Chapter Eleven:

Erza sat at the kitchen table with a cup of steaming herbal tea warming her hands and nursing a hangover headache. She vowed to have no more alcohol on the job even if it were to keep in character and blend in with the other casino tourists. The shower was running in the bathroom and she patiently awaited her turn. Since the steam from the hot water seeped under the bathroom door, she deducted that it was either Lucy or Jellal inside. She really hoped it was Lucy, but since there was no singing accompaniment thought it was most likely Jellal.

The water was cut off and a minute later the door opened and a cloud of steam escaped. Jellal stood at the threshold with nothing, but a towel wrapped around his waist, the Fairy Tail tattoo on his left pectoral prominent. Erza immediately stared down at her tea, then did a double-take and focused on Jellal's very maroon hair. "What has happened to your hair?"

Nervously, Jellal reached up and ran his fingers through his wet, maroon colored hair. "Lucy dyed it. She said it will last about two weeks." He crossed the distance between the bathroom and her spot at the table and sat next to her. He helped himself to a cup of tea. "She'll want to reapply the makeup to my face to hide my tattoo."

"I can do that," Erza said confidently. She didn't like the idea of Lucy touching Jellal's face, even if it were just to create a disguise. She'd already let her pride keep her away from him for the past few days. They had already lost so much time. He had spent the last seven years in the company of two very attractive former villainesses. No wonder she ate so much cheesecake last night!

Jellal looked up from his tea and met her eyes with his dark and steady gaze. "Okay. I can get the supplies from my room." He lifted his cup and blew on the steamy liquid before taking a sip. "Gray filled us in on what happened last night. Lucy ran into the man with the red suit as well. The magic show is most definitely a trap."

"Gray still wants to go," Erza said. She glanced down at the angry red gashes on the back of her hand where she'd been injured by a civilian. A vicious old lady who reeked of cigarettes and had blue hair piled high like a beehive had clawed at her hand when Erza had claimed a bingo. The old woman had tried to steal her card. Gray had to drag her out of the bingo room before she could requip and teach the old woman a lesson.

"That looks pretty painful," Jellal commented. He reached out and gently touched the tip of his warm fingers to the back of her hand. Erza snatched her hand away. "Sorry," he muttered staring back down at his tea. "I wanted to visit the police station today and ask about the missing persons. I wanted to try to find a pattern amongst the victims. Maybe they have noticed other strange happenings in Joya City over the past few months."

"I'll go with you," Erza said. It was better dealing with Jellal than violent old women at the casinos.

"Are you sure?" Jellal asked. "I know you don't really want me here."

Erza folded her arms across the table and then laid her forehead across them hiding her face from view. "I don't know what I want. It hurts to be near you, yet knowing we can't be together."

Jellal touched her shoulder hesitantly. "Erza, while you and your friends were missing seven years had passed in this world. I feared you were gone forever. I lived by your words and they drove me to try and make up for my crimes. That's why I formed Crime Sorciere. When you returned I couldn't very well drag you down with me. I lied about having a fiancé. There has never been anyone in my heart, but you Erza Scarlet. It's been that way since we were children."

Erza sat up; Jellal's hand fell off her shoulder at the abrupt movement. She stared at him with narrowed eyes, looking for any signs of deception. "I suffered. I confessed my feelings for you and you rejected me."

Jellal sighed, his posture slumped in defeat. "I wanted to protect you from my past. You are better off without me, Erza, I know that. I wanted to give you a chance to move on to someone more worthy of you."

"Then why now?" Erza asked, she took hold of his wrist. She could feel the strength within the muscles of his forearm as he tensed. "I was finally getting over you."

"Were you?" Jellal asked, with arched eyebrows. "I followed up on several of your missions after my false confession to you. You've been extremely aggressive and overly destructive on your jobs."

"Less destructive than Natsu," Erza claimed snatching her hand back and folding her arms over her chest defensively. "Maybe you should check out the station by yourself." She hurried to the bathroom and through the closed door called out, "And let Lucy help you with your concealing makeup."

She turned the water of the shower on, stripped out of her clothing, stepped into the shower and cried. No one would hear her tears amidst the shower. Being around Jellal made her emotions raw. She wasn't sure how long she was in the shower for, but the warm water ran out and she took that as her cue to dress and prepare for the day. With nervous trepidation Erza opened the bathroom door cautiously.

The bedrooms were empty as was the kitchen. Loke, Lucy's Lion spirit and also member of Fairy Tail, sat on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table. He was wearing a dark suit. He looked over at her with a smile. "Good morning, Erza. Lucy asked if I would accompany you today."

"That's not necessary," Erza said. She had a towel secured around her body and another smaller one wrapping her hair up.

Loke's face became serious. "People are disappearing. Get dressed and then we'll see if we can find them. I'm a member of Fairy Tail too. Besides, Lucy and Gray would be upset if I let you wander about this place alone. Jellal too."

"Okay," Erza relented. She didn't want to worry Lucy or Gray. Just because she wanted to avoid Jellal didn't mean that she should be stupid about her investigations. "Just give me a minute to get dressed."

Loke grinned broadly. "By all means!" He waved his hand magnanimously in her direction. "Don't mind me!"

Erza threw a heavy chair in his direction and Loke just managed to evade it as she hurried back to her bedroom to change.

"And there's left-over breakfast in the kitchen!" Loki called out to her retreating figure. "Lucy made pancakes and omelets!"

OoO

Jellal had watched, speechless as Erza stormed away to the bathroom. How could he explain things to her if she never listened? He just confessed his love and she stormed off upset about a slight to her ego months ago. "Arg!" He groaned, hitting his head against the table top.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked, joining him in the kitchen. He looked up to see that she wore a dark blue sleeveless dress that's length came just above her knees. Her blonde hair was loose about her shoulders and she wore an elegant blue sapphire necklace at her throat and matching earrings.

"I guess you heard," he said. He drained his tea completely and leaned back in his chair to stare at the ceiling.

"Why don't you get dressed and then I'll fix the concealer for your face," Lucy suggested. She twisted her hair up into a bun, grabbed an apron from the kitchen closet, and slipped it on. "I'll make some breakfast in the meantime."

Jellal nodded his agreement then went to his bedroom.

Gray passed him in the hallway, he wore a charcoal gray suit and a dark blue tie that matched his eyes and Lucy's outfit. Gray grabbed the biceps of Jellal's left arm and squeezed it encouragingly before continuing toward Lucy and the kitchen. "Don't give up," he called over his shoulder.

Jellal changed into a pair of light brown slacks and a green button-up dress shirt. It was business casual and seemed appropriate for speaking with the police. He smirked, thinking about how one of the most wanted men in society was about to walk into a police station. Lucy's job with his hair and makeup would have to be convincing.

The smell of bacon and eggs filled up the suites. Jellal returned to the kitchen to find Lucy and Gray, with his suit coat draped over the back of his chair, sitting at the table with a breakfast spread including omelets, bacon, and pancakes.

"Mr. Percy was generous enough to stock our refrigerator and cabinets," Lucy explained. She still wore the apron, most likely to protect her dress from possible dropped food.

"I think he wanted to avoid us being seen eating the continental breakfast," Gray reasoned. He munched on a piece of bacon thoughtfully. "We can't let Erza go off on her own. We know there are suspicious people. It's foolish. I know she's strong, but that doesn't mean she needs to be reckless." He reached for his glass of juice. "Being reckless is Natsu's job, but he's so good at pulling off the impossible it hardly matters with him."

"She doesn't want to join me at the police station, which is fine. I might be able to learn more on my own," Jellal said. "Maybe she can join the two of you."

"We need to travel in couples in the casinos," Gray said. "Otherwise we'd stick out like a sore thumb. It's bad enough that most of the people here are about the same age as Master Makarov."

"You noticed that too?" Jellal asked. There was a distinct lack of youthful vacationers at the casinos. Aside from the staff and the dancers most of the people at the casinos were older.

"I'll ask Loke to be Erza's backup," Lucy said. She held out her key to summon her Leo Spirit when Loke appeared before her on his own.

"You were talking about me?" Loke asked, taking the seat next to Lucy and helping himself to breakfast. He glanced at Jellal and grinned. "Nice hair." He turned to Lucy. "I knew the maroon dye would be best."

"Will you accompany Erza today? She plans to investigate the areas where the people went missing," Lucy explained.

"Sure," Loke agreed. He turned his attention to Gray. "Anything you need to talk to me about, best friend of mine?"

Gray's shirt somehow ended up on the floor – a sign of his nervousness. "Nope, not right now." He reached down and put his shirt back on.

"I noticed the shower was frozen over this morning," Jellal said. He'd wondered about that. He thought Lucy was the one that took a shower the night before because of the smoky smell that had lingered on her from the casinos. Lucy didn't have the ability to freeze a shower-head though.

"Oh? That is strange. How did you manage to thaw it?" Gray asked casually.

"I used my golden flames magic," Jellal answered. He'd used it before to power-charge Natsu. He didn't think he'd need it to fix their shower.

"Well, we should be off," Lucy said picking up her plate and bringing it to the sink.

"I'll take care of the dishes, Luce," Loke called out using a nickname for her. "It's the least I can do after you made such a great meal."

"Thanks, Loke," Lucy said with a grateful smile.

Loke leaned over so that he was closer to Gray and Jellal's ears. "Take note, gentlemen. That is how you please a lady." He winked. "Remember."

Gray cleared his throat and gathered his plate and set it at the sink as well. "So, I hear there's a comedy show in the big tent outside of the Joking Jester. Are you interested, Lucy?"

"Sounds good. We'll see you tonight, Jellal, after we return from the magic show at the Pleasure Palace," Lucy said. "And Loke, keep Erza out of trouble."

OoO

Minerva Orlando drummed her fingers impatiently as she watched the lacrima image of Erza Scarlet and another Fairy Tail mage that she wasn't familiar with that had orange hair and a cocky smile. They were in the alleyway looking for signs of struggle. She'd give them a struggle!

"The goddess is displeased," Jiemma, her father said. He stood behind Minerva and peered over her shoulder at the lacrima screen.

Minerva turned toward her father, hardly recognizing him. His hair was no longer white with age and the wrinkles that marked his face had smoothed out. He looked thirty years younger than he had just the day before. It's was a reward from his beloved girlfriend.

"Why would she be displeased? She's still accumulating life." Minerva looked past her father and noticed Silver walk inside of the observatory room. He was a striking man in spite of the prominent scar marring his handsome face. She planned to seduce him, but so far he'd been unresponsive. "Has it been done?"

"I invited the mages to tonight's performance," Silver confirmed. He glared at her father, not bothering to hide his disgust. "Well aren't you looking young."

"We can't all be immortal," Jiemma growled. He touched Minerva's arm and it took all her willpower not to fling his hand away. "See that you take care of those Fairy Tail brats. In forty-eight hours it will be ready. Make sure they don't interfere."

"I'm not an idiot," Minerva hissed. "Now leave, I must speak with my teammates. You know they do not care for you."

As the former Guild Master of Sabertooth, Jiemma did not appreciate taking orders. However, he had no control over his daughter's new teammates. She was no longer part of the lowly human guilds. She'd been invited to join Tartarus — a dark guild composed of demons! When her father had asked for her assistance she was tempted to refuse, but her teammates had sounded interested in the assignment. It had been over a century since they had ventured to the surface world. They had time to pass before their plan for world domination, so several of her guild mates had agreed to participate.

After her father left the room, Silver laughed, his voice deep and cruel, sent a thrilling shiver down her spine. Why wouldn't she lust after the man? "Humans — so easily swayed by a youthful appearance."

"That seems to be the goddess' motivation as well," Sayla said entering the room. She sauntered past Minerva and stared at the images of the lacrima. Her long dark hair was loose and the horns on her head glittered, reflecting the light from the lacrima. "Where is the cute boy with the dark hair?" she pouted.

"Don't worry, you'll see him tonight," Silver assured her, placing his hand on Sayla's shoulder.

Minerva's eye twitched ever so slightly. She respected Sayla, but she was also jealous of her. Minerva preferred being the strongest woman on the team. The horned demoness grated against her nerves. It didn't help that her powers of persuasion worked on all their male counterparts. She didn't like the look upon Silver's face when he looked in Sayla's direction. She wanted him to look at her like that.

"So, anything for me to do?" Jackal asked as he joined them in the room, his pale hair almost glowing in the dark room. "I'm so bored!" He grinned prominently displaying his fanged teeth. They were the whole of her Tartarus teammates that had agreed to join Minerva on her father's request. There were several more guild members, but they'd not been interested in the affairs of the surface world —not yet.

"I do have something for you, Jackal." Minerva approached the lacrima and adjusted the settings. It showed a desert area with a certain pink-haired dragon slayer and his annoying blue cat riding on the back of a shape-shifter in the form of a white mare. "This one is yours. Make sure he never arrives."

Jackal cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "Excellent. Any intel on his magic?"

"Fire dragon slayer," Minerva said.

"Sounds like a challenge. My bomb curse is superior to any magic! Maybe he'll last a few minutes," Jackal said with a grin.

"What do you intend to do?" Silver asked.

"Me? I intend to visit an old acquaintance," Minerva said thinking about Erza. She'd destroy the Requip Mage once and for all. She'd take away Erza Scarlet's very identity!

OoO

Erza had requipped into a detective mode. She wore a tweed jacket, leather loafers, had a handheld magnifying glass to look for clues as well as a magical monocle that allowed her to survey a crime scene and inspect for signs of struggle — blood, urine, hair, scratch marks.

"You look like a complete idiot," Loke said. He was leaning against a concrete wall at the very back of the alleyway between The Joy of Joya casino and Indigo Indecency. It was far enough away that a passerby on the street might not notice someone calling out for help. It seemed an ideal place to start.

Erza glanced up, her magical monocle allowing her to see the celestial spirit in a new light. Loke had a strange golden aura about him as she could see his inner spiritual energy. "Maybe, but I'm learning a lot." She glanced down at the ground. There was no blood, but there were scratch marks, scuffed marks from shoes indicating a struggle within the past couple of days.

"What do you see then?" Loke asked, curiously. He pushed away from the wall and stared down where she was looking.

"No blood. There are signs of struggle though — scratches and scuffed marks. They seem fairly fresh. And there was urine, most likely the victim had been terrified and had an accident. It happens sometimes," Erza said. It wasn't something that heroes liked to talk about, but there were many-a-times Erza had rescued someone and the strong ammonia smell had been almost nauseating.

"Ah," Loke said. "Does it seem to be contained within a defined area or is it scattered?"

"Defined area. Magic is definitely being utilized," Erza said. She'd seen a mage use Territory magic before. And she had been one opportunity away from becoming a Dark Mage. "It's like the type of magic that Minerva Orlando uses," she said.

"It's exactly like that magic," Minerva said, materializing before Erza and Loke, and doing a hand-signal. "Ih Ragdo." Instantaneously a spell was cast enveloping them in wave matter that restricted their movements and made them sluggish as if under a dense water.

Erza requipped into a sleek, durable, lightweight, and form fitting armor — similar to a wetsuit scuba divers wore. She hadn't used the particular requip before, but it was to make her stronger and ease the speed of her movements. Her sword was replaced by a large tarpon type spear. The requip armor countered Minerva's spell enough that she was able to move at normal speed. Loke wasn't human and his movements weren't much effected either. However, they were in a strange time-bubble. Those passing on the street wouldn't be able to see the movement inside of their little territory.

"What are you doing, Minerva?" Erza demanded.

"Me? I'm taking my sweet revenge! It was because of you Fairy Tail that Sabertooth last lost prestige! My father and I were forced to leave in it in the hands of those two loser dragon-slayers," Minerva hissed.

"As I recall you were the loser," Erza challenged.

"Only because you cheated!" Minerva cried out, her pretty geisha-like features contorted in ugly rage.

"You lost because you are a coward who attacks people when they cannot fight back! You don't know the power of friendship!" Erza held her tarpon and shot the spear towards Minerva. It was stopped in place.

"I grow tire of your theatrics," a throaty, sultry voice called out. A beautiful woman with strange ashen skin and with black hair that reached to her knees with silver stars dancing along the length of the strands materialized. "I lend you my powers and you cannot keep from resorting to whining?" She flicked her hand towards Minerva and sent the mage into the wall, she crumpled to the ground. "She can be so annoying. But her father is quite handsome," she said with a smile. Her eyes were an amethyst color and stars seemed to dance within them as well. "You have such youth," she said staring at Erza and toying with an onyx colored amulet around her throat.

"What are you?" Loke demanded. He rushed towards the woman using his speed as a celestial spirit, but was blown back as if by a powerful concussive force. He hit the wall, cracking it. He shook his head in a daze. His corporal form wavering. He stood unsteady on his feet and summoned all his strength. He was strongest when he fought alongside Lucy, but he was fighting for Lucy so he'd do his best. "Regular Impact!" He rushed towards the strange woman with his entire body glowing gold and with a fireball in his hand.

It hit the woman, the surrounding concrete wall around her crumbled. She stood unmarked. "I am Chaos," she smiled. "And I am ever hungry."

Chaos stepped toward Erza, she tried to move, but a pair of snakes had slithered towards her and held her in place. Chaos stood before Erza, looking her eye to eye. As Erza stared into those starry depths she felt numb and cold. Then everything was black.

When Erza opened her eyes she was no longer in the alleyway. She was in the middle of a strange game room full of elderly people. Most were shuffling about the floor with a lost expression on their faces and others were playing board games and card games at the small tables scattered about the rooms. Erza looked down at her hands, they were arthritic and gnarled with age.

She found a window and stared at her reflection.

Then she screamed.

OoO

The police had been surprisingly helpful. Though perhaps the charm that Jellal borrowed from the original Mystogan that manipulated people to be more susceptible to persuasion by the bearer helped. Mr. Percy had informed the local law enforcement that he'd hired private detectives from a well-respected guild. There had been a great number of missing persons — all under the age of twenty-seven. When Jellal had asked if there was anything else that had been unusual in Joya City over the past few months the detective speaking with him had remarked upon two things. The increased rainfall and that the local mental institute had been overrun with homeless senile elderly.

Jellal made his way to the mental institute and hoped that the director would be as forth coming with him as the police had been. He met a harried middle-aged woman who was being called in every which direction.

"Just stay out of people's way," the director advised him. "You're welcome to speak with the patients in the recreation center and to any staff that is willing to talk with you," she said before she hurried off.

Jellal wandered the recreation center of the institute. There were many residents playing board games and many more staring vacantly. One elderly woman drew his attention. There was something about her. She stood at the window, hands gripping the window seal, posture rigid with anger. Her hair was long and gray and when she turned toward him he knew her identity at once. He recognized her dark eyes — only one with tears streaming from it.

"Erza," Jellal whispered running to her side. "What happened?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Do I know you?"

Jellal's chest constricted in fear and anger. "Who did this to you?"

Erza looked down at her hands, wrinkled with age. "I don't know. I'm confused. I don't think I belong here," she whispered.

"You don't," Jellal said taking her hands gently in his own. She was so frail! "What happened to Loke?"

"Loke?"

"We have to leave," Jellal said. "Our friends can help us. Do you trust me?"

Erza blinked her eyes at him in confusion. "Jellal?" she whispered. Her eyes grew wide and she pulled her hands out of his and wrapped her arms tight around his waist, tears began to soak into his shirt front. "Jellal, you have to help me."

"Yes, yes, it's me, Jellal. Come with me, we have to find our friends," Jellal said. He had wanted to know the mystery behind the disappearances, but now he knew. He understood why there were so many young people disappearing from Joya City and why there were so many confused elderly. Hopefully, Loke would be able to give him some answers. There was no way he wasn't returning Erza to her normal health.

OoO

The comedian was crass and rude and hilarious. Lucy covered her mouth to keep from laughing too loudly. That didn't keep Gray from chuckling in humor. Their decision to watch the comedy improv in the tent outside the Joking Jesture had been a great idea. However, once again, she noted that the crowd mostly consisted of older individuals. There had been another youthful couple sitting a few rows in front of them.

"Do you see their ticket?" Gray whispered, leaning toward Lucy's ear.

She followed his line of sight to see that youthful couple looking at a pair of golden tickets. The magic show was definitely a trap of some sort. Why would the man in red have been luring younger audience members? What was it about them that made them a target?

The show ended to thunderous applause. The audience scattered quickly after the show. "What do you want to do now?" Gray asked. They stood outside of the tent and were squinting in the mid-day sun.

"I learned how to play Russian Roulette decently yesterday," Lucy said. "Or we could return to the room and swap notes with the others."

Gray took her hand. "I've got a place I'd like to show you inside of the Joking Jesture," he said. "It's just over there," he said gesturing toward the casino nearest the entertainment tent.

"Okay," Lucy agreed. What could another hour harm? She laid her head against Gray's shoulder as they made their way inside the Joking Jesture. This was the casino that Gray and Erza had explored the night before. Her attention was drawn to the center of the casino where feathered exotic dancers mesmerized men and women alike. The woman in the middle had long dark hair and a strange set of glittering horns on the crown of her head. Her dark eyes were on Gray and as she glanced at Lucy briefly and she recognized a glimmer of loathing before the woman looked away and continued dancing. "That was weird?"

"What was weird?" Gray asked, his attention straight ahead at a white columned area at the back of the room.

"Just one of the dancers gave me the stink eye is all," Lucy said.

Gray looked over in the direction. "Which one?"

"The one in the middle — with the horns," she said.

"I remember seeing her yesterday," Gray said turning back forward with a frown. "She's not there now. Don't look," he added quickly when Lucy started to look behind them. He came to a stop. "This is what I wanted to show you," Gray said.

"A Wedding Chapel?" Lucy asked. It looked like a greek temple built right inside of the large casino's ground floor. "The Ten Wizards Saints?"

"Crazy, right?" Gray asked. "You want to check it out?" He tugged at his shirt collar and Lucy grasped his hand, keeping him from stripping. Why was he so nervous?

"Sure," Lucy agreed. They stepped inside and there was a note on the front desk saying that the manager was on lunch and would return in half an hour. One the wall was a display of the Ten Wizard Saints that could be chosen from to perform the wedding.

"Fairy Tail is pretty well represented," Gray noted. "Warrod, Makarov, and now Siegrain. We'll have to tell our teammate about this," he said referring to Jellal, but without saying his name. There was no need to advertise that they had a wanted criminal in their ranks — even though he was working hard to redeem his past deeds. Being possessed didn't seem to be a justifiable defense in the eyes of the law.

Lucy could feel a disturbance in the celestial energy. Loke appeared in front of them, exhausted, and weak. "I have to warn you," Loke gasped.

Gray moved to Loke's side and slid an arm around his back to help support him, his arm went right through Loke's form. He was losing his corporal density. "What happened? Is Erza okay?"

Loke shook his head. "Not okay. Remember that terrible girl, Minerva from Sabertooth?"

Of course they remembered her. She tried to drown Lucy. "Yeah," Gray said, his voice an angry growl. He and Natsu had been the ones to catch her as she plummeted to the ground weak and near death. If they hadn't caught her she might have died from the impact.

"She seems to have new friends. A woman of unmeasurable power that goes by the name of Chaos. I hit her with Regulus Impact and she was unscathed. Somehow she stole Erza's youth. I couldn't do anything. She had someone else with her that had powers like I'd never experienced. It was a whole new level of magic. I think she used some sort of lacrima to steal Erza's youth. There was a black amulet around her throat." Loke reached for Lucy's hand and held it tight, her celestial powers allowing her to make him temporarily corporal. "I couldn't save her. You're all in danger!"

"Now we know what's going on," Lucy said. "We just have to find a way to stop it. Go on back home, Loke. We'll take care of things."

"I'll scour the Spirit World library for information on this Chaos. I'll solicit help from Aries, Virgo, and Capricorn. Maybe Scorpio if Aquarius doesn't have him otherwise occupied. We'll find out anything we can about the mysterious power." Loke nodded at them and then returned to the Spirit World. The door to the chapel opened and a man resembling Warrod Sequen with an elongated face and tree-like appearance stepped inside. A wide grin spread across his face when he noticed Lucy and Gray.

"Oh! A young couple in love! Would you like to have your ceremony this afternoon? I have several openings! There's been a bit of a lull in business lately," he confessed.

"Maybe later," Gray said. "We have to meet some friends."

"Okay, well you come back and if I'm not here you ask for George, okay?" The Warrod impersonator grinned broadly. "We have fifteen percent off discounts on Thursdays!"

"Let's go," Gray said, grabbing Lucy's hand again.

"Hold on," Lucy said. She reached down and plucked off her high heels and held them in her free hand. "Okay."

"You're not planning on walking on that dirty floor barefoot. Are you crazy?" Gray asked. He scooped Lucy up in his arms. "They'll just think we're eager to return to our bed," he said with a wink.

Lucy could feel her cheeks burn in embarrassment as she thought back to their shower the night before.

"Do you need some ice cubes to chill out?" Gray asked with a teasing smile. "You're looking a bit red-faced there."

A/N: I've really appreciated the feedback on the past couple of chapters. It sounds like I've picked up a few new followers! We're getting to the climax of the story. There are only four chapters left after this (in case you were wondering). I've been working hard on them and unless a wrench gets thrown into my plans I expect weekly updates. 4/7/14