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: I'm sorry it took so long. But after moving I just needed to rest. And then work started up again and bang. No time for the wicked! But here it is! It took forever to find a progression that I liked for the story. And now it's here! Hope you like it!

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

Arc: Wrath

Previously:

He pulled himself upright on the ground, floored by the hurt he saw in her eyes. His hand rubbed his sore cheek, feeling the lump already forming there. Lucy glared with everything she had before she sighed, the anger disappointing, leaving only sadness in its wake.

"Just... go then Laxus." Lucy turned and walked down the hallway, her Leo Stardress allowing her to roam freely to the checkout. And all Laxus could do was watch her walk away.

Chapter 12: Stronger than they Realised

Lucy grumbled the whole way to the nurses' station, her heels giving people enough warning to make way for her lest they face her wrath.

"Dumb, egotistical, obnoxious Dragon Slayer." Her fingers twisted in her dress.

"Um… Miss? Are you alright?" She stopped dead in the hallway, blinked when she realised she was at her destination. Lucy let out a small chuckled, nervously pushing her hair out of her face.

"Um, yes. Actually. The doctor said I could be discharged. I just need to sign out." Lucy gave the nurse her best smile, patiently waiting for the woman to find the right paperwork.

"That won't be an issue. Can I just get your name?"

"Heartfillia, Lucy."

The nurse pushed around some papers before offering a clipboard, "Please just sign on the dotted line and you're right to go." As Lucy went to sign her name she was shocked when the nurse suddenly grabbed her arm, forcing her to look up. The woman had a nervous air about her, eyes darting to look down the hallway Lucy had come down, "This was also dropped off for you after that man walked to your room. A woman left it, said it was important." The nurse slipped a bag onto the counter she took the clipboard away and quickly resumed her work, completely ignoring Lucy.

"Well… okay then." Without another word, the Celestial mage turned on her heel and left the hospital, silently calling to one of her spirits as she went.

"I'm sorry Miss Lucy! How can I help you?" Aries appeared in a cloud of smoke, her hands fiddling with the edge of her dress.

"No need to be sorry Aries. I just wanted someone to walk with me till I get somewhere safe. Unless you're busy, of course."

"N-No! Of Course not, sorry. I'd be more than happy to accompany you." With a smile the pinkette fell into step beside her master and together they traded small talk until Lucy found an inn with a vacancy, "If that is all Miss Lucy, I'll let Virgo know you need some clothes so that you can release you're stardress. Sorry."

Before Lucy could reply Aries had vanished and in her place was Virgo, with a fresh pile of clothes in hand, "Princess. Punishment?" The blonde could feel the sweat role down her cheek as she shook her head and took the offered clothing, allowing her magic to release.

"That won't be necessary. Thanks a lot Virgo. And pass on my thanks to Loke and Aries too please."

With a bow the maid spirit vanished and left the mage to her own devices. After a shower Lucy settled down on the bed and grabbed the bag the nurse had handed her. The weight was significant, and Lucy could only worry about it's contents. Carefully, feeling for any sign of magic, Lucy sighed when a Lacrima comm fell out, followed by a packet of paper. Her brow furrowed as she grabbed the comm in one hand and the pages in the other, eyes glancing at the note on the cover of the packet.

"Lucy. Please watch the comm before you read these notes. I need you to understand what's going on."

Curiosity getting the better of her, she lowered the pages and grabbed the comm in both hands before focusing a little bit of her magic into the crystal. With a flash of light, an image of Evergreen appeared.

'Lucy… if you're watching this, then it means that Laxus has done something incredibly stupid and pigheaded. He's going after Ira and we're going to make sure he doesn't get himself killed. Listen… I know you probably don't care, but Bix, Freed and I… we're really sorry for the way we acted. Laxus explained everything. We've just been so worried about him. And you are the one that convinced him to go hunting them again… but we owe you a big apology and an even bigger thank you for getting him home to us.'

Lucy could feel herself already forgiving the lot of them, but when she heard his voice she felt it all wash away to be replaced by anger.

'Ever! Let's go!' Evergreen's image flickered before she glanced back at the lacrima comm.

'Lucy. I have to go. But I'm leaving you a copy of the documents we managed to pull up on Ira. I just hope you get to us first. We're heading out to Oshibana. He said we'll find more clues there. I hope to Mavis that you find what he hasn't before we move out. Take care Lucy.'

The blonde could only blink as the image vanished and she lowered the comm, "Stupid Laxus… fine. Let's figure this out then."

She rummaged around in her bag for her gale force glasses and settled at the desk in the corner of the room, the pages scattered around her. She leafed through them all, ignoring the images of Ira's victims by chucking them under the desk. Various reports had said people had only watched the victims being hit by silent attacks, attacks which she knew all too well.

Other's were of the locations each body had been found and Lucy stood up from her desk quickly before rushing out to the front desk. The clerk was shocked by her sudden appearance, her wide eyes meeting her own chocolate ones.

"Can I help you miss?" The clerk asked, tucking away the stray pages she had been writing in.

"Yes. Do you happen to sell maps of Fiore by any chance?" Lucy wrung her fingers together, feeling the weight of her limited money on her hip.

"Why… yes we do? Are you in need of a detailed one or…"

"A simple one will do as long as the landmarks are noted on them." Lucy felt her heart lift and quickly handed over some cash when the clerk offered her the map and she took off again to her room.

"Miss! This is too much! Miss!"

Her door slammed with a resounding bang and she opened the map and carefully spread it over a free section of the table. She grabbed a pen and quickly filled in her previous encounters. With Luxuria being in Hargeon and Vana being close to Oshibana.

"That means… Laxus has gone to see if the cave had any clues to the Infernos sibling's locations… but that doesn't make sense… that wasn't were Vana was based out of. He was only there because it was away from people… Which means the other siblings would be based in central hubs as well." She bit her lip and looked over the reports. Each victim had been found in a woodland area and it was then that she swallowed her concern and grabbed the photos from the ground.

The gruesome images made her gag, and she had to force herself not throw up as she looked over the pictures. It was obvious that the one that had captured them was affected by the scene of the crimes, consider that there were some that were incredibly blurry. But there was one that caught her attention and Lucy squinted at the photo. A wall was caught in the corner of the frame and something flickered through her mind, a memory. A spa day with both Fairy Tail and Blue Pegasus.

"That's it! All the attacks! They were around the Woodsea!" She snapped her fingers, calling forth Crux, "Grandpa Crux. I need you to get whatever information about the Woodsea and about the Infernos sibling Ira; Wrath of the Seven Sins."

"Not a problem Miss Lucy." And just like that he was asleep and all Lucy could do was wait and come up with a plan that she could fill in with whatever information Crux could give her. She just hoped she wasn't too late.

xXx The First Sin xXx

She woke the next morning to Crux calling out to her. His voice was grave, and Lucy bolted upright, her hands flying to the note book she had been writing in before she'd fallen asleep.

"Miss Lucy. You were right. All the attacks happened in the forest nearby. However, Miss Ira excels at ranged combat. She knew where to find you because Sir Laxus is part of the Blue Pegasus Guild."

"Of course. That all makes sense. And with her type of magic, it wouldn't be hard to catch someone while they were out for a hike." An image of someone's mangled legs came to the forefront of her mind and she swallowed heavily, trying to force the nausea away, "Her attacks are quiet and have a high impact. The only people that have ranged attacks are Evergreen and Bixlow. Maybe Laxus… but even then he needs to have eyes on his target and allow his magic to charge up for his Raging Bolt..."

"Miss Lucy. I believe the reason you have been so successful against the Infernos siblings in credited to the versatile use of your magic. You have both the ability to utilise and to summon many different powers for most situations you come across. It is imperative you get to Ira before them. Or at the very least before she kills them." Crux stared at his master with determined eyes, "The rest is up to you Miss Lucy. I will be going back and letting the others know that they may be called at a moment's notice if they are needed. Their contracts at the moment are flexible."

"Crux. I can't ask that of them-"

"Tut, tut Miss Lucy. We all love you. And we don't want to see you hurt again." And just like that he vanished.

"I love you guys too…" Lucy felt her keys warm beside her, glancing down at the notes she had compiled through the night while Crux had worked, "Now, time to sort this all out."

With renewed determination, Lucy changed into hiking gear comprised of boots, jeans and a thick jacket to ward of the early Winter chill. Virgo would collect her items and check her out of the inn while she made her way to Ira. She calculated in her head that she should have had at least a half day head start on the Thunder Legion, something she would utilise. Until it dawned on her that Laxus could lightning travel. And being driven by his stubborn attitude he could very easily leave the team behind in Oshibana.

"Damn it." She tore from the room as fast as her legs could carry her.

xXx The First Sin xXx

She walked from the town and into the surrounding forest, her eyes scanning everything. Her nerves were on edge, senses on high alert. The phantom pain of Ira's attack still plagued her, as did anything that was magically healed. But she pushed on, leashing her anger and determination. Lucy followed the path they had taken when the guild had visited the spas and sighed when she saw the building. Her hand brushed against Horologium's key and realised she had wasted a vast majority of the morning trying to find the place. But it was her only starting point with any viable proof behind it.

Once she found the exact spot she called out Plue and the shivering spirit greeted her with a solemn call, his small eyes serious for the first time since she'd gotten him.

"Alright Plue. I'm not sure if you can… but think you could try smell Ira? I already gave you the scrap of clothing she'd touchced."

"Pun, pun!" The spirit cheered, pulling the scrap from around his neck and he bent down on all fours, sniffing the ground loudly before he jumped up, his hands pointed in the direction she needed to go.

"Alright. Great work Plue. Let's get going."

She thanked her lucky stars that Plue required little to no magic as they walked, an hour passing the other as they trekked through the woods. Her feet ached, and her chest was starting to hurt but she pushed on, only stopping when a faint fog started rolling through the trees.

"Plue… do you smell her?"

"Pun pun pun!" The spirit nodded at her, his body shaking so violently that Lucy took pity on the poor thing and sent him home.

"Good work Plue-"

Her words were drowned out by the sound of trees shattering, a deafening roar echoing through the forest before a wind knocked her down. Her fall was a blessing in disguise as she watched a large tree trunk sail over her and Lucy crawled to a patch of upturned earth, using it to shelter her.

"Lepr-!" Lucy winced as she heard Evergreen scream before the brunette went flying over her.

"Ever!" Bixlow tried to reach his teammate and Lucy could only watch as he was hit by multiple explosions that sent him into the ground, creating a small Bixlow shaped crater. She couldn't see Freed but a sudden raging bolt let her know that Laxus was nearby, which mean either the man was with his leader or had also been taken out along with the rest of his team.

"You're all so pathetic!" Ira's voice rang out, grating on the blondes' ears as she squinted through the fog. More trees exploded, the only sound being the wood splintering and breaking, colliding with other plants and tearing down whole sections of the Woodsea.

"Damn it… Laxus. Where are you?" Lucy hesitated before she dashed to another fallen log, hoping the cover would hide her from Ira as long as possible. The red head was no where to be seen as the shadows danced along the forest floor. The sun was already well on it's way to setting and with what little light was left, it was hard to tell where anything or anyone was.

It was only when a familiar cry of pain sang out and stray lightning sparked off close by that Lucy bolted, her hands flying to her keys as she ran. Magic pooled all around her as she took her place before Laxus, ignoring the way her gut twisted at the sight of him bloodied and broken.

"Gemini… lend me your strength. Gemini Stardress!" Sagittarius Stardress!" Lucy stood with back straight as she heaved her bow, magic completely taking over her form. Laxus panted from behind her, his breath wet as he grabbed her ankle with what little strength he had left.

"L-Lucy. No. Get back. Get away from her!" A blast of explosive magic struck the ground beside them and Ira laughed from her hiding place within the fog. The scattered rays of light cast shadows through the trees making Lucy squint even more. The blonde woman huffed, feeling her magic drain faster than she had anticipated as she muttered under her breath. The familiar magic calmed her, and any panic she had felt was washed away.

"You think you're strong Blondie? Really? You're pathetic! Just like the others. Accept defeat like the piece of shit you are!" Ira taunted her, sending out another volley of magic, a blast detonating just before them and Laxus braced, waiting for the next strike, only to watch as a barrier shimmered before them as it took the blow. A drop of liquid landed on his cheek and he could only choke on his breath when he realised the barrier was made of water.

"I may not be strong. Definitely not as strong as some of the people I've had the honour to fight with. But… I'll stay standing for as long as it takes to defeat you!" Lucy's voice was strong, power resonating through her words as her shield rippled, it's glow diminishing with each strike it took, "I'm strong… because I have friends to guide me!"

Lucy's magic took physical form, swirling around her in a golden halo, causing the wind to whip across them. Attack after attack struck her barrier and the whole time Laxus could only watch the woman in awe as two small spirits appeared in front of him. They shimmered, transparent as they reached out to him, "Piri, Piri. Copy complete. Lighting Dragon Slayer magic ready Miss Lucy!"

Immediately, lightning started arching off her skin before dancing up her arm to her bow and arrow. A ball of light appeared at the tip of her arrow as she took aim, arms shaking from the strain she had put herself under.

"It's time you learnt not to mess with a wizard of Fairy Tail!" Lucy yelled, her magic coming to it's peak just as the barrier broke, showering them in glistening water. Her conviction was as true as her aim and her arrow struck home, the familiar boom of thunder their only sign that their target had indeed been struck, a Raging Bolt striking the ground in the distance.

And just like that, it was over.

xXx The First Sin xXx

Happy New Year Everyone! I've struggled with this chapter, not sure how to connect the the fight scene I'd written out when I first started this fic (All the fights all drawn up in full), but I got it to work. It's fun filling in the blanks. I have to say, this was one of my favourite scenes yet. I feel Lucy always get pushed aside, her strength and powers brushed over in favour of those more flashy. Soooo, I figured it was time to show them what's what. And shove it in Laxus' face too!

But in any case, let me know what you thought! And a major thank you to the following people for reviewing the last chapter!

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