Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters; that right belongs to Hiro Mashima.

Author's Notes: This chapter is a bit different due to the POV. Because when someone deals with addiction, it affects others around them.

He was beside himself with worry and a sense of failure. That it had gotten to this point, again, was not good. They had all known that something was bothering Lucy. They even knew what it was but hadn't done a thing to help because Lucy had said she was able to cope. And to make it worse, the newest addition to their little family felt like they were responsible for it.

Sighing, Loke ran his hand through his hair as he looked through the scrying pool. His princess, his savior, was curled up on the floor, rocking back and forth, muttering darkly. He knew this was not a good thing and that she needed to go back to the meetings and the therapist. But he also knew that right now, she was refusing all help that had been offered. That she had commanded not just him, but Virgo and Cancer to not come out on their own.

"I am sorry... I am so sorry..."

Looking over, Loke gave a small, sad smile to Chalice. He was well aware of why this Spirit didn't really make contracts that often. But to have Lucy be their owner and master was something a lot of spirits wanted. She was (usually) king, caring, accepting, loving, and respectful. Reaching out, Loke turned his hand palm up for the small Spirit to settle onto it.

"You did nothing wrong, Chalice. When your key lands down there, like any of our own, it affects the surrounding area. Nor are you at fault for the way she is regressing at the moment," He said in a soft voice. "I knew I should have stopped the contract. But to see Lucy light up like that at the potential of a new friend and family member. You finally found someone who could use you and not for the wrong reasons, and that you were also so happy. It is partially my fault. Lucy is a great person, but after having to sacrifice Aquarius, who belonged to her mother. Was in her mind one of the last links to her mother she had... it affected her a lot deeper than we all thought."

The way Chalice glowed in his hand as she stayed silent, Loke knew he had to do something.

Laxus stared at the paperwork on his desk and glowered. He couldn't seem to focus on it, not after Erza came to him a few days ago and slammed an almost empty bottle of whiskey on his desk. Then explained that she had taken it from Lucy, who was supposed to be going on a mission with her. To see Erza look like she was about to break for the first time in a very long while, Laxus felt pissed beyond reason. But he knew that this would be an uphill battle with Lucy.

Hell, they'd all seen the signs when the group had come back, and nothing was said or done. Laxus had hoped that Lucy would come to him as she had originally, to say that she was having difficulties with her problems. As the Guild Leader of Fairy Tail, it was his responsibility to check in with his members and make sure they were okay. In this regard, he knew he had failed, but then again, it seemed to be a common mistake that any Guild Leader for Fairy Tail made and often.

Groaning, Laxus heard a soft poof and chime and lifted his eyes to see Loke. Feeling a bit of shock as he looked at the Spirit, who appeared haggard and not put together. Laxus wondered if Lucy's current mental and emotional state affected the spirits like this? Or if this was borne from their state of worry over their mistress?

"Got a moment, Laxus?"

Giving a slow nod of his head as he waved for Loke to take a seat on the small couch.

"I take it this is about Lucy," He asked.

When Loke had flopped on the couch and nodded to let him know that he was correct, Laxus felt a small pang in his chest. He had known Loke when he was masquerading as a human mage in the Guild. When he learned that Loke was a Celestial Spirit, it had made sense with his unique scent.

"I am currently breaking a command, Laxus," Loke said. "The Spirit King stated that I could come here to talk to you about this issue."

Laxus felt his eyebrow jump on his forehead. This was more serious than he had thought if the Almighty of the Celestial Realm permitted a Spirit not to listen to their mage. Staying silent, hoping Loke would continue to speak, as Laxus watched, Loke removed his glasses and gave him a pointed look.

"We all have our own demons we deal with. And right now, Lucy is not coping really well," Loke said, his voice somber and strained. "On that last mission, the Spirit Lucy acquired had affected the area in a major way. And it seems this had triggered a regression in Lucy via nightmares of giant centipedes."

At this, Laxus shifted and sat up straighter, letting his eyes narrow as he recalled the mission report. Hissing softly as he pulled the bottom draw of the desk open, Laxus pulled out the stack of folders that had the past few week's worth of missions to be filed after he heard back from the Magic Council.

"Fuck," He growled as he finally came to the correct folder; picking it up and flipping it open, he scanned over the mission reports from each member who'd been on the team. "I knew it. I knew I should have listened to my instincts. But I didn't want to be pushy and cause a lash out."

"It is alright, Laxus," Loke said. "Lucy is a very prideful person. Always wanting to take care of her issues by herself. But right now, I need you to send someone to check on her. Not Erza, that would just add fire to the fuel, and Lucy is already beating the shit out of herself for that. She is a mean drunk."

Laxus let the file drop to the desktop and looked solemnly at Loke while thinking carefully about who to send.

"You do know I have to take Lucy from the roster for falling off the paddy wagon, right?" Laxus asked. When Loke gave a small nod of his head, Laxus closed his eyes. "I think I will go personally, and I will take someone with me. Someone I know who is very worried over her, and the exposure could be good for both of them. She needs a support buddy, and I think this would be a good chance for both of them."

His words had Loke raising both of his eyebrows as he looked highly skeptical. So, Laxus pushed his chair back from the desk and stood up, winching when the joints in his lower back and hip gave loud, slightly painful pops in protest. Then, he walked to his office door without a word and opened it, peeking his head out and scanned. Once he found the person he wanted, he waved his hand for them to get their ass into the office and shut the door. Frankly, he didn't want to go back to sitting at his desk, so he opted to lean against it.

She was in utter turmoil and feeling the pain more deeply than she had the last time Lucy had ripped into her. Erza sat there and poked her fork repeatedly into the strawberry shortcake before her. What little appetite she had was spoiled by the melancholy she was feeling. Laxus had completely shut down after she explained what happened to Lucy.

The whole Guild had been more quiet than normal after seeing her come in carrying the partially empty fifth of whiskey. What had she done wrong? She was worried about Lucy. She wanted her friend and sister like figure to get better. Yes, she had seen Lucy acting weird after returning from that mission but figured that Lucy would speak when she was ready. It was how she, herself, functioned.

"Hey, Erza?"

Looking away from her now mutilated piece of cake, Erza tried to smile at Natsu and Happy.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay? You... uh haven't eaten your cake yet."

Blinking slowly, Erza looked back at her piece of destroyed cake.

"I will be okay, Natsu. I am just worried about Lucy."

There was a short pause before Erza felt Happy land on her shoulder and hug her head, purring softly. Feeling her already tumultuous feelings start to well up, Erza lifted a hand and began to stroke Happy's head as her eyes began to sting. Then before she knew it, she was blanketed in warmth from behind as arms wrapped around her. Natsu was doing his best to comfort her as well.

Ever since Lucy had come to the Guild and left their team, things haven't felt the same; she was well aware that Lucy's reasons were legit. That things had gone on for too long and that her emotional state had been ignored. Natsu wasn't intentionally a mean or cruel person. Yes, he was often single-minded, but it was because he lost someone so precious as a child and was on his own for a while before coming to the Guild. Each member of Fairy Tail had a harsh past that they tended to keep stashed in the closet, partying and acting happy all the time. But in reality, they were all very broken on the inside.

"It will be okay; somehow, it will be okay," she said as she let the tears fall once more down her face.

Bickslow was stunned as he stood there staring at Laxus before glancing over to where Loke was sitting on the couch. It bothered him that Loke looked like he'd been rolled out of a bar after drinking too much. To see someone that had always been so put together look this disheveled was disconcerting. But what had Bickslow feeling stunned was that Laxus told him he was going with him to check on Lucy.

Loke had explained what had been happening, going on, since the mission. How Lucy was now sinking further into that dark place, she had been in after destroying Aquarius key and drinking to the point of passing out. It had Bickslow scared that she would try to harm herself physically. He knew about that, been there.

"Well, Bix, let's go. The window is our best bet because I am not pulling more attention to Lucy," Laxus stated.

Swallowing as his throat felt like it was constricting painfully. With one final glance at Loke, Bickslow pointed to the window and watched as his babies flew to it, and out it forming a small platform to stand on. He knew he wouldn't get a choice and let Laxus know later that this wasn't cool. Bickslow didn't appreciate that his best friend was forcing him to confront a hurt Lucy, especially since he knew how he felt about her.

Slowly he walked to the window and climbed out it, balancing easily on his babies as Laxus heaved his bulk through the window and climbed on beside him. It was slightly amusing to see his friend show trepidation as he clung to him. But now was not the time to tease Laxus to get back at him for this. With a silent command, they were off, flying towards the small two-story on Strawberry Street that held Lucy's apartment. Loke had given them a key to get into the apartment because it was locked.

TBC!

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