notes; whew new chapter! i didn't realize how long this was going to be but i hope you enjoy it!
"Come on, Natsu, come on…" Gray huffed as he and Erza both dragged Natsu out of Lucy's house. "You're really freaking heavy, you know that, right?"
"Gray, don't be such a baby," Erza told him, who was equally pulling her own. "Natsu, we need to get back to the guild, and you're not really helping our case here."
Finally, after ages of struggling, Natsu freed himself from the duo's grip and landed knee-first onto the pavement outside Lucy's house. Heavily breathing, he bellowed, "I don't want to go back, guys! I don't want to be on this team anymore!"
Both of them stepped back, stunned and in silence.
"She's back at the guild. I know she's there. And she'll come here. I can't… I can't escape her." With his back still turned from the two, his voice started to shake. "You guys know that we're not a team without her. Well… at least you can be a team without me."
Happy, who had followed them closely out the door, walked up to Natsu, in tears. "Natsu, what are you saying? You and Lucy formed this team! You can't just… you can't just give it up like that!"
"Natsu, we've been through this already," Erza said softly. "Why are you taking such a negative approach to this? It's horrible what Tomica's done, but… there might be a way to fix it. You don't know till you try, Natsu…"
Gray finally stepped in and walked around to face his usual rival. He breathed steadily and put his hands on his shoulders. "Natsu. You're always the one to support us. You're always the one that picks us up when we're down. I know I never usually say thanks but…" As his voice trailed off a bit, Erza knelt down next to him. It didn't matter if people were walking by or staring - they just wanted Natsu and Lucy back. The normal Natsu and Lucy, without the rift that was created.
"What Gray is trying to say is, for the good of the guild, for us, for Happy, and for Lucy, we need you back. You need to be strong, Natsu. We're only as strong as the people around us. Think of Lucy. She wouldn't want you to give up no matter what. She'd keep fighting for you. You know that. So…" In a gentle voice, Erza stood up and reached her hand out to Natsu, with Gray following in her footsteps. When Natsu peered up, Happy had done the same.
"You guys…" Natsu said, tears stinging his eyes. "What the hell… is going on… with me…"
"Don't worry, Natsu. We're going to fix this. But we need your help," Erza replied.
Natsu slowly started to rise up from the ground. He could feel his temple throbbing and his heart racing. "It's just. I can't stop thinking about Lucy. I keep seeing her everywhere. I guess I'm just so afraid of what could happen and being without her… and I've been trying to remember what Gildarts told me… but for some reason it's harder than the previous time. Is it Lucy? I… I don't know. But you guys are right. You're right." Slowly gaining a spark, Natsu realized what he had to do. "You said Makarov was researching it? The spell?"
Gray and Erza turned to each other, somewhat flustered at the sudden change in Natsu's personality. "Uh, yeah, yeah! It's been a few days now, we should check back with him, actually," Gray responded, considerably shocked. "That's why we need to get back to the guild!"
Natsu cracked a smirk, something that made Erza's heart skip. He hasn't smiled for days… and now? He's… different… Her eyes softened, and playfully, she asked Natsu, "So, what does this mean Natsu? Are you fired up?" She chuckled a bit when saying Natsu's signature line.
Natsu turned on his heel and swiftly spun his head to look at Erza, Gray, and Happy.
"Yeah, you could say that. I'm fired up now."
A brief grin and snicker felt like a blur, as Natsu started to race in the direction of the guild. The sun was starting to set at this point; it was almost as if he was running off into the sunset towards whatever his goal might be - most definitely Lucy.
Satisfied that their words had reached him, and that Natsu had finally come to his senses, they realized they couldn't let him get to the guild before they did. It wasn't just that he was notoriously reckless, but that the feeling of running together, to some destination (even without their anchor, Lucy) felt somewhat normal. That was something the group had been missing for quite some time now.
"Natsu! Hey, Natsu! Wait for us!" Happy called after him, flying next to Erza and Gray, who were both smiling ear to ear.
"NATSU!" they yelled, almost laughing. He's back! I just hope it lasts… Erza thought to herself. She hoped for the best, and she was glad to see Natsu back to how he used to be. But there was always an air of reality that one had to face. What if there was no way of tracing Tomica, or Makarov and Porlyusica couldn't find anything? No… no… don't think negatively now. Positivity is the only thing keeping us going. We're gonna get through this together.
Natsu was like a spitfire. Erza and Gray could barely keep pace with him. Of course, Happy was lucky because he was able to fly, and he kept Natsu company as his legs propelled him to his destination. But he didn't stop. Not even once to catch his breath. He just kept running. When he has a goal in mind, he's unstoppable, Erza thought as she tried to catch him.
"There's hope, you know?" Erza huffed to Gray. "I think he sees a light at the end of the tunnel, for us."
"Let's hope," Gray replied.
Up ahead, Natsu could see the guild doors and started to sprint as his eyes lit up. "Happy! Happy! We're almost there, look!" He was almost like a small child, and could hardly contain himself.
When he reached the guild, he anxiously threw open the doors, not unlike his usual entrances, and the entire guild turned back to him, stunned at such a random occurrence.
"MAKAROV! WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS MAKAROV?" His breathing was erratic and rapid, and Happy was floating close by above him. Happy echoed, "We need to find Makarov!"
Lucy, who had been sitting at the bar still, slumped over, lifted her head up. "Natsu…?" she muttered to herself. Mirajane was also behind the counter, peered over, and came out from behind. "Natsu! Natsu, hey, calm down! He's in his office. I'll go and get him and tell him you're looking for him.
Natsu, ignoring everyone else in the guild, made a beeline for Lucy and took a seat on one of the bar stools. Moments later, Erza and Gray made their way into the guild as well, and did the same. "Natsu!" Erza cried when she saw him at the bar. She sat down, as Gray did, and they both were extremely out of breath. Natsu was too, somewhat, but his drive seemed to take the edge off his tiredness.
Erza noticed Lucy was on Natsu's opposite side. "And Lucy! You're still here! Thank God," she said, her hand on her forehead. She then turned to Natsu. "Natsu, did you find Makarov?"
Lucy cut in this time. "Mira went off to look for him. What do you need him for?" she asked her.
Erza's eyes darted a bit. "It's not me, it's Natsu. Natsu needs to ask him something, I think. Well, I mean, we all do, but, it's more for him."
At that, Lucy sighed. "Oh, okay, I see." It seemed Lucy didn't really know what to say, so she decided not to press the conversation. Her relationship with Natsu was still in a gray area, especially since he had kissed her and done everything he could to make her remember him. But because she couldn't, it was making it all the more difficult to be around him. It was worth noting, however, Lucy wasn't opposed to getting to know him. Even if she had no traces of him in her mind, it wouldn't be a bad thing to start from scratch, would it? It couldn't hurt to try, at the very least…
"Guys! Makarov's here!" Mira called, appearing with the short guild master right at her side.
"Gramps! Did you find anything?" Natsu exclaimed, hopping off the barstool and bending down to get Makarov's height.
Makarov's face softened. "I think I was directing my attention to the wrong aspect of the issue, you see," he told them.
Gray, confused, questioned his statement. "Woah, what do you mean?"
"Come, let's go outside and finish discussing this," he said, motioning for the group to walk with him towards the backyard of the guild. Shit, this was where I kissed Lucy… Natsu thought. He wouldn't bring it up, obviously, but that memory stuck with him and panged at his heart, which started to race.
Finally reaching the outdoors, with a clear, bright sky as the background, Makarov spoke with the group in a circular formation. "In general, I was researching Tomica's magic. There's not much known about it, and he's the only one who's been reported to practice it. Therefore, information is limited and difficult to find. Well…" he said, trailing off. "It's limited to us. But, Lucy," - he now turned to Lucy, who was kneeling across from him - "you are a Celestial Spirit mage, no?"
Caught off guard a bit by this question, Lucy responded. "Y-yeah, of course! Of course I'm a celestial spirit mage!" She confidently gripped her keys which were dangling from her belt loop. Then, she quizzically wondered why this was important. "But why are you asking?"
"One of your spirits holds information that us normal wizards cannot access. We are lucky to have you, as a Celestial Spirit mage, to be able to do this. We can find out about Tomica's magic, and his spell, if you use Crux, Lucy. If he has been in contact with you and your spirits, you might be able to find some information about him. And we can find a way to fix this." Makarov closed his eyes as a finite ending to his discovery.
"So, we have to ask Crux to help us?" Natsu asked. "That's… pretty good, actually. I can't believe we didn't think of that before."
"I guess it couldn't hurt to try," Lucy said. She shuffled with her keys until she found her silver Crux key. "Okay!" she said excitedly, standing up. Raising the key, she profoundly said, "Open! Gate of the Southern Cross! Crux!"
Within moments, Crux started to materialize in front of the group as he passed through the Spirit World. When he noticed his owner, he smiled. "Lucy! My, it's been quite some time, hasn't it?"
"Y-yeah, it has," she said to him. Then, matter-of-factly, she continued. "But I need your help, Crux. I hope you're able to do it."
Crux nodded. "I will do my best, Miss Lucy. What information do you need?"
At this time, Makarov cut in and cleared his throat. "Crux, do you know of a way of finding information about the mage Tomica?"
Crux pondered for a moment. "Tomica, you said? Give me one moment." He shut his eyes, and it seemed like forever until he spoke again. Finally, he uttered, "He does not have a good relationship with Celestial Spirits. It was recent that he was in contact with them, about a week ago." He grew angered when he muttered his next words. "He hurt some of the Spirits of the Golden Keys. I can't see why, though…" He closed his eyes again and tried to think harder.
"What about his magic?" Natsu piped up. Crux opened his eyes. "Can you tell us about his magic?"
"I'll see if I was able to sense something and match it to what we know. It's not guaranteed, but us spirits have come into contact with a lot of magic, so I'll see what I can do." His eyes shut again, and he started to snore.
"Yo, is he sleeping?" Gray asked, visibly annoyed.
"Hey, Gray, calm down! That's just his style," Lucy reassured him. "He's searching, okay?"
After about five minutes, Crux gasped. The group, startled, all stood up. "W-what, did you find something?" Natsu exclaimed, the first one to ask.
"I've found what I can. Tomica, you said… very interesting magic…" he responded.
"Well, Lucy's lost her memories because of him! Can we do anything about it?"
"Memories? Oh… okay… hmm…" Crux was taking his time in his delivery, and Natsu was extremely anxious.
"I think he said something like 'Memory Break' when he casted the spell," Natsu told him. "Does that ring a bell?"
"Oh, yes! It's a Lost Magic, an altered form of Archive, you could say… Memory Break… Yes, okay… Memory Break is a very powerful spell. All of us Celestial Spirits were able to sense a great magical power when it hit Miss Lucy." Crux shook his head.
Natsu frantically jumped in. "But, is there a way to fix it? How can we get the memories back? There was to be some way, right?" His voice was laced with desperation, and he found Erza's hand had made its way to his back, indicating for him to relax a bit. But he was on edge. If there was a way to fix it, then he had to know!
"Memory Break is not very often used, even with this magic… it is a very rare cursed spell… but… I cannot reveal much about it…" Crux trailed off, but Natsu wouldn't have it.
"Listen, Crux! You have to! You have to find how to fix it! Lucy's memories were stolen from her! Come on! There has to be some way!" His agony was felt by the entire group, even Lucy. She admired his drive, and decided to jump in.
"Crux, if there is anything you can do to help us… please…" When he heard Lucy's voice, Natsu turned to her and studied her gentle face. She's… helping…
Crux sighed. "I'll see… I might get in trouble for revealing too much but… if it is for Miss Lucy, I must help her!" He closed his eyes for the final time, finding as much as he could.
Suddenly, he gasped. "Ah! I see. The caster who uses Memory Break… manipulates a space… they keep whatever they take in the space. Lucy's memories are locked away by the caster. Therefore, you must confront Tomica yourself in order to get Lucy's memories back. That is all I can say about it, my friends. I must take my leave now." Crux bowed his head and smiled at Lucy, who was also smiling.
"Thank you!" she and Natsu said at the same time. When they did, they looked at each other, and then immediately turned away.
At the next instant, fist in palm, and standing up, Natsu couldn't contain his emotions. "That's it! So we need to find Tomica! I'll fight him again! I don't care what it has to be! We know where her memories are now. So we need to go!" He started to run back into the guild, and presumably out, but Gray grabbed his shirt.
"Hold it, Natsu! Don't you remember how powerful Tomica is? You can't just go in without a plan!"
Natsu shot Gray a glare he had never seen before. "I don't care what it'll take, Gray. I'm going to fight him and I'm going to get her memories back. I'm ready to die, if that's what it means." His voice was so serious it sent shivers down everyone's spine.
Immediately, Happy flew up to Natsu's face. "Wait, Natsu! Gray's right! You have to be careful! We'll all go together, okay? We'll help you!"
Natsu shook his head. "You can't. He's not going to come out otherwise. I know the he's looking for me, not you guys. And I can't risk losing any of you, either. It has to be me." His face grew solemn, and when he peered at Lucy, who was listening intently and had an equally strained look on her face, he turned away, unable to look her in the eye.
"Children, I know Natsu is, well… rarely right, but he has a point," Makarov said, standing up. "Tomica had a clear goal in mind when he committed this act. He's… after Natsu. I want to protect all of you, you know you are my children. But, Tomica might only respond if he hears Natsu is looking for a rematch. It might be hard -" his voice was starting to choke - "but if this is what Natsu wants, and what could work, then we must put our trust in him."
Natsu, upon hearing Makarov's words of encouragement, flashed a smile. "Ha, thanks Gramps!" He then became serious. "I promise you. I won't lose. I want you to tell everyone you can find, that I'm looking for Tomica. I'm coming after him. And I'm not gonna lose to him again."
With that, Natsu turned on his heel and stomped back towards the guild, with Happy frantically flying close behind him. The remaining group left speechless, but with Makarov's blessing, they knew there was nothing they could do. Lucy was so important to them. And if this was the only way to fix things, then there was nothing else to do. Natsu had to fight Tomica again. It was the only way.
after notes; ahh ok! hope you liked it! more will be coming soon :)
