A FEW DAYS LATER…
Vivi stood with the others as Natsu and Erza were facing each other. It was time for their fight, and of course, everyone in Fairy Tail showed up to watch. Even Lucy. Though Gray had to remind her about it and bring her here from what Vivi had heard. Vivi was up early with Natsu this morning getting him ready for the match. She wished her brothers were here to watch this since they always enjoyed being a part of the festivities—even if Morgan denies it.
"You can do it, Natsu!" Vivi cheered. "Give it all you got!"
Natsu grinned over at Vivi while giving a thumbs up, which had her smiling brightly. He was sure with his best friend in his corner that he had this in the bag. Besides, he wasn't the same little kid he was when he and Erza last fought.
"Please, Natsu is so going down!" Krov said.
He then grunted in pain when Vivi punched him right in the face, which had him dropping to the ground. Mirajane laughed as Vivi continued cheering for Natsu as if she hadn't just punched Krov in the face.
"They're not seriously going through with this, are they?" Lucy asked.
"Oh, hey, Lucy." Mirajane said.
Lucy didn't really reply back since she was so worried about the fight to come. It seemed a bit silly that everyone was so excited for it.
"Yeah, well, if those two value their manhood then they better go through with it." Elfman said.
"Erza's not a man." Mirajane pointed out.
"But you have to admit she's manly." Macao said.
Lucy just frowned because all of this was still worrying her. This could spell trouble for the team.
"Aren't you afraid this fight will tear our strongest team apart?" Lucy asked.
Gray and Vivi blinked at Lucy in confusion because they had no idea what she's talking about.
"What are you talking about?" Gray asked. "Our strongest team?"
"You, Natsu, Vivi, and Erza, ya dummy." Lucy said. "You're the four strongest wizards in the guild."
"We are?" Vivi asked, looking even more confused.
She looked at Gray to clear things up, but he looked just as confused as she was at the moment.
"Yeah, right." Gray said. "What idiot fed you that lie?"
"Whoever it was has to be a complete moron." Vivi added.
Gray nodded in agreement as he started chuckling. Mirajane suddenly started crying, which had Gray and Vivi freaking out when they realized it was her.
"Please, Mira, don't cry!" Vivi said, hugging her. "It's totally cool you think so highly of us."
Gray was nodding along with what Vivi was saying while trying to calm Mirajane. Their guildmates gave them deadpanned expressions as they continued to fail in cheering up Mirajane.
"Smooth, guys, smooth." Lucy said sarcastically.
As Gray frowned at Lucy, Vivi continued consoling Mirajane who continued sobbing as if someone told her that Christmas was cancelled.
"I'll hand it to Natsu and Gray, they're tough little dudes, but neither of them are even close to being the strongest." Elfman said. "There are guys in Fairy Tail that are stronger than both of them combined. Like this one!"
Vivi let go of Mirajane to frown up at Elfman while knowing there were guys in Fairy Tail ten times stronger than him. Like, Laxus, Mystogan, definitely Gildarts, and Chris, of course. Though Elfman has seemed to forget about the four of them. Not to mention, she doesn't remember Elfman ever beating Natsu and Gray in a fight.
"Then why do they beat you up constantly, Elfman?" Vivi asked point blank.
Gray snorted in amusement when Elfman blushed while looking embarrassed. Even Macao and Wakaba were chuckling at his expense.
"Calling Erza the strongest female in Fairy Tail is a pretty safe bet." Levy said joining in on the conversation. "Vivi is definitely stronger than me and quite a few other women in the guild, but she isn't even close to Erza."
Vivi frowned at the reminder as she crossed her arms over her chest. She knew she wasn't stronger than Erza. She wasn't stronger than Mirajane. Well, she is now, but she doesn't count that considering the circumstances. Not to mention there's Estella to think about. Estella's take-over magic was almost as scary as Mirajane's magic, and her magic involved white magic. However, even though Vivi was ranked about fourth out of the women in the guild, she wasn't about to let that stop her.
"One day I'll be stronger than that redhead." Vivi said determinedly. "I'll become the strongest female wizard sooner or later, and then Erza will see that my magic is the superior magic."
And Vivi will get to make Erza eat those words she said when she and Vivi met for the first time. Vivi then frowned as Gray placed his hand on top of her head.
"Yeah, you keep dreaming, Vivi." Gray said.
He proceeded to pat Vivi on the head as if she was a small child, which had her growling in annoyance. Gray cried out when Vivi kicked him in the shin.
"What the hell?!" Gray growled.
"You deserved that and ya know it, Popsicle!" Vivi retorted.
The two started arguing with the others not giving it much attention since they were used to the two's fits. Even Lucy was getting very used to them by now.
"Yeah, Vivi is pretty high up there even if not Erza's level." Jet said. "As for the guys it's a tough call, but I gotta put my money on Laxus, Chris, or Mystogan."
Vivi shoved Gray down for a second while looking towards Team Shadow Gear.
"Oh yeah?" Vivi asked. "What about the old man? What about Gildarts?"
Lucy blinked in confusion—while ignoring when Gray got the upper hand in his and Vivi fight—not knowing who any of these guys were. But she was starting to see she had been completely wrong with thinking Natsu, Vivi, and Gray were the strongest when so many people were in front of them. She didn't say they're weak, but she could see they weren't even at the top quiet yet.
"She's got a point." Droy said to Jet. "I'd place my money on Gildarts any day of the week. As for the girls, I'd put my money on either Erza or Estella."
Estella? There was someone else Lucy didn't know. But it seems as if she was in competition for Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard as well. Lucy then looked to Mirajane who gave a sniffle as she wiped at her eyes.
"All I meant was the four of them work well together, and they have the best team chemistry in all of Fairy Tail." Mirajane explained.
"Oh yeah?" Lucy asked. "And this is coming from the same person who sent me on a mission to keep Natsu, Gray, and Vivi from killing each other when Erza wasn't around? Not to mention that Gray and Vivi are fighting right now!"
Lucy pointed to the two fighting as Vivi finally ended the fight by knocking Gray completely on his ass. The bluenette gave a huff as she straightened out her clothes. Gray just grumbled on the ground while tired of duking it out with the bluenette. It wasn't even worth it.
"Gotta say I'm pretty excited to see how this fight turns out." Elfman said.
Gray, who picked himself off the ground, scoffed as he dusted dirt off of his clothes.
"Oh yeah?" Gray asked. "I'm sure she'll end up mopping the floor with him."
Vivi frowned at Gray because Natsu was a lot stronger than before. He had some kind of chance of winning!
"It's been a while since we've squared off like this, hasn't it, Natsu?" Erza asked.
"I was just a little kid back then." Natsu said. "Today's going to be different because I'm taking you down, Erza!"
"Well, I'm not going easy on you." Erza said. "In fact, I have the perfect armor for this occasion."
She quickly requipped her armor, and everyone's eyes widened when seeing what armor she chose for the fight.
"That's Flame Empress Armor." Macao said. "Good choice for going against fire magic."
Erza was definitely taking this seriously if she's starting out with her Flame Empress armor. It showed she took Natsu for real at least.
"So, now Natsu's flames will only be half as strong." Laki added.
"Come on, Erza at least give the kid a fighting chance." Wakaba said.
Vivi shook her head because people needed to stop automatically assuming this fight was already won by Erza. Well, at least Natsu had her and Happy in his corner.
"Put me down for Erza in the first round." Happy said.
Vivi nearly fell over in shock as Lucy couldn't believe Happy was betting against his own friend.
"Why are you guys picking sides?" Lucy asked. "I don't want either of them to lose!"
Vivi sighed, shaking her head at Lucy since the blonde didn't seem to understand the spirit of these kinds of things.
"Get into the spirit, Lucy." Gray said.
"Yeah, make a bet." Vivi said. "I already put down quite a bit for Natsu to win."
Lucy sighed, hanging her head. Why couldn't they just cheer for both their friends? Wait, Vivi doesn't like Erza, and Gray doesn't like Natsu…So really they weren't picking sides against friends, were they? Man, these guys were complicated.
"Flame Empress Armor, huh?" Natsu asked, grinning. "Good news for me. That means I can turn the heat as high as I want to!"
He had his hands engulfed in flames as everyone waited for the match to begin already.
"Round One start!" Makarov declared.
Erza and Natsu jumped at each other to start the fight. Natsu took a swipe at her with his fire, but her armor prevented any damage. Natsu had to flip out of the way of Erza when she tried to slice off his head. They flipped around each other some more before Natsu let out his fire breath that got a bit close to the spectators. As they complained about his aiming, Natsu let out a laugh.
"Yeah, you get her, Natsu!" Vivi cheered as she waved pompoms in the air.
"Where the heck did you get those?!" Lucy asked in shock.
Vivi just continued cheering for Natsu while ready for him to win and rub it in Erza's face. As the two continued fighting, Lucy watched in awe. This was all so amazing.
"Whoa." She said.
"See, it's a good fight, huh?" Elfman asked.
"This fight sucks." Gray said.
"Woohoo!" Vivi cheered from beside him.
He glanced at her as she continued to grin broadly while cheering for Natsu loudly. He sighed, shaking his head, but he felt his lips twitch up into a smile. Just as Natsu and Erza were about to clash there was a loud gong-like noise that brought everything to a stop. Everyone turned, seeing a large female frog wearing clothes and walking upright.
"This fight is over." She declared. "May I have your attention, please? I've come here on behalf of the Magic Council."
"No way." Levy said.
"Seriously?" Jet inquired.
"What would the Council send her here?" Droy questioned.
Vivi frowned wondering what the Magic Council wanted with them now. It was nothing ever good when it concerned them. They better not be here for her again. She can't go through that whole apologizing to the Council thing again. It was so annoying.
"Am I the only one who's noticed she's a frog?!" Lucy asked.
No one replied to Lucy as they looked at the Magic Council representative. Vivi had a bad feeling in her gut as they waited to hear what the council wanted.
"As the result of the Eisenwald incident, a member of your guild has been charged with eleven counts of property damage." The representative said. "Erza Scarlet, you are under arrest."
Everyone looked at the representative in complete and utter shock. Did they hear the frog lady, right?
"She's under a-what?!" Natsu demanded.
"You are to come with me, and answer for the damage caused during your retrieval of the Lullaby." The frog woman said. "Will you come quietly?"
As everyone murmured together, Vivi grimaced as she crossed her arms over her chest. This was all because of Lullaby. Lullaby was created by a pupil of her ancestor. Therefore it was her family's responsibility. She was the only direct descendant of the d'Autriche bloodline remaining. Looks like she would be going back to see the council after all. She was not looking forward to this at all. But she knew her family would want her to take responsibility for their mistakes even if that means helping out Erza of all freaking people.
"Now, wait one moment," Makarov said. "It is my fault as the Guild Master. I will—!"
"No, Master," Erza said. "It's alright. I will—!"
"I'm cutting in here." Vivi said, stepping forward.
Everyone turned towards Vivi with wide eyes since they didn't expect her to step forward. Vivi stepped in front of Erza while looking towards the frog.
"I am Viviane d'Autriche." Vivi said. "Last living descendant of Diva d'Autriche. Lullaby was created by one of the pupils under her direct tutelage, and it was my family's responsibility to keep it under lock and key. Obviously we failed to do that. What I'm saying is that if you wanna blame anyone, it should be me. I ask to be taken in place of Erza Scarlet. I will accept punishment and give my deepest apologies to the Council."
"WHAT?!" Lucy and Natsu shouted in shock.
Vivi couldn't be serious. She was offering herself in place of Erza? Makarov kept quiet as he looked to Vivi. He could see she was serious about apologizing for everything. She was sincere in her words, and Vivi hates the very thought of having to apologize to the members of the Council. But she knows she can't let her guildmate be taken when she sees all that happened as her fault.
"No, Vivi," Erza, who requipped into her normal clothes, said as she stepped forward. "They asked for me."
Erza placed her hand on Vivi's shoulder to pull her back, but Vivi jerked her shoulder out of Vivi's hold.
"Back off, Scarlet." Vivi said stunning Erza into silence. "This is my family's business. It doesn't concern you."
Though she sounded cold towards Erza the redhead knew Vivi was upset with herself. Vivi never called Erza by her last name. Even when the two had their worst days, they never acted this coldly to each other. Vivi obviously felt strongly about all of this.
"It's alright, Erza." Makarov said, getting the redhead to look at him. "Vivi sees this as her responsibility. Let her do what she thinks is right."
Erza frowned, not wanting to let Vivi go. She knew this was all most likely a formality, but it seemed unfair. Besides, this was the second time Vivi would be taken in front of the Council. That left a bad reputation on a wizard, and even if Vivi didn't care what people thought of her, Erza did. Erza said nothing though as she stepped back. Natsu watched on in shock as Vivi walked up to the frog woman.
"I don't think they'd be too upset if you showed up with me instead." Vivi said, holding out her wrists. "This entire thing is my fault really. I dropped the ball on this one."
The frog woman seemed to think about it for a moment before she pulled out her handcuffs. She placed them on Vivi who didn't even put up a fight.
"Wait, you can't be serious?!" Natsu snapped. "You can't just take Vivi! Vi, don't let them do this to ya!"
Natsu went to run forward to stop all this, but his guildmates grabbed him to hold him back. They shouted at him to cool it even if he just tried to fight harder. Vivi turned to look at her guildmates while giving them a smile despite the situation. Natsu froze at her smile as Gray watched from the side with a frown on his face. He didn't like any of this. Sure, Vivi pissed him off constantly. But that didn't mean he wanted her taken away to the Council. Especially without the Master this time.
"It'll be fine." Vivi said. "Besides, this wouldn't be the first time I've had to deal with those blowhards. Oh, and do me a favor while I'm gone. Don't tell my brothers about this."
She then left with the frog woman with everyone watching in concern. Gray's hands clenched into fists while wanting to stop this just as much as Natsu. He controlled himself though even if it was hard to do so. He just had to tell himself that no matter the verdict, Makarov would make things right in the end.