XXX

October 24th, X778

When Lucy jolted awake, she instinctively began hacking and coughing. It felt as if water lingered in her lungs. She couldn't seem to catch her breath. To make it worse, her entire body throbbed and ached as if she'd been slammed into the hard, frozen ground over and over again by a Vhalis.

"Easy. Take some deep breaths, my dear."

The voice made her flinch, but she did as it said. She took a deep breath, and then another, and then yet another, until her breathing had settled. It still came in hoarse, raspy gasps, but it wasn't panicked anymore. When she had calmed herself, she looked up, already touching the golden ring that clattered noisily on her wrist. Safe.

She'd woken up in a simple room of sorts that looked straight from before the Fall. She'd been lying in a bed lined with thin sheets and a quilt. The room was sparse in decorations, holding only a dresser with a vase of dead flowers that might have once matched the floral wallpaper. A bedside table held an empty glass. The window beside her bed opened up to a noisy beach, where the sea crashed against sand and rocks and a brisk, cold breeze made her flinch.

The old man seated comfortably in the rocking chair beside the bed noticed immediately and hopped to his feet to close the window. Lucy didn't miss the interest that crossed his face. "There we are," he said almost cheerfully. "I didn't realize you'd feel the cold."

Her eyes narrowed. "Where am I?" Lucy demanded, voice hoarse and no more than a whisper. The last she'd checked, she'd been crossing through snowy mountains with the intention of reaching a volcano. This was definitely not the mountains. Quite the opposite, really. Fear and uncertainty crept through her like a barb straight to her heart. "And who are you? Where's–"

"The southern shores of Fiore," answered the old man, cutting her off. He settled back into his rocking chair. Lucy took the chance to study him a little closer. He was incredibly short and wore clothes that seemed to come from another time, not unlike other gods she'd come across. His dark eyes were kind, however, and some of her fear faded as he added, "Juvia brought you here. She said you'd fallen into the sea and she didn't know what else to do with you. Apparently, you had some companions that she couldn't find."

Her heart twisted with panic. Natsu and Wendy. Where were they? What had happened? Why couldn't she remember how she'd ended up here, so far away from where she last remembered? How long had it been that she'd not known anything? The numerous questions sent Lucy's head spinning, and she had to blink tears away as a strangled sound escaped her.

"As for who I am," the man continued as if she wasn't having an internal crisis, "my name is Makarov. What's yours?"

"Lucy," she croaked. "My name's Lucy." The name "Makarov" rang a bell, but she couldn't recall at the moment. "I was…I was traveling in the mountains. With Natsu."

Surprise flickered over Makarov's face. "You were with Natsu? I've yet to hear from another god. It's good to hear that they're doing well – though I do wonder, my dear, how you ended up here."

It was a pointed statement, and one that was unnecessary. "I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to," she admitted weakly. So he was another god. That comforted her a little. Natsu would know him, and if he'd been helping her, he was a good one.

Makarov simply waved her off. "Ah, I thought as much," he said, only confusing Lucy further. "Quite an interesting turn of events, I must admit. Before we exchange tales, however…" He smiled widely when Lucy's stomach rumbled, reminding her she was hungry. She blushed. "Come, my dear. Let's get you something to eat. There must be something left in this house. I certainly didn't eat any of it!"

Without waiting, Makarov hummed and made his way out of the room. Lucy took only a moment to gather herself. She slid to her feet, pushing off of the mattress. She paused at the realization that she was now wearing an oversized T-shirt and comfortable sweatpants that while a little large, would work. She hoped Makarov hadn't been the one to help her change into them. At least she had the keys.

Well, she thought miserably, eyeing the ring encircling her wrist, most of them. A quick count told her she was missing Scorpio's. She wondered where it had gone – if it had gone missing during that time she couldn't remember at the moment. Her heart twisted with anxiety. Where was Natsu and Wendy? Were they alright?

Sitting here wouldn't help her find them, she supposed.

Despite her hesitation, she followed Makarov from the room, that golden ring's eleven keys jingling softly at her wrist.

Natsu could tell Wendy was having a hard time as they set up camp. He'd stopped them a little earlier than usual because of it. They'd been traveling for days, walking as long as they could before stopping to rest for the night. Wendy seemed particularly exhausted that evening, and miserable, and she'd had several bouts of tears as she grieved their lost friend, as if something was reminding her of Lucy more these past few hours.

For those reasons, Natsu had pocketed the cards she kept in her backpack during one of their breaks. When they were settled down for the night, Natsu sat beside her, folding his legs and resting his elbows on his knees. "Hey, Wendy," he said casually, "how do you play with the cards you have?"

Wendy, in the middle of chewing, choked on her mouthful of beans. "You want to play cards?" she said after a moment of clearing her throat.

"Yeah." Natsu cocked his head at her. "You said you can play games with them, but how?"

Wendy lit up. Relief bubbled to life. Natsu knew she could tell precisely what he was doing, but she didn't seem to care, which he was glad about. He wanted her to feel better at least for the time being. Besides, it would be a nice distraction from his own writhing, twisting grief, which liked to hit him at random points of the day like the snow that had unexpectedly buried them all.

Wendy hastily put aside her dinner and dumped Charle out of her lap. "I know a couple of games," she said excitedly. "There's a lot that I don't though."

"That's okay. Let's do some of the ones you know." Natsu shoved his hand into his pocket to retrieve the pack of cards – only to rip his hand right back out, cursing in a way that made Wendy lift her eyebrows in astonishment. She waited impatiently for an explanation as Natsu studied his searing, blistered fingers with bewilderment.

He, the sun god, had been burned. Even flames couldn't touch his skin like they would Wendy's. He was the literal embodiment of heat and light.

Curious, Natsu dumped out his pocket.

The pack of cards hit the snow first, and Wendy was quick to snag them before they were ruined. They were followed by a golden key and nothing else. Scorpio's key glittered in the light of the fire they'd built. Natsu shook his pocket a little to see if anything else came out, but there was nothing, which meant–

"Huh. What the hell, Scorpio?" muttered Natsu, attempting to pick the key back up. It bit at his fingers and he dropped it with a hiss, ignoring the new round of searing pain in his fingertips. He peered at the key, half-expecting an actual response; Scorpio's key did nothing. Natsu wondered if, perhaps, the minor god was furious with him for separating his key from the others. They'd never been apart – not like this, excluding the time he'd been separated while holding Taurus.

"Why would the key hurt you?" questioned Wendy, peering at it.

Natsu winced. He'd not told her what he'd done. Hunching his shoulders, Natsu admitted, "I separated it from the others." When Wendy gave him a confused, exasperated look, he said softly, "I couldn't leave Lucy without something to protect her." It was how things had been done in his time as a human. They gave gifts to those who passed on, so they would have possessions in the next life though they'd not known what that next life even was.

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess, but I doubt they'd be mad at you for that. I mean, there's no way anyone in their right mind would be angry with you for something like that if they knew why you did it, right?" Wendy's eyes shone with confidence as she lifted her chin, and Natsu's lips twitched. She had no idea how petty some of the gods could be. Aquarius most definitely would have been angry with him if he'd done that. Which…he supposed might explain their current problem. Scorpio was Aquarius's lover, after all.

Natsu reached over and plucked a glove from Wendy's pocket. He used it to put the key back in his own, zipping it up so the key wouldn't fall out by accident, and then tossed the glove back to Wendy. She caught it, startled. "Let's play cards," he told her. Sitting here and thinking about it isn't going to make Scorpio any happier."

Wendy seemed inclined to disagree, but didn't argue. She turned to face him entirely instead. "Right. So let's play…I'll regret it, but I think you'll like Slap Jack."

"You know, I don't think I've ever been so happy to see a creepy cabin in the middle of the woods."

Natsu agreed with Wendy's statement, though he eyed the building suspiciously. After all, if there was a Vhalis in the "cabin," they were in deep, deep trouble. Not that it was really a cabin. It was more of a house, with a single story. Wendy hoped there'd be plenty of supplies since it was isolated, especially since they were getting low on supplies. He didn't like that Wendy had been cutting corners on what she ate over the last few days; he could already see the sharpness of bones beneath her skin.

But they'd have to be careful. Natsu had taken Scorpio's key in the hopes he could use it to protect Wendy, but it seemed as if Scorpio had taken deep offense with something he'd done. He could tell without even looking at the key that he wouldn't be able to touch it without hurting himself in the process.

"I'll go check it out. Stay out here with Happy and Charle, and if you hear anything suspicious, give a shout," Natsu told Wendy, who bit her lip unhappily but nodded. She'd have to be alone, and she didn't like that; Natsu didn't either. She scooped Happy into her arms and hugged him as Charle purred beside her. Confident she'd not move from her spot, Natsu unloaded the two backpacks he'd taken to carrying and dumped them on the ground beside her. He didn't like leaving Wendy alone, but he didn't have a choice.

When he was prepared, Natsu headed for the "creepy cabin in the middle of the woods." He peered in a window, checking to see what he could find. He saw only an empty room filled with comfortable furniture, dead plants, a massive screen of sorts that seemed untouched, and abandoned plates on a table in front of the couch. Natsu paused just briefly to investigate the screen, curious.

Lucy would have known what that is, he thought before he could help himself. A stab of grief turned him away from it.

Natsu tried the front door, but it was locked. He went around the side of the home, seeking entrance through the back. "Never break the locks if you can avoid it," Lucy had taught him once, back when they'd first started traveling together. "It can give you a better chance. If you hear something or someone breaking through the lock, then you have more time to prepare for whatever's coming through."

The back door was locked, too, unfortunately, but he did find a cracked window. Grinning, Natsu managed to pry it open further and hefted himself inside.

It was dim inside the home, though that was in part to the time of day and the surrounding fir trees. Someone had clearly lived there once upon a time, if the view into the living room hadn't been enough. He'd entered a kitchen, and there were abandoned plates in the sink, still caked in now rotten food. He wrinkled his nose at the smell. At least there was no one that had been around for a while.

Natsu began his normal search of the place, checking for all the things Lucy had drilled into his head. There was running water and an entire pantry to raid for food. He found a storage closet near a bedroom filled with various things, many of which he didn't recognize, and he was sure Wendy would be thrilled about it.

When he was confident the cabin was safe, Natsu made his way through it to the front door and unlocked it. "Wendy," he called as he opened it, "it's–"

The words died in his throat.

Wendy's eyes were wide with terror as she stood entirely still, not wanting to draw its attention. Even the cats were holding still as the wind thrashed in protest around them, shifting what scent surely would have led the creature directly to them. The Vhalis had crept out of the snowy trees only a dozen or so feet away from her. Its decaying face snapped towards Natsu when it heard his voice, screaming excitedly at the prospect of prey before lurching in his direction.

Natsu cursed, slamming the door to give him a moment longer to figure out a plan. He bolted towards the back of the house, seeking Scorpio. The key seared at his fingers. It felt like bolts of lightning shot up his arm, but Natsu ignored the pain and willed the key into a dagger. Scorpio fought him the entire time, even as the key did as he asked. The longer he held the dagger, the worse the pain got, so he decided to face the Vhalis as it slammed through the front door rather than try and outsmart it.

He'd have to be quick.

Natsu braced himself as he spun around to face the Vhalis. It slammed into him. He let its momentum carry them, throwing them into the wooden floorboards that splintered beneath the force. He ignored the twinge of guilt in his chest as he didn't hesitate to slam the dagger into the Vhalis's back. He twisted it to ensure it did the damage it was meant to, then repeated the action twice more.

The Vhalis collapsed. It choked on a strangled scream, thrashing against the poison seeping into its body. Natsu managed to wriggle out from beneath the creature, wanting to cover his ears like a child as it gave a final, gurgling cry before stilling entirely. When he was sure the Vhalis no longer moved, Natsu doubled over, pressing his face into his knees as the guilt tore at him. He'd killed yet another lost soul, who'd attacked simply because it couldn't help itself – because it was in pain.

A soul that very easily could have been Lucy's had Gray not been around.

After he'd gathered himself, Natsu retrieved Scorpio's dagger with care, wincing at the sting of pain. He shoved it into his pocket before doing a quick inventory of his injuries. His hand was blistered and sore from using Scorpio, and the Vhalis had gotten a good chomp in on his shoulder, smearing it with golden ichor and burning black saliva. He hoped he didn't hallucinate like Lucy had.

Grimacing because he couldn't wipe the blood from his face without simply smearing it around more, Natsu went to make sure Wendy was okay.

Lucy nibbled at the granola bar she'd found in Makarov's small beach house as she stared at the stormy sea. It churned violently, as if the sea itself was upset. Lucy wouldn't have been surprised if something had offended Juvia. As it was, a particularly large wave crashed against the stony shore, nearly catching her with its freezing spray. Lucy winced at the chill and wrapped her blanket a little more securely around her shoulders.

Just how, wondered Lucy, had she ended up in the sea? She couldn't recall no matter how hard she tried, and she'd tried hard over the last few days. Something felt like it was tugging impatiently on her heart – something important. She was trying so hard to remember what it was, because as much as she wanted to find her friends, it had nothing to do with them. She kept coming up empty-handed though. Makarov was patient as he helped her regain her strength and try to puzzle out her lost memory, but they'd been unsuccessful thus far, even with his prompting questions.

Her heart ached at the thought of Natsu. She missed him desperately. Wendy, too. Even the damn cats she'd not wanted to bring – she missed them as well.

She couldn't find them without figuring out what had happened though, so she turned her attention onto the golden keys she still wore on her wrist. With great care, Lucy slid them from her wrist, wiggling her fingers to get the ring off. She held them up so they gleamed against the overcast sky, twisting and turning them as they caught the light that reflected beautifully off of them. They clinked and clanged against one another. At least she had something familiar with her.

They gave her no answers. Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose and fought the urge to just chuck something into the ocean out of frustration.

As if in response to the question, a sharp, painful yank turned her gaze north and she clutched her chest, wheezing. The keys clattered to the rocky sand. What seemed like eons but was only likely a few minutes later, the pain had faded, and she wheezed for breath, startled. "What the hell," she rasped, glaring at nothing in particular. It was something that had happened the night before, too.

"Alright, Lucy?" called Makarov, startling her. He'd been watching her from the doorway of the beach house, she realized. When Lucy looked back at him, she could have sworn there was some amusement on his face, as if he knew precisely what had just happened. She narrowed her eyes in his direction. He knew something she didn't.

Regardless, she climbed to her feet and began picking her way up the beach to join him. "Yes," she said when she'd reached him. "No. I don't know. The keys…" She jingled them thoughtfully for a moment, and Makarov's gaze followed them with interest. She didn't know how to explain it to him – that feeling that had ripped at her.

She knew he'd known about them. He'd had to have, seeing as he'd helped care for her when she was unconscious. That was before she saw the recognition on his face, too. He knew something about those keys, something more than she did. She hated that she was being left in the dark. "You know something," she challenged, daring him to deny it.

"I do," admitted Makarov. "Those keys are quite valuable, you know. May I see them?"

Lucy held them up for him to look at. "Natsu gave them to me," she said as he peered at them, fully expecting him to take them from her. Instead, he simply looked at them as they lay cradled in her fingers. His dark eyes studied the gleaming gold. "I know what they can do. They've saved my life a couple times."

Makarov hummed. Lucy could have sworn he was sympathetic for a moment. "When Juvia brought you to my doorstep, I was certainly surprised to see them," he told her, chuckling. It was only more suspicious, in Lucy's opinion. "Come along, my dear," he continued, opening the door and gesturing for her to follow him inside. "Let's get you a proper meal and maybe some of that old tea you found in the back cabinet."

Lucy wanted to throttle the old god. She didn't want food or tea; she wanted proper answers, so she could figure out what had happened and find her missing friends! She let out a breath, running her hands down her face as she summoned patience before stepping after him.

Before she could get inside, however, a hand dragged her back. She yelped, instinctively whipping her elbow up. The man who'd grabbed her snarled a curse and yanked away, stumbling back a few steps to avoid the blow. Lucy glared as she spun on her heel to face him, wary.

He'd not been there before, she realized, immediately worried about that. His green eyes blazed with frustration and impatience. Orange hair stuck up in every direction, and she could have sworn he literally hissed as he straightened his messy, unbuttoned suit jacket. The white shirt beneath was torn in a few places, his red tie askew, and Lucy found a semi-hysterical laugh almost bubbling to the surface. Who wore a suit at the end of the world?

"And where," he burst out, voice nearly a shout in his anger as he narrowed his eyes into angry slits, "the hell have you been?"

Lucy reeled back, caught off guard. "Excuse me?"

He threw his hands up. "I've been looking everywhere!" he cried as if he knew her. "I know people get thrown halfway across who knows where, but honestly–"

Lucy instinctively gripped a key, knuckles white. "Listen, I don't know who you are," she gritted out, wondering where the hell Makarov had gone and why he'd not come back out just yet, "but–"

"You don't–" A startled, disbelieving laugh escaped him. "You've got to be kidding me." He buried his face in his hands, muttering an oath in some distant language Lucy didn't recognize. It reminded her of Natsu and sent a pain through her chest. He'd have known what to do about this situation. After a moment, the man peeked between his ring-clad fingers. "You don't remember?"

Lucy lifted her chin. "Should I?"

He dropped his hands from his face to answer, only for Makarov's voice to come from somewhere in the beach house. "Well, don't keep our guest waiting, Lucy. Bring Loke inside so we can talk properly."

Not knowing what else to do but go along with what Makarov was requesting, because it was technically his house at the moment, Lucy ducked inside and waved for the man – Loke, Makarov had called him – to follow.

LOOK WHO SHOWED UP! Some drama for the poor duo in the mountains and then some wonderful developments with Lucy. ;) Been enjoying the theories and reviews about her.

Thanks to those who reviewed (Bedoll, xennia-x, Lyra121, InWonderl4nd, BurstingDragons, stranger1999, Guest #1, InfiniteMiste, Meow Orbit, & XxStar'sDustxX!) as well as those who favorited and followed!