Notes: Things won't occur exactly as they did in the manga, obviously. They start to deviate around the point where Lucy normally would have fought Kain Hikaru (which still assumes that it is normal for one member of Fairy Tail to leave another for dead, but we won't get into that can of worms, yet).

Shine On

A Fairy Tail Fanfic by

Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Chapter 2: Lucy

A sea of bright blue greeted Lucy as she opened her eyes. At first, she had no idea where she was. The last thing she could remember with certainty was searching for Mavis's grave with Cana.

"You would be wise not to move much," said a voice directly in front of her.

Lucy blinked and raised her head from the cold floor, realizing that she was lying within a blue, spherical barrier. Just outside the barrier was a young, pink-haired girl in a red cape, with a rather serious expression on her face. As Lucy began to recall the events on Tenrou Island, her eyes widened. "Where am I?" she whispered.

The girl frowned at her. "That information is classified. You only need know that you are currently a prisoner of Grimoire Heart."

"Oh no," Lucy murmured, dropping her head. Then she returned her attention to the girl. "Oh, I'm sorry. You're probably worried, right? Try not to be scared, sweetie. Once I figure out a way out of here, I'll help you get home, I promise."

The girl's expression flew from disapproving to puzzled in an instant. "You seem to be under the mistaken impression that I am also a prisoner. This is inaccurate."

Lucy stared at her, becoming rather puzzled herself. "But why else would a cute little girl like you be here, if you're not a prisoner, too?"

The girl seemed extremely insulted, despite the noticeable blush in her cheeks. "I am Meredy, of the Seven Kin of Purgatory. You would do well to show me the proper respect."

"What?" Lucy cried, backpedaling at once. "You're one of them?" She didn't realize how far back she'd moved until her hand touched the boundary of the barrier. Pain unlike anything she'd ever felt engulfed Lucy, tearing a startled scream from her lips. Agony slammed into her body again and again until she managed to roll back to her original position in the barrier's center.

"I suspect you can better appreciate my power now," Meredy said calmly, as if seeing such torture didn't bother her in the least. "That will happen any time you attempt to breach the boundary of my Maguilty Sphere. I wouldn't recommend repeating the process, unless you would prefer to be rendered unconscious by pain overloading your senses."

"Why are you doing this?" Lucy gasped, her eyes tearing up.

"I hold no grudge against you personally. However, my orders come from Ultear. I am to keep you here until she returns." Meredy paused, frowning thoughtfully. "It is odd. Our original orders were to destroy all members of Fairy Tail. I am uncertain as to why Ultear wanted you alive. But that is how you shall stay, at least until she returns."

"Thank you, Meredy," Lucy whispered.

Meredy blinked, becoming even more confused. "For what?"

"I... I don't want to die," Lucy admitted softly.

Meredy shifted her feet uneasily and turned away. "You will notice that your weapons have been taken. I doubt you possess any magic that could free you in the first place, but I advise you to stay where you are. I will not hesitate to hurt you, if you attempt to escape."

Lucy said nothing, but she could see that Meredy was right. There was no sign of her keys or her whip, and she knew no spells that would help her current situation. Her only real hope was that one of her Spirits would summon itself and come to her rescue, since she had no idea where she was, or if any of her guildmates were nearby.

Just then, the floor began tremble slightly, and the next thing Lucy knew, an extremely large, pale man was peering down at her, leaning dangerously close to the barrier to do so. Lucy had no idea who he was, though judging by the fact that he was both drooling excitedly, and wearing an outfit that left much of his overweight body exposed, her gut reaction was to scream and back away, though she was careful to avoid the barrier's boundary this time.

Much to her relief, Meredy sighed and gave the man a sharp poke, which was clearly imbued with some of her Maguilty magic, since it caused him to whimper. "Stop that, Kain. We are not under orders to keep her calm, but I would prefer she wasn't screaming the entire time."

"But I want to play with her!" Kain whined, stomping his feet like a very large child. "She's so cute, like a doll! Like a female Mr. Cursey!"

"Earlier you said you were going to stomp her flat," Meredy pointed out.

"She wasn't moving then! But now she is!" Kain again peered at Lucy hungrily, this time conveniently forgetting not to touch the barrier as he attempted to cop a feel.

Lucy grimaced as Kain screamed in pain, but was inwardly glad that in addition to keeping her in, the barrier would also keep him out.

Kain was still blubbering and clutching his pained hand when five more people walked into view. Lucy spotted the Master of Grimoire Heart at once: she could sense his overwhelming magical power with ease despite the fact that he was covered in bandages, and she began to feel ill as he came closer. In some ways, however, the man behind him was infinitely worse: where the Master at least had the decency to restrain the bulk of his power, this man seemed to be purposely focusing his immense, malicious magic on Lucy, and it did nothing to improve her sickly state.

The Master paused, as if it had taken him that long to notice what was happening, and frowned. "Enough, Bluenote," he snapped. "If you kill her, Ultear will not have the chance to adequately explain why she bothered saving the girl in the first place."

"It's all her fault, Master Hades," Bluenote whispered, his voice trembling with rage. "Her and those cursed Fairies. None of them would reveal the location of Mavis's grave, and even when I finally found it, I could discover none of its secrets."

Hades chuckled. "They would hardly be members of Fairy Tail if they abandoned another member, even a fallen one, so easily."

"Then I was right to utterly destroy the grave," Bluenote replied, glaring at Lucy before turning away. "If I cannot possess the secret of Fairy Glitter, then no one will."

Most of this conversation meant nothing to Lucy, except for the parts about Bluenote torturing her friends, and destroying Mavis's grave. She wished desperately that her keys had not been taken, so that she could at least ask one of her Spirits to check on her friends.

"Did it never occur to you that I might be able to restore the grave to an earlier time, possibly revealing some of its secrets in the process?" asked a tall woman with long, black hair. She was clearly annoyed with Bluenote, unwise as that seemed to Lucy. "I still could, of course, assuming you weren't so thoughtless as to simply obliterate the grave when you had your little tantrum like a spoiled child."

Bluenote did not seem properly chastised, however: he simply glared at Ultear instead of Lucy. "There should still be... pieces left," he answered.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Honestly, sometimes I swear Meredy has more sense than the lot of you," she sighed, stroking the girl's head fondly.

Lucy suspected now that the woman had to be Ultear, a theory that was soon confirmed.

"I had sense enough not to take a useless hostage, Ultear," Bluenote pointed out.

"Yes, because a Celestial Spirit mage with ten Gold keys is entirely useless, considering the Seven Kin of Purgatory are currently short three members," Ultear spat, narrowing her eyes. "I'm starting to think you're being this idiotic on purpose, though I suspect it would be worse if you were actually this stupid."

For a brief moment, Lucy feared that Bluenote would lose his temper and attack Ultear, but before he got the chance, Hades interrupted.

"Enough. Ultear, I cannot fault you for recruiting, but I trust you have a better reason for saving the girl than just that."

"Of course, Master Hades," Ultear replied at once. "She can also act as a deterrent, if Fairy Tail should ever become a greater threat to us. They will not dare to attack while we have one of their own aboard."

After a long pause, Hades nodded. "She will be your responsibility, Ultear. Use whatever resources you require, but be aware that I expect to see results immediately."

Ultear smiled. "Please trust me, Master Hades. No one knows more about personality-altering magic than I do."

Lucy opened her mouth, ready to refuse to have anything to do with them. But she caught Meredy's eye, and decided against it. There were already two among them that thought she should be dead, and she didn't want to take any chances making it three or more.

Despite Ultear's claim, she did not immediately do anything to Lucy. Instead, she spent the next hour searching through one of the largest libraries that Lucy had ever seen. Meredy, on the other hand, kept a close watch on Lucy, but was apparently used to being near Ultear, so she moved the Maguilty Sphere, with Lucy still stuck inside it, to the library for that purpose.

It was admittedly rather boring: while Ultear was focused entirely on the books, Meredy was standing guard, constantly staring at Lucy, but then quickly looking away whenever Lucy looked at her. At first she thought that maybe Meredy was actually shy, but then it occurred to her that maybe Ultear would not approve of Meredy being so interested in either a prisoner, or perhaps just another person at all.

Finally, Ultear finished with the books and turned to Lucy, a rather sinister smile on her face. "You don't like me much, do you?"

This was the first time that anyone in Grimoire Heart had given any consideration to Lucy's feelings, so she decided to be honest. "Actually, considering that you apparently saved my life twice from two of your murderous friends, I like you just fine."

Ultear seemed to think that was funny. "I see. And has it occurred to you that killing you might have been infinitely kinder, compared to what I may do to you now?"

"No," Lucy answered at once. "You might expect me to do some horrible things, but I doubt being murdered would be better. Besides, Meredy likes you, so you can't be that awful."

Meredy turned bright red as Ultear glanced at her. "Oh? And you value Meredy's opinion? Any particular reason why?"

Lucy hesitated, not wanting to get Meredy in trouble. "She wasn't cruel to me, and she could have been."

"Well, she isn't a cruel child. Not by nature, at least. Determined, and at times impulsive, but not cruel. It isn't the way I raised her."

"Then I'm glad you did."

Ultear considered that for a moment, while Meredy fidgeted nervously.

"Do you really expect me to join you?" Lucy asked.

"Do you really expect to have a choice in the matter?" Ultear asked mildly. "I saved you because you might prove useful. If you don't, then you can guess what happens. I'll be punished for wasting guild resources, and Bluenote will take great pleasure in killing you. And since you just admitted that you wouldn't prefer that, you had better start considering the benefits of dark guild membership, especially as it relates to keeping you alive. So yes, I could alter your personality and force you to join, but I don't think I'll have to, given the alternative. What I've been looking into is maximizing your potential as a Celestial Spirit mage, and I may have found the answer."

Before Ultear could get any farther into her explanation, the entire room shook, and a wave of dark magical power rolled over them, leaving each female with a feeling of hopelessness and fear. Ultear shook off the effects first, and immediately ran for the door. "Meredy, don't let her out of your sight!" she shouted over her shoulder.

Meredy grimaced, glancing between Lucy and the door anxiously. It was clear that she wanted to follow Ultear, but also didn't want to disobey Ultear's order, either. Lucy genuinely felt bad for her, and seriously considered promising that she wouldn't try to escape. Meredy was unlikely to believe her, but Lucy truthfully had no ideas on how she might escape. She still wasn't sure exactly where she was, and beyond that, had no idea where her keys were being kept.

Without warning, the room shook several more times, and the dark magical power only seemed to grow stronger and closer.

"We will move to a more secure location," Meredy decided at last. With a wave of her hand, the barrier vanished, only to be replaced by a pair of blue handcuffs connected by a chain. These instantly attached themselves to Lucy's wrists, though not uncomfortably so.

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked.

"Down," Meredy said simply, gesturing for her to stand.

Lucy knew better than to ask for details, so she simply started walking, and turned where Meredy told her to. Lucy had originally thought she was being held in some kind of large building, but the path Meredy chose this time led past what almost had to be an engine room. All Lucy knew for certain is that they were definitely moving away from the mass of dark power, and that she could sense several other large powers moving toward it. Whatever the threat was, Grimoire Heart was clearly moving to deal with it.

Although Lucy wasn't sure she cared for the way each of the powers she felt moving toward the dark power seemed to vanish moments later. She wasn't sure that she could deal with an evil more powerful that Grimoire Heart at the moment.

Meredy apparently felt the same way, because she abruptly stopped giving Lucy directions, and stopped moving entirely. "Something is wrong," she said. "I can't sense Ultear anymore."

"You should go to her," Lucy answered at once, looking over her shoulder at Meredy. "Finding yourself all alone... it isn't a good feeling."

"I don't need you to tell me that!" Meredy snapped, though Lucy could tell her anger was truly directed elsewhere. "And if you're thinking of trying to escape-"

"Where would I go? I'm probably safer with you, anyway."

Meredy opened her mouth to reply, but in that moment, the ceiling exploded above them, showering them with debris.

Lucy froze, unable to make a decision. Later Lucy would reflect on this moment, uncertain if she froze because Meredy might think she was escaping, or if she was simply unwilling to leave Meredy to possibly be crushed.

Meredy had no such problem, and shoved Lucy away from her, but doing so sealed her fate.

Amidst the falling chunks of ceiling, a glossy black chain suddenly became visible. Thought it seemed to be falling at first, it turned sharply in mid-air and wrapped around Meredy's still outstretched arms several times. Meredy seemed too shocked to respond properly as the chain tightened and then began to withdraw rapidly, retreating back up into the ceiling, and dragging her along with it. She was even more startled when Lucy desperately grabbed onto her ankles.

"What are you doing?" Meredy demanded as they were both yanked upward with no sign of slowing down. "Let go, you fool!"

"I'm not losing another friend today!" Lucy shouted, glaring up Meredy.

Meredy's face went blank at that response, as if she were unable to believe it, or simply unwilling to deal with it at the time.

The first layer of ceiling that they crashed through was nearly enough to dislodge Lucy, so she wrapped her handcuffs around Meredy's legs as best she could. By the third, Lucy had nearly lost her grip, and with the fourth she actually did, due mainly to Meredy being knocked unconscious, which caused the handcuffs to dissolve. Lucy hit the ground hard, with Meredy landing a few feet in front of her. The black chain withdrew from Meredy's arms, slitering back toward its owner: a man so overflowing with dark magical power that Lucy felt sure he would destroy everything around him, simply because he could. As she took in the scene, this belief was only reinforced: the other remaining members of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, and even Bluenote, were all sprawled in various positions around the room. None of them looked quite dead so far, but it was clear that none of them would be getting up anytime soon.

The only other person in the room still standing was Hades, and it was a very close thing: his heavily bandaged chest was stained with blood, and his eyes were wide and fearful as he stared at the dark mage before him. "What is it that you want from us?" the old man demanded. "All that we did was in the name of your revival!"

"I never asked to be revived, and certainly not in this way," the dark mage replied. "Your foolishness and arrogance only prove what I believed all along: it it past time for this era to end. You have sealed the fate of your world. So many will perish, and the first will be your children. Your first punishment is to watch."

Lucy watched in horror as the black chains burst fron the floor, wrapping around each fallen member of Grimoire Heart. The dark mage reached out and briefly touched Kain. The huge man's body, already pale, became even paler, and his body began to collapse on itself, until nothing remained but his clothing.

Hades seemed to lose what little patience he had left. "Curse you, Zeref!" he howled, hurling all of his remaining power in an enormous crimson ball.

Without even looking in his direction, Zeref made a small gesture. The ball instantly boomeranged back towards its caster, and Hades screamed as he was consumed by his own magic. "If you dare to challenge Zeref with dark magic, you are simply asking for a faster demise. No one knows the darkness better. You would have done well to stay in the light, old man."

Lucy had seen enough. She crawled over to Meredy and grasped the black chains binding her, tugging as hard as she could. Not only was there no give in the chains, but they were intensely cold to the touch, and Lucy felt herself growing weaker each additional second that she was in contact with them. She hardly even noticed when Zeref's shadow fell over her, although there was no way she could ignore his voice.

"Leave her. She is meant to suffer with the rest."

"No!" Lucy snapped, glaring up at him. "She's just a little girl! She's made some bad choices, sure, but she doesn't deserve to die for them!"

"Are you so sure of that?" Zeref asked softly.

"Yes! I haven't even known her a whole day, and I can tell that! You can't sentence someone to death just because you're stronger than them!"

From Zeref's blank expression, it was clear that he didn't agree with her. Despite that, he did not immediately react to the statement. He simply stared at Lucy for a long moment. "Are you willing to give your life, in order to spare hers?" he finally asked.

Lucy's eyes widened, both in shock and fear. Then she looked at Meredy, her eyes glazing over with tears. "Yes," she whispered. "Kill me, but promise you'll let her live."

"I can't do that," Zeref replied, startling her. "At least, I won't. You are proof that there is still hope for this era, and perhaps even for this guild, since they captured you alive. To kill you, even as a noble sacrifice, would serve no purpose. Aside from that, I see that you are a member of Fairy Tail. That makes you a friend of Natsu."

Lucy's eyes bugged out. "YOU know Natsu?"

Zeref ignored her question. "I will not kill you. I will not kill the child. But someone must accept her punishment, or the lesson will not be learned."

"Give it... to me," Ultear gasped from where she was lying. "Meredy is my child, and... I am the one who saved the girl."

Zeref gestured, and the chains binding Ultear dragged her across the floor, until she was lying beside Meredy. "You will experience agony in its purest form. Are you prepared?"

"Will I survive this?" Ultear asked bluntly.

"I will not promise it. That is up to you and your strength of will."

Ultear glanced at Meredy and nodded. "I accept your terms."

Zeref closed his eyes and placed his right hand on Meredy's forehead. His left hand hovered over Ultear's forehead, and then abruptly dropped.

Ultear's body immediately jerked against the chains, and harsh screams of terrible pain flew from her mouth. Lucy clapped her hands over her ears, but forced herself to watch until Ultear collapsed after several long minutes of torture. This could have easily been Lucy's punishment, after all.

"Did you know that pain is like a footprint?" Zeref asked. "Each time you hurt someone, you leave a mark on them, but it leaves a mark on you as well. For those like me who can see these marks, it is a simple task to recreate the sensation."

"So you made her feel the pain she's caused everyone she's ever hurt?" Lucy guessed.

"No. That would certainly kill her," Zeref answered with such confidence that it was eerie. "This is simply the pain felt by those she killed in a single village. The same village that Meredy once called home, if I'm not mistaken."

"You... aren't lying," Meredy whispered, opening her eyes.

"I am Zeref, and it would be infinitely simpler to kill you. I have no reason to lie to you, child."

"You won't kill me?" Meredy asked, sounding surprised.

"This one has prevented it," Zeref replied, gesturing to Lucy. "She alone is the reason I have decided to spare the remainder of Grimoire Heart, for the moment."

Meredy stared up at Lucy in disbelief. "Why?" she whispered. "We are enemies. You shouldn't care what happens to me."

"But I do care," Lucy insisted. "That's what makes us friends." And since Meredy could do nothing to stop her, Lucy leaned over and kissed the girl's cheek.

"You're so odd," Meredy decided at last, but Lucy could see the faint blush in her cheeks. "Anyway, um... thanks."

"You're very welcome, Meredy," Lucy replied. Then she noticed that Zeref was staring at them with a huge, sappy smile on his face. "Um... so, you're Zeref?" Lucy asked him hesitantly. "What's that like?"

His smile vanished at once. "Do you really want to know?"

"Actually, now I'm not so sure I do."

"You should. Otherwise I might have to kill you."

"But why?" Lucy squeaked in fear. "I don't even know you! You couldn't possibly have a reason to want to kill me!"

"I don't want to kill anyone, and yet it is necessary. This world cannot continue on as it is. In order to change it, I must kill."

"But why are you so sure that killing ME is such a great idea?" Lucy demanded.

"It may not be. But many will undoubtedly die before this world can change for the better. You might simply be among them."

"Yet you keep talking as if you are personally going to kill ME and no one else!"

Zeref blinked. "I apologize for the misunderstanding, then."

"So, just to be clear, you have no personal desire to kill me, but in the process of you killing lots of people, you might still kill me?"

He nodded. "That sounds about right. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Lucy asked eagerly. She felt pretty certain now that Zeref was, if nothing else, fairly random in who he did or didn't kill at most times, and figured there might still be a way for her to end up on his good side. Meredy, too, if they were extremely lucky.

"I am going to bring an end to this era. Nothing can stop that. But I would not be opposed to some help. I am willing to overlook the sins of those who pledge their allegiance to me, and help me usher in the new age. Perhaps during your service, you will prove yourselves worthy of existing in the new era."

"So we have to help you kill lots of people, or you'll just kill us now?" Lucy asked weakly.

Zeref considered that for a moment. "Basically, yes." He turned to the remaining members of Grimoire Heart, most of whom had been jarred awake by Ultear's screams earlier. "That goes for all of you. Serve me, or die a death worthy of your sins."

"You should join him," Meredy suggested softly to Lucy. "I will. It won't be so bad. It's probably better that he doesn't actually enjoy killing people. That shoud mean he won't expect you to like it, either. Anyway, he's Zeref. Chances are he has plenty of ways to kill tons of people without ever actually having to see them."

"You know, that doesn't really help as much as you thought it would," Lucy sighed.

Lucy spent most of that night in the library, and she was not alone.

Most of Grimoire Heart had packed themselves into the library as well, and were frantically researching ways to improve their magic, so as to be of some use to Zeref (and out of fear of what would happen to them if they failed). Even Bluenote had dropped all hostility toward Lucy and dragged a half-hearted description of what she thought Fairy Glitter might look like out of her. Lucy did not consider this a betrayal of her guild: she genuinely knew nothing about Fairy Glitter, and simply told Bluenote that it was probably very sparkly.

Meredy had decided to stay with Ultear in the infirmary. The woman still lived, but she had not regained consciousness, and Lucy honestly doubted she would anytime soon. Really, she wasn't even sure if Meredy wanted Ultear to survive, or if she just wanted to kill Ultear herself. Lucy didn't like the idea of Meredy killing anyone, but judging from the way she had calmly accepted Zeref's invitation, there was a good chance that it wouldn't be her first kill.

In the meantime, Lucy had plenty to do. Before going to the infirmary, Meredy had returned Lucy's keys and whip. They both figured that Zeref would kill her even if she managed to escape, so there was no point in treating her like a hostage when they were all Zeref's hostages. Lucy had only dared to summon Plue, and told him to inform the other Spirits of her situation. She briefly thought about asking him to go to Fairy Tail, but decided against it. Even Natsu would be powerless to stop Zeref, and she didn't want anyone from her guild trying to save her. Phantom Lord had merely hurt them, badly, but Zeref killed his enemies. Lucy couldn't bear the thought of any of her friends dying for her. Worse, she didn't want them to know that she was now working for Zeref. She missed them terribly, but told herself it was for the best.

All she could do was go along with Ultear's original plan. The book Ultear had left out was very old, and it had a great deal of information about Celestial Spirit magic. The page Ultear had last been reading was all about something called Spirit Fortification, which looked both extremely difficult and highly useful. Apparently, it had been used ages ago, but fell out of practice for some reason. Lucy soon realized why: not only did it require a large number of Spirits to be effective, it called for an enormous amount of magic, more than she had ever used on any one spell. She would have to get much stronger to even consider using such magic consistently.

Then again, it wasn't as if she had any choice in the matter.

That night, in the room that Zeref assigned to her, Lucy summoned Crux, and made a request that startled him awake.

"I need to know how I can become strong enough to summon the Celestial Spirit King."

Continued in Chapter 3: Natsu

Fairy Tail is still recovering from the loss of Lucy when they are forced to face the threat of the dragon Acnologia, losing Makarov in the battle. The somehow not-quite-dead Master Mavis intervenes to save the guild, and to select the next leader. Fairy Tail's S-Class/Master Exam will soon begin.

Endnotes:

I'm making some guesses as to Zeref's motivation, based on what I've seen so far.