"I have no idea why you're on a team with us." Natsu said with a cross of his arms. Lucy rolled her eyes and stuck close to Michelle. She had a feeling Natsu was going to explode and spew fire everywhere at any moment. She didn't notice the conflicted expression Michelle was showing at the moment. Lucy was totally oblivious.
Each team that was assigned was ordered to go and find a member of the Oracion Seis, information provided by Kana. Then, the drunkard promptly fell asleep. And now, Elfman, Lucy, Michelle, and Natsu were walking in the middle of a field. They were on their way to find a member who was currently near where they were headed. Lucy actually seemed okay with the team they were on, but Natsu was definitely protesting.
"I think it's man to fight alongside women!" Elfman cried, completely ignoring Natsu and his grumbling. Shaking her head, Lucy slipped next to Natsu.
"I don't know why you're so upset over this." Lucy sighed.
"Elfman is almost as bad as that ice stripper. We would of been fine if I was just the three of us." Natsu grumbled. He didn't like the idea of having to fight side by side with Elfman. Though the man was strong, he was also clumsy. Natsu didn't want to be doing his thing, and have Elfman's beast soul fall on him. It would be like Happy all over again. Natsu shivered at the thought.
"Oh quit your complaining. Elfman could be pretty useful in this situation. Someone with his strength will be a good thing. And combined with your overwhelming power, we'll be unstoppable!" Lucy smiled. She did her best to make Natsu feel better about the situation, but it didn't do much. He brooded silently while Lucy face palmed. She turned to make a joke to Michelle, but finally saw the serious expression Michelle was making. It worried the blonde.
Michelle felt Lucy's gaze and turned back to the blonde. As if she wasn't just making the expression that she did, she smiled kindly at Lucy. Startled, Lucy gave Michelle a wave and watched as the conservatively dressed woman sped ahead of her to talk to Elfman. Lucy gasped as a arm wrapped around her neck. She turned her gaze to the arm around her, then to the man who was attached to that arm.
"What's wrong Lucy?" Natsu asked worriedly. Lucy traveled her eyes to his shoulder, then to his eyes. Was he really that much taller than her? He towered over he so easily. Shaking away the random thought, she nodded.
"I'm not sure," she frowned. "Have you noticed something off about Michelle lately. I hope I didn't say anything to upset her." Natsu tilted his head in confusion at her words. He looked forward and stared at the back of Michelle's head. She seemed fine to him. But the way she smelled, it seemed off to him. But he noticed this the moment she first appeared in the guild.
"Maybe she ate something bad?" He suggested. Lucy scoffed.
"That's your answer for everything." Natsu shrugged with a grin. It made Lucy feel a bit better. While they continued to walk, she leaned onto Natsu's chest. But they quickly separated when they smelled something that was going to shoot down right between them. It was lightning. But not Laxus's lightning. It was the same kind from back at the underground Cathedral.
Elfman and Michelle turned back to them in distress. Not noticing the lightning that shot at them. "Duck you two!" Natsu yelled. Elfman pushed Michelle to the ground as he fell to the grass. Lighting shot right over their head and hit a nearby tree. Following, was a maniacal laughter. Looking up from their spot on the ground, the team gasped when they came face to face with that same bear.
He pulled a lever attached to his hip. And the slot machine planted on his stomach began to move. Appeared three cherries on his stomach. Lucy gulped. That laugh he had again sent shivers down her spine.
"Cherry bombs! Bombs away!" And just like he described, the air and the ground was being blown to smithereens. Lucy screamed as a bomb managed to explode from under her. Sending her yards back.
"Lucy!" Natsu screamed. He ran up to her and hauled her up to her feet. She held her ankle in pain. "Are you okay!? Dammit, where's Wendy when you need her!" Lucy shook her head and grunted in pain as she stood up.
"I'm okay, Natsu. Focus on distacting him and I'll find a way to catch him off guard." Natsu didn't like being a decoy, but for Lucy, he nodded. He ran back up to Elfman and lit his hand on fire.
"Alright you carnival reject, let's dance!" Natsu growled. He charged towards the bear and punched the stomach, thinking he could break the slot machine and stop him. But his flaming punch didn't stop him. The bear peered down at Natsu who was holding his fist in pain. Punching Natsu back into Elfman, the bear pulled the lever again.
"A fire mage! Alright, let's drown you out!" Just as the words left his mouth, raindrops appeared on the slot machine. And as promised, rain poured down rapidly. It put out Natsu's fire pretty quickly, frustrating him.
"Dammit! Juvia and Laxus should be here to fight this jerk right now. It's like Kana gave us the worst teams and the worst opponents possible!" Natsu groaned. Lucy perked up at that revelation. It was true. Not only were Elfman and Natsu on a team, but their opponent was the worst possible choice for those two. But Kana wouldn't do it on purpose...
Like reading her thoughts, the bear laughed. "We pushed your little card friend...in the right direction." Lucy gasped. No wonder she was so tired! Someone must of been using magic to mix up the teams to make them less compatible. She really hoped the others weren't having as much trouble as they were. Shaking her head, she glared up at the enemy. She needed to focus.
Peering down, she gasped when she saw a puddle of water form in front of her. She fumbled with her keys and took out Aquarius. Sticking the key in the puddle, she called out Aquarius. The angry mermaid appeared before Lucy. She seemed incredibly angry. Grabbing Lucy by the cheeks, she stretched the poor blonde's skin.
"How many times have I told you not to summon me from dirty muddy puddles. It's disrespectful you stupid bimbo!" Aquarius screamed. Lucy whined as she rubbed her sore cheeks.
"We don't have time for this. You need to short circuit that stupid bear! Flush him away!" Aquarius growled and grabbed her urn. Turning to the very thing Lucy was talking about, she glared dangerously at the thing. The bear flinched back and quickly thought of a way to trap the mermaid. Iron walls suddenly surrounded Aquarius, Natsu, and Elfman. Lucy gasped as the iron walls trapped her friends.
Dammit, it should of been Gajeel and Juvia instead! She groaned as she heard the three bickering in the small cage. "I can't believe I let that stupid bimbo drag me into this mess! I'll just have to knock down these weak walls." The spirit used her water to hit one of the walls dead on. But instead of knocking down the wall, the water just built up in the cage. Natsu screamed at her to stop or they would drown. Elfman even agreeing with him.
Aquarius, finally noticing that they were actually trapped, disappeared back into the spirit world. Lucy sighed and rubbed her face. "How is it that she's one of my strongest, but is almost always useless." Her muttering was quickly cut off when lighting hit the iron walls. That wasn't good. Elfman and Natsu were trapped, which meant the concentrated area was being electrocuted to bits. Lucy watched in horror as the walls finally lowered to reveal two crispy mages.
"You guys!" Lucy screamed. She limped over to them and bent down on her knees. She felt a pulse of electricity shoot up her body when she attempted to touch Natsu's hair. He and Elfman laid there in a daze.
"Man, is this what Laxus feels like twenty four seven? No wonder he's always so grumpy..." Natsu moaned in pain as another wave of electricity shot through his body.
"This is so not manly." Elfman groaned pathetically. Lucy furrowed her eyes in anger as she stood up and glared up at the bear who was still laughing. Not a scratch was on him. She felt her body engulf in her magic power. She sucked in a breath and directed it towards the bear.
"Celestial dragon roar!" The attack was powerful. The frustration she felt at the moment all seeped out into that attack. The bear dodged it. Lucy then realized something. That bear was only good at dodging and attacking with long range attacks. She remembered how he didn't move when Natsu attempted to punch him. Well, if she can't get his slot machine, she can at least try for the face.
Her hand lit up in her celestial magic. She jumped up and went to punch the bear in the face. Only for Michelle to stand right in her way. Lucy gasped and lost her balance, falling backwards and not landing one hit on him. Lucy stood up and looked at Michelle with disbelief.
Did Michelle...just protect that guy?
"Don't big sister." Michelle said. That didn't even sound like Michelle's voice. It was empty and uncaring. Lucy shivered.
"What are you saying Michelle. He just barbecued our friends! Get out of the way!" Lucy pleaded desperately. But Michelle didn't move. Her hand were still in the air, protecting the enemy. Lucy couldn't belive what she was seeing. There has to be a reasonable explanation for this.
The bear grinned. "Michelle. Why don't you really tell your so called friends who you really are. This charade has gone on long enough."
"Hey! What is he talking about Michelle!? What charade!?" Tears filled Michelle's eyes as light surrounded her body. Lucy couldn't wipe the shocked look off her face the entire time. What did this mean. Was everything they went through...all an act? Once the light dissipated, Michelle was still there but...she was different.
She wore a green top and skirt, a rose eyepatch over her right eye. And her hair seemed to defy gravity itself, sticking up in the air unlike her original hairdo. She looked like a totally different person. She held what looked to be a shield in her hand. Lucy gasped as the shield flew from her hand like a yo-yo and went right passed her. Instead, hitting Natsu in the stomach.
Natsu doubled over and held his gut. "Natsu!" Lucy screamed, running up to check on him. But the weapon Michelle held kept her away from Natsu. Lucy felt tears roll down her face as she helplessly stared at Michlle.
"I know you're upset, big sister. But I'm doing this for you. We'll get to be together again, like when we were kids." Michelle tried to explain.
"Who are you!" Lucy cried. "I'm sorry but I don't remember a Michelle Lobster at all! I was always alone, and i never saw children my age! So who are you!" Lucy screamed in anger.
"This is Imitatia. She posed as an old friend of yours to infiltrate your guild and gain your trust." A new voice chuckled. Lucy sniffled and looked up to see a familiar face. It was Midnight! He smirked down at Lucy.
"Why...why did you do that! I treated you like family. I thought you were my family!" Lucy screamed. Imitatia sat there, stone faced as Lucy sobbed.
"She did that so you would be in this exact spot," Midnight laughed. "You see, Lucy Heartfilia, we need you."