Chapter Eleven:
Lucy ate breakfast with as much gusto as Natsu on a normal day. She forwent her small, delicate bites for large heaping mounds that she shoved into her mouth. They had managed to feed her small amounts of soup while she slept but her body needed nourishment once she woke up. The Lamia Scale guild's kitchen whipped up a hearty batch of omelets, fresh bread and fruit that made even Carla's mouth water.
It's nice to catch up with the Lamia Scale members, Lucy mused while watching Natsu and Lyon banter about another rematch. Especially after our seven year gap in time and the chaos after the Grand Magic Games, everyone keeps drifting apart. It's good that we came here.
Lucy listened with interest as Cheria and Wendy spoke of their temporary team up as the 'Sky Sisters' but she marveled most over watching Carla work on her Transformation magic. Lucy demonstrated her Star Dress spells when prompted by the intrigued Sky mages but inadvertently ended up calling out Loke as well.
She rolled her eyes in mock irritation at his fussing over her well being and laughed with the others when he was quickly distracted by a pod of flirty girls eyeing him cheekily from the opposite corner of the hall. Before he could embarrass Fairy Tail by chasing skirts in another guild, Lucy closed his Gate and shoved her keys away. She sent a silent promise through her magic that she would call him out again to talk once there were fewer people around and she had regained more of her strength.
"Are you really sure you want to come back with us?" Lucy asked Wendy for the hundredth time. When she found out that the young dragon slayer had agreed to return to Fairy Tail during her recovery, she was overjoyed but concerned when she saw the closeness she had developed with her fellow Sky Mage.
"Yes, Lucy," Wendy insisted without a trace of irritation. "We mostly took jobs that enhanced our healing abilities and helped locally."
"Don't be modest, Wendy," Carla interjected haughtily. "You took on that big monster that was terrorizing a local village last month. By yourself. She was most impressive."
Wendy looked down and fiddled with a ribbon at her waist. "I didn't want to hurt the poor thing. He was probably so scared."
Her kindness knows no bounds, Lucy thought in passing. "That's amazing Wendy."
"She can even cast minor healing magic on herself now!" Cheria exclaimed, grasping Wendy's hand tightly. "We've been trading enchantment spells and getting a lot stronger!"
"Their battles are still quite evenly matched," Yuka offered from across the table.
"You'll have to come visit sometime so we can watch a rematch!" Natsu piped up, echoing the remnants of his conversation with Lyon.
Lucy nodded in agreement. "Or we can come back here sometime, too."
"Really?" Wendy's eyes lit up in excitement.
"Of course!" Lucy pulled her into a gentle hug. "Fairy Tail's friends are never too far for a visit. Anyway, it's not like we're forcing you to live in a tower or chaining you to the guild hall. You can come and go whenever you'd like."
Wendy's eyes watered and she smiled gratefully.
"I'm so happy!" she wailed.
The morning passed and the party of five began to say their final goodbyes. Lucy thanked Cheria for helping save her life and the guild master for allowing their extended stay. Natsu waved as Wendy hugged everyone and they headed out to continue their quest.
Wendy and Carla listened with rapt attention as Lucy explained their plans. On to Era and then to the North with the hopes of coming across rumors of other lingering members. Wendy offered her own insights to the locations of other members, like seeing Jet and Droy heading South or Gildarts heading Northeast towards the ocean on the "final request" he had mentioned in passing.
"Do you think he got picked up by another guild?" Lucy mused.
"Hell no!" Natsu exclaimed. "That old man was more devoted to this guild than any of us. He'd wander around aimlessly before shacking up with another shitty guild."
Natsu ignored Wendy and Carla's simultaneous reactions to defend Lamia Scale. "Gramps probably sent him to do something important. He probably doesn't even know the guild disbanded yet."
"Once we get these papers submitted to the Council, he won't have to find out until it's no longer relevant and we're official again." Lucy placed her hand on the satchel at her waist.
"We're a little less than a week away on foot at the rate we're going," Wendy informed them handily. "There are a few towns along the way if we follow this road and it'll be pretty easy to scrape up some food as we go. There are a few prime hunting spots between here and the capital."
"You sure know a lot about it, Wendy," Happy commented while staring shamelessly at Carla. The white Exceed did her best to ignore his constant attention.
Wendy nodded with a smile. "Cheria and I took a lot of jobs between here and the capital. There were a lot of injuries from a rock slide to a collapsed mine. Also a magically transmitted disease was developed by a minor dark guild that we had to develop a cure for. There was a lot of travelling for work so I've learned a lot about the area."
"That makes sense," Lucy thought that Wendy was sounding far more worldly than she had ever known the young dragon slayer to be. "Have your healing abilities improved with all your training? Cheria mentioned it briefly this morning but I know you were still feeling pretty limited in that regard last year."
"Oh yes!" Wendy told them stories about her training with Cheria and Carla over the months. She gushed about her new spells and, most impressively, her newfound ability to heal her own minor wounds.
As they walked, they each shared their own stories about their time apart. Lucy shared her experiences working with the magazine and some of the people she met while Wendy and Carla talked animatedly about the bizarre behaviors of the Lamia Scale guild members. Natsu and Happy talked about spending all of their savings and having to take a job on the docks of a crummy port town to make enough money to refresh their gear.
"It was awful," Happy bemoaned. "I thought I was going to hate the smell of fish forever!"
"All you did was sit on a box and watch me load and unload crates. You almost got me fired for eating one guy's catch!" Natsu flicked a pea sized ball of flame at the smirking Exceed who dodged it easily.
Their path changed from thick forest foliage to wide plains that spread out for miles. Tall grass sprouted from the earth, yellow and dry. A short breeze picked up and the plains were filled with the chattering rustle of grass and the upset buzzing of insects being disturbed from their afternoon rest.
A flock of small swallows burst from the grass and, in a flurry of feathers and beaks, the birds descended on the insects to devour their convenient prey. The group fell silent as they witnessed this marvel of nature, keen to observe the balancing of life before them.
Their silence remained as they continued to move forward, each bound by their own thoughts and observations.
The group finally reached their first stop as night was descending on the plains. As the first signs of life breached their view they picked up the pace and hurried to find lodging. A warm, inviting column of smoke rose from a brick chimney in the center of town. A lodge of reputable size joined the chimney at its base and looked as though the town had been built around the cozy establishment.
Lucy felt her feet get heavy and each new step was another towards utter exhaustion. They trudged up to the door of the inn and, before they could go in, Natsu rested his head against the closed door, grateful that they had arrived at last.
Desperate to get out of her shoes, Lucy reached around him and twisted the door handle. The front door swung inwards, causing Natsu to stumble across the threshold. The front desk manager greeted them kindly as they paid for two rooms and led them down a dimly lit hallway to show them in.
Wendy and Carla hurried into one while Happy eagerly explored the other. Natsu and Lucy paused at their respective doorways before sharing a look.
"Goodnight, Natsu," Lucy spoke softly, as though her words were precious and secret. It was an odd thought that they would be separate rooms for the first time on their travels.
"Sweet dreams, Luce," Natsu replied with a grin.
Lucy felt her face warm at his gaze but gave him a smile in return. They stood there a moment longer before realizing they were both waiting for the other to head in first.
Sharing a light chuckle at their own expense they turned away and stepped into their rooms, seeking a good rest.
Lucy found sleep to be an elusive thing this night. After partaking in a hot bath to soothe her feet, she and Wendy climbed into the large bed to talk for a while longer. Wendy found sleep easily with Carla resting snugly beside her but Lucy was not so fortunate.
She considered her recovery and that the days she had spent sleeping were the cause of her unrest, but she felt the ache of sleep pulling from her worn muscles and dismissed the likelihood of that reason.
Maybe meditating will help me sleep, she thought practically. I'll use the clarity to shut my brain down for a while.
Lucy attempted to slow her breathing to an even pace and let her mind drift into the meditative state she practiced frequently with Capricorn. The exercise did not have the desired effects she had hoped as unbidden images began flooding her mind like lost memories coming home.
She was back in the forest where she had once been greeted in a dream by all of her beloved spirits. The natural floral archways remained only this time she walked alone. As she reached the clearing, she saw that the box made of white wood was there waiting peacefully on its golden pedestal, untouched above the wreckage left behind from the sea that had invaded its borders before.
"I don't understand," she whispered. "What is this place?"
She placed her hand cautiously upon the box lid and felt the thrum of power that stormed within its casing. So many feelings were roiling beneath its carved surface but Lucy could not move away.
She took a deep breath and lifted the edge of the box.
Blue and gold lights filtered her vision as new images flashed before her eyes.
She was standing at the edge of a tumultuous sea where waves crashed heavily on a rocky shore. She was above the water this time instead of downing in it.
She hovered above a giant city, militant in its design. People scurried like ants, busy and unassuming, while banners of green fluttered above them in the wind.
A woman with short green hair held a photo of the box from the forest only the coloring and markings were wrong. Hastily scratched notes covered pages of research and a fearful expression filled the stranger's face. "What if I can't find it?" the strange woman muttered.
Lucy came back to the box in the clearing as the scenes faded from before her. Blue and gold lights swirled around her like a shield but moved out of her way as she looked down at the white wood again.
There were words inscribed at the bottom of the box. Something burned in Lucy's chest as she read them. A feeling of overwhelming sadness and guilt filled her but she did not understand the cause. She read the words one more time as the lights began to fade and sleep came for Lucy at last.
- Come find me. -
Natsu woke to the sound of Wendy's screams. With a glance out the window, he guessed that he could not have been asleep for more than an hour or two.
"Natsu! Help!"
He leapt to his feet, threw on his pants and rushed into the neighboring room his female companions shared. He stopped short at the site that greeted him beyond the door.
Lucy was hovering above the bed, a golden light surrounding her that seemed to originate from a place near her heart. Her arms dangled back towards the bed as gravity tried to pull her back down. Her eyes were open but unfocused and unseeing.
"Wendy, get back," he called, reaching out to the terrified young girl.
She rushed to his side, tears streaming down her face. "I don't know what happened! I was asleep but the light woke me up."
"Wendy-."
"Nothing I try works! I can't heal her or wake her up!"
Natsu could see that Wendy was close to full blown panic. Even Carla was stunned into silence and trembling in Wendy's arms. Natsu gripped Wendy by the shoulders and forced her to make eye contact with him.
"Wendy, I need you to stay back. Lucy is going to be okay."
"She is?" Wendy looked hopeful as she asked.
Natsu nodded. "This is the manifestation of Lucy's magic. I've seen it before when she was meditating."
"She floats like she's possessed when she meditates?" Carla scoffed disbelievingly.
"I haven't seen that before, no," he admitted. "That is definitely new."
"Then why-"
"That is why I want the two of you to head to my room until I tell you it's safe to come back."
"What are you going to do?" Wendy did not want to leave but she knew she had to trust Natsu and his belief that he could help Lucy.
"I'm going to wake her up," he said calmly despite the fear and uncertainty that swirled in his belly.
He waited until Wendy and Carla had shut the door tightly behind them before approaching the suspended Celestial Spirit Mage. Her magic whipped around her like a nest of angry vipers ready to strike.
"Lucy?" he called softly but held little hope that his words would affect her current state.
If Wendy's screaming didn't wake her up, I don't know what would, he mused.
He stepped closer. He could feel her magic filling the room. If it was all released at once she would probably level the inn. Natsu reached a hand towards her but quickly withdrew it when the tendrils lashed out at him.
Another step forward. He could see her blank stare more clearly. The emptiness in her eyes unnerved him.
"Lucy, it's me. I'm not going to hurt you," he spoke low and reached out again. "Let me in, Lucy."
The tendrils did not strike this time but continued to hover cautiously, reminding him of their presence.
"I need to wake her up now," Natsu spoke to the manifestation of her magic. The tendrils lashed out again in warning and Natsu received the message that he would not be allowed to wake her.
"Is she safe? I'm worried."
One of the beams of magic laced its way across Natsu's shoulders. A warmth like sunlight spread through him and it felt like Lucy herself was hugging him. She was safe.
"I see. Let me stay here, just in case."
The magic withdrew from him and retreated to reform as a protective cocoon around Lucy. Natsu took a seat at the edge of the bed and watched the bizarre spectacle around her. He found her magic as beautiful as he had that first night on the balcony in Oshibana but only now did he see it for what it was. Powerful and protective, sure, but ultimately peaceful at its core.
Minutes passed until suddenly the glow near her heart brightened and a shimmer of blue light began to ebb its way into the dreams of gold. It flexed and flowed around her like an angry river.
"What is happening?" he shouted but received no response. Natsu was growing frustrated and pulled roughly at his hair and scarf. He hated feeling useless.
Lucy... Please wake up. Come back from this. I need you. His thoughts cycled repetitively.
The first sign of life he got from Lucy appeared when the blonde mage began muttering the same three words over and over again.
"Come find me," she muttered. "Come find me. Come find me."
"What do you mean, Lucy?" Natsu felt confusion mix with panic at the sudden change in her behavior. This was even more alarming than the silence.
"Come find me."
"You're right here, Lucy."
"Come find me!" her volume was increasing. Her magic was pulsing hard.
"Lucy! Snap out of it! I don't have to find you, you're right here. Wake up!"
"Come find me!" her eyes were going in and out of focus, flickering gold and blue hues. A black symbol Natsu thought he recognized appeared across her chest.
Natsu reached through the field of magic surrounding her and grasped her hand, ignoring the pain as her magic whipped at him.
"LUCE!"
The magic stilled. Lucy gasped and the light retracted back into the glowing ball at her chest. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head but before she could fall, Natsu had his arms already beneath her and guided her body to rest gently on the bed.
He stared at his best friend for a moment, replaying the scene in his mind, and the budding concern he felt for her grew. He started to pull the blankets up to cover her scantily clad form when Lucy's eyes flickered open and immediately zeroed in on Natsu at her bedside.
"Natsu. Why are you in my room?" Her voice held the undertone of a threat for suspicions he did not want to be accused for.
"Your magic went haywire for a little bit," he explained quickly. "I assume you were meditating again, but it scared Wendy so I came in the help out."
Lucy looked over at the empty half of the bed beside her. "I didn't hurt her, did I?"
Natsu shook his head. "She was just startled. Luckily I've seen your magic manifest like that before, otherwise I'd be breaking down some doors looking for the culprit."
"You have? When?" Lucy's brow furrowed, trying to remember the last time she had been able to meditate.
"That first night on the hotel balcony in Oshibana, remember? When we were looking for Mira and the others."
Lucy nodded and shot him a half-hearted smile. "It was different this time."
"Which part?"
"My meditation. I couldn't get control of it and I-" she stopped herself, still uncertain of what she had seen.
"Lucy?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. It was so strange."
They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Lucy tried to sit up which forced Natsu to vacate his spot at her side.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I need to go for a walk," she replied absentmindedly.
"At this time of night? Lucy, you need to get some sleep."
"I can't right now. I need to think. Don't wait up for me."
With that she grabbed her coat and left the room. Natsu waited for a moment before venturing back across the hallway to his own room. Happy greeted him with a hushing sound and herded him right back out the door.
"Hey! What gives?" Natsu demanded.
"Wendy and Carla finally fell asleep. You can sleep in their room."
"What about Lucy? She'll hit me." Natsu frowned and rubbed his head in dreaded anticipation.
The Exceed scowled. "You should stay with Lucy. If something happens again you'll need to deal with it anyway. It's not fair to ask them to sit around and wait to call for help when you're better equipped to deal with whatever's going on in the first place."
Natsu nodded reluctantly. Happy was right. Until they figured out what was going on with Lucy, Natsu was the best choice to watch out for her.
The two bid one another goodnight for the second time that evening. Happy retreated back to his protective station at Carla's side while Natsu retreated back into the empty room next door. Heedless to Lucy's parting words, Natsu settled in on the bed to wait up for her to return.
Lucy found herself in the back gardens of the lodge on a small stone bench surrounded by three of her spirits. She had called on Loke first and let him fuss over her well-being for a short time. He was soon followed by Capricorn and Grandfather Crux before Lucy would explain anything.
She told them about her first dream back in Magnolia and the storm that interrupted it and the flood of images she had accessed this night.
"You mentioned that I was in your first dream?" Loke smiled flirtatiously as though the admission of his appearance in her dreams was a symbol of her affection for him.
She ignored this and nodded. "The nine of my Zodiac keys were there surrounding a white wooden box."
"Were there any special markings on the box?" Loke asked, indifferent to her reaction. "Anything you can remember?"
"I think I saw Aquarius' sign on the box in the first dream. I didn't notice it the second time. The images came and went too quickly."
Capricorn tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You said tonight's episode was triggered by the meditation techniques we have been working on?"
Lucy nodded again. "It felt like I was accessing lost memories but I didn't see anything I recognized. Everything was new."
Capricorn turned to Crux who seemed deep in thought or asleep. It was difficult to tell. "What do you make of this, my friend?"
Crux was silent for a long while which gave Loke more time to fuss over Lucy's shoulder. To her dismay, Capricorn joined him to administer his own thoughts and attentions to her person. Lucy could not have been more grateful when Crux sputtered and coughed to announce his acquisition of relevant information.
"What did you find?" Lucy urged, slapping Loke's hands away from the dressings on her shoulder.
Crux coughed again before taking a deep breath. "You have been given a gift of knowledge, Miss Lucy."
"What does that mean?" Capricorn gave a gruff sigh at the vague answer.
Crux blinked twice before responding. "Many Celestial Spirits are able to be summoned via their own singular key that acts as their portal of sorts between our worlds. You know this."
"Yes, of course," Lucy spoke quickly.
"You chose to break Aquarius' key in order to summon the Celestial Spirit King," Crux stated matter-of-factly.
"If she hadn't the world would have perished," Loke spoke passionately in her defense. "We all know this. Get to the point, damnit."
Lucy placed a gentle hand on Loke's arm. "I'm not offended. He speaks the truth so let him speak. He'll make his point."
Reluctantly, Loke backed down and took a seat at Lucy's side.
Crux blinked, "Our Celestial keys are not attached to our life force. Merely our accessibility to this realm. If our key is broken, we do not die. What you do not understand is that our keys are reforged and released back into the mortal realm."
"Released back," Lucy whispered. "You mean-?"
Crux nodded. "Aquarius' key has been reforged. You keep the pieces of her last key close to you, correct?"
Lucy pulled the leather bound pendant from beneath her shirt. "I kept everything I could find."
"Her willingness to sacrifice herself for you and your devotion to the bond you shared with her has created a… sixth sense, if you will. Your trust in one another was what allowed you to summon the King and it is also what will lead you to her again."
"What does this have to do with her visions?" Loke barked impatiently. He was glad his friends would be reunited but the bizarre dreams that messed with her magic had him concerned.
"It's all connected, lion cub," Crux did not raise his voice but his irritation with Loke's behavior was clear. "Her visions are trying to give her clues to finding the new key. It is calling to her through her subconscious and the meditations allowed the messages to come out a bit unexpectedly. Her bond with Aquarius was built through their united magic so the visions will come through her magic as well."
"There were no Celestial keys in my visions though." Lucy wanted to believe him but she had to be sure.
Crux nodded and graced her with a rare smile. "Our keys do not just fall to Earth, Miss Lucy. They are a gift from our realm to yours. What is the human custom of receiving gifts?"
"Presents," Lucy answered and realization dawned on her. "The key is in the box. I'm so blind. It seems so obvious."
Capricorn nodded, "Indeed. Even I feel a bit foolish for not putting it together."
Loke was less perturbed. "A Celestial key has not been shattered in many an era. So long ago that there was no reason for us to remember such details."
Lucy thought on the details of her vision once more. "There is one more thing."
Her spirits stopped to look at her again. Crux spoke first. "What is it?"
"I saw a woman in my vision tonight. Around my age with pale green hair. She had pages of notes on the box and books too. It was a different box but it looked like she was also looking for Aquarius' key."
Lucy watched Capricorn stiffen and adjust his glasses.
"Cap?" Loke had noticed as well. "What is it?"
"A hunch," her mentor replied. "I'll speak no further of it until I look into some things so do not worry about it."
"Easier said than done," Lucy grumbled.
"The important thing for you to do now, Miss Lucy, is to focus on the clues you are given and to pinpoint the location of the key before anyone else can get to it." Crux took a deep breath and bowed his head. "And with that my time is up. Call on me again for whatever you need."
A loud snore followed his words and a loud pop echoed as Crux disappeared into the Celestial Realm.
"Wow," was all Lucy could say.
"Don't fight these dreams, Lucy," Loke warned. "You might hurt yourself."
"Or someone else," Lucy added quietly, thinking of Wendy.
"Unlikely, but always possible with uncontained magic," Capricorn advised. "Warn your friends that what happened tonight may happen again until you are reconnected with Aquarius. Tell them not to interfere."
Lucy nodded mutely but thought of the likelihood of Natsu listening to that. She smiled weakly as Capricorn and Loke enveloped her in a hug.
"We will look for more information on our end, too." Capricorn promised. "You are not alone in this."
"What about bringing the guild back?" she asked quietly. "All of our hard work… I don't want to leave the others."
I don't want to lose them again, she thought to herself.
"Do you know where your visions are leading you?" Capricorn asked gently.
"No."
"Then where would you go?" Loke offered wisely. "Until you have more information, I don't see why you would change anything."
Capricorn nodded in agreement. "Your guild needs you too. I have a feeling the Fates have destined your path back to Aquarius. Just be yourself and the two of you will come together again."
"Thank you. Both of you." Lucy pulled her spirits in for another hug. Tears of relief mingled with those of gratitude and threatened to fall heavily from her eyes.
"Go get some rest now, Princess," Loke said with a wink. "Until next time."
Lucy waited until their gates had closed and darkness settled in around her. She toyed with the broken key on its leather strap and thought hard about all she had learned.
I get to see Aquarius again, she thought, hope coursing through her like a firestorm.
She sat in the moonlit garden until her legs began to ache from the cold stone bench beneath her. She stood with a groan and made her way back inside.
Heavy snoring greeted her when she opened the door to her room. Natsu was sprawled across the mattress, limbs hanging off the edges, breathing heavily in a contented slumber.
Lucy shook her head with a warm smile. She felt a strong fondness for the pink-haired dragon slayer that instantly overlooked much of his antics. Seeing him passed out here in the dead of night where he had clearly been waiting for her to return made her feel that same tickling in her stomach that had been persistently growing over the last few weeks.
With much effort, Lucy shifted Natsu's sleeping form into a more natural position with his head on one pillow and feet on the bed instead of the floor. After she had made enough room for herself, she climbed in and let the familiarity of his snores and radiating heat lull her into a dreamless sleep.
Lucy woke to two dark onyx eyes staring at her with a deep intensity. Natsu was hovering with a concerned expression but developed a playful smile as she blinked the sleep from her vision.
"What the hell, Natsu?" she growled.
"Great! You're awake now!" he grinned toothily.
"Why are you staring at me while I sleep?" Lucy pulled the blankets to her chin as she sat up as though to shield herself from his gaze.
Natsu shrugged. "You looked happy but you were crying. After last night, I wanted to make sure you were okay."
Lucy felt the dampness on her cheeks and chuckled. "I've really been making you worry about me lately, haven't I?"
Natsu responded with a nod, his eyes downcast.
"I'm sorry." Lucy placed her hand on his cheek and he met her eyes. Seeing the fresh tears developing there, he pulled her into a hug.
"I know you can handle anything, Lucy," he muttered. "I just worry more when I don't know what's going on."
Lucy's grip tightened on him briefly before she drew back and frowned.
"What's wrong?"
Lucy sighed heavily and moved into a more comfortable seated position. "What happened last night… It will happen again. More than once or twice, I imagine."
"What do you mean? Are you okay?"
"Natsu, I'm fine. Really," she placed her hand on his shoulder reassuringly. Whether to comfort him or herself she wasn't quite clear. "The Celestial Realm gave me another mission."
Natsu waited for her to continue.
"I have to go find Aquarius' key." Lucy tried to explain it simply but the confusion on Natsu's face told her it would not be so easy.
"You lost one of your Zodiac keys? Did someone steal it?" Natsu watched as Lucy pulled the necklace hidden down her shirt into the morning light. The pain in her eyes was evident and he was slowly learning the cause.
Gold flashed before his eyes as Lucy palmed the broken shard in her hands between them.
"What happened?" Natsu whispered, disbelieving.
"I shattered it to save everyone."
All Natsu could do was stare. Lucy's eyes flickered up to his and back down to the broken key. Aquarius' symbol stood out boldly against her pale skin.
"Horologium saved me from whatever captured everyone in the cube. The nine… demons… they were offering a promotion to anyone who took me out. I was overwhelmed. Loke and Virgo were gone, my magic was gone and Aquarius was only just holding them back. She told me how my only hope to save you was to summon the Celestial King."
Lucy felt the tears break free and choked back a sob when Natsu wiped them gently away with the pad of his thumb. She took a shaky breath before continuing.
"She told me that summoning the King was my only option left or you… everyone would have died. The only way to summon him is to sacrifice a Zodiac key where mage and spirit share immeasurable trust. Aquarius told me to break hers. She wouldn't die but I would lose her and never see her again. I had to choose. You'd think it would have been an easy choice to make but I don't think I have ever made a harder one."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Natsu had given up wiping away her tears and merely held her face cupped in his hands. He realized that Lucy had not told anyone what really transpired during her stand off with Tartaros.
"I couldn't," she hiccuped. "You were so upset about Igneel, everyone else was grieving too, then you were just…"
"I was gone," he finished sadly. Lucy nodded into his hands. Natsu pressed his forehead to hers and sighed. "I was selfish to leave before we could really talk but I'm glad you told me now. I'm so sorry you went through this alone."
Lucy shrugged and fiddled with the key remnant again.
Another question popped into Natsu's head. "What does all of this have to do with your magic freak out last night?"
Lucy was not sure how much she should tell him. How can I admit that I have to leave myself once these clues are pieced together? Will he try to stop me?
"Lucy?" Natsu urged. He knew there was more she was not saying.
"I've been seeing things in my dreams, well, in my mind," she started slowly. She noticed the way Natsu was waiting patiently for her to speak but let his simple gestures and looks portray the support he was giving her. She decided he deserved the full truth.
"Crux says that Aquarius' key has been reforged and gifted back to our realm somewhere in the world. I don't know where or when it will show up, but it will. My connection to Aquarius grants me… visions of a sort. Clues that might lead me to her. My magic was responding to the images. They're coming in pieces but once I know where to go, I have to find her before anyone else can."
Silence fell as the sun rose higher to shine into their bedroom window. Light fell onto their hands where Natsu played lightly with Lucy's fingers. Her words hung heavily over them in the quiet.
"Do you have any idea where she'll turn up?"
Lucy shook her head, "I'm pretty sure it's not in Fiore though."
Natsu nodded slowly before breaking into a massive grin, "I guess we're headed out of town then, huh?"
It was Lucy's turn to be confused. "What?"
"You didn't think I'd let you go on a treasure hunt without me, did you? We're a team until the end."
"Natsu…"
"Where you go, I go, Lucy," Natsu promised with a squeeze of his hands and another gentle bump of their foreheads. Standing up, he pulled Lucy to her feet. "Now come on! We have to finish our current mission before we can go on another one!"
Lucy laughed wholeheartedly. How could I ever think he wouldn't believe in me? He really is the best guy a girl could know.
With bright smiles and a warm embrace, they left the room in high spirits and a determination to make the most of their day.
A/N #1: (The apologetic one)
A few weeks ago, I mentioned to a few of my readers that I was going to be moving "across the state". I live in California and "across the state" meant moving from Northern California back to Southern California; a 9 hour drive with an angry cat in the back seat. This also meant that my time was invested in packing up all of my belongings and put it into an expensive moving truck, selling my condo, and trying really hard not to cry over leaving my friends or kill my cat when he got sick all over my car during the drive. This meant that I have been unable to devote my energy to my story for a few weeks. I have been busy.
I do not regret my move or my choice to devote my time to it, but I do miss hearing from you all and I want to get back to my more frequent updates. I am sorry for the unannounced drop-off but I am still here and still invested in telling you this tale. So, I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and we'll see you again soon!
A/N #2: (The general one)
Holy cow the responses I got on that last chapter were amazing! Over 700 views in a single day.
To my guest reviewers: Thank you for your kind words and responses to my previous chapter. Even though I cannot respond to you personally, it means the world to me that you reviewed. -xoxo
06/2017 - A/N: I have updated grammar and small details. -xoxo