NLSCW

Five Days Is A Real Pain

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail

Previously on NLSCW;

And exactly three months had passed. On that very Fiore beach, a bright light in the shape of a sphere had appeared. Wendy, Happy, Charla, Gray, Erza and Juvia are back from the party and ready to get back to training. But they barely moved from their spot, thinking about that last piece of info that Virgo tried to tell them before they left.

"Guys!" The Fairy Tail Mages turned to see a most peculiar sight. Mages that they don't recognize. Three men and a woman from the looks of it.

The first one had the hairstyle of Droy but everyone was expecting more like an obese and ever eating Droy but this one was not. Somehow, Dory had lost all that excessive body fat to be replaced with pure muscle. It was just bulging from under his outfit which was also something that the returning mages never seen before. Droy was wearing a jacket over his shoulder that was soil brown with green patches; in each was a sprout that somehow grew in the fabric. Underneath all that was a blue shirt with buttons going down the entire chest; it had some kind of pouches at the bottom ridge, in the reach of his hands. His pants were like that out of a wild man without the holes and patches, only having a style that made it look dirty and the bottom edges were all cutouts. His feet were in boots rigged with spikes on the heel and silver lumps around the rest of the bottom of the feet. Finally, his hands were in gloves that had only the pinky and ring finger showing with the rest covered by the fabric. They could see those gloves scratching his head.

The second one looked a lot like Jet with the hair style and all but he did stand out in some places. For one thing, his physique was also different and more muscular. Another, he was wearing some kind of visor that another mage with a 'speed' theme as well. He was also wearing some kind of a racer's uniform under a jacket that was supposed to be abandoned. After seeing them, he lifted his visor to show that even the eye color was the same as Jet's. "You…?" He was speechless for a reason that the returning fairies couldn't figure out until they got a good look at the remaining welcome community.

The man was the most muscular of the three men, enough to make Erza and somehow Juvia and Wendy to blush and drool. He was wearing an outfit a lot like Natsu's and even had the pink hair too. His black eyes are there as well. But all that had some differences. On his chest, he seemed to have some kind of scar that was like a claw mark. There was even some scales around his skin; on his chest, feet and arms. Finally he was wearing some kind of headband with a very strange pattern on it as well as the strands attached toe band that extend from his hair to down past his neck.

Finally there was the woman who was hugging him by the arm. She looked like Lucy with the blonde air and chocolate brown eyes. But she had an outfit that not one of the retuning mages recognize. It was a blue vest in the same shape as Natsu over a white shirt and shorts. The pattern of them all had scales that can be plainly seen. Her feet had sandals on them and her hair was kept together by a blue hairpin with the shape of a dragon's head on the handle. Her skin also had scales showing for some reason, maybe for the same reason as the scales on Natsu's skin. Over all, she looked like a battle princess of the ocean.

"Droy, Jet, Natsu, Lucy…" Gray started and trailing off in his shock at how much they all changed, "What happened to you all. We were at the party for only one day."

The welcoming community looked at each other in the eyes and turned back to the returning mages. "One day in the Celestial Spirit World guys. There are only five left for the Dai Matō Enbu." It was Natsu who brought the bad news to them. Erza and Gray fainted and fell forward onto the sand while the other mages just stood up straight in disbelief.

"Dammit! DAMMIT!" Natsu and Lucy sighed as they heard that same curse for the umpteenth time in the last hour. He had to find out that time moves differently in the Celestial Spirit World compared to the outside world of mages and other magical creatures; one day of partying had caused them to blow three months flat save for Natsu and Lucy who had plenty of time to get ahead of them.

"That is not very helpful Gray and it is not going to bring you back the days you lost." Natsu said and Gray just scoffed at those words. It hurt very much to hear such words from the one person that Gray once called a hated rival and secretly best friend and brother.

"But just how are we going to make up for missing three months of possible training in just five days!?" Erza was pounding the side of the cliff she was leaning on and given by the cracks, Erza had been abusing it for a while; maybe since she was given the heart piercing news.

"Well we did get a letter of a possible solution to this problem, at least it will help you in one way to catch up." Lucy said, "Natsu and I were just waiting for you to get a level head to understand what it is."

"Then what is it! WHAT!? ARRGH!" Gray had the nerve to walk up to Lucy's personal space to grab her by the collar if he didn't get pounded into the beach sand like a nail to a hammer.

"Keep your hands to yourself and off my girlfriend stripper." Natsu said, with a level head himself without the usual exploding anger.

"Ignoring Gray, what do we need to do?" Erza stopped with the cliff face and her fist to try and get back to the point.

"Come with us if you feel like you calmed down and that goes double for you stripper. Go and find your clothes, girls are looking in your way." Natsu then got up and extending his hand for Lucy to rise to her feet with his help. Meanwhile, everyone watched in amusement as Gray finally dug his way out of the sand that was up to his chin. "We were asked to return to the broken bridge in the woods, they said to be waiting for us."

XXXXX

Later, at a broken bridge in the woods. It was broken for sure and it seemed that there was no one around. Gray, as the other boy to complain and fight like the old Natsu, was about to when the bridge lifted and seemingly fixed itself. Natsu and Lucy started to walk on it but noticed that no one followed them. "Well? We need to meet up with them so they can help all of us."

Natsu and Lucy then continued onward until the rest of the Fairy Tail mages finally decided to take their chances with this. They hurried across the newly and impossibly fixed bridge to catch up with the two on ahead. On the other side was the other part of the woods that looked very similar to the first part but the further they got up the trail, they got this feeling of meeting someone familiar that they never counted on.

And when they got there, they saw three figures wearing some strange clothes but the faces were undefinably recognizable.

"Ultear!"

"Meredy!"

"Jellal!"

Indeed, the three were there and the real deal. But while Jellal seemed to only have a nice set of clothes, his companions looked older and more mature for sure. Meredy was no longer a little girl and was like a teenager about to turn into an adult. Meanwhile, Ultear wasn't like the seductive woman that betrayed the council but a more refined type of woman that covered more of her features and curves while only showing off longer and darker hair.

"But Jellal, weren't you arrested seven years ago? After the Oración Seis were vanquished and Hoteye was also arrested?" Erza wanted to know for sure as so did Gray and Levy and Happy. Meanwhile, Wendy and Charla remembered when they thought Jellal had escaped from prison but when he said that his name was Mystogan, it was the truth; now the two girls are just going to say nothing, no more assumptions.

"I was but a lot can happen in seven years, when Ultear and Meredy freed me so that we can become this independent guild that we named Crime Sorcière. We all seek to redeem ourselves of past crimes." Jellal explained and the recently arrived mages all nodded, it was to be their best answer.

"So flame brain and his girlfriend said that you can help us?" Gray asked and expected Natsu to deny or at least start a fight on the insult but neither one happened.

"We can't turn back three months so you can start from scratch, you will have to do some heavy work for the remaining five days until the start of the Dai Matō Enbu start." Ultear said and the mages who missed that time felt like she was trying to stab guilt where it hurts the most. "But we can cut the work in half by unlocking your Second Origin."

No one had ever heard of it but they will try anything to solve this problem. Of course, they had no idea what they got themselves into. Only when they started.

XXXXX

Back on the beach,

"Is he going to be okay?" Juvia asked for the umpteenth time seeing Gray on the sand covered with strange, red, glowing markings and twitching like he was being tortured non-stop.

"For the last time, this effect is unavoidable and since when have you stopped Gray from trying to catch up to his rivals Juvia?" Natsu said to the rain girl. "Ultear said that unlocking your Second Origin or second container of magic, will be exposing your entire body to take in twice the amount of magical reserves as normal. Do you realize how much pressure and strain that causes to the body?"

Juvia said nothing and could only be held back as Gray continued to toss and turn and groan in pain. Later, she also was undergoing the process but also with the others and in a remote shed that was on the beach so they won't be happen upon on by anyone that can interfere with the process.

Meanwhile, outside the shed, Erza was already out and was somewhere else with Jellal. (I am not making this different from the canon.) But Lucy and Natsu had to stay near the shed, listening to the screams that the wood of the shed were not doing a good job of muffling. Lucy tried to take it but it was hearing her best friend Levy and the youngest one Wendy scream that got her shaking like a leaf in the wind.

All Natsu could do was to having Lucy in his lap and embrace her to make her feel at least warm in some way. Lucy loved that her boyfriend is loyal to a fault and wanting the help her in some way; she could just be rude and say that she will ask for help when Lucy needed it but Natsu is such a sweet boy, it was hard to stay mad at. That is one of the things Lucy loves about Natsu, he is both a gentleman, a fierce and loyal knight and a sweet and thoughtful young boy all in one package; what is better is that Lucy has him all to herself and that was fine with Natsu himself.

"Don't worry Lucy. They will be just fine. We made it and so can they." Natsu whispered in her ear while breathing softly down her neck which made Lucy shiver in the pleasure.

"I know, I know." Lucy whispered back. "I just wish that won't have these senses. They are driving me crazy so how can you handle it?"

"By being with someone like you Lucy, someone that makes me block out the rest of the world and focus on only you." Natsu said in a way that most girls call awkward but still sounded cute by Lucy who purred when Natsu kissed the top of her head. "You should try it, it is like being in another world. Another world with only you and the one person you want to be with the most."

"I will Natsu. After all, I am already there." Natsu would have acted like an idiot and ruin the moment but he said nothing and only embrace Lucy a little tighter while his girlfriend finally fell asleep in his arms. Love is unpredictable and fickle and yet still so beautiful, no matter what if guess?

End of Chapter 2

*I nearly forgot about all this story! Thanks for that last review that inspired me to find it and try at the story again! And if you like it then I will work on it even more in this year. And I hoped that you will take guesses as to what new brand of magic that Lucy had obtained and trained with Natsu; I gave hints in her new appearance and the scales are not a fashion statement.*

Translations:

Dai Matō Enbu – Grand Magic Games