I've been too nice with you guy lately. I deserve a lot of reviews, don't I? XD Well, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Warning: one of the scenes might be triggering, especially for someone who experienced such a thing. I don't want to spoil anything, but you've been warned. Remember this is M rated.

Disclaimer: FT belongs to Mashima Hiro-sensei.


Beneath The Southern Cross

Chapter IX – Struggles

It was the first time Sting went to Sabertooth ever since returning from Fairy Tail. Three ridiculously torturous days had passed since he arrived home. His mind was full as he struggled to decide what he should do in such a terrible moment. However, to his craziness, he couldn't come up with any solutions. He had no idea what to do, and for that, he suffered.

For the first time in his life, he was powerless. He might have lost to Natsu on the Daimatou Enbu, but at least he fought back. There was no fighting back now. His heart was shred to the smallest pieces, and there was nothing he could do to mend them together. There was nothing he could do to help Lucy, to help himself. Even Lecter had given up cheering him up with his usual praises – he knew it would do his friend no good.

So now, he sat on an empty table, with a glass, filled with something alcoholic he didn't even cared to ask what was, sitting in front of him, and a very quiet and depressed Lecter at his side. No one dared to look twice at his direction. If he was a destroyer once in a good mood, imagine what he could do with someone that pisses him off in such a moment.

Yajima, their regent master, however, wasn't on the list of the afraid.

"Makarov-kun told me what happened." He said, sitting by Sting's side.

It wasn't a question, so Sting didn't even bother to answer.

"Fairy Tail is a very troublesome guild, but they usually clean after their mess, Sting-kun."

"There is nothing to be cleaned. They did what they had to do and there is no undoing it. It's over."

Yajima tried to find the right words to tell him, but there were hardly any. He was a Dragon Slayer, he better than anyone knew of the workings of their magic, so if he was telling there was no undoing it… That was probably the truth. However, it was really hurtful to Yajima to see Sting on such a state. The boy was doing so fine! Lucy was doing him good. But now…

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a mad fit on the surface of the wooden table. He raised his eyes and, to his shock, he saw it was Yukino's.

"How dare you say something like that?" she screamed, drawing the attention of everyone inside the guild.

Sting didn't remember ever seeing such a fire burn in Yukino's eyes. She had always been so calm, so distant… But, now…

"What do you want me to say, Yukino?" he asked, feeling quite pissed. What right did she have to tell him something like that? She had no idea of how dragon's magic worked!

"I want you to do for her what she would do to you! Lucy-sama would have never given up on you! Even if you were half dead she would do the impossible to not lose you!"

Yajima couldn't help but smile. There it was, the Fairy Tail spirit he had been trying so hard to place on the hearts of those young mages.

Sting's eyes narrowed as he stared at her.

"And what do you suggest I do, Yukino?"

"Anything, Sting-san. Really, anything is better than sitting here feeling sorry for yourself! Get your sorry ass back to Fairy Tail and stay by her side. If she doesn't remember the past, make new memories with her."

"The mark doesn't allow me near her." He said, angry. "A Dragon Slayer mark was meant to keep our mates away from trouble. It protects the dragon's mate entirely. If another man that's not Natsu reaches to her with second intentions, the mark automatically does something to avoid their contact."

"You're just making excuses. What do you think Lucy-sama would do if it was the other way around, huh? If you're not by her side… soon she will be in love with Natsu-san again."

Sting just closed his eyes and rolled his hands in fits. Did she think he didn't know that? Just the thought of Lucy with Natsu Dragneel made him sick on the stomach… just like she had been when he kissed her.

Feeling defeated, he whispered what had been tormenting him for those past three days.

"I don't know what I can do."

Yajima, Lecter and Yukino were the only ones able to hear that, and their hearts broke a little when they noticed the watery ends in each word. Sting was in a pain they couldn't start to imagine.

"Go back to Fairy Tail." Yukino said, this time more gently. "Try to figure a solution along with its mages. Don't abandon her."

Abandon her? He was the one feeling abandoned, even though he knew it wasn't at all her fault.

"Rogue is already there, what could I add to their search? They won't find a solution."

"And you'll give up on her just because of that?"

Saying like that made him sound like an awful person.

"Go back, Sting-kun." Yajima said. "I'll keep your home in order. Don't worry about anything here."

Sting turned his head to look at the Master right in the eyes.

"It might take a long time."

"No one cares." Yukino was the one to answer, in a mockery tone. "No one will miss you around here."

Sighing, Sting got up and left the guild. He wasn't really convinced yet, so all he could hope was that he didn't suffer even more from getting back there.


"Hey, Lucy." Natsu said as she opened her door to him.

"Hello, Natsu, come on in." she tried to sound cheerful, but failed miserably.

His eyebrows furrowed together in worry. Three days had passed since Lucy woke up and she looked worse by every passing hour. She was thinner than usual, one could notice by how her once perfectly fitted shirts now looked baggy; there were purple bags under her eyes; and she looked so tired and weak. Plus, her smiles were completely gone.

Natsu loathed himself even deeper everytime he set his eyes on her. If only he had protected her when she actually needed his help! Now it was just too late! He had no idea of how to undo the marking, and Levy was having the hardest time finding a solution. The Script mage was feeling as guilt as him for Lucy's health state.

"Have you eaten anything?" he asked once he was inside the house.

"No, I'm not really hungry."

"Come on, Lucy, just take a soup or something."

She sighed, but nodded.

Feeling a little bit better, Natsu sat on the couch and waited for her to come back. It was ridiculously painful to watch her ask herself over and over again what was wrong with her, and not finding any answer. She had told him she was feeling empty, and that emptiness was what making her weak. The mark provided her with a little bit of his strength, and Natsu was painfully suspicious that it was the only thing keeping her alive at the moment.

She got back with her soup and sat beside him at the couch.

"Has Levy-chan figure out how to free you from me?" she asked between gulps.

Natsu grimaced.

"I already told you not to worry about this. Worry about yourself, weirdo."

She smiled tenderly to him.

"Come on, we both know I'm not supposed to be your mate."

No, you're supposed to be Sting's mate. There was no bitterness on the thought, though, just sincere concern.

"Don't worry about this, Luce. I wouldn't mind that terribly if we were bounded for life. It's not like there was someone I would like to mark as my mate."

It was true, but he only said it to see if the sentence could make her remember, anything should do, even if it was just the fact that she actually did know someone with the name "Sting".

"Really? Isn't it a bit disturbing? I mean, we are not in love with each other."

Glad for the outcome, Natsu decided to push just a little bit harder. Shrugging, he said:

"Yeah, but I'm not in love with anyone. Are you, Lucy?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but quickly closed it again. Soon, her eyebrows were furrowed together, and she seemed to be in deep thought.

"No, I'm not." She said, finally. In response, her heart did a painful twitch and the emptiness only seemed to grow larger and deeper. What, for the zodiac stars, was happening to her?

She placed her half empty bowl of soup on the centre table and got up.

"I'll just take a quick shower, it won't be long."

Natsu only nodded, not wanting to cause any real damage to her, he had already gone too far with the "in love" thing.

Lucy locked herself on the bathroom and took a deep breath. For three days she had been struggling to understand all the weird feelings inside of her. She never once thought she could feel so confused about her feelings. All that emptiness… just wasn't normal. However, the more she tried to understand, the less she actually did.

Giving up on thinking for a moment, she undressed and got her shower running comfortably warm. The water always helped her calm down, there was no reason why it should be different now.

She washed every part of her body carefully, and then moved to her hair. She was humming a cheerful song when she felt a painful cramp. She felt a bit weak, but managed to look down without falling. There was blood running through her legs, and it scared her to see the intense red liquid.

It wasn't time for her period yet. She tried to figure what was going on, but the cramps only got worse. Making some quick calculations, she reached a very disturbing conclusion. She actually couldn't remember the last time she had her period. It wasn't due until two more weeks, but it hadn't come on that month, and neither on the last.

Realization hit her along with another awfully painful cramp. She screamed. That could only be…

Tears began to fall through her cheeks as she automatically murmured a name repeatedly.

"Sting, Sting, Sting."


Natsu heard the scream and was at the bathroom's door in less than a second.

"Lucy! Are you okay?" he heard the sobs, but what really scared him was the smell of blood. It wasn't exactly like hers, but it mostly was, which confused him a little bit, but didn't make him any less concerned.

"Lucy, open up!"

She didn't, but when he heard her whispering Sting's name, he simply forced the door open with one powerless kick. The door gave in like butter to a hot knife.

"Lucy, are you okay?"

She looked at him, her face drenched in her own tears, her hands pressing against her stomach, blood dripping from her legs.

"Natsu…" she said between her sobs as her eyes closed and she lost conscious.

He caught her before her head could reach the bathroom's floor. He had no idea what was happening, but he understood that she clearly needed Wendy's help. Covering her with a towel, Natsu placed Lucy on his arms and ran to Fairy Hills at full speed.

He never though he could reach the girl's dorm so quickly, but when he saw the great structure before his eyes after only a few minutes, he couldn't remember being more relieved. He entered not giving a damn for the "no boys" rule.

"Wendy!" he screamed, not knowing where was the girl's room. "Wendy!"

The Sky Dragon Slayer didn't take much to hear her nakama's scream.

"What happened, Natsu-san?" she asked, running towards him.

"Lucy fainted. There was also some blood. Help her, please, Wendy."

Wendy, very serious, nodded and led him towards her room. He placed Lucy on Wendy's bed and left to give her some privacy. It didn't take long for all the girls to show up.

"What happened?" Lisanna and Cana asked in unison.

As he tried to explain, Erza and Bisca also showed up and he had to begin the explanation all over again. Mirajane also came, along with Levy.

Natsu delicately took the Script Mage by the arm, withdrawing a bit from the commotion.

"We need to get to Sting, Levy." He whispered, trying to avoid the attention of the other girls. "I don't know what happened, neither if she will remember this once she wake up, but before she fainted, she was calling his name, in a sort of desperate tone."

Levy's eyebrows furrowed, full of concern.

"Rogue-san told me Sting is coming back. He must be arriving in an hour or so."

"Good." He seemed utterly relieved. "She might not remember, her body might be rejecting him, but she still needs him, Levy. This is scaring me. We must find a way to take the mark away, otherwise… I don't know what may happen to her."

"I know that, Natsu, but it's not easy. I always reach dead ends, and Gajeel is of no help, and Rogue is doing his best on behalf of Sting, but he can't do much either."

"If there's anything I can do, please tell me, Levy."

"I will, Natsu. Try to calm down a little. She needs your help too, Natsu."

Sighing, he passed a hand through his hair, messing it up even more.

"I know."

"Natsu?" he heard Lisanna's voice along with the touch of her hand in his arm. "Wendy is out now."

"Thank you, Lisanna."

Her sympathetic smile made him feel a little bit less desperate as he walked into Wendy's direction. She didn't seem tired, and for that he was glad.

Everyone gathered around the medic, waiting anxiously for her diagnosis.

"Lucy-san is just fine. What she had was…" she hesitated a little bit, knowing the news could be heart-breaking. "She had a natural abortion. For the analysis of her womb, she must have been 7 or 8 weeks."

Natsu's face went pale. Erza had to shake him a little bit in order to him to react.

"Wendy, was that…?"

He didn't need to finish his question for her to understand.

"I'm sorry, Natsu-san, but I'm afraid it was a side effect to the mark. I believe Lucy-san wasn't aware of her pregnancy, even so…"

Natsu collapsed to the floor, hiding his face between his hands. Now, more that. Seriously, how would he ever face her again? Worse… How would he face Sting? He felt Lisanna's arms circling him and was glad she didn't say anything.

Levy wiped a solitary tear, as it ran down through her cheek. If Lucy was lucid enough to understand everything… she would be devastated. It didn't matter if it wasn't a planned pregnancy, she was sure her friend would have been delighted to discover it. Lucy had always said that she dreamed of being a mother.

"I'll go back to my research." Levy announced, her motivation renewed.

All the other girls nodded, letting her go. Levy ran back to the guild's main building, heading directly to the library. To her dismay, Sting was already there, helping Rogue looking through a hard covered volume.

"Sting-san, you must go to Fairy Hills now." She said, taking hard, deep breathes.

Sting took his light eyes away from the book to look at Levy.

"What happened?"

"Lucy… She…" Levy gulped. "Something happened to her, and Natsu said he heard her say your name."

Sting was immediately up and ready to head to the dormitory.

"Sting-san, there's more. What she had… was an spontaneous abortion."

Sting's face got paler in a way not even Rogue had ever seen.

"Lucy was… pregnant?"

"No one knew, not even her, apparently."

He had heard enough. There was no time to wait around.