Author's notes: I'm sorry if it took a while to update this story. I am finally going somewhere in my professional life, which of course causes me to have less time for writing. But don't worry, I will continue to give my best to keep on bringing you new updates... both on this story and the others.

As the sun started to rise, Lucy and Laxus were ready to continue their job. As they were leaving the inn, Laxus said, as he was walking at the front:

"Come on, princess, we still have a lot to walk before we reach Acer."

"Do we really have to walk all the way there?" she asked, doing her best to accompany Laxus' pace, while also carrying a backpack with some of the provisions Laxus had bought previously.

"You mean to reach a town located on a mountain with no rails and safe roads?" Laxus asked, sarcastically. "Yeah, I am pretty sure walking is the best option. Don't worry, blondie, if you ever need for me to carry your bag, you just have to tell me. Just make sure your legs have the strength to keep walking, because I am not carrying both you and our provisions."

That caused Lucy to puff out her cheeks. Despite Laxus had come down to become a better person, he still hadn't stopped being a jerk completely, even if that sounded more like a teasing than anything else. Either way, it was still annoying. But then again, Lucy was already used to something like that after spending a long time with Natsu and Happy.

As they started moving out of Azalea, Lucy noticed something. Located at the top of a nearby hill was a gondola station that provided transportation for the mountains.

"Hey, Laxus, maybe we could..." she started.

"No" he replied, firmly, as he continued walking.

"But... I didn't even finish..." Lucy said, as she tried to follow him.

"You were about to ask if we could use a gondola to reach Acer much faster" Laxus said. "And the answer is: no, we can't use it."

"But... the gondola would allow us to reach Acer by the end of the day at the very least" Lucy responded. "If we go the long way... it will take us until tomorrow! If we are lucky..."

"Don't worry about that" Laxus told. "We are expected there only tomorrow nevertheless..."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked. "Come on... after what we learned last night about a potentially dangerous spirit, don't you think it would be for the better if we got to Acer as soon as possible?"

Stopping and sighing, Laxus turned to her and asked:

"Do you really expect me to go in one of those death traps? I can barely keep myself together on a moving train or any vehicle with four wheels."

That caused Lucy to remember about Laxus' motion sickness. She was so used to Natsu's motion sickness that she came to only associate it to him.

"Well... then I can go ahead and get some intel on the job" Lucy suggested.

"You could do that..." Laxus said, using his teasingly cynical tone. "But then again... you can't do anything unless I am there."

"Seriously, you are going to use that excuse?" Lucy asked.

"I am just saying how things are, princess" Laxus replied. "This is a SS-class job, meaning only a S-class wizard can attend to it. I am not saying you can't go. But the client has been informed I am the one leading the job. If you think you can't handle a one-to-two-days-long journey through the mountains, you are more than welcome to use that gondola. You can't just engage too much on the job until I get there. Of course... it would be a shame to have to tell the old man that you decided to abandon a fellow guildmate just to make things easy for you..."

That caused Lucy to slightly blush and then respond:

"Hey, I just suggested something that would allow us to finish the job faster and sparing the people of Acer from being tormented by a spirit for much longer. No need to be a dick about it."

Having said that, she advanced, passing by Laxus and heading towards the path that would lead them to the mountains. As he saw her moving forward, Laxus couldn't help but making a slight smile and chuckle. Despite moving on from what he used to be, Laxus couldn't help but finding a little bit of fun in teasing Lucy... but without any of the creepiness he used to have.

But then his mind quickly went to the feeling of guilt he felt over the way he used to treat her, including denying to help her when Phantom Lord was after her, that forced kiss at Akane or even using her as a hostage during the Battle of Fairy Tail. When that happened, Laxus quickly pushed those thoughts away, but not without ending up reminding of his underlying feelings for Lucy, together with the talk he had with his grandfather and Erza. He knew that perhaps he would need to confront those feelings, but... that simply was not the time for it, not when there was an important job to attend to.

That led him to return to be aware of his surroundings. Laxus didn't want to say it to Lucy because he was not certain, but he feared that, if there was in fact the hand of a wizard in what was happening in Acer, then they should really be careful all the way. It was not that he wouldn't take the gondola. Maybe he would be able to endure it. However, if they used it, he wouldn't be able to act quickly in case they were attacked. By going through the long way, they would be better prepared for any ambush.

Taking a deep breath to control his inner emotional turmoil, Laxus went to follow Lucy.

Elsewhere, watching the two wizards taking the path towards the mountain, was an owl-like creature that seemed to be made of silver-colored metal with yellow glowing eyes. Its vision was connected to a magic screen located in a dark room, where a mysterious figure sitting on an armchair was watching the two Fairy Tail wizards.

"It looks like I am up for some new guild wizards trying to meddle in my own affairs" the figure said, with a voice that was clearly male, but also having somewhat of a repulsive tone. "What a delicious... predictable turn of events. I will just have to get rid of them like I did with... Wait a second..."

By having the owl-like creature make zoom in towards the two wizards, he was able to see who was he facing.

"Oh my... now this is what I call a surprise! Fairy Tail... And it's not just any Fairy Tail wizards... Well, this calls for a different approach. After all, these are no ordinary wizards... I need to protect my investments the best way I can..."

His hand opened to show what appeared to be a bronze Celestial Spirit Gate Key with a horseshoe-shaped blade and a bow designed with a horse head with dark webbed wings on the side. Besides being bronze, the key also had dark lines around it's body.

"I am close to finally break Acer for good... So... keep an eye on our guests for now, Noctua. Soon enough, the chance to get rid of them will emerge."

And he released one annoying laugh, as Noctua, the owl-looking creature, took flight to follow the two Fairy Tail wizards.

Throughout the day, Lucy and Laxus did nothing but to advance through the mountain region to get to Acer as fast as they could. When the night fell, they decided to set up camp to rest for a few hours. After they made a fire, the two of them sat close to it to eat and to warm up. As they reached greater altitudes, the colder it was getting.

"Wow... It's a good thing I prepared for any kind of weather" Lucy said, as she was wearing warm clothes and even a blanket over her shoulders. "It's already freezing here..."

"Then you better prepare yourself, because it's going to get worse" Laxus replied, with a neutral expression, as he ate his soup. "It won't take long for us to reach snow and ice. We will have to reach high on the mountain so we can pass it."

"Really?" Lucy asked. "What I would give to have Gray's resistance to cool at this moment..."

"You mean the same guy that is always taking off his cloths?" Laxus asked.

Once he asked that, Lucy immediately blushed and she hasted to cover herself even more.

"Hey, who do you think I am?!"

"I just made one observation" Laxus told.

Realizing she was overreacting on an impulse, Lucy took a deep breath and uncrossed her arms, saying then:

"Sorry, it's just... reflex. I mean... I love my team, but sometimes... they can be a little bit... too much. And it's not just Gray and his... stripping habit. Erza is always so... intense and Natsu and Happy are always so... well, them. I think that only Wendy and Carla are the ones that don't drive me crazy at all times."

"I hear you" Laxus confessed. "I feel the same with the Thunder Legion. Sometimes they can be exasperating. However, despite everything..."

"They are my best friends" the two wizards said at the same time.

That caused them to get quite surprised by how in sync they said that last part, causing them to smile and share a chuckle. Hearing Laxus laugh like that was really a rarity and Lucy couldn't help but admire it. It had pure joy in it, even if the laugh was only slight. In fact, it was something very similar to a very distinguished smile she had saw earlier.

"Your smile... is just like your mother's" Lucy admired.

Hearing that, Laxus' laugh stopped and he got a look that was a mix of surprise and shock. Hearing Lucy mentioning his mother was the last thing he expected to hear coming from her. He didn't know why, but that caused him a great deal of discomfort. His mother has always been a touchy subject for him, especially after learning his father had something to do with her disappearance.

"How do you know how my mother's smile looks like?" he asked, a little coldly.

Noticing the sudden change, Lucy realized she may have stepped the line there. She was obviously nervous in answering the question.

"Well... I... I was helping Mira at the guild's library... before we took the job" Lucy told. "I found a photo album that had a photo of the previous generation of S-class wizards... like your mother."

"Of course it was Mira..." Laxus grunted. "Who else would gossip about someone's private life?"

"I know Mira can sometimes be... a little too excited about things" Lucy said. "But she only told me about her because I asked. I honestly didn't know who your mother was until I saw the picture. I... actually got quite surprised. It almost looks like no one at the guild knows about her."

There was a pause and then Laxus replied:

"That's because almost no one at the guild know about her. Besides me and the old man, only Gildarts, Makao and Wakaba are old enough to even remember her."

Sensing the heaviness on Laxus' voice when talking about his mother, she could only imagine it was a sensitive topic for him. She should have guessed as much. In fact, she could actually understand what Laxus was feeling at the moment, despite not knowing the entire story behind what happened with her, as she herself lost her mother as well.

"I'm sorry for... talking about your mother" Lucy said. "I... didn't want to upset you. It's just... I also lost my mother when I was young. So... whenever I can, I want to remember her and talk about her. I even write letters to her, pretending she is still alive. I guess... I just assume people would be like me as well."

"Well, not everyone like to talk about everything about themselves" Laxus replied with a little coldness on his voice.

But after a few moments, he just sighed and said:

"Sorry about that. I... I don't have many memories of my mother. I was five when she disappeared. And then... there was..."

Before he could say anything else, he turned to Lucy asked her:

"I must assume Mira told you everything about my mother, hein?"

"No, she didn't" Lucy hasted to reply. "I mean... I did ask, but she didn't get the time to answer it."

"I see..." Laxus replied.

Judging by the way he stopped himself from continuing what he was saying only to ask her if Mirajane told her everything about her mother, Lucy could see that, whatever happened, was something quite serious. However, despite that, she could also see that Laxus really missed his mother.

"Look, Laxus..." Lucy started.

"Let's just... forget we ever talked about this" Laxus replied, as he got up and tossed the rest of his soup to the fire. "We have a long way still to cover, if we want to reach Acer as planned, so let's have some rest."

And he moved away, while Lucy was left alone by the fire, looking down to her soup, feeling a little guilty for ever mentioning Laxus' mother to him. It was never her intention to have Laxus remember painful memories. She should have guessed he would have a reaction like that, especially considering how Mira got when she asked what happened to his mother.

However, watching Laxus making a joyful smile simply made Lucy remember that photo and she couldn't help herself but make that comparison. But then she wondered whatever happened to that beautiful woman that was beloved by everyone in the guild, especially Laxus and master Makarov. Obviously, it was something really serious, judging by the way Laxus got upset... possibly something only amplified by his own grief.

Lucy just wished there was something she could to make him feel better...

Meanwhile, unknown to them, Noctua continued to watch them, hidden by the darkness and the trees, and through its eyes, the mysterious figure was also watching them, waiting for the perfect moment to dispose of them...

Author's notes: I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. Yeah, I slowed down things a little bit... But I also set up the events as well. Not to mention I made another great moment between Lucy and Laxus. Also... regarding Noctua... It is a celestial spirit that I created inspiring on the actual former constellation Noctua (The Owl). Despite the celestial spirits in Fairy Tail only embody the 88 modern constellations, I have found a way to include former constellations as well. Everything will be explained later on.