**Quick Author's note: Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter for you! I know this one took a little while but I changed a couple things I wanted to do with the story much later on so I decided to go back and edit through some stuff. I've have thus changed everything that needed to be changed. For those of you that have been reading and saw the original versions there's generally some small stuff in a lot of the chapters but really only the ones with memories (mostly Chapter 7) changed dramatically. I hope you guys don't mind but I think it will make the story better in the long run! I hope you guys like this chapter! It was entertaining to write and I found a way to make it important :) I also decided to change my little profile icon to a character that I photoshopped to look kinda how I imagine Raven to look if you are interested in looking at that! I plan on giving her an actual description in the story in the next chapter though. Please read, enjoy, and then leave a review if you want! It also wouldn't hurt to click that little favorite button ;) I'll be out with another chapter soon hopefully! End author's note**
"Is Master Makarov here?" Erza threw open the guild hall doors dramatically with a crash.
Entirely unfazed, Mirajane walked around from behind the bar and smiled a greeting. "You are finally back from your island get-away. So, how was it? Did you have fun?" Mirajane's voice was light hearted and warm.
"It was work, not a vacation." Erza growled at her.
"Uh, Mirajane, I wouldn't joke with her right now." Lucy warned in a high pitched voice behind Erza. Man, Erza's mood certainly changed quickly. Just a few minutes ago she seemed so light hearted. Raven decided that keeping her mouth shut and waiting was the best course of action for the time being. Erza would deal with her when she was ready.
"Where is Makarov?" Erza demanded to know when no one answered her question. Raven was reminded of herself just a few days before demanding to know where Natsu was.
"He went out of town for some last minute council meeting or something like that." A man with a large S necklace approached them. "He's been gone since yesterday." Erza scowled.
"Whew, well, that was a close one!" Natsu grinned.
"Yes! We won't have to deal with that until Gramps gets back." Gray matched Natsu's triumphant grin.
"Oh thank goodness! I wasn't ready to stare into the face of death. I've still got eight more lives." Happy cried joyfully.
"I can't stand it anymore! You guys are really freaking me out. How's he gonna punish us? I can't die now. I'm still young and I have so much to look forward too." Lucy just kept babbling.
Throughout their various exclamations Raven had been watching Erza in silence. Erza's face was growing darker with every word that left their mouths. She's gonna snap. Here is comes. Raven looked down at her feet and braced herself against the outburst she could see rapidly approaching.
"All of you shut up!" Erza roared. Instant silence fell on the guild hall. If they hadn't been before, everyone's eyes were certainly on them now. Raven tapped her index fingers together and stared at them with an intensity that suggested they were the most interesting thing she'd ever seen. "Do you know when Master is planning to return?" Erza asked Mira in a much more calm and reasonable tone.
Amazingly, Mirajane's smiled never seemed to have left her face. "No, but I would imagine he'll be coming back anytime now." Mirajane said thoughtfully. "Who's this Erza?" Mira asked, peeking behind Erza at Raven, whose eyes were still firmly fixed on her hands.
"This is Raven, she's going to be joining Fairytail. That's part of the reason I was hoping Master Makarov would be here." Erza explained.
"Well, hello Raven." Mirajane turned her smile towards Raven. "I'm glad that you've decided to join Fairytail." I wonder if Mirajane remembers me. I don't want her to thing I'm mean… Oh man, what should I say? Should I tell her it was me? No, if she doesn't remember maybe I shouldn't say anything. I can talk to her later. Now I've just been staring at her without responding! Ah!
"Hi," Raven chirped awkwardly. Oh man, genius Raven, genius.
"You mean she's joining Fairytail?" The man with the big S necklace grinned. "I'm glad too; we could always use more pretty ladies in the guild. You might have some competition Mira!" Raven blushed red at the compliment.
Mirajane laughed lightly, the sound was somehow graceful. "You'll meet everyone as time goes on but we can introduce you to the ones that are here now. I'm Mirajane of course, if you need any help with anything regarding the guild don't hesitate to ask."
"I've heard of you." Raven returned her smile, still feeling somewhat self-conscious about being compared to Mirajane. "You are pretty famous." Mirajane giggled.
"I'm Macao," the man with the S necklace nodded to her. "And this is Wakaba." He gestured to the man with the cigarette that had approached with him. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth.
"Nice to meet you," Wakaba nodded as well.
"Macao and Wakaba," Raven repeated trying to commit their names to memory. Both gentlemen seemed older than many of the guild members so Raven thought she wouldn't have a problem remembering them.
"We can do introductions later." Erza interrupted them. "Now listen up you fools!" She shouted, wheeling on Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Happy, who had all been waiting for Erza to turn her attention back to them. "You're not getting off the hook. You broke guild rules by taking on that S-class quest. Prepare to be punished!" Natsu, Gray and Happy actually squealed in fear.
"How am I supposed to prepare myself for something when I don't know what is going to happen?" Lucy wailed.
"Well, it was nice knowing you." Wakaba laughed at them form behind Erza. "It's a crying shame. Those two boys are one thing but I can't believe Lucy is getting punished too. Oh, you poor girl." He took the cigarette from his mouth again so that he could frown more dramatically.
"You poor girl?" Lucy whispered, her eyes filling with a whole new type of fear.
"What's the deal mean? How come you don't feel sorry for us?" Natsu questioned threateningly as both him and Gray prowled towards Wakaba menacingly.
"Why are you lumping me in with this loser?" Gray demanded to know. Natsu stopped and stared at Gray with an offended expression. Spontaneously he unloaded a punch into Gray's gut.
"What's that supposed to me?" Natsu growled as his punch connected. It only took a moment for Gray to retaliate and punch Natsu back. Without warning, just like that, the two boys were in a full-fledged brawl in the middle of the guild hall. Insults were shouted back and forth between the two and it seemed that both their punishment and Wakaba's initial insult were both forgotten.
"A big part of being a man is owning up to your actions." A massive man with the same white hair as Mirajane had approached behind Raven to watch the fight between Gray and Natsu. "You hear that you two? It's high time for you to man up!" He shouted at the fighting boys. "At least they aren't using their magic yet." He shrugged. "By the way," He looked down at Raven. "I'm Elfman Strauss, Mirajane's brother." He extended a massive hand towards Raven.
"I'm Raven." Raven smiled and returned his handshake even though her hands were only half the size of his.
"It's not fair! I'm the cutest one here so how come nobody feels sorry for me?" Happy cried floating past Elfman and Raven.
"Will someone please tell me what is going to happen to us?" Lucy was pulling on her own hair and her voice revealed the extent of her stress.
"Enough!" Erza roared at them all again. Silence followed. Raven would have sworn she could have heard a pin drop in the guild hall in that moment. "I don't want any more bickering out of you two." She glared at Gray and Natsu. They both nodded over enthusiastically.
Raven," She addressed her. Erza's tone was completely different now that everyone had quieted down. Her voice was gentle again and there was a small smile on her face. "This is the Fairytail guild hall. You've met Mirajane and her brother Elfman. Wakaba and Macao," Erza gestured to the older gentlemen. "You of course you've met Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and I." Erza turned to the next closest individual. "This is Cana Alberona." The young woman Erza had gestured too was around Raven's age. She was gorgeous with beautiful, long brown hair and deep purple eyes.
"Hey, welcome to the club." Cana raise her glass in the air as if to 'cheers' with someone but she was the only one drinking. "I can drink to a new member." She up-ended the glass and presumably finished whatever was inside.
"No all of our guild members are present right now. Some of them are gone on jobs. But there's Romeo, he's Macao's son. There are also members like Reedus, Alzack and Bisca, Laki, Max, Nab, Warren, Levy." Erza started listing off names as if they were people that Raven should recognize.
"Ah, Erza," Raven interjected as soon as Erza paused. "I don't know any of those names, and I won't learn them if I don't have a face to go with them. I'm sure I will meet everyone eventually." Raven gave a small smile. "Thanks though." She added quickly in order to avoid offending Erza who had seemed to be particularly volatile today.
"Right, of course, well." Erza stiffened awkwardly as if she didn't know what to do. Abruptly she turned and walked away.
"Okay then…" Raven stared after her for a moment before shrugging. She looked around, unsure of what she should be doing. Now that most of the commotion seemed to have passed most people were back to chatting and mingling. Gray and Natsu were lingering by a large bulletin board labeled: REQUEST BOARD. She shrugged and walked over.
"This is a creepy looking job request." Natsu pointed out.
"What's 'this'?" Raven asked from behind them as she approached.
"This is the request board. " Natsu beamed at her. "People from all over Fiore post jobs they want guild wizards to complete and then we can take the listing off the board and go do them."
Raven stared at him for a moment. "I know what a request board is Natsu, I can read. I meant the job request you and Gray were looking at."
"Gez, you moron." Gray scoffed at him.
"Ah, shut up man!" Natsu glared back. "Before I make you!"
"Like you could dragon breath!" Gray retorted. It just took the one comment and sparks were flying again.
"That sounds like bickering!" Erza called from across the hall.
"No ma'am!" They both straightened up immediately, though the glares remained. Raven sighed.
"You guys are hopeless aren't you?"
"You guys are back, what's up?" A voice from behind them asked.
"Not much man," Natsu replied without even looking at the person. Raven glanced over her shoulder and instantly blushed, seeing a familiar face. You've got to be kidding me.
As soon as their eyes met he got that signature cocky smirk he had worn the entire time they had been together several days before. "Oh, hey Princess."
Raven's face turned a deeper shade of red when he called her princess. "Hey Loke," she whispered without looking back him. She was trying to will the blush off her cheeks before truly greeting him.
Gray picked up on her reaction instantly. "You know Loke?" His reaction seemed almost suspicious to Raven. He glancing between her and Loke.
"Yeah, we went on a date last time she was in town." Loke shrugged, his smirk growing even larger at the sight of Raven's blush. "Hey, I guess this means you owe me a second date now, huh?"
"We did not go on a date." She insisted, looking up at Gray. "He just showed me a place to eat in town last time I was here." Raven glared at Loke but the blush still on her cheeks made her far less threatening than she would have liked. Loke chuckled at her. Raven bit her lip.
"I can't even read it." Natsu mumbled, interrupting their banter.
"Read what?" Lucy asked. Raven hadn't realized that Lucy had wandered over.
"'Whoa! You're back too Lucy?" Loke seemed unusually surprised to see her, almost panicked.
"Well, nice to see you too." Lucy was clearly offended by his panicked greeting. "What is your problem with me?" She questioned him aggressively, leaning closer.
"I-ah-nothing!" He shook his hands and started backing away. He turned in a desperate attempt to run but instead crashed face first into Erza. What is his problem? Raven arched an eyebrow at the boy that was now sprawled on the floor.
"No way!" Erza yelled at them, completely ignoring Loke. "You will not be taking any requests." Erza frowned at Gray and Natsu, who were now both leaning over the creepy looking paper.
"Real smooth, Loke." Lucy sighed, leaning down to make sure he was okay.
"Do they have to be so loud?" Cana complained from a couple tables over. Raven noticed that she was sitting with two other guild members that had not been formally introduced, a small boy and a larger man with a sketch pad.
"Who cares? They are like, the coolest!" The boy grinned, watching Natsu and Gray.
"You're kidding me, right?" Cana looked skeptically at the child. I think I'm going to like her. Raven grinned. Her tone had made the statement sound more entertaining than it actually was. "They are ruining my quality drinking time."
"They can't ruin anything." The boy scooted closer to the edge of his seat in excitement. He must really look up to them. That's sweet.
"Kinda their thing." Cana shrugged before taking a drink from her mug. Raven actually laughed aloud at her joke though no one else seemed to notice it.
"Decipher this text and I'll see that you'll, increase your wealth by five hundred thousand jewel." Natsu read aloud from the page. "This one sounds like a winner to me! What do you think?" He looked at Happy.
"Sure does!" Happy agreed with his usual enthusiasm.
"So it's a translation job? That's a weird request for a guild." Gray was leaning over the paper with furrowed brows.
'Wait, that's some kind of ancient stuff." Gray said, straightening up from the page. "No one is going to be able to read that." He frowned.
"Can I see it?" Raven reached out for the paper. Natsu shrugged and slid it across the table to her. She bit her lip, thinking. "It's been a long time since I've read anything in an ancient script." She strained to remember the letters from her time with Kayerith.
"You can read ancient script?" Gray gave her a strange look.
"I learned a long time ago from my foster mother." Raven said without thinking. She froze, looking at Gray to see if he caught her mistake. It appeared that he was appeased with her answer and Raven gave a sigh of relief. He probably thinks I meant Grandma Saya. That's okay, he can think that.
"There's a modern translation too!" Raven said suddenly, noticing the small font. She was just about to read the words when Erza interrupted her.
"I thought I told you no jobs!" She scolded. Raven dropped the page back onto the table, unwilling to be the one to disobey Erza.
"I can read the modern text!" Natsu ignored Erza and snatched the paper off the table. "Let's see here… Ugo deru resuchi boro kania. What the- that's crazy! It doesn't mean anything." Natsu shouted, throwing the paper in disappointment. Suddenly lights began to glow around them all.
"What's going on?" Macao asked from across the room.
"That's so sad, those kids are so scared of the Master's punishment they are actually sweating rainbows." Wakaba sighed as if that made perfect sense.
Macao gave him a confused and skeptical look, "no more booze for you."
"I don't remember lying on the floor." Raven sat up and rubbed her head.
"It's so cold!" Gray suddenly burst out followed by shivering.
"What?" Raven looked at him, dumbstruck. Ice wizards don't get cold. She pulled herself to her feet using the table.
"Ice wizards don't get cold you big, cry baby!" Elfman yelled at him.
"You've given voice to my thoughts." Raven frowned. Why does my voice sound weird?
"I'm serious guys. Will someone turn up the heat before I freeze to death in here, pretty please?" He clutched his arms, still shivering. Everyone, especially Raven, stared at him with a strange look.
"I thought I was the one on the floor." A voice said. Raven looked over and saw an exact look alike staring back at her. They both shrieked. "What the hell is going on?" She demanded to know.
"What the- what's going on? My chest feels really weird all of the sudden, like it's heavy." Lucy burst out. "And my back is killin' me." She leaned over the table.
"Are you feeling alright Lucy?" Macao asked her.
"What are you talking about, I'm fine, just co-" Gray's voice was cut short with a screech as he saw Lucy.
"Why does my head feel all weird?" Cana slurred, stumbling towards the table they were gathered around. "Seriously guys, I don't feel so good. It's kinda like I'm motion sick but we aren't supposed to be moving." Realization dawned on her face. "Guys! When did the guild hall start moving?" She asked as she slumped down onto the table.
"You don't feel good? I feel like someone poured a bucket of lava down my throat! I need another drink." Natsu wandered over to the bar.
The Raven look alike suddenly realized she was standing near Lucy. She gawked for a moment before screaming and taking off. "What the hell is going on?" The real Raven asked, her mind racing. She looked down at her hands and glasses fell off her face. I don't wear glasses-no. No, it can't possibly… Raven felt her hair again, it was short. Her hands held a masculine look. She was wearing a green jacket. "Loke, I don't know what you did but you bring my body back right now!" Raven screamed after him. "Loke! Get back here!" but he was already gone with her body.
"Why is everyone behaving so foolishly?" Happy was standing on the table, hands on hips.
"Oh wow, Natsu! Check it out!" Erza yelled. "I could be wrong but I really don't think I've always had these, have I?" Erza was squeezing her own chest with a grin. Every male in the room paying attention to what was going on started blushing.
"How dare you!" Happy shrieked in horror. He launched off the table with a kick and crashed into Erza's armor.
"Hey! I got cool armor too." Erza grinned even wider. So it wasn't just Loke and I. It was everyone… everyone near that paper!
"I don't understand what's happened to me. I've never felt so tiny and weak before. It's like I've somehow requiped into a… cat." Happy's voice was dark. Erza just figured it out too. Raven realized.
"Why am I lying on the table?" Natsu asked, looking at the body of Cana now drooling on the table. "What is going on?" So Natsu and Cana switched. Cana seemed the most calm out of everyone. She took a swig from the glass she had retrieved from the bar.
"Okay, I'm starting to get really freaked out. First I'm freezing, and then there's some sort of creepy look alike of me." Gray was starting to panic. No, Lucy, Raven corrected herself. Is she really so dense that she hasn't figured it out?
"What are you talking about?" Lucy shrugged.
"How could you be such idiots? Don't you realize what's happened to us?" Erza yelled angrily from Happy's body. "We've all switched bodies." Her eyes were wide with horror.
Raven and Cana seemed unsurprised by the revelation. Natsu, in Cana's body was too drunk to realize what was going on.
"Stop fooling around Happy." The real Gray yelled at him.
"I'm Erza you dimwit!" Happy yelled back.
"You mean?" Lucy asked.
"Yes, Natsu and Cana, Gray and Lucy, Raven and Loke, and worst of all, Happy and I. We have all switched bodies!"
"Why is switching with me the worst of all?" Happy/Erza demanded to know.
"The ancient Unpela-ese spell has been cast." A voice said from the doorway of the guild hall. "You kids aren't feeling like yourself today, huh?" Master Makarov chuckled lightly at his own joke.
"Master, you're back!"Erza/Happy ran to meet him.
"I noticed that request on the board. By reading what was written on that page aloud you've cast a powerful spell of personality transfers and that spell is called the Changeling." Makarov explained.
"That sounds scary!" The real Lucy cried. If the situation hadn't been so personal Raven would have found it really entertaining.
"So, you are really Natsu, right?" Gray/Lucy asked Cana, who was leaning on an elbow with a dreamy smile.
"Yeah, I'm Natsu." Natsu/Cana giggled.
"You idiot! What did you do to us?" Gray/Lucy began shaking Cana's shoulders.
"No! Don't do that." Cana's skin gained a slightly green tinge.
"I would stop shaking her, him, her?" Raven suggested, unsure of how to refer to Natsu while he was in Cana's body.
"All I did was try to read the stupid job request." Natsu/Cana slurred back once Gray had stopped shaking her. She slumped back onto the table.
"That's enough Lucy, ah Gray" Makarov said. "For wizards this switches more than just your bodies, it switches magic as well."
"What!" Raven gasped. This is really bad. If he figures out I'm a dragon slayer… then… well, I don't really know. Suddenly Raven realized she didn't know why she was keeping her dragon slayer magic secret, other than she had always been secretive. Old habits die hard I guess. I don't want to stand out either. I don't want to draw his attention.
"There's one thing you should know, if the Changeling spell is not undone within thirty minutes from the time when it was initially cast you will never return to the way you were before." Makarov's voice was surprisingly serious. "Or, so says the legend at least." With that he shrugged and walked past them into the guild hall.
"Do you know how many minutes we've been mixed up for?" Cana/Natsu ran to Mirajane and Elfman.
"Sixteen, so you have fourteen left." Mirajane said, just as serious as Makarov.
"Gramps, isn't there a way to lift the spell and change us back?" Gray/Lucy asked running after Master Makarov.
"Since this is such an ancient magic, it would only stand to reason that I, don't know." Everyone's face was a mix of crushing disappointment and horror. "I must say, I'm disappointed. I was so looking forward to punishing you, but, it looks like you've got your hands full for now." He shrugged and kept walking. "Best of luck to you kids." He called over his shoulder.
"Alright! That does it! I can't take this anymore!" Gray/Lucy screamed and grabbed the hem of the shirt Lucy was wearing. He can't be… Just as he started to pull the shirt up the real Lucy pounced on him.
"Get a hold of yourself!" She was screaming at him.
"Let go!" Gray whined.
"Wait, Raven, you can read ancient text! Maybe you can undo it!" Gray/Lucy suddenly realized and stopped pulling on the shirt.
"Who me?" She pointed to herself. "No way, I can barely read it! I don't know the first thing about script magic." Raven shook her head.
"So, even though Gray is in Lucy's body he still likes to take off his clothes." Happy/Erza observed. "Then that means-"
"-that means what?" The real Erza cut him off. Her voice was filled with dread and when she saw the look on Happy/Erza's face she knew exactly what he was planning. "Happy, no!"
"This will be awesome!" Happy/Erza grinned. "Okay, here I go! Requip!" Erza's body lit up with the glow of magic and then suddenly she was standing there in a swimsuit with a fishing pole.
"Wow! Erza looks smokin' hot," Macao, Wakaba, and Elfman all yelled together.
"How dare you!" Erza/Happy leapt up to try to punch the real Happy but failed miserably. "No, this can't be. I was an S-class wizard and now I'm so weak." Erza began sulking on the floor.
"Man, I was trying to change into one of those cool suits of armor." Happy frowned.
"So, we switched our magic with each other but everyone totally sucks at it." The real Gray observed.
"Hey, Loke, or ah… whoever's inside him." Raven turned to Wakaba.
"Umm… I'm actually Raven." She said lightly, scratching the back of Loke's head.
"Have you figured out what kind of magic he uses?" Wakaba asked.
"Yeah, come on! Be a man and show us." Elfman agreed.
"I'm a girl…" Raven sighed, embarrassed. "But, I don't know." She realized suddenly. "I don't feel anything magic-wise. Everything just kinda feels… weird." She looked at Loke's hands and again the glasses began sliding off her face.
"Hey! Guys! You gotta help me!" Loke came running back into the guild hall. Chunks of ice were falling out of Raven's mouth.
"There you are! What the hell are you doing?" Raven screeched at him. "You can't just start drooling everywhere. Close your mouth and stop embarrassing me!" Raven was sure Loke's cheeks were red.
"I'm sorry, I can't help it!" He yelled back. "I tried to hit on some girls and I just started drooling ice everywhere."
"You were hitting on some girls at a time like this? You were hitting on some girls? Great! Now everyone in town is going to think I'm a lesbian or something, thanks Loke, thanks a lot." Raven glared at him. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she was over reacting but she couldn't help herself.
Suddenly Loke was completely composed and Raven was looking at a flirtatious smirk on her own face. "You could convince them otherwise by going on another date with me." He winked at her. How does he do that? He makes even me look good.
"Give my body back right now!" Raven shouted at him.
"Come on, just one more date." Loke/Raven taunted her. Raven leapt at him but, not being used to the size increase of being in Loke's body, she stumbled and fell. Meanwhile, Loke was on the table in her body. "Well, I guess if you won't go out with me I have to take what I can get now while I'm in your body." He grinned.
"Don't' you dare!" Raven scrambled up from the floor. "Stop touching there you weirdo!"
"I must say, flying is way more fun than I thought it would be." Erza/Happy sighed. "What am I saying! I shouldn't be wasting my time with this. I need to be changed back at once."
"What are we going to do?" Lucy/Gray sighed dramatically. Suddenly frozen cubes began falling from his mouth too.
"Hey, Gray, or um, Lucy, you're dropping ice hun." Mirajane pointed out in the most sensitive voice she could.
"Not me too!" She mumbled into his hands. "I hate this, why me?" She sighed even more dramatically than before.
"No need to worry Lucy!" A voice from the doorway shouted. Raven stopped trying to kill Loke, who was proving to be more agile than her, and glanced at the door. There a girl about Raven's age with blue hair stood. Two boys were standing behind her.
"Levy! It's you!" Lucy got up and ran to her happily.
"Levy?" Raven tilted her head. The name sounded familiar for some reason.
"The Shadow Gear team is here to save the day!" One of the boys shouted. "You guys will be back to normal in no time."
"Oh yeah, we got this. No sweat. Now, do your thing Levy." The other said.
"You're so sweet to help us!" Lucy/Gray smiled hopefully.
"Anything for my girl! Besides, I want to read your novel and it would be weird talking about it with Gray." She whispered. It was funny to see Gray blush, even if it was really Lucy.
"It's Levy." Natsu/Cana sat up off the table and announced this loudly. "What are you gonna do Levy? Can you help me? I don't-" she hiccupped. "-feel so great."
"Well, I do know a thing or two about ancient texts. I'll start by taking a look at what was written on the flier itself." Levy explained, sitting at the table. Levy, Erza mentioned a Levy! She realized why the name sounded familiar.
"Sounds good, but do it quick." Gray/Lucy said, looking over her shoulder.
"Give her some space to think, ice breath." The real Cana snapped at him.
"Listen up everyone!" Erza/Happy jumped onto the table with a fish in his mouth. "We need to let Levy work in peace." Suddenly Erza realized she was holding a fish in Happy's mouth and she spat it out. "Why did I have a fish in my mouth?" She sighed dejectedly
"Cause they're yummy." The real Happy pointed out.
The page in front of Levy started to glow and characters began flying ridiculously fast. She's a script wizard. Raven realized. Hopefully she can help. Raven was somewhat jealous of Levy's ability to use script magic. She had always liked the idea of it.
"Please hurry, there's only ten minutes left." Cana/Natsu said. She was trying hard to avoid drooling fire like Lucy had been drooling ice from Gray's mouth and Loke had drooled ice from Raven's.
"I can't take it. The room won't stop moving, even when I close my eyes. Change me back." Natsu moaned in Cana's voice.
"Come on, it's not so bad." Happy chirped. "One more time! Requ-"
"You'll loss a life cat!" Erza snarled, somehow managing to be menacing even in the adorable form of Happy.
"How's it going Levy?" Lucy/Gray asked.
"Have you figured it out?" Gray/Lucy asked in a much more panicked tone.
"No, I'm stumped." Levy sighed and pushed her glasses up.
"I never thought my fate would be to live out my days as some strange flying cat." Erza/Happy floated past with tears in his eyes.
"What's so terrible about that, huh?" Happy demanded to know.
"No! What do you mean you are stumped?" Gray screamed in Lucy's voice. He started taking off her shirt again. Every male in the room stared expectantly. This time Raven, in Loke's body was the one to reach him first and slam her arms down.
"Keep her shirt on Gray!" Raven yelled at him.
"I feel so funky." Cana/Natsu wiggled in Natsu's body.
"The girls are never going to talk to me now." Loke sighed in disappointment.
"What do you mean they'll never talk to you? Are you calling me ugly?" Raven wheeled on him.
"What? I'm so confused! Just a minute ago you were mad that I was hitting on them because you didn't want people to think you were a lesbian and now you are mad because I won't be with them? Make up your mind woman!" Loke threw his arms up in defeat.
"I know you guys are freaking out but I'm still working on it, okay." Levy announced.
"How much time do we have?" Raven asked Macao and Elfman.
"About eight minutes. I hate to say it but you might start preparing for the worst." Macao said sadly.
"I don't think being in this smoking hot body is such a bad thing." Loke stood and smacked her own butt.
"Ah! Stop that!" Raven felt the blush creeping up her cheeks again. "Just a second ago you were complaining about it."
"Calm down princess." He slumped onto a bench. "We are probably going to get stuck like this anyway. But, if not then you wouldn't want your secret leaked." Raven recognized the sly, knowing look in her own eyes. No, he couldn't be talking about my magic. There's no way he figured it out. But, if he did… He wouldn't dare tell. What if he read Kayerith's letter? I don't know what that would tell him, but if he somehow did figure it out. Raven glared at him and slumped down next to him.
"So, what happens if we end up getting stuck like this?" Gray/Lucy asked, slumping down on the bench too.
"What do you mean by that?" Natsu/Cana was sitting up, though barely, again.
"Are we just going to try to adjust to our new bodies and go back to work?" Gray/Lucy looked up at her.
"Well, yea, I guess we'd have to. It's not like we have a whole lot of options." The real Cana added.
"How can you be so calm about this?" Raven asked her. Cana made Natsu's shoulders shrug.
"Whatever happens is totally fine with me." Happy/Erza grinned. "If I stay quiet everyone will be nice to me because I'm scary now." She sat down across the table from them all.
"Well no one asked your opinion did they?" Lucy/Gray yelled at Happy. "Stupid cat! I just want to be a cute girl again." Lucy sighed heavily and Gray started drooling ice again.
"Are those frozen chunks of drool?" Natsu/Cana asked with heavy eyelids. She wrinkled her nose. "That's so gross man!" She slurred.
"I'm not a man! And I know it's gross, do you think I'm doing this on purpose?" Lucy yelled defensively. Suddenly Lucy/Gray straightened up. "I just realized something." She whispered quietly. "If we get stuck like this forever none of us have a clue how to use out magic anymore. Even if we did take a job, we'd never be able to finish it." She pointed out.
"Awe, geez, you are right." Cana/Natsu agreed.
"We stink." The real Gray pointed out as if it was something that no one else knew.
At least they have magic. Raven frowned and looked down at Loke's hands. She still couldn't feel anything magical in his body. It just felt… different.
"But, that means-" Erza started.
"We are the weakest team in Fairytail now!" They all shouted together in distress. Suddenly everyone was up off the bench, trying to discover how to use the magic they were now stuck with.
"Let's do this Happy!" Natsu slurred.
"Aye sir!" Happy/Erza jumped up from the bench even though Natsu/Cana was still slumped over.
"Ice-make something or another." Lucy yelled trying to mimic Gray's motions. Raven slapped a hand against her forehead. That's embarrassing!
"That's not how you use Ice-make. Why couldn't Gray and I have switched? We'd at least be somewhat useful!" Raven sighed almost wistfully.
"Uh, hold on, stupid keys!" Gray had joined the fray and was fumbling with Lucy's celestial key ring. "I agreed with Raven, this would have been so much easier if she and I have switched.
"I don't know, you might have been surprised if you had." Loke/Raven arched an eyebrow at Raven. She glared back at him but was almost afraid to provoke him without knowing exactly what he had figured out.
"Shut up." She mumbled. "Or I'll do something like go get a flower tattoo or a pony tattoo on your body Mr. No Magic." She growled.
"I have magic, you just can't figure out how to use it." He retorted completely unfazed by her threat.
"I'll have to rebuild all my alcohol tolerance if I stay in this body!" Cana/Natsu realized with a cry.
"What in the hell is the point in living if I can't even burn stuff anymore." The real Natsu growled in frustration, though he still hadn't managed to get up off the bench yet.
"I am an S-class wizard and I refuse to be a part of the weakest team in the entire guild!" Erza started screaming loudly right alongside Natsu. "If only I wasn't trapped in this form…" She babbled wistfully.
"You're mean! I don't understand why you are complaining so much, I liked being a cat." Happy announced. Happy, in Erza's body, then leapt dramatically into the air and immediately came crashing to the ground right on top of Erza/Happy
"Just what were you trying to do there Erza, er, uh, I mean Happy?" Macao asked.
"Ever since we switched she's been sayin' mean stuff." Happy/Erza cried. "So I got mad and tried to fly away but I couldn't fly away because I don't have my wings anymore." Happy sounded as if he might actually cry.
"Yes! That's it!" Levy burst out.
"Really? You can lift the spell?" Cana came running back to the table Levy was working at.
"Come on, do it!" Gray/Lucy shouted at her.
"This is what it says, 'May this eternal exchange provide you with eternal happiness.' Kinda cute, isn't it?" Levy smiled at them.
Raven arched a skeptical eyebrow. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Awe, yeah, it is." Lucy/Gray sighed in the same moment.
"May this eternal exchange provide you with eternal happiness, huh." Cana repeated pensively.
"In other words, whoever was switched by this spell will live happily ever after. You are so lucky. I'm so glad I figured it out!" Levy gave them all another grin.
"I don't want to live happily ever after if it means I have to do it in Loke's body. Nor him in mine!" She added on the end as she noticed messing with her necklace idly.
"Oh, yeah, wow, who are you?" Levy looked between Raven and Loke.
"We can explain that later! Right now we need to be switched back Levy!" Lucy/Gray shouted at her for the first time.
"We wanted you to lift the spell, not read it!" Cana/Natsu added.
"Oh, right, I'm so sorry!" Levy frowned.
"You've got this. I have faith that you can do it, you just need to work a little faster, okay? Maybe there's some kind of code or hidden message in the words, something like that." Lucy/Gray stopped shouting and walked around the table to give Levy an encouraging pat on the back.
"Only three minutes left." Macao announced.
"Three minutes?" They all shouted together.
"Well, this is it." Erza sighed. "For the rest of my life, fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've worked so hard and now I'm going to spend my days chasing mice and little pieces of string." Erza cried, sprouted wings, and flew off.
"Come back here Happy, I mean Erza!" Cana/Natsu yelled after her.
"Sorry I got upset, I know this is hard on both of us." Happy/Erza approached her, reaching out.
"Really? You do?" The real Erza turned towards him with glistening eyes.
"Now isn't the time for us to be arguing like this. Will you please forgive me?" Happy asked.
"Yes, of course, I hope you'll forgive me too." Erza smiled at him.
"Aye! Here's something to make you feel better." The real happy held out a fish to the cat, which instantly began crying.
"Could you be anymore clueless?" Lucy yelled at Happy.
Ignoring them, Natsu's attention was on Levy, "have you figured it out yet?" He asked with heavy slurs.
"The situation is dire with just one minute to go!" Macao called to the crowd like a commenter.
"I don't recall asking you the time so shut your trap, kay?" Natsu stood quickly and shouted at Macao. Then immediately sat back down, clutching Cana's stomach. "Standing bad…" he mumbled and put his head back down.
"Geez… I was just trying to help." Macao slunk away from them.
"Still trying to break the spell are you?" Master Makarov had reappeared in the guild hall's main room.
"If you are trying to teach us a lesson here, we've learned it okay!" Gray/Lucy was shouting at the Master now instead of Levy.
"Oh!" Master Makarov said loudly as if he had come up with an idea.
"Yes Master?" Erza/Happy responded immediately.
"Nope, never mind, I'm drawing a blank." He shrugged at them. There was a collective sigh as their hopes faded.
"Ah! We aren't going to make it!" Gray tried once more to remove Lucy's shirt.
"Taking off my shirt isn't going to change anything Gray!" Lucy leapt on him and with the superior strength of Gray's body was able to fight Lucy's arms down.
"He's so weird." Raven sighed.
"Let go of me!" Gray, in Lucy's body roared.
"You guys have about 40 seconds left more or less, starting… now!" Macao announced again.
"What do you mean more or less?" Loke shouted at him.
"I just remembered something about the spell. While it can be lifted, it must be done one pair at a time." Makarov announced.
They all looked at each other in silence. "So… who get's to go first?" Raven asked them quietly. Instantly arguments broke out about which pair should get the curse lifted first.
"Hold on guys! I got it!" Levy shouted. "I'll try to explain this to you really quick."
"There's no time! Just change us back! Hurry!" Both Cana and Gray were shouting.
"Okay!" Levy shouted some strange words and lights began spiraling around everyone. Raven closed her eyes and hoped for the best. When the lights settled there was a collective sigh, not just from the people that had been switched but from the entire guild hall.
"Hey! I'm back to normal guys!" Lucy bounced around and felt her hair.
"Me too!" Raven grinned, instantly she checked her pocket for Kayerith's letter and for her necklace. Both were still safe and sound.
"Me three." Gray smiled. "Man that was close." Gray started drooling ice cubes again.
"So, now you are drooling ice cubes on purpose?" Wakaba asked him. Gray looked horrified at his mistake and slammed his mouth closed.
"It feels good to be back." Loke smirked and pushed his glassed up on his face.
"You're awesome Levy!" Lucy yelled and ran to hug to small young woman. "You've got to tell us, how'd you do it?" Lucy asked.
"Well, when I discovered the words themselves have no meaning I decided to read them backwards." She explained. "It's actually an old trick. Ancient languages like this didn't have that many letters so sometimes they had to be a little bit more creative with how they used their words. That's why when I reversed the words it reversed the spell too." Levy said.
"How cool, I never would have thought of that." Lucy smiled.
"We owe you big time Levy." Gray said.
"Definitely," Raven agreed.
"I'm still in the wrong body!" Cana and Natsu both cried together.
"What?" Levy sounded horrified.
"Me too, I'm still a stupid cat." Erza/Happy was shaking, though Raven couldn't tell if it was in anger or disappointment.
"Wow, you mean I get to stay like this?" Happy/Erza spun in a circle, clearly more than okay with this development.
"Well, that does it for time; you did get two pairs switched back so I guess that's something to be proud of." Macao said.
"Come on, this has got to be some sort of mix up, come on Levy, there's got to be something else you can try." Cana frowned.
"Sorry, maybe I didn't pronounce it right." She whispered, bracing herself against the inevitable attack.
"So that's it? We are stuck like this forever?" Natsu sat up off the table. "I don't wanna be like this forever." He slumped back over.
"You know, Natsu is a lot more subdued in Cana's body. This might be for the best. He can't break things like this." Lucy shrugged, weighing the trade-offs of the situation.
"That's easy for you to say! I can't spend the rest of my life as some pink haired, fire drooling, freak of nature!" Cana was offended at Lucy suggestion and clearly just as upset as everyone else now.
"Wake up Erza, this is all some horrible nightmare and you need to wake up." Erza/Happy sunk to the floor.
"Now, now, don't lose heart. There's got to be another way." Mirajane was sitting cross legged on the counter top.
"Hey guys, something's not right. Did I get shorter?" Makarov was looking up at everyone, clearly panicked. Oh no…
"Don't tell me that Mirajane switched bodies with Gramps!" Gray was incredulous.
"Won't hear me complaining about this." Makarov/Mira grinned.
"This can't be happening!" Mirajane/Makarov spun in circles in a panic.
"Who else?" Erza asked darkly from her spot on the floor.
It took the guild several more hours to get everyone sorted out and completely back to normal. The afternoon was filled with just as many laughs as it was tears. Levy used a lot of magic to reverse the effects of all the spells and was exhausted by the time the job was through but it was thanks to her that everything was under control again.
Once it was, Erza found Raven sitting on a bench with Gray, Lucy, Cana, and Natsu. Loke had fled as soon as he could in order to escape Lucy. "I'm sorry about that. I suppose it wasn't the best possible introduction to being a part of our guild." She apologized.
"Uh, I mean, I guess it could have been worse. I got way too familiar with Loke but all in all it wasn't so bad. I can tell you guys are a little crazy but hey, maybe I need a little more crazy in my life."
"You don't have to lie," Erza laughed. "Although, if you are still interested in joining you can meet Master Makarov and receive your guild stamp from Mirajane." Erza's expression told Raven that she was hopeful that the chaos from that afternoon hadn't deterred Raven.
Raven smiled. "Yeah, I think I'd like that." Erza directed her over to where to small Master Makarov was seated cross legged on the counter top.
"Master Makarov, this is our newest guild recruit. Her name is Raven and she wants to join Fairytail." Erza introduced them.
"Hello Master Makarov, it's a pleasure to meet you." Raven nodded to him politely.
"I believe we have met before, perhaps not formally though." Raven panicked internally. So he does remember. He knew it was me. At least he doesn't seem mad. She bit her lip. "It's nice to officially meet you Raven. I'm sure you'll fit in just fine with the rest of Fairytail." He beamed at her. Erza gave them a curious look but didn't press the matter.
"Are you ready for your stamp now?" Erza asked.
"Yeah, I think I am." Raven nodded. Despite everything that happened today, I'm still excited to be joining a guild; that they want me to join their guild.
"Alright, were would you like your mark?" Mirajane asked her while preparing her stamp.
"Oh, I, uh, I hadn't thought about that." Raven realized she had no idea. She looked around the room, Lucy's was on her hand, Natsu's on his shoulder, even though Gray had a shirt on right now Raven knew his was on his chest, Erza's poked out from under her armor on her arm, Cana's was on her hip.
"Take your time deciding, it's an important choice." Mirajane smiled at her.
"What about… here?" Raven pointed to her upper arm, matching Erza's choice of stamp location. She bit her lip.
"You seem hesitant. Are you sure that's where you want it?" Mirajane asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Wait, no! I've got it!" Raven beamed at the realization. "I want it on my back, between my shoulders, it will look great between my ice wings." She smiled at Erza, who nodded approval, and Mirajane, who simply kept her near constant friendly smile.
"Of course, that seems like a great place then. You'll have to turn around." Raven turned and lifted her thick hair off her back so Mirajane could reach the spot. "So you want it here?" Mirajane pressed a finger between Raven's shoulders.
"A little higher," Mira adjusted her finger accordingly. "Yeah, there is perfect." Raven couldn't stop the smile on her face as she felt Mira pull down the back of her shirt and press it into her skin. There was a small popping sound.
"Oh! Your stamp is lavender. It's pretty. Well, there you go. You are officially a member of the Fairytail guild. The stamp will stay on your skin so long as you are a member."
Raven reached over her shoulder and touched the place where she knew the stamp was. I did it Kayerith. Raven touched the letter in her pocket. I'm trying to live the life that you wanted me to have. But I promise, no matter what, I'm going to find you. Raven felt an ache in her heart because Kayerith wasn't there to see her now. She smiled sadly at no one in particular and wandered back to the table where her new friends were seated.
"Well guys, I'm officially a member of Fairytail." She announced.
"That's great, where did you put your stamp?" Lucy asked with a smile.
"Yeah, let's see it." Gray added. Raven turned and pulled up her shirt to expose her back.
"I love the color, it suits you." Lucy smiled at her.
The group ate dinner in the guild hall that night to celebrate Raven's joining of the guild. Raven was finally introduced to many of the members in that hall that she hadn't met. There was Reedus, an artist that was also a wizard. He could bring his creations to life. Romeo, the little boy that was idolizing Natsu was Macao's son. She met Nab, who the other's teased for never taking a job. Bisca and Alzack who could use gun requip magic. And so many others that she knew it would take her a while to learn all their names.
Eventually the sun began to set and people began clearing out of the guild hall, a thought occurred to Raven then. "Uh, guys, where do people stay? I mean to sleep?" She asked aloud.
"There's a girl's dormitory behind the building but a lot of us just have a house or apartment somewhere in town." Cana explained.
"Oh, gotcha, I guess I can stay in the dormitory." Raven concluded.
"Don't be silly!" Lucy interjected. "You can come live with me, at the very least until you get your own apartment." Lucy grabbed Raven's arm and grinned. "It would be so nice to have another girl in the apartment. It's got a bedroom and a bathroom and even a little retro kitchen. Besides, splitting rent will be easier for both of us and if we move around some of the furniture I'm sure we could fit another bed in there comfortably!" Lucy seemed so excited at the idea of sharing an apartment with Raven that she didn't want to say no.
"Yeah, okay, that sounds great." Raven smiled at Lucy. She meant it from the bottom of her heart and she knew she wouldn't be able to communicate to Lucy how much the offer meant to her.
That night Raven left the guild hall with her pack on her shoulders like she had left so many other places before. But for the first time in seven years she was leaving to go to a place she could call home.