Chapter 17- It's Better To Cry With Others Than Laugh Alone

"Listen." They both listened as Natsu's eyes widened.

"I can't tell what it is," Lucy said. "It's too faint." Natsu's eyes widened as he looked at Lucy.

"It's-" The wall farthest to them, opposite of the key hole, started to shake. The wall seemed to be withdrawing into the ceiling, letting loose old debris and dust. Lucy covered her face with her arm, coughing as the dust and rocks scratched her lungs.

When things had finally been able to settle, Lucy heard what Natsu had been hearing. When she first noticed it, they were soft thuds, almost undetectable. But with the awkwardness in the air, she was willing to concentrate on anything else. Yet she could now hear talking of two people.

When the dust had settled, Lucy looked up. There, standing with a shocked look and a torch in hand, was Erza and Gray.

Lucy immediately stood and walked over to them, a flustered Natsu hot on her heels. Lucy smiled at us. "How did you find us? I almost thought we were goners."

"Wendy and Gajeel are waiting above. We didn't even know you guys were missing." Gray said.

"There were several trick rooms, set with traps and false information. We didn't know this would be an actual room. How did you get here?" Erza asked.

Lucy pointed up at the hole. "Booby trap, we had to dig our way out and got stuck here. But, you're just the man I'm looking for." Lucy said to Gray. Gray blushed slightly.

"What?" He and Natsu said in unison. Lucy grabbed Gray's arm and lead him to the key hole.

"Think you could make me a key?" She asked. Gray, perhaps still a little flustered, nodded.

"Might take a minuet or two." Lucy nodded.

"Ok, we'll regroup and come meet you in a minuet." Gray, already concentrating on the task at hand, didn't say anything.

Lucy, Erza, and Natsu went through the new doorway and went up the stairs. Turns out, the chamber was full of traps and trick rooms. It was like it's own maze- no, more like labyrinth. Lucy and Natsu had slid down three floors from the room they were previously at.

As Erza lead, Lucy hung behind. Natsu, noticing her discomfort, fell behind also. "Lucy, are you okay?" She wanted to tell him the truth. Like feeling a breeze wasn't easy enough, or with the obvious trap. But she didn't want to tell him that. He didn't need to know her every little problem, she'd manage on her own. She already appreciated his words from earlier, and she didn't want to make it seem as though she was rapidly losing faith and hope. Was that true? Maybe. But Natsu didn't need to know.

She gave him her best fake smile. "It's okay, I'm fine. Just thinking." He looked unsure of wether she was telling the truth or not. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Warmth spread throughout her entire arm as she smiled, this time for real.

"You'd tell me if anything was wrong, right?" Natsu asked. She didn't want to lie. But, she'd felt like a horrible friend if she told him her true feelings and place a burden on his shoulders. Nor did she want to lie. Either one made him worry about her, but they all needed to concentrate on worrying about Levy. By the time they'll probably access the information, it'd be sun rise and Levy would have only a week left.

She decided not to answer, but that wasn't right either. So she got on her tippy-toes and kisssed his cheeck. "Natsu, thank you for making me stronger." He blushed a bright red as he attempted to say something.

It came out as; "um dum oh huh." And he nodded. Lucy smiled and quickened her pace, catching up to Erza. Regretfully, she also tore her hand away from Natsu.

Natsu, completely dumbfound, shocked, and excited, restrained himself from grinning like an idiot, and continued tailing behind Erza and Lucy.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they found team Wendy and Gajeel, and team exceed. "Did you find anything, Erza?" Wendy asked.

Erza shook her head. "Just Lucy and Natsu."

"Just Lucy and Natsu?" Lucy muttered. "You make it sound like we're a nusiance."

"We might have a lead," Natsu said. "A key hole. Gray is trying to make the key now."

Wendy looked at Gajeel, hope brimming her eyes. "Do you think. . .?"

"It might actually be some information?" He finished for her. She nodded. "Yes I do."

"We are to regroup, and then head down together." Erza annouced, turning to lead the way back down. Natsu and Gajeel followed her, while Wendy stayed beside Lucy. They both walked a little further behind the others, so they could talk. Lucy had something very important to talk about with the Sky Dragon-Slayer. Wendy also decided to see if her healing magic was working on Lucy any faster.

"Say, Wendy," Lucy said as Wendy undid the bandages around her wrist examined the burns.

"Yes, Lucy-Chan?" Wendy asked, placing her hands on the burn to heal them. Lucy winced slightly, but soon the cool relaxing feeling of Wendy's healing magic soothed the pain.

"I've been gone for a little over a year." Wendy glanced up at Lucy before returning her attention to readdressing the burns, moving up her arm.

"Yes, if my memory serves correctly."

"So, I have been wondering. . ." Lucy trailed off. Wendy looked up at her again, this time not taking her eyes off of her as the soothing cream feel gradually increased.

"Has Romeo. . . You know. . ."

Wendy blushed slightly. "I-I don't understand." She looked away as soon as she saw Lucy's devious smile. Lucy lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh? Such a shame. I would have thought Romeo would have made his move by now." Wendy's face turned a deep red.

"L- L- Lucy!" She exclaimed, quickly wrapping up the bandages on her arm. They continued to descend down the stairs as Wendy scuffled over to Lucy's other side and began treating those wounds.

"Wendy, I have a favor to ask." Wendy was afraid of what Lucy might want, she had a feeling it would involve romance. . .

"Being dead for a year and a half means I lost all sorts of intel I had been betting on. So, please fill me in on all the hook-ups." Lucy said with a small smile. "I do need money for rent, after all. Any little detail matters, such as Laxus spending more time at the bar with Mira, or Elfman and Ever sitting so close a few days ago. And also, I can't believe i missed the Gray and Juvia thing. Darn." She said with a defeated look. Wendy was about to die of embarassment.

"Um, well-" she trailed off, not knowing where to start.

"Start with Gray and Juvia," they both snickered. "I saw them together outside the train. So either Cana owes me fifteen Jewels, or I gotta give Mira double."

"I'm not so entirely sure," Wendy said, taking some amusement in the romance gossip (until Lucy would return to Wendy and Romeo.) "I think they went on a mission together, and when they came back, Gray actually didn't reject her as much." Lucy laughed.

"Ha, Cana owes me for Gray and Ultear." Her eyes ignited with fire. "Mira has nothing on me! 3 years my butt! Haha!" She laughed evilly. Gajeel and Natsu glanced at them, but Lucy didn't care.

"What about Jellal and Erza," she whispered. "Any secret meetings you dragon-slayers saw or heard?"

Wendy smiled and shook her head. "Haven't seen him since the Grand Magical Games." Lucy cursed.

"Mira, you win this time, but their time is coming. . ." She muttered.

"And the other's?" They had arrived to the room where Gray was making a key. Wendy had ordered Lucy to sit so that she could examine her legs. The other's went on as they watched Gray try to make the key.

"Lisanna has been trying to get close to Natsu-san." Wendy said. She expected Lucy to giggle her head off or chuckle, but instead Lucy remained emotionless.

"Is that so?" She said coldly, her face set like stone. "How did that work out?" Wendy looked down at Lucy's leg as their cheerfulness died down.

"Not very well. No one in fact could get any closer to Natsu. He took your. . . Leaving pretty hard."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Wendy noticed the sadness in her voice.

"Don't worry, Lucy, now that you're back, everyone will be find." Lucy let out a sigh.

"That's just it, Wendy. People die everyday, and one day so are we. That's why we raise the next generation to take our place. Having died makes me realize, I don't have forever. It's only a matter of time before one of us dies, and we don't have the chance to save them."

"Isn't that why we cherish the present?" Wendy asked. "That's like asking why make friends if one day their gonna die." She finished with Lucy's legs, rewrapping the bandages and stood up, offering her hand to help Lucy up. "Because, it's better to cry with others than it is to laugh alone." Lucy smiled, taking Wendy's hand.

They walked to the door way as they saw the others. "Wendy?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you," Wendy looked up and Lucy with a small smile. "But don't think I have forgotten about you and Romeo." Wendy nearly passed out on the floor. She stumbled a bit, blushing deeply.

"L-Lucy-san, you're scaring me."

"Oi!" Natsu called from across the room. The two girls looked at the group. "Are you two coming or what?" Lucy gave Wendy another devious smile.

"We'll be there in a minuet, just some rebandaging." She never took her eyes off of Wendy, who shivered. She began readdressing the bandages around Lucy's torso as Erza and Gajeel walked toward them to assist.

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The key hole wasn't as much a key hole as it was a plague on the wall with the imprint of a key. The more Natsu looked at it, the more he felt like Lucy plan wasn't going to work. He traced the key hole with his finger.

"Natsu, kinda hard to concentrate when you're doing that." Gray said. Natsu glared at him.

"Then try harder," he muttered. Gray glared at him.

"I swear, if Lucy hadn't asked me to do this, you'd be so dead." Natsu eyed him.

"Lucy, huh? So, you would instantly join my fight if it were anyone else?" Natsu muttered.

Gray frowned and looked at him. "What? What are you- oh." He looked back at the half-made key, trying to suppress a grin.

"What? What's so funny?" Natsu asked in an irritated voice. Gray looked at him.

"Funny? Nothing."

"Then why are you laughing?"

"I'm not."

"Yes you are, I can see it all over your face!"

"No, no. Not laughing, just slightly confused."

"Confused?" Natsu asked.

"Yes. I was wondering what you're jealous of. Either the fact that I'm doing this for Lucy, or because Lucy asked me too." Natsu crossed his arms and glared at him.

"I'm not jealous."

"We both know that's bullshit."

"Your face is bullshit."

"What? That doesn't even make sense-"

"Doesn't have to, Gray! Because I understand!" Gray was torn between laughing at this idiot's philosophy or getting angry and bashing his nose into his brain.

"Your fighting must mean that you finished the key, correct?" Erza asked them as she approached with Gajeel, Lucy, and Wendy flanking her. Natsu looked away, agitated, grumbling something about useless stripers.

"Yea, almost." He said, as ice crawled along the almost finished key. The handle was being formed, splitting into two to created a ring hole. When the split ends rejoined, the newly-made key glowed bright blue, then the light slowly died.

Gray grabbed the key that was floating mid-air. The others crowded around him, watching keenly, as he placed the key into the imprint.

Nothing happened.

"It's not moving." Natsu said. The others glared at him.

"Obviously." Gajeel muttered.

"I don't get it," Lucy said. "Shouldn't it work?"

"I don't think so." Natsu said, surprisingly looking like he was thinking about it. "I think this used to hold the real key, until someone took it out to unlock a door." The others looked at him in shock. That does sound reasonable. But Natsu wasn't known to be the most reasonable of types.

"I guess it could work," Lucy thought aloud. She looked at the others, waiting for their respone.

"Worth a try."

"Now that there is an actual key, I can duplicate it easy. I'm game."

"Sure, why the hell not?"

Wendy nodded. "We still have time."

"Should we split up?" Lucy asked. She didn't think it was a good idea, seeing as what happened last time. But then again, what if Natsu was wrong and there wasn't a door? Then they would probably lose the room's location and have to search for it again.

"No, I think we though split up at the stairwell. We searched this place clean and through, but we didn't find any locked doors. Doors, yes, but they never even had a key hole. So my guess is that there's another chamber, just in a different location." Erza said.

"You mean like another barrier?"

"Possibly." Lucy groaned. She didn't want to search all over again. And, she most certainly didn't want to go back up those steps. But something didn't sit right with Lucy. Why would they go to all the trouble of guarding an empty chamber? But she didn't want to argue with Erza.

Maybe they'd find another chamber like she said on the stair case, or maybe even another stubborn door.

They walked back up the stairs to meet up with the exceeds. When they all re-grouped, they headed for the Chamber entrance. Lucy was feeling quiet dishearted. How long had they been searching? It was sunset when they entered but that felt like hours ago. She was bone-tired, and if she had a watch she knew it would probably be early morning. She was hot, sweaty, and sticky. Filthy and dirty. She wanted a nice cool bath, and a soft, warm bed. Some food wouldn't hurt either.

She sighed in defeat. She obviously wasn't going to get any of those anytime soon. Not while they were still searching, not while they were still stuck there, and defiantly not while Levy's life was slowly slipping away. She understood being dead. The uncomfortable feeling when finally being with the living again. But Lucy never actually died. Lucy Heartfilla was dead, but never buried. She was pronounced dead, but in truth she was only dead for a few minuets before Loki and her spirits fetched her. The reason she was chosen was because she had the most keys, and her spirits had high hopes because of how she treated them. As partners, not tools.

She felt a warm hand clasp her shoulder. She looked and saw Natsu brimming at her. "We'll save her, Luce. I promise." She smiled at him, because she knew he had the benefit of the doubt. He had done the undoable, said the unthinkable, and never ceased to amaze her.

She then remembered what he was going to talk to her about. She blushed thinking about it as Natsu removed his hands, sliding it down and brushing against her fingers.

Was he going to tell her he loved her? Or knowing him, pronounce them BFF- no, Mega BFF's- for life? She didn't want to be friend-zoned. But she wanted to know his feelings for her either way. And by god, there was no way in Hell she was going to let him do it on the verge of their friend's death, and in a dark, musty, hole in the ground!

She decided she was going to tell him her feelings, and she didn't care if he excepted them or not, she just needed to tell him.

As they neared the entrance, evidence of the previous battle was evident. Ice glazed the floor, craters in the ground with some slashes as if a giant sword fight happened. And Lucy didn't fail to notice a whole section scorched black. Remembering the burns and pain made her wince, causing Natsu to guiltily glance at her with apologetic eyes. She looked at him back, giving him the message; "It's okay."

When they finally reach the door, which was chopped in two thanks to Lucy and Taurus, they decided to split up. Lucy, Gajeel, Gray, and Wendy were to continue on with Lily and Carla. Erza, Natsu, and Happy were to stay there and guard.

Lucy's little hope in Erza's plan began to extinguish quickly. They were talking about repeating the entire search, except less people, and more narrow.

Lucy's mind wandered off as Erza spoke. Where would she hide the research if she were a monk? Defiantly in Heartfilla Estate. There were many memories for her there, good and bad, but none the less, they were her childhood and adolescence. While the mansion was vast and large, giving it great hiding places, that was too obvious. She would try to make it as misleading as possible.

As she thought about her game of "If I was. . ." Her eyes drifted past Erza. And in what seemed to be a second, the gas for the flames sputtered, and Lucy saw a flash behind Erza.

Something reflected the flames? She frowned as she tried to make-out what the object was to no avail. She decided to ignore it, it was probably a trick of the light.

15 minuets later, the flames sputtered again, flashing the object at Lucy. She wondered if anyone else had noticed, bur they all seemed in-tune with Erza. She frowned again. The object seemed to be near or part of the stairs. It was hard to make out, the curve base of the stairs blocked the flame's light, making it visible only when the flames sputtered and grew.

"-and so that's the plan. We'll sleep here for the night, and then head out." Lucy was drawn back into reality.

What now?

She stared blankly as the others set themselves against the wall, exhaustion spiking through the body and fell soundly asleep.

She felt tired, too. She crept to the wall, close to Natsu in case she got cold. She tried to sleep, but gave up after an hour of tossing and turning. The curiosity of the flashing object kept brimming in her mind. She began counting between the spurts.

It took her a while to realize that they had a 15 minuet span between them. Coincidence? Lucy thought not!

Lucy looked around for something that she could use as a torch. She found Erza's torch a few feet away from where Erza was sleeping peacefully. She grabbed it and tickled Natsu's nose with one of Happy's feathers. He smiled and laughed in his sleep, and then-finally- sneezed. Flames and snot mixed as they ignited the torch.

Lucy tried not to laugh. "Ha, gross."

She stood, careful not to wake the others, and crept slowly to the flashing light. Along the way, she tripped and stubbed her toe on the ground.

"Ow, Fu-" she winced as she heard Natsu and the other Dragon Slayers shift in their sleep. She cursed herself as Natsu sat up. He yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"Lucy?" He murmured. She prayed he didn't see her. He hadn't looked at her directly, but if he simple turned his head, he would see her. He yawned again before laying down on his side, his back facing Lucy.

When she heard his soft, even snores, she smiled. Why didn't she want to wake Natsu? Because if he woke up Erza-and he would- they'd all die painfully.

Lucy went to the flashing light, and crouched. It was very low, almost on the ground. She held the torch in an awkward position as she tried to light up the object and not her hand. When she finally got in the right position- it may be right but it was also uncomfortable-she examined the object.

Lucy frowned when she found out what it was, and what was below it nearly made her eyes bulge out her head.

She yawned and got up. She'd tell them when she woke up, she needed her sleep, and so did they. She laid back down next to Natsu, extinguishing the flame. The floor may not be comfortable, but at least she wasn't cold. Her burns still hurt, but she didn't care, her exhaustion was too overwhelming.

Finally feeling the sense of urgency to sleep, Lucy closed her eyes and fell asleep. She ignored her growling stomach, ignored the hard stone floor, and ignored the pain of lying down on her burns. She slowly started to loss consciousness before it suddenly slipped away.

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Blaugh, i forgot to update. I'm sorry, i was sorta at my Bf's house and all this and that. So sorry, and here's last week's update.

Also, I just realize (as i was reading another book), I can give u guys my kik and u can text me directly (not that you'd want to, but okay...). If you're feeling social my kik user is DoNotEatRaw

And to my Percy Jackson fans, I got Blood of Olympus yesterday (finished it last night) and I was so happy and angry at once. Mad cause we got skipped on tons of Percy-action (I get that they got a series to themselves, but I ain't there for Jason and Piper, I'm here for some Percabeth @-@) Mad that the story ended abrutly, with a little unanswered question of "Leo and Calypso". @-@

But new ship!

Wico

Enjoy~ my lovelies ;)