The train advanced surely towards Azalea. As the day passed, the closer they got to their destination. But, of course, that thought was not that much comforting for Laxus who just couldn't wait for that trip of hell to end. Even with Lucy mitigating the effects of his motion sickness by having his head resting on her lap, he could still feel himself lightheaded. His only moments of relief were when the train would make stops.

Despite all the discomfort caused by the motion sickness, Laxus couldn't help but feeling immensely relaxed... in fact, more than he had ever been in a very long time. Despite the awkwardness that could exist of him having his head resting on Lucy's lap, Laxus couldn't care much about it. And the comfort he was feeling was so much that he even ended up falling asleep.

Lucy, on her side, despite also feeling awkward with that, couldn't help but smiling while watching Laxus sleeping with his head on her lap. It was amazing how a person would look so different once they were relaxed. Laxus had always looked so intimidating... even after he had become a better person. But interacting with him just before the train started moving and now having him sleeping with his head on her lap made her see him through a completely different perspective... especially when he was snoring lightly, making him look like he was purring, something that really amused her.

After an entire day of traveling, the train finally arrived to Azalea. After it stopped, Lucy slightly tapped on Laxus, while saying:

"Laxus, wake up... We're here..."

It took a few more attempts, but Lucy managed to wake up Laxus who, after realizing the train had stopped and still had his head on Lucy's lap, quickly raised up.

"For how long we have arrived here?" he asked.

"Don't worry, we just got here" Lucy said, as she got up and went to get her bag. "But I have to say... I didn't know you snored."

That comment made Laxus blush in a way that was visible and so he quickly rose up, taking his bag and say, as he started moving:

"Let's get going."

That caused Lucy to drop a chuckle and then she followed him.

As they walked around Azalea, Lucy couldn't help but admired the town that was located near the base of a mountain.

"Wow... Azalea sure is quite nice..." she commented. "Well, not quite as Magnolia, but..."

"Enjoy it as you can" Laxus told, as he walked ahead. "Don't forget that we're only staying here for the night. We will depart as soon the sun rises."

"Can't you just drop the serious tough guy act for a moment and enjoy the scenery?" Lucy asked. "I mean, you couldn't do that during the train, but you could at least do it now."

"We're on a job, remember?" Laxus replied, always looking ahead. "We have to remain focus."

"Please don't tell me that you never got to enjoy yourself during a job" Lucy told.

It was then that Laxus stopped and replied:

"I used to... but it was not the enjoyment that either you or your teammates would ever... appreciate."

That caused Lucy to make a confused look and Laxus, noticing that through the corner of his eye, just replied:

"Forget about it... Let's just find a place to stay so that we can get provisions for tomorrow."

And he continued walking, with Lucy looking at him and wondering what type of enjoyment Laxus was talking about.

The two of them eventually came to find the town's inn, but after requesting for two rooms or a double one, they were told that they only had one available.

"Seriously?" Lucy asked. "You only have one single available?"

"I'm sorry, miss, but our town is a passageway for travels that want to travel through the mountains or are coming from them" the inn owner replied. "Honestly, we have been having quite the movement lately... especially with the troubles that has been happening in Acer..."

When he said that, Lucy and Laxus traded looks between one another. He was most likely talking about the thing that has been causing trouble.

"What is... happening in Acer?" Lucy asked.

"Well... there are only rumors..." the inn owner replied. "But the townspeople claim that some monster has been tormenting them for the last two months. It appears at night and kind of becomes some type of tyrant that attacks anyone at sight and causes destruction without any particular reason."

"That sounds awful..." Lucy commented.

"And a bit surreal" the inn owner told. "I am just paraphrasing what I have been hearing. But the truth is many wizards have come and gone and they all have failed to solve the issue. Are you by chance... guild wizards as well?"

Lucy was able to answer that when Laxus came forward, positioning himself in front of Lucy's right side and replied:

"We're just passing by. We have business at the other side of the mountains."

"I see... Well, I advise you to avoid the region around Acer... even if you have to go around it" the inn owner told.

"We will..." Laxus replied. "And we will take the room."

"Very well..." the owner told, as he went to give the room key to Laxus. "I wish you a good staying."

After that, Laxus started heading towards the upper floor, with Lucy following him.

"Why did you lie to the inn owner, Laxus?" Lucy asked, as they walked through the hall. "You don't think that he..."

"I am not thinking about anything" he replied. "It was just a precaution. If we are dealing with a celestial spirit, then we are also dealing with a rogue celestial wizard. And even if it is something else... that doesn't exonerate the possibility that this is the doing of someone else."

"I see..." Lucy commented. "You don't want to call attention to us, so we can reach Acer without having to face any problem."

"Honestly, probably it is useless to try to hide our presence" Laxus replied, as they arrived to their room. "But it is always the best idea to lay low until the right moment."

"Yeah, Erza is of the same opinion, and she tries to have us to the same" Lucy told, as Laxus would open the door to the room. "But with Natsu... well, that gets a little difficult."

Laxus opened the room and they entered, finding it to be a simple room with a single bed and a private bathroom. Seeing it, Lucy said, a little nervously:

"So... it looks like we will be sharing a bed."

"You can have it" Laxus replied, as he went to take a chair and drag it to near the window. "I spent most of the day sleeping, so I don't need it."

"Are you sure?" Lucy asked, as she approached the bed.

"Yes, I'm sure" Laxus told, as he placed his bag on the chair. "I will need you well rested for the job, so take this chance to have a good night sleep. Now, I will gather some supplies for tomorrow."

After saying that, he left the room. Lucy took that chance to relax a bit. It felt good to lay down on a bed after long hours sitting at a train. But if there was one thing that would really allow her to relax would be a bath. Maybe there would be time to take one, before Laxus came back and they went to get dinner before sleeping.

Sometime later, Laxus arrived to the room, transporting a pair of bags that had everything he and Lucy would need for their journey towards Acer. He went to place the bags at a corner of the room and then noticed Lucy's absence. Taking a whiff, he could sense that her scent was still strong there, so she had been there not so long ago... but then he also smelled a scent of bubble bath, along with hearing some humming, coming from the bathroom. Approaching the door, he was able to recognize Lucy's voice and realize that she was taking a bath.

Once he came to that realization, Laxus could feel himself actually getting excited. After all, the woman to whom he was attracted to was taking a bath right at next room. He wouldn't lie if the thought of staying there and try to imagine Lucy taking a bath didn't cross his mind, but Laxus was able to drive that thought from his mind and moved away.

After a little while, Lucy came out of the bathroom, wearing only a towel around her and using another to dry her hair. It was then that she noticed the bags that Laxus had brought and realized that he had already came there. That made her feel a little bit embarrassed, because she didn't intent for her bath to take that long. But then she noticed a ticket on her bag from Laxus telling her that he would be waiting for her downstairs for dinner. She wondered why he simply wouldn't tell her that, but maybe it was to give her some privacy while taking a bath, something that made her drop a slight smile.

Soon after she got herself dressed, Lucy went downstairs where she encountered Laxus and the two went to have dinner at the inn's restaurant. Despite it was a rather quiet dinner, Lucy couldn't help but quite enjoying that moment. For once, she was having dinner without having to worry about noise complaints, someone eating too much and making a mess or fights starting out of nowhere. But she also had to admit that dinner with Laxus was allowing her to know him a bit more.

When night fell, they went to their room, where Lucy prepared herself to go to sleep, while Laxus went to sit on the chair next to the window, letting his coat fell on its back.

"Are you sure you're okay with me taking the bed all to myself?" Lucy asked, as she let her hair down.

"I already told you it's fine" Laxus replied. "You need it more than I do."

Despite feeling a little guilty in agreeing with Laxus' decision, Lucy climbed onto the bed and lied down and tried to have some sleep... something that didn't take long to happen, since she was tired from the train journey and the bath allowed her to relax. When she least expected, she had fallen asleep... and, for some time, she felt nothing but pure tranquility.

It was then that she started to be invaded by the strangest and most intense of dreams she had ever had. She couldn't even piece together if she was having a nightmare or a very vivid and strange dream. A mix of emotions were invading her... Fear... Rage... Despair... Pain... They were all coming together... as if she couldn't feel anything else. But that was not the worst part... The worst part was the darkness that was surrounding her... It was asphyxiating... One of the worst sensations she had ever felt. It almost seemed like she would be able to escape it...

"Lucy!" a voice started to call her. "Lucy, wake up!"

Lucy suddenly opened her eyes, while trying to take a deep breath, after finally being freed from that suffocating darkness. The other thing she could feel was her sweat, along with her heart beating in a racing rhythm. The first thing she saw was Laxus near her, with a concerning look.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" he asked.

Without thinking twice, Lucy went to hug Laxus, placing her arms around his neck. He was taken by surprise by that, but feeling Lucy trembling from her nightmare, he held her back. It took a moment for Lucy realize what she was doing and let go of Laxus, who also released her as well.

"Sorry, Laxus, I..." she started saying, while blushing, trying to find the right words. "It was... a reflex."

"It's okay..." Laxus replied, while trying to hide his blush. "It looks like you were having a nightmare..."

"A nightmare?" Lucy asked. "I... don't even know if you can call it that... It was all very confusing..."

Laxus could see that the nightmare really freaked Lucy out, so he thought that it was for the best to try to calm her down, instead of trying to figure out what just happened.

"Stay here" he told her, as he started heading towards the exit. "I'll get you some water."

He left the room, leaving Lucy alone, as she tried to calm herself down with deep breaths. While doing that, she tried to put together the strange dream she had. All those feelings... and that suffocating darkness... What was all that about? It was like anything she had ever experienced before, so why was she dreaming about it? After a few moments, she started to have a strange feeling that maybe that dream had some meaning... To be certain, she needed to consult with someone that could give her the answer she needed.

Going to get her key ring, she took one of her silver keys and said:

"Open, Gate of the Southern Cross... Crux!"

And so Crux was summoned.

"I'm sorry to summon you at this late hour, grandpa Crux, but I really need your help" Lucy said. "I just had this... some kind of nightmare. It was so confusing that I couldn't exactly understand. I suspect that it may have some spiritual nature, so I need your help to see if I am correct."

There was a pause and then Crux started to doze off with that meaning that he was making a search. Lucy waited for a few moments until Crux woke up with a shout.

"So... do you have something?" Lucy asked.

"Indeed I do, Miss Lucy" Crux replied. "However... I don't know how to exactly explain it."

"Please, anything..." Lucy said. "That dream... it was not normal..."

"That is because it was not a dream" Crux told. "At least, not in the traditional way..."

"What do you mean?"

"Miss Lucy, I have served many celestial wizards, but I have to confess that you are perhaps the most powerful one to ever possess my key. In fact, many of the spirits that have contract with you feel the same way. Your skills as a celestial wizard go beyond than just being able to open two gates at the same time."

"Crux, I feel... rather honored" Lucy replied. "But what does that have to do with my dream?"

"Like I said, your skills are way beyond the ones of a normal celestial wizard" Crux answered. "Your connection to the spirits is so strong... that I think you are now capturing the spiritual imprint left by our presence in your world."

Lucy processed what Crux had just said and then asked:

"You mean... I am feeling what a spirit is feeling?"

"Not exactly..." Crux told. "You are feeling a spirit's aura."

"If that is true... then why I am having these dreams now?" Lucy asked. "I mean... I am constantly interacting with spirits. Wouldn't I be able to sense their auras as well?"

"Maybe..." Crux told. "I can only hypothesize that our contracts may be the reason for that. The mind gets more vulnerable when it is in a state of sleep, so that's why you had that nightmare. However, since we are bound by our contracts, your mind had adjusted itself having that in consideration."

"Then that means..." Lucy started.

"That we may very well be dealing with a spirit" a voice concluded.

Lucy turned around and saw Laxus entering the room with a glass of water.

"Laxus..." Lucy said.

"The job required a celestial wizard, not to mention that this creature only appears on certain hours and only for a few moments" Laxus said, as he approached and gave the glass of water to Lucy. "It has all the makings of a celestial wizard summoning a spirit and use it to terrify Acer. That dream of yours only confirms it."

Even if she was expecting that to be the case, Lucy had to agree that Laxus had a point. But if that was true, then Lucy couldn't help but wonder what that spirit was experiencing. What she felt in that dream was perhaps one of the worst feelings ever... but then again, that was what the spirit was feeling. She really needed to do something to help them.

"Do you know what kind of spirit we are dealing with, grandpa Crux?" Lucy asked.

When she made that question, Crux became quite nervous. He then said:

"I... can't say for certain."

"Why not?" Laxus asked.

There was a pause and then Crux directed his words for Lucy:

"Miss Lucy, I recommend extreme caution. I know you want to help this spirit... But you have to know one thing: celestial spirits are not the only type of spirits that exist. Some spirits... don't have the same restrictions and limitations that we have. I'm afraid... that this spirit that your sensing is like that, one that does not answer to the rules imposed by the Celestial Spirit King."

That warning really got Lucy worried. What kind of spirit would have caused Crux to get so much uneased?