"This means war!"

Well, Master had indeed gotten mad. Mercury was just glad that it had taken a couple of days. And that it wasn't for his sake.

While he had been able to convince the Master to not declare war the moment he'd walked in and seen a bruised and sleepy water mage curled up in the infirmary (at the behest of Macao), it had taken over an hour of arguing to do so, and even that was on the condition that Mercury didn't leave the building at least until the dent in his skull was gone.

But, Mercury had gotten to pull the "age card," so it wasn't all that bad.

It hadn't worked, of course, but it had been funny, at least to the water mage. Or maybe that was just him being a little delirious – even though the room had finally stopped "spinning" while he'd been momentarily confined to the infirmary, that didn't mean it stopped when he tried to stand.

Getting (being forced to) sleep in the comfy infirmary beds was nice, especially when he got to just lay there for almost a whole day under the threat of Makarov and Mira tying him to the bed if he tried to leave. By the next morning – that was, the morning after the morning he'd gotten smacked – the bruising was gone from his arm. It still hurt, but with the swelling gone, Mercury could pretend it didn't.

And he could pretend he didn't get his arm broken by a little upstart like Gajeel. He'd rather break his arm clean in two than have to sacrifice his pride and admit that he'd been done in by Phantom Lord.

Maybe the two guilds weren't all that different after all.

Still, it had alerted Mercury to the fact that he was apparently way too out of practice. Not having gone on real jobs in almost three years had taken its toll on the unaging man, leaving him barely better than an inexperienced man like Gajeel, and that was something he couldn't abide by. Something would have to change, though it would have to wait until after the Phantom Lord situation was fixed.

Even though Makarov was still pissed at the water mage, the two, along with Mira, had a nice, long meeting about what should be done – which was eventually decided should be nothing at all.

Guild warfare had been outlawed ages ago. Even if they were attacked first, it meant nothing in the eyes of the Magic Council, who was entirely useless at their job of peacemakers in that they hadn't even showed up to talk to a Fairy Tail representative in the days after the attack, despite the fact that the news had spread fairly quickly – likely on Phantom Lord's account. Mercury wouldn't put it past them to push along rumors that they'd gotten one up on Fairy Tail.

Those Phantoms were a prideful bunch. Though that should have been abundantly clear by the fact they'd sent one of their up and coming rookies to deface the Fairy Tail guild hall in the middle of the night.

Doing "nothing" was fortunately not the same as sitting on their hands and waiting for a second attack, thankfully, because the second attack wasn't an "if," but a "when."

In the meantime, everyone did their best to keep spirits up. It wasn't too hard. All it took was a brawl, a barrel of alcohol, and a toast to get everyone back to their normal selves, though the small effort said nothing of the large number of empty barrels that now stood tucked off to the side, now useless to the drunks. The stores that Master and Cana had worked so hard to build up were still going strong, though, so Fairy Tail had nothing to complain about. And for once, Mercury did not find himself in the mood to participate.

There was the physical aspect that prevented him from joining, of course. He remained unsteady on his feet, and the dim, half-lit basement that they'd taken up residence in did nothing to help the concussion plaguing his brain.

Or, at least, he assumed it was a concussion – he had refused to speak with Porlyusica (and she'd refused to speak to him).

Flesh wounds were easy to heal. Took no time at all; they'd been healed long before the Master had raged into the building, which made his anger that much less heated. Wounds on the inside were a bit tougher, though not impossible. The one his left arm, which had severed several layers of skin, muscle, and other tissues, took less than a day and a half to be feeling good as new, and even the one on his right arm appeared outwardly to be better, even if the bone inside was still flimsy and weak.

And that was just the issue - bone.

The bone in his head – that was, his skull – was bent out of shape. It was probably cracked, too, but that would be fixed soon enough; it was the actual movement of it that he would have to be careful of, lest it heal improperly and he be forced to break it again himself to get it right.

Inside his head was a (minor) issue, too. The brain was a complex organ – much too complex for Mercury to claim to understand how it worked, so that tended to heal rather slowly as well. Or, that had been his experience with it in the past.

It would probably remain in a healing state for at least the next couple of days, and Mercury knew he could expect the faint headache that followed him around to last that long, too.

Aside from that, Mercury just felt bad. It was his fault that they were even down here to begin with; if he'd managed to stop Gajeel from getting in, if he'd managed to shut the man down – hell, if Mercury had been able to even provide a definitive reason for why Phantom Lord was out for them – he might have felt a bit better about himself.

But as it was, he could only believe that this was his fault.

A wounded pride was one thing. The water mage was flat out embarrassed to have gotten taken down by a mage who was, what, less than a third of his age? Maybe even less than a quarter? It made him feel useless, which wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, but that wasn't what had him feeling so upset.

(He had run from that feeling enough times to know as much).

It was the guilt that had him sulking dim corners while the others partied like there would be no tomorrow.

This was his fault. Somehow. Even if he couldn't quite put it into words, it was.

Some small part of Mercury was relieved that no one had said as much, though he was still waiting for it to come out of a drunken mouth at some point.

Three days after the initial attack, Erza and her group of troublemakers returned. Mercury was glad to see that they were all safe, if a little worn down, but he was even more glad that Master had slapped the hell out of Natsu the moment the young dragon slayer came down the stairs. The kid needed to learn the difference between courage and recklessness, or else he'd drag someone who couldn't handle something into it, and by then it would be too late.

(It hadn't become another Lisanna situation, and for that, Mercury was immensely grateful.)

All five members who returned looked absolutely horrified at the state the guild was in. Not at the alcoholics milling about – that much was normal – but at the two steel poles through the roof upstairs.

Mercury kind of understood that one, though, because every time he walked through those doors, his mind did the same thing. He'd avert his eyes if it wouldn't make Mira look at him funny.

Oh, yeah, until this whole thing was over, Mira had been given permission to monitor the water mage – which unfortunately meant that he was crashing in her and Elfman's guest room. Because for some reason, Makarov didn't trust Mercury to be alone.

(It was probably a good decision on his part; even though he'd gotten his ass minorly kicked, Mercury was still seething at the fact it was done by Gajeel. Not even an S-Class wizard. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.)

Erza in particular seethed upon seeing the damage. Sure, Natsu and Gray were outwardly pissed, but the Knight was like a kettle that had been filled to the brim and left on an unattended flame. She was quiet now, unless that heat were to be turned up – and then she'd explode.

Though Mercury wanted to point out that it wasn't as bad as it could have been – no one important had been in the hall at the time, and Gajeel was chased out after just two tons of steel had been dropped through the shingles – he refrained, if only because he was sure Erza would have noticed how slightly-wobbly he was the moment his ass left the chair in the corner. As it was, her gaze caught his soon after talking with Master; perhaps he'd let something slip in an effort to get Erza to knock some sense into everyone's favorite blue-haired mage.

It would be a losing battle. No sense could ever be knocked into a head as thick as his.

This was probably what a family was supposed to be like, Mercury supposed.

Then, of course, the night following Team Natsu's return, Levy's team had been assaulted in the middle of the night.

It was a horrific sight to see. Truly. Mercury was of the mind to keep all the younger members away from the park; the image of the three hanging from Magnolia's picturesque cherry trees by their wrists, the Phantom Lord emblem burned on their skin, would be in Mercury's nightmares for the rest of his life.

Though he hated it, he could stand having his pride damaged. He could stand having himself damaged. But what he couldn't stand was the thought that those iron shackles around their wrists must have been done by the one and only Black Steel Gajeel, and it was Mercury's fault that it had happened.

There were too many "if only"'s floating in his head for him to keep track.

The three had been beaten so badly that the doctors were unsure if they'd even wake up, let alone be able to return to their normal daily lives. And that had been Fairy Tail's last straw.

And if there were a guild in Fiore that you didn't want to mess with, it was Fairy Tail.

Which was where Master's declaration of war had come from. There was no stopping the tide of rage that had so easily swept over the guild, and even if there was, no one would do so as they prepared to engage the enemy. Some prepared bombs, some prepared weapons, and some were just steeling themselves for what needed to be done.

Then there was Mercury, who wasn't doing any of those.

Because Mira stood in his way.

"No," she said.

"But I haven't even said anything," Mercury pointed out.

"You're not going. You're still hurt."

Ah, fuck. Well, trying to get something past Mira was like trying to play tag with a heat seeking missile. She'd always be able to narrow in on just the thing that you wanted to hide.

"Says who?"

"You think you're so sly? Sitting over in the corners so that you don't have to get up and walk around? You left your hair down so no one would see the dent in your head."

Oops.

Yeah, he'd left his hair down for that exact reason. It was long enough to go down to his waist when let loose, so he had expected it to at least keep most of the eyes off of his head with it. Apparently, Mira was not so easily fooled.

"It's already healed." (It wasn't).

Mira raised an eyebrow. Mercury protested.

"What do you want me to do? Stay behind and sit on my ass while they're fighting Phantom Lord?"

"Well, you're not going to be much help if you're still struggling to walk straight, that's for sure." Mira retorted. "Listen, we need someone on defense, just in case. Who knows what Phantom will do when they find out we're all over there?"

'We,' Mira said, as though either her or Mercury were going to be over there. The thought filled his stomach with salt. She was right. He knew it. But he was at fault for Gajeel getting away, at fault for Levy, Jet, and Droy were now in the hospital, and therefore at fault for any of the injuries that might happen at Phantom Lord's base. Mercury couldn't take responsibility from all the way in Magnolia, now could he?

But Mira was adamant. If Mercury protested any longer, he was sure that she would try to knock him out, and then he wouldn't even be able to play defense if it came down to it.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Fine," he said. "But I'm going to complain about it."

Mira smiled. "Wouldn't expect anything else. Besides, if you weren't complaining, I'd have to assume something was seriously wrong."

And wasn't that the truth?

Lucy sat in the hospital, the last bastion of defense in case someone were to attack the unconscious Levy, Jet, and Droy. That's what she had been told, at least, and she felt that she had some responsibility as their friends to watch over them while they were bodies looked so frail. Levy was always a thin girl who rarely engaged in combat, but now, her body looked so fragile that even breathing on it might shatter her bones. Her skin was even paler than normal, too. The sunlight shining through the window made her friend look as white as a sheet, like a ghost - she was even paler than the friendly water mage who always seemed to be in the guild was just too cruel. A sunny day like today didn't feel right when people were out getting injured like this.

So much had happened in the last month. That first request with Natsu had been scary, but also kind of... fun? She fought so many new people, wrecked a castle, stopped a demon from being revived, and destroyed the moon.

Well, Erza had done that last one, but it was because of her and Natsu's pleading that Erza even let them finish the job in the first place.

And now here her first novel reader was, laying in a hospital bed, tubes and wires attached everywhere, and a machine steadily beeping to let Lucy know that she was still alive.

The doctors were unsure if she'd wake up, and if she did, there was a chance her body would never be the same again. Broken bones were hard to heal, and she'd broken a lot of them. Jet and Droy, too. And that wasn't even taking into consideration any sort of mental damage that couldn't be seen from the outside.

She'd never forgive Phantom Lord. She might not have had the strength to defeat them on her own, but she was sure that right now, her guild was fighting their hardest to get revenge for their family. For her family.

Some day, she hoped that she would be able to do the same.

Deciding that sitting around moping wasn't going to get anything done – Levy wouldn't wake up just because she wished it would happen, unfortunately – Lucy left the hospital to take a walk. She'd be quick, just a little lap around the block to get her mind in order, and then she'd return to watch over Team Shadowgear.

Except, in her pondering, she realized that it had started to rain.

There hadn't been a single cloud in the sky, and now, a torrential downpour had snuck up out of nowhere. Sure, it fit the mood a bit better, but wasn't this just too abnormal? The sun was even still out. A chill ran down her spine. Something in her head screamed that she had to get back to the hospital right now.

"I am the woman who brings rain," a feminine drawled voice from just around the corner. Lucy nearly jumped out of her skin – she was sure that no one had been there just a moment before.

The voice's owner – it really was a lady – came into view. Her appearance was striking; she had familiar, light blue hair - very similar to Mercury's – and wore a tall hat and warm jacket, even though it was summer in Magnolia. On her face was a frown that sent shivers down Lucy's spine. A feeling in the back of her mind told her to run, but she was frozen in place, limbs too shocked by the sudden appearance of a potential threat, by fear to move.

"What do you bring?" Asked the rain woman.

Lucy, taken aback, couldn't do anything but sputter out some response. 'What did she bring?' Who was this chick, and what was she doing here?

"I had fun. Farewell." And just like that, the blue-haired lady walked past Lucy and towards Magnolia's main streets.

Then another weirdo popped out of nowhere, and Lucy realized that these two definitely were mages. The second guy? Popped straight out of the ground. Like, his lower half was still fused with it, and his chest remained visible, swishing back and forth as though it would kill him to sit still.

"Non. Non. Non." Said the earth man, who approached the rain woman. "Miss Juvia, you can't just walk away from your mission. My monocle is telling me that this mademoiselle is none other than our precious sible."

Lucy could hardly understand the guy, what with him mixing up languages - but there was one word she did know, and that was 'sible.'

'This woman is our target.'

Without a second thought, Lucy turned the opposite direction and sprinted as quickly as she could, legs spurred by that word. She had no idea why she was the 'target,' but it couldn't be anything good; for all she knew, these were kidnappers sent by her father, or perhaps they were Phantom Lord members here to send a message? Regardless, she knew it wouldn't be good, not when the remainder of the guild was off fighting Phantom's main force.

(Some part of her felt relieved that not all of Phantom Lord's mages are present in the guild, especially because these two seem to be fairly powerful. That relief, however, quickly turned to fear as she realized that it means she now has to deal with them.)

"Pardon my manners," said the earth man, reappearing in front of Lucy as though she hadn't just tried to escape, casual, yet still fidgeting. "I am Monsieur Sol, one of the element four."

"And I am Juvia, who brings the rain," said the other woman, who had now approached Lucy from behind.

Lucy was now trapped, blocked on each side by people, who, for all she knew, were absolute psychos.

"We are here to retrieve you on behalf of Phantom Lord," explained Sol.

Shit. Yeah, they were likely psychos. If these guys were really Phantom, who knew what they'd do to her. Make an example of her, like Levy? Kidnap her and hold her for ransom? Taunt the guild with her? Maybe all three, once they realized the potential value of her family name?

Lucy fumbled with her keys, trying to call whoever would be the best in this situation. Aquarius? No, there wasn't water, unless you counted the rain. Taurus? No, it was too cramped -

Before she could make her decision, though, water appeared at her feet, encapsulating her like a cage. It formed a bubble around her, lifting her legs off the ground so that she couldn't gain any traction, and then pushing out any air within it. It strangled her, wrapping around her neck with phantom hands that squeezed so painfully that she might have cried out if doing so wouldn't force water down her throat.

In just one second, she'd been completely trapped in a sphere of water with no air left to breathe.

She'd not been able to take a deep breath beforehand. All that came to her mind were curses and frantic half-thoughts that did her no good, and worst of all, she'd dropped her keys in shock the moment that the water started restricting her airways. Now, she couldn't even call Aquarius, even though she had a good medium for it.

Her mind filled with panic.

What were they going to do to her?

The bubble of water moved towards Juvia, the water mage's face becoming distorted both due to lack of air and the water's refraction… and then it shattered, sending a soaked Lucy tumbling towards the ground.

She sputtered. Coughed. Anything to let some air into her lungs and get the water out.

And it was only when she heard the stumbling of feet in a rush that she managed to open her eyes to see what was going on.

The startled look on Juvia's face ever-so-eloquently let Lucy know that this wasn't her intention; the water mage's eyes were wide and flushed as she whipped her head around to see what was going on, searching for the reason why her magic had failed.

For a moment, only Lucy and Sol could see the reason. It was coming up behind Juvia, and rather quickly at that, footsteps pounding on the cement and slipping easily into a battle stance. Then, Juvia turned too, and her eyes widened as a flash of water blasted her back several feet.

It didn't take much more than that for Lucy to scramble forward, grabbing her keys on the way.

"Lucy!" The newcomer – Mercury, thank god — shouted the moment he picked up on her. His eyes scanned her from head to toe, checking for injuries, before landing on her face.

The look on it must not have been good. His own turned dark.

Mercury turned to the two Phantom Lord members in the alleyway, and a wave of recognition crashed over his face.

"What's Phantom Lord doing here? Magnolia's a little far from your home base."

It was clear to Lucy that he was trying to buy time. For what, she couldn't say – maybe just until she managed to stand upright without heaving out another heavy cough, or maybe until she was able to back him up.

Regardless, his presence was a lot more imposing than she'd ever seen from the water mage. For what seemed like the first time, Mercury stood completely upright, shoulders no longer slumping forward to give him an extra inch or two in height. Both of the Phantom Lord mages in front of them seemed incredibly small in comparison, especially the skinny one that had finally removed himself completely from the earth upon the appearance of a new, unknown threat.

"Ah, Monsieur Mercury, correct? I believe we were just here to collect a stray. That shouldn't be too much of an issue, non?"

Irritation flooded through Lucy's brain as it registered that the "stray" was meant to be her.

Mercury's eyes flicked between her, who was standing to his side, and the two in front of them. She could almost see the thoughts, the realization, flow through his mind, though his face changed very little. A small shift of his shoulders – placing himself in front of her – was his only outward response.

For some reason, Lucy realized that she had never seen the mage with his hair down. Maybe it was for a good reason; now that it was flapping around in the phantom wind, soaked through to his head, it just didn't seem right.

Mercury, though lazy, usually appeared fairly well put together. That absentminded look was usually plastered on his face if he wasn't asleep or complaining about something asinine, regardless of who he was talking to. Even when he spoke to Mira – who Lucy thought he held a large fondness for – the only thing that changed was his eyes.

Now, however, that pretty face of his wasn't absentminded at all. The long layers of hair did nothing to hide the fierceness that lingered in his eyes, nor the way his brows were slightly downturned, lips pressed together tightly.

Mercury looked mad, in a distinctly distant way. As though he wasn't all there.

It was the first time that something had felt "off" about him – maybe the first time that Lucy had ever really believed his claims of being inhuman.

Still, she was grateful for those broad shoulders that were now just barely in front of her, his left hand outstretched as though to block her from any attacks. Even if his presence was giving her chills.

"Not sure there's any strays around here," Mercury ground out. "Though you'll have to forgive us for not helping you look. Been rather hectic around here, as you're likely aware."

Both groups remained at a stalemate for a moment longer, heavy rain pounding. Lucy was hesitant to make the first move. There was still a chance that they could make it out without having to engage, and fighting this close to the hospital was a terrible idea.

Hopes to end this peacefully were dashed when Juvia made the first move.

The female water mage launched a barrage of watery attacks towards both Lucy and Mercury, blades as sharp as knives streaking towards the pair. Once more, Lucy found herself frozen – in terror or shock, she was unsure – and helpless, unable to even think of using the keys clutched tightly in her hands.

She was incredibly lucky that of all the guild members that had been left behind, it was Mercury who had come to find her.

With a wave of his hand, the blades dispersed. In return, his own magic circle flashed underneath Juvia, and a hand made of water condensed from what was already pooling at her feet from the rain.

It was easily dodged, but the moment was enough to get Lucy out of her stupor.

"Open, gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!" The celestial spirit mage had no time to consider Aquarius's future rant about being summoned from groundwater, so she instead chose to move without thinking. The telltale surge of magic left her body as the key twisted in the air.

Aquarius's gate opened with a bright flash of light.

Immediately, the small alleyway was in chaos – Aquarius was never one for a quiet entrance, after all.

She lifted the source of her magic – the jar – above her head, and launched gallons towards the two Phantom Lord mages. Sol had already prepared to engage them, while Juvia was still in her half-watery form from dodging Mercury's spell.

The incoming surge of water was enough to wash away all four of the battle's participants, but Mercury quickly grasped Lucy by the shoulders and pulled her close. The scent of salt flooded her nose at the proximity. Normally, she would have flushed at such a close proximity. Her mind, however, was occupied with thoughts of how even his hair smelled like the ocean, though it was now drenched and slicked to the sides of his face.

Mercury gave a small grunt, and the water around them parted just enough to prevent them from getting swept away.

When it cleared, only Juvia remained – she'd managed to turn her body into water and somehow not get swept away. Sol was nowhere to be seen.

It didn't take more than a beat for Mercury to swap to the offensive, surging forward to where the earthen mage had been just a moment ago and reaching out for Juvia. Lucy didn't miss the way he stumbled heavily on the first step.

The female water mage shrieked slightly, loudly, as his fists entangled her hair and tugged. From atop her head, her hat fell, and her gentle curls were yanked out of place by callous fingers only interested in finishing this quickly.

"Juvia will not stand for this!" She shrieked.

Mercury gave no response other than to yank harder, throwing the female water mage to the side where she exploded into her own watery particles.

This was another side to Mercury that Lucy hadn't seen yet. And it was scary.

Rather than disperse, Juvia surged forward towards Mercury. She had scary control over her own body when she was in that watery form, and quickly entangled his head with it.

That was as much as she could see, however, because Sol appeared from the ground right behind her a moment after, startling Lucy so badly that she instinctively whipped around and threw a punch at his head – which apparently was a good idea, because the man gave little resistance at all. He stumbled backwards, clutching his eye.

Sometimes, Lucy's own strength surprised her.

Sol's magic circle then appeared nearby – several of them. Three of them, all roughly his own size, and from them appeared copies of the man himself, formed from crumbling earth.

The original one smirked, then said, "Apologies, madame, if you were given a false hope from the appearance of that man, for we shall not fail in our mission."

Unfortunately for him, Aquarius was still summoned, and apparently in a decently good mood.

"Don't you dare," the spirit started, once more raising the urn above her head to unleash a deadly attack, "– summon me with something like that ever again." Then, the water gushed out and swept over all three Sol clones, as well as the original.

She saw none remaining when the water cleared.

At first, Lucy thought that she was referring to using water from the ground to summon the temperamental spirit, but as soon as the celestial spirit was safe, Aquarius turned to glare at Lucy's companion, who was now standing with a knee on a half-liquefied Juvia's back. The glare itself was familiar – Lucy had experienced it countless times – but it had never really been directed towards a person other than herself.

"Like what? Like Mercury?" Lucy asked, despite knowing she should turn around to make sure Sol wasn't planning another sneak attack.

"With that – ugh, just don't. Those things give me the creeps. Don't summon me for at least another week, or else you'll be nothing more than a drowned corpse. I'm going on a vacation."

'With my boyfriend' went unsaid, but both women were thinking it.

"Yes, ma'am," the terrified celestial spirit mage acquiesced, then allowed Aquarius to de-summon herself.

Lucy would have to consider the spirit's words later. For now, she turned once more to face the water mage, who had his hands wrapped around Juvia's wrists and held her in place against the brick wall of the alley even as she thrashed to get away. Somehow, it seemed like she was unable to escape. Her body was still half shifted, but instead of the faint outline of body parts, it was pressed tightly into a spherical conglomerate – surely Mercury's doing.

"Sol, right?" He called to the empty space behind Lucy. Or, what should have been empty space; the earth mage had reformed once more, heavier than ever due to the sheer amount of water that soaked his body.

It didn't look like he was going in for another attack, but Lucy didn't let her guard down – she found herself leaping backwards, pressing her back to the wall with Virgo's key pressed tightly between her fingertips, should she need to call for the Maiden.

"Indeed, Monsieur. I am surprised that someone such as yourself has deigned to know of Phantom Lord's elite mages. I was told you do not get out much."

That seemed to irritate Mercury more than anything. Or maybe he'd been irritated from the start. Lucy couldn't tell; the water mage's face was scrunched up, tense, like he was in pain somehow, then reverted back to

"If you leave now, I'll let this one –" Mercury released one of his hands from Juvia's wrists and gestured towards her, "– leave with you."

The threat itself wasn't silent, but it was heavy. From Sol's perspective, there was no telling what Fairy Tail might do with a captive in their grasp, and if it was anything like their own plans, it wouldn't be good in the slightest.

It wasn't that he particularly cared for Juvia as a person. No, that couldn't be further from the truth – the female water mage was rather a bother at the best of times, and downright uncultured and unrefined at the worst. Fairy Tail could do whatever they wanted with her as a person.

But as a mage, she was indisputably important for Phantom Lord, not only due to the raw power she commanded with her water spells, but also for the magic power she held – a magic power that could be used as fuel for other purposes.

The choice was clear.

At the cost of Lucy Heartfilia, he would save his guildmate.

"I understand, Monsieur. We shall withdraw for the moment, but do not expect to be so lucky a second time."

Mercury dropped the water mage's hands, not letting go of his control over her body's water, and stepped back to allow Sol to collect her. It didn't go over without complaint; Juvia hissed at Sol to allow her to walk on her own – which was mostly impossible, as her right leg was a ball of water flowing at her hips – and the two stumbled off away from Magnolia's main streets.

Lucy let out a breath she hadn't realized had been stuck in her chest. Mercury did too.

"I can't believe that worked," he grumbled the moment the two were out of earshot. It looked like he was somehow listening for them; the water mage's head remained cocked to one side even after they had visibly disappeared, eyes downcast as though focusing intently.

And Lucy said nothing, because she was scared that it would draw his attention to her.

It wasn't that she was scared of him. Despite the fact that his demeanor was still cold, and a little wild, the moment that Juvia and Sol had left, he'd let his shoulders slouch once more, returning to that unfazed, almost bored look on his face. Even Aquarius's words didn't seem to be so important in the face of the man who had just saved her. He was a little unnerving, but nothing outright deserving Lucy's fear.

No, she was just worried he was going to ask.

And then if Mercury asked, he'd definitely tell Mira, and then she'd tell Erza and Master, and from there the whole guild would know that she was just a girl who had run away from home.

Some part of Lucy definitely knew the fear was irrational; Fairy Tail had all sorts of people in it, and none were the type to take advantage of her background. Hell, the guild itself had people with much weirder stories – and one of them was standing there, staring at her as the rain slowly faded away to a light drizzle, then faded entirely.

(The disappearance of the rain, however, did not mean that both Mercury and Lucy were no longer soaked.)

Mercury stared down the direction where the Phantom Lord mages had disappeared into for a moment longer. Then, he turned that gaze on Lucy.

She fought to meet his eyes.

He seemed to think for a moment, face flashing from curious to serious and finally back to a somewhat blank, disinterested look – the one she normally saw on his face. Like usual, Lucy could not read what he was thinking.

Mercury's gaze swept around the alleyway once more, checking for anything else that might jump out and startle the pair of mages, then turned to walk past Lucy. Something about his footsteps were awkward; he favored one or the other, clutching his right arm to his chest as though it had been injured. As far as she was aware, it had not been, though she hadn't exactly kept an eye on the water mage in her attempts to get Sol away from her.

When Lucy didn't immediately follow, he turned back. "I don't think they're coming back, but I'd prefer it if you came back to the guild, just in case. At least until Natsu gets back."

While the celestial spirit mage didn't miss the jab at her unorthodox relationship with the dragon slayer – they were friends, maybe, and nothing more – she started to follow obediently. Her body felt so, so tired. Even though the fight hadn't lasted long, the waves of terror that had come with it had done a number on her head.

Lucy had a lot to think about.

And the mage in front of her was one of those things. Aquarius's comment lingered despite her best attempts to push it away.

Though, that wasn't really a problem for right that second – Mercury had just likely saved her life, after all, or, at the very least, prevented serious harm from being inflicted on her. Even recalling the feeling of water entering her lungs sent her heart racing again.

"You look a bit pale. Did you swallow any of the water? Or get it in your lungs? You might want to get Porlyusica or a real doctor to check you out, though they'll likely be pretty busy soon," Mercury said forebodingly.

Lucy had almost forgotten that the rest of the Fairy Tail guild was off at Phantom Lord's base.

"Yes," her voice sounded robotic. Distant. She didn't like it at all. "I'm just a little – a little shocked that they'd come here."

Mercury nodded. A look of discontent had washed over his features while the two began to walk towards the guild – hopefully, Mira would let Lucy borrow some spare clothes; she was freezing from the water – to regroup. That made Lucy a bit worried. Coupled with the way he swayed a bit on his feet every couple of steps, head leaning to the right as though one ear was heavier than the other, the celestial spirit mage wasn't sure that Mercury should even be walking around, let alone dashing to come to her rescue.

She hesitated, then asked, "Are you alright?"

For a moment, Lucy was worried he wouldn't answer. A brief silence hung in the air, spared only by footsteps and the occasional dripping of water from the two's soaked clothes.

"I just really fucking hate the rain." Mercury was turned away, so she couldn't see the look on the face – she only knew that he sounded so incredibly sorrowful.