A/N
First Published: June 14th, 2014
Most Recent Revision: October 8th, 2015
'ello. Added in are the much needed fighting scenes along with anything that needed to be fixed. It's magical, really. Including the fight scenes and edits, the chapter's word count went up by about 2k. ._.
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BrittFredlove: Nice to hear that you're enjoying this so early into the story! :D You're welcome too for the shoutout.
aball147: Yeah, I'll definitely write more since you guys are showing your support by favoriting (is this even a word?) and following!
Lucy rubbed her eyes and turned her head sideways as she scanned her surroundings. As she scouted them, she noticed Gray was missing and frowned slightly. Lucy turned to face forward and Erza looked at her with questioning eyes. Lucy shook her head as if telling Erza 'It was nothing.'
Feeling a little hungry as her stomach growled, she shifted in her seat to get up. She however regretted her move since Natsu, who was still in her lap even after a few hours have passed, tumbled down and hit the cold, train car floor. Natsu moaned in discomfort as he woke up and was prone to motion sickness again.
"Ah, gomen Natsu! I forgot you were in my lap still." Lucy apologized to Natsu and dragged him back into her lap as she sat back down.
'Hmm, how am I going to get food now?' Lucy thought of ways to escape Natsu before the obvious struck her. Seeing how Erza was right across from her, Lucy used that to her advantage.
"Erza? Can you knock Natsu out please? I'm feeling a little hungry and heard there was a food car up front, but I don't want to leave him like that." whispered Lucy as she pointed at Natsu.
"Sure." said Erza as she nodded in understanding.
Lucy thanked Erza and pushed Natsu upwards so Erza could have easy access to his neck. Erza brought down her hand and hit a pressure point in Natsu neck knocking him unconscious (1).
Lucy gently laid Natsu down in the seat and made her way to the bathroom. Weirdly, instead of the cart being located in the middle so riders could have easy access, it was near the front.
"Dang." muttered Lucy, regretting the choice of choosing the train car farthest from the front. You see, the train was about ten cars long!
Lucy felt sad as she trekked on between cars. 'My poor, poor legs can't handle this!' She almost stepped foot into the 8th car before she accidently overheard a conversation.
"Baka Fro! You just had to let us get lost! How will we find Sting-kun and Rogue-kun now?"
"Fro is sorry."
Lucy stepped into the car to be greeted by a maroon colored exceed. Along with him was another exceed clad in a green and cute frog suit.
Lucy's eyes sparkled as she lunged to squeeze the air out of the cute exceed. Lucy peered down at the cat…
Although surprised, Frosch snuggled up to the warm blonde.
The maroon colored exceed was caught off guard, but quickly recovered and started to pound his tiny paws against Lucy's body.
"Attacker! Let go of Frosch!" The exceed tried but to no avail, couldn't get Lucy off of Frosch.
After what seemed an eternity to Lector but a few short moments to Lucy, she loosened her grip on Frosch and proceeded to push her towards the other cat. However, Fro resisted.
"No! Fro likes you lady! Who are you?" Frosch asked tilting her head in a questioning manner.
"Aww, so cute! But I'm Lucy! What's your name?"
"I'm Frosch, but you can call me Fro." Fro pointed a paw at her friend and said, "This is Lector."
Lector looked away in embarrassment. Lucy took that as being innocently cute.
Getting to the point, Lucy asked, "Gomen, but I overheard your conversation earlier by accident. Who is it that you're looking for?"
"Baka fairy, do you not know who Sting-kun is? He is the most awesomest dragon slayer ever!" said Lector as he boasted of Sting's strength.
Lucy looked surprised. 'How did he know I'm from Fairy Tail?' Lucy voiced her thought and asked Lector.
Lector smirked as he pointed at her hand. "Your guild mark (2)."
Lucy facepalmed at her stupidity and replied, "Of course. Duh. I guess you're looking for your owners?"
"Hai! Have you seen them Lucy-chan?" Fro asked Lucy as she leaped up into Lucy's arms to look at her better.
Lucy petted Fro but replied, "No, but I'm about to go the front of the train. Do you want to come in case they're in the cars up ahead?"
"Sure!" chirped Fro as she smiled at Lucy.
"I guess I'll have to go if Fro is going." muttered Lector.
"Good! Come along!" Lucy put Fro into a more comfortable position in her arms and walked towards the car exit as Lector trailed behind her.
She slid open the door and entered car number seven. She kept walking, getting closer to the first car. A couple cars later, she finally opened the 2nd car to be greeted by a large feast with all food imaginable. In the middle of the golden-rimmed table was a chocolate fountain, oozing out chocolate as it slowly slid down the side. Surrounding the fountain were platters filled with meats and breads.
Lucy was astonished by the sheer amount of food, but sat down at an empty table and set the exceeds there.
"Did you see your owners along the way?" asked Lucy.
Frosch shook her head and teared up a bit, scared she'll never find Rogue again. Lucy patted her back as the tears flowed down like mini waterfalls.
"It's okay Fro. Maybe we'll see them on the way back. If not, you're welcome to sit with my team and I for a bit. Meanwhile, are you guys hungry?"
As if on cue, Frosch's tummy growled, showing it was craving food. Lucy giggled and asked them what they wanted.
"Fish!" exclaimed the exceeds. Lucy laughed once more and walked towards the buffet. Grabbing a plate, she reached for some taiyaki (3) that was filled with chocolate since there weren't any raw fish.
"Why would there be raw anyways?" Lucy muttered under her breath and walked towards her table where the exceeds were sitting at. She placed the plate on the table and apologized how there weren't any raw fish.
Not caring whether it was raw or not, Frosch grabbed a fish and started munching happily. Little "noms" were heard as she ate. Lucy smiled at the spectacle and went back to the food to grab her own meal. As she leaned forward to grab some bread to go along with some soup, two arms snaked around her waist.
"Hmm, you're the one stealing our exceeds, huh?" asked a voice into her ear.
Lucy was surprised and turned around only to find her mouth inches away from her captor.
"Excuse you? Do you mind? And whose fault was it to leave your exceeds without a dragon slayer to watch them?" Lucy was blushing thanks to the tiny space between their faces.
Instead of moving farther away, he chose to move in closer…
Lucy looked wide-eyed since his lips were literally centimeters away from hers…
After an eternity, Sting smirked and pulled away, laughing his butt off.
"Oh gosh! You should've seen your face!" The man was still laughing even after Lucy recovered and sent a death glare that far surpassed one Erza could give. "I should do that more often!"
Lucy weighed the options of either yelling or hitting him. She went with yelling.
"STING! You're such stingy bee! Hmph, meani- Are you even listening?!" Sting was panting as he slowed down his laughter to just a few short chuckles every once in a while.
Lucy sighed and returned back to getting her meal. Getting her soup, she brought her plate to the exceed table, ditching Sting at the same time. As she reached the table she saw Rogue there conversing with Fro and Lector. The only seat available was the one next to Rogue as the exceeds were occupying the seat.
"Do you mind?" asked Lucy as she gestured to the open spot.
Rogue understood immediately and scooted over closer to the window. Lucy thanked him and sat down.
The exceeds were munching on a new piece of taiyaki as Lucy sipped her soup. Minutes passed and not one conversation was made. Thankfully, Sting came to the table and grabbed a seat nearby to sit at their table.
"So blondie, what brings you here?" asked Sting as he sat down.
"Tch, you're blonde too! But I'm here for a mission with my team. It's to take down a couple thieves."
"Cool, we're here for a mission too. It's just a quick delivery kind," said Sting.
"Oh, what fun. Good luck and hope you don't run into any trouble."
As the conversation came to an end, Lucy finished her soup and stood to give it to the waiters instead of leaving it on the table. While Lucy was gone, Sting and Rogue were having a short chat.
"Sting, you know that if Lucy's here, Natsu's probably here as well." said Rogue. "He's probably dying of his motion sickness."
"Natsu-san, huh?"
Lucy came back with a bright smile on her face.
"What's with the sudden happiness Lucy?" asked Sting curious about what made her so piped up.
"It's nothing. Oh yeah! I just remembered, how come you guys don't have motion sickness?"
Beating Sting and saying in the monotone voice, "Unlike Natsu-san, we don't have a mage to cast a spell on us. That's why we took the more normal option of pills. It should last us until the end of this train ride."
"Ah." Said Lucy. "That makes sense."
After a few short moments of silence, Lucy looked up to see if there was any nearby clocks. '45 minutes left, that whole ordeal was only 15 minutes?'
Lucy shifted her gaze away from the clock and saw Sting becoming noticeably green.
"Ho, is that pill wearing off already?" Lucy smirked in amusement.
"Baka blonde, it's not funny." Sting fell forwards and did a faceplant onto the table. Shortly after, Rogue was also feeling the effects of motion sickness although he did a better job of concealing it than Sting.
"Here, Rogue can you move over a little bit? And Sting come over here." Rogue complied with her request and moved enough for the three of them to fit. "This always works with Natsu, so I'm pretty sure it'll work with you guys. Hopefully, this can last long enough until the train stops."
Sting crawled to the seat slowly and looked at Lucy, hoping she had a remedy. Lucy took Rogue's head and put it into her lap. Carefully getting Sting's head in order not to discomfort the man in her lap, she gently laid Sting's head onto her shoulder.
The Twin Dragons Slayers became visibly comfortable as the green in Sting's face was gone and the frown that adorned Rogue's facial features disappeared.
Lucy smiled and took a nap hoping that the train would go just a bit faster. Unknown to Lucy, Sting and Rogue weren't asleep. Rogue was confused at her actions and chose to bear the pain instead of embarrassing himself by resting in her lap. Lucy smiled slightly and put her hands down to gently caress Rogue's dark locks. She also leaned into Sting's head a little to get comfortable for the last 40 minutes of the ride. With Rogue in her lap and Sting on her shoulder, it was a very cute sight indeed (3).
Fro giggled at their cuteness while Lector snickered. Tired from the events that happened in the last 900 seconds, Fro nestled down onto a comfy spot on her seat and slept. Lector followed shortly after.
"ATTENTION ALL RIDERS! PLEASE LEAVE THE TRAIN AS WE
HAVE REACHED OUR DESTINATION!"
A loud announcement blared through the speaker in the car. Lucy woke up from her nap and nudged Rogue and Sting awake. They woke with a tired yawn and looked around. A smiling Lucy came into their sight and reminded them what happened only 40 minutes earlier. As they slowly awoke from their slumber, Lucy thought now was a good time to wake the exceeds. Poking Fro's little cheeks and tickling Lector they both awoke and rubbed their eyes.
"Come on guys! Rise and shine, we can get off the train now," said Lucy as she helped Sting get up from his chair.
"THE TRAIN WILL BE LEAVING THE STATION IN 5 MINUTES. ANY PASSENGERS
REMAINING WILL RIDE ALONG WITH THE TRAIN TO THE NEXT STOP."
"Ah, hurry, hurry!" Lucy panicked afraid she'll miss the mission with her team.
'Hmm, mission…? Team…? Where does that ring a bell?' Lucy grabbed the dragon slayers stuff and helped them off and out the car. 'OH MY GOD! I got caught up in the moment with Sting and Rogue that I completely forgot about the mission. Ooh, Erza's going to be so mad!"
Even more panicked than before, the moment her companions' feet touched the ground, she took off sprinting.
Lucy waved her hand in the air and waved "Bye" to the mages behind her. "It was nice seeing you guys! Hope to see you again some other time!" Lucy sprinted even faster when she saw her team just exiting the car.
She was just a few yards away, close enough to her teammates and saw that Natsu clearly kissing the ground. Happy flew around him saying he looked really funny, kissing the ground and all. He perked up when he saw Lucy coming to a halt in front of them.
"LUCY!" shouted Erza. Lucy cowered in front of her, scared of her wrath. "Where have you been? You were gone for an hour, but I couldn't go and find you since I had to watch Natsu. I wasn't able to ask Gray since he was at who knows where."
Erza glared at Gray accusingly who was also scared. Meanwhile, Lucy was happy that she escaped the demoness unscathed, but was curious on what Erza had to say to Gray.
"Where have you been? I could've used some help with Natsu!" Erza hit Gray on the head. Where she had hit him, a lump grew.
Lucy grinned mischievously. 'Perfect time to tease!' thought Lucy, knowing Juvia's slight obsession of her ice mage friend.
"Erza! I think where he's been hiding for the past couple hours!" Lucy shouted this out rather loudly not only capturing the attention of Erza, but the people around her also. Despite the weird looks she was receiving, she said, "He's been making secret rendezvouses with Juvia! You see, she sometimes stalks Gray on our missions and Gray has never let those slide."
"I see… Thank you Lucy for your discovery. Now Gray…" Although she was appreciative in the beginning of her sentence, the ending could be described as the complete opposite. Gray looked at Lucy pleadingly but she only laughed quietly and focused her attention on Natsu.
"How are you feeling Natsu?" asked Lucy concerned if he was going to get sick from kissing the ground.
"I feel great! Thanks for asking Luce! Now let's go kick some thief butt!" Thanks to Natsu, Erza remembered the reason why her team was there in the first place. Focusing her attention on more important matters, Gray was spared. Deep down, Gray knew he owed Natsu one.
"Yosh! To the mayor of Hargeon!" shouted Erza as she led her team out of the station and towards the city.
After hours upon hours of searching, they finally came across a tall, porcelain-looking building. Pearl white pillars held the marble roof that protected the entrance from sunlight and the weather. Lucy was awed at the spectacle while her teammates remained unphased. Erza opened one of glass doors and stepped in. As they walked in, there was a front desk with a receptionist sitting in the seat.
"How may I help you?" she asked.
Being the leader and more mature one, Erza spoke first. "We're Fairy Tail and we accepted the request regarding the thieves in the Local Museum.
"Ah, I will call for the Mayor right away. Please sit in those chairs patiently and wait." The lady pointed to the nearby chairs and picked up her phone, probably calling the mayor.
Team Natsu walked to the chairs and sat. Not liking the silence, Natsu grabbed a magazine that said Magic News and a stray pen that laid lonesome on the ground.
"Oi, Happy! Look!" Natsu uncapped the pen and started doodling on a poor model. Happy snickered and held his blue paws to his mouth trying to keep his laughter in. Out of curiosity, Lucy stood up from her seat and looked at what they were laughing about. Happy just kept on laughing, saying how the person looked like an idiot. As she drew closer she saw that on the page that Natsu drew on was a blonde in white and blue attire.
'Oi.. That clothing looks awfully familiar…' Lucy peered closer at the piece of paper only to realize…
"ME?!" Natsu and Happy were now bawling on the ground, laughing at Lucy's facial reaction. Turns out, Natsu gave out stellar mage not only an idiotic facial expression, but a mustache and beard as well. An angry tick mark appeared on Lucy's forehead as she prepared to unleash hell on her teammates. Her plans were halted however, when the receptionist looked over the top of her desk and gave Lucy a scrutinizing look. Lucy chuckled nervously as she looked over at the lady sheepishly. The fact that Lucy got in trouble only made Natsu and Happy laugh even harder.
More than annoyed, Lucy muttered a "Gomen." to the lady and walked quietly to the laughing organisms. Caught up in their laughter, the mage and exceed didn't notice Lucy's hand getting ever so close to their heads..
*SMACK*
A large lump, about the size of 2 Celestial Keys could be seen on Natsu's forehead. Luckily for Happy, he escaped but managed to get bruised by the sheer willpower of the impact (4).
Lucy sat back down satisfied at the same time the mayor of Hargeon descended down the stairs and strolled towards the mages.
The mayor was a very chubby man. He was in a blue suit that made him have a striking resemblance to Santa Clause.
"Hello Fairy Tail mages. I'm Miyo and if you can't already tell, the mayor of this city. My receptionist told me that you accepted the request I put out, is that true?"
"Hai, Miyo-san." said Erza. "I'm Erza, and this is Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Happy. It's a pleasure to work with you." Erza finished and then bowed down in respect.
Miyo laughed. "Please, please. No formalities. It'll be a pleasure to work with you as well Erza-san. Now, please follow me into the office while we discuss the details."
Miyo gestured with a hand for them to follow him up the grand staircase and into a hall of paintings and doors.
After five minutes of walking, they reached the end of the hall. There, were two ginormous doors that was painted a bright white that contrasted well with the light gray paint of the walls surrounding them.
"Welcome to my office!" said Miyo as he opened the door and let them in. "Would anyone like tea or anything?"
No one piped up a yes, so Miyo took that as a polite decline and walked to sit at his desk. Once Team Natsu was seated in the chairs that were surrounding him, Miyo got down to business.
"Although the request paper provided information, it didn't say details. You see, in our local museum holds artifacts that are priceless. Scientists in the museum have been conducting research on the artifacts and they show that some of these items have been dated back to the beginning of time. Unfortunately, those thieves are specifically targeting these items. We request that you not only defeat the thieves but also recover the artifacts. Since we need you to stay for a week, do you have any sleeping arrangements yet?"
"No, not yet Miyo-san. We thought it would be better to see you first, then find a hotel." Erza replied.
"I see. Would you like to stay here in the manor? I definitely have enough room here."
"If you don't mind, we will take you up on your offer. Thank you Miyo-san."
"You're welcome Erza-san. Now, let me show you to your rooms and then I'll leave you to plan on who watches first. Oh, and before I forget!" Miyo tossed a scroll like piece of parchment to Erza who caught it instinctively. "That's a map of Hargeon. The museum is marked with a red star. Good night."
Miyo stood up from his chair and walked towards the door. Following behind him, Team Natsu was led to yet another hall with even more doors than before. Miyo pointed each member to his or her respective room and left.
"Alright, we will get unpacked and meet in my room," commanded Erza, already opening her room.
"Hai!" chorused the remaining members and quickly entered the room.
Opening her door, Lucy was amazed on how decorated a guest room was! Her first sight upon opening the door was a queen-sized bed located in one corner of the room. It had a light blue bedspread along with appropriate colored pillows. Curtains that accentuated the room nicely hung in front of the window. There were few paintings that seemed original, and not replicas. Another step inside the room revealed to Lucy a moderately sized bathroom and a spacious closet.
Lucy sat on the edge of the bed savoring the feeling of its softness and warmth it provided. 'Yosh, time to get some clothes.'
Lucy grabbed at her a key from her pouch and said, "Gate of the Maiden, I open thee! Virgo!"
"Punishment, hime?" asked Virgo as she bowed.
"No punishment Virgo." sweatdropped Lucy. "But I wanted to know if you could bring some clothes and some necessities like a toothbrush from the Spirit World to here."
"Of course, Hime. One second." Virgo disappeared only to reappear moments later with a suitcase.
"Arigato Virgo! You can go back now." Virgo bowed and vanished into sparkles.
Lucy opened the suitcase and unpacked putting each item in its respective place. After a good 10 minutes, Lucy finished and made her way to Erza's room. She knocked and was greeted by Erza. She opened the door to let Lucy in. As Lucy stepped in, she saw Happy, Gray, and Natsu there already.
'Whoops, am I late?' thought Lucy as she took a seat on Erza's bed.
"Okay, since we discussed the plan already on the train, there's no need to explain it again. Does anyone volunteer to go today?
Surprisingly, Lucy raised her hand first. 'Might as well get it over with.' thought Lucy.
Erza nodded and proceeded to schedule the remaining members to their own day.
"I'll go tomorrow, Natsu the next, and Gray the day after that. Once done, we'll do go in pairs. Any objections?"
Before we could nod, inevitably Natsu started complaining.
"Wha! Luce! Why'd you have to call the first day? I wanted to kick thief butt as soon as possible!" complained Natsu while at the same time spewing fire from his mouth as he was excited to kick butt.
"Natsu!" scolded Lucy. "What's done is done, so just deal with it. Besides, I don't think Erza will accept any changes in the plan."
Natsu sighed in defeat and calmed down.
"Yosh, see you tomorrow minna!" exclaimed Lucy as she stood up from the circle and ended their meeting.
June 17th, X791 - Lucy
Lucy walked into the museum and saw many different artifacts. On some podiums stood those artifacts, others were obviously stolen. Marks marred the object in which it was held up by. Her footsteps echoed the tall walls of the museum.
"So dark and gloomy, I hope no one shows up. Quite convenient if they don't… Opening up a few windows might make things easier to see." said Lucy to herself as she busied herself by untying strings and pulling apart curtains.
"Ho, what a pretty lady were have here," said a voice rather creepily. A figure appeared behind a large, red curtain. His voice sounded like it was a man's and the sunlight that lit his face confirmed so.
The sun's rays caught something sparkling and Lucy looked in the immediate direction. When her eyes adjusted to the bright light it emitted, she soon found out the object was a rather large diamond.
Lucy let out a short exhale and the thief knew what she was surprised about.
"See this thing?" he asked. "It's worth a fortune. Enough for me to buy myself out of this thief group and get a normal life. A woman like you shouldn't live a life protecting artifacts. Join and live with me."
Lucy deadpanned, but the thief continued on anyways. "You don't look too strong, Miss. Come with me and I'll protect you from any danger you see. I'll be your prince in shi-"
The man was cutoff when Lucy's Fleuve d'étoiles hit his head so hard, it knocked the man unconscious.
Lucy was fuming slightly as she glared at the immobile man. The diamond twinkled in his hand as Lucy reached to grab it. She hastily put it away behind the curtain where it belonged, and resumed her guard duty.
Of course, she tied the thief up, and left him out in the sun where he got the most terrible sunburn.
June 18th, X791 – Erza
Erza's metal armor clinked as she entered the museum. As she walked, she noticed some ancient looking armor on a motionless mannequin. She walked forwards and saw the armor's details; the shiny metal buffed to perfection, not a single dent in sight. Erza nodded to herself, thinking what great condition the armor was being kept in. She turned around to attend to her current duties only to see a small shadow at the corner of her eye. Erza narrowed her eyes and found only the armor she previously looked at, and the mannequin that donned it.
'Strange...' Erza thought. She chose to move forward and not mention the previously named shadow. Her task brought her to the the second floor of the museum. Weapons in glass cases, ancient manuscripts, and exhibits lined the wall. Weirdly, she saw the same armor she saw downstairs. It stood near the banister, once again, motionless.
Erza moved closer to investigate and looked at the artificial body with keen eyes. Though small and unnoticeable, she could make out the light up and down of the chest a human would make as it breathes.
She brought a finger to an area of exposed cloth and poked. It was quite warm to the touch, yet the mannequin did not flinch. Here is when Erza was faced with a problem.
"To remove the armor, or to not remove the armor?" thought Erza aloud. In order to see what warm-blooded human lie beneath the mannequin disguise, she had to remove the armor... And yet, how is she to do so without damaging the gear?
In the end, she requipped a small dagger and grabbed the cloth in her hand. Dragging her knife carefully, she slowly slit the cloth and what was revealed was not normal in the very least. Erza didn't even know what to think when she discovered what was under the cloth.
The man, Erza thought it was a man, seemed to be some frog hybrid of some sort. He had large, prominent red lips and a greenish tint to his skin. His already large eyes grew even larger as he started to sweat profusely.
"I'm not a thief, I promise!" the not-thief proclaimed. Erza questioned in her head slightly.
"If you are not a thief, what are you doing wearing an expensive and old piece of armor?"
"Well, you see, it's a long story. I was a frog once; a frog that lived in this museum peacefully. A couple weeks ago, these thieves came and wrecked some stuff up. My home is my home, so of course I came out to try and defend it. But since I was a frog back then, I couldn't do much and they snatched me up quick. Their grubby hands were all over me! They took the stuffing out of the mannequin and then shoved me inside." The frog-man tried his best to point towards an opening in the back.
"Then, they did this weird magic stuff and literally, poof! I turned into some man and molded into this mannequin." Erza contemplated the bizarre story.
"And? Are you stuck like this forever, waiting to die of starvation?" The frog-man shook his head.
"They told me some sort of reversal thing, but I can't find someone willing." He hung his head low and mumbled, "I can't necessarily move, anyways."
"I guess I am willing. What should I do?" Erza asked.
"Well, you see... You need to give me a kiss, sort of like that one children's tale?" He laughed sheepishly and Erza then did the weirdest favor of her life.
June 19th, X791 – Natsu's Fight
"Happy! Let's go! I heard there was some cool stuff in here!" Natsu ushered Happy in through the doors and they were met with an eerie silence. They paid no heed and raced towards an area that Lucy described to them days before.
"Natsuuuu! Wait up!" Happy shouted.
"Turn here, around the corner, straight and boom! We're here, Happy!" Natsu shoved the door open quickly and saw what Lucy told the two; a very large replica of a platinum colored dragon. Life-size, even! Below the model stood a small plaque that showed information on the dragon.
Happy hovered over and tried to read the sign. "M-E-T-A-L-L-I-C. What does this mean, Natsu?"
"Hmm, maybe it says Metallicana. Stupid iron face's dragon? Probably. I don't know," Natsu scratched his head but quickly dropped the subject. "Let's explore this thing, Happy." Happy flew towards Natsu's shoulders and flew up towards the head. On the way, the dragon's eyes gave a mysterious glint.
"Land on the head, Happy. That way, we can pry the mouth open, breathe fire outta it, and make it a real dragon!" Happy placed Natsu not so softly on the head. Natsu pried the mouth open and began to lean a little to the side so that his head was near it's mouth.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Natsu brought his hands to mouth and breathed out a long breathe. In came air, out came fire.
"Uh, Natsu? What's Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique?" asked Happy.
Natsu stopped breathing fire and stood in triumph. "I heard some guy with black hair yell it on a lacrima. Just think of Gray and you'll see it," Natsu dusted some non-existent dust off his pants. "My Roar of the Fire Dragon's way better though."
Happy thought about this as he moved to pick Natsu up. Of course the model chose now to start creaking. "Whoa!" shouted Natsu. The model started to tremble and sent vibrations up through Natsu's leg.
"Natsu, I think it's breaking!" On cue, the head gave way and down with it came Natsu. Happy flew away to relieve himself from the dusty air and saw as the rest of the model came tumbling down.
"Ugh," groaned Natsu as he picked himself up from the rubble. "Well, at least we made it breathe fire." The two walked - flew in Happy's case - towards the door. Natsu closed it and said to Happy, "Let's tell them we found no thief and only some destroyed stuff that they destroyed themselves."
Happy nodded in agreement.
June 20th, X791 – Gray
"Why'd I have to get stuck here?" asked Gray as he opened the door and made himself comfortable by striping off his shirt. The shirt lay on the ground as Gray explored the museum.
Gray seemed indifferent as he saw countless glass cases, weapons, and a weird torn up mannequin with armor thrown haphazardly at its side. Thinking he should get it over with, Gray shouted, "Oi! Thief! Come out where I can see you!"
Gray's voice bounced off the walls and echoed. His request gained no response. "I tried," muttered Gray. He sighed loudly and sat on the steps that led to the second floor. He leaned back a little and closed his eyes. He waited... No noise, no movement, nothing.
Until a perky voice shouted from above him, "Hello, mister! What're you doing, laying on the stairs?"
Gray opened an eye and saw a small child. She waved to him from the second floor. "You're pretty weird, mister. You haven't said a single thing! You're pretty loud too. I heard you alllllllll the way from up here!"
Gray chose not to question her presence and instead asked, "Are you a thief?"
The girl vehemently shook her head. "I am no such thing! Who do you think I am?"
"A thief," said Gray, simply. The girl tsked at him and came down the stairs. She took a seat next to him and tried to start a small conversation.
"How was your day? How old are you? Do you have a name? Ooh! Are you a mage? Where's you guild mark? Can I see it?" Gray gave up and interrupted her before being assaulted with even more questions.
"If you're not a thief, who are you and what're you doing here? I'm sure the mayor closed the museum for the removal of thieves."
"I'm a ghost!" She proceeded to stand up and wave her arms. Spooky noises were emitted from mouth. She then sat down and asked, "What's removal? Sounds fancy. Anyways, I'm not a ghost. I just thought I'd scare you. Did you know there's a fridge out in the back? Free fooooooood! Come on! I'll take you!" She grabber his hand and tried to drag him towards the back. Gray went with the flow and let her drag him.
'Well. No progress on finding the thief. At least free food.' thought Gray.
June 21st, X791 – Lucy and Natsu
"Dang it, Natsu! Stop acting like an idiot and focus! Trying to find thief here!" said Lucy.
"Last time there was none! Don't worry about 'em, Luce!" Natsu laughed as he ran through the corridors, Happy following right behind him.
"Argh!" Lucy gripped in head in annoyance and ran after Natsu who ran through a set of doors. Happy flew in just before the doors closed. Lucy was a few yards behind them and heard the door close with a thump. She reached the doors rather quickly and reached for the knob. It didn't budge.
Lucy pounded a fist on the door and yelled, "Natsu! Not funny! Open the door!"
"What're you talking about, Lucy?" asked Happy. "We didn't lock it!"
"Really? Then open the door for me, please." Lucy said. She tried the knob again just to make sure she turned it as much as she could. On the other side, she could hear the two struggle as well.
"Lucyyyyyyy. You broke the door." Happy accused.
"What! I did not! You two probably did it! Did you hear the slam earlier?" defended Lucy.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Luce," said Natsu. "I guess the only solution is to burn the door down!"
"Happy! Stop him! This'll add to the many things we'll have to pay for!"
"Go Natsu! Go Natsu! Show the door who's boss!" Lucy facepalmed. Lucy did what she thought was the smartest thing to do in this situation; dive to the side before she got singed...
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" yelled Natsu. The door turned glowed red before it bursted in two. They were both flaming as they fell to the ground. Of course there was a rug that looked very flammable on the ground. Lucy cursed her luck very, very much.
June 22nd, X791 – Gray and Erza
"I have something to ask you, Gray," said Erza who looked very serious. "Take a seat." Erza gestured to the staircase.
Gray, who was a little fearful, complied anyways and planted his bottom on the staircase. He weaved his hands togethers and leaned forwards. He prepared himself for the worst.
"Now... On the train, Lucy said you made a secret rendezvous with Juvia. I will not question if this is true or now, but what I really want to know is what you did while in her company?"
"I haven't seen Juvia since we left the guild, Erza. Lucy was lying!" exclaimed Gray.
"It's okay, Gray. We all know Juvia's feelings for you. There's no denying you don't feel something for her as well. I won't tell anyone, you have my word." Erza held her hand towards her side solemnly.
"There is nothing between me and her; no feelings at all. You're insane for think-" Gray slapped his hand over his mouth.
"I see. I was only trying to help you, but instead you not only reject my advice, but call me something I am not," Erza's eye glinted slightly. "There will be repercussions Gray." Gray gulped and tried to take it back, calling Erza the "Most Fabulous Swordswoman in all of Fiore."
The glint in her eye dulled if only a little, but Erza called for vengeance anyways.
June 23rd, X791 – The Whole Team
For some reason, the thieves thought bringing their whole gang to the museum was a good thing. It went as so:
Team Natsu entered the museum for their last day of protecting artifacts and capturing thieves. They expected to see empty, gloomy halls. But, no, no. In place of any visible ground and rug, there stood many theives. Not fifty, nope! There were at least a couple hundred, all squeezed in to the main room. Some were hanging from the banister above, others on the stairs. Few were wrapped around the columns that held the ceiling up. All the others were on the floor standing or sitting.
With the sheer amount, it seemed as if they were all preparing for battle. Any quick assumptions were ruined when they all yelled out,
"Happy Birthday!"
Confetti and loud shouts showered the team who were very confused. Who's birthday was it?
"OH! HEY! GUYS! This isn't Boblob. It's the team that took a few of us out the past week!"
'Boblob? What kind of name is that?' thought Lucy.
The leader came forward and asked, "Do us a favor if you will, and hide with us. It's our friend Boblob's birthday today and we wanted to surprise him."
"You do realize who you're asking, right?" asked Gray. The man nodded.
"Yes, and we all know you are mages. Could you do fireworks too with your magic, maybe? We want this to surprise to be special."
Lucy looked at Erza uncertainly. What're they supposed to do in a situation like this?
"We accept to your requests only if you ALL agree to be taken to Hargeon jail afterwards." Erza said. The man bobbed his head quickly and led the team to their hiding spots. "Behind these pillars, please." They crowded around the little pillars available, and watched the leader speak.
"Alright, guys! Collect the confetti up. Mages, get that magic ready! Places, people!"
A man near the light switch flicked the lights off. After what seemed like hours to Natsu and Happy - it was really only three minutes - the door creaked open.
The leader started to whisper, "Three. Two. One."
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOBLOB!" Fireworks sparkled above the birthday man. Except it wasn't a man.
Lucy face planted when she saw how literal the birthday person's name was.
At the door was a comical purple blob of goo with long, slug-like eyes peering over it's body. Erza shivered slightly.
June 24th, X791 -
Lucy was jumping and down while clutching not only 500,000 jewels but also a new, silver key!
"Yatta! We did it without almost everything!" Lucy happily said goodbye to her team and merrily skipped home.
Once reaching the apartment, she knocked on the landlady's door and gave her the 70,000 jewels needed to pay for rent. The landlady accepted and watched Lucy's retreating figure disappear into her room.
For the past six days, the guild had been behaving weirdly. Or well, more weirdly than usual. That's what Lucy thought at least. You see, lately, Natsu has been taking Lucy out on so many missions she's barely had enough time make a contract with her new spirit. Yes, 6 days later! Not to mention the guild's been keeping secrets from her...
Flashback:
A few days after Team Natsu returned to the guild, Lucy went into the guild one morning just like any other day.
"Morning everyone!" said Lucy as she opened the guild doors and walked in. She didn't get a reply despite the fact that at least one person would always reply back.
'Hmm, this is weird. Did I miss something?' Lucy pondered to herself as she walked to the bar. Wanting to get this mystery solved, Lucy asked Mira for a strawberry milkshake but was ignored. Lucy frowned.
'I think I really did miss something. I'll go ask the team. Maybe they know if something is up.' Lucy looked around for a familiar salmon mop of hair or a flying blue cat. She finally spotted Natsu in a corner conversing with Levy. Lucy got out of her seat only to find Natsu and Levy making their way outside. Lucy was very suspicious and decided to listen in on their conversation by standing near the door, keeping it open just a crack to hear what they're saying.
"Levy?" Lucy heard Natsu question.
"Yea Natsu?" replied Levy.
"Did you ask Mira about the preparations?"
"Yes, she said she'll get them ready and that you need to talk to her. She has a special mission for you."
"Okay, I'll go talk to her right away."
"Lucy?" asked a voice.
Startled, Lucy jumped and somehow crashed into the speaker.
"Ah! Gomen! You shouldn't startle me like that!" Lucy exclaimed as she got up and held out a hand to help the person get up. Only it wasn't a person, it was Happy.
"Oh, hello Happy! I didn't see you there. Do you need anything?" Lucy was ecstatic that someone was interacting with her.
"No, not really. I just wanted to know what you were doing, standing by the doors and all."
"Oh, that." Lucy internally panicked. She didn't have a valid excuse so she said the first thing on her mind. "I was just about to go home. I haven't been feeling well."
"Oh." replied Happy. "I hope you get better then." Although it wasn't clear, Lucy could swear that she heard Happy say "especially before tomorrow" but he was gone before she could question him.
Lucy sighed. 'Is it Ignore Lucy Day or something...?' Lucy opened the door not wanting to disturb anyone and walked home.
No point in going back to the guild if there was no use. But no matter, Natsu still brought her on missions and the guild didn't say anything.
End of Flashback
Which brings us to the present on June 30th, X791. Lucy was sitting on her bed moping around. It was around 11 p.m. but Lucy couldn't sleep no matter how many sheep she counted, or the countless songs she hummed. Half an hour later, Lucy was finally nodded off.
=-=-=-=-=-=At the guild=-=-==-=-=
Guildmates were rushing around crazily, some carrying balloons and streamers, others carrying gifts and food.
"Hurry everyone! We have to get this ready before tomorrow morning and the following days after that! Birthdays at Fairy Tail last days!"
=-=-=-=-=The Next Day=-=-=-=-=-=
The morning sun was up and rained its golden rays upon Magnolia. Sadly, one of the bright rays hit Lucy's eyes and she awoke with discomfort. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Stretching her arms and arching her back, she looked at the calendar to see it was July 1st.
'My birthday, huh?' Before Lucy could step foot out of her bed, she saw her window was open and a cool, morning breeze wafted through. Lucy saw a wad of pink and automatically assumed it was Natsu. Quickly grabbing the nearest object she could get, which was a pillow, she brought it down and hopefully hit Natsu. This time however, Natsu was quick enough dodge.
Lucy was annoyed. She hoped she could spend this day alone, but Natsu came in and ruined her plans. Those thoughts were washed away however when Natsu looked at her worriedly.
"Luce! Happy's missing! I woke up this morning and I didn't find him in his bed. Everyone's at the guild right now making a search party to find him. Hurry Luce! We need all the help we can get! Meet you there!" as quick as he came in, Natsu was out in a flash.
Lucy stood there processing as much information as she could. "Happy's missing. Need help. Got it!" Lucy quickly dressed and did her morning routine. Grabbing her keys and whip, she strapped them onto her belt and ran quickly out of her apartment.
In only 60 seconds, she reached the guild doors and opened it with a bang.
Creepily, the door slammed behind her and she was left in a dark and empty guild.
Lucy breathed in and out slowly, keeping her panic level in check. Before she can turn around and try to open the door…
"SURPRISE!"
The lights came on and there was every single person in the guild dressed in attire worthy of a party. Lucy was beyond shocked as they brought out the cake and sang 'Happy Birthday.' She blew out the candles and made a wish. After the cake, she smiled a smile that surpassed Cheshire Cat's smile the moment it crossed onto her facial features. 'Ah, what a slight feeling of deja vu...' Lucy thought.
"Arigato minna! I thought for a second that I'll have to spend my 18th birthday alone, but I guess I thought for nothing!" Lucy was so happy. Not only did she have the surprise of her life, but she also got to spend this special day with her beloved Fairy Tail family.
That was all ruined however when a bright light cascaded upon the mages and disabled their vision.
Moments passed until the bright light retreated. The guild members looked around to see if everyone was alright. To their relief, no one was injured. But it wasn't until someone screamed out that their birthday girl was gone that they panicked. The only evidence that showed she was there, was the cake once in Lucy's hands just seconds before the light, was now splattered against the floor, it's decorations smudged and ruined.
A/N:
1: I always thought that was one way to knock someone out. Sorry if it's not true or possible. But for the sake of this story, let's say it works.
2: Could you guys go along with the idea that Lucy knew the two dragon slayers BEFORE GMG? A random coincidence, perhaps.
3: Taiyaki is a fish shaped cake thing that Japanese people eat. Search it up on Google since my explanation here is terrible and at the same time, thank Ikuto for having taiyaki as his favorite food.
4: I mean, I had to. Leave me alone. ;-;
5: Think about the Conqueror's Haki from One Piece. It's just like that but instead of getting knocked out, it just bruised Happy.
-Angel