"What the hell!? What do you mean she dies!?" Natsu shouted in anger. He searched Wendy's eyes, desperate for a sign that she was just pulling his leg. That she was going to burst out laughing. But he knew. Wendy wasn't that type of person. Which meant...

She was telling the truth.

"That's just what Charle told me, Natsu-san. I'm sorry." Wendy muttered out. Natsu wrung his hands while he sat hunched over on the bed. On the other hand, Levy was trying her best not to burst out into tears. The only other person who had so much in common was going to be killed. She may have not known Lucy long, but she loved the blonde like a sister.

"But," Wendy began to say. "It gets worse. Natsu-san, Charle told me that you're going to be there. You'll hold Lucy-san's body in your arms, crying, while fire surrounds you two. I-I think that might be the day the dark guilds attack..." Wendy sighed. It was hard for her to explain this to him. She knew he cared deeply for Lucy, even if he denied it. The look he gave her alone was proof.

"I...I don't understand. If I was there her last moments, how I the hell couldn't i have protected her!?" Natsu growled, standing up. He paced back and forth around the room while the two women watched him in pity. He muttered excuses for himself hopelessly, trying to find a plausible explanation as to why she died on his watch. Both women had never seen him so worked up before. But, nothing like this had ever happened either.

"Natsu, please don't worry about this right now. We have about four months until the dark guilds attack. We have plenty of time to stop whatever is going to happen." Levy said, putting a small hand on Natsu's shoulder. He stopped his pacing as he peered down at Levy. She seemed so composed and hopeful. It calmed Natsu down. He sat back down on a nearby chair and nodded.

"Should we tell Lucy about what Charle saw?" Natsu asked the two suddenly. Wendy looked torn on the question while Levy feverishly shook her head. She gazed into Natsu's eyes, the seriousness of her expression catching Natsu's attention.

"Absolutely not. While she may be a mage, she is still a princess that doesn't have a clue on what really goes on in the real world. It's best we just keep this between us. But, I think it would be wise to keep a closer eye on Lucy." Levy nodded to herself. Natsu sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't like the idea of Lucy not knowing her own fate while everyone around her did. It felt...dirty to him. But he didn't know why.

"How do you suppose we keep an eye on her? Most of the time i just see her in her room." Wendy turned to Levy. Levy hummed and tapped her knee with her fingers in thought.

"Well I could help by acting as her temporary tutor until Gajeel comes back. Wendy and Natsu, you guys can provide the fun while making sure she stays safe." Levy smiled. Natsu and Wendy glanced at each other. It didn't sound like such a bad idea. A smile broke out between the dragon slayers. They gave Levy a nod.

"She did say she was going to go back to her studies. So I think it's your cue. Afterwards, me and Wendy will make sure she has the best day ever!" Natsu cackled, excited to do something for his blonde friend. The two other women laughed while Levy left the room in search of Lucy. Levy wandered the halls until she came up to Lucy's door. She knocked meekly and waited for the blonde to answer. And answer she did.

Lucy opened her chamber doors and looked up, but realizing there was no one there, she looked down. It was her bookworm friend, Levy. She honestly expected Natsu or Erza to be there. She wondered why Levy wanted to see her. She closed the door behind her and grinned down at the blue haired girl.

"What is it Levy-chan?"

"Oh Lu-chan! I had a great idea and I really wanted to ask you about it!" Levy grinned back. She shuffled her feet before continuing to talk. "Since Gajeel is gone right now, I was thinking I could help you with your studies. Is that alright?" Levy asked. Stars made their way into Lucy's eyes as she nodded.

"Of course you can Levy-chan! I was so bored doing that all by myself. Oh this will be so much more enjoyable. Come on, let's go to the library!" Lucy hummed happily, taking Levy's hand and practically dragging her there. Levy was surprised for a moment. That was way easier than she thought it would be. Lucy really must of been suffering studying alone like that in her room. This was going to work out better than she could of possibly hoped.

Once they were seated in the library, Levy asked her about what she was supposed to be learning.

"Oh you know, Fiore's history, Mathematics, a little bit of biology. And my personal favorite, the study of magic." Lucy giggled. Levy smiled once again from her words and stood up. She searched the library for a couple books. Once she grabbed what she was looking for, she set them down on the table Lucy was at.

"We should probably start out with the hardest one. Mathematics."

Lucy groaned and slammed her head on the table. "You're just like Gajeel!" The blonde whined as she lifted her sore head. "I already told him before that I'm nothing like Mavis, she was much more skilled in mathematics and statistics than I am." Lucy pouted, but Levy couldn't bring herself to scold Lucy. Did she say...what she thought she said?

"D-Did you say Mavis?"

...

"Another dead end." Gray muttered. He stocked away from a group of drunken men while they laughed at nothing in particular. Erza crossed her arms and glared at Gray who looked beyond irritated.

"They didn't have any information about the pub either?" Erza asked. Gray shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Obviously not. Those drunken fools wouldn't know their own hand if it was in front of their face. Useless." Gray sighed. For hours now, the four tried their hardest to find this pub that Lucy was talking about. They searched around where Lucy said it would be, but all they could find was a patch of grass. That's when Gray and Erza realized it was hidden with magic. That's why they needed information from the townsfolk so they could find out how to break the seal that hid the pub.

"Damn, this just keeps getting more complicated," Erza frowned. "And Lucy was definitely right. Most of these townsfolk won't give us the time of day because of this festival. The only people we can even walk up to are drunks and children, and of course they don't know a thing about Dark Rivers." Erza explained with a sigh. Gray scoffed in agreement. This was much harder than they anticipated. Looking off into the crowds of busy people setting up for the festival, Gray furrowed his brows as he saw a flash of blue in the crowd.

...was that Happy? He was back already? That's when he saw something else. A small circle of people surrounded Happy as they held equipment and props. They were talking pretty easily to the cat. Erza followed his gaze to the same crowd. She let a small smile shape her lips.

"Of course they would..." Erza giggled. Gray glanced at her from the corner of his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"He and Charle are cats. Cute and furry little animals. Any animal lover will have no problem answering any question they ask. We should of thought of this sooner." Erza giggled again. Gray turned his attention back to Happy, who now had Charle at his side. They waited a couple minutes until Charle nodded and grabbed Happy's hand, flying back to Erza and Gray.

"Did you guys get anything out of them?" Gray questioned the two. Charle let go of Happy's hand and crossed her arms. She nodded with a little smirk.

"Of course we did. They were like putty in our paws. One of them explained to me that magic can undo the seal on the pub. And you're in luck, because it takes Aera magic to do it." Charle told them. But Erza and Gray looked confused.

"What's Aera magic?" Gray raised an eyebrow in question. Charle puffed up her cheeks in anger and looked away from the two mages.

"It's magic that exceeds use! I'm sure we've told you this before!" She let her anger dissipate as Erza smirked wildly along with Gray. Finally, they were getting somewhere. Both mages were giddy with excitement. Like a child on their birthday.

"Do you suppose that suspicious patch of grass on the outskirts of town was the lost pub we were searching for?" Erza asked Gray, already knowing the answer.

"I don't have a doubt in my mind." Gray answered. Seeing the excitement in the two, Happy laughed and flew towards the outside of town. The other three following.

"Aye sir!"

Charle and Happy flapped their wings in front flattened patch of grass. Gray and Erza stood back and watched the two exceeds intently. Charle studied the area as her eyes closed. She felt the wind ruffle her fur lightly. But there was an obstacle that stood right in front of her. She could tell by the wind's force. So they were correct, that pub is right in front of them.

"Are you ready Happy? We're going to circle around the top of what we think is the pub. And we'll slowly move downwards as we go faster. Eventually we'll enter into max speed, and that's when the pub's seal will break." Charle instructed. Happy looked forward and nodded his head before turning to her with a determined expression.

"Aye sir. I'm ready." And that's all she needed. She flew up and around, while he stayed where he was. That's when they began to fly around in a circle. It was slow at first, but as they got faster, they moved more towards the ground. It got to a point that not even Gray or Erza could see a body outline of either exceed.

The wind picked up, blowing Erza's hair around wildly. Though she didn't really mind. Gray stayed planted to the ground as he felt the wind get stronger. That's when a blast of light came from the exceeds. Gray and Erza could now determine they just entered max speed. Erza gasped as she saw a flag appear in the sky. It was the pub's roof.

The building slowly became visible as the exceeds got even faster. Once Happy and Charle made it to the ground, they slowly and tiredly flew back to Gray and Erza. They collapsed in Gray's arms, immediately falling into a slumber. Erza focused on the building in front of them. It was fully visible for the world to see.

"Shall we go in?" Erza said, gazing up at Gray who shuffled Charle and Happy around into a more comfortable sleeping position. He glanced at her for a half second. Then he looked up at the building. It looked ominous and dangerous. But when did that ever stop them before?

"Yeah. Let's go. Before they found out what we did to their little seal."