Hello fellow fairies! Perhaps a few of you have realized that I have not updated my Halloween fanfiction. Others, who are perhaps more observative, have realized that it's not even under my list of stories at all! This is because I have decided to discontinue it. Sorry! Anyway, this gives me the opportunity to write a plot based story. Namely, the one you are reading right now.

"Natsu, I'm hungry," Happy moaned, "Can we stop soon for some fish?"

"Oh please," Carla retorted, her voice condescending. "You're always hungry. Hold out for a while longer, will you?" The blue exceed looked down dejectedly and nodded. The group continued in silence, until the Salamander turned around with a big smile on his face.

"We're here, guys!" he said. Natsu kicked open the doors, approaching the front desk confidently. A thin blonde woman was sitting at the counter reading Sorcerer's Weekly. She glanced up at them coldly, throwing aside her magazine and pulling out a clip board.

"We're here for the mission," Erza said. The blonde smiled slightly, before marking it down on a piece of paper.

"I see," she responded. "As we mentioned on our request, there has been a small dark guild terrorizing our village during nightfall. We were hoping that you would help us?" Erza nodded, taking the blonde's hands in her's with an endearing smile.

"Of course. Fairy Tail never fails," she said, turning back to her blonde sighed in relief, before motioning them to the staircase.

"Thank you all so much," she said, smiling again, "...You all better get your rest for the fight tonight."

"Gray-san, don't look!"

"...Oh, sorry."

Wendy blushed, covering her body with a towel. Gray smiled at her reaction, reaching over to ruffle her rich blue hair.

"Hey, it's nothing to be scared of. You know, I bathed with Erza all the time when I was younger, so I've basically seen everything," he said, a grin on his face. The dragon slayer didn't see how this would comfort her. Wendy gave him a perplexed look, before putting on her clothes quickly.

Perhaps it wasn't the most fortunate arrangement. Makarov had rented three rooms for the mission, and Natsu, who snored too loudly for anyone to stand him, had gotten one for himself. Lucy and Erza had immediately claimed the one next to the Salamander, leaving Gray and Wendy to make do with each other's company. While Lucy found it extremely adorable, the ice mage wasn't at all comfortable.

Not that he didn't like Wendy, of course. She was like a little sister to him, and, even if she didn't know it, he felt a strong protective attitude towards her. It sometimes scared him how fragile she was-yet how tough she acted, even though there was no need to.

"Um, Gray-san...are you okay?" Wendy asked. His eyes had been focused on her face for a long time..yet he didn't seem to be looking at her, really. She touched his hand quickly, and his eye's widened, and he hugged her quickly.

"Gray...,"

"Yeah, sorry again," he said, letting go of her before getting out of the bed. He looked out into the pastel sunset that foamed over the hills of emerald grass, and he grinned. Wendy joined him, holding Carla close to her chest, and she smiled up at him.

"This'll be an easy mission, right Gray?" she asked him, and he nodded reassuringly. A scarlet head popped into their room, her bangs covering one of her eyes.

"Gray, we're leaving in ten minutes. Where are your clothes?" she asked curtly, examining him. He looked down at his naked body in embarrassment, giving her a sheepish smile before throwing on a t-shirt. Erza laughed knowingly, exiting the room and closing the door.

Gray and Erza climbed up one of the nearby trees, hiding among its branches. The scarlet looked at him.

"Gray, you can fight better when you've stripped, yes?" Erza asked him, and he felt a cold sweat form on the back of his neck. He looked at her nervously, not quite sure how to respond to her peculiar question.

"Uh, well...yes," he said slowly, before Erza flung the t-shirt off of his chest, and stuffed it in one of her pockets.

"We don't want you losing anymore t-shirts to your habit,then," she said, and Gray nodded before he grinned. A large group of mages were making their way to the village, and both of them jumped down from the trees in unision. But, Natsu and Lucy had gotten there first.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"

A significant amount of the mages went flying, and Natsu smirked. However, Lucy seemed slightly perplexed at the matter.

"They are extremely weak...," she muttered. "Even normal villagers could stand up against them. I wonder why-" Before she could finish, a number of mages launched an attack on her. She took out her whip, hitting them with precision. Natsu smiled, giving her a thumbs up.

"Nice, Lucy!," he said, before destroying a few more himself. He looked at Gray, Erza, and Wendy. They had split up among different places of the battlefield.

"Lucy's right," the ice mage said. "They sure are weak. Hell, they can't even kill my boredom.". Erza laughed at his statement, changing into her heaven's wheel armor.

"I feel bad for them," she murmured , aiming her swords. "For this will be the last blow."

And, within a few seconds, all the mages were impaled. Natsu snickered, admiring her work.

"Well, I guess the party's over. Let's go,". Gray said, and everyone made their way back to the inn.

Lucy opened her eyes. The room was dark, and Erza, who had insisted on bathing with the boys in the evening, was now fast asleep. The blonde wiped the weariness off of her eyes, going over to the kitchen.

She turned on the lights. A folded piece of paper was placed on the counter. She picked it up, and her eyes widened. A gasp escaped her mouth, and she looked around fervently. A silhouette emerged from the darkness.

"I see you've read our note,". A voice said, and she opened her mouth to scream. However, nothing came out. She felt her eyes close.

And there was darkness.

OoOoh, cliffhanger! This story was already outlined before it was written, so I won't be abandoning it like I did my Halloween fic. Please review, because I love those things.

~Hiraethe