Here's the next chapter, guys! I'm surprised how many people followed and reviewed this story! I know it's not much, but it's more than I thought I would get. Anyway, this chapter I introduce Zale to Juvia. I hope you all enjoy!

X784

Seven years had passed and nearly every child in Fairy Tail had grown into extremely powerful wizards in that short amount of time. However, at this moment they were in a life or death battle with their rival guild, Phantom Lord. After their Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel Redfox, destroyed their guild hall and assaulted their guild mates, Fairy Tail retaliated by attacking Phantom Lord at their own guild hall. Unfortunately, just as things were going in their favor Master Makarov was drained of all of his magic energy and their real target this whole time was a recent addition to the guild, Lucy Hearfilia. To make matters worse, the Phantom Lord guild hall became mobile and tried to destroy Fairy Tail and Magnolia with a Jupiter Cannon. Erza managed to block the first blast and Natsu destroyed the cannon before it could fire again. At that time, Gray, Elfman and Zale entered the giant and saved Natsu from Totomaru of the Element 4.

"Hahahaha!" Zale laughed. "I'm sorry, Natsu! But becoming motion-sick just when you're about to win is pretty damn funny!"

Zale had grown over the last seven years. His short, onyx hair was a bit longer than before and he clearly gained muscle mass, though he wasn't as muscular as Natsu or Gray. His outfit hadn't changed a bit except for the size so it would fit his now 6-foot tall, 18 year old body.

"Okay, maybe not THAT funny." Zale calmed down.

"So this is what's left of Jupiter?" Gray asked.

"Nice work." Zale said, giving Natsu a thumbs-up.

"Aye." Natsu's talking cat said.

"But why did it suddenly turn side-up and started moving?" Elfman asked.

The mechanical whirring inside the moving fortress stopped.

"It stopped!" Natsu exclaimed, perking up from his motion sickness.

"I'm going to take a quick look outside!" Happy said as he flew outside the hole in the wall. A few seconds later, he came back. "This is bad, guys! The guild's turned into a giant and is casting some huge incantation!"

"You're a big, far liar!" Natsu shouted.

"Who'd lie about that?" Gray questioned.

Zale took a look outside and saw that Happy was right.

"Happy's right." Zale said. "And it's casting the Abyss Break. It could wipe out everything as far as Kardia Cathedral."

Zale knew quite a bit about spells. He didn't have much interest in learning how to use them, but he wanted to learn about them in case he fought against wizards who used them.

"Let's stop it!" Natsu shouted.

As Zale turned around, he saw Gray, Natsu and Elfman all running off in different directions with Happy following Natsu.

"Let's split up and find out where the energy is that's making this guild move!" Gray shouted back as he ran.

"They go from one dirty trick to the next!" Elfman grumbled to himself.

"Guys, wait!" Zale shouted.

They didn't listen to him and kept running off in their directions and Zale sighed to himself.

"They never want to hear my strategies…" Zale said. "The Abyss Break is quadra-principle magic; it draws its power from the four elements… The Element 4. I'm sure defeating them will stop the giant!"

Zale ran off in the direction Gray went in and he managed to catch up to him.

"Gray!" Zale said.

Gray stopped and turned around to see Zale calling and running up to him.

"I know how to stop the Abyss Break!" Zale said.

"Really?" Gray asked.

"It's simple: We defeat the rest of the Element 4."

"That all?"

"That's all. Listen, if we come across one of the Element 4, one of us has to go on and find another while the other fights. I'm only saying this as a precaution in case Natsu or Elfman aren't able to find one of them."

"All right, I know better than to doubt your plans."

Zale and Gray continued onward through the guild.

A few minutes had passed when Zale suddenly stopped and Gray stopped a little ahead of him.

"What's up, Zale?" Gray asked.

Zale was looking at the glass window above his head and saw rain falling down on it. The sight of it was causing Zale's eyes to shake.

"Zale, snap out of it!"

Zale snapped out of it and looked at Gray. "Oh, s-sorry, Gray."

"We all know how you get when it rains." Gray said.

"Well, I'm at least handling it better than before."

"Yeah, as long as it doesn't touch you. Just don't pay attention to it and you'll be fine."

As Gray began to walk away, Zale noticed that a large stream of water was about to shoot through the glass window right above Gray's head.

"Gray, look out! Water God Bellow!"

A stream of black water erupted from Zale's mouth and it pushed Gray out of the way as the stream of regular water broke through the window and hit the ground.

"Gray, go on ahead!" Zale shouted. "I have a feeling this is one of the Element 4!"

"Gotcha!" Gray said before running off.

Zale watched as the water falling from the window calmed down. As it did, he was able to make out a woman with blue, curled hair wearing a navy blue coat, a matching hat and a fur shawl with a doll attached to it.

"Drip, drip, drop…" The woman said. "Juvia is the rain woman of the Element 4. Drip, drip, drop…"

"So I was right." Zale said. *And why is she talking in third person?*

"I never believed two of the Element 4 would be defeated." Juvia said. "However, you must not assume that Juvia or Aria are easily beaten."

"If you want a fight, you've got one." Zale said. "Although, I'd prefer it if we didn't fight. Like the old saying, 'I'm a lover, not a fighter'."

Juvia stared at Zale for a second. "A lover, huh…" She then blushed and quickly turned around. "Very well, I give up. You win."

"Wait, what?!"

Juvia continued to walk away while clutching her chest. *Why did he have to say that? He was already cute enough! Now my heart's beating too fast!*

"If you're not going to fight, can you at least do your part to stop the giant?" Zale asked.

As Zale ran up to Juvia, he scooted his way around where the broken window was letting the rain in. When he finally got around it he managed to nearly close in on Juvia.

*I have this powerful urge to make him mine.* Juvia thought.

She held her hand out and Zale was suddenly trapped in a sphere of water.

"Water Lock!"

While Zale was stuck in the Water Lock, Juvia started to panic.

"Oh no! I didn't mean to drown him!" Juvia said.

Zale started sucking in the water until he swallowed the last drop of Juvia's Water Lock. Once he was finished, he let out a content sigh.

"That was some good water." Zale said.

"You got out of my Water Lock?" Juvia gasped.

"Water Magic has no effect on me!" Zale said.

Zale jumped toward Juvia with black water surrounding his hands and forming a claw shape.

"Water God Hunter!"

Zale's claws sliced right through Juvia, though as they made contact her body dissipated like it was made out of water.

"Juvia's body is made entirely of water." Juvia said. "Drip, drip, drop…"

"This is going to be tougher than I thought…" Zale muttered to himself.

*Did he just attack me?* Juvia thought. *Of course, he is the enemy… Juvia mustn't get disheartened! This is war!* "Farewell, our budding love! Water Slicer!"

With a swipe of her arm, a thin wave of water flew toward Zale.

"What?" Zale asked before jumping out of the way of the wave.

The wave continued moving until it struck the wall, creating a large gaping hole to the outside.

*Good thing I dodged that.* Zale thought. "Water God Hook!"

Zale went for a roundhouse kick, black water forming around his foot and turning into a hook shape. Just as with his previous attack, it fazed right through Juvia's water body.

*It's no use!* Zale thought. *My physical attacks have no effect on her.*

"This has become a battle of attrition." Juvia said. "Your attacks can't hurt Juvia and Juvia's attacks can't hurt you. But I still may be able to save your lives. Give us Lucy Heartfilia. If you do, I'll do my best to convince Master Jose to withdraw."

"Lucy?"

(Begin Flashback)

It was July 4 earlier that year and it was a typical day at the guild. After Natsu and Happy returned from their trip to Hargeon, things started to rough real quick. They also brought home a blonde girl who wanted to join the guild. As the girl waited for Mirajane to give her the guild mark, she was unknowingly sitting next to Zale. When she looked over to Zale, he simply looked away shyly.

"Hey, I'm Lucy." She said. "What's your name?"

"Zale." He replied, still trying not to look right at her. "So, y-you're new to the guild, huh?"

"Why are you looking away from me?" Lucy asked.

"Don't take it personally, Lucy." Mirajane said as she came back. "Zale's just a bit shy around cute girls. That and his eyes tend to wander."

"D-don't tell her that!" Zale said, still looking away and blushing bright red. "I can still hold a conversation with a girl!"

Actually, Zale could only talk to girls calmly if it was regarding business or typical chatter. He had no problems being around Erza, Cana or Mirajane, though. He could talk to Erza because she was so tough, Cana because she drank so much and Mirajane because she was a punk when they were growing up together.

"He's a nice person." Mirajane said. "But just be careful when it rains."

"Why's that?" Lucy asked.

"You don't want to know." Zale replied.

(End Flashback)

"So, will you hand over Lucy Heartfilia?" Juvia asked.

"… No way." Zale answered. "I might not know her very well, but Lucy's a member of Fairy Tail!" He removed his shirt and showed off the guild mark on his chest. "As long as I bear this mark, I'll never betray one of my own!"

Juvia dropped her umbrella with a look of shock on her face.

*He'll never betray her?!* Juvia thought. *Never betray her?! Never betray her?! Lucy's my rival! Lucy's my rival! Lucy's my rival! LUCY'S MY RIVAL!* She started to look like she was writhing in agony.

"H-hey, are you okay?" Zale asked.

"Such anguish!" Juvia cried. "Such cruel fate! My heart… my heart aches like it's shattering to pieces! It hurts! It hurts!"

"What's wrong?" Zale asked. "Do you need a doctor?"

"… Juvia will not forgive her." Juvia said as steam began to rise from her body. "Lucy Heartfilia cannot be allowed to live!"

"… Huh?" Zale asked with a deadpan face.

Juvia shot a blast of boiling water at Zale. He tried to swallow it, but it was too hot.

"Ouch! That's scalding hot!" Zale exclaimed. "Why are you mad at Lucy?"

Juvia shot another blast of boiling water at Zale, but he ducked out of the way. However, Juvia redirected it so it would hit Zale again. This time, it struck him and knocked him out of the hole in the wall she created. While Zale managed to land on a platform on the side of the giant, he was now out in the rain.

"… No… not the rain… Not now…" Zale muttered to himself.

Juvia rode in on a stream of water and landed on the platform. "Juvia is at her most powerful in the rain. It has followed Juvia all her life. Now face my boiling rage!"

Juvia fired another blast of hot water at Zale, though this time he started swallowing it.

"He's eating it now?!" She gasped.

When Zale stopped swallowing the water, Juvia noticed that the expression on his face was completely different from before. Zale started walking up to her and Juvia started shooting bullets of hot water at him.

"Stay back!" Juvia shouted.

The water bullets weren't even affecting him. She may as well have been throwing tiny pebbles at him. When he got right in front of her, Juvia became incredibly frightened as she got a close look at his expressionless face.

"I ought to strangle you…" Zale said without any emotion.

Zale raised his arm up, ready to clutch Juvia by her throat.

*N-NO!* Zale thought in his head.

As Zale brought his arm down, Juvia closed her eyes until she felt something. At this moment, Zale snapped out of whatever trance he was in and realized what he was doing. Instead of grabbing her neck, Zale ended up grabbing her breast and both of them were blushing.

"I-I'm sorry!" Zale shouted as he let go.

Just as Juvia recovered from that bit of strangeness, Zale spoke up.

"Not just for that." Zale said. "I… tend to lose myself in the rain. In fact, I'm surprised I'm holding out as long as I am."

"What do you mean by lose yourself?" Juvia asked.

"In the rain, I feel like some other person is controlling my body. I can't even remember what I did when that happens." Zale quickly ran over to a small alcove on the giant's body to shield him from the rain.

*So in the rain, he becomes a different person.* Juvia thought. "Listen, I think it's best to end our battle as is."

"Huh?" Zale said. "Why?"

"Juvia can protect you."

"Protect me from what?"

"W-well, anything that try to hurt you. B-because…" Juvia started look down shyly and blushed. "I-I think… I think I…"

The rain around them started falling even harder now.

"What's with the sudden downpour?" Zale asked no one in particular.

"Oh, this is just so frustrating!"

"Why does rainfall have to look so depressing?"

After hearing that very last word, Juvia dropped to her knees and clenched her fists.

"You… are just like the rest of them!" Juvia shot up and steam was bursting all over her body. "YOU'RE ALL THE SAME!"

"Did I just say something that ticked you off?" Zale asked.

*Juvia doesn't need love anymore!* She thought.

Juvia shot another blast of boiling water at Zale, this time it was even hotter than before. Since it was too hot for him to swallow, the blast kept pushing him against the wall of the alcove.

"I don't need love!" Juvia shouted. "I DON'T NEED IT AT ALL!"

*Did she snap or something?* Zale thought, still under the pressure of Juvia's blast.

"After all, Juvia is merely a depressing rain woman!" Juvia said. "The rain has followed her all her life! But at least Phantom Lord accepted her with open arms! Juvia is one of the Element 4!"

*I see…* Zale thought. *The rain is painful for her, too…*

Zale started sucking in the boiling water that Juvia was blasting at him. His mouth felt like it was going to get blistered after this, but he kept going.

*He sucked up all the water again?!* Juvia thought.

Zale didn't stop there as he shot black water from the bottom of his feet and used the propulsion to blast himself into the sky. As he got higher, he tried to suck in the rain clouds above them.

*Clouds are made of water, so if I suck them up…* Zale thought before he finally got high enough to suck in the clouds.

"He's eating the clouds?!" Juvia gasped. "He's amazing!"

It took a couple of minutes, but Zale finally sucked in the last of the rain clouds and a magic circle appeared in front of him.

"Water God…" Zale took in a large, deep breath as he started falling back toward the battlefield. "BELLOW!"

A massive torrent of black water erupted from Zale's mouth and it covered a massive area that actually blew away a part of the giant. Juvia was also caught in the blast and she started falling to the sea below.

*I… have been defeated…* Juvia thought as she fell. *Like a raindrop, Juvia will fall to the ground with a splat. A fitting fate for a rain woman nobody wants… Farewell, my depressing life…*

Just before she hit the water, Juvia felt something hold onto her. She opened her eyes to see Zale grabbing onto her from behind. Trying to make sure they didn't fall into the water too hard, Zale shot brief blasts of black water from his feet to slow themselves down until they safely landed on the nearby shore. As soon as they got to the shore, Zale lied Juvia down and lied down next to her.

"In a way, you're just like me." Zale said. "The rain has brought both of us only misery. But… at the very least I can help you overcome yours."

Juvia looked at Zale, then at the sky as the clouds began to part and the blue sky and sun appeared.

"What's that?" Juvia asked.

"The rain's finally cleared up." Zale answered.

*Is this… what they call a blue sky?* Juvia thought as she started to tear up. *It's beautiful…* "… Zale-"

She turned her head to look at Zale, only to see that he had fallen asleep.

"… Thank you…" Juvia said before passing out as well.

Hours later, the battle had ended and Zale finally woke up to see the damage Fairy Tail had done to Phantom Lord.

"Looks like we won…" He said to himself.

He looked to the side where Juvia was lying only to find that she had already left.

"Well, I should probably head back to the others." Zale said as he got up.

Just as he was about to leave, he had been surrounded by Rune Knights.

"Are you a member of Fairy Tail?" One of the knights asked.

"… No." Zale replied, obviously lying.

Zale was taken into custody along with the other Fairy Tail wizards. The interrogations lasted for two days, but Fairy Tail was proven innocent and Phantom Lord was given the punishment it deserved. The guild was disbanded and their Master, Jose, had his Wizard Saint title revoked. When Zale heard news about that, the first thing he wondered was what ever happened to Juvia now that Phantom Lord was disbanded.

A/N: Okay, first of all, I know that a lot of this chapter was just a rehash of her first fight with Gray. Well, based on her character I had very little choice. She's definitely a character that's prone to quick infatuation and Gray is such a chick magnet that it would have been extremely difficult to write an organic romance between her and Zale. However, I promise that the rest will be more original. As for her dialogue, I decided to take a mix between the original manga and the Funimation dub. I kept her third-person dialogue, but also kept some first-person in places that were in the manga as well. I don't have a good grasp of what I want for the next chapter, but I will definitely have it by the time I'm done with finals. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned for next time!

Also, here is Zale's profile:

Name: Zale Aeon

Age: 18 (Birthday is January 7, X766)

Magic: Water God Slayer

Personality: Normally, he is calm, patient and very friendly. A brilliant strategist and imaginative to boot. Around cute girls, he often gets shy and if they're wearing revealing clothing, his eyes might wander. Otherwise, he does have a lot of respect for women, on top of his guild mates. He tries his best to balance fun, work and training, though he absolutely prefers to have fun if given the chance.