Okay…. It took forever to write this chapter. I believe it was a mixture of 3 parts of not having time to wirte, 2 parts not knowing how to articulate a fight scene with magic, and 1 part laz…. I mean…. Loss of dry air. I don't know about you, but I find it very hard to be creative in humidity. Anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't a complete flop. I really don't know how to write battle/magic fight scenes. So any constructive criticism/comments/reviews would be much appreciated. Thank you to all of you who send me reviews, you are the reason this story is alive (I'd feel too guilty to leave you hanging).

Oh, and important note at the bottom. And I OWN NOTHING!

Now on with the story!

Lina placed her hands on her hips after blasting the peeping-tom sky high. "That'll teach you," she shouted at the sky, "No one dares spy on Lina Inverse!"

The bushes rustled behind her as a fretful Amelia followed by a concerned Gourry and an annoyed Zelgadis ran into the clearing.

Amelia was the first to speak, "What was that?"

Lina snorted. "A pervert who thought he could get away with spying on me!"

"Are you sure it was a pervert and not some poor sap trying to get water?" Zelgadis asked.

Lina scratched her cheek at this comment and considered this possibility. She could see the skeptic looks her companions were giving her. Okay, so that theory might be true… I might have jumped the gun a little too soon. I've been a bit tense lately, not enough bad guys have come across our path lately so I haven't had an outlet for any frustrations. The red head sneaked a glance at the tall swords man, he had a face that was slightly concerned but mostly held the expression of a person who had been put upon. That dumb oaf probably is more concerned for the guy I blew away than the idea that I might have been dealing with a pervert.

She was about to refute Zelgadis' idea when the sound of someone rushing through thick vegetation filled the air.

In moments a pink haired teenager who was slightly panting burst through the bushes.

"YOU!" Natsu screamed.

Almost instantly The Slayers fell into fighting stances and waited for the attack.

"You guys are the cereal eat-and-run group!"

Silence was all that met that little outburst. Lina looked at Zelgadis with a raised eyebrow. "Why is it I get the feeling that he just used the term for breakfast," she asked. It wasn't long after that when a blond stellar mage burst into the clearing as well.

"Natsu! Where in god's name are you go-" Lucy cried before she realized that the rambunctious teen had stopped.

"Look Luce! It's the cereal group!" Natsu exclaimed again, brandishing a finger at the team on the opposite bank.

"Serial… And how do you know it's them?" She asked reluctantly.

"A man with purple hair told me."

Lina's eyebrow twitched at that. "Oh god," she muttered under her breath. She could sense Xellos' meddling a mile away.

"Seriously Natsu?"

"Yeah, and I'm super certain now 'cuz she blew me sky high!"

At that point, Natsu ignited his fist and fire licked up his arm. Lina's attention was instantly focused at the potential threat and the foreign use of magic. She had only ever seen monsters use the elements like that. And the supposed human in front of her hadn't even used an incantation.

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be," Lina felt a smile form on her lips. "Alright then, bring it."

Lina brought her hands to her front and started her favorite incantation in her head. Oh, source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson…

Tension rose as energy gathered in her palms. Natsu felt a shift in the air. For some reason he couldn't fathom, he could feel energy similar but not quite like fire being summoned. His muscles tensed in his legs and shoulders as he waited for the attack.

"Let thy power gather in my hand! FIREBALL!"

At almost the exact moment Lina released the spell Natsu launched himself at his opponent. It took only a second for him to recognize that the previous unknown energy had transformed into a flame. The heat from the oncoming fireball was the same as any other fire users magic. Of course Natsu did what he always did when it came to fire.

He ate it.

He managed to swallow the whole thing in one bite while he brought his fist back for his own strike. Aiming for his red headed opponents gut, he propelled himself forward with the extra burst of energy the Fireball had given him

Lina was flabbergasted. In a matter of seconds, the one named Natsu had easily dealt with one of her higher powered spells and used its energy to help his own attack. And by EATING it no less! Needless to say she was completely caught off guard. She had not expected people to eat magic. Ever. In fact, she was pretty sure that eating magic (especially a fireball) was not very good on one's digestive system.

Fortunately for Lina though, not everyone was rendered totally useless by the stunning turn of events. Before Natsu's fist could connect with its target, a flash of blond managed to scoop Lina out of the way.

The Dragon Slayer's fist only met air and rock as he plowed through the ground where Lina once stood.

"RUN!" Zelgadis shouted, and the Slayers proceeded to do just that. It was always a good plan to regroup when faced with a deadly/strange enemy and/or people they really didn't want to deal with at the time.

Lucy decided at that point that despite her doubts, it was probably not the best idea to let them get away. Snatching one of her keys, Lucy summoned the spirit that would best find their opponents.

"Open the door to the Golden Bull Palace! Taurus!"

In a poof of smoke, the spirit appeared wielding his double bladed axe.

"MOO~ Lucy! Your breasts are lovely today as well~!"

"Not now Taurus! After them! We'll follow right behind you!"

The celestial spirit Taurus wasted no time in charging after the fleeing opponents.

At that point Natsu picked himself off the ground.

"Hey Lucy have you ever seen magic like that?"

"No I haven't. I think we need to be careful this time Natsu."

The Salamander looked back and smirked at his companion. It was a devious smile that clearly meant he had no intentions of being careful. It was a type of smile that made Lucy's heart beat just a little faster.

"Don't be slow Luce." And with that parting jibe, he darted off into the woods after Taurus.

After a small moment, Lucy sighed and followed after her friends, leaving a wrecked stream behind.

I have received a message, from who will remain anonymous, that there is a group of people trying to delete/purge FanFiction of a certain rating or has certain content. I would like to personally announce that nothing will ever get me to delete my stories. Not hate mail, not even will get me to do that. I have rated all of my stories based on my own personal value system and disclaimed all characters. My advice to all you who don't like my story…. Wait for it, its genius advice….. DON'T READ IT! Shocker, I know. No one is forcing you to read this story. That is all I have to say on this matter.