Hello hello everybody! :D I'm here with another chapter ^.^
A quick word about the bonus chapter, "A Day With Metalicana." I know I promised to write you one every 25 reviews, but I'm struggling with it. I did manage to type it out, but it's half-assed and you guys deserve so much better. Please wait a little longer until I improve it (I know I can!), it will be so much better than posting it now. Maybe even worth waiting for. :)
This one was a little tricky to write. Took a lot of brainstorming. So happy reading!
"The Gateway between Dragons and Humanity..." Levy muttered in disbelief. She then turned to an equally surprised Gajeel, a determined look in her eyes. "We have to find it."
The Iron Dragon Slayer slowly nodded, and said "But how?"
The girl got up and brushed off her clothes. "I guess the best way to start is to search the room." She offered her hand, and Gajeel reluctantly took it, though he still used his own effort to stand. "Here, you should take this."
Gajeel flinched as she threw him a bright light, but managed to catch it. "The hell? You can do that?" He asked, turning over the warm, ball of light in his hands.
She shrugged. "All I did was change its properties a little."
She rolled her eyes as Gajeel shot her a confused look, and then began exploring the room. "There has to be something..." She mumbled, holding her light close to the walls.
Gajeel went to the opposite side, and began working towards Levy. As his light wasn't as bright as the Script Mage's, he brushed the walls with his fingers as well to avoid missing anything. His eyes widened slightly as he felt unusually smooth indentations, short and small, but seem to continue in a line. "Hey Shrimp! I think I found something!" He called out.
She immediately rushed over, not even bothering to correct him. "What?"
Gajeel moved his light over the wall, but it's small size made it hard to see anything clearly. "I can't tell."
"Take a step back and close your eyes. Maybe turn away." She instructed.
He raised an eyebrow, though he doubted she could see it, but did as she asked, choosing to cover his eyes.
"Solid Script: Light." Levy commanded.
How is that any different from before?... Gajeel wondered, peeking through his fingers. He instantly regretted it, however, as a huge, blinding light surfaced from the girl's fingertips. His eyes stung as if someone had drowned them in saltwater, and sprung tears. He stumbled backwards, rubbing at his face and adjusting to the sudden brightness.
After finally getting somewhat used to the light, which took a while, he looked again to see Levy holding a massive ball of light over her head, white and blinding. The light lit up the entire wall, and creeped out towards the middle of the ceiling as well.
"I map..." He said in awe. The indentations he felt before were a route, and things he mistook for natural curves and bumps were the landscaping. It was very detailed, and was surprisingly accurate for being so old. All the towns he were familiar with seemed to be in the right place, with the right distance between them, also with the right names. Forests were intricately carved into the stone, and rivers ran through it like cracks.
"...Yeah..." Levy gasped.
Gajeel frowned. "Don't work too hard Shrimp."
"My name... is Levy..." She huffed tiredly. Her breathing has steadied somewhat, but Gajeel could smell traces of sweat in the air.
"Okay, okay, Levy. Just relax a bit, will ya'?" Though he didn't say it outright, Levy could tell he was worried.
She smiled, and said "I'll be fine... in a little while." He watched as she threw the light down in front of her, and rushed forwards as she stumbled backwards.
"Shrimp?!" Her eyes were cloudy and distant.
She shook her head, and staggered back to her feet. "It's fine... I was just too close to the light, is all... My vision is a little messed up."
"Take a break then!" He half pleaded.
She shook her head again. "I wanna finish this... before I run out of magic power..." The light had taken up more energy than she thought it would. At most, she had only 30 minutes.
She pulled out a pad and began copying down the map, working her way down. She let out a little irritable growl, for in order to see the top she had to crane her neck all the up. It was rather cumbersome since she had to keep looking at the wall, then back to her paper.
Suddenly, she felt strong arms lift her, and her view of the top neared. "Gajeel?" She asked. He had put her on his right shoulder, so his cheek nestled against her thigh, and his hands holding her legs steady.
"Just hurry up and write that down Shrimp." He muttered, slightly embarrassed.
She smiled, but did as he asked, working with more vigor than she had previously. Gajeel stood silently, focusing on keeping the small girl from toppling off his shoulder. Every few minutes, she threatened to lose balance, but he gripped her legs tightly to keep her from falling.
Finally, the girl said weakly "I'm... fin... ished..." She fell forward, and Gajeel caught her in his arms. The pad and the pen clattered to the floor, and he carefully reached over to pick them up, then pushed it into Levy's hands. She flashed him one last grateful smile, then passed out, completely drained. The light soon flickered away afterwards, leaving Gajeel to navigate the cave on his own.
Holding the Script Mage in his arms, he carefully walked out of the room, and out of the cave.
A knock sounded at the door, and Lisanna called "Coming!"
The white-haired teen opened the door, surprised to see Happy standing in front of her. "Happy?"
"Lisanna!" The blue, furry animal jumped at her, squeezing her legs. She affectionately reached down to pick him up, and said "Hi Happy! Why are you here?" She then peered out the door, and asked "Is Natsu with you?"
Happy shook his head, and Lisanna was surprised to see him trembling. "He's at Lucy's house..." He whimpered.
The Takeover Mage blinked, surprised by his dismayed tone, but carried him inside and tried to reassure him. No matter what happened between Lucy and Natsu, she would always act as Happy's mother figure.
She placed him in a seat near the fireplace, across from Elfman who sat flipping through a book.
Happy stared at the man in disbelief, who glanced at the gaping cat and muttered "Reading is Man."
"A-aye..."
"So how've you been Happy? You guys never visit anymore." She pouted teasingly.
Happy gawked as the sudden realization hit him. Lisanna sweat-dropped.
"I'm sorry!" The cat wailed, throwing himself on Lisanna's person.
"It's okay Happy! Really!" She shrieked frantically. Oh dear Lord, she wanted to make him feel better, not worse!
"I'll come and visit you lots from now on! And I'll bring a lot of fish!"
"It's fine!"
"Is someone here Lisanna?" Mirajane peered into the living room, ladle in hand and sporting an apron. Her hair was tied up, a look Happy hadn't seen in a while. Suddenly recalling her past, demonic self, he shuddered. "Oh! Hello Happy! What are you doing here?"
Happy sniffed. "Lucy and Natsu are doing scary things in Lucy's room."
Three pairs of eyes widened. Mira dropped her ladle, and Elfman's book closed as his fingers loosened.
"WHAT?!" Mirajane and Lisanna shrieked.
"What were they doing? Did you see?" The oldest asked hurriedly.
Happy smirked. "Will you-"
"Don't screw with me Happy." Mirajane growled. He panicked, and Lisanna twitched nervously.
"They were screaming at each other and Lucy started crying and Natsu fell on the bed and Lucy jumped on him and she was crying and called him an idiot and they started hugging each other." He said hurriedly, not wanting to invoke her wrath. Since when did she turn scary again?
The two girls started shrieking in delight, clasping each other's a hands and jumping up and down, yelling incomprehensible words.
"And?!" The two shouted in unison.
"I don't know. I left." He stated, rather freaked out as the two women were practically in his face. He paused, then added "But there was a lot of laughing. And yelling."
Mira sighed, and straightened up. "Aw... I wanted to know what happened next."
"B-big sister... You don't think they..." Lisanna stuttered nervously. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Elfman fall on his side with a thud, a horrified expression in his face.
"S-so Man..." Elfman choked.
Mira stooped down to pick up her ladle, and waved it at Lisanna dismissively. "No no no... It's too early for them. Way too early. And even though they're weird, they're not weird enough to be laughing while doing 'that'."
"What's 'that'?" Happy asked curiously.
"Nothing!" The two shouted. The last thing they wanted was to explain 'it' to a cat.
"Oh! I know!" Mira rushed to the other room, and came back with a large camera in her hands. "Here, I have a job for you Happy." She said, handing him the camera. "I'll give you a ton of fish, just do this for me, 'kay?"
She's bipolar. "Okay." The cat said, hooking the camera over his neck. "Do what?"
"Natsu is still at Lucy's right?" He nodded. "Just use that to take a bunch of pictures of them for me. But try not to let them notice you."
He nodded again, but this time grinning.
"Ooh, you're smart big sister." Lisanna said snickering.
"They're evil." Elfman muttered, then reared back and mumbled apologies as they shot death glares.
"Oh wait... It's too late now..." Mira said regretfully, glancing out the window. The sun had already set. If she was gonna get pictures, she wanted them nice and clear. She leaned down to the cat, and asked brightly "Why don't you stay with us for the night and go tomorrow morning? I'm making that fish stew for dinner."
His mouth watered, and he eagerly agreed.
The four of them talked and laughed during the hearty dinner, half the conversation going to Lisanna's time in Edolas, and the other to Natsu. Happy knew many things about his friend that he didn't mind sharing, and the others eagerly listened.
That night, he slept with Lisanna, something he hadn't done for many, many years. He regretted not talking to Lisanna more after she came back, and savored the time with his foster mother, basking in the same warmth he felt since he was inside his egg.
Where the heck am I supposed to bring her?... Gajeel thought to himself, looking around town. It was pretty dark out, and the girl in his arms was getting heavier by the second. But he was quite relieved to see that she was merely sleeping. All signs of her previous fatigue were wiped off her face during the past few hours.
He didn't think she needed treatment, but still wanted someone to keep an eye on her. He thought of bringing her to the guild's infirmary, but quickly dismissed it. It would be too embarrassing.
Oh, that's right! Bunny Girl could watch after her! From what he had seen, the two were pretty good friends. Surely there wasn't anything wrong with dropping Levy off at her house.
He instinctively gave one of his strange laughs, and started walking towards her house. At first he wasn't sure where to go, but he managed to pick up her scent and follow it.
He soon arrived, and tried to knock on the door, but doing it while holding Levy was too annoying. Instead, he kicked it open with a free foot, and jerked back at the sudden noise. Were they having a party in there? He then cringed as he heard Lucy shriek, but steeled himself and walked in.
After the laughter, the next thing he noticed was the scent. It had Lucy's, to be sure, but Salamander's mixed in as well, with just a little touch of the blue cat.
It's pretty late... He thought, scanning the deserted room. Do they camp here often?
He dropped Levy off at the sofa, threw the pad of paper and the pen on the table, and closed the open window near her. Couldn't let her get cold.
Ah, maybe I should warn Bunny Girl... For her to keep an eye on Levy, she had to know she was there.
What the hell... They're still laughing? He slowly made his way to the source of the laughter, her room.
The door was slightly ajar, and he peered in, trying to keep silent. He had to stifle a scream, however, as he caught a glimpse of a very familiar figure over another familiar figure on the bed. He quickly jerked away from the door, and pressed himself against the wall, sweating.
Oh hell no... He thought to himself. Salamander is not...
But that's kind of weird. He thought, the small amount of logic he had kicking in. Not like he had any experience in the matter, but were people supposed to be laughing like that?
He shook his head, and left the apartment, shooting Levy once last glance before leaving. He had a hell of a lot to think about. Hopefully, nothing bad would happen to Shrimp during the night.
"There will be a dragon." Blank eyes stared into hers, locking her in place.
No... I don't wanna hear this again...
The girl paid no attention, and continued. "It will take him away. Two others will be with him. Only one will survive."
No! Stop!
"And it won't be him."
"He will die."
"No..." She sobbed aloud, gripping the sheets.
"Lucy?..."
Her eyes blearily opened, and through tears she saw Natsu, reaching for her. "What's wrong?"
She grabbed his hand, and choked "You're not leaving right? You won't go anywhere?"
You won't die on me?
He shook his head. "Never." He said solemnly. In the dark, she could see question in his eyes. Worry, even.
But all she did was tighten her grip on his hand, and breathed "Thank goodness..."
He smiled, and used his other hand to rub the tears off her face, watching as she slowly went back to sleep.
...What was that about?... She looked so scared, so unsettled. And it worried him. Whatever happened was bad enough to give her nightmares. What if she was in danger?
At the sudden thought, he immediately thought of shaking her awake to ask, but he had a feeling it would only do more harm then good.
...I'll ask in the morning. He decided. For now, for the rest of the night, she was safe.
No... For the rest of her life, she would be safe. He would make sure of that.
The next morning, they all got up early (with the exception of Elfman) and the two girls waved good bye as the cat zoomed off into the distance, smirking the whole while.
Lisanna turned to Mirajane. "So what will you do with them?"
The older girl on flashed a smile, her eyes glittering. "You'll see."
Yay! Fish! Lots of fish! The cat hummed happily as he zipped through the air, camera on his neck. A bunch of fish! And all he had to do was take pictures.
He reached the window and peered in, then giggled. They looked so cute! He lifted the camera and pounded on the button, getting dozens of pictures. Being so engrossed in it, however, he didn't notice Natsu slowly turning to face him until one of the pictures showed the Dragon Slayer looking almost directly at him.
He panicked, but when he saw Natsu squinting, he used the chance to escape, disappearing in a flash of blue.
...The hell was that? Natsu thought. Whatever, at least that annoying sound stopped now. He squeezed her hand, then shifted it so his fingers laced with hers. He marveled how perfectly it fit so perfectly in his own.
I still didn't tell her... He remembered, looking at her face. Back then, he wanted to tell her right away, but now, he just wasn't so sure. Maybe it changed when he failed to protect her, or when she admitted she loved him. He still couldn't believe that happened, and the fact that Lucy didn't seem to act any different or mention it at all didn't help prove that it changed anything between them. That fierce protective sense he had for her, his playfulness and ease around the girl, his love for her smile, his hate for her tears, were they really all so different from his other guildmates?
He turned away, his face feeling hot. Nope, I can't.
His eyes widened slightly as she suddenly inched closer, still asleep. Her fingernail scraped his chest, and Natsu jerked back from the sudden contact, involuntarily tumbling off the bed and taking Lucy with him.
He groaned out of disbelief, the carpet muffling the sound. The slight touch from her fingers pretty caused him to spaz out. He knew he was ticklish, but that was just crazy.
He grumbled as he realized Lucy was sprawled across his back, their hands still joined and his arm bent backwards awkwardly.
"What the hell Natsu?! I was sleeping!" She grouched.
"You're the one that made me fall off the bed." He muttered.
"I barely touched you!"
"I'm sensitive."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh please."
She got up and pulled him to his feet, stumbling backwards from the weight. "Kh. You're heavy."
"Ah, who cares." He yawned, stretching. "I call bathroom first."
"It's my bathroom!" She exclaimed.
He trudged over and slammed the door, then peered at himself in the mirror. He was relieved to find that though he did look rather weary, it didn't show too much. After Lucy woke him up, his sleep became troubled. Actually, he didn't think he fell asleep at all, though it was hard to tell since all he saw throughout the night was total darkness.
And he still had to ask why she was crying.
He quickly tried to clean himself up, using the spare toothbrush he kept in her bathroom, and using the coldest water to wash. He grinned at himself in the mirror, thinking he looked at least presentable, then shoved the door of the bathroom open, harder than he meant to. He expected a slam, but got something else entirely.
"Kya!"
His eyes widened, and he slowly peeled the door away from the wall. As he had guessed, but definitely not hoped, Lucy was right there, her arms up and her eyes spinning. A knot was forming on her forehead, and she slumped down. He glanced at the door, a rather ominous imprint of her figure stamped in the wood.
"LUCY! Lucy are you okay?!" Oh Mavis, he didn't kill her right?
"Idiot..." She growled. A vein popped on her forehead.
He took a step back, hands in the air. "Um..."
"LUCY KICK!"
"Ah, Happy!" Mirajane looked up from the dishes to see the cat fly in, clutching the camera. "Did you get them?"
She brightened up even more when he nodded, and carefully set down the dishes before leaning her elbows on the counter. She held out her hand for the camera, and he happily obliged. Happy made himself comfortable on the counter while Mira called over Lisanna.
When the other Strauss female rushed over, she immediately starting flipping through the photos. Regretting that she hadn't deleted the masses of pictures she stored in there, she impatiently pressed the button at lightning fast speeds, so fast she had almost missed the first NaLu picture.
"They're so cute!" Lisanna shrieked. Lucy and Natsu were sleeping soundly on her bed, Natsu holding her hand. Both looked quite peaceful. Happy, even.
"I know!" Mirajane crowed. She quickly started flipping through the pictures again, but sighed. They were all pretty much almost the same thing, with the exception of Natsu slowly turning to face the camera. "Happy! I thought I told you not to let them see you!"
"I don't think he did. The sun hit his eye, and I flew away after that."
Mira sighed in relief. He better not have seen it. It would ruin all the fun if he did.
She beamed at the Exceed. "Great job Happy! Free fish on the house for the next month!"
He cheered, and flew around the guild in circles.
"So what are you doing with them again?..." Lisanna asked hopefully.
She put a finger to her lips, and winked. "Wait 'til one of them comes in first."
"Oh! Natsu!" Lisanna called.
"Hi Lisanna!" He replied, smiling. The two girls were barely able to contain themselves as he walked over. As he neared though, they noticed that he was drenched, but quickly drying.
"Um... Why are you wet?" Lisanna asked timidly.
"Oh, this." He bunched up his shirt. "Lucy kicked me into the river."
Mirajane snorted. "Why?"
"I accidentally squished her between the door and the wall."
...
"How could you." They both stated.
"It was an accident!"
"Anyway Natsu, what were you doing with Lucy last night?" Mirajane asked, leaning in close.
"Huh? I dunno... tickling her?" What did they want him to say?
Mirajane turned the camera so the screen faced him. He peered in closer, than gave a yell. "Hey!"
They burst out laughing, and Natsu's face flushed. "Why do you have that?!"
"I've got my sources." She smirked.
"HAPPY! Imma kill you!" He roared, then lunged at the cat.
"It wasn't me!" Happy protested, flying out of his reach.
"The camera smells like you!"
"Mirajane was showing me the pictures!"
The two chased each other around the guild, screaming gibberish at each other the whole way. At one point, startling Mirajane, Happy flew behind the counter, with Natsu quickly following. She dropped the camera, which clattered to the floor and made an ominous, cracking sound. Happy flew back out, and Natsu hopped over the counter and landed right on the camera, the mechanism crushing itself beneath his feet.
"Natsu..." Mirajane growled.
"Eh?"
"I paid for that!" She screeched, and flung her arms skyward, uprooting a large chunk of the counter. It crashed to the ground, leaving a large gap in the bar.
S-scary... He thought.
Should I run? He let out a squeak as Mira whipped out a couple knives, and screamed "Yeah! Definitely!"
"You are so not getting away!" She seethed, and chased after him.
That's one awful way to wake a girl up... Pull her off the bed. She thought grumbling.
And she was totally sore. Her stomach and throat hurt from laughing so much. It was fun, but seriously not worth it.
She stretched, and walked herself out to the living room. Her eyes bugged as she saw someone sleeping on her couch.
"Levy?!" She shrieked. When did she get here?
The girl muttered and turned away from the blonde, and that's when Lucy noticed the pad of paper on the table.
She picked it up, and flipped through the pages. "It's a map..." She whispered.
Thankfully, Levy had numbered the pages, so she carefully tore them out and arranged them on the table, surprised by how large it was.
Where did she find this? She wondered, studying the route that ran through the map. It wasn't very long, and led into the mountains.
"Talon's Peak..." She jumped as Levy suddenly yawned. She hadn't even noticed her waking up.
"Morning Lu-chan~" She chirped, stretching out her arms. "Why am I at your house?"
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "I dunno. You were there when I woke up."
"Gajeel must have brought me here..." She murmured. Levy then glanced over at the map, and beamed. "Look Lu-chan! I found that at the cave!"
Her eyes widened. "For real?!"
Levy nodded. "Yup! It was behind the carvings, but protected by runes. You probably couldn't have opened it."
"I could always get Natsu to clobber it."
"Nope." Levy grinned. "Gajeel tried that. Couldn't even scratch it."
"So you?..." Lucy imagined Levy triumphantly standing over rubble with a shock Iron Dragon Slayer by her side, and laughed. "I totally wished I could have seen his face."
"It was priceless!" She crowed. "Anyway, I found a grave in there, for Lucille Heartfilia. Is she related to you?"
Lucy gaped. "Y-yeah... She was one of my earliest ancestors. I read in one of our books that she went missing after getting married off to some prince, and no one ever saw her again." Her eyes turned to saucers. "Then that story was..."
"I think so too. She wrote that story, possibly with another dragon."
That explains that weird connection I felt with the carvings before... But still...
"My family... met a dragon?" She whispered in disbelief. "That's crazy..."
Levy tapped her chin with her finger. "It is, but it could be true. I mean, it makes sense." She paused, then looked at the blonde thoughtfully. "But I'm wondering... How did your line continue? Didn't she go missing?"
Lucy furrowed her eyebrow as she tried to remember. "They had another child."
"And the prince didn't do anything?"
She shook her head. "He lost control of his kingdom. All the people rebelled against him. After that, the king of Lucille's kingdom took control."
Levy frowned. "But I remember you told us you were an heiress, not a... princess."
"My grandmother ran away from her kingdom." She stated.
"Ah, I see." She sighed. "Your family is complicated."
She smiled. "I guess so." She then turned back to the map. "So what is this for?"
"Well, on her grave, it said 'May she watch over the Gateway between Dragons and Humanity.' I'm thinking- hoping, that the map will lead us there. To that 'Gateway.'"
"To dragons..." Lucy breathed.
But that girl... She said a dragon will take him away. She thought uneasily.
But it might not be Natsu. The more reasonable part of her said. And it's not like I can keep this from him. He had been searching his entire life for any sign of the dragons. That's how she met him.
No... I can't not tell him... Even so, she had a bad feeling about all of this. It hung over her like a cloud, a constant nagging in the back of her mind.
"Is something the matter Lu-chan?" Levy asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"No... no, nothing."
The Script Mage shot her a worried look, but didn't want to pry. Instead, she simply said "Let's go tell the others!"
Lucy gave a half-hearted smile and said "Yeah."
Makarov looked around the guild, surveying the wreck for the second time that month. The man sighed, and growled "Who did it this time?"
Everyone pointed to Natsu and Mirajane, Natsu struggling to remove himself from the wall and Mirajane back at the dismantled counter, smiling as usual.
"Hello Master! Me and Natsu got in a little fight, but it's okay now!"
"You nearly killed me!" Natsu shouted.
"Be a good boy and shut up~." Mirajane giggled, whipping a glass pitcher at him while still smiling at the master.
"O-oh... That's good to hear..." He murmured.
"...NO! What am I saying?!" He screamed, tugging at his hat. "You brats wrecked the guild again! We're going broke!"
"I'll go on a mission to make up for it." She promised.
Makarov's jaw hit the floor. First she gets into a fight, and now she wants to go on a mission?!
Lisanna and Elfman opened their mouths to say something, but Mirajane quickly said "On my own. I'm still uncomfortable with going all out in front of others."
"Oh... Okay big sister..." Lisanna said sadly, trying to hide it with a smile.
"Big Sister's being a Man again..." Elfman muttered.
Various indignant voices cried out "She's a woman!"
Just then, Lucy walked in the guild gripping a small stack of papers and Levy on her arm.
"Oh! Hi Lucy!" Natsu called, rubbing the spot where the pitcher hurt him.
Lucy smiled. "Hello Natsu!" She replied.
Levy turned to Gajeel, who was casually eating metal, and smirked. "Thank you for last night Gajeel!~"
He promptly spat out the snack as people whistled and cheered. "What the hell?! Don't say it like that!"
Mirajane sniffed loudly. "You didn't need even need my help..."
"Damn straight!" He yelled. "We didn't do anything!"
Mira whipped her head towards Levy, who was laughing her heart out. "What did you guys do?"
"He carried me to Lucy's house." She giggled. "That's all!"
Mira sighed, but the other guild members chuckled.
Oh, I totally got my revenge! She thought wickedly.
Gajeel glared. "I'll kill ya' Shrimp."
But Levy had already bounced away, pulling Lucy to Natsu. She called over her shoulder "Erza! Wendy! Gajeel! Gray! You have to see this!"
They all turned to look at each other, and walked over to the threesome, curiousity in their eyes.
Erza peered over Lucy's shoulder, and asked "What is this?"
"It's a map, to the 'Gateway between Dragons and Humanity.'" Levy announced. "Me and Gajeel found it last night."
"Ah, so that is what you two were doing." She nodded.
"WOAH! Does that mean I'll see Igneel again?" Natsu asked excitedly.
"Maybe." Lucy replied, a small smile curling at her lips. "But we have to make the trip first."
"Talon's Peak..." Gray muttered. Then turned to the rest of the group. "From the map, it looks like it's only three days from here."
Natsu's smile died. "Three days on a train?!" He screamed. From the corner of his eye, he saw Gajeel look away, slightly pale.
"Idiot." The Ice Mage scoffed, bopping him on the head. "Three days walking. There ain't no tracks that lead into mountains."
"Uh-huh!" He protested loudly, catching him in the chin. Gray scowled, and yanked back Natsu's chair, making him crash to the ground.
The two unconsciously moved their fight away from the table, and the others continued to discuss the map. "It looks like there's a town along the way though." Wendy commented.
Erza brightened up, and thrust her finger onto the map. "That town! It's well-known in many places for it's hot springs! And cake." She added quietly.
"Great! We can stop there when we reach it." Lucy said.
Levy scanned the map. "But that's the only one... After that, we'll have to camp out the rest of the nights."
"It's only three days." Gajeel snorted. "Shouldn't be a problem."
"Wait, you're going?" Erza asked.
"Yeah." Gajeel and Levy replied.
"We are the ones who found it." The Iron Dragon Slayer muttered.
Lucy began counting off her fingers. "So that's me, Erza, Levy, Gajeel..." She turned to Wendy, questions her with her eyes. When the girl nodded, she continued. "Wendy..."
"Gray! Are you coming as well?" Erza shouted.
The mon replied as best he could with Natsu's hand flattening his face. "Huh? I can't! Juvia asked me to go on a mission with her!"
"So that's it?"
"I'm going, obviously!" Natsu yelled, seconds before Gray sent him flying.
"Okay, and Natsu." She finished.
"Er..."
They all turned to see Romeo, who awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Is it okay if I come? I've always wanted to go on a mission with Natsu-nii... And meet a dragon..."
The others looked at each other uncertainly, but Erza smiled, and said "Of course. That is fine, provided you follow our orders without complaint."
This will be good experience for him... She thought.
Romeo let out a relieved sigh, and said "I will! Thank you, Erza-nee!"
She nodded, then freaked out as Lucy suddenly asked "Jellal isn't coming too, is he?"
"N-no... I shouldn't think so..." She stuttered.
"Where has Jellal-san been anyway?" Wendy asked curiously. After he joined, he stayed in the guild for a few days, just taking to everyone. After a while though, he only came for a few minutes to take out a mission, then leave.
"We don't know." Lucy said, shaking her head. She has yet to find a difference between this world's Jellal and Mystogan, only discovering more ways they're similiar.
Much to Erza's relief, Levy suddenly blurt out "Hooray! We're going on an adventure!"
"Indeed. We shall meet in front of the train station tomorrow morning."
"HEY! I thought you said no train!" Natsu yelled in protest.
"It's only for an hour." Lucy assured him. "That's the last station on the route."
"Wendy! Use Troia on me?!" Natsu pleaded.
"I-I'm sorry Natsu-san... but it doesn't work on you anymore..."
"Dammit!" He shouted.
"Troia?..." Gajeel asked curiously.
"It cures motion sickness." Lucy explained.
Gajeel glanced at Wendy. "Can you use it on me?"
"Yes... I can..."
"No fair!"
Ultear heaved a sigh, and thrust a hand on her hip. "You can't be thinking about her again Jellal."
He frowned. "I can't help it."
"Look, if you really wanna thank her, just do it."
Jellal blinked. "Well, I do want to thank her but... There's something else I want to ask."
"It's about time!" Meredy yelled gleefully, jumping on Ultear.
He looked at her in confusion. "Wait... What?"
The pink-haired girl huffed. "You're asking out Erza right?"
Jellal choked on his saliva. "No! I was thinking about Celestia!"
Ultear and Meredy exchanged glances, then said together "She's a little young for you."
He listened in horror as Meredy whispered "That's like seriously young. I mean..."
"I know." The raven-haired woman whispered back. "But you have no control over love..."
"I am not-! Gah, women." He groaned, slamming his head into the table.
"We're just joking!" Meredy singsonged. "We already know you love Erza!"
"You better be or- PLEASE STOP SAYING THAT!"
"Aw... How cute. Your face matches her hair!"
"You're awful. The both of you." He muttered into the wood as the two females cracked up.
"So what is it you wanted to ask Celestia?" Ultear asked.
"Well... Her origins. Where she came from, her family."
Meredy blinked. "That's kind of creepy." Jellal buried his face into his hand.
Ultear snorted, but asked "Why?"
Jellal looked them both in the eye, dead serious. "Because of her magic. It's similiar to mine."
Yeah! An adventure! *throws sparkles into the air (Sorry if this is a little bit shorter than usual)
I know the story has been a bit dull lately, but I got some fun things coming up for the journey ^.^
Celestia! Jellal! How are they related? X3 Teehee, you have to wait to find out~
Thanks for reading! I'll try and update soon!
Please feel very free to leave a review :)