Chapter 7.5: Monopoly
"We're here," Levy shouted as they entered the room. To Lucy's surprise, Erza and Wendy had already set up the board.
"Choose a spot girls. We're just waiting on the others." Erza sang happily. She loved winning and beating her opponents in the the ground as they begged for mercy. Poor Lucy.
"Others?" Lucy questioned.
Right on que, the door burst open, showing Natsu and Gray.
"Now I'm all fired up!" He roared while Gray just chuckled.
Natsu plopped down right next to Lucy and slammed a metal dragon piece (Pretend it's like a monopoly playing piece) on the Go! space, grabbing the stack of fake money Erza had already set up. Lucy looked down and chose the little dog. It was rather misshapen after Natsu had accidentally burnt it once, but Levy forced Gray and another runner named Gajeel to fix it up the best they could. Gajeel was their resident blacksmith.
"I'll name him Plue!" She declared, causing Natsu to stare at her for a few seconds. He quickly looked away, but Levy and Wendy had noticed. Both knew that he was complete trash for Rave Master and with one look at each other, they had made a very important decision.
Erza decided to state the rules of the game since Lucy was new.
"One: The Free Parking space will be given the privilege of awarding money to those who and there. This money is comprised of all the money that comes from taxes and payments demanded by these cards and different spaces. It will be kept in the middle of the board.
"Two: Negotiations may only take place on the turn of the person who is initiating them.
"Three: A person is out when they are bankrupt and have no means to pay rent, mortgage, etc. Once a player is out, their properties go back on the market for double their previous price and the bank will pay the unpaid player.
"Four: Three doubles in a row results in jail. As does any form of cheating I catch during the game. I'm looking at you Natsu.
"Five: Once all the properties in one set are owned, the rent is doubled until it is upgraded. Well then! Let's begin."
Everyone grinned like maniacs as they began the game. That was the power of Fairy Tail, Lucy thought. Here, even with all the shit and chaos in the world, they can still smile and have fun.
At the beginning, everyone raced to buy properties, but what most did not know was that Lucy was a master of monopoly. Even though she hadn't known any of these people, save Wendy, for very long, she could read what they would do.
Natsu, Gray, and Erza would rush to the expensive properties while Wendy and Levy were most likely going to go for the cheaper ones.
So, Lucy settled with the best place in monopoly: The middle.
While they weren't that cheap, they didn't blow her bank like the really expensive ones and they did have the boost that the others didn't have. The best part was that Natsu, Gray and Erza needed to pass through her properties to get to theirs and Wendy and Levy needed to go that way to collect their go! money.
How did Lucy become so good at monopoly? Easy. Her father was one of the world's largest businessmen and he had taught Lucy everything she needed to know. His lessons had ranged from how to read people to how to completely take over an empire.
30 minutes into the game, Levy and Gray had gone bankrupt and Lucy had managed to snag Levy's properties, sensing that it was not the right time to venture into the expensive properties.
"How could you Lu-chan?!" Levy cried as Lucy smiled maliciously.
"Damn it Erza!" Gray grumbled. Erza smiled as she politely told him to put his clothes back on, much to Lucy's shock. Natsu snickered and sent her a knowing look.
Natsu and Erza currently split one side of the board, Natsu having both blue spots and Erza owning the green.
Wendy owned the brown and light blue spots that followed the Starting square.
Lucy owned the rest, but she had only actually bought half of it. The rest came from a reluctant Gray, Erza and Natsu who had over overspent and couldn't pay rent.
She didn't need to upgrade because she owned so much. Natsu kept on landing on her red spaces after trying to hit the Free Parking due to the fact that Lucy and Wendy were lucky enough to always skip his properties. Erza, however, was very unlucky. Yet, his meager income was not enough to support his outrageous spending totals.
Lucy had thought Wendy would leave first, but it was surprisingly Erza. Having no luck in dodging any properties, she forfeited the game, leaving her properties up for grabs.
Each remaining player was able to snatch one of those properties as Erza left ot visit her friend Jellal whom Lucy had never heard of until Erza announced it. Honestly she suspected they were in a relationship based upon the snickers coming from the rest of the group.
Wendy had the least money and Natsu wasn't much better off. Lucy had a stack of 500$ bills and a rather large stack of 100$ bills with some change on the side. She made sure she always had at least 85$ in change.
Unfortunately, Natsu happened to pick up that damned card that forced a player to pay the owner of one the utilities twice of what was previously owed. He had rolled a 12, forcing him to pay 240 instead of 120. He now only had a few 5s and 10s.
Wendy had scored the Free Parking money that had collected over the duration of the game, bringing her closer to Lucy's wealth. Natsu grumbled a little about how his sister was cheating, but was shut up by the glare Wendy and Lucy gave him.
On his next turn, he landed on a tax, causing him to go bankrupt. He was out.
Wendy and Lucy battled to buy the remaining properties. Or so Wendy thought. Lucy had formed a plan in a few minutes and it depended on Wendy buying the last 3 properties (blues and one green).
Wendy was shocked to see her money had disappeared while buying the remaining properties. When Erza had said double the previous price, she meant it. Since the Green space had been sold twice, it became the most expensive, selling at a whopping $1320 (320 x2= 660 which was Natsu's price. 660 x 2 = 1320.) The blues were $800 and $700.
Her so-called luck had ran out as she landed on a seemingly small property. The brown ones were the cheapest right? She'd only have to spend like $50 and be able to save her remaining 250, right? WRONG! Lucy had spent the time applying upgrades to all her properties. Each had been decorated with the brownstone, which was what one got after paying for 4 houses. It was a risky move, yes, but it was worth it.
"But Lucy!" Wendy cried as she was forced to hand over her 300 dollars to this monster. She still owed Lucy 300 dollars more, but Wendy knew that it was time to give up. Much hooting and hollering could be heard inside that classroom-turned-bedroom.
Erza had returned with Jellal to watch the final two players go at each other. Erza sulked a little before finally congratulating Lucy on her win.
"This was definitely a game to remember," Erza stated. "Never has anyone won with just 1 dollar."
That's right. All the upgrading had drained Lucy of her money until she was left with one dollar. Enough to keep her in the game, but most definitely still a risky move.
Natsu gave her a big smile before leaving with Gray to get ready for the next day. They had to leave early in the morning for a raid.
Jellal decided to escort the two to make sure they didn't attack anyone after hearing what Natsu and Lucy had done to the two perverts.
Levy was invited to stay the night and the girls stayed up late talking to each other. Lucy hadn't thought she would ever get to do this. While she was grateful to her dad for all he had taught her (which really helped in scenarios like Monopoly), she still resented the fact that she had been very lonely for the majority of her life. The only other person she had ever truly confessed her feelings to was Michelle. That had been a long time ago though.
Lucy had tuned out of the conversation when she submerged into her own thoughts.
"I think NaLu would be a better ship name than LuNa!" Wendy exclaimed. "Right Lucy?"
"Yeah yeah." She mumbled, still lost in thought.
"Wait… Na...Lu? Who are we shipping?" Lucy asked, confused.
"Silly!" Levy giggled.
"You and Natsu of course!" Erza triumphed.
Lucy gradually turned a darker shade of red.
"WHAT?!" She screamed. "No way! Never! My god I have standards you know!"
The girls just giggled at Lucy's reaction.
Levy fake whispered to Erza, "That's the sort of reaction someone has when they do like a person!"
Wendy joined in on the fun. "Awww! Look at the way Lucy is blushing!"
Lucy growled. "Are you kidding me? The first time we met, he tried to friggin' KILL me. KILL ME Erza. And when he failed, he kidnapped me and brought me here."
"Yeah… but 'here' is where you met us and will eventually marry Natsu, soooo." Wendy sang.
"That's it. I give up. I DO NOT like Natsu in that way, and I most likely never will. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
After Lucy fell asleep, the girl cooked up some plans on how to get the two together.
(1651)
Chapter 8: Will I make it out alive?
Erza roughly shook Lucy awake.
"Lucy. Wake up! Master has requested you and Wendy to meet him at Grandeeney's room in 5 minutes. He said to dress for combat."
Lucy bolted up and jumped out of bed to see Wendy already changing into sweatpants and a t-shirt with a blue dragon it.
Lucy decided on her only pair of cargo pants with a slightly dirty tank top.
"Wow Lu-chan. You look badass." Levy said sleepily, having woken up to the commotion. But, what really caught Levy's eye was Erza.
"Is that a full suit of armor?" She cried, a little more awake.
Erza ignored her and rushed the two girls out the door with Wendy hopping on one foot to tie the laces of her sneaker and Lucy hastily putting her hair up into a ponytail, barely having time to grab all her weapons. Damn, she really missed that shotgun-ax.
When they reached the appointing meeting point, Lucy and Wendy were surprised to see Natsu and Gray waiting with Master and Grandeeney.
Natsu blushed a little at the sight of Lucy while Gray sniggered. Natsu elbowed him.
Makarov was very frank and blunt due to the lack of time.
"Lucy. Have Grandeeney check your wounds." he said.
Lucy nodded and began to walk into the room when she saw Makarov's look. He wanted it to be done here. Sighing, she lifted her tank top up to expose the bandage as Natsu and Gray turned around out of respect. Erza gave Makarov a look before he complied too.
"I thought I said no exercise." Grandeeney scolded.
"Well… I couldn't just wait around…" Lucy said sheepishly.
"Hmph. I guess she's okay. The rib has healed, no thanks to my son, but I'm a little worried about the cut on your arm." Grandeeney said. She handed Lucy a leather gauntlet as Lucy lowered her shirt.
"Wear this around your wound. It'll help protect you from hotheads with knives." She said, once again, subtly attacking her son.
"Oi!" He shouted.
Makarov didn't waste another second.
"Due to the fact that we have had some major changes in the number of runners, I've had to switch up some of the teams. Since Wendy is new to this and Lucy isn't quite familiar with the rules around here, I am considerably happy that Natsu volunteered himself and Gray to help out Lucy."
"Hold up Gramps." Natsu interrupted. "Wendy volunteered?" He was shocked.
"Yes, now if I co-"
"And you're planning on sending her into the field with no prior training in anything but some basics in raiding and knife throwing? The hell!? Are you trying to kill her or something?" Natsu shouted, outraged. (Lucy bit her tongue to refrain from saying: Isn't that what you did?)
"No. Luckily enough, Lucy took the liberty in training Wendy after she saved her." Makarov explained.
"WHAT?!" He roared.
"THAT'S ENOUGH INTERRUPTIONS FROM YOU NATSU! SHUT UP AND LET ME FINISH!" Makarov yelled right back, effectively quieting the hothead.
"As I was saying… From what I've heard, both Lucy and Wendy are capable enough and I already know you three five of you will form an S-Class team."
An S-Class team was an elite team whose orders came directly from Makarov himself. They did all sorts of jobs, from raiding to hunting to training. It was a rare honor. The only other S-Class teams were the Thunder Legion and the Beast Squad, out of which only one still remains. The Thunder Legion was comprised of Laxus Dreyar, Evergreen, Bixlow, and Freed. The Beast Squad was comprised of the Strauss siblings. They disbanded after Lisanna was turned.
It was safe to say that the five were speechless.
"As for the team leader, I will decide later after I've seen you work together on a mission. Said mission will take place today. Unfortunately, Cana Alberona has gone missing after collecting water. It is up to you five to find her and bring her back safely."
"But, master? How will you be able to tell who is team leader?" Gray asked.
"I have my ways."
They left it at that as Erza and Gray led the group to the gate so Natsu and Lucy could get out their cars. While the black Jeep Wrangler had originally been left to Levy as per Jet and Droys wishes, Levy knew better than to keep it. She had no use for it since she was the head of maintenance, so she gifted it to Lucy as a thank-you gift. Lucy was reluctant to accept it since Levy had already done so much for her, but Levy convinced her.
Natsu wanted to talk to Lucy and let Gray drive, despite Erza's protests as he climbed into Lucy's car with Wendy in tow. He chose to ignore the looks Gray was sending him. So what if Lucy was his typ- No. He couldn't afford any distractions at the moment.
Lucy could sense what he wanted to talk about.
"I trained her because she needed it." Lucy said after a few seconds of awkward silence.
"How di-"
"Please. You're too readable." Lucy said. Natsu chose to ignore that comment.
"What gives you the right to decide if she needs it, no offense." He said, not wanting to get into another fight.
"None taken. It's simple. Without the little training she had, Wendy would have died that day. In today's world, you need to know how to defend yourself and keep zombies away. It's simply foolish to try and protect her innocence when she's seen the world as it is." Lucy said.
Natsu nodded. "And how did you teach her?" He asked. "You must be a good teacher if Wendy's being put into a S-Class team without any experience as a regular runner."
"I taught her the way I learned to fight." Lucy knew he would throw a fit.
"And that is…" He prompted her. Lucy collected her nerves.
"I told her a few tips for the basic things like holding a knife or gun. How to shoot, best ways to stab. In today's world, the best way to learn is to learn on the job."
Natsu froze.
"So I would find a house with 1-2 zombies and have her find her own method of fighting."
"So you just left her there to die?" He asked.
"Of course not! If things got too hairy, I was always ready to jump in and protect her."
"So you sent her into a death trap and I'm supposed to feel better about it because you were watching her? What if you weren't fast enough or you got hurt? How would that benefit Wendy then? How wou-"
"Natsu. Relax. Had it not been for Lucy teaching me the way she did, I would still be stuck at base feeling useless. Or worse: dead and turned. I wouldn't understand how adaptable you need to be or how fast or even how clever and in the end, it's no different than how anyone else learned except for the fact that I had someone who knew what they were doing to help me."
As hard as Natsu tried, he couldn't find a strong counter arguement and just grunted.
"We're here." Lucy said softly. Makarov had told them that the last place Cana had been reportedly seen was in a supermarket in a supposedly cleared sector.
Gray and Erza pulled up shortly after and Erza opened her window, prompting Lucy to do the same.
"Any idea on what to do next?" Lucy asked.
"I'd say we should split up. Gray and I will check out the supermarket while you three check out the houses that are closest."
They all agreed and went along with the plan.
"Lucy? Which house first?" Wendy asked and Natsu felt a little offended. Why hadn't his little sister turned to him first for advice?
"Hmmm. Not sure… Who's Cana?"
"She's that girl who groped you a couple of night ago."
Natsu sweatdropped. What kinda relationship did they have? Was Lucy a mega pervert?
"She was drunk, right?" Lucy inquired.
Wendy nodded.
"Natsu. From what I heard, you have the best sense of smell and hearing. Can you smell any alcohol?"
Natsu sniffed the air. He walked around the store and he was pretty sure Gray flipped him off after seeing him through a window, but he didn't care.
Suddenly, he stopped.
"I can smell something. It sure does smell like alcohol." He said. "Why'd you wanna know?"
"I'm going on a limb here when I propose the idea that Cana is an alcoholic."
"You're totally correct." Wendy said.
Natsu understood where she was going.
"So say Cana found some wine yesterday…" Lucy continued.
"She probably drank it and passed out drunk. Hell. She's probably still passed out drunk with the way she drinks." Natsu finished.
Lucy smiled.
"Alright then. Let's go follow your nose." Lucy said.
Wendy stared at the two in amazement. They really were made for each other.
Natsu led the girls two houses over. They worked as a team to make sure they got any zombies before the zombie got them.
Luckily there were no zombies.
"Ughhh!" Natsu groaned. "This is so boring."
Lucy chuckled as she and Wendy said in unison, "Boring is Better."
Natsu shot them a side glance. "Well aren't you two little know-it-all sages."
"Baka!" Lucy cried. "I am not old!"
"The fact that that is the part you took away." Natsu muttered. "So vain."
"LUCY KICK!" She yelled as she kicked Natsu.
"Ow! Damn it Luce, we're trying to be quiet like Ninjas, not load oafs." Natsu shouted.
Wendy sweatdropped at the hypocrisy of the statement.
"Uh, guys? Aren't we here for a reason?" She reminded them.
Natsu froze and Lucy blushed a bit. Back on business, they scoured each room in the house.
"Gahhh! I don't get it!" Natsu moaned. "I can actually smell the alcohol in the air, but Cana isn't there. It's like a game of cat and mouse."
Lucy's brows furrowed. "Like a…"
"Trail!" They exclaimed simultaneously. They looked at each other for a few seconds before blushing a little as they tried to get out of the awkward situation.
"Aren't trails supposed to be followed?" Wendy asked, pointing out the obvious. This was getting old. Fast.
Natsu led the girls once again throughout the house, searching room after room until they had made it to the basement.
"She better be here." Natsu muttered.
They made their way down the creaky, old stairs. Their heartbeats beat in a synchronized pattern, matching the pace of their steps. Once they had made it the bottom, Natsu made Lucy turn her headlight on. What they saw next scarred them for a considerable amount of time.
(1879)
Cliffhanger, or not? Also... I'm pretty sure the next chapter classifies as a poorly written crack chapter (I already wrote it) so be prepared. So, as a celebration of 1 month since I first posted this story, I have managed to put together two chapters. YAY!
On with the reviews:
Ushndeshi: Ya know, I never thought about that, but I think your right! It does resemble a little of the second episode. As to the second comment, friends is just the begining! I can picture love, hurt, angst, worry, and comedy in the future!
Kalessia04: Well, cookies are awesome and I am now craving cookies... You said that Natsu should not be bothered and I find that interesting. On one hand, you are right, but on the other hand, Lucy (in a way) stripped Wendy of her innocence, and one of the big things going for Natsu is his overprotectiveness of Wendy. The more Wendy is qualified to battle, the more chance she's gonna get hurt, so thats my main reasoning. Your thoughts?
Guest?: great!
TeamSophie909: Thanks! Honestly, I don't think Levy will play that big of a role once the actual plot starts, but she definitely is a key player is the Matchmaker Squad!