CLIFFHANGER...CONTINUE! *insert cheers here*

Hey! And this time, I'm actually on time! ^_^ Amazing no? It's all thanks to my boyfriend, but that's a story that we can save for another time. (No, we did not do it, you perverted fuckers.) And now that I got my OneRepublic on, I CAN WRITE THIS. HELL YEAH FOR REJUVENATION.

CHAPTER 7

'What is it this time?' Lucy wondered. Gluttony. Greed. Five left. She repeated the last five in her mind: Jealousy, Sloth, Wrath, Pride, and Lust. Goddamnit she hoped it wasn't lust; she had embarrassed herself plenty today.

Oh, how she hated herself today. It was nonstop jumpiness and shaking since they left the train. She had broken down in front of him at the library, told Gray some very embarrassing stories, which he didn't seem to mind, but he MUST have noticed all those jumps she did when his voice went through her ears. It was like she was constantly getting shocked by him, as if every touch, every word, every thought made her feel as she was hit by lightning, but in a calm, yet impatient way. And just before Euphoria had erupted, guess what happened?

A damn kiss.

Don't mistake her, it was probably one of the best moments of her life, looking through those files. She was just so...happy. And after Gray asked her what the hell was going, she blanked. Impulse, she said. Yeah right. Impulse. Did she kiss Erza or Natsu every time they had actually solved something. Or when they saved her? Impulse, probably, to her heart, but her mind was going through a whirl, and thought of the first thing that came after "I love you." and "I wanted you." Gray probably thought she was insane.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a smiling Euphoria. "Hey, Heartfilia," she said. Or it. It was weird saying that a person who looked exactly like her was an "it".

"Don't call me that. How-"

"Euphoria. Noun. A state of intense happiness and self-confidence. Sentence? Lucy Heartfilia just went through a state of euphoria after kissing her boyfriend," it said, "That definition is the exact definition of the dictionary in this library, by the way. You know, thanks to that enchantment, I may have never gotten the brains I have today."

"He isn't my boyfriend!" Lucy replied, feeling warm.

"Oh, shut up. No WAY," Euphoria said, "You know, I think we're starting to become friends here."

"I digress."

"Pssh. Don't deny it. Even though I am a life-threatening curse, at LEAST get to know me. Geez. You're so mean sometimes Luce."

"Don't call me that! That name is only meant to be said by a few people! Like Natsu and Erza and-"

"Gray? Your-"

"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Lucy screamed.

"Tsk, tsk. Denial, Luce, denial," Euphoria said, laughing.

Before this had ever happened, he believed the color gold was actually a cool color. It shone like the sun and sparkled as if bits of ice were sprinkled all over it. Or was that the mineral gold...?

Mineral, color, whatever. Now gold was just a fucking haunting curse ready to ruin both of their lives. He tried to think repeat what Lucy had said, although it was extremely boring that one day... Six, no, Seven! Seven what? Seven Deadly...Virtues, wait-

His thoughts were interrupted by the smell of smoke. He turned around and saw Lucy, no, EUPHORIA, burning papers one by one. He stopped as if he was frozen by his own eyes, just staring as Euphoria started to burn the documents, forms, everything that they needed. Once it was caught, she threw it at a nearby bookshelf where the whole place was caught on fire and sat down lazily onto a chair.

The fire melted the invisible ice as he sprang into action.

"Euphoria..." he growled, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm Lucy, idiot," Euphoria replied, her golden eyes shimmering. Although she may be exactly like the Lucy he knew, those eyes couldn't fool him. Unlike the melting chocolate brown ones that would make you drown in them, these eyes where the color of blazing heat, one he used to admire, but now showed merciless suffering. It's scorching eyes were a weapon themselves.

"Well, if you're Lucy, then why don't you help me?" Gray said, desperately trying to find a fire extinguisher or anything that would help put out the fire.

"YOU do it," Euphoria replied. Gray stopped and looked at her.

"What?! Do you want to die here?" Gray yelled.

"Well, I'm not going to get up for this. I would rather die than have to do anything. If you want to save me, then just save me, but I'm not saving myself," Euphoria said.

What the fuck?

Then it clicked. Seven Deadly Sins. This was the trouble Euphoria causes. Greed, at that girl mall. Gluttony, for that dream Lucy has. And now this...laziness. Not wanting to save her own skin, just because she was too lazy to do it. This was Euphoria's plan. Make Lucy's body become lazy enough to die. Gray looked at the curse in her body, who was admiring her hand, and then at the curtains, which had just started to catch fire.

The fire. He could freeze fire; it was possible after all that training, but the fire here was different. Natsu's fire was strong, but not at the level of this. This blazed about as hot as the sun, which he knew was hotter than that idiot's fire dragon magic. If Natsu tried to eat the sun if anyone told him that it was made of fire, he would gain incredible strength or just have his insides melted by it. The mage tried making ice and it melted immediately onto the palm of his hand. He didn't stand a chance. So Gray pulled off one of the curtains that hadn't been caught yet and covered Lucy and his mouth with it. Lucy, no, EUPHORIA put its arms out as if she expected to be carried to the exit.

Damn he would have to apologize to Mirajane for cleaning up his messes at the guild.

'Gray,' she thought, 'Can you hear me? Please please please please-'

'I hear you, but I'm kinda in the middle of saving you ass,' Gray replied.

'What the hell do you-' Lucy started.

"Ahh, the sweet scent of smoke," Euphoria said, smiling. "Don't you like the smell of it, Lucy? Reminds me of the days when I was created out of the sun."

"Wait, you were made by the sun?" Lucy asked.

"Weren't you listening? I'm MADE of the sun. If you were to release me from your body, you would see a very, very, hot and blazing form. I can be a boy or a girl or anything really. In this case, I'm a girl. On some occasions, I like to be a cheese sandwich, wishing I could eat myself, but of course I can't. Sucks to be me. But smoke reminds me of the good old days." Euphoria said.

"I don't want to know about your life story, you're just an evil, fucking- Wait, smoke?"

"Hah, what kind of host are you, not knowing what's going on in the REAL world and not your subconscious one? Well, your boyfriend is trying to save you from that huge library you entered before you guys choke on smoke or get burned alive. Not that I mind. I might as well relive my past before I move onto the next host," Euphoria said.

"THE LIBRARY IS BURNING?!" she screamed.

"And thanks to my work, you're too lazy to even save yourself," Euphoria said, grinning. So that was the third one. Greed. Gluttony. Sloth. As Euphoria pulled up a screen of the outside world, she saw fire everywhere, bookcases burning and paper scorched. Gray was carrying her bridal style through the place, desperately trying to find a way out.

"AHA! A map!" he said. He reached out for it, before it caught on fire.

"Shit, fucking shit," Gray mumbled before he sprinted down the aisle.

'Gray, forget the map,' she muttered in her mind.

'How do you-' he started, 'Never mind. I'm burning in a library, trying to get your lazy self out of here. If you have any ideas how to get out of here, just tell me!'

'Did you check the signs? If the numbers on the aisle get smaller then you're getting closer,' she replied.

'You know, sometime's I'm grateful for those moments where you pay attention to the least important thing at that moment,' Gray said. She could hear the smile in his voice.

She looked back at Euphoria, who was admiring her work, just when Lucy dropped her arms in annoyance. She felt something jingle at the side of her hip.

Her keys! She reached for one of them and pointed it at Euphoria. The golden eyes faced her brown ones as she looked at the mage. Then, Lucy tried to picture a huge lake, standing next to her. And soon, she felt the water dampening her boots. She plunged the key in the water as Euphoria watched her closely. Never has she had a mage willing to fight her back in soul form.

"Open! The gate of the water bearer! Aquarius!" Lucy yelled, summoning her spirit.

The smoke was taking a toll on Gray's speed. Every bookcase he passed it collapsed on the next one, catching the next one on fire, continuing the domino effect. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself forward as Euphoria's laziness slowed him down.

"Graaaay," Euphoria whined.

"What is it NOW?" he yelled over the fire. He couldn't even read the numbers on the bookcase anymore. Each time he reached the next one the plate with the numbers had melted, making the fire grow even stronger some how.

"I'm hungry," Euphoria said.

"Do you SEE any food around here?! Wait, scratch that, do you see that if I don't get you out YOU ARE GOING TO BURN TO DEATH IN AN ABANDONED LIBRARY?!" Gray said.

"I also need to use the bathroom," Lucy said.

"NOT NOW!" Gray yelled. Just then Aquarius appeared in front of him. Lucy's spirit spun around before finding her master in his arms. Her blue eyes began to glare at him.

"What happened in here?" Aquarius asked.

"That's what I'm asking myself," Gray relied.

'Lucy, what did you do?' Gray asked.

'Not now, I'm fighting Euphoria and trying to end this. Did you find the exit yet?' Lucy replied.

'No, but I found one of your spirits,' Gray replied.

'Wait, AQUARIUS is there?' Lucy screamed.

'Is that good or bad?'

'More like neutral,' Lucy said, and the connection dissipated.

"Now what the hell do I do with you?" Gray asked.

"Same here," Aquarius replied, staring blankly at the mage.

"Why don't you start putting out the fire and help me get your master out of here?" Gray asked, cautiously. Lucy's tales of this spirit have not always ended well all the time.

"Shouldn't she know the way out by herself?" Aquarius asked.

"Complications," Gray answered. Aquarius raised her urn above her shoulders and swung it in an arc-motion, causing a huge wave of water to erupt from it. Gray wiped the water from his eyes and saw the fire had flickered a bit before it erupted again. Aquarius's eyes widened.

"Why didn't it douse?" Aquarius asked.

"Heaven's fire," Gray said, somehow knowing the answer, "It's true fire from the sun caused by a curse Lucy has. My ice won't do a thing, but if you keep using water attacks..."

"Do you realize that this is like trying to PUT OUT THE DAMN SUN?!" Aquarius screamed.

"Yes. But since you're technically part of the sky, maybe you and only you could do this," Gray said.

"Well, I am flattered by your words, but I hope Lucy understands I'm going to take a LONG break with my boyfriend after this. Speaking of which, are you her boyfriend Gray? I mean-" Aquarius couldn't tell if he was blushing or if the fire was just extremely bright.

"Just douse the fire!" Gray said.

"I'm hungry," Euphoria said.

"NOT NOW!" Gray screamed.

Lucy didn't know what she was expecting when she summoned Aquarius. But she knew she WASN'T expecting an angry chibi version of her least favorite spirit.

"S-SMALL!" Lucy said loudly.

"Hey! I am MUCH bigger compared to you!" the chibi Aquarius said.

"Well, I didn't know what you were thinking. Since your spirits have souls as well..." Euphoria started. Lucy filled in the rest. The blonde assumed that her spirit's spirit had to be a smaller version of themselves, so...chibi. She sweatdropped as she stared at the small Aquarius.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm not defenseless you know," Euphoria said, her hands flaming.

'How am I going to fight her with THIS?!' she thought. But of course, she couldn't back down on this fight. Gray had always been there to save her, now she had to save him.

"Aquarius!" Lucy shouted. Euphoria threw a huge flaming ball of golden fire straight at the spirit, who retaliated with a slosh of her urn. The same force of the usual Aquarius erupted, but the flame hardly flickered as it fell just to the right of the two girls. Aquarius inched away quickly while Lucy watched it erupt into a huge pillar of fire.

"Heaven's fire. Your puny spirit won't be able to do a thing. Not even your usual one, although I like this mini mermaid," Euphoria said, smiling.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MERMAID?!" Aquarius screamed, rushing water at the curse. This time, the fire went down, but erupted once again. The chibi inched backwards watching Euphoria become angrier every second. Lucy picked up Aquarius (to the spirit's annoyance) and walked backwards. She decided this was a good time to call on the ice mage.

'Gray?' she asked.

'No we're not out yet. But we're trying. Aquarius has done some work trying to douse it out,' Gray replied.

'...tell Aquarius to keep throwing water at me,' Lucy said.

'WHAT?!' Gray replied. Lucy repeated what had happened inside her soul body. If she and Gray were able to keep putting water on Euphoria at the same time, maybe, she would be free. For now.

'You sure?' Gray asked.

'Positive,' Lucy said.

'Well, let's get this plan into action,' Gray replied in the sexiest voice he could possibly make.

'Don't act like that,' Lucy said, blushing.

'Luce-' Gray started.

'We'll talk later, okay?' Lucy said, just before the connection broke off.

It didn't take Gray any trouble to get Aquarius to drown Lucy. She grinned, her mouth touching each side as she stared at her master. The master with breasts too small and completely single, unlike her. She was gorgeous, obviously. Her master was...above average, but of course, there were those times where she had caught Scorpio talking with Leo about how pretty she was, causing some major problems in the Spirit World. If there was a chance were she was able to drown Lucy on purpose with HER PERMISSION, then of course she would agree.

The plan was to get Aquarius to keep Lucy in an underwater trance while Gray did his best to keep away the fire with the strongest ice he could muster. Ur had taught him well, but he was positive she had never encountered a situation like this. Heaven's fire. It was incredibly powerful if you were the user, but absolutely terrifying if you were the victim. Aquarius glanced at the ice mage who nodded back at her. Signal.

"ICE MAKE: FORTRESS!" Gray yelled. A barrier of ice rose from the ground and completely enclosed Aquarius and Lucy's body (which was set on the ground). Gray lowered his arms and stopped to catch his breath for a minute. Out of all the jobs and crazy shit he had to face, this, by far, had to be he most extreme worst case scenario he'd been in.

"Ice Make: Layers!" Gray said, and the ice surrounding them hardened, doubled, tripled, and so on. Now all he had to do was find a way to get out of here.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Lucy's advice was helpful, but not in this case. All the numbers on the plates had melted off and contributed to the giant blaze of a fire. How the hell could he get out? He could ask Lucy for that compass bird spirit, what's its face...but that would be bothering Lucy and ruining her plan. Plus, her magic would run out quickly if she kept summoning her spirits. As the layers kept going, he looked at his feet and saw the ladder (which somehow hadn't melted) where Lucy and him had talked for a while. The ladder. He smiled. The exit was only a little bit ahead of their position.

Aquarius was having the time of her life. Just a little cold, could be a bit bigger, but it was worth it to drown Lucy. Technically, she WAS saving her life, but if you had never known about what was really going on, you would see a very ambitious mermaid drowning a helpless girl. But of course no one could see, because of Gray...was she really his boyfriend?

Oh, the joy of power and manipulation.

"This...is...getting really...ANNOYING!" Euphoria screamed as waves of water crashed onto her face. Lucy's tactic was to carry the annoyed chibi spirit and help her avoid Euphoria's attacks while Aquarius sent humongous waves of water toward the golden-eyed face. Euphoria wiped off the fresh water off of her face, showing her eyes which were blazing with anger.

"You-" she started.

"I'm not defenseless, here. I hope you understand that," Lucy said. Aquarius sent salt water into Euphoria's eyes, making her scream in pain.

"Fuck you!" Euphoria yelled. As the curse fell to its knees, Aquarius had suddenly disappeared and the darkness was replaced by...a very blue light...

Lucy woke up, cold and wet. Wet was an understatement, she was soaked outside. Behind her was a burning library and a very concerned Gray.

"Oh, good. Brown and awake," Gray sighed with relief.

"What the hell happened...? Why is it so cold?" Lucy asked. The sunlight was burning her, as if she hadn't felt warmth in ages. Her eyes focused at her feet, her boots soaked with salt water. They looked back up and Gray's onyx eyes were right in front of her. She turned around quickly, to not get caught up in the moment and to measure the damage they had done.

"Holy. Shit," she said out loud.

"Hehe...fuck. Once you, no EUPHORIA, got out of your body, Aquarius had to apply pressure to break you out of the ice shell/barrier of fuck. Once she did, she said something about going on vacation and spending time with Scorpio. I had to carry you out of there, since you were passed out of course, and this is where we are, about one and a half hours later. You're welcome," Gray said.

"Shut up," Lucy said, barely smiling, "I did most of the thinking."

"But I may have saved you from burning half to death," Gray said, smiling back. Lucy's smile went away instantly after a few seconds.

"The files. Gray, did you-" Lucy started.

"I'm sorry, Luce. That's where it started," he replied softly. Lucy bit her tongue and put her head on her hands. God dammit. If only she hadn't kissed him, this would have NEVER started and they may actually HAVE the papers right now and-

"I know that look. Don't blame yourself," Gray said, touching her on the shoulder, barely. Lucy moved away quickly, killing the mood quickly.

"If only I hadn't-" Lucy said, starting to blush.

"Um...uh-huh...I have no response..." Gray said...also blushing? Lucy couldn't tell; the sunlight was too bright. Most likely the sun was playing tricks on her. Gray sat down beside her, slowly inching his hand across the bench to reach hers. To contribute to the doki-doki in his chest, she didn't pull away when they're fingertips touched. Barely.

Many people passed by to look at the damage done to the abandoned library. Not many cared at all, including the people at the fire department. The chief had said it was going to become demolished sooner of later. Now they wouldn't have to pay for it. Not even the mayor cared that the "historic" place was gone forever. But during that time at sundown, one elderly woman noticed the raven-haired boy and the chocolate-eyed girl's hands touching. They hadn't moved a single inch. The elderly woman smiled and noted how sweet they were.

Both hearts were beating rapidly once the first star came down. They hadn't bothered to get a room to sleep in. Lucy had suddenly yawned and put her head on his shoulder. His head came on top of hers as they fell asleep. Together.

The woman who could see the two from her balcony smiled. She took a rose petal from the vines that crept around the entrance and let it fly softly through the wind.

This has GOT to be my favorite chapter EVER. Hehe! I just wanted to put that moment in at the end of the chapter, which was ADORABLE AND OMFG YES YES!

*cough cough*

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