What? I actually managed to upload? Sorry about the waiting period, but I've got a chapter for you. Finally.

~Jacin~

"So this is it?" Natsu asked. We both stared together. It, surprisingly, hadn't taken that long to arrive at our destination. That could probably be attributed to our obvious rush. We'd been sprinting through train stations and across the countryside for the past two days. Somehow, I hadn't gotten tired once. We'd barely slept the whole time, yet I was still full of energy.

"This is it," I said quietly. The castle in front of us was huge. We were looking down on it from a cliff side. I could tell it was tall even from a bird's eye view. It was impressive to say the least. Black stone upon black stone piled on top of each other until, all together, they created what seemed to be a living, dark entity. The castle twisted in some places and leaned perilously to the side in others. It didn't move when you looked at it, but the castle's lifelike demeanor almost made one expect it to get up and walk away.

"That's a weird building," Natsu said.

"Sometimes your intellectual capabilities astound me," I said, obviously channeling my inner sarcastic nature.

"I know," he said proudly. With that he started down the nearly vertical descent. I rubbed my temples. If I had to choose someone to travel with, it would not be Natsu. Still, I appreciated his help. I knew that he was close to Lucy. There was no way Makarov would've been able to convince him to stay behind. I still felt that annoying pressure in my chest whenever I thought about how close the two were, though. Maybe, after we'd gotten Lucy back, that feeling would go away.

"Wait up, idiot," I called.

"Not an idiot!" he yelled over his shoulder. I sighed and jogged after him. Just as I caught up with him, though, a rock tumbled out from under my foot.

"Shit," I gasped as I reached for a handhold. There wasn't one, though. My hands flailed as I lost my balance. Time seemed to slow down as air rushed past me. I could hear my heart pumping in my ears.

"Jacin!" I heard Natsu shout.

"You punk!" shouted another voice. I suddenly decided that it wouldn't be all that bad to tumble down the hill. Death didn't seem that bad in comparison to what was up on the narrow pathway. A pain erupted in my wrist as a rock hard hand clamped onto it. I was yanked up and thrown into the air. After a momentary weightlessness, I tumbled back down to the path. I smacked against the dirt. Hard.

"What do you think you're doing making me worry like that!?" shouted a voice.

"Brezza, sometimes I wish you were more ladylike." I opened my eyes to see her crouching beside me, her short, navy hair just as unkempt as always. Her bright blue eyes held a slight amusement. "What's so funny?"

"Just that I saved your life. Again," she said with a smile. When she tilted her head, the earrings that lined the side of her left ear caught my eye.

"You got another piercing, didn't you?" I asked, sitting up.

"Yup! That makes…" she hesitated. She whipped out her fingers and started counting, "Nine!" I groaned.

"I worry about you sometimes." She hauled me to my feet. "Easy! You're going to rip my arm out of its socket!"

"Stop being such a wimp," she grumbled, "And that's no way to treat your savior."

"Oh, yeah. Whose savior is who?" I snapped. She fell silent and looked at her feet. That was her habit. She did that whenever she was feeling self-conscious of guilty. It usually happened whenever I mentioned her past. We both knew that I'd saved her from her old master. That man had a distinct habit of overusing his spirits. I'd found her there and taken her away. That was also why I was hesitant to use Brezza, because I hated remembering how she used to be.

"Sorry," she said quietly. I smiled and patted her head.

"Thanks for helping me. You can go back now," I said with a smile. She nodded and vanished.

"You should really watch your step," Natsu said, bounding up to me, "I seriously thought you were going to die for a second there."

"She wouldn't let me die even if I wanted to," I said, laughing a bit. I brushed the dirt from my jeans and cracked my neck, rolling my head around on my shoulders.

"Try not to die, ok," he said and then turned again.

"Wow! That sounded like you cared!" I said, exaggerating my shock, (I actually was surprised, though).

"Don't get too full of yourself," Natsu said, not bothering to turn when he spoke to me.

"Nothing you could say would make me feel full of myself," I said honestly. He stopped walking and turned to stare at me. I fought the urge to fidget under his glare, (or to leap off of the cliff).

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, stepping towards me. Despite the fact that I was taller than him by about two inches, he was still intimidating.

"What's what supposed to mean?"

"'Nothing you could say would make me feel full of myself' is what you said," Natsu repeated. It wasn't like I didn't remember. Actually, I just didn't want to explain. I didn't have a choice anymore, though.

"I've never been good for anything. A long time ago, because of me, the girl I loved died," I said sternly, my throat closing. Natsu's jaw dropped. That was the reaction I expected, though. He was pretty stupid, after all.

Finally, his jaw snapped shut again, "You feel guilty, don't you?"
I felt a pang. Yeah, I did feel guilty. "Wouldn't you?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"How she died. Did you try?"

"Yeah…I did."
"Then I wouldn't feel guilty. If I tried my hardest to save that person, I wouldn't feel guilty. And you shouldn't worry about Lucy, either. We'll save her."

I stared. How did he know that I was…it was obvious, wasn't it? I was more than worried about her. I'd practically been dead when I realized that she'd been taken.

"Yeah," I said, but Natsu was already way ahead of me. I hadn't realized I'd been spacing out thinking of things that couldn't possibly be true. What snapped me back into the present was the glowing of one of my keys in the corner of my eye. I looked down. "Fleure?"

~Lucy~

"Othos, can you hear me? I don't know the words to call you out. I'm not sure I have enough energy left to summon you. Can you come on your own?"

"It's amusing watching you speak to a key like you think I'm inside," said a voice behind me. I leapt into the air, simultaneously launching off of the bed and yelping. My back slammed against the floor and the wind was knocked out of me.

"Miss, are you alright?" asked the guard who had been positioned outside of my door for the past two days. He barged inside and the door slammed against the opposite wall.

"I'm fine. I just fell. I'm sorry," I said, propping myself up onto my elbows.

"Be careful, Miss. If you were hurt, Boss would kill me," he said. I could hear the obvious worry in his voice, but knew it wasn't for my sake. All the people in this place seemed a bit cold. Even the maid who brought me my meals was harsh despite her gentle appearance.

"Of course. I apologize again," I said, standing and sitting on my bed. He nodded finitely and shut the door again. I waited a few seconds after I heard the click of the lock before I whispered, "Othos, you still there?"

He shimmered into sight and nodded, "I didn't leave. Tell me, why were you so submissive to him. You seemed to possess a fighting spirit last I saw you, but you simply apologized repetitively."

"Because if I hadn't I'd be in big trouble," I mumbled.

Othos glanced around the room, "What is this place?"

I hesitated and then answered, "Big trouble." He smirked.

"You've gotten yourself kidnapped, haven't you?" he asked, sitting beside me on the bed.

"I wasn't kidnapped…I was abducted. There's a difference," I argued.

"The only difference is that one contains the word 'kid'. That is, after all, why I chose to say kidnapped."

"Please, I'm not a child."

"Then why did you get kidnapped?"

"Shut up, ok? Let's drop it. I just need your help to get out of here."

"You need my help? How can I help?"

"I need to escape this room, but the guard is always watching him. You can do that creepy eye thing and make him pass out, right? I'd use violence, but all of the prospective weapons are nailed to the floor. I mean, I could stab him with your key, but—"

"Don't even think about it," he said, "And I suppose I do owe you quite a lot."

"Huh?"

"I owe you," he said, standing and pacing towards the door.

"For what?" I asked, following closely behind him. He paused for a moment as if he were thinking.

"You'll find out," he said, turning towards the door. He knocked on it, leaving me hanging.

"What kind of answer it that?" I practically shouted. I didn't like it when people dangled secrets in front of me.

"Miss, what are you shouting about?" asked the guard. I heard the clunking sound that accompanied the release of the lock and grinned. "Whatever. I'll interrogate you later. It seems this isn't the time."

"Who are you talking to?" asked the guard. I turned my head towards where Othos had been standing, but he wasn't there.

I maintained eye contact with the man, "I don't have the slightest inkling as to what you're asking." I smiled as Othos appeared again behind the man. He reached up and silently slipped his blindfold off, his eyes remaining closed tightly.

"I do have some advice, though. Next time you disarm someone, make sure you do it properly," I said, "Sorry about this." With that I turned around, staring at the wall behind me. I saw a flash of bluish-white light and then darkness again. I turned cautiously and almost broke into laughter at what I saw.

"You look good together," I said, clamping a hand over my mouth.

"Oh, be quiet," Othos growled. The unconscious guard had slumped against Othos's chest and passed out cold. It looked like they were embracing each other. Othos tossed the man aside and the guard collapsed to the ground.

"That was mean," I said, stepping outside. Othos shoved him inside with his foot and shut the door gently, locking it. It was nice being outside the room when the lock slid into place rather than the opposite.

"Alright, we're off, then," I said, starting down the hallway. It seemed unlikely that the rest of the place would be abandoned, so I moved with caution. I turned behind me occasionally to make sure there was no one there.

"This is quite a large place, isn't it?" Othos asked.

"Yeah, but I'd anticipated that. The gardens alone were enormous, so it makes sense that the rest of the place would be big as well," I replied.

"Gardens?"

"Yeah, there were zillions of flowers outside my window," I said, peeking around the corner.

"We should go there…to the garden," he said. I turned and stared.

"Uh…why?"

"We can contact Jacin that way…"

"Seriously? Ok, follow me," I said, grabbing his hand and tugging him along behind me.

"Stop pulling like that…it's annoying."

"Be quiet," I hissed.

It took us a while, but we finally stumbled into the garden. The smell of the flowers was almost overwhelming as we walked in between the beds. There were really flowers of every shade and every color in the garden. It was more than impressive.

"Ok, now what?" I asked Othos.

"Wait," he said. I released his hand and watching him as he knelt down beside one of the flowers beds. He took one of the ruby red tulips into his hand and whispered something into it.

"Um…are you ok?" I asked. Last time I checked, whispering to inanimate objects meant you had some sort of mental deficiency. I could see Othos being crazy, though. Easily.

"Quiet," he hissed, putting his ear to the flower. I wanted to grab him and make a run for it. It couldn't be long before someone saw us and locked me up in that god-forsaken room yet again. I most definitely didn't want that.

"Othos, this is really not the time to—"

"Othos, is that you?" asked a voice. I fell silent, staring and crouching beside the blindman.

"Fleure, it seems that Lucy has gotten herself into a bit of trouble. Connect us to Jacin, please."

"Of course! He's really worried," Fleure said. There was a moment of silence before the flower started to glow dimly. I gawked.

"Othos, is that you? Is Lucy with you?" It was Jacin's voice. My heart twisted. Hearing his voice only made me miss him more.

"Yes, she's right h—"

"I'm alright, just a little shaken up. A few holes can't kill me," I said proudly.

There was some silence. "Jacin?" I asked. I stared to panic, thinking that the weird flower had stopped working.

"Sorry, I'm still here. I just…" his voice cracked slightly, "I was really worried."

"Where are you right now?" I asked.

"Outside of the castle," he replied.

"Seriously?" I asked, excitement bubbling. Maybe it wouldn't be that difficult to escape the castle after all.

"Oi! Why are you lagging, slowpoke?" yelled a voice in the background.

"Is that Natsu?" I asked.

"Hey, did you hear me? We gotta get down this cliff so that we can save Lucy!" The voice was getting louder, which probably meant that he was getting closer.

"Natsu! Natsu, can you hear me?" I asked.

"Why does your key sound like Lucy?" Natsu asked. I laughed when I heard a sniffing sound.

"Natsu, stop sniffing the key. It is me," I said, clearly amused.

"Lucy! Why are you in a key!?" he shouted.

"Stop shouting! I'm not inside the key, idiot!"

"Then why—"

"Where are you, Lucy?" Jacin asked. I may have been imagining it, but his voice sounded slightly annoyed. "We'll come get you."

"Um…the gardens? Does that help?" I asked.

"I think I can see flowers from up here. Jeez, those are gardens? I thought that was a flower-infested field," Natsu commented.

"Idiotic as usual," Jacin mumbled, "We'll come get you. Stay there, ok?" With that the flower's light diminished and Othos and I were left in complete darkness.

I sighed, "I'm glad you knew that flower trick," I said to him.

"It is useful, isn't i—" Othos froze.

"Othos?" I asked.

"Hm. It seems he's been poisoned. My bad," said a woman's voice behind us.

"Lucy," Othos said, ripping what seemed to be a dart out of his shoulder, "Run." With that he shimmered out of my sight and left me alone, about to face whoever it was that had just sent Othos back to the spirit world.

"It is quite fast-acting poison," said the voice, "I'm sorry about that."

"Are you?" I asked, backing away from the tulips, "Because you don't seem to think that at all."

She laughed and my hair stood on end. I shivered. "You're right! I'm not sorry at all."

I kept backing up, but figured it was too risky to run. I could easily see this person shooting a poison dart at me as I sprinted in the opposite direction. Dying wasn't something I wanted to do today. I silently cursed this situation. Why had I be so reckless as to be caught?

"Don't worry, I won't kill you. Drau has plans for you," she said. I froze as she stepped into the light a dozen feet away from me. The cold blue light coming from one of the nearby windows lit up her features just enough for me to see her face. I gasped.

"Of course, he has plans for me as well," she said with a smile.

"Who…are you?" I asked, stumbling backwards. "Why do you look…"

The girl flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. Her brown eyes gleaming evilly in the light. "Why do I look exactly like you do? Well, that's all part of the plan." She raised her arm and I noticed what looked like a small gun in her right hand. Before I could react, she'd pulled the trigger and I heard a zipping sound as a dart flew through the air. I felt a sharp stinging sensation as the cold metal dug into the skin in my leg. I immediately began to feel dizzy and toppled over. I could barely feel any pain as I hit the ground, though; my body was almost completely numb.

I saw two feet, wearing the exact same shoes I was wearing, walking towards me. They stopped in front of me. Cold fingers shifted my face so that I could look up at my duplicate. "Don't worry. It's just a tranquilizer. You won't die. Not yet," she said. My eyes slammed shut. There was no way I could open them either; it was like they were cemented closed.

If I could have felt anything at all, I would have felt horror.

Ok, so that concludes chapter 11. Again, sorry for the lack of updates as of late. I didn't intentionally ignore you, I promise. (nor did I intentionally ignore this story)

OC List:

Jacin - Lucy's dream guy. Two years older than Lucy. Celestial wizard with both platinum and silver keys. Some troubled past that led to his little brother and himself living on their own. Looking to join Fairy Tail.

Roawin - Jacin's little brother. Four years old. Bubble magic.

Abigail - A girl that Jacin loved and lost. (You'll find out more eventually)

Drau Cagliari - the leader of a dissolved bandit organization. Responsible for kidnapping Lucy and killing Abigail, (indirectly on the latter, it seems)

Jacin's Spirits:

Rouge - Platinum celestial spirit. Able to change her size at will. Sassy.

Fleure - Silver celestial spirit. Flower magic. Is fond of Roawin.

Agwo, Fuegia, Terro, and Cilo - The four elemental spirits, (silver keys). Water, fire, earth, and wind, (respectively).

Venra, Shiea, and Exxos - The three platinum key fox spirits.

Mayla and Diedos - The twins, platinum key. A strange duo who are somewhat catlike in appearance.

Grentha - The Grim Reaper, platinum key. Very intimidating appearance. Also very protective of Jacin.

Lupiyah - The Wolf-Woman, platinum key.

Gallego - The Gearmaster, platinum key. Is able to paralyze people and is slightly, (or maybe very), sadistic.

Crossman - Also called Cross. Nice and strict. Platinum key. Disapproves of stalking.

Brezza - The Strong Woman, who is pretty scary, (well, Jacin thinks so). Platinum key. Is very fond of piercing various parts of her body.

Othos - The Blindman. Caused Lucy to faint. Is actually blind, but able to 'see the truth'. Can read memories and thoughts. Special to Jacin because Othos was his first spirit. Kept around Jacin's neck on a necklace. Platinum key.