Kidnapping Erza

By CrimsonStarbird

Chapter Eleven: Challenge Accepted

It was two weeks into Jellal's unwilling stint as a member of Fairy Tail, and while he had become accustomed to many aspects of life here, including having to work as a guild mage and live in a barely furnished flat, the time he spent in the guildhall had yet to become any less annoying. The guild had finished the repair work and their base of operations was back in action, yet he could have sworn it was louder and livelier now than it had been as a building site. To make matters worse, everyone seemed to take the fact that Jellal was around as an indication that he wanted to chat, when they knew full well that he was only there because Makarov insisted upon it as part of their deal.

Today was no different. His plan to sit unnoticed in the corner and study the access records which Ultear had sent him had taken all of about ten seconds to break down. That was how long it took for Natsu to spot him, anyway. The boy cornered him before he had even made it to the empty table, blocking the way with his hands on his hips. "Oi, you."

Jellal sized him up through narrowed eyes. "What?"

"I hear you fought Laxus the other day."

"What of it?"

"How come you'll fight Laxus, but not me?"

"Because," Jellal told him calmly, "Against Laxus, the outcome of the fight wasn't a foregone conclusion."

"But- but-"

Jellal swept past the spluttering boy and had almost made it to his chosen seat when a bright voice spoke up from behind him.

"I just don't think you're provoking him enough, Natsu," Levy informed him cheerfully, resting her hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're being too polite. He only fought Laxus after Laxus really pissed him off. If you focus on annoying him, I'm sure he'll give in eventually."

"Don't you dare," Jellal hissed at them both.

Not that either of them had ever listened to him, and sure enough, a devious glint promptly appeared in Natsu's eye. "I've got a great idea!" he exclaimed, and he dashed off in search of someone or something, leaving Jellal to wonder if more ominous words had ever been spoken.

"I hate this guild," he muttered to himself, sitting down in his little corner, as far away from everyone else as possible, and resting his forehead against the table.

His moody contemplation was broken only a moment later when Levy perched beside him on the table, swinging her legs back and forth contentedly. He glowered at her, and when she refused to leave him alone, he demanded, "Why are you encouraging him? I thought you were more sensible than that."

"I do prefer to stay out of the fighting in the guild, I'll admit. But, the thing is… I did some research on you."

"Oh?"

That single word did not match the shadows that had suddenly jumped to life in Jellal's eyes. His fingers gripped the edge of the table hard enough to splinter the wood. If this girl had stumbled upon something she shouldn't have, then this game was up – he would have to silence her and take out Erza as soon as possible, regardless of whether it was safe to do so.

Reading something dangerous in his expression, Levy waved her arms vigorously in defence. "No, no, nothing illegal! Just newspaper articles from back when you became a Wizard Saint! Information that's available to everyone in the library; honest!"

"I see." His grip relaxed slightly, though the threatening edge did not fully vanish from his countenance. "What did you find out?"

"Abyss Break," she replied, with a satisfied smile.

"…Ah. That."

"Now, I can see why being able to use cross-disciplinary magic like that might push you to hold such a ridiculous opinion on the specialization of magic," she continued brightly; Jellal frowned at her, though he clearly wasn't interested in starting another argument. Not put out in the slightest, she placed both her palms flat against the table and leaned towards him, a little too close – and far too enthusiastic – for comfort. "I want to see it."

"No."

Levy blinked, taken aback by the sudden rejection. "No?"

"That's what I said."

"Why won't you show me your magic?"

"Because I won't."

"Huh. I thought you'd have jumped at the chance to show off how powerful you are."

"My magic isn't something to be flashed around for other people's entertainment," Jellal retorted. "I thought you of all people would have respected that."

"On one hand, I really do. On the other hand… I really really want to see it. From an academic point of view, obviously. It should be against the laws of magic for one person to be able to do something like that on their own, so I'd love the chance to actually see it in action."

"Well, tough. It's not magic I'd ever use without good reason." She pulled a face, but elected to stay on his good side rather than pushing the matter and annoying him further. He added, "And stop encouraging Natsu. Even if I did fight him, I wouldn't use Abyss Break, so you won't gain anything from it other than my unending animosity."

Levy grinned. "You mean I don't have that already? Clearly I'm not trying hard enough. Why wouldn't you use it against Natsu, though?"

"Aside from the obvious fact that I wouldn't need it to win, you mean?" He looked her dead in the eye and said, without a trace of humour in his voice, "Because it would kill him. And as a member of the Magic Council, I can hardly go around murdering people, can I?"

Captured by his intensity, Levy found she had nothing to say to that.

Just as Jellal thought he had finally managed to win back his peace and quiet, however, another group showed up to ruin the mood. "Who's plotting to murder who, now?" Mira inquired cheerfully, as she, Erza, Lucy and Juvia joined the conversation.

"No one's murdering anyone, regrettably," Jellal grumbled, the moment broken. "Stop half-listening to my conversations and jumping to conclusions." After a quick glance around the group confirmed that they were all here to stay – seriously, had everyone in this guild taken up annoying him as a full-time job? – he sighed, and got to his feet. "Well, I can't sit around here doing nothing all day. Erza, want to go and do a job?"

It was a long shot, and after two weeks without a single good opportunity to be alone with her for kidnapping purposes, he wasn't surprised when she offered him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I can't. I'm expecting a delivery, so I've got to stay in the guildhall until it arrives."

"No need to worry about that," Lucy spoke up unexpectedly. "We'd be able to pick it up for you and hold onto it until you got back, if you wanted to go."

For a moment, Jellal could do nothing but stare at her in surprise. She and her little friends had spent the past two weeks doing everything in their power to prevent him and Erza from being alone together – so where on earth had that come from? Was his luck finally beginning to change?

Nor was he the only one startled by Lucy's offer. "Hey, Lucy," Levy hissed, in a mostly failed attempt at being surreptitious. "What happened to making sure Erza never had to be alone with him?"

"Oh, you know." A non-committal shrug.

"Thanks for the offer, Lucy, but I'll stay in and collect it myself," Erza interjected. "It's my repaired armour, so I want to get it back as soon as possible."

His irritation returning now that his brief spark of hope had been quashed once again, Jellal inquired impatiently, "You sent your armour off to be repaired? Can't you just do it with magic?"

"Technically, I can; my magic will slowly reconstruct any damaged armour in my Requip dimension. Alternatively, I can remove it from that space entirely and send it to a blacksmith to be repaired by hand. It's more expensive, but much faster, and it stops the continual drain on my magic that restoring it from my Requip space would cause – which wasn't something I wanted while recovering from that battle. The downside is that I can't access it at all until I get it back…"

"I see."

"Anyway, Siegrain," Mira butted in, with a not-at-all innocent smile. "You were going out to work, right? Don't let us detain you."

He glared at her. "Well, there's not much point now, is there?" he muttered, sitting back down. Erza briefly met his gaze before turning her uncertain glance towards the floor instead. He didn't care much for her confusion; as long as she wasn't starting to suspect that he was planning on isolating and kidnapping her, whatever misunderstandings might have been going through her head didn't concern him. When the others sat down around him, she did too, taking the seat beside him that he had a hunch Lucy had left empty on purpose.

To everyone's surprise, it was Juvia who spoke first. "Did Juvia overhear you talking about Abyss Break earlier?"

"That's right; do you know it?" Levy asked, but it was Erza who answered.

"Oh, of course. That was the magic that Phantom Lord was trying to use during the guild war, wasn't it?"

Juvia responded with a timid nod. No doubt noticing her unhappiness, Levy jumped in to steer the conversation away from the sins of Juvia's former guild. "Apparently, Siegrain can also use that magic." She gestured towards Jellal, who seemed even more uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation than Juvia. "And he can do it on his own."

"Juvia had heard that rumour," the water mage nodded. "That was what sparked Juvia's old Guild Master's obsession with it. He didn't like that the newest Wizard Saint could do something so flashy, so he tried to learn it himself. When he couldn't work out how, he sought another way of harnessing that power."

"Jose and I didn't get on," Jellal agreed. "He couldn't work out how I was able to use an impossible magic, and he never quite got over it."

"Knowing you," Levy pointed out, "That's probably because you took every opportunity to smugly remind him of that fact."

"How rude. I'm a professional councillor, you know. It was every other opportunity at most."

"What's so difficult about it?" Lucy asked.

"It requires the use of four different disciplines of magic at once; the four core elements. Since most mages only ever master one type of magic, it's supposedly impossible for anyone to be able to do it alone."

Juvia added, "Juvia's old Master thought that was the case. That's why he took a special interest in Juvia and her companions, all of whom could use elemental magic – the water, fire, earth and air components which are used together to call Abyss Break. The plan at first was to train so that it could be cast by all four of them working in unison, each contributing their own element to the magic. Juvia and her friends never had any luck with that though."

Jellal nodded slowly as she spoke, considering the situation. The conversation was getting a little more technical than he was comfortable with. They all seemed to be waiting for him to respond, deferring to him as their resident expert, which made a nice change, but… If the subject had been brought up by colleagues from the Council, he would have been instantly suspicious; the odds of it being some sort of ploy to try and discover the limitations of his most feared magic would have been too high for him to ignore. He'd have ended the conversation at once – had ended it, on several occasions before.

With this guild, however, he was more inclined to put it down to innocent curiosity than some sort of political plot. Makarov's scheming aside, that didn't seem their style.

Did that mean he trusted the guild more than he did the Council? The thought made him uneasy.

It's less that I trust the guild's character, and more that I know I can rely on their blundering ignorance, he concluded, and that made him feel a little better.

So he backed up Juvia's point, as casually as before, "That's not surprising. A Unison Raid between two mages is rare enough; ones with three participants are almost unheard of. A four-person Unison Raid is impossible, simply put."

"That's what the giant robot was for, right?" Mira interjected.

"Yes," Juvia nodded. "When it became clear that Abyss Break was never going to be possible in that way, Juvia's old Master refused to give up, and spent a lot of time searching in the Council's Archives for a way to make it work. Eventually he realized that he could stabilize the magic with an external structure. So he made a few adjustments to the guildhall, which became the giant robot you saw, which drew elemental power from Juvia and her companions in order to use Abyss Break. They never actually tested it, though, so Juvia does not know if it would have worked if you hadn't stopped it…"

Jellal shrugged. "I don't see why it wouldn't have done. It seems like a perfectly good means of stabilizing it." Then he smirked, and added, "Other than the fact that it's incredibly slow, presents a massive and easily destroyed target, and would fall apart instantly if even one of you died…"

"I take it from that comment that you don't have a giant robot stashed away somewhere," Levy assessed, disappointment lacing her voice.

"I have no need for anything like that. I'm perfectly capable of doing the entire thing on my own."

"How? I've never seen you use elemental magic before. I don't believe you can."

"Of course I can," Jellal assured her coolly. "I don't play by the rules of ordinary mages, and I certainly don't want to be told what is and isn't possible by someone who isn't even a Wizard Saint. I can master as many different types of magic as I like. I'm just that good."

As he hoped, they seemed suitably impressed by his casual remarks. After two long weeks, he had finally got them to show him some respect.

All except Erza, that was, who just gave a faint smile. "Well, that's just a lie, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Startled, Jellal turned to her sharply; defensively. "Why would you say that?"

"He definitely can use Abyss Break, Erza," Levy interjected, mediating the discussion. "He did it in front of the Council a couple of years ago while on a mission for them; that's when they first acknowledged him as a Wizard Saint. It's well-documented in newspapers from the time. There are photographs and everything."

"Oh, no, I believe that," Erza assured them. "I'm just fairly sure he's lying about being able to use elemental magic… or at least being able to use it at all competently."

There was a moment's silence – or, as silent as was possible inside the guildhall – as Jellal and Erza stared at each other.

"…Alright, fine," Jellal scowled, backing down. "It's not possible for one person to meet the activation conditions for Abyss Break on their own. I just sort of… cheat my way around them. I don't need to be able to use elemental magic competently; that's precisely where everyone else who tries to learn it goes wrong. I only need to be able to hold the four elemental forms together for long enough to push it over the activation threshold, and then I can execute it fully with normal magic."

"Why?" Lucy asked suddenly.

"Why does it work? I could explain it to you, but you wouldn't understand-"

"No, I meant – why do you bother?" At Jellal's surprised look, she shrugged defensively. "Well, it's obvious that you know a lot about magic, but what's the point in going to such lengths? It sounds like an awful lot of effort, especially when I've already seen you call down a meteor to take out an ancient wyvern and half a village in one hit. Do you really need some overly complicated magic like this as well?"

"…Technically, no," Jellal admitted. "I mean, there are times when it isn't appropriate to hit things with a meteor – if I'm fighting above my house, for instance, rather than some random village I don't care about – so having more than one ultimate magic held in reserve is never a bad idea. But no, Abyss Break is very difficult to use. Getting it to the activation point requires intense focus, so it's actually fairly useless in a fight, where any decent opponent wouldn't give me that luxury."

Levy interrupted, grinning, "That's the real reason why you wouldn't use it if you fought Natsu, isn't it? Not because it's too dangerous, but because you wouldn't actually be able to."

He scowled again. "It probably would kill him – but if he's half as good as he thinks he is, he wouldn't give me the opening I'd need to stabilize it. I'd only be able to do it by beating him down or otherwise immobilizing him first, and once I'd done that, ending it with Abyss Break would be completely unnecessary, and simply cruel. It's by no means a useless magic – rather, with such destructive potential, it is possibly the most dangerous form of magic I have ever seen – but there aren't many situations in which it provides the best course of action. Fighting Natsu certainly wouldn't be one of them."

"So, in short," Erza summarized, "You learned Abyss Break just to show off?"

"…Pretty much. It's a well-known destructive magic that many scholars have investigated, yet I alone have figured out how to use. Jose isn't the only one jealous of that. Besides, saving a team of councillors and Rune Knights from a rampaging monster earns you their eternal gratitude. Saving them with impossible ancient magic that not even the most knowledgeable of them understands earns you the title of Wizard Saint."

"I can't believe you'd learn ancient magic just for that," Levy reflected. "That's shallow, unscrupulous, disrespectful, and incredibly manipulative."

"Thank you very much."

"…Yes, you would take that as a compliment, wouldn't you?" she sighed.

Fortunately, now that they had the answers they were looking for, and had had their fun poking holes in his cover story, the others seemed happy to let the conversation move along and stop bothering him. "So, Juvia," Mira began curiously. "What sort of training did Jose make you do in order to try and get a four-way Unison Raid working?"

Happy that she could talk about this so casually with her former enemies – a true sign that all was forgiven – Juvia was eager to explain. "First, he sent Juvia and her friends to a monastery for three months…"

Jellal didn't really care for hearing the story of someone else's exploits. As he half-listened, at least making an effort to seem interested, his thoughts kept drifting back to Erza.

He often thought about Erza, but not like this. She had known when he lied earlier. The others had accepted his bluff about being able to fully use multiple types of magic, yet she called him out on it straight away.

It was probably a coincidence. She knew more about magic than the others; in all likelihood, she had had good reason to believe that his claim wasn't true. Or perhaps she had just challenged his boast in the way that people in this guild often did, fully prepared to be proven wrong if necessary.

They were surely all more plausible explanations than the thought that she had somehow been able to notice he wasn't telling the truth.

That would be… problematic.

He wasn't worried that she would see through his cover – she would never work out that Siegrain and Jellal were the same person unless he told her himself – but she wouldn't need the entire truth to start making things difficult. What if she suspected he was after her? She had definitely been avoiding him recently. First there was the hospital thing, and then she had started finding excuses, like waiting for her armour, every time he asked if she wanted to go on a job with him. There was an uncertainty around her when she looked at him that had not been present before they had fought together in the guildhall.

Yet it wasn't the same uncertainty that had seized control of her when he had first appeared in the guild, he was sure of it. The shadow of the Tower of Heaven did not hold as much sway over her as it had back then; fear no longer kept her frozen in the past. In exchange for her trust he had been forced to give up his power over her, and it bothered him, perhaps even frightened him.

Yes, the more she trusted him, the more exhilarating it would be when he finally got to break that trust; and the stronger she was, the more satisfying his ultimate victory over her would be – but that victory was seeming less and less certain with every day he spent in her company. He knew she was incredible – no, he relied on it; who else would be worthy of bearing the lives of everyone in this world upon their shoulders? But it was exactly that part of her, no longer enchained, that could destroy him if he wasn't careful.

When had he stopped being careful? When had he let her get close, in a way that she could come to know him; to, perhaps, suspect him?

He wanted to be around her; to fight alongside her; to revel in her power and to win victory together. He wanted to watch with pride as she overcame all the challenges life threw at her. Of course he did: she was his sacrifice.

But, more importantly, he wanted to be the single challenge that she could not overcome. Her divinity had meaning only because he was going to destroy it. That had to be his priority; he could not jeopardize it for anything.

He had to start being more cautious around Erza. It was fine for him to appear relaxed in conversation with the others, because that was always good at lowering her guard, but he could not let his own guard down for a moment.

Which probably meant he should do something about the fact that she was currently asleep with her head on his lap.

It took a moment or two for that to sink in.

Jellal was pretty certain that the last time he had checked, she had been talking animatedly with her friends about training while he was lost in thought. Now it looked very much like she had just fallen sideways, and was peacefully asleep on top of him.

He stared at her.

Then he stared at her some more.

Well, he thought. A lot of strange things have happened since I joined Fairy Tail, but I think this tops them all.

And then, somewhat belatedly, he felt what he should have felt as soon as he noticed her: alarm.

Something was very wrong here. He glanced up from Erza's sleeping form to see Levy, who had been sat on the table, slumping sideways as if consciousness had suddenly been stolen from her; she landed softly on top of Mira, who had fallen face-first onto the table. Nor was this an isolated incident. All across the hall, members of Fairy Tail were collapsing.

"Okay…?" Jellal wondered aloud, torn between bemusement and fear.

Then it hit him too. He barely registered the feeling of light-headedness – certainly he made no connection between that and the rest of the guild spontaneously falling asleep – and the magic would have taken him in that instant if his own power hadn't picked that moment to fight back. It recognized the touch of unfamiliar magic upon his body even if he did not, and it simply would not allow it to exist.

As the heaviness of sleep magic pressed down upon his mind, his own power surged within him, fighting it off with everything it had. Fire ignited in his veins, overloading his body with adrenaline. Bursts of pain exploded through him, and he clung to that sensation; used it to fight off the waves of nothingness threatening to overwhelm him. His heart was racing at the same time as his body was trying to shut down, and he had the distinct feeling that if neither side won out soon, he was going to be torn apart.

Then, just as quickly as it had started, the sensation vanished. The foreign magic withdrew completely from his body. Jellal was left breathing heavily; scrambling to get his thoughts in order; trying to work out if any time had passed while he was under the influence of that magic; wondering if the guild was under attack; thinking how he couldn't possibly get up and fight because that would mean having to move Erza-

The sound of a single footstep rang out through the silence that held sway over the guild. Someone was here: a dark silhouette in the doorway's white light. Another step, and then another. A steady approach towards a defenceless guild. Celestial light glimmered around Jellal's raised hand, ready to fight.

The stranger entered the guildhall, and for the first time, Jellal could look at him properly. Or, he could try to – the guild's assailant had gone to a lot of trouble to conceal his identity. His body was swathed in dark cloth, making it difficult to determine his build, while white bandages covered his exposed lower arms and feet so that not an inch of his skin could be seen. His face was similarly hidden; only his eyes, sweeping across the room as if to check that all his opponents had been incapacitated, were visible. Several staves were strapped to the man's back, and there was one gripped firmly in his hand, still glimmering with traces of the sinister magic that had paralyzed the guild.

Just as Jellal was weighing up the merits of a pre-emptive strike against the chance to find out the newcomer's intentions, the stranger's gaze fell upon him, and he froze with one foot still in the air.

He stared at Jellal. Jellal stared back. A long moment passed in silence.

Then, without a word of explanation, the stranger turned on his heel and walked back out of the guildhall.

His footsteps faded into nothing. The door swung back and forth behind him, and then that too came to rest in the stillness.

"Well," said Jellal, to no one in particular. "That was surreal."

All around the room, the mages of Fairy Tail were beginning to wake up. Levy yawned and stretched like a cat on the table; Mira rubbed her eyes with a rueful smile. Neither of them did what Jellal was expecting – namely, jump to their feet and prepare to unleash their magic upon whoever it was that had enchanted them. In fact, they seemed completely at ease.

A confused purring sound drew his attention back to the Erza lying in his lap. Grimacing, he gave her shoulder a quick shake. "Erza. Hey, Erza, wake up."

She opened her eyes and gazed up at him blearily. "Jellal…?" she murmured. Then she seemed to come awake all at once, sitting bolt upright and staring at him in panic. "Siegrain! I'm so sorry! I didn't-"

He just gave his head a quick shake: he didn't care, not right now. "What the hell is going on here?"

Lucy met his gaze and shrugged, deflecting his question towards Mira. "Was it that Mystogan guy again?"

"Seems that way," Mira replied, trying to brush her hair back into place, as if that was a perfectly normal thing to prioritize when the guild was under attack.

"Huh. He has major issues with other people, doesn't he?"

"Apparently so."

"Why are you all so calm?" Jellal shouted, causing them to look at him in surprise.

"Don't you want us to be calm?" Mira replied nonchalantly. "You're the one always complaining about how rowdy it is in here; I thought you'd have been happy!"

"Well, yeah, but…" He gave a fierce shake of his head. "But a guy just came in here and put the entire guild to sleep! How are you acting like this is normal?"

"Because it is normal," she assured him. "That was Mystogan. He's a member of our guild, and he always does that, whenever he comes to pick up a job."

"I don't think there is any way you can possibly describe that as normal…"

"Welcome to Fairy Tail," Levy grinned. "Haven't you learnt by now that things are a little different around here?"

"That's one word for it."

"That's a point, though, Siegrain. Are you saying that Mystogan's magic didn't affect you?"

"Hmm." After how well their earlier discussion had gone, he decided honesty was the best policy. "It was a close-run thing. We were pretty evenly matched in power; I won only because he was spreading his magic out to affect the entire guild. If he had simply focussed it on me, I think he would have been the victor." His gaze danced over the rest of the guildhall, which was beginning to return to life, and then settled pointedly on Erza. "I am surprised none of you could resist it as well, though."

Erza gave him a small smile. "To be honest, we're all just used to it. He obviously has some issue with interacting with other people, so it's easier for everyone involved if we don't fight it, and let him do as he pleases. The Master trusts him, so that's good enough for me."

"Did you see his face?" Levy demanded enthusiastically.

"No, he was all wrapped up."

"Shame. Some of us have a bet on as to what he looks like. Quite a lot of people think he must be severely disfigured, which is why he hates people looking at him… I personally think he's a wanted criminal." She seemed far too excited by that prospect. "What did he do? Did he pick up a job?"

"No. He walked into the guildhall, stared at me for a bit, and then walked out again."

"…Strange."

"You're telling me?"

"Did you scare him off, or something?"

"Not on purpose. I'd have fought if he tried to use magic on me again, though. Perhaps he realized that would be a very foolish thing to do."

"Maybe he recognized you from the Magic Council, and ran away because he really is a fugitive!"

"Maybe so." A sly glint entered Jellal's eye, and he added, "Of course, if Fairy Tail is harbouring fugitives…"

"Nope. Definitely not. Everything's perfectly respectable here. He's just really scared of people, that's all."

"Hmm…"

Clearly, this really wasn't out of the ordinary for the guild. All around the hall, everything was back to normal already, as if no one cared that they had been attacked by one of their comrades. Trusting someone whose face they had never even seen… it was one of the most ridiculous things Jellal had ever heard, but then again, he didn't trust people as a matter of principle. The very idea of putting his faith in someone else was alien to him.

And that, he supposed, was why he was the one sitting on a weapon of mass destruction and they would still be having their pointless little chats in their guildhall when the whole world burned.

Gray and Happy wandered over and joined their group. The conversation moved on to other things, but it was no less rowdy; Jellal wondered wistfully if he'd be able to convince that Mystogan guy to teach him sleep magic. That would make his compulsory appearances in the guildhall a little more bearable. Failing that, if he went and did a quick mission on his own now, there was a chance that Makarov wouldn't notice if he left straight after and went to the library to get on with his research.

Before he could make his move, however, a light touch at his shoulder caught his attention: Erza. "What is it?" he queried.

"I…" She could not quite meet his gaze. "I really am sorry about earlier. When I… you know… called you…"

Was it really bothering her that much? It wasn't just that he didn't care, but he was pretty certain that even if his evil twin brother was real, he still wouldn't have cared – not when it had clearly been an honest mistake. If it had been intentional it would be another matter entirely, but for her to get so hung up on what was clearly an accident… he wondered why she felt so strongly about this, and then he wondered why he cared.

"Erza. I don't care. You were obviously half-asleep. Do you really think I'm the sort of person who'd get upset over an accident like that?"

"I don't know," she confessed. "At times, it feels like I've known you my entire life, and then at others, it's as though I don't know you at all."

He blinked at her. What on earth was he supposed to say to something like that?

The loud thwack of wood striking wood saved him from having to think of a response. Silence spread so rapidly through the hall that Jellal thought the mysterious sleep-mage must have returned to the guild, but when no magic brushed against his senses to make up for the absence of sound, he was forced to scan the room to find a physical explanation for the abnormality.

Makarov was stood atop the bar – a tactical move which made him almost normal height – and he was repeatedly banging his staff against its surface. Within seconds, the attention of the entire guild was fixed on him.

"I have an announcement to make," the old Guild Master began, and for some reason, those words inspired in Jellal an inexplicable feeling of dread. "For no particular reason whatsoever, I have decided that Fairy Tail's annual twenty-four-hour endurance road race, which normally takes place every year at the end of September, will instead be held tomorrow. So be sure to get plenty of rest overnight, and I expect to see you all assembled in front of the guildhall by 11:30am tomorrow, for a prompt midday start. Entry is, as always, compulsory. That is all."

And with that, he sat back down atop the bar. The silence persisted for several seconds before the guild's usual cacophony of noise returned, louder and more excitable than before.

A somewhat bemused Lucy turned to the friends who had been in the guild for far longer than her. "Would someone care to explain to me what this is about?"

"Juvia would like to know this too," Juvia added.

"It's Fairy Tail's road race," Gray answered. "We hold one every year. It's a test of speed, stamina and strategy. It can be a lot of fun – not to mention, it's a great way to show off your skill to the Master and prove that you deserve to be S-Class."

"A twenty-four-hour race?" The gloom in Lucy's voice was the complete opposite of Gray's enthusiasm. "I'm really quite happy not being S-Class, so can I pass?"

"What sort of attitude is that, Lucy?" Gray retorted.

"A normal one!"

Levy interjected, "Unfortunately, Lucy, the Master always makes the race compulsory for the whole guild. He knows that otherwise he'd just get the nutcases like Natsu and Gray competing every year, and it wouldn't be quite the spectacle that the townsfolk have come to expect."

"We're going to have an audience?" Lucy whispered bleakly.

Mira glanced at Jellal. "You seem remarkably unperturbed by this. I thought you'd have been the most vocal opponent of the Master's decision."

"He can say what he likes; I'm not doing it," came the haughty response. "I'm a member of the Magic Council. I'm not taking part in your guild's stupid race."

"All the rules of the guild, remember?"

He gave an unhappy scowl. "Still, only entry is compulsory, right? He can make me show up, but he can't stop me from walking the whole thing, if I felt that way inclined."

"I wouldn't advise that." Somehow, Mira's sweet smile was more terrifying than any kind of threat. "You see, the usual rule is that whoever comes last has to face the Master's… special punishment."

"And what, exactly, does that entail?"

"It's a surprise," she grinned. "But in case you're thinking it's worth the risk, I'll tell you now that it would be far more damaging for your political career than if the press merely got their hands on that lacrima…"

"He's doing this on purpose, isn't he?" Jellal growled. "This is just to mess with me."

Mira beamed at him. "Almost certainly."

"So, what do you think, Siegrain?" Natsu's usual lively voice interrupted their conversation. He appeared as if from nowhere with an infuriatingly smug smile on his face. "Do you think you can win?"

"This had better not have been your idea…"

"Well, I actually wanted a guild-wide battle royal to determine who was the strongest in Fairy Tail once and for all, but Gramps wouldn't sanction that one," Natsu shrugged. "So making you compete in the race was my second choice, but I think it's a pretty good alternative, since you keep refusing to fight me normally!"

"Oh, really? You think you stand a chance against me in a contest of speed?"

"Yeah, I don't really think you've thought this one through, Natsu," Gray advised.

A second round of Makarov's staff striking the bar brought the boys' conversation to a halt before it could escalate into another argument. Their Master had returned once more to his makeshift stage, and was waiting for silence.

"Maybe this is him retracting his previous announcement," Lucy murmured hopefully.

"Ahem. I have been asked to clarify a few things about tomorrow's race, so here goes." Makarov rested both hands atop his staff and closed his eyes, aware that the entire guild was hanging onto his every word. "First of all, in response to popular demand after last year's race, we have a new rule in place this time. Any and all kinds of flying magic are forbidden."

"What?" Happy demanded.

"WHAT?" Jellal screeched.

"Heh." Natsu smirked at his outraged expression. "Things aren't looking so one-sided any more, huh, Siegrain?" he teased, and earned himself a furious glare in return.

Makarov was still speaking. "All other rules will be as usual. And secondly, since some of you have been asking – yes, the route will be the same as always, so prepare yourself."

"And what route would that be?" Jellal asked icily.

"Hmm." There was a crafty glint in the Guild Master's eyes. "I think it'll be more fun if you find that out on the day, don't you?" And then his words became a warning to the rest of the guild. "If anyone tells him the route, there'll be trouble."

"Fine. If that's how you want to play it, then fine. Have your fun while you still can." A cold dare; a dark threat. Jellal got slowly to his feet. "If you think I'm going to back down from a challenge like this then you're sorely mistaken. Stack the odds against me as much as you want. I'll compete in your stupid race. And what's more, I'm going to win it."

And with that declaration, he wheeled around and marched defiantly out of the guildhall.

Lucy nudged Erza pointedly. "See what I mean about dramatic exits? That was clearly just him trying to be cool. What's he even going to do for the rest of the day now that he's left? So don't read too much into what he did the other day, okay?" And for her efforts, she received a rueful smile.

Meanwhile, Levy was staring at Natsu with something akin to amazement. "I can't believe it. You actually goaded Siegrain into a fight. I mean, you did need the Master's cooperation to pull it off, but still, Natsu… that's impressive. Nice one."

"Of course, that's only half the battle," Gray pointed out. "You still have to actually win the race if it's going to count for anything, Natsu."

"And I imagine, after everything that just happened, he'll be going all-out to try and beat you," Levy supplemented.

"Sure, but if this was easy, it wouldn't be any fun, would it?"

While most people in the group nodded approvingly at Natsu's competitive spirit, Lucy put her head in her hands. "Why did I ever think joining this guild was a good idea?"

A/N: Another quiet chapter this time, mostly because I want to start the road race proper next chapter. I've honestly been looking forward to writing this since I started the story. Since it's a combat-like situation, but without a villain or any real danger, it suits the mood of this story perfectly, and provides so many fun opportunities... though I suppose you'll be the judge of that, when it all kicks off next week! ~CS