Natsu was debating telling Lucy she wasn't allowed to open any more Portals when she finally woke up a week and a half after the incident with the previous one. Even with the first Portal she'd crafted, it had taken her merely a night to recover enough to travel so long as she had intermittent naps in the saddle. The others, maybe a day or two with massive periods of sleep.

But this…

As Lucy was shoveling food into her mouth, barely awake and functioning as her body demanded more sleep, Natsu found himself wondering aloud, "Was it Mard Greer?" Silence filled the air as the others, who he knew had been discussing his intense watch over the unconscious blonde for the last few days, stared at him, startled by the suggestion.

Lucy, heavy shadows beneath her eyes, squinted at him. "Huh?"

"Mard Greer," he repeated. "He was second only to END, Zeref, and Igneel." He ignored the ways that the other three flinched at Zeref's name. He didn't know why they did so. Zeref was dead. He debated the matter further before frowning. "Nah, can't be him. Not even Zeref could pry into Portals…"

"The spirits could," said Sting quietly. Natsu eyed him irritably, not liking that he'd joined his musings. He still wasn't very happy with the white dragon, who - to everyone's surprise - had since apologized to Natsu.

"I beg your forgiveness," Sting had said merely a day or so after they'd gone through the Portal, face girm, "for what I said. It was wrong. Regardless of what you are, you're a member of the dragons' nest, welcomed by Igneel himself. I had no business prying into your life, and after what Weisslogia told me about the dragon that attacked Tenrou...we can't afford rivalries and fighting between ourselves."

It had been a very respectful apology, Juvia had told Natsu when he'd reluctantly looked to her for advice about it. Lucy hadn't been awake, and he sure as hell wasn't going to ask Gray. With reluctance, Natsu had accepted said apology - and wasn't entirely sure how to interact with Sting now. Did he go back to treating him like he had before? Or did he continue to hold his silent grudge?

He wished he'd been able to talk it over with Lucy; her advice always helped him.

"What do you mean?" said Lucy, still squinting. She blinked tiredly, and Natsu decided to pay closer attention than normal to the conversation so he could relay it to her later when she was more awake. She was likely going to pass out halfway through.

Sting blinked, as if surprised she didn't understand what he meant. "The spirits," he said again. "They could peek into Portals. Yukino's always made sure she was safe when passing through them before she became Keeper…" He trailed off, realizing no one understood what he was saying. So, with a shrug, he launched into an explanation that was simple and to the point. "The celestial spirits call another realm home, right? The Portals pass through that realm. So whoever was watching was probably a celestial spirit - and a strong one, not one that you have a contract with. One of the twelve zodiac spirits, or the King himself."

"King?" echoed Lucy, thinking that she'd heard about the King before, and Sting threw his hands in the air, frustrated.

"How do I know more than you, Miss 'I'm-Becoming-the-Keeper?!'"

Natsu gave him a dirty look when Lucy frowned in disapproval at his tone. Ignoring the look, Sting explained anyways, "The spirits are ruled by the Spirit King. He's like our Dragon King." He sneaked a suspicious look at Natsu when Natsu sputtered. "What?"

"I think I remember that guy." Natsu wrinkled his nose. "He was summoned once during the Demonic Wars. Just once. It was when Mard Greer went into hiding. It was the first time Zeref ever got worried about someone besting him."

"...you met the Spirit King?" said Sting blankly, while Lucy's jaw dropped and Gray and Juvia exchanged exasperated looks.

"I didn't meet him," corrected Natsu. He reached over and snagged Lucy's food, ignoring her tired squawk of confusion as he shoveled a bite into his mouth. She hadn't been about to finish it, so he'd sure as hell eat it. "Someone just brought him into the chaos 'cause they couldn't deal with Mard Greer." He squinted at no one in particular as he contemplated how it had happened. "Spirits didn't tend to get involved in the Demonic Wars though. They avoided it for centuries. I think someone brought him into it when he didn't want to be. I don't think he's been in this world since."

"How do you summon the Spirit King?" Lucy asked slowly.

"Dunno. Don't wanna know." Natsu gave her a pointed look. "I doubt he'd be helpful. The celestial spirits prefer to keep their distance from this world's issues. Your spirits might help you, but that's because you have a contract with them and even then, there might be something in those contracts that lets them step back should they not want to interfere. Celestial spirits are picky. Like you've heard, Luce, they've been around a long time. They haven't survived this long for nothing."

"They're really picky," agreed Gray, thinking of his few experiences with Lucy's contracted spirits. "But some of 'em...they don't seem to agree with that."

"They don't like not helping," added Lucy quietly, touching her keys fondly. "I know Aries and Gemini in particular hope that Leo will agree to allow us to be Keeper and Guardian. I don't know what happened between Leo, Layla, and Igneel, but...the celestial spirits - even Aquarius - want a Keeper. I'd like to know what Leo's thinking though, to not want one. I wonder if it has to do with…" She paused to yawn massively, earning chuckles from those around her as she sleepily scrubbed at an eye with the heel of her hand. "I wonder if it has to do with Mard Greer, since he's being controlled."

Natsu opened his mouth to disagree, but closed it instead. He felt like there was something about Leo that was rubbing him the wrong way. He knew something about the spirit, but he didn't remember what it was. He eyed Lucy thoughtfully; he was willing to bet it played into his missing memories. He'd figure it out, he supposed.

Reaching over, he prodded Lucy with the end of her own fork. She hissed, rubbing the spot. "Go back to sleep. We're gonna try and make up some time tomorrow."

"We are?" muttered Juvia, cocking a brow at him, and Natsu promptly ignored the look that Gray gave him. Something about that look made Natsu want to throttle him, but that might have also been the constant feeling he'd had since he'd met the half-demon when Gray was but a child.

Lucy frowned at Natsu, but gave up, shrugging. She was rather tired - and he knew it. His own body sincerely ached with the exhaustion she was feeling. "Alright," she muttered, crawling over to where she had been sleeping for the last few days. "Wake me up in the morning then."

Natsu smirked when he felt that she was asleep not even minutes later.

When she was, he carefully set aside the food he'd finished off. He ignored the frown that Sting was giving him for a few moments before finally giving in, not liking that he was being stared at. "What?" he growled, baring his teeth warningly at the white dragon.

Sting ignored the attitude in favor of saying, "Did you ever meet Leo? You met Layla."

Natsu perked up a little. Now this he could talk to Sting about without having to worry about if he should have been ignoring him. "Maybe. Don't remember meeting Layla though, let alone Leo." He settled back on his elbows, smug for no reason. He eyed Sting closely. "Igneel erased my memories of the day Layla died and a couple o' things before that, too. That's probably something he erased."

"Why would he erase your memories?" demanded Sting. "I mean, I know something happened and Layla died, but why erase your memories and not his own?"

"Beats me." Natsu studied the fire he'd built for Lucy and frowned.

It was a really good question, actually. And even as the others went to sleep for the night, Natsu debated it in silence.

Precisely one month later, nearing the beginning of summer, the group finally reached the capital of the Pergrande Kingdom. Natsu could tell that Lucy was anything but pleased about the fact that they'd had to walk the last few miles after selling their mounts, in need of money in order to maneuver through the capital city with ease. Sting had chosen to leave them only a few minutes after they'd finished selling their mounts, heading off with the promise that he'd send Rogue if they needed help getting back.

Listening to Lucy's grumbling as they entered the actual city had Natsu snickering under his breath. "Luce," he said, walking easily beside her, "We talked about this. We'll make it back, so stop freaking out."

"We could have been here three weeks ago," she hissed back. "But you wouldn't let me make a Portal!"

"Because someone was watching us," soothed Juvia from her place a few steps ahead. She smiled over her shoulder at Lucy with a gentle look. Her blue eyes shone with amusement as she turned to face forward again. "We all agreed that it was the right decision to make, right, Gray?"

Gray gave a curt nod. "No point in letting the world know where we're going. Besides, what good would it have done you if we got here expecting a fight and you were knocked out for a week?"

"I guess," she mumbled under her breath. Lucy sighed heavily and then began peering around at the city around them. "And I suppose I should enjoy looking at all of this," she added, frowning to herself as she noticed just how cheerful and happy the city seemed when the world surrounding it was so covered with violent mythics. "I don't think this city exists in my time."

"Is it like with Crocus?" asked Juvia with curiosity.

Lucy flinched at the thought. "No," she said hastily, not liking the idea that someone would come through and destroy another capital city. "Some places merely...faded away in history, and this might have been one of them. I'm not sure. I studied Fiore and even then, I could never learn all of it no matter how much I would have liked to."

"Well, then let's take a break," suggested Gray, folding his hands behind his head. "I know you want us to hurry up and figure this out, but we could all use a day off from stress and traveling. We'll look around, get something to eat, and then we can spend the evening planning at whatever hotel we find that's fairly cheap but nice. We need to learn the city anyway, right?"

Juvia nodded her agreement cheerfully, but Lucy looked uncertainly to Natsu, unsure if it was a good idea when there was still so much to do. He cocked a brow, silently indicating that he'd do whatever she wanted. But he inclined his head a fraction towards Gray, thinking that it was probably a good idea - if only for Gray and Juvia's sake. And Lucy's sake, too.

So, Lucy nodded hesitantly. "Okay. But just...just one day."

"Great," said Gray with a grin that startled her. He looked so relieved that she paused to take a fresh look at him and Juvia. They looked simply exhausted. Almost more so than she felt after making so many Portals. She felt guilty at the sight; they needed a break badly.

Natsu silently ruffled her hair, chasing away her guilt with a simple smirk, and then pointedly puffed a ball of flame at Gray's head. Gray squawked in protest and glared at him, eyes blazing with agitation. But Natsu looked skyward, pretending he'd done nothing, and Lucy, not wanting to deal with her partner's odd teasing behavior, turned to Juvia and suggested, "Why don't we split up and look around? It'll be easier to cover more ground, and it'll keep these two from causing problems."

Juvia eyed Gray, who was puffing up furiously like a cat, and hastily nodded her agreement. "Shall we meet here this evening, around sunset?"

"That sounds good," agreed Lucy. "Gray, can Natsu and I have some of the money to get some food with? I don't want to make the inn we room have to deal with his appetite...the last one we used wasn't too excited with how much they had to give up."

"Sure," said Gray. They bent over the pouch of coins he'd been carrying, sliding her a few coins. "I'd give you more, but we don't know how long we'll be here, so we'll need enough for a room for at least a week."

"No problem. Thanks, Gray." Lucy gave him a warm smile, and he and Juvia waved before heading off. Lucy smiled fondly at the way Juvia tucked her arm into Gray's, saying something with a wide smile on her face. When they were gone, she turned to face Natsu, pushing any negative thoughts from her head, because damn it, they did deserve a break.

"Have you been here before?" she questioned.

He shook his head. "Maybe." He scratched the back of his head, eyeing the nearest building. "Don't remember it though...let's head that way since they went the other." He pointed towards the busy southern parts of the capital city. Together, they began to make their way through the streets.

It didn't take Lucy long to realize that she was far more at home in the busy city then Natsu was. It held more people than even Crocus, and Natsu was growing more irritable by it the longer they lingered. So, she guided them through fairly empty alleyways, although Natsu ensured to be close enough that he bumped into her regularly after they came across a few unseemly scenes that resulted in Lucy nearly being grabbed by a drunken man.

"This place isn't nearly as nice as Crocus," Lucy mused aloud when she realized it was rather bland. There was no color, no festival-like markets where people rushed here and there to sell their wares. This city was rather quiet - and she couldn't say she liked it.

"Nah," Natsu agreed much to her surprise, his hands folded behind his head. His expression was carefully blank, and when Lucy felt around, she could tell he was suspicious. Frowning, she questioningly looked at him. Natsu inclined his head slightly, resting it on Happy, who remained perched on his shoulder. "We're bein' watched," he said simply. "Have been since we got here. Seems whoever it is wanted to watch you and me instead of following Gray and Juvia."

Lucy's eyes flickered with understanding. That was the main reason he'd agreed with splitting up to explore the city. Feigning ignorance towards the situation, Lucy stopped to peer through a window into a store. "Think it'll be a problem?"

Natsu shook his head. "They would've done something by now. For all we know, could be one of the celestial spirits or someone working under Mard Greer." He kept his voice hushed, not trusting any of the ears around them. "Just means we'll need to be careful when we talk tonight."

Lucy nodded her agreement and touched the keys at her hip thoughtfully.

At least, Lucy thought, they'd have a nice room that evening.

They didn't learn much about the city from their small "break," and when they had managed to get a room at an inn and discuss Gray and Juvia's findings, they were disappointed to find that the pair hadn't found much either. "We'll find something," Juvia reassured, looking far more hopeful than Lucy felt. "We always do. We did find a place we can get a good breakfast at for decent prices though."

They'd debated getting two rooms, but had ultimately decided on one, simply because Lucy didn't trust Gray and Natsu alone in a room together with no one to keep their bickering in check. Juvia had been beyond pleased with the decision and had claimed the spot that would allow her to be as close as possible to Gray.

"She could just share the blanket with him at this rate," Natsu had muttered under his breath, earning a glare from the irritable blue-haired woman.

Natsu himself had taken a shockingly short time to fall asleep. Lucy supposed it was due to the strict watch he'd kept during their travels alongside Sting. Gray hadn't even bothered trying to shove his way in; the pair had senses that he couldn't even hope to keep up with.

Now, Lucy was the only one awake, her eyes locked on the dark ceiling above her head. The others had all gone to sleep hours before, but she was too anxious to. Natsu was curled up with Happy on the floor nearby, sleeping soundly, and Juvia and Gray were across the room. Lucy had been given the bed, though she'd felt bad about it. She'd offered to swap every other night, but had been denied, to her annoyance.

Oh, well, she sighed, rolling over. At least it was somewhat comfortable-

Eyes peered back at her over the edge of the bed, reflecting light like those of a large cat.

There was a brief moment in which Lucy comprehended what she was seeing, and then her keys burned, and the owner of said eyes was upon her. A hand slammed over her mouth, muffling the shriek that left her. Something hard and shockingly cold sliced along her jaw, spilling hot blood down her flesh, and it was enough.

Natsu was awake in an instant, snarling loudly with black flames bursting to life around the room. It scared Gray and Juvia awake, and Gray lurched to his feet, ready to fight. Happy bristled as he curled his tail around Natsu's throat, eyes glowing as the black flames turned to a normal fiery color. "You have three seconds," rumbled Natsu in a tone that promised death if his demands weren't met.

She couldn't see the person half-crouched over her. They were silhouetted by the flames. All she saw was the slight narrowing of those reflective eyes as they snorted in amusement. They didn't bother to move, instead sliding a mocking look over their shoulder, daring him.

Natsu met the dare with a bellow of flames. "Natsu!" shouted Juvia upon realizing that they might burn Lucy.

Yet the flames washed harmlessly over them, and even Natsu faltered. Lucy squirmed, trying to free herself as the hand tightened over her mouth to a bruising grip. Her fingers pried at theirs desperately before giving up, seeking her knife instead, worn even in her sleep.

She could feel fear kindling in her chest - Natsu's fear.

What kind of mythic could withstand his flames, which had burned an entire village to ash?

Gray stepped forward, already moving his hands as he crafted a weapon with his magic. He was met with a flash of light that slammed into him and hurled him back. He yelped as he hit the floor, dazed, and Juvia swore under her breath, rushing to make sure he was okay when she smelled burned flesh.

Lucy felt something cold trickle down her spine. What was this mythic?

Her fingers found her black knife, and she didn't hesitate to whip it out and slam it into the arm of the person trapping her. They yelped, whipping their arm away as hot blood splattered her face, but Lucy ignored them and hurled herself from the bed. She tucked neatly into a roll that Natsu had taught her and sprang lightly to her feet, whip already curling around her as she straightened a few feet away from the furious demon.

The mythic growled, the sound rumbling loudly in the room, and shook their arm thoughtfully as they tossed the knife away. Natsu lunged, intending to wrestle them physically to the ground since his magic did nothing, but the mythic rebounded with another flash of light.

Like Sting's, Lucy thought just before it hit Natsu.

Pain exploded through her as the light seared at Natsu's skin. She wasn't sure how he ignored it, letting the force of whatever the light was carry him until he was on his feet again, baring his teeth. "Who are you?" he barked, before alarm sprang into his eyes. "Lucy-"

Lucy squeaked, snapping her whip when the mythic appeared in front of her again, roughly shoving her so that she hit the ground on her back. The whip managed to slice sharply along the mythic's face, but they ignored the wound in favor of suddenly stepping back-

Lucy could only stare when they vanished into a Portal, which snapped neatly shut behind them.

Drama! That last bit was entirely unplanned when I wrote it, but is one of my favorite scenes written so far. ;)

Thanks to reviewers (Bookwork129, SheWhoLeavesCrappyReviews, AthomeinFairytail, Uchida Akira, stranger1999, Alexia Colette, Lodemai04, madaraswife, Lissuin, valerioux, YoursTruly, BeautifulSamurai, Surfy, itsxoi, theHumbleGM, AlaskaHolmes90786, Guest #1, and Sele de la Luna!) as well as those who favorited and followed!