Author's Note: Uh yeah, sorry for the slow updates. I'm finally getting to the action. And thank you to everyone who's still supporting this story despite my writer's block. XD

"Love can transcend reality."

"She means that woman you saw... is already dead."

Juvia and Gray's words echoed in Lucy's mind as she stared at her reflection.

"That's so sad. She couldn't even rest peacefully knowing her fiancée was desperately looking for that ring. I guess... that's true love," she mumbled to herself. Suddenly, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She peered at the water's surface and saw Natsu standing behind her with Happy floating just above.

"Hey Lucy, time to find that ring." His voice was mellower than what she was used to.

"Y-Yeah."

"Now that we know there's someone who can't find peace till we find that ring, we can't stop until this job is finished," Gray said. "Juvia, you're up!"

She reached out her hand, as if trying to grasp the expanse of the lake, and her magic seal began to materialize. The water became turbulent, slowly being warped inwards until it formed a sort of cave-like entrance. Juvia gestured for the others to proceed.

"Is it safe to go inside that thing?" Lucy asked.

"This is a variation of Juvia's Water Dome. Think of it as a bubble to keep air in and water out. With this, Juvia and her friends can walk freely on the lakebed. This will be an easier way to search instead of swimming."

"Nice work, Juvia!"

"Uh... Gray-sama! T-Thank you..."

"I'm all fired up! Let's go, Happy, Lucy. Last one there is a stinky fish!" cooed the Dragon Slayer as he dashed into the dome.

"Natsu, wait up!"

"Aye!"

"Geez, those idiots should take this job more seriously," grunted the ice mage.

"Gray-sama, aren't you going in?"

"Yeah... after you," he said with the most gentlemanly tone and gesture he could muster. The dome almost collapsed when Juvia's face turned red and her whole body quivered, prompting annoyed reactions from the trio already inside.

The underwater view left them in awe. The lake had been deeper than it appeared on the surface, reaching to a depth where light was almost non-existent. Natsu's flames served as a makeshift torch to help them see in the murky surroundings. The coral reefs could almost be called aquatic bungalows, and schools of fish passed by like cars in a busy street. It was like a crude city whose "residents" went on with their daily activities without a care in the world. That is, until something stirred the peaceful atmosphere.

"What was that?"

"Juvia feels something is headed this way. Everyone, brace yourself!"

No sooner had the words left her mouth, an enormous torpedo-like figure darted through them, disrupting Juvia's concentration enough to cause her dome to fall apart. Luckily, she anticipated it and used her magic to push them back to the surface. Five heads broke through the water and desperately gasped for air. Gray was in the process of making an ice bridge back to the shore when something coiled around his torso and pulled him back under.

"Gray-sama!"

"C'mon! Barely five minutes in and we already get attacked?"

"We need to get back to dry land," Happy cried out.

"But whatever that thing is, it's circling us! No way it's gonna just let us...That's it!"

All eyes fell upon Lucy whose face lit up with determination.

"You thought of something?"

"Open the Gate of the Water-bearer... Aquarius!" Lucy plunged one of her golden keys into the water and a blue-haired mermaid clad in a blue bikini top and wielding an urn emerged. She was clearly upset about being summoned and glared daggers at the stellar spirit mage.

"I told you not to bother me, didn't I? Or are you that eager to die?"

"I-Is it just me or does she seem scarier than usual?" Natsu whimpered.

"It's just you. Aquarius is always this grumpy when I summon her, but she's our ticket back to the shore. Just watch."

The irate stellar spirit was bent on releasing her anger regardless of who gets caught up in it. She conjured up a massive wave which swept away the Fairy Tail mages and hurled them to the coast. Before disappearing, she shot one final angry look at Lucy and threatened to put her in a coma if she ever disturbed her again.

Juvia's head was still spinning as an aftermath of Aquarius' viciousness. "W-where's... Gray... sama?"

"Oh no, I think he's still..." Lucy's sentence was cut short when the entire lake suddenly froze over and hand punched through to the surface.

"That's ..." Natsu blasted a hole through the ice and lugged a barely conscious Gray Fullbuster back to the girls. He gently placed his head on the water mage's lap and gave a long, worried look. "Juvia, watch over him. Lucy, Happy, let's go!"

"Aye!"

"Take care of Gray, Juvia!"

The battle with the still unknown enemy would take place at the center of the frozen lake. Several tentacles had broken through the ice and began thrashing about. One of them just barely missed latching onto the Dragon Slayer, and Natsu was quick to retaliate with a fiery punch that left the tentacle limp. Meanwhile, another tentacle was slowly choking the life out of a helpless Happy.

"Open the Gate of the Golden Bull... Taurus!"

A large, bipedal bovine wielding an axe materialized and effortlessly sliced through the wriggling limb. Lucy caught the unconscious Exceed as he plummeted to the ground and ordered Taurus to continue chopping down the remaining tentacles.

"I'd do anything to protect your deliciously perfect body Lucy! Moo!"

The battle raged on as Gray slowly regained his consciousness. Looking up, he was met by Juvia's concerned gazed. She gently brushed away a lock of his hair and caressed his face.

"Gray-sama, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah... I'm fine, but where are the others?"

"They're fighting over there. Juvia thinks we should help them."

"No. We should go back under and find that ring."

"Eh?"

"I trust them, Juvia. They won't be defeated by something as stupid as a tentacle-monster. While they keep it busy, the two of us should focus on the main objective of this mission. We'll help them after we finish that."

"That is if there's still anything left to help them with."

"Exactly. Now let's go, Juvia!"

"I will follow you to the ends of the world, Gray-sama!"