Replaced

Lisanna's back and Lucy feels left out. Natsu wants Lisanna back on his team. What about Lucy?


I'm sorry. I didn't mean to miss last week. I was preoccupied with finishing my weeding so that I could go to my friend's birthday party, which was was awesome. There was a live band and we didn't go to bed until six in the morning. The best party I have ever been too. I wasn't home yesterday so I couldn't post then. Anyways, I hope this chapter makes up for it. And THANKS for all the REVIEWS.


Chapter 29- The Battle Begun

"So tell me again why we're following this ice trail?" Kaizoku asked, struggling to keep up with the red head.

"Because it looks like the work of one of my comrades and I'm worried. Gray usually doesn't go this berserk unless it's something serious." Erza explained, only half paying attention to her little tag-a-long.

She had long returned the SE carriage and was now pulling her luggage behind her on her usual cart like it was only a standard red wagon. Kaizoku was still in awe at her strength and thanked Kami that she hadn't used it on him when she'd caught him stealing. They'd encountered the ice trail a little while after they'd reached the mountain summit. He'd thought it was odd because they'd left the snow and ice behind days before.

After he'd pointed it out to Erza, she'd gotten this really weird look on her face and abruptly told him that they had to follow it as soon as they returned the SE carriage. So here they were, following a trail that was covered in unmelting ice through a forest and they had no idea where they were going. Bored out of his mind, Kaizoku brought out the crystal prism Erza had given him and rolled it over in his hand. She'd told him it was supposed to help him figure out what kind of magic he would be good at. So far, it had only been an accessory around his neck and done nothing more. How was it supposed to help him when it didn't do anything?

They finally broke through the trees and came up to a road where there was a giant dark spot in its center. "What's that Erza?" He asked, crouching down by it and examining it. When she didn't answer, he looked up at her and she was pale, almost sick looking. "Erza?" Before she could answer, something came screeching around the bend.


"Help me move this stuff." Lucy called, trying to lift a thick, burnt tree branch.

Others came to help, those that could be spared. Everyone was digging through rubble and looking for anyone who'd been trapped by the burning branches. They didn't have long before the enemy arrived, Lila was keeping an eye. They had to find Uma before then or else she'd be trapped under who knows how many feet of smoldering, heavy wood. Aquarius had worked, but Uma had waited until everyone else was in the water. Unfortunately, not everyone had made it in, so she went under with other people when one of the canopy trees started collapsing.

"Uma! Can you hear me?" Lucy shouted, then coughed from the horrible smoke that clouded the air. There was no answer. "Uma!"

"They're coming!" Someone screamed. "The Rashus are coming!" Lucy ground her teeth in frustration.

The Danai was injured and couldn't walk and Uma would have been in command after her, but she was buried under all this, which left it all up to her and Hisoka. She never thought she'd have to take command of so many people. Hell she never thought that she would ever command anyone. She had to make a decision, and fast.

"Warriors, come with me. Everyone else, get the children and elderly to the pond and when you've done that, keep searching for those that got buried under here. We'll stop them before they get here." And she jumped off the charred mound to start running in the direction of the village.

"Where's Hisoka?" She called over her shoulder.

"Right here." He called, coming up beside her.

She nodded. "Good. Where are Mihio, Jhanae, and Comaha?"

"I think they're with the Danai." Hisoka called.

"Have someone tell them we need two of them to come and guard the diggers in case some sneak around or get past us. The Danai might not be able to walk, but she can still fight and defend the ones who are with her." Hisoka sent someone back with the message and Lucy raised her voice so that all the warriors could hear her. "Alright. The Danai is protecting those who are injured and too old or young to fight. We've sent someone back to tell Hisoka's Kikai to defend those who are digging the others out. Our job is to stop these Rashus before they can damage us even further and drive them back."

"What about those of us who don't wield magic, as you and he do?" Asked one of the male warriors running beside her.

"You will all be spread out in the jungle in groups. I imagine they think that you're all still in the village or somewhere close by. They won't be expecting us." She gestured to herself and Hisoka, who nodded. "Do you know how many mages they have?" She asked to anyone who would answer.

"The powerful ones number at maybe three. There could be more. It's been a long time since we've clashed like this." Lucy recognized this one as one of the Danai's bodyguards.

"Fun." Lucy muttered. "Milah, get your girls split into even groups. One of you will guard my back, the other will guard Hisoka. The rest of you get split into groups of four and make sure there's a commander in each group." Lucy ordered. They were almost there.

"But, isn't four people too small of a group?" Asked one warrior.

"No, it's the perfect size to be able to take out the enemy's larger numbers and move quietly through the jungle." She let them think about that for a second. "Besides, nobody knows the jungle in this area better than any of you do." That made them smirk. As warriors, they'd gone through every part of the jungle within two miles of the village almost everyday. They knew every nook and cranny. "Now, let's get this party started." And they split up.


"Why? WHY?" Ichiya cried, shaking Erza and weeping over the remains of the SE carriage.

"You were going to hit us, so I stopped you before you did." Erza said, completely bewildered. She'd never seen Ichiya in such a state.

"You didn't have to completely DESTROY it!" And he wept while everyone else stared on. Well, everyone except Eve who was hammering in a traffic sign saying FAIRY CROSSING in bold letters.

Kaizoku edged closer to Erza and asked. "Do you know this weirdo?"

Erza, still looking bewildered, said, "Sadly, yes. He has issues, don't mind him. In fact, please don't talk to him."

"Awe, don't be mean Erza." The red head turned to the older blond.

"Hibiki. Where's Gray? And why are you putting up that sign?" She gave the sign a strange look.

"Because you're the third Fairy to almost get hit here." Ren said, amused at Ichiya's actions.

"My poor, poor blossom." Ichiya was saying. Kaizoku looked creeped out.

"Third? You mean Gray wasn't the only one to come by here?" Erza asked, forgetting Ichiya.

"Nope. Natsu came by too and Ichiya hit him." Eve said cheerfully.

Kaizoku took a few steps back as a flaming inferno sprung to life in Erza's eyes. "He what?" She growled. The others backed off too. Ichiya was too occupied with the loss of his 'blossom' to notice his impending doom coming up behind him. When all was said and done, Ichiya's license was smashed to irrepairable bits and the man himself was beaten unconscious and bloody.

"Now," Erza said, clapping her hands together to get the imaginary dust off. "Take me to my comrades." Eve hid behind Ren, who hid behind Hibiki, who threw the remains of Ichiya over his shoulder like he would a jacket, smiled, and started walking down the road. Erza grabbed her luggage cart and started after him. Kaizoku, wanting to figure out what the crystal would do, hopped onto the back of the cart and rode there.

Maybe if he stared at it long enough it would do something. That seemed like a reasonable way to him. "Let the staring begin." And he stared at the purple crystal.


They got there first and had just enough time to have the warriors guarding them conceal themselves in the remaining foliage. The Rashus came in a group, not large enough to be an entire village, but large enough to be cocky. Lucy hated cocky people.

The three at the front seemed to be running things and one stepped forward. "Where is the Danai? Where is all of your people? Did the fire take care of all the dirty work for us?" It was male by the sound of the voice.

"The Danai is elsewhere, tending to more serious matters. She sent us instead to take care of the infestation." Taunting the enemy was always a risky thing, but it was always good for them to make the first move.

"More important? What could be more important than us?" The female with long brown hair braided in cornrows asked. They could hear the outrage in her voice.

"How dare she treat us like ants." The other male with a bald head added. They all gripped their staves. Lucy guessed that these three were the mages and the others were the normal warriors.

"She sends children to fight us? How insignificant does she think we are?" Asked the first male.

Then, they felt it, the magic being concentrated. "Hisoka, give me my storm song if you please." Lucy instructed. Hisoka stared at her.

"Are you sure you want to start out with that song?" He asked.

"Yup."

"Okay." He still sounded unsure, but turned on the song Maelstorm. As the song started, she drew out her thin daggers and started moving her feet from side to side as the beat picked up.

Her audience stared at her, then, one of the mages in front laughed. "Are you going to dance us to death?"

Lucy's smile was more of a smirk as the beat went onto its main stream. And then she was gone. That gave them a start and weapons instantly shot up in anticipation of a frontal attack. They didn't expect her to appear dead center and slash down three of the warriors. But before anyone could get in a strike, she was gone again with the music and did the same thing on the edges. She kept doing this over and over again until the mages finally got a head on their shoulders and called up a gale force wind. But too late because Hisoka changed the song to Mystical and Lucy returned to his side. She crouched in front of him in a defensive stance and watched the enemy. Those that she'd injured were screaming, and those that she'd killed. . . . Well, let's say they were standing up.

"Lucy?" Hisoka asked as his raising song was ending.

"Zombie." And so Hisoka put it on and turned up the volume.

The wind gone, she went straight for the mages and touched them all. It was at random because they couldn't be too obvious. Sometimes she would be touching one of them, sometimes she would be slashing at an enemy body. It all depended on where the beat took her, but she made sure to touch the mages more than once. Now, the dead enemy was attacking friends and killing them by breaking necks or just rendering them unable to move.

"Loke." She summoned and they both appeared in between the three mages, still unaware of their magical stock.

Knowing what his master wanted, he summoned up his magic. "Lion Brilliance." Hisoka, knowing this move from earlier practice sessions, closed his eyes before the light could blind him. And while everyone else was blinded, Lucy called Taurus and Scorpio.

"Scorpio, your Sand Buster if you please." Lucy asked, wrapping her arms around Loke's neck who took them out of the path of destruction.

"Right." He sounded excited to get to work and Taurus didn't need any initiative from Lucy to use his axe.

"Sandstorm Axe Aldebaran!" The two spirits said together. The attack blew them all off their feet and into the sand twisters.

"Loke?" She asked as he set her down next to her other two spirits. "Would you do the honors?"

"Anything for you princess." He said, and kissed her hand. Lucy scowled, she still had yet to break him of that. "Regulus Impact!" Light gathered in his outstretched palm and as he released it, they watched it turn into a fierce lion's head and race to attack.

During this, Lucy was singing to help Hisoka release the dead he had control of and they released them just in time. Her spirits disappeared and Lucy and Hisoka were left to stare at the remaining cloud of dust. The evening rain was starting and Lucy was glad for it; it would help the dust settle faster.

"We've found her!" Lucy and Hisoka turned to see someone running towards them.

"Found who?" Hisoka asked as the runner got closer and stopped.

"Uma, we've found Uma. But she's. . ." The runner looked down and heaved in air.

"What?" Lucy asked as ice filled her veins. "She's what?"

"She's-." But she never finished because a wind force knocked them all off their feet.


If tomatoes are fruit, then isn't ketchup a smoothie?

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