Chapter 21 – On a Boat

AN: Okeydokey! For anyone who was following my Naruto story Brilliant Minds and Black Hearts, I'm sure you've seen the last chapter, sorry, that one really is over. Thank you for reading, and don't worry, this one will NOT have an ending like that. For all of you who didn't read that story, rejoice! For now I have that much more brain space to devote to this story! (and lord knows I need it for this arc...)

But for now, Reviewer Replies!

donumah36: Delighted you're enjoying, I am certainly aiming to continue.

DarkDrawerJ:Glad you enjoyed, especially the interactions since those are actually one of the hardest things for me to write because I'm very bad at them in real life. I was quite indifferent to Gajevy until I found RuskyBoz's comics and art, she really does a fantastic job with them. It's a bit like Bellagill92 with the Jerza and Miraxus pairings. I really didn't care for either of them that much until I read her stories, but afterwards I'm like, 'Eh, gotta be somebody might as well be them.' but Jellal is still not even close to forgiven for making Erza cry as far as I'm concerned...even if his interactions with her in 100 Year Quest are utterly friggin' hilarious...and admittedly I do like him alright, he's just not quiiite good enough for Erza (although really nobody is), but especially not with that mopey emo-ass attitude! Honestly, if you know you're not good enough for her but she disagrees then you should just GO WITH IT and do everything in your power to prove her right! SERIOUSLY! What the actual hell Jellal?! JOIN FAIRY TAIL AND DATE ERZA ALREADY! Sorry, little ranty sometimes about my ships. Also, please note that just because I support a ship in canon doesn't mean it's getting ANY traction here.

Raidentensho: Yes! Epic it will be! As for Incantation Bakudo 75, Gajeel can already do pretty much exactly that except it would just be a rapid fire barrage of Iron Dragon Logs. Throw Levy or Freed in for a little Jutsu Shiki and boom, 5 Pillar Iron Prison.

Guest:Glad you're enjoying! You are now vote number 19 for a multi-pairing!

And now, who's ready for our first big hint at Jerry's backstory?

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Chapter 21 – On a Boat

…

…

I hadn't anticipated our trip being on a cruise ship, but apparently it was the only ship headed for the country of Minstrel where Mattachu was supposed to be located within the next few weeks and Dr. Whistler was impatient after having waited so long. The upside was that the ten day voyage came with very good food. Natsu wasn't able to stomach any of it until the captain strode by and learned about his seasickness. A glowing magic circle later and Natsu popped up fresh as a daisy, throwing his fists to the sky and howling with joy, "I'M ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!"

The rest of us stared for a moment and then looked at the captain. He grinned beneath his white mustache, "Think nothing of it! I learned that spell from a wizard many years back. I can't have my passengers not enjoying their voyage can I?"

"We certainly appreciate the gesture," Erza declared, "And normally I would have absolutely no reservations about it, but Natsu here is in trouble with our guild. We actually chose to drag him along on a cruise for the express purpose of making him miserable with sea sickness."

The captain thought about that for a moment and stroked his mustache, "Is that so? Hmm…well I know you wizard guilds are pretty stubborn about your rules and enforcing them…hmm…" An idea visibly popped into his head, "I know! We're having a costume party this evening, you can force him to be a clown! We have all kinds of fun costume accessories for you to choose from in the props room for our shows!"

Erza's eyes lit up and Natsu immediately found himself being dragged off by the ear while Erza chatted animatedly with the captain.

"Costume party huh?" I mused before looking over at the others, "Any of you bring costumes?"

They shook their heads in unison and we ran to catch up.

…

…

The party was grand. That's the only word for it: grand. I wasn't sure how they had hidden that giant ballroom in the middle of the ship, but it gave the impression of a royal ball. There were lots of people, all dressed in costumes. The food was exquisite and the music was provided by an entire live orchestra.

"Just how rich is Doc Whistler that he can afford tickets to something like this at the drop of a hat?" I asked Lucy as we took it in. Everyone was having to enter in pairs, don't know why but we were.

Erza was all but dragging Natsu. She was dressed as a ringmaster, resplendent in a red waistcoat over a white blouse and black pants, with a top hat to well, top it off. Happy had a little lion's mane and Natsu was as promised, a clown. He had an afro, a big red nose that Erza had apparently glued to his face with magic, make up and a white jumpsuit with many colored polka dots as he honked his way around on giant red shoes.

Levy and Gajeel were a pair. Gajeel was wearing a red leather suit with metal studs which left his midriff bare and wouldn't look out of place on an Elvis impersonator. He had also magically dyed his hair white for the occasion. Levy had turned herself blonde and was wearing a white floor length dress with a bow on the back and billowy detached sleeves. Lucy had explained to me that they were dressed as Sir Ban and Lady Elaine, a legendary knight and his fairy lover. I nodded as I remembered the tale Ley had told a few weeks back about the knight who had once been a bandit seeking the Fountain of Youth only to fall in love with the fairy maiden guarding it and later become a knight on a quest to revive her following her death at the hands of a demon. Given the excitement and love Levy had for the story, it certainly gave me hope for Gajeel's chances with her that she had chosen what I suppose was something like Earthland's answer to Romeo and Juliet to be their costumes.

That of course left me and Lucy. Lucy was an archaeologist. She had on a tan button down and black pants, white gloves and black boots, all topped off with a tan pith helmet. I had wrapped myself in even more bandages than usual and tossed my cape on along with a pair of pants. Add a pharaoh's headdress and no shirt over the bandages and voila! One mummy back from the dead! I was actually quite surprised that they were a thing in this world, but I wasn't going to question it.

Less than thirty minutes into the party, we heard a voice that made me stop and whirl around to find the source of the most prim and proper British accent I had heard since getting yanked to this world. "Oh my, I suppose we were not the only ones who had this idea," drawled the elderly man with the stark white hair and weathered skin in the archaeologist outfit that looked highly similar to Lucy's.

My eyes however were immediately drawn to gorgeous young woman next to him who had my full and immediate attention. She had her silky black hair in a bob cut and a little cobra crown. She had dark blue eyes and she was every bit as well put together as any of the ladies at Fairy Tail. She was dressed like an ancient Egyptian queen, with the little crown shaped like a cobra, a short white linen (no that might've been silk…) dress that showed off her exceptionally well toned legs and did nothing at all to hide that incredible figure…

I immediately averted my gaze with a blush as she blushed and asked with the same mischievous smile that Mirajane usually wore when she was about to drive me wild, "Oh my…does the pharaoh like my dress?"

I quickly recovered and raised up to my full height imperiously to declare in a deep voice, "The pharaoh is pleased!"

"Would the pharaoh like to dance?" She asked with a teasing smile.

Next thing I knew I was dancing with her and holy hell did she know how to make herself tempting! We weren't doing any of that grinding sort of dancing that is popular in clubs, but she still made the whole thing such a sensual experience that it was almost as enticing and exciting as having Mirajane in my lap. She had zero compunction about pressing her breasts to my chest and getting very close when the slow numbers came on, and when she flipped around to press her back to me, she proved herself very adept at applying pressure to exactly where it needed to be in order to drive me mad. Her eyes and smile were like a dare to get into something mischievous and she drew so close to kissing me often enough that even if she hadn't had all that other going for her, I probably still would've been getting pretty interested in the thought of making out with her.

We danced all night and I wasn't even really tired at the end of it. I was just disappointed that it was over. The last song had been a slow one with the lights low and she leaned in close as it was drawing to a close, "Thanks, this has been really fun." Then she slid one of the hands that was on my shoulder up to my jaw and gave me a gentle kiss that for all that it was subtle, brief and subdued was every bit as breathtaking as Erza, Cana, Lucy or Mira's. When she pulled away, she laid a finger to her lips with a teasing grin, "Mm-mmm…that's all you get…" Then as she turned and walked off, I heard her add quietly, "For now…"

We found ourselves in each other's company a little longer though as her friend and mine had gathered around the same table and apparently spent the night having almost as much fun as I had. Except for Gajeel and Levy, they'd been on the dance floor with us. "Well, it would appear that you have made a friend, Lady Serena," He smiled as he drew a card from the deck and precisely placed one back, "Please keep in mind your father's wishes regarding your safety. I would so hate to have to intervene."

"What Daddy doesn't know won't get me grounded," Serena, because that was apparently her name (it was slightly embarrassing that I hadn't learned it yet), replied smugly, "And if you want to remain employed, you'll keep it that way, right Elric?"

"Ah the young mistress's tongue is as sharp as ever," the now named Elric bemoaned with a grin that proved he didn't mind at all. I pulled out a chair for Serena and she sat down, shooting me an approving smile as I sat down between her and Lucy.

Then Serena noticed Lucy's guild mark and her face lit up with excitement, "That mark…are you a Fairy Tail wizard?!"

Lucy smiled and raised her hand to show her mark, "Yeah, actually all six of us are! Me, Jerry, Erza, Natsu, Levy, and Gajeel just joined a few days ago. He used to be with Phantom Lord."

Serena stared for a moment and then narrowly contained an outright squee of excitement behind folded hands, "Erza Titania Scarlet, Natsu the Salamander and Black Steel Gajeel are here?!"

I only had the faintest warning before Natsu got whirled at us like a top. I managed to catch him and spin him into a chair at the table next to the one we were at before gesturing to him with a smile, "Tada! One Salamander!"

"Aye…" Natsu groaned pitifully. At a guess, I would say that either the captain's anti-seasickness magic had worn off, or Erza had taken the opportunity to punish him a little more creatively and proactively. Then I decided it was that second one as Erza walked up and leaned down to glare in his face and inform him that he got off lucky because the musicians were tired. I offered Erza my chair and she took it before becoming immediately engaged in conversation with Serena, who was every bit as excited to meet and talk to her as she had been about dancing with me.

A little bit later when Gajeel and Levy made their way over, Elric got up to give Levy his seat and joined me, Natsu and Gajeel at the adjacent table for a game of cards...which he proceeded to thoroughly hand us our asses at. I was silently very glad that there was no money involved or the old butler would've fleeced us.

For all that he did kick our ass at cards though, he was still very good company and chock full of stories of exploits from his younger days. By the time we retired for the night, we had all firmly chalked him up in the "new friend" category. Serena caught me for a good night kiss on our way out of the ballroom and whispered in my ear, "See you around handsome!"

If only she was a badass wizard… I less than half lamented to myself as I wandered back to my cabin, then she'd be as perfect as Mira and Cana and Erza and Lucy and… I blinked and paused before smiling, I love my life.

I made my way back to my cabin with a little bit more hurry than I'd had before and quickly fished out a pen and some paper from my extradimensional storage space before setting it on the cabin's little desk, pulling out the chair and sitting down as I finally got around to taking Lucy's advice -and writing a letter home.

…

…

Dear Mom, Dad, Grampy, Granny, Abuela, Abuelo, Cousin Rick, Gabe, Julie, Sensei and anyone else concerned about my disappearance,

Calm down. I'm not dead. I wound up down the rabbit hole, over the rainbow, across the great divide, whatever euphemism for "sent to another world" you care to use. Don't ask how, I don't know. Thankfully this particular wonderland is not as crazy as anywhere Alice ever went, although there is a talking cat here too…It ain't Kansas I can tell ya that much!

Quit giving the paper that look, I AM NOT JOKING.

I am flattered that you think I could come up with this and pull off my own disappearance thoroughly enough to make it plausible, but the truth is that this is real. I'm in another dimension and if this has somehow made its way to you then I can only assume Mystogan got control of that wormhole machine he's been trying to shut down… (keep reading everything'll be explained)

This is a really long story, so I'm going to tell it like one. This is going to include basically everything that's happened to me over the last month and a half, so get comfortable because you're probably going to be reading for a while. If I have a chance to include pictures I will, but in case I can't, I'm going to describe everyone and everything anyway.

Chapter 1: Three Wizards and A Cat

It was very bright and very loud. Much brighter and louder than I would've expected my room to be. Urgh…did I fall asleep with the lights and TV on?

Then I sat bolt upright, I don't have a TV! Where the hell am I?!I looked around frantically, taking in the water, the cobblestones, the people and bright sunlight. I blinked, looked around some more, tried to analyze the situation and decided that somehow I had been dragged into an alternate world where shenanigans were bound to ensue. I wasn't a heavy enough sleeper for someone to move me without me waking up barring the use of knockout gas, and there was no reason for anyone in the world to go to that much trouble for little old me. Besides, if they had, then I'd probably be waking up in a small dark room, not a sunny street side in a port town.

…

…

I kept writing all through the night and wound up waking up slumped over backwards in my chair when Lucy came to check on me the next day. I folded the papers and tucked them into my extra dimensional storage before following Lucy down to the galley. My stomach had just realized that my light meal the other day wasn't all that physically filling even if it had kicked my magic levels up to max. I was freakin' hungry!

…

…

"So what was that you were writing?" Lucy asked me as we sat down next to Natsu and Levy, "It looked like there was a lot of it. Is it that sequel we've been waiting for?" she added with a grin.

Levy's head immediately whipped around at the mention of the promised sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean, "You're writing again?!" Then her face lit up excitedly, "That's right! You said you'd work on it when you were recovered!"

I snorted a small laugh, "No, it's not that. I was writing a letter home, just in case I ever get to send it."

Lucy stared at me, "You wrote a letter an inch thick?" Even Levy gawked at that before frowning, "No way, it has to be that new story. There's no way you wrote a letter home that was over a hundred pages long!"

"Actually it's closing in on three hundred," I replied flatly, "I wrote down everything that's happened to me since that morning I woke up in Hargeon. The more important stuff got more than one page."

Levy was quiet for a moment and then, "Can I read it?"

I blinked, processed that and then I crossed my arms in an X, "No way. Very private."

Next thing I knew, Levy had tied me to my chair. Natsu grinned even though he was slumped over the table looking otherwise completely pitiful, "Hehe, you should know better than to try to keep a book away from Levy…"

"Levy, that's super private!" Lucy protested on my behalf, "He probably included all his thoughts about everything and everybody in it! It's like reading his diary or something! Not that it's a diary or anything…" she hastily added.

"So?" Levy asked as she conjured a Solid Script Feather that for some reason Natsu was very eager to get away from immediately, "I just want to make sure I'm portrayed well, and Jerry wants me to make sure I'm portrayed well and not have to find out how ticklish he is."

"I'm not ticklish," I grumbled.

"Even if I shove this about six inches up your nose and wiggle it around?" Levy asked me with a much too serene smile as she brandished her feather menacingly.

"I'll sneeze all over you!"

"Natsu tried that," Levy replied with a vicious light in her eyes, "Ask him how well it worked."

Natsu was making as much of a beeline for the door as he could with his seasickness back in full force. I looked back at her, "I'll let you read the pages that concern you, but I see no reason at all for you to read about how exactly I wound up in bed with Mira for a week."

"Not even if I want to try the same thing on Gajeel?"

I noticed Gajeel turn around and dance right back out the door he had paused halfway through and had to laugh. I sincerely doubt he will ever admit to it, but oh my god it was hilarious. "Okay, okay, fine, you win. GAJEEL YOU OWE ME BIG!"

"NOOO~TED!" Gajeel shout-sang back.

Levy immediately went ghostly pale as I disintegrated the rope holding me in place and handed her the two hundred and sixty something pages she was so desperate to read. "Now no backin' out and disappointin' him," I grinned as I patted her on the head and went back to eating.

"How long was he standing there?" Levy asked in a horrified little voice.

"Long enough to hear you say you wanted to shag his brains out for a week straight," Serena declared with a mischievous grin from where she'd slid into the seat Natsu had vacated. As Levy's soul attempted to vacate the premises from sheer embarrassment, Serena looked across at me and pointed at me, "Two things. Number one: When you say 'Mira', are you talking about Mirajane Strauss?"

I nodded and she sat back thoughtfully, "Wow, so I guess I never stood a chance huh?"

I tilted my head, "Well…Mira's pretty insistent that we're just friends with benefits, so I'm not really sure. If it wasn't for that, I'd have to say 'definitely' because she's amazing, but I can say with a pretty great deal of surety that you're as good a kisser as she is."

Serena thought about that for a moment and then sat forward to give me that same enticing grin she'd lured me to the dance floor with the night before, "And that brings us to number two, a week straight?"

I blushed slightly and nodded, "Yes, it was actually my birthday and, well, she didn't realize it at the time, but it turned out to be a pretty great birthday present anyway."

Serena thought about that for a moment and then nearly made me choke on my next bite in surprise as she declared, "I've got a week, and room service has booze." She got up with a smile, "Just something to think about."

I'm not ashamed to admit that my jaw went slack and my stare followed her right out the door. Lucy asked me a few minutes after she left, "So…were girls this crazy about you back in your world too? Or is it just your magic making your attention more pleasant than most now?"

"I told you Lucy, I never had a girlfriend prior to Mira."

"That doesn't mean girls didn't like you, it just means you didn't like them back," Lucy pointed out, "So is this new?"

I thought for a moment, "I suppose there could be cultural differences at work, but I never noticed any unusual attention from any of the girls I knew. They might've been paying more attention, but if they did, I must've been about as oblivious to it as the average post. Personally, I think it's highly unlikely," I admitted with a smile as I selected my next bite, "Gabe was Mr. Popular, not me."

"Gabe?" Lucy asked.

"My best friend," I explained as I took my bite. I chewed for a moment and then swallowed, "The one that's just like Gajeel. He was the quarterback on top of being a guitar player, edgy dresser and in several of the honors classes. Really that last one's mostly Julie's doing, those two were like siblings. She was the smartest of the three of us even though she always insisted I was. Of course, she also tried a lot harder. Julie was class president, valedictorian, this, that… you name it, she was the best. She never did cheerleading, which was one of the stereotypical 'cool kid' things, but she was captain of the dance team which was about the same degree of 'cool'…oh, and they were the only people in our age group who did karate with me. The three of us all started at the same time and rose through the ranks together. Those two had everybody's attention, and they deserved it! They worked their asses off to be that cool. Kinda made me worry about them," I mused.

"I always figured all that trying would drive 'em both gray early," I declared with a small grin, "They toughed it out though, never did any drugs like a couple of the other braniacs who pushed themselves too hard or partied their future away like idiots. Of course, I'm pretty sure Sensei would've kicked their asses if they'd ever done anything that stupid." I resumed eating with a small smile at the thought of my old friends.

"So you were the best friend of the two most popular people in your age group who excelled at everything, and if I know anything about you, you were doing pretty well for yourself too, on top of making it look completely effortless. Am I right?" Levy asked over the top of the letter home that contained the details of basically everything I'd done over the last month and a half.

I nodded, "That's right."

"And you said your family was able to set you up with loads of blind dates that you always made go well, right?" Lucy added.

I nodded, "Yeah."

"Dense as a post," Lucy and Levy chorused.

I frowned at them, "Eh?"

"You hung out with the coolest people in your age group, you had lots of girls willing to go out with you because those blind dates wouldn't have gone on at all if they weren't at least a little interested, and you didn't do anything except for the one thing you wanted to, which happened to be being a badass, and knowing you, you probably made it look like you were just too damn cool to be bothered with anything else," Levy explained, "So you probably had girls drooling all over you and just didn't notice it."

I blinked and then, "Oh! Well that's nice." I went back to eating.

I think they were staring. After a moment, Lucy asked, "Um, shouldn't you be having a bit more of a reaction to that?"

"Why would I?"

"Well, didn't you think that nobody particularly liked you, romantically I mean?" Lucy reasoned, "So shouldn't it be at least a little bit of a surprise to find out that you were probably actually really popular?"

I didn't even look up as I started after my next bite, "I really couldn't care less even if it is."

"What?! Why not?!"

I glanced across the table at her and noticed Levy had gotten over her shock and was ears deep in my letter home/recording of everything that had happened to me since my arrival, "Because odds are extremely good that I will never see any of them again and thus their opinion of me has exactly zero bearing upon me or my future. Besides," I added as I took another bite, "Da pasht id pasht. 'O use 'orryin' a'out it."

"But what if there had been someone like Mira just waiting for you to ask them out?!" Lucy exclaimed, "Wouldn't you be upset that you'd missed out on a chance to be with her?"

I finished chewing, swallowed, wiped my mouth and looked across the table at Lucy, "Lucy, I could beat myself black and blue for the rest of my life over stupid things I've done in the past that I regret. I'm not the least bit proud of the fool I was as a child, and most of my actions that I can remember from my childhood mortify me with their stupidity. I could spend my time wallowing in self-pity, loathing and guilt over what an absolute little piece of shit I used to be, or I can learn from it, move on, and never let myself be such a dumbass again. And before you ask, NO. I absolutely do not want to talk about it."

Judging by Lucy's expression and the way Levy was nervously glancing over the top of the papers at me, the don't-even-try-me glare that went with that statement must've been every bit as fierce as what I intended. I sighed and set my face in my hand as the old guilt welled in my stomach, massaging my forehead through the bandages trying to keep the memories at bay, "I'm sorry if I came off a little intense just now, but that's…probably the worst memories possible to bring up. I'm…I'm gonna go get some air."

I didn't bother to finish my food, but I did take a few paper napkins with me. I knew what was coming.

I walked out of the galley and straight to the rail as the guilt churned my gut for the first time in…how long had it been? It's a real shame, I mused as I leaned over the rail, that food was good…

Then the memory slammed me like a freight train and about thirty seconds later, I got to see my food again.

A few moments into my vomiting, a hand started to rub my back. I wiped my mouth with the napkins clenched in my hand as I forced my stomach back under control and shot a glance over my shoulder, "Oh, hey Erza."

"Are you alright?" Erza asked even though she could clearly tell I wasn't, "Do I need to go get the captain for that seasickness magic?"

I shook my head, "No, it's…nothing like that." I turned my gaze out to the horizon and Erza asked if I had food poisoning or a stomach bug or if I had simply drank too much. I shook my head, "No, there's nothing that can fix this, and I'd honestly be a bit more worried if there were."

"What do you mean?"

I looked down at the water, "You ever make a mistake Erza? One that you can't fix but have wished ever since that you could?"

Erza flinched and after a moment confirmed what her flinch had told me, "Yes."

"Then you're probably familiar with how it feels to be sick with guilt about it," I said quietly, "It's a bit literal for me."

Erza was quiet for a moment and then, "I won't ask. I'm sure you don't want to talk about it, but if you ever do, I'll be happy to listen."

I was quiet for a moment, "I don't…she…" I sighed, there were too many things I wanted to say, but none of them were right. I shook my head, "It's hard to talk about without you knowing the full story, and it's not one I can tell without hating myself…which is even more difficult when it's someone who I actually hold in very high regard, who also happens to be Mira's best friend."

"That bad huh?"

I nodded, "I just wish I could tell her…" I grimaced, "…but at this point, I don't think there are any words that could do what I need them to."

"You didn't kill her did you?" Erza asked with a small note of concern.

It wasn't meant as an accusation, but I still flinched like she had struck me, and it still sent chills down my spine as every shred of my self loathing over the matter started screaming in my head. I lurched away and the guilt that I know was in my eyes must've looked very suspicious but there was no helping it, "No, no! I…I didn't…I wouldn't…I'd never…"

Erza clapped my head in between her hands and forced me to look her in the eyes, "Calm. Down." And damn but if the authority of the Fairy Queen didn't hold some weight! Have I mentioned how fitting that title is? The instant my eyes met hers, my screaming conscience piped straight down and clammed up, letting my pulse settle back to normal and my gut begin to unclench itself.

"I didn't kill her," I said quietly, feeling very emotionally drained all of a sudden, "But that doesn't stop me from blaming myself for not getting her out of the way of the sick psychotic fuck that did."

"Did you know it was going to happen?" Erza asked firmly, "Did you willingly and knowingly refuse to save her?"

"No! No!" I exclaimed, "I had no idea! I was just a little kid! A really, really stupid kid!"

"Then it's not your fault. Don't beat yourself up about it," Erza said quietly, "If she could see how upset you are about it, I think she'd forgive you."

I don't know why, but for some reason those words that I'd heard from more than one therapist and friend that had never sunk in, for some reason they actually kind of stuck that time. I still couldn't stop the small watery smile as I pulled her into a hug, "She might forgive me Erza, but I don't think I'll ever forgive myself."

Erza was stiff with surprise for a moment and then she hugged me back, "Then you should do your best to live in a way she'd be proud of."

"I try."

"Good," Erza declared before stepping back with a smile. Then the smile turned to her serious face, "Now then! Something very important!" My ears perked up at once, if Erza said it was important, it was important.

"I heard there was cake on the menu today, have you tried it? Was it strawberry?"

I blinked at the non-sequitur, "Um…I honestly didn't notice, Levy kind of tied me up as soon as I sat down and one thing led to another and then that came up and my stomach tied itself in a knot and…"

"Right!" Erza cut me off, "We must try the cake!"

So saying, she dragged me off back towards the galley with the determination and strength of a particularly stubborn bull. As we went, I couldn't help but wonder, what even is my life anymore?

I shot a glance at Erza and a small little smile spread over my face, madness. Complete and utter madness.

NEXT TIME on Mad Little Slice of Heaven...

Master nodded, "I see. Very well, I'll make sure everything's taken care of in your absence. Juvia's gone with Gray, Jet, Droy, Ur, Cana and Gildarts to retrieve Juvia and Gajeel's belongings from Oak Town. Is there anyone whose rent I need to see to?"

"Just mine and Levy's I believe," Erza replied.

"Hey is that Jerry?" I heard Mira ask before she walked on screen behind Master Makarov.

"Hi Mira!" I called happily. I knew the instant I saw her something was wrong. I felt the color drain from my face, "Mira?"