Here is the fourth chapter! I hope you all like it – and remember, kiddies, reviews are delicious little bottles of dr. pepper. Or coffee… Anyways :P Thank you all for your incredible support with this story – it really makes writing this exciting! I'm sorry if it's going a little slow, I promise it'll start moving faster soon!
Levy glared at the newly-returned dragon slayer tapping the table incessantly with his tankard of empty beer, his eyes narrowing as Mira pointedly ignored him. Levy shook her blue curls and tried to focus once more on the book in front of her, but quickly snapped it shut and leaned forward, slapping the cup out of his hand in a very-uncharacteristic spurt of anger. He glanced over at her, his red eyes widened slightly before he broke out into a slightly evil grin and patted her on the head.
"Atta girl!" Gajeel cheered in a taunting manner. Groaning, she batted at his hand until he drew it back to his side, his grin still intact.
"I am not a dog, Gajeel!" She huffed, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest and directing her glare to the pile of books in front of her.
Nothing is helping. These books are completely useless – there is no information on anything.
The script mage sighed and leaned back in her chair, running her small hands through her curly mane, staring up at the ceiling and sighing in defeat. She's hasn't felt this useless since the Fantasia incident – and even then, she had somehow pulled through and undid Freed's rune, effectively releasing the dragon slayers from their imprisonment. But now… there's nothing. There's like two pages of actual information in the Forbidden Curses book, and there had been nothing worth reading about this Brok character.
She had only found three other leads, excluding the encounter with Lucy and Natsu, but they weren't definite, except for a documented and recent Lover's Remorse cast on another only six months prior, and she died only a month after receiving the curse. The person she'd been attracted was her husband, and he was extremely angry when she started to avoid him like the plague, and he cornered her one day and forced her to tell him why she was ignoring him. He assumed that she was seeing someone else. He reported that as soon as he came near her, she started stumbling in extreme pain and ending up collapsing against the all. He had run over to her to help, and grabbed her shoulder, only to receive a bone-chilling scream, and she slumped to the ground, dead.
Then she found out that in Hargeon, a man was reported as looking 'suspicious' and according to the reports, he was practically a carbon-copy of Brok. She also found rumors in the northern mountains that something very dark was going on in the highest peak, Grajinshoo. Levy knows nothing for sure, but it was at least worth checking out, especially since it was only a few miles away from the last documented case of Lover's Remorse.
Levy let the chair fall back to the floor with a thud and she started biting her nails worriedly, ignoring the odd glances she got from Gajeel and Lily. She abruptly stood up and headed towards the master's office, and after hearing a soft 'come in,' she stepped in and took a seat, smiling politely.
"Master, I have some leads. Not a lot, but better than nothing I hope," She laughed nervously to cover up her worry and began recounting what she had discovered, only being interrupted once when Mira came in with a mug of beer for Makarov, who took it gratefully with a slightly-lecherous smile. When Levy finished, he nodded and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Those are some indeed some compelling leads – definitely worth checking out. Since this is so rare, we need to be cautious if it's possible that we may encounter Brok again… so maybe we should make teams of people who don't really like each other, or at least not romantically." Then he coughed abruptly and wagged his finger at Levy. "Not that I'm implying anything towards Natsu or Lucy," Makarov assured her, only to heighten her suspicions more and cause a knowing smile to paint across her face, but she just let it slide. After regaining his composure with a long drink of beer, he continued speaking.
"I think we should definitely investigate these. I will task you and Mira to make up the teams, since you both do match-making things. I shall go to the magic council to inform them of Lover's Remorse and maybe they can give some insight into all of this craziness. Could you send Mira in here when you leave, Levy? Thank you," He said when she nodded, and as she opened the door to leave, she glanced back at the master with a small smile on her lips.
"Thank you, Master, for all that you do for us," She smiled and ran out of the office, while Makarov watched her go with a fond smile and a mug of beer in hand.
Bunch of brats, I say.
Lucy yawned and stretched, immediately regretting it. She winced when her back cracked and the heightened pain flooded her. She instantly dropped her arms to her lap, forgetting Gray's face was there, and almost hit him. The blonde girl stifled a giggle at the thought of his reaction when her stomach growled loudly. She groaned and set her hand on Gray's shoulder, ready to wake him up when his eyes flew open abruptly. His lips turned downwards into a sharp frown.
"That was a weird dream," Gray muttered, looking up at Lucy, who was staring at him. He cocked an eyebrow, but she just shook her head and removed her hand.
"Can you go get us some food? And you had a weird dream?" She asked, smiling curiously and glancing up into the afternoon sky. He grinned and nodded, standing up and brushing off his… nothing. Lucy blushed heavily and covered her eyes immediately.
"Baka! Get clothes first!" She screamed, batting her arms at him. He looked down and jumped.
"Where the hell are they disappearing to?!" He yelled and ran off to look for his pants, at least. She slumped against the tree and sighed, feeling another wave of pain roll through her body, causing her teeth to clench in response.
Would it be bad to say I'm getting used to this?
The lacrima started glowing next to her and she picked it up, accepting the call from Fairy Tail. Mira's happy face appeared.
"Hey Lucy, how are you doing?" Mira chirped cheerily. Lucy shrugged and gave her a small smile.
"I'm doing alright, Mira, what do you need?" Mira grinned and wagged her finger.
"Levy got a few leads."
"Oh that's great! What are they?"
"I'm not entirely sure – mostly about supposed sightings, a case of Lover's Remorse and then the encounter with you and Natsu." Lucy nodded curiously.
"Another report of Lover's Remorse… where?" She asked, tapping her chin softly. Mira coughed and ruffled some papers. Suddenly she growled and threw something heavy at someone. Lucy flinched when she heard the crash along with a string of curse words. "Mira?" She asked cautiously, and the barmaid turned a sunny smile towards her as if nothing happened. The white-haired mage quickly explained where they all were and Lucy nodded, slightly confused about all of this.
"So you're telling me an ancient spell that shouldn't even technically exist has now appeared twice within the last year? This isn't sounding right…" Gray walked back from around the tree with newly donned pants. Lucy nodded gratefully at him and he mumbled he'd be back in a few minutes before quickly sprinting off down the path to get food. Mira shook her head yes and slid a mug down the bar towards someone Lucy couldn't see.
"I agree with you – it's suspicious. Levy is also finding this weird, but we still need to investigate it somehow. Master suggested making small teams of people who don't like each other – or don't have a strong connection romantically, at least." Lucy nodded and gnawed on her normally perfect nails nervously. "Speaking of the Master – he's going to the magic council to inform them of this… maybe you should go with him, seeing as how you're the victim." Lucy gulped and pointed a finger at her chest.
"M-me?" She squeaked and started shaking her head, ignoring the pain radiating down her neck at the abrupt action. "No, no, no way. I couldn't do that!" She hissed at the take-over mage, who just frowned.
"Why not? Maybe they'll have information," She suggested and Lucy just sighed.
"They might… but shouldn't I go with someone to investigate something?" Lucy offered, but Mira just shook her head.
"We don't know how far the range is – you've already put nearly an entire city between you two and you can still hardly walk on your own," She pointed out, filling a tankard with beer and sliding it down the bar again, earning a yell from someone saying to 'watch wear you're sliding the precious liquid!' Lucy figured that it was probably Cana…
"I know, I know – you're probably right too. If I was still being affected heavily when I went with someone I wouldn't be much help." She conceded, glaring up at the sky. Mira glanced at the lacrima sympathetically and sighed.
"This sucks, Lucy. I wish you could come home, but we have to fix this… otherwise you'll die. We're willing to help you until the very end, but we need you're cooperation to do so. The best thing to do would be to go to the Magic Council, and you know it," She murmured, drawing Lucy's angry gaze to her understanding one. The blonde girl let a smile tug at her lips and nodded, feeling tears prick at her brown eyes.
"I couldn't ask for a better guild, Mira," She whispered, staring at the young barmaid thankfully, who just waved her hand and grinned.
"We couldn't ask for a better Celestial Mage!" Mira retorted honestly, and Lucy snorted.
"Damn straight," She agreed, and the two girls laughed for a few seconds before they sobered up.
"I'll go talk to the Master about this, okay?" Lucy nodded.
"Okay." And the exchanged one last smile before the lacrima went black. Lucy let it fall out of her hand onto the soft grass.
At least I have Fairy Tail.
Natsu sighed as his head hit the table with a sharp smack. Erza and Happy glanced at him worriedly, but he didn't notice – he was too caught up in his and Lucy's misfortune.
This is entirely my fault. If only I had been stronger – I could have protected her! I could have done something besides uselessly flail about while she was being cursed! But no… I was too weak…
Natsu's thoughts were just getting worse and worse when Erza finally picked up on it. His posture was slowly deteriorating, his smiles were gone and then his face had finally planted itself to the table. She frowned with her fork raised halfway to her mouth, and with a grimace, she let it fall back to the plate with a clatter. She set her hand on Natsu's very warm back and he shot up, startled.
"Erza? What's up?" He asked in a half-daze. Erza was a little alarmed to see the usual light in them gone.
"Natsu, let's go talk outside," She offered, and dragged him to the back of the guild and out of the back-door without listening for a response, and so he would get a little farther from Lucy. "Sit down." She ordered, and he immediately complied, squeaking out a small 'aye sir.' She gently sat down next to him on the soft grass and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
"It isn't your fault that this happened, Natsu. This Brok individual is obviously very old and very powerful – you were caught off guard, as was Lucy." She informed him, her gaze never wavering. Natsu's onyx eyes, however, drifted away from her stare and up to the sky.
"I know that, Erza, but it still sucks. I'm the one causing this pain and it's not even something I can do anything about! And I don't want to stay away from her – she's my best friend! My partner! I can't just leave her… you know? And I'm also a little jealous of the people who can see her then I feel terrible for thinking that, Erza…" He said heatedly, looking at her desperately. She nodded sagely and patted his shoulder with her metal-clad hand rather roughly.
"I understand. But the best thing to do right now is to leave her alone – you can still talk via lacrima, yes?" He nodded. "Okay, then you should be grateful for small blessings right now. And we are going to do everything we can to help Lucy… but the real reason I brought you out here was to help you." She said, her intense stare forcing him to meet it openly.
"Okay…?" He ending it in a question and she withdrew her hand, sending him a smile.
"Natsu, do you love Lucy?" She asked bluntly, causing his eyebrows to scrunch together.
"What do you mean? Of course I do – we're nakama! I'd protect her with my life!" He yelled, punching the air excitedly. She shook her head and he frowned, dropping his fist back into his lap.
"No, not like that, Natsu… what I mean is; do you love her?" She stressed the word dramatically. Natsu nodded.
"I just said I did, Erza. Isn't always wanting to be around her and being nakama enough?" He asked innocently, and Erza realized, with a slight shock, that it was indeed enough. She reached her hand out and gently patted his pink head.
"I guess it is…" She smiled at him fondly and stood up, offering him an armored hand, which he took, and pulled him upright. He flashed the red-head his usual happy-go-lucky grin. Erza was relieved to see the light back in his black eyes.
"You know, I hate to say this, but I miss fighting with Gray," He pouted and Erza pulled a sword out of the wall.
"You could always fight me, Natsu," She offered with a wicked gleam in her eye. He quickly backed away, waving his hands.
"No, no, that's okay," Natsu squeaked, shaking his head so his rose-colored hair was flying about. She smiled sweetly and pulled another sword out of the ground.
"Oh, but I insist," Erza smiled and he ran into the guild screaming bloody murder with a flash of scarlet chasing him.
A/N: That was not how I intended to end it… but I like it. xD In my opinion, since Natsu and Lucy are usually there for each other, and now they can't be, I figured I'd give them a shoulder to lean on. Thank you all so much for your reviews – they really are very helpful and enlightening! I just love you all asdfkl;jasdklfja;sdljfasd!
Guest: :D
Zelda-san: Thank you! And yes, Gray does indeed have Juvia. Also, Brok will get what's coming to him, just you wait *laughs evilly.* And thank you again – I will keep that in mind when Lucy and Levy have more interactions in the future. :3
Animation art2000-2013: This is going to be a dedicated NaLu fic, but it'll also be stressing the importance of their friendships, such as Gray and Lucy's. Thank you for your opinion though! And here it is: I hope you like it! *hugs*
Halliegirl: It's also everyone else's fan fiction in my opinion since I'm writing it for you all! And thank you for your input. :D (and nalu all the way!)
JcL107: Ooooo I see I explained that poorly in the last chapter, I'm sorry! The way it is in my mind is like the size of an iPhone, but is like diamond-shaped I guess – I don't know. My minds just all crazy xD But a sphere would probably make more sense. And thank you, I really enjoyed writing those two as friends. They're fun!
GoldenRoseTanya: XD :3
Night Kaida: I read it and it sounds so interesting! Update it soon – I can't wait to read more! :D