The Skull Hidden in the Sand

Questions....

A/N: Original designs for Aras, Min, and Emily. Aras looks weiiiiiiiiiiird, Min looks adorable (per usual), and Emily looks meh.

"Gotcha!!" Natsu managed to grab Lucy before she hit the ground. Lily was not so lucky, but he did land in a bush in his small form.

"Thanks Natsu."

"Ergh! You could...stand to lose...a few pounds...Lushee!"

"Shut up, cat! You're just not strong enough to carry two people!" Their landing was rather clumsy, more like a controlled crash than a proper landing.

There was a rustling in the bushes. "Oog...my head..." Lily crawled out, covered in leaves.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked as Natsu carefully burned the remaining ropes off.

"I...think so? Where's the shapeshifter?"

"They yelled something and ran off." Happy answered.

"How'd you get captured, anyway?" Natsu asked Lily, but the exceed said nothing.

Assuming he had been talking to her, Lucy sighed. "The shapeshifter caught us off guard and used Wendy to force us to go with them. They shot Erza with the needle thing and then Aras showed up out of nowhere and knocked me and Levy-chan out."

"What's he doing, helping that jerk?!"

"I think he might've been controlled, like Wendy was."

"In any case, we should probably go find the others." Lily advised. The others nodded their agreement.

*************

"Sh-shrimp? Levy..? C'mon, th-this isn't funny! Uh...what do I..?" Gajeel grabbed Levy by the shoulders and started shaking her. "Wake up, dammit!" Levy was, in fact, breathing. Steadily and regularly actually, but Gajeel was too panicked to realize it. Realizing that the shaking wasn't helping, Gajeel began frantically wracking his brains for another solution. "....shit, guess that's my only option... Don't hate me for this, Shrimp." Gajeel pinched Levy's nose and pressed his lips onto hers.

When he pulled back, it was to check to see if she was breathing. He did not expect to see her staring back at him, red-faced and confused. "G-G-G-Gajeel? Wh-what're you doing?"

"I-! Ah! Uh! Y-you weren't breathing, s-so, um... Are ya o-okay?!"

"Y-yes?"

"W-well, good!" Gajeel declared. They both were very red-faced and twitchy.

Levy nervously brushed a lock of hair behind her hair. "Um, Gajeel-?" She started.

"OI!!" The pair jumped as Natsu, Happy, Lucy, and Pantherlily broke through the bushes.

"Levy-chan! Are you okay?!"

"Oh, L-Lu-chan. Yes, I'm fine."

"Are you alright? You...look a little red." Lily asked Gajeel quietly.

"Sh-shut up. I'll...tell ya later."

"Hey!" Natsu gave a sniff. "Where'd Blondie go? His scent's everywhere."

"I tossed him over...there?" Gajeel looked confused. "Where did that bastard go?"

"I think we should go check on Erza and Jellal first. Aras can take care of himself."

"Yeah, let's go."

*************

Erza slowly drifted back to consciousness. She opened her eyes and it took her a moment to orient herself. She was laying on her side with something cushioning her head. Judging from the absence of pain and dizziness, she was unharmed and freed from the shapeshifter's control. Someone made a soft sound, a mix of a sigh and a hum, and she felt a gentle tugging on a strand of hair. "Jellal?" She turned her head slightly to the side.

"Oh, uh, y-you're awake." Jellal froze, a strand of red between his fingers. Erza was laying with her head on his lap and he had been playing quietly with her hair. They stared at each other for a second, a slight blush growing on each of their faces as they stared at each other. "S-so, uh..." Jellal coughed, looking away. "How are you feeling?"

Erza carefully sat up. "Much better now."

There was a loud crash as Natsu tripped over a bush and face-planted into the dirt. "Wouldja be more careful, Salamander?!" Gajeel very nearly joined the fire dragon slayer on the ground when his scarf got tangled around the iron dragon slayer's ankle.

"Hey Jellal! Glad you're okay!" Natsu grinned upside-down, ignoring Gajeel completely.

"Yes, we're both fine." Lucy helped Erza to her feet.

"Lily? What's wrong?" Levy asked curiously.

"Oh, er, nothing."

"Are ya sure? 'Cause ya look awfully twitchy."

"Well-"

"Ow, ow, ow!!" A new voice interrupted. Everyone turned to see Aras entering the clearing, pulling the little green-haired girl by the ear. "Stop, you're gonna pull it off!!"

"No I'm not and you deserve this, you idiot."

"It was an accident, I swear!"

"How did you get..?" Jellal looked back to see his staff laying on the ground and the shield dissipated.

"Aras, pleeeeeease!" The little girl whined. The greeter released her ear before karate-chopping her on the head. "OW!!"

Gajeel stiffened and then growled. "YOU! YOU NEARLY KILLED SHRIMP!!"

Aras glared at the little girl. "That wasn't supposed to happen, I swear! I don't even know how the rope got wrapped around her neck!" The girl protested. Gajeel hissed and everyone else looked either confused or horrified.

Aras just glared even more fiercely. "Apologize. Now."

"O-okay." The little girl gave a deep bow. "I...I'm very sorry, I in no way intended for that to happen and I swear it will never happen again."

"YOU THINK THAT MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER?!"

"Whether by accident or intention, you must be punished." Erza scowled, stepping up next to Gajeel.

Lily stepped in front of the pair. "Everyone calm down for a moment, please."

"Crap. Lily's still being controlled. We'll have to take him out."

Lily sighed. "No, I'm not. And if you don't believe me, I can start blabbing out secrets that only I would kno-"

"No, no, I believe ya."

"Hold on." Lucy interrupted, looking confused and irritated. "If you're not being controlled, why are you defending the imposter? They've tried to kill us multiple times already!! Aras, they made a direct attempt on your life!"

"And what did you do to the real little girl you're impersonating?" Jellal added, gesturing behind him.

The child sighed and briefly made eye contact with Aras. "Those are valid questions and after all I put you through, you deserve an explanation." Her tone was almost regretful but the Fairies, especially Gajeel, didn't relax.

There was a crackling sound and Lily pulled a small lacrima out of a hidden pocket. "It'll take awhile to explain, so let's go somewhere more comfortable." When everyone tensed, he gave a slight chuckle. "Look, if it makes you more comfortable..." He shifted to his smaller form and handed over his sword. Likewise, Aras handed over Erza's knife, saying it was about time it was returned anyway.

The girl held her arms up like they were aiming a gun at her and said, "I don't have any weapons." But Aras frisked her anyway. So the group set off and found themselves emerging a short distance away from the Lodge. Nearby was a small pavilion and waiting there were some very familiar faces.

Hello there. Nothing much happened in this one again, sorry. Except for the little Gajevy and Jerza moments. ^^ Poor Jerza, I felt like I was neglecting them. Anyway, next chapter, you'll finally get some answers! So until then, enjoy~