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April 9th, X778


Lucy liked Mirajane. She wasn't the worst housemate; actually, she might have been one of the very best. Mostly because despite the strange, random ingredients that could be found at the end of the world, Mirajane could cook. Beautifully. Deliciously. Even though she was a goddess, she far surpassed anyone Lucy had ever met when it came to cooking.

It helped that though Lucy was human, and someone Natsu shouldn't have been apparently getting close to according to the other gods…Mirajane didn't care. She even seemed pleased about it. "He's friendly," she told Lucy one evening, "but he doesn't have many good friends. I think you'll be good for him."

If he ever decided to come back, Lucy would make sure to tell him.

Wendy liked her, too. Initially, she'd been worried and anxious about the new goddess living in their shared home when Lucy had first introduced them. After a few conversations with Mirajane, however, Wendy was thick as thieves with her. It had worried Yukino when she'd found someone she didn't recognize at the door when she'd come to pick Wendy up, and she didn't seem to trust her much. Sting didn't trust her either, for that matter. He'd voiced his concerns to Lucy upon coming by at Yukino's request, and Lucy had begun to wonder if she was maybe missing some sixth sense that other humans had regarding the gods.

All the while, Lucy occasionally threw out questions regarding the strange woman who'd thrown to the sharks. She'd come up with a more sly way to ask her questions, cautious. She'd come to realize that asking too many too quickly had been what made people uncomfortable. She started small, too. She started tagging along with Yukino and Wendy, or even Sting on occasion. Rogue simply seemed to avoid them entirely after hearing about Mirajane's arrival. Lucy didn't blame him one bit; the gods were a lot to deal with.

Despite all of her efforts, however, the information they needed didn't come from the town, and it didn't come from asking questions.

Rather, it came from the same place the first Vhalis had come from: the sea.

"I must have the worst luck in the world," said Lucy, unable to tear her eyes from the creature writhing on the sands in front of her. It hissed and spat and screamed its fury. She had been accompanying Mirajane to the furthest tip of the island to see out various edible mollusks, careful not to dip her boots into the icy water. Where Gray had been hesitant to so much as touch Juvia's domain, Mirajane was unafraid, plunging her bare feet into the crevices between rocks as she sought what she was searching for. It was dusk, which only made the situation with the Vhalis at hand all the more frightening.

Mirajane splashed over, gaze fierce yet curious. "Or the best of luck," she suggested, peering at the Vhalis that thrashed and snarled at them. It was a woman just like the last one, and bound in ropes and chains like it. The woman the Vhalis had been had also just died like the last, too.

Mirajane's blue eyes sharpened as she studied the Vhalis. "I have seen these," she murmured, fearlessly kneeling before the Vhalis and inspecting it. Her red gown stuck out sharply against the gray water and rocky shore. She ran her fingers through the Vhalis's hair fearlessly, not minding when it snapped at her fingers. After a few moments, her head dropped. "Poor soul," she whispered, rising to her feet and stepping back. "She didn't deserve this. I can't save her soul like Gray could either."

Lucy peered warily at the Vhalis, mindlessly touching the scabbed over bite on her arm. It throbbed as if in memory of the Vhalis's teeth on her arm. "It's like the other one," she said firmly. "See how it's bound at the wrists – and ankles." She studied the length of the Vhali's writhing body, frowning. She couldn't see an obvious cause of death. It could have been made to drown, which Lucy found incredibly depressing.

Mirajane hummed with a heavy sigh. "There's no signs that would lead us to the person who killed my Favored." Her blue eyes narrowed hatefully. "But they must work on a ship. There is no other way they'd get the women to an area that would be caught by nets. They must have been unhappy that their last victim was caught, and they tried to hide them in an area less occupied by people."

Lucy murmured her agreement, thinking of all the dockworkers. "Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to ask questions on the docks anymore. I asked too many uncomfortable questions apparently."

Mirajane glanced at her, amusement dancing in her eyes. "That's alright. We'll investigate the docks by ourselves. In the meantime…" She frowned down at the deceased woman with sympathy. "What do you usually do with the lost souls?"

Lucy's heart ached. "Gray or Natsu usually deal with them. Natsu turns them to ash if we're in a bad spot. Gray does whatever he can to save them. It's not ideal when it's just Natsu around, but…we don't have a choice. The people…the people here, they feed the Vhalis to the sharks." She hated it. Hated it, knowing what she did about the Vhalis."

But that was the only thing they could do.

Lucy didn't miss the tears that shone on Mirajane's face when the last shark's dorsal fin vanished beneath the waves.

Lucy found herself crying, too.


Maybe her mind was skewed from all the time she'd spent with Natsu, and then Gray and Wendy when they'd joined them. It was the only reason Lucy could come up with that explained why she was more content to walk through Hyacinth with Mirajane than she was with any of the locals who'd welcomed her to Hyacinth. As it was, the locals eyed her warily and Mirajane with suspicion. Lucy knew they didn't trust either of them – especially Mirajane, who'd mysteriously appeared on their island when none of their boats had been sent to retrieve her and there was no sight of any other strange boats.

As they walked the docks, eyes skimming this way and that, Mirajane took her off guard when she told Lucy, "I believe Gray is heading in this direction. I can feel his diale."

Lucy instinctively brushed her fingers over Natsu's scarf, glancing at her. She didn't dare voice her hope that it meant Natsu would be coming back, too. She'd missed him. Not wanting to get ahead of herself, Lucy told herself to be pleased with the information about Gray alone, not daring to give herself that level of hope in a world that could change at any moment.

"Good," said Lucy. "Maybe he can help us. He'll want to, seeing as he doesn't like that souls are being twisted into Vhalis."

Mirajane hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing as a voice called Lucy's name. Lucy looked over and found, to her surprise, a semi-amused Rogue. He'd paused in the midst of loading some supplies onto a boat. He was wearing sturdy clothes that were easy to move in, as well as a large bag on his back that told her all she needed to know. Murmuring that she'd be back in a moment to Mirajane, Lucy hurried towards him.

"You're going scouting again, right?" guessed Lucy as she approached.

He nodded once, a half-smile tugging at his lips though it vanished when he spotted Mirajane watching them and waiting for Lucy to come back. "Be careful," he told Lucy as he shifted the bag he wore. "if you're asking questions again…the people here can get particularly suspicious of outsiders if they feel you're upsetting their peace and may ask you to leave entirely."

Lucy wasn't surprised, but she was a little touched by Rogue's concern when he'd expressed his dislike of Lucy's company openly. "I'm trying to help them, even if they don't want me to," she told him.

"I believe you believe that." Rogue glanced at Mirajane again. "Your friend is like Gray and Natsu, isn't she?"

The question took Lucy off guard. She'd forgotten Rogue had spent some time around them, and had seen the unexplainable. He knew there was more in this world than the Vhalis and other humans. "Yes," she said after a moment. "Mira's like them. She's…she knew the Vhalis I pulled up in the net personally. She wants to find out who hurt them."

Rogue pursed his lips, thinking hard. Finally, he nodded curtly. "Sting is good at getting answers from people. You should ask him to help you if you need him to. And Yukino will have a few answers for you, even if she doesn't want to really talk about it. Tell her I told her to." He frowned when Lucy stared at him, jaw dropped. "We've known something was strange for a while now."

Lucy glared at him then, lips parting. "And you didn't say anything sooner?! I asked you straight up–"

"I know. But it's safe here, and we don't want to end up sent back out there," Rogue said quietly, glancing over his shoulder towards the channels and mainland. "You have to understand, Lucy. You might have survived out there. It's possible. I've done it. But the bigger the group, the more dangerous it gets, the more supplies you require. This place…it has supplies, endless supplies, that we could never get on our own."

She nodded in silent understanding. After all, how scared had she been of her lessening amounts of supplies before Natsu had come into her life? How dry had her throat been in the moments when they'd run out of water while traveling? How hungry had she been here and there, when she'd had to ration? She understood the fears of those who lived here entirely.

It didn't mean they couldn't help make it safer though.

Rogue shifted, glancing over his shoulder as the owner of the boat he was boarding yelled his name. "I have to go. Just…watch yourself Lucy. Be cautious. And don't involve Sting and Yukino more than you're required to." He turned and clambered onto the boat without another word. Lucy watched him go as the boat quickly left the docks.

When he was gone, Lucy returned to Mirajane. The goddess furrowed her silver brows. "What was it he said, Lucy?"

"Where to look next." Lucy unleashed a heavy breath. "C'mon. Let's go find Yukino."


Lucy couldn't say she was pleased when it turned out that addressing Yukino regarding Rogue's commentary meant involving Wendy in the investigation she'd been trying to keep her out of. Wendy was young, and she had been enjoying the peace in Hyacinth. It wasn't fair that Lucy had to ruin that for her. At the same time, living in a false world wasn't good for her either. So, when they arrived at Yukino's, Lucy quietly filled Wendy in on everything, and Wendy's face was pale by the time Yukino returned from washing her hands after finishing up with treating a sick child that had come through her make-shift clinic.

Taking note of Wendy's expression, Yukino glanced warily at them. "What can I do for you?"

Lucy took a deep breath and tucked Wendy under her arm, giving her a small hug. "Rogue mentioned you might know a few things about the questions I've been asking."

Yukino's lips twitched. "The ones that got you kicked off the docks, you mean."

A light scowl appeared on Lucy's face. "Yes. Those."

Yukino considered whether she wanted to discuss the potential knowledge she held for a few moments. Finally, Yukino heaved a sigh and gestured for them to follow her. Wendy pulled away from Lucy immediately. She trusted Yukino. Lucy followed with Mirajane a hesitant step behind. Yukino led them into her living room, where they all settled down. Yukino perched on the edge of a chair, while the other three chose varying spots on a comfortable, aged sofa. When everyone was comfortable, Yukino folded her hands in her lap and murmured, "If Rogue's saying you should look into it, then it's gotten worse."

Mirajane's head tipped to the side, and Lucy thought she looked very much like a predator sizing up its prey. "How long have those I claim as mine been going missing, Yukino Auguria?"

So the second woman had been one of Mirajane's Favored, too. Lucy fought the urge to shiver at the wrath crackling in Mirajane's gaze. How many others had there been? Lucy wondered if someone knew of the gods and chose their Favored on purpose.

Looking a little unnerved, Yukino said, "It was three before you came. They always turn up the way Sting said you found the one. Caught in the nets. One washed up on the shore, not far from the docks. We don't know where they disappear from though. And it's always a woman, usually one with little to no family left. The youngest wasn't much older than Wendy.

The look of horror on Wendy's face had Lucy reaching over and squeezing her arm reassuringly. Wendy would be safe. Lucy refused to allow a single hair on Wendy's head be touched. "So we need to figure out where they're going missing from then," she said. "That seems like the best place for us to start."

Yukino bit her lip. "One of the brothers of the third victim has been having issues with his lungs recently," she said with a heavy sigh. "His oldest daughter likes Sting a lot. I'll take him with me tomorrow when I go to check on my patient, and maybe Sting can coerce her into telling him some things. If you'd like."

"That'd be really helpful, thank you," said Lucy sincerely. She ran a hand through her golden hair. She was more frustrated than ever that Natsu and Gray were gone. Gray might have been able to help the souls they'd found rather than having to feed them to the local sea life. Natsu…he would have wanted to help wherever he could.

Yukino studied them all, and then said softly, "Thank you for looking into this when the rest of us haven't been too supportive or helpful. I feel worse than you'll ever know that I've not stepped in when the problem first started. But this place…" She looked over her shoulder, in the direction of the room that held all of her medical supplies. "Not only is it meant to be safe from the undead, but I have everything I need here to continue helping people. I save lives and prevent people from turning into things that want to kill others. We have food, and shelter. If we upset the people who took us in…"

"I know." Lucy did understand. As Natsu had once said, humans feared the unknown. They never knew what would happen next, and because of it, humans preferred comfort in the world they'd built around them.

And here was Lucy, ripping that all down.


There was a change in the air that evening, thought Lucy as she sat on the front steps of her townhouse, cup tightly held in her fingers. It wasn't as brisk as it had been lately, which gave Lucy some hope that maybe spring would come. Or, at least, maybe some warmer weather. She wondered if that meant someone had figured something out with Valhalla, wherever that might be.

She glanced down at the notebook in her lap. It was half-used by the house's previous owners, filled with notes for some class. She'd also begun filling it, writing down everything they knew about the situation regarding the death of the women in Hyacinth. It held dates and names, information Lucy had scribbled down regarding Mirajane's Favored, even some information about Mirajane herself in the hopes that it would help her organize her thoughts while Wendy dozed upstairs and Mirajane went about doing whatever it was she did at night, unseen by those around her.

Lucy ran her fingers along her bulleted statements. All women. All leaning towards the younger side, though the oldest victim had been closer to thirty years old. Still relatively young in Lucy's opinion. She furrowed her brow as she continued down her list.

Yukino had passed on what she could after visiting the family she'd visited. She'd told Lucy the location the dead woman had last been seen: a house, close to the docks. Visiting a friend, they'd said. Something about that location rang a bell in Lucy's head, and she tapped on it a few times, frowning severely at it.

"You look really serious for someone who's supposed to be enjoying safety."

Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin. As it was, her cup clattered to the pavement beneath her feet. It was a miracle it didn't shatter, but hot tea splashed her boots and soaked through the material. Lucy hissed at the sting of pain, instinctively chucking her notebook aside and hopping to her feet. "You could have–" She broke off as Gray snickered, smirking at her from where he stood a few feet away. "Gray," she sputtered. Excitement sparked. That meant–

"Because I know what you're going to ask," said Gray, shoving his hands into the pockets of the coat he'd donned for looks, "Natsu's not here. Erza requested that I come back, so she took my place with him. I guess there's been a couple o' souls here that she wants me to grab before they're lost."

So Erza had been around then. Lovely – and unsurprising if women were being murdered.

Fighting back the disappointment swelling in her chest, Lucy scowled at him. "You didn't need to scare me."

He snickered again. Glancing west towards the setting sun, Gray ran a hand through his dark hair and furrowed his brow. "I've gotta get moving. Erza helped someone along a few hours ago, and I'm sure they've already become one of the lost, but Natsu wanted me to let you know that if he's not found something by morning, he's coming back to reassess with the rest of us."

Lucy couldn't help the ragged breath of relief that escaped her. A smile threatened to blossom to life. This time tomorrow, Natsu would be back. "Good. I'm happy to hear that. Mostly because you two are idiots."

Gray's amusement vanished. "Excuse me?" he demanded.

"Mirajane's here," said Lucy, and Gray threw his hands up, sputtering. "She showed up not long after you two went looking, and I think she might be a little unhappy with you in particular."

Gray cursed under his breath and looked over his shoulder as if he expected Mirajane to materialize behind him then and there. "Damn. She must have followed Natsu's diale. I don't know how since it barely has anything left to trace, but she's always been better than the rest of us at it." He frowned at Lucy. "Why is she upset with me?"

Lucy dropped down to sit on the steps, grabbing her notebook again. She beckoned him over as she moved aside her now empty mug so Gray could cautiously sit beside her. She re-found her page in the notebook and shoved it into his hands. "Someone's been murdering women here. At least two of them were Mirajane's Favored."

Gray winced, scanning Lucy's notes. "She's hunting."

"That's a dramatic way to put it, but I guess so," said Lucy. "I've been trying to help Mira out."

"No, you don't get it, Lucy." Gray glanced up from the notes. "Lucy, she's hunting. Like, actually hunting the person who's doing this. She's the goddess of witchcraft. There's different types, you know. Her Favored tend to be the nicer kind of witches. They're respectful, and use whatever blessings she grants them for good. But there's the other side, too. People sacrificing others for curses and such. Mira doesn't like them so much, but if they offer her a soul, she'll eat it. Mira's literally hunting the person behind these murders so she can eat their soul."

Chills ran down Lucy's spine. Mirajane was so kind and friendly. She forgot that there had been scales on her skin, that her teeth could be so sharp. That if she changed her mind, she could wipe this town out of existence with little to no effort – if she had her full power, of course.

Turning back to the notes, Gray huffed softly. "I can't help you, because none of the victims are my Favored, and Natsu won't be able to either. Not unless something happens to you. The only reason we can do anything to help you with the Vhalis when they come around is because they're not what you'd call human souls when they're so twisted."

Lucy forgot quite often that she was one of Natsu's Favored. "Wonderful," she sighed, resting her chin in her hand.

"But," continued Gray, "this area…it's familiar."

Lucy twisted towards him, looking sharply at his face. "Which one?"

"The area this victim went to." He tapped the bullet pointedly. It was the same location she'd semi-recognized, too. She leaned in, excited by the prospect. "The day we got here, I had to step away to care for a soul, remember? I'm good with directions and stuff, and I remember the numbers on the house. This is the same one. The soul almost refused me. It was restless." Gray glanced up, meeting her gaze evenly. "I wouldn't be surprised if the soul I retrieved was one of the women who'd been murdered, even."


And the plot thickens! And Gray's around again!

Thanks to reviewers (TheAngelicPyro, hopelesskar, MPrime, Uchida Akira, InfinteMist, and CMenard!) as well as those who favorited and followed!