Hi guys! Sorry for the wait, writer's bloke and my job also was in the way so I couldn't get much done quicker, but I feel like I can get somewhere now.

I know a lot of you keep mentioning about my 'spelling' where their names are concerned and I did mention that I was mostly following the manga version but I do prefer how their names sounded during the anime version, despite my preference over following the manga. I apologize to anyone who doesn't like this and thinks it isn't right, but that's my preferred way of spelling out their names (sounded much better in my own opinion), and as long as you know who I'm talking about, then that should matter regardless.

And one last matter is, the vote on the matter of giving Hikari a Exceed partner like Happy, Carla, Panther Lily etc. is still on but I'm gonna probably finish it soon since it's been on for a while, so if you want to vote and have your opinion on that, it needs to be done soon. (It will most likely go and finish once I'm done with this arc that we're now on.)

Yes - Female Exceed: 14

Yes - Male Exceed: 5

No Exceed: 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except for Hikari or any other OC that may appear.

Chapter 30

Hikari P.O.V.

I was sat at the bar, thinking as I also watch Mira clean some mugs and I was also listening to Natsu freak out a little. The past week was weirdly hectic, Team Natsu and I had doing jobs top to bottom but then Loke started acting different, and just last night Loke went missing and tried to leave the guild but in the end Lucy found him as he was close to dying and the whole guild found out what he truly was.

"YOU'RE A STELLAR SPIRIT!?" Natsu yelled, before going around Loke, examining him from head to toe while the poor bloke scratched the back of his head. I sighed.

"Calm down Natsu!" I spoke up, grabbing the back of Natsu's scarf and pulled him over to me.

"But… He's a stellar spirit!?" Natsu spoke, looking at me before looking back at Loke.

"Yeah… That's pretty much it." Loke said, grinning at Natsu.

"I never noticed it at all." Gray said, frowning slightly.

"Well can you blame him for trying to blend in? It's not always easy to speak up the past." I said.

"You seem calm and nor surprised by this piece of news. Why?" Loke asked, Natsu, Happy and Gray looked at me questioningly.

"I knew what you were since day one of being in the guild. Are you forgetting I'm a 400 year old dragon? I could smell what you were." I said, shrugging. Natsu sniffed at Loke while the others looked surprised, Natsu looked at me frowning. "What?"

"I don't smell the difference between him and anyone else." Natsu said.

"That's because my nose is stronger than yours, plus years of experience teaches you the differences between a human and someone who isn't human." I explained, Natsu's face went blank, and I thought he didn't get it, but as I went to explain again, he grinned.

"Oh, I gotcha!" Natsu said before turning back to the group, but not before wrapping an arm around my waist and pulled me to his side. I smiled into the hug and leaned into him.

"Hey, wait a minute! You're not a cow or a horse or anything like that!" Natsu exclaimed, looking pointedly at Loke.

"Well, you've seen Virgo before, she looks like a person, right?" Loke said amusedly, grinning back at Natsu.

"No… She turns into a gorilla too…" Natsu spoke before I elbowed him gently.

"Don't be rude." I said, glaring slightly.

"It's alright, even I think that a little true." Loke spoke, smiling at me. I only raised an eyebrow at him.

"Loke's the lion stellar spirit." Lucy explained, finally joining the conversation.

"LION!?" Natsu and Happy yelled, while I laughed at their expressions.

"A lion?! That means a grown up cat doesn't it!" Happy spoke, Loke kneeled down towards him.

"That's right." Loke replied, smiling.

"NO IT'S NOT!" Lucy yelled.

"Uwaa, that's so cool." Happy said.

"Anyway, are you okay to be out like this so soon? Shouldn't you be resting right now?" I asked, looking at him felling concerned.

"Yeah, are you going to be carrying on like you used to?" Gray asked.

"I'm afraid those days are long over, now that Lucy's my owner… When Lucy's in trouble, I'll gallantly show up, after all, I am her knight in shining armour." Loke said before walking over to Lucy and picked her up bridal style before walking off. "Speaking of which, let's go talk about our plans for the future."

"PUT ME DOWN!"" Lucy all but yelled, frantically trying to escape Loke's grasp, all while I laughed at her. "HIKARI! STOP LAUGHING AND HELP ME!"

"Why? It seems Prince Charming only wants to spend time with his princess. Plus, you seem to enjoy the attention." I spoke, before laughing harder when Lucy started glaring at me, while Loke had hearts flying above his head.

"She's so lucky! I want a stellar spirit too." Natsu whined, making me and Happy look at him curiously.

"What kind of spirit?" Happy asked, though I don't know why he did, it would be plain obvious that he'd want a dra-

"A dragon of course! I've finally learnt dragon slayer magic. But if I can't try it out on a real dragon, it's a total waste." Natsu said. He… was so predictable at time, it amazes me.

"You can't just summon stellar spirits so you can have some sort of free for all… and besides, Hikari is a dragon, why not fight her?" Lucy spoke, and it was then that Natsu looked semi-serious.

"Why would I want to fight Hikari? She's my girlfriend, I'd rather have her fight alongside me than against me." Natsu said pulling me into a hug.

"And since when did you become such a romantic guy?" I asked, my voice a little teasing.

"Since I started dating you. And only you. And besides, aren't I always romantic?" Natsu said, seeming to boast, I smirked.

"Not always, sometimes you can be an idiot or a child or a piece of work…." I teased, laughing when he fell to his knees and started sulking. "But… I love every part of you and wouldn't change a thing."

"Hikari, you are in big trouble." Natsu muttered, gathering me into his arms and as he went to kiss me, he ended up getting hit by a piece of ice. Natsu turned to Gray, looking pissed. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR, ICE-BRAINS?!"

"Maybe because most of us would prefer for you to keep things PG around us all." Gray spoke angrily and it wasn't long did those two start fighting, while just ended up sighing before turning back to my surroundings, only to have Lucy shove a holiday resort ticket into my face.

"We're going on holiday? Thanks Loke." I said, guessing it was from him.

"No problem, I've given one to Erza too. Have fun." Loke said before disappearing.

"YAY!" Happy cheered while we all read the tickets that Loke had given to us.

"The beach? Sounds fun, but I'm gonna need to buy a swimsuit, I have yet to get one." I spoke, mainly to myself.

"I think Erza may have a spare one that you could borrow." Lucy said, a smile on her face as she pointed towards the red-head. I looked over to Erza, only to laugh at her enthusiasm, what with there being 10-20 odd suitcases on a trailer which she pulled along herself.

"Why are you guys just standing around? If you want to hitch a ride, feel free to hop on…" Erza said, before looking at me. "And I do have several pairs, some that I have yet to try, so you are welcome to any of them."

"IT'S OKAY TO DAWDLE ONCE IN A WHILE!" Both Natsu and Grey yelled in unison, which was amusing to me as those two always argued.

"Thanks." I spoke.

The next day…..

We had arrived at the fancy hotel last night, and due to the exhaustion of the journey we chose to rest in our hotel rooms, me Erza and Lucy in one and the boys long with Happy in the room next door, though Natsu did try to persuade me to share a one with me, which only fuelled the teasing from our friends, which caused us to agree not to follow that plan.

"This feels nice, it been so long since I last had this type of fun." I spoke, a grin on my face before I turned to look at my companions, to see that they've all stripped down to their swimwear. Erza a plain black bikini while Lucy had the same style yet chequered black and white one. Grey was was wearing a plain light blue trunks, and then when I went to look at Natsu, I ended up sucking in air and holding it. He was wearing black trunks that had a orange/red flame on the bottom left side of it, but my eyes couldn't help but admire every square in of his torso now that it wasn't covered by to usual attire, plus he wasn't wearing his trademark scarf that Igneel gave him, I knew I was probably drooling at Natsu's six pack at the smirk that was on Lucy's face.

"Liking what you see?" Lucy asked, making me shake my head and look at her.

"But of course, but I have every right to admire my boyfriend's body." I said before we laughed.

"Anyway, why aren't you wearing a swimsuit, do you not plan on joining us for some fun?" Lucy asked, frowning that the hoodie and shorts is was wearing, which was covering the swimsuit I had on.

"I am wearing one, its underneath, I was about to take it off now that we've arrived." I said, before pulling my shorts of, which caught Natsu's attention, his face became red but I could see the lustful intend in his eyes. I felt my cheeks grow warm as I felt his heated eyes watching my every move. My hoodie still covered most of my body, so that he and no-one else could see the top and bottom half of the bikini that I was wearing, but when my hand reached for the zip, I felt hesitant.

"You okay?" Erza asked, noticing my hesitance, I looked at her before nodding and took my hoodie of, making all of them gasp. I wore a red bikini set plain, the top half thought was a boob-tube with a single string that was attached at the centre and was tied around my neck but it did still show of my figure but I knew that my teammates weren't looking at my choice in swimwear but rather all the scars that littered the back and front of my torso. I had one big scar that began at the right side of my collarbone and reached down to the left side of my stomach, other little scares that surrounded that one that were only 1 to 2 inches in size, and on my back there was there large scars that was given to me by a different dragon, and out of all of them, the scars on by back were the deepest ones I have.

"What? Did you really expect me to look any different than this? I've lived and survived for over 400 years and had many fights and battles during that time. It shouldn't be much of a shock that I had a few scars here and there." I said, in hopes to soothe them before I walked down the sea and jumped in. It wasn't long until I felt strong arms reach out and hold onto me, I turned to see that Natsu was once again hugging me from behind, I smiled. "I'm okay, I promise. I'm still me."

"It still pains me to think of all the years you've been alone and all the things you must have experienced. But I promise you this, you are not alone, not any more." Natsu spoke, as he nuzzled into my neck and breathed in my scent. I smiled, turning and giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"I love you." I said to him softly, my smiled growing softer, placing my hands on his chest gently.

"i love you too." he replied, before he went to kiss me, his eyes closed. My smile went mischievous and I pushed him deeper into the water, making him go under completely, and when he came back up, I was laughing, hugging my waist as I did so, he glared at me, though there was amusement in his eyes. "Hikari…!"

"What? I had to do it, it's not my fault you gave me a huge opening." I said, before I turned and ran for it, and I could just barely see our friends laughing at us before I was belting away, still in the water, but not deep enough to make me slow. Of course Natsu wasn't too far behind me, yelling. And as far as I knew, what ever awkwardness had been there when they saw my full appearance, it was now gone and I was thankful about that.

After we were all done playing in the water I found myself a little worn out and sat down on the sand as I watched Lucy, Natsu and Lucy play game, were you had to hit the watermelon open with a baseball bat, or a stick in their case, while being blindfolded. I wanted to help Lucy as she was the one currently blindfolded and being misled by the boys, but I let them have their fun, knowing full well this was gonna be amusing.

"Go right, right! A little to the left… Up… Up..." Natsu called out to her, as Grey had a smirk on his face, though I could see he was trying not to laugh.

"Can't go much higher..." Lucy spoke, as she followed their instructions. I shook my my head, knowing the boys will get in trouble for this.

"THERE!" Natsu yelled.

"Gotcha!" Lucy said before swinging downwards, only to hit a man's forehead. "Take that!"

"That was mean, and you know it." I said, though I was trying and failing miserably not to laugh, only to laugh really hard when Lucy returned back to us and dragged Natsu towards a jet-ski. "THAT'S CALLED KARMA!"

"HELP ME!" Natsu yelled, reaching towards me, but I was already lost to the abyss of laughter. And after 10-15 minutes, I saw then return, only to see that Natsu barely had much life in him. I could hear him mumble at me, most I was unable to understand but some of the words I could make out, things like; 'Traitor', 'unfair punishment' etc.

"It was your idea to do that, not mine." I said, letting him rest his head on my lap. The next activity was a lunch, which we all enjoyed, mostly my cooking with a little help from Lucy (who did the rice-balls), its packed Bentos which had egg omelettes, sandwiches, sushi, salad, chicken pieces in batter and in a separate tube was all different fruits.

"I didn't know you could cook Hikari. It tastes delicious." Erza said, picking up a piece of sushi.

"Actually the skill is somewhat new. Most of my years were spent as a dragon and it was only a few years ago did I return to my human self. So I had to quickly learn how to live and survive as a human." I explained, smiling at them.

"Was it self-taught or did you have help?" Grey asked, looking thoughtful yet curious.

"To begin with I had help for Porlyusica. When I first became a human after a long time, I could barely do much. She found me alone in the forest, I could barely stand or speak, my magic almost drained. It took me several months to get used to being on two legs rather than four, plus I have to learn how to do things like changing clothes and feeding myself in that form, which was difficult at first as I wasn't used to it. But the cooking part, she taught me at least two recipes and then I taught myself the rest after that." I spoke, looking au as if I was watching my memories but I was just trying to find a good way of describing what happened during that time.

"I take it that was a hard time for you then? Were you at least happy?" Erza asked, and it was then I saw they were worried about me.

"Yes I was and still am. I don't know where I'd be right now if Porlyusica didn't find me. It was during that time did I meet most of the guild masters then too. Much younger back then."

"So that would explain how they knew you!" Lucy exclaimed, referring back when we met them as we were about to face Lullaby.

"Yeah." I replied smiling, as we finished our lunch, and it was then that Natsu was frowning. "Natsu? You okay?"

His face was shadowed over, I could barely see his eyes, but I knew he was in deep thought, I crawled over to him and sat in his lap, while still facing him. Placing a hand on his cheek, I lifted his face up so he could look at me properly, I kissed him. It didn't take long for me to get a response out of him as his hands held onto my hips while mine went into his hair as our kiss slowly deepened, but before we could go too far I pulled away, and found we were both breathing heavily.

"Natsu. I need you to understand that what happened to me is in the past, and I don't care about my past. At the moment, I'm just think about my present and looking forward to my future. And what I have right now. Makes me happy, especially that I have you and I have my friends." I said, hugging him tightly, making sure that he was able to breathe.

"As long as you're happy, that's all I need. But I promise, I will kill anyone to hurts you or causes you to cry, and I don't care who it is. You come first to me from now on." Natsu promised, and I could easily tell he meant it and that what happened with Ryou and Kyoko still somewhat scared him.

"It's okay. I'm still here and we've got each other. But don't forget that we still have our friends, they're imporatant too." I said, pulling back to look at him, he had a determined look in his eyes.

"Yes and I will continue to help and protect them like always, but you will always be a main priority." Natsu said, before flipping us so that my back lay against the sand while he hovered over me, my legs already wrapped around his hips due to the fact I was originally on his lap. His lips were soon kissing me again, rougher, more desperate and yet still help as much love in it as any other kiss he gave me, and I found myself moaning as I felt his tongue on my lower lip, which I ended up granting permission to and soon we were battling for dominance, to which he won. Soon he started kissing other areas, starting from the corner of my mouth, then my cheek before kissing down my neck and collarbone.

"Natsu!" I moaned out to him, both my hands on his shoulders like is was hugging him to me, while one of his was stroking my cheek and the other on my waist, and I started feeling warming when he started to suck and nibble at a sensitive spot on my neck, my mind going blank as my body tried to respond in a positive manner, but I knew I needed to stop this before it got out of hand, must to my displeasure.

"Natsu… We need… to…. Stop… We're going… too fast.." I spoke out, though it came out as if I was a panting dog, struggling to breathe due to how much pleasure I was feeling. Natsu groaned, clearly not wanting to stop but he did stop and moved off of me slowly after giving my neck one last kiss. After a minute or two of catching my breathe, I could see him smirking at me as I sat up. Seeing my confusion, he pointed at my neck, looking smug. Narrowing my eyes at him, I quickly grabbed my bag, and when I found the mirror that I had inside it, I gasped. The bastard left me a huge Hickey that lay half way down my neck and how my hair fell down, he and I both knew it couldn't be hidden, not matter how I would try. Before I could scold him, Natsu was already walking away towards where our friends were, and it was then had I noticed that they actually gave us some privacy in our moment, rather than tease us.

"So, what's next on our activity list?" I asked as I re-joined the group.

"Volleyball. You in?" Grey asked, smirking, which grew at the sight of my appearance and I knew he could see my Hickey, which my cheeks went very warm.

"Sure. 2 vs 2?" I asked, which he nodded at. It wasn't long that we were set up and playing, me and Natsu vs Erza and Grey with Lucy and Happy being the referee's. Of course me and Natsu were winning by two points when to next incident happened, I went to hit the ball, and the exact time I hit it, the bikini string loosened, causing the top half of my bikini to fall. My face heated up at my chest flashed open to the world and ran to hide behind Natsu, pressing my bare chest to his bare back. I could also see Natsu's face went very red also but he was standing still while Lucy was laughing, Grey had a nose bleed while trying not to look in our direction, Erza walking over to pick up my bikini top so she could help me and Happy was grinning ear to ear in that creepy way that he does usually to Lucy. What kind of luck was I having today?

Later that evening…

I was sat at the table that was on the balcony of the hotel room I shared with my female companions while enjoying a glass of whiskey, I blamed Cana for this as I didn't make it a habit to drink. I was in a red sleeveless turtle-neck dress that reached down to my knees and had a black belt that went around the waist. I had light tights on with black high heel shoes on. I was planning on a quiet night but I knew this hotel had a casino and knew that my friends will want to go, persuade me to join them, so I had decided to put this dress on, a dress that could be formal and casual at the same time. I looked over at Erza who was asleep on the deck chair that we had, but I felt myself worry for her when she started tossing in her sleep and sweat started falling down her face. I gulped down to remains of my drink before walking over to my friend.

"Erza… Erza, wake up! ERZA!" I yelled, shaking her a bit before she shot up, wide-eyed in pure terror and looking around. Her eyes soon landed on me and she visibly started calming down. "Are you alright? It was just a nightmare. I'm here."

"I must have nodded off. Sorry to have worried you Hikari." Erza said, swinging her legs around and ready to stand up.

"It's okay, and you've only been asleep for an hour. It's been a big day, so I ain't surprised you fell asleep. If you want to talk, I'm here for you." I said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Erza looked at me, surprised a little before a warm smile .

"Thanks." Erza said, then looked behind me, frowned and then looked back at me with a frown. "You don't usually drink. Is there something that's bothering you?"

"I'm fine. Only had one glass, I promise. It takes a lot for me to get drunk, even I need it sometimes, irregardless of my mood. After what happened with Kyoko and Ryou though, it made me think that I need to open up a little. I may not be completely ready to say everything on my past but if something upsets me, I will tell you guys." I said, as I started cleaning up the bottle and glass. I looked over at Erza. "I promise, you and everyone else will know if I need help."

Erza had a thoughtful look as her eyes studied me, before smiling and nodding. "Good. You did have us scared and worried. We are aware you've been put through a lot over your 400 years, and that there's a lot of pain in your heart. I just happier, knowing you are aware we are here for you when it's needed."

"Thanks. I do appreciate it." I said before walking in and placing the bottle back in the drinks cabinet while Erza walked in and closed the balcony door shut before using her magic to change into her armour, I smiled at her when I saw her relax and seemed happy.

"I'm most at ease in armour after all. Fufu… There's changing a girl like me." Erza said, making us both laugh.

"If you changed, we'd all go insane thinking something was wrong. No doubt there'd be a panic in the guild." I said amused, Erza smiled.

"Probably. Then I'd have to find a way to avoid it." Erza stated.

"ERZA! HIKARI!" Lucy exclaimed, as she entered the room after her exploration of the hotel.

"Lucy…?" I asked, turning to look at the loud blonde.

"They've got a casino in the basement! Want to come check it out?" Lucy asked us both excitedly, a huge eager smile on her face.

"Well I'm not really fond of gambling..." Erza said, walking over to us.

"Natsu and Grey are already down there playing." Lucy said, and suddenly I felt dread, knowing the boys would most likely cause havoc without us there to stop them, or at least prevent them from doing irreversible damage anyway.

"Dear me..." Erza said before using her magic to change into a violet/red dress that had roses printed on it, the dress was ankle length and definitely showed off her figure. "This should work, right?"

"Dressing casual would have been fine.." Lucy sighed, even though she seemed to not be arguing against it.

"And yet if you wore something too casual, it may also look bad." I said pointedly, grinning, as she looked and seemed to notice then that I too was in a dress.

"Fufu… Since I'm going, it'd be an insult to the casino it I wasn't playing to win." Erza said, a soft smile on her face.

"Yeah? Yeah! We're off!" Lucy cheered, and I couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

"At least we know someone will have a good time." I said dryly, not too sure about this and yet allowed myself to get pulled away by Lucy. It didn't take us long until we reached the casino, and I had to admit that it was impressive. "Got to admit it, this place looks stunning."

"I know right? But will you be okay? I mean, do you know how to gamble?" Lucy asked.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"You've mainly lived as a dragon, so there wouldn't have been any need to learn and from what you've told us, you've not really lived as a human for long." Lucy said, pointing out that fact.

"It's okay. I'll be fine. I read a lot of books in my first years as a human, and I'm a fast learner." I said as I shot her a reassuring smile in her direction. At first she didn't look convinced but seemed to trust me as she turned and went to explore, leaving me to my thought and decisions. I walked around, and couldn't help but feel amusement when I saw Natsu trying to play roulette, and failing miserably as he argued with the dealer, I didn't bother going over as I could tell he was in a destructive mood yet, but I knew to stick close by in case. I then noticed a game that I'd like to try. Black Jack.

"That looks like fun.." I heard a voice speak form my right. I was currently in my fifth game, and oddly was winning and during the past hour of playing I had ordered a few drinks, so I was a little tipsy. I looked over at the person who was interrupting my game but before I could see who it was, I felt pain in the back of my head and then my vision went black.

Normal P.O.V.

"I SAID I SAW IT! YOU CAN'T FOOL THESE EYES!" Natsu yelled at the dealer.

"Boy." Natsu heard a deep voice speak up, shutting him up from his argument. He turned to see a man sitting on a stool wear what looked to be a suit with a matching hat, but his body was made of blocks of various shapes. "When you're in a place for adult entertainment, you should just enjoy it in a dandy fashion."

"S…. SQUARE MAN!" Both Natsu and Happy screamed in shock, their eyes wide in surprise.

"Boy, let me give you some advice. There are only two paths a man can take. He can live in a dandy fashion.." Wally said, as he span quickly on his stool before zooming towards Natsu at lightning speed before he was hovering above Natsu, with a gun pointed towards his head."Or he can just keel over and die. That's all."

"HE'S GOT A GUN!" The crowd around them screamed, running away in pure terror.

"Wh… What are you doing!" Happy exclaimed, very surprised and yet angry.

"Looks like you're… the latter.." Wally went to say something but stayed quiet. Then spoke up again.

"WHA…. WHAFF WIFF HIS HUY..." Natsu said in surprise, the gun now directly in his mouth. (Translation: What's with this guy..)

"I heard that Phantom Lord disbanded or something like that..." Grey said, as he sat at the bar with Juvia.

"Yes… Juvia is once again an independent mage..." Juvia said as she proudly showed off her necklace which held the Fairy Tail emblem on it.

"Uwaa.. And I'm gathering you have your eyes set of Fairy Tail?" Grey asked, feeling slightly awkward and yet seemed curious.

"Very much so!" Juvia said eagerly.

"But you know, after the stunt you guys pulled… I mean, I wouldn't mind, but I wonder what Master would say..." Grey said, sounding a little unsure.

"Juvia will do anything!" Juvia said, not giving up. But it wasn't long did a tall figure stand behind them, a huge shadow looming over the two.

"Even if you say that..." The guy said, before he hit Juvia, a small explosion leaving his hand upon impact and Juvia was sent flyiing a few feet away.

"JUVIA!" Grey yelled in worry, having not expecting the sudden attack, before glaring up at the guy. "You trying to pick a fight?!"

"Gray Fullbuster, if If I'm not mistaken?" Simon spoke, looking down at the ice-mage.

"Where's Erza?" Both Simon and Wally asked their opponents.

With Erza and Lucy; Poker table

"KYAA! ERZA, YOU'RE AMAZING!" Lucy yelled happily, watching as Erza won her sixth game.

"Fufu… Luck's on my side today." Erza said confidently, a smile on her face as Lucy hugged her. It was then a blonde guy walked over to the dealer, and pulled him away.

"Time for a dealer change." The boy said, before he started to shuffle up the cards that were in his hands.

"Right now I feel like I can't lose no matter who I'm up against." Erza stated confidently.

"Hell yeah!" Lucy cheered, getting ready to enjoy yet another game.

"If that's the case, why don't we enjoy a special game? Except we won't be betting with coins." The boy said before throwing the cards out, ones with letters on them that spelt 'death'. Erza looked up to look at the boy properly. He had dark skin but blonde hair, and a holy crossed dandling from a chain from his left ear. "Let's bet with our lives, Erza-Neesan."

"Shou.." Erza whispered in shock and fear, her body shaking as her eyes couldn't leave the person that stood before her. Shou smirked, happy to see what reaction she had to his mere presence.

"It's been a while, Neesan…." Shou said, his smirk going lopsided in a creepy way as he looked at her with dark amusement.

"Huh?! Huh?!" Lucy gasped out in surprise as she looked at them, not sure of what's going on. She wasn't happy to see Erza who was clearly upset but was also confused and didn't butt in as worried it'd make the situation worse.

"You… You were safe?" Erza eventually spoke, finding her voice again after the initial shock of seeing her old friend.

"Safe?" Shou said, his voice was calm, not to mention that smirk not leaving his face, but both Erza and Lucy could tell that there was some anger there.

"AH… No… I just meant..." Erza stuttered out, trying to find the right words, but was struggling as a heart grew heavy, feeling the grief and guilt that has plagued her for years.

With Grey, Juvia and Simon

"Where is Erza?" Simon asked again, glaring down at the ice-mage.

"What?" Grey asked, surprised by the question.

"Where is she?" Simon asked again, seeming a little impatient.

"Who the hell are you?" Grey asked, getting impatient himself and yet protectiveness kicked in as if knowing that if he answered, Erza would be in danger. Before another word could be shared between the two, Juvia re-appeared, standing protectively in front of Grey using her water form rather than appearing normal.

"Juvia won't let you lay a finger on Grey-Sama. Juvia will be your opponent." Juvia spoke, or more like growled out as she glared up at Simon, her eyes filled with determination to protect her 'beloved' Grey.

"Juvia..." Grey spoke out, looking at the blue-haired girl in surprise and yet somehow felt grateful for the help.

"Go and find miss Erza. She's in danger." Juvia instructed, not letting her leave Simon's form. Grey went to speak, but was stopped when Simon seemed to have his attention elsewhere.

"Hm?" There was a pause, and they could guess he had some telepathic connection with some others, which meant he wasn't alone. "You've already found her?… Oh? Is that so… Then… Mind if I tidy things up on my end? Understood..."

"Huh?! W… WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Grey yelled as the entire casino went dark to the point nobody could see anything, not even their own hands were visible.

"Lineage of darkness magic. Instant darkness." Simon's voice spoke, it sounded close and yet far, making it hard for them to tell where he was, but soon it was too late as they got hit, stopping any further action's.

With Natsu, Happy and Wally

"WHA… WHA WAFF FFAT?! WHAFF OW!" Natsu exclaimed, gun still in his mouth even with the whole room going dark. (Translation: Wha.. What was that?! What now!)

"NATSU! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Happy yelled, shaking his head furiously as he searched but even he could see a thing.

"HOHAH HERE, HAFFI!" Natsu called to his friend, hoping that would help. (Translation: Over here, Happy!)

"Nighty, night… Boy..." Wally said, before he pulled the trigger and shot Natsu in the mouth.

"NATSU!" Happy screamed in pure terror, scared he had lost his partner and best friend.

With Erza, Lucy and Shou

"WHAT THE…?! IT'S PITCH BLACK! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Lucy exclaimed, surprise by the sudden darkness, feeling even more confused. But then it wasn't long after that did the room start getting lighter and that they could see each other, though it stung there eyes to look. "The light's coming back."

"Shou?!" Erza exclaimed in surprise when she and Lucy noticed the boy was no longer standing behind the game table and they both looked around to see that Shou was standing a couple a metres behind them.

"Over here, Neesan." Show spoke as her started dropping playing card on the floor and yet those wen't normal cards and when both girls took a closer look, they saw that every person who was in the casino, were now trapped inside each of the cards, all yelling for help or trying to escape their 'cage'.

"THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THE CARDS?!" Lucy yelled, looking over them in shock.

"Do you think it's strange?" Shou said with a smirk, holding up one particular card, that drew their attention. Inside held a very beat up and very unconscious Hikari.

"HIKARI!?" Both girls yelled, upset, shocked and angry.

"I learned how to use magic too." Shou said, putting the card back in his pocket, knowing that he has some leverage.

"Magic?!" Erza said, surprised but didn't jump at him or go to fight him as she needed to be careful, bide her time. "Just… What do you..."

"Meow.." A different voice spoke, cutting into the conversation, and when Erza went to turn to look, ropes suddenly appeared around Lucy, pulling her off her feet and had her dangling in mid-air.

"WHAT?! WHAT IS THIS THING!" Lucy yelled, realising it was normal rope as she felt herself being pulled back until a hand held her still.

"LUCY!?" Erza yelled after her, only to see a girl sat on top of the table they had been playing at before. She wore a short pink frilly dress and a yellow jacket, but what made her unique was that there was cat ears on top of her head.

"Meow. Super strong, right?" Millianna spoke confidently, referring to herself, and felt satisfied when she heard the whimpers of pain and discomfort coming from the blonde head that she was holding on to.

"Millianna?!" Erza gasped yet again, too shock to move and help Lucy. "You can use magic too?!"

"Long time no see, Eru-Chan!" Millianna said, using the old nickname she had for Erza.

"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?! LUCY'S MY NAKAMA!" Erza yelled, some of the shock finally leaving and anger set in, she turned to look a Shou. "AND LET GO OF HIKARI! SHE'S NAKAMA TOO!"

"Meow? Nakama?" Millianna asked in confusion, looking a little hurt. Shou had the same expression, and felt the same way.

"Weren't we your nakama? Neesan." Shou asked, voicing his 'concerns'.

'They were… Her nakama?' Lucy thought in confusion, despite the discomfort and anger she felt. Erza tarted shaking again, the guilt returning.

"Ah… Yeah.." Erza whispered, as she couldn't bring herself to look at them both properly.

"That is until you betrayed us of course.." Shou spoke darkly, his anger now visible on his face, smirk gone and glared at Erza, who shook even more and had even begun to sweat.

"Don't ruffle her feathers too much, Shou..." Wally's voice spoke up as he started appearing next to Lucy and Millianna, pieces of his body coming together like a puzzle until he had completely finished and was in one piece looking at them all."Dandy men know how to maintain their composure...You turned out to be quite the looker..."

"EEE!" Lucy squealed in surprise at his sudden appearance.

"Th.. That voice… Wally?" Erza asked, looking at Wally.

"Not that it would matter if you hadn't recognized me. Compared to mad dog Wally from the old days, I'm much more well-rounded now..." Wally said.

"You… Can use magic too..." Erza said, she could say she was surprised agian, but after seeing Shou and Millianna and Shou using it, she couldn't, just unhappy on what they're using it for.

"No need to be awe-struck.." A one last last voice joined in as a Simon appeared, landing next to Shou. "Once that guy gets his mitts on you, anyone would be able to use magic… Right Erza?"

"Simon?!" Erza said, surprised to see him too. It was just then Lucy fell to the floor with a hard thud.

"Erza… Who are these guys?! Why's he calling you 'Neesan'?!" Lucy asked, groaning in pain from the impact.

"He's not really my brother, they're my former nakama." Erza explained, though she sounded more upset than she looked.

"NAKAMA… BUT I THOUGHT YOU'D BEEN A FAIRY TAIL SINCE YOU WERE A LITTLE KID!" Lucy yelled, surprised by the news.

"This… This was before that..." Erza said regrettably, not looking up to meet Lucy's eyes, before she turned to her former nakama. "What's the old gang doing here? Let Lucy and Hikari go."

"We came to bring you back." Wally said, smirking.

Hikari's P.O.V.

I groaned, feeling light-headed and dizzy and I then started to regret even drinking. I could hear something going on, but the voices that surrounded me were muffled by something, I tried opening my eyes, but my head was hurting so badly, I found it quite difficult but when I did I thought they were still closed, wherever I was, it was pitch black, I felt around and then I noticed I was in a confined space. I used a bit of my magic to try to sense where I was to know I was trapped in a card and in someone's pocket.

"OI! WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING, STOP IT RIGHT NOW!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, despite just noticing how much pain I was in, and then I felt I was being moved and suddenly I could see. Lucy was tied up by a weird rope, Erza was shaking like mad in fear and a bunch of strange mages that I could only guess were in Erza's past. I growled. "At least I got you're attention."

"That you did." The guy who was holding me said. He looked creepy and yet he looked to be the same age as Erza. I then suddenly felt very hot, and I looked down to see he was also holding a lighter, and the flame wasn't too far for my little 'cage'. I the noticed the man made out of blocks stand over Lucy, and pointed a gun towards her head, I felt more scared for my friend than I did for myself.

"If you insist on being pig-headed about it..." Block-man said, before we heard to click of the gun echo through the now empty room, as he now had the gun ready.

"STOP IT! I'M BEGGING YOU! PLEASE STOP!" I screamed, only then heard it echo before realizing that Erza screamed the exact safe thing. I then noticed he used his magic to point the gun towards Erza's unsuspecting back, and using my magic I burst out of my card and was running over to save my friend. I pushed Erza out of the way and soon I felt the bullet hit me in the chest. My vision grew hazy yet again, but I fought against the darkness that tried to fill my vision, I fell to my knees and spat out blood.

"HIKARI!" Both Lucy and Erza yelled, Erza moving to come to my side, only to be knocked unconscious by the big guy who had a metal chin. I could only glare, even though I tried to get up, but I was feeling sleepy more and more.

"It's just my sleep bullet." Block guy said, but seemed confused as to why I wasn't asleep just yet.

"I'm mostly immune to any form of potion, but don't worry, it has weakened me a little, though it won't last." I said, mainly for Lucy to hear, but I knew that I would still win against them soon enough, so I didn't care if they heard me properly.

"What I want to know is how you escaped?! No-one can leave without my permission!" The blonde boy shouted in surprise,

"That's because I'm no mere mortal like you but that is all you need to know. Though, if you'd like me to take it easier on you, I'd advise that you let Erza go and scram." I growled, making my eyes go golden, intensifying my anger.

"Sorry can't do that." Block guy said, before pointing a guy towards us, making sure we do move to go after them.

"Mark acquired. Let us fall back." The big guy said, and soon these bastards were walking away.

"HEY WAIT! WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ERZA! GIVE HER BACK!" Lucy screamed, while rolling around on the floor, trying to free herself from the rope that seemed to be getting tighter, her arms tied together above her head. She looked more uncomfortable than me and yet I was the one who got beat up and shot and she doesn't have a single scratch on her.

"Another five minutes, and you'll be cat food..." I heard the cat ear girl speak to Lucy, and it was then did I realise she was the one that was controlling those ropes.

"Oh… Millianna…. That reminds me..." Block guy said before something, or someone materialized in his arms. "I got you a present..."

"HAPPY!" I yelled in shock, trying hard to get up, only to fall on my face, making me groan in pain.

"MEOW! KITTY, KITTY! CAN I REALLY KEEP HIM?!" Millianna squeal, and I found myself glare at her.

"No you can't! He's our nakama, and my boyfriend's partner." I growled, finally standing up, only for block guy to shoot me again. "UGH!"

"HIKARI! STOP PROVOKING THEM WHILE YOU'RE INJURED!" Lucy yelled as I hit the floor, I was still awake, but now I just couldn't move and just stared up at the fancy ceiling of the casino.

"Millia! Tie up Erza." I heard the boy say, I heard a few 'meow' coming from Millianna.

"Millianna, I'll leave it to you." I heard block guy said, then another 'meow'.

"Neesan… You're finally coming back… To the tower of paradise. I bet Jellal will be smiling ear to ear…"

'Tower of paradise… Why does that sound familiar to me? Why when I've been to such a place..?' I couldn't help but think as I finally let go of my consciousness and slip back into the darkness. But I had one last thought hit me before I was completely gone.

'I'm sorry…. Erza… Happy… I failed you...'

Hi guys! Well, well..? What do you think? I know it may have seemed short compared to most, and after such a long wait (Which I am sorry about) but I tried to add in a lot before uploading it plus I felt like Erza being kidnapped would have been the perfect cliffy.

Anyway, thank you for your patience, reviews, opinions and I hope that you are enjoying the story still despite my tardiness in chapters.

Please continue to like the story and review, I love reading them all, and helps me to make better chapters. And about my 'spelling' I'm not ignoring those opinions, I do read them and consider it but I've also got to write down what I feel is the best for the story but I do thank you all though and appreciate the honesty that you when you tell me your thoughts on the story.

Thanks again, and hopefully I'll get the next chapter up quicker.

Doomedbex :)