She twisted to study the marking that had been engraved into her flesh, grimacing at the complicated ragged swirls that filled a circle that took up the entirety of her back. It didn't hurt anymore, thanks to the herbs Porlyusica had given her nearly a week before, but...it was still sore on occasion and had indeed scarred, leaving a reminder of what had happened. She sighed heavily before wrapping herself in a towel and stepping out of the bathroom cautiously, pausing only to make sure a certain dragon slayer and his blue companion was nowhere in sight. Relieved, she dug around in her closet, pulling out a select outfit that would keep with her usual style yet hide the damage. She wasn't exactly eager to show off the strange spell...

It had been a week since their return to Magnolia, and Lucy felt way better than when she'd first arrived. Porlyusica's medicines had helped her greatly - something she felt grateful about - and she'd returned to her normal self, heading to the guild every morning to meet up with Natsu and Happy if they hadn't broken into her room in the middle of the night. Usually it was just Natsu, as Happy had taken to moping around when Wendy and Charle wouldn't let him stay with them.

She'd just tugged on her knee-high boot and was preparing to lace it up when a shadow fell across her bed. She paused and glanced up to find Natsu there. Somehow, she wasn't surprised. The dragon slayer merely grinned. "Hey, Luce," he said eagerly, "You ready to go?"

"Um, yeah," she answered, quickly finishing what she was doing. She scooped up her wallet - which she knew without a doubt would be needed to pay for the jerk's food at the guildhall later - and then paused to stare at him. "Why are you here?"

He frowned, looking offended, and Lucy had to fight back the urge to snicker at the look on his face. "Happy left early this morning and I was bored."

"Come on," Lucy sighed, waving him in. He gave her a huge smile and made sure to take care in closing the window behind him. "Can you at least attempt to enter my home like a normal person, though?"

"Nah," he answered, rolling his eyes. "It's boring going through the door like you."

"Jerk," Lucy responded, playfully elbowing at him before leading him outside. She locked the door behind them, then stretched, careful not to make her sore back even more so as she did so. "Not too bad outside, huh?" she commented. The sun was shining brightly, and it was decently warm - a warm welcome after the chilly days that had arrived not too long ago alongside the fall season.

Not that the fire mage noticed. He wouldn't know what cold was even if it smacked him across the face. Natsu shrugged, folding his hands comfortably behind his head with a small little smirk on his face. "So," he said with an eager look, "Are we going to take another job today?"

"No," Lucy moaned, "Don't. Please, don't. I don't want to go anywhere yet, not after yesterday!"

Somehow, she'd allowed Natsu to drag her along on a small job, only with Wendy's clearance though. And it had ended with them nearly destroying someone's house by accident - well, Natsu had nearly destroyed it. She'd been screeching at him to stop running around while he was spitting fire everywhere. And all they'd been hired to do was scare someone off the property...

Natsu pouted. "Come on, Luce, it'll be fun," he whined, and Lucy found herself reaching out to tug sharply on that strangely scaled scarf of his.

"No," she repeated. "I don't think I can handle another job without Erza to make sure you're not burning everything down. Not yet, anyways. Besides. You nearly got squashed when that kid of theirs decided to play pranks on us with his "newly found" skills and Happy wasn't there."

The Exceed had chosen to remain behind in his determination to woo a certain white cat. Wendy kept them updated on the hilarity that usually ensued from Happy's attempts whenever their small friend wasn't around, and the duo often enjoyed hearing about what happened.

Lucy hopped up to walk along the edge of the canal, aware that Natsu kept a close eye on her, just as he'd been doing since she'd been attacked. Though she thought it was more than just a little annoying, she thought it was sweet at the same time that he had taken it upon himself to make sure she was okay at all times. She clasped her hands behind her back, humming one of the songs Lyra often sang under her breath. "Hey," she said suddenly, cocking her head with a thoughtful look. "Where's Elfman and Jet and Droy? Haven't seen them for a few days...are they all okay?"

Natsu snickered. "Mira didn't tell you? Elfman went out on a job and they went with him because they were hoping Levy would wake up and realize they left."

The solid-script mage had been rather ignorant to everything in her search to find out what the spell was. Gajeel had attempted to convince her to take a break in his own gruff manner, but she'd insisted that she wanted to figure it out as soon as possible and had told him and Lily to go on if they wanted to. Gajeel - being the stubborn man he was - had simply grumbled about the "stupid shrimp" upon returning to the guildhall with Lily to give the master an update on their lovely lack of information.

"Hm," Lucy hummed, "I hope they're okay...I've never really seen Elfman go out on a job, you know?"

"He'll be fine, trust me," Natsu said with a grin. "I went on a job or two with him before I met you. He's not bad, especially when he's teamed up with a bunch of others. He's a Fairy Tail mage, after all."

"I suppose," Lucy agreed grudgingly. She was sure Mirajane and Lisanna would be just as concerned about their sibling, if not even more so, but if Natsu said he was alright...

Upon their arrival to the guildhall, Natsu swung both doors open with a loud bang, announcing their arrival just as proudly as he usually did. Lucy buried her face in her hands, shaking her head to herself. Why couldn't he just enter like a normal person?!

"Hey! Lucy!" Lucy jumped when Levy suddenly seemed to materialize in front of her, eyes gleaming excitedly. Lucy found herself beaming happily. Levy hadn't shown up for days, and it was nice to see her friend again...even if there was a fiercely irritated iron dragon slayer glaring at her from over the bookworm's shoulder. "I found something!"

"You did?" Natsu was nosing his way into the conversation, and Lucy fought the urge to shove him away when he threw an arm around her shoulders, earning a smirk from Mirajane. "What'd you find?"

"It's not a lot," Levy admitted, holding up the book she'd brought over with her. She flipped it open, quickly flicking through pages until she found ones she liked. "It's only a picture of it alongside a quick description of the magic it comes from. Like Erza said, it's a primitive magic. It's mostly used to plant curses on people, places, and objects, but...that's all I could gather. I'm sorry, Lucy." She gazed sorrowfully at the other woman.

"It's fine," Lucy hurried to reassure, smiling at her. "I mean, it's not doing anything at the moment, so..."

"It doesn't mean it won't though," Levy murmured unhappily, looking truly guilty that she couldn't find more. "I'll keep looking if you want."

"No," Lucy said firmly, very aware of the steely red eyes glaring at her from behind her friend, their owner just daring her to tell the blue-haired woman it was a good idea to keep looking. "You need a break from reading like you have been. You can start looking again in a few days if you're up for it, but...until then...just chill out with a normal book, okay?"

"Sure, but I think I'll have to sadly skip out on the reading time." Levy grinned, then tapped Gajeel's arm thoughtfully, looking up at him with an innocent smile that made him look instantly suspicious. "Gajeel? Want to go with me on a job? I need to get one so I can afford to feed myself, and Mirajane told me Jet and Droy went with Elfman since I was too busy to go on a job with them. Lily can come, too, if he wants," she said cheerfully.

Lucy had to fight back the smug smile that threatened to cross her face when the iron dragon slayer reluctantly agreed. She was proud of her friend. She'd pushed past the terror that had first accompanied Gajeel entering the guild and was attempting to become closer with him, especially after the events of Tenrou Island. Perhaps even more than friends, too, if that slight blush that crept across Levy's cheeks was anything to go by.

As Levy danced over to the bulletin board to pick out a job for she and Gajeel to accomplish, the iron dragon slayer paused to mutter something under his breath to Natsu, who only glared at him in response for a few moments before turning and nudging Lucy towards the bar with a scowl. Curious, Lucy glanced after him, then up at the Fire mage. "Natsu? What'd he say?"

"Nothing," Natsu muttered, a pout sliding onto his face.

"Hi, Natsu, Lucy," Mira greeted cheerfully, swiping happily at the glass in her hands as she dried it. Her eyes gleamed as she set the glass down and reached for another. "What can I get you two? Or did he eat everything out of your fridge already?"

Lucy gave a dry smile. "He didn't for once. So we'll be lighting your beautifully cooked meals on fire, if you don't mind." Natsu shot her a hopeful look, his signature grin spreading across his face, and she sighed heavily, reaching for her wallet. "Add some tea on top of whatever he wants. I'll be paying, it appears."

Mira merely laughed, setting the second glass down. "Got it. I'll be back soon."

Natsu twisted to face Lucy, practically sprawling out across the bar. "So what are we going to do today?"

"I have a couple errands to run," the celestial mage mused, her gaze thoughtful as she propped her chin on her open palm. "There's some shopping that needs to be done, and I think I want to get some new writing supplies while I'm at it. I used all of mine up when I was stuck in bed." Natsu opened his mouth to speak, and she cut him off before he could speak. "No. You're not coming. I need some alone time and I'd rather you not burn any shops down before we can get out of them. Just hang out around here with Gray or something. Or go find Happy and fish."

"Happy went out with Charle and Wendy, of course," Mira alerted them as she placed a plate full of food in front of Natsu and a small cup of tea in front of Lucy. "I wouldn't count on him coming back anytime soon...and Gray let Erza drag him with her because he had nothing better to do." She giggled.

Lucy lifted her cup to her lips, trying not to smile. She recognized that look on Mirajane's face, but she didn't dare say anything about it in case the situation was turned around on her. She sipped contently at her tea, trying not to choke in surprise when a blaze lit beside her, Natsu not hesitating to set his meal aflame. She didn't understand why she was surprised. It was normal for him to do things like that, especially when eating.

"Where are Gray and Erza?" he asked after shoving his mouth full. Lucy silently questioned how he'd managed to get his words out clearly around it. "They gonna be back soon?"

"No. The master sent Erza on a special job because none of the other S-Class mages were around and it requested her expertise in particular. Since Gray's with her, he won't be back soon either."

"Not fair," Natsu mumbled.

Lucy just shook her head at all of his whining and complaining. Natsu could find something to complain about no matter what when he was bored. She would usually have given in by this point and let him come shopping with her, or taken a job with him, but she needed to be alone when she went to visit her parents' graves. She hadn't gone to see them in a while, and while it was quite a distance away, it would be nice to see them without a fire mage breathing down her neck. Dully, she found herself wishing that Gray was there. The ice-make mage had avoided her as much as possible as of late, feeling guilty for the damage he'd caused, but had otherwise returned to his usual self, occasionally beginning one of Fairy Tail's large battles.

Another sip of her tea later, Lucy came to a sudden realization.

"Natsu!" she squealed, jumping to her feet and smacking desperately at the cloth that had lit up, the flame creeping up her sleeve and closer to her arm. Natsu's head snapped around, and he simply grinned before smacking it out for her. Must be nice to not have to worry about burning yourself, she thought irritably, glaring at her now charred clothing. This shirt in particular had been expensive, more so than her usual choice in outfits.

Oh, well.

She supposed she could just get another. At least it was replaceable.

XxXx

"Thank you, ma'am," she murmured to the older woman as her wrinkled hands pressed a bouquet of flowers into Lucy's smooth young ones.

The elderly woman gave her a charming smile. "Of course, Miss Lucy, come by anytime. And refer anyone to me as well, if you don't mind. Especially that handsome pink-haired fellow of yours...where is he? He usually accompanies you when you stop by to visit!"

Lucy smacked a hand to her face, fighting down the blush that threatened to rise. She would not fall into the trap that had been set before her. She would not give anyone a reason to tease her about Natsu, especially not this woman, who probably thought herself an expert in such matters. "He, err, isn't here this time. I made him stay back at the guildhall with the rest of my friends to wait for someone." Not entirely a lie. Lisanna had sworn that she'd keep Natsu there under the impression that they were waiting on Elfman to return if he realized she didn't plan on returning that evening, and had told Lucy that she'd keep him in the guildhall for as long as possible.

"Oh, well," the woman sighed, frowning with a disappointed air about her. "Make sure to bring him next time, dear. Your mother would have enjoyed him while she was alive, I'm sure she enjoys the amusement he brings now."

"I will," Lucy reassured with a final smile. She waved, then left the small flower shop, tucking the bouquet into the crook of her arm. She'd split in half, just like she always did when coming to visit her parents, one half for each of the graves she would be visiting.

It didn't take her long at all to reach the property that her parents' graves had been moved to before focusing on the graves in the small site before her. Her gaze softened as she let her hands brush against the headstones, her hands rapidly resting flowers on each one. There were some rather fresh looking flowers that couldn't have been more than a few days old, and Lucy suspected that they had been placed there by one of the people that used to work with her father in the merchant guild nearby. It warmed her heart to see such things. Her father had been a heartless bastard after her mother's death, but people had still cared for the man he'd once been and the one he'd apparently become after losing his wealth.

"Hello, Mama," she said softly to her mother's headstone. "It's been awhile since I've been back...a lot of stuff happened since I last talked to you in person. I wrote it down in my letters, but... I doubt it's the same as hearing it in person, hm?" She crouched in the grass, playing with the small green blade with her fingers as she continued. "Something weird happened to me. I was attacked. I'm okay now, of course. Don't worry. But...Erza said it was some kind of primitive magic they left behind. I believe her, and Levy confirmed it. It hasn't done anything so far, but...

"Sometimes," she continued, touching her chest, resting her hand just over her heart. "Sometimes it really hurts to move. I feel like I can't breathe. I haven't mentioned it to anyone just yet, 'cause I don't want them to worry. But when it happens, I swear..." She took a deep breath, then said, "Never mind, Mama. That's not important. Forget I said anything." She smiled, shaking her head. "Anyways. Natsu was an idiot again the other day. I know, who's surprised? I worry about him sometimes. He needs to remember that while he's a dragon slayer, he's still human...in most ways, anyway. He needs to stop freaking me out when we're battling our enemies. Scares the hell out of me when he won't stay down because he feels like he needs to prove himself and Fairy Tail."

Lucy rolled her eyes, then stood, brushing herself off. "I need to get going...I've got a few things I want to do before I head back home tomorrow. I got a notice they were going to start selling what was left of the Heartfilia possessions soon, so I decided to grab a few things while I still could. Not too many. Just a few, like that book you used to read to me from. Let's hope Natsu doesn't ruin it, hm? See ya around!"

She hated coming to see their graves. It reminded her of how much she had lost already, and how much she could continue to lose if she wasn't careful.

XxXx

Slowly, kicking her feet out in a playful sort of way, Lucy made her way towards the large building she'd once lived in, not pausing as she slammed one of the massive front doors open. A look of sadness and disgust appeared on her face as she began to make her way through the now dusty and dark space, heading for the room that had once belonged to her. Most of her possessions weren't wanted or needed. All she wanted was the book, another book that she'd loved to read when her father had shouted at her again, and a few bits and pieces of jewelry that had once belonged to Layla Heartfilia.

"Should have done this sooner," she muttered, "But I've been kinda tied up with Fairy Tail...I haven't had the chance until now with Natsu always dragging me out on jobs and such..."

Jerk.

Oh, well. She couldn't complain. The jobs kept her attention off of depressing matters most of the time.

Her shadow flickered against a wall as she turned a corner and unable to help herself, the celestial mage cringed away in fear, her hands darting to her keys. But then she forced her hand away, scolding herself under her breath. "Come on, Lucy, it's a freaking shadow. It's not going to kill you."

Ugh. Paranoia was going to be a pain in the-

A sound suddenly cut her off mid-thought.

Wary, Lucy reached for the keys at her hip, letting her fingers lightly wrap around Gemini's golden key. It reacted to her touch, the metal warming ever so slightly in preparation. The two spirits that made up Gemini were ready to help her. Her dark eyes scanned the area around her, and it was at that moment she saw it.

It reminded her immediately of the creature that had attacked her, though it was small, not even a foot in height. A pincer-like mouth clacked as it hissed, small beady eyes gleaming in the dimness, and her breath would have hitched - had she not discovered she couldn't breathe at all. A muffled cry escaped her as she crumpled, pain exploding through her body, radiating in waves from her back. It only took moments for her lungs to start burning as she struggled to suck in air. The creature only gave a soft sound that made her shiver, and Lucy could have sworn that just for a split second, her heart stopped thudding in her chest.

And then she blinked, and both the pain and the small creature were gone. She was left lying on the floor, as if she'd passed out there for no reason. Slowly, she pushed herself into a sitting position, gulping down air. She gave it a few moments to clear her head, then slowly hauled herself to her feet, leaning heavily against the wall. Once she'd caught her balance, she staggered weakly down the hall, fully intending on leaving right away.

Screw her possessions. She didn't care anymore. She couldn't stay here a moment longer. She needed to get back, even if it meant riding the train throughout the night to get back to the place she called home. She'd even take Gray's insults a million times over whatever had just happened. She needed to get out and back to her guild. Now.

It took her longer to exit the mansion then it had to enter, and when she finally made it outside, her hair was sticking to her face and neck from the sweat that had gathered, her dark eyes shadowed and exhausted.

She'd made a mistake.

She should have brought Natsu with her, or even Happy. But no, she'd thought it would be smart to come alone to an abandoned building where things had likely gathered over the time nobody had lived there.

Lucy hoped whoever had taken over the property burned it to the ground.

She was more than aware of the betrayed glare that landed on her the second she set foot into the guildhall around noon the next day, but she ignored it in favor of slowly making her way over to the bar Mira worked behind, slumping across it with a soft groan. Let Natsu be upset with her. She just wanted to sleep without things jumping out at her in her dreams.

Lucy had made it home sometime in the early hours of the morning, the errands she'd set out to accomplish forgotten. She'd attempted to sleep, but had only managed to be haunted by nightmares, of which she suspected had been sparked by the creature she knew she'd seen. Not that she thought the others - especially an irritated fire dragon slayer - would believe her.

XxXx

"Hi, Lucy!" Happy cried in greeting from where he was chowing down on a raw fish beside Natsu. She didn't respond aloud, only lifted a hand in greeting.

Mira, eyes gleaming with a mixture of amusement and sympathy, set a cup of tea down for the tired girl. "Here, Lucy, though I think you need coffee or pop, not tea."

"Thanks, Mira," she mumbled out, not touching the offered drink. Honestly, Cana's preferences didn't seem so bad at the moment, but she didn't think it'd be a good idea. She felt nauseos after a night without much sleep.

"No problem," Mira said with a gentle smile. She reached out to affectionately pat the younger woman on the head like one would do to a sick child, then tensed, narrowing her eyes as she called, "Burn that table, Natsu. I dare you."

"Sorry," Lucy sighed, sitting up and making herself take a sip of the tea. When her stomach didn't protest, she settled down to drink the rest of the cup. "He's mad at me because I went somewhere overnight without bringing him."

"Oh?" Mirajane reached for a dish towel to wipe down the counter. "Where'd you go?"

"Places." Lucy didn't feel like explaining the basis of her current problems. Especially to the woman before her. That wouldn't be a fun discussion. Knowing Mira, she'd twist it in a way to satisfy the fangirl part of her, even if it was as serious as it was. She had a gift when it came to that sort of thing. "But as you can see," she paused to wave in the glowering and more than likely eavesdropping subject of their talk's direction, "He's not happy that I left him in the dark." Of course, she wished she hadn't now, but it was too late to do anything about that...

The ex-S-Class mage grinned. "Of course not. You should have seen him yesterday, Lucy, he was all mopey. It was pretty funny watching Lisanna try to convince him to get up and do something. Happy, too. I mean, he's been hanging around Charle and Wendy a lot lately, but he missed you just as much."

Lucy's lips threatened to twitch up into a smile, but she managed to keep it from happening. "Stupid cat," she muttered instead.

She grinned in response, then looked over the celestial mage's shoulder with sparkling eyes. "Incoming," she commented lightly, then stepped out from behind the bar to go clean up the slightly charred mess Natsu had created.

Lucy moaned and dropped her forehead onto the bar. "What?" she groaned, drawing the word out in her frustration. "What could you possibly want with me?"

Natsu, who'd been about to launch into a whole speech about what she'd done wrong, lost his anger upon seeing her. He took note of the shadows beneath her haunted eyes, the tightness of her expression, and then slowly sat beside her, careful not to touch her just yet. "You okay, Luce?"

She dropped her head into her arms. "No."

He frowned, opening his mouth to speak again, but then stopped, a dark look entering his eyes as he shot to his feet. Wendy, who'd been eating a piece of Erza's favorite kind of cake because the red-head wasn't there, did the same, her eyes snapping wide with fear and worry. Lucy twisted her head to look up at him from beneath her eyelashes. "Natsu?"

Before he could explain, the doors to the guildhall slammed open and in slumped Elfman, slicked with fresh and dried blood, his eyes blank and black marks twining up and down his bare arms, brushing against the flesh over his heart. Mira gave a cry and Lisanna shot to her feet from where she'd been sitting near Bickslow, eyes wide with alarm. "Elfman?!"

Lucy sat up sharply, twisting to see what was going on. Several others of the guild rose to their feet, darting over to see what had happened, but when she tried to do the same, Natsu grabbed her arm, clenching his jaw. "Stay away from him," he ordered, narrowing his eyes into dangerous slits. "Don't touch him!" he added louder.

Mira held back, but Lisanna shot her friend a glare before gently reaching out to touch Elfman's arm, eyes full of fear and concern for her brother. "Elfman? Are you okay?"

The silver-haired man turned his eyes on her, staring at her for just a second. And then a grin spread across his face, absolute delight flashing across his face. "Yeah," he said, not seeming to be aware when Lisanna stumbled back. Mira quietly ordered for Bisca, who'd been peacefully eating some breakfast, to fetch the master as he continued. "I'm fine."

Lucy's eyes narrowed suspiciously. This wasn't Elfman. This wasn't their Elfman, anyway. Where was all the talk about the "manliness"? That was apparently what Natsu had been thinking the entire time, because flames sparked to life, rearing above his readied fist. "Where's Jet? And Droy?"

Elfman's grin switched to a disgusted sneer. "Dead. I had a good time eliminating them...who needs people like them in the guild?"

No, this wasn't their Elfman at all. "Lisanna," Mira said sharply, a hand darting out to grab her arm and pull her back. "Back away." Lisanna fought for a moment, but then gave in when she took in the blood that had stained her palm. "Elfman," she continued slowly, "What happened? What did you do?"
"Like I said," he said with a short laugh. "I got rid of them. We don't need them."

"That's what you think now." There was a collective murmur of relief at the familiar sound of Laxus' voice. Elfman's gave turned on where he stood beside a currently emotionless Makarov and a nervous Bisca. "You're going to regret that at a later point though."

Lucy's eyes darted from Natsu to Laxus and then back to Elfman, who had begun to grin in an unnaturally wide way that shouldn't have possible on a human's face. Her fingers sought out the keys at her hip, wrapping tightly around Loke's, just in case. Just like Gemini's had the day before, the key warmed at her touch, comforting her.

And then, just as suddenly as he'd arrived, Elfman was gone.