A/N: hey guys! I'm typing this while listening to the fairy tail soundtrack. I have to admit, it is just inspirational! Lol, if you've read in my previous chapter, you would know that I have exams next week so I'm biding my time for the oncoming disaster. No, but really, to discourage anybody from using this as an excuse, I have been revising. I'm only writing my stories in the MANY breaks I have during the day. It's focused on this story as I'm currently facing a writer's block on my ff7 fanfic. My feelings of despair cannot be put into words.

Anyway, on with the story!

NOTE: I trust you all know what nakama means. I'm sorry to say that I don't know how to describe it and this will forever be my lasting shame.

Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Erza banged against the door again, waiting for the person inside to let her in.

"Lucy Heartphilia, I demand that you open this door immediately!" Behind her, the guild members roared loudly, filling out into the streets and onto the bridge in front of the apartment complex. Several neighbours had woken up to the noise and opened their doors to see the reason behind it all. "LUCY! Get out no..."

The sudden opening of the door had caught the Titanian warrior off guard. She looked up to confront thirteen of Lucy's fifteen spirits; glaring at them, she demanded the presence of their master receiving smirks from the leading spirit.

"You really think we'd let you see Lucy after what you put her through?" crossing his arm, Loki stared down at the woman in front of him as he continued "We spirits refuse to allow you to see our master. We'd rather go to hell and back than step aside; we will fight you if we have to."

He received numerous yells from this as Lisanna stepped forward, giving a look of confidence towards the small group she and the guild faced against.

"You really think it would be hard to beat your asses into the ground? We all know Lucy couldn't even lay a punch against the weakest mage here. She was absolutely useless." The comment gained several sniggers and Lisanna proceeded to jeer at Lucy's inability to fight "Look at her, she's not even using her own strength! In fact, you can't even call her a mage!"

"Regulus Impact!" Triggered by the last statement, Loki's abrupt attack had affected all members in his line of sight, knocking them clean off their feet. Silenced by his strength, the rest of the members could only look on as the remaining spirits strode out of the apartment. "For the local people, I must warn you to return to the safety of your homes before you get involved. And for those members who remain stupid enough to stand in front of me, we promise just retribution for what you have put Lucy through. It is impossible to see Lucy. You will NOT get past us all!"

With a cry, the war between guild members and celestial spirits began. Members surged forward to lay hands on those they considered traitors of the guild, spirits striking the people who refused to lend an ear to their master in her time of need. Hits landed, cries were heard but no side gave in to the other. The weaker spirits continued to fight, the state of their injuries slowing them down but they did not give in, their grief over Lucy's current condition released through their hits.

On seeing Lisanna laying semi-conscious in front of her, Aquarius grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and raised her into the air.

"Listen here, you fucked up bitch. You dare to talk shit about blondie again and I'll make sure you can't utter another word for the rest of your shitty little life, you hear?" Not waiting for an answer, she moved outside the house and slammed the take over mage into the concrete, smashing several bones and rendering her unconscious. "and that was for calling us weak. Beating us into the ground huh? Honey, I haven't even begun with you yet!"

Taurus stared at the crowd around him and sneered at the fast reduction in number. So the guild members couldn't handle the heat, huh? He turned to face the man who made it all happen. "So, why did you come back? I thought you didn't want to see her again, you bastard."

"And here, I thought Lucy Heartphilia wasn't able to summon more than one spirit at a time. Is that another lie against her I see?"

"You didn't answer me. Why are you here?" In reply to the bull's question, Natsu raised an arm into the air and brought it onto his opponent's weapon, subsequently breaking it.

"To make sure that she doesn't return. Did you really think we didn't prepare for a fight?" on delivering another connecting blow, Natsu stood back to view the damage "Or were you all stupid enough to not notice Erza entering the building alone?"

After delivering his own punch, Taurus just grinned knowingly. "For mages, you guys are an absolutely brainless bunch. Did you not hear Loki? It is impossible to see Lucy! Do you know why?"Taurus continued to deliver punches at his enemy with every word "Because. Lucy. Is. Not. Here! We're not so thick that we'll let Lucy suffer more from her old family!"

The stillness after his announcement was unnerving, all members turning towards Taurus in disbelief. They turned to the building from which Erza emerged silently, no sign of a confrontation with the woman in question. The warrior slowly descended the steps, her eyes fixated on the Leo spirit. Her look of incredulity and shock was visible to all. Coming to last step, she raised her arm, revealing a set of glowing parchments that she dropped onto the floor.

"What is the meaning of this, Loki?" she went on to unroll one of the parchments "Why does it say that the spirits have suspended their contract with Lucy Heartphilia? Answer me!"

"The reason for that is because they have entered into a contract with me!"

Every person present fixed their gaze upon the new arrival, amazed. Gray stepped out from the shadows with Virgo and Plue close at his heels. Holding his own parchment of paper, he proceeded to step forward and face all the members of Fairy Tail. With all the celestial spirits behind him, he projected his voice, loud and clear, to ensure no misunderstanding of this point.

"From this day forward, I am the new key holder for these celestial spirits. It was originally planned that this was to remain a secret but we had not planned on Erza's discovery. Because of this, I will declare my ownership from the beginning. As a current member of Fairy Tail, I have the right to remain in the guild unless told otherwise by Master Makarov; this means that my spirits will also be allowed access to Fairy Tail and will not be subject to any harm by other members. Should this still occur, I will see to it that the person in question will die under my hands."

Erza shook with uncontrolled anger as she held her sword above her head. "What the hell are you doing, Gray? What have you done to Lucy? Where is she?"

"The subject of Lucy is neither here nor there." Giving nothing away, Gray just glanced at his nakama "Why would anybody here care what has happened to her? Seeing as you labelled her a traitor, it should not matter to you whether I killed her or have let her live. The only matter of importance is that I am the new master of the spirits. That said, I am now a dual magic user and I expect you to remember that."

On his way out, Gray turned briefly to look at his rival. "This all came about because of your lack of trust in your own nakama; whatever the outcome you cannot blame anyone but yourselves. If it is ever revealed that Lucy was innocent, you will all remember this and may live to regret your decisions."

...

The guild was relatively quiet in the following few months. No one could believe Gray's actions and nobody had the right to question him in the master's absence. It was all they could do to tolerate the spirits, who were a large reminder of their favourite princess. However, over the months, they had grown accustomed to seeing Gray enter the guild with several different spirits. Sometimes he came in to choose a mission with them, other times he came just to relax after training seriously. There were no more banters between Natsu and Gray, leaving the atmosphere in the guild to become somewhat oppressive. It was also very rare to see him use ice magic, as he preferred to train the spirits as much as possible. The relationship between Gray and his former teammates was filled with tension. They were never seen together anymore and missions were taken separately.

Natsu remained close with Erza, but he also chose to do missions alone. Things were not the same without his partner and, though he had been the one to chase Lucy away, he could not help but wonder, what had happened to her?
There was never a second in the day when he forgot about her, whilst he was sleeping, eating and even during his fishing trips. He constantly felt sharp pangs of guilt upon remembering their last encounter and had to continually remind himself of her betrayal. However, with every month that went by, it felt as if the betrayal was less and less important; as if he would forgive her if only she returned.

In an effort to forget about their relationship, Natsu had asked Lisanna out on several dates. It was never the same as it had been with Lucy, the laughter and happiness was not in Lisanna's every movement as it was with the old spirit master. She was not so appreciative of the small pleasures, the gentle breeze, and the clear skies. Natsu also felt that Lisanna only showed appreciation when he showered more gifts on her in expensive places, a trait so opposite to Lucy who preferred a quiet night together at home. The difference in attitudes was so great that he had stopped dating altogether and instead favoured more time at his fishing hole to think and be alone.

...

Five months after the incident, Master Makarov had returned. He entered the guild with a sombre expression and called for Gray to meet him in the office. Gray stood up with the spirits, their ascent to the second floor noted by Natsu and the others.

After closing the door, Gray looked expectantly at Makarov who had sat on his chair with a sigh. They were ready for the worst; several spirits closing their eyes tightly, at which the old man smiled.

"The good news is that Lucy gave birth to a strong baby boy last weekend." His announcement caused beams to appear all around. Loki whooped in excitement as the master resumed "He was born on January 7th at 9.05pm, weighing a very healthy 9 pounds and 6 ounces. The bad news is that, due to the overall process, Lucy was left, physically, extremely weak. Luckily though, she has recovered rapidly in the past week and can now practice walking normally again. The baby has been named Lee Grayson Dragneel, Lee which means honour and Grayson after his wonderful uncle."

To the last part, Gray shouted in joy while Loki pouted with undisguised envy. Members outside wondered what was being discussed that had resulted in such happiness from Gray; He rarely displayed a smile and only did so because of something the spirits said, or did.

Makarov was also laughing along but was reminded of something. His eyes narrowed "Gray, from what you mentioned before I left, your contract was to be kept a secret...?"

"That was the plan but there was a complication. Erza had found Lucy's suspension agreement with the spirits and questioned it. I felt it was best to speak of the truth from the beginning to avoid any more messy situations." He shrugged carelessly "I guess they think I stole them or something."

Loki scoffed "Stole? It was more like they blamed you for Lucy's disappearance. It's not that obvious now, but at the start all the members acted disgusted by our actions. As if they actually cared for what had happened to Lucy. They seem to have forgotten that Erza only found the parchment by invading the apartment with the rest of the members, in an attempt to exile Lucy from Magnolia."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned cold. The Guild Master shook his head sadly "I'm sorry for not stopping this, but it may have led to suspicions and questions we could not answer at the time." He stood swiftly and walked to the door before turning back. "Getting back to the original subject, are you not off to celebrate? Get piss drunk, go around screaming your happiness or whatever but get out of my office! Now, shoo!"

"Haha! Don't wanna join us, old man?" Gemini poked the person in question and quickly ran down the stairs after transforming into his mirror image. They stopped abruptly at the bottom to catch their breath. "Shit. That was intense!"

On seeing Makarov's threatening face appear at the top, they transformed back and flew out squealing happily. "Run! Grandpa's gonna EEEAAAT UUUSS!"

"Why, you little brats! Watch when I get my hands on you! Just you wait!"

The remaining spirits stood at the top of the stairs, chuckling in delight at the sight before them. Gray had renewed his long lost habit of stripping as he slid down the banister to join in.

"Hurry up guys! Last one out is in charge of carrying the old man back. BLEEEEEEEEH!"

"Just wait, you bast..AAAAARGGH!" With a crash, Loki was suddenly found in a heap at the bottom, Capricorn and Taurus piled up above him. A tell tale layer of ice could be seen on one of the steps. In the background, Gray could be heard laughing hysterically at the prank.

"C..can't believe you losers fell for it!" He ran ahead to avoid immediate retribution while the remaining spirits stepped over the human/animal pile on the floor, grinning at the sight. Aquarius even took a picture to commemorate the moment.

"Just in case!" she winked at them walking slowly towards the entrance, holding up the camera. "Hafta say though, never expected the boss to be a uke. The king would be VERY interested about this don'cha think?"

Loki's scream of agony continued to echo throughout the land in the following weeks to come.

...

To Be Continued

A/N hey guys! I've ended this chapter on a happy note but remember! It is not yet over! dun dun DUUUUUUUUUN

Yeah, I've made Lisanna to be a right byotch in here, but every story needs one right? Hee hee

The next few chapters may feature time skips, as I've finished with the important plots for this time. Lucy has ceased to appear from this chapter forward but wait, my friends! Good things can only happen to those who are patient.

And yeah... Loki's a UKE :P (Just to clarify, no I don't read yaoi. I had to suffer the childhood of sitting beside a yaoi fangirl during school.)

Please r& r