A/N: Hello readers! I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your reviews on the previous chapters. I'd like to give a special thank you to Kurasabe for inspiring some train ride action within this chapter!

Chapter Eight:

The train station was bustling on the morning of their departure. Gray held both his and Lucy's tickets in his hand as they sat on the bench at their station waiting to board. "I can't say that I'm sad Natsu isn't here," Gray said. Erza had explained to them earlier that he and Lisanna would be crossing the distance from Fiore into Joya on foot.

"I was wondering if maybe Lisanna would transform into a horse or a flying creature and if Natsu would use her as transportation to save time," Lucy suggested.

"Do you think that would work?" Gray asked. He tried to envision Lisanna as a giant yellow flying horse. Natsu could fly with Happy without becoming nauseated so it seemed plausible.

"Probably not. I once tried to give him a piggy back ride and he almost threw up all over me. So I'm not sure why he doesn't have that experience with Happy. He says its because Happy is his friend and not some mode of transportation," Lucy said folding her arms across her chest and frowning. "However, that reasoning didn't work when he rode on my back. Unless he didn't consider me a friend."

It was hard to focus on what Lucy was saying when she positioned her arms in such a way that his eyes didn't want to stray from her cleavage. Gray had gotten used to the short skirts and the knee-high boots, but the flimsy blouses were something he didn't think he'd ever grow accustomed to. "There's no doubt that Natsu considers you his friend," Gray said grabbing her hand and gently forcing her to uncross her arms. Her cleavage relaxed so he was able think clearly again.

"Maybe we can solve the mystery before he arrives and the casino might still stay intact," Lucy said.

Gray let go of her hand and chuckled knowing that destruction would most likely be the case. "I'll do my best to not fight with him if we're both there. It just seems to be against my nature to not fight with him."

"Ice and fire have opposing natures so that makes sense," Lucy agreed.

"Oh, and Lucy, if you ever want to give me a piggy back ride I won't throw up on you, I promise," Gray said wearing a grin and nudging his elbow in her side.

She squirmed away from him and bit her lip to suppress her laughter. "I am not giving you a piggy back ride."

"Well, if you want me to give you one —"

"I wonder what's taking Erza and Jel-, I mean Mystogan, so long," Lucy said interrupting him and turning her head towards the large clock at the back of the station. "Our boarding time is ten minutes from now. And I'm not loading all this," she said gesturing to the large stack of suitcases on the floor behind them.

"I'm sure Loke wouldn't mind helping," Gray suggested. "But then, we'd have to purchase him a train ticket too. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll both be here soon."

Erza had gone to the ladies room and Jellal had yet to arrive. "My guess is that they are trying to avoid each other. Which will be hard to do given the nature of our job." The casino owner wanted them to blend in as tourists. "There's Mystogan," he said. Jellal was at the ticket booth retrieving his boarding pass. His robes and the large pack on his back made him rather conspicuous, but it seemed unlikely anyone would accost him.

The door to the ladies room opened and Erza started her way to their bench at the same time as Jellal. Gray saw the two of them see each other, pause, then both make their way with Erza sitting next to Lucy and Jellal standing on Gray's other side.

Thankfully, the awkward silence that had descended upon the Fairy Tail team was soon broken by the train's arrival. They loaded their bags, the poor attendant was a bit overwhelmed by Erza's amount of luggage. The pleasant lavender-haired petite woman had to call two other attendants for help, but not after too long they had settled into their private car. Erza had taken hold of Gray's arm and lugged him around like a protective shield and forced him to sit next to her on one of the benches.

Lucy sat across from Erza and clutched her satchel close to her chest. Jellal stood in the doorway assessing the situation.

"You can sit next to me," Lucy invited patting the seat next to her.

Jellal moved to sit.

"This is stupid. Let me go, Erza," Gray said jerking his arm out of her grasp. She looked at him in shock. It may have been the first time since they were kids that Gray defied her. Well, that and the time he'd joined Lucy and Natsu on Galuna Island instead of bringing them back home to Fiore. "Lucy is my girlfriend and I would like to sit next to her," he said standing and moving to the seat next to Lucy. He gesturing to the seat across from him. "Sit, you're both going to have to deal with each other."

Erza shot him a look of pure loathing that she quickly redirected to Jellal, before glaring out the window.

"I can sit in another car if it would make you more comfortable," Jellal said starting to step out of the car into the central aisle of the train.

"I'll sit by Erza. Boys on one side and girls on the other. Does that work?" Lucy asked starting to rise, but Gray shook his head and grabbed hold of her belt and jerked her back down. He tried to express with his eyes that the two needed to start learning to work together. She landed on his lap and by the look of her angry honey-brown eyes she didn't seem to get his silent message.

"It's okay, he can sit next to me," Erza said.

Jellal shut the door behind him, locked it, stowed his bag in the overhead compartment and sat in the empty seat next to Erza. He pushed back the hood of his cloak revealing his bright blue hair and tattooed face. There was no doubt that he would have stood out amid a crowd.

Lucy seemed to realize she was still in Gray's lap and quickly shuffled away to her seat. She was staring out the window like Erza and avoiding her bench partner, but unlike the Requip Mage she had a light blush dusted across her cheeks.

"It's a long train ride," Gray said. "We want to be well rested when we reach Joya. I suggest we use this time to sleep in shifts, while those on watch continue to research." He had a book bag stowed at his feet full of various texts that seemed to be promising leads to the area.

"It won't take much for me to fall asleep," Lucy confessed glancing over briefly. Her eyes landed up the bag at Gray's feet. "Do you want to borrow my reading glasses?"

"That would be very helpful," Gray said. He was a very capable ice mage, but he'd not actually used other magical items.

"It might be better if I used them," Jellal said. "I'm used to handling talismans and in spite of the well-intentions of the user such magical items are fragile."

Lucy reached into her messenger bag and pulled out her glasses case. "They aren't too complicated," she said said reassuringly. "I only have the one pair so you might want to borrow them in shifts. I'd still recommend reading with your own eyes when you come upon something that seems important. But they are great for sifting through the extraneous knowledge."

"We'll take good care of them," Gray promised taking the delicate item from her. He handed them across the car to Jellal.

"I suppose you just think I'm going to sleep now?" Erza asked.

"Would you rather research?" Jellal asked.

"I'll sleep," Erza said taking one of the blankets provided by the train company that was in their compartment and balling it up. She placed it against the wall near the window and leaned her head against it and closed her eyes. "Wake us when it's our shift," she demanded.

It wasn't long before both women were sleeping soundly. Their train car was full of comfortable silence as he and Jellal researched. The former council member was breezing through his second book with the help of Lucy's enchanted reading glasses. Gray was perusing his book at a more sedate pace. He'd chosen to read a book on the mythology and local lore of Joya.

The train turned a sharp corner and then there was a sudden weight on his thigh.

Gray almost dropped his book, but caught it just in time from falling onto the golden head of his teammate and sort of girlfriend. Lucy shifted slightly, but didn't awaken. Her hand curled up around his leg just under his knee. Gray wasn't quite sure where to put his arm, it was currently pinned to his side given her unexpected proximity. He pulled his elbow away from his center and gently laid his hand to rest on her side. He could feel the edge of her ribcage and the rise and fall of her breathing.

"Too bad it can't be this simple when they're awake," Jellal said with a sigh.

Gray looked across at him to see that Erza was now resting her cheek against Jellal's shoulder and the blue haired mage was looking down at her with a sad look. He used his free hand to take off the enchanted reader glasses and extended them to Gray.

"I found a part I need to read more carefully," Jellal explained. "And she really wanted you to borrow them," he said gesturing with the stem of the glasses toward Lucy.

"She just wants to make sure our team has all the best chances to succeed on this job," Gray said accepting the glasses. He slipped them over his ears and nose and was surprised by the ease of using them. He was able to read a page that would normally take a few minutes in scant seconds.

A flash of lightning lit up the cloudy, overcast sky outside their train window. A deep rumble of thunder shook their car. The storm was close. Lucy shifted at the sound of the thunder and her eyes flew open. She abruptly sat up and wiped at her mouth and cast Gray an apologetic look. "Sorry about that," she mumbled.

"It's not a problem," Gray said looking at her over the top of the reader glasses.

"It's been raining a lot lately," Lucy remarked.

"It's probably nature trying to balance things out," Jellal said. Erza was still snoozing on his shoulder. "You were on that island for seven years and during the third year of your absence there was a terrible drought."

"Did either of you find anything of note?" Lucy asked.

"I'm researching their local legend and lore. I'm trying to see if there was anything in the area of the casino that was linked to mysterious disappearances in the past," Gray said. "So far, I've not really found much. When we arrive it would be good to look through their local periodicals. We just don't have access to everything in our libraries."

"It will make sense when we get there," Jellal said. "The more knowledge we have at our disposal the more keen our observations and reasoning skills."

There was a great deal of screeching coming from the train tracks. Then there were screams and shouts and the sound of running feet down the aisle outside their train car. Their door was shaken then there was the sound of running feet moving away from them down the aisle.

"What is going on?" Erza demanded sitting up abruptly. "Why have we stopped?"

"I don't know," Jellal said. "But it certainly warrants an investigation." He rose to his feet and started to unlock the door.

"Wait," Erza called standing beside him. "I believe it's my turn to be on watch. Lucy, are you coming?"

"What? Uh sure," Lucy said standing quickly. Her hand automatically flew to the key pouch at her waist.

"You boys can catch up on your sleep now. We'll take care of this. We're on a schedule. We don't have time for any unscheduled stops," Erza said. She unlocked their door and stepped into the aisle. The sounds of screaming grew louder. Gray and Jellal both stood ready to join their teammates. "I said, Lucy and I will handle this," Erza said in a tone that brokered no room for argument.

It was with a great deal of reluctance that Gray sat back in his seat. "If you're not back in five minutes I'm coming after you both," he vowed.

"Sure, that's fine," Erza said. "We'll have everything sorted by then anyway."

Gray didn't like seeing Lucy biting her lip. She'd grown confident since the first time he'd met her, but that didn't mean he wanted to see her traipsing needlessly into danger.

"Open, Gate of the Lion — Leo," she whispered quietly holding the golden celestial key out.

Loke appeared beside her. He winked back at Gray and slung his arm around Lucy's shoulders protectively. "Let's go see what's about the train, shall we?"

OoO

Erza led the way down the empty aisle between the train's private cars. Lucy found herself sandwiched between the Requip Mage and her celestial spirit and friend, Loke. They approached the common area on the train where the majority of passengers rode. The sound of commotion grew as they drew nearer to the area.

A pair of gunshots broke through the chatter and absolute silence followed directly after. "Sounds to me like we had a good old fashioned holdup," Loke observed. "Lucy, keep your whip handy. You might need to disarm some gunslingers."

Erza was surrounded in a colorful shroud of light and when the light disappeared she looked like a genuine cowgirl with red leather chaps and boots, a blue fringed vest and a pair of six shooters rested at her hips in a brown leather belt with two gun holsters. She formed her right hand into the shape of a pistol and used her pointer finger to tip up the brim of her white cowgirl hat. "Let's go get them," she said with an excited grin.

Lucy smiled at her friend nervously. How long had she had that cowgirl outfit just ready for a good shoot out? Maybe it would have been better to let Gray and Jellal handle this. She was afraid she was still dreaming. She pinched her arm and could feel the sharp pain — definitely not dreaming.

Erza kicked open the door leading to the main section of the train. Sure enough, a gang of bandits circled the passengers. They wore black cowboy hats, black chaps, ponchos, and blood red bandanas around the lower halves of their faces.

"Duck!" Lucy shouted. She reared back her whip toward the gunman nearest her while Loke zoomed in toward another pair and quickly dislodged their weapons with his superior speed. Erza wasted no time in firing her magical six shooters that seemed to hold significantly more bullets than just six at the bandits. They were non-lethal magical bullets that sedated the targets.

The bandits weren't simple bandits. They had at least one Mage amongst their ranks. Naturally, he targeted Lucy. His speed was faster than Loke's and he vanished in a blur of color before reappearing behind Lucy. He wrapped one hand around her throat and held her back side tight against his front. Lucy hated being the weakest of their group, but at least this time her would-be kidnapper smelled nice.

"Drop the guns, red," he warned in a deep baritone. "Or I crush the bunny's throat."

Bunny? Lucy's eye twitched as she thought about the time Gajeel had her and Levy wearing bunny costumes for one of his musical performances. She lifted her foot and slammed her high-heeled boot in her capture's instep. He cried out and his hand around her throat loosened and she twirled in his grasp and followed up her stomp with a quick knee to his groin. Loke was at her side momentarily and smirking at the man writhing of the ground in pain clutching at his groin.

"Good job, Lucy," Loke said with his arm casually slung across her shoulders once again.

She looked around to see that the other bandits were all secured with ropes. Loke moved his arm and crouched at the good smelling bandit and hefted him over his shoulder and deposited him next to his bandit crew and then Erza bound his hands and ankles together binding him up like a calf at a rodeo.

"Where did you learn that?" Lucy asked. She straightened her skirt from where it had ridden up in her struggle.

"This Requip is perfect for herding livestock. I don't see why herding bandits should prove a bigger challenge," Erza said. She had her six shooters placed back in her holster and she readjusted her hat once more.

"Thank you," the train attendant near the front of the group said rising her to her feet. It was the same petite lady that had helped them settle into the train earlier that day. The right side of her face was a violent purple bruise that matched her lavender colored hair a little too keenly. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't stepped in when you did."

"Now you don't have to know," Loke said rushing to her side and steadying her on her feet. He was ever the flirtatious gentleman. "Is there a Marshall aboard that we might deposit these men with?"

"That would be the man that they shot," the attendant said. Lucy followed the attendant's line of sight toward where a man slumped against the wall, face pale and a dark red stain on his shirt front.

Lucy hurried to his side. He opened his bloodshot eyes and smiled at her. "It's just a flesh wound. Grazed my arm. My badge stopped the one meant for my heart."

Sure enough, the chest was bruised, but not seriously injured. The arm was the source of the blood. The bullet seemed to have gone straight through. It was lodged into the wall behind him.

"Don't worry, young lady," another attendant said crouching beside her. The other attendant was a lean man of small stature with dark hair streaked with gray. He held in his hand a red bag with a large white cross on its top. "I am medically trained. I'll take over from here."

"Everyone, return to your seats. The excitement is over," the lavender-haired attendant announced. She turned to the Fairy Tail mages. "And you three, how can we repay you?"

"Think nothing of it. We just want to reach our destination with as few delays as possible," Erza assured her. She crouched near the marshall. "Will you be able to keep these bandits secure?"

He nodded and only grimaced a little as the medic dealt with his wound. "You kids go on back, I have some more men at the front of the train." The door leading to their location opened and three men in uniform entered. "Speak of the devils. It's about time you gentlemen decided to join us. Take care of these bandits, would you?" the marshall asked.

"I think things are stable here," Erza said with a nod of satisfaction. "Let's return to our car."

Lucy and Loke followed after her.

When they opened the door to their car with Loke, Gray rose to his feet. He had apparently stripped down to his boxers during their absence.

"I didn't realize you were so fresh with Jellal," Loke teased after he shut the door behind him.

"What?" Gray asked, then looked down to see that he had stripped out of most of his clothes. With a groan of frustration he started to dress again before returning to his seat. "What happened? Is everything okay?"

"Everything has been sorted out," Erza said reclaiming her window seat.

"We had to face some bandits that seemed to want to capture the train. There were no serious injuries," Lucy said sitting next to Gray.

Gray looked from Lucy to Loke and back and forth. "There's not really room for you in our car, Loke," he said apologetically.

"I don't plan to stay long here. I'll keep an eye out for any other suspicious activity. I'll make sure those bandits are properly secured. It's odd that the marshall's helpers were so far away and only showed up after all the excitement," Loke said.

"Should I go with you?" Lucy asked.

"That's unnecessary," Loke said.

"I'd like to accompany you," Jellal said. "Besides, you don't have a ticket. What if they ask for your boarding papers?"

"You're basically wearing a bandana around your face, just like the bandits," Loke said. "I'm fine. I don't need a ticket. If I am questioned I'll just pop back over to the celestial realm. Let me do my thing. You just stick around here and try not to be too awkward with Erza."

"Right, I'll do just that," Jellal said shutting the door in Loke's face. He returned to his seat next to Erza.

"Why don't you guys get some rest? I'll keep watch and do some research," Lucy said. She pulled a book out of her messenger bag about the mythology and lore of Joya and put on her enchanted reading glasses. It was the complementary volume to the book that Gray had read earlier.

Jellal crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes, and promptly fell into a light sleep.

Gray cleared his throat. "Actually, I'm a little bit hungry. You want to join me in the meal car? We can bring our books and brain storm," he suggested.

Lucy was a bit hungry. After being involved in a life-threatening situation she often found herself craving some comfort food. "That's an idea I can agree to," she said. "I don't know if we should leave them though," she said gesturing to their guild mate's sitting across from them.

"It's fine," Jellal said as he opened his eyes to slits. "I'm awake. Go on ahead. We'll be fine."

"If you're sure," Lucy said. She gathered her things and then she and Gray made their way to the food car.

"What are you two doing?" Loke asked when they came upon him just outside of the food car. He had been flirting with a pretty train attendant with long, curly purple hair. No doubt he would claim to be interrogating, but Lucy could recognize his behavior.

"Eating and brainstorming," Gray said. "You're welcome to join us."

"Nah, I am busy interrogating the staff and making sure this train is safe and remains that way. Violet here has been most helpful," he said indicating the purple-haired attendant. "Those bandits are secure, but you might want to have Taurus or Virgo stand guard," Loke suggested.

Between the two, Virgo would be the better choice. Taurus had good intentions but with his bulk he might accidentally destroy the train. Lucy turned to face away from her friends, pulled out her celestial ring for Virgo. "Open gate of the Maiden! Virgo!"

Virgo appeared, wearing her maid outfit as usual, and gave a respectful bow toward Lucy. "Princess, how may I serve you? Do you and your Prince Gray need a change of clothing?"

Lucy glanced side-ways at Gray. Did they look that bad that they needed a change of clothing? Gray was actually wearing clothing — that was better than his usual attire.

"Wow! She just showed up out of no where!" Violet said as she clasped her hands to her chest.

"No, thank you, Virgo. I was hoping you could stand watch over a group of bandits we detained earlier until our train reaches its destination," Lucy said.

"Of course, my princess. I only wish to please you. Where are these bandits?" Virgo asked.

"Loke will escort you," Lucy said pointedly looking at the Lion spirit. He didn't need to be flirting with every pretty girl. What would Aries think?

"Of course," Loke agreed with a grin. "Excuse me, Violet. Perhaps we can continue our conversation at a later time?"

"Yes, I would enjoy that very much, Loke," Violet said with a giggle.

Lucy and Gray continued on to the food car. "He doesn't mean anything by it," Gray said.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked. They found a booth and started to looking over the menu options.

"Loke. He flirts, but he wouldn't cheat on Aries. It's just part of his personality," he explained.

"I have a hard time appreciating that considering just how many girlfriends he juggled when he was living in the guild," Lucy said.

"Do you think Erza and Jellal will be okay?" Gray asked. He snapped shut his menu and set it aside. "I think I'll be having the seaweed salad and cashew stir-fry."

"Good choices," Lucy said. "I think I'll do the salad too, but for the main dish maybe some Kung Pao chicken." She set aside her menu as well. Hopefully, the waitress would come by their table soon. "And I think those two needed a little bit of time together to sort out their issues."

"I'm pretty sure they're in love with each other," Gray said. "I think that if we hadn't been gone for that seven year time period that they'd have already been on that happily-ever-after part."

"Either that or by the time we get back to the train car we might have to help hide Jellal's body if Erza can't control her temper," Lucy said with a sweet smile. The waitress chose that moment to come and take their order. "Put your shirt back on," Lucy whispered.

Gray picked his shirt of the ground and slipped it back over his head. "So, have you learned any good local legends yet? I'm trying to focus on stories about riches since their economy for generations had been driven off the jewel mining."

"Not yet, but that's why I have my glasses," Lucy said slipping the glasses back on and opening her book at the table. She snapped shut her book and took off the glasses. "Wait, we need to talk."

"Yes?" Gray asked. He sipped from the glass of water the waitress just brought them.

"You introduced me as your girlfriend to Erza and Jellal earlier," Lucy said.

"Yeah?" Gray said. He started to tug on his shirt collar. Lucy reached across the table and grabbed his wrist.

"Natsu and Juvia aren't here. We don't have to pretend," Lucy said.

"I did call you my girlfriend earlier. Would that be a bad thing, Lucy?" Gray asked. "I heard you when you suggested that we don't have to be a charade. Did you mean it?"

Lucy felt her heart speed up in nervous excitement. If she started dating Gray officially he'd be her first boyfriend. She'd gone on dates, but she'd never been exclusive. And he was handsome and both Erza and Juvia had practically given her their blessing. "I don't want to pretend anymore," Lucy said. She reached across the table and she and Gray held hands until the waitress brought their food.