. Gurenge .


"This road is

Overgrown with deadly thorns

Like an endless night of violent storms,

But for your sake, through all the

Twists and turns,

I'll try to be brave.

They're rooted deep in my heart.

That's where they'll remain.

I'll let them grow wild

In my veins."

~ "Gurenge" by LiSA (version by AmaLee)


Lucy had an odd taste in her mouth. It had been there for a few days now, actually, tasting of copper or steel. She'd tasted it ever since Natsu had shown her the scarf he now wore, since she'd gone to help him go through Igneel's things, sorting out what he wanted to keep, what could be donated, and what could be thrown out. She had no idea what it was, or why it was there, but it apparently was there to stay. She'd even tasted it in her dreams.

Smacking her lips and trying to get rid of it despite knowing it wouldn't work, Lucy let her gaze slide around the museum. She wore a lazy look as she furrowed her brow, taking in various displays. It caught on a few in particular, Deciding that Levy was likely going to be a few minutes late to their little lunch date. Lucy casually made her way past a few displays to approach one in particular.

It was a series of ancient tomes. They were one of the oldest things in the museum, and Levy's most beloved items. She leaned close to the glass, carefully inspecting them. Her brow furrowed at the unfamiliar writing, the symbols that had been inscribed onto the pages that were open for viewing. A replica showed the cover beside the original. She cocked her head a fraction when she noted a few tiny scribbles in a more recent language along the margins of the book's pages. As if someone in more recent times had been working with the book, translating and making notes.

Rubbing her somewhat aching head and clicking her tongue to try and get rid of that odd taste, Lucy turned and made her way over to her own favorite display. The beautiful golden and silver keys were exactly where they always were, gleaming a brilliant gold and silver underneath the overhead lights. Lucy leaned in close, careful not to touch the glass. An ache radiated in her gut that she couldn't explain.

She wanted to touch the keys.

She was caught off guard by the urgency of the desire. She'd always longed to cradle those keys in her fingers, but quite suddenly she felt as if she'd die if she didn't touch them. So, she clasped her hands behind her back and stepped back a little, frowning. Her eyes drifted between each key, studying them longingly. Each symbol atop them gleamed beautifully.

"You seem rather enamored with those keys," said a voice she didn't recognize. Something about the voice rang oddly in Lucy's head, like the bell had in her bakery. Curiously, she looked over her shoulder and found a strange man she'd never seen standing nearby. He wasn't looking at her. His own eyes were locked on the ragged, ruined scarf that Natsu always seemed to latch onto when he came through the museum.

"Um," murmured Lucy uncertainly, studying the stranger carefully. "I suppose I am."

He was taller than she, though not by much. She supposed some might have been interested in his looks, but she found him rather boring compared to Natsu. His hair was black, his eyes red and gleaming with curious interest. He unnerved her. She wasn't at all excited when he came over to join her in looking at the keys. She returned her own attention quickly to the beautiful metallic objects residing within the glass casing. "I don't know why," she told him. "They're just...special to me."

"Celestial spirit keys," commented the man without a glance at the plaque declaring what they were. A historian like Levy, or something close then. "They were meant to summon spirits from another world to the wielder, so that they could fight by the side of the one who wielded the key they were tied to."

Sincerely, Lucy said, "I've always thought it less violent than that. More like friends who were willing to defend the person holding the keys. Not that any of it is true.; history is history, but the stories about the celestial spirits are all fiction." She lifted her chin proudly when he arched a brow at her, surprised.

"Stories come from history though," he said. "And are always told by those who survive. For example, much of these items," he gestured to the museum's collection in general, shrugging, "survived the destruction of a dragon of chaos. According to the stories that come from those who lived at the time, mind you. Diaries, notes, the likes."

"Ah, but dragons are fairy tales." Lucy was a little uncomfortable with how insistent the man was being about the matter. It didn't help that a headache had begun forming in her temple, warning her against whatever the man was saying. She glanced at her watch, wishing Levy would get a move on. Why did she have to be late at a time like this? "Fairy tales don't exist."'

"I'm sure the guild that shares the title would disagree," he said, "as they were always questioning reality, whether it be about their survival or stories. But then, Fairy Tail was always a fascinating guild."

Fairy Tail. The two words, the guild name, sent agony shooting through her skull, and it took everything in Lucy's body to not collapse to the floor and scream at the force of it. She wanted to scream and cry for some reason, plead for the return of something that hadn't been lost.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Lucy fought back a relieved groan. Levy was here. She threw the man an unhappy tight-lipped smile. "Excuse me, sir, but the person I'm meeting with is here. Enjoy your visit to the museum." She inclined her head in farewell and turned to leave.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Lucy," he mused without looking at her. She blinked at him, unprepared. When had she told him her name? His gaze slid to hers, shockingly cold and calculating. "I hope to see you again."

"I'm sorry," whispered Lucy, faltering. She wanted to go to Levy and hopefully rid herself of a migraine. "I'm sorry, I must have missed your name."

He smiled. It was odd - frightening even. She had no idea what to think about the man. "Zeref," was his simple answer. And then he was gone, ducking around the case that held the keys and heading for the exit. Lucy watched him go, troubled. She didn't know what to think of him...only that she really didn't like him.

Shaking her head, Lucy turned her attention onto Levy, who was turning her head this way and that in confusion. "Here, Levy!" she called, hurrying over. Levy's face turned towards her immediately, and Lucy saw her smile in relief. "Sorry, I was looking at the keys again."

"You always look at those keys," Levy teased. "Nothing's changed."

Lucy merely hummed. "I suppose not."

Yet…

Never before had the urge to hold them hurt.


As Lucy hoisted the box into a better position in her arms, she heard Natsu shout down from the attic, "That's the last one!"

"Good," she called back, flashing a grin at Wendy, who was holding a box, too. She'd come to help when she'd heard what Natsu was doing, determined to do what she could to help her cousin. "My arms are turning to noodles. I could barely move them yesterday, and Yukino sent me home from my own bakery."

A relieved smile tugged at her lips when she heard Natsu laugh. It was a real laugh, ringing loudly in her ears and warming her soul. She'd missed that laugh in the last few months. He'd really come back around since finding that odd scarf.

Something dinged in her head, and Lucy paused, considering. It was interesting, she couldn't help but think, that Natsu found some old ragged scarf in a museum so interesting - and then proceeded to find a brand new, carefully made scarf of weird material that had been given to him by his now dead father. She hastily shook those thoughts off, determined. Merely a coincidence, she told herself.

There was a thud as Natsu lowered himself from the attic, his onyx eyes thoughtful as he gathered a third box. "This is all stuff we're gonna toss in the trash, so we'll just take it to the garage."

"Sounds good." Lucy smiled at him, and then beamed when he smiled back. "I ought to have you help me sort through my things some time. You're pretty good at decluttering, you know that?"

Natsu snorted. "That's only 'cause a lot of it was trash."

"And you're sure you don't want to get rid of those boxes over there? Or donate them?" She pointed to a few boxes he'd set aside from the rest. He wasn't keeping them either. Lucy hadn't opened them or dug through any of their contents, but Natsu was very particular about them. He intended to give them to someone, he'd told her, but had refused to tell her who.

"Yeah." Natsu nodded confidently, leading the way through the house to the garage. "That's gotta go to the person I'm giving it to. It's important."

Lucy shrugged. "Whatever you want," she told him seriously. If he wanted to give them to someone, she'd help him give them to someone. She wished he'd be more forthcoming about who the person he was giving them to was, but she couldn't complain. At least she was here helping at all. "I'll take these outside."

They worked like this for a while, taking boxes out to the trash at Natsu's direction. By the time they'd finished with the trash, Lucy was admittedly tired. Her head hurt again, and that weird taste was stronger than ever in her mouth as she scooped up one of the boxes Natsu was giving away. "Alright, where are we taking these?" she asked him as he gathered one up himself.

"We're just gonna leave 'em in the foyer," Natsu said. "Gajeel's gonna take them for me."

"He is?" Wendy looked impressed. Lucy couldn't help but crack a smile at the awe in her eyes. She was earnestly surprised that Gajeel was doing anything for anyone besides Levy. Lucy trailed after them into the foyer, carrying her box with care.

"Oof!" she suddenly grunted, foot catching on something. She screeched as she hit the ground hard, her body aching with the impact. "Ow," she complained as Wendy and Natsu stared at her with wide eyes. She could already see Natsu cracking a wide smile as he fought back laughter. At least he'd waited until he could tell she was okay.

"Are you okay?" asked Wendy gently as she knelt to begin picking up things that had spilled from the box.

Lucy laughed, flustered. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, Natsu. I hope I didn't break anything." She shoved herself upright and paused when she realized what she was putting in the box. "Are these...Natsu, are these all receipts?"

"Most of them." He smiled sheepishly. "Turns out my dad was selling some stuff to Levy's museum, so…"

She squinted at her. "So...these are all going to Levy?"

Natsu rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "Yeah. We were gonna sort through them and figure out how much he took there. I didn't know he did it, so...I guess I thought she could help me figure it out."

Lucy studied him with a small frown, then shrugged and went to work on shoving them into the box. "Okay." She'd accept it and not question his thought processes too much. Why he'd been so reluctant to tell her it was Levy getting the boxes was beyond her. "That does remind me though," she said as she let Wendy help her to her feet. She threw the girl a grateful look and grabbed the box again. "I met someone really weird in the museum when I went to meet Wendy the other day."

"Who was it?" Natsu dropped his box, shoving it against the wall in the foyer. Lucy and Wendy copied him. They went to go grab the rest of them.

"I've never seen him before, and I haven't seen him since," Lucy said, grabbing the next box. "But he knew a lot about the items in the museum. It seemed like he might have even known more than Lucy. That's almost impossible, mind you, Levy knows way too much about that kind of stuff." She grinned, teasing her friend even though Levy wasn't there. Natsu snorted aloud. "Anyways, he told me his name was Zeref."

The loud crash as Natsu's box struck the floor made her jump a foot in the air. "What?" he breathed, eyes wide with fear when she looked over her shoulder. She faltered. Why was he so scared? "His...his name, you're sure he said it was Zeref?"

"Um, yes?" Lucy exchanged a puzzled look with Wendy. "Do you know someone by that name, Natsu?"

"Yes," he said tightly, and Lucy felt that tug in her gut as he stared at nothing in particular, as if he was seeing something they weren't. "Stay away from him. And if you see him again, find someone to be around, okay?"

His words were sharp, nearly barked at her, and Lucy fought the urge to wince. He was clearly scared and didn't mean to upset her. Still, she couldn't say she liked his tone. "Err, sure. Fine. I'll do that - Natsu, where are you going?"

"I gotta make a call," he threw over his shoulder, storming from the room.

Lucy frowned, and Wendy said simply, "Sometimes Natsu's weird."

"Weird doesn't even cut it," said Lucy. "Come on, Wendy, let's finish up with these boxes…"


The smell of smoke lingered in her nose, soothing and wonderful. She couldn't help but snuggle closer, her nose pressed into the throat of the one it belonged to. They grumbled softly, too sleepy to wake up entirely, but more than happy with the warmth pressed up against them. They remained like that for a while, until he began to wake up, too. Why she didn't chase him from her bed like normal, she wasn't sure. She only knew that she wanted him to stay there.

Suddenly, he woke up a little more, mumbling her name sleepily to see if she was awake. She responded with a small sound to show she was. He snorted softly, and she nearly purred at the way the smoke that he exhaled kissed her face. Most would have hated it; she found she loved it. It made her feel safe. Especially after a rough mission like they'd been on just a day before.

His fingers suddenly touched her ribs, shaking and gentle, and she flinched. "Any better?"

"Not really. It's alright, it will be."

This, she remembered. This was why he hadn't been kicked out like she usually did (mostly for show, of course). She'd been caught between a rock and a hard place and had been hurt, a nasty wound carved into her flesh. They'd both hoped that their healing friend would be at the guildhall when they'd arrived back home, but she'd been out on a mission of their own. He'd nearly thrown a tantrum until she'd reassured him.

His breath rushed out in a loud gust. "I'm sorry." His voice cracked. "I should have been faster."

Her fingers darted up to brush hair from his eyes. "It's not your fault," she said firmly. "I should have been more careful. We could go round and round about this, and we're not going to. We both could have been better at what we were doing." Her lips curved into a gentle smile as he searched her gaze. "I'll be okay, just like I always am. Now, let's go get some-"

The loud ringing of her phone snapped Lucy right out of her dream. A scowl appeared on her face immediately. The one time she didn't have a bad dream...

Without checking the caller ID, Lucy answered the call, pressing the phone to her ear. "Hello?" she muttered, eyeing the time. 2:37 a.m.. Who the hell was calling her at this hour?

"Lucy?" came a choked voice on the other end, and Lucy shot upright immediately. Levy. "Are you...could you come to the museum? Someone broke in, and there's been...well, they took quite a few of our inventory. A lot of the things on display." She sounded hoarse, as if she'd been crying for some time.

Lucy was out of bed in an instant, darting off to find some shoes. "Yeah," she said gently. "I'm on my way. Did you call anyone else? Were you there? Are you safe?"

"I wasn't there," reassured Levy. "I got called in when the police answered a call from someone who heard all of the alarms going off. Gajeel's here. Um, Laxus is here for some reason, I don't know why he's here or where he came from or how he found out."

Lucy paused, caught off guard. Laxus? Why was Mirajane's boyfriend there? She'd not seen him in months, and he didn't really care for anyone that she was often around besides Mirajane and her siblings. "Well, at least you've got two big scary people there," she said, trying to ease her friend's fear. "I'm on my way, Levy."

"Okay. Thanks, Lucy." Levy hung up and Lucy rushed for the door, snagging her keys.

Something about the situation didn't sit right with her, and the only thing she could think of was that man who'd been there days before: Zeref.


Flashing lights nearly blinded Lucy as she hauled herself out of her car, already looking for Levy and Gajeel. She didn't know where Laxus would be, nor did she really think she wanted to find him. Yet, she caught a glimpse of him as she made her way over to where Levy was standing close to her boyfriend. Laxus was angry-looking, his jaw clenched, and he was glaring viciously at everyone who came near him. Lucy chose not to question it as well as to avoid him and hastily hurried to Levy. Gajeel noticed her first, of course, eyes narrowed warily. They were both rather pale, alarmed, and concerned. "Do they know who did it?" demanded Lucy as soon as she was in earshot.

"No." Gajeel's voice was harsh and angry. "Whoever did it was good though. They're not finding anything. The cases weren't even shattered, just set on the ground."

"The security officer's been taken to the hospital," said Levy softly, her voice trembling. "He was hit over the head - hard. They couldn't get him to wake up. I hope he'll be okay...he's always so nice to me, and makes sure the building's not out of line so I can get around."

"What was taken?" Lucy asked, knowing that despite her friend's words, Levy was even more distressed about what precious artifacts had been taken from the museum. "I'm going to guess they're particularly valuable."

"That's the thing." Levy looked puzzled now, frustrated. "There was only one thing that could be considered overly valuable. They took the scarf Natsu's particularly fond of - I'm not quite sure why they'd want it, it's worthless to almost any other museum, it's so ratty. They took some of the Titania armor, and an old helm that came from someone else." She listed off a whole bunch of things with ease. Lucy wondered how she knew what was gone. "But the only thing truly valuable is the keys. The gold in them is worth a lot of money - and that's ignoring the fact of their historical significance. They're famous in old legends; everyone knows about those keys."

Devastation ripped through her, ravaging her in a massive wave. Lucy's knees nearly buckled and she almost began screaming. She couldn't explain why. They weren't hers, those keys. They weren't even that important to her personally; she'd looked at them a lot, sure, but to hear they were gone was almost more than she could handle.

A sharp, knowing look - the look Lucy hated on everyone's faces - appeared in Gajeel's eyes. "What's got you lookin' like that?" he challenged, and Lucy could practically feel the question unsaid in his gaze. He was thinking of something she knew nothing about, and it was too much for her.

Lucy ignored him, her heart racing. She felt hot. Feverish. As if the loss of those keys was physically hurting her. "I...I have to go," she rasped, stumbling back. The odd taste in her mouth was worse than ever, and her head ached violently, as if something was slamming into some barricade she'd put up over and over again, trying to splinter through forcefully. It hurt like hell.

That look vanished from Gajeel's face, flickering with concern that startled her. He was never worried about anyone but Levy. Levy, however, asked, "Lucy? Lucy, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just…" Her voice was breathless; she couldn't breathe as panic slammed through her. Something was wrong. Those keys shouldn't have gone missing like that - they should have been where they were needed: in that museum, educating people like they'd always done.

Educating her, giving her advice, just as they'd always done-

That barricade splintered further and thoughts crawled free. Thoughts of people she couldn't put a face or name to, thoughts of loud, comfortable places she could have sworn she'd never seen before, thoughts of warmth and smoke and flame…

It was as if someone had taken a massive device and hammered at that wall again and again, chipping it away so that as more came out, the more it cracked. "I'll check in tomorrow," she rasped, and then bolted for her car, ignoring her friend's shout of concern. She had the car started and zooming off within seconds, her heart pounding in her chest. She tried to patch that wall, scared of what rested on the other side, but couldn't.

She made it home in record timing, her fingers twitching with agitation as she ducked inside. Her breath rasped in her throat. She couldn't breathe, she thought, panic building. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't even bring herself to pick her keys up when they hit the ground, tumbling from shaking hands. Mostly because her first instinct in her terror was to turn and seek the comfort of the one she dreamed of, the one who smelled of smoke.

And he wasn't there.

Because he'd disappeared, leaving her screaming at the empty street.

Natsu, thought Lucy, dropping heavily onto her couch and burying her tear-streaked face in shaking hands. She badly wanted Natsu, who'd know exactly what to do. She didn't know why his name was the first one her mind kept jumping to. Him, and Gray, and Erza Scarlet, who she was friends with but hadn't known nearly well enough to latch onto her in such a way.

But more than anyone else, she wanted Natsu, the one who wore an odd scarf, who dwelled in flame and smelled of smoke - but he didn't? Lucy couldn't understand it. She hated it. She wanted to rip these thoughts from her head-

A sound in the next room over had her stilling. Her heart skipped a beat in fear for a new reason, and she lifted her head to stare at the door that belonged to the room the sound had come through. She didn't dare say anything aloud as she hauled herself to her feet, not sure if she should call the police, flee, or confront whatever or whoever was in there. Naturally, because she was an idiot, she seethed to herself, she chose the last option.

At least she was effectively distracted from the panic that had been coursing through her mind.

She kept her phone in hand, ready to dial an emergency number. Or Natsu's, though she couldn't say why she thought he'd be able to do anything. As much as she cared for him, he was about as good against a gun-wielding maniac as she was. Worse even, seeing as he'd been the one who'd gotten shot by Dimeria. She shivered at the idea of coming across someone like her and almost retreated. Almost.

Something tugged at her chest, however, urging her to look. Instinct had her following it, deciding to trust a feeling that had helped her here and there. It was the same part that tugged whenever she saw Natsu. She had no reason not to trust it, after all.

Slowly, she pulled the door open, peeking in. She frowned at the sight of an open window, unnerving her. The curtains billowed in a gentle breeze, swelling like ocean waves and crashing back against the wall in silence. The guest bedroom, she remembered in the back of her mind. "Hello?" she called, almost smacking herself Stars above, she was an idiot. She was like one of those people out of the stupid horror movies Natsu hadmade her watch before the mess with Dimeria.

But there was, luckily, no response. Shaking her head, she ducked into the room and peered around. She'd almost chalked it up to her imagination when she caught sight of something glinting in the moonlight on the bed. Her heart missed a beat as she risked a step closer to it.

Keys.

The keys from the museum, the very keys she'd loved for so long despite not knowing why, the keys she'd been mourning, sat there on the bed, lying neatly beside a simple note.

Stories come from history, Miss Heartfilia. But sometimes they're not told by survivors in the way one would expect.

Her hair stood on end and Lucy felt a terrified chill go down her spine. Zeref. There was no name on the note, but it had to be him. And she was sure he was the one who'd broken into the museum to steal so many of those items. She didn't like it one bit, but she couldn't help the sheer relief that coursed through her veins as she sank onto the bed and grabbed the corner of the blanket to pick those keys up. She didn't dare touch them with her bare hands. They were evidence for the robbery, of course.

They jingled softly in her hands, and it was like the bell at the bakery. Pain splintered through her head at the sound. She stared at them thoughtfully, and she could have sworn some phantom took hold of her shoulders and whispered in her ears, Please.

Lucy dropped the blanket and instead reached over. With gentle fingers, she picked the keys up.

The barrier shattered.


At long last, an update! And an exciting one at that. ;)

Thanks to reviewers (stranger1999, FairyTailxFanGirl, Jozanimelover, Lodemai04, madaraswife, Guest #1, Guest #2, and Nerf!) as well as those who favorited and followed!