"We did it," a blonde girl breathed out. Tears filled her vision as she began to laugh. "We won!"
The other guild members cheered and screamed in joy. "We beat Tartarous!" filled the air in elated shouts.
Lucy Heartfilia stood apart from the merriment, feeling the bittersweetness of their victory. They may have won the battle, but it came a heavy price. Her spirit and friend, Aquarius had given up her existence to save Fairy Tail.
"You all believe you've won," a dark voice hissed from behind the mourning girl. Unable to react in time, Lucy felt the edge of a blade against her neck. The voice crescendoed to the point that everyone in the clearing could hear it.
"Mard Geer will seek vengeance against all of those who dared oppose him," the fallen Demon King said. "In order for his plans to come to fruition, he must remove all hinderences that stand in his way, starting with the wench who alone escaped Algeria and summoned the Spirit King."
During his speech, many of the mages had tried to attack Mard Geer, only to fall once again because of their injuries. The Demon King laughed darkly and disappeared, taking the terrified Celestial Mage with him.
Lucy's eyes fluttered open once she regained consciousness. "Where am I?" she wondered aloud, an edge of panic tainting her voice. The black room was suddenly illuminated in candlelight.
As her eyes quickly adjusted to the sudden light, she saw where she was. Lucy sat in a golden birdcage, covered in thorns. Surrounding the gilded prison were dark burgandy walls. Other than the cage, the room appeared barren.
"Ah, so the little fairy has finally awoken from her long slumber," a deep, chilling voice echoed across the room. Lucy attempted to turn her neck to see her captor, but was stopped by a thorny branch digging into the tender flesh of her throat.
Letting out a cry of agony, she looked down and noticed that there was a long, thorny tendril wrapped around her body, preventing her from moving without a thorn stabbing her. Freezing, she made a feeble attempt to stop the thorns from digging any deeper.
The man who had kidnapped her walked into her range of vision. Recognizing the face of the Demon King, she gritted her teeth in fury.
"What do you want with me?" she yelled. He smirked in content at her hatred. "You were the only one of your comrades to escape Algeria," he explained. "At first Mard Geer believed it was only a fluke, but, regardless, sent his men against you. Then you showed your proficiency in summoning the Celestial Spirit King and defeating Jackal. Coincidentally, Jackal will be joining us shortly."
He chuckled darkly, recalling his battle with the King of the Heavens. "In order to seek vengeance against the guild who put a stop to my plans, I'll turn their beloved Celestial Mage into something so unrecognizably appalling, that they will do anything to have you back," he said, smirking at her apparent fear.
A shiver made its way up Lucy's spine from the malicious smile that graced his lips. "J-just what the hell are you planning to do to me?" she stuttered. He turned to face her, coal orbs meeting chocolate brown. "You'll be my slave."
After Mard Geer's sudden announcement, Lucy was locked in the cage for another couple of hours. At least, that was what she believed. It was beginning to get difficult to tell time in her golden prison. Scarlet drops would occasionally fall from the puncture wounds in her neck. It still stung, but it was getting easier to endure the stinging pain.
Just as blissful unconsciousness was about to hit her, the large mahogany door creaked open, illuminating the once dark room in bright light. Standing in the doorway, was someone Lucy had never expected to see again. Nor was it someone that she had ever wanted to see.
"J-jackal!" she yelled, slight fear edging her voice. "That isn't possible! You should be dead. Mard Geer was lying!" Her voice was beginning to become frantic. The bomber smirked, finding amusement in her apparent panic.
"There are a lot of things those Etherios clones can do, including resurrection," Jackal said. "Unfortunately, they aren't very charismatic. In all honesty, it made it much more fun to blow her up." Jackal snickered at the memory of the clone exploding to nothing but a few splotches of red.
"Leave me alone, you son of a bitch!" Lucy screamed, allowing fear dominate logic. Jackal continued to step closer, enjoying her screams of terror. "Mard Geer wanted me to break his little toy in," he whispered menacingly. Unlocking the cage door, Jackal walked in and kneeled in front of the blond, grabbing a handful of dandelion hair, he pushed her forward, bringing Lucy into a heated kiss.
The Celestial mage sat frozen in shock. The man opposite her bit her lip, the sharp canines causing her to cry out in pain, allowing him into her mouth. After a few more moments like that, Jackal pulled away, a smirk gracing his features. "I'll be back tomorrow to continue our little… chat." With that, the demon stood up, locked her cage once more and exited the room, leaving her in darkness once again.
Lucy licked her lips, tasting the blood that had flowed out from Jackal's bite. Before she could realize what had happened, tears cascaded down her face. It wasn't long before it became a full-scale breakdown, loud cries filling the empty room, tears washing away the blood that stained her body. "Please, someone," the hopeless girl cried. "Save me!"