"What would happen to Juvia and Jellal if Gray x Erza became canon?"
This is Juvia and Jellal's story.
Juvia still could not believe that it's been a month since the Gods came into her life, and it's been about two weeks since Juvia started her training. While Juvia has noticeably improved, she still wasn't on Hades or Laxus's level of magic. It was as if the finish line was continuously moved whenever Juvia was close to winning. It was about a week ago when Athena finally permitted Juvia, Gajeel, and Mirajane to fight Hades. Juvia will admit that she underestimated Hades when she wore his God Dress. Juvia believed that since Zeus was easy to toss around that Hades would be the same.
Juvia was sorely mistaken.
Hades did not hesitate a single moment when he summoned Thanatos, Nyx, and Cerberus. Needless to say, Juvia lost within the first five minutes. She understands why Apollo and the others fear Hades. He's the incarnation of the devil, through and through. Juvia was willing to admit that Zeref might actually be easier to beat than Hades... that does not mean she's willing to tell Jellal that. That would boost his ego. Although Juvia doubts that Jellal would rub it in her face, that's something Erik would do.
"Juvia, are you ready?" Lucy poked Juvia's cheek. That's right. It's the day Juvia has been dreading since Juvia came back from her last mission. "Athena's picking the candidates."
"Juvia's ready," Juvia smiled. The two of us entered the guild through the front double doors. Staring up at the balcony, Juvia saw Athena and Hades standing on opposite side of Master Makarov. Every Fairy Tail member was present and accounted for. Juvia could even see the remaining Gods and Goddess, minus Zeus and Hera were gathered at their own booth and acting somewhat civil. If Juvia could look past the blunt flirting between Aries and Aphrodite. Juvia caught Jellal and her team approaching her from the side as well as Team Natsu. "Good morning everyone."
"Good morning Juvia," Erza smirked as the boys muttered in Juvia's direction. "I was worried you two weren't going to show up."
"Juvia and I wanted to get some last minute training in before the results were announced," Lucy pumped her fists in the air.
"Lucy training?" Happy brought his paw up to his chin. "Are we sure Lucy hasn't been replaced with someone else?"
"Shut up you stupid cat!" Lucy growled as she pinched and stretched the blue cat's cheek
"They'll never change huh," Jellal nudged Juvia's arm. "Who do you think Athena will pick?"
"It could be anyone's guess. Athena thinks five steps ahead of everyone else." Juvia sighed. While Juvia would enjoy the chance to fight her ancestor, Juvia knew her spot wasn't guaranteed. There were mages that far above Juvia. The only thing Juvia could hope for is that Athena saw some potential inside of Juvia. "Jellal has the best chance out of our team."
"Who knows," Jellal smirked, "You just might be surprised. After all, you and Gajeel are the only one who unlocked the God Dress."
With a clear and distinctive cough, Master silenced all the conversations in the guild. "My child, the time has finally arrived. Although I have watched several of you youngsters grow significantly, Athena has collected enough information to select the four Fairy Tail members that will face off against Poseidon. Athena...you have the floor."
"Thank you Master Makarov," Athena curtsied in his direction before she turned back to the balcony. "Now for the moment, I will provide a name and thorough explanation on why they were chosen. Shall we begin?"
"I see no objections," Hades nodded.
"Therefore, I shall begin. Laxus Dreyar, the Second Generation Lightning Dragon Slayer and the grandson of Master Makarov, was chosen. Due to his commemorable tolerance to physical, magical, mental punishment in previous battles and wars, Laxus has been offered the chance to fight alongside the Gods." The Goddess of Wisdom motioned him to stand up from his booth. "Will you accept the position?"
"By the sounds of it, I ain't got a choice," Laxus grunted. With an impressive applause from his Thunder God Tribe, Athena granted him passage on the trip. No one could Juvia otherwise that those three were his biggest fangirls. The guild pretty much knew Laxus was going to be one of the four, but that also means the expectations were extremely high. There weren't many who could match Laxus in magical and brute strength. After all, this was the same man who beat Jura in a fist fight!
"The second mage is Jellal Fernandes, the Heavenly Body wizard and the former guild master for the Crime Sorciere. Because of his overall strength and constantly evolving abilities, Jellal has constantly overcome every challenge set before him. From the Oracion Seis to Neinhart, the Historia of the Dead mage, Jellal has defeated everyone who stood on his path to redemption. Therefore, I offer Jellal the chance to fight alongside the Gods." Athena glanced at Jellal. "Will you accept the position?"
"I will do my best," Jellal gave his usual wholehearted smile. As Athena turned back to her list, Juvia and the others around Jellal a round of congratulations to him. Juvia had to hold back the urge to laugh as Jellal's face turn crimson from the embarrassment. Jellal should be proud. Not everyone can be on the same level as Laxus.
"The third mage is Erza Scarlet, the Requip mage, and alias Titania. Because of her versatile weapons and armor sets, Erza has become one of the handful S-Class wizards Fairy Tail has to offer. Capable of requiping at a moment's notice, Erza has been known to turn the tides against the most formidable opponents. With access to God slaying armor, Erza Scarlet has been offered the change to fight alongside the Gods." Athena looked down in Erza's general direction. "Will you accept the position?"
"There will be no room for failure," Erza bowed. Okay, Juvia was getting the hint for this mission. Athena was going to pick the powerhouses, so she could wipe of Poseidon. Therefore, someone like Nastu or Gray or Mirajane were going to fill the final slot. While Juvia was slightly disappointed, she understood that this was for the best. Juvia could always challenge Poseidon to a fight once they return. Hopefully, they'll give Juvia is key as well, so she can receive a boost in her powers. The Rain Woman wearing Poseidon's God Dress? Juvia will be unstoppable!
"Lastly, the fourth mage is Lucy Heartfillia. Du-" Athena paused when she realized half of the guild was choking on their food and drinks. Juvia will admit that she choked on her own her own air. Juvia meant no disrespect, but Juvia wasn't expecting Lucy's name to be called. From the looks of how Lucy is, Juvia guesses this came to be a shock to her as well. Who could blame her?! Lucy is undoubtedly stronger in her own way, but everyone knew Lucy wasn't on their level! Juvia really doesn't want to come off as if she's bashing Lucy. She's sincerely not, but everyone knew Lucy wasn't on the same level as an S-Class wizard. If Lucy had to fight Laxus, Jellal, or Erza, almost everyone would bet on the other three. So why on Earthland, would Athena pick Lucy over Mira, Gray, and Natsu? "Is there a problem?"
"Don't answer that," Apollo paled considerably. "From my experience, you don't question Athena's judgment."
"Now Apollo, if I were to exclude other's opinions, I would be limited to my own views on the matter," Athena folded her arms.
"I know. That's why I said what I said." Apollo sweatdropped.
"Very well, it seems I need to explain myself." Athena let out a sigh. "We're going against Poseidon, a God who can summon an unlimited amount of cyclopes. While Jellal, Erza, and Laxus handle Poseidon, Lucy will be sniping and handling the minions from afar."
"That sounds like a lot for one person," Levy said worriedly as she spared Lucy a glance.
"That is why I also picked four Gods and Goddess that will accompany them," Athena explained. "I was also inspecting how my family would do. Automatically, I can eliminate Aphrodite from the list of candidates. Although your charming magic is unparallel, you still lack any other battle skills."
"That's fine. I got a wedding to plan anyway," Aphrodite yawned.
"It would be a mistake if I didn't bring Aries and Hades along. They're one of strongest Gods." Athena said in a calculating tone. "Apollo and Artemis will beside Lucy to aid in the sniping. Lastly, I will be coming along to make sure my plan doesn't fall apart due to some unforeseen event. We will be leaving tomorrow morning at nine o'clock sharp."
"Why did I know Athena was gonna do something like that?" Apollo groaned. "I guess we might as well prepare. Come on Artemis."
"I'm coming," Artemis sighed as the two of them dissipated into their usual gold and platinum dust.
Following behind the twins, Hades disappeared from the second floor. Athena requiped her clipboard as she came to face Juvia and the others. Hermes and Persephone moved in so the rest of us could take a seat.
"Hey Athena, I have a question nothing major, but it's been bothering me for a while," Persephone smiled weakly.
"Is it about my selection?" Athena brushed the hair out of her face.
"Kinda, I was wondering why you didn't add Evergreen? She can turn Poseidon to stone, and then we can undo his brainwashing." Persephone folded her arm and slumped in the seat.
"Come on Persephone, Evergreen is too much like Medusa." Hermes nudged the Goddess. "There was no way she was gonna get on the team."
"That was in the past," The Wisdom Goddess glared at the trickster out the corner of her eye.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about the whole Poseidon and Medusa thing," Persephone gasped. "Now it makes more sense."
"Who's Medusa?" Lucy dared to ask.
"So Bro's usually the one who tells the stories, but I can keep this simple. Medusa and Poseidon were getting it on in one of Athena's temples. I forgot why Poseidon pulled the stunt, but the bottom line is that Athena was pissed." Hermes smirked as Athena quietly groaned at the retelling. "That was probably the first time Athena showed any emotions and made an irrational decision."
"It wasn't irrational," Athena sighed.
"That's something I would do," Aphrodite said in a knowing tone. "Turning someone so ugly that if anyone who looks at them turns to stone? That's something I would in a heartbeat. I'm almost upset that I didn't think of it."
"So Athena made Medusa the incarnation of ugliness, but what did you do to Poseidon as well," Erza rubbed her finger against her chin. "I assume punishment was given to both parties."
"That's one of the problems with being a God," Hermes groan and slumped in his seat. "In order to be a 'united' front, we can't directly punish or physically fight each other. While Poseidon can have sex in a temple, Athena can't punish him for it. Sooo, she took her anger out on Medusa."
"And, thus, everyone gets really creative with how they get their revenge," Persephone rolled her eyes. She seemed mentally drain from her family from going tick for tack over, possibly, everything. "That's why I'm glad I stay in the underworld with my husband- keeps me out of the drama."
"It's for the best. We would've self-imploded had that rule not been created." Athena explained, but Juvia couldn't help to question if that was true. From an outsider's point of view, there were plenty toxic relationships between their family. What would have happened had they all been more open to criticism?
"...Is that why Apollo and Artemis didn't stop Zeus when he approached Juvia as Jellal?" Juvia asked softly.
"...If I know them, they probably hate that they had to stay quietly knowing what was gonna happen," The trickster hid her eyes underneath her bangs. Gripping the end of her dress, Persephone continued. "It's terrible I know. But there's nothing they could've done directly.."
"Are you fucking serious? They knew Juvia was gonna be rape, yet they did nothing?" Erik's good eye twitch. "That's bullshit."
"Would a loyal member of this guild go against the word of Master Makarov?" Athena cut through his claim. Juvia flinched slightly because she knew very well the answer was. After all, Juvia did use that question against Apollo when they barely knew each other.
"Which is why Bro sent Gajeel in his place," Hermes smirked. "Although we can't directly stop Zeus, there's nothing stopping us from sending a demigod or mage, in this case, to deliver justice."
"Clever," Erza smiled with her eyes closed. "Using a third party to save Juvia."
"It's a common method among the Gods. To prevent chaos among us, we would send demigods to handle any issues." Athena stated with a straight face. "If you take a moment to think of our situation, this is the first time our family is fighting amongst ourselves in order to save Poseidon."
"That's the one thing that's been bothering me this whole time," Jellal spoke up. "How exactly are we going to find Poseidon? For Heps tracker to work, we would need something that belongs to him, like Artemis's bow and Hades' helm?"
"I have Hephaestus and Levy working on the tracker to upgrade it to the point where we can track a signal of a God without an artifact." Athena covered her bases. The Wisdom Goddess was thinking several steps ahead of everyone else, almost like...Master Mavis. Could Master Mavis be a distant descendant of Athena? "Unfortunately, the prototype will only be done by tomorrow morning even if Hephaestus and Levy attempt an 'all-nighter'."
"Athena taking a risk?" Hermes smirked as his interest was perked. "Oh, this is new for you."
"Do not get used to it. Normally, I go for absolute certainty, but, for now, I must work with what I have." Athena pressed her palms against the table and rose from her seat. "If you can excuse me, I must place the finishing details on my plan."
"As do I," Erza smiled softly, "I must pack my luggage."
Team Natsu and Juvia sweatdropped at Erza's news. We were all well aware of large her suitcase. And, we were aware how little she uses, but who was gonna tell Erza not to do her usual thing? Lucy headed back to her house to pack. Juvia was about to leave as well, but Mirajane approached the table with a message in hand.
"Master would like to see Juvia, Hermes, and Persephone in office," Mirajane smiled sweetly.
"Did something come up?" Persephone raised an eyebrow.
"Master wouldn't give me the exact details, but he said something about an investigation." Mirajane hummed as she thought back to their conversation. An investigation? Confused and slightly interested, Juvia and her Gods followed Mirajane up to the second floor. She held the door open for us. "As you wished Master,"
"Thank you, Mira," Master Makarov waved and dismissed her.
"Yes Master, did something happen?" Juvia laced her fingers together in her laps. It was rare for Master to call anyone into his office. Normally, he would announce everything to the guild without any hesitation.
"Nothing worth causing an alarm amongst the guild, my child. I would like to offer a mission to you all." Master grinned playfully. "It's about Kyushu's origins. With the Kronos Gate taking precedence over every other matter, I believe this is a good opportunity for us to find more about Kyushu's past and hopefully prevent us from being blindsided."
"Kyushu's the one who absorbs magic by touching people right?" Hermes cocked an eyebrow. "Is she coming with us?"
"Sadly, she refused when I mentioned where I would send her." Master Makarov shooked his head in disappointment.
"Kyushu hasn't been on many missions...what could scare her off?" Juvia whispered to herself.
Unbeknownst to her, Master heard her. "It was the first mission your team completed together. I believe this mission brought her to the guild."
It took Juvia a moment for the dots to connect in her head. When Juvia realized what mission the guild master was referencing, Juvia felt a chill go down her spine. Oh, dear Mavis no. Not that village again.
"This took place before we came to the guild," Hermes figured. "What is he talking about, Juvia?"
"Yeah, we're kinda in the dark on this one," Persephone sighed.
"Juvia, Jellal, and Erik went on a mission together. The request asked us to subdue a rogue mage and bring peace back to a nearby village." Juvia groaned at the memory. That mission as a whole was a disaster. "The rogue wizard was Kyushu who didn't have any memories at the time nor could control her powers, so Erik and Juvia decided to bring her back to the guild in hopes of helping her. Kyushu's nickname became Rogue because of the request, but Erik's the only who refers to her with that. The guild never made any progress with discovering Kyushu's past since the Gods came shortly afterward."
"So Kyushu's been walking around with amnesia for a month?" Hermes asked. Juvia and Master nodded to confirm. "Why didn't y'all just ask Bro to help her? He's the God of Medicine, so I'm sure Bro can find a cure for her."
"But, is it safe to bring a God around Kyushu?" Persephone asked. "Yeah, she can absorb magic from a mage, and the wizard will pass out for a couple of hours. But, Hermes and I made of magic when we're outside of our key, so what would happen to Apollo if she accidentally tried to absorb his magic? Will Apollo get absorb and possible disappear?"
"That is a dilemma." Master sighed. "I do not risk my children's life nor will I risk the life of one your kind."
"Therefore, our next best choice is the village." Juvia sighed. Why wasn't there another choice? "Juvia understands, but can Juvia bring another male along?"
"Am I not enough?" Hermes took offense for some reason.
"And, Hermes has been around Apollo for too long. Apollo's rubbing off on him." Persephone rolled her eyes. "But, why bring another guy along?"
"The Village Master is a passionate misogynist," Juvia gripped the side of her head. "Erik's... persuasion was the reason we were able to bring Kyushu to the guild and get the reward."
"Well, there's nothing preventing me from kicking his ass if he disrespects either of us," Persephone's eyes flashed red. "Don't worry Juvia, Hermes and I got your back."
Why is everyone in Juvia's life so violent?
"Juvia is thankful, but Juvia must ask that Persephone and Hermes refrain from killing anyone," Juvia shouldn't have to tell anyone this repeatedly.
"Fine," She huffed.
"As a precaution, I will send a more level-headed guild member along," Master sighed. "With Jellal and Laxus's mission tomorrow, that doesn't leave many options. Loke will be with Lucy; that would leave Freed and Gray as the final two options. Actually," Master grinned. "Gray will be going only with three of you. Your magic goes well together."
"Juvia's fine with that," Juvia shrugged. To be honest, Juvia held no reservations for Gray. She had no reason to be infatuated with the soon to be the married man. There was nothing for her to gain from loving her except bringing forth the wrath of Erza Scarlet. Juvia was certain she could hold a normal conversation with him if he ever opened his mouth, but Juvia knew there was a hidden motive behind this. "Is Master aware that sending Gray away will reduce damage cost?"
"Oh look at the time," Master coughed. He rolled himself away from the desk and towards the door. "I must be consistent with my medicine taking."
"Welp, it looks like we got something to do tomorrow," Hermes smiled with his hand laced behind his head. With no business left in Master's office, Juvia followed the two ancient Gods out of the room and found Jellal pacing around the second floor.
"Is something wrong Jellal?" Juvia asked as she approached him.
"Ah- Oh, it's you Juvia," Jellal quickly composed himself. "I was wondering if we could talk...in private."
"Nope, Juvia is not going to fall for that trick again," Juvia's smile dropped down to a frown. "Juvia will not fall for Zeus's trick again."
"...Juvia, that's not Zeus..." Persephone sweatdropped. "I understand your paranoia, but I'm 100% certain that's Jellal."
"O-Oh, Juvia is so sorry," Juvia blushed. "Di-Did Jellal have a place in mind?"
"I would say your place since it's close, but Erza's packing at Fairy Hill." Jellal turned his head away from Juvia and looked around. "How about my place instead?"
"That works for Juvia," The Rain Woman smiled.
"I guess that's our cue to leave Hermes," Persephone became to walk away. "Just make sure Aphrodite doesn't see y'all leave together, or we'll never hear the end of it."
Persephone had a point. Although Juvia cared very much for Jellal, Juvia didn't want Aphro spreading any rumors. Taking the back stairs as a precaution, Juvia followed her companion back to his house. She couldn't help to notice how nervous Jellal was. His fingers gripped the cuffs of his shirt as he bit the edge of his lips. Juvia was half expecting Jellal to call off the talk before we got to his house, but we somehow made it there. Jellal held the door open for Juvia. The Water Mage made herself comfortable on one end of Jellal's couch while Jellal awkwardly sat on the other end.
Jellal...why are you awkward in your own house?
Making the first move, Juvia spoke, "So...what did Jellal need to tell Juvia?"
"Ah, actually, it could wait until I come back to my mission," Jellal brushed it off.
"Is Jellal raising his own death flag?" Juvia asked.
"You believe in that," Jellal sweatdropped.
"Call it deja vu," Juvia sighed. "Gray said something like that to Juvia before the war, and the two of us almost died."
"...It's about the whole Zeus incident," Jellal gave in.
"Juvia doesn't blame Jellal for any of it." She reassured him. "Juvia's sorry if her paranoia offended Jellal."
"No, it's not that...It's just that I felt weird when I heard it happened." He admitted and hung his head a bit. Where was he going with this? "I asked Meredy about when you left earlier, and she said that I was jealous. I can't tell if she's been around Mirajane for too long, or that she's right."
Okay Juvia, choose your words carefully.
"...Jealous of what? Zeus making a move on Juvia or Zeus's charm?" Juvia asked slowly. "Or is Juvia missing something?"
"I guess what I'm trying to say is," Jellal took a deep breath. "Can we go out some time somewhere nice? Just the two of us? Maybe after my mission with the others?"
Eh...EH! Where did this come from?! Juvia isn't exactly offended, but this was unexpected. Juvia didn't exactly dislike the idea of potentially dating Jellal, but... Juvia couldn't think of a problem with this situation. Here sat a gentleman that actually had an interest in Juvia, who was she to turn this down? Jellal was ideal for Juvia, and Juvia could hope that she can become the ideal woman for Jellal. Then again, his last crush was Erza Scarlet, so there was lot Juvia had to make up for.
"Sorry... I shouldn't have sprung all of this onto you, Juvia," Jellal sighed as he rose from the couch.
Dear Mavis, Juvia didn't respond! Respond! Do something Juvia!
With her instinct in overdrive, Juvia's arm acted on its own accord and grasped Jellal's arm. It yanked Jellal on top of her with their face inches apart. Dear Mavis, what kind of situation did Juvia get herself in?
Blushing hard enough to rival every shade of red, Juvia became to ramble on. "Juvia is sorry. JuviawantedtosayyesbutJellalstartedtowalkaway-"
Once again a guy silenced Juvia with a kiss, Juvia took this chance to calm herself as Jellal broke the kiss. Juvia noted how gentle this one was compared to Zeus.
"Sorry, I thought that would help," He said bashfully. "What were you saying?"
"Juvia...would like to take Jellal on that offer," She answered as she looked into his eyes.
"Really?!" He sounded shocked that Juvia agreed to the date before he composed himself again. "Then, it's a date."
"It's a date," Juvia smiled before she brought her lips back to his for a moment.
Juvia's Gods: Apollo (obtained). Persephone (obtained), Hermes (obtained), Hades (obtained), Artemis (obtained)
Lucy's Gods: Aphrodite (obtained)
Jellal's Gods: Aries (obtained)
Levy's Gods: Athena (obtained)
Gajeel's Gods: Hephaestus (obtained)
Laxus's Gods: Zeus (In-Progress)
Mirajane's Gods: Hera (In-Progress)
Poseidon (? ? ?)
A/N: Sorry this took longer than usual. It was one thing after another for me for about two weeks, and I finally got a moment to sit down and write. Hopefully, nothing sounds too rushed. I had to space out everything for this chapter. From Athena's announcement to Juvia's mission, there was a lot to add in. Also, the next chapter might be split into two POVs (Jellal and Juvia) because they're both experience key plot points.