"Natsu, look out!" Lucy barrelled into his side and knocked him down just as an attack hit where they'd been standing. They'd been sent to stop a group of bandits from terrorizing a village. The only problem with their plan was the fact the bandits had turned out to be mages. And there were a lot more than stated. Lucy was going to kill the guy who sent the request.
"Lucy?" She picked herself off the floor and pulled Natsu up too.
"Yeah, Loke. We're good." She reached for another key as Erza and Gray took out a group to their left, Loke standing to her right. "Open, Gate of the Ram, Aries!" A golden flash appeared and Aries appeared, grasping the edge of her wool skirt and clasping her hand to her chest.
"I'm sorry!" Aries launched her Wool Wall as three of the bandits hurled attacks at them, effectively blocking them.
"Thanks, Aries. If I get them all together, do you think you can use your Wool Bomb to incapacitate them?" The shy girl nodded and stood at the ready. A blast of ice struck one of their opponents as Lucy flicked her whip out to the others. She managed to wrangle the rest into a group and Aries sent them flying into a mass of pink wool. They stopped moving as they hit the soft substance and snuggled into the warmth it gave them. Natsu grinned.
"I'm all fired up now! Fire Dragon's Roar!" A jet of flame burnt away the wool and left their attackers twitching on the ground, charred beyond necessary.
"Good work, team!" Erza said, joining Lucy, Natsu and the two spirits. Gray jogged up behind her. "I think that's all of them. Natsu and Gray, go tie them up. We'll take them back to town and leave them for the army to pick up."
"Not so fast, Fairy Tail. You missed one." The group turned to see the last of the bandits, his arms already up and in position, "Better luck next time!" He threw a spell at them and before anyone could move, a green light enveloped them. Lucy hit the ground hard and she saw a golden glow meaning Loke and Aries had gone back to the Spirit realm. Darkness started pulling at the edges of her vision and she looked over to see Natsu stretch his hand out to her before everyone fell unconscious.
"Urgh, what happened?" Natsu brought his hand to his head where he could feel the remnants of a headache. He didn't feel hurt or anything, just a lot colder than usual.
"Natsu!" he opened his eyes in time to see Happy launch himself at him, "I was so worried!"
Natsu pet his head gently, "Hey, buddy. Mind telling me what's going on?" By now, he'd gathered they were in the Guild's infirmary. Sitting up, he could see Gray and Erza opposite him. They were awake and talking, giving him a brief look before diving back into their conversation. Turning his head, he could see Lucy in the bed next to him, still asleep. Wendy entered with Carla hovering behind her.
"Oh, good, you're awake." The girl moved to stand beside him and Erza and Gray followed. "Happy found you and we brought you back."
"I was awesome!" the cat announced, pride on his face. The group chuckled. Natsu turned his head back to Lucy.
"So what happened exactly? Is she okay?"
"She should be. I tried healing you when you got back but I couldn't find any injuries. There is something but I can't work out what it is. Lucy should be fine when she wakes up." Natsu sighed in relief and missed Erza and Gray's knowing looks at each other. "Do any of you know what the spell was?" The group shrugged.
"Whatever it was, it looks as though it failed to do any harm, unless it was a sleeping charm in which case it was successful." Erza said.
Wendy shook her head, "It wasn't a sleeping spell. I would have been able to get rid of that." They sat in thought for a moment before a shuffling noise got their attention. Lucy was sitting up, trying to push away her blankets. Natsu got out of his own bed and moved beside hers.
"Hey, you feeling okay?" she rubbed her head like he had and groaned.
"Why is it so hot in here?" Natsu stared at her in confusion. If anything it was cold in here. He could feel himself shivering slightly, something he'd never done before, so he knew she was wrong.
"Wendy? Has she got a fever or something? It's cold in here, there's no way she should be hot." Wendy quickly checked but shook her head.
"What do you mean, Natsu? If anything, I would say it is slightly warm in here." Erza gave him a confused look. "Wendy?" The young Dragonslayer checked him as well but couldn't feel anything.
"Nothing, there's just something that feels off like the rest of you." They were silent in thought for a moment before Lucy spoke up.
"What do you mean by something weird? And what happened? The last thing I remember is getting blasted by that spell." Gray quickly explained what they knew as Wendy tried to explain what she meant.
"I don't really understand it. It's like there's something different. Not really wrong but not normal." They spent a while going over what they could remember, trying to work out if they'd missed anything but were interrupted by a loud rumbling.
"Lushy's hungry!" Happy flew into the air as she made to grab his tail. Natsu had seen this so many times but it still cracked him up.
"Shut it, stupid cat!" They laughed before agreeing Lucy's stomach had the right idea. The group headed down to the main hall.
"Oh good, you're not dead." Cana winked at them before going back to her barrel. A few others shouted greetings and Natsu could hear the word 'Manly' coming from somewhere in the Guild. They made their way to an empty table and waved to get Mira's attention. Gray, Erza and Wendy took one side while Natsu and Lucy took the other, Happy and Carla sitting on the table top. A frown appeared on Lucy's face and her nose began twitching slightly.
"Hey, Luce? You sure you're okay?" Lucy kept sniffing and turned to him, leaning in way too close. She stopped just in front of his face and sniffed again, ignoring the weird looks the others gave her. Her eyes widened.
"It's you! You're the one that smells!" Natsu felt his jaw drop and Gray fell off his seat, clutching his stomach as he laughed.
Erza frowned, "He may not be as efficient in personal hygiene as we are, but there's no need to be rude."
Lucy leant back and shook her head, "That's not what I meant! Ever since I woke up, there's been this really strong smell of wood smoke and cinnamon. There's something else but I can't put a finger on it. I just realised it was coming from you." Wendy's eyes widened.
"Lucy, can you tell what Gray smells like?" She ignored Gray's protests and sniffed in his direction.
"Like fresh snow, mint and a bit like pine trees." Natsu mirrored Wendy's expression as he finally caught on.
"Hey, Luce? Try Erza." She sniffed again.
"Erza smells of strawberries, roses and something else but I don't know what." Natsu and Wendy sat in shock whilst Erza smiled happily. Mira made her way over with a tray full of their usual orders. As she placed the food down, Lucy sniffed again. "Hey, Mira? Why do you smell of lightning?" Mira and Wendy blushed heavily as the She-Devil gave a slight squeak and ran away. Natsu frowned and sniffed the air heavily.
"Wait, since when? Why can't I smell it? And when did Mira get with La-"
"That's it!" Wendy interrupted. "Everyone go stand in a line." They exchanged questioning glances but did as told. A few other Guild members made their way over out of curiosity. "Who was standing next to who when you got hit?" Natsu gestured at Lucy whilst Erza did the same with Gray.
"Loke and Aries got hit as well. Do you want me to call them out?" Lucy asked. Wendy shook her head.
"Not yet. Plus, you might not be able to." She carried on before Lucy could say anything, "Natsu try to set something on fire." Natsu grinned and turned to Gray. He held his hand out but nothing happened.
"Wait, what?" he tried again but nothing happened. "Wendy, what the hell?" The girl smiled and turned to Gray.
"Try to freeze Natsu." Gray smirked and put his fists together, "Ice-Make: Hammer!" Silence fell in the Guild as nothing happened once again.
"Ugh, Wendy? What's going on? Don't tell me we can't use magic." Wendy grinned and Natsu found himself not liking her expression.
"Not quite. Erza? Copy what Gray just did." Erza looked confused but did as told. As soon as she said the words, a giant hammer made of ice fell to the ground, crushing a few chairs in the process. The silence was followed by an uproar as people drew closer, trying to work out what just happened. Lucy flinched and covered her ears at the noise.
"Luce? What's wrong?" When she didn't answer, Natsu yelled at everybody to shut up. Once the noise had gone down, Lucy relaxed, letting go of her ears.
"Jeez, I knew you guys were loud but that was ridiculous." She told everyone. They looked confused again.
"I think I should explain." Wendy said. "I think the spell you got hit with swapped your powers. Lucy got Natsu's Dragonslaying magic which is why her senses are heightened at the moment and Natsu should have her Celestial magic but we'll see about that in a minute. Lucy said she was hot earlier because Natsu's usually hotter than average and you feel cold because you're not used to having a normal temperature. Erza has Gray's ice magic and Gray should be able to use Erza's Re-Quip as well. I don't really know any specifics but I think you should talk to Levy about it. Maybe she can help switch you back?" Everyone stared at the Sky Maiden in shock.
"Wait, are you saying I'm a Dragonslayer now?" Lucy asked, "But what about my contracts? Oh, god! Loke and Aries got hit too!" She took out their keys and shoved them at Natsu. "Call them out, now!" Natsu looked down at the keys in his hands.
"Uh, Luce? How am I supposed to-"
"You're kidding me, right? You've seen me use my magic a million times and you don't know how I call out my spirits?" Lucy did not look impressed. "Fine, come here." She stood behind him, placed one hand on his hip to keep him steady and reached her arm out to grab his hand. Someone whistled at how close they were and a few people laughed. Natsu felt his face get a little warm but Lucy ignored them. "You hold them like this," she adjusted his position, "And say 'Open gate of the ram, Aries' then 'Open gate of the lion, Leo'. Try it." She stepped back and Natsu felt a bit disappointed by the distance. He repeated her words and swished the keys in the air like he'd seen her do before. A flash of golden light appeared and two figures appeared. Everyone's jaw dropped.
"Don't you dare say a word."