Once again, sorry for the delay everyone. Life has been busy but there will be 2 more chapters and this story will be complete. Thank you so much to everyone who has read this. I'm so happy and the positive feedback has been so wonderful! I don't know why I was so scared to post any of my work. Once again thank you and with out further ado... The Dark Gauntlet Chapter 9!~ Arzuera

"That's some horrible Dark magic you've been ingesting girl." said Porlyusica in her judgmental voice as she looked me over. I hadn't been at her tree house two minutes before she noticed why I was there.

It was later the next day after the Dark Gauntlet had collapsed in on itself. Natsu had carried me all the way to Porlyusica's house and had refused to let me go until she shooed him off. Gray stood off to the side with Natsu. He had headed out before us to give the medical recluse a small warning that we were coming. After all, She despised people.

I sat on the little bed that she used for any patients that may stumble into her door. Her boney fingers lifting my chin so that I looked her in the eyes. I felt terrible and weak. My hair was matted with dirt and blood. The clothes I wore were ripped to shreds and bruises covered my body. There was no way that I looked presentable and I was embarrassed to be sitting here. I had no idea what was going on in her head but her eyes always made me nervous. Porlyusica made a sound of disgust then walked over to her work bench. "Will she be okay?" Gray spoke up from the corner where he and Natsu stood. Out of the way and out of the pink haired recluse's eyesight.

Porlyusica made an annoyed sound at him "She will live but she will have to stay here for a while. Until the dark magic she has been ingesting has run its course."

Gray's eyes widened in surprise, "Dark magic?"

The old recluse nodded her head. "Yes, and a very awful one at that. Frankly, I'm surprised you are still this strong, girl."

"Why does she have to stay? After I destroyed the magic circle, the demon that possessed Lucy was expelled from her body! There's no way that she could be affected by it anymore. She hasn't been home in a long time. Why can't she go back to her house?" Natsu spoke up, clearly angry at the news. Porlyusica turned to Natsu with such an intense glare that he hid behind Gray.

"Would you like her to be possessed again? Or would you rather her soul shatter into millions of pieces?" she said in an unforgiving voice. Both options made me cringe causing my aching stomach muscles to tense in pain. Gray and Natsu gave me worried looks when they heard my sharp intake of breath. "I don't know why you ingested so much of such a dark potion. All I can think is that you had no choice in the matter. It contains a horrible magic. It eats at the soul, making it weak and vulnerable. To the point, if one bad thing happens the soul will shatter and you would cease to exist. Or if you had a weak soul to begin with and ingested enough it would fade away into nothing. Yet, your body would live on. The perfect husk for a demon to possess. You ingested enough to destroy about ten people's souls. Be happy that you have such a strong will and resolve. Or else you would be attending a funeral instead of bothering me."

For once, Natsu bit tongue and stopped protesting that I should go home. He looked to the ground with a somber look and kind of shuffled his feet uncomfortably. Was he blaming himself for all this? I kept looking at his face, trying to get him to look me in the eye. But his eyes remained downcast and he ignored my pleading look. What was going on in that pink haired head of his?

Several sounds came from Porlyusica's direction. She was completely focused on whatever she was creating. Chopping herbs, boiling water, grabbing more ingredients... Odd herbal smells wafted from the concoction and I could see Natsu turn green in response. Whatever she was making, the smell was making Natsu sick. My brow furrowed in concern. It must not be easy to have heightened senses sometimes.

A long silence followed as the pink haired medic worked. No one wanted to break her concentration or speak up because we all knew it would end in a verbal lashing. With a grunt of approval, Porlyusica poured the mixture into a cup and walked over to me, to where I sat on the bed. She thrust the cup in my face and I took it without hesitation. The cooked herb scent burning my nose, which scrunched up in response. As if this where the potion that held the dark magic and not the ones I had been drinking to heal myself for months.I looked at the cup and back at Porlyusica hesitantly. Unsure if I should drink it or not.

"Girl. That potion will help purify your body of the massive amounts of dark magic that is currently in your veins. I don't know how your soul is still intact but if you don't drink it, you can still succumb to that awful potions effects." She said in a more serious tone than usual. I gulped and looked down at the cup in my hands. The smell starting to get to me and my stomach churning at what I have to do. With a deep breath, I threw it back and downed the herbal medicine as quickly as I could. Clapping a hand over my mouth as I sputtered and gagged. Using all my willpower to not throw it up. Porlyusica nodded in approval and took the cup from my hand so that i didn't drop it. "Good. Now that pure revulsion you are having is the dark magic trying to make you get rid of the thing that will help you. Don't let it win."

That was easier said than done. My whole being was screaming at me to let it out but I kept my mouth shut. Tears stinging my eyes. My eyes snapping shut as I willed myself to calm down. I heard a shuffling and the clinking of glasses from Porlyusica's direction, then an annoyed sound from her. Once I felt a little better, I opened my eyes and looked at the pink medic. She was looking for something but it didn't look like she was having any luck. It was Gray who spoke up. "What are you looking for?"

Porlyusica jumped, as if she had forgotten that Gray and Natsu were standing in the corner. Then again she probably did. She quickly regained her composure. "I'm looking for an herb that grows only on Mount Hakabe. It is essential for the girl's continued treatment but I must have run out. Among a few other things."

"I can go get it for you! Just tell me what it is and what it looks like." Gray said with a tinge of hope. His body was itching to move and do something. Taking the opportunity to help out where he could. Porlyusica's eyes turned thoughtful for a moment. Then she moved over to the bookshelf next to her table and picked out a volume. Opening it, she flew threw the pages until she found what she wanted.

She thrust the open book at Gray who caught it awkwardly. "Take this with you. It shows you what it looks like, where to find it, and how to go about extracting it." Gray looked over the page. His eyes darting up and down as he memorized the page. Porlyusica grabbed a basket and moved past the boys to the door. "I'm heading out to get the rest because I doubt you would be able to spot the difference between the good and the poisonous ones." Then she opened the door and was gone with Gray following her out. Leaving Natsu and I alone.

I laid out on the bed and sighed heavily. The nausea was finally starting to recede. It was a welcome relief because I didn't have to have my hand holding my mouth shut anymore. A shuffling from the corner reminded me that Natsu hadn't left. My head drifted to the side and looked at him. He continued to avoid my eyes and...wait was he blushing? Sure enough, a light shade of pink covered his cheeks. A smile forming on my lips. "Why are you avoiding me, Natsu?" my voice was rough. I hadn't had anything to drink in a long while and my voice wasn't used to talking. Most of the time i had spent in the dark gauntlet was in silence.

He looked at me then and turned even pinker "I-I'm not avoiding you. I just like Porlyusica's floor. It's made of real oak." I chuckled but it quickly turned into a coughing fit. Pain seared from my stomach and I curled into a ball. Natsu dashed over to me. His hand on my shoulder. "Luce...? What's wrong? Is there anything I ca-" Natsu's overactive concern was silenced by me as I quickly pressed my lips to his.

For a moment he tensed, shocked at what I had done. I could feel his face heating up and I know he was blushing even harder than before. He then gently wrapped his arms around me. Returning the kiss with controlled passion. I felt how strong his arms were. I knew if he wanted he could have pulled me into a bone crushing hug. Instead they held me tight, as if he never wanted to let me go, but gentle, as though I was the most fragile thing he has ever held.

With a sigh, he broke the kiss and moved his head away, while I gave a whine in protest. "Don't scare me like that.."

I smiled, "Sorry. It did hurt but I feel a lot better now." My eyes scanned his face and i was right. His cheeks were now a bright red and he looked away from me in fake annoyance. "So...why were you avoiding my gaze...?"

"Because I kept being reminded of what happened earlier..." he said with a slight hint of insolence in his voice. His reaction bringing out a bigger smile in me. Natsu was still Natsu.

"Are you embaarrraaassed?" I egged.

"No, I'm not! It's just hotter in a tree house than a normal house.!"

"You ARE aren't you?"

"No, I'm NOT!"

"Yes, you ARE!"

"Gah! SHUT UP!" He growled and softly butted his forehead against mine. My giggly laughter filling the once silent tree house. Natsu laid his head by mine on the bed. "God I've missed that."

I looked at him curiously as he moved my filthy hair out of my face. "Missed what?"

His arm moved so that it was wrapped around me again. " Your smile, you laugh, just you."

"I bet you miss my looks to because I know I look like hell." I lamely tried to joke. His face hardened but his eyes softened.

"No, you don't. You look beautiful."

A blush shot across my face and before I could respond his lips had claimed mine. My heart beating out of my chest. Natsu never said things like that! The shock at what he just said still circling my mind. Then he pulled away again. The embarrassment glowing on his face. Once again pain ebbed from my body and I winced. He gave me a worried look and an angry sigh. "I feel so useless! I want to be able to help you but I can't think of anything!"

"But you already ar..." is what I started to say when he suddenly jumped up and away from the bed. Releasing me from his gentle hold. Natsu began patting his body. His clothes. As if he was looking for something and from the looks of it, it was something really important. His eyes light up. Whatever he was looking for he just found it.

"Hold out your hand, Luce." he said as he waved what he pulled from his pocket in front of me. His hand hiding what it was. Curiousity peeked, I held out my hand to him and with a flourish he drop something heavy that glinted in the sun in my hand.

My eyes widened. It was Aquarius's key. I clutched it tightly and held it to me. Looking at Natsu, my eyes teared up. "Natsu...I thought they were all lost...Thank you so much..." I wiped the back of my hand across my eyes.

Natsu cocked his head at me. "What do you mean?"

"They took my keys. I only got to see one of them when I fought. The only one I managed to sneak out was Aquarius's. You must have found my cell before you found me." I heaved a heavy sigh. " I had thought they were lost when the place collapsed in on itself because I don't know where they held them. I doubt I will be able to get them back. I'm so happy to get one of them back..."

"Don't worry, Luce! You're getting all of them back!" a confident grin on his face as he looked at me. My eyelids drooped. The potion was gonna knock me out at this rate. "I'm going to get your keys back! You just stay here and rest up. Leave everything to me!" He was out the door before I could say anything.

The door closed with a loud bang and silence filled Porlyusica's house once again. I was alone for the first time but for the first time in months I felt safe. It was so weird to be above ground. My eyes were still having trouble adjusting to the brightness of the sun. Even now, I'm half expecting the robed men to come through Porlyusica's door and take me down to the arena. But that can't happen. I know it can't because I saw what happened to them. There is no way they would know where I am if any had survived. If they did figure out where I was I doubt Fairy Tail would let them get away with kidnapping me again. Man it is god to be home.

Porlyusica's potion had begun to take full effect. My body was really heavy. Aching for a nice long sleep and I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I fought it though. I had just gotten out of a horrible place and I wanted to relish in the sunlight a bit before drifting off into the darkness of sleep. A creaking sound as the front door opened broke me of my reverie. A small blue haired girl peeked around the door. "Hello, Lucy! Mind if I come in?"

"Of course you can Levi. You're always welcome!" My voice was deep and just above a whisper. Man this medicine works fast. The script mage hurried inside and shut the door behind her. She hurried over to my side and knelt down by my head, pulling me into a warm hug. I felt rough cloth on my skin and noticed that Levi was covered in fresh bandages. Was she in a fight earlier?

"Oh Lucy... I'm so glad that you made it out okay... I thought you would end up where all the others showed up eventually. I'm glad that never came to pass." Levi said in a choking voice. She was trying to hold back tears.

I tried to smile at her but it was harder to do now. "Oh I'm not that easy to kill. I mean come on! I have to keep up with Natsu on a daily basis!"

Levi chuckled before looking around the room with a curious look on her face. "Speaking of...Where is Natsu? I'm surprised that he left you alone at all. He was the one who was working his hardest to find you."

"He was here and you are right. Porlyusica had to practically use a crowbar to pry me out of his arms. But he gave me one of my gate keys back. Once he learned that I didn't have the rest he was out of here." I said chuckling lightly. Levi's eyes lit up.

"To be honest Lucy... I wasn't coming here alone to visit you. Loki and Gajeel were with me. Then Natsu came barreling towards us and practically dragged Loki off with him. Gajeel followed in an attempt to get the poor boy back." Levi's face turned thoughtful "I had thought that he would beat me up here but that explains what is going on. He is going to use Loki to help find your gate keys."

"Did you expect anything less of him? The moment there was something he could do... The moment he could help out in some way. Natsu jumped on it. Though Porlyusica didn't help on that account earlier." It was getting really hard to stay awake. My eyes kept fluttering closed and I had to force them back open. " She gave Gray something to do and headed out herself. Leaving poor Natsu here with nothing to do."

Levi laughed. "I bet he couldn't stand still at all. But I'm sorry it took so long for me to gt up here. The guild hall was in chaos because of what Erza had told them."

"What are you talking about? I've only been here a half hour at the most?"

"No...it's been a good 4 at least. Natsu caught us just as we were starting to head over. You know Porlyusica lives quite a ways away. Whatever she gave you must be good." Levi gave me a playful wink and I attempted to roll my eyes at her.

Just then the door opened again and Porlyusica walked in. Her empty basket now full with a variety of herbs that i couldn't even begin to describe. The pink medic's eyes landed on Levi by my bed. Levi had frozen in place. Not sure how Porlyusica was going to react to her trespassing in her home.

Porlyusica gave Levi a once over and seemed to notice the newly applied bandages on her arms and face. "Are you a patient?"

Levi stood up and looked down at the floor. "N-no..."

"THEN GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" she roared in response. Levi dashed to hte front door and looked back at me before leaving.

"See you later Lucy!" she called. Running away from Porlyusica who had started to advance on her with a broom. The front door closed again. The pink haired recluse made a snide comment but I didn't hear her

I couldn't fight the medicine anymore and allowed my eyes to drift closed. Receiving the first good night's rest that I have had in a long long time.