Fairy Tail: Journeyman

Chapter 25: If Anyone Can

It didn't take long for the soreness to kick in. Although I had tumbled into the arms of Natsu, falling free style from above the clouds still left a few marks. I rubbed my back as I sat up from the dirt, wincing only slightly.

"Ow ow ow." The words instinctively came out as joints creaked and scratches stung.

Natsu sprung forward almost as if nothing had happened at all.

He groaned exasperatedly. "Why do I feel like this is a habit of yours?"

I blinked at him. "It's not like I'm trying to fall to my death!"

He side-eyed me with one eyebrow cocked upward.

"Says the person who willingly jumped off a cliff."

I clenched my fist as I barked at him. "That doesn't count!"

He shrugged.

I growled for a few more moments before I looked back at the cliff, my eyes in awe. There was a faint yellow glow surrounding the edge now, with varying hues of blue, red and green mixed in, not so dissimilar from the drift.

"Isn't it gorgeous?" The young voice caught me off guard as I twisted my head to the left.

"Mavis!" I voiced my surprise as the first master bounced in her bare feet and stared out past the cliff.

Natsu's head cocked around confused as I addressed her.

"Wait, is someone here? Where are they? Can they see me?"

My head snapped back to him angrily. "Shh! Can't you see I'm trying to have a conversation!"

He planted his fists in between his crossed legs as he squinted at me angrily and mumbled under his breath. "You're the only one who can see ghosts remember?"

Mavis continued despite the interruption. "I was so hoping you'd get to see it too once you got your memories back!" She smiled at me innocently.

I looked back at the faint slow swirling energy. "Is it the gate?"

She shook her head. "Just the energy it left behind. The same energy you used to enter the drift."

"...I used that?" Aquarius had said something similar, although even with almost all my memories back I couldn't quite explain how I had done it. "Wait, so I didn't go through the gate when I jumped off the cliff?"

"Nope! You created your own gate!" My mind reeled for a moment.

"Hold on..." My eyes swirled. "Are you saying... I didn't have to jump at all?" My voice cracked slightly.

Mavis hummed for a moment as she pressed her finger to her chin and nodded. "To be perfectly honest, I was really worried there for a second."

I groaned as I hung my head, my hands gripping the dirt as my stomach churned.

"...you... really should've made that clear."

Mavis chuckled. "Oops! But it all worked out, right?"

'Yea, except for me almost falling to my death.' I held down my nausea.

My head perked up as my mind raced forward. "Hey, wait. If that's not the gate, then where is it?"

The moments leading up to our unwanted journey were still a bit of a blur. The last thing I remembered was shaking and a dark cloud covering Magnolia. A shiver ran through me as I tried to make sense of it all.

Mavis let her hands drift to her sides. "Dismantled. By Zeref."

Her expression hardened into stone, and it was then that I was forced to remember her true age, despite her appearance.

"If I had to guess, Zeref had built the gate with no intention of ever making a return journey. His goal was to live here." Her hand dropped back to her sides as she looked at me, her eyes burning with the calculations suited to the Fairy tactician. "Forever."

My heart pounded as my breath halted. "Forever?" I gulped. "You don't... you don't think he's destroyed it completely?"

Mavis's stance widened as she faced me, her words cold. "There is a 60% probability of that being the case. However," she paused. "If he discovers you have started to regain your memories, the likelihood becomes closer to 90%."

My hands shook as I thought about what forever would mean. It would mean never being able to see the guild hall again or being able to walk along the river. But worst of all, there was no guarantee I would be able to open a gate to the celestial spirit realm ever again.

"Hey, Lucy? What's going on?" I felt the pressure as Natsu's hand rested on my head. Tears stung the corner of my eyes as I basked in his warmth.

"I'm... I'm okay." I assured Natsu as I looked up at Mavis once more. "Assuming he hasn't destroyed the gate entirely. Is there a chance?" I was desperate as the words left my lips. "Is there a chance I can get us all home?"

My words echoed as night fell across the forest. There was nothing except the quiet breeze and the glow on the cliff. She smiled softly. "If anyone can do it, it's you."

I nodded. "Okay."

As a slight chill fell across the woods, we made our way back to my apartment. I was grateful that Natsu wasn't grilling me about the conversation he had been forcibly left out of.

The latch clicked as I twisted my key and pushed open the door.

No sooner had I clicked on the main light then Natsu bolted in and slammed himself on the couch. "Happy!"

The excitement in his voice brought a smile to my face, and as the far less animated version of Happy snuggled into Natsu's shoulder it felt that everything was right. Well almost right.

My stomach fell as I thought about how Happy must be feeling now, trapped without his wings as a relatively normal house cat. I couldn't help but wonder if he also had lost his memories, or if he remembered but was just unable to convey it.

"Alright, that's the second time you've made that weird face. What's going on?" Natsu readjusted his position on the couch to face me.

"I'm scared, Natsu." I looked at the faint mark on my left hand. Natsu was still wearing his large red hoodie, so I couldn't see if his mark was still there too, and if it was as faint as mine was. "I'm scared that I'm not strong enough to save you. All of you."

"Well, that's stupid."

My head rocked back at the shock of his brutal comment.

"Well excuse me for confiding in you!" I shot back, anger building within me.

"Lucy," Natsu continued, his arms readjusting as Happy crawled into his lap. "You're like one of the strongest people I know."

I felt my cheeks blush.

"And it's like super cool that you see dead people!" He smiled brightly at me as he chuckled.

"For the last time they aren't dead!" After correcting him, I thought about Mavis. She was technically dead I supposed, which would probably explain why she seemed to have an easier time traveling where the celestial spirits struggled. But Natsu didn't need to know that.

I plopped on the couch next to him, and with a sigh allowed my head to slide down and rest on his shoulder. Straggling bits of my blonde hair fell into my face as I closed my eyes.

"Thank you."

I didn't have the energy to explain everything I was grateful for. His encouragement. His warmth. And for always reminding me that I'm not alone. But I needed to say it, because to not say it would be invalidating how much he had done for me every day since he had invited me to the guild in the first place.

With a sigh, I felt my breath soften and my mind begin to rest.