Hello everyone! Back with another chapter. :)

First off, I would like to say that chapter 8 has more views than chapter 7, so I'm worried that a few people may have skipped it. (My fault for posting them both at the same time... ^.^") If you're not sure, please look it over!

Also, I want to say that Crossfire has over 50 followers! Yay! \^.^/ Thank you all so much! I'll do my best to satisfy you all!

And last of all, I want to thank all those people who give me reviews. :) They LITERALLY put a smile on my face. I don't know where I'd be without you guys!

And that's all. :) Enjoy chapter 9!

That night, the guild celebrated like they had never celebrated the last 7 years. Fantasia was a success! Numerous citizens had dropped by the guild, thanking them for the time of their lives. Some even welcomed them back, to which Fairy Tail's reply was a heartfelt 'thank you.'

"Gray! Natsu! Nice act you put on!" Macao hollered. "That's the first time I seen you within 10 feet each other without starting a fight!"

Gray snorted. "I was tempted. Fire-brain here nearly melted my ice!"

"Tch. Not my fault it's so easy to melt."

The Ice Mage immediately pressed up against him, and snarled "You tryna' say I'm weak?!"

"Maybe I am! Ice-head!"

"Flame-ass!"

"Droopy-eyes!"

"Lover-boy!"

"Emo- Wait, what?" He stepped away in confusion.

"I heard you didn't let go of Lucy the whole time! If that's not love I don't know what is!"

"Oh yeah? I haven't seen you or Juvia at all! Anyone would think you guys were-"

"WE WERE NOT!" Gray roared.

"Juvia kinda wishes we were..." The love-struck Water Mage sighed.

"Dammit." He growled, then stomped away, but not before Natsu noticed his heated face.

Natsu turned to Juvia. "What were you guys doing?"

"Juvia had to go where it was quiet. Juvia could not concentrate with all the noise, so she went to the forest." She put her hands to her blushing cheeks, and squealed "Gray-sama came to check up on Juvia! And brought her whatever she needed... Plus talked with Juvia to keep her from getting bored."

"Oh... That's nice of him." Though Gray had never done anything like that before, it wasn't all that hard to imagine.

Natsu distantly stared around the guild, and noticed out of the corner of his eye a seething mage walk past him. "Dammit Juvia! What the hell was that?!" An angry Laxus stomped up to Juvia, his muscular arms crossed.

Juvia stuck his tongue out at him. "Laxus's lightning made it very hard for Juvia to keep it from raining. So Juvia got mad and made it rain only over Laxus."

He growled. "I can see that! But I looked like a fool!" The surrounding members laughed, for indeed he had looked like a fool. The rain had drenched the Lightning Dragon Slayer, and before realizing it, he had accidentally shocked himself. Never before had they seen the man jump as he did then.

She turned away, pouting. "Not Juvia's problem!"

Lightning crackled around him, threatening to let loose on the Water woman. "I don't like that tone..."

"So? You're not Juvia's father." They roared with laughter, and Laxus leaped at the girl, still spitting lightning. "Get over here!"

"Never! Not until Gray kisses Juvia!"

"GRAY! Get your ass over here!"

"Like hell I will!"

They ran around the guild, Laxus on Juvia's tail, and Gray doing his best to stay out of it. Without noticing, they knocked over the barrel of beer Cana was drinking from, rendering it un-consumable. The alcohol pooled on the floor, slowly seeping into the wood.

The woman slammed her hands on the table and stood up, yelling "You bastards! I was drinking that!"

Laxus yelled "Get another one!" and the same time Juvia screeched "Juvia is sorry!"

The angry mage had only heard Laxus's response. "Shut the hell up!" She pulled out her cards. "You'll pay for this!"

"Is there a fight?! I wanna join!" Natsu yelled gleefully. He lit up his right had, and dashed over, slipping on the puddle of alcohol. It immediately set fire, and the people around him jumped away, screaming.

Levy, who was sitting near the table, shrieked "Natsu! Eat that!"

He quickly did as the girl had asked, only to choke on the flames, for the drink had given the fire an extremely unpleasant taste.

The fire spread, and Laxus's lightning only made it worse. "Juvia will help!" Jumping out of Laxus's reach, she swiped her right and over her left, and yelled "Double Wave!"

Unfortunately, the Water Mage had put in more magic power than she meant to, and the two waves flooded the entire guild upon contact, sweeping away both the fire and it's inhabitants.

"Juvia! Stop it!" Nearby members wailed.

"Juvia is sorry!" She moaned as she flailed in her magic.

Laxus quickly stopped his lightning, realizing the situation the guild was in, but not before they all got electrocuted. They screamed in response, and Laxus yelled "My bad!"

"Dammit..." Gray slammed his palms together and yelled "Freeze!"

"GAH! Shit Gray, that's cold!" The members were now frozen in his ice, some partially and some completely.

"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"

The water quickly melted then boiled, and various people screamed "IT'S HOT NATSU!"

"Sorry!"

"Jellal... join Fairy Tail?"

Makarov nodded. "Yes, child. Of course he still has to agree, but I believe he will."

"Oh... goodness..." Erza leaned against the wall, breathless. Jellal? Her Jellal?

Become her guildmate?

"But... what about his guild?" She doubted Jellal would join Fairy Tail if Meredy and Ultear didn't.

"Ah... Crime Sorcier? Well, I suppose they'll have to be tried as well."

She frowned. This just sounded much too easy. "But why would the council set Jellal free? It's much more likely they'll just throw him back in jail."

Makarov closed his eyes. "Well... the thing is, a few years ago they've discovered a mage with an extremely rare magic. Since that mage began aiding the council, things have gotten much simpler."

"What magic is that, Master?"

He opened an eye, and said "A Lost Magic: Teller."

Erza gasped. "But how?! That magic belonged to specifically one tribe hundreds of years ago, and they were wiped out!"

"Teller magic..." He muttered. "Magic that tells the truth." He turned to Erza. "Apparently, a few survived, all women, in which their magic flows strongest. Over time, their blood has thinned, and has not resurfaced until now, in the body of a young woman named Celestia."

"Celestia... 'Heavenly'." She murmured.

He nodded. "She was found in the forest by herself near headquarters, and they took her in. When they realized what her magic was, they offered her a comfortable life in the building in exchange for her services. She agreed, and since then, trials have been much simpler."

"...But how will that help us?"

"You're aware that his guild had taken down various Dark Guilds right?" Erza nodded. "This may help prove that Jellal has truly turned."

"Ah... I see..." The two stood in silence, and soon became aware of all the ruckus they were hearing outside the room.

Erza glanced at the door. "Shall I go see what is happening?"

"Be my guest."

The red-head stomped over to the door, and flung it open. She screamed "Silence! You- KYAAA!" Water quickly rushed in, sweeping up the master and Erza in its torrents.

"OW!" Makarov hollered, as lightning shocked his small body. He glanced over at Erza, who's long red hair stood on end.

Before he managed to regain his senses, the water froze, leaving only his head above its surface, to which his response was "COLDCOLDCOLDCOLDCOLD!"

That ice quickly melted, much to his relief. But the temperature shot up, and he screamed "HOTHOTHOTHOTHOT!"

The master roared, then super-sized, and punched a large hole in the wall, forcing the water to flow out of the guild and behind them.

He sighed, and muttered "This guild will be the death of me" and shrunk down to his normal size. He glanced at Erza, and broke into a sweat. Never before had the woman looked so murderous. He caught a glimpse of her eyes, dark and angry, before she stomped out of the room, leaving cracks in the floor in her wake.

"Did you have fun? Lucy?"

She smiled at Natsu, who seemed a little bit nervous, and said "Yes! A lot!"

He flashed her a grin. "That's great!" He squeezed her hand one last time, and walked away.

"Oh, you're not staying?" She called after him.

"Nah, not tonight." He said over his shoulder. "I'm kinda in the mood to sleep at my place."

"Oh, alright. See you tomorrow, then?"

"Yup!"

"That's what he said but..." Lucy stared incredulously at the half-dead form in front of her. "Why is he here?!"

He croaked some inaudible words, and Lucy sighed. Grabbing him by the scarf, she heaved him into the apartment and leaned him against the sofa. "What the heck happened?" Natsu was covered in bruises, and there was a huge knot on his head.

"E-Erza..."

"Ah... I see." She contemplated asking what exactly what happened, but remembering that this was Natsu and she would only get excited gibberish, she decided she would ask Levy later.

Lucy got up and said "I'll get some ice for that."

Natsu watched as she rummaged through her freezer, and gave a pained smile as her eyes lit up upon finding what she was looking for. "That's not gonna last long..." He coughed.

"Well, make it last as long as possible. I don't have all that much." She set the bag of ice on his head, and he yelped.

"It's cold!" He unconsciously rose his body heat, and the ice melted immediately, plopping to the floor in front of him as a bag of liquid.

"Natsu!" She cried.

"Sorry." He muttered. "But it's too cold."

She groaned. "It's supposed to be, dammit! It relieves pain and keeps the swelling down!"

He frowned. "Can you say that in English?"

She threw up her hands in the air, and screeched "You are freaking hopeless!"

He grinned at her. "Which is why you love me right?"

That felt strange, coming out of his mouth. He hoped she wouldn't get mad.

"Ugh!" She merely yelled. He then watched nervously as her face went from frustrated to horror, to confusion, and just plain red.

They sat in awkward silence, both trying to register what came out of Natsu's mouth.

He said 'love'. He just said 'love'! But he was joking right? I don't love him! Well, sure I do but... not like that! I think...

Aw, crap. Is she gonna kill me? Really hope not. I don't know how much more female abuse I can take. But why did I say that? So weird... He cocked his head. Will she say yes?

I feel really weird.

And then she did something that would've never even crossed his mind- she stomped her foot.

Lucy watched as Natsu's shoulders shook. He was laughing! This was no laughing matter!

"What's so funny?!" She demanded, unconsciously stomping her foot yet again.

"It's just... you just..." He turned away, laughing. "Luce, you stomped your foot! Who does that?"

"Sh-shut up!" She said, embarrassed. Sudden realization hit her. "Did you just call me 'Luce'?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. I guess so." He turned to face her. "What, you don't like it?"

"Well... no, but..." She wouldn't admit it, but she liked it very much. It made her feel special. And warm.

"Alright then." He slowly stood up, legs shaking. He then suddenly collapsed on the sofa behind him, unable to stand any longer. "So... Where am I sleeping?"

"What?! I thought you were going to sleep at your house!"

"Too tired to move." He said groaning.

She sighed. "Well, sleep on the sofa then."

"Okay." Natsu turned over, facing the back of the sofa. "G'night Luce."

She walked out of the room, and whispered "Good night." The stupid Dragon Slayer was already asleep.

Lucy flopped onto her bed, exhausted from the day's work. "Good thing I didn't go to the guild..." She murmured to the ceiling. "Otherwise, I might have come home looking like that."

She crawled up, and rested her head on the pillow. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the stuffed Plue that Natsu had won her, and pulled it close, hugging it to her chest tightly. "I wonder why he asked where to sleep..." She said as she pulled up her comforter. Normally, Natsu just goes to her bed without asking and sleeps there. And more often than not, before she even got home herself.

She smiled at how she would always get riled up when she saw him there. Actually... She thought as she snuggled into her blanket's warmth. I wouldn't be all that surprised if I see him right next to me tomorrow morning.

She was aware of the sleep that was overtaking her, and turned herself so she was facing the window. The stars were still shining brightly, even though they were so far apart and surrounded by total darkness. She slowly brought her hand up to her face, the hand that fit so perfectly in Natsu's that night, and clenched it.

Why am I thinking about him so much...?

...Do I love him, Mama?

"The Day of the Closing is coming soon, Leo. You must warn your owner as soon as possible."

Leo bowed his head before the Great Spirit King, and said "I will, Father."

The king grumbled in response. "Very well. You are dismissed."

Leo turned and walked away, but before leaving he heard the king say "Lucy Heartfilia is a very kind being. The day she falls is a day we despair. You must empathize the dangers for her own safety, Old Friend."

"I will." He repeated solemnly.

Makarov scanned the guild over in dismay. The place was a wreak! Bottles and barrels scattered the floor, windows were shattered, and furniture was either upturned, broken, or both. Finding a table that hadn't been broken into splinters was a challenge, and various char marks scored the walls. The floor was damp, and gave off a strange smell. Overall, repairing was gonna take a huge chunk out of whatever they earned from Fantasia.

He sighed, and screamed at the empty building "Why can't you brats just let me retire?!"

The next morning, Lucy was greeted by the sun, which shined warmly in her face.

She got up and stretched, feeling fully rejuvenated from yesterday's work. Bones she never knew she had cracked in response.

She looked beside her, surprised to see that it was Dragon Slayer-free. He hadn't come up last night after all.

She walked to the living room, and peered through the doorway. Natsu was snoring away on the sofa, looking as if he hadn't a care in the world. Typical.

Lucy got ready for the day, taking a bath, got dressed, and began making breakfast. As she was frying eggs, she heard footsteps behind her, and a bleary "Good morning Lucy."

"Oh! Good morning Natsu." She turned back to the eggs, not wanting them to burn. "Hungry?"

"Mm? Yeah, kind of... Can you make something really spicy?"

"Sure. Just clean yourself up a little and wait in the dining room."

"Okay..." He lumbered to the bathroom, and Lucy took out her special reserve of peppers from the fridge. Knowing that whatever she made wouldn't be too hot for him, she emptied the whole bag into a bowl and rinsed them in the sink, tending to the eggs every now and then.

Pretty soon, the kitchen smelled of food. Natsu grinned as Lucy walked into the dining room holding plates of food.

"Here." She handed him plate with a large omelette in it, folded over so he couldn't see what was inside. She sat down across from him, and began eating.

Natsu took a huge chunk of the omelette and stuffed it into his mouth, sighing in contentment as he chewed on it. The omelette was stuffed with peppers, and the omelette itself tasted sweet. His favorite combination.

"You like it?"

"It taste pretty good." He mumbled through a full mouth.

Lucy cringed slightly, but didn't say anything, smiling instead. "Great!"

After the two had eaten, they walked over to the guild, where they were enthusiastically greeted by their friends.

Natsu walked over to the bar, and began yelling to Mira, no doubt asking for more food. Lucy sat down next to Levy, who smiled cheerfully in response. "Hi Lu-chan!"

"Good morning Levy!" She looked at the stack of papers in from of her, the carvings Lucy had found a couple days ago, and asked "Are you translating them right now?"

She nodded. "Yup! But when Wendy comes back, I'm going to ask her about it. I had already asked Gajeel, and he said they look familiar, but had no idea what they mean." She grinned mischieviously at Lucy. "So how was last night?"

"I-it was fun."

"...Did he do anything?"

"He kind of... held my hand..."

Levy clapped her hands together, squealing "Aw! That's so cute!"

"I guess... Hey, what happened last night? Natsu showed up at my doorstep looking like he went to Hell and back."

Levy shuddered. "Um... That's a long story..." She slipped her sleeve a little below her arm, and Lucy grimaced at the bruise. "No one made it unscathed."

"I got all the time in the world Levy. Besides, you look like you could use a break."

"I guess I do. But I'm not repeating the whole thing. I'll get nightmares" She admitted. She turned so her body was completely facing Lucy's. "So like, after Fantasia we had an after-party. A bunch of stuff happened, and Juvia ended up flooding the guild, Laxus electrocuted us, Gray froze us, Natsu burned us, and Erza pummeled us. All of us. I think Laxus got the worst of it though- Erza threw him straight through the ceiling! We still haven't seen him since then." She looked at Lucy's shocked face, and added "You are seriously lucky you weren't there Lu-chan."

"I-I can tell..."

Levy's head snapped up as a familiar young girl walked into the guild. "Oh! Wendy!"

Wendy approached them and sat at their table. "Hello Levy-san! Lucy-san!"

"Hello Wendy!" The two chorused back at her.

She glanced at the stack of papers, her eyebrows furrowed. "What's that?"

"It's a bunch of carvings that Lu-chan found a few days ago. I think it might be related to the missing dragons. Can you look at them?"

"Sure!" The blue-haired girl scooted in next to Levy, and peered at the papers. "This is... Dragon Runes."

"Dragon Runes?"

She nodded. "The dragons' way of writing. Grandeeney taught me a few letters, but I don't remember all of them."

"Please tell me all you know! Even a single letter will help a lot in the translation!" Levy pleaded.

"Okay!"

Lucy listened as Wendy pointed out various markings on the page, and sounding out their meaning. It seemed really complicated. A few minutes later, Wendy left, Levy vigorously thanking her.

"How long do you think before you translate it all?" Lucy asked Levy.

"Thanks to Wendy, only a week!"

"So soon?!"

She nodded gleefully. "But I'll go work on this back at the dorm. It's way more quiet."

"That's understandable. Do you need help carrying any- wait, never mind." She quickly stopped her sentence, as Gajeel had already grabbed most of the stack from Levy and began nudging her out of the guild.

Ugh... The week is going to be so slow...

"Hey! Lucy!" She blinked as Natsu slammed a paper on the table in front of her. "Let's go on a mission!"

"'Guard carriage from monsters and thieves for one week. Reward: 450,000 jewels.'" She read. "Perfect!" This should kill time nicely. And help pay her rent.

"Yes! Let's go right away!" He proceeded to dragging Lucy out of the guild, hollering over his shoulder "MIRA! We're taking this one!" He glanced at his blue-furred friend, and grinned. "Let's go, Happy!"

"Aye, sir!"

"Have fun you three!" Mira called out behind them.

"We will!" They called back to her.

Haha, they really are cute together. Mira thought warmly.

Lots of stuff is happening next week! (In the story) The trial and the translation and such.

Dundundun... The Day of the Closing! You guys will find out more about that later. :)

I'm not sure what to do about the Grand Magic Games. Either I say it had already happened, it never will happened, or it didn't happen yet. Still thinking on that.

And the Teller magic. It kinda sounds stupid, but it was all I could think of at the moment. ^.^" Heh heh...

ANYWAY, thanks for reading! As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. *waves* Hope to see you soon!