A/N: Well, it has been a bittersweet week that has brought us here, as the Fairy Tail anime has finally come to an end. I hold out hope for the 100 Years Quest being made into an animated series, but no word on that as of yet. However, I was very excited to learn about the Fairy Tail RPG game that will be coming out for the PS4, so I'm sure I'll end up doing at least one or two videos on it!

Now, as it's the beginning of October, I thought it only appropriate that we begin setting up for a (SLIGHTLY) spooky story arc. This is an arc of my own making, and it's only going to last two chapters, but I had a lot of fun making it. I can only hope that you all enjoy it, too.

Now, read, review, and enjoy!

P.S. If you follow my other story, The Red Swordsman Shattered Fragment, I put up a poll on my home page concerning that retelling of SAO.

P.P.S. I know that I haven't made a response video for the reviews on the last chapter, but my wife and I have both been ill these last few days. I'll make it as soon as I am able.

Dread Waters Arc: Chapter 1

Rough Waters

"It feels good to be going to work again," Yukino said as she and the rest of Golden Tail walked down to the pier, where the ship they were being hired to protect, the Hydrangea, was docked. It was a military vessel, designed to transport arms and other supplies to the outposts on Fiore's southern border. As such, it was a massive craft, large enough to house an entire town's population, and still have room for a guild's worth of wizards.

"You're this relaxed even though we're about to set sail with people you used to work with before ditching them for my cousin's guild?" Azura snorted. For this trip, she had donned a sports top and a pair of loose jeans, both blue in color. A necklace with a small orange crystal was draped around her neck as her only other clothing item, since she had elected to go barefoot.

"Your guild, too," Gorun reminded her with a sharp look, his hand intertwined with Kinana's, her engagement ring sparkling in the bright sunlight. He had changed into a sleeveless variation of his combat gi, though he did have his bracers with him. His new fiancée was adorned with a light green sun dress and sandals that went well with the warm weather.

"I just work here," the blue-haired saiyan hybrid shrugged. "And so far, I have yet to even see a paycheck."

"I've been meaning to ask…" Romeo, who was decked out in shorts and his open purple vest, asked his leader. "How're we dividing up the goods now that your cousin is here?"

"I was talking to Kinana about that, actually," Gorun answered. "We decided that my cut will now be Azura's, and Kinana and I will split her portion from now on. That way we can still put savings away for our team, and you and Yukino don't end up losing money to Azura."

"Are you sure about that?" the celestial mage asked, a little concerned. "Because I really don't mind sharing my part with you."

"Yeah, me too," Romeo added.

Kinana and Gorun exchanged a smile before she told them, "It would have happened eventually. With Gorun and I getting married, we figured that we don't need as much income as the rest of you, since you live on your own. Well, I mean, I guess you don't, Romeo."

"But it's never too early to start saving," Gorun chuckled. Before any of them could object again, he told them, "Look, I appreciate what you're saying, but it's really okay. My home is already paid for, so my living expenses are less than yours. I really only need utilities and food money to get by, and I can eat at the guild hall since we already pay our ten percent to Master anyway."

"And I won't need to pay rent once we've gotten married, so…" Kinana giggled. "Really guys, we thought this through." Gorun kissed her on the cheek, making her laugh again.

"Are we already on the boat?" Azura said as she pretended to gag. "Cos I'm pretty sure I'm seasick."

"Shut up," her cousin muttered.

"Hey look," Romeo said as he pointed down the pier to where a ramp led up to the ship. "I think Sabertooth's already here." The others looked to where he was indicating, and Yukino tensed up when she recognized their soon-to-be teammates.

"Hey!" Sting called out with a friendly smile and an overzealous wave. "Glad to see you guys made it!" Standing by him was Rogue, who looked indifferent as ever.

"I… didn't expect the new guild master to be here," Yukino said hoarsely.

"Do you need me to take you home?" Gorun asked her gently as they stopped advancing down the gangplank. "I didn't know it was going to be them coming with us, I promise."

"No…" the silver-haired girl said as she took in a deep breath. "I need to do this. I'm a Fairy Tail wizard, and I'm proud of that. I won't let my past be chains upon me." So saying, she raised her chin and strode forward with new confidence.

"Great… Can we get on the ship now?" Azura muttered.

Gorun gave her a one-armed shove that caught her off-guard, sending her flying into the water. As he and Kinana walked away from the sputtering, furious girl, he grinned and said, "I'm gonna enjoy having so many opportunities to do that over the next week."

"Mind that she doesn't do the same to you," Kinana laughed softly as she poked him in the side.

"Her fault for not remembering to fly in time," he shrugged.

"Is she gonna be mad again?" Romeo asked nervously as they heard the blue-haired girl leap out of the water and fling droplets from her hair.

"She's always mad."

"Great…"

It was at this time that Sting and Rogue stepped forward to meet them in front of the ramp that led up to the Hydrangea. "Hey, Gorun!" Sting grinned as he stepped forward to shake hands with the young warrior. "How's life in the old guild hall treating you? I heard it got restored."

"I feel like I've finally come home," the tailed boy admitted as he gripped Sting's hand. "How are things at Sabertooth? I heard you became the new guild master."

"I'd hoped somebody else would take the job, but I was kinda outvoted," the blond man said sheepishly as he rubbed his neck. "Still, with Rogue, Lector, and Frosch, we're making things better than ever." Suddenly growing more somber, he turned to make eye contact with Yukino, who met his gaze evenly, without hostility or familiarity.

"I didn't know we'd be seeing you on this job," Sabertooth's new master said after a moment. Then he offered an awkward smile and added, "But I am glad to see you, Yukino. I hope that we can really work together this time- do it right, you know?"

"I hope so, too," she answered, relaxing just a little bit. "I'm glad to see you both doing well." Hearing this, everyone else was able to breathe just a little easier.

"So, uh…?" Sting said, still feeling a little awkward, apparently. "Who else is with you? I think I know you from the Grand Magic Games, miss… Kendra?" He glanced back and forth between Gorun and his fiancée.

"Kinana," the young woman laughed sweetly. "Yes, I'm on Gorun's team."

"I'm Romeo," their fire mage added, stepping forward to shake hands with Sting. "Gorun made us into an official team right after the whole dragon incident, so I guess you wouldn't know about some of us."

"What about that girl over there?" Rogue asked, jerking his head over at Azura, who was furiously wringing out her lengthy hair, making sputtering noises that reminded Gorun of an angry cat. "I've never seen her before."

"That would be my cousin, Azura," Gorun replied. "She practices the same kind of magic as Kinana and I do, and she's almost as strong as I am."

"Wait, seriously?!" Sting gaped while Rogue looked a little jarred. "Then how come she wasn't in the games with you?"

"She, uh… took a little longer to join the guild," Gorun half-lied. "Truth be known, we haven't been on the best of terms in recent years. But we're trying to work on that now."

"Kaidon, I swear to Shenron, if this saltwater ruined my hair, there will be an entire multiverses' worth of hell to pay!" she shouted at him from up the pier, holding up her sopping wet blue locks angrily as she did so.

"Have… you made any progress?" Rogue asked dubiously.

"Has she blown me up along with the surrounding town yet?" Gorun deadpanned.

"…No?"

"Progress."

They were soon after shown by one of the crew members where they could put their things. To the collective surprise of the wizards, they were afforded actual rooms, not just a common area with all the other staff. They were small and a little stuffy, but the girls were especially glad of the privacy.

When Gorun asked about the accommodations, the soldier shrugged and said, "This ship has afforded dignitaries from time to time. Captain told us to let you guys have 'em, and it isn't a soldier's place to complain."

"Captain?" Gorun asked with a bit of surprise. "I thought the ship was being manned by a Commander Marcos?"

"Commander Marcos is still on board, but he's acting as first mate at this time," the soldier replied. "Captain Bartholomew has more experience with naval battles, so the king asked him to take command for this journey."

"Ah," Gorun muttered. "Well, if at all possible, may Sting and I meet with the Captain before launch? There are a few things we'd like to discuss with him."

"Of course," the soldier nodded. "He and the Commander both will be on the bridge, if you'll come with me."

The two party leaders were led up to the bridge room, where several more experienced soldiers stood around, fiddling with instruments of which functions the young men knew not. A couple of men were peering down at a map of Fiore's coastline, both of them middle-aged and obviously of a higher rank.

"Sir!" the soldier that had been escorting them said as he came sharply to attention. "The wizards from Fairy Tail and Sabertooth have arrived, sir!"

"Very good, Seaman," one of the two officers said as he straightened up from looking down at the table. "That will be all. Dismissed!"

"Sir!" With that, the young soldier marched away.

"Welcome aboard the Hydrangea, wizards," the man said as he reached a hand out to Sting. "We're glad to have you with us." He was a tall man with dark hair that was frosting silver at the edges of his well-trimmed beard. His eyes were deep-set and intelligent, their color reminding Gorun of a noon sky. As he shook hands with the blond wizard, he added, "I'm Captain Bartholomew, but since you boys aren't soldiers, just call me 'Bart' to save time."

"Sure thing," Sting grinned as he released the man's hand.

"With all due respect, sir, I'll stick with 'Captain', if that's all right," Gorun said as he shook hands with the man. "After all, you are the ranking officer for this mission." As he felt the other man's grip with his own, he found himself appreciating the strength and solidarity he found in his hand- no doubt born from a lifetime of fighting in the military and sailing the seas that bordered the country he had sworn to defend.

"Whatever suits you, son," the captain replied with a smile as he released his grip. "You've both got fine handshakes, by the way. I'd like to think that makes you fighting men."

"That we are, sir," Gorun answered with a small smile of his own.

Turning to indicate the other officer, Bartholomew said, "This here is Commander Marcos. As fine a commanding officer as you can find in our navy, and he's performed well in his duty for years. But the king doesn't want to take any chances with one of our most heavily armed transports, so here I am."

"Hardly an inconvenience, sir," Marcos chuckled. Like his comrade, he was well-built, if advancing in his years a little. He had brown hair with matching eyes, but unlike his senior, he was clean-shaven. However, Gorun saw intelligence in his eyes, too, and not a hint of resentment for essentially having his command handed over to another officer, even if on a temporary basis.

Good, we won't have to worry about any infighting, Gorun thought with an internal sigh of relief.

"We're glad to have you both on board," Marcos was saying now. "We have several mages in our ranks from the magic council's custody enforcement unit, but…" Here he hesitated. "Well, to be honest…"

"They're not packing much heat, so we're the bigger guns just in case the bad guys have any toys you might not be expecting," Sting finished for him.

"To put it crudely, yes," Bartholomew said, though there was a twinkle of amusement in his eye. "They aren't exactly happy about the situation, but I've ordered them to give you and your teammates a wide berth while on the ship. Their resentment hardly makes sense to me, to be honest- the people they work for are the ones who sent out a request to your guilds."

"Just because the boss makes a decision, it doesn't mean everyone is on board with it," Sting shrugged. "As a new guild master, I've already learned that one a few times."

"True enough," the captain nodded.

"Are you sure that they'll follow your orders, sir?" Gorun asked with a slight frown. "Don't they answer to someone else?"

"During this mission, all authority has been given to me by both the crown and the magic council to issue orders that I see fit in order to ensure the safety of this vessel, and more importantly, the survival of her crew," Bartholomew answered. "Everyone on this ship that serves the military or the enforcement unit will obey my orders, or be court-marshalled."

"Translation: the council guys will leave us alone if they know what's good for 'em," Sting snickered.

"That may be, and I am aware that you only answer to your guilds' code of honor, but as one leader to another, please do not instigate anything… unruly… during your stay on our ship," the captain requested.

"My team will behave themselves, I guarantee it," Gorun promised.

"You might get a pink flying frog getting lost a few times while we're here, but I'll keep my guys out of trouble, too," Sting nodded.

"A pink, flying… what?" Marcos asked, looking bewildered.

"Don't mind it, sir," Gorun said, shooting Sting a glare, who affected to look innocent. "Is there anything we need to know about the ship while on board?

"You're welcome to use the deck, lavatories, and mess hall at your discretion," Bartholomew told them. "You and your teammates may visit the bridge if there is an emergency, but otherwise, we ask that you stay in the places we've listed, as well as your cabins."

"I'd also ask that you not pester my men while they are performing their duties," Marcos added. "They are soldiers, not tour guides, and their jobs are what allow this ship to sail and fight efficiently."

"We understand, sir," Gorun nodded. "Hopefully we'll all see a bit of good luck, and this incident will be nothing more than the work of some ragtag pirates that our guilds can take care of without much trouble."

At that, both Marcos and Bartholomew frowned heavily. The captain then asked, "You are aware that the first ship to go missing in these waters was a military vessel, much like this one?"

Gorun and Sting exchanged a surprised glance- their briefing had said nothing of the sort. However, all the kai-saiyan hybrid said was, "Well… Perhaps they're very lucky pirates?" When both of the officers gave him disapproving looks, he sighed and muttered, "Not helping, I know. Apologies, officers."

"Just make sure we all get to our destination safely," Bartholomew sighed. "If I don't live to make it home for my daughter's sweet sixteen, my wife will kill me."

"We'll see every man on this ship home safely, sir," Sting assured him. "Guild's honor."

"Mine too," Gorun added hurriedly. "Fairy Tail wizards excel at destruction- whoever attacks this ship will be very sorry indeed."

"You know, it's a real good thing those magic council guys at least know how to enchant a ship to keep anyone that's on it from getting motion sickness," Gorun said as he sat on the railing of the Hydrangea's starboard side. "Otherwise you two would be feeding the fishes for miles."

Rogue and Sting glared up at him, but he just gave them a cheeky grin in response. It had been smooth sailing for three days, and they were nearly halfway to their destination. The danger zone was supposed to come up the next day, but for now, Gorun saw no reason not enjoy a clear day out on the open sea. Taunting the dragon slayers was just an added bonus, he decided.

"Is he this mean to his own guild mates?" Sting asked Romeo, who was leaning out over the railing to enjoy a fresh ocean breeze.

"Sometimes to Gray and Natsu," the fire mage replied. "He also picked a fight with Cana at one point. Pretty sure Juvia hates him, too."

"Regular lady killer, aren't you?" Sting smirked up at Gorun, who sneered back at him.

"Okay, first of all, Cana picked a fight with me," he protested. "Second, she and I are cool now. Third… Okay, yeah, I guess Juvia hating me might be justified. Even if she's a little crazy."

"…You know she can probably hear you, right?" Rogue asked as he jerked a thumb at Azura, who was a few yards away from them, talking to Yukino and Kinana.

"Wha-?" Gorun asked, then smacked himself on the forehead. "No, you idiot! That's my cousin, Azura! Weren't you paying any attention when I made the introductions?"

"Not really," Rogue admitted. "The kid mentioned that she hated you, though, so I thought… Well, to be fair, she is a blue-haired, blue-eyed wizard."

"Oh, and we all just look alike, do we?!" Azura shouted over her shoulder.

Rogue and Sting appeared startled, but she made no hostile moves, and went back to her conversation with the other girls. "Uh…" Sting muttered, looking to Gorun for an explanation.

"She and I both have sensitive hearing," he smirked. "So yeah, she can hear us."

"Right, good to know," the White Dragon Slayer scowled. "Any other surprises I should know about?"

"Well, I learned a new transformation since the dragons invaded," Gorun replied. "It allows me to harness god energies in addition to my other powers."

"You're joking," Rogue deadpanned.

"No joke," Romeo chuckled as he turned to face the Twin Dragons directly. "His cousin can do it too, but she needs help to transform like that. Gorun can do it on his own cos he's a…" He glanced at his leader, winked, then finished, "special case."

"Right…" Sting said uncomfortably.

Sensing that it would be better to change the subject, Gorun dropped to the deck and said, "In case you've been wondering, Yukino has been doing very well in Fairy Tail. She's happy, from what I can tell. She's even gotten her own nickname since joining us."

"What's this?" Rogue inquired.

"People are calling her the 'Snow Fairy'," Romeo told them. "Sorcerer Weekly came up with that title a couple of weeks ago."

"Yeah, I'd heard about that," the blond slayer nodded as he looked over to see the subject of discussion laughing at something that Kinana was telling her. "Not gonna lie, it sucks seeing her not being a part of Sabertooth, but I am glad that she's happy where she is. Besides, I can't really talk- I wasn't very sympathetic when she was kicked out."

"None of us were helpful like we should have been," Rogue said as he laid a hand on Sting's shoulder. "It wasn't just your fault- you know that, Sting."

"Doesn't make it any easier- or better, for that matter," his guild master sighed.

"What you're doing with your guild now does make it better," Gorun insisted. "I'm glad to hear that your guild is different than how Jiemma made it. That wasn't a real guild- just a group of loners that had no clue about how to treat each other."

"Some people might say the same thing about our guild," Romeo grinned crookedly.

"Different context," Gorun chuckled. "Point is, a real guild is a family- and from what I've heard, Sabertooth is looking a lot more like one of those lately."

"We've had a good example to follow," Sting replied. "Seriously- thanks for knocking some sense into us during the games."

"Our pleasure," the saiyan boy nodded.

"That doesn't mean that we're gonna hold back next year, though," the blond slayer smirked challengingly.

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

"So, I've been meaning to talk to the both of you," Kinana said as she and the girls made their way to the portside of the craft, away from the boys. "Gorun and I discussed this over dinner last night, and we've both decided to go with three people each for our wedding parties." Stopping against the railing, she turned around to face them both as she said, "Yukino, I would like it if you were to be my Maid of Honor. And Azura, I know we aren't very close, but I was hoping you would be one of my bridesmaids."

"Of course!" Yukino exclaimed delightedly. "I would be honored!"

"What am I expected to do if I say yes?" Azura asked dubiously.

"Mostly keep people from bothering me the day of the wedding," Kinana replied with a knowing smile. "Other than that, look pretty, and smile for maybe twenty minutes during the ceremony?"

"I'll give you ten minutes at the most," the blue-haired girl offered.

"Promise to make it twenty, and I will see to it that there will be someone you can at least spar with during the after party," Kinana countered.

"Deal," Azura said as she shook hands with the bride-to-be.

"Who will you ask to be your other bridesmaid?" Yukino asked excitedly.

"Laki," Kinana answered. "She and I became friends while everyone was stuck on Tenrou Island. We're not best friends, but I still count her among my closer friends in the guild."

"Are you sure you don't want her as your Maid of Honor?" Yukino asked, suddenly feeling a wave of insecurity wash over her. "After all, you two have more history together, and we've only known each other-"

"Yukino," Kinana said gently, yet firmly. "I want you to be by my side at my wedding. You're one of my teammates, I trust you with my life. Gorun has often told me 'time matters not'. When he first said it, I didn't really get what he was trying to tell me, so eventually he explained that even though he had known some people from his past life for years, he never really felt a connection with them. He never opened up to them. But when he met me, he felt as though he was drawn to be near me, to be a part of my life, even though we were strangers."

Placing a hand on Yukino's shoulder, Kinana went on to say, "I felt the same way about him. It's why I chose to accept his training, even though I've never been one to enjoy fighting. It was because I felt like I was meant to be at his side. And the only other time I've ever felt that was when I met you, Yukino." The silver-haired girl's eyes widened, but Kinana wasn't finished. "You were part of a guild that had mocked and belittled my home for years, but in spite of that, I was able to see you for who you really are- a sweet, kind girl who just needed a home, like I did. And Gorun and I knew that home was on our team in Fairy Tail."

"You both… felt the same way about me?" the celestial mage whispered.

"We did," Kinana confirmed. "And now, just as surely as I knew that you were meant to be a part of our own little family, I know that it's you who is going to stand by my side the day that I join my life with Gorun's."

Yukino's eyes filled with tears, and she found herself hugging the purple-haired girl before she knew what she was doing. "Thank you," she mumbled. "I've never said it enough, but… thank you, Kinana. For being so kind to me…" Kinana simply smiled and returned the embrace, glad that the other girl knew she was loved and had a place to belong.

Next to them, Azura mimicked a very loud, very obnoxious snore.

Fairies and Tigers arose early the next morning by an unspoken agreement.

Today is the danger zone, Gorun thought as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. Swinging his legs out from his bed, he reached up and tapped Romeo on the side to wake him up. When he heard a muffled grunt, he grinned and said, "I'm going to wash up, and if you're not out by the time I get back, I'm pulling you down from there."

Romeo's response was to hit Gorun's head with his pillow before yanking the blankets back over himself and turning so that his back was to the door. The saiyan also thought he heard some colorful words being tossed his way, but the sounds were muffled, so he couldn't really tell.

Chuckling to himself, Gorun went and moved to the washroom, where he shaved the stubble growing on his face and tied his hair back into place. Hmm… he thought as he peered at the lengthy strands. I wonder if Kinana will want me to cut it for the wedding…? Then he shrugged and walked away from the mirror, his grooming complete. No sense worrying about it right now.

He threw Romeo's pillow back at him on his way out of their cabin, just as the boy was starting to sit up. It hit him hard enough that his head smacked the wall, and he wound up falling out of the bed from the rebound force. When his voice reached Gorun on his way out of the room, the older wizard knew exactly what his comrade was saying about him. "I know your father," he taunted the fire wizard before closing the door behind him.

"Do I want to know?" Kinana asked from right behind her fiancé.

"Romeo is like any teenage boy," Gorun shrugged. "He likes staying up late, eating bad food, and sleeping way more than any human should get away with."

"Speaking from experience?" she teased him as they intertwined hands and began to walk down the hall that would lead them out into fresh air.

"Are you kidding me?" Gorun snorted. "If the sunlight ever hit the city before Azura and I were up, we'd wake up to the Prince of all Saiyans aiming a Gallick Gun at our heads! Try sleeping in after you've seen that!"

"So you're a morning person," she giggled.

"Not by choice," the young man admitted. "But yeah, once you've had the fear of a Super Saiyan god instilled in you, disobedience becomes kind of like an imaginary friend- always fun when you're a kid, but as you get older, it just seems so…"

"Pointless?" Kinana guessed.

"Silly," Gorun said with a negative shake of his head. "It's very, very silly to think that one can disobey Prince Vegeta while training under him."

"Did Goku never teach you?" she asked. "I thought you mentioned a few lessons with him."

"He got us on weekends and holidays," her fiancé replied. "He was just as relentless, though. He was nicer, yeah, but in his eyes, time spent sleeping was time you could be spending training. Or eating…" He rubbed his stomach unconsciously, and Kinana laughed at the motion.

"Come on," she said. "Azura and Yukino are already down at the mess hall. I asked them to get us some food if they could."

"You let Azura get my food?" he asked dubiously. "Honey, if you want me dead that badly before the wedding, please use a Kikoho- it'll hurt less than whatever poison my cousin puts in my food!"

"I asked Yukino to get it, don't worry," she said, shoving him lightly. "Ye of little faith."

He was about to come back with a witty retort, but before he could use it, one of the doors in the hallway opened up to usher in two dragon slayers and their exceed partners. "Mornin'," Sting said as he waved to the couple. "We were about to get some grub. You guys headed that way?"

"Yeah," Gorun nodded, his friendly argument with Kinana already forgotten. "There's a few things I wanted to talk to you about, actually."

"If it's about the mission, wait until we've had breakfast," Sting muttered. "None of us can think on an empty stomach."

"Frankly, the fact that we don't constantly have empty stomachs while on a vehicle is still amazing to me," Rogue added.

"All right, but we better talk strategy soon," Gorun sighed. "Today's the day that we're supposed to pass through where the ships go missing."

Once everyone had filled their bellies and Romeo had joined them, Gorun leaned forward and said, "Okay, we've had a half-week to think about this. Any thoughts as to who our mystery attackers are, and how we can stop them?"

"There's usually a fog bank that can be seen from the shore whenever one of the ships disappears," Yukino answered. "But there's never an outright storm."

"Probably a magician, or a group of mages, that are messing with the weather to hide what's really going on," Romeo said before biting into an apple. "And fog wouldn't be that hard to create. Even a fire mage could make enough steam if he hit the water with enough power to be mistaken for fog."

"That would take a pretty strong mage to do it alone," Sting pointed out. "However they're doing it, I would imagine there's a strong chance that we're gonna be up against some decent spell casters."

"Merchants often hire wizards to protect their wares," Kinana pointed out. "It's possible that we're looking at a network of pirates that get themselves hired under the guise of legal guild members, then ambush the victims when they get to this area, where their comrades are lying in wait to get them out, along with the goods."

"Mmm…" Gorun mused before shaking his head negatively. "Possible, but very unlikely. It's pretty hard to pass as a member of a guild you're not really associated with for very long. Not to mention, people would catch on pretty quickly if a crew was 'protecting' ships that suddenly went missing. You could pull it off two, maybe three times if you're lucky."

"Also, there's the pattern of attack to consider here," Rogue added quietly.

"Huh?" Sting asked, looking askance at his partner. "What 'pattern' are you talking about? There is no pattern. Every ship that comes through here vanishes."

"Exactly," Azura nodded, glancing at Rogue for a brief second. "Every single ship goes missing in this area? That doesn't strike any of you as odd?"

"Why would it?" Romeo asked. "There's valuable stuff to take from the ships. Makes sense to me that pirates would hit however many they could."

"You're ignoring the fact that the first vessel to vanish was a military ship," Azura huffed, exasperated. "As in, a ship with lots of cannons and highly trained soldiers? Only a fool or a very powerful, very clever group of people would even attempt a heist with that kind of firepower ready to combat them. And seeing as the ships keep disappearing…"

"She's right," Gorun nodded. "This isn't the work of your average pirate. Those guys tend to get a feel for which ships are going to have the most lucrative payload. No sense in wasting energy on a fishing boat, or a transfer of raw materials- there's no money on hand with those vessels."

"Yet every time a ship comes near this place, poof!" Azura muttered as she clicked her fingers. "Gone. It doesn't make sense."

"Could be a scare tactic," Gorun said after a quiet moment.

"Terrorism?" Rogue asked, looking doubtful.

"Why not?" the saiyan youth replied. "What better way to frighten citizens than to show that their war vessels, material goods, even a mode of transportation, is no longer safe?"

"Who would do something like that?" Yukino asked. "Fiore has no open hostilities with any of its neighbors."

"Key word there being 'open'," Azura smirked. Looking up at Gorun, she asked, "Any ideas on that front?"

"The only one that comes to mind is the Alvarez Empire, but they've been quiet for almost a decade," he answered. When everyone else gave him blank looks, he added, "They're a nation across the sea that tried to invade us a few years ago. Magic Council fired the etherion at their fleet as a warning, told them that the next shot would level their capital, if not their entire country. Turned tail and ran- we haven't heard from them in years."

"Could this be a dark guild at work?" Sting guessed. "Some rebel sect that isn't happy with the new council?"

"Since when have the wizard guilds of our country ever been happy with the council?" Yukino pointed out.

"Could still be a motive," Sting argued.

"I think that if the people responsible for this were smart enough to capture or sink passing ships with one-hundred percent accuracy, they would find a more direct way to attack the council, should that be their goal," Azura said as a counterpoint. "I'm more likely to believe that this is a terrorist attack from an outside force than some petty anarchy."

"Okay, say it is terrorism," Rogue sighed. "That still leaves the question as to who is behind this."

"Veronica?" Kinana suggested. "They can't be too happy about how things turned out at their celebration."

"This was happening before the phoenix became a problem," Yukino pointed out. "There are other kingdoms in Ishgar, but none of them have a reason to potentially trigger a war."

"Fiore is pretty fortunate with its wizarding population," Lector, Sting's exceed said through a mouthful of fish. "We could crush just about anybody that'd be stupid enough to pick a fight with us."

"Cat makes a good point," Azura muttered. "Based on what you've all told me, none of the other countries are in a hurry to pick a fight with this place."

"Back to square one," Rogue growled.

"Scary square," Frosch said, shaking in his pink frog costume.

"Don't worry, pal," Rogue said gently as he cradled his exceed. "We'll be okay. If we're lucky, it'll just be some stupid pirates that have been very lucky so far."

"And at best, it'll be some wizards who can last more than a few seconds against me," Azura said with a confident smirk as she popped her neck.

It was a couple of hours after dawn when the fog roiled in before them, causing the ship's ranking officers to summon Sting and Gorun up to the bridge. "There's that damned fog, just like intel said it would be," Bartholomew muttered into his hand as they all gazed at the mist from inside the command center.

"Here I was hoping for some good luck," Marcos added.

"Well, you hired us, so we won't need any luck," Sting said cockily.

Gorun shot him a baleful look before turning to the captain and asking, "Do you want to plot a course around it, sir?"

"Can't do that, there's a storm rolling in from sea," Marcos answered. "We either go through that fog and fight whatever's in there, or we sit here and wait out the weather, in which case, the fog still might not go away."

"Not to mention we got boys at the border counting on our cargo," Bartholomew pointed out. "We could be delayed for a few days and it wouldn't hurt our men, but that also increases the chances of something happening to the ship and her crew."

Gorun nodded in agreement- he had expected as much, but it didn't hurt to ask. "Then what would you like us to do?" he inquired.

"Keep your heads on a swivel, and whenever someone or something rears its ugly head, use that magic that made you famous across Fiore to blast it to dust," Bartholomew ordered. "I won't see my men taken by some monster or pirates at that, understand?"

"Yes sir!" Sting and Gorun replied.

"So what is our game plan?" the White Dragon Slayer asked as soon as they had gathered their teams. "Cos I don't know about you, but I don't like the idea of sailing into weather like that, knowing we're supposed to become fish food or slaves."

"We're not going to be fish food," Gorun sighed, exasperated. "Azura, I need you to fly ahead, do reconnaissance. If something goes wrong, just raise your power level as high as you can go, and I'll be there to back you up via instant transmission."

"You're sending her out there, alone?" Rogue frowned. "That seems a little risky, doesn't it?"

"I'll be fine on my own," Azura snorted. "Besides, I don't recall anyone but Kaidon and Kinana being able to fly, and he's not going to risk sending her into unknown danger."

"She has a point," Gorun shrugged.

"Uh, hey!" Lector snapped as he leaped up, sprouting his wings so that he could hover in front of Azura with his arms folded. "You think these are just for show? We're how the Twin Dragons get around so fast, toots!"

"…You have exactly five seconds to rephrase that," Azura said, her power level rising rapidly. "One. Two."

"Azura!" Gorun snapped, his eyes flashing red for a second. "Get out there, do your job. This'll be just like Namek."

"Which time on Namek?" she asked, never taking her piercing glare off of Lector, who looked decidedly rattled now.

"The one where Ginyu accidentally ended up in Gohan's body, and we had to go find him," he answered.

"Oh yeah," she said with a wolfish smile. "That was a great day."

"Then you and I remember that mission very differently," Gorun deadpanned. "Scout. Go. Now."

Azura sneered at him once more, then took flight, vanishing into the approaching mist faster than a magic bullet. Rogue frowned at her departure before saying, "Despite all of her posturing, she should have had company."

"I trust my cousin's battle instincts," Gorun replied. "It may pain me to say it, but she's probably the better fighter between the two of us. I'm just naturally more powerful." When Sting raised an eyebrow at him, the long-haired young man said, "My point is, she'll be fine going solo."

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't want us going with her," Rogue muttered.

"Sting and Rogue, there's a little something I need to show you as a sort of failsafe," Gorun told them. "Kinana is going to go to the bow of the ship to see if she can sense any energy that's out of the ordinary. Romeo, I need you to go up to the lookout's nest and keep checking things out on our sides as much as you can. Yukino, I want you at the back, see if anything is trying to sneak up on us once we get inside the fog."

"You got it," Romeo said as he dashed off to do as he was told.

"I'll keep Ophiuchus on standby, just in case," Yukino added as she patted her keys and walked away.

"Good luck," Kinana said before she kissed him on the shoulder and walked away.

"Frosch, Lector, would you mind doing me a favor?" Gorun asked the two exceeds.

"Depends," Lector shrugged, resuming his cool, aloof attitude. "Whatcha need?"

"I need you to go and keep an eye out with Yukino and help her fly if things get dicey," the saiyan told him. Turning to the green exceed, he added, "Frosch, I hope you don't mind doing the same with Romeo?"

"But what about Rogue?" the pink-suited creature asked unblinkingly. "He might get lonely without me."

"I'll be fine, pal," the Shadow Dragon Slayer assured his furry friend. "Go on, help the little guy out. He can't fly on his own, but I can turn into a shadow to get out of trouble if I need to, okay?"

"Okay!" Frosch said happily. With that, he took off on glowing wings.

Lector sighed and went after his friend, saying, "I better make sure he doesn't get lost going up to the lookout."

Once they were gone, Gorun turned to the Twin Dragons, both of whom had looks of expectation mixed with annoyance. "What?" he asked.

"Any reason you wanted it to be just the two of us?" Sting inquired.

"Yes, because I don't want Lector and Frosch getting any funny ideas about what we're about to attempt, and wind up hurting themselves in the process," Gorun answered. "This is one of the most dangerous techniques I know, and I hope you realize that I'm taking a huge leap of faith in the fact that Yukino has vouched for you."

"What are you talking about?" Rogue demanded. "Stop talking in riddles and tell us clearly just what it is you intend for us to do."

"You're going to dance," Gorun deadpanned.

Sting and Rogue were silent for several seconds before Sting said, "We're about to go into what is probably a death trap, and you want us to learn the waltz?"

"Do not mock me right now, Sting, this is deadly serious," Gorun snapped, for a moment unsettling the two mages with his resemblance to Azura's cold disposition. "What I'm going to teach you could change the way that this world's timeline flows entirely. I would prefer it if you never share this technique with anyone, should we prove successful."

"What technique?" Sting asked. Then his eyes lit up as he asked, "Are you gonna teach us how to use your Saiyan Soul takeover spell?"

"…No."

They entered the fog two hours later. Azura had returned after forty-five minutes, saying that she had flown clear to the other side of the strange weather and back, unmolested. Despite this, Captain Bartholomew ordered his soldiers to their battle stations while the wizards maintained a sharp vigilance. Well, all of them except Gorun, Sting, and Rogue, who were nowhere to be found, much to Azura's frustration, but all she could get out of Kinana was that 'they would be back before the fun started'.

As the dark mist washed over the ship, an unnatural quiet pervaded the area. The men fell all but silent, and the wizards on boards kept their combat spells ready for instant use at the slightest provocation.

Azura was scowling at the bow of the ship, alongside Kinana, who had a look of calm about her. "Where is that numbskull?" the blue-haired woman muttered. "Some leader, missing before the battle is about to start."

"You said it yourself, you weren't attacked on your way through here," Kinana reminded her. "Maybe this really is just a bad bit of weather, and we'll be through here without any trouble."

"And I'm next in line to be goddess of destruction," Azura snorted. "I'm a small figure flying through the air- a lot harder to spot than a great big battleship with all of its lights on and guns for days. Not to mention I didn't touch the water except for a few ki blasts that turned up nothing."

"Not even an angry shark?" Kinana grinned.

"No," Azura snapped. "How are you so calm and collected? You're no Super Saiyan, and Kaidon isn't here to protect you."

"But you're here," the former barmaid replied. "And I know you won't let anything bad happen to any of us. Besides, Gorun won't be long now."

"Why do you call him that?" the bluenette grunted in an effort to change the subject.

"What, Gorun?"

"I heard you call him by his birth name when he gave you that ring," Azura said as she pointed at the ruby resting on Kinana's finger. "Why are you still using his human name?"

"Because is he is human, maybe more than he is saiyan," she replied. "Besides, I met him as Gorun, and to me, Gorun is all he needs to be."

"But he is Kaidon," Azura insisted. "You know he still resents our heritage in his heart, especially when he all but refuses to acknowledge the name granted to him by Vegeta."

"To be fair, there is a lot of baggage that comes with that lineage," Kinana countered. "Yes, many of your ancestors were and are great, honorable men. But there are a lot more that were nothing more than space brigands. And whenever you call him 'Kaidon', it just makes him feel as though he's carrying on a legacy that he wishes was long gone."

"Saiyans are different now than they were in the days during Frieza and King Cold's reign," Azura snorted. "We now fight for others' sake, not to conquer planets."

"Really?" Kinana said with a soft smile. "Because it seems to me that if you're considered a typical saiyan, you're still only in it for yourselves. The only thing that's changed is that instead of hunting for ripe planets, you're hunting for a thrilling fight that's even better than the last."

"Now listen here, you-!"

"Genora!" The blue-haired girl froze in mid-step as the sound of Gorun's voice sliced through the air like a sword through butter. She turned to see him, flanked by Sting and Rogue, with a scowl on his face. "I'll ask that you remember that she is my future wife, and that any insult or threat made against her is one that I will take personally," he said in a low tone.

Azura visibly relaxed before laughing softly to herself. Turning away from Kinana, she said, "See why I still call him Kaidon?" Then she walked away, a dark look in her eye.

"Shouldn't you go talk to her?" Rogue asked.

"I will make amends with her later," Gorun said stiffly. "In the meantime, I'll ask you not to pry into my family matters, Mister Cheney."

"Hmph," the dark-haired wizard scoffed as he walked off, presumably to follow Azura.

"Stay by his side," Gorun said in a tired voice to Sting. "Or at least, stay close enough to him to use it, should we run into more trouble than we bargained for."

"I dunno," Sting chuckled. "I think we bargained for quite a bit of that." Then he was gone, swallowed up by the fog just a few steps away.

Sighing heavily, Gorun turned to stand by his fiancée, asking, "Anything out of the ordinary so far?"

"Just your continued hostility toward your cousin," she answered evenly.

The remark was so casual, so unlike Kinana, that it took Gorun a few seconds to comprehend what she meant by it. "My host-? What?!"

Letting out a sigh of her own, Kinana turned to look her love in the eye and say, "You are an amazing, wonderful man, Gorun. But for all your talk about trying to make peace with Azura, I have yet to see much in the way of action."

"I had her present for the proposal and made her a part of the team," he sputtered. "I even gave my salary over to her! How have I not tried?!"

"All of those things are nice gestures, if you ignore the fact that you and she are related," Kinana said gently, taking his hands in hers. "You have an obligation to assist family, Gorun. That doesn't make what you've done any less honorable, but you have yet to go beyond what is expected of you when it comes to her. You won't get through to her by constantly rejecting the name that she knows you by, much less telling her to shut up every other day, or throwing her in the water unprovoked, or… Look, the list can go on, but my point is, you aren't trying where it really matters."

"Kinana, you know that for the most part, I have always hated my name and its ties," Gorun told her. "But she-"

"Gorun, look at it this way," she insisted. "You are here because you wanted to get away from the legacy of the Saiyans. She came here because- at least in her mind- she wanted to uphold what dignity there is in your family's line. Instead, she was shunned and cast out of her home, stranded with the only help being the very man that she believes tarnished the Saiyan race's honor in the first place. Can you even imagine how hard that must be for her?"

The young man opened and closed his mouth several times without actually saying anything before hanging his head and groaning, "Is this what it's going to be like when we're married?"

"How do you mean?" she asked him.

"You being irrefutably right about things that make me very uncomfortable?" he asked as he lifted his eyes to meet hers'.

"Since when have I not been?" she giggled before leaning into a hug from him.

"Azura?" Rogue inquired after the blue-haired saiyan girl.

"What?" she snapped angrily. Rounding suddenly on him, she demanded, "Did my cousin send his new stooges to keep me in line, now? I've got news for you, skinny- I could sneeze on you, and it would scatter your atoms all across this fog."

"I don't doubt that," the young man replied calmly. "But I am no one's stooge, and Gorun didn't ask me to come here. I simply wanted to see if you needed anything."

"I need to put a fist through Kaidon's smug face, but I doubt he's going to let me do that," she snorted. "And why do you care about what I want?"

"It's what any decent human being would ask," Rogue answered. "And better question- why do you call him 'Kaidon'?"

"That's his name," she snorted. "I assume that like all of his friends in the guild, you also know him as 'Son Gorun'?"

"Of course," Rogue nodded.

"Of course," she repeated mockingly. "Well, Rogue, where we come from, children are given two names at birth. One is our name known to the general world, in his case, Gorun. The second is a private one known only to one's family and closest friends."

"But if 'Kaidon' is supposed to be his private name…?" Rogue trailed off, confused.

"Why would I call him that in public?" Azura finished for him as she turned to lean over the rail. "Well, this isn't where we're from, much as Kaidon wishes he was. I call him by his true birth name to remind him that even if we spend the rest of our days here, there was another place and people that we once called home. It is so he does not forget where he comes from, who he is."

"Where we come from does not define who we are," Rogue said bluntly, causing her to look back at him with sharp eyes. "That is a lesson that your cousin taught Sting and I. Our past may give us a starting point and the tools to get through life, but it does not determine what we will be." Shrugging slightly, he added, "Perhaps that's what your cousin is trying to teach you."

Azura scoffed and let her head hang over the water, almost seeming disappointed with him. Her next words furthered that thought. "I had heard tell of your Sabertooth guild," she told him. "I heard about how you held the position of this country's most powerful guild for nearly a decade before falling to the might of Fairy Tail. That you were a group of warriors to be feared across the land. The fact that you fell to such a group of bleeding hearts confused me at first after hearing about all of your accomplishments, but now I see what happened."

Rogue remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

She gripped the railing hard enough for the wood to groan before shoving herself off the side and turning to face the shadow wizard with fire in her blue eyes as she declared, "You became bleeding hearts yourselves, reducing you to the same level as the people you had for so long stood above."

"No," Rogue asserted, not even blinking in the face of her implacable anger. "We lost to Fairy Tail because we did not find our hearts until it was too late for us to defeat them in the games. But it did not matter in the end, because we were able to stand strong alongside your guild when facing the threat of the dragons, and that twisted…" He looked as if he was going to say more, but then thought better of it. "I know what I would be if I denied myself a heart," he said instead. "I refuse to become that kind of man."

"Then you are no warrior," she scoffed. "You're simply a man with power and no will to use it properly."

"I'd rather be powerless than be heartless," he refuted, causing her to flinch just a little. "But I don't believe you are heartless, Azura."

"Your beliefs are not my concern," the girl scowled as she turned back to the railing.

"Be that as it may, you cannot truly understand the change that my guild has gone through, and how we are better for it unless you see what we were in comparison to who we are," Rogue said firmly. "And you, I see, are just as far from understanding it as Sting and I were only months ago. That's why you're still weaker than your cousin, like it or not."

"Shut up," Azura growled.

"Fine, I won't take up-"

"No, seriously, shut up!" she hissed. "Right now!" She was rigid, her knuckles white as she gripped the groaning rail of the ship.

Seeing this, Rogue settled into a crouch, ready for the slightest hint of danger. "What is it?" he asked in a lowered tone. "Are we under attack?"

"I believe so," she said tightly as she moved to go back to where they had left Gorun and Kinana. "And when we've dealt with it, I'll have a few things to say to you about your smart mouth." With that, she was gone, leaving Rogue to wonder as to whether he was meant to follow.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen you talk to a girl for that long before," Sting said as he stepped out from a thicker patch of the fog that had obscured a staircase.

"I talk to you all the time," Rogue replied as he followed the young woman.

"Hey!"

"You felt that, right?" Azura demanded as she stalked up toward Kinana and Gorun.

"I did, but I wish I hadn't," the other saiyan hybrid grumbled. "This makes things rather complicated."

"What're you talking about?" Sting asked as he and Rogue became visible again.

"Good news?" Gorun said with a wince. "We know what's been targeting ships out here."

"I'm guessing that's also the bad news," Rogue inferred.

"Yeah… and the captain probably isn't going to like it when we tell him that the Royal Navy ship that was the first to disappear in this area is closing in on our location," Gorun grimaced. That took a few seconds to sink in for Sting and Rogue, but when it did, their reactions were ones of disbelief.

"The crew went AWOL?" Sting asked dubiously. "Seriously? Now they're all pirates?"

"I kinda wish that were the case," Kinana said, her lovely face pale. "The fact is, the crew is all dead… apparently."

"Dead, what?" Sting asked, looking more confused than disbelieving now. "Did the men all get killed and now it's pirates using the military ship?"

"No, the original crew is still operating the thing," Gorun told them with a strained smile.

"…What?" Rogue asked slowly while Sting paled in silence.

"What my cousin is getting at is that the captain is really not going to like it when we tell him that there is an entire warship full of undead troops coming to kill us," Azura told them.

"Undead?" Rogue repeated.

"As in, zombies?" Sting added.

"Yes," Azura deadpanned.

"H-How can you be sure?" Sting asked, swallowing nervously. "We haven't even seen anything yet."

"We've both sensed the energy of dead people before, back where we're from," Gorun told them. "And she and I can both tell that there is a big ship full of that type of energy headed our way, probably with weapons ready."

"I did not sign on for a zombie apocalypse," Sting said. "No way, uh-uh. Not doing it."

Mataras: Okay, that was a little different, but like I said before, I had a lot of fun with this chapter.

Azura: I had fun watching Kaidon's fiancee finally give him a lecture that's been a long while coming. I was starting to wonder if she was there for any other reason besides looking pretty.

Gorun: Hey! She's done a lot for the team in this story, don't go and try to take away value from that.

Azura: Given that she's putting you in your place, I wouldn't dream of doing that. She has my respect.

Gorun: Why am I the whipping dog?!

Saiki: That tends to happen when you end up as the main character. No matter what you do, someone out there will criticize your every decision at any given point. You can't please everybody.

Azura: You also don't have to be a self-righteous prick to get your point across.

Saiki: Now you're just being a pain. I suppose I can see the family resemblance.

Gorun/Azura: Hey!

Mataras: This isn't going anywhere... I suppose I'll close things off by saying that the next chapter will be released on Halloween, and will definitely feature comedy, action, Super Saiyans, and of course, zombies.

Gorun: Next time- The Dead Sea

Azura: Since Mataras doesn't have anybody to profile for this chapter, he's got something a little different prepared for our readers, following the preview for the next chapter.

Next time on Saiyan Tail...

"We need to obliterate that plague from existence," Azura asserted. "I know the captain said he wants to save these guys, but based on what I've heard of resurrections around here, only the body can be reanimated, not the soul."

"Well, there is one way to do that, but it costs hundreds of lives in exchange for a single life, and if that were the case, I really doubt that we'd be sensing the amount of soldiers that we did," Gorun pointed out. "For a crew that size, you'd need to kill off an entire nation's worth of people, by my estimate."

"And they would register as normal energy on our radar, since it'd be a true resurrection, not just someone living on borrowed time," Kinana added. "This is the work of a proper necromancer."

"Great…" Sting muttered, clearly dismayed by the news. "So how do we blow 'em up without putting the Hydrangea and her crew in danger?"

"We go on the offensive," Gorun replied. Glancing at Kinana, then Azura, he added, "Unfortunately, that's not really my forte, so I'm going to defer to the resident expert on attack patterns." Here, he gave Azura a meaningful look.

She raised a single eyebrow before asking, "Really? You're going to trust me with this?"

"I am," he nodded. "You're the one who knows the attack strategies from home like the back of your hand. I usually get by on raw power and individual skill, not through meticulous planning."

"If you're trying to smooth things over between us, this will not cut it," she said flatly.

"Yeah, I figured," he shrugged. "But my point still stands."

Azura glanced around at the others, all of them watching her expectantly, before muttering, "All right, fine. Here's what we do…"

Time Patrol Interview, Hosted by the Supreme Kai of Time
Feat. Lucy Heartfelia and Levy McGarden

S.K.T.: Hello, dear readers, and welcome to the Time Patrol's Guest Hour! I'm your host, the Supreme Kai of Time, leader of the Time Patrol, and guardian of the Book of Beginning to End! Here today with me are two new recruits from Universe 17, Lucy and Levy, formerly of the Fairy Tail guild in Earthland, and we're gonna be talking about their adjustment to life in the Time Patrol. How are you, ladies?

Lucy: All things considered, pretty good.

Levy: I'm just happy to be alive, and with Lu. Knowing that the past was repaired so that all of our friends can live happy lives was big relief for me, and I'm glad to be given the chance to repay the people that made that possible!

S.K.T.: We're glad to have the both of you, and I'm personally happy to see that you've adjusted so well in the last few months. Now, if I remember correctly, Levy, you've been placed as a mission coordinator as well as a part-time instructor at the academy, correct?

Levy: Yes ma'am!

S.K.T.: Do you mind telling the readers what exactly those jobs entail?

Levy: Not at all! As a coordinator, I receive information on the capabilities of a few dozen time patrollers, and whenever a mission comes up, it's up to me to put together a team capable of dealing with the temporal damage. I have to factor in their experience and power levels, as well as the type of danger that they'll be facing when they travel through time, before I send any of them out into the field. As for the teaching position, I've given a few lectures on linguistics to help people better blend in whenever they have to do a covert mission. I really enjoyed learning how to read and speak Namekian in particular, and according to Mister Dende, I have a knack for the language. From there, I decided to see if I could teach others the same skills, and I've really enjoyed it so far!

S.K.T.: And based on what I've heard from the other members of faculty, your students have really caught on to your enthusiasm. I don't think I've ever had a class so eager to learn since I set up that school!

Lucy: Levy's always been pretty gung-ho, and it's infectious.

S.K.T.: I can tell! But anyway, I had a couple of questions for you, Lucy.

Lucy: Fire away.

S.K.T.: How have you taken to doing field work, especially in other universes?

Lucy: It was really stressful and weird at first, but ever since I joined Fairy Tail, my entire life has depended on being able to adapt to the weird and unexpected. I guess I've gotten pretty used to the whole gimmick by now.

S.K.T.: Good to hear! The other question I had was, is it true that you've become a regular at the hero coliseum?

Lucy: Heck yeah! At first I thought those figure battles were gonna be kinda dumb, but they're surprisingly addicting!

Levy: She's really good at it, too! She placed in the top eight during the tournament last month!

S.K.T.: Really? That's really impressive, actually, considering that a lot of those competitors have been playing for a few years now.

Lucy: Yeah, well, most people see me, and they think, 'Oh look, it's the dumb blonde.' Jokes on them, though. As a celestial wizard, I have to make snap decisions all the time, keeping in mind how many spirits I can summon, what their compatibility will be with each other as well as their effectiveness against my opponents, plus how long I have to keep up the fight. It's a lot harder than some people think it is.

S.K.T.: Sounds like it! But out of curiosity, who did you lose to?

Lucy: The guy that took second, Bardock, I think.

Levy: Yeah, he was brutal! His attitude kinda reminds me of an iron-headed wizard that we knew back home, actually.

S.K.T.: Yes, Bardock is a pretty serious guy. ...Even when he plays games, apparently. I didn't even know that he played! You sure it was him?

Levy: Spiky black hair, scars on his face, red bandanna?

S.K.T.: Yeah, that's him... Huh.

Lucy: Next time I'll beat him for sure. Fairy Tail wizards never lose to the same guy more than once!

Levy: You said it!

S.K.T.: In that case, I think I'll have to check out the next tournament, see how this all turns out. But for now, we are out of time for this interview. Thanks so much for coming ladies, this was great!

Levy: Thanks for having us, boss!

Lucy: Yeah, thanks!

S.K.T.: Well, until the next one! Thanks for coming, and we'll see you all next time!