Chapter 4:

Hellspawn! Of fucking course Erik would be stuck having to fight the damned creatures that were immune to his magic. He couldn't leave though or even bloody retreat he was protecting three little girls and their baby brother who the Hellspawn had been intent on making their lunch. So he kept fighting despite being out numbered twenty to one by the foul creatures. Knowing this would be different then when he was a child he would get the children to safety or die trying. They were clinging to his back, backed up against a cliff to make sure the Hellspawn couldn't sneak behind him. He had just been heading to Bosco to get a new order of Havati venom from his contact, a simple task, when he had seen them and children had always been Erik's weak spot. Anyone under ten he had always done his best to protect.

Blood was dripping from his arm from the teeth of the Hellspawn closest to him, it had grabbed him when he had pulled the oldest girl out of it's way when he had come upon them. Already the wound was turning black, the one poison he couldn't absorb safely, and probably the only poison that would ever be able to kill him. It was making him weak. And since Hellspawn had no soul he couldn't use his magic to predict what they would do next. For once he was at a disadvantage that he might not be able to fight through. Bosco was so close, but so far at the same time. He knew White Sea could kill Hellspawn, but he had no way to get to them without abandoning the children, and no one he could call on his comm who could get him help before it was too late.

Erik Vrtra was finally going to die. It fucking sucked he had so much he still wished to do. Things he had never thought he could ever have. He had been searching for his mate wanting that connection that no one else could give him. There was so much he wanted to accomplish, but he hoped that at least if this was his final moment the children could get away. Preparing himself for a last ditch effort the defining moments of his life flashed before his eyes.

Erik Vrtra wasn't going to let these monsters go after his mommy. His inner dragon was snarling and wanted to tear these men to shreds, his mommy was pregnant and she wasn't a dragon queen or even a dragon female. She wasn't strong enough to protect them when she was expecting his baby sister. So it was Erik's job to protect her until daddy could come and save them all. Daddy was really strong he'd be able to protect them even if he wasn't a dragon, he could even get Erik to eat his vegetables something no one else could do, Erik didn't like the taste, but daddy wouldn't let him have any poison for dessert if there were veggies left on his plate.

His magic wasn't really strong yet, but his poison could still be lethal and so could Cubellios's she was fighting right at his side. Daddy had gotten her for him from Daddy's clan, he had left his clan to marry mommy. Daddy said that's what you did when you fell in love, but when Daddy found out about Erik's magic he had asked if they could adopt Cubellios because Erik and her could form a really strong bond. Cubellios's kind of snake was rare and called a Havati, and her venom was the best poison Erik had ever eaten. She was like another sister to him and she was his bestest friend. As a snake, which in Erik's mind was a distant cousin to his dragon nature, she felt the same protective tendencies. She wanted to protect the future hatchling with Erik.

They tried so hard to keep the men away from mommy even though she had tried to scream at Erik to run. He couldn't leave mommy and his baby sister aside. Even though she hadn't been born yet Erik already had a strong kin bond in place with her, and everything in him demanded he do everything in his power to protect her. It was his job to protect her, but he couldn't do it. Maybe if he was older and stronger he could have, but he was just a little boy still learning how to use his magic. Neither of his parents were dragons, the Draculi clan didn't even know how Erik had been born with a dragon lacrima already part of his soul, and he had never had a proper teacher. Although his dragon soul talked to him often, she was really nice if a bit prickly at times and taught him what she could, but she was only a young dragonling too. She had never learned how to use all her magic and had never met any dragon slayers so they just did what they could to learn how to use his magic.

"Erik!" His mommy screamed and then the men took him away. They threw something at mommy and it hit her in the side, narrowly missing the hidden baby bump of his little sister. That was the last Erik had seen of his mommy. They hadn't wanted her and he didn't even know if she had lived.


"You don't have to sit alone. Crime Sorceire has been pardoned and you guys helped us fight Zeref and Acnologia."

Erik's head snapped up at the words. He had heard footsteps, but hadn't heard anything other then a strange music, so he had just believed whoever had been behind him was so drunk even their soul was behaving weirdly. Instead he was faced with Fairy Tail's light. Lucy Heartfilia definitely wasn't drunk, but Erik couldn't hear anything else from her. How had he never noticed that he could only hear music from her soul, a sad pitched song that held a haunting melody, but was also soothing to his tortured mind.

It was odd not being able to know what someone was thinking. Erik didn't know if he liked it. After all the Light had more to hate him for then most of her guild members, she had been the one to nurse Scarlet back to health before they had gotten Wendy to heal her arm after he had poisoned her. Then he had kidnapped her using her own childhood doll to do it, and he had planned to allow her to sleep for a hundred years to wake to everyone she loved being gone. Despite having turned over a new leaf and realizing what he had done was wrong, Erik hadn't ever thought he would get this girl's approval. Everyone in Fiore knew that to gain Fairy Tail's favor the fastest thing to do was become allies or friends with the guild's light, and heaven help you if she didn't like you because then almost every guild in Fiore would turn against you. Erik knew people thought she was weak, but even without being able to hear her he could sense the power rolling off of her soul in waves, and he wondered why no one else in the guild seemed to realize just how powerful she really was.

"Why are you talking to me?!" He was gruffer then he meant to be, but Erik had lost his filter a long time ago.

"I believe in second chances where they are due. I'd like to be your friend Erik, come and see me if you decide you would like that to."

In that instant Erik's dragon named her kin. She was a haven and wasn't looking at him in fear or thinking that he was dangerous like most of the people in her guild. She was like star light, but she shined brighter then any star in the sky.

"I'd like that Starshine."


The day Erik was kidnapped by the Tower of Heaven slavers that was what went through Erik's mind the moment his eyes landed on the blonde woman in front of him. She was the spitting image of their mother other then her orange eyes. His dragon was purring the moment they spotted her, the little hatchling they hadn't even known had survived all those years ago when he was kidnapped to become a slave in service of Zeref, Erik was so glad he had been a part of taking that damned devil down. Never had he thought he would ever get the chance to meet her, even the rare times he had wondered what would have happened to her if their mother had survived.

The Guild mark on her arm had Erik glad they hadn't met a few years ago. If they had met when he was still a dark mage under the control of Brain then despite being Kin they would have been enemies. Now though he proudly held the mark of Fairy Tail, something Starshine had helped him earn. But his baby sister was a member of White Sea, a guild even Brain had made sure to stay clear of since they rarely had mercy when it came to dark mages and none when it came to dark guilds, and considering the magic rolling off of her she had somehow been implanted with a dragon lacrima as well. An adult female slayer who would one day most likely become a dragon queen.

"Who are you?" she asked her voice and soul both singing at such a pleasant level, even more soothing to him then Starshine. He knew she was wondering why her dragon was instantly purring after meeting a male dragon slayer that to her mind was a stranger, and why the word Kin kept going through her mind. She knew what it had meant she had many kin, all members of the family who had adopted her after their parents had died. He was sad to hear they were gone, but he had mourned them a long time ago believing he would never be able to see any of his family again. To be able to meet her was both a blessing and a curse.

"Cobra the Poison Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail."

He knew that wasn't really what she wanted to know, but he didn't know how to explain to her who he really was. Already he saw the recognition in her eyes and could hear her thinking he was an ex-dark mage. Emzadi, she thought her name and it fit her perfectly, wasn't sure what to think of him. Her brother Kaleb occasionally helped rehabilitate dark mages who weren't too far gone, but she also knew that Cobra had been a member of the Oracion Seis one of the worst dark guilds in history. Then again she also knew that Fairy Tail had fought him before so there had to be some good in him if they had allowed him to become a member of their guild considering the personal history between them.

Could he tell her he was her brother? Or should he leave it. She had clearly been well taken care of her entire life, and she had at least one brother she thought fondly of. A brother, who considering the name, had to be the Master of White Sea Kaleb Pradesh. Meaning she had a large family already. A family Erik knew was lighter then he could ever hope to be. Emzadi already had people who could love her, she didn't need him in her life, but he just couldn't bring himself to leave. Part of it was because his dragon was demanding he tell her who he was, and another part was that he just couldn't stop starring at her. Taking her in. Proud of who she had become even if her entire life had been spent without him. Did she know she had a biological older brother or had their parents never told her?

"Oh. Well it was nice meeting you Cobra."

He watched with sad eyes when she turned and walked away. This had been his chance to get to know his little sister, but he was too prideful to ask her to stay. To come up with any reason to convince her to talk with him even a little longer. But he also thought it was for the best. She had a better life without him being a part of it. He tended to ruin the lives of those around him and hadn't even been able to protect Cubellios so he had no right staying in her life. But now that he knew she was alive he also knew he would keep tabs on her, to make sure she stayed safe, and if anything happened to her he would protect her. Never allowing her to find out who he really was.

Luckily he still hid his dragon clan tattoo's or he wouldn't have even had a choice if deflecting her. He might have still been able to convince her he didn't know her, but with the clan tattoo's she most likely would have realized he was one of the kidnapped children. Erik knew Bosco hated the slave trave and did everything they could to rescue any children taken, but even with White Sea they couldn't always be everywhere at once, and some children never found their ways home.

Starshine was really the only human woman who had ever been happy around him. She was his kin too and he knew she would berate him if she ever knew he had met his sister without trying to get to know her. During a weak moment he had told her how he had been taken to the Tower of Heaven and cried on her shoulder. No one else knew about her and even if Starshine would give him trouble whenever she found out, because eventually she ripped all of his secrets from him, she would stay on his side and not tell Emzadi who he really was. Of course that didn't mean that she wouldn't try to get him to that place, but she wouldn't force him. Just use logic to convince him that her way was the best. Usually Starshine got her way, but this was one thing even he wouldn't give her.


Lucy and Emzadi had been getting closer to the Boscan border when she had felt a tugging on her soul. It was stronger then anything she had ever felt before and was leading her slightly to the left of where they had been traveling. "Chez bank to the left!" She screamed she didn't know who was down there, but she knew they were important to her, and whoever it was was on the verge of giving up and dying.

As the trusty spirit banked and drove faster Lucy could scent the blood in the air and by Emzadi's gasp beside her she knew the other woman felt it as well. There was also a familiar foulness in the air. Creatures she hadn't fought in ages, but that's foulness she could never forget. Hellspawn creatures the exact opposite of her. Probably one of the things that might be capable to permanently killing her, or at the very least making her restart her cycle once again. But just like they could seriously harm her she could harm them.

Allowing her eyes to become sharper as she channeled power from her phoenix abilities Lucy gasped as she saw Erik down below her. He was surrounded by a hoard of Hellspawn, four young children huddled behind him, obviously being protected from being the Hellspawn's next snack, and he was faltering. His arm was the only noticeable injury Lucy could see, but she knew not even Erik's abilities as the poison dragon slayer could work against Hellspawn. Only strong Celestial Magic and Phoenix magic worked against them.

"Stay here Emzadi, only come to help if there's no other choice, your hatchlings are more important."

Lucy didn't give Emzadi a chance before she threw herself off of the Chariot. She didn't have enough control to use her wings without risking burning everything around her, so instead she just allowed her magic to pool in her feet so that she would be able to land without injury. As she fell Lucy took her earrings out of her ears summoning the swords that had been created for her a thousand years ago to make it safer for her to fight Hellspawn. The earrings changing shape until Lucy was holding two silver blades with pure white wings as hilts and blue gems placed in the middle of each wing.

Those stupid Hellspawn would be sent back to Hell where they belonged for attacking her kin.


When he was certain it was over, that all he could do was try to make them follow him and leave the children, he could feel a familiar aura over head. It was shocking when he felt that powerful soul dropping from the air above him. Twin blades in her hands as she cut down two Hellspawn with a brilliant flash of light that completely disintegrated them. Yet the shock wave didn't even leave a scratch on anything else around them.

"Starshine, what the hell?" he gasped not believing she was here. That his luck was that good. Nor could he believe she was using swords. He had never seen Starshine use any weapon other then her whip, but she was wielding the twin blades like a master, maybe even better with her blades then Scarlet. Her celestial magic was stronger then he had ever thought. Erik had known she was strong, but he didn't think she would have enough power to disintegrate two Hellspawn at once. Creatures that usually needed three Celestial Magic users to even scratch one, let alone kill.

"No time to talk, just protect the children, and watch my back."

Her long blonde hair was flying behind her, but oddly enough there were also streaks of red in her hair that seemed to multiply the more Hellspawn she took down. She was like a warrior angel as she tore the Hellspawn down, but she wasn't immune to them either. Every time she took one out another one took an opening to scratch her with it's claws. He could smell the foul poison polluting her otherwise natural light, and it was so wrong, but there was nothing Erik could do. All he could do was use his poison whip to keep some of the creatures back well Starshine fought. Try to keep her safe, so that she could get them all out of there.

Blood was coating her body, both her own and the foul black blood of the Hellspawn. The black blood causing blisters of foul poison to pop up all over Starshine's body. Even her own flowing blood was starting to take on a green tinge from what the poison was doing to her. Starshine's breathing was becoming more labored even as she kept on fighting. It didn't slow her down instead it made her fight more fiercely. The way Starshine did everything. She was a champion who doubted her own strength half the time. And she was also one of the only people Erik couldn't get a complete read on. Once in a while he could hear whispers of her thoughts, but most of the time he could only hear the pure sorrow filled melody of her soul.

At the same moment that Starshine took down the last of the Hellspawn, she collapsed. Her breathing labored and Erik was terrified of losing her. With any other poison he could have sucked it out and bought her a little more time, and if they had been in Fiore he would have brought her to Wendy. But Wendy was back at the Guild and there was no way Starshine had enough time to make a trip that would take at least a week if not two with her health.

"Lucy!" A familiar voice shouted from above. Erik watched as two flying goats pulled a chariot down from the sky, he hadn't even seen any sign of it before it appeared above him. Sitting beside the driver of the chariot was Emzadi looking scared out of her mind, and very noticeably pregnant but he couldn't focus on that right now Starshine needed him too much.

The four children were still by the cliff watching with wide scared eyes as the chariot landed in front of him. It seemed they really had taken to him because they ran to hide beside him, the oldest girl who was probably about six carrying her younger brother in her arms, as she huddled next to him. After everything they had just been through with the Hellspawn Erik was surprised they hadn't fainted in fear, but instead they just stayed by his side waiting to see what he would do.

"Hello again Emzadi. Starshine needs immediate medical attention, doesn't your guild have a major healer?"

"Yes. There should be enough room for all of us. Hop on."

Emzadi's soul was in turmoil, but her face didn't even show it as she moved over. The youngest two girls hopped into her lap, deciding they could trust her since Erik clearly knew her. With as much gentleness as he could Erik picked Starshine up making sure to cover her with his cloak as he moved her knowing she needed the extra warmth. The spirit holding his hand out for the oldest girl to grab and she moved into the back seat of the chariot holding her brother tightly.

"Being in the sky could get her too cold, we'll have to travel on ground," he told Starshine's spirit. Watching as the spirit nodded. They were lucky he hadn't disappeared when Starshine passed out, Emzadi especially could have been seriously injured, having been in the sky, if not killed.

Only Starshine would somehow end up in the company of his little sister without even knowing it. He was glad Starshine had been able to save him, but he was terrified that she would die for him. When would she learn to stop sacrificing herself for other people? That her life was just as important? That her death would destroy so many people?

As they traveled quickly on the ground Erik prayed with all he could that Starshine wouldn't die. The world couldn't lose her light not now when it was still adjusting from so much darkness being destroyed. She hadn't even found someone to love and Starshine had so much love to give, even if for some reason she was terrified of it.

"Don't die Lucy, I couldn't bare it," he whispered into her hair as he silently urged her spirit to go faster. Even though he already knew with the loyalty the spirits had to her that he would be going as fast as he possibly could.


Cristoff Pradesh had been heading back to the guild after having forced Xally to go back to sleep. His youngest sister had tried to get Minda to take her to where Emzadi had last been seen again, and planned to search all on her own. Her fear making her irrational. He had been lost in thoughts about his other sister's disappearance when a familiar smell came into his nose, but it was drenched by blood so he couldn't recognize it. He barely had time to move out of the way as a chariot led by two winged goats practically flew past him, the passengers in it a blur as they headed directly to White Sea. Having smelt the blood he figured it was a Guild member who needed immediate medical attention, but he knew he couldn't catch them on foot, so he moon shifted directly to the balcony on the guild.

'Kaleb we have an incoming medical emergency to the guild, get everyone to clear out of the way, I don't know who it is there was too much blood. I'll get the infirmary ready.'

'On it.'

Running downstairs to the infirmary Cristoff made sure he had a sterile environment ready. With how much blood he had smelled and the offness in it he knew he couldn't heal everything on his own. So he made sure he also had medical supplies ready. He wasn't as good at normal medicine as Xally and wished he hadn't just put her to sleep. If she hadn't been so exhausted and distraught he could have sent someone to wake her and get her here, but with how she was right now she wasn't able to help. Hopefully he could help the incoming patient completely on his own.


Suddenly the guild was in complete chaos, Kaleb had ordered everyone to clear a path to the infirmary without any explanation and gone to stand by the door. Bix didn't get it until he could feel a flickering soul nearby and almost collapsed as he powered all of his magic into recognizing it. Cosplayer was somehow in Bosco and on the verge of death.

When the doors burst open Bix just watched in shock for a moment as Kaleb came running into the guild leading the way for Erik who was holding a blood soaked Cosplayer in his arms. The more shocking part then both of them being here was the fact that Cosplayer was covered not only in her own blood, but the black blood of Hellspawn. How had she come to be fighting Hellspawn of all things? He knew her soul would be an incredible lure to them, but with her state and the blood on her barely being dry it was obvious it had happened recently, and if Hellspawn were this close to Bosco an alarm should have gone off. White Sea should have been called to deal with them before they could become a problem.

Darting after them Bix forgot for a moment that his sister was missing. All he could think of was the fact that Cosplayer was dying. He had never felt her soul so weak and he needed to be by her side. No matter what Bix would make sure Cosplayer wouldn't die on them. If he had to he would force her soul to stay in her body until Cristoff could heal her. Even if it could cause him major problems later on he couldn't let her die. She was too important to so many people. Important to him.

'Damn it Cosplayer what self sacrifice have you made this time.'


Arman had been dragged to help Cristoff in the infirmary. His son hadn't had the time to explain what was going on only that a severely injured person was on the way to the guild. But nothing could have prepared him for the sight that came into the infirmary. Kaleb had practically sprinted down the hall closely followed by a maroon haired man with a ragged scar over one eye clutching a blonde woman who was almost entirely soaked in blood. Arman's sound magic could pick up bits and fragments the soul sounding strangely familiar to him, but at the same time the haunting music melody underneath all of her thoughts was something he knew he had never heard before.

As an Ambassador of Bosco it had been required of Arman to also do courses on healing, just in case he was ever attacked in a hostile environment.

Everyone who worked with him had different levels of skill some learning more then others, but all of them were able to handle battle wounds. But he had never seen something this bad not even from Pergrande.

Hellspawn had always been a different type of monster. Their blood itself could kill someone if the poison in their claws didn't do it first. Only holy Boscan armor could hold up against their blood, and was designed that it would completely close around someone to prevent Hellspawn blood from being able to penetrate anywhere. To prevent the very thing that had happened to this woman. Her skin was covered in horrible blisters from the black blood, more popping up everywhere the longer that foul blood remained on her. Not even thinking Arman found himself requipping into his own armor before he grabbed a cloth and started scrubbing down the woman's skin. He knew there was nothing Cristoff could do until she was completely clean of the dark blood. Knowing how much pain she must be in even though she was unconscious Arman was as gentle as he could be considering how hard he had to scrub for the sticky Hellspawn blood to give way.

As he cleared more blood from her he had a sudden feeling like her appearance was wrong. Like there was something hiding beneath her outer shell. Her hair was gold spun blonde with streaks of red throughout almost like a sunset was alive in her hair, and her skin was perfect in the spots the blood hadn't damaged. There was no signs of any scars as he cleaned her up more. Despite feeling like her soul was familiar he had never see her before, but at the same time her face looked so familiar in a way that haunted him because he couldn't place it.

The moment he cleaned an area he saw Cristoff start to work on it trying to heal this woman. A woman who even in such agony was beautiful a rare beauty that would be a painful loss to the world if she didn't survive this. In Bosco a woman like her would be coveted and fought over. He knew from her soul that was even now dimming that her beauty wasn't only skin deep.

'I guess I really am dying this time Tessa. I'm sorry.' Her soul cried out as it seemed to flicker to a different frequency back and forth, her thoughts so jumbled that was the only thing he could hear.

Arman wanted to soothe her to convince her she wasn't going to die. At the same time he also wanted to find whoever Tessa was. If she was apologizing so deep in her soul they had to be important to her and might be a comfort to her in this difficult time. Yet he couldn't leave her side. Something had him stuck to her as he helped his son care for her.

"I can't. I can't heal her!" Cristoff sounded shell shocked and Arman wanted to scream at his son, ask what he meant he couldn't heal her. But he had already suspected it. Cristoff had never been good at healing Hellspawn injuries, they were usually what led to fatalities in White Sea.

"Bickslow can you keep her stable enough?"

"Yeah, maybe, but dad..."

Arman didn't let his son reply. He knew there was only once chance for this woman. "Then we'll take her to the immaculate light chamber, it's cleared blood and wounds from Hellspawn before on the Knights."

Altiene owed him this at least. For not looking deeper after Zen was kidnapped and Ganier killed. And even if he didn't his old friend wouldn't let a rare beauty die if he could help it. So they strapped her down on the infirmary bed and his children walked with him towards the housing of the immaculate light. He just prayed he wasn't wrong about it being able to help her. It was so odd that he felt so strongly about a woman he had never met, but he just needed to help her. She could not die. And maybe he would find out why when she finally woke up once they had her fully healed.


Knowing that Lucy needed help more and that her presence would only distract her siblings from helping the kind hearted woman, Emzadi had gotten Chez to stop the Chariot at a corner away from the guild. "Run towards the guild with her, I can't be there right now, or she might not get help in time." Cobra didn't even hesitate running around the corner.

Once she knew he was safely inside and that Lucy had the best chance she could, Emzadi took the children and went to the tunnels that led to the guild master's mansion. Most people didn't know they existed, but when he became Master Kaleb made sure all of his siblings had alternate ways to get in and out of the guild safely. Especially when a mission was sensitive and they couldn't risk anyone spotting them leave.

It wasn't that she was trying to stop the confrontation she knew her family would have prepared once they were sure she was safe, but Lucy could die. And since Emzadi was pregnant she hadn't been able to help. Being in the sky she hadn't realized how bad Lucy was injured, and watching from above Lucy had seemed to be holding her own against the Hellspawn. Lucy might die because she hadn't been able to fight beside her. Emzadi's solar magic worked wonders against Hellspawn, but she hadn't even been able to offer air support because Lucy had made sure Chez stayed far enough back that Emzadi's health wouldn't be in danger.

Sneaking through the tunnels Emzadi prayed with everything she had that Kaleb wasn't in his mansion at the moment. If Kaleb knew she was home everyone would know. And Cristoff especially needed to be kept undistracted. Emzadi knew her family had probably been worried sick about her. Especially after Bix had slept for seven years the family had gotten closer and more concerned when one of them was awol. It made even trying someone to date hard, not that she had thought she was ready for an actual relationship again, she wasn't even sure if she was ready for her mate yet.

The little ones were clinging to her tightly and realizing that the oldest girl was starting to struggle Emzadi carefully lifted the little boy into her own arms instead. She wondered what her children would look like. Surely not as exotic as these children. The little boy had black hair with light blue streaks and his eyes were purple with a ring of silver around the Iris. The clothes he was wearing were made out of strange fabric Emzadi had never seen before and a pale green feather with red tips was in his hair. The other two girls were identical twins and their eyes were the same as their brothers, their hair was bright red however and they each had the same type of feathers braided into their hair, their feathers were a pale blue with purple tips. And the oldest girl had long purple hair that would probably be down to her back when it wasn't braided, the same eyes as her siblings, and she had a small feather in her hair, this one was a mixture of red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, and white. It was also clearly much older then the feathers in her siblings hairs, but it showed no sign of fraying even if the dimmer colors showed it's age.

They didn't have the same darker skin tones most Boscans had, but as she listened to the little girls whispering they were speaking in the lilting tones that Bosco was known for. Their words were a little hard to understand however, the language they were using was a much older variation of the current Boscan. Yet they were from no clan Emzadi had ever heard of and none of them had any clan tattoo's that Emzadi could see.


Everything was fuzzy for Lucy she had felt herself fall into the darkness. This time it felt different from before her body wasn't starting to flame up so that her cycle could start again from the beginning. Instead she felt all the pain leave her and like she was about to start floating. Was she finally going to die? After watching almost everyone she cared for die over thousands of years was it finally her turn. Was her immortal suffering finally over? But had she succeeded she couldn't remember if she had killed all of the Hellspawn. If Erik was still in danger she had to live so she could save him. He couldn't die. But no matter how hard she tried to fight she couldn't escape the darkness.

Somehow the darkness felt familiar to her like she had almost faced it once before, but Lucy could never remember being in such critical condition before. As she thought that she found images swirling around her and heard the familiar birdsong of phoenix's, the ones who had never become part human. They had more healing powers then Lucy herself did, Lucy's powers could only really heal those with strong celestial ties, but true phoenix's without a human form could heal anything with their songs and tears. Just like most clans in Bosco the true phoenix's had become the clans sacred animal and they watched over their distant cousins. Protecting them from unnatural death and in turn they made sure the little ones weren't taken by hunters.

Underneath the little phoenix's Lucy could see herself as a little girl, although her appearance seemed different, but the image was too fuzzy for her to see why. The younger version of herself was in a sick bed looking up sadly at an older boy. "It's okay Tessa I'm no scar and the fire birdies take ouchies away. I sweep like Grampy. I only sowry I leave you."

The boy in front of her looked determined as he glared at her, but with soft eyes at the same time. It was clear despite not being able to see his features how much he cared for her. But Lucy couldn't recognize him and the name Tessa meant nothing to her.

"No! You aren't going to die..." his lips still moved, but Lucy could no longer hear what he was trying to say. Instead the darkness grabbed a hold of her again and tried to drag her down. A piece of Lucy didn't want to let go though. Seeing Tessa's sadness wasn't right. He wasn't supposed to be sad! He needed to be happy. She had to show him she was ok.

Was it a memory of before? She had to have lived then because she doubted anyone could have blocked her memories of more then one cycle. And she had looked so young then. She had fought this darkness before, but at that time she had the help of phoenix song. She had to fight, but it was getting so hard. Lucy could feel her soul flickering and fading even as she felt someone forcefully holding on. A name was on the tip of her brain, but she couldn't remember it. Instead all she could think was 'I guess I really am dying this time Tessa. I'm sorry.'


Arman stayed outside the chamber of immaculate light watching in awe as orbs of light that looked like wings circled around the body of the young woman. It was odd he still didn't know her name, but seeing her gave him so many mixed emotions as if he had known her his entire life. Nothing around him other then the young woman registered and he watched as her body started to heal itself. Inside the chamber he could hear different voices singing that same haunting melody that belonged to her soul, and he could also hear a man's voice.

'You won't die yet. I knew you'd be a legal part of my family one day and your story has had too much tragedy. I never should have listened to you and left, but I can't be there in person just yet I'm too far away. Take my magic little sister and live. Let him into your heart and this time never let him go.'

The words were filled with so much emotion and Arman felt as if he was spying on a private moment. But a part of him also felt deeply jealous of whoever this man alluded would become a part of this woman's heart. It was so odd he had never felt this way about anyone since Ganier, and now he was feeling this way about a stranger. Just like when he had fallen in love with Ganier in an instant it was like he had fallen for this woman too. Even if she was younger then him he couldn't help but let her into his heart. A part of himself that he had thought had been closed off was now opening and it scared him because there was still the chance of losing this woman before the two of them even got a chance.


AN: The fourth chapter. I made a few tiny adjustments to this today before I finished the fifth chapter. Although I might still add on a little more to that one. It will be posted tomorrow. I've loved the reviews. Sorry i haven't replied, I have read all of them and they make me happy. I love hearing your theories, but I won't confirm or deny any until you read the chapter that gives the answer to your question. This story is forever evolving. So please keep reviewing :) Thanks for reading.