Reviews are Nice; The pairings are NOT decided yet. I get people like Vander/Lucy, I like them too, they're adorable when she's sassy and keeps up with him, but...I really don't know if they will get together or if it will be a friendship...or how far this darkness is going to go.
I don't own Fairy Tail. Mashima Does.
I don't own the Pradesh Clan. Desna does (and thank you for them).
I own the Storyline. That's it.
Thus the Special Christmas Update, another update probably won't come until after the New year, minimum.
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Lucy actually twitched when the airship was coming in and she saw a sign for "Lady Lucy and Party." She smiled faintly and let out a soft sigh, "Emi, Cris, Van, you guys have to go and…" she made a face, "leave the three of us alone to this."
She gave each of them a hug and smiled into light kisses, nuzzling both the dragon slayers, "we'll be fine...seems Hisui just doesn't want to let me do anything but spend time with her when i'm in town."
"I don't like this," emi let out a low growl as she stood there.
Lucy smiled up at the other blonde and then hugged her tightly, "I know...but think of it this way...you go kick some Fiorian Mage ass legally…" She grinned ferally, "and see who's sexy."
Emzadi rolled her eyes and then snorted, "Fine fine. You're using me as a wingman, really?"
Lucy let out a small devious little giggle, "hey, I just played your wingman for two days, Miss Daughter of Ra." She poked the other woman in the side, laughing when the dragon slayer started tickling her for just a poke, "EMI!" she squealed, "help! Someone help!"
It was a few moments before Emzadi stopped tickling the smaller blonde and lucy pouted when she straightened out the Stellan Cheongsam she was wearing. The woman stuck her tongue out and then smiled, "I'll be fine, I've got Zen and Hestor with me. They'll keep me safe."
"Fine," The Solar dragon slayer sighed softly as she stepped back, "just...be careful…"
Lucy gave the woman a small, soft smile, "we will be." She sighed as the sounds that the airship was getting ready for a final docking was broadcast and tucked a bit of her hair back, "we've got this. This is our part, you three go do your part…" She smirked, "and kick ass."
"Now that," Cris said as he kissed the top of Lucy's head, "is something we can do."
Lucy, Zen and Hestor hung back, not wanting to look like they were actually with the other three mages that were leaving and Lucy took a deep breath. She nodded once to herself and then slowly walked off the ship and towards the party waiting for them.
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Hisui smiled warmly as she took the blonde's hands, holding them tightly, "Lucy! I didn't think you'd be able to get here in time!"
Lucy smiled softly, "we cut it close, we had a job in Stella."
The Princess smiled warmly, "I was going to ask if those were imported clothes! They look amazing on you! Will you be staying for the entire game?"
Lucy chuckled softly, "Bought while in stella." her features were soft as she took a breath and shrugged, "we should be able to, unless our Guildmaster wants us to come back early."
Hisui pouted a bit, "But…"
"The Master is mostly fair," Hestor said as he crossed his arms on his chest, watching the green haired woman, "but emergency or high priority missions come before most things."
The princess continued to pout, "why don't we plan for next year then, so that you can't be drug away?"
Lucy smiled faintly, "we can't."
"...wh...what?" The green haired woman blinked, "what do you mean?"
The four walked through the hallways and Lucy tucked a bit of hair back, "it is Bosco's Grandmaster Games. It's a two week affair and no one does anything but be in attendance."
"Oh," Hisui pouted and then sighed, "I guess it can't be helped...the next year?"
Lucy didn't like the thought of leaving those mages in the dungeons, but she knew that she had to play this all very carefully. She nodded, "I'll talk with my guildmaster, he shouldn't have an issue."
They settled into a box and the women sat, Hisui smiling, "Alright. So, team qualifying starts this evening." she looked towards the arena where there was some sort of performance going on, "over two hundred teams, that's amazing." her lips curled up into a soft smile, "It should be exciting."
Lucy nodded, "mm, it should be." she could feel the evil glee rising at the thought of what Hisui would think of Fairy Tail's team this year. Her little inner self was rubbing her hands together and cackling insanely.
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Lucy felt an amazing sense of pride when the Games Officially began the next day. She hid her smug smile in a drink as she looked down into the arena. Seeing Vander, Cris and Emi walking along with Bisca, Alzack and Max in 'fifth place' made her realize that they were playing a game.
"Who…?" Hisui pursed her lips, "they're not Fairy Tail Mages…"
Zen leaned back as he watched the arena, "White Sea, our Sisterhood was finalized and they requested help of our Guildmaster."
Hisui nodded, "I had heard that, but I had not expected this...isn't this...a bit unfair?"
Hestor shrugged a bit, "we're sister guilds, asking for help is expected. Right now, they need help because of what happened last year." he sipped his drink, "so...we did a drawing to see who would help, those three have luck out the ass." she didn't need to know the truth and as her eyes were on him, he could just make out the smirk on Lucy's lips.
"That means Lucy could have ended up in this!" Hisui frowned, "that…"
Lucy smiled softly, "it would have been an honor to help out our sister guild, Hisui. One thing about Bosco is that Family is important. Fairy Tail is now White Sea's Family, so we'll all look out for them."
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Kaleb was smirking as he stood next to Macao and the Guildmaster of Fairy tail was watching him warily, "...is...something going on?"
The Mindbender continued to smirk as he watched the fight, knowing Emi was literally playing around with the guy from Quatro Cerberus, "Lucy's inwardly laughing maniacally."
Macao swallowed and nodded before he went back to watching the fight, eyes semi-wide, "She's not…?"
"Emzadi is putting on a show," Kaleb snorted, "I'm doubtful she's finding this even a workout." he looked up at the clock and snorted, "you've got a minu.." he trailed off as he watched Emzadi kick the man she was fighting into a wall. "Nevermind."
"And with that Emzadi scores ten points for Fairy Tail!"
Emzadi raised her hand over her head in a fist at the cheers and grinned as she sashayed out of the arena, mentally laughing in dark delight. She paused as she saw one of the next competitors in the wings. She'd seen him in pictures during their briefing. Gajeel Redfox of Phantom Lord. Her eyes met his and she froze as her eyes dilated. Her Inner dragon screamed 'mate' loud enough that both Kaleb and Max flinched.
The entire arena heard the snarl from the hallway before a dark figure was rushing Emzadi, slamming into her. The fight starting causing Everyone in the area to erupt in yells of concern.
"Lucy! Have Hisui stop things! He's her mate!"
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Lucy half stood as she watched, hearing the call from Kaleb and her eyes went wide, "hisui! Don't let anyone get close!"
"What?! He needs to be detained for attacking another competitor!" The Princess scowled slightly as she stood, eyes narrowing, "That's unacceptable!"
"They're dragon slayers, Princess…" She looked at the other woman in a pleading way, "they can't help their instincts when they meet their mate, their perfect, fate given other half." Her voice was pleading as she gently squeezed the other woman's hand, "we've dealt with Dragon Slayers the better part of our life, please...let us take care of this?"
Hisui stood there for a moment, moving to the balcony and calling out, "Stop! Do not approach them!"
All Eyes turned to the crown princess as she stood tall, "This is a magical compulsion due to magic, it is not meant to harm. Going near them will harm others, we have a plan in place."
Lucy let out a small sigh and smiled as she could tell Kaleb was working on things. She slowly stepped up next to the other woman and murmured, "Thank you, Hisui, it means a lot…" her features were soft, "and this meeting means the world to Emzadi."
They watched as White Sea mages were moving out, looking wary before a magical dome appeared, blinding white, which Lucy knew was a cover so that Van could get the two out of there. When it was gone, she smiled at Kaleb, who nodded and then spoke softly, "Thank you. We won't see them the rest of the games…"
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The fight between The Twin Dragon slayers, Cris and Vander had made Lucy roll her eyes, especially when the two 'shadow users' had seemingly disappeared into the shadows. It was after Cris had subdued the smaller sized slayer that Vander slid out of a shadow and Rogue stumbled out, flushed, clothes in disarray and Vander just looking smug.
Lucy couldn't help the laughter, realizing what happened just at how the dragon slayer looked. She heard the scandalized gasp from hisui and patted the woman's hand gently as her eyes danced, "it's alright…"
"But...but...two…"
Lucy arched an eyebrow, "two guys?" she tilted her head and smiled, "I think that's sexy."
Hisui turned wide eyes on Lucy, "what?" her voice was soft and she looked at the other woman.
The blonde smiled softly and shrugged slightly, "it's...been a rough, eye opening year, Hisui...I almost died, I've come to...have an appreciation for love in all forms."
"Almost Died?!" the princess sounded horrified as she squeezed both of Lucy's hands, "no, I can't lose you, you've come to be like a sister to me!"
The blonde smiled softly, "it's in the past, don't worry about it, really, but...I'm a Guild Mage, Hisui, I can run into dangers."
"She never goes anywhere alone though," Zen said and his lips were drawn into a thin line, "That...was just a battlefield and things go wrong on them."
Lucy looked at Zen and she could see the self anger in his eyes before she gently pulled one hand away from Hisui to gently reach out and cup his cheek. Her voice was soft, "I'm alive, it's fine, no self-blame."
Hisui watched the two, eyes wide but she saw the caring there. Part of her was in awe of it, another knew that this man might be an issue with her plan for the Eclipse Gate. There was a tenderness in the man's features towards her and her eyes glanced towards the other man, seeing a soft look there as well. Were they both smitten with her? This could be a pain in the ass, but she refused to allow herself to deviate. Her mother had pointed out in journals what was needed to open the gate and she'd make damn well sure it was opened, one way or another.
Zen brought his hand up, gently cupping the smaller hand and murmuring, "I wasn't that far away."
Lucy smiled warmly at him and then shifted to stand, letting her other hand come loose from Hisui's before she gently ran her fingers through Zen's hair, murmuring softly, "the past. It is done and over. We're both here."
Hestor shook his head with a small smile, looking at Hisui, "do not worry, it truly came out of no where, wars are hectic and this was...not an expected result. She was in danger, but not mortal danger. We had a very high level healer there. She would have probably been greatly hurt, but not much else." he wasn't about to give too many details, "But...you know how it is with emotions and being close to someone." He needed those keys...and he had two years to find all of them. He would judge the woman's soul because he refused to allow Lucy to have this blood on her hands.
Hisui nodded and smiled, "I see."
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Fairy Tail coming out on top had Lucy mentally cackling, this time the little mental chibi over a prone and face down Hisui, which had Kaleb grinning and sharing that image with others, creating laughter that didn't seem out of place with the Win. He'd gone to collect her a few hours later, putting on a stoic mask and requesting her presence to return to White Sea.
It was a 'tearful' parting but as soon as the group was on the airship, Lucy was hugging the two Pradesh siblings that had been in the games that were present, with Vander getting a kiss that turned into something to leave her breathless.
Zen snorted softly, shaking his head as he watched. Lucy always freely gave herself and he could see how that might be bad in the long run. He didn't want her to indiscriminately do so, it was dangerous and could be hazardous to her health, both physical and mental. "I'm going to go rest until we get back."
Lucy let out a small sound, "Cuddles!"
Vander snorted softly, "you are an addict, you know that, right?"
The blonde slowly blinked at Vander, "am not." She wriggled out of his arms and bounced below the deck of the airship, the entire group watching her.
"She is."
"Completely," Cris grinned as he crossed his arms on his chest. "So, there any reason we're not staying for a few days, Kaleb?"
Zen spoke in Kaleb's place, "...there was a surge of dark magic. Best to get out of there for now, the three of us were closer to it than I cared to be."
Kaleb let out a hum, "I barely felt it, whatever it was, I don't like it." he took a breath, "and Emi and her mate will be joining us back in Pelerno."
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It was a few weeks later when Lucy was suddenly smooshed face first into a set of rather large breasts and hugged tightly. The small blonde flailed a bit as she tried to break free and get air and went limp as she heard the purred voice of Emzadi, "Thank you, Little Star, for giving me hope."
The dragon slayer let go of the celestial mage, only for Lucy to fall backwards and take in a gasp of air. She mumbled something as her vision swam and smiled up at Zen as the man steadied her.
The Archangel looked amused, "you're welcome, I believe is what she's trying to say." he looked at his sister for a moment, "but..you truly nearly strangled her to death."
Emzadi blushed a bit and mumbled, "sorry." she didn't look that sorry though as she leaned back into the large, dark, metal covered slayer behind her.
Lucy eyed the man for a moment as she got her bearings back, studying the man with a look that was calculating. "Gajeel Redfox...you hurt her…" the golden eyes flashed, promising pain and something else right beneath their surface.
Gajeel looked at the small blonde, narrowing his eyes slightly, but the look in her eyes made him pause, "I won't. She's my mate, that'd be fucking stupid of me."
"Good….pretty sure I'd break my foot putting it up your metal clad ass," Lucy grinned as she stood there, then relaxed a bit more into Zen. She looked up at the archangel and whined, "she made me spill my strawberry shake…"
Zen rolled his eyes, looking indulgent and amused at the same time, "we'll get you another one."
Emzadi snorted softly, "i'm going to take him up to see Cris or Kaleb, whoever's in, get him into the guild...oh...um...his guildmate came with us."
Lucy leaned a bit around and blinked at the blue haired woman, waving, "hi there."
"H...hello…" The blue haired woman looked at Lucy, then at Zen, blushing, "Juvia is...happy to meet you both…"
"The pleasure is all ours…" Lucy looked up at Zen and smiled, "isn't it?"
The Archangel studied the woman, Juvia, for a long moment then nodded, "it is. Always a pleasure to meet a new guildmate."
Emzadi smiled warmly, "come on, you two, let's get you inducted into the guild." she took both of them by an arm and started walking along.
"Wh...who was…" Juvia blushed a bit more as they walked.
Emzadi arched an eyebrow, "you mean Lucy? Or Zen? I'd be careful around Zen...he's...semi-spoken for."
"What do ya mean?" Gajeel frowned, "ya either are promised, engaged or married here...or you're unattached, right?"
The Solar dragon slayer let out a hum, "it's...complicated...and would take a lot time to explain...if you have time."
Juvia nodded, "Juvia would like to...understand."
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Emzadi relaxed back against Gajeel as they settled on a couch in her apartment, "Right...so I said I would explain the...Zen-Lucy thing."
Juvia gave a nod as she sipped from the glass off wine she'd been offered, "Yes, Emzadi-san."
Emzadi let her head rest back and then took a moment before she spoke softly, "Zen….was thought to have died when He was one, but he's got a special type of magic that...protected him. We...didn't know he had been taken to Peregrande…and to Skysreach" She paused at the two sharp intakes of breath, taking a slow one herself, "but...Lucy's always been quirky, interested in researching everything she could."
The Dragon slayer smiled softly, "she's my kin, so i'm protective, and protective of those she cares about. Zen's my brother and also my kin, so...I'm overprotective when it comes to him as well...even though...I know he can take care of himself."
Gajeel snorted, "Dragon Habit."
The Solar dragon slayer lightly nuzzled her mate with a small hum, "yes, it is...well, she found out Zen was alive, we found him, rescued him...and when they met their magic….mingled, created a sort of magical bond that's a step…" she paused, "well, it's somewhere between being a dragon's kin and a dragon's mate…"
Juvia furrowed her brow, "That's...different…"
The blonde nodded as she sat there, "it is...why I said he's semi-spoken for…" she smiled softly, "he's smitten with her, well, a few of my brothers are, but he always is within a few arm's lengths to be there if she needs him, just like my other brother Vander...though...that distance is a bit longer because he can travel through Voids...so more like...if he can see her, he feels safe."
"Anyway, something about the marks on her arms...links them...so whatever happened to bond her to Zen...well, Van was there and...he got mixed up in it," Emzadi gave a small smile, "and seeing as Lucy constantly puts off a lot for herself, we're giving them the space they need to...figure out...where they stand."
Juvia gave a small nod, "Juvia understands...friendship is...alright?"
Emzadi chuckled, "Go ahead and be friends with him, he's a healthy Boscan male, so there might be pleasure to be shared if you ask, but don't get disappointed if he says no. unless he knows she's someplace safe, he'll turn down offers, it has something to do with the bond."
Gajeel snorted softly, "sounds like it's got 'complicated' written all over it."
"More than you know," Emzadi purred, "But they're adorable and I'm looking forward to see who she chooses…" her voice trailed off and then she spoke softly, "I don't want either of my brothers hurt...so...we are...giving her the time to choose."
