Angel Rose

Chapter 13

"Lucy Kick! Now stay out until I say otherwise!" Lucy shouted, forcing Natsu out of her house for the tenth time in as many days.

"Sorry about this, Lucy. I didn't think it'd cause this much trouble." I apologized, curling up on her couch with the egg.

"No worries. It's only for a few more days. Besides, at least the only one I have to worry about breaking in is Natsu."

"True. But I still feel bad that I'm taking up so much space in your apartment."

"Angel, you're not. Even with you and the egg, you're still not nearly as bad as the team can be. I mean, Erza goes through my underwear."

"She is a little weird about that. As soon as mating season is over, I'll be out of your hair. Maybe we can go to the beach, as a thank you for helping me."

"Sure, that sounds great, Angel. I'm gonna go get some groceries for the next couple days. Do you need anything specific?"

"Um... chocolate always helps."

"Got it."

I'm starting to get worried. What's taking Lucy so long at the store? Lucy had been gone for nearly three hours, making me antsy and paranoid. What if she got kidnapped again? I'm going to look for her. Determined, I used a bed sheet as a chest hammock for the egg and rushed out of the apartment. Come on, strawberries and cream. I need to find Lucy's scent. I avoided all eye contact as I marched down the path Lucy would have taken, almost missing a fresh scent trail that lead down an alley. What have you gotten yourself into now, Lucy? "Go home! I'm not telling you where she is!" I heard Lucy yell. Shit! I ran towards the sound, hearing familiar chuckles.

"Hey, back off!" I shouted, jumping between the three figures and the Celestial Wizard. "Sting, Rogue, Erik? What the hell are you three doing here?"

"Angel, you have to go. They know it's mating season." Lucy worried.

"It's too late now, Lucy. They can smell it on me. Now they have to prove themselves worthy. Erik, you should go find Kinana; Sting, Yukino. They are your chosen, not me." Thankfully, mentioning the girls' names seemed to get through to them, which only left Rogue.

"What can I do to show my worth?" Rogue asked of me.

"You have to defeat Gajeel. But, you only have one chance." Thank Mavis Gajeel is too strong for him to beat.

"Then I will do it."

"Wait! Let Lucy go get him. You can just walk into the guild hall and challenge him. Lucy, would you please go get Gajeel and tell him to meet us in South Gate Park? Explain what's going on during the walk." I requested.

"Yeah. We'll be there soon."

"Angel, you know he can't beat me." Gajeel whispered when I met him at the entrance of the park.

"I know. that's why I chose this to prove his worth. It was the only thing I could think of. I don't want him. So don't let him win."

"You got it. Go sit down. You still look weak." I did as I was told, finding a good spot to watch the challenge. Gajeel and Rogue faced each other, both waiting to see who would make the first move. Rogue struck first, using his shadow to slip behind Gajeel and kick at his back. From there, it was almost exactly like their fight during the last day of the GMG, with Gajeel coming out as the victor. Thank Mavis.