The First Sin

Summary: "I may not be strong. Definitely not as strong as some of the people I've had the chance to fight with. But I'll stay standing for as long as it takes to defeat you!" – Set during the Guilds disbandment. LaLu and other couples.

Authors note: Sorry it took a while to get this chapter out. Now that it's really getting into the thick of things! Everything is picking up and hopefully my personal life calms down so I can get the chapters going! Let me know what you think of the chapter!

Disclaimer: I in no way own Fairy Tail! I do however own my own characters.

Arc: Wrath

Previously: Laxus growled, stalked forward towards the illusion mage. The move only caused Vana to pull on his hair, green eyes sparkling and unseeing as he moaned, "Let me enjoy this a moment more. It's amazing. Better than anything I've ever felt."

Vanas' words made Laxus pause for only a moment, his magic flaring around him, "Time's up." The lightning crackled loudly before an even louder boom echoed through the dungeon as Laxus' his power flared, making the room impossibly bright as his attack hit. Despite lightning being his element, even he was pushed back by the force of the blow, grabbing Lucy as she too was flung backwards and shielded her from the magic.

His back slammed into the wall, head cracking against the stone. But he couldn't help but feel relieved.

Chapter 9: Deepest Secret

The ground was cold under her when she finally came to. Her cheeks still damp from the tears she knew she'd cried. The illusion had been so real to her. It had played will her and pulled open wounds she had thought had healed long ago. She felt numb and she was sure if she wasn't she would feel incredibly violated.

She pressed her palms against the ground and forced herself up, squinting through the dim light, "Laxus?" Her voice just called back to her, echoing through the chamber, "Come on Lucy. Up you get."

Her legs felt like jelly under her and she staggered, moving forward carefully. She didn't make a sound, she barely ever took a breath as she listened, straining against the silence to hear her partner. It wasn't long before she heard a soft groan and she stilled, listening. It felt like an age to her before she finally heard it again and carefully guessed the direction the sound came from. Every time it sounded like if was further away, she re-adjusted her direction and tried again. And it was only after her seventh attempt to locate the hulking man that she finally stumble across him.

"Stardress: Leo." She pulled on her magic and felt the transformation take hold. She carefully focused her power on her hand and the light of Regulus lit the room. She silently scolded herself for not thinking of the idea sooner as she took in her partner. His clothes were charred and frayed but he was breathing. To her that was all that mattered.

'They left you.' Vana's voice still echoed in her head and she bit her lip before summoning one of her spirits.

"Moo! Lucy! You don't look so great." Taurus' usual greeting deflated when he took in the dishevelled appearance of his master. They had all sensed her mental distress, but had been unable to get through their gates to help you.

"I know Taurus. Now I need you to grab Laxus so that we can get out of here." Lucy panted, feeling her magic drain much quicker than it was meant to, "I don't know how long I can keep you out for. My magic hasn't recovered since the train crash."

The Bull Spirit nodded and went about collecting the overly muscled man from the floor, "I did this not too long ago for this guy." Taurus laughed, taking Laxus' weight onto his shoulder.

"And you treated him like a sack of potatoes back then too." Lucy laughed, brightening the light enough to take in the chamber around them properly.

The cave walls were damp and covered in moss and mould, even the air was heavy with the smell of it. A small section of the far wall was darker than the rest of the cave and Lucy approached it cautiously, holding her glowing hand close to it.

"Over here Taurus. Though it'll be a bit of a squeeze for you…" Lucy could feel the sweat drip down her neck at the idea of having to pull Laxus through the hole on her own but she couldn't see any way around it without giving up her light.

"I understand Lucy. Why don't you try fuse Stardresses? Mine with Leo's." Taurus' words struck a cord with her and she blinked, staring between her spirit and her glowing hand.

"You think I could?" She flexed her fingers, drawing on more of her magic.

"I think so. The others spirits thought so a while ago when you achieved Second origin but no one ever had a reason to tell you." Taurus put Laxus down against the wall before saluting, "Now you take care of the fine body of yours!"

And with a wink he was gone and his glow flew to her and enveloped her. Everything on her changed to the Taurus Star Dress, shorts and all, but her hand remained glowing. The two Celestial magics mixed with her own and she smiled, "Thank you Taurus."

With the strength of Taurus she easily manoeuvred Laxus behind her, easing him through the opening. She shuffles for minutes, constantly stopping to adjust the blond man's head to stop him from getting scratched up or getting stuck. But when she finally broke into another chamber she fell out of the crevice, taking deep breaths before pulling Laxus out after her. She settled him against her shoulders, taking his weight easily before she continued making her way along.

"Great. Just how big is this place?" She brightened her Regulus light, showing just how expansive the cavern they were in was. The couldn't even see the ceiling of it, stalactites and glow worms making it look like a starry sky above her. A small brook trickled past her feel and she followed it. Outside her light it was completely black and she dared not wander too far from the water, relying on her sense of hearing to guide her to safety.

The small brook let to a stream and then an underground river. Lucy kept following the flow of the water, even when she felt her magic get dangerously low. It was only when she reached a small spring connected to the river that she found a smooth patch of ground. She carefully lowered her partner to the ground and with the last of her magic, released her Star Dress and called Virgo through her gate.

"Punishment Princess?" The maid spirit bowed, not bothered by the darkness the lack of Regulus has plunged the cave into.

"No. Virgo. Never punishment. I need you to get me something for light and warmth. And some bandages for Laxus. Thing you can help me out with that?" The pinkette gave her master a stern look before nodding and vanishing in a puff of smoke, and with her disappearance, so too vanished what little light she had also emitted. Lucy sighed into the darkness, feeling the heat radiate of the blonde man next to her. She didn't have to wait long before Virgo returned though, and knew instantly that the Maid had returned on her own power.

As per true form, Virgo had a small site set up in minutes. A small fire was burning in the middle of their makeshift campsite, with two tall torches making a small perimeter. Even wool from Ares had been brought along to make a soft place to sit or sleep for them. Virgo even started bandaging the blonde Slayer, taking care to wrap gauze around his head and to clean his wrists. Illusions Vana had cast, but they had been able to inflict real damage on them. It was something that made Lucy shiver.

"I have also gathered a small meal for you and Master Laxus to have. You must keep your strength up. You are about half a days walk from the surface from here, but you are in no danger in the caves here." Virgo bowed, the chains on her wrists clinking together, "Will that be all Princess?"

The blonde woman could feel the sweat drop down her neck at how thorough her spirit was, "That's all Virgo. Thank you so much."

Virgo disappeared without a sound and Lucy pulled the sleeping man to the pile of wool, allowing him to sink into the makeshift bed first before she claimed a corner for herself. The basket of food Virgo had brought was filled with cold cuts and trails rations. As well as enough water to last them till they left the cave, "Oh Virgo. You've done it again." Lucy shook her head and pulled out some of the food her spirit had left them, as well as getting out some water for Laxus. He would be hungry when he woke up.

She munched for a while in silence, listening to the soft breathing of her partner. She wasn't even sure how long she had been down in the cave either, not even Horologium could tell her properly. It was only when Laxus groaned that she snapped to attention, shaking of the drowsiness that had tried to lull her to sleep. She crawled to kneel beside him, holding her breath when she saw his eyes pinch.

A groan left his lips and one of his hands rose to his head, carefully feeling the lump under the bandages. She giggled when he huffed, still not opening his eyes, "Come on sleepy head. You need to eat."

His eyes flew open, his mouth working without sound as he took in the sight of her. He shot up, their foreheads colliding with a hollow thud and they both grunted, holding their heads in their hands, "Well that didn't help my headache…"

Lucy laughed despite the pain in her head and grabbed a bottle of water for the man, watching as he stared at it dumbly, "This is water Laxus. You drink it."

His cheeks coloured in the firelight and he snatched the bottle from her, taking a large drink from it, "Haha. Very funny Blondie. Where are we?" He looked around, his keen sight taking in things beyond that light that she couldn't see.

"We're still in the cave Vana had us in. I only had enough magic to get us out of the chamber and have Virgo set up this small camp for us. But we should be able to rest comfortably for a little, Virgo said there was no danger in these caves. And that it's about half a days walk out, so we need our rest." Lucy rubbed the back of her head before carefully reaching out to touch his head. Her fingers grazed the white bandage, noticing the small blood stain that had already formed on it, "But that's beside the point. Are you okay?"

He stared at her incredulously, his hand flying up to grab her wrist and pull her hand from his head, "Am I okay?"

His words were whispered, the disbelief in his voice almost tangible as he looked at her wide eyed. She just nodded at him, her eyes flicking between his and the bandage on his head.

"I only took a little beating. Nothing my body won't heal. But… Lucy…" He took a deep breath, his free hand cupping her face, "Lucy. He was in your head. He toyed with you in a way no one should be able to, or allowed to do. I should be the one asking if you're okay."

She looked away from him, unable to take the worry in his eyes, "I mean. It wasn't easy. And he brought up things I thought I'd gotten over… but… I'm still alive right?"

The look she gave him made his breath catch and he pulled her to him with a gentle tug. She fell into his chest easily and he wrapped his arms around her, cradling her against him. The tears in her eyes had pulled at his heart in a way he never wanted to feel again. The violent tightening in his chest made him feel sick and all he wanted to do was make it go away.

"What did he show you Lucy? You can talk to me." He whispered into her hair, gently rocking them on the spot.

A shuddering breath was quickly followed by a sniffle and she laughed, "You'll think half of it's stupid."

Her words made him shake his head and he gently pushed her away so that he could look at her, carefully wiping away her tears, "Nothing you say is stupid Lucy. Especially if it's about the way you feel."

Lucy smiled, allowing her mind to take her back to what Vana had made her think of, of the memories he had twisted for his own sick pleasure, "He… he went into my memories. All the way back to my childhood. You see… I didn't have it as easy as everyone thinks I did as an heiress. And after my mother died, my father focused on my education and training to be a lady. There was one time, when I was a kid, I made a rice ball for my father, which he promptly threw it back at me, he said he was too busy or something. But I heard Vana. He said my father never cared. And just wanted to marry me off. I knew it was a lie, at first. But then the memories kept coming. Like when…"

She took a breath and he shifted them, shaking her out of her thoughts, "Like when Phantom Lord attacked. When I was captured, Jose had Gajeel beat me to within an inch of death-"

"He what?" Laxus growled low in his throat and Lucy pushed away enough to pull her shirt up to just under her breasts. She carefully pulled his hands from her and placed them on her ribs, letting him feel the scars that marred her flesh.

"It was before he was part of Fairy Tail of course. But it didn't take the memories away. And it was before Wendy joined too, so she couldn't heal me. And I heard Vana in the memory too. He said I deserved it. I deserved what I got because I was weak. Because I was a burden on the guild. I remember always being haunted by those thoughts. Of just being a replacement. Of dragging everyone down. I mean, I was meant to be on Fairy Tail's strongest team. And yet I wasn't anywhere near the level of those around me." Lucy took a deep breath, shivering at the feel of his fingers ghosting over her flesh, "There were other memories. Others that he pulled up. But none as bad…"

He waited patiently for her to continue, watching her like a hawk as she reached in her top and pulled out a long chain, a broken key resting on the end, "During Tartarus… Horologium's' emergency mode activated and saved me from being turned into… the muscle of the cube. But they knew I was still around and I got surrounded by demons. They just kept showing up. I tried to call out my spirits, but Virgo and Loke got hurt. And I was running out of magic. I knew I didn't have much left but I still tried to someone another spirit. I thought I was done for when Aquarius showed up. But not even she stood a chance against the demons…"

She sobbed, clutching the key so tightly that she drew blood, "She told me… s-she told me to summon the Celestial Spirit King… T-that I had to break… That I had to willingly break our contract so that he could be summoned." With a shuddering breath she continued, "So I did. It was the most painful thing… I have and will ever have to do. She had tried to act cold. But I knew she was hurting too…"

"Lucy…" His breath ghosted across her face and she closed her eyes.

"I could hear Vana then too. He said she was happy to be gone. That all my spirits wished they could be done with me. That they wanted to leave me like the rest of Fairy Tail did when the guild disbanded. He said I was always meant to be alone. That it's what I deserve. And in a way, he was right when he said I was jealous. Natsu left with Happy. Mira has her siblings. You had your team… And I was left to pick up the pieces…"

"But Lucy…" His cupped her chin and turned her to look at him. Her eyes had turned amber in the fire light and he felt his heart stutter, "Lucy… You aren't alone anymore…"

He closed the distance between them, "I'll make sure you never have to be alone again."

Their breaths mingled and Lucy smiled, "You promise?"

"Always…" And he pressed his lips to hers.

XXx The First Sin xXx

And there it was! It happened! The thing happened with the lips and the kissing and the cliff hangers! OMG! I wanted to write that for so long now! (*jumps up and down*) You don't know how excited I am that the romance is happening!

Anyway! Let me know what you think and leave me a review please! A major shout out to the following people for reviewing the last chapter as well:

saskiarosee

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