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March 15th, X779

When Lucy came back to her senses, it was pitch black and shockingly quiet except for her own panicked breaths and Asuka's soft, fearful sobbing. There was also significant pain in her body, though she couldn't narrow in on why it hurt so bad, and she nearly cried out at first. She swallowed the cry. She didn't want to scare the girl she was now trapped with.

"Asuka?" whispered Lucy, voice cracking. "You alright?"

"Y-yeah." Asuka sniffled. "Are you?"

Lucy didn't answer, instead pressing her forehead against the ground beneath her. It was cement, and it was warm, at the very least. Growing warmer the longer she thought about it. It was likely Natsu's doing, wherever he was now in the chaos. She thought she heard some distant crashing, accompanied by a muffled hum. Wherever he was, Natsu was likely free and incredibly unhappy.

"One moment, I was with the kids, the next it was like I was being swallowed by fire and smoke and ash. We were all buried. I don't remember much after that – don't think I want to."

Lucy's expression twisted with guilt against the dirty cement she lay on. His worst fear had come true if he was still where she'd last seen him. She hoped Natsu was okay, though she was quickly becoming more concerned about her own pain. At least the infection from before had been dull, and she'd been too out of it to actually feel much. This was blindingly sharp and sent dots spinning through her vision.

"I'm fine," lied Lucy, voice hoarse. She was grateful for the darkness. She didn't want Asuka to see whatever it was that was wrong. "Just hang in there. The others are looking by now."

Asuka was quiet for a heartbeat, and then a small hand slid into Lucy's, squeezing it. "My parents, too," she said. "They're looking, too."

Lucy felt a flicker of fondness for the girl she didn't know very well. "Yeah. Your parents, too."

Natsu's beak closed a breath away from Erza's face, and she remained steady and unafraid in the face of his rage. Jellal was not quite as unaffected; he jerked back, startled. Erza didn't move an inch, as if she knew Natsu wouldn't touch her. She wasn't wrong. No one touched Erza. To touch Erza was to die, and even in his chaotic slew of emotions, Natsu remembered that.

His breath rasped heavily in his throat, the hum deep and deafening. More embers fell; Happy caught each one, hissing when it stung his paws. His feathers shone vibrantly in the rising sun's light.

Erza lifted her chin high as she said evenly, "You may be as angry with me as you wish to be for my part in your pain, Natsu, but I am not here to repeat my actions from that day. I am not here to take someone from you. My work doesn't bring me here. Not today."

Natsu had known Erza for as long as he'd been a god. The only one who'd known him longer than Erza was Igneel, and only because Igneel had been his patron god in another life.

And he knew that Erza did not lie.

Natsu hissed uneasily. His thrashing heavy tail stilled when debris creaked and crashed, thrown aside. He didn't know where Lucy had been buried, and the last thing he wanted was to hurt her by accident. His body ached and burned – a warning, that this body would fail him shortly. He was quick to turn his back on them entirely. He needed to find Lucy, who was, at the very least, alright enough to live – until he could throttle her for being an idiot, of course.

"Natsu!"

He whipped his head around at the panicked shout of his name. Wendy was clambering through debris to get to him, her face pale and scared. She bypassed Erza and Jellal; Natsu wondered if she could even see them at the moment. She seemed unaware of them, and equally unaffected by the sight of the giant creature in front of her. "Lucy–"

He snapped his beak once, turning back to the debris. It was enough for Wendy. She put her hands on her hips and said, "Where can I help? Virgo's going to watch Bisca and Alzack. I'm too worried about Lucy to sit there and wait."

After a moment of judging where he'd been when it had all come down around him, Natsu hooked a talon in a section of wall and tossed it aside with relative ease. He'd not meant to take this form, but he'd use it until he couldn't anymore. The hum emanating from him remained, though the pitch lowered into something less frantic. Jellal, after a quick glance exchanged with Erza, stepped up to help, too, scaring the daylights out of Wendy when he likely appeared out of nowhere to her. Her face went pale at the sight of him, but she kept quiet when Natsu didn't react.

Erza stood back, observing from a distance, as if she knew Natsu didn't want her near Lucy regardless of her promises.

A distant shriek made him hiss.

They needed to be quick.

The Vhalis were finally on their way.

A hand gently shook her arm. "Miss Lucy?" whispered Asuka, drawing her from her restless doze. Lucy forced her eyes open, though she hardly saw anything but shapes in the darkness, if that. "Miss Lucy, it's really, really hot."

It was definitely hot. Boiling hot, in Lucy's opinion, and she had a feeling she knew why. Natsu was upset, and Lucy was sure she'd get an earful when they got out of this. Lucy pushed sweaty hair from her sticky forehead. "That's 'cause my friend's probably really close." Her voice was almost a croak, much to her irritation. She didn't want to worry Asuka. In a moment of silence, Lucy heard the comforting irritable hum that signaled Natsu was closeby, accompanied by creaking overhead and muffled voices.

Asuka was quiet for a long moment. "Mama said your friend's like the scary man, and that I'm supposed to stay away from him."

Lucy's attention sharpened. "Scary man?"

"He made my arms look like yours," said Asuka. Lucy felt small fingers trace the shapes on her arms. She flinched back. Lucy didn't like those scars, and she didn't like someone touching them, little girl or not. "It hurt a lot when he made them look like yours."

Lucy rested her chin on her arms, biting her cheek hard at a particularly painful throb of pain. "Do you want to tell me about it?" she rasped, hoping it would get her attention off it.

"Mama doesn't like when I talk about it," hummed Asuka. "But I want to. He wouldn't stop when I asked him to."

Flickers of memories raced through Lucy's mind: screams, of blood, of pain, and the knife that just wouldn't stop. "The one who hurt me didn't stop when I asked him either."

Asuka paused before asking, "Do you have nightmares, too?"

Lucy wanted to hug the girl tightly. "Every night." She was quick to add, "I don't know who that scary man is, Asuka, but Natsu's not like that." She paused to breathe slowly through her nose when a particularly painful flash raced up her legs. "He won't hurt you."

"Is he like my dad?" asked Asuka curiously, and Lucy spluttered, choking on a confused laugh. "Are you married?"

Lucy swallowed another startled laugh, pressing her face into the ground when another flare up threatened to drown her. It was as if whatever level of immortality she had was trying to start fixing her body, but was unable to. It kept trying to start anew when the process failed, but couldn't. "No," she breathed. "No, we're not married. I do love him though. He and Wendy are my family now."

"Are you like the scary man?"

"No." In that, Lucy was confident. "I'm not like the scary man." Something shifted overhead, and Lucy shushed Asuka. She took a shaken breath and shouted, "Hello?"

She'd never been more relieved when a voice she knew well yelled back, "Lucy?"

"Natsu!" Wendy waved her hands to get Natsu's attention, and his bright eyes flared all the brighter when she pointed. "I can hear Lucy over here!"

Natsu abandoned the section he was searching, heaving his body over and through the debris. His larger form had failed only minutes ago, leaving him all but useless when it came to moving things unless Jellal came to help him. Virgo had come back, electing to assist them when Alzack had insisted upon it. He doubted he'd be able to take that form again, and he hoped he found Lucy before it became a problem.

Jellal, Virgo, and Natsu began working in the section Wendy had pointed out. Slowly but surely, they began digging, working together to move the harder sections. It was as Natsu was propping a piece of structural framing up that he spotted what looked like a broken bed. He shoved it harder, forcing it away, and then called, "Luce?!"

"Here! We're beneath a bed!"

Natsu eyed the broken bed he'd seen initially. One wrong move, and they'd trigger another collapse, he was fairly certain. He was glad the bed had been there, at the very least. It had likely protected them from being crushed. Natsu ran a hand through his hair in silent consideration.

"Go at it from the other side, Natsu," said Jellal, crouched nearby as he inspected the bed himself. His blue hair was dampened by sweat, as was Wendy's, which she'd tied back out of her face in a loose bun. Wendy was already trying to figure out how to get beneath the bed.

"That won't work," Natsu said, eyeing the bed. Working from the other side would only make the work last longer. The bed frame itself was wooden, which meant–

"We need something that'll rip up the mattress," Natsu muttered, searching the debris. "Find something sharp."

It took only a few minutes, in which Natsu thought he heard a Vhalis's cry. They needed to move quickly. The Vhalis wouldn't be kept away for much longer, and he didn't want to waste time in which Lucy could be hurt so that he could scribble out the runes that would protect them.

"Natsu." Jellal offered him a sharpened piece of cement. "I'll see if we can find more. Come on, Wendy."

Natsu tested the cement against the mattress as they went to find more. It took more effort than he expected, but slowly he began to cut through the mattress, ignoring the springs that ripped at his hands. He grinned when he got through it. "Help me with this!" he barked, and began simply ripping away parts of it. Wendy and Jellal came to help until at last, there was only a wooden frame between them and their goal.

Two faces peered up from beneath slats of wood. Lucy grinned, her face pale. Natsu grinned back.

"Move away," said Jellal suddenly. "Lucy, protect the girl's face."

"When did you get here?" she demanded, even as she drew Asuka's face down against her shoulder, covering her own head as instructed. Jellal began slamming his foot against the small panels, snapping them beneath his weight until he'd created a hole.

"There we are," murmured Jellal when he'd made something big enough.

Almost as soon as he spoke, Asuka was wriggling out, blinking up at them with fearful eyes. She faltered at the sight of Jellal, wrinkling her nose at the sweet smell of decay. Her cheeks were smeared with blood from a few scratches; Natsu was more concerned about the smear of gold on her hand.

Not wanting to upset her, Natsu flashed her a smile. "Careful," he said when she stumbled, nearly bumping him. "Don't want to burn you."

"Lucy says you're her friend," said Asuka.

Natsu's lips quirked. Pretty sure he didn't kiss most of his friends, but this wasn't the time to point that out. "Yeah. I'm Natsu. See that guy over there?" He pointed at Jellal. "He's gonna go with you and our other friend, Wendy. They're gonna take you to your parents, okay?" He didn't dare let Wendy go on her own. Not with a Vhalis somewhere nearby. He threw Jellal a sharp look. "Get them back to the house we were staying in. The Vhalis can't get there. Wendy will show you where it is."

"Can I pet the cats again?" Asuka asked hopefully.

He wasn't sure where Happy had gone, but that didn't stop him from nodding. "Sure. Now, go with Jellal and Wendy. I'm going to get Lucy out."

Calmly, Jellal offered Asuka a hand, smile warm but likely not very comforting. "Shall we?" he murmured, glancing around. It took Natsu a moment to realize he was seeking Erza, who'd vanished into thin air. She was nowhere to be found now. Natsu wondered where she'd gone, and what it meant that she'd left without telling even Jellal.

When they were gone, Natsu dropped to his knees and pried up more broken pieces of wood. "Lucy?!"

The air was thick with the scent of blood now, and it made his stomach roll. Between slats of wood, he could see glimmering gold, and Lucy was no longer hiding that something was wrong. Her ragged breaths told him she was in pain, and he couldn't stop the furious hum buzzing from him. He made himself stop. He could be upset later, when he got her out. "What's trapping you, Luce?"

"My legs." Lucy made a show of wiggling, and he hated the soft, pained little gasp she gave. "They're pinned by something. Natsu, I can't get out."

Natsu rocked back on his knees, eyeing the debris above her. His breath hitched. They'd have to clear a whole other section to free her, and there was another shriek warning him they were running out of time. Clenching his jaw, Natsu clambered into the hole he'd made, not caring if he scratched himself or got stuck in the process. He peered as best as he could at where she was stuck.

Some of his panic was eased almost immediately. He'd feared she was crushed; while she was clearly hurt, one of her legs was merely stuck, unmarred. Something propped it just enough that if it could be raised another tiny breath, her leg could slide free.

The other was a little more concerning. Something heavy was pressing down, not crushing it to pieces, but likely causing some significant damage.

But Lucy wasn't human, not anymore, Natsu reminded himself, and he bent so that he could press his forehead sharply to hers. "I'll get you out," he promised, eyes blazing with determination.

Lucy snorted, her voice cracking as she said, "Sooner rather than later, please."

He almost fired back at her that she should have thought about this before she went and got herself stuck, but he reigned it in. She hadn't meant to get stuck, and he could yell at her all he wanted when she was out and safe from Vhalis. Natsu squared his shoulders and threw the ends of his scarf over his shoulder to keep them out of the way so he could work.

"That seemed closer," Lucy noted, voice trembling a bit when a Vhalis's scream echoed. It sounded much closer than it had been the last hour. Natsu stopped at chipping away the debris to listen when a second one came. He judged the sound for a moment before shrugging it off.

"We've still got some time before they find us," he told her, eyeing the metal bar he'd been working at freeing. It seemed strong enough to help free one of her legs. It would be easier, Natsu had told her, and give her at least some relief while they worked on freeing her other leg. Hopeful about the situation, he went to work on creating the leverage needed to free her leg, and they exchanged grins when it worked. Lucy was able to slide a leg free.

Lucy rested her chin on her arm again, grateful he'd not spent the last hour of their lives yelling at her. She suspected that would come later. She knew he was unhappy with her and with the situation they were now in.

Lucy let Natsu work in silence, wanting him to remain focused on what he was doing, and cast a thoughtful glance skyward.

Her heart leapt into her throat. "Natsu," she shouted when the Vhalis launched itself down at them. Natsu yelped as it crashed into him, teeth lodged in his shoulder. He reached back, grappling at the Vhalis, heat sweltering. Finally, his hands made contact. A bright flash erupted from them, incinerating the Vhalis, and Lucy saw the guilt that wrote its way across his face, even as he touched his hand to his bloodied shoulder.

Dread twisted in Lucy's stomach when something clattered and another shriek echoed nearby. It was followed by a third and then a fourth.

Just once, they'd seen a mass group of Vhalis, back when they'd met Rogue. Lucy recalled the terrifying sight of them chasing Natsu down a beach, towards the safety of the Borealis.

"Natsu," she whispered. "Natsu, we need to go."

The low hum was one Natsu couldn't seem to stop as he rolled his shoulder, trying to rid it of the sting of the Vhalis bite. Rather than responding, he threw himself into freeing Lucy. He tried to keep as quiet as possible as he threw debris aside, digging furiously at the space above Lucy, but noise was inevitable, and they flinched when something crashed. An excited cry matched the commotion.

"Natsu," Lucy said, voice pitched high as something peeked down at them, over the mound that had been created. She reached out, snagging his ankle when he didn't stop. He glanced down at her, and then up, his lips pursed as the Vhalis seemed to smile down at them. Lucy saw a third face peering from the other side of the small crater that had been created. Another moved around the edge, prowling like a large cat.

"Damn it," muttered Natsu, dropping into a crouch beside her. He narrowed his eyes, trying to amp up the heat. "I should have made the damn sigils–"

"You didn't, and now's not really the time to focus on that," rasped Lucy as she simply tried yanking herself free. She swallowed back a scream at the pain that flared up. Don't do that, she told herself, blinking black spots out of her eyes. Definitely don't do that again.

Something struck Natsu's cheek, and he whipped his head around with a near-snarl. Lucy sputtered. The Vhalis had thrown something at him. She'd not seen them do anything like that before. It was almost more terrifying than the one that fumbled at the lip of the crater, black blood oozing continuously from a split head. It dared to stretch an arm down, as if debating whether it would be worth encroaching on the sun god's space, even as he emitted a warning hum, pitching it higher.

It stopped. Its split head whipped up, as if searching, and then it screamed and disappeared. The other Vhalis seemed to debate the matter before fleeing, too.

Lucy blinked, confused, and then felt a tug in her chest. She tried to crane her head to look over her shoulder as Natsu groaned, already scowling as someone slid down the mound of debris to join them.

Feet stopped near Lucy's head and she glanced up instinctively, relief flooding her, because she knew for a matter of fact that the Vhalis would not be a problem for the time being.

Gray grinned back at her. "Erza said you might need a hand?"

How could I not bring Gray back yet again? He's one of my favorites. ;) Why are Erza and Jellal here though? So many questions~

Thanks to reviewers (marn-marn, InWonderl4nd, XxStar'sDustxX, takeagamble27, & Sir Sasquatch!) as well as those who favorited and followed!