Lucy's spirits sat around the large circular table. It was ornate and beautiful with golden inlays of all the zodiac symbols, signifying a place for all the 12 zodiacs. The King presided at the head of the table in the 13th spot. The meeting called for all 12 zodiacs to be present so if Yukino were to summon her spirits, she also would receive no answer.
While in the meeting chamber, all calls to the spirits were blocked, they were unable to hear their masters. This put a whole lot of spirits ill at ease since they had lost their contracts with Lucy when she momentarily died.
"What is it that disturbs you so my old friends?" the King asked in his deep booming voice.
Leo cleared his throat, "We have a potential problem, you see, we can feel Lucy's connection, but it has duplicated, and there is a faint third signature attached as well."
The King's brows furrowed in dismay at this unusual news, "That is truly puzzling Leo the Lion, please tell me more."
"Ever since we re-contracted with Lucy, we have been extra vigilant to her needs since she has been in a fragile state. She is being well cared for, but when we feel her pull and come out to check on her, it is not always her." Leo paused to look at Virgo, who picked up right from there.
"Your Majesty, it would seem that the soul seer has connected with her somehow. When the Sky Dragon was healing her, Bickslow held her soul to help with the pain while the Poison Slayer helped Wendy."
"I see, I presume you have checked the celestial library for more information." The King asked as he directed his attention to Leo.
"That is correct, I searched with the Southern Cross and I have seen no recorded information in our libraries regarding this strange phenomena."
There was a deep hum that reverberated from the King, "I see, I shall take a moment and check with my advisor at the Celestial Academy."
That morning Laxus awoke to a familiar smell, coffee, and bacon. What alarmed him most was who on earth was in his house making them. Aside from his team, no one really knew where he lived and he never brought stray women to his home, his sanctuary. His curiosity was piqued when he smelled the sickly sweet smell of alcohol.
After throwing on a t-shirt and shorts he ventured into the kitchen where the card mage was frying up enough eggs to feed the slayer. It was a curious sight for the lightning slayer and the reasons why she could possibly be here set him on edge. He cleared his throat to make his presence known.
"Good morning tall blond and beautiful, care for some breakfast?" Cana asked with a salacious tone in her voice.
"Is it good? Why are you in my home?" Laxus asked skeptically as he sat down at his kitchen table.
Cana approached with a plate full of breakfast for the man, "Well it certainly isn't for the heart-stopping electrifying sex now is it?" she smirked, dropping the plate none too gently in front of him.
Laxus noted that for once her mug was filled with tea and not some inebriating beverage. He stared pointedly at her waiting for her to continue.
"Look, I don't always drink, you know" she stated as she sipped her tea. Cana let out a deep sigh before stating the reason why she came to the guild master's house.
"I have done a shitty job paying attention to my cards, and I am not too proud of that. There were a lot of things I should have seen coming and I feel like I could have helped the guild save a lot of heartaches." Cana stated, staring down at her mug.
Laxus wanted to interrupt her and tell her there was nothing she could do, but he could tell she had more to say.
"This morning was the last straw. I don't know what is going to happen or what it will lead to, but today is going to be a challenge. One that is gonna test all of us in one form or another. I woke up with a sense of dread and after doing a few readings, all I can conclude is that some kind of shit is going down today." She finished with a heft of breath.
Laxus pondered her words between his bites of eggs and bacon. He watched the card mage fidget with her hands and the mug and he could tell she was genuine in her words. "Why the breakfast, why not just tell me when we get to the guild?"
Cana eyed him cautiously, "The guild is where this will all happen, and honestly, you look like shit." she chuckled at the end of her statement.
"Fuck you," Laxus said as he took a large portion into his mouth. His relationship with Cana over the years has been a mix of friendship, kinship, love, and lust. They earned the right to be upfront and brutally honest with each other.
Cana just laughed a little more, "You can't hide the fact that you're not sleeping well and that you have been busy beyond belief with the flood of new faces. Not to mention the stress of the odd behavior of so many of our guildmates since…"
Cana paused, she was hesitant to say it out loud, the fact that since Lucy died team Natsu has become passive and disinterested in their loss of the blonde mage, or that Bickslow reverted back to his old ways, or that Cobra has lost his ever-loving mind if he ever had it. Nevermind the fact that Wendy has distanced herself from everyone except Bickslow and Midnight.
"... look shit has been crazy and stressful on everyone and you are under a lot of pressure. I just figured a solid meal and fair warning would help you feel more grounded and ready for whatever is coming."
Laxus smiled genuinely at his longtime friend, "Thank you, it's been a shit-show and I really do appreciate the warning. Also, who knew you could actually cook." He laughed at the face Cana made in response to his dig.
"I make plenty of delicious hangover food, I am somewhat of an expert at that." the glint in her eye was teasing.
Laxus just laughed some more, "Ok, don't worry about the dishes, let's get this shit-show on the road and see what epic disaster awaits us today."
Lucy was unsure of how much time had passed, so she focused on the meals she ate; she had at least 5 of them. She figured it must have been about a day and a half. No one she recognized had been down to bring her food or escort her to bathroom visits. This was a blessing in disguise since she could allow herself to be numb. The people barely said two-word commands to her but they did not treat her roughly.
She had tried time and again to contact her spirits but she began to feel less panicked when she realized their non-response was similar to when she called upon a spirit that was unavailable in their own world. She was still connected with them so she took comfort in that.
She had a lot of time to meditate and mentally prepare herself for eventually seeing someone she knew. She also had time to think about her relationship with the two men that have helped her the most. She wasn't sure if it was anything to classify, but they did appear to form a bond with one another. She wasn't sure where this left her and her biggest fear was that they would move on without her. Tears silently fell down her cheeks each time she thought of not being with them any longer.
Lucy knew she had to be upfront and honest with herself. She loved them both. She just wondered if either of them loved her the same way. If anyone was capable of loving her that way after what she has been through.
Upstairs in the guild, there were other problems brewing. Laxus had received a call from the magic council asking what he knew of the Black Sun guild. From what Laxus could decipher there was an all-out massacre of 95% of the guild. While the council was not upset over this, they were looking for more information as to what transpired and to alert Laxus of the dangers of the known remaining members.
This information coupled with the mysterious woman in the basement and the odd behavior that has been exhibited by Team Natsu left Laxus with more questions than answers and a confirmation of what Cana warned him about that morning. Nothing had been the same in the last year since Lucy's death, coupled with the recent influx of new faces Laxus was mentally exhausted.
Just as Laxus had a moment to breathe, Team Natsu came back from their most recent job. The last thing he wanted to deal with was whatever reckless damage they caused on their mission. As the team filed into his office to report he noted that Natsu seemed especially agitated. Even though the team wasn't as boisterous as they used to be, they still exhibited the same reckless behavior among themselves.
Erza reported a clean mission, much to Laxus's surprise. All the while Natsu seemed antsy to get out of the office, which is typical, but his lack of a blow-by-blow report was what struck the Master as odd. As soon as Laxus dismissed them the fiery dragonslayer bolted out the door.
In the basement, Lucy stared at her chipping nail polish, remembering the day Bickslow painted them, she had been so happy sharing that moment with both Bickslow and Cobra. She wondered if something like that would ever be able to happen again, would she feel as content again as she did that day.
Lucy was pulled out of her thoughts by the distantly familiar sound of someone ordering a strawberry cake in the guildhall above. Lucy then realized her former team had been away. She panicked at the sudden understanding that they were now in the guildhall and quite possibly may see them. The gamut of possibilities of what could happen was too overwhelming. Not a single one of them included a happy reunion and almost all of them ended with her shutting down and praying that she simply didn't exist.
As panic and fear flooded Lucy's system downstairs, Natsu was grinning like a cat who ate the canary upstairs. So as not to appear suspicious, he approached the bar and let Mira know that he was running into the supply closet downstairs to get some more of the hot sauce he loved.
Natsu had smelled his former teammate from the very moment he approached the guildhall. The fact that no one else seemed to realize who was there was an added bonus. He could tell her smell had changed and it was almost unrecognizable to the other slayers, all except for him.
As he approached the basement door, his smile turned feral as he opened the door and descended the steps.