He Might Be the One

by GemNika

The storm after her heart is shattered changes everything. As Lucy's caught in the whirlwind that is Fairy Tail's Seith mage, she finds that there's a lot more to him than she had originally thought. (Rated M for a reason.) [Complete]

21. Monster

A/N: Guess who's back? BIXLU'S BACK! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!...

O.O Okay, enough of that. Let's see what's happening now that they're engaged.

---

Natsu looked up, the blush still on his face from hearing Lucy, then looked at Lisanna. She had very clearly explained what was and was not appropriate to talk about in public, especially when it came to other people's sex lives. Then she had handcuffed him to the bed to prove a point. It was a point that he wouldn't be forgetting any time soon. With his normal, infectious grin, he threw his hands behind his head and said, "No idea what you're talking about Gray!" I'm definitely not letting her tie me to the bed again. I couldn't walk for days!

~.~

"How about this one?" Lucy asked, pointing to a random page on the request board.

Bickslow bent down and looked at it, then shrugged. "Honestly, it doesn't matter to me where we go. This is probably the first time I've taken a mission without my team," he said softly. He hadn't ever been interested in taking a job without the Raijinshuu, and the only reason that he and Lucy were taking a job now was because she refused to sit back and let him pay for everything. "I'm just happy to go on a job with you. It'll be fun to get away for a bit."

"Well, the pay isn't that good," she mused, turning back to the board.

"About that," Bickslow said quietly.

"Hm?" Lucy turned to face her fiancé with a quirked eyebrow. She saw how uncomfortable he looked, a slight blush dusting across his cheeks, and cocked her head to the side.

Bickslow moved to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and placing his chin on top of her head. You know, we don't really need to worry about money.

Even with their mind-meld, Lucy could hear the hesitation. The only mission either of us went on was the one where you almost died. That was almost a month ago.

He sighed heavily and pressed his lips to her hair. It was an S-Class mission. Well, the pay was…

Right? Lucy had no idea where he was going with this. I've only ever been on one S-Class, but that was a nightmare… And we didn't get paid for it…

"I feel like we should have had this conversation sooner," Bickslow whispered to her.

Lucy nodded, then waited for him to say something. And waited. After a minute or so, her eyes narrowed. How much did you get paid for that job anyway?

Bickslow tensed. He could practically feel her glaring daggers at him. "Uh… Enough?" He couldn't help it. He had never had this sort of conversation with anyone. The only people that knew how much he made on missions were the other members of the Raijinshuu, because they all got an equal cut. Evergreen spent her money on clothes and Mavis only knows what else. Freed spent his on remodeling his house and buying books and other random intelligence-based things. Laxus… Well, no one knew what Laxus did with his money.

"Bickslow…" she said in a soft warning. Lucy turned in his arms to give him the full effect of her glare, making sure he knew how poorly this conversation could end. For him.

Bickslow shuddered at the look she gave him. It was much worse than he had imagined. Four million…?

Lucy's eyes practically popped out of her head. "Is that an answer or a question?" she said as she regained her composure. When he gave her his best pouty face, she giggled at him and pressed a soft kiss to his chin.

"I don't usually spend it though," he said when she turned back around to continue looking through the requests.

"What do you mean?" she asked absently.

He gave her a small chuckle, filled with anxiety at how she was going to react. "You saw my house when you moved in. I was never really there, so I didn't see the need to buy a bunch of stuff. I only bought the house so I would have something that was mine…"

Lucy smiled sadly and leaned back into his embrace. As he gave her a light squeeze she said, "Good thing you bought it, otherwise we wouldn't have had room for my stuff."

"Very true. Who knew you could have fit so much into that apartment you had?" he shot back playfully. When she lightly slapped his arm, he continued. "But, aside from the few bills and groceries when I was at home, the only thing I ever bought was wood."

Lucy turned her head to look at him for a moment before saying, "But, there's not that much wood in the—OH!"

He winced as her mouth dropped open and she stared off into space. That was the reaction he was expecting. The worst part was seeing what she would say after the shock had worn off. When she stayed silent for a few minutes, he started to worry. "Lucy? Lucy?!"

Nothing. Lucy's mind had shut down. She had tried to remember how many missions Bickslow had gone on that she knew of, but he had also been in the guild much longer than she had. Also, the pay varied based on the requestor or the mission, and sometimes pay was reduced—in her experience—for property damages.

"Cosplayer!" he shouted.

That got her attention. Lucy promptly gave him a Lucy Kick that knocked him on the ground. Then, she whirled around and glared at Bickslow. "How many times… Do I have to tell you…"

Bickslow grabbed his head and thought to himself, How did I not see that coming?! He stood up, his hands in the air in surrender as he slowly backed away, and said, "I thought I broke you. I knew it would get your attention…" Trying to get Lucy to relax when she decided that he would rather break something was insanely difficult. He had to ask her team if they had figured out any tricks that they could share with him.

Lucy took a deep breath, counting to ten in her head while she closed her eyes, then smiled sweetly at him. She grinned internally when Bickslow tensed again. He knew she was going to get him back, but he didn't know when. "How much?" she whispered, returning to their previous conversation.

Bickslow gave her a sheepish smile and ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to pull her back into his arms, but didn't dare move anywhere near her.

Lucy placed a finger to her chin in thought and said, "I'll forgive you and not call Virgo out to punish you. But you have to tell me."

Bickslow paled at the mention of the maid spirit. Based on what he and Lucy had done in their bedroom, with guidance and supplies from Virgo, he really didn't want to know what she was capable of when she was upset. He nodded quickly and started calculating in his head. He had never really thought about how much money he had. He just knew it was there in case he needed it.

Lucy laughed and said, "You look surprised, everything alright?"

He nodded, then walked over to Mira to get a pen and a piece of paper. His eyes were still wide, and Mira thought he was about to pass out, but he waved her off saying that Lucy had threatened to sic Virgo on him. The Takeover mage paled for a second then quickly nodded, moving to a safe distance from the couple. He did the math three times. It wasn't exact, but he was still shocked by the rough estimate he had come up with. He wrote it down on the paper and handed it to Lucy.

Lucy read it. Then read it again. Looked at Bickslow. Read it a third time. She stared at the paper as if it was in a foreign language. "Huh," she said after a minute. It wasn't a question. Just a confused acceptance of what she was reading.

"You… alright?" Bickslow said, peeking from behind a very confused Laxus.

"What the hell, man?!" Laxus shouted. "I'm not gonna get my ass kicked while she tries to get to you…"

Lucy shook her head in disbelief at him. "Why are you hiding behind Laxus?"

"Uh… Taking cover?" he said with a cheesy grin and his tongue hanging out.

Lucy rolled her eyes and wadded the paper up. She threw it and hit Laxus in the head, then she grinned. "Did you expect my head to explode?" she asked innocently.

"I didn't know what to expect…" Bickslow said, ducking behind his fearless leader again.

"What am I missing?" Laxus asked, looking from Lucy to Bickslow.

Rolling her eyes again and stomping over to pull Bickslow out from behind the hulking blonde, she said, "He told me how much money he has, and apparently I'm supposed to freak out and kill things."

Laxus raised his eyebrow, then flattened the paper she threw at him. With a low whistle he looked back at Bickslow. "Seriously? What do you do, sit in a dark room all day?"

Lucy glared at Laxus for a moment, then burst out into laughter as Mira walked past and smacked him in the head with an empty tray.

"Laxus," Mira said with a sweet smile on her face, "Would you mind helping me with these orders? My feet hurt."

Lucy and Bickslow watched in amazement as he jumped up and ran around the bar. Grinning.

After Laxus had run off with more orders, Mira smiled and said, "Dragon Slayers love helping their mates. Especially when they're pregnant."

Lucy and Bickslow nodded at her, sending her a silent thanks. Then Lucy turned around and poked Bickslow in the chest. "Why did you think that would matter?" she said softly, contradicting the intense look in her eyes.

"I don't know. People are weird about money," he said just as quietly.

"Well, that's a about as much as my family had when I was growing up," she said, estimating how much the Heartfilia estate was worth when she ran away. She smiled widely at him, finally deciding to let him relax. "Money didn't matter to me when I was living with my father, and it still doesn't." She shrugged at him and turned back to the request board.

He had absolutely no idea what to do about this woman. "So, you still wanna take a job?" he asked cautiously as he tried to return to his previous position of holding her.

"Yeah, but now I don't have to worry about how much it pays," she said softly, pulling his arms to wrap around her waist again. "Oh, how about this one?"

Bickslow looked at the paper, and grinned. "Sounds perfect."

---

"Why is it always a forest?!" Lucy shouted. They had been walking for over an hour with no luck whatsoever.

"Clearly it's because there's an evil plot to destroy your life," Bickslow joked, nudging her arm. The request was a pretty simple one. There was a small village northwest of Shirotsume that was being disturbed by what they assumed were ghosts. Bickslow and Lucy had to find and get rid of the ghosts, then they would get about 50,000 Jewels and a silver key. Ghosts and keys. The perfect job for the pair.

"That's what I'm saying," she said with a pout. "You know, I really wish you weren't wearing that thing…" Lucy glared at the helmet that was covering Bickslow's eyes. He said he didn't need it when they were in Magnolia, but preferred to keep his face hidden while he was out on missions. She wasn't going to fight him on it, but they were all alone and looking for whatever had spooked the townspeople, so she didn't see the point.

Bickslow shrugged. "I'll take it off when we're on our way back home." He didn't like it any more than she did, but it felt weird not wearing it when he was on a mission. At least with his helmet on, anyone that knew how to identify his magic wouldn't be able to easily see his eyes. After explaining that to Lucy, she groused for a few minutes, but accepted that it was logical.

Lucy and Bickslow stopped in their tracks. Both had a feeling that they were being watched and slowly turned to see if they could spot anyone lurking nearby.

Lucy's hands hovered over her whip and keys as she searched the trees for anything that could be trying to come after them.

Bickslow's babies continued to hover around him lazily, but they were providing extra sets of eyes for searching.

Snap!

Lucy dove forward and rolled, coming up on her knee just as a heavy branch fell to the ground where she had been standing. Her eyes shot up into the canopy, and she barely spotted a shadow darting from branch to branch. Bix, there's someone up there.

Bickslow silently sent his babies up into the trees to see if they could flush whoever it was out.

"Hee Hee!" came a giddy laugh just behind Lucy. "So much fun!"

Before she could react, Lucy was grabbed roughly by the hair and felt a blade pressed against her throat. Baby!

Bickslow turned and felt his blood boil. Lucy was being held hostage by a man barely taller than her with unevenly cut black hair that stuck out at random intervals. His hands and mouth were covered in what looked like dirt and dried blood, and his orange eyes seemed to gleam with insanity. "Let her go!" Bickslow shouted. As he tried to take a step forward, the man pressed the blade tighter to Lucy's throat, making her whimper. Stay calm, baby. I'll get you.

"Hmm, such a pretty thing you've brought for me," the man said. He pulled Lucy's head to one side and ran his tongue along her neck. When she whimpered in fear again, he laughed. "And so responsive."

Bickslow had to think. There had to be some way to get the guy away from her without him slitting her throat. His heart dropped when he saw a drop of her blood gliding down from where the blade was cutting into her.

"What should we do, little blonde girl?"

Lucy nearly vomited when she felt the man press his hardening member against her back. "You should let me go before my fiancé kicks your ass," she spat venomously.

"Ooh! Young love!" he shouted. "Too bad though. He won't live long enough to save you." He started cackling, and moved the knife from her throat down her chest, popping the buttons of her shirt in the process.

Babies! Bickslow shouted silently. He felt them float down behind him and ground his teeth.

Behind you!, Lucy shouted to him, her eyes widening when she saw five men drop down silently from the trees.

Bickslow quickly activated his X Formation, using his babies to block the incoming attack from one of the men, then lunged forward at the disgusting man still holding onto Lucy. He felt his eyes begin to glow, and looked directly into the other man's eyes. Then, he smirked. "Figure eyes," he whispered softly, then cackled when he forced the man to stab his own thigh.

The black-haired man roared in pain, clearly not understanding what had happened. He let go of Lucy and tried to pull the knife from his leg.

Lucy stumbled, but sighed in relief when Bickslow steadied her. She quickly pulled her whip out before he could ask her any questions, and snapped it twice on the men that were still advancing from behind Bickslow. "I'm fine. You teach that perv a lesson for touching me," she said sternly.

Bickslow nodded, then reached down and grabbed her foot. Have fun, he thought to her as he launched her into the air.

Lucy flew through the air, wrapping her whip around a tree branch and swinging to land on the other side of their attackers. Just as she landed, she was readying another attack, determination set in her eyes, when she noticed that all five men were on the ground. With severe nosebleeds. "What the hell?!" she shouted, stomping her foot. Then she got a slight chill and looked down to see that she was, in fact, showing everyone her lacy lime green bra. That asshole cut my shirt open, she thought while she cringed. Rolling her eyes, Lucy summoned Virgo.

"Punishment, Princess?" the maid said with a bow.

"Not today Virgo. Can you please tie these guys up?" Lucy said as she tied the ends of her top together, creating a single knot between her breasts and showing off her stomach.

Bickslow slowly walked up to the man that had dared to touch Lucy. "What was that you were saying about my girl?" he whispered. Letting his control over the man go, he stared intently at him.

The man stared at Bickslow, fear radiating off of him from the dark aura that surrounded the mage. "I-I…" he stuttered, before he looked over at the blonde he'd assaulted. At the sight of her tying up her top with her breasts just barely held inside, her toned and flat stomach, and her mini-skirt, the man passed out.

"What the fuck?!" Bickslow shouted, watching as the man fell over with blood pouring from his nose.

Lucy looked over at what was happening, then sighed. "The one time I'm not trying to be sexy on a job, and I defeat every person here because they're perverts…"

Bickslow turned with a confused expression to face her. Then his mouth went dry. He hadn't thought much of what she had put on that morning. It was just her standard mini skirt—which he never minded, since it allowed him to appreciate every inch of those deliciously creamy legs of hers—her boots and a white button up shirt. That was, at least, until the creep behind him had decided to cut her shirt open. Bickslow gulped as his eyes roved up and down her body, then licked his lips.

Virgo smirked as she moved to tie the other man up before he came back around. Princess should be careful what she wears on these missions with Bickslow. He looks like he's ready to pounce on her.

"Do you have any idea how… scrumptious… you look right now?" he said huskily as he walked over to Lucy.

Lucy looked up at Bickslow innocently, and tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Bickslow knew they had a job to complete, but he was starting to get an idea of what he would much rather be doing. He pulled Lucy roughly against his chest and grabbed her ass. "You shouldn't get mad when I call you Cosplayer, you know that?" he whispered into her ear.

Lucy couldn't help the shiver that ran through her, even with the strange way he was acting all of a sudden. "Why's that?" she asked, already panting from the feel of him pressing against her.

"Because even when you don't mean to, you still dress up," he said as he ground himself against her. "You look like a school girl."

Lucy blushed. "I-I… Well…" She realized that he was right. Which was most likely why all of the perverts that had attacked them had gone down just by looking at her. She saw Virgo out of the corner of her eye dragging the men back towards the town, and sighed as she mentally thanked the spirit.

"Hottest school girl I've ever seen," Bickslow said, nibbling lightly on her neck. Shit, she's even got pigtails in her hair, he thought to himself. He slowly backed her up until she was pressed between him and a tree.

Finally regaining her composure, Lucy mewled in delight then said, "I'll keep that in mind." She gasped when he pulled her panties to the side and slid two fingers just inside of her, then bit her lip as she writhed against him.

"So ready for me..." he said with a smirk against her neck.

Lucy quickly reached down and undid Bickslow's pants. They didn't have much time before they needed to get back to their mission, but he had gotten her so wound up that she couldn't stop herself. As soon as he sprung free, she started stroking him and moaning as his fingers delved deeper within her.

Bickslow grunted as her hand moved over him, then lifted Lucy up and pinned her to the tree. He felt her guiding him to her entrance, and claimed her in one swift and powerful thrust. His mouth closed over hers, their tongues sliding against each other, muffling their pleasured sounds.

Lucy had no idea that something like this was even a fantasy of hers. Having sex right after a fight, in the middle of the woods. Apparently it was, because there was some part of her brain that just put a big check mark in that box on the list. She felt the bark of the tree digging into her back, but before she could begin to care, Bickslow's arms wound around her torso, clearly protecting her skin while pulling her onto him more forcefully.

"Fuck, baby," he rasped against her lips. Something about seeing a knife pressed to her throat, that pervert even hinting at touching her, then running his tongue along her neck and cutting her clothes open had driven Bickslow to this. He had to feel her, every bit of her, to assure himself that she was safe. That they both were. He could feel her tightening around him as her climax approached, and he felt himself tighten in response.

"Oh... Ngh! Bickslow…" she moaned as he kept his intense pace with her. She showered him with kisses anywhere she could reach, and then her head flew back and she fell apart around him, with Bickslow only a few thrusts behind her.

After a few minutes, while their bodies returned to normal and their heart rates calmed down, Bickslow withdrew and carefully set Lucy's feet on the ground. "Love you, Cosplayer," he whispered with a sultry smirk.

After what had just happened, all because she was in fact dressed up like a school girl, Lucy couldn't be mad at the nickname. She winked as she adjusted her clothes and hair, and said, "Love you too, weirdo."

Bickslow turned around after buttoning his pants and giving Lucy a quick peck on the cheek. Then he blanched. He had completely forgotten that they had a bunch of guys tied up, and they were nowhere to be found. "SHIT! Where did they—" His rant was cut off by Lucy's light laughter.

"Virgo took them back to town," Lucy said with a shrug. "Guess she saw how you were eyeing me and took it upon herself to give us some alone time." She looked at him for a second, then blushed. "Um…"

Bickslow turned around at her hesitation, and tilted his head to the side. "What's up?"

"I just realized… you never took your helmet off." It made her uncomfortable, like he was trying to distance himself from her by keeping it on while they were together.

Bickslow stood there for a second, not knowing what to do. Of course he had kept it on, he had always kept his helmet on or his eyes turned away when he was with a woman before. The biggest reason he hadn't with Lucy was because he didn't have a helmet, and then she helped him realize that he didn't need one. His mouth dropped open as realization hit him. Lucy looked way too uncomfortable for what had just happened, and she seemed to have been running along the same train of thought. "Lucy…" He took a step forward, hoping he could explain. He honestly hadn't even thought about the fact that it was still there. He'd been too absorbed in getting to Lucy and pinning her to the tree.

"No," she said softly. "It's fine." She tried to walk past him, but he caught her arm.

"Wait."

"Bickslow, it's fine. I get it…" Lucy whispered, refusing to look at him. She knew that he loved her; that wasn't even a question. She couldn't understand why he hadn't thought to take the helmet off when he knew she loved seeing him.

Bickslow pulled her tightly against his chest, and whispered, "I'm an ass." He gently grabbed both of her hands and lifted them up to his helmet. Keeping his grip on her hands, he helped her pull it off so she could see his eyes.

Lucy looked lovingly into those barely glowing eyes, and smiled. This was the man she fell in love with. She let out a light giggle when she saw his hair, and dropped the helmet so that she could fix it. "You have helmet hair…"

Finally, Bickslow was able to give her a small chuckle. The tension between them seemingly disappearing as soon as she had seen him. "Tell you what. I'll leave it off until we head back to town, okay?" he said while she continued running her hands through his hair.

"Sounds like a plan."

After another forty-five minutes of walking, Lucy felt Virgo return to the Spirit World, and brushed a hand over her key. She sighed in relief when she felt it warm up, Virgo's way of letting her know everything had been taken care of. Lucy stopped and looked around and said, "Why is it so quiet?"

Bickslow had noticed it too. The only sounds were the ones coming from them, the crunching leaves and soft grass under their feet as they walked, and the slight jingle of Lucy's keys. He turned around, hoping to hear some form of animal life, even if it was a single insect. There wasn't anything. Let's get up in the trees. Something doesn't seem right.

Lucy nodded in understanding and crouched down, readying herself to spring up to the lowest branch. Just as her hands made contact with the branch, she saw a soft blue light begin to glow a little further down the path. She pulled herself up quickly, and sighed in relief when Bickslow hopped up on the next highest branch. Do you see that?

Yeah. He had no idea what the light was, but something about it felt familiar. He continued to stare at the light, watching and holding his breath as it moved closer to them.

Lucy gasped silently as a translucent image of a young woman walked down the path. Slowly, the sound of a hollow wail started to sound around them, and she saw that the woman was crying. She couldn't place why, but the woman seemed so familiar to her. Though the woman's hands were covering her face, shielding them from seeing her tears, she was wearing a knee-length dress with a polka-dotted pattern on it, and an apron around her waist. The woman's hair was flowing freely down her shoulders to mid-back, and she had a small chain bracelet around her wrist.

As the woman got closer, Bickslow's breath died in his throat. He knew her. He couldn't see her face, and there was no color aside from the soft blue glow that illuminated the features of her ghostly form, but he knew her. He would never forget that dress. That apron. "Mama?" he whispered softly.

Lucy's eyes widened, and she looked from the ghost to Bickslow. She could tell he didn't know how to feel, his expression quickly changing from fear to surprise to excitement and finally landing on guilt. Lucy looked back at the crying woman, who had stopped and fallen to her knees in the path just in front of them, and saw it. The woman below them was wearing the exact same thing Bickslow's mother had been wearing when she died.

He couldn't take it any longer. Bickslow dropped to the ground and crawled to sit in front of the ghost of his mother. "Mama, can you hear me?" he asked desperately. "It's me, Bickslow…"

The ghost's shoulders shook and it curled into a fetal position. Its cries intensified, and the wailing around them increased in volume until it was almost deafening.

Lucy dropped to the ground and crouched beside Bickslow. She watched the area around them, trying to see if there was anyone that was using an illusion to get their guard down.

"Help me…" came a soft whisper across the path. "Bickslow…"

It was her voice. His mother's voice. She sounded so sad and alone. Bickslow tried to reach out to her, hoping he could comfort her so she wouldn't have to cry anymore. Just as he was about to touch her shoulder, Lucy's hand shot up and grabbed his wrist. He turned his gaze to her in confusion, but all he saw was Lucy staring intently at his mother.

"How can he help you, Mama?" she whispered. If this was a trap, then they wouldn't be caught off-guard. There were plenty of magics that could do something like this. Pulling painful memories from a person, then using that knowledge to lure them in. If it was just an illusion, then the only plausible explanation for Lucy seeing Bickslow's mother was so that they would both believe it. If Lucy saw someone else, like her own mother, and voiced that, it would defeat the illusion. "What does he need to do?"

Bickslow's hand lowered from Lucy's grip as he turned back to face his mother. He watched as her body relaxed, and heard the cries die down to an almost inaudible whimpering. "Show me where to go, Mama," he whispered and stood up.

Lucy and the ghost stood up as well, and the two mages followed closely behind the woman who refused to uncover her face. Has anything like this ever happened before?

No. I've seen souls plenty, but never a ghost asking for help. And definitely never my mom…

Bickslow, Lucy thought to him. She didn't want to dash his hopes of helping his mother, especially since he held so much guilt over her death, but she also had to make sure that if this was a trap they were prepared. In case this isn't real… If it's an illusion...

It's not. I can feel it. His face hardened at Lucy's train of thoughts.

I hope you're right, baby. She placed her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. He was still tense, but gave her a reassuring squeeze back as they continued walking. Slowly, the path began to shift into something more solid. Cobblestones. Lucy looked around at the trees and saw that there were dilapidated buildings here and there. It looked as if they were in a small town that the forest had claimed. She pulled herself closer to Bickslow, and sighed when he wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulders.

Bickslow squeezed Lucy, trying to comfort her, but his eyes were wide as he looked around. Everything was coming back to him. This was the town he had lived in. Grew up in. The buildings were in shambles, trees growing through the few roofs that were still partially intact. Moss and vines were climbing up the houses. There were a few children's toys—a bicycle here, a little girl's doll there—that were sticking out of overgrown bushes. He looked back at the ghost of his mother. Her hands had dropped from her face, but he still couldn't see it. He knew where she was taking them.

Baby, are you okay?

I know where we're going… he said silently. Just as he was about to say it, his old house—the place where his family died—was looming in front of them. It was mostly destroyed, only the outer walls and foundation still standing. The roof seemed to have caved in over the living room and the front door was blocked by vines and rubble.

Lucy tried to follow the ghost through the wooden gate that led to the back of the house, but was stopped by Bickslow. "Baby?" she whispered as she turned to look at him. His eyes were wide as he looked at the house, shock and fear filling them to their depths.

"I can't…" he barely managed to whisper to her. Bickslow's arm dropped from her shoulders, and he felt as if a heavy weight was crushing his chest. "I can't…" He shook his head, still not looking away from the place he once called a home. It was his fault that his life had been destroyed, that his family was dead.

"Help me…" the ghost pleaded, her voice floating from behind the house.

"Bickslow, what's wrong?" Lucy asked, not having made the connection or recognized the house that they stood in front of.

The blue light that had disappeared behind the house started to glow brighter. As if it was a beacon for them to follow.

"Come on, I'm here with you…" Lucy said softly, placing her hand in his and pulling him forward.

"Lucy, we can't… go back there…" he said urgently. He was finally broken from his thoughts as he realized that Lucy was trying to take him behind the house. That was where she died. That was where he killed two people after watching his father get murdered. He pulled back, hoping to grab Lucy and run away with her, but she didn't falter. "Lucy, please. We can't!" he shouted frantically, his breathing coming in short bursts as his anxiety swelled.

"Bickslow, we have to help her," Lucy said as she stopped and turned to him. "What if it isn't a trap? What if that's really your mom, and she needs help?"

Bickslow shook his head, still filled with fear. He stared at the gate, the same gate he had snuck through all those years ago. "No, please… Please don't make me… I…"

Lucy looked at him, concern in her eyes, then looked back at the gate. She hadn't seen Bickslow this scared since she got struck by lightning, but she had no idea what was bothering him. "It's just a gate, baby."

"Sh-She… Mama… She died… back there. I killed her…" he said, his words barely more than a whisper. Hot tears poured down his face, and he tried to pull Lucy away from the gate once more. And failed again. "Please… Please don't make me go… I can't see it… Not again…"

Lucy planted her feet firmly in place, knowing Bickslow would try to run once those words left his mouth. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it sooner. The gate they were standing in front of was still intact, and it was the same gate that Bickslow had gone through when he was searching for his mom the night he got his magic. Lucy kept her emotions in check while she turned to look into his eyes. "I'm right here. If it's too much, then you can just hold onto me, and I'll help you, alright? I won't let anything happen to you, I promise," she said as she walked closer to him. "Your mom needs your help." She raised a hand to his face, drying his tears, then wrapped her arms around his waist to try and calm him down. "She needs you, Bickslow. You know you'll never forgive yourself if you don't help her."

"But it's my fault… She said I was a freak… and then I… I…" Bickslow lowered his head and wrapped himself around Lucy, shaking with all of the emotions rolling through him.

"She was scared, and you didn't know what you were doing," Lucy said firmly. She refused to believe anything negative about Bickslow or his mother, regardless of what she had said to him before she died. Her hands were gliding up and down his back as she continued. "She may have died because of your magic, but that same magic can help her now."

Bickslow took a deep breath and nodded. "Don't leave my side, okay?" he whispered. He needed all the support he could get if he was going to get through this.

Lucy gave him a loving smile and said, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Slowly they made their way to the gate, and Lucy pushed it open and led Bickslow through the overgrown grass to the back of the house. His memories flooded through his mind as they made their way to the back. Crouching at the corner, a bat in his hand. Seeing his uncle beat his mother. Watching his dad show up and get murdered. Rushing at the man. Everything. They turned the corner and Bickslow's legs gave out.

Lucy's free hand shot to her mouth as she looked at the yard. Somehow every bit of it was left exactly as it had been the night Bickslow's magic was awakened. The yard was perfectly manicured, not a single blade of grass higher than a couple inches. There was a tall tree in the far corner of the yard that still held a tire swing, and the rope didn't look weathered in the slightest. There wasn't a single sign of the overgrowth of plants that had plagued the front and the rest of the town. Everything looked like it was the backyard of any house. Everything, except for the bodies. After so much time had passed, they were nothing more than skeletons, still lying in the positions they had been left in that night. Lucy saw Papa's body first in the middle of the yard, sprawled out on his stomach with his head turned slightly to the side. Then, Bickslow's uncle leaned up against the pristine fence.

"Bickslow…" her voice called to him again. "Please…"

Bickslow watched in horror as the night his family died played out before him. He saw his younger self killing his uncle. Then turning to his mother. He saw the rejection and pain he had felt when she said she didn't have a son. He watched her die again and again. "I'm so sorry, Mama…" he whispered as tears sprung from his eyes once more.

Lucy looked over at the source of the blue light, and saw his mother's skeleton. Her ghost stood over it and looked sadly down at her own remains. Lucy turned around and saw that Bickslow was on his hands and knees in the grass and staring at the ground. Crouching down next to him, she placed one hand on his back and frowned when he flinched at the contact. "Baby, I'm right here. It's okay, I promise."

"I can't, Lucy… She…" he choked out between sobs.

"She was everything to you," she whispered back. Her own mother had meant the world to her, but she had been taken away too soon. Lucy knew what it felt like to lose your parents, but Bickslow still blamed himself for the whole thing happening. "I get that, I really do. She needs your help, Bickslow. She wouldn't ask you if she didn't still love you."

"She doesn't. I know she doesn't… How can you l-love the person that k-killed you?!" he shouted, ripping grass from the lawn in his angst.

"She's your mom, she'll always love you," Lucy said calmly. Not knowing what else to do, she looked up to the ghost and saw her smiling at them. It wasn't menacing or evil. It was the smile of a proud parent, with a hint of the love that only a mother can feel for their child. "Bickslow," Lucy said while nudging his shoulder. "Look at her. She's… smiling…"

Bickslow's head shot up. Her smile. It always made everything okay… It was there. He refused to see her skeleton, even though the ghost stood right next to it. He could only see the loving smile that had made his nightmares go away when he was younger. The smile that meant he was going to get cookies before dinner. "Mama?" he whispered, hoping there was some part of her that could answer him. He felt Lucy pulling his hand to stand up, and he followed her lead as she walked them closer to the ghost. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to his chest, needing Lucy's warmth to help him feel grounded while his mind and heart raced.

"My dear Bickslow," came her voice echoing through the yard, even though her lips never moved.

"I missed you," he said. He wished he could hold her one more time, feel her arms wrap protectively around him like they did when he was scared or upset.

"You never lost me, sweetie," the ghost said softly. Her voice danced across their skin, giving them the feeling of comfort from her words.

"But you… I…" Bickslow stuttered, not knowing how to voice his confusion.

Lucy watched the interaction between the two, and really saw where Bickslow got most of his looks from. He had the same nose, lips, hair, and (originally) eyes as his mother. There was so much of her in him that Lucy could barely see where his dad's genes had come in. The memory of Bickslow's last night in his home played through her mind, then she smacked herself in the face. "Bickslow," she said through her hand as it dragged down her face in embarrassment.

"What is it, baby?" he said quickly turning to face Lucy.

"You never lost her. She was always with you," Lucy said. She couldn't believe she didn't think of it sooner.

"I killed her…" he said sadly.

"Right, but then you did the same thing to her that you did to your uncle. You sucked her soul into your body! She's always been right here," Lucy said as she placed her hand over his heart. "It's probably why you never moved on…"

Bickslow looked in shock down to Lucy's hand, then back to his mother's ghost. "Is that true?" he asked the ghost.

She nodded softly to him, her once blue and black hair bobbing lightly with the motion of her head. "Yes, but you must let it go…"

Bickslow didn't want to lose her. He'd held onto his mother for so long, he couldn't imagine not having her with him—even if he didn't know that she was there.

"Please, let me be with Papa again…" she said, looking longingly at the small grumpy totem.

"I don't know how. I've never tried to do something like that," Bickslow answered. His magic could finally help his mother, but he didn't know how to do it. He could tell that there was a way, felt it with every part of his being, but he didn't know what to do.

Virgo appeared in a flash of golden light with a bow. "Princess, I believe you will be needing this shortly," she said after standing up straight. She handed Lucy a satin pouch and bowed once more before disappearing.

Lucy gave Bickslow a confused look, then opened the bag. A huge grin spread across her face and she sent another round of silent thanks up to Virgo's constellation above them.

"What is it?" Bickslow asked quietly.

"It's just what we need," Lucy said as she handed him the bag. She turned to the ghost and said, "Mama, you said you wanted to be with Papa again, right?"

The ghost nodded quickly, a hopeful smile splitting across her face.

Lucy's eyes filled with determination when she turned back to Bickslow and said, "Then we'll make it happen."

Bickslow hadn't had a chance to look in the bag yet. He was too preoccupied with Lucy and his mom. When she turned back to him all he could do was ask, "How? I don't know how I can pull her soul out of me."

"That's where I come in. While you were away, I kept reading those books on your magic, and learned quite a bit. By the way, you really should read them—they're very informative," she said with a soft laugh. "Only your soulmate can help you move past what you've done. Only I can help you heal from it. So, that's just what I'll do." Lucy looked into his eyes and smiled. When she asked if he trusted her, and he immediately answered affirmatively, she leaned in to give him a soft chaste kiss on the cheek. She then gave him a quick run-down of how it would work.

Bickslow ran through the steps one more time, then smiled. He was going to get his mom back. He looked at the ghost and said, "Ready, Mama?"

The ghost looked from Bickslow to the smaller blonde woman and nodded happily.

"Okay. First, pull what Virgo brought us out of the bag," Lucy said.

Bickslow nodded, then pulled the mystery item out. He nearly dropped it in shock. It was a small totem that he had made one night when he was thinking about his mom. It had hints of Papa's own totem, with a slight scowl for when she was upset, but it was mostly happy. The face looked pensive and serene.

His eyes shot to Lucy and she shrugged and said, "Virgo knows just what I need. And, that works for you as well, based on her actions today."

"Okay, step two?" he asked. He remembered what she had told him, but he was more comfortable letting her take the lead on this since she would know exactly when to move to the next step.

"Right, step two." Lucy stepped closer to Bickslow and gave him a soft kiss on the lips, letting her magic fill her and her eyes glow a brilliant gold. "Let your magic out so I can find her."

Bickslow nodded and took a deep breath. He saw the green glow from his own gaze illuminating Lucy's face and mixing with her gold while his magic spread through his body. When he felt as if he was ready, he nodded.

"Step three." Lucy put her hands up and pointed to the bracelet he had given to her, then smiled. "I found out what the bracelet does. It allows our magics to intertwine, that's why there are stars and totems. We'll have to test it later, but I'm pretty sure you'll be able to call my spirits and channel my magic through you. On my side, I can interact with your babies more easily, and channel your magic through me. Like I did the day you got hurt."

"Okay, so what do you have to do?" he asked, nodding as he absorbed the information.

"I take my hand and place it on your heart, where your mom's soul is," Lucy said and placed her hand in the proper position. "Then I focus on searching your heart and draw her soul out into my other hand." She raised the other hand with the palm facing up to the sky.

Bickslow took another deep and calming breath, and nodded for her to proceed. He watched as Lucy's eyes glowed brighter, a slight glaze washing over them that reminded him of the morning they became bonded. Then, he felt a warm pulsing travelling from her hand into his heart, easing his tension.

Lucy could see Bickslow's soul when she searched for his mother. Her magic poured from her palm and into him, and she felt his own magic washing into her like a wave on the beach. Every push of her magic left a small amount in him, and when it washed back to her it brought some of his own magic with it. She was almost blinded by the brilliant gold color that shone from his chest, but immediately recognized it as a soul from what she had seen in his dream that night. "You have… the most beautiful soul… Bickslow," she said softly, finding it difficult to speak while their magic flowed between them.

Bickslow's eyes widened at her words. Lucy could see his soul. He saw a content and proud smile on her lips, and couldn't stop his own from mirroring her.

"I… found you… Mama," she said softly. Even though it was difficult to speak, she wanted to let Bickslow know how it was going so he wouldn't worry. She used her magic like a hand and wrapped it around his mother's soul, creating a small barrier that wouldn't let any harm come to it. Once she had a good grip on it, Lucy started to pull back but was met with some resistance. "Bickslow…"

"Yes?" he whispered, worried that her expression had become concerned.

"You have to… let… her go…" Lucy couldn't take her eyes away from the soul she held, the small green orb that was waiting to be pulled from him, but she knew that Bickslow understood her.

"I'm scared to, baby. I don't wanna be alone again," he said as a tear rolled down his cheek. It was his biggest fear. He had thought he was alone even with Papa and his babies. Then Lucy came in and changed it all. He didn't want to lose his mom again, though, after so long of being without her.

"You'll never… be alone… again. You… have me… Forever."

Bickslow sighed, then nodded. She was right, he would always have Lucy no matter what happened. He felt a weight lifted from him as he accepted that he couldn't hold onto the guilt of his mother's death. She had to be set free so that he could be free as well.

Lucy's smile returned and pride filled her heart as she saw the little green orb begin to slowly make its way toward her. When it finally left Bickslow's chest and started to travel through her hand, she felt an odd tingling in her body as it moved up one arm, across her chest, and down the other to sit in her open palm.

Bickslow felt like the wind had been knocked out of him when her soul left. He watched in awe as a small green light travelled just under Lucy's skin and appeared in her palm. "Mama," he said softly as he looked at the soul.

"Step… Four…" Lucy said, still struggling to maintain her connection to Bickslow and the soul. She wished she could let go of him so she could give him the next step, but she couldn't until the last step was complete. "Put her… soul… in the… totem."

Bickslow nodded at her instructions, remembering that she had to keep them connected otherwise his mother's soul would be lost to him for good. "Ready Mama?" he asked softly.

"Yes, Bickslow… Thank you," the green orb whispered.

Bickslow raised his empty hand and scooped her from Lucy's palm. Once his mother's soul was stable, he brought his hands together and accessed a deeper part of his magic that he hardly ever used. The green glow of his eyes brightened, and the mouth of the totem opened up, creating a small green and red vortex that called out to the soul next to it. He watched her float lazily into the mouth, then he closed the mouth and sealed it. "How do you feel, Mama?" Bickslow asked with a smile.

"Wonderful. Thank you, dear," came the sweet sound of her voice, slightly distorted by the totem she lived in. She floated up into the air, slightly wobbly since she hadn't figured out how to move yet, and the other babies surrounded her to help her move off to the side.

"All done, baby," Bickslow said as he turned back to Lucy. He placed his hand over hers and took a deep breath as they slowly pulled their magic back into themselves. When she was back to normal, he could still feel a small portion of her magic lingering inside of him, and he was sure she was feeling the same. "How are you doing?" he asked softly, placing both hands on her face and searching her eyes for anything that could be wrong.

"I couldn't be better," she said with a wide grin. She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her head to his chest, and hummed happily. "What will her name be? You've already used all of the vowels with P for your babies…"

Bickslow smiled then looked over at his babies, noticing how Papa was twirling happily around the newest addition. "Mama. It's always been her name, and that won't change now."

Lucy nodded, knowing that it was the perfect name. "So, I guess your next few will be with M then, huh?"

He chuckled at her words. "Am I that easy to figure out?"

Lucy shrugged, then held onto him more tightly. "I love you."

"Love you too." Bickslow went to kiss the blue streak in her hair, then paused.

"What's wrong?" she asked, pulling away from him when she felt him tense up.

"I don't think you're gonna be a blonde much longer if you keep using my magic..." he said as he stared at her hair. "You've got a blue streak on the other side now."

Lucy pulled her hair in front of her face and sighed. "Well, at least it's even now!"

"What, you don't like blue hair?" Bickslow asked in mock offense.

"No, I just like being blonde. It makes me less intimidating when people think I don't have a brain. If my hair changes too much, people might think I'm a badass with blue hair… Then where would I be?"

"Damn right blue hair is badass," Bickslow said with a cocky, tongue wagging grin.

"Dear girl," Mama said, slowly floating over to the couple after Papa showed her how to float around.

Lucy's attention quickly shifted to the newest totem, and she smiled. "Yes, Mama?" Her smile grew when Bickslow gave her a light squeeze and kissed her newest hairstyle change.

"Papa says you're the one that helped my little boy, is that right?" Mama asked, a sense of wonder in her voice.

Lucy nodded and said, "He saved my life, and I've saved his. We're soulmates."

"And you don't have a problem with his magic?"

Lucy frowned, hoping that Mama wouldn't still have a problem with the magic that had just saved her from being stuck inside of Bickslow forever. "Why would I? His magic is what saved my life. I know that the way he got it wasn't under the best circumstances, but that's in the past. He's an amazing mage, and I barely beat him the one time we really fought against each other." She paused for a minute, remembering with a smile how odd it was that she had won that fight. "Bickslow's magic is only a part of who he is. Aside from his magic, he's brave, strong, caring, funny. He's the perfect man in my eyes, and I know he'll be the perfect husband."

"Husband?" Mama asked.

"Yes," Papa interjected. "Our little boy has asked Lucy to marry him, and she was crazy enough to say 'yes'…" They could just barely hear the laughter Papa was trying to hide at his small joke.

"I see," Mama said proudly. "There's quite a bit I don't know. Even though I was with you, Bickslow, I wasn't privy to anything outside of myself aside from your emotions. I'm assuming Lucy is the reason your loneliness left you?"

Bickslow nodded happily. "Yes, Mama. She makes me happier than I can describe."

Mama was silent for a moment, then said, "I approve. If Lucy had the ability to rid you of the guilt you carried since that night, which I've witnessed her doing myself, then clearly you two are meant for each other."

Lucy and Bickslow grinned at the news. They weren't aware that they were hoping Mama would approve of their relationship, but it was still there.

"And Bickslow?" Mama said softly. "I forgave you a long time ago for that night. I understand now that what happened was not your fault. You are not a monster or a freak. I hope you can forgive me for saying those horrible things to you."

Bickslow brought his hand forward, pulling Mama closer to him to look at the totem. "I forgive you, Mama."

After a few minutes of conversation, Lucy decided it was time to return to town to complete their mission. They made their way back to the town to speak with the mayor and Bickslow put his helmet back on just as they walked out of the forest. A few hours later, they were at the mayor's house explaining briefly that there was in fact a ghost from a lost town in the forest. They found the ghost and discovered that it was restless, so Bickslow was able to use his magic to help it.

"A lost town you said?" the very rotund mayor asked them, stroking his beard as he thought.

"Yes," said Lucy. She had been the one doing most of the talking, since Bickslow was used to standing off to the side during missions and leaving the clients to someone else. "I'm not sure what the name was though. I didn't see a sign."

"That sounds like Seishin," the mayor replied softly, his eyes reminiscent of painful memories. "Years ago, there was a horrible storm. It was the worst we had ever seen. Our town was only on the edge of it, so we weren't affected as badly. Sometime around dusk, there was an immense amount of magical power and a pillar of green light shooting up into the sky, then hundreds of screams could be heard even from this distance." He paused for a moment, shuddering as he remembered siting down to have dinner with his family and hearing those screams. "No one thought too much of it. Maybe some of us refused to think anything of it, for fear it was a dark guild. The storm cleared up by morning, and we sent a group of men to the town. It was covered in vines and plant-life as if it had been that way for years. The men were too scared to enter the town, so they walked away and never looked back. We always assumed that no one made it out of the town alive."

Bickslow's jaw had clamped shut, his teeth grinding against themselves as he heard an outsider's perspective on the night his magic was brought out.

Lucy was shaking after the story. "H-How long ago was that?"

The portly man paused for another moment, then said, "I'd say about… seventeen years ago?"

"I see. Well, at least the ghost has been dealt with. Thank you for telling us such an interesting story!" Lucy said. They quickly collected their reward, along with the silver key, and left the town.

Bickslow looked up and saw that the sun was about to set. They wouldn't make it to the train station in Shirotsume in time, so he grabbed Lucy's hand and started walking into the forest again.

"Bickslow, Shirotsume's the other way," Lucy said softly, wondering what had come over him. Ever since they had left the mayor's house, Bickslow had been quiet. Brooding almost. She had an idea of why he would be acting that way, but she didn't want to bring it up until they were home. Far away from the place he once lived.

He nodded, letting her know that he acknowledged what she said, but kept walking until they reached a clearing. There was a large meadow with a lake that reflected the setting sun. He sighed and sat down, pulling his knees to his chest and staring at the sky.

Lucy took Bickslow's lead and sat down next to him. She stared at the sky and waited for him to speak, regardless of how long it took. She watched in awe as the sun slowly disappeared over the horizon, its reflection in the calm waters of the lake making it seem as though it was melting into the water. When the sun had disappeared from view, and the sky was still a light pink with streaks of orange, she finally heard Bickslow stir.

"It's worse than I thought," Bickslow said quietly. He had his babies set themselves down on the grass, and cut off their magic supply so that he could speak with Lucy alone.

"What do you mean?" she asked, turning herself to face him and rubbing her hand along his back.

"That night. I thought I had only taken my uncle's and mom's souls. But… I was wrong. I killed everyone in my town," he whispered, disgusted with himself. "I can't understand how I could have killed so many people and still have a golden soul. It doesn't make sense!"

Lucy frowned at the direction of Bickslow's thoughts. He had finally come to terms with his mother's death, and now he had more lives added onto his conscience. She moved so that she sat between his knees and pulled his helmet off of him again. As she fixed his hair and then traced the mark on his face, she said, "Because you didn't intentionally kill them. It's a consequence of your magic."

His brow furrowed and he looked at her, letting her see the confusion. "How is that fair? I go batshit crazy, so a bunch of people die just for me to have magic?! I never wanted this!"

"Shh… I know, baby." She sighed and pushed his hands out of the way so she could sit in his lap, her legs straddling his. "Would you like me to tell you what I read in those books? Some of it could be helpful," she said softly, her hands returning to their tracing pattern on his face.

"Please," he said softly, closing his eyes to let her calm his fraying nerves.

"It's basically what I told you. But there's a little more to it. You already know that your magic was brought on by tragedy. And we can assume that your grandmother knew it was going to happen because of my engagement ring. That's why Papa left when you were younger, because he was trying to stop it from happening."

Bickslow nodded, then waited for her to continue.

"You were destined to become a Seith mage. Your magic is extraordinarily rare, even rarer than Dragon Slayers and Celestial Wizards," Lucy said with a sad smile. "It was your fate to get this magic, but to get it there's a cost. While your magic was gathering inside of you, you heard a voice offering you help, right?"

He nodded again.

"It seemed like it was giving you a choice: take the help it was offering or not. And that's where the majority of your guilt comes from, because you feel like you chose to do it. How did you feel when it talked to you?"

"It was soothing," he whispered, his brow furrowed as he tried to remember. "It was saying it could make me stronger, and I wanted it to so that I could protect Mama."

"Did you know that the voice you heard was the magic that was sitting inside of you already? You were born with it, but you couldn't access it until that night. If anyone had checked to see if you were a mage, they never would have known," Lucy said. She moved her hands down to his shoulders and started to massage them, trying to help him relax after the stress of the day.

"I was born with it?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes. That's why I've been saying it was fate. You were always meant to have this magic. It chose you, not the other way around."

"But you said something about a consequence. All those people dying…" he said, lowering his head to rest against her collarbone.

"Right. Your magic is the ability to control souls. Nearly every Seith mage in history, according to the books at the house, were in their thirties when their magic was released. They had built up enough inert magic to partially control what happened when tragedy struck. Because you were so young, your body didn't have enough magic inside of it yet to support the influx of power."

"So, it pulled souls from the townspeople to give me my magic?"

Lucy nodded sadly and said, "Yes. Though, even that isn't your fault. Remember, it was your destiny to go through that. At that age. There was nothing that could have been done to stop it."

"So, even though everyone's lives were sacrificed for me to be more powerful," he said slowly, "It's not my fault because I never asked to have this magic inside of me?"

"I know it's not the best news, but it's something. You can't place the blame on yourself for it. If you had known what it would do, and had the power to stop it, you would have."

"I would have stopped it… If I could have," he said. Taking a deep breath, trying to accept what she was telling him. "What else?"

"Well, there's only ever been one known line of Seith mages. You're all related in one way or another. So, it's genetic. Which is why you were born with it. The cosmos didn't just randomly pick you so that you could have a shitty childhood and emotional scars. It was passed down in your family."

"But, my dad's side was the magical side. He was a Lightning mage, and apparently my Granny was a Seer…"

"Which means it came from your mom's side. There was too much magical ability on your dad's side for it to have been passed down through the generations. Especially since your type of magic only shows up once every few generations." Lucy gave him a small smile and a sweet kiss on the forehead.

"But…" Bickslow's eyes shot open. "Wait a second! I'm related to other Seith mages?!"

Lucy grinned and then nodded. "Looks like you're not as alone as you thought. I seem to recall someone telling me about a sweet old shopkeeper that was a Seith mage…"

"Ms. Yama?! But she's…"

"Here's a question, how much contact did you have with your mother's side of the family?"

"None, but I just assumed that they didn't like us. At least, that's what my uncle always said," Bickslow said softly, frowning at the mention of his uncle.

"Hm… So, it's possible that she's your grandmother on your mom's side?" Lucy asked with a knowing smirk.

"Why are you making that face?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I may have gone to talk to her about it while you were away on that mission…" Lucy grinned at him. "And before you say anything, I didn't tell you because the timing never felt right. Besides, I'm pretty sure you would have thought I'd lost my mind if I randomly walked up to you and said she's your grandmother."

He chuckled and said, "Yeah, you're probably right."

They sat in silence for a long time, listening to their surroundings and finding a small sliver of tranquility. Lucy sat back and looked excitedly at Bickslow, then said, "I have an idea."

"Hm?" he hummed, not wanting their peaceful moment to end.

"Remember how I said earlier that I could use a small portion of your magic, and you could use mine since we're bonded?"

Bickslow's eyes slowly opened, and he saw the wide grin on her face. "… Yeah?"

"Well, how about we see how much you're able to do. It'll be really helpful in the future, just in case I can't get to my keys for whatever reason. If you're able to call out a Zodiac, they can get my keys back to me and help in a fight!" She watched his face turn skeptical, then she pouted. "Please please please!"

"You know I can't say no when you make that face," he said softly. "Fine, but let's start small. I only have a basic understanding of how your magic works, and I don't feel like passing out from draining myself."

"Definitely!"

"And, after we're done… you have to tell me what happened in that fight when you came to save my ass. Mira told me some of it, but I'm pretty sure she was freaked out and blocked some of it out."

Lucy frowned, "She shouldn't have been freaked out… Well, okay… I can see how it would have been kind of weird for her to see me doing that… Fine, I'll tell you."

Bickslow stood up and set Lucy on her feet, then watched as she went through each of her keys.

"Here, Plue is probably the easiest one to summon. The only ones that can force their own gate open are Capricorn, Leo, and Virgo. I'm sure the other Zodiacs could do it if they wanted to, but they never have. Silver keys have less power than Golds, so this shouldn't be too draining." She handed Bickslow the key and giggled when he stared at it like it was going to bite him.

"I feel ridiculous," he said quietly. He listened intently as Lucy explained how to open the gate for Plue and hold it open. Once she decided he was ready, he looked down at the key one more time and said, "Plue, man… Just come out… Otherwise I'm gonna feel like a crazy person."

There was a soft golden light that started to shine from the key, then in a flash of gold, Plue was standing there and doing his little shaking dance.

Bickslow looked back down at the key, then over to Lucy whose face matched his. "Uh… wasn't I supposed to say a whole incantation about opening his gate?"

"… Yeah… Plue," she said softly. When the wiggling dog turned towards her, Lucy smiled. "Would you mind going back so I can test a theory? If it works I'll be calling you in a minute."

Plue nodded and said, "Punnn Puunnnnn!" then disappeared.

Bickslow handed the key over to Lucy and watched her stare at it intently.

She traced the small symbol of Plue's face on his key and thought, Plue… Suddenly, the same flash of light happened, and Plue was wiggling around excitedly. "Holy shit! I don't have to say it anymore?!" Lucy ran over and hugged Plue, then sent him back. She had to do another test.

Bickslow watched with a smile on his face as Plue disappeared and Lucy danced around in a circle. "Any other ideas?"

She stopped her victory dance and said, "Yes. I summoned him but just thinking about him. I want to test it with my Zodiacs. How's your magic, by the way?"

"I didn't feel anything when he came out…" Bickslow said, trying to gauge how drained he was.

Lucy replaced Plue on her key ring, then pulled out two of her golden keys. She paused over Aquarius, but decided she didn't feel like being drowned for taking her away from Scorpio for a theory. "Okay, you take Leo," she said, handing him the Zodiac Leader's key, "And I'll take Capricorn. See how little you need to do to summon him."

Bickslow raised his eyebrow as he stared at the key. He brushed his finger over it and thought Leo.

Nothing happened.

Deciding to put a little more into it, since that wasn't enough, he said, "Leo, can you come out here? Lucy wants to see you."

Instantly, there was a flash of golden light. Leo stood tall and proud in his suit, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Has my princess called me to s— You're not Lucy…"

Bickslow fell over laughing at the confusion on Loke's face. "No, I'm definitely not Lucy. She's over there summoning Capricorn."

Both men turned to watch as Lucy brushed her thumb against the key, causing another flash of light. Capricorn appeared wearing his normal suit and sunglasses, smoothing his hair down instead of having one hand crossed over his chest. "Lucy, how can I help you?"

Lucy blushed as she realized that he may have been busy and said, "I wanted to test a theory. And it seems I was correct."

"What was your theory?" Capricorn asked, intrigue lacing his voice.

"Well, we just found out that Bickslow can summon you guys if he needs to. All he has to do is have your key and ask you to come out."

When the spirits looked flabbergasted, even Capricorn's stoic mask had fallen, they all turned to look at Bickslow. He ran a hand through his hair and said, "Yeah… Just like Lucy is able to use some of my magic… Soulmate thing… Don't worry, I don't plan on making a habit out of calling you guys."

Lucy smiled softly at his embarrassment of the situation. You're such a weirdo sometimes, she thought to him. "As Bickslow said, he can use some of my magic. So I'll be teaching him some more about each of you and your contracts so he doesn't violate any rules." Both spirits nodded approvingly, so she continued. "I also had a theory that since he could just call out to you normally, then I wouldn't have to say anything. Capricorn, I just touched your key and said your name in my head."

"Lucy," Capricorn said softly. "That takes years of practice, and tons of magical power to accomplish…"

"Leave it to our Princess to figure out how to do it sooner," Leo said with a smirk on his face.

Bickslow decided to step in, pulling Lucy closer to him and giving her a kiss on the head. "When we became bonded, both of our magical power increased. That's why her training recently has gone as well as it has. Why she healed faster, everything. Apparently, another side effect is our magic mixing together. Every time she's used my magic, or something close to it, she ends up getting a new hairstyle," he said as he pointed to the blue streaks in her hair.

Leo's eyes widened when he realized Bickslow was right. He and Capricorn had sensed a change in her magic recently, but they hadn't been able to place what it was. He stepped closer to Lucy, running his hand over her once blonde lock of hair, and whispered, "It's… Blue…"

"Hey, back it up, Playboy," Bickslow warned as he pulled Lucy closer to him.

"Leo…" Lucy gave him a small warning before the two of them could start a fight. "You too, Bickslow," she said glaring at them both.

"Sorry, sorry!" the two shouted in unison, fearing what she might do to them.

Capricorn chuckled at their interactions before saying, "Lucy, I'm sure the Spirit King would be interested in hearing about this. It is a highly unprecedented thing for another mage to have access to your summoning ability."

Lucy nodded. "I understand. Tell Stache-Face whatever you need to. I don't have any secrets from you guys, and I guess he's part of that. Also, could you please ask Aquarius not to drown me or Bickslow if she gets summoned?"

Leo laughed and said, "I can't promise anything, but I'll try…" With that, the two spirits closed their gates, leaving the couple alone under the stars.

Bickslow grinned as he lifted Lucy up and sat down with her between his legs. He wrapped his arms around hers as they looked up at the stars together. "So, Princess, wanna tell me about that fight now?"

Lucy sighed, playfully smacking Bickslow's leg. "Please don't call me Princess. My spirits call me that because they refuse to call me Lucy, and I won't let them call me Master. I'll allow you to call me Cosplayer, based on our conversation earlier, but that's as far as it goes."

He chuckled and kissed her neck, smiling as she shivered. "You've always been my Cosplayer."

Lucy blushed, wondering how he could make such a simple sentence sound so sexual, then said, "So, that fight?"

"Yep," he whispered, wrapping his arms tighter around her. "Mira said you summoned Capricorn and Virgo to help. Virgo took everyone to a safe area, and Capricorn fought alongside Mira against the wyvern. Then, the next thing she said was that you were standing in the middle of the field, screaming in pain and started calling for the wyvern to come after you." He paused, worrying about how Mira had worded the next part. "She said you looked… Like a monster. Like every nightmare she'd ever had all rolled up into one. It stopped in front of you. And then you defeated it while she sat there in shock…"

Lucy felt tears prick her eyes at hearing Mira's words. Monster? She was only doing what she thought she needed to. That wyvern had tried to kill Bickslow, and it had to pay. "A m-monster…?" she asked softly. "She… said that?"

Bickslow nodded and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'll tell you what you told me. You're not a monster. I don't care what anyone else says. I know you, and that's not what you are. If it wasn't for you, we all would have died that day…"

Lucy took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "I… I guess now I know how you've felt all this time…" Monster…

"Lucy, you have to listen to me. We both know that being soulmates has done a lot to our magic. If it was switched, I probably would have done the same thing," Bickslow said softly. His hands rubbed up and down her arms as he tried to comfort her.

She took another deep breath, then decided to tell him what Mira had missed or left out. "I teleported us from the guild after I had a searing pain in my chest. I saw a vision of you falling to the ground with what I now know was that wyvern's talon sticking out of your chest. You looked right at me and said you loved me… Then, I told the Master what was happening and said they needed to get someone to you guys as soon as possible. When I tried to walk out, Natsu got in my way, so I gave him a Lucy Kick. I had another vision of you and Laxus already down and Evergreen getting taken out, and the babies were floating around me like I was there. When it ended, I grabbed Mira and teleported. All I thought of was that you needed me, and I had to get to you."

"You were really there?" he whispered softly. "I thought I was hallucinating. I saw you, well you were transparent mostly, but I saw you. That's why I said I loved you. I figured it was the last time I'd get to say it."

"I was there, baby. At least, a part of me was." Lucy shuddered as she started remembering what happened next, and dreading telling him the story.

"What happened after you got there?"

"Mira ran off, and I summoned Capricorn and Virgo. It's just as she said, but I also ran off to get to you. You were surrounded by a pool of blood, your clothes were torn up. I tried calling out to you, but you didn't answer…" She took a shaky breath, but pushed through the pain she remembered at seeing him almost dead. "I saw you barely breathing, so I called out to your babies and had them carry you off to Virgo so she could patch you up. I heard that same voice that told you it could help when your magic was released. It said our souls were the same and that it would help me, so I let it. I sent Capricorn back, knowing I wouldn't need his help. Mira had been knocked down… and… and I…"

"Take your time, baby… It's okay…" Bickslow whispered. He could feel Lucy shaking as she remembered what happened.

She gave him a short nod. "I was glowing, my whole body was glowing green, but my eyes were gold." She could see it all. Not from her perspective, but as if she was standing outside of herself and watching the events unfold. "I told it to come to me, and it listened. As soon as it was in front of me I… Oh god!" she shouted, the images of what she did running rapidly through her mind. Lucy's hands shot to her head as she tried to block them out. The grin that spread across her face when it was close. She looked evil. Tears poured down her eyes as she watched again and again. She had to tell him. Bickslow would help her somehow, she just knew it. "I… grinned at it. I looked like I was insane! Then, I saw its soul, its black soul, and my grin just got wider. I had scared the wyvern!"

"Baby, just stop for now it's fi—"

"Magic was pouring off of me. It was gold and green, but there was something darker about it. I asked if it wanted to know what happens when someone hurts you… And it whimpered." She heard the maniacal laughter she'd let out echoing through her memory, and it made her feel sick. "I laughed… Then I called your babies back and they lifted me up to its face." Lucy was shaking with the fear she felt looking at herself like that. "I said… No one hurts Bickslow… And then I… Oh my god!" Lucy ripped herself away from Bickslow's grasp, tumbling in the grass and crying. "What did I do?!"

Bickslow scrambled over to her, trying to pull her into his lap again. He never would have asked if he had known this was going to happen. She seemed to be coming apart at the seams. Barely holding on. Bickslow rolled her onto her back, and grabbed her hands, shouting, "Lucy! Look at me!"

Lucy's eyes shot open, glowing a bright gold. The memory of what she had done kept playing in her mind, and she couldn't make it stop.

When Lucy's eyes opened, Bickslow felt their surroundings change. He looked up and saw the field where he almost died. It seemed as though everything was frozen. Lucy was in floating in front of the wyvern, scowling at it, and Mira was across the field completely panic-stricken. Time seemed to resume and he watched what was tearing Lucy apart.

Lucy's face was drawn into a terrifying scowl as she glared at the beast. Mira heard it whimper again, but it didn't move. The air was thick with some unknown magical pressure that seemed to be sucked in toward Lucy's body. She raised her hand as if she was about to pet the beast, and Mira's eyes widened when she saw a small green and gold ball of light appear in Lucy's palm.

Once the magic was gathered in her hand, Lucy gently placed her palm on the beast's snout. She watched happily as the light traveled through its body, filling it completely until it glowed. Lucy giggled at the strangled cries it made. "Goodbye," she whispered.

With Lucy's final word, the beast shattered into millions of tiny motes of light that drifted into the sky and disappeared. Mira sat in shock as Bickslow's totems lowered the blonde to the ground, and could only stare as the glow surrounding her slowly faded.

Lucy smiled softly, feeling content that the threat to Bickslow's life had been handled. Thank you for giving me strength, she silently said to the voice that had helped her. She was exhausted, bone-weary, but she had to know that Bickslow was okay. She could still feel Virgo's drain on her magic, so she knew that her spirit was with the injured group. Lucy's gaze rested on Mira, who sat stone still on the ground with her mouth hanging open. She swiftly walked over to the Takeover mage and helped her up. "Come on, Mira," she whispered gently, "Let's go see our men."

Mira nodded absently, still staring at Lucy. She was back to normal. Her eyes weren't glowing, there was no excess magic radiating from her, and though she seemed tired, she was still smiling her regular Lucy smile. Only one thing had changed: a streak of blue ran through Lucy's hair.

As soon as the memory ended, the field disappeared and Bickslow was back with Lucy. His shattered and distraught Lucy.

"She w-was right… I'm a m-m-monster…" Lucy sobbed. She had no clue how she could have forgotten about what she had done to that beast. Something inside of her had snapped while she recalled it, and she didn't know if she could ever put it back into place. "Please… P-Please forgive m-me…"

Bickslow stared in shock as Lucy begged him to forgive her. She hadn't done anything wrong. It was her first time channeling his magic, and she was freaking out over him almost dying. It could have been a lot worse. He quickly pulled her up into his arms, tucking her head against his chest as she continued to cry. "Listen to me, Lucy… Are you listening?" he said softly, running his hands through her hair.

She nodded meekly, trying to stop the cries and tears that kept coming.

"Mira was wrong. You're not a monster. And there's nothing to forgive you for. You saved my life, along with my entire team's. You saved Mira's life, and her and Laxus' baby. It may have been scary to see, but you saved all of us." He didn't know what else he could say to make her understand, but he knew it wasn't over.

"B-But I… I just…" Lucy had no words to express herself.

"You did what had to be done, and I'm proud of you," he whispered into her ear. He could only hope that he was telling her what she needed to hear.

Instead of comfort, Lucy got angry. "Proud of me?! How could you be proud of me?! I turned into a psychotic freak and killed that wyvern! I laughed as it died!" She ripped herself away from his arms again, and sat looking at her body as if it was covered in the beast's blood. Lucy felt like it was. The wyvern's blood was on her hands, and she could practically see it. Clean, have to get clean… Lucy scrambled to her feet and rushed into the water nearby.

"Lucy!" Bickslow shouted as he ran after her. He watched in horror as she vigorously scrubbed her arms, using her nails as a means to clean herself without soap. "Shit. Lucy stop!"

"Monster. I'm a monster… Gotta clean the blood off," she whispered to herself, not understanding why she couldn't get her hands clean. "If I'm clean then—"

Bickslow rushed into the water, wrapped his arms around hers and dragged her back to the shore while she thrashed around trying to get free. Once there, he pinned her to the ground, straddling her legs and pinning each of her hands with his. Even through it all, she still screamed and tried to break free.

"LET ME GO!" she shouted, begging him to let her finish.

"NO!"

"Please, Bickslow… Please let me go…" she sobbed, her body finally starting to tire after fighting him for so long. "I have to clean it off…"

"Clean what off? You practically ripped your arms open!" Bickslow was beyond scared for her. He was watching Lucy play out everything that he had kept bottled up for years, and she was going through it all in a matter of minutes.

"I killed it. I can see the blood on my hands… I have to…" Lucy hiccupped, her cries intensifying until she couldn't speak. She wished he would let her go, she couldn't explain it right then because she was too upset. But, Bickslow had to know what she was.

"There's no blood on you, baby," Bickslow whispered. "I promise, there's nothing there."

"Wh-Why can I see it th-then?" she asked. That part of her that had said he could make it better was back, telling her to let him help. She wanted his help more than anything, but couldn't get the words out.

"Because you feel guilty." He placed a soft kiss to her forehead. "I'll let your hands go if you promise not to try and get the blood off, okay?" He felt like his whole world was spinning, but decided maybe he just needed to help her see that everything would be alright.

Lucy nodded quickly.

When Bickslow let her hands go, his instantly brought them up to where he could see the damage she had done. There were only a couple deep gashes running down her arms, but he sighed in relief to see that most of the marks hadn't even broken the skin.

Lucy closed her eyes when Bickslow started to look at her arms. He was staring at them, examining all the blood that was on her hands from that fight.

He stole a glance at Lucy and saw her face filled with shame. He had an idea, but didn't know if it would work. "Lucy, you said there's blood on you?"

She looked back at him and nodded, silently crying.

"Would you like my help to get it off?" he asked softly, sincerely. "I can help you." He rubbed his thumbs along her hands in soothing circles.

"Please… I can't do it alone…" she whispered.

"Okay, let's get back in the water and I'll help you clean up." In reality, he needed to clean the wounds she had made, but if it helped her see that she was clean—in her own eyes—then he would have to play along. Bickslow slowly got up, then picked Lucy up and carried her into the water with him. When the water was up to their chests, he set her down and said, "Give me your hands, baby. I'll get all the blood off."

Lucy nodded, her eyes wide as she watched Bickslow massage his hands up and down her arms. His touch made the blood she saw slowly disappear, washed away in the water surrounding them. When he had finished, he brought each hand up to his mouth and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles.

"Better?" he asked as Lucy stared at her hands.

"It's gone…" she whispered in amazement. She looked up at Bickslow and finally smiled, "You took it away!" Unable to contain her happiness, Lucy jumped at Bickslow, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately.

After a few minutes, he pulled away to rest his forehead against hers. "I'll always be here for you," he whispered. "You'll never go through anything alone."

Lucy gave him a heartwarming smile and said, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

---

And, that's Chapter 21! All kinds of new things. Random post-fight sex, Bickslow got his mom back, and Lucy loses her marbles. Tell me what you think! Also, if the beginning seemed a little slow or dopey, it's because I didn't know where I wanted to start, and didn't want to just jump into them on the mission. *shrug*

Review, Favorite, Follow. You know the drill! (Also, the final chapter of When I Was Your Man will be posted by Sunday night)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!