This is a public service announcement: Remember to take a shower! (Give it a few minutes, you'll understand.)

I have not seen any reviews or PMs with suggestions or requests for this arc, so for now I won't be adding in anything from you readers. If anyone still wants to suggest something, just let me know and I'll see what I can do!

Also, to make sure everyone is on the same page, those scenes with the unnamed men were in fact Zeref with his former right hand man, Zero. That was the big reveal last time so I hope everyone caught it- I don't want you to be surprised later on by the backstabbing Zeref is obviously plotting.

CathJorda: I really don't. I mentioned before that I realized Natsu's inner dragon was a lot like Rhage's in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, but I didn't consciously use that as inspiration for that part of my story. When I write, I more often than not start with a general idea- who I want in it and where I want them to go- and kind of follow where that leads. I may plot out whole arcs ahead of time if I get a really good idea (so I don't forget anything) but most of the time, I go where my characters lead to the conclusions that feel most natural. I'm not sure if I've read a book or series that I would say is anything like mine, but if you're looking for mythical creatures and romance, the Black Dagger Brotherhood is wonderful. It's got about a dozen stories in it already and it's not done yet. It's my favorite books series and the only one I actively try to keep up on buying. If you like prophecy and romance, I really liked the Irish Trilogy by Nora Roberts. If you want paranormal, suspense, romance, mystery, and to not see the light of day for a solid weekend, I recommend the Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning. I legitimately finished four of the first five books in that series over a weekend, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. It was so enthralling, I didn't stop reading except to get something to eat. I even took it with me to use the bathroom, it was SO good. There are other books that come before that, but you don't miss out on anything if you want to read about the MacKeltars later. Those are also really good, since they add more magic to the mix by using time travel. And I've always been a sucker for stories about Scotsmen, especially from earlier centuries. However, all of these series contain sex scenes, so use your best judgement if you're not into that.

As always, thanks for all the love and happy reading!


Loke knocked on Lucy's door as he called out her name. "Lucy? Hey, you home?"

When there was no answer, Loke used his magic to feel out the interior of Lucy's home. Cana had called him earlier in the day, concerned since they hadn't seen Lucy at work in over a week. She should have returned to work by now, but no one had seen her, and she wasn't responding to anyone's texts or calls, or answering her door.

Loke worried something had gone wrong with Natsu's extraction so he'd come to check on her to find out what was going on. From what he could sense, Lucy was inside working at her desk, with Plue pacing the kitchen. The angel frowned and then used his magic to unlock the door. Worst case scenario, he could just say the door had been open.

When he pushed open the screen door, Plue came around the corner yowling loudly. He walked swiftly around Loke's legs and then ran towards his empty food bowl, whining the whole time. After he shut the door, Loke entered the kitchen and found it a mess, with dirty dishes piled up in a few places, and a half empty jug of milk on the counter.

When Plue continued to whine and circle him, Loke bent down to retrieve his bowl and went to fill it with food. Once he had replaced it, Plue pounced on it and began to scarf the food down with gusto. Loke noticed his water bowl was also empty, so he hovered his hand over it and used his magic to quickly fill it as well before heading for the living room. When he entered, it took him a long time to process what he was seeing.

Lucy was a mess. Her hair had been put into a bun at some point, but most of it had fallen out and then been tugged to the side. He could see from across the room that it was greasy and had crumbs of some sort in it, probably put there from messy hands trying to fix it. She was wearing stained shorts and a tank top with a cardigan that was only on one arm. Scattered around her were multiple notebooks and loose sheets of paper. She was leaning over a notebook, her pen moving furiously over the paper in front of her. As he watched, she shook the pen in her hand and after a few scribbles on a spare sheet, dropped it, ignoring it as it fell to the floor, and grabbed another before continuing.

"Uh, Lucy?" The blonde gave no indication that she'd heard him, so he took a few steps into the room and tried again, louder. "Lucy!"

Lucy jerked and as she whipped around, she threw her pen his way, nailing him in the middle of his forehead. "Shit!" he cried.

"Loke!" Lucy quickly stood and moved to retrieve her pen and look at his face. "I am so sorry, I thought you were an intruder. I thought I locked the front door."

"Well it was unlocked when I got here," he said as he rubbed his head. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Lucy's eyes widened and she scurried back to her desk to clean up the papers and close her books.

"Doesn't look like nothing," he mused as he walked closer. Lucy's movements sped up as she tried to hide everything from him.

In her rush, she missed one of the papers falling to the floor, so Loke used his magic to pull it to him through the air before she could notice. When she was done, she tossed a large novel on top of the pile and turned around to find Loke skimming the page he'd caught. "Oops! Missed one!" she said and leaned forward to rip the paper from his hands and add it to the pile.

Loke felt himself going a little numb. Lucy had been writing about Natsu, which should have been impossible. He'd personally performed the spell to bury those memories in her brain so deep they couldn't be triggered by anything. What had happened? How did she remember when no one else did?

"Lucy, who's Natsu?"

"Hmm?" Lucy's eyes widened and then she scoffed. "No one. Nothing. Just a name. I started on a project and I just got kind of caught up in it, you know how I can be. Why are you here?" she asked suddenly as she leaned against the desk to hide her pile from view. "I'll make it to the bar tonight, don't worry. I'm still off until next week."

"Lucy, what are you talking about? It's not Friday."

"Oh." Lucy's wild eyes grew confused. "Did I write through the night again? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to miss it. I'll be there next week for sure."

"Lucy…" Loke moved forward to stand in front of her and gently grabbed her shoulders. "Lucy, it's Saturday. Cana said you were supposed to return to work Monday but no one has seen you yet. I worried a little that you didn't visit for dinner this week, but I just assumed you were trying to catch up on work or sleep or something." He frowned. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Lucy jerked away from him and walked towards the kitchen, where she paused in the doorway and looked around. Loke followed, not sure how to continue, when she moved forward again. "I'm sorry, I guess I just lost track of time. I'll call Mira later and apologize, and I'll send the girls a text letting them know I'm okay."

With jerky movements, Lucy began to clean up the kitchen, a frown fixed to her face and her eyes wide and shiny. "I didn't mean to worry you guys, but as you can see I'm fine, so you can leave if you want. I'm sure you have things you need to do."

"Lucy-"

"Really Loke, I'm okay. You can leave, honest." When Plue rubbed against her leg, she jumped, nearly kicking the feline across the room. "Oh, I'm sorry Plue." Her eyes widened and she gasped. "Oh, Plue, I am so sorry! I'm so late feeding you aren't I? Don't worry, I'll get you something."

"I already did, Lucy." Loke rapidly tried to figure out how to fix the mess he found himself in. Lucy remembered Natsu, at least to some extent, and he would bet that was why she was acting so strange. He had no idea how to fix it, but he decided it would be best to start with finding out how much she remembered.

Lucy made her way to the cupboard and filled Plue's bowl before giving it to him. "I just want to make sure he gets enough." She glanced at Loke before looking away, clearly ashamed. "I, uh, I don't remember when I fed him last."

"Lucy, you are clearly not okay." Loke took the bag from her and put it away before leading her to the kitchen table and forcing her to sit. When she tried to stand again, he grabbed her shoulders and held her still. "Sit."

"But I-"

"Sit."

Lucy began to nervously play with her fingernails as she sat in her chair and Loke moved towards the counter. He quickly put together a cup of tea and brought it back to her. He curled her hands around the cup and then moved to sit across from her.

"Lucy, tell me what's going on," he said softly.

Lucy's unfocused eyes continued to stare straight passed him. She was a wreck, having not showered in what he assumed had been days, with dark circles under her eyes from not sleeping. Now that she was sitting still, the nervous jitters had lessened, but he couldn't be sure just how much damage had been done until she spoke to him.

"Lucy," he whispered as he leaned forward and wrapped his hands around hers. "Tell me what's going on. You can trust me, you know that, but I can't help if you don't talk to me."

Lucy's eyes struggled to focus on him, but when they did, tears began to build almost immediately. "I don't think I can with this."

"That's not true," he said firmly. "You can trust me with anything. I live to serve, princess," he added with a smile. "Just tell me what you need."

"I need everyone to remember what I remember," she whispered quietly.

Loke's stomach dropped and he had to swallow before he could find his voice and ask, "Remember what?"

Her tears spilled over as she said the name she should not know in a broken whisper.

"Natsu…"


Natsu threw another mug at the wall as he continued to try and work through the aggression boiling within him. He'd been there all of five minutes before collecting as many mugs, glasses and plates as he could carry and found an empty stone wall. As king, his brother could get whatever he needed, so he didn't feel bad about breaking his brother's dishes.

Unfortunately, the more he tried to work through his anger, the more it seemed to grow.

Grandeeney. Erza. His brother. Even Leo, although that part didn't surprise him so much. He'd been betrayed by every single person who should have been on his side. For all he knew Happy was in on it, too, but the little Exceed had been absent so much recently, he couldn't be sure. What kind of friend was that, to just avoid him as much as he had been? Clearly something was going on. It would have been nice if he'd talked to Natsu about it, told him what was going on before disappearing.

As another plate smashed against the wall, Natsu grabbed a large glass and wound up, but paused before he let it go. Something tugged at him, deep in his chest. He was almost certain he'd felt something similar when Lucy had been upset about things in the past.

Natsu roared as he threw the glass, his anger not relieved even a little bit as it smashed and rained glass down around him.

He was stuck, forced to remain parted from his mate, and he was experiencing phantom pains that reminded him once more of what he had lost.

With a blast of heat, Natsu morphed into his much less used demon form and allowed his anger to take over as he took off through a nearby window, determined to find something he could smash that might allow him to externalize the pain he was feeling.

He wanted to break something as much as his heart had been broken.


"Who is Natsu?" Loke asked.

Lucy sniffled and wiped her nose against the sleeve she was still wearing. "He's the friend I went traveling with. We… we went to Aspen over Thanksgiving. We went to the Amazon over New Year's. We lived together, here, while he was looking for somewhere to move." She pressed her lips together to try and stem her tears before she spoke again. "We started dating a while ago."

Damn it, Natsu. You really did it, didn't you? "Lucy… did you fall in love with him?"

Lucy nodded as a sob escaped her throat. "I tried- I tried not to. I'm an adult, I thought I could remain friends and still be with him, but I… I couldn't. I didn't…" Another sob escaped her before she buried her face in her hands. "And now he's gone! And no one seems to remember him for some reason!"

Loke felt like the lowest scum on the face of the planet. This was all his fault. What Lucy was going through- the pain, the uncertainty, the confusion- was all his fault. For whatever reason, it seemed his wipe spell hadn't been successful, and in his infinite wisdom, he had waited several days to check in with her.

He was a failure of a guardian angel.

And he was about to fail even more.

He couldn't just sit there and allow Lucy to continue to suffer. One of his major objectives as Lucy's guardian angel was to keep her happy. She was safe, for the moment, but she was clearly not happy. If his spell had failed, there was no point in trying to take those memories again, which meant he would have to tell her the truth. About everything.

There were no lies for him to hide behind. No stories that could effectively cover up what was happening that she wouldn't see through. He had to tell her about the prophecy, about her family, about angels, about Natsu… about him. Even if it made her hate him, even if it got him in trouble with the king, even if he was punished for breaking the terms of the Hearfilia's contract… he had to tell her.

He took her hands into one of his and pulled a handkerchief out of the air to clean off her face. "Lucy, it's okay."

"No it's not," she argued with a shake of her head, her eyes still squeezed shut.

"It is," he insisted and then put the fabric in front of her nose. "Blow."

"What?"

"Just do it. Blow." Lucy gave him an incredulous look, but she did as instructed until her nose was clear and he put the fabric away. She allowed him to keep his hold on one of her hands, but used the other one to take a sip of her tea.

"Thank you," she said.

"Like I said, I am at your service." Loke's grin faded and he let out a long breath. "Lucy, you're not going to like what I'm about to say, but I need you to listen to me anyway. I won't stay longer than I need to to tell you everything you need to hear, but I won't leave until I've said my piece. Can you agree to give me that much?"

Lucy frowned in confusion, but nodded nonetheless. "Of course. What do you need to tell me?"

Loke let out a long breath. "I remember Natsu, too."

Lucy tried to get to her feet, but Loke stopped her and made her sit back down. "You remember him?!" Lucy looked so hopeful, it broke Loke's heart.

"Yes," he said with a nod, "and he didn't leave because he wanted to. He left because he was forced to."

Lucy's eyes widened. "By who? Who made him leave?"

Loke's lips pressed together as he watched the anger filter into those soft brown depths, but he couldn't go back. Not anymore.

"Me."