Titania and The Hunter

Chapter 53: Fuerzas Unidas!

Hey look, the 5th anniversary! And on a Saturday too! How serendipitous.

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This was more than she could handle. Lucy had always been in the mindset that this was one of the easiest jobs available, offered to young people looking for a first job for some extra money. And that when something was wrong or messed up that was just a mistake or at most incompetence.

She was wrong. She was so, so wrong.

"Excuse me, Miss? Can I have a refill please?"

"Of course sir!"

"We'd like to order now."

"On my way!"

"Can you write us out?"

"You bet!" Lucy responded with a beaming smile to her customers as she carried another order to a table. She made sure to keep her peppy attitude and big smile on to appease the customers.

She hated this request. Her feet ached like she had stepped on multiple spikes that stuck in her arches. There were so many people and so many orders and so many tables that she could barely keep track. She was sure she accidentally gave one table the wrong order and they just never spoke up because they were too busy staring at her ass.

Speaking of which; this outfit had very little room for imagination. Which she understood was probably to lure in a loyal customer base interested in the eye candy, but she'd rather the lingering eyes be on someone else and not her.

She was lucky that it was just longing looks and no one decided to try their hand and see if they could graze her skin. Maybe they didn't want to risk the chance since they were Mages. Maybe they were just too shocked to see Natsu so brazenly eating their food while he tried to deliver it. Or maybe they didn't wanna look up for fear that they might see Gray finally drop the last bastion of clothing and strut around au natural.

Well, the guys were fearful. They actually got some ladies in because they...were interested.

God help them if they crossed Juvia's path anywhere in life.

Of course while there was some pay accompanying this job it was mostly just a favor for an old friend of Master Makarov's. An old fellow named Yajima that had recently opened up a restaurant in Hargeon and was looking for a staff to help on his grand opening. When they heard about it Erza and Naruto had offered to go help him with his business. And being that Fairy Titans was a team they all got roped into the serving job.

Lucy was still a little miffed that her name didn't get the winning vote. Just a little more and she could have puffed her chest out in pride every time people talked about their team!

"Ugh, I can't believe we have to do this kinda stuff! There isn't even anything involving magic with this request!"

"That's not actually true." Happy piped up with a tray of drinks in hand, "The chef makes all the dishes using his magic. So technically it is Mage work."

"Semantics!"

"Don't see why you're so upset. This is a fun job with great food to eat."

Lucy marched up to Natsu and yanked the chicken bone out of his mouth before pointing it at his face with a stern glare, "Stop. Eating. Peoples'. Orders."

"Seriously, I know your brain's just a glob of charred meat but a little thinking might do you some good." Natsu's eye twitched in anger as Gray's mocking tone continued to ridicule him, "No one's gonna want to watch you walk up with their order just to see you chew on it yourself. Consider what the customer wants, stupid."

"The customer also doesn't want to see you expose your butt!"

Happy tilted his head and looked over at a group of older women, "I don't know. Those ladies sure do seem to appreciate it."

"They don't count!" Lucy bemoaned, "Just put some clothes on already and make sure they stay on!" Gray grumbled and quickly ran off to slip into something as Lucy looked around at all the people waiting to be seated and all the orders waiting to be brought to the table. So much work. So much more to do.

And where the hell were Erza and Naruto?!

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"Man, I can't believe how many people there are coming here today. It's crazy."

"But it is some pretty good food. Can't blame them for coming to try it. Probably so many people talking about it. Tongue of mouth and all that."

"It's word of mouth and I can't believe any of them actually got a bite considering you've pretty much munched down on every order you serve."

"I told you it was really good food."

"You have no self-control whatsoever, do you?"

"I don't wanna hear that from the exhibitionist!" The two Mages butted heads and snarled at each other before separating and dunking their hands in the sinks. After being chewed out by Lucy in front of everyone in the restaurant about handling food with dirty hands and putting on clothes so they didn't contaminate the dishes, the two men quickly made their way into the employee bathroom to clean up.

"Aw man, what the hell?" Natsu's features were pinched as he frowned and rubbed his nose gingerly, "This place has got some weird ass smell to it."

"It's a bathroom you moron. Granted it hasn't been used a lot since this is the grand opening and we are its first employees, but I'm pretty sure all bathrooms start off with a stale, nasty stench to it."

"Not that!" Natsu closed off his nostrils and looked around before he spoke with a nasally tone, "Smells weird in here. Like fish and sweat and a bunch of other smells I can't put my finger on."

"It's a pier. We're by the ocean and people are constantly working on their ships. Do I have to explain all of that to you or can you comprehend that?" Natsu bared his teeth but Gray simply walked past him and beckoned him to follow. Natsu looked around one last time before slipping out the room as well.

"Was that smell thing aimed at us? Do I smell like fish?" Erza asked in a hushed, angry tone of voice. Her eye twitched and she looked about ready to leap off and chase after the pink-haired moron to exact some vengeance.

"Whoa whoa whoa. I agree with Gray. He was probably just smelling the stuff from the water and docks. No reason to get angry." He tried to calm down the annoyed redhead before she got any angrier. He'd almost think that the red on her cheeks was from anger and not the illicit activity they had engaged in while no one was watching, "It's okay."

"Well they ruined the moment." Erza finally relented and instead huffed to the side, "If they heard us or if he followed his nose-"

Erza's voice hitched and a small gasp slipped past her lips as Naruto bucked his hips up under her. She gasped and looked down where her short skirt covered his open pants and hid their connection from plain sight. He wrapped his arms over hers and around her back to keep her close to him. He smiled up at his mortified lover as her heated blush got more pronounced, "But they didn't. We just had to stay really quiet and not move a muscle."

"Then you failed immediately." Erza pushed his arms off her and instead wrapped hers around his neck as his hands settled on her waist. She made small, short grinding movements against the phallus inside of her and pouted at the flushed, excited smile on his face, "I felt it get harder as Natsu and Gray started talking. It's like you were excited at the idea of getting caught."

"I wasn't I swear. Just…something about that situation made this whole thing…hotter."

"You're sick."

"Oh excuse me," Naruto looked at the sexy redhead skeptically as she started bouncing up and down on his lap, "I wasn't the one dragging you off to find a spot to fuck. You're the one who was so horny you made us have sex in a bathroom."

"A relatively clean bathroom and barely used."

"Semantics."

"I couldn't help it." Erza spoke in a soft, sultry whisper just an inch away from his face. Her hot breath wafted over him and her full, glistening lips were so close to grazing his it was almost torturous. She denied him a kiss and instead leaned back so he could get a better look at her uniform; the bright orange waitress outfit with Restaurant 8 printed over the chest and pushed up her breasts to better expose her cleavage. His eyes hungrily roamed over the form her clothes cut as she grabbed his chin to force his eyes up to hers, "This outfit just makes me feel so powerful. I had to try it out on someone."

"I guess I should be glad it was me, huh?"

"Who else would it be?"

"Think we can convince Yajima-San in lieu of payment to spare this outfit?"

"He's going to have to accept it because it's already happening."

"Well then," Naruto grunted as Erza's hips bucked a little faster along his length. His hand settled on her back for support before his fingers slipped into the knots holding it together. With a swift pull of a string the top unfolded and freed her breasts from their tight confines. The milky skin of the S-Class Mage was flushed along the top of her chest and Naruto leaned in to take one of her nipples into his mouth. Erza let out a silent scream and stifled her desire to moan and covered her mouth as not to garner too much attention towards the screaming bathroom. She felt the blond's tongue gently rove over her areola and give a gentle suck and nibble before looking up at her with a heated expression.

"Okay," Erza's mismatched eyes narrowed competitively as she squeezed as hard as she could. She felt Naruto's stifled gasp through her breast before she started moving her hips at a much faster pace, "If this is how you want to play, then let's play."

########Hunter########

"Thanks again for all the help today." The wizened old man showed his gratitude to the young Mages that had assisted him in his endeavor. They sat just outside in the alley by the restaurant as they took a moment to relax and let the stress of the day seep out of them. The old Fairy Mage dabbed the sweat off his forehead, "Nice long day. The beginning of a new dream."

"Congratulations, Yajima-San. We're happy to have helped however possible."

"And thank you for your considerate effort, Erza-kun. By the way you know you can take that outfit off now, right?"

"I was actually wondering if I could keep this for myself. As a reminder of helping you today."

"Of course. But it looks a little creased up."

"You said it was a long day."

Gray and Natsu were confused by Naruto's proud smile.

"And where did you two run off exactly?" Lucy aimed an accusatory look between the blond and redhead, "You disappeared during rush hour! We really could have used your help!"

"We were going off to see an old friend in the port. He actually brings in a lot of supplies and merchandise from other ships."

"We thought you could do business with him, Yajima-San." Naruto smiled, "Help expand your business a little with new ingredients and whatever."

Which technically wasn't a lie. They finished having sex, slipped out, met Parker, told him about the restaurant, and came back before anything else could be discussed.

Alibi.

"I might just take you up on that offer. Thank you for the suggestion." Yajima scratched his cheek and chuckled, "If I expand my business enough maybe I can start holding events. Pastry specials for the holidays. Unique orders only available at my restaurant. Maybe I'll even consider holding some kind of contest where we see who can eat the most ramen as possible."

"Do that. Do that immediately. Do it right now." Naruto got on his knees and begged the short man, "I'm begging you!"

"I will once I have my feet on the ground, my boy." Yajima patted Naruto's shoulder empathetically before he leaned back on his barrel and gave a hearty laugh, "Now that I'm done with Council work I'll have a lot more time for myself."

"C-C-COUNCIL?!"

They all looked towards Natsu and Gray after their sudden exclamation. They saw the panicked, anxious looks on their faces while staring at the old man before Lucy sighed, "You two do know that Yajima-San was one of the members of the Magic Council, right? He only recently retired after the Council was destroyed and needed to be rebuilt."

"Plus he was like the only person on the table that actually tried to help us not get into trouble when we did something stupid. You remember that crazy list Jiji brings in about complaints and demerits from our jobs? That list would be a whole lot longer if it wasn't for Yajima-San."

"And it's going to get a lot longer now that I'm out of my chair. Natsu-kun, Gray-kun," The two young men shot up straight as the elder Mage warned, "You need to be more careful now. You can't act so recklessly now that there's a new Magic Council running things. Any reason to penalize you all or have you take responsibility for your actions will be enough for them to throw the book down on you. "

"Y-Yes sir."

"A new Magic Council. The Rune Knights being mobilized. Things are gonna go back to how they were soon enough. I still can't believe all of this happened because of just one attack. That – uh – that – um – blast, what were their names again? Jelly-kun and Uber-kun?"

"It was Jellal and Ultear."

"That's right!" Yajima snapped his fingers and nodded, "Hard to believe they were just lying in wait all this time to use Etherion and attack Era. I know you all dealt with Jellal," Naruto and Erza shared a look with heavy expressions at the reminder, "But we never did find Ultear-kun's body in the wreckage of the building."

"You think she escaped?"

"I think it would be a poor judgement to underestimate a young lady that waited all that time in deep cover and brought the Magic Council down singlehandedly." Yajima shook his head before looking between the young Fairies with a wariness in his eyes, "I know this might not mean much from an old codger that's been out of the game for so long, but err on the side of caution children. I think things are changing and dangerous moves are about to be made."

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In hindsight this was probably the warning Yajima spared them. But they just hadn't thought the dangerous move would become so clear so quickly.

"The Balam Alliance?"

"That's right. That's what we're calling the amalgamation of Dark Guilds around the country." Mira said as she stepped back and looked at the graph she drew in the air. All the Mages in the guild stared at the diagram of dozens of tiny circles representing guilds all connecting to one of the three massive circles at the center.

Tartaros.

Grimoire Heart.

Oracion Seis.

"So all of these guilds are really just subordinates to the top three in charge?"

"Kinda reminds me of Phantom Lord." Gajeel tilted his head, "All those sub-branches of the main branch spread out all over Fiore. Guess this just follows the same principle."

"Yeah but these are some seriously bad names." Macao spoke up as he stared at the list of Dark Guilds. He wiped his head of sweat, "I heard about a lot of the awful things these subordinate branches did around the country. And just knowing they were small pickings to these big ones is unnerving."

"Eisenwald?" Natsu repeated one of the names that caught his eye before he tilted his head, "That name sounds kinda familiar."

"That's the Dark Guild we beat when we all first formed a team, remember Natsu?" His constant cat companion reminded his best friend as realization hit him, "We stopped that Lullaby thing from killing all the masters and you fought that Wind Mage?"

"Oh yeah! Man if that guy was just an underling of these big three I kinda wanna know what they are like."

"They're bad. Can you not glean that off the very obvious chart?"

"Mira-San?" Lucy ignored her two friends' arguing and instead looked up at the graph with interest, "That big circle for that Dark Guild, Oración Seis. Seis means six, right? Why do they call themselves that?"

"Well from the reports it says that the Oración Seis is constructed of only six members. Hence the name."

"A guild that only has six members?" The expressions around the guild brightened at the relief, "That's awesome! That sounds way easier than the rest of these other guilds!"

"A guild with six members that have so much power and are so influential that they make up a third of the pillars of the Balam Alliance." Their expressions fell again after Erza's quiet reminder. Her eyes narrowed as she looked over the list connected to the small guild before shaking her head, "We've actually been facing off against Oracion Seis' branches more than anyone else. I recognize some of the other names under them. I've taken out one or two of them by myself while I was on a job. We faced off against Eisenwald and battled Death's Head Caucus while at the Tower of Heaven."

"Juvia recognizes some of those names too." Juvia added in with a peppy voice, "She and Gajeel-kun actually laid some of them to waste while we were still in Phantom Lord, and some more since we joined Fairy Tail."

"So we've personally pissed them off by accidently thinning their ranks? Perfect."

"Hey, which of the three do you think is the head of this alliance?" Lisanna spoke up with a curious tilt of her head, "I mean do they all just share the power like a checks and balance kind of system, or do they each think they're in charge and argue about who does what?"

"I bet it's Grimoire Heart that's in charge."

The other members of Fairy Tail looked over at the whiskered blond as he narrowed his eyes angrily at the large circle sitting at the center of the diagram, "What makes you think that exactly?"

"I've met them before and they hardly seem like the type to sit back and take orders." Naruto frowned, "I'm sure the three big Dark Guilds have some serious debate about who thinks they're in charge but Grimoire Heart is probably the one that ends up always calling the shots." That would be just like that old son of a bitch to put himself in charge of all the Dark Guilds just because he thought he had the power. His frown persisted before he looked around and saw the quizzical looks his guildmates were giving him, "What?"

"You've met these Heart guys before?"

"Yeah I fought them, like, twice already." The looks of disbelief and shock grew even more as Naruto just shrugged his shoulders, "One was a long time ago – before I even joined the guild. The other time was actually pretty recent, but I kinda forgot because someone poked our hall full of big ass holes."

"Hehehe, good times." Several people spared the Iron Dragon Slayer a glare as he fondly nodded his head.

"S-So what were they like? Were they strong? How many of them did you fight? Did you win?"

"Well they were crazy and vicious; way more than a usual Dark Guild. And I thought some of the members were actually calm and collected but they kinda threw that out the window when one guy blew off his own arm just to cauterize a wound I gave him. I fought several members that actually had some serious power and their magic was just…weird."

"Weird? But you still won, right?"

"I survived and got to come home. That's the closest thing I can call a win after that encounter." There were some murmurs and looks of worry knowing one of their strongest Mages struggled to fight against the prominent members of this other guild. Naruto scowled, "But that's nothing compared to the old fucker in charge of them all."

"And what's he like?"

"Evil. Just pure, unfettered evil, that wouldn't hesitate to slaughter a village for his means, whatever it is he wants. He beat the shit out of me when I was a kid and that was when he was weakened. I knew it but it was still so terrifying. I got so angry fighting him I just punched him as hard as I could and scratched his eye out with my old prosthetic."

Naruto's voice was quickly drowned out as other members of the guild just blanked in horror. Almost like a collective thought they all imagined the sight of an army of faceless demons – a corner of the strongest Dark Guilds in the entire country – all coming and attacking their hall like a bombardment. Meanwhile a group of even scarier monsters were being led by a horrifying creature with only one eye that had their guild in its crosshairs because one of their members royally pissed them off.

Someone whimpered in fear and no one could really blame them.

"Then there's Tartaros." Erza spoke up again, squashing their panic as she crossed her arms and stared at the name floating in the air, "Of all the Dark Guilds on this graph that has to be the one we know the least about. And they're strong enough to control this entire alliance from the shadows." These enemies were frightening, but there was nothing scarier than a foe you knew nothing about controlling so much from the shadows. She stepped up closer to the graph and looked down at the large circle completely isolated from the web of other Dark Guilds, "Raven Tail."

"Isn't that the guild Laxus' dad made when he was excommunicated from Fairy Tail?"

"Ivan Dreyar, and yes it is."

"Laxus' dad?" Lucy whispered the name before noticing the frown on some of the older members faces. She leaned in towards Lisanna, "Does that mean he was the Master's son? What was he like?"

"He was an awful man." Lisanna whispered, "He thought Fairy Tail should be prioritizing itself with more dangerous, more unethical jobs. He wanted to become the guild master so he could sell Fairy Tail's services out like a mercenary service. One day Master had enough and just threw him out before he could do anything that would endanger the guild." Lisanna showed a sad expression, "I think he manipulated Laxus enough back when he was just a kid and warped his perspective of the guild and its strength."

The Master's son was one of the reasons Laxus turned out so different? That sent a shiver down her back at the frightful idea, "I-Is there a chance Laxus would-"

"What are you all doing?" All eyes turned to Makarov as the tiny Mage walked back into the hall and looked around at all the Mages gathered together in front of the bar. He stretched up to look over their heads and saw the diagram depicting all of the known Dark Guilds in the country. He sighed and lowered himself back to the ground, "Huh, so you were already talking about it. That's lucky. Makes what I'm about to say a lot easier to bring up in conversation."

"What's that, Master?"

"That guild in the center, Oración Seis, yeah…we're gonna attack them."

"WHAT?!"

"OH! ME! PICK ME! I WANNA HIT THEM HARD JII-CHAN!" Natsu eagerly jumped up in place and waved his arm around frantically.

"NO, I'LL DO IT!" Gajeel yelled over Natsu before pointing at his metal arm, "EVERYONE HERE KNOWS HOW GOOD I AM AT WRECKING OTHER PEOPLE'S GUILDS AND SENDING A MESSAGE! NOT SENDING ME WOULD BE THE DUMBEST MOVE EVER!"

"Enough." Makarov raised his hand and silence quickly fell across the hall. The old man gave a heavy sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose, "My fault. That was my fault. I misspoke there and caused some confusion. We are going to fight them, but we aren't just going to walk up to them and attack. And we aren't doing it alone." Makarov made his way through the crowd and jumped up on the counter so everyone could see him, "We're going to be joining a team composed of other guild members to attack Oración Seis together."

"Seriously?!"

"Holy crap!"

"I don't think I've ever heard a bunch of guilds teaming up just to take down one Dark Guild before."

"This decision was reached unanimously between a number of other guilds when we took notice of Oración Seis' increased activity recently. So we have decided to move against them in return and take them out as soon as possible."

"Ah come on, Jii-Chan, we don't need some other guilds to help us with this! We got this!"

"I agree Master! We can show these bastards just how manly we are by ourselves!"

"If only one guild were to attack a corner of the Balam Alliance, the rest of it would turn their attention and force on that guild in return. It's safer to join ranks with other powerful guilds in order counter that possibility." Makarov crosses his arms, "Plus I already brought up the point that one guild could attack, but everyone else vehemently disagreed. Not only because it would be dangerous, but they're afraid we might fuck it up somehow. And...well I didn't have the heart to disagree."

Honestly with some thought...no one else really could either.

"So what are we gonna do, Jii-San? Get a bunch of guilds and get all their members together just to stomp on six people. I mean I'm not saying it's bad but even that seems a little one-sided in my opinion."

"We aren't sending everyone. That would draw too much attention and be too disorganized to actually work." Makarov shook his head before holding up his finger, "Each guild is to send one team in to represent it in this alliance. Skilled Mages we can trust to handle the fight and have proven to work well together and possibly with others. I've given it some thought...and I think I decided on our choices..."

Lucy held her breath and waited for him to finish but watched as Makarov stood in silence. She thought maybe he was blanking on something before she looked around to see several other members looking in her direction. Gajeel and Elfman looked displeased while others nodded and smiled.

Wait...

"Oh no. No no no no no no-"

########Hunter########

"WHYYYYYYYYYYYY?!" Lucy cried out in horror as she climbed out of the wagon and fell to her knees in despair. The others stepped out in an orderly fashion while Natsu dropped to the ground in a lifeless heap after suffering through the trip. Lucy's eyes watered in fear as she reeled back and screamed, pulling on her hair, "WHY WAS I INVITED TO FIGHT THE SCARY MAGES?! WHY ARE WE OUT HERE TO FIGHT AGAINST ALL THESE UNKOWN DARK MAGES!"

"Jiji already explained that to us." Naruto patted the horse's mane before waving their driver and the carriage away, "Our team has proven that we have excellent teamwork and members strong enough to face the threat expected of this fight. We have the most members of any other team in Fairy Tail and we all can take care of ourselves."

"NOT ALL OF US! I MEAN WHY AM I HERE?!" Lucy frantically pointed at herself, "WHY NOT GAJEEL?! OR JUVIA! SOMEONE MORE SUITED TO CRAZY HORRIBLE STUFF LIKE THIS!"

"Because if you weren't with us than we wouldn't be a full team." Erza quickly answered as she picked Lucy and Natsu up from the ground and on their feet. They stumbled for a moment before looking at the redhead standing proud and tall in front of them. Her back was to the others and she looked up as her hair swayed in the wind, "Everyone in the guild trusts us with this assignment. Master believes we are the best choice to combat this evil. And I believe so too as long as we are all together. When the six of us come together, we are the Fairy Titans! And as your leader I swear there is nothing we cannot beat together! Who's with me!"

The other Fairies were simply looking at her with frowns or just expressions of disappointment. Lucy sighed, "I can't believe we are actually calling ourselves that now."

"Well get used to it. We agreed the winner would get to choose the team name and I won." Erza stated, "Get used to it."

"Happy and the Happettes would have sounded so good." Happy sadly mumbled.

"And once again I don't remember choosing you as the leader of the team." Gray pointed out. He clammed up when Erza's fierce glare zeroed in on him. He gulped before leaning over and nudging Naruto in the side, "Hey, you might be the only one who can reach her and convince her to stop before it's too late."

"I support her in her endeavors and whatever strategic choice she makes." He leaned back in towards Gray, "Plus I can't tell her no after all her excited planning and joy at making up future team exercises. It'd be like yanking candy out of a baby's hand."

"You've doomed us. I hope you realize that."

"I do."

The Fairy Mages turned back to the giant building they had arrived at for the meeting between the teams of the 'Light Alliance'. It was a large building, with heart-shaped designs almost everywhere on the exterior, blindingly bright colors, and ridiculously out of place in such a dense forest location.

It screamed Blue Pegasus.

"Geez I think I can smell him in the furniture." Naruto gagged at the powerful aroma wafting in the air as Natsu almost passed out from the intensity. All Dragon Slayers had enhanced senses compared to that of a normal human, and sense of smell was something Natsu excelled at. Unfortunately it seemed that was to be a detriment to him now instead of a blessing.

As the pink-haired man bucked and struggled for his life on the ground, the other Fairies looked at their surroundings with interest. Lucy tilted her head, "I don't think anybody else is here but this is definitely the designated meeting place. Do you think we arrived before everyone else?"

The lights of the building all turned off in unison before several spotlights brightened the stairway to reveal the figures standing upon them.

Happy shook his head, "Nope."

"Yeah, forget I asked."

The three figures illuminated in the light struck poses upon the stairway as a faint melody sung through the air. They started moving in unison and descended the stairwell at an even pace while approaching the ground level, "Welcome, denizens of the Fairy Tail guild. We welcome you from your long travel and hope you weren't dying from anticipation waiting to meet us."

Naruto looked down, "Only one of us was actually dying and it wasn't from anticipation."

"But have no fear! Your salvation is here! The men you've been waiting to meet your whole lives to feel complete are finally here to greet you. Allow us to introduce ourselves to our wonderful new comrades. We are the Trimens of Blue Pegasus." The man at the head of the group reached the ground and winked at the newcomers. He was a handsome gentleman with sandy-brown hair who sent a sly wink to the ladies, "I am Hibiki of the Hundred Nights."

The young man beside him was still just a teenager, with soft features and a head of bright yellow hair, "I am Eve of the Holy Nights."

A tan man with a small frown on his face nodded in their direction as well with little interest, "And I'm Ren of the Hollow Nights."

"I'm sensing a theme with these guys."

"My my my, we are truly blessed to be in the presence of such lovely ladies like this." Hibiki spoke in a flattering tone as he casually walked up to the group and took Lucy's hand. He started leading the blonde Mage over to the side as Lucy looked around in confusion before she found herself seated on a very elegant, very comfy couch she swore wasn't there a moment ago. The young blonde beauty looked around in surprise before she found herself covered on both sides by Ren and Hibiki. The brunette gave a charming smile and raised a drink for her to take, "I have to say even though the journey was long and the future trials may be perilous, seeing you gives me more than enough hope to live for the next day."

'W-Womanizer!'

Lucy gawked at the cheesy line fed to her before she saw the plate of decorative snacks placed together to look asthetically pleasing to the eye. She looked up at the dark-haired man offering her the food only to see he was looking away from her. His eyes tentatively panned over to look at her a few times before he spoke with a cold tone, "Here, you look hungry. I'm not giving it to you because you're such a pretty lady. I only want to make sure you aren't starving."

'T-Tsundere!'

"And is there anything I can get you today, Madame?" Eve graciously bowed to Erza as the red-haired woman tilted her head in thought.

"If you have milk or perhaps strawberry cake I wouldn't be opposed to that."

"But of course!" Eve disappeared, dashing away and leaving a trail of dust behind him before returning with a plate of her desired goods. Erza happily picked up her strawberry cake and took a bite with a delightful hum as Eve bowed his head, "To be honest I was anticipating this meeting, Titania-San. I have heard many inspiring tales of your feats and heroics for the Fairy Tail guild. Your strength and adaptability are the stuff of legends among many Mages in Fiore. And while there are not many pictures, whispers of your beauty suggest you may be the descendent of a goddess walking among us. But now seeing you with my own eyes I realize that those tales greatly downplay your true wonder. Such intensity and clarity within dual-colored eyes, as well as an expression of serenity upon a face gifted by the heavens. Truly you are-"

Eve was halted as something grabbed his collar and lifted him off his feet. He hung in the air for a moment before being carried off and gently lowered back down with the other Trimens. He looked up in confusion at the older blond that had carried him and saw the deep frown on the whiskered man's face. He dusted off his hands before marching back over to Erza's side.

"It may have been a little overboard but he was just trying to be polite." Erza took another bite of her cake, a coy smile on her face as she looked up at her boyfriend, "No reason to be so upset."

"You're enjoying yourself way too much." He sent an accusatory look at the lovely redhead as she closed her eyes in bliss after another bite from her treat, "We're about to begin an extremely dangerous mission against god knows what and you have to enjoy a cake right now?"

"No reason to go into an important mission feeling stressed." She simply answered while savoring her delicious, mouth-watering cake.

"I completely agree, my dear."

The plate shattered and the cake splattered on the ground after slipping from Erza's frozen hands.

"It's the Boss!"

"Leader!"

"Aniki!"

"Now now boys, no reason to get so excited. The only time you should show enthusiasm like that is when you are entertaining the fairer sex." The deeper, mature, and silky smooth voice resonated through the entry hall as all eyes turned back to the stairwell. They saw a figure sporting an elegant white suit slowly descend the steps. No one but Naruto noticed just how still and pale Erza went once she saw the figure arrive, but unfortunately he was also a little nervous and stepped away with a bead of sweat coming down his forehead.

"Greetings to our guests. I am Ichiya Kotobuki, Mage of Blue Pegasus, and it is such a pleasure to see you again after all this time, Erza-San~." The...odd-looking gentleman spotted his red-haired target and winked at her. Erza gasped as a cold shiver went up her back and made her tremble in fear, "How fond the heart grows when we are separated for so long."

"You are one of the boss' lady friends?"

"We would have been even more accommodating if we knew you were so close with our leader."

"I'm sorry Erza-San! If I knew you were Aniki's lady friend I never would've hit on you!"

Lucy leaned in towards Happy, "These guys are kinda scummy, aren't they?"

"Why don't any of them call him the same thing?"

"I-I am not his lady friend! His delusions are not my reality! I'm with that one! That guy over there! A very long history between us! Very sweet man! And he should be over here HELPING ME WHEN I NEED IT!"

"S-Sorry Erza, but I'll leave this to you." Naruto whispered barely loud enough for them to hear as he waved to her with a shaky palm, "I have problems with this guy as well. So if only one of us has to take the burden-"

"Greetings, Naruto-kun, it has been quite some time since I last saw you." Naruto flinched and went still as a statue when he realized Ichiya had appeared by his side and was closely examining him. The older, shorter man's eyes bore into his as his nostrils flared with each deep breath he took, "You certainly have the air of an older man coming off of you now. You are almost as manly as me, although you still have quite a ways to go."

"H-Hey, Ichiya-San." Naruto muttered as his eyes panned anywhere but where Ichiya was looking up at him. He dared to look down and froze in horror at the wide, expressive eyes on the odd short man that seemed to have no shame.

Lucy, Happy, Gray, and even Natsu came out of his stupor to look at the sight of the two normally unflappable S-Class Mages seeming so small in front of the bizarre Mage. They all looked towards Erza for clarification as the redhead sighed and ran a hand over her face, "Ichiya is a Mage from Blue Pegasus that I have met on several jobs over the years. He is a surprisingly competent and skilled Mage, but I don't have much resistance when it comes to working with him. I'm not sure how Naruto knows him but it was enough to build up a trauma and he gets deathly still and anxious when Ichiya is around."

"As flattering as ever, Erza-San." The Requip Mage gasped in shock when she realized just how close Ichiya had gotten as he took deep, lasting breaths around her, "Since the last time I saw you it seems you have become even more exquisite. Your boundless ability to grow is still as shocking as ever. And this parfum...so mature and elegant. Sniff, sniff-"

"BACK OFF!" Apparently Erza's tolerance had reached its threshold as she reeled back and slapped the gruff man across the face. Ichiya went flying across the hall, a trail of droll streaming behind him as he spiraled through the air. The Fairy Mages' jaws dropped in shock as the Trimen looked on in horror.

"Meeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnnnnnnnn~!" Ichiya moaned as he sailed towards the exit directly at another approaching figure. Their hand reached out and caught the incoming man before he could strike them. Ichiya's face was crushed tightly within the iron-like grip as he groaned through the fingers crushing his features, "You have my gratitude for catching me. May I offer you some advice on capturing the heart of a young maiden or perhaps my beauty tips-"

"Now I sincerely hope someone didn't deliberately throw this grotesque creature at me the moment I walked in. Let's hope it was just an accident," Ice sprouted up around Ichiya's face and froze his features solid as the man with sharp eyes and blue hair lowered his hand. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he looked ahead at the people on the other side of the room, "Because if it was on purpose, I might just consider that an invitation to a fight."

"Lyon?" Gray muttered in shock.

"Gray?" The man identified as Lyon tossed the frozen man aside before scoffing and wiping his hand over his coat, "Heh, Fairy Tail must be desperate if they're sending you out on a mission as important as this."

"Oh hey, I remember you!" Natsu balked with a grin, "You actually found a guild to join! Oh that's awesome! I told you it was a fun idea!"

Lyon rolled his eyes, "Oh great, you're here too."

Naruto blinked in confusion and looked around for some clarification from his team. Luckily Happy seemed to notice his confusion and came up to his ear, "That guy is an old friend of Gray's when they were being trained by the same lady. We met him on Galuna Island when we were doing that S-Class request we stole."

"Oh, so Gray knows him. Was he there trying to fix the problem on that island too?"

"Nope, turns out he was trying to melt this ice that was their old teacher and free a giant demon that was summoned by Zeref and killed all these people years ago. He was gonna free it so he could kill it and prove he was stronger than their master but it was already dead by the time it was freed. In fact he was the reason that job was posted in the first place."

"..." Naruto blinked in shock before scratching his head, "Man, I miss the strangest things when I'm gone."

Lucy shrugged, "To be fair, I think you experience enough strangeness to make up - UOFF!" The blonde Mage suddenly toppled over as the rug was yanked out underneath her. She sat back up and gently rubbed the back of her head before raising her fist, "What the heck was that about?!"

"Sorry, but I just had to prepare myself in case of a sudden attack." A soft, sweet voice appeared from behind the form of the rug as it rose into the air and took the form of a twisted living creature. The doll stepped aside and allowed its master, a beautiful young woman with dark pink hair and blue eyes in a pink dress, to step forward. The young woman flicked her head back and sent a particularly condescending look in Lucy's direction, "There are some folks here too deprived of love that they might just be savages. A young lady has to protect herself you know."

"Oh great, you're here too!" Lucy cried out.

"Wherever Lyon-sama goes, I must follow." Sherry said in a breathy voice, "Could've done without seeing you though."

The temperature in the building quickly dropped as the tension rose in return. Naruto quickly looked between the sharp looks Gray gave Lyon, the caution Lucy had around Sherry, Erza trying to calm herself while the Trimens unthawed Ichiya, and Natsu looking ready to jump into whatever fight started first. He sighed and shook his head before stepping forward to resolve matters before they got out of-

"NARUTO!"

Everyone jumped back as a massive figure came running into the building and tackled the whiskered blond off his feet. The massive figure lifted the S-Class Mage off his feet and crushed him in a vicious grip that strained his bones and caused his back to fold in from the force. The air from Naruto's lungs rushed out as he let out a dying gasp from the pain.

It was almost impossible to discern the act as something like a hug.

"I HAVE MISSED YOU! IT'S BEEN SO VERY LONG SINCE I LAST SAW YOU KID! YOU USED TO BE SUCH A TINY PERSON AND NOW YOU ARE ONLY JUST SMALL! OH MAN IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

The members of Fairy Tail and Blue Pegasus stared up at the strange sight of the rock golem smothering the Fairy Mage in his grasp. The giant creature had an old stone helmet for a head, and a smoother large body with the Lamia Scale insignia over its back. They watched the giant living construct voice his joy while the young Mage writhed in pain in his grasp, "Um, what the hell is that?"

"And why the fuck is it so loud?!"

Lyon sighed, his shoulders sagging as the tension disappeared from the room, "That's Kichiyo. He's a golem that Lamia Scale picked up years ago and has been a member ever since. And he's that loud because that's how he is. Kichiyo," The young man stepped up and got the golem's attention, "You can let him go now. Remember how we talked about not hugging things so tightly they pop?"

"OH YEAH!" Kichiyo immediately released his grip and Naruto toppled to the ground, groaning and gasping for air, "I FORGOT THAT HUMANS DON'T HAVE VERY STURDY SPINES! REMEMBER HOW I NEARLY CRUSHED YOU TO DEATH WHEN YOU JOINED LYON! AND WHEN SHERRY AND THE OTHER REJOINED THE GUILD! I WAS SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"

Sherry shivered in horror at the memory, "I still feel my spine click into place when I get out of bed in the morning."

"Well, that's certainly interesting." Erza said, recovering from her Ichiya experience and coming over to help Naruto sit up. She patted his back and swore she heard a pop before looking up at the golem curiously, "But why did you hug Naruto?"

"BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONE WHO BROUGHT ME TO THE SURFACE!"

Naruto gave a loud cough and stretched his back out until something popped, "Y-Yeah, I did. He was the guardian protecting this weird old sanctuary under a lake and protecting those dragon swords I have. I didn't wanna leave him under there for the rest of time so I grabbed his head and brought him out. I dumped him on Jura after that."

"So I suppose you're to blame for the constant ringing in my ears and misshapen spinal cord then?" Lyon leveled a stern glare at the whiskered blond, and while it was a lot less intimidating, Sherry aimed a small look of her own at the man. Kichiyo was a part of the guild and their sworn comrade, but still…there was some blame to be thrown around.

"Last time I remember seeing you, you were just a helmet I carried on my back." Naruto looked the golem over and chuckled at the large, dark stone that composed his new body, "Looks like you upgraded."

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Kichiyo made a show of his sleek new form and started flexing, not realizing he didn't have any muscles to bulge while he did so, "I LOOK SEXY AS HELL IN THIS NEW BOD JURA HELPED ME SCULPT! ALL THE LADIES WOULD LOVE ME IF I DIDN'T CRUSH THEM UNDERNEATH ME AND I ACTUALLY HAD ANY GENITALS TO USE!"

Lyon could feel the confused looks being sent his way as he sighed, "He's...still adjusting to the outside world."

"Enough." A strong, demanding voice boomed through the hall and stole the attention of everyone in the room. They all looked towards the entrance to see a tall, striking figure walk through the entrance. The large man wore nothing over his upper body, baring it out for the world to see his defined muscular structure and the imposing figure it struck. The man had a strong jawline and expression as he stepped into the hall, and a ornamental headgear adorned over his head. The pressure and presence coming off the man was intimidating enough to make everyone silent before he spoke, "We have been chosen to work together on this task of utmost importance. In order to succeed we will need to put our trust and faith in one another to the point where we can trust the people at our back to protect our lives. I would implore each and every one of you not to get worked up so soon before we even begin the operation."

"I'm sorry, Jura-San." Lyon bowed his head apologetically to his leader, "I got a little carried away seeing some familiar faces."

"As did I Jura-San." Sherry bowed her head as well in a show of respect as the rug lost all life and slumped back onto the ground.

"That's fine. As I said we're going to be working with these people from now on, so a show of trust-"

"JURA, CHECK IT OUT!" Kichiyo yelled as loud as possible and pointed down at the blond man beside him, "THE LITTLE BASTARD GREW UP NICE AND TALL! NOW HE'S A BIG BASTARD!"

"Kichiyo, don't casually call me a bastard please." Naruto stood back up and dusted himself off before looking at the man across the hall with a look of indifference. It slowly changed to a small smile, "You don't look any different from the last time I saw you."

"I cannot say the same for you, Naruto-dono." The imposing man showed a smile of his own as he crossed the hall and stretched his hand out to the blond man. Naruto was quick to show a grin and take the offered hand before shaking it, "You have grown up into a fine man over the years. It brings a smile to my face every time I hear about your actions in the paper, even if it is immediately followed by property damages and complaints about negligence."

"And you became a Wizard Saint since then. I sure hope that hasn't gone to your head or anything. Speaking of head, " Naruto smirked and looked up, "Are you trying to fool people into thinking you've got a full mane hiding under that hat or what?"

"And I see your good-natured jesting hasn't changed despite your age."

"Somethings never change, Magic Head." Naruto chuckled a little harder seeing the miffed expression on Jura's face hearing that nickname again after all these years.

"Amusing." Jura muttered before giving a quick, strong grip to the handshake. Naruto let out a tiny squeak but forced the yelp to stay down his throat. Jura finally let go and the whiskered man cradled his bruised hand before the Wizard Saint looked around the room, "I suppose if we are finished with pleasantries then we should move on to introductions." The large man stepped back and the fellow members of Lamia Scale fell into place beside him, "I am Jura Neekis, accompanied by Lyon Vastia, Sherry Blendy, and the golem Kichiyo. We represent Lamia Scale, and hope to see this task through to success with the rest of you."

"OH YEEEAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Once their ears stopped ringing from the golem's enthusiastic roar, the entire hall went black in an instant. Suddenly one set of lights turned back on and illuminated the group of men in suits and poses.

"Hibiki Lates!"

"Ren Akatsuki!"

"Eve Tearm!"

"They are the Trimens of Blue Pegasus, and I am its shining star, Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki!" The short, gruff man pointed at those around him and winked, "Nice to meet you~. Meeeeeeennnnnnnnnn~!"

Erza felt a cold shock go through her spine and shivered before coughing into her fist, "This is Naruto Uzumaki, Lucy Heartfilia, Natsu Dragoneel, Gray Fullbuster, Happy, and I am Erza Scarlet. We are the Fairy Titans of Fairy Tail!" The other fairies tried to stop her from saying the name but could only palm their faces at how fast she responded and the odd looks the others gave them, "A pleasure."

"Pfft."

Gray snarled with a blush, "SHUT UP LYON!"

"Now that we have that out of the way, it's time to proceed with the assignment. Our foes-"

"A moment, Jura-San." Hibiki interrupted, "I'm sorry for cutting you off but we aren't all here just yet. This is a joint fight between four guilds, and we are still missing the representative from the Cait Shelter guild."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the familiar sounding name.

"So the Cait Shelter Mages haven't arrived yet?" Jura narrowed his eyes as Hibiki nodded, "That is unfortunate. If they haven't already arrived at the appointed time then we may have to entertain the possibility that the representatives have met some kind of trouble on the way to the meeting point. Perhaps they crossed a creature from the forest or met members of a Dark Guild stalking in the Woodsea-"

"OOF!"

All eyes turned to the entrance to see a small figure had tripped over their own feet just before entering and had slammed on their face. The little body let out a tiny whimper and rubbed their nose.

"Or they were just late." Jura shrugged, "Might you be a Mage from Cait Shelter?"

"Y-Yes sir." The gathered Mages were surprised by how young and soft the voice was, but were even more surprised to see it fitted the little girl it came from. The diminutive girl stood back up on her feet but immediately cowered and sunk into herself when she noticed all the looks being sent her way. The little girl had dark blue hair that went all the way down her back. On her bare shoulders was the Cait Shelter tattoo signifying her as a member of the guild. But despite her position the girl struggled to raise her head and look up from her feet in embarrassment as she whispered, "I-I'm sorry I was so late. P-Please forgive me. I'm one of the Mages from Cait Shelter, W-Wendy Marvell." The blue-haired girl tried to raise her gaze but looked aside instead, "I-I'm not actually very good in a fight myself, b-but I know many spells to support others! S-So I can still be of help!"

"It's...a kid?" Gray muttered in surprise.

"We're about to fight a corner of the Balam Alliance and they send a child to join us?"

"Stand up straight, Wendy! No one is going to take you seriously if you keep muttering and balling up like that!" The little Mage flinched and cowered before looking back at the stern voice reprimanding her. Following up behind the young Mage was a white cat standing on her back legs. Her paws were crossed in front of her and she had a stern, unfriendly expression while looking over the room, "You need to stand up for yourself in situations like this. Lord knows how these garish people may try to take advantage of you and your abilities."

"C-Carla, don't say that."

"Whoa! It's a cat just like Happy!"

The Fairies looked down at their own blue cat only to see him with a gaping jaw and glassy eyes while staring at the white cat. He stuttered, "S-S-She's beautiful."

"Oh gross, he's enamored."

Wendy shook from her nerves, her embarrassment and timidity overloading her senses as she heard the other Mages start to whisper about her. Her anxiety continued to grow and she tried to calm herself down before noticing that she was not alone. She slowly craned her neck back and looked up at the tall figure that had suddenly appeared in front of her. Her mind blanked and she let out a small whimper as the imposing figure lowered himself down to face her.

"Hey."

Wendy's mind went blank before she quickly responded, "H-Hello sir! I'm sorry for not noticing you sooner! I-I was just-"

"Hehehe," The blond man chuckled and gave her a kind, simple smile, "Guess you don't recognize me, do you?"

"H-Huh?"

"Back off please." Carla stepped in front of Wendy defensively and frowned at the man casually addressing her, "I'd prefer if Wendy spent her time with respectable, decent members of society and I can tell by a glance that you are not one of them."

"I still see someone's got your tail in a knot you crabby little cat."

"Excuse me?! What kind of vulgar person says that to a complete stranger..." Carla paused and looked at the man closely before her eyes widened in horror, "Oh no, not you."

Wendy stepped around her companion and looked at the man closely once more. The spiky blond hair. The blue and brown eyes. The older face that still showed a kind and warm smile to her. Wendy's eyes widened before they started to water as well, covering her mouth to stifle her gasp, "Naruto-San?"

Naruto grinned and chuckled, "You've grown up a lot, Wendy."

"Naruto-San!" Wendy's trepidation almost vanished and quickly jumped forward and embraced Naruto. He was quick to put a hand on her back so she didn't stumble as the girl muttered happily by his side, "I-I never thought I'd see you again."

"It's good to see you too."

The two shared a silent moment to reconnect after so long...

"Psst, Naruto. Hey, Naruto." The S-Class Mage looked behind him and saw Happy looking up at him with a hopeful smile, "You know these girls, right? And you put in a good word to the cute cat for me? Please~. I'll give you fish."

...

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

########Omake: Because It Had To Be Done########

Lightning strikes, the light comes in, and Naruto narrows his eyes.

~When there's trouble, you know who to call~, FAIRY TITANS!

~From their guild hall they can see it all~, FAIRY TITANS!

Erza flies down and summons several swords before they swirl around her at amazing speeds.

~When there's evil on the attack, you can rest knowing they got your back, cuz when Fiore needs heroes on patrol~

FAIRY TITANS GO!

Natsu pops up with a smirk, igniting his whole body in flames before spitting fire that envelops everything.

Lucy runs in and comes to a sliding halt, giving a cute wink before pulling out her keys and summoning her spirits.

~With their magic powers they unite~, FAIRY TITANS! ~Never met a Dark Mage that they like~, FAIRY TITANS!

Gray slams his hands together and with a mighty roar creates a field of icicles and jagged weapons with his magic.

Naruto drops down from the shadows, wind kicking up around him as he drew his black blade with a glare.

~They've got the bad guys on the run~!

~They never stop till the job gets done~!

~Cuz when Fiore is losin' all control~!

FAIRY TITANS GO!

Erza, Naruto, Natsu, Lucy, and Gray all slide in together with Happy flying in and throwing a paw in the air.

1, 2, 3, 4, GO! Fairy Titans!

"HA!" Max slammed his hand down on the Lacrima and showed an eager grin, "How's that for advertising! People are gonna want you from all corners of the country! And with your increase in demand, maybe a little 37% slide to your new manager, eh?"

The rest of the team looked confused, horrified, shocked, and just downright cringed at the visual they had watched and unfortunately starred in. Somehow Max had gotten all the footage he needed to crop together a promotional video from what they did around the guild. Obviously most of them didn't even like the video and didn't want to entertain the idea.

Unfortunately one person did, and it was enough.

"WE'LL TAKE IT!" Erza screamed in joy with stars in her eyes.

The other Fairy Titans palmed their faces and groaned.

########Hunter########

Oh, feels good to finally reach this point and reintroduce Wendy and Carla. Been waiting a long time to bring them back into the fray.

Expect a lot of elder sibling instinct from now on. Like who can't try and protect that adorable summer child with every fiber of their being.

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