As they meandered down the street, slowly but surely making their way towards the city's center, Gray didn't bother asking Lucy about what she had found on the stone embedded in the earth. Lucy was immensely grateful for it. She didn't want to share the message. It was hers. Natsu had written it for her, and no one else needed to know what he'd written there. She chewed on her lip as she walked, fingers winding nervously.

"I don't know what you're over there panicking about, but you can relax," said Gray without looking over, looking odd to Lucy in his modern, fur-lined coat. It was a chillier day and though the half-demon didn't feel the cold one bit, he'd still donned it to keep up appearances. Lucy, however, had drawn her own jacket tight around her to try and block the cold from striking her skin. "Sting and them are cool. We're going to figure Natsu out. And your keys are safe, Lucy."

She grimaced. That had been her most recent panicked moment: the realization that she was meant to protect a ring of keys she no longer held. Luckily, Natsu had gathered them for her - all twelve, Libra and Pisces included - and had protected them up until the day he'd destroyed Crocus. They were secure even now, hidden on his person within the belly of the Sacred Mountain. She was grateful to know they were safe, but she was still uncomfortable without them.

"It's not just that," admitted Lucy, sighing heavily. "And I know, Natsu's going to be fine, and that Sting and Rogue are alright. I've already seen Sting, remember? He was in the hospital when I woke up. It's just...odd. All of it." She made a face, her fingers brushing over her empty hip. "My knife is gone. My whip is gone. My keys are gone. All of the things I used to keep myself safe are gone - and you're over here telling me I don't need them anymore."

"You don't," he muttered. "Seriously. You're with me, and besides that, it's Crocus. The only mythics here are those that like us."

"I know," sighed Lucy. "But it wasn't always mythics that attacked us."

He muttered his agreement and recognition that the fact was true, and then raked a hand through his dark hair, turning a corner. "Even so. It's a different time now. Everything's different."

Lucy bit back a small, bitter laugh. You don't say. She kept it to herself, however, and instead suggested, "I think I'd like to go see Levy soon. She'll have to have something in the Archives that could help us with Natsu. Especially since she's one of the ones who helped seal him away. And Jellal - I bet Jellal would have something."

"He's already on his way," said Gray, grinning. "Erza called while you were gone; she was annoyed because apparently her Keeper up and disappeared on her again. When she asked if we knew anything, I told her an old friend had come to visit."

Lucy stopped walking to stare at him in horror. "You did not," she hissed at him, "pin the blame on me."

Gray shrugged, already fighting back laughter. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Either way, both are coming to visit tonight at the earliest. I wouldn't be surprised if Jellal's there when we get back. And when Erza comes-"

"I will be sending you in first," Lucy told him as she caught sight of a familiar building. It was huge, and made of stone, and Lucy recalled being in awe of it the first time she'd seen it well over a millenia ago." She scanned it intently, lips pressed into a hard line as she listened to the heavy thump of loud music escaping it. She grimaced. It was going to be incredibly loud, and Lucy wasn't sure she was ready for that level of noise.

Luckily, Gray took her down an alleyway and towards the back of the club rather than through the front door. "They have a back entrance they use to get to their private part of the building," Gray explained as he began clambering up a metal staircase. Lucy eyed the iron material with interest, running her fingers along its smooth, cool surface. It rather resembled what little she'd seen of Gajeel's iron. She wondered if he'd made it for the Sabertooth members.

"Good," said Lucy as they climbed high enough to make her a little wary. "Because I wasn't really feeling the desire to hear music that'll deafen me."

Gray hummed his agreement as they reached a door and let himself in. He held it open for Lucy, who ducked through and immediately looked around. There was a hall lined with various doors, much like the Fairy Tail guildhall. Gray commented that they'd all been converted into modernized guest rooms for anyone who wanted or needed to stay, but Lucy got the feeling that no one else lived in the building. It seemed rather lonely, and she felt a pain of longing, wishing she could have gone back to a time in which people were simply together.

"Here," said Gray, stopping at a door that looked a little livelier than the rest. A sign hung on it, and there was a little welcome mat in front of it. It made Lucy smirk a little at the idea of Sting or Rogue putting down such a thing. It would have been Rogue. She was sure of it.

Gray lightly knocked on the door and then rocked back on his heels, shoving his hands into his pockets. He seemed relaxed, far more so than Lucy, who was nearly bouncing in her nervousness. She knew she had no reason to be so freaked out by everything, but it didn't help to stop the anxiety from creeping up her throat as the door was pulled open.

"Gray," greeted Rogue easily, stepping aside to let them in. His gaze slid to Lucy and warmed a fraction. "Hello, Lucy. It's good to see you again."

"Likewise," said Lucy sincerely, her smile forced. It was hard to look at Rogue and his scars without seeing them spilling blood down pale skin, without seeing Natsu bent over him, doing his best to help her stop his injuries from killing him.

Hard to not look at Rogue and think of how the blood had stuck to her skin.

Still, she slipped into the apartment with Gray, sticking close to her friend as she looked around. It was a neat and clean apartment, with rather nice, simple furniture and decorations. As if the pair had done their best to make things look nice without going crazy with spending money. Lucy would give everyone credit; she had no doubts that every mythic like them, who lived in modern society and worked, had a significant amount of money. Yet, no one seemed inclined to go and buy one of the crazy expensive mansions that she'd always dreamed of before going back in time.

"Yukino," Rogue called quietly as he closed the door behind them, and Lucy's heart missed a beat when she caught sight of a flash of silver hair. Lucy recalled the splatter of crimson as that head struck the ground.

Yet, here was Yukino Auguria, whole and untouched before them. Her dark eyes shone with starlight as she smiled broadly at them, smoothing her hands nervously down the soft sweater she wore. It clearly belonged to one of the two dragons she was staying with, for it dwarfed her slim frame. "Hi," she said nervously.

Gray stared at her for a long moment, and then admitted, "I mean, Lucy came back, but I didn't actually think you'd survived." He rubbed the back of his head. "Sting said you were like Jellal now when I called to let him know we were coming by?"

Yukino nodded, head bobbing. "I'm a fallen star now, yes. The celestial spirits gifted me a place among the stars when I died, in exchange for doing my best to protect them from Acnologia when he attacked us." Lucy flinched and Gray noticed. He bumped her shoulder reassuringly and she flashed him a faint, grateful smile. Yukino's eyes darted to Lucy's and held her gaze. "I'd heard about your habit of falling from the sky, so...I told Mavis I'd fall when the time came and catch you. Loke actually helped me reach you. I almost missed."

"Thank you," said Lucy quietly. "For catching me." She rubbed her empty chest thoughtfully, and Rogue took notice. He recognized the action immediately and straightened his spine, growing serious.

"Sting said you'd come when you were ready to hear more about Natsu," Rogue said carefully. "I take it that's why you're here, Lucy?"

"Yes," admitted Lucy. She wouldn't lie about it. She wasn't here to see friends. She wanted to free Natsu. She could chat people up after Natsu was safe and back beside her.

Rogue gave her a gentle smile and indicated for them to follow him. He leaned in and murmured something to Yukino, who nodded and disappeared down a small hallway. When she was gone, he said, "Sting's out checking on the seals. The magic warned us that something was off this morning, so he ran to look while I stayed with Yukino. She's going to let him know what's going on here, and hopefully get an update on what's happening there."

Lucy wondered how Sting had felt about the arrangement, but decided against saying anything. It wasn't her business to get involved with such things. That was on them. Instead, she said, "What happens if the seals just run out or break or whatever? Natsu would be free, right?" She swept her gaze around the living room they entered and frowned at a series of bean bags thrown around. Sting's doing, more than likely, for Rogue scowled at them and took a comfortable looking sofa instead.

"Not entirely," Gray answered as she dropped into a comfortable bean bag on the floor. Lucy had questioned it for only a moment, but found the seat to be quite nice. Gray dragged another over so he could sit beside her. "If one seal breaks, only the magic enforced by that seal is erased. There are dozens. It's not necessarily dangerous for him, or for anyone in the area, but you have to break all the seals to get Natsu out."

"So why are we resetting the seal then?" asked Lucy, glancing at Rogue. "Will the magic come after you if it breaks?"

"Not necessarily." Rogue rested his elbows on his knees, frowning. "Actually, I think we'd be released from our positions if it broke - only, however, if we thought it was truly best for Natsu. That's the catch with our position. We have to believe that what we're doing is what's best for him."

Lucy nervously bit her lip and searched his serious gaze. "And do you think him being freed from whatever spells were put on him is best?"

"I think that it's your decision, not ours, and that you should only wake him if you can promise that it won't harm others in the process," said Rogue simply. His eyes narrowed a fraction. "Can you promise us that, Lucy? Can you promise that in his confusion and rage, Natsu wouldn't accidentally wreak havoc on Crocus again?"

Lucy was quiet for so long that Gray gently nudged her with his elbow. Only when Rogue prompted her softly with her name did she speak, however, several minutes later. "I don't know. I can't promise that, because I don't know what he was like when you sealed him away. I know that he didn't hurt anyone, nor did he want to, but the persona that he becomes when he lets that magic take control…" Lucy took a deep breath. "Mind you, I didn't see what he did after the battle with Acnologia, and I've never seen him let the magic take control as much as it did in that fight. Did he come back alright on his own?" she asked, glancing at Gray.

He took a deep breath and then let it out. "Yeah. He did okay, I guess. He struggled, you could see it. Didn't respond to his name, had this look on his face every few minutes, and you could feel it in the air, honestly. But he came out of it eventually. It might have taken him longer because you weren't there."

"He wasn't recovering when we sealed him away," pointed out Rogue gently. "He was in the thick of it. When he wakes up…"

"He'll still be stuck in that magic, more than likely unwilling to free himself from it," finished Gray with a groan. "That idiot." He rocked back and then let out another big breath. "It doesn't matter what we do, we're not going to find a perfect scenario. If we could contain the zone, maybe turn him away from Crocus just in case…"

"You're speaking," said Lucy, voice soft and irritable, "like he's some kind of mindless creature that needs to be turned away from a city, like in the movies. He's not. Even when he lets that magic take over, he's still there. He doesn't turn into a mindless killing machine. He doesn't turn around and-"

She was cut off by the ring of a phone, and they all blinked, caught off guard. Yukino, smiling sheepishly, came out of the kitchen with the device in her hand. She offered it to Rogue and said, "You showed me what to do, but it's Sting, and I don't want to ruin it by accident."

Lucy couldn't help the amused look that flickered to life on her face and Gray coughed to hide his chuckle, only earning a blush from the silver-haired woman. Rogue only smiled gently and took the phone without hesitation, furrowing his brow at Sting's name plastered over the caller ID. Shrugging, he answered the call, not bothering to get up or leave the room. Yukino leaned on the side of the sofa Rogue was seated in.

Leaving Rogue to his hushed conversation, Lucy looked at Gray for a moment when he murmured her name to catch her attention. "We'll figure it out. Don't worry."

"I'm not. It's not a choice. We have to get Natsu out," said Lucy firmly, "if only because I may be a couple years late, but I'm still the Keeper of the Celestial Spirits."

"Oh," said Yukino suddenly, having been listening quietly to both conversations in what she could catch, for Rogue had frowned and turned away, lowering his voice further. She brightened, dark eyes seeming to shine with starlight. "One second." She vanished into the depths of the apartment, and Lucy exchanged a curious look with Gray. When Yukino came back, she wore a smug look and carried a bundle, wrapped neatly in a towel. She gently passed the bundle to Lucy and when Lucy unfolded the towel, she nearly gave a cry of joy.

"Thank you," Lucy breathed as Gray grinned and took the pair of arm bands from their spot on the towel and waited for Lucy to shrug off her jacket. When she had, he went to work on gently putting the bands in their proper place, attaching first the one that marked her as a Keeper and then the other as a member of Fairy Tail. Her weapons were long lost, but at least she had her arm bands.

Yukino only smiled warmly and then glanced over her shoulder when Rogue suddenly rocked to his feet. "Rogue? What's wrong?" she asked when his brow furrowed into a look of concern.

Rogue lowered his phone, mouth pressed into a hard line as he suddenly explained, "The seals have been a little off recently. One cracked here, another ruined there. We thought it was just erosion, or something like that. But Sting said that when he inspected them a few minutes ago, almost every single one had cracked."

Lucy studied his face closely. "We're trying to figure out how to wake him up anyways though. So there's nothing wrong with letting them crack, right?"

"We're discussing waking Natsu up when we're ready. When we're sure no one will be hurt. There's also the matter of magic." Rogue sighed heavily. "Even sealed away, his magic is active. And it's been building up for a very long time, Lucy. He might be entirely lucid and capable of self control and it wouldn't do him any good at this point. That magic is going to explode the moment the right seals are released."

Lucy admitted silently that such matters were reason enough to be worried about the seals breaking. Hesitantly, winding a lock of golden hair around her finger in quiet thought, she debated the matter for a few seconds before asking, "Did Sting fix them?"

"For now, but it's the second time in a week. We're going to start making daily trips." Rogue winced at the thought. "Or one of us is going to start spending a week out there at a time until we figure out what we want to do." He shook his head, dropping his head. "I don't think we're going to make it a week at this rate though. I think your return set him off and it's pushing the seals to their maximum," said Rogue.

"Jellal's coming by with Erza later," said Gray suddenly. "We'll see what he knows and get back to you. We can make a run to the Archives to see what Levy can find, too, if we need to. But if we're going to wake him up anyways, it might be best to just let the seals go and see if we can redirect the magic, whether he's in his right mind or not."

Lucy hated the way they were talking about this. Her fingers curled into fists. She knew that they didn't intend for it to sound like Natsu was a mindless monster, but it frustrated her beyond belief. Especially when it had been their fault he'd been sealed away in such a state to begin with. Had they all just helped him when he'd asked, none of this would be happening. They could have woken him up no problem.

Lucy took a deep breath and then let it out in a big gust, catching the others' attention. "You know," she said quietly, "I read the message he left. The one by the Eclipse Gate. Do you know why he changed his mind after six months?" She looked between each of them, even Yukino. "Why he suddenly decided he couldn't do it anymore and started begging you all for help? He was scared he would turn into Acnologia. So, he asked for help, and everyone failed him in that regard. You didn't stop him. You didn't change your minds and offer him help before he could start ripping apart Fiore. You let this happen." Lucy lifted her chin, eyes blazing. "So this," she made a wild gesture at the space around them, indicating the situation they were now in, "is on all of you. And maybe me, too, because if I'd not gotten caught by Acnologia, none of this would have happened. So stop panicking, shut up, and think for just a second."

Despite the guilt that seemed to radiate from Gray, who'd averted his gaze from Lucy with a wince, a rueful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Believe me, Lucy. There's not a single one of us that hasn't considered the part we played in what happened."

Lucy believed him. Rogue and Yukino, who looked mildly amused, both murmured their agreement to Gray's words and Lucy took a deep breath before letting it out. She let the anger and frustration go with it. "Right. So, we do need to figure out how to redirect the magic if what you say is right, Rogue. I'll Portal to the Archives, Gray can meet up with Jellal and Erza when they arrive at his place this evening, and you guys can focus on doing what you can to keep the seals going until we know what to do." She glanced among those present. "Sound like a plan?"

Rogue only told her thoughtfully, "Be quick. If the majority of the marks were ruined within a few days, then Natsu may very well be free before the sun sets."


Stuff be happening, and we're going back to the Archives! ;)

Apparently update schedules no longer exist and I just update whenever now? :\ Writer's block is hard. And I still am struggling with ODAS's end. So...yeah. Expect irregular updates until I'm finished I suppose?

Also thank you for the happy well-wishes. They make my day!

Thanks to reviewers (XxCelestialAssassinxX, Bmv0315, Saint Artemis, stranger1999, BeautifulSamurai, Guest #1, yassification, Kaisha00, thelemonroll, valerioux, Guest #2, Jack5635, rao hyuga 18, Meow Orbit, lcr0718, FairyTailxFanGirl, Uchida Akira, AthomeinFairytail, zizi08, itsxoi, Jcat007, Sele de la Luna, LuciRaeRekor, Vyaloria, Summerguest, SistershoOk, guest #3, SheWhoLeavesCrappyReviews, Guest #4, Bookwork129, Lodemai04, Eyriegirl, LayLay lives, and Surfy!) as well as those who favorited and followed!