When Lucy woke up, the first thing she noticed was the drumming headache.

The second was that her wrists were bound to the bed.

She blinked, fighting off the dizziness in her head as she blinked, trying to take in her surroundings. This didn't look like her room, the bed was too high and comfortable, and there was way too much light. She tried to reach up and touch her head until she remembered that she was bound, and then she started jerking around.

She did not want to be held down.

"It's for your own good," someone said, drawing her attention. She blinked several times until her vision cleared enough to see, taking in Loke's pained expression as he watched her. "You were trying to scratch your skin off in your sleep."

She flailed, throwing her legs around sluggishly. Her movements felt slow, like everything was happening in moments after her brain thought of it. "W-what's happening?"

He pressed his lips together, looking like he was afraid to answer. "You're at Sabertooth-"

"What?!" she screamed, trying to sit upright. Without her arms it was next to impossible, and she settled for throwing her head around instead. "Get me out of here! I can't be here! I have jobs to do!"

Loke flinched at her words. "You're not taking any more work princess, I can't let you."

"Fuck you!" she screamed, barely acknowledging when he flinched back at her words. She spun her head back and forth, looking for something to help her. "Virgo! Virgo get out here and I'll punish you! Get me out of here!"

"Virgo's not coming," he said softly. "None of them are, Lucy. I told them to stay away from their gates until you're better."

"You don't tell them what to do! I do!"

"Would you listen to yourself?" he snapped, sounding disgusted. "Look what those drugs have done to you. You never used to be this way. You need to heal, princess. I won't let you hurt us anymore with what you've done, or yourself."

Lucy growled. "He's going to kill me! I – I have to meet my quota-"

"There's a quota?" someone asked, interrupting her. She stopped talking, fingers twitching as she tried to scratch at her skin. She felt sticky, like she'd been sweating for a while. From this position she couldn't tell who just spoke. "You didn't mention that."

Loke looked pale, staring at Lucy like he'd never seen her before. "I – I didn't know."

Suddenly a blond head appeared to her right side and Lucy spun her head the other way to observe, surprised when she recognized the person there. "Sting?"

"You're finally up," he deadpanned, looking unamused. "I was getting tired of you deliriously trying to offer sex to me."

She blinked, trying to recall what he was talking about. She couldn't focus long, her mind flying back to what she was missing. Her hands clenched together, desperation appearing in her eyes. "I – I need my fix."

"I've heard," he agreed, looking irritated. "You've told me, Loke's told me, you told me again. I'm not getting you drugs Heartfilia."

She whined, barely registering that the noise came out of her. "I can give you what you want-"

"I don't want anything from you," he corrected, "least of all sex. Fuck blondie, you're prostituting yourself for money."

She shook her head, the words sounding sluggish in her mind. "I – I have to meet my quota."

He narrowed his eyes. "What quota?"

Lucy shook her head again, throwing it back into the pillows as the headache increased. "You've gotta help me! I – I need them! It hurts."

She didn't see what happened next, but she thought she heard something being said, though by who she had no idea. Her vision darkened again, and she started beating her hands into the mattress, throwing her legs around to try and tip the bed over.

"I need it!"


Sting gestured for Rufus to come over when she snapped, realizing they weren't going to get anywhere with her during that stage of withdrawal. He stepped back from the bed once more, glancing at the tortured look on Loke's face as he watched the screaming girl.

Turning, he glanced in Wendy's direction. The poor girl looked traumatized watching her friend scream and cuss, throwing herself around like it would help. Beside her the girl she'd brought with – he believed her name was Chelia – pat her shoulder comfortingly as she cried.

"I – I did everything I could," she explained, clasping her hands together in front of her. She looked between Sting, Lucy, and Loke, before returning her eyes to the dragon slayer once more. "I don't know how else to help."

"You did great," he reasoned, coming to sit on the bed next to her, staring at the blonde across the room. "Addiction is something magic can't fix. It's not a physical wound."

Wendy cried, covering her mouth when the sob escaped. "T-the scars…"

Sting grimaced, staring at the dragon slayer across from him. He hadn't spent much time with Wendy but knew her skills were unmatched. She'd shown up within the same day that Yukino reached out to her, panicking when they explained that they'd found Lucy.

Apparently, her whereabouts were a mystery to exeryone. Fairy Tail disbanded, but he thought they would at least keep track of their own. The sky dragon slayer was horrified to learn what had happened to her friend and rushed over, but the action was futile.

She couldn't heal addiction and starvation. Lucy's drug usage depleted the nutrients in her body, and now she was trained to use the drugs as a supplement to actual consumption. When she was delirious earlier they tried to give her some water, which she promptly threw back up. Now there was a needle in her arm trying to hydrate her again, something Sting had only ever seen done a handful of times. Usually magic could take care of it.

She was in a bad way. Her ribs were just as noticeable as he first thought, and she'd been screaming about a quota since yesterday. She still hadn't murmured a name, but he assumed it was only a matter of time until she let something slip.

"H-how could someone do this?" Wendy continued, shaking her head as she stared. "How did Lucy end up here?"

"I don't know," Sting replied, answering for Loke. The spirit had gone mute, staring brokenly down at the girl passed out on the bed. "We're going to figure that out."

"I thought I could help more," Wendy continued, glancing around the room. "I – I thought-"

"You've never had to help someone with addiction before," Chelia interrupted, sitting down beside the bluenette. "You didn't know. I didn't either."

Wendy nodded. "I guess. I just figured I could help…"

Her voice trailed off, staring at Lucy's bare arms. The scars stood out in the light, vivid lines among her blown out veins. He could see the damage done from here, but after a thorough look over the girl, he'd seen more marks than he preferred.

Old marks. Fading bruises from fingerprints and scars. Wendy's magic revealed internal damage, some done by drugs, some it appeared by fights with god knew what. She looked better now that some of it was healed, but the scars on her arms mostly remained. Once the scar set, it was something healing magic couldn't remove.

His eyes danced over the blonde, staring briefly at her chest before moving on. He hadn't had the heart to show Wendy the mark on her breast, and after some rather uncomfortable looking with Rufus they determined it was old, and having the girl look at it wouldn't help anyway.

He was almost glad. Wendy was wrecked after being there for only a few hours. Seeing a violent act like that left behind might unravel her, and there were enough people coming unhinged in that room right now. They didn't need to add one more.

He tried to not think about the mark. It didn't do any good, and unless he could ask Lucy he wouldn't get any answers.

"Depending on what's in her system it could take a week or more to clear," Wendy explained, tapping her fingers together as everyone watched the girl. She'd passed out again from exhaustion and delirium. "I couldn't tell what it was. I'm not all that familiar with drugs anyway. I did try to contact Porlyusica, she may have something to help Lucy."

There was that name again. He'd heard it more than once, and hopefully this person really could be useful. He didn't know the first thing about what to do in a situation like this, but so long as he didn't betray his fears in front of the others he could pull it off.

Lucy was a problem he couldn't prepare for, and one he couldn't just walk away from once she fell into his lap.

"It'll be a waiting game," Rufus agreed, checking Lucy over once more before stepping back again. She'd only been there a day and already her presence caused bags to appear under his eyes, the stress of trying to keep her contained weighing heavily on Rufus' mind. Sting knew it wasn't fair to place the burden on his friend, but no one else in the guild knew enough to be helpful.

Hell, he was barely getting along, and he was supposed to be the damn leader.

"Thank you for coming," he said finally, shooting Wendy a strained smile. "I'm not sure if there's anything else that can be healed. It's all mental anguish and withdrawal symptoms now. I don't know if you can heal her anymore."

Wendy shook her head. "I can't. I wish I could but my magic doesn't work like that." Tears pricked her eyes and she brushed them away with the back of her hand. "I just wish I could do more."

"We all do," Sting agreed, nodding. "She just needs her system to clear like you said. Maybe then she can tell us more about what's going on."

He had failed to tell the girl that he knew where she'd been staying, and could probably march back there and beat down whoever held her there with drugs and sex. He didn't know who he would be facing, and there was a chance Lucy might run back there the moment they stopped tying her to the bed.

She was addicted, and possibly afraid, to the situation she was in. Watching her lash out at her spirits was enough to show that she wasn't herself, and the drugs were taking a toll on her. He'd never seen the Fairy act cruelly to her spirits, no matter the situation.

Now this? It didn't make any damn sense.

"I'm going to try and let the others know she is here," Wendy continued, feigning a smile. "Maybe they can help. Maybe we can all go and fight this guy together."

Sting resisted the urge to groan. He was afraid that Wendy's first response would be to reach out to old friend, and he didn't need a reengage conglomeration of Fairies showing up with vengeance on the mind.

He couldn't finance rebuilding the guild right now, and fairies were well known for their destruction. He didn't imagine having the lot of them show up out of nowhere would do his guild any good.

"We need to know what exactly he's done first," Sting reasoned, wishing Rogue stayed in the room. He'd left after Wendy and Chelia arrived, looking mildly horrified when the latter tried to pull his hair back into a ponytail. Since then he'd refused to come back upstairs, and Sting sincerely wished he'd get over it and return. He could really use someone with a level head right about now. "We don't know how much of a hold he has on her, or if the other people working there are in similar situations. Lucy could run back there once she wakes up because she is conditioned to."

Conditioned. He hated how callous that sounded, like he was impartial to what she chose to do once she recovered. However, after seeing the lack of living conditions in that grovel, he wouldn't doubt that the man in charge taught his charges to return back to him, no questions asked.

The scars on her arms and chest were enough to annunciate his point. Even with all those scars, she remained there, drugged out of her mind and trying to give herself to people in alleys.

He crinkled his nose at the memory. There was definitely something holding Lucy there, and he was bound and determined to find out what once she was sober enough to explain.

Wendy shrugged beside him, forcing a smile. "I'm sure it'll take a little while for everyone to respond. Most of us, we've drifted since Fairy Tail broke up. We all chose our own paths. I don't know how long it will take for people to show up."

Sting held his tongue, deciding sarcasm probably wasn't the way to go. "Yeah, I figured. We don't have to rush. We need to wait for Lucy to wake up to find out what's really been going on."

It was another twenty minutes before Chelia could convince Wendy it was time to go, after forcing Sting to promise to let them know the moment Lucy woke up. There was little else she could do now that Lucy's physical injuries were healed. She had to eat and drink on her own, and the girl couldn't constantly replenish her body until the blonde decided to cooperate.

Besides, Wendy had her own life at another guild. She'd arrived late yesterday and stayed with Chelia through this morning, but it was evident seeing Lucy this way took it's toll. It would be better if she had some space between them to reflect on everything she'd seen.

Sting wasn't so lucky. He found himself in the infirmary again once the girls were gone, staring down at the blonde like he could will answers out of her.

He couldn't have an entire ex-guild storm Sabertooth. His credibility with his peers would be crushed, and the entire guild might descend into anarchy.

Glancing around, he wished Loke and Rufus stayed. The latter didn't like to stay in there longer than he had to, having seen more of the girl than he really cared to. Loke himself seemed tortured since arriving, and he knew the burden of keeping the others at bay was weighing him down. Of course her other spirits wanted to know how she was doing, but they just couldn't.

Sting understood. She was hurting them, and they didn't deserve to be lashed out at. Choosing to take the brunt of her rage though was not something Loke deserved.

A knock on the door drew him from his thoughts, and Sting almost relished the distraction.

"Some of the guild members want to know what you plan on doing with her," Rogue said, stepping into the room with him. "They are concerned about what this means for them."

Sting cringed, having feared as much. "I can't do anything until she is reasonable. You've seen her Rogue, she fights everyone tooth and nail."

He nodded, arching an eyebrow. "I get that. What the others don't get is that she can't leave right now, but they are spreading rumors about her. Some of them want her out of here, they are afraid her presence will bring a fight here that isn't ours."

Narrowing his eyes, Sting felt the weight of his title resting heavily upon him. "They want me to throw her out into the streets?"

Rogue held up his hands. "Some of them. Not me personally. I think she needs help desperately if she's delusional and still trying to let people touch her."

Sting nodded, agreeing. "I think it's conditioned into her now. It's her first response."

"And you still believe it's a good idea keeping her here? Whoever kept her had his hold on her, and I doubt he'll be okay just letting her waltz off."

"I know," he sighed. "But what am I supposed to do Rogue? She's… broken."

Reaching out, he pat the white dragon slayer's shoulder. "I don't know, but I definitely don't want your job."


Sting tried to keep his headache at bay. He'd convinced Rogue, none to easily, to stay upstairs in the infirmary for a while so he could come downstairs and deal with the chaos Lucy's arrival caused.

He should've stayed upstairs. Barely twenty minutes of this and he was ready to plow his head into a wall.

"It'd unnecessary," Dobengal reasoned, the most vocal about Lucy's arrival. "We're wasting our time caring for a Fairy."

"An ex-Fairy," he grumbled, shaking his head. "Fairy Tail's gone, remember?"

Dobengal didn't look fazed, crossing his arms as he continued. "What is with her anyway? Rogue and Rufus said they can't say, I gotta ask you. What's wrong, somebody rape her?"

Sting felt his eyebrow twitch, the headache increasing. "You say that rather lightly. This isn't a joke."

He shrugged. "I just wanna know. You can't rape the willing man. And from what I hear, she's very willing."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, reminding himself he couldn't beat down everyone who pissed him off. He didn't want a reputation that in any way reflected their previous masters. "Cut it out Dobengal. I'm not telling you anything until she's awake enough to get answers from. Quit trying to piss me off."

"It's working though," he replied, eyebrows rising. "I just wanna know if I should get ready for a fight cause you wanted to pick up a prostitute."

He sneered, glaring at the man. "Enough. Stop spreading rumors around the guild. She's in a bad way, and I won't know how bad exactly until she's awake enough to talk."

"Well if you need some help convincing her-"

"Enough!" he seethed, taking a step closer to the man. "You're not going to joke around about this. Something bad actually happened to her, and you're being a douche making fun of it. If all you want to do is be an ass, get out of my sight."

Dobengal smirked, leaning his shoulder against the wall. "Oh, did I hit a soft spot? Don't worry master, I'd be gentle with her."

Sting felt the vein above his eye beginning to bulge. He forced his hands into his pockets, suppressing the magic inside. His first instinct was to fight first and ask questions later, but since being voted in as the new master he'd had to learn to fight the urge. He couldn't just lose control and fight people now, the entire guild's reputation rested on what he chose to do.

And Dobengal knew exactly how he thought. He'd also wanted to be the new guild master, but his attitude chased most of the members away. He was too gruff and narrow-minded, and he never saw the big picture.

He'd been waiting around for Sting to do something to cause people to question him, and he was taking full advantage now. Sting just hoped the majority of his guild mates were smart enough to see that suggesting taking advantage of the girl in her current state wasn't a good idea, and definitely didn't speak well to his ability to lead a guild.

It didn't make him any less angry that he could speak so callously about the girl upstairs. He'd have to let anyone who watched the infirmary know to not let Dobengal in. Sting really wasn't certain what that man was capable of.

"You're going to stay away from her," he replied, trying to keep his tone neutral. "She has protection from the guild, just like anyone else who ends up in the infirmary. I'm not making any decisions about what we will do until I can personally speak with her."

Dobengal scoffed, shaking his head. "She's not going to talk to you. I've walked past the infirmary, I've seen how she acts. Unless you are gonna put your-"

"Enough," he snarled, grabbing the other man's shirt, dragging him a little closer. "Do you really think it's going to look good to the rest of the guild if you keep mouthing off about someone who's barely conscious, really? When I know something about her the rest of you will too."

He huffed, pushing away from the blond. "Yeah, sure."

Sting watched him go, the weight of his words resting heavily on his shoulders. Did he really need to worry about his own guild trying to attack her too? He could see a million things going wrong if someone tried, and even more problems if Fairy Tail members started dropping in.

He clenched his hands, glancing around the room. He had to start getting control of things.


You need me.

Lucy blinked, looking around. She was back in her room, but she didn't feel so sluggish anymore. She could sit up properly, and looking down she saw her wrists weren't bound to the bed.

She clicked her tongue, thinking about it. Maybe they wanted her to perform, that's why she was stuck to the bed at there. If she was good maybe they'd give her some –

She looked up at the sounds of footsteps approaching, her train of thought severed. Out of habit her legs slid apart, the tight skirt riding up her thighs.

She titled her head. This is how he liked her, already ready for him.

Her fingers twitched, looking for a vice that wasn't there. She fisted her hands tight, biting her lip to keep from whining. She needed her fix.

He hated when she whined. The old scars burned, and she recalled what happened when she was bad.

When he entered the room, his whole being seemed to suck the little warmth that was in there right out. She knew better now than to displease him, tilting her head down so she had to stare upward at him.

Compliant, he loved compliant.

"Quota," he said, his voice as distorted as his figure. She couldn't make him out, he looked blurry. "You have to meet the quota or pay the price."

"I – I did," she said, but her hands wouldn't move to the purse. "I have the money."

The figures head titled to the side, but she couldn't see his face. "Look at all I have done for you. You can't even bring me back my fair share. I require everyone to meet the quota. If you don't I have to punish you."

"No!" she screamed, trying to pull away from him. Her arms wouldn't work again, remaining uselessly at her sides. Her movements felt sluggish, and she didn't move quick enough to avoid him –

Lucy gasped, waking with a start. Her head shot forward, smacking painfully into something she couldn't see. Someone grunted and the obstacle moved away, yet she couldn't sit up any further.

Right, her hands were restrained.

She spun her head around like earlier, waiting for the spots in her vision to fade after slamming her head into something. When she could see again she noticed Rogue standing nearby, rubbing his head and looking perturbed.

Rogue?

"I should've known better," he grumbled, looking annoyed. "A fever dream, caused by your withdrawal. Of course your fine."

Lucy was panting, and she tilted her head as she tried to process his words. Was he just checking on her, and she jolted up and hit him?

That didn't make sense. Nobody checked nobody checked nobody checked…

She shook her head, dropping it down onto the pillow again. Nobody ever checked on her.

Quota. She was supposed to be dealing with her quota.

Her head turned sluggishly, and she wondered if all her movements were that way when she jerked up. "I have make quota."

Rogue's eyebrows shot up. "Was that supposed to be a sentence?"

"Quota!"

He remained back from the bed, watching her curiously. She wanted to scream at him that she needed to, that bad things would happen if she didn't, but he mouth wasn't working. No words were coming out, and they were just staring at one another.

Rogue spoke first, breaking the silence. "I don't know who you were living with before, but Sting's not going to make you reach any quota. And whoever was can't come here. You don't need to worry about that."

Lucy shook her head, tears pricking her eyes. "I have to meet q-quota. He won't pay me."

He frowned, glancing towards the door like he was waiting for someone. "Isn't a quota usually money? Why would someone pay you money for money?"

She groaned, beating her hands on the sheets. "Not money!"

"I don't understand then."

She screamed, beating her hands on the bed when she jerked around again. She kicked at the blanket on her legs, successfully throwing it off. "My quota."

Rogue shook his head, and she could tell he thought she was going nuts. She felt a little nuts, sitting there screaming about quotas not meaning money.

All she wanted was her fix, and she damn well knew Rogue couldn't give her that.

Sting? Where was Sting? She needed to get out of there…

"I – I gotta go," she groaned, desperately trying to touch herself. She felt feverish, and she needed to see if she wasn't but her damn hands were still stuck to the sheets. She thought she might be panting again but couldn't be sure.

Her head lulled to the side, and she stared at Rogue's pained expression again. An idea popped into her head, one she hadn't thought of. "You!"

"Uh…"

"You can help me meet the quota! What do you want? I do anything."

Rogue's cheeks turned as red as his pants, and he practically broke his neck to turn when the door opened. "Sting!"

They said something she couldn't focus on, her headache coming back again. She needed to focus. She had to meet the quota or her owner would be angry…

"-y? Oh, Lucy!"

Someone grabbed her chin and forced her to focus on them. She recognized Sting again, the softness of his gloves nice against her skin. "Lucy."

"Uh?"

"We aren't going to help you with a quota," he explained, keeping his grip firm when she tried to pull away. She was too tired, her hands drumming unevenly against the bed, needing to touch her arms. "You gotta stop offering to have sex with people up here."

"But-"

"No buts," he said, his face going in and out of focus, "we're not going to pay you to go pay your boss."

"Boss?"

Sting shook his head, and he turned into a blur or yellow and white. "-d rest, okay? You don't have to pay anything."

Lucy blinked, feeling her lids getting heavy again. Did he say she didn't need to pay? That didn't matter!

Her eyes fell closed, a feeling of panic setting in. She wasn't worried about paying him.

A/n: And here's chapter three! Sorry for the delay here, I didn't even realize a whole month had passed since the last chapter. Let me know what you think!