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October 4th, X778

"You know it's not going to kill me, right?"

Wendy shot Natsu the sharpest of looks, scowling. "I don't care if you're a god or not. You should have told me sooner." Natsu winced when she scrubbed a little harder than necessary at his laceration, cleaning it angrily. He'd cut himself rather badly when he'd slipped on some ice earlier in the day. It had been unintentional, but seeing as it'd heal before nightfall, Natsu hadn't bothered to tell Wendy. Instead, she'd found out when she'd happened to see the gold seeping into his torn coat sleeve.

"Honestly," continued Wendy, grumbling as she sought the largest band-aid she had. "No wonder you and Lucy fit so well together!"

Natsu opened his mouth to protest that she should save their supplies for Lucy when they found her, but clamped his mouth shut when Wendy slapped it over the cut. She was clearly stressed, and Natsu was happy to give her at least something other than their sick, missing companion to worry about.

His heart twisted with anxiety at the thought of Lucy. They'd been searching for a few days now, with Natsu doing his best to track his diale, but neither had found anything. Lucy was still missing. The loss was like a knife to his chest, twisting more and more with each passing hour. He didn't feel as if he could even breathe when it overwhelmed him.

Natsu's gaze slid to the familiar mountain peak, only two or three days' travel from their location. Mount Hakobe was so close. He'd recognize it, even after centuries having passed since he last saw it. It was vastly worn down compared to the last time he'd seen it, when it had been fairly jagged and had recently erupted. Natsu knew it was the peak they sought though; he'd know it with his eyes closed. They'd been so close when the Vhalis had found them.

Quietly, Wendy asked, "Have you been able to sense your diale?"

Natsu made a small motion with his hand. "Here and there." Once or twice, he'd felt a familiar tug in his gut, pulling him west. It told him Lucy was, at the very least, alive enough to be messing with his scarf. The last time he'd felt it had been two days ago though. Nothing since.

When everything was said and done, he was going to track down a god who could teach him how to do better at tracking his own goddamn diale.

"Damn it," muttered Natsu, pressing his face into his knee for a moment as the knife twisted impossibly hard in his chest. The last time he'd felt this much fear had been when he'd watched the leader of a human cult carve runes into Lucy's arms before preparing to offer her as a sacrifice to someone he'd considered a friend. And, on top of that, he knew she was sick. She'd been doing her best to hide it from them, but he knew the infection in her body was beginning to weigh her down.

"We shouldn't have come here," he rasped unsteadily. He could hardly swallow the hum threatening to burst from him yet again. "We should have stayed in those damn cabins."

Wendy hesitated, and then patted his back reassuringly. Her touch didn't erase the pain, but it helped to settle the intensity of it. "We'll find Lucy, Natsu," she promised, breath puffing around her face in a soft cloud. "We've got to."

"You're sure this is the right way?" said Lucy, throwing a suspicious look in Gray's direction as she let him pull her up a particularly steep part of their climb. Her chest heaved as she fought to catch her breath. Even with the plentitude of rests Gray had made her take, she wasn't sure how much longer she could go without stopping for the night. She wiped sweat from her forehead, coughing to clear her chest. The elevation definitely wasn't helping her situation.

Gray ensured she had her balance, looking inclined to kick Happy when the feline threw a smug purr in his direction as he nearly tripped Gray. "Yes, Lucy," he said with exaggerated patience, "I'm sure this is the right way."

Lucy was unconvinced. "I have Natsu's diale. How are you even tracking him?"

Gray sighed yet again, and Lucy considered kicking him, too. "I'm not tracking Natsu. We're going to the top of the mountain so I can get a good idea of which direction he might have gone in – or Wendy. It's a higher vantage point, and we might be able to – Lucy, seriously, are you sure you don't want to stop?" he demanded when she doubled over, still struggling to catch her breath.

"Can't," gasped Lucy, rubbing her chest. "Gotta find Natsu and Wendy."

"You can't find them if I have to take you to Jellal sooner than intended," Gray muttered, rolling his eyes at her stubbornness. She merely threw him a rude gesture that made him fight back a small grin.

They took a few moments so Lucy could catch her breath as best as she was going to be able to. When she felt ready to continue, they did. She didn't miss how Gray took on a slower pace than before. She said nothing about it. At least they were moving.

Hesitantly, as they hiked up the mountainside, Lucy asked Gray, "Would you know if Wendy was…?"

"She's not." Gray ensured the snow beneath him had a good grip before hefting himself up a nearly invisible ledge that was hidden beneath a layer of white. He made sure Lucy had made it up, too, before speaking again. "I'm hanging around you, aren't I? She's alive. As far as I know, I won't have to track her down anytime soon."

That was good news at least. She clung to that as they pushed forwards.

Eventually, despite her determination to push past it all, Lucy's knees buckled. She collapsed into the snow face-first with a yelp. Gray whipped around and looked down at her with no small amount of exasperation, planting his hands on his hips. "Lucy."

"Okay, okay," she grumbled, rolling onto her back to stare at the blindingly bright blue sky. "We can take a – Gray, is that smoke?"

Gray immediately craned his head to look over his shoulder, studying the smokey gray rising slowly into the sky. It curled upwards from the easy, further down the mountainside, and came from a particularly dense cluster of fir trees. Many of them had been ripped apart by the avalanche. "You think it's them?"

Lucy sat up, hesitant. Happy purred quietly, butting his head against Lucy's elbow until she pet him. "I don't see how it could be anyone else, but…I really, really don't want to risk it." She'd not told Gray what had happened. She'd kept the story about finding and saving Levy to herself. She liked that Gray didn't know – that he didn't look at her as if he wanted to take her suffering away. Begrudgingly, when he frowned in bewilderment, however, she admitted aloud, "Long story short, we had a particularly nasty confrontation with a group of humans. Worse than Hyacinth. I don't want to see strangers."

Gray pursed his lips, considering it. He seemed to be considering if he wanted to push for more of the story. Instead, he shrugged. "Look. Why don't you stay here then, and–"

Aware that she was being frustrating, Lucy said miserably, "Please don't leave me here on my own."

"I can't check and stay here," Gray pointed out. When Lucy opened her mouth, he said firmly, "There's no way in hell I'm going to let you go right now looking like that." He waved at her exhausted, feverish self. "Natsu's gonna kick my ass for letting you go as long as I did as it is. Sit down, take a break, and when we're ready for it, we'll go together. There's smoke. They're not going anywhere anytime soon. Right?"

Lucy nodded slowly. "That sounds reasonable," she agreed. Gray muttered under his breath about something or another as Lucy dragged her bag into her lap to fish out a snack. "Thank you, Gray," she said quietly as she offered some to Happy, who crunched down happily on the last of her jerky. "For helping me. I know it's frustrating, and that there's probably more important things you could be doing right now."

Gray settled beside her without much care for the cold. Whereas Lucy fished her blanket out of her bag to sit on to protect her from the layer of snow, he seemed perfectly at home in it. "Maybe," he replied, "but it's not nearly as funny as watching you bust your ass every few minutes."

"Are you sure the fire's a good idea?" fretted Wendy as Natsu prodded at it. "What if it attracts attention, Natsu?"

"That's kind of the point." Natsu eyed the big curl of smoke piling into the sky. He'd found the driest wood he could to build a larger fire than he normally would have. "Besides. It'll give us light when the sun's gone and you're cold, so it helps there, too." For even as Wendy protested, nervous that the fire would bring danger, she was warming herself by the flames.

The pair had found a shockingly nice little hollow. It was a wonderful little dip in the mountainside, surrounded by a thicket of trees barely clinging to the mountain slopes. It would protect them from the worst of the breeze that had picked up a short while ago, and it would protect their fire, too, preventing it from leaping out of control or being blown out. With Natsu's help, Wendy had even managed to sweep snow away, creating a decently dry space to lay down on when night fell. They'd even sprinkled pine needles around to try and soften the hard ground, though Natsu made sure they never got close to the fire.

"Still…that Vhalis's still out there." Wendy hugged herself.

"I've got the Taurus key, remember?" Natsu showed it to her. "Taurus can't do as much against the Vhalis as Scorpio, but–"

He broke off, interrupted by a loud screech. They froze, exchanging wide-eyed looks. Natsu cursed under his breath. He had Taurus's key, as he'd told Wendy, but it didn't mean he wanted to use it at this very moment! When the sound came again, he gestured Wendy over, slowly rising to his feet. She was quick to scurry closer, hauling Charle with her. Charle was on alert, too, ears pricked.

The screech came a third time, and Natsu narrowed his eyes when something moved in the shadows at the top of the hollow. He willed Taurus's key into the war hammer it could become, tightening his grip around the end of it when it had finished transforming.

And then something small and furry tumbled head over heels into the hollow, purring the whole way down.

"Happy!" gasped Wendy, and Natsu barked out a breathless, choked laugh. Only Happy would scare the hell out of them like that. He put Taurus away, dropping into a crouch to catch Happy with open arms when the cat hurtled over with a triumphant yowl. Natsu grinned as he caught him, scooping him into a hug. Wendy reached out to gently scratch his chin in greeting, and even Charle, who occasionally grew annoyed with him, was clearly happy to see Happy. She reached over Natsu's arm to playfully bat at him with a paw.

"Huh. You guys really do have two cats."

Natsu's gaze darted up. "Gray?" he said in disbelief. The other god crouched at the edge of the hollow, smirking down at them. He'd braced his elbows on his bent knees and arched a brow at the squeal Wendy uttered as she bounced on the balls of her feet. After a moment, Gray couldn't seem to help but crack a small grin, giving them a mock salute as he drawled, "We've been looking for you guys. Hear you got washed away by an avalanche or something?"

Natsu's heart missed a beat, that knife lessening its twist as Wendy gasped, "You found Lucy?!"

Gray jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "She's hanging back. Didn't want to come over until we were sure it was safe for her. Something about not wanting to repeat what had happened last time she ran into a bunch of strangers."

Natsu wouldn't necessarily trust this streak of good luck until Lucy was right there in front of him, but relief still crashed through him like another wall of snow and debris. Something in his chest caved as he said hoarsely, "She's okay?"

Gray's smile vanished as he studied Natsu. "Depends on your definition of 'okay,' but if you're asking about the avalanche that took you three out, then yeah. She's good. Sick, but good otherwise."

"Sick" wasn't great, but it was better than what they'd been thinking the last few days. There had been a moment or two where Natsu had worried Erza had been around and he'd simply noticed her.

Rocking to his feet, Gray told them, "I'll grab her. She'll be happy about the fire. S he hasn't shut up about how cold her feet are for the last hour."

That sounded enough like his Lucy that the knife stopped twisting entirely in his chest. Natsu snorted softly, setting Happy down. He couldn't believe the smoke had actually worked. It had been what he'd been taught to do as a child in times long gone. He'd done it on a passing chance, figuring it was better than nothing. "Come on, Wendy," he said as Gray disappeared to fetch Lucy. "Let's get things ready for Luce."

Wendy dropped Charle carefully and rushed to grab her bag, beaming. "I'll get my first-aid kit! I want to check her arms and that spot on her neck. Lucy's terrible at taking care of them if I don't remind her!" That wasn't true at all, but neither cared.

Lucy was alive, and that was all they cared about.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried as she flung herself over the edge of the small hollow. She ignored Gray's exasperated sigh as he slid down behind her when she nearly tripped and broke her neck in the process.

Natsu spun around and just narrowly caught her as she crashed into him. She flung her arms around his neck and Natsu was more than happy to crush her against him. He buried his face against her throat with a low sound of delight. A flash of pain zinged her infected spot and up her arms, but Lucy ignored it, hiding her face against him.

"Luce," Natsu rasped, arms tight around her waist. He lifted her for a moment, laughing breathlessly in her ear as he pulled back to press his forehead against hers. Lucy noticed that his eyes quite literally glowed – just a fraction, not enough to be noticed unless you were close to him.

Lucy couldn't bring herself to be annoyed by the happy tears that welled. She hastily blinked them away. "You okay?" she checked.

"Am I okay?" he demanded, exasperated. "Lucy–"

"I was just asking," she muttered. Not caring that there were others around, she was more than happy to clasp his cheeks in her hands and press a fierce kiss against his lips. When she pulled back, Natsu was beaming, though there was still some worry on his face. She was sure she'd get an earful from Wendy soon enough, so she pulled back before he could start expressing that worry. Natsu set her down, then staggered when Wendy yanked him aside so she could get a hug of her own.

"Lucy!" she cried. "We were so worried!"

Lucy hugged Wendy back, smiling widely. "You were worried?" she teased. "I had to sit here and think of all the ways Natsu could have gotten you killed while I was away."

"Hey," protested Natsu, "I did a good job!"

Wendy giggled. "I need to–"

"Look at my arms," sighed Lucy, waving her off. "I know, I know. Go get the stuff, and grab that bottle of ibuprofen while you're at it. I'll take some." Lucy had been reluctant to take it before, worried they'd need it more later. She knew it'd help with the fever that had come back in full force while she was away though.

Wendy scampered away to do just that, pleased, and Lucy hastily wiped the few tears that had fallen away from her face. She was happy to be back with the two she considered her family in recent times. "Where did you get thrown to?"

"Somewhere," said Natsu dismissively. "Found Wendy stuck in this big crack in the ground. Where'd you go?"

"Downhill." Lucy tugged at the scarf she wore with a grimace. "I was buried under enough snow that I'd have been in trouble if Happy hadn't helped dig me out. I can't believe I owe your damn cat."

"Happy's fantastic!" Natsu threw his cat a proud, grateful look.

"What about the part where you almost got reburied in the snow by a Vhalis?" said Gray, some unreadable expression disappearing from his face the moment Natsu glanced in his direction. He'd been watching their small reunion the entire time, saying nothing. "Don't forget that."

"You what?" Natsu rounded on Lucy as she was tugged over to the delightfully warm fire by Wendy. "Lucy–"

"I'm fine, aren't I?" she replied. "Besides, Gray was there. He helped me out."

Natsu considered that, and then turned warily to his fellow god. "What are you even doing up here in the mountains?" he demanded suspiciously, eyes narrowing. "It's not like there's a ton of people or lost souls out here. So what are you doing here?"

Gray took his time to answer. He settled across from Lucy and Wendy at the fire, though Lucy doubted he cared about absorbing the warmth it offered. He rested his chin in his open palm as he studied them. Finally, he said, "There was a mass casualty to the east. I managed to help a soul or two out before they scattered to the wind. Then I got a whiff of something this way, so here I am."

Lucy flinched, recalling the number of bodies left behind by Levy's destruction. Too bad, she thought bitterly. She'd have liked to see them all face judgment in the afterlife. But she said nothing about it as she unwound Natsu's scarf and handed it to him when he sat beside her. Wendy leaned in to peer at her neck, muttering nervously as she began doing her best to clean it up in the light of the fire.

"We're staying here a few days," Wendy decided, leaving no room for arguments. "You need to rest, Lucy." Natsu nodded curtly in agreement, trusting Wendy's opinion on the matter.

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Lucy with a sigh, knowing there was no point in arguing.

Gray simply watched them in silence, as he'd been before. His eyes flashed with shock when Wendy turned her attention on Lucy's arms, revealing them for the first time since he'd found Lucy. Much to her relief, he said nothing about the runes carved there. He merely glanced amongst the three before him.

As if trying to connect the hints and pieces that he'd been fed regarding what had happened since he'd last seen them in Hyacinth.

They're back together! ;)

Thanks to reviewers (hopelesskar, InWonderl4nd, Guest #1, & BurstingDragons!) as well as those who favorited and followed!