Holy crap cakes this chapter is long. I have… 2 hours left to post. Let's see if I can make my self-imposed stress causing deadline. I have literally just finished this chapter because I promised you guys updates and that I will give you. This chapter was soooo hard to write for some reason and I don't know why. Forgive me it kind of stinks. I hope you like it anyway. Next chapter is when all the question you have burning in your brilliant little noggin's get answered so I can't wait to get that out to you guys. No stories because I'm pushing the deadline as it is. I still have to figure out how I'm going to upload this tonight since my computer is down. AH freakin' out man freakin' out. Alright calm down Ink. Everything will be okay. I'M WASTING TIME!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail! I don't have time for this nonsense!
Arc 3
Chapter 11: To the employer!
Confused like Natsu.
Spinoza ran down the hall. She expertly maneuvered her way past corridor after corridor. She took several sharp turns and shot down the last hall before the lobby stairs. Barely keeping her eyes on where she was going, it was no surprise that she fell to the ground. It was the fact that she took someone down with her, that caught her off guard. It was a yelp of pain she knew well by this point in time. She had fallen on Lucy, again.
Spinoza flung herself backward and balled up her fists putting them to her eyes. Instead of Lucy standing up, yelling, or helping Spinoza, she chose to lay down with her. The two lay on the ground and stared in silence for a little while, "I'm not crying, you dolt."
"Of course not," Lucy shrugged, "Spinoza doesn't cry, right?"
Tentatively she replied, "Right. Finally, you're starting to catch on to things around here. It's about time you figured this out. You were slower about it than I thought you'd be."
"Whatever you say, Spinoza," Lucy huffed and sat up.
Spinoza sat up as well, wiping her eyes. She held out her hand to touch Lucy's shoulder in a kind of silent apology. As soon as Lucy swung her head over in Spinoza's direction, the poor girl lost her nerve and let her hand drop to her side. A scowl flew up on Spinoza's face, "Just because you saved Ivy and the whole staff is enamored with your little team, doesn't mean you've fooled me."
"Alright," Lucy began to walk away, simply brushing off Spinoza and her harsh words.
Spinoza had never had someone simply walk away from her before. It was a new feeling, one she didn't quite like. In other conversations one small thing she said could sometimes allude to why she was so harsh but if they didn't stick around for that, then Spinoza had really just been cold and cruel. Lucy was causing her all kinds of problems. Catching up to Lucy, Spinoza looked rather sheepish, "I need to ask you about your celestial wizardry."
Lucy frowned and crossed her arms, "You want to know why Libra attacked this place."
Spinoza nodded, "Matteo needs to know so that Niko can be safe."
"He's safe," Lucy had a certain finality in her voice. It left no room to argue, "Libra is a spirit of a friend of mine. Libra has to listen to Yukino. I just don't exactly know where Yukino is. If you can find her, your problems are solved."
"But how do you know that she hasn't established another contract? Maybe she is acting under a new master." Spinoza couldn't bring herself to have the faith in people, or celestial beings, that Lucy has.
"No," Lucy struggled in answering this, "I don't think so. She seemed too intent on holding you all down. She didn't want to hurt anyone. She was acting freely. She wasn't acting like she had a new contract. It makes me think that if anything, someone around here is influencing her against Yukino's wishes. She was conflicted, she was careful not to hurt anyone. I can't figure out what she was really doing here. Niko's safe, but I can't say the same for someone else."
"Well," Spinoza ran her fingers through her hair roughly, "Then that's your job, not ours. Our priority is Niko. No one else."
"Why are you guys…" But Lucy never finished her statement as an idea hit her smack in the face, "That's it! It is our job!" she threw her hands around Spinoza's shoulders, "You're a genius, Spin!"
"I am? I mean, of course. It took you long enough to realize that." Spinoza sat her hand primly on her hip. Lucy was already on her way back to her room, though, and didn't see the gesture, "Where are you-? Hey, don't call me, Spin!"
But Lucy was already pulling out her room key. Her thoughts were racing. Spinoza was right. Just because she'd been side-tracked with her own stuff, doesn't mean they didn't have a mission. And they had to get going, now. Lucy slammed the door behind her and yelled, "Get up, we're going to meet the client. Right now! Let's go, wake up sleeping sacks. Let's get a move on!" Lucy ripped the blanket off of their immobile forms. The only reaction she ellicitated was a small groan from Gray as he turned to prevent his fall from the mattress. She walked over to him, crouched to face level, and whispered, "You can use your ice magic on Natsu and I won't get mad at you."
Gray had heard the teasing tone in her voice and he knew that somehow this was a trick. Unfortunately for Natsu, it was an offer Gray couldn't refuse. Groggily lifting himself from the bed, Gray shuffled over to Natsu's side of the bed. He looked at him disdainfully for just a second, then he smirked. Evilly.
"Nothing too extreme. Alright, Gray?" Lucy really wished she could take it back. But Gray had her permission now. There was nothing she could do.
Gray crouched into a face to face position with Natsu. He placed one hand gently on his stomach, careful not to wake him up. With the other hand, Gray grabbed Natsu's one hand and brought it over to the other hand and held them both in place on Natsu's chest. Lucy understood what is was that Gray was going for. He was planning on rendering Natsu completely defenseless when he awoke. You'd think he'd realize it would only upset Natsu, not stop him. Gray focused his magic energy into his hands and built up a rather large amount of power. With his energy concentrated Gray glanced to Lucy, shooting him a warning look. He disregarded it and glanced to Natsu's serene face, "Time to wake up, you snoring pile of scarf."
Natsu was eating, one of his favorite things. Meat. He had all the meat he could ever dream of piled in front of him, he had Happy next to him, and there didn't seem to be a bill coming. How much better could this get? He felt an odd sensation in his stomach. Almost like an emptiness. What could be missing? He had meat. He had Happy. He had his scarf. Why did he feel like something was wrong. Suddenly the meat in his hands disappeared. It was replaced with a chill. When Natsu looked down he saw it was replaced with an ice cream. Natsu didn't particularly like ice cream.
He dropped the ice cream and got up from the table. He had several missions in which he could beat people up picked out. He called for Happy and Lucy, slightly shocked to find that Lucy was not there. When he looked around he realized Happy had disappeared as well. Why was it so cold? Natsu looked to his hands and his stomach. Now everything was starting to disappear, even the restaurant itself! When everything went black he heard a small chuckle, no, more evil. He heard a small cackle next to his ear. Every instinct in Natsu's body was on attack mode. He shot straight up.
"What the heck?" Natsu shouted as his eyes flew open. Sitting upright on the bed caused the first sight for him to be greeted with to be Lucy. Accepting that he had been dreaming also helped. He relaxed significantly, "Hey Lucy," Natsu began to stretch and his arm felt heavy. It fell on his head with the surprising weight it had. Examining it he realized it was entirely cased in ice. Both of his hands were big blocks of ice. And his hurt like hell. Not only did it feel empty but it felt like he had brain freeze in his belly instead of fire. It took Natsu mere moments to register what had happened. He knew this magic. He knew it all too well, "Gray!"
Looking around the room Natsu found Gray doubled over laughing, in the corner next to the bed. Gray seemed extremely pleased with himself. Natsu felt betrayed. You didn't attack a guy when he was sleeping. And had Lucy just watched it all happen? Natsu scanned for Happy, at least he was still knocked out, "You're a real jerk, Gray. Don't move so I can kick your ass."
Gray stood up abruptly and pointed a finger. Arrogantly he told Natsu, "Lucy told me to do it!"
Natsu stopped dead. He swiveled on heel. His gaze was slight disbelief, slight betrayal. Not only had Lucy watched the defenseless Natsu be attacked but she was the one who had ordered it, "He's lying, right, Lucy?" His voice held all that was left of his confidence and it was fading fast.
"Yes!" The last thing Lucy wanted was Natsu attacking her, "Well, I mean, I did tell him he had my permission. I did give him the idea. But, I didn't tell him he should do it!" It was only after she had said all this that she realized it made her seem all the less innocent.
"So it's you and Gray against me, huh?" Natsu growled and began to approach Lucy.
"No, Natsu! Thats not true! We're a team, remember?" Lucy put her hands up in a defensive manner.
"Team members don't betray each other, Lucy," Natsu creeped towards her threateningly, "You conspired with my rival and now…"
Lucy quivered in fear, eyes wide. What would Natsu do? Burn her to a crisp? Or worse, call her weird and go find something to eat, preventing her from getting to the employer, "Natsu, I would never betray you," she whispered frantically.
He paused. Something flashed across his face. He shook himself and continued to approach Lucy. He couldn't help the smile on his face though and Lucy was extremely confused. What was he up to? "You think that freezing my hands and my stomach would leave me helpless, huh?" He was getting unnervingly close to Lucy. She backed up and her thighs hit the dresser but he kept coming. Theirs bodies were so close to touching, just mere inches from each others. He moved his face in closer, almost as if to whisper something in her ear. She heard him take a deep breath.
Suddenly she regained enough of her senses to comprehend the fact that Gray was behind them. He placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder, "Hey man, I'm the one that froze you, not her."
Gray was trying to take the fall for Lucy even though it was something that he did. Little did he know that Natsu had been counting on this. He had waited for Gray to stop him. Lighting the only attack worthy part of his body he had left, Natsu whipped around and landed a roundhouse kick with his flaming foot square into Gray's stomach, "Fire Dragons Claw!" Standing up and surveying the downed Gray, Natsu wiped his mouth, "That's what you get for being underhanded, you coward!"
Gray jumped back up, "I froze your precious stomach! How'd you create flames?"
"There were some candles behind Lucy, Ice cube, and I ate their flames. I just needed enough to kick start my own fire into melting your pathetic ice!" Natsu boasted. He seemed rather pleased and rather impressed with himself. If she was being honest, Lucy was impressed too. Usually he was all attack, that was sneaky. She was more relieved than anything else, though.
"So you're not mad at me?" Lucy detached herself from against the dresser.
"Of course I am!" Natsu exclaimed, "You told Frostbite over here that he could make the first move! Even Erza doesn't do that!"
"Maybe Lucy finally came to her senses and wants to see you beat up as much as I want to beat you up, flamer!" Gray was shouting at Natsu full on and Lucy knew that if she didn't break it up, no one would. This time was different, though. This time she wanted in on the fight. Just verbally, though…
"I think you're both a couple of idiots! Neither of you are even going to ask me why I did that?" Lucy separated the two by the collar.
"So you did do it!" Natsu pointed a finger at her, "I thought we were a team, Lucy. But if you're both my rivals now, I can take you down with my flames!"
"You couldn't take me down at full power but if you want to go I'm always ready for a fight! Screw the job!" Gray crouched and brang his hands into an ice make form.
Lucy wanted to slam her head against the wall. She let the bickering of these two hot-headed morons completely derail her, "I almost forgot the whole reason I came back up here!" Lucy began to flit around all over the room grabbing some things, straightening others. The boys watched her flutter around in astonishment. She had argued with them, full out fought with them. Two seconds later she shifted into flutter mode and she made the transition flawlessly, without even hitting anybody.
"What the heck are you doing, Lucy?" Natsu scratched his head and plopped down onto the armchair. As Lucy walked by she merely took his arm and made him stand up, continuing to grab things from the around the room.
"Why did you come in here and wake us up?" but Gray's question was blown off as well. Lucy was too lost in thought.
"Did you say that you, came back? Where'd you go?" Natsu tried to get her attention but she slipped between his fingers.
"Are you going to answer any of these questions or are we just going to be wasting our breath?" Gray went from having a very good morning to an obnoxious one.
"Why do I smell something different about you?" at that question Lucy froze. Natsu's adept sense of smell would be the death of her. What did he smell?
"I used the hotel's shampoo. It's different from mine, that's what you smell," her lie was smooth.
But he didn't believe it, "The hotel's shampoo smells like," he sniffed the air briefly, "blood?" He followed the scent. He came face to face with an angry gash on her knee, "You're bleeding."
"I'm pretty sure you didn't have that last night." Gray intoned.
"I fell this morning. Tripped." Lucy's brain was running at a mile a minute to think of a suitable lie, "When I went out to breakfast. Has Happy really been sleeping through all of this? We need to go, now. I'll wake him."
She walked over to where Happy lay sound asleep. She tapped his shoulder and he mewed softly. With less patience and in a very Lucy-like manner, she lifted him and shook the poor cat 'til kingdom come. A small object fell out of his ear, "Luuucy! Why are you shaking me!"
Lucy picked up the small object, "What is this?"
"If you'd just look at it you'd know it's an earplug, duh!" Happy grabbed it from her hand and took the other plug from his other ear. He tucked them away in his backpack.
"You have earplugs?" Lucy was surprised that Happy thought that far ahead.
"Lots of them." Happy told her, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"You have a lot of earplugs and you didn't share?!" Lucy shook with restraint, her eye twitched slightly.
"You didn't ask." he replied, "Besides, anyone that sleeps in the same room as Natsu should be smart enough to invest in some earplugs. He's a dragon slayer, for pete's sake."
Lucy smiled despite her obvious anger and as she was about to really rip into Happy, Natsu shouted, "What's that supposed to mean? Gray's the annoying one!"
"Why'd you drag me into this?" he retorted.
"What time is it?" Happy glanced over to the alarm, "It's 8:00! Why are we up so early?"
"I don't get up until 10:00." Gray complained, laying himself back onto the bed.
"Not today," Lucy yanked the covers off of the bed, "We're going to see the client. Right now, let's go."
"What's the rush." Gray just threw a pillow over his eyes and groaned.
Natsu having reseated himself in the armchair consented, "Yeah, Luce, calm down. We can get going after some breakfast."
"Natsu, where are we going to find some really good fish for breakfast?" Happy flew over and perched himself on the arm of Natsu's chair.
"Get up," Lucy admonished, "Actually take your time. You can catch up to me later. I'm leaving right now." She grabbed the room keys and made her way for the door.
"You can't go on your own to meet the client. I'm the last person that wants to sound like Natsu but we are a team." he stretched and yawned. Eyeing Lucy and Natsu he sighed, "I'm coming just give me a minute."
"I call the bathroom first!" Natsu jumped up, cut off Gray, and slammed the bathroom door.
"He did that just to bother me," Gray's eye twitched and he set his lips in a firm line.
Soon after the morning arrangements had been sorted the team set out for breakfast. The boys inhaled a small diner's worth of food. Lucy then had to talk down the place's owner and paid him off with all the jewel she brought with her.
They continued to walk the sidewalks looking for the terrorized casino.
"This town is only so big! Where can this Casino be?" Lucy yelped in frustration.
"Well maybe if you hadn't rushed us out the back door of the hotel! Why'd you do that?" Happy flew just above the three wizards.
Lucy tried to look away but being wedged between Gray and Natsu on this narrow sidewalk didn't give her much leeway, "Tanana just said that the lobby had a lot of people in it and it would be easier to go out the back."
"No she didn't," Happy grumbled, "She just rattled off a bunch of numbers."
"Ta Gram Gram?" Natsu tried to recall, "101, 89, 30, 44, and 222!" he repeated in an exact and identical tone.
"Tanana is pretty easy to understand," Lucy commented.
"She speaks plain english to you," Gray retorted, "But not to anyone else. To the rest of us it's all just numbers and gibberish."
"She's kinda like Plue!" Natsu drawled, "It always seems like they're saying something important but you can never understand them."
"Anyway, what was the big hurry this morning about getting to this job? Now we can't even find it!" Happy complained.
"Maybe if you'd do a little less yapping and a little more flying, cat," Lucy said, heatedly.
"I just saying maybe we should ask someone for directions," Happy said with mock maturity.
"We don't need directions!" Lucy shouted, "Listen Natsu, the only bar in town is way over on the other end. The only other place that would have alcohol is the casino. See if you can smell any sake from here and maybe you can point us in the right direction. Then Happy can get a bird's eye view and lead us there."
"Alright I'll see if I can pick up the scent but sake isn't really that strong," Natsu stuck his nose into the air, "People usually have a way stronger scent so if there's too many people between us and the casino I won't be able to pick up the smell."
"I just need you to try," Lucy rubbed her forehead in frustration. Did it seem unusually hot to anyone else?
"Firehound, try and pick up a scent before I grow old," teasing Natsu was something Gray was adept at and always started his day off right.
"Listen stripper, maybe I could focus on sniffing out some weak sake if you would put your clothes on!" in response to which Gray yelped slightly and hastened to throw some clothes on.
"Can you get anything, Natsu?" she walked up behind him and asked in almost a begging tone.
Natsu stuck his nose in the air. He sniffed and walked forward a few steps. He sniffed again and ran to the other sidewalk across the street. He took one long whiff and ran in almost a circle, causing the small group of three following him around to run into each other. He paused, put up a hand to signal silence, and kept sniffing, "What does us being quiet have to do with his nose?" was the irritated response from Gray.
"Gray, he needs to concentrate," Happy defended.
Lucy walked up to Natsu and put a hand to his arm, "Are you getting anything?"
He looked at her with a hard stare. He stayed quiet for a moment and turned to face her full on, "... Nope!" he slung his hand to his stomach and leaned against a lamppost, "If there's any sake in this dumb town I can't smell it."
Lucy tensed, "You did all that, and you didn't even smell anything?!" Gray grabbed Lucy's arms and held her back from charging at the barely phased dragon slayer. Lucy calmed down enough for Gray to release her, "Then it's up to you Happy. The Almighty Nose of Natsu has taken us to the edge of town without any clue where the casino is. Looks like you've gotta take to the skies."
"Aye, sir!" Happy let loose his catch phrase and flew up above the trees dotting and surrounding the town. He kept going higher and higher until he was just a speck in the sky. Then he shouted down, "There's a big building with lots of neon lights in the middle of the forest! I'll keep going to it from up here so you guys can follow me through the trees. You ready?"
"You bet ya, Happy!" Natsu yelled proudly, "Let's go!"
Happy started to fly off with Gray and Natsu running below. Gray looked back, "C'mon Lucy," he pushed, "We've gotta go if we're going to keep up with him."
Running was their plan. Running that really made her leg hurt. She had to make sure to run just a ways behind him and try her best not to limp. At this point it didn't seem like she had another choice, "Coming," and she started on a run.
They made it to the very edge of town, where the trees started to form into a really thick forest. At the very edge of town there was a spot where the ground dropped off. It was almost a small cliff. They stood at the edge of the drop and Natsu waited only a moment before heroically throwing himself off the ledge. He landed with a thud and rolled back into standing position. Gray assessed the drop and decided the jump wouldn't be as bad as it had looked and quickly followed suit. He landed with thud and propelled himself forward. Lucy stopped.
It was true the drop was not a extremely large one, considering the other jumps she had made but she couldn't do it. She couldn't make this jump, not now. She stood at the edge imagining herself trying to land the jump, but with her leg sprained, the only thing she could picture was landing on it and breaking it completely. She called out to the guys that were trying to catch back up to Happy, "Hey! I'll catch up with you later! I'll take a different way!"
"What are you talking about?" Gray called up to her, "The jump's not hard, you've landed way worse before!"
"I know," she shouted, nervously, "I just, I'll go another way."
"You can wrap your whip on that branch and swing down here," Natsu encouraged.
Again Lucy pictured the possibility of landing the wrong way and hurting her leg even worse, "I can't, I'm just going to figure out another way down, I'll be fine. Keep going before you lose Happy completely!"
"What do you mean you can't? Since when are you so scared? Show this cliff who's boss, Lucy!" Natsu wouldn't let her be held back by fear.
"I'm not afraid!" Lucy shouted indignantly, "Listen, I just can't okay. I'll be fine, just get to the client. I'll find my own way there."
"Lucy just call out a spirit to bring you down," Gray decided pragmatically.
"I'll just catch up with Happy and bring him back here to lower you down," Natsu offered.
Lucy shivered at the idea of bringing out a spirit. The pain she had felt earlier was too fresh in her mind. She didn't want to use her spirits accept for in battle, "No, if you bring Happy back it's just a waste of time. I don't know how much magic energy this job will take, either. I want to save as much as possible.
"Lucy," Natsu began.
"Don't argue with me Natsu! Just go to the job!" Lucy yelled and she ran from the edge until she was no longer visible.
"Should we go after her?" Gray questioned, anxiously.
"No," he looked from where Lucy had been standing to Happy, who was now so far along that he was barely visible, "We've gotta catch up to Happy before we lose sight of him. Let's go."
"Whatever you say, man," the two set off into the thick of the forest after Happy, worry pitting itself in their stomachs.
Lucy walked along the edge of the cliff.
"Careful, Miss!" a couple of kindly shipping men told her, as they moved boxes from a truck into the back entrance of a store, "We don't want you falling off that edge!"
"I won't," Lucy replied sweetly, as a feeling of deja vu washed over her.
She continued to walk the edge, looking for a spot where the ground evened out. It had been a flat terrain coming into the town so somewhere between that side and this side the ground had to dip. She kept going until she came to an area where there weren't businesses anymore and only a few houses dotted the landscape every so often. The trees started getting dense and Lucy got a bit nervous. She felt her hip warm up. She let her hand travel to her keys. Not surprisingly one key was warmer than the rest. She heard Loke's voice across the realms. He wanted to see her. Honestly, she wouldn't mind the company.
She hadn't meant for him to hear that thought, "Hey beautiful," he said, appearing in a flash next to her.
"Hey Loke," Lucy laughed, "I didn't call you."
"I know," he had his hands in his pockets, "I just missed you."
"You mean you were worried about me," Lucy sighed.
"Why would I be worried about you?" he smirked at her, "It's not like you've done anything reckless lately, right?"
"So Taurus and Capricorn told you everything?" she teetered a bit on the edge as she walked and he tensed, but Loke let her adjust herself.
"I kinda made them tell me," he brushed it off and so did she. She had come to expect it from the king of the zodiac.
"Are you going to lecture me about being more safe and come to my rescue?" Lucy drawled with an annoyed tone. But she couldn't help but smile, walking with Loke and seeing his smirk had a calming effect.
"No," Loke muttered, "That doesn't mean I'm going to be any less worried about you, but I trust that my master knows what she's doing. When you need me, you'll call me."
"Not master," Lucy admonished, "friend. And, thanks. It's good to know someone around here has faith in me." She gave him a hundred watt smile.
"They have faith in you, too. They just don't know you like I do," he shoved her playfully, "They don't know the Lucy that almost succeeded in opening a celestial gate without a key and called forth a celestial king instead. You saved me, how could I not have faith in you?"
"You saved me first!" Lucy laughed.
"See, I was the same before I knew the fierce side of you! I saw a damsel walking alone and I had to save you. But now I know that you would've found a way to kick their butts even if I didn't come along." He watched as her hands popped to her hips and chuckled.
"You save me and I save you. I like that," Lucy asserted, even past her blush.
"Speaking of, why are you walking the streets of somewhere other than Magnolia all alone? Where are you going?" he glanced nervously at her leg.
"It doesn't hurt that much anymore," Lucy explained quietly, "But I did get separated from the guys because of it. There's this drop on the edge of this town. The guys just jumped it but if I had landed on it wrong…" she shivered, practically hearing the crack,
"Happy was out of earshot and I didn't want to use any magic power. You're here using your own power."
"I see," he nodded and looked at the drop, "Well now that I'm here, I can jump for you."
He winked, picked her up bridal style, and approached the edge. She held on tightly and gave him a slight nod, telling him it was okay to continue, "Thanks, Loke."
"I'm always here for you, Lucy," he winked and jumped. They landed without a sound. Loke continued to walk with Lucy in his arms.
"You can put me down now," she looked at him, puzzled.
"I could, but I like carrying you too much," Loke just stared straight ahead, but his wide smile gave him away.
Lucy pushed against him and shouted, "Put me down!"
"Alright alright," Loke put her down gently, "I'm walking you the rest of the way, though. Because I want to."
"Fine," Lucy blushed again, "Only because I'm hurt."
Loke sobered up, "So Libra caused it."
Lucy frowned, "It was an accident. She didn't mean to," they looked to each other, having the same thought, "I don't know where Yukino is, but you've felt it, haven't you? Things are different here. Spirits are stronger but my magic is way harder to control. I think Libra has been lied to and manipulated. She doesn't want to hurt anyone."
"Still, if she attacks you again, you call me out." Loke's tone wasn't one to be argued with.
"I hate watching you guys fight each other," her voice was hushed but Loke could still make out what she said, "It's not right. If I can avoid it, I will."
Loke stopped and threw out his arm to block her path, "Spirit or not, if someone is threatening you, let us help you. It's what we're here for, what we live for."
A little surprised with the intensity of Loke's words, Lucy took a moment to organize her thoughts, "Don't tell me what to do," she opted for the playful approach.
Loke huffed good-naturedly and adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, "You're impossible, Princess."
"Come on," Lucy muttered, as the thick of the trees grew more dense, "I think it's this way."
They walked on for a majority of the time in silence. The light of the morning shown in rays through the leaves of trees so tall they touched the sky. Small creatures would roam the landscape, it was a surreal atmosphere. Until a single note drifted through the brush. It was music but it was harsh and fake. Nothing like the soft melodies that Lira sang. The building spirit and wizard stood before was huge and over the top. Lucy had a bad feeling nestled in her stomach, right between her common sense and better judgement. Just like she kept doing lately, she shoved those feelings aside and kept walking.
"This place is a little flashy, even for my tastes." As a playboy in a former life Loke still enjoyed flashy, but fake and dare he say, gaudy, was a bit much, "The guys got a head start on you, didn't they? I don't see them anywhere."
Lucy had been scanning the area for the same reason. She had a hard time believing that the guys would go in without her, especially after the lectures she had gotten about the four of them being a team, "Maybe they got held up. It seems we lucked out and got an easier path. They'll probably be here any minute."
"Well, are we going in or do you want to wait for them," Loke was poised, ready to push open the door.
Lucy shoved his arm down and backed him up slightly. With a motherly, scolding, and pointed index finger she told him, "I'm going in right now, alone. But I'm sure they'll be here soon."
"You're really sending me back, aren't you?" he sighed and propped his glasses once more, "Don't be afraid to call, beautiful."
With that Lucy was alone again. She pushed on the enormous tacky green doors lined with neon blue and the light from inside nearly blinded her.
Natsu pushed his thoughts to the wayside, like he so often did, and focused on the task at hand. He cast a quick glance up at Happy just to make sure the Exceed was still in his line of vision. He pushed himself to run as fast as he could. If he ran fast enough his brain would be too preoccupied with trying to figure out where to take the next step so as not to hurt himself, rather than on a certain blonde celestial spirit wizard. The last thing he wanted to think about was her, or the blood dripping from her knee, and especially not her strange behaviour lately. Natsu let a growl slip.
"Natsu," Gray called out to him, a slight pant in his voice, "Slow down, man. Nobody's dying."
"Put on some clothes, nude freak, and maybe I'll consider slowing down!" he retorted.
Gray looked down and grunted, "Why does this always happen?"
"I will leave you behind, if you can't keep up!" Natsu warned.
"Hey, I know I was pushing for Lucy to come on this job, but," Gray panted with the effort it took to keep up with Natsu and clothe himself at the same time, "I think something's going on. I'm not saying skip on the job, we can't, I'm just saying maybe keep her from getting involved."
Yeah?" The pace Natsu set never let up, even with the sarcastic remark, "Good luck."
"Just stop for a second," Gray protested, "What do you mean good luck? You think she should fight?" It honestly relieved Gray. If Natsu wasn't worried then he didn't have to be. Lucy probably told him something personal that explained everything.
Natsu groaned loudly. It was not a groan of a worriless man, "I don't want to talk about it! Let's just get the Casino."
"Natsu," Gray just stopped dead in his tracks. If Natsu wanted to hear him, he'd have to slow down, "What's going on?"
"I'm trying to get to the job and you're not letting me?" he quipped.
"Do you know how she got hurt?" Gray asked.
"Not a clue," Natsu growled. He hated seeing his nakama injured.
Surprise colored Gray's face. He had just assumed Natsu and Lucy told each other everything. If you're looking for Natsu all you have to do is find Lucy and vice versa, so if Lucy was keeping secrets from Natsu, it was serious, "Maybe you could..."
"I can't do anything! She won't listen to me! I'm the last one she listens to!" It was hard for Natsu to keep from blowing up. Lucy had always had parts of her past she liked to hide from but she had never outright lied to him before. It was distressing, to say the least, "I don't know why she's lying or what she's doing, all I know is ever since we got on that stupid train she's been acting funny. Ever since we stepped foot in that stupid hotel she's been keeping secrets. All I want to do is go over there and burn someone to ashes until they tell me what I want to know!"
Gray was shocked to see how distressed Natsu was, it wasn't like him. It wasn't like him at all. This was definitely outside of Gray's comfort zone. He didn't know what to say to Natsu to make him feel better, "Hey, you glorified pile of ashes, I'll race you the rest of the way."
Natsu looked to Gray with a grateful smile, he didn't want to think anymore, "I'm totally going to get there before you do, perv," Natsu searched the skies for Happy,
"Oh great!" he shouted, "We lost Happy!"
A curse that only Natsu's adept hearing could catch escaped Gray's mouth, "We've just got to keep going straight in the direction we were headed, we should get there eventually."
And in unison the boys raised one arm and pointed in slightly different directions while announcing, "So this way!"
"It was definitely northeast that we were headed, slanty eyes!" Gray protested.
"I say it was northwest and considering I'm a better fighter we should go that way, droopy eyes!" was Natsu's well thought out and totally mature reply.
Gray scrunched up his face and retorted, "What does fighting ability have to do with directions?!"
Natsu folded his arms and smirked, "If you don't know then I'm not going to tell you!"
Before any coherent decision was made they were fighting and their fight sent them rolling even further into the wilderness.
Happy had finally arrived at the Casino and no one seemed to be there. He waited patiently, nibbling on fish he pulled from his backpack, until everyone would come running out of the forest. He waited and waited, he waited through two and a half fish. They never came. Happy realized that knowing the two they probably started fighting and lost sight of him. Happy would have to traverse back out over the forest and find them. He was tired from flying at those altitudes, he hoped his magic would keep out a little longer.
Finally, a little strayed from the path he had given them, Happy found the boys fighting. Shocker. Dropping from the sky Happy landed just a small ways from the fight, "Natsu!"
Natsu drew away from the fight and looked for the sound of his name, "Hey Happy! What's up buddy?" momentarily forgetting all about what he was supposed to be doing.
"If you don't stop fighting all the time it's going to get you in trouble," Happy lectured.
"Ice breath started it!" Natsu shouted, indignantly.
"I thought you guys were supposed to be following me," Happy intoned.
Natsu jut out his shoulder for Happy to rest on, "Thanks for coming back for us, little buddy!"
"Can you fly the rest of the way, Happy?" interrupted Gray.
"I'm allll out of magic." was Happy's unphased remark.
"I can lead us there!" Natsu started running with Happy lounging on his back.
Gray chased after him yet again, "That's what got us in this mess in the first place!"
"I remember which direction you've got to go," Happy chimed, "I'll tell Natsu and you can just follow us, Gray."
Gray groaned but seeing as there was no better option he followed along wordlessly.
After a couple of "wrong turns" and a pit stop, the trio arrived at the overly tacky, neon covered Casino. They looked around, "Lucy's still not here."
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Gray," Happy teased.
Gray stepped back and looked up at the towering building. He threw out a hollow threat, "If you don't get control of your cat, Natsu…"
"You'll what? Huh, Gray? Besides Happy's right, obviously Lucy had the common sense to turn around and go back to the hotel and we should just go in there and use my fire to take out those bad guys!" Natsu responded.
"I forgot to ask, where is Lucy?" Happy wanted to know.
"We lost her at the beginning," Natsu replied nonchalantly.
"You lost Lucy!" Happy wondered how that was possible, "Didn't you notice when everything got quiet that she wasn't there!? She could be in trouble! We should go look for her!"
Natsu got kind of quiet and Gray jumped in to respond instead, "She said she'd find her own way here. She should show up soon. Natsu's right, though," Gray tried not to choke on those words, "Let's go inside."
The other two nodded and they opened the door and stepped through into the overwhelming light. What they saw on the other side of that door was the exact opposite of tacky. The misleading colors and cursive lettering stood in stark contrast with the perfect porcelain marble. It was everywhere; the floor was marble, the high ceilings were marble, and the columns lining the room were marble. It was the opposite of it's exterior and the town in which it resided. It was a seamless cream colored marble with a cloudy texture that made you feel like you were floating on a cloud. The stage tucked in one corner held blood red curtains that sheathed the actors and the bar on the other was blacker than the darkest hours of Supernus. Slot machines, blackjack tables, poker tables, and whatever else you could imagine dotted the expansive room. The most out of place piece of the puzzle was not the atmosphere or the interior design, but the people. These people were not the simple and kind inhabitants of Supernus. These people were elegant. Every man and woman decked out in the most amazing gowns and suits, hair and makeup were perfect, even the way the walked, hell, the way they stood still was fancy. The boys felt extremely out of place.
A thin framed and extremely tall woman dressed in a simple white and black servers uniform walked up to them, "The wizards from Fairy Tail?"
"That's us!" Happy told her.
"How'd you know?" Natsu asked.
"Trust me, sir," she placed a hand on his shoulder, "you look a little out of place." She guided Natsu, with Happy nestled in his hair and Gray trailing behind, to the very back of the casino. Not a single employee or attendee even glanced at them, they were all too preoccupied in their own lives. The woman that brought them to the grand staircase in the back of the room, Kai, her name tag read, turned to them and held up her index finger. She walked to the center of the room and announced, "Sorry everybody, I have to step away for a moment," a resounding 'aw' came from the guests, "but the show will be commencing on the stage shortly. Enjoy yourselves!" She walked towards the groups she left at the base of the stairs.
"Are you the owner of this place? What do you need wizards for?" hopping out from behind Natsu, Gray finally got a good look at Kai. Pale and dainty with killer blue eyes and matching hair tied up in a ponytail. He could get used to looking at her.
"Gosh, don't be so kind, handsome," Kai swiped away at the air in front of her as to dismiss his compliment, "I'm just a lowly employee. I'm not nothing compared to the man upstairs. He's the one that called for you guys. I wouldn't disappoint him if I were you." She pulled back the cream rope tying off the stairs and let them climb to the door at the top, "Good luck." She called quietly to them, before returning to entertain the masses.
"That was weird," Happy commented, discreetly.
Natsu nodded, emphatically, jolting the settled Happy, "It sure was."
"Maybe I should go back down and ask her a couple more question," Gray had already made his way back down a few steps, "To be safe."
Natsu rolled his eyes, "Keep it in your pants, Gray."
"Shut up, man!" Gray was stunned with Natsu's words, Natsu just wasn't the kinda guy, "I was just going to ask a couple questions."
"No," interjected Happy, "He's serious Gray, put your pants on!"
"Oh!" he jumped in surprise and put on his pants, "I thought I was getting better at controlling this!"
As soon as Gray slipped on his pants Natsu's fist connected with the door. It creeped open, seemingly of it's own accord. Natsu made to rush in. Gray's hand made to stop him, "Hey!" Natsu yelled, "What's the big idea?"
"That door just opened on it's own and you just want to waltz right in?" Gray eyed him, dubiously.
"What else are we going to do?" Happy asked.
"Really, Gray," Natsu said in fake maturity, "You ready to bust in there, Happy?"
"Aye sir!"
The trio walked into the room. If it reminded them of anything it reminded them of Heartfilia Manor. It had the same wood floors with the same impersonal decorations. It was sophisticated and cold. The desk at the end of this long room, lined with bookshelves, had a very disturbing thing behind it. It was a portrait of… Lucy?! Gray had a minor heart attack, it was the Lucy that Gray had made out of ice. She was dressed in a pink gown and her hair was tied up in a bun, way too perfect. Her smile was there, and just like in the ice, it was sad. She looked older somehow, older and sadder. It was too weird, none of them knew how to react.
"Welcome," a voice traveled to and from every crevice of the room. It was deep and a bit rough, "Thank you for coming. I'm the owner of this establishment. My Casino is being terrorized and I need your help." This guy looked like the ones downstairs, like he didn't belong in small Supernus. Natsu wondered how this town contained his ego. His hair was slicked back with the messy spikes in the back. It was black when you just glanced at it. When the light hit it the right way you could see it held a tone of red just at the edges. He had a build similar to Lucy's father, leaner and taller but with wide set shoulders and a stern jaw line. He had a crisp black suit and a light blue tie, it was the only light thing about him. His eyes were a dark hazel color with flecks of orange, in the right light they almost looked red, too. Something about him set Fairy Tail on edge, they weren't quite thrilled to be working for him.
Seemingly an endless amount of questions flooded the trio's brain, "You didn't see a really loud blonde girl with a whip, did you?" was the ever so intelligent response that came from our favorite dragon slayer.
As soon as the words left his mouth the door tucked away in the corner, behind the desk, opened. It revealed a girl in a beautiful long, pink gown. Her hair was in a perfect blonde bun and she had no weapons. The girl from the portrait. Lucy.
"Lucy! What're you doing playing dress up?" Happy was about to jump into Lucy's arms when the man took a step between them, his back facing Happy.
He held out his arm to Lucy, "Lady Heartfilia, would you like to introduce your friends to me?"
She nodded, gingerly took his arm, and lifted her face. Gray and Natsu gasped, she held the same smile of the one on the portrait. Her voice was soft, "This is Gray Fullbuster, ice make wizard of Fairy Tail. This is Happy, Exceed of Edolas and now wizard of Fairy Tail. This is Natsu Dragneel, fire dragon slayer of Fairy Tail, son of Igneel the fire dragon."
"Lucy?" Natsu asked, getting close to her face and sniffing, "When did you get here? Why are you dressed like that? What the heck is going on here?"
"This is our employer," Lucy stepped back slightly, "His name is Relic."
A flash of deja vu hit Gray. He'd heard that name. Relic. The papers Happy looked at on the train! "He's Relic!? How does he-"
Lucy quickly interrupted him, "We need you to change so that we can better blend in downstairs."
"Lucy," Relic looked down at her and removed his arm, "There's something I need to attend to. I'll give you a moment to fill your friends in on the details. When they're ready to change just show them to the same room. My servants will find you."
"Of course," Lucy bowed her head slightly until Relic left.
"Lucy, who is that guy! Why are you acting funny, again?" Happy shouted first.
"He's our employer. I'm not acting funny. I just had to change so that we could fit in downstairs. Besides I was covered in twigs and sap." Lucy recounted as she stepped towards the window placed behind the desk, just under the portrait.
"Lucy I know you remember the name Relic. His name is on the letters we found!" Gray was starting to panic slightly, feeling like they were walking into one big set-up, "Why'd you stop me from asking him how he knows Rex?"
"This guy knows that conductor bastard? What letters? Who's Relic? Ugh, why don't I ever know what's going on?!" Natsu shouted in frustration and disappointment.
"Relic is a man of the train industry. He's buying the station Rex works at. It's not a big deal. Just forget about it Gray." Lucy made to glare pointedly at him.
"Alright, Ms. Smartypants! If you know everything, tell us why this creep has this huge painting of you above his desk!" Natsu pointed emphatically at the artwork.
Lucy huffed but smiled, regardless. Her small smile found it's way to her face as she looked up at the portrait, "That's not me." Lucy explained, "It's my mother, Layla. This was painted before she died. My father had tons of portraits of momma painted. After she died, he got rid of them. He only kept the family portrait, and even that he shoved away into the attic. Relic said that he was a family friend. He asked for one of the last portraits before my father could get rid of it. He hung it up for a while after my mother had passed, in memory. After that he said he just didn't have the heart to take it down. He said that she's so pretty she doesn't deserve to be locked away in an attic somewhere." She ran her fingers along the edge of the frame, "I agree with him."
"Why does she look so sad?" Happy asked.
Lucy paused for a moment, "I don't know," she really seemed to be thinking hard about it, "I can't remember when this particular painting was done. It was definitely towards the end of her life, though. Maybe it's because she knew this would be the last time she ever posed for a painting. She knew stuff, my mom did. She just knew."
"She sounds like a really smart lady," Happy whispered to her.
"She was." Lucy turned around and clapped her hands together, "Let's get you guys dressed."
"Dressed for what? I'm not wearing anything with a hundred layers." Gray pitched.
Lucy rolled her eyes, "Gray, I'd never dream of it."
"Stripper has a point, though." Natsu added, "What are we getting dressed for?"
"We're going to join the downstairs for the evening. We'll be on the look-out for any strange activity and definitely any magic energy surges. We have to blend in, though. We'll wait for an attack. Then we spring into action."
"So, this is kind of like the mission for King Balsamico?" Happy piped in.
"You're totally right Happy!" Lucy said, with excitement. At least now they had something to compare it to. Even though that mission didn't quite go as planned…
"So just another fancy party." Gray monotoned.
"Well, not exactly," Lucy scratched her head. Explaining the rules of high society wouldn't be an easy task, "These people aren't like wizards. Their industry is their life. These parties are high stakes gatherings. You have to be polite and make sure not to sound threatening to anyone. It's all about what you say and how you say it. There's also some other, unspoken, rules you should know about…"
"Yeah…?" Gray asked hesitantly. He had a feeling he wouldn't like these rules.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Happy moped.
"I'm sorry, Happy," Lucy deflated, "If you want to come you have to pretend to be a real cat."
"I am a real cat!" Happy shouted.
Lucy sweatdropped, "I mean like a cat that doesn't talk or fly. One that stands on all fours."
"That's just crazy! We've seen plenty of cats in our lifetime and none of them have stood on all fours!" he argued.
"Those were all Exceeds Happy!" Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose, "If any of them think we have a magic cat around someone will know there're wizards here."
"Hey, what's with this place by the way?" Natsu interjected, "What are all these fancy people doing in a simple town like this, in a forest way out here?"
"That's the easy part," Lucy laughed, "To keep it from getting crashed and as an escape. These are people that like things a certain way. They like gambling and only gambling with other people that have just as much if not more money than they do. They're not nice people, Natsu. You wouldn't like them. But, you have to be nice anyway!"
"I'll be fine! I'm not going to hurt anybody. Except for the bad guy." Natsu folded his arms and pouted.
"Um," Lucy clasped her hands and swayed side to side, "there's one more thing you have to know."
"What else?" Gray groaned.
"You've got to bring a date." Lucy spit out as quickly as she could.
"Lucy, nobody can understand you when you talk that fast!" Happy scolded.
Lucy glared in Happy's direction, "You have to have a date."
"What?" both Gray and Natsu said.
"Why do we have to have dates?" Natsu complained.
"It's not right for women to show up to these things alone," Lucy grumbled, "It's some old stupid anti-feminist thing. For guys it's just kind of embarrassing and out of place. Guys with money always bring girls to stuff. Again, we have to fit in perfectly for this to work."
"Where are we supposed to find dates in just a couple of hours?" Gray's sarcasm was dripping.
"Relic said that Kai would be a perfect date for you, Gray." Lucy explained, "The only problem is finding one for Natsu."
"What do you mean, Luce?" Lucy eyed him suspiciously. He couldn't mean that he had a girl lined up just waiting for him to take her somewhere. He continued, "I'll just take you, duh."
Lucy blushed and she could see Happy having a silent giggle fit just behind Natsu. This next part was not going to blow over well, "Well, I, uh, I already have date."
"Loke?" Gray asked, interested in this sudden development.
"Oh, no way!" Lucy shuddered at the idea of dating one of her own spirits, even if it was fake, "That would break so many rules."
"Then who is it?!" Natsu demanded.
"Remember, the best way to cover the place is to split up. My first thought was to be with one of you but it just makes more sense we separate. We'll be more useful that way. The best way to get info on the person trying to hurt the Casino is to talk to the people who know it's owner. I'm Relic's date." that last part was just a little quieter than the rest.
"Nope," Natsu said nonchalantly, "not going to happen."
"What's the problem?" Lucy asked, gruffly, "I'm the only one here that's pretty enough!"
"You want to be right in the line of fire when you're not at the top of your game? That sounds like a stupid plan to me," the harsh words just rolled off of him without much thought.
"I think Natsu's right, Lucy. We should have our strongest next to Relic all night. Natsu can be positioned next to him!" Happy agreed, readily.
"You still don't get it! You want to be his date?" Lucy snapped, "I'm a girl and I'm strong enough to handle this."
Natsu squinted his eyes and looked at her, "I don't think so." Natsu turned to Happy, "What do you think Happy?"
"Classic case of overestimation, sir." Happy nodded at his 'scientific discovery' while whispering behind his paw, "You should probably give up on trying to reason with her."
"Maybe I can just overpower her?" Natsu whispered back.
"I can still hear you!" Lucy shouted, causing her pulsing forehead vein to get just a bit bigger, "Just get changed. We'll worry about a date for you later."
The boys slipped into the suits and re-entered the main room, "I feel like I'm wearing way too many layers."
"One layer is too many in your opinion, Gray," Lucy joked, "Don't you dare take any off!" she restrained his arm from tugging off his tie.
"This stuff is so restricting, I don't like it." Natsu complained.
Lucy sighed, "You get used to it." Lucy gasped. Happy was walking, no, not walking,sauntering into the room. On all fours, while purring, "You really seem to be good at this being a cat thing Happy."
Happy sweat-dropped, "It was uncomfortably natural…"
"What now?" Natsu asked.
Just then Relic came through the doors, "How's everything going in here?"
"Great," the sarcasm in Gray's voice was obvious, "we look totally normal like this."
"You guys look great," Relic commented lightly, "Lady Heartfilia, I assume you've filled them in?"
"Yeah," Lucy nodded, "I still don't know what we're going to do for Natsu, though."
"Actually," Relic explained, "Natsu is wearing a uniform of the employees. He'll be able to go in and out of the back rooms without causing suspicion."
"Can't Kai do that?" Gray wondered.
"She's more of a Hostess. She usually goes to these things alone and stays out there to entertain everyone." Relic smirked slightly.
"I thought all the girls had to have dates?" Natsu butt in.
"You'll come to see very soon that Kai is, how should I put this, different. She doesn't always listen." this made a rumbling laugh escape Relic. He put a hand lightly on Lucy's waist. Lucy saw a flash of her father and mother from her memory, "Shall we?"
"Of course." Lucy whispered.
"Let me find Kai for you, Gray. Follow me." Relic pointed to the door and Gray followed, "Oh, Happy. You will be Lucy's pet for the evening." Happy started to fly after him. Relic gave him a sympathetic glance before putting a hand up to stop him, "Sorry, no flying tonight. These people aren't really the magic loving type."
"Aye." Happy said, dejectedly.
Lucy made to walk after them, but when she remembered that there was one more to their party she turned to see why Natsu wasn't moving, "What's wrong?"
"I've got a bad feeling in my belly." he said.
"What, is it empty? I know that would probably be a new sensation for you." Lucy giggled.
"You know what I mean, the kind of feelings you always get before something bad happens."
"We're really switching roles, lately." Lucy commented.
"What do you mean," Natsu asked.
"You're the one with the bad feeling and I'm running towards a fight." Lucy put into words what exactly they had experienced. She was hoping it would ease some of the weird tension but it didn't really help.
"Yeah but I'm still the powerful one." Natsu drawled.
"That will always be you."
"We should go downstairs." Natsu added.
"Yeah," she agreed, half-heartedly. She had a feeling that nothing really had been resolved between them.
They joined the fray of the dimly light Casino. Suddenly Lucy felt very tired. She realized that it was because it was much later than she had expected. The atmosphere was perfect for stuffy rich people, a type of person she hadn't been in a really long time. She glanced one last time at Natsu. He nodded and they separated. She joined Relic's side and played the perfect thoughtless arm candy.
Gray, on the other hand, found that, despite his best effort, was having a bit of fun. For the last two hours he had won around 7,000 jewel and even though he hadn't said much, the older guys seemed to have a new respect for him. Kai would never tell him that she was the reason for his success. It wasn't necessary.
Gray threw a die and whooped, "Another seven!"
"You're the best I've ever seen," Kai fawned, hanging off his arm.
"Hell yeah," Gray boasted to no one in particular. He picked up his glass again, "Oh, empty."
"Here, sweetie," she purred, "Let me refill that for you."
"Thanks," Gray threw over his shoulder as she walked away, returning his attention to his gambling endeavor. As soon as Kai was out of earshot some of the men that had been idly watching Gray's winning streak came up to him.
One man clapped a hand on Gray's back, "How'd a newbie like you manage to sink Kai? You lucky bastard."
"Don't touch me, man. Not cool." Gray's tone remained light, but his intent was understood.
"Oh, we've got a Mr. Tough Guy over here," more people began to gather around the table, "Who are you, anyway?"
This, Gray thought, was exactly what Lucy meant by setting off the guests. He had to fix this, "I'm just a nobody Kai took a liking to. She's tough to keep up with."
"You got that right." he nodded, "Sorry to break it to you, kid, but you won't be around for long."
"If I'm lucky." Gray muttered.
"What?" one of the strangers asked.
Re-joining the crowd, men parted like the red sea for Kai, "Hi honey," she handed Gray his glass, "Hello boys," she addressed the group with a grandeur that could rival any actress, "How are my favorite fellows doing, this fine evening?"
Every man drooled and every woman, hanging from their man's arm shot her a dirty look, "Why don't you come play with us for a while, Kai?" one man stepped forward from the crowd and grabbed her arm.
Gray could have sworn he heard a curse from under Kai's breath. He stepped in, "Sorry gentlemen. I'll have to steal my date away for a moment."
The two parted from the crowd and walked over to another, less populated, table, "Thanks," Kai gave Gray an extremely grateful and relieved looked, "He likes to play rough."
"No problem," Gray shrugged, "You're my date tonight."
"I could really get used to you saying that." Kai blushed, "Don't make me fall in love with you, Fullbuster."
Gray grinned awkwardly and shied away from the expression of affection. That's when he heard a loud crash. Finally. Now the night was really about to get interesting. Fighting he could handle. He looked to Kai. She had a disappointed look on her face. She knew this wasn't real right? For some reason he was a little disappointed to leave her, too. She was funny and attentive, "That's my cue."
"I don't want you to go. Especially not to get hurt. But, if you insist, big boy. Have all the fun without me." she fanned herself in the drama of her statement.
"I'll try not to bang up your Casino."
"Tear it to shreds," she shrugged, "I don't really care. You have to stay safe, though."
Something about her felt familiar and… nice. He gave her one last smile before turning to run to the noise. It was in one room over, this was the area closest to the bar. One large statue sat in the middle of the room. Sat, as in past tense. In it's place on the pedestal was some guy with crazy eyes and Libra standing below him. Natsu and Lucy had already engaged in battle. Natsu was full flames, trying to dodge Libra and go for the maniacally laughing man. Libra kept sending him flying backwards, though. Each time Happy would pick him back up and they would try a different variation of launching Natsu at the enemy. Lucy stood in front of Relic, guarding him. Lucy spotted him and called him over.
"Hey," she said to Gray, "This guys demanding that we hand over Relic. Natsu's going with brute force without thinking of a plan, again. You should probably just back him up."
Gray nodded and turned to face the fight. Just as his eyes looked forward his teammate came slamming into him. He and Natsu were sent flying backwards. The man on the pedestal held up a rather large ray gun, "Don't you get it? You can't win!"
"Well, you won't be the one winning tonight!" Lucy shouted, drawing attention away from her downed comrades.
Libra stepped between Lucy and the man. She held up the one of her hands that still had a scale and paused. The man looked between them, "So you're the celestial wizard that took out Libra's scale. Prepare to pay!"
Before Lucy could reply she hit the ground, hard. This gravity attack was different from Libra's attacks at SkyNut. She had been immobilizing before. Now she wanted Lucy to feel pain. Most likely the pain she felt when she lost one of her scales. It was revenge, vengeance. The pain kept increasing until it was becoming hard to breathe. Lucy looked for Natsu, Gray, or Happy. The three were holding off random continuous ray gun attacks from the lunatic. They wouldn't reach her in time. She thought of one last ditch effort. Filling her lungs for all they were worth she shouted, "Loke!" and the pressure stopped. A flash of golden light appeared next to her and Lucy saw Libra get knocked from her feet. That was the last thing she saw before the darkness overtook her.
Gah I really hope you liked that even though the ending was rushed and the whole thing was bad and hard to write and I just finished it moments ago. No kidding. This took way too long. Thanks again, RandR, see ya wednesday. I've really got to get some sleep…
-Inkwell