Chapter 47

Carnival From Hell

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Magic"

Flashback / Dreams

Location / Date / Time Skip

"Tell me, will you go back to your cages like good little animals, or do we have to force you back?" Sugarboy asked.

"You don't give them a choice, you just force them." Hughes said back before raising his wand. "Besides, we already took all the Dragon Slayers power. So we don't need them anymore. And with Code ETD active, we only have one option to deal with these peons." The ship started glowing before it lurched forward.

"Come to mama." Laki smirked before opening her mouth. In the blink of an eye, she devoured the wooden frame of the ship, leaving only a few bits of metal to fall to the ground.

"Se ate the whole thing?!" Hughes asked in shock. "Alright, try eating this!" He waved the wand again and the carrousel horses flew off and at them. The multiple plastic horses created a mass of smoke on impact, save for Sugarboys. The smoke slowly cleared to show a shield of ice blocking them. "When did that get there? Is this really Earthland magic?"

"So they really don't need items to preform magic?" Sugarboy asked from the ground. "It's a sight to behold."

Natsu then ignited his feet, shocking Hughes even more. "His feet are on fire!?"

"That ain't all I can't do!" Natsu shouted before jumping up and punching Hughes in the face, sending him crashing to the ground. "Give us back our friends!"

"Not my call to make." Hughes said back. "But even if it was, I'm not giving up on unlimited magical power. So just accept the fact that your friends are gone!" He waved his wand and it glowed again.

"If you haven't figured how stubborn we are yet, then I'll just beat it into you!" Natsu declared, unaware of the roller coaster cart coming towards him.

"Natsu, behind you!" Laki shouted before she and Gray sank into the ground. "Why are we sinking!?"

"The ground is like quicksand all of a sudden." Gray added, missing Sugarboy's smirk.

Natsu listened to Laki and turned to see the cart before jumping over it. "Nice try, but you missed."

"Did I?" Hughes mockingly asked back before waving his wand in a spiral. "Hell Tornado!"

"Huh?" Natsu asked before looking up. The cart started creating a track behind it and was spiraling towards him. "Whoa, that's awesome! The cart is making its own track!"

"That's not something to cheer, ya moron!" Hughes shouted back. "Oh, who cares. Behold my Command Baton. It let's me control everything inside this park."

"I don't care what it can do!" Natsu declared before destroying the cart with a flaming punch. "Now you can't control that anymore!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Hughes smirked, waving the wand around. "What kind of park only has one coaster, ya moron?" Three more carts appeared and charged Natsu. He jumped out of the way of one, but landed in another.

Before he could jump out of the cart, mechanical hands appeared and held him in place. "You better let me go right now!"

"Saftey is a big concern here at E-Land." Hughes condescendingly said as he waved the wand around. "The Hell's Coaster ride is ten times faster than normal today, so enjoy it for your last five minutes." He looked up to see Natsu on the verge of barfing. "You just got on this thing! How on Edolas can you be this lame!?"

As the coaster danced above them, Gray and Laki started sinking deeper into the ground. "Laki, you gotta go help Natsu." Gray said. "As long as he's in that thing, he's even more useless than normal."

"This is not the time to be insulting him." Laki pointed out. "But you're right. Wood Dragon Whip!" She turned her arm into a flexible branch and it hooked onto a coaster. The speeding ride pulled out of the ground and she started climbing up her whip arm. "Hold on, Natsu! I'm coming!"

"Hurry... Laki..." Natsu groaned out.

"That girl's either really brave or really stupid." Hughes commented.

"Okay, now for me." Gray said before bringing his hands together. "Ice-Make: Grappling Hook!" Two hooks on chains shot out of his hands and hooked two solid edges, letting him pull himself out.

"If you could do that all along, why not go save the Dragon Slayer?" Sugarboy asked, watching the scene.

"I could, but then there'd be no one left to rearrange that ugly mug you call a face." Gray said back.

"Cocky, aren't we?" The captain asked back as Gray brought his hands together.

"Ice-Make: Death Scythe!" A wicked scythe appeared in his hands and Gray swung it a Sugarboy, only for the blade to warp and fall apart.

"It's made of ice, isn't it?" Sugarboy asked. "Truly, Earthland magic is something to behold."

"What did you do?" Gray asked as he landed, holding the only solid piece of ice left, the pole.

"This weapon, the Rosa Esparda, soften everything and anything you could throw at me." The captain declared, angering Gray.

Back in the air, Laki finally reached the cart. "Natsu, snap out of it." She begged as she tried prying the hands off her boyfriend. "We need to work together, I can't move these arms!" Natsu could only groan in pain of being on a vehicle.

Hughes chuckled before waving the baton around, making Laki scream in horror and Natsu's motion sickness worse. He laughed at their misery before making the cart go a hard right turn into a pool of water. "I-I'm saved..." Natsu groaned out.

"Take a look at this." Hughes pointed over to a giant screen that showed Laki hugging a sick Natsu in a panic, making her turn red in embarrassment. "So tell me, what do you think of Edolas' magic? Yeah, it's amazing, isn't it? For something so fantastic to disappear soon really pisses me off. Good thing that won't happen anymore, thanks to your friends."

"Is that why you're gonna kill them?" Natsu asked before stepping out of the cart, catching Hughes attention. "You're gonna kill our friends and the Exceeds just so you keep playing with these stupid toys?!"

"Yep." Hughes plainly said. "Their sacrifice will insure that we will receive everlasting magic power."

"Stop screwing around!" Natsu shouted, lighting his arms on fire. "Our friends are still alive in that lacrima, and you don't have the right to take them." He stopped next to Laki and glanced at her, making her nod and stand up. "I don't care about your magic power. But you're not gonna use my friends like this! Lives are on the line!"

Hughes only smirked at the bravado before reaching for his wand. "Wood Dragon Splinter Shot!" Laki shouted before sending giant sharpened logs at Hughes.

"Fire Dragon Roar!" Natsu unleashed a torrent of flames that hit the logs and set them ablaze.

"Do you share the same brain or something?" The captain mockingly asked before waving his wand. Waves of water rose up and captured the logs, dousing the flames and holding them in place. "I can control everything and anything in this park, including the water!" He waved his wand and the now spike filled waves crashed into Natsu and Laki.

Balcony

"Sir, the time has come." Byro told the king, looking out over the balcony. "All prepeations are complete."

"Good..." Faust nodded back before looking up at the sky. "Fare thee well, false gods." The two then walked through the castle until they reached a large cannon pointed up at Extalia.

"The magic energy we took from the Dragon Slayers was more than nessecary." Byro said. "Once attacthed to any island, it will be ours to control. All though it's obvious which we should control, the one with our lacrima on it. And then crash it into that horrid home of felines. The impact will fuse both magical energies together and everlasting magic power will be ours."

Faust looked at his weapon in wonder as Byro held up a large key. "M'lord, here is the key to end the Exceeds for ever."

"Your majesty! Wait!" Both men turned to see Coco running towards them.

"Coco! I've told you a thousand times not to run around like a child when the king is present!" Byro scolded as the girl came to a stop.

"You can't fire it yet!" She shouted. "Lily's on the island fighting the Earthland wizards."

Lacrima Island

Gajeel had Happy on his back and used his Club to block the giant sword from hitting him. "Not bad for a giant cat."

"So this is Earthland magic?" Pantherlily asked himself. "Impressive."

"Course I had to come to another world to find a decent fight." Gajeel mumbled. "Let's make this a first blood match."

"I don't know how much longer I can hold you." Happy groaned. "You're way heavier than Natsu. Then again, I haven't dropped Lucy yet."

"You really wanna say something like that out loud?" Gajeel asked.

"She's in the lacrima, she can't hear me." The cat said back as Pantherlily's blade glowed and shrank.

"Put me down." Gajeel said. "Doesn't feel right having flame brains cat flying me around. Until I can find my own, I'm skipping out on the dog fighting and work on earth."

"If you say so..." Happy nodded before lowering to the ground.

"Magic power transfer complete." Pantherlily mumbled before the blade glowed again. "Bustermarm, redeploy."

"Talk about never skipping arm day with that thing." Gajeel said before jumping out of the way of a swing that sent a chunk of the island clean off.

"That was just one swing!" Happy shouted in fear.

"So it's not just the weapon, it's the guy behind it." Gajeel said.

"Once Burstermarm and I are done, you two won't be anything more than another stain of rust on its cross guard." Pantherlily declared.

"The stain of rust is an honor to me." Gajeel said back before Pantherlily charged him.

"Take this!" The cat captain swung the sword, forcing Gajeel to grab Happy and jump out of the way.

"This guy is crazy!" Happy shouted. "Please tell me you have a plan!?"

"'Course I do." The Slayer smirked back. "I'm just playing around a bit first."

"You dare mock me!?" Pantherlily flew over to the side and swung the blade again, making Gajeel throw Happy backwards before blocking the sword. "If you wish to survive, you must take this seriously."

"Who said I wasn't taking this seriously?" Gajeel asked back. "Im just enjoying fighting a real opponent."

"I'm not some kind of rag doll, ya know!?" Happy shouted.

Gajeel merely glanced at the cat. "If that the kind of thanks I get for saving your life, maybe I should have let him slice your head off! Don't test me, understand!?"

"I'm starting to think you're scarier than Lucy." Happy fearfully said back.

"The comedy act is finished. Time to get the show on the road." Gajeel said.

"Bring your best, because I promise it won't be enough!" Pantherlily declared.

'Im starting to worry about everyone else.' Happy thought. 'I hope their okay.'

Castle

"If you use Code ETD's final stage now, Lily will die as well!" Coco shouted.

Faust looked down at her in a glare. "I should care because?"

Coco let out a small gasp at the Kings question. "But... He's our ally..."

"Coco, the greatest of allies are willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause." Byro said, stepping forward.

"No... I don't want Lily to be a sacrifice because he's my friend!" Coco wined.

"The kingdom of Edolas cannot put its faith on some has-been exceed!" Byro shouted.

"Why are you being such a jerk!?" Coco asked before grabbing the key out of his hands and running towards the door. "I won't let you kill him!"

"Get back here at once!" Byro shouted.

"Coco!" Faust staff started sparking before he fired a blast at her feet, burning them. "Since the first moment you could, you've loved to run, haven't you? I loved the sight of you running around excitedly, more than anything." He fired another blast at her legs, and Byro actually looked shocked. "Hand over the key..."

Coco pushed herself up to her feet and forced herself forward, taking the key with her. "Coco!" He shouted in anger before turning to the short man. "Byro, get her at once!"

"Ye-yes, right away!" The chief of staff nodded before running after the girl.

Coco kept running down the hall, but ever step felt like she was running on hot coals. 'It hurts...' She thought in pain. 'It really hurts... this is the first time running has been this painful...' She glanced at the key in her hand. 'I also want eternal magic power, but I really don't want Lily to die! What do I do!?'

Monster Academy

Back in E-Land, Natsu coughed himself awake before looking around. He found himself in a giant class room with creatures all wearing the same uniform. "Where am I know!? Laki!? Are you safe!?"

"Over here!" He looked over to a coffin in the front of the class room. "Get me out of this thing!"

Natsu jumped down and landed in front of the box. "How'd you get in there?" He asked as he opened the door.

"I don't know!" Laki answered. "One moment I was floating up stream and all of a sudden I got in here." She noticed the shocked look on her boyfriends face. "What? Why are you making that face?"

"What's up with your clothes?!" Natsu asked, making Laki look down and finding herself in a skimpy genie outfit.

"What the hell am I wearing!?" She asked before finding a plaque on the side.

"'The Complete Transformation Actors Box. Now transform yourself beautifully and let's explore the land of fairy tales together.'" Natsu read. "Look, there's a dial here. It must control the costumes."

"Change me back to normal!" She said, closing the box as she got back in. Natsu spun the dial and each costume was just as ridiculous as the first one. The last one was just a school swimsuit with a floaty tube. "How is this a fairy tale costume?" Natsu laughed a little bit before Laki chopped him the head. "Focus!"

"Where'd you go?" Both looked over to the door as Hughes' voice grew louder. "Damn Earthland wizards..."

"Its him!" Natsu said.

"Quick, change me back!" Laki shouted, stepping back into the box. "This outfit is embarrassing!"

Natsu glanced back over with a smirk. "I just got a great idea..."

Hughes walked around the attraction, looking for the couple. "Man, what a flashy way to get washed up." He mumbled. "Either they're weaker than I thought or they're setting up a lame ambush."

"I'M NOT DOING THAT!" Laki shouted, making the captain turn to both Dragon Slayers, the female one in a red bunny suit. Hughes stared at the two of them for a second before pointing his weapon upwards. Every monsters eyes glowed red before they lurched forward at the two of them. "Oh, crap..."

"I told you we should have gone with my plan!" Natsu shouted, earning a kick in the shin from Laki.

"That plan was never going to work!" Laki said back. "And why is everyone here a monster in uniform!?"

"This is the Monster Academy." Hughes said as the creatures surrounded the two. "Where the main attraction is the daily lives of the students on campus."

"Can you at least give me back my normal clothes!?" Laki asked, earning a tongue out from the captain. "That's it!" She launched forward in anger, ready to strike him down.

"You really wanna fight me here, in my Academy?" Hughes mockingly asked before a giant Frankenstein to swat her out of the building. "Go get her." He ordered the others and the monsters followed after her.

"Laki!" Natsu shouted concerned before wraps bound his arms and legs.

"In this Academy, all the monsters all my soldiers." Hughes declared behind a mummy in uniform. "Awesome, isn't it?" Natsu burst into flames with a roar, destroying the bandages. "He's covered his whole body in flames?!"

"Fire Dragon Talon!" Natsu spun in the air and kicked Hughes back, sending him crashing off the large desk.

"Frankenstein Knuckle!" In midair, Hughes pointed his wand at Natsu before the Frankenstein monster punched the Slayer repearedly. Natsu finally blocked one before sending the large monster crashing to the ground. "Such power! Monster army! Take him down!"

Instantly, the student body returned to his side and glared at Natsu. "Hahahahah! I wonder if you can win against all these monsters!" He pointed the wand forward and the monsters marched past him towards Natsu.

"My turn..." Natsu mumbled before setting himself ablaze. Every monster stopped in a panic and ran away.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" Hughes asked as he looked around. "Get back here and fight!" The monsters completely igbnored him and Hughes looked forward. In the mass of flames, he saw... "A real monster!" He dropped his wand in a panic.

With Laki

Laki flew through the air before using her whip spell to latch onto a building and bring herself to the ground, only to crash into Coco as she ran around the corner. "Ow..." Laki groaned before looking around. "Crap, I flew really far. I need to get back to Natsu." She looked down to Coco on the ground. "Are you okay? What happened to your feet?"

"Help me..." She whimpered out.

"Coco! Get over here!" Byro shouted as he ran into view.

"Please, help me..." Coco said before raising the key. "Take this..." She let out a small gasp as she recognized Laki. 'Oh no, she's one of the Dragon Slayers... I can't give her this key. What should I do?'

Byro finally reached her and panted heavily. "For the last time, hand me that key."

"You..." Laki mumbled before looking at Coco. "I don't know what's going on, but I do know you. You're the man who drained our magic." She stood up and entered a fighting stance. "I'm gonna pay you back for all the pain you caused me and my friends!"

"You!? You're supposed to be dead!?" Byro said, shocked that Laki was moving around. "What have Hughes and Sugarboy been doing!?"

'Natsu can handle that clown in the academy...' Laki thought before looking down at Coco. 'and I can't just leave her here alone. Whatever that key does, it must be pretty important to him.'

"I'm ordering you Coco; hand over the key." Byro growled out.

'Jeeze, and I thought Everlue was a creeper.' Laki thought. "You want something? Here you go! Wood Dragon Splinter Shot!" A giant spiked log shot out of her arm and flew at him.

"That log just came out of no where!" Byro shouted before barely dodging the log. Another one shot forward before it turned into a barrage of logs. 'Is this really what Dragon Slayer magic is capable of?' Another barrage launched at him. "Take this!" He threw a vial of red liquid that hit the logs, making them burst into flames. "Flame Liquid!"

"How'd that fire get there?" Laki asked.

"Be careful! That's his magic!" Coco shouted.

Byro smirked before he realized the logs didn't turn to ash and kept coming at him. "How!?"

"This is a combo move me and Natsu do all the time." Laki said. "Compared to his flames, you've got nothing."

"Very well, take this!" He pulled out vial of blue liquid and threw it, making it turn into a tornado. "Storm Liquid!" The gale winds blew Laki back before she used her whip spell and hooked a coaster track, pulling her out of the wind.

She spun over the track before letting go, flipping in the air. "Wood Dragon Tail Crush!" Her leg glowed before she crowned him in the head with enough force to send him crashing through the floor. "And done!"

'That was incredible.' Coco thought before looking at the key in her hands. 'Maybe I should just give her the key. Magic power is fine and all, but I won't let the king hurt Lily. What's the right thing to do?'

The ground started shaking as Laki turned to the hole she just created. "Okay, that's definitely not my stomach." A giant tentacle rose out of the hole and grabbed Coco.

"You should have just given me the key!" Byro shouted as he shot out of the hole, now a giant octopus. "Octopus Liquid! Now behold my power!" Coco screamed in pain as Byro's new limb squeezed her. "Yes, keep on screaming, little girl. And now that Dragon Slayer magic won't work on me."

"Well see about that!" Laki shouted before jumping out of the way of a tentacle.

"I want my revenge on you, little girl." Byro said, chasing the bunny girl.

"I always hated seafood." Laki said before jumping out of the way of another limb. "Wood Dragon Splinter Shot!" She fired a storm of sharp logs, only for them to bounce off. "Okay, that didn't-" A tendril hit Laki and sent her crashing into a building. "work."

"Didn't you say you pay me back for all the pain I caused you and your friends?" Byro asked, sprawling towards her. "Is this how plan on doing that!?" He swung a tendril and Laki barely managed to jump out of the way, using her Whip to hook a tentacle.

"Let's try this!" She swung around the limb and pulled, before it squeezed right off the main body.

Byro screamed in pain as Laki reached the tentacle holding Coco. "Let her go, now!" She shouted, climbing up the sucker.

"After what you just did to me!? No chance in hell!" Byro shouted back. "Besides, she's a member of our side, so why should you care about what happens to her?"

"She's in pain, can't you see that!?" Laki asked.

"Then what do you call this?" He tightened his grip, and Coco screamed again.

"That's it!" Laki grabbed a tentacle and jumped off, tying him up as she spun around.

"Let me out of this predicament, you worm!" Byro demanded.

"Since you don't care about your own friend, someone has to!" Laki declared. "If this is how you treat your friends, then you don't deserve to have any! Poison Wood Dragon Mode!" She entered her dual element mode, shocking Byro.

"TWO elements!?" He asked before starting to wobble. "My legs..."

"As a member of Fairy Tail, it's my job to protect those who can't protect themselves!" Laki said before jumping up to his face. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Dryad's Might - Toxic Knot Knuckle Fury!" Her knuckles grew wood knots before those grew sharp thorns. She then cocked her fists back and unleashed a torrent of poisoned infused punches.

The final fist was a haymaker that sent him crashing backwards into the academy, out cold. Coco fell out of the sucker clad arm before Laki jumped down and grabbed her. "You okay?"

"I think so..." The little girl nodded before Byro's head burst into flames. "What's happening?"

"Natsu..." Laki smiled before the wall exploded open, showing Natsu punching Hughes in the face.

"How's this for a monster!?" He asked before sending the captain crashing to the ground.

'Byro and Hughes were just defeated?' Coco asked herself in shock.

"What the hell is with the giant octopus!?" Natsu asked as he landed.

"You always were one for an entrance." Laki joked as she walked over.

"Who do you have there?" He asked.

"I don't know her name, but that guy was going after her." She explained before looking down at the girl. "Are you okay?

Coco slowly lifted the key upwards and showed it to them. "This is what he wanted. This is the key that will turn your friends into a weapon."

"What?" Natsu asked as Laki set Coco down.

"You mean that's what's going to make the lacrima crash into Extalia?" Laki asked. "Why were you running around with it?"

Coco dropped her head, too tired to keep it up anymore. "They told me we could have magic power that lasts forever... but I want everlasting peace... so please, destroy this key for me!"

"Wait, so all we have to do is destroy this and they can't kill our friends?" Laki asked, earning a nod. "Then what are we waiting for!"

"This is my time!" Natsu reached out to grab the key, only to grab air instead. "What the?"

"You can't just give something this valuable to our enemies, Coco." All looked to the ground to see Sugarboy sliding on the ground, key in hand. "This key is the property of his majesty."

"Sugarboy!" Coco screamed.

"The key!" Natsu shouted.

"Not good!" Laki added.

"Give it back!" Coco screamed, reaching out for him.

"I'm not through with you yet!" Gray shouted as he jumped off of Byro, while riding a motorcycle.

"You really need to let it go." Sugarboy mocked as Gray gave chase.

"That's not gonna happen!" The wizard said before landing.

"Gray!" Natsu/Laki shouted at the same time.

"Ill deal with mister cleft chin here!" He shouted back, driving through a gat after Sugarboy. "The rest is up to you!"

"Hmph. You know, persistence isn't admirable here." Sugarboy huffed back.

"Say that to my face, I dare you!" Gray shouted back.

"Guess I'll just have to deal with you now." The blonde waved his sword over the ground and the tiles turned to liquid, forcing gray to move to the side.

"We gotta help him!" Nastu shouted as he and Laki raced after their guild mate.

"We need that key!" Laki added before they started sinking into the ground themselves. "I hate this stuff."

"I can't move my legs! Natsu shouted.

"Hang on!" Laki turned her arm into her whip spell and was about to latched onto a near by castle. That was before a large shadow covered the two. "Oh, come on!" Byro crashed down on them, almost smothering them. "Now I have a new reason to hate sushi!"

The lights started shutting off as a voice declared the park was closed. But that didn't stop Sugarboy from laughing as he slid down the hall, still holding the key. "Get back here!" Gray shouted. "How in the hell are you even sliding around?"

"Hmmm..." Sugarboy mumbled in thought. "I have no idea either."

"Ooookay?" Gray asked back. "So then what's that key for?"

"This key activates the Dragon Chain Cannon." Sugarboy bragged.

"The what?" Gray asked back.

"Sorry, but that's all you're gonna get from me." The blonde mocked.

'Going off the name, that has to be something related to all that Dragon Slayer Magic they stole.' Gray thought. 'Wendy said the army's planing on using it to hit the island holding the lacrima and force it into Extalia.'

"All that matters is that you're not getting this key." Sugarboy declared.

"Which just means I can't let you leave with it, either!" Gray said before leaning to the side and sending a wave of ice towards the pink-armored captain. "Ice-Make: Floor!"

The ice snaked along the ground as Sugarboy smirked. "Haven't you learned yet?" He placed the blade on the ice and it turned soft. "Every thing you throw at me can turn into puddy with my Rosa Esparda." He missed the smile on Grays face as he started spinning out of control.

"Just cause you can make something soft doesn't mean it won't still be slippery for you." Gray said before watching Sugarboy crash into the wall. He twisted the handlebars and the bike started spinning in a curl before he launched it at the captain.

"Not bad, but it won't work on me!" Sugarboy said before holding his sword out. The whole bike turned to liquid and melted around him as Gray jumped from behind. "The key!"

"Tiem for you to shatter!" Gray shouted as he grabbed the key and froze it solid. "What the?"

"Wow, this is cold, ice boy." Sugarboy said, his arm frozen along side the key.

"Dotn call me that, I hate it!" Gray shouted in anger. "And why won't this thing shatter?"

"Did you really think you could just shatter this like a piece of junk?" The captain asked as the ice grew. "But it is pretty cold, and I'm not one for holding strange men's hands. So, could you please let go?"

"You're telling me you don't see the situation your in?" Gray asked, confusing Sugarboy. "You guys might need this key, but we don't." Sugarboy looked at him confused. "Since I can't break it, I'll just freeze it solid so you can't use it!" He shouted, coating the key in even more ice.

"It's pointless." The blonde smirked. "My Rosa Esparda can soften all the ice you can throw at me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Gray smirked back. "One wrong move, and your key is a pretzel."

Realizing he was right, Sugarboy tried to sound tough. "Then-then I'll just fine tune it myself."

"What the hell are you even talking about!?" Gray asked.

"It means all I have to do is kill you first." He answered darkly before swinging his sword at the ice.

"So that the way you wanna play it?" Gray asked before sending another blast of ice at the key. "I just freeze you with this key of yours!"

The two then started a cycle of freezing and melting, freezing and melting, freezing and melting. "Let go of it!" Sugarboy shouted.

"Freeze!" Gray shouted at the key. With a final push from both sides, the key gained a small crack on it.

"How is that even possible!?" Sugarboy asked. "The key cracked!?"

"Damn right it is." Gray smirked. "Now it's time for it to break!"

"No! Stop it! It'll break!" Sugarboy begged in a panic.

"If it means saving my friends, I'll do anything!" Gray shouted, sending another blast of ice to the key. "I'll shatter this thing into a million pieces!"

"Stop, you don't understand!" The blonde should. "You need this key just as much as we do!"

"What?" Gray asked.

"Lets just call a ceasefire! The key will break!" Sugarboy warned.

"Give me one reason I should believe that!" Gray shouted before slamming the captain into the wall behind him.

"Because, without this key, you'll never be able to turn your friends back to normal." Sugarboy said.

"...Don't bullshit me." Gray said back.

"Its true!" Sugarboy shouted back. "The Dragon Chain Cannon is pure Dragon Slayer Magic. Do you have any idea what that kind of power is capable of here!?"

Gray went wide eyed as he remembered Gajeel's explanation. "I broke the lacrima after hitting it with my Dragon Slayer Magic. After that, it turned you two back to normal. Here in this world, Dragon Slayer Magic can do all sorts of crazy stuff."

"If you hit the lacrima with the Dragon Chain Cannon, you'll turn every one of your friends back to normal." Sugarboy said. "Now do you see why this key is so important? Neither one of us can afford to lose this key."

"We have four Dragon Slayers with us. We don't need this key." Gray said back.

"By the time they finish breaking the lacrima, it'll be curtains for your friends inside it." Sugarboy said back. "Tomorrow, it'll start transforming into magic power. The plan was to send it crashing into Extalia before that occurred. Though with four dragon Slayers, you could save a lot of people. But with out this key, you can't save them all! So let go already!"

The key cracked even more as Sugarboy smirked at the look on Gray's face. "Like hell I'll just give you the key!" Gray shouted before sending one final wave of ice that broke the key.

"Th-the-the key!" Sugarboy shouted in a panic. "What's the matter with you!? I wasn't pulling your leg!" He tried putting the key back together like a puzzle, but it failed. Angered, he charged Gray with his sword pointed at the Ice mages heart. "You just domed your friends to death!"

He hit his target... or so he thought. Gray had tossed his jacket off and it took the hit for him. "You're dead wrong, pal. Everyone is coming home with us!"

'He used his jacket as a decoy. This is bad.' Sugarboy thought as Gray grew ice on his left hand and right elbow.

"Ice-Blade: Seven Strike Dance!" Gray spun around seven times, striking Sugarboy with enough force to break his armor and send him flying backwards.

"Y-you just doomed everyone, ice boy." The captain groaned out. "Without that key... everyone in that lacrima... is doomed to die..."

"See, here's the thing you don't know about us maker mages." Gray smirked as Sugarboy watched him make an exact replica of the key he just destroyed. "I can make anything."

This chapter had some tricky bits to it because I had to think of something for Laki to wear that I could see her wearing. That meant no swimsuits, no leather, no genie outfit, but I couldn't jut put her back into her clothes. So, I went with the bunny suit. Also, unlike Lucy, Laki actually BEAT Byro in this fic instead of knocking him off his feet.

Poll update: 'Secret' is still in the lead with 40 votes and 'Joins with Exceeds' is behind by 8 votes. 'Stays Behind' is at 20 votes, with 'Max as Partner' behind by 1 vote, and 'Warren as Partner' and 'Nab as Partner' are tied with 8 votes apiece.

Beta read by Natsu is Awesome.