Lucy took a final look in the mirror. Her "hair" was styled in a high bun, she was wearing the blue dress Erza picked out, and had a full face of makeup. She put on a pair of heels and exited the bedroom. "So, do I look okay?"
Gray's jaw dropped. "Lucy, you look beautiful." She blushed.
"Awww, they're so in love!" Erza squealed.
"We're not in love!" They argued.
"Yeah, Lucy's 'dating' Natsu." Happy said.
"And Gray's 'dating' Juvia." Wendy added.
"This is just as friends." Gray said as he tried to tie his tie.
"I'll do it." Lucy smirked as she tied it for him. "Dude, you put way too much grease in your hair."
"I didn't do it." He glared at Erza, who grinned brightly.
"The blonde suits you." Erza stuck out her tongue.
"Wait!" Natsu's loud voice startled them all. "I wanna see." He appeared before them and looked around. "Where's Lucy?"
"Um, right here?" She frowned.
"Oh. Why's your hair brown?"
Lucy glared at Erza. "Someone insisted on me wearing a wig."
Natsu cackled. "Classic Erza." He made a face at Gray. "Your hair is so greasy I can see my reflection in it."
Gray rolled his eyes. "Again, I didn't do it!"
Natsu got up in his face. "You better try anything with Lucy. Got it?"
"I wasn't planning on it." He glared at Natsu. "You two are dating, and I'm in love with someone else. We're just going as FRIENDS."
"HE LOVES HER!" Happy shouted.
"Jeez, Natsu's the overprotective boyfriend." Wendy noted.
"What? Wendy, how could you say that?!" Natsu asked as he turned to her.
She shrugged. "Lucy likes you enough, just trust her. And Gray's your best friend."
"I prefer the term frenemy." Gray said with a frown.
"Frenemy?!" Natsu demanded.
"Oh no, don't let them start." Happy groaned.
"Bye Natsu." Lucy held up his key with a smug smile on her face.
"Wait!" Natsu leaned towards her. "You look beautiful." He kissed her before disappearing.
"Must you always kiss?" Wendy made a face.
"It's romantic!" Erza smiled.
"You need a boyfriend." Wendy sighed.
"Goodbye." Gray huffed as he slammed the door.
"I say we should just pretend we had dinner but we really just hang around until Jellal shows up." Lucy sighed.
Gray shook his head. "No, Erza has excellent lie-detecting skills. We can just go somewhere."
"Okay." She dug through her purse. "By the way, this is from Wendy. She said you might need it." She handed him a wad of cash.
"Oh, nice." He said simply before tucking it into his pocket.
They both sighed. "This is so awkward."
He offered her his arm. "I feel like we shouldn't be enjoying ourselves when we have so much to plan."
She took it. "Yeah, me too. I'm hoping Jellal will have some good information because our plan could use some work."
"Yeah, it's a good plan, though. What we really need is a plan to kill Zeref without killing Natsu."
Lucy nodded as they entered a restaurant. "Wow, this place is nice."
"Do you have a reservation?" A man peered down at them with a frown.
"Yes, actually." Gray said. "It's under Lockser." Lucy coughed in surprise. He nudged her to shut her up.
"Oh, I see. Right this way." The man led them to a table.
"Wow, I'm shocked you made a reservation." Lucy smirked.
"Shut up..." Gray said as his face turned red in embarrassment as they sat down. They scanned the menus.
"Jeez, why is everything so pricey?" She muttered.
"Only Erza would pick out the most expensive restaurant." He rolled his eyes. "I'm just gonna eat soup."
"Me too. Wanna share a salad?" She asked.
"Sure." A waiter took their orders, leaving an uncomfortable silence in his wake.
"So, um, how are you and Juvia?" Lucy asked.
Gray choked on his water. "Uh, I don't know. I didn't tell her I was leaving, so she's probably upset. I miss her, though."
She smirked. "I knew it was a matter of time before you returned her feelings for you."
"What?!"
"Your crush was so obvious, but you tried to play it cool."
"At least I'm not the one dating a demon!"
"He's not a demon!" She pouted. "Okay, well, now he is."
He rolled his eyes. "Was it really that obvious?"
She nodded. "Yeah, you always stared at her and blushed when she wasn't looking, and you were mean to her. Guys are usually mean to girls they like."
"Oh, well that's great. Now everyone in the entire guild knows I like Juvia."
"I doubt they even care. Most of them are too busy with their own stuff to pay attention."
"I guess. What about you and Natsu, hm?" He smirked.
"What about us?" She replied as her face turned red.
"When did you start dating, have you kissed yet, etc."
"Well, Natsu kind of heard the things I said at his grave, which he wasn't meant to hear, and he told me he loved me too, and then we kissed. That was on the train to Hargeon." She shrugged. "That's kind of it."
"Interesting..." He murmured. "You guys are totally in love."
"Ew, you sound like Happy. And Erza."
"Here's your salad." The waiter placed it in front of them and left.
Gray's eyes widened. "I just realized we are in a restaurant."
Lucy face palmed. "Seriously? What's that have to do with anything?"
"We're in public."
She rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot."
"You're the one dating an idiot." He retorted. They were both silent as they ate.
"So..." Gray said awkwardly as he pushed the rest of his salad around his plate.
"So..." Lucy sipped her water as she finished her meal.
"I'm done, you?"
"Yeah, let's go."
Gray paid and they left. "Dang, we should've taken the leftovers."
"Eh, there wasn't much."
"Their portions were skimpy." He frowned.
Lucy chuckled. "What do expect at an expensive restaurant?"
"You're right. We should go see Jellal."
"Yeah." They walked through the park until they found the cherry blossom tree. No one was there. "Are we late, Gray? Or early?"
"No, we're right on time." He said as he checked.
"You don't think he's been caught?" Her eyes widened.
He shook his head. "Jellal's smart. He's probably just late."
"No, I got hungry." The duo jumped as they turned to face Jellal. He was munching on a hot dog.
"Did you have to scare us?" Lucy pouted.
"Sorry."
"You're acting weird." Gray said suspiciously. "You feeling okay, man?"
"Yeah, I'm good, I was trying to get into character." Gray and Lucy rolled their eyes at his words. "Anyways, I have bad news." He lowered his voice as soft as possible. "The entire empire has been on high alert since you escaped. There's a huge reward for your capture, and there's an elite group of assassins hunting for you. Jacob, one of the shields, is leading them."
Lucy stiffened. "They really want us dead, huh?"
Gray cracked his knuckles. "We're not going out without a fight."
"Calm down. I'm collecting a lot of information and it's crucial that I pass it on to you. That being said, you also need to be extra careful now. I'm changing the rendezvous spot. From now on, we'll meet at that clock tower. Got it?" Jellal asked.
"Yeah." They replied.
"By the way," Lucy said, "we're developing a plan. We're going to take down one of the 12's squad."
"Which one?" Jellal asked.
"Brandish." She replied. "We're familiar with their magic and fighting, and we can prevent them from attacking Fairy Tail, since they're one of the first squads to land at Ishgar."
"Good. I'll see if I can't get information on her squad too. What about Wendy? She can't handle naval travel."
Gray grinned. "Happy's taking care of that."
Jellal smiled. "Great." He suddenly sobered. "I heard Zeref is planning to go to Fairy Tail directly, shortly after the first wave arrives."
Lucy stiffened. "Why does he even need to go? His henchmen can take care of everything."
"He has something in store for your guild, but I don't know what."
"Oh no." Gray sighed and glanced around. He jerked Lucy closer to him as he saw a man staring at all of them.
Lucy jumped. "What's wrong?"
"Someone's watching us." He hissed.
Jellal motioned for them to calm down. "Don't act suspicious. Just take a deep breath. He probably was just looking at everyone in the park."
"Yeah, we should go though." Lucy said warily.
Jellal nodded. "I agree. Meet me in 2 days at the clock tower. Sunrise."
They nodded as they turned away.
Suddenly, Jellal grabbed Gray's shoulder. "Oh, and guys, you're wanted dead or alive." The duo gasped in horror as he promptly vanished.
"Well, that's not good." Gray groaned as he pulled Lucy after him.
"Can you not drag me?" She huffed.
"Sorry."
"He's still watching us." She hissed as she fake smiled at the man.
"Act natural. Like a typical couple."
"Should we kiss?"
"That's too much."
"Sorry."
"Hello, young lady." The man said from behind them. Gray and Lucy nervously turned around.
"Hello?" Lucy awkwardly stared at him.
"Is this young man bothering you?"
Her eyes widened. "No, he's my husband."
The man looked at them suspiciously. "You look too young to be married."
"We're 21." Gray stated.
The man looked Lucy up and down. "Hm. You sure?"
Lucy angrily growled at the man. "Yes. Stop looking at me like that."
"Okay, but know if your husband bothers you, I can take care of him." He winked at Lucy before walking away.
She shivered. "Creepy!"
"You good?" Gray asked in a concerned voice.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, you looked uncomfortable when he was staring at you, I just wanted to check."
"I was, but I'm good I guess."
"Do you think he was trying to hear our conversation or just being a creeper?"
"This sounds bad but I'd rather have the creeper than a spy. I don't want anyone getting captured."
"I agree."
"Let's go back home."
"Home?" Gray inquired with a frown.
"You know what I meant." Lucy sighed. "I guess we're not gonna have a home pretty soon."
"We'll manage to fix this. We always do."
"I'm worried that we might be over our heads this time."
"Possibly, but look on the bright side. We have a plan, we're alive and somewhat well, and we have inside sources."
"You're right. We do have a lot of things going for us right now."
"And a lot of not so good things."
"Yep..."
They walked back to the hotel silently and filled the others in. Erza kicked the table over in a fit of rage when she learned Zeref was going to Fairy Tail.
"We cannot allow that to happen! The guild is our home!" She spat.
"Calm down." Happy said worriedly. "We won't let him."
"If our plan works, we might be able to stop his ship before it reaches Ishgar." Wendy mused.
"We'll probably die in the process." Erza replied. "Zeref can easily kill us all."
"Even if we did defeat him, the other shields would pounce on us and finish us off." Gray said.
"I wish Carla would hurry back." Wendy sighed. "It'd be helpful to know if she reached Master."
"I'm sure she will." Lucy smiled reassuringly.
Suddenly, Natsu popped in, alarming them all. "Yo!"
Gray frowned. "What do you want?"
"I wanted to see how it went, jeez." Natsu pulled the wig off of Lucy and ruffled her hair.
"Natsu!" She whined as she tried to fix it.
"It was fine. Did you hear what we told the others?" Gray asked.
"Yeah. Did anything bad happen?" Natsu hugged Lucy from behind.
"No, it went pretty smoothly."
"Well, there was that guy..." Lucy interjected.
"Oh, yeah." Gray replied.
"What guy?" Erza demanded.
"There was this guy in the park who was watching us. We were trying to decide if he was a creeper or a spy."
"I think he was a creeper." Lucy said.
"Yeah, especially since he kept staring at you."
Natsu stiffened. "I'll kill him."
"Calm down, pyro." Gray rolled his eyes.
"I don't want people to look at Lucy like that." He snapped.
"Overprotective." Wendy and Happy said simultaneously.
"No! I just don't want her to feel disrespected."
"Awww!" The duo squealed.
"Shut up!"
Lucy smiled lightly. "Thanks, but I'm fine. You don't gotta worry about me, Natsu."
He tickled her. "I can't help it." She giggled as she pushed him playfully.
"They're totally in love." Happy whispered to Wendy. She nodded.
Erza frowned at them before turning to Gray. "Are you sure he wasn't a spy or something?"
"That's what I asked." Gray said. "I think he was just a creeper though."
"What do you mean 'spy'?" Happy asked. "Like someone who's watching us?"
Erza nodded. "Yes. Someone who's trying to get our information."
"Wait!" Wendy exclaimed. "What if he was one of the people hunting us?"
"That's right." Gray groaned. "Jellal said people are hunting for us because there's a huge reward for our capture."
"Well this complicated things." Erza mumbled.
"And we're wanted dead or alive." He added grimly.
"People want to kill us?!" Happy cried out.
"People always want to kill us." Lucy sighed.
"This sucks." Natsu pouted. "I'm bored. We do nothing except wait for information. I want some action!"
"Be careful what you wish for." Erza said grimly.
"Not to be rude or anything, but can we go to bed?" Wendy asked timidly. "I don't feel good."
"Your tummy hurt?" Happy asked with an understanding smile.
"Yeah and I feel like I'm gonna pass out."
"Go lay down." Lucy said worriedly. "Maybe you have food poisoning?"
"Maybe. We did order that weird fish for lunch." She mumbled as she laid on the couch.
"Weird fish?" Gray questioned.
"Seared tuna." Erza said. "Didn't you eat some? I got enough for everyone."
"No, I wasn't hungry."
"Oh great." Lucy groaned. "We're all gonna get food poisoning."
"You know now that I think about it, my stomach's been hurting too." Erza said as she rubbed her stomach.
"Oh no." Gray shook his head. "I am not taking care of you two pukers."
"Make that three." Lucy said before she ran to the bathroom.
"Luce! You okay?" Natsu asked. He stiffened when he heard her throw up. He ran to the bathroom and held back her hair as she continued to throw up.
Suddenly, Erza collapsed on the ground. Gray ran over to her. "Erza!" He laid her on the bed and checked to make sure she was breathing. He sighed in relief when he discovered she was alive.
"Damn Lucy, how much fish did you eat?" Natsu's nose wrinkled as he flushed the toilet for the 4th time.
"Not even half of mine." She panted as she vomitted.
"Natsu! Erza passed out. I'm not so sure they have food poisoning." Gray yelled.
"What?" Natsu shouted before suddenly puffing out his cheeks. He shoved Lucy out of the way and threw up. "I should not have eaten Gray's fish..."
"Natsu?" Gray ran into the bathroom to see them both throwing up. "Oh no."
"Gray?" Wendy stumbled over. "I don't feel so good..." She grabbed her head as she wobbled.
Gray looked back and forth in frustration. "Ugh! I don't know which one of you to help!"
"I can help." Happy piped up. He picked up Wendy and laid her next to Erza. "See?"
"Thanks." Gray nodded at the exceed as he examined the two sick lovers. "One of you should go to the other bathroom."
"Not it." They said in unison.
Gray sighed and threw Natsu over his shoulder. "Guess I'll choose."
"Oh no, Gray, put me down I'm gonna hurl-" Gray grimaced as Natsu threw up on his back.
"Really?" He asked in exasperation. He was further exasperated as somone knocked on their door. He opened the door. "Look, we got sick people, you-" He was suddenly thrown backwards, hitting his head on the table. "What's your problem?"
"Gray!" Happy shouted as he flew at the intruders. One of them threw him into the wall, knocking him out.
Two other people silently entered the room. Gray stood only to be knocked down again. His head spun as he tried to fight but he ended up being overpowered. A short woman tied him up. "Hey, it looks like the poison didn't work on him."
"You poisoned us?!" Gray gasped.
"Idiot!" The taller man boomed as he walked into the bedroom. He returned with Erza and Wendy.
"Erza! Wendy!" Gray shouted.
"Got another girl." A tall woman held up a messy, unconscious Lucy and dumped her next to Gray.
"Hey! Put her down!" Gray demanded.
"You talk too much." The short woman sighed as she gagged him.
"Here's a boy." The tall woman dumped Natsu on the floor next to Lucy.
"Lucy! Natsu!" Gray said, muffled. They didn't stir. He sighed before realizing they didn't use sealstone. He silently untied his hands before jumping up. "Ice-Make: Lance!"
The short woman spun around and blocked his attacks with an ice shield. She smirked. "An ice mage? This should be fun."
"Vanessa, take care of the boy. We'll handle the rest." The man ordered as he carried Erza and Wendy out of the room.
"Fine but hurry up." She faced Gray with an annoyed scowl.
"Ice-Make: Hammer!" He shouted.
She jumped lightly out of the way. "Ice-Make: Geyser!"
Gray grunted as he easily broke the ice. "Ice-Make: Sword!" He charged towards Vanessa and attacked her. She made a sword of her own and blocked him.
"Well, aren't you strong?" She giggled.
"What?" He demanded as he sliced her torso.
She scowled as her armor became scratched. "That was expensive you street rat!"
"Street rat?" He asked himself. "Ice Devil's Rage!" He smiled coolly as he used his devil slaying magic.
"What's this?" She demanded as her body froze.
"Something my father gave me. Ice Devil's Zeroth Destruction Fist!" He slammed his fists repeatedly into Vanessa's face, knocking her unconscious. "Yes! Now I need to find the others."
"Don't worry, you'll be joining them slowly." The short woman smirked as she threw a can into the room.
Gray shielded himself before it exploded. "Nice try but you missed."
"No we didn't." The man smirked as poison filled the room.
Gray coughed and used his magic to push the poison away but he had already inhaled too much. He gasped for breath as he collapsed on one knee. His vision became blurry. He shot the duo with his ice magic before slipping into unconsciousness.