Those sound like their footsteps," Wakaba comments with a tremor in his voice. 

"Even the air's gone completely still," observes Macao in anticipation.

"Geez, from these reactions you'd think they were some kind of demons or something," Lucy then imagines two enormous, shadowed figures kicking over mountains spitting fire while stomping all over a village. "I'm so scared!" she shouts with whites in her eyes. 

A pair of black heeled boots and black sandaled heels are heard walking into the guildhall. A woman with scarlet red hair dressed in armor sets down a decorated horn that is twice the size of herself. Next to her is another woman with long lavender hair with side bands on either side of her face going all the down to her collarbone and the rest is tied into a braid that ends at her midback with a white bow at the end and piercing teal eyes. She's dressed in a black body suit with a large cut out for her chest, a long red off shoulder dress laid over it with large slits going up both sides revealing majority of her legs, with a black belt with yellow bows cinched on her waist. There is also a visible white guild mark on her upper right arm.   

As Erza sets down the gigantic object she begins to scrutinize the room. "We have returned. Where is Master Makarov?"

Lucy in awe and with a slight blush on her face admires the two newcomers. "Wow they're pretty." 

"Welcome back Erza, Vela. The Master is at a conference right now," Mirajane answers.

"I see."

A random wizard asks what everyone else is wondering "So, um, what's that humongous thing you got there?"

"It's the horn of a monster that we defeated. The locals were so grateful they decorated it and gave it to us as a souvenir." Turning towards the man with a stern look, "Do you have a problem with it?"

"NO, NOT AT ALL!"

Cana trying to distract herself begins chugging down her barrel and turns to Macao, "I bet Erza's heard about what happened at Mt. Hakabe."

The man now sweating bullets responds, "You think so? Oh, man I'm a goner."

"She's not anything like I imagined," Lucy says to herself. 

Erza now directs her still stoney face towards the rest of the guild bringing all of them to attention. "Now listen up, while I was on the road I heard a few things. Word is Fairy Tail is causing nothing but trouble as of late. Master Makarov may not care, but I most certainly do." She turns towards Cana still fully absorbed by the booze. "Cana, you need to start controlling your drinking." Behind her Erza addresses a man seemingly mid dance "Vijeteer, please take the dancing outside," Her next victim is the resident smoker. "Wakaba get rid of that filthy habit." She then looks toward a man loitering by the request board. "Nab I suspected I would find you dawdling in front of the request board. Just pick a job!" 

Lastly, she turns towards Macao who has been anxiously anticipating her criticisms of his performance on his latest job. "Macao," He jumps back in surprise in await of her lecture, however all she can do is shake her head and sigh. 

"Please just say something!" he exclaims as no criticisms seems even worse.

"I don't even know where to begin with you. You cause so much trouble I've almost given up."

"She's really tearing into everyone. It's like she's taking over," Lucy whispers to Mirajane and Happy in fear of the redhead overhearing her and berating her next.

"That's Erza for ya," responds the blue cat. 

"Even if she is kinda bossy she's still saner than anyone else here. And Vela hasn't really said much so far, so I don't understand why everyone's so afraid of them," Lucy says while looking towards the purple headed girl. On closer inspection she seems to be around the same age as Gray and while she still seems stern, there is a certain air of amusement around her, that softens her features and gives her a very youthful look. There even appears to be a hint of a smile on her face.   

"Go a little easier on them Erza. There doesn't seem to be any permanent damage done and no one got unnecessarily hurt. No harm, no foul." Vela says with a hand on Erza's shoulder and a small but noticeable grin on her face. "Plus, we have more important matter to attend to."

The redhead now a little more at ease agrees, "I suppose you're right." She then turns towards the rest of the guild. "Are Natsu and Gray here?"

"Aye," Happy answers while pointing towards the due who have ceased arguing. Instead, they now have one of their arms around the other, are holding each other's hand, and have uneasy and obviously fake grins on their faces. 

"Oh, hey there Erza. We're just hanging out like good friends tend to do," Gray says with a tremor in his voice. 

"Aye," Natsu exclaims with equal fear.

Lucy bewildered by the whole ordeal can only ask "Why is Natsu talking like Happy!?"

"That's great. I'm quite pleased to see the two of you getting along so well. However, it's only natural for even the best of friends to lock horns now and again," she says with a small knowing grin. While Vela can only quietly laugh to herself using her hand as a cover.   

"I don't know if we're the best of friends," Gray says with a falter.

"Aye," agrees Natsu with much less pep than the last one. 

Still a little freaked out at never having seen the fire mage act like this Lucy can only look on and say, "What's gotten into Natsu!?"

Mirajane hoping to alleviate the tension and confusion chimes in. "He's scared. A few years ago, he challenged Erza to a fight, and she beat him up pretty bad. Vela ended up hearing about it and gave him a beating to teach him a lesson about respecting other people. Not to mention the hours long lecture he got afterwards."

"That was stupid thing to do," Lucy comments incredulously. 

Macao not wanting to be the only one embarrassed by Erza's earlier comments, "After that she found Gray walking around naked, so she decided to beat him up too. Later that same day Vela saw him and smacked him out of shock."

"And let's not forget they also beat up Loke for trying to hit on the both of them at the same exact time," comments Cana while picturing the two girls extending their arms in a mean right hook aiming towards Loke's face. "He totally deserved it though."

Lucy only nods in agreement. "Yeah, can't say I blame them."

"Natsu, Gray, I need you to do myself and Vela a favor," Erza says bringing the attention back to her. "While travelling we overheard something that has us worried. Normally I would consult with the Master before acting but he's not here, and this is a matter of utmost urgency. The two of you are the strongest wizards here. We could really use your help."

"She's right. You two are the most capable wizards we have right now. With your help I'm sure this entire thing will go smoothly," Vela says still with an easygoing grin on her face while the rest of the guild murmur amongst themselves in astonishment. 

Erza continues, "We'll meet at the train station tomorrow morning."

The boys now apart from one another go on to leer and internally gripe with the news at being put together on the same team. They're not the only ones as everyone else can hardly believe it themselves including Mira. "Erza, Vela, Natsu, and Gray working together? I never saw that one coming," Lucy looks towards her in confusion. "This could be the most powerful team Fairy Tail's ever seen!"

"And then..."

Magnolia Station 

The following day at the train station passer byers look on baffled and slightly disturbed by the commotion being caused by a certain pair of fire and ice wizards. "Ugh, I hate this. Teaming up with you is the worst idea ever," Natsu has mean frown on his face and several veins popping out of his forehead.

Gray with almost the exact same look on his face goes on to complain, "Yeah, tell me about it. Erza and Vela made a huge mistake asking a loser like you to tag along."

"Fine, then why don't you just take care of it yourself?! I don't want to go anyway!"

"Sounds like a plan to me. Then I'll get to watch Erza beat you senseless. Not to mention how humiliated you'll be when Vela tells you off like a little boy."

As the two boys continue to go at each other's throats and draw more attention to themselves Lucy and Happy sit on a bench not far away, observing the embarrassing spectacle. Happy is obliviously munching on a fish and Lucy is holding her celestial spirit Plu trying not to cringe from secondhand embarrassment. "Let's just sit here and pretend we don't know them."

Happy still eating to his hearts content only continues to stare on but asks her, "What made you decide to come with us?"

"Mira asked me to tag along."

The day before Lucy was sitting at the bar as Mira was waitressing leading to the older woman to ask a favor of the blonde "Those two are going to be at each other's throats when Erza's not looking, and Vela tends to find their fights amusing. She kinda sees them as her own personal entertainment as long as it doesn't interfere with the job, so she probably won't be much help in that area. So, I want you to be there to stop them, ok?"

"Who me?!" 

"You aren't doing a very good job," the cat comments as the boys are still snarling and hurling insults at one another. 

Lucy seemingly having already given up can only say, "They're hopeless." Happy only hums in response.

Their conversation is interrupted by Erza herself, "Sorry we're late have you been waiting long?" This causes Natsu and Gray to cease their petty squabble and suddenly become alert with surprise and slight fear. 

The blonde not wanting to make a bad first impression turns and says "No, not really." But goes on to freeze with shock as the armored wizard is currently hauling a large wagon stacked with a multitude of suitcases and other miscellaneous items. Beside her stood Vela who only had on a simple backpack. 

Happy also in a state of shock exclaims, "Whoa! Look at that luggage!" 

"All those belong to you!?" Lucy asks incredulously. The whole thing looks like it's bursting at the seams and about to topple over.

"Most of it is Erza's, but to be honest there might be some of my own things mixed up in there. I really don't know," Vela says with a closed eye smile and a slight sweat drop.  

But before Lucy can respond the idiotic duo interrupt while once again having each in a friendly embrace. Except now they were fist pumping and jumping up and down with one another. "It's time to go, good buddy!" Gray exclaims with fake joy.

Natsu reverting back to his Happy impression agrees with an "Aye! Haha!"   

Lucy starting to get fed up with their bipolar behavior. "Listen one Happy's enough!" 

Erza not at all deterred by their strange behavior only goes on to smile. "Good. I really love to see the two of you getting along," She then turns towards Lucy and asks, "And what was your name? I believe I saw you at the guild yesterday."

Lucy gets up and while still holding Plu, "My name's Lucy and I just joined Fairy Tail. Mira asked me to come along with you guys so I could learn a thing or two. I hope that's ok with you guys."

"The more the merrier. I'm Erza and this is Vela" As she says that Vela goes on to give a friendly smile and wave. While the girls are busy conversing Natsu and Gray go back to butting heads. "Wait you're the girl we heard about," As Erza says this, she turns her head slightly to look back at them. At that exact moment the boys revert back to their happy go lucky facade.

"Oh yeah! Are you the one that beat a mercenary gorilla with only your pinkie finger?" Vela asks while trying to hold in her laughter as she noticed the two boys go back to fighting once Erza turned back around. Lucy can only give off a sound of disbelief at how the story of her time on Mt. Hakabe had been twisted so dramatically. 

"Is that so? Then it'll be great to have a wizard like you on board thanks for your help." Erza once again turns around to check on the boys and like clockwork they stop fighting. 

Lucy not wanting to be sent back in embarrassment can only shakily agree, "Oh no, it's my pleasure."

Sensing the end of the conversation Natsu calls out, "Hey Erza, I'll come with you but only under one condition."

Gray not wanting to be caught up in one of his stupid schemes can only whisper to him in admonishment, "Shut up!"

Intrigued she turns to face him "Oh? Then let's hear it."

Natsu with a newfound determination holds up a clenched fist and says, "Kay. I want a rematch when we get back to Fairy Tail." Happy and Lucy let out gasps of surprise with the cat flying away because of it. 

Gray not believing what just came out of the dragon slayer's mouth can only lay a hand on his shoulder and concernedly ask, "What's wrong with you? You got some kind of death wish?"

Natsu ignoring Gray, still intently focused on Erza just goes on to say, "I'm a lot stronger than I was last time. This time'll be way different, cause I'm gonna beat you." 

The redhead only gives a small grin with a hint of pride and amusement accepts. "Yes, I can tell you've improved. As to whether or not you can beat me, I suppose we'll have to see." She looks up with a certain gleam in her eye. "I accept your challenge." 

With fire slightly erupting from his body Natsu only looks up and exclaims, "Oh yeah! I'M ALL FIRED UP!" 

Vela goes on to whisper to Happy, "How much do you want to bet this'll end up the same as all the other fights?"

"I'll bet five fish on it!"

Despite the earlier fiery attitude Natsu had shown at the station, he's now reduced to a sad mess of moans and groans of pain and discomfort practically falling out of his seat. Vela while in a similar state is at least faring a little better. While slightly leaning on Gray and squeezing Happy for comfort on her lap, she tries to not focus on her upset stomach. "I swear you're totally pathetic Natsu. One minute you're picking a fight and the next you're like this. At least try to get it under control like Vela," Gray complains while gesturing to the girl currently propped up against his shoulder trying to sleep. 

"It's got to be tough on him getting from place to place, and I never would have expected Vela to have the same problem," Lucy says sympathetically. 

Erza, next to Lucy, having gotten used to the two's stomach issues quells the girl's concerns. "Don't worry they'll be fine. Natsu, come here and sit next to me," Lucy gives off a quiet gasp of surprise. I guess she wants me to move. Now Lucy is sitting next to Vela on her right while Erza has her arm wrapped around Natsu. "Now just relax." Natsu gives off a small Aye of agreement before choking out a grunt of pain as Erza had just socked him in the gut to knock him out cold. "There that should make the trip a little easier on him." He's now passed out in her lap. 

Lucy can only make a slightly disgruntled face at the unusual act. Okay maybe she's not as sane as I thought she was. Gray now facing Erza and not the window, "Erza I think it's about time you start filling us in. I mean what kind of mission are we going on here?"

"Of course. Vela and I have reason to believe that the dark guild Eisenwald is planning something big. I'm not sure what exactly, but it has to do with a magic item called Lullaby."

Gray and Happy look towards each other "Lullaby?" they both question.

Lucy remembering those wizards she, Natsu, and Gray fought on the way back from last job she took says, "Wait, that thing from before?" Lucy and Gray go on to explain their encounter with the band of mercenaries from a couple days ago and how they had also mentioned Lullaby.  

"I see. So you've run into the Eisenwald guild before?" 

"Well, I'm not positive they were part of Eisenwald, but they did mention Lullaby," Gray says. 

"It sounds like they were members who dropped out of the guild and gone into hiding. Perhaps they wanted no part in whatever it is that's coming." 

"So this thing is do bad it even scares dark wizards?"

"I'm only hypothesizing, but whoever you saw dragging off Happy's kidnappers that day must have been from Eisenwald. It's obvious they didn't want their plans getting out." 

"What do you think they're gonna try?" Lucy asks in concern. 

"Let me start from the beginning. Just the other day Vela and I were heading home after completing a job. We stopped by a pub in Onibas we knew was a gathering spot for local wizards."

Vela and Erza were sitting at the bar keeping to themselves after finishing their most recent job. However, their relaxation was interrupted when a man at a different table shouted out "Come on! Hurry it up bartender!"

One of the man's friends tried to get him to ease up. "Hey, relax a little."

"And how am I supposed to do that? We finally managed to figure out where Lullaby's hidden, but we can't do anything because of some seal." This attracts the girls' attention, so they subtly begin to eavesdrop on their conversation.

The man's friend worried of others hearing tries to get him to pipe down, "Keep it down man."

One of them, much more relaxed than the others says to them, "Don't sweat it you guys. Let me handle this one. You just head back to the guild, alright?" He then begins to stand up from his seat and head towards the door. 

"You sure Kage? Are you really gonna be ok on your own?"

Kage, a slim man with black hair tied up in a ponytail and wearing a long white coat, only looks at them with an easygoing smile. "You don't have to worry about me. Just tell Erigor I'll be coming back with Lullaby in three days."     

Lucy, now holding a shaking Plu, "Lullaby? That's like a song you sing kids to sleep."

"Yes, and the fact that it had been sealed away means that it must be very powerful magic," Erza responds.

Gray looking intrigued asks, "You sure the guys you saw at the pub are with Eisenwald?"

"Yes, I can't believe I was such a fool that day." Erza's face turns more grave. "I didn't recognize his name. Erigor the ace of Eisenwald. He only accepts assassination requests which is why he's earned the name Erigor the Reaper."

"He kills for money?!" Lucy asks in horror.

"When the council outlawed assassination requests, Eisenwald decided that money was more important than the council's rules. As a result, they were kicked out of their wizard league six years ago. But that didn't stop them. They've disobeyed orders and remained active to this day."

Lucy, and Plu, are now sweating buckets and shaking profusely. Enough to create a tiny puddle on their seat. "Ok, I should be heading back home now."

Happy notices and goes on to observe, "Lucy's slimy all of a sudden."

"It's sweat!" 

Suddenly Erza slams down her fist on top of Natsu's head. "How could I have been so careless? If only I had recognized Erigor's name that day I could have pulverized them. I could have forced them to reveal their scheme to me."

Now seeing what the others meant the other day Lucy lets out a quiet yelp of, "She's scary!"

Vela having woken up due to the commotion let's out a struggled, "It's not entirely your fault Erza I was there too. I didn't recognize the name either, so don't take on all the guilt yourself. We're both partially to blame."

"I guess you're right. Thank you, Vela, for putting my mind slightly at ease." Erza gives the girl a warm smile.

Vela returns it, although slightly more uneasy due to her upset stomach. "No problem, but could you please try not to hit my brother? He doesn't need to lose any more brain cells than he already has."

Happy looking up from the girl's lap asks, "How's your tummy Vela? Are you feeling any better after your nap?"

The girl gives a comforting albeit queasy smile. "Nah not really, but we're almost at the next station so I'll just grin and bear it for now." 

Gray looking out the window with Vela still leaning on his shoulder, "So if I've got this, Eisenwald is planning to do something with this lullaby and you guys wanna stop 'em? Because after what you and Vela overheard, you're sure it's gonna be something bad."

"That's correct and we're not foolish enough to believe that we can take on an entire magical guild all by ourselves. That's why we asked you and Natsu for your help. We're storming the Eisenwald guild." 

Lucy is still sweating and shaking and as a result part of Plu's head is now soggy and halfway melted as he is covered in her sweat. On the other hand, Gray has an excited smile on his face. "Sounds like fun to me."

Happy jumps up from Vela's lap with a loud, "Aye!" 

"I shouldn't have come along!" 

"Eww! Now you're super slimy!"

"I told you it's sweat!" 

The train's snack cart comes around and Lucy tries using her looks to her advantage. "Can't you give me a discount pretty please?" The group is now snacking on sandwiches for lunch, sans Vela as she fears she may throw up if she eats anything while they're still moving. Happy is chewing on a fish and Plu is ironically, munching on a carrot. Lucy curious about the redheaded mage sitting across from her asks, "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of magic do you practice Erza?"

"That's a good question."

Happy momentarily stops his chewing and says "Erza's magic is really pretty. She makes her enemies bleed. A lot." 

"I don't know if I'd call that pretty."

Erza then takes a bite out her strawberry cake and says, "Personally I think Gray's and Vela's magic is much more beautiful than mine."

Gray now finished with his sandwich, "Oh like this," careful not to knock Vela off his shoulder, he places a closed fist on top of his open palm and creates the Fairy Tail insignia out of ice. Lucy looks on in awe. "I use ice magic." 

"Now I understand why you and Natsu don't get along he's fire and your ice. Talk about not mixing very well."

Erza chimes in with an amused sigh, "Huh, I never thought about that."

Gray disagrees, "Nah I just hate his guts."

Lucy then turns to the slouched over Vela. "What about you Vela? What kind of magic do you practice?"

"She'll show you later Lucy. I don't think she's really feeling up to it right now," Gray answers in place of her.

"It's alright Gray. I can't do anything super flashy right now, but I can at least show her this." Vela then holds up one of her pointer fingers causing small sparks of golden light to go off, similar to that of fireworks.

"Whoa, so pretty!"

"I'm glad you think so. Hopefully I can show you more once my stomach stops doing jumping jacks."

Lucy gives a big grin, "I can't wait."

Onibas Station 

The train has finally arrived at Onibas station. Erza is now pulling her gigantic mountain of luggage with her with Happy now riding atop it and Lucy and Gray following slightly behind her. The latter also has his arm slightly wrapped around Vela while she continues to lean against him to help support her balance until the effects of the train completely ware off. He then turns towards Erza and asks, "You think the Eisenwald guys are still going to be in this town?"

"I have no idea," she answers truthfully. "That's what we're here to find out."

"I still think maybe I should go home," Lucy comments as she's still unsure whether or not her presence is really necessary for this job. She's also still kind of freaked out by how dangerous these Eisenwald members seem to be and is unsure is she's well-equipped to deal with them should the time come.

However Happy notices that an important member of their team is missing. "Hold on where's Natsu?"

Back on the train Natsu has woken up and is once again at the mercy of his upset tummy. Unfortunately, everyone had realized his absence to late as the train has already begun to leave towards its next stop. Happy not seeming too worried only waves on his paw in farewell and says, "Uh oh, there he goes." The others can only look on in shock with Lucy giving off a slight scream of distress.

"I was so busy talking I forgot about him," Erza voices in concern as she drops the handle to the wagon carrying all her bags. 

Vela being alerted out of her stupor can only call out in despair, "Oh no Natsu! What kind of big sister completely forgets about her little brother?!" Now standing on her own she can only watch as the train gets farther and farther away. 

Erza turns to the side clenching her fists with the upmost conviction, "I am such a fool. Natsu hates all forms of transportation. This is all my fault I need one of you to come and hit me for my penance."

The others are all slightly offput by the odd request and Lucy tries to talk her down from it. "That's a little much." 

"I agree," Vela says but then goes on to say in the same tone as Erza, "Plus he's my little brother, so if anyone should be hit it's me." She then turns towards Gray. "Please hit me, Gray. It's the only way I'll feel better about this whole thing."

Gray startled can only stare at the girl, "What?! I'm not going to hit you!"

"Please, it's the only way I'll feel better!"

Instead of adhering to her wishes the ice wizard proceeds to pull on her both her cheeks. "I'm not going to hit you."

"But-"

"Just calm down. I know you see him as your little brother and you think you're responsible for him, but he'll be fine. I promise." 

Vela stares at him in surprise but begins to pout as she knows he's right. "Ok, I guess you're right." 

Gray then let's go of her cheeks and starts patting her on the head instead. "Just wait and see I'm sure we'll meet up with him soon."

Lucy can only look on at the two in wonder. She never would have guessed that the two were so close with one another. She figured that since Gray and Natsu got along like a water and oil she figured Vela and him would be the same, but instead they get long like a house on fire. In fact, if she didn't know any better than she would probably assume that the two of them were a couple. She then turns towards Happy, "I never would have guessed the two of them would get along so well." 

"Why do you say that?"

"I just thought that since Natsu and Gray argue so much, and since Vela is Natsu's sister, then they would act the exact same. But they're pretty affectionate with one another."

"Out of the two of them Vela is definitely the smarter sibling, so she doesn't really pick unnecessary fights like Natsu does. But since he does, she always has her hands full and although she loves him a lot, she can still find him a bit much at times. That's why whenever Natsu does something that makes her really mad she'll go to Gray to complain about him and all her other frustrations and Gray will do the same which is why they're so close."

"Huh, you know they kinda look cute together don't you think?"

"I guess, but don't go letting Natsu hear that, or he'll blow a gasket."

Speaking of the pink haired wizard he is still stuck on the train heading who knows where and using all his energy to keep from spewing everywhere. However, he isn't the only one left on the train as a man sees him and recognizes his guild mark and begins to approach. "Well, lookie here it's a Fairy Tail wizard. How's the guild treating you these days? Is it worth sticking around?" It's Kage, the wizard that was talking about Lullaby at the pub Erza and Vela were at. And although he's asking all this with a smile on his face there's a certain animosity that can be heard within his voice. 

Natsu still out of it can only reply with a confused, "Huh? What?"

Kage seeming fed up proceeds to stomp his boot onto Natsu's face. "Don't act all high and might just cause you're in a legal guild, Mr. Fairy. You guys who just blindly follow the magic council. You know what you look like to us? Harmless little flies." He then goes on to laugh.

Natsu not one to take a mocking of his guild laying down proceeds to stand up and gather fire in his hands. Kage noticing this begins to back up but still upholds his cocky attitude "Seems I hit a nerve." 

"You-ugh", Natsu begins to say but is interrupted with the sudden need to yak as the train begins to shake. As a result, his flames go out and his face turns a little blue.

The dark wizard seeing how pathetic the dragon slayer looks begins to walk towards him once again as he knows that Natsu can't do anything in the state he's in now and starts to laugh. "What kind of magic is that? Let me show you how it's done." He then conjures up a purple magic circle beneath his feet which causes the shadows down below him to rush towards Natsu and strike him in the face, knocking him over. "It's all in the follow through."

Natsu can only look up in realization as that magic is the exact same as the one he and the others encountered the other day in the woods. "That magic..."

The train comes to a sudden halt causing Kage to stumble. A wooden stick with a skull on top and holes, seemingly a flute, falls out of his jacket and onto the ground.

Back at the Onibus Station, Erza had her hand on a pulled down lever, which was apparently the emergency brake for the trains. However, she didn't have permission as she was currently being yelled at by one of the conductors. "What do you think you're doing lady? You can't pull the emergency lever without permission."

Erza, not seeing a problem with what she's done tries to reason with him. "It's for our comrade please understand."

"Are you kidding me?!"

The rest of the group can only watch on incredulously at the audacity of Erza's actions and reasoning, and she doesn't seem to be done with her demands. "Now I would like you to take our luggage to the hotel."

"Do I look like a bellhop?!"

Lucy is now beginning to realize maybe there really were no sane people in Fairy Tail. "I'm starting to realize that all of the wizards in Fairy Tail are just a little insane."

Gray tries to come to his own defense, "Well not all of us." Unfortunately, this does not work in his favor as he was once again without his clothes.

"Oh yeah, where are your clothes?!"

Amidst all this chaos happening Vela had made her way towards Erza and the conductor. With one hand on the man's shoulder, she proceeds to give what can only be described as a sad puppy dog look with slight tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry sir, but my little brother was stuck on the train that just left. He doesn't do too well on trains, and I'd be devastated if anything were to happen to him. That's why my friend stopped the train." Her tears begin to fall as she clasps her hands together as if in prayer and begins to plead, "If anyone's to blame it's me, so please don't get mad at her."

The man completely taken with the sight of the beautiful girl in front of him replies with a blush on his cheeks and hearts in his eyes. "Of course, Miss Vela I would hate to see you upset. Take as long as you wish I would hate to be the reason you cry." 

Her sad puppy dog look transforms into a grateful smile "Oh thank you so much sir!" She then goes back towards where the others are as Erza tries to convince the man to take their bags to the hotel. Lucy then notices that Vela's grin is not so much grateful but more so self-satisfied.

"Wow, I had no idea you were such a good actress. That conductor was basically putty in your hands," the blonde says in admiration. "He even knew your name somehow." 

Vela turns towards Lucy still with that same smile on her face, "Thanks, it was no big deal. And he probably knows my name because he's seen my pinups before."

Gray now with clothes on adds, "Yeah that's another reason why she models. Since her photos are so popular she's gained a lot of recognition which means a lot of guys are willing to do just about anything to get close to her."

"Well, I don't know about them doing just about anything," Vela says with her face turning red from embarrassment. 

"It's true. You should have seen when she was first starting out Lucy", Happy recounts. "There used to be constant gifts and goodie bags being sent to the guild. It got to the point where Gramps had to send out an official message in Sorcerer Weekly to get them to stop coming, but she still gets some sent to her home address. And besides Natsu would just burn everything that wasn't edible." While he's saying all this Gray's face had turned a little sour at the mention of all the presents and declarations of love the purple haired mage used to get. 

"Yep, that sounds like Natsu." Lucy then gets a thoughtful look on her face. "Huh, maybe I should consider looking for gig there. It would be a great help in paying for my rent. I mean, I know I totally have what it takes," Lucy says exuding confidence.

But to a certain cat it seemed more like delusion. "I'm pretty sure you're too slimy for them, Lucy."

"I told you it was sweat and it's not like it's a constant thing!"

Vela then puts a hand on Lucy's shoulder, "Don't worry about what Happy's saying. If you really want, I can talk to the editors and see if they have any openings next time they do an issue on Fairy Tail."

"Really? you'd do that for me?"

"Sure! I think you could rake them in a lot of sales, Lucy. They'd be lucky to have you."

Lucy then glomps Vela in a surprise hug, "Oh thanks so much!"

Vela not at all deterred by the sudden attack simply returns the hug with slight stars in her eyes, "Aww, you're so sweet!"

Meanwhile on the train, Natsu is now more aware of what's going on thanks to the train's sudden halt in movement. "The train stopped." It's at that point that he notices the odd flute the rolled onto the ground. "What is that?"

Kage still a little disoriented from the abrupt cease in movement, "You saw it."

Getting fed up with the shadow mage, Natsu prepares to attack once more and gathers up flames in his hand again. Only this time he's much more confident that he'll win. "That's enough out of you. It's payback time." He then charges forward with his fists alight and a battle cry.

But right before Natsu can land his hit, Kage summons his shadows and with a cry of "Dark shadow", he forms a makeshift shield out of them. While the shield managed to take most of the impact Kage was still knocked down with the rest of the train car having been destroyed with smoke coming off of it. Not wanting to admit defeat all Kage can do is murmur, "Lucky shot."

Still feeling fired up Natsu can only look down at the man who was so cocky just moments before. "Little fly huh?" Then the PA system turns on. Attention all passengers our emergency stop was a false alarm. We'll be departing again shortly. Natsu not at all pleased by the thought of having to go through an upset stomach again darts to leave. "Oh crap, I gotta go." And begins to reach for his stowed away backpack.

However, Kage stops him before he can. "Hold it right there. I'm not letting ya get away that easily. You're messing with Eisenwald now."

Natsu, not at all intimidated turns to look at the beat up wizard, "Oh, so you're with Eisenwald huh? I'll show you what happens to people who knock Fairy Tail. How about we take this outside?" However, before either of them can react the train begins shaking once again. But this time it's due to a vehicle heading their way with Erza driving, Lucy peeking her head out of the back window, Gray hanging on to the roof on top of the vehicle, and Vela is inside next to Lucy holding on for dear life and trying to keep her lunch down. 

This is a magic mobile. It's a fast vehicle that runs on the driver's magic energy. 

The magic mobile had managed to catch up with the now moving train and is side by side with car that Natsu is in. To let him know they're there Lucy calls out his name with a loud yell, "Natsu!" All of a sudden Natsu jumps out one of the train's windows. However, he jumped a little too soon as he ends up falling backwards and knocking into Gray which sends both of them tumbling off the vehicle and onto the ground.

This causes Erza to skid to a sudden stop, so they don't go losing the fire wizard once more. "Natsu are you alright?" she asks in concern.

He can only respond with a strained, "Aye" as both himself and Gray are laying on the ground with huge bumps on their foreheads and the whites of their eyes showing. Vela, startled by the collision, immediately gets out of the vehicle to check on the two with the others following suit.

"That hurt you idiot!"

"Shut up, you icy freak! How come you guys left me on the train?!" 

Vela, near tears, jumps onto Natsu and pulls him tightly into her chest to the point where he is getting semi-smothered. She gives out a loud cry, "I'm so sorry Natsu! I'm the worst big sister ever! I'll never leave you alone on a train again!" Her tears are now nonstop and coming out of her eyes like a waterfall. 

"It's no big deal I'm fine, but I won't be for long if you don't let go!" 

"I'm just thankful you weren't badly injured," Erza says as Natsu finally manages to escape his sister's bear-like embrace. "I apologize Natsu." She then pulls him in for her own hug that is just as tight but more painful than Vela's as his head ends up slamming up against her armor hard.

"Like I said it's ok," he says in slight pain, but luckily, he's not stuck in her arms for too long as she lets go of him and he's able to pull himself upright. "Well, I'm shaken up pretty bad. I got attacked by a weirdo on the train."

"Are you serious?" Lucy asks in astonishment. 

"I think it's the dude who dragged away that guys who were gonna eat Happy. Said he was with Eisenwald."

This captures Erza and Vela's attention immediately as their eyes grow wide in surprise. Erza then proceeds to yell out "You fool!" while slapping Natsu across the face with her bare hand. The rest can only look on with startled expressions on their faces, while Erza continues to scold Natsu. "That is exactly who we're chasing after on this mission. Why did you let him get away?!"

What Erza has failed to realize amidst her outrage is that Natsu was completely knocked out during her explanation of who Eisenwald is and what they may have in store. Natsu can only hold his stinging cheek and stew in his confusion. "What the-? This is the first I've heard about it."

"I explained everything on the train. You should listen when people talk to you!"

Lucy turns towards Vela and in fear of getting yelled at herself whispers, "She already forgot she knocked him out, didn't she? This woman is unbelievable."

"Yeah, sometimes when Erza's really stressed she'll tend to forget minor details like that. Usually I'd try and stop her, but we've got bigger things to attend to, so I'll just let slide for now."  

"Yup," Gray agrees. 

"That's Erza for ya," Happy says in his happy-go-lucky tone.  

After giving Natsu a thorough chiding Erza gets back on the magic mobile and attaches the power connector to her wrist to start it back up again. "So, he was on the same train we were on, let's find him."

"But what was this guy like?" Gray asks.

"He didn't look like somebody from a dark guild, but he did have this strange flute thing. It looked like a skull except it had three eyes."

"A three eyed skull?" Lucy chimes in.

"That's creepy," Gray comments.

"Hmm...I feel like I've heard about something like that before," Vela says to herself. 

"Is there something wrong, Lucy?" the cat questions.

"It's just I've heard about that flute before. Lullaby, the Cursed Song. It's death magic."

Erza begins backing up the magic mobile but stops after hearing Lucy's response. "What?"

"A cursed song? Like an incantation?" Gray inquires. 

"I've only ever read about them in books before, but there's some deadly spells out there that are forbidden to be used by wizards."

"That's right. There are cursed black magic spells, that will kill the person they're used on," Erza responds now understanding how grave this situation has actually become.

"Well, if Lucy's right then Lullaby might be even worse."

"What do you mean sis?"

"I remember reading about it in a book back at the guild library. Lullaby used to be a tool for casting simple death curses, but then it got transformed into a demon flute by the dark wizard Zeref. Now it's song can kill hundreds maybe even thousands at once, by lulling them all into endless sleep."

This causes everyone to get into the vehicle with the upmost urgency. Erza was still behind the wheel while Gray was riding on top of the roof as there was no more room inside for him. He almost flew off after Erza had passed over some rocks at full speed. "Hey, slow down Erza! You're using up too much of your power driving this thing!"

"I have no choice but to press onward. We're running out of time. If Erigor gets his hands on this death magic, trust me, lives will be lost." The magic mobile starts to drive even faster. Curse them. What is it they hope to accomplish? This is madness. 

[beanea04]

Prologue

Natsu, Lucy and Happy were walking back to the guild after completing their job for Kaby Melon. Right now, they're in the middle of the woods trudging through a swamp of grey murky water. Lucy not wanting to get dirty is currently inside her celestial spirit, Horologium the Clock, while Natsu is toughening it out with Happy sitting content on top of his head.

"I don't know about this, guys. Are you guys sure we're going the right way? she asks," says Horologium.

"Happy says this is the way home so this the way we're going is what I answer," replies Natsu mocking the speech of the celestial spirt.  

"Have some faith. I'm a cat I have a great sense of smell. My nose will lead us home," Happy comments with a smug grin on his face.

Lucy can only glance at them with a dubious look. "It's dogs that have great noses, and what does smell have to do with direction? She asks quite haughtily," the clock says in place of the blonde.

Natsu a little fed up with the complaining mentions to her, "Why don't you do your own walking for a while?"

"Because I'm tired, she groans exhaustedly." 

"Oh brother."

Off in the distance there's a sudden rustling coming from within a large bush, alerting the wizards. Natsu quickly brought to attention launches towards it ready to attack with a yell of "Who's there?!" The sounds of a fight can then be heard.

"Do you always have to fight?! She inquires worriedly," Horologium says with Lucy now pushing her face up against his glass case, so she could have a better view.

On the other hand, Happy is stood on Horologium's open palm while doing a little dance and cheering Natsu on. "You can take him Natsu." All of sudden Natsu and Gray pop up out of the bush and land in front of the trio in fighting stances. "It's Gray!"

"What is he doing in his underwear the lady questions."

"Trying to find a bathroom," Gray says in response.

"Why would you strip down before you found one? And who the heck heard of a bathroom in the middle of a forest?" Natsu questions incredulously. 

"I wanted some privacy I didn't expect an idiot to barge in."

"I didn't barge in!"

"Yeah, you did!" 

The two continue to bicker while Lucy, now outside of her spirit, can only look on with a sweat drop. "They're so childish."

"She says to the cat," Happy comments with a grin on his face wanting to keep the gag going.

After Natsu and Gray finished their petty squabble the group of wizards were now sitting around and conversing with one another while Happy was fishing into the nearby ravine for a snack. "So, you're on your way back from a job?" Lucy asks.

"Yeah, there's a shortcut through these woods that'll get you back to town in no time."

The cat feeling validated that his nose was correct pipes up with a "See I told ya so!" while wearing a self-satisfied grin. 

Lucy feeling a little petty says, "Yeah well if your nose is so great then how come you didn't know Gray was right in front of us, smart guy?"

"There's some things you don't wanna smell." 

Gray turns to glare at the blue cat with a tick mark on his forehead "What'd you say?!"

"I agree, so go on home and we'll smell ya later," comments Natsu with a relaxed smile on his face and his hands behind his head. 

Gray now standing up and facing the horizon says, "Fine I will and unless you want trouble you should too." 

Lucy with her curiosity piqued asks "Why do you say that?"

"Cause Erza and Vela are due back any time now."

Natsu can only gasp in fear while Lucy alerted but also a little excited exclaims, "The Erza and Vela? Whoa!"

"Yep! Erza's the most powerful woman in Fairy Tail. And Vela's pretty powerful too, they're basically on par with one another", Happy now with a fish in his mouth.

"I can't wait to meet them!", Lucy exclaims with hearts floating around her. "But you know I've never even seen a picture of Erza in Sorcerer Weekly or anything. What's she like?"

All three boys now with their heads hanging low and a feeling of doom surrounding them all say the same thing, "Scary." The boys go on to discuss how insane Erza truly is while Lucy is stewing in her shock having been knocked out of her stupor. 

"Wild animal?" Gray suggests to Natsu with his hand partially blocking his mouth.

Natsu in the same position replies, "A vile beast?"

"More like a full-on monster," chimes in Happy. This causes Lucy to imagine a large hulking image of black womanlike figure spitting fire while rampaging over a town with screaming villagers running away. She can only gasp in fear. 

Happy still munching on his fish, "She's not that big you guys."

"Well, she's big enough for me," comments Natsu.

"One thing we can all agree on is she is defiantly that scary, well maybe a little scarier," Gray says.

They then all imagine an even larger figure than before now knocking down entire mountains with a single kick. "Yeah, she's about this scary," Natsu says.

However, Gray disagrees, "What? I guarantee you Erza can take down at least three mountains with a single kick."

"You don't need to exaggerate like that Gray it's more like two," Happy pipes in now without a fish and sweating profusely.

Lucy now completely offput from meeting the woman responds, "You know guys even if she's able to kick down a single mountain that's still scary." Lucy then has a thoughtful look on her face and asks "What about Vela? I've seen a few of her pinups from Sorcerer Weekly, but I was never able to get my hands on an issue, they were always sold out."

"They always sell out so fast cause she rarely ever does them and when she does agree to get photographed, she charges a hefty fee for them. In order to make a profit the publishers make those into special edition issues hence their popularity," Gray explains. 

"From her pictures she looks super sweet, but since she's just as powerful as Erza does that also mean she's just as scary?!" Lucy questions once again shaking in her seat.

"Of course she is! Sometimes I think she's even worse than Erza!" exclaims Natsu.

"Don't listen to him Lucy, she's actually pretty down to earth," Gray says while pointedly ignoring Natsu. "He's only saying that cause she's a little harder on him compared to everyone else."

"Why's that?"

"It's probably because she's his older sister," Happy says. 

This causes Lucy to pause, as that was not the answer she was expecting, and turn towards Natsu "What?! I had no idea you two were related! How come you haven't told me?"

"There was no reason to bring us up until now besides we're not blood related. After Igneel left I spent days wandering around looking for him, I guess I pushed myself too hard and ended up getting sick. Vela found me passed out in the middle of the woods and decided to take care of me and help me look for him and her mom, Cosmologia. A couple months after traveling together Gramps found us, and we ended up joining Fairy Tail. Ever since then she's been taking care of me like I'm her little brother."

"Yeah, and she scolds him like one too," Happy adds with a hint of a laugh in his voice.

"Crap let's get moving! I don't wanna deal with her yelling in my ear if I don't get back before her!"

All of a sudden, an explosion goes off leaving them all buried in sand. Natsu is stuck upside-down with his head buried beneath, Lucy can only cough from all the dust and debris and Gray is buried up to his shoulders, "What now?" he asks.

Natsu setting himself upright notices they're one member short and with a mouthful of sand calls out a worried, "Happy?!"

Off in the distance a strained cry of "Help me" could be heard. Happy was currently tied up to a spit over a fireplace. He was surrounded by a pair of orange haired twins, a black-haired man with a floating crystal ball in his hand, a short grey colored man that looks slightly like a goblin, and a chicken in overalls. It seems they're getting ready to cook the cat.

"We're finally gonna get some real protein," says one of the twins with drool coming out of the side of his mouth. 

"No berries for us tonight," says the other.

"MEAT!" screams out the chicken equally as hungry.

"Our future holds a feast," comments the man with the glowing ball.

Happy is now shaking in what they all assume to be fear at the thought of becoming their next meal. "Relax you're gonna be in our bellies soon enough, so there's no need to be scared," the goblin like man says trying to quell their lunch.

"Actually, I'm not shaking like this because I'm scared," this only causes him to look at the cat in confusion. "I gotta use the bathroom really bad! I can't hold it much longer, and I betcha it's gonna make me taste weird."

The shorter man desperate to eat something filling, "Who cares? Now cook him," he demands of the chicken.

"Meat," the chicken man then grabs a magic staff that lights up with fire.

"I will take mine medium please," comments the black-haired man. 

"Hey, I'm serious. It's gonna make me taste funny, I just know it will."

But before the chicken can ignite their makeshift fireplace he becomes alerted from the shout of a "Hold it right there!" Gray, Lucy and Natsu can be seen atop a cliff ready to save their friend.

Lucy cries out to the blue cat to make sure he's okay. The cat in his relief cries out with a "Thank goodness! Now I'm not gonna taste weird."

The grey man annoyed at their meal being interrupted chimes in with a, "Pipe down."

The Fairy Tail wizards look down with sneers on their faces while Natsu is cracking his knuckles prepping for the fight that's about to take place so he can save his best friend. "Sorry, but you guys are gonna have to make other plans for dinner."

"You're all wizards, aren't you? What guild are you in?" Gray questions. If he knows what guild they're a part of, then maybe he can report them to their guild master later for trying to eat Happy.

"I'm not telling. Get 'em!" The group of five all ready themselves to attack in order to defend their meal. 

"Gray let's do it."

"Alright, but don't go telling me what to do." 

The twins go to attack Natsu with their weapons and the chicken man aims his staff at Gray. Unfortunately for them the two effortlessly evade their attacks. The grey man then slams his fist onto the ground where a yellow magic circle appears as he yells out, "Sand Bomb go!" A massive ball of sand appears and entraps Natsu within.

"Natsu!" Lucy calls out with worry.

Gray wanting to finish off the other quickly, "He's fine. Go and help Happy!"

Lucy wanting to help agrees with a "Right!" and starts to run towards the cat to free him. 

The two twins then direct their attention towards the ice wizard and attack him head on with their weapons drawn. Gray easily takes them down with no magic as Lucy is busy untying Happy from his binds, but he's currently confused amidst all the chaos and cries out, "Help! Lucy's gonna eat me!" 

"Shut up cat!" But what they failed to notice was the chicken that was slowly creeping towards them. And with another cry of meat, he brings up his flaming staff and prepared to strike the two down. Lucy can only let out a cry of terror and pleads, "Please don't kill me Mr. Chicken!"

But before he can attack, Gray knocks him down with a single kick while Lucy and Happy run for cover. After the chicken falls Gray only calls out a, "Next", with a bored look on his face as all he wants to do is get back to the guild. 

The man with the glowing orb appears to be preparing for an attack but instead tells Gray a fortune, "You'll see someone special very soon, but the stars point to great trouble with the light. And even more with water and women."

Gray can only sweat drop at the nonsense that was being spewed at him, "Ya telling my fortune?" He then proceeds to elbow the guy in the face and knock him unconscious.

Lucy can only look on in shock and admiration. "He's not using magic, wow," but is quickly knocked out of this stupor when she notices he is in nothing but his underwear once again. "Put some clothes on." 

"Crap!" 

The only one left standing is the sand wizard that still has Natsu ensnared in his sandstorm "Where'd these brats come from anyway?" Then all of a sudden, his sand is destroyed in a fiery explosion. Worried for what's to come he can only let a small "Uh oh!" before Natsu is standing right in front of him.

"You jerk. Now I've got a mouthful of sand and it's all cause of you." Natsu then spits out some of the leftover sand from his mouth and prepares his final blow. Slamming his two fists against one another he conjures up a magic circle. He then lets out a thunderous roar of "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" and leaps towards his target with his fists aflame and strikes him down with a huge explosion. 

The five wizards, all beaten, are now tied up to a tree, so they can't cause any more trouble. Natsu and Gray have their backs turned from them and are once again arguing "Don't you think you might have gone overboard, Natsu?" 

"So what if I did? I got the job done right?"

"Grow up already. You're an embarrassment to the guild and I'm sure Vela would say the same."

"What?! Shut up! And don't go talking about my sister like that." 

"No, you shut up! And I can talk about Vela however I want!"

"Why you-" 

As the two continue to argue Lucy can hear one of the tied-up wizards begin to mumble something. "Lulla-"

"Huh? What's lulla?"

"Lullaby. This-" This grabs everyone's attention, but before he can continue a dark shadow appears out of nowhere and knocks the Fairy Tail wizards out of the way before any of them can react. The tied-up wizards shake with fear for anticipation of what's to come next.

"He found us?! I thought we had gone far enough!" but just as one of them finishes saying this, the shadow transforms into a hand and encloses on the tree causing it to sink halfway into the ground and bury all the wizards tied to it. It then vanishes just as quickly as it appeared. 

"What was that?!" Lucy cries out in fear.

"Who was that?" Natsu calls out equally in shock. 

"Well, whoever it was they're fast," Gray comments. But unbeknownst to them there's a shadowy figure running away not far from them. "I can't even sense their presence anymore."

"But what could this mean?" Natsu questions with Happy now safely on his shoulder. 

"Lullaby" Lucy can only stare off into the distance with worry for the future.

Back in Magnolia the townspeople are staring in awe at two figures making their way towards the Fairy Tail guildhall.