And here comes the chapter 22! I liked to write this chapter and I hope you will like it too! (At least it didn't take three years to write it this time...)

Thank you guest (who ever you might be) for the lovely review! 3

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail and I'm just playing with the characters.

'That's one huge lacrima, alright...' I stood in front of the lacrima of the fourth leg. I didn't one to admit it, but deep inside me a seed of doubt had sprouted. Could I actually break it? In normal situation it would have been a piece of cake, like crushing a glass mug with one hand. Now, however, my magical power was in zero, my better arm was out of use for the time being and the ever growing hunger was making me light headed. I kinda wanted to blame Lucy for making me realize how hungry I truly was.

A small smile spread on my lips as I though Lucy and my hand touched my lips unconsciously. It had happened so much, so out of bushes that I couldn't believe it had truly happened. She had really said 'I love you'. To me. I had already guessed that her feeling were stronger than pure friendship, and even the though 'maybe she does like me' had entered my head more than once. it had been that strong kind of hope that eventually turns into the thinking of 'what if I'm correct'. Now, however, I didn't have to guess or hope anymore. Now I knew that Lucy did like me.

I turned my head toward the third leg and it's lacrima, or at least I imagined I was looking toward it. All the other Oracion Seis members were down and Zero was busy with Natsu, so there wasn't any one to hurt Lucy. Still not knowing how things were going with her made me feel little anxious. Shaking my head I forced the feeling out of me. The blonde girl was surely alright, after all she was my girl. A smirk visited my lips, then I switched my eyes to the direction of the first leg.

The one that should make me feel anxious was that Flame-brain. I had no idea how the fight was proceeding between him and Zero. The flame eater might have had his ass kicked already. Or his fight might still be going. Or if some kind of a miracle has happened it was Zero that was laying in the dirt already. Either way Natsu had only five minutes left to beat the man. If he were to fail... It was a good bye to Wendy's guild for sure this time. Furrowing my brows, I send a death glare to the first lacrima's direction. 'If you fail, you're not a Fairy Tail mage anymore, Natsu.'

Turning back to my own lacrima, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The timer in my head seemed to move painfully slow, giving me way too much time to think of all the 'what if's. What if Flame-brain actually losses? What if someone else fails to destroy their lacrima? What if I fail to destroy mine? I should have asked the mam-whore how fast the repairer lacrimas would activate, how big was the window in which all the lacrima should be destroyed. Well, no crying over split milk, and it's not like knowing the window would have changed the result of their simultaneous attack anyway. Probably.

When the timer hit one minute I felt my heart rate starting to raise. I couldn't really say was it excitement or was it nervousness, little bit of both maybe. But knowing the feeling of heart bumping and blood rushing faster in veins, I knew it was a good thing. My blood would be full of adrenaline ready to draw the best out of my muscles when the time comes.

I opened my eyes and took one last deep breath. '10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" I counted silently and when the timer hit the last second a crouched down as deep as possible, then with all my strength in legs I pushed myself into the air. The orb was rather high from the ground and I had to jump high even for me. It wasn't the easiest task to complete without my magic, still I succeeded. Now the only thing left was to smash the orb into dust.

Just before my speed died down I pulled my healthy, and unfortunately a bit weaker, arm back. When I reached the highest point of the jump and when I stopped in the air for a millisecond, I punched the lacrima with all the force I could muster behind my arm. On the same moment the timer hit zero, the orb cracked into tiny pieces, now reminding more of a disco ball than lacrima. However, it stayed intact. "Fuck!"

As I felt the gravity start pulling me back toward the ground I had think fast and act even faster. The punch had given a little momentum to my body and lead by instinct I ended up using it. I forced my body to turn growing the momentum and then on a right moment landed a kick on the lacrima. It was so sloppy I didn't even want to call it a kick. But when the crystal like material cracked more, a victorious expression visited my face only it to be turned into that of a horror.

The lacrima was still intact.

I...failed? Me, Laxus Dreyar? For a moment I forgot how to breath as the shock and anger of failure hit my. I gritted my teeth so hard I wouldn't have been surprised if one or more of them had broken. For a second I actually though that on did brake, when the sound of something cracking reached my ear, but then a tiny piece of the lacrima flew off the orb. And like domino rest of the huge ball followed the tiny piece. Pieces flying here and there the lacrima broke down completely.

I was about to let out a shout of victory and relief, when my back hit the hard ground and I got my air knocked out of me partly. "God dammit!" I wheezed. No matter how big my shock was I should have remembered to land correctly! This mission was just one big mistake after an other. Seriously. Not even on my first solo mission had I done so many mistakes as I had today. I was only happy that Gramps wasn't here to see it all, or the mocking from the tiny old man would have been endless.

As I lied on my back a felt the ground starting to shake. I took it as a good sign. If the legs were to lose their power sources the most logical thing to follow would be the city going down. Everyone had succeeded. A small smile visited my lips, then my eyes popped wide open and with a curse I rolled a meter or so to the side. On the spot were I had lied was now a big piece of rock, which had almost made a human pancake out of me. 'Okay, time to get the hell out of here." I decided as i stared the piece of ceiling. I stood up swiftly and didn't waist any time when heading to the exit as the whole place started to grumble down.

As stones kept raining down, I didn't have time to check which direction I should have run. All I could do beside run was keep dodging. After a moment that probably felt longer than it actually was, I started to see light peeking trough the stone rain. Without second thought I ran to the light and leapt into it. Luckily it seemed o be the right chose as I ended up landing on the forest floor. I rolled couple meters further and when I stopped I saw Gray appearing from the crumbling city in very much same manner as I had. Second or two later Lucy too with Happy butt out of the stone rain from a spot little closer to me.

"You okay?!" I immediately shouted. The girl lifted her head off the ground and gave me a thumb with a tired smile before letting her head drop back against the dirt floor. I sighed relieved.

Couple moments later I hear sound from the opposite direction to Lucy. When I turned to see what it was, I saw Erza approaching. With her was overly muscular Ichiya - the sight was horrible enough to burn my retinas and make me gag - Jura, who was slightly beat up, and Wendy with that annoying cat of hers. The young girl broke into a smile when she saw me and ended up running to me. For a second I feared that she would jump on me and give me a hug, but thankfully she stopped right on front of me. As she looked like she was trying to find the words she wanted to speak, I got up to sit.

"Thank you! Thank you for saving my guild!" Wendy exclaimed as she bowed deep. The movement was so fast her hairs swung forward almost hitting me, they would have if I had not leaned back on the right moment. I stared her for a second frozen, then awkwardly placed my hand on her head. The girl lifted her gaze at me, her eyes little surprised. Starting to feel even more awkward under her gaze, I quickly gave her blue hair a ruffle, then withdrew my hand.

"Sure thing, kid. ...But I think you should thank Flame-brain instead. He ended up doing most of the work." It was painful to give credit to that idiot, but it was the truth. He had been the one that beat up Zero, the biggest obstacle in saving Wendy's guild. Plus going around taking credit for others' deeds just wasn't my style.

Wendy straightened herself and smiled shyly. "Still...thank you." I huffed and rolled my eyes. Who was i to tell her not to thank me if she wanted to do it so much. My eyes ended up landing on Lucy, who had stood up and was looking at our direction. She had this wear smile on her lips as she stared us. It was likely she had heard our conversation and for a reason or an other it seemed to amuse her. I had no idea what was going on her head at the moment, but what I knew was that that expression of hers was pretty annoying, in a good way.

I was about to comment that annoying expression of hers, but the blonde girl's attention turned else where. She looked around for a second, then asked. "Where is he? Natsu, I mean." Before anyone had time to react to this realization, the ground under Lucy started to swell. With an 'eep' the girl moved away, then under second later the curly haired member of Oracion Seis appeared from the ground. Under his left arm was a man I didn't recognize and under his right arm was our very own flame eating idiot. 'Talk of the devil and he will appear...'

Wendy was the first one to react as she run to the group of three, or more precisely she run to Natsu. The second the guy was put down, the young girl leap to give him a hug. "Natsu!" Wendy exclaimed burying her blue head in to the Flame-brain's chest. "Thank you for saving my guild!" Natsu stared the girl a moment slightly taken back, but then broke into a wide grin while giving hugging her back and saying how every one had saved her guild. I watched the scene for a short moment, then turned my gaze away with a tch. 'Whatever...'

My attention ended up landing on the other man the curly head had brought with him. I couldn't help but feel like I had seen that tattooed face and that blue hair somewhere before. The longer i stared him, the more sure I was that I knew the man, still I couldn't remember who he was. And apparently I wasn't only one who was curious of his identity. "So...who is that?" Gray asked Lucy, whom side he had walked. "One of the host abroad Christina?"

Lucy blinked her eyes and then turned them to the man. "There was hosts abroad?"

Host? I raised one of my brows. With that pretty face of his he sure could have been one. No... He wasn't a host. I was sure of it. His work was something way more annoying... Eyes widening it finally came to me. He was that Magic Council guy, the one that had something to do with the launching of Etherion. What was his name again... Siegrain or something like that.

"That's Jellal." Erza stepped to stand by her two team mates.

"What?!" Gray practically shouted as his expression twisted with disapproving. Lucy on the other hand had her eyes round with shock as she wondered quietly 'That's Jellal?'. Me myself only furrowed my brows confused. Not Siegrain, but Jellal? Maybe I was mistaken, it's not like I have seen the guy that many times anyway, but... That tattoo was pretty unique and I was sure Siegrain had a same kind.

Well, whatever. Jellal, Siegrain. Didn't matter to me. Titania seemed to be okay with the guy, so at least he wasn't anyone suspicious. It was the reaction of Gray and Lucy that made me be wary of him. They apparently knew who this Jella guy was, but especially Gray didn't seem to agree with him being here. Natsu too had looked rather grumpy when the name Jellal was spoken. There was definitely some history between the their team and the guy. Being in the dark annoyed me, but as long as the man behaved himself I didn't care was he here or not. Though...

I turned my eyes to Lucy. She was still staring Jellal intensively. And it was starting to irritate me. It was if the girl was trying to burn the image of him on her retina. 'Your boyfriend is right here and you dare to look at other guys?' I grumbled voicelessly. I don't deny it, I am a bit possessive. I didn't doubt Lucy. She had only hour or so ago confessed to me, there was no reason for her to go after an other guy. Nor was she even the type to do so ever. I believed and trusted her, but it still didn't easy my mind. I wanted her, and I wanted her for me only.

A small smile crept on my lips. 'Boyfriend, eh?' Not in a million years would I have guessed when leaving for this mission that I would come back with a new tittle. I liked the word boyfriend, but even more I liked the word girlfriend. 'My girlfriend.' I though my smile growing as I watched Lucy, still had her eyes on Blue-boy. If only I had any magic left, I would have given her a little zap. It would have been a punishment for looking at other guys and also a reminder that I, the one she had confessed to, was here.

Talking about confession... Did I ever tell back to her that I also liked her? The smile on my lips died down. I didn't, did I? And that would mean that Lucy still didn't know my exact feeling for her. Actually, could I even call us a boyfriend and a girlfriend yet, then? 'Nice job, Laxus!' It was the first thing he was supposed to do when he found Lucy. Not only had failed to do so, but in the end the girl had won him to it.

Letting out a long, exaggerated sigh, I stood up. 'Better late than never...' I patted worst of the dust off my clothes, then headed toward Lucy. Or I would have, if I hadn't been stopped by loud shout. "MEEENN!" Alerted everyone on our little group turned toward the shout. There leaning against air stood Ichiya his legs practically crossed. He kept mumbling something about bathroom perfume, when Wendy noticed something on the ground in front of him. "There are things like runes on the ground...!" She pointed at the script on the dirt.

I immediately recognized the writing. "Jutsu-shiki?!" There was no mistaking it. If you looked hard enough you could see the script surrounding our whole group. Others turned question in their eyes to me, but before any of them had the chance to voice them a group of soldiers emerged from the wood. It was an ambush no one of us had felt coming. I tarted my eyes from soldier to soldier to figure out who they were and who was leading them. Then between the soldiers appeared a figure in a bit different outwit. He stepped in front of the battalion and then spoke with arrogant voice. "I am the commander of the Fourth Regiment Arrest-and-Custody Division for the Magic Council. My name is Lahar."

I wanted to snort. Arrest-and-Custody Division, my ass. They were only here to steal the credit for the mission. A mission they themselves couldn't complete. First they get their asses kicked, then they crawl in to some worm hole to hide and when all the dirty work is done they step up again, acting like they own the whole fucking world. My nose wrinkled with disgust.

"We are here to arrest Oracion Seis. Now, I urge you to hand over the one code-named 'Hoteye' immediately." The man Lahar commanded and a couple of the soldiers immediately started to approach the curly head. With glaring eyes I followed the small group and without even seeing it I knew everyone else was doing the same. Jura stepped forward in attempt to stop the arrest, but the curly head stopped him. He knew well that he had earned what was coming his way. Even if I didn't like the Council, I thought that the man made the right decision. The soldiers had us trapped and resisting would only prolong the arrest and bring more harm than good.

After the man had been put in cuffs and escorted to the wagon, the commander turned our way again. We though he was finally going to take down the Jutsu-shiki, but instead he lifted his finger and pointed it toward the blue haired guy. "One of you infiltrated the council and brought down Etherion! The worst, most evil of villains is standing right there! It's you Jellal! Surrender! We already have orders to kill you if you offer any hint of resistance!"

The arrogant voice of the man would have irritated anyone alone, but the words he spoke upset the members of our little group even more. Maybe I was swept away by the mood or maybe his voice and way of speaking was enough to irk me, but I couldn't help the angry glare I gave to the commander. I didn't protest out loud like Natsu or Lucy or Wendy, I did so only with my eyes.

Blue-boy himself didn't as much as react to Lahar's words. He had clearly accepted his fate. When the soldiers came and put the handcuffs on him, he didn't move a muscle to protest. Two of the soldiers took hold of the man's arms and rest of the troopers surrounded him. There was a moment of silence as if Blue-boy was given a last chance to say something, but as he remained mouth shut the soldiers started to lead him toward the wagon. They had hardly taken two steps, when something pink and loud flew toward them fist first.

"I'm not lettin' him go anywhere!" Natsu screamed. He punched soldier after soldier, while trying to reach Jellal. Quite shocked by the flame eater's actions, Lahar shouted a command to arrest him too. However, instead of letting himself be taken in custody, Natsu started to fight the soldiers even harder.

Knowing Natsu and his empty head, he probably didn't think much before acting, but when Gray joined him in the fight, I started to get confused. Yeah, sure, I was pissed too about Magic Council and their attitude, still I wasn't stupid enough to go against them for a guy I didn't know. Well, it looked like both Flame-brain and Icicle knew him, but their faces from before told that they weren't on the best terms with Blue-boy here. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that they would help him to the point where they were in danger to get their asses arrested too.

My confusion only rose as Jura, one of the Wizard Saints, joined the rebellion, soon followed by Wendy and then even Lucy. 'Just who is this guy?!' I couldn't understand the reasoning behind their actions at all. But when the commander Lahar ordered all of them to be taken in custody, I couldn't stand on the side any longer. My main quantity wasn't to join the brawl but to drag Lucy out of it. I grabbed her waist and carried the struggling girl to the side of the battle. "Blondie, stop it!"

She stopped and glanced up at me with desperate eyes. "But Jellal... His Erza's...!" The look she gave me spoke more than her mouth. 'I have to help them' was written all around it. I gritted my teeth and were about to argue back that if she got herself arrested she wouldn't be able to help shit, but then Titania's voice boomed over the battlefield freezing everyone on their spots.

"ENOUGH! Hold it right there!" All of our eyes turned to the red head, who stood aside from the fight. Her expression was hard. On fast glance you could have mistaken it as anger, however it was something else. "My apologies for the disturbance. I take full responsibility for everything. You have Jellal... Take him...away..." Her voice was clear and carrying, but in the end... 'Titania's voice...shook...' I stared her little shaken. I was still pretty confused about what was going on and who exactly Jellal was, but it was clear as day that the guy was someone important to Erza. It explained the odd behavior of her team mates and her own. The red head had never been one to show her emotions openly. To force her in this state... Blue-boy must have been someone very important to her.

The tense atmosphere eased up a little when both parties withdrew. A silent agreement was made that the Regiment could take Jellal away without more resistance if our party was left alone and no one was arrested. With sour faces everyone watched as the man was lead toward the wagon. I saw from the corner of my eye how Natsu's expression kept getting angrier with every step they took. It was only matter of second before he would explode again.

And like hearing my thought, Flame-brain snapped. "No way! I'm not gonna accept this!" He shouted and was about to run after Blue-boy for the second time. This time, however, my fist stopped him from advancing any further. A solid punch on his head slammed his pink head on the ground and for the time being he was out of the picture. I felt Erza's eyes on me and when I turned to look at her there was melancholic gratefulness in her gaze. I nodded swiftly, then turned my attention to the Blue-boy, who was just about to step inside the wagon.

A leg already on the first step he stopped. With a smile he turned toward us, toward Erza. "I remembered... It was the color of your hair." His voice hold odd happiness for someone to be put behind the bars for the rest of his life as he spoke. Titania's face on the other hand twisted from shock and for a short moment I though she would start to cry. But her eyes stayed dry, even when Jellal bid his farewells and disappeared in to the wagon.

Sometime after the dogs of Magic Council had left, our small group hadn't made any effort to move from the spot. The Jutsu-shiki had come down long time ago, but it was like it still surrounded us and the only person that had been able to go trough it was Erza. When the wagon had disappeared from our sigh, Titania had disappeared somewhere. No one knew exactly where she had gone, but even the most insensitive of the group - yes, I'm talking about Flame-brain - hadn't tried to go after her. The red head wanted to be alone for a while, everyone understood this and everyone respected this wish.

The mood was rather blue and not much talking was done. I was sitting little further from the rest of a group on a tree trunk, my eyes fixed on Lucy. The moment the last soldier of the Magic Council had disappeared from my vision, my own mood improved greatly. And compered to the others I could almost be called happy. I was thinking about the confession I received and about my own confession. I wanted to tell Lucy right away how I felt, but when taking the atmosphere in consideration this probably wasn't the best time. In worst case it could even upset Lucy, which I didn't want to do. I think I had upset the girl enough for a short while.

Just when I was about to decide to move the confessing to later, Lucy approached me. "Mind if I sit here?" She asked, eyes on the spot next to me. I nodded and she sat down without a delay. I glanced at her. I though she had something to say, but the longer she kept quiet and kept kicking a small stone betwen her feet, the more sure I was that she didn't actually have anything to speak. That she had just came to sit with me with no reason. This made my chest warm and a small smile crept on my face.

The silence was nice, but it made feel slightly awkward. I wanted to say something, anything... "So, what's the deal with Titania and Blue-boy?" And the moment the words left my mouth a wanted to wince. Out of all things I could have said or asked! And the way I did it... Gods! Could my words have been any more blunt? Luckily Lucy didn't seem to be offended by my question. Maybe she didn't care or maybe she had just gotten used to the way I tall already.

"I don't know all the details, but... Jellal was someone very dear to Erza when she was young. He still is. Something happened to him when they were young and Jellal ended up doing some pretty bad things and even hurt Erza." Lucy answered me earnestly. "However, he seemed to have forgotten all that had happened... ...it's not fair..." The girl mumbled the last part to herself, probably referring to the man's arrest.

I didn't now what to say. Maybe there wasn't anything for me to say, but I still wanted to comfort her. I pondered my options for a second and then ended up wrapping my arm around her shoulders. Words weren't my strong suit - like had been proven many times - so instead I decided that straight action was more my style. I felt the blonde girl tense up a little as i pulled her against my side. Thankfully she relaxed soon after.

"Now I'm starting to feel even worse for Erza..." She mumbled and I couldn't help but turn my eyes at her. Lucy mate my gaze, then smiled little guilty. "While she's somewhere all alone, I'm here like this. With you." She explained with pink cheeks before averting her eyes.

I wasn't sure how to response to that. I understood where she was coming from, but it was something I couldn't do anything about. I wasn't enough of a nice guy to feel sorry for Erza and her criminal boyfriend. I solely strive for my own happiness, which at the moment included Lucy's happiness and my desire to be with her. I wasn't going to hide the fact we are together for someone else's sake-

My expression soured as I realized the fact that we weren't together yet. I glanced down at Lucy. Would it upset her if I told her right now? Furrowing my brows i decided that I would think of it later and act first. If she gets mad, I can always appease her. But who knows when my next chance to tell her would come? I took a quick peek toward the rest. Non of them seemed to be paying any attention to us, so it was very unlikely they would approach us either. I took a deep breath and turned my eyes back to her. "Lucy."

Her real name made the girl snap her eyes up toward me. I didn't waste anytime and opened my mouth to talk. However not a single sound made it past my vocal cords. 'The fuck?' I tried again, but my voice refused to come out. It was like it had gotten scared and hide from something. The longer I had my eyes locked with Lucy, the more sure I came of what this 'something' was. It was those damn chocolate drown orbs of her that stared me expectantly. They created pressure on me. What if she would be unsatisfied with it? What if I ended up saying it wrongly (was that even possible)? What if I had understood her confession wrongly?

When I felt cold sweat starting to break out, I covered Lucy's eyes with my hand before I knew it. "Hey!" The girl protested and tried to remove the hand.

"Just stay like that for a second..." Good, I found my voice. Lucy huffed little annoyed, mumbling that I could have asked her to turn away if her face was so horrible to watch, but non the less she stood still and obeyed my request. I wanted to give her a flick for thinking that I though her face was horrible. However, I restrained myself from doing so and instead concentrated to calm my heart down. 'Since when have you been such a pussy, Laxus?' I asked myself when my heart beat was nearly back to normal. Hiding her eyes definitely did the trick. I took a deep breath and spoke before something else about the girl would make me lose my composure. "I like you."

On the same second the words had exited my mouth Lucy tensed up and my heart beat skyrocketed. I didn't have time to determine what was the reason for it - nervousness, fear, happiness... - when the girl yanked my hand off her face with a force I didn't know she possessed. "You really mean that?!" I would have liked to retord back 'No, I just thought it was funny to say that'. But the twinkling brown eyes of hers made it impossible. And instead of my getting my heart calm down it only sped up when I saw the look she was giving me. With the brightest smile I have ever seen on her face she stared me tiny tears shining on the corner of her eyes. For that second I lost my voice again and had to retort to nodding. "You really, REALLY mean that?!" She grabbed the front of my shirt her happy expression turning more to the desperate side.

The sight made my chest swell with something I didn't have words for and it ended up unwinding as a laugh. I can't remember a time before or even after that when I had laughed so genuinely happy. "Yes. I really, really-" I was about to say 'mean it', but then something even better come to my mind. "-love you, Lucy." To this Lucy's face flamed up, turning completely red. She hide her petite nose and smile between her palms and started to blink her eyes rapidly as she tried to keep the tears at bay.

"Why on Earth you had to tell me right now?" She tried to scold me and I could guess she still was thinking her team mate, but the pure happiness that her voice dripped kinda ruined it.

"I will try to be more considerate next time, Blondie." I promised while taking a hold of her wrists. Slowly I moved her hands to the side and started to inch closer. Lucy's eyes widened as she noticed what I was aiming for, the red on her cheeks only brightening. 'God, I love that color.'

"Could you stop calling me Blondie already? You're blonde too..." She whispered, her voice growing weaker with every inch I got closer.

"Hmm... I will think about it." I whispered her back, but by 'think about it' I meant 'no'. Of course I would never stop calling her Blondie. She was my Blondie and that's it. I felt Lucy shiver a little as my breath touched her lips, still she didn't make any attempt to move away. Only little more...

"What are you doing?" Natsu's voice made both of us freeze up. And the half of a inch of air that prevented our lips from touching doubled its' length ten times in a millisecond when Lucy Jumped up screaming.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

I, still frozen in the position ready to kiss Lucy, turned my my head slowly toward the girl, my eye twisting. ' 'Absolutely nothing', my ass! We were definitely doing something!' But instead of directing my irritation at the blonde, I turned my eyes to Natsu. Even without watching my face at the moment the brat felt my murderous aura and instinctively jumped back, arms up. "Y-you wanna go?!" He shuttered probably still feeling the pain of my last punch in his head.

I let out an annoyed sigh and turned my attention away from the irritating flea. There definitely was some progress, big progress, in my and Lucy's relationship today, but I couldn't help but feel like her team mates would start to bother us even more from now on. I should probably nicely instruct them to keep their distance when I was with Lucy. 'And that Flame-brain... He better stop popping up into my girlfriend's apartment when ever he wants.'

So, how was it? Some more Laxus and Lucy moments here! Hehe! Finally we're getting some progress in their relationship.

Please review! I seriously want to know what you think about this chapter and the story!

See ya in next chapter!