The next morning, Natsu finally opened his eyes and sat up. He remembered that he and Lucy had fallen asleep in their hut the night before, but he didn't see Lucy anywhere. Slowly, Natsu stood up and walked out of the hut. Sure enough, Lucy was standing there and gazing at the rising sun. Her back was faced to him, so she was oblivious to the fact that he was watching her.

Lucy's blond hair lit up as the sun slowly rose from behind the mountains. She turned around and smiled once she saw Natsu. "Good morning."

Natsu snapped out of his daze. "Oh. Morning, Luce."

Lucy smiled once more. "So should we head back to the guild now?"

"Sure," Natsu said. "Hey, where's Happy?"

Lucy laughed and pointed up at the sky. Happy zoomed past them, flying around in the air. "He really loves flying, doesn't he?"

Natsu nodded as the three of them began heading back to the guild.

When they entered the guild, everything seemed normal. Everyone was talking and laughing and they all looked like they were having a great time. But Lucy felt weird.

"Is everything okay, Luce?" Natsu asked, concerned.

Lucy swallowed and looked around nervously. "Do you ever get the feeling that someone is watching you?"

Natsu gave her a strange look. "Not really... Do you feel like someone is watching you right now?"

"Maybe it's just my imagination," she said. "But I've felt that way since we left the hut. I heard footsteps in the meadow, like someone was there with us. And when we passed through town, there was this shadow right next to me. But when I looked, nothing was there."

"Sounds spooky." Natsu scratched his head. "You seem pretty nervous."

Lucy nodded. "My heart is beating faster than usual. I guess it just freaked me out. I don't know, my mind was probably playing tricks on me." She tried to laugh, but Natsu could tell she was really unueasy.

Suddenly, the door burst open and three men came in. It looked as though there was another man with them, but he was being blocked by the first three. "Where is Lucy Heartfilia?" they barked in unison.

Lucy stepped back. "Huh?"

Natsu's eyes narrowed. "What do you want from Lucy?" he growled, grabbing her hand.

The three men parted to reveal the fourth, and Lucy gasped. "Father! W-why are you...?" No. She didn't need to ask. She knew why he was here. "How did you find me?"

Lisanna suddenly jumped in front of Lucy. "No! I know what I said, but... I regret it! You can't take Lucy!"

One of the men stepped forward. "You little traitor." He barked out a laugh. "But you're too late. We're already here, aren't we? Now, out of our way!" He grabbed Lisanna's dress and threw her to the other side of the room.

"Stop!" Lucy screamed. "She didn't do anything wrong!"

Another man laughed. "You say that now, but it was Lisanna who told us where you were!"

Lucy's eyes widened and she was suddenly very still. "You're... lying," she whispered.

The rest of the guild looked very confused, especially Mirajane and Elfman.

Lisanna cried out from the other end of the guild. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she choked out in between sobs. She then stood up shakily and bolted out the door.

Lucy shook head in disbelief. "No, it can't be. Lisanna wouldn't... I mean, why would she?"

The men seemed to be getting impatient. "It doesn't matter why. Now, come with us or we will have to use force!"

"No!" Natsu shouted sternly. "I won't let you take Lucy!"

"Lucy." Her father finally spoke. "Stop this nonsense at one. Come with me now."

"Why?" Lucy looked up at him. "Why do you suddenly care so much about me?"

Jude Heartfilia now seemed to be getting angry. "Get over here, Lucy!" He motioned towards the three men who then grabbed Lucy.

"Master!" Natsu cried weakly. "Please do something! Please!"

Master Makarov shook his head sadly. "Natsu, I'd like to, but... this man is Lucy's father. He has custody over her. There's really nothing I can do about it."

Natsu gritted his teeth. "If you won't help her, I will!" He dashed forward, running toward the man who was carrying Lucy out of the guild.

Lucy struggled to break out of the man's grip, but it was useless. She gave Natsu a sad smile. "It's okay, Natsu. There's no point in trying to save me. You'll only end up getting hurt."

"How can you say that?" Natsu looked up at her. "It's not like you to give up so easily!"

A tear rolled down Lucy's cheek. "I'm sorry, Natsu... Goodbye."

"Lucy!" Natsu screamed as he ran over to her. He tried to grab onto her, but the man kicked him, sending him to the ground.

"Please!" Lucy pleaded. "Don't hurt him! Hurt me instead!"

Jude stared at her icily. "No one will be hurting anyone, Lucy. Roko, put her down."

"Most certainly, sir," the man said as he set her down on the damp grass. Lucy stood up and took a deep breath.

"Lucy." Her father spoke slowly. It's time to go home. If you refuse any further, I will get this wizard guild shut down immediately."

Lucy widened her eyes. "Fine," she whispered. "I'll come with you. But you have to promise me that you will never hurt Fairy Tail." Lucy walked over to her father. Natsu ran up to her, but she closed her eyes, not wanting to see his face. It would only make things more difficult. "Goodbye, Natsu."

"Lucy!" Natsu called. But it was too late. Lucy was gone.

a.a.a.

"I couldn't do anything," Natsu mumbled after a few minutes. "I couldn't protect Lucy."

Everyone else at the guild had sat back down and gone back to what they were doing. They were all sad and gloomy and shocked, but no where near as much as Natsu.

"Natsu," Makarov said, slowly approaching him. "No one could have-."

"And you!" Natsu suddenly shouted. "All of you! Don't you care about her at all? No one did anything!"

He stormed out of the guild, no one stopping him. Without hesitation, he went directly to the hut with Happy flying gloomily behind him. When he crossed through the meadow and dove into the hut, he immediately broke down into sobs.

"Damn it," he cursed, wiping the tears away with his sleeve. He sunk down into the grass and looked up at the starry sky. Lucy had done this several times before, and Natsu had never understood what she found so interesting about looking at the stars. But now he began to see how beautiful it really was.

But the sky also reminded him too much of Lucy. He thought about all the times they had epent together. And it made him think of the last time he had seen her. Her face covered in tears, struggling to break free. That was possibly the last time he would ever see her.

"Why?" he whispered to the stars. "Why did Lucy have to leave me too? I've already lost Igneel... I can't lose her too."

Suddenly, Natsu remembered what Lucy had said the night before.

"Natsu... if I ever get lost again, will you come and find me?"

"How would I know where to look?"

"Just wait for the shooting star. It'll mean I'm coming home."

Natsu looked up at the sky once more. "Lucy," he whispered. "I'll wait for you. I'll wait for the shooting star."