Hey everyone, sorry this took so long to update! Finals are coming up and there have been a couple other complications lately, but I won't bother you with the details! Despite that, I was going to hold this chapter out for a few more months, but I feel like you all deserve this after me putting it off so long.

Mira squealed in delight as she busted through the guild doors, effectively silencing all of its occupants. "It's here!" Several raised their eyebrows at her, most of them having been the newest members of the 'I'm going to kill Natsu for doing this to Lucy' club, while others joined in her happiness. Surprisingly enough, Gajeel was the first to reach her, Wendy not far behind. The small Slayer began dragging her to the stage without further ado, pulling her right over the guild's favorite drunk who had found a new home on the wooden floors after several drinking contests the night before. The Mages, whether knowing exactly what was happening or not, followed Mirajane to the stage, sitting around it like children awaiting a story, blinking large, hopeful eyes at the barmaid who, in response to their eagerness, sighed.

"First thing's first: where is Team Natsu? Levy?" Mira called, catching neither hair nor hide of the said member, not even her sister. As the other members searched, all coming up inconclusive, Mira began to tear open the letter. "Is everyone here?"

"Wait for me!" Master's booming voice hollered from his office. Mira and several other members couldn't help the smile that lit their faces as Master Makarov flung himself from the upstairs balcony to the stage, plopping down next to Mira with a large grin on his face. "Okay! Now we can star- Wait!" He yelled once more, causing everyone to groan in impatience. "Where's Alex? I thought he was coming this week!"

Even Gajeel chuckled this time at the pout on the everlasting Master's face. "No, no! This week he just sent a letter, but I'm sure he'll be around here soon…Now can I start?" Everyone nodded rapidly, excitement taking over as she unfolded the neat sheet of paper. Gajeel and Wendy inhaled deeply, catching the slight whiff of what could only be described as Lucy and they couldn't help the overwhelming comfort that came along with it.

"Dear Fairy Tail,

She's more than I could have ever predicted! I don't think I've ever seen a more determined Mage in my entire life!"

Several people began murmuring their missing Mage's name, already tearing up without being more than two sentences in.

"It's been a bit over half a year since she's been away from you all, if I've counted correctly, but know that she hasn't gone a day without you all constantly coming across her thoughts, and I would know (her voice inside her head is louder than the one outside of it…)"

Gajeel's laughter boomed over everyone else's for a moment before he realized what he had done and quickly cleared his throat, signaling for Mira to continue.

"You all have become pieces of her motivation to become stronger. It's amazing how much better she's become since she's begun since embracing her Fairy Tail spirit once more. Every day, she picks another one of her fellow Fairies and imagines herself training with them. Her images, even without my help, are truly spectacular! Whenever she runs, she pictures Jet and the blur he usually leaves behind him. In her eyes, she manages to catch up to him, running past him as she reaches the finish line. For her battle strategy, she generally pictures Freed, a man whose attacks and runes were always placed in the perfect spots. In seconds, she's begun analyzing the battlefields we've created and picking the best areas for each attack and attacker."

The two men blushed sheepishly as those around them smiled. It was nice to see that they could help Lucy from afar and, whether or not they'd admit it, Freed and Jet found themselves very flattered that the powerful woman had chosen them as inspirations.

"When it comes to strength, she's begun thinking more and more of Gajeel, picturing the iron scales along her body as an armor, and sometimes even Elfman, remembering him through guild brawls and mimicking some of his moves. They've been working wonders on her ability to become creative in her moves, something she usually looks to Lisanna for. It seems that Lucy, despite seeing very little of Lisanna's fighting style, has taken a liking to her manipulation of classic moves and has begun using them while sparring."

"Oh dear," Mira giggled, placing her hand over her mouth. "This compliment will go straight to Lisanna's head."

"Mira," Bixlow whined from the floor, knees pulled up to his chest while he rested his chin on them, looking like a small child. "Keep reading, keep reading!" The guild laughed, more than they had in a while as Mira found her place in the letter again.

"She's becoming smarter by the day, reading people like an open book, thanks to Mwah~! And you can't imagine what's been happening here as a result! We took her to the guild for the first time two days ago and because she's been reading people so well, she began pretending to be Mira and started playing match-maker with those around her. When they were off-guard, she seemed to become Laxus, using what the good-Gods gave her in order to knock them completely out (not saying you're a chick, Laxus, just saying that you know how to use what you have against people… Don't zap me when I visit please… I still have a mark from the last one…)"

Silence

Silence

Silence

"He's being zapped." Laxus growled. "And so is she…"

"After wiping the blood off of everything, we figured that she earned some 90,000 Jewels! Cory's still trying to convince her to split it with him but he's become just as sneaky as he is and has become quite the fair match against him in any sort of a card game. Her secret, it seems, is to drink three or four barrels of beer or rum before even touching the cards. Says it gives her luck."

"That's my girl!" Cana hollered drunkenly, now sitting on the table closest to the stage, a large barrel of beer in her lap.

"I'm amusing that since we haven't been chased down by a pink haired moron yet that they haven't figured it out, but with everything that has been happening lately down here between Lucy and Lucas, maybe a break from him in really what she needed."

"I swear if that freak lays one hand on my sister-" Gajeel's angered growl was cut off by a loud squeal from Mira, Juvia, and Evergreen.

"They're names go perfect together!" They hollered simultaneously.

"And his eyes-"

"Oh his hair-"

"And that body-"

Bisca was about to add a comment when she caught Alzack's eye and quickly shut her mouth.

"Get back to the letter before I have to beat someone down in order to feel manly again!" Macao called, effectively silencing the girls and ignoring the comments of him beginning to sound like Elfman.

"Ultimately though, this letter has come with a warning. Lucas isn't exactly what can be known as stable. I've been keeping track of his thoughts as well as I can, but last night, his and Lucy's minds have begun to take different ideals of the future. Lucas sees his with Lucy, which wouldn't be horrible if he also wasn't picturing Natsu's grave somewhere in the background-"

"Aren't we all picturing his grave lately?" Pantherlily muttered, earning a raised eyebrow from nearly everyone. "I say one thing…" He trailed off with a shake of his head and a sigh, knowing that the others agreed with him, whether they were willing to admit it or not. "Please, dear Mira, continue with the letter."

"And Lucy's, well, I'm not all too sure what to make of it. Some days, she pictures herself back at Fairy Tail, occasionally with only us there, sometimes with Natsu and us, and other times, just without Lucas. Other times, she pictures horrible futures where only scenes seemed to be able to pop through, though generally they are bloody and gruesome, often with Lucy facing off against either Lucas or Natsu. There are times where all three face off against each other and other times where she finds herself hopeless to help as they tear each other apart-"

"Kinky~" Bixlow snickered, earning glares from several guild members as well as a slap across the helmet from Laxus. "Sorry, sorry…"

"But one dream seems to replay continuously, where Natsu chooses Lisanna over her in a deadly situation caused by his own fire. In the dream, Lucy is relieved to see that Lisanna is merely asleep beside her as Lucy herself in torn apart, bleeding out and being cut up. Natsu eventually comes running in and grabs Lisanna. When Lucy asks for help, Natsu glares and tells her to become stronger before leaving her to burn in his own mess. She wakes up nearly each time crying, sobbing loud enough that each of us have woken up one night or another. Since she's been becoming stronger, the dream has been happening less and less, but still, I beg of you to warn me the moment Natsu and his team find out that she is gone so I can keep a distance between them for a bit, for I fear that this may be a sign of a future pain.

Other than that, there have been few problems. With Lucy's power seeming to match that of a Dragon Slayer, I've convinced Lucas to allow us to take her on her first mission later this month and I hope to hear from you all before we leave so we don't have to wait months before conversing once more.

Be careful Fairy Tail and know that Lucy's love and faith will always be with you.

Sincerely, Your Favorite Informant,

Alex"

Silence lingered around the Mages as they processed the end of the message. The signal towards danger had everyone's shackles raised and Gajeel shared a look with Laxus and Mira, all three inwardly debating on whether or not to set up a meeting place and speak with Alex personally.

"Leave her be," Makarov sighed. "She's a strong young woman with nakama surrounding her. She will be safe." The others stiffly nodded and began to disperse, and not a moment too soon, considering Lisanna suddenly busted through the doors, looking like her older sister had not an hour prior.

"We-we're back! A-and I wa-want to read tha-that letter!" Lisanna called before tackling Mira off of the stage and behind the bar, wrestling around for a moment before prying the letter out of her sister's hands. After blinking at the rare show several times, the rest of the guild members went back to doing their usual activities.

Mira quickly called Cana over. "Would you do me a small favor, Cana, and-"

"Relax, Mira, I'm already doing a reading," the suddenly sober Card Mage winked at Mira as she laid her cards out and began to take a reading. After several moments of calmness in the usually rowdy guild, the rest of Lisanna's company joined the party, quickly dispersing to their separate areas temporarily.

"Hey Mira!" Natsu called out from across the guild. She didn't seem to notice, clearly focused on her conversation with Cana, both of whom had their faces scrunched in worry and slight annoyance. He ran over to the two of them and only when Natsu was sitting at the bar for about five minutes did he finally get their attention.

"Oh, Natsu!" Mira exclaimed in surprise. Cana, seeing him sitting there, quickly put her cards away, an action she had been doing a lot lately over the past several months, ever since his team had come back from their first mission with Lisanna, but he knew that if something terrible was going to happen, she'd tell everyone, so Natsu didn't bother to question her, though the constant drunken glare he received from her was a bit unsettling. "What can I get for you?" She tried to smile, but it was so overly clear that it was forced that even the dense moron could see it.

The pink-haired Slayer heard multiple pairs of footsteps behind him but didn't care, already knowing who they belonged to. As Team Natsu gathered around him, Levy and Gajeel took their seats near them at the bar.

"Mira, where's Lucy? I wanted to know if I could borrow Virgo for a project with Happy!" Natsu beamed at Mira as Happy flew to the group.

"Aye! We want to tunnel under the river and get the ninja fish that lay at the bottom! Nin nin," he said is a hushed voice, raising one leg and wrapping Mira's dish towel around his blue face like a ninja.

While we laughed at Happy's ninja impression, Natsu nearly missed the terrified look Mira gave Cana and Lisanna, but before he could even ask, Levy chimed in with, "What was that?"

"What was what?" The three girls quickly asked in unison, their voices and fake smiles being sickly sweet.

Levy narrowed her eyes. "Speaking of, where is Lu-chan anyway? She wasn't here yesterday-"

Levy's accusing voice was cut off by Gajeel's grunt of frustration, earning him some confused and annoyed looks from our group. "Can we just tell them already! They'll find out eventually!" he groaned, rolling his neck in boredom.

Mira gasped and whacked him rather roughly with her towel, earning herself a glare from the Iron Dragon-Slayer. "We could have held out for a few more months! She's gonna be mad at us!" Gajeel just snorted, sincerely uncaring about whoever this person was being mad at him.

There was suddenly two very dark auras next to Natsu, one Levy's and the other Erza's. He shrank back, hiding behind Gray and Lisanna. "What is going on?" They said in unison, much like the three before them had done, but this had a terrifying affect, one that made even the guild's Demon begin to sweat.

Something unconsciously within Natsu clicked as his sharp gaze was suddenly as tight on Mira and the others as anyones could have been, but the fierce concentration of everyone's stare was broken apart by a blinding flash of light in the center of the guild. Battle stances were quickly assumed, but before Igneel's son could get serious, he was overwhelmed by the scent of honey, strawberry, vanilla, and...stars? "Lucy...?" It came out as a whisper and Natsu's heart nearly stopped as he continued to stare into the blinding light, waiting for the bright Celestial Mage to come prancing through with the beaming smile on her face all while complaining loudly about the missing half of the reward that was truly somehow all his fault despite there being two rather destructive mages on their team other than him.

Instead of such a wonderful sight, the knowing people of the guild were met with the different wonderful sight of a fist being crashed directly into the awaited Mage's face, sending him flying into the bottle racks behind the bar with a satisfying crash. Slowly, people began to uncover their faces, adjusting their eyes again as the light dimmed and vanished, and watch with sadistic joy as Loke's murderous form stepped forward from the white light he had appeared through and approached the stunned Slayer on the floor. "Huh- Loke? Where's Lu-" Natsu was cut off as Loke yanked him up by the edges of his vest, fists glowing menacingly as he held Natsu nearly a foot above the ground.

"You have no right to speak my Master's name, you pathetic, wannabe lizard!" The words came out as a dangerous hiss and Natsu, surprisingly enough, seemed to understand how serious Loke was about this fight. Without giving the boy time to get his few wits about him, Loke flung Natsu high into the air before calling the power of Regulus to his fist and smashing the pink-haired Mage down into the guild's wooden flooring. Tables and Mages were quickly pushed and pulled to the sides as Natsu rose, flames gathering to his fists as he put Loke and Mirajane's words into context.

"Is Lucy mad at us? Did she send you here-?" Natsu's devious sneer, one that felt vile enough to catch Natsu himself off-guard, was quickly wiped off his face as he barely avoided another Regulus Punch, bending back just in time to steer clear.

"As I said, Lizard," Loke ignored Natsu's snarl at the demeaning nickname. "You wave no right to speak my Master's name, let alone of her intentions." Loke wanted so much more than to just bloody the boy up, especially knowing that he had his master's newly found strength to back him, but he couldn't pull magic out from Lucy without her knowing which would lead to questions that he would never be able to honestly answer without upsetting her. Loke watched as the man who had stolen Lucy's heart forced himself up from the ground, spitting out a thick wad of blood before meeting Loke's eyes. "What do you think of my Master, Dragon Boy? How do you feel now that she's gone?"

Natsu swallowed thickly, glaring deeply at Celestial Spirit. "What do you mean, gone?"

The dark chuckle that came from the old guild member sent shivers down the audience's spines. The orange-haired man stalked towards Natsu as a predator would to prey and Natsu, surprisingly weakened by so few attacks, could do little more than attempt to stand and hope not to break any more bones then Loke already had. "Oh Natsu," he sighed; but the threatening undertone was not lost. "I just don't understand you. For the years that I've known you, you've been loyal, kind, attentive, and a wonderfully powerful Mage, and because of that I've allowed My Princess to stand by you, to risk herself for you-"

"I've never asked Lucy to risk herself-" Natsu began to snarl, but was cut off by another fist to the gut, forcing him to double over and groan on the floor as Loke snarled from above him.

"But she did! She did because she cared!" Angry winds blew around Loke with his exponential swell of magical power, blowing his hair in a disarray that made him seem like a real lion. Even Cana and Gajeel were silenced by the powerful sight. "Now let me speak you failure or I will break Spiritual Law and slaughter you!" Natsu sent him a sharp glare once more from the ground, but made no other move to show resistance. "Now, as I had been saying, Lucy went out of her way to go on missions with you, to be around you despite the fact that you did little more then attract danger, which Lucy would always get wrapped up in. Yes," like raised his hand to silence Natsu's protest, "You always managed to save her in the end, but now, where are you?"

Now Natsu was just confused. Where was he? "I'm here, in the guild, Loke... Are you okay?" Had this been a less serious situation, Loke would have face-palmed, but instead, he smashed his foot against Natsu's already weakened chest, forcing him back against the floor where he struggled fruitlessly against Loke's immense strength.

"Think correctly you idiot! Think! Where is Lucy-"

"Loke!" Mora scolded darkly, cutting off Loke's seething, but he paid her absolutely no mind.

"Where are you in relation to Lucy? Where has she been?" Loke bared his teeth down at the boy until his struggles slowly began to slow until they came to a stop. Natsu's face paled as he put everything together.

His eyes snapped up to Loke's and the Spirit felt satisfied with himself as he finally saw what he had been waiting for this whole time in the boy's eyes, pain, worry, and, most of all, fear, not for himself, but for Lucy. "Wh-where is she? Please, L-Loke, where is she?" Natsu made a grab for the ginger's collar but his hands merely swiped through the fading boy who wore a small smirk. "Loke-"

"Find her, Natsu." The loyal Spirit muttered, backing away. "Find her and save her, even if it's from herself."

"Loke!" Natsu launched upwards, lunging through the shimmers the man left behind as he returned to his world. The pink-haired Mage crouched on the floor, panting as he took everything in, from his physical pain to his newfound emotional strain. "Lucy..." his breath was merely a whisper as it slipped past his lips, but his moment of revelation was cut short by his brother Slayer.

"You guys are all idiots," Gajeel snarled, eyes boring into Natsu's back. "Even Lisanna saw this, but you dumbasses were so caught up in yourselves and the fact that Lisanna was back that you didn't notice that Bunny Girl left." He nonchalantly blew a hair from his face as he waited for some sort of response, but the unknowing Mages were all frozen, each having their face contorted in some response to this revelation, but, despite the fact that the woman he knew to be his future mate was sitting not two feet away with unshed tears filling her eyes, Gajeel was solely focused on Natsu.

Gone? No, not gone! She wouldn't leave on a mission without us! It was probably just some easy little thing for rent money...right? My mind began to go into panic mode at the thought of her taking a difficult mission. What if she got hurt? Lost her keys? Got lost? Oh god! Lucy could be anywhere! Why was Loke here, though? Shouldn't he of all people be with Lucy?

I slammed my fist down onto the floor, smashing in another large dent under my steaming fists, gaining the guild's attention. "Mira-" I choked slightly on my own fury. "P-please! Tell me, wh-what job is she on?" I looked directly into Mira's eyes so I would know if she dared to try and lie to me. The barmaid swallowed hard, a noise I could hear from several feet away as she was obviously uncomfortable under my harsh gaze, but I refused to let up.

"Well, uhm, see Natsu..." she bit her lip in nervousness and tears began to prick her eyes. It wasn't normal for Mira to cry. No, if it was something we would control, she'd be in Satan Soul mode, ready to slaughter whoever took away the blonde whom she has considered a sister over the time we've all been together, so seeing such a desperate look breaking through her facade did nothing to help the situation and I felt my blazing blood suddenly run cold.

I launched forward once more, but this time met my target as I nearly flew across the guild,

landing directly in front of the woman, sitting on my knees on top of the bar, grasping Mira's shaking shoulders, silently begging for answers with my eyes before I had to beg with a barely controlled voice. "Mira, where's Luce? Where is my Lucy?"

The tears began to pour over, but by the overwhelming stench of salt, I realized that not only she was crying, but nearly everyone besides me and Gray were all beginning to tear up. "Natsu," Mira whispered, gaining my full attention once more. "She's not on a job. She's- She's gone. She left the guild- and don't bother looking at her place," she quickly added seeing me begin to turn and make a run for her apartment. "She's been gone for a while now, Natsu. Lucy has been no longer a part of Fairy Tail for seven months."

Silence. Dead, painful silence. Dead... Just like my hope...

No. My mind repeated the word over and over again in the thick silence of Fairy Tail. She couldn't be gone... She loves Fairy Tail, right? Fairy Tail and me! She loves us, right? Why wouldn't she say goodbye...? I felt the tears begin to drip down my face and vaguely noticed the shocked looks on every one's faces. Why did she leave? No! She wouldn't leave!

I tilted my head downwards, using my bangs to cover my expression as I closed my eyes tightly. "Mira," my hoarse voice managed to choke out. "Tell me- Please, please tell me that this is all just some sick," I swallowed hard, forcing down the bile that threatened to make an appearance. "Some disgusting joke..." I waited, but when she didn't answer, I felt my heart nearly stop. "I mean, she wouldn't leave us, right? Cause- cause who would accompany her? She doesn't like being alone all the time, and where would she go? She doesn't like walking for too long... What if she gets hurt out there or runs into trouble?" I began to notice my voice becoming more hysterical, cracking in certain parts of my questioning as it rose through several levels of octaves. I felt my body shake, legs becoming weaker beneath me as I backed further away from the group as the bar. "No, she couldn't leave! Not without someone to protect her! Not without me! Lucy wouldn't leave without me! She wouldn't leave me behind, not without saying goodbye!" I was screaming now, fists clenched at my sides, my nails drawing blood on the inside of my palms as I struggled to keep standing. My cheeks were now drenched in salty tears which were quickly turning to steam as I began to heat up once more. My throat felt scratched and strained. It was slowly becoming hard to breathe, hard to concentrate on the matter at hand. Seven months, seven months Lucy had been gone. Seven months... And then it clicked.

My head snapped up and I immediately felt a rage take control, a rage of such power I had never felt before lighting my body up in an unbelievable fire, one that, I vaguely noticed in my state, licked the rafts of the guild's ceiling, blacking them nearly immediately. My group quickly backed up, all except Gray and Gajeel, both of whom knew me well enough that I wouldn't allow this fire to touch them, no matter how furious I was.

"You all knew, and you all kept this from me for seven months? Seven months! You all kept me in the dark for so long, knowing that she could be in danger without me there to protect her, knowing that she was all alone out there with no help! How could you?" my voice was cracking again as the tears came heavier, but my fire roared just as strong.

No one dared move or speak, staring at me as though I had just grown a second head and third eye. No one moved except for Gajeel, who stepped forward, coming dangerously close to my fire. I growled, but he didn't move back. In fact, Gray joined him on the opposite side. "Back off," I hissed, but the threat in my voice was weak. They moved closer, nearly being burned, but I struggled to reduce the fire, desperately trying not to hurt them. I was mad, no, I was past mad. I was furious deep within my soul, but I still wasn't going to hurt my nakama. Gajeel took another step forward, followed by Gray and I reduced my fire a bit more. "I'm serious!" I yelled, unable to stop the tears.

Without warning, Gajeel lunged directly into my fire, grabbing my arms behind my back and tackling me to the floor. "Gajeel!" Levy screamed and rushed forward, but was held back by Erza.

"Put down the fire, Salamander. As dragon slayers, you and I need to have a talk." His voice was calm, but clearly threatening as he pressed me tighter to the ground. Knowing if I held it up much longer he could be seriously injured, I lowered my flame, but still struggled to keep calm. "Good, now, I'm gonna let you up and you're calmly going to walk out of the guild with me and Gray. Not a single word until we get to our destination, got it, Natsu?" Hearing him call me by my actual name surprised me a bit, but I nodded once.

Without hesitation, he snapped me up, half dragging me towards the guild doors, Gray's icy presence following quietly behind us.

So...hope y'all like it! 3 Please review...

As always, love hearing from you guys.

~ The Infamous Smile of Mona Lisa