I rolled over on the hospital bed, unable to sleep for the last few hours. It had been several hours since the infirmary had cleared out with the exception of Storm and I. It was just the two of us alone in the cold hospital room.

"Storm," I whispered.

"Yeah,"

"Do you think Gale and Reiki are nearby?"

"Without a doubt,"

I couldn't help but grin, Gale and Reiki were probably right outside the door keeping watch. After the attack on Storm, no one was taking any chances when it came to keeping the future team safe.

The silence grew louder and I thought back onto why we were stuck here in the first place. "Why did you do it?" I asked. There was silence. "You took a bullet for me, why?"

"You would have done the same," he finally responded.

"Don't give me that crap. Why did you really do it?"

Storm rolled over and I could barely make out his face in the dark.

"I guess I did it because..." I waited for his answer. "I don't know. I just saw you in danger and acted," I didn't answer. How could I answer? "Don't get me wrong," he continued. "I know that you don't need anyone to protect you 24/7, but everyone needs help every now and then. If I can keep you safe-"

"Alright," I interrupted. "But you have to stay safe too. No more taking bullets for me, got it?"

"You bet," he answered.

- - - - - - - - -

"Nashi wake up, wake up!"

I sat straight up in bed, gasping for air as a cold sweat beaded down my forehead. As my eyes adjusted to the room I saw Storm standing over me, a concerned look in his eyes.

"What happened?" I asked.

"A nightmare?" Storm suggested. I didn't know, I couldn't remember having a nightmare. "You were tossing around a lot in your sleep and murmuring things,"

"That's weird," I said, touching my face I realized that my cheeks were wet with tears. Had I been crying? I don't remember crying.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again.

"I'm not sure," there was a long pause of silence. Before I had a chance to protest, Storm was lifting my sheets and climbing into the bed with me. He grabbed my head and pulled it into the crook of his neck. It was comforting as he started to play with my hair, but I was nervous by his gesture.

For a while we just laid there. He'd play with my hair and hold me close just so we could be near each other. I admit, it was weird, but it felt good. He smelled like the home time I knew and it reminded me of how much I missed it. I took a deep breath, inhaling his familiar smell as I let the sweet drug of sleep take over me.

- - - - - - - - -

My eyes snapped open at the sound of footsteps down the hallway. I took a sniff at the air and instantly recognized the familiar smell of smoke. Uh oh...

"Natsu, I highly advise you leave them  sleep! They need their rest,"

"Sorry Porlyusica, I need them em bright eyes and bushy tailed asap,"

Without bothering to wake him up, I pushed Storm out of the bed we had been sharing. He hit the stone floor with a thud but the ice wizard remained asleep. Using my foot, I pushed his sleeping form to the side of his bed away from mine. I could hear Natsu's footsteps getting closer. I threw one of the sheets on top of Storm and laid back down in mine to pretend to be asleep.

Just then, the door to the infirmary slammed open. I heard Natsu walk over to my bedside and felt him gently shake my shoulder. I moaned and stretched as if I was just waking up. Opening my eyes, I saw that famous pink hair. I was expecting to see a smile, but his face was serious.

"Get dressed," he said simply.

"What's going on?"

"I'll explain when we get there," Natsu walked to Storm and kicked him in the stomach. Storm shot awake with wide eyes. "Get dressed and meet me outside," with that final statement Natsu stepped into the hallway.

I looked at Storm who was giving me the same look. What was that all about?

I got dressed in my white shorts, yellow top, brown boots, and denim jacket. My white bandanna was already tied around my neck since I fell asleep wearing it. Storm was wearing his black sleeveless jacket and cargo pants. We stepped in the hall and met with Natsu, Gale, and Storm.

We all made our way through the stadium in silence as Natsu led us out. Eventually we found ourselves at the bar sun. It was late in the evening, had we slept an entire day? When we stepped inside, the Fairy Tail A and B teams were there along with the exceeds. As I looked around the room, I saw that everyone was there except for one person.

"Where's Lucy?" I asked. Everyone looked down at their feet. I started to get worried and confused.

"She was kidnapped," Gray finally answered. My heart began to speed up.

Reiki took a step forward. "By who?"

"Palace soldiers," Natsu answered. "They took Lucy and Yukino, but we don't know why. The rumor is that they're being held in the palace dungeon."

"So we should go break them out," I offered.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Makarov spoke up from his seat on the bar. "The one's who took her have said they will release her if Fairy Tail wins the Grand Magic Games. However, we can't be sure if they'll keep their word,"

"So what do we do?" Gale questioned. We all looked at Makarov who furrowed his brow in concentration.

"Simple, we go break her out!" Natsu answered.

"Are you stupid? We can't go in there guns blazing!" Gray countered.

"Well we can't just sit here either!"

"Simmer down!" Makarov shouted above all. "We go charging in head first like we usually do... However, we are no cowards and we will not let them get away with this. We are Fairy Tail!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So far everything is as it should be," The woman in the white cloak stated. Her partner said nothing. He stared intently at the bar sun where Fairy Tail had congregated. "They don't seem to be causing any trouble as far as I can tell," the woman added.

"That doesn't mean they won't mess up somewhere," He said. The man leaned against the wall they were hiding behind and crossed his arms. "We have to get them soon,"

"That'll be a challenge now," the girl followed suit, leaning against the opposite wall of the narrow alley. "Ever since that attack on the future team in the stadium Fairy Tail will be keeping a close eye on all of them,"

"So we wait," The boy determined. "We'll wait until the Grand Magic Games are over. While Fairy Tail is celebrating in their victory, we'll make our move." The woman nodded.

"Until then, we should keep an eye on them." She stated. "If they run into serious trouble, we can step in and help,"

"Only if it's serious, we still have no idea who it was that attacked the future team the other day. We'll have to be careful, and we can't be seen. "

The woman smirked. "Please," she bragged. "They'll never even know I'm there."

"What were you saying about no one knowing you were there?" The cloaked figures turned abruptly at the new voice that had snuck up on them. Jellal removed his mask and cap revealing his identity. "I've shown my identity, now reveal yours."

The woman pulled the hood of her cloak lower to obscure more of her face. The boy took a step back toward the opening of the alley, ready to make a run for it.

"I wouldn't advise running away," Jellal advised. The pair took another step back. Suddenly they bolted out of the alley and into the streets of Crocus. "They're on the run," Jellal shouted. Looking to the left and right, the pair in white saw two figures in blue cloaks flanking them on either side.

"I told you we had to watch out for Crime Sorciere!" The woman shouted.

"Shut up and keep running!" The man shot back.

"Meledy go after the one on the right, I'll take the one on the right," Ultear shouted.

"You got it," Meledy acknowledged. She ran faster after the woman in the white cloak. When she finally got close enough, she threw an energy sword at the woman. The cloaked woman dodged it easily and did a backflip midair causing Meledy to run under her. The woman's cloak flew open revealing her curvy figure amd black unitard. She smacked the palm of her hand right on Meledy's forehead.

Landing behind Meledy, the woman sent an energy sword flying at the pinkette. Meledy was astonished by the sword that had materialized out of nowhere. The sword grazed Meledy's arm and she was washed over with an unbelievable wave of pain.

"Meledy? What's wrong?" Ultear called out.

"I... I don't know," Meledy looked around, the woman in the cloak was gone. "T-target escaped,"

"Damn it," Ultear cursed. The one she was chasing was faster than she had anticipated. She summoned her crystal orb to her side. "Flash forward!" The orb split into several hundred orbs hurdling towards the boy. Before the orbs could get near the man in the cloak, Ultear felt a slap on the back of her head.

Running past her was the woman Meledy had been after. The woman clapped her hands and the orbs going after her partner reverted back to one orb and went flying back to Ultear. The orb smacked her square in the jaw, knocking her off balance. Ultear pressed forward however in pursuit of her prey.

"Arc of time!" Ultear yelled.  Ahead of her enemies, a stray acorn on the road grew into a huge tree blocking their path. The cloaked woman clapped her hands and the tree reverted back into a seed. "Impossible!" Ultear distressed. "She's countering all of my spells,"

"She's using omnicounter magic," Jellal surmised. "It's like instant copy magic only much stronger," he explained. Ultear gritted her teeth in frustration. "Ultear, fall back,"

"What?!"

"Fall back,"

"Jellal I've almost got them,"

"I said fall back!" Jellal shouted more aggressively this time. Ultear stopped her pursuit, letting the duo in cloaks escape.

The woman looked over her shoulder wondering why their attacker had stopped. Her partner also looked back in confusion. As they rounded a corner, the pair came face to face with a dead end.

"Let's try this again," Jellal said coldly, blocking the duo's only exit. "Who are you?"