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December 30th, X777


Lucy was still digging through a pantry in the ruined kitchen for some stale strawberry cake she'd come across while scavenging when Jellal, who'd stayed back to simply observe, said aloud, "Hello, Natsu. It's been some time."

Lucy jolted, slamming her head into a shelf and cursing under her breath. She drew back with more care, glaring over her shoulder at Natsu when he snickered. Her irritation vanished, replaced with nervous energy when she saw the pair of people that had followed him inside. She recognized Gray on sight, and had no doubts in her mind that the scarlet-haired woman beside him was Erza. Her dark eyes locked onto Lucy and her lips pressed into a hard line of disapproval when Natsu sauntered over to Lucy and demanded, "What are you doing? I thought we were going to load up the kitchen together."

Lucy couldn't help the small smile she offered him. He knew her methods of checking for supplies well now. It was easier for one person to go through, but having a second person make sure she missed nothing in the food department was helpful. "We are," she said. "Just…" She risked a look over at the others, grimacing just slightly when she realized they were watching them closely. "It was mentioned," she said, lowering her voice a fraction, "that some strawberries might help my case."

Natsu blinked once at her, and then cackled as he drew back to lean against a broken, splintered countertop. "Two shelves up," was all he told her, flicking some broken pieces of marble away. He'd chosen the single space the Vhalis had ruined beyond repair to lean against. Natsu grew serious again as Gray muttered something in Erza's ear, to which she nodded slowly. "I don't know what you think I know that you don't know," Natsu said, narrowing his eyes at them.

Erza sighed softly and said, "You're the only one we've been able to find, Natsu. We haven't found anyone else in the months we've searched, nor can we get into contact with anyone in Valhalla. It's worrying us."

Lucy sneaked a look over her shoulder as she hauled the box of strawberry cakes out of the pantry. Natsu seemed unnerved by that information. "I tried to go back a little while back," he told Erza, troubled, "and I couldn't even take a step into Valhalla before I was thrown back down."

Lucy paused, her fingers posed to pry the box open. She recalled how Natsu had crashed through the roof of her apartment building. She grimaced as she finally cracked open the box. She'd done a lot to convince herself that the apocalypse was the worst of her concerns. Now that she recognized the truth, maybe it wasn't. She slowly turned to look at the others, eyeing them nervously. Erza was the only one studying her now. Though she didn't seem overly hateful towards Lucy, she was clearly unhappy that Lucy was present at all.

"Our ability to track your diale is likely because of your attempt," commented Jellal softly, tracing a finger over a countertop. "This means that no others have tried to return to Valhalla. Perhaps they're privy to information you don't have, Natsu."

"Not surprising," drawled Gray. His lips quirked into a smirk when Natsu threw him a look that promised violence. "Natsu misses a lot, even when he's in the middle of it."

Before Natsu could snap back at him, Lucy chose to put her two cents in, even if it was in the middle of a conversation amongst gods. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but if you're saying you could only find Natsu because he returned to Valhalla, then that brush with Valhalla restored some kind of power, right?" She flushed when all attention snapped to her. Just because she'd been in denial, she thought, didn't mean she'd not paid attention when he'd told her things. "Jellal just mentioned that this is because of his attempt, and that no others have made any similar attempts. But if I remember correctly, Natsu told me you three are more connected to Hel, which means you likely restore your power through a different source. So I think you should be asking why no one has come looking for you."

Lucy wished her phone wasn't dead and gone. She longed to capture the look on Gray's face when he realized Lucy had thought of something he hadn't. Erza looked interested in the thought, while Jellal merely nodded, as if it was something he'd been considering but not voiced aloud. Natsu only grinned at her, eyes quite literally glowing with pride. Lucy fought the urge to throw her hands up, wondering if all the gods were this exasperating.

Natsu reached over to pluck the box of strawberry cakes from her hands. He fished out a cake after prying it open hungrily; while he didn't need to eat, he'd become rather ravenous when it came to trying out new human foods whenever Lucy said he could. Erza's attention zeroed in on the cakes, too, and Natsu wordlessly tossed her one.

Lips curving into a grateful smile as she happily tore into the cake and eyes locked on her prize, Erza spoke for the first time that Lucy had heard. "You make a good point," she said, her voice quiet yet fierce, ancient and not all at once. She tore a piece off the cake and popped it in her mouth. Even stale, it seemed to delight her. "We are not cut off from Hel like the others are from Valhalla. It means it's likely that Mavis has cut you off, intentionally or not." Her gaze darted up, resting on Natsu. "Mavis would not cast the gods out for no reason, nor would souls avoid Gray like they do without reason. Something has happened and upset the balance of things. We need to figure out what needs to be fixed before it gets much worse. The last time this happened, hundreds of thousands died in the plagues that infested the population. It was, of course, my fault in part, but regardless, it cannot happen again."

Lucy didn't want to think of what would happen if things got worse, but she was interested in how Erza had taken part in the previous time it had happened. Still, Lucy kept her mouth shut, knowing better than to ask as Natsu grumbled and Jellal carefully rocked back, casting his gaze skyward with a thoughtful look. "If Natsu knows nothing, then we ought to continue seeking the others. Someone must know something. It worries me that none of them have sought us out, as you indicated, Lucy."

Lucy hadn't told him her name.

Gray grimaced. "I could hardly sense Natsu's diale, let alone the others'. We have even less of a chance with Gajeel since he doesn't usually have his diale on him."

"Nevertheless, we will try." Jellal straightened, squaring his shoulders. "If you find anyone, send them to us, Natsu. Perhaps you cannot enter Hel like us, but maybe we can find a way to help you retain some semblance of power. And you ought to consider visiting yourself. If you lose much more of your power, then the world will truly begin to freeze over."

Natsu said nothing, but didn't disagree as Erza tucked scarlet hair behind her ear and said, "In the meantime, perhaps we can offer you another type of assistance. Natsu told me," she turned to Lucy, who tried not to be nervous, "that he promised to help you find somewhere safe to stay."

Lucy didn't so much as look Natsu's way when she said, "He did. Apparently, when he was tossed back down from the heavens, he chose to nail the one occupied building left in Magnolia."

"I didn't mean to," muttered Natsu, scowling lightly at her in return. "It was an accident, Lucy."

A smile danced over Erza's lips. "Regardless of whether it was intentional, you cost Lucy a safe home." She said it almost scoldingly. Natsu seemed to sulk as she continued. "While we've searched for others of our kind, we came across rumors of a safehouse of sorts. Supposedly, there's a town near the southern seas that has a number of humans who have survived. They've not taken many outsiders in, seeing as not many have made it there, but I suspect they accept you into their ranks if you could get there. We believe Juvia to be involved in the town's defense against the lost souls."

Gray perked up at the mention of Juvia, but Natsu's expression twisted into one of reluctance. Lucy scarcely noted, bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement at the idea of a safe place filled with other humans like her. But, at the same time…the look on Natsu's face stifled her excitement. He looked entirely displeased by this information. She'd get an explanation from him later, before they decided for sure if they'd seek the safe zone.

As if not giving them much of a choice, however, Erza gave a small smile and turned to Gray. "You ought to accompany them there. Juvia is temperamental at the best of times, and if she's the guardian of this safe place, then she will fiercely defend it with all the might of her seas. As it is, the seas have been rough from what we've witnessed while here in this realm. And I'm sure she would enjoy a visit from you regardless, Gray."

The matching looks of disgust that appeared on the faces of Natsu and Gray almost drew a snort from Lucy. As it was, Jellal coughed to hide a laugh, lifting his fist to cover his smile. "Erza and I will take our leave then," he said quietly. "Thank you for your time, Natsu." His gaze shifted to Lucy, warm and cold all at once, even as he turned to leave. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Lucy. We will meet again."

The certainty in that statement was disconcerting. She didn't like how true it likely was.

Erza hummed her agreement, throwing a final, pointed look at Natsu. He seemed to grow irritated, eyes blazing a brilliant sunny glow with his irritation and a soft hum emanating from him. She ignored it and promptly disappeared into thin air without so much as a glance in Lucy's direction.

When she was gone, Lucy unleashed a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "That's Erza?"

Some of the tension eased from Natsu. "Yeah. That's Erza."

"That's Erza on a good day," added Gray, glancing at his fellow god. His dark eyes narrowed a little, and he ran a hand through his dark hair, exhaling softly. "You got lucky, Natsu. I thought she'd tear into you a little more for–"

Natsu cut him off with that sharp, irritable look he'd given Erza before she'd left, a hum ringing in their ears. Gray shrugged, giving up on what he'd been going to say. Lucy glanced between them with no small amount of interest, curious as to what Natsu was hiding, but when he noticed her suspicion, Natsu blinked the glow from his eyes and smoothed his scowl into a friendly smile. "Nothing to worry about, Luce," he promised, and Lucy didn't believe him for a single moment. "Erza just thinks about things that aren't worth worrying about sometimes."

Lucy didn't believe him. At the same time, he didn't seem to be lying. Lucy was sure Erza did do that. It just wasn't what she'd been thinking today, when she'd looked at Lucy. But Lucy dropped it, deciding she'd move on for now. She'd not get a proper answer from Natsu right now. Focusing instead on their current situation, she said softly, "Whatever's happening is bad, isn't it. If you can't find other gods."

Natsu said nothing, but the look on both of their faces told her enough.

Whatever was going on to cause the Fall, to bring gods to her world and rip the power from their very souls…

Well, it was worse than bad.


Natsu's eyes lingered on Lucy as her fingers tightened around the map she'd pulled out until it crinkled beneath her grip. They trembled just slightly, and aware that cold was pressing in, Natsu tried to crank up the heat he naturally produced as best as he could. It frustrated him when it scarcely raised the temperature more than a few degrees. Once, he could have made the air simmer and boil with a mere thought. A blizzard had settled over the old house, and the wind blew gusts beneath doors that made her shiver. He didn't like it.

Knowing Lucy wasn't thrilled with Gray being there, Natsu had done his best to chase him off, but he was unlikely to go anywhere with Erza's demand hanging over his head. Not that Gray seemed to mind being there to harass Natsu either. He was comfortably leaning against a wall, the frost that laced his skin creeping just barely over the area surrounding him. He was amused with Lucy's best attempts at ignoring him while simultaneously paying attention to the important information Gray could provide.

Lucy's brow furrowed. She huffed a soft breath and moved over towards Natsu, showing him the map. A flicker of pride slammed through him. She was still wary of him sometimes, but he made sure to make her comfortable enough to sometimes forget it when possible. "Couldn't she give us more information?" she complained as he studied the numerous towns and cities along the coasts of Fiore.

Gray snorted. Lucy shot him a nasty look when ice sprinkled the air. "Juvia will know if she's really protecting it," he told them. "I'll ask her when we reach the coast."

Lucy bit her lip uncertainly. "It'll take us a while to get that far south. Weeks, maybe. We'll want to avoid Hargeon for sure. There might be a good few places there where a group of survivors could be hiding, but at the same time…it was in the top three biggest cities before the sky fell. It'll have just as many Vhalis."

"Weeks?" echoed Gray, screwing his nose up. He didn't voice his thoughts. Natsu smirked at him, pleased he'd known something Gray hadn't thought of. Of course it would take longer. Lucy was only human. Lucy sighed at the pair in exasperation when Gray glared right back at him.

Waving her hand to snag Natsu's attention again, Lucy said, "Let's go to the smaller town over here first," she said, tapping on the map to indicate a small coastal town west of Hargeon. "See what we can find, and then head east towards Hargeon if we need to. I want to avoid going into the city, but if the safehouse is there, we might have to. Natsu, do you think that having a group of living people together will increase the number of Vhalis?"

He considered it, pleased she'd asked him and not Gray. "Probably."

Lucy nodded to herself. "We'll have to be even more careful than usual then. The Vhalis don't like you," she added with a glance in Gray's direction, and he scowled at the reminder. "That will help us. Well," Lucy amended with a wince, "me. It'll help me. Since you guys don't have to worry about becoming a Vhalis – if you can even die."

Clearly deciding they were finished, Lucy put the map away. Natsu watched as she prepared herself for sleep, plumping up her pack as best as she could to use it as a pillow. She curled up with her back to Natsu, closer than she normally would have. Her wary looks in Gray's direction told him enough. She didn't trust Gray. No matter that Natsu had reassured her several times that Gray wouldn't lay a finger on her, she didn't trust him. But she trusted Natsu enough to keep watch over her, which made his heart swell with relief. Lucy understanding the truth of the gods hadn't completely annihilated the blossoming friendship between them.

It was a while before Lucy's breathing evened out and she settled into a peaceful sleep. Only when she was entirely asleep did Natsu climb to his feet and briefly slip from the room. He went to the next room over, snagged a blanket that rested on a still messy bed that likely hadn't been used in months. He doubted Lucy would be thrilled, but he didn't really care as he returned to the room they were staying in for the night and tossed it over her. He fussed for a few moments, making sure Lucy was as comfortable as she could be.

Gray watched all of this unblinkingly, dark eyes harsh yet sympathetic. "Natsu–"

"Don't," snarled Natsu quietly, satisfied that Lucy was comfortably warm. "Just…don't."

Gray didn't listen of course. He never did. "You know better than I do what happened the last time one of us got too attached, Natsu. If the balance of the world is off now, you're going to make it a thousand times worse. Favored or not, you can't."

Natsu clenched his jaw and settled back down beside his friend. "I don't care."

"Neither did Erza."

A hum slipped from his lips, warning Gray away from the subject. "I'm not Erza."

"Clearly." Gray ran his hand through his dark hair, and Natsu scowled when frost flew, making Lucy shift in her sleep at the bite that sprinkled over her skin. "I'm not saying this because I think you ought to be miserable or something, and I don't hate her for being human like some of the others would. We were human once, too." He bitterly glanced at his black fingertips, flexing them. "But I can't just say nothing. There are millions of lost souls all over this planet, and I can't help a single one of them because something's wrong in this world. If what you're doing is making them suffer worse, Natsu, then I won't keep quiet about it."

As much as he bickered with Gray, Natsu knew he cared about the souls he'd been put in charge of. Even so, Natsu wasn't about to let him start hurting Lucy's feelings. She was distressed enough about the shift of balance in her world, surviving, and the Vhalis.

Natsu's eyes slid over Lucy as she mumbled under her breath in her sleep, turning towards him as if seeking the miniscule amount of heat he was offering. His gaze softened. "I'm not Erza," Natsu repeated quietly. "A human friend won't disrupt my work, not like it did hers. I'm the sun, not Death."

"And when Erza comes for your human friend?" challenged Gray just as quietly.

Natsu stiffened at the very thought. He'd not thought about that before. Lucy was human, and Death always came for humans in the end. Everything died in the end – even the gods would die, one day. "I'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he muttered.

Gray shook his head, sighing. Natsu ignored him.

It wouldn't be a bridge to worry about for a long time, when Lucy was old and gray. Natsu had other things to worry about anyhow – like the Vhalis he knew would soon come prowling in the dark of night, more confident. Natsu was sure they'd come, even with Gray a few feet away, even with them sheltering in a house. They'd soon start trying the windows he'd ensured were firmly closed, the doors he'd locked.

Natsu wondered if they did the same to the humans hidden away in their little safehouse.


A sharp squeal filled the air as Lucy slipped on the rocks she was climbing over, nearly twisting her ankle in the process. She scowled as Natsu snickered, shooting him a small glare. Gray, a crooked smile dancing over his lips, offered her a hand to help her over the rocks. Lucy hesitated for a moment, wary of what he might do. Eventually, she chose to accept the olive branch he'd offered. She took his frostbitten hand and let him ensure she didn't fall since he seemed particularly well-balanced on the slippery frosty rocks.

"This is ridiculous," complained Lucy as they continued down the steep hill. "I don't know why you're insisting we do this, Gray. We're supposed to head west, not east." Her fingers ached from the cold. Lucy wished she could push them into her pockets.

Gray was kind enough to stick a little closer, arms half-extended to grab her if she fell again. "I thought I felt another god this morning. I'm not going to ignore it just because you're scared. I told you two you could go on ahead and I'd catch up."

"I'm coming if it's another god," said Natsu stubbornly, pausing ahead of Lucy to bend and touch his fingers to a particularly nasty patch of ice crusting a flat rock. It melted beneath his touch. Lucy murmured her gratitude as she easily edged over it, nearly sliding anyways.

"And since I don't feel like being alone, waiting for the Vhalis to find me, I'm going where he's going," said Lucy, pointing at Natsu. "Are we even going to be able to get back down?" Lucy stopped then to look over the side of the path, at the base of the craggy hill they'd been climbing. It was steep enough that a small misstep would result in her breaking her neck.

No one bothered to answer Lucy's question, which wasn't comforting.

They finally reached the final ascent to cave Gray had spotted at the top of the hill, and Lucy made a face at the ominous silence between the three of them. She stuck close to Natsu, nearly brushing her arm against his as she whispered nervously in his ear, "This isn't the good kind of quiet, Natsu."

Natsu grunted his agreement, nudging her after Gray. Gray strode confidently ahead, sure of what he was doing. He hopped over a small bubbling creek, following it with care. He ignored Lucy's call of, "Gray, we really ought to find somewhere to stop for the night soon." Dusk was well on its way. She really wished they'd waited until the next day to investigate this unknown cave.

"Like I said," Gray said as they followed, Lucy grabbing Natsu's arm when he nearly slipped and stepped into the creek, "You didn't have to come along."

Lucy kept her thoughts to herself. Whatever Gray was feeling, it must have been something, because he lurched ahead – only to be hauled to a halt when Lucy lurched forward and grabbed his wrist. She yanked him to a halt. "As excited as I am that you've apparently found something, Gray, we cannot go into a pitch-black cave at night. Maybe the Vhalis don't like you, but they definitely want to eat us. We shouldn't be doing this, not now."

Gray ripped his wrist away, seemingly startled by the strength of her grip. "Then stay out here," he retorted. "There's a god in there."

"That's even more concerning." Her eyes flashed. She turned to Natsu, expecting him to agree with her, only to find him eyeing her guiltily with his lips pressed into a hard line. "Natsu," she whined.

"We really should check it out, Luce," he said almost kindly. "I think I can feel what he was sensing, too, and it's weak. They might need help. We can't push it off." When her face twisted into an expression of absolute horror and betrayal, he quickly took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, grip gentle yet firm. "C'mon, you'll be okay. Like you said. They avoid Gray, and if they come close anyway, I'll fry them for you."

Not helping Lucy's distress, Gray called over his shoulder, "You can barely fry an egg right now, Natsu."

Left with no other option, Lucy reluctantly followed the bickering pair of gods into the cavern.


Erza! And onto some more adventuring. Some fun stuff popping up yet again next chapter. ;)

Thanks to reviewers (TheAngelicPyro, Nami4Life, sonicloudaj, Sele de la Luna, marn-marn, MayTylers, dooryy, and hopelesskar!) as well as those who favorited and followed!