A New Beginning

by Bloody Amethyst

Lucy is awaken by a knock on the door in the middle of the night, outside is a wounded Cobra, and he is asking for her help. She gives it and never regretted the choice with all that follows. Read to find out what she and her new teammate encounters after she was kicked out of her old team.

10. Chapter 10 - Idiocy

Thank you all for your reviews they really made my day when I read them and I smiled all day after.

Chapter 10 - Idiocy

Cobra POV
I was running through a mountain passage, searching for any sound or smell that showed Lucy was there or had been there. It had now been eight days since Mira called us and we started to search for our blond friend. I could easily count the hours I had slept since we started searching. But no matter where I went I couldn't hear anything that had with her to do, except for my friends thoughts at the edges of my hearing, as well as their desperate shouts for her. Fairy Tail had called every guild they knew to ask for help in the search, and all of them had answered and sent out their own people to search. And yet no one could find her.

~ Time skip ~ 4 more days, 12 days since she was taken ~ Nobodys POV
Lucy hung from her chains, her body beaten and bloody. She didn't know how long she had been hanging there, all she knew was the pain, and her keys frustration, anger and sorrow that they haven't been able to break thru their gates. Loki and Aquarius had nearly succeeded a couple of times as had the two demons, but the gates had slammed shut before they had managed to get thru. She didn't know how many times the men had whipped, beaten and cut in to her skin since she had been hung up where she was. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer, and the only thing that kept her from going insane was the feeling of her keys close by and the knowledge that Mira and her other friends were most likely out looking for her, she couldn't give up, not when there were people who cared if she came back alive or not. She saw a red light lit the room as Asmodeus tried to get thru his own gate again and once again fail, she felt his rage at the people hurting her, and it helped her, knowing they did everything they could to break through to get to her.
"So, how is our pretty little girl doing?" A voice said, a voice she now recognized as the dark guilds masters voice. She lifted her head and gave him a glare. There was no way she would let him think that he had nearly managed to break her.
"Why don't you go fuck yourself?" She said and spat in his face. His eyes darkened with rage and he lifted his hand and back handed her. Her head snapped to the side.
"Boys. Give her your worst. Just make sure she survive. Her life is mine to take." He said , his voice shook with rage, and then started to leave. But before he could leave a bright light lit the room and black cloud like things appeared all over the room, hitting the dark mages that was in the room with them and exploding on impact. "What the hell is going on here?" The master screamed. Trying to locate where the attack came from. His eyes landed on a golden key, glowing with a bright, golden light, that for all its brightness seemed ominous. Below the key stood a woman dressed in a fluffy black dress, her eyes red and glowing with hate. As the light died down Lucy's head fell forward and she lost consciousness, knowing that one of her spirits had finally managed to get thru their gate and would get her out of there. One last word passed her lips before everything went black for her, one name.
"Aries." Then her eyes fell closed. And Aries, the most timid of her spirits nodded once, then turned towards the dark guild master, death in her eyes as she lifted her hands and black wool left them and flew towards the man. The wool exploded as soon as it made contact with him. He screamed in pain as he flew through the air before slamming in to the wall and passing out. Aries turned and grabbed all the others keys as well before pulling her own down and running towards her unconscious master and friend. Her wool made quick work of the chains that held her. She caught her and then used her wool and blasted every wall and person that got in her way. Showing no mercy for the ones that had had a hand in hurting the first master in a very, very long time that actually cared about her and all the other spirits out there. As soon as she got them out in to the fresh air she turned and sent a huge amount of wool, so dark red it was nearly black, down the way she had come, spreading it so it cowered every nook, cranny and person inside of the dark guilds hideout. Then she turned and ran down the mountain side and towards a forest a bit away. As soon as she had gotten a safe distance away she made the wool explode. Taking out the entire mountain the dark guild was located in. Along with every mage inside it. She ran until she found a clearing in the forest where there was a small pond before she put her master down on a mattress made of her pink wool. She then started to clean her wounds, with the help of the water from the pond and her own wool. After Lucy had been seen to and covered with a blanket of pink wool she went in to the pond and started to clean the others keys, using her wool again to get all the sticky mess off of them. She started with Virgo's so she could take care of Lucy's wounds better and get some light clothing for her. Then she took Aquarius key, and so on. Until all of them were clean. And every spirit and demon that could open their own gate had come out to check on their friend and master, pulling the ones that couldn't with them. Loki, Aquarius, Virgo, Asmodeus and Mammon was the only ones that stayed for more then a check.
"Aries, how did you manage to break thru?" Aquarius asked the ram, Aries nodded, not surprised at the question.
"I used my wool to push away the mess that kept us from opening our gates. I had somehow managed to get a small amount of it out thru my gate when I tried to open it, and I just multiplied it, the problem was that it took so long. If only I could have worked faster, I could have kept her from being hurt more." The ram said, fisting her hands tightly.
"You did great. After all, you manage what the rest of us didn't manage. You managed to find a way to get thru and help her. The rest of us couldn't, not even when we used our full powers." Mammon said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Aries nodded again, not looking away from their blond master.
"One of us should go contact Fairy Tail and tell them she is safe. They are probably looking for her right now." Loki said, the others nodded, but no one moved.
"Loki, you go. They know you the best." Aries said
"But I want to stay by my princess side." He wined. Aries glared at him.
"So do all of us. Now go. The faster you tell them the faster you can get back here." Aries snapped, forgotten was her fear of not being good enough. Instead she was filled with a determination to do whatever she had to do to keep her friend safe.
"Fine." The lion said and was about to leave when Virgo said.
"Don't get all of them. Just, Mira, Wendy, Laxus, his team and Crime Sorcière. And inform Master Makarov that she is safe." Virgo said, Loki nodded and took out a comm. lacrima he had left since his days as a ring mage of the guild. He contacted Mira first since she is his masters partner.
"Yes?" She answered, she looked like she hadn't slept in days and had a haunted look in her eyes, made worse by her being in her Satan Soul form. Loki could see the landscape whiz by as she flew.
"Mira, it's Loki. Lucy is safe." He said, Mira's eyes widened.
"Where is she?" She asked, stopping in midair.
"The forest to the south of mount Machi. There is a small pond where we are. I will send up a signal when I sense you close. Where are you?" Loki said, Mira swore.
"I'm near mount Hakube. I will get there as fast as I can." She said, Loki nodded.
"Don't tell anyone else where she is. I will contact Wendy, Laxus and his team as well as Crime Sorcière and tell them, then inform master that she is safe. But we don't want more here when she wakes up." Loki said, Mira nodded.
"What did they do to her?" Mira asked as she flew in an other direction, straight towards where Lucy and the others was.
"They tortured her, in an attempt to break her." Loki said, Mira growled and sped up.
"I will be there soon." She said, her teeth clenched. Loki nodded and they ended the call. He then called the others and told them the same things he had told Mira. They promised to be there as fast as they could. Luckily it was Wendy and Carla that was the closest. Unluckily, she was with team Natsu, and they refused to stay behind, they were coming too. As he ended the call Loki swore. Then he returned to the spirit world and grabbed Gemini. As soon as they were back on Earthland he said.
"I need you to transform in to Freed and put up runes around this clearing so that Natsu, Happy, Erza and Gray can't enter. They refused to stay away until we know how badly she is hurt, saying no one can do more for her then they can." Gemini nodded and quickly did as Loki said. They then walked over to Lucy and turned in to Wendy. They took care of some of the most urgent damage.
"We can't heal more, since we don't have the power for it. Sorry." They said, bowing their heads as they returned to their normal forms.
"It's okay. At least you could do something." Virgo said, using a piece of Aries wool to wipe the sweat from Lucy's forehead.
"If only she had been contracted to Leviathan. He is a okay healer. Not the best, but he could have done something for her." Mammon said, Asmodeus nodded.
"Or phoenix. She is a great healer with few, if any, equal." Gemini said, the other spirits nodded. "We are going back now." The twins said and left. Just then Wendy landed between them and something hit the runes Gemini had put up.
"Lucy!" The young slayer screamed and ran over to her friend. The spirits and demons moved to give her more room to work. Her hands had started glowing before she was even beside the older mage. She concentrated so hard on what she was doing she never noticed Natsu and the others screaming to be let in. Loki and Aquarius walked/floated over to the barrier.
"Let us in. Luce needs us." Natsu screamed
"No. She needs those that that cares about her and believes in her, not belittle her or are looking down on her powers." Loki said, his voice cold.
"We care." Erza screamed
"No. You. Do. Not. Care." Aquarius hissed at the other woman. Rage in her eyes. "Because if you had cared you wouldn't have said the things you have. You wouldn't have made her feel disliked, alone, in the way, unimportant and everything else her father also made her feel. You are no better then that old fool in the way you treated her. You pushed her down when a real friend who cares would have lifted her up." The mermaid said, the rage seeping in to her voice and aura. The three took a step back.
"What about me? I didn't tell her any of the things they did." Happy said
"No, but you didn't say anything against them either." Loki said, his eyes filled with disappointment. Happy's head dropped and he landed on the ground.
"Just let us in." Natsu screamed, just then lightning struck in front on him, forcing him back. Laxus and his team landed inside the barrier.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, anger in his voice.
"Luce needs us." Natsu repeated, banging his hand on the barrier. Laxus looked at Loki and Aquarius with a raised eyebrow.
"They were with Wendy when I contacted her. And they refuse to leave, even when told that only the ones closest to Lucy, and not even all of them are allowed to come. They believe that despite what they have done to her they are the people closest to her and the ones Lucy would want around her." Loki said, Laxus growled.
"Leave. You aren't wanted nor are you allowed inside here. Blondie would never want you to be anywhere near her when she is vulnerable. You have proved too often that you are untrustworthy. So either you leave or I will force you to." Laxus said, lightning sparking around his body.
"You can't force us. We are stronger then you." Erza said, her voice holding promise of pain if she wasn't let in.
"I won't have to do anything. All I have to do is call gramps and tell him you are going against what Blondie's spirits are saying regarding her safety and then he will take care of you. Plus, have you forgotten what she told you during the exam?" Laxus said, looking at Erza as he said the last, she flinched, paling slightly.
"As if that would help." Gray said
"It would." Loki said. "Master gave me highest authority regarding this. He said that only those who I approved of was allowed close to Lucy." He said, smirking at the three outside the barrier. Happy was still sitting on the ground, tears running down his face, he stared at his front paws.
"As if! Gramps would never allow something like this." Natsu screamed, but Erza and Gray was hesitating. Makarov might do that, if it was for the sake of one of his brats.
"Natsu, you idiot!" Happy suddenly screamed and flew up so he was at eye level with the others and glared at them, tears still running down his face. "If none of you three had treated Lushy as if she was weak and couldn't do anything for herself we wouldn't be here now. Lushy has never been weak, she has always been strong, but unlike all of you she was never given the chance to gain experience since you three always took her work, saying she was too slow or that it was too dangerous. You never let her grow. Loki, Laxus and Aquarius is right. You don't deserve to go and see her now, or before she herself say she wants you there. But I doubt she will ever want you close again for how you have made her feel and with how you treated her. I wasn't there when you kicked her off the team and I couldn't believe that you had done that. You are even worse then Sabertooth was before they changed. At least they never pretended to care. They were upfront with not wanting someone weaker then them on their teams, nor kicking them out after having made someone think they care and are their friends. You are the worst." He screamed, tears streaming down his face, faster and faster with every sentence.
"Happy." Natsu said, shocked. He stretched out a hand to touch his friend. But Happy flew backwards, swiping with his claws as Natsu's hand.
"Don't touch me. How could you treat her like that? You knew better then anyone else how much she hates being alone, yet you forced her to be alone before they took her in." He screamed, pointing at Laxus and his team. "They, Mira, Levy, Gajeel, hell, even Jellal and his guild mates, including Cobra and the others, have treated her better then you three." He glared at them one more time before turning to Loki and the others. He bowed slightly and said. "Please tell Lushy that I'm sorry for not speaking up for her, not doing more then I did." He said, Loki nodded.
"I will." He said, Happy nodded and flew up in to the air and flew away.
"Happy! Where are you going?" Natsu shouted after him, holding his bleeding hand that Happy had scratched.
"I'm going back to the guild to tell master that you are too inconsiderate to leave Lushy alone. And that I hope he will punish all three of you for this." The small cat shouted back before he sped up.
"If you don't want Happy to get to the guild first you better hurry. Or gramps might give you something worse then that punishment." Bixlow said, sticking his tongue out, the three outside the barrier looked at each other then glared at the ones inside it before they started to run after Happy.
"Happy, wait up. Why are you doing this?" Natsu screamed, but Happy didn't answer, he just sped up even more, using his max speed.
Inside the barrier the others looked after them in slight shock, then Laxus laughed slightly.
"Who knew that little guy had it in him?" He said, the others nodded.
"Well, I'm going to contact master and tell him what happened in case they manage to get there before Happy." Loki said
"Good. But first. How is Blondie?" Laxus said
"I will tell them, you call Makarov." Aquarius said, Loki nodded and walked of a bit before contacting Makarov to tell him what had happened. Laxus looked at Aquarius with a raised eyebrow, she motioned for them to follow and said. "She will live, and Wendy is seeing to her wounds right now. But the real problem is how much they managed to damage her mind. They used a weird spell called 'Dark Dream', and from what we could understand of what they said and what Crux managed to find out, it is a spell that forces a person to live through their worst nightmares and fears. And they used it at least once a day on her." Aquarius said, hugging herself around her stomach. The others paled.
"I have headed about that spell. It's classified as a forbidden spell, and not even many dark mages would even think of using it because of how it destroys the targets mind if it's used too much, and too much can be anything from a minute to a few hours." Freed said, Aquarius nodded.
"And they used it for an hour everyday. And they used it twice in one day once." The mermaid said, the others shuddered.
"I hope she will be okay." Evergreen said
"With time I'm sure she will. Cosplayer is tough. And with all our support she will make it. After all, she never let her father break her, so she won't let this break her either." Bixlow said, the others nodded. Not long after Loki was done talking to Makarov came Mira flying down, she had felt Wendy's magic working. And a few minutes after her came Crime Sorcière. All of them looked ragged and as if they haven't slept since they learned Lucy had gone missing. All of them asked the same question as soon as they arrived.
"Is she okay?"
And the others answered the same thing every time.
"Physically, yes. Mentally, we don't know."

Cobra POV
Why? Why her? Why did it have to be her they attacked and hurt? My mind screamed as I looked at her still form. If only I could hear her thoughts like I can everyone else I could have had maybe an idea of what she went through and could maybe help her better. I thought. While I had been running around, looking for the smallest trace of her had I realized that I wasn't just interested in her. I had fallen in love with the happy blond who forgave most anything and anyone. I missed her smile, her laugh and her warm eyes. How she made me feel like I was the only person she saw. She made me want to be better, be more some how, even if i didn't know in what way. But I already knew that someone like her, someone that was called the light of her guild was not for me. Not with my ragged and spotty past. I didn't belong in her bright world. But despite knowing all this I couldn't stop myself form loving her more and more with every time I saw her, every time she smiled at me. I fisted my hands. Deciding that no matter what, I would make sure she smiled like she used to. That I wouldn't let whatever was done to her break her.
"How are you holding up?" A soft voice asked beside me. I looked down and saw the pink haired sheep standing there, her eyes never leaving Lucy's form.
"I've been better." I said, my voice as soft. I doubted anyone there, except maybe the other two slayers, could hear us. The sheep nodded but stayed silent. "And you, how are you holding up?" I asked, she looked up at me, surprise in her eyes. Then she looked back at Lucy.
"I'll be fine as soon as Hime wakes up and we know she will be okay." She said, I nodded.
After a while we all sat down beside the fluffy wool that Lucy rested on.
"What happened to the ones that kidnapped her? I want to go after them, so Lucy don't have to worry about them." Mira said
"I wouldn't recommend that you go after them. Hime would be very sad when she wakes up if you do." Aries said
"Are you saying she wouldn't want us to take revenge for what happened to her?" Angel asked, anger in her voice. Aries shook her head.
"No. But the ones that hurt Hime is dead. So if you were to go after them you would have to die as well. And that would make Hime very sad." She explained. We all, except for the spirits and demons, stared at her.
"How do you know they are dead?" Jellal asked, Aries smiled at him. A smile that reminded me, and everyone else, of a shark, just before it's going to eat you.
"I know because it was I who killed them. I used my wool to blast them to pieces." She said in a matter of fact tone and with that shark like smile still on her face, Mira smiled.
"Good. I just hope all of them were there." She said, Aries shrugged.
"I destroyed the whole mountain that the guild was located in, and killed everyone inside it. So as long as they were inside they are dead." She said
"There wasn't any other hostage or captive there, right?" Laxus asked, Aries shook her head.
"Everyone that was killed had the dark guilds mark." She said
"Then I don't see any problem with it." Laxus said with a pleased tone in his voice.
"Except for that master won't like all the paper work that will come with destroying the mountain." Wendy said, the rest of us stared at her then laughed.
"He will just have to live with it." Mira said gleefully, the rest of us nodded.
"If they complain too much, send them to Aries, she will deal with them." Aquarius said, Loki smirked and nodded.

Nobodys POV
The group stayed quiet for a while after that. All of them worried what they would do if their friend didn't wake up, or if the dark mages had managed to break her mind.
As night started to roll in Virgo set up three tents, one would be Lucy's, the other two would be the rests, one for the women and one for the men. And they decided that there would always be two people with Lucy while the others slept, in case she woke up.
They all went to sleep late that night, with Mira taking the first shift together with Freed.
"She will be okay, Mira." Freed said as he hugged her. She held on to his jacket and cried silently.
"If only I had been stronger, or had gotten to her faster, I could have flown us away from there and she wouldn't have been taken." She whispered. Freed shook his head.
"From what you told us, there was a lot of them. So there was nothing you could have done. Few in the guild would have been able to do anything. I think that Laxus and Gildarts are the only ones that would have been able to do anything. But that is only because they both are so powerful." He said, trying to sooth his girlfriend. She nodded, but tears was still trickling down her face.
"I know, but that doesn't stop me from feeling like this." She said, Freed nodded.
"Then all you have to do when Lucy has awoken is train harder. Lucy will might want to train with you. She might feel a bit down for letting herself be taken just like you are." He said, threading his fingers through her white hair. Mira looked up at him.
"You think she still will want to team up with me?" She asked, Freed nodded.
"I know she will." He said with a soft smile, Mira smiled back.
"Thank you." She said, Freed just nodded.
They stayed in the tent, sitting on the ground as they watched Lucy. Never once taking their eyes of her until Cobra, Cubellios and Angel came to take their shift so the others could rest.
"Any change?" Angel asked, Mira shook her head.
"No." She said, Cobra put a hand on her shoulder as she and Freed were about to leave.
"Don't blame yourself, Lucy wouldn't want you to do that." He said, Mira smiled slightly and nodded.

Cobra and Angel sat down in quiet for the first few minutes before Angel said.
"You care about her more then a friend, don't you." She didn't look at him, just stared at Lucy as if she hoped to wake the blond with just her will power. Cobra doing the same.
"Yes, I just didn't realize it before she went missing." He said, his voice low.
"Will you tell her?" Angel asked, Cobra sighed and stroked Cubellios head.
"I don't know." He said
"Why not?" Angel asked softly
"With my past? I would be a fool to think that she would care like that for someone like me." He said, his voice low but harsh.
"You don't know that. This is Lucy we are talking about. She won't care about who you once were, just about who you are now." Angel said, voice still low. Cobra shook his head.
"I know, but I don't know if I can over look what I have done and who I have been." He said
"Aha. So that's the real reason." Angel said, Cobra just stayed quiet. Angel shook her head at him, her eyes never once leaving Lucy's body. "I think we all need to move past what we have done. I think it's time we do that, without feeling guilty for what we have done, or for wanting to be happy." She said.
"I wonder if we really deserve to be happy." Cobra muttered, he hated feeling like this.
"We do. Lucy helped me realize that when she took us to see Yukino. We might not have the best pasts, but we are still humans. And all humans deserve to be happy. As long as we don't fall back to our old way we have every right to be happy." Angel said, Cobra blinked.
"Maybe you're right." He muttered, Angel smiled slightly.
"I am." She said, conviction in her voice and thoughts. Cobra didn't answer.

The rest of the night passed in silence except for when Laxus and Bixlow came to start their shift.

The same happened the following day and night, with everyone there taking turns in keeping an eye on her during the night.

Lucy woke the following day with a scream that echoed through the forest and startled her friends in to motion. Her body was covered in sweat and she was shaking. She had sat up when she woke and was now holding her head between her hands. Crying as she shook. Mira reached her first.
"Lucy!" She screamed, Lucy looked up, staring at her partner, fear in her eyes.
"Mira?" She asked, Mira nodded and sat down beside the blond on the wool mattress, afraid of touching her.
"Yes, I'm here. You are safe." She said, tears ran down Lucy's cheeks and she threw herself forward and hugged Mira, hard.
"It's really you." She whispered
"Of course I'm here. I have been so worried about you." Mira said, holding Lucy tightly to her. They sat there, just holding each other while Lucy cried, the others sat down around them, all of them wanting to stay close. After a while did Lucy sit up straight and look around. Her eyes landed on Aries and she smiled.
"Aries, thank you." She said, holding out her hand to her. Aries smiled at her and came up to her, taking Lucy's hand and was immediately pulled in to a hug. "Thank you for getting me out of there." Lucy whispered. Aries returned the hug.
"Anything for you." She said

After that Lucy learned how long she had been gone and how long she had been unconscious and what had happened during that time. She hugged all of them, one by one as thanks for all their help in trying to find her. And she growled when she heard what Natsu and the other two had done and smiled at what Happy had done.
"I'm starting to get seriously tired of those three." Lucy muttered
"Lucy, I don't really want to ask this, but I think someone have to. We have all noticed that you tense up now and then. So, how are you holding up?" Mira asked carefully. Lucy sighed and looked down on her hands.
"When I was still held captive I was very close to my breaking point, the only thing that kept me sane was the presence of my keys, since I felt them and their emotions, and the knowledge that you were out there, most likely looking for me. I just couldn't give up when there were people who cared whether I came back alive or not. But now, now that I know I'm safe, I feel like breaking down in to small pieces from relief, and I just don't know if I can do that and still be able to put myself together as myself. Everything they did are so clear in my mind that it feels like I'm not really awake. I'm afraid that this is all just a dream, or an other spell they are using trying to break me." Lucy said
"I can guarantee that this isn't a dream, nor is it a spell. It's all real, and you are safe." Laxus said, Lucy looked up at him with a small smile.
"I guess it's just going to take me a while to realize that." She said, everyone nodded.
"That is understandable. Just take your time and we will be here with you the whole time, helping you if you need it." Freed said, a hand on his girlfriends shoulder. The others nodded.
"Thank you, all of you. You don't know what it means to me, to have all of you here with me." Lucy said, tears in her eyes. Her friends smiled back at her.
"No problem Blondie. So, what do you want to do now?" Laxus said, Lucy hesitated, then said.
"I want to train. So that something like this never happens again. I want to be strong enough that no matter what happens I will be able to protect myself and those around me. I don't want to end up drained after a mission." Lucy said, determination in her voice.
"We will help you in any way you need." Laxus said
"Thanks. But I don't want to keep you all way from doing missions. Won't that put you in a tough spot regarding rent and so on?" Lucy said, the others shook their heads.
"I don't pay rent, and any bills that arrive can Lisanna and Elfman take care of until we are back." Mira said
"Same here. And I don't get many bills and the few I do have will be taken care of when I get back." Laxus said
"It's the same for us three as well." Freed said
"We don't even have a home, so we have neither rent, nor bills to pay." Jellal said, making the others laugh.
"You guys, thanks." Lucy said, smiling at them.
"Will you be able to go to the guild before we go training, so gramps and the others can see that you are safe?" Laxus asked, Lucy bit her lip, then shook her head.
"I'm not so sure. I'm still not convinced that this isn't a dream. And that many people at the same time. No, don't think I could handle it." She said, looking down at her hands, Laxus nodded.
"Then I will call him and tell him that you are awake and that all of us is going training." The older blond said and stood up. He walked a bit away and called Makarov.
"I'm going to call the council and tell them that we won't be back just yet." Jellal said and walked of a bit to call them.
Lucy looked around at the others.
"It's okay. We will help as well, Hime." Aries said and sat down beside her master.
"I know, you were there for me even when I was help captive, I could feel how you all tried to get thru, and how you all felt when I got hurt and when you failed to get thru. It helped a lot, knowing you all were that close. I'm not sure I would be here now if it wasn't for you all." Lucy said
"Milady, if I may." Asmodeus said, Lucy looked at him and nodded. "I would suggest starting your training with trying to hold open one of our two gates for as long as you possibility can. And doing that every morning, and meditating afterward. As well as work on your physical strength so that your body can handle the amount of magic you will need to be able to keep our gates open for extended periods of time, milady." He said, Lucy smiled and nodded.
"That sounds like a great idea." She said, Asmodeus nodded.

As the day passed the group left to go to a spot that Laxus sometimes use for training.

Makarov POV ~ just after Lucy had been rescued ~
I sat behind my desk, doing paperwork when the lacrima started blinking, signaling that someone was calling me. I activated it and saw Loki.
"Master, Lucy is safe." He said, my heart leaped with joy. "But she is very hurt, and we don't know how badly they managed to damage her mind." He said, and my heart sank.
"Is she awake?" I asked, he shook his head.
"No, but, master, I don't believe that it's good if too many are here when she wakes up, just in case. I have already called Mira, Laxus, his team, Crime Sorcière and Wendy. They are the only ones we will allow close to Lucy until she say otherwise." He said, I nodded.
"Do as you see best. I give you permission to deal with anyone who won't listen as you see fit, or send them to me for punishment." I said, Loki and the others of Lucy's spirits knew her best and it was only right that they had the final say regarding Lucy's safety.
"You might regret that one soon enough. Because when I called Wendy was Team Natsu there as well, and they refused to leave it alone and is coming here as well. And I will use any means necessary to keep them away from Lucy. Even if it means hurting them badly." Loki said, steel in his eyes, I closed my eyes in exasperation.
"When will those three learn?" I muttered, shaking my head.
"Anyway. Now you know the situation. I need to go." Loki said, I nodded.
"Keep me posted on how she is doing, please." I said, Loki nodded and we ended the call. I smiled. Lucy was safe.
I stood up and went to tell the good news to the few members that was in the guild and to contact the ones that was out looking for her.

~ when Lucy has woken up ~
I sat once again in my office, writing letters of apology for all the destruction Natsu and the other two had done. I hadn't been pleased with how they acted, when they learned that Lucy had been found and had banned them from fighting missions because of it. It had already been two days since Lucy had been rescued. That's when my lacrima lit up.
"Hello." I answered
"Blondie is awake, gramps." Laxus said with a rare smile. I grinned.
"That is great. How is she holding up?" I asked
"Better then we feared, but not good." Laxus said, my heart sank slightly.
"When will you return? I think everyone here would like to see her." I said, but Laxus shook his head.
"I'm afraid we aren't coming back yet. Blondie don't think she could handle that many people. And I have to agree. She is shaking when too may of us who are here is too close, and sometimes she tenses up. If she went to the guild now, she might have a panic attack since they won't be able to stay at a distance, thinking it will be okay since they all love her. But what she need now isn't all that. She needs time to really believe that this isn't a dream, and to let her mind understand that she is free and safe. And it will take a while for her to get through everything they did to her." Laxus said, I nodded. I understood the logic, even if I wished I could say that everyone here in the guild would respect that she needed space I knew that they wouldn't.
"Do you want me to send Levy, Gajeel and Lily over to you?" I asked, Laxus hesitated. "Levy is wreck right now with worry. And she and Lucy is best friends, and Gajeel has helped her a lot those months." I said, Laxus nodded.
"Okay, send them over. Tell them to meet us at the place I use to train, you know where that is. Just don't tell anyone, and I mean anyone, where we are, except for those three. Natsu won't be able to stay away if he learns, Gray and Erza might be able, but I doubt it. They seemed to feel Aquarius words harder, and might actually think about what she said. But Natsu just don't get it, he don't understand that somethings that has been broken can't be fixed that easily." Laxus said, I nodded again. Natsu just didn't seem to be able to grow up.
"Okay, when will you be there?" I asked
"About four or five days from now, since we are too far from a town, we will have to walk all the way there." Laxus said, I smiled.
"Good. I will inform them of that, and send them there, before I tell everyone that she is awake." I sad, Laxus smirked.
"Good. I will call now and then and tell you how she is doing, and see if she can call herself some day soon." Laxus said, I got tears in my eyes.
"Thanks, Laxus. Take care of everyone now." I said, he nodded.
"Oh, I nearly forgot. There was a bit of trouble when Aries got Blondie out." He said, pausing before continuing. "She blew up a whole mountain, you know the small one beside mount Machi." Laxus said, my jaw dropped.
"What? Wait, isn't Aries that ram that is so afraid of everything?" I asked, Laxus nodded.
"She was, but not anymore. Loki said she snapped and turned in to her darker form. She is scarier then Aquarius when she glares at you. But it seems Blondie likes it." Laxus laughed, I smiled.
"Now, what about the mountain?" I asked with dread.
"Ah, yes. When she was getting Blondie out she blasted a way out, straight thru walls and people alike. Then, when they were out she filled the whole guild, which was located inside the mountain, with wool and ran. When she was a bit away she made all the wool explode. She said she did it to keep them from coming after Blondie again. And I can't say I disagree with her killing them all like that. The mountain, well, it was the home of a dark guild, so, well." Laxus said and shrugged. I cringed.
"I just hope the council doesn't learn it was our doing." I said, Laxus shrugged again.
"Aquarius said to send them to Aries if they complain too much." He said, I grinned and nodded.
"I will do just that." I said. "Now I better go and get those three and send them on their way before telling the rest of the guild the good news." Laxus nodded and we ended the call. I sighed. Poor Lucy, will she never catch a break from all the shit happening to her? I thought before going to get Levy, Gajeel and Lily to tell them where Lucy and the others would be in a few days.
As the three of them walked in to my office Gajeel said.
"Do we have to go on a mission now? We want to be here when Bunny gets back." His voice gruff
"The mission part was just a way to make sure no one guesses where I'm going to send you. Lucy is awake, and before you say anything, she isn't coming back here just yet. She needs a lot of space, and some of our members won't accept that, they will think that just because they care about her it will be fine. But when I asked Laxus if I could send you or not he said I should, since you have been there for her when she needed it after what her former team did." I said, I saw Levy fight back tears as she nodded.
"So, where is she?" Lily asked, so I told them about Laxus training spot, they nodded and left. I waited a few minutes after they had left before going out to tell the rest that our Lucy was awake.
"Everyone, listen up!" I shouted, they all looked up at me. "Our Lucy is awake again, finally." I said with a big smile. They guild roared with joy.
"When is she coming back?" Lisanna asked from the bar, the guild went quiet as I said.
"Not yet. What the dark guild did to her was bad, and while she is in better shape then we feared she isn't well. So Mira, Laxus and a few others will stay with her and help her work through what happened to her, when she feels like she can handle it, and only then, will she and the others return." I said
"Where are they? Luce needs us there for her." Natsu shouted, several of the others nodded.
"I can't tell you where she and the others are." I said
"Why not? Luce would never want to stay away from the guild like this." Natsu shouted in anger.
"She is the one who said she didn't want to come back just yet. And we have to respect her wishes, especially since we don't know what was done to her." I said, quickly growing irritated with our resident fire mage. He was burning on the last straw. If he continued like this I would lose my temper at him.
"No way! She would never want that." Natsu shouted, jumping up on a table, my eye twitched. I opened my mouth to say something harsh to him when he suddenly flew backwards. A large barrel, obviously still full, slammed him in to the wall. I turned to look at the person that had thrown it, expecting to see Cana, but instead I saw our youngest take over mage in her tigress form, her eyes filed with anger as she looked at her childhood friend.
"Stop acting like spoiled brat! The way you have treated Lucy the last few months is disgusting. First you kick her of the team and calling her weak, then, when she proves that she is strong you want her back on the team as if nothing ever happened, and now, when she herself have said something you just dismiss it just because it doesn't fit how you want things to be. You are a disgrace to this guild and what we stand for, you, Erza and Gray all are. You say you care, but the second things don't go as you want them you try to force a change that turns out as you want it. Lucy said she don't want to come home yet because she don't think she can handle it, so you should respect that, not try to force her in to doing something she don't want to." Lisanna said from where she stood on top of the bar, her voice low and deadly, she sounded so much like her older sister that I shook in my boots.
No one said anything, just backed away from both her and Natsu as he sat up, staring at Lisanna.
"What?" He said, sounding dazed.
"Don't make yourself dumber then you are. It's past time you grow up and learn that you can't have everything in life. You lost not only Lucy's trust when you kicked her off the team, you also lost her friendship and you should see yourself as lucky if she ever want to talk to you again as more then someone she just happens to share a guild with." Lisanna hissed at him, then glared at Erza and Gray. "Anyone here who can't accept that Lucy needs space and tries to go and find her will be stopped by me, I don't care who it is, I will stop anyone who wish to disrespect Lucy like that." She said before turning around and jumping down behind the bar while turning back to her normal form. Everyone stared at her in shock before several of the members cheered and Romeo shouted.
"Big sister Lucy is awake and working on getting through what happened to her. Lets show her our support by welcoming her home with big smiles and a party she will never forget when she comes back." The others cheered.
"Aye!" The whole guild shouted with big smiles. I smiled down at them, and especially the younger fire mage. He had grown up a lot these last few months since Natsu and the other two had changed. I just knew he would become one of our best mages one day.

END OF CHAPTER 10