Alice had decided, after an hour long debate in her mind, where she faked sleep so Loke wouldn't speak to her, that she would forget the whole incident. Forget how Loke had kissed her. Forget how she had kissed him back. Forget that she had liked it. Forget how, even after all the trouble it had caused, she wanted him to do it again.

So when she, finally, opened her eyes and let out a small yawn, finding Loke right next to her in her bed, she reacted how she would have before he went and complicated things. She gave him a warm smile, seemingly catching him off guard because he stared at her wide eyed as she climbed over him and off the bed.

"Morning Loke," she greeted as she walked into the bathroom and had a shower.

That gave Loke ample time to realise exactly what she was doing, Alice accepted, he had to catch on that she was ignoring what had happened between them. If he was wise, which she knew he was, he would ignore the incident all together. To be honest, Alice had enough on her plate without trying to work out where exactly she stood with her celestial spirit.

When she was done, and had gotten changed into her usual attire, there was something satisfying about actually changing clothes instead of reequipping, she walked out of the bathroom and into the main room.

Loke was in the kitchen, and just as Alice walked in toast popped out of the toaster and she grabbed it eagerly, not even bothering to put butter on it, a weird habit of her own, as she munched on it, perching herself on the kitchen counter. Her spirit was working his way through her washing up, which she had forgotten to do the previous night, due to her kidnapping, which Alice deemed a very valid reason.

"You don't have to do that," she scolded him, giving him a pout as she watching him work.

"And yet I am," Loke retorted, placing the dish on the dryer before picking up a bowl.

"I don't think it's written down in celestial law," Alice mused, "Do thou master's washing."

"Is that an invitation to clean your underwear?" Loke purred, and Alice let out some sort of high pitched squeak.

"No!" she squealed, "Stay away from my underwear!"

"Of course, my lady," he responded, that familiar glint in his eyes, that maddened look that matched his persona so accurately Alice wondered if he really were more like the Mad Hatter than she gave him credit for.

There was silence for a few minutes as Loke finished the washing up and Alice munched her way through her toast.

"Are you feeling better?" Loke asked in a soft, concerned voice.

"I'm fine," Alice assured him, her voice harder than it had been previously, but then it softened, and she gave Loke a small, somewhat apologetic smile before speaking again, "I didn't dream. No, I mean… I didn't see Andromeda."

Loke wasn't sure what to say to that, so instead he just reached out his own hand, hesitantly taking her own in his larger one. She didn't look at him, and it was as if his skin burned where they touched, he could barely stop a sigh, of relief maybe, from passing his lips.

"I think she blocked me," Alice continued, and her fingers moved, tracing shapes on the back of Loke's palm, "Because of what she did. She didn't want me to see what it did to her, killing people like that. It was… so raw… so animalistic… Or maybe it was guilt, because of the kidnapping. I don't know."

Alice stared off into the distance for a moment, so lost to the world that Loke felt like an intruder as he stood next to her, observing her as she passed through to some place where he could not follow.

"How did you die?" his voice was barely over a murmur as he asked her the question, and she froze for a moment, before returning back to the real world.

"Stabbed," she stated, her hand raising subconsciously to the scar that would never fade, the forever reminder of that death, "They… I wasn't cooperating. One of them had the bright idea to… to kill me. Apparently Andromeda can possess dead bodies too."

"When I found you…" Loke told her, "Her eyes… It was just like before, in that… different time."

"Wait!" Alice exclaimed, jumping off of the kitchen counter, her hand moving out of Loke's, although he missed her touch he managed to control himself from moving closer to her, "Andromeda can possess dead bodies."

"Yes…?" Loke clarified, confused as he responded.

"Dead bodies!" Alice cried, grabbing Loke's shoulders, even though he was taller than her she could easily reach, and teleporting them both to the celestial spirit world.

-X-x-X-

"What are we doing again?" Loke asked her, letting her tug him through the streets of his home world, his gaze fixed on the blonde in front of him.

"Where's Virgo?" she demanded, ignoring his question.

"Probably in the park," Loke answered, "She had this weird thing for talking to the ducks, I don't understand it. Why do we need Virgo though? And if we just need her, why didn't you just summon her?"

Again, Loke was ignored as Alice pulled him through the crowded street, skilfully dodging the mass of spirit people going the opposite way to them. Once they got to the park, a short journey, Virgo was easy to spot. She was crouched by the duck pond, a pile of loaves of bread by her side as she watched the ducks mull about in the water.

"Virgo!" Alice called, catching the pink haired spirit's attention.

"Alice-sama?" Virgo responded.

"Alice," Alice corrected her, "Where did you put Ultear?"

"Ultear is located in the basement of your house," Virgo answered.

"Thanks!" Alice shouted over her shoulder as she sprinted away, pulling a very confused Loke along with her.

-X-x-X-

When Alice had walked into the basement of her house, the Celestial Spirit King had been kind enough to allow her two residences, one in Fiore and the other in his domain, because she was half spirit. She stopped when she caught sight of Ultear's body, lying so still on the wooden table in the middle of the room.

Alice had mentally prepared herself for seeing Ultear's dead body, but it was nothing compared to actually seeing it. She was so cold, her pale white skin looked colourless, her raven hair too dark, contrasting too vividly against her snow pale skin. Her eyes were shut, Alice didn't think she would have been able to manage if she had seen those blank orbs.

"Alice…" Loke murmured, "Why are we here?"

Loke was awfully slow, Alice decided.

Instead of explaining, she shut her eyes, searching out the corners of her mind, trying to find the presence that shared her body.

There.

As soon as she, it could be considered, tuned herself into the other soul, she could hear her.

Alice? Andromeda asked her, silently requesting why she had been given this little control of the body.

You wanted to repent, Alice explained, her eyes set on Ultear's still form, I have the perfect solution.

You mean… Andromeda trailed off as she understood what exactly Alice wanted.

I want you to resurrect Ultear, Alice stated.

-X-x-X-

Loke was increasingly concerned about his master, it didn't help that for the last ten minutes she had been staring off into the distance. He wasn't sure whether she was shutting him out, because of how he had kissed her before, or if she was too lost in her own world. But he decided that he should bring her out of it. His hand reached out to her shoulder, gently snapping her out of her own world.

"Andromeda can resurrect Ultear," Alice told him.

For a moment, he stared at her, not at all suspecting that.

And then it hit him.

Andromeda had possessed her dead body, had kept her alive until Loke could come and resurrect her.

"Yes you can," Alice responded to some voice that Loke could not hear.

"Who are you talking to?" Loke asked her.

"Andromeda," Alice answered, and then she held her hand up, telling him to be silent as she listened to whatever Andromeda was telling her, before she spoke again, "I know, but it's better than nothing. And if it doesn't work, just come back to me."

Andromeda seemed to agree to this.

"Alice," Loke called to her, and she turned to him, "Will it… Will it hurt for you? To release Andromeda?"

"It only killed Zeref because he isn't immortal," Alice explained, putting her hand on Loke's forearm and looking up into his eyes, "I'll be fine."

Alice's eyes fluttered shut.

Darkness.

It engulfed all the light, pushing itself out to control the whole room. Loke stumbled backwards as it surrounded him, and his arm darted out to take hold of Alice's wrist in an attempt to get her to follow him. For a moment she was like a statue, unmoveable. Then she stumbled backwards, colliding into Loke's chest, and he really shouldn't have felt his heart hammer at her being so close, but he really couldn't help it. He wrapped his arms around her, keeping her safe, and a second passed where Alice was frozen, before she melted, burying her head in the crook of his neck and wrapping her arms around his waist.

The darkness around them faded.

They stayed like that, in their tight embrace, for a minute longer than necessary.

It was Alice who pulled back, loosening her grip on his waist and moving backwards, towards Ultear's body. Loke felt a wave of cold pass over him at the loss of her heat, but his arm reached forward, taking her hand in his own. She turned around to look at him with an emotion he couldn't quite place, but she didn't move her hand.

Then Ultear woke up.

She gasped, pushing herself up so she was sitting on the slab of stone, her eyes wide and adjusting to the bright lights. She saw Alice, and let out a shaky breath.

"Alice?" she called to her, "What's going on? I thought I… Wasn't I…"

"You died," Alice told her, moving towards her friend and Loke followed to stand next to her, "You died to save me from myself, and I don't think I can ever repay you for that."

"Oh yeah…" Ultear murmured, and then she looked Alice in the eye, "You don't need to repay me, we're even now."

"How in the Heavens are we even?" Alice exclaimed.

"You saved my life, when you found me and Meredy, and now I just paid back the debt," Ultear explained, and she stopped Alice from replying as she rubbed the back of her head, "So how exactly did you bring me back to life?"

"That's… complicated," Alice shrugged.

"I have time," Ultear responded.

"You know how I was possessed by the spirit that Zeref pass onto me?" Alice reminded her, and Ultear nodded in confirmation, "Long story short, the Spirit was actually a Celestial Spirit called Andromeda who had been betrayed and wronged by her older brother, the Spirit King, and now she wants to make up for killing loads of people, so she was willing to inhabit your body and resurrect you!"

"Right," Ultear accepted, blinking in confusion for a moment, "Wait a second… That evil spirit is inside of me?!"

"She's not evil," Alice stated, "She was betrayed, and she lashed out at people."

"It's a killer!" Ultear screeched.

"She wants to do good now," Alice explained, "She regrets it, what she did, she sees that it's wrong now."

"It has destroyed villages, turned mortals insane, murdered children," Ultear snarled, "God Alice… Wake up! It's using you! Just how it used all those before you! And now you've passed it on to me!"

Ultear was on her feet, her eyes ravenous as she glared at Alice, her hands curled into fists at her sides as she snarled at the blonde girl. Alice was merely staring at her, mystified at what exactly the other female was doing. Loke stepped forward, pushing Alice backwards, so she was angled slightly behind him.

"Ultear, calm down," he ordered.

"I will not calm down!" Ultear shrieked, "I wish I was dead! Kill me! Get it out of me! I don't want to be a monster!"

"Ultear-" Alice started, but she was cut off as Ultear screamed, releasing a burst of energy out of her hands and firing it straight at Alice.

The spell hit Alice right in the chest, and sent the blonde flying backwards. She crashed into the wall ten metres away, her back taking the brute force of the move, and slumped to the ground.

That seemed to snap Ultear out of it, she blinked, staring at Alice, who was pushing herself up from the floor, before she shook her head. Loke was by Alice's side, taking her hand in his own and helping her up from the ground.

"W-What's happening to me?" Ultear questioned in a whisper, "Why did I do that? I just felt so… So angry and… dark."

"It takes a while to get used to," Alice answered as Loke and her moved back over to Ultear, "It will take a while until you can control it. Andromeda is… You have to remember she's a celestial being, not the physical form, but the spirit of one. She has her own power, and it is a dark one. But I believe in you Ultear, you're strong enough to hold her back when you need to."

"I'm sorry," Ultear apologised.

"It's forgotten," Alice waved the apology away, "Now, plan wise, I think you should stay here for a bit, learn to control her, I'll have one of my spirits check in with you hourly, for food and stuff. There's a bit of a time different here though, but take as long as you need. I'll come back when you call."

Alice turned around, Loke by her side, to walk out the room.

"Alice," Ultear called to her, and Alice turned around, "Thank you."

"You deserve to live, Ultear," Alice responded, "No matter what you may think."

-X-x-X-

Ultear had only needed two hours, along with a long conversation with Andromeda herself, to be able to control the new found spirit in her body. So Alice had returned, Loke with her as he seemed unwilling to leave her side, and taken Ultear back to Fiore. Jellal and Meredy were easy enough to find, since Ultear's death they had taken to staying with Fairy Tail, who were more than willing to house the two.

Alice walked into the guild hall, Loke at her side, with Ultear next to them, hiding under a cloak because it wouldn't be good for a wanted fugitive who was confirmed to be deceased to be walking around town.

But for a moment, it was like stepping into the past.

Levy was sitting with her teammates, Jet and Droy, and Gajeel was glaring at the two males who were hung onto her every word. Mira was waiting tables, giggling at something Macao said whilst Wacaba smoked his pipe. Carla was sitting on the bar, Happy next to her, offering her a fish as Wendy and Romeo, who sat on the bar stool in front of them, chatted.

"Alice?" a voice called to her, and she turned around to see Team Natsu sitting at one of the many tables, a map in front of them, surrounded by a variety of drinks.

Erza was the one who had spoken, and by her side was Gray, who looked equally as happy to see her. Natsu was next to him, with Lisanna sitting next to him.

Realisation sunk in as she saw Lisanna sitting where she had so many times, in between Gray and Natsu, to stop an impending fight.

Lisanna had joined Team Natsu.

It hurt, for a brief second, jealousy along with some sense of betrayal burned through her veins. But she knew she couldn't, because she was being stupid, although she had never officially left Team Natsu she had still moved on, and so they had every right to do the same without her. And besides, it wasn't Lisanna's fault, she had no clue that Lucy was alive, yet alone that she was standing right in front of her. From what Alice knew, Lisanna was nice, she was their friend, and so there was no reason for her to even consider snapping at them.

Alice quickly plastered on a smile, trying to mask the pain that flooded through her.

"Hey Erza," she responded, "We need to see your special friends."

Erza understood who exactly Alice wanted, even if Natsu and Lisanna didn't, Gray did, from the look in his eyes.

"I'll take you to them," Erza offered as she stood up from the table.

"But hey!" Natsu cried, "We were planning our latest mission!"

"It can wait," Erza shrugged.

Alice, Loke and Ultear followed Erza to the second floor, and then through the back. When they reached a door, far from the front of the guild, Erza knocked lightly before entering. Jellal and Meredy looked up from where they were sitting on the floor, it looked as if they had been looking over some scrolls.

"Hi Alice," Jellal greeted evenly, "And Loke. Oh. A hooded figure. Should I be worried?"

"No," Alice answered, with a smile, "You should be delighted."

Ultear took that as her cue to pull her hood down, and it seemed Meredy took Alice's advice. She shrieked, before throwing herself on to the woman who was practically her mother. Ultear laughed, turning to Jellal, sharing a hug with the male who was like a brother to her.

Alice smiled softly, before she turned around to leave, to let the small guild rejoice alone. Erza was smiling, and as Alice and Loke walked out of the door, she followed.

"Lucy…" Erza murmured, and she pulled Alice into a hug, which Alice returned warmly, "I barely see you anymore."

"I've been busy," Alice apologised.

"You always are," Erza chuckled, "But you're always welcome here, you know that right?"

"I know," Alice confirmed, "Sorry, but we have to go. I haven't… Well, I've barely been in my own guild for long either."

Erza gave Alice a small smile, but Alice could tell she was holding something back, and instead of asking the question, she merely rose an eyebrow, prompting Erza.

"Are you alright?" Erza questioned, "It's just… You're so… You're not Lucy, and you're not Alice right now. Is everything okay?"

Alice was slightly started that Erza had picked up on it, and she was sure it showed on her features before she returned to her carefully constructed mask.

"Don't worry," Alice told her, "I can deal with it."

Erza stared at her, but this time her eyes were saddened.

"Things can never go back to how they were, can they?" Erza remarked, "You can never be that kind, innocent girl who I called my sister, you can't come back to Fairy Tail, you can't just sit with us and talk like anyone else."

"I've moved on," Alice stated, "And you have too."

"Is this because Lisanna's joined the team?" Erza queried, "Because we all accepted that you weren't coming back, and that even if you did, things wouldn't be the same. You know that. Besides, Lisanna needed a team and she has always been a close friend of Natsu's."

"I'm stating fact," Alice countered coldly, "Maybe I shouldn't come back here. It's not the same, just like you said. I'm not part of Fairy Tail, not anymore. We both just need to accept that."

As the words left Alice's mouth, she realised it was true.

She couldn't be Lucy, she couldn't lock away all this power she had, everything she had learnt, just throw it away for something that she really couldn't have.

She was as sickened by that as Erza was.

-X-x-X-

Alice was walking a short distance ahead of Loke, but she could still feel his eyes burning into the back of her head.

"I'm fine!" she snapped.

"No you're not," he denied, but his voice wasn't angry, softer than that, "Please don't do this. Don't block me out."

"As opposed to what?" she snarled, turning on him, "You want me to confide every little thing in you, that's it? You want me to blurt out all my little secrets? Well, that's not happening Leo!"

"I just want you to trust me!" he argued, his voice rising as he felt some anger build up in him at the use of his Celestial name, she never used it, it was a reminder that he was a spirit and she was his master.

"I do!" she hissed.

"Not enough to tell me things, obviously!" Loke yelled, "It wasn't just Lisanna joining Team Natsu that's gotten to you! There's something else, something else you're not telling me!"

"Stop it Leo!" she shrieked, but he just grabbed her arm, holding her in place, and their faces were mere centimetre apart.

"Why can't you just trust me?!" he exclaimed.

"Because you do stupid things!" she screamed.

"Which you do all the time!" he countered.

"You're so…" Alice trailed off as she let out a shriek, "Don't make me close your gate Leo!"

"I nearly forgot, you're the master, I'm just your slave!" he chuckled darkly.

"You know that's a lie!" she spat.

"Then treat me like your friend!" he demanded, "Trust me and let me help you!"

"This was your idea!" she accused, "You suggested that I change into Alice! It's your fault that everything's ruined!"

"My fault?!" he repeated, hurt and outrage taking control of him, "I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't been so weak! You don't know what it was like! I had to watch you killing yourself every day! You didn't eat, didn't sleep, barely drunk enough water to survive! Are you seriously going to tell me that being Alice hasn't helped?!"

"I wouldn't be having this problem if I hadn't!" Alice barked.

"Oh right, sorry about that then, next time I'll just let you wither and die!" he roared.

Alice didn't speak, they were both panting, so close to one another that Alice could feel Loke's breath on her hair. She looked up, staring into his eyes, and she wasn't really too sure what happened next.

One second she was infuriated with him.

The next, she was kissing him.

It wasn't soft or sweet, it was rough and harsh as their mouths moved together. One of Alice's hands was in his hair, clamping down on his ginger locks in a way that make him moan, her other hand was fisted in his shirt. He had a hand tangled in her hair, the other on her thigh, pulling her leg up to wrap around his waist as he pushed her backwards, pressing her up against a wall.

Alice let out a low moan as she felt the brick behind her back, but it didn't stop her. She just kissed him with more force, her mouth moving brashly, a primal desire for him controlling her in a way she hadn't experienced before. Her whole body was burning, her heart hammering as it felt so alive, where his hands touched her body hummed in delight. His hand was on the underside of her thigh, only her thin tights stopping him from coming into contact with her soft flesh.

She broke away for breath, panting as they seperated.

He didn't release her, her legs were still wrapped around his waist, and some part of Alice didn't want him to let her go. She didn't open her eyes, not wanting to ruin it, leaning forward to bury her head in the crook of his neck, and she felt him let out a shaky breath as he rested his head on top of her own.

"Are you going to send me back?" he asked in a whisper.

"No," she answered after a moment, not moving her head from his neck.

"Alice… Lucy… I really… You have to know that I…" he tried to get the words out, but they felt stuck in his throat.

She pulled back, opening her eyes, staring at him, and then she leaned forwards, pressing a light, soft kiss against his lips, before she slipped out of his hold, her feet landing on the ground as she took his hand and entwined his fingers, pulling him back into the main street. He didn't comment, and she didn't look at him, but something had shifted, something was different. But it was a good different.

"Something's going to happen," she murmured, "I can feel it. Something's going to happen, and it isn't good."

"How do you know?" he questioned.

"When we picked Ultear up, I just suddenly got this feeling," she confessed, "Something is going to happen. Today. Something bad."

"Where?" Loke queried.

Alice looked down at the blue guild mark on her hand.

"Blue Pegasus," she stated, "But I don't know what."

"Then we do what we can," he assured her, "We go there, and we stay there for the rest of the day."

She turned to look at him, trying not to get too lost in his eyes, and she pushed herself up onto her toes to kiss him softly as she brushed her lips against his own, and she felt him respond, his own lips moving in sync with hers. She pulled back, leaning her forehead against his. But that feeling was tugging at her gut, so she moved away completely, just keeping his hand in her own.

"Come on," she insisted.

-X-x-X-

Blue Pegasus was just as it normally was, Master Bob was behind the bar serving drinks, the Trimens were in a corner, Hibiki with Jen, Eve chatting up a random woman, and Ren talking to Sherry through a lacrima he held on his lap. Alice's eyes scanned the crowd, looking for some explanation, some reason as to why something felt so wrong.

"Maybe it was something else," Loke offered, his hand still in her own.

"No," Alice shook her head as she spoke, "I know it. Something's going to happen."

And just like that, it did.

-X-x-X-

A/N Hi Guys. I am really sorry that it has literally taken me months to update, but I'm not well, I'm sick, and nothing is getting better. It's really hard to write, I get these killer headaches that make me almost faint, but I really love this story and I am determined to finish it. But if this chapter isn't up to standard, then I can rewrite it, just tell me, I won't be offended. I'm sure I've made at least a dozen grammatical errors, so if you cath one, I'd seriously appreciate it if you pointed it out to me. I really need some help with this, so if anyone has any ideas for this story, just tell me, I'd love to hear them. Thank you to reviewers! I am just going to respond, but I was too eager to post this! But literally, right after this, I will reply, I promise! And to everyone who reads this story, seriously thank you, and I hope that I can update soon, I really hate myself for making you wait months for this and I'll try not to do it again.

Thank you, honestly, to everyone who has read this story. It means the world to me.

Becney