The Scars That Make You Whole
By CrimsonStarbird
Breaking the Boundaries of Life, Part 2
-All That You Hope For-
It was Gajeel's suit that did it, in the end.
All afternoon, Lucy had sat there with Natsu, letting the weird and wonderful world of Fairy Tail pass her by. There had been progress, accidents, laughter, discoveries of creative talent, discoveries of creative differences – the latter resolved in the way Fairy Tail usually resolved their differences, namely by brawling good-naturedly until it was the least of their worries. There had been clashes with the press, clashes with the townsfolk, and clashes with the construction companies, whose work ethic had been one-upped by the guild mages' enthusiasm until the decision had been taken to fire the contractors altogether and do the rest themselves. There had been more money spent than she'd have liked, and not enough money saved to win her over…
But all those things were eminently more ignorable than Gajeel with his shirt tucked in, top button fastened, and tie at a length not even the most pernickety headmaster could fault.
Nor was she the only one who'd noticed, if the clang of Natsu's jaw hitting the floor was any indication. "What the hell is that?" he choked out.
"That, Natsu," Lucy told him sagely, "is the sight of a man who has finally learnt that the true power of The Law lies not with the righteous might of the uniformed officer, but with the serpent tongue of the lawyer for the defence."
Gajeel whipped around to face them. "I heard that!" he glared. "And I'll have you know, I was retired from the force for medical reasons."
"Yeah," Levy added, leaning out from behind Gajeel with a cheeky grin. "Specifically, the fact that the medical bill for all the suspects he dragged in with excessive force was getting a bit out of hand."
Gajeel gave an annoyed grunt. Like him, Levy was wearing a suit – just as neat, just as formal, and just as bizarre. She may not have had that iron-pierced gangster look that came so naturally to Gajeel, but she wasn't meant to be bound by formality either, and the strictness of it all jarred with the memory of her and Zeref discussing forbidden magic in Lucy's kitchen.
"This is weird," Natsu groaned, and Lucy found herself agreeing with him. "What the hell's going on with you two?"
"The trials start tomorrow," Levy explained. "We're expected in Era tonight for the swearing-in of the jury, and then we've got to hang around until we're called upon to testify. Not that we're complaining – we've found a gorgeous hotel to stay in, since the Rune Knights are covering our expenses one last time."
Lucy held up her hand. "Hold on, go back a step. Who's on trial?"
"Avatar."
"Oh." She should have known, really. Only a fool could sit in the guildhall's growing shadow and not realize that these things didn't end when the final battle was won. "There's no chance of any of them getting off, though, is there? Briar, Mary, Abel – they were caught red-handed, and half of them in the presence of Rune Knights, no less. Arlock was the smart one. They were just… fanatics. I doubt any of them will try to deny their actions."
To her surprise, Gajeel and Levy exchanged glances. "It's not the ringleaders, Lucy," Levy explained, in a subdued tone. "They were sentenced back before the war. They may not have known the full extent of Arlock's plan, but they committed more than enough crimes along the way to ensure that they wouldn't walk free. It's… the other members who are the problem."
"What do you mean?"
"Avatar had thousands of members. Thousands. Some were dark mages, sure, but more were guild mages, merchants, soldiers, historians, hobbyists… people who turned up every other week at their local community centre to hear lectures on forbidden magic and stories from the parts of history the Council won't tell them."
Lucy thought about the black church she and Zeref had broken into so long ago – about the minor dark artefacts on proud display, laid out as a museum for the curious; about the mundane wishes they hoped Zeref would grant them, rare books and in-law problems rather than any desire for world domination; about the workshops and over-the-top occult themes and the fact that they had evacuated most members at the first sign of danger. She thought about Arlock's headquarters in Malva, hidden – or perhaps not hidden at all – within a community centre.
She thought about Jerome, the magic-less magic enthusiast who had fallen in with Avatar after everywhere else had rejected him, and Davos, who had turned to dark magic after the wielders of the light had decreed him a lost cause. She thought about Jellal, who had only been able to help rewrite the Book of END because he had spent so long immersed in forbidden magic himself, and Levy, whose own less-than-legal curiosity had been instrumental in bringing Natsu back to them… one of whom was still on the run from the law despite being a hero, and the other wasn't only because she understood how the law worked too well to get caught.
Natsu interrupted, "Why've they been arrested? They're ordinary people! They had nothing to do with Arlock's ultimate plan – surely they'll be found innocent! That's just common sense!"
"It's not as though we wanted to arrest them!" Levy held her hands up in surrender. "They marched upon the station, hundreds of them; they gave us no choice! It wasn't a confession, it was a protest. They don't support Arlock's plan to murder thousands of innocents to gain the power of a fire god, obviously, but to them, that's not what Avatar was. We see it as an evil and destructive organization because Arlock was evil and destructive. But to them, it's a belief system, a way of viewing the world, a rejection of prescribed right and wrong in magic and knowledge."
Slowly, Lucy nodded. All the shadows of the world, which Natsu's firelight had been gently pushing back all afternoon, seemed to close in once again. "It's been bothering me, too. I should have known the underlying issues wouldn't just go away because the war temporarily eclipsed them."
"And I'd be a hypocrite for saying that I didn't agree with them, at least to an extent," Levy admitted, meeting Lucy's gaze with a meaningful look. "Not their methods, but still… They've openly admitted to associating with a known dark cult, and they've got to be punished for that – but when so many ordinary people are prouder to carry Avatar's emblem than be protected by the Rune Knights, there's a fundamental problem somewhere. And I don't know what the answer is."
And that was the problem, wasn't it? There were no answers to be found as the questions mounted, higher and higher until they dwarfed even the most ambitious plans for the guildhall. At least that had a summit. Easily broken, but easily fixable.
Levy was saying, "After all, it's not as though we can change society overnight."
Gajeel grunted. "Not as though we should, either. You won't catch me voting to un-outlaw dark magic overnight. I've been a Rune Knight, remember? I've seen enough cruelty caused by dark guilds this past year to put Zeref to shame. No offence," he added quickly, glancing at Lucy, who managed a faint smile back. She wasn't offended, but it would be a while before it didn't hurt, either.
"I know," Levy conceded quietly. "That's why I don't think there's an easy answer. Arlock was an evil bastard, but he got them a platform, and they're not going to give that up easily."
"Is Jerome one of those standing trial tomorrow?" Lucy asked, remembering the man she had also considered beyond redemption, until the truth of Arlock's plan had broken him as much as it had her and Zeref. He had been stabbed protecting her – partly because she was his best hope of vengeance against Arlock, but also because, to him, that wasn't what Avatar was about. It was one thing going after Crime Sorcière, dark mages turned traitor to the cause. Going after innocents was another entirely.
"Nah, he's still in hospital, can't be tried 'til he's declared of sound body and mind by a senior doctor," Gajeel breezed, as though he'd heard those words so often that reciting them was automatic.
"We think the doctor's in on it," Levy added. "After all, Jerome is managing to rally the survivors just fine from his hospital bed… but we can't prove it." She tried to end it with a shrug, but a moment later, she decided she couldn't leave the words unsaid after all. "And I'm not sure we want to. He's part of the inner circle, and as complicit in Bishop's Lace and Malva as the others, but… he wields huge influence over the Avatar movement, and he has changed."
"Lock 'im up, that's what I say," Gajeel interjected.
Levy rolled her eyes. "Besides, it's not as though we want to give them reasons to come after Gray, either. The harder we press Jerome for punishment, the harder it'll be to keep their attention off Gray. Fortunately, most of the inner circle assumed he was spying for Fairy Tail all along. It seems only Arlock knew the truth, and we'd like to keep it that way."
"What about Davos?" Lucy wondered. "Can you even legally try a talking radio?"
"We ain't gonna find out, are we?" Gajeel said pointedly, causing a guilty flush to creep across Levy's cheeks. "She won't turn him in."
"I made him a promise!" she defended. "He upheld his end of the bargain, so I have to at least try to fulfil mine."
"How's the research going?"
Levy's face lit up at once. It reminded Lucy so much of how a certain Black Mage looked when asked the same question that she had to fight against the lump in her throat.
"Since you introduced me to August, really, really well," Levy beamed. "The man's a miracle, Lucy. He knows so much about Zeref's research, honestly, it's like he was there! And he understands the One Magic in a way not even Zeref did – in a way I've never even read about. It's like he just knows when we're getting too close to the limit of what the magic will allow. We've been going over the rune theory and Zeref's notes, and we're almost certain we can create a living body out of magic and transfer his soul into it without violating the laws of life and death…"
Her face fell with perfect poetry. "Actually doing it is another matter entirely, though. And August isn't going to be in Magnolia forever. Once the negotiations are over, it's going to make collaborating on this a hundred times harder."
Lucy squinted at her. "You know, there's this brilliant invention called the postal service…"
"Have you ever tried to break the boundaries of life by post?" Levy retorted, most unimpressed. "It's slow, it's unreliable, and it could be dangerous, if the wrong information gets intercepted by a dark guild – or worse, a Rune Knight! This would be so much easier if we were doing particle physics, or something."
This provoked a snort from Natsu and Gajeel, but she held her ground. "It would be! They have journals, conferences, universities, peer review, funding – but there is no formal mechanism for the collaborative study of magic! No one does it any more! No one even thinks that way!"
"Of course not," Lucy seconded. "There hasn't been an Academy of Magic in Ishgar for four hundred years."
"Precisely." Levy folded her arms. "You know, the more I do this, the more I come to the conclusion that Zeref wasn't a genius at all – he just happened to be born into a time which had the necessary supporting infrastructure!"
"Yeah, well," Gajeel cut in, with the voice of a man who had already lost one too many date nights to Levy's pet protect, "maybe you can rewrite history while on the train, huh?"
"Right! The train! See you, Lucy, Natsu!"
"We should probably call it a day, too," Natsu suggested, once the two of them were out of sight. "It would be good to get dinner with everyone else before Sabertooth manage to poach our head chef again- Lucy?"
Lucy was still staring after Levy and Gajeel.
"Lucy? You okay?"
She barely heard the words over the sudden thundering of her heart. Without explanation, she bounded to her feet. She hadn't felt like this since she had summoned the Celestial Spirit King – hot and cold, muscles trembling with the energy of battle, bloodstream alight with adrenaline.
"I've got to talk to Invel," she said.
"What about dinner?" Natsu yelled, but she was already halfway down the road.
"It's not important!" she called back.
Natsu folded his arms. "Sheesh. You spend a few weeks living with a man who doesn't need to eat to survive, and you lose all sense of priorities."
If there was one good thing about having impulsively become the Seventh Master of Fairy Tail and not having found the courage since to step down, it was that when Lucy turned up entirely uninvited to the location of the peace talks and demanded to see the provisional ruler of the Alvarez Empire, no one batted an eyelid. The staff immediately escorted her to Invel's suite, and after a moment spent composing herself, she knocked and announced herself, and he called for her to enter.
They watched each other for a moment in very formal silence. It threw her off-guard – this wasn't two sort-of-allies fighting Acnologia or being forced to attend the Summer Ball together – this was the Master of Fairy Tail and the Emperor-to-be of Alvarez, two factions which ought to still be at each other's throats, and she didn't have the faintest idea how she was supposed to act around him.
Then Invel said, simply, tiredly, "Lucy."
And she saw the faint redness ringing his eyes; felt the effort that was going into his composure just as it was into hers. Behind the formal mask, she saw the man who had been there with her when Zeref had died, who was as much out of his depth right now as she was, and she knew she ought to treat him just like her other friends, whether it was proper or not.
"It's good to see you, Invel," she told him, and her smile, although not quite whole, was genuine.
"How is the new guildhall progressing?" he asked.
"Good. Really good. It won't be long until we're back in action."
There was a brief silence as Invel knew better than to apologize, but wasn't sure what else the moment called for.
"How are the negotiations going?" Lucy tried, expecting an equally bland response.
"Disastrously," Invel stated. "We are no closer to a settlement now than we were three days ago."
"We were technically still at war three days ago," she pointed out, bemused.
Invel gave her a silent look.
"…Oh. What's the problem? We all want this to end, don't we?"
Another moment of silence, this one her fault entirely. She wouldn't have blamed him for refusing to answer; she may have been a Guild Master, but this was between the governments of Alvarez and Fiore. He of all people would have known that she had no right to involve herself in the negotiations – and yet, for some reason, he sank into an armchair and indicated for her to do the same.
"The problem, Lucy, is that no one won," Invel sighed. "We were in the wrong to invade without just cause and drag both our nations into a very personal conflict-" there was such little stiffness in those words that she could only imagine how many times he had been forced to say them these last few days, "-but we also backed down of our own accord. Fiore did not beat us, and yet they are demanding concessions from us as if they did."
"Concessions you can't afford?" Lucy asked neutrally.
"Of course we can afford them. That's beside the point. You have to understand, Lucy, my job isn't just to negotiate a settlement – it's to negotiate a settlement that I can go back home and sell to a senate, an army, and a populace who don't understand why we chose to stop fighting."
"…Ah."
Invel nodded slowly, with great gravity. "The war against Fiore was always personal, but we spent a very long time convincing ourselves that it wasn't. It is not just my nation's pride to contend with, but its sense of entitlement – and the way things are going, even I find myself wondering sometimes why we don't just resume the march, annex your kingdom as planned, and be done with the whole affair."
"Please don't," Lucy said, only half-jokingly, and got less than half a smile in return.
"We weren't beaten," he reiterated, "and that is a serious problem. It is expected that we pay reparations, but when we break down the situation, it gets more complex. Outside of Magnolia, most of the damage was done by Acnologia, not by us. And when we stopped fighting in order to take a stand with you against Acnologia, it was us who lost our emperor and one of our best generals. Alvarez paid the price to save Fiore from his rampage."
"Acnologia was everyone's problem."
"Yes, but he was your problem first. He would have obliterated Fiore long before turning his gaze across the sea."
Apologetic, Lucy dropped her gaze to the floor.
"With that in mind, there are many on my side of the table who believe Fiore should be thanking us. Not to mention, a lot of people in my nation look down upon Fiore for its secular government and lack of control over its mage guilds, and believe it to be inferior in magic and magical technology. It is difficult to overcome such a… cultural lack of respect."
"I see," she murmured.
"To answer the question you implied earlier – would I not pay the reparations they demand, just to get it over with? Of course I would. But it wouldn't solve anything, Lucy. Alvarez backed down on a conquest which many believe is our divine right. Backing down on this, too, will only foster resentment. Give it a year, two years – there will be another war, and this time, I can guarantee that there won't be a single person on my side who will try to stop it."
"Can you not explain that to King Toma and the others?"
"What do you think I've been trying to do, these past few days? Besides, there's only so much I can do without revealing to the world just how little control I have over this empire."
Leaning forward, Invel ran his hands through his hair. The weight of the world passed through his fingertips, yet when he looked up again, there was a faint warmth in his eyes, the edges of a pond just beginning to thaw in the dawn.
"It's pathetic, isn't it? When he was in charge, I always knew exactly what he should do. It should be so easy for me now that I can just go ahead and do it myself without having to cajole a whimsical emperor into it first… And yet, now that I'm here, I can't stop thinking about all the times he did the complete opposite of what I advised him, and by doing so, produced something ten times greater than I ever could."
"You'll get there," Lucy assured him.
"I won't get a chance, if war breaks out once more – and yet I do not know how to stop it. They want to ruin us. They think crippling our economy is the best way to prevent anything like this from happening again, but it will only breed more hatred in the long run. It won't bring us closer together – it will doom us both."
"Okay, so…" As she tailed off, Invel's gaze jumped to her, so naturally cutting and imperial, just as Zeref's hadn't been. She had never felt quite so underqualified as when she said, "I, uh… I had an idea. It won't solve all our problems. Maybe it won't change anything at all. It's far-fetched and sentimental and I wouldn't even know where to start with the practical side of things, but I thought… maybe you would?"
As her skittishness resurfaced in the garble of words, she could see his frown deepening, but all he said was, "Go on."
So Lucy talked.
And Invel listened.
She said, "Do you think it can be done?"
"I don't know," Invel admitted. "But I want to try."
Lucy left when she had to and was back as soon as she was able, bright and early as the sun. It was far from the first time she'd slept in fits and starts since the end of the battle, but this time, it was neither the cold emptiness of the bed beside her nor the cold vastness of the future that leeched away her comfort. It was the thought of all the things she could be doing if she didn't have to sleep.
Deep was the sky that morning, bedecked in the colours of new life, and more than ever, she felt that it was waiting. For her. For all of them.
She met up with Invel before the negotiations officially resumed in order to finalise the details, and when the time came, they parted ways with a handshake and a promise. He went to pitch their idea to the King and Princess of Fiore. She had someone else to convince.
August didn't look surprised to see her outside his door – he'd have sensed her magical presence a mile away, as always – but he did look puzzled as to why she'd sought him out.
She didn't mind. It was far preferable to the pain that had reverberated through his magic every other time their paths had crossed since Zeref's death. They'd had nothing to unite them before but loss. That was what she was here to change.
"Lucy," he greeted, and he stepped aside despite his confusion to let her enter the room. "Forgive me; I was unaware that Fairy Tail was involved in the negotiations."
"We're not," she admitted ruefully. "Princess Hisui would throw a fit if she knew I was here, given the mess I've already made of international politics. No, it's about something else. I had an idea, and Invel said you were the best person to talk to about it, so… do you mind?"
"Of course not," August said, looking no less perplexed than before, but as willing to give her the benefit of the doubt as he had been when he'd hidden her from Bloodman during her one-man raid on Vistarion.
That was how she found herself explaining her rash and wishful idea to probably the most powerful mage in the world over a breakfast of tea and pastries.
It was difficult to judge August's reaction. She'd thought he would be far less guarded than Invel, given the tendency of his magic to project his emotions to the world, but his aura reverberated with an uncertainty and a trepidation that she could not, at first, understand.
And then it clicked. If not for Natsu's support, she would have struggled to believe in hope again, too.
That, she thought, was why Invel was delivering a professional pitch to the official negotiators, and she was here with the man who had always been led by his heart.
Not that that meant August didn't share the same concerns as the King of Fiore. She'd have put money on King Toma's opening question being the same as August's: "Do you have any idea how much this would cost?"
"Not a clue," she informed him cheerfully. "Invel does, though. He's drawn up a budget. Twelve different budgets, actually, as we know very little about how this will work in practice. I don't think he slept last night."
August hummed in acknowledgement as she handed over a pack of hastily assembled documents. "I suppose it was too much to ask that taking on greater responsibilities would prompt Invel to reconsider his self-destructive habits."
As he flicked through the papers, Lucy found that she wasn't nearly as nervous as she ought to have been. Wouldn't her father have been proud to see her now? Not quite a Guild Master, not quite a diplomat, not quite a businesswoman – but not quite a guild mage either, not exclusively, not any more.
"Even in the most optimistic estimates, I know for a fact that Fiore doesn't have this kind of money available to invest," August cautioned.
"Yes. But Alvarez does." His sharp gaze flashed up to meet hers, viridian light dancing along a diamond meadow she had once glimpsed beneath the guildhall. Undeterred, she continued, "The current proposal is that Alvarez puts up half the money and loans Fiore the other half. That way, the project will be fully funded from the outset, with equal ownership by both sides – only, it will represent a financial investment for Alvarez, as well as an investment in our relationship."
"But it will be built on Fiorean soil."
She nodded. "We were thinking just outside Magnolia. There will have to be a pot of money put aside for the restoration of the city after your fleet razed it to the ground, and this would let us integrate the new development into the city's infrastructure as it is rebuilt, bringing it all together."
"I understand, but that wasn't what I meant. Having equal ownership on paper is one thing, but it will be difficult to raise support in my nation for something that appears to only benefit yours."
The stern warning might have been frightening, if she hadn't been so used to Zeref also playing Devil's Advocate in order to test her reasoning – a mannerism she had no doubt he'd picked up at the Mildian Academy of Magic and never lost since. She couldn't help smiling.
"We know. Money will be ringfenced each year to cover the travel and living expenses of a certain number of students from Alvarez. Scholarships, if you like, but embedded in the charter and funded indefinitely."
"But it would have to be free for everyone," August said firmly. "It is fundamental to the very concept."
"Absolutely – and not just for the students. There would have to be public lectures, exhibitions, conferences, festivals… anything we can think of, and more. It can't be something to benefit a privileged few. It must be open to all, magic or no."
Slow, thoughtful, August nodded again, and nothing more.
"There are an awful lot of details to iron out, but in principle, Invel thinks that King Toma will accept it as a large part of the settlement," Lucy continued hesitantly. "And also, he thinks he can sell it in Alvarez. It's reparations for the invasion, but also an investment; it's the foundation of a constructive relationship, rather than one built on tension and resentment; and he thinks it will, in time, go some way to addressing the view that Fiore is ignorant of magic and backwards in its ways, thus making a long-term alliance more tenable."
"I suspect the biggest obstacle will be your own Magic Council," August mused. "They'll see it as a dilution of their control."
"It is a dilution of their control – but this is the perfect time for it. I still need to talk to Jerome and see how he thinks Avatar will react to the proposal, but if they will support it, we'll have unstoppable momentum. That's why Invel needs to get King Toma on board now, before the Avatar trials conclude. Then we can present it to the Council as an alternative path – a middle ground between arresting thousands of their citizens and changing their own attitude towards forbidden magic overnight. It'll show everyone that they're willing to listen to the people and consider the sort of change that those who supported Avatar want, without having to rush into anything."
"I see," August said.
After a moment more, she ventured, "What do you think?"
"It's ambitious. It's unprecedented, in a very real way. I almost find it hard to believe that you managed to talk Invel into it… right up until I remember who he's doing it for." For the first time since Zeref had died, he smiled – and it was as warm as the rising dawn, and full of the same abundant promise. "I cannot think of a better way to honour him, Lucy. I am truly grateful that you have shared it with me… though I must admit, I am not entirely sure why. My role in the negotiations is minimal, and I'm sure Invel has told you that I intend to step down from my position in Alvarez as soon as a settlement has been agreed."
"That's exactly why," she countered. "Invel is far too busy to take on a project like this, and I wouldn't even know where to start. What we need is someone with experience. Ideally, they'd be high-profile, known and trusted by both sides, from Alvarez but willing to stay in Fiore to work with the team on the ground – and most importantly, they would have to believe in the project, genuinely want peace to succeed, and, you know, be looking for a new job right about now…"
"Are- are you serious?"
"The thing about Fairy Tail," she reflected, as if he hadn't spoken, "is that we're famous for encouraging freedom – freedom in magic, freedom in action, freedom in love. But the thing is, we've only ever fought for our own freedom. This is different. This time, we want to change all of society. That's why we can't do it on our own." She grinned at him. "So, do you want to help us change the world?"
"Lucy, I would love to."
She was reminded, then, of the words Zeref had said to August from his deathbed: you'll find your way again. It wasn't a promise, but a prayer, knowing what his oldest friend would need the most when he was gone, and being helpless to do more than wish for it.
They'd all needed to find their way, in the aftermath of the battle. To work out what they wanted to keep hold of, and what, like the leadership of Fairy Tail, they were willing to let go. To learn how to fight on when all their reasons to try had been shattered between the cogs of ages turning.
Today they would take their first step into the world beyond Emperor Spriggan, the era that had outlived the Black Mage Zeref, the age that was, entirely, their own.
Lucy was almost at the door, plans in hand and inspiration in heart, when she stopped. "Actually, there was one other thing I wanted to ask you, if you didn't mind."
"Go on," August invited her.
"Sting told me that, before she died, Irene used the last of her magic to cast a powerful spell… but as far as he could tell, it didn't do anything. I don't suppose you have any idea what she might have wanted to accomplish in her final moments, do you?"
Concern creased its well-worn paths across his face. "I'm afraid I don't. Even amongst the Twelve, Irene kept to herself. I am ashamed to say that, if granted one dying wish, I do not know what she would have asked for."
He thought for a moment, and then added, "If she couldn't save herself, she would have done something for His Majesty, I think. She always felt beholden to him for reasons she never shared with anyone except His Majesty himself. I'm sorry I can't be more help."
"That's alright. It's funny, isn't it? Zeref told me things I know he never told anyone before, and yet there is still so much I will never know about him…"
Her fingers found Zeref's pendant, still hanging around her neck. Not for the first time, she wondered if she ought to share that forgotten part of history with the world. The Eclipse Gate; the dragons, their children, and their sacrifice; the origin of Celestial Spirit magic; the truth about the man history had come to abhor…
She had been so determined to get him to tell his and Anna's story. Had she really done all that just to let it live and die with her?
"Lucy," August ventured in the silence. "It may be rude of me to ask, but… what's that around your neck?"
"This? It's Zeref's pendant; it's what he gave me- here, you can see it if you want-"
"Not that. The other one."
She paused. "You know, Natsu said that too. You're not about to start growling at my jewellery as well, are you?"
From the baffled look he shot her, apparently not. Fortunately, he also had the courtesy to wait until she'd pulled the chain over her head before examining it like Natsu had.
"The acorn of an Aureum Oak," he breathed, holding it up to the light. "I've read about them, but I didn't think any still existed."
"Zeref thought it was the last. I was given it by Anna, my ancestor. The tree grew over her grave, undisturbed for four hundred years."
"That wouldn't explain this," he murmured. Over and over he turned it on his palm, seeking answers to a question she hadn't thought to ask.
"Can you sense something from it?" Given that she'd been wearing it constantly since she'd received it, if there was magic in it, she'd have thought she'd have noticed – but equally, if there was one man on the surface of the planet who would have been able to detect a signal too faint for her, it was August.
"No," he answered, flummoxed. "Not at all. And yet… my magic is reacting to it."
"That's odd; Natsu said pretty much the same thing, though for him it was a dislike he couldn't justify. He's only ever acted like that around…"
She tailed off.
They stared at each other.
"No," she said, at last – trying to shake her head, laugh it off, do something to crush the ridiculous spark of hope before it could lead to greater despair. "That would be impossible."
"Completely impossible," August agreed.
They stared at each other some more.
Fool that she was, she just couldn't stop herself from talking. "Sting said Irene's spell felt a bit like the one she'd used to enchant their souls into other bodies."
He took a step backwards. "Don't do this, Lucy."
She knew he was right. She knew she was only setting herself up for more pain, and yet the words just kept tumbling out of her mouth. "But do you think she'd have been able to- if she sealed it in place- and then passed away before she could tell anyone what she'd done-?"
"No." August was fighting so hard to keep his voice steady. "I've never heard of magic like that." Fighting not to lose that sense of doom. "If that were possible, she would have done it for His Majesty years ago." Fighting so they wouldn't be disappointed when this, too, fell apart.
"What if there was something different this time?" she persisted. "He was dying. His body was destroying itself; his immortality was broken. What if that was all it took to make the impossible possible-?"
"Lucy. Stop. Please."
"And if, theoretically, that was the case… wouldn't reversing it be essentially the same thing you and Levy are already doing for a certain ex-Avatar mage whose soul is stuck in a radio?"
"Lucy-!"
"Don't you want to believe, August?" she burst out. "Don't you want to hope, no matter how slim the chances, that this might not be the end?"
"Of course I do! But even if the myths are true – and remember that no one has ever scientifically studied an Aureum Oak before – the acorns can hold magic, nothing more!"
Fiercely, she met his gaze. "But life is magic."
And this time, he had no counterargument.
A/N: One chapter to go, and is that a glimmer of hope I spy on the horizon? See you next week for the final instalment. ~CS