AN: Very short amount of time before the next arc haha! Sorry about that! Probably should've added more fillers lol. Ready to find out the next story? :') And who it is in the FT world? :D A lot of you actually guessed it even though I didn't give any hints haha! You guy are good at guessing!

QOTD: What are some of your hobbies? Other than writing, I love nail art. :)

Chapter 25

Portals

"So where are we going?" Lucy asked as she followed behind Natsu and Happy. They had been walking in the woods for over an hour before she realized she had no clue where they were headed.

Natsu stopped in his tracks before chuckling and rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I thought you were leading the way."

"What!?" Lucy screeched in irritation. "I was behind you! How would I be leading the way!?"

"I don't know!"

"You're an idiot!"

"And you're a weirdo!"

"Ugh, stop flirting in front of me!" Happy complained.

"WE AREN'T FLIRTING!" the two argued in unison.

"Anyways," Lucy began, "I guess to figure out where we should go we need to read the book."

"Aye!" Happy replied as he dug through his knapsack and retrieved the thick book. The cat flipped through the pages until he landed on their next story. "This one's called Frozen."

"I love that story!" Lucy gushed as she plopped onto the ground, Natsu and Happy following in suit.

"Go ahead and read it, buddy!" Natsu encouraged.

Happy nodded and read aloud, "Once upon a time, there was a princess named Elsa. Elsa had long, white hair and the ability to wield ice."

"Ice? That's lame," Natsu scoffed.

Happy snickered and continued, "As a child, Elsa lived happily with her parents, the King and Queen of Arendelle. But after a monster ravaged their kingdom, Elsa's parents lost their lives fending it off."

"Wow, this is definitely different from my version," Lucy whistled. "Go on!"

"Elsa continued living as princess but was soon adopted by a nice family. She found happiness once again with her adoptive mother and two siblings until one day, the same monster that killed her parents returned and her adoptive mother died in order to seal it away. Soon after that, Elsa and her two siblings grew distant and cold towards one another. They blamed Elsa for their mother's death and eventually left her alone in her castle."

"I feel kinda bad for this girl," Natsu stated.

Happy nodded and continued, "Elsa remained a kind ruler, though she locked herself away in her castle so that nobody could see her. After losing so much, the girl refused to open her heart to anyone so as not to get hurt anymore. The Princess withered away in sadness and isolation, until one day one of her siblings returned and killed her."

"That story sucks!" Natsu shouted angrily. "Those siblings were terrible!"

"They were," Lucy agreed. "That definitely isn't the story I love."

"How does the story go in your world?" Happy asked.

"Well, Elsa only had one sibling, a sister named Anna. Her parents were lost at sea, not killed by a demon. And Elsa's sadness stems from the fact that she can't control her powers. Oh, and Anna doesn't blame her at all. But they are distant because Elsa is scared of hurting people but eventually they make up."

"How?"

"Anna was going to marry some guy she just met and Elsa forbid it, they got into a huge argument, and then Elsa's powers were revealed. She ran away and hid while Anna went on an adventure with a guy named Kristoff to find her and bring her back. But Elsa accidentally froze her heart and then Anna completely froze. But her act of true love, a hug, thawed the ice!"

"That story is definitely nicer," Natsu stated. "This story sounds a lot like Hansel and Gretel though with the whole siblings separating stuff."

"It does," Lucy replied. "But the problem isn't reuniting them, it's fixing their relationship. That's actually harder considering we don't really know anything about them and gaining forgiveness is a hard thing to do."

"But you'll make sure it happens," Natsu replied with a reassuring grin.

Lucy smiled and nodded. "Right! Do you two have any ideas where to go now that you know the story?" The two shook their heads. The blonde fished inside of Happy's knapsack and retrieved her present from Mira. "I guess we'll be using this then."

"Where did you get that?" Happy asked.

"Mira gave it to me in case I ever needed help with anything. How do I use this anyways?"

"Channel your magic into it," Natsu instructed. "Think of who you want to talk to while you do it."

Lucy nodded and closed her eyes, placing her had on the lacrima as she concentrated. Magic stirred inside of her, but she had long since gotten to that feeling, though at first she never thought it would be possible.

"Lucy? Did you need something?" a familiarly sweet voice asked.

The said girl opened her eyes and grinned at Mira's puzzled face. "I did it!"

"Did what?" Mira questioned.

"I called you! I figured out how to work this thing!"

"Oh. Well good job!"

"Who is that?" a familiar, deep voice questioned. Laxus then appeared in the lacrima with hard eyes. "Seriously? You three need help already?"

"Don't be rude, Laxus!" Mira chastised. "What do you need help with, Lucy?"

"I need help figuring out where to go," the blonde answered. She retold the story of Frozen and waited for their answers. Mira was a bawling mess, blubbering about how awful the story was and how sad she would be if her siblings ever killed her. Meanwhile, Laxus chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Natsu asked.

Laxus laughed again and answered, "I know who this Elsa person is."

"You do?" Lucy questioned, hope sprouting within her.

"Yep. And since you saved Mira, I guess I can tell you where you can find them. In Mt. Hakobe, there is a castle."

"You mean like Ivan's?"

"Yeah but not so dark. Find that castle and you'll find Elsa," Laxus answered, laughing as he said the character's name. Once he calmed down, he continued, "It's not too far. It's closer to you than Magnolia is." With that said, Laxus hung up without saying goodbye.

"I know where the mountains are," Natsu replied. "I've never been there before but that's where Happy and I were headed when we met you."

"So you can take us there?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, it'll take a day or two of walking but we'll get there eventually."

With that, the three began their journey once again, which miraculously was in the direction they were already headed. Lucy was glad they didn't have to turn around. They walked again in comfortable silence, save for Lucy's occasional complaints about how sore she was. After another hour's walk, the trio found themselves standing at the top of a hill with no trees surrounding them.

Lucy awed at the sight until her eyes landed on mountains that were a great distance away.

"Let me guess," she began, "those mountains all the way over there are the ones we need to go to."

"Yep," Natsu replied with a smirk. "Think you can make it?"

"I think my legs will turn to jelly and you'll have to carry me there but yeah, we'll make it."

So, the three kept waking until day turned to night and it was time to set up camp. They were still a day's travel away from Mt. Hakobe, but they were definitely getting closer, which was indicated by the thin sheet of snow that covered the ground.

"I should've borrowed a warm jacket from Mira!" Lucy complained, rubbing her arms. The girl could see her own breath, which was fascinating but bad at the same time. It was way too cold, especially with the crop-top and skirt she was wearing.

"Too late now," Natsu replied as he started a fire, to which the blonde scurried next to. "You should've brought warmer clothes from your world."

"I was teleported, I didn't exactly have time to choose my wardrobe!" the girl countered.

"What was that like anyways?" Happy inquired as he sat by Lucy and handed her, her blanket.

Lucy put a finger to her chin in thought and answered, "It was actually a really bad experience if I'm being honest. It started with my body getting hotter and hotter by the second, I thought my blood was literally boiling. Then my head felt heavy, like when you've had too many drinks. My body felt completely drained, which I know now is because I used magic. My head was killing me!"

"What happened next?"

"I remember the pain suddenly stopping before a bright glow came from my keys, which I didn't know were magical at the time. Then the portal just opened underneath me and I fell through."

"Have you opened another portal since?" Natsu questioned.

Lucy shook her head and answered, "Nope. I honestly forgot about it for a while. I just never thought of doing it I guess."

"But what if you could just make a portal back into your world?" Happy asked. "That way you didn't have to finish the stories."

Lucy's eyes widened. "He's right. If I just make a portal back into my world, I can go home and search for my parents. I won't be the savior anymore."

Natsu watched Lucy with hard eyes and crossed arms. He knew that being the savior wasn't something the blonde was particularly happy about, but he hoped that she would at least stay until she finished. Still, whether she stayed or not was her decision and he would stay quiet so as to not selfishly influence her.

Lucy grabbed her keys and stared at them. When the first portal showed up, the girl didn't summon any of her spirits, they just glowed. Perhaps she had to channel her magic differently into her keys to create a portal. Maybe she had to think about what she wanted just like when she had to think of Mira to contact her through the lacrima.

Closing her eyes, Lucy concentrated and channeled her magic into the keys. She made sure to distribute it evenly so as not to accidentally summon a spirit. Then she tried to think about her home. She started broad, thinking about the city of Seattle, but all she could remember about it was the Space Needle, something she wasn't very interested in, in the first place. Narrowing her searches, the girl then tried to think of her apartment, but nothing was really coming to mind.

"Why can't I remember? Have I really been here that long?" Lucy wondered as she bit her bottom lip. "No, it can't be that. I've only been here about a month and a half. I should remember! Unless… Unless I don't remember because there wasn't really anything special to remember."

In Seattle, Lucy did nothing but eat, sleep, and work. Her apartment was never really a home to her, only a place to sleep, and she wasn't fond of Seattle at all. It was dangerous, dirty, and polluted. How could she ever call either of those her home? Even though the girl knew it was true, she couldn't leave it at that. If she did, it meant she would never be able to return.

"I guess I can't teleport home right now," Lucy stated as she opened her eyes, finding Natsu and Happy staring at her with wonder. "Maybe it's just not possible unless I finish the book."

"Maybe," Happy replied. "Well, we're going to start the third story tomorrow so you'll be back home in no time. If that's what you still want."

"Of course it is," the blonde replied, ignoring the part of her that screamed it wasn't. "I want to get back to Earth as soon as possible."

Natsu studied Lucy intently. She was tense and biting her bottom lip rather hard. He didn't need to hear her fluctuating heartbeat to know that she was lying. Whether she knew it or not, Lucy didn't want to go back home. And if she didn't want to, the boy was going to make sure she didn't.

The next morning, Lucy stretched her arms above her head as she yawned, the sun's rays waking her up. Turning her head, the girl found Natsu lying beside her, his face calm and peaceful. A rosy tint appeared on the blonde's cheeks as she noticed their close proximity.

"This is just like that time before we got to Mira's place," Lucy thought. This time, however, her heart was calmer and she didn't feel the urge to move away. Instead, with unconsciously moving fingers, she brushed away pink locks of hair that were curtaining the boy's face. "He's actually pretty cute. And even though the pink hair is rare, he pulls it off well."

"Is there a reason you're touching me, weirdo?" a sudden voice questioned. Natsu peered at Lucy through one eye, which she never noticed had opened. A lazy smirk was resting on his face.

Lucy retracted her hand at the speed of light and jumped away like a cat thrown in water. Her face was a blushing mess as she lied, "I-I wasn't touching you! You're the weird one for thinking I was!"

Natsu cackled as he sat up and faced the flustered blonde. He could see the blush on her face and the embarrassment she felt and it amused him. Nobody ever amused him like Lucy did.

"She's lying," Happy suddenly said with a smirk. "She was touching you."

"HAPPY!" Lucy screeched, running for the exceed, who only cackled and flew away.

"It's okay, Luce! Everyone knows you're weird like that!" Natsu teased.

The blonde faced the boy and planted her hands on her hips while narrowing her eyes. "Then you're a weirdo too!"

"Huh? How? You were the one touching me!"

"Well you touched me before we got to Mira's place!"

Natsu swallowed thickly as his eyes widened and a blush settled over his cheeks. "N-No I didn't!"

"Yes you did!" Lucy argued with a smug look on her face.

"How would you know if you were sleeping!?"

"Because I wasn't sleeping!"

"So you were pretending so that I would touch you?"

"No way! I just didn't want to wake you up!"

"Sure you didn't."

"It's true!"

"Stop flirting already!" Happy exclaimed, though the grin on his face betrayed his words.

"We weren't flirting!" Lucy denied, surprised that Natsu didn't shout it as well. Usually whenever somebody accused them of flirting, both would deny it in unison. "Anyways, let's get going already. Elsa isn't gonna wait forever!"

With that, the trio packed their things and resumed their journey. It took them nearly all day until they finally made it to the mountains. By then, their legs were sore, their feet were aching, and their bodies were drenched in sweat despite the freezing temperature.

Natsu lent Lucy his coat while the three carefully followed the carved path up the icy mountain, making sure not to slip. Even though the mountain was slippery, it wasn't windy unlike the mountain Ivan's castle sat on. At least they didn't have to worry about flying off. They just had to worry about slipping. And then falling to their deaths. But they weren't going to think of that.

"Why does everyone put their freaking castle on a mountain?" Lucy irately asked. "This is not convenient in the slightest!"

"It helps against enemy attacks," Natsu informed her. "After climbing the mountain, they already used a bunch of energy so it's easy to defeat them."

"Okay fine, it's a little convenient. But not for me."

Once they reached the land just beyond the castle, the three collapsed to the snowy ground in pants. Lucy wasn't even able to feel how cold it was because she was too busy trying to regain her breath. That is, until she felt something cold encircling her ankles. Looking down at her body, she found that there were cuffs made of ice.

"Wait a second," Lucy thought, "these are made from magic. Magic ice…"

"Who are you three?" a sudden, deep voice questioned threateningly. "If you're Ivan's pawns, I'll just knock you right off the mountain."

Lucy turned to face the man and saw that he was rather handsome. He had spiky black hair, longer than Natsu's, and had dark blue eyes that were deep with mystery. He wore a white trench coat and a silver necklace of a sword. First there was Natsu, Laxus, and now this boy. Earthland was swarming with attractive men.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try!" Natsu barked with a fanged grin as he broke out of his cuffs.

The man smirked and stretched his arms out in front of him, one on top of the other forming a fist as cold air blew through. He was going to use magic.

"Alright," the dark-haired boy replied. "I'll start with you, Pinky."

"Bring it, Ice Princess!"

Just as the two were going to clash, Lucy stepped in between them. Luckily they stopped just in time before hitting her.

"Wait!" the blonde ordered before facing the man. "Would you happen to be the Prince here?"

The dark-haired boy narrowed his eyes at Lucy in suspicion before answering, "Yeah. Name's Gray Fullbuster. Now what are you three doing up here? Are you working for Ivan?"

"No," Lucy answered. "In fact, we're some of the people that defeated him."

Gray's eyes widened as he asked, "You defeated Ivan?"

"Yes. So let me get this straight, you're the Prince here that uses ice magic, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

Lucy sighed as she turned to face Natsu and Happy. She then said, "Turns out Laxus has a sense of humor after all."

"What do you mean?" Happy asked.

Lucy gestured towards Gray and answered, "Well, meet Elsa."

AN: So Princess Elsa happens to be Gray lol. :') Alright, so this arc is definitely the longest and probably most complicated arc but I actually like it so I hope you guys do too. :') Please review guys. :')

Flire and Ice: Hello! :D I honestly have no idea if I'll go back to updating twice a week for War. I REALLY want to but it's admittedly nice having so much time to write for it and the chapters have gotten longer because of it. I think that it depends on my school schedule. I start new classes next week so if it leaves me more time, then I'll probably get back to posting twice a week. :)

Sblackw: Merida will not be in this story, sorry. :') And that is a good question! There are technically be 10 stories in the storybook, but there are only nine arcs! We've already finished three! :)

Thank you as always to the reviewers: Arethelya, Alexa60765, IndianaCombs, TheDigitalDork, Lena, Guest, Cinder Fall 39, Soul Eater Maka, MuffinMalonez, ThayetJade, Lunahartz, Flire and Ice, Nalulove, CFG, cureheart1023, Still-On-Hiatus, Sblackw.