~*****~

Forcing Natsu to take a motion sickness potion was a chore by itself. I sighed loudly as Natsu sulked near the large open window of Christina Two. "It's refreshing to see the years haven't changed Natsu," Hibiki chuckled.

"We didn't exactly age, Hibiki. We were stuck in some weird spell that suspended the entire island for seven years," I explain lightly. "Surely you've heard that."

Hibiki rubs at his head. "Yeah, but I was hoping it wouldn't be true. Cause that would mean I get gray hair before you, and that's kinda depressing."

"I have white hair, you know. It's not like I'm gonna be graying with age." I retort playfully.

Hibiki smiles and leans against Christina's operating panel. "I know. You should see Marko. All that stress from Tenrou Island disappearing gave him quite the beard."

I hum in approval. "Now that's a sight I'd like to see. Marko's always had such a pretty face, but maybe a beard would make it prettier." I mention.

"Not as pretty as us though, right, big sis?" Eve chirped as he held my hand up, as if he were going to press a kiss to the back of my hand.

"Don't call me big sis," I complain. "Goodness, you need a girlfriend like Ren over there."

Ren immediately flushes and stammers. "I do not have a--"

"Sherry told me all about your cute little romance," I mention impishly.

Ren flushes darker and begins to sulk like Natsu near the windows. "How could I get a girlfriend when I have such a beautiful big sis?" Eve continues to flirt.

I sigh loudly, press my hand against his face and shove him back. "That's enough, men--" Ichiya suddenly declares, descending down upon us, and moving into my personal space. "Haven't we discussed that the lovely parfum Miss Aria has is all--"

"If you say it's yours, I'm going to mule kick you off Christina." I retort immediately.

"I wonder if he'll ever meet Nichiya." Ballad hums lightly.

"That was his name?" I gasp as I trail off towards the front of the ship with her. "I've just been referring to him as Cat Ichiya," I giggle.

Ballad hums. "That seems easier. Although, my first experience with him was just as annoying as this Ichiya. He kept saying my parfum smelt so heavenly, so I had to crack him one good."

I laugh and ruffle her wild tufts of fur. "Good job, little buddy! Don't take any smack from no man!"

Ballad beams. Her smile falters for a moment when she gazes out of the large window. "D'you think this will all go smoothly?" She asks, all of a sudden very somber. "Our track record with the Barum Alliance isn't that great... The Oracion Seis was difficult to beat, the Grimoire Hearts were even harder. Does that mean Tartaros will be the hardest challenge we've faced?"

I shrug. "Hey, it was only a rumor that members of Tartaros would be there. I wouldn't count on them being at some seedy auction for a flimsy little pendant." I explain. "Don't get too worried over it." Ballad hums and remains somber. "Why don't you think of something else? Anything you wanna do when we go back to Fairy Tail?"

Ballad's spirits lift and she begins rambling about going fishing with Natsu and Happy or having a spa day with the girls. She even began rambling about how cute she thought Gajeel was and being even cuter while fawning over Panther Lily.

~*****~

I grimace at the sight of Oak Town. "Hey, were we here before?" Natsu asks curiously as we peer around at the city.

I nod sullenly. "After the Phantom Lords attacked Levy, Jet, and Droy, we came knockin' on their front door. My stomach feels all bitter being in this town again."

Natsu grunted and suddenly seemed very irritated. "Yeah, I feel that too." He murmurs.

"Should we get going?" Hibiki chirps as he approaches us from Christina.

"The sun has gone down, so that deceitful auction with it's unsavory clientele should be starting soon," Ichiya says with a ridiculous pose.

Cooper rubs at his face in embarrassment. "There are tons of different places that could hold the auction." He mentions as he peers out at the city. "How are we supposed to find it?"

I tap the side of my nose. "If my pendant still holds it's ice diamond, I'll be able to sniff it out." I explain.

Natsu hummed in response. "Now that you mention it," He says lightly, sniffing the air. "I am picking up the faint smell of snow..."

"Does snow have a smell?" Cooper asks dryly.

I nod. "Yeah. It smells fresh and clean when it comes from the mountains. Snow that falls around here has an earthy scent to it." I explain. "My pendant is definitely here." Natsu trails off, sniffing every so often. "And it looks like the bloodhound found the trail," I joke lightly. "Once again stealing the show, aren't you?"

Natsu waves his hand. "Hey, I said I'd find that pendant for you," Natsu retorts as he suddenly looks back at me. "I'm gonna make sure it makes it back to the right hands."

My face flushes as I stare at him. "I know you will..." I murmur mostly to myself and follow after him, disregarding the others behind us.

Natsu leads us into a sewer and treks forward, his expression even more fierce as we get closer and closer to the fresh smell hidden in the sewers. The sound of a crowd emerges as we reach the deepest part of the sewers reaches our ears. The hairs on my neck stand on end as we trek forward, peering into the large opening where a magnificent stage stands, surrounded by a crowd of seedy looking people. No one takes notice to us after we don our cloaks to hide our appearance.

I can definitely smell the pendant now. It's nearby. Probably somewhere near, or underneath the stage. "Our next item up for auction--" A booming voice echoes out. "A pendant made from the finest orichalcum, holding one of the most prized diamonds in Fiore. It's size and density are completely out of ordinary, and is said to be the very eye of the great dragon that once lived in the peaks of Tangia." My gaze sets on the familiar pendant being set out on a pedestal. "The bidding is set at ten million jewel."

"Ten mil?" I growl. "It's worth at least three hundred."

"I think that's the least of our worries," Ballad murmurs from under her little cloak.

"We've got to--" I flinch to the side as Natsu suddenly leaps onto the stage and tackles the pedestal. "Well, there's one way to get it--" I snort as the entire tunnel is swept up in a large, all out battle for the pendant.

"You moron!" I hear a familiar voice bark. "You totally ruined my plan!"

"It's not my fault you were too slow!" Natsu shouts back, his hand totally encased around the pendant all the while slugging people in the face.

"You should've contacted Master Bob if you had a plan, you idiot!" I shout at Marko.

I hear him shout in surprise. "Oh, crap--" Natsu yelps, the pendant going flying.

"I got it, I got it--" Ballad chirps as she soars up to catch it.

Time slows down as she's hit by a vicious wind spell, sending her crashing into the wall with a deafening shriek. "Hey!" Natsu shouts. "That's not cool!"

I stumble towards her and lift her small body up, peering down at her through my bleary gaze. There's a nasty gash on her head. The pendant lays in her paws, clutched tightly, although, the nevermelt ice is shattered. I grasp it tightly, crushing the nevermelt ice more before shoving it in my mouth. I pocket the empty pendant and press Ballad against my shoulder, turning my hardened gaze onto the wizard leering over at us.

"You get a kick outta hurtin' someone defenseless?" I ask in a calm tone.

The mage spits on the ground. "I want that diamond, I don't give a rats ass who I gotta kill for it. My master made it clear that if I don't come back with it, I'll be as good as dead."

I made an audible crunching noise with the remainder of ice in my mouth before swallowing loudly. My skin ripples violently as I stare at him, stalking forward. "Natsu, take care of the rest of these idiots. This punk is mine."

"Don't be insane, this guy's been wanted for three years now. He's known as the Dark Wind Mage. His magic specializes in cutting up people until they're nothing but ribbons!" Cooper shouts. "We have no chance against him!"

Natsu snorts. "You should probably have some faith in Aria." Natsu mentions. "After all, she's Fairy Tail's newest S-Class wizard."

With Ballad still pressed to my shoulder, I kick forward, slamming my leg into the wizards gut, sending him crashing into the wall. It crumbles on top of him, leaving him trapped in the small cave in. "If it's one thing about Aria you should fear, it's probably her monster legs." Happy chirped as the fighting dies down slowly as the others consistently take down the rest.

Just as I move to stalk towards the downed wizard to continue beating on him, I feel Natsu's hand on my shoulder. I turn my gaze on him and he just smiles. My shoulders sag as I stare back, dumbfounded on how he can be so calm right now. I glance at my other shoulder, peering at Ballad, who's no longer bleeding, but still unconscious. There's a fresh wave of anger flowing through me, and it takes me moment to realize what Natsu's trying to convey. "Thank you..." I murmur softly.

Natsu hums in response, his hand grasping mine before pulling me away from the rubble.

~*****~

The Magic Council arrives to take away the mages we'd taken out at the auction. I didn't like explaining why we were there, but since we were there to retrieve stolen property, we were let off for being at such an illegal event. Natsu complained loudly about the rumor of Tartaros being there didn't pan out, then he began complaining about the lack of challenge, but I just tuned him out.

Ballad rested on a small pillow, her head wrapped with thick bandages. Thankfully, it looked like the damage was superficial, so it would probably just leave a scar. Hopefully, her thick fur would cover it up. She was too cute to have such a scar. "Aria, d'you think Ballad would like some fish when she wakes up?" Happy asks, holding up an impressive looking carp. I didn't want to know where he'd gotten it from.

I giggle as I rub his head. "Probably, but I think she'd prefer it cut up. Why don't you go do that?"

Happy beams and trots off to Natsu, barking out orders. I turn my gaze back onto Ballad and move to adjust her small body. Thankfully, she stirs after another hour of sleeping.

"You feelin' all right?" I ask softly.

She hums in response and sits up, her small paw rubbing at her forehead. "Yeah..." She gasps loudly after a moment. "Your pendant! Is it okay?! I thought I heard a crunch when I--" I hold up the empty pendant and shrug. Her eyes well with tears. "O-Oh, I'm-- I'm sorry--" She stammers.

"It's okay, Ballad," I chuckle. She continues to cry, big fat tears running down her face. "This can always be replaced. I can always find more ice diamonds and fuse them together," I explain delicately. "I can't replace you."

"But-- But... You said Everest made it for you! So it was special, and I-- I--" She sobbed.

I chuckle again and lift her into my arms, hugging her close. "I don't care about this flimsy thing if it means you got hurt trying to get it for me." I say. "You're important to me, more so than any possession."

Ballad sniffles against my neck. "Can I help you fix it?"

I beam. "Of course! We gotta find something cool to put it in, right?"

Ballad gives me a shaky smile and nods. "Maybe we can put a small fish carving in it!"

I laugh. "Anything we want, right?"

Ballad slams her face back into my neck and hugs me tight. "Right!"

~*****~

Back at Blue Pegasus, we decided to stay the night before heading off tomorrow. It gave me time to catch up with Marko, which I appreciated. "It's not fair," Marko complains as he strokes his beard-- which, I will admit, is pretty dang attractive. "You're still eighteen, meanwhile, I'm getting close to thirty."

I giggle. "Don't be so down, at least you still look good." I comment.

Marko's frown suddenly lifts as he wiggles his eyebrows. "So, does that mean you wanna get back together?"

"Absolutely not," I say as I cross my arms in front of me in the form of an X. "I'm still freaked you told me you loved me like, six months into dating."

Cooper snorted. "Wow, a lot happened since I got arrested," Cooper mentioned. "You totally told me you didn't like her like that!"

Marko just shrugs. "Like I'm gonna tell some ten year old kid with no filter about a crush I had on the girl he was totally in love with." He shoves his finger into his ear.

"I wonder if this traveling mercenary group is where Aria got her bad manners from." Happy mentioned.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I ask as I push my finger into my ear.

"Man, this stinks, I was hopin' for a good fight," Natsu complained.

"You're still on that?" Marko sighs. "Those wizards were a tough bunch, I don't know how you guys managed to take out Frankie the Butcher so easily."

"Wait, wait--" I snort. "The Dark Wind Mage-- his name is Frankie the Butcher?" I ask as I begin to laugh.

"Yeah, remember what I said? His magic will cut you to ribbons?" Cooper mentioned.

Natsu snorts. "That's a dumb name," He giggles. "Imagine running into him in the streets and some lady screaming Frankie the Butcher--"

Natsu and I begin roaring in laughter. "Oh no, it's Frankie the Butcher!" I bellow, clutching my stomach.

Marko sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "You know, everything I heard about Fairy Tail is true. You guys are a bunch of wackos." Marko comments.

Cooper hums. "Yeah, but they sure are charismatic." Cooper smiles as he stares at us. "I'm really glad I decided to join Fairy Tail. They're all so kind and care about each other so much."

Marko hums in thought.

The next morning, we bid goodbye to the Blue Pegasus guild and make our way to the train station. "I can't believe you ran all the way here," I mention to Cooper as we wait for the train to arrive.

"Look, I was all kinds of messed up," Cooper retorted, his face flushing dark red. "Are you guys gonna be able to handle the train, anyway? Don't you have that motion sickness thing?"

I shrugged. "I got some potions, but getting Natsu to take them is like trying to put a leash on a storm." I mention irritably.

"It is not!" Natsu retorted. "They're gross!"

"Yeah, but they work, don't they?" I snap.

Natsu grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. "I prefer the usual method of staving off the motion sickness." He retorts as a flush crawls up his neck.

My heart shifts in its usual pattern and I smile affectionately him. "You--" I start before sighing loudly. "You're such a big baby, you know that? You're lucky I think you're cute."

Natsu snorts and turns his nose up. "I'm gonna go grab some grub."

"Get me something!" I call after him as he stomps off, huffing and puffing.

"Goodness, I never thought I'd see you look at someone like that," Cooper mentions as Natsu starts talking with a vendor. I swing my gaze on him, trying to stuff down the flush crawling up my neck. "It's refreshing. But don't let your guard down." My brow raises. "It's not that I think he's a bad guy. He's really cool, and I get why you like him so much. I'm just sayin that one day, I'm gonna get strong enough to catch your attention."

I snort and ruffle Cooper's hair. "We'll see about that, kid."

He swats at my hand. "I'm not a kid!"

~*****~

A week later in Fairy Tail, Natsu and I get back from another job to see the guild lit up once again. "Hey, kiddos! How'd the job go?" Master cheered with his usual tankard of ale.

"It went well? Don't tell me we've got another new recruit." I say urgently.

Natsu beams. "Hey, the more the merrier, right?" He asks.

I grimace and start towards the group. It parts and I stare dumbfounded at Marko arm wrestling with Elfman. And it looks like he's giving Elfman a run for his money. "What the hell?! Is everyone leaving Blue Pegasus or something?" I snap.

Marko glances over at me, beams and loses to Elfman after losing his concentration. "Aria, great to see you!" He exclaims as he stands up and approaches me. "Look, after that whole mess in Oak Town, and seeing you again, I realized that maybe I was in the wrong guild." He explains with a smile. "I want to be near you, and I wanna grow with you."

"The Love Maze grows again!" I hear Juvia chant.

"Juvia--" I hiss loudly at her.

"No kid can stand up to me when it comes to your hand, right? We've got history, you and I. And I'm determined to make you mine again." Marko confesses.

"What the hell is going on?" I hiss as I back up.

Lucy chuckles. "It's all that karma coming back to bite you in the butt. You shouldn't be so flirty all the time, they're bound to catch feelings."

I storm out of the guild, seething curses at the others jeering at me.