Ruika, now in the form of Lucy, stood amongst the other members of Tartaros present, and the imprisoned Lucy, all having some sort of reaction to Ruika's transformation. "What's the look for?"
"You look...disgusting...to put it simply." Kiora replied.
"H-Hey!" Lucy squirmed while constricted by the tendrils, obviously offended by Kiora's comment.
"I'm interested to hear what you have planned by doing this..." Rugal said as he glanced from Ruika to Lucy a few times.
"Simple," Ruika replied while clearing her throat, attempting to get her voice identical to Lucy's. "I'm going to go to Fairy Tail, and when it's time to get rid of them, it'll be easy for me to do so. Everyone likes this girl for whatever reason, so this won't be too difficult."
"So, staking them out until Dait wants 'em gone, eh?" Maggie chuckled slightly. "Not a bad plan, but there's one...actually a few problems..."
"And that would be?" Ruika asked while turning to face Maggie.
"Well, for starters..." Maggie said while circling around the transformed Ruika. "Ya don't have the same scent as the lass in there. Secondly, I'm sure those wankers will find ya out because of magical energy difference."
"You leave Fairy Tail out of this!" Lucy shouted, still attempting to free herself.
Completely ignoring the real Lucy, the fake Lucy placed a hand under her chin, thinking for a few seconds before snapping her fingers. "Ah...I got it." Ruika pulled out a key, pointing it forward. "Gate of the Bat, I open thee. Batto!" Ruika's key gave a shine before a humanoid bat appeared in front of the celestial spirit mage.
"Huh..." The bat looked at the transformed Ruika, a slight condescending smirk appearing on his face. "Oh, get a makeover or something? You look a lot better than usual!"
"Okay you know what..." Ruika started, the bat's attitude getting under her skin.
"Don't be mean!" The innocent Sora shouted in defense of Ruika.
"Can I please eat her?" Mithril asked as he licked his lips, hi gaze fixed on the fear stricken Lucy.
"NO!" The others shouted.
"Kill joys..." Mithril sighed.
"I smell a virgin..." Arcturus said quietly as he strolled into the room.
"You can't eat her." Rugal replied.
"Arcy!" Sora cheered as the demon slayer placed the young girl on his shoulders.
"Anyway..." Ruika continued. "I'll just have Batto give the illusion my power is the same as Lucy's, and when we're done, she can watch her family get slaughtered and she can join them only minutes later."
"Sounds like a solid plan to me," Rugal nodded in agreement.
"Oi...!" Tobias shouted from afar. "We got...a visitor? She says she wants to speak with that...lady..."
"Oh? Who could this be...?" Maggie asked while raising a brow.
"I don't care," Ruika replied as she turned. "I'll be taking my leave now, but we'll keep in touch."
"Get back here!" Lucy shouted, rather desperately this time. "Give me back my spirits!"
Both annoyed and intrigued by Lucy's attitude, Maggie quickly spoke up before Ruika could leave. "We can at the very least torture her, right?"
"Knock yourself out," Ruika replied as she walked out.
.
.
Natsu immediately shot up, looking around after, a cold sweat on his forehead as he looked around. "...Just a nightmare." The dragon slayer told himself as he stood up, stretching. It had been a good week since Natsu left Fairy Tail on his training journey, aiming to get stronger so he and Fairy Tail could rise to the top once again. Where was the famous Salamander now? In the middle of a forest, where exactly, he didn't want people to know. "I know they'll be fine...I feel a little bad for just leaving Happy..." Natsu sighed, throwing a bag over his shoulder as he began to walk deeper into the forest, a map pulled out. "Past this forest...over the next mountain, and in the middle of the rocky cliff area is where it is..." Natsu spoke to himself as he read the map, rolling it up and placing it into his bag after, a smirk on his face. "Heh. Let's do this."
.
.
{Flash back}
The mighty Gildarts Clive had been away for quite some time; about a week or so before the Grand Magic Games began. He caught glimpses of the first day while traveling, though he didn't remember much since it was rather uneventful. Now staying in the town near a part of his SS class mission, he had time to watch the rest of the Games, as he had some time to kill. The events of Day two caught his attention, preferably Cynthia's amazing showcase of will power. "Heh..." The ace grinned slightly at the young girl, remembering their full out fight on the beach months ago when she first joined. "She's come a long way, that's for sure..." As he thought this, he took a sip of his beer. Nothing in day three caught his interest either, but the beginning of day four caused a riot from the Ace; especially when he saw his baby girl Cana go up with the Fairy Glitter tattoo. "THAT'S MY BABY GIRL!" The ace shouted as his overly protective father side began to show itself, his face lit with excitement as Cana blasted the arena with Fairy Glitter, his eyes sparkling in wonderment. However, something caught his eye while the blinding light filled the area; a magic circle appeared in front of the two Cosmic Star mages, protecting them from the great spell, which caused a glare to appear on Gildarts' face. "CHEATERS!" Gildarts yelled, slamming his fist onto the table...causing the table to shatter and half the building to collapse. "...Whoops."
{End Flashback}
Gildarts was now walking into a cavern, a sigh escaping his lips as he thought about what he saw; Fairy Tail landing in third place. However, he smirked slightly, knowing the placement would drive Fairy Tail to work even harder.
.
.
"Ugh..." Luke groaned slightly, stirring as he began to gain consciousness. He looked around, noticing he passed out on the floor of the main room; he wasn't the only one. A few of people had also passed out, but surprisingly, Jack was up, drinking as usual, though he had a partner this time; it was Bacchus. Deciding not to bother the two drinking buddies, Luke stood up slowly, looking around. "Ugh...what the hell happened..."
"Oh, you're awake." Zalen said as he handed Luke a broom. "Perfect; I needed someone to clean the attic after THAT HORRIBLE PARTY THE OTHER DAY."
"...I didn't do anything!" Luke shouted in defense, though he really didn't know what was happening, as he didn't remember. He then noticed Michio and Kairi using sponges to clean the marble floors.
"You people are savages...I swear, would it kill you to clean up after yourselves?!" Zalen shouted; the neat freak in the building mage showing.
"What even happened?!" Luke asked as he began cleaning. "And I vaguely remember something happening to Nami.
"She's hanging from the balcony by her underwear," Zalen replied.
And Zalen's words rung true, as the light mage was hanging from the balcony by her panties, which were dangerously close to ripping. "Hello...?" Nami asked quietly, hoping someone would assist her.
.
.
Bosco land amusement park; a lively place in Fiore's neighboring country. Twilight Zone went to the area as celebration for their performance in the games; renting a hotel just near the place. Though, it was nightfall now, and the members of the guild exhausted themselves after such a fun day. "Well...that was fun.." Rylo said with a slight grin as he and the rest of the guild ate in the hotel diner.
"It would've been better if someone didn't get into an argument with one of the people in charge..." Tsami said while cutting her eyes at Flynn.
"Okay, it's not my fault he got his measurements wrong!" Flynn replied in defense. "Sound is different than light!"
"You didn't have to rub it in his face though! All you talk about is speed..." Tsami just sighed, rolling her eyes after.
"Hey, come on now, guys," Rylo said while gesturing for the two to relax. "We still have a few days left here, so let's enjoy it, right?"
"Yeah, yeah..." Flynn sighed. "I'll try not to correct people when they're wrong."
"It's funny to watch though," Alexander said with a slight smirk, obviously amused at the incident. "His face was beat red from anger."
"I thought he was a tomato!" Melanie chimed in.
"...We're not taking the train on the way back are we?" Evanee asked for confirmation.
"We are Evanee...we are..." Rylo replied.
.
.
Day 1 of Rukia's infiltration. It was still pretty late into the night when she returned to Lucy's home, perfectly blending in with Magnolia's streets. She walked into Lucy's apartment, furrowing her brows. "This is where she lives? It's so small." She mumbled, taking a look around. Despite it being so small, there was this odd, cozy feeling within it as well. She couldn't describe it, but despite how small it was, it had a warmer atmosphere than Tartarus Castle. "Ugh...this place makes me sick."
"This is where you'll be living for the foreseeable future." Batto remarked. "If you aren't here, they'll get suspicious."
"Ugh, I know." Ruika walked around, taking a peak at Lucy's things. Her closet, her fridge, her bathroom... "Is this a dairy? Or a manuscript?" There were a few different hardcover issues scattered about Lucy's desk, so Ruika decided to make herself at home and look through them. The first thing she picked up was the manuscript. "Iris' Adventures? Boring." She tossed it aside, then opened up the diary. "Here we go..."
"Reading through other people's stuff?" Batto scoffed.
"Shut up." Ruika rolled her eyes.
"We lost the Grand Magic Games this year. It was a little frustrating considering we did everything we could. But I guess it wasn't enough this time. This year's competition was really tough. I wonder why Cosmic Star cheated. They were pretty strong as is. I don't think they're bad people ei-"
"Boring!" Ruika rolled her eyes, flipping through some earlier entries. "Hmmm. Oh...?"
"The Fiore's End incident is finally over. It was really scary. For a moment there, I didn't think we were able to save Cynthia. Tartarus was really strong, as well. That Ruika woman could've stolen my keys if Yukino and the others didn't show up."
"Heh." This made Ruika smirk. "So she's afraid of me. As she should be."
"If it weren't for Luke, I don't even know if I'd be here right now. He put his life on the line for me. Despite everything, it kind of reminded me why I..."
"Ew." She closed the diary. Ruika heard enough. "I think I'm slowly understanding the kind of person she is. A complete and utter sap. But if I want this to work out, I'll have to play the role. How annoying..."
.
.
Day 3 of Ruika's infiltration of Fairy Tail; the imposter Lucy walked to the front doors of the building, preforming a few vocal exercises to make sure her voice matched Lucy's perfect. After a few minutes, she walked inside, shivering after. "Ugh...the amount if happy energy around here is sickening..." Ruika thought to herself; as soon as Ruika walked in, she was noticed by almost everyone. This confirmed to Ruika that Lucy was a rather well liked guild member; information she could use in the long run. "Lucy" gave a wave to everyone inside, then found a seat.
"Hrn..." Bickslow gave Lucy the evil eye from across the guild while his babies floated around him, though no one really noticed aside from the Rajinshuu.
"Bickslow?" Freed asked while approaching his friend, a brow quirked in question. "Is everything alright?"
"I'm not sure, Freed..." Bickslow replied while turning his gaze to the rune mage. "Something about Lucy's soul is different..."
"Different?" Freed sat down, shrugging after. "Perhaps she's just missing Natsu?"
"I don't think it's that simple..." Bickslow replied. "It's like she's a different person...but I can't tell..."
"Are you sure?" Evergreen fanned herself. If Bickslow was saying something was wrong with a person's soul, they were likely to trust him.
"I know exactly how to find out." Bickslow said. 'Find out! Find out!' His dolls then circled around him in unison.
"That Seith mage is going to be an issue..." "Lucy" thought to herself.
.
.
The happy energy was too much for Ruika to bear. She turned to Lucy's house and let out a sigh. But when she made it to the door, she saw a note. "What is this?" She grabbed the note and read it. It was a reminder about rent. It was due soon, and since Lucy was busy at the Grand Magic Games, and then promptly kidnapped shortly after, she didn't have any chance to pay it.
"Pfft. She has to pay rent?" Batto commented from his invisible position.
"I'm not paying her rent!" Ruika huffed while stepping inside the apartment. "It's not even that expensive to live in this shabby room!"
"Quiet down!" One of Lucy's neighbors exclaimed.
"You quiet down!" Ruika huffed. She then saw at Lucy's couch and rubbed her temples. It was then that there was a knock on the door. Batto remained hidden and Ruika put on her best Lucy impression once again. "Hello?" At the door, it was Bickslow.
"Hey, Lucy!" Bickslow grinned. "Just droppin' in to see how you're holding up!"
"...That's nice, but I'm fine, Bickslow." Lucy replied while forcing a smile. "If I looked stressed, it's because I just got my rent notice."
"Kayahaha! You've been slackin' on the work, have you?" Bickslow couldn't help but laugh. "I guess with Natsu gone, you don't do much work, do you?"
"What?" Lucy blinked, lost for a moment. But she remembered that Natsu and Lucy were partners and it clicked. "Oh, I mean...I've just barely had time to work. I'll get right on, thanks for asking! I should get ready!" With that, Lucy quickly closed the door in his face.
"Huh." Bickslow shrugged and went back to the Magnolia street, where Freed and Evergreen were waiting for him.
"So?" Freed lifted a brow.
"She was in a rush, but I left a little guest in her room." Bickslow chuckled. One of the souls he keeps around him snuck into Lucy's house, and planted itself into one of the various objects around.
"Normally I would be against sneaking into someone's house like this, but it's for a good cause." Evergreen stated. "If this truly isn't Lucy like you say it is, then we have an imposter on our hands."