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December 10th, X778

Hyacinth was exactly as Lucy recalled it to be, yet not quite. A frown resided on her face as she took in what she could see from the shoreline, her breath coming in small clouds. She fumbled Aquarius's coin in her hand as she watched, waiting impatiently for Loke to get back. She appreciated that the coin remained cool to the touch.

The village was partially concealed by a fog and freezing mist that seemed to rise off the gray water surrounding it. The docks were silent, even from what little Lucy could see. She thought there might be small amounts of light from candles in distant windows. That was it.

A curse drew her attention away. Loke scowled as he rejoined her, having been searching the shores further down the cove's beaches. Lucy pocketed the key Aquarius's coin became as he reported, "No sign of any boats." He ran his hand impatiently through his hair. It was such a human gesture that Lucy's lips twitched; he'd seemed more human in general as of late, which was good since they were trying to enter a human town. The green coat she'd made him wear certainly helped. He'd reminded her of Natsu when he'd complained about the tightness of it.

Most of the time, Loke was very clearly a star in the nighttime sky. Lucy was still rather new to the god-side of everything, but every now and then she thought she could sense something seeping from him. It was certainly not as strong after a month or so of remaining away from Valhalla, though it did surge whenever he touched her hand while helping her over something or dragging her away from what he thought might be a dangerous situation.

Lucy turned back to Hyacinth, considering. How the hell were they supposed to get across shark-infested, freezing cold waters? She didn't have a flashlight to signal the workers at the docks like Rogue had done.

But, Lucy realized, she did have a god who was very clearly a star in the nighttime sky.

She spun on her heel to stare at Loke sharply enough that he became suspicious. He narrowed his eyes at her. "What?" he demanded warily. "What are you looking at me like that for?"

"Natsu," Lucy said slowly, not taking her eyes off of him, "could still do a good number of interesting things up until he started using his power too often. You can still do a few things, can't you?"

Drily, Loke replied, "It depends. A light show, certainly. Actually being able to do what I ought to…well, that would be rather debatable and depend on who you speak to. I'm sure Natsu would argue I'm quite the failure at a number of things." He shifted his weight and glanced out at the water. He grimaced when a large shark's dorsal fin crested the waves before sinking back into the depths. "Your point, Lucy?"

"I need a light show." Lucy gestured to the small town they'd been trying to get to. "Not a huge one that will attract Vhalis or unwanted attention, but something to catch the attention of Hyacinth. When we came here last time, one of the residents used a flashlight, but we don't have one."

They could have waited to see if Mirajane took notice of their presence, but they didn't actually know if she was still in Hyacinth. Loke hadn't said anything about sensing another god around, and he'd not exactly taught Lucy what to look for – something she thought they ought to rectify soon. It could come in handy in the future if they were separated for whatever reason.

Loke furrowed his brow, considering. He shrugged. "If that's what you think we need," he decided with an exasperated sigh. He turned to face Hyacinth, studying the ghostly-looking town that resided across the channel. He cupped his hands in front of him. A soft blinding glow appeared there. When Loke was sure it would hold, he held it up a little higher, flaring it a handful of times. Lucy had to squint, wincing at how bright it was.

When Loke dropped his hands, he glanced at her for approval. Lucy flashed him a bright smile. "That should work. If no one comes to get us by this evening, we'll have to figure something else out."

Loke nodded his agreement. "It's not safe to do that more than once or twice," he mused.

Lucy didn't disagree, but at the same time…

Lucy didn't think she could come up with anything more important to her than getting to Hyacinth at the moment, getting her supplies, and then heading back out to try and find Natsu and Wendy.

"Lucy, we ought to build a campsite for you," Loke told her hours later as Lucy shivered violently on the rock she'd chosen to sit on. She'd not moved since doing so, her gaze locked on the town they couldn't reach. Light, misting rain had begun to fall, quickly beginning to turn into snow flurries that brushed their cheeks. "Jellal's never tested the limits of his form of immortality, and I can't say I wish to risk Valhalla because you're too stubborn to move from a rock."

Lucy, for just a heartbeat, thought about remaining stubbornly where she was if only to annoy him, but decided against it. It wasn't Loke's fault no one had come to help them. "Fine," she grumbled, teeth chattering as she stood. She hunched her shoulders to try blocking the freezing wind. "We need to find a way across. I wonder if something happened since we were there last…" She certainly hoped not. While bad things had taken place in Hyacinth, there were still plenty of good people there, and she liked Sting, Yukino, and Rogue.

"Perhaps we ought to try speaking with Juvia, since you said the town is protected by her," suggested Loke.

Lucy didn't bother to tell him that she doubted Juvia would care to speak with them, but didn't necessarily disagree either. Juvia would certainly know more, regardless of what she chose to do. She opened her mouth, but Loke interrupted gently. "Tomorrow," he said firmly. "We'll talk to Juvia tomorrow, if she comes to see us. We need to get you some shelter for tonight."

Lucy groaned as she followed him away from the beach. "If you were going to make me into some half-god," she grumbled, "why couldn't you have made me resistant to the cold like the rest of you?"

"You keep making a face. Why are you making a face?" Natsu didn't hide his suspicion as he eyed Wendy, hefting Happy further up in his arms as the cheerful cat purred in his arms. How he managed to remain so plump and heavy when they'd been rationing him was beyond Natsu's knowledge. Wendy said she'd spotted him with a mouse at some point; perhaps his cat was managing to hunt a couple mice he wasn't sharing with the much skinnier Charle.

Wendy, in the midst of doing just what Natsu had accused her, smiled sheepishly. There was a hint of anxiety in her face, however. "I can taste something in the air."

Natsu frowned at her. She'd never mentioned being able to taste such things. He'd only thought her capable of hearing her mother's whispers. "What does it taste like?"

"It tastes like…like the air did when we found Levy." Wendy stuck her tongue out, as if trying to get a better taste. Natsu thought she looked rather like a snake. "But it tastes a little different, too."

"It tasted different?" This was the first Natsu had heard of that being mentioned, though the matter of rescuing Levy was a rare conversation between them. He scanned the space around them, considering. With care, he tugged his scarf from his mouth and tried to get an idea of what he could feel in the area. He'd never been good at it, but he could certainly try searching for others like him.

Wendy admitted, "I didn't want to upset Lucy, but it tasted metallic. Especially afterwards, before we were able to get out of the area."

Blood, Natsu's mine automatically supplied. He couldn't taste the air quite like Wendy, but he'd practically been able to with how thick the smell of it had been after Erigor had flayed Lucy's arms open. He could still feel the way it had stuck to his skin in the hours afterwards.

Warier than before, Natsu stepped closer to Wendy. He studied the world around them a little more slowly and cautiously. "Stick close," he told her. "The last thing we need is another situation like that." His stomach rolled just thinking about it. He wouldn't let Wendy anywhere near such a situation if he could avoid it.

Wendy agreed, scooping Charle into her arms and hugging her tight as they walked. Natsu's arm brushed hers here and there, but neither minded. Even Happy stopped squirming in Natsu's arms, as if sensing how important it was to be quiet at the moment.

"It's getting worse, Natsu," reported Wendy a few minutes later, just as Happy and Charle whipped their heads around to look in the same direction. Charle pinned her ears to her head, growling; Happy flicked his tail uneasily. Natsu and Wendy looked, too. Wendy ducked behind Natsu to hide, nervously peering around him.

A moment of silence later, Happy suddenly squirmed violently. "Happy," hissed Natsu, cursing when the feline freed himself. He sprang from Natsu's arms and took off at a lope, tail high and a purr in his throat. "Happy–" He didn't dare try to follow him this time, concerned for Wendy's safety.

A vicious snarl seemed to shake their very bones, thundering through the air around them in an attempt to chase them away.

And while Wendy trembled, pale as a sheet…

Natsu's lips curved into a smile.

Finally.

Loke's polite request to the sea's strange, ruffled waves sent its occupants skirting away from the shoreline, as if terrified of some larger predator that lurked nearby. Lucy found herself hopeful. The waves had been odd for a while now, seeming to recede and retreat multiple times a day as they followed the beach rather than once or twice. Lucy hoped it meant Juvia was nearby.

No response had come from Hyacinth, and she was getting worried abouts its occupants. While she wasn't overly fond of the town, she didn't necessarily want it hurt. There were still good people living among the bad ones, after all – even if Lucy didn't trust any of them. Regardless of the adults, there were children.

Even Lucy, as selfish as she was, didn't want the children hurt.

Back on her cold rock, Lucy rested her chin in her hands, elbows on her knees, and demanded, "What's taking so long?" Loke had made the request an hour ago, and the freezing cold mists from the day before had continued throughout the night and into the morning. She was shivering, but refused to go back until something happened.

Loke, comfortably stretched out on the rocky sands beside her as if it were a warm sunny day, said drily, "It takes time for people to get places, Lucy, even a spirit like Juvia. She'll come."

As if in response to his comment, the waves suddenly surged further up the beach, brushing Loke's heels. He sat up straight, staring as a head slowly rose from the depths a good distance into the channel. Lucy flinched at the sight of the fearsome face staring back at them from bulging white eyes. She always forgot how terrifying Juvia was.

And she owed that terrifying spirit her gratitude. Something she vowed to do as Juvia disappeared back beneath the waves, massive dorsal fin cresting the waters before vanishing, too. Lucy hopped to her feet as Loke climbed to his own, brushing dirt from his clothes with a small frown that made Lucy roll her eyes. They had bigger things to worry about than some dirt.

Lucy expected Juvia to elect a human face when talking to them, as she had last time. Instead, the water spirit preferred to scare the hell out of them. A taloned hand shot from the water, snagging rocks and sand as it hauled her free of the water. Lucy shivered as Juvia clawed her way out, dragging her massive shark body behind her until she towered above them and forced them to crane their heads back to see her. Her white eyes glared down at them, teeth flashing as she hissed in a voice that made Lucy think of bones at the bottom of the depths, "You reek of Valhalla, Leo. You've been where others cannot go."

Lucy hated the sound of her voice. It rippled across her ears and lifted the hair on the back of her neck. It wasn't unlike Levy's voice when her eyes and lips had stitched themselves shut. It crept through her mind and lingered with ancient power that made her bones ache.

Loke smiled tightly, unafraid of the sea spirit. "Good to see you, too, Juvia. It's been a while."

Juvia's lips peeled back from her very sharp teeth, and Lucy remembered when Loke had mentioned that she occasionally ate people when annoyed. She hoped they didn't become one of her meals for trying to acquire her help. "Gray will want to know how. Many of the others will, too."

"They won't be able to, even if they do know how," said Loke seriously. "I won't let them."

Juvia reeled back, hissing sharply. "You are the one behind what has happened then? You've betrayed the gods and Mavis?" Her eyes darted to Lucy, narrowing. "Is this why my waters fail to obey me in some areas? Because you thought yourself above Mavis's decisions and created something new?"

"No. Never." Loke was fierce, clearly offended by the accusation. "I'm doing what I can to keep Valhalla safe, but it's not going to hold up much longer if I can't find Mavis. Tying it to Lucy was the best option I could come up with. Have you heard anything, Juvia? About where she might be if she's not in Valhalla?"

Juvia considered whether she would answer before turning her attention entirely onto Lucy, as if dismissing his question. Loke scowled, looking frustrated as she instead murmured to Lucy, "Natsu would not have removed his favor lightly. Did you side with Loke and work against the gods?"

Lucy's eyes flashed furiously. "I'd never do something like that. I would never try to hurt Natsu like that. Neither would Loke. Whatever you're thinking, Juvia, it's wrong." It hurt her to say it aloud; she hated admitting that she was no longer what she wanted to be, but she did so to drive her point home. "There was an…incident. In the mountains we went to. I didn't apparently make it like we were hoping I would. Loke took advantage of the situation to try and protect what little he could." She glanced at Loke, who nodded, approving of the way she'd worded it. "I don't like it," she admitted. "I hate it. Everything about what he did, and what happened. But we're not working to hurt anyone, Juvia. We're trying to fix everything by finding Mavis. At least, Loke is. I just…want to find Natsu and Wendy." And maybe, just maybe, after that…they could help Loke.

Juvia was quiet for a long, long minute. Long enough that Lucy worried she really would end up a meal. Instead, she murmured, "Did Gray give her soul to you, Leo?"

Loke winced. "No," he admitted. "We stole it."

"Does Natsu know?"

"No."

Juvia exhaled softly, the sound a loud hiss in their ears. "It is an insult to them both."

"Yes, well," sighed Loke, "when they're watching Valhalla fall to pieces around them, they can come debate insults and fairness with me. Until then…" He shrugged. "Lucy says that you protect the town across the way." He pointed, and Juvia glanced thoughtfully over her shoulder. "We've not seen any signs of life. Did something happen? Do you know anything?"

Juvia's lips curved into a terrifying smile. "They mocked the lost souls, so I made a mockery of them. I reminded them that they are just as helpless to my wrath as the souls are to my sharks and eels."

Lucy's face paled. "There were children over there," she whispered. "Children who've not done anything to you, Juvia."

Juvia snarled at her, the sound making Lucy jump. "I am not a monster, Lucy Heartfilia. They will know better than to replicate their parents' actions now. The only ones I took for my darling Gray were of an older age. They have no boats to send you," she added, tipping her head ever so slightly. Limp, corpse-like blue hair fell over her shoulder. "They work to repair them. The waters whisper that they rush to send someone to the shores as soon as they can – by evening, they hope."

Deciding the conversation was over, Juvia began to slide back into the water, bit by bit. As she did, she suddenly spoke again, addressing Loke. "Mavis will be less forgiving about what you've done than Natsu and Gray, Leo. It is one thing to seal Valhalla and tie it to a human soul. It's another matter to give her some of another's domain."

Lucy blinked. What was that supposed to mean? She looked to Loke for an explanation, but he stared up at Juvia, face cold. "I didn't do that," he said. "And as far as I can tell, she didn't either. Neither of us had anything to do with that part."

"Look at her. She knows nothing of it. It tells me that you know something of what happened. You best start thinking of explanations now, Leo, or Mavis may very well cast you from Valhalla entirely."

With that, Juvia was gone, slipping away into the water. Lucy watched her go, bewildered. It wasn't the first time someone had hinted at there being something she didn't know regarding her situation. Before she could ask Loke, however, he turned away, as if not caring to think about what Juvia had just warned.

"Come on, Lucy," he said over his shoulder, "we might as well return to our shelter until dusk. Juvia's never wrong about timing."

The water lapped at Lucy's heels as she turned away from it, as if reaching for her, and Lucy came to a grim understanding that unnerved her almost more than Juvia had.

There was something else – something Loke wasn't telling her.

Just as quickly as she'd decided to trust the minor god of protection, Lucy snatched it away and wondered if it might be better to simply find Natsu on her own.

JUVIA! And what did Natsu and Wendy find? So much is happening. ;)

Thanks to reviewers (nerdalertwarning, DREAMCHASING, InWonderl4nd, InfiniteMiste, DarkFairyGirl, galactiaconstella, stranger1999, hopelesskar, Jellal Frenandes, ShanpaiUniverse, Lyra121, & Meow Orbit!) as well as those who favorited and followed!