Author's Note:

And now, the stunning conclusion to this epic tale spanning from the founding of Fairy Tail Guild to the exciting secrets of its natural successor, the prestigious Fairy Tail University!

It's even being published on the right day, September 7, 2016.

This has been a wild ride...


GrayLu Week 2016 Day 7

Prompt: Undercover


Chapter 7 – A Magical Vacation
Fairy Tail Guild, Part III


The train station was perched just up from the water in the outskirts of the town itself. Leaving Natsu and Erza to their debate over transportation, Gray and Lucy hurried away from the non-functional train and into a quiet, obviously newer part of town. The houses here were large and well-maintained, and Lucy slowed as she looked around her.

"What is it?" asked Gray quizzically. He was still trying very hard not to grin continuously at the prospect of two days alone with Lucy as a couple.

"I just… like it here. I don't know. It's as if I've been here before – which I haven't, before you ask. For some reason, I feel happy and energized just being here."

Gray transferred a bag into his right hand and slid his left arm tentatively around Lucy's waist. She didn't seem to mind and even seemed to snuggle closer. Gray was feeling happy and energized as well, but his thoughts were tending a lot more toward the possibility of taking Lucy to bed, which bothered him a little. He was very much interested in her in that sense, of course, but what had drawn him to her in the first place was the determined, positive, and friendly attitude that she took toward life and everyone in her life. So… it was a bit disappointing to discover that he was just like most of the guys who hit on Lucy – excited by her amazing face and body, to the exclusion of other things.

Suddenly, Lucy swayed and came to a stop, dropping the small case that she'd been carrying.

"Gray… Help me… It hurts – Gray!"

Gray caught her as she collapsed and held her against his bare chest (he must have stripped off his T-shirt, but he couldn't think of when). Lucy was shaking, eyes wide and frightened.

"I feel… as if something is dragging my magic out of me… and look, Gray, look at my mark!"

He looked as instructed and saw that the pink Fairy Tail guild-mark on the back of her right hand seemed to be… fading?

"Is everything alright?"

An elderly woman was peering at them over the gate of one of the nicer houses.

Not being like Soot-for-Brains, Gray didn't yell at her. She looked harmless and she wanted to help. He wouldn't shout at her for asking dumb questions.

"No, um, ma'am. I think my… my girlfriend is sick. Can you direct me to a healer?"

The woman directed a suddenly keen glance at the two of them and opened the gate.

"Mages are you? And those are Fairy Tail marks, I think? You might as well come in – I'm a healer, or I was until I retired."

Something in the woman's brisk tone reassured Gray, and he hurried up the path to the house after her, although he was still more than a little wary. There had been way too many strange things going on lately. Lucy didn't protest; she seemed only half-conscious.

The woman directed Gray to a room that had obviously served as an examination room before, although it was far more comfortably furnished than most and… cozier. He carefully laid Lucy on the bed – which was a normal bed, just raised off the ground – but then took her hand. She was trembling, and her palms were slightly damp. She seemed to relax a little at his touch.

"I'm Mirianna Stross, by the way," said their hostess, as she took Lucy's temperature. "Who might you be? I'm afraid I haven't kept up with Fairy Tail as much as I once did."

"Oh – sorry Stross-sensei. I'm Gray and this is Lucy. Thank you for helping us."

"Hmph. Let's find out if I can help first. Do you always take your clothes off like that?"

"What? Oh! Sorry, sorry, sorry..!"

"It's alright. I hear that's part of how they train in the north… at least the good ones. Besides, I don't mind looking at an attractive young man from time to time."

Gray dragged his pants back on in record time.

"So, about Lucy, is she sick?"

The woman shot him a sharp look from clear blue eyes. Much to his surprise, she brought her hands softly together and murmured a word or words that he couldn't understand. The glowing circle – in white – was familiar, though. The woman was a mage… He felt his stance shifting so that he was more battle-ready.

"She's not sick, just drained. Do you know who did this to her?" The elderly mage – Stross-sensei – ignored his reaction and seemed to be studying Lucy. "It's very rare magic, and not… practised anymore."

"You're saying there's some evil mage hurting Lucy? Do you have any idea where he is? Maybe Erza's still here… She may still be arguing with Flame-Brain! I'll bring her here to guard Lucy and –"

"Erza Scarlet? Titania? No, I don't think you need to call her." When he Gray started to protest, the healer interrupted him.

"First, the mage doing the damage may not be here physically – likely isn't, in fact; second, your friend Lucy needs your help now; third, it would be safer not to bring a very powerful mage like Titania close to the spell that's affecting your friend. It's already affecting you, you know."


Erza smiled to herself as Natsu stomped off down the road. He had a long way to go to get back to Magnolia Town, but he could always pick up another train if he got tired of walking. Meanwhile, she needed to check on Gray and Lucy. The nice thing about arguing with Natsu, she thought, is that if he suddenly won an argument he would take it at face value. Gray and many of the others would just be suspicious. She picked up her hand- luggage (two suitcases and a large satchel bag) and looked for a place to store it. Seeing an inn up ahead, she stopped there and graciously allowed the proprietor to rent her a room.

Not long afterward, a woman in hakama (flowing Japanese-style trousers) and a short kimono stepped out into the open street. Erza had concealed almost all of her bright red hair under a scarf, and it did make a difference. Then she set out on her search for Gray and Lucy. She'd promised Mirajane that she'd bring back any interesting details about the two, and although normally incorruptible, she had been heavily bribed with promises of extra desserts for the next several weeks if her mission were successful. In any event, the danger was minimal – the last she'd seen of the pair, a blue flying elephant could go by and they might not notice.

A vision of Natsu with an elephant rather than a cat made her smile, and a middle-aged man nearby practically fell in love with her at first sight. Unaware of the effect that she was having on the local populace, both male and female, Erza sauntered up the street toward the center of town, asking about inns where the couple might be staying.


Mirianne Stross directed the dark-haired Ice Make mage and his fair-haired partner up a short flight of stairs toward the back of the house. The door she opened led into a beautifully furnished circular room. Gray, who was starting to feel slightly unwell but also increasingly uneasy, noted that the window was large enough to leave through, although likely one floor above the ground. There was one other door, but that likely led to a bathroom. There was one large bed, made up with several pillows and a comforter. He was suddenly conscious of Lucy in his arms and their original plans for the evening…

"It's my guest room," Stross-sensei explained. "I like my privacy, and I assume my guests do as well. I will find somebody to take a note down to the station in case Erza Scarlet is still there. For now, please listen to my directions – I assure you that they are important."

Gray swayed slightly but nodded. He felt the place where he wore his guild-mark prickling, and the slight undercurrent of panic strengthened. This was all… so coincidental.

"Once I leave, the best thing you can do is make … Lucy?... comfortable in bed and then stay as close to her as you can. You will strengthen each other the closer you are. She will recover. I will examine both of you again in two hours. In the meantime, I will see if I can trace back the spell to its caster."

"Will it be dangerous for you?" Gray demanded.

"It will not be without risks," Stross-sensei admitted. "But I don't expect any difficulty. Now, lie down before you fall over."

The healer left before Gray could find out more. Trying to be as… neutral… about it as possible (it wasn't), Gray loosened what he could of Lucy's clothes. He was starting to stagger far more now, so he stripped off his jeans, tucked Lucy into the soft bed and crawled in beside her.

This isn't quite what I wanted, he sighed. On the one hand, with his nearly naked body curled around Lucy, he couldn't help certain obvious thoughts. On the other hand, Lucy was unconscious, he was shaking, and they were under the care of a rather too-well-informed healer.

A few minutes later, Lucy woke up – at least partially. She seemed to find nothing wrong with the current situation, somewhat to Gray's surprise.

"Why'm I dressed and you're not?" Lucy asked.

"Well, you passed out. I didn't feel right just yanking off your clothes. You might have gotten wrong idea."

"Or the right one…" she smiled a little and snuggled closer.

"You're not well!"

"I feel fine. Good, actually. Don't you?"

"No! I mean –"

He did feel god. In fact, he felt pretty great. What the hell? And then he became aware of a very strong desire to help Lucy get rid of the rest of her clothes. He ran his hands down her back pulled her closer. At the same moment, Lucy wound her hands into his hair and kissed him. Her clothes and underclothes were quickly discarded, and within minutes they lay twined together, both very much naked and aroused. It was as if every moment of lust was being replayed a hundred times stronger in his brain and nervous system.

He tried to push the haze out of his head, but between Lucy's kisses and the strength of whatever he was experiencing, natural restraint gave way completely to natural inclination. The last really conscious, self-directed though he managed, was: Not this way… not this way!

He must have said it aloud, because Lucy answered him, her voice a little huskier but very clear:

"But I want you, I do want you! And you want me… Please, Gray…"

After that, it was all sensation and a desperate need to bring their bodies as close together as humanly possible. Through it all, Gray had the oddest feeling of being in two places at once, and the overall effect was almost overwhelming in intensity. And yet… when they were done, and left breathless and clinging to each other in the tangled sheets, he noticed that Lucy no longer seemed so … faded. Also, their guild-marks were once more bright and clear and he no longer felt as if he were going to fall over. Well, except for obvious reasons.

Gray gently smoothed Lucy's golden hair. She was smiling at him, he saw, and no longer half-unaware. He felt his cheeks redden but didn't move.

"So, I guess this is what happens when two of the greatest mages and lovers of all time get together, right?" Lucy murmured.

"That was… a bit intense," Gray conceded.

"Well, I'm sure we'll improve on it with time," she smirked. "Though it might take quite a bit of time. And practice."

"Umm… Luce?"

"I know. Really. Or at least I can tell that there are things I don't know. But right now I'm just –" she stretched languorously," – I'm just happy. So let it be for a while, okay?"

"Fine. But not for too long, okay…?"

"Okay." Lucy turned over and curled her back against him. He obediently turned as well and wrapped himself around her.

Really, he had nothing to complain of right at this particular moment. And when they decided to examine the stranger aspects later, they would try not to let it affect the good parts.


Erza arrived at the healer's house just as the spell reached its conclusion. Even for the extraordinarily powerful warrior-mage, the swirling vortex above the otherwise attractive home was more than a little frightening. She only paused for a moment before pounding on the front door, which was opened almost immediately by the healer herself.

"Welcome, Erza Scarlet, called Titania," said the elderly woman, bowing deferentially. "They are safe, I promise you. Safe and well and also… pleased with themselves."

Erza tried to push past her, but was caught momentarily motionless in a web of light. She hadn't heard or seen the spell coming.

"You are undercover, you know, my dear. They won't thank you for interrupting them now. And the spell is done. For once, there is nobody for you to save."

"Show them to me," Erza demanded icily.

"As you wish, of course. But do try to be sensitive about it, please."


Much later, the so-called healer sat in her favourite chair by the fire and laughed. She had eventually been able to usher Erza Titania from the house, angry and worried and demanding answers, but deprived of anything to fix or to fight. They were all such children. After all, she'd been undercover for a century now, and would be for another several hundred years. Still, the child born from this union – from these unions – would be interesting indeed.


~ Fairy Tail Guild Zero ~

Precht Gaebolg sighed in relief when the power flow finally stabilized again. There had been some kind of imbalance part way through. One of his four precious mages had unknowingly tried to take the whole burden of providing the demanded power onto him or her-self. He was glad that he had stationed his agent in place to correct the problem.

Once again, the personal consequences to the human mages – the Fairy Tail mages – involved only rated a passing thought. The only important thing was that the Lumen Histoire, the pure lacrima to house Mavis Vermillion's body, could now be completed.

The Fairy Heart would exist.


~ Fairy Tail University ~

~ One Year Later ~

Gray watched as Lucy took down the last of the other university's team without even breaking a sweat. He was as deeply in love with her as he had ever been. The issue around the guild-marks had never been resolved. Periodically, they would be examined by one or another of the world's foremost mages, but so far nobody had been able to detect anything other than what they appeared to be: the basic, magical marking of a member of the original Fairy Tail Guild. Both he and Lucy were highly resistant to any idea of removing the marks.

For a short space of time, they had thought that Lucy might be pregnant, although it had seemed very unlikely considering the care taken with contraceptive drugs and spells. However, it had proved to be a false alarm. Gray wasn't sure how he felt about that. Having a child right in the middle of their university careers would have been incredibly difficult. Having a child with Lucy would be wonderful.

They ate dinner alone that night, since Lucy didn't feel like going out with their excited team-mates. Part-way through the meal, she leaned forward and reached for his hand.

"Gray?"

"Mm?" He put down his fork, since she looked so serious.

"I really am pregnant you know."

"What?!"

Lucy sighed.

"I've always known, to be honest. The woman who rented us the room that night explained it to me before we left. Well, not to say explained… But she told me what would happen."

"Okaaaay. And?" He knew that his face had frozen up as it sometimes did when he was trying to assimilate difficult information.

"And she said that the physical pregnancy would progress once I was willing to let it progress. I didn't believe her then, but I think she was right. You see, I need you to want this too. But you were so worried about things…"

"Mostly about you and how it would affect you," he interrupted, forcefully.

"Yes, but still. Anyway, I want you to think about it. I think we can handle this."

Gray studied her sitting there across the table from him. Finally, he gave her a slightly twisted smile.

"If the baby's born in late spring or early summer… yes, I suppose we could manage. I'll think about it."

Lucy grinned at him.

"Good. That means yes."

"What? No!"

"Dad."


~ Fairy Tail Guild ~

Unfortunately, the author was unable to find clear records regarding this part of the history of the now-legendary Fairy Tail Guild.

The author prefers to assume that Gray and Lucy were very happy together after their return to the guild-hall. However, as some readers may know, the history of Fairy Tail Guild after this becomes increasingly challenging to piece together.


Thank you to all who have read, reviewed, commented and Faved/Followed! That's it for me... at least for now.

You may also want to check out inizhay here on FanFiction, who was written some amazing pieces for GrayLu Week 2016.

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