Rising Goddess

Author's Note

I give up. This is probably the crappiest chapter yet. It was written for a different story and years ago. Sorry about the OOC-ness.

"I'm so tired," Sting complained after a long and grueling training session. I slapped Sting on the arm, saying, "Baka Sting, just shut up."

He glared, grumbling. "So rude."

"Yeah! You're not allowed to be mean to the Great Sting Eucliffe!" Lector agreed.

Lola glared menacingly at the exceed, arms folded. "What did you say to her? You shouldn't be talking like that to the handmaiden of the Queen," She said, sniffing daintily.

Happy pumped his fist in the air, flying. "Aye!"

I sighed, laughing at them. "Well, I'm beat. We've learned a bunch of new spells and have gotten better in combat and physical strength. I'm gonna go visit Minerva and go shopping." I said, waving good-bye.

"I'm coming, too!" Lola said, flying towards me. Happy shook his head. "And I'm not coming."

"Bye, guys! Don't get too drunk, Stingy!"

I walked off to Minerva's house, humming happily. "Min-chan!" I yelled, slamming her door open. Minerva looked up from her make-up table, smiling.

"Hey, Minnie," I said, waving. She blushed.

"Er, hi, Lu-chan."

Now that our small circle of mages knew who I truly was, they addressed me as my true name when we weren't around others.

"Wanna go shopping?" I asked happily. Minerva shrunk away, her face color turning into a deeper shade of red.

"I'm sorry, Lu-chan. I have a date with Rufus tonight." She said softly. I smacked myself.

"I'm so sorry, Minnie-chan! I completely forgot. I'm a horrible friend! Gomen!" I cried, bowing. Minerva laughed nervously.

"It's no problem, Lu-chan. We can go to that new spa resort. Hearts and Spades Spa Resort? For now, I can't figure out what to wear for the date!" Minerva cried. I blinked.

"I've got the perfect solution!" I cried. We took out all of her fancy dresses and looked at them.

"I would prefer a long blue dress with spagetti straps. Not to extravagant or plain," Minerva decided.

I summoned Virgo and asked her to bring some blue dresses in Minerva's size. She pulled them out and came back right away. "Nope. Definitely not. Eh. Ooh, cute! Nope. OMG, Minnie, look at this one!" I cried, showing her a long, sapphire blue dress with a few ruffles and slightly folded to create a cool look. There entire back of the dress was exposed, and it had spagetti straps.

"Paired with these silver heels and bracelet, and you'd be good to go!" I cried excitedly, grinning. Minerva beamed.

"Arigatou, Lu-chan!" She glanced at her clock lacrima, screeching.

"It's time for my date! Sorry, Lu-chan."

She left quickly. I lit up. I was going to stalk Minerva and Rufus and make sure their date went perfectly!

I stuffed my black wig into my bag and asked Virgo for a red one. I also took my mask off and put on heavy make-up. Changing into a waitress's uniform, I sneakily teleported to the restaurant Rufus and Minerva were supposedly at.

Speaking to the restaurant manager, I was allowed to spy and serve my friends. "You're in luck today. We're doing a masquerade theme today." He said, giving me a black and silver mask.

I straightened and approached my friends. Changing my voice an octave higher, I said, "Hello, hello! I'm, er, Bailey Lockheart, your server for tonight! Would you like anything to drink first?" Bailey Lockheart was a character in my latest novel.

"Red wine and two glasses of water, Miss Lockheart," Rufus replied, dipping his biscotti in some sauce.

I giggled. "You two are such a cute couple! Right away, right away!" I agreed, playing Bailey's personality perfectly. Minerva and Rufus both flushed at my comment as I flounced away. I took out a camera and discreetly shot pictures before grabbing their drinks.

I poured two glasses of water, grabbed a bottle of wine, and took out two more glasses. I skipped back to their table, placing their drinks on the table.

"So, have you two had any ACTION yet," I emphasized action considerably. Minerva gaped at me and shook her head in a flustered way.

"No, no, no! This is our first date. Please don't think we've done...anything," she said, blushing.

Rufus nodded. "Yes, this is our first date. It would be unacceptable to do anything beforehand." He agreed.

I made a face, laughing. "I'm sorry, then. But, still. I think you look so cute together!" I cried.

They exchanged looks like, "This lady is crazy".

"Anyway, I would like to have the fish bruschetta," Rufus ordered. I nodded and wrote it down.

"And you, ma'am?" I asked Minerva.

"Uh, spagetti carbonara, please," she replied.

I giggled and said, "Great choice! I'll be back with your orders A.S.A.P!"

And then things started to go bad really, really fast. "You! What have you done with Lily!" A familiar voice screamed at me, tugging my hand. All eyes turned to the two of us.

"Wh-what? I have no idea what you're talking about, sir," I replied, not wanting to reveal my true identity to Minerva and Rufus.

Sting sniffed me. "Rogue, doesn't she smell like Lily?" The shadow dragon slayer didn't look up from his food as he nodded.

I turned red with anger. Unable to hold it back, I yelled, "Of course I'm Lily, moron! I was trying to make sure Minerva's date went well!"

Sting slowly backed away from me. "Uh, uh...please calm down, Lily..." he said, shooting me a disarming smile. I glowered at him.

"No, I'm not letting you off so easily," I said.

Suddenly, I was stopped by Minerva. She smiled softly at me. "Lily-chan, you didn't have to do this. Thank you. I think Rufus and I will be just fine." She said.

I gave her a doubtful look. "Well, all right, then. I'll be leaving." I said. She hugged me, whispering, "I'll tell you all the details later."

I sighed dejectedly. "Fine, see you later!"

It had been a few weeks since Minerva and Rufus's date. They were a pretty happy couple now. Today, we were heading to Hearts and Spades Spa Resort with Kiyoko and Erza. Now that Erza and Minerva got along, they were quick friends.

"This will be such a relaxing weekend!" I cried, stretching. Erza agreed, smiling at me.

"Definitely."

After killing Zen a month ago, I was much happier and less agitated. His death weighed heavily against me, but I had done it for Natsu.

I had sent Gray, Wendy, Levy, and Fairy Tail letters, telling them I was fine. Only Erza and Laxus knew that I was a mage in Sabertooth. The others were clueless, but I had left them subtle hints of my whereabouts.

"I'm so excited!" Kiyoko squealed. I tilted my head, wondering if Kiyoko was Natsu's cousin or something. Erza told me upon seeing the girl that she was almost exactly like Natsu. Kiyoko told me her parents had died when she was younger, and she had been raised by her now dead grandmother.

"Same here," Minerva smiled. We dragged our luggage inside, gasping. The ceiling was high and had chandeliers. There were couches and short cafe tables all round. It was extravagantly decorated with lovely abstract paintings.

"Wow," I said, gazing at the colorful fish tank behind the registration desk.

"Hello! Welcome to Hearts and Spades Spa Resort!" A perky employee greeted us at the register.

"Thank you! We have reservations under the name 'Lily Ashley'," I said. The employee nodded and handed us our room assignments.

We walked into our room which consisted of four separate bedrooms and a bathroom.

"Should we go to the public bathing area?" Kiyoko asked after all of us changed into bikinis. I fixed my mask and wig.

"Yes, definitely. I heard that this resort serves drinks and food while you're at the spa area. It's really nice there." Minerva said. She was using a blue swim suit with towel over her shoulder.

Erza wore a black two-piece swimsuit, and Kiyoko wore a red one with orange flame designs. Mine was white with purple tropical flowers.

We arrived at the public spa and saw girls chatting while sipping their smoothies. Two servers handed us drinks, smiling at us graciously.

"Ah...this is the life," Erza said, sinking into the warm water with satisfaction. People around us started whispering.

"Isn't that Titania of Fairy Tail?"

"She's with the strongest mages of Sabertooth!"

"Wow, when did they become friends?"

"Isn't that Erza? She lost her boyfriend to Minerva or
something."

"I heard that Minerva's went out with all of the guys in Sabertooth."

"Lily is dating Sting and Rogue at the same time!"

"That girl Kiyoko probably is a boy. She totally acts like one!"

All four of us started to emit dark auras as we glared at the girls gossiping about us. One by one, they scrambled out of the public pool and left.

"The downsides of being a popular mage," Minerva said, leaning back. Erza laughed, nodding.

"Agreed. I'm so glad we finally get some relaxing time." I said. Kiyoko nodded.

"The Grand Magic Games are coming really soon. Lily is the only one competing, and I'm the reserve member." Kiyoko mused, placing her finger on her chin.

"Why aren't you competing, Minerva?" Erza asked. Minerva sighed.

"I-I can't. I've tortured...my friend. I shouldn't be apart of this." She said forlornly, head down low. The rest of us were silent as we regarded her.

"I understand," Erza responded simply, glancing at me.

Kiyoko shrunk back, looking like she didn't want to interfere with what looked like private matters between the three of us.

"You're competing, right, Erza?" Minerva asked, changing the subject. The red-haired mage nodded again.

"Yes. I bought new armor just for the occasion, too." She said, leaping out of the spa and transforming into her new armor. It was pure silver with intricate gold designs on it. Five black diamonds were set in place around the collar, and her hair was in two high princess-styled buns, gold and silver ribbons threaded around. The matching sword was silver and gold with Fairy Tail's symbol delicately carved into it, and its hilt had a diamond in it.

"Justice Armor! It was very pricey, and I designed it myself. Of course, I didn't have the time to create it myself like I usually do." She said, her armor clanking.

"What does it do?" I asked, marveling her new armor.

"It was charmed with high tolerance to dark magics, and it can attack and penetrate dark magic. It also makes the wearer resistant to dark magic." Erza explained, shifting her sword. It glowed white, and a brilliant aura shone around her. It slowly disappeared after she re-equiped into her previous bikini.

I clapped. "That's so neat! It'll be handy when you go against dark mages."

She nodded, grinning.

"...and she looked totally embarrassed. Lemme tell ya, it was hilarious!"

I froze, exchanging a look with Minerva. I knew that voice.

STING.

"Next time I hear you do that to her, I'll murder you, Saber," a new voice threatened darkly. My jaw dropped. Laxus?!

Fists clenched, I glowered at the appoaching figures. "Baka boys," I growled.

"Stop fighting," Rogue commanded seriously. I face-palmed. Seriously, Rogue, too? Why would he do this?

They entered the spa, and all of our eyes were already on them. Sting's eyes lit up. "Hey, blondie! Lady, Kiyoko, and..."

"ERZA?" Two men cried at the same time. I saw Jellal and Laxus stare at Titania. She flushed red, eyes darting towards the blue-haired man of Crimiore Heart.

"Wh-what are you doing here, J-Jellal?" She asked nervously, rapidly trying to fix her hair. I giggled to myself at Erza's attempts at looking presentable to her long-time crush.

Everyone gaped at me. "LILY/BLONDIE/LU-CHAN/KID GIGGLED!" They yelled. I glared at the boys, silencing them immediately.

"Hey! I used to giggle all the time." I replied, pouting.

Laxus raised an eyebrow, tossing his towel to the side and settling into the water across from us. "Emphasis on USED TO," he replied, nodding his head to the beat of a song.

"When do you ever take off those headphones, nii-chan? I say you're too attached." I said, pointing at his headphones. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm not attached. You're attached to 'avenging Natsu'. I don't think there's any point. That flame bastard is dead anyway." He said dismissively.

Light flashed through my mind.

FLASHBACK

"Laxus! Fight me!" Natsu cried, running at the blonde mage. He didn't look up from his beer and punched Natsu in the face, his fist cackling with electricity.

He collapsed and Mira scolded him, shaking her head. Laxus flushed red, mumbling an apology. Mirajane smiled in approval, patting him on the shoulder.

Trying to cover his blush, he said, "Demon! Get me another drink."

Mira smiled and nodded, expertly filling his cup again. He grunted his thanks.

I watched a little away from him, laughing quietly. His head swung to me, fixing me with a glare. "Whatcha laughing at, kiddo?" He asked.

I gasped in surprise at being caught and fell backwards on top of the unconscious Natsu. "Eh?" He slurred, waking.

"I, er, sorry!" I apologized quickly before squaring my shoulders and facing Laxus. I knew he was a real softie based on his reactions around Mira.

"I was laughing 'cuz you haven't asked Mira out even when you obviously love her," I replied confidently, flashing a smirk I had seen on Natsu's face when he accepted challenges.

Laxus's left eye twitched as he just stared at me. "You...you little brat," he grumbled, stalking towards me.

I stumbled back, eyes wide. Instead of attacking me, he plopped down on the bar stool next to me. "Hey, Mira! Can I ask you something?"

The white-haired woman walked to him, smiling kindly, blue eyes sparkling.

"Yes, Laxus?"

He leaned forwards, grabbing her by the chin and kissing her full on the lips. When they split apart, Laxus was grinning nonchalantly while Mira had a soft smile and a blush on her cheeks.

The entire guild erupted in cheers as they watched the newly formed couple. I whooped and clapped with the rest.

"About time!" A voice shouted.

"That's a man!"

"All right!"

"The matchmaker's found herself a man!"

"SQUEEE! Blonde-haired, blue-eyed babies!" Lisanna screamed, stealing her sister's normal line.

He winked at me before turning back to the take over mage. "So, would you like to go on a date with me?" He asked, smirking and holding her hand.

Mira's eyes sparkled as she squeaked in astonishment. "I! Um!" She stuttered in excitement, fiddling with her hands.

"She means yes," Lisanna appeared next to her older sister, a hand on hers.

The older girl nodded furiously, blushing. "Um, yeah!" I laughed inwardly. This was the first time I had seen Mirajane truly flustered.

Laxus grinned wider and nodded. "Good. I'll pick you up tonight at seven. That cool with you?" He asked.

Lisanna squealed with me. "He was serious! So cute! Mira, let's get you ready later! Right, Lu-chan?" She turned to me, grinning.

I smirked. "Yeah, of course. I'll get the guys to dress Laxus up." Laxus paled, chuckling nervously.

"Hehe, you see, uh, my house is sort of in remodeling. Sorry, the guys can't come over." He made up, obviously lying.

Mira ran off to receive congratulations from the other girls. Lisanna scolded, "Laxus! C'mon. Dress up and don't make a lame excuse."

Laxus sighed and simply glared at us two girls. "You...two."

"CONGRATS, LAXUS!"

"Our master's growing up so quickly."

"That's a man! But you better take care of my sister."

Laxus roared in anger.

"ALL RIGHT! NOW, STOP CROWDING AROUND ME!"

He turned back to me. "Now who's laughing?"

I laughed. "Still me. Mira will probably take you on long shopping trips now. Trust me, it sucks. And I LIKE shopping."

He groaned.

~~~flashback end~~~

Why did I have to have that memory? A happy one?

"Laxus..." I growled dangerously, rising from the water with blazing eyes. Everyone backed away slowly from me.

"How do you feel about Mira? How would you feel if you knew the person who killed Mira was still on the loose? How would you react when you finally realized that she's dead? That she's never coming back. That you'll never hear her laugh or see her smile. That you'll never, ever, EVER be able to see her again and say good-bye. Mira would be gone forever. You'd be stuck in this terrible abyss with no emotions. You'd be so upset, you wouldn't even be able to force yourself to live on. Do you know how that feels? Lemme tell you, it hurts like hell! So don't even TALK to me about Natsu." I yelled, jabbing a finger at his chest.

He raised his hands in surrender. "Lucy, I—"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry! You aren't sorry! You're not allowed to be sorry because you didn't even know Natsu! You don't even care about him!" I screamed.

His gaze hardened. "You have no right to accuse me of that. He was apart of Fairy Tail, and he was my nakama. Saying I don't care about him is going too far, and you know it. Don't even—"

I raised my fist and controlled the water to come splashing in his face.

"Says the man who purposefully caused the battle of Fairy Tail before the fantasia parade. Do you know how many people were hurt because of you? Bastard, do you—"

"OF COURSE I KNOW!"

In a softer tone, he repeated this again. "Of course I know. And I'm sorry and I was stupid. I can never take it back and I hurt everyone. I didn't deserve to come back. Honestly. I regret it everyday, looking at Mira. She was so kind to me and I didn't deserve it."

My eyes narrowed as I watched him in silence. "What do you mean by WAS?"

He gulped, looking at Erza. Erza rose from her place and said, "Lucy, they broke up. He was found with another woman at the time. A girl from another guild."

"Heavenly starlight aura!" I screamed, launching myself at my adoptive brother. He met my furious attacks until I landed a solid, magic-driven kick on his chest. He spun backwards, stopping himself before he thudded to the wall.

"Lucy, wait! Let me—"

"HOW. COULD. YOU. DO. THAT. TO. MIRA. She's been nothing but nice to you!" I said in between punches.

"The other girl forced herself on me!" Laxus bellowed, flipping me back. I landed silently on the other side of the pool. We breathed heavily, glaring at each other.

"Really? Then are you back together?" I asked angrily, arms crossed.

He slumped onto the wall, looking upset. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I've been mad about the break-up so I just blurted that thing about Natsu. I didn't mean it. It must be hard on you and I was being inconsiderate." He responded, head in his hands.

My gaze softened. "I...I forgive you. That doesn't make it all right. And, stupid, I thought you were a man. Go after your woman! Now!" I cried, pushing him out the door. He stumbled, giving me one last look before disappearing in a crack of lightning.

"You did right. No one could convince him to go after Mira because he was depressed." Erza informed.

I sighed, shaking my head at Laxus's stupidity. Why would he wait this long to win Mira back?

Sting broke the tense silence by plopping into the water, waving the guys over. "C'mon, Orga, Rufus, Rogue, Jellal."

"Why are you here?" I asked curiously. Jellal cleared his throat.

"Er, Laxus invited me. We met in the mountains to defeat a dark guild, and we started to get close." He explained.

I nodded, grinning. "Well, then. That's great. We were just about to leave. Right, Rogue, Sting, Rufus, Orga, Kiyoko, and Minnie-chan?" I asked, making a pretty obvious gesture at the couple.

"I'll come with you," Erza volunteered, rising from the spa. I glared at her, pointing back at the spa.

"Yes, we're coming!" Minerva agreed, ushering all of us besides Erza and Jellal out. Both of them started to protest, but all of us rushed out.

I chuckled evilly, hoping that my plan would end well. "This is not good. Lucy's got her evil, I'm-going-to-take-over-the-world face." Kiyoko said, sighing. I eyed her before cackling.

The boys stared at me in fear, but Minerva shrugged. "Ah, this is normal for Lucy-chan, anyway," she replied indifferently.

I beamed at her before resuming my evil phase. "Thanks, Minnie-chan!" She smiled back at me, nodding.

We decided to go shopping at the nearby mall. There were so many stores, and everything was so dazzling and amazing here. "Ooh! Look at this!" Minerva cried, pointing at a blue crystal lacrima that shone off dazzling light and was attached to a silver chain. I studied the advertisement next to it. You could have your name carved into it.

I lit up immediately. This would be the perfect gift for Minerva's upcoming birthday.

Minerva sifted through her jewels, looking upset. "I didn't bring enough," she said sadly. I patted her, feeling guilty.

"Er, I'm sorry. I didn't bring enough jewels, either."

She sighed and nodded, walking off. I excused myself. "Um, Minnie-chan, I need to go to the bathroom. Go ahead of me to the food court." I said.

Minerva nodded.

As soon as she turned the corner, I pushed the door open into the shop. "Can I buy two of those blue crystal necklaces?" I asked the store manager. He nodded, grinning.

"Excellent choice! These are actually magically charmed. You can store all your pictures here like a memory book. There's instructions here so you can put them in yourself." He explained. I nodded, asking him to carve Minerva and my name into both necklaces.

"Pick these up in an hour," he said. I nodded. "I'm ordering this under the name of Lily. Thank you, sir!" I said gratefully.

He shook his head and waved good-bye.

I rushed out of the store and went after Minerva. I saw her with Sting, Rogue, Kiyoko, Rufus, and Orga, sitting at a table with food and drinks.

"Hi, Lu-Lily! I saved you some." Minerva said brightly. I grinned widely, happy to have bought Minerva's birthday present.

"Thanks, Minnie," I replied, sitting down between Minerva and Rogue.

"Baka!" I heard Kiyoko scream at Orga. Orga simply glared at the pink-haired girl, arms crossed. Frustrated, Kiyoko stormed off.

"C'mon! Don't be such a kill-joy!" Orga shouted after her, still in his seat.

I sent Minerva a questioning look. She sighed, muttering, "They were arguing about the guild and if Kiyoko should be S-class."

Sighing, I wondered if they realized how stupid their arguments were. Thinking wistfully, I remembered Natsu and his stupid arguments with Gray.

"Well, they're archenemies, all right," Sting said lightly.

Orga made no movement of having heard Sting's comment. Rufus cleared his throat. "Well, ah, I have to go do a little shopping for my...cousin. She's a lot younger than me, and her birthday's in just two weeks. I've been searching everywhere for the perfect present. I'll be off now!"

A small frown found its place on Minerva's face as she watched Rufus scurry off. I rolled my eyes. Rufus was obviously trying to find the perfect present for Minerva. Tilting my head, I knew that Levy's birthday would also be coming up three weeks after Minerva's.

Everyone started to leave, making excuses. I stayed with Minerva, but I knew I would have to get rid of her later to get her present. Also, the guild was planning a surprise party for Minerva. Apparently, she had always celebrated her birthday alone after Jiemma had left the guild. Before, there was a huge festival in her honor where members drank for two days. That was the only time Sabertooth ever had any festivities when Jiemma was master.

Iris had already approved of a party for Minerva.

"Minerva, will you help me find a birthday present for an old friend?" I asked hopefully, thinking of Minerva. I saw hurt flash in her eyes for just a moment.

"O-of course, Lily-chan," she muttered, following closely behind me. In the end, I bought her a book about ancient creatures and a charm bracelet with a book and the symbol of a dragon (for Gajeel), Fairy Tail's insignia, and a sapphire heart. I also decided to finish writing the book I had started writing when we went on the S-class mission where I killed Zen.

"It seems like she's an important friend to you," Minerva said as we looked at a display of diamond earrings. I nodded, staring at a pair of beautiful earrings set in gold.

"Of course. Do you like these earrings?" I asked, pointing at the blue diamond earrings. Minerva's eyes strayed to the item and nodded.

"It's beautiful! I wish Rufus could buy me a ring like that someday..." she whispered in a lovesick way.

I snapped my fingers. "I'll be right back, Minnie-chan! Go to that shoe store you wanted to go to before. I'll be right there." She shot me a suspicios look before walking away. I pulled out my communication lacrima and contacted Rufus.

"Have you found a gift for her yet?" I asked.

Rufus sighed in a dejected way. "No."

"I've got the perfect gift!" I told him about the earrings Minerva had saw.

"Thanks, Lucy-san. Go talk to Minerva and distract her." He said. I nodded and pocketed the lacrima, walking to the shoe store.

"Hey, Minnie!"

I saw her staring at a pair of shoes, playing with the laces. Her head was down like she didn't want me to see her face.

"Do you all...hate me?" She murmured, choking tear back. My eyes widened in fear. What was happening?

"No, no! Why would you ever think that, Minnie-chan?" I asked in surprise. Minerva twirled on her heel, wiping tears.

"Because...because..."

"If it's because of your birthday, then no. We don't hate you." I paused, sighing.

"We had this big surprise...but I guess it's ruined now, huh?" I asked, laughing. Minerva chuckled and looked back at me, eyes filled with tears.

"Thank you...I'm sorry for being so selfish and crying about such a trivial thing." She said, hugging me.

I patted her on the back. "No worries, Minnie. If I were in your position, I would feel the same."

She sighed and gave me a happy grin. "So, are we going to find the others?"

I returned it. "Of course."

As OOC as it gets.

I'll make it up to you later. I'm just exhausted.

Thanks for the reviews!

QOTD: How was this chapter?

-flying