Chapter Four – Fear, Manifest

Chains clinked and dripped as Virgo stepped inside. Natsu was distantly aware of his body being pushed aside as she moved past him. Water was sheeting in steadily from the open door, soaking his clothes and pooling on the floor, but it was Happy's voice that broke him from his stupor.

"Lucy! What happened to her?"

"The princess is hurt."

"No shit, pinky," Natsu jerked away from the door and doggedly trailed after her. "What happened?"

"Why didn't she summon you sooner?" Happy asked at the same time. Virgo finished laying Lucy gently down on the misshapen and musty couch and then she turned to face the worried cat.

"My mistress did not summon me."

"She didn't?"

"I cannot fathom why; I found our keys only a few feet from her."

"Where was she?" Natsu was kneeling down by the couch and staring up at Lucy. The sharp smell of fear and adrenaline was still strong on her and…he felt his body tense as the unmistakable scent of something metallic caught in his throat. He took another deep breath and felt his jaw clench. Definitely blood.

He had been doing his utmost not to look at her, naked as she was, but now that he was it was all too obvious. Not mud or clay, as he had initially thought, but mud mixed with a disturbing amount of blood. But why hadn't he smelled it? With this amount, it was all but impossible that it wouldn't be the first thing he smelled. Natsu grabbed ahold of one of Lucy's wrists between his thumb and fingers. There was a heartbeat, he could feel it, even if he could not hear it above the shrill ringing in his ears.

"By the Hills. I found her near the bottom of the steps. She was already unconscious."

"If she didn't summon you then why are you here?" asked Happy. The little blue cat had perched on the back the couch and was staring down at Lucy with wide and concerned eyes.

"I felt my mistress's need for me and so I waited to be summoned. When I was not, I used my own power to come through."

"Who did this to her?" Natsu's voice was a growl and he had to forcibly bring himself to untighten and remove his fingers from Lucy's wrist before he crushed it in his rage.

"There was no one else at the Hills. Just me and my mistress." The Hills. Something inside Natsu clicked into place and then snapped.

"She was at the Hills? Why the hell would you bring her all the way here?" The look on Natsu's face would have cowed any lesser being, but Virgo held his fury with a cool and steady gaze.

"Her need for you was so strong that I could sense it even in the Celestial Realm, so I brought her here. Did I judge the situation poorly? Will I be punished?"

Natsu ignored the predictable question and did his best to quell the fury steadily ripping through him. He turned to Happy. "Happy, I need you to get the medical kit. And you," he said, shifting his attentions back to Virgo, "did you happen to sense anything else? Anything useful?"

"I felt…strange." The spirit's voice was fading. "Please, take care of my princess." And then, Virgo was gone.

Natsu brushed aside a lock of Lucy's matted and stained hair. There was a nasty gash on her temple and a streak of water-blurred blood which ran down across the length of her face. He discovered two more swollen mounds around her head and buried in her hair.

The rage was building. Rising and growing with every breath and every new and terrible wound. Jagged and deep lines cut at all angles over her arms. Blood had streaked and crusted down her legs and her chest looked as if someone had stuck glass through a layer of sandpaper and then scrubbed her with it.

And she was cold. Even her sleep, she shivered. It was almost imperceptible, weak as it was, but there was not one thing, not one small scrape and not one single tremor, that Natsu did not notice.

"Is she gonna be okay, Natsu? She looks really bad." Natsu looked up as Happy flew to his side with a large bundle in his arms. Lucy had insisted that 'every house should have one' and had even gone so far as to drag Natsu and Happy to the store with her. Once there, she had walked them down every aisle and explained the purpose and function of each item as she dropped it into the basket. At the time, Natsu had found the ordeal both pointless and tiring but now…well, Lucy would definitely be smug about this. He could see it now; the 'I told you so' on her lips and the 'Oh, Natsu' in her eyes. More than anything, Natsu wanted to see that smile now.

"I need you to fly to Fairy Hills." Natsu twisted open the bottle of antiseptic and dumped it over a wad of cotton. "Get Wendy."

"But Natsu –"

"I don't care if it's raining!" he snapped and immediately felt terrible for it. "Just go. Please. For Lucy."

"I was gonna say she isn't there," Happy said, looking hurt. "She and Carla left this morning."

"Damn it," Natsu cursed. "Erza, then. She'll know what to do."

"Aye, sir." The typical cheer was gone from Happy's words and they left only sadness and worry to echo about the room as he left.

Damnit. There was too much mud. It covered nearly every inch of her and smeared into her open wounds. Natsu looked at her, unable to tear his eyes away. Beneath the filth, it was everywhere; her flesh had become a mess of dark gashes and blood. A garbled cry, sick and rageful, clawed at his throat.

There had been so many times, too many times, where Lucy had been hurt and each time it happened was harder than the last. Harder for Natsu to handle, harder for him not to fall into an inferno of rage, harder for him not to burn the world away to be at her side. This time was different. There was no threat to eliminate. There was no one, except himself and Lucy. The rage was still there, but something new was taking hold and it froze him in place.

She was pale. So pale and so red. If only he had been there. He should have been there. If he had, then she would be warm and happy and safe. Not lying, shaking and unconscious, and bleeding…bleeding. Blood was all over her, all over his couch. It was all over her.

A loud clap of thunder erupted and it shocked Natsu into movement. He jumped to his feet and shot flames towards the fireplace as he stalked over to the kitchen. He gathered up several cloths and filled a large bucket with water. By the time he returned, the flames of a warm and hungry fire were already heating the air.

Before he could even hope to wrap her wounds, he would first have to clear away the thick layer of grime coating her skin. With that thought in mind, Natsu dunked one of the cloths into the bucket and set about it.

Bright and fresh blood still oozed and dripped down her arms, so Natsu started there. Out of all her injuries, it was the ones on her head that worried him the most, but he knew that there was nothing he could do for them. So he forced himself to focus on the task at hand and what he could do. It took two drenched and dirtied cloths, with a third nearly as ruined, for him to see her skin clearly.

The sight of her raw and ruined arm was decidedly worse, now that it was no longer shielded in mud, and it stung in Natsu's eyes. He dabbed disinfectant over her as hurriedly as his trembling hands would allow and then unwound a generous length of gauze, the tail of which he ripped off with his teeth.

"It'll be okay, Luce." As he finished tying up her left arm, Natsu squeezed Lucy's hand and winced when his own came back red.

Even her hands.

It did not matter. Natsu grabbed a fresh cloth and began to work on her face. The dirt came off easily, but the caked blood took more effort. Carefully, he pressed the warm towel against her skin, making sure to thoroughly wet the stains before attempting to wipe them free. Deep purple colored the swollen skin around the cut, but to Natsu's relief the cut itself did not seem all that terrible. There was still some blood weakly trickling out and he had been in the midst of considering cauterizing it when the door shot violently against the wall.

It was not the force of the weather, but the force of another storm entirely; Erza. She stood in the doorway, sopping wet, panting, and with her red hair plastered to her face. Her eyes met Natsu's from across the room and a grim look settled over her. She stalked over to him with each step punctuated by the wet, and somewhat anticlimactic, squeaking of her rainboots.

"How is she?" Erza fell to the floor beside him, dripping rain on his arm. Natsu opened his mouth but fell short when Erza raised a silencing hand. Her eyes were not on him now, but on Lucy. Her lips tightened. "Never mind that. Go and get her some clothes. Something loose and dry."

Natsu had gotten quickly to his room but, once there, he found it difficult to move. His heart was pounding and slamming without rhythm in his chest, but he knew that tune well enough. It was the chaos of battle. Familiar lines of adrenaline jarred by notes of fear; they rose within him, building into a fiery crescendo.

His back hit against the wall, his hands clenched into fists, and he threw his head up as he tried to slow his breathing. This wasn't a battle. There was no foe here that he could face or take down. There was nothing that he could do. This was not a situation he was equipped to handle. He didn't know how to stop bleeding or fix wounds; he knew only how to inflict them. Confusion and anger and fear were tearing into him, suffocating him, even as they fed the hungry flames within.

He needed to fight something. He needed to kill something.

No. Natsu blinked. He knew it had only been in his mind, but the sound of Lucy's voice and the memory of her smile calmed him almost immediately. There would be time to kill things later. For now, the important thing was clothing…somehow.

Rage still simmered within Natsu, like a rabid hound on a thin leash, as he returned with a handful of clean, albeit heavily wrinkled, clothes. As he made his way over the wet and uneven floorboards to round the couch, Erza stopped him. There was a fair amount of blood on her hands but she wiped them clean before taking the proffered clothes. After a quick inspection, she said,

"Where are mine? I will be needing a dry set as well. And I do not see underwear here."

"You're kidding," Natsu deadpanned. Erza's expression softened somewhat.

"Yes. I find that levity can be helpful in these situations. I will requip into something clean and dry when it is time. For now, go and fetch Lucy a pair of your underwear."

"Can't I just dry the ones she's wearing?"

"Natsu, she isn't wearing anything."

Oh. Right. Idiot.

"Well can't you just, I don't know, requip something for her?" Natsu stammered. He was now feeling an entirely different kind of fire coursing through him.

Erza's expression darkened. "Now is not the time to argue, Natsu. Chop, chop!"

When Natsu entered his room for the second time he did so with a much clearer mind. He turned to look over at Happy, who had trailed in after him.

"Listen, buddy," he began, but stopped as Happy laid a paw on his shoulder.

"You don't have to say anything, Natsu. It's Lucy. I'm worried, too." Natsu smiled and briefly rested his hand over Happy's. The poor guy was soaked and shivering from his flight through the storm.

"You should go warm up by the fire," he said as he began digging through his drawers. "You look like something the cat dragged in."

"That doesn't even make any sense! You should be saying that to Erza, not me!" Happy paused as he considered this. And then he shook himself in an attempt to banish the frightening image his words had conjured. "Besides, Erza wants me to bring in Lucy's underwear. She says you can't be trusted."

Natsu growled at this but handed over the pair anyway. When he was finally allowed back in the room, Lucy was fully dressed in his clothes and still showed no signs of waking. He settled back in to his now familiar post by her head. Erza seemed to have finished bandaging Lucy while he had been banished to his room.

"Most of her wounds appear to be superficial," she said. "There are a few more serious ones on her arms, however. There is also a concerning mark on her trapezius, near her spine." Erza paused to tap at a muscle on the upper part of her own back. "It is black and quite cold to the touch. There are also some strange –" Natsu had been reaching out to feel for the mark in question but was stopped when Erza gently caught his arm in her hand. "No, let her rest."

Natsu met his old friend's eyes and felt something inside him begin to break. "What happened to her?"

"I wish I knew. I did find glass in a great deal of her wounds. Also," Erza passed something over to him, "you'll want to wash this. It's covered in blood."

Natsu looked down at the cold and wet object she had pressed into his hand. It was the necklace he had given Lucy only the night before. The memory of her smile, the flush on her face, and the way her hair had shone in the moonlight, all cut through him. She had been so happy. His hand tightened over it and he looked over at Erza.

"Are you ready?"

It was a wet and horrible journey through the woods. Rain fell upon them with merciless determination and it concealed the already dark night in a murky blanket of shimmering gray. Every few seconds the forest was set ablaze by flashes of devouring lightning. Natsu was grateful for it, if only for the after images it burned into his eyes.

Normally, such phrases as 'interminable dark' and 'without a light in the sky' would have been no more than words to Natsu. But even his draconic vision had its limits. Frequent and retina-searing light, coupled with an endless and obscuring deluge, had proven to be one such limitation. Even now, he might not have known Erza was only a foot or two before him if not for the sound her movement made upon the mossen earth.

"We're almost there, right?" Happy asked, sounding miserable.

"It shouldn't be much further."

Natsu held Lucy closer in his arms. They had wrapped her in several blankets before heading out into the gale. Those had been soaked in seconds, though Lucy had given no reaction to it. Or to anything at all. And that terrified Natsu. Every few seconds, he caught himself listening for her heart. It was there, weak but steady, and he could breathe again.

Light appeared in the distance, visible just beyond the draping canopy of branches. Beside him, Natsu could feel Erza relax. He had suspected it, but she really had been worried they were lost. Happy gave a cry of delight and zipped on ahead of them. Natsu and Erza both quickened their pace against the gusting winds. They followed the guiding lights of trembling lanterns that lined the familiar and winding path up to the healer's cottage.

Porlyusica was waiting for them.

"Get in," she snapped. The door was slammed shut as Erza cleared the threshold. Rain pooled at their feet and the healer glared at them.

"I'm glad we caught you up," said Erza.

"Hardly." Porlyusica gave her nightrobe a pointed tug. "Lucky for you I have warning charms set up around my lands. Now stop staring around with your tongues on the floor and follow me upstairs."

Lucy was extracted from her soggy cocoon and laid out on the bed. Porlyusica immediately busied herself, zipping back and forth from Lucy to her open cabinets. A collection of vials and satchels of ground herbs began to collect on the counter as she worked.

"What happened?" Natsu relayed to Porlyusica what little he could. The healer grunted and straightened up from where she had been pressing an ear to Lucy's chest. "She's been drowned. I'll need to siphon the water out."

"Drowned?" Natsu and Erza exchanged worried looks. He had been concerned about her blood loss and head injuries. Drowning had never even occurred to him. Porlyusica ignored them.

"You, keep her steady." Erza complied and Porlyusica slid a tube through Lucy's open mouth. Natsu watched as the water was sucked out. It fell from the tube and splattered on the floor. He flinched and leaned against the wall. He had never felt so helpless before. His hands were trembling and so he shoved them into his pockets, unable to do anything else. His fingers tightened around Lucy's necklace.

"She'll be okay, Natsu." Happy offered a reassuring paw on his shoulder.

"Hah," Porlyusica scoffed. "That's the water out, at least. There's much more that needs to be done and I don't need you two lurking around and making things more difficult. So make yourselves useful and go heat up some tea."

The tea had been a ruse. This was soon discovered by the unhappy pair when, having returned with the requested drink, they were greeted by an iron-clad, shut door. Through it, Erza had apologetically explained that they would have to wait out in the hall.

Natsu had shouted and pounded on it for quite a while before eventually being defeated by its cold and indifferent silence. After his initial rage had subsided, Natsu managed to scrounge up and heat a towel for his small and shivering companion. Curled up in its warm and comforting embrace, Happy had soon fallen asleep.

And that had left Natsu alone with his thoughts. They were not pleasant company. Confusion and alarm had been forced aside by anger. Anger at Porlyusica, anger at Virgo, anger at the situation and, above all, anger at himself. He should have been there. He was her friend, her guildmate, her partner. And he had failed her. Instead of being by her side, he had holed himself away in a happy, comforting, and familiar shell of repression. Like a coward. That was what he was.

He continued pacing up and down the hallway, oblivious to the smoking footprints he was leaving in the floorboards as he moved. When were they going to let him back in? It wasn't fair that Erza had been allowed to stay. After all, he was Lucy's partner.

Great partner you are. Abandoning her when she needed you most.

"Shut up," Natsu growled.

She had to wake up soon, didn't she? He needed answers. He needed to know who had hurt her because he needed to know who was going to be set on fire for it. If nothing else, that much he knew; whoever had done this was going to pay and he would make sure that they paid dearly and paid mortally.

Natsu was so caught up in his thoughts of violent revenge that he almost walked straight into the opening door. Erza's head poked through it.

"She says you can come in."

Natsu practically flew passed her as he rushed to Lucy's side. "Well? What's the consensus, Doc? When's she gonna wake up?"

"Be silent. And sit down; you're giving me a headache." Natsu obeyed, if only so the woman would hurry up. "She's stable now, though she's lost a fair amount of blood. It's a good thing I've grown accustomed to treating you and your guild's endless parade of life-threatening injuries. It's almost like you don't know there's a hospital in town." Porlyusica sighed and shook her head. "There's nothing more I can do tonight. I've given her something for the pain and treated her injuries. For now, we will just have to wait and see how they take."

Natsu was beginning to suspect that this meant Lucy would not be woken up anytime soon. This suspicion was confirmed in the form of a quite uncalled for adjective which had been delivered with a ball-shrinking glare.

"You'll need to keep her warm," Porlyusica said, pivoting away from anger and steering quickly back into the waters of terse and medical assessment. "She did the same for you, if you remember. Now it's your turn to return the favor. But," here, the healer sniffed, "you will definitely not be stripping down with her." Natsu stared blankly and Erza leaned toward him.

"Get into bed with her."

What?

"Go on." Erza nudged him.

"I'll be checking in on her throughout the night." This comment was directed at Natsu and layered with some kind of warning. Natsu did not understand what the old woman was getting at, so he simply shrugged at her and climbed into bed.

The room was pitch dark, save for the streak of feeble light peering out from beneath the door. Water continued to suicidally sling itself against the house and Natsu sighed. He was on his back and staring up at the ceiling with one hand resting behind his head. The other lay flat at his side, some few inches away from Lucy.

He was trying not to look at her, not to think about her and, most importantly, not to be close to her. The task was proving impossible. The scent of her blood, the chemicals Porlyusica had pumped into her, flooded his nostrils. The sound of her shallow breaths and the weak beating of her heart filled his ears. His fingers twitched involuntarily towards her and he found his head turning to look at her.

There were so many bandages wrapped around her that she looked like a half-unraveled mummy. Her face was still visible, shrouded and gleaming in the pale moonlight which filtered in through the window. Strangely enough, Porlyusica had put her back in his clothes and part of Natsu, a part he was determined to ignore and would at any turn deny the existence of, was pleased by that.

Natsu shifted himself so that his weight was supported by one of his elbows. He was facing Lucy now and his eyes caught back on her face, where they stayed. Even now, weak and pale and injured as she was, she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. His arm reached out to her and his fingers brushed against her cheek. And then he was pushing up and leaning over her. He held her head in his hand and placed his lips on her forehead.

"Whoever did this to you," he murmured, "I promise you, I will hunt them down and I will burn their soul to ash."

What was he doing? Natsu jerked away, but was not able to completely leave her. He held her bandaged hand and then looked back up at her. He had never seen her like this before. There was something so strange and so feeble about her. She felt wrong and he could not understand why.

"Just don't leave me, Luce," he whispered, and the fear in his voice was evident, try as the storm might to drown it out. "Please. Don't leave me."

He was not aware of falling asleep, but he must have drifted off at some point in the early hours of the morning. The room flashed back into focus and there was a cold sweat on his skin, a vague sense of unease in his body. His eyes flew over to Lucy and he relaxed. She had not moved during the night, but her heart sounded stronger to him now. Without meaning to, Natsu found he was sniffing at her neck. There was something off about her scent, but he was not given long to ponder it.

"Good. You're awake." Porlyusica had crept silently into the room. She glanced coolly at Natsu, whose nose was nearly pressed against Lucy's neck, but she offered no comment.

A groan came from the other side of Lucy.

"What time is it?" Happy's blue head peeked blearily up from the ball he had curled into by Lucy's other arm.

"Time to get up."

Reluctantly, Natsu did so. "How is she?"

"Better. Wait outside for Erza." With a yawn, and a mild sense of resentment, Natsu left the room.

"Where do you think Erza is?"

"Dunno. Let's go scrounge up some coffee."

They need not have bothered, as they soon discovered. Natsu's head was stuck into what felt like the dozenth cabinet when the front door opened. He twisted over from the counter he had climbed atop and his face wrinkled.

"What's Levy doing here?"

"Don't shoot. I come in peace and bearing coffee." Levy waved a tray of drinks at him as she filed in behind Erza.

"Really?" Natsu jumped down and excitedly relieved her of a steaming cup.

"We ran into each other while I was ordering us breakfast." Erza set a large brown bag down on the table and began to unpack it.

"How is she? Do we know what happened yet?" Levy asked. The four had settled in around the table and Natsu was already ripping into his third sandwich. He looked up at her.

"Ask Erza," he managed around a mouthful.

"Ask Natsu, he spent the night in her bed." Happy shot Natsu a shameless and gleeful look, despite this betrayal. He was currently feasting on a small horde of lox.

"Porlyusica says she is recovering well. All we know so far is that there was some kind of attack."

"I see." Levy turned her coffee cup slowly around her hands. "I wish there was something I could do."

"Get in line."

Erza paused with a forkful of cheesecake halfway to her mouth. "That was uncalled for, Natsu. We're all worried about Lucy."

"Sorry," he grumbled and idly began flicking at crumbs.

"They must have taken her by surprise, that's the only thing I can think of." Levy seemed to be talking more to herself than to them. There was a distant and contemplative look in her eyes. Given what Virgo had said, Natsu highly doubted that was the whole and truth of the matter, but he was in no mood to trade theories with Gajeel's mate.

"You shouldn't be here."

They all looked up at the arrival of Porlyusica. She was standing in the doorway and had her arms crossed over her chest. She was staring holes into Levy.

Natsu straightened and pushed out his chair. "Come on –"

"It's fine. Gajeel is probably wondering where I got to with our breakfast, anyway." Levy stood up and began to gather her things. "You will let me know how she is, though? I'll be at the Hills all day."

"That was a bit rude," Erza said, much to Happy and Natsu's surprise. No one, but no one, challenged the prickly healer. Especially not in her own home.

"Hardly. I would consider rudeness to be airing Lucy's business without her consent and not the removal of an unwanted and uninvited guest. Now come on. She'll be wanting to see you."

As they entered, Lucy was just starting to stir. Her eyes fluttered for a moment and by the time they fully opened Natsu was at her side. There was obvious confusion on her face but it faded as her eyes found his.

"Lucy." Natsu reached out for her hands. It worried him how cold and weak they still felt. "How are you feeling?"

"Give her room."

"No. It's fine." Lucy's fingers tightened feebly over his.

"Can you sit up?" Erza asked. Lucy nodded slightly and allowed herself to be helped up.

"What happened?" This time, her voice sounded stronger.

"That's what you're supposed to tell us!"

"Hush, Natsu."

"I…I remember being drowned. Or, almost being drowned." Lucy frowned. "Something was in my apartment. It was holding me under." Natsu could feel the fear shooting through her, could smell it in the air, and hear it in the quickening of her heart.

Erza and Porlyusica exchanged a look but neither said anything.

"Who was it?" Natsu asked. He was softly brushing his thumb over her hand in an attempt to soothe her. Though, judging by the speed of her heart, it did not seem to be having any effect.

"I don't know." Lucy said after a while. "I remember going to the guild hall. And my spirits…I couldn't summon any of them."

"I'm afraid you won't be able to for a while."

"What? Why not?"

"You don't have any magic energy. I've tried several of the usual remedies in an attempt to accelerate its regeneration. None of them have had any effect. And that's what is really at the heart of this." Porlyusica's frown deepened as she spoke, though it was not clear whether this was caused by concern or confusion.

"I don't have any magic?"

"It isn't regenerating. In fact, your magic is actively being drained from you even as we speak." Porlyusica held a hand up to silence the question forming on Lucy's lips. "Erza informs me that you used some kind of amateur healing lacrima a few days ago. Tell me, have you been able to summon any of your spirits since then?"

Lucy frowned. "No. But I hadn't tried to summon any, up until last night."

"Hm. I strongly suspect that this lacrima is to blame for your condition. You succeeded in fusing Wendy's magic with it, that much is obvious. But given your current state, I suspect that the circle was never fully closed. Children should not meddle in magics they do not understand." The woman sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, as if the act might lend her patience.

"You think the lacrima is doing this to her?" Natsu asked.

"I've seen it before. When the lacrima enchantment is not properly closed it can have devastating effects on the user. To put it simply, whoever drew power from it next would have to replenish it with their own. Lucy is the last wizard who linked with it and so it is trying to restore its used power with hers.

"The issue here is that it was originally fused with healing magic and so it is rejecting Lucy's and burning it off into the air. It will never be filled and so it will never stop draining her. Not until either it or she is terminated."

"That would take months, however," Porlyusica added, as if as an afterthought. "So you needn't go rushing off right now."

"Natsu, do you know where this orb is?" Erza glanced at him.

"I think Happy gave it back to Wendy the night after my party."

"They didn't take it with them, did they?"

"I…don't think so." But he did not know, not for certain. He could feel tension ripping back into him and mirroring Erza's own. Erza focused her sharp gaze on Porlyusica.

"What must be done to defeat this lacrima?"

"Smashing it should be good enough. Once you have, gather up all the shards and bring them back to me. I should be able to whip something up from those and jump-start the healing process."

"That makes sense, I guess," Lucy said, having been all but forgotten by the other three, despite being the subject of their discussion. "But it doesn't explain everything. Something attacked me last night. It tried to kill me."

Instinctively, Natsu felt his hand tighten over hers.

"Ah. Of everything that has happened, that is the one thing I am most certain of." There was a look of pity on the old woman's face. "Wizards aren't meant to be without their magic. It is as vital to us as the air we breathe. In fact, it is even in the air we breathe. As you are well aware, that is how we recover our spent magic. But you aren't able to. Your body is kicking into overdrive in an attempt to absorb as much as it can, but it is being sucked out of you at an exponentially higher rate than it is coming in. This cycle is exacting a heavy toll on you, both physically and mentally."

"Mentally?" Lucy fixated on the word.

"Yes. The trauma your body is undergoing has awakened a primal fear in you. Your subconscious mind cannot comprehend what is happening to your body, so it has created something that your conscious mind can accept. A manifestation of your fear."

"You're saying I imagined it?" Lucy was as incredulous as she was furious.

"Don't misunderstand me. To you, the manifestation is all too real. You wholly believe that you can hear it, see it, and even touch it. That is because your subconscious has convinced you it is real. But it is paramount for your wellbeing that you understand it is not. It is no more than a machination of your own mind."

"But she was bleeding. She's cut up everywhere and you were the one who got the water out of her lungs!" Natsu was still struggling to catch up with everything the healer was saying. He thought he had been doing fairly well, up until this last part.

"That is unfortunately to be expected. Her body is reacting to what it perceives as reality. Even going so far as to supply physical evidence where there would otherwise be none."

"So you think I tried to drown myself." The coldness in Lucy's words caught Natsu by surprise. Her free hand had clenched over a fistful of sheets and was gripping it so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

"You found her last night." Porlyusica turned to Natsu. "Did you smell anyone else on her?" Natsu blinked, unable to look at Lucy. He could feel her looking at him with her eyes all wide and hopeful.

"No," he admitted. "But the rain could've washed anyone else's scent away."

To his surprise, Lucy let out a sharp laugh. "Well, it finally happened, guys. I've totally lost it."

"Lucy, I –"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else about this."

"I won't." Natsu squeezed her hand. He still didn't really understand what was going on, but Lucy was awake and speaking and that was what mattered. Erza could fill him in on the details later.

"I have already told Levy most of what happened last night," Erza cut in.

"And she's probably already told Gajeel." Pillow talk! Natsu could practically hear the comment singing up from Happy's sparkling eyes. Thankfully, he exercised a hitherto unseen measure of restraint and remained silent.

"We can make sure the events of last night go no farther than them. Though the master should also be informed."

Lucy nodded. "Alright. I think I should get some sleep."

"Very well. Happy and I will locate the lacrima. We will return once it has been destroyed." Erza gave Lucy a reassuring smile before she followed Porlyusica out of the room. The door shut quietly behind her.

"I'm glad you're okay, Luce. You had me real worried." Lucy flinched and pulled her hand away from him.

"Please," she whispered, still not looking at him, "just go."

Natsu stared at her for a moment before rising to his feet. As he stood at her bedside he hesitated, torn between doing as she asked and convincing her to let him stay. He reached into his jacket and then gently set her necklace down on her lap. Wordlessly, he left.