Hola friends!

The weekend is over and these six day work weeks are kicking my butt.. which strangely has resulted in me writing more, for the de-stress factor, I suppose? Who knew?

Anyway, banter and humor, action and drama, fun and citrus ahead. Best of all the things! Enjoy…

~Onward

45

-Recovery Day-

Strips of light had begun to fall across the bed as the sun announced the early dawn outside. Natsu rolled over and buried his face in the crook of Lucy's neck with a groan, attempting to ignore the brightening morning for a short while longer. For the second night in a row, they'd gotten back to the Honey Bone Inn far later then they should have, given the rigorous trials and battles they could expect of the day to come. Pressing himself up on an elbow, he peeked over the blonde's shoulder to check the time on the lacrima clock on the bedside table. It was still barely passed 5AM, giving them a few hours before they had to depart for Domas Flau to compete in Day 3. He dropped back onto his pillow lazily, and drew Lucy flush to his body, slinging one arm over her waist. She moaned slightly in her sleep, and he didn't give it much thought until she mumbled his name.

The breathless quality in her tone, he was very familiar with…

That tone immediately reminded him that neither of them had been able to finish during their last tumble in the sheets, thanks to Raven Tail's interference. Leave it to a dark guild to fuck up your sex life. Assholes. In every respect imaginable.

The corner of his lips pulled up into a deviant smile when her dream-muddled words continued, "Y-yes… Nat—su, please…" she begged unconsciously in wanton phrases.

"Don't ya worry, I gotcha Luce," he told her soundly sleeping form as he splayed his palm over toned stomach. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder affectionately as his hand slipped lower, bypassing the lace fabric of her panties. He ran his fingers roughly over her sex, finding the blonde bombshell to be thoroughly wet already. He smirked, "now just what are you dreaming, my naughty princess?" he whispered into her ear as he pressed her clit with the pad of his thumb.

She moaned louder and bucked her hips unconsciously, seeking out more pressure, more friction, even in her sleep. The desperate quality she kept chanting his name in was already wearing on his self-control… Dream Natsu was clearly seeing action… Yep, he was jealous of his dream self. He absent-mindedly pulled her hips back as he ground his growing erection into her bottom. Natsu cursed under his breath when she begged for more, unknowingly teasing him, while still in a deep slumber. He rolled to his back without breaking his contact in pleasuring her. Threading the arm, he'd previously been propping himself up with, down between their bodies to grasp his own straining arousal firmly. He choked out a moan of his own as he plunged his fingers into her and began pumping himself in time with the quickening strokes he ravished Lucy with.

"Ohh, Natsu…" he vaguely realized his name had sounded more purposeful that time, less sleep addled. Lucy's hand clamped tightly over his, pressing his hand more firmly against her sex. "Oh fuck… Natsu…" she said again, he couldn't see her as she was still on her side facing away from him, but he was sure she was awake now.

"Lucy…" he breathed. She shifted to her back, half lying on the arm he was pleasuring himself with, restricting his movements. He groaned in frustration, but then she was hovering over him, propped on her own elbow as he had been earlier, blonde hair hanging in a curtain around him. She looked down on him with parted lips and lustful brown eyes, and then crashed her lips into his in a passionate kiss. Her hand snaked down to take over working his now rock-hard member, leading him to press his head back into his pillow in relief to finally have her touch. With fingers still buried in her to the knuckles, he brought his free hand up to fist into her hair at the nape of her neck and pulled her into a demanding kiss.

She pulled away, chest heaving under the loose shirt she'd worn to bed when they'd returned too drained from the day to do anything but sleep. Apparently with just a few short hours of sleep, their libidos had come to other plans. With a wicked grin, Lucy pressed herself away from him. Taking the hint, Natsu withdrew his fingers from her center and urgently tore his boxers off as Lucy tossed her own undergarments over her shoulder. Without another wasted moment, she climbed back on top of the fire mage and his hands found her hips to guide her down on his cock. Lucy leaned forward, splaying her hands over the hard planes of muscle on Natsu's chest to brace herself and set a pace that could rival the Dragon Slayer's usual, right from the start. He exhaled a lustful sound, eyes rolling back as his hands ventured further to the swell of her ass, kneading the flesh as he met her thrusts.

Lucy's eyes squeezed shut as her lips parted in bliss. She leaned further over him to initiate another aggressive kiss as she ran her hand over her own breasts, rocking her hips against him vigorously. "Almost, t-there," she said with a gasp, dropping her forehead to his shoulder. Natsu flipped their positions without warning, earning a yelp of surprise from the beautiful blonde as she looked up at him with flushed cheeks and kiss-swollen lips. Flashing a sexy smile at her, he quickly guided one leg over his shoulder and pressed the other further open to gain a more advantageous angle. Then he gave a powerful thrust that had the headboard rapping against the wall and Lucy cried out at the new intensity, pleasure racking her body. With the new position allowing him to drive even deeper, it didn't take long for Lucy's inner walls to clamp down on him and she finally got the release robbed from her the previous night.

A satisfied grin adorned Natsu's face as her hands fisted in the sheets, trying to recover while he continued to pound into her relentlessly. "I'm not done with you yet, Luce…" he warned near her ear before running his tongue over the shell and dipping to bite and suck at the skin above her collarbone. Lucy cried out, her arms coming up to cling to his neck, further challenging her flexibility, as that familiar fire coiled low in her belly again.

Natsu worked a hand to where they were joined, massaging her clit roughly as he continued to suck at the skin around her throat. With a choked sound he jerked into her a couple more times before a curse fell from his lips, followed by her name as he came hard. She bit down on her own lip as he coaxed her over the edge with him again, just a moment later.

Natsu carefully eased her leg off his shoulder before collapsing half on top of her, one leg threaded between hers and his head coming to rest on her breasts. She carded her fingers through his damp pink locks, as she sucked in much needed air. "Well good morning Natsu," she said breathlessly. He laughed in response, one arm tightening around her waist as they simply remained entangled for a long moment.

Eventually, he pressed himself up, finally pulling his softened length out of her with a groan and headed for the shower. He poked his head back through the door a few seconds later, the heat from the shower already filtering into the room. Lucy gave him a coy smile, still lounging against the pillows as her eyes shamelessly raked over his body. His muscles stretched deliciously over his form when he leaned against the door frame, he looked hot, and the small smirk he cast her way told her he knew it.

"Coming?" Natsu asked with an expectant smile. The blonde giggled, disentangled herself from the sheets and sauntered toward him without a word.

After Breakfast

"We have to save Meredy, she's not a bad person, you know that right?"

Natsu glanced at his current companions as they headed for Domas Flau which rose in the distance, West of the city passed the homes and businesses of Crocus. Gray's arm was casted, but he'd been able to forego the sling today, he still sported layers of bandages and fading bruising around his eye. He wore a long coat open in the front exposing his torso, having stripped and misplaced his shirt sometime during breakfast. Jellal walked to Gray's right, remaining silent but observing the long-time friends with interest.

Natsu sighed, "We'll save her if we can Gray. If the power that's taken over her is anything like Jellal," he gestured to their probationary guildmate, "then my Purifying Flames should do the trick again…"

The other two men nodded. Gray's eyes were distant as they traversed the bustling streets, waving kindly as the odd fan cheered for them and wished Fairy Tail luck for Day 3.

"Jellal, do you remember anything from when you were taken over by Etherious?"

Jellal flinched noticeably, as Gray's attention shifted to him as well. His jaw worked soundlessly for a moment before tearing his eyes off his new guildmates, "No, not really. It was like—being trapped in my own body and having no control over its actions." Jellal sighed, looking passed the ice mage at Natsu again, "when I woke up, I knew in my bones I'd done horrible things… but I honestly don't remember what."

"But the control you gave up to Etherious, that was voluntary?"

Shame had the blue-haired man adverting his eyes to the ground as they walked. "Yeah. I was possessed long before I released the Etherious from those books though. Back when we were children… When we were slaves… Everything just felt so hopeless. I just wanted to feel like I had control of my own life. Some semblance of power..." he paused, jaw clenching. "I got the power I sought, but of course I lost myself in it."

"Yeah… that's what I thought," Natsu replied softly, "it is those deep negative emotions, that desperation that allows Etherious to take hold and corrupt."

Gray was watching him thoughtfully, and Natsu tried to ignore it. The ice mage had accepted the revelation of his demonic origins as the rest of his team had… but not without reservations. The news had strained the ease of their relationship a little, as though Gray were consistently weary that he could go berserk at any moment. His traumatic history with Zeref's Etherious obviously made it difficult for him to fully trust anything tied to Zeref. Honestly, Natsu couldn't blame him, he was still surprised Haru seemed to find it so easy to stand by him, given the same history. But Gray said nothing on the matter of Natsu's own Ethereal power, returning to Meredy's situation instead.

"Ultear really did a number on that girl…" he mumbled, before eyeing Jellal, "so did you."

"And I have enough guilt surrounding that without you piling on," Jellal droned, eyeing him sidelong.

Humming in thought, Natsu shrugged, "Honestly, I don't think Ultear is a bad person either, they both lost their way."

"What?! Natsu!" Gray barked incredulously, "you can't be serious!"

Choosing not to elaborate or explain, Natsu just grinned back, though he knew the smile didn't reach his eyes this time. He evaded the topic, "We have more important matters to discuss Ice Prick," he declared as he threw his arm around his friend's shoulders and leaned in conspiratorially. Gray raised an eyebrow, looking suspicious as Natsu's grin widened. "You and Juvia?" he said in amusement, "finally got the balls to—"

Gray flushed immediately, "Shut up the fuck up Fire Breath!" Gray snapped, attempting to cutting the fire mage's fun short.

"Ah come on Ice Princess, I'm just so proud!"

"Gods, Natsu… You know how Juvia is, she insisted on taking care of me—"

"—and playing nurse got too tempting to ignore any longer?" Natsu interrupted with a bark of laughter. Even Jellal was stifling laughter now, attempting to hide his mirth at the rivals' bickering.

Gray growled throwing his arms up in exacerbation, "Gods' damned dragon senses!" he cursed under his breath as he stomped away from them. Natsu shared a brief smirk with Jellal before the two quickened their pace to catch up with the embarrassed, irate man.

The trio parted ways once they'd reached the stadium, Gray still grumbling under his breath as he stalked up the stairs toward Fairy Tail's section in the stands. "Say hi to Juvia for me!" Natsu called teasingly and received a middle finger salute from his friend for the effort. Gray didn't even bother to turn and face him. Natsu chuckled and slapped a hand over Jellal's back as he pivoted to join his team, "catcha later Jelly."

"Later Pinky," Jellal retorted at the annoying nick name.

"Any plans of joining us before the Games are over Natsu?!" came Haru's drawl.

"On my way!"

"Well hurry up, would you? Today's event will be announced any second, and Erza is not happy!"

Laughter peeled out of him as he ran for the stairs, "Yeah, yeah!" he said dismissively.

After Pandemonium

"Natsu, rein it the fuck in man. You're going to shatter the barrier."

Natsu's attention snapped back, glowering at the Lightning Slayer, eyes flicking down to the webbing of cracks where the stone was breaking under the force of his grip. He retracted his hands, slightly startled at the damage he'd caused subconsciously. "I don't like it," Natsu bit out through clenched teeth.

"None of us do, Natsu," Mira replied empathetically, placing a hand on his shoulder, "but she'll be okay, and we'll keep a close eye on those cheating bastards."

Just one hour ago, their team and the whole guild had been exuberant having claimed a fifth straight victory. True to Erza nature, the redhead had recklessly challenged all one hundred monsters in the Pandemonium event and won. The resulting shock on every face in the stadium, outside Erza's closest comrades who had simply howled in laughter, had been perfect. Laxus had materialized on the colosseum ground in time to catch the swaying knight as soon as she was transported out of the magic construct. The blonde male had laughed uproariously as he settled her onto his back and Natsu had cheered wildly at the display of inhuman power along with their teammates, back on the balcony. Laxus had thrust her limp arm into the air to the ecstatic roar of the crowd as she smiled weakly, even as he carried her exhausted form off to see Porlyusica.

Also true to Erza nature, she had reappeared before the battle round had been announced, Laxus' arm wrapped around her waist in support to stabilize her clumsy movements. The team had wanted to switch Erza out to give her a break, and ensure she couldn't also be chosen for the battle, but Gray still wasn't cleared either and of course, Erza refused to let him go in with the concussion. "I'll be fine, I'm Erza after all!" she'd said with a dismissive laugh. Though they'd all been a little concerned regardless, deciding the worse that could happen would be if their injured comrade was called to fight.

She wasn't… but the next worse possible match up was called instead.

After multiple show downs between Fairy Tail and Raven Tail over the first few days catching the audiences' attentions, the fans inevitably called for the rival guilds to meet in battle.

And Lucy had been chosen to represent Fairy Tail.

Natsu dropped his elbows to the stone and fisted his hair in his hands as he watched the two competitors stride onto the field. He'd been worried about this; the chances of Lucy being matched was incredibly high. He and Haru couldn't be called because everyone knew (without the official announcement) that they'd be facing the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth on Day 4. Laxus had just fought the day before, so he was out too. That left the girls.

Natsu didn't want any of them facing Raven Tail with the dark guild's disregard for any shred of honour. But Lucy… Lucy was the host to the magic they sought, if she was forced to make use of any of the First's spells… he cursed under his breath.

"The last one-on-one match of the Grand Magic Games, are you feeling pumped?!" the emcee cried into the mic, voice reverberating around the stadium. The fans erupted into deafening cheers, whipping Guild flags and posters displaying their favourite mage's names about. "Without further ado, let's give it up for Fairy Tail's Lucy Heartfilia and Raven Tail's Meredy Milkovich!

"Milkovich…" Haru mumbled next to him, "she's still hung up on finding a woman who treats her like garbage."

"I don't care about that shit right now," Natsu growled, "everyone, keep a sharp lookout on Raven Tail."

With a resounding agreement, the Fairies turned their undivided attention to supporting their stellar mage.

. . .

Striding purposefully into the center of the battleground, Lucy watched the pink-haired woman approaching her. The ebony markings that had covered her skin the previous night still marred her pale skin now, so Lucy doubted it was a power she could randomly reach out to. That also meant, she'd been taken over some time in the last three days, since the opening events. Lucy knew her opponent's magic well enough… but Natsu had claimed her magic was gone, which meant she was at a distinct disadvantage. Meredy would know her abilities, but Lucy had no clue what sort of power the demonized version of her old acquaintance now wielded.

Lucy came to a stop a few meters away from the other woman, muscles tensed with anticipation of a tough fight, she would not let Fairy Tail down now. They were on a hot winning streak, and she refused to allow that streak to end with her. Her eyes flicked up to where Natsu stood tensely leaning over the balcony edge, the rest of her teammates all on their feet and watching intensely as well. Natsu had pleaded with her to forfeit the match, despite the repercussions it would have on their guild's rapidly climbing popularity… She knew it wasn't because he didn't think she wasn't a hundred percent capable of coming out victorious over Meredy in a fair fight.

But that was just it, it wasn't likely this would be a fair fight.

This was tangling with Etherious, and Ethereal power was no joke.

He didn't seem surprised when she adamantly declared that she would take another win for Fairy Tail, here and now. With a warring mix of pride and admiration, fear and anxiety, he'd claimed her lips in an aggressive but loving kiss that the lacrima visions zeroed in on quickly, pulling further excitement from the crowd. He had pulled away and told her be careful, told he loved her, whispering softly enough to ensure the lacrima speakers couldn't project the entirety of their private moment for all to behold.

Lucy took a few deep steadying breaths as Chipati and the other announcers pondered the match and worked the crowd into a further frenzy for one of the most anticipated match ups of the Games. Her fingers grazed over the warm metal of the keys strapped to her hip and as soon as the emcee commenced the match, she was rushing her opponent. Leo already summoned and the flowing black and gold-accented fabric of the lion's star dress flaring as the pair flanked the pink-haired woman.

Gathering the orange-gold magic at her fist, Lucy leapt, "Regulus impact!" they both shouted as they threw perfectly timed punches. Meredy dodged but Lucy simply dropped her outside foot, pivoted and spun a Regulus spin kick into the girl's ribs sending her sailing straight into Leo. The Zodiac leader attacked with a precise upper cut that threw her into the air and not giving the Raven any chance to recover, Lucy sprang into the air, "Star Reform: wings!" The golden lines of her wings formed at her back, and rolling midair, Lucy used the momentum to drive a brutal magic-enhanced hammer kick straight into the girl's gut. Meredy cried out at the strike and crashed into the ground with enough force to send up a ring of sand and dirt all around her.

"WOW! A powerful start from Fairy Tail's Lucy Heartfilia!" Chapati's voice echoed through the stadium.

"I don't think it's over," Yajima cut in.

Despite the surprised sounds from the onlookers at the Councilman's speculation, Lucy would have to agree with Yajima, this was far from over. She stayed low in a defensive stance; hands held forward with a golden aura around them. Meredy lay unmoving on bared stone, the impact hard enough to displace the thick layer of sand that covered the battleground. Lucy flicked her eyes up to Leo's, standing opposite her with their foe between them, and nodded.

Leo bent into his knees, and took off at a sprint, arcing around the downed mage-turned-demon. Gathering his magic to a point again, Leo leapt over the girl and aimed a punch straight downward. As Lucy predicted, Meredy was just biding the moment to recuperate a bit. The pinkette rolled back and drove both feet into Leo's ribs, launching the lion to the side as she rolled back and rose to her feet again.

"LEO!" Lucy yelled as she unfurled her whip, the spirit locked eyes with her and Lucy snapped the whip forward to wrap around his waist. Digging her heels in, Lucy gritted her teeth as the leather snapped tot and spun to change his trajectory, releasing him right back at Meredy again. "Open! Gate of the maiden: Virgo!"

"Here Princess, does someone need punishment?" the spirit asked, chains clinking as she turned slowly, examining the battle's status. Lucy called some instructions as Meredy slammed a purple hued palm into Leo's chest, "sensory reversal," she monotoned as the Zodiac staggered backwards looking confused.

Lucy whirled, Leo's name on her lips as she and Virgo circled the spar at a sprint. Virgo dived into the earth, tunneling under the Raven Tail mage in attempts to take her unaware. Lucy caught Leo's shoulders as he hinged forward, hands gripping his head and his eyes snapped up to hers, "what happened Leo?"

Without warning or explanation, Leo launched a sharp fist up into her ribs, doubling her over with a cry, "L-Leo?!" his stance widened, and he spun with a Regulus infused spin kick. "Shit!" Lucy cursed, throwing her hands down into the lion's leg, and used the leverage to vault herself into the air over his head. She landed behind him, sliding back on the balls of her feet, behind her, Virgo's cry pulled her attention. When her attention whipped in the maiden's direction the spirit was already darting toward her, an elbow cocked for strike.

'A corrupted version of Meredy's magic?' Lucy wondered, if Meredy was able to manipulate her friend's senses of who they would perceive as friend or foe… "Damnit," she bit out, "Force cl—" Lucy's eyes widened as she reached for the spirits keys and found nothing. Attention jolting down to check her hip, she found her keys gone.

"I guess you can't pull your little trick if you don't have their keys, huh?" Meredy said smugly, spinning the ring of gold and silver keys around an extended finger. Lucy stared back defiantly, jaw clenching at the suddenly power-skewed battle she found herself facing. She did not want to fight her Spirits, but she'd be damned if she gave up now and let her team down. There had to be a way to incapacitate them without harming them too much…

She didn't get a chance to consider it as Leo fired off a burst of Regulus power at her and as she dived out of the way, Virgo launched a downward kick that exploded the ground into a crater that sent rubble raining down around her. Lucy skipped agilely around chunks of stone and came to a conclusion, much as she despised what she had to do. With the slight shimmer of tears glossing her eyes, Lucy's body glowed and faded to reveal Aquarius' star dress.

. . .

"Yeah! That's our girl!" Mira shouted exuberantly as she leapt from her seat and knocked Haru forward when she landed on his back, pointing to the stadium. A massive torrent of water with golden light laced through it flooded a spectacular chunk of the stadium, crashing into Meredy and Lucy's spirits alike. Leo and Virgo vanished in respective showers of gold; the damage sustained forcing them back to the spirit realm.

Haru released an exacerbated sigh at his girlfriend's antics, steadying her on his back as he straightened again. He glanced over at Natsu who watched the continuing battle stone faced, a new series of cracks forming under his palms.

"Natsu?" Erza said softly, her hand finding his shoulder as they watched Lucy clash with Meredy one on one again. The fire mage shook his head, "that must have been devastating for her…" he mumbled. Haru watched the others turn curious looks on his partner, Natsu didn't look away from the fight, but it seemed apparent that he could sense their confusion. He sighed, "the Zodiac are Lucy's family, as much as we are. Just imagine how you'd feel if you were forced to injure any of us, enough to take us out of the battle…"

Haru felt Mira nodding against his shoulder as she eased herself back to her feet, and moved her arms to slip around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder as they all continued to watch in silence.

. . .

Lucy blocked a hit and slammed the heel of her boot into Meredy's sternum, driving the girl into the ground and stole her keys back from her opponent. She gripped the metal ring and leaned closer, "you'll pay, for forcing me to harm my friends…" she growled, still feeling the sting of unshed tears in her eyes. Red eyes sharpened as they focused on Lucy standing over her, and then an explosion of purple energy followed, launching Lucy back with a pained scream. She hit the field hard, kicking up clouds of sand as her body rolled to a stop multiple meters away, Lucy cringed as an electric sensation peeled through her nerves. Pushing her elbows under her, she looked forward and found the ebony markings expanding over more of Meredy's flesh, half her face now hidden behind a mask of black.

"What kind of magic is this?!" Chapti yelled into the mic as the pink-haired Raven vanished and reappeared behind Lucy, striking out hard with a brutal kick to her lumbar. Continuing to leap around Lucy with a multitude of hits, it was all the blonde could do to get forearms or knees up to absorb some of the onslaught. Meredy spun again and connected a nasty back kick right into Lucy's gut, arcing her body through the air to crash heavily again.

Groaning, Lucy's mind reeled to grasp the sudden spike of power in the demonized girl, she must have released Etherious, her body felt heavy as she pressed herself up through waves of pain. Vaguely Lucy noted the trio of emcees were still discussing the sudden turn in the battle and Meredy's odd magic, wildly searching for answers. Through the ringing in her head Lucy swore she heard an inhuman roar that sounded like her name over the noise of the crowd. "Nat-su…" she bit out, pushing herself back to her feet as she sucked in some much-needed air. She couldn't risk using any of her spirits in melee, lest she be forced to fight them again. With one more elongated exhale, Lucy glared back at her foe and charged back into the fight. Exchanging blow for blow, Lucy whipped up the waters around herself again, using the raging water to deal some damage until the other girl growled, leaping forward to catch Lucy's throat in a purple-auraed grip.

"Sensory lock!" Meredy stated coldly, as a dull cold spread through Lucy's head and then the stellar mage cried out in shock. Meredy gave a sadistic laugh and tossed Lucy to the side, the blonde stumbled and just managed to catch her balance, her vision blurring and fading. The blows renewed themselves, and without being able to see them coming, Lucy suddenly found herself helpless to the relentless attacks. She crossed her arms up in front of her face, hinged forward to try to protect her abdomen, trying desperately to calm her breathing enough to listen for the incoming strikes.

"The fight turns again, what happened to Lucy? She now appears to be helpless under Meredy's attacks!"

"I think she's been blinded; she doesn't seem to know where the attacks are coming from!"

"Is this fight over?!"

NO. Lucy thought passionately, it couldn't end here, she closed her eyes and tried to focus, but Meredy moved near silently, and her senses didn't come close to that of her draconic teammates.

"Just accept this, Fairy Tail will see its end, soon." Meredy stated emotionlessly as she struck her in the temple and landed another in the ribs seconds later.

"Never!" Lucy spat angrily. She waited for Meredy to inevitably land a kick and used the commotion of her body sailing to the ground with the resulting cloud of sand she knew it would kick up to summon another spirit in secret… With a quick command to stay hidden, she dragged herself back to her feet and began whipping up the waters of Aqua Metria to buy some time and defend herself from unseen attacks. Until finally, she felt a hand take and intertwine fingers with hers, letting her know that Gemini had finished the incantation, she released a breath in relief.

"With all 88 heavenly bodies… SHINE!" The warmth of the celestial magic exploded around her, golden light shimmering through her blinded vision. She heard Meredy gasp in what sounded to be fear somewhere close by. "URANO METRIA!" she cried with Gemini and waited for the tell-tale sounds of devastation as her spell would tear through the stadium grounds but nothing came and a weakness rippled through her instead.

"Lucy—it failed! I- I don't know what happened," her own voice sounded anxiously beside her, "I'm-I'm sorry." The warmth of her spirit's hand in her own disappeared, and Lucy collapsed to her knees, eyes wide in confusion though still blinded by Meredy's curse.

"STOP THE MATCH!" she could hear Natsu's furious roar, even over the deafening sounds of the crowd, the emcees were yelling frantically as well.

"That interference was not magic!" Yajima put in, "stop the match immediate—"

"NO!" Lucy screamed in equal fury, she fought back to her feet, "I'M NOT DONE YET!" she yelled the first part indiscriminately, then somehow she locked her unseeing gaze on Meredy, "you and your guild will regret making an enemy of Fairy Tail!"

Concentrating, Lucy reached out to the bond she protected.

"Lucy, are you sure… they'll know, it could be dangerous for you."

"I'm sure, help me protect my family!"

An iridescent glow exploded off Lucy in a column, and her vision slowly cleared as she knew the bright green colour that marked Mavis' power was flecking through her own brown irises. Staring down the suddenly fearful and stunned looking Meredy, Lucy threw one extended arm out in front of her and braced it at the elbow with the other. With Mavis' chanting echoing through her mind, Lucy parroted the words out loud as the power of the grand spell lashed out around her arm. Meredy's eyes blew wide when she realized what was happening, "it-it was you! You—" she cut herself off and rushed toward Lucy in desperation to stop the spell.

Lucy allowed a cocky smirk to pull at her lips, 'let's see you cancel THIS, Raven Tail!' she took aim at the demonic girl racing toward her as the power seething around her concentrated into a point at her hand. "Fairy glitter!"

. . .

"SHIT! Shit, shit, shit!" Natsu cursed, Mavis' spell obliterated a far-spanning chunk of the stadium, the magic barriers surrounding the stadium flashing in protest against the reverberations of the spell to protect the audience. Natsu planted a foot onto the stone barrier of their balcony and leapt into the air, vanishing in flames as soon as the smoke cleared to reveal Meredy face down and unconscious, her clothing shredded, and body already marred in deep bruising. Flames burst apart as Natsu landed on the field and ran toward Lucy who had dropped to her hands and knees, breathing hard and tears streaming down her face. His heart ached as he ran by her throwing his arms out as scales flaked over his skin. "Don't you dare take a step closer," he raged.

Haru and Laxus flanked him a second after, their elements flaring around them as the dragon slayers glared down the armoured Alexei who'd strode onto the field toward their stellar mage. The audience had fallen completely silent, stunned by yet another inexplicable show down between the rival guilds. Mira already had Lucy on her feet, the blonde's arm slung over her shoulders, and Erza was checking Meredy's condition.

"It was her all along." Alexei stated in a metallic, gravelly voice.

"I won't let you lay a finger on her," Natsu vowed, light flickering off crimson scales as flames danced over his fists and up along his arms.

Alexei turned, armour clinking as he walked away, "Not today, Fairy Tail…" he trailed off with a threatening chuckle, disappearing into the shadows of a corridor.

Natsu spun and quickly closed the distance to Lucy, his hand finding her face and pressing tears away with the pad of his thumb, "You won Luce…" he whispered.

"Natsu…" she whimpered, "help Meredy… please, I couldn't stand it if I—" she didn't voice her fear.

The fire mage's eyes softened at her plea and looked over at the downed girl, her body supported by their red-haired comrade. He approached the two women, golden flames already flickering off his form, Erza backed away after laying the unconscious Raven down. Natsu lifted her broken form carefully, "Fire Dragon's purifying flames," he said as he laid a palm over the center of her chest. The fire bathed them both, burning away the tangible sign of the curse power, revealing the pale skin beneath.

"What on Earthland is happening down there?!" Chapati yelled incredulously.

"I believe there may be things at play here that we aren't aware of…" Yamaji answered vaguely.

"Uh, right," Chapati said, "folks, we have some things to review in light of today's events… and the stadium has seen heavy damage. As such, we will see a full day intermission tomorrow, and resume Day 4 in two days' time!" The announcer slowly gained his usual enthusiasm back, working to ease the crowd's disquiet and it didn't take him long to rev up the excitement again.

Mato had approached Haru asking for an update, Hisui of course, had relayed the details of the meeting the night before. "We will send a report detailing all this shit, to Eclipse tonight," Haru assured, eyes flicking back over his team, "and we will get Meredy medical attention… See you later Tomie." The pumpkin mascot watched as Fairy Tail departed the stadium, their relief at the announcement of a full day off to recover, regroup and process, was notable. Natsu carried Lucy in his arms, and Haru carried the now Etherious-free Meredy toward their Guild's infirmary for both women to receive medical care.

"Will Meredy be okay…?" Lucy asked brokenly. It was obvious she was terrified her actions could result in irreparable damage, or worse.

Lucy sat in one bed, watching anxiously as the healing mages worked glowing hands over Meredy's unconscious form. Gray and Juvia sat in chairs nearby, and Mira sat on the chair next to Lucy's bed with Haru and Erza leaning against the wall behind her.

Natsu wrapped his arm tighter around the blonde's shoulders in a reassuring gesture from his spot sitting on the bed beside her. He turned to press his lips to her temple, and gave her a smile as she met his eyes, "Of course she will Luce, she's in the best hands possible…"

The team randomly spoke until finally Poryluscia unleashed her notoriously short temper on them, "will you all just GET OUT! We're trying to work, and you all are infuriating!"

"I'm not leaving." Natsu stated dryly and before he could react the grumpy healer whipped a vile of medicine at him, catching him square in the forehead. With a grunt of pain, he rounded on her, rubbing at the offended spot, "what the hell you old hag! I told you, I'm not leaving Lucy, so get over it!"

The elder blinked in slight surprise at his adamant declaration, before grumbling 'damn kids,' under her breath. "Fine! The rest of you, out, NOW!" The remaining group rose, wishing Lucy a quick recovery and retreated from the infirmary as Porlyusica went back to focusing on the task at hand, directing Wendy's magic to where she needed it.

Lucy watched them work in silence for a moment before releasing a long exhale, "I could have killed Meredy…" she choked out.

"And I could have killed Jellal all those years back…" Natsu responded bluntly. "That wasn't your aim, and it certainly wasn't mine back then either, but you can't hold back with Etherious… regardless of history. Meredy wasn't Meredy when you were fighting, and she wasn't hesitating to kill you, if she'd had the chance. Even if you hadn't stopped them from calling the match, I doubt Raven Tail would have complied anyway, they've said from Day 1 they have a complete disregard of the rules. They're here for one reason only…"

"And now they know I'm the holder…" Lucy finished when Natsu trailed off.

"Yeah…" he agreed, he turned her face toward him with a hand on her jaw, and flashed a toothy grin, "but I bet those jackasses think twice before messing with you after today!"

"Natsu…"

"Lucy, it'll be fine. I was serious when I said I wouldn't let them touch you."

Lucy let the subject slide, "I hurt Leo and Virgo—"

He cut her off, "They would never hold that against you. They'd be more upset if you'd sat back and let them keep attacking you!" he declared hotly. The blonde looked at him with wide eyes, a subtle smile pulled at her lips, and he added, "you did what you had to, today. You were amazing and I am so proud of you."

She pulled him into a kiss that had Wendy blushing and Porlyusica saying something sarcastic despite the affectionate smile on her face. When Lucy pulled away, he grinned again, "Forget the shit from today, let's think about what fun we can get up to tomorrow! A whole day off!"

"Yeah," she agreed with a grin of her own finally replacing some of the grief.

Day 3

50 – FT

48 – ST

32 – MH

27 – LS

13 – RT

7 – BP

4 – QS

After Day Three

The sun was hot above, not even the slightest breeze stirred the leaves of the tree Natsu lounged against. Lucy squinted up at the sky through parted fingers, she laid in the grass with her head resting on the fire mage's stomach as they waited for their friends. Lucy had been elated when Porlyusica released her yesterday evening, it had been the first good night's sleep she'd had in the last week. Meredy still hadn't woken from her ordeal, but she was out of the woods, much to the blonde's relief. The Guild was taking turns keeping watch over her. They couldn't be certain she'd have come to her senses when she woke, or that Raven Tail wouldn't try to get to her. Makarov and Laxus were there with her now, while they discussed the ongoing conflict. Fairy Tail had finally taken the lead over Sabertooth with Lucy's win the previous day, and tomorrow tag team battles would begin.

The battle for the coveted title of Fiore's indisputable top guild would be renewed and the competition would be as fierce as ever. But just for today, Fairy Tail and a majority of their friends from allied guilds called a truce and decided to meet up at the water park for some fun and to combat the stifling heat that had settled over Crocus.

"Hey! Sorry we're late!" Lucy shifted slightly, craning her neck to look in the direction of the voice, Mira jogged toward them, an arm extended overhead and waving enthusiastically. She slowed to a stop, standing over them with her hands clasped in front of her, Lucy dismissed her apology as she sat up and returned her smile.

Natsu looked passed her as Haru strolled up to join them. "What a role reversal, you two are never late when we meet up," he pointed out curiously.

Haru shrugged, but it was Mira that alluded to an explanation, "it's Haru's fault," she accused with a mischievous glint in her eye. The water mage flinched as his attention snapped to her with narrowed eyes. Mira smiled wider and twirled, showing off the bright blue sun dress she wore, it revealed most of her back and had an equally plunging neckline, "he likes my new dress…"

Bursting into laughter as Haru flushed at the insinuation and grumbled under his breath, Natsu asked him, "It's the colour, isn't it?"

"I'm not as simple as you, Natsu," Haru countered irritably.

"Your lateness says otherwise…"

"It wasn't—" Haru paused, eyes narrowing again as he glanced sidelong at a very smug Mira, "—just the dress," he settled on. "What my loving girlfriend conveniently left out, is that she is an unrelenting tease!"

Lucy rolled her eyes as the boys dissolved into a debate over their baser desires, and stood to loop her arm through Mira's. She strode away from the dragon slayers with the takeover mage in tow. When she realized the guys were still too busy with their banter to be following, she raised her voice, "I do like your new dress Mira, I happen to have a new red bikini myself…" she called loudly. She checked back, catching the flash in Natsu's eyes before he charged straight for her with a toothy grin. Lucy squealed as he tossed her over his shoulder and took off toward the water park leaving the other couple staring amusedly after them.

. . .

Lucy exited the change room to find Natsu in his black flame-accented swim trunks, already sneaking into the shallows behind the unsuspecting Gajeel and Levy. He dragged his hands through the water and shot them forward sending up a large wave. "Fire Dragon's raging tidal wave!" he yelled through laughter as the water splashed into the pair, their displeasured shouts followed immediately after being drenched.

"He calls that… a tidal wave?" Haru drawled indignantly as appeared beside her, dropping a hand on his hip as he watched the unfolding scene with her. Lucy chuckled at the water mage's reaction to the perceived mockery of his spells.

Gajeel rounded on the fire mage, throwing his hand up in fists in front of his chest, "You wanna go, Match-Stick?!" he barked angrily.

"Let's go!"

The Iron Slayer already had his arm morphed into its demon log state, tearing the extended limb through the water to stir up an even larger wave than Natsu's prior. Natsu cut through it with a fiery hand, and the split wave burst passed him to submerge Gray, throwing the ice mage back into a support pillar and out of Juvia's grasp. The bluenette spun with a manic look in her eyes, "How DARE you interrupt a moment with my darling Gray!" she yelled.

"Water Nebula!"

"Oh, for the love of—" Lucy droned, eyes widening at the quickly escalated fight. The now thrashing waters whipped through the shallows, sending the other patrons running.

At the same time Haru grumbled, "Fuck's sake…" and stalked off toward their guildmates, putting himself in the center of the battle he cut Juvia's attack in an instant, inhaling the remnants and stopped Gajeel's Hard Fist attack with a frozen palm. "How about we try not to destroy the park in our first ten minutes here?!"

"I don't take orders from you!" Gajeel snapped, still revved up for the fight, he ripped his hand from Haru's grip as Levy leapt onto his back trying to stop him from causing a scene in the public park. The iron mage ignored the short girl and swung an iron blade at Haru who stared back, unimpressed. He caught the blade with a magic infused hand and ice instantly coated the blade before encasing Gajeel and Levy who was still on his back, in a block of ice.

Levy screeched at the frigid sensation against her skin, "What the hell, Haru!"

Bursting into laughter, Natsu jabbed a finger toward the pair, "the tin can makes an even better popsicle then the popsicle!" he pointed.

"What was that?! Damn Flame Brain!" Gray shouted, having recovered from the earlier unexpected hit. He charged at the fire mage, tackling him into the water with a large splash. The two dissolved to blows again as Haru apologized to the script mage for catching her up in his spell and released the pair from the icy trap. Gajeel immediately threw himself back into the three-way battle with the other two men.

Haru tossed his arms up, "I give up," he said, rolling his eyes as he turned back to Lucy who had continued to watch, stifling giggles behind her hand. "Where's Mira anyway?" he asked her.

"With Yukino, we ran into her in the change room," Lucy replied.

The Water Slayer fixed her with one questioning brow, "That so?" It was a little surprising to hear, the light guilds had attempted to invite Sabertooth along, but the tigers had predictably rejected them. Brimming in condescension, they'd preached anything that doesn't build strength would be a waste of time, most of all, hanging out with the likes of them. Apparently, that didn't stop Yukino from slipping away for some non-strength building fun…

The brawl continued behind them, water exploding at random intervals under the attacks, sending any surrounding people running to put distance between themselves and the rambunctious mages. "They should be out any minute," the blonde told him, and as though summoned by her words the two white-haired women emerged a moment later to join them. Haru and the girls decided to ignore the ongoing spar and wander off to find somewhere more peaceful to hang out.

"Alright now you've done it! Fire Dragon's iron—" Natsu cut off abruptly, flames still licking around his fist when the foursome passed by. His head whipped in their direction, elbow still cocked for the punch before the flames encompassing his arm extinguished when he suddenly became aware of their presence. Trying to take advantage of the Fire Slayer's perceived distraction, Gray jumped at him with his own ice-enhanced punch. Natsu turned his attention back in the last second, catching the strike with a wild grin that had his rival flinching a bit. Then he pivoted and drove a talon attack into Gray's side, embers bursting off the impact point as the other man went sailing back to collide with Gajeel. Dropping his foot back to the shallow water, Natsu vanished in flames, reappearing behind the blonde to throw her over his shoulder for the second time that day.

Shouting her surprise as he wrapped one arm securely around her thighs and supported her with the other hand on her scantily clad bottom for good measure… With her torso draped over his back, Lucy kicked her legs uselessly and scolded him for shamelessly using the excuse to feel her up. He ignored her complaints and didn't remove the hand on her ass, instead he gave her a playful tap as he asked the others, "So what are we doing?"

"Gonna swim…"

"Tell me something I couldn't guess man…"

"And find some innertubes!" Mira chirped.

"And ride the slides!" Yukino added.

Natsu grinned as he set Lucy back on her feet, "sounds like fun!"

So the group did just that, they spent a good couple hours warring over the two innertubes they'd managed to get their hands on. Plunging each other into the water randomly to gain possession of one of the rings, playing to see who could keep possession of a ring the longest. Eventually, Natsu and Lucy swam off to join Erza, Sienna and Millianna who were chatting and knocking a large beach ball back and forth over a net in the shallows. Yukino lounged across the innertube she'd liberated from Natsu in a surprise attack that flipped the entire ring sending him flailing into the water. Mira had the other, and Haru had his forearms and chin resting lazily on the side of her ring as the three just enjoyed the chance to relax.

Yukino pressed herself up on her elbows looking over the other two. "I still want to ride the slides," she announced. With a widening smile, she abandoned her innertube, diving into the water and broke the surface right next to Haru, linking her arm through his. "Come with me Haru! Please?"

Mira glared at the back of the other white-haired girl's head as they all waded out of the water, Yukino grabbed the water mage's hand and pulled him toward the tangles of giant water slides. "Fine, fine! Yukino, geez. Stop pulling!" Haru growled as he gave up and let the celestial mage lead the way, he looked back, catching Mira's eyes when he noticed she hadn't moved to follow.

"Coming Mira?" he asked as he trailed after the Sabertooth mage.

Yukino looked back too, with a bright smile, "yeah Mira, come on! It'll be fun!"

"I'm good… Come find me for lunch after." Mira said in an extra sweet tone.

Haru nodded, watching her with a skeptical eye but waved regardless as they disappeared into the crowd towards the stairs. Pursing her lips as she let the sweet demeanor slip, Mira folded her arms under her bust just as Natsu ran by piggy-backing the blonde. Lucy was shrieking half in excitement and half in mock terror as she clung to the scarf tied in a knot around his head. Apparently catching sight of her on his peripheral, Natsu halted quickly, a mischievous grin peeling across his face as he looked her over. "Miiira," Natsu sang in a teasing tone that Mira was instantly unimpressed with, "is that jealousy I see?"

Lucy smacked him over the head for the flippant remark and Mira rounded on him with flashing eyes, barking an immediate denial. The fire mage cocked his head in curiosity as he gave her a more appraising look, "Oh shit. You are jealous!" She blushed heavily at the definitive statement and glared back at him. "Geez Mira, don't be ridiculous," Natsu scoffed, "you know Haru's gotten no shortage of attention over the years… He's only ever had eyes for you. Now that he finally has you, I doubt he'll ever let you go."

"And seriously Mira, you're the damn She Devil! Just go take back what's yours if it bugs you!" Lucy laughed, "we've seen you do that before you two were ever official!" Mira gained a thoughtful look at the blonde's words before spinning and taking off in the direction of the two Eclipse members.

. . .

Watching them go, Lucy leaned further over Natsu's shoulder to peek a glance at him, "I wouldn't say it in front of Mira, but it does seem like Yukino has a thing for him…"

"You always were good at reading people, Luce!" he alluded, "but Yukino would never put Haru in that position, she knows he loves Mira."

Without addressing her confirmed suspicions, Lucy added, "and Hisui—"

Natsu quickly put her back on her feet and fixed her with raised eyebrows and obvious amusement, "Gonna stop you right there," he laughed as he snagged her hand and pulled her toward the slides. "I've never been able to ride the slides without motion sickness… Let's go!"

Dissolving into giggles as she ran behind the pink-haired man until they came to a stop in the lineup for the largest slide, Lucy settled back on her previous subject. "So Yukino really does like Haru huh?"

"She kissed him once— in front of the whole team!" Natsu admitted with a lopsided smile, "shoulda seen the look on his face," he screwed his expression into an exaggeration of shock as he laughed, "Priceless!"

"What?!" Lucy yelped.

"She didn't know about Mira at the time… and I guess, Mira and Haru weren't technically official yet either."

"Close enough…" Lucy grumbled.

"Hey, you should know Haru better than that!" Natsu defended with a snap of irritation for his best friend, "he let her down gently and told her all about Mira. He was a lot more open with our team after that, and he and Yukino still became really close friends."

"She's in love with him though."

"You think so?"

Lucy nodded, she felt kind of bad for her fellow celestial spirit mage, it couldn't be easy being in love with someone who was in love with someone else. Natsu watched her consideringly for a moment, "Yukino used to join us on the occasional scouting mission in the beginning," he started, crossing his arms over his chest. "The last went really bad… unexpected Etherious bad. Haru saved her life, she still almost died." Lucy swallowed thickly, every time she thought she knew all the shit the guys went through, she learned something new. She stayed silent, just watching him, he shrugged under her attention, "let's not talk about downer shit today," he decided suddenly with a renewed grin.

So instead of keeping on the present topic, she fixed Natsu with a coy look, "Any girls try to lock lips with my dragon while I was away?"

Climbing a few more steps as the line inched forward, he looked down at her with a coy smile of his own, "What do you think?" he asked. Gasping, she smacked him playfully, as she reached up to loop her arm around his neck, forcing him to hinge to eye level with her. "I think you're mine, regardless," she declared before claiming his lips in a kiss that had the people in the line adverting their eyes.

"Damn," Natsu breathed, "you've certainly gotten more possessive since Tenrou. Almost as bad as me…" he said with a smirk, leaning in to whisper in her ear, "I like it."

Heat flew through Lucy's cheeks, eyes widening at his tone, she chewed on her lip as they climbed higher still. "Hey, look," Natsu said, pointing passed her, the blonde turned to look down below. Following his finger, she caught sight of Mira guiding a flushed Haru through the throngs of people, the She Devil looking like she was on a mission. Natsu chuckled as he leaned back into the railing behind him, "speaking of possessive… guess she took back what's hers."

They reached the top and Natsu bounded forward to the lip of the slide, dropping to sit with his legs parted and pulled Lucy down between them. He wrapped his arms around her middle as she giggled and gripped his forearms like a seatbelt, nervously eyeing the steep drop just ahead. "Here we go!" Natsu announced, firing off a burst of fire to send them rocketing down the slide at even greater speeds. Lucy screamed at him for increasing the fear-factor of the fastest slide in the park, wrenching her torso around to wrap her arms around him in a death grip as they hit the first near-vertical drop. "NATSUUUU! You idiot!" His laughter broke into cheers as he threw one arm up into the air, keeping the other around her tightly. The slide tossed them around in splashes of water, whipping them through tunnels that spun them around and dropping them over steep declines every time Lucy thought they'd survived the last one. Before she knew it, the slid ended, meters above the water to release them in a free-fall that plunged them into the deep end of the pool. Breaking to the surface with a gasp, she splashed Natsu in the face as soon as he came up in for air in front of her. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Really Luce, you can't?" he asked sarcastically. It was of course, the exact sort of thing he was well known for. He chuckled at the scowl on her face as he pulled her out of the way for the next patrons, "come on, lunch on me, let's see if we can find the others."

It didn't take long for them to locate their friends, the mages had taken over most of the food court, talking loudly as they mingled. Natsu spied Yukino laughing jovially with Millianna and Jenny as Erza screamed and slammed her fist into Ichiya's face when he suddenly popped up and started sniffing her hair… The redhead continued to shutter noticeably even as Ichiya lay face down behind her, twitching. Then the Trimens moved in around the girls in the next moment and Lucy giggled watching them fend off their flirtatious advances. Lucy smiled brightly, reaching up to peck Natsu on the cheek before skipping off to the table to join the girls as Natsu scanned the rest of the court. Gray sat with Lyon at another table with Juvia and Sherry hanging off them. Apparently, finally getting Gray into bed did nothing to lessen the bluenette's clinging. Cana was wrapped up in a drinking contest with the entirety of Quatro Cerberus, and along with Bacchus, was predictably drinking the men under the table.

Natsu gave his signature smile as he looked over the energetic group, it was nice to see everyone letting the Games take a back seat to just have fun. He took his food over to join his fellow dragon slayers and the trio of exceeds, and sat down beside Sienna, across from Wendy and Gajeel who was drilling the Earth Slayer with various questions… Apparently the fact that they all used to be childhood friends, despite not remembering any of it, intrigued Gajeel enough to abandon his usual disinterest. Natsu listened to the conversation until a hand slapped over his shoulder and he looked up to find the stoic Wizard Saint looking down at him.

Standing to catch Jura's hand in a firm shake, Natsu said, "Yo man! It's been awhile! Didn't expect to see you here!"

"All of Lamia Scale came… Even the old hag is here." Natsu cringed along with the towering man at the visual of the Lamia guild master in swim wear. "So, you and Lucy! How long's that been going on?"

"Yeah! That kiss wasn't your usual 'good luck' between teammates!" Toby barked, butting into the conversation as he leapt forward to sit on the other side of his guildmate. Jura rolled his eyes at his comrade's astute observation, but kept his focus on Natsu.

Sienna elbowed him in the side as the conversation caught the other dragon slayers' attentions. "He's right ya know, that kiss was pretty heated for public Natsu," she teased.

With a large grin Natsu shrugged, "We've been together since Magnolia's Harvest Festival," he answered, ignoring Sienna's mocking.

"You're joking. How'd you keep that news out of the tabloids?" Jura asked incredulously.

"We were having fun keeping it secret in the beginning, truth didn't even come out to the Guild until Tenrou…and you all know what happened there."

"Still, all you Fairies have been in every publication throughout Fiore and beyond, since your return."

"Well, it's certainly out now!" Sienna broke in with a chirp.

"Aye sir! They loooooove each other!" Happy rolled.

Then Bacchus and Cana strode up to the table, swaying under their inebriation, each with an arm wrapped around the other's shoulders. "Ironic Sorcerers' just named you Twin Dragons some of Fiore's most eligible bachelors, some hearts just got broke," Bacchus burst out loudly, joining his laughter to Cana's.

Natsu chuckled as he vaguely registered Gajeel complaining, "Salamander's not so great!"

He didn't deign a response. Eyes trailing over the food court, Natsu glimpsed Haru and Mira weaving through the crowds with trays of food of their own now. He smirked, catching the takeover mage's subtle limp… and briefly decided he'd need to get the intel on where they'd snuck off to so he could entice the blonde— Forcing himself from that line of thought for now, his eyes flicked back to his companions. "Haru's not eligible either."

"What? Who?" Bacchus barked, as Jura hummed in thought. The unexpecting Water Slayer approached the table with Mira in tow, having no idea what he was walking into as they sat down to Wendy's right. "WAIT—" the group all looked toward the Quatro Cerberus mage with varying looks ranging from amusement to surprise at his outburst. The man launched to his feet and nearly stumbled over, pointing rapidly between the two, "MIRAJANE?!"

Haru stared blankly at Bacchus, as did Mira, Natsu watched as the water mage's gaze swept over the table trying to put the missing pieces together before settling on him. Natsu knew he was doing a terrible job of masking his amusement. Click. Blue eyes sparked in recognition. "Natsu. You smug bastard. Watch your back."

A/N. Well, that was a fun chapter to write. Next chapter will be 90% action between the water battle and the awaited Twin Dragon show down.

I didn't detail out Pandemonium because this chapter was long enough as is, and I didn't have anything to change. So we all know how that plays out, Erza kicks ass, nothing new there!

Shout outs to Lucy's demon, SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta, AliceCullen3, FireShifter, Joker D. Zero, Valerioux, EternalFlame and guests for taking the time to share your thoughts, predictions, and comments. Much love!

'Till next time,

R&R

~LokaMuse