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October 27th, X778

Lucy realized she'd lost her mother's necklace as she waited impatiently for Makarov to settle himself into his chair. The grief crushed her immediately, and she pressed her fist over the spot where it had once rested on her chest, wishing it was there. Tears threatened to spring to her eyes at the realization; she was quick to hide her pain when she realized the alarmingly serious man – Loke – was watching her from across the table.

She couldn't remember Loke, but he clearly recognized her. He reminded Lucy of a cat with the way he lounged so comfortably in his chair. He looked rather like Happy actually, when Happy was content beside the fire. Thinking of Happy brought another spike of loss that she had to quickly push away so she could focus on the situation at hand.

"I thought I felt your fingers in all this, Loke," said Makarov when he was ready, frowning severely at Loke. "I certainly didn't have anything to do with it, seeing as I've been as trapped as the rest of the children."

Loke didn't seem as angry as he had earlier, when he'd first shown up. He plucked the shades he wore off so he could pinch the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily. "I couldn't do anything to stop the gods from falling. I couldn't do anything to save Lucy's life when she was relying on us. I couldn't do anything to help the souls that wander even now. So, we saw our chance, and we jumped on it. It was a win-win-win situation, Makarov; we help Lucy, we help Valhalla, and we make up for our own mistakes."

Something in Makarov's dark eyes grew sharp as he straightened. His voice was shockingly cold when he spoke, making Lucy wince. He'd been rather laid back until now. "It's not for you to decide such things, Loke."

A smile bloomed on Loke's face as he leaned forward, setting his shades aside and resting his chin in his palm. "Why not?" he challenged, smug as can be. "It's not like the rest of you are around to help make those decisions, now are you?"

"You know fully well that's not by choice–"

Lucy chose to interrupt, not liking how an argument was breaking out when it didn't help her understand anything that was happening. There was something important tugging at the edges of her mind, and she didn't want to lose that thread. "You said you were looking for me. Why?"

Loke's attention turned directly onto her and Lucy didn't like it. Her skin crawled as static seemed to creep up her spine, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She could feel the power rippling from him. If this was a "minor god," as Natsu had called the ones attached to the keys…then what was it like to come across a fully-charged god like Natsu himself? He'd not created an effect like this when she'd first met him, but then…he'd certainly not been fully-charged.

Loke exhaled quietly after a moment, grimacing. "The amnesia's not entirely unexpected, I suppose…Jellal struggled with it for a bit, right?"

Makarov nodded, still clearly annoyed about their small argument. "Yes. It took him some time to clear up his memories. Erza helped him along, of course."

Erza's name tugged at the sense of importance. Lucy furrowed her brow, forgetting to pay attention as they began to speak between themselves. She could recall the ache of her body, the searing heat of calloused hands cradling her face, the warm breath on her lips as someone whispered to her… It had to be Natsu. She'd have never let anyone else so close to her in such a way. There was the gleam of firelight on scarlet, too, and then…

Nothing.

"–lost her when we fell, but I'm glad Juvia decided not to eat her–"

That snagged Lucy's attention. She whipped her attention back onto Loke. "Juvia eats people?" she demanded. She wasn't all that surprised. She's seen Juvia's sharp, pointy teeth jutting from her mouth.

Despite everything, Loke flashed her a shockingly humorous grin. "Only when she's really annoyed."

"Focus," scolded Makarov.

Hoping she'd not missed out on that part of the conversation while she was trying to recall what had happened to her, Lucy sighed, folding her arms. "Look, I don't understand what any of what you're saying has to do with me. None of what you've said has helped me understand that in the slightest."

Loke sat back, debating how to answer. Though she wanted to shake him for it, Lucy gave him the time. Finally, Loke groaned and asked, "How much do you remember, Lucy?" When she narrowed her eyes, he promised, "I'll explain. I just need to know what I need to explain to you."

Lucy had shared a number of tales with Makarov since she'd woken up, but she wasn't sure how she felt about sharing them with this virtual stranger. She supposed Makarov was pretty much a stranger, too, though. She knew nothing about him other than a slim recognition of his name. Still, being selfish with her personal life wasn't going to help her at the moment.

"The last thing I remember is being in the mountains with my friends," she said, heart twisting violently at the thought of them. Where were they? What had happened that they were now separated? She hoped they were all okay.

Loke cursed. "You don't remember a good majority of what I need you to remember. I wasted a lot of time tracking you down, too."

"Then stop wasting more time and give me the important details already," retorted Lucy crossly.

Makarov chuckled as a sly smile crossed Loke's lips. "The bottom line is," said Loke, rocking forward in his seat and clasping his hands in front of him, "we need to find Mavis. She's not in Valhalla, and we've been doing what we can, but if she doesn't come back soon…" Loke trailed off, meaning clear: things weren't going to go well.

Lucy shifted in her seat, still not really understanding what this had to do with her. Sure, Natsu had expressed his desire to know what was happening, but she knew those intentions had gone right out the window after everything with Erigor had happened. Natsu had just wanted to keep them safe; Lucy had just wanted to live a nice, quiet life – or, at least, as nice and quiet a life one could live in the apocalypse.

"Mavis isn't in Valhalla?" said Makarov quietly, startled.

Loke rolled his eyes. "Of course not. What, do you think we got bored and threw a coup? Mavis disappeared and the easiest way to protect what power was left was to kick the rest of you out to stop you from absorbing it. Mind you, that idiot Natsu managed to tap into what little we have left when he tried to come back–"

Makarov rubbed his temples, troubled. "I wasn't aware that Mavis was missing. I thought, perhaps, she'd simply decided something without telling the rest of us. I'll begin searching immediately. I'm sure there's someone who knows something about where she might be. It'd be hard to miss the signs. Mavis is an exceptionally powerful spirit."

Lucy tapped her fingers impatiently on the table. Still not really her problem when she had missing friends. As if sensing her thoughts, Loke turned a thoughtful eye onto her. "Those keys," he said suddenly. Lucy fought the urge to hide them from him. "I'm not going to take them from you," he said, as if reading her thoughts, which earned him a suspicious glare. "I'm the one that made sure you get to keep them, Lucy. Those keys can be used for different reasons, but they're shaped like they are for a reason. Can't say I expected Natsu to be the one to have the keys to Valhalla, let alone give them to a human, but it worked in all of our favors in the end."

Her lips parted. "They're…they're the keys to Valhalla?"

"You think just anyone can get in? Of course we'd have keys. And we made sure you're the only one who can hold them now." Loke was so damn proud of the fact that it made Lucy want to throttle him.

Especially when Makarov suddenly sucked in a sharp breath and said, "You tied her to Valhalla. You've made her into a vessel for those keys."

"You what?" demanded Lucy, horrified.

"We couldn't create a whole new god without Mavis," said Loke almost gently, "but we could attach some of what's left of Valhalla's power to you by making you into a fallen god like Jellal. A god, but not quite. You just happened to catch us off guard and stole a little bit more than I anticipated." He grimaced, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe it's your ties to Natsu, but at least you'll be able to keep the keys fairly safe with them being a false diale."

Lucy could have throttled him, god or not. Not a single damn thing he was saying made any sense. But then…she didn't want it to make sense either. "I didn't agree to this," she said angrily, curling her fingers into fists beneath the table. Maybe she loved a god, but she'd had no desire to become one herself! Sort of. It didn't sound as if she was a full god. Besides everything that came with it, in order to become a god, one had to die, and she'd–

Died.

Lucy's face went as pale as the white horse Death supposedly rode upon.

She'd died. The infection they'd hoped would pass had killed her. The flashes of scarlet had been Death herself, come to fetch Lucy. The memories, as weak as they were, were of her death, and with that realization came a few more: the agony of the infection burning her away and Wendy's tear-streaked face as she'd whispered, "We love you, Lucy." She could recall the unfamiliar sight of Natsu crying, something she'd not seen in the entirety of the time they'd been together, because Lucy would have certainly remembered those golden, glowing rays of sunlight streaming down his cheeks.

"I'd give you the stars," he'd told her. "And the moon, and the sky, and anything else you ever wanted, Luce."

Not for the first time since she'd woken up here in Makarov's beach house, she wanted him. She wanted Natsu, and Wendy, and even the two stupid cats she'd not wanted to bring along initially. She missed all of them desperately. Natsu knew everything about the gods, even if he was sometimes overzealous about it. He'd know what Loke was trying to tell her and explain it in a way she could understand.

"You don't have to agree to it," admitted Loke with a soft tone. His green eyes had become sympathetic, gazing at her kindly. "And we didn't have much of a choice. The idea was a long-off dream that only became possible because you happened to have those keys on you when Erza came to you." He was apologetic, but not about what he'd done. It only made Lucy more upset. "If it helps…you're not truly a god. You're more of a vessel – more like Jellal, a fallen god. It wasn't what you wanted, but it was an unexpected victory for us. As long as you're alive Lucy, Valhalla will remain standing until we can find Mavis."

Lucy swallowed the lump of despair that had formed in her throat. "And when Mavis is found?"

"That, I don't know. In the meantime, we have something more important to worry about." Loke clasped his hands together, thumb rubbing one of the rings on his hand. "You're missing Scorpio's key."

A bitter, broken laugh claws itself free from her chest. As if that was the only thing missing. "I don't even know where it is or how long I was…" She trailed off, bitter. She had died and the gods only cared about what she could do for them. She pushed her angry tears away, glaring at Loke. "I'm not like you guys."

"Which is why I'm going to help you," said Loke confidently. "I can feel the keys like the gods ought to feel a diale – which means not only will I be able to track them, but another god may come looking for you."

Lucy didn't think she wanted that either.

Makarov thoughtfully eyed the pair of them, considering what was happening. "Those keys radiate more power than any of us have sensed since the Fall, which means the other gods might already be looking for the source. That bodes well for your search already. Natsu–"

"Is terrible at tracking things like that." Lucy hid her face in her hands, taking a shuddering breath. He'd admitted it time and time again: tracking a diale was not high on his skill set of things he was good at. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Regardless of what the gods wanted, she wanted to find the people who'd become her family.

It might work in the gods' favor, too.

She was missing Scorpio's key, and how often had Natsu used it when the Vhalis came around?

With that in mind, Lucy slowly began to sort through her thoughts, ignoring Makarov and Loke as they conversed about the logistics of something she knew nothing about. She'd need supplies, of course; whatever they'd done to her hadn't erased her human needs, unfortunately. Then she'd likely need to head towards Hyacinth, unfortunately, if only to get better supplies. They'd definitely have what she needed, though she'd need to find things of worth to trade. Luckily, the untouched beach house was virtually untouched in that regard. It meant she had a good chance at finding something. Yukino would have medical supplies, too, if she was still there. Maybe even information about the two people she needed to find, depending on how much time had passed.

They weren't stupid, though Natsu occasionally struggled to remember what humans might need when they were in his company. After Lucy's infection, Wendy would be short on medical supplies. Even before her apparent death, they'd discussed returning to Hyacinth specifically for medical supplies. They would at least stop there for a short time. If Lucy was lucky, then Mirajane might have even continued to linger in Hyacinth. She'd figure out what else she needed after Hyacinth.

Plan set, Lucy cut Loke off mid-sentence as she rose to her feet. "Right. First things first. I need a bag."

"How's your hand?" checked Wendy as Natsu reached up to help her from the small ledge he'd just hopped down from. Only when he scowled playfully at her did she let him grip her gently by the waist and lower her to the ground. Happy and Charle hopped down, though Charle threw Natsu a dirty look as if he really ought to have thought to help her down, too. Natsu knew for a fact that the second he touched her, she'd have clawed him.

"Fine," lied Natsu, flexing his hand thoughtfully. It still ached badly after the encounter with the Vhalis. He'd taken to wearing one of the extra gloves they kept on hand. It protected it from coming into contact with something that might make it hurt worse.

It had been a few days since then. Natsu was cautious of touching Scorpio's key, avoiding it. Hurting himself would make it harder to protect Wendy, who was still shaken from the encounter. Despite the Vhalis situation they'd had, Natsu was glad they'd found that house in the mountains; Wendy had been able to stock up rather well. It had been enough to last a while if she rationed carefully, she'd told him. Natsu had helped with that by refusing any food she tried to give him.

Wendy eyed his hand with disapproval, as if she saw right through his lie. Natsu wouldn't have been surprised if she could see right through it. Wendy was certainly clever enough. She decided not to call him out, however, instead starting forward again. Natsu trailed after her, humming softly as Happy bounded ahead.

"Hey, Natsu," said Wendy over her shoulder after some time. He turned his attention onto her immediately. "Where are we going after Hyacinth?"

Natsu frowned. "You wanted to find Grandeeney, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but…" She averted her gaze, biting her lip. "Grandeeney doesn't want us to find her."

That certainly drew Natsu up short. He stopped walking to stare at her, bewildered. "She doesn't?"

Wendy shook her head. Natsu could see the unshed tears welling in her eyes as she admitted, "Grandeeney…she says there's more important things we should do before I look for her."

Natsu wasn't surprised. His ability to visit Igneel at random when he wanted wasn't a common thing, although he knew Grandeeney must love her daughter. Many of the spirits preferred to be alone. They were simply creatures who felt differently about things than humans did. "Did she tell you what she wants us to do?"

"No," said Wendy, sighing. "I miss her. I haven't seen her since before the Fall."

Natsu thought about how much he missed Lucy, though he supposed it was a different kind of love and loss. Still, they'd both lost someone, and he knew what it was like to miss someone. So, he gently bumped Wendy with his shoulder and promised, "We'll find her, Wendy. After Hyacinth, we'll see what we can do so you can see her, okay?"

It gave him a goal, at the very least.

One he thought Lucy would have been proud of.

Some information and a common place! Question for all of you is: will they miss each other in Hyacinth? Will they make it at all? Who knows. ;)

Thanks to reviewers (xennia-x, BurstingDragons, hopelesskar, marn-marn, Larissa, Meow Orbit, Star-Queen Lucy, stranger1999, 3idiotsrule, Lyra121, 3825Doll, takeagamble27, XxStar'sDustxX, AnimusLunari777, ShanpaiUniverse, and Talia D'vile!) as well as those who favorited and followed!