Title: Envy

Pairing(s): Kinabra implied

Rating: T

Author's Notes: Originally I wanted to give Envy to Wendy. But after watching Fairy Tail again changed that. Btw I didn't make any mistake in using the whole Cobra/Erik thingy

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Fairy Tail and thank you Wiki for the help. The conversations were mostly taken from the anime (subbed version) l

An emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.

It is known as a sin.

Erik was confident and enjoys seeing his opponents suffer. Much like his codename, Cobra, he was cold and devoid of heart – although he harbors a great affection towards his snake, Cubellius. But it does not mean that he was not capable of emotions.

He had first tasted envy when he was still a young boy. He would often sit in the prison alone while gazing at his fellow prisoners, huddled together, laughing and speaking in hushed tones as if they weren't enslaved to the clown who runs the show.

He would curl at the corner of his prison, clutching his ears, hoping that the noise would dull. He shut his eyes tightly so that he couldn't see their bright faces when they spoke to their friends.

Erik would always enjoy the night because it was the only time the place was silent. It was also the time of the day that he first found a friend, although she was a snake and he no longer felt envy.

It didn't matter to him at that time. He enjoyed her company. The purple snake would coil around his arm and he would feed it with a few crumbs of bread. He would often speak to it he would always try to listen to whatever she had to say to him.

He found it odd that he was able to hear the faintest whisper and their thoughts but he could never ever listen to hers. With an exceptional hearing like his, he should be able to listen to anything – even the ones he didn't want to hear.

And for the first time in his life, he prayed to hear her voice, the voice of his only friend.

Not long after that Brain arrived at the Tower of Heaven and took Erik and four other enslaved children to become members of his own guild. He then became a member of the Oración Seis, one of the three most powerful Dark Guilds, and, along with his guildmates, began to seek out the lost, destructive Magic, Nirvana.

Erik had implanted Dragon Lacrima into his own body in hope that he could finally listen to her voice. But he still couldn't.

However, his efforts weren't wasted. By implanting the Dragon Lacrima in his body resulted in him becoming the Poison Dragon Slayer. It made him immune to all kinds of poison. He was stronger. Possibly a step closer to the answer to his prayer.

Cobra lost his only friend, Cubellios, after he had lost his fight against one of the Fairy Tail Mage. A Dragon Slayer like him but an older version. He couldn't really recall his name but he would definitely recognize him on sight.

The Dragon Slayer tried to listen for Cubellios when the Council was arresting him. He strained his ears but his efforts were futile. But he knew that she was still alive.

The second and the last time he succumbed in envy took place seven years after he lost her. He was different from back then. He was quieter but had taken an angrier turn. He grew stronger, the sacrifice he made thus far was nothing greater than the pain and misery he had suffered for the past seven years.

Fairy Tail had grown be annoying, he realized. It was when Cobra fought with Erza Scarlet he felt intimidated. How dare she spoke that way to him! She knew nothing about Cubellios. She knew nothing about his loss. She knew nothing about the pain he felt; the pain of losing a friend. His only friend. He snapped at her, remembering how he lost Cubellios to Fairy Tail.

It raged him.

The fight against the three Fairy Tail Mages continued. Then, an emotion he never thought he would feel again crept up. He knew the moment his cold heart twisted in pain. He would never forget how it felt.

Cobra merely scoffed when her comrade took a blow that was meant for the scarlet mage. It sickened him. It only reminded him that he no longer have friends with Cubellios gone.

Nothing can help him overcome his intense heartache.

When Midnight sent Cobra and Angel to stop Fairy Tail, he knew that he had to defeat Erza once and for all. The things she had said to him were unforgivable.

The fight with the Fairy Tail Mage had proved to be far annoying than the previous. He expressed his envy towards her. She was surrounded by friends while he had none. Erza only mocked him for his envy.

Cobra had lost Cubellios and half his sight in order to gain his heightened powers. The weight he bore was greater than hers. It strengthen him.

"Why do you want power badly?" Titania asked, the lance in her hands outstretched in front of her. The tip pointing towards him, her body tensed. "Is spreading chaos and destruction and getting revenge that important to you?!"

"It is," he answered without any hesitation. "If I don't accomplish this, I won't be able to look Cubellios is the face!" He sent her flying by amplifying the sound from their surroundings and sending it towards her. "I have nothing left to lose. I threw away everything, so I'm afraid of nothing. There's nothing you can do Titania!"

Cobra activated his Dragon Slayer Magic. His senses heightened. His arms changing from dark, bronze skin to crimson Dragon skin, while the bottom were milky and smooth. His hands turned into sharp and pointed claws. It make him look like humanoid Dragon.

"I'm going to dispose of you in one stroke." Cubellios... I'm going to use the last breath you gave me! "Decay and die, Titania! Roar of the Poison Dragon!" With a single breath, he expelled a large amount of poison stored in his lungs.

Titania had emerged unscathed, this angered him and the resumed fighting when suddenly he heard a voice, losing his concentration. It was the voice of his former serpentine companion. Then he remembered his fight with the scarlet mage. He tried to block her movement but it wasn't enough, he had lost his composure in the middle of the battle. He was hit by the weapon and sent flying. He fell from the Clock. The pain that had been afflicted to his body felt numb.

He remembered being airborne and suddenly his back had hit the ground. Cobra tried to move but his body wouldn't listen to him. There he was lying helplessly on the ground, covered by bruises and blood. He cursed the scarlet mage silently. "Why didn't you finish me off?" he cursed. It was the least she could do to save him from his misery.

Suddenly, he caught the sound of somebody approaching him. Their footsteps light and moving swiftly. "I can hear you," Cobra called out loud. "Who's there?"

The Dragon Slayer caught the sight of a young woman with purple hair who appeared to be out of breath. How odd. It was the same shade of purple as Cubellios's scales. She wasted no time and immediately ran to his aid.

The woman held him in her arms and checked his wounds. "You're terribly wounded," she stated, concerned. "If there's anything I can do –"

He jerked his body away from the strange woman. "Don't you touch me," Cobra hissed.

She moved away from him slightly as he tried to sit properly, wincing in pain. He pressed a hand at his abdomen when Titania had her final blow at him.

"Tell me..." the woman spoke again. "Are you the one that called me?"

"I can hear it," he whispered to himself. He shifted his gaze to her and pushed her to the ground. She winced when he pushed her not too gently. "You?!" his voice faltered. Cobra realized with a jolt that she was the person whose thoughts he had been hearing and trying to communicate with.

He hovered above her. Disbelief marring his features.

Her emerald green eyes widen with shock then soften. "You-" she started, her hand reaching up and gently placed her hand on his face. Her thumb brushing lightly just below his remaining eye. "Your eye..."

Cobra turned his gaze away from her and removed himself from a top of her, sitting with his legs crossed. He turned his head away so that she could no longer see his right eye that was sewn shut.

"I lost my sight so that I could gain power," he begin. "Don't worry. Just from hearing the voices, I-" he drifted, not knowing what to say.

Silence. "What's your name?"

He turned towards her, surprised. "Erik."

"Erik," she repeated.

Before she could ask him any more questions, two Councilmen appeared – or rather one Councilman and the other man seemed to scruffy to be a Councilman.

The bespectacled man pushed his glasses up his nose and focused his gaze on the tanned man beside her. "Cobra of the Oración Seis, I presume?"

Erik glared at the men as he realized that they were here to arrest him – again. He assumed that his other guild mates. The woman – Cubellios begin to protest and he would have fought against them if he hadn't heard both the Councilmen's thoughts, realizing Cubellios would also be arrested if she was associated with him.

Erik closed his eyes, calming himself. "Alright, alright," he said loudly for the three of them to hear him and stood up. Then quietly, "You go."

"But – wait! It was you wasn't it?" she asked, her eyes trained on his back as the distance grew between them. "You're the one who called me!"

The Dragon Slayer turned his head towards her slightly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The former serpent gasped quietly.

Turning his attention to the two Councilmen, he continued walked towards. When he was getting close, the bespectacled man asked, "Who's the girl?"

"A comrade of yours?" his companion added.

Erik glared at the two. "No," he lied, his tone remained cold. "Never saw her before. Sounds like she was just looking for her friend."

He reached to a stop near them. The Councilman nodded. "I see. Good."

The one with the scar across his cheekbones wasn't convinced. "You're giving up awfully easy."

"Yeah well..." Erik looked over his shoulders to look at her one last time. There were many things he wanted to ask her but Time wasn't in their favor. "Friends are good things to have. Just knowing that you have one has a calming effect."

The Councilmen made no remarks but only commanded him to walk. Erik smiled fondly, the bangs on the sides of his face obscuring the tilt of his mouth from the two Councilmen.

I finally heard your voice...

How ironic that it was night time when the first time he laid eyes on her – in both human and serpent form – and possibly the last time he laid eyes on her.

Erik had found his beloved Cubellios.

He was happy that his prayers had been answered, after all those years and after the sins he had committed.

He was punished for being envious by his eye sewn shut. If this was the punishment for the rest of the sins he had committed in the past, he would gladly accept it.

Then perhaps maybe one day, he could face Cubellios –

No, Kinana is her name.

– once again.