Chapter 22

Bright Starlight

Alu kept running through the shadows of the forest. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. The driving force that kept her going was the pain and ache in her chest that tightened with each step she took. It wasn't because of any physical that made her hurt. It was emotional. All her frustrated feelings she had kept bottled up for so long, on top of the recent stress that was forced on her because of Ivan's threat, finally began to strangle her soul.

Suddenly, Alu's foot got caught by a root sticking out of the ground. She yelped as she tripped and fell. And as if her luck wasn't bad enough, she had come upon the top of of a hill. So as she fell, she tumbled down the slope into a small glen. She came to a stop at the bottom of it, where she laid flat on her back in the grass, panting heavily for air and staring up at the night sky. The moon shone down on the landscape in a wonder of silvery light, and the stars twinkled in the endless bluish black space high above the world.

Alu stared up at the constellations for a short moment. Then she lifted up her arm to cover her eyes with the back of her right hand as she closed them tightly. She gritted her teeth and clenched her left fist so hard that she tore up grass. The slightest sign of tears began to form on the sides of her eyes. She began to shiver from the effort of keeping them falling.

"Oh, great." she muttered to herself. "Even natures hates me."

"Wow, that was graceful. Never seen someone trip and tumble with such skill and coordination."

Alu's eyes snapped open. She knew that sarcastic voice. And it was a voice she didn't want to hear at the moment.

Alu removed her hand and saw Aquarius standing over her. The Spirit's arms were folded across her front, and she was looking at the young wizard with her signature frown.

Alu instantly scowled. With a cry of rage, she shot up from her spot and moved to try and hit Aquarius. Aquarius reacted quickly by grabbing Alu by her wrist and keeping it from landing its punch.

"Seriously, scruff munchkin, you need to calm down!" Aquarius scolded, tightening her grip.

"Shut up, Aquarius!" Alu yelled. "I don't want to deal with your crap right now!"

Alu yanked her hand out of Aquarius's hold and stepped back. She tensed her whole body, bracing herself for a fight.

"Well, that's too bad for you." Aquarius said sharply. "I'm not going anywhere until you've gotten some common sense knocked into you."

"Oh, what are you gonna do?!" Alu retorted. "Threaten me like always?! Turn me into a drowned corpse?!"

"If it's going to stop you from going after Ivan, I will." Aquarius replied. "You really think you can take him on by yourself? If you do, then you're even stupider than your mother."

"Shut up!" Alu yelled, letting a twinge of hurt slip into her voice. "You're just like everyone else! You think I'm pathetic because I have a Magic Deficiency!"

"I didn't say that." Aquarius stated.

"But that's what you think!" Alu accused viciously. "I'm not stupid! That's what everyone thinks! Even my own parents think that! No matter what I do, no matter how hard I train, I can't get anywhere! I'm always stuck in the same place! I've never even won any of my fights on my own!"

Alu then grimaced as she fought back the tears that were trying so hard to escape her eyes. Aquarius remained silent as she watched the young girl.

"Every time I try to win my own fights, someone always has to come and save me, and I hate it!" Alu went on, her voice wavering with each shout. "I hate being weak! What's worse is that nobody understands! They say that everything is my fault! And I'm sick of everyone saying I'm just going through some stupid teenager phase! They don't even to try to understand! And now there's a madman after my dad, and I'm the only one who knows about it! Ivan's the biggest coward I've ever met, but he's insanely powerful! My Magic is so weak that half of Crime Sorciére had my butt! I couldn't even protect Aries, you, or Violet! And I don't remember how we managed to escape or what happened to give me that power up in the first place! I just...AUGH, why am I even telling you any of this?! Dammit! I don't even know what to believe in anymore!"

Alu stopped her ranting to bring her hand up to her eyes. She angrily brushed her tears away, forcing the rest of them to stay where they were. She didn't want to show anymore weakness to Aquarius than she already did. She trembled from the force of keeping herself from crying. It felt like a knife had slit her stomach open, and her guts were spilled out on the ground in front of her.

She was angry, upset, and embarrassed all at the same time. She didn't want to increase that by crying like a baby in front of a Celestial Spirit that didn't have a high opinion of her.

Aquarius stared at Alu with a neutral for a good long while, processing what the girl had just told her.

Finally, Aquarius closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. She then opened her eyes, and her expression softened just a smidge. For anyone who knew Aquarius, this was a very rare thing for her to do.

"Alu, how old are you?" she asked calmly.

Alu took in several heavy breaths of air before answering in a ridged voice, "Fourteen."

"I see." Aquarius sighed. "That's a tough age for humans, isn't it? You just want to strike out on your own. Prove that you can take care of yourself."

Alu removed her hand from her face and glared at Aquarius.

"So you're saying I'm just going through some prepubescent phase, just like everybody else?!" she snarled.

"No." Aquarius replied, narrowing her eyes sternly. "All I'm saying is that age is a factor. Trust me, I've been around enough Celestial Wizards throughout the last few centuries to know that. But I also get the feeling there's more to your frustration than you're telling me."

Alu frowned and glanced away. Aquarius didn't need to know Alu for as long as someone like Aries to know that she was on to something.

"You keep saying that you hate being weak." Aquarius went on. "Let me ask you, what is your definition of being weak?"

Alu paused and looked at Aquarius with a distrusting frown.

"I'm waiting." Aquarius droned irritably.

"Why do you even care about what I'm going through?!" Alu questioned harshly. "You never cared about me before!"

"Why do you always push people away?" Aquarius replied, ignoring Alu's last statement.

Alu fell silent again, and her expression changed to legitimately shocked. That was the last thing she was expecting to hear.

"I don't need to know you for a long time to know that." Aquarius stated. "When you can't think of anything to say, you either resort to fighting, or you just run away like you did now. And I bet you do this pretty often."

Alu swallowed hard and let out a deep breath of air. She kept her gaze away from the Celestial Spirit.

"Being weak to me is when you constantly lose," she answered sourly. "It's always relying on others to help you because you can't save yourself. It's being unable to help others when they need it. It's when you're the one who always has to be saved instead of doing the saving. And if you're a girl like me, then that means you're a damsel in distress, which is something I loathe the most."

"Hmph." Aquarius grunted. "That's what you define as weak?"

"Yes." Alu replied with certainty.

"You really are an idiot."

"What?!" Alu snapped her head up to scowl at Aquarius.

"You think it's weakness to rely on others?" Aquarius said. "C'mon, you might be a Dragon Slayer, but you're also a Celestial Wizard, too. And you should know that the main power of a Celestial Wizard is to call upon others to help. The core of that Magic is trust and friendship."

"You're one to talk!" Alu rebuked indignantly. "You threatened my mom and abandoned her multiple times, even when she needed you! Yeah, don't think she didn't tell me about that! So don't lecture me about friendship when you don't follow the same rules yourself!"

Aquarius narrowed her eyes in offense. Alu held that gaze with a scowl of her own. Normally, whenever Aquarius would stare someone down, they would back down.

But not Alu. She didn't even flinch. She stood her ground and held Aquarius's stare.

"You've got guts, kid, I'll give you that." Aquarius commented in a low voice. "Not even your father would stand up to me like that."

At the mention of Natsu, Alu gave a mild look of surprise. But she quickly changed it to another one of her brave faces.

"I'm not afraid to stand up to anyone." Alu answered. "And I don't run away from my problems."

"Yeah, I've noticed." Aquarius said dryly. "But that kind of attitude could get you killed. Just look where it got you with Ivan."

"Trust me," Alu brought one of her fists up, "next time I meet up with him, I'm gonna knock him down so hard he won't get up again."

"Oh, stop talking big and be honest with yourself, scruff munchkin." Aquarius frowned. "I've said it before; in your current state, you wouldn't stand a chance against him."

Alu held her breath with restrained irritation. For a second, it looked like she was going to lash out at the Celestial Spirit again. However, she simply let out her breath and looked at Aquarius with conviction in her eyes.

"So what?" she said in a low, sharp tone. "Having all the power that he has doesn't mean jack if you don't have the courage to fight your own battles. If there's one thing my dad taught me, it's that you never give up the fight, no matter how hard things get. He taught me to always stand my ground and fight for what's right. To stand up and fight for others, regardless of the consequences. That's what he taught me a long time ago, and I've never once forgot."

Aquarius raised and inquisitive eyebrow after hearing what Alu had to say. She was particularly interested by what Alu had said in her last few sentences. For as the girl said them, a kind of sparkle of admiration came into her eyes.

Aquarius then gave a small grin.

"I get it," she said. "I should've seen it before. This all goes back to your father, doesn't it? And I'm willing to guess that he's the one you see as a strong person."

Alu's expression softened just a bit into just a small frown. That was enough to tell Aquarius that she was had hit the nail on the head. Aquarius shrugged and sat down on the grass, stretching her tailfin out in front of her and leaning back on her hands. She turned her head up to the sky to look at the stars above.

"C'mon, I can tell just by looking at you," the Water Spirit said nonchalantly. "Ivan was right when he said the resemblance between the two of you is uncanny. Probably because you're both Dragneels. Clearly his genetics dominated your appearance."

Alu gave a sour frown. Aquarius pretended not to notice and just kept talking.

"And you seem to make an effort to mimic him, even if you don't realize it yourself. The way you dress makes it all the more obvious."

"Well, I hate wearing dresses." Alu grumbled irritably through her teeth. "It's asking people to look at your underwear."

Aquarius couldn't help but snicker. Alu certainly had a dry sense of humor.

"Then there's your hair.," the Water Spirit stated. "Aside from being pink, it's also just as spiky as your old man's. And I bet that you have it short and ruffled on purpose."

"What's wrong with that?" Alu said, just slightly insulted. "Short hair's easier to manage. Plus, it stays out of your face when you're fighting."

"Another common trait." Aquarius smirked, holding up her finger in a matter-of-fact way. "You have your father's love for fighting. You inherited a lot more than his looks, kid. Honestly, it's so obvious you're practically an open book to everyone."

"Yeah, whatever." Alu frowned. "I'm not exactly the greatest mystery in the world."

Upon that statement, Aquarius narrowed her eyes and her grin turned into a tight-lipped mouth. She then turned away for a second.

It was only when she heard Alu sit down next to her that she turned back to look at the sakura haired girl. Alu pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her expression had changed to one of deep thought.

It was now that Aquarius decided to ask another question.

"So, any particular reason?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you want to be like your father? You must have some reason."

Alu groaned uncomfortably, making a pouty face at the same time.

"Well," she said, "since you're so keen on picking my brain, I guess I can tell you."

Alu then raised her right hand and grabbed a couple strands of her pink hair. She looked at those strands as she stroked them with her thumb.

"Ever since I was little, everyone's always said I'm the spitting image of my dad," she explained. "I guess I just figured that if I looked so much like him, I needed to be just like him because I felt that's what everyone expected of me. But it's also more than that. It became my own path I wanted to pursue. And…I think it started with one event in particular."

Alu closed her eyes for a moment as she recalled a memory from deep in her past. The whole time, Aquarius watched and listened to the girl. Although she kept a face as expressionless as wooden, she was paying close attention.

Finally, Alu opened her eyes and turned to look up at the sky. Her expression was reminiscent.

"It was a long time ago," she said thoughtfully. "I think I was about four or five years old. Mom and Dad wanted to take me on a job to give me an idea of what guild missions were like. I remember it was just a simple job, and that it was in Hargeon. While my parents were talking to the client, Happy and I went to explore the town. We somehow got separated, and I ended wandering around. I didn't know it at the time, but apparently, there were some slave traders that were kidnapping children to sell in Basco. You can probably guess that they had kidnapped me, too. They took me to some building near that harbor where a bunch of other children were being held captive."

Alu curled her fingers around her arms a little tighter and trembled a little.

"I remember I was so scared," she went on, her voice lower than before. "I was scared of what they would do to me. Of never seeing Mom and Dad again. Of being taken away from Fairy Tail and all of my friends. And I was scared for the other children. When they were going to brand us, they grabbed a boy who was about the same age as me. Just seeing him struggling and kicking terrified me. But I guess it also made me take action. I don't know why, but I ran up and bit one of the guys holding the boy hostage. That turned their attention on me. It was then I thought I was really done for.

"But then…

Ten years ago…

Alu kicked and screamed with furious passion, but the three large men had a tight hold on her, and she was just a child, small and terrified.

"So you want to get branded first?" the man in charge sneered. "Very well then. And don't worry, the pain won't last. Although the mark will remain there forever."

Fear surged through Alu as that man came towards her with a burning hot branding stick. In just a matter of seconds, it would permanently burn her skin and mark her as a slave for the rest of her life. Once that happened, she would never see her family again.

Alu cried and cried uncontrollably. Tears poured from her eyes and down her cheeks. She wanted her mommy and daddy. She wanted them more than anything. She just wanted them here.

As one of the men move in to tear her shirt off, Alu lifted up her voice and screamed as loud as she could.

"DADDY! HELP ME!"

A split second after that, the ceiling above suddenly burst open, causing large blocks of rubble to shower down into the warehouse. This made the men stop in shock, and the children scream and cry as they covered their heads with their arms to shield themselves. At the same time, something came flying down through the hole in the roof in a ball of fire.

"I HEARD YOU, ALU!" a male voice shouted with fury.

Before the kidnappers knew what was happen, each of them were immediately punched and kicked either in the face or stomach. The men that were holding Alu were forced to let go of her. Alu fell to the ground and grimaced as pain shot up through her side. She then snapped her head up to see what had happened, and her eyes widened in surprise.

Natsu was standing protectively in front of her.

"Daddy," she whispered tearfully.

He came. He really came. Her father came to save her.

And right now, Natsu was furious.

"So you're the scumbags who've been kidnapping children to sell as slaves?!" he growled viciously at the four men in front of him.

"Who the hell are you?!" the head kidnapper glared. "And what makes you think you can just burst in here like this?! It's none of your business!"

"None of my business?!" Natsu clenched his fists, his scowl deepening. "You mean you kidnapping Alu and scaring her to death is none of my business?!"

"Alu?" one of the men questioned.

"Who's he talking about?" another questioned.

And aura of flames suddenly emanated around Natsu in a blaze of wild anger.

"THERE'S A REALLY HEFTY PRICE FOR MAKIN' MY DAUGHTER CRY, YOU KNOW!" Natsu raged, his voice echoing through the warehouse.

It was at that moment that the head kidnapper noticed the red mark on Natsu's shoulder. His eyes darted back and forth between the Fire Wizard in front of him, and the little pink-haired girl shivering on the ground behind him. His face then grew deathly pale when he realized who was standing before him.

"S-Salamander?!" he stuttered. "Oh, t-that's your kid?!"

Alu watched with fear and admiration as her father began to walk towards her kidnappers in a strong, steady stride. At the same time, the kidnappers began to back away from the enraged Dragon Slayer.

"W-We didn't know that was your kid!" one kidnapper lied.

"No, of course not!" another joined, his face painted with terror.

"Yeah, this is all just a misunderstanding!" the head kidnapper grinned nervously.

But Natsu wasn't buying it.

"I don't care if you punks knew or not!" he shouted. "You still kidnapped her!"

Natsu then set out in a dead sprint towards the kidnappers, who all cowered in fear and were too afraid to move.

"ANYONE WHO HURTS MY FAMILY PAYS THE PRICE!" roared the Fire Dragon Slayer

Summoning his Magic, Natsu channeled his power into his fists and released his anger and vengeance in the form of a powerful Fire Dragon Wing Attack. The attack sent all the kidnappers flying back and slamming into the walls of the building, and the fire from Natsu's attack burned each of them. They all laid on the ground, too stunned and terrified to get back up.

Seeing the threat gone, Natsu dismissed his Magic. However, he still kept his fists clenched, and his body tense with anger.

"My wife's coming with the town's military," he snarled. "So I'd stay down if I were you."

From behind Natsu, all of the kidnapped children huddled together, staring at him with fear and terror. None of them had ever seen the power of a Dragon Slayer before. The raw power they had just witnessed from Natsu was enough to make them quiver and cry in fear. They were all so terrified of his power that they almost forgot to be grateful that he had saved them.

All expect for one.

"DADDY!"

Upon hearing a familiar voice call out his name in a tearful cry, Natsu turned around quickly. His face immediately changed from a vengeful scowl to an intensely relieved expression. Alu was running clumsily towards him, crying and wailing. When she reached him, Natsu squatted down to her level and welcomed her into an embrace. Alu clutched handfuls of his jacket with all the strength she had and buried her face into the center of his abdomen. Natsu's arms, which were tense and ready to punch someone just seconds ago, quickly relaxed. They became loving and caring as he wrapped them around his precious daughter.

"Daddy!" Alu bawled. "Daddy! I-I was s-so scared! Those men! Th-They were going to h-hurt me! Th-They were going to t-take me away!"

"It's okay, Alu." Natsu soothed, stroking his daughter's hair. "It's okay. Calm down. Daddy's here. I'm right here. You're safe now."

Alu breathed shuddered breaths as she tried to calm herself down. She was slowly becoming less afraid as she held onto her father. His warmth, strength, and gentleness surrounded her, making feel secure. That feeling only increased when Natsu carried her up as he got to his feet. She wrapped her arms around his neck as far as they would go, clutched at his scarf, and nuzzled her face into the soft fabric.

"There, just take it easy." Natsu assured, rocking her slightly. "I've got you. It's over now. C'mon, let's go find Mommy."

"Mommy." Alu whimpered. "I want Mommy."

"I know. Let's go find her, then we can go home."

"Okay."

Natsu then turned back to the other children. Now that they had seen him handle Alu with care and love, they were less afraid of him now. And that fear subsided even more when he gave them all a genuine smile.

"C'mon, I'm here to take you all home, too," he said. "Your parents are worried about ya."

With that, Natsu carried Alu in his arms as he left the warehouse with a bunch of children following close behind him. Alu eventually stopped sobbing and rested her head on her father's shoulder. But she never once loosened her grip on his scarf.

She hung onto her father like he was a lifeline.

Back to the present…

"I might've been just a pipsqueak, but I remember that day like it happened just hours ago." Alu said, her tone low and serious. "And I remember two things I took away from it. One, I never wanted to feel helpless ever again. That fear of being weak; I never wanted to feel it again. I don't to be some damsel in distress. I hate being weak because it reminds me of how scared I was back then. But my dad, he wasn't afraid. He was strong and defended the weak. I wanted to just like that. I want to be just as strong as him. After all, I am his daughter. I want to live up to his reputation. But it's just no use. I'll never be like him. I'll always just the pathetic Weak Link of Fairy Tail."

Alu pulled her legs in even closer and lowered her head onto her knees. Her body deflated as she let out a defeated sigh.

Aquarius stared at Alu for a moment or two. Her expression wasn't scornful or annoyed. It was a kind sympathy that she didn't want to show too much.

Finally, Aquarius closed her eyes and let out a deep breath of air. She turned her gaze back up to the sky.

"That explains so much," she said, grinning slightly. "I can see why you would think of him as a hero. And I'll admit, from the time I knew him, he was pretty heroic, if not stupid for the most part."

Alu remained still. She didn't seem to have the will to speak out against that last comment.

"Although Alu," Aquarius went on, "you're a lot more like him than you think. You didn't hesitate to fight against Ivan to protect everyone back there. You even came back to help your friends, even when the odds were against you. And as far as I can tell, you're just as hard-headed as you're dad is."

"Hey!" Alu snapped, lifting her head off her knees to shoot Aquarius a nasty look.

Aquarius just gave a light chuckle at the reaction.

"Not to mention, you spazz out at the drop of a hat," the Water Spirit joked.

Alu deepened her scowled into a comically annoyed look.

Aquarius's expression softened, which surprised Alu.

"But also," Aquarius said, "you're like your mother in many ways, too."

"Huh?" Alu perked up, her eyes slightly wider. "My mom?"

"Yeah." Aquairus shrugged. "For one thing, you treat your Spirits like equals. And the way you teamed up with Aries is something that I could see Lucy doing. You're also very passionate about what you believe in. And if anyone gets in your way, you're not afraid to take them down."

Alu smirked at the last comment.

"But most of all," Aquarius went on, "you have a big heart, just like her. You may be a Dragneel, but you also have Heartfilla blood flowing through you. And while you have your father's eyes, you have your mother's face."

Alu smiled softly. Up until now, she didn't think she much in common with her mother. The only thing she knew she had in common with her was that she was Celestial Wizard, just like her. But some reason, hearing that she had some more common traits with Lucy made her feel a little prouder than before. Especially since they came from someone who had known her mother better than anyone else.

"You know that's the first time anyone's ever told me that." Alu said.

"Well, now you know." Aquarius simply stated.

"Thanks." Alu grinned.

Alu then gave a thoughtful frown.

"But why?" she asked. "Why are even telling me any of this? And why do suddenly care so much?"

Aquarius didn't answer. Alu watched with a keen eye as Aquarius bit her lips and lowered her head. It was like she trying to find the right words to say in regards to the question presented to her.

Finally, Aquarius took a deep breath.

"Because you're just like someone I once knew," she muttered.

Alu blinked. She wasn't expecting that answer.

But before Alu could press the matter any further, Aquarius moved up from her spot.

"C'mon, we better get back," she said casually. "It's late, I'm tired, and we have a long journey tomorrow. Besides, don't want the others to think that we've killed each other now do we."

"I…guess not." Alu hesitated.

Normally, Alu wouldn't argued about leaving the conversation hanging the way it was. However, by this point, she was starting to feel very exhausted. She just wanted to lie down and go to sleep.

Without resistance, Alu got up from her spot and walked back the camping sight with Aquarius beside her.

As the came upon their destination, they saw that the others had already laid out their blankets and were preparing to settle down for the night.

A little way off, just on the edge of the forest opposite of where Alu and Aquarius entered, Aries and Sorano stood facing one another. Alu was too tired to make out what the two were talking about, but she could just barely see a look of regret in Sorano's face, and Aries had a sympathetic expression. After Sorano finished speaking, Aries gave a gentle smile and said something that made the white-haired wizard look up at her with mild shock. Aries then stuck out her right hand to offer a hand-shake. Sorano graciously accepted it, and the two shook hands.

Alu didn't know what was going on between the two of them, but she was a little to tired too care too much about it.

About half an hour later, Alu was lying flat on her back, staring up at the night sky above her. All around her, her companions slept soundly.

As exhausted as Alu was, she had a harder time falling asleep than she thought she would. It wasn't just because the events of the night had left her with some things to think. Although that was a small factor.

Alu turned her head to look at Aquarius. She was about several feet away from the Water Spirit, and it looked like the Spirit was having a better time sleeping than the wizard.

"What's with her?" Alu whispered to herself. "She's not the moody Spirit Mom told me about. At least not completely anyway. I thought for sure she was going to start another fight with me back there. Oh, well. Maybe I'm looking too far into this."

Alu then looked back up at the sky as her mind drifted to another topic. One that was giving her the most torment.

It was about her parents. She figured that this was bother her so much was because she was thinking about Ivan threatening to steal her father's soul. After all, it was only then that she started to worry about her father again. And especially after those conversations about her parents she had with Aquarius, Alu couldn't stop her mind from drifting back to them.

Alu didn't quite know why, but she suddenly found herself missing them. Although this wasn't the first time she had been away from them for an extended period of time, Alu seemed to be missing them more than she did in the past. Probably because of the circumstances surrounding Ivan and his plans.

Alu was now wishing that her father and mother were here with her. At least that way, she would know that they were safe.

She also couldn't help but wonder where they were right now. Chances were that they were camping out somewhere, looking up at the same sky she was looking up at. And that they were watching all of the stars sparkle brightly in that endless void.

As Alu looked up at the stars, gazing at their bright lights.

"Bright starlight," she whispered softly.

Seeing all those points of light amidst the vast darkness reminded Alu of a song. It was one that her parents used to sing to her when she was very small. Whenever she was scared, had woken up from a nightmare, or was feeling hopeless, one of them would sing this song to her. It was one of her favorite songs, and it always lifted her spirits whenever she she needed assurance.

She remembered it being sung to her after the kidnapping incident. The time it was sung to her then reminded her that she was home. She was safe, loved, and protected.

It always told her that.

Soon, Alu began to hum the melody to herself.

Natsu, still awake and sitting down at the base of the same tree he had been leaning up against before, looked down at his wife. Lucy had fallen asleep earlier, snuggling up next to him for warmth and comfort. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the soothing lullaby of his heartbeat. He had wrapped his scarf around the two of them, and now held her in a loving embrace as she slept against him. He couldn't help but smile at her as she breathed softly and peacefully.

"At least I know you're safe," he whispered gently to his wife.

He gave her a small kiss in her golden hair, letting her lovely scent reach up through his nose and fill him with a warmth that his fire couldn't give him.

Natsu then turned his head back up to the sky. He stared up at the stars as he thought of Alu. He was hoping that she was at least safe out there. Maybe she was even looking up at the sky like he was. His daughter might be a long way from him, but at least they were under the same sky. They were being watched over by the same stars.

That alone was a comforting thought.

As he stared up at the twinkling stars, Natsu began to remember a song that Lucy used to sing to Alu when she was little. Although Natsu wasn't one for having the best memory in the world, he could remember that lullaby as clear as a bell. It just had the kind of melody that made it impossible for him to forget. He even sang it to Alu a few times when Lucy had been called away on missions for the Guild. Natsu wasn't really big on singing, but this song, when sung to Alu, was the exception.

Back then, Alu used to get horrible nightmares that woke her up in panic. But this song always managed to calm her down.

And just humming it made Natsu feel calmer, too.

What neither Natsu or Alu knew was that they were both humming the same song at the same time. Soon, they both went from humming to singing it softly. Their voices, if they were singing it side-by-side, would've been in perfect harmony.

For this moment, they sung it together in spirit.

"When the darkness falls and it casts out the sky,

I'll be a bright starlight to guide you home,

You are not alone.

Though it's like all hope is gone inside,

I'll be a bright starlight to let you know

You are not alone."

When Alu had finished singing, she gave a small smile. That lullaby from her childhood had once again refreshed her soul. It was one of the things that kept her close to her family, even if was only in metaphorical way.

Finally, exhaustion took over and Alu rolled onto her side. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

At the same time, Natsu finally allowed himself to give into his fatigue. Resting his head on Lucy's, holding her close, and fell asleep.