notes: Again a part A (main story) and part B (team Juvia, Gray and Lyon).

Summary:

At the same time the teams Lisanna/Natsu/Lucy/Nat/Happy, Sophie/Cathy/Jean and Elfman/Yamchu/Tenshinhan had arrived at Liliana. While most of them stayed at the Bouviers' estate over night, Lisanna had asked Lucy to wait in her apartment. Unexpectedly she met Jean there. Lisanna, Natsu and Happy later came to meet with Lucy but she wasn't at the apartment anymore.

-…-

Meanwhile Lucy and Jean visited the bar Kakadu.

Barkeeper: "Additionally Stilbruch is playing today. They are preparing for the great event […] Lady Sasturs is holding a Magic Auction in her mansion."

-…-

Lisanna, Natsu and Happy arrived at the bar where they met Lucy alone. They had to leave soon again, when Natsu had been affected Stilbruch's Song Magic.

-…-

Before, Jean had already been teleported back to the estate by his stepfather Francois Bouvier. There he was questioned about the incident when Lisanna had transformed into Garuda.

Chapter 38A: The invitation

Lisanna woke up early in the morning. She and Lucy had been spending the night in the apartment's main bedroom. Natsu and Happy were still sleeping on the couch in the living room. Carefully she checked the second bedroom. But nobody was inside the room and the bed looked unused. 'So, Jean didn't return last night?' she thought sighing.

One after another Lucy, Natsu and Happy woke up as well. Lisanna and Lucy were the first two to get ready in the bathroom. "Whew. That has really been a weird night." Lucy complained.

"Yeah …" Lisanna agreed. "I hope at least you had a good sleep?"

"Yes, I could sleep through the whole night. Your bed is really comfortable." Lucy stated. "By the way, what are we going to do today? Did you meet with that Bouvier-sama, yesterday?"

"Not really …" Remembering the meeting with Elfman, Lisanna started to worry her brother's health again. "I guess we should go back to the Bouviers' estate. I'm certain they have already prepared something for breakfast."

Lucy's rumbling stomach reminded her that in the end she didn't have a proper meal the day before. "I hope you're right."

-…-

[Bouviers' estate]

"Sir, everything has been prepared for breakfast." a servant informed Francois Bouvier.

"Good. You are dismissed for the moment." he ordered him to leave the room.

Sophie was entering the room. "Too-san, everyone will be ready soon." she told her father. "Maybe we should wait for the others as well?" she suggested referring to Lisanna, Natsu, Lucy and Happy.

"Good morning, Sophie. You are sure that they are coming here?" he wanted to know.

"I'm certain about it." Sophie assured. "Lisanna always used to be a welcome guest here and she knows that."

Then another person came in. "Yamchu-kun." Sophie greeted him. "How are you doing?"

"I'm feeling great." he then turned to Francois. "Thank you very much. That bath I took yesterday worked wonders. Almost all of my injuries are healed already."

"You don't need to thank me. I don't think the curing herbs did this." Francois replied. "Additionally we used some ingredients to stimulate your Wolf's regeneration magic."

"How are the others doing?" Sophie wanted to know concerning Elfman and Tenshinhan.

"Tenshinhan is still in a bad condition but he insisted on getting up." Yamchu told her. "I asked Nat-kun earlier ... he agreed on taking us back to Fairy Tail today. There I'm going to hold a proper funeral for my mother." he was referring to the former Lycanoos' queen Lupina. "But I'm afraid that Elf-kun is in no condition to accompany us."

"I see." Sophie replied. "But don't worry. Me and Lisanna will stay here and take care of him for the next time."

"Well …" Francois interrupted the conversation. "I leave you two alone for now. I still have things to be arranged." he said and left the room.

Yamchu waited a short while after Francois had left them and then turned to Sophie. "Did your father tell you something about Jean?" he asked her lowering his voice.

"About Chan-nii?" Sophie was confused what her comrade was talking about.

"Well, I understand now that, after taking the bath yesterday, my Wolf's magic was unusual strong. My senses were increased and I could hear through the walls." Yamchu explained. "I'm pretty sure that at one time I was able to hear your brother's voice. He was talking to your father – though I couldn't understand what they were saying."

"Are you sure about this?" for Sophie it was hard to believe it. "I mean I should have been able to notice him, unless …"

-…-

At the same time Lisanna, Natsu and Happy were on the way to Bouviers' estate. "Why did we leave Lucy behind?" a curious Natsu wanted to know.

"Perhaps she finally wanted to see her family?" Lisanna supposed. "Well, she made her decision all of a sudden."

"Family? I didn't know that she has relatives in the town." Natsu wondered.

"Yeah, I can't remember Lucy ever talking about her family, too." Happy added.

"What are you talking about? She told us, when we were on the way to Liliana." Lisanna couldn't believe it. She then recollected what Natsu was doing during the travel. 'Oh, right. Natsu was busy with his nausea the whole time and probably didn't listen.' she thought snickering. 'I can't help myself, but that's somehow cute.'

"What's so funny?" Natsu was confused about his friend's reaction.

"Did we say something wrong?" Happy wondered. "It's not nice to make fun of us."

"No, that's not it." Lisanna replied being sorry a bit. "I'll tell you then: Lucy is the daughter of the Heartfilia family that runs a very successful and influential company in Fiore. Its status is comparable to the noble families like Bouvier or Sasturs."

-…-

At the same time Lucy was standing alone in front of a huge, white gate. Behind it, a long path was leading to her family's mansion. Lucy was still hesitating to enter the estate. 'Mother is still taking care about the chaos in the Celestial Spirits' dimension and father is probably too busy to even welcome me.' the thought of her father made Lucy shiver. 'If he hadn't asked me, I wouldn't have come here.' she remembered Capricorn, the Goat, contacting her mind via Sternradio a short while ago. 'But his request seemed to be urgent, after all.'

"Lucy-sama!" a female voice called her from inside the estate. It was one the maids, she used be very close before leaving home and becoming a student of Fairy Tail. "Capricorn-san told me that you would come."

"Capricorn? He was able to come here?" Lucy asked confused since according to her information the chaos in the Spirits' realm hadn't been cleared, yet.

"Yes, but it was only for a very short moment." the maid told her. "If I got it right, Layla-sama has requested to give you this letter." she said handing it over.

"It's an invitation?!" Lucy concluded from what was written on the envelope.

"It's certainly for the ball taking place the evening before the Magic Auction." the maid assumed. "The auction is tomorrow, this means the ball is already tonight."

-…-

[Magic Council]

The members of the Council were discussing the appearance of an ominous item which was going to be auctioned during the upcoming event.

"The Observation Orb Hyperion … it has been years since it had disappeared." Org-roshi mentioned. "… along with its owner."

"But it's impossible that he has returned, isn't it?" another male member claimed becoming nervous. "I mean his disappearance had been confirmed by our own forces. Why would Janus return now?" A fierce discussion broke out between the members. Only Purehito-roshi managed to keep his calm.

"SILENCE!" the acting chairman Gran Doma demanded in a serious tone. "I have already asked Org-roshi to investigate this case, beforehand. Please tell us the result."

"I have contacted the Rune Knights' division commander, who had been leading the hunt after Janus. He ensured me that it is absolutely impossible that he is involved with the Magic Auction." Org-roshi reported. "And to be true – in my opinion the Roots of Order are still posing the actual treat, we should concentrate our forces on them."

The other members were undecided whether they should agree or not. In the end there was no objection.

"I agree with Org-roshi." Gran Doma finally decided. "We can't afford to waste our powers chasing after a phantom."

-…-

Sometime later, after the meeting had already ended, Purehito-roshi was walking through the council's corridors alone. 'To think that Janus might have returned …' he thought still worrying. 'But, there is yet another issue I can't ignore …' He took out the list of the auction's items. One of them was named broken pieces of the Southern Crown. 'Without doubt it's the Corona Australis - it had been owned by Zoldeo when he disappeared on that island. I have to retrieve it even if I have to use the forbidden power - the Seven Kin - again!'

-…-

[Some time earlier at the Bouviers' estate]

Nat were heading to the kitchen in order to have breakfast. Passing the parlor he accidently overheard a conversation between Francois Bouvier and the Council's member Org-roshi. Francois mentioning the name Janus caught his attention. He was sure to have heard it before. But in that moment he couldn't clearly remember when. So he decided go on since the others were already waiting for him.

Entering the room Nat saw everyone had already gathered. They were sitting at a long table, which was set with plenty of food and drinks. Order first row: Happy, empty, Cathy, Yamchu, several empty seats; order second row: Natsu, Lisanna, Sophie, Tenshinhan, several empty seats. Nat decided to take the empty chair across from Lisanna.

"You really took your time." Cathy welcomed him jokingly.

"Yeah." Nat replied scratching the back of his head being embarrassed. His attention then turned to the conversation between Lisanna and Sophie.

"Chan-nii didn't return to the apartment, last night?" Sophie was surprised. "That's really strange. We need to ask Too-san about him."

Just in that moment Francois entered the room. In his right hand he was holding two letters. They were looking similar to the one that Lucy had received. Without saying a word he was about to take his place at the head of the table.

Nat abruptly stood up from his chair. "Bouvier-sama, I need to ask you something important." he stated in serious tone. "Who is Janus?"

-…-

[Sasturs' Mansion]

A good-looking guy with red-brown hair and a remarkable heart-shaped fringe on his forehead was knocking at the door to Lady Sasturs' room. "Milady, the assistants I have hired are arriving soon." he informed her.

"I see." the lady answered from the inside. "I am really excited to meet the famous Trimen. I appreciate your support, Rudy-kun. Now that everyone is gathered, let us get the party started."

"It's my pleasure, milady."

-…-

[Secret headquarter of the Roots of Order]

Netsrac, the organization's leader, summoned his right-hand man Albireo. "Unfortunately, we need more time. We can't afford to have our enemies to disturb the plan!"

"You don't need to worry, Netsrac-sama." Albireo tried to calm his master. "I received information from Sylvia who has joined with the Lycanoo tribe. The Black Prince has finally taken over the throne and is already on our side." he explained. "They will be a major contribution to our force."

"I'm still worried that Sylvia's actions might attract everyone's attention." the master suspected.

"Janus is already preparing his move against the Magic Council." Albireo stated referring to the masked guy who had confronted Lisanna, Natsu and the others on the island. "At the moment they are the leading entity coordinating any investigation on us. If his plan succeeds, they won't be able to go after us anymore."

"I see …" Netsrac didn't seem to be completely satisfied yet. "By the way, how is your mission in Undina proceeding?"

"Everything goes according to plan. Soon I will be able to complete my task."

notes:

In the story the Seven Kin are a secret division of the Magic Coucil. Actually, their use for missions must be legitimated by the Council's majority but Purehito uses them unauthorized under the pseudonym Hades.

Rudy was the antagonist during the Dating Competition

Chapter 38B: The Sage of Water – Part II: The voice from the mirror

As part of the training, Gray was battling against the palace guards' First Knight Conda and her Hydra Sword. Juvia and Lyon were watching the event from the side. They were accompanied by Mirage, the Third Knight, commenting the fight. "Conda-kun was using eight heads in the last fight. I wonder if she needs to use all nine this time." she mentioned curiously following the duel.

Meanwhile Gray continued his attacks. "Ice Make: Freeze Lancer!" he shot several ice lances towards the opponent.

"Two easy!" Conda slashed her sword towards the projectiles. "Three headed Hydra!" It transformed into three whip-like blades with snake heads destroying the lances in their way. After the crushed ice had settled Conda noticed the shadow of Gray, who had been following his attack. Again, she slashed the three heads towards him.

By creating two ice swords, Gray was able to parry the first two blades and to cut their heads off. But then he was hit by the third one at his right shoulder.

"Not bad!" Conda commented slightly impressed. "You have finally managed to figure my weakness out."

"Yes. Your snake blades are as hard and as sharp as the original sword." Gray explained. "But the heads can be cut off. If that happens, you can't use them for some time. And now you have only six of them left."

"You are too confident!" Conda was provoked by Gray's comment. "Six headed Hydra! Let's see if you can handle this with your injured shoulder?!"

Suddenly the place was flooded by masses of water. "What? I can't move!" Gray realized that his legs were hold by something. The water then started to ascend along his body. In the end it strapped his body and arms like a rope. "What have you … ?" he wanted to say but noticed that Conda was in the same situation.

"What's going on?!" Juvia was taken aback witnessing the process. "The water is moving on its own?!"

"No …" Mirage replied. "It's Idon Pose - one of the elders ruling Undina."

The little, old man then appeared on the place. "I think it's enough for today." he decided. In his left hand he was holding a long staff with a blue gleaming crystal on the top. Suddenly Gray and Conda were released from their ties and the water flew back to the nearby basin where it had come from.

"Why did you interrupt us, Idon?" Conda wanted to know. "The training has been authorized by Ull-dono."

"You should show more respect!" the elder demanded. "The senate has decided on holding the ceremony tomorrow."

"The ceremony?" the First Knight was shocked. "Did you wait for Ull-dono's absence in order to decide that?" "How dare you … ?!" Idon wanted to counter was cut off by Conda: "We'll see … I'll find a way to stop it!" then she left the place.

"Ah, wait …" Gray was overwhelmed by the situation but decided to follow her. Juvia, Lyon, Mirage and Crusher did so as well.

The angered elder was left behind on the place. He secretly glared up to the princess' window in the highest tower. 'It wasn't me undoing the spell!" he thought worried. 'Her magic is getting stronger at a terrifyingly high speed! But that will be over soon!'

-…-

[At night]

"Your highness, are you still awake?" the man's voice from the mirror asked carefully.

"Mirror-san?" the princess was surprised because it was unusual for him to contact her at a late time.

"I have thought about your wish to be free …" he tried to start the conversation.

"It's too late!" she cut the off the sentence. "They are going to take my magic tomorrow. Conda-onee-chan warned me about it."

"But … that's horrible." the voice was taken aback. "What, if I tell you that there is a way to leave the palace once and for all?" he suggested.

"You mean I should flee? I can't do that! Even you told me that I'm important to everyone in Undina." the princess refused the proposal. "After all, I can understand them. Since my parents died in that horrible incident, I have been the only heir to the Water Sage's magic. But I'm still too young to control it."

"I see … but if I told you, that the death your parents wasn't an incident but orchestrated by the senate, …" the voice suddenly revealed. "… would that change your mind?"

The princess was speechless. Her eyes started to widen more and more.

-…-

[At the same time]

In the dark of the night a group of strange, shadowy creatures was entering Undina using the canals leading from the nearby river to the water basins inside the palace areal. They stopped for a moment and one of them carefully surfaced from the water in order to check the surroundings. "Let's go fishing!"

-…-

[A few days ago]

A middle-aged, bald headed man was sitting at the sea shore, at the end of a landing stage. He was wearing dark-green, tattered trousers, which were turned up to his knees. He didn't wear any shirt and his muscular upper body had several scars all over it – a particularly big one diagonally over his right chest. Although the sun was already setting, he was still fishing.

"Please excuse my rude disruption …" another man's voice suddenly appeared from the water. "Could it be that you are the man known as Fisherman?" he wanted to know.

"Get lost!" the fisher replied without showing any sign of surprise. "You are scaring the fishes."

"Oh, my! But it looks like you haven't been very lucky today." the voice stated referring to the empty bucket standing next to the fisher. "It must be hard to catch any fish by using a communication lacrima."

"You are talking too much. I don't like other people!" the fisher replied emotionlessly. "What can I do to make you disappear?"

"What can I do in order to receive your help?" the voice countered the question.

"Make the fishes leave the water!" Fisherman requested in serious tone.

"Well, I figured that you would request something like that." the other man responded. Suddenly a hand was reaching out of the water. He summoned nine colored pills. "The fishes need just to swallow these pills and your wish will come true. In exchange, I want you to visit the Water Sage's palace in Undina. I'll tell you the details later." Afterwards the hand disappeared in the water again.

After taking the pills, Fisherman stood up and summoned a large harpoon in his right hand. "Let's go fishing!"

notes: Originally I planned more action for Juvia and Lyon but decided to concentrate the princess' story.

next chapter: The Sage of Water – Part III: Fish Invasion