Thanks to Oh-My-Mavis for reminding me to post a chapter! She rocks. I think this is just going to add questions, but hey. That's what I'm good at.

Enjoy!

Natsu was getting a little sick of walking. It seemed much farther to Crocus than he remembered. Which was highly annoying. Lucy was probably already there, and on her way to Magnolia. Or looking for him. With her, it was hard to tell what she'd deem logical. There was nothing to do but keep walking. What choice did he have? It occurred to him that even if the plane hadn't been an instrument of mega-torture, he wouldn't have the money to pay for it anyway. Or for a train, the lesser of the two evils. Besides, he usually liked walking. He'd just gotten used to having someone with him.

He scented the air, trying to get a gauge of how far the next town would be. He was getting used to this world's scent. He was figuring out what he could ignore, and what he couldn't.

There.

He recognized the scent of Crocus, flowers and people, plus a few that had no name, but said Crocus to him. And a new one, age. Old magick, old buildings.

Secrets.

Crocus held more secrets now than ever before, even after the whole Eclipse incident. He wondered if it had anything to do with the relics stored there now. Lucy's keys were just one thing that the people of this world had no idea how to handle. Who knew what else was in that museum? Things that returning mages were going to want. Things that the people of this world couldn't control. Hell, with the magick returning, spell scrolls and other books could become highly dangerous. If they had black magick in that building, people could be killed. They were lucky the only things activating right now were protection spells and barriers. If any real magick was exposed...well, the world was already on the edge of panic. Something like a spell gone wild could send them over the edge. It wouldn't be impossible either, considering just how sensitive some spells were.

If magick was waking in the land, who was to say it wasn't waking in the people? Natsu had no idea how things were working right now, or why they'd been spared. Or why the magick had vanished in the first place.

He was still blaming it on Gray.

But he figured that magick could be returning in the people too, and not just the ones from a thousand years ago, but from the ones that lived right here, right now.

The aftershocks of magick's return were only just beginning.

This was an earthquake that couldn't be measured on any scale. It couldn't be stopped and there was no preparing for the aftereffects, because no one knew what they were. Just like a fire with fresh fuel kept on burning, magick kept on rumbling. Changing everything in its path.

Natsu started to run. Crocus was close, he could smell it. Start to hear it. Fear and nerves were in the air, on a much larger scale than the town he'd entered before. More people, more theories, more paranoia, and more fear. The trees started to thin, and he could catch glimpses of the city. His eyes found the arena first. No flags cracked in the stiff wind, but it didn't look as, well, old, as he'd expected. Either someone had restored it, or magick had preserved it.

The city was as he remembered, row upon row of houses and shops. People milled about, tourists and residents merging until it was impossible to tell who was who. Flowers bloomed from containers, from window boxes and hanging pots. Beyond the colors of the flowers, he could see the rich greens that accented the bright blooms. He kept on running, eyes scanning for signs of Lucy, or someone else he knew. He slid to a stop once he reached the outskirts. People were already starting to stare. Natsu's gaze locked onto a guard.

He strolled over, people parting from his path without a mutter of protest. The guard eyed him warily.

"Can I help you?" The guard seemed to look for injury, but despite the state of his clothes, Natsu was unharmed.

"Yeah, can you point me to the museum?"

"Sorry, sir, but the museum has been closed until further research on the magickal artifacts can be completed."

Crap. "I know." Natsu lied smoothly. "I'm meeting a friend outside of it. She's mad about history, the giant weirdo."

The guard once again took in the state of Natsu's clothes, but this time he noticed the emblem on Natsu's shoulder. His eyes narrowed. Damn, Natsu thought, he should've asked a shop keeper or something. He hadn't thought about the fact that the cops would be suspicious of anything even slightly out of the ordinary.

"Anyone with a emblem has to talk to Annette. She's head of police here. She just wants to figure out what happened. Please, come with me."

Natsu groaned. "I don't know what happened. Alvarez attacked man, the world went crazy, and here I am." He really didn't have time for this. "I can't answer questions. I gotta find Lucy. The gold keys you got in that museum are hers. She's gonna want them back."

"Wait!" The guard called out as Natsu took off. He'd find the museum on his own. It couldn't be that hard. Maybe he could just follow the scent of old magick. Lucy's magick. He clamored onto a roof, nose in the wind. People were openly staring now, and he was sure that guard had called that Annie chick about him, but it couldn't be helped.

There.

He jumped down, headed straight for what he wanted. It didn't take long for him to find the museum. It was big, bigger than he'd expected. It was clearly marked, and obviously closed. Guards milled about outside, and it wouldn't take them long to pick him out of the crowd. They seemed to be more on alert than what he'd figure. It couldn't be the most exciting place to guard. Who'd break into a museum?

He would.

They must've been informed of his arrival. They must've figured he'd make his way over sooner or later.

Maybe sooner than they'd expected, considering they didn't think he knew where he was going. He scanned the entrance, noting the front was well guarded. He could cause a scene. He could cause a very large scene. The situation practically begged for it.

And he could also cause panic.

If this had been a thousand years ago, he'd have charged in, grabbed Lucy's keys and ran out cackling. But now, with the smell of fear sharp in the air, and the stiffness in the limbs of the guards that gave away their apprehension, he knew it wasn't the way to go. He wished he could, because it would be so much simpler. But it wasn't worth making the world believe that Fairy Tail, and mages in general, were people to be feared. Fairy Tail had no reputation here, and he couldn't start one on such a sour note.

But he didn't know the layout of the museum, didn't know what back entrances there were, or if they were as heavily guarded.

Plan making sucked.

He secreted himself in an alley, wishing he had Happy. Then he could just fly to the roof and break in from there. He wouldn't have to attack the guards, but it'd still cause some sort of problem on some level, he was sure of it. Lucy was no much better at this sort of thing, which was why he needed to find her. They were her keys, after all. She'd probably just march right up to the front door, demanding to be let in. She would've known where the museum was, probably, without having to ask a guard. History was something that interested her. Not as much as writing and her keys did, but his Luce was smart.

A lady exited the museum, dressed in a sharp suit. She talked to one of the guards, and handed him a paper. He jolted, seemed surprised, then nodded. The guards began to shuffle away, relief evident in their strides. Another man exited the museum, a large sign in his hand. Both he and the woman held it up, while some workers tied it off.

"By decree of the Queen, any magickal artifacts that belongs to the revived mages from the Age of Magick shall be returned to them if they show their Guild Mark and are approved by the Queen's Magickal Consultant."

Natsu blinked in shock.

Well, if this was a trap, he had no choice but to walk into it.

Gajeel figured that this was his luck. The world had basically imploded in his face, and nothing made sense anymore. Levy and Pantherlily had vanished. He'd been...revived, he supposed was the term, a little less than twenty-four hours ago. It had been one thing to lose seven years, but a thousand? That was just pure insanity.

To top it all off, he was wandering in tunnels deep under Fiore, the air so stagnant and old that it was impossible to tell the way out. He'd gotten a bit of fresh air a time or two, but he'd been unsuccessful in finding an exit. It wasn't pitch black, either. There was just enough light from iridescent crystals shoved into the rockwork for him to make his way easily. His nose would've guided him had it been darker, but it was nice to be able to see if he was about to fall into a drop off.

Still, he'd come close a time or two.

He couldn't blast his way out. Levy and Pantherlily could be down here, and the the tunnels wouldn't be able to sustain an attack. Hell, he'd yelled once, and the place had trembled. He hadn't even been that loud. With nothing else to do, he'd decided to try and sniff them out. His nose wasn't as good as Salamanders'-not that he'd ever admit it-but it worked well enough. For once, he wished he had that Cobra dudes ears. He'd know in an instant if Levy and Pantherlily were down in this blasted place.

So he explored, calling out for his friends, but not too loud. Levy wouldn't hear him, not unless she was just around the next corner, but Lily might. His cat was better than the others. He probably had better hearing too.

The place was massive, and completely unlike the border town he'd been defending before the world had gone crazy. He didn't know what the hell happened, but he blamed it on Salamander and his sidekick in destruction, Ice Boy. If anyone could cause magick to freaking vanish for a thousand years and for the entirety of Fiore to rearrange itself, it would be those two idiots. He owed them both a good kick. But first he had to find his cat and the small blue woman that drove him up the wall.

"Goddammit." Gajeel stared at the cavern he'd just entered. It had several exits, some no bigger than a mouse hole, other's big enough for Metali-frickin'-cana. Scenting the air, he tried to figure out where they might be. Finally. He caught the scent of Levy-paper, books, and magick-along with his cat's. The tunnel the scent came from was on the smaller side, just barely tall enough to admit him, and just wide enough to allow him to breathe. Of course they would be down such a hole. It couldn't be the big cavern that could fit a dragon.

Nope.

Squeezing his way down the passage, he recalculated. While it was big enough to breathe in, they had to be very shallow, controlled breaths. Cursing in his head, he inched his way down the passage, their scents getting stronger. He hoped this place opened up more. This was ridiculous! With a sniff, he noted the air was slightly fresher here too, just a bit of sweetness mixed with the dry, stale air. Maybe she'd found an exit? He hoped so. Bit by torturous bit, Gajeel made his way deeper into the crevice, noticing that it was widening ever so slightly every few feet. If that kept up, maybe he'd actually be able to scratch his nose, since of course, it was starting to itch.

Such things had excellent timing.

He could see it was brighter in head of him, and so he focused on that. It was, at this moment, his holy grail. When at last he came to a bigger cavern, he sighed in relief. He didn't want to do that again.

"Levy! Lily!" He called out, as loud as he dared. He didn't know if this part of the cavern was as weak as the others.

"Gajeel!" Levy's light, slightly out of breath voice reached him. He scanned the shadows for her, while relief he refused to acknowledge swept through him. The cavern was darker than its predecessors, bigger too. This cave, Gajeel noted, could fit a whole herd of dragons.

Flock?

He didn't know. And he didn't care. Pinpointing her voice, he strode over to her. He saw Lily perched on a rock first, and his relief was complete. They were both okay. He nodded at Lily, who gestured over to Levy. She was currently running her hand over the way, seeming to search for something.

"What are you doin'?" Gajeel asked, resisting the urge to scoop her up by the back of the neck.

"Looking for a way out." Levy didn't pause in her search. Gajeel looked at Lily for some type of explanation.

"Don't ask me." Lily shrugged.

"There's magick leaking out of this wall," Levy spoke suddenly. Gajeel studied the wall, and he noticed how the lights were slowly brightening. As if they were getting more power. Stepping over, he pressed a hand on the wall. Sure enough, magick flickered under his palm. Impressed, he grinned down at his smaller companion.

"Nice, Shrimp."

"I could've gone another, oh, five minutes, without hearing 'shrimp.'" Levy rolled her eyes, but she was blushing.

"I couldn't." Gajeel said plainly. "Okay, there's magick in the wall. How does that help us get out?"

"It doesn't." Levy muttered. "I was searching for a weakness in the wall when I felt the magick."

"Well now that I know where you're at, I can just blast outta here." Gajeel shrugged. He hadn't wanted to bury Levy and Lily, but with them with him, it wouldn't be a concern.

"Mass destruction. Excellent plan." Levy said with a laugh.

"I wouldn't destroy the magick wall, if you can help it." Lily added. "For all we know, this is one of the places that's restoring magick to the world."

"Lily's got a point." Levy tapped her chin, thinking. Her eyes were distant, and in the gloomy light, she appeared smaller than she was. More delicate. But like all Fairy Tail women, being 'delicate' wasn't that much of a concern. Despite her size, she was tough. He'd learned that in Fairy Tail, if you underestimated the women, you'd get your ass handed to you on a silver platter, all while eyelashes were batted.

The women in his guild sometimes terrified him.

"Maybe we should use a different cavern?" Levy frowned.

"No," Gajeel said sharply. "I ain't going back through that tiny excuse for a tunnel." Humor lit her face.

"Oh, I fit well enough."

"That's 'cause you're tiny enough to fit in my bag."

"Oh, not that again!"

"I believe," Lil interrupted dryly. "That this is where Juvia would step in and say 'they're flirting.'"

They both groaned, causing Lily untold pleasure. The crystals flickered suddenly, and lit the cavern in shocking, blinding light. Levy threw her hands over her eyes, and Gajeel winced. Lily blinked against the sudden brightness. Gajeel recovered first, taking in the cave. The crystals were everywhere, shooting out from the wall like earthen arms. They were tossed here and there, like a toddler's tantrum had launched them. His gaze settled on the middle of the room, and his heart dropped into his stomach.

No.

"Oh," Levy's distress was evident. "Oh, my god."

"Lily," Gajeel's voice was grave. "Get your sword."

Not a trap. Natsu was surprised by that. He'd no more than made it halfway to the museum when he'd spotted. The woman had nodded at him, and gestured him up the steps. Wary, he'd been on high alert. No lasers had fired, no guards had launched themselves frim secret hiding places, and nothing exploded. Confident, he'd increased his speed, figuring he could handle whatever these people threw at him. Until Minerva of all people had stepped out of the museum. He'd about lost his jaw it dropped so hard.

"Hello, Natsu." She smiled at him. "Looking for these?" In her hands, Lucy's keys jangled. He noted she had Yukino's on her belt.

"Yeah, thanks." Natsu had to admit, Minerva wasted no time. Her clothes were obviously new, and she'd washed at some point because he could smell the soap on her. If she'd been talking to the Queen, it would make sense. He hoped she'd sorted things out. Mavis knew Minerva would explain it better than he ever could. Plus, she probably remembered more details than he did. A lot of it had been swept away by adrenaline and his own battle plans. He took the keys from her. "You the 'adviser' person?"

"Yes, I am." Minerva looked over at the older woman. "It seems that the Royal Family liked having...a relic of sorts to remind them of magick long gone. They were surprised to say the least when their relic awoke. I'm afraid I don't make a very good display."

Natsu remembered Jellal's little break out. He wisely swallowed the laugh when he thought of Minerva in the same position. She obviously didn't find it very funny. He wondered how many other people were in the same predicament. Eerily preserved mummies suddenly coming alive.

Talk about spreading panic.

"I've told the Queen all I know." Minerva continued. "She's sent a team to investigate all known magickal sites. If anyone's discovered, they're to be directed to the closest town. By noting down all the guild marks of people found, guild members will be able to meet up with each other. Dark Guild members, if they survived as well, will be denied their magickal items, and dealt with on a case by case basis."

"Sweet." Natsu brightened. "Fairy Tail's probably gonna meet up in Magnolia, since it's still here."

"I suspected as much," Minerva checked a small black device in her hand. "It seems that people have already been found. I don't see any of your guildmates yet."

Natsu shrugged, unconcerned. "Probably already headed out." He looked down at Lucy's keys. Tightening his grip on it, he wondered where Lucy was. "What's this?" Something felt off. There was something smaller than a key, and sharp in the key pouch. He reached into the pouch, and drew out a key. Only, it was only the handle. He recognized Aquarius' symbol. Something in him went cold as ice. "Minerva, why are one of the keys broken?" He held it up for her to see.

"What?" She stepped closer. "But...Yukino." She checked Yukino's keys, as if afraid one of them was broken. "Yukino told me the keys couldn't break."

"Obviously she was wrong." Anger boiled in him. Had this happened over their thousand year absence? His gaze snapped onto the onlooking woman. She recoiled. Obviously, she'd never seen a pissed of mage before.

"We...we found them like that." She said quickly. "Everything we find is cared for and treated with the utmost respect."

"Then what happened?" Natsu tried to figure out when it could've happened. Why hadn't she told him? They were partners. They couldn't hide things like this from each other. Her spirits were everything to her-friends, family, and trusted allies in battle. To lose one...She'd've been devastated. When? Natsu tried to remember the last time he'd seen Aquarius. Now that he thought about it, she hadn't summoned the water spirit since he'd returned from training. And they'd been in situations where she could've summoned the cranky mermaid.

Which meant...Tartarus.

It would make sense, as pain swept stabbed into his heart, some kind of twisted symmetry. He'd lost his father, she'd lost a link to her mother. He gripped the key harder. He didn't know what happened, but he remember the feeling he'd had that Lucy had saved his ass during the battle. Was this how she'd done it? She'd sacrificed this to save them? It would be a Fairy Tail move. Hell, it'd be a Lucy move.

Dammit, where the hell was she? They needed to talk about this! Emotions churned in his gut. Gently, he pocketed the key pouch. Taking a cord, he looped it around Aquarius' key, throwing it over his neck. He wouldn't forget what she'd done for him, for all of them.

"Please," Minerva looked unnerved, something Natsu wasn't used too. "If you find out what happened to that key, could you warn Yukino? I don't want that to happen to her, too."

"I think it was an extreme situation." Natsu said. "But I'll tell her, or Lucy will. Keep me updated on people you find?"

"Of course," Minerva produced another slim device. "This is a highly advanced version of the Lacrima phone we had." She quickly and efficiently showed him how to use it. It wasn't what he was used to, and it seemed far too breakable to be trusted with him. He might accidentally light it on fire, or something. Now he really wished Happy was here. His little buddy could handle it. Lucy too. "Just click this button, and it'll give you the updates on who was found, and where."

"Thanks," Natsu handled the phone like a bomb. Yeah, he was totally going to break this thing. In the back of his mind, he was still thinking about the key that weighed like lead around his neck. "I'm sure Sabretooth's fine." He added when he saw a shadow on her face. She flipped her hair back, and confident smirk on her face.

"Of course. Do you think we'd be out done by you?" Minerva challenged.

"Probably not, but you're still second place." Natsu laughed, fangs glinting.

"We'll have to restart the Games, and see if that's still true." The idea sparked fire in Natsu's eye. He'd love to go against Minerva, or hey, even Sting again. See how much the little punk had improved. Hell, he'd go against both the twins again, and remind 'em who was top dragon.

"We don't need no games. Once we get everyone back together, we'll fight you anytime, anyplace." Who needed formal games when you could just brawl? Plus, he'd be able to choose his own opponents that way.

"We'd be delighted. I think you'll find the Twins more of a challenge next time around." Minerva's eyes glinted. "And I'd love to go against Erza again. Just the two of us."

"There's no way Kagura would sit out of that." Natsu laughed. They'd have a three-way of them again. And wasn't that terrifying?

"I suppose not." Minerva smirked. She glanced down at her phone when it beeped. He heard his own go off as well. "Well, well, well. Fairy Tail makes an appearance after all. It seems some of your guildmates beat you to Magnolia."

He checked his phone. He saw a flash of white hair in the picture, while the front door to the guild was hastily closed.

"It seems someone tried to get it, and was only able to get this picture. The Queen's men haven't made it to the locations of the guildhalls yet, so I don't know who is there." Minerva pursed her lips. "It'd be helpful to have someone look and see, so we know who's still among the missing."

"I'm waiting for Lucy." Natsu was firm. Lucy would come. She'd have to, if she wanted her keys. And she would. She'd have to answer to him on why she kept the broken key a secret. "And I need to find Happy. They might be together."

"I see." Minerva had mischief in her eyes. "Well, for be it from me to keep your exceed partner away from you. As for Lucy, well, I didn't know you and Miss. Heartfilia...were involved."

"We're just partners!" Natsu's protest was automatic, and yet his heart fluttered. It was tough being in love with your best friend/partner, and knowing she was looking for prince charming, not the fire breathing dragon. "'Sides, she needs to explain this." He tapped her key.

"Hmmm." Minerva checked her phone again. "Well, I'll let you know if they're found. I've got to go."

"C'ya," Natsu waved. He looked at the roof of the museum, judged the wind.

Perfect.

Minerva hadn't even walked away and Natsu was launching himself towards the roof, scaling the side of the building with ease. Popping up on the roof, he put his face into the wind. He needed to get a gauge, see if his partners were close by.

When he caught a scent, his smile was automatic.

I need to stop bouncing around so much, lol. It's hard to remember whose doing what. FAIRY TAIL JUST FIND EACH OTHER ALREADY...oh, wait, haha. That's my fault. Lol. So I hope your enjoying this, the gods know it's rough.

GUEST REVIEWS:

AnimalLover: You're welcome, as always. Yes! That's because I'm far ahead of you guys lol. I've only posted around 16,000 words, honestly. Gotta remember A/N's don't count for NaNo. Yes, he did. I knoowww. He's trying so hard. My cute ice bear. Maybe. XD.

Yeahhhh. Magick be weird. OH GODS YES. DOOOOOOOOOOM. Hehe. I can be naughty. Yeah, I'm glad too. Yeah, he does. Like, explosions and saving-Erza entrance. Or something. Not that Erza tends to need saving. AGREED. Like, KICK SOME ASS JELLAL. KICK SOME SERIOUS ASS. Yeah, I don't much like 'em either, so we'll see. ANd that's true. Lots has happened!