Hello there! So so sorry for the long space in between updates! I've been so super busy, but I can promise the next will be up sooner!

Also, as a little reward for being so patient I put in a tiny bit of NaLu fluffiness at the beginning of this chapter! Speaking of the beginning of this chapter, see how the little chapter title isn't right beneath this extremely pointless Author's Note? That's because the first little part is going to be in Third Person pov. With stories I write in First Person pov I tend to do little bits in third just so you get a better feel for the characters, so in future chapters I will most likely be doing more, I was just waiting for the right moment to start!

Thanks so much to Anime Kat Reaper for the idea! So the first part will be about Natsu!

Anyway, disregard my ramblings... I do tend to do that. And enjoy!

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Natsu crossed his arms impatiently, growling to himself under his breath. It had been three hours and the thieves had yet to show themselves. Why weren't they showing up? Natsu ran over reason after reason in his head and finally settled on the observation that he had scared them away. Surely if they saw a powerful Dragon Slayer such as himself they would run for the hills.

Natsu couldn't stifle the cocky smile that crept onto this face. Yes, that had to be it.

He looked down and across the flight of steps at his companions. Happy, Levy, Gajeel, and now even Lucy were out cold, their peaceful faces wiped of any emotion as they caught up on some much needed rest. Natsu huffed to himself. Why was it he was the only one taking this job seriously? The other three and his Exceed seemed bored with the task they were given by the curator.

Once again Natsu contemplated exactly why they had gone on this job. Lucy had picked it out and recruited Gajeel and Levy to go with them. Usually Natsu would've expected her to call upon their normal team, but Erza and Gray had already gone out on missions. Natsu pursed his lips as a foreign feeling again bubbled up in his chest. Lucy could've just asked him alone to go, he would've been more than happy to have a little quality time with his partner, but instead she had called upon two other mages. Was she not comfortable being alone with him? Was he not good enough for her?

The foreign feeling grew stronger and Natsu again growled to himself. He knew what the feeling was, he just didn't exactly want to admit that he felt it. It was a feeling that weak people felt. A feeling he had seen many times wash over Juvia's eyes as another woman talked to Gray. Jealousy.

Natsu couldn't place exactly why he was jealous. Maybe he was upset that she seemed comfortable around everyone but him, always stuttering slightly or yelling at him. He couldn't remember the last time they had sat down and had a heart to heart conversation. Maybe it was because she had again picked up her habit of kicking him out of her apartment instead of letting him stay and sleep in her bed. Was she saving that spot for someone else?

Natsu's hands balled into fists at the notion. Surely not. He couldn't think of anyone who spent as much time around her as he did, even if the time seemed to be dwindling as the months passed on.

Natsu missed the times when he spent day after day with her. Whether it was on missions or just fooling around, those days when she was still new to the guild were some of his favorites. But as time went on, and as Team Natsu was formed he found himself spending less and less quality time with her. Either the ice bastard or Erza was present, or when they weren't, Lucy went out on smaller jobs by herself.

Natsu's gaze shifted down to his companion who was fast asleep on the bottom step. Why was he so worried about her?

He sighed, shaking his head of the confusing thoughts before hopping down the steps and crouching on the one above the blonde girl.

His eyes swept her facial features carefully. Her closed eyes, sooty eyelashes resting peacefully on her cheeks. Her hair, splayed out around her in the most perfect way possible. The way she breathed, the way she looked, the way she smelled, everything was just perfect to him. She was perfect.

Natsu reached forward hesitantly, gently brushing away a piece of hair from her forehead. She was warm. He wanted nothing more than to lean forward and press his lips to her forehead, but he feared that she would awaken. What would she say then?

Natsu sighed. She would yell at him. She always did. For all he knew if she caught him doing something like that she would terminate their friendship, and that scared him more than anything. Even if they were only friends he wanted that to continue. He couldn't imagine it if they stopped talking, only becoming acquaintances. Only passing glances in the guild.

Natsu shivered at the thought and glanced back down at Lucy's sleeping figure. He reached forward again, running his thumb gently across her chin and down the side of her jaw. He would do anything to make her happy, even if it meant only staying friends, nothing more, nothing like the relationship he wished they would have.

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Chapter 5: The First Confrontation

"Raven Tail," I breathed in disbelief.

"Ah, so you do know who we are," the old white haired man on our right trilled. His voice was so shrill I presumed if we had been near a window it would've shattered. He leaned back in his chair, tossing the small blue orb once before shifting it to his left hand.

Raven Tail. I kept repeating the name of the guild over and over in my head. They had been disbanded. Flare had said so specifically when she had shown up on our guild's doorstep. If she was telling the truth, which I think we all believed she was, they didn't still exist. But here were two full-fledged members of the organization, already wreaking havoc by stealing an artifact.

"Of course we know who you are, we're Fairy Tail members after all," Natsu snarled, the hand he held out to the side clenching into a fist.

"B-But I thought your guild was disbanded." Levy's voice shook as she peeked out from behind Gajeel, her hands slowly clenching onto his shirt.

I jumped a mile when the ogre of a man spoke up. He laughed, the deep and penetrating sound seemingly shaking the entire area. "Look Akira, they thought we were disbanded; they are a bunch of idiots." The man doubled over with slow laughter, well, doubling over as much as he could with a belly the size of his.

Natsu let out a scoffing noise. "You guys became a dark guild didn't you? What happened to Ivan?"

The large man's laughter ceased immediately, his head snapping up, the once goofy looking grin on his face turning down in an instant. I shivered again at the sight of his unruly teeth. I could only imagine what his eyes looked like under that metal helmet, and I didn't want to see them any time soon.

"Now, now, no need to get upset," the older man, apparently named Akira, chided. He waved a hand toward the beast of a man, signaling him to calm down. It was clear he was the one in charge here.

"But-"

"Don't worry I'll explain." Akira cut off the large man in an instant. "Yes, you were right young man, we did become a dark guild."

He said it as if it was something to be proud of, as if his life goal had suddenly become reality. Being a dark guild was nothing to brag about.

"And what happened to Ivan?" Natsu again questioned, the same amount of venom in his voice as the first time he had asked the question.

A low growl emanated from the larger man's mouth at the mention of the man.

Akira frowned for the first time since we had seen him. "We don't know where Ivan went. He still oversees the guild somehow but we haven't seen him in months."

I was surprised he had given us such a straight answer. They were the anti-fairy guild after all. It surprised me that they would give out information about their leader so easily. That is if he was even telling the truth.

There was a long silence. I supposed that my teammates, just like myself, were mulling over the answer, and I supposed the Raven Tail members were waiting for us to respond.

Natsu was the first to answer. "Well I don't care what guild you're from! We're still gonna get back that ball and kick your ass!" As if to accent his threat, Natsu's fists immediately lit up with flames, the heat radiating back to me within an instant.

"Oh ho ho, I don't think that'll be happening," the old man scoffed. "I've already foreseen it. You will lose."

"What?!" Natsu bellowed, the fire around his wrists sputtering brighter.

I noticed the taunt had gotten to Gajeel as well as he had already pried Levy's hands off of him and crouched down slightly, readying himself for battle.

The large man let out another bellowing laugh. "Oh, Akira predicted against you? You're screwed."

"What?!" This time Gajeel answered, his right arm immediately snapping out to the side and glowing slightly before it was replaced by his usual iron beam.

The old man smiled again, his thin wispy hair blowing in the wind slightly before he answered. "I use 'projection magic'. Therefore I can project what the future will hold. And I see you losing." He smiled a little wider, tossing the orb in the air again in an act of arrogance.

What the hell? I asked myself. Why had he just given away more information about himself? Either these two men were overly confident, or just plain stupid.

"Let's see about that!" Natsu bellowed, "Gajeel, get the fat one!" With that Natsu's wait for battle was over. He had pushed off of the ground, flying toward the older man, a battle cry escaping from his lips.

"Like hell! I want the old geezer!" Gajeel retorted, also shoving himself forward. His wrought iron arm extended, crashing into Natsu's chest and sending the Fire Dragon Slayer flying before he could land a punch. Gajeel's mouth curled into a triumphant smile as Natsu hurled curses at him while flying through the air.

I saw Levy glace to me out of the corner of my eye with a worried look. No doubt we were both a little scared that it'd end up a battle between Gajeel and Natsu again, instead of Fairy Tail versus Raven Tail.

A loud crashing sound pulled me out of my worries as I searched for the source, and it was easy enough to find.

Gajeel's other arm had joined the fight, plummeting toward Akira. However the old man had had a comeback. He held one arm up in front of himself with a bored look on his face. A few inches from the tips of his outstretched fingers was a shield of sorts, a glowing blue translucent circle that had stopped Gajeel's attack in its tracks. Light sparks were flying off of the circle where Gajeel's iron arm had hit, sputtering in protest at the pressure.

Gajeel lost the battle, skidding back a few feet as the circle overpowered him. The old man chuckled as the circle dimmed and he lowered his arm.

I stared at the old man in disbelief. What had that been? He was probably the weakest looking person I had ever seen and yet in a physical confrontation he had forced Gajeel backwards. What was this?

"Double meaning," I heard Levy whisper to herself.

"What?" I asked.

"Projection. Double meaning. Not only projecting what the future will hold, but a literal projection, like a hologram."

I once again marveled at Levy's quick thinking.

Natsu's yell was the next event. He had stormed back to the battlefield, a large cloud of dust behind him. He had made it to Gajeel's side in a record amount of time, grabbing onto his shirt.

"What the hell was that for?!" Natsu yelled in his face.

"Tch," Gajeel hissed, slapping Natsu's hand away from him. "I can handle this, take on that guy," Gajeel said, halfheartedly waving a hand toward the beast of a man who had been watching the entire exchange with amusement.

"I don't want him! I want that smart talking bastard!" Natsu yelled back.

Gajeel growled, "Oy, how about we both take him. Whichever one lands the first hit gets the credit."

"YOU'RE ON!" Natsu yelled, cupping his hands to his mouth in a blur. "Roar of the Fire Dragon!" he shouted, his scorching hot flames making an appearance as they shot out of his mouth and toward Akira at a blistering speed.

The old man once again held his hand up with disinterest, the blue circle once again forming. Natsu's attack was deflected and shot in all directions but at his target.

"I guess that means I get you girls."

The chillingly echoed voice of the larger man made me shiver. I turned to him slowly, disgust plastered all over my features as I saw him giving me what he probably believed was a very debonair smile.

Levy quickly scampered to my side. "We aren't really going to have to battle him by ourselves are we?" she squeaked. Levy never took herself to be much of a powerhouse in battle. Her self-confidence was always a little low.

The large man mocked hurt. "Don't be that way, we can have lots of fun together," he said, his lips again curling into a freakish smile.

"Gross," Levy squeaked.

I sighed. All we could do was hold him off until Gajeel or Natsu landed a hit on the older man. Then the loser would most likely back off and turn their attention toward the ogre. My hand reached back for my keys, running a finger over them to decide which spirit to start with. I needed one with large physical power. That would be… I frowned. The perverted cow.

With a sigh I yanked Taurus' key out of its holder and held it out to the side. Maybe the giant man wasn't as strong as he looked.

"Open," I called, Taurus' key glowing a bright gold the instant the first word left my mouth. "Gate of the Golden Bull!" I pulled the key around in front of me, a trail of golden light following it as my magic circle burst out beneath my feet. "Taurus!" With a loud ding and a swift move of the key my spirit materialized at record speed, his hand already positioned on the axe on his back, ready for battle.

I sent a mental thanks to the gods that he was actually paying attention to our target and not my outfit. My happiness was short lived however as the cow in front of me looked over his shoulder, hearts in his eyes.

"Lookin' gooood Lucy," he said, steam shooting out his nostrils.

I smacked my hand to my forehead, "Please Taurus, him," I said, gesturing toward the large man who was looking down at the cow with confusion.

"Of course, pretty lady. How about afterwards you come over here and give me a smoo-"

Taurus' attempt to flatter me was cut short as the giant of a man reached forward, his colossal fist slamming into my spirit, sending him flying to the side.

Levy squeaked in surprise and shuddered. "I'll help you Lu-chan," she offered, closing her eyes and holding her arms out in front of her.

Taurus' was back in position in an instant, the axe on his back now securely in his grasp as he fumed up at the giant. No doubt he was a little ticked off that his attempt at flirting had been cut short.

"Solid Script: Axe!" Levy called.

I watched in disbelief as without a word Taurus reached out to the side with his free hand, a gigantic axe appearing in the shape of the word 'axe'. Levy had never battled alongside any of my spirits and yet she assisted like she had done if for years.

Without another word Taurus launched himself at the man, dragging both weapons behind him and at the last moment thrusting them in front of himself, slashing with perfect timing at the large man.

The giant stumbled back a few feet, frowning. "Ow, that actually kind of hurt." He patted his stomach where the blades had hit delicately. There wasn't a single scratch on him, the only thing different was the 'x' shaped gash in his shirt where Taurus' axes had made contact. The skin underneath the shirt remained unscathed.

"L-Lucy-sama, who is this guy?" Taurus stuttered, backing up a few feet in distress.

The giant answered instead. "I'm Gregory, member of Raven Tail, and last known Giant Slayer." He smiled, anticipating our reactions.

My jaw could've hit the floor. A Giant Slayer? I had never heard of such a thing. Sure there were a few Dragon Slayers roaming the planet; we had even run into two God Slayers, but never a Giant Slayer before. It was a new experience indeed.

"So that's why Taurus' attack didn't do anything," Levy whispered, still in shock, "Giants were known to have nearly impenetrable skin."

The gigantic man, Gregory, chuckled. "The little one sure does know a lot, doesn't she?"

I swallowed thickly. If physical attacks wouldn't do much, what could we do? Taurus physically was one of my most powerful spirits. There wasn't any water around so Aquarius would be useless and I wasn't sure if Loke was any stronger in a confrontation than Taurus. My gaze snapped over to Natsu and Gajeel's battle only a few yards away. The two were mercilessly pounding attack after attack against the old man, who still sat in his chair, unfazed by any of it as his blue circle took all the damage. Neither of our battles seemed to be gaining any ground.

I froze. Ground, that's it! If I couldn't attack him physically, I'd use his own size to his disadvantage.

"Taurus!" I called, and he nodded, anticipating his gate's closure. He disintegrated with an apologetic look and Levy's Solid Script Axe went tumbling to the ground with a clang, just in time to disappear as well.

I snatched a different key and called out my next spirit without any hesitation. "Open, gate of the Maiden!" My magic circle again burst out beneath my feet, pure power surging through my veins. "Virgo!"

The pink haired spirit materialized in front of me, immediately bowing. "Punishment?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Why were all of my spirits so dead set on something really weird? "No, Virgo, I need you to dig a hole underneath him," I said, pointing across the way to Gregory.

Virgo glanced behind her, making a face at the man's appearance before nodding. "Of course, Princess."

Without warning she had disappeared, rocks and dirt flying in her wake, leaving only a perfectly circular hole where she had been standing. I shot a look over at the two Dragon Slayer's battle again to realize they seemed to be making some sort of an impact. Akira's face was no longer bored, it held intense concentration and I swore I saw a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face. They were wearing him out, slowly but surely.

Ka-chunk!

My attention was back on my own battle as a loud cracking sound was heard and the entire field we were in shuddered. Virgo had done her job and dug a perfect hole underneath the giant's feet. He had fallen into it, but due to his size he had only gone about halfway down, only his body from the chest up visible.

"Hey!" he growled, wiggling in an attempt to set himself free, looking like a frustrated child trying to get un-stuck from a muddy puddle.

Virgo shot back out of the hole near me and bowed again. "I'm sorry Princess, I misjudged his…. girth."

I smiled at the sight. He was stuck alright, she had done her job perfectly. "No problem Virgo."

She nodded and bowed again before disappearing in a gust of air.

"Dammit!" Gregory bellowed, his attention now plastered on Levy and I. "You'll pay for this!"

With that threat he brought his gigantic hands to his mouth, heaving a staggering breath. It looked like the exact same way Natsu reeled up for his breath attack, and I was right.

"Roar of the Giant!" he cried. In a burst of light a dark green beam of smoke hurtled out of his mouth and straight for us. It was sickening in color and smell and this time Levy was the one to react.

"Solid Script: Shield!" she called, stepping in front of me and holding out her arms. The shield appeared in perfect timing, sputtering into existence just in time for the giant's attack to slam into it. Levy grunted, digging her heels into the ground as she struggled to not lose any ground. Luckily the giant's attack ceased just in time for her shield to shatter, scattering into thousands of tiny pieces which in turn sparkled into dust and disappeared.

Once again my gaze frantically converted over to Natsu's battle. It looked similar to ours, one side gained ground, then the other. It was a see-saw match.

"Tch," I sighed, my chest already heaving as I turned my attention back to Gregory who was again struggling to free himself. I sincerely doubted we'd win in a prolonged battle.

"STOP!"

My thoughts were cut short as I heard Gajeel's deafening yell. Everyone's attention snapped over to the Iron Dragon Slayer as he and Natsu stood, staring, at Akira, a look of something close to panic on their faces. Hesitantly, Levy and I both followed their gazes to Akira, who was now joined by another human. Standing next to his chair, shaking like a small dog, was a little girl. She stood still, tears streaming down her face as she sniveled to herself.

What the hell? I asked myself, my eyes sweeping the area for a place the little girl could've come from, but I came up empty. The last time I had looked Natsu and Gajeel were the only ones even near Akira.

The small girl sniffed once, her eyes frantically flicking to all of our faces, a pleading expression on her face. She had long blue hair tied up in two pigtails on either side of her head. She wore a small pink dress which was ratty, almost as if she had been wearing it for years. She was barefooted and her feet and legs had dirt all over them. I felt a pang in my heart. She reminded me of Wendy.

"Don't attack, or you'll hurt the girl," Akira whispered, gently guiding the small child in front of himself.

Natsu and Gajeel both seemed frozen. They were two powerhouses in battle, and yet I knew neither one of them would risk hurting someone who was innocent. Let alone a child.

Gregory took our distraction as a chance to escape and with one large shove he had successfully pulled himself out of the hole.

Akira slowly stood up, his legs shaking as the skinny limbs struggled to hold him upright. He gave all of us a warning glance before slowly walking around his chair and backing up. The small wooden chair fizzled out of existence a second later and I realized that most likely his magic was what had gotten a chair way out here, in the middle of nowhere. If he could create holograms it made sense.

Gregory tiptoed over to Akira carefully, holding out an arm to the old man and helping him aboard on his shoulder. The minute the old man was securely in place the giant bolted. For such a large man, he was surprisingly fast. I watched with wide eyes as he scampered away at an incredible speed, topping the next hill within moments and disappearing out of sight.

I let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding in and turned back to Natsu, Gajeel, and the girl.

The small child smiled, her eyes glistening with thanks. She reached forward with one hand, outstretching toward seemingly anyone who was around before it dropped. Without any warning she dropped to the ground as well, passing out cold on the grassy terrain.

"Oy!" Gajeel yelled, stepping forward and catching her.

I sunk to the ground as well, Levy quick to follow as we watched the two men fawn over the fainted girl.

My eyelids flickered. What the hell had just happened? Over the past ten minutes or so, so much information had been thrown my way. The thieves had turned out to be members of Raven Tail, not only that but they lived up to the guild's standard of being very strong mages. Then, out of nowhere in the middle of our fight, this little girl had shown up as a hostage. It sounded like a dream, the events all jumbled and crazy, but somehow it had actually happened.

I stared at the fainted girl across the way. Who was she? How had she gotten tangled up with Raven Tail? Where had she come from?

A lot of questions flooded my mind at that moment but as I glanced back over at the hill the two members of the anti-fairy guild had disappeared over a more pressing question picked at my brain.

Why did they want the pieces of that staff?

So there it is! Whew that was long! Gah! Pervy cows and punishment-seeking miners, those spirits crack me up.

Okay! I actually do have some pretty important things to say this time! I know! Unbelievable right?! Haha!

A-) This is my first try at writing a battle scene, there will only be two in this entire story so... one down! I would really like to know what you thought of it, and what you thought of that first little part about Natsu as well. I'm curious to see what you thought, and I would love to hear what I did right and what I did wrong.

I'm also wracking my brain to come up with new magics that these Raven Tail people will know. *faints* I hope the last bit of this chapter wasn't too hard to understand...

B-) Some exciting news! I just started a Fairy Tail collab with my good friend shadowninja2000! I would absolutely love you forever if you went and checked it out. It is on her profile and it's called Fears and Promises. I have a link to it near the bottom of my profile if you're interested! I write the even chapters, she writes the odd!

C-) Thank you so much for those reviews. The more I get the more inspired I am and the more I get these fingers clickity clackin' on the keyboard! Haha!

Big thanks to lilpumpkingirl, Rose Tiger, petpermint, Kid and Soul's Girls, Ocarys, Anime Kat Reaper, pokeninja6600, shadowninja2000, MythandFairyTailLover13, MelodyOfSecrets, TheGrammarQueen, AllTheAnimeLove, and lovelyleveret! Any feedback is much appreciated! I'm always looking for what I do well and what I can do better!

Wow, that was long. T-T So sorry, please excuse Foxtail-chan for her blabby mouth. You deserve a reward if you read all of that. Seriously.

I hope you have a great rest of the week! :D