It was quiet. A chilling quiet that had the hairs on the back of Lucy's neck raising, and she had the distinct feeling that someone was watching them. More than likely they'd been found by a pack of Marked ones, who were probably keeping back for the time being, waiting for the perfect chance to attack. She snorted to herself at the thought. Why didn't they just attack and get it over with?

Natsu glanced at her, concerned. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she mumbled, closing her eyes to simply rest as he walked. The fire mage had demanded she let him carry her for the rest of the day after the attack accompanying Gajeel's death, until they found somewhere suitable to rest. She'd decided not to bother protesting, especially after she'd had him examine the mark on her back only to discover that it was nearly filled out completely. He'd get his way anyways...so, the celestial mage found herself being carried on his back, one arm wrapped around his neck to keep her balance, the other clasped lightly in Wendy's hand. "Just thinking, that's all."

Wendy scrunched up her nose unhappily, being very careful not to touch Natsu as she stepped over a tree root. "They're following us."

So the dragon slayers had noticed it, too. Why she was surprised, she didn't know. Their noses would have told them if their ears hadn't.

"I know," Natsu grumbled, onyx eyes darting to look over the shoulder Lucy wasn't resting her chin on. She fought back a sneeze when his pink hair brushed against her nose. "They're not attacking. I don't think they're going to. They cut us off from the beach."

"Where are we going then?" Lucy demanded, frowning again.

"Back towards Magnolia," Natsu said with a soft huff. "They're herding us like we're cattle." Fury underlined his words, and Lucy sighed softly, patting his chest with the hand that wasn't holding Wendy's.

"We'll figure it out," she told him, shaking her head. Not.

Wendy spoke up again, pulling her hand free of Lucy's. "Could we head towards Clover Town, do you think? Or would they cut us off again?"

"I think we just need to find a safe place and hole up there for as long as we can," Natsu said bluntly. "But we can't. We need food, and I can feel the temperature dropping again. You two are going to need some kind of shelter. I can keep ya warm, but even I get cold at some points."

"I don't know how you haven't lost a limb from frostbite yet," Lucy commented, referencinging to his lack of coat. He'd gone with a simple jacket he'd found while they'd been sheltering in Hargeon, but it had been burned away when the Marked had come after them.

He flashed her a small grin. "It's hard to get cold when you're fired up all the time."

"Idiot," she sighed, smacking his head lightly. She went back to brooding about the fact that she had no keys left, that all of her Celestial Spirits may or may not have been dead. Just like everyone else was or was going to be. The thought had her tightening her grip around Natsu. She couldn't let him get the Marks. If he got the Marks...she didn't dare think about the pain that would accompany that, both physically and mentally.

Lucy furrowed her brow in thought, thinking back to what Loke had told her...or trying to. She couldn't remember all that well, the recovering along with an attack moments later had diminished her memory of the words. What had he said? Something about remembering something? A stab of pain in her head made her grimace. Okay, change of plans, she wouldn't focus on that. At all. It hurt her head to think about it.

"Um, Lucy?" She glanced at Wendy, who was looking at her with concern in her hazel eyes. "Do you think...do you think they're waiting for us? Like Gray said he'd do for Juvia?"

She blinked in surprise, then smiled gently at the sky dragon slayer. "Maybe," she answered softly. "I hope so." Wasn't that a nice thought? It wouldn't be bad to be with her guildmates again...so long as Natsu and Wendy were there, too. As long as everyone was there, she wouldn't mind going to join them.

But they weren't. Wendy and Natsu were still alive. And until both of them were no longer part of the world she was in, she'd try her hardest to remain alive alongside them.

"Nah," Natsu said, kicking a rock out of his way. "That icy bastard wouldn't wait around...he and Erza are probably off doing who the hell knows what with Juvia. Probably took some kind of S-Class mission without us."

Lucy giggled, her gaze softening. Before Sting and Jellal had left, Jellal had made sure to inform the rest of her friends of what had happened to the requip mage. Nobody had been surprised by her choice of action. It was just so Erza to think of her nakama before herself. She found herself wondering about the two males. She hadn't had any attacks, so maybe they, too, were still out there, fighting to survive...

"Master won't be too happy," Wendy giggled, joining in. She looked a bit happier now, as if thinking of their guild in such a way was reassuring her that everything would be alright. "He'll probably send someone to drag them back, especially if Happy stole it again." She was more than aware of the stolen S-Class job Team Natsu had completed long before she'd come into the picture.

Natsu threw his head back and laughed, the sound slightly forced. "He wouldn't dare leave without me."

Lucy smiled softly to herself as she listened to Wendy and Natsu playfully tease each other about what each of their nakama was probably doing at the moment. Who knows? she thought warmly to herself. Perhaps in some alternate world, maybe in one that wasn't even Edolas, they were kicking up trouble, just as they always had.

She truly hoped those people were aware of just how lucky they were at the moment.

Lucy fell silent, simply listening to the two as they fell into a playful banter about whether or not Happy could have beaten Charle in a race. Wendy was adamant about the fact that while Happy was probably more used to racing around trying to help Natsu in battle, Charle was able to move far more quickly, especially if they were carrying their respective dragon slayers.

"I'm not that heavy," Natsu protested, pouting. Wendy raised an eyebrow silently and Natsu glanced at Lucy, pleading silently for her to back him up. "C'mon, I'm not! Am I, Luce?"

"Well," Lucy teased, tugging on a lock of pink hair. His jaw dropped and she grinned before saying, "I'm sorry, but you're going to weigh a lot with the amount of muscle you have. Look at this," she told Wendy, poking at his arm. So maybe the messing around made her feel just a little bit better... "Solid. I'm with you, Wendy, he's going to slow Happy down by weighing too much."

Natsu gaped. "Lucy!"

"It's true," she said, shrugging with a gleam in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Traitor," he accused, pretending to look hurt. She only patted his chest again, smirking as Wendy beamed, proud to have come out of the argument on top.

"Nope," she corrected. "Truthful."

"Weirdo," he muttered. Her heart twisted at the nickname he'd given her so long ago, and she gave him a small squeeze of gratitude. It had been far too long since she'd been called such. Where it had once annoyed her, she was grateful for it. It meant her Natsu was still alive.

"Hm..." Wendy looked at them with a contemplating look. "Mira's probably complaining about how long you two took. I'm pretty sure there was a bet going about how long it would take you two to kiss."

Lucy's eyes snapped wide and she sputtered, face flushing red. Sometimes she forgot that while Wendy was - had been - one of the youngest members of the guild, she wasn't completely innocent despite Charle's best attempts. "Wendy!" she cried as Natsu proudly grinned, looking as if he'd just won a lottery.

Still teasing, Wendy smirked at Natsu. "I think there was a second bet to see how long it would take you to stop being so hard-headed and go through with it, too, Natsu."

He threw an arm up in the air in exasperation, the other still holding Lucy up. "C'mon, give me a break!"

Lucy giggled, resting her chin on his shoulder again.

For the rest of their traveling throughout the day, not a single one of them mentioned the fact that their time was more than likely running out.

XxXx

Three days later found the trio standing at the top of the very same hill Natsu and Lucy had stood on when they'd returned with Juvia and Gray from discovering that Blue Pegasus was no more. They looked down upon the destruction with a serious and wary look on each of their faces. The town was silent, looking eerie with the ash and snow that coated the destroyed buildings and streets, and she could have sworn she saw something dark slide out of a building, a bright flash of brilliantly colored cloth in its mouth.

"So...what do we do now?" Lucy said uncertainly, her voice hushed. She felt a flash of gratitude for the fact that Natsu had a hand wrapped around one of hers, keeping her fingers on that hand warm while the others froze. She squeezed his hand to show just how grateful she was.

He returned it before answering. "Try to survive. There isn't much else we can do, Luce."

Wendy nodded her agreement, shifting her weight. "Do you think there might be something to eat around here?" she said hopefully. Lucy smiled slightly. They were all starving and eager to get something to eat, especially Natsu. At least Wendy could suck in air, though she suspected that their respective elements would only keep them alive for so long. Natsu had tried seeing if he could grab something to cook for them, but the Marked following them had scared off all of the wildlife.

"Maybe," Natsu commented, wrinkling his nose after inhaling deeply to see what scents he could get. "There's not much I'm smelling...mostly just the Marked."

Wendy tried as well, but ended up simply sneezing when she breathed in snow that was falling from the sky. "There's ash," she murmured, rubbing her nose desperately to clear it. "Something must be on fire again." She cast Natsu a look, looking surprisingly like Charle in that moment.

"I didn't do it this time," Natsu protested, pouting. "You guys were with me the entire time. You know it wasn't me."

Lucy smiled before shaking her head, examining a lock of blonde hair. In all of her life, she didn't think she'd been as dirty as she was at that moment. She wanted a nice hot bath, but she doubted that would ever happen again. Not that she cared if she got a bath or not, so long as the two dragon slayers accompanying her survived...

A thought struck her. "Hey...do you think it's possible to see what's left of my apartment?"

"Why not?" Natsu shrugged, dooming her hand to freeze alongside the other one when he released it and laced his fingers together behind his head, onyx eyes studying the empty town. "If any of 'em show up, I'll blast them. I wanna check where my place is anyways...might still be standing since it wasn't completely in Magnolia."

Wendy sighed. "I don't think there's a point to checking Fairy Hills," she said with a look of disappointment upon her young face. Her hazel eyes lifted to survey Magnolia again. "It was destroyed along with the guildhall."

"We'll stop there anyways," Lucy said firmly, "We'll check and see if there's anything left...besides. Levy might have left some kind of book that'll help us in that crazy library of hers."

"I don't think so," Wendy mumbled. "She would have found it before we had to leave the area..."

Silently agreeing with the sky dragon slayer yet not saying so, Lucy's hand dropped to the empty keyring at her hip. Her heart ached at the realization that what had once been a comforting motion would only bring a sorrowful pain, and she hurried to jerk her hand away. No point in dwelling over what couldn't be changed. Not now, at least.

"C'mon," Natsu said suddenly, starting forward. Lucy wrapped an arm around Wendy's shoulders, keeping her close as they silently entered what had once been Magnolia. Natsu guided them with care, jerking them out of view when one of the Marked slid past, nearly tripping over its own limbs with its gracelessness. Black spittle bubbled at the corners of its stretched mouth, dripping and dribbling along the ground, and Lucy wanted to be sick when she thought she saw the creature dragging the rotting arm of some poor victim from weeks ago along behind it.

Wendy slapped a hand over her nose and mouth, looking just as sick as the celestial mage felt at this sight. When it had rounded a corner and disappeared into a dark alleyway, Natsu grabbed Lucy's arm and propelled her forward quickly, leaving Wendy to hurry along behind them. "Hurry," he said lowly, "I can hear a couple of 'em coming this way."

Lucy scrambled forward, recognizing where she was now. The canal was there, right beside them. Once full of clean fresh water and lined with the stones she'd walked along, the canal was now practically black from the ash that had fallen into it. It had risen a foot or so, and she suspected that it had been clogged somewhere. She didn't even want to begin looking at the strange lumps that floated by on occasion.

There! She zoned in on her apartment. Upon reaching the door - or the lack of, as it looked like it had been torn off the hinges - and making sure there was nothing in the immediate entry way, they slipped inside. Lucy grimaced as she took in the smashed stairs that led up to her apartment. Not cool, she thought before carefully picking her way up them.

"Hold on, Luce," Natsu called quietly. "Might be something up there waiting to see if we're coming in."

She grimaced. "Right," she murmured, squeezing back to let him pass. Only a few moments later, the dragon slayer was back, reporting that it was safe for them to go upstairs. Lucy helped Wendy over a rather largely destroyed on the stairs, getting a shiver when she noticed the darkness within it. Note to self. We're going out the window.

She instinctively went to search for the key to unlock the door that led into her apartment, but realized she no longer had it...nor had any need of it. There wasn't a door anymore, similar to the front. She slipped inside, stopping to take a look around.

A sound of disgust left the blonde's lips. The place had been completely and utterly trashed. There wasn't a single thing that hadn't been destroyed! Stepping over what was left of her front door, Lucy made her way over to a small dresser that had once held a multitude of pictures. A sad smile appeared on her lips when she realized the only three to make it were one of her and her parents when she was young, a picture that she remembered forcing Natsu to take with her, and one of all of their guildmates, taken at their last New Years party.

She took all three out of their broken frames and tucked them into her pocket.

Wendy went to shuffle through her kitchen with Natsu unsurprisingly. Lucy knew that though the young dragon slayer was far more polite, she had just as large an appetite as Natsu. Giggling to herself, Lucy took one look around her living room and grimaced. Where her friends had once gathered after breaking into her house was now destroyed. The couch had been torn to shreds, her curtains in ribbons, her coffee table smashed. Sighing, she moved on.

She went through each and every room, picking through the smallest of shards before finally entering her bedroom.

How did it not surprise her that despite the state of the covers, the pillows, and the mattress, Natsu had sprawled out on top of it? She was going to complain until she took in his disgusted expression. "What?"

He wrinkled his nose, pouting. "Your bed doesn't smell good anymore. And it's not comfy."

She blinked, then threw her head back and gave a small laugh. Only would Natsu complain about such matters when the world was ending. Forcing herself not to make fun of the sulking fire mage for this, she put her hands on her hips and said, "That's what happens when the Marked come through and tear my bed apart. Where's Wendy?"

"Kitchen still," he mused. "We found some food that hadn't been ruined and wasn't gross, so I let her have it."

"You gave up the food?" Shock raced across Lucy's face for a moment before she shook her head. Once upon a time, he would have been inhaling it before any of the rest of them even had a chance to ask for it. He shrugged. "Was there anymore that we could take with us?"

"No," he admitted. "But before we left with Gray and Juvia, I stocked up on food. There should be a good amount that didn't go bad as long as they didn't touch it."

"If they didn't touch your place," Lucy replied, "We're staying there for a while." She grimaced. "We're going to have to take turns keeping an eye out for the Marked throughout the night. They won't leave us alone forever."

"No," Natsu agreed grimly. "They won't. You done? We need to get there before it gets dark. We can try and check out Fairy Hills tomorrow."

"Yeah, just...one sec. You go get Wendy." Lucy smiled reassuringly at him when he hopped to his feet, searching her gaze with concern. "I'm fine, Natsu. I haven't had so much as even a hint of pain since the last time. I just want to see if I can find something my mother gave me before she died."

"...okay." Natsu ruffled her hair affectionately and she huffed, smacking at his hands.

"My hair is screwed up enough as it is, don't make it even worse," she pleaded. He only smirked, and she kicked at his shins as he strode past her. He responded with a playfully created wisp of flame that licked at her arm and then ducked out of the room.

Lucy shook her head. Idiot. She stepped over to the stand she'd once done makeup at, grimacing as she took in the mess. Sweeping aside some of the broken containers of makeup that continued to ooze what she didn't dare touch now. For all she knew, the Marked had contaminated it with some sort of disease.

There. She zoned in on a small box, made of simple oak wood. Brushing shards of the broken mirror off of it and wincing when she nicked herself on them, she opened it.

Her soft smile vanished.

It was gone.

That was right. She'd packed everything she'd adored into that single suitcase only to lose it...but she'd left this. She knew she'd left this, as a sign that she hoped she'd be returning home with things still as they should be.

Panicked now, ignoring the shards of glass and plastic that littered the surface, she swept the old makeup containers off the surface and onto the floor, ignoring the crashing sound that accompanied the motion. No, no, no! This couldn't be happening! She couldn't have lost this! There was no way!

"Lucy?!" Natsu was suddenly back, flames flickering up and down his arms. Wendy was right behind him, stopping a good foot or so behind him and peeking into the room with an anxious look. Upon realizing that there weren't any enemies attacking, the flames vanished. "Lucy, what the hell are you doing?!"

"I can't find it," she rasped, tossing the box over her shoulder. Natsu dove forward to catch it before it hit the ground and created more noise. "It's gone!"

Before she could shove anything else off, Natsu darted forward and grabbed her wrists. She tried to pull them free for a second before simply shaking her head, dropping her chin to her chest. "Lucy," he repeated, voice surprisingly gentle. "What can't you find?"

Lucy sucked in a shuddering breath. "Th-there was a...there was a comb..." She forced herself to take another calming breath, now working on prying his tight grip off of her wrists. Once sure she wouldn't make noise that would attract the attention of the Marked, he released her. "My mother g-gave it to me."

He blinked. "You mean this?" He held up a simple silver comb that held the engravings of stars and incredibly detailed keys. She gaped at him and he shrugged. "Found it under your bed when I was lookin' there."

She lunged forward, snatching it from his fingertips. "Thank you!" she cried, throwing her arms around his neck. He staggered in surprise and Wendy giggled from where she was standing in the doorway. Hesitantly, Natsu wrapped an arm around her waist and she beamed up at him when she pulled away. Her cheeks suddenly turned a brilliant flaming red. "I'm, uh, sorry. About panicking like that."

"So long as you didn't get the Marked to notice," he responded with a shrug. Wendy nodded her agreement. "As it is, we probably need to get moving. They'll have smelled us around by now. We may have to wait until tomorrow to go to my house."

"It might be safer to," Lucy agreed thoughtfully. They could camp out in the woods near the area and then skirt around Magnolia to get to Natsu's house. She'd been there a handful of times, and she remembered how isolated it was. A request on behalf of the citizens of Magnolia, who hadn't wanted his psychotic destruction habits to spread to their homes and businesses. She didn't understand why; he was generally able to keep the destruction to a minimal in the town, especially when he wasn't looking for a fight outside of the guildhall. "Did you find anything, Wendy?"

Wendy's lips curved up into a smile. "Natsu let me have the food we found...it was some canned fruit."

"I was going to make a fruit salad when we got back," Lucy sighed wistfully before returning the smile. "I'm glad you found the cans, though." She tucked the comb into her pocket alongside the pictures, patting it before turning to Natsu with a firm look. "Okay, let's get going before it gets dark. It'll be damn near impossible to fight at night, even with you around to keep us safe."

Natsu nodded his agreement and started for the front door, then stopped, sniffing intently. His nose wrinkled up and he quickly backtracked, waving for Wendy to keep close and not make any noise.

Lucy tensed when she saw why, and Wendy had to stifle a terrified whimper, hiding behind them. A large Marked one had entered the building, hissing softly to itself as it slid into the room across from them. It dribbled black saliva in its wake, its eyes searching the room with care before turning to rip a cabinet from the wall.

Natsu nudged Lucy back and the blonde pulled Wendy after them, eyes never leaving the Marked one. The second it tore another thing off the wall, he quickly reached behind them and over the bed to open the window he'd once climbed through so often, using the loud sounds to hide the ones he made. The Marked paused for a second, inhaling sharply, and then suddenly jerked its head around with a snarling hiss, ready to launch itself after them. But it only discovered the empty space where the three had been moments before, an open window allowing a breeze to rush through the empty room.

XxXx

"Natsu, slow down," Lucy pleaded as she was dragged and dragged Wendy in return. She and the younger dragon slayer exchanged nervous looks as Natsu jerked them past the last building in the town. "You're tiring us out!"

"That thing will come looking," Natsu growled, "We have to keep moving."

"Okay," Lucy snapped, "But you're killing my arm! It hurts!"

He skidded to a stop, releasing her almost immediately, and the celestial mage rubbed her wrist with a wince before saying firmly, "Thank you. Look. Natsu. You need to calm down. Running around is going to more than likely bring them to us, not keep them away." Wendy hastily nodded her agreement. "We need to find a safe area and stay there for the night. Then we can head back to your house tomorrow, okay? Natsu! Are you listening?"

"Yeah," he muttered, eyes darting around. He didn't look happy, but he nodded his agreement. He'd hunt down a safe area for them to rest in.

It didn't take them long. The Marked were staying out of the woods for some reason - Lucy found herself hopeful that maybe they would have stayed away from Natsu's home - and it allowed them to rest easy for the time being. As soon as Natsu had set up a blazing campfire to keep them warm, Lucy turned on Wendy. "I want to see your Marks," she said firmly. "I want to see how far they've progressed."

Wendy bit her lip. "Okay," the small girl said nervously after a moment. She pulled her arm out of the jacket she'd been wearing, holding her arm out for Lucy to look at. Natsu peered over the blonde's shoulder suspiciously.

"...this is it?" Lucy looked stunned. "This should have...from the rate the others' Marks were moving, yours should have increased a lot by now, Wendy. Your entire arm at least should be covered..." She studied the single streak that had curled itself around Wendy's wrist and just barely begun reaching for higher.

Natsu studied the Mark, and Lucy swatted him away when he tried to rest his chin on her shoulder rather than just looking over it. The celestial mage was busy, and she didn't need him in her way. "Maybe there's something we can do to get rid of 'em completely then."

"No," Lucy answered, shaking her head. "I don't think so...when Rogue had the Marks, his sped up drastically because of the fact that his magic was based around darkness. The same went for Gajeel after Gajeel used the Iron Shadow Dragon Mode. Maybe Wendy's are slowed because her magic centers around healing...and if her's slows, I'll bet my life on Sting's being slowed down, too."

Natsu snorted. "That's not fair," he complained. "Everyone else had to deal with them normally."

"Stop complaining," Lucy said darkly, hitting the back of his head as hard as she could with an angry expression. "You don't have the Marks, and it better stay that way, got it?"

He winced, rubbing the spot she'd struck. "Yeah, yeah."

"Good." Lucy gently patted Wendy's head with a bright smile. "I'm glad. That means you'll be around for a while yet, hm?"

Wendy looked pleased. "I've been thinking about trying to use my magic to see if I could get rid of it," she admitted. "I didn't know if it would make it speed up or not though..."

"You've got nothing to lose, so try it."

"Natsu!" Lucy cried in outrage, smacking his arm sharply.

He only frowned. "What? It's true. There's nothing we could possibly lose. And stop hitting me, that hurts."

"Weakling," Lucy muttered before reassuringly touching Wendy's cheek. "Don't try it unless you want to, okay, Wendy? You can, but only if you want to." She glared over her shoulder at Natsu, her mind reeling at his words. This wasn't like him. Before any of this had begun, he would have never said such things, purposely making his nakama hurt more than they already did!

Wendy searched Lucy's dark eyes, her own determined. "I think I want to," she said softly. "If I can heal myself, then we can find Jellal and Sting and fix them, too."

"Maybe," she agreed.

The trio of Fairy Tail mages fell silent, and the only sound that filled the air was that of a crackling fire.