"Love makes fools of us all"

The hostess at Narook's Noodlery greeted us with a tired half smile. "How many?" She inquired, glancing down at a chart that lay atop the rostrum she stood beside.

"Five," I said, "And may we have a couple of children's menus as well?"

"Of course. Right this way, please." Her face was impassive as she gathered up the assorted menus in one swift motion and led us to a round, aged table, complete with a set of rickety chairs. I sank into one, scooting myself forward. Laxus fell into the seat at my right, Levy on my left, and Jet and Droy crammed into the space across from me.

Everyone began pouring over the selection the restaurant had to offer while I unfolded a children's menu.

I was miffed once I discovered what lay inside. "Are you kidding me? They gave me two gray crayons!"

"Why the hell do you have a children's menu?" Laxus asked, his brow arched almost elegantly as he observed me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I felt like coloring, so I got a kid's menu," I retorted, returning my attention to the two utensils I had to work with. "At least, I felt like coloring until they gave me these. What am I supposed to draw with two gray crayons? Rocks?"

"You could probably draw old people," Laxus stated, his lips lifting into a smile. "Well, their hair, at least."

I rolled my eyes. "Boring."

"You're ridiculous, you know that?"

"I think she's endearing," Levy piped up from my left, and I turned to smirk at Laxus.

"You hear that? She thinks I'm endearing."

As it would turn out, I didn't actually end up drawing anything more than a few decrepit flowers, and the occasional cloud. But still it was, at least according to Levy, adorable.

The food was divine. We were lucky to stop by such a place on a whim. (Levy, of course, hadn't wanted to, considering the exterior of the building, but it was worth it nonetheless.) When the meal finally came to a close, Laxus was the first to stand.

"You ready to go?" He inquired, and I nodded, rising from my seat beside him at the small table.

"You two forgot your checks-" Levy started.

"Oh, I'll take care of it." Laxus said with a wave of his hand, but not before I'd started pulling out my wallet. He put a hand on my arm before I could finish. "Really, Xandria, there's no need."

"Don't worry about it. I appreciate the offer and all, but it's not like we're on a date or anything. Let me pay," I urged, and his cheeks seemed to turn a bit red at the statement.

"You're impossible," He grumbled.

"Believe me, I'm perfectly aware," I replied, placing a few hundred jewel on the table with a sardonic smile. I turned to Levy. "We'll see you at the inn tonight."

I was out the door before he could complain, the soft jingle of a bell announcing my departure as I threw a smile in the direction of the hostess. My feet lingered at the storefront, and as much as I wanted to stroll away, I was rooted to the spot.

Laxus was beside me within seconds, a look of ire settled across his features. I beamed at him. After a moment his beleaguered expression faded, replaced by a begrudging sort of amusement. I slipped my hand in his, and then we were moving, dancing and weaving throughout the serpentine streets.

He looked down at our linked hands in shock. "Alexandria, where are you –"

"There's still a few places I want to visit," I blurted.

"I hate shopping," Laxus deadpanned, and I threw him a lopsided grin.

"Yeah, me too. Good thing we're not doing any buying."

"What are you talking about?"

My grin grew. "You'll see, Blondie. You'll see."

He groaned from behind me, but I ignored it, my grip on his hand only tightening as I guided us through the labyrinth that was Crocus.

The first stop was a ridiculous boutique, complete with outrageous prices and nonsensical fashions. Laxus hated it. He hated it the moment he glanced at the front.

"No," He said. "I am not going in there."

"What? Afraid it'll hurt your masculinity?"

"No, because I hate stores like this. Absurd merchandise and annoying people."

I laughed. "You make a good case, my guy, but I'm afraid we've still gotta check it out." And, with a loud, animalistic grumble, Laxus skulked behind me into the store.

The first, and most important thing I did, was to spray him with the most expensive perfume I could find.

He recoiled as if he'd been shot, and I burst into laughter.

"What the hell was that for?!" He exclaimed between coughs, and I turned the perfume bottle on myself, spritzing a fine layer on my blouse.

"Free samples of the most expensive perfumes in the nation, Blondie," I said, lifting another bottle and squinting at the type on the back. "Don't you want to smell like a 'floral explosion that, with its mystical profusion of flowers, has the power to make everything seem more positive and even capture the spirit of a woman itself'?"

His face was expressionless as he spoke, "Actually that's exactly what I'd like to smell like."

We laughed so hard I almost dropped the bottle.

"Wait, what about this one?" Laxus inquired, raising a phial filled with an amber liquid. "It's a 'woody, aromatic fragrance for the man who defies convention, and resists the ordinary every day, finding satisfaction in the unexpected.' Do you think that describes me?"

"Well, you can be rather unconventional…"

He sprayed me in the neck, just barely missing my face, and I laughed and snatched the bottle from him. At least, I was laughing until I got a whiff of whatever the hell it was he'd perfumed me with.

"Gods, Laxus, this smells fantastic!" I exclaimed.

"Really?"

"Yeah, smell me," I said, grinning at him.

"I don't think I've ever had anyone ask me to smell them before," He reflected, and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh shut up."

He chuckled, and leaned forward, hesitating slightly before broaching the proverbial bubble of personal space. I craned my neck, allowing him a more comfortable angle, and I could hear the sharp sound of him inhaling.

Only then did it occur to me how close we were—his nose hovering mere millimeters from my throat, his mouth just as close, maybe closer. I could hear his breathing and mine, as well as the strange sound of something pounding in my ears. My heart.

I pulled away slightly, but not far enough, because then his eyes were tearing into mine, his pupils wide and his lashes sweeping down against his cheeks. Gods, his eyes were beautiful.

What the hell was I thinking? No.

I forced my gaze away, only to discover that it had veered down to his lips, which were parted and…

I lifted the bottle of cologne in my hand and sprayed it in his face. Self-defense at its finest.

And like that the moment was gone, and he was swearing and coughing like a maniac, and I was laughing an uncomfortable, awkward laugh, and the world was as it should be.

"Damn it, Alexandria!" He shouted, and I actually think that the bottle was falling from my hands because when I reached forward, perhaps to try to help him (though obviously the damage was done), a clerk was at our side, the cologne in her hand and a sour expression on her face.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave," She said, her tone vapid. "These perfumes are meant for the consumer to sample and smell, not for assaulting one another."

My face was horrendously red. I don't know if it's ever been redder. "Right, then. Of course. We're sorry to have caused you any trouble."

She tittered and walked away, and I ushered a simmering Laxus out the door, offering him an apologetic smile once we were on the street again.

"I'm sorry," I said, and he sighed, waving it away.

"No, it's alright. Don't worry about it and… just don't do it again."

It was something of a miracle to see Laxus not get angry, but perhaps he was just happy I'd stopped whatever that was between the two of us.

I must've zoned out, because the next thing I knew, he had his hand on my shoulder, shaking me back into reality.

"Huh?" I asked, and he rolled his eyes.

"I asked if you wanted to get some ice cream," He said.

"Ice cream?"

"Yeah, that frozen dairy dessert, ever heard of it?"

"Thanks, smartass," I retorted. "Where's it at?"

He motioned to a stand to our left, where a vendor was selling the treat. My eyes lit up.

"You want some?"

"Heck yeah I want some."

We approached the vendor, my eyes flashing with delight as I surveyed the various flavors before me.

"What would you like?" He inquired, and my lips curled into a grin. I sampled eight different flavors (Laxus tried five) before deciding on the one I wanted. I knew which flavor I wanted beforehand, of course, but who was I to pass up free samples?

It was an undeniable fact that mint chocolate chip ice cream was the best food in the history of all foods. So, naturally, I got two scoops of it in the chocolate dipped, sprinkle coated waffle cone. Laxus got some shitty chocolate and peanut butter flavor—why he would get something so disgusting was beyond me. Why he thought mint chocolate chip was 'gross' was beyond me as well. What a freak.

By the time we were finished eating we were hot and sticky and sweaty and we smelled strongly of stale perfume. But we were happy. And that's all that really mattered, I think.

Still, I didn't enjoy the overpowering stench of fruity florals mixed with a sugary scent and our own earthy aura, and apparently neither did Laxus.

"Can we do anything to get this smell off?" He blurted, and I glanced at him. I was silent for a moment, at least until something popped into my head.

"I've got an idea," I said, tearing off down a side street and weaving through yet another throng of people. Laxus bolted after me, his voice pounding in my ear.

"Alexandria, I don't know if I like the sound of this!" He called, chasing behind, and I released a bark of laughter.

"Don't worry, it'll be fantastic!"

We arrived in one of the main squares within seconds, though it could have been minutes. I wasn't exactly keeping track of time. But the most important thing was what lay in the square itself—a giant fountain.

Laxus frowned, obviously confused.

"Why are we here?"

"You'll see."

And, as if by magic, dozens of jets of water rocketed upward around us, soaking him and dousing me in the process. The shock written across his face was positively priceless.

I couldn't stop laughing. I didn't. Not until he managed to angle a jet of water that hit me directly in the stomach, knocking me backwards and on top of multiple other jets with a surprised shout.

There were several other groups of children playing around and in the fountain, but by the time we were finished grappling with each other, every child in the square had retreated elsewhere.

Laxus was drenched. I was drenched. And finally the water shut off again, leaving us standing in our soaking wet clothes.

We darted into a nearby tourist trap and purchased a set of new clothing apiece. I personally opted for an 'i heart Crocus' T-shirt, while Laxus insisted upon buying a tacky pineapple print button-down. I thought mine was a joke. He was convinced that his neon shirt was stylish.

At least he wasn't wearing that ridiculous fur coat.

So we walked down the streets of Crocus, smiling and laughing and looking at each other over the pair of gaudy shuttered glasses we'd decided to purchase.

We exited the final shop we'd stopped by and stepped out onto the cobbled streets of Crocus. Warm air blew around my bare legs, and my skin turned into a gooseflesh pelt at the sensation. We spoke in hushed voices as we moved in hurried steps.

"Do you think Lucy was really arrested?" I inquired. "It would've happened by now, don't you think? What if—"

Laxus shrugged. "I don't know, Xandria, but if she was then Jellal had better have one hell of a plan prepared," Laxus stated, and I nodded.

We didn't say another word to each other the whole way to Bar Sun. Even when we arrived we didn't exchange much conversation. As the day had turned to night, the two of us had become more and more nervous. Laxus sank into a large armchair, racking his hands through his hair in a frenzy. I paced. No one said a word to us, and we didn't say a word to them.

Gray and Gajeel spoke in hushed voices with the master. Natsu sat in a boiling rage. My heart leapt to my throat, and I turned to Laxus.

"Do you think she was-"

He cut me off, "Yes."

My jaw tightened, and the meeting began.

"As you know, tomorrow is the fifth and final day of the Grand Magic Games. Originally I called you here in order to formulate a plan for our victory," Makarov began. "However, it has come to my attention that something very grave has happened to one of the members of our family. Earlier this evening, Lucy Heartfilia was arrested by the Royal Guard of Crocus on orders from the minister himself. The king has given strict orders to keep her locked up. The reasons for her arrest have yet to be revealed, however I have spoken with Gray, Gajeel, Natsu, and Wendy, who were with Lucy at the time of her arrest, and it seems that she may have gotten caught up in some sort of plot regarding the royal family. There is a project, called the Eclipse Project, which was founded seven years ago. There is a Gate at the royal castle, one of great magic power and proportions that allows its user to travel back through time by gathering an enormous amount of magical power and then using the twelve zodiac keys. The entire Grand Magic Games is merely a show in order for those involved in the Eclipse Plan to secretly extract the Magic Power needed for their operation. And by using the Eclipse Gate, a general named Arcadios and his team will travel back in time by 400 years, finding and killing the Dark Mage Zeref before he obtains immortality. Lucy Heartfilia was personally asked by Arcadios to help open this gate and allow the plan to be executed in two days' time, however before she was able to respond the Royal Guard descended upon them and arrested Arcadios, Lucy, and the former Sabertooth mage Yukino Agria. The Minister personally informed us that the King is very fond of our guild, and, should we win the Grand Magic Games, we will receive an audience with him where we will likely be able to negotiate her release."

What the?

My own thoughts were echoed by my guild mates, who burst into a rapid succession of angry shouts.

"What the hell?"

"Lucy's been taken into custody?"

"To think that she would be involved in some top secret plot is utterly ridiculous!"

Laxus was more than peeved, "Let me get this straight, we take the top spot, we can ask for her back, but that's only if his highness allows it?" He turned away, his face darkening. "What a load of bullshit."

"Personally I have a hard time believing anything that old guy told us," Gray snapped.

But out of all the members of the guild, Natsu seemed the angriest.

"And we're just supposed to put up with this crap from those jerks?!" He roared. "Untie me and I'll go up there and get her right now."

"Master Makarov?" I prompted.

"We can't afford to take reckless action against the kingdom, and they surely wouldn't want word to spread that they mistreat innocent civilians. But I suppose we should consider her a hostage until this eclipse project of theirs is called off," Makarov admitted.

"She's a hostage..."

"There's one thing I don't really understand. If all of us know about this big secret that they're trying to hide, then why'd they let us walk away free?" Gajeel inquired, but Gray furiously shook his head.

"You expect them to make any sense?"

"It was obvious that Cornel Arcadios was the primary target they were after, so maybe they let us go so that we could testify against him later," Gajeel offered.

"No, that can't be it," I remarked. "They'd still be risking their secret getting out."

"Perhaps they feel it can't be kept secret any longer." Erza stated.

Gray heaved a sigh, "It's still weird they didn't keep us there. Nobody would've found out about it."

"I'm not so sure about that. You're all on the first place team in the games—high profile," Mirajane pointed out. "It'd be pretty suspicious if you all just didn't show up for the games tomorrow.

"The royal army isn't known for acting rashly and taking citizens for no reason. If we knew what the real justification for her capture was, perhaps we could help her," Erza added.

"A member of our guild has been taken against her will, and believe me, we all want justice now. That being said, we can't just charge headlong into conflict like we usually do—it's too risky," Makarov paused. "But we're not cowards and we will not let them get away with this. We are Fairy Tail, and we are family!"

Everyone cheered, and for a moment we seemed united—we seemed strong. But I didn't fall for it. Things were terribly, horribly wrong. I could feel the entire world shifting out of balance as we cheered.

Jellal was right. He really had met future Lucy, and we were going to burn alive.

I had to go. Someone had to tell Jellal; someone had to come up with a plan. The world was going to be thrown into chaos, ten-thousand dragons were going to wreck havoc upon my earth—upon my home. Someone had to stop it, and I guess that someone had to be me.

I felt a hand slip into my own and give me a reassuring squeeze. I turned my head to find Laxus staring at me with concern in his eyes. I offered a soft smile. He must've seen the panic cross my features at the revelation. I squeezed his hand once and released, turning to the throng of people in front of us. Thank God for Laxus.

I set my jaw. "We have to come up with a plan," I announced. "Everyone will be focused on the games—we'll have the perfect opportunity to set about rescuing Lucy."

"But how will we bust her out?" Gray inquired. "The Royal Guard will be on the alert for potential escape attempts by now-"

"We can't trust the minister. Maybe he said that we might be able to negotiate Lucy's pardon, but that isn't even certain." Erza stated.

"And it doesn't even begin to cover how much damage they might do with that Eclipse Project." Laxus added.

"Some of our wizards will have to set out on a secret rescue mission," Makarov declared. "Mira, Natsu, Wendy—do you three think you'll be able to take care of it? If you need additional backup, I'm more than certain that you could always take Juvia or Levy-"

"We've got it covered, Master," Natsu blurted. "I'll do whatever it takes to save Lucy."

"Be careful, boy! I don't want you getting arrested too!" Makarov shouted.

"He's right, Natsu." A vaguely familiar voice chimed in, and I turned to see Mavis Vermillion materializing at our side. Her features were drawn, quite serious in a way that was rather uncharacteristic of her. I couldn't help but frown. Even her voice sounded solemn. "This mission is going to require the utmost caution and stealth from all three of you. If you get caught then it's game over, we'd practically be throwing away any chance we have at negotiating with the king. Do you understand?"

Natsu blinked. "I understand."

"Good," Mavis turned to what remained of Team Fairy Tail. "I assume Gray will be Natsu's replacement?"

"Yes," said Makarov. She nodded and turned to our team.

"Alright then, are you five ready for the games tomorrow? We're going to need you to give it everything you've got."

"Yes ma'am."

"It is of utmost importance that you win. If you make even one wrong move, you could easily wind up in losing, and if that happens you have little to no chance of recovering Lucy Heartfilia," Mavis stated. So much for the good cop, looks like she was only going to be pulling the bad cop routine from here on out.

Mavis continued, "Tomorrow you five will be plunged into a one on one competition for the victory. All six guilds will be competing against one another—and your arena is the entire city of crocus. I've have been watching you and your opponents very closely, and over the past day I have spent all my effort running through millions of different strategies. I have finally reached a conclusion." She paused, then turned to the old man that stood beside her. "Master Makarov, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you and everyone else that isn't a member of tomorrow's team to leave. For the sake of the plan, we have a 13% less chance of it succeeding if you listen on, and as small as that may be, I don't wish to take any unnecessary risks."

"Of course," Makarov muttered, and he left the room quickly followed by Natsu, Mirajane, Wendy, and all three of the Exceeds. I might've felt bad, but Mavis didn't give us enough time.

"Alright. I need you five to listen closely, because if you fail to completely recall this plan, we have a very high chance of failure. As soon as you arrive at the arena you will be escorted to your starting coordinates in the city. According to my calculations, the best option we have is to remain motionless for roughly twenty minutes at the onset of the battles. After several battles have occurred, I will give you the signal to split up and proceed to your designated coordinates. There is a 97% chance that Rufus will take action at this time; he will use his memory make magic to attempt to take you all out because he will know where you are. You will have a two second window of opportunity. Four of you must evade his attack the moment Rufus' light is above you. Laxus, you can block the move and absorb the energy from it for a boost. Rufus will then become agitated and unable to think straight. In this state of confusion, there is a 68% chance that he'll close in and engage one of our team members. Exactly who it is I have not yet determined."

"Wait, are you saying that Rufus actually has the ability to know where we are at all times?" Gajeel interjected.

"That's correct. So it stands to reason that he should be defeated first," Mavis offered.

Gray jumped up from his seat. "I would love to take that guy down myself; will you please let me handle him?" Mavis shook her head.

"I'm sorry but according to my calculations you're at a significant disadvantage in a fight against him. And it would be suicide for you to—"

"I don't give a crap about that!" Gray interjected. "I want to save Lucy, and I owe him a good thrashing. You know I'm a proud Fairy Tail wizard, so let me fight him."

"He can perform any spell that he just comes up with on the fly. He can make people forget what they know as well. Combining that power with his endless spell creation makes him quite dangerous. You can only use an attack one time before Rufus takes it away. His magic would seem to be limitless. Maker magic is very powerful, but it is very easy to memorize at the same time. There is a very, very great probability of you losing to him."

"I don't care!"

"Well you should, Gray," I snapped, stepping forward to confront the ice mage. "Believe it or not, you're not the only one who wants to save Lucy. I care just as much about her as you do, and I won't have you screwing up whatever chances we have of saving her because of your ridiculous emotions." I turned to Mavis. "I'll take care of Rufus, first master."

"What makes you think that you're so much better than me?!" Gray exclaimed, and I rounded on him.

"I am not better than you Gray! You a wonderful, talented, and utterly impressive mage," I exclaimed, "But you know as well as I do that my magic is far more suited to combat Rufus than yours is. We're on a team, and we're going to have to work together, but I'm not going to let you jeopardize whatever chances we have at winning the games and saving Lucy."

"Whatever."

Mavis continued on as if nothing had happened, "Alright then. Erza, you'll be heading northwest from our start. You will encounter an opposing wizard as she rounds a corner and eliminate her. From there you'll continue in your original course, there should be plenty of targets on your course. Keep going until you reach the Crocus City Stadium. Whatever you do, do not get off track. Gajeel will be moving south the entire time. Do not stray from this course. You will take out an opponent and proceed from there to the far south of the city. Rogue has had his eye on you from the start, so we know with certainty that Rogue will hunt you down. If you keep moving south like I've instructed you to do, Rogue should intercept you at some point. Xandria, you will defeat an opponent and head towards the fountain square, your next job will be to locate Rufus, or rather, to allow Rufus to locate you. If you continue west from the fountain you will find him. If my calculations are correct, Rufus will be waiting for you inside of the Royal library if he does in fact decide to engage in battle with one of our team members. You must win. Rufus is the key to conquering Sabretooth once and for all. Laxus, you'll be headed to the east, in the direction of the markets. The remainder of the Sabretooth team will be surprised by Rufus' loss. Orga Nangeer will see this as his call to arms, and he will seek out one of our members—which I assume will be Laxus. Gray, you will provide cover and support from the rear. From this point I expect the conflict to be even more intense. Gray will come to the intersection of 13th and 22nd street where Chelia will proceed to spring a surprise attack on him. Gray just needs to keep her busy, which will give Minerva the opportunity to attack Erza. Minerva views Erza as her only worthy opponent. Around this time Orga will hunt down Laxus, quickly followed by Jura. A battle will take place between the three of them and there is a 71% chance of Jura winning… I've gone over this in my head so many times, but I can't come up with a better alternative…"

"I'll take care of him," Laxus promised, and Mavis gave him a swift nod.

"Alright," She said. "Now where was I? Jura and Laxus and… Oh yes! At this point Sting has a 35% chance of encountering Xandria. If he does, they will battle; if he doesn't then she will continue on her set path, where she will encounter Kagura. They will battle, and Xandria should win. By this point Gray should've taken care of Chelia, and Lyon will arrive, Xandria has a high chance of coming across the two of them after her battle with Kagura. So considering all of this, I want Xandria to head for the intersection of 13th and 22nd street to catch up with Gray as soon as she finished battling Rufus. Kagura will appear on the way. After Gray and Xandria meet, Gajeel will likely stumble upon Rogue. If I have calculated correctly, Erza will be the one to defeat Minerva, Laxus will hopefully manage to take care of Jura and Orga, Gajeel will defeat Rogue, Gray will beat Chelia and Lyon, and Xandria will defeat Rufus and Kagura. That leaves Sting. If things have gone according to plan and Sting does in fact cross paths with Xandria and Gray then I want them to have backup—they're going to be quite drained by this point in the games. I want you all to meet in town square at this point. That will be our base, and the most probable spot of you encountering Sting. If everything goes according to the plan I have you told you, it is safe to assume that we will win the games. But you have to stick to the plan. At all costs stick to the plan."

"She really was future Lucy. She wasn't lying. I was wrong. She told you the truth and I didn't listen and now we're all fucked."

All three of them had blank expressions stretched across their faces. No shock. No nothing. They weren't surprised at my appearance—they weren't even surprised at my news. I wanted to slap them, get some sort of reaction.

Ultear stepped forward, the epitome of calmness and grace. "Slow down, Lex. Tell us everything you know."

"Lucy was arrested a few hours ago, along with Yukino Agria, and some guy named Arcadios," I blurted. "The Royal Guard took her on the minister's orders. Makarov told me, less than an hour ago when we were planning for tomorrow's games."

"Did you inform Makarov of the situation?" Jellal inquired, and I shook my head.

"No, I didn't want him to panic," I said. "I mean… there's still some small chance that it could just be a coincidence, right?"

"I'm afraid that we gravely mistook the gravity of the situation," Jellal muttered.

"So she might've been telling the truth, it doesn't matter. We still have time to come up with a plan, don't we?" Meredy urged. "There's gotta be something, right? How… how is this even possible?"

"I guess it's still following me, even after all this time," Ultear muttered, and I frowned at her.

"What?"

"The price of all my sins, destruction."

"Oh get a hold of yourself, Ul," I snapped. "This has nothing to do with you. Lucy has little to no ties to you. You aren't going to release the dragons. You aren't going to cause this. If anything you're going to stop it."

She shut up, and Meredy turned to me.

"So what now? Seems at the very least we should get the citizens to evacuate." Meredy offered, and I felt Ul tense beside me.

"That would only cause panic." Ultear snapped. Meredy purpled.

"It would save their lives!"

"That's enough," Jellal interjected. "Alexandria is right, there is no guarantee that what the future Lucy said would come to pass."

"Why would you say that?" Meredy prompted.

"I'm not quite sure just yet, but all is not as it seems. Something isn't right."

"What, do you mean it's not necessarily true?" Ultear inquired.

"Oh come on, you don't honestly think Lucy could be lying to us?" Meredy asked.

"Why would she do such a thing?"

"More than ten thousand dragons—the eclipse—that strange magic power—the pieces of the puzzle just don't fit together." Jellal stated, and I gnawed on my lower lip.

"What are you saying?" Meredy demanded.

"I'm not sure whether this Lucy's words are false or whether her entire being is a fabrication," Jellal grumbled. "Listen; give me the night to think this over. I'll come up with a plan of action by tomorrow morning. Alexandria, what course of action has Makarov taken to retrieve Lucy thus far?"

"We're sending out a squad tomorrow," I said. "They're going to attempt to rescue Lucy while we compete in the games. We figured everyone would be too focused on the games to notice a couple of our mages missing."

"Good… good. So we'll have some people on the inside tomorrow. They can serve as something of a decoy for us if we need to enter the castle."

"But what if we can't rescue Lucy? What if she's still stuck in the castle?" I inquired. "And what about the future Lucy? Where is she?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know the current whereabouts of future Lucy; all I can say is that she seemed desperately concerned about this eclipse gate." Jellal offered. "Therefore I think it's safe to assume that she'll be in or near the castle tomorrow, especially if she knows that the real Lucy has been captured. She'll probably want to help to save herself."

"If worse comes to worse we'll go to the castle ourselves." Ultear announced. "You don't worry about this." Ultear placed her hand on my arm and offered me a rare smile. "Take care of yourself tomorrow, alright? You focus on winning these games. We'll take care of this mess. Remember our promise?"

I smiled, raising my hand to grip her shoulder. "Of course I do. How could I forget?"

She nodded and pulled me into a hug. I squeezed her and let go, turning to Meredy.

"Win for us, Lexie," She blurted, glomping me in a hug. I let out a soft laugh and returned the embrace.

"I will."

"See you tomorrow, then."

"Tomorrow. Right."

I lingered a moment before turning away and starting the climb down the hill they camped out on.

"Wait!"

I turned around, a smile tearing across my face as I saw Ultear running towards me. She stopped in front of me, and I watched in curiosity as she began to remove her cloak.

"What are you doing?"

"Take this. Wear it tomorrow. For good luck." She instructed, thrusting the clothing in my direction. I let out a light laugh.

"I will, if that's what you really want."

She took in a shaky breath before throwing her arms around me once more. I raised a shocked brow. What had gotten into her?

"Please be careful tomorrow… If we can't stop the dragons… I don't want to think about it. Please just take care of yourself. Remember our promise."

"As long as you keep your end." I replied, and she pulled away.

"Promise."

I turned away once more, and left her behind. The cloak smelled like her—peppermint oil and determination. I threw it over my shoulders.

I'd made a promise to Ultear twenty years ago. We'd both made a promise to each other.

We swore to stay alive for each other. We'd fight for ourselves to live because we knew that the other needed us to survive. We needed each other. We still did. So we swore not to sacrifice ourselves or to lose. We swore to survive.

She promised me she wouldn't die.

So neither would I.

A/N: Yay for one of my favorite and longest chapters! As always, R&R, and don't forget to check out my other stories Epoch (which is a Harry Potter fanfic that I can guarantee you will love) and Ironheart (a LOTR/Hobbit fanfic that's just getting started). Love you all!