Ice Dragoness

by Bugg18

Rewrite of Icelynn Lace: Ice Fire Dragon Slayer. Icelynn is the heart sister of Lucy Heartfilia, and the two put life of high society behind them to join the coolest guild in Fiore: Fairy Tail. This is Icelynn's story as the Ice Dragon slayer of Fairy Tail. And why is it that she feels drawn to the Lightning Dragon Slayer who may know more about her past then the two may realize?

10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Punishment Detail

And sure enough, Erza completed the job that Lucy, Natsu, and Happy had stolen, free of charge seeing as the guild never sanctioned it in the first place. It's actually kind of funny, how easy it was for Erza to break the so called 'curse' that had befallen the people of Galuna Island. And I use the term curse lightly, as it was anything but.

As it turns out, the Moon Drip spell that was being used to revive Deliora doesn't affect humans in the way that the villagers believed. Gray's old rival, Lyon had been around the moon drip for as long as they had, but his appearance and memories hadn't been altered in any way. It was this fact, along with the fact that upon our arrival, we were told that the villagers couldn't enter the temple, that Erza was able to piece the puzzle before us together.

The truth of the matter was that when the moon drip spell was cast, it would leave behind a toxic gas in the sky, and as the moon drip ritual was performed every night over a three year span, this gas began to crystalize in the atmosphere and eventually formed a nearly invisible shell over the entire island. Which is also why no matter where you went on Galuna Island, the moon had been purple instead of its normal gentle silver. It was the gas however, that was affecting the villagers. It gave them amnesia, causing them to think that they were originally humans cursed to take on the form of demons at night. When in reality, they were actually demons capable of taking on human form. Which is also why they weren't able to enter the temple, with it being the opposite power than what they lived and breathed.

My sister, Natsu, Happy, and Gray couldn't for the life of them piece together how to help the villagers, but Erza knew what needed to be done thanks to her experience as an actual S-Class wizard. The answer: destroy the crystalized membrane in the sky. And destroy the membrane she did, although she needed Natsu's help to do that. With how high in the sky the membrane was, she needed him to give the enchanted spear she planned to throw at the membrane a boost with his fire magic. Just to make sure it would reach it. The moment that the actual light of the moon touched the villagers, they not only regained their ability to transform again, but they got their memories back as well.

We remained with the villagers and their newly and mysteriously restored village for a few days after that. They had insisted that we stay for the celebration that they wanted to hold in order to thank us for our help. I'm pretty sure that the only reason Erza agreed was because they had strawberry cake, and the fact that Gray needed time to heal from his fight with Lyon, and time to process things. Especially seeing as the fate of his teacher was dragged into the light, along with his tragic past and how he got to bear witness to the death of the very demon that murdered his family. But that didn't stop Erza from reminding the four that they faced punishment once we returned to Magnolia and the guild. She also made it clear that even I might have to face some form of penalty when we returned. Which was fine by me.

After all, I had agreed to follow Erza's orders to the letter and ended up standing against her regarding what was to be done about the demon that was mere hours from being woken up. In my heart, I know that I'd do it again because it was the right thing to do. Crazy, but the right thing.

Once Gray was fit to travel, we said our goodbyes to the villagers before boarding the pirate ship Erza and I had commandeered and heading back to Hargeon on the mainland. Before we could leave, the village chief once again tried to get Erza to take the reward money. Not as payment, but as a gift. Still, Erza refused, but to make the old man feel better, she decided to take the celestial gate key off their hands. Especially seeing as none of the villagers would be able to use it, being demons and not Celestial wizards after all. Natsu and Gray were really bummed out, but they broke guild protocol. Lucy on the other hand was only slightly bummed about not getting the reward money but was excited that she would be getting something. A little reward in of itself in her case.

Unfortunately for my sister, Erza thought of this; and instead of handing the gate key over to Lucy, she handed it to me instead. Erza asked me to hang on to the key for her but made me promise not to hand it over to my sister until after she faced whatever punishment Master Makarov deemed appropriate to act as the consequence of stealing the S-Class request. With the way Lucy had scared me half to death and caused me to have to ride a fucking boat to save her ass, I had no trouble agreeing. I even ensured to have Lucy make a celestial promise to not steal the gate key from me, that way she can't just plunder through my things and get it on her own while I'm too busy trying not to throw up while we took the ship back to Fiore.

We all made it back to the mainland after that without any issues. The pirate captain even told Erza and I how to contact him via lacrima should we beauties ever need another ship, free of charge before we left the docks. With how late it is right now, we'll be staying here in Hargeon for the night, and we'll be heading back to Magnolia and Master Makarov's punishment first thing tomorrow.

As for right now, I'm just going to try and relax and get rid of this migraine that came on while on the ship and do what I can to placate my pouting sister without making it worse. I'd say wish me luck, but you'd probably just call it Karma for all the shit I pulled as a little girl. It's just too bad that you aren't here to tell me so yourself. I know that Lucy would have been thrilled to have met you, after I've spent years telling her about you. Once I began talking again, that is.

Anyway, I'll write to you again soon Storm,

Icelynn.

~X~ ~X~ ~X~

Pushing my notebook with my newly composed letter to my dragon to the side of the desk that sat in the hotel room I'm currently sharing with Lucy and Erza to dry, I turned to take a good look at the pouty face Lucy was aiming in my direction.

"You've had that expression on your face since we left Galuna Island, if you don't watch it Luce, your face might stick that way." I teased, which in turn caused Lucy to break the pout she was giving me only long enough to stick her tongue out at me for a second, then she went right back to it.

"You want me to stop pouting, then give me the key." She muttered, as I rolled my eyes in my sister's direction.

Well, I knew that one was coming soon as Erza left to take a bath. I thought to myself, as I turned in the chair that I was sitting in to face Lucy fully.

"Come on, Sis, you know that I can't." I reminded her. "Erza made me promise to hold on to the key until after we face whatever punishment the Master has cooked up for us."

"I know, but it's just not fair…" Lucy whined, giving me the puppy eyes as she did so. "That gate key is one of the Zodiac keys, and we don't know anybody else who can use it, so I don't know why I can't just hold on to it. Besides, don't you think I deserve a little something for helping out those Islanders?" she said, as I sighed heavily.

"Lucy, Erza already explained to you that the people of Galuna Island had put out the job requests to all the guilds, and that the job was classified as an S-Rank quest. One that only- "

"-only an S-Class Wizard is qualified to accept. Something that I, Natsu, Gray, and Happy are not." Lucy echoed as I narrowed my eyes at her.

"So, you were paying attention." I remarked, as I turned back around to test the page of my notebook to see if the ink had dried. Seeing that it had, I closed my notebook and stood from my chair to stretch.

"Look, I know that you and Natsu just wanted to prove yourselves but stealing that S-Class request was definitely not the right way to go about it. Hell, do you three know how many people you scared pulling this stunt?" I asked her, as guilt began to enter my sister's brown eyes.

"W-we… We scared some of the people back at the guild?" Lucy asked in a small voice, as I nodded my head once.

"Yeah, you did." I said, taking on an understanding tone, as I picked up my notebook and moved to sit next to Lucy on the bed that we'd claimed for ourselves for the night. Our room only had two, so we let Erza have the other one for herself. "On my way back from Shirotsume, I saw some other members of the guild on the train, and I overheard them mention that a couple of members had stolen an S-Class quest." I stated, as Lucy turned to face me.

"You did? Wow, that was the morning after we left…" Lucy said, as she got more comfortable in her new position. "Who were the guildmates you saw on the train anyway?" she asked, as I thought back to the three.

"No one we've officially met yet, but all three of them had Fairy Tail's emblem. One of them had it on his tongue of all places." I said, as Lucy's face drew up in slight disgust and intrigue.

"On his tongue? Ew. I hope they sanitized the guild stamp after he got his guild mark, and how did he even get them to stamp his tongue of all places?" Lucy wondered out loud, causing me to shrug along with her.

"They also mentioned Laxus, so maybe they're his team or something." I said, as my mind flashed back to the last time that I saw that asshole. "They were heading back to Magnolia to meet up with him outside the guild. After I swung by our apartment to look for you and ran for the guild when I saw that you and your suitcase were missing, I saw them waiting for him at a café I passed." I continued, giving Lucy a pointed look when I mentioned our empty apartment.

"You saw Evergreen, Bixlow, and Freed." A familiar voice spoke from the door to the hotel room, as Erza walked through in her pjs, a towel slung across her shoulders to keep the water still in her hair from getting all over the place. Lucy let out a small squeak beside me and tried to look anywhere but at our red-headed friend least she get another scolding. "They're members of Laxus' team, which everyone in the guild calls the Thunder Legion." Erza explained, as she walked over to her bed and sat down. Taking on a relaxed posture to show that she was simply there to speak, not scold anyone. "It's actually even rarer to see them at the guild than it is to see Laxus. Did you stop and introduce yourself to them Icelynn?" Erza asked, as I shook my head no at her.

"I didn't think it was a good idea. When we were all still on the train, I overheard them mention that they didn't like how I stood up to Laxus that day after you and Natsu were released from the custody of the magic counsel. And when I spotted them at the café, I was too worried about Lucy over here to stop and say anything." I answered, moving a bit to get more comfortable where I sat. "Besides, by the time that I got done working out the details to come and find you, I'm sure Laxus and his team had already left. Which probably wasn't a bad thing, seeing as I ended up having to stand up to Laxus for a second time once I reached the guild hall." I said, as Lucy turned curious eyes towards me.

"Wait, again?" Lucy scoffed. "What'd he say this time? Did he try and goad you into going up to him again like he did with Natsu?" She asked.

"No, he actually came down to the first floor on his own. Before I could so much as open the doors to the guild, I could actually hear the Master yelling at him to go and locate you, Natsu, and Gray. When I heard the bastard accusing me of running off to help you three fools, I went in and set the record straight, and asked Master Makarov to allow me to accompany whomever he chose to send after you. After that is when Laxus did something kind of weird." I stated, causing Erza to look at me in guarded concern.

"Did Laxus do something to upset you, Icelynn? I can speak with the Master and teach him a lesson on your behalf if needs be." Erza offered, as I shook my head no at her once more.

"That's not necessary Erza. I mean, he didn't upset me, just pissed me off with his little speech about us being weaklings biting off more than we can chew. When he said it, I felt my control over my magic slip a bit, bringing the room temperature down in my immediate vicinity. And as I'm sure you've seen, sometimes my dragon slayer magic causes my eyes to become more draconic. That happened, and Laxus, for a split second, looked at me like he'd seen a ghost." I said, pausing to look down at my hands before continuing. "After that, he seemed to have lost the will to keep arguing, muttered something about Fairy Tail mages being able to take care of themselves as he left the guild hall. I have to admit it though, I was a bit confused as to why he would look at me like that." I admitted.

At my words, Lucy froze in place, while Erza tilted her head to the side.

"Okay, that does sound a bit out of character for Laxus. Yet, as I say that, I know that there are actually many things that aren't clear when it comes to the master's grandson." Erza said, crossing her legs as she thought about my words.

"Wait, do you have some idea as to why Laxus reacted that way Erza? I figure I remined him of someone he'd rather forget from his past or something." I asked her, only for Erza to shake her had no at me.

"I'm afraid not… Back when I first joined Fairy Tail, Laxus was withdrawn, but not outright hostile to nearly everyone as he is now. Then one day it all changed. Laxus began pushing people away, and before any of us knew it, the only people he began keeping the company of was his team. But we can all see that he keeps even them at arm's length." Erza explained. "The only person who might know would be Master Makarov but asking him would probably be of no use. Save for mentioning Laxus and his foolishness from time to time, the master doesn't speak of his family."

As I processed these words, the communications lacrima in Erza's things began going off.

"Oh, that's probably Mirajane or the Master, I'll be right back." Erza said, as she took out the lacrima and went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

As soon as Erza was out of sight, Lucy grabbed my hand. The frozen look from a few moments ago still on her face.

"Lucy?" I questioned, as she gave the bathroom door a quick glance before looking back at me.

"Laxus looked at you like he saw a ghost?" she asked, as I nodded my head once, becoming confused.

"Yeah, he did… What are you thinking Lucy?" I asked her, as she tightened her grip on my hand.

"Could he be the one you spoke of?" she asked in a hushed voice. "The boy who saved you, the one who you said smelled like a thunderstorm?"

At her words, I began to feel a well of mixed emotions beginning to settle inside me.

"I've thought about it…" I muttered, letting out another heavy sigh. "His scent is the closest I've come across to the one who saved me, but at the same time, I can't believe that Laxus is the boy from my past. He doesn't have the heart to help anyone. Fucking hell, Lucy, he flat out refused to follow Makarov's orders to track you, Natsu, Happy, and Gray down and force you back home."

"Yeah, but did you forget that Erza also said that Laxus used to be different." Lucy argued. "Icelynn, I remember how you were when you were first brought to the Heartfilia estate. You were closed off and didn't care who you hurt so long as you were left alone. Yet, somehow, I was able to break through to you. You saw that there were still people out there worth knowing and who you felt like you could protect and care for. And if I hadn't been able to do that, then you would have become closed off…"

"And knowing Jude, if you hadn't broken through to me, he'd have eventually thrown me out on my ass." I stated, as I thought about it. "And I'd become someone with a similar attitude to Laxus. Going on and on about becoming stronger, and not being weak anymore. So weak that I can't prevent people from stepping on me or the ones I cared for. Especially if one of the ones I care for…" I continued, only to freeze up at the way my thoughts were going, and how they were beginning to make perfect sense.

"Icelynn?" Lucy called, pulling me out of the speechlessness I had momentarily fallen into.

"If one of my loved ones, or someone I tried to save died because I wasn't strong enough to save them in time…" I continued, before whirling on my sister. "Hey Lucy, could it be possible that Jude paid the hospital to tell anyone who asked about where I disappeared to, that I had died of my injuries?" I asked her, as Lucy thought about it herself.

"Up until this last year, I'd have denied anything of the sort." Lucy began, as a forlorn look adorned her face. "Yet now that I think about it, it does sound like something he'd do. You and I both know that it's only a matter of time before my father launches some sort of scheme to force us to go back home again, and in time to force us into the arranged marriages he's no doubt planned out for us by now." She answered, as I felt a knot of cold anger forming in my stomach.

"You're probably right… Us being in a guild will only stay his hand for so long. We'll just have to do our best to not be caught unawares. Luckily, you have a whole team to help look out for you when I'm not around, complete with a fire breathing dragon slayer." I stated, as Lucy gave me a worried look.

"That's all well and good Sis, but that scenario only makes me feel more worried about you. What happens if my father manages to get his hands on you while you're out doing a job by yourself?" Lucy asked, as I waved off her concerns.

"He won't be able to send anybody that can capture me Luce. Don't forget, we're guild mages, protected by a very legal guild. The only people Jude would be able to hire and send after me would be small time mercs and free lancers. He wouldn't be able to really hire someone with substantial magical abilities without having some kind of political back lash. He also wouldn't risk trying to hire members of a dark guild to try and get us. That'll likely bite him in the ass even worse." I explained, as Lucy gave me a bit of a hopeful, yet skeptical look.

"I suppose you're right. And it all still points to the fact that my father is capable of trying to erase as much of your past as he feels he needs to. Especially if he wants to marry you off to someone like that Xavier Crevier noble to expand the Heartfilia railroad business of his." Lucy stated, crossing her arms under her chest.

"Yeah…" I said, breathing out heavily, as I got up to put my notebook back in my backpack. "Look, I'll think about everything we've talked about, but it's probably best that we don't go looking for answers just yet. If your father does track us down, then I don't want it to be because we made it easy for him." I said, as I closed my backpack, and turned to face Lucy once more, becoming serious again.

"Anyway, like I was saying before we got into all that bull shit, you really scared me, Lucy. Hell, even Master Makarov was worried that whomever he sent to get you would be too late, that you'd all be dead. Hell, Erza would never admit it, but beneath all that anger she directed at you when we arrived at the island, she was really worried about all of you too. I know that things turned out okay, that you weren't really in very much danger seeing as Deliora just keeled right over, but on the other side of things when we didn't know that that was how it was to all turn out, was very frightening." I paused, throwing Lucy a pleading look. "So, please, Lucy. Don't do this shit to me again." I begged her as she shrank down into herself a bit while my words sank in.

"I'm sorry… I didn't want to scare anybody…" she apologized, as I nodded my head once to accept it.

"I'm not angry with you anymore, still a bit irritated, but I forgive you. Just don't do it again…" I stated, becoming a bit curious at the same time. "Why did you help Natsu and Happy steal that job request anyway?" I asked her.

"Oh no, I didn't help them steal it!" Lucy denied, shaking her head vigorously. "Happy went upstairs and pulled it from the S-Class request board, then Natsu and Happy brought it to our apartment. They showed it to me, and I tried to tell them how furious the Master would be with them if he knew that they had it, but they didn't want to listen to me." Lucy continued. "I actually refused them at first, and Natsu and Happy left out the window. I yelled at them to use the door like I always do before I closed the window, but when I turned around, I saw that they had left the job request behind on the floor… Then I got scared that everyone would think that I stole it… And while I was looking at it, I saw that part of the reward was… Was receiving a celestial gate key…" she explained, trailing off as the guilt and sheepishness began to creep up on her.

"Let me guess, you got excited over the fact that a gate key was involved, and threw caution to the wind, and changed your mind about joining Happy and Natsu." I filled in. "And when Gray caught up to you, I guess you three kidnapped him and made your way to the island. Then, when you reached it, Gray figured that he'd come that far, why not help you finish the job." I asked, as Lucy nodded her head a few times.

"Yeah, but we all share the blame for it, huh?" she asked, as I nodded my head once.

"I'm afraid so. You and Gray may have been persuaded not so cleverly by our Salamander, but the final decision was your own." I stated. "Just like mine to stand against Erza with Gray on stopping Deliora from being awoken from his stasis and putting everything on that island in danger."

"I know that Deliora wasn't part of the job that we stole, but why are you going to be punished Icelynn? You did help Erza to track us down." Lucy asked, as I felt a bit sheepish myself.

"One of the conditions Master had me agree to in order to be allowed to come with Erza to find you was that I followed her every order to the letter. By standing against her in her endeavor to bring you all home immediately for punishment, I figuratively went against our guild master's orders." I explained, as I moved back to the bed. "So, yeah, I'm probably in trouble as well."

"No more than I would be, I'm afraid." Erza said, as she opened the bathroom door and stepped back out, the communications lacrima darkened in her hands.

"Erza…" Lucy said, confusion clear in her tone.

"How would you be in trouble for that? You're the one giving the orders, I had to take them." I inquired, as Erza gave us a small smile of her own.

"How did you say it, Icelynn, I figuratively went against the master's orders when I allowed you all to work together to ensure the demon didn't become a threat to those living on Galuna Island. Master Makarov wanted everyone brought home at once, and I failed to do that. Still, we all must begin our journey back to Magnolia at first light. And while I'm still disappointed in you Lucy, as I am with Happy, Natsu and Gray, I'm happy that you and your sister could make up." Erza stated, before taking on a no nonsense demeanor. "Now, to bed with us, we leave soon enough." She ordered, moving towards the wall to turn off the light.

"'Night Icelynn. 'Night Erza." Lucy said, giving me a quick hug before diving beneath the blanket on the bed.

Scoffing in amusement, I reached down at the foot of the bed for the blanket I had brought out of my pack for the night and pulled it up to my shoulder, laying on top of the huge blanket that came with the bed. My way to ensure that I don't make things too cold for Lucy overnight.

"Goodnight Sis, Erza." I stated, as I got comfortable.

"Goodnight both." Erza replied as she got beneath the covers of her own bed.

~X~ ~X~ ~X~

Magnolia… Two Days Later… Laxus…

Sitting in my darkened corner upon the second floor of the guild hall where I couldn't be seen, I silently watched as the rest of the so called members of Fairy Tail milled about in their day to day. Taking this job, finishing that job, destroying many a jewel worth of so and so's property. Couriers bringing stacks and stacks of complaints and bills for damages to go on my grandfather's desk over in the guild master's office from the magic counsel.

As I watched all of this play out over the rim of the mug of beer in my hand, I couldn't help but feel disgusted at how weak my guild's become over the years. It's only a matter of time before push comes to shove, and they'll all learn that slaying a monster here, or hunting down a rogue dark mage there isn't enough to make them stronger. Strong enough to keep anybody else from pushing us around.

Strong enough to protect those we swear to look after… the thought came unbidden to me as images of that bitch's icy, draconic blue eyes alight with rebellion came to mind. Eyes that pissed me off because they looked just like hers; and because they gave me what I knew to be a false sense of hope that somehow that girl from my past had actually survived the torment that befell her at the hands of my old man. Which in turn only pissed me off more because that meant that I had been lied to. I don't know by who, but someone took me for a fool, and that's not something I'll let slide once I find out who the fuck it is.

That'll have to come later though, once I bring my guild up to speed and weed out those who are weak. I thought, as I glanced over at the file that still sat on top of the wood of my table. Inside of it were the basic guild files of every wizard that belonged to Fairy Tail. I had borrowed them during the commotion Salamander had caused so that Freed could spend the better part of the last couple of nights making copies of every one of them to run through his enchantments. Later on, I plan to go through them all and make a list of the wizards that I feel are too weak to remain with the guild.

As for those who I find to be worthy enough to remain, they'll get the chance to go through the test my team and I are devising to ensure that everyone I felt to be strong, are truly so before I allow them to retain their membership as the guild's new master.

It'll only be then that I'll feel confident in the knowledge that even if my bastard of a dad returns to take the dragon lacrima from me, or to experiment on anyone else from my guild, we'll be able to pound him and his Raven Tail into the dirt. Him or anyone else who dares to try and rip Fairy Tail apart.

However, even though I'm trying not to think about her, I can't help but wonder more about that Icelynn bitch. Despite how much she resembles that girl, I can't really tell if she's someone I want to remain in Fairy Tail when I launch my scheme to force Gramps into retirement.

I might just have to bite it and do what I can to check her background. She looks and smells too much like that girl to be a coincidence. If Icelynn turns out to not be her, just a dead ringer, then she'll have to test her strength like everyone else. If she fails to do that, then she's out. But if she is the same girl, will I be able to cast her aside if she's weak? I thought to myself.

The more I went over it in my head, the more I felt pissed about it, causing a quiet growl of annoyance to leave my chest. The girl I failed is one of the reasons why I put so much time and effort into training my lightning dragon slayer magic that's coursing through my body. If she really is still alive, and if Icelynn really is that girl from the dungeon, then I'll have wasted part of my time and effort on nothing.

"Not a fucking chance in hell…" I muttered to myself, as I finished off my beer, barely remembering to not slam the glass down on the table too hard least I shatter the damn thing. At least my electricity was still under my tight control. Last time I busted some of the lights, Gramps spent three hours lecturing me. Going on about how I needed to be more careful with the overpowered side of my dragon slaying magic, that my father's dirty work needed to remain a secret and on and on and on.

If Icelynn is the girl that I thought I failed to save and proves to be weaker than I think she is, then I'll just make her become worthy of what I put myself through. I thought to myself, a bit of the anger fading. I'll make her become strong enough to be worthy of me…

It was about this time that I heard the main doors to the guild slam open and the obnoxiously loud voice of Natsu Dragneel echoing out through the guild that they made it back alive. Causing Scarlet to plant her armored fist into Natsu's skull, reminding him that he was still up shit creek. However, my attention was drawn from them as the scent of fresh fallen snow entered my senses, bringing out a growl I couldn't really decipher from my throat. Looking towards the back, I spotted the dragon slayer I'd just been contemplating. Her eyes weren't glowing icy blue this time, like they had that day she burst into the guild looking for Blondie who now walked in beside her looking rather nervous.

Leaning back in my chair, I just chose to observe for a while. Maybe Gramp's will pick something amusing to do to the idiots on the ground floor once he returns from the Guild Master's meeting he's currently at.

I'll just have to wait and see what happens. I thought to myself, as I saw Natsu and Happy go to the job request board they actually were qualified to take work from to pick out another job to go on. Bringing about Erza's ire once more as she ran over that looser Loki to get a hold of Natsu…

~X~ ~X~ ~X~

Fairy Tail Guild Hall… Ground Floor… Icelynn…

"Don't even think about it Natsu!" Erza stated, as she marched right over Loki who had been trying once again, to flee the very sight of my sister. "Team Natsu will not be taking any jobs until you've been dealt with by Master Makarov." She declared, ignoring Loki's now prone form.

We'd arrived back at the guild about five-ten minutes ago to find out that Master Makarov was currently out at a guild master's meeting. In hearing this news, Team Natsu let out a collective sigh of relief. Erza reaffirmed for the millionth time that they were in no way shape or form off the hook, and their punishment would be dished out as soon as the Master returned. Which in turn led some of the older members of the guild to pick at us. Wakaba even joked how it was nice knowing us, and that while he kind of expected that to happen to Natsu and Gray when Makarov returned, that it would be a crying shame for Lucy to have to go through it too. Even gave her a 'you poor girl' for the trouble.

Natsu and Gray beat him up for a bit for that one, while I simply moved to sit at the bar to await Makarov's return and watch the normal chaos that is Fairy Tail ensue as I did so. Lucy on the other hand, began to panic over what their punishment might be. Again, I might add.

This very topic had been speculated just as we reached Magnolia. Apparently Gray remembered a past punishment that he and Natsu had undergone. Calling it that, but despite Lucy asking repeatedly what that was, we never got an answer. Apparently, it was a traumatic punishment Makarov must have dished out for the two boys to become more scared than I've ever seen them get.

When they were done with Wakaba, both Natsu and Gray went to the job request board while Erza had her back turned, discussing the return of the Master with Mira. Well, at least until she heard Natsu say how creepy he thought the job request he had pulled from the board was. Which caught not only Gray's attention, but also that of Loki who walked over to see how they had faired on Galuna Island. Only for him to turn and run when Lucy's attention was drawn over to the odd request as well. Then came Erza marching over.

Ignoring Erza's words, Natsu simply moved with the request over to one of the empty tables to take a better look at it, Gray and Lucy in tow.

"Decipher this text, and I'll see that you'll gain the reward of 500,000 Jewel." Natsu read from the flier as he reached the table. "This one sounds like a winner to me. What do you think, Happy?" Natsu asked, as the little blue cat used his wings to get to the tabletop.

"It sure does!" Happy agreed once he got a good look at it.

"I thought I told you: No Jobs!" Erza snapped at them, only to be ignored once again.

"A translation job?" Gray stated, as he looked the flier over as well. "That's an odd request to send to a guild." he remarked, as Lucy moved to Natsu's other side to look over it as well.

"It looks like some kind of ancient text…" Lucy noted, looking over at where I sat by myself. "Icelynn, what can you make of this? You learned a few languages I skipped over growing up." She asked, as I gave my sister a dry look.

"Oh, no. You're on your own on this one." I told her, as Lucy tried to give me her puppy eyes. "Don't look at me in that tone of voice, Sis. I just got back from dragging your ass out of one mess, I am not about to dive headfirst into another!" I warned her, as Lucy gave me a pout that clearly stated how fun she thought I currently was.

"A wise choice, despite the fact they're not leaving the guild hall until Master returns." Erza said, glaring at Team Natsu.

"Oh, hold on." Happy said, being the one to ignore our Erza and her jailor attitude this time. "It's also written in modern letters too." He pointed out, causing Natsu to take another look as well.

"Yeah, I can totally read this part!" Natsu declared, picking up the flier to read from it aloud. "Let's see…" He muttered, then read out something that sounded too much like an incantation for me to feel comfortable.

I ended up being right about that, as this rainbow light erupts from the flier, engulfing anyone who was near that table.

"Geez, those kids are so scared of what Makarov's gonna do that they're sweatin' rainbows." I heard Wakaba say from the side, causing Macao to pull the mug of ale from his hand.

"That's enough booze for you for today, damn." He muttered as the light surrounding the table that my sister was still standing at finally began dying down.

Getting up from my stool, I cautiously began walking over to where Lucy still stood.

"Luce, are you alright?" I called over, as she just kept staring at the job request Natsu had dropped back down to the table when the light erupted from it.

Then, just as I was about to pass behind Gray to get to my sister, he suddenly jumps and begins hugging himself.

"Why is it so cold!?" he asked in a very high pitched voice, causing everybody, including me, to jump in surprise. "Can't someone turn up the heat before I freeze to death? Pretty please!?" he begged, beginning to shiver like mad.

"What the! But ice wizards don't get cold!" Elfman said from where he stood with Mirajane.

No, they certainly don't once they come into their magic unless their very ill… I thought in agreement, as I carefully eyed Gray for a moment. However, whatever other thoughts I had on this situation were brought to a grinding halt when Lucy swore. Actually, swore like you'd hear from Natsu or Gray. Something Lucy only ever did when she was really, really mad. Like if someone had deliberately stolen her keys and tried to hurt her spirits type of mad.

"Lucy?" I asked cautiously, keeping my eyes on my sister. However, as I called her, it wasn't Lucy who answered me, it was Gray.

"W-what i-is it I-Icel-lynn?" Gray asked, bringing a confused look to my face as he turned to look at me. As he did so, he glanced at Lucy and stopped moving as a look of pure shock and horror crossed his face.

I wanted to ask Gray what was wrong with him and why he was answering for Lucy, but before I could, Lucy swore once more bringing everyone's attention back to her.

"Why the fuck does my chest feel really weird and heavy all of a sudden!?" Lucy asked out loud in a deeper than normal voice as she suddenly doubled over, grasping at the table we all now stood around for support. "My back is killing me…" She stated, rubbing at her own back.

I was at a loss for words, or what to do… Especially when Lucy looked over at Gray and began mirroring the look of pure shock with the hint of horror he wore upon his face. Then, as if things couldn't get stranger, Loki finally stands up rubbing at his head.

"That's odd, I don't remember lying down on the floor…" he said to himself, only to have Natsu calmly reach up towards his face to push a pair of non-existent glasses up on his nose before turning to look back towards Loki.

"Wait, I thought that I was the one on the floor." Natsu said as the situation began to click for me. A theory that was further confirmed when Natsu turned and gave my ailing sister a single glance before dashing for the doors of the guild hall like Erza was about to put the fear of God into him.

Seeing this, who I suspected was now Gray in my sister's body turned to watch as Natsu fled the sight of him… Er… Her?

"What's the matter Dragon Breath? Too scared to face me now!" Gray hollered after what must have been Loki in Natsu's body. Only to draw up short when he heard how high pitched his voice was. "Why do I sound like a girl?" he demanded, putting Lucy's hand up to his mouth.

"That's because you physically are a girl at the moment." Macao stated, causing Gray to turn wide eyes back at him in Lucy's body, along with everyone else in the room.

"What? But that doesn't make any sense! I can't be a girl!" Gray-Lucy shot back, as I let out an aggravated sigh.

Wow, Master sure is a sneaky old man… I thought as Gray, Lucy, and Natsu in Loki's body began bemoaning how they were switched up. However, this was ceased when the final pair who had been switched up was revealed. Rather hilariously, although I'll never admit it.

"Why is everyone acting so foolishly?" Happy demanded, in a very Erza like manner. Which in turned, caused everyone to cease what they were doing and turn to look at the little blue cat in total bewilderment.

"Oh… Shit…" I muttered, as I turned to look towards where a very happy looking Erza stood looking for Natsu. Or rather, an enthusiastic Happy was in Erza's body. Without the normal armor she always wore I might add.

"Oh wow! Check it out Natsu!" Happy shouted in Erza's voice as the not so little blue cat glanced about for his best friend. "Hey, where did Natsu go?" he wondered out loud, causing Natsu in Loki's body to go over to him to set him straight.

"Hey, I'm right here!" Natsu said, trailing off as he noticed how dark everything seemed while he was wearing Loki's lightly tinted sunglasses.

"Hey Natsu…" Happy called, causing Natsu to forget about the sunglasses for a moment. "I could be wrong, but I don't think I've always had these…" Happy continued, reaching up and cupping Erza's boobs. "Have I?" he continued, turning to face the rest of the guild, squeezing them as he repeated the question a few times much to the delight of all the males in the guild.

"Why you insufferable feline!" Erza growled in Happy's body, launching a tiny kick at her own body to put an end to Happy's foolishness. However, before the kick could land, Happy managed to tap into Erza's magic to Re-Quip the armor she always wore. Which in turn, caused Erza to land her attack rather painfully upon her beloved armor set.

As Erza fell to the floor in Happy's body, she gave the floor a look that demanded it swallow her up immediately to spare her the shame and embarrassment of the situation.

Letting out another sigh as the group of switched persons began to argue and fuss about their situation, I walked over to the table that the job request was still sitting and leaned down over the table to take a look at it. Right away, I could see why Natsu had thought it looked so creepy the moment he saw it on the request board. The picture in the background of the flyer was that of a triangular shape with a pair of creepy looking eyes that seemed to watch you from the page. The words that Natsu spoke were still visible, as were the old text version of what must have been the incantation that put everyone into this new development.

This must be Gramps' punishment for stealing that S-Class request for Galuna Island. When we got back, Mira said that Master was off to a last minute Guild Master's meeting, which was probably just a load of bullshit to make sure Team Natsu would fall into his trap. But why would he set it up in such a way that Erza and an innocent bystander would fall victim to it too? I thought to myself, as I straightened. Glancing back at said team, I could see that their growing argument and Erza's failing attempts to quell said argument were going nowhere.

Letting out a sigh, I knew that I was probably about to regret getting further involved with this, but there is just no way in hell I'm taking my sister home in Gray's body. That would just be plain weird. So, we need to get this shit fixed fast. Preferably before the next time one of these morons has to take a bathroom break. God above knows that this kind of awkwardness is the last thing we all need right now.

So, without further ado, I raised my hands above the table I now stood at and slammed them down on the wooden surface to make everybody shut up. When the loud noise thundered above their noise level, Natsu-Loki, Erza-Happy, and Gray-Lucy all turned to look at where the noise had come from. Happy-Erza and Lucy-Gray both jumped in surprise before turning their attention to me.

"Now that I have your attention, I think we need to focus less on arguing with one another and more on how to swap the six of you back into your own bodies. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather not take Gray's meat suit home with me." I stated, shooting Gray in Lucy's body an apologetic look. "No offense Gray." I added, as he shrugged Lucy's shoulders at me in a none taken gesture.

"Wait, what do you mean the six of us?" Natsu asked, before scratching at Loki's hair in his growing frustration. "And how did we get switched in the first place?" he demanded.

"It's simple really." I stated, before pointing to the job request. "The words you read out loud from this page was an incantation. When you carelessly recited the words, you cast the spell that swapped you all around. Luckily, it seems to only switch people who stand within a certain distance of the caster. Or else, more than just you lot would have been swapped around. Now, from what I've gathered so far: Lucy was switched with Gray, and Erza with Happy. And finally, you Natsu, were switched around with Loki who is now running around Magnolia in your body." I trailed off as the guild doors opened. Looking up, we all turned to see Master Makarov return from wherever it is he had been.

"Well now… I can see that the Ancient Umpera spell has been cast… I thought that, that job request was a bit odd. Now it seems like you brats just aren't feeling like yourselves today, are you?" Makarov asked those of us present at the guild as those of us now involved with this mess moved forward to greet him.

"Master, you're back!" Erza said, as she scurried over as fast as Happy's short legs could take her.

"Icelynn is correct, however. By reading the words on that job request, you've cast quite a powerful spell. One of personality transference. A spell better known as Changeling." Master explained, as I let out a swear under my breath.

"That sounds pretty scary…" Lucy said, as she huddled up to me in Gray's body. I felt myself beginning to stiffen up a bit at the sudden contact but forced myself to relax. After all, even if this weren't Lucy stuck in Gray's body, I know that Gray nor anyone else in this guild is out to hurt me. As odd as it is to have Gray hugging my arm like Lucy does when she's nervous.

As the situation finally began to dawn on the group, Gray in Lucy's body turned to face Natsu in Loki's.

"So, you're really Natsu right?" Gray asked, as Natsu gave Lucy's body a confused glance.

"Uh, yeah…" He said cautiously, as Gray reached up to grab Natsu by Loki's coat.

"You dumbass! What did you do to us!?" Gray demanded, causing Natsu to bring Loki nose to nose with Lucy.

"Me! All I did was try to read the damn job request!" Natsu snapped back, before turning to snap at everyone else. "Can someone please turn the lights on!?" he asked, becoming rather annoyed.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, I simply reached up towards Loki's face and yanked off the sunglasses. Folding them up, I hooked them into my shirt to return to Loki once this mess is cleaned up so to speak. This way, I'm not tempted to punch Natsu and wind up hurting Loki and his property in the process. After all, the poor guy got ran over by Erza earlier and isn't a dragon slayer. He might not be able to take the hit like Natsu would in his own body.

And come on, it's Natsu. He's bound to get into some sort of a fight between now and then.

As the lights metaphorically came on, Natsu tossed me a quick thanks before going back to the name calling ritual he and Gray always carry on when Erza is distracted, or just unable to separate them like she is right now. All she can do while in Happy's body is jump around yelling at them in Happy's voice.

"That's enough Lucy, Loki… Uh, I mean, Natsu and Gray…" Makarov said after letting them go on for a moment. Only to correct himself as he remembered that he wasn't talking to who he was currently seeing. "Besides, you lot have more to worry about than simply having switched bodies… For when wizards are put under the Changeling spell, they lose the magical abilities they had in their original bodies and gain those of the person they switched with." Makarov explained.

Soon as the words sink in, even I can't hold back the collective "What?" that we all asked of our master as a guild.

Now I felt even more motivated to get Lucy switched out of Gray's body and back into her own. If I know anything about my and Gray's form of magic, it can really be a pain in the ass if you aren't trained in how to control it. The only up-side to this is that if Lucy begins to lose control of Gray's magic while they're switched, I can at least control the backlash of it.

Geez, at least I am the ice dragon slayer and not Gray. That would be just even worse… I thought to myself, only to be reminded of who wasn't currently at the guild hearing all of this that needed to be. And this poor bastard was stuck in a dragon slayer's body.

"Damn it!" I nearly shouted at this realization shot through me, causing everybody around me to jump in surprise at me being loud for a second time today.

"Ice, what's wrong?" Lucy asked me from Gray's body as I removed her from my person.

"Loki's out somewhere in town in Natsu's body, and if you've all switched magics like Master said then I need to go out and find him." I explained as I marched towards the doors to the guild hall. "Trust me when I say you don't want to see what a dragon slayer looks like when they're new to their magic. We're enough of a menace when we can control our destructive powers."

"Wait a moment Icelynn, there's one more thing you should be aware of before you go." Makarov cautioned just as I reached the threshold to the guild. Pausing, I turned to look back at my guild master as he continued. "If the Changeling spell has not been reversed in thirty minutes from the time that it was first cast, those affected will never be able to switch back to the body they were in before." He warned menacingly. Only to turn a tad bit too sly for my liking towards the end. "Or so says the legend, anyway." He finished.

At these words, Natsu turned towards Mira who watched everything going on with a serious expression you don't normally see from her.

"Mira! Do you know how long we've been switched for?" he pleaded with her, a scared yet hopeful look on his face.

"Sixteen…" She answered, as the hopeful look Natsu had on Loki's face began to fade a bit. "So, you have fourteen left." Not liking these odds, Natsu turned back to face Makarov.

"Gramps, isn't there a way to lift the spell and change us back?" Natsu asked him, as Makarov turned away from everyone to scratch at his nose as he thought about it.

"Well, this is an ancient spell that we're talking about, so it makes sense that I…" he said, pausing for dramatic effect; and I swear he was trying to hide a smirk. "Don't know." He finished, breaking any semblance of hope that Natsu and the others had.

Letting out a frustrated growl, I reached up to rub at my own nose to combat the nagging migraine trying to take root in my skull.

"I must say though, I was very much looking forward to punishing you, but I guess you all have your own problems for now… Best of luck to you…" He said, walking very calmly through the now disparaging mages.

As Makarov got by my depressed guild mates, old habits began to arise, as Gray got a look I didn't like in Lucy's eyes.

"That does it!" He shouted, reached for the hem of my sister's shirt, completely forgetting that he was currently in a girl's body. "I can't take this anymore!" he yelled, beginning to pull it up to take the blue top off. Every male in the guild becoming as delighted as they did when Happy was messing with Erza's tits.

Thankfully, Lucy saw this and jumped over to stop Gray from getting the shirt up passed the area just below her chest.

"Get a hold of yourself Gray!" she shouted, trying, and failing to push her own arms down.

"Let go!" Gray shouted back at her, fighting to go in the opposite direction.

Seeing this go about, Happy got the bright idea to begin going through Erza's Re-Quip magic stores. Natsu on the other hand began trying to feel out what Loki's apparently, mystery magic might be, only to start complaining about how weird he now felt because of it. I know that I need to go and find Loki in Natsu's body before time runs out, but I can't just leave these crazy people going, well… Crazy…

The sheer annoyance this all brought me had my eyes growing sharper, and when I had just about enough as I could take, I turned and snapped at the lot.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" I shouted at them, letting the growl in the back of my throat accentuate my words. Thankfully, it was enough to get everyone to pause what they were doing.

"Okay, I'm only going to tell you fucking idiots this once so shut up and pay close attention! If you all just recklessly start going through the magic at your disposal without fully understanding it, you're just going to end up hurting yourselves or someone else! Instead of doing that, you ought to be looking for a way to reverse the spell. Now I'm going to go and find Loki, and you all had better be looking for a way to undo the spell. You all had best be looking when I get back, and you and the guild had better be in one piece too, or else I'll kick all your asses to Hargeon and back!" I threatened them, getting nods for my trouble. Even from Erza in Happy's body. Clear on that point, I then turned my icy glare towards Gray in Lucy's body.

"Oh, and Gray, every article of clothing on my sister's body will be exactly as it is now until you've switched back with her." I warned him, holding up a hand to summon my ice claws. "If not, then I'm castrating you when you're all back to normal. Am I understood." I told him seriously, as he gulped and nodded rather vigorously.

With that off my chest, I closed my eyes and took a calming breath, only to open them once I could feel my eyes go back to normal. Sure, I'd never actually hurt Gray in that way, but he does need to know that stripping my sister, even though he's currently the one trapped in her body, would only get his ass kicked.

Okay, now I really need to go find Loki. We've all stood around wasting way too much time already. I thought as I turned to leave the guild.

Thankfully, it didn't take me very long to locate Loki. Found the poor guy running around in circles in Natsu's body, lava like drool falling down his chin and totally freaking out because he wasn't aware that he had switched bodies in the first place. I had to make him look at his own reflection before he believed me. Then he said that it was no wonder all the girls he'd tried to hit on had fled the very sight of him.

I ended up having to explain everything to him as we hurried back to the guild before time ran out. Luckily, by the time we got back, Levy and Team Shadow Gear returned to the guild, and Levy readily offered up her script mage skills to help everyone out…

"Icelynn, you're back!" Lucy cried as Loki, and I returned to the guild. I saw Loki flinch as Lucy came over to hug me, still in Gray's body I might add. As he took a step back, I knew right then and there Loki was about to make a run for it again. Not wanting to have to go out and find him again, especially with him uncontrollably spewing lava at random because he's not used to Natsu's magic, I reached out and snagged him by Natsu's scarf as he turned to flee.

Now that I was sure he wasn't going to get very far, I returned Lucy's hug with one arm.

"Hey, did you guys have any luck while I was gone?" I asked, as Lucy turned to look off towards where Levy sat. Which was at the table where the flier with the Changeling spell was still sitting, a pair of Gale Force glasses on her nose as she studied the page. Behind her stood Jet and Droy, cheering her on.

I wonder how long it took her to be able to tune them out in order to work. I found myself wondering as Lucy answered me.

"Not yet, but Levy's agreed to help us, so we should be able to put everything back to the way it's supposed to be before time runs out." Lucy said, as Loki continued to try and get Natsu's body out of my grasp.

"Let's hope so. It'd be a pain to try and find the jewels to rent a bigger apartment. We barely manage to make enough to keep the one we have." I said, as Lucy nodded Gray's head in agreement.

"Yeah, but that's mostly due to our reward being cut thanks to the antics of Natsu and Gray…" Lucy said, Gray's face beginning to take on a saddened droll stare… "Sometimes Erza, and I've helped a few times…" she finished sheepishly.

"Uh-huh…" I agreed, giving her the side eye.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I debated going straight home once Lucy was free of the spell. And once Makarov was done deciding whatever else is to be done for our punishment. Or maybe my favorite tree out in Magnolia Park.

All around me, I could hear Natsu begging Levy to hurry up so that he could have his own body back, that Loki's magic was just too weird for him. Happy went to do another re-quip in Erza's body, only for Erza to threaten to take one of his nine lives. However, it was while they were going on and on around Levy who was working as fast as she could, I caught a familiar scent.

Thunderstorms… I realized, as I looked out towards the window. Sure enough, the sun was still out and shining brightly. Laxus… What's he doing here? I wonder warily, as I tried my best to avoid glancing up to the second floor to see that arrogant smirk on his face. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with him at the moment, or any time soon for that matter.

Still, that didn't stop me from thinking back to the conversation that Lucy and I had at the hotel the other night.

I, myself, have had similar thoughts about Laxus being the one who saved me from my captivity. Despite him being a total asshole, there have been a couple of things I've noticed about him that only make my suspicion more accurate. His scent, the look he had in his eyes when he saw my magic for the first time, and the loyalty I noticed towards him from his team. Each time I think about it, I become more and more certain it was Laxus.

At this thought, I could no longer fight the urge to look up at the second floor.

Thankfully, when I did raise my gaze up that way and spotted Laxus lurking in the shadows, he wasn't looking my way. Oh, he was definitely eavesdropping on what was going on with the whole body swap thing and Levy trying to bail out those that had been affected though. Yet, this time, he didn't have that smug, arrogant look on his face.

If anything, Laxus just looked… Bored.

I knew that I needed to look away from him before Laxus notices me staring, but something in me couldn't. Before I knew it, I was studying that lightning bolt shaped scar on his face. It looked to have been a deep injury, and I found myself wondering just who managed to get close enough to hurt him like that.

As I was looking at Laxus' face, I soon found myself having a flashback to that night once again. Only this time, it was of my rescuer, and how I couldn't really see his face. As I had told Lucy before, half of it had been bathed in shadow. The other half in blood. The right side of their face as a matter of fact.

Refocusing on my surroundings, I soon found my eyes tracing Laxus' scar. From where it started above his right eye brow, down over his blue-green eye, cut back towards his ear, then down past the right corner of his mouth, nearly touching his jaw.

Yeah, even if parts of that scar happened later, every single bit would have bled quite a bit. I thought in surprise, as yet another fact was added to the pile of Laxus actually being who I thought he was…

Shaking my head, I ripped my gaze away from him.

Okay, there's no denying it anymore. Laxus is the only person I've ever met who fits the description of the boy so perfectly. Yet I can't call myself a hundred percent sure unless I ask him. I thought to myself, as I looked down at my feet to hide the look of haunted pain I knew was in my face. Yet, that'll be a near impossible task to accomplish. Who knows what Laxus might ask for in return for answering any sort of question I might ask him? If he doesn't tell me to fuck off soon as I open my mouth that is.

As I shut my thoughts on the subject out, I began feeling a throbbing sensation in my wrists. It was bad enough that I ended up taking off the new leather bracelets that Lucy got me on the way back to Magnolia in order to rub soothing circles over the rough scar tissue. Once the feeling was gone, I put the bracelets back on just in time for everyone who was affected by the changeling spell to stand up and try to figure out how the magic of the person they'd been swapped with worked.

Raising a hand, I snapped my fingers and formed a block of ice around their wrists and fused them together behind their backs. It surprised all six of them so badly, that they just fell right over.

"Hey! What did I say about using magic you don't understand recklessly?" I asked them, giving them a warning growl.

Soon as I asked them that, they either began begging me to let them go, cry, or beg Levy to help them before the next five minutes are up and they're stuck like they are. Sighing heavily, I just opted to leave them on the floor as they were. Except for Natsu and Erza.

Natsu started yelling that he couldn't live if he wasn't able to burn stuff.

Erza on the other hand stated that she was an S-Class wizard and she refuses to be a part of the weakest team in the guild. If only she weren't trapped in her current form. Which in turn only agitated Happy, who told Erza that she was mean and he didn't understand why she was complaining so much and that Happy loved being a cat. Happy then jumped like he would as if he were in his own body to fly away. Only, he forgot that he was wearing Erza's form, and fell right on top of Erza trapped in his.

"Wow, no wonder I tuned them out a few minutes ago, but I did miss a bit there didn't I?" I asked no on in particular, letting out yet another heavy sigh as a headache began coming on. "I don't suppose I can convince Kana to share enough of her booze to get drunk and pretend this is all a bad dream, is there?" I asked Mirajane, as she simply smiled and shook her head.

"Good luck with that Icelynn. I wouldn't be surprised if Kana kept it all to herself just to avoid getting mixed up into this mess." Mira replied, as I gave the barrel Kana held a longing look. A pained sigh is all I could muster as I let myself simply accept that there is no deluding the pain of getting this shitstorm fixed…

My wistful reverie came to an end though when Levy stood up out of no where and declared that's it! As she did, everyone under the spell began tripping over themselves trying to get up and run over to Levy while their hands were still restrained.

"Uh, Icelynn, how long are you going to keep them restrained like that? It's not manly…" Elfman asked me, as I shrugged my shoulders.

"Either until they manage to break them, or Levy cracks the spell. Plus, it'll help keep Gray from unintentionally stripping my sister. Thus, preventing his future castration now that I think about it." I answered, causing Elfman to shiver in slight fear.

"Geez, and I thought Gray was an ice wizard because he's cold, but you're even colder…" Elfman said, as I gave Mirajane a confused look. Only to have her shrug her shoulders at me much like I had at her brother, as if to ask what I wanted her to say about Elfman's unintentional puns.

Looking away, I turned back to the group surrounding Levy as they asked and all but demanded she get on with breaking the spell.

"Yes! We can be switched back now!" Natsu yelled happily from Loki's body, while Gray leaned forward in Lucy's.

"Come on, get it over with already." He said, ready to be out of Lucy's body.

"This is what it says:" Levy declared, as she began to recite what the ancient script on the flier said. "May this eternal exchange provide you with eternal happiness. It's kind of cute, isn't it?" She asked, causing everyone who had been swapped to stand in suspense. Save for Lucy, who agreed with her.

"Okay, and?" Natsu asked, not quite getting the implications of what Levy had just said, but wanting to get to the part where he would be returned to his body.

"In other words, everyone who is switched by this spell will live happily ever after!" Levy simplified with a bright smile. However, those who were literally hanging on her word could only deflate in defeat.

Apparently, Levy misunderstood what was being asked of her.

"No offense Levy, but I'll find it cute when my sister is back in her own body." I said, placing a hand to my forehead as if to hide from the embarrassing fact that I may very well have to start living with Gray's body… And used to having a brother instead…

"Oh, you don't like it Icelynn?" Levy asked, a little saddened by my words.

"I think what she means is that we wanted you to lift the curse, Levy. Not read it, remember?" Gray supplied.

At his words, Levy remembered that was what was asked of her.

"Oh, that's right. I'm so sorry…" she apologized, as Lucy moved over to encourage Levy.

"It's okay Levy. I have faith that you can help us, but you've got to work a little faster, okay? We don't have much time left before we're stuck like this." Lucy said. "Maybe there's some kind of code hidden in the words or something?" she suggested, as Levy's look of determined focus returned.

"That's a good idea, lets give it a try." Levy agreed as she got back to work.

As Levy got back to work, Jet and Droy began their cheering anew, and a bit louder than before. For a moment, Wakaba worried that they might actually be distracting her. Elfman disagreed, saying that they're only getting her pumped up, then went over to join them, making them cheer even louder…

It was with baited breath that we all watched as the time ticked down to the last three minutes. When Macao called it, Lucy began making Gray cry these cute teeny, tiny tear drops.

Erza and Happy had a moment, but Happy killed it by trying to present Erza with a fish to make her feel better.

When they got down to one minute, and Macao announced it, Natsu lost his temper at him. Gray also began struggling to remove Lucy's clothes again, but my icy restraints made that impossible thankfully…

"I see you're still trying to break the spell." Makarov said, as he approached us. Seeing as he had walked up behind the bodies that Natsu and Gray were trapped in, they were the only ones to turn and look at him.

"Gramps, if you're just trying to teach us a lesson, I swear we've learned it." Gray stated, as he watched his fate of becoming a girl draw closer as the seconds ticked by.

At these words though, Makarov made this expression like he just remembered something vital.

"Ooh! I just remembered." Makarov said, as we all turned to look at him. When we did however, Makarov then decided he was going to draw a blank.

At this, Gray somehow was able to tap into Lucy's unnatural ability to be stronger than she looks and break through the ice I'd placed around his wrists. Soon as he could move Lucy's hands, he went to take off Lucy's shirt. This in turn, prompted Lucy to tap into Gray's natural resistance to ice magic and shatter the ice around her wrists as well. Just in time to put her own body into a lock of sorts to keep Gray from stripping her.

As they fought over the clothes on Lucy's body, Macao warned everyone that we were now down to forty seconds.

With this announcement, Makarov acted like he remembered what he had forgotten twenty seconds ago.

"Wait, I remember that thing about the spell." Makarov stated, as the affected gathered around him. "I'm afraid that the spell can only be reversed in one pair at a time. So, it'll be impossible to change you all back at once." He told us, as Macao brought it to our attention that there was only thirty seconds left on the clock.

At our new reality, we had to figure out who would be the one to go first if what Makarov remembered was the truth.

"Okay, so who should go first?" Gray asked, as Natsu got up in his face. Er, I mean, Loki into Lucy's face.

"It should be me and other me!" He stated, looking ready to fight anyone who said otherwise.

"That's not fair, it should be me and Gray!" Lucy said, as Erza stood firmly before her body.

"As the strongest female wizard, we should be first." She ordered, only to start them all off arguing back and forth. They were so loud, that they didn't hear Levy say that she knew how to reverse it.

Unfortunately for the lot of them, I heard her say it. So, when Macao announced the fifteen second mark, I marched right up to Gray and Lucy and grabbed each of them by the collar of the bodies they were in and dragged them right over to Levy. Planting them right in front of the table Levy was at, I gave her my most serious look as everyone else took notice and went silent.

"Try to cast it on all of them Levy, but if you cast it and sense that we can only do two at a time, then please take care of these two first. If I have to live in the same house as Gray, Magnolia will see a very early and long winter." I stated.

"I'll see what I can do…" Levy assured me. "Okay, gather around you guys!" Levy called as the affected drew close. As they did, Levy began casting the spell in the ancient tongue it was written in.

As Levy spoke, the rainbow light from before erupted from the flier anew, bathing everything in it's light. When the light evaporated though, I found myself standing in a completely different place than what I was a second ago.

In fact, I was much, much shorter than everyone else around me. I could also detect the taste of fish in my mouth. I was so shocked that I couldn't speak, even as my magic keeping the others restrained shattered.

"Hey, it worked! I'm back in my own body!" I heard Lucy say, her voice back to normal.

"Me too!" Gray said, ice cubes dropping from his mouth on purpose this time. "That was close."

"So, you're dropping ice all over the place on purpose now?" Wakaba asked, causing Gray to shut his mouth up tight in embarrassment.

Happy to be herself again, Lucy ran over and gave Levy a hug.

"Levy, you're awesome! How did you manage it?" Lucy asked her, as Levy turned to look at the flier once more.

"I just read the incantation backwards. Apparently, the words themselves didn't exactly have a meaning, so I gave reading it backwards a try and it worked, thankfully." Levy explained.

"Um, it actually didn't work as intended." I stated, Happy's voice giving life to my words. "Fucking hell, just when I thought this shitty situation couldn't go much more South." I swore, causing everyone present to jump in surprise at hearing such language coming out of Happy's mouth.

A look of shock and horror crossed Levy and Lucy's faces as she looked between my body and Happy's.

"Icelynn!? But how?" Lucy wondered as Levy reached over for the flier on the table.

"Oh boy, this is bad... Maybe I mispronounced something..." she muttered, snatching it up to read back over it. Looking for where she might have screwed up more than likely.

"Hang on, if Icelynn is stuck inside Happy's body, then who was swapped into Icelynn's?" Gray asked, back in his own body again as well.

"Can't be me, I'm still in the same body I was a moment ago~" Happy said with a wink and a smile, clearly still in Erza's body.

"Well, that explains why it's really cold all of a sudden..." Erza said with my voice, shivering in my own body. "At least I'm no longer a feline." she continued, voice shaking just as badly, teeth chattering. "My goodness Icelynn, how are you able to stand being so cold?" Erza wondered, trying to avoid biting my tongue.

"Wait, so Happy stayed in Erza's body, and she and Icelynn were switched instead?" Natsu said, only for Loki to look back over at him in a panic. Seeing the quick movement, Natsu looked back at Loki, only to start sporting the same panicked expression.

"I'M STILL IN THE WRONG BODY!" They shouted in unison. Only for Natsu to rush up to Levy and tell her that all of this has to be some kind of mix up or something.

This doesn't bode well... I thought tiredly, as Macao and Plue called time. The man nearly got beaten up by Natsu still in Loki's body when he did too. Natsu only backed off him because Plue was on his shoulder. He may be in another body and freaking out, but he knows better than to mess with Lucy's spirits.

Scary Lucy is a very real thing, so is that kick of hers... I saw to that myself.

"Okay, Natsu and Loki didn't get put back, as did Happy and I, although I got swapped into the wrong body. Who else has been switched?" Erza demanded, as we all began looking to see who got switched with who.

As it turns out, six other people got swapped outside of the group from the first go around. Mirajane and Master Makarov, Cana and Elfman, Jet and Droy...

The only person who was even remotely happy about the situation was Makarov.

Who could blame him anyway? He went from an old man to a hot young woman. I thought in dismay as the rest of the guild erupted into chaos. As it did, I actually found myself missing the normal chaos that happens from day to day. At least in those days, I wasn't a fucking cat! No offense Happy… I mentally apologized.

While I was bemoaning my new position in life as a cat, I didn't notice the thick layer of frost slowly growing across the floor of the guild hall until it hit the pads of Happy's feet, sending a violent shiver up his spine. Looking up, I could see my lips turning blue as Erza's shivering in my body only increased as the seconds ticked by. My breath visible as she breathed. Hell, even the other members of the guild began to get really cold.

"Uh, Icelynn, is it normal for your body to emit this kind of cold energy? It's almost like we're standing on top of Mount Hakobe during a blizzard." Lucy asked, eyeing the frost building up around us.

"I'm afraid so..." I said, getting the odd shivering sensation myself. "My dragon used to make me stand on top of Mount Hakobe until I could withstand the cold without difficulty. Once I could, he then would send me down to the village nearby to walk among the normal people and work on controlling how much cold I allowed my body to give off. It took me a long time to learn how to keep it to myself until it became second nature. So, you can see why we need to find a way to get switched back and soon before Erza unintentionally uses me to freeze over the entire guild hall." I explained.

"Okay then, that's yet another reason added to the list of reasons why we need to find a way to get this mess fixed." Lucy said, as a determined look entered her eyes. "I know that Master said it would be permanent if we couldn't switch everyone back after our time limit ran out, but I can't believe that there isn't another way to fix all of this... I'm gonna go work with Levy and see if we can figure it out together." she stated, moving to go sit next to an equally shivering Levy.

Watching as Lucy went to Levy, I turned to look back at where Master had Mira sitting up on the bar. With the way things are going, we all could be stuck in bodies not our own for days, maybe even weeks with how our luck is if we wait for Levy and Lucy to crack the spell most of us are under.

It's not that I don't have faith in them, but I do have an idea on how to find a faster way to get everyone back into their proper places. Sadly, I'm about to do something that I normally hate doing.

Being a petty bitch...

I don't like it, but a girl trapped in a cat's body has to do what a girl trapped in a cat's body has to do.

It was awkward, and took me five fucking minutes, but I was eventually able to get up and walk over to the bar. Climb up a barstool and pray that I could tap into Happy's agility as a feline as I jumped up onto the bar top. Sure, I could have tried to figure out how to summon and use Happy's wings, but I felt that it would only take up more time than I'm willing to put forth.

"So, Happy... Er, Icelynn, how is life as a cat?" Makarov asked, clearly having gotten Mirajane slightly tipsy with his normal drinking habits.

"A life I'd rather not have, thank you..." I replied, giving Makarov a pleading look. "So, I'd really appreciate it if you could just tell us how to switch everyone back without playing us. If this really was your punishment for Galuna Island, I think it's run it's course and a bit farther, don't you agree? Besides, it's become a moot punishment seeing as you got caught up in this too." I pleaded, as Makarov morphed Mirajane's expression into one of consideration. The longer he thought about it though, the more certain I was of what Makarov's answer was going to be.

"Oh, come on Icelynn, surely we can stay like this for the rest of the day, then we can all call it even." Makarov suggested, as I let out a heavy sigh.

They really don't like leaving a girl a choice, do they? I wondered, as I put on Happy's blackmailing face that he usually reserves for my sister. Upon seeing it and remembering that who appears to be wearing the fur, actually isn't, Makarov became a bit nervous.

"Okay..." I began, Happy's voice sounding creepy as I used his sweet evil smile to my advantage. "Master, I'll make you a deal... You tell us straight up how to change everyone back right now, or I'll find my way upstairs to your office and take these nice, pretty and sharp cat claws to that rather expensive chair you've been bragging about breaking in for the last month." I said, turning to glance over at where Erza still stood in my body, trying to intimidate people into behaving. Having more luck with it now that she was inhabiting my body for the moment than when she inhabited Happy's. "And I wouldn't take too long to consider my offer either if I were you. Or else the guild hall will have that early winter I promised earlier weather any of us want it or not." I continued, moving my gaze to the still growing layer of frost, dropping the look.

Apparently, it was already climbing the walls and fogging up the windows.

Fortunately, these were good enough points to get Makarov to heave a heavy sigh, letting me know that I had my victory...

~ Laxus ~

Watching as the losers milled about on the first floor, waiting for McGarden to finally switch them back properly, I found myself scoffing at the whole fucked up situation.

"Tch… Un-fucking-believable." I muttered under my breath.

Honestly, I couldn't believe the old man. It's not like him to get mixed up in the punishments he dishes out. If anything, I found Gramps swapping bodies with Mira to be rather creepy. Sure as hell makes me glad that Mira and I decided to stop seeing each other and to just be friends and guildmates back in the day.

Not that it matters anymore, anyhow.

I threw what little we had away the day I decided to put the guild becoming stronger than Raven Tail above all else. To cut myself from the feelings that would only cause me to lose my focus and become weak. It was the only lesson my Dad taught me in life before Gramps expelled him from the guild. A lesson Gramps himself refuses to acknowledge, despite knowing it's the truth.

I'm such a fucking hypocrite. I thought to myself, as my mind turned to my team. Bixlow, Freed, Evergreen: They were the only people in this fucked up guild that I couldn't find it within myself to completely shut out. Each one of them had proven their strength and loyalty to me over the five years we've been a team. The comradery I feel for them is as weak as I'll allow myself to be.

Or that's what I used to tell myself. I thought, as a certain thorn in my side trapped in Happy's body hopped up on the bar and over to Gramps, who was still trapped in Mira's body I might add.

Icelynn… Merely seeing her had the feelings I was fighting earlier, before she stumbled back into the guild with Scarlet and Team Natsu, rising to the surface again. This time though, I just felt slight annoyance. After seeing that haunted look she was giving me earlier, I didn't have it in me to be outright pissed about her existence for the moment.

Oh yes, Icelynn isn't aware of it, but I did notice her staring at me when she thought that I wasn't looking. I had looked back at her to give her a glare to tell her to look elsewhere, but it faltered when I saw the expression. It startled me, just like the last time I saw that look. Simply seeing it had the scar on my face throbbing a bit. Damn near giving me a headache as I recalled what I felt back then…

The fear for my life, the desperation to find a way out. The burning and stinging in my face, and how I couldn't see out of my right eye due to the blood running into it and the slight damage it had taken from the lacrima fragment my Dad has shoved into my face. I don't know exactly what this fragment was for, just that it was somehow paired to the dragon lacrima that had been implanted in my back for some purpose. One I didn't know about at the time.

All I did know then, was that I had the keys to the place, and I needed to find the door that led out of there. It was while I was struggling to find that door, that I stumbled across the girl. When I first entered her cell, she wore the same haunted, glassy eyes that Icelynn had looked at me with earlier.

Originally, when I first approached her and she snarled at me like a wild animal, I intended to just leave her there. But I found that as I turned my back to run again, I couldn't leave without her. I could remember that I felt some kind of connection to her, but I wasn't sure what exactly it was. Like I was linked to her somehow. Regardless, whatever it was, it's what made me turn back around and start telling her that I meant her no harm, that I wanted to help her get away.

At my words, a little life returned to the girl's eyes. She didn't say anything, but she did hold out one of her wrists. The chains holding her captive to the wall clanking with her movements. That was all the permission I needed before I began searching through the keys I'd stolen as quickly as I could until I found the right one. When I did and got the shackle off of her, I remember freezing up as I saw how bruised and torn her wrist was. As I freed her other wrist, I saw that it had the same abuse marked on her pale skin. The same went for both of her ankles.

I remember thinking that Dad isn't like this… He had to have been brainwashed or something. Someone has to be making him do such vile things to people. I was in denial, and I fully believed that I needed to find Gramps, that he could set it all right like he always did. That Gramps could save Dad from whatever it was that was making him do those evil things.

What a fool I was…

Once the girl was free, I helped her to stand and walk as fast as we could through the halls of the laboratory until we could find our way out. As we walked, the girl didn't speak a word. The only sound she made was to breathe, and quiet grunts of pain as we moved along. Whenever we had to stop for a few seconds to rest, I was able to assess the various injuries she had. Old ones, half healed ones, fresh ones that only wept a little when she moved too quickly. For a while there, I was worried that I would soon be carrying a corpse.

If anything, that only increased my determination to get her the hell out of there. To show Dad that he may have called me weak most of the time, but I was strong enough to save the life of another.

And when I finally got us out of there, saw Gramps rushing towards us in worry, I remember feeling that I had succeeded as I fell to the ground unconscious from my own ordeal. Only to have that all ripped away from me when I awoke later in the tree house of the old hag. When I woke up, damn near blind in one eye and sore all over, I was told that the girl I tried to save died.

From where I'm standing now, I know that this is a lie.

While they were fucking around with that fake request, Freed sent me one of his rune messages. Apparently, he had learned a little something about Icelynn and her so called sister. When Freed was copying over Blondie's file, he got the feeling that he'd seen her somewhere before and did some digging on his own.

Turns out that Blondie is actually a runaway heiress. Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of the man who owns most of the railroads, and that Icelynn Lace was taken in as a ward of the Heartfilia family. Made official approximately six years ago, and according to the dates Freed sent in his messages, two weeks after I escaped Dad's lab with that girl.

From what Freed's heard, the little rich girls were about to be sold off as wives to the highest bidder, but ran away before it could be made official. Yet, Blondie's father hasn't tried to get them back yet. Bastard's probably giving them a year to run free before he tells them to head back home. Which is more than likely his plan, seeing as he literally paid the hospital Icelynn was staying in to tell everyone she didn't survive the extensive trauma. The less damaged Icelynn seems, the easier Blondie's dad will be able to find someone to take her off his hands.

Pulling myself from my thoughts, I cast my eyes back out to the crowd below me just in time to watch Icelynn being swapped back into her own body along with the other two who had been mixed up with her. The moment she was back in her body, she reversed the frost damage her magic had caused.

Watching her, I felt that despite her background, Icelynn has potential. Now that I know that she really is the girl I saved, I now know that I need to watch her progress from now and until it's time to enact my plans. If all works out, she can be in my reformed guild. Blondie on the other hand will have to go. All I have to do is make it worth Jude Heartfilia's while and he'll be willing to dismiss his claim over Icelynn as her guardian. Blondie on the other hand is his actual blood daughter, so there won't be any bargaining for her.

Besides, Celestial Wizards aren't much to sneeze at to begin with. Most of them need saving anyway. Lucy Heartfilia will just have to go back home to her dad.

"It'll all be put into order soon…" I muttered to myself, moving towards the window I usually make my entrance and exit through. I cast one last look at Icelynn before I buried the thoughts about the past and the fuzzy feelings I can do without.

When it's time to save Fairy Tail from itself, they'd only get in the way. Satisfied with the way things seem to be falling into place, I flashed away.

~ Icelynn ~

"Geez, today sure was crazy!" Lucy exclaimed as she walked along the canal while we made our way back home.

"Normally, I'd say that you can say that again, but I'm scared I'll jinx us or something. I swear I still have the taste of raw fish in my mouth." I fussed, as I reached out in time to steady Lucy as she began to loose her balance and tip over into the water.

"That's why we tell you to be careful Blondie!" called one of the fishermen we usually see floating up the canal whenever we're walking through the streets of Magnolia.

Lucy and I have seen them a few times now, and every time they call out to us we wave back at them.

"Speaking of fish, maybe we should see how much they'd charge for their fish. I'm pretty sure they catch one of Happy's favorites." Lucy suggested as we both began walking towards our shared apartment once more.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask…" I said, as I remembered where I was a few days ago, my expression souring once more. "So long as it doesn't involve me getting back into a boat again." I added, throwing a mock glare at Lucy.

"Oh yeah, with all that happened today I forgot about it being our punishment. Still, we got off pretty light though. Having to help Mira index the guild records for the next few weeks isn't as bad as Natsu and Gray led me to believe." Lucy remarked, as I let out a sigh.

"That's probably due to the fact that Master got caught up in that changeling spell with us. The punishment lost some of it's impact when he got swapped around with us. I have to admit though, it was a clever trap." I stated, as Lucy nodded in agreement. "I'm actually surprised that Laxus kept silent when nearly everyone got their souls switched into each other's bodies." I continued, causing Lucy to throw a confused look my way.

"Hold on, Laxus was at the guild for that?" she asked, as I nodded my head in confirmation.

"Yeah, he was watching it all from the second floor." I said, as Lucy got a relieved look on her face.

"At least Natsu couldn't sense him while he was in Loki's body." Lucy said, as our apartment came into view just a little further down the street. "That could have been really disastrous."

"Now that you can definitely repeat." I said as I turned to look back towards the guildhall, reaching into my pocket where Lucy's new key resided.

After we had all been put back into our bodies, Makarov summoned me and Team Natsu to his office. When we went in, he shut the door and got right down to discussing how our punishment detail was to commence. Like Lucy and I had discussed, Makarov felt that the impact of the punishment he'd lined up for us had greatly lessened seeing as not only he got caught up, but so did other members of the guild who were not involved with Galuna Island.

As a result, he came up with new ways to have us punished. Or Mira did, actually.

Makarov told us that for the next two weeks, the lot of us were going to be at the disposal of Mirajane. Whatever she needed help with, we would be the ones she asked. And as it turns out, Mira already had some tasks in mind for us.

For the next few weeks, Happy, Natsu and Gray are to clean up the guild hall before they go home for the night. However, Erza would remain to oversee their progress and to prevent Natsu and Gray from fighting.

During the day, Erza will be charged with going and collecting supply shipments for the guild. Drinks, food stuffs, infirmary supplies, etc.

Lastly, Lucy and I will go and see Mira in the mornings in the guild's library to help her index the records kept there. Originally, Makarov was going to give me two weeks seeing as I simply disobeyed an order, however, I traded that deduction in my punishment for permission to go ahead and give Lucy the celestial gate key. Luckily, it was allowed.

Seeing that I was no longer walking with her, Lucy stopped and hopped down from the canal and moved back down to where I was.

"Icelynn, is everything okay?" she asked, as I pulled the key from my pocket and held it out to her for her to take. "Wait, that's the key from Galuna Island…" she said as I nodded my head once.

"Yeah. It's what I traded that extra week in for after all." I said, as Lucy took it from my fingers. "Seeing as Master said I could give it to you in exchange, then no promises are broken. The key is yours now."

Looking down at it, Lucy got a solemn expression on her face. A complete opposite to the one I thought she'd have. When she looked me in the eyes, I could see why. Her chocolate orbs held remorse.

"Icelynn, I know I said it already, but I'm sorry for taking off like that." She said, as I gently bopped her upside the head with my fist.

"Hey, I already forgave you for it, so don't worry about it anymore." I stated, as I gave her a teasing smile. "Doesn't mean I won't tease you about it here and there though." I warned, as Lucy playfully shoved me away from her.

It was with bright smiles that Lucy and I entered our apartment, tossing our things down by the door to be put away first thing tomorrow. We were tired, and if we wanted to begin another adventure at Fairy Tail, we'll need all the energy we can get…

~X~ ~X~ ~X~

Next Chapter: Chapter 11 – Phantom Lord