NATSU:
It turned out that my father wanted nothing more from me than reassurance that I would marry Minerva without protest. The rest of our lunch passed in silence, Wendy away with some of her friends from the nobility and my mother unusually silent. I excused myself without finishing the meal, unable to bear the tension.

I strolled through the halls and listed my options. I could go and watch a meeting or I could find Lucy and we could spar. Gray would be coming later, so I could wait for him and pummel him into the ground like the snow cone he is. But then there's always the chance of Erza being with him and I didn't want to deal with her and her twisted sense of justice. I pushed my way through the garden doors and ducked into the undergrowth, eager to escape the sun and the palace. She wasn't at the tree with their packs, although I did notice that snippets of bandages covered in a yellow paste were scattered on the ground. Did someone get hurt? My pace picked up and I headed towards the lake, the second best place to find either of the girls.

"Lu, you should sit down. We don't want it to get worse." Levy's worried voice reached me before I could see either of them. She sounded incredibly gentle, the complete opposite of her normal, fiery persona.

"She can't hear you, shrimp." Gajeel's voice. I frowned, not understanding what he meant. Why couldn't she hear them? The last of the gardens fell back to reveal the three of them by the lake, Lucy standing stiffly with her hands limp at her sides. Her shirt was scrunched up to reveal a thick wad of bandages, the white becoming stained with pink and red. Levy's hand was on her shoulder and the blunette was looking at her friend with desperate eyes. Gajeel hovered around the two of them, hands folded on his chest. He spared me a glance before returning his attention to the girls.

"Fix her, Salamander." He growled as I approached them, worry swamping out any other emotion. Lucy never stood so stiffly.

"Luce?" I said quietly. She tensed at the sound of my voice and turned to face me. It was like a slap in the face. Her eyes were dull and utterly dead, unfocused, not a single emotion flickering in the brown irises. Her foot twitched, slightly moving forwards as if she had wanted to take a step but didn't know how. She looked completely lost, and that scared me. Lucy was never lost.

Suddenly, her hand shot out and gripped Levy's arm. The blunette was startled by the movement, but she recovered almost immediately. Lucy's hold tightened and Levy winced, the skin on her arm paling under the pressure.

"Lu? Not so hard, please." Levy said gently, straining to keep the pain out of her voice.

"I found a memory." Lucy whispered. She squeezed her eyes shut and her forehead creased. A lone tear ran down her cheek before dripping off the tip of her chin. A tremor racked her shoulders and I took two more steps towards her before her eyes snapped open. Recognition flashed across her gaze and it became pleading, locking onto mine.

"Luce…" I didn't know what to do. She released Levy's arm and stumbled towards me, falling forwards. I caught her in an embrace but she remained standing, refusing to let me lower her to the ground while leaning on me for balance and support.

"I don't want to remember, Natsu. It hurts and I don't want to." She murmured, a sob hidden in her voice. Tears were falling in earnest, slipping down her face in glistening streams. "Make it stop, please. Please, it hurts so much…" She looked completely broken, sobbing and pleading for the pain to go away. A scream was torn from her throat and her legs gave as she slumped to the ground, her consciousness fading.

"What's wrong with her?" Gajeel asked, his voice slightly panicked. Levy brushed past him and checked Lucy's pulse.

"She's back. Natsu, pick her up." The blunette murmured quietly. I nodded and slipped my hand under Lucy's knees, lifting her of the ground with ease. Levy led the way into the depths of the gardens and up to a wide tree, maybe four arm-lengths around. A little way above my head the trunk split into two massive, curved branches, each slowly shifting into smaller and smaller branches. Levy jumped to reach the divide and grabbed the rim with her hands, easily pulling herself up and leaning over to take Lucy. She pulled the unconscious blonde into the divide and they both vanished from sight. A few moments later she reappeared and jumped down, landing softly and turning to face us.

"She'll be fine." Levy said quietly but firmly. "Natsu, stay with her while Gajeel and I get more herbs for the paste. I'll catch both of you up to speed once I get her wound treated." With that she pulled Gajeel down the path and they broke into a run. I pulled myself up to the divide and nearly fell out of the tree in shock.

Where there should have been the base of the two branches, there was instead a hollow dip in the trunk. It was wide enough to fit two sleeping people and tall enough to sit up. A thick blanket had been spread out across the floor while pillows lined the walls. A roll of woven plants sat in a corner, thick vines holding it together. When they'd managed to create this, I had no idea. Lucy was curled up, her back against the pillows and a small blanket thrown over her body. Her face was relaxed and peaceful, the complete opposite of what it had been mere minutes before. Strands of blonde fell limply across her features, a few caught in between her lips. I threw my shoes onto the ground before quietly dropping down to the hollow and leaning against the opposite wall, my eyes trained on Lucy. Dried tear tracks stood out on her cheeks, and I suddenly realized that I had never seen her cry. On the island she would get hurt, a plant would shred her skin, a sudden pothole would cause a sprain, but she never cried. She would always shrug it off like it was nothing, and whatever had her crying now… I didn't think I could imagine it. I reached over and brushed her hair away from her mouth, gently tugging the strands loose. My fingers accidentally brushed her skin and before I could blink she had my wrist in a death grip. I heard my bones crack right before her hand sharply relaxed and dropped to the floor. I jerked my wrist back and rubbed the growing bruise, massaging the tender skin to get the blood flowing. Lucy didn't wake up, her breathing didn't change – she stayed out. Wincing at a stab of pain, I pulled back and leaned against the opposite wall, watching her warily. I'd completely forgotten that she was a wild girl, a survivor. I should be grateful she didn't go for my throat.

"Oi! Flamebrain!" A far too familiar and annoying-as-hell voice called out, immediately followed by a smug face. "What the—"

"Move it, Gray!" Levy yelled indignantly. Gray yelped and came crashing down, landing on his mug. His foot came close to Lucy's face and her hand captured his ankle, just like she'd done with my wrist. Levy and Erza joined us to witness Gray struggle to keep his joint in one piece. This time, though, Lucy kept squeezing instead of relaxing after the first crack. Erza watched in shock, trying to connect sleeping maiden to murderous hand.

"Oh, Lu." Levy tapped Lucy's wrist and she released Gray, the skin on his ankle a sickly white. He muttered a string of boring curses and gentle rubbed his foot, wincing slightly every so often. Gajeel and Loke joined us, the hollow becoming crowded. We did our best to spread out, occasionally trodding on stray body parts. I ended up sandwiched between Gray and Loke, the orange-haired commander very tense. The reason may or may not have been the fact that the sleeping killer was next to him.

"So. Levy." Erza began in a commanding voice, sending shivers down my spine. "What happened to Lucy?"

"Lu said she found a memory. Knowing Lu, she probably found something that triggered a memory. When she found us she was soaking wet and lightheaded from the lack of air, so my best guess is that she found something under the lake. Her upper leg muscles were very tense, suggesting she swam for a good amount of time with low oxygen. If anything, there's a tunnel under there."

Levy's words were greeted with silence. I had no idea she was an anatomy professor. Gajeel didn't look lost like I expected, so he must've already gotten the lecture. An image of Levy with her knife at his throat while she explained the causes of sudden death flashed across my mind and I quickly squashed it, lest it come true. Suddenly Loke lurched forward with a groan, his hand on his lower back. I glanced behind him in time to see Lucy's leg lower to the ground.

"Loke!" Erza moved towards him in worry, preparing to draw her sword.

"I'm good." He coughed out. "It's just Lucy." He was cut off by another yelp as Lucy's knee hit his side. Her face was tense and a few beads of sweat sat on her hairline.

"Natsu, switch with him." Levy ordered.

"She'll kill me too!" I protested as Loke gave another groan. Levy smiled sweetly and pointed at my wrist.

"But she let you go last time, no?" Everyone looked at my bruised wrist. "If she'd gotten, say, Erza's wrist, she would've kept crushing it until she broke the bone. Your wrist seems to be fine."

"Uh, no. I think Erza would've killed her first." I muttered. Said monster glared at me and I gulped.

"Move, Natsu." Erza said quietly and I nearly shoved Loke out of the way, scrambling to follow her orders. The moment I sat down in my new position I felt the air shift as Lucy's leg came for the next hit. To everyone's shock, especially my own, she merely tapped me twice with her toes before relaxing. My spine stayed in one piece and Loke immediately shot me a jealous glare.

"See?" Levy giggled. She pulled out her twin knives, stuck one into the floor and began wiping the other one with the edge of her shirt. Gajeel edged away from her, eyeing her toys.

"Why is she trying to kill us?" Gray asked, nodding at Lucy.

"Lu managed to shred her stomach and get the wound infected, so I gave her a mixture we developed that burns through the infection and numbs the pain. The only downside is that it's impossible to wake up while under its influence. She's conscious, but walking the line between sleeping and waking. She can't hear us and she responds only to her sense of touch. We practiced defense while under to improve our fighting skills. Lu doesn't recognize you and thinks you are a threat, so she fights to survive. Except for Natsu, apparently. Pinkie here gets a free pass." Levy finished with a knowing smirk in my direction and my face heated up. Gray's head looked about ready to explode.

"Tell them about the wound, shrimp." Gajeel spoke up and Levy paused in her knife cleaning to nod.

"Yes. Lu got the wound before she went into the water." The blunette exchanged her knives. The rest of us sat in a shocked silence, trying to wrap our head around her logic. I gave up first.

"How do you know?" I asked, perplexed. Levy set down her knife and looked me in the eye.

"I found spiked soaking leaves under the flap of skin. The blood had already begun to clot, and combined with the spikes that created a combination that would securely trap the leaves. The leaves were saturated to the point of bursting, meaning she dove with them. I can also say that she got the wound some time before she went swimming, because her stomach had gushed a good amount of blood when she entered the water. You should've seen the trails she left in the lake. Both of them, entry and exit trails, were still there when we came to check." Levy paused for breath, her face grim.

"The last time I saw her was on the path back by your other tree. Minerva had come to tell me my father wanted me, and then she followed me all the way to the dining rooms. Lucy was fine when I left." I added my own information. Erza's eyes narrowed slightly.

"We need to find the start of the blood trail." She decided and Levy nodded in agreement. "Is there any chance Minerva was the attacker?"

"I doubt it. She's a princess, and women of her kind can barely use a kitchen knife without stabbing themselves." Gajeel muttered. Suddenly a wide smile split Levy's face and I nearly jumped when I felt three hard taps on my forearm, the last one slipping and jabbing my side. Levy fell onto Gajeel in a fit of laughter and I looked down to see Lucy's hand blindly probing the air, one finger slightly extended.

"Give her… your hand… you should've seen your face!" Levy forced out in between bouts of laughter. Gray snorted at her last comment and I chose to ignore him, focusing my attention on Lucy instead.

LUCY:

I hated being on the line between sleeping and waking, especially when there we many people around me, mainly because it meant I couldn't pound them into the floor. I heard voices but they were too far away to be distinct and recognizable, making me feel vulnerable. At some point something touched my legs and I poured all of my energy into getting rid of that something, forcing my feet to move. I couldn't remember what happened after I pulled Natsu down the path, but my body was exhausted. On my fourth attempt to remove the threat I felt the same unnatural heat that identified the something as Natsu and my leg screeched to a stop. I never really thought about his strange body temperature before, but while stuck in a half-coma I noticed just how unique it was. The first time I felt it was when I poured the antidote down his throat, and my fingers had lifted his chin to keep him from choking. I recognized the same heat when I had been busy breaking a wrist and I immediately matched the said wrist with Natsu. In another life I might've even felt bad about trying to snap his bones, but the me right now had no regrets. It was just another reminder to not mess with me.

The pain slowly came back and made itself known, signaling the end of the half-coma. Now all I had to do was find something to pull myself out with. I sent out a blind expedition towards where I assumed Natsu was, my finger coming in contact with the heat again. I poked him three times, hoping that Levy was nearby and she would understand the message. My body was beginning to feel heavy, and if I stayed on the line for much longer I'd fall back into sleep again. A warm hand slid into mine and I zeroed in on the new contact, using his hand to pull myself off the line and into the waking zone. Slowly, teasingly slowly my senses returned, starting with touch and going down the line to hearing.

"Lu? You with us?" Levy. I nodded, too tired to actually open my eyes and look at her. "Erza, Gray, and Loke are here."

It took me a moment, but my eyelids crawled open at the pace of a snail to reveal a crowded tree hollow. Loke looked sore and pissed, Gray looked stupid, and Erza was eating cake. Levy smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up, to which I responded with a half-smile, and Gajeel was too busy eyeing Levy's knives to pay me any attention. Lastly there was Natsu, sitting cross-legged with his back against a bunch of pillows. He was the only one who had concern written on his face, and I thought it made him look cute. I spun around so that I could place my head on Natsu's leg and sleep immediately took over, sweeping me off my feet. Gray snickered, but I would destroy him later. Natsu's leg was so warm…

XXXXX

I awoke feeling hot and sticky. It wasn't pleasant, to say the least. My back was pressed against something soft and firm while something warm was draped over my waist. Without pause, I pried the thing off and rolled away, only to end up staring at a sleeping Natsu. He cracked open an eye to stare at me accusingly through the haze of sleepiness.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, suddenly feeling wide awake. He rolled over onto his back and rubbed his eyes.

"Napping," He mumbled. "and hiding from Minerva."

I glowered at him, but only managed to waste my time as he continued to rub his eyes. He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position and stretched his arms out above his head, making his shoulder muscles bunch up in all their glory. I caught myself staring and looked away, a blush coating my cheeks.

"You slept through dinner, so I had to go with popsicle and Erza. Gajeel never showed up and Loke had commander duties. Minerva wanted to go to some Duke's party with me, but I told her I promised to train with Erza. She didn't ask me again." He kept talking, completely oblivious so my moment of embarrassment.

"Did you actually train?" I stood and arched my back, feeling the bones pop into place.

"Uh…"

"Thought so." I smirked. "C'mon, let's go for a spar."

He didn't protest – much – as we climbed over the rim of the hollow and dropped down to the ground below. I ran a few laps around the clearing to warm up and we began our match with easy, gentle blows that let me test my reflexes. The latest little rendezvous with memory left me a bit shaky, but the fight fished my brain out and plopped it right on track. Just like that morning, our speed and power slowly increased until we were both going full out, battling as equals. I won with another simple pin, but the fight left me exhilarated.

"Can we go for a run? I need to work off the energy." I danced from foot to foot while he spat out dirt.

"Sure. You lead."

I set off immediately, leaving him to catch up. We ran at a fast pace, taking random corner. Once, I found a dead-end path, and instead of turning around I simply ducked through the bushes bordering the path and kept running through the undergrowth. Natsu swore as a tree branch slapped him across the face and I looked back at him, a tease ready on the tip of my tongue, only to stumble as the picture unfolded before my eyes.

"Natsu!" I whisper-shouted. He paused his swearing long enough to trace my line of sight. The devil's grin split his features and I came up to stand beside him, both of us looking at the unimaginable.

Gajeel and Levy had fallen asleep at the base of a really thick branch, Gajeel leaning back against the trunk and Levy curled up against his front. He had both arms around her in a loose hug and his nose was buried in her hair.

"They look so cute!" I giggled quietly. Natsu looked like all the birthdays in the world had come early.

"Just wait till I tell Gray!" He snickered. I punched his on the shoulder and he feigned extreme pain before grabbing my hand and pulling me away from the sleeping couple. We resumed our run, the silence now constantly interrupted by the occasional sniggers as we imaged the teasing we would unleash on them.

The lake came into view and I slowed to a walk, giving my lungs a chance to catch up to my heart. Natsu was a bit worse for wear, but he had decided to run backwards for half the time, tripping more than enough times to entertain his sister for the rest of the month. A small headache accompanied an image as it flashed before my eyes, leaving me reeling. Natsu caught my arm to steady me and gently pulled me closer to him until I could lean against him.

"Thanks." I muttered, rubbing my forehead.

"What was it?"

"Something I can't remember…" I trailed off as another image, this one of an eerie cavern, popped up. The water's reflection danced on the stone walls. It hit me in full force and I gasped. "A cave!"

"What?" Natsu sounded confused. I spun around and pulled him to the edge of the lake, my finger pointing at the depths.

"There's a tunnel at the base of the ledge, pretty deep down. It leads to a cave. I think it was about four minutes of swimming." I paused, thinking it over. "But the aura of the cave was cursed. I know it brought up something bad, but I have no idea what."

Natsu gaped like a fish. "Four minutes?"

"Yeah, why?" I glanced at his open mouth before giggling and reaching over to close it.

"You can hold you breath for four minutes?" His mouth hung open again. I rolled my eyes and he shook his head in wonder. "Weirdo."

"Pinky." I taunted. He frowned, but his eyes were laughing.

"Natsu!" A faint echo of Erza's voice sliced through our moment like her swords. Natsu gulped and darted towards the call, stumbling slightly.

"Bye, Luce! See ya later!" He yelled over his shoulder. I grinned softly at his antics.

"See ya!" I shouted back and he threw me his signature grin. I stood still, watching his mop of pink disappear in the undergrowth with a strange feeling in my chest, something I couldn't place. The stars caught my attention, Aquarius' constellation brighter that normal. The warm feeling was replaced with plain dread. Whenever the mermaid shone brightly, something would happen and drown me in the process.