Kon'nichiwa, everyone!♥ I have the next chapter for you! ^^  Sorry if you waited all day, and were mad I didn't update all day. :c  But I was busy, hehe...  You all know how tough it is to find time to write when you've got a bust schedule for the day! ^^;  Anyways, I dedicate this chapter to starryflames, for being an amazing friend, an extremely talented writer, and not to mention just plain incredible!  If you haven't fanned her, you must!  She's the greatest person ever!♡  I hope you all enjoy, ne?  Feedback is very much appreciated~!  Until next time, minna!♦

♡{я у - ¢ н α и}

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Lucy resided inside the cell, quiet.

All that was running through her mind were her friends; if they were okay, if they were coming for her.

Lucy shook her head.  I can't always rely on them.  I have to try and find a way out!

Lucy opened her eyes, which were now becoming cloudy.  The necklace was really starting to drain her; but she ignored it.  She wasn't just going to sit here while Coven planned to use her for the resurrection.

It was her destiny to stop it.

She wasn't going to let that monster be re-summoned!

Her keys.

Staring down at her hips, she rubbed her hip against the wall, snapping the holder open and making her keys fall to the ground.

This part'll be tricky...  Lucy thought, narrowing her eyes in concentration.  A bead of sweat fell down her brow.

She prayed that Coven wasn't coming to check on her; because then he'd take away her keys.  Scootching her Celestial Spirit Keys with her foot, Lucy managed to get them in front of her.  Then, she reached with both her feet, wedging the ring in between the sides of her feet.

Now what?  Lucy wondered, feeling nervous and stressed from not thinking further.  How am I going to get my keys to my hand..?

She gulped.  There's only one way...  Listening intently, Lucy didn't hear anyone walking down the hall.

It's a high risk if I drop them, but I'll have to aim for my hands and catch them.

Taking a deep and nervous breath, Lucy leaned back and straightened her legs, throwing her keys into the air and up by her head.

Lucy had to twist her wrist to catch them, but she was able to grasp the end of Capricorn's key before gravity pulled them to the ground.  Sighing in relief, Lucy smirked slightly in victory.  She knew her keys so well that she was able to feel which key was which.  Such as she felt the shape of Gemini's key, then Plue's.  But Lucy was looking for Virgo's; not only could she probably snap the chains, but also dig a hole out of here.

When she cheered softly to herself as she found her desired key, Lucy's adrenaline grew when she realized she was almost free.  Listening again, Lucy made sure she didn't hear anything before she started summoning Virgo.

"..Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!"  Lucy whispered fiercely to herself, able to swing her arm slightly.

She saw light build at the end of the celestial key, and her happiness and excitement grew.

But then, the summoning faded, going from light to dust clouds.

"What?"  Lucy replied, shock plastering itself onto her face.  "W-What happened?!"

Suddenly, she gasped, her eyes widening sharply.

The necklace.

She cringed in horror, realizing she was a bit too late.

T-The necklace has taken so much of my magic already that I can't summon my spirits?!  Lucy thought, fear blooming in the depths of her stomach.

After a minute of shocked silence, Lucy suddenly grinned strangely, leaning forward so that the shadows covered her eyes.  Of course.  No wonder Coven didn't take my keys; he knew I couldn't use them.

Lifting her head back up, Lucy pulled it all the way back to stare at the light filtering through the barred stone window.

I'm stuck.

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"Dammit!!"  Natsu dragged on, gasping for breath.  "This is really starting to get on my nerves!"

Everyone else was leaning over and gasping for air, too.

"We're..almost there..."  Zeke muttered, his posture straight though he panted like the others.  "Just another fifty yards and we should see the opening..."

"Zeke,"  Erza suddenly barked, and he turned to look at her.  "Tell me, do you hear that?"

They all listened, stiffling their heavy breathing to focus intently.

There was a rumbling noise.

And it was getting louder.

"Shit!"  Zeke exclaimed, seeing the ceiling starting to collapse way down the labrynth hallway.  "C'mon!"  He turned, sprinting down the hallway with the others in hot pursuit.

"I..thought you..took out the..traps..?"  Wendy burst out between panting breaths.

"So had I!"  Zeke exclaimed, and the others exclaimed loudly as the collapsing ceiling came closer.

"There!"  Erza exclaimed, seeing a cave opening ahead.  "That's our way out!"

Everyone practically burst outside the cave, landing on one another in one big dog pile.  The cave opening collapsed and disappeared, leaving a pile of multi-sized boulders in its stead.

"Man, that was way too close!"  Gray whined, rubbing the back of his head as he sat up.

Erza and Zeke were the first to pull themselves up to their feet.  Natsu and Gray lazily followed, and Wendy stood with embarrasement, wiping off her dress.

Erza was looking at the sky.  "We were inside that labrynth for the majority of the night.  Good thing we got some sleep earlier."

"Woah!"  Wendy exclaimed.  "Look, everyone!"

Turning their heads, everyone gasped in surprise - except for Zeke, who remembered this place - at the view they were lucky to have.  They were all currently on a very large hill, which was not only high but a great distance away to get a look at the majority of the underground city.

The city was just like Zeke described; thousands of abandoned stone buildings were residing in one huge cluster, circling around the top of a huge hill a ways away.  At the top, of course, was a small stone castle with medieval markings yet the most fancy looking estate there.  The walls went up around this incredibly large underground cave and stretched insanely high to the top, where there was one gigantic opening for the morning light to pour through.

"Oi, Zeke."  Natsu asked, suspicious.  "I thought you said this place was underground?"

"It was.."  Zeke murmured, confused.  "Coven must have dug all the way up to the surface...but why?"

There was a moment of silence, and then Zeke let out a frustrated sigh.

"All right.  There will be plenty of guards inside the castle once we get there.  Most likely Lucy will be kept in the dungeon, so head there first."  Zeke scowled.  "Adamantalia and Red are sure to be here.  Be on guard."

"Understood."  Erza replied for all of them; and the others nodded.

"Let's go find Lucy!"  Natsu exclaimed, taking a step forward in determination and staring at the vast expanse of the forgotten city.

"Aye!"  Happy agreed.

"Natsu."  Erza replied, turning to him.

"Huh?  What is it, Erza?"  Natsu asked, stopping in puzzlement.

Erza smiled, though it always seemed sophisticated.  "Maybe we should send a signal to Lucy; to show her we're coming."

Natsu suddenly grinned childishly.  "Sounds good to me!"

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Lucy felt incredibly drained.  She'd never felt more exhausted, more released from her magical powers.

And it was all the necklace's doing.

Lucy couldn't bear the thought of the necklace taking all of her magic as she just sat there, but she had to face the fact that there was nothing she could do about it.  Lucy had repeatedly tried to get the necklace off; she had done everything she possibly could.  But nothing seemed to work.

Now, she just sat there, even her mind starting to get foggy.  Her eyes were reflectionless now; they held no light inside them.

The Caballeen Stone was truly draining her life force.

Yet, she was still conscious; to sum it up the best she could, Lucy was...tired.

Her friends were all she could rely on, now; she had no other way out.

Natsu...everyone...  Lucy thought, her eyelids fluttering.

The door slammed open.

She thrust her head up, and there stood an angry Coven.

"Your friends are truly getting on my nerves."  He stated, waving his arm and making Lucy's chains snap like twigs.

Lucy stared at her wrists in wonder.  What was Coven--

Coven waved his hand again, and the necklace on Lucy reacted, pulling her across the cell and into Coven's grasp.  He hanged onto her by the broken chains, dragging her backwards through the cobble-stoned hallways.

However, before Coven and Lucy reached the stairs, there was a large opening in the wall that served as a window.  Something caught Lucy's eye, and she turned her head and gasped at what she saw.

Over the hill fire erupted into the sky, churning and spinning with massive strength.  It moved, bended, and took shape.

The guild mark.

It was small, but must have been incredibly large from the amount of distance from here to there.  It was easily recognizable in the sky, and made Lucy's heart swell.

Tears built into Lucy's eyes as she realized it was a message from her friends; that they didn't forget about her and were coming to save her.

"Everyone..."  Lucy murmured, smiling softly.

"It isn't going to work!"  Coven growled, pulling on her wrists.

The moment forgotten, fear bloomed inside Lucy's heart again.

"I'm taking you for the resurrection.  No one will stand in my way!"

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Stay tuned for the next chapter, Chapter 34: Always My Savior!