Chapter 2 : Meeting


Lucy breathed in the crisp cold air of the frozen mountains, and stretched her arms out, her train-sore bones cracking noisily as she stretched.

" Ah~ We've finally arrived!" She exclaimed, looking at her new surroundings in amazement, " The mountain air is so fresh!"

Letting her arms fall back to her sides, she bent down to pick up her backpack, only to find it missing.

" Let me, Princess." A smooth male voice said.

Lucy scowled, folding her arms disapprovingly, " No Loke, how many time do i have to tell you, i do not use my spirits for personal labour!" She gestured towards the backpack with her hand, " Now give me back my backpack!"

The lion spirit clicked his tongue, waving his finger at her, " How can i let my beloved princess carry something so heavy on her own? No, as your loyal spirit, i certainly cannot allow that!", he finished with an unnecessary pose, a sparkly aura forming around him.

Rolling her eyes in exasperation, she swatted at him, seething in a hushed voice, " Gee stop that! You're attracting a lot of unnecessary attention!"

" Oh really?" Loke looked around, making the throng of girls gathering around the duo scream when his hair swished in the wind, he turned back to Lucy and said with an cheeky grin," I didn't notice."

Lucy glared at him, quickly dragging him away while skilfully dodging prying female hands, walking briskly in the direction their client's house.

" Now...", Lucy slipped the mission slip out of her pocket, reading the description once more, " According to the mini-map here, out client's house seems to be situated in the outskirts of this town."

"Lucy."

She looked behind at him, " Hmm?"

Loke grinned widely, pointing down at their linked hands, " I didn't know you wanted to hold my hands that badly, my Princess."

Lucy looked down as well, and flushed pink, only just realising that she was holding hands with him, then letting go of his hands as if it were hot iron.

" But of course!" Loke started melodramatically, a hand on his heart, the other gesturing towards the sky as he looked away from her, " The maiden denies my love!"

" Mou!" She scowled at him, snapping his key off her belt and poking it at his chest, " Do you want to be sent back?"

Loke gasped, clutching the spot above his heart dramatically, " You want to part from me, my princess?! I'm hurt!"

" You know you'd never really be able to part from me right?" Lucy folded her arms, lifting an eyebrow at him, her mouth curved in a small smile. " Plus, i might need you later, so go back and rest first okay?"

Loke smiled back, bowing slightly, " Hai, Lucy, or should i say my great, almighty, beautiful master?"

Loke's impish laugh echoed as he faded into gold particles back into the Celestial Realm, evading Lucy's swatting hand just in time.

" Jeez, that teasing lion." Lucy shook her head in exasperation, a smile still on her lips.

Picking up her backpack that Loke left on the ground, Lucy continued her walk north, braving the cold wind as she walked further and further from the bustling city under the light of the setting sun.


" Eurgh..." the pink/green blob on the floor known as Natsu groaned as the train clattered its way to Isvan.

Grey snickered at him, nudging the dragonslyer with his foot, " You look pathetic flame brain."

" Shut... bleugh..up..."

"I'm so sorry i can't cast Troia on you, Natsu-san, Erza-san specifically told me to only use it when you really need it or you might build up a resistance against it." Wendy looked at him apologetically, twiddling her thumbs.

"Blurg...damm you Erza..."

" Come here Natsu, this'll make you feel better."

"Wha? Urgh... no tha-"

Her hand snapped out, grabbing the end of his scarf, and with a simply jerk of her arm, she yanked him up, his face smacking straight onto her hard breastplate with a loud smack, knocking him unconscious instantly.

She then threw him rather unceremoniously onto the empty seat he vacated earlier on, and picked up her fork.

" Is there a problem?" Erza looked at the rest of the group almost innocently, the fork in her hand glinting dangerously in the light of the setting sun.

The four shook their heads so hard, they were afraid it'll drop off their necks.

Seemingly satisfied with their reactions, Erza crossed her legs, and resumed her meal, eagerly digging into her strawberry cheesecake.

Gray and Happy visibly relaxed, letting out a breath they didn't know they were holding, while Wendy went to shift the drooling unconscious Natsu into a more comfortable position,with Carla helping her.

All was calm for a good few hours or so, when suddenly the train started to shake and jerk, before screeching to a stop.

The sudden motion shook the members awake, all of them instantly going into a defensive position, looking around, their senses on high alert for any enemy attacks, when they felt they were safe enough. They relaxed, Natsu slumping back into his seat, looking greener than ever.

" Why did the train stop?" Wendy asked, looking around in confusion.

Erza snapped up their window, about to lean forward to look at what's outside, but she flinched back when she got a face full of snow instead, closing the window with a snap.

As if answering her unuttered question, a monotonous voice spoke through the speakers,

Bzzt~

Dear passengers, we're sorry to inform you that there will be a slight delay due to snow build-up on the tracks from the snowstorm.

We urge all passengers to be patient as we try to fix this issue as quickly as possible, we thank all passengers for their consideration and for taking Kozern Railways.

Bzzzt~

" Kozern? Isn't that Lucy's old man's company?" Gray though out loud.

" Maybe someone bought it over?" Erza inferred.

" But what about Lucy-san?" Wendy said, looking at the raging white storm outside worriedly, " In this storm-"

Natsu chose that very moment to interrupt, rising up from his seat like a zombie from the grave, fire spewing from his mouth, " I'M REVIVED!"

Looking around, the first thing he noticed was the unmoving train, " Wait, have we arrived? Why do i smell so much snow?"

" Natsu-san, the thing is... " Wendy decided to be the one to tell him, " the train is stuck, there's too much snow on the tracks so they can't continue on."

" Oh." Natsu said nonchalantly, " But i can just get rid of it right?"

" Eh?"

" Yosh! Let me at it! Let's go Happy!"

" Aye!"

The two raced to the front of the train, and within seconds, Erza, Gray, Wendy and Carla could hear the sound of explosions from the outside.

Erza shook her head, " Let's go help out as well, and try to keep him in control at least."


Lucy looked up from the mission slip and at the cabin in front of her, then back again.

"This is the place? " She asked herself uncertainly, " Really?"

She stood in front of a small cottage at the base of the the great mountain, situated far from the main road of Isvan.

" I guess there is only one way to find out." She folded the paper in half, and proceeded to knock on the door.

" Hello?" She shouted as she knocked on the door, " Is Mr Vindrew Aser around?"

At the eighth knock, the door finally creaked open, revealing a short, chubby old man.

" May i know who are you?" The man said in a shaky, gravely voice.

Lucy smiled, showing him the guild mark on her right hand, " My name is Lucy Heartfilia, a mage from Fairy Tail."

"Ah!" His wrinkled face brightened in realisation," Are you the one that accepted my job?"

Lucy nodded in confirmation.

" Oh, that's quick! Come in my dear, you must be freezing from the cold!" He practically dragged her into the house and over to the fireplace, scuttling all over his house with a slight limp while gathering several items and just about burying Lucy in a pile of blankets on his couch.

" I didn't expect someone to respond to my request so quickly!" He gushed cheerfully, finally settling on the couch opposite of her, and clasping his withered hands together, " Especially one as famous as you, and from infamous Fairy Tail even!"

" Ah haha..." Lucy laughed part bashfully, part hesitantly, not sure what to think about the last part.

" But of course, down to business." He said, " This ore i requested you to find has certain properties that i'm in need of, healing properties to be exact."

" I would get it myself if i could," He then pointed at his right side, " But i fractured my hip from a fall several days ago, thus the request."

"I see, " Lucy nodded, " Can you give me more information about this ore?"

" It is said to be around the size of a baby's fist and is blueish-purple in colour. " He said, " And it can only be found deep within that mountain."

Lucy nodded, looking in the direction he was pointing at while taking down mental notes," Is there anything else you can tell me Mr Aser?"

The elderly man shook his head.

" Thank you for the information, Mr Aser." Lucy smiled, un-burying herself from the mountain of blankets placed upon her," I shall get going then."

She then added, somewhat sheepishly, " If i don't hurry, i'm afraid a bunch of troublemakers might come charging through here if i'm late."

With a final smile and a wave, she trudged through the snow, clutching her coat closer to her body as the wind, heading for the mountains.

When she was far enough, the old man huffed, leaning against the door frame of the cottage,

" I swear, i don't get paid enough of this." He grumbled, before letting out a huge yawn.

At the same time, his body rippled, and his skin started to peel away. Revealing a totally new figure beneath.

After shedding his disguise, a young man with sea-green hair stood where the old 'Vindrew Aser' was. Scratching the back of head, he yawned again, licking his pearly white fangs.

He then muttered as a second thought, " Actually, i don't even get paid for this."

" Oh well," He shrugged, stomping through the snow with his black combat boots, making the ends of his dark brown jeans damp with snow, as he tugged his hands deeper into the pockets of his scale-patterned greenish-black trench coat.

" I better get back to her for now."

The warm illusion faded from the homely looking cottage, and it now looked utterly cold and empty, devoid of laughter and warmth, and a tad run dawn from braving the bites of nature.

As he walked away, the wind picked up around him, slowing increasing in intensity, blowing up into a huge snow storm, the white tempest covering the land beneath and concealing all tracks, erasing all signs of the blond celestial mage's presence from there.


" That certainly took longer than expected."

Natsu and Grey flinched, cold sweat pouring off their backs as they both felt the heat of Erza's glare, even though she wasn't facing them.

" It was his fault!" They both shouted simultaneously, pointing accusingly at each other.

" Says the smart ass who used ice to get rid of ice!"

" It's snow, you idiot! At least i didn't almost destroy the tracks!"

" Oh yeah? But at least i didn't freeze the train wheels!"

The two trapped each other in a headlock, scowling at each other with blazing (freezing?) auras, spitting childish insults.

" Boys."

The two froze, creaking their heads slowly to look at the scarlet demon towering over them and feeling the blood drain from their bodies.

" E-E-E-Erza!"

Her eyes seemed to glow red like embers and her hair started to float around her, and she intoned in a deep booming voice,

" What did i say about fighting?"

Wendy looked conflicted, her thoughts flitting between stopping Erza from beating them into a pulp or just leaving her to it.

" Ah.. Urm...Ano..." She stuttered, trying to figure a way to stop the scarlet mage from pulverizing the two.

Finally mustering up her courage, she scampered over to Erza and yanked at her arm, quickly vomiting out the words in rapid succession.

" WeneedtofindLucy-sanbeforeherscentfades!"

Her attention diverted, Natsu and Grey squirmed themselves out of her death grip with haste, hugging each other in fear while muttering, " D-Demon!"

Wendy trembled as she felt Erza's scrutinizing gaze on her, and she repeated her words once again, much slower this time,

" W-We need to find Lucy-san before her scent fades."

Erza stayed silent, and just before Wendy thought that her legs might just give out beneath her, the ex-quip mage finally nodded,

" You're right Wendy. You may hit me for forgetting our current objective." Bowing low to Wendy, presenting her head for the hit.

" H-H-Hit you, Erza-san?! I can't p-possibly do that!" The sky dragonslayer panicked a little, she then said, " But i just want to find Lucy-san quickly..."

The moment Erza heard Wendy say that, she shot upright, startling little Wendy, and she barked, making the said person jump up in attention and also partly in fright,

" Natsu! Can you track Lucy's scent?"

Natsu sniffed the air a couple times, filtering through the air to find a particular scent, and his nose perked up when caught Lucy's scent, and he pointed directly in the direction of the mountains.

" She went that way, let's go!"

With a lead, the group of six charged their way through the snow, running headfirst into a brewing snowstorm.

They ran quite a distance, running further and further from the city limits, and now they were practically ploughing through the snowstorm that brew up suddenly around them, or the entire mountain to be exact.

" Her scent trail ends here!" Natsu hollered through the noise.

" Natsu-san's right!" Wendy shouted in agreement, " The storm is making it hard for us to track her any further!"

The group looked around, as if expecting Lucy to just pop out of no where, but all they saw was white.

" There!" Erza pointed at a shadowy form of a house in the distance.

All of them understood the silent message she sent, and all of them headed in that direction, running against the storm and into the house, slamming the wooden door shut behind then, shutting out the freezing wind,

" It's so cold!" Wendy shivered furiously, looking a little blue, hugging Carla for warmth, the latter hugging her back as well.

Natsu quickly gathered some rotten firewood from the side, throwing it into the slightly moldy fireplace, and set it on fire, then making way for his comrades, for he doesn't need the heat, he thought as he set himself on fire, effectively warming up him and those around him, and drying his snow sodden clothes.

" Grey?" Happy looked over Natsu's shoulder at the ice make mage standing stiffly at the threshold of the room, looking around almost in nostalgia.

" This is-" He quickly corrected himself, " This was her house..."

Carla looked at him, clearly confused, " Who?"

" Ur. My mentor, as well as Lyon's. This was were we used to live before..."

His voiced trailed off, as if remembering the terrible incident that took his beloved mentor from him.

" What was Lucy-san doing here for?" Wendy sat near the fireplace, her shivering slowly dissipating as she got warmed up.

Erza looked around, then outside, frowning the entire time," First, a hunk of snow blocked our train's path, and now a blizzard out of no where?" Erza shook her head, " I don't know, but i don't like this, at all. It's seems too much of a coincidence to be true."

" There is no such thing as a coincidence, there is only the inevitable."

Carla's sharp voice cut through the noise, her brown eyes seemed to almost gleam in an unearthly light.

" Those were the words on the enchanted mission slip right? Before it disappeared?"

" So are you trying to say this is all inevitable? Fate?" Erza said sceptically.

Carla simply shrugged, huffing, " I don't know. The line just popped into my head when you said the word 'coincidence', so i just said it."

The group fell silent, only the sound of the wind rattling the loose wooden boards of the hut and the crackling of burning firewood could be heard.

Natsu sat near the door, staring at the dancing flames blankly, feeling pretty pissed off and sorta bored. The Erza forbidding him from leaving his spot and going after Lucy, even though he can simply just charge through it with his flames.

" Stop sulking already, you know it's for the best." Erza said sharply, " Even if you were to charge out right now, would you even be able to see where you are going in this weather?"

Natsu shook his head rather reluctantly.

" So just rest for now, cause the moment this storm ends, we're leaving."

With that she left him on his own, sitting down near the smouldering fire as she stared out the window, seemingly lost in thought.

Happy flew over to Natsu, and landed on his shoulder, " Lushee will be okay, Natsu. She's strong, and she has her spirits with her, Loke!"

" Yeah, Luce's strong!", Natsu grinned at his partner's optimism.

But deep inside, he can't help but feel uneasy, his thoughts ranging from how she was doing, if she was hurt and most importantly, where exactly is she?


" Achoo!"

Lucy sneezed, rubbing her already red nose, as she continued picking her way through the ice.

" Any luck, Virgo?"

" No, Hime, I've yet to find any signs of the ore you are looking for."

The pink haired maid appeared beneath Lucy, making her jump up in fright.

" Virgo!" The blond chided, " Don't scare me like that!"

" Punishment, Hime?" Virgo replied monotonously, almost eagerly.

She almost screeched in reply," For the last time, i won't!"

" But i did find something else, Hime," The celestial spirit gestured below, " a chamber room of sorts."

" Here?" Lucy's eyes bugged out, " A chamber room here?"

Virgo nodded in acknowledgement.

Lucy though for a moment, then decided, " Let's go then, the ore i'm looking for might just be there."

" You may go back for now Virgo."

" Hai Hime, " Virgo bowed to her, slowly fading back into the Celestial Realm, " Please take care, Hime."

After Virgo poofed away, Lucy gathered her equipment back into her backpack, and stood in front of the hole Virgo created.

She took a deep breadth as she looked down, mumbling to herself, " Hopefully, Virgo created something soft to land on."

And with that, she slid down the hole.

It was all dark, darkness seemed to envelop her entire being, the only way she could tell she was still heading down was from the bite of the ice on her bare skin and the sound of her skidding against the ice.

As quickly as darkness covered her, light emerged from the end just as quickly, feeling a sudden sense of weightlessness as she fell.

" Ah!"

But as she fell out the tunnel, her head smacked the side of the wall, hard. Thankfully, she landed on a pile of finely crushed ice that were enough to break her fall to a certain extent.

Just as she was about to fall unconscious, she heard a soft feminine voice say,

"Your finally here...Lucy..."

The last thing she saw, was a blurry feminine figure trapped in ice.

And then, everything went black.


AN : Yay! And that is Chapter 2 is done! What happened to Lucy? Who is this mysterious figure? What's Natsu doing? What going to happen next? Find out in Chapter 3 : Tenebre!

And wow, i'm shocked. Really, i am. So much, that i really feel like crying right now! I would like to thank every single one of you who've reviewed/ followed/ favourite this fic! And to all the others, all you mysterious, nameless people, thank you for reading as well! But it wouldn't hurt to tell me your opinions through that shining wonderful button below?

Okay, here comes the waterworks. ( floods my room in tears )

Ja Ne!

~KanaeHitomi~