I feel like if Natsu and Lucy don't meet soon, people are going to start coming to my house with torches and coffin measures. Just hold on, guys! There's only one chapter left after this! (plus an epilogue!) As the chapter title suggests, we're almost there!

Again, thanks to all the reviewers! I'm sorry I don't have the time to reply to you all, but I appreciate them more than you could ever know!

IX.

Almost There

Friday morning, Juvia was supposed to be working before school. She had come early just so she could pick out a dress for Homecoming that night. Juvia knew there was a fresh shipment of dresses in, and she'd personally gone to have a look.

There had been one there, a deep silver one like the colour of Gray's eyes, that she had been particularly attracted to. Juvia had planned to borrow it after her shift, and wear it tonight. Because tonight, Juvia was convinced, was going to be a very special night. Tonight she was going to tell Gray the truth.

She could almost speak like a normal person around him. And more than that – she felt comfortable around him. Still a little bit like her skin was on fire and her blood was bubbling – but comfortable nonetheless.

So tonight, she would tell him about that day at the beach in the summer. And she was going to be powerful and confident in her gray dress. That was what Juvia had told herself all morning, right up to the minute Jose called her into his office and asked her to work. Tonight.

Juvia sat like a gaping fish in Jose's little swivel chair. He kept his poker face, hands folded neatly across his stomach. "It's like I said," he continued on smoothly. "I need you to work tonight."

"But..." Juvia's voice was failing her. It was a feeling she was used to, but not around Jose. "But tonight is Homecoming!"

Jose shrugged. "I do apologize, Juvia, really. But I need someone to cover these hours. And you did say you would owe me a favour, after I let you borrow all of our clothes."

Panic welled up in Juvia's chest. Yes, that was true, but... "Mr. Porle, please-"

"I'm sorry, Juvia, but there's nothing I can do. You're working tonight and that's the final bargain."

"Please! Juvia scheduled this night as unavailable; surely Mr. Porle can't force her to work."

Jose leaned forward in his chair, and Juvia leaned back without meaning to. "Normally, no," he said in a pleasant tone. "But you see Juvia, this is different." He leaned even closer, and hissed quietly. "I know about the jacket."

Juvia's heart sank. And she'd thought she had gotten away with it.

"So you see, Juvia, there's really nothing else I can do for you. Now, please be on your way, and I'll see you tonight."

Juvia wanted to say something else, but Jose would no longer look at her. His eyes were fixed on his computer screen. She gulped, silently stood, and made her way out of the office.

Her hands wouldn't stop shaking as she headed to the back room. She made to change out of her uniform, but stopped. She would be right back here in six hours, anyway. Why bother changing?

So she threw her jacket overtop of the dingy blue collared shirt, and headed out of the store.

By the time she reached school, Juvia had calmed down somewhat. Or at least, she had become resigned to her fate. She wouldn't be going to the dance tonight, but that was okay. She could tell just Gray another time. When she managed to work up all that carefully built courage again.

She slid into her seat in English class, and barely wafted through the morning. She didn't even bother taking notes. Once, she snuck a glance back at Gray. He was texting wildly on his phone. Several minutes later, he left to go to the bathroom, and didn't come back. After the bell rang and Juvia began gathering up her supplies, Gray came back into the classroom with a strange look on his face.

"Gray-sama?" Juvia called as he passed. Gray blinked, and look over at her. Juvia narrowed her eyes. "Is Gray-sama feeling alright?"

"Um, yeah." His eyes shifted to the side, and he ran his hands through his hair. "I just found out something really, really awesome."

But he didn't sound excited about it. And his face looked ashen. "What is it?" Juvia asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well – you probably don't know this but last summer, I almost drowned at the beach, and someone saved me. I've been looking for her all year."

Juvia's heart constricted painfully tight. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe. Gray had been searching for her? Actively looking? Why hadn't she known?

"And I just found out who it was."

Juvia's heart stopped beating altogether. He knew it was her. Was that why he looked so terrible? Because he hated her? Did he think she was disgusting? Was he disappointed it was her? Was she-

"It was Angel."

Juvia froze.

"Yeah. She just texted me, and I met her out in the hallway. Said she was too shy before. It..." he shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense, but she told me about her blue bikini-" Gray snapped his mouth shut in embarrassment. "Anyway. I figured I'd take her to Homecoming tonight, y'know, as a thank you. Guess I'll see you there?"

"No." She answered automatically. There was cotton in her ears. "No, Juvia won't be able to make it tonight."

"Oh." Gray's face was an odd mix between crestfallen and relieved. Juvia didn't want to look at it. "Well. Another time, then."

Juvia nodded, and just like that, Gray was gone. Natsu passed her on his way out, and although he looked almost as bad as she felt, he still stopped and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Juvia. You okay?"

She nodded, swallowing. Natsu didn't look convinced, but Juvia hefted the old beach bag on her shoulder and left before he could say anything else. As Juvia walked to the bathroom, she went faster and faster, until she broke out into a run, shoving past anyone in her way.

She pushed the door to the bathroom open, nearly blinded by the tears welling in her eyes. Juvia crashed into one of the stalls, slamming the door behind her and locking it with shaking fingers.

She was already sobbing by the time she curled up on the toilet seat. And just like she had done back in elementary school, Juvia cried in the bathroom stall. No one came to check on her. She stayed until the final bell rang.

Gajeel slammed the hood of the Jeep down. "Right," he said, dusting off his hands. "Should run good as new."

Lucy clasped her hands together in delight. She had been in a dour mood all day, but the second Gajeel told her he was finished working on the Jeep, she'd brightened considerably. Levy didn't mention it out loud, but she thought Lucy had a much larger affinity for the old thing than she let on.

"I can't believe it!" Lucy was saying. "And it's – it's shiny and clean and everything!"

"It wasn't that hard." Gajeel shrugged. "Anyone could have done it."

"Yeah, but I'd have had to pay them."

"Oi! Who says I ain't gonna make you pay me!"

Yukino laughed, from where she was leaning on a table. Sting was sitting on it, leaning back on his hands. "These are your cooler friends?" He asked Yukino. Lucy shot Sting a rude gesture, and he laughed out loud.

"You love my friends," Yukino scoffed, "admit it. We're not going to go on real dates anymore because you'll just keep inviting them."

"Hey, I like that idea!" Sting was snickering. "We'll be the ultimate power couple group!"

Levy walked over to them, sitting beside Sting. "Oh? Who all are you thinking of?"

"Well," Sting started counting off on his fingers. "Me 'n Yukino, Erza and Jellal, Gray and Juvia because we all know that's happening." Yukino made a hum of approval. "I dunno, we can just pair Lucy off with Natsu or something, and you and Gajeel!"

Levy coughed, spluttered, and turned cherry red. Yukino, unfazed, turned to Sting and spoke over Levy's mad rambling. "What about Rogue?"

"He can just take his cat. Or get a girlfriend. Or boyfriend, I don't really care-"

"Gajeel and I," Levy finally managed to break in, breathing heavily, "no. It's not-we aren't-"

"Shut up, Levy," Yukino advised sagely. "Nobody believes you."

Levy looked over to where Gajeel and Lucy were still arguing about payment for the Jeep. He was grinning widely, arms crossed as Lucy waved hers around good-naturedly.

"See?" Sting said. "You've got a doofy grin on. You like him."

Levy hissed, but Sting and Yukino had moved on to other things. "Why don't we ever see Natsu?" She was asking. "He seemed like a pretty social guy."

"Ah, he used to be," Sting shrugged. "Something happened on Halloween at the dance, it messed him up pretty bad. He won't talk about it."

Levy caught Yukino's eye, and they both looked over to Lucy. Levy knew they were both thinking the same thing – but, no way. It was too much of a coincidence.

Then Lucy hopped into the Jeep, waving to everyone as she drove it out of the garage. Gajeel came over, wiping his hands on a rag and tucking it into the back pocket of his jeans. "What's everyone starin' for?" he grunted.

Then Yukino spoke up. "Natsu...he wasn't emailing a girl about Hargeon University, was he?"

It was a total shot in the dark, but Sting blinked. "Yeah," he said. "Why?"

Levy's jaw dropped.

"Oh yeah, he told me about that," Gajeel said. "Apparently he met up with this chick at the Halloween dance – you know, the one we didn't go to?" he gestured to Levy. She nodded, dazed. "Yeah, but she ran away or some shit and basically left him broken-hearted. And now he has her shoe. And keeps it on his dresser."

"Does he really?" Sting gaped. "That's pathetic."

"Don't tell him that."

Levy and Yukino locked eyes. Both of them were completely at a loss for words. Sting noticed, and looked between them, confused. "What?"

"Lucy," Levy said faintly.

"Huh?" Gajeel poked Levy in the side of the head. "What about her? Speak up, shrimp."

"It's Lucy!" Yukino exclaimed, standing up straight. "The girl – the one he talked to – it's Lucy!"

"What?" Sting shrieked. Yes, he shrieked. And nearly fell off the table. "No way. No freaking way."

"I am so not joking," Yukino gasped. "She was emailing this guy way back during the summer, before I started hanging out with you guys. And she was planning on meeting him at the Halloween dance!"

"I didn't hear anything from her that entire weekend," Levy added frantically. "And – and she stayed home sick all week."

Sting was staring at the two of them incredulously. "Are you trying to tell me," he demanded, "that our two best friends are in love with each other and we haven't managed to connect the dots?"

Yukino was laughing, covering her mouth with her hands. There were tears shining in her eyes. She couldn't even manage to say anything, she was laughing so hard.

"This is gold," Gajeel snickered. "You guys are idiots, and I'm calling Dragneel."

Levy felt giddy. She couldn't believe it. Salamander, the guy Lucy had been moping after for months. Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. It was almost too good to be true.

"No, wait!" Yukino cried. She was still smiling, and wiped a few stray tears away. "Let's not tell either of them yet, okay? Gajeel's right, this is solid gold. We can't just tell them through a phone call."

As they fell into easy chatter about their dumb friends and their own incomprehensible stupidity for not having noticed before, Levy's phone beeped in her pocket. She excused herself from the group, stepping away to read the text.

And she promptly had to lean back against Gajeel's truck as all the blood left her body.

Unknown number:
Levy, come back to the trailer. We need to talk.

Her heart hammered in her ears. Was that her dad? It had to be. He was the only one who would say come to the trailer. But he didn't have a phone. And how did he get her number? Easy: she left it on the fridge in case of emergencies. But why would he have a phone? Had he finally cleaned up his act, and made enough honest money to buy himself a phone? Was that what he wanted to talk about? He wanted her to come home?

And then another, horrifying thought wormed its way into Levy's brain. What if he was in some kind of trouble? If one of his dealers had gotten him the phone, if he was in some kind of debt – what could that imply? How bad could it possibly be, and why would he need her?

She'd been standing apart from the group for so long that Gajeel had noticed. He moved to stand off to the side with her. "Hey," he grunted. "You okay?"

"I, yeah..." Levy trailed off. "No. I don't know. I-"

"What?" Gajeel leaned down, so their faces were level. His pressed a hand against her forehead. "Are you sick? Should I call the insane asylum?"

"Shut up." Even with her head buzzing, Levy shot back easily. Gajeel looked a little relieved, and straightened up. Levy took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders.

"My dad," she said. "He wants me to come home."

Gajeel frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"No," Levy admitted. "But I mean, what if he's in some sort of serious trouble? He might need help."

"And that's probably gonna be really dangerous for you."

"Gajeel, I have to." She faced him. "He's my father. Wouldn't you, if you got the chance?"

His face didn't soften, but he didn't deny it, either. Finally he spoke. "D'you need a ride?"

"Uh," Levy raked a hand through her hair. She didn't want to see her dad with Gajeel there – and more importantly, she didn't want Gajeel to see her dad. "No, I'll walk. I like walking. I'll just – yeah. I'll walk."

"Call me if you need anything."

"Yeah." Levy looked down.

"And don't stay overnight, all your stuff's still at my place."

Levy continued to stare down. Her vision was swimming with tears, although she didn't really know why. Then she felt a weight on her head as Gajeel reached out to ruffle her hair.

"Be careful, shrimp," he muttered.

She nodded against his hand.

Sting and Yukino were still laughing and talking. Levy didn't want to interrupt them, so she shifted the book bag over her shoulder and made to leave. Gajeel stayed where he was until she was almost gone before turning back.

She heard the sound of someone coming in through the inside doors, and then Gray's sullen voice floated over. "Hey guys. I've got some great news."

Levy knew Gajeel would tell the others about it, and then they'd all worry about her. She bit her lip to fight back the tears that threatened to overcome her.

When Erza came in from class, she trailed up to her bedroom. Kagura demanded to know where she was going, but Simon pointed out that Erza was obviously sick and needed rest. Erza, for her part, hadn't answered.

She closed her bedroom door. It was Homecoming tonight, and she needed to get ready.

Instead, she crawled into bed.

Two hours later, she woke up with a pounding headache, and headed downstairs to get a drink of water. She poured it from the tap, and Kagura frowned at her. "Erza, don't drink tap water," she said. "It's bad for your health."

"It's no different from bottled water," Erza mumbled back. She filled a cup. "Just better for the environment."

"I wasn't aware I'd employed a hippie," Kagura muttered. She pressed a hand to Erza's forehead. "You really are sick, hm? Just like the flowers."

"What?"

"Didn't you know?" Kagura gestured out the kitchen door, to the store. "Our flowers are dying. I don't know why, but I think Ikaruga's behind it."

Erza blinked slowly. She knew Trinity Raven had threatened to run them out of business, but they wouldn't actually sabotage the shop, would they?

"I haven't found any proof yet, but I will," Kagura shrugged. "In the meantime, get better. We really need extra hands around here."

"Yes, Kagura," Erza murmured, but her mind was moving wildly. Trinity Raven...Ikaruga's threats...the dying flowers...Erza was the only person living under this roof that drank water out of the taps...

Abruptly, she walked out of the kitchen. Fighting off the headache – it would have to wait until later – she snatched her coat from behind the counter and made for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kagura demanded.

"I have to do something, I'll be back later," she threw over her shoulder. Kagura started to answer back, but Erza was already out the door.

She stormed her way down the streets, marching like a soldier, her feet hitting the sidewalk in time with the throbbing in her head. It wouldn't take her that long to get to Trinity Raven's shop; twenty minutes, maybe? She wondered if she could get back in time to fix whatever was wrong with their water and still be ready in time for Homecoming. She should call Jellal and warn him.

Trinity Raven was located on what Erza thought of as the bad side of town. There were thorn bushes lining the cracked sidewalks, and they were always overgrown. Erza stumbled over a dent in the pavement, and fell sideways. The thorns scratched through her jeans, and dug into her palms. She winced in pain.

She was only a block away. Erza knew she could do this.

Bracing hands on her knees, Erza tried to push herself up. Something odd happened; all the blood rushed from her head and she fell over backwards, into the overgrown bushes and almost completely out of view from the sidewalk. For a brief second her vision swam, and Erza realised this must be what it was like to fall unconscious.

Then everything went black.

"Natsu?"

Igneel was knocking on his door again. Natsu ignored him.

"Natsu, if you don't quit acting like a bratty teenager, I am going to kick this door down!" Igneel raised his voice an octave. Natsu snatched the Nerf gun from his floor and shot a few darts. They landed on the door, right where Igneel's head would have been if it was open.

"Natsu, was that – did you just try and Nerf me? That's – if you dare do that again-"

He did it again. Bull's-eye.

"Why, you – all right, that's enough! I'm coming in!"

There was a brief scuffling noise from behind the door, followed by muffled voices. Then silence. Natsu paused, eyeing the door suspiciously. He raised the gun ever so slightly.

Then the door flew open. Natsu closed his eyes and squeezed the trigger. When he opened them, it was not Igneel standing in the doorframe with a Nerf dart sticking out of his chest and a murderous look in his eyes, but another familiar face. Natsu's eyes widened.

"Laxus!" He cried, caught somewhere between joy at seeing his old football captain, and feeling the urge to challenge him to a duel.

"Natsu," the blond man grumbled. He'd always had a voice like rolling thunder, and it had only gotten deeper with age. "I see you're still an immature brat."

"I see you're still a stick up the ass," Natsu quipped back with heat. "What are you doing here?"

"Am I not allowed to visit my hometown?" Laxus grumped right back. "I thought I'd come and see how my old pal's doing the night of Homecoming. I figured you would have a hot date, and yet I find you holed up like a princess in a dungeon? You're letting me down, Natsu."

"Shut up." Natsu slumped over, sitting back down on his bed. "I don't feel like going out."

Igneel shouldered into the doorway. "As I was trying to say before this idiot showed up," he said, pinching Laxus on the ear. Laxus winced, but knew better than to do anything in retaliation. No one in Magnolia ever messed with Igneel Dragneel. "Your friends have been calling all day. Romeo's in the hospital."

Natsu sat up straight. "What?"

"He got food poisoning. I just got off the phone with Macao; he's closed the bar for the night. Romeo's getting his stomach pumped. His last words before going into the operating room were 'Tell Natsu to get his shit together and go to the dance tonight.'"

Natsu's brow creased, and he slumped again. He knew confiding in Romeo was a bad idea. The kid had no idea when to call it quits – as evidenced by the fact that he was now in the hospital with food poisoning. Natsu blamed that mysterious Sky Sorceress.

Igneel looked him over, before turning to Laxus. "Can you talk some sense into him? I'll get him to the dance if I have to tie him up and throw him in the trunk, but I'd prefer it didn't come to that."

Laxus nodded, and Igneel left the room. Once the door was closed, Laxus ambled over to the bed. He sat beside Natsu, sighing and stretching his long legs out.

"How's Mag Tech?" Natsu asked finally, after silence buzzed for a few too many minutes.

"It's good." Laxus shifted. "I changed majors, now I'm a business student."

Natsu made a face. "That sounds so incredibly, mind-numbingly boring."

Laxus laughed. "It is a little boring," he agreed, "but my whole family's in business. My dad, Gramps...I guess it's only fitting I ended up there, too." He smiled at Natsu's frown. "S'okay, I don't mind it."

Natsu turned away. His eyes fixated on the shoe on his dresser. He could feel Laxus' gaze follow him. "But you don't like to settle, huh, Natsu?"

"I dunno what you mean."

"Hargeon? Pyrotechnics?" Laxus poked him in the side. "You don't like to just do what's easy, or what people say you should do. You don't want to just go to Mag Tech and be a sports major like everyone else."

"Does this little inspirational speech have a point?"

"Yep."

"Then make it."

Laxus sighed. "The point is, Natsu, why are you settling for not going to the dance?"

Natsu was silent.

"Not going is safe. Not going is easy. Since when have you ever played it safe and easy?"

"It's not – I'm not being safe and easy. I'm not going to the dance because there'd be no point, she won't be there!"

"And what if she is?" There was a hint of playfulness in Laxus' voice, and Natsu made to punch him. He ducked easily. "Hey now, I'm just saying. The real reason you aren't going is because you're afraid this girl might be there and you'll have to confront her."

Natsu pulled up his knees, tucking his chin under his arms. "She broke my heart," he murmured into his sleeve.

Laxus leaned back on his hands with a sigh. "Did I ever tell you about my Homecoming?"

"...no."

"There was this girl there. Absolutely beautiful. Kind of wild, but she had a secret sweet side. She wouldn't tell me her name. We danced all night, but when I got back to school, I couldn't find her. I spent all year trying to find her. The last chance I had to look was senior prom. She didn't come, and after that it was all over. She'd vanished."

"I didn't know that." Natsu twisted his head to the side, slightly.

"Well, that's because I never told anyone. It was embarrassing, but I fell in love with this girl."

"Is that why you haven't had a girlfriend since high school?"

Laxus exhaled, not quite a laugh. "I guess so."

"Why don't you try and find her now?"

"I can't remember what she looks like," Laxus said. He wasn't mournful, or wistful. He simply stated it. "It's been too long. I don't think I'd even recognise a picture of her."

Natsu frowned. He looked at the shoe again. "Okay. I get your point."

"Hn." Laxus stood, cracking his back. "You can stay home tonight," he said, through a stretch, "but be warned, you'll probably end up like me: a business major full of regrets."

Natsu shuddered. "Like hell," he said.

"Louder."

"Like hell!"

"Louder!"

"Like HELL!" Natsu jumped off his bed. There was a fire relit, somewhere inside of him. He was still broken-hearted, yeah, but now he was angry. He wanted justice, he wanted an explanation. More than anything, he wanted to see the Princess again and rip that stupid mask off her face. "Dad! Do you have any suits lying around?"

He left the room to the sound of Laxus' booming laughter, snatching up the shoe on his way out.

Lucy hefted the bag of makeup, straining as she lugged it into Flare's room. "Careful, or you'll burst a blood vessel," the redhead called, barely glancing up as she applied another coat of mascara. "You'll be too ugly to go tonight."

"Ha-ha," Lucy grunted, dropping the bag. "Very funny. You know I'm not going."

"Shame. You could have worn one of my dresses. Although you're so big you might rip them..."

Lucy picked up a powder puff and shoved it onto Flare's face. "You're just jealous because I'm a cup size bigger than you." Flare shrieked, but cackled and tossed an open lipstick at her. It smudged on Lucy's white T-shirt. "Hey!"

"Oh please, like it didn't have stains on it already." Flare settled back, twisting up a lock of hair. "Can you pass me a bobby pin?"

Lucy handed one over. She didn't want to say that she and Flare had gotten friendlier over the past few weeks. She was still living in the attic. But the jabs between the two of them had gone from cruel and unnecessary to easygoing and fun, and Lucy had to admit it, she was starting to enjoy Flare's company.

"Seriously, though," Flare frowned, wiping a streak of Covergirl off her face. "You aren't going?"

"No." Lucy walked over, leaning on the desk by the mirror. "Why?"

"Just..." Flare shook her head. "I thought you'd want to."

"Not really." Lucy was lying, and both of them could tell, so she leaned forward and thumbed Flare's nose. "Take all that makeup off, you look stupid."

"Shut up, no I don't," Flare snapped automatically. Then she paused, and looked in the mirror. "If I do take it off, everyone will see my freckles."

Lucy's brow creased. She'd never understood why Flare wore so much cover up. Was that why? She didn't like her freckles? "But they're cute."

Flare's mouth quirked up in a slight smile. "Really?"

"Yeah." Lucy cleared her throat. "The only cute thing about you, really, because the rest is ug-lay."

Flare shoved her, and Lucy snickered. But Flare washed off most of the makeup, anyway.

When she was done, Lucy had to give her appraisal. "Hey, you don't look half-bad."

The dress was longer than most of Flare's wardrobe. It was a dark, burgundy red, going to her knees, and the sleeves went down to her wrist. Only the neckline was racy, plunging into a deep V, but it looked more sultry than slutty. Flare smiled again, a small close-lipped smile she rarely used.

"Which benchwarmer are you going after tonight?" Lucy asked, pulling a loose strand of hair out so that it dangled down to her collarbone.

"None." Flare glanced down. "I'm...I don't feel it tonight." She worried at her lip, before bursting out, "Do I really look pretty?"

Lucy was taken aback. Flare was looking at her with wide eyes, shoulders hunched in that familiar way that Lucy saw now was years of insecurity and a low self-image. And Lucy found herself hating Minerva just a little bit more.

"You really look pretty," Lucy assured her. "I don't think you need to settle for benchwarmers anymore."

Flare snorted a little, and sniffed. She looked on the verge of tears. "Lucy, listen, there's-"

"Flare?"

Minerva slid into the doorway. She looked ever dumber than usual, Lucy thought, wearing a white dress with light blue decal. The colours didn't suit her at all, and neither did the long, loose curls in her hair. "I'm leaving now, I want to be there early. Are you coming?"

The way she asked, it didn't seem like a question. Her eyes flashed dangerously. Lucy tensed a little when Minerva's gaze settled on her.

"Lucy, dear," she simpered, looking Lucy up and down. "Nice dress."

Lucy glanced down at the stained T-shirt and jeans. "Thanks, I made it myself."

"One thing before I leave. I was talking to Daddy before he left on his big business trip, and he says under no circumstances are you allowed to leave for the dance tonight." Minerva chuckled. "In case you were thinking of going."

"I wasn't, but thanks." Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat. "Am I under house arrest, or...?"

"Something like that." Minerva shrugged. "Come on, Flare, let's go. I have a boyfriend to win."

Flare shot one last helpless look at Lucy. Minerva wiggled her fingers. "Toodles, dear," she taunted, before heading out the door with Flare in tow.

"Adios, bitch," Lucy mumbled after she heard the engines rumbling in the garage.

"What? What do you mean, she's gone?"

Yukino was the last one in the computer lab. Everyone else had gone home early to start getting ready for the dance, but Yukino had a paper due next Monday and wanted to finish it before the weekend.

Not that she'd gotten much work done. She'd been trying to call Juvia for the last two hours. After Gray had come and announced the identity of his mystery saviour as Angel, Yukino had almost snapped and told him the truth. But she'd held her tongue, because she had a firm belief that people had to do things for themselves.

That didn't mean she couldn't try and push them along the way, however.

After the fifth time trying Juvia, her phone rang and she'd answered with a flustered "Where have you been?!" only to hear Jellal's voice on the other end. And what he had to say did not sound good.

"I don't know where she is." Jellal's voice was panicked. "She wasn't at Kagura's, she's not at practice, and no one else has seen her. She's not with you, is she?"

"To tell you the truth, I haven't seen Erza all day." Yukino saved her paper and attempted to close it. A bar popped up. "Look, I'm a little busy now, I-"

"Aren't you worried about her?"

"Well of course I'm worried about her," Yukino snapped. "But I can't help you. You'd be better served out looking for her."

Jellal made a noise of dissention. Yukino tried not hold it against him – Erza disappearing was a scary thing. "Look, just...go back, ask Kagura, see if you can retrace her steps. And hey, maybe she's with Juvia. I've been trying to reach her for hours."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Yukino." Jellal hung up the phone.

Yukino sighed in frustration, turning back to her malfunctioning computer. "Stupid Mac," she grumbled. "If I get out of this, I'm never using an Apple product again."

The door to the computer lab clicked, like someone had locked it. Yukino looked up. They couldn't be closing the school already, could they?

Then all the lights turned off. Even the power on her computer shut down. Yukino cried out, and nearly fell out of her chair. She raced to the door. "Hey! Wait – whoever's out there, stop! I'm still in here!"

From behind the door, someone chuckled. Yukino felt her blood run cold. "I know," said the voice.

"Minerva." Yukino clenched her hands into fists. "What the hell are you doing? Open the door!"

"You should have let Sting take my offer," Minerva continued on, ignoring her. "Maybe all this could have been prevented."

"All what?" Yukino started kicking on the door. Then she stopped. Sting...she remembered what he said about Minerva targeting everyone. But..she couldn't possibly be...

"Angel wasn't the one who rescued Gray this summer, and we both know it," Yukino said resolutely. "You told her to tell him that."

Minerva hummed. "Very good. Keep going."

"That message Levy got, the one she thought was from her father. It was from you."

"I didn't really care much about her, but she's friends with you, after all. And Lucy."

Yukino heart clenched. Lucy. "What did you do to her?"

Minerva laughed. "Oh, nothing you'll notice. But when I show up with a new boyfriend on Monday and his name is Natsu Dragneel..."

"What?" Yukino's blood ran cold. "You – he wouldn't. He hates you!"

"He thinks he hates me." Minerva chuckled. "But you're forgetting something here – I have the other slipper."

Yukino shook her head. That didn't make any sense. "What slipper? What are you talking about?"

"The one Lucy has – or, well, had – hidden up in her room. The one matching the slipper she dropped at the dance, which I'm fairly certain is in the possession of one Natsu Dragneel." Minerva chuckled. "It's perfect, really. I mean, Sting is the better option, but dating Natsu will be satisfying enough as revenge."

Yukino fisted her hands. "And what about Erza?" she asked, voice shaking. "What did you do with her? Where is she?"

"Darling, don't give me credit for everything," Minerva chuckled. "She got herself into her own mess. It was just a lucky coincidence on my part!"

Her laughter was getting farther away. Yukino pounded on the door. "You won't get away with this!"

"Oh, Yukino." Minerva paused. "I already have."

Silence. Yukino punched, kicked, and pummeled the door to no avail. There was no one else around.

"Help," she muttered, sliding down the door. "Help me."