CHAPTER 24

The day of the wedding dawned to a flurry of activity at the crack of noon. In the Redfox household Gajeel was shouting for Natsu to get his lazy scales out of bed already while he rushed around getting ready and looking vaguely nauseous.

Gray and Alzack watched the frantic vampire flying around as Natsu emerged from his late night feeding coma to shuffle into the kitchen.

"He forget he's getting married at sunset or something?" The dragon yawned sleepily into his breakfast, "It's barely noon man."

"Late night Pyro?" Gray smirked from where he was looking considerably more awake and put together.

"Shut up." Natsu grumbled, "I was up late feeding alright?"

Gray snorted in amusement, finding Natsu's new need to feed on sex hilarious, "At least you had a good venue for it."

He smirked at Natsu's baleful glare just as Gajeel came back out, his tie hanging around his neck, "What're you doing sittin' around Salamander?"

Natsu rolled his eyes, "Gajeel, you're not getting married for like six more hours at least. Why're you in such a rush?"

Gajeel shot him a glare, "Because it ain't just a case of show up and get married Salamander. Which you'd know if you'd paid any attention. Levy's spending the day with the women getting ready so it's on us to make sure everything's set up and ready to go when they arrive."

"Relax Gajeel." Alzack smiled, "We'll make sure it all goes well. No one's due to be there for at least another couple hours. I'd say we've got time to let Natsu wake up and get dressed."

He held up his hand as Gajeel opened his mouth to protest, "If it'll make you feel better I'll call around and make sure the caterers and everyone else are still a go."

That finally settled the vampire and he nodded as he settled onto a stool to tie his tie. Something Natsu was entirely grateful for since after the shenanigans at the bachelor party the night before his brain was refusing to function even a little.

He hoped Lucy was having a more relaxed time than he was.

However, that hope was immediately dashed as Gray's cell phone went off. The hunter frowned for a moment before reaching into his breast pocket to answer, "Fullbuster here."

"Gray!" Lucy's slightly wild sounding voice exclaimed, "Thank the spirits... we have a slight emergency. Can you call the tailor and get him out to the spa right away? We had an accidental dress malfunction and Erza's about to start drawing swords if Levy gets any more upset."

"Dress malfunction?" Gray repeated aloud, cringing when Natsu waved his hands to make him keep his voice down before Gajeel overheard, "uh right. I'm on it!"

"Thanks Gray, you're a life saver," Lucy's voice was heavy with relief, "I'll see you and Natsu soon— Erza, wait don't do that you're gonna-!"

The phone disconnected with an ominous click. Gray and Natsu stared at one another blankly, their eyebrows raised in shock before together they turned away to field the rest of the day.

Natsu lit the stove top, scooping up a bit of flames into his palm and downing it at once.

"What's going on," Gajeel growled, eyes narrowing with aggression, Natsu grabbed the vampire by the shoulders and steered him off the stool.

"Don't worry your metal studs about it Gajeel!" He said cheerfully, "just get dressed, choke yourself out with that tie and get ready for the best day of your life."

"I'll even make sure Gray keeps his pants on today!"

Gajeel looked suspicious and Gray offended, but at the assurance that they had everything in hand, he allowed himself to be ushered away.

Natsu grinned up until he slammed the door shut behind Gajeel and turned towards Gray, "who is Erza going to kill?" He hissed frantically.

"I don't know you big eavesdropper!" Gray whispered back, "let me call the tailor so no one gets murdered by an Amazon."

"You're joking right?" Natsu asked, earning himself a flat look from Gray which clearly said 'does-it-look-like-I'm-kidding?'

Natsu groaned and shook his head as Gray punched in the numbers on his phone. He motioned to his friend that he was going to get dressed, hurrying off when Gray nodded so he could stuff himself into one of the fancy suits Gajeel was going to make him wear.

It did an excellent job of covering up all his tattoos, especially the ones that were slowly beginning to crawl over his skin as they got larger. It didn't mean he had to like wearing the suit though, it was truly something terrible.

He got dressed quickly and managed to tame his hair into something vaguely respectable, he emerged from his room to find that Gray was arguing on the phone with the tailor.

"What do you mean you can't get there in time? The wedding is today!" Gray hissed, "Well lady, if you don't do it, Hera and all of her Amazonian buddies are going to apparently knock down the doors of he— hello? Hello?"

"They hung up on you?" Natsu asked dryly as Gray threw his phone in frustration and with a scowl on his face.

"I can't see why? Damn it!" Gray snarled.

"Yeah, its a mystery. The thing about the Amazons bursting open the door to hell may not have sold it in our favor," Natsu drawled. He punched his fists together and a flicker of flame burst from his mouth, "let's go find another one and drag them there!"

"Sounds aggressive, but I don't know what else we can do," Gray sighed in defeat as Natsu grabbed the the house keys, "Gajeel we'll be back soon!" He shouted.

They ducked out of the house, not waiting for the murderous response from their resident vampire before heading out.

-::-

By the time the two men arrived at the spa the ladies had retreated to for a day of relaxation before the wedding they were looking more than a little bedraggled themselves. Finding a tailor on the fly had proven considerably more difficult than they'd expected until finally they'd unearthed a young seamstress who had been willing to be dragged halfway across town on a moment's notice to help a dress problem.

She smiled charmingly as the red eyed Levy, murderous looking Erza, and relieved Lucy had looked up.

"You found someone!" Lucy exclaimed in relief and held her hand out to the seamstress, "Lucy Heartfilia. Thank you so much for coming on short notice!"

"Not a problem!" The seamstress replied cheerfully, "So what happened?"

Lucy grimaced as she let them over to Levy's wedding dress and showed where a strap had come unraveled at the seam, "The thread snagged on my bracelet when I took it out of the bag and by the time I realized what had happened the whole thing had come undone."

"Shoddy work." The seamstress tutted, "Was this a custom gown?"

"It was." Levy replied sadly, "Can you fix it?"

"Easily." The woman assured her with a smile, "It looks like whoever did this did a lousy job of closing the seam tightly, but that can be fixed." She hesitated, "I will need to take it back to my shop though. I don't have the equipment for this kind of patch job on hand."

"How long do you think?" Levy asked anxiously and was treated to a calm smile.

"An hour tops." She assured the worried bride-to-be, "I have no pressing projects, and the boys tell me you're getting married on the beach at sunset?"

There were nods all around and the woman nodded as she carefully tucked the garment back into the bag, "Not to worry then. Go ahead and relax. I'll make sure you look perfect for your groom." She glanced at Gray, "Can you give me a ride back to my shop?"

"Sure thing." Gray replied gratefully, "How much will we owe you for this?"

She grinned impishly and held out a card, "Promise me that as long as you like the quality of my work you'll spread the word?" She asked, "That's better than any money for something like this!"

"That's a deal!" Levy exclaimed gratefully, "Thank you!"

Lucy breathed out a sigh of relief as Gray escorted the woman and the dress back out, "There." She smiled at Levy, "Crisis averted. We can relax now."

Levy smiled and nodded, "I'm sorry for the meltdown there..."

"No big deal!" Lucy said happily, "Just finish getting ready Alright?"

Levy nodded and sheepishly let herself be lead off by Erza to get her final preparations done. She wasn't going to pamper herself after all without a little bit of help.

Natsu grinned and leaned against one of the nearby counters, "I see you're acting like a little general, huh Luce?"

She stuck her tongue out at him and blew him a raspberry, "someone has to keep the train on its tracks."

"And you sure that person it you?" His grin turned absolutely wicked at that and Lucy let loose a dramatic sounding gasp.

"You doubt me?" She whispered and stuck her hands on her hips.

"Never," Natsu laughed at her offended glare and leaned into her space, "but it's like letting the inmates run the prison."

"Cute."

Natsu flashed her a devastating wink, and Lucy almost flushed at that.

"You look nice Natsu," Lucy commented on his suit and the tie he was wearing crooked. She reached over to him, tugging on the fabric and smoothing it down against his chest, "but that's better."

Natsu's eyes flashed to her, a hint of darkness blowing through them as her hands ran down his chest. Lucy blinked at his expression, the flicker of something in his heady gaze.

At least until he blinked and it cleared at once, a crooked grin flashing over his face.

"Thanks! You look pretty weird in that poofy dress, but kind of nice too," he said cheerfully.

Lucy flicked his nose and he cringed back, "why don't you get a taxi back Natsu. Gajeel is probably going out of his mind with worry."

"Probably," Natsu admitted and spun a light finger around one of Lucy's golden locks that had escaped her pinned updo.

"Catch you later Luce," he purred to her and walked out, deciding to forgo the taxi for the time being.

Lucy watched him go for a moment, wondering idly just when his shoulders had gotten broader, before shaking herself out of it with a roll of her eyes. She had other things to worry about.

As she turned to head back into the interior of the spa she never noticed the burning eyes watching her from the garden.

-::-

In the end it was worth it.

The dress emergency had only been the first of many. The caterers had gotten the wrong time, the DJ had gotten lost, and the guests had started arriving before the chairs had even been set up.

But in the end it was worth it.

The guests had been charmed with getting to enjoy the ocean view while sipping cocktails from the caterers who had only just arrived. The DJ had set the mood with soft music while the ocean itself had provided the ambience. And once the final touches had been put in place the backdrop couldn't have been more stunning if they'd tried.

Levy had married her vampire to a magnificent sunset with their family and friends around them to delighted applause. Even Master Bob had managed to come out for the occasion, though he'd spent most of the ceremony sniffling into a handkerchief. No one had commented though. Not even the few political guests in the form of the other vampire elders.

Gajeel had made it extremely clear what would happen if anyone attacked a guest, and no one had been willing to push their luck within his territory.

Which made everything they'd gone through that day well worth the trouble in Lucy's opinion.

She smiled as she linked arms with Gray and ignored the entirely creepy sensation of the various elders eyeing her warily. Instead she lifted her chin and let him lead her to the pavilion that had been set up for the reception.

They were followed by Erza, who was leading a rather terrified looking Natsu behind her. The reception was altogether a fun affair, With Jet and Droy wrapped up in one another's arms and weeping loudly over Levy's big day.

Gajeel and Levy had their first dance, and even Gray got a little misty eyed over the romance even as Lucy teased him for trying to keep it together.

After that was the dinner and then dancing. Gajeel for his purpose looked wholly relieved the ordeal was all over and couldn't be made to budge from Levy's side.

Gray and Lucy had several dances together before a lonely Erza gave them both puppy eyes in an effort to steal a dance from Gray. Lucy of course gladly gave her the shot, wondering why Natsu wasn't dancing with Erza.

An answer that was quickly given when Gray shot her a betrayed look and Erza swept him up in the most back breaking display of violence Lucy had ever seen.

"She calls that dancing," Natsu whispered, and Lucy looked down to see her demon hiding under a tablecloth, having ducked out of Erza's sight.

"Are you hiding from Erza?" Lucy asked with an accusatory smile.

"No!" Natsu denied, albeit too quickly. Lucy raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him and his shoulders hunched, "...yes."

Laughing at his plight, Lucy held a hand out to him and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, "Come on Natsu. Erza ran off with my partner, want to dance?"

Natsu flashed her a suspicious glare, as of expecting she was hiding Erza under the hem of her gown.

Reluctantly, and only because he held a great deal of trust in Lucy did he reach up and let her pull him from the safety of the tablecloth.

Natsu slid into position when Lucy dropped a delicate hand on his shoulder and slid her hand on his.

Natsu blinked at the sensation, wondering when Lucy had gotten so... small?

He set a warm hand on the curve of her waist, his heart fluttering when he pulled her in closer to him. They began to sway, moving gently on the floor.

Lucy grinned at Natsu's expression torn with extreme concentration as he attempted not to trample on her feet. He might have been a demon, but there were certain things he was not particularly gifted at.

She took a moment to watch him in his distraction. He had certainly changed a little, and Lucy was uncertain how much he was going to change in the years they would be apart for.

His eyes lit up with glee as he realized he got the steps right and Lucy felt her concerns fade away. No matter how much time spent apart, he was going to be Natsu.

And she would always be able to rely on him.

He froze suddenly, his hand tightening against her waist in a way that was almost distracting. But his attention wasn't on her. Instead his gaze was focused beyond the beach and out at sea.

"Natsu?" She asked.

"Something's coming," he growled quiet. His hands dropped down off Lucy, his ears straining against the noise of the DJ. There was something that wasn't right, a noise that fell between the beats of song.

"We have to tell Gajeel," Natsu said insistently and grabbed Lucy's wrist as he fought his way towards Gajeel.

"What, Natsu are you sure?" Lucy asked him.

Natsu just nodded, "my senses are... sharper than before. I can't explain it, but Lucy trust me."

"Always." She replied instantly, her lighthearted expression vanishing as she checked her keys. Her heart pounded with adrenaline as she and Natsu wove their way quickly through the crowd to where Gajeel and Levy were laughing with Mirajane and Master Bob.

"Hey!" Levy greeted as she caught sight of them, "I was starting to think you'd never leave the dance floor!" She frowned slightly at their serious expressions, "Is something wrong?"

"Something's coming in from the beach." Natsu growled lowly, "More than one of them. I'm not sure what. It's too dark out there to see, but we're definitely about to get gate crashers."

"Human?" Gajeel asked lowly, his expression darkening at the thought of people disrupting his wedding feast.

"Some of 'em at least." Natsu confirmed.

"Do you have reason to suspect it could be anything other than local kids causing mischief?" Bob asked tensely.

"Plenty." Gajeel grumbled, "But there ain't been a whisper about trouble yet."

"Yet being the operative term." Mirajane frowned, "Do you want someone to investigate?"

Gajeel opened his mouth to respond when a bubble of water suddenly encircled Lucy, surprising her and jerking her back.

"Attack!" Gajeel bellowed furiously, causing all their guests to jump as Lucy was dragged towards the far end of the pavilion despite her struggles against the water bubble. The path cleared to reveal a sad looking demoness with blue hair and several dark shapes around her.

"We are not here to attack." She intoned emotionlessly, "We have no quarrel with anyone here. We were merely sent to retrieve Lucy Heartfilia."

"Lucy Heartfilia's part of my coven." Gajeel snarled, his fangs elongating, "And my goddaughter. You're not taking her anywhere."

The demoness regarded the elder dispassionately, not seeming to care about the rage being shown. Clouds were rolling in and a showering rain began, dimming the lights and putting out the candles around them.

"Then that is most unfortunate, because I must insist she comes with us," The woman said calmly.

She turned to leave, bringing the suffocating Lucy with her in her bubble of water, not seeming to notice her struggles as she headed towards the ocean and he dark shadows of her companions filled the space between her and them.

She stopped short, blinking as she was suddenly unable to move by a thick coating of ice trapping her feet and ankles to the platform.

From across the dance floor, Gray was crouched down with his hands slammed flat against the floor and a stream of demonic ice trapping her in his hold.

"You aren't taking Lucy anywhere!" Gray thundered at the demoness, who looked at him in faint awe.

At least until a flaming fist came out of no where to slam into her jaw.

Her body shifted at once, Natsu's fist and arm phasing through her whole body. She regarded Natsu without interest, the small spark she showed Gray not transferred to him.

However it did give a small break in her concentration and the bubble containing Lucy popped.

Natsu yelped and scrambled forward, arms thrown out to cradled her head before she fell unceremoniously in a pile. He cradled her body and dragged her away from the annoyed looking demoness.

Blades of water hacked at her ankles until she was released from the icy bonds. She adjusted her parka around her throat, lifting up its collar high as she stepped out towards Natsu and Lucy.

He curled the unconscious Lucy over his shoulder and climbed to his feet, fists igniting into flames, "you want my mistress, you have to go through me!"

"Mistress?" The woman repeated, but there seemed to be a harder edge in her eyes, "You seem to care a great deal about your... mistress."

"Don't pay attention to them when I should be the one you're watching!" Gray's angry voice burst free.

The woman raised her hand, catching him in one of her bubbles and raising an eyebrow at him.

"Such a handsome mortal," she observed, "He must carry a touch of demon in his blood. His ice is particularly troublesome, and he hasn't the same regal bearings of an ice demon."

Gray struggled within the bubble, causing her hand to shake as his ice magic mixed in with her own water magic.

"Troublesome indeed," she let out a soft gasp at the way their Magic's blended in well with one another. She ducked around a flaming claw by Natsu, not seeing the sword that came an inch from her face.

Erza stood before her, eyes hard and steely.

"I've watched your magic demon," she said calmly, "you have a unique brand of full body water magic. However this sword I possess is very effective against demons such as yourself."

"And once Gray breaks free from your hold, he will not be as inclined to show mercy," Erza spoke coolly, her water empress spear held steady in her hands.

The demoness met Erza's eyes, and there was no surprise to the odd flush that decorated her cheeks at the push of Gray's magic into her own.

She took a soft breath and blinked at Erza, "the necromancer holds lots of friends for herself, but I am afraid I cannot back down."

Her grip tightened around Gray, and the slayer's expression shifted.

"You will have to use that sword if you find yourself daring enough while I have a hold on your... Gray," The demoness bargained.

Her expression shifted oddly and she looked over to where Gray was floating in genuine surprise, "What...?"

Gray stared back at her in identical shock. He wasn't sure what had happened, but when she'd tightened her grip at the same moment he'd shoved hard against her magic something had happened.

Something that was still happening.

Something that had every nerve singing in pleasure. The sensation rippled over him with every motion of her water orb, and his magic tingled under his skin.

What was this?

The moment was shattered as Lucy pulled herself to her feet and pulled her keys.

"Erza's not the only one you have to worry about here." The blond growled, and slashed a key through the air, "Open! Gate of the lion! Leo!"

"An ascended spirit?" The demoness breathed in surprise as Leo appeared with a glare.

"It's rude to interrupt other people's parties." The lion growled, "Especially on occasions like this. And I don't appreciate you holding Lucy's boyfriend hostage."

"Her... boyfriend?" The demoness stuttered just as a violent surge of ice from her captive overwhelmed her grip on her water lock and shattered it. She stepped back slightly in mingled shock and fear.

"Yeah, you heard that right." Gray said as he landed, pushing aside the weird feeling that had startled him, "And you're not getting your hands on her."

The demoness's eyes narrowed, "We'll see about that!" She snapped, snapping her fingers and the wizards next to her surged forward.

The fight became quickly overwhelming, the sea of limbs and flailing arms and magic sparking and bursting out. Natsu, Erza and Gray all pressed in to protect Lucy. The four of them were a considerably powerful team and were able to hold off he water demoness and her allies.

At least until a metal spike came up from the earth, catching the water demoness off guard and causing her to stumble back.

Gajeel was advancing now, looking enraged by the whole mess with an equally angry looking Levy walking after him.

"Get your damp paws off my brats!" Gajeel thundered at the water demoness.

Her eyes widened and she threw up a hasty shield of water, only to gasp when he blew a hole right through it and caught her right in the shoulder.

Unprepared, she let out a cry of pain as she gripped the metal coming from her shoulder and she stumbled backwards. Blue eyes glared up at the unyielding Gajeel as he threw another round of those spikes, another catching her in the side as her allies began to break ranks and flee.

"Your water body can't sustain itself for extended periods," Gajeel growled at her as he advanced, grabbing her by the collar and yanking her up from where she had fallen in the sand.

Gray's eyes went wide as something in him told him to stop Gajeel. That it was important he not kill the demoness. An odd thought coming from him of all people, but he surged forward a few steps.

It turned out not to mean anything though, as Gajeel's eyes narrowed critically on the demoness.

"You. You're half human," He growled at the woman, who stared at the elder vampire with the beginnings of terror in her eyes, "you're barely more than a child. How did you—"

His eyes fell to her throat, where a brand of dark lettering was burned into her pale skin. It was a collar, meant to entrap a demon, often used on those sold into slavery.

"You have a master," Gajeel growled in understanding, conflict flashing over his eyes.

That was all the opening she needed. The demoness arched her hand up to send boiling water in his face, causing the vampire to rear back in pain. Levy threw up a quick barrier to protect the others of her attention turned back to them, but it was clear she knew when she was beat.

She limped backwards towards the ocean, clutching her bleeding side and shoulder. Her lips trembled and her skin looked to be ashy in color.

"This is not over Ms. Heartfilia, my Master wishes for your presence. He did not mention it had to be in one piece," she warned.

Blue eyes drifted painfully over to Gray for a lingering moment before she slipped into the ocean and disappeared.

"Damn it," Gajeel burst out, turning towards the confused looking teenagers, "got away before I could trap her."

"Why does that matter," Natsu asked, looking Lucy over to make sure she was alright.

"Because she's a summoned demon Natsu, one like you," Gajeel growled at him, "which means her Master knows who started this attack on Lucy."

"It doesn't matter though, she wouldn't give up her master if she contracted with him," Natsu protested, not seeing what the point of capturing her alive would have been. If anyone had captured him and asked him to reveal Lucy's secrets, they would get no where. Anything which brought her harm was like poison to him.

"She would if she wasn't contracted with her master," Levy sighed and nodded to Gajeel, "I saw the markings too. And the script they made up around her throat."

"She denied a contract with her summoner, but he trapped her with a subjugation collar. There's a chance we could persuade her to help us," Levy sighed in frustration and lowered the barrier with a wave of her hand.

Erza looked around the wrecked beach, giving Levy an apologetic grimace, "Sorry about the mess on your wedding day."

Levy smiled at Erza and hugged her and Lucy, "I'm just glad everyone is okay!"

She looked around at her guests, "Well, that was hardly quite the excitement I was intending tonight!"

"It's not a vampire wedding without at least a fight." One of the Elders chuckled gamely as he forced a captured wizard to his knees, "I for one quite enjoyed myself. As this is your territory Lord Gajeel... what shall we do with them?"

"Let 'em go." Gajeel snorted with a wave, "They ain't strong enough to fight anyone here and win." He smirked, "Little Asca could probably take 'em down and she ain't even crawling yet!"

There was a ripple of laughter at that and Gajeel leaned forward to meet the terrified wizard's eyes, "Run back to your masters." He rumbled lowly, "If you dare after this failure. Tell them I recognized the stench of hell and corruption, and that their days are numbered."

The Elder raised an eyebrow at the warning but said nothing as he released the wizard, the others quickly following suit, and the cultists bolted into the night. He nodded at a couple of the younger vampires who had come with him and they discreetly moved to stand guard in case there were further interruptions.

"Alright everyone!" Gajeel announced, mentally filing the gesture away for consideration, "The interruption's over! Please take a couple minutes to orient yourselves and we'll bring out the cake!"

He signaled to the slightly wide eyed caterers, who nodded hastily and moved hastily to serve fresh drinks and hors d'oeuvres while the cake was set up. In moments the excitement settled as everyone returned to the party atmosphere. Though there wasn't a single person there who wasn't thinking about it.

And what it might imply.