Thank you guys so much for your reviews! Welcome back Mikasa-Chan, and irregularly consistent fits best I'm afraid... I'll try to update more regularly and move updates to the weekends again. Thanks for motivating me!
Miss Panda, merci beaucoup aussi à toi (je vais avoir l'audace de te tutoyer :D)! Merci également de tous les détails! Je l'apprecie! 'Past hatred towards our dearest Jellal' xD
Alors bonne journée à vous et I will arrêter with the French now. Hope you'll enjoy.
Lucy stared at the stairs. What was left of them. Natsu.
Laxus trudged on regardless. As if he had not even noticed – well, he had been a member of Fairy Tail since his birth, but still, he had not grown up as a member of those ruffians – those were currently either a rabbit, a fish or married to a cat. He seemed in a hurry however, and Lucy did not want to be the last, so she leapt across the crumbled stones, climbing the rest of the stairs to plaza of the Guild Hall.
She almost had to laugh when Elfman was standing in front of the gates like an unclaimed package. Had he waited there since their call? He must have, judging by how he looked up hopefully, eyes seeking and finding Evergreen with haste. As if overprotective Gajeel had not been enough.
"There you are," Elfman greeted. No turning around or yelling to his sister – no, he was already on his way towards them. Or one of them, to be precise. As expected, the first thing she did was scold him. Most times Lucy would have agreed when Evergreen called someone out for being an idiot, but with Elfman, she just really seemed to secretly enjoy it. She certainly had a more upbeat attitude about her the moment he came to stick to her.
Lucy remembered two more – and by far 'worse' – couples to be waiting for salvation. She could hardly imagine the scale of excitement once either Jellal or Gray turned back. Hopefully both. What she was not prepared for was the entourage she was met with upon stepping through the wide-open gates.
Erza. Fixing a hole in one of the bar's rags. By hand. Without a sword.
As if things could not have gotten crazier, she had help from Kagura. Also sewing. Well, more or less. Neither of them looked particularly thrilled with their results. When Erza lifted hers, it was hard to tell where the hole had been since there were stitches everywhere, knotting the whole thing up. Kagura regarded it for a heartbeat, then raised her own. It bore more holes than before. Both women laughed, resuming their task merrily, if Lucy allowed the thought. It had her smiling in a second.
In the corner where the tables had been cleared away, Natsu sat. They had found someone who could handle him better than any of Elfman's Beast Souls: Asuka. While Erza was someone to be feared as well as shunned in battle – now more than ever to those possessing common sense and basic human kindness due to her pregnency; the first point ruling Natsu out – Asuka was a child. A tough one at that, and untouchable in a way, seeing as Natsu was keen on not hurting her.
For some reason though, there were even more visitors present than Kagura. And Lucy had not even spotted Milliana yet, who was hiding beneath the table, trying to get the cat on Erza's lap to spare her a glance.
Three men stood around the spectacle that was Natsu and consequently Asuka, his babysitter. Lucy frowned, wondering what they were doing at the guild – or why they were studying Natsu. She remembered Hibiki's archive, though she could not imagine him being very knowledgeable about a spell that not even Jellal could have foreseen the outcome of.
Wondering made her inattentive. It was then that the mysterious fourth man struck.
"Sniff sniff," Ichiya all but materialised behind Lucy. She shrieked, adapting a defensive pose that was rather on the verge of fleeing. "Men, what a lovely perfume," he sniffed her vocally, "the odour of a celibate, the scent of a bachelorette, the-"
"Ichiya," Erza's voice darkly cut through to them. He swallowed the next remark. Lucy shuddered. It was a miracle that Erza was off the hook, married or not, but would Lucy become the new target from now on? And until she was not single anymore? Sweat drops pooled on her forehead.
Erza's gaze remained on her, so Lucy crossed over. Letting the rags and needles sink, the two swordfighters waited for Lucy to sit down. She did so with a huff. One of relief and tiredness alike. Jellal sat up in Erza's lap. He had a hard time squeezing past her belly, whether she intentionally leaned back or not, so he hopped off onto the bench, then the table. Milliana's disappointed mewl spooked Lucy.
"I'm glad to see you're back," Erza offered a smile. "How was the ride?" She asked. Then she looked around where the entrance was emptying after the Thunder God Tribe had entered.
"No delays and only two motion sick Dragon Slayers," Lucy retold with a sigh. "Levy and Gajeel went home," she answered the unspoken question. "He still finds all of this too dangerous for her to be exposed to," she explained. Jellal and Erza exchanged a glance. Had he not looked at her so purposefully, he could have easily passed for an actual cat by now. The way he neatly draped his tail over his paws gave him a graceful, yet not human air.
"Did you find something useful?" Erza pressed. She was trying hard not to sound too desperate, Lucy knew, but the longing in her eyes told a different story. Longing and concern.
"I did; there were so many books on-"
"Erza," Kagura nudged her older-sister figure, "he's at it again," she courtly informed. Erza shot a glare across the room, striking right through an unsuspecting Ichiya's back. He tensed, froze, then slowly, very slowly, continued to sneak up on Juvia. She was by far too busy with entertaining her beloved in his adventure pool tank.
Lucy winced when Erza darted her needle right into Ichiya's behind without batting an eye – or turning in his direction. He cried out, moaning a 'men' before dropping to the floor and holding the plump, pierced flesh. If Asuka was the babysitter for Natsu, Erza was for everyone else. Including adults much older than her.
"So then you think we can reverse this?" Erza returned to the topic as if nothing had happened.
"To be honest," Lucy sank a little into herself, "I don't think I can, but I'm confident we will together," she declared. "Levy, Ever and even Freed in his current form were actually of a lot of help," she said. "Oh, and that one passage about chemical elements – I would have overlooked it completely had Laxus not alerted me," she admitted. "He was there when Jellal completed the circle after all."
"Speaking of which," Bickslow leaned on the backrest of the bench with his arms – much to Kagura's irritation, "don't you guys agree that Jellal should now be Laxus'? I mean, he's a cat, Laxus is a Dragon Slayer," he shrugged as if pointing out the obvious. Erza growled quietly, making him laugh. And retreat instantly.
Laxus must have overheard at the bar, but said nothing. Freed was fuming out of his wee floppy ears.
She was moodier than before, Lucy thought to herself – making sure to keep it to herself lest Erza decide to take it out on her. Of course, Erza Scarlet had always been a whirlwind of miscellaneous moods and personality traits, varying from the stoic, unforgiving tactician to a girly sweets lover. Only now, switching did not take half as long as before, and did so without the usual warning. Or control.
"Erza," Kagura gave another light prod with her elbow, "the creep," she notified. All four heads turned towards the man in question, this time having another target he was eager to sniff from top to bottom.
"Seriously?" Lucy frowned. "Even though she's a bird?" She shook her head. "I suppose the scent is human after all,"
"Who is it?" Kagura asked, watching with mild interest, needle and thread still in hand.
"Meredy," Erza illuminated. Apparently for the first time, because Jellal jumped to his feet. His fur rose, making him nearly double his size, and a warning hiss spew from his throat.
Ichiya's excursion was cut short when several ghost arms of black and dark purple with red, vein-like patterns rushed towards him. His limbs were restrained at once, and he was as if paralyzed all over again. The spheres only grew, expanding, wrapping around his nose first, then the rest of his body until he was contained in an ominously floating bubble.
Erza had returned to her rag, biting off the leftover string from the knot – as if the project was done and ready to go. It was still hideous. Fortunately, it would still somehow fit into a glass. Or maybe Mira would use it for counters only.
"Darkness Magic? Really?" She glanced at Jellal. He had not relaxed yet, his pelt still bristling. He let out a low with a growl rippling meow, watching his captive rendered harmless for another moment.
"Woah," Lucy stared with disbelief. "When I asked whether magic was still possible, I was thinking small things like a single flame or- or a bit of telekinesis," she said. She had to smile though, not solely because him being able to perform magic might actually save the whole predicament – Erza was so obviously proud, a smug, unsuccessfully hidden smirk on her lips.
She held out her hand to smooth down his fur, but he padded away. There was a fraction of a second that he hesitated, then he jumped down the table and trotted over to Meredy. The latter tilted her head curiously at the bubble. Then she eyed him. Both had a mixture of tenderness and pity in their gazes, heads meeting with the same sentiments. She gave a squawk that must have been reassurance, because he nodded as if it had been perfectly clear, then returned.
Erza's hand awaited him on the bench. He rubbed into her palm, perhaps as a small apology for having left it hanging. She showed no signs of a grudge. She was calmer overall, Lucy noted. She ran her hand over his ears, then dipped her misshaped rag into her glass of water. Gently, she cleaned his paws, and he let her, climbing up to crouch on her shoulders once she was done.
Kagura narrowed her eyes at him from the side, now closer to her face, but relaxed a moment later.
What she did not get to see that day, Lucy thought to herself. The only thing missing as someone besides Erza petting him. Or Laxus claiming his Dragon-Slayer-cat 'right'.
"The boys brought the books we were allowed to take; I'll ask them to bring everything," Lucy got up.
"Don't trouble yourself," Erza offered a smile, "we'll come to you."
"Alright," Lucy gave a thumbs up. She went over to the bar, seeing as Laxus had dumped his share of tomes there. He finished his drink when she asked Mira for one. Then he got up to prepare everything around the existing circle on the ground. "Erza's doing so much better; what did you do?" Lucy lowered her voice. Mira shrugged.
"Beats me," she handed over the glass, "but I also noticed. It's as if years have passed between yesterday and today," she affirmed.
"It's hard to imagine how she was crying the other night…" Lucy muttered, then clasped a hand over her mouth. She wanted to peek over her shoulder, but Mira shook her head in an all-clear signal.
"I know!" She all but blurted despite being the lookout. Leaning over the bar on her forearms, she whispered, "I heard part of what she said to him in the infirmary and when she cried," Mira put a hand over her heart, "I couldn't help but cry, too,"
"I really wanted to hug her, but she would've never let me," Lucy added. They fell quiet when Mira's eyes reported Erza to have gotten up. Mira went to fill a few more glasses and mugs, bringing over a tray to where the others gathered. Natsu and Asuka remained in the corner, blissfully unaware of the seriousness, but when Evergreen joined her team, Elfman tagged along as well. Kagura scrutinised the circle while Milliana advised Juvia and her little zoo.
Ichiya was left floating around, higher and higher towards the ceiling.
"Okay," Lucy began. It was her moment to shine, and she felt encouraged by all the glances on her rather than intimidated. The more experts the better after all. "The only missing parts that we don't understand are these," she pointed at a triangle with a cross sprouting from the bottom, as well as one with a line through the tip. "The Zodiac represent their elements, and-" she stopped when being interrupted. Everyone turned to the source of the meow.
Erza leaned over a nearby table to let Jellal hop down. He made his way to the circle, halting in front of the sign for Scorpio. He tapped it without actually touching his paw to the chalk. Lucy frowned.
"Scorpio," she assessed. He shook his head. "Fire? Heat," she suggested. Again, he shook his head. He turned to Freed. The latter pattered over on his tiny hooves, inspecting the symbol and those around. It must have been added by Jellal himself. But if it was not Scorpio, then what was it?
Freed oinked his understanding. Laxus raised his brows. Clueless, Lucy watched the circles the little piglet turned, his head bobbing and ear flipping. To no avail. He went to grab the chalk between his teeth, drawing what might have been meant as a simple circle somewhere to the side, away from the spell, then sneezed with the dust up his sensitive nose. Again, he expectantly looked at Laxus.
"This is out of my league," Laxus grumbled honestly, grumpily adding a 'freaks' as not to concede to too much. He swiped the books off the table, forming a row on the ground for his friend to choose from. Freed picked the one Lucy understood least of.
She sighed when he began leafing through the pages as best as he could.
"But this isn't even rune magic anymore," she helplessly said. She nearly flinched when Jellal suddenly transfixed her with his eyes. She blinked, uncertain, until Kagura piped up.
"It's not rune magic then," she concluded. Jellal nodded.
"It's not?" Lucy frowned. She went to where Freed was stepping on pages rather than turning them – threatening to ruin them. Overtaking the task, she flipped through until he squeaked. "There it is," she placed a finger on the symbol. The other Zodiac were there as well, and their meanings varied vastly from what she had come to learn. "Separation!" She read, becoming excited. "Scorpio means separation – the souls separated from Lisanna's body," she concluded. A meow of approval followed.
Freed went over to the circle, stomping on the symbol. Bickslow helped him erase it.
"So now we need fixation – Gemini," Lucy speculated. Her shoulders fell when both transformed spell casters shook their heads. She shoved the book over instead of making more assumptions. Jellal indicated the symbol of Pisces. He must have thought the circle over, she realised, his eyes showing not a hint of insecurity. Still, if he had not even had the capacity to ponder whether Meredy was transformed or not…
All she could do was have faith – have faith and pray to Mavis.
Once done drawing, Lucy watched him tap another symbol. She compared it to the book, having to turn several pages until finding it.
"Sulphur or soul," she declared. He nodded. "Describes combustibility, thus the willingness of ignition," she read. "So then we'll need something cool; something to calm the souls?" It struck her. Wrong again, judging from his reaction. He kept looking at her. Pressured, Lucy tried to come up with more possibilities. "Well," she scanned the page of the book again, "this is still about sulphur," she said. "The whole chapter in fact…" she added under her breath.
Jellal turned to Erza then. She returned his gaze, forehead creasing when he meowed as if in question. He repeated, and she bit her lip in puzzlement. He fell silent for a heartbeat, hesitated for another, before daring to let out a purr-laced meow from the back of his throat. Lucy frowned fiercely, then even more when Erza hummed in understanding. And was she blushing?
Unaware of a certain late-night conversation between the two, Lucy was more than impressed when Erza interpreted correctly, earning herself nodding from her feline husband.
"Heat," she said. Lucy flipped through the following chapters, arriving at yet another to her unknown symbol.
"Mercury or- oh! Spirit!" She discovered. Jellal nodded again. "More commonly known as quicksilver, it explores the principle of fusibility and volatility – so this will fuse the souls back to her," Lucy comprehended. She made quick work of the original symbol being replaced, naturally altering the rest of the writing to match. It took her a couple of tries and earned her shaking heads of both pig and cat until she sat back, satisfied with the new arrangement.
Asuka had come to join the growing circle of intrigued mages, and come up with the idea of drawing pictures for the transformed to express themselves more easily. She painted fire, waves, a sun and more with her wax crayons. It did not even matter if Reedus would have done a better job had he been there because a more realistic drawing would not have aided communication. In the end, those doodles more or less saved the day.
Jellal eventually overcame his own disgust, grabbing the chalk between his teeth to add another rune or two, dotting a line for Lucy to draw, and finally scribbling a large, curved symbol in the very middle.
Lucy felt the hairs on her arms rise when Jellal stepped into the circle. Boldly, he planted all four paws in the centre, right over the symbol he had sketched. Roughly, clumsily sketched. She dearly hoped the spell would not mind. Too mesmerised by the scene, she nearly got caught up in it had Cana not dragged her backwards the last moment.
Light shot forth from the runes – lightning-garish rays of white light, blinding everyone within an instant. Natsu's jumps were nothing to the sudden yet short-lived vibration of the floor. The entire ground or the Guild Hall floor, Lucy was not sure. Wind howled in their ears, Jellal nowhere to be seen where the colour-changing beams burst upwards, characters whirling around in a spiral. The draft caught in their hair, flapping it wildly.
Then it stopped. The dust settled, silence returning. The sudden illumination had faded.
For a moment, it almost seemed as if the daylight had been sapped as well, but slowly, Lucy's eyes got used to it again. She blinked repeatedly, having to rub her eyes. They stung as if having stared up into the sun or having gotten rid of dirt inside them. There was a hint of a queasy twist in her stomach. Her bangs stuck to her forehead, and she realised they had not only whipped against it, but were glued to the sweat that had come as abruptly as the gale.
The circle came into focus. The next thing she saw was a foot. A human foot. A male human foot.
A shriek of Jellal's name made her jump. Lucy looked up quickly when the following thing she heard was a thump, or rather forceful thud. She was about to cover her eyes upon realising he had transformed without his clothes, but Erza was doing a pretty decent job of covering him.
Him. Her husband. Her human husband. Right there on the floor, her arms slung around his neck and her face smothered against his neck. She was jerking with sobs of relief, breathlessly repeating his name.
Another thud announced Ichiya's unheeded prison liberation where Jellal's focus must have been broken.
It was hard to look away, Erza crying with sheer happiness a sight to behold, but when Lucy's eyes travelled the small crowd, there was nothing but smiling faces. Kagura was the only exception. She was muttering something under her breath that sounded like 'the encounters I've had with this man'. Her face was beet red.
Lucy deliberately ignored any 'men' comments coming from behind.
Erza did not seem to have a care in the world. Propped up on one arm, Jellal held her with the other one. Just as tightly, hugging as much of her to him as he could. Whispering tender nothings into her ear that meant more than any words her friends could have tried to calm her with. His cheeks were tinged with pink, indicating that he was aware of his state, but his eyes were closed, squeezed almost, mind with Erza.
It took her over a minute to release him. Teary, overjoyed eyes met his, her smile wobbly but shining more brightly than the spell. She helped him to his feet, and Laxus provided a cover of decency with his back to them, cape fanned out until Jellal had changed into the trousers Erza summoned for him.
To everyone's surprise – not least Erza's – he stopped there. She held up his shirt, mystified. A light gasp escaped her when he slung his arms around her. The shirt fell, her body coming flush against his in a single, ardent pull. In a heartbeat, Jellal's lips were on hers. And he kissed her deeply.
Erza let out a muffled moan. As if electrified, then nearly going limp, her legs momentarily wobbled like jelly in the fierce embrace of her half-naked husband in the middle of the guild. Not to mention after almost two weeks of deprivation. Nonetheless, she responded to his kiss with equal fervour.
Mira squeaked, hands clasped as if in prayer. Laxus kept from rolling his eyes, stepping aside. Kagura's face changed to an even deeper shade of red, while Milliana, Cana, and Juvia in particular, her eyes popping out like beating hearts, stared shamelessly.
Lips peeled away in slow motion. One half-lidded gaze met the other. Erza melted into him, softer than any of her friends had ever seen her. Putty in his hands. They took another moment to just inhale the other, hovering close, taking the other in. She managed to get a hold of herself, but only as far as placing her hands on his chest. He gave another tug, lowering his head to touch his forehead to hers.
"Didn't I promise you three days?" he murmured. She nearly faltered. His lips were so close again as if to emphasise his point, it made the cluster of onlookers spook as much as the couple when instead of another kiss, a door flew open. Wendy hasted to the railing of the balcony above, leaning over where she spotted them all.
"Lisanna," she panted, "her fingers twitched!"