Fairy x Adventure

by Magnafeana

In a new era after the Alvarez War, Lucy, Natsu, and the rest of Fairy Tail not only face new challenges but watch as their kids go on new journeys, learn new powers, and battle new enemies and old! Join Luna, Nashi, and the upcoming generation of Mages on Fairy Tail and more on their never-ending adventure!

22. Adventure 022

In a land far, far away lies the kingdom of Fiore, a small, peaceful nation of 17 million, and a place filled with Magic found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most, Magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, Magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together into magical guilds, they ply their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore. But there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest, one from which countless legends have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name...is Fairy Tail.

---

WOOOT. WOOOOOOOOT.

CHUGGA-CHUGGA-CHUGGA-CHUGGA.

KA-CLACK. KA-CLACK. KA-CLACK.

HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

The train breezed past the open plain as two cows lifted their heads, chewing their grass. An Asena guarded them, a wolfish creature bigger than most with a jagged horn on its head, a constantly flowing mane and carried a gold ankle bracelet on its right hind-leg.

Inside the train, Fairy Tail had taken up nearly the entire train by themselves. Mages of all types had gathered for this trip. Gajeel and Natsu were green-faced and relying on their wives for support while Gray laughed at him. Even Laxus felt slightly ill and grunted while Mira took gentle care of him. Erza was having conversation with T'oree and explained as much as she could to her. Mystogan settled with Lance and Ghost and the three of them started their own game of chess. Dazzler was sighing dreamily as Mustang played with the Strauss triplets. Justin was disagreeing with Ellie over a fashion choice and both tried to use Nashi as a mediator, though she seemed preoccupied. Galileo had settled to his lonesome while Gary, Cade, and Number Five watched in wonder as Vinyl got Thirteen to passionately defend swing music. Miss Robin and Miss Pink were giggling away over a private joke. Evergreen and Kinana watched in amusement as Ellie and Mara conversed in sign language while Elfman complained to Bixslow how unmanly it was for him to not be fluent in the silent art of hand language. Pantherlily and Happy were both trying not to upset the irate Charla as she and Happy decided to bring their beautiful eggs of blue and white respectively with them. Orochi and Olivia were watching a movie on Orochi's Compact, though Orochi made sure they sat close to his sister with a mysterious bag beside him. Mary Jane had her headphones in and closed her eyes while Igneel sat across from her, reading his comics. Luke and Genius were growing more and more competitive as they played a Portable Archive Lacrima game. Cana and Cane were playing a game involving the slight-of-hand and Cane called a foul while Cana only gave him a superior smirk. Gale had taken to sitting with Julia and the two spoke in hushed murmurs as Julia showed Gale something on her Compact. Penelope was floating in the seat right across from Luna, Silver, and Ena with Paige, Liberty, and Elvin becoming in-depth with their animal discussion.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Our story begins with our Fairy Tail members on a train off to an adventure unknown. A month has passed since the Hallow's Eve Spell-tacular and things could not be better for our fairy friends!

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Luna was bouncing in her seat with Silver across from her and Ena returning with snacks. "Goodness, I'm so excited!" she gushed. "I've never seen this live before!"

"It's pretty cool," Silver said. "I'm so happy Master wanted all of us to go. It's like a big family gathering!"

The train honked as it ascended and found itself chugging into a tunnel. Its eyes shined bright against the tunnel's elusive darkness.

Ena settled down next to Luna with her chocolate cake slice and tea. "I went the day after Halloween to deliver the costumes. I hope everything went okay," she murmured. She began to eat her cake. "I'll do a final run before everything starts, but they should be good."

"I can't wait to see Aunt Wen and Aunt Sherria perform," Silver said. "Their duets are awesome! I think they're already there now!"

"It won't be too long until we get there too," Ena pointed out.

Luna looked out the window to see her faded reflection smiling back at her. "I can't wait," she admitted.

Papa told me when I was little, I went to one, but still… I finally get to attend one with all my friends. A new adventure… A new memory…

The train's eyes lightened as it saw the light at the end of the tunnel. It kept chugging and chugging, light getting closer. Finally, it burst into the light.

WOOOT. WOOOOOOOOT.

The train had crossed into an area of greenery and evergreens with a mixture of jade grass covered in leaves that got up as the train passed.

Sea gulls cawed.

Water glistened sweetly.

The autumn trees swayed in the wind.

Luna pressed her face and hands against the glass with a wide open-mouthed smile, awe shining in her eyes like stars.

Finally, we made it.

Luna's eyes were latched onto the town up ahead. The town was quite vast for its size, housing a majority of Fiore's people inside it. The town was built upon the Renaissance Era with every detailing on a building carved to great precision. The entire town itself looked like a masterpiece. A river divided the town into half and into a system of canals, leaving gondolas as the main source of transportation. A gondolier was making his way to the Viper Inn with a newly-wedded couple. Three little ones giggled as they ran passed a pleasantly startled elderly couple walking their Doberman. The largest chapel of the town had its chimes ringing for all to hear. Pigeons flocked from their positions of the bell tower to fly overhead. A young boy smiled at that and pointed at the bird, tugging at his mother's apron so she could notice it as well. Streamers and flags were set-up for the oncoming day everyone had been waiting for. The competition had been set-up. Goods had been handled. Everything was in place.

Luna could not believe it.

We're here at Margaret Town for the Festival of Gratitude.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

As I close my eyes

Nokosu ato mo naku kobosu oto mo naku iku ate mo naku

I know that this is what I want, this is what I need

Ima mo kurikaeshiteku zanzou

•

Kizutsuita kako no bokura wa

Ienai mama de

Sonna karamawari kawaranai hibi wa

Mou tozashite ikun da

•

So now

Kore wa boku ga nozonda

My Nevereverland

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

WOOOT. WOOOOOOOOT.

Laxus looked around as everyone gathered within the train station. He held a clipboard in his hands. "And, finally, Mina Cinco?"

"Here, Master!"

Erza smiled. "Great. We're all present and accounted for."

Laxus looked a bit disgruntled. "Are you sure we should've brought this many members with us?"

"I did not make them come, Laxus. Master Ooba merely extended her invitation to the entire guild," Erza pointed out. "How many members are here was dictated through who wanted to go and who volunteered to watch after the guild. I know Constantine and Freed can hold down the guild hall and ensure Magnolia's safety."

Laxus grumbled, but Mira placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him an assuring smile. Laxus sighed. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

Erza hummed her approval. "Attention, Fairy Tail members!" she shouted, gaining the eyes and ears of her family. "For those wishing to take part in Tour de Marguerite, please—"

"Follow me," came a smooth purr.

Everyone looked as a man came forth. He had changed over the years, but not too much. His spiky bluish-silver hair had been slicked backed into a lengthy ponytail with bangs brushed to either side. He had grown a bit of facial hair, but not much. His look had altered as well. He donned a beige trench-coat with his hands tucked into his pocket. It was open to reveal a blue button-down with a few buttons to expose his chest as well as black slacks. He looked at Fairy Tail with his cold, yet polite smile.

Gray emerged from the ranks with a smirk. "Son of a bitch," he called. "Didn't think you were on the welcoming committee, Lyon."

Lyon made a noise of amusement. "Goes to show how much you know, little brother."

A tick mark appeared on Gray's head. "We're the same age, you ass!"

⌜LAMIA SCALE

Name: Lyon Vastia

Occupation: S-Class Mage

Magic: Molding Magic (Ice-Make)

Likes: Minstrish literature Dislikes: tacos

Special Note: Lyon might be a beauty, but his ice is even more beautiful! ⌟

Julia charged into Lyon and embraced him. "Uncle Lyon! I've missed you and Aunt Meredy!"

Lyon softened and hugged her back. "We've all missed you too," he promised. "Where are those two brothers of you and your darling mother?"

Gray growled. "Watch it."

Lyon only smirked, releasing Julia, as Silver, Juvia, and Gary made it to the front to greet their uncle.

Silver beamed and ran up to him. "Hi, Uncle Lyon! It's good to see you!"

Gary smiled at Lyon. "Yeah. Good to see you, Uncle."

Lyon chuckled. "You boys actually turned out all right. I'm glad you didn't get anything from my little brother."

"I am not your 'little brother', dammit!"

Juvia stepped up to Lyon and gave him a sisterly kiss on the cheek before stepping back. "Juvia is pleased to see Lyon again!"

Lyon smiled. It was not a smirk or a grin, but a brotherly smile. "Good to see you too, Juvy. Meredy's been so excited to see you."

"Where is Meredy?" Juvia wondered.

"She's getting Rose from school right about now," Lyon answered. "But, I did bring the other two with me."

Gary groaned. "Oh, no…"

A smirk. "What? Not excited to see us, Gare-bear?" came a female question.

Gary tensed as the click of heels and footsteps approached him. He looked away out of irritation. "I'd rather throw you off a bridge."

Juvia smacked her eldest son's arm and gave him a stern glower, making him wince. "Gary…" she growled.

Another smile. "No, no, it's okay, Aunt J," came a male soothe. "I'm sure our little Storm is just containing his excitement."

"I told you to never call me that," Gary grumbled.

The clicks and steps stopped.

"After all, how could he not want to see his favorite cousins?"

Gary growled under his breath and tore his eyes up to greet the two in front of him. "Linus, Ultear… What a pity it is that you're both still breathing," he grunted.

Ultear gave her shark-like smirk. "Still a virgin, aren't you, Gare-bear? Not surprising." Her comeback was refined and cold, but held a darker threat underneath. She was a fairly tall woman, but still fell four inches below Gary and five below Linus. Her hair was a silverish-pink with a low-to-high bob-cut, her hair just brushing against her shoulders. She had cynical dark green eyes that were callous and predatory but darkly amused. She looked good for her age with her heeled boots, her coat, and a scarf around her.

⌜LAMIA SCALE

Name: Ultear Vastia

Age: 19

Occupation: Mage

Magic: Empathy

Likes: high heels Dislikes: rabbits

Special Note: Ultear is known as the Ice Queen, but not for her Magic. It's the cold-hearted way she rejects men! ⌟

"Don't call me that," Gary hissed. "Only Dazzler and Angel can call me that."

Ultear hummed her laughter. "You hear that, Linus? Looks like I'm not a special lady in his life."

Linus merely smiled. "Not everyone can be charming as Dazzler or as beautiful as Nashi. Say…" He looked around. "Where is Nashi?" Linus did not come off as intimidating as his sister. In fact, to many, he seemed like a kind man with a pure smile. He wore boots and jeans with a nice jacket to top off his look. Like Gary, he, too, wore an ear ring in one air. His hair was more silverish than his younger sister, but with one pink stripe. His hair was not long, but not short either and he even inherited the natural tan skin Lyon was with blessed. His eyes were slicker than Ultear, but still had that forest green coloring.

⌜LAMIA SCALE

Name: Linus Vastia

Age: 20

Occupation: S-Class Mage, Ice Skating Instructor

Magic: Snow

Likes: vinyl records Dislikes: rabbits

Special Note: Linus has a smile that could make the world trust him with a drop of a hat—but don't trust it! He has more ulterior motives than you would think! ⌟

"Somewhere else," Gary dismissed. "Still faking it with that whole 'nice boy' routine, Linus?"

Linus frowned in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Luna and Ena caught a peek of Gary with Linus and Ultear as the Fairy Tail members began murmuring among themselves. Luna's eyes widened. "Oh, right. Linus and Ultear are Silver's cousins," she remembered.

"Not blood cousins," Ena corrected, "but, family."

"I don't get why Gary doesn't like Linus," Luna admitted. "He's really nice and kind."

Ena studied the way Linus spoke back to Gary. Her eyes narrowed.

Something's off about him…

"Fairy Tail!" came a boom.

Everyone turned their attention to Erza once again. She gestured to Lyon. "This is Lyon Vastia, a member of Lamia Scale! For those taking part in the event, please follow him! His son, Linus"—Linus bowed—"and daughter, Ultear"—Ultear bowed—"will take the rest to our stay at the Mamba Palace."

Lyon waved his hand to beckon members and a fourth of the members followed him away with their luggage. The rest followed Erza, Ultear, and Linus who led them to their Palace for the next two nights.

The City of the Guardian Duo personally intrigued Luna as she looked around in splendor. The populace was higher in Margaret Town than in Magnolia, but it did not suffocate her. She saw three women dancing to the music of their people with scarves and tambourines. She saw the bread makers work hard at making more batches of fresh bread.

It's so amazing here. There's so many more people… It's all so awesome!

Her thoughts were stopped when she noticed a little girl playing with a young fox creature of three tails. The fox was an icy blue color with a jewel on its forehead, white on its paws and chest, and made a cute yipping noise.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« This is a Kumiho, or a Divine Fox. A Divine Fox is a magical creature than can withhold the Magic of earth, air, fire, water, ice, or darkness depending on its fur and the jewel on its forehead. These creatures start with three tails, then, once an adult, have nine. The opposite of a Kumiho is a Kyuubi, a Demon Fox. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The girl giggled as she and her Kumiho chased each other in endless cycle. The girl tripped and landed on her face. She sat up, sniffling, but her Kumiho was quick to act and licked the girl's face. The girl instantly giggled again.

Luna was in wonder.

Magical creatures and humans…live together?

"Blondie? You okay there?"

Luna looked to see Gale approaching her. "Oh, Gale. Sorry…" She looked back at the girl to see her run to her father who had ice cream. The girl took it and instantly scooped some into her mouth. Her father smiled softly before offering the other cone to the Kumiho who lapped at it eagerly.

"It's so weird," Luna murmured. "Normally, in society, people who aren't Mages shun magical creatures, hunt them, or keep them around for illegal fights. But, to see something like this…"

Gale nodded. "Cool, isn't it?" he noted. "Major cities like this one usually has a nice blend of magical creatures and regular ones."

Luna chuckled weakly. "I wouldn't really know," she confessed. "I was kind of stuck in Magnolia for a while, so…"

Briefly, sadness flashed in Gale's eyes. He perked and smirked, taking Luna's hand. "Then, let me show you something that will definitely make you see how differently Margaret Town is," he persuaded. He did not wait for her consent as he tugged her away from the main group and into the narrow back street.

Luna was startled. "Wait! What about our stuff?"

Gale snapped his fingers. "Done. Taken care of," he soothed.

Luna still wanted to protest. "We need to stay with the group or we won't know—!"

"Blondie, I've been here enough to know my way around," Gale assured as he led them past two women walking down the street. He pulled both him and Luna over a small bridge where a man and his Laelap were fishing together.

"We'll make it back to the Mamba Palace, no sweat!" Gale promised as he turned them onto another narrow street that inclined.

Luna blinked. Then, she grinned. "Well, hurry up then!"

Gale smirked. "I can get us there faster, but you're not going to like it."

"Try me," Luna challenged.

Gale skidded to an abrupt halt as he let go of Luna. He barely gave her time to stop as he scooped her over his shoulder and took off running.

Luna's cheeks with pink and her eyes were wide. "Gale!"

Gale laughed. "Almost there, Blondie!"

He navigated them through the confusing streets of Margaret, ducking into other streets, going through small parks, and running across bridges. He broke into one of the main canals and looked left, then right. He saw the bridge and made a dash for it.

Luna noticed the odd and amused looks people gave them and her cheeks reddened as a result. She heard a little girl whisper to her mother about Luna being swept away by her prince.

"Everyone is staring," Luna hissed.

"Let 'em stare. Who cares what people think anyways?" Gale paused at the bottom of a stone staircase leading to a plaza. He grinned. "Going up!"

Luna furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean 'going'—? Ah!"

Luna screamed as Gale elevated the earth below him to move them up the steps. The people climbing the steps gasped in shock, some just staring while others moved out of the way.

"You're crazy!" Luna screamed.

Gale and Luna made it to the top of the stairs where Gale stumbled off. He skidded to a stop to crouch and allow Luna to get off him. She straightened her outfit and shot him a look.

"Are we there yet?" she asked.

Gale smirked. "Just about. Come on." He took her hand and pulled her along. They had ended up barreling through a spacious plaza of earthly red and brown stone. It was a rectangle plaza with residential buildings surrounding it. A hardworking stay-at-home mother was on the third story of one of the buildings as she lay out her laundry to dry, hips swaying to a Sinnish beat. Two men got up in shouts of fury as their favorite team mate from the magical sport of MagiCross was injured. The plaza itself was a beauty. Restaurants had opened underneath the residential building with seats and tables and umbrellas for their customers.

But, Luna did not have time for that as Gale pulled her out of the plaza as quickly as they had been in it. He hurried to guide her to a massive set of stairs. Tourists and civilians alike were on the steps. Tourists seemed to have the tendency of either being with a tour guide, taking a picture, or gathering their party for a meeting. People home to Margaret Town settled on the steps. A university student read a fascinating tale. Two brothers settled down with their lunch. It was intriguing to see difference between intruder and a regular.

"Where"—Luna panted—"are you taking m-me? Oh, excuse me!" she added hurriedly after almost bumping into a child.

"To see," was all Gale said.

Luna looked up to see the building they were climbing to meet. It was a masterpiece itself. It stood tall with three glorious stories of beautifully crafted stone and large windows. It looked like a palace without the official guards guarding it. It was crowned with a dome that carried a glass roof on its head. Crafts of angels watched over the building while hordes of people swarmed in and out, some on tour, some on a school trip, and others just because.

Gale and Luna made it to the top to the steps and burst into the already-open doors. The interior of the palatial building was grander than the outside. The aa lobby itself was high-vaulted and lavishly decorated with swirling marble, stucco ornamentations, gold-leaf, busts of the architects, and painting. The noise echoed as another tour group was starting their tour and there was a group of little ones on their school field trip with parent chaperones and tired teachers. Two grand staircases led to the upper level of them museum with a tiered fountain planted in-between them. Luna and Gale raced up one set of staircases. Gale ignored the precious works of art smothering them while Luna wished she could behold them and capture their meaning.

"This place is beautiful," she whispered as she caught the last glimpse of a painting of a blue boy.

"Ain't it?" Gale glanced around. "This is their Museum of Fine Arts. It's kind of a big deal since it's one of the five national museums in the country." He turned them down another hall where they ended up on a second-floor lobby. Another staircase waited for them and they climbed it with no problem.

"So, why are we here?" Luna wanted to know as they made it to the second floor. Immediately, they came upon a third set of stairs and climbed it. "I mean, what do you mean I'm going 'to see'? I can 'see' just fine!"

Gale and Luna stepped onto the next floor. They had made it inside the dome. Not too many people were in the dome at this hour. The domes walls were made out of glistening dark stone with ruins tapped into them. There were bronze statues laying home to the dome as well. Older people took up a few seats with their lunch. A little girl tugged her brother's hand to see another statue. Gale stopped and turned back to Luna with a grin.

"Well, you ain't seen nothin' yet," he assured. "Now, close your eyes."

Luna raised an eyebrow and tried to peer around him. "What are you—?"

Gale put his hands over Luna's eyes. "Close 'em," he ordered gruffly.

Luna huffed. "Fine, whatever. They're closed."

Gale warily took his hands away to see Luna had genuinely closed her eyes. He slipped his hands into hers and tugged her forward. "Easy, now. Just come with me."

"Haven't I been doing that already?" Luna muttered.

Gale pulled Luna out onto the balcony. There were a few benches and a couple of tower views that sad on the stone railing. Gale pulled Luna to the edge, then let go of her hands to move beside her. He wanted to see her reaction.

"Open your eyes," he whispered.

Luna did so. "Why did we—?" Her eyes widened and she gasped. "Oh, wow…"

'Oh, wow' indeed.

The balcony overlooked the proud city of Margaret Town. The city itself was built upon the Renaissance Era with touches of Gothic remaining. The houses and structures might have looked the same from afar, but the color was far from the same. Houses and buildings over every color existed. Red, yellow, green, blue, violet, and even pink—the people of Margaret showed little favoritism for their choice in color. From the view, the river dividing the two halves of Margaret Town could be seen. It was a shining river that flowed through the streets of Margaret. A bridge connected the two halves with trafficking coming to and from each side. From the other side, a large bell tower was seen guarding it with a hidden mystery side. A water taxi was docking for citizens to get off. Two small tugboats passed each other, tooting in greetings. There was a small dining square for people to eat, drink, and be merry with a large tree growing in the center of it for two magical creatures to play in. A hot air balloon was descending from the sky and back to its landing pad. The church bells began to ring in their sacred song as their sermon was released.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« Margaret Town is one of the major cities of Fiore. Mûre River separates this vast town into two parts, but most of the town has rivers for roads and gondolas and boats as a means of transportation. This town is also called 'The City of the Guardian Duo'. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

A water taxi was docking for citizens to get off. Two small tugboats passed each other, tooting in greetings. There was a small dining square for people to eat, drink, and be merry with a large tree growing in the center of it for two magical creatures to play in. A hot air balloon was descending from the sky and back to its landing pad. The church bells began to ring in their sacred song as their sermon was released. Decorations for the Festival of Gratitude were up and ready for the next day. Colors of red and orange, the colors of fall, was being shown in every store and restaurant and household. Everyone was ready to show their gratitude.

"This," Luna laughed in amazement, "is incredible!"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Fairy Adventure 022

Introduction to Margaret Town

ガーディアンデュオの街！スタートラインでのマーガレットタウンの感謝の祭典！

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

"I never knew Margaret Town was so big!" Luna added.

"She's a beaut," Gale had to say. "No Magnolia, but still pretty all right."

Luna sighed and closed her eyes, letting the autumn breeze take over her. "This is what I've been missing. Seeing sights like this…" She opened her eyes with a smile. "It makes me grateful I get to have adventures like this." She looked at Gale. "Thanks for this."

Gale shrugged, his hands going into his pockets. "It's whatever, Blondie. Thought you'd like to see the City of the Guardian Duo for all its glory."

Luna furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait… 'The City of the Guardian Duo'?"

Gale nodded. "Mmm-hmm. Come on. I'll show you." He turned away from her and walked back inside the dome with Luna trailing after him.

Luna finally could see the dome for what it was worth. She gazed at the ancient ruins and statues, but her true focus was on the center piece. There were there bronze statues crafted to mere perfection of two creatures and their master. One of the creatures was like a winged lion. Its feathered wings were spread and its mane would forever flow. It had overbearing fangs and a canine-like muzzle. It had a slicked back horn as well and scales running from its chest and down onto its stomach. The creature on the right was a large bird that was mixed with a sea creature, a plesiosaur. It had large wings, a slender neck, and a smooth, streamlined body. Its face was more like the face of a crane with a long beak and it had its own crown of horns and a horned tail. The third member was the master, a maiden, of the two. She floated over the two with her arms clasped in prayer. She bore flowing hair, a serene look, and a flowing dress.

"Awesome," Luna whispered.

Gale nodded. "Yeah." He pointed at the ancient stone that settled at the bottom of the statues, wrapping around them. "The legend of the three of them are written in Ancient Language." He began to translate, slowly moving him and Luna as he kept going. "'Long ago, settlers from a nearby land found the splendors the Mûre River and the nearby forest gave them. They settled her as the first humans, but were warned by an elderly man who lived nearby. To keep the peace, they had to ensure they would not harm nature. The settlers agreed and life moved on. They farmed. They fished. They survived. And, it was good'."

"'But then, the greed that sinned this world cursed them," Gale continued. "'The humans lost respect for nature. They pillaged the forest and killed innocent magical creatures for sport. They allowed their waste to go into the river that gave them life. They consumed more than nature could give. They had broken the agreement of the land and the elderly man returned'…"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The elderly man was old and hobbled, relying on a staff to keep himself up. He raised a shaky finger at the villagers before him. "You have wronged this land!" he cursed. "You have wronged nature! You do not know what you have done!"

The leader of the villagers stepped up. He was a tan man with his hair covered in scarves and scars to prove his years of hard work. He wore nothing but colorful robes and sandals that were new. He smiled and laughed. "Peace, my friend. We have done nothing but used this land as we have seen fit! This is our home and we have right to use it! Come! Let us sit you down with warm soup and fresh bread and maybe wine!"

The elderly man spat and hobbled away. "You do not know what you have done, friend. The beast of the sky and the beast of the river will come to collect for three days and three nights! You will see how unforgiving nature is! But, there is time! Redeem yourself in this next moon and they shall continue to sleep!"

The leader raised an amused eyebrow. "Friend, please. Even if 'magical beasts' emerged from the ground, we would simply stop them using our own weapons."

The elderly man stopped. He turned his head to shoot the leader a dead-eyed stare. "No, my son. No human could dare stop such a battle between such beasts. They will destroy everything in their path to gain victory." He turned away. "And, it will be no other's faults than your own."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

"'The villagers did not believe him and carried with their lives. They polluted the air and water with their waste and killed creatures for the sake of the skill. In one moon's time, the villagers did not remember the old man's words and continued to survive. But…that changed when an unexpected storm came. A lightning bolt came from the sky and changed into the beast of wind and sky. A hurricane of water appeared from the river and came from it was the beast of storm and sea. Anger was in their hearts for each thought the other had wronged their home and gave a horrible display of their Magic'."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

CR-CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

Lighting smacked through the air.

The creature of wind and sky let out a mighty roar of the winds.

From the water spun a creature of the river. It burst from its spin to reveal its own call of the water.

The creature of the wind and sky allowed its Magic to flow forth in a raging roar of wind, glowing a golden aura. The creature of the sea and storms gathered Magic in its jaws and allowed it to burst in a stream of hot water with an aura of cerulean comforting its skin.

And the two creatures allowed their attacks to clash as the thundering storm kept on.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

"'For three days and three nights came the war of sea and sky, just as the man predicted'," Gale continued. "'In those times, a storm raged onto the town of humans. For the sins they had committed against nature, winds knocked down their houses. The sea claimed lives. Fires and fights broke out over the land and the water and wind nearly swept away the entire town'."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

"Everyone, run!"

The leader of the village allowed his people to run away from the horror of the two beasts of wind and water. His village was on the verge of collapse. Half his village was being taken by the river. Fires had started and were burning down innocent houses.

"My baby! Not my baby!" came a wail.

He looked to see a woman crying as she held her four-year-old daughter. The daughter had splotches of blood marring her skin. She was gone. She was dead.

My village, my people… Because of our arrogance—my arrogance—innocent people will lose their lives…

He dropped to his knees. His fists clenched.

DRIP.

Tears ran down from his cheeks.

DROP.

"O, Father, I beg of you, have mercy on our souls," he whispered. "Please…"

CR-CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

He threw his head back. "Save us!"

CRACK. CR-CR-CRACK. CRACK.

The earth shook again as beast of sky and beast of sea fought once again.

A sweet voice that was musical down to the last syllable flowed around him. "You have spoken and I will grant your wish."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

"'It was then the chief of the village prayer to God and an angel was gifted to stop the battle between sea and sky'," Gale went on. "'The battle of three days and three nights was stopped and it was good'." He and Luna both stopped back in front of the statues when the text had stopped.

Luna furrowed her eyebrows. "Wait… That's it?"

Gale nodded. "Pretty much," he answered. "The rests of the ruins tell origin stories of the two beasts and more about the growth of Margaret Town, but that's about it." He gazed at the trio. "No one knows what really happened. Everyone says a maiden angel stopped the two beasts from their fight, but I don't buy it."

Luna hummed her laughter. "I forgot. We have an atheist talking," she teased.

Gale smirked. "Never said there isn't a god out there. Just not exactly a church-going kind of guy."

Luna shook her head in amusement. "Yeah, whatever." She looked up at the three statues with a smile.

The beast of sky and wind and the beast of sea and storms… They looked familiar to me…

"A pixiu and a suzaku," Luna murmured. "The winged lion of sky and wind and the beast of sea and storm…"

Gale shot Luna a questioning look. "What did you say?"

Luna shook her head. "U-U-Um, nothing. Never mind." She cleared her throat and pushed away from the railing keeping her separate from the crafts of bronze. "We should, um, probably get back to the hotel, don't you think?"

Gale's eyes narrowed when he saw Luna rubbing her arm. "Yeah. Sure." And, he followed after her.

---

TOOOOT. TOOT. TOOOOOOOOOT.

The water taxi moseyed along one of the canals of Margaret Town. The Fairy Tail members had been split up into two alternating routes to get to the palace for their check-in. One group went with Ultear and Erza while the other went with Linus and Laxus.

Igneel watched in amazement as they passed by shops and restaurants, his mouth watering. "Oh, sweet! There's so much food to eat here," he breathed.

Natsu ruffled Igneel's hair. "Always thinkin' about food, aren't'cha, you little brat?" he teased.

Igneel shoved Natsu. "Oh, don't sound so high-and-mighty, you old fart," he shot back. "I'm pretty sure you care more about food than you do Ma."

Lucy paused in her reading to grin. "If that's the case, Natsu, I'm perfectly fine leaving you to marry food instead of me. I'll just re-marry to that nice man I know you just hate." She tapped her chin. "What's his name again? Kageyama, I think."

Natsu instantly groaned. "Not that guy!" he whined. "What a total dumbass!"

"Yeah, Mom, at least marry someone smart," Luke put in. "Oh! I know! Mom, you should marry Mister Straight!"

Lucy eagerly nodded. "I should, shouldn't I? He'd treat me like a queen! And, last time I checked, he was pretty well-off too!" She beamed at her husband smugly. "Don't you think he's the perfect man for me?"

Natsu was instantly clinging to Lucy and buried his nose into her neck. "My Lucy," he mumbled.

Lucy laughed and patted Natsu's back. "There, there. I won't leave you, you big, possessive baby," she teased. "Hey, Nashi." She looked up to her daughter. "Do you—? Oh." Her words stopped when she saw Nashi. Her daughter was sitting near the window and staring out of it. She was not entranced with the scenery. No. She seemed miserably in-thought.

Lucy frowned and looked down at Natsu.

She's been so quiet lately. I've never seen her so reserved. No matter what I tried, she told me she was fine, but… I know something's been bothering her.

TOOOOT. TOOT. TOOOOOOOOOT.

Lucy looked up as the captain spoke to everyone in the water taxi.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for joining us at the Yellow Water Taxi. We will be docking at the Mamba Palace. Please make sure you have all your belongings and wait for the taxi to come to a complete stop. Thank you and have a wonderful day."

Laxus got up from his seat and stood in front of the group of Fairy Tail members. "Fairy Tail," he began, "once each and every one of you have checked in, you will report back in the lobby in one hour. Shower, change—do whatever you need to do. After that, we will go to the Lamia Scale Guild Hall to meet the master who graciously invited us here. Afterwards, you're dismissed. Do whatever you want. I don't care. But, do not make a mockery of the Fairy Tail name. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!" the members chorused.

°•°•°•°

TOOOOT. TOOT. TOOOOOOOOOOT.

The water taxi pulled away from the docks with new passengers. The Fairy Tail members stood on the docks as Laxus made sure each and every member made it off the water taxi.

Igneel looked up at the hotel in awe. "Woah… Luke, check it!"

The hotel was no small and humble inn or a simple motel. The hotel was five stories tall and that was it being generous. The upper levels of the hotel had their own balconies. Already, an older man of salt-and-pepper hair and a charming smile was kissing the back of a dark-skinned beauty with youthful eyes and the body of a twenty-something model. The Mamba Palace had its own restaurant with an outside eatery and live music that performed every hour.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« The Mamba Palace is one of five five-star inns in Margaret Town. Many celebrities and famed authority figures stay in this inn not just for its fantastic view of Margaret Town, but for the guests-only events it has in-store. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The lobby of the Mamba Palace was a spectacle. The floors sparkled with oak-colored squares and sandy aisles. The walls of the building were romantic bland of sandy gold and a slight sunset orange, intertwining endlessly. Satin streamers of orange and red and brown curled around the columns of the lobby. A grand staircase of red carpet flooded up to the second floor. A live pianist was playing a trio with a cello and a violin. An engagement party came out of the elevator. A bellboy helped an elderly woman with her many bags. The other half of Fairy Tail merged with their family and members began their check-in process.

Igneel kicked back on a couch and put his hands behind his head. "This is so awesome!" he crowed. "Man, I can't wait to take a shower and then kick off this new adventure with MJ!"

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure she's going to hang out with you?"

"She has to want to," Igneel figured. "I mean, why wouldn't she?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know, bro." He looked around. "It just seems—" He stopped. "Oh, my God."

Igneel raised an eyebrow. "What?" He looked where Luke was looking. "What'cha lookin'—?" He choked on his words as he surged forward. "What the Hell is he doing here?!" he exclaimed.

What Igneel and Luke were looking at was odd. Mary Jane was not lounging on a chair, listening to music. She had abandoned that idea in order to speak to the boy she had met during Halloween. His name was Peter and he looked different than in his Black Hood costume. He was dressed casually instead. He had dark skinny jeans on and sneakers. A plaid shirt was wrapped around his waist. He had on a V-neck and a jacket on top. He covered his hair with a backwards hat. He spoke to Mary Jane with a look of innocent curiosity on his face. But, what was more surprising?

Mary Jane spoke to him with a spark in her eyes.

"Peter Shuusei-Thompson," Luke named. "He certainly must be interesting if Mary Jane has taken interest in him."

Igneel pouted and crossed his arms. "What's so great about him anyways?" he muttered. "He looks like a douche."

A new voice contradicted Igneel. "No. He looks like a nice guy with good intentions and will treat Mary Jane right."

Igneel tilted his head back to see Nashi hovering over him. He rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying MJ deserves way better and way awesomer than that guy," he said simply.

This time, Nashi rolled her eyes. "See, that's the jealousy talking," she pointed out. "There's nothing wrong with him. And, we all know Mary Jane would kick his ass if there was. She doesn't really need back-up. She's a one-woman fighting machine."

"I know that," Igneel said grudgingly. "She's a goddess, you know? She's powerful and tough and doesn't need anyone else, but…" His eyes narrowed when he saw Mary Jane's lips twitch. He huffed. "Well, what makes him so special for MJ to talk to him?"

"He is attractive," came Ena's addition to the conversation. She walked over to the Dragneel siblings as she watched Mary Jane and Peter. "I met him at the party. He made his own costume. I admire that."

Igneel groaned. "Not you too!" He pulled at his hair. "Ergh! I can't believe my own family and friends would turn against me!" he bemoaned.

Nashi snorted. "Don't be overdramatic." She flicked Igneel's forehead. "Grab your stuff." She pulled put a keycard and dropped it on Igneel's lap. "Our rooms are ready. Let's get moving."

Igneel grunted as he took his keycard and stood up. "Yeah, sure, whatever." He grabbed his duffle-bag and slung it over his shoulder. He was about to walk away, but his eyes glanced at Mary Jane. She shook her head at something Peter had said who was quietly chuckling.

Igneel frowned and began to move, making Luke look up at his twin in confusion. "Where are you going? Elevator's this way."

Luke's eyes slid to Mary Jane and understood. He smiled as he grabbed his suit case and slung on his messenger bag.

Sometimes, bro, you're a lot more transparent than you give yourself.

°•°•°•°

"You're just a liar," Mary Jane hissed at Peter.

Peter smiled. "'Liar'? I have never been so insulted in my life!" he said, feigning his dramatics.

Mary Jane's lips twitched as she shoved Peter's shoulder. "Knock it off, hafū. I'd rather not have to put you in your place. You're getting a little too comfortable around me and I don't like that."

Peter laughed. "Oh, really? Sorry, baby girl, but I plan to keep getting more and more comfortable around you. You might even like it."

Mary Jane made a face. "I 'like' being alone."

"Well, you have me as a friend now, so you're not alone." Peter poked her nose. "Deal with it, baby girl."

Mary Jane rolled her eyes. "Choose a different nickname. That one sounds gross and objectifying."

Peter hummed thoughtfully. "How about 'MJ'?"

Mary Jane was about to say something when a different voice spoke up. "That's my name for her. Sorry, dude."

Mary Jane and Peter turned to see Igneel behind Mary Jane with a friendly smile on his face that seemed sharper and more threatening.

Peter raised an eyebrow and looked at Mary Jane. "Is he your boyfriend, the guy you hook up with, or a friend?"

Igneel blushed. "The guy she hooks up with?!" he repeated shrilly. He cleared his throat. "I'm actually MJ's best friend."

"He's nothing."

Igneel was on the ground with comical tears flowing from his eyes. "She's so cruel to me!" he wept.

Peter nodded in understanding. "Got it. I didn't want to make a boyfriend jealous or anything."

Mary Jane raised an eyebrow. "You're not doing anything wrong here. We're talking. Not making out and wondering whose room we'll use."

Igneel choked dramatically.

Making out? Going into a room? What type of friends are they?

Peter shrugged. "Yeah, true enough." He tilted his head. "You coming tonight?"

Mary Jane shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."

Peter smiled. "Giving me a half-answer, huh? You're such a tease, baby girl."

Igneel grew confused. "Wait." He looked at Mary Jane. "Where are you going?"

Mary Jane did not glance at him, but answered him. "Away from you."

Igneel shakily smiled as tears came from his eyes. "Aw, come on, don't be like that," he pleaded.

"Anyways," Peter went on, "Gale said, 'no', but Cane's down. If you don't know where it is, I can come get you at, like, eight, maybe? Introduce you to some friends."

Mary Jane yawned. "If Cane's going, then fine. No surprise the little Redfox isn't. He just wants time with his love interest."

"She is a cutie," Peter agreed.

"She is," Mary Jane also agreed. "If Cane's going, I'll just go with him. No need to get me."

Peter shrugged. "Nah, I'll come by. Cane'll ditch you for some chick. I'll stick around with you."

Mary Jane seemed amused at Peter's implications. "Sorry, but I'm not a damsel in distress." Static sparked off her to confirm her words. "I don't need a guard dog. I'm already stuck with one puppy that's clingy."

Igneel pouted. "Hey, I'm not 'clingy'," he tried to object.

"So, thanks for the offer, but no thanks," Mary Jane went on.

She's ignoring me! Igneel sobbed.

Peter only put his hands on his over-ear headphones slung around his neck. "Too bad, baby girl. I'll be here at eight. Unless…"—he grinned—"want to come with me on a little venture?"

Igneel tried to answer for Mary Jane. "Sorry, bro, but MJ and I—"

"Where to?"

Igneel looked at Mary Jane in surprise. "MJ…?"

Peter's grin broadened. "I'm heading out to grab food with a couple of friends from around here. They'll be there tonight. You can meet them early if you want?"

Mary Jane turned away from Peter to search for her father. "Hold that thought." She raised a finger and a little snake of lightning burst from her finger to zap her father. Laxus paused for a second before allowing static to pop off himself and back to Mary Jane. She nodded. "Daddy said I can go, so sure, why not? Food is a girl's best friend, next time diamonds and dogs."

Igneel felt his expression drooping. "But, MJ… I thought we were going to hang out?"

Mary Jane offered Igneel a raised eyebrow. "I don't recall ever making that commitment, and, even if I did, it wasn't in my sound mind." She moved away from Igneel and brushed past Peter. "Let's go, hafū."

Peter offered Igneel a piteous look. "Sorry, man. Maybe next time." And, he whirled around to catch up to Mary Jane.

Igneel watched Mary Jane leave with an odd mixture of confusion and pouting on his face. "I thought we could hang out," he mumbled.

Happy landed on Igneel's head with a frown on his feline face. "It's okay, Igneel. She'll have to come home eventually," he assured.

Igneel sighed. "I know. But… MJ can do whatever she wants. I just really wanted to explore the city with her. It's always more fun when we're together."

Happy patted Igneel's hair. "Natsu would get all sad too whenever Lucy left with another guy. But, Lucy always promised Natsu he was her very best friend, so he would never be replaceable."

Igneel got up and gently grabbed Happy from his head. His eyes went to the doors of the Mamba Palace where Peter and Mary Jane were disappearing through.

MJ has never been replaceable to me. She's my friend. But…what if she thinks I'm 'replaceable'?

Igneel shook his head.

No. I can't think like that.

He turned around and scooped up his duffle-bag. "C'mon, Happy! Let's go check out our rooms!"

Happy grinned. "Aye, sir!"

---

Ellie opened the door to her and Nashi's room and was at once taken back. "Oh, wow!" she gasped. "This…is so…beautiful!"

Nashi could not agree more.

There room was only with one bedroom, but that was enough for the two of them. It was a queen-sized bed with the theme of it being lavender and cream. The furnishings were all styled after the Renaissance Era with modernism through in. A Lacrima-Vision was put before the bed with its own stand and remotes and a list of channels accessed. The bedroom came with its own desk and chair, a lounge chair, nightstands, and lamps. The walls were a pinkish-violet tint with reflective, ornate patterns on them like the rug had. There was a small hallway of wooden floors that had two doors. One led to a bathroom while the other led to walk-in closet.

Ellie dropped her bag on the bed as she went to the curtains and opened them wide to see Margaret Town. "Nashi, the view is gorgeous!"

Nashi dropped her bag on the floor, then dropped onto her side of the bed. "Yeah. Perfect," she mumbled. She groaned and laid on her side on the bed, curling in on herself.

Ellie looked away from the view to look at Nashi. Her eyes softened on Nashi's figure. "Oh, my poor, true woman," she cooed. She glided to the bed and crawled onto it. "What's wrong, Nashi?" she asked. She laid down on the bed and rolled Nashi to her, though Nashi hid her face with her hands. Ellie played with Nashi's hair. "You've been acting distant and sad ever since the day after Halloween. All of us are really worried."

Nashi sighed. "It's nothing, El. I've just got some things on my mind, that's all."

"Then, talk to me," Ellie pleaded. "If not me, at least someone. I hate seeing you like this, babe."

Nashi was silent.

"Is it about what happened during the Fantasia?" Ellie asked. Her tone hardened. "Did someone touch you like that again?"

"No," Nashi mumbled. "It's nothing like that situation, I promise."

Ellie sighed. "I won't push you into doing something you don't want to do. You're a true woman. You can talk whenever you're ready. All of us are here to listen. And," she added in a low murmur, "if it helps, Dazzler is dealing with her regrets from Halloween. She was caught trying to give Mustang a striptease."

Nashi peeked through her hands as a grin grew on her face. "No way," she called in bullshit.

"Way," Ellie confirmed. She chuckled. "We went out to Hang Over-Done just down the street from her place day after Halloween. I texted you about it, but you didn't respond. She told us what happened. Apparently, Mustang took it like the southern gentleman he is and stopped her. He helped get her home and slept on the couch just to make sure she was okay in the morning."

Nashi sighed dramatically. "God, our Crimson Cowboy is such a freaking gentleman!" she laughed. "Dazzler's pretty much done everything in the book to get him to notice her and still? Nada."

"You weren't the one listening to Dazzler's complaints on it," Ellie reminded good-naturedly. "Hmm, what else happened…? Oh. Justin wanted all of us to know Ace actually kept his promise and texted him in the morning."

"Seems like Ace is actually sticking around," Nashi noted. "He's not the typical gay Justin goes for. Does he even know Justin does drag as Miss Fortune?"

Ellie shrugged. "Not sure. I think Ace is coming up here for the concert to see Justin."

"Aww. So cute," Nashi cooed, making both girls laugh. "So, what else happened?"

Ellie hummed. "Not too much. Aine and Lance had their perfect couple, Halloween sex. T'oree actually likes grinding, or at least with her 'Lord Cadorius'." She snorted. "I don't think T'oree sees the affect she has on Cade. He practically has a panic attack when she talks to him."

"Good. At least he found someone who make him nervous," Nashi muttered.

"Livy told us she and Chi-chi went to the party just to see Luna's dance number. They played some pool, then went out to another bar for drinks," Ellie informed.

"Ship," Nashi said simply.

Ellie nodded. "Ship," she agreed. "And, then…" She shrugged. "I think that's it. Made out with that sailor I was with, but that's it."

Nashi waggled her eyebrows. "Slut," she called.

Ellie winked. "Miss 'Slut' to you," she teased. "And, you were a total slut letting Gary control your innermost thoughts that night." She waggled her eyebrows. "The Hood and the big, bad wolf getting it on the dance floor. How scandalous."

Nashi chuckled weakly as her expression faltered. "Yeah… I guess…"

Ellie noticed Nashi was starting to withdraw and grew concerned. "Nashi? Did something happen between you two?"

"No," Nashi answered quickly. She paused. "I mean… It was nothing," she assured. She paused again. Her eyes looked down. "I mean…"

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Ellie hugged Nashi briefly. "Tell me later." She rolled away from Nashi and got off the bed. "Coming!" she shouted. She went to the door and looked out the people. Her eyes widened as she took a step back and opened the door just enough to reveal herself. "Oh, Gary, hi!" she greeted loudly, stressing the name.

Nashi bolted upright from the bed.

Gary smiled feebly at Ellie. "Hi, Ellie. I've, uh, been looking for Angel. I just need to talk to her. Is she here?"

Ellie shook her head. "Sorry. I think she went to Justin's room for a second," she lied without any fluctuation in her tone.

Nashi was silently letting out curses as she slunk off the bed. She tried to tip-toe from the room.

Gary looked downtrodden at that. "Oh. I see."

Ellie took pity on him. "Is there something wrong?"

Gary shook his head. "No, it's nothing. I just need to talk to Angel. She's…been avoiding me for the past two and a half weeks now."

That was news to Ellie. "Are you serious?"

BAM.

Gary was instantly alert. "What was that?"

Ellie panicked. "Oh, um, it was…! It was…!" She hung her head and sighed. She swung the door open wider. "Never mind. Come inside," she sighed, stepping back.

Gary stepped inside to see the comical scene before him. Nashi had tripped over her own bag and was trying to crawl away without being noticed. She grew hilariously alert when she noticed Gary staring at her. She got to her feet and dusted herself off, laughing.

"Oh, I, uh, was just about to take a shower and I must've tripped. Clumsy, right?" She began to walk away. "Anyways, I'm busy, so see yo—!"

A hand grabbed onto Nashi's wrist.

Nashi froze.

"Angel," Gary pleaded in a whisper, "please. We need to talk."

Nashi said nothing.

Silence.

"There's nothing to talk about."

Gary's eyes broke at that. His hand relaxed on Nashi's wrist. "Angel…"

Nashi tugged her wrist away. "Bye." And, she disappeared into the hallway.

Gary dropped his hand and watched Nashi lock herself in the bathroom.

Oh, Angel… If only you would give me the time of day…

Ellie looked at Gary. Her eyes were soft. A frown was on her face.

Nashi… I wish you could've turned around to see how sad you've been making him. Maybe you'd see how sad you both are.

Gary shook his head and walked away. "Sorry to bother you both," he muttered.

Ellie could not look at him as he walked out of the room and shut the door behind him. She sighed and went into the hall. She knocked on the bathroom door. "Nashi?"

"Go away," came Nashi's wobbly defense. "Please, El, I don't want to hear it."

"You two need to talk," Ellie said softly. "I don't know what happened, but only talking can solve it."

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Ellie sighed and stepped away from the door. "We're not done, young woman." She padded out of the hall and to the door. She forgot to peek into the peephole and just swung the door open. "Hel—?" She stopped in surprise. "Oh. It's you."

°•°•°•°

Nashi was sitting on the toilet with the seat down and her head in her hands when she heard a knock. "El," she bellyached, "leave me alone."

A pause.

"It's not Eliana, but good try," came a snakelike voice.

Nashi opened the door to glare at the person. "What do you want?" she sneered.

Ultear gave her sharp smile. "Oh, honey. Why would I need anything from something like you? Temperamental, immature, and crass."

Linus stepped in with a hand on her shoulder. "Ultear, that's not nice," he scolded his sister. He looked at Nashi apologetically. "My apologies, Nashi. I didn't think my sister would be coming along with me. I saw you looked a little upset and wanted to check in on you."

Nashi was a bit abashed. "Oh… Well… Thanks, Linus, but I'm fine. Thanks, anyways."

Linus glanced at his sister. "Ultear, why don't you go see if Uncle Natsu is coming tonight for the MagiCross match?" he suggested. Though, it was more a command.

Ultear rolled her eyes. "Fine. Have fun with Gary's leftovers," she added snidely as she walked away.

Linus put on a feeble smile. "She means well, I promise. She's just…a lot," he tried to defend.

Nashi waved a hand. "Linus, don't even worry about it. She's just bitchy because, for some reason, my dog loves me more than her." She chuckled. Tell her I'm more than willing to hand over his leash to her."

"Please, don't give her that type of satisfaction," Linus laughed. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Gary will put up much more of a fight." He noticed the change of expression on Nashi's face at Gary's name and he softened. "Come on." He held out his hand. "I want to show you something."

Nashi blinked. "Show me what?"

°•°•°•°

The plaza was a spectacle at this time of day. Many people had taken their break from work to enjoy what the plaza had to offer. A business meeting was being held underneath one of the umbrella tables. Two fathers talked about their fantasy team for {**} while their rambunctious kids played amongst themselves. A few university students had started a game of soccer. A young girl and her pet Alicanto—the sleek bird of luck with metallic feathers—came down from their building to meet up with their friends. An old woman sat on a bench and fed the pigeons as well as oozlum bird—a bird similar to the pigeon with long feathers on its head and talons for hands on its wings.

Nashi finished her drink with a sigh. "Thanks for this, Linus."

Linus hummed. "Anytime, Nashi. You look like you needed someone to talk to who wasn't part of Fairy Tail."

Nashi tipped her head, eyes sliding to Linus. "How did you know that?"

"I didn't," Linus admitted. "You just told me."

Nashi closed her eyes and smiled. "Oldest trick in the book and it fooled me. How cliché."

A waiter came out to deliver a steak and a salad with chicken to a couple. A gaggle of elders cheered for their friend's birthday. A woman and her phantom cat—a dark cat with violet markings and green eyes—lounged on a bench. A team of musicians made their way into the plaza. Two trumpeters, two trombonists, a bassist, two violins, a guitarist, a drummer with his makeshift drum set, and a pianist.

"So," Linus began, "what did my cousin do this time?"

Nashi paused. Her eyes opened halfway with a frown on her face. "Nothing," she dismissed. "It's more of a me-problem than anything."

"Hmm. So, you're having personal issues with my cousin then?"

Nashi paused again. Then, nodded.

Linus settled back and retreated. "I see."

The drummer clicked his drum sticks in a moderato beat of three. The players were ready. The drummer came in on the and of two, went to three, then started the romantic waltz.

The first trumpet was the first to pick up the lyric.

Nashi stared into her empty class.

I know I should talk about it, but… What's there to talk about? Nothing. At least…that's what I keep telling myself.

A hand presented itself to her. "Come, Nashi. Dance with me."

Nashi looked up to see Linus extending his invitation to her. She blinked. Then, she laughed. "Sorry, but I'm not exactly a dancer."

"That's a lie and we both know it," Linus called out. "One dance. I promise."

Nashi smiled and put down her glass. "Well… If it's one dance…" She slid her hand into his. "Then, I accept."

The second trumpet added his harmony to the first. They cresecendoed, hitting it high, then pulled away in a decrescendo. They were swept in their romantic, Perench waltz that they knew people had gotten to dance to their music. An old, married couple were rocking back and forth. Two little girls had taken to spinning. A pair of female lovers waltzed as they spoke in smiling whispers. Nashi and Linus took their place. Nashi put a hand into Linus' and another on his shoulder while he clasped her hand and put the other around her waist.

And, they danced.

It was a slow waltz. Linus led, but did not push her. It was a friendly waltz. There was no romantic tension. Neither looked to be flashy. They just looked to move their feet to the 1-2-3 beat and rotate in a circle, moving along the plaza.

The trombones took over the melody with their own spin and the music followed them. That was the thing about music. It did not hesitate to match you because it was following you. It did what you wanted it to do. It was submissive in that way.

"It was Halloween."

Linus looked down at Nashi, but she was looking away from him.

"I don't know what happened," Nashi explained softly. She was remembering the night. "It was weird. I know I was sober. I promised I'd watch out for everyone, y'know? And, we danced and…" Her eyes glinted as she remembered Gary's fond expression.

"Do you trust me?"

"Then, please, Angel… Dance with me…Little Hood."

Nashi's expression dropped slightly.

Why did I say 'yes'? Why did I say 'okay'? I'm…so confused… And, that wasn't the half of it.

"You know," Linus began, lulling Nashi back to his voice, "a little birdy told me something happened between you and Galileo." He raised a concerned eyebrow. "Anything serious?"

Nashi smiled weakly. "No, no, nothing like that," she promised. "We're still good friends. To be honest, nothing's really changed." She thought on it and sighed. "I mean, I guess one thing, but it was bound to happen."

"We can't do this anymore, Angel-face."

Nashi's eyes glistened.

I remember his words that night… And, he was right…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Nashi finished putting on her shirt when she heard Galileo's words. She looked up to see his naked back as he sat on the other side of the bed. She blinked. "What do you mean, Leo?"

Galileo sighed. "This… Us… We can't keep doing this," he tried to explain.

Nashi grew concerned. "Leo…" She went onto the bed and crawled onto his side. "You don't sound like yourself. What's wrong?" she wanted to know.

Galileo could not look at her. "It's nothing. Forget it."

"No. Tell me," Nashi demanded. "With or without this, we're still friends, Leo. I'm always going to care about you no matter what."

Galileo was silent.

Nashi softened. "Look, I knew a day would come when we couldn't do this anymore. But, tell me… Why did you choose now?"

Galileo hung his head. "It's… It's not fair to Gary," he finally got out.

Nashi narrowed his eyes. "What does he have to do with this?" She came to her own conclusion in a matter of seconds. "Did he find out?"

"No, he didn't." Galileo turned to Nashi and sad hazel clashed with confused hickory. "But, that's the thing, Angel-face: he will eventually. It's not fair of me to be with you when he loves you. I'm breaking my friendship with him and I'm killing his chances."

"What I do isn't his concern," Nashi assured through a growl. "He's nothing more than my partner, Leo, you know that."

This time, Galileo narrowed his eyes. "Do I?" he asked sarcastically.

Nashi looked affronted at that. "What the Hell does that mean?"

"Explain Halloween to me then," Galileo snapped.

Nashi was taken back. Color drained from her face. She was a deer caught in headlights. "Wha…? What do you me—?" she tried to whisper.

Galileo powered through. "Explain to me what happened between you two on Halloween," he demanded to know and angrily so. "Tell me."

Nashi swallowed. "Leo, it… It wasn't like that," she tried.

"But, it was, Nashi," Galileo hissed. He was trying to get through to her. He got up in just his underwear and sighed, clawing through his hair. "It was 'like that'."

Nashi bowed her head. "He's nothing more than a perverted dog with no regard to my feelings," she mumbled.

Galileo shook his head. "You know that's not true," he argued. "God, Gary has been so patient with you! He loves you, Angel-face, he wants to love you. He wants to take care of you. He might not fix broken hearts, but he wants to at least try to heal yours. He wants to be yours. Do you know how messed up it is that I've been with you as just a sex buddy when there's a guy out there in-love with? And, the guy is like my brother, Nashi! He trusts me! When he goes on S-Class missions, he trusts me to watch over you when he's gone." He glared at Nashi as he laughed sarcastically. "And, I took care of you, all right. Screwed you to the point where you couldn't walk."

Nashi's eyebrows slammed together. "Galileo!" she said sharply. She got up from the bed to grab his cheeks and force him to look at her. "We're both responsible for what happened, not just you, okay? It's our fault. You didn't betray Gary."

"But, I did, Angel-face." Galileo's anger mellowed into sadness and guilt. "I did and I can't keep betraying him. I can't keep doing this with you."

Nashi softened. "Then, okay. We won't do this anymore," she whispered in promise. "But, don't feel guilty for this, Leo. Whatever happened between us was because it was both of us."

Galileo nodded woefully. Then, he grinned. "Is this the part where you tell me, 'but, we'll still be friends'?"

Nashi chuckled. "You know the answer to that, Iron Man," she teased. "We were already friends. Now, we're just friends without benefits. Nothing's awkward unless you make it."

"True that," Galileo agreed. Without warning, his hands slid on Nashi's butt and squeezed it. He sighed when Nashi's eyes closed and she let out a puff of startled breath. "I'm going to miss this ass," he said cheekily, "and teasing the queen of teasing herself."

Nashi glowered at him good-naturedly. "I'm not going to miss your little surprises," she grumbled at him.

Galileo winked. "Yeah, you will," he sing-sung. "Kiss good-bye, Angel-face?"

Nashi rolled her eyes and gave Galileo a quick peck on the cheek. "How about a friendly kiss on the cheek?" she compromised.

Galileo sighed melodramatically. "Fine. I'll take what I can get. But…"—he held up a hand—"Aphrodite and Ares for life, right, Angel-face?"

Nashi hummed, smiling. "You know it, ponytail," And, she high-fived him.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Linus smiled. "I'm glad the two of you remain friends at the very least," he spoke. "Nothing should be able to break such a strong bond. I'm surprised you didn't have him as a partner."

Nashi laughed. "Back when Olivia was the Iron Knight, she and Leo were already partners. I thought about Leo, but it just didn't click. With…him…it just…fits so well, y'know?"

"I know exactly what you mean," Linus assured with an odd look in his eye. It was gone in a second. "Are you sure you don't want to talk more about Halloween?"

Nashi flinched. "There's nothing to really talk about," she lied.

Linus slowly pulled them to a halt in the dancing as the trumpet soloist lulled his band into a low waltz that was coming to end. "Well, if you ever need a listening ear, I'm here for you."

Nashi smiled. "Thanks, Linus. You and Ultear definitely have two different personalities."

Linus chuckled. "I promise my sister means well. She just has an…odd way of showing it."

Nashi shook her head in amusement. "You're telling me," she said sarcastically. She let go of Linus and he did the same thing. "Now that that emotional spiel is over, I think it's about time I meet up with my family. Igneel's probably off crying since Mary Jane is with someone else other than him." She offered Linus an appreciative smile. "Thanks for this, Linus. I really needed it," she admitted.

"Anything for my future cousin-in-law," Linus joked.

Nashi rolled her eyes, though a blush was on her face. "I plan to stay unwed and childless for a long, long time, thank you." She gave a wave as she turned away. "See you at your guild hall!"

Linus smiled and waved back. "Farewell"—his smile sharpened—"Nashi Dragneel."

---

DING-DING. DING-DING-DING.

Two fishermen looked up as a boat past them, the boat carrying friends. The two fishermen waved.

Luna's eyes were wide with splendor as she leaned against the gondola's front. "Oh, wow!" she gasped. "This place is so pretty!" She watched a calico kitten race alongside an onikuma cub—a bear cub of regular brown fur, but had horns and markings on his back—and a vrykolaka pup—a vampire puppy with bat wings for ears and long canine teeth and red eyes. Luna giggled when the cub toppled over onto its side. The kitten and the pup did their own version of amusement as the cub comically struggled to get to its feet. "It's so amazing that magical creatures can live here without being in fear," she commented. "It's like what life should be. No separation between magical and normal."

Gale sat back in his seat on the gondola, watching Luna in amusement. "I'm glad you're diggin' it here," he chuckled. He looked around. "The place is just like Oleander in Stella, but Oleander is by the sea. Pretty much the same concept. You get around everywhere by boat, by walking, or by bike."

"Sounds like fun," Luna commented perkily. She leaned back onto the gondola and went back to her seat beside Gale. "Anyways, we should probably get back to the hotel. I still have to unpack in my room with E and we have to get to Lamia Scale."

Gale waved that away. "Don't worry about it, Blondie. We'll make it to the guild hall, no sweat." He put his arm casually around her.

Luna frowned up at him. "But, what about unpacking?"

"Do it tonight," Gale coaxed. "Come on, Blondie, let's have some fun!"

Luna hummed, unsure. "I don't know…"

Gale smirked. "Aw. The principessa is too much of a 'good girl' to break a few rules," he cooed mockingly.

Luna stuck her tongue at him. "Oh, shut up. Fine. We'll do things your way, but if Master punishes us—!"

"Then, I'll take the blame and you get off scot-free with just a warning," Gale soothed. "Master knows you basically have a virgin-clean record. If anything, she's probably just give you one of those stern talking-to's that end up being, like, thirty seconds. So, relax, Blondie-girl. Let the dragon show you around."

Luna rolled her eyes. "More like 'jerk' than dragon," she shot back.

"Would a 'jerk' offer to pay for your food for this vacation?" Gale asked haughtily.

"Yes, he would," Luna answered flatly. "That way he can rub it in my face that I owe him. I still remembering you telling me I 'owed' you when you kidnapped me from my own house!"

Gale scratched his cheek as he chuckled. "Dragons aren't nice guys, Blondie. We're greedy, little bastards. We expect some form of payment."

"And, what's the payment for this time?" Luna grumbled.

Gale only smirked mischievously. "Let's have some fun, yeah? Then, tonight, I'll see how generous I feel like being."

Luna tried not to smile and looked away. "Stupid jerk." She blinked in surprise at what she saw. "Huh? Mary Jane?"

Gale looked over. "What's that?" He saw it too and grinned. "Well, how 'bout that?"

There was Mary Jane walking across a bridge. She, surprisingly, was not alone. She was walking alongside a stranger to Fairy Tail and a friend to her. They seemed immersed in conversation that Mary Jane seemed to be enjoying, which was rare.

Luna smiled softly. "She seems happier. Her soul looks happier too."

Gale looked down at Luna. "'Her soul'?"

Luna nodded. "Mmm. From what Aunt Lisanna told me, everyone has a soul. Humans and spirits and creatures and plants—we all have them. Anyone with the Take-Over Magic in them has something called 'Soul Sight'. They can read and see souls. Aunt Lisanna and Aunt Mira have been teaching me how to read souls and learn about them. And, from what I see, Mary Jane's soul doesn't look anywhere near as angry. It looks…content."

Gale was awed. His eyes looked to the sky. "You can see all that, huh? You really are incredible."

Luna paused. A blush grew on her face when she digested Gale's word. She waved her hands frantically and gave an awkward laugh. "I-I-I mean not really! I just picked up a little from my lessons, that's all! It was nothing! All easy!"

Gale lowered his head as they went under the bridge, a sarcastic smirk on his face. "'All easy', huh? You idiot blonde."

Luna stopped her embarrassed laughter to grow red in irritation. "Say what?" she snapped. She hmphed, upturning her nose. "Well, excuse me for being blonde."

"Just know you're more incredible than you think."

Luna snapped out of her annoyed haze to look at Gale taken back.

Gale looked at her with a fond smile. "You, Blondie-girl, are simply…sorprendimente," he complimented with the Stellian accent rolling off his tongue.

Luna blinked. A slow blush worked itself onto her face as she looked away abashed. "Gale, I…"

Gale shushed her with his actions and brought her closer as they drifted closer to the end of the bridge. He closed his eyes as he brought her head to his chest and rested his own head against the top of hers. "Relax, principessa. Enjoy the ride."

Luna's eyes glistened. Then, she smiled, accepting her blush, and closed her eyes. She snuggled into Gale's chest. "Okay," she whispered in promise.

And the gondolier had a small smile of his own as he continued to steer the two on the smoothest course.

---

Mary Jane's eyes widened. Her steps stopped. "Her," she breathed.

Peter was few steps away from Mary Jane when he stopped. He turned back to look at her in confusion. "Everything okay?"

Mary Jane ignored Peter as she turned her head to the other side of the bridge. She looked to see a gondola sailing down the river. She was slow in crossing the bridge, her eyes solely on the gondola.

"Baby girl?" Peter called, following her. "What's wrong?"

Mary Jane rested her hands on the railing. Her eyes softened as she watched the gondola continue to sail.

It's weird. It's like my own soul and my Magic recognize her before I can.

"Baby girl? What's up?"

"Nothing," she dismissed. "I just sensed something, that's all."

Peter leaned against the railing to look at Mary Jane. "What was it?" He was curious.

Mary Jane shook her head. "Just someone I don't necessarily hate," was what she gave to answer. One hand reached to tuck her hair behind ear. "Someone I know that I can actually stand being around."

Peter smiled and crossed his arms. "I think I'd like to meet this person. They sound special."

"They are," Mary Jane agreed. "Just don't ever tell anyone I gave out a compliment. Not exactly my style."

Peter gave a breath of laughter. "Noted."

Mary Jane let out an exhale.

What is it they call you? The 'Earth Dragon'? Well, dragon? Take care of her. She deserves more happiness than anyone could ever give her.

---

Erza was in front of the group of Fairy Tail members with Lyon. The two were in conversation as everyone else talked. Some members were staggering along. Other members were rushing to be with the group.

Luke frowned as he came beside Dazzler, Cane, Elvin. "Have you guys seen Lu? She's been gone for a while," he noted.

"Probably off with Gale doing secret-lovers-things," Dazzler predicted.

Elvin adjusted his glasses. "I'm sure Gale and Luna just decided to have their own fun."

"More than fun knowing that little bastard," Cane chortled, picking out cards. His eyebrows furrowed. "Your bro still off sulking? Didn't meet up when we all played spoons in my room."

Luke sweat-dropped as he remembered a humorously-childish Igneel sulking in the corner of their room with a dark aura. "Um, yeah, he's still a bit upset, but he'll get past it."

I can only hope. I remember when MJ went on a job without him. He wouldn't stop whining for a whole week.

Luke snapped out of his reminiscing when he saw Nashi speaking to Ellie. She looked a bit better than before, but still upset. His eyes saddened.

I wish Nashi would tell me what's going on. I can feel the vīrya around her darken. The pink I saw in her is turning something else.

His eyes flickered to two others. He saw Gary. He was with Cade, Orochi, Ghost, and Mustang. The four were engaged in meaningful conversation with Orochi having the clear upper hand, but Gary's eyes were trained on Nashi. His eyes were longing, but it was like he was restraining himself to speak to her. Luke's eyes flickered to Galileo. The Iron Man of Fairy Tail was not as chipper as he was before. He was more like his sister and stayed to his lonesome. Olivia kept her twin company, but was speaking to T'oree and Miss Pink, a pink-skinned mutant with horns and black scleras with white irises.

Their vīrya seem off to me too.

Luke took off his glasses and closed his eyes. When he opened them, gold covered the irises and whites of his eyes.

Everything around him blackened as he focused on three people: Nashi, Gary, and Galileo. Nashi had turned a burning magenta color. However, tints of darker pink were around her. Gary burned a sea-blue, but flickers of deep-sea blue was there too. And, Galileo burned a deep gray that was tainted with black. Luke was not seeing them for their outside appearance. He was seeing them for the energy inside them.

All of them have their vīrya in a worse place than I last checked. Something happened between the three of them… I just wonder what…

Luke's eyes stopped glowing.

Dazzler peeked at Luke as he put on his glasses. "See anything?" She knew exactly what he had been looking for.

"No changes," Luke sighed. "If anything, they're getting worse." He turned to Cane hopefully. "Anything in the cards for them?"

Cane shrugged. "Give me a sec." He closed his eyes as he shuffled his cards. "Kami hiji dikaruniai tetempoan. Témbongkeun kuring jalan ka hareup pikeun Kuring geus ari satia…" he chanted.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

I am the one blessed with Sight. Show me the way of the future for I have stayed faithful.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

His eyes opened, his irises turning a light lavender with a burning swirl of deep violet ingrained as his pupils. He let go of his cards to float in front of him. The deck split into two halves and shuffled themselves. Three cards slipped out from the deck. The first card pulled was one man with two faces. His left side showed a normal man. The right side showed a corrupted demon of horns and a bat wing. The second card was an Angel, beautiful and pure with her wings and armor that covered her face from unworthy mortals. The third showed an iron knight with his own steed and lance.

The two Tarot cards were removed from the deck and came between the Angel and the Man of Two-Faces and the Angel and the Iron Knight. It was the Lovers Card. The second and third card came and landed with the Man of Two-Faces. They were the Two and Ace of Swords. Three cards set out to the Angel and they were Two of cups, Three of Swords, and the Tarot card of Death.

"A rift grows between the Angel and the Man of Two-Faces," Cane spoke in a voice that was not just his own. A female spoke with him, down-to-earth and warm. "The Man of Two-Faces tries to cut through the confusion, but the Angel is at a stalemate and Man of Two-Faces as she has ended her affair with the Iron Knight."

All but the Lovers Cards fell back into the deck. New ones appeared. The Four of Cups, the Hermit, and the Three of Swords, the Star, and Temperance appeared for the Iron Knight.

"The Iron Knight will become isolated and bear in his own solitude to overcome obstacles of the heart. But, in time, he will heal with a stronger bond better than ever to his severed connections with the Angel and the Man of Two-Faces."

The Iron Knight and his cards disappeared.

The Four of Swords and the Moon appeared for the Angel as well as the Star and Temperance. The Man of Two-Faces was given Nine of Wands, the Chariot, and the Ace of Swords.

"The Angel with withdraw from her relationship with the Man of Two-Faces out of confusion and chaos in her heart, mind, and soul. But, the Man of Two-Faces will continue to preserve through her confusion and his restraint will snap to resolve their relationship. Emotions will rise and fall like the tide. But, like the tide, their emotions will settle into a gentle lull and their relationship will be healed better than ever."

The cards swept back into the deck and the deck glided back into Cane's hands. The glow in Cane's eyes faded away and he blinked to rid of them quicker. He took his cards and played with them in his hands. "So, that's about it," he presumed. "Nothing we can really do."

Dazzler pouted. "I really wish I knew what was going on with them. I asked Misty if he could find out for me, but he couldn't and said, even if he could, he wouldn't want to."

"Sensei doesn't believe in using Telepathy for personal gain and neither does Uncle Warren," Luke reminded in chide. "I asked Paige and Penelope what they saw in their souls and they told me they saw how discontent their souls were."

Elvin nodded in agreement. "Even I could've told you that. All my cousins know how to use Soul Sight." He adjusted his glasses. "From what I can tell, the ki of their souls aren't in balance."

Dazzler remembered. "Oh, right. 'Ki' in a soul is like the life of it and how it works, right?"

"Yes," Elvin said. "Soul Sight lets practiced Take-Over Mages see into souls and, not only that, we can tell by looking at their ki what their emotions are and even their Magic and Magic Energy." He looked at the three. "When I meant their ki in their souls aren't in balance, it means, in their current state, none of them could work well with each other. Nashi and Gary always had their ki in-tune with each other. There were kinks here and there, but their ki was something that was in-sync in the battlefield. That's what makes the bond between partners so interesting with Soul Sight. We can see how well souls work together based of the synchronization of their ki. And, from what I've seen in Nashi and Galileo, they can work well together, but not for long-term. Their souls are familiar with each other, but their ki are too different. And, now? Their souls are becoming less and less familiar.

Dazzler exhaled. "Huh… If it were up to me, I'd stick the three of them in a room and force them to talk."

"Wow. How mature of you," Cane sneered.

Dazzler scowled at him. "I don't see you coming up with any better ideas."

"Leave 'em be," was what Cane suggested. "Look, none of this is our business. No matter if we see their energy or souls or see into the future, what they do isn't out business. So, I say, leave them be."

"Cane's right," Luke agreed. "In the end, it's not our problem to handle theirs. Besides, Nashi wouldn't really like it if we kept prying."

Dazzler sighed. "She'd definitely get mad," she pouted. "Oh, great. I wonder how long this awkward phase is going to be?"

"Attention, Fairy Tail!"

The group and all of Fairy Tail turned to look at Erza and Lyon.

Erza smiled at everyone. "Let us make our way to Lamia Scale!" she told them all. She turned and began to walk by Lyon's side as all of Fairy Tail trailed after the duo, excited to see the guild hall of their friendly rivals.

The journey through Lamia Scale did not take long, especially for members who had been to Margaret Town and knew their way to the guild hall. When they arrived at the guild hall, all were still blown away at Lamia Scale's majesty. The guild hall reminded many of a castle of mermaids. It was four-stories of stone with guardian lamia welcoming all to their humble abode. The words LAMIA SCALE were in black writing on the castle of a guild hall, right on the front and below the balcony where the guild master would address friend or foe.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« This is the guild Lamia Scale, one of the most powerful Legal Guilds in the kingdom of Fiore. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The doors opened.

A mouth was on a hookah pen. It exhaled smoke as it spoke in a rasp, "So, you kids have come to my neck of the woods, huh? Makarov's brats."

Erza smiled as she stepped forward, eyes fond. "It is good to see you, Guild Master Ooba Babasaama."

The oldest guild master had aged with more wrinkles and laugh lines, but her gray hair was still in a bun. She wore her signature cloak as always. She welcomed Erza with a hug. "Good to see you too, Guild Master Erza Fernandes."

⌜LAMIA SCALE

Name: Ooba Babasaama

Occupation: Guild Master

Magic: Spinning Magic

Likes: belly dancing Dislikes: being called "old"

Special Note: Ooba is the oldest guild master – if you don't count Mavis, that is! ⌟

Ooba pulled away to nod at Lyon. "Thank you for bringing them to our home," she appreciated.

"Anything for my master," Lyon said humbly.

Ooba hummed. Her eyes flitted to Fairy Tail. She inhaled a huge breath. "Well, don't just stand there! Get inside!" she shouted.

Everyone sweat-dropped.

That's all she has to say to us? they thought in unison.

Ooba, Erza, and Lyon led the flood of Fairy Tail members into the guild hall of Lamia Scale. The interior of guild was just as beautiful as the exterior. It was regal and poised. The guild hall had polished floors of marble rather than polished wood. The hall was a combination of a lounge area and a restaurant with a bar with employees that looked more like professional butlers and house maidens than regular workers. Members were seated in the lavish, mahogany chairs or lounged about on the couches to chat and mingle with drinks in their hands. There was theater stage at the back of the guild completed with a pit orchestra boat big enough for a professional production to be held inside.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« The inside of Lamia Scale Guild Hall is known to be more regal than most for various reasons Many theater companies who tour through Fiore will perform in the Lamia Scale Guild Hall when in Margaret Town. Balls and official events also happen within the Lamia Scale Guild Hall. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

"Wow," Silver whispered. "This is like a palace compared to Fairy Tail."

"That's because it is," Julia said dryly.

Natsu sprang from the ranks, not at all fazed by Lamia Scale's up-scaled interior. "Yuka! It's about time we've had our fight!"

Yuka looked up from his conversation with a female Mage to smile at Natsu. He was still as short as ever with bushy eyebrows, but he had changed in other ways. His hair had become shorter and he had grown facial hair over the span of years. He wore a green long-sleeved shirt tucked into tan-pants and a fall vest overtop. Like always, his hands were still behind his back. "Ah, yes. I forgot about that," he admitted sheepishly.

⌜LAMIA SCALE

Name: Yuka Suzuki

Occupation: Anti-Mage

Magic: Wave

Likes: botany Dislikes: chocolate with peanut butter

Special Note: Yuka has a Magic that can nullify others! But, if the Mages is stronger than him, he can only decrease the power of their attack by 50%! ⌟

Lucy sighed, shaking her head despairingly. "Why is it always fighting with you? Geez. We can't go on one vacation without one fight."

Levy laughed. "You didn't expect Natsu of Fairy Tail to not fight anyone? Come on, Lu, you know you have to let him fight or he'll get restless."

"Hey, What about me?"

Gajeel shoved Natsu aside to smirk down at Yuka. "Don't forget about me, Eyebrows. I want to test me new techniques on your Anti-Magic Wave."

Yuka nodded. "By all means, you can try. But, I have a feeling I'll be able to negate it. After all, I can only negate Magic lesser than mine."

Natsu grinned. "Hear that, Gajeel? Looks like you won't stand a chance."

A tick mark grew on Gajeel's face. "Me? You can barely light a candle with your stupid flames! I'm the one with the real talent!"

A tick mark grew on Natsu's head as he butted his forehead against Gajeel's. "Oh, yeah? At least I was a full Dragon Slayer before you! You didn't even have motion sickness until your first Grand Magic Games!"

"Why the Hell would I even want that, you dumbass?! It's completely pathetic!" Gajeel barked.

"Well, you're completely pathetic since you have it!" Natsu said snidely.

"Look who's talkin'!" Gajeel shouted.

Levy sweat-dropped. "Oh, Gajeel…"

Lucy leaned against Levy with a sly look on her face. "What was that about letting him fight or he'll be restless?"

"Oh, shut it, Lu."

Juvia came forth, looking around for a familiar face.

"Auntie J! Auntie J!" came a squeal.

Juvia looked down in delight to see a little girl running towards her. "Oh, Rose!" she said excitedly.

Rose crashed into Juvia and gave her a quick hug before pulling away. She was a tan girl of half silver and half pink hair with dark eyes. She looked at Juvia in affection and eagerness. "Auntie J, you came!"

⌜LAMIA SCALE

Name: Rose Vastia

Occupation: Mage, 4th grader

Magic: Molding Magic (Ice-Make)

Likes: tigers Dislikes: chess

Special Note: Rose was named after the beautiful ice roses Ultear could craft just like her mother Ur! But, don't think Rose too sweet! She can be prickly too! ⌟

"Of course Auntie Juvia came! Auntie Juvia had to see Rose," Juvia explained through a smile. "Has Rose been good?"

Rose nodded. "Mmm-hmm! Zuri and I have been working hard on our act for this year!"

"Where is Rose's Zuri?" Juvia wondered.

A jingling laugh. "I know you're a bit allergic to phantom cats, so I had Rose keep her at home."

Juvia looked up and her smile widened into a beam. "Meredy!" she cheered.

Meredy walked up to her daughter and Juvia. "Hi, Juvia! I've really missed you!" She had grown into a fine woman. Her wavy pink hair had straightened out through her three kids and she had decided to chop it off so the hair only touched her shoulders. She changed her look not too drastically. She still wore her thigh-high boots with pants and a nice shirt and cardigan to keep herself warm. Over the years, she had acquired glasses that looked just right on her.

⌜LAMIA SCALE

Name: Meredy Vastia

Occupation: Mage, Part-time Teacher

Magic: Maguilty Sense

Likes: romantic-comedies Dislikes: being tickled

Special Note: Meredy left the life of Crime Sorciére to start a family with Lyon and become a Mage of Lamia Scale. But, who is to say she doesn't keep in-contact with her old guild mates?⌟

Juvia gave Meredy a kiss on the cheek and a hug. "Juvia has missed Meredy too!" she blubbered. She began to bawl. "It has been too long, Meredy! Juvia never wants to part from you again!"

Meredy was comically sobbing as well. "Me either! Let's run away together!"

"Juvia is okay with that!"

Gray shook his head in amusement, crossing his arms over his naked chest. "You two saw each other maybe a week ago and you're still this weepy? Geez."

Julia poked her father. "Dad, your shirt," she hissed at him.

Juvia and Meredy pulled away from each other, wiping their tears and laughing.

Meredy asked, "Are we still on for dinner tonight?"

"Of course," Juvia confirmed. "It's on Juvia tonight."

Lyon watched the two women as they eagerly talked of their dinner plans and walked to Gray. "It sounds like our wives are more married than we are to them."

"Tell me about it," Gray laughed. "They get so emotional every time they see each other and always take each other out. I think we're looking like the crappy partners."

Ultear's eye twitched as she watched her father's naked back. "Father… Your shirt," she tried to hiss at him.

Meredy and Juvia held hands with hearts in their eyes. "This is going to be the best date ever!" they squealed.

"Does this mean tonight is the MagiCross match for us?" Lyon wondered.

"You know it," Gray confirmed. He held out a fist. "The Cacao Chimeras all the way."

Lyon bumped it with his own fist. "Toby is betting on the Grünspire Reapers, so we best hope we win tonight."

Julia and Ultear punched their respective fathers on the top of their heads, forcing both men to their knees. "You fools need to stop stripping in public!" they roared.

Rose grew bored of watching her aunt and mother talk to each other and her eyes wandered around the Fairy Tail Mages. Then, her eyes settled on one form and one form alone. Hearts entered her eyes.

LUB-DUB. LUB-DUB.

Silver watched his family from his vantage point with Gary and Linus. He laughed. "Our family will never change."

"Silver!" came a howl.

Silver paled. "Not her…"

A love-struck Rose tackled Silver in embrace. "Silver, you're back!" she squealed. "I've missed you so much!"

Swirls were going through Silver's eyes. "Hi…Rose… Can you…get off me?" he choked out.

Linus smiled. "I forgot how crazy it gets when we're all together."

Gary snorted, looking away. "I forgot how fake you are," he muttered. His eyes caught onto Nashi and he began moving. "Excuse me."

"I talked to her, Storm."

Gary paused.

Linus glanced at Gary. "If I were you, I would pay more attention to her friends. Seems like they might know something you don't."

Gary gritted his teeth. "Don't call me 'Storm'. And I don't take advice from people who hide under a mask." He walked away without further word.

Linus chuckled. "A 'mask', huh? Oh, Storm." His eyes glinted. "You have no idea."

°•°•°•°

As the rest of Fairy Tail descended into the luxurious guild hall, Nashi had to smile in amusement at the sight before her. Juvia and Meredy were still going on about their evening plans. Silver was K.O.-ed with Rose giving him kisses all over his face. And Gray and Lyon were being properly chastised by their daughters.

"Whenever Fairy Tail's near, things tend to get a little crazy," Nashi said in amusement.

"You can say that."

Nashi paused as Gary stood beside her. He watched his family with a small smile. "It hasn't been too long since I've last seen them. Well, it's been a while since I've seen Ultear and Linus, but I try to avoid them whenever I can," he commented.

Nashi said nothing.

Gary glanced down at her. "Linus told me you talked to him." He said it as a simple fact. He was not hurt or jealous. Just wanting to state a fact.

Nashi looked away and nodded.

Gary softened. "Is everything okay, Angel?" he wondered. His eyes flickered up. He caught Galileo sitting by his lonesome, hiding away from conversation. "I haven't seen you and Galileo speak in the past two weeks and both of you are close friends." His eyes went back to Nashi. "I'm worried," he confessed. "Did something happen between you two?"

Nashi's fists clenched. "It's…nothing we can't handle," she tried to assure, though her words were less than convincing. "It's more he needs some time away, I guess, and I'll wait for him whenever he's ready."

Gary hummed. "Hmm. All right then." He straightened. "He's like another brother to me, you know? I trust him with my life. And, when I can't be there for you, I trust him to be there for you."

Nashi shut her eyes.

"And, the guy is like my brother, Nashi! He trusts me! When he goes on S-Class missions, he trusts me to watch over you when he's gone."

"I do hope everything works about between you two," Gary spoke truthfully. He hesitated. "And…maybe…we could—"

"I have to go," Nashi blurted. "Ellie's calling!" And, she briskly walked away.

Gary watched her walk away with a broken look.

Angel…

°•°•°•°

A tear slipped from Nashi's face, but she wiped it off quickly and moved forward.

°•°•°•°

Gary sighed and turned away.

I won't let this tear us apart, Angel. I promise.

°•°•°•°

Erza went into Ooba's office. It was neat and tidy, but was more down-to-earth. There were no posh marble floors, but carpet. She had plenty of books in her office and files—like a guild master should—but she had memorabilia from over the years as well. Pictures of guild members, old and young, and even pictures of when she was in the guild with her earlier guild master.

Ooba puffed vapor as she went to her desk. "There's times I miss it," she said ominously. "But, then, I remember him reminding me every day of the health risks."

Erza understood the subject of conversation and hummed. "How is he nowadays?"

Ooba shrugged. "Doing all right," she answered. "At least, that's what he tells me. Sends me postcards anytime he goes somewhere new and calls me twice a week." She laughed—it was more of a breathy cackle. "Still bald and still chivalrous. I'm sure the single life is treating him just fine as well."

Erza nodded. "From what Levy tells me, he and Gajeel like to discuss Gale's progress," she put in.

"Ah, yes. Your 'earth dragon'," Ooba named. "I thought he would take some interest. I told him to get Gale as an apprentice, but he likes to watch from the shadows."

"Do you miss him being here?" Erza wondered.

"Every day." Ooba was upfront about it. "Never had kids, but he was like the son I would've had and I love him like that. So, like all mothers, seeing our kids leave is a bit of a heartbreak, but we know they have to grow up without us." She sighed. "But, I'm glad he checks in. I don't think I'd be able to take it if he never called."

Erza smiled. "He always talked about you so fondly. I could tell the strong bond between you two would never fade."

Ooba hummed. "So, Guild Master, I know you didn't come to this office to have a friendly chat. There's something on your mind. Is it what you told me over the phone?"

Erza nodded. "It's still concerning," she explained. "Cana had foretold it, but she woke up in the middle of the night to hear Cane tell in more detail about it. It was like he was possessed."

"We have our top Mages on alert," Ooba promised. "I even have the guards on the lookout for anything peculiar."

"I just hope what we do enough to change the future," Erza prayed.

Then, Ooba said something to that would stick with Erza the rest of the trip. "Or, the future predicted was because of everything we've just done."

---

Peter peered at Mary Jane. "So, you ready to meet some new people?"

Mary Jane snorted. "I barely talk to my family. What does that tell you?"

"That you could use a change of scenery," Peter decided, smiling a little. "I take it you're a tortured soul with killer music taste and, based on those beautiful blue eyes, you, somehow, don't hate me."

Mary Jane was impressed, but only slightly let it show. "You're okay," she played it down. "But, don't think you know me. We're strangers."

"For now," Peter reminded. "We won't be for long, baby girl. Just know that."

Mary Jane flat-out stopped and Peter, eventually, stopped with her. She glared at him. "I'm not sure what you think it is, but don't think I'm a slut who will open her legs for you within three words of a conversation, then y—"

Peter held his hands up to stop her. "Woah, baby girl, chill with the upcoming death threats," he soothed. "I promise you I'm not looking at you for that. You have bite and I like that. You're a person I can argue with and still want to be around. I admire that."

Mary Jane still had her guard up. "So, what do you want out of this?"

"I ask nothing more than a chance." There was only sincerity in Peter's voice and honesty in his eyes. "If you're into labels, a chance to just be friends. If you're not, then the possibilities are infinite."

Mary Jane studied Peter with a judgmental eye. "I don't have 'friends'. I have my family, guild mates, and maybe three people I consider acquaintances."

"But…?" Peter prompted.

Mary Jane lifted an eyebrow. "Just promise me you won't get clingy—"

"Done," Peter vowed.

"—and you've got yourself a chance," Mary Jane finished.

Peter grinned. "You're everything I expected."

Mary Jane strode forward and Peter kept to her pace. "Explain," she commanded.

"You're straightforward about everything and don't bullshit your way around," Peter listed. "You're powerful and smart and you don't trust easily. A lone wolf."

Mary Jane hummed. "Don't tell me you're going to try and change me or some crap like that?"

"Baby girl, I have dated girls who thought the same thing about me," Peter told her. He guided her down another street. "Change is a willing action and I'm not willing to change for anyone. I don't expect you to be either." He brought them to a Veronese restaurant. It looked old, a bit rundown, but still crammed with people.

"Fair enough," Mary Jane agreed. She looked at the restaurant. "This the place? It's packed."

"Yup. Drunken V is a pretty bitchin' Veronese place." Peter peered at her. "If you're not down for Veronese, we can go elsewhere."

Mary Jane shook her head. "It's fine. Come on. Let's force me to be 'social' or whatever." And, she went to the door.

Peter chuckled to himself and followed her.

When the duo got inside, Drunken V looked more packed than outside. Teenagers, children, adults, elderly—there was no age limit. The waiters might have been of Fiore, but the chefs were of Veronica. The place was dimly lit with floating paper lanterns, but that made it all the more intriguing.

Peter guided Mary Jane past the hostess. "All right. Get ready to say, 'Hi' to some of the best people I know." He led her to a table of six people—three girls and three guys—that all looked vastly different than each other whether it be skin, eyes, hair, or style of clothing.

Peter pushed Mary Jane in front of him and put his hands on her shoulders. "Guys, I want you to meet the goddess I met on Halloween," he began.

One girl spoke up. She was hazel-skinned with thick and curly hair and a lip-ring. Her whole style screamed that she was a dancer. "Holy shit, she's real? I thought she came from your last wet dream!"

The entire table laughed.

Peter rolled her eyes. "Don't pay attention to them, baby girl," he murmured into Mary Jane's ear.

"Kind of hard when they're right in front of you," Mary Jane murmured back.

Peter smirked. "Mary Jane, these are my friends. And friends-who-will-be-nice-tonight? This is Mary Jane Dreyar, the Dark Empress of Fairy Tail, and a goddess after my own heart. So, try to place nice or she'll kick your ass."

Mary Jane raised an eyebrow. "Hi," she said flatly. "Guess I don't need to introduce myself since the guy touching me without my consent took away the pleasure."

The table laughed once more.

The first one to introduce themselves was a guy. He looked like he came from money with his gold chain, piercings, and slicked hair, but the question was: dirty or clean money? He wore a crown beanie of gray. "The name's Bleu, sadly. Just like 'blue', but spelled the Perench way since my family is shitty like that."

Mary Jane grinned a little. "And let me guess… Are you into things you shouldn't be into?"

Bleu chuckled. "Who is to say I shouldn't be into it?"

The hazel-skinned dancer smacked Bleu's chest. "No business at the dinner table, B." She turned to Mary Jane with a smile. "Hi. You can call me 'NJ'. Hate my name so that's why I shortened it. I'm a dancer back in Andüsia."

Mary Jane raised her eyebrows. "You're a long way from home."

NJ shrugged. "I'm here for the festival with my lover before I'm back on tour."

"And, by 'lover', she means me!"

Mary Jane looked at the boy beside NJ. He had his own Veronese fan out and was fanning himself. He looked like a dancer as well and the make-up around his eyes made his gold irises pop.

"I'm Nolan," he introduced. "Favored twink of this group. And I'm NJ's boyfriend."

NJ groaned. "Nolan, stop introducing yourself like that. You can't be a twink and be my boyfriend!"

Nolan shut his fan to wave it at her. "Best of both words, NJ," he chided.

NJ shook her head and looked at Mary Jane. "Don't mind him. He's my stepbrother. My in-desperate-need dad and his ever-so-beautiful mother and made her my stepmom."

"But, she isn't bitter," Nolan promised. "Make no mistake of that."

Mary Jane studied Nolan. "You remind me of my guild mate, Justin," she commented. "He's more flamboyant than you, but—"

"Wait!" Nolan looked at Mary Jane with wide eyes. "As in the Justin Justine of Fairy Tail, right? The Kinetic Knight?"

Mary Jane nodded.

Nolan let out a delighted scream. "Ah! Oh, my god, I'm dying right now! Is he here too?"

Mary Jane nodded. "Yeah, he is."

Nolan swiveled to NJ. "Please," he begged.

NJ laughed and turned away from him. "No!"

Nolan prodded NJ. "NJ… NJ, this is your queen speaking to you. NJ, we have to go see him. NJ, he's, like, my goddess!"

Mary Jane looked confusedly back at Peter and Peter explained, "Nolan is obsessed over drag queens. Apparently, Miss Fortune is one of the famous drag queens to represent Fiore and all that fun stuff."

Mary Jane nodded understandingly. "He's more than happy to see fans," she said politely.

NJ put a dramatic hand on his chest as he whipped out his fan to fan himself. "Lady B.B. has been good to me," he wheezed.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Okay, Nolan, while you're having your little drag-gasm, let's keep the introductions going." He turned Mary Jane to the second girl and third guy of the group. "Baby girl, meet my favorite couple: Bane Lilliker and Ekho Sato."

Bane looked like the stern hand the group needed. He was muscular with stubble growing on his sides and looked as though he rarely spoke. His eyes flicked Mary Jane up and down. "Eight and a half," he scored.

Mary Jane narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?" she hissed.

Ekho rolled her eyes. "Ignore him. He's a walking, talking STI with the need to rate anything with boobs and a kitten between their legs," she insulted. She looked pretty with her big, blue eyes and blonde hair with brunette mixed in and had natural waves to them. She looked prepared to go on a date with a blue dress showing her growing figure and a leather jacket. Around her neck was a necklace of Idarian culture and Mary Jane could not ignore it.

"An Idarian betrothal necklace," she murmured. "You're engaged?"

Ekho hesitated. "Um…n—"

"Yes," Bane cut her off harshly. "And I'm the one stuck with her." He yanked down his shirt to show off his Idarian betrothal necklace. It has the same symbol of Ekho's own: a crescent moon with a circle attached to its bottom point.

Ekho gave Bane an impatient look. "I didn't ask for you to be my mua'geh, got it? You disgust me and I hope you drop dead."

"Oh, I disgust you?" Bane snorted. "How am I disgusting? The fact that I can actually get someone to like me? Is that it, you frigid bitch?"

Ekho snapped, "'Like' you? You mean get a poor girl you can screw and kick out of your bed afterwards? Yeah. I'm really jealous of that."

Bane snarled at her. His temper was flaring through his eyes and his clenched fists, though he held himself back from showing a seen. "No wonder you're still a sad, little virgin. No guy wants to put up with your condescending attitude. And you can bet I'll never touch someone like you, an insufferable bitch. You are just like Ekho: you talk so you can hear your own voice."

Hurt flashed through Ekho's eyes and she looked away. "Then, break off the engagement," she whispered. "Just do it and this can be over. You can have any girl you want and I will find someone else to be my mua'geh."

There was confusion mixed in Bane's eyes, but mostly seething anger. "What, and dishonor my family? You'd love that, wouldn't you?" he spat.

Ekho closed her eyes and let out a long breath. She turned to Mary Jane with apologetic eyes and a weak smile. "Sorry you had to see that. My name is Ekho, like Petey said. I'm from Iceberg, but my mother is Encan, hence the Encan name."

"It's nice to meet you," Mary Jane said. Her eyes trailed to Bane. "You remind me of someone I know, but a worse version of him, so I will make myself clear and you will look at me while I do it."

Bane rolled his eyes. "Why should I—?"

A hand made of dark violent grabbed Bane by the collar and dragged him forward to meet Mary Jane's brilliant, cerulean eyes that crackled with her violent lightning.

"Break her, touch her wrongly, make her cry and I will find you and I will hurt you," Mary Jane snarled lowly. "You need to control your goddamn temper, understand? Man, you piss me off." The darkness hand threw Bane back in his seat, making Bane splutter. Mary Jane kept her glare on him. "I don't care who you screw, who you kiss, or who you see. But you will treat women with respect or I will shock that into you. Understand, asshole?" At her words, static came off her.

Bane begrudgingly nodded.

Mary Jane looked back at Peter to see his jaw had dropped. She looked around the table to see everyone was in silent awe at her words. Irritation pricked at her. "What?" she barked.

Nolan blinked. Then, he looked at Peter. "Keep her," he recommended. "She just put bitchy Bane in his place and knows Miss Fortune. I love her."

Peter finally broke into chortles and Mary Jane looked at him. He smiled at her. "Baby girl, you are going to fit in just perfectly with us," he promised. He pulled out a chair from the table. "Now, take a seat and let's feed the goddess."

Mary Jane confusedly took a seat. "Oh…kay?"

Bleu leant closer to Mary Jane. "So, Jane, tell me something… The chicks in your guild… Percentage our age and single?"

Mary Jane thought about it. Then, she grinned. "Oh, I have the perfect girl for you," she decided.

Bleu raised an eyebrow. "Cute?"

"Very," Mary Jane agreed.

Peter settled next to Mary Jane and murmured in her ear, "Just what exactly are you planning, baby girl?"

"Giving someone a little push," Mary Jane answered. "Nice friends. They're…okay."

Peter breathed a chuckle. "Stick with me, baby girl. You'll go places."

Mary Jane rolled her eyes as Nolan asked, "Mary Jane, you have to tell me though. Your cousin, Elvin… Tell me he's flaming before I realize I have a crush in a straight man."

---

Luna patted her full stomach as she and Gale came out of the wing restaurant. "Wow! I haven't had wings in so long!" she sighed.

Gale laughed. "Told ya that place is good. Pretty sure the waiter thought most of those wings were for me and the salad was for you."

Luna peered at Gale in concern. "Are you sure you didn't want to split it fifty-fifty? You gave me so many…"

Gale shook his head as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Nah. Have to keep my meals balanced unlike someone I know who eats junk food."

Luna pouted as she wrapped an arm around his own. "I don't eat junk food all the time," she pointed out in defense of herself.

"You do too," Gale argued. "Maybe not when your mom is cooking, but you eat more junk than you think. Pretty soon"—he prodded her stomach—"it'll start showing," he teased.

Luna scowled as she slapped his hand away. "Jerk," she growled. "You're basically calling me 'fat'."

"Lesson number six: never insult a lady's weight," Gale recited. "I'm not calling you anything. Just saying to balance your diet. Don't think you're old enough to want a huge gut."

"My 'diet' is balanced," Luna huffed.

Gale grinned. "Someone's getting angry, ain't she?" he chuckled. "Aw. Is my principessa experiencing her irrational anger at her dragon?"

Luna growled and let go of Gale. She briskly walked ahead of him. "Whatever. If I'm so 'irrational', leave me alone," she snapped, dashing away.

Gale cupped his hands to shout at her. "Blondie, wait, you're gonna get yourself lost!" he warned with a chuckle.

Luna ignored him and took off.

Gale put down his hands with an amused smile. "Damn, does she get angry over the littlest things," he chortled. "But that's what makes her cute. I better chase after her before she winds up somewhere she shouldn't." He began to jog after her, taking in her scent trail.

Oh, Blondie, I thought you knew. Dragons—ruby began to shimmer as a fanged smirk warped on Gale's face—love to hunt.

°•°•°•°

Luna ducked onto another street that ended up being a small tunnel that led people through buildings.

Who does he think he is? Talking about this like he's better than me. It makes me so mad.

She got of the tunnel to cross the bridge and took another turn down a street. She kept turning without any clue of where she was going, but did not mind. She wanted to be away from him.

And then he laughs at me! He thinks it's funny to see me get angry! Stupid jerk! Do I get him angry on purpose? No! It's mean!

Luna ended up in an abandoned square. It was old and needed work and was mostly shaded by the buildings surrounded it. There were pigeons and other magical birds that hung around the tiered fountain that had cracks marring its stone. An old bench was there too and the wall was being consumed by vines and moss. There was a little true that shaded the fountain. It had its own dirt, but the stone that guarded it had broken ages ago.

Luna huffed as she sat at the bench and crossed her arms. "Stupid jerk," she said angrily. "I'm not going to get fat. How could he say that to me?" She thought about it and her scowl began to soften. "Well, I mean… He, technically, didn't say it…" She groaned. "Oh, no, I really did get angry over nothing. I was so mean to him," she bellyached. "I need to say, 'sorry' right away." She stood up and looked around. Nothing looked familiar to her. She could not even tell which way she came in. Luna groaned again. "Great," she mumbled. "And I get myself lost. Good going, Lu."

Luna looked around the square. It was small and desolate, but had character.

Wow, this place… I can feel the stories this place tells and the memories…

She walked to the fountain. The birds—magical or not—ruffled their feathers, but did not perceive her a threat. Instead, they cooed at her arrival and made room for her like she was one of their own. She smiled and took a seat by the fountain. A hand dipped into the fountain as she peered into the water. She saw a smiling reflection of herself.

This place is amazing… Creatures of nature and Magic living among people of nature and Magic… It's how the world should be.

Luna sighed.

I just wish it didn't take me this long to see places like this aren't in fairy tales.

Luna looked up at the statues that spouted water. They were the same infamous trio she had seen at the museum. Their sharp carvings had softer edges and moss and erosion had begun to eat them away, but she could still make out their forms.

The pixiu and the suzaku… But…how did I know that? Maybe one of Mama's stories? No, that can't be it. They just…feel so familiar…

"'It was then the chief of the village prayer to God and an angel was gifted to stop the battle between sea and sky'…"

Luna was brought back to see Gale looking at the ancient text and reading it without hesitation.

"'The battle of three days and three nights was stopped and it was good'."

Luna heard herself speak in disbelief. "Wait… That's it?"

Gale had nodded at her. "Pretty much," he had answered. "The rests of the ruins tell origin stories of the two beasts and more about the growth of Margaret Town, but that's about it." His ruby eyes gazed at the trio as though trying to decipher them. "No one knows what really happened. Everyone says a maiden angel stopped the two beasts from their fight, but I don't buy it."

Luna was brought back into the present with a frown on her face. "I don't either," she murmured aloud. "What happened all those years ago?"

And, something about this whole story doesn't sit well with me. It was said the humans caused the two to fight, but that doesn't feel right. It's too easy to blame a person, let alone a tribe of people. Mama told me the people of Margaret Town always prided themselves with their connection to their water and the land around them and that's not a lie. So, what gives?

Luna closed her eyes as a comically unhappy frown made her groan. "Ugh. I feel like I'm thinking too hard," she complained.

A sparkle. A charming noise.

Luna's eyes shot open as she stood up straight. She looked around her.

It was just her, the fountain, and the birds.

Luna furrowed her eyebrows as she scanned the area.

Funny. I thought I heard something…

BRRRRR.

A moving shadow.

Luna whipped around. "Who's there?" she demanded to know.

Silence.

The birds continued to admire themselves and rink.

Luna sighed. "Maybe I'm crazy," she mumbled as she turned to the wall. "Just what I need: hearing voices—What's this?" She perked when she saw something happening on the wall. She walked to the wall to see the moss and the vines covering it were retreating like Magic. Luna was stunned. "Woah," she whispered. "I've never seen plants do that."

The moss and the vines retracted enough for Luna to see the part of the wall they wanted her to see. A symbol had been embedded into the wall. It was an odd crest with a creature Luna had never seen. It had wings and horns and a mane, but, still, she had little clue to its identity.

As if on cue, Luna put a had on it. "This is so weird," she murmured. "What's going on?" Her eyes widened. "What if this was s trap! Ow!" she suddenly yelped, pulling back her hand. She looked at it to see her palm had been sliced and blood was drawn from her hand. "Ow… That wasn't very nice," she pouted. She looked at the symbol in confusion.

What's going on? Is this some sort of trap?

°•°•°•°

Eyes were narrowed on the girl of blonde hair. They watched in curiosity as she glared at the wall in blatant suspicion.

°•°•°•°

Luna grumbled as she backed away. "I think this was a sign that I need to get out of here," she realized. She took another step back. "Maybe I could call Gale and—"

Something shoved her towards the wall.

Luna flailed as her eyes closed. "Hey, wait!" she cried as she stumbled forward. She braced herself to hit the wall and…

And…it never came.

Luna opened an eye. "What just—?" Then, her eyes widened. "Oh, cool!"

She had ended up on a porch of sandstone. Vines had integrated themselves into the stone and made the entire wall have more character. But, that was not what Luna gawked at. In front of her was a small courtyard. It was nothing big or grandeur, but still wondrous all the same. There was a pond flowing with water that spouted from the wall. Leaves and lily pads floated on the surface. The tree that took up the most space was something of an anomaly. It was a mixture of a maple, a gingko, and a cherry blossom tree, but still was a mystery as to its taxonomy. Luna approached the tree curiously. The leaves were a rich green. Unlike all of nature, this tree did not change for the weather. It allowed the leaves to keep their green pigment. A bench swing was attached to a strong branch of the tree and left untouched.

Wow… I've never seen a tree like this? Maybe it only grows in these parts of Fiore.

Luna touched the bark only to exhale her surprise.

I can feel a heartbeat. I know trees are alive, but…they don't have hearts.

A charming noise.

BRRRRRR. BRRRRRR.

Luna looked around in alarm. "There's that noise again," she murmured. She looked around. "Hello?" she called. "Anyone there? Hello…?"

°•°•°•°

Curious eyes peeked from an archway that surrounded the courtyard. They shifted to look at the girl of blonde eyes.

"Hello? Come on out, please? I promise I won't hurt you," the girl of blonde hair assured loudly.

There was a quiet giggle and a flutter that shifted through the leaves.

°•°•°•°

Luna pouted. "Oh. I really thought someone was there," she muttered. She sighed and turned away. "Oh, well. Maybe I'm just crazy."

A charming jingle.

BRRRRR.

Luna felt something land on her head and panicked. "What's going on? What's happening?" She reached up to her head to grab whatever was on it and heard an alarming jingle. She brought whatever it was in front of her and—

She did not know what it was.

"Um… Hi." Luna blinked twice. "What…are you?"

The creature in her hand gave a charming jingle. It was nothing like Luna had ever witnessed. It was a small thing, probably the same size as a Chihuahua, but looked like a combination of a rabbit and mouse with big, curious eyes, pointed ears that were slicked back at the moment, and a long tail. It was a blue shade with magenta eyes and a golden dot on the center of its forehead. It had a permanent ring floating over its head, a never-ending, glowing blue halo. It had fairy-like wings attached to its back, shimmering cerulean-emerald when the light hit them. It looked at Luna and tipped its head.

"Brrrrr…" it told her.

Luna tipped her head to the other side. "You don't look like any creature I've seen."

The creature tipped its head to the other side. "Brrrr…"

°•°•°•°

Gale turned into the same, abandoned courtyard Luna had been in. Like a dog, he sniffed around and followed her trail scent. He sniffed it to the fountain, scattering the birds, then sniffed it to the wall. He put his hands on the wall in confusion.

"What the…? The scent ends here," he observed. "But, that's not possible. Not unless the wall is an illusion, but…" He closed his eyes as he felt the earth. "Something's not right about this…"

Blondie… Where did you go?

°•°•°•°

Luna watched as the strange creature zoomed around her. It made its odd noises in delight and took pleasure in prodding her hair. She laughed. "You're really adorable," she cooed. "And this place is amazing!"

"Brrrrrr!" the creature agreed. It took to plopping on Luna's head and snuggling into her hair.

Luna looked up, beaming. "My hair's soft, huh? I'm glad you like me. I like you too. What's your name? What are you?"

The creature sighed. "Brrr-brrrrr… Brrr-brr-brr-brrrrrr…"

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Your name is…Syra? And you're an…'ikenga'?"

The creature nodded. "Brrrrr. Brrr-brrr-brrrr..."

Luna pouted. "I wish I knew more about you," she muttered. "Luke would know. He's a lot smarter than me. Or Elvin or Penelope or…" She sighed.

Or Gale…

She looked down guiltily.

Gale… I wish you were here right now so I could say, 'sorry'. Besides, it's more fun when you're here.

Syra lifted an ear. Her halo began to glow.

°•°•°•°

Gale took a step back to glare at the wall and scan it. "It's too high for her to climb and she obviously didn't dig. She could've made a portal…" He growled. "Dammit, Blondie, I don't know whether to be annoyed that you shook me off or intrigued that this hunt got a Hell of a lot more interesting."

As Gale grumbled to himself, a hand sprouted from the ground. It was blue and translucent as it snuck its way to the surface. It stopped when was at Gale's level and crept forward.

"Blondie, the second you're in my sights," Gale growled, "you are going to—" His words were choked off when something shoved him. He whipped around and took the hand into his own to stop it. "The Hell do you think you—?"

Only to realize the hand was not attached to anything.

Gale was confused and irritated. "What is going on?"

The hand wriggled away and made a shooing motion to Gale.

Gale growled. "I'm not going anywhere."

The hand clenched. It plunged forward at Gale.

Gale deflected the hand and tried to punch it back only for his hand to go through it. The surprise caught him off-guard, just enough for the hand to shove Gale.

Gale shielded himself by pulling up the stone into a wall. He could feel the hand pounding into his wall and gritted his teeth.

What is this thing?

°•°•°•°

Luna plopped herself on the bench swing and took Syra from her head to place in her lap. "I was really mean to him," she lamented. "I shouldn't have overreacted and ran off like a dummy, but now I'm lost and…" She sighed and looked up at the tree. "I really wish I could see him to apologize."

°•°•°•°

Gale gathered his Magic. "Stone Discs!" he chanted. He punched the wall for shards to crack out of the wall.

The hand dipped back into the ground and the shards went flying everywhere.

Gale let down his shield to see the damage, but when he did not see his opponent. He was on guard as his eyes shifted around.

Where are you…?

The hand sprouted up behind Gale and took him by the collar.

Gale fought tooth and nail as he tried to get away. "Let go of me!" he snarled. "Let go!"

°•°•°•°

"Knowing him, he's probably mad at me that I ditched him and liking the chase at the same time," Luna predicted. "For a guy who uses Earth Magic, he shows a lot of emotion."

Syra snuggled into Luna's stomach and sighed.

"I wish you could meet him," Luna desired. "He's a bit misunderstood. But, he's really kind…"

°•°•°•°

"Get the fuck away from me!" Gale howled. He managed to leap and kick off the walk to get away from the hand.

The hand shook its fist at Gale.

Gale smirked as he readied his fists. "I don't know what you are, but you're going down."

°•°•°•°

"…and he can be really gentle," Luna listed fondly.

°•°•°•°

Gale flipped himself and slammed his fists on the ground. Earth popped up and charged at the hand.

The hand panicked and dropped back under the surface as the earth rammed into the wall.

Gale cackled. "Ha! Take that!"

°•°•°•°

"And he gets a cute blush on his face sometimes," Luna noted. "But…sometimes, he can't control his temper…"

°•°•°•°

Gale stood up and looked around. The hand was gone, but that did not mean it ran off. "Fight me, jackass!" he challenged. "Let's see what you're made of!"

Gale did not sense it, but a bigger version of the hand snaked from the ground and began to tower of him.

When a shadow was cast over Gale, he turned around.

He paled when he saw the hand.

"Oh, shit."

°•°•°•°

"And, maybe he has a bad habit of swearing…" Luna remembered

°•°•°•°

Gale found himself being flailed around as the hand had grabbed his collar and was waving him around like a napkin.

"Motherfucker, you son of a bitch!" Gale snarled. "Get off me!"

The hand moved Gale rapidly toward the wall.

Alarm hit Gale like a train. "No, no, no, no, no, shit, dammit!"

°•°•°•°

"But, he's a good guy," Luna concluded. "And his soul and heart… They might angry, but they're soft underneath. You'll see."

BAM.

Luna looked up sharply as an object came crashing into the courtyard. It was screaming profanities and she saw a black blur with red eyes head straight for the bond.

She furrowed her eyebrows.

Gale…?

SPLASH.

A few bubbles later and Gale sprung out of the pond in a coughing fit, sopping wet.

Luna jumped out of the seat with Syra in her hands to go to him. "Gale!"

Gale kept spluttering water. "What"—he coughed again—"the Hell is going on?"

Luna kneeled before the pool with a smile. "Hi. It's been a while," she teased.

Gale whipped his hair back and looked at Luna with angry, yet amused eyes. "You were the one who got all sensitive, principessa," he chastised.

Luna blushed. "Y-Yeah, well… Shut up," she said lamely.

Gale rolled his eyes as he got up. "Well, shit. Ya got me," he said flatly. He looked around the courtyard, curious but not inquisitive. "Explain to me where we are."

Luna got up too. "Not too sure," she admitted. "But, isn't it pretty?"

Gale took off his jacket to wring it out. "Gorgeous," he hissed angrily.

Syra wriggled her way out of Luna's hands to fly around Gale, curious about him.

Gale glared at Syra. "Don't tell me you were off playing with this rat?" he sneered.

Syra's ears drooped and she decided to land on Luna's head.

Luna frowned at that then at Gale. "Be nice," she scolded. "Syra isn't a 'rat'."

"Oh, the bunny has a name," Gale grumbled. He climbed out of the pound.

"She isn't a 'bunny' either," Luna protested. "She's an—!"

"Ikenga, I know, I know," Gale finished. He took off his shoes and socks. "I might be wet, but I'm not stupid."

Luna was taken back. "Oh…. Well… What's an 'ikenga' exactly?"

Gale set out his shoes, socks, and jacket to dry on the ground before taking off his shirt. "They're magical creatures that deal with time somehow," he explained as he wrung out his jacket.

Luna looked up at the upset Syra. "'Deals with time'?"

"Legend says they're like the little Easter bunnies of time," Gale said with fake enthusiasm as he took off his belt. "They pop up somewhere unexpected and leave a present behind. They normally don't show up unless they feel something wrong in the time stream." He peered at Syra in questioning as he took off his pants. "Makes me wonder what one is doing here."

Luna shrugged as she lowered her eyes. "Maybe she came to enjoy the—Oh, my goodness, you're naked!" A furious blush worked her cheeks as she covered her face.

Gale looked down to see he still had his underwear on. "Not 'naked', Blondie-girl, half-naked," he corrected as he lay his pants to dry.

"B-B-But, why?" Luna stammered. "It's cold outside! You need clothes on!"

Gale chuckled. "You cute idiot," he teased.

Luna growled. "Excuse me?"

"I just got myself soaking wet in pond water," Gale explained. "If I kept my clothes on, I'd get sick. I need to dry them before I put them back on. And, besides, its like, what fourteen degrees out*? That's not even cold!"

Luna cleared her throat. "Well, can't you at least keep your pants on?"

Gale raised an eyebrow at Luna, a smirk slipping onto his face. "Ain't like you haven't seen it before, Blondie," he teased, sultry. He prowled towards her. "Come on. Take the hands off the eyes," he coaxed.

Luna hummed nervously.

Why am I feeling like this? Why do I feel so nervous?

Warm breath fanned the back of Luna's neck, making her stiffen. Larger hands covered her own.

"I can hear your heart beat. Do I really make you that nervous?" Gale breathed in laughter.

Luna bit her lip.

"Now, come on, principessa. Work with me," Gale cooed. He was gentle in prying her hands away from her face.

Luna kept her eyes to the ground and swallowed noticeably. "You should really put on clothes," she tried to persuade.

Gale moved from Luna's back to her front, though she still did not look at him. "What, and get sick? Nah, I'm good. Unless…you'd be willing to nurse me back to health?"

Luna blushed even more. "That's not what I—"

A hand tipped Luna's chin up.

Nervous chocolate connected with amused ruby.

"I'd love to see you as a cute nurse," Gale murmured. "Would you give me a thorough examination?"

Luna tried to move back, but Gale was too quick and held her shoulders. Luna shut her eyes instead. "Come on… Don't joke like that," she scolded weakly.

"Who said I was joking?"

Luna sighed and opened her eyes. She was not embarrassed or even a little shy. She stared at Gale with a weary, upset look. "I never know when you're serious or if you're just trying to mess with me," she told him outright. She took Syra off her head and into her arms, looking down at the ikenga. "Please, don't do this to my feelings," she requested quietly.

Gale was surprised at that. "Blondie…"

Luna moved away from him and went to the bench. She settled on it and stroked Syra without ever looking at Gale.

Gale softened before following her. He settled down on the bench with an arm resting on the back of it. He looked away from Luna as he tried to get his words together.

"I'm not…" Gale swallowed. "I'm not…trying to—"

"Anyways," Luna plowed ahead, "I guess we should figure out what Syra is doing here."

Gale noted the subject change and rolled with it. "Why not ask her?"

Luna realized that could work and peered at Syra. "So, why are you here, Syra?"

Syra twitched her tail and looked up at Luna, wiggling her nose. "Brrrrrrr… Brrr-brrrrrr-brr-brr."

Luna sighed. "Hear that?"

Gale was confused. "I did, but can you translate it?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "All she told me was that she doesn't know, but she likes it here."

Syra snuggled into Luna's stomach. "Brrrr…"

Luna laughed. "She likes me too. She thinks you're mean and grumpy," she translated.

Gale scoffed. "Sorry I'm not 'sunshine and rainbows' all the damn time," he grumbled. "Because of that freaking hand that attacked me, I got shoved in here and into a pool. That makes the dragon here a little pissed off."

Luna furrowed her eyebrows. "A 'hand'?" she questioned. "A hand brought you here?"

"Sadly."

Luna hummed. "Well, how could that…?" Her eyes widened, then narrowed accusingly at Syra. "Syra…! I didn't mean for that to happen!"

Syra only twitched her tail as she made noises of amusement.

Gale glared at Syra. "Don't tell me that fur-ball was the one to bring me here," he gnashed.

Luna scowled at Gale. "Don't call her that!" she scolded loudly and he flinched back. She petted Syra with gentle hands. "She was just being nice. I told her I wish you were here because…"

Gale waited for Luna to go on. "'Because'…?"

Luna looked away. "Well, I'm sorry," she finally admitted. "I shouldn't have run off like that."

Gale chuckled. "About time I got that apology. But, while we're on it, I'm sorry too. Even if I didn't do anything wrong and you just misinterpreted my words—"

Luna locked her jaw. "Get to the point," she snapped.

Gale smirked. "I am sorry I triggered you," he apologized. He did mean it. "Your weight is sensitive. I shouldn't have teased you."

Luna smiled at him. "I accept that and forgive you. Now that that's out of the way, let's go have some fun!"

Gale raised an amused eyebrow. "Blondie, did you forget the state I'm currently in?"

Luna looked down, then her eyes darted away with a blush. "Um, right, well, let's get you dry and clothed first," she coughed.

Gale looked around. "It's cute when you check me out," he said casually. "Nice blush."

Luna blushed even more. "I wasn't 'checking' you out!" she defended.

Gale laughed. "That's like your blonde bro telling me he totally didn't try and sneak into the Devil Woman's room," he compared. "You like the goods, Blondie, that's okay. Anyone would, really."

Luna rolled her eyes, though did not notice as Syra left her to glide to Gale's clothes. "You're so cocky," she grumbled.

"No. I know what I have and I am confident about it," Gale corrected.

Syra prodded Gale's boot. It fell over and she took a sniff inside. She realized it was quickly a mistake when she coughed and backed away from the un-godly smell.

"Don't worry, Blondie. You have something nice going on too," Gale assured. "Your tits, for one…"

"Let's not get into that," Luna blurted in a nervous laugh.

Syra went to Gale's shirt and nudged her way into her. Her head popped out of a whole and she looked around to see she came out of a sleeve.

"Why not?" Gale sounded sly as he scooted closer. "You're allowed to look at my body like you want to eat me, but I can't do the same thing? Hell no! We do this evenly."

"What?!" Luna squeaked. "You're making that up! I never look at you like that and you're getting a little too close!"

Syra shimmed out of the shirt to flutter to Gale's pants.

Gale mock-pouted. "Come on, Blondie, it's not fair," he said dramatically. "I don't let chicks see me in this state. You should be honored."

"You should be clothed and I am feeling violated," Luna muttered.

Gale snickered. "How am I not supposed to notice your tits and your ass? You're growing, Blondie. Guys are gonna start to notice 'em."

Syra nudged her way into Gale's back pocket. With her teeth, she tried dragging out something, wrestling with it.

"'Notice' what?!" Luna asked shrilly. "P-Papa says I'm too young for boys, anyways, so it wouldn't matter if someone noticed me."

Gale scoffed. "So, what about that 'Jay' guy? He 'noticed' you and you went all doe-eyed for him," he grumbled.

Syra kept pulling harder and harder until everything spilled out of the wallet and she tumbled away.

Luna gasped. "I was not!" she growled. "Jay was a really nice guy!"

"A 'really nice guy' you text every five seconds," Gale muttered. "Same to that thorn guy we met back on your first mission. What, you two going out?"

Syra warily looked at the objects that had fallen. It was only too. One was a Compact that was not waterlogged. Syra went to it first and prodded it, nose twitching.

"Why are you being so—?" Something hit Luna and her tone changed to a challenging amused. "Oh, I see."

"You 'see' what?" Gale asked irritably.

"Nice try, Redfox, but I know what's going on," Luna said smugly. "You're jealous!"

Syra leapt back when her prodding worked and the Compact lit up. She trekked carefully to see the screen. Her ears straightened in surprise. She saw the girl of blonde hair smiling at Syra with a jacket that was not hers. In fact, it was the jacket she was wearing now.

"What?!" Gale snapped. "Why would I be jealous of two idiot guys who obviously didn't have the balls to ask you out?"

As Luna was silent, Syra crept to the next object: a wallet.

"Um… Well…"

Gale was impatient and in disbelief. "Don't tell me…"

"Both of them asked me out," Luna broke the news, "so…"

"Oh," Gale said flatly. "Got it."

Syra sniffed the wallet then pulled away, the scent of leather bothering her. She prodded the wallet with a curious paw. It moved. Now intrigued, she batted it from paw to paw like it was a game.

"Yeah," Luna said softly.

Gale shifted and looked away. "So, did…? Did you…say, 'yes'?"

Luna looked at her lap. "I…haven't said anything about it, actually," she admitted. "I asked if I could think about it."

Gale gave a humorless snort. "Leading these guys on with false hope. A little cruel, so don't ya think, Blondie?"

"Would you rather me say, 'yes'?" Luna demanded to know.

Gale opened his mouth. But the words… They would not come out. So, he closed his mouth.

Syra pounced on the wallet like a cat and was proud of her catch. She stepped off it for the wallet to flip up. She peered inside.

Gale sighed. "What do you want me to say?" he asked.

Luna sighed as well. "I don't know," she admitted truthfully. "When they asked me, I went to Nashi and my mama about it and Mary Jane was over for spirit lessons. They told me I should take my time to answer, but Mary Jane told me to tell you."

Gale swallowed. "Why would she say that?"

"She said…you deserve to know," Luna murmured. "That, maybe, it'll be something you might need." She looked at Gale. "But, she wouldn't tell me what she meant."

Gale smirked emotionlessly.

Devil Woman… Why do you have to do this?

So, Gale made a lie that would haunt him. "I don't care who you go out with," he said bluntly. "What you do is your choice. Do what you want. I give the princes my blessing to let a prince take her from me. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

Confusion and sadness mixed in Luna's eyes and she drifted them back to her lap. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I…" She swallowed and lowered her head. "Thanks. Just what I needed to hear."

And silence fell between them as they both wallowed in their own lies.

Syra fluttered back into Luna's lap with Gale's wallet in-between her teeth. She got up on her hind legs and prodded Luna, lashing her tail.

Luna laughed. "Okay, okay, I see that." She took the wallet from Syra's mouth. "Hey, Gale. Looks like Syra…" Her eyes narrowed at the girl in Gale's wallet. "Hey… Who is th—?"

Gale snatched back his wallet. "Give it back!" he snapped. "You shouldn't be looking through what isn't yours!"

Luna flinched. "We're sorry," she tried to apologize.

Syra lowered her ears and lowered her head. She gave a low noise.

Luna translated. "Syra says—"

Gale got up. "I don't care what a dumb bunny says when it's nosing its way into my business," he snapped.

Syra cowered back and Luna covered Syra's ears, glaring at Gale. "What is wrong with you? She didn't know better!" she argued. "She was just curious!"

Gale stomped to his clothes. "Whatever," he growled. He started to grab his clothes.

Luna stood up, worried. "What are you doing?"

"Getting my clothes so we can leave," Gale said angrily.

Luna was confused. "You're not…going off on your own?"

Gale paused. Then, he sighed loudly. "No, I'm not," he assured. "Sorry. I'm just annoyed. Didn't mean to take it out on you."

Luna smiled a little as she let Syra wriggle from her arms to perch herself on her shoulder. "You really need to control your temper, Beast," she said amusedly.

Gale chuckled. "At least Beauty is patient with me and kicks my ass when I need it to be kicked." He shot Luna an apologetic look. "Sorry for being such a dick."

"Forgiven," Luna promised. "But, you should be saying, 'sorry' to someone else."

Gale looked at Syra and let out a growl.

Syra squeaked and hid in Luna's hair.

Luna gave Gale a look and he stopped growling. He groaned. "Fine, whatever. Sorry," he hissed like the word as acidic.

Luna chuckled as Syra poked her head out from Luna's hair. Syra gave a high squeal as she fluttered from Luna and landed on Gale's head. Luna laughed as Gale frowned at what was happening.

"See? She forgives you too," Luna pointed out.

Gale plucked Syra from his head by the scruff to look at her. He curled his teeth to snarl at her.

Syra merely tipped her head, her eyes flopping.

Gale stopped snarling to sigh. "Guess you're a little bit cute," he muttered. He let go of her scruff for Syra to keep herself fluttering. She glided over to Gale's clothing and landed on them. She closed her eyes as her halo began to glow.

Luna frowned. "What is she doing?"

Gale shrugged. "Beats me. She's your bunny."

Syra closed her eyes. "Brrr…" she murmured to concentrate. Streams of light came off the tips of her ears. They snaked their way to touch Gale's clothes, making the article of clothing glow as well. Syra straightened her tail. "Brrrrrr…" A cerulean hue came off of Syra and began to flash.

Gale brought Luna to him to shield her from the burning light as he closed his eyes as well. They stayed like that until the light dimmed down. Gale opened his eyes first, wary and confused, but his eyes widened when he saw what happened.

"Holy shit," dropped from his mouth.

Luna uncurled herself from Gale's hold to look. "What happe…?"

Syra fluttered her wings, flying in figure eights over the clothes in glee.

Luna was stunned. "She...dried them for you? But, how…? I didn't think she had Fire Magic?"

Gale shook his head. "No. I don't think that's it." He let go of Luna to go to his clothes. He picked them up and ran his thumbs on them. "Hmmm… I guess it's kinda like restoration," he theorizes.

Luna came closer. "Meaning…?"

"It's not quite like healing. It's like what people do to old stuff," Gale compared. "They restore it. Make it brand new again. Like it was brought back from time." He looked up at Syra and grinned. "I think we found our little bunny's special ability."

Syra fluttered back to Gale and perched on his head.

Luna laughed. "And I think our little bunny loves her papa," she joked.

Gale turned to Luna with a mischievous look on his face. "I'm 'papa', huh? Does that make you this little bunny's mom?"

Luna blushed, laughing nervously. "Wait. I was just joking," she reminded.

Gale chuckled. "Okay, mommy." He reached for his socks and sat down to slip them on. "Well, how 'bout we get out of here and have a nice family tour of Margaret Town? We can stop by the guild hall. There's some guys here that are chill."

"Sounds good to me," Luna agreed.

"Brrrr!" Syra agreed as she fluttered around Luna.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Fairy Adventure

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The restaurant was on a boat and a fancy one at that. It was an open, floating restaurant that did not stay on the docks. Instead, it toured around the Mûre River with specific docks to let people on and off. The boat was not too large with only two levels, one covered and one exposed to the fresh air. The deck had a few tables, but was mostly for sightseeing.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« This is Cabana, a floating restaurant that serves Western, dim sun, and Drasconese. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The table was full of laughter. It was Nashi, the Iron Twins, Justin, Mara, Gary, Orochi, Ellie, Dazzler, Cade, Mustang, and T'oree were together with Mages of Lamia Scale. They had gotten around table to themselves and were in the middle of their meal and good conversation.

Justin clapped his hands. "Oh, my, Honey, I forgot about that one. He was the six-foot-five one, right? The one with the cute jock strap?"

Honey nodded. "Mmm-hmm. And the cutest ass too." He was a dark chocolate in skin tone and a buzzed haircut, but with his full lips, eye shadow, and the feathered boa he wore, there was much more to him.

⌜LAMIA SCALE

Name: Honey Abrokovy

Age: 21

Occupation: S-Class Mage, Burlesque Dancer

Magic: Chain

Likes: Sunphora Make-Up Dislikes: cracked nails

Special Note: Like Justin, Honey works in the drag industry! You should see Honey as Miss Shangri-yas!⌟

Orochi sighed as he picked up his drink. "Can we talk about something other than male asses?"

A girl piped up from next to Honey. She was petite with nice honey-brunette hair. Her eyes were glazed over, but her dog—he was a Labradoodle—was lying beneath her, finished with his meal. "I want to know what happened at the Hallow's Eve Spell-tacular with all of you!"

⌜LAMIA SCALE

Name: Andele Mothersbaugh

Age: 18

Occupation: Mage

Ability: Alkahestry

Likes: jazz music Dislikes: winter

Special Note: Andele is one of the few in Fiore who practice Alkahestry, but that's because her bloodline comes from the first one to study Alkahestry, Paracelsus!⌟

Ellie nudged Dazzler. "Yeah, D, want to tell Andy how much of a true woman you were with our Crimson Cowboy?" she teased.

Dazzler blushed wildly at that. "How about we don't do that and talk about something else?" she proposed, glancing at Mustang.

Rather than embarrassed, Mustang was amused. "I'm sure Miss Lafayette wouldn't want to talk about her drunken times," he said kindly.

Dazzler shot Mustang a thankful look and mouthed words of appreciate to him and he shot her a wink.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Fine. What about Cade and T'oree? How was your night?"

T'oree beamed. "It was extravagant!" she gushed. "I did not know such dance rituals could be such fun!"

"'Dance rituals'?" came a question. It came from a man of colorful dreadlocks with a tongue piercing. He looked like a laidback guy with time on his side.

⌜LAMIA SCALE

Name: Amani Dugall

Age: 20

Occupation: Mage, Percussion Instructor

Magic: Hair

Likes: playing his djembe Dislikes: N/A

Special Note: Amani uses his Magic through the power of his djembe. The more he drums, the more the Magic works! ⌟

Cade blushed and shook his head. "Tor, they weren't—"

"Yes, the exciting dance ritual of being with a partner and proceeding to dancing on their front with my back," T'oree explained eagerly.

Amani whistled as he looked at Cade. "Damn, son! You taught T'oree how to bump and grind, eh?"

Cade ducked his head as he fingered his cross necklace. "I didn't teach her…"

T'oree frowned at Cade. "You were the most wonderful master in teaching me the customs of dance here on Earth Land, Lord Cadorius," she argued. "You were a highly effective master and quite patient and gentle with me."

Everyone cracked into laughter while Cade sunk further into his seat.

Honey winked at T'oree. "I'm glad our King Arthur was so gentle with you, lovely. I wish he could be gentle with me!"

Cade had steam pouring out of his ears. "It wasn't like that," he tried to defend. He cleared his throat. "Let's talk about the fact that Orochi abandoned us for Livy and Ellie had a hot make-out session and that Justin has a new boy toy," he blurted.

Orochi shrugged as he looked at Olivia. "Not sure why to bring it up, but, yeah, we hung out," he confirmed. He looked at his excited sister with a stern glower. "As just – friends," he stressed.

Mara pouted and signed, My ship will sail someday.

Ellie shrugged as well as she finished chewing her dumpling. "Yeah, the sailor was cute and all, but he wasn't the type to treat a true woman right," she said. She bumped shoulders with Justin. "But, Papa Justy was a bit of a slut with Ace," she teased.

Justin rolled his eyes playfully. "Like you're not a slut, Eliana-bear."

Honey looked at Justin, impressed. "Wait. Are you talking about that one that teaches yoga that you thought might be straight?"

Justin pouted as everyone laughed. "So sorry it took me a while. The last male instructor I had had a wife and three kids."

Amani had to know. "Are you two dating?"

Justin took a forkful of his fillet mignon. "I mean we've been out on dates, but I'm not sure if we're exclusive or not," he explained. "Guess I'll bring it up on the next date." He turned to Galileo with a grin. "But…I heard our Iron Man didn't get laid like he wanted."

Everyone turned to Galileo who did not look as happy as the rest. There were bags under his eyes and a despondent look about him.

"Nah. Just…didn't feel like it," Galileo mumbled.

Orochi and Olivia shared a look and Nashi ducked her head a bit.

Galileo pushed away his food. "Actually, I'm done with my meal, so…" He pushed away from the table and stood up. "I'm going onto the deck," he told as he walked off.

Awkward and confused silence was shared between the table. What just happened?

Andele turned to Honey. "Honey, we should tell them what happened with the drag show here," she persuaded.

Honey brightened and clapped his hands. "Oh, my God, I completely forgot!"

As Honey dove into his story, Nashi kept her eyes on her food.

I know I should go after him, but… What if he doesn't want to talk? Maybe Livy should—

VRRR. VRR-VRR. VRRRRRRRR.

Nashi was startled as her Compact vibrated. She went to her pocket and took it out. There was a message from Olivia and she opened it.

〖He needs you more than me. 〗

Nashi looked up to see Olivia looking at her. She gave Nashi a small nod.

Nashi shut down her Compact to push away from the table. "Excuse me," she tossed as she walked away.

Gary kept his eyes trained on her as she maneuvered her way through the dining floor, saying polite pardons and apologies.

Angel… What's going on?

°•°•°•°

Galileo was leaning against the railing. His eyes looked at the sights on the river, but were glazed as he was lost in thought.

Nashi slipped beside him. She said nothing. She, too, looked at the waterfront with nothing more than thoughts on her mind.

"I'm sorry."

Nashi looked over at Galileo.

Galileo did not look at Nashi.

"For what?" Nashi prompted. "Ignoring me when I thought we'd still be friends?"

Galileo sighed. "It's hard," he admitted. "I don't care we don't have sex anymore, but…"

"'But'…what?" Nashi wanted to know.

Galileo raked his hands through his hair. He straightened suddenly to look at Nashi. "Okay, it's like I can't even deal with myself because I'm realizing how much of a shit person I am."

Nashi snorted. "You're not a 'shit person'."

"I am, Angel-face," Galileo assured. "I have been screwing the girl my friend is in-love with. That's wrong on so many levels! That's me taking our brotherhood and killing it!" When Nashi opened her mouth, he stopped her with a hand. "Would you have screwed Lance?"

Nashi rolled her eyes. "No, because Aine is totally in-love…"—realization hit her—"with…him…" She groaned. "Okay, I'm seeing the shitty part."

Galileo put his head in his hands. "Yeah. Been there, done that."

Nashi rubbed Galileo's back and sighed. "It takes two, ya know? It's both of us, not just you," she tried to soothe. "I wish you would just talk to me instead of ignore me on this."

"Ignoring you is my shit way to deal with this," Galileo told her. "Sorry for that."

"You could be like me and cry about it when no one's watching," Nashi reminded.

Galileo slung an arm around Nashi and she leaned her head on his shoulder. He picked up his head to laugh at the situation. "Man, this is screwed up!"

Nashi grinned. "Most definitely."

Galileo rested his head on hers. "But, life moves on," he said sadly. He turned to kiss Nashi's head before burying his nose in it. "Oh, Angel-face, what did we do to deserve this crap?" he muttered.

Nashi closed her eyes, smiling and humming. "We have unnatural hair colors. Genetics screwed us over," she joked.

Galileo grinned a little. "I'm lucky being short is a recessive gene and somehow my dad is homozygous dominant."

Nashi pulled away to shoot him an eye roll. "You nerd," she teased.

"Hot nerd, thank you very much," Galileo said matter-of-factly. His nose twitched. Then, he sighed. "Don't look now, but we have an audience and one that you've been avoiding for nearly a month."

Nashi stilled. "Is he trying to come over?"

"Not sure. Not a telepath," Galileo reminded. "Angel-face, you've been dodging the poor bro for a month now. Don't you think it's time to talk?"

"And look who's talking," Nashi snapped. "You've been avoiding the both of us."

Galileo nodded. "Fair is fair," he agreed. "But, I can't avoid you both forever. I promise I will put more of an effort in. Just…let me figure some things out, all right? It's not you I'm worried about facing. It's the guy who's in-love with you."

Nashi clicked her tongue and looked away, shaking her head. "Don't say that…"

"Why?" Galileo wanted to know. "Because it's the truth?" He tsked. "He loves you, Angel-face, whether you believe me or not."

Nashi shook her head again.

Galileo smiled and kissed her cheek quickly. In her ear, he murmured, "And don't get too drunk this week, yeah? Wouldn't want a repeat." He gave her butt a subtle squeeze before abandoning her altogether.

Nashi whipped around, aghast. "I wasn't even drunk!" she snapped.

"My point!" Galileo sang-sung as he walked to a waiting Gary, leaving Nashi to turn back to the river and groan. Galileo patted Gary's shoulder when he got to him and gave him an encouraging smile. "She's all yours, bro." And, he left the deck.

Gary pinned a determined look on Nashi, though anxiety was there too. Still, he pushed through and went to her, taking the position Galileo had at her side. For once, it felt awkward to be with her. He barely knew what to say or do. He barely knew what to think. So, he cleared his throat. "Margaret Town is really nice this time of year," he commented.

Really? I'm talking about the weather?

"Yeah," Nashi said blandly. "It's great."

Silence floated between them.

Gary looked at his hands.

Crap. I've run out of things to say.

The Devil allowed reserved confusion to flow through their link. But, I thought you wanted to—

I did, Gary assured, but I don't want her to run away. This is the first time she's actually stayed with me to—

"I think I'm going to head back inside," came Nashi's slow farewell.

Gary woke from his thoughts to stop her. "Wait, don't!" he blurted.

Nashi still did not look at him.

Gary sighed. "Angel," he murmured, "please tell me what I did wrong?"

Nashi sighed as well. "Nothing, Gary. You did nothing," she assured softly.

"Why can't you look me in the eye?" Gary demanded to know. "Why can't you even talk to me?"

Nashi bit her lips.

Sadness entered Gary's eyes. He shut his eyes to clear them as resolve strengthened him. "We…need to talk about that night, Angel," he said quietly.

"No, we don't," Nashi refused. "Please, Gary, Let's just fo—"

"'Forget it?" Gary filled in. His eyes steeled over. "I can't do that. You know I can't do that." He stepped closer to her. "And I know you can't either."

"You don't know anything," Nashi tried to growl.

"The Hell I do!" That was a shock. Gary rarely swore. "I know you better than most people! I know you'd rather forget things happened and pretend everything is fine when it's not!"

Nashi locked her jaw.

"You can't 'pretend' things didn't happen," Gary carried. "You can just tell yourself to forget—!"

"You think I just 'forget' shit?!" Nashi whipped around and something that was in her eyes made Gary want to stand down.

It was fear.

"You think I just 'pretend' life is fine? No, Gary, I don't!" Nashi shouted at him. "I am stuck being half-demon! I'm stuck knowing that my little sister has nearly been taken from me twice and I couldn't protect her! I am stuck with memories I—for the love of me—wish would go away, but they don't and I am stuck with reliving them in my daydreams and nightmares and I am stuck…"—she sucked in an exhale—"I am stuck, Gary."

DRIP.

Gary watched a tear fall from Nashi's eye.

DROP.

Nashi choked back a sob as she wiped away more tears. "God, I am stuck crying for things I wish didn't happen, but they did and, man, does it suck," she said in a wobbly tone. She took a deep breath to angrily, tearfully look Gary in the eye. "So, you think I can really 'forget'?" She let out a laugh with no conviction. "No one 'forgets'! We just cope by staying silent!"

Gary swallowed. His throat was going dry. "Angel…" He tried to form words. "You know you don't have to keep silent. Maybe I'm not the one you can go to, but…I know there are others you could go to."

Nashi shook her head as she wiped away more tears.

Gary approached her with caution. "I don't know what has happened," he said, "and I don't know what will. But, I do know that feeling of being alone and left to deal with less-than-kind memories."

Nashi rolled her eyes. "What would you know?" she asked bitterly.

Gary's eyes dimmed. "When those criminals from the Council captured me all those years ago."

Nashi paused. Then, she looked up at Gary to see him giving her a weak smile. Shame burned her. "Gary…"

Gary shook his head. "No, it's okay," he soothed. "Mara is amazing when it comes to having someone to talk to."

Nashi sniffled and laughed a little. "She is," she agreed. "No wonder she's sent in when all of us get messed up."

Gary agreed to that. "She's really helpful." He looked out at the waterfront and Nashi did the same.

It was a while before Gary spoke and when he did, it was somber and low.

"I always thought as I'd get older, the memories wouldn't be as painful," he admitted.

Nashi looked up at Gary, but his eyes stayed on the waterfront.

"But, they become more-so," he continued. "They get into your head and your dreams and sometimes, they make you hallucinate and you're back in that memory, fighting to get out. And you're drowning in your own tears and sweat and no matter how many people say they're here for you, you feel trapped and alone because no one gets it. Only you get it."

Nashi nodded to that.

Gary went on, "No one's situation is the same as someone else's. You won't understand what I went through at the facility and I won't understand what makes you so untrusting towards guys or what comes into your nightmares. But"—he looked down at Nashi with gentle eyes, mot piteous in the slightest—"sometimes, it helps having someone to fight the demons with. Literally and figuratively speaking," he joked.

Nashi chuckled. "I get that," she agreed. "That's why weren't partners, right? The angel fighting her inner demons—"

"And the devil fighting his devil," Gary added.

Nashi grinned, but it slipped off her face quick. She took to looking at her hands. "I'm sorry for ignoring you this past month," she admitted.

"It really hurt," Gary admitted. "Especially the day after Halloween. If I did something wrong—"

Nashi shut her eyes. "No, you didn't," she promised. "You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you did everything right. But, it's just…" More tears slipped and she wiped them away. "Um, what you saw and what I said… I really wished you didn't."

Gary softened. "I won't judge you for that, Angel. I told you that before and I tell you that again. You are the love of my life. Judgment will never be on you."

"I know, but…" Nashi let out a small cry. "I didn't want you to see that."

Gary brought Nashi into his arms and kept her there when she did not fight him. He kissed her temple. "I'm not sorry for Halloween and everything that happened," he confessed. "I won't forget it either. I'll keep to your desires, Angel, and never tell another soul what I saw or heard or what we did. No one needs to know."

Nashi sniffled. "I'm sorry," she cried. "I hate being such a crybaby. Makes everything awkward and gross."

Gary smiled. "Definitely not. Crying shows more strength than weakness," he assured.

Nashi lifted her head from Gary's chest to wipe away tears. She looked up at him with watering hickory eyes. "I'm not ready to talk about everything that happened on Halloween," she told him. "I'm sorry, I'm just…not."

"I shouldn't have pushed you," Gary lamented.

"No, you had a right to. We were both there and I'd want answers too," Nashi admitted. "But…can we please not do this now?"

"If that's your wish, Angel," Gary complied.

Nashi nodded. She sniffled again. "Thank you," she mumbled. She wiped away a new round of hot tears and laughed. "You're seeing me hit an all time low here. God, crying is so messy!"

"Cry whenever you need to," Gary soothed. "You're always welcome to my place if you want to cry or just want a place to relax. I won't bother you. You can take my room and just lay there if you want."

Nashi gave him a rare smile of appreciation and fondness. "Thank you, Gary," she spoke. "I mean it."

Gary pulled Nashi in for a tight embrace. "I know you do, Angel. I know you do," he murmured. He kissed her head before burying his nose in her hair.

And the Angel and the Devil stayed like that until their floating restaurant came to a stop.

---

The Vastia household was near a small canal. It was not too big or too small, but just right for the Vastia family. The interior was decorated colorfully (courtesy of Meredy and Rose) with touches of Lyon's expertise.

Ultear watched as Julia interacted with Rose in Rose's bedroom full of toys and colors and achievements from her years in school. Her phantom cat had perched lazily on the floor on her side. It looked like an ethereal jungle cat shrunken to domestic size. It had obvious eyebrow markings and whiskers, but it looked like it was halfway in one reality and halfway in another.

Julia smiled as she finished her coloring. "Critique me, if you please, Madame Rosie," she said theatrically.

Rose took the picture and gave it a harsh look over. She pointed at one spot. "You colored outside the line here. You failed," she judged.

Julia laughed. "Not again!"

Ultear rolled her eyes. "Why you indulge her is beyond me," she muttered.

Julia shot Ultear a look. "Because she's family."

"She's a kid." Ultear wrinkled her nose in disdain. "Kids are disgusting."

Rose ignored her sister.

Julia sighed. "What do you want, Ultear? Get it out before I get tired of your presence."

Ultear flashed her killer smile. "You shouldn't talk to your elders like that. Learn some respect."

"Learn some restraint against my brother, then," Julia challenged.

Ultear hummed, darkly amused. "What your brother and I do is none of your concern."

"It is when my brother is clearly in-love with a girl that's perfect for him," Julia snapped back.

Ultear snorted. "He doesn't know what he wants," she assured. "No one sticks to their first-love."

Julia tipped her head. "Pretty sure your mom's first love was your dad. Isn't that right?"

Ultear scowled. "I don't know what game you're playing with me, but you should cut it out now."

Julia gave a cool look of contempt. "I don't know what game you're playing with Gary, but you should cut it out now."

Ultear growled and left the room with a flick of her hair.

Julia settled down with a huff. "What made her the queen of everything?"

Rose continued to color. "Linus told me Ultear wasn't always mean. She was really nice when she was younger."

Julia snorted. "The wicked witch always has a backstory," she said snidely. "Whether she was nice before or not, she's vain and evil now." She picked up a crayon. "I hope she sees she might not be an Ice Mage, but she has a heart of ice."

°•°•°•°

Juvia and Meredy were busy in the kitchen. Both of them had dressed to impress with Juvia in a blue ensemble that went to her mid-thigh with tights and heeled boots while Meredy went for a low cut long sleeve shirt tucked into her skirt and a jacket atop.

"Juvia is excited to catch up with Meredy," Juvia gushed as she watched Meredy finish prepping dinner.

"I am too," Meredy admitted. "Between teaching and taking on jobs at the guild and planning for the festival?" She gave a groan. "My life has been stressful," she complained.

Juvia nodded understandingly. "Does Meredy like to teach?"

Meredy nodded and laughed. "Very much so. I didn't really think about teaching until Linus came along. Lyon didn't want me pushing it with hard missions, so I found a teaching job. It was supposed to be just for three days, but I liked it so much, I became a part-time teacher."

"Juvia remembers teaching swimming lessons part-time when her beloved Gray did not want her working when she was pregnant with Gary." Juvia snickered. "Juvia's beloved Gray was kicked out of the house that year as well."

"I remember that!" Meredy exclaimed. "He was so sad! He took turns sleeping on my couch and Lucy's! Oh!" This brought something to her attention. "How is Lucy doing? She was swept away by her fans so fast, I didn't get to talk to her."

Juvia beamed. "Lucy is wonderful." And she said this without a hint of jealousy. "She tracked down a few former Celestial Spirit Mages that were put to sleep from the Infinity Clock. Many of them had died, but some survived." She sighed. "None of them have their keys anymore, but they don't want to be Celestial Spirit Mages. They've retired."

"I can see why," Meredy sympathized. "No one deserves a fate like that."

Juvia nodded somberly. "Besides that, Lucy is doing great," she promoted. "Though…" Her lips twisted in a frown. "Juvia isn't sure what is wrong with Juvia's darling Gary and Nashi."

Meredy tipped her head. Then, realization came to her. "You did tell me about that," she remembered. "How's Gary holding up? You told me he had been feeling a bit restless these past few weeks."

"Juvia hopes Juvia's darling is doing better, but isn't sure," Juvia sighed. "Juvia is unsure what happened between the two, but Juvia does not like Nashi so upset and her darling Gary restless."

"Who is being restless?"

Lyon came into the kitchen to grab drinks from the refrigerator. He looked in-between the two women. "What's going on?"

Meredy answered, "Gary and Nashi."

Lyon grabbed two beers. "Ah. Right. Such a forbidden love between an angel and a devil." He closer the refrigerator to look at Juvia. "Both of them seemed off, but so did Galileo. Any correlation perhaps?"

As Juvia and Meredy thought about it, Gray came into the room with his MagiCross jersey on and the look of a winner.

"We are going to make some major jewel tonight, Lyon," he said proudly. He turned to Juvia and inspected her with a loving smirk. "And you are going to make me go crazy thinking about the guys hitting on you."

Juvia tittered. "Juvia is her beloved Gray's only," she promised. She waved a finger at him. "Juvia wants her beloved to be careful gambling. Juvia knows how competitive her beloved gets."

Gray laughed as he slung an arm around his wife. "There is no way the Chimeras are going to lose," he promised. He nodded at Lyon. "When's everyone else coming?"

"Next half an hour for the pregame and highlights," Lyon responded. He eyed his wife and grinned. "And my cute wife is making food for us."

Meredy laughed. "That she is." She finished prepping the wings and placed them in the oven. As she set the timer, she instructed, "Wait twenty minutes and these should be done. Pizza is already made and the salsa is in the fridge." She sighed, looking at her husband. "Oh! And make sure Mikazuki doesn't sleep on the couch again. Call his roommate this time."

Lyon playfully rolled his eyes. "Yes, dear. Whatever you say, dear."

Meredy pouted. "You're mocking me!"

Lyon chuckled and kissed her forehead. "You're cute, lovely," he teased.

Meredy puffed her cheeks, but blushed a little. "You're just saying that because you're married to me," she pointed out.

Lyon set down the sodas to pinch his wife's cheeks. "I'm married to you because you're cute, lovely!"

Meredy waved her arms, laughing. "Is that it? I'm just a cute wife and nothing else?"

"Basically."

"Lyon…!"

Gray watched the pair in amusement. "Weird. Never thought I'd see them together."

Juvia hummed, leaning into Gray. "Juvia did. Especially when Lyon offered Meredy to stay with him when she came back."

Gray groaned. "Man, that was so awkward," he bemoaned. "She was staying with us and Lyon would come over every – single – day! I'm glad she took the deal to live with him. I don't miss him calling you every day for new ideas to seduce her."

Juvia chuckled. "Lyon wanted to capture Meredy's heart and he did. Juvia is proud of him. Meredy is like Juvia's little sister!"

Gray had to agree. "She's a cool sister-in-law," he admitted. "I wonder who Ultear would've ended up with…"

Juvia shot Gray a concerned look at the lost expression on his face. "Gray…"

Gray shook his head. "Sorry," he coughed. "Just…caught up in the moment, I guess."

Juvia patted Gray's chest. "Will Juvia's beloved Gray be all right tonight?"

Gray gave Juvia a squeeze and kissed her forehead. "Yeah. Hangin' with some of the other oldies of the guild will be good. Especially with this match." He gave his wife a warning look. "Just promise me you'll be careful tonight, all right? You and your body are mine. I don't like sharing."

Juvia beamed. "Juvia loves belonging to her beloved Gray!"

Gray smirked. "I know you do. Just like I love belonging to you."

Juvia remembered something. "Remember: Julia is taking Rose and Zuri to meet up with Kimber Green and her little sisters. Silver is out with Paige, Penelope, Ena, Dash, and Liberty."

"I remember," Gray promised. "Told Silver to text both us if they end up on the other side of the river."

"Juvia? You ready?"

Gray and Juvia looked up see Meredy and Lyon looking at the couple.

Juvia nodded. "Juvia is ready to get her date on," she said happily.

"Me too," Meredy cheered. She turned to Lyon. "Bye, Lee."

Lyon bent down to give Meredy a lingering kiss. "Bye, lovely," he murmured sweetly.

Gray kissed Juvia on both cheeks before giving her a kiss on the lips. "Have fun, Juvia. Be safe and text me the second some guy tries to hit on you," he ordered.

Juvia giggled. "Juvia will." She kissed Gray. "Bye, beloved!" She pulled away from Gray to take Meredy's hand. "Juvia has a reservation for Juvia and Meredy all set up!"

Meredy squealed as she grabbed their purses and jackets, both leaving the kitchen. "I'm so excited for this!" she gushed.

Lyon snickered as he heard the front open and shut. "There went our wives."

"On a date." Gray was amused at the thought. "I feel like I'm going to need to amp up my game to compare to Meredy."

Lyon laughed and clapped Gray on the shoulder. "Welcome to my world."

Ultear stormed into the kitchen with a look of cool rage on her face. She glared at her father. "I'm going out," she spat.

Lyon sighed. "Be careful," he warned. "And, can you, please—?"

Ultear was already gone by the time Lyon finished his sentence.

"—make sure you…?" Lyon sighed. "Never mind."

Gray laughed. "She's a wild one."

"I don't know where she got it," Lyon bellyached. "Meredy was like that when she was younger, but…"

"It's all inherited," Gray reminded.

Lyon looked at Gray up and down and smirked. "Like you're stripping?"

Gray looked down and groaned when he realized he only had his underwear on. "Dammit!" he cursed.

Lyon grabbed the sodas. "It's all inherited," he sing-sang.

Gray growled as he watched Lyon's naked, retreating back. "You're half-naked too, jackass!"

And all Gray could hear was, "Dammit!"

---

Luke came into the room and closed his eyes, sighing. "Igneel," he said slowly, "you can't keep staying here." He opened his eyes to look up at his brother.

Igneel was lounging on his bed with food around him and the Lacrima-Vision was playing a dramatic scene from the Magimon Lacrima-Show. He swallowed his donut. "Why? I'm fine," he groused.

Luke shut the door. "No, you're not. You're upset Mary Jane ditched you for Peter who, by the way, is actually nice."

Igneel groaned. "No need to rub it in," he said grumpily.

Luke came over to Igneel. "Bro, come on, you can't spend our vacation like this," he complained. "I thought you don't care who Mary Jane is with?"

"I don't," Igneel admitted. "She's strong and can take care of herself. And I want her to smile, you know?" He sat up to turn away from Luke. "I just thought we could have some fun today."

"And you will," Luke promised. "This is just day one."

Igneel grunted.

Luke cracked a smile. "Come with me," he encouraged. "Cane, Elvin, Lana and a few Lacrima Scale friends are going to some party tonight."

Igneel looked at his brother in surprise. "You're going?"

Luke blushed. "Well, I brought my MagiK cube and my controller with me, but Mom wants me off Lacrima Games on vacation and since Sensei said take this time to relax myself, I agreed. I'm not drinking, though, or dancing. Just socializing."

Igneel looked uncertain. "But…what if MJ texts me and—?"

"Take your Compact with you," Luke suggested. "Let's have some fun, bro." He grinned. "You're always the one trying to get me away from my books and studying to go out with you. Now, here's your chance."

Igneel hesitated. Then, he gave a nod and a slow grin. "Okay," he agreed, "but I'm totally drinking."

Luke sighed. "Just don't get too hammered. Mom and Dad might be out, but you know she hates dealing with hangovers."

Igneel was on his feet and getting ready. "If I get shmackered, you have the rights to my limited-edition number fourteen edition of Teen Justice."

"Deal," Luke agreed. "Now, do what you do best and show me a good time."

°•°•°•°

Cane was outside with Elvin and Lana Olietta as well as a few Mages never seen before. He was telling them a story when he noticed two others joined them. He looked over and smirked.

"My favorite bros… Glad you could join us," Cane taunted.

Igneel beamed. "Yup! I am ready to party Fairy Tail style!"

Amber smirked. She had lavender hair with golden tips. She shared the same brown eyes as her mother, but a warmer skin tone and a wildly inappropriate ensemble. "Good to see the blonde twin finally got over his heartbreak with his goddess."

⌜FAIRY TAIL

Name: Amber Olietta-Striker

Age: 16

Occupation: Mage

Magic: Molding Magic (Metal)

Likes: taking shots Dislikes: N/A

Special Note: Lana enjoys working solo, but see her work metal. She's talented, just like her mother! ⌟

Elvin shook his head. "Give the guy a break, Amber, and my cousin. I don't think they've been separated like this before."

Amber snorted as she leaned on a Mage of a Mohawk. "Is the puppy having separation anxiety?" she provoked.

Luke nudged Lana. "Let it go, Amber," he said. He was firm in that. "We're just here to have a good time." He turned to Cane and inclined his head. "Can we go?"

Cane nodded and put his arm around another Mage, a female with pink streaks in her light blonde bob. "Sure. Come on, guys, let's hit it."

The walk to the place was not a long one and full of conversation and puffs of vapor. The girl of pink streaks shared her vape with Cane while Elvin, Luke, and Igneel declined to join, Amber joining in heartily. There was a clear, friendly bond between the five Fairy Tail Mages and the group of Lamia Scale members. They blended together like old friends and caught up with the times they had missed. They, eventually, made it to a nice Victorian house. There was already music that was ready to explode from the house and flashing lights coming from inside. There were people scattered outside the house as well, some drunk, some high, others sober.

Luke had to ask Cane. "So, wait… Whose house is this?"

Cane shrugged. "Don't know, but this is the address Peter gave me."

Luke's eyebrows rose. "'Peter' gave this to you?"

Cane nodded. "Yeah… Why? What's up?"

Luke shook his head. "Nothing," he dismissed.

They continued to make their way up the drive and up the steps of the porch. The door was opened and music and the pungent smell of sweat and alcohol hit them. It was a humid smell, the type of stench you would wear until you changed your clothes and made sure to scrub every inch of your body. There was dancing going on as the music swayed the beat. Some were grinding, some were talking, some were drinking, and some were truly dancing. It seemed teenagers from all over Margaret Town had come to kick-off the start of the Festival of Gratitude.

Cane saluted his friends as the girl in his arms seemed ready to have a good time. "You both have your cards and your Compacts. Use the cards and I'll come. Text me if you're leaving." He gave them a smirk. "See you ladies later." And he was swept into the house party.

Amber jerked her head at the Mage with a Mohawk. "Come on. Let's see if they have anything good here," she urged and she tugged the Mage away into another direction.

Elvin smiled at Luke and Igneel. "I'm going to see if they have any water here. A friend is supposed to meet me here."

"Have fun!" Igneel prayed.

"You too," Elvin wished and he disappeared soon enough.

Luke looked at his brother. "I was going to go and see if they have anything non-alcoholic. You want to come with?"

Igneel shook his head. "Really, bro, I'm fine," he assured. "Have some fun and relax."

"Okay, but if you need me, just text me," Luke reminded. "I'll be sober."

Igneel chuckled. "Yes, Ma."

Luke grinned and soon slipped away.

Igneel decided to take farther steps into the party. He saw a few other Fairy Tail members had made the scene along with other Lamia Scale members. He said his greetings and kept moving. The vibe of the party was what enthralled him and kept him smiling.

Damn. Fairy Tail parties might be crazy, but house parties can be wild too.

A sniffle trickled through the gaps of sound and was brought to Igneel's attention.

Someone's crying.

Igneel pushed his way past people, uncaring if he seemed rude. The sniffles grew a bit louder as he kept following the noise. He tracked the soft crying down to a closed door right beside the kitchen. The music might have been loud, but Igneel's bangs on the door were louder.

"Hey, you okay?" Igneel shouted over the music.

More sniffling.

Igneel's concern worsened. "I'm coming in," he warned.

More sniffling.

Igneel gently opened the door with a twist of the door knob. He came into a pantry and closed the door behind him to see a girl he had never met sitting on the ground. She was sniffling, but still looked beautiful. Big, doe eyes of blue were bloodshot and her honeyed blonde hair was a mess. She looked up at Igneel and slight confusion and fear were in them.

Igneel gave a gentle grin. "Hi. I'm Igneel," he introduced. He decided to sit down in front of her. "What's your name?"

The girl sniffled. "I'm Ekho," she introduced.

Something clicked to Igneel. "Like the Encan demigod?"

Ekho laughed wetly. "The very one," she agreed. She wiped away her tears. "Ugh. Sorry. I hate crying."

Igneel chuckled. "Crying girls are a bit of my weakness, especially when it comes to my sisters," he said. "What's up with the tears? Have that bad of a day?"

Ekho sniffled again and shook her head. "No, it's just… Um…" She sniffled again. "I guess my date got tired of me and moved on to someone else."

Igneel hardened. "A guy made you cry?"

Ekho saw the look on Igneel's face and laughed. "No need to get scary on him. My friend's new girlfriend already did that. I think she's kicking his ass now."

Igneel was still not happy, but was a bit sated the poor bastard got what he deserved. "Good. He deserves an ass-kicking for making you cry. Shout out to your friend's girlfriend for sticking up to you like that."

"Yeah. She's really brave," Ekho complimented admirably. "She already warned him she would punish him and she went through with it. She's crazy!"

Igneel smiled.

Just like MJ.

"But, I think she's a great fit," Ekho said. "We need a powerhouse, alpha female to balance my friends. My friend is our alpha male. Now, he found someone to match his wits."

"That's awesome!" Igneel enthused. "If they're that good together, here's to hoping they'll make a ton of fun memories on their adventures!"

Ekho smiled. "You said your name was Igneel, right? It's such a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for helping me out like this."

"No problem," Igneel dismissed. "My ma taught me to always help someone in need."

"She raised a gentleman," Ekho complimented.

Igneel snorted, blushing a bit. "Well, I wouldn't go that far. She raised an awesome son, but I still have to work on the whole 'manners' thing." He got up as Ekho laughed and extended a hand. "Now, how 'bout we find your friends and get you in the partying spirit?"

Ekho nodded as she wiped away the last of her tears. "Yeah. Let's get this party started," she agreed. She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet.

Igneel was the first to poke his head out of the walk-in pantry. When he saw that the coast was clear, he opened the door even more and the two slipped out. From there, Ekho guided the pair around the party like she knew it like the back of her hand. She said timid hello's to people and Igneel gave nods of greetings, but Ekho ultimately lead them to another doorway that was already open. It led to a downstairs staircase and the two of them went down for the music to fade and laughing conversation to begin.

Ekho came to the floor first and yelled, "I brought a virgin!"

Someone got up excitedly. "Ooo! I've been waiting for a virgin!"

Igneel got to the floor as well and followed Ekho into what seemed to be a basement living room. A Lacrima-Vision was on to a Zumba channel with a hazel-skinned beauty stepping in perfect sync with the instructor along with a boy who was taller than her and had a noticeably and dangerous air about him.

Igneel had no time to say a word of salutation as a boy only an inch taller than him looked at him eagerly. His eyeshadow was a bold statement, but the bright scarf around his neck and his Veronese fan were more-so.

"I like him. He seems feisty," the boy purred.

Ekho rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Cool it, Nolan. His name's Igneel and he was the one to bring me out of hiding unlike some people."

Nolan raised his hands in surrender. "In my defense, you yelled at me when I wanted to come in and our new alpha female told us to leave you be." He turned to Igneel with a sunny smile. "Hi. I'm Nolan, step-brother to NJ and ballet extraordinaire."

Igneel grinned back. "Igneel Dragneel the Awesome, Fire Prince of Fairy Tail," he introduced. "I can't really dance, though."

Nolan laughed as he brought out his fan. "Have you ever heard of—?"

"PG-thirteen, meaning with parents' supervision!" came a yell from the hazel-skinned girl.

Nolan rolled his eyes. "NJ, you know all the fun stuff happens when there is an R or an M involved."

"Bleu," the girl whined.

"Bleu" ended up being the dangerous boy next to her. "Nolan, shut up or Daddy is taking away your fan." It was a threat, but came out so calmly, you could mistake it as teasing.

Nolan huffed. "Fine," he agreed with heavy reluctance. He nodded at Igneel. "Really, though. Thanks for brining Ekho. She did need some time alone. Had a bit of a catfight with her lover."

"Not my 'lover'," Ekho called as she settled on the couch. "He's just a jerk I'm forced to be with." She glanced back at Igneel and beckoned him. "Come! Sit! Let's introduce you!"

Igneel chuckled, but catered to Ekho's wish. "I'm curious. What's got all of you down here than up there, partying?" he wondered.

He plopped on the couch while Ekho answered, "We're not the biggest parties. Well"—she made a face—"maybe Bane and Mister Alpha, but, for the most part, we try to find the quieter places."

Nolan draped himself on the other side of Ekho. "Yup. We're a bit like the sober police. We go do our own thing, but try to make sure no one gets hurt." He came to a realization. "We're like superheroes!"

Bleu snorted as he tried to copy the move of the instructor. "Speak for yourself," he muttered. "We're just freaks of society."

"The wallflowers," NJ agreed.

Nolan defended the title. "But, there's perks to it too! Never seen, but always heard, being infinite—we're basically the people everyone should be following."

Igneel laughed at that. "You guys are pretty great! My brother would love you guys! He likes to study a lot, but he's aggressive when he plays Lacrima Games."

Ekho guffawed as well. "Our alpha gets like that too. Bleu used to keep up to him until he turned into more of the 'family business' life."

Bleu pointed at Ekho without looking at her. "Let's not go there. He doesn't need to know that."

Ekho gestured at him for Igneel. "So, this is Bleu. He's really nice when he's not doing family stuff," she introduced. "Next to him is NJ. She's Nolan's step-sister and a ballet dancer. She's working her way to become one of the youngest to join some famous troupe."

"That's my sis!" Nolan cheered. "Last two members of our group are our alpha and Bane. Bane used to be okay, but now he acts like an asshole."

Igneel frowned and turned to Ekho. "And, you're dating him?" he wanted to confirm.

Ekho sighed and looked away. "It's, um… It's just a little complicated," she tried to explain. Her hands drifted to her Idarian necklace of betrothal. "In Iceberg, it's common for families to promise their kids to each other."

Igneel went wide-eyed at that. "You're engaged?"

Ekho nodded sadly. "Yeah. Like I said, it's really common. Until we both reach twenty, we're in this engagement. We have the choice of breaking it off early on, but it'll bring dishonor to our families." She hummed out a sigh. "Like I said, it's complicated."

Igneel wanted to object, but thought the better of it. He gave Ekho a beautiful smile. "Well, complicated or not, I hope everything at least goes in your favor. Every person deserves to have the chance of some-type of happiness. Or, at least, to smile."

Nolan cooed. "Aww. You're such a sweetheart! Alpha would love you!"

Igneel blushed a little as he messed with his scarf. "Not really. Just how my parents raised me," he tried to deny. "Anyways, who's the 'alpha' guy you're talking about?"

"The 'alpha' is our fearless leader," Bleu explained. The class was finished and he was keeling over, panting, while NJ looked refreshed and ready for the next class. "He's the guy who brought us all together."

"He's pretty great," NJ commented. "Always keeps his calm and always makes sure we're okay." She looked at Nolan for confirmation. "I feel like, without him, us two wouldn't have even tried ballet."

Nolan agreed heartily to that. "Coming out to our parents wouldn't have happened without him."

"Grew up with the guy," Bleu put in. He sat on the ground and laid down on it. "Our families are close friends. Not to the point of the business side of it, but still close. Probably wouldn't have had the guts to go into the business without him."

Ekho had a wistful smile playing on her lips. "And, he found me when I first came to Fiore with Bane. It's customary in our culture for two intendeds to get to know each other and their families. Bane's mom and his step-dad live in Fiore. Our alpha found me when I got myself a little lost my first week here. Bane was in a bad mood and kind of abandoned me to find my own way back to his house. Alpha noticed I was lost and upset, so he took me back to the place he was staying at and helped me. I think he knew Bane before he met me, though."

Bleu agreed. "Yeah. He and Bane met back in the day. Not sure the whole story though. I just remember meeting Bane and telling him he looked too stupid for me to hang out with."

NJ punched Bleu's shoulder. "Bleu!" she snapped.

Bleu laughed. "I was a kid, NJ, chill out!"

Igneel shook his head in amusement. "This 'alpha' dude sounds pretty awesome. I'd like to meet him one day," he confessed.

A door was opened and the sounds of footsteps and angry mutters and quiet laughs came from the steps.

"Baby girl, calm down," came a soothe.

"Don't try me," came a snap in return.

Nolan grinned. "I think you just might meet him and our new alpha female."

Footsteps reached the bottom and so did the angry mutterings. "This is just pissing me off," came a growl.

Igneel perked at the voice.

No way…

He turned around to see Mary Jane. She froze when cerulean connected with onyx-emerald. "MJ?"

Mary Jane rolled her eyes. "I'm going home," she decided, walking away.

Igneel got up, eager to see her. "MJ, I've been looking—!"

Peter brushed past Igneel, making him stop. He followed at Mary Jane. "Baby girl, please, let's not leave yet," he pleaded. "Girls are vicious—you know that—but you're strong enough to know they can't do shit to you."

Mary Jane whirled around at Peter, but a finger was pointed at Igneel. "Oh, I know women are vicious. I don't care about that. But, I will not tolerate them trying to put me down because some magazine insinuated I was dating that moron," she seethed.

Igneel blinked. Clueless. He pointed at himself. "Me?"

Peter held out his hands to soothe Mary Jane. "They were out of line to put you down and I'm glad I held you back from putting them in their place, but don't leave on their account," he tried to persuade.

"Yeah, MJ, don't leave!" Igneel urged. "It's our vacation! Let's party!"

Mary Jane spared Igneel a high-and-mighty look. "I'm sorry, but when did I start talking to you?" she asked coolly.

"Calm it down, Mama Bear," Bleu soothed. "He's your friend."

"He's nothing," Mary Jane bit. "Nothing but a moron that pisses me off and I'm really pissed off."

Igneel was taken back at the sheer anger in Mary Jane's voice. "MJ…"

Her gaze switched to Peter. "I'm leaving," she decided with or without his permission. And, she stormed her way to the stairs.

Peter tried to catch her. "Baby girl—!"

Mary Jane was already thundering up the steps and back to the first level.

Peter sighed. "Well… There she went," he said, crestfallen.

NJ frowned. "What set her off? She doesn't look like one for girls to push her around."

Peter shook his head. "Wasn't the girls who did it. Some guy set her off."

Igneel grew attentive at that. "What happened?" he demanded to know.

Peter drew his eyes to Igneel. "Ask her," was all he suggested.

Igneel was taken back for the second time. "Wait… What?"

Peter gestured to the stairs. "Go. Ask her."

Igneel was wary at this. "You're not…going to follow her?"

Peter shook his head. "Somehow, I get the feeling you want to more than me. So, go."

Igneel did not hesitate. He nodded at Peter. "Thanks, man." He looked at the rest of the group with a sheepish smile. "Sorry for the drama. I hope I see you guys during the festival!"

"We hope so too," Ekho said sincerely. "Now, go track down our alpha female."

Igneel gave a salute and took to Mary Jane's scent trail. He raced up the steps and to the party. While alcohol and sweat danced around his nose, he would and could never forget her scent. He barreled through the crowd without preamble, taking out his Compact from his pocket. He sent a quick text to the Luke, Elvin, and Cane.

❬ MJ and I are bouncing. Have fun.

As he burst from the house, he stuffed his Compact in his pocket. He looked around. There was no sign of Mary Jane besides the scent trail she left. He took it in and let it out with a sigh.

I'm coming, MJ. I told you…I'm not leaving you alone.

And he jumped off the porch.

°•°•°•°

Mary Jane was skimming through the streets of Margaret, hovering on her board made purely of Darkness Magic. She had in her headphones, listening to a rock-and-roll classic, but the scowl on her face had yet to disappear.

Damn bastard. Men like him piss me off.

She turned down another street. Her direction was nonexistent in this town and she ignored her surroundings, ignoring the stares and murmurs she received. She just needed peace. She just needed time alone. She kept twisting and turning through the streets of Margaret until she emerged to the outlet mall that faced the Mûre River. It was lit in preparation for the festival with warm reds and golds and oranges and browns. People were still out and about. It was not too late in the night for a stroll, whether with family or a loved one. She landed on the ground and stepped off her board. As it disintegrated, Mary Jane walked off like nothing happened, like she had not been flying.

This is so annoying. Parties were never my scene, but I couldn't let Ekho be alone with her jerk of a fiancé.

A flash of golden hair and sunny eyes were in Mary Jane's vision.

She reminds me of her. Maybe not exactly. Ekho's soul feels a lot more fragile than hers and not even remotely that powerful.

Mary Jane walked past stores and couples to get to the boardwalk. Two teenage lovers sitting together, giving each other chaste kisses. A cocker spaniel wrestled with Salawa—a fox-dog, sleek, with a tail that split into two and markings on its body. A group of children played as their parents conversed with one another. Boats went up and down the river. It was most likely their last round of the night.

Mary Jane stopped on a bench and sat down, letting out a frosty puff. It was getting colder. Autumn continued her love affair with summer, but her love for Winter was even stronger and affecting her deeply. Mary Jane shuttered.

Ugh. I'm wearing a jacket and I'm still freezing. I'm like one of those cliché girls who brings the lightest freaking jacket and freezes her ass off only for her boyfriend to give up his own jacket for her. Ugh. Pisses me off.

A tinkling laugh. "Lance…!"

Mary Jane heard it over her music and turned to the noise. Farther down the boardwalk were Aine and Lance. It seemed both had snuck off, Aine from her family time, and Lance from his friends, to see each other in secret. They sat on the drying grass on a blanket. Aine had settled between Lance's legs and laughed as Lance peppered her neck in soft kisses.

"What happened to no PDA?" Aine teased.

Lance gave her another kiss and grinned. "Went out the window when you decided to be a complete tease."

Mary Jane sneered her lip in disgust and looked away. "How cute. Romeo and Juliet having their romantic moments," she growled under her breath. "Makes me sick. Pisses me off." She shivered. "God, why couldn't I have grabbed a heavier jacket?"

It seemed her prayers were answered when a heavy jacket came around her shoulders and warmth came off it. She instantly tensed when she felt the familiar warmth she enjoyed to loath. "Not you," she groaned.

Igneel plopped down next to Mary Jane crisscross-style. "Yo!" he greeted cheerfully. "Nice to see you here too, MJ!"

Mary Jane tried to shrug off the jacket. "I'm le—!"

Warm hands halted her movement.

She looked up to see Igneel pressing down on her shoulders to prevent her from doing anything. He offered her a look of perplexity. "What's got you so pissed off?" he wondered.

Mary Jane rolled her eyes away from him. "You."

"I don't piss you off this much," Igneel pointed out. "You're a fierce goddess, MJ. You never back down from a fight or bullying."

"Of course I don't," she snapped. "It's called I have a spine and a mouth and I use them."

"Then, why'd you take off?" Igneel probed for answers. "Peter said some guy pissed you off."

Mary Jane huffed. "It's whatever," she blew off.

"It's not, though," Igneel countered. "It made you really upset."

Mary Jane shot him a venomous look. "Since when do you care when I, a girl who has been a bitch to you, might be slightly upset?"

Igneel said his next words so simply. "Well, I want to be your friend. Friends care about each other."

"I don't care about you."

"Maybe not now, but I know you will." Igneel said it with such assurance and certainty, it annoyed Mary Jane. "So, what'd the asshole say? Who do I need to roast?"

Mary Jane gave a sarcastic laugh. "If I asked you to fight my battles for me, then I must be dying," she said snidely. "Forget it, moron. Let me brood to my music."

Igneel scooted closer. "Then, let me brood with you."

Mary Jane eyed him. "Do you even know what that word means?"

Igneel smiled sheepishly. "To think about something?"

Mary Jane settled on the bench and closed her eyes. "Close enough," she muttered. "Go back to the party. We're done here." Her hand went to her Sound Pod to turn up the music. It was a soundtrack, a soft ballad featuring guitar, harp, and strings. She let go of the Sound Pod to sigh.

And she rested for one, two, three—

KER-KER.

Mary Jane opened one eye to see Igneel hurriedly hiding something. Suspicion was in her stare. "What did you do?"

"Nothing?" Igneel squeaked. He coughed. "I mean… Nothing."

"Did you just"—Mary Jane opened her other eye to fully glare at Igneel—"take a picture of me?"

Igneel tried to shake his head. "N-No—?"

"You were going to blackmail me weren't you, you creepy moron?" Mary Jane figured out in her sick disgust. "What is wrong with you?"

Igneel grinned and shrugged carelessly. "Nothing. But, if you don't want the picture I might or might not have taken leaked to the media, and, yeah, I know you've been avoiding the press," he added at Mary Jane's horrified look, "you'll let me stay here with you and keep you warm."

Mary Jane gritted her teeth. "You're an asshole."

Igneel happily slung and arm around Mary Jane as he looked at the river. "Margaret Town really is beautiful at night, isn't it?"

"I hate you."

"Oh, MJ, look at that! They have free carriage rides for couples!"

"Drop dead."

"Oh, my God! They have an comic book shop! We should head their tomorrow!"

"Death will be painful for you."

Igneel laughed loudly. "Oh, MJ, your anger is so adorable," he teased.

Mary Jane growled at him. "Darkness—!"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Igneel stopped her. "One spell and the picture I might have is sent straight Mister Jason." His playful grin turned devious. "Or worse… Miss Cromwell."

Mary Jane glared at him. "I hate you."

Igneel snickered. "I know. And I know I'm going to pay for this, but I want to enjoy this while I can. I promise to delete it tomorrow morning."

"How do I know you're not lying to me?" Mary Jane challenged.

"Because friends don't lie."

Mary Jane was taken back at the conviction in Igneel's voice, but something in his tone cracked.

"Because friends keep their promises," Igneel went on.

Mary Jane blinked at him. Then, she sighed and looked out at the river. "I guess Margaret Town isn't so horrible," she muttered. "And…I'm impressed."

Igneel turned to her. "At what?"

"Just know that I am. I don't have to explain anything more to you."

Igneel smiled. "Right. Got it, MJ." Because he did not even need her to explain what she meant. He knew exactly what she meant. She was impressed at his tenacity to even follow her and stay by her in her time of anger.

"So… That couple's carriage ride… We could—"

BAM.

"Ow! MJ!"

"I saw a mosquito."

"On my face?"

"Wait, I see another one."

"MJ… MJ, don't—"

BAM. SMACK. BAM. BAM.

"Please, MJ, no more! I'm sorry!"

"Oh, wait. I think I see one more…right…there!"

"MJ, please don't—!"

KICK.

A low and woeful moan. "MJ…"

"Hmph. I got them all. You're welcome."

---

Nashi and Gary were heading back to the Mamba Palace together. Maybe not arm-and-arm, but close enough that people mistook them as a couple. Nashi smiled as she saw houses decorated in festive cheer.

"It's amazing to see everyone get in the spirit of the Festival of Gratitude," she admitted.

Gary had to agree. "Yeah. Uncle Lyon said that the Thanksgiving Day events are going to be a complete surprise to everyone."

Nashi laughed. "Oh, really? Is Linus performing? I haven't seen him skate in so long."

Gary frowned at the mention of his cousin. "Consider yourself lucky. I remember him always showing off when we were kids and rubbing it in my face how good he is."

"That doesn't sound like him," Nashi pointed out.

"He doesn't sound like him," Gary grumbled. "He's fake, just like Ultear."

Nashi sighed. "Ultear is a total bitch, but give Linus a chance," she pleaded. "He's a good guy."

As the Mamba Palace came into view, Gary snorted. "To everyone else," he retorted. "He's selfish and a jerk. Enough reason for me to hate him."

Nashi shook her head in disappointment. "Dogs needs to play well with other dogs," she said simply.

Gary smiled at that. "So, I'm still Angel's dog?"

"Well, yeah," she said as though obvious. "Just because I was avoiding you doesn't mean we broke our partnership. You're still my perverted dog whether you like it or not."

"I like it," Gary assured. He pulled out a leash attached to a collar and a pair of dog ears from out of nowhere. "Now, if Angel would be so kind—"

"You're pushing it!"

They came to the Mamba Palace and Gary opened the door, whining all the while. "But, if Angel is my owner, I want the world to know it!"

Nashi blushed and hissed irritably as she walked inside, "That's disgusting and you know it! I'm not branding you with your own collar! That's weird!"

Gary followed her as she went to the elevators. "No. What's weird is when Angel was avoiding me."

Nashi turned guilty at that. "I said, 'sorry'," she murmured. "Honestly, I am. That was…immature if me to do so."

They got to the elevators and Nashi pressed the UP button.

Gary shook his head. "I shouldn't have pressured you," he apologized. "You aren't ready and I won't push you to discuss what you don't want to."

The elevator dinged and parted its jaws. A couple came out, ready for fine wine, and a few stragglers came out after them. Gary and Nashi headed inside and Gary pressed the 8 button.

"Thank you," Nashi appreciated. "Just…please give me some time, okay? I… I can't…"

"Shhh, Angel," Gary hushed as the elevator doors closed. He turned to Nashi and gathered her cheeks in his hands. He could see her eyes watering and nearly broke himself. "Nothing until you're ready," he promised.

Nashi closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. "Okay," she agreed.

Gary smiled softly. "Now, I know you said you didn't want to go drinking and party tonight, so let's do something in your room."

Nashi opened her eyes to glare at him. "I hope you're not thinking anything perverted, dog," she growled.

Gary shook his head. "I was thinking room service and we could watch that LV show you like so much. It's called River City. Or was it Fioren Horror Story?"

Nashi perked. "Yes to both and, actually, I haven't caught up on the new River City episode! It comes on tonight, I think."

Gary laughed. "How about I get us dessert and we can watch it?" he planned.

Nashi narrowed her eyes at him. "Anything perverted—"

"I'll be good," Gary swore. He gave an innocent grin. "Just cuddling and that's it."

DING.

The elevator opened on floor eight and both stepped off.

Nashi thought about Gary's offer. "Maybe," she said slowly. "Depending on my mood."

Gary smirked. "You weren't complaining after w—"

"Shut up!" Nashi demanded. The tips of her ears turned pink as she slapped a hand over Gary's mouth. She looked left and right, but no one had heard them. "You can't… You can't just say stuff like that," she hissed at Gary.

Gary chuckled as he gently pulled Nashi's hand from his mouth. "I said I wouldn't talk about it until you're ready. But, I won't stop teasing you," he told.

Nashi glared at him. "I hate you."

Gary's smirk broadened. "Not what you said—"

Nashi stormed her way to her room. "Screw you!" she shouted.

And all she heard as Gary's laughter.

Nashi fished out her keycard and swiped it to get into her and Ellie's shared room. Once it unlocked, she was quick to open the door, slip in, and close it, locking it so Gary could not try to sneak in.

She put her back on the door and sighed. "Stupid dog," she groaned. She slapped her cheeks. "Ugh! He needs to stop getting into my mind!" She pushed herself off the door to take out her wallet and Compact and threw them on the bed. Her feet carried her to her bag where her pajamas were.

"Stupid dog," she grumbled. "Little pervert. I don't want to even remember Halloween." She unzipped her bag and fished around for her pajamas. That was when something crept up on her. "Wait… These aren't my pajamas…" She took out a t- shirt to find it was too big on her with the symbol of a cartoon character on it.

A tick mark appeared on Nashi's forehead.

Don't tell me…

In a flash, Nashi dumped out her bag. To her irritation, all her pajamas had been replaced by t- shirts that were not hers in the slightest. She growled as she kicked one of the shirts.

Dammit, dammit, dammit! When did he…?

Her eyes caught a note that had fluttered to the ground. She snatched the note and read it.

An angry blush was on her cheeks afterwards as she shook. "Stupid… That idiot…"

The note was scribbled in Gary's cursive writing. He had even drawn a cartoon of himself with a smirk and a peace sign.

My dearest Angel,

I took the liberty of giving you some of my shirts to wear. You looked so good in one on Halloween, I thought you'd like some of your own.

Love,

Your dog

P.S. Don't bother returning them. I'll just sneak them back into your room.

Nashi crumpled the note in her hand and threw it in no particular direction. "Stupid dog!" she shouted. "How dare he do this to me!" She picked up one of the shirts to see it was a MagiCross shirt to support the Aeris Genies. She grew angrier looking at it.

Why the Hell would I even want his shirts? They're big and stupid and…

She brought one closer to her nose and sniffed it.

…and it…it smells like him too…

Nashi's blush softened as she smelled more of the shirt.

It smells like winter and aspen and…

She reeled back from the shirt as horror overtook her face. "What am I doing? I'm being so creepy!" she scolded herself. Hesitation traipsed in her mind. "But… I mean if he did give it to me, then…" She wandered to the bed and put down the shirt. She began to take off her own clothing.

I mean wearing his shirt doesn't mean anything, right? I've worn Chi-chi and Leo's stuff and they're friends. Gary's just my dog. Nothing more…

With all her own clothing off her—save for her panties—she slipped on Gary's shirt. It fell to her upper thighs and might have hinted at her backside, but everything was relatively covered. She hugged herself as she closed her eyes, a small smile coming onto her lips.

It's weird. It's different. It's like he's around me.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Kind cerulean.

"Are you sure, Angel?" came frosted breath.

A look away.

A look back, blinking.

"Yes." One word. One answer. And all was lost to feeling.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Nashi opened her eyes a little. "I guess not everything bad came out of the night," she supposed. "I was so sure he was going to judge me…but he didn't. And, he was…kind and gentle and…" Her eyes widened and she slapped her cheeks. "Dammit, Nashi, stop thinking like that! He's just a perverted dog!" She regained her composure to get her Compact. She frowned as she glanced at the door. "Where is that dog anyways?"

Nashi trekked to the door, but as she came closer, she heard the muffled sound of arguing. Her eyebrows furrowed. "What the…?" She unlocked her door to step outside and look both ways.

No one was in the hall.

Arguing was coming from another hallway.

Nashi decided to investigate and follow the sound. The voices were coming in clearer and she could begin to understand it.

A female was icily hissing. "—ause you don't see it!" she accused. "She will never love you! She can't give you what you want!"

"You can't give me what I want," came a frosty snarl. A male. An alpha male. "She is my everything! You are nothing to me but family, if that! Give it a rest!"

"I won't," came the female's snap. "We belong together! Only I will every understand you!"

"You don't understand me," came a cold thunder. "You used your Magic to dive into private memories, Ultear! My mind is sacred to me!"

Nashi paused as she came closer.

Ultear?

She approached the edge of the hallway to poke her head down the next one. Her eyes widened when she saw a shirtless Gary seething with frost coming off him and an angry Ultear.

What's going on?

Gary shook his head. "Look, I don't have the time or the energy to deal with you," he spat in disgust. "I have Angel waiting for me."

Ultear laughed mockingly. "I wish you knew what your precious Angel is up to when you're gone," she taunted. "Who's between her legs…"

Gary locked his jaw. "Shut up, Ultear." His tone grew dangerous and doubled. His eyes were turning black and frosty. His Devil was surfacing.

Ultear smirked. She was getting under his skin. She sauntered closer to him and touched his shoulder. Her eyes glowed pink as she let out a breathy laugh. "I can feel it, Gary," she mocked. "I can feel it all. You love her strongly, so much that it scares you. I can feel the emotions you had"—her smirk broadened—"on Halloween."

Gary shoved Ultear away, trying to keep himself collect. He let out a series of feral growls as he shook his head. He was trying to keep his Devil back.

Ultear lost the glow to look at Gary in pure lust. "Good. Let your Devil out." Her eyes turned into something vile and cruel. "I know he appreciates me."

Gary panted and glared at his cousin. His eyes were turning into the eyes of his Devil and anyone could see he was visibly changing. He was about to turn. And it would be for the sake of fulfilling bloodlust.

Nashi decided to make an entrance with a loud shout. "That's enough, Ultear!"

Ultear looked over to see Nashi and barked her laughter. "What? We were just having a little fun. Right, Devil?" She smiled viciously at Gary. "I know you've missed me."

Gary snarled at her.

Nashi stood in front of Gary, shielding Ultear from his sights. Her curled her lips into a snarl at Ultear. "Get the Hell away from us! Stop being a vindictive bitch who's jealous of what she can't have! Gary will never want you, you hear me? Never. So, you'd be wise to run back home now."

Ultear sneered at Nashi. "It's only a matter of time his control snaps, little angel." The nickname was not said with the love and tenderness Gary fed it. It was fueled with hate. "His Devil is a beast with needs. He gave into them once. Who is to say he won't again?"

Nashi felt resentment and bewilderment cloud her eyes. But, she shook her head to rid the bewilderment. "I don't care. Leave," she commanded with the authority she did not know she possessed.

Ultear rolled her eyes and began to walk away. "Fine. Have fun with him, Nashi." She lingered. "Oh, and by the way, a word to the wise… His Devil is a lot more dangerous than you will ever imagine, little angel." And, she walked away completely without another word.

Natsu let out a frustrated sigh. "God, she's such a bitch," she muttered. "She needs someone to get the stick out of her ass." She turned back to Gary to see his Devil was still just about to surface. Anger had taken over him. He was breathing heavily with frost pouring off his mouth. Nashi kept a calm look as she surveyed him. "She's gone," she soothed. "Ultear's gone and I'm here. It's okay, Gary." Her arms wrapped around him and brought his head to her chest. She closed her eyes as she ran a hand through her hair. "There's no need to get angry because I'm not going anywhere."

Gary's head lifted and he nosed his way to Nashi's neck. He drank in her scent, his eyes closing. His rapid pants were easing back. The frost was dying off. The humanity in him was returning and his Devil was left to simmer within Gary. Soon, Gary had returned to himself. His arms came to wrap around Nashi. He began to tremble, but not from anger—from what could have happened.

"I'm sorry," he breathed. "I could've… I could've…"

"Shhh…" Nashi hushed him. "It's okay. You didn't."

Gary pulled away from Nashi to show her the agony in his eyes. "Even now, I can't control him," he lamented. "He's been on so much edge since the Harvest Festival." He pulled away from Nashi and began to recoil. He was like an animal who knew what it did was wrong and was coiling in on itself. "I'm still a monster," he whispered. "I shouldn't touch you."

Nashi saw where this was going and took Gary's hands into her own. "You aren't a monster," she whispered to him. "You are Gary Fullbuster and that's that." She began to pull him away and down the hall.

Gary looked lost at that. "I'm sorry," he whimpered. "I'm sorry…"

Nashi tugged Gary back to her room. She was careful to lock the door and bring Gary to the bed. Once she sat him down, she went to her Compact to type a quick message to Ellie.

❬ Gary's crashing with me. Let me know when you want him out.❭

A typing bubble came up and Ellie wrote back a reply that said:

⟪ Lol. Keep him. D says I can stay with her since Cade is having T'oree over to expose her to some horror flick. 20 jewel says she stays the night and he sleeps on the couch. ⟫

Nashi grinned.

❬ You're on. ❭

Another message came up from Ellie. It read:

⟪ Condoms in my bag. Mama J will send some lube later. Be careful, my true woman 😉 ⟫

Nashi blushed and set down her Compact. "You're going to get it tomorrow, Ellie," she grumbled to herself. She turned back to Gary who was staring at her hands. She breathed out a sigh and went to him. "Gary?" she called softly.

Gary looked up at her. He looked like a little boy, scared and helpless and wanting someone to tell him what to do.

Nashi gave him a smile. "Let's just lie down and watch a movie, 'kay? We can watch River City whenever."

Gary gave a soft nod.

Nashi went to the Lacrima-Vision and grabbed the remote. She turned it on for a news channel to appear. She flicked through channels until an old movie had come on. It was western film about cowboys and time manipulation. She set down the remote to go back to the bed when she saw Gary had removed his shoes and socks and pants, leaving him in his boxer briefs. A wild and scarlet blush ruled her cheeks.

"What are you doing?" she squeaked.

Gary looked down. "Oh. Sorry. I guess I stripped," he said lamely.

Nashi closed her eyes. "Just this once, I'll be okay with it," she gritted out. She went to the bed and crawled on with Gary joining her. She lay on her side and her eyes stuck to the Lacrima-Vision. But, her eyes wandered to Gary who lay on his back with his hands followed over his stomach. His eyes looked at the ceiling. He said nothing. He just stared.

Nashi opened her mouth, but Gary beat her to it.

"I want to hold you so badly," he confessed. "But…I don't want to lose control. Ultear… She's right, Angel." He sat up and turned away from Nashi.

Nashi sat up with him, worried. "What do you mean?" She could not lie and say she was not curious of Ultear's words.

Gary whined his agony.

Nashi scooted over to Gary to drape herself around him, her chin tucked into his shoulder. "Gary?"

Gary rubbed his face with a hand. "You think my Devil is controllable and I have it all covered, but I don't," he disclosed. "We've grown stronger together. I feel a bond with him like he was my own twin. We're two souls who share a body. His bloodlust isn't as strong as before. He might not feel much, but he feels for you and…" He gave a little cry. "I was so weak," he whimpered. "Please forgive me, Angel."

Nashi furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?" She was growing even more worried, but she had a bad feeling coiling in her gut. "What did Ultear mean?"

Gary said nothing.

Nashi hardened and slipped away from Gary. "What did Ultear mean, Gary?" she demanded this time.

Gary sniffled. "I'm so sorry, Angel," he whimpered. "I'd take it all back if I could, but…" He gave a weak cry. "I wish I was in control."

"Tell me what happened," Nashi demanded shakily. The feeling in her gut clawed at her throat.

Gary breathed out another cry. "My Devil… He has a darker mind than you think," he started. "He's feral. When I ignore him for too long, he ceases control and there's nothing I can do until he's had his fill in my body. He's like a beast. He hunts, he trains, he claims territory…" He swallowed. "And, like all animals, he…he has lust too…"

Dread filled Nashi. "What…? What are you…?"

"I'd been ignoring him for too long," Gary whimpered. "I was only fifteen, but I was so stupid. I thought I could keep him locked up. I thought I could handle it. But, I was growing and my feelings for you were growing and I was feeling other…things about you."

"Oh, God." Nashi felt revulsion as she backed away. "Please, tell me you didn't…"

Gary whipped around with a desperate look in his eyes. "No, no, Angel, it's not what you think!" he assured rather quickly. "It's nothing like that!"

Nashi furrowed her eyebrows. "Then…what happened?"

Gary sighed and lowered his eyes. "My Devil eventually took control and left me to watch from the backseat. He was growing too and…feeling things. We both had feelings for you and…well… He wanted to try things with you, but I begged him not to. For once, he listened to me. He didn't want you to hate him. My uncle Lyon and aunt Meredy came to visit Magnolia with my cousins and he saw Ultear and… He…" Shame burned in Gary's chest. "He…kissed…her…"

Silence.

"That's it?"

Gary looked up at Nashi's incredulous expression.

"That's what she's been hanging onto? A kiss?" Nashi wanted to check.

Gary nodded warily.

Nashi burst into a belly-laugh. "Oh, my God!" she said in-between laughs. "She's so stupid!"

Gary blinked in his confusion. "You're not…mad at me?"

Nashi waved it away. "Gary, no, of course not! It's not like you cheated on me or anything! You're not my boyfriend! Besides, it was a kiss! Who cares?"

Gary felt relief blossom through him. "I'm glad Angel isn't mad," he breathed. "Just for the record, after that, I took control. My Devil hates Ultear and he regrets it. He only wants you, just like me."

Nashi quieted her belly-laugh into chuckles. "Well, that's nice, but, seriously, you did nothing wrong," she soothed. "It was just a kiss!" She wiped her eyes from her mirth. "But, on the subject of your Devil, how is he? I haven't seen him since…" She swallowed, losing her amusement. "You know…"

"He's…okay," Gary tried to answer. He struggled for one, to be honest. "He's been there. He comments now and again, but he's been more or less silent for the past month."

"Oh." Nashi felt guilt weight down her shoulders. "I'd like to talk to him…when he's ready," she tacked on at Gary's look of disbelief.

Gary blinked. "Angel…" He shook his head, smiling. "Angel is something special," he chuckled.

Nashi narrowed her eyes accusingly. "That better be in a good way," she threatened.

Gary nodded. "Always," he promised. Then, he beamed. "So, does that mean Angel and I can cuddle now?"

Nashi raised a hand. "Woah, woah, woah! I never said that," she reminded. "I said we can lie in bed and watch a movie. Nothing about cuddling."

Gary looked at Nashi up and down to see she was wearing his shirt and brightened more, if that were possible. "You wearing my shirt!" he exclaimed.

Nashi blushed and tried to cover herself. "I-I-I—!"

Gary tackled Nashi onto the bed in his glee and showered her in kiss. "Angel must love me!" he howled in delight.

Nashi tried to look everywhere but at Gary as her cheeks reddened even more. "H-H-Hey! I didn't say that!" she tried to deny. She cleared her throat. "Anyways, can you get off me? I want to watch the movie!"

Gary lifted his head to give Nashi a sultry smirk. "You know, it wasn't so long-ago Angel was underneath me," he teased.

Nashi shot him a hostile look. "Gary…"

"And, it wasn't so long-ago she was saying my name," Gary went on. He kissed her cheek, then her forehead, then her nose. "And, it wasn't so long-ago my lips were right here." His lips trailed down to brush against Nashi's own. "I was right here," he breathed. "And, Angel was right there."

"Gary…" Nashi was not sure how her voice came out. Either it was an airy plea or it was a warning. She still did not know.

Gary held himself up on one hand for his other hand to trail up Nashi's neck and to her cheek, caressing her. His smirked broadened. "Is Ellie coming back soon?"

Nashi swallowed. "N-N-N-No, but… Listen… Halloween was—"

"Beautiful," Gary finished. "Even with Angel's emotional state, it was beautiful." He kissed Nashi's upper lip slowly before pulling away. "Angel is beautiful," he breathed.

Nashi tried to gain control of her rapidly-beating heart and her thoughts. Her thoughts seemed to leave her with her common sense. "Gary, wait," she pleaded. "This… This isn't supposed to…"

"Like I told Angel on Halloween, I will not do anything Angel doesn't want to do," Gary reiterated. "I will always leave the choice to Angel. You have control of my heart and this situation. I'll stop whenever you would like me to."

Nashi frowned as guilt danced in her hickory eyes. "That's not fair to you," she croaked. "None of this is fair to you… What you think you feel for me—"

"Is unadulterated love," Gary said softly. Affectionate cerulean gazed into uncertain hickory. "It's okay if Angel isn't there yet. And it's okay if Angel doesn't believe me just yet. But, I want Angel to know that's she precious to me. She is the reason I never let the pain of my memories consume me. Because I knew I have to be strong for Angel and live for her. Angel is the reason that I am afraid of dying. Because I don't want to be in a world where Angel isn't."

Nashi's eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "Gary…" She sniffled. "I don't know if you're trying to make me cry or charm me."

Gary shook his head. "Neither. I just want to know Angel how much I love her. My mom told my siblings and I to always tell the one you love how you feel. You never know when you'll get the chance to say it again."

Nashi sniffed again. She gave a watery smile as she lifted a hand to Gary's cheek. "I'm sorry," she whispered to him. "Looking back now, you've been great to me. You're an amazing partner and patient. You never push me. You just wait and I can't… I can't give you what you want, you know? There's a lot you don't know about me."

Gary smiled. "Then, I'll just wait until Angel would like to share," he said as though that simple.

Nashi laughed a little. "You think it's so easy," she teased.

"Loving Angel is as easy as breathing," Gary said honestly. "But, I will wait until Angel is ready."

Nashi shook her head in disbelief. "You're crazy, you stupid dog."

"Crazy in-love," Gary assured, a hand combing through Nashi's hair.

Nashi gave Gary a shaky smile. "You promise you'll stop if I ask you to?" She had to know his answer. He had to know his confirmation.

One word fell from Gary's lips. "Always."

Nashi closed her eyes. She exhaled through her nose and gave a slight nod. "Okay." That word again. That word that meant one thousand things. That word that led them to Halloween.

She opened her eyes.

Hickory and cerulean connected.

And the movie was long forgotten.

---

Gale and Luna were snuggled together in a gondola that would take them back to Mamba Palace. Syra was enjoying herself, snuggled in Luna's lab. She had fallen asleep ever since the gondola had set sail. Luna had taken to stroking Syra's fur to keep her calm and looked down at the ikenga with a smile.

"She's adorable," Luna murmured.

Gale smiled. His arm was around Luna and he rested his head against her. "She's our daughter, Mamacita," he joked.

Luna groaned playfully. "Stop with that," she urged. "We are not a family."

Gale chuckled. "Shouldn't have called me 'papa'," he teased. "But, today was a good day. It was fun."

"Definitely," Luna agreed. "Margaret Town is beautiful. And, I'm glad you get along with Syra. She was really sorry about the wallet."

Gale sighed. "Eh, can't be mad at the fur-ball," he supposed. His large hand gave Syra a firm scratch, making her tail twitch. He smirked. "She's sort of cute. But, not as cute as her mom."

Luna blushed a little. "Gale…!"

Gale kissed Luna's temple. "That's my name. But, I do by 'dragon' and 'jerk' too."

Luna nudged his shoulder. "Jerk," she insulted.

As the gondola came to the dock, Gale snickered. "Only yours."

The gondolier snapped his fingers and the water beneath the gondola rose to give the gondola a boost to the docks. Gale jumped off the boat and offered to take Syra. Luna passed Syra onto him before stepping off herself. She turned to the gondolier as she took out her own wallet and pulled out jewel. She handed it to him. "Thank you," she appreciated. "Please, have a good day!"

The gondolier took the jewel and nodded. "You three as well," he said politely.

As the gondolier took his boat back to water level, Luna retook Syra in her hands and Gale escorted her and the sleeping ikenga to the Mamba Palace.

"I really wonder what Syra's doing here." Luna frowned as she studied Syra. "You said they don't come up unless something's wrong with the time stream. What else can you tell me about them?"

Gale hummed. "Well, not much to really say. Anything that was known about them comes from Midlian and the city disappeared."

"The city of eternity," Luna named.

Gale nodded. "Mmm-hmm. The people there were thought to be the children of Chronos or some shit," he said bluntly. They came to the revolving door and worked their way inside to the lobby. "The whole city watched the time stream." He snorted. "Honestly, that's just some bullshit to justify that the God of Time exists."

"But, those people were the only people who knew about Syra," Luna reminded.

"Time Manipulation is incredibly rare Magic, Blondie," Gale also pointed out. "There was that one Mage, uh…" He snapped his fingers to get his thoughts flowing. "Dimaria, I think? She was said to be the God of Time's vessel, but I don't buy it. Chronos is an Encan God and an old wives' tale. He isn't 'real' or whatever."

"Atheist," Luna coughed jokingly as they walked to the elevators.

Gale smirked. "As I was saying," he continued, "my theory is she wasn't Chronos' vessel. I think she actually tried to mess with the time stream and was cursed."

"'Cursed'?" Luna repeated.

Gale pressed the button to go up on the elevator. "Yup. Cursed," he reaffirmed. "For Take-Over Mages, souls half-use you as a vessel, but not fully. They merge with your soul and resonate with it to give you their Magic and power. If Dimaria really had the soul of a god, she wouldn't be living. A mortal soul can't match such a powerful immortal soul without a price."

DING.

The elevator opened and Gale and Luna got on.

Luna pressed the button to the eighth floor. "So, then, what? What happened to her?"

"When people mess with time and space, the consequences are huge," Gale explained. "Theoretically, Magic breaks the laws of nature, but not the laws of time and space. We can alter reality, change it, manipulate it, but we still do it within the boundaries of the time-space continuum. Mages have tried to control time and space, but every one of them was stupid and ended up getting bitten in the ass. Some of them were erased from existence, or at least in theory. Others were cursed and bound to restless souls who had tried before. Some just flat-out died as the time-space continuum took away their youth and gave them maybe a few years to a few seconds left to live. I guess Dimaria was one of the unlucky who got bound to a soul who clearly never got over being dominated by time."

DING.

"Floor eight," the elevator told.

Gale turned to Luna to find her staring at him with a soft smile and sparkling eyes. He coughed as a blush spread from his cheeks and to his neck and looked away from her in every direction. "What?" he barked gruffly. "What are you lookin' at?"

Luna slowly shook her head. "Nothing. It's just… You get so cute when you go on like that." She chuckled a little as she stepped out of the elevator. "You're such a dork."

Gale's eyes twitched.

'Cute'? A 'dork'? Okay, now she's just insulting me.

Gale saw Luna was already moving towards the halfway point of the hallway and rushed to catch up with her. He glared at her. "I'm not 'cute' or a 'dork', Blondie," he growled. "Get that straight."

Luna hummed. "Oh, of course, sure," she said, though amusedly so.

"I mean it," Gale stressed. "I'm a dragon. I'm strong and tough and—!"

"And, you're really smart," Luna commented. "You know languages and culture and theories… That's really cool, Gale."

Gale faltered in his steps, trying to arrange his thoughts.

She thinks being smart is… 'cool'?

"Maybe we should get you huge glasses and a bow tie," Luna suggested. "Then, you really will be a dork!"

Gale raised a weak finger. "That's just cruel, Blondie…"

Luna came to her room and took out her keycard while balancing Syra. She swiped and her door unlocked. She pushed open the door with Gale quickly hurrying after her as she disappeared into the room. He looked around to see her room was a two-bedroom suite. It was obvious she was sharing the room with Ena as seeing sketches and fabric was out and about everywhere while Luna's side has more study materials. As Luna went to her bed, Gale could not help but raise an eyebrow.

"Homework?" he guessed, pointing to her textbooks.

Luna sighed. "Yeah. I got a break from regular homework. But, I have to start from scratch on magical studies. My mama and yours gave me a few assignments to do and Aunt Wendy wants me to work with Elvin on herbalism and herbology."

"Damn," Gale whistled. "Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you."

Luna set Syra on her bed and watched as Syra curled up comfortably. "Yeah. I have some time to get them done, though. They gave me extra assignments as punishments for defying Master."

"Sucks for you," Gale teased.

"Jerk," Luna muttered. "Why are you here anyways?" She made a shooing motion with her hands. "Shoo, shoo, fly! Go away!"

Gale laughed. "You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you? Come on, Blondie-girl, I know you love basking in my presence."

Luna rolled her eyes and went to her suitcase. "More like I tolerate you," she muttered.

"Cruel, principessa, just so cruel," Gale tsked. He kicked off his boots. "I'm not even remotely tired. Let's do something."

"I'm already doing something," Luna told him as she brought out her pajamas. "I'm going to watch Poko and get started on my magic studies. You are going to go back to your room."

Gale tched. "Nah. Doesn't sound fun."

Luna gave a groan. She made her way to the bathroom. "Do what you want. I'm studying," she told him.

Gale licked his lips and wiggled his eyebrows. "Do what I want? You sure you want to give me that much power?"

Luna paused at the doorway of the bathroom. She shivered and shot him a sickened look. "Stop with the dirty thoughts," she barked.

Gale tipped his head as his smirk broadened. "'Dirty thoughts'? I was just thinking I could spend some time with our kid. What exactly were you thinking?"

Luna blushed and muttered to herself as she scurried into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

Gale chuckled and shook his head. "Such a tease." He wandered over to Luna's bed and plopped down. His hand reached for the remote on the nightstand and turned on the Lacrima-Vision. River City was on with one of the protagonist glaring at his now ex-girlfriend. "Hey, new episode," he said offhandedly. He sat up to put the remote down. He took off his jacket, then took off his shirt, allowing them to flutter to the ground. He got settled back into the bed and closed his eyes, sighing. "Ah. This is the life," he mumbled.

His ears twitched when he heard the sound of a charming yawn.

Little paws dipped around the bed and towards Gale.

Gale looked to see Syra coming closer to him. She circled her new place at his side before plopping down. She closed her eyes once again, snuggling close to Gale.

Gale gave a sneer as he grabbed Syra's scruff. "Hell no. Pets sleep on the floor," he reprimanded. He—as delicately as he could—put Syra on the floor before going back to relaxing on the bed. He sighed again and his eyes went to the Lacrima-Vision. "Finally," he grumbled.

"Brrrr…"

Gale's eyes slid to the ground to see Syra shivering. She was trying hard to keep herself warm, but nothing worked. She had short fur and nothing else to keep her from getting cold. She made another whine of discomfort as she tried to warm herself.

Gale rolled his eyes. "You look pathetic," he said flatly.

Syra lifted her head, clearly too cold to sleep, and tipped her head up at Gale. She wiggled her nose as she raised her ears. "Brrrr… Brr-brr-brrr…" she tried to communicate.

Gale shifted in the bed. "Don't even think about it, fur-ball. Pets stay on the floor," he emphasized firmly.

Syra lowered her ears and her head, disappointed. She rested her chin on her paws and wrapped her tail around her. "Brrrr…"

Gale tried to pay attention to the episode, but he could not help but look at the sad expression on Syra's face. It was like it was mocking him. Eventually, he gave a frustrated groan. "Fine," he snapped. "We'll do it your way because you look sad as Hell and she'll blame me."

Syra was recoiled as Gale lifted her by her scruff. She was stuck looking an annoyed dragon in the eye and did not know what to do.

"Don't think I like you," Gale cautioned. "Your mom does and I have to be nice because she does or else she'll kick my ass. Consider yourself lucky you're loved, fur-ball." He set Syra on his stomach and let go of her scruff.

Syra lifted her head to look at Gale in confusion. "Brrr? Brr-brrr?"

Gale did not look at Syra as he paid attention to the episode. "What are you looking at me for?" he grunted. "Get warm or whatever so you don't look weak as frick."

Syra perked at that. She settled her head on her paws and she curled up once again. As her eyes closed, it was in no time she had fallen asleep. This time, she was warm and comfortable.

Gale's eyes flickered to Syra. He tched. "Pathetic fur-ball. Can't even keep herself warm," he muttered. His hand came to Syra's fur and gave her gentle back scratches.

Syra made an odd, rumbling noise that sounded similar to a purr.

"Don't get used to this," Gale mumbled. "Next time, you sleep on the floor."

Luna came out of the bathroom in her pajamas of a loose t-shirt and shorts. She noticed Syra on Gale's stomach and smiled. "So, the papa dragon has a heart after all?" she teased, walking to her side.

Gale snorted. "Don't think this will be a regular thing, Mommy. She looked cold. Freaking thing can't keep herself warm."

"Well, neither can I and you cuddle with me," Luna said smugly. "Face it, Papa: you like our child."

"I don't 'like' her," Gale rebutted. "I like y—" He coughed to stop himself. "I-I mean… She's…okay," he played off.

Luna hummed her laughs and threw her regular clothes on her suitcase. "I think she's more than just 'okay," she commented. "She's sweet."

"A sweet pain in my ass," Gale muttered under his breath.

Luna came back to the bed and crawled onto it. Her eyes went to the Lacrima-Vision and brightened. "Ooo! River City! Nashi and I missed the last episode!"

"No Poko tonight?" Gale presumed.

Luna got under the covers. "How can I watch Poko when Richie is about to go AWOL and might break-up with Donna because he's starting his own gang?" She looked at him in secretive amusement. "Since you're keeping Syra warm, does that mean we can't cuddle?"

Gale laughed. "I feel like cuddling is going to be my new weakness now," he joked. "You're gonna make me a damn addict."

Luna shrugged, innocent as she could be. "Not my fault you're falling for my charms," she joked back.

I'm falling for more than that, Gale thought privately. He raised an arm. "Come on over, principessa. Let's cuddle."

Luna scooted over to Gale. Gale placed an arm under her and Luna snuggled into his side, resting her head a little on his arm. It looked like a picturesque scene. The maiden princess and the vicious dragon cuddling sweetly while their furry daughter slept soundly.

Luna gasped when she saw Richie take out a switchblade with his teammates around him. "Oh, my God! He did it!" she gasped. "E is going to be so shook! Silver so called it! Richie is totally going to fight the east side now. Don't you think?"

"Sure," Gale murmured. "'Totally'."

"Richikins?" came a broken whisper from the Lacrima-Vision.

Richie tensed. Then, he was forced to turn around to face Donna with her string of pearls and golden eyes. His expression dropped to not one of guilt or shame. It was a look of wariness. "Donnie," Richie said slowly.

Luna gasped again, adjusting in Gale's hold. "She came!" she squealed excitedly. "I knew she was going to come! They're so cute! But, Dot and Felix are probably my favorites because who could not love 'Felot'?"

Gale smiled a little as he watched how invested Luna was in the episode. He kissed her temple and let his nose bury into her hair. "Mmm," he rumbled in vague agreement. He closed his eyes.

If I ever told her how cute she is when she gets like this, she'd call me a creep. Talk about unfair. She gets to watch me and it's cute, but I do it and I'd get left alone with a handprint on my cheek.

A thought came to Gale. "Hey, Blondie?"

Luna was intently watching as Donna explained to Richie how betrayed she felt. "Hmm?"

Gale opened his eyes partially to reveal somber ruby. "Are you really going to go out with those two losers?"

Luna paused. Her interest was turning away from the show and into her thoughts. Then, she answered slowly, "I don't know… They really like me and…"

Gale noticed Luna trailed off ."But, do you like them?"

That question struck Luna. "I—" But, she could not finish that sentence. She sighed and turned her head.

Gale sighed. "I see," he said simply. "Then, I change my answer."

Luna tipped her head up for puzzled chocolate to meet resolved ruby.

"If you're not liking this guy one-hundred-percent, I don't want you going out with them," Gale declared. "You have to like the guy. Only then will I let you go from your tower, principessa."

"And, if I…" Luna swallowed. "If I don't find a guy I like?"

Gale smiled. "Have fun staying in a tower with a dragon as your only friend."

Luna's lips twitched. "Does it include free food?" she hoped.

"Lazy ass. Cook for yourself," Gale teased.

Luna pouted. "But, you cook so much better than me!" she whined.

Gale feigned contemplation. "Well, let me see here… As long as you agree to cater to my every will, then I'll do it," he conditioned.

Luna washed off all hopefulness from her face as she harrumphed and turned back to the Lacrima-Vision. "No thanks."

Gale chuckled. "Admit it, Blondie, you love your partner," he purred in her ear.

"Whatever do you mean 'partner'?" Luna wondered as she contrived her naïveté. "I'm still single. I guess I'll just have to go ask Cane—"

Gale pulled Luna close to him, surprising her, and his grip tightened. His mouth moved town to hiss in her ear. "No way you're ditchin' me for another man, let alone my bro, Blondie-girl." His words tickled her ear with warmth and possession that held something dark in the undertones. "You're my partner and my property. I claimed you first. Therefore, you're mine only. I don't share."

Luna had a playful smirk on her lips as she turned to face Gale. They were awfully close. Too close. But, neither cared.

"Then, you better start guarding your princess more carefully, Sir Dragon," Luna whispered. "At this rate, you're going to lose your princess to the next prince wanting to take her away."

Gale smirked. "Heh-heh. Are you…flirting…with me, principessa? 'Cause I'm diggin' it. Pretty hot," he complimented.

Luna chuckled as she turned away from Gale to go back to the episode. "I don't know what you're talking about," she claimed.

"You little tease." Gale kissed her temple again. "Never tease a dragon, principessa. Now, what the Hell is going on again? The only guy I actually think is decent is Felix. He's got balls. Richie is such a pretty boy with no brain."

Luna gasped and jumped from Gale's hold. She turned to stare at him only for him to raise an eyebrow. "Wait… You've never seen River City?"

"Uh…" Gale did a mental check. Then, he shook his head. "Nope. On my list, but nope."

Luna squealed. "Okay, okay, we are doing a River City marathon. You're lucky E brought season one with her because you are in for the most amazing LV series of your lifetime!"

"Better than Strange?" Gale challenged.

Luna paused as she got out of bed. "Okay, second most amazing," she amended. And she rushed off to Ena's suitcase. "You're going to fall in-love with Dot, I promise you. She's just so cute and the Sherlock Holmes-type, but amazing! And, oh, my God, Donna! Donna is just so…!"

Gale could only watch as Luna grew more and more excited over the characters of the Lacrima-Vision series. He could only smile in fondness as his golden-haired princess stood there before him. She did not need to pretty herself, to cover her face in make-up, to show off her growing curves for him to find her beautiful.

"—and then she dies and you're just like—!" Luna blushed and shot Gale a guilty look. "Whoops, sorry. I didn't mean to give it away…"

Gale blinked. "Um, right. I was definitely listening," he assured. "But…just for the sake of everything…tell me again, I actually wasn't listening."

Luna groaned, rolling her eyes as she picked up the season one complete series. "Okay. Let me take it from the top," she started. "So, in River City…"

Gale had to laugh to himself.

Blondie…

A charming sigh.

Gale looked down to see Syra's leg twitching. She was having a good dream.

…I wish you knew how happy you made people. And, how happy you make me.

---

Love you Love you Love you

himitsu no I love you

naisho no kisu wa imitation?

toke nai mahō mitai ni torawarete so crazy for you

•

kimi wa marude illusion

shibireru love session

aimai na sono motion

sō sa konya wa fiction

kimi wa marude illusion

tame rau love session

gōin na sono motion

Unbreakable magic

---

TO BE CONTINUED…

Woah! What just happened? Looks like there's a lot more to look forward to than the Festival of Gratitude and Thanksgiving Day! Stay tuned for the next Fairy Adventure!

---

Margaret Town was relatively laid back at two in the morning. Boots did not run their shipments. There were no carriage rides or bikes pushing through the streets. Late-night diners served those on the graveyard shift. A few came home late from partying.

A guard yawned from his post in front of the museum. The evening lights turned on to keep the museum well-lit for the guards. They patrolled the floors, checking every room every so often. Shepherds and Aralez—a winged hound—were with their guards, sniffing about for anything suspicious. With visitors from all over Fiore pouring in, the museum could have intruders.

A guard and his aralez went passed a corner, the aralez yawning.

The guard chuckled. "All right, girl, how about a treat?"

His aralez perked, eagerly wagging her tail for a treat.

Neither noticed a sparkling cloud of pass enter the vents above them.

°•°•°•°

Three guards manned the control room, two vigilante and alert and one tired and upset. Lacrima Screens were set up to watch the halls and monitor them and the exhibits. Two guards sat at the screens and watched them, one prepared for the worst and one prepared for a good night's sleep. The third was their superior and he stood behind them in his commanding attire.

"I'm missing my wife's dinner for this shift," the lazy guard bellyached.

"Get of it, Green," one of the guards spat. "This is no-joke."

Guard Green raised his hands up in surrender. "What's there to worry about? Sure, you get your casual cases of robbers, but our aralez track them down with no problem."

His superior shot him a look. "You don't get it, do you?"

Guard Green frowned as he turned to look at his superior. "'Get' what?"

"Didn't anyone tell you the origin of the Festival of Gratitude, son?" the other guard asked.

°•°•°•°

The sparkling mist traveled through the vents without a hitch. There was a creature sleeping in the vents. It was not big nor too small. It was a Skvader or a large rabbit-mouse hybrid with large fangs, a spiked tail, and wings. It snoozed as the mist passed by and took a left.

°•°•°•°

"No… Why? I thought the whole festival leads up to Thanksgiving Day?"

"Originally, it didn't. You see, the reason the festival is three days and three nights is because of the legend."

°•°•°•°

The mist hovered over on vent window. There was a guard milling around, checking to ensure the artifacts were still there. The room was dedicated to artifacts by a famous art alchemist who designed murals and masks and marble statues from pure alchemy, the brother of Magic.

°•°•°•°

"Oh, yeah… Wait, isn't the legend just a story?"

"No, son, it's real. The creatures of sea and sky nearly destroyed our land for reasons we have guessed."

"The legend says it was the people though, right?"

"I don't buy it. Dark forces had to be at work.

°•°•°•°

The guard passed by another artifact protected by glass. It was nothing more than a urn crafted in mosaics. Its top was laid beside it. Nothing was even inside it.

As the guard walked away, the mist enshrouded the glass case.

°•°•°•°

"So, what? You think someone had it out for Margaret Town? That's a bold accusation."

"It might be an accusation, but it might be the truth. How could people who have such a strong bond to nature and beast want to sully it?"

°•°•°•°

The mist condensed itself, covering the bowl for five seconds. Then, it dispersed itself out of the glass case and back to the vent.

And the bowl was gone.

°•°•°•°

Guard Green stood up, angered. "How could you even say that?" he demanded. "Sir, I'm sorry, but that's just not true! No one in their right mind would mess with the guardians on their own free will!"

His superior remained calm. "Still. Be on your guard. You never know who could be wanting to reenact the disaster from centuries ago," the superior warned.

EEEEEENG. EEEEEENG.

The trio's eyes widened as the alarm system went off. The entire museum was already defending itself as bars slammed onto windows and doors were automatically shut and reinforced with steel. On the Lacrima Screens, guards and their wards were flurrying to find the intruder, searching high and low. The skvaders in the vents woke up in growls and began prowling around.

"What's happening?" Guard Green whispered.

His superior hardened. "A break-in, son."

"Sir!" came a panicky call from a Radio Lacrima. "Sir, come in!"

The superior picked up his radio. "What happened down there, son? What's going on?"

"Lord Wallish's exhibit, sir," the guard explained. "Someone broke in under my watch, but my aralez nor I saw anyone!"

The superior was up on his feet. "Stay there, son. Back-up is on the way." He put the radio in his holster and turned to his subordinates. "Let's move."

°•°•°•°

The trio barged into the exhibit with their magical guns in hand. The superior marched his way to the shaking subordinate with a steely-eyed glare.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"I-I don't know, sir," the young man gulped. "No one but my aralez or me were here or else the alarm would have tripped."

"What was taken?" came the next demand.

The subordinate stepped out of the way and pointed.

The superior came forth to inspect it.

"I don't know why it was stolen, but it was," the subordinate spluttered. "Please, sir, I will take responsibility for my actions and my carelessness."

The superior sighed. "I don't blame you in the slightest, my boy. You did everything right."

Guard Green and his fellow guard came over to inspect the damage. "What was stolen, sir?"

"In Encan, it was the Docheío tou Achlys. In Fioren, that means the Urn of Achlys," the superior translated.

"Like the Encan Goddess of poison and mist-death?" one guard asked.

The superior nodded. "This piece was inspired by her woeful tale. She was always so unsuspecting with her urn. Nothing was ever inside it. But, at a few words of her choosing, she could make the deadliest of poisons out of nothing."

"But, that's just a story, sir," Guard Green objected. "Nothing more than some kid's fairytale."

"In the Encan religion, it is very real and Lord Wallish was Encan." The superior turned sharply to the other guard. "I will inform the mayor of the break-in. You will call a full-scale search for the urn. The perpetrator could not have gone far."

The guard nodded. "Yes, sir."

The superior turned back to the now empty glass case.

A thief without a body… The urn of poison…

His eyes hardened.

Is this what happened centuries ago?

°•°•°•°

Two lone figures stood near the water of the Mûre River while one was huddled near a tree. The two standing were male, one broad-shouldered and immovable and the other sleek and smoking. The third was unrecognizable, a shivering silhouette covered in a blanket.

The mist draped toward them and began to condense and harden itself. It formed into a woman with a veil covering her mouth. She wore an eye-patch and cloak as well and carried the urn in her hands.

She strode to the three. "I have gotten what you desired," she spoke with a strong and low accent.

The bigger male accepted the urn and gave her a large sum of jewel in return. "Thank you, Calmara. You have been a great service to me."

Calmara nodded, but said nothing.

The man walked away. "Tamer," he commanded.

The sleeker male puffed smoke. "I love this part."

Out the shadows prowled forth a hungry chimera. It was a mixture of a wolf and a tiger with deadly fangs and a poisonous tail. Its predatory eyes were on Calmara, but it did not pounce without its master's permission.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« This is a Chimera, a creature made up of more than one animal. While some occur in nature, most were experiments now released in the wild for observation and breeding. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Calmara looked at the tamer and chimera warily. "I did as you asked and will keep silent," she reminded. "You cannot kill a Mist Mage!"

The tamer grinned. "Sorry, sweetheart, but you know too much."

Now, Calmara looked a little fearful. She did not want to die. "Please, I have a family!"

"They always do," the tamer sighed. Then, he whistled.

The chimera pounced.

The tamer walked over to the bigger man as the sounds of screeches and bloodthirsty snarls raged in the air. "So, what now, boss man?"

"Now, we begin," the bigger male spoke. "I am impressed with you, Tamer. I did not think one with a simple guild vendetta would agree to this."

The tamer chuckled. "I tame monsters for a living, boss-man. And to tame the guardian duo? I'd be living like a king for the rest of my days."

⌜MARGARET TOWN

Name: Spezi

Age: 47

Occupation: Monster Tamer, Monster Provider for fights

Magic: Monster Taming

Likes: beer Dislikes: weddings

Special Note: Spezi used to be a tamer for Orochi's fin and even started a war against Lamia Scale! Now, he's a tamer…for the right price! ⌟

The bigger male hummed. "I see." He came to the huddling person. "Come now, darling, it is time for you to use your gift…" He took off the blanket to reveal—

—a woman.

She was not in the best condition. She sported bruises and wound marks that needed treatment at once. Cuffs were on her wrists. She had put up a fight to not be taken but it was not enough to escape.

"…Dimaria Yesta…"

Dimaria spat at her captor. "I do not work for you," she growled. "I am the military advisor of Alvarez. You are nothing more than a petty man with a vendetta."

Her captor seared her with those wide eyes of his. "I have no vendetta against this town or this nation," he promised. "My reasons are mine alone. Trust me, Commander Yesta, if Ultear Milkovich was still alive, I would have used her. But, she's dead."

"Due to you," Dimaria spat. "You killed her!"

"No. Time killed her," he argued calmly.

"I know what you did, you bastard!" Dimaria raged. She laughed sardonically. "We all know! You and Invel are so much alike! I know you killed the rest of Grimoire Heart except for Meredy Vastia. You were afraid they knew too much, just like Invel. But, you tried to persuade them to join you. They refused so you killed them. People like you disgust me."

"Were you not on Lord Zeref's side during the battle of Alvarez and tried to kill Lucy Heartfilia and countless of other lives?"

Dimaria glared at her captor. "I know my sins, cretin. I know there's blood on my hands and nothing I can do will wash it away. But, at least I'm trying to live a better life."

"You once believed in the world Lord Zeref would give us," the captor reminded.

"And I realized that world would have destroyed us," Dimaria argued. "His ideals were nothing more than childish and suicidal. The way of the future is not chaos. It's peace."

The captor sighed. "If you weren't what I needed, you would be dead. But, you will soon die." He set down the urn to take out a blade. He grabbed Dimaria's hand to slice open her palm.

Dimaria growled. "The Demon King is here, bastard. He will kill you."

"You and I both know he hasn't the heart for slaughter," her captor reminded. "He's grown soft in the presence of the Heartfilia." He grabbed the urn and placed it on Dimaria's bleeding palm. "But, that will change soon."

A shimmer brushed through the urn as it consumed some of Dimaria's blood.

"The urn of Achlys only works when a purebred Encan has sacrificed their blood," the captor spoke. "Now, create the time ripple."

Dimaria shook her head. "No," she snarled. "I've learned time is not to be messed with. You should learn the same."

Spezi glanced at Dimaria. "Why exactly are we stepping into the past anyways, boss-man?"

"To experiment and observe," the captor explained. "If this poison isn't the push we need, then we shift into new tactics." He turned to his associate. "Once I return with success, we will start the process. I trust you to tame them."

Spezi grinned. "Aye-aye, boss-man."

The captor turned back to Dimaria. "Open the time ripple," he commanded.

Dimaria spat at him.

The captor sighed, wiping the spit off his cheek. "Should you not open the time ripple, I assure you, Miss Brandish will die by my hands."

Dimaria laughed, smirking. "How can she? You don't know where she is."

The captor smiled. "I do know she just crossed into the mountains of Valchestria. She should be meeting up with her guide in five minutes. Should you not comply by then, the guide will kill her."

Horror befell on Dimaria at her captor's words. "No… Please, not Brandish…"

"Four minutes," her captor warned.

"Okay!" Dimaria blurted. Her eyes watered but out of hatred. Hatred for her position. Hatred for her captor. Hatred for her powers. "Please, just… Don't kill her."

"The time ripple," was all her captor said.

Dimaria locked her jaw as she shakily pushed herself to stand up. She let out a loud exhale and closed her eyes.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Her eyes snapped open with a glowing look in them. Her Magic Circle appeared beneath her. It was a clocked with the different phases of the moon and cycle of the sun as the inner circles. Her Magic Aura protruded around her, making her glow elegantly. It was her Magic that extended her hair into flowing tresses. She was summoning the accursed power of Time. She was bending the rules of time and space.

She began to chant: "Vas skáfos tou chróntem, sas parakaló, Chrónos. Adiuérchrium sti voítheiá. Sfyrilatíste ... chronikí kymáor!"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

As a vessel of time, I beseech you, Chronos. come to my aid. Forge...a time ripple!

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The sounds of ding-dong went off as a burst of Magic came in front of Dimaria in the form of a swirling vortex. It shimmered in cerulean and gold and emerald and ruby and led to a path of the past.

---

Gale and Luna were snoozing together. Gale had move under the covered and held Luna in his arms while Luna curled up at his side. They were a tangle of limbs and sheets, but still happy.

Syra had moved from Gale's stomach to sleeping in-between the two of them. Her halo pulsed as her left ear twitched. She rose her head sleepily.

Her halo pulsed again and Syra was wide awake.

Something was wrong in the time stream.

She popped up from her spot between the two and fluttered to Luna's window. She put her front paws on the window as her nose twitched.

"Brrrrrr…" she let out worriedly.

---

The captor looked at the time ripple in glee. "I will return in ten minutes," he promised. And he walked to the time ripple.

Spezi huffed more smoke as his chimera crept forward, licking the blood of its muzzle. "Good luck to you…"

The captor took a step into the time ripple. The ripple broke down his being, making him easier to travel through time.

"…Bluenote Stinger…"

And Bluenote was gone.

---

Chibi-Luna pops up in her Sunday best from a pile full of autumn leaves. She smiles and waves at you. "Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!" she cheers. "Since it's Thanksgiving Day, I don't really have a Fairy Lesson planned, but tune into the next Fairy Lesson! Oh, and, our theme song is 'Nevereverland' by NANO while our ending them is 'Magic' by AAA."

Syra pops up and makes a charming purr as she flutters around Chibi-Luna.

Chibi-Luna giggles. "Syra wants to say the next episode, on Fairy Adventure, THE GUARDIAN DUO!" She catches Syra in her arms and waves. "See you next time!"

---

Voices of the New Characters by Order of Appearance

1. Jill Harris as Ultear Vastia

2. Crispin Freeman as Linus Vastia

3. Stephanie Young as Rose Vastia

4. Alison Viktorin as NJ

5. Ben Diskin as Bleu

6. Max Mittleman as Nolan

7. Brandon McInnis as Bane Lilliker

8. Kristin McGuire as Ekho Sato

9. Dee Bradley Baker as Syra

10. Steve Staley as Honey Abrokovy

11. Janice Roman Roku as Andele Mothersbaugh

12. Barry Yandell as Amani Dugall

13. Gina Bowes as Amber Olietta-Striker

14. Matt Mercer as Spezi