Chapter 12: Body Switcheroo

Previously...

"Save me!" Natsu pleaded as he was dragged to the guild by his feet.

"Oh boy." Ramza sweatdropped. "I do not want to think what happens to Natsu when he gets back."

"Would somebody please tell me what That is? I'm totally freaking out!" Lucy yelled into the sky.

Currently...

"Is Master Makarov here?" Erza asked as she opened the guild doors.

She had dragged back the delinquents who had wrongfully taken the S-class mission and threw them to the floor. Lucy, Natsu and Gray got up on their feet while Erza scowled at them.

"I see that you've returned from your island getaway!" Mirajane greeted, "So, was it fun?"

"Yeah," Ramza said, "But it was more of work than a vacation."

"Hmph." Erza crossed her arms. "I agree."

"Uh, Mira?" Lucy shot a pleading look at her, "I don't think you should joke around her right now..."

Mirajane just smiled sweetly at Lucy. Erza glanced around the guild hall.

"Where is Makarov?" She demanded.

"He went outta town for a last minute meeting or something like that." Macao answered, appearing behind the bar. "He's been gone since yesterday."

The delinquents exhaled in relief.

"Well, that was a close one!" Natsu pumped his fist in the air.

"Nice!" Gray agreed. "We won't have to deal with That 'till gramps gets back."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Happy cried comical tears. "I wasn't ready to face death yet! I still have eight more lives!"

"I can't stand it anymore! You guys are really freaking me out!" Lucy wailed, "How's he going to punish us? I'm still so young and I have so much to look forward to!"

"All of you, shut up!" Erza shouted, glaring daggers at them.

The delinquents jumped back at her voice, hugging each other as if to protect themselves for her wrath. Ramza raised his hands in an attempt to calm them.

"Woah guys," Ramza said, "Just chill out, would you?"

Erza looked at Mirajane with a piercing gaze. "Do you know when the master will return?"

Mirajane put a finger to her chin. "I'm not sure, but I imagine that he'll be back anytime now."

Erza nodded and faced the delinquents. "Listen up, you fools. You're not getting off the hook. You broke guild rules by taking on that S-class quest, so prepare to be punished!"

Natsu and Gray hugged each other again in fear, while Lucy put her hands to her head. It looked as if she was going crazy.

"I'd prepare myself, but I don't know what's going to happen!" She cried.

"Well, nice knowing ya!" Ramza knew him as Wakaba, since Macao had told him so when they had their small talks at the Fairy Tail bar. "It's a shame. Those two boys are one thing, but I can't believe Lucy's gettin' punished too... Oh, you poor girl."

Lucy visibly paled. "Y-you poor girl?"

Gray and Natsu stepped forward. "What's the deal, man? How come you don't feel sorry for us?" Natsu shot at Wakaba.

"Why're you lumping me up with this loser?" Gray said, scowling.

They then proceeded to have a bar fight. Wakaba chucked bottles at the two, but they just deflected them aside, glass breaking. Gray threw punches at the man and Natsu flared up, but Wakaba grabbed a bar stool. Their fight downgraded to lame insults at each other, which Elfman looked at with distaste.

"Part of being a man means owning up to their actions." Elfman said sagely, before he glared at Natsu and Gray. "You hear that you two? It's time to man up!"

Happy flew in to watch the fight, still crying tears. "It's not fair! I'm the cutest one here, so why is no one sorry for me?"

"Can somebody please tell me what's going to happen to us?" Lucy whimpered.

"Ah, you'll probably die." Ramza said.

Lucy stared at him. Ramza sighed.

"Geez, I was just joking! Relax, it's probably just some stuff like doing some extra work to make up for that stunt you guys pulled." Ramza said.

"Well, I don't know if that makes me feel better, but thanks." Lucy replied.

"No prob." Ramza waved goodbye to her as he made his way to the Fairy Tail bar. He sat on a bar stool, not the one that Wakaba had taken. He and the two fighters had already moved their fight on one of the tables of the guild, where others had gathered to watch them brawl.

He sighed as Mirajane placed a mug of iced coffee in front of him. "Hey," Mirajane said softly, "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Ramza looked up to see Mirajane making a worried face. He quickly grabbed the mug and took a sip. "Nah. Just tired."

"Oh, I see." Mirajane smiled at him. "The mission was that hard?"

"Yeah." Ramza took another sip from his coffee. "We had to fight a bunch of guys, but we had it handled."

"That's good news then." Mirajane said.

"Yep." Ramza lifted the mug to his lips, but he felt no liquid. He had drank the entire mug.

"Empty already?" Mirajane lifted an eyebrow.

"Dang, kiddo. You sure like coffee, huh?" Said a female voice.

Ramza looked to his side to find Cana, clutching a similar looking mug in her hands. He suspected that it wasn't caffeine in there, but booze.

"Well, it tastes good." Ramza reasoned.

"Hmph." Cana took a swig of her booze. "You should try beer."

"Do you remember that I said that I was fourteen last time?" Ramza said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Yeah. But you drink your coffee like a sad, old man. I just think that booze could be a better alternative." Cana said.

"Booze isn't a better alternative." Ramza said, "I'll just stick to coffee, thank you very much."

"To each their own, I guess." Cana shrugged.

She then lifted her mug to her lips and downed the booze in one swallow. She exhaled as she slammed the mug back down on the counter, and thrust it at Mirajane. The white haired waitress took the mug and refilled it without question. Seeing her example, Ramza gave her his mug too. Mirajane filled it with coffee and gave it back to him with a smile. He said his thanks as he took the mug and drank. For the rest of the day, Ramza sat at the bar with Mirajane constantly filling his mug and Cana silently drinking beside him.

.................................

"That's one weird looking job request." Natsu said while looking at said request on the board.

"Yeah, it is." Gray agreed.

The request paper looked ominous. For starters, it had a black background, where every other request was just the plain paper. It had two very detailed eyes in the center, which connected with a triangle that had strange runes in the middle. A large 'Read This' was placed at the top of the paper, and additional notes have been scribbled on the sides. The only redeeming feature was the reward, which was displayed at half a million jewel.

An orange haired haired mage greeted them. "You guys are back, what's up?"

Gray looked behind him. "Oh it's you, Loke."

"Not much, man." Natsu squinted his eyes at the job request paper. "What the heck? I can't even read it."

"Read what?" Lucy walked towards them when she heard the word 'Read.'

Loke recoiled upon seeing her. "Woah! You're back too!?"

"Geez, it's real nice to see you too!" Lucy said sarcastically, then looked at Loke directly into his eyes. "What is your problem with me?"

"I, uh... Nothing!" He then turned and ran, bumping into Erza who was walking towards Natsu.

Erza didn't flinch one bit as Loke slammed into her. In fact, she kept walking towards Natsu as Loke fell to the ground, knocked back by her armour.

"Absolutely not!" Erza pointed at Natsu accusingly. "You're not getting any requests."

"Real smooth there, Loke." Ramza said as he made his way to his teammates.

Natsu grabbed the paper off the request board and held it in his hands. "Decipher this text and I'll see that you'll increase your wealth by 500,000 jewel!" Natsu read. He grinned at his blue cat friend. "This sounds like a winner to me! What do you think?"

"It sure does!" Happy agreed enthusiastically.

"So it's a translation job?" Gray asked. "That's a weird request for a guild."

Natsu placed the request paper on a table so that everyone could read. Lucy and Ramza's eyes scanned the document, while Gray crossed his arms.

"Wait, that seems like those crazy ancient stuff." Gray said, "Nobody's gonna be able to read that."

"Hold on, there's some modern letters too." Ramza observed.

"I thought I told you: no jobs!" Erza glowered at Natsu.

Natsu ignored her. "Oh yeah, I can totally read that part! Let's see..."

He then proceeded to spout out words that made no sense. His eyes followed the written words as he continued saying them. As far as Ramza knew, this wasn't a language that he'd heard about. Natsu then finished, putting a hand on his head, as if all the talking had hurt his brain.

"What the- That's crazy!" Natsu complained.

The request paper suddenly began to glow a multitude of colors. It shone brightly like the sun and covered the guild in a white glow. Ramza tilted his head as the light quickly died down. It didn't do anything.

"So, I guess that didn't blow up the world?" Ramza joked.

"So cold!" Gray hugged himself with his arms in an attempt to warm himself up.

"Huh?" Ramza blinked at him. "You okay, Gray?"

"Shouldn't you be talking to me?" Lucy grunted, "And I feel a huge weight on my chest, like it's heavy!"

"Wait..." Ramza's eyes widened. "Is that you, Gray!?"

"Of course it's me! What're you talking about?" Lucy growled then glanced to her side, flabbergasted at the sight of Gray. "What the-"

Loke then sat up from the floor, recovered from his bump with Erza. "Huh. That's weird." He said, "I don't recall being on the floor."

"Hold on," Natsu moved to adjust his imaginary glasses, with sparkles seemingly surrounding him. "I thought I was the one on the floor."

He then looked to Lucy, to which he immediately stepped back. "Wah!"

Lucy scowled at him. "What's your problem? Can't face me, dragon breath!?" She then touched her neck, surprised. "Wait, how come I sound like a girl?"

"It's probably because you are one?" Ramza supplied.

Lucy was about to retort when a squeaky voice cut through the air. "Why is everyone acting so foolishly!?"

They all glanced to where the voice came from and found Happy standing at attention, looking at them intensely. The guild gathered around and stared at him as if he were from space.

"Oh wow Natsu, check it out!" Erza squealed, then frowned. "Where'd he go?"

"I'm standin' right here!" Loke said exasperatedly. "Why's this place so dark!?"

"I could be wrong, but I can tell I never had these." Erza then held her chest with her hands, lifting them slightly. "Have I? Have I?"

All the males in the guild who were previously looking at Happy turned to Erza, looking at her with glee. They all had perverted grins on their faces and their faces were flushed with excitement. Except Ramza, who seemed to now piece what was going on.

"Oh, great." Ramza laughed, "So that's what's going on!"

"Why you-!" Happy then jumped at Erza, kicking her. He immediately regretted his decision as his foot connected with the cold steel armour that Erza was wearing. He slumped to the floor, clutching his foot in pain.

"And I got this sweet armour too!" Erza cheered.

"I don't know what's happening to me..." Happy looked down on the ground, depressed, "I've never felt so weak before. It's as if I've requipped into a cat!"

"Yep, that's exactly what happened." Ramza said.

"What happened?" His teammates and Loke looked at him pleadingly.

"You've all switched bodies." Ramza revealed.

"What!?" They screeched in sync.

"Lucy's switched with Gray, Natsu's switched with Loke, and Happy's switched with Erza." Ramza explained. "I could tell, based on what you guys said and acted."

"The ancient spell has been cast..." The guild doors suddenly opened to reveal master Makarov, standing ominously at the entrance. "You kids aren't feeling like yourselves today, huh?"

"Master!" Erza in Happy's body waddled up to him. "You're back!"

"Gramps!" The rest of them followed suit.

"I had noticed that request on the board. By reading the words on that paper aloud, you've cast a powerful spell of personality transfer. And that spell is called 'Changeling'." Master Makarov said darkly.

"So scary!" Lucy in Gray's body shivered.

"So you're Natsu, right?" Gray in Lucy's body put a hand on Natsu in Loke's body's shoulder.

"Yeah..." Natsu in Loke answered nervously.

"You idiot!" Gray in Lucy yelled as he grabbed Natsu in Loke by his collar. "What did you do to us?"

"Me?" Natsu in Loke retorted, "All I did was read the stupid job request! Would someone please turn on the lights?"

"How about taking those glasses off, Loke? Err... I mean, Natsu." Ramza said, then looked at Makarov. "Are they gonna be alright?"

"For wizards, the spell does more than switch bodies. It switches magic as well." The master replied.

"What?" The affected wizards yelled.

"One more thing. If the Changeling spell isn't undone 30 minutes after the spell was initially cast, you will never return to the way you were before." The master said with a grave tone. "Or so the legend says, at least."

Natsu in Loke's body quickly turned to Ramza. "Do you know how many minutes we've been mixed up for?"

"Uhh, help?" Ramza pleaded towards the other guild members.

"Sixteen." Mirajane answered. "So that means you have fourteen minutes left."

The group turned white like ghosts when they heard the information. "Gramps, isn't there a way to lift the spell and turn us back?" Natsu in Loke's body asked frantically.

Makarov twisted his mustache as he thought about it. "Since it's an ancient magic, it would only stand to reason that I-"

The group waited intensely for his answer.

"Don't know." The master said with a straight face.

The group's mouths dropped to the floor.

"Though, I was looking forward to punishing you. But, it looks like you've got your hands full for now." The master then turned around and walked away. "Best of luck to you kids!"

"That does it! I can't take it anymore!" Gray in Lucy's body began to take off his shirt. The men in Fairy Tail waited eagerly to see what Lucy's body had underneath, but Ramza quickly restrained Gray. They booed at him, but Ramza ignored them.

Lucy in Gray's body let out a sigh in relief. "Thanks."

"Dude, you're in someone else's body." Ramza deadpanned.

"Let me go!" Gray in Lucy's body complained.

"Huh. Even though Gray is in Lucy's body, He still likes to take off his clothes." Happy in Erza's body observed. "Then that means-!"

"That means what?" Erza in Happy's body asked, then paled. "No Happy! Don't!"

"This'll be awesome!" Happy in Erza's body began to shine. "Requip!"

Once the light had cleared, it showed Erza in quite the outfit. She wore a one piece bathing suit, attaching tightly to her body and showing off all of her curves. Her hair was tied up into twintails, with fish-like clips holding them in place. The set was complete with her holding a fishing rope over her shoulder, making her look like a scantily-clad fisherwoman.

"Tada!" Happy in Erza's body then posed like a model.

"Woah! Erza looks smokin' hot!" All the males in the guild hall declared with pride.

"Happy! How dare you!" Erza in Happy launched at fist at him, but was stopped when Happy in Erza's body turned and hit her in the face with his elbow.

"No, this can't be..." Erza in Happy looked down on the floor, shadow over her. "I was an S-class wizard and now I'm so weak..."

"Man..." Happy in Erza's body sighed, "I was trying to turn into one of those cool suits of armour you have."

"Not only did we switch bodies, but we switched our magic as well!" Natsu in Loke exclaimed, "And everyone totally stinks at it!"

"By the way," Ramza pointed at Natsu in Loke's body, "You know what kinda magic Loke uses? I don't really know, and judging by the look of the others in the guild, none of them know either."

Natsu then closed his eyes to concentrate, but gave up. "I don't think I can take this pressure anymore!"

"Guys, you gotta help me!" They all turned to Loke in Natsu's body, who was dripping flames like a stream from his mouth.

"Ew..." Ramza recoiled. "Fire drool..."

"Ah, I must admit," Ramza glanced up to see Erza in Happy's body had her wings out, "Flying is more fun that I thought it'd be."

She then shook her hands exasperatedly around her. "I shouldn't be spending my time like this! I need to be changed back at once!"

"What're we gonna do..." Lucy in Gray's body wailed.

"No need to worry, Lucy!" A female voice declared.

Lucy in Gray's body turned her eyes to the source. "Levy! It's you!"

"L-levy!" Natsu in Loke's body stuttered.

"The Shadow Gear team is here to save the day!" Droy appeared at Levy's right. "You'll be back to normal in no time!"

"Oh yeah, we got this!" Jet stepped forward, donning his large hat. "No sweat!"

"Now," The two guys extended their arms like a path. "Do your thing, Levy!"

"When you boys say we, you really mean her, right?" Mirajane giggled.

"Ehehe..." Droy and Jet laughed sheepishly.

"It's great for you to help them, Levy." Ramza grinned at her.

"Yeah, it's really sweet of you." Lucy in Gray's body said, relived.

"Anything for my girl." Levy smiled at Lucy, then lowered her voice into a whisper. "Besides, I really wanna read your novel. I'd feel weird talking about it with Gray."

"What're you gonna do?" Natsu in Loke's body asked.

"Well, I do know a thing or two about ancient texts. So, I'll take a look at what was written on the flyer itself." Levy then grabbed the request paper and placed it on the table. Droy and Jet placed stacks of books beside her as she inspected the document.

"Nice, but do it quick." Gray in Lucy's body urged.

"Yeah," Levy said then pointed at Ramza. "That's why I need your help."

"Me?" Ramza pointed at himself. "Why?"

"'Cause you're the only one I know who could have any info that could help on something like this, since we read about runes and languages together for your Sacred Script." Levy explained.

"Oh, yeah!" Ramza's eyes brightened. "Sure! I'll help you turn them back!"

"Listen up you guys." The group moved their eyes to Erza in Happy's body. She had a fish in her mouth, but it somehow didn't make her any less unnoticeable. "We need to let Levy and Ramza work in peace."

"Right." The group then dispersed, leaving Ramza and Levy to scroll through the books so that they could find anything that could help lift the curse. Levy took out her Gale Force reading glasses and began reading. Ramza did the same, and pulled out his Sacred Script tome.

"Okay... Ugo, Deru..." Levy muttered as she glanced back and forth from her books and the request paper.

"You sure it's safe to say those words out loud like that?" Gray in Lucy's body asked sceptically.

"Don't worry. It's totally safe as long as you don't say it in the correct order..." Levy replied, eyes glued to the paper.

"There's not much time! Ugh, I can't take it! I feel so weird! Change me back!" Natsu in Loke's body began to freak out.

"I don't think it's all that bad!" Happy in Erza's body squeaked. "One more time-"

"I swear, you'll lose a life, cat!" Erza in Happy's body snarled.

Soon, Levy closed her book. Natsu in Loke's body and Lucy in Gray's body approached her.

"So, how's it going Levy?" Lucy asked.

"Have you figured it out?" Natsu pressed.

Levy sighed. "No, I'm stumped. You have anything, Ramza?"

Ramza's eyes furrowed in concentration. "Nope, nothing."

Lucy and Natsu groaned in despair. Erza flew by in Happy's body, wearing a straight face.

"I never would have thought I'd spend the rest of my days as a weird, flying cat..." Erza said dejectedly.

"What's so terrible about that, huh?" Happy in Erza's body protested.

"Argh!" Gray in Lucy's body began to take his shirt off again, much to the delight of the male population.

"No!" Lucy in Gray's body held him back from doing so, her face red.

"I feel so funky..." Natsu in Loke's body complained.

"Girls are never gonna talk to me now..." Loke in Natsu's body whimpered.

Levy tried to calm them down. "I know you guys are freaking out, but I'm still working on it, okay?"

"Hmm..." Ramza was still buried in his Sacred Script tome, occasionally glancing at the request paper.

"How much time do we have?" Natsu asked again frantically.

"About eight minutes." Macao answered sadly, "Hate to say it, but you might want to start preparing for the worst."

"Oh no..." Lucy wailed.

Then, Jet and Droy came in wearing what looked like band uniforms. Droy had a large drum attached to his chest, while Jet held celebratory fans in his hand. They were Levy-centric themed, with a small 'Ramza too' below all the encouraging words for Levy.

"Go! Go! Go Levy!" They cheered, with Droy banging his drum and Jet flapping his fans. They then quickly added, "Go Ramza!"

"Yeah, thanks." Ramza muttered angrily, then continued browsing through the books.

"Soderu is... I see!" Levy exclaimed, "So that must mean-"

The ones affected by the spell sat on one of the tables, seriously considering what to do if the spell doesn't work.

"So, what happens if we get stuck like this?" Gray in Lucy's body started.

"What do you mean by that?" Natsu in Loke's body asked.

"Are we just gonna adjust to our bodies and go to work?" Gray wondered.

"Well yeah, I guess we'll have to." Natsu responded. "It's not like we have a whole lot of options..."

"Whatever happens, it's totally fine with me!" Happy in Erza's body hummed happily. "If I stay quiet, everyone will be nice to me because I'm scary now!"

A tic appeared on Erza in Happy's body's head. "What?"

"Nobody asked for you opinion, did they?" Lucy in Gray's body wailed. "Stupid cat, I just want to be a cute girl again!"

She then opened her mouth to groan, but then icy chunks fell out. Gray in Lucy's body snapped to attention.

"Are those frozen bits of drool? That is so gross, man!" Natsu in Loke's body said, disgusted.

"I'm not a man, and I know it's gross!" Lucy in Gray's body continued to spit out small blocks of ice. "Do you think I'm doing this on purpose?"

She then straightened up, as if something had hit her.

"What is it Gray? I mean, Lucy?" Erza asked, still in Happy's body.

"I just realized something. If we get stuck like this forever, none of us know how to use our magic anymore! If we did take a job, we'll never get to finish it!" Lucy said nervously.

"Geez, you're right!" Natsu reluctantly agreed.

"We stink." Gray added.

Erza's eyes widened. "And that means-"

"We're the weakest team in Fairy Tail now!" They exclaimed in unison.

"Fine! Let's do this, Happy!" Natsu declared, despite in Loke's body.

"A-aye!" Happy in Erza's body nodded.

"Ice Make something or whatever!" Lucy in Gray's body attempted to cast a spell, but no magic circle came out.

"Hold on, stupid keys..." Gray in Lucy's body grumbled.

"Oh, being able to fly is so fun!" Erza smiled in Happy's body, seemingly the only one looking towards the positive side of the curse.

They tried their hardest to do the magic that their friends did, but to no avail. Defeated, they returned back to groaning on the table. They looked more depressed than ever.

"No! What's the point in living if I can't burn stuff!" Natsu cried.

"I'm an S-class wizard and I refuse to be part of the weakest team in the guild!" Erza in Happy's body put on a brave front, but then fell to her knees. "If only I wasn't trapped in this form..."

"You're mean! I don't understand why you're complaining so much, I like being a cat!" Happy in Erza's body protested, then proceeded to jump off the table, arms spread out like wings. He landed on top of his body, crushing the poor Erza under him.

"Just what were you trying to prove there, Erza? I mean, Happy?" Macao sweatdropped.

"Ever since we switched she was saying mean stuff, so I got mad and tried to fly away!" Happy wailed. "But I couldn't fly away cuz I don't have my wings anymore!"

Erza tried to escape her own body's weight. "I-I'm sorry I was mean... I promise I'll be-"

She had passed out.

"Yes, that's it!" Levy yelled in excitement. The ones remaining who were affected by the curse surrounded her.

"Really!" Natsu in Loke's body grinned. "So, you can lift the spell?"

"C'mon, do it!" Gray in Lucy's body demanded.

"This is what it says: May this eternal exchange provide you with eternal happiness! Kinda cute, isn't it?" Levy smiled.

"Aww, yeah it is!" Lucy in Gray's body cooed.

"May this eternal exchange provide you with eternal happiness..." Loke in Natsu's body pondered upon those words. "Huh..."

"Yeah, and?" Natsu in Loke's body pressed.

"In other words, everybody who's been switched by the spell will live happily ever after! You're so lucky!" Levy said triumphantly. "I'm so glad I figured it out."

"Oh, no way! Are you telling me that we're stuck like this forever!?" Natsu yelled.

"We wanted you to lift the spell, not read it, remember?" Gray in Lucy's body deadpanned.

"Oh, that's right! Sorry." Levy apologized.

Lucy patted her friend on the back soothingly. "You've got this! I have faith that you can do it! But you gotta work faster, 'kay? Maybe there's some kind of code or hidden message in the words. Y'know, something like that?"

Levy's eyes returned to her books. "Yeah. Good idea."

At this, she resumed researching for a way to remove the curse. If it was possible, she looked through the books and scrolls even harder. Droy and Jet also cheered louder, pouring their heart and soul into cheering her on.

"I'm still not able to find any pattern here! It doesn't seem to make any sense!" Levy tapped her quill against the table apprehensively.

"Three minutes left." Macao pointed out.

"Three minutes!?" Lucy's eyes began to water.

"Well, this is it. For the rest of my life, fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I-I've worked so hard!" Erza in Happy's body said dramatically, flying off into the corner.

"I'm sorry I got upset." Happy in Erza's body apologized, "I know this is hard for both of us."

Erza turned around from the wall. "Really? You do?"

"Now's not the time to be arguing like this. Will you please forgive me?" Happy proposed, with sparkling background of pink to add to the situation.

"Yes of course!" Erza answered without hesitation, with the same background of pink. "Will you forgive me too?"

"Aye!" Happy in Erza's body offered her a fresh delicacy of fish. "Here's a little something to make you feel better!"

"A fish! I-" Erza in Happy's body quickly shifted her sparkly pink background for a dark one. "Don't want it!"

She then flew away, crying comical tears, conflicted by her emotions. Truly, this was a bizarre sight.

"Have you figured it out yet?" Natsu asked again, panic in his voice.

"Just a minute left." Macao informed them. "This situation is turning dire."

"I don't recall asking you for the time left, so shut your trap, okay!?" Natsu shouted at Macao, tic appearing on his forehead.

"Geez, I was just trying to help." Macao said, annoyed.

"Okay, I think there's only this last part left." Levy said, eyes determined to finish the counter-curse.

At this point, Elfman had joined Jet and Droy on cheering her on. "Go Levy! Yeah! You're on fire!" Elfman roared.

"Still trying to break the spell, are you?" Master Makarov said slyly.

Gray in Lucy's body turned to face him. "Look, if you're trying to teach us a lesson here, we've learned it already!"

"Oh!" Makarov exclaimed.

"Yes master?" Erza in Happy's body asked, hopeful that the master would fix this problem.

"Never mind, kids. I've drawn a blank." Makarov admitted.

"We're not gonna make it!" Gray screamed and tried to remove his shirt once again.

Lucy tackled him to the floor. "Taking my shirt off won't change anything, Gray!"

"Let go of me!" Gray squirmed.

"Forty seconds left." Macao said. "More or less."

"What do you mean by more or less?" Natsu screeched.

"Oh! I just remembered something about the spell!" Makarov piped up.

"What is it?" Erza asked again.

"If the spell can be lifted, I'm afraid that it has to be done one pair at a time." Makarov looked at them. "In other words, it's impossible to turn you all back at once."

"What!?" They all exclaimed together.

"Thirty seconds." Macao pitched in.

"Which pair's going first?" Gray asked, uneasiness in his voice.

"It should be me and other me!" Natsu put in. "Don'tcha think?"

"Sounds good." Loke agreed.

"That's so not fair!" Lucy protested. "I think it should be me and Gray!"

"Hold on! As Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard, I should go first! It's for the good of the guild!" Erza declared.

"Aye!" Happy nodded.

"Fifteen seconds left!" Macao said.

"Alright! I got it!" Levy exclaimed.

"Twelve. Eleven." Macao began to count down.

The group began to surround Levy quickly in a circle.

"Seriously?" Natsu said, relieved that the curse would be lifted soon.

"Here, let me try to explain it to you quickly." Levy rushed.

"Nine. And Eight. And Se-" Macao was punched by Natsu, sending him crashing into a few tables.

"Just change us back! Hurry!" Natsu shouted.

"Yeah. Right. Here goes!" Levy began to chant the words of the spell that would lift the curse.

The same light emerged from the request paper, but this time, small characters flashed alongside the light. They flew across the guild hall, but regrouped on the light, making a spiral of characters that spun upwards with the light. White covered everyone momentarily, then faded after a short while. The guild members looked around, checking to see if something had changed.

"Hey, look guys!" Lucy smiled. "I'm back to normal!"

"Me too!" Gray grinned. "Man, that was close."

"You're awesome, Levy!" Lucy ran to her friend to congratulate her.

"That's right!" Levy returned her thanks with a grin.

"Oh yeah!" Droy celebrated.

"Our cheering worked, huh?" Jet smiled smugly.

"You gotta tell us, how'd you do it?" Lucy asked.

"When I realized that the words themselves had no meaning, I decided to read them backwards!" Levy brushed her fingers on the request paper.

"It's actually an old trick. Ancient languages like this didn't have that many letters, so sometimes they had to be a little bit more creative with how they used their words!" Levy looked at her friend. "So when I reversed the words, it reversed the spell too."

"How cool! I never would have thought about that!" Lucy smiled.

"We owe you big time, Levy." Gray said.

Levy held Lucy's hands in her own. "Don't worry about it!"

"Tsk." Natsu and Loke's heads perked up. "We're still in the same body!"

"What!?" Lucy and Levy exclaimed.

"Me too... I'm still a stupid cat!" Erza slumped to her knees.

"You mean I get to stay like this?" Happy said excitedly.

Lucy and Levy looked like as if they were struck by lightning.

"Well, that's it for time." Macao sighed, "You got one pair switched back, so that's something to be proud of."

"No, this can't be happening! There has to be some sort of mix up!" Natsu protested, still in Loke's body. "Please Levy, there's gotta be something you can try!"

Levy reluctantly picked up the request paper again. "Sorry, maybe I didn't pronounce it right... "

"What?" Everyone yelled.

"So that's it? We're stuck like this forever?" Natsu tried to wrap his head around the idea.

"I can't spend the rest of my life as a drooling pink-haired freak of nature!" Loke complained.

"Wake up Erza! This has got to be some sort of dream!" Erza muttered to herself.

"C'mon, relax! It's not all that bad..." Happy said, trying to sound positive.

It didn't work, seeing that she had begun to cry comical tears in Happy's body.

"Now now, don't lose heart. There's gotta be another way." They looked to who said that, and spotted Mirajane sitting on the counter. She sat cross-legged on it while holding a staff over her shoulder.

"Something's not right." Master Makarov said in a high voice. "Hey guys, did I get shorter?"

"Oh no, Mirajane?" Lucy's jaw dropped.

"Don't tell me she switched with gramps!" Gray stepped back.

"Haha!" Mirajane laughed Master Makarov's laugh. "I could get used to this!"

"This can't be happening!" Makarov flailed his arms up and down, with Mirajane trapped in his body.

"Who else..." Erza asked, dreading what was going to happen.

"You all need to man up and get over it!" Cana hollered, then sniffed at the air. "What's the big deal? Why do I smell like a brewery all of a sudden?"

She glanced to her side and her jaw dropped seeing Elfman drinking through a large barrel of booze. Elfman spotted her too and did a double take.

"Hey! What's- Oh. I think... I think I might need to take a nap right now..." His last word slurred as he leaned back and fell over the counter, presumably sick from drinking all that booze.

"Uh, Droy?"

"What is it now, Jet?"

They looked at each other, now realizing that the other had their face. They stepped back and pointed fingers accusingly.

"Hey! Stop looking like me!" They exclaimed in unison.

"I don't think that anyone's gonna be able to tell the difference between you two." Mirajane said exasperatedly in Master Makarov's tone. "But in my case..."

He then posed sexily on the bar, lifting his legs up. "Having a body like this is a dream come true!"

"He's creeping me out! Levy, please help me!" Mirajane cried as she was stuck in Master Makarov's body.

Levy took a moment to survey the damage that was unfolding before her eyes. "Sorry, but I think I'm in way over my head here." Levy sweatdropped.

"This is awesome!" Happy celebrated in Erza's body. "Everyone's someone else now!"

"Have you gone completely nuts? This is horrible!" Natsu yelled through Loke's body.

The guild was in chaos. Shouts and angry arguments rolled around. Bar chairs were thrown, bottles of booze were smashed against the wall, and fights began to erupt. Impostor against impostor squared up against each other, throwing hands, kicking at their sides, basically fighting with any combat move they know. Mirajane and a few others pleaded again to Levy to switch them back, but as she said, this wasn't something she could handle.

Soon, magic circles were abound in their casters hands, preparing to cast a spell. At this, Master Makarov in Mirajane's body took a deep breath and yelled, "ALL OF YOU, STOP FIGHTING!"

At this, the guild seemingly paused in time. They all stopped what they were doing, cancelling the magic circles they had begun to cast. The master sighed and said, "Alright. As much as I liked this form," He pervertedly glanced down at Mirajane's cleavage, but quickly composed himself. "It's time to return to our old bodies."

"But gramps!" Natsu protested, still in Loke's body, "You said you didn't know how turn us back!"

"I don't."

"So how-" Natsu was cut off when the master lifted a finger.

"Ask the one who said could turn you back." Master answered.

They all looked towards Levy, who shook her head. "I told you, I can't handle this sort of stuff."

"Master!" They guild started to riot again, but the master cleared his throat loudly. Despite him still being in Mirajane's body, he still commanded respect.

"Who else said that he could help us?" The master said simply.

The guild's eyes suddenly fell on Ramza, who had turned silent for the entire duration of the chaos. He hasn't spoken since Levy asked him if he had found something regarding the switching bodies curse. He then noticed that everyone was looking at him and closed his Sacred Script tome.

"So," Ramza begun, "What's up?"

"'What's up?' Seriously?" Natsu growled, "That's the first thing you say after we're like this forever!?"

"Yeah!" Loke joined in. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Levy turn us back?"

"That's right..." Levy said slowly, "Why didn't you say something?"

Ramza was quiet for a short moment before he spoke. "Nah. Just thought you had it. You may have messed up that last bit though." He chuckled at the last part.

Levy looked aside sheepishly. "I know... I messed up."

"Yeah, yeah, you did." Ramza looked at her teasingly, but noticed her sad look and immediately stopped. "But hey! It's not like the end of the world, or something."

"That's true but," Lucy glanced behind at all the guild members who had switched bodies, "They'll forever stay in their switched bodies."

"Not forever, Lucy."

"Huh?" At this, everyone who had their bodies switched moved in closer to what he had to say.

"More of, until I dispel the curse, of course." Ramza finished.

The guild members exploded in cheer and comical tears. Finally, the curse would be lifted! They could return to where they really belonged!

"So line up, everybody. I can do this at only one pair at a time." Ramza smiled weakly at the celebrating guild members. They then lined up, despite them fighting for the first spot. Of course, Natsu and Loke were the first ones, not that was any surprise.

"Hey! Turn us back, quick!" Natsu said, annoyed.

"I really want to be back in my own body..." Loke moaned.

Ramza chuckled a bit. "Alright, just... Stay steady, would you?"

The two of them stood next to each other, practically emitting the aura of I-don't-wanna-be-in-this-body-anymore. They stood still, waiting for Ramza to cast his spell.

Ramza then put a finger in the air, placing a glowing print of where he dragged it to. He then gestured to create the symbol for dispelling spells and curses and anything of the sort, which was a sideways comma inside a triangle that had its left leg missing. When the rune was finished, it emitted a black mist.

"Uh, you sure this is a good idea?" Loke asked, uneasy at the black mist.

"Better than nothing." Natsu shrugged, then looked at Ramza. "Do it."

Ramza nodded and hit the rune while simultaneously saying the casting word, "Tangel!"

Black mist blasted out of the rune and hit the two of them directly, causing them to cough. Soon, the mist dispersed and settled. Loke and Natsu blinked at each other, then jumped high into the air.

"We're back!" They whooped.

The guild members began to excitedly chatter among themselves, and push for the front spot. Ramza then began to dispel the curse among the remaining guild members. They all seemed psyched to be returned to their bodies, sending words of thanks and compliments to him. Ramza waved them off and continued to lift the curse for the other members.

"Hey, Levy?" Lucy tapped her shoulder.

"Yeah, Lucy?"

"What's that magic that Ramza's using?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, that's Sacred Script, similar to my Solid Script, but with symbols instead of words." Levy answered.

"Oh! So that's what you meant a while ago when you said that you guys studied runes and language for Sacred Script!" Lucy realized.

"Yeah." Levy said, "I kinda gave him a headstart with a few translated words, but he seems to be doing fine with that book of his."

"I remember now: he got that when we came back from the Eisenwald incident. We were all suspicious it was under a curse or something back then, but now it's literally dispelling curses!" Lucy said.

"Really? Wow." Levy then looked at Ramza dispelling curses one pair at a time. "That book came in handy, huh?"

"I guess so." Lucy said as Ramza finished dispelling everyone from the switcheroo curse.

"That's everyone." Ramza's final recipients were Mirajane and Master Makarov, with the latter crying comical tears because he wasn't hot anymore.

"I'm going to miss that body..." Makarov moaned.

"Master!" Mirajane scolded. "You were the one to say that we should go back to our original bodies!"

"I know, I know. It's just..." He sniffed, "I really liked that body..."

"Master!" Mirajane scolded once again.

"Ah, I believe that we still believe we still haven't thanked you yet, my boy." Makarov sent a smile at Ramza.

"It's cool." Ramza shrugged. "If you don't mind, I'm going back home now."

"Well then, have a nice rest!" Makarov waved goodbye to him as Ramza left the guild.

"Yeah, I will." Ramza replied, then he was gone.

"Have a nice rest?" Natsu asked, confused. "Why'd you say that, Master?"

"Natsu, you do know what happens when one uses a lot of magic, right?" Makarov knew Natsu was smart, but only to an extent.

"Uh, they make stronger spells?" Natsu answered, but it sounded like a question.

"They get tired." Erza had now come back to her old body and therefore, her old self. "This happened before when he dispelled the wind barrier."

"Wha-" Natsu exclaimed, "Then we gotta go help him! He's gonna pass out any second now!"

"I'm not so sure of that, Natsu." Erza replied. "The energy needed to dispel the wind barrier back at Eisenwald was smaller than this."

"How so?"

"It's simple. I've trained with him for some time, so I know the amount of energy and the magic that he uses. But that one was a new spell, and therefore he didn't know how much it would drain him. I felt the magic in his dispelling rune and the ones he had used before in our training, and there is a significant difference. And taking in the fact that he had successfully removed the curse from everyone in the guild..."

She didn't have to finish her sentence, for it was already as clear as day.

Ramza was getting stronger.

"Well," Master Makarov broke the silence, "He's still going to sleep for quite a while when he gets home. Levy, could you watch over him to make sure he goes home safely?"

"Sure, master." Levy then closed her book, and went outside to check on Ramza.

"As for everyone else," Makarov said aloud, "Return to what you were doing prior to the switch."

At this, everyone returned to their daily activities, as if nothing happened. The only evidence that seemed to stay from the switcheroo was that the guild members were more cheerful than normal, and perhaps the spell that Ramza now had in his asernal. It was a good day, despite everything that had happened.