Chapter 25: Unknown Foe


[Previously:]

"Happy…" Lucy warned, "Did you get that fish from the fish-tank?"

"No… I got it from this magical unicorn that burst through the window and said, 'Happy… You must have this fish, it is YOUR destiny!' and then I told them, 'Noo… I told Rushie I wouldn't.' Then the unicorn was like, 'But I insist Happy! It's your destiny~' and I was like, 'Well if you insist…' So that's how I got the fish!" Happy explained with a smile, Lucy staring at the blue fur ball with such a blank expression.

"Wow! That's so cool, Happy!" Natsu jumped in excitement and disbelief that had everyone facepalming. Except for Sting, who also stared in awe.


After Lucy got the truth from Happy—by pulling on his cheeks—she turned her attention back to everyone.

"So… What do you guys want for lunch?" Lucy questioned, gaining the attention of everybody's stomachs.

"Iron."

"Strawberry cake!"

"Fire-Whiskey and spicy food!"

"FISH!"

"You already HAVE a fish—Get snow cones instead."

"Who eats snowballs for lunch?! Though white food doesn't sound too bad… Let's get white flowers or boiled eggs—OH, you what would be cool! An actual ball of light!"

"What the hell is wrong with you? We can't eat that stuff! Let's get something that has venom in it."

"Cobra, an angel and these other people cannot consume poison like you can—How about a salad?"

"Actually… I can eat poison, it's one of my favorite foods."

"Yes well, you're a She-Devil Mira."

"Juvia will get whatever Juvia's beloved Gray-sama wants!"

"I'll take anything I can share with Frosch…"

It wasn't long before an argument started between everyone about what they wanted to eat—Lucy laid her head down on the cooling table, a tick-mark starting to form on her forehead. Levy noticed the blonde's reaction, starting to realize what was about to happen… Feeling nervous, Levy began to pull on Gajeel's arm, the iron dragon slayer arguing with Natsu. Yet it was too late, Lucy standing from her chair and slamming both hands down on the table. Her eyes were glowing, a tone full of irritation.

"Enough!" Lucy snarled, gaining everyone's attention instantly, as the dragon slayers (Minus Levy) was put under a trance from the order. Almost freezing like a statue—Lucy took a calming deep breath, her eyes fading back to normal… Confused, she and the dragon slayer blinked rapidly. The celestial mage's eyes widened in realization of what she did… She was controlling the dragon slayers and demanded her friends to shut up. Eyes watering, Lucy sniffled, "G-Gomen… I… I don't really have control over my dragon-side right now. I'm still learning." Everyone glanced at the blonde with sympathy, Natsu wrapped an arm around Lucy to provide comfort. A guard approaches a moment later with a tissue in hand, Lucy taking it gratefully.

Mirajane was quick to ease the tension, giving a motherly smile, "Well since we can't come to a decision, I'll just pick someone from the table to say their request and we'll all have that. Okay? Good!" Her eyes searched around the table; The people that actually knew her grew nervous. Soon enough, Mirajane's eyes landed on a certain someone, "Jellal, since you were quiet throughout this fight… What do you think we should have?" She asked him, catching Jellal completely off-guard at the center of attention.

"Uh," Jellal hesitated, rubbing his neck in a nervous fashion at the stare of everybody, "What about a whole buffet of different things?" He suggested an idea, making Mirajane beam.

"That's a great idea! I'll go tell the chefs of the order," Lucy said with a smile, grabbing a pen and paper out of nowhere. After writing a long list down, Lucy stood up and was about to search for the kitchen, only to be stopped by the same guard that came to her room earlier—She was starting to think he was her personal guard, Lucy blinking in surprise… The guard tried to seem brave, but a familiar growl from afar made him slightly tremble.

"Princess Lucy, you need not to do that—As royal guards it is our duty to protect and serve the royal family in whatever way we can. In fact, later today, expect a personal guard to be assigned to you and Princess Levy for the ball tonight… I will go alert the chefs," Damian nodded, hand held out for the piece of paper. "If you, Princess Levy, or Lord Dragneel need anything, don't hesitate to ask," He said, bowing and trying to avoid eye contact with a glaring Natsu.

"O-Oh… Okay, thank you Damian," Lucy mumbled, surprised as she handed the note to Damian, who took it gently before walking out of the room. 'Everything is changing so quickly… Now we're gonna have a personal bodyguard?! It's fine Lucy… It's just for one night, and then we can all go home,' Lucy thought, taking a deep breath and sitting back next to Natsu. The fire dragon slayer draped an arm around her shoulder, glaring daggers at the guard who returned from the kitchen—The room was dead silent… Until…

"Pfft… Lord Dragneel?" Everyone was in shock when Cobra, of all people, burst out laughing. Even Gray joined in.

"Oh my god… I-I can't take it!" Gray shouted, falling off his chair while laughing his ass off.

"Oi, shut up—and you shouldn't talk ya damn popsicle! I'll kick your ass any day," Natsu growled, only to wince when remembering what happened on the battlefield—However Gray chuckled, rolling his eyes that made Natsu relax as well.

"Yeah, yeah hot-head—Still… It's weird thinking about it. We grew up with you, Levy, and Laxus… While Lucy, Wendy, Sting, Rogue, hell even Cobra! We've known each other for half our lives already. I thought we knew everything about one another. Who knew, we didn't know as much as we thought…" Gray said, frowning as Juvia grabbed his hand for comfort. The ice-mage gave a grateful squeeze.

"Now don't start getting all sappy icicle… We're still the same people, finding out what or where we come from doesn't change anything," Natsu huffed with a toothy-grin, leaning back in his chair, arms casually thrown behind his head. This made everyone perk up.

"Yeah, I mean, I still want to be a famous author," Lucy said, fist up in determination.

"Yes! And I still want to be the first one to read your novel Lu-chan!" Levy shouted in excitement, making Lucy laugh.

"I still hate you guys, so yeah… That didn't change," Cobra shrugged, grinning when Kinana and Angel shoved him to behave.

"And I still want a rematch with Natsu-san!" Sting shouted, scrambling to stand on the table with a raised fist.

"Same with Gajeel," Rogue mumbled, tryin' to pull Sting down from the table.

"I want to spend time with Carla, Romeo, and my family—OH! As well as play with Chelia whenever I can," Wendy beamed, looking at all her guildmates and hugging Carla close to her chest. Even Chelia joined the group hug, the two sky-sisters laughing in joy.

"I still have work to do back home, the Thunder-Legion has a reputation to keep up," Laxus stated, crossing his arms and making his team cry in happiness. Mirajane smiled gently, placing a soft hand on his bicep.

Levy pinched Gajeel's arm, the iron dragon slayer yelping before glaring at her, only to receive a "look". Snorting, Gajeel looked away from everyone, "I still… I want to spend more time with my friends…" He mumbled quietly.

"Holy shit, am I hearing things or did Gajeel just call us friends?!" Bickslow awed in amazement, receiving a light giggle from Lisanna and a punch in the face by an iron-club. "Shut up!" Gajeel growled, a tint of pink coating his cheeks.

"Yeah, and I definitely want to see if I can beat Erza and Gildarts now!" Natsu shouted, smiling as fire blew out of his mouth. "Aye Sir!" Happy cheered in agreement.

"Oh really? Even with that power, I bet you still couldn't beat Erza," Gajeel snorted, his attention directed on Natsu with a challenging smirk.

"OH YEAH?! I'll prove it—Erzaaaa! Come here and face the all-mighty Demon-Lord Dragneel!" Natsu shouted, laughing maniacally while lighting his fist on fire, rushing toward Erza who was talking to Jellal. As soon as he got near, Erza knocked him down to the floor with a single fist without even looking.

"Shit… That hurt," Natsu groaned from being smashed to the ground in one hit, making all the guys burst into laughter again. Even the guards had to hold in their own chuckles.

"Stop fooling around Natsu! The only reason you haven't beaten Erza is because you keep going head-on without thinking first," Lucy huffed, rolling her eyes as she helped Natsu off the ground.

"So then… You guys aren't staying here?" Gray asked hesitantly, the question making Lucy's eyes widen and drop Natsu to the floor again. "What are you crazy?! Of course not!" Lucy gaped, the rest agreeing with her.

"Ugh… Yeah… Why would we leave our home?" Natsu said, slowly getting up and rubbing his head to ease the pain.

"Fairy Tail is where we all belong! Not here in a Kingdom where there's no adventure or future with you all," Lucy smiled, showing off her pink guild mark.

"I don't even know this place, remember? I got the poison dragon's lacrima… I wasn't born here like these other idiots," Cobra shrugged nonchalantly, leaning back in his chair with boredom. A slight smile upon his face when hearing Kinana's thoughts.

"Yeah, and I'm Master of my own guild now. I won't abandon them like that," Sting grinned, fist pumping Rogue.

By the time everybody gave their own reasons why no one was staying in the Dragon-Realm, all their friends were in tears. Especially Erza, "You… Come here," She said, grabbing the two-closes people, which happened to be Natsu and Lucy. Both their heads getting knocked together and smashed into Erza's armor-plate, everyone flinched hearing the harsh clanking sound.

"Uh, Erza… I think you're suffocating them," Jellal said, sweatdropping as he placed a calming hand on her shoulder when seeing Natsu and Lucy turn blueish-purple from Erza squeezing them too tight in the hug.

"Huh?" Erza glanced down, immediately letting them go as the two fell to the floor to catch their breath, "I apologize," The scarlet-haired mage said, bowing.

"It's… Fine, Erza," Lucy coughed, climbing back into the chair.

The door burst open, halting everyone's conversation as a bunch of chefs waltzed in with giant plates. Natsu and Sting drooled at the smell and sight of food. When everything was set down in a neat order, everyone's eyes widened at the different number of choices to pick from.

There was spicy-chicken with a bottle of hot sauce, iron-bolts, salad, snow-cones of all flavors, sushi, fish, pizza, ribs, poisonous berries and plants, Ramon, rice-balls, burgers, steak, fruits, spaghetti, sandwiches, miso-soup, ham, egg rolls, dumplings, tofu, shrimp, hotdogs, tacos, white rice, bread rolls, sausages, boiled eggs, white flowers, pies, cupcakes, orange juice, tea, beer, wine, milkshakes, and even fire whiskey… A personal favorite of Natsu's.

Erza looked around the table, deflating that she didn't see any strawberry cake. That is until two chefs returned while rolling in a humongous strawberry cake. "One Strawberry cake for Miss Erza Scarlet," They announced, bowing as they left the room. Drooling, Erza was about to stand but Jellal stopped her, "Have some real food first Erza," He stated calmly. The Requip-mage blushing but agreed… Though that didn't stop her from eyeing the cake.

Everyone dug in, picking their choice of food and started eating, practically starving—They talked and laughed like the guilds weren't in a war just a few hours ago.

Soon enough, the table littered with empty and dirty plates, everybody laid back in their chairs. Their stomachs are full and highly satisfied.

"I-I can't eat no more…" Erza said, dropping her fork on the plate with a clink where the last slice of strawberry cake lay.

"I'll take it," Gray shrugged, reaching over to grab the spongy cake only to be stopped by Erza herself. The ice-mage paled at the sight of a sword stabbed between his fingers, missing them inches apart.

Towering over him, Erza deeply glares while plucking the sword off the table and directing it at Gray's throat as he squeals in fear, everyone's eyes widening. The royal guards that were standing near the doors, tensed, growling a warning sign as they touched the handle of their swords in case action was needed. Each one showed a different elemental aura. "This is… MY… Slice of cake," Erza growled, either not caring or knowing about the tension in the room.

Gulping, Gray slowly sank back into his respectable seat, "O-Okay Erza," The fear in his voice was highly noticeable. Even the dragon slayers shivered in their seats.

"Alright, alright… Easy Erza. You can have the slice of cake," Jellal said nervously, noticing the guards starting to get closer as he guided the scarlet-haired woman back into her seat. As she ate the last piece of cake in delight, everyone calmed down as the guards suspiciously went back to their original spot.

"O-Okay, how about we all go explore the kingdom until the dance? I mean, we did just win a war again and tomorrow we'll all be back home—So let's celebrate for today!" Lucy had a bright smile on her face, everyone agreeing in excitement as they shouted Happy's usual phrase. Getting up, everybody raced out the doors, running in a certain direction before the guards could even speak or blink.

"Wait, Princess Lucy, Princess Levy—EVERYONE! That door is… the wrong way to the kingdom," A guard trailed, his voice drowned at the cheering from the large group. Everyone was out of view as the doors shut.

{An Hour Later:}

"Guys… I think we're lost," Max mumbled, stopping with everyone else in the middle of the hallway.

"No shit Sherlock. What was your first clue?!" Cana rolled her eyes, everyone laughing.

"My apologies, but as always it looked like you didn't know Watson," Max huffed, only for Cana to throw a card at him.

Flinching, only to stare at the card in confusion as it floated down, grabbing it off the floor, "What's this card for? All it says is the letter 'F'."

"Oh that? It's my prediction that you'll freeze in the near future," Cana stated calmly, Max panicked as her next card hit him dead in the chest, turning him into a frozen statue.

"Cana! Great… Now, we have to carry him around!" Bickslow groaned.

"Can't we just burn him away?" Natsu frowned, lighting a fist on fire as everyone hummed in thought. "No Natsu… I will not have you lighting anything on fire! I'll take care of it," Erza nodded, summoning a hammer. As soon as she was getting ready to strike a frozen Max down, everyone stopped her in a panic.

"N-No need for that Erza!" Lucy said frantically, trying to stop Erza from committing a murder. "Let's see," Meredy's nose scrunched, "Uh, maybe we can—No… That won't work… OR, maybe! No… Ughhh, why can't we just leave him here?!" She shouted in frustration, examining the newest ice-sculpture.

Everybody started getting impatient, considering just leaving Max as a new statue for the castle—Silence… Until Bickslow decided to kick Max, only for a crack to form.

"AHHHH! BICKSLOW, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Everyone shouted as Max's frozen body started developing more cracks.

"Oh god… Did Bickslow just kill Max?" Hibiki gaped in fear.

"M-Maybe we can mend him! Quick! Gray, Lyon, Eve! Try and mend him," Yukino shrieked.

"Look *hic* I think we just neeeed to get used to the *hic* facts that… that M-Max is gone," Cana slurred, chugging another bottle of beer as everyone stared at the random bottle that appeared out of nowhere.

"Where did you get alcohol at a time like this?!" Jenny screeched, Cana blinking in confusion as if it was plenty obvious. Opening her purse, she pulled out stacks of cards… Showing the pictures that were printed on them, "I always carry them~" Cana cooed, holding the cards like they were her precious baby.

"That's so… WILD!" Bacchus smirked, his guildmates finishing the sentence off as they cheered.

Another cracking sound caught everyone's attention— "That's it! I'll handle this… I'm all fired-up now!" Natsu laughed maniacally, getting closer to Max. Once Natsu's lit-hand got near him, Max shattered as steam filled the room and blocked everyone's view.

"OH MY GOD—NATSU, YOU DUMBASS, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" They shouted, Wendy and Chelia blowing the steam away so they could see more clearly. Gasps heard all around as the only thing left on the floor was shards of ice that was slowly melting.

Bickslow fell to his knees, grabbing a chunk of ice, "Max… Why? WHYYYY COULDN'T IT HAVE BEEN FREED?!" Bickslow cried, Freed immediately smacking him over the head in annoyance.

"Uh… Guys," A voice was heard behind them, everyone turning around to see Max on the floor with his clothes and hair all wet. "MAX! You're alive!" Bickslow cried dramatically, grabbing a hold of him, only to pull away just as quickly, "Ew, dude you're all wet—Did you piss yourself?" He tsked, trying to wipe off the wetness he felt from hugging Max.

"No you idiot! I was in a block of ice, remember?! Which reminds me… I heard what you were all saying!" Max glared at everyone who refused to make eye contact, innocent whistles leaving their lips.

"Uh… Yayy, Max is back—Now, why don't we find a window to see where we are…" Gray trailed, laughing nervously and racing down the corridor with everyone in tow. A grumpy Max dragged behind, attempting to dry himself off.

…After a while, they found a window—Lucy looked out of it, noticing it was a long way down, "Hm… Gray, do you think you can create a slide heading down?" Lucy questioned, glancing at the stripping ice-mage.

"Sure," Gray shrugged, climbing on top of the window's ledge. Looking down, examining which direction is toward the castle gates to the kingdom, a cold chill went through everyone's spine, "Ice-Make: Slide!" He shouted, summoning his maker-magic as an icy-slide connected from the window to the ground. Jumping on it, Gray slid all the way down until he looked like a mere ant.

Lucy and Juvia looked out the window, making sure Gray made it safely—Soon, you could see him wave, giving a sign that it was good to go. "Gray-sama, catch Juvia!" Juvia screamed, hearts in her eyes and practically diving out the window and onto the slide.

"Juvia, my love! Be careful!" Lyon shouted, jumping after the water woman as everyone rolled their eyes.

"She doesn't love you Lyon, get over it—Wahhh!" Bickslow screamed, pushed out the window by Freed.

"Hey Luce! Race you down there," Natsu cackled, jumping out the window with Happy by his side, the two spreading their wings.

"Oh no you guys don't! Natsu, Happy, get back here!" Lucy huffed, the blonde flying after them. Everybody shrugged to themselves, smiling as they joined in the fun and slid down the ice-slide.

When everyone was down safely, the slide shatters into ice-shards before melting into nothing. "Nyaaa~ It's so much more beautiful when you can actually stop and look," Millianna awed in amazement.

"It's like their own personal city of love!" Sherry sighed dreamily, leaning onto Ren's shoulder at the amount of couples around her. "Tch… There you go again with that love crap—It makes me fall for you even more," Ren rolled his eyes, pulling Sherry closer to him that had her melting.

"Well? What are we waiting for, let's go explore! We have about two hours or so," Levy said excitedly, pulling Gajeel and Panther Lily along.

"Hm, that looks interesting. Let's go there Laxus," Mirajane smiled, pointing to a small store. Laxus grunted but agreed nevertheless, Mirajane gently grabbing his hand and headed for the building.

"Gray-sama, how about you take Juvia on a date?!" Juvia asked hopefully, holding onto Gray's arm in anticipation. "Fine… But only if you promise not to turn into a puddle from getting overly-excited—" Gray stated, only to look down and see Juvia is already a gooey-mess. Rolling his eyes, Gray cracked a smile and picked up the water woman, walking off in a different direction than the others.

Sighing, Lyon gazed after the couple with a sadden expression. Frowning, he immediately put on a forced smile when feeling someone tap his shoulder, Meredy gaining his attention. "Hey, Lyon right? Want to go explore together?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head that made Lyon blush at how cute she looked. Nodding, Meredy giggled and linked arms with the ice-wizard toward the same restaurant Juvia and Gray were going to.

"Wow… Look how pretty that park is!" Yukino awed, walking toward it. "Hey! Yo, wait up Yukino. Me and Lector want to tag along," Sting shouted, the white dragon slayer and maroon Exceed running to catch up with her.

"Frosch wants to see the park too!" Frosch cheered, happily walking in the direction where Yukino, Sting, and Lector went. Rogue instinctively picked up the pink-frog and started heading to the park, only to be stopped by a girl with a katana. "Mind if I join?" Kagura questioned, fascinated at the cute creature, petting Frosch's head. Rogue nodded slightly, the two walking to the park in complete silence.

"How wild~ I think that's a bar!" Bacchus cackled, Cana's eyes lighting up as the two raced to the building. Bacchus's guildmates followed along with their constant wild-cheers.

Wakaba and Macao looked at one another before the fourth Master glanced at Romeo. "Hey son, why don't you go play around with Wendy and Chelia…" Macao suggested, pushing a confused Romeo toward the girls as the older men raced off to the bar as well.

"Uh, okay? Why don't we go to the park too?" Romeo suggested turning to Wendy and Chelia. "That sounds like fun Romeo-kun!" Wendy jumped in excitement, immediately grabbing both his and Chelia's hand and made a run for it to the park where other children were playing.

"Wendy! Be careful, child!" Carla sternly said, flying after the sky dragon slayer as Happy followed closely behind.

"Nyaa, look how cute those plushies are in the window! Let's go there," Millianna said, tail swaying behind her as she pulled her friends along, who just smiled at her.

"Yeahhh! Exploring is manly!" Elfman shouted, picking up a surprised Evergreen in a bridal formation as he ran off. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Put me down you big-oaf!" Evergreen shouted in irritation, hitting him with her fan as her voice faded the farther they got.

Bickslow chuckled evilly, "Hey, Freed… Lisanna. Want to go spy on Ever and Elfman's date?" He asked, his babies repeating the word "Spy". Grinning, Freed nodded as Lisanna high-fived Bickslow, the three running off after the two lovebirds.

"What an amazing parfum coming from that direction!" Ichiya grinned, posing as he followed the scent. Eve and Jura follow behind in curiosity.

"Erza, how about we explore together?" Jellal questioned, only to gulp to see the stern look on her face. "Oh? Wouldn't you like to explore with your fiancée?" Erza huffed, walking down a bakery with a slight smile… She did love teasing him about this obvious lie.

"Hey! Wait a sec!" Jellal shouted after her.

"How about me and you go on a date since everyone else is?" Hibiki cooed, wrapping a delicate arm around Jenny as he practically glowed in sparkles. "Oh you smooth-talker you~" Jenny flirtatiously laughed, pulling him by his tie to a secluded area to make-out.

"Tsk, since everyone else is doing it and you're the only girl I can tolerate. Let's go…" Ren scoffed, draping his arm lazily around Sherry and pulling her along, the girl having heart eyes.

"Hm, I shall remember this location when it is time to head back. Let's go Orga, there was a bookstore I saw when first arriving," Rufus nodded, walking ahead as Orga complained about going to a "boring" bookstore.

"Hey Warren, check them out!" Max said, nudging his friend as he subtly pointed at two hot half-dragon chicks waving at them to come over. Max and Warren completely blushed, ignoring everything as they raced to say hi to the girls.

"I'm hungry," Droy groaned, patting his stomach. "You're kidding right? We just ate!" Jey scoffed in annoyance, the two walking to the restaurant where Lyon, Meredy, Gray, and Juvia went.

"What an elegant place for an angel…" Sorano smiled, skipping along the golden path as Richard, Swayer, and Macbeth followed into the crowd. Cobra and Kinana going in a different direction for some alone time.

"Well, I guess it's just us Natsu," Lucy said, watching everyone split off into their own groups. Giving a toothy-grin, Natsu intertwined their hands, "That's fine Luce! We're partners after all, what's better than spending time with you? Besides, I want to go find something," Natsu shouted in excitement, eagerly pulling Lucy along into the air before the two flew into the sky.

.

.

.

A figure looked down from the highest point of the castle with an emotionless face, eyeing each mage that went off before turning on a lacrima. "They went off exploring the Kingdom, Sir. Tomorrow morning, they head home… The time is almost near for the Dragon-King festival," The voice told the figure in the lacrima.

"Good… Learn more and keep me updated," They responded, the mysterious person nodding at the assigned mission. Shutting off the lacrima, the figure glanced outside the window and stared specifically at Natsu and Lucy as they flew over the Kingdom. Tsking, they put down the magical barrier that prevented mind-readers and every dragon's hearing… Striding down the hallway.