Please feel free to leave me a review or two. I'm just having too much fun with this story…
YUKINO'S HOUSE
The first call was no big deal, although by Yukino's estimates, Natsu had pretty much called the second he made it back to Magnolia. Yukino picked up the lacrima, welcoming Natsu's voice. Sera squealed, recognizing her friend.
"Hey Yukino! Hi Sera!" he greeted, "I was just wondering - when is Lucy is going to start sending me signs? What will the signs look like?"
"I'm not sure, Natsu."
"Well, why doesn't she just appear in front of me?" he asked, "If she's waiting for me, she must know how anxious I am."
"You know how Lucy needs to find Aquarius's key?" Yukino asked, "The contract between Lucy and Aquarius was broken when Lucy broke the key to summon the Celestial King, so in order to work with her again, she has to find the new key. Same idea - you'll need to find it."
"Okay! Thanks! Bye!"
20 minutes later, the 2nd call came in.
"Hey Yukino, WHERE do I start looking for her key? She ain't coming when I try to summon her...what's the trick?"
"I don't know, Natsu. Maybe you should pinpoint places on a map of Fiore. Places you've visited or gone on missions to in the past. I'm sure when the time comes, you'll recognize it. And Natsu, remember your promise to sit with your friends...don't spend all your time on this."
"Okay! Thanks!"
It was the next day when he called again, "Nothing's happening! I've been listening and meditating and even trying to pay attention to my dreams! It sucks, cuz I never remember my dreams in the morning, no matter how hard I try."
"Natsu," Yukino sighed deeply, trying not to show the slight annoyance she felt, "Be patient. It's only been 2 days. I don't have the answers you're looking for."
"Okay! Bye!"
He called later the same day.
"Yeah?" Yukino answered with a sigh.
"Hey Yukino - if Pisces brought you the message the first time to you, can I talk to Lucy through the spirits? Kinda like that kid's game Telephone?"
"I don't know, Natsu. Why don't you try it."
"Great idea!" he exclaimed, "Bye Yukino!
There was another phone call first thing the next morning on the 3rd day.
"Hey Yukino - Plue can't tell me shit about Lucy. Weird. I used to be able to understand him perfectly."
"Sorry to hear that, Natsu."
"Me too," he laughed nervously, "Well, gotta go! Bye!"
The 3rd night, the lacrima went off yet again. Sting and Yukino looked at each other.
Seeing the frustration in Yukino's face, Sting put a finger to his lips in a Shh motion. Yukino giggled, but didn't go pick up the lacrima. They tiptoed around the house for the rest of the night, even though Natsu was miles away in Magnolia and would not know they were home even if they made noise.
The last time the lacrima rang, Yukino blinked twice. It wasn't Natsu this time, but Fairy Tail. She excused herself from her company and took the call in the kitchen, sometimes having to repeat herself twice to get the message across the rickety line. Finishing the call, she returned to the living room, sitting back down on the couch.
"So sorry about that," she said, picking her tea up again, "Now where were we?"
The company smiled pleasantly, picking up their conversation where they'd left off. But she'd heard that conversation, or at least Yukino's end of it. Almost every word of it.
DOWNTOWN MAGNOLIA
Natsu was walking through town with a gigantic map in his arms. Once again, the whispers of the townspeople echoed in his ears.
"It's a shame...he used to be so animated...now he's just pathetic."
"How long is he going to mope? I know at least 10 women who could take his mind off that Lucy-chick."
"Something's different about him today. Did he just smile?"
"You're right. There's a new spring in his step."
FAIRY TAIL GUILD HALL
(Third day back from Yukino's, between phone calls... LOL)
"What in the hell is he doing?"
Gray pushed through the crowd. Almost the entire guild were gathered together, nearly silent other than whispers of, "Holy shit – he's finally lost it," and "Okay, I knew he was weird, but this is a whole new level of weird, even for him."
Gray caught up to Erza, Juvia and Levy, trying to break between them so he could see. Their mouths were agape, staring at Natsu as though he had 3 heads.
Natsu sat on the ground, criss-crossing his legs. His eyes were closed and he held both hand the in the air, his fists held open in a circular position. He was humming loudly, almost obnoxiously, and he was completely oblivious to the fact that he held the attention of the entire guild.
"LUUUUUUUCY!" He yelled suddenly in a gigantic voice. The entire crowd jumped back, shielding their faces. Natsu continued to ignore the crowd, eyes closed, throwing his arms wide open, "COME FORTH! I BECKON YOU TO MY SIDE!"
"Damn!" Gajeel commented, joining his friends at the front of the spectacle, "He's finally jumped off the deep end, eh? What the hell is he doing?"
Levy looked backward to him, before returning her stare to the dragon slayer, who was now doing some kind of weird dance movements, "I think he's trying to summon Lucy."
Erza stomped her foot, "He needs help. I'm going to get Makarov. I think it's time to send him to a doctor."
With that, she disappeared into the crowd.
"Hum-in-a, Hum-in-a!" Natsu was chanting now, resuming his sitting position.
Gray stepped in front of the crowd, spreading his arms, blocking their view, "Okay, people! Show's over. Go work or drink or…I dunno – live your own lives."
The crowd murmured as they dissipated, whispering among themselves. Gray sighed. Natsu had been home from Sting and Yukino's for 3 days. And he had been acting strangely the entire time.
It had started from the moment he got back. He had slammed the doors open, flinging his arms up in the air like he used to years ago when they'd had a successful mission. Instead of cheering and welcoming him home, the guild looked at him like he'd had toilet paper sticking out of his pants or something.
Stomping over to the counter in his old fashion , where he lifted his legs high in the air, fingers threaded behind his head, he approached Mira for his usual, then to her absolute shock, he'd picked it and wandered to the table of his comrades and sat with them.
Not only that, but he kept up with the conversation and had them laughing at times.
"Well," he had announced, getting up from the table and stretching a full-body stretch, just like he used to, "Gonna go spend time with Happy! He's never home anymore! Spends all his time with Wendy and Carla! I wonder why!"
And just like that, he had marched from the guild, mouths agape as he left.
It only got weirder from there. The next day, Natsu returned to the guild, citing his own table where he could spread maps of Fiore. He put on glasses (even though he had immaculate eyesight) and began pinpointing random places on the map. He worked with amazing concentration. Again, the guild had watched with mild interest at first, then more interest as Natsu stared at his masterpiece with a delighted grin, then proceeded to tack the map to a board beside the job board, exiting the guild hall without saying a word to anyone. He appeared about 2 hours later, wandering over to the board and removing one of the tacks, marking the spot with a giant red X, then left a second time. He offered no explanation.
And now this.
He sat down beside the dragon slayer, criss-crossing his legs much like Natsu.
"Dude," Gray said quietly, "We gotta talk."
Natsu ignored Gray, continuing his strange chant of "Hum-in-a, Hum-in-a!"
Following Gray's lead, Levy, Gajeel, Droy, and Juvia formed a circle with the already-sitting boys.
"Natsu," Levy tried to get his attention, "Can you even hear us?"
Natsu broke his trance, opening one eye to view the circle formed around him. His body remained rigid in the yoga meditation position.
"Oh hey guys…thanks for joining me! Means a lot, really it does!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Gajeel snapped, "You're fucking crazy!"
"Gajeel!" Levy warned, "A little sensitivity please."
Gajeel grunted, "We've been tip-toeing around Natsu for 2 years. Maybe what he needs is a dose of reality."
"Gajeel!" Juvia snapped, "Shut up please."
Harrumphing, Gajeel crossed his arms and shut up.
Gray turned his attention to Natsu, who had temporarily given up his yoga pose so he could open both eyes and concentrate on his friends' strange behaviour. Sometimes his friends were so weird.
"So…wanna tell us what happened to snap you out the depressed stupor you've been moping in for the last two years?" he asked.
"Oh THAT!" Natsu grinned ear to ear, "You're not gonna believe what happened!"
"You're right about that," Gajeel whispered into Levy's ear, "We probably ain't gonna believe a WORD of it."
Natsu flashed a happy grin at Gajeel, reminding him he still had dragon slayer hearing, "Seriously…you're gonna love this."
Erza and Master Makarov stood along the outward edge of the circle now as Natsu leaned forward, almost to the middle of the group, a big dopey grin illuminating his face as he announced his news, dramatically emphasizing the last word, "Lucy….is... alive!"
Gajeel face-palmed as Levy grabbed his shoulder, shocked to the core. Not because she believed Natsu, but because her heart literally broke to pieces when she saw her friend so hopeful. Juvia gasped in disbelief. Natsu had finally broken.
"My boy," Makarov was the first to speak, "I think it's time for you to see Porlyusica again."
"What for?" Natsu asked innocently, "I feel better now than I have in months!"
Erza laid a hand on his back, "We all want Lucy to be alive," she said gently, "But Natsu, Lucy isn't coming back. She died. We thought you were finally coming to terms with that."
"Hell no!" Natsu stood up, facing Erza with a look of utter defiance, "Yukino told me when I saw her that Lucy is alive. She's trapped in the Celestial world until I find her key. Once I find it, I can call her home," he glanced from face to face, registering the disbelieving expressions.
"Do you have proof?" Juvia asked slowly.
Gray pinched her for even entertaining the idea that his story could be true.
Natsu held up Lucy's keys triumphantly, "I've got her keys!"
"But Yukino had her keys all this time," Levy said slowly, "She just gave them to you, right?"
"Well, yeah," Natsu admitted. He looked from face to face, sighing as he got off the floor, "Okay, it's fine that none of you believe me. Hell, it sounds unrealistic to me too. But as of tomorrow morning, I'm leaving on a quest. I'm finding Lucy's key and I'm bringing her home. I would extend the invitation for you to come," he looked from face to face, "But I can see how much you believe me by the looks on your faces."
Nobody spoke. Nobody denied what he was saying, yet everyone felt the pangs of guilt.
"It's okay. But please don't try to stop me. I need to do this. If she's really gone, then maybe I'll finally get some closure. But if there's a chance…even a tiny, slight sliver of hope…I have to go."
He pushed through his friends and left the guild, not looking back. Once again, Natsu had frozen the entire guild with his antics. The only sound in the room was a sobbing Levy as Gajeel stroked her back soothingly.