All rights to Hiro Mashima

~ Fourteenth ~

-Levy-

"Freed…are you seeing this? Is this correct?" I am so glad that both Freed and I are perfectionists. If we had put the lacrima into Natsu without checking it first, it would have caused irreparable harm to his body, destroying what was left of his magic containers.

"Yes, this is a true puzzle Ms. McGarden. It seems that someone within Ivan's resurrected guild can place seals and dark enchantments onto objects. While I can strip the enchantments away with my Dark Ecriture, I can do nothing about the seal." He sighs heavily. "We need help."

I agree with him completely. I jump up and run to Master and Erza at the bar counter. They will know what to do without a doubt.

-Erza-

"Master, Erza, both Freed and I have discovered something troubling to say the least on the lacrima that Gajeel found."

Master and I look at Levy and urge her to go on. She quickly complies seeming out of breath.

"Do you know anyone that could dispel a magical seal?" Her question catches us both off guard and I bow my head in thought. This situation seems troublesome, but I feel like I've been in this predicament before.

Master shakes his head no, but assures her he will contact the other guild Masters to see if any wizards in their guilds have such a rare power.

I need to quiet my wandering thoughts and let my subconscious do the work. I will focus on something else for the time being until I can remember. I think I will join my teams table and relax for a while, or at least until I have to forcibly stop the battles of fire and ice.

"Mira, can I have a slice of strawberry cake, extra strawberries and whipped cream?"

-Lucy-

"I still can't believe that such a group of wizards exist! Our team is nothing a like and I hate Frosty Balls with every fibre of my being. I've had my memories forcibly removed, but I could never forget a face as ugly as his." I know that Natsu is just trying to rile Gray up again. He's nervous about the lacrima and his magic and trying to distract himself in any way possible.

I hear a scoff across the table from us. "The feelings mutual, I hate looking at your mug just as much as you hate mine." As usual Gray takes the insults in stride, but I can feel the temperatures fluctuating around me from bitter wintery chill to crazy boiling hot.

I have to nip this in the bud before they can fight anymore. It wouldn't do to have Natsu injured before we can put his magic back, I have a feeling we are going to need him in peak condition to make the transfer as viable as possible.

Luckily Erza strides up to our table with purposeful steps and drops herself beside Wendy on the bench opposite of me, jostling the table a smidge. She looks heavily at the slice of cake in front of her.

'She must have something on her mind. I don't think I can see a hint of cake beneath the mountain of cream.'

The boys seem adverse to fight in her presence for the moment. Thank Mavis.

I'm curled up against Natsu's side with Happy snoozing peacefully in my lap. I am being a bit of a heat leech from him, but I don't think he minds. Natsu's tanned arms are sprawled across the back of the bench, his right hand is slowly tangling in my hair unconsciously, and brushing through the knots until it is silky smooth again. Being with him like this is super soothing, I can almost pretend like there will be no fights for honour and glory in our future, or wicked plots to bring down the nation around our ears.

I want to keep it going for as long as I possibly can, hold him here with me until I am forced to move. Ignoring Erza's doom and gloom aura, I rest my head carefully on the back of the bench against his arm.

"You know we weren't always a team together. In the beginning when you brought me here, it was just you, me, and Happy for a while." He tilts back his head and stares up at the ceiling in thought.

"Why did we change that? How did we all get together somehow? All of us seem so…incompatible." He raises his eyebrow slightly in question.

"Well, our first job together wasn't a traditional job. We had heard about a certain 'death magic' in our travels that was floating around in the dark guilds. Erza asked for both your help and Gray's, I went along to act as a buffer for the two of you, but quickly realized that nothing could ever stop you guys from fighting." The two idiots both nod sagely at that remark.

"Anyway, a dark guild that only took assassination jobs headed up by a wind mage named Erigor got a hold of the cursed flute that 'lullaby' was played from. We went after them and that was the first time I saw Gray's ice-make magic and Erza's Knight. Both are beautiful in their own rights. Erza's is just a bit more…uhm…bloody?" I peek my eyes over to the woman in question but she isn't listening to my story in the least, too absorbed in the plate in front of her.

"We managed to catch up the escaped Erigor after your completely decimated him and then ran to Clover Town on the other side of a crazy deep canyon. Turns out that the guild wanted to wipe out the guild masters and Master Markarov was in danger. After 'Lullaby' was released, we realized that it was a demon from the book of Zeref, but that didn't stop you, Gray and Erza from ripping it to pieces."

I chuckled as I reminisced in the aftermath. "Although, you destroyed the whole town, and the demon blew up a mountain as well to show off his powers. The council was not pleased. We met Wendy and Charles at a later date when the Balam Alliance was a threat."

Natsu smiles down at me. "It seems all the stories you tell me have us destroying something. We must be terrible on jobs, did we even get any reward from that lullaby incident?"

I shake my head. "Not in the traditional sense of the word. We did save the guild masters so that was a plus. But it was on the job that I received one of my spirits, Virgo the Maiden." I smirk down and finger her key slightly. "You haven't met her, but she is always asking for 'punishment'."

We laugh together a bit and Gray just smirks, probably thinking about meeting her for the first time in behind the wind barrier. "You know, Virgo was the reason why we were able to help everyone. Erigor placed an insanely powerful wind barrier around the station we were all held in. With her help we were able to dig out. Originally we were going to have another mage from the dark guild we were fighting against help us to dispel the se-"

I hear a fork drop onto the table and look quizzically over at Erza. She looks pale, but her eyes are shining with renewed vigor. "Kage…yama?" I hear her say quietly.

She stands up straight, pushing her chair back quickly and spins around to face Master. "Master! I know who we need to talk to! He will get rid of the seal on the lacrima." The guild around us goes quiet at her shout.

The mood has deflated and Natsu tenses beside me at the mention of his magic, removing his hand slightly from the back of my head. "Seal? There's a seal on my memories?"

Mavis. How many hurdles will we have to jump through just to put his mind back together? We only have six days left before the lacrima starts to break down.

But I can't think about that sort of stuff now. We all need to be level headed.

"Master, we need to find out from the council where the mage named Kageyama is currently being held. He was the one that tried to kill the guild Masters in Clover all those years ago. He was also the one with inadvertently released Lullaby on the town." Levy looks elated at the news.

"Thank you Erza, Freed can only do so much for the enchantments. Hopefully this…guy…can finish what Freed starts." She shifts aside piles of papers and books scattered all over her corner and starts to talk wildly with the green haired mage, waving her hands around animatedly. She's on a role. I can feel it.

"Can you please back up? What in the Gods names is this about a seal? Why would we need a member of a dark guild to get rid of it?" My voice slowly raises in pitch as I silently start to freak out. Happy wakes up and rubs his eyes, then flies over the Mira for a fish while watching the proceedings with calculating eyes.

Master nods at Mira who fills his mug to the brim with ale. "The wonder twins over there found a magical seal on the lacrima that would have caused bodily harm to Natsu if it wasn't dispelled before the magic was placed inside him again."

Natsu looks stricken and even Happy's fur looks a bit paler than normal at that revelation. "So Kageyama can get rid of it, right?"

"Hopefully, my boy, we need to contact the Magic Council first to find out where he is placed, it's been about nine years since we have thought about that man in all honesty." Master takes a good draught of beer and sighs in contemplation.

He nods to himself, obviously pleased with his plan. "Erza, Gray, you will go back to Era and speak directly to the ones that detained Kageyama and figure out if there is a deal that we can make to get him to release the seal."

Gray laughs awkwardly and rubs the back of his neck and Erza flushes red while dropping her head to stare at the stones in the floor. "Uhm, gramps, we may have a slight problem at the moment with the Magic Council. I sort of…insulted them? And Erza, well, she may have pointed a sword in Doranbolt's face forcing him to take us home by direct line. And called them idiots."

I drop my head onto the wooden table in front of me with a loud 'thunk'. I groan a bit at the stupidity of the situation. Gods, my team can never do anything half assed can they?

Natsu rubs soothing warm circles on my back to calm me and a take a deep breath in and release it counting backwards from ten.

"Luce, you okay now?" Natsu whispers in my ear, close enough that I can feel his lips graze my skin.

I shiver slightly, and nod, studiously ignoring the heat I'm feeling that has nothing to do with Natsu's fire abilities. "I'm alright now, thanks Natsu."

He gives me a quick smile and winks at me.

I know we are in the middle of a situation, but no one would mind if I pulled Natsu into a closet and had my way with him, right? It's as if his lips are begging me to bite them. His eyes start to darken into pools of obsidian. What I wouldn't give to just lick him all over.

"-cy. LUCY!" I quickly look around to the others in the guild hall a bit dazed. I try to shake off the feeling of arousal and focus on the problem at hand.

But I can't quite remember what we were talking about.

"Huh. What?" I cringe at my voice. It sounds so breathy. "What is it Gray?"

He sniggers and cuts his eyes over at us. "We were all just wondering if you and Natsu should come with us so that we have obvious proof for the council that something is up and that Ivan is behind it all. They can't ignore all of us, hopefully. We also think that we should bring that lacrima along just in case we can see Kageyama with no interference so he can dispel the seal as quickly as possible."

"Uhh…yah, sure. That sounds fine. Uh huh." I can't focus. Natsu is brushing his thumb in circles on my thigh and my brain is slowly melting into a gelatinous puddle.

I'm garnering strange looks from everyone except Gajeel and Laxus who are grinning at me.

Damn those slayers. Damn their heightened senses.

Damn Natsu and his magic fingers. I can't believe he is twisting me up inside so much and it's just his thumb lightly grazing my skin.

Damn my hormones! I am so sexually frustrated, no amount of self-gratification is working. I need him. But I need all of him. Memories and magic alike.

I have never been so motivated in my life to get that lacrima back into his stupid handsome body.

I stand up abruptly. "Okay. Yah. We need to pack. Or something. Come on Natsu. Let's go…uhh…pack. For the train ride."

I'm dying. I'm a writer and I can't even put a coherent sentence together right now. We need to get out of here before I make a bigger fool of myself.

Natsu grins deviously at me and hops over the bench. I watch his muscles bunch and flex under his shirt.

Oh Mavis. I'm completely screwed.

"Whatever you say Luce, lead the way." I walk stiffly towards the door of the guild.

"Erza we'll meet you at the train station in an hour." I throw this parting comment over my shoulder. All I can hear is Gajeel's signature laughter as the doors slam shut behind us.

-Cana-

"Damn, could anyone else feel that sexual tension or was it just me?" Everyone in the whole guild hall quickly nods their head.

"Gods, it was so thick I could cut it with my bluntest sword." Erza glances over at the bar and shares a look with Mira.

I grin deviously and chug my barrel of beer. "I'm betting they will be a couple screwing each other's brains out by the time this month is up. Five thousand jewels, any takers?"

The guild is in an uproar, placing bets as I cackle and wink at Bickslow. I'll win major jewel over this bet.

My cards are never wrong.