Author's Note: WOW I didn't expect this many people to actually like this idea...heh well I'm glad you do! Hopefully I can make this live up your expectations and it is oddly addictive to write...though we shall see. ^^

Thank you so much to all of my reviewers and alert listers! 14 for only two chapter is phenomenal and 17 followers and 5 fav's really make my day...These things really do assist in giving me motivation to write the next portion of the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairytail BLAH BLAH BLAH

Chapter 3: The Seperation

It had happened so fast that Loke wasn't entirely sure what had occurred, but one thing was for certain, something was wrong with Lucy, terribly wrong.

Struggling to draw breath in the lion spirit noted his heart beating painfully against his rib cage as he felt the very life and existence drain from him. Almost like it had done during his exile, only this time it was a hundred fold of what that had been and the magic that coursed through his system reeked of death.

Struggling to put his hands underneath himself Loke froze when a scream from Lucy resonated off the stone walls surrounding him.

"No," he could hear her muttering underneath her breath over and over, "No, no, no, WHAT HAVE I DONE!" He heard the blonde as she fell to her knees and willed his body to work with him, but to no avail. His damn muscles just weren't responding the way they were suppose to and if the black spots dancing around his vision were any indication he would be losing consciousness soon.

Forcing the agony down the lion spirit managed to roll over onto his stomach and pull his head up so he could see Lucy. He felt his stomach knot, her once gorgeous brown orbs were a steely onyx and were entirely unfocused.

He tried to call her name, but his was too breathless to do anything more than let a raspy pocket of air escape his lips.

The blondes shoulders tightened suddenly as her body began to shake uncontrollably as her hands clapped down tightly around her eyes as though she were blocking out so unheard noise. Coughing, Lucy soon forced foreign liquid from her lungs, splattering the pavement in a deep scarlet.

Loke quickly found his second wind.

"Lucy!" He attempted to yell, though it came out as more of a spoken tone, but he was certain it was enough for the blonde to hear. She didn't respond. Instead she looked up and locked her gaze with Loke's, the onyx color beginning to crumble away leaving confused and guilt ridden brown orbs. After several hazy blinks the blonde was struggling to her feet and stumbling down the alley way, her entire figure wavering as she quickly fled.

Loke attempted to shove himself upwards but failed as gravity took hold and forced the man back down on to the ground, making the already painful stinging coursing through his system resonate worse.

He was useless, absolutely useless.

Feeling a single choked sob rip from his throat, Loke dug his fingers into the stone beneath him, draw blood from his shattering fingernails. If only he had paid better attention...

This is my fault, he thought as a single stray tear pulled free from his eye and lazily trailed down his cheek, whatever happens after this is entirely on my shoulders.

Putting his head against the stone Loke had to bite back a scream as the darkness that was racing through his system flared up and tore at his insides, poisoning his entire being with its presence.

She hadn't meant to do this, he was certain of that, whatever was controlling her had caused her to do it... but just what the hell had overcome her?

Flashes of ancient memories sparked to life in Loke's mind as he tried to pinpoint why this feeling, this agony, was so familiar. Trying to push the pain down an old memory surfaced shocking the lion spirit from his daze. He eyes widened, there's no way-

Another flare up ripped through his being, this time finding exit through his skin as the dark magic ripped through his clothes and left them stained in dark blood. Loke let out a rare cry of agony as he withered on the ground, his heart beating even harder against his rib cage.

How is it back? The lion spirit thought breathlessly, the pain from his wounds seeped to his bones trying to steal his consciousness. How did this happen?A flash of dark hair suddenly clouded Loke's mind and he felt his chest constrict. Without a doubt this was that.

He knew what this magic was, he knew the sting of it, the taste, the power, the smell- but what failed him was how the hell Lucy had suddenly been burdened with its weight. He could have swore it had been entirely eradicated from the world, there hadn't been a war over it for no reason, unless-

His heart painfully beat once in his chest, causing him to squeaze his eyes in pure suffering. He could feel the magic trickling through his blood, trying to take hold of his soul. It was pushing against his magical barrier that protected his spirit and was looking for even the slightest nick in its defense. He couldn't hold out too much longer.

Where's Natsu? Loke thought suddenly as he drew a few shaky breaths trying to prepare himself for what he knew was coming next, If Natsu could just get to Lucy-

It was too late as the final burst of magic tore through Loke's skin and clothing, bringing his inner musings to an immediate halt. The flare this time had been fair worse than the rest and had shred through every inch of his entire body. The pain was worse than the injury though. It resonated throughout his entire form, tugging and pulling at every inch of his essence. It was attempting to consume his entire being, to rot him from the inside out.

Choking Loke knew the darkness was fast approaching. As a last ditch effort he pulled his ring close to his chest-

A burst of magic exploded as Loke felt oblivion descend on him.

This couldn't be happening.

"LUCY!" Natsu yelled as he ran down the streets of Magnolia, his scarf billowing behind him as he trudged through inches of snow, his pink spikes beginning to freeze.

"Lucy! Where are you!" Erza's sharp voice cut through the heavy night air like a knife as she raced down the street adjacent to Natsu, her eyes ridden with fear.

Not far away on another street Gray was doing the same as his companions. his dark eyes scanning the streets rapidly.

"LUCY!" Happy's voice soon chorused the others as he flew high above the buildings, hoping to catch sight of the blonde from his birds eyes view.

Turning several corners the three team mates soon met on the main street of Magnolia, their eyes continuously searching and their bodies ridden with tension.

"I can't find her anywhere." Gray growled, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Around the team the sound of the other guild mates desperate search echoed throughout the many corridors of Magnolia.

No one could find her.

Lifting his nose to the air Natsu hoped to catch her scent, even just the faintest bit. Sniffing several times Natsu finally caught a faint wiff of vanilla and knew it was her smell immediately. However when the metallic scent of iron crashed against his nose immediately following her scent his mind went into overdrive.

That was the scent of Lucy's blood, and if the strength of the smell was any indication there was a lot of it.

"No..." clasping his hands into tight fist Natsu soon turned on his heel and tore down the streets of Magnolia, following the faint scent of blood that had assaulted his nose.

"N-Natsu!" Erza yelled when her companion unexpectedly raced, turning as well she quickly trailed after her teammate.

"Wait!" Gray hollered in surprise and was in step with the requip mage in mere moments.

With that both team members tried to catch up with their speeding team mate who was hundreds of feet ahead of them.

Natsu continued to sniff the air and began to realize it wasn't just Lucy's scent present but Loke's as well. Blood and all. Natsu's blood began to boil, whatever had gone after Lucy had apparently done a number on Loke as well if the dragonslayers assumptions were correct.

Sliding around a corner Natsu immediately noted a collapsed body in the darkened alleyway. One snift confirmed his suspicions.

"LOKE!" Natsu yelled as he pounded towards the extremely still figure. Bending down quickly Natsu shook the spirit roughly, prompting the man to wake up. Happy quickly descended down beside his best friend, eyes wide with fear.

"Damnit Loke," Natsu hissed as he shook the spikey haired man, "Snap out of it." It was then that Erza and Gray slid around the corner and quickly raced towards to the collapsed spirit and frantic dragonslayer.

"Loke..." Erza whispered in shock as she noticed the blood that was pooling around his body and how shallow his breathing was.

Her thoughts soon became hectic, what could have been strong enough to take Loke out?Snapping out of her state of daze Erza immediately began barking orders in her mind through Warrens telepathic connection.

Get Wendy to the alleyway of Sunset and Canyon Square now, her voice resonated, Loke's been gravely injured and isn't responding. Lucy's nowhere in sight either.

A chorus of worried and frantic 'yes ma'am's echoed throughout the teammates ears.

"What happened?" Gray questioned as he kneeled down next to both his old partner and friend, anger beginning to simmer beneath the surface as he noted the damage done to the man.

"I don't know," Natsu growled and immediately stood up, his eyes narrowed.

"Loke..." Happy whispered as tears leaked from his eyes, and his small paws came to rest over his mouth, "Is he going to be okay?"

"L-lu," A strangled whisper came from the spirit startling everyone into action. It only took a moment for Natsu and Gray to have the spirit flipped over onto his back and facing upwards. The damage on the front was far worse than the damage on the back.

Their brows all furrowed.

"Loke," Erza suddenly addressed the spirit as she leant down next to him, "What happened?"

A strong cough resonated throughout the spirits body spilling blood everywhere. Once the coughing ceased the spirit shakily raised a hand to rest across his chest, his eyes dull as he watched his former comrades with weak eyes. He tried to speak once more.

"L-Lucy, h-help her, she'll die if you don't. . ." Loke voice faded out as he went limp causing the group to jump in panic, fearing the worst. Fortunately however the man had merely fallen into slumber as indicated by the rise and fall of his chest.

"Damn it," Gray hissed in annoyance as his fist came down against the stone, "What the hell is going on! Where is Lucy?"

"Natsu," Happy's voice cut through suddenly, sounding terrified, "Look." Walking over towards the group Happy held out a leather container and key ring holding numerous celestial keys.

"Her keys." Natsu said breathlessly as he reach out to pull them from Happy's hand. His hands were shaking as he pulled the delicate keys into his palms and noticed they were covered in the dark substance of blood as well. He didn't have to even sniff them to know it was Lucy's.

"And there's a puddle of blood." Happy timidly pointed out as his little paw waved towards the dark pooled puddle that sat in the center of the alleyway. Natsu's hands suddenly constricted around the keys

"Is that-" Gray didn't finish his question before a nod of conformation came from Natsu.

It was Lucy's.

The pink haired boy had also noted that another scent was dancing through the air, one that didn't belong to either Loke or Lucy, one that had a tinge of familiarity.

"Shit!" The ice mage yelled as he jumped to his feet, "We have to go after her-"

"No," Erza's voice barked suddenly, her eyes flat, "We can't go anywhere until Loke is attended to."

"But Erza," Natsu yelled in rage, his eyes holding a faint trace of fear, "If Lucy was injured and kidnapped without her keys she's defenseless! They could kill her!" At this the Titania's shoulder's tightened before she gnawed on her bottom lip for a moment, obviously weighing her options.

"Go," She finally told Natsu, before shifting her eyes to Gray and Happy, "All of you go and look for her I'll stay here with Loke till Wendy arrives. Be careful." The ice alchemist quickly rose to match his rivals stature and both nodded before racing off into the streets of Magnolia, following the faint trail of blood that littered the streets.

Erza felt her head fall, guilt wearing at the lining of her heart. Something was extremely amiss Erza knew as she watched the spirit carefully, almost counting each inhale and exhale.

He should have popped back to the spirit world the second he was injured like this and the fact that he had not sat heavy on the red haired woman's shoulders. That in combination with Lucy leaving her keys carelessly lying on the ground left for a foul taste in her mouth.

Another factor also played into the mind of Fairytail's strongest female mage. There was no indication of massive struggle, whoever had done this had done it fast. It couldn't have been more than one or two people, extremely powerful people at that to take Loke out with such force. Unless it had be Lucy-

Erza immediately stopped her thoughts right there, knowing there was no way she could have done this to one of her precious nakama, plus there was the pool of her own blood lying mere meters away.

Please let Loke be okay and wake up, she thought as she finally heard the shouts and drumming foot falls as the rest of the guild rushed towards her location, then he can tell us just what's going on.

"It's this way!" Natsu yelled towards his shirtless companion as they reach the outskirts of Magnolia.

The pink haired boy's thoughts raced through his mind a mile a minute as worry and angry gnawed at the edges of his mind.

He should have been more observant of his friend and should have taken the time to actually have gone to look for her instead of brawling with his guild mates. It was a careless mistake, and a large one at that.

The image of the collapsed Lucy on the stone floor of the dark guild hall still tugged at his memory and he felt disgust course through his system. Why couldn't he have done a better job of protecting her? By no means was Lucy helpless, but there were instances when she needed to be protected.

As he thought of her small stature and wide eyes Natsu felt his teeth clench, how could any dare to try and hurt someone so kind and fragile? He'd never know that answer.

It wasn't to say that Lucy was a burden, that was the farthest thing from the truth, but by no means was she the most physically built to fight off attackers or to hold a defensive line. That's what her spirits were for and when her spirits went down she was vulnerable, so completely vulnerable.

He should have been there to stop it, no ifs ands or buts about it.

Sliding around a corner, Natsu heard the tell tale signs of Happy flying above him with the whooshing of his wings and the pounding of Gray's shoes as he kept right on the Salamander's trail.

He'd never admit it, but Natsu was glad Gray was with him. If anyone could assist in the crushing of some sick kidnapping bastards skulls it was Gray. Not to mention his undying loyalty and friendship towards Lucy knew no bounds. He'd do anything for her.

Just as Natsu would.

Which is what made this situation so hard to bear, they had taken away one of the most important key elements to their group. Their precious nakama; and anyone who touched the comrades of the Fairytail Guild had hell to pay.

And they would, tenfold.

I'm so sorry Lucy.

Running beneath the entrance sign of the town and out into the woods that surrounded it, Natsu stopped. Sniffing the air several times the dragonslayer felt rage pour through his system. Lucy's scent was gone entirely, and any indication of her disappearance was covered in inches of snow.

Natsu cursed.

"I've lost her scent." Growling Natsu scanned through the tree line before dashing off into the woods, a confused Gray quickly followed after.

"NATSU!" Gray yelled as the pink haired man escaped his line of sight, "Damnit! That flame headed bastard took off without any backup." Gripping his hair Gray looked at the snow covered trees, willing a clue to present itself.

Nothing of great interest popped out at him causing the ice alchemist to groan. Why the hell had they not gone to look for Lucy sooner? Some friends they were...

I guess I should look on my own, he thought as he went east of the way Natsu had disappeared, at least we can cover more ground that way.

"Happy," Natsu called as he pulled himself up a tree and peered through the snow covered branches out into the white blanketed landscape, "have you seen any tracks or signs of Lucy."

"No," Happy called, as he circled above the forest , "there's nothing I can find Natsu. She must have disappeared into thin air!"

The idea of a magical escape weighed heavily on Natsu's mind as he quickly made his way down to the base of the tree, landing with a faint 'poof' as snow scattered about his feet.

"Natsu," Happy asked, his face sad as he watched his 'father's' face scrunch up in thought, "We should get back to Erza and the others so they can join in the search. It's too dark to do anything else."

Happy was right. Even with a flame burning around his fist to grant him light, the woods were extremely hard to navigate much less investigate. Natsu didn't want to stop but knew it would probably be for the better. He had turned to leave when the faint whiff of vanilla spiked his nose again and he caught hold of Lucy's scent once more.

"Happy I've got her scent!" He exclaimed as he raced off through the snow, "come on!"

"Aye sir!" Happy called after as he followed through the endless maze of trees that Natsu somehow managed to navigate without colliding with. Dunking and weaving Natsu easily got rid of the distance between himself and the scent of Lucy as he raced through the woods, his heart in his throat.

Gray was going to skin that pink haired asshole when he got back to the guild. Leaving the ice alchemist with virtually no light source Gray was trying to pick his way through the words without only the faint reflection of moonlight through the clouds.

It wasn't going so well.

Gray felt his foot hang on another root and went tumbling forward, spewing snow up into his face and hair. Yes he was definitely skinning him.

Pushing up onto his palms Gray felt something soft under his palm and looked down to see what he had stumbled across. Pulling the material up into his hands he squinted trying to make out what the object was. It was a scarf that was a deep purple in color and had silver swirls embroidered into it.

It was Lucy's.

Tucking the material safety in his pocket Gray tried to make out the vague shapes of the worlds, hoping to catch a glance of the missing blonde. Instead he saw a flash of red and heard the faint flapping of wings.

Natsu.

Jumping over the fallen tree that lay in his path Gray looked his eyes on Natsu's racing frame and followed after, his hand shoved deep in his pocket holding onto Lucy's discarded scarf.

They'd find her. They had too.

"NATSU!" The dragonslayer heard his name called as the exhibitionist ice mage caught up in step with him, "You bastard, do you know how hard it is looking through the forest at night with virtually no light?"

The pink haired boy didn't respond and only continued running, his entire mind focused on the faint scent that kept dancing in and out of his reach. Gray said nothing further, knowing his companion had a good reason for not responding and instead only followed Natsu through several hundreds of feet of forest.

The forest raced past the trio in a blur, dark trees and snow beginning to blend together as one continuous scene of gray that continually played over and over. When it seemed as though they had run beyond any understandable distance Natsu veered off towards left and quickly came upon the wooden bridge that sat in the middle of the woods between Magnolia and its nearest bordering towns.

The bridge itself was quite quaint in design, having only a simple railing and the wear and tear on it obvious. Stepping up onto the bridge Natsu sniffed the air once.

"It stops here." Looking upwards the dragonslayer couldn't find any place where Lucy and her assailants could have escaped into the trees. Making the possibility of a magical transportation spell even more plausible which sent Natsu's heart into a whole new world of turmoil.

Natsu thoughts were soon cut short as Gray yelled for his companion, the ice alchemist leaning over the rail of the bridge.

"Natsu," The ice alchemist pointed towards the river, his voice hollow, "look."

Peering closely Natsu noted nothing strange about the river other than it was coated in a layer of ice as it always was during the blizzards when they plagued Magnolia.

"There's nothing there." Natsu said flatly, feeling vaguely annoyed they were wasting their time staring at ice instead of looking for Lucy. Gray's hand came across the back of Natsu's skull.

"Dumbass! Look closer," His finger motioned towards the base of the bridge, "see that dark spot?"

Looking once more Natsu was finally about to depict what Gray was trying to show to him. It was an hole in the ice spanning only a few feet in diameter, only big enough for someone of a small stature to fit through . Upon carefully inspection it was easy to hear the violent currents dancing beneath the surface and splashing up through the hole onto the ice cap of the body of water. A faint trail of vanilla danced up from the hole in the ice. The pieces began to slowly weave themselves together...

It clicked.

"No..."

Author's Note: Next chapter should be up shortly since the muses are actually working with me ^^ OH and if you hadn't noticed from the response I received the story is officially NaLu. Besides I have a really cool idea I'm going to try to work in with Loke...heh ^^ anyway til next time.