Making a Portal might have been the hardest thing Lucy had ever done.
Three hours of work had her finally opening one large enough for them to get Salutem through, and Natsu kept a very close eye on her to make sure she didn't wonder off and get stuck between Portals again as they rushed through before it closed on them. He was rather impressed, if he was being perfectly honest. He'd really not expected her to actually make one work their first time through.
She was a bit off regarding their destination. A few miles, but not too badly. A few months of work, and Lucy would be as capable as Sabertooth's Rufus at launching people throughout the country through them.
"I'm going to pass out," she slurred when they'd stumbled through the other side. The Portal snapped shut so violently behind them that Natsu felt a bit of a shock wave. Salutem jumped, skittering aside, and Happy meowed anxiously from his basket. Lucy tripped and only a quick action on Natsu's part kept her from falling on her face. "Can we stay here for…" She yawned. "For the night?"
"Yeah," he agreed immediately, his own body slowing and accustoming itself to her exhaustion. She ached all over, too. He lightly took a hold of her elbow and clicked his tongue for Salutem to follow on his own accord. The stag did so willingly as Natsu led them forward a few steps. "We can't stay right here though. We need to get a few more miles out of the way. Portals can attract some nasty things."
"Okay." She blinked sleepily at him, and he found himself smiling slightly at the sheer amount of trust she had in him. She was likely going to fall asleep in the saddle and trusted him enough to get them somewhere safe.
Sure enough, by the time he'd heaved both of them into the saddle, Lucy was already out, sleeping soundly despite the odd position she was in. He ensured she wasn't going to fall off of Salutem before steering Salutem away from the area they'd been in for far too long already.
It was one thing to Portal into populated areas, like Magnolia, or those that were really well-defended, like Jellal and Erza's fortress.
Here…there were things in these woods, like the wendigo that he really hoped Rogue had dealt with, that would come looking. They were always attracted by such magic, fascinated by that which they couldn't control or manipulate. To top it off…the majority of those mythics had learned long ago what came with the magic: meals, and delicious ones at that. Some even hunted specifically for Portals, liking the fight the meals who created them gave.
Natsu nudged Salutem forward and he took off at a brisk bounding trot, ears pricked and head high as he kept an eye out for anything dangerous. It was part of the reason Natsu liked taking the stag – why everyone liked taking him. He helped ensure the safety of whoever was with him.
They wouldn't go far, he decided, glancing at the sky only briefly. Lucy couldn't rest properly like this, and she'd need to if they were really going to the ruins of Mercurius Castle in addition to dealing with the Keepers of the Archives and Eclipse Gate. She'd be busy, and he didn't like the idea of her hurting herself trying to keep up with everything.
Natsu made a face as he sat back in the saddle.
He'd turned into a sap.
"I'm going to guess," Lucy said the next morning when she'd recovered sufficiently from expending so much energy on crafting a Portal, "that it's going to be like my spirits and I'm going to need to build up the strength to do that without passing out through practice?"
"Yep," said Natsu, eyeing the shadows beneath her eyes and the trembling of her hand as she put a piece of bread in her mouth. They had three days before it was recommended they be at Mercurius Castle. He'd see if they could stay with Yukino and whoever was with her for that time, to allow her to better recover. If he was guessing right – and he was certain he was – they'd have another test to complete shortly, and she needed to be fully rested.
Outside of some self-defense and practicing with her celestial spirits in the evening, of course.
"But," continued the demon as he rocked back a little, shoving his own bread in his mouth and eyeing the slowly lightening sky, "it'll be harder 'cause you can't just pop up a Portal whenever you want to practice. It takes people years to figure it out."
"Great," sighed Lucy with a roll of her eyes. "Fantastic."
He grinned. She was rather cranky today, and he couldn't wait to see if she popped an attitude with Sting if he was there. His smile faltered a little as he remembered the last time they'd visited. Hopefully, they wouldn't get a visit from the Dullahan.
Rather than responding to her sarcasm, he reached out with a foot and pushed her with it while simultaneously giving Happy some of the bacon he'd fried for them. Happy purred loudly in gratitude as Lucy scowled and glared at him for the action. "Shut up and eat your breakfast," he told her, ignoring the way she puffed up in rage. "I wanna get there by noon."
Lucy was admittedly excited to see Yukino as she dropped down from Salutem's back. And she was relieved to see that Makarov had gotten through to the dragons and gotten them permission to be there, because Yukino and Rogue were standing side by side near the entrance of her cottage. Yukino was waving with a smile on her face; Rogue merely looked amused.
"Hi, Lucy!" said Yukino when they'd made their way over, leaving Salutem to graze where he wanted. Happy bounded ahead to greet Frosch when he appeared, touching noses with the green-furred feline. Yukino stepped forward to deliver an equally as warm greeting, wrapping Lucy in a tight hug. "Long time, no see."
"Likewise," laughed Lucy, hugging her back tightly. She distantly heard Natsu mutter a swift greeting to Rogue, who chuckled and murmured something back. "Thanks for letting us come," she added to the Keeper and Guardian. "We won't be here for long. Just a few days."
"You're welcome to stay as long as you want," declared Yukino before Rogue could get an answer out. "Besides, we heard what happened. We were on high alert for a while, but Makarov said that it was safe now, so Sting's finally gone back to check in with the guild and see what he needs to do there at the guildhall."
"It's safe," rumbled Natsu. He folded his arms, thoughtfully looking over his shoulder in the direction of the Eclipse Gate. "For now. Grimoire Heart's been dealt with and shouldn't bother you guys, but we've got bigger problems coming."
"If you're speaking of Acnologia," said Rogue quietly, his ruby-colored eyes narrowing with wary concern, "then it's unlikely the peace will last long. Two sightings within two decades after centuries of nothing on his behalf…it means nothing but trouble."
Natsu paused, a little surprised. "Two sightings? When was the other?"
Rogue said nothing, instead studying Natsu's white scaled scarf with interest before turning to look at Yukino when she demanded, "How many keys have you gathered? Libra and Pisces were very excited – they said that they truly believe there's a chance a new Keeper of Celestial Spirits will be announced. Which, by the way, I didn't expect to hear. I shouldn't be so surprised, I suppose, after the exams Pisces and Libra gve you…they never asked me to do any tests." She frowned. "The last Keeper was Queen Heartfilia. I didn't think there would really be another after what happened to her."
Lucy unhooked the keys from their place at her belt and showed them to Yukino, a smile bright on her face. Natsu forgot almost immediately about what Rogue had been saying, sudden confusion warmly soothed away in favor of focusing on her, and Lucy flashed him a look that told him she'd noticed his attention and appreciated it. "I have a few more exams to pass before we can go find Leo, but it's going well. No Spirit has denied us their support. Even if we weren't to receive the support of the last four regular celestial spirits, we'd still be Keeper and Guardian by their rules."
That had nothing to do, of course, with the memories Natsu intended to acquire from Leo, but still.
"Well done," praised Yukino, patting her arm. "It's hard to earn a celestial spirit's trust and to acquire so many contracts. I don't think most Keepers even had that many contracts with the spirits. From what I've heard, Queen Heartfilia was only able to acquire Leo's contract."
Lucy was caught unprepared. "What?" she demanded, looking over her shoulder at Natsu for confirmation. He shrugged, unsure, and Rogue took it upon himself to offer his Marked One his support on the statement.
"It's true," Rogue confirmed, his gaze flicking between the pair with interest. "Layla only ever acquired Leo's contract. It's part of the reason the celestial spirits dislike us so much, I believe, and why Leo's taken to being so…secretive." Lucy and Natsu stared at him, confused, and he said simply, "I never met Igneel's Marked One, but I heard the stories. I had a conversation with Libra once, too."
"When did you do that?" Yukino looked as puzzled as the rest of them.
Ignoring the question, Rogue tacked on, "Libra mentioned that Leo decided to become more selective regarding anyone who might even think about holding his key, and even then, declared that there would be no other Keeper."
"I don't think the spirits like us talking about this," said Lucy suddenly, wincing at the searing heat seeming to gather in the golden keys within her fingers. Natsu hissed at the sting in his fingers and shook them out as Lucy hastily tucked them into her pocket. "Let's not talk about it anymore." She really didn't want to consider discussing something Natsu didn't remember when it made him somewhat unhappy – nor did she want to discuss a mother she couldn't remember. "In any case, we're going to Mercurius Castle on the seventh. Is there anything we should be aware of?"
"Yes," said Rogue immediately as Yukino opened her mouth, "and it's that you really shouldn't go."
"Why not?" said Natsu. His onyx eyes narrowed, sharp with interest. "Why shouldn't we go, Rogue?"
Yukino joined in, too, looking somewhat annoyed with Rogue. "Yes, Rogue," she said rather sharply, "why shouldn't they go? Outside of that being a bad day to visit a place that's generally avoided during that time?"
Rogue shifted uneasily, suddenly not too happy to have spoken, and Natsu felt a flicker of satisfaction. Rogue was generally fairly quiet and tended to keep to the shadows, just as his father did. Natsu had never been a fan of that habit – particularly when Skiadrum had taken it upon himself to eavesdrop on just about everything he could get to, including conversations that shouldn't have included him. He liked that Rogue was feeling uncomfortable.
Finally, Rogue sighed, pushing his hands into his pockets and looking in the direction of Old Crocus, "It's bad luck to visit a location that had such tragedies take place in its walls on the day those tragedies happened. You might agitate any spirits that linger, and the people of Crocus do not need a ghost appearing in those ruins. Because the second one ghost shows up, there will be more, and it will turn the entire city into a breeding ground for ghosts, shadow people, and everything else that feeds on negativity."
Lucy's lips parted at the idea, and she looked to Natsu instinctively for more information, silently asking if that was true. He clenched his jaw in thought.
Technically, he was right. Technically. What some humans might have called superstition, many mythics – particularly guilds and anyone who worked to keep those who couldn't defend themselves safe – knew to be true. Entering a "cursed" area, especially one like Mercurius Castle, could potentially trigger a very nasty situation that would take countless centuries to clean up if a clean up was even possible.
But…
"Makarov said," Natsu said slowly, "we should go, didn't he, Luce?"
"Yes," she confirmed, uncertain. "He did. He mentioned it might be a good idea."
Rogue shifted his weight as he considered that, looking at Yukino. She looked back at him, trusting his judgement on the matter as a Guardian and her friend. This was, after all, Natsu reminded himself upon looking at Rogue again, Rogue and Sting's territory. He needed to respect their decisions and requests within their territory. He wasn't a dragon, but he had played the part long enough to know that not doing so would result in trouble from every possible direction someone could think of.
"In any case," declared Yukino, clapping her hands together to capture their attention. Her silver hair glowed brightly in the sunlight, her white clothes near blinding when they reflected it. "We've still got a few days to consider the matter. Until then…Lucy," she turned to the blonde, suddenly smiling at her with a shockingly wicked look, "are you interested in a sparring match between spirits this evening after supper?"
Lucy faltered, not sure if such an idea was a good one. "You don't think they'd mind? It'd be good practice, I suppose, though I'll have to rest a bit more before we do it," she added, glancing at Natsu for guidance on the matter. "I'm still really not that good at working alongside someone when I have my whip and knife…"
Natsu oh-so-eloquently told her with a smug smirk, "You won't be considered good until you can pin me for a full minute, Lucy."
"Mm," she fired back, "I guess that means Happy's better than you. He sleeps on your chest all night."
Natsu spluttered, and Yukino giggled at the offended look on his face. Despite normally not being one to enjoy sparring sessions, Yukino – entirely curious on what would happen if they did so – suggested, "You could join in, too, Natsu. And Rogue. We could make it a three versus three. It'd be exceptionally good for all of us. It's been some time since I've sparred, and I could use the practice."
It was Rogue's turn to look wary. "This is a very, very bad idea, Yukino."
"Scared?" mocked Natsu, excited now and completely forgetting the fact that Lucy had proclaimed his familiar stronger than him. "I'll even use Happy, so I can't burn you too bad."
Rogue looked Natsu in the eye and said bluntly, "You and I are fully aware that no one present could surpass your power if it came down to a true match. I've seen you spar with Sting enough to know that you let him get the best of you on a good day."
Lucy arched a brow, amused. "You feel bad enough for Sting that you let him win? Then the last time we were here was a fluke on his part?"
Natsu huffed, smoke curling around his face. "If I win every time, they stop fighting me and I get bored. I have to make 'em come back somehow. And I don't normally let him win. It'd been a while."
"…This is information," Yukino said quite gravely, though her dark eyes twinkled with amusement, "that we will never allow to reach Sting's ears."
"I believe that is a good idea," said Rogue with a confident nod. He turned to Yukino. "For now, let's go inside and hear what's happened in the last few months. I've gathered there is a story to be heard regarding Grimoire Heart, and I'd rather like to hear it."
Lucy grimaced lightly and Natsu sighed.
They weren't entirely sure they'd like to repeat it.
A final (shorter than normal) chill chapter before some things pick up next chapter. ;) And between this chapter and the next will mark a year of ODAS! I'm so excited.
Thanks to reviewers (stranger1999, nationalcarmen, nkukurichan, Lodemai04, Guest #1, YoursTruly, aquarius592, lcr0718, Rachel Maddison, xHallowedFangirlx, LePengwen, GoldenPadfoot148, ToukaKanekiUlle, Sydneste, whatamessofwords, Guest #2, and Lissuin!) as well as those who favorited and followed!