The sound of Natsu's name being shouted scared her, and Lucy felt a stab of pain on her own cheek when her blade jolted awkwardly and earnestly scraped along Natsu's cheek. He grunted in surprise and Lucy squeaked, dropping her knife to slap her fingers over the spot. "Ow!" she cried in protest.

"Why are you saying 'ow?'" Natsu huffed, not bothered at all as he swiped black from his skin, scowling and glancing around to make sure no one saw. "I'm the one who-"

Someone came thundering down the stairs into the training space, agitated and annoyed. "C'mon, man," snapped Gray as if he'd not been gone for the last few months, and they both gawked at him. "Meeting. Now." He paused, studying Lucy. "Hey, Lucy, long time no see. Sorry, you're not invited to the meeting this time," he added, and then tore off for the stairs again.

Natsu hastily swiped his cheek harder. "Damn," he muttered, annoyed. Lucy grimaced at the idea of him rushing upstairs with black blood on his face. When the touch of guilt brushed his senses, he shot her a pointed look and then swiftly headed for the stairs. "Keep goin', I'll come back down when it's over."

Lucy frowned when he was gone, wondering just what the hell was happening. She fully trusted that Natsu would tell her later, though she couldn't say if it would be while they were in the guildhall or later, on their way out. Either way, he'd tell her. No longer in the mood for practicing, she gathered her whip, looped it at her hip, and headed up the stairs herself.

She emerged in the main portion of the guild hall, pausing to look around with a hint of tired fondness in her gaze. The guildhall looked as it always did, albeit a little more busy and excited. People were relieved. The guildmaster was finally home from his mysterious visit to some unknown location. Lucy wondered if they knew that Makarov was going to retire within the next few years.

"Hello, Lucy," a voice suddenly called, and Lucy smiled warmly in greeting at Wendy, who was seated at a table nearby. Lucy joined her at the table, sliding into the seat across from her. Wendy looked sleepy, and Lucy got the feeling she'd just returned from a job of her own, although Lucy wasn't entirely sure what that job might be. Likely a delivery mission, or a simple escort job.

Almost three months after the ghoul incident, Lucy couldn't blame her. She was still working her way back up to a bigger job, something she and Natsu had been in the process of planning as of late. He'd received a request from Rogue, asking that Natsu and Lucy assist him and Sting in dealing with what he believed to be a cursed area. When Lucy had asked why Natsu was needed, Natsu had simply told her that he knew a lot about a lot of things, and several people tended to think that he could help them when in reality, he normally didn't care enough to actually do so. Lucy had scolded him severely for that comment. He'd been abnormally eager to go to Crocus, though Lucy hadn't questioned it.

Lucy and Wendy chatted for a little bit before Wendy suddenly commented, "I wonder what the meeting's about? Gray looked really worried."

"He did, didn't he?" Lucy mused, thinking back. Gray had looked incredibly concerned about something when he'd come down to fetch Natsu. She rocked back in her chair, smiling gently when Charle narrowed her eyes at Lucy from where she was comfortably resting on the table.

Wendy kicked her legs beneath the table with a soft sigh. "I wish I knew what was going on...everyone in the guild seems to know something I don't."

Lucy smiled sympathetically, feeling bad for the young dragon. "I know how you feel." Wendy threw her a frown, as if accusing her of otherwise, and Lucy fought the urge to wince, simply because Wendy was right. Lucy knew more than most of the other members in the guild. "At least Mira and Laxus are on their way back from the Pergrande Kingdom," said Lucy pointedly. It was something everyone had been excited about; apparently the people the guilds had sent had all agreed to leave Jura to finish up and were heading home. For the first time in a long time, the guild's council would be back home. For the longest time, it had only been Gildarts and Natsu, and the guild was getting antsy about just how much Gildarts had taken over for Makarov. Lucy didn't think the guildmaster could go for much longer without telling his guild about his intentions to retire.

Wendy hummed her agreement before suddenly gasping. "I forgot! Gajeel scryed me yesterday and said to tell you that you've been summoned to the Archives by Levy."

Lucy paused, her mouth dropping open. "I...what?"

She'd not even thought about going back to the Archives. It was her fault, after all, that Levy had been so badly hurt and the Archives so badly damaged. What right did she have to request their help or see if they had any information when she was the reason Acnologia had gone there?

Wendy nodded to show that she meant what she'd said. A glimmer of amusement flickered through her eyes. "Didn't Natsu not tell you? Gajeel said he scryed with him, but couldn't get into contact with you, so he told me."

Lucy blinked, and then scowled, annoyance curling in her gut. She felt Natsu's nosey curiosity brush against her as he tried to puzzle out what the problem was and Lucy's scowl deepened as she said, forcing a smile to her face, "Did he? Well, he's not said a word to me about it. But that would explain why Natsu's made sure there's not even a cup of water sitting around near me…" Why he'd been so insistent on avoiding Gajeel informing her that they needed to go to the Archives was beyond Lucy.

But Lucy certainly wanted to go. She wanted to see how Levy was holding up, wanted to see just how bad things had gone for herself. And it would be a good reason to check in with the Keeper of the Eclipse Gate - to ensure that Yukino was okay, too, that she'd not yet been bothered by the likes of Acnologia. And she had the perfect way of convincing Natsu to go to that part of the world thanks to Rogue.

"Thank you for letting me know, Wendy," Lucy said sincerely. Wendy hummed in response, and Lucy thought it over for a moment before suggesting, "Would you like to come with us? I'm going to see if Gray's interested, too, although I suspect he's not too inclined to go anywhere after his trip."

Wendy blinked, and then lit up. "I would like to see Gajeel," she admitted, kicking a leg. "I miss him."

Lucy supposed that her friend probably wanted to spend some time with someone who'd lost a parent as she had. Natsu was useless in that regard. While he liked Wendy, Lucy still didn't think he'd fully wrapped his head around Igneel's loss, and barely seemed to think about it. Ruffling Wendy's hair, Lucy promised, "I'll make Natsu agree to let you come at least, then." She winked. "I think we'll have to go there the hard way though...Natsu and I are trying to avoid Portals."

She'd heard of what had happened to the area surrounding the Portal she and Gray had used to escape Natsu's sudden violent wrath upon being attacked with chains meant to imprison demons. It was a disaster, with nasty mythics of varying kinds prowling the land around it. How they'd gotten there, no one knew, but surrounding villages had been evacuated, and the area was now inaccessible, with Council workers standing guard at certain places around it.

All in all, Lucy had decided to not ever make a Portal like that again. Not unless her life and Natsu's - or someone else's - depended on it. Which, she supposed, their lives had depended on it at the time, but still.

She and Wendy chatted for maybe an hour or so before Lucy, wondering what the hell was going on with the confusing mix of emotions in her gut, went to go and get something to eat and drink from Lisanna behind the bar. She was in the midst of sipping some water when the door to Makarov's door was unexpectedly thrown open and Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Makarov, and Gildarts all spilled out.

In a flash, a couple of people had gone to greet Makarov, who must not have allowed it before the little meeting. Gildarts kept close to the guildmaster, who even from a distance Lucy thought looked older than he normally did. Gray paused to wave at Lucy, but a grumpy Natsu elbowed past him with Happy curled around his neck. Lucy sighed, mentally preparing herself for the attitude he was going to have as he came over - and was surprised when he simply settled into a seat at the bar beside her before simply dropping his head onto the bar with a loud thud.

Lisanna paused, studying him, and then smiled kindly as she moved over to join them, leaning on the bar. "Everything okay, Natsu?" she asked gently, and Lucy remembered Natsu admitting that Lisanna had always been one of very few guild members who he was comfortable hanging around so long as she didn't pry too much.

Lucy sank back to test the extent of what her partner was feeling and was somewhat startled to find that he wasn't angry so much as disgusted and miserable. "Natsu?" she murmured, touching his back as Happy sprang lightly onto the bar and butted his head against Natsu's.

"Gray told me," he muttered without lifting his head, not seeming to care that Lisanna was there, "that while they were in the Empire, they saw a celebration. They celebrate Zeref's birthday there, even eight hundred years later, and there were even some who would gather in temples in the evening to pray not just for the enthronement of Zeref's missing brother, but for END's return. I guess there's some kind of hope that if his brother shows up to claim Brandish's throne, then he'll re-start the Demonic Wars and return the Empire to its former glory."

Lisanna looked a little troubled, confused by why such a thing would worry Natsu so much, but Lucy felt a trickle of ice go through her. She kneaded the muscles on his spine lightly, hoping to make him feel better, but knew it wouldn't do much. She knew it wasn't just the fact that there were people who worshipped END and Zeref even centuries after the Wars had ended.

Gray knew.

Whether he knew that Natsu was both, Lucy wasn't sure, but he sure as hell knew that Natsu was either Zeref's brother or the Demon King.

She'd go and speak with him later, Lucy decided, and before Natsu confronted him, because she knew that confrontation would end badly. Natsu was defensive about his position as a demon, let alone who exactly he'd been in the Demonic Wars. And Lucy knew precisely who'd told Gray as such, meaning that Makarov had turned around and betrayed Natsu again. Natsu had entrusted that secret to Makarov, a secret that meant life and death to the Demon King who hid among the rest of the world.

Lisanna shifted her weight a little and said, "The Empire's always been a little off. Bunch of war-hungry morons, if you ask me."

Lucy wasn't sure if she agreed with that entirely. In her time, the Empire was fairly peaceful and even tended to use its armies to stop any violence that might be taking place in the world. Lucy had even considered moving there once, simply to investigate its rich history.

Removing her hand from Natsu's spine and smirking when he grumbled in disapproval - a sound that had Lisanna lifting her eyebrows in surprise - Lucy said, "I was going to see if Gray wanted to go to that job Rogue wants you for, and I invited Wendy, too, if that's okay."

Natsu didn't move, merely rumbled, "S'fine. Wendy can come. And Gray."

Lucy pressed her lips together, worried. He was never that pleasant about people going with them. But, figuring she'd talk to him about his docile agreement later, Lucy clambered to her feet and shot a look at Lisanna. Lisanna winked; she'd keep an eye on the unpredictable mythic. Lucy smiled faintly in gratitude, and then went to track down Gray and Juvia, where they were speaking with one another in hushed voices.

Gray, noticing she was coming, took one look at her expression and excused himself from Juvia's company. Juvia waved in greeting, but simply yawned and got up, heading for the front doors of the guildhall. When Lucy frowned upon reaching Gray, Gray explained, "She's just tired. She worked hard to speed up the ships we took to ensure we spent less time away then necessary."

Lucy nodded slowly and then said, taking a seat beside him, "I wanted to ask if you were up for a job request? Rogue wants Natsu to come and take a look at some cursed area. I know you just got back, and I've invited Wendy, too, but…with how things have gone every time we've left in the past few months…"

"You want backup?" said Gray with a hint of a smirk, amused.

"Yes," admitted Lucy. She didn't want to be put in a spot similar to the one she'd been in with the ghouls. She still had nightmares about beheading the ghoul, no matter how much Natsu insisted it had been necessary and she had no reason to feel so guilty. It had been self-defense, after all. "Besides," she added as an afterthought, "you're my good friend, and without you, we would have been really screwed in a few situations, so…"

"Alright, alright, I'll come. Give me a few days to rest up and we can go. Are we Portaling or are we traveling by mount?" Gray rocked back in his seat with a jaw-cracking yawn.

"I think we're going to have to go the hard way," reported Lucy. "And we're helping with a cursed area, and I don't know where it is. I'd also like to visit with Yukino, and I guess Natsu and I were summoned to the Archives by Levy, though he didn't tell me as much."

Gray snorted loudly. "He's probably just avoiding Gajeel. With the Acnologia stuff, he probably doesn't want to hear Gajeel's rants and accusations. Levy's likely made him cut it out by now, but…" Gray shrugged. "Wendy and I'll have to stay out when you do that stuff. We'll probably go hang out with Sabertooth while you do that, see if they need anything small done around the city."

"Thank you," Lucy said sincerely, and then blinked when Gray cracked a playful grin and reached out to gently ruffle her hair.

"It's about time you started leaning more on the guild and not just Natsu," he told her. "You've asked for help before, but you never really considered yourself a part of the family. We were just here to make sure the future didn't go to hell." Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but Gray shook his head, cutting her off. "Hey, tell Natsu I gotta talk with him later, would you?" He grimaced. "And you, I guess. I could talk with both of you. I've got a few questions."

Lucy nodded, pressing her lips together. "Sure. Stop by my place this evening. Natsu's normally over anyways." She scowled at the mere thought. "I need to get some food for dinner tonight. He eats a week's worth in one go."

Gray merely laughed.


Lucy couldn't say she enjoyed the intensity of the gaze that rested upon her as she flicked through some paperwork that Lisanna had passed onto her, requesting that Lucy give it a thorough check and then pass it on to Levy when they saw the Keeper. How everyone knew they were going there already, Lucy wasn't sure.

Natsu was enjoying himself, munching on something he'd fished out of her kitchen. He was comfortably sprawled on her sofa, head propped on a fist, with Happy tucked against his belly. He'd been watching her for some time, and it was when he suddenly puffed smoke that Lucy put her paper aside and asked, "Can I help you?"

He puffed more smoke. "No."

"Then why the hell are you staring at me?" she demanded, twisting to face him with a frown. "It's distracting."

He smirked at her with a wide, mischievous grin, full of sharp teeth and a clear desire to do just that. "Good."

She groaned in exasperation and then blinked when there was a knock on the door. Gray. "Be nice to Gray," she warned as she clambered to her feet to let the half-demon in. She'd not missed the mischievous grin hat had crossed her partner's face.

When she opened the door, it was to find Gray squinting slightly. "Did you just tell him to be nice to me?"

"Would you rather me not?" Lucy teased lightly as she let him in, kicking the door shut behind him. "Because I could take it back-"

"Nah, that's fine." She grinned at the hasty way he said that. Lucy led him into the apartment and returned to her spot, dropping gracefully to the floor and gesturing for Gray to sit where he wanted. He took the matching chair, sinking into the plush material with a comfortable sigh. "So, what is it you wanted to talk about, Gray?"

"Makarov didn't want me to say anything, but I decided it was going to be too hard to keep it under wraps and that I didn't want to be keeping any secrets about stuff like this," said Gray, suddenly serious, "so I'd rather you guys not let him know I know."

Natsu rocked upright with a grunt, narrowing his eyes. "And what is it," he said in a cold tone, "that you're not supposed to tell us?"

"That you're some long lost prince for one," said Gray, and Natsu bared his teeth, immediately bristling. Lucy flinched with which the force of that black, nasty feeling of betrayal shot through her. Gray faltered, and Lucy thought he was almost sympathetic when he rasped, "Are you seriously the old emperor's brother?"

Natsu's eyes burned, smoldering with rage. Lucy fought the urge to reach out and touch him, realizing he'd likely not care for such a thing at the moment. Finally, he gritted out, "I might have come from the same father as Zeref, but no way in hell are we brothers after what he did."

Lucy could tell that Gray desperately wanted to ask something - she got the feeling it had to do with how Natsu could possibly be a fully-fledged demon. Gray was missing only one piece of the puzzle, Lucy thought wryly. One piece, and he'd be fully on board with the current situation - even more so than Natsu was, regarding the future.

A cold grin suddenly curved over Natsu's face and the growl that thundered in his throat was more demonic than draconic as he sank back into his comfortable position. Lucy was somewhat alarmed when he began to play with some of her hair, as if using it to distract himself. Happy, having not budged an inch, watched with a tensed body, watching and waiting to see if he was needed.

"Maybe it's a good thing Makarov's retiring," Natsu mused, and Lucy felt a chill run up her spine at the way he said it, as if he would have enforced that Makarov retired somehow if he'd not already been planning to. "I'm tired of all the lies and not-secrets. Lucy's the only one who doesn't lie. She would be a better guildmaster than anyone else." It was a rather childish sentiment, but he said it so fiercely, so sharply, that neither Gray nor Lucy tried to object.

She felt that deep, unending well of guilt starting to swell within her. Natsu's curious concern pried at it, and she forced it back down. "Natsu…" she mumbled, unsure of what to say except what she so badly wanted to not say.

Natsu merely tugged playfully on her hair and changed the topic, launching into a list of things they needed to do before they left to head for Crocus.

All as Gray's gaze bored into Lucy's, pointed and sharp.

You waited too long. Tell him now, and you'll be the one who unleashes him on Crocus.


So glad the last chapter got out to everyone eventually! Sorry about that, guys, I believe the site glitched. Someone messaged me and mentioned that other authors had dealt with it, so!

Heading towards some more stuff! I promise the secret reveal is coming shortly! ;) And it's gonna be fun~

Thanks to reviewers (helloimsandy, takeagamble27, theHumbleGM, Sele de la Luna, itsxoi, 52dreamer52, valerioux, stranger1999, Surfy, Uchida Akira, madaraswife, halobeast-117, AthomeinFairytail, rao hyuga 18, Lissuin, Bookwork129, Lovetoreadff, and PersephoneQOTU!) as well as those who favorited and followed!