The pale moonlight shone down on the street corner, bright enough to see right in front of you, but not enough to see any further. Fortunately, there were a few streetlights around to provide additional light, although they weren't terribly bright either. Two figures stood under one of the lights, having just arrived together. The man and woman were somewhat dirty and sweaty after having worked for several hours.

"I think we got them all. Don't you?" Flare said. She looked distracted as she said that. Of course, she often looked unfocused, so Gajeel wouldn't be inclined to think much of it. But, as he stood beside her, he remembered Juvia, and wondered if her absence bothered Flare.

"Still thinking about her?" Gajeel asked. Her expression was hard to make out with the dark lighting, but from what he could tell she had her usual wide-eyed expression, but maybe more serious than usual.

"Her?" she asked.

"You know who I mean." He said.

"She's a big girl. She'll talk if she wants to." She said. Gajeel thought he heard her snicker at this, although he wasn't sure why. Maybe she's not worried about Juvia, he thought. The truth is, even after working with her and spending time with her for a while, he still didn't fully understand her. He knew that she was strange, and socially awkward in some ways. He felt like he had a better idea of what to expect from her now, but he still didn't know why she was the way she was. Was she just born that way, or did something happen that made her like this? He knew that Ivan Dryer couldn't have been a good influence on her.

"What are you thinking about?" Flare asked. She was looking right at him, and had somehow gotten close to him without him noticing.

"Uh, I was thinking about…" he said. He didn't want to say he had been thinking about her. Why am I thinking about her so much? He thought. She was still staring at him, unblinking, and tilted her head.

"Quit staring at me like that, its creepy." He said. He quickly turned around to face away from her. "Anyway, my place is right down the street." He deliberately avoided answering her question and changed the subject. "I don't know about you, but I'm tired. I'm going home for the night. We can tell the master what happened tomorrow."

"Okay Gajeel." Flare said. She stood there awkwardly in her dirty and slightly tattered dress. They had chased those bugs all over town, so Gajeel knew that it was a fairly long walk back to the guild from where they were. He couldn't do anything about that though. Although… He figured that he could at least let her get cleaned up, so she wouldn't have to walk through town looking like some kind of vagrant. But he was hesitant to actually invite her to his place. He wasn't the sort of guy to bring friends over for fun. Maybe he was socially awkward in some ways too.

While he was thinking this over, Flare had turned around and started heading in the other direction. "Hey, wait a minute." Gajeel said. She stopped and turned, leaning her head over her shoulder like the weirdo she was. I'm going to regret this, he thought to himself.

"Look, if you want you can come up to my place to get cleaned up. Just to, you know, use my shower. That's all."

Flare looked at him for a moment, and then her eyes widened, and then she flashed another of her strange smiles. "I can come up to your place?"

"To use my shower, yeah. You're filthy, and I guess I shouldn't let you walk around town like that. I mean, we're a team now."

Flare, still smiling, nodded and stepped closer. "Okay, let's go."

Gajeel turned, waved her on, and then started walking down the street to his apartment.

"Alright, here we are." Gajeel said, walking through the door to his apartment, Flare walking in behind him. "It's a real palace, ain't it?" he said with obvious sarcasm.

Flare stood and looked around at his apartment. It had a decent sized living area, separate bedroom, and a couch, as well as a sofa. No table, strangely. The floor was hardwood, but with a generic brown rug over it. There was a single light on the wall casting shadows.

"Lots of soft places to sit." She said.

"Yeah well, if I had metal furniture I'd always be gnawing at it. Besides, I don't intend to stay here long. This is only temporary. I've moved to a bunch of different places over the past few years. Guess I like to keep moving."

Flare just stood and seemed to ponder that.

"Anyway, shower's over there." He said, pointing to the bathroom on the other side of the apartment. "Its nothing fancy, but it gets the job done."

Flare walked over and looked at the shower, which had a simple showerhead and a curtain. She turned to Gajeel. "What about you? You're dirty too."

"I'll… use the kitchen sink to clean up. Maybe I'll take a real shower later when there's more hot water. Don't worry about that, just go ahead." He motioned for her to stop talking and go into the bathroom. She shrugged, and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. A minute later, he heard the shower turn on. He sighed.

He walked over to his kitchen area. It was messy with unwashed dishes. He would clean them later. Before he cleaned himself, he decided to eat something. He saw a loaf of bread on his counter and tore off a chunk. He then got some mustard and spread it on the bread. He began chewing. He could sometimes enjoy regular food, even if it wasn't as filling as the metal he ate. He didn't really cook though, so he mostly just ate slapped together stuff like this. Once finished, he washed his hands and face in the sink. He then took his shirt off and grabbed a rag. It looked clean enough. He wetted the rag and began running it over his chest and arms, cleaning off the dirt and sweat from the day. The warm water felt nice, but he was sure that Flare's hot shower felt better.

That's what happens when you decide to be all chivalrous, he thought. He sighed again. He put the rag away to dry. He wondered if he had any meat in the apartment. He suddenly heard the bathroom door open behind him. He didn't even realize the shower turned off. She must have gotten out when I was cleaning myself.

Flare walked out of the bathroom, her long red hair unbraided and still wet. She was only wearing a towel, which she had wrapped around her bosom as women normally do. She turned and saw him standing at the sink, his shirt still off. She smiled at him.

"Looks like you're finished." He said.

"I'm squeaky clean." She said.

"Uh huh. Where are your clothes?"

"I had to clean them, they were dirty." She said.

"Right." He said. "So, how are you going to get back to the guild then? I mean, I'll let you borrow the towel, but you'll probably get some unwanted attention."

She snickered a little. "Can I sleepover?" she asked. She looked around his apartment some more, eyeing the furniture.

"Hold on, we never talked about that." He said. He knew he would regret inviting her up. He walked over to where she was standing. She looked up at him with her big red eyes, waiting for him to speak.

"First of all, I don't really like having company over. This is my personal space. At least until I move out. Second, what would you even sleep in? You going to sleep in that towel?"

Flare shrugged. "I could borrow your clothes."

"My clothes would be pretty big on you. And a lot of them are dirty." He felt he should really try cleaning his stuff soon, since so much of it was dirty. But as he was thinking this, Flare looked up at him was a mischievous grin.

"Okay then, how about this." She said. Without warning she grabbed the towel covering her with both hands and opened it, revealing her body. She casually let it drop to the floor.

"I'll just sleep naked!" she said shamelessly.

For a long moment Gajeel stood there, not saying anything. He couldn't help looking. Then, he quickly turned away. "W-what the hell are you doing?" he said.

"I'm getting comfortable." She said. She reached a hand out and touched his pants. "You can get comfortable too." He backed up a step.

"Hold on, just, just put your towel back on." He said, trying not to look directly at her. She didn't move to cover herself though.

"What's wrong?" she said. "You don't like girls?"

"I do." He quickly said, somewhat defensively. "I've been with a bunch of girls, in fact."

"Oh." She said. "Then you don't like me?" He glanced at her, and noticed she wasn't smiling anymore. It seemed like a sincere question.

"I, I do like you." He said, while trying not to look at her. "As a friend."

"Then you don't think I'm attractive?" She looked genuinely concerned. Gajeel definitely found her attractive. He didn't want to say it out loud, but he actually thought she was incredibly sexy. But… he had his reasons for not pursuing her. He worked with her. They were part of a team. If they started doing anything physical, then it might make things weird. And he wasn't really looking for a girlfriend at the moment. Besides, he was also aware that Flare was… off in some ways. Possibly even a little crazy. And there was a saying about what a guy shouldn't do with a crazy girl. He noticed her staring at him, waiting for a response.

"I definitely think you're attractive, okay?" he said, becoming irritated. The truth is, I always thought you were hot." He felt a little embarrassed to admit it.

"Then what's the problem?" she asked.

"We work together. We're a team. You, me and Juvia. We've got a good thing going, I think. If we start dating it could mess things up."

Flare smiled again. "I'm not asking you to buy me dinner. I just want to have some fun. You like fun, don't you?" she moved closer to him, putting her hands on his body. He could see her chest right under him.

"I do like fun." He said. She started moving her hands lower. He knew that if he wanted to stop this then he needed to do it now, before it went any further. It had been a while since he'd been with a girl, so he was feeling, to be blunt, horny. But the logical part of him knew that if he slept with Flare then it could potentially hurt their relationship, and even the team as a whole. They would still be working together after tonight. On the other hand, if he rejected her then that could make things awkward too. Especially since she had already stripped naked in front of him. Regardless of what he did or didn't do, things couldn't just go back to the way they were before this, could they? He felt like he had no good options, and no matter what he did he would likely end up regretting it later. He actually felt a little pissed off at her for putting him in this position.

Flare moved her face close to his. "You want to have fun with me, Gajeel?" she breathed into his ear with a raspy-sultry voice.

Damnit Flare, he thought. I never should have invited her up. But she was here now. They were here, together. She was already naked. And frankly, the horny part of him was starting to overtake the logical part. If I'm going to regret this no matter what, then… might as well take what she's offering.

"What the hell." He said. He grabbed her close to him and began kissing her.

The following morning at Fairy Tail guild hall, Lisanna and Natsu sat at a table together. Lisanna had been sitting there waiting for him to wake up and come out of his room. They still hadn't figured out the sleeping arrangements between them, and were still in separate rooms for the moment. Besides, Natsu seemed tired the previous night, so she decided to let him rest. As soon as she saw him this morning she waved at him, and then waved him over. When she first saw him, he still looked a little tired and morose. But as soon as he walked over, he brightened up. He sat down next to her, and they smiled at each other. Lisanna ordered some coffee (her sister Mirajane had always preferred tea, but Lisanna never cared for it). Natsu opted for some breakfast instead. Once Lisanna got her coffee, she offered to share it with Natsu. She thought the caffeine might make him feel better. He took a sip, but didn't seem that interested.

"I wanted to ask you." Lisanna said after taking another sip. "We're both using rooms in the guild hall. I know the master doesn't like it. So, I was thinking that, since we're together now, maybe we could share a room. I mean, if you want to." She looked down at her coffee as she awaited his response. They were already in a relationship now, so she wasn't exactly worried about being rejected. But she didn't know how he would feel about sharing a room with her, or if they were even ready for that level of closeness. She thought they were. She loved him, and wanted to be with him as much as possible. But it almost felt like moving in together, which is a big step.

"I'll think about it." He said, as if he felt it was a more casual question than she did.

"Okay." Lisanna said. She sat there a minute, drinking her coffee. She felt Natsu put his hand on hers.

"I love you." He said. "You know that right?"

Lisanna almost choked on her coffee when he said that. She knew how he felt, she just wasn't expecting him to say it right then. "Yeah, I know."

"I guess I'm just used to sleeping alone." He said.

A part of her wondered if there was another reason. But it didn't matter. "Its fine. Maybe that's moving too fast. Besides, we are both stuck in this guild together most of the time, so we're already kind of living together."

"Yeah. Which is great, I just don't like being forced to stay here. And I miss my house with Happy."

Lisanna smiled. She thought it was cute that Natsu and Happy had a little house together. She'd like to visit it at some point. Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed Lucy walking by. She considered saying hi, but decided not to bother Lucy.

"Hey Lucy." Natsu said without looking.

So much for that, Lisanna thought. Lucy turned and looked at Natsu and Lisanna sitting together. She hesitated, and then took a step forward.

"Hi guys." Lucy said. Her smile looked a little strained.

Yeah, this is awkward, Lisanna thought. "Good to see you, Lucy." Lisanna said aloud. Lucy stood there silently a few moments.

"Umm, so…" Lucy said.

"Something bothering you, Lucy? You look kind of down." Natsu said. Lisanna gave him a look, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, well." Lucy shifted uncomfortably. "I've just been thinking about something. It's about Loke."

"Loke, huh?" Natsu said. "I haven't seen him in a while. What's going on with him?"

Lucy glanced from Natsu to Lisanna.

"Natsu…" Lisanna said.

"I guess Lisanna didn't tell you." Lucy said.

"Not exactly." Lisanna said. Lucy hadn't actually specified that Loke was the friend she had mentioned. For that matter, Lisanna didn't really know Loke like the rest of the guild did, and was unaware of his history with the others.

"Tell me what?" Natsu said. "Did something happen to Loke?"

"There's nothing anyone can do about it." Lucy said glumly.

"Loke is still a friend and a member of Fairy Tail. If something happened, then I want to know."

Lucy hesitated, but told Natsu what happened, while trying to keep it brief. Talking about it clearly upset her. After she finished, Natsu sat there, now looking dour. "I'm sorry." Was all he said.

"Yeah… I…" Lucy said. "Look, I need to go. If you see Levy, then please tell her I'd like to speak to her later. I haven't talked to her in a while. If she's busy with a job, then maybe she could meet me at my apartment tonight. It's nothing super serious, I'd just like to talk to her, if she has time."

"Sure thing." Natsu said. Lisanna agreed as well. Lucy said goodbye and went on her way. Now, Lisanna and Natsu were alone again. Except the mood had noticeably shifted. Whatever joviality Natsu had managed before was gone now.

"Sometimes I think I should have just killed her when I had the chance." Natsu said.

"Who?" Lisanna said.

"You know who." He said, his look one of restrained anger. "If I had killed her, Loke would be okay. Lucy wouldn't be so sad now."

"But you and I would be dead." Lisanna said.

Natsu looked down at the table. He wasn't eating. "I don't like not being able to do anything. I don't like feeling…" Natsu let the sentence hang. Lisanna wasn't sure what he was going to say. She could imagine how frustrated he was. But she didn't know what to say to make him feel better.

Lyon Vastia stood in the middle of the highway, looking out at the Bosco border in the distance. It was still about half a mile from where they were standing, but he could make out border guards and other defenses already. Standing beside him were Sherry, Toby, and Yuka, all comprising the team that Lamia Scale had sent on this mission. They had been Lyon's trusted companions for a long time now, and he had specifically requested them for this mission. He was confident that they would succeed, but he was still aware of the danger and wanted people he trusted with him for this.

"So, do we just walk up and ask to be let into the country?" Sherry asked. There was no sarcasm in her voice. She was genuinely unsure of how they would proceed. Lyon turned to her.

"It would be better if we could all just explore this area around the border together before actually heading in. But given how many guards are around…" Lyon looked around. "I think it might be better if just two of us enter, and the other two stay on this side of the border and try to find another way in. With two groups on either side, we should be able to find something."

"Isn't that a little risky?" Yuka said. "What if we run into someone dangerous?"

"I'm not planning to go that far in." Lyon said. "We're not going to invade their base, just look around until we find a way to enter Bosco without the border guards knowing. Fairy Tail said there were hidden tunnels. Maybe that's one way."

"Maybe." Sherry said.

"Besides, if I do run into anyone, I can handle myself." Lyon said.

"I take it that means you'll be in the group that goes past the border." Yuka said.

"Of course." Lyon said. "As for who will go with me…" He looked at his group.

"I'm ready to go with you." Toby said without hesitation. "I think I'm a good tracker."

"No, you have to take me, Lyon." Sherry said. "I'm always at my best when I'm with you. And I can use my dolls to cover more ground."

"You brought some?" Yuka said.

"A few." Sherry said defensively. "It shouldn't be hard to make more if I need them."

"Alright, we don't have time to argue." Lyon said. "Sherry, you're with me. You two are Fiore side." He said this last part to Yuka and Toby.

"Fine by me." Yuka said.

"Hmm." Toby grunted.

"Oh, you won't regret this." Sherry said.

"Right." Lyon said. "You two look around the area for anything that might be helpful. Anything that stands out. If you don't find anything, then backtrack a little and search back there."

"How far back should we go?" Toby said.

Lyon shrugged. "A few miles, at most."

"A few miles?" Toby said. "That could take all day."

"More than that." Yuka said. "That is a little much."

"Well, the master said to be thorough." Lyon said. He adjusted his jacket, which he still wore despite the warmth. He waved Sherry on and started heading towards the border gate. He walked with purpose, but while trying not to look threatening. Toby and Yuka watched them go.

"This is going to be a long day." Yuka said.

"I'm already tired." Toby added.

That night, Lucy arrived back at her apartment. She had spent some time looking through a few possible jobs, but nothing really stuck out to her. She knew she would have to pick one soon, but that could wait for tomorrow. Finding someone to go with her would be tough though. Things were so awkward with so many other people in the guild right then. She sighed.

She climbed the stairs up to her apartment and opened the door. Lucy walked in and sat down on her bed. She hadn't really done much that day, and yet still somehow felt tired. She was still thinking about Loke, though trying not to. Besides that, Lucy hadn't had much luck in talking with Levy. She was still hoping Levy might stop by though. She wasn't really sure what she expected from Levy. She wanted Levy to tell her… what? That Virgo was wrong somehow? That she could see Loke again next week? Lucy ran her hands through her hair, feeling frustrated. She got up and walked over to her reading desk. She decided that a book might help take her mind off things for a while.

Lucy sat at her desk reading a mystery novel, and finding herself becoming engrossed in it. It certainly took her mind off things. After a while, she noticed some noises on her window. She looked up. It was raining. "When did that start?" she asked no one. She got up and shut the other window which was open. She checked the time. Nearly an hour had passed since she started reading. There was still some time left before she usually went to bed. She debated whether to keep reading or try to sleep. The book was pretty engrossing.

Just then, Lucy thought she saw someone outside the window, near the apartment building. She went over to look. Could it be Levy? When Lucy looked, she didn't see anyone, but she could have sworn there was someone down there. I guess it was nothing, she thought. Maybe I'm just feeling lonely.

She turned and headed back over to her book, but then heard something. Someone was entering the building. She recognized the familiar sound of the front door opening. She heard footsteps on the stairs. I wonder.

She walked over to her door. Would Levy really come out in the rain just to talk with her? It crossed her mind that it might be Virgo again. She still thought it weird how Virgo showed up last time. Of course, if Virgo was doing that a second time, it was probably more bad news. She hoped it wasn't Virgo. She heard someone though. I have to know.

Lucy opened her door and looked outside. Someone was still climbing the steps. It was not Levy, nor was it Virgo. In fact, she wasn't sure who it was. The figure paused on the steps and looked at her, smiling. It was a strange looking man. He had odd hair, and odder clothes. But the strangest thing about him, was the giant metal tail attached to his body. Lucy was able to guess who this was. He was a celestial spirit, but not one of hers. The man moved his tail, and seemed to aim it right at her. Lucy sensed the magic coming from him. A blast of wind and sand burst from his tail. Lucy quickly shut the door, only to have it forced open by the blast, knocking Lucy aside. She heard the man resuming climbing the steps.

Lucy hurriedly got up and shut the door again, locking it. She ran over to her bed, looking for her keys. After several seconds she found them, and heard her door being assaulted. She could hear the hinges straining. She raised a key and called a spirit, only for nothing to happen. Of course, because the spirit she tried calling was Loke. She grunted in frustration.

The door blew open with another blast, and the celestial spirit walked in. He turned to look at her. "Hey there sweetie." He said. "Name's Scorpio. Not that you'll need to remember it." He turned and again aimed his tail. Lucy quickly called another spirit. This time, it was Taurus. The cow man appeared in front of Lucy just as Scorpio fired another blast. Taurus took the brunt of the blast, but Lucy still staggered a little.

Taurus raised his axe and charged at Scorpio. Taurus brought his axe down, only for it to be blocked by the metal tail. The sound of metal scraping against metal could be heard. The two spirits struggled for a minute, only to push each other back. Scorpio fired another blast, bypassing Taurus and aiming for Lucy again. Lucy dodged, and the blast blew out one of her windows. Taurus charged at Scorpio, ramming him back into a wall. The apartment seemed to shake a little, and there was now a dent in the wall. Lucy got up and looked at the destroyed window. She then looked back at Taurus and Scorpio fighting. If there's another celestial spirit here, then there must be another celestial wizard nearby, she thought. She would have to deal with that later though.

"Taurus, pin him down." Lucy said. "If you can immobilize his tail, that should take away his main attack." At least, Lucy hoped that would work. Taurus did as he was told and began struggling to force Scorpio's tail to the floor. Though Scorpio struggled greatly, Taurus managed to force it down to the floor. It would be hard for Taurus to fight like that though.

"I can help you." Lucy said, pulling out her whip. She took aim for Scorpio on the ground. Before she could attack, there was another loud blast. Not from Scorpio though. Behind Lucy, the already broken window burst open. The wall broke apart as something crashed through and landed right next to Lucy. Lucy screamed and fell to the floor. There was debris everywhere. She looked up. It was something big and metallic. Lucy had encountered something like it before. She never expected to see it in Magnolia though, least of all her own apartment. The winged machine, which resembled Lisanna Strauss, looked down at Lucy.

Just then, a second loud bang came. Another harpy machine burst through the wall, several feet away from the other one. The two large figures stood in Lucy's room, her wall now annihilated.

"No, no, no." Lucy said. She scrambled back away from the machines. She knew she needed to call another spirit. But which one? She looked through her keys. The machines advanced on her. Taurus looked back at Lucy. Scorpio took advantage of this and pushed Taurus off to the side. Scorpio got to his feet and fired a sand spear at Taurus, who staggered back as he was hit. Meanwhile, a harpy leapt at Lucy who rolled out of the way. She got to her feet, but the other machine jumped at her and raked her face, leaving bloody streaks on one side. Lucy cried out in pain, but tried to push the machine away, only partly succeeding. She managed to get some distance from it, backing up to the open wall. She still had her keys, and tried to find one to use, but there was now blood in her eye making it hard to see.

"Say goodnight, Lucy Heartfilia!" Scorpio said from across the room. Lucy looked up, seeing Scorpio on all fours, with his tail aimed at her.

"Oh-" she started to say. Before she could finish the thought, a huge burst of sand and wind came forth, and battered Lucy, knocking her backward. She tried to grab onto something, but much of the wall was gone. She realized she was no longer on the ground. And then, she was no longer in her apartment. She had been blown outside, and was in midair. One of the harpies had been blasted along with her, and appeared too disoriented to fly for the moment. For just a second, Lucy could see into her apartment. Taurus ran towards her, but the other harpy, which had avoided the blast, leapt at him, knocking him down. In that second, she was strangely more concerned for him than herself. But then, she began to fall.

Her apartment was only two stories up. It wasn't that far to fall. And yet, a fall from any height can cause severe injury or even death, depending on how you land. Lucy looked down just in time to see the ground about to hit her. She put up her arms and closed her eyes. She impacted onto the concrete, and heard something break. She didn't feel it for a few seconds. She lay there on the ground, in the rain. She tried to move. Then she felt it. Her arm exploded with pain. She almost cried out, but gritted her teeth. Her arm was badly hurt, maybe even broken. She might have hit her head too. She felt dizzy. She tried to stand, but found it difficult. She looked up at her ruined apartment. It seemed Taurus was still fighting up there. He was trying to battle back Scorpio and the harpy at once, but it seemed like he was on the losing end of things. Lucy knew she had to get up and fight.

She struggled to her feet. She heard a screeching noise nearby and turned. It was the harpy that had fallen out with her. It looked like Lucy's bed had fallen out too, and probably fell onto the thing. It was on the ground, its entire right side battered, a wing and leg broken. It was still active though, so she kept her distance. As Lucy staggered, she suddenly noticed someone running up from down the street. They were running right at her. Lucy tensed, and fumbled for her keys again.

"Lucy!" she heard a voice say. Lucy knew that voice.

"Levy?" Lucy said. She looked, and it was indeed Levy running towards her. They were both wet from the rain. But unlike Lucy, Levy didn't look light she had been through a fight. Levy stopped in front of Lucy.

"Oh my god, Lucy, what happened?" Levy said. Levy looked at Lucy's hurt arm. Lucy looked down at her arm. She was pretty sure it was broken.

"That happened." Lucy said, pointing with her good arm at her wrecked apartment.

"Is that a spirit?" Levy said.

"Yeah."

"Then there must be a celestial wizard nearby."

"Yeah."

Lucy watched as she saw Taurus struggling, Scorpio pinning him down while the harpy helped.

"I'm going to call another spirit." Lucy said.

"Lucy, you're hurt." Levy said. "And for all we know there could be more enemies on the way."

"Yeah, but you're here now." Lucy said.

"And I'll help you, but first we need to get you someplace safe so we can regroup." Levy said. "You don't look like you're ready to fight."

"But I have to." Lucy said. As she said that, Taurus disappeared, having lost the fight. Scorpio turned and looked down at Lucy, pointing to her. He was saying something, but Lucy couldn't hear.

"Lucy, I have a plan, but if its going to work then you need to come with me." I know how to increase our odds, and help you."

Lucy turned. "How?" she asked. Just then, the harpy flew down to the ground, and Scorpio jumped down as well. Even the other harpy seemed to become more animated, and was using its other wing to lift itself.

"You're going to have to trust me." Levy said.

Lucy wasn't sure what to think, but she did trust Levy. "Okay." Lucy said.

"Let's go." Levy said. Levy grabbed Lucy's good hand and started running. They ran together down the street in the dark and rain. They ran for a couple blocks, and then Levy turned and guided them down an alley. They went some ways down the alley, and then turned a corner. Levy finally stopped, apparently deciding this was a good spot. They still had a view of the street from there, but the area was fairly dark and with various trash and pipes to hide behind if need be. The back alley they found themselves in was slightly grimy, but not horribly so. It was mainly the rain and trash that made it seem so bad.

Lucy stood there catching her breath as Levy looked around. She looked at her arm, which was aching. It was starting to look bruised as well. Lucy still had scratch marks on her face, although the rain had washed away much of the blood. "So, what now?" Lucy asked, looking at Levy. Levy turned and looked at Lucy.

"Now, we need some help." Levy said.

"Help?" Lucy said. "Fairy Tail is in the opposite direction, so if you wanted to get help then we went the wrong way."

"I know that." Levy said. "But you still have your spirits, right?"

"Uh, yeah I do. But couldn't I have just called them back there?"

"It was too risky, Lucy. With everything that's happened… They've gotten the drop on us before, and we've suffered for it. I don't want this to be a repeat. Besides, you're hurt badly."

"Yeah, I know." Lucy said. She wished Wendy was nearby to heal her. Or, that she could at least set her arm. Then she realized how much that would hurt. She wasn't looking forward to it. "I still have magic though. I can summon a couple spirits to fight them. I already used Taurus, and… Loke is out of the question. Long story."

"Yeah, I know." Levy said.

"You know?"

"Yeah, Natsu told me earlier."

"Oh, he did?" Lucy said. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. She was planning on talking to Levy about that privately.

"I'm glad he did, because it gave me a chance to do some research. I think I have a solution."

"A solution?" Lucy said. "What do you mean?"

Just then, Levy stepped behind some boxes, and motioned for Lucy to do likewise. Lucy turned and saw Scorpio at the end of the alley. Lucy quickly ducked behind a corner. She saw Scorpio walk down the alley a little. Then he turned a corner and walked on. Fortunately, it was away from where they were. Lucy and Levy stepped back out.

"That was too close." Lucy said. "So, you were saying?"

"Right." Levy said. "I know that Loke will take a long time to heal. But I think I can speed that up. Instead of months, it can take minutes."

Lucy stood there, taking a moment to register this. Minutes instead of months, she thought. It sounded too good to be true.

"But how is that possible?" Lucy said. "He was horribly injured. Almost killed. At least, that's what Virgo told me."

Levy chuckled. "Well, Virgo may be a celestial spirit, but she's not a researcher like me. We have ways of finding out secrets. Anyway, we should get started quickly before someone finds us here."

Lucy still had questions. "What are we going to do exactly?"

Levy held out a hand. "You need to give me your keys."

Lucy looked at her set of keys. "My keys? Which ones?"

"All of them." Levy said.

"Why all of them?" Lucy said. "What's going to happen? Am I going to need to sacrifice something?"

Levy shook her head. "The only thing it will cost you is magical power. It'll use up a lot of power, and you'll need a week or so to recover, but then you should be fine. Trust me Lucy, I know what I'm doing."

Again, Lucy did trust Levy. She looked at her keys for a second, feeling a mixture of uncertainty and a budding excitement at the thought of having Loke back after she thought she'd lost him. The thought of being drained of magic and needing a week to recover sounded less than pleasant. But she decided it was worth it. She handed the keys over to Levy, dropping them in Levy's palm.

Levy looked at the key set. "Okay, this will just take a few minutes. Be patient."

"Okay." Lucy said. She wasn't sure what else to say. She looked around and didn't see anyone else. She thought she could hear the harpy flapping its wings in the distance though. She walked over to a wooden crate on the ground and sat down on it. The rain still poured down at a steady rate. Their hair and clothes were soaked. Lucy sat under an awning, which helped shield her from much of the water coming down. As she sat there watching Levy examine the keys, she still wasn't sure what to expect. She felt very anxious. She didn't want to get her hopes up too high, in case Levy was wrong. Levy sounded pretty confident though. But if this didn't work, Lucy wasn't sure if she'd be able to take the disappointment. She put her head in her hands as she waited for Levy to do whatever she was going to do.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" Levy said.

"I don't know." Lucy said. "So much has happened. I lost Loke. My apartment was destroyed, and now I might be homeless for a while. And I'm a total mess, and I could really use some kind of medicine for the pain. I just hope you can help Loke."

Levy nodded. "Yeah. People come into your home and wreck everything, hurt you, hurt the people you care about, the ones you love. It really sucks, doesn't it?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, it does."

"I guess you feel hurt, and angry." Levy said.

"Of course I do. They won't get away with this."

Levy nodded again. "I guess now you know how Boudica feels."

For a moment Lucy said nothing. She blinked. Then, she blinked a second time. She looked up at Levy. "…What?"

Levy put the keys in a pouch at her side, and closed it. "You don't even know what I'm talking about, do you? The people you've hurt, the damage you've done. Not just Boudica and her family, but others too. Do you ever think about that? I bet you don't."

Lucy shook her head slowly. "What do you…"

Levy continued. "Lucy Heartfilia, a spoiled little girl without a care in the world for the people she hurts and the lives she ruins. What a selfish little bitch you are."

Lucy suddenly stood up. "Who-who are you?"

"Who indeed?" another female voice said from nearby. Lucy quickly turned and looked in the direction the voice came from. From the shadows Lucy heard footsteps moving towards her. She saw a woman carrying an umbrella step out of the shadows. At first, Lucy wasn't sure who it was. She didn't recall meeting her before. But she had heard descriptions, and was able to take a guess.

"You're one of the-" Lucy said before being cut off.

"Former Oracion Seis." She said. "You may call me Angel." Angel turned to look at "Levy". "It took me a few minutes to find you. Do you have the keys?"

"Levy" patted the pouch that held Lucy's keys.

"Excellent." Angel said. She turned to Lucy. "I see you've already met Gemini. I take it they did a good job of playing… whoever this is. Or maybe you're just stupid. You certainly look like a dumb blonde."

"What have you done with Levy?" Lucy said, ignoring the insults. She clenched her fists at the thought of another of her friends being hurt.

"You should be more worried about yourself." Angel said. "She's right here!" she shouted, clearly alerting her allies. Lucy looked around. Levy/Gemini reached over and grabbed for Lucy. She grabbed Lucy's hurt arm, and Lucy yelled out. Lucy grabbed her whip with her other arm. She couldn't really whip it from that close, so she just cracked it in front of Gemini. The magic energy was still enough to get it/them to back off a step. Lucy took the opportunity to start running. She ran down the alley back out onto the street. From behind her, Lucy heard Angel call out, "Where do you think you're running to?" This was followed by malicious laughter.

Lucy ran back out onto the open street. Instinctually she started running towards the guild. As she ran, she wondered where the real Levy was. Was she safe? She also realized that what Gemini said about Loke was probably a lie. In all likelihood, there was no way for Lucy to help Loke. She had started to think she was going to be able to see him again. Tears came out of Lucy's eyes, making it harder for her to see as she ran. She wiped them away and kept running.

She ran for a short time, coming back to her apartment. It was completely wrecked, and it looked like other parts of the building were damaged as well. Lucy hoped no one else in the building had been hurt. When she looked back at the street, she saw that the one fully functional harpy was standing in the street, waiting for her. As soon as it saw her, it started flapping its wings and moved towards her. She backed up a step, and saw the other one just a few feet away. It was the one that had injured Lucy before. It lunged at her, striking her with its wing as it hobbled on one leg. Lucy staggered back. She backed away from both of them. Lucy was unsure about fighting both of them with just her whip, but she decided she could probably take the damaged one. She pulled out her whip and struck it as hard as she could. This left a big gash in the machine, but the exertion also ended up hurting Lucy's arm as well. She paused from the pain. The harpy she just hit was barely moving now. She wasn't sure if it was still functional, but the other one was getting closer and in a fighting stance. She felt she would need to run.

At that moment a powerful blast whipped past Lucy, right in front of her face, barely missing her. Lucy turned her head and saw Scorpio coming from the other direction, where Lucy had just come from. Lucy groaned. Going back to Fairy Tail might not be an option, and staying right there definitely wouldn't be good either. So, she ran again. This time, she headed for the bridge. Lucy's apartment was next to a canal with a bridge over it. She ran across, heading for the other side. As soon as she stepped off the bridge the harpy landed in front of her, knocking Lucy back. It had flown over to meet her there. The rain pelted its metallic frame as it stood there. It quickly jumped at her while flapping its wings. Lucy tried to dodge, but the ground was slippery from the rain. She slipped and fell over the edge, landing in the water below.

The water wasn't that deep, which meant there was no chance of her drowning as long as she was conscious. But it also meant she was still visible to those above. She sat there, her whole body hurting by this point. She was bruised and battered. Her one arm felt like it was burning. She held back tears.

"Aww, don't cry cutie." Scorpio said, looking down at her from the ledge over the water. "You know, you look like the sort of girl I'd like to get to know personally. But I've got a job to do. Business before pleasure. Nothing personal."

Lucy backed away from him, trying to climb up the other ledge. As she pulled herself up onto the ledge, she saw the harpy standing there, looking down at her. It clawed at her hands and she let go, dropping back down. Lucy was badly hurt, and alone, and facing multiple enemies. And she only had one weapon she could use. She reached for her whip, although she wasn't sure what she could do with it. She saw Scorpio get down on all fours again, preparing another attack. Lucy wasn't sure if she could survive another attack. If nothing else, she would probably end up being knocked unconscious, and then would be helpless. Maybe she could use her whip to deal with Scorpio before he fired. But the harpy was still above her. She couldn't attack both of them at once. But she had to try something.

Scorpio charged his attack. Lucy activated her whip, and flung it. Not at Scorpio, but at the Harpy. She managed to wrap the whip around the base of one of its wings, making it difficult for it to fly. Before the harpy could react, Lucy pulled the whip. She used the ledge for leverage, and pulled as hard as she could. The harpy was pulled over, falling forward into the drop into the water. At that same time, Scorpio fired his sand blast, just as the harpy was in the way. Lucy fell into the water, letting go of the whip. The harpy was struck with the blast, being pushed hard against the stone wall. It impacted against the wall with its other wing and its head. The wind and force of the blast caused parts to go flying. The upper part of the harpy was badly damaged, including both wings. The one with Lucy's whip attached went flying up over the ledge, taking the whip with it.

Lucy got up out of the water, looking around. She saw what had happened. Somehow, her plan worked. Although, it was so spontaneous that "plan" was probably not the right word. Scorpio looked taken aback by this. Before he regrouped, Lucy began scrambling to get out of the water and back over the ledge. Without her whip she was defenseless. She managed to get up back onto the road, and was out of breath by that point. She was on her hands and knees. She saw her whip nearby, still attached to the machine part. She crawled over towards it with an effort. In addition to her broken arm, much of her body was aching by this point. It hurt just to move. The rain, although not particularly heavy, still beat down steadily, making the ground more slippery.

As she reached the whip, and reached out to grab it, a foot came down on it, holding it in place. Lucy looked up and saw Angel. Standing beside her was Gemini, still disguised as Levy. Angel slowly clapped her hands, albeit somewhat awkwardly since she was still holding the umbrella.

"Not bad." Angel said. "But it looks like you're out of tricks. And out of time, too."

Lucy grimaced. "So, you're going to take me prisoner now? I won't cooperate, no matter what."

Angel laughed harshly. "Take you prisoner? No, stupid girl. I'm not here to capture you. I'm here to kill you." Angel smiled cruelly. Lucy backed away, still on the ground. She turned around and started to get up to run in the opposite direction, but a giant slab of stone dropped in front of Lucy. She fell back onto the wet ground. Lucy turned.

"You do know that Gemini can use your friend's magic, right?" Angel said. "Solid script, I believe." By this point, Scorpio had walked over to join them. Lucy was surrounded.

"Yep, I have all of Levy McGarden's magic and even memories." Gemini said. Lucy just frowned.

Angel turned to Scorpio. "You shouldn't have given her time to pull that trick." She slapped him. Then she turned to Gemini. "And you should have used that magic when we were in the alley."

"I didn't know all her abilities yet." Gemini said.

"No excuses." Angel said.

Lucy sat upright. She looked at Gemini. "If you have all of Levy's memories then you should know that we treat spirits better. She doesn't respect you, does she? Levy is a good person. You should know that. Angel isn't." Gemini just stood there, saying nothing.

"You're trying to turn them against me?" Angel said. "Not going to work. They're loyal to me. They signed contracts with me. Besides, why would they listen to a filthy loser like you?" She turned to Gemini. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes master." Gemini said coldly.

"See?" Angel said. At this point Angel kicked Lucy's whip backwards, knocking it out of reach. She then stepped forward, looming over Lucy.

"Any last words?" Angel said. "And say them to me, not my spirits."

Lucy looked up. "Just tell me one thing. Why are you working for Boudica? Why are you doing this?"

"That's what you want to say?" Angel rolled her eyes. "My reasons are my own. Just know that Boudica and I have a mutually beneficial relationship."

"Is that why she has you doing her dirty work for her?" Lucy said. "She sends Cobra to attack us in town. Then has you send your spirits to attack L… Leo in the spirit world. And now she sends you to attack me again here. She can't do anything herself."

Angel laughed. "Now you try you turn me against Boudica? You really are stupid. Boudica is a very busy woman. And she actually did attack Leo herself. She used her divine power to enter that realm and deal with the problem herself. She's more powerful than you can imagine."

"But she failed to kill him." Lucy said. "He's alive."

Angel frowned. "I've heard enough out of you." She took a step back and looked to her spirits. "Playtime's over. Kill her, now." Angel looked down at Lucy disdainfully as she said this.. But after a moment, Angel realized the spirits weren't moving. Gemini and Scorpio both stood there staring, standing still.

"I said kill her." Angel said. "That's an order." A second later, Gemini disappeared. And then, so did Scorpio. They vanished.

"What…?" Angel said. "What is this?" She took out her keys and used them to resummon her spirits. But nothing happened. She tried summoning a different spirit, and still nothing. Angel backed up a few steps, and looked confused and annoyed.

Lucy didn't know what had happened, but she knew this might be her only chance. She quickly got to her feet, and took a few steps back. While Angel was still distracted with her keys, Lucy began running towards Angel. Angel looked up just in time as Lucy leapt into the air. Lucy extended her leg, and rammed her boot into Angel's face. Lucy sometimes referred to this as a "Lucy kick". Her boot pressed hard into Angel's face, knocking Angel backward onto the ground. Angel hit the concrete with a thud. Angel dropped her keys on the ground, and stopped moving after that.

Lucy was now on her knees on the ground. She looked over at Angel, unconscious. She then looked over where Gemini had stood. Lucy saw her keys on the ground. Gemini must have dropped them when they disappeared. Lucy crawled over toward them. Lucy was tired, and hurt badly, but had just enough energy to get to her keys and pick them up. She held them in her hands. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she sat there in the rainfall.

The Fairy Tail guild got a surprise when, around midnight, a celestial spirit walked into the guild hall. The spirit in question was Virgo, and she was not alone. She walked in carrying an unconscious Lucy, as well as an equally unconscious Angel. Mirajane was still up and about at the time, and had been getting ready to leave for the night. There were only a few other mages there, including Cana and Laki. Natsu, Lisanna, and Makarov were all asleep in different parts of the guild.

As Virgo entered soaking wet from the rain, Mirajane immediately ran over to see what was happening. Virgo briefly explained that Lucy had been attacked, and afterwards had summoned Virgo just before passing out. Virgo had carried both Lucy and the downed Angel back to the guild, which admittedly was not very far. After hearing this, Mirajane went to go wake the master, while Virgo found a place to lay Lucy down, and put Angel in a separate area.

Shortly after that, Makarov entered the hall, having just been awoken. Normally he might be annoyed, but in this case he was more concerned. Upon seeing Angel he immediately ordered her tied up somewhere, and watched. He then went over to Lucy and looked at her. She didn't look good. She was badly wounded, and wet from being out in the rain.

"I hope she doesn't get sick." Mirajane said.

"She has bigger problems right now." Makarov said. "I know its late, but someone needs to look for Wendy. She can probably help Lucy."

"She should probably be changed out of those wet clothes." Laki said.

"Good idea." Makarov said.

"I'll change her clothes." Cana said. "I just need to get her into a private room."

"What exactly happened here?" Makarov said. Virgo again explained, this time with a little more detail. Of course, Lucy had only given Virgo a rough outline of what happened before passing out, so Virgo couldn't relay too much.

"Why did the spirits disappear?" Makarov said.

"I can answer that." Virgo said. "The Celestial Spirit King has been angry over his realm being invaded by an outsider. He's been paying close attention to what the spirits are doing. He heard what Angel said about Boudica entering the spirit world and attacking Loke. The Spirit King immediately recalled Angel's spirits to the spirit world. They've since broken their contracts with Angel, even if she doesn't know it yet. The spirits who used to serve Angel have also expressed an interest in making contracts with Lucy."

"That's nice, but she'll have to recover first." Cana said as she and Laki carried Lucy to another room.

"Lucy will need a place to rest, especially if her apartment is destroyed." Mirajane said. "She might even need to stay here for a little while."

Makarov sighed. "Yes, of course. At this point I should start charging rent with everyone staying here. We're running out of rooms, so… maybe we could ask Natsu and Lisanna to share a room. At least for now."

"Oh, that's…" Mirajane said.

"What needs to be done." Makarov said. "We'll need to wake them up too. In the meantime…" He turned to look at Angel, who was now tied to a chair, but was still unconscious. "We'll need to question her. And we shouldn't waste time. The magic council will hear about what happened soon, and they might come over here and take her away, just like before."

"So, we'll question her first thing in the morning." Mirajane said.

"Too long." Makarov said. "I don't want to risk it. We'll give her an hour to wake up, which will give us some time to prepare, and then we'll wake her up ourselves if we have to. We're going to get some answers out of her one way or another."

Notes: Why Gajeel and Flare? Well, why not? I thought it could be interesting. And maybe kind of hot. I just want to say that I don't have a problem with the canon couples. Natsu and Lucy are fine as a couple. Gajeel and Levy are fine. But there are many fanfics about those pairings. People have written a lot about them. I wanted to try something different, that you wouldn't normally see.

Having said all that, I am curious what readers think of this pairing, and the other non-canon pairings. Like them, or dislike them? If anyone has any opinions about this then I wouldn't mind hearing it, so long as its civil.