Lacrima Draconian

The origins of magic lacrimas that can implant magic ability and power into a mage is information kept within the restricted access libraries of the magic council. Where each lacrima comes from is supposed to be documented but the Magic Development and Research department has long been plagued by corruption. People who seek to become mages or mages who wish to be free from their magic, powers that the council does not want free out among the public and the mages that possess them are often made to…disappear.

Lacrimas containing "lost" magic are rumored to exist, as well as lacrimas containing forbidden, illegal, and evil magics that are also "lost".

Creation of these lacrimas, how they are made, is a process guarded jealously by the Magic Council. Researchers who come into the employ of the council, who go into the Lacrima department do not retire and are not allowed to ever leave ERA where the research facilities are. For that reason, the small city of ERA is populated almost entirely by employees of the council, teachers of the academy there and members of the Rune Knight military divisions.

Because some of the lacrimas contain dangerous, extremely powerful magics that could imbue a mage with powers the council would rather the world not see, the lacrimas are kept deep beneath ERA and access to them is far beyond limited, it is restricted to very few regularly screened individuals who are, themselves, implanted with lacrimas that, with the push of a button by the Council, would end their lives. It ensures those entrusted with the cataloging and handling of the lacrimas remain loyal and that if any of them ever did try to escape with a lacrima, that they would be dead before they could implant it.

The process of producing certain lacrimas of special types, can involve the death of another living being, in some cases, the very life essence or soul must be torn, part of it encased in the lacrima so that it can imbue the magic into the mage it is implanted in. Dragon Lacrimas are one such type. Because Dragons are all but extinct, lacrimas of that type are jealously guarded, because once implanted, never again can the lacrima containing that essence be used.

It is believed there are no more of them because there are no more dragons. That the Dragon Slayers known to Earthland all currently reside within Fiore, and are all that there ever will be until they themselves might possibly produce children that would be born with the magic within them. The Magic Council watches the Dragon Slayers closely, and many darker seats of power do as well, waiting to see what the future may bring.

Questioned every so often about whether or not they have more Dragon Lacrimas, about whether or not they have found dragons to create more from, the council always responds with resounding negatives and denials.

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The pounding music was near deafening. Sound levels were at a place where your ears rang for a day or two after you went home. The club was massive, with three levels, fog machines kept the air hazy while massive fans kept it moving to reduce the build up of the smell of sweat smoke and liquor.

The woman with gray eyes and what was obviously a wig of glittery gold and silver "hair" was barely spared a second glance as she pushed her way through the crowds of people. Were it not for the two menacing large men with her nobody would have even noticed her at all.

She wove her way to the bar that was lit up with lacrima-optic lights that alternated through every color in the rainbow across a surface that looked liquid instead of like the metal it really was.

A bartender with no shirt on, a tight black vest and a silver collar around his neck smiled at her, leaning across the bar when she beckoned him. "I'm looking for Taffy." She said in a blunt business thick tone.

"Upstairs, third floor overlook." The Bartender told her, returning immediately to other customers while the woman headed for the stairs, her two goons flanking her silently.

The woman stopped before the black suited bouncers that guarded the third floor access stairway. "VIP only ma'am." One told her. She smiled at him "I'm here to see Taffy, my name is Penny" She responded. The bouncer held up a short list of names and stepped aside, letting Penny and her guards move up the stairs.

At the top Penny stopped, looking around and smiling with dark approval. Here the clubs dancers that performed on the second floor came to "entertain" guests.

The booths were all enclosed by luxuriant silk curtains that provided ample privacy. She heard nothing but music pounding, but when a slender woman dancer slipped into on the many small areas concealed by ornate lacrima optic lit cables that supported circular rods holding the elegant curtains. She saw the man within and he was definitely not dancing with the woman beneath him.

She looked around, seeing some of the well built male dancers lounging, the one she had picked when she had been in yesterday should be waiting for her, part of the deal she was about to make with "Taffy".

She saw a circular section with the curtains pulled open, all cushions and pillow topped lounge seating around a low table. Sitting at the center was a woman with luxuriant chestnut hair and a confident smirk. She sat in the lap of a large blonde man who wore the standard uniform for the men of the club, tight black pants, the skin tight black vest, but his lay open, revealing a broad chiseled chest and a black tribal tattoo curling up his left side and over his left shoulder. His blue/gray eyes were watching her intently, an odd lightning shaped scar over his right eye.

While the woman was sitting on his thighs, she was kissing another man who knelt beside the big blonde. Long wild black hair fell over powerful shoulders, just like the blonde he wore the uniform of the club, metal studs glinted in two rows up his forearm. His vest was in the womans hand being idly swung side to side while her other hand was gripping the mans rigid thigh.

When he tilted his head so the woman could have better dominance of the kiss Penny could see studs running up the mans nose, over his eyes and even at least one glinting from beneath his lower lip. She could see how both of the men would appeal a great deal to the patrons of the club, she even smiled faintly, the one with the long black hair…he looked like something that could greatly sweeten the already sweet but unset deal.

Penny narrowed her eyes and the blonde reached up and tapped the womans shoulder because it was clear she was thoroughly into kissing the black haired man.

"What?!" The woman smiled "Jealous already?" She dropped the vest and pushed the freed hand into the long hair of the man she had been kissing before turning her head toward the blonde, in doing she saw Penny at last.

"Ahh, bringing your own toys to the party? Not necessary and really only appropriate if you plan to share." She said with a grin.

"Are you Taffy?" Penny asked, not wanting to waste her time if this wasn't who she was looking for.

"I am Taffy Peretti, are you Penny?" When Penny nodded Taffy released her hold on the long haired man, but smiled at him "Sit boy. Momma isn't done with you yet." She said, the mans dark eyes narrowed and Penny distinctly heard a low growl from him that was almost primal, but he sat on the lounge as Taffy stretched her legs out over his lap.

"Please have a seat, I understand you have a…special toy you wish to sell, one I've been looking for?" Taffy asked as Penny seated herself across from the woman.

"I do, the exact toy in fact." Penny replied.

"Wonderful, we began discussing our deal for this, 200 million jewel and you were also interested in employment at one of my clubs…a new ah…start in life, and the company of a specific dancer for the night?" She asked, smirking at the last part.

"Getting the toy for you was dangerous Miss Peretti, I have been very stressed and frustrated by the process, I am concerned one dancer, as fine as he is, won't be able to keep up for an entire night…" She smirked and Taffy laughed.

"Oh I do like you! Fine, pick another, I've nothing but respect for a woman with such strong tastes, I usually take a couple at a time myself, one never can quite handle me. She patted the blondes leg beneath her and he curled a lip at her, his expression darkening.

"So temperamental…careful boy, or I'll use the whip tonight." She laughed at him, drawing a smirk out of him that made his already handsome face even more so. Pennys eyes shifted between the big blonde and nearly as large raven haired man for a few moments.

"So I of course wish to see it, and verify it is what you claim it is." Taffy said.

Penny smiled "Of course." She pulled a case from within her cloak, and held it out, the raven haired man rose and gave her a small smirk when he collected it from her and she let her eyes move over him, oh yes, she wanted him…had to have him almost more than she wanted the other one, with his wild rough appearance, he was handsome, wickedly so, with a dangerous "bad boy" edge to him that made Pennys mouth water.

That he was clearly a favorite of Taffys just added to the appeal.

The dark haired man sniffed the case before he handed it to Taffy and Pennys frown didn't go un noticed. "He can detect anything…unpleasant shall we say, I have him check most of the "Toys" I tend to buy so don't be offended." Taffy said.

She pulled out, of all things, a card, and opened the case, placing the card over the orb that rested on soft black fabric within the case.

While she was doing this Penny glanced around the area, a brunette woman in green was laying on a lounge, a dancer with long green hair massaging her back. Otherwise, the curtains were all drawn closed on the seating areas. Penny sort of hoped she would work here in the main club, Heavens Gate was easy to disappear in.

The card lit up and Taffy grinned. "Well now, I guess we have a deal." She said in delight, the blonde pulled a case from between some cushions at his side and the raven haired man took it from him and brought it to Penny.

Eyes brimming with excitement and joy she snapped open the case to stacks of jewel notes. "You can count it if you like." Taffy said.

Penny shook her head, snapping the case shut. "Allright, well then, all that's left is you choose who is joining you with the dancer you already picked yesterday in our VIP suite tonight?" She asked.

Penny nodded toward the raven haired man still standing by her, feeling a thrill when she looked up at him and found him smiling at her. "Him." She said firmly.

"Aww, I usually don't let anyone play with my personal toys, he's a little…rough…does walking tomarrow matter?" Taffy asked grinning knowingly at her.

"Not at all…" Penny breathed as the man dropped to his knees in front of her. "Well then, I'll let him show you to the suite, your men can relax, enjoy the club and come back for you in the morning?" She offered.

Penny nodded, the raven-haired man was already running strong hands up her thighs, she waved distractedly at her guards "Pick me up tomarrow, your off for the rest of the night." She said absently, leaning in and shoving her hands into the mans thick black hair before she crashed her lips against his.

The dark haired man pulled her forward as he stood, wrapping her legs around his waist never removing his lips from hers, parting them the first time she pressed her tongue against them and letting her delve into his mouth, moaning when she found two metal studs through his talented tongue. Oh Gods she desperately needed this…he was perfect…and she was about to get another.

She wanted them to just fuck her into oblivion, and had told Taffy as much when a night with one of her dancers was put on the table as part of the deal. Penny, and that wasn't her real name, had been through hell, had lived deprived, removed from the world for so painfully long, had endured a horrifying very life threatening surgery in a warehouse so she could get this far. She wanted, no needed to completely lose herself in a night with two gorgeous, handsome men that knew how give pleasure, knew how to use their bodies for it.

She was carried a short distance, she didn't care, losing herself in the skilled body heating kiss she was enjoying. She heard a door open, felt a change in the temperature, then when the door closed the pounding club music was all but gone.

Pulling back from the kiss she looked around her, the suite was opulent, luxurious, she was smiling as she saw the hot tub set into the marble floor and the massive circular bed with sheer black curtains.

Her smile deepened when she spotted the dancer she'd picked yesterday. Tall, not as heavily built as the one holding her but still deliciously well muscled with neatly trimmed and style dark blue and black hair.

She had watched him dance, he was agile, she'd watched him perform flips, one handed hand stands while his legs parted into flawless splits, his clear mastery of every inch of his body had made him deeply appealing. Add to that his exotically handsome face and she'd hungered for him since she'd seen him.

He moved right to her, kissing her while she was still wrapped around the other man and she moaned into his mouth. When she broke their kiss she lunged back for the dark haired one, already committed to getting her taste of him sated.

She pulled her legs loose from his hold and felt the blue haired dancers hands at her waist making sure she gained her feet safely, when she pulled her mouth from the black haired one she lunged in to start kissing and biting his neck, drawing a growl from him that thrilled her.

She loved they weren't even bothering to talk to her, she didn't want to talk, she just wanted their bodies, wanted wild memory burning sex with them. She trailed her kisses and nips down his chest, licking over pierced nipples, feeling one of his hands pull the tie from her hair so the other could slid into her black tresses.

Another growl came from him and she wondered momentarily what she'd done to earn it but didn't stop her decent down the muscular body of the man before her, her hands now on the belt holding his tight black pants. She'd never done anything like this, hadn't been in a mans arms in years, since before she'd taken that…job. Right out of college she'd done it, having no idea what it would cost her.

She got the belt undone and was working on the clasp and zipper of the pants when the other man knelt beside her, pushing his hands into her hair, turning her face toward him, his lips slanted over hers and the kiss was just mind numbing, exactly what she wanted, God his tongue, she loved the double studded one the black haired man had, but this man was just incredibly skilled with his…oh…she knew what she was going to be asking of him soon…oh Gods yes…

A green glow confused her, she hadn't seen any green lights in the room, and when she opened her eyes, her mind shut down.

"Fuck Bix, what, were you planning to just wait till she fucked me?!" Gajeel shoved Bickslow hard enough he fell over backwards laughing.

"I thought about it, shit, I was wondering if she was just gonna strip you or start blowing you, I should have waited to find out…" He cackled, dodging the other mans boot narrowly and only because the womans limp body was still partially between them.

A door opened and Cana and Laxus came in.

"Shit! Bickslow! Wake her back up, I've got 1000 jewel saying she was totally gonna blow him." Cana cried, earning a dark glare from the Iron Slayer who stepped quickly away from the woman on the floor.

"Yeah, get back in position Gajeel, I say she was just gonna strip you." Laxus was smirking. Evergreen and Freed came into the room, Ever grinning "my jewel was on the blowjob." The woman smirked at Gajeel who rolled his eyes.

"Fuck all of you, especially you Soul boy." Gajeel growled. "You were supposed to knock her out the moment she looked at you."

"Well yeah, but shit, she was totally into you, I was a little insulted when she pulled away from me to kiss you again, figured I'd let her go a bit ya know?" Bix grinned, picking the woman up off the floor and carrying her over to place her on the bed. Then he climbed up beside her and sat on his bent legs, looking down at her. She was staring wide eyed, a soft green glow covering her eyes.

"Oh Bix, give her a seriously wild fucking memory of you two, she's been through hell, she deserves it." Cana said.

"Oh, I'm gonna ruin her for any man after this, shit, she's gonna think I'm a sex God…I can give Gajeel erection problems and premature issues." He cackled.

Gajeel lunged for him and he jumped off the bed out of the Iron Slayers reach.

"Enough! Bix, the woman doesn't deserve anything disappointing." Laxus bellowed and Gajeel smirked at the Seith he'd just caught by the golden collar around his neck "Make us BOTH Gods." He said darkly. "I ever run into her again I don't want any funny looks."

Bix held his hands up in surrender "One erotic fantasy night coming up. Was there anything else information wise we needed from her? I gotta extract before I implant or the implant will fuck up her recall of anything I pull, she'll be like remembering blowing Gajeel while she was at work or some shit."

"We got everything yesterday, make her smile Bix." Laxus said and Gajeel released the Seith who returned to the woman on the bed.

While he was busy the rest went around the suite messing it up so it looked well used, food was put out that they happily started eating until Bix left the bed and came over, grabbing up a chicken leg "Ok, she's ready for you Laxus." Laxus nodded, heading over to the woman and picking her up off the bed.

As electricity flashes brightened the room Gajeel frowned, biting off the head of a spoon "Aint that gonna fuck with the memories you just put in her?" He asked nodding toward what Laxus was doing.

"Nope, I put those memories right into her soul Metal face, Laxus is just wearing her body out, giving her some good deep aches and pains so she really believes what her memory will tell her she spent the night doing." Bix replied with a smirk, pouring himself some wine.

Laxus finished, put the woman back on the bed and returned to the group, accepting a glass of whiskey from Cana.

"Ok, so we just strip her naked and come back in the morning to see her out to her goons and we've got this shit wrapped up." He said.

"You two." He said looking at Gajeel and Bickslow "Watch over her and stand guard until the club closes down. You can't be seen in case her goons are hanging around. I…am going to go have some fun." He smirked then, heading back to the door he had entered through. Cana put her glass down, running over to the bed "Hang on, I am so going with!" She called, Evergreen joining her and the pair stripped the woman on the bed, drew the bed curtains so Bix and Gajeel could walk with suite without getting an eye full then dashed after Laxus.

"Freed, would you bring us some more grub and at least one more bottle of scotch?" Bickslow gave Freed his best wide eyed look and Freed rolled his eyes "Yes, I'll bring up food for both of you, leave whats out alone it's what is supposed to be part of her memory." He looked at Gajeel "Any special requests?" The slayer grinned and Freed sighed "I'll see how much of their cutlery I can get my hands on."

Gajeel slapped him in the back sending him staggering and turned toward the adjouning room where a large lacrima screen couch and chairs were part of a comfortable room featuring a massive fireplace and access to the balcony that overlooked the street outside the front of the club.

"Oh shit! I bet they've got some intense movies!" Bix grinned, dashing past the slayer who snarled at him "No porn Bickslow! I aint watching that shit in the same room with you!"

"Aww come on Iron Balls! I always thought you weren't a shy little prude!" The Seith snickered and Freed rolled his eyes as he left the suite to go get the food and drinks for the pair, hoping Bickslow wouldn't be bolted to the wall when he got back.

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Three weeks earlier

Lucy narrowed her eyes, doubling her speed as she chased after the dark mage. Taurus running alongside her. The little water mage was no match for her and Taurus and knew it now. Natsu and the rest of her team were busy laying waste to the rest of the dark mages and the building that had housed their black-market operation.

It was a council job, the first Team Natsu had been allowed to take in a long while. The pay was amazing and they'd been told if they destroyed the building the council wouldn't care. It was well away from other properties, set out on a farm about a mile from the town of Oshiban.

They had been hunting for a team of dark wizards that were supposedly selling and implanting black market lacrimas. The group had built an entire medical facility inside the decrepit barn behind the little farm house on this property, it hadn't looked the least bit suspicious and were it not for the comings and goings of "clients" to the place and the trouble those people had caused in Oshiban, they never would have found it.

Fortunately, though they had, and one, when he ran afoul of Gajeel who was in town hunting for him had mentioned being there to visit the "surgery". Gajeel had called the Master knowing a team was on a job looking for that and after some…persuasion, from Erza and Natsu, the man had told them where the place was.

So now they were working to apprehend all of the mages involved having brought Gajeel with them since he was already there and had provided them with the information crucial to the job.

Even adding him into the split of the reward, they were all walking away with over 400,000 jewel each for this.

The mage ahead of her suddenly hit a panel on the wall he'd just reached, Lucy had thought the chase was over, it looked like a dead end, but the panel opened and the wage ran through it down some stairs, using her whip she was just able to catch the edge of the panel before it slid back into place.

"What these assholes even built secret stairs into this place?" She grumbled. Taurus grabbed the edge of the panel and ripped it away, it would never shut again and Lucy knew Gray wasn't far behind her, only held up by a moment to finish of the mage he'd been fighting when Lucys opponent had taken off, he'd frozen his into a block of unconscious ice and pelted after her.

So, confident she had back up, she didn't hesitate to race down the stairs behind Taurus.

Taurus was already deflecting water attacks with little effort as they cleared the staircase wall and Lucys whip snaked out across the floor and caught the mages ankle, ripping him off his feet as she called Virgo out.

The maid didn't waste time with pleasantries, blue eyes snapping to the struggling water mage she ran up the length of the whip and fell on the man, knocking him unconscious.

"Great job guys!" Lucy called with a grin, her smile fell almost instantly though as she took in her surroundings.

This was a surgery room, two medical tables were set up and one…was occupied.

A small woman with long emerald green hair was chained to a table. She was naked, only a thin drape over her pelvis and her chest was bandaged heavily. Lucy walked toward the table, snatching up the "chart" that hung from it.

"Experiment 32, unknown lacrima. Female age 20 purchased in Shindlee 120,00 Jewel invested. Implant performed…" Lucys voice trailed off, the implant had been done more than two weeks ago and the woman was still chained to the table?!

"If you won't be neeeeding me Lucy, I'll be moooooving on." Taurus said and Lucy glanced at the bull, smiling at him "Yeah thanks Taurus, great work, you can go…"

There was a small increase in light and Taurus was gone. Gray pounding down the stairs "Lucy! You ok down here?!" He slowed as soon as he reached the floor and saw what she was doing.

"Who's that?" He asked suspiciously.

"I don't know Gray, from the chart here is says she was…purchased and they were experimenting on her, put a lacrima they didn't even have information about into her…" Lucy felt tears stinging her eyes, whether they were from the anger she felt over what these assholes were doing, or pity for the woman on the table or both she wasn't sure.

"Shit…" Gray breathed, leaning over the woman "She's pretty…" He observed.

"Yeah, well, whoever she is she sure as hell didn't deserve this…We have to get her out of here, get help for her, this says they did the implant two weeks ago, I really hope they haven't had her chained to this table the whole time…"

"Yeah no kidding, I'll go get Gajeel, pretty sure he can fuck these chains up with ease." Gray turned and headed back up the stairs.

"I have bound the mage Princess may I assist with more?" Virgo asked. Lucy frowned slightly, mind racing for a moment, she could have Virgo check the bandages on the mage, but they looked clean and she didn't want anything messed up that wasn't already.

"No Virgo, thanks for all your help." She replied, Virgo bowed and vanished and a few moments later Gajeel came down the stairs.

"So what did you find Bunny?" He came up beside her frowning down at the woman.

"Fuck…Icicle said you needed chains busted and there was someone down here needing our help." As Gray had said, he made short work of the chains and pulled the woman from the table into his arms. "Let's get her out of here, his ass can rot in those chains till the authorities come get him."

Standing in the "reception" area of the facility Erza called the Master, none of them were certain what to do with the woman they had found.

Erza filled Makarov in on the results of the mission, and then told him about the woman.

"That's very upsetting, it's probably best to inform the council, take her to the hospital in Oshiban, the Rune Knights will hopefully be able to find out who she is and get her home." Makarov said.

"NO! Master, I'm sorry but no, don't hand her over to the Knights." The voice was from somewhere in the office Makarov was sitting in. Makarov frowned, clearly looking at whoever had spoken.

"Why not? If the girl was purchased from some slave trader the Rune Knights will be able to help her better than we can." The Master reasoned.

"Master, I've been working with the Raijinshuu for two months now on what we were just talking about before Cakelady called, if that girl has a stolen lacrima in her the council is going to want to know which one, and they won't be careful about how they find out, she could disappear permanently if we hand her over."

Makarov was silent a moment then looked back into the lacrima at Erza "Bring her here, Gajeel, Lucy, get her out of there before the knights arrive and bring her back to Fairy Tail. We'll see what we can do to help her." He said.

Lucy nodded, turning quickly and racing back into the facility and back to the room they'd found the girl in, wrenching the chart from the table and looking around to see if there was any other trace of her. "Open, gate of the maiden!" She called. Virgo appeared "Punishment princess?"

"Not now Virgo, I need you to gather up everyone in this facility and bring them outside fast." She said, Virgo bowed and grabbed the still unconscious water mage before shooting up the stairs with Lucy not far behind.

Even though Lucy went straight to the others, Virgo almost beat her outside.

"The fuck you doing Bunny?" Gajeel demanded, watching the maid dump a pile of groaning tied up dark mages on the ground.

"They have records here, somewhere, we don't have time to look for them, look, I've got a feeling we need to hide this woman from the council, we were already told the council didn't care if we destroyed the place, Natsu…burn it down. Any evidence this woman was here will burn with it." Lucy said.

Erzas eyes widened, Natsu was grinning "Seriously? You WANT me to destroy a place?"

"Do it, quickly, so there is smoke when the knights are approaching." Erza snapped and Natsu cackled gleefully, turning toward the barn and the building hidden within it.

"We'll get greenie here out of the area and see you guys back at the guild." Gajeel said and started off a a brisk pace, his long strides making it so Lucy had to jog to keep up but she didn't complain.

Gajeel knew how to avoid the knights, and was more than strong enough to handle doing so while carrying the unconscious woman, though Lucy had to remind him more than once not to handle her like she was a sack of potatoes.

She sent Virgo to collect their bags from the hotel, since they were rushing to make the train for Magnolia and didn't have time.

They got a few odd looks, Lucy explained their friend had been injured and had taken some pain meds and passed out and that seemed to handle the direct question from the railroad employees.

They got a private compartment since neither wanted to deal with more odd looks than they had to and so Gajeel would have a comfortable place to lay down. He handled motion sickness better than Natsu did, but only marginally and only if he could get comfortable and sleep through it. So he took the bed by the window and Lucy unfolded the bench, laying down with the green haired woman beside her hoping beyond hope she didn't wake up in some bizarre panic.

The ride from Oshiban took 7 hours, Gajeel slept through most of it, Lucy read and napped and fortunately, their charge never woke up or even stirred.

Wendy greeted them at the Guild and followed Gajeel as he carried the woman upstairs to the infirmary while Lucy hurried to the master office, noticing as she did that Cobra followed her.

Cobra along with the rest of Crime Sorciere had joined Fairy Tail not too long after Tartaros. With the magic council reforming steadily, joining a legal guild had been the best way to avoid landing back in prison and thanks to the help of Bickslows influential father even Jellal had been pardoned with some minor restrictions involving crossing international lines and such.

Sorano, Sawyer and Richard had formed their own team but Jellal and Cobra had mostly gone solo. Cobra often joining the Raijinshuu on jobs because he got along so well with Bickslow the Seith mage had even rented a room to him in his oversized brownstone by the market district.

It was odd he followed her, but she didn't have time to question it.

As soon as Makarov called out to enter Lucy hurried into his office. "We're back master, Gajeel took her upstairs, she still hasn't woken up yet, this is the only information we saw, it was attached to the table.

"They implanted an unidentified lacrima in her, two weeks ago. So all we really know is that and that she is 20 years old." Makarov said, handing the paper to Cobra who frowned at it while Lucy was watching him in confusion, unsure of why he was even there in the first place.

"Don't' worry about it Jugs." He snapped and she glared, she always forgot he could pick up her ideas and strong thoughts.

"Says she was bought for 120k out of Shindlee, pretty busy slave trade port off south shore in international waters." Cobra said then turned, handing the paper to Lucy and pushing past her to leave the office.

"Hey! You don't need to shove me you ass!" Lucy hissed, following behind him.

"I do when you're in the fucking way standing around spending half an hour trying to figure out what the fuck to do next, I don't have time to wait while your scattered thoughts gather." He snapped back at her.

Lucy actually recoiled a moment at that, she honestly was in the habit of taking too long to take any action in a lot of situations, something she was trying to work on.

She followed Cobra up to the infirmary where Wendy was already at work on the woman, Gajeel standing off to one side, he looked up when they came in and Lucy stood by him, of the two men she far preferred Gajeels company.

Cobra didn't care what the blonde thought, he was more interested in this woman, what had happened to her, who had purchased her and what sort of lacrima was in her.

He had a list of the "never existed" missing Lacrimas that Jellal had been putting together for the last couple of years during all of his work with Crime Sorciere.

The old man had put the Raijinshuu onto pursuing this steadily building mystery Jellal had started uncovering related to the magic implant lacrimas and the Magic Development and Research division of the Magic Council.

Jellal continued his personal quest to hunt dark mages and dark guilds, but this little thing he'd started had become big enough Makarov wanted it looked into and he'd gotten some silent supporters that were keeping the mages on the job paid and well-funded.

"Can you tell what they put into her?" Cobra asked hopefully. Wendy frowned, her magic was still flowing and she tried prodding the implant a little to see if her magic could identify it like it could see other parts of the womans internal organs and systems. There was a spark, a distinct one too.

"Some kind of…electricity, maybe lightning of some kind." She said, and Cobra frowned, right there on the list was a multiscale lightning lacrima. So if this was that lacrima, it had been stolen from the Magic council, a couple of years ago, proof that the information about the council keeping them though they denied it, was true.

It wasn't a Dragon magic lacrima, so it was removable still, which had probably been the dark guilds plan, implant it in a cheap slave, find out what it was, remove it, and in doing kill the slave because removing a lacrima once it was implanted always killed the person, and then sell the lacrima.

The only lacrima they couldn't do that with were the Dragon ones like the one in him, because once the dragon soul fragment in the lacrima bound to the person so the magic could be used, the lacrima itself was useless.

So she would be in danger if the council found out she had one of their rare missing lacrima in her.

"Let me know when she wakes up, it's important for her safety." He said roughly, adding the last because he knew if he didn't Lucy and Gajeel both would be wondering why they should bother letting him know anything.

Gajeel was hovering mostly for Wendy and Lucys sakes. He wanted to go downstairs and get a beer or four then go the hell home to his comfortable bed. But if this woman turned out to be dangerous when she woke up, someone would need to be there that was strong enough to restrain her.

If she had a lightning lacrima in her, he could ground himself pretty easily and pull any attacks to himself, keeping Wendy and Lucy safe.

"You don't need to stay Bunny, I'll keep watch." Gajeel said gruffly. Lucy gave him a grateful look but still lingered a moment before smiling, she was about to offer to go get him some food and a beer when she was cut off.

"No need Metalhead, I'm taking first watch on the woman, gramps just called Porlyusica Kiddo, to give you a hand with this." Laxus said, coming into the room and smiling at Wendy.

Lucy kept her eyes off the big blonde, he had always made her uncomfortable and now was no different. "So both you and Blondie can go home and get some sleep, me and the Raijinshuu will watch her tonight."

Gajeel eyed the Lightning Slayer and shrugged, heading for the stairs, no point in arguing and besides, who better to watch over someone who might wake up spewing lightning everywhere than the Lightning Slayer?

"Fine by me. Night Wendy." He ruffled the girls hair as he passed and she grinned up at him, the affection obvious between them. Gajeel, just like the other Slayers in the guild had long since taken a deep liking to the child and all of them were protective of her, even Cobra.

Accidentally catching Laxus' eye and blushing when she did, Lucy ducked her head and turned to hug Wendy "Good Night Wendy."

"Night Lucy." Wendy smiled and Lucy hurried to the stairs, feeling storm colored eyes on her and blushing more and hating herself for every bit of it.