Chapter 3

It didn't take long before they reached the village. Perhaps luck was on their side, or then perhaps Natsu found the way the same way he could tell about most things: smell. Thankfully, the village was much more lively than before, and there was no sign or remnant of the magic circle from then either. Lucy let out a sigh of relief and dropped her bag. It was mid afternoon by the time they reached their hotel room, and she was already exhausted. She was thinking about taking a quick nap when she heard Natsu speak.

"Rest up now while you can," he told her, "We're going to be up all night."

Lucy wasn't sure if the feeling she'd gotten from his words was more thrilling or foreboding, "Why?"

"Because that's when this cave dweller appears to snatch people up," he told her.

"Oh," she said intelligently. Miffed that she'd missed the obvious, she turned and set her stuff out for bed. Peeking over her shoulder, she saw Natsu settle in on the couch. "Do you want me to wake you up," she asked him.

"Nah," he replied, "I'm not really tired, so I'll probably be up before you anyway."

She simply nodded and turned away, pulling off her coat and slipping into the sheets in only her tank top. Once under the covers, she removed her skirt and laid it on the floor with her coat. Resting her head on the pillow and trying not to think about how odd it felt to have Natsu there but not fully the same, she closed her eyes and exhaustion from canyon climbing took over as she fell asleep.

Natsu lay awake on the couch staring at the ceiling. He could hear Lucy's quiet breathing that told him she was asleep. Even now, when he should be doing the same, he couldn't but lie there thinking. The pull to her shouldn't be this hard. It was true that a single kiss could tie them together thanks to his magic, but the kiss would take the both of them to initiate and respond, much unlike the surprise smooch she'd sprung on him days earlier. He hadn't had much chance to respond, and even if he had, he'd much rather her kiss him because she wanted to, not because of some dare, or worse, out of pity. He had meant it when he said that they'd always be together. He knew she'd also agreed with that statement, and that she cared deeply for him in a way that she couldn't understand. He also knew that she'd never even considered him as more than her closest friend. He didn't blame her. He barely knew what to make of their relationship sometimes, and what they had was comfortable. What complicated things now was whether he was okay with going back to just being comfortable or if he wanted to see what more with her could be like, which was a very hard thing to do given the risk of being mated. Forever. That was almost too much to ask of a person. He tried to tell himself that he was okay with being comfortable, but as he'd watched her undress earlier, he couldn't deny that his heart wanted her, and so did the fire in his gut. Still, there was nothing to do but wait for her. If she decided that she wanted him, that she wanted more, he could begin to let himself try for it, too. She had to be the one to come to him so that he knew how she truly felt about it all, about him. But things needed to go back to normal first. Natsu gritted his teeth and sighed. Just a little while longer. Just a little more distance, and then they'd be back to normal again. As he finally drifted off to sleep, he could only hope that he was right.

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The hours between their arrival and when the sun set passed too quickly. Natsu woke to the coolness of the night air, and glanced over at Lucy's sleeping form. She looked so cute in her sleep, slightly open-mouthed and drooling lightly with her hair tangled in a mess of a golden halo around her head. He smiled at the sight.

Stretching, he stood up and reached for his jacket. As he bent down to pick it up Lucy stirred in her sleep, successfully kicking the blankets halfway. Natsu stilled. She was only in her tank top and underthings. Spinning quickly around, he pulled his jacket on and willed the burning of his cheeks away. He knew he wouldn't forget that sight any time soon.

"Hey, Lucy," he called as he adjusted his scarf. He heard her shift and stretch.

"Time to go already?" She asked around a yawn, "can we get some food first?"

Natsu faced her and was thankful that she'd already donned her skirt, but his eyes still followed her movements while she pulled on her jacket. She looked up at him and he smiled, "Of course."

After a quick dinner at the pub on the first floor of the inn, Natsu and Lucy set out on following some leads. While eating, they'd heard some rumors from a couple men at the bar, and several others were dismayed at a recently set curfew in the village. Being out after sundown was quickly becoming taboo in their part of the canyon. So naturally, Lucy and Natsu went out, asking questions of the few locals they ran into who were bustling about, rushing to their homes after last minute errands and closing up their shops. Within the hour, aside from the soft lights illuminating the windows of the homes along the streets, the town looked rather empty and was quiet, the dim glow from the porch lights and lanterns casting eerie shadows on the corners of the buildings.

"Is it just me, or did it suddenly get as creepy out here as it was the last time we were here?" Lucy asked uneasily. She subconsciously drifted closer to Natsu so that their arms brushed.

"Don't worry, Luce. We're wizards. If anything jumps out at us we can handle it," he told her confidently, "Besides, I'll protect you."

Lucy's heart jumped a little at his reassuring grin and his words. She definitely felt better, but this place was still creepy. She felt Natsu slow and she looked around. The rumors had led them to the edge of town where the forested area with the mushrooms began along the canyon wall. There, just before the trees, was a well. Lucy didn't know to be worried or more amused at the cliche that this set up was something like a horror novel, "So...," she began, "This is the place?"

Natsu nodded and moved closer to inspect the area surrounding the well, "According to the rumors, yeah. They were all taken around this location. Strange though."

"What is?"

"I don't smell anything unusual. In fact, it smells more like no one comes over here at all. At least not for long." Natsu placed a hand on the old stones, looking down at the fixture before him with a thoughtful expression.

Lucy moved to the tree line, inspecting the mushrooms and moss at the base of the trees. It only grew on one side of the trees, and there was a strange ooze coating the caps of a couple shrooms and splattered on the tree trunk. At first it just seemed like sap, but perhaps if she took a closer look, it would be useful later. Lucy reaches in her tool belt to find something to hold it in, but before she could do much else, Natsu straightened, peering back towards the town. He appeared as a guard dog alerted to the smallest sound, on edge and ready to act should he be called upon to do so. His figure was so still, so much so that Lucy had a hard time recalling if he'd ever been so motionless. She followed his eyes to the town again, and she strained to see past the thickening shadows while at some other time she would swear she heard the Dragon Slayer growl. Studying the line of houses ahead of them, Lucy saw nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, the only mood that struck her as hostile was coming from the man standing next to her. Careful not to move from her crouched position, Lucy leaned forward and focused her sight on a small patch of shadows on the edge of the closest building. They remained like that for several moments, the only sound between them was their subtle, controlled breathing. Just as she was about to relax and pull her gaze away, there was movement. There, in the shadows, almost as quickly as it came, it was gone again. Then suddenly, it was back, shadow sliding across shadow. From the way he tensed, she could tell Natsu saw it, too. Then it lurched.

It was so fast Lucy had to do a double take. It was moving away from them. One moment it was in the shadow closest to them, and in the next it flitted across the street in an instant, and disappeared into the retreating shadows. At first glance, it still appeared as a more solid shadow, but a shadow nonetheless. There was a pause, and then it blinked across the lighted path, and Natsu was after it.

Lucy let out the breath she'd been holding and sprinted behind him, hand on her keys at the ready. As the shadow moved ahead of them, she started to make out that it was a person, cloaked in black and gray, and based off of how quickly he was moving, definitely a wizard. Lucy gritted her teeth. There weren't supposed to be any more wizards in the city ever since the magic circle fiasco last time. That's what the chief had told them. So either this wizard was a rogue, a secret, or this job just got a lot more complicated. She ran faster. Natsu slowed slightly to match her pace.

"Lucy," he called to her. She looked at him. His face was deadly serious as he kept his eyes on the target. She knew exactly what he meant. He had come to the same conclusion as she, and if they wanted answers they would have to follow the wizard or capture him. Based off of the short time spent chasing him so far, there was no evidence that the shadow jumper was panicking, meaning that it was highly likely that he was leading them away from where they would find answers. Therefore the best bet would be to capture him and question him before he slipped away.

"Right," Lucy replied. Quickly pulling off Virgo's key, she called the maiden to her.

"Yes, Princess?" the spirit asked, waiting for orders as she fell in step with the mage.

"See that wizard up ahead? He's jumping between shadows. I need you to tunnel and interrupt his movement," Lucy told her.

"You wish for a capture?"

"Yes."

"Understood," replied Virgo. Shortly after she disappeared.

Lucy looked to Natsu, "Ready?"

"Yeah," he told her. The look on Natsu's face was so different from his ever-present grin, but his battle face was also familiar, and she made a mental note to observe how expressive he was in the future because she had to admit, she quite liked both.

Thoughts aside, the next thing happened quickly after that. As of perfectly in sync, Natsu and Lucy surged forward, her from the ground, Natsu from above. The cloaked figure finally made motion that recognized them, and he stopped and turned to cast a spell in their direction. But just as soon as he'd begun, his magic ceased, and the ground opened up as Virgo emerged. The spirit wrapped the wizard in her chains, and all too suddenly he was captured. The wizard was a weaselly character, dark hair, thick eyebrows, and a curled mustache. He also seemed to have a slight twitch in his lip, and when he spoke he had a whine in his voice.

"Uh oh, uh hnnn, looks like I've been caught," the wizard said.

"Who are you and what are doing out sneaking around?" Lucy demanded.

"Hnnn, well, sneak is a bit harsh," came his reply, "Those like me don't like the light."

"Answer her," Natsu growled.

The wizard turned his eyes to the dragon, "Ooh hoo, I am called Grendelunn. I w-walk in the shadows. There used to be w-wizards inn this town, uh hnnn. Did you think they'd all gone?"

"I just assumed they didn't practice anymore," Lucy answered, "at least not with anything that wouldn't be practical use."

"Where are they now?" Natsu inquired.

"The lady is right, uh hnn. Most of us do not practice," he stated, "except those who have otherwise no use."

Lucy's eyes widened, "So there's an underground community," she looked at the man, "What were you doing by the edge of the forest? Don't you know people have gone missing from there?"

Grendelunn first looked puzzled before meeting her eyes, "I see... hnnn nobody tells Grendel anything. I was collecting a jelly used for reversal spells. By touch and you're paralyzed; by magic, undonnne. Seems you followed the rumors. That means you were the bait. Ooh hoo, I'll be inn trouble."

"Jelly?" Lucy remembered the sap-like ooze she'd been about to collect and gasped, "that could have paralyzed me?"

"Hnn, yes," he responded, "then you would have been collected like the others."

"Are you saying you're a part of the disappearances?" Natsu asked him, voice hard like stone.

"The magic lives inn us," Grendel hissed, "the magic village needs magic to live," he looked from Natsu's shoulder to Lucy's hand and then met her eyes, "from Fairy Tail, you are. Uh hnn, very powerful. I can feel it. You could save us all."

The wizard appeared deep in thought before issuing a warning, "Stay away from the well. It is a ruse uh hnnn."

"And why should we trust you?" Natsu growled again.

Grendelunn met his eyes, "I have not a death wish. Best to say you've lost me. Trust no one with the silver brow," he looked off into the distance, "soon the sun will be awake. I do not like the light."

Natsu and Lucy shared a look, and then with a nod from her master, Virgo released the wizard. As he straightened, the man towered above them. Lucy shivered at his presence. This guy just got even sketchier.

"Find the place where first the water flows up, and there you shall find your answers. Uh hnnn best to make haste. The moonn will rise on your opening tomorrow. There, I will wait," Grendelunn bowed before turning away, and in a flash, he was gone, his form dispersed in the retreating shadows.

Natsu looked at Lucy, "Well whatever that's supposed to mean."

Lucy rolled her eyes and shrugged, "guess we'll find out tonight. Let's go. I want to get some sleep before this whole thing becomes Galuna all over again."

"Galuna," he asked her.

"Yeah," she spoke without turning around, "Didn't you hear him? He said something about the moon."

"Yeah, but he said that's our opening, too. Maybe the moon is on our side this time."

"Hah!" Lucy scoffed, "when is any part of the universe ever on our side? Now hurry up, I'm tired."

Natsu stared after her for a moment before grinning, "Hey, Lucy?"

She turned to look at him, "what?"

He pointed in the opposite direction and grinned wider, "The inn is that way."

Lucy blanched, stomping her foot, she spun on her heel, bumping his shoulder as she passed him. "I knew that," she grumbled.

Natsu simply laughed, enjoying the pink that covered her cheeks. Some things never changed.