SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 3 out, this is Chapter 4 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny and my OC.

Chapter 4: Magical Ball

"Work! Work!" Natsu headed to the request board. "Let's see…"

"Natsu, how about this one?" Happy asked.

"Whoever catches the fugitive, Velveno, shall receive 4000000 jewels." Natsu read.

"That's great." Lucy beamed. "I'm broke with now, so that totally fits the bill."

"Well, we need the dough." Natsu shrugged. "So why not?"

"This Velveno is an escaped convict that Gray set out to catch a long time ago, isn't it?" Lucy mused. "Who's the client?"

"It says Count Balsamico…" Natsu frowned.

"Hey, I heard that Velveno guys is gonna show up at the Balsamico family's magic ball." Marco added. "I believe it's next Saturday."

"Wait a sec." Lucy started, stopping Natsu and Happy. "If you're going to participate in a ball, you'll have to practice dancing."

"We'll start with the basic steps." Lucy instructed, heading outdoors.

"Jeez, this is a pain…" Natsu muttered.

"What are Natsu-nii and Lucy-nee trying to do?" Romeo wondered.

"Social dancing." Happy replied.

"Social dancing?" Romeo echoed. "What's that? So, it's a game where you step on each other's feet." He noted, Natsu having accidentally stepped on Lucy's foot.

"I don't think that's the aim…" Kinana remarked.

"Social dancing is where a man and woman pair up and dance at a ball." Mirajane explained as Ami pulled out her crystal standing harp.

"That looks like fun." Gray noted, supporting the instrument in one hand and bringing out the music stand in the other, the music scores tucked under his arm. "Remind me again why do I have to do this?"

"I needed a volunteer." Ami beamed.

"I was once known as the 'Dancing Demon'." Erza stepped forward, Ami started to play. "So if you want to learn social dancing, leave it to me. Reequip. All right, Natsu. Let's go. Dancing is all about… fighting spirit!"

"Anyone who dances with Erza always gets sick in the stomach." Happy supplied, seeing Erza twirl Natsu around.

"You can see why she was called the 'Dancing Demon'." Gray shivered, standing beside Ami.

"I guess I'll have to be the one who teaches Natsu how to dance." Lisanna took over. "That's it, Natsu." She encouraged, spinning the Dragon Slayer around. "Let your shoulders relax."

"How can an adult be that delicate?" Elfman chided. "And you call yourself a Man?"

"Elfman, you're up next." Erza grabbed her next partner.

"Is this social dancing?" Wendy inquired. "It's lovely."

"Shall we dance?" Warren held out his hand.

"I'd love to." Wendy smiled.

"Wendy's great at dancing." Happy noted.

"But why is she dancing with Warren?" Carla asked.

"Shall we dance?" Happy held out his paw.

"If you insist…" Carla sighed.

"Let's you and me try dancing, too." Romeo suggested.

"Sure, it looks like fun." Kinana agreed.

"Would you give me the honor of a dance, young lady?" Marco held out his hand.

"Of course." Mirajane beamed.

"Hey." Gajeel cast a side-glance at Levy. "Just so you know, I ain't gonna dance."

"Nobody's asking you to!" Levy fumed.

"Levy, dance with me." Jet and Dory entered the scene.

"I guess I have no choice if you're gonna be like that about it." Gajeel muttered, getting Levy on the dance floor.

"But I didn't say anything…" Levy protested.

"Well, this has gotten quite complicated." Ami sweatdropped, taking a quick peek at the dance floor.

"This has become quite a big fuss under my nose." Lucy mused, everyone pairing up. "But, somewhere along the line, I lost my partner!"

"Where's Lucy?" Gray wondered.

"Over there." Ami nodded over to Capricorn and Lucy. "Wow, her Spirits sure are pretty carefree."

"Right…" Gray nodded, taking out a viola of his own.

"Do you even know how to play?" Ami blinked skeptically.

"Who do you take me for?" Gray grinned, continuing where Ami had left off, turning the said music solo piece into a duet.

"May I ask who you people are?" Aceto answered the door.

"Who are you?" Gray asked.

"I'm Aceto, the daughter of Balsamico, lord of this place." Aceto replied.

"I'm Erza from Fairy Tail." Erza introduced. "We've accepted the request from your father, the Count."

"In that case, I'll show you in." Aceto smiled. "This way, please."

"I'm Count Balsamico, the client." The Count stated. "Getting down to business, it's a little more complicated than what I wrote in the request."

"Please elaborate." Erza requested.

"It's about the apple of my eye, my beautiful daughter." The Count explained.

"My apologies." Erza twitched, punching Natsu into the wall via a punch before his trademark 'foot-in-mouth' disease struck. "Please continue."

"Actually, my daughter's husband will be decided at this evening's magical ball." The Count added. "For that purpose, I've got a ring that only comes out once every seven years. It's a precious ring that the Balsamico family has handed down from generation to generation."

"Then Velveno has his eye on the ring?" Lucy surmised.

"Indeed," the Count agreed. "In truth, Velveno went after the ring seven years ago and failed. As a result, though, the husband selection process was ruined."

"But with a face like this, even disguised, wouldn't Velveno be easy to catch if he tried to sneak into the ball?" Erza wondered.

"He uses Transformation Magic and Magical Drain." The Count explained. "It's a truly troublesome form of magic that lets him copy the magic powers of whatever mage he touches for a short period of time. I want you to combine your powers and protect the ring from Velveno. Then capture the scoundrel and send him back to prison."

"We've got you covered." Natsu assured.

"We won't let you down, sir." Erza promised.

Ami was the only one who spotted Aceto's downcast expression.

"Lucy, are you ready?" Erza asked, Lucy stepping out of the dressing room.

"Why are you in serious mode?" Lucy gaped, Erza decked in her formal wear.

"Work or not, this is the minimum amount of decorum due when participating in a ball." Erza declared.

"Do I look okay?" Wendy wondered, exiting.

"Wendy, you look super cute." Lucy gushed.

"Come on, the ball's curtain is going up." Erza announced.

"Erza is into this as much as she was acting that time." Lucy gasped.

"Guess, I'll have to do my best, too." Ami giggled, exiting from the changing room in her Princess dress, minus her planetary mark. "But first don't you have to cast Troia on Natsu, Wendy?" she reminded.

Outside, Warren, Happy and Carla were using a surveillance lacrima to track down Velveno.

"Well, this certainly brings back memories." Ami remarked, the ball had officially under way.

"Where are Natsu and the rest?" Lucy inquired.

"There they are." Wendy spotted the boys at the buffet table.

"Lucy and the girls are here." Natsu remarked.

"Then why don't we blend in with the other guests and dance?" Gray suggested.

"Hey there, baby." A male approached Erza. "Cut the rug with me."

"Fine." Erza accepted, Natsu and Gray approached the pair.

"Poor guy…" Ami sighed.

"I figured…" Lucy chuckled, Erza spinning her partner on the platform.

"About Erza, we, uh…" Natsu started.

"Don't have to worry about her." Gray finished.

"Shall we dance?" two males approached Lucy and Ami.

Before Natsu or Gray could cut in, two females grabbed both boys and started dancing.

"May I have this dance?" a lady approached Elfman before he could act.

Ditching their partners, Natsu and Gray hurried off to Elfman's rescue.

"Time for a new partner." Gray cut in, Natsu tackling the Take-Over mage off. "Being a guest here at the magical ball must mean you're a mage, right? What kind of magic do you use?"

"Oh my." The female remarked. "Before asking a lady about magic, it's proper for a gentleman to say what kind of magic he does first."

"Unfortunately, I have no interest on being a gentleman." Gray snorted.

"In that case, I'll show you mine first." The female shrugged. "Ice Make, Swan!"

"Ice Make: Kite!" Gray retaliated.

"Ice Make: Polar Bear!" the female mage countered.

"Ice Make: Prison!" Gray dodged the beast, encaging it.

"Ice Bazooka!" the female mage whipped out her new weapon.

"Ice Cannon!" Gray countered with a frozen BFG of his own.

"If you'll excuse me…" Erza took matters into her hands. "You two, that's enough!" she blasted both fighters off with her blade.

"Looks like things have gotten out of hand…" Lucy sighed.

"As usual…" Ami shook her head.

"Aceto has come out." Wendy blinked.

"Excuse me, may I have this dance?" Aceto asked Erza.

"Why not?" Erza accepted.

"But why is Erza dancing?" Lucy wondered.

"Don't ask me." Natsu retorted.

"Would you care to dance?" a boy approached Wendy.

"Sure…" Wendy accepted.

"What the…" Natsu blinked when the clock chimed.

"It begins at last." The Count declared.

"The unveiling of the ring." Aceto added. "That giant grandfather's clock only opens once every seven years, releasing a device that displays the ring."

"And following Balsamico family tradition, whatever man can obtain the ring there has the ring to propose to my daughter." The Count announced. "Those of you men, who would propose to my daughter, go for that ring."

"Wendy, that guy is Velveno!" Warren shouted over his telepathy, he and Happy having found the boy who should be dancing with Wendy tied up and gagged in the grandfather's clock.

"Transformation Cancellation!" Velveno removed his guise. "Roar of the Sky Dragon! You've all witnessed me, Velveno, taking the Balsamico ring." He claimed possession of the jewelry.

"Iron Fist of the Fire Dragon!" Natsu rose to the challenge, only to have Velveno counter with the same attack.

"While we were all dancing, I drained your power, too." Velveno grinned.

"Then, your opponent is me." Erza stepped up. "Gray, Elfman, keep Aceto safe. Reequip, Purgatory Armor!"

"It's no use." Velveno taunted, countering Erza with the same armor. "I've already copied the magic of every member of Fairy Tail here."

"Perfect." Natsu growled. "I've always wanted to throw down with a copycat, just to see how far he can take it."

"Hold it right there, boss." Velveno stopped him. "I didn't come here tonight to brawl with you guys. I failed the last time, but have waited patiently these seven years." He raised the ring. "To propose to you, Aceto."

"Propose?" Lucy blinked.

"We've been chums since we were kids." Velveno added. "But I've always been madly in love with you."

"I allowed you, the son of a servant, to be my daughter's playmate." The Count voiced. "Have you forgotten that debt?"

"Ever since you drove me out of the mansion, I came back again and again to visit Aceto, but every time you used the difference in our social positions as an excuse to turn me away at the gate." Velveno snorted. "For a while, I accepted your reasoning and gave up on Aceto. But because of that, my heart grew wild, and I got involved in crime, and before I knew it, ended up in prison."

"What's he going on about?" Natsu demanded.

"Natsu, it's alright." Ami cut in, already knowing where this was going.

"But every minute I was in jail, I regretted not letting you know how I felt." Velveno admitted. "That's why I broke out, so I could take this chance that only comes around once every seven years. And this is the second time for it. Aceto." He knelt down. "Be my wife."

"Yes." Aceto beamed, ignoring the Count's protests.

"Aceto!" Velveno was overjoyed.

"Saw that coming." Ami giggled.

"Velveno, I've been waiting for all this time for you, too." Aceto confessed. "Except, you'll have to turn yourself in and pay for your crimes, first."

"I'll do it." Velveno relented. Taking Aceto's hand, he slipped the ring on her finger.

"Let's wish these two luck with a round of applause." Erza declared.

"All right." Erza announced, after the guards took Velveno away. "I say we dance the rest of the night away. To pray for Aceto's happiness."

"What a way for it to turn out…" Lucy noted, the others having paired off.

"No kidding." Ami agreed.

"I hope someone proposes to me like that someday." Lucy gushed.

"Lucy…" Natsu voiced. "I… I ate so much I'm bloated, so I'm going home."

"Is that right?" Lucy blinked. "Don't be like that." She chided. "Hang out a little longer with me."

"Good luck, you two." Ami waved as the Celestial Mage dragged the Dragon Slayer to the dance floor.

"Now we know who's the dominant one in that relationship." Gray joked.

"Oh dear." Ami blinked. "I think Wendy's Troia should be wearing off by now."

"Who cares?" Gray shrugged. "Come to think of it, we never did have a chance to dance, did we? Shall we, my Princess?" he held out his hand.

Ami just chuckled as a platform rose underneath their feet.

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.