A Wishful Thought: You guys are freaking awesome. I hope you all know that. :') After much deliberation, I decided to steer the story into this direction. Don't feel too proud of me though. I'm pretty sure that by the end of the chapter, many of you will be trying to strangle me through your computer. xD

I'd like to thank the following people for their feedback and advice:

Eelgirl13, Akarui Nightshade, kisshufan4ever beyond birthday, GajeelxLevy, miyame-chan, Beta 5200, Yuki Kusanagi, Max Tiger, and racerabbit.

I don't know what I would do without you guys! :'D

This chapter is long overdue, so I won't bore you with anymore of my ramblings. XD

Enjoy!

P.S. The title, by the way, is Latin.

P.P.S. I ended up changing the wording of the "preview quotes" I gave you in the last update. The same basic things happen, just different word usage and such. :) I hope no one minds all too much!

Adventum Domus

"Thanks… F-For helping me, I mean."

Gray turned up his lazy expression towards the blonde woman who seemed to tower over him since he was sitting on her newly shined apartment floor. "It's not a big deal."

Lucy felt something inside her drop as her body seemed to run cold. That's all he has to say? He just helped me clean out my entire apartment, load in all my new furniture, and take care of Juvia and Wendy. And all he can say is, 'It's no big deal! ?' The slightly younger mage couldn't help but frown. I was kind of expecting something… more…

"Are you alright, Luce?"

Chocolate brown eyes blinked, meeting the stormy dark orbs of the ice mage, "Um, y-yeah. Of course!"

He eyed her suspiciously once more, and Lucy immediately averted her eyes before quietly wandering off to her bedroom. Once there, she locked her door shut and threw herself onto heavenly cloud that she called her bed, burying her face in as many pillows as she possibly could. A small part (read: a majority) of her heart was already yelling angry jumbles of words at her for leaving her house guest all alone in her living room without company, especially after everything he had done for her. But to be honest, there wasn't really any point in denying it anymore…

Ever since last night… or perhaps, early this morning…

It just didn't feel the same between them.

She felt her heart clench as the genuine frown finally came to rest itself on her lips.

Just thinking back to that moment when he had yelled at her was enough for the young Celestial Spirit mage to tense up as tears began to well up in her eyes.

It was the curt knock on her door that shook her from her reverie, "Luce…?"

The single name, Gray, flashed through her mind, yet she found that she could make no move to respond to him. It was almost as if she herself had turned into the ice that the mage on the other side of her door was able to craft so beautifully.

The knock returned once more, but this time more quick and urgent, "Lucy?"

She squirmed uncomfortably, trying to ignore the tight, choking feeling that seemed to have wrapped itself around her chest, but to no avail.

For the third and final time, the knock returned, even faster than it had been before. "Lucy! ?"

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

And it didn't seem to matter, for Gray had already kicked down the door, stormy eyes wide with worry as they darted around her room, before finally resting on her. She couldn't help but notice the color return to his face and the exhale of breath that left his lips. And even though his eyebrows furrowed, and his face contorted into an expression full of anger, she also noticed that his eyes still maintained that innocent worry despite his glare. "What the hell is wrong with you? You've been in here for almost an hour, and I'm pretty sure that everyone's due to come in a good fifteen minutes or so." It didn't seem to register to him yet that she had made no indication of his arrival other than the occasional blink of her chocolate-colored eyes. He didn't think it inappropriate for him to haphazardly collapse on her bed next to her sleeping form, and he surely didn't notice the way she flinched when his arm brushed hers as he moved to cross his arms under his head. "Look at what you made me do. I'm sure that Wendy and Juvia have woken up and are restless now. Why didn't you respond? If you had just managed even the shortest response—"

"Gray…"

On normal circumstances, the ice mage would've ignored the soft murmur of his name and continued talking as though not a word had been said. But this time… his dark eyes flickered towards her much lighter ones. She shifted her body so that she was facing him head on. The golden locks that she had so delicately pulled back into a single ponytail were beginning to pull themselves astray, framing her features, and her eyes seemed… less warm than they did on normal occasions.

And the way she had whispered his name…

Before he allowed the thoughts to continue any more, he abruptly turned his head away from her, trying his best to hide the small blush that had appeared on his features.

It was Lucy's sad sigh that made him hesitantly glance towards her once more.

And on further inspection of her features, he finally noticed the tears that had welled up in her eyes. "Lucy—"

"You hate me, don't you."

She stated it as though it was a fact. And the way she made it sound, it was like someone stating a fact that was ultimately true, yet something that seemed so shocking and unbelievable. At her words, he felt his eyes widen considerably. He opened his mouth to hastily let a response tumble out on its own, but her words came faster than this.

"You hate me."

He watched in horror as the tears in her eyes welled up more, until one finally leaked out.

"You… You hate me."

Gray sat up quickly, moving to grab her by the shoulders to try and snap her out of her haunting mantra. But as soon as she stopped whispering the words to herself, her eyes shut tightly, and manic sobs began to rack her body. Hesitantly, Gray let go of her, feeling something in his heart clench. He watched quietly as the blonde-haired girl before him brought her knees to her chest and hugged herself as tight as she could as though it would help the pain disappear.

The feeling in his heart stirred more violently, and in reflex, Gray clutched the area where the organ was located, silently begging for it to stop. He barely even registered that he was shirtless.

The two stayed like that for a while, and it was silent, save Lucy's hushed sobs.

Miraculously, the tightening in his heart loosened up just enough for him to gain his senses, and the Ice Mage brought his gaze upward to stare at the woman before him. "Lucy… Why?"

Her only response was the slight shaking of her head.

Gray felt the frown on his features deepen, and not knowing what else to do, he moved next to her, carefully placing his arm around her shoulders. She seemed to accept the gesture, because she let go of herself and latched onto him instead, continuing to cry onto his bare chest.

He wouldn't deny it: Being able to be there for Lucy like this made part of him feel like soaring.

But he also couldn't deny that part of him felt like he was doing something completely and utterly wrong.

Before he realized what he was doing, he lightly pushed her away from him.

Her sobs had already lost most of their intensity, but her cheeks were still stained a bright scarlet. She used her arm to wipe away some stray tears before meeting his gaze. It was under this stare that Gray, for some strange reason that he couldn't comprehend, felt small, tiny, and inferior.

So he felt extremely surprised when a small smile was forced upon her lips. A choking noise that he assumed was supposed to be a forced laugh left her throat before she whispered, "I don't understand you at all, Gray. I thought I did… But now… I guess I don't."

He looked at her in silent wonder, but said nothing.

"I don't know why you do it, and I definitely don't know how your brain works… What's going on between us, Gray? What's going on in that head of yours?" She paused for a moment, and suddenly it seemed like her eyes were looking into his very soul, causing the Ice Mage to shiver, though very minutely. "Am I right? About Erza?"

At the name, he flinched.

Truth be told, ever since he had found her crying and singing about Jellal, Gray had been ignoring the scarlet-haired mage. He had never taken the time to decipher why he was doing so, but now that his blonde haired friend brought it up, it had truly been brought to his attention. Was she right?

"I… I…" His eyes darted around the room, desperately trying to focus on anything but the solemn eyes of the woman before him. Why did he suddenly feel so vulnerable? And around Lucy?

She let out another sad sigh, "You're doing it again."

Involuntarily, he felt his eyes flicker towards her once more. "… Doing what?"

The minute smile on her lips suddenly looked very sad as she whispered, "You're pushing people away, again…"

The stormy eyes of the Ice Mage widened slightly, "W-What are you—"

"I… When I was…" Lucy shook her head slightly, gently shutting her eyes. "I was thinking about it a few minutes ago… And I realized that you're pushing everyone away." Her brown eyes opened slowly, and though they were usually filled with such happiness and joy, they were now filled with a sort of empty sadness, "You act like you're tough, but inside, you're as helpless as a little boy. You don't know why you do what you do, and that kind of scares you. But for some reason, you're afraid to get attached to anyone who tries to help you… And you push them away, and yell at them, and make them feel like utter shit. When you do that," She averted her eyes from him as she continued, "It really messes people up. And they might think that you hate them." Her eyes meandered back to meet his blank stare, "But now that I've figured it out, I'm not going to let you push me away. I'm going to help you. No matter what happens, I'll be here."

It was quiet as the two simply regarded each other, but the silence was broken as Lucy quietly whispered, "When was the last time you let someone in?"

Gray was eerily quiet as he sorted through the thoughts that he realized he had to sort through. But surprisingly enough, it seemed like Lucy didn't mind.

Before he registered what he was doing, the words left his mouth in a whisper, "I… I think I love her…"

Though Lucy had been expecting something like that, she couldn't stop the strange stirring in her heart that arose as soon as she heard his words. Now that he had admitted it though, Lucy wasn't entirely sure as to what course of action she should take.

However, it seemed like she didn't have to think too much, for Gray seemed to be doing all of it on his own. "But… Juvia…"

At this, Lucy felt a single eyebrow raise. Juvia… Why has he brought up Juvia?

"And… And Cana…"

Cana…?

Suddenly, his downcast eyes rose to meet hers. There was a sort of empty curiosity etched in them as he whispered, "And there's you, too, Lucy…"

"M-Me? Gray, what are you—"

In the blink of an eye, his face was directly in front of hers, and Lucy felt her eyes widen. "My feelings… I don't know how I feel about anyone…" His minty breath tickled her, surprising her with its warmth and making her blush.

At his words, she felt her heart rate pick up. All of a sudden, she felt extremely self-conscious of everything about her: her hair, her breath, her posture, the way her makeup might be running, and how she just realized that she wasn't even wearing makeup, which juse made everything even worse.

But she did know one thing for sure: Though she felt like part of her was stirring with excitement, the other part of her felt incredibly uncomfortable about the whole situation.

"I guess there's only one way to find out…"

And then, their lips touched.

"Oh, come on!" Natsu fumed angrily, continuously banging on the door to Lucy's apartment. "What the hell is up with her?"

Cana and Levy waited behind him anxiously, both lost in their own thoughts. It was obvious to anyone that the two were nervous as to what events would occur today, but it was Levy who felt the most uncomfortable.

She felt something stirring within her, like a bad omen. "I-I'm sure that she has a spare key somewhere…"

Natsu turned to face her, and there was a grateful grin on his face. "Good thinking, Levy! But… Where would she put it?" The flameheaded mage assumed a thinking position as he pretended to stare off into the distance, losing himself in his ideas.

"Try the doormat," Cana muttered abruptly, forcing Natsu out of his thoughts, "Spare keys are always under doormats."

The DragonSlayer blinked at the simplicity of her suggestion, before nodding eagerly, "Right, right!" Eagerly, the young man fell to his knees, stuck his hand underneath his blonde friend's doormat, and reached around to locate his friend's spare key, reminding both Cana and Levy of a pet dog, either to find a bone.

The two sweatdropped as they wondered where the serious man who had given such an inspiring argument not too long ago had went.

Eventually, Natsu rose up from his knees, his right hand thrusting a rusted, old key into the air, "Got it!" And even though his two fellow mages weren't in the best of moods, his energetic smile was contagious enough for the two to allow a minute grin on their faces. At this, his expression seemed to widen as he turned to force the key into its lock.

The door swung open easily after that, and Natsu pivoted on his foot to the two women behind him, "Now let's find Lucy!"

The flameheaded mage darted into Lucy's place, and as the two mages behind him hesitantly followed, neither were all too surprised when they realized that Natsu had taken a detour towards the kitchen. Levy and Cana couldn't stop themselves from glancing at each other, before letting a few soft giggles escape their lips.

Realizing that they were technically the ones who would have to look for Lucy now, the two decided to leave Natsu to Lucy's fridge for the time being, and continued on their way throughout the blonde mage's house.

"Hey, maybe she fell asleep? Cana, maybe we should check out Lucy's room."

The brunette nodded at the slightly younger girl, "That's a good idea." She looked around herself for a moment, before adding, "Though I'm not entirely sure where that is."

A kind smile took over Levy's features as she nodded, "Alright then, follow my lead."

With that, the blunette spun on her heel, and began her advance towards the Celestial Spirit Mage's room, Cana following closely behind. When they got closer however, both of their eyes widened in horror.

"L-Lucy's door…"

The two turned to look at each other with wide eyes, before running as fast as they could towards the blonde's now empty doorway.

Levy's eyes seem to widen even more, while Cana instantly felt her heart drop as her body turned cold.

Lucy and Gray were both locked in a passionate embrace, their lips moving in synchronization with one another's. Lucy's pale arms were wrapped around Gray's neck, while Gray's muscular ones circled around her waist. Both seemed completely oblivious to their surroundings, not seeming to even notice the presence of the newcomers.

"Gray…"

At her pained whisper, the two immediately separated. Each of their faces were stained a bright crimson, and they each looked almost as surprised as both Cana and Levy. They were staring at each other with shock, until the Ice Mage abruptly broke the gaze to bring his wide eyes to meet Cana's.

"Cana, I…"

She broke his gaze, with a slight shake of her head, and cleared her throat slightly as she muttered, "Natsu's here, too. Lucy, he's raiding your fridge."

The brunette had expected some kind of reaction from the Celestial Spirit Mage before her, but got none. In fact, the blonde-haired girl had an unreadable expression on her face, though the bright red of her cheeks was still evident.

Levy, sensing the hidden tension between the three other occupants of the room, hesitantly squeaked, "L-Let's get going then, shall we?"

It didn't take long for the others to arrive.

Gajeel and Mirajane arrived together, much to the surprise of Levy.

Lucy summoned Loke, and as soon as he arrived, he looked angered, and seemed as though he would've strangled someone (namely Gray) if it wasn't for the look on Lucy's face.

Despite the fact that he seemed utterly out of it, Natsu forced Gray to help him bring Juvia and Wendy into the main room where the "meeting" was being held. Wendy had woken up, mumbling something about having a dream where Gray was beating up different doors named Lucy (much to the amusement of Natsu and the chagrin of Gray), yet Juvia remained fast asleep.

They were all sitting on three different couches that surrounded a coffee table, which Lucy had Virgo supply with numerous pastries, cookies, and drinks. However, no one really bothered to touch them, save Gajeel, Natsu, and Wendy.

On the largest sofa which was in the middle, sat Levy, Gajeel, and Mirajane, with Gajeel in the middle. As though she had no memories of what had transpired only hours ago, Wendy insisted that Natsu allow her to sit on Mira's lap, pleasantly surprising the older mage. On the couch to the left of the aforementioned one, sat Loke and Cana, and on the sofa on the other side awkwardly sat Lucy and Gray. In front of the coffee table, a mat had been laid out in order to lay Juvia. Though Mira insisted that Natsu put her back in the room, the fire DragonSlayer was convinced that if Juvia woke up and wanted to say something herself, then she should be able to.

Standing before all the people gathered was Natsu, munching on a chocolate chip cookie. The mages that were gathered in the room waited patiently (well, at least some of them) for the "leader" of the whole operation to finish, but when he did, he looked somewhat puzzled.

"You know, I'm not really sure what I should say."

Immediately, the others sweatdropped.

"Uh… Well, in case you all were wondering, my chest hurts like hell, I think someone needs to buy me an extra pair of clothes, and I can't feel my brain."

Gajeel rolled his eyes, "Like you ever had a brain."

Natsu's eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth to offer the Iron DragonSlayer a nasty retort, but Cana beat him to it, "Get on with it, Natsu. Some of us have more important things to be doing."

For some reason, Gray felt like the tint of venom in her voice, though extremely minute, was directed at him, and he wished he could just disappear. It suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable sitting next to Lucy, and he was beginning to wonder how they even ended up sitting next to each other in the first place.

But it seemed like Gray was the only one to hear any hint of discontent in the brunette mage's voice, as Natsu continued on as if Cana's interruption was the most normal thing in the world, "Right, right. Sorry, I guess I got a bit distracted." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly for a moment, as though trying to get his mind back on the right track. When he raised his eyes to look back at his comrades gathered before him, there was the sudden gleam of determination in his eyes, though there was still an idiotic grin on his face, "Okay, I remember now."

"It's the moment of truth, you guys. You all know that if I had my way, we wouldn't even be here. We would know that helping Erza and saving Jellal is what we have to do. But I can't do it without you guys. I know it's a huge risk, and after what happened to Juvia and what happened to… to…" The DragonSlayer hesitated for a moment, and Lucy immediately felt a pang of pity for the young man before her, knowing that if even only one tear fell from his eyes, she would lose it as well.

Her eyes, however, were drawn towards Mira, who had averted her gaze away from the flameheaded DragonSlayer before her. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when Gajeel rested his hand over hers in a strange form of reassurance. Lucy didn't think that Levy was able to see it from where she was sitting, but she noticed that Wendy had noticed it just as she had, for her eyes had widened minutely as she nibbled on the piece of cake that she had stabbed with her fork.

Natsu cleared his throat awkwardly, bringing the Celestial Spirit Mage's focus back towards him. "We're all kinds of scared about what might end up happening to the rest of us… But fear is something that everyone must always overcome. And I mean… we're all doing it for Erza, right?"

There was a short pause during which not a word was spoken. However, the silence was broken by Loke, who bluntly stated, "Well, let's put it to a vote, then."

Levy stood up from her seat, pulling out a small notebook from the crossbody bag she was sporting. It looked simple enough: a dark brown suede covering the outer layer of the book. Yet there was a strong magical aura coating it, and all eyes were staring at it in wonder. "I brought what you asked, Natsu…"

Wendy stared at it with a childish sort of curiosity, "What is it?"

Levy allowed her eyes to drift towards Natsu, as though she was asking his permission. The flamehaired boy offered a small nod, and Levy opened her mouth to explain, "It's a special kind of notebook, the kind that the Council uses when they're nominating new candidates to join both them and the Ten Wizard Saints. Once you write something in it, it'll disappear. Once all the votes or nominations have been placed, you close the book, and in about twenty minutes, it'll open itself, revealing the choice that received the most support."

Gajeel blinked at it, before muttering, "And how did you get your hands on it?"

Everyone leaned in a little closer, as they all were kind of curious as to what the blunette's answer would be. But much to their disappointment, she only blushed and muttered, "That's none of your business."

Deciding that he would take the role of Levy's knight in shining armor, Natsu stepped in, "Come on, you guys. Let's just get this voting thing over with."

The others mumbled in response to his words, while Levy shot him a grateful smile that Natsu happily returned. She pushed the sweets and drinks away from a small portion of the table, just enough room for her to set the notebook down, and pulled out a fountain pen from her bag, also placing it down on the table. The bookworm then stepped out of the way, gesturing towards the area, "You guys can vote first. I'll vote last since I have to use my magic to let the book know that we've finished voting."

Her fellow mages nodded, before they each got up to place their vote.

Twenty minutes felt much longer than it should have. Especially for Mirajane.

The tired eyes of the beloved Fairy Tail barmaid were puffy from all her shed tears, and her usually neat hair was in a severe state of disarray. In fact, she probably wouldn't have even come to the arranged meeting if it weren't for Gajeel's sudden appearance on her doorstep when she had woken.

"Hey… I was wondering… Can I talk to you?"

At the mere thought of the memory, the silver-haired girl shifted her eyes to the Iron DragonSlayer who was gleefully stuffing his face with forks that the mages that had insisted weren't hungry had disposed of. Wendy and Natsu were each on either of his sides, eagerly eating the food that the others had left untouched.

She couldn't stop the small smile nor the large blush from appearing across her features.

But she easily tore her eyes away from him once she saw Juvia stir. The hesitation she felt was brief, and before Mira was even realizing what she was doing, she was already kneeling by her side, a reassuring smile plastered onto her features, "Juvia?"

The swollen eyes of the water mage fluttered open, "Lisanna…"

Immediately, Mirajane felt the smile melt away. This girl…

"She's alive."

And that caused Mira to lose it.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! ?"

She felt all eyes in the room on her, wide with shock. But she was oblivious to all of that right now. Her chest was already rising heavily with the numerous breaths she was taking, and she felt the sting of the tears threatening to fall. "What are you trying to do to me! ? WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO YOU TO ALLOW YOU TO FORCE ME THROUGH ALL THIS PAIN! ?"

Juvia's eyes betrayed no emotion, and Mirajane raised her hand to slap her, but Gajeel had already grabbed her wrist. "Mira… You need to calm down."

The silver-haired women turned her glaring blue eyes towards him, snatching her hand away from him, and turning her attention back to the fallen mage that lay on the ground, "I don't know what game you're playing at… Why are you sifting through these tales… Why can't you tell me the truth! ?"

Juvia said nothing once more, which only angered the Transformation Mage even more.

The blue-eyed woman stood up with her fists clenched tightly at her sides, squeezing her eyes shut trying to stop the tears leaking out of her eyes, but to no avail, "CUT THE CRAP AND TELL ME THE TRUTH, GODDAMMIT!"

But it was no use, for the Water Mage had already lost her consciousness.

Realizing this, Mira fell to her knees on the floor, sobbing madly now, the attention of her comrades only intensifying the numerous emotions within her. She had figured that it would be Gajeel to try and calm her down once more, but she wasn't surprised either when she felt Natsu's hand soothingly rubbing her back, "Mira…"

She opened her mouth to speak, but was stopped when she felt a horrible tightening in her chest. "I-It hurts… so much…"

The others in the room that hadn't resumed their worry over Juvia (everyone besides Gray and Gajeel) continued to offer the Transformation Mage varying looks of sympathy. "W-Why…"

Suddenly she felt someone poke her arm, and Mirajane allowed herself to warily raise her eyes towards the intruder.

It was none other than Wendy, her eyes wide with worry, "M-Mira-San…" She paused for a moment, before engulfing her in large hug, that Natsu awkwardly ended up joining, "Everything will be alright."

At this, Mira felt her lower lip quiver, before the sobs began to truly take over her body. "I just… I thought I had accepted it, but… That feeling she gave me… That feeling of renewed hope that can't possibly be real…" She choked on her sobs again, and it took a while before she was able to finish her sentence, "It hurts so much!"

The two DragonSlayers only tightened their embrace.

Levy looked onward at Wendy, Natsu, and Mirajane, the frown still etched on her face. "Poor Mira-San…"

The blonde mage beside her only nodded.

Suspicious of her friend's longtime silence, Levy averted her eyes towards her, "Lucy, what on Earth is going on with—"

Before she could finish the thought, there was a sharp knock at the door. Figuring that someone else would answer it, the blunette mage ignored it, and began her sentence over, "Lucy, what's going on with you—"

The sharp knock came once more.

Looking around and realizing that no one (not even Lucy, who was the owner of the apartment) was making any move to answer it, the bookworm halfheartedly announced, "Okay, okay. I'll get it."

Leaving the side of her best friend, Levy made her way towards the entrance of the apartment, before staring upwards at the peephole that would allow her to see who had decided to pay her friend a visit. It would probably be best of me to check it out before opening the door…

With that thought, she raised herself upward on her tippy-toes so that she would be able to peer through the small hole…

But the thing is: Even though she was at her maximum height in that one moment, she was still too short to be able to look through the door.

The frown on her face seemed to deepen at this realization, and she automatically looked around her for something she could stand on. It was at this moment that she realized that all the chairs and empty tables were back in the meeting room, and she knew that if she snatched one for this reason, they would all poke fun of her height again.

And honestly? Levy was getting tired of all the midget jokes.

Usually, she didn't end up in this predicament. Because usually, Lucy would answer her own door.

And even if she didn't, she always had a certain DragonSlayer offering to lift her up…

Levy shook the thought away with a sad sigh as she remembered her friend's new acquaintance with the beautiful Mirajane, and if possible, the frown on her lips deepened even more.

Deciding that it really didn't even matter anymore as to who was at the doorway, Levy unlocked the door, and twisted the knob.

Once the door was fully open, she felt her body run cold, her eyes widen, and her jaw drop.

Yeah. She probably should've made a bigger effort to look through the peephole.

"E-Erza! ? W-What are you doing here! ?"

At the blunette's frantic cry, all eyes immediately shifted towards the doorway.

The scarlet mage in question stood on the steps, a puzzled look on her face. She looked paler than usual, and she wasn't even wearing her usually armor. In fact, it looked like she had rolled out of bed, thrown on the first clothes she had seen, and then made her way here. "W-What's going on here?"

Levy felt her heart beat faster as she scrambled to come up with a proper excuse, "I….I…"

Erza shook her head, waving away the blunette's words. "That doesn't matter right now. I… I need your help anyway… All of your help…"

The eyes in the room widened even more. Erza needing help! ?

Seeing their expressions, the scarlet-haired mage averted her gaze, before hesitantly stepping to the side.

The aura in the room turned frigid.

"No… This can't be real…"

With a hesitant smile plastered onto his features, blue hair wind-tossed and messy, stood Jellal.

A Wishful Thought: ACKKKJLAKFJAL;WEKFJALWKEFJA;LEK!

Dammit. THIS CHAPTER, YOU GUYS! D:

I had no idea how I should be writing it. I just couldn't decide how I wanted it to come out! And I REALLY wanted to get it out before tomorrow (because after thought, God knows when I'd be able to update again), so you can see where I ended up rushing. D:

Man, I really feel like I let you guys down.

That being said, this is being published unedited, so I'd be happy if you were each able to point out any mistakes that you noticed. I'm definitely going to come back and edit this chapter when I have more free time.

ANYWAY, NOW TO MY THOUGHTS ON THIS CHAPTER. X3

LOLOLOL, I don't know why I made Gray such a manwhore in this story. But for now, I guess he is. XD

SPEAKING OF MANWHORES, I'm going to awkwardly change the subject to the couples in this story. XD As you all may know, I'm doing something kind of weird, as in letting you (the readers) have a say in who ends up together. By this, I mean you can just leave in your review which couples you really want to be seeing, and I'll try and throw them into the upcoming chapters. Lately, I've been getting a lot into the raw emotion of the characters, so… yeah. X3

ALSO, I have no idea what I did to Wendy. XD I made her act like such a little kid! But I guess that's because that's how I see her: A little kid. If you guys have any tips on how to write Wendy, I'd greatly appreciate them! Part of me feels like I'm not capturing the real essence of her character.

I think it's because I keep thinking about Shaman King, more specifically, a certain character named Manta. XD And for those who have read it, I know that it doesn't make much sense at all, but I think that that's the only explanation I can offer for now. XP

REVIEW please! THEY MAKE ME THE HAPPIEST PERSON ALIVE!

Next Time: Even more people lose it. And they've all been doing that a lot lately. O_o