Crimzon: Hey everyone! I managed to get my hands on a computer so I could type this up. I must say, I like what I did with most of it and it's plenty long. Hope you all enjoy and please review! Also, I am coming up with a brand new Fairy Tail fanfic, but I won't start it 'till this one is done (and it's like halfway there). Once I have my thoughts together on it, I'll let you all know when the first chapter it up so yeah.

Happy: Aye!

Crimzon: … just do the disclaimer.

Happy: Aye! Crimzon-chan does NOT own Fairy Tail! Enjoy!

~Nora's POV~

~Flashback~

"It's all your fault! All your fault! If it weren't for you, Eli wouldn't be … wouldn't be …"

I couldn't talk. The tears were coming too quickly for me to even attempt to hold back. A tight knot formed in my chest as the overflowing anger pulsed in my muscles. I could hear her commanding voice telling the other Guardians to take me away from here, that I was too hysterical. She was probably right.

"Elliot . . ." my strength failed me as I sank to my knees. I felt a pair of hands on each shoulder, trying to get me off the ground, but I didn't budge. I heard more voices, one I recognized to be Emrick. They were trying to get my attention, but I refused to respond.

I continued to stare down at the ground, my silver hair covering my eyes, making everything look like it was covered in a mist. It was then that something caught my eye. There was something in the dirt in front of me and I reached for it, already sure of what it was. I held them in my hand—Elliot's dog tags—the very ones that identified him as a Guardian.

More and more tears slipped passed and fell onto the tags as the strong arms attempted to take me away. Slowly, I began to feel the spell that was placed on me begin to wear off as my magic begin to return. Dragon Slayer magic began to seep throughout my body and soon, all of my sadness was replaced with anger.

~End Flashback~

Why am I remembering such an event now of all times?

"Nora?" I had forgotten that Levy had been trying to get my attention for the past three minutes.

"Sorry, what?"

"The book mentions a boy named Elliot. Who was he?" she asked. I felt my muscles twitch as my mind ran through my thoughts for an answer to give.

"He . . . he was a Guardian."

~General POV~

The smell of fresh blood hung in the air. The boy's body hung limp in Lucy's arms. His eyes remained open, frozen with the expression of pain. Lucy couldn't move for she was hypnotized by the look of the dead boy's eyes. The three Fairy Tail mages continued to call out her name, trying to get her to respond.

"Lucy . . ." the soothing voice from before spoke. It seemed as if time around her had stopped the very moment she came to her senses.

"Wh-what happened?" she questioned out loud. She then noticed the dead boy in her arms. It took all of her strength just to stop herself from screaming. She gently moved the body and stood up, backing away a couple of steps.

"Lucy, it's time," the voice said again. Lucy suddenly felt tired and wanted nothing more but to fall asleep, but before anything could happen, time around Lucy sped back up and Natsu's voice was the first to reach Lucy's ears.

"Lucy! Get out of the way!"

She looked over and noticed the pink haired mage running towards her and knocked her to the ground. They landed a few feet away from where Lucy had been standing, only now, that whole area was now a crater that Eliza created from her last attack.

"Luc, what the hell happened?" he practically snapped.

"I-I don't know . . ." she mumbled, looking at the crater. Natsu sighed in relief at the realization that Lucy was still Lucy. He stood up and held out his hand for Lucy. Lucy took it and before she could get to her feet, Eliza spoke out in the silence.

"Aw, now isn't that the sweetest thing," she mocked.

~Lucy's POV~

"What the hell was the point to all of this?" snapped Gray. The fighting had stopped, but only for the moment. I was still on the ground, holding onto Natsu's hand. I couldn't find the strength in my legs to stand. It's as if something about this event, the look of everything, was keeping me paralyzed.

"The point?" answered Eliza. With a laugh, she added, "It was for fun!"

My heart started beating quicker at her response.

"The smell of freshly spilt blood, their screams of torment and the complete and utter chaos of it all! It's just so thrilling . . . so wonderful!" she continued in an ecstatic tone as she wrapped her arms around herself with a look of pure delight on her face.

My blood felt like it was burning in my veins in response to her words. I looked over to Gray and Erza and they had the look of anger and disgust on their faces. It's then I felt Natsu's hand tighten around mine and I looked up at him. He was way past anger, he was furious. He had his free hand clutched so tightly that I noticed some blood slip passed his fingers.

"You . . . you're not human," Natsu practically growled. He then let go of my hand and stepped forward.

"Hmm, you're probably right, Salamander. I don't think I should even be considered human now," she responded in a joking manner.

~General POV~

It was quiet for a few moments. Fed up with it, Natsu charged first and flames engulfed his fists.

"Iron fist—"

"Too slow!" Eliza shouted, stopping Natsu's attack. Eliza brought up her hand and pointed at the Dragon Slayer, causing a gust of wind to surround him. He attempted a Dragon Roar, but suddenly felt weird and it all came out as a puff of smoke.

"What the?" he gasped. He then remembered Nora's Nullifying Roots, but this felt completely different. He was having trouble breathing.

"You're probably wondering what's happening, aye Salamander?" chuckled Eliza. Natsu then fell to his knees, confused.

"Natsu!" yelled Erza as she equipped one of her swords and was about to charge at Eliza when Griffin got in the way.

"I don't think so," he sneered as he spread his arms, causing two gray magic circles to appear around each hand. He then flung one arm forward, pointing at Erza and iron cuffs flew from the magic circles, attaching themselves to Erza's wrists and flinging her back into a concrete wall. She was pinned.

"Why you! Ice Make: Lance!" yelled Gray as he put his hands together then hitting the ground, causing a blast of ice to shoot up and charge at Griffin . Griffin merely smiled and jumped up into the air, away from the range of the ice. He then pointed his other arm at Gray and did the same to him as Erza. Gray was slammed into the concrete wall right next to her.

"I can't allow you two to intervene," he mumbled.

~With Lucy~

"Natsu!" she yelled as she managed to get to her feet. She could see him through the vortex wind. He was still on his knees with one hand grasping his neck. He couldn't breath.

"Aw, what's the matter, Lucy? Powerless to save your precious nakama?" Teased Eliza.

That's when something seemed to snap within Lucy.

"I'll show you powerless," she sneered as she reached for her keys. "Gate of the Lion, I op—"

Eliza interrupted her before she could summon Loki.

"I don't think so, I wouldn't if I were you," she warned. Lucy looked back at Natsu and saw him on his side, hardly moving. "Take a closer look, Lucy."

"Natsu . . ." mumbled Lucy with worry in her tone.

"If you think that this is anything like Nora's Nullifying Roots, then you are greatly mistaking," added Eliza. Lucy gave Eliza a look of confusion and all she could think was, how do they know Nora?

"She created a vortex that's sucking out all of the oxygen. No oxygen, no flame … no breathing either," explained Griffin as he appeared next to Lucy. That's when she realized how powerless she felt.

She knew that if she tried to summon any of her spirits, Eliza would kill Natsu, but is she didn't do anything soon then he'd still die.

"It's time I take over, Lucy."

A voice called out to her and like before, she couldn't move. She dropped her keys and stood there with an empty look in her eyes.

"Lucy?" mumbled Happy. Eliza and Griffin took notice to Lucy's sudden change in demeanor and they knew that it was time to make their move. Eliza nodded towards Griffin, not once letting her vortex cease. Griffin nodded in return and rolled up his sleeves, revealing three metal rings on each arm. He clapped his hands together, causing a gray magic circle to form on the floor. The metal rings began to melt away and droop into the circle, forming a puddle on the ground. The circle began to glow brighter as the puddle began to rise, forming a long rod and then continued to mold itself until finally, it was a scythe.

Scythe in hand, he started walking towards Lucy.

"Lucy!" both Erza and Gray yelled.

Happy realized that Lucy wasn't herself so he tried to push against one of her legs, but she wouldn't budge. He then flew up and grabbed onto her arm and pulled, but she still wouldn't move.

"Out of the way, cat."

Happy turned around and noticed Griffin standing behind him. Before he had a chance to say or do anything, Griffin grabbed one of Happy's wings and threw him aside.

"Happy!" Gray and Erza yelled again. Seeing their nakama get hurt like this hurt them more than any mere flesh wound.

Griffin stood next to Lucy with the blade of the scythe held up against her neck.

Natsu looked up at the scene before him, gasping for breath.

"Lu-cy…" was all he was able to mutter. He's never felt so helpless. He then saw Griffin pulling back the blade of the scythe.

"Lucy!"

"Lucy!"

Gray and Erza continued to yell one after the other. Happy looked up from the ground, tears forming in his eyes. Natsu reached out from the ground, trying to get to Lucy, but he couldn't get closer.

Griffin, closing his eyes, started swinging his scythe forward, all the while; he could hear the cries of Lucy's fallen comrades. Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

There was a sound of clashing metal and gasps all around. Griffin opened his eyes and saw Lucy. A gold outline was surrounding her. She had her hand up which is what the blade collided with.

"Truly, it's a sad day when your own Guardians turn against you," she mumbled. Lucy looked back over her shoulder at Griffin. Her eyes no longer brown, but a bright blue.

"Luciana-sama?" gasped Griffin as he dropped his scythe then dropped down to one knee with his hand over his chest.

"Griffin, what the hell are you doing?" snapped Eliza. Her shock broke her concentration on the vortex and it started to weaken. Luciana narrowed her eyes.

"I never understood why you were chosen by wind when you show the temper of fire, Eliza," she sighed.

"What?" sneered Eliza.

"Release the boy, Eliza. I don't wish to have to fight you," she warned.

"My allegiance no longer lies with you!"

"So be it," she mumbled solemnly as she raised her fist, pointing at Eliza as a gold aura started forming a sphere around her fist.

In only seconds, a beam of light shot out from Luciana's fist. Eliza had no chance to dodge. The beam of energy shot her in the gut, causing her to fly back and collide into a burning hut.

"Eliza!" yelled Griffin as he rushed to her aid. The vortex of wind surrounding Natsu dissipated. Natsu sucked in a breath of fresh air.

"Are you alright, Natsu?"

He looked up to see Lucy kneeling next to him.

"Lucy?"

"I'm sorry, Natsu. Lucy's not here," she replied in a solemn tone. His eyes widened as fear started to form in his thoughts. He didn't say anything, instead, he stayed on the ground in shock. Luciana sighed, "I'll go help your friends."

She turned to the pinned mages and with a swift movement with her hands, the iron cuffs melted away and Gray and Erza dropped to the ground.

"My friends?" mumbled Natsu. Luciana turned to the Dragon Slayer with a questioning look. "My friends?" he repeated. "You mean our friends! They're your friends too, Lucy!" he snapped.

"Listen Natsu, Lucy is…" she was cut off as something seemed to snap.

"They're my friends, my nakama!" Lucy's thoughts echoed.

"She's trying to gain back control," muttered Luciana. Magic started to overflow and surround her with a golden sheen.

"Give me back my body, Luciana!"

With another surge of magical energy, a bright light surrounded her completely and it created a beam that shot up into the sky. Luciana looked up, no expression on her face, but then a smile formed. Injured from battle and worried for their friend. They are true nakama.

"As you wish, Lucy. If you can gain back control then fine, but this will only be temporary," said Luciana, but her voice wasn't heard by the others. Moments before she blacked out, she noticed a few figures running from the entrance of the village. "Nora?"

~Nora's POV~

We were nearing the village and I continued to answer questions. This time, I got a question from Gajeel.

"Why do you smell like death?"

"Well, it could be one of three things," I stated. "It could be the fact that I've taken plenty of lives or it could be because of my element."

"What does your element have to do with it?" asked Levy.

"When Trinity was still around and Dragon Slayers were common, depending on the element their magic revolved around, they were given a certain duty."

"What do you mean?"

"Fire and Lightning: Guards. Iron: Smiths. Wind: healers. Water: Defense. Ice: Sealing. Darkness: Undertakers. As for Earth, we're Gravediggers. The earth was the final resting place for the dead."

"That doesn't explain your scent," said Gajeel.

"The fact that I would have been considered a Gravedigger doesn't explain it?"

"No, it doesn't. Although there is not a doubt in my mind that you have taken lives, your scent is of something slightly different than that," he said. It shocked me that that statement was so well spoken; I had forgotten to think up a quick answer.

"Wait, you only mentioned two things," stated Pantherlily.

"Huh?"

"You said, 'one of three things,' but you only mentioned two. What's the third?" he asked.

"Sorry, I meant two."

"Now, you're lying," she said, sounding annoyed.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to explain this," I sighed. "In Trinity—"

"Hold on," interrupted Gajeel. The four of us stopped running and took notice to a beam of light coming from the village. Oh no, I recognized this light.

"Lucy…" I muttered before bolting in the direction of the light.

~General POV~

The Fairy Tail mages ran through the gates and stood next to Gray and Erza.

"What happened?" asked Levy.

"Luciana took over Lucy and now she's fighting to gain back control," answered Nora.

"How did you know?" asked Gray.

"It's kind of obvious," she stated, looking around for something. "Where are her keys?" she asked.

"What?"

"Her Celestial keys!"

"She dropped them when Luciana took over," Happy flew over and landed on Nora's shoulder.

"Happy, hurry and find her keys!" I ordered.

"Aye!"

"What can we do to help?" asked Erza.

"I suggest stay put and pray this works. That surge of energy will tear us to bits. The only person that can really get lose to her is… Natsu!" Nora saw Natsu walking towards Lucy, passing by the magic energy like nothing. She then looked back and saw Happy pull Lucy's keys from a pile of rubble.

"Happy, toss the keys to Natsu!"

"Aye!"

"Natsu, give the keys to Lucy!"

Natsu didn't answer; instead he broke through the energy until he was inches away from Lucy. He put his hands on her shoulders and started yelling.

"Don't let this control you, Lucy! This is your body, your mind, don't let Luciana take over!"

"Natsu!" Happy shouted as he threw Lucy's keys over to Natsu. He caught them without a problem. He brought up Lucy's hand and placed her keys in her palm. He then placed both his hands around hers.

"Please come back, Lucy! I know you can beat this! I know this because we're nakama, right?"

Natsu kept a firm grip on her hand, eyes shut as he silently prayed. The surge of energy started to weaken until it had finally vanished. Lucy suddenly felt like she had control again. Her eyes reverted back to brow as she opened them to find Natsu standing before her.

"Of course, Natsu. We're nakama," she answered in a soft voice.

Natsu opened his eyes at the sound of her voice and saw her smiling. Without any hesitation, he pulled her into his arms.

"Lucy…" was all he managed to say. It was then that another pair of arms enveloped the two. Erza and Gray. Then Levy and Happy soon joined them.

"You're not going to join the group hug, Gajeel?" asked Pantherlily.

"Not my style," he said with a sly smile.

"Then what was that in the library?" teased the Exceed. This brought out an embarrassed expression on Gajeel, but quickly faded when he noticed Nora's quiet expression.

"What is it?" he asked.

"They were here," she stated, narrowing her eyes. It was then that the group hug dispersed and Erza, Gray, and Natsu started scanning the area.

"Where the hell did they go?" snapped Natsu.

"They must have gotten away during all the confusion."

While the others searched the area, Lucy started feeling fatigued as she fell over, unconscious.

"Lucy!" Nastu gasped as he caught her before she hit the ground.

"Calm down, Natsu. I can't blame her for being tired. She exhausted most of her Celestial magic trying to gain back control. Let her rest for now," explained Nora.

~Back at the Guild~

~Nora's POV~

Once we got back to the guild, Natsu took Lucy to the back so Wendy could heal her wounds. I was standing at the entrance to the guild, looking up at the star filled sky.

In reality, I'm shocked Lucy managed to gain back control. Luciana's Dragon Slayer magic should have kept her in control, but…

"Nora?" Erza, Gray, Pantherlily, and Gajeel walked up from behind me.

"What?"

"How did you know Lucy's keys would help?" asked Erza. I looked back up to the sky and answered.

"Celestial Magic, although much weaker, always rivaled Dragon Slayer Magic. When Lucy dropped her keys, that gave Luciana the chance to take full control. When something caused Lucy's subconscious to awaken and fight to regain control, Luciana's Dragon Slayer Magic fought back which is what caused the surge of energy."

"And when she got back her keys, her Celestial Magic stopped the surge of power," finished Pantherlily.

"Correct."

"Then why was Natsu able to get so close to Lucy?" asked Gray. I crossed my arms and smiled.

"The closest element to Luciana was always Fire so it makes sense that Natsu was able to get close." I sighed and with a smile, I added, "Go be by her side. I'm sure she needs the rest of her nakama there." With that alst thing said, I started walking away from the guild.

"Where are you going?" asked Erza. I turned and raised an eyebrow.

"You're one us now, meaning you're also one of our nakama. Lucy needs you here too," added Gray. "You did everything you could to help Lucy and we're grateful for that."

I felt my eyes widen in sudden surprise. I looked at each and every one of their smiling faces and then I saw Natsu standing further behind them, nodding in agreement. I smiled and nodded in return.

"Don't worry then, I'll be back soon then."

I turned away from the guild and started walking down the cobblestone path. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt like I belonged, that I was no longer alone. Out of reflex, I reached up to the tags dangling around my neck.

Elliot…

I continued to walk down the poorly lit streets.

I've gotten too close.

As I walked down an alleyway, I realized I was no longer alone.

"What the hell was up with that stunt today?" I said, not bothering to look who was standing behind me. I already knew who they were.

"Master's orders," stated Griffin. I turned to face the two as the emerged from the shadows.

"Master huh? It hasn't even been seven days yet."

"Master was getting impatient," commented Griffin.

"Yeah and besides, why do you care?" stated Eliza. "Your mission was to protect the girl from Emrick and the others, that's all."

"Well duh, but speeding up the process isn't fair to Lucy. She was given a week so she could send her last moment with her friends."

"Yeah well, we don't care and you shouldn't either… unless you do care?" stated Eliza.

"No, you're a fool to think that I would care about…" Eliza cut me off.

"No Nora, you're the fool. You actually let them get close! What did you expect to do once the seven days were up?"

I was taken aback by her words. She was right, I let them get too close and now…I couldn't even make up an excuse.

"I—I …"

"Face it, Nora, you've gone soft. Now, answer me this, what would you have done when the time came to sacrifice Lucy to Master? The only reason you're doing this is to save your kid brother so really, who would you chose: the living or the dead?"

"He isn't dead!" I snapped.

"So, you chose your brother?" she asked, a sly smile on her face.

"Y—Yes…" I answered, actually feeling ashamed.

"Good, then prove it, prove how important he is to you. Go capture the nosy little Fairy hiding behind those crates," ordered Eliza as she pointed to the crates behind me. I turned around and heard a slight gasp.

"Show yourself!" snapped Eliza. That's when I heard someone suck in a breath and the walk out from behind the crates.

"Levy?" I mumbled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"There was something about you that never made sense to me, so I followed you. After listening to your conversation, my assumption was correct."

"Really? And what assumption was that?" Eliza said in a snide tone.

"That the three of you were the Guardians of Trinity. What you said about them being your ancestors was a lie, wasn't it?"

"You're pretty smart, girlie," chuckled Eliza.

"The three of you were Luciana's Guardians and your master … he's Malum Locke, the former kind of Trinity, right?" it was when she said that that I realized she needed to get the hell out of here.

"Well, well, well, looks like our cover's been blown," Eliza said with a sadistic look on her face. She then nodded over to Griffin and before I could say or do anything, he vanished and appeared behind Levy. He grabbed onto both her arms and lifted her from the ground. She was unable to mutter a spell for Griffin had his other hand over her mouth.

"Well, Nora? I believe it's your turn," stated Eliza. I looked back to Levy, her eyes pleading.

"She isn't a threat, put her down," I ordered, but Griffin ignored it.

"Sorry Nora, but we don't answer to you, so go and use you Nullifying Roots to put the nosy Fairy to sleep," Eliza ordered. I looked back at Levy and I sighed. I have no other choice. I walked up to the struggling girl as I lifted my arm and pointed at her, a green circle forming right from under her. This time, her eyes showed betrayal.

"The earth is my domain: Nullifying Roots." I muttered the spell as roots slowly came up from the ground and wrapped around Levy. The effects took only seconds as Levy's eyes drooped and fell into a deep sleep.

"I'm sorry, Levy."

Crimzon: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. You know the drill, review please and I'll try to update sooner (especially since the next chapter is already half done ha-ha).