Why, hello there, everybody! The 3rd Dragneel, coming to ya with a new chapter of War Beyond Worlds!
I know it's been a while since we had a chapter, but I honestly lost my will to write for a while, especially in June. Which is horrible, though understandable given how many hours I was given at work. But I am back, so I am going to try and pump out 2 to 3 chapters a month before the end of 2023.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts… TRANSFORMERS IS BACK! I had some issues with it, but overall, it was a good 8 out of 10 movie. Hopefully, we get more good movies from this reboot universe.
Enough about my Transformer rant. TO THE REVIEWS!
Messiah of authors: No, I completely understand how you feel. That's why I want Lucy to learn how to fight without her Spirits, especially from someone as skilled and strong as Oliver freaking Queen! And believe me, she'll get some good moments in the story.
Cybarhack99: Unfortunately, yes. Which means you gotta watch out for anyone who might be acting suss.
DB-20: Ryuko won't be the only one who will get pissed. I'm pretty sure EVERYONE will hate Nui.
TheEmeraldMage: I'm glad you loved the chapter, my friend. Hopefully this next one will have you busting your gut with laughter.
Guest: The first original arc won't happen for a while.
CRUDEN: Now you've got me curious. Message me about your idea.
To recap: Things on Galuna Island were reaching a boiling point as the Fairy Tail wizards fought against Lyon and his forces. Gray attempted to take himself and Lyon down with Iced Shell, only for Natsu to stop him and remind him that he has people looking out for him. Moved by this, Gray convinced Natsu and Ryuko to stop Deliora while he dealt with Lyon. Despite their best efforts with Oliver and Maki, the wizards were unable to stop Deliora from breaking free. However, the demon soon shattered as all of its life force had been drained away due to Ur's magic, freeing Gray and Lyon from the torment Deliora had brought to them. Surprisingly, despite Deliora being dead, the moon was still purple and the villagers were still demons. Erza came up with a plan to hand Ryuko destroy the moon, much to everyone's shock. Yet before she struck the moon, Ryuko crashed into a barrier, which seemed to have surrounded the island. It was revealed that a magic barrier was created to keep the villagers from investigating the temple. Soon, both Fairy Tail and the members of Lamia Scale celebrated their victory, unaware that Ultear was watching them.
What adventure will our heroes face this time? Time to find out…
'Magnolia, one day later'
Morning began to rise above the town of Magnolia, with the birds chirping and its citizens going about their day.
However, there was one particular person who was getting up, despite how early it was.
Lucy Heartfilia was excited.
And no, it was not because she finally paid her rent or there was a new line of clothes she wanted to try on.
It was because today was the day she would start her combat training with Oliver freaking Queen. The Green Arrow who had defended an entire city for years, even going so far as to fight magic beings and aliens!
Needless to say, Lucy felt she found the best man to teach her how to fight.
'Don't make too much noise.' Lucy reminded herself as she quietly opened the door and exited her apartment, making sure not to wake up Maki. Once she was out in the hall, Lucy sighed in relief before she ran down the stairs(and she didn't even run into the landlady, much to her hidden joy). Soon, Lucy was able to exit her apartment building, where a certain person was waiting for her.
"You woke up early. That's good." Oliver commented as he looked at Lucy with a small smile, hands behind his back. He was dressed in a green jacket, gray sweatpants and sneakers, the perfect attire for a workout.
"Honestly, I was kinda scared I'd oversleep." Lucy admitted with a nervous laugh before she smiled brightly. "But I'm here and I'm ready to train!" To emphasize her point, Lucy showed off her new clothes: a blue sports bra with tight matching colored pants and white shoes. She also had her hair tied in a ponytail since that was what Maki recommended.
Oliver took a moment to scan Lucy's clothes before he nodded. "Alright. First, we're going to run to our training grounds." Oliver informed Lucy, who blinked a bit.
"We're not heading to the Guild to train?" Lucy couldn't help but ask, getting a head shake from her trainer.
"It's better to do it without distractions." Oliver answered like it was the simplest thing in the world. "Let's go." With that, Oliver began to jog towards the outskirts of Magnolia, with Lucy quickly following suit. He made sure not to run too fast so as to not lose sight of his new student. Looking back, Oliver frowned as he saw Lucy was already beginning to pant a bit, though it seemed like she was trying to push herself to keep up with him. It took a solid twenty five minutes to finally get out of Magnolia and into the forest, reaching a rather spacious opening.
The perfect place for some training.
"Alright. We're here." Oliver said as he and Lucy stopped, allowing the latter to catch her breath. "Every morning, we'll jog here for training."
"But… what… about… breakfast?" Lucy asked between pants. She wasn't THAT out of shape, but the jog through the forest did take her breath away.
"Later. We'll train for about two to three hours, though just for today, we'll only do two." Oliver reassured her, much to Lucy's slight relief. "Let's do some stretches. Need to warm up the muscles"
For the next few minutes, Oliver and Lucy began doing simple stretches: lunges, some toe touches, squats, etc. Soon, the two felt their muscles were warmed up enough to start their training.
Walking up to Lucy, Oliver opened a hand. "Punch me."
"What?" Lucy looked at Oliver with a surprised expression.
"Punch me. I need to see how strong you are." Oliver gave her a serious expression. "So, punch my hand. As hard as you can."
Although she felt a bit nervous about hurting her friend, Lucy could tell from Oliver's eyes that he was serious about this. Taking a deep breath, Lucy got close to Oliver and lifted her fists up in a boxer-like stance. Giving him an apologetic look, Lucy pulled her right hand back before throwing a punch, connecting with Oliver's hand. Oliver didn't even flinch as he looked at Lucy.
"Harder."
Surprised by his reaction, Lucy punched his hand once again, putting a bit more force into it.
"Harder."
Lucy punched even harder.
"Harder."
"I'm punching as hard as I can." Lucy shot back with an annoyed look as she punched Oliver, though this time, he felt something. Of course, he was used to pain, so the slight sting on his hand didn't really hurt. But at least he was able to finally gauge Lucy's strength. "Why don't you show ME how to pun-"
*Whoosh*
Lucy yelped as Oliver quickly threw a fast at her, stopping just a few inches from her face. "That's how you throw a punch." Oliver told her with a look of amusement as he lowered his stance. "You've never had any real combat training, have you?"
"Well… not really. I mean I always had my Spirits to help me fight. But I can throw a mean kick." Lucy tried to sound confident, though the look Oliver was giving her made the Celestial Wizard chuckle nervously. "But… I guess that isn't good."
"No. I understand. Though, if you were in my world, it'd be a different story." Oliver jokingly remarked with a small smile before changing the subject. "Next, we'll work on your reflexes." Opening his hands, Oliver concentrated his magic before a green light appeared on them.
Appearing in his hands were sets of training sticks.
"Ummm… sticks?" Lucy couldn't help but ask in confusion, wondering why Oliver summoned them.
"Like I said, we're going to work on your reflexes." Oliver handed Lucy a pair of sticks. "These sticks are what I use to train back in Star City." Curious, Lucy looked at the sticks as Oliver split the pair he had, one stick in each hand. "Make sure to hold both of them." Following his lead, Lucy copied his stance. "Next, block my strikes." Oliver slowly swung his stick towards Lucy, who quickly blocked it. Giving her a small nod, Oliver swung his other stick, which Lucy countered as well. Soon, the two began striking their sticks at a rather even pace.
'Huh. This isn't as bad as I thought.' Lucy thought with a smile as she was getting used to their train-
*Whack*
"OWWW!" Lucy yelped as Oliver broke the rhythm and struck her left hand, causing her to drop one of her sticks. She rubbed her hand while giving Oliver a glare. "What was that for?!"
"You didn't react in time." Oliver simply pointed out before pointing to Lucy's fallen stick. "We're doing it again."
"Can't you at least hold back a little?" Lucy begged, only for Oliver to give her a look. Gulping nervously, Lucy reluctantly picked up her stick and got in a stance. Like before, she and Oliver began to strike each other's sticks in a rhythm. 'Okay… pay attention. He might try hitting me again.'
Oliver noticed the look in her eyes before he moved to strike Lucy on the left. She reacted out of instinct and prepared to block…
*Whack*
"OWWW!" Only for Oliver to hit her on her right leg, causing her to fall on the ground. "Seriously, can you NOT hit me so hard?!"
"Lucy, I didn't become the person I am today by holding back. Believe me, if Slade, or Talia, or any of my old teachers were here, they'd push you to the point you wouldn't be able to move." Oliver scolded Lucy with a very serious tone. Sure, he could try and hold back a little since this was day one, but if he did, Lucy wouldn't be able to learn.
Seeing as she was rubbing her wound with a sad frown, Oliver let out a small sigh and kneeled down. "Look, I'm sorry. I just want to make sure you can protect yourself in case any of us or even your Spirits are away. After all, that's why you asked me."
"I know… I just didn't think it would hurt so much." Lucy confessed with a hint of guilt in her voice. "But seeing you, Natsu, Erza and everyone else give it their all… I just felt so left out. And everything with Sherry back on Galuna made me realize how much I depend on my Spirits." Lucy's free hand gripped the grass under her in frustration before she lifted her head, giving Oliver a determined glare. "But I won't complain anymore. Show me how to fight, Oliver. Don't hold back."
A satisfied smile grew on Oliver's face, respecting Lucy's newfound fire. 'I just hope she can handle it.' He thought before offering Lucy a hand, which she took to stand back up. "Alright. We'll do it again."
"For how long?" Lucy had to ask, wanting to know what else was in store.
"Well, considering it's still six… we should be able to finish by ten to have breakfast at the Guild." Oliver answered, causing Lucy's eyes to widen in shock as she gulped.
It seemed like Lucy was gonna be sore for a while.
'Fairy Tail Guildhall, a few hours later'
"Do you think Gramps will let us off the hook?"
"How would I know?! You saw how angry Erza was!"
"I just wanna make sure I can walk after IT!"
"Aye…"
Yusei couldn't help but sweatdrop as he looked over his shoulder, seeing Natsu and Happy fall behind with a dark cloud over them. It was clear that they were beyond terrified of their punishment that Makarov was going to give me after the stunt they pulled on Galuna Island. As soon as they returned the other day (with Lucy still happy with her newest key), Erza forced the group back to the Guildhall, where Makarov promised to give them IT.
'But what is IT? Natsu wouldn't say.' Yusei thought as he tried to theorize what Makarov had up his sleeve.
"Perhaps it is something traumatic that he would not like to share." Stardust chimed in before continuing. "Still, you should try and comfort him. If only a little."
"Natsu." Yusei finally spoke up, catching Natsu and Happy's attention. "Look, if it makes you feel better, I can try and talk to Makarov into going easy on you. After all, you did help save the village."
"Wait, really?" Natsu asked with a hopeful tone. If there was a chance he and Happy could avoid anying scarring, then Natsu would be on board!
"I'm not saying what you didn't wasn't dangerous. You shouldn't have taken that job." Yusei scolded the duo with a serious tone, making them frown. "But… you did help save Galuna in the end. Makarov can at least understand that."
"YUSEI! YOU'RE A REAL PAL!" Natsu cried out before hugging Yusei with anime tears running down his cheeks.
"AYE!" Happy added on while hugging the Head Signer's head. Yusei and Stardust sweatdropped as the former tried his best to walk forward. But due to the weight of his two friends, it was virtually impossible.
Not to mention the VERY odd looks the citizens of Magnolia were giving the trio.
"I said I'd TRY. There's no guarantee that Makarov will…" Yusei couldn't finish as he saw Natsu and Happy continue to hug him. 'Well… I guess there's nothing wrong with letting them hope.'
"Okay, what the hell's going on?" Fortunately for Yusei, his little dilemma ended as he, Natsu and Happy turned around, only to see Maki Oze and Ryuko Matoi standing there, both giving them odd looks.
What was different was the fact Ryuko had a black Fairy Tail guild mark on the right side of her stomach.
"Maki! Ryuko! Hey guys." Natsu greeted casually as he and Happy separated from Yusei, much to his hidden relief.
"So, what was all that about?" Ryuko asked with a raised brow. The way Natsu and Happy were clinging onto Yusei reminded her of Mako's hugs.
"Good news! Yusei's gonna tell Gramps to not give us IT!" Natsu cheered with an excited tone.
"I never said I would stop him." Yusei tried to explain, though Natsu didn't seem to listen.
"Well… that's good." Maki told Natsu with a smile, though she was sweatdropping at how childish he was being. "Anyways, are you heading to the Guild?"
"Aye! We wanna try to get a new quest!" Happy chimed in with a paw raised before he looked at Ryuko. "How was Oliver's apartment, Ryuko?"
"It wasn't bad. He didn't have much in there, so it wasn't cramped." Ryuko confessed honestly. "Plus, the couch was pretty damn comfy."
"It was a lot cleaner than Mako's home. Though, I will miss her mother's ironing." Senketsu admitted with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"You can always come with us on jobs if you want. There's plenty of requests at the Guild." Yusei reminded Ryuko, wanting to help her as much as he can.
"Actually, I was going to see if I can bring Lucy on a job, but she left early." Maki said out loud with a small frown. "She didn't say where she was going."
"Oliver was out pretty early too." Ryuko rubbed her chin as the ground began to think about where their friends went off to.
"Ryuko, Maki, Yusei. It isn't any of our business. We should allow them to do what they want." Senketsu reminded the Champions like an older father.
"Good point, Senketsu. Let's head to the Guild." Yusei urged everyone as they began to walk towards the Guildhall.
"Man, I wish I could hear what Senketsu's saying." Natsu whined as he looked at Ryuko's clothes. However, to anyone else, it looked like Natsu was staring at Ryuko's chest.
"Dude, can you look up? Stop staring at Senketsu." Ryuko demanded while shooting Natsu a glare. Natsu just gave her a confused look before moving behind Yusei out of fear, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Ryuko's Scissor Blades.
Soon, the group arrived at the Guildhall, where the members of Fairy Tail were going about their usual routine.
"Good morning, everyone!" Mirajane greeted them as the group made it to the bar, her attention moving towards the newest member of Fairy Tail. "Hello, Ryuko. How are you?"
"I'm fine. Thanks." Ryuko greeted her with a small smile, appreciating how nice Mirajane was, despite meeting her the other day.
"Mira, is Makarov around? I wanted to talk to him." Yusei asked the white haired barmaid politely.
"Unfortunately, he left last night for a council meeting." Mirajane informed them with a small frown. "I'm not sure when he'll be back."
"PHEW! That was close!" Natsu called out with a relieved sigh. He was worried that Yusei might not be able to convince Makarov, but since he was away, they had time.
"Sheesh. Is it really that bad?" Ryuko questioned with a sweatdrop. 'The old man better not pull off any weird shit like Gamagori did in Honoji.'
"Honestly, I don't even know." Maki shrugged, though inwardly, she was glad. If Makarov's punishments were like Lieutenant Hinawa's, then she and the others would probably not be able to walk away for a while.
"Don't be too happy." Natsu, Happy and Maki jumped as they turned to see Erza and Gray walk over to the bar, the former having a serious glare. "You still broke a rule, so you WILL be punished." This caused Natsu and Happy to hug each other in fear while Gray gulped a bit and Maki felt her hand shake.
"Erza, I think we should let Makarov decide." Yusei tried to reason with Erza, who glared at him. "Look, I'll make sure Natsu and Happy are here when Makarov comes back."
"Yusei…" Natsu and Happy looked at Yusei in horror, not expecting to be betrayed so easily.
"... Very well. But I will hold you to that." With that, Erza went off to a table, ordering her usual cake.
"Wow. You talked Erza down." Mirajane commented with a surprised tone. "Only the master's been able to do that."
"I'm just trying to keep everything together." Yusei answered honestly before he sat at the bar. "Can I get some eggs and bacon, please?"
"Coming up!" Giving him a smile, Mirajane went off to get Yusei's breakfast.
"Sheesh. Red's gotta relax. She acts like she has a stick up the ass." Ryuko offhandedly remarked, getting shocked looks from the others. "Look, some rules just need to be broken. No need to be an ass about that."
"Shhh! She'll hear you!" Gray hushed Ryuko as he looked over to Erza. Much to his and Natsu's relief, Erza didn't seem to listen.
"I'm gonna look for a job." Finally able to relax, Natsu went over to the request board to find something to do… and to get away from Erza.
The doors to the Guildhall opened, with two familiar people walking inside.
"Hey. It's Lucy and Oliver." Macao called out with a smile. "How are… you… two?" Soon, he lost his smile as everyone saw the condition of the duo.
Oliver, for all intents and purposes, looked fine. He was now wearing casual clothes as opposed to his workout clothes.
Lucy, on the other hand, looked like a mess. Despite having changed into a clean pair of clothes, she had several bandages wrapped around her body. Not to mention her eyes looked exhausted and she was limping.
"Lucy! What happened?!" Maki called out as she rushed over to examine Lucy.
"So… tired… hurt… everywhere…" Lucy moaned as she limped towards Erza's table, with Maki helping her as best she could. "Oliver… so… rough…"
"..." Everyone in the Guild suddenly turned towards the Green Arrow, who quickly realized what they might have been thinking as he frowned.
"Damn, Ollie. I didn't know you were into that." Cana called out with a cheeky grin. She wouldn't mind having some fun with him too…
"It's not like that. I was training her." Oliver explained calmly. "She asked me to show her how to fight when we were in Galuna, and today was our first lesson."
"Ohhh." The Guild seemed to calm down once hearing Oliver's explanation. Even those who didn't know Oliver personally could tell he wouldn't be the kind of guy to lie.
If only they knew…
"Lucy, if you wanted to learn how to fight, you could've told me." Maki told her friend with a worried tone. "I would've helped you."
"I bet she didn't wanna turn into a gorilla." Happy called out without a hint of regret, much to Maki's horror.
"Sounds manly! Let me join!" Elfman shouted with an excited tone, wanting to test out Oliver's manly strength.
"Sorry, Elfman. But I want to train Lucy alone." Oliver politely shot down, making the white haired brute deflate a bit. The archer let out a sigh before continuing. "I COULD use a sparring partner whenever Lucy doesn't have training. Would you be willing to help me?"
Elfman perked up before giving Oliver a grin, nodding in response.
"Hmmm…" Natsu hummed, getting Gray and Ryuko's attention as they went up to him.
"What's up? Find anything good?" Gray asked with a raised brow as he and Ryuko looked at the request Natsu was eyeing. It apparently only needed someone to read a certain sentence for 500,000 Jewel.
"Okay. That's a creep ass request." Ryuko commented with a frown, not liking how ominous the request form looked.
"I wouldn't trust this form, Ryuko. Especially with what it's asking for." Senketsu chimed in with a suspicious tone.
"Natsu, you will NOT be taking any job requests." Erza called out as she marched towards the job request board.
"Would you give it a rest, Red?" Ryuko shot at Erza with a glare.
"Excuse me?" Erza now turned her attention to Ryuko. "Natsu broke the Guild's rules and-"
"And what? He helped save a bunch of people. Who cares? Don't act like you own the place." Most of the Guild were now looking at Ryuko like she had a death wish.
"Okay. There's no need to fight." Yusei quickly got between the two fierce women in hopes of calming them down.
"He's right. There's no need to fight." Oliver called out as he went over to help.
"All I'm saying is that if Fairy Tail's about family or whatever, no one should act like they're hot shit." Ryuko explained.
"Without order, there would be nothing but chaos! Then, we would be in trouble with the Magic Council." Erza shot back. "Don't act so reckless."
"How about YOU try relaxing, Red?" Ryuko took out one of her Scissor Blades.
"Maybe YOU should listen to reason." Erza summoned a sword. Literal lightning sparked between Ryuko and Erza as their comrades tried to calm them down.
"This is bad… THIS IS REALLY BAD!" Happy cried out as he hid behind Natsu, who didn't seem to listen as he grabbed the request form and read the contents.
"Decipher this text and I'll see that you'll increase your wealth by 500,000 Jewel?" Natsu read out loud with a curious face before he smiled. "Huh. Sounds like an easy job!"
"You wanna take this outside?! Cause I could go for a warm up!"
"Perhaps you need to learn what happens when you disobey the Master!"
"Guys, enough!"
"Everyone, just sit down."
"Ryuko, stand down!"
"We're all gonna die!" Things in the Guild were growing even more intense as many of its members began to back away from the inevitable battle between Ryuko and Erza.
"Let's see… I got it!" Natsu read the passage in his mind before speaking. "Ugo Deru Rasuchi Boro Kania."
Before the bloodshed could even start… the job request suddenly began to glow a rainbow-like color, catching everyone's attention.
"Natsu, what did you do?" Yusei asked as he and the others began to glow as well.
After a minute of glowing, the light died down as Natsu grabbed the request form.
"Hey. You kids alright?" Wakaba couldn't help but ask as he saw how confused the youngsters were.
"Brrrrr! Why is it so cold?!" Gray suddenly complained while hugging himself.
"Huh? Ice wizards shouldn't get cold. Don't be a crybaby." Elfman scolded Gray.
"What the?" Natsu began to examine his body before gasping. "Where the hell's Senketsu?!" As he finished speaking, Natsu suddenly began to barf out some flames, forcing him to cover his mouth.
"Natsu? What's wrong?" Mirajane asked in genuine concern. She was sure Natsu had full control of his magic, yet right now he was leaking flames.
"When did I get so tall?" Maki asked as she looked at her body. She then pulled the sleeve of her shirt up and gasped at her muscles. "AHHHH! I'M A MUSCLE MONSTER!"
"H-H-Hey! That's not n-n-nice to say about m-my body!" 'Gray' shouted out through chattered teeth.
"Wait… your body?" Lucy stood up and limped towards her friends with a confused frown. "Gray, what do you mean by that?"
"G-G-Gray? No. I'm M-Maki!" 'Gray', or rather Maki-Gray, revealed as everyone widened their eyes.
"Woah. I'm taller now!" 'Yusei' called out in an uncharacteristically surprised tone as he looked at himself. "Hang on… I never had a jacket like this."
"Okay, either I'm drunk or something's up." Cana called out while putting her mug down to try and understand everything.
"Everyone, just calm down." Erza called out with a serious tone.
"Good. At least Erza's still the same." Macao sighed in relief, though this only got a confused look from Erza.
"Erza? I'm Oliver." 'Erza', or Oliver-Erza, confessed as everyone gasped.
"Then… who's that?" Lucy pointed to 'Oliver', who looked at his hands with narrowed eyes.
"It seems me and Oliver switched bodies. I'm Erza." Erza-Oliver told everyone with a stern tone, something that reminded everyone of the actual Titania.
"Hey! Why the hell do I feel a breeze on my butt?!" 'Ryuko' called out while pulling down her skirt.
"... Something tells me you aren't the real Ryuko." Senketsu sweatdropped in confusion.
"I'm over here, Senketsu!" 'Natsu', or Ryuko-Natsu, shouted before more fire leaped out her mouth. "Damnit!"
"Okay, okay. So, it looks like everyone here switched bodies somehow." Lucy theorized out loud before 'Yusei' widened his eyes.
"Oh crap! It was the job request!" 'Yusei' blurted out as everyone looked at him. "It's me, Natsu!"
"So Natsu is Yusei. Ryuko is Natsu. Gray is Ryuko. Happy is Maki. Maki is Gray. Erza is Oliver. Oliver is Erza." Lucy listed off while rubbing her chin. "So that means…"
Slowly, everyone looked at a certain blue cat, who had a rather blank look on his face.
"..." Yusei-Happy didn't say anything, most likely out of sheer embarrassment..
Of all the people in the spell, the last person Yusei thought he was switch places with was Happy.
"Okay. What the actual hell?!" Ryuko-Natsu shouted in anger before her fist ignited. She gasped as she tried to put it out, yet nothing worked. "How the hell do you turn this off?!"
"I wanted to be strong. But not like this…" Happy-Maki whined as a dark cloud appeared over his head.
"S-So cold. R-Ryuko? Mind bringing that fire over h-here?" Maki-Gray requested before sneezing out ice cubes.
"I can't do it… I CAN'T DO IT!" Gray-Ryuko shouted out as he grabbed the bottom of his shirt, pulling it up to reveal his bra. "I NEED TO STRIP!"
"OOOOHHHHH YEAH!" Many of the pervy guild members stared in anticipation at the free strip show.
However, Senketsu suddenly pulled himself down to protect Ryuko's body from lecherous eyes.
"I will not allow you to take me off!" Senketsu declared, though Gray couldn't understand given how he wasn't a Champion.
"WHAT THE HELL?! GET OFF!" Gray-Ryuko kept trying to remove Senketsu, but the Kamui was very stubborn and refused to give in.
"This is getting out of hand." Oliver-Erza declared with a sigh before suddenly feeling something on his back. "Erza, no offense, but your breastplate is too heavy." Remembering that they used a similar magic, Oliver-Erza requipped the breastplate away, allowing Erza's white blouse and blue tie to be seen. 'Now I see why Lucy complained about big breasts before.'
"I agree with Oliver. We all must come together to solve this." Erza-Oliver declared while puttings hands on her hips. 'Although, I do like how my back isn't hurting.'
"Let me see that request form." Lucy reached down(and inwardly groaned in pain) to grab the paper and read its contents. "This feels almost too easy of a job request."
"Hmmm. It seems like this is the work of the ancient Unpela spell." Everyone turned around and saw Makarov enter the Guildhall, a stern expression on his face.
"Gramps! You're back!" Natsu-Yusei called out as the others gathered around the Guildmaster.
"I noticed that request on the board before I left." Makarov began to explain. "By reading what was written on the page aloud, the reader will cast a powerful spell of personality transference. This spell is called the Changling."
"... That is a lazy ass spell name." Ryuko-Natsu commented with a flat tone.
"Natsu, you idiot!" Gray-Ryuko shouted while pointing at Natsu-Yusei. "Why would you read the spell out loud?!"
"How was I supposed to know this would happen?! I just wanted to do a job!" Natsu-Yusei shouted while butting heads with Gray-Ryuko. Had it not been for the whole body swap situation, the sight of Yusei and Ryuko fighting would be a hilarious sight.
"Guys, cut it out!" Happy-Yusei shouted while getting between the swapped rivals… though it was rather awkward given how he was very short. "Makarov, can you tell us more about this spell?"
"If the Changling spell isn't undone within 30 minutes of being cast, the effects will be permanent and you will never be able to leave your bodies." Makarov told everyone grimly, causing them to gasp.
"This is b-bad!" Maki-Gray shouted before sneezing, a frozen snot bubble covering her nose. "How long has it been?"
"I think about sixteen minutes." Oliver-Erza pointed out with a hand under his chin. "Which means we only have fourteen minutes to fix this. Makarov, do you know how to fix this?"
"Hmmm… since it's such an ancient spell, it would only stand to reason… that I don't know." Makarov admitted rather bashfully. "Which is a shame since I really was looking forward to punishing you all. Oh well…" Makarov began to walk away. "I wish all of you the best of-"
However, a hand grabbed Makarov on the head, lifting him up. The old man blinked a bit as he was turned around, only to come face to face with a VERY pissed off Ryuko-Natsu.
"Listen, you old fart. You're gonna figure out a way to change us back to normal or else I'm gonna pummel you to the freakin ground!" Ryuko-Natsu shouted while being engulfed in flames. Despite the fact she was in Natsu's body, Makarov couldn't help but gulp in fear at what Ryuko would do to him.
"DAMNIT! IT'S TOO STUFFY!" Once again, Gray-Ryuko tried to remove Senketsu, yet the Kamui still kept him at bay.
"DUDE!" Ryuko-Natsu let go of Makarov and went to help Senketsu try and calm Gray-Ryuko down.
"You know… this isn't as bad as I thought." Happy-Maki confessed while casually nibbling on a raw fish, much to the real Maki's horror.
"H-Happy! Please d-don't make my body eat r-raw fish!" Maki-Gray tried to pull the fish away, only for Happy-Maki to grab her wrist…
*BAM*
… And toss the real Maki to the ground. A pain filled gasp escaped Maki-Gray's mouth, feeling some bones cracking. Happy-Maki blinked a few times before looking at his hands. "I… am… AWESOME!"
"That's his takeaway?" Lucy muttered while sweatdropping at Happy's antics.
"Everyone, focus!" Oliver-Erza called out before clutching his back. "We still need to find a way to reverse this."
"Agreed. Although…" Erza-Oliver requipped Oliver's bow and an arrow before pulling it against the string. She aimed it at the wall and fired it, hitting the very small crack that was on it with pinpoint accuracy. "I must say your eyesight is amazing, Oliver. Perhaps we should train together as well."
"Do we know anyone that can decipher the spell?" Yusei-Happy asked… while flying up. It seemed like he was able to sprout wings without help, which was a surprise. 'I have to admit it is pretty nice to fly.'
"Did someone say decipher?" Everyone widened their eyes as three figures stood in front of the guildhall.
It was one of Fairy Tail's many teams, Team Shadow Gear.
"LEVY!" Lucy exclaimed in joy.
"Don't worry. Team Shadow Gear's here to save the day." Droy confidently told everyone with a smile.
"We'll get you guys back to normal in no time." Jet added while crossing his arms.
"I'm pretty sure by we, you guys mean Levy." Mirajane remarked with an amused tone, causing Jet and Droy to chuckle nervously.
"T-Thanks, Levy! We really n-need it!" Maki-Gray grabbed Levy's hands while crying ice cubes in joy.
"Anything for my friends… ummm…" Levy gave a nervous smile as she didn't catch who was in Gray's body.
"Maki." Maki-Gray answered as Levy nodded.
"First, I need to take a look at the flyer itself." Levy grabbed the paper, as well as several books on ancient spells, before putting on a pair of red reading glasses with wing accessories on the sides.
"Okay, but won't it take too long?" Ryuko-Natsu asked with a raised brow.
"Oh, don't worry." Levy reassured her while tapping her glasses. "These are called Gale-Force Reading Glasses. They basically help the wearer read faster than usual." This impressed some of the Champions as there were times they wanted to finish reading something fast. A magic circle appeared in front of Levy before magic particles began to float from the book to Levy's eyes.
After several intense minutes of waiting, Levy finally closed the book.
"So, did it work?" Natsu-Yusei asked in a hopeful tone.
"... I'm completely stumped." Levy shamefully revealed as everyone deflated. "Look, I know you're all worried, but I'm still working on it."
"Well, I guess we should get used to this." Natsu-Yusei sadly admitted before a thought occurred. "Wait, if I'm in Yusei's body…" An uncharacteristic grin appeared on Natsu-Yusei's face as he took out his deck, skimming through it before finding a certain monster. "Alright! I get to summon it!"
"Natsu, don't!" Yusei-Happy shouted, noticing the monster card Natsu drew out.
"Time to see how strong he REALLY is!" Natsu-Yusei lifted the card in the air. "I SUMMON THE STARDUST DRA-"
"NOOOOO!" Gray-Ryuko and Erza-Oliver quickly tackled Natsu-Yusei to the ground in order to prevent him from summoning the Signer Dragon.
Speaking of which, Stardust looked at everything with a sweatdrop.
"ARE YOU INSANE?! DON'T SUMMON IT!" Erza-Oliver shouted while pushing Natsu-Yusei's head to the ground while Gray-Ryuko grabbed Stardust's card.
"Let me keep checking…" Levy continued to look through book after book to find a way to break the spell… while Jet and Droy cheered her on.
Minutes passed by and everyone just kept waiting. And waiting… and waiting… and waiting… until…
"I GOT IT!" Levy finally shouted while standing up, catching the entire guild's attention.
"You know how to reverse the spell? Do it!" Gray-Ryuko practically demanded.
"The spells says "May this eternal exchange provide you with eternal happiness.'" Levy revealed with a sigh, finding the translation to be touching. "Isn't that cute?"
"It is." Lucy and even Maki-Gray admitted with smiles on their faces.
"Okay. But what does it mean for us?" Yusei-Happy asked with a frown.
"It means… you guys will have eternal happiness! How lucky are you!" Levy pointed at everyone with a big smile.
"Levy, we wanted you to LIFT the spell. Not translate it." Oliver-Erza reminded her while rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Oh! You're right! I'm sorry!" Levy gave a look of shame, briefly forgetting why she was researching the spell in the first place.
"We have to change back. I d-don't like the cold." Maki-Gray whined in shame.
"Perhaps I can help." Flying down to the table was none other than Oracle. "I am familiar with the Changling spell."
"... Is that a talking owl?" Macao pointed out as everyone stared at Oracle in confusion.
"She's… my pet. I got her when I came to Magnolia." Oliver-Erza said quickly as everyone in the guild seemingly believed him. After all, they had a freaking talking cat with them. Why should this be any different? "Where have you been?"
"I've been here the entire time." She revealed rather bluntly.
"Hold on… YOU WERE WATCHING US SUFFER THE WHOLE TIME?!" Ryuko-Natsu shouted with an angry expression. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!"
"Because you never called for me." Oracle answered with an amused look. "Although, it has been entertaining to see all of you struggle."
"NOT FUNNY!" Natsu-Yusei and Gray-Ryuko shouted in unison.
"Don't worry. I'm familiar with ancient spells." Oracle moved closer to the flyer as she scanned it. "I see. That's what we need to do." The talking owl cleared her throat before continuing. "Ainak Orob Ihcusar Ured Ogu!" A vortex of magic suddenly shot out of the book as magic words cycled through it. She continued to chant the spell over and over while everyone watched in amazement.
Then, a blinding flash of light engulfed the Guildhall, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. Fortunately, it died out quickly as the vortex disappeared.
"... So… did it work?" Ryuko asked as she opened her eyes.
"Ryuko, is that you?" Senketsu asked his partner, who looked down with wide eyes.
"Holy shit… IT WORKED!" Ryuko called out as she looked at her own hands.
"Same here!" Natsu added as he ignited his fists with a big grin on his face.
"That was close." Gray sighed as he FINALLY stripped down to his underwear.
"I'm not cold!" Maki cheered with a bright smile.
"Good. It seems the effects of the spell have been broken." Erza said with a small smile as she, Yusei and Oliver also returned to their normal bodies.
"Wow. That little bird's pretty damn smart." Wakaba confessed, only for Oracle to give him a glare.
"Firstly, I am an OWL. Not a bird." Oracle huffed before she continued. "Secondly, certain spells can be reversed if read in reverse. And I had to repeat the spell multiple times in order to ensure EVERYONE was switched back."
"Wow. I wish I knew before." Levy sighed before a thought occurred. "Hey, Oracle? Would you mind if I got your input on some spells? I could use another pair of eyes." Oracle was mildly surprised by the request, though she wouldn't outright deny it.
"If we read the spell… shouldn't we get paid?" Natsu questioned as he lifted the request once again.
*Slash*
Before he could do anything, Ryuko quickly took out her Scissor Blade and swiftly cut it to pieces. "Next time someone tries to read a spell on the board, don't. Otherwise, I'm kicking your ass!" Ryuko warned everyone in the guild with a serious glare, scaring many of them.
"Well, it's good everyone was able to return to normal. Though, given how everything went, I suppose this was a suitable punishment." Makarov informed everyone as they gave him a blank look.
"Let's just hope this NEVER happens again." Yusei spoke up.
There's a lesson in this: NEVER read suspicious spells without input.
Okay… I know. This was a rather weird chapter, but honestly, I did like the little filler episode. I don't know what it is about body swap episodes, but I think they're funny since we see how certain people react to being in different bodies. Plus… I did have fun writing certain reactions, especially with Gray being in Ryuko's body.
The next arc will be the Phantom Lord arc, which might have a few little changes here and there since we will go into darker territory. Not to mention we will get the last Champion of this phase, who I'm pretty sure everyone already knows.
Hopefully, you guys enjoyed Oliver and Lucy's training since it will come back later on. Cause let's be honest: Lucy trying to talk about feelings during the middle of a fight is just stupid. Like I think Lucy is okay, but like my beta reader Earth Dragon Arnighte says. "Sometimes, you need to SHUT THE HELL UP!"
Anyways, I hope everyone has a great day and I will try to update another chapter or two by the end of this year.
Follow, Fav, Review and PM for anything.
Next time: Phantom Lord.