A Star Removed from the Sky

Happy's Predicament

The chaos and yelling all came to a calm once Ragus woke up. He found his star guild member and a strange man in a heap on the floor, surrounded by his other guild members all yelling at the top of their voices. He had to take order, especially when a flying cat suddenly joined in on the screaming. After Jamie, the only one who hadn't broken down into tears, explained what was going on, he decided the best choice of action was to move them both to a more comfortable place to rest.

The two who passed out were separated, but it was not an easy task. Neither seemed to want to release the other; Natsu hugged Lucy close to his chest and Lucy snuggled into his warmth so closely there was no space between them. Lucy looked at peace for the first time in so long, and Natsu, despite having suffered through pain so terrible it knocked him out, had a small smile upon his face as he held Lucy closer in his arms. Jess did not want to move them, she insisted upon letting them stay together after being apart for so long, but Ragus assured everyone that would do more damage than help. If they awoke and saw each other again, the curse caster could do much worse than knock them out. They could only hope it was Natsu who awoke first so he could leave before Lucy woke up.

Lucy was moved to her room and Natsu was put up in a guest room. They were on separate floors and were checked on every hour. That wasn't a requirement, it was a result of the worry of the three Stellar Luna members who witnessed their best friend and their new one fall apart before their very eyes.

Four days later when neither of them had yet budged from their sleep, Yukino, Antonio, and Jess got so worried that they ended up taking shifts in their rooms every thirty minutes. Jamie had to make sure they didn't fall asleep in there, and dragged them to practice their magic, reminding them that in a few days they were supposed to compete. They weren't the only ones though; they had a talking cat constantly asking them what happened to his friend and who they were. They wouldn't tell Happy much for fear of him ending up like Natsu and Lucy, but after a few days, they'd at least gotten him to trust them. Happy and Jess got along great, Jamie loved being able to fly, and Happy couldn't get enough of Antonio's cooking. Yukino couldn't spend much time around Happy before she left, always with a sad smile on her face.

Happy was sat upon Jess's lap while the two of them watched over Natsu, who had rolled over in his sleep and was snoring. They were sat in a chair by his bedside. Jess was deep in thought while looking at Natsu, her heart aching at the thought of all the suffering he and Lucy had been enduring for so long. Happy was worried about Natsu of course... but he had even more on his mind. He had a secret; one he couldn't say out loud for fear of his very life.

He'd been filled in on the situation, Natsu had collapsed again and so had... Lucy. That's right, one look at her and everything came back. He remembered everything, from the day in Hargeon to the day that she disappeared. He wanted to curl up next to her and cry in her arms, letting her hug him close like she always did; he missed her so much. But if he said anything, or even showed a second of remembrance towards her, Happy was sure he'd end up getting his memories ripped away from him again. It hurt to keep pretending, especially after he'd overheard what was going on.

Jess and Antonio weren't very good at whispering. The second day that Natsu and Lucy were asleep, Happy had not left Natsu's side, and Jess and Antonio were standing in the hallway outside the door. Happy was still unsure at that point, dealing with the new memories he'd gotten and trying to figure out what had led to this mess they were all in. He heard sniffling from outside and walked towards the door; the girl was really nice, he hated to see her cry. And that's when he heard them say it: The Obliteration Curse.

It all made sense, someone was always watching, always hurting Natsu. It broke Happy's heart to hear about the suffering Lucy had been enduring too; she was so weak she could barely use magic anymore, and yet she was fighting hard to get back to Fairy Tail. She was persevering for everyone, planning to win the Grand Magic Games and call out the curse caster in front of all of Fiore. Happy wanted to find whoever was behind this mess, who was hurting the two people he cared for most (besides Charle of course) and fly them over a cliff and drop them to the ground.