Star and Iron

by Frozen Silver Moonlight

Change is always a double edged sword. It can bring you good things or bad things. It just depends on how you decided to use that change. Lucy knew that and yet she still does not know what to think about Gajeel Redfox nor does he know what to think about her! Doubled edge sword indeed! (Is back on track!)

37. It Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Fairy Tail characters that honor belongs to Hiro Mashima!

I do own the Original Characters (Ocs) that appear in this story and the plot~

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Chapter 37: It Begins

Night had finally fallen faster than Lucy had expected.

She was certain that time was against her. And it was not allowing her to relax from the events from earlier that day. The blonde still felt the tension surging in her body as she sat in the room. The reason she felt this way was because of the plan that was discussed between them and Seirios-san. She could not believe that the body guard had so easily suggested allowing Hitomu to participate in it. She was still very appalled that the little boy's body guard had urged them to use Hitomu as bait. The Fairy Tail mages were all against the idea, but both Seirios-san and Hitomu would not budge away from the idea, so in order to ease her mind and the minds of her two partners the blonde volunteered to act as bait too. She offered herself to be in the room with him, stating perhaps if the culprit would take her instead since she was a mage.

She was betting on it.

If their assumption was correct that the culprit was only attacking the civilians because there was a lack of mages then Lucy would be a much better steal than a non-magical boy. Her brown eyes shifted over to the Dragon Slayer and the Exceed. Both paled as she stated her belief and there was no disagreement that there was a higher possibility that she would be taken. And she knew that the other two realized the truth to her thinking too. Gajeel's face had lost its color as soon as she suggested it and he was still very against the plan of using anyone as bait. He did not want to risk her life either, but Lucy argued against him. It was a long and tedious thing to do because they could have been using that time to plan and not argue. She understood that he was worried for her safety and she would have done the same thing if he was the one, but their priority was saving this place. Eventually, she managed to get him to agree by reminded him that she was more than capable of defending herself.

And besides, she was positive he would find her no matter where she ended up.

That made her partner feel a little better, but it was not enough to last him the rest of the afternoon. She could tell he was still sour about the whole thing, but he stayed quiet knowing that she would not change her mind. The blonde felt bad that she was putting this extra worry on his and Lily's shoulders. There was the potential of something going wrong and of someone losing their life. Yeah, she was sure Gajeel was a nervous wreck of worry even now.

She would have to make it up to him somehow.

Still that would best be thought about until later. Lucy sighed as she fixed herself into a more comfortable spot on the bed she was sitting on. She had been so wrapped up in thinking about earlier that she did not noticed her butt had fallen asleep on her until those annoying tingles happened. As she moved she caught the sound of pages being flipped. Oh, that was right Hitomu on the bed next to her. She turned to look at him. He was searching through the same book he held earlier in his hands and he did not seemed bothered by her sudden movement. The little boy looked so calm even though they were sitting here waiting for something dangerous to come attack them. It was like his life being in danger was a trivial matter. His overall demeanor was making the Celestial mage wonder what this child been through if he show little fear that a killer was after him.

"I found it!" He squealed in delight suddenly and almost scaring her. Still she was able to hide her sudden fright. "Look, I found the page in the story where I stopped!"

"That's good." The ex-heiress allowed a small smiled to grace her face. Even as she spoke with him her eyes subconsciously glanced towards the window. She could see the full moon illuminating the night sky. She was glad it was out because that meant more light. She wondered if Gajeel could see it from where he was hiding outside. "Do you want me to read it to you?"

"Yes!" The boy sat on his bed. He patted the empty space next to him telling her to sit by him.

"Okay, let's see." She took the book from his hands and looked down at the picture of a crying maiden. It was vivid in colors and the image looked like it could pop out of the page at any given moment. She shook her thoughts clear and she began to read. "The maiden cried when she realized that the culprit was her former lover. He was the one who was behind all of the misfortune happening in the world below. She knew that she had to do something to save his soul and to stop the madness."

"Poor lady, that sounds like a hard choice."

The blonde silently nodded in agreement as she continued to read the story.

"She laid there pondering what she could do to stop him. She thought to tell the king, but she knew that would end badly. They would hunt him down mercilessly and kill him. She could not bear the thought of the horrible death that awaited him. He may have committed bad deed, but she wanted him to have a quick death at least." Lucy took a deep breath, but a part of her wanted to stop reading. This book was not kid friendly, but Hitomu urged her on with his eyes. "She had to be the one to stop him since in a sense it was her fault. She had left him behind with a broken heart. She was the reason he fell into the clutches of darkness. It had to be her that should end it and she would do that. He would die a quick and painless death by her hands."

"That's so sad. She has to kill the guy she once liked." Hitomu whispered his eyes filled with sympathy as he looked at the image. "Can you imagine doing something like that? Would someone be able to do something like that?"

"I wouldn't want to imagine that. That is a thought that would never cross my mind."" Lucy replied her fingers sweeping over the image. "I don't understand why such a thought would cross her mind in the first place."

"It was her fault. So she is only taking responsibility for her actions." The boy kicked his legs in the air playfully. His orange eyes stared at her for a moment before they shifted to the image in the book. "She broke his heart so she needs to fix it."

"It's not her fault that her ex-lover decided to commit atrocities against mankind himself. I understand that she feels responsible, but it was not her fault. He chose to do those things and she is choosing to take blame and fix it. The fault is in the person who made the choice."

"I think she still holds some responsibility for his actions and killing him would atone for what her mistakes have caused. Mistakes should always be corrected and her answer is a logical one since it would put a complete stop to his violence."

"Killing is not always the answer." She whispered as she recalled the many times she had spared the lives of enemies she had fought against. She would never want to take someone's life away. It was not her choice to decide who live or died. "There is always another solution if you look hard enough for it."

"True, but if she spends all her time trying to find it more people would die. It's better to act quickly than to waste time." He turned to look up at Lucy with a small grin on his face. "Her choice, well I see it as an act of mercy."

"Mercy?" Her voice as filled with confusion and curiosity at his words. "How it is a mercy?"

"Yes, think about. The king would have killed him painfully for the bad things he did, but she doesn't want him to suffer. So he won't suffer she decided to end his life herself." He stated calmly his voice unwavering in emotion. He was quiet for a minute and the blonde thought he was done speaking to her, but then he whispered something so low that she almost didn't hear it. "What if someone you knew became bad and your only choice was to kill them?"

"I wouldn't want to kill them, but I get the point you are trying state." The Celestial Mage nodded as he eyes focused on the little boy. She suddenly felt like she was not talking to a little boy anymore. She could not understand how a kid could be thinking about things like that. "She is doing it for him and in a sense for herself too."

"Yes, she is. Or is she really?" The little boy tilted his head to the side asking another question that did not have a simple answer. "Could it be she is doing it for another reason?"

"Huh?"

"She could also be trying to rid herself of her own guilt." He added as he stopped kicking his legs in the air. He was still for a moment looking like he was contemplating something again. "Maybe she was afraid her new lover would blame her? Maybe she feared that her ex-lover's actions would be blamed on her as well?"

"You question her motives?"

"Yes, it's always good to question the motives of others. You never know what others are thinking inside their mind." He answered back. "I mean she is basically erasing the mistake she made from existence by getting rid of him."

Okay, where does this kid come up with such critical thinking questions?

"That just makes me question another thing in this story."

"And that is?" She asked as her eyes skimmed over the next page in the story.

"Do you think the guy she is going to kill will be able to forgive her for betraying him?"

"Yes, I think it's possible. After all forgiveness is a good thing because it can give a person a chance to move on and change for the better." The Celestial Mage stated with sincerity echoing in her voice. She knew that sometimes it was hard to forgive people, but she never failed to deny anyone forgiveness. She had forgiven and seen those she had forgiven change for the better. People do change. Gajeel, Laxus and Flare were prime examples from her life experience. "I have forgiven people before and it was worth it."

"Were they bad people?"

"No, they weren't bad people. They were just people who made some mistakes and did some bad things to me and my friends." She responded back her voice barely above a whisper. "I forgave them and now I am very good friends with those people."

"Really, you did something like that? You are really are something special Pretty Lady." The little boy grinned his orange eyes glittered with intrigue.

"No, I'm really not."

"Well, it takes a really special kind of person to forgive people who did bad things to them. I don't think I can do something like that. Someone who betrays others is not a good person to begin with. They deserve no forgiveness." His orange eyes lost their brightness and for a moment they looked like a pair of cold stones. Hitomu looked like he had been through hell and back. "I don't like traitors. I hate anyone who could become a traitor against those they care about. Like the girl in the story."

"She did nothing wrong and there was no betrayal involved. She simply fell in love with someone else. Something like love cannot be stopped no matter how hard you try too." The ex-heiress explained softly as she gazed at the boy next to her. "I know you're too young to possibly understand what I am trying to say, but you can't help who you love. When people fall in love there will always be broken hearts."

"Love? My parents were in love once and so was this person in the story, yet she left him for another. She should have stayed loyal to her first love." The boy said his eyes narrowing and his fist clenching into a fist. "If she can so easily betray the first she can do it again with the second and those after. Once a betrayer always a betrayer."

That was such a hopeless and dark view to have at such young age.

"That isn't a good way to think about things." Lucy closed the book and placed it on the bed. She could tell story time was over and that there was something that was bothering the young boy. It was something that this story brought out of him. "What if Seirios did something to upset you?"

"Seirios will never do anything that would make me sad. He is loyal, like a dog." His answer was quick with no hint of doubt. Okay, so this boy definitely trusted his body guard. At least that much was clear. "He is not like the first body guard I had. They left me with no second thoughts."

"Wait, you had another guard?" The blonde asked with honest surprise coloring her voice.

"Yes, a woman, but she proved to only be a bad person." The little boy's voice filled with anger and resent. "She left me to die. If it was not for Seirios I would be dead."

"Maybe she had a reason, a good reason?"

"I doubt it. She did to save herself." His tiny fist opened and reached over to curl around the bed sheet. "If I ever see that person again she will not be welcome by me."

"That's understandable."

"She also hurt Seirios. He really liked her. This is why I did promise Seirios that if we did ever meet her again she could be his servant, since he wants her to be with him. I won't like it, but I shall keep my word to him."

Mavis, that doesn't sound right to be.

She reached over and patted his back reassuringly. She could tell from the sound of his voice that under that anger and resentment was sadness and hurt. The reason he would not give traitors or people who had wrong him second chances was because of his previous body guard. She had hurt him so deeply that his view on people had been skewed to this and he was still hurt by those actions to this day. She felt bad for him and wanted to do something to comfort him. She wanted to stop the hurt he was feeling.

"She was like a mother to me you know." Hitomu smiled sadly his facial expression melting into something neutral. "I loved her so much and she said she loved me too. I believed her, that liar."

"Hitomu—" Lucy's sentence was cut off when she saw something from the corner of her eyes. She turned to the corner of the room. "Huh?"

"Is something wro—?"

"Shh, something is here. It's in the corner."

After she said that the little boy firmly closed his mouth as he followed her gaze to the corner of his bedroom. At first it looked like the Celestial Mage had just seen things. Maybe it had been a trick of her mind after all, but then she saw it again. It was a shadow moving weirdly like it was alive. It was twisting around like something was trying to get out from there. Yes, this was an enemy she quickly concluded. The ex-heiress quickly stood up going into a defensive stance in front of Hitomu. They stayed still, waiting for something to happen. Finally, the strange shadow stopped moving and just floated there for a few seconds until something else happened. It began to take shape. It took the shape of a man with no clear facial features, except for one thing. Its glowing eyes were the only thing visible on it and its gaze was set on her. She shivered when such dead sinister eyes gazed at her.

She waited for it to attack only to have Hitomu speak again.

"Do you hear that? Do you hear its voice?" The little boy asked his voice filled with fright. "He's calling me and you."

At first she wanted to deny that she heard anything from this creature of darkness. That would have made this experience all the more frightening and real. Well it was as real as it can get now. She spared a glance at the orange eye boy. He was staring at the shadow and at the same time waiting expectantly for her to answer his question. She would not lie. She heard it too. It was a sweet voice beckoning her to follow it. She didn't want to follow it. All her instincts were telling her that this thing was dangerous and that she should be as far away from it was possible.

She did nothing.

And she wanted to do something, but her body was frozen. It felt as though her limbs had suddenly to be made out of lead instead of flesh. After realizing that she could not move the blonde notice something else was happening to her body. There was a tingling feeling that began to itch at her from under her skin and it spread through her limbs much like a poison would. For a moment, her mind began to panic and then it went about formulating a plan. A plan that would undo whatever was happening to her and mostly importantly one that would keep them safe. And yet as soon as her mind began to play out the best solution to her predicament her mind ceased to work. She felt like static was interfering with thinking.

That was not even the bad thing.

The worst part was the fog that formed inside her mind. Well, it looked like fog in her mind's eye. Whatever it was made her mind hazy and her eyes fell to be half opened. She couldn't think enough to come up with an escape plan, but she was aware of what happening around her. The voice whispered to her again, sounding off in her mind loudly and clear and she responded back with an involuntary step forward. Her mind filled with the strange feeling of wanting to comply with whatever this voice demanded of her. She did not honestly understand what was happening.

Had she fallen under some sort of spell?

If so, how could she break it?

More thoughts entered her mind, but they were brushed aside when she was beckon forward again. She tried to go against it, but her body was no longer her own and her mind was in a lethargic and amenable state. Basically, she had no will power to go against it just yet. Damn, this was a bad situation her and Hitomu were in. She had fallen right into the monster grasp without her even knowing it and all it had to do was speak to her. The blonde want to curse this shit to oblivion, but she paused when she felt grasped her hand. She bit her lip reminding herself she had to protect this child. As they walked towards his bedroom door she vowed they would get out of this alive. She just had to break the spell the voice had set on her.

Another call for her and another step forward.

Come to me. I promise you nothing but paradise sweet soul.

And she stepped into the awaiting darkness.

---

Gajeel Redfox was torn in two.

The Iron Dragon Slayer really did not like how the day had turned out. Sure, it was good that they now had something that could lead them to a solving this job and ending the death toll. Yes, stopping a killer was a good thing, but there was just one thing about the whole procedure that bothered him. And that was the plan they were using to stop this. He really did not like this plan. The reason he didn't was because it involved being separated from his mate-to-be.

And yet it was mostly the only choice they had.

He knew that this whole operation of finding the culprit was relying on him, specifically his keen sense of smell. It was all on his shoulders to be able to track brat and his Bunny to wherever they ended up. The rational side of his mind told him that the plan was a good plan. It was a sensible choice of action in order to get the job done and lower the chances of causalities. He knew this was true and yet there was a disagreement in his mind. His other side, the side of a Dragon Slayer that was mixed with a man, was against this. It was like tiny worms were eating his insides with their sharp little teeth as he thought about putting Lucy in such a dangerous predicament. It was a fifty-fifty chance that it would succeed or fail.

Yeah, he really did not like this plan.

He had tried to convince her to use Gemini as a stand in since they would be able to copy her effortlessly and could stay in contact with her. The ex-heiress understood his reasoning, but the blonde had refused stating that it was a risk. She had explained that the Celestial Spirit could only be out for so long before they disappeared from the human world. And if they disappeared back into the Celestial realm then Hitomu would be left defenseless and alone. Plus, there was a chance that Gajeel could lose the little boy's scent since he was not familiar with the boy's smell as he was with Lucy's.

Okay, those were some good reasons she had told him, but he was still reluctant to agree. Her last point was probably the most prominent one his Bunny had stated. And that was that she was not going to allow the brat to be by himself and thus she had to be there with him if something happened to protect him. He caved in because he had no other choice and put his trust in the plan. That did not mean he was having still having second thoughts about it. Damn, he was having those second thoughts. The Iron Dragon Slayer still wanted to call this thing off and find another way to stop this psycho jerk. He wanted to try something else that would keep Lucy safe, but there was no other way.

No other fucking way!

Night had fallen some ago since he had left the blonde inside the home of the Brat. Lily was floating near the house so he could give off the alarm if he saw anything. And he was stuck hiding in the bushes waiting anxiously for something to happen for the past hour. He hated just waiting because he didn't like how it made him feel. His nerves were electrified with anxiousness, thus it made him twitchy, really twitchy. Gajeel was beyond worried about Lucy being all alone inside the house with just a brat for protection. It was not that he did not doubt her capabilities as a mage. He knew she was more than capable of beating the shit out of someone, but he could not shake the bad feeling. It was the feeling the air that was causing his dragon instincts to go haywire.

He knew had this thought before, but he had to say it again: something was very wrong in this town.

"I'm sure the young miss is fine." A voice spoke beside him, reminding him that there was another person with him and Lily. It was the brat's butler—er, body guard Seirios, who was waiting with him in the bushes. "She is a mage and mage's are always putting their lives on the line. They must be ready to face death."

"I know." Gajeel replied his red eyes fixated on the window. He did not need to be reminded of the occupational hazards of being a mage. He knew them all too well. "I know that, but that doesn't make this situation any better. We may be mages, but we're people too."

"You seem to be quite fond of Miss Heartfilia?"

"And what of it?" The Dragon Slayer replied testily. It was quite obvious to anyone with eyes that he liked the blonde Celestial Mage.

"I dare say you two behave more like lovers than just mere partners." His green eyes shone brightly like a cats in the dark. "If I may be so forward by asking, what is the relationship between you and her?"

"None of your fucking business."

"Ah, so you are lovers." He grinned widely, his teeth glinting in the moonlight. "I can tell from your answer that you have kept this relationship hidden."

"How the hell could you—"

"I am very good at reading behavior and body gestures. It comes from the years of being a guard. You must always be prepared for any form of danger that could come. And knowing to spot certain behaviors, gestures, tone in voices and even emotions in the eyes has proven to be a helpful tool in my line of work."

"I can understand." Gajeel nodded in agreement. "I hope Bunny Girl and the brat are doing fine."

"It is quite natural for a person to be worried about a love one." The guard stated his own eyes lifting up towards the bedroom window belonging to the Brat. "I know the feeling very well and I can also relate to the feeling of failure when you are not able to protect that person."

"I won't fail her." The Iron Dragon Slayer growled in assurance. He would not fail to protect her. Not now, not ever. "I won't allow anything bad to happen to her."

The guard chuckled, which did not sit well with the Fairy Tail Mage since he had said nothing funny.

"What the fuck is so damn funny?"

"Sorry, I just find your belief of being able to protect the young lady from everything to be a tad bit on the naive side." Seirios explained simply. He did not even flinch when Gajeel turned to look at him with a heated glare. That pissed off the Dragon Slayer. "You cannot protect something or even someone from everything in this world."

"What do you know?"

"I know plenty, Redfox-san." He grinned somberly as his eyes looked off into the distance. "I too once shared the same naïve idea long ago, until it was shattered one night."

"Huh?"

"There once was someone I held in high regard. It was someone who I held above Hitomu-sama." He released a sigh his voice becoming neutral, but for a moment Gajeel heard the sadness buried beneath all that neutrality. Oh, this man was capable showcasing emotions. "This person was the first guard Hitomu-sama had."

"The kid had another guard before you?" The red eyed man asked. He was clearly surprised by the new information. "There was someone else?"

"Yes, this person was with Hitomu-sama since he was born. It was someone who Hitomu-sama trusted more than anything in the world. And when I met this person I could not help but also fall for that endearing light that surrounded their aura."

"Sounds like this guard was also top notch."

"Yes, she was an exceptional person."

"She?" The Dragon Slayer's eyes widen with a small amount shock. He had heard of female body guards before, but they were considered quite uncommon. It was rare for a female to find occupation as a body guard because the rich and others that need the extra protection from assassinations or kidnap attempts would hire a man. Since a man has more psychical strength and looked much more threatening than a woman. "The brat's first body guard was a woman?"

"Yes, but she had been with Master Hitomu since birth. And she had been protecting him far longer than I have. Yet, if you were to see her you would not expect her to be dangerous." He chuckled a little. And shit, Gajeel was positive he saw those green eyes of the body guard brighten considerable as he continued to speak about this female. He almost looked happy. "If I remembered correctly I pointed out how tiny she was compared to me and told her she would not even be at my skill level."

"So you are a downright bastard then?"

"No, I'm just blunt. And she didn't like my comment one bit. She hated it so much that she played a cruel, humiliating trick on me to show me just how skillful she was." The body guard could not hide the fondness seeping through his voice as he spoke. "I still can believe it to this day that she got me."

"Oh?"

"I woke up with neon pink hair, cat features drawn onto my face, and my clothes glued to my body. And above my head was some sort of light magic hat that spelled out victory in bright bold letters." The blacked haired guard shook his head his green eyes shining with mirth. "I think I spent a week trying to get all the stuff off. I never underestimated her again."

"Shit, that's brilliant." The Iron Dragon Slayer chuckled. "That must have been embarrassing."

"Yes, but it was not long after that when I noticed something she was hiding."

"She was hiding something?"

"In this job you can only see so many things for so long until it begins to affect you. I think you can relate to that right?"

"Yeah, I have seen some shit that was plain horrid." The Dragon Slayer answered honestly. Hell, he had done some shit that was so immoral that he was sure his own dragon parent would have skewered him for it. "It's another occupational hazard."

"Yes and that occupational hazard had gotten to her over the long years. She had become tired of all the violence and bloodshed in our lives." Seirios voice lowered to above a whisper. His voice as losing all its life as he continued to speak. "She wanted out of that life. She wanted change."

"Makes sense."

"Indeed, it does. So much so that when she began to tell me her feelings of wanting to leave, of wanting to give our master a peaceful life I agreed. She spoke the truth, but I was not agreeing for Master Hitomu." He paused and smiled softly as he continued with his tale. "That was the moment when I saw how vulnerable she really was and I wanted to protect her. She had become more than just a colleague to me. "

"You and her?"

"I wanted too and I think she wanted too as well, but there was the Master we had to think about." His lips morphed into a thin line eyes dimming. "I didn't want to get in between them."

"In between them?"

"Their bond, I did not want to interfere with their bond. It was almost like that of a mother's with her child. He did see her as her mother, which is why we were so hesitant to do anything in the romance department. Work was a big issue too."

"Did the brat forbid you or something?" The Fairy Tail Mage asked as he listened for any trouble happening outside of the conversation. Lily was still floating around in the sky.

"No, I don't think Master Hitomu would have minded us as a couple, but that was never explored."

"You make it sound like the girl died or something." Gajeel stated without thinking and if Lucy were there she would have smacked him across the head for his insensitivity as she puts it. The expression on Seirios' face was one could described as a mixture of rage and inner torture. "She did then?"

"No, what happened was worse than her dying."

What was worse than death?

Gajeel had no clue.

"She ended up doing something Hitomu-sama will never forgive her for. I can't forgive her either." The guard of the little boy clenched his fist in obvious anger. "She betrayed him when he needed her most and left him to die.

"What?"

"Like I said she betrayed him—and she betrayed me too. I still do not know why she did it, but she disappeared shortly after that." He replied grimly his bright green eyes dulling to a cooler green with no life in it. "It has been many, many years since I have last seen her, but I know our paths will cross again. When that happens Hitomu-sama promised me that I could have her even though he rather see her dead."

"If you meet her again that is, there is no guarantee that you will. Especially, if she as skilled as you said she is." Gajeel responded. He glanced at the man next to him, who looked detached from the world now. "I mean she hasn't contacted you all these years, so she's either dead or wants to remain away from you guys."

"We will." The man named Seirios did not bother to argue against the Dragon Slayer's words and Gajeel did not miss the conviction in the guard's voice. He sounded so sure, so very sure. "We will because I found a clu—"

"Gajeel!" Lily's voice rang from above them cutting off whatever the dark haired man was going to say, but the Dragon Slayer didn't care. The pair of males hiding in the bushes looked up to see the flying cat going towards them with a frantic look on his furry face. "They're walking out the door!"

"What?" Gajeel whispered as he looked over the bush he was hiding behind. He looked towards the house and sure enough he saw what Lily was describing. His Lucy was being led out the door by the brat, who held her hand as they walked. They were following behind what looked like to be a shadowy form. "What's that?"

"I don't know, but I can't really make out any features on it. Magic?" Seirios suggested as he left the shrubbery as well. His eyes were focused on the pair on the street. "It has to be some form of magic from the looks of it."

"I think it is." Lily landed on Gajeel's shoulders. His orange eyes were focused on the blonde woman that made up Team Iron Star. "Nothing entered through the window so I can only assume it was inside already."

"Impossible, I swept the house up and down. I found no evidence of a possible break in or anyone hiding in the house." The guard's eyes widen with surprise before he recomposed himself. "There is no way that thing could have gotten in or escaped my search. Maybe you were not paying attention and it slipped in."

"Don't insult my cat."

"You know the more you two run your mouths the greater the chance we have of losing them." Lily intervened when he saw the two were getting ready to get in a verbal argument. "Remember there are lives on the line."

The two looked at the cat and felt slightly embarrassed that they forgot why they were on a mission in the first place. Seriously they were acting like fools. They silently nodded and followed Lucy and Hitomu as closely as they were able too. They did not want to get too close to tip off whatever they were following. Gajeel instinctively took a whiff and found something disturbing. That shadow thing had no scent what so ever and that was strange because everything had a scent even the dead. Damn, his bad feeling ten-folded with each step he took and a single thought entered his mind.

It was going to be near damn difficult to out of this pace in one piece.

---

Lucy's mind was no longer fogged up like it had been when she was inside Hitomu's home.

The spell that was place on her was completely gone. How she ended up out of the spell was something that could be simply explained. You see, when she and Hitomu were following behind the shadow thing in front of them the little boy had done something to her. He had accidently stepped on her on her left foot very hard. It was hard enough that the pain from his small feet shot up through her body like a bunch of needle sharp pins and the shock broke the spell. To put it short, she was rudely brought back into reality though that was not a bad thing. She was now in control of her body again.

She returned the favor to the little boy by lightly pinching him out of the spell stupor. It did not take long for him to come back to reality. She put her finger to his lips in order to tell him to keep quiet and he did. Hitomu did blink his orange eyes rapidly before they focused on the thing they were following and nodded in understanding. She removed her finger, saying nothing else. She did have to wonder if the shadow had not noticed that its spell had worn off them. She was sure it had since a mage was able to sense when one of their spells had ceased. Maybe it knew that they would not leave? Or maybe it did not care one bit?

Well, she was not going to leave because she had to do this to figure out what was happening in the town of Sida.

And so they continued to walk behind it without saying a word. Still the blonde felt like there were constant chills going up her spine every passing second. She hated this feeling and she hated having to look at this spirit-like thing they were following. Lucy was beginning to form an aversion to anything that resembled the entity in front of her. At first she believed that a Celestial Spirit was involved in this situation, but that suspicion was quickly tossed out. This shadowy ghost-like thing was not like her spirits at all. This entity in front of her gave her no warm feeling like Loke and her other spirit friend's did.

The blonde could feel the coldness and lifelessness creeping off the figure in front of her in waves. Mavis, she wanted nothing more than get herself and Hitomu away from this dreadful thing. That was not an option. Stick to the plan she told herself and stay focus because she had to protect Hitomu. Speaking of the little boy, he had been extremely well behaved. She glanced down him and he looked anything, but scared. He just eyed the shadow in front of them with disinterest. His tiny, child face was calm and collected. He didn't even flinch when the thing looked back at them for a second. Seriously, this kid was really brave.

And here she was not trying to freak out because they were being led further and further away from the lights of the town into darkness. They were being led to some place where it would be hard to find help or escape. And yet what bother the Celestial Mage the most was how Hitomu was acting during this time. His tranquility over the entire situation sort of unnerved her a bit. No child should be acting this in such circumstances.

Then again maybe he had gotten use to being in dangerous situations. Seirios-san had mentioned the boy was no stranger to life being threaten and he had to have a bodyguard for a reason. So perhaps these situations had become something that was deemed a normal occurrence for Hitomu. She shook her head. There was no point in her wondering about Hitomu's strange behavior or life experiences. She needed to focus at the task at hand, so she decided to stop looking at him. Her brown eyes scanned over their surroundings and noticed that the amount homes on the street were dwindling. Great, they were going to end up isolated away from prying ears. She tried not to think about what horrors laid before them when they reached their destination.

Besides, Gajeel would not let anything happen to her.

She knew the Iron Dragon Slayer, Lily and Seirios-san were probably on their trail already. She found some peace with that thought, though the Fairy Tail Mage understood that she was the first line of defense and offense if anything occurred to them. She was the only who could protect Hitomu if something went wrong. She was there and so were her spirits so nothing was going to go wrong. They were going to be okay.

Right?

Lucy shook her head again trying to clear her head. She could not afford to be thinking negative thoughts. If she began to think like that it was likely she would make a mistake when the time came to fight. She would be causing her own self-fulfilling prophecy of failing this job before she even got to the end. She had to keep her thoughts positive. She took a breath trying to calm her racing heart. Damn, why did this have such an unsettling feeling about it? She blamed her recent dream of Yukino for her new jitters over this job. Or maybe she should really put the blame on the shadowy figure in front of her. She had plenty of reasons to be afraid of this figure in front of her. She had already established in her mind that this was not a Celestial Spirit. In fact, another thing that disturbed her was that this thing that it did not give off a magic signature at all. She could not even decipher the gender of the shapeless shadow. And she found herself asking some questions?

Was it real?

Or was it some form of illusion magic?

Or was it some sort of evil entity?

Even with these questions going through her mind she ended up looking away from the thing in front of her. Her gaze fell back on to Hitomu who was still holding her hand. The boy still had the same expression on his face since they had left the house. That brought Lucy back to the conversation she had with him in his room earlier. It was a conversation she had not expected to have with him. The hurt that was laced in the young boy's voice when he spoke of his previous guard was still audible to her even now. He had mentioned his parents as if they were nothing, but the nameless female guard was not just a mere mention. The amount of emotion swirling in his orange eyes told her that the boy still thought about this nameless woman constantly. She saw the conflict still raging inside him—the conflict of the complete utter adoration and love he felt going against the hatred he felt for the nameless woman. It was still bothering him today.

She felt bad for the poor kid.

He was still hurting over something that happened so long ago.

"Almost there, almost to paradise you sweet souls."

The shadow figure whispered sweetly like a parent promising a child something fantastical or like a lover about to bring you sweet, undying bliss. They were enticing words that lulled you towards them without much effort. If Lucy did not know this was possibly a life or death situation she would have been enthralled completely by the idea of paradise. The idea of leaving everything bad in the world behind was such a nice idea, but then again.

"Paradise is near for you sweet souls. Once in paradise you will never have to worry about anything. Life for you will be full of good things and it will easy."

Life is full of good things, but it can't always be full of good things. Everything needed a something to balance it out. Where there are good things there are bad things. Just like light cannot exist without darkness and darkness cannot exist without light. Life is never easy. The last of the Heartfilia knew that better anyone. Life is and will never truly easy.

"You'll be in paradise."

She had dreamt paradise before. Long ago when she was a child she had a dream of a world far beyond the horizon where the land was lush with beautiful tress and meadows filled with flowers of every color imaginable. Animals of every kind live together in harmony. There was no such thing as sadness, anger, regret and any other type of negative emotion in the world she dreamt. And there was no feeling of loneliness. Yes, she had dreamt of a paradise where she never was alone. It was a paradise where she could be with one of the most important people in her life, her mother.

When her mother was alive the world was like paradise to Lucy. She was always happy, but like everything in the world misery had befallen it. Her perfectly constructed paradise was damaged by an onslaught fire of sadness when her mother died. It was burned to a crisp. And whenever she thought of her paradise all she saw was endless burnt ash. Nothing had survived. She tried not to think about it, but that longing to have it again was always with her.

She did try to make another. She really did. She hoped that her and her father could recreate what they had share with their Layla Hearfilia, but that prove useless. No matter how many times she tried to break him out from his depression he never budged. So lost hope on that idea, at least with her father. The most logical thing to do is search elsewhere. So she searched and searched and searched, yet it seemed fruitless as the years went by. No matter how much she searched never did she feel the rays of the warm sun or find the blossoms of pretty flowers ever again. She felt like what was destroyed would never be regained, until she met Natsu and Happy that day in Hargeon Town.

That was when she found it, her hope.

That tiny speck of hope was all that was need for her paradise to open up again. The hope had been was buried among the ashes in her imagined inner paradise and it was in the form of a new sprouting bud gave her some brightness again. Natsu and the rest of the Fairy Tail guild helped her heal. And her new dream of paradise began to be born from the old. She began to dream of always being happy with them around, but then all that shit happened. And that caused her image of paradise began to wither again in a few areas, yet she knew this was bound to happen again. Like her parents had told her plenty of times before: Life is never easy so that means that life in paradise would never be easy. Besides, the cycle would repeat itself eventually.

Paradise would be found and then destroyed, she found herself thinking of her paradise and now all she could see was the image of a smirking Gajeel by her side—

Srchk!

Lucy instinctively was brought out from her thoughts when she heard the sound of an old rusty iron door being opened. The blonde looked around her finally noticing that her surroundings had completely changed. When that had happened she did not know and she didn't dwell on it too long. She no longer saw any structures of warm homes lined up on the street with streetlights shining away some of the darkness. She saw nothing but dying trees and shrubbery. And in front of her was an old abandon looking warehouse with shattered windows. She really was in the middle of nowhere.

How was this paradise?

"Here, it is beyond this door." The shadowy figure pulled it opened wide, but nothing was visible beyond the open door. "All you have to do is take a couple of steps and you'll be there. You'll be in paradise."

And then the little boy that had been silent throughout this journey had finally spoken.

"There is no such thing as paradise." Hitomu whispered lowly squeezing her hand as he took his steps forward. "It is a fool's dream."

It was a dream that so many wish to find in reality.

---

Gajeel had always liked to walked, but at the moment he hated it.

He probably only hated because with all this walking and no stopping meant there was a higher chance for his Bunny to be attacked by that shadowy figure. Yeah, he did not like these odds at all. The Iron Dragon Slayer had no idea how much longer they were going to be walking. It had been more than 30 minutes, he assumed so, since they have been trailing behind Bunny Girl and the kid, but so far there had not been any sign of the culprit or of this shadow figure. The only thing it was doing was leading them to the outskirts of town. Seriously, they had left civilization a long time ago.

The buildings had diminished to a couple scattered around. Some were destroyed, others were half standing or old and some looked like the only the foundation remained. It was like that for a bit, until they reached the trail covered in gravel. He had to make sure to lighten his steps or the noise of his boots walking over it could make a lot of noise and give away their location. Still he found himself on edge. This trail felt unnerving for some odd reason. Okay, maybe he did have a reason for feeling creep out by this trail. He had noticed the further they had walked on the trail that the trees shrubs were dead. Some of the other plant life looked like they were slowly loosing life with each step they took. It seriously went from lush full trees to dead naked and rotting trees in a few minutes.

Something was definitely killing the trees and other plant life here off.

His red eyes left did not stay on the dying vegetation for that long and they soon refocused on his blonde partner again. He had noticed she was not walking as stiffly as she was when she left the house. She was now walking like she as in control of herself. He had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that the brat had stepped on her. Maybe the pain from it had woke her from the spell she was under. Well at least he knew that she was in control of herself. He could smell her uncertainty and a tinge of fear wafting off from her scent as she walked, but he also caught the whiff of determination mixed along with it. Then there was the shadow figure that had no smell to it. That was strange he had never encounter anything like it before. He was beginning to suspect that it may not be real. An illusion maybe? Except the last time he was caught in an illusion there were smells.

Ah, shit this was getting confusing.

And then there was the third person they were following behind. The boy's smell on the other hand was something different. Seriously, it was beginning to disturb him. In fact the brat's scent troubled him more than the thing and the smells coming from the area ahead of them.

His scent was calm, too calm for a child who was in such a situation like this. The Iron Dragon Slayer smelled no ounce of fear coming from the boy. How could the child be like this? It was quite possible that he could die tonight. Well, Gajeel was planning on allowing anyone to die on this job. Still, shouldn't the kid be feeling some sort of fear? Or was he not afraid because he trusted his guard Seirios blindly and had undoubting faith that he would be saved?

The brat was certainly an enigma.

Maybe he was thinking about things that were actually trivial. The Dragon Slayer shook his head and chuckled to himself. Seriously, all this thinking about the kid's strangeness was honestly pointless and it was giving him a headache. Besides, the kid was not his main priority, Lucy was. Speaking of his blonde lover, he noticed that she was spaced out in her own little mind. She was thinking of something and he had the feeling it had a lot to do with what the shadow figure was whispering to them.

"Paradise is near for you sweet souls. Once in paradise you will never have to worry about anything. Life for you will be full of good things and it will easy."

The Iron Dragon Slayer held back the urge to laugh. A life filled with only good things was something that was not realistic. It was something that could only be found in a fantasy. Such a thing as a person who had only experience good things in life did not exist. At some point you will run into the bad things you try to avoid. It was only inevitable and there was nothing anyone could do about it, except maybe move on and try to overcome the bad. When bad things happened to someone it was like falling through a hole. And falling through that hole shows what type of person someone truly was. You are either the type that falls in the hole and gives up or you are the type that falls and tries to climb out until you get out of the hole.

"Sorry, I just find your belief of being able to protect the young lady from everything to be a tad bit on the naive side. You cannot protect something or even someone from everything in this world."

Seirios's words echoed back into his mind. He had to admit there was some hypocrisy in his earlier statement of protecting Lucy from the bad they were going to encounter. When he was younger and first learning Dragon Slayer magic he had believed that you could not protect everyone from everything. That belief didn't last long though because Metalicana taught the reality of the world. No one can ever truly be safe from encountering all the horrible things in the world. He had learned this lesson well when he was still fairly young and susceptible. And he kept that new mindset when he grew into adulthood only worrying about himself. He believed that he would never change. He never would have guessed he would have worried about others, but that changed when he lost to that idiot pink haired Dragon Slayer named Natsu Dragneel defeated him.

That was the start of everything.

He may have lost the battle to Salmander, but that was beginning of something new. It was the start of when things began to get better for him and he was damn grateful to Fairy Tail for causing that positive change in his life. Sometimes, when he was feeling especially thoughtful, he would wonder what his life would have been like if he had not encountered the Fairy Tail guild. His life would be as crazy or entreatingly worth living it as it was now. And he was quite positive that he would either be alone or dead. None of those options were appealing to him. Yeah, life as defiantly better despite the fact that most of hi guild mates were insanely powerful with half a brain or no brain in Salamander's case.

Honestly, he was happy, very happy. Seriously if you looked hard enough you could see that he was always smiling on the inside every day since he joined Fairy Tail. He knew some people saw it and other did not because they could look past the scowl on his face. Sometimes he heard some of the members, Jet and Droy, grumble about how he never voiced or showed his appreciation of the Master's generosity. The Iron Dragon Slayer was never the type to share everything he felt openly. That was just not in his personality. And he knew that never showed his appreciation for Master Makarov and the Fairy Tail guild openly, but he definitely was. People only needed to pay better attention and if they didn't then he was not going to bother correcting them. Besides, all the ill talk of him had ceased after the Fantasia event.

Hmm, comparing himself to the man he was before to the man he is now he can state that he had changed. Okay, he was still an asshole sometimes—er, ninety-ninety percent of the time? Maybe? And who could blame him if found some joy in pissing people off or proving that they were wrong? And sure, he still had a somewhat intolerable attitude and came off as a loner-type who would kick your ass if you messed with him or his cat or Bunny Girl or Juvia. Basically, just don't mess with his guild or what he cares for and you're guaranteed no beating from him. Yeah, stay on his good side. At least he was no longer afraid to openly protect his fellow guild-mate or think about the needs of others.

Then there was another blaring fact he could not ignore. This was another what if scenarios that crossed his mind once before. And that was if Salamander had not defeated then he would have never joined Fairy Tail. If he had never joined the Fairy Tail guild he would have never met such good people and Lily. He would have never gone on crazy adventures or met the Dragon of Destruction Acnologia. If he had never joined then he would have met his future mate. He would have never met Lucy Heartfilia.

Lucy, the only other human being that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and could actually be himself around with. The Celestial Mage was a really remarkable woman who had a large caring and forgiving heart. She was always so kind to everyone even to her enemies. And that worried him because his Bunny was out there without him next to her. That mere thought of her being away from his watchful and protective gaze made his nerves rattle again. And the thought of her being in danger brought his thoughts back to what Seirios had said earlier.

Okay, maybe he was a little over protective.

And he knew what the body guard stated was correct in saying that no one was capable of protecting someone from everything bad in the world. Yes, Gajeel knew such a thing was impossible. He was no superman, but he was a Dragon Slayer. And Dragon's were known to be stubbornly and stupidly protective of those they held dear. Then there was the mere fact that being with Lucy made him want to make that impossibility possible. And he would try his fucking hardest to keep Lucy safe, even if it meant going against the impossible.

If he survived Acnologia and a hoard of dragons then he could make the impossible possible.

"Gajeel you're growling." His cat's voice rang in his ears bring him out of his stupor.

"Huh?" The Iron Dragon Slayer looked around to see Lily and the brat's guard staring at him like he had grown a second head. Oh, had he spaced out? "What the hell are you guys looking at me for?"

"You spaced out Redfox-san and then out of nowhere you began to make this noise. It was a noise that reminded me of a beast's growls when they feel threaten." Seirios replied his face slightly pale. Oh, he growled? Did he scare the man servant? "It was quite disturbing."

"Tch." The red eyed man shrugged the comment off as nothing of importance. Besides, he didn't give two shits about what others thought of his growls. Bunny Girl thought they were sexy and that was all that matter to him. "Oi, instead of gawking at me I hope you two have been keeping an eye on our target."

"Since you were so lost in your thoughts Gajeel, I will let your lack of perception over the situation slide. And for the record you should have noticed that there is no need to keep further watch on Lucy and the boy because they had stopped walking a minute ago." Lily responded his orange eyes darting away from him. "The shadow person is about to open the door."

Door?

Srchk!

Oh, that definitely sounded like a door. His attention swayed away from his talking cat and focused in on Lucy. She was standing in front of an old abandon warehouse. It looked like no one had been near this area for years, maybe decades. It was the perfect place to get away with killing someone unnoticed. It was a good place for someone to tear them apart without having to worry about wandering eyes or someone coming to investigate. The smell coming from the old building was nothing but a mixture of rust and decaying death. Yes, this was definitely were the culprit was committing the heinous crimes.

"Here, it is beyond this door. All you have to do is take a couple of steps and you'll be there. You'll be in paradise."

This place, whatever was inside, was not a paradise one would usually dream of or want. At least that was what Gajeel hoped because whatever was beyond that door inside that building was not rainbows and sunshine. The prominent scent of death wafting out from the cracks of the old building told all he needed to know. And that was where his Bunny and the brat were about to walk into a land filled rotting flesh.

They would be walking into a paradise dreamt up by madness.

---

Yeah, this was a death trap.

Lucy had known it as going to end this way. She just knew it because that just how fucked up this job was going to be. The minute the Celestial Mage took a step inside she was assaulted by the smell of decaying flesh. Her brown eyes skimmed around inside the building to see trails of dried blood splattered on the floor and walls of the warehouse. She could see an area that was littered with body parts tossed carelessly aside like garbage. It was a typical scene one might see in a horror flick and the blonde knew that they would meet something dangerous here.

Paradise her damn ass!

Thankfully, Lucy was able to keep her face straight and her steps steady even with the smell. Yeah, it smelled really foul in here, so bad that it made her eyes water. She vaguely wondered if Gajeel and Lily could smell the awful stench from the outside with their better noses. Still the smell was the worst thing inside this old warehouse with all the body parts and blood around them. Still she made no noise to indicate that she was frightened of this area. She didn't want Hitomu to know she was scared because that would make him frighten as well. The blonde did not need a scared child on her hands in this kind of place. However, she did bring him the closer to her as they continued to walk further into the building. The little boy made no move to disobey her or protest against her sudden closeness. That was good she guessed. She spared a glance down as they walked together. He had a stoic expression on his face as the smell became stronger and the floor bloodier. Even when they reached a room filled with limbless corpses he remained with the same expression, not even his lips twitched. Okay, she should not be surprised by his reactions towards anything anymore.

Ignoring his lack of fear, the ex-heiress decided it was time to tell him her plan for his escape.

"Hitomu-san, listen to me carefully okay." She whispered her eyes darting to the shadow figure that had led them here. It still walked on and paid no attention to them. "When the time comes I want you to make a break for it. The others are right behind us so you should be able to make it out without an incident."

"I'll do whatever you say, but are you sure you will be able to handle this by yourself?" He replied with a nod, but he looked up at her with an expression Lucy can only assume was worry. "What if something goes wrong and you are left all alone with this thing?"

"I'll be fine. I am a Fairy Tail Mage after all." She smiled hoping to reassure the boy. She knew she would be fine because she was strong and her teammates were outside ready to back her up. Yeah, she would be fine. "I know how to protect myself."

He stared at her for a couple of seconds, studying her face like one would look at a pinned butterfly and then he spoke again.

"If you say you will be fine then I will believe you, Pretty Lady." His orange eyes glittered with an emotion Lucy could not recognize when he looked at her. He smiled softly at her. "I just hope your wings are not ripped out from your back and leave you flightless, Pretty Lady."

Even years from now Lucy would never be able to really describe what happen in that moment. It happened so quickly that her mind had no time to process it enough to stay as a clear image in her mind. She could give a vague description of what she saw. In a blink of an eye Hitomu looked different to her. His orange eyes which had been so bright appeared empty and soulless. His words were cold and almost biting like a knife. He looked much older and different in that split second. It confused her and she felt scared of what she had seen. The ex-heiress was sure he saw the expression on her face, but said nothing about it. Then just like that he was back to looking a little boy again and Lucy was sure this place was beginning to affect her negatively. She was seeing things she decided.

"Hitomu—"

"Please come down this way." The shadow pointed to another door beyond the table with bloody tools. "It is there. There behind that door. For sure you'll find the one to grant you paradise."

The Celestial Mage thought the entity was going to continue leading them through the rusted door it had pointed at earlier. To her surprise it did not. Instead, the shadow thing dissolved into nothing and leaving the Fairy Tail Mage and the little boy all alone. And then seemingly by itself the door cracked open. The blonde squinted her brown eyes attempting to see if she could see something hiding in the shadow of the door. She saw nothing, but her gut told her something dangerous was lurking there. There was no way she was going to take Hitomu in there and she was not going in there alone either. She was going to wait for Gajeel and Lily to get inside so they could explore it together. She did not want the boy to see anymore than he should have to see.

"Look out!" Hitomu screamed, which caught the blonde's full attention.

Then she felt something wrap itself around her ankle.

"What?" She reflexively looked down at her ankle and to her surprise she saw a tendril of what looked like to be cluster of darkness around it. It had snaked its way tightly and securely around her right leg. She quickly pushed Hitomu as far away from her as possible so he would not be caught up in it. "What the hell is thi—KYAAA!"

She did not react quickly enough when it pulled her down towards the ground. Her lack of reaction caused her face to crash harshly against the floor which felt like concrete. She was disoriented within seconds, but she was able to feel that she was being moved. The tendril began to quickly drag her along the ground like a rag doll. She looked up to find Hitomu staring at her with wide eyes and she noticed he was becoming smaller and smaller the farther she was dragged away. And for once he looked scared, scared for himself and for her. She figured the boy was going to bolt outside so he could save himself like any other kid would. She would not blame him, but to her surprise he did not. Instead he scurried over to her and grasped her outstretched hand. He began to pull her tying to break the tendril's hold on her ankle.

"Let her go! Let her go! She's too nice! Don't hurt her!" He screamed at the tendril pulling her. "You stupid thing let her go! I don't want her to die!"

"Hitomu, let go." The Celestial Mage ordered firmly only to feel her head pound with pain. The she felt blood trailing down her face into her eyes causing her to blink trying to get it out. She must have cut her head or something when she fell. "Go get the others, hurry! My team can help!"

"No, I won't let you die!"

"It's the only way to stop this sick person."

"No…" The little boy began to shiver his eyes filling with tears. "Please no…"

"Trust me."

He looked at her with a troubled expression on his face.

And one by one her fingers slipped out from his until she held empty air.

Then she was dragged beyond the door.

The last image she had of the boy was him screaming for her to come back. And boy, did she feel guilty for putting Hitomu through that situation. Even with her headache she was able to her his thundering little footsteps running towards the exit to get help. Mavis, he moved quit and she was happy for that. She promised herself she would get the kid a nice big ice-cream for being so brave when this was all over with. All she needed to do was get the job done. That meant that she need to win whatever fight was coming up ahead. As that thought enter her mind to her utter joy, note sarcasm here, her body met with a small flight of stairs.

The pain of her ribs and stomach being abused against the steps did not bother her much. Heck, even her headache was getting worse. At least not as much as the other things she felt on the stairs. She could feel all sorts of disgusting things rubbing against her bare skin and getting stuck in her hair. Yeah, she was sure it was all kinds of nasty. She was really going to need a bath after this, a nice long steamy hot bath.

Okay, time to concentrate on other things, like her surroundings.

The ex-heiress looked around her surroundings. Well, she tried to see the area around her the best she could, but it proved to be useless. The black tendril was pulling her along way too fast for her brown eyes to adjust or for her brain to process anything. Everything went by in a flash. All she knew now was that her head was about to split open from the pain and her body was aching from the rough abuse. Through the pain she was able to notice that the black tendril that was pulling was slowing down. Did that mean she was nearing the end of the stairs? Was she finally going to see who was behind all this?

Would the little boy she met in the forest be down here?

Finally, she came to a stop and she felt it unwrapped itself from her leg. She quickly looked up to watch it melt into the darkness of the room. Damn, it was really dark in here, even with the candles. The blonde sat up holding her head tenderly as she tried to seek out whoever was responsible, but all she was darkness. Even with the few flickering candles giving her some light source she could see anything. She found that odd, really odd. Still she was sure someone was in here with her. She could feel someone was watching her. She blindly reached around trying to find a wall or something that could give some form of bearings when she heard a whisper in the dark.

"Oh, what do we have here?"

Lucy felt alarm bells go off in her head as soon as she heard it. It was a slithering voice that promised nothing but despair to those they addressed. Her legs were already beginning to shake from either fear or nervousness. She was not quite sure which. Before she could decide on what she was feeling something began to happen around her. The darkness that was surrounded her and was blinding her started to recede. It was like someone had pulled back a curtain away from her field of vision. Replacing the darkness was the growing amount of light filling the room and she knew that she would soon be face to face with the culprit. Instead of feeling scared she found herself calm and ready to face whoever was in this room. The only thing that legitimately frightened her was the voice speaking to her.

Mavis, she knew that voice!

"Oh, I know you. We have met before." The voice sounded closer like it was almost in her ear. She looked to from her right side then to her left side expecting to see the boy from the forest there. Yet she found nothing there. "Yes, yes, the pretty little blonde from the forest in the town of Aeterna Caelestis. You're the one that had the attitude and with the little Dragon Slayer."

The room was finally alit with enough light for the Celestial Mage to see clearly enough to see the room she was brought into. And she instantly wished she it was dark again. She wanted it to be dark again because of what she saw in front of her scared the living daylights out of her little heart. In front of her was the same grotesque little boy inches away from her face so closed that he could have kissed her. There was a giant predatory grin on his face as his cold fingers trailed down her cheek slowly and carefully. She froze as the thing-boy she had met in the forest licked his lips showing off his pointed teeth. His orange eyes were shining with glee. Damn, this was really scary! This boy was really scary.

"Ah, you're so pretty! Really pretty!" He sighed dreamily as he lifted his fingers off her face for a few seconds before he touched her again. "Your eyes are so full of life. It makes me happy to see such eyes on one so young."

"Ow!" The blonde Celestial Mage winced when his tiny finger dug ruthlessly into her cheeks. She was sure if the little boy added more pressure onto his grip she would break her skin or leave half-crescent nail marks on her face. Either way it was painful. "Ouch, that hurts!"

"Mm, it gives me shivers just thinking about it. Yes, I can't wait to see the light of life die out from your eyes. It would be so lovely." He breathed out a sigh of pure joy as his spoke with fervor. The blonde did not like how he was looking at her. No, she was sure he was thinking about how to end her life. The ex-heiress knew her life was in danger. "Yes I shall make you into a lovely piece of art."

"Why are you—OUCH!"

"I told you already I feed off fear." He pierced her skin with his fingernails and inhaled the air around them."Ahs, I remember how yummy and sweet your fear tasted like."

"Just who heck are you?"

"Who am I? Who am I?" The boy's voice echoed loudly in her eardrums and she felt like she had insulted him somehow. He was frowning slightly as he stopped adding pressure on the left side of her face. Instead one of his fingers on his left hand trailed down from her cheek to her neck. He was probably following the blood that was trailing down from her cheek down to her neck. "I know who I am. How could a person not know themselves? I am me. Me is me and there is nothing else to explain. You don't know who I am and we have met before? Then I won't tell you."

"Ugh…Urk…" The ex-heiress tried to speak, but all that came out was a weak attempt to breathe in some air.

"So I can be whatever you want me to be Pretty Blondie. I'll tell you one thing I prefer to refer myself as the physical manifestation of fear in this hideous world. Or does that sound to egotistical of me? I swear I am not egotistical!"

" Ugh!"

"Either way, I think the better question is what am I?"

His left hand wrapped around her neck squeezing her windpipe in the process.

"Do you have a guess?"

"Ngh…!"

"No answer? Well, I have an answer for you." He grinned widely, showing off his white teeth. "I am a demon formed the darkest of nightmares and I thrive from fear."

"Ng…ugh…" Lucy gasped trying to get some much needed air. She put a lot of effort to move her hand upward and grasp the boy's wrist. Her finger's curled around his wrist and she was surprised when she felt his skin. His skin was so cold. It was cold to be considered alive and she found herself question if this person in front of her was indeed alive. Except, she valued her life more than a mere question was tossed aside. She put the remainder of her energy into trying to pry him off only to find that she could not budge his arm not even an inch. "Ugh…ahh!"

"What cute little noises you make. No wonder that Pierce-Face wants to fuck you. He makes it so obvious." He leaned in closer his eyes shining in sadistic glee as Lucy struggled to break free. "How could anyone resist such cute noises?"

How was her struggling to inhale anything, but cute?

"Hey, you know what? I'm jealous of that Pierce-Face because he'll get to hear your noises too." The little boy stated. The blonde felt his fingers around her neck tighten considerably with each word his spoke. His eyes then brighten like he got an idea or had realized something. "Oh, I have an idea! I'm sure you love to hear it."

"Hrngggh…"

"Ne, don't let anyone else hear these cute noises. You're sounds of fear belong to me. In fact, your life now belongs to me and I can do whatever I want with it."

Shit her vision was getting blurry!

"Uh..ugh…"

"I wonder how your screams sound like? I bet they would sound like sweet music." The boy paused looking as though he recalled something. "Oh but how rude of me! I forgot you came here seeking paradise! Yes, I shall give you paradise."

"Nghhh!"

"A true paradise where everyone will be happy! Hahaha, yes we have to share the happiness, but to get eternal happiness some people have to die."

"Here's an idea! Maybe you should be the one to keel over, you disgusting abomination!" That voice was music to Lucy's ears and next she the body of the boy being pushed off her in a blink of an eye. She took a deep breath as soon as she was able to.

"Gajeel! Lily!" She coughed relieved, but she worried about the little boy and his bodyguard. "Hitomu-san? Seirios-san?"

"Seirios-san and Hitomu-san have left the area, away from the danger." Lily replied his orange eyes dart towards the crumbled figured. His eyes were filled wary. "They should fine and heading back to town at the moment."

"Thank goodness!" The blonde smiled as she wiped the on her cheek which caught Gajeel's attention.

"Fucking brat, you made her bleed!" The Iron Dragon Slayer growled at the crumpled figure on the ground. The blonde woman was sure her partner was able to smell her blood in the air. She noticed how his red eyes narrowed into silts as they landed on her neck and she was positive he saw the fading marks of fingers on her neck. "I'm going to kick your ass, you Creepy Forest Dweller!"

"Creepy Forest Dweller? That's the best insult you can come up with? Seriously, you lack some creativity!" The sound of his voice caught the attention of the three Fairy Tail mages and made them all look towards where he had had landed. The little boy stood up with his arm dangling at an odd angle. "Damn, you hit pretty hard Little Dragon. I think I busted my arm when I hit the wall."

The little boy move his arm around emphasize his point. It flopped uselessly like it was made out of Jell-O. Yeah, he had injured his arm, but he did not look to bother by it. Instead, he took hold of his arm and popped it back into place. The blonde winced when she heard the sound of a sickening pop from the small action he did. The boy just rolled his shoulders as his gaze focused on Gajeel.

"I don't appreciate you ruining my fun. I hate it when my fun is cut short. I really hate it!" The boy stated his gaze not leaving the Dragon Slayer. He repositioned himself to be leaning against the wall he landed against. He smiled widely. "I wasn't going to kill her. I just was going to knock her out. Then when she woke up again I was going to play with here with all my nice toys! I probably would have not killed her that fast."

"You damn brat!" Gajeel glowered at the figure in front of her. The boy then made a lunged move, but went no further to them than a few feet. "I thought I would never see your ugly mug again."

"A child?" Lily, who had never encountered this kid before and had not gotten a good enough look of him when they entered the room, was finally able to see the culprit. The cat's expression said it all. He was shocked to learn that the person causing all this mayhem in the town of Sida was this boy. He never would have guessed it would be a child and he thought he was seeing things, but Gajeel and Lucy saw him too. The flying cat looked questionably at the Dragon Slayer and Celestial Spirit Mage. "Have you two met this child before?"

"Unfortunately, we have. We ran into this shitty kid during the first job me and Bunny Girl took together." The Dragon Slayer replied his eyes had left the boy's figure for a second to look at his cat. "He uses illusions to trick people, so be careful."

"And his illusions are not really nice." Lucy added to what her partner had already stated. She had briefly forgotten that Lily was not with them when they took that job. She moved a little closer to Gajeel eyeing the boy suspiciously. "He likes to go by the name Fear."

"Fear?"

"Yes that's my name! At least it has been my name for a very long time. No one knows my true name anymore." He grinned widely flicking his hair around looking a little bored and that infuriated Lucy that he could look like that. He had done horrible things and he had the audacity to look bored. "Almost everyone who knew my real name has died, ha! It's been a long time since I have heard my real name, but does that really matter? I don't think it does."

He began to wipe the dirt off of his tattered blood smeared shirt, which proved to be pointless because he was covered in all kinds of nasty things.

"If it doesn't matter then why even mention that Fear is not your real name? It seems rather pointless saying something like that." The blonde watched the boy for any movement as she spoke. She glanced at Gajeel. They shared a look, silently telling one another to be ready for an attack. "It's like you want someone to figure out you're real name."

"You say funny things!" He laughed loudly. His laugh filled mirth "If I wanted someone to tell me my real name then I would have told it to someone long ago. Instead, all those that have met me have died from the visions of fear I give them, except for you two that is."

"That's because we were stronger than your fucking trick!" Gajeel shouted his fist clenched.

Lucy almost opened her mouth to say they had help, but she was quick to keep it shut. She felt that being silent in this moment would benefit her and Gajeel. If they allowed Fear to believe that they could get out of his illusions easy then it could cause the boy doubt in his abilities. And where there was doubt there was a chance a mistake could be made by him. Still, she knew that the only reason she and Gajeel were able to break out Fear's illusion was because of the interference of that mysterious voice accompanied by the falling white orchid petals. If it had not been for that then they would have died that day in the forest. Luck was on their side that day.

"Maybe you're not as frightful as you think." The Celestial Mage said with a tiny grin. "Perhaps you lost your edge."

"Lost my edge?" His smiled widen in a cheshire cat-like grin. He looked at the air like they were some sort of comedy act. "You're just a riot you know that? Ever think about being a comedian?"

"Fuck you!"

"Cute, but no dice Dragon Slayer. Oh! Oh! Oh, I just had the most brilliant, devious idea, but first a question!" If it was even possible his already wide smile became wider and took up most of his face. "What are your names? I never really want to know the names of insects, but since you two have encounter me twice I want to know."

"Our names?" The ex-heiress found that to be an odd request.

"You two do have names, right? Or has this era gotten rid of naming people?"

The word era caught the attention of the Celestial Mage. Why would he use such a word if he was just a kid? Unless he was older than he looked or just playing word games with them. She found herself looking over to Gajeel and Lily, who were looking at her. She was sure the other two were thinking about the strange request he had asked of them and she had to say she didn't know what to do. Nervousness was reflecting in all their eyes as they stood there silently. Their silence must have annoyed Fear because he spoke again and the agitation was clear.

"You know I asked nicely. It's not like I can do anything with your names magic wise, since there is no magic like that." He tilted his head slightly to the right. "Besides, if you tell me yours then I'll tell you my real one."

"Fine." It was Lucy that spoke. She decided to play his game and see what would happen. She was half sure he was not going to tell them anything, but it never hurt to try. She pointed to her partner. "That's Gajeel Redfox and his Exceed Lily."

"The Dragon Slayer that looks like he swallowed a lemon is Gajeel and a flying cat with orange eyes is Lily. Okay, I got it memorized."

"And my name is Lucy Heartfilia."

"Heartfilia, you say?" Fear whispered questioningly as his eyes focused on her again. He was staring at her and Lucy felt like she was being studied. "And I see that you're a Celestial Spirit Mage from the key pouch hanging on your belt. Hmm, this indeed is interesting."

"What, you got a problem?"

She was ignored by Fear, who had a face of concentration for a few moments.

"Interesting, oh so interesting! Bet you three are dying for my name to come out of my mouth right? Well you won't get it that easy, but don't fret I got a proposal." He announced his voice filled with glee sounding like he was singing. "You see I have decided I won't kill you guys just yet. I find you way too entertaining to gut you just yet. Perhaps, it was fated that you two were saved from me? I won't kill you now. No I have other ideas in store!"

"We weren't going to let you kill us in the first place!" Gajeel shifted his arm morphing into an iron sword. "Enough talk let's fight!"

Gajeel's statement was ignored.

"I have the perfect game. Hope you are listening because I'm about to be cliché and tell you my evil plans. Well, I'm still going to be super vague. You see all these murders I am committing are just the beginning of something bigger. So much bigger than all those pathetic lives that were ended up until now. After this things will go to hell."

"What are you—"

"Shh, listen to me my dear. This is important! Since I am not going to kill you here this how you will entertain me until I do." He walked towards the wall closest to him and began to morph into the shadows. "It has become your job to stop me, to stop the massacre and death that will be fall this land in a matter days. Yes, you'll have to figure out who I am, but I doubt you ever will. As I said before no one who knew me is alive."

"What you can't be serious?" The blonde screamed at the boy. What kind of ridiculous game was he spouting about? "Peoples' lives are not something to play with!"

"They are to me."

"What kind of game is this kid playing at?" Lily landed on Lucy's shoulders. The cat was pissed too.

"It is a game little kitty. If you win then you save the lives of many, but if I win then I get to build my beautiful paradise filled with only the happiness I desire." He laughed mockingly. "And I will also get you three as my prize. I can't wait to dig my fingers through your pretty face Blondie and have your lover watch you die. I can't wait to clip your wings."

"You little brat!" Gajeel charged towards the boy, but before he could close the boy's entire boy disappeared completely into the shadows.

"Though in order for my plan to work you first you have to escape my little pets in this warehouse. I don't have complete control of them so please don't go dying on me just yet." His voice echoed around them. "And do try to make it out of this town before sunrise."

"Before sunrise? What do you mean?" The Celestial Mage of Fairy Tail asked in desperation. He made it sound like something was going to happen to this town, something bad. "What are going to do to this town and its people?"

"You'll see come sunrise." He sang loudly and clearly. "Better hurry, the sun will be rising soon. Bye, Bye!"

And just like that, the presence of the little boy completely disappeared from the room. It took the tri of Fairy Tail Mages about two long minutes to realize that they were alone in the blood spattered basement of the warehouse. They didn't move nor did they speak. They just stood there processing the information that had been given to them by the Fear. The weight of the child's words was hanging inside their minds and shoulders. They understood he meant every word of it. He would bring forth the mass destruction and death as he promised. All this death only to fulfill his selfish want of his and it was up to them to stop this from happening.

They had to move and save the people of Sida.

"We have to go warn the town's people, so they can evacuate." Lucy stated quickly as her body began to shake. She tried to stop the growing anxiety inside her because she knew there was no time to be afraid. It was time to be the brave mage she was. "We can't allow him to have his way and hurt this town any further than he already has."

"I agree." Lily replied with a nod. The blonde could feel that the feline on shoulder was tense. "We must act, but what could he have possibly have left in this town that could threaten all their lives? A bomb?"

"It's possible." Gajeel added. He shifted his sword back into an arm before he took a giant sniff of the air around them. "I don't smell anything like that here or in the town. So it must be somewhere well hidden or it's magical one. Then again I won't know what smells out of the ordinary here since it is the first time I'm here."

"It's okay. I don't think we should search for it, let the Magic Council do that part. What we should do is warn the people immediately." The blonde replied as she clenched her fists. "Lily do you think you can fly ahead of us and warn the others? Try to find Hitomu-san too."

"Yes, I can do that, but what will you two be doing?"

"We give this area one fast look through and see if a bomb is here then we'll head your way." The ex-heiress stated as her eyes roved over the room again. "We won't linger longer than necessary. You be careful okay, Lily."

"Yeah, don't get into a fight just head straight for the town." Gajeel added, his face was set in a serious expression as he looked at his cat. "Just keep flying."

"Got it, just keep flying." Lily nodded as he called out his wings. "I still am uneasy about what he mentioned of pets. Please, be careful Gajeel and Lucy."

The Exceed flew away out of the basement towards the exit of the warehouse leaving the pair alone.

It was Lucy who spoke first.

"Gajeel we should see if we can find any survivors in here." The spunky blonde's voice was hollow. "Maybe…"

"Bunny Girl…" The Iron Dragon Slayer gulped and the Celestial Mage saw the emotion of pain reflected in his red eyes. She didn't like that look on him. "Sorry, but I don't hear anyone being that's alive in this warehouse. I only heard our own heartbeats. Everyone else is dead."

The last of the Heartfilia family didn't say anything as she hugged herself and bit her lips to stop her sobs of sadness.

---

The search of the warehouse proved to have been fruitless, so Team Iron Star walked out of the warehouse without further incident.

The night sky was still filled with stars and normally the Celestial Mage would have pointed out how clear and beautiful it was tonight. She would have showed him the constellations that made up her spirit friends with a huge smile on her face and told him stories of times before she joined Fairy Tail or of her spirits, but she wasn't. The atmosphere around them was anything but happy. Gajeel looked towards the silent blonde walking beside him. Her face was drawn in a frown and her eyes looked defeated and worn. He hated seeing her like this.

He really did, but he knew nothing he could do would cheer her up right now. He understood why she was feeling down in the dumps. She had every right to feel the way she was feeling because he felt the same way. Honestly, there was nothing to be happy about during this moment. And although, he much rather have her smiling and talking excitingly there were other things to worry about, like Fear. The brat, was it even correct to call him a brat? Whatever who or what Fear was didn't really matter did it? All that matter was that the evil brat was plotting something big, something that would cause more lives to be lost to him. The Dragon Slayer's mind was still reeling over what had happened an hour ago in the warehouse and for the life of him he could not figure out what Fear was trying to accomplish, but at the moment he was worried these pets and a possible bomb.

Lucy and he had search the warehouse, even though Gajeel was positive that they were the only living beings in there. Still there had to be a reason why Fear had mentioned something about these supposed pets of his, so they looked around. Nothing, they found nothing. No hidden doors, just a bunch of rotting heaps of flesh of what use to be people. The long haired man was starting t believe that the Evil Brat was only bluffing. Probably in an attempt to throw them off whatever he was planning to go off at sunset.

Yet he could not shake this feeling off that something was going to happen.

"Gajeel, we have to tell Master about this. We have to tell him everything."

"I agree. He would want to know about a mass homicide being threaten to happen." He replied back his gaze on the trail in front of them. This was the sort of thing that had to be told. "He would know what to do about it or how to go about how to stop him."

"I hope so. We need to stop Fear as soon as possible before any others are killed." Lucy laced her fingers with his. He could feel her hand trembling as she continued to speak. "I don't want Yukino's death to be remembered as something that happened because some psycho was being selfish."

"Bunny Girl, this kid is not going to get away with it."

"He won't, not when the Fairy Tail guild is on the job." She smiled for the first time since they had left the warehouse and he grinned back. This moment did not last long. The blonde froze as her face paled and her brown eyes had become wide and unmoving. He could smell that she was on edge. Gajeel was confused. He did not understand what had made her so nervous so suddenly.

She slowly turned around looking back towards the area where the warehouse was.

"Lucy, what's wrong?" The Iron Dragon Slayer asked as he followed her gaze. Why was she looking back to where the warehouse was?

"Mavis, do you feel that?" The ex-heiress whispered her voice cracked with dread. "There is something in the air, something bad."

"What are you—"The long haired man paused midsentence when the air around them became dark and unbearable. His danger instincts went wild and they were telling him to get the hell out of this area. He could smell it. There was something coming towards them at an incredible speed, but he could not figure out what it was. "What the hell? Where did that pop out from?"

"Gajeel, there is something on the ground! Look, it's not in the air! It's crawling on the ground!" The Celestial Mage announced loudly her voice was filled with shock as she pointed to the ground behind them. "I don't know what it is…"

His red eyes focused on the ground behind them, but at first he could not see what his Bunny was talking about it. He narrowed his eyes trying to see if he could see it and he did. He had no clue what he was looking at. There was no solid form, but it reminded him of the shadow figure the blonde had followed earlier that night. Maybe they were made up of the same thing?

After much thought he decided what he was looking at was mist. It was a black colored mist that was swirling towards them at an alarming rate. And that was not the worst of it. He watched as the things it touched die in a matter of seconds. Fuck that was a bad sign. He did not like where this was going and he decided there was no time to think further on it. They had to get out of this area now!

Before the ex-heiress could say another word he reached over and grabbed her arm. He pulled her forward as they began to run. Lucy had a surprise look on her face, but she did not say anything. She just ran along with worry in her eyes. He was sure she had sense the danger coming too. It soon proved that the mist was moving as fast as them. It was steadily catching up to them as the town of Sida grew closer and closer to them. The black mist was already on their heels when they had entered the town again, but that didn't matter because at least they would get out of this town with its people. Gajeel had expected to see the people of Sida already outside leaving the town in a hasty line, but instead the Fairy Tail Mages found horror. The people of Sida were on the ground writhing and screaming as they were becoming petrified in some stone like substance. The Iron Dragon Slayer quickly recognized the emotion of pure fright on their expressions. He knew what was happening. They were trapped in the same illusions as he and Lucy were in the forest. The only difference was the black mist coming out of their mouths and overrunning the corners of the whites of their eyes.

What the hell was going on?

"What's happening to the people?" Lucy stopped running, which in turn had caused the Dragon Slayer to stop as well. The blonde's brown eyes were darting everywhere. She was so confused, just he was "Gajeel what's wrong with them?"

"I think they fell for the brat's illusions, though I don't know why they look like stone. Maybe another spell?"

"We don't know enough about the stone thing, but the illusion we can handle. We just have to break them out of it!" The Celestial Mage slipped her hand out of his and went towards the nearest person and began to shake them. "Hey! Come on, wake up!"

The red eye man decided to allow his Bunny to try to wake the person out of the illusions if she could. He had doubts, but he kept them to himself. He did not want to crush her hopes anymore than they had been already. Instead he looked around trying to see if he could find Lily or the body guard and the boy anywhere. He saw nothing but the frozen people on the ground. He was getting worried. His cat should have been here waiting for him and Lucy. Where was his beloved cat?

"Gajeel its working! Look!"

The Iron Dragon Slayer turned to see the ex-heiress smiling in triumph as the person she was shaking blinked and releasing a couple of strangled moans. Good, if the Celestial Mage was able to wake one then they should be able to wake up the rest of them. He was going to propose that plan when he noticed something odd on the person face. The whites of their eyes were completely black and the black mist coming out from his mouth was thicker. Then he reached toward Lucy and pulled her down.

"Ahhh, Gajeel!"

At the sound of her distress he reacted quickly. He ripped the person off of Bunny Girl before any damage could be done. He tossed the man as far away as he could from them. He hit the wall hard and slid down slowly to the ground, but a few seconds later he got back up like nothing. To make matter worse he was not the only one that was moving now. Some of the other of the people trapped in the illusions were getting up and they moved towards them with their hands reaching for them. He felt Lucy move closer towards him. Her entire body shaking as they were became surrounded.

"What the fuck is going on with these people?" Gajeel's eyes were frantically searching for an escape, but it looked like they were going to have to fight their way out. "Bunny, we have to get out of this place and find Lily."

"But they're civilians!" She replied with hesitation in her voice. "We can't hurt them!"

"I know! Just knock them out. Don't use to much force."

The blonde nodded in agreement as they readied themselves for defending themselves.

Knocking them out soon proved to be more tiring than the Dragon Slayer originally thought. Every time they knocked some of the people they just got back up or were replaced by five more. It was becoming increasingly obvious that they were outnumbered, greatly outnumbered by this mob of black eyed attackers. And to make matters worse they were becoming overwhelmed. He could hear Lucy's ragged breath near him as her whipped tried to knock out more of them down. Worse of all was that the mist was now in the town and inching towards them, but it did not seem to affect the attackers.

"Gajeel…"

He felt Lucy's body fall against his using him for support. Damn, that was not good. He quickly wrapped his arm around her waist trying to steady her. She smelled of sweat and her brown eyes were half lidded. She was tired, too tired to keep fighting. He picked up her whip as he maneuvered her onto his back. Gajeel was not to his liking this situation one bit. It was beyond the point of just harmlessly knocking these people out, now it was about survival. It was about him and his future mate's life. He was really running out of options, especially with that mist inches away.

He dared to spare a glance up at the sky and what he saw made him feel even more desperate to do something. The stars were already disappearing from the sky as the obvious rays of the sun were slowly beginning to peek through. The time limit they had been told was slowly diminishing with each second that passed by. He knew that he was going to have to make a choice, a hard choice. It was a choice that would decide whether or not Team Iron Star was going to live or die today. The Dragon Slayer had three possible options: kill the attackers, allow himself to be overwhelm or try to escape the mob. The first option was his last resort. He would not dare sully the name of his guild like that unless he had no choice. The second one was also out the question because that meant giving up not only his life, but Lucy's as well. He was sure the Master would kick his ass if he did something like that.

And that left the third option of trying to escape the mob. That was the choice he was leaning towards, but he knew that was going to be hard too. The Celestial Mage was exhausted and was not able to stand on her own two feet. That factor of his partner being helpless lowered the chance of getting out of this mob. He would not only have to fight his way through awhile protecting the blonde, but also support her as well. There were too many people here and he knew there was a high chance that the ex-heiress could be taken from him as he fought through.

He was stuck on what was the right thing to do.

Shit, if he were still in Phantom Lord the decision would have been made rather quickly. He would have opted to save himself and would have killed these damn bastards without a second thought. And he would have left whoever was with him behind to die. Yeah, he would have done that, but that was a past him that gone. Gajeel Redfox of Phantom Lord was long dead. He Gajeel of Fairy Tail, who learned to put others first and help out his fellow man. There were some exceptions and those were his cat Lily and Lucy or his guild mates. He would put their lives over his any given day if the situation called for it. They were family and his dragon side demanded that family be protected. That's why the lingering thought in his mind was that Team Iron Star and Lily were not going to die today. He would not allow it.

That would never happen as long as he was around.

"Gajeel, Lucy!"

That voice, he knew that voice well and it was the sound of their salvation!

The Iron Dragon Slayer looked up to see his Exceed in his battle mode flying towards them. His orange eyes were shining with relief, probably because the cat had managed to find them in this giant mess. In a swift movement the cat flew down pulling up the pair away from the grabby hands of the mob below them. Gajeel shouted a grateful thank you to his cat as he was lifted higher into the sky. The cat only smiled tiredly, giving the red eyed man a clear view that his black fur was profusely covered in sweat. The Dragon Slayer knew that the combine weight of him and Lucy plus the prolong use of his Aera Magic was affecting his cat. Lily must just as worn out as Lucy was, but the cat said nothing as he flew away from the town.

The Iron Dragon Slayer said nothing. Instead he looked down below in the town and he saw the mob that had been trying to get them was looking up towards them. Their hands were reaching up for them as they walked following them. That was when he noticed something strange was happening. The mist below had already surrounded the town square. It swirled around for a bit before it shot upward towards them much to Gajeel's amazement. It was acting like it was a sentient being, almost like predator that did not want its prey to escape. The red eye man reacted quickly by sending a roar at it hoping it would disperse it away from them. As he did this his cat had noticed the coming danger and attempted to dodge it the best he could.

From his peripheral vision, the red eye man noticed that Lily's wings were beginning to flicker away as his magic supply was depleting. He continued to send his roars out and his cat kept on dodging. The mist was coming towards them so the Exceed flew higher up hoping to avoid it. The pair noticed the sun was already coming up as they neared the edge of the town. Seeing that safety was so close Lily poured most of his magic into one final burst of speed as the sun rose in the horizon. That was all they needed to get away from the mist. Lily paused in mid air way above the town in front of the sun trying to catch a much needed breath. Lucy had been silence during the entire event gasped loudly as the mist withdrew back away from them. The trio stared in awe as the black mist engulfed the entire town in front of their eyes.

And in a blink of an eye the Sida was no more than a place waiting to fade.

---

Landing had not been soft at all.

His cat did not have enough magic to keep them afloat and he was downright tried. Lucy and Gajeel could tell the cat was struggling from the way he was shifting from side to side and by how fast they were descending downwards quickly. Lily had lost control, but was able to gain to slow down the descent mid way. Gajeel being the only one that was able to react fast enough maneuvered himself so he would take most of the blunt force. He watched his cat's wings disappear completely from exhaustion and Lucy released a squeak of surprise. He felt her hands tighten their hold on him as he release a grunt of pain when his back came into contact with the solid ground when they fell from Lily's hold.

Yeah, he was going to have a sore body and some bruises.

He didn't think much of it when he saw his poor cat land with a loud thud and roll a few inches away from them. It was Lucy who acted first when her eyes focused on the cat. The Celestial Mage, who looked like she could barely stand or let alone walk, instantly got off him and wobbled towards the fallen Exceed. Her eyes filled with worry. The Dragon Slayer knew that his cat was fine. He had broken nothing when he had landed and would only suffer some bruises just like him. Gajeel could not help but smile when his Bunny managed to picked up Lily and cradle him to her chest. For a moment, she looked like a mother with a child to him. She whispered to Lily that he had done a good job so he could rest now.

Yeah, he and Lily were so lucky to have such a caring person like Lucy with them.

Yeah, it was a nice sight to see. He released a breath he did not know he was holding as he tried to get in a much more comfortable position. His body was screeching with pain every time he moved, but he didn't care. He just wanted to relax for one second and be grateful that they were alive! He was appreciative of Lily fast reflexes and fast thinking, really appreciative. If the cat had not been there then he and Lucy would have perished in the mist. He would have to give the cat a good reward for saving their lives. Maybe he would invest in buying a whole seven years worth of kiwis. Oh, and sleep. Enough sleep for all three of them to catch up on all the energy they had spent today. He was already dreaming of soft pillows and cuddling with Lucy when he heard his blonde headed partner's breath hitched in shock.

Oh, that was right something screwed up and dangerous was happening behind them.

"This mist it's so thick I can't even see through it and every inch of the town is covered in it. It's not even leaving the perimeter of Sida." Lucy's voice was shaky as she spoke her legs trembling slightly. Her brown eyes were wide with astonishment. "I can still feel the evil foming off it. Just what the hell is going on! Is this what Fear meant when he said something would happen?"

"Maybe, your guess is as good as mine Bunny Girl."

"I don't understand!" She whimpered her eyes beginning to water with tears. "What happened to Hitomu-san and the others?"

"Fuck, I don't know! This is so fucked up!" The Dragon Slayer screamed as his frustration seeped out. His earlier plans of relaxing for a bit were tossed it. This was not how the job was supposed to end. Sure, he was glad that they survived, but there was a big negative that was going to burden them. An entire town was just wiped out before them and they could not save a single soul. He felt like he failed the town's people and like he failed their team. He felt like he failed Master Makarov. "I think we should just take a moment to clear our minds first."

"I…"The ex-heiress whimpered, but she nodded in agreement, but her eyes lingered on the town of Sida. "I just can't believe this happened. We failed our job."

He blamed Fear for his lovely Bunny's saddens. He blamed that demented little brat for everything that went wrong here. He knew that Lucy was having the same thought as he was. Her eyes were enough to convince him that she was and he could see how much it was eating her up on the inside. The long haired man was about to get up so he could console her because he hated to see her so distraught. He was going to do that, but his sixth sense alerted him of something. He should have known that this would happen with all the bad luck they had been having on this job. Danger coming towards them and it was coming fast. He heard many footsteps surrounding them and smelled the stench of decaying flesh. He was up on his feet in an instant, ignoring the white hot knives of pain attack his sensory system when he had moved toward Bunny Girl.

Gajeel was by her in one painful minute.

He was in defensive mode as he shielding Lucy and Lily from the incoming danger. This was not the time to be attacked. The Iron Dragon Slayer knew the Celestial Mage was very low on magic. She could not risk using more unless she wanted to put her life in danger. And then there was Lily, who was still being cradled in the ex-heiress arms. He was going to be out of commission for awhile. So that left Gajeel as the only means of defense and offense. He was already running scenarios in his mind that would end this fight quickly. He too was conscious of the fact that his magic reserves were running low as well. He had to be careful and make sure he won.

Bunny Girl must have noticed his sudden tenseness because she moved closer to him. He lowered himself in a defensive crouch as he as he snarled warning whoever was out there to back off. A small part of him hoped that the intruders would leave them alone, but that hope was dashed when the footsteps grew closer to them. Okay, this was going to end up in another fight. Finally, whatever was coming towards them stepped out into full view and it was something unexpected. He heard the blonde gasp and his eyes widen in disbelief when the enemy showed itself.

There were about five people surrounding them, which was nothing odd. Another thing that was not too strange, but still questionable, was the fact that two of them were recognizable. They were two of their attackers were the missing mages that had disappeared from this town. One good thing was that least they knew that not all of the missing had been dismembered like the others in the warehouse. They were all emitting the same black mist-like substance from their mouths as the town's people. Their eyes were wide opened and unblinking as the move towards them with slow steps. They all shared the same empty black colored eyes. The odd thing the shocked the Dragon Slayer was that they all smelled decaying flesh.

They were dead, but they were moving like that lizard in the forest.

"Gajeel…" Lucy gulped behind and he heard her shuffle Lily to one arm as the other reached her whip in the back of his pants. She was shaking. "I'll watch our backs. You take the front."

"Don't you dare use too much magic, Lucy." He heard her grunt in agreement before he rushed forward hell bent on beating these guys into submission with his powerful fists.

The first guy he hit went down easily, but the other two weaved around him like a couple of snakes. He watched as the two men's bodies moved in unnatural positions that made his own body ache from looking at it. He charged again, except this time one of the figures wrapped their entire lower body around his leg trying to trip him as the other lashed at his face. The Iron Dragon Slayer growled letting loose a roar hitting the attacking man full force. The man fell soundlessly to the ground as Gajeel's hand wrapped around the second one. The man's lower half wriggled frantically trying to escape.

The Dragon Slayer soon felt his skin begin to sting as the smell of his burning gloves made its way to his nostrils. He winced growling in pain from the green ooze that was coming out of the enemy's skin, but he held on as he squeezed it tightly. Before long, the thing he held went limp and as he fell to the ground. The attacker's snake like shape went back to the form of a young teen, probably one of the missing civilians. The Iron Dragon Slayer grinned in success.

Meanwhile, behind him Lucy was ducking and swatting away the sharp looking knives the two figures were tossing her way. She ducked again as the mage sent more knives her way again. She flicked her wrist as the blue flash of magical power that she had stored in her whip caused it to changed direction fluidly smacking the man away from her. He sailed across the sky into a tree and then he slumped down as the second one took his place. She was sweating from her face down to her neck. It was obvious that magical exhaustion was catching up to her, but she pushed forward determine to win. Her whip was ready when another batch of objects flying came towards them and she pushed it into an arch protecting herself an Gajeel from the flying projectiles with ease. She grinned triumphantly when her whip finally wrapped around her target and in one swift movement he was tossed down harshly to the ground. He was knocked out instantly much to the Celestial Mage's delight. He smelled the satisfaction wafting off her scent as he turned to see her grinning and he wanted to return it, but he quickly noticed something else. Her breathing was harsher and faster than it should be. He didn't think she had used that much of her dwindling magical energy to be that tired. His face morphed into worry as she staggered a bit where she stood.

"Lucy!"

"It's okay, just a little tired." She replied, only to have her face change into an expression of worry for him. Gajeel watched her walked up to him and with her free hand she reached for his injured hand. She gently turned it over making the obvious burned skin visible. "What happened to your hand Gajeel?"

"One of those shits used acid." He replied with gritted teeth. Now that she mentioned it that pain came back full force. "They must still be able to use their magic even in this state.

"Acid magic?" The blonde visivly frowned. "That sounds like it hurts. We'll have Wendy look at it when we get back, but for now take my bow out of my hair Gajeel."

"Tch, don't order me around." He winced, but did what she had asked him to do since she was holding onto a passed out Lily. He undid the blue bow in her hair. "What are you going to do?"

"Wrap it of course." She replied as she placed one end of her bow in her mouth as her free hand began to warp the other end around his hand. He watched her in awe. She was fully concentrating on her task and he found it adorable how hard she was concentrating. "There, that should at least help from getting dirt in it!"

"Thanks."

"Someone has to take care of you." Lucy teased, but her voice was grim. She looked at the fallen mages with a frown. There was still mist coming out from their mouths. "What did Fear do to these mages?"

"No clue." Gajeel responded. He really could not get a grasp on how Fear was planning to accomplish his mass murder. Though right now, he was more worried about the blonde Celestial Mage than anything. She was barely standing and her skin looked sickly pale. "Bunny, no more magic for you alright. Let me handle anything else that comes our way."

"Okay, but Gajeel we should–" Lucy was cut off by the laughter of echoing around them.

"Fall…" An inhuman voice screeched around them.

The two mages soon felt their feet buckling from the increased invisible weight on their shoulders. Lily was forced out of Lucy's arms as she fell and the blonde to reach for the unconscious Exceed in vain because she could barely move. The red eyed Dragon Slayer recognized the feeling of this magic. It was gravity magic. He really hated this kind of magic. He found it so troublesome to get out of. Gajeel could not see the castor anywhere, until he felt a presence near them and then it appeared behind Lucy. He watched the unknown assailant pull her hair harshly as they dragged her away. He began growling profanities at the attacker.

"Don't worry I'll give her back." Its voice was so distorted the gender was impossible to tell. "I just want one little thing from her."

Lucy bit her lips painfully as the person pulled her hair harder.

"This is for Fear-sama."The person pulled out a shining silver blade. A wide smile appeared on it's darken face. "My master will be please with me if I kill you two and bring you back to him in pieces."

Actually, Lucy and Gajeel were positive that Fear wanted them alive so he could kill them himself.

"Fear?" The ex-heiress found her voice as she began to struggle harder trying to get out of its grip, but she was too exhausted. She didn't have the strength to fight. "Don't tell me your one of those pets he mentioned?"

"None of your business." It smirked lifting the knife closer to her. "Now time to die!"

"Lucy!"

He could not move due to the fact that he was weighed down by the Gravity Magic. He could do nothing. All he could do is watch as the sunlight glinted off the blade as it went towards her throat. The Dragon Slayer struggled to move, but no matter how hard he forced his limbs to move they wouldn't listen. He roared in frustration trying with all his might to move. He did not want her to die. She could not die not before they got to share their lives together. They still had so much time to spend together.

Damn it!

"Don't you touch her, you fiend. I will not allow you to harm her" A new voice soft as a whispered ordered. Then a cloud of white petals shot forward surrounding the attacker in an instant, but they seemed not to harm him in any way. They fell lifelessly to the ground. "Please attack now awhile he is trap in the illusion."

The voice stated and as soon as she said the word 'attack' the man released Lucy from his grip. His hands went to his head as he mumbled about a swarm of bees attacking him. The distraction caused his magic to break and Gajeel sent at an iron pillar his way. It sent him back into the town, back into the mist, but the Dragon Slayer didn't care. Lucy instantly ran to his side as soon as the danger was gone. It must have been an adrenaline rush he assumed. Either way, Gajeel was getting really tired of these surprised attacks. If another happened he would not be able to handle it.

"What the hell just happen?" The blonde woman wheezed as she knelt down next to him. "Why did he let me go all of sudden and acted like that?"

"Hell if I should know. I heard a voice though." He replied back as he watched Lucy look around where she had been seconds ago. "It smells so flowery out here now like—"

"Oh, look at the flowers! They're the same as the ones in the forest and in that meadow. Just like the one that broke our illusions!" The Celestial Mage may have interrupted him, but she stated what he concluded as well. They definitely had the same scent as that one time. "How did they get here?"

"Uh, magic?"

Bunny Girl mouth opened to tell him something, but another voice spoke out.

"It is because I helped you."

The pair looked up again and saw someone appear in front of them. There stood a little girl with short lavender-white hair cradling her face. Her pale ice blue eyes matched stood out because of the pale pink knee length kimono she was wearing. Surrounding her feet were some of the petals they had noticed earlier. Her face held no expression as she looked at them.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked.

"I am Shizuka and I represent the constellation of the fox." The little girl replied politely as she bowed respectfully in front of Lucy. "It is an honor to finally meet you, Lucy-dono."

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Updated Dec, 27,2015