WARNING: Rated M for Explicit Graphic Depictions of Violence, Graphic Depiction of Rape/Non-Consensual Sex, Graphic Sex, Graphic Physical and Mental Abuse, and Mental Instability. Please read at your own discretion.
I do not own Fairy Tail; All major characters depicted in this fan-created fiction story belong to Hiro Mashima.
CHAPTER 7
Natsu groaned while letting his aching head drop to the counter of the bar with an audible thump. The upset salmon-haired slayer pressed his cheek against the cold wood in a pathetic attempt in pacifying his raging nerves.
The destructive slayer was definitely on edge if the amount of fidgeting and irritated moans were anything to go off. The male found himself wondering just how much longer he was going to be forced to sit at the guild and wait for his blonde best friend to return.
The fidgeting pyro could practically feel his blood boiling as the molten fluid rushed through his body, causing his already fuming temperature to rise with every passing minute.
Natsu knew it- He could just feel it, the more his magic churned and bubbled within him- he just knew that he was getting close to exploding. If the salmon-haired man couldn't find some way to calm his steadily rising heat, the slayer was going to end up spontaneously combusting into a frenzy of destructive flames right in the middle of the guild… Again.
The dragon slayer couldn't seem to wrap his head around the reason why the rest of the guild couldn't understand that he was NOT the type of wizard to sit around and wait. The fire wielder had an overwhelming need clawing into his gut that was telling him to find the blonde resident of Fairy Tail and make sure she was okay.
Why couldn't his guild mates see that their celestial mage was more than just his partner? Sure- she's his best friend, but she was more than that. The pyro had come to consider the bubbly blonde stellar mage to be part of his small makeshift family.
So, no, Natsu couldn't just sit around and wait for her, he needed to be with her- now! In fact, the slayer never even wanted her to leave without the company of both himself and Happy in the first place, and the fact that no one would let him go after Lucy was starting to absolutely piss him off!
The fire dragon slayer's back jolted upwards as something cold and mildly wet dropped onto the back of his neck causing the male to turn his head slightly. His eyes landed on the sight of silky pale porcelain skin and brilliant short snow-colored hair. His gaze followed the curvature of smooth skin until his onyx orbs landed on the pair of innocent and concerned sapphire eyes that were looking right back at him.
The dragon slayer visibly gulped while trying to not-so-subtly conceal the blush dusting his cheeks by moving to sit up. The fire wielding male was careful not to drop the already melted ice pack as it tried to slide down his body from the rapid movement.
"You know, Natsu- Erza will probably knock you out again if you cause any more trouble for the guild today." The salmon haired pyro averted his eyes trying not to notice the way the youngest Strauss's breast pushed up to reveal more of her ample cleavage while she leaned over the side of the bar to talk to him.
Natsu knew that a lot of the members of the guild often call him an idiot when it came to women since the slayer didn't seem to share his other male guild mate's interest in ogling the opposite sex.
But… The pyro definitely noticed Lisanna.
Ever since the youngest Strauss sibling returned from Edolas, Natsu had silently and almost immediately taken an interest in the short white-haired mage. The fire eater even found himself noticing tiny details that made the woman of his affections just so different than any of the other women in the guild.
Not to mention that talking to the white-haired mage always seemed to be a surefire way of calming the dragon slayer's destructive fire and pushing it back down deep within the confines of his body. The only other person who also had that capability was Lucy.
The thought of his blonde companion made a frown form on the slayer's lips once more as he remembered that she wasn't there with them, like she should be. But, something about the way Lisanna reassured him that everything was going to turn out alright made the slayer want to believe that it was true.
The youngest take-over mage just had a soothing nature to her that the pinkette couldn't seem to resist.
"Yeah, I know Lis. Thanks for the ice pack, but I think it's already melted." Natsu held up the sack of now lukewarm water while rubbing the back of his head, a goofy smile playing across his lips. The short haired woman took the sack from his hands and placed it to the side and out of the way on the bar counter. Lisanna proceeded to lift her hand and touch Natsu's forehead, causing the slayer's breathing to hitch as he caught her floral scent.
Violet with a hint of sweet pea, it captivated him in a way she would probably never know.
"Dear Mavis, Natsu! You're practically already on fire! Gray, can you come here for a second- I need your help!" Lisanna called for the ice-make mage while shaking her hand in an attempt to cool it from the raging heat of Natsu's head.
The youngest take-over mage could have sworn she heard Juvia whisper something about another love rival while Gray sauntered his way over to the pair.
"What's up, Lisanna? Do I need to kick the flaming idiot's ass for you?" Gray snickered while he leaned his back against the bar. The fire mage smacked the back of the raven-haired mage's head, making a point to tell him that he was not the idiot in this situation.
Lisanna giggled at the two boy's antics before she grabbed a hold of Natsu's hand, ignoring the overwhelming heat as she wrapped her palm around his. The dragon slayer looked away when he felt a different type of heat rising to his face once again.
"No, Gray. Can you please help me cool off Natsu? I tried to give him an ice pack, but it melted within a minute of being on him." Lisanna watched as Natsu's eyebrow twitched before he unraveled his hand from hers to point at the amused ice-make Mage.
"I don't need the damn popsicle's help, Lis! If anything, he would try to put the moves on me! Just look at the pervert, he doesn't even have a shirt or pants on!" Gray looked down at his body while Natsu continued his tirade of yelling and insulting him.
Huh, that's odd, when did he lose his shirt and pants? The raven-haired male really had to stop this bad habit. Gray felt a tick form on his head as the raging pyro maniac continued to go on with insults and dishonor to his sexual orientation.
"Sure, Lisanna, I'd love to help," The ice-make mage smirked when he let his ice magic pour from his body to form in his hand before sending it out toward the ranting and raving slayer. The half-naked male watched on as his ice encased Natsu's lower half up to his torso. The raven-haired mage couldn't help but cackle while he watched the flaming bastard try to move his legs around causing the idiot to rock from side to side, pivoting on the brink of tipping over.
"There, that should cool him off while he tries to melt it." Gray snickered once more before he started his walk back to the table he was originally sitting at with Wendy and Erza- who were both giggling at the trapped enraged dragon slayer.
"Put some clothes on ya' damn pervert!" The salmon-haired mage yelled as he used one of his free hands to send a ball of flames to collide right into the back of the shirtless ice mage. Gray proceeded to jump around as a yelp escaped the mage's lips while Natsu's fire slapped at his bare skin.
The ice incased slayer burst into tears from laughing so hard that he almost completely tipped over from the force of his laughter. It was just hilarious for the slayer to see the ice princess jump around like an idiot.
"Natsu, stop being so loud and obnoxious!" Lisanna swatted her hand at Natsu's shoulder. The fire mage just shrugged her off while he began to melt the ice to free himself once again. The salmon haired male wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was relieved that Gray was at the guild for that particular moment.
Natsu knew that between both Lisanna and Gray, they would be able to keep his raging dragon slayer magic tame. The white-haired female was calming to him emotionally and the raven-haired male's ice cooled him down physically.
If not for those two, by now he would have surely burnt down the guild and part of Magnolia by accident.
Loke stared at the great big double doors that loomed in front of him. There was no doubt that these doors belonged to the Fairy Tail guild- The same guild where the lion spirit had resided while he was in exile from the spirit world for all those years before Lucy found and saved him.
The celestial spirit could hear the voices of both Gray and Natsu as they argued over their usual petty disagreements. The muffled noise of their spat had Loke shaking his head while a small smile rose to his lips.
Some things just never change.
More often then he would like to admit, the zodiac leader found himself reminiscing about his time at the Fairy Tail guild. He really did sometimes miss being pulling into all those random fights from time to time before everyone found out his true identity.
Loke let out an undignified groan when he looked at the double doors once more. How long had he been standing there? The spirit had been silently praying to the spirit king that no one would walk out of the guild while he tried to make his decision on how to go about telling the overdramatic fairies the bad news.
Being a member of Fairy Tail for a few years himself, he knew that there were certain ways of going about situations like this just to keep the guild members from going completely batshit crazy.
He knew he couldn't just walk in, that would without a doubt start some type of uproar of questions and chaos. The guild would make an automatic assumption that something was wrong with Lucy before he even got a chance to explain. The lion spirit sweatdropped when he imagined the guild making plans and search parties while being he himself would be left in the guild before even getting a word out.
Yeah, that definitely was not going to work.
The spirit sighed once again while rubbing the back of his head. The only other way he could think of was to tell Master Makarov first then have him ease the guild into it. That would be the best and logical way to go about things after all.
Loke looked up to the second-floor window wondering how he could get up there without being seen by any other members of the guild.
He could always make a gate, but there was still a chance that the light from that alone would attract the guild member's attention, so that was a no go. Loke pushed his glasses up then rubbed his face, why was everything so complicated and frustrating lately?
He just needed to see the master; it shouldn't be that hard to get in without being noticed!
"Yo, womanizing lion, where is your master? Everyone has been waiting for her to show up for a few days now, so why are you just standing out here?" The booming voice behind him made Loke jump out of his plethora of thoughts.
The lion zodiac could feel his hair stand on end as he felt static course through the air surrounding him and the source of the voice.
Loke didn't even need to turn to see who was talking to him because the spirit would know that distinct voice anywhere. That voice could only belong to the grandson of the guild master. The lightning dragon slayer- Laxus Dreyer.
"Ah, Laxus, maybe you could help me. I need to speak with the master without being seen by the other member of the guild, and it's very important and urgent. Would you possibly teleport us to his office?" Loke asked casually while feigning an air of indifference, but on the inside, he was freaking out.
If the artificial dragon slayer refused, he would have to think of another way to get inside the guild, which was a lot harder said than done. So, the lion zodiac put all his faith into hoping that Laxus would do this small favor for him because he really did not want to scale up the back wall to get to the second floor of the guild.
Loke watched as Laxus crossed his arms over his heavy chest then breathe out a gruff 'whatever' before walking over to him. Loke let out a sigh of relief as he thanked the spirit king that the blonde male was in a good mood today.
"But I will be staying in the office while you explain, I want to know what's up as well." Laxus gave the spirit a hard glare causing a shiver to run up the orange haired feline's spine. Loke nodded his agreement before the slayer sent his magic out to wrap around the both of them.
Loke was surprised to learn that teleporting felt almost the same as traveling through his celestial gate except without all the lights and sparkles that was involved in gate opening. However, he did feel a bit nauseous once his feet hit the solid floor in front of Master Makarov's office. Whether it was from the teleportation or the impending news he was about to break, he wasn't sure.
Loke watched as Laxus knock once before entering and holding the door open for the spirit to walk through in silence.
At first glance, Loke didn't think the Master was even present in the room, the celestial spirit looked all around but his eyes kept landing on the huge oak desk in the center of the room. Piles of paper and books were scattered and stacked across the large expanse of the wooden surface.
The zodiac leader was startled out of his observation when Laxus gestured and subtly demanded the orange-haired spirit to sit in the chair that was directly in front of the desk. The lightning mage himself opted to lean on the wall in the corner with his eyes shut.
Anyone that hadn't been around the dragon slayer more than a few times would think the man wasn't even paying attention to his surroundings at all but instead listening to music, but the spirit knew better. The lightning dragon slayer was just waiting to hear what Loke was so urgent about.
Loke took notice as a few papers fell off the desk when the sound of a chair scraping against the floor echoed through the quiet room. The zodiac leader didn't have to wait long to see the little old master emerge above a few of the paper piles on the desk moving around the stacks with great speed only to stop and sit on the desk's edge directly in front of Loke. The small master let his legs swing off the edge of the desk while he took in the sight of both the spirit and slayer before he spoke.
"Loke, my child, where is your key-holder, Lucy? I can only assume something has happened if you're here and she isn't." Master's voice shook with concern while his worst fear that Lucy wasn't ready for any solo missions started to materialize into reality. The old titan had been extremely worried to let the blonde go on her own, especially after realizing how much she was suffering in silence.
Ultimately though, the master had thought being away could do her mind some good, seeing as it would give her some time to herself and away from all the distractions that would usually bother her. So, he reluctantly approved the small missions she requested to take by herself.
"Lucy completed her missions flawlessly and with all the grace I would expect from my princess, master. She was perfectly capable of taking the solo missions she had chosen. It wasn't until she was on her way home yesterday that she ran into trouble and got hurt." Loke paused while he grits his teeth a little from the anger that was welling up in him before starting once again.
"Lucy is recovering at the Sabertooth's guild right now. If the shadow dragon slayer hadn't of found her when he had, she would be dead right now, master." Loke clarified to the old man.
The spirit could sense the old titan's concern, and he could understand why everyone was worried about letting his princess go out on her own- and with good reason- but he also wanted everyone to know that Lucy was able to handle herself and she proved that, just only with a small hiccup that didn't have anything to do with completing her assigned missions.
If he wanted to get technically the blonde had completed yet another unassigned mission from another guild, but Loke didn't voice that observation out loud.
The master nodded in understanding, a melancholy aura radiating from him. The fact that one of his children almost died out on a mission did not sit well with him, especially since Lucy was already under so much stress as it was.
The small guild master was very interested in hearing the whole story, but felt it wasn't right to leave the many other concerned guild members in the dark as well as having Loke explain it multiple times when it was clear that the situation was just as hard on him as it was for everyone else
"I see. I believe it's time we take this conversation out to the rest of the guild, we have a lot of members worried about Lucy. I was actually getting ready to send the rest of Team Natsu to search for her, so the other guild members deserve to hear what happened to her as much as I do." Master Makarov jumped down from his seat on his desk and made his way out of his office with the blonde slayer following right behind him.
However, Loke hesitated while watching the two mages exit.
The spirit knew he was going to have to tell the guild what happened last night, and he hoped that it didn't get too chaotic, but of course, he knew better than that. Nothing about Fairy Tail ever went over smoothly, especially in a situation of this caliber.
Loke looked out into the hallway, determined to finally get this done and over with so he could head back to the Saber's guild, so he could check in with his princess once more. The lion zodiac walked out onto the balcony just in time to hear Makarov call the guild's attention from on top of the railing. The spirit stayed far enough back to where he could hear and see the other guild member below, but to where he himself would remain out of sight.
"Alright, my brats. I have received new information pertaining to Lucy's whereabouts, and before you all start making a huge fuss, I want you all to remain quiet until I say you can speak, GOT IT?" Makarov yelled to the members. People looked from one another exchanging confused glances before nodding or verbalizing their understanding.
The old master nodded his head, relieved that he was able to get his point across in the beginning, even though he knew that regardless his children would still create some type of chaos. He let out a sigh before he released his next word knowing full well that there was going to be outrage.
"Lucy was attacked yesterday while she was on her way back to Magnolia after completing her final mission request. She was found by a Sabertooth member and was taken back to their guild for care. I do not know the full details of the attack yet, but we are all about to hear it from one of the witnesses that were there to help when she was first attacked." Makarov moved to the side while he motioned for the spirit to come forward and take the vacant spot he had just created next to him.
Loke slowly walked to the balcony, observing as more guild members came into his field of view when he made his way up to the railing, dreading every step he took as shock filled his fellow guildmates faces.
The feline spirit was nervous, he didn't want to be the one to tell the horrible story to some of his closest comrades from the past couple years. After all, the zodiac leader still felt partly responsible for what had happened to Lucy.
If only he had been paying attention in that damn fight!
Gasps sounded through the guildhall when everyone took in the sight of the celestial spirit approaching the railing. There were muttered whispers amongst the members- all along the lines as to how bad had Lucy gotten hurt?
Loke could understand the initial shock; after all, he was a little worse for wear when it came to spiritual healing. He was covered with still healing yellowish bruises on his face, and a few already healed cuts as well. If he wasn't fully healed yet, it's obvious that Lucy must have gotten quite a beating herself.
Makarov could see that this was definitely something that was hard for Loke to do, and the aged master wished that he could do something to reassure the celestial being that things would be okay, but in all honesty, he didn't even know exactly what was going on yet himself.
So, he settled for giving Loke a hard pat on the back before he looked back down at his brats to wait for Loke to finally speak.
By this time, every guild member had stopped what they were doing to give the zodiac leader their undivided attention. The Fairy Tail guild members were all hanging by a breath waiting for him to say something, anything about what exactly had happened to their beloved celestial mage.
No longer being able to take all the eyes on him or the eerie silence of the rowdiest guild in Fiore, Loke took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself to retell the tragic story of his princess's attack.
"On the way home from her final mission, Lucy was attacked by a large group of bandits. I'm assuming the reason being was to try and take her keys from her. She tried to fight them off, but they managed to make Lucy drop her keys. Two of the top members, who I am assuming was the bosses, used magic. One used lightning similar to Laxus', and the other a vine or plant type of magic. We didn't expect them to be so strong; it was those two mages alone that were the main concern for us. They had injured both Virgo and I enough to where we had to be forced back to the spirit world. The bandits had managed to trap Lucy in vines and torture her to the point of being within an inch of her life." Loke watched as facial expressions changed throughout the guild, some in shock, and others in anger.
The lion spirit could feel a distinct magic power begin to rise while the atmosphere within the guild began to feel considerably dry and warm.
"Once the lightning wizard was sure my princess was going to bleed to death, he left her alone to die on a small pathway out of Achidea. Luckily, the bandits had forgotten about Lucy's keys during the fight and left them on the side of the road barely visible. Lucy was able to crawl her way to get them and call out Gemini. It was painfully obvious to all her spirits that she was dying." Loke choked back a sob, the zodiac leader would never forget the distraught faces of the twins upon their return the spirit world.
"Even though she was about to die, Lucy was determined to defeat and take revenge on the wizards who tortured her." Loke looked over in the corner to see even the blonde slayer had removed his earphones to listen intently while the spirit told his princess's story. Something about the look in the slayer's eyes told the spirit that the male was acknowledging Lucy's strength and will.
"When Gemini and Lucy made it to the camp the bandits had made, Gemini had called out Capricorn to distract the lower ranking bandits long enough for them to get ready to do the spell Urano Metria to take care of them all. It was apparent at that moment that Lucy had accepted the fact that she was not going to leave that field alive. No matter how much pain she was in, she was going to take her revenge not only for herself but for hurting Virgo and myself as well." Loke couldn't stop the tears as they slipped from beneath his glasses and down his face. If only he had been paying attention, maybe Lucy wouldn't have been put through so much pain.
"The stars collided with Earthland and every single bandit had been hit. She had only meant to take out the top two wizards, but it seems that she had underestimated herself once again." Loke let a melancholy smile grace his lips as he thought of how strong his key holder had become.
"All her spirits- we could feel it; her anger and determination had made the spell chaotic and destructive. It even took out the entire field." The guild was quiet as they all looked at Loke, taking in every word while he told the tale of his Lucy's triumph. Mixed emotions of awe and anger permeated through the guild.
The scarlet-haired requip mage had tears streaming down her non-artificial eye while she tried desperately to keep from making a single sound as the salt water trailed down her contorted face.
Lucy was like the little sister Erza had always dreamed of having, and just the fact that she herself had brazenly encouraged the blonde to go alone, only to be beaten and tortured ripped at the red headed beauty's heart.
The Titania held her head upwards, despite the boiling rage building within her; Erza felt she didn't deserve to shed a single tear when it had been her who had encouraged the blonde to try a solo mission.
But if she truly felt that way, why did her tears keep falling?
Gray was hunched over, his messy raven hair acting as a shield for the male's eyes while his hands repeatedly opened and closed into balled up fists. The temperature around him had dropped at an alarming rate causing the air to become more frigid than the rest of the guild.
Lucy was his teammate and a valuable member of Fairy Tail. The ice-make mage grit his teeth while he fought against his rage to try and remain in control. The rave haired male glanced to the side where he noticed both Levy and Wendy openly crying as the iron dragon slayer pat both the blue-haired wizard's heads, an obvious angry scowl apparent on his face.
Natsu's eyes were wide and unblinking while his entire body shook with rage as it tried to accommodate the spike of fire that boiled his blood. Flames flittered beneath his skin as the destructive dragon's magic begged to be released to lick at his skin and anything standing within a few feet of him.
The atmosphere around the salmon-haired man was arid and scorching, like he was the burning sun itself. Guild members shuffled away as the dragon slayer fought to hold in his rage. Bursts of blistering flames erupted from his hands when he would open his palms, then would be immediately snuffed out as he closed them to clench his fists by his side as he tried to stem the overflow of his magic.
He was furious.
"Gemini and Capricorn returned to the spirit realm shortly after the spell were completed as Lucy's body had been drained of magic. She picked herself back up and wandered down the path again, eventually blacking out, from blood loss, magic depletion or exhaustion I'm not sure which. That is all I can tell from my side of the story. But, I do have someone else that wanted to give their part of it as well" Loke said while he pulled out the mini lacrima that the Sabertooth's guild master had given him.
The lion spirit paid no mind to the confused faces, including Fairy Tail's guild master staring at him while the feline poured some of his magic into the lacrima.
Loke imagined a picture of the white dragon slayer, and not even a moment later, the tiger himself was projected from the lacrima. Sting and Loke exchanged a few hushed words before the celestial spirit faced the lacrima to the guild and Fairy Tail's master.
"What's up, Fairy Tail? Great to see you all again, though I wish it were under better circumstances, like maybe a rematch against Natsu and Gajeel, instead. I know the lion here told you his part of the story, but I want to tell you my part and give you some more information on just who exactly the bandits are that your blondie managed to take down." Natsu fought hard to recover control of his magic just so he could listen to what the other dragon slayer had to say about his Luce.
The fire dragon slayer wanted to know everything about the people who tortured his best friend to the point of almost killing herself just to get revenge. It was just so unlike Lucy.
What could they have done to make the blonde snap like that?
"I will start from the beginning and keep it as simple as possible, okay? So, about a week ago, Sabertooth got a request from the magic council to bring into custody some notorious bandits that had not only been terrorized the cities around Crocus, but capturing and killing women. Pretty bad, huh? However, they are not your ordinary weak bandits, they also had two very strong wizards in their top ranks. And because of that reason they were very hard for the council to capture." The blonde-haired master grinned from the thought of the council needing their help.
"My partner, Rogue, took the mission alone while I was stuck doing boring paperwork. He had been tracking the bandits for about three days before he came across them in a destroyed field. I remember him saying he would have never gone down that pathway if he hadn't had been able to smell the scent of someone familiar. When he went about 15 minutes down the path from the destroyed field he discovered Blondie in bad shape, she was obviously dying. He brought her back to the guild after making sure the bandits were in custody. She has since been treated and has woken up, but Yukino is with her right now." Sting looked at the silence guild. It felt odd seeing the notorious Fairy Tail guild so quiet. The Sabertooth master was always so used to seeing happy and rowdy guild members that the scene before the blonde was very unsettling, and then he remembered two more very crucial details.
"Oh yeah, two more things I need to tell you. The mission blondie basically completed was an S-class mission, you should be really proud of your celestial wizard. Rogue said the place was completely demolished, she's pretty damn powerful. Second, blondie will be staying at Sabertooth until further notice; there are a few things we need to fix before she can leave. Alright, lion spirit, I'll leave the Q&A part to you, Peace out, Fairies!" Then the lacrima connection was disconnected.
The zodiac leader stared at the lacrima for a few seconds, wide-eyed. That damn bastard! How dare he leave him alone to answer all the questions by himself!
"WHAT DO THEY MEAN LUCE WILL BE STAYING THERE!?" Natsu jumped on a table while his fist ignited, he was on edge. After all, who exactly did Sting think he was? Just because he is a guild master now didn't mean he could just decide that Lucy was going to stay at the Sabertooth guild, she needed to be home with her nakama! Especially when she is going through such a difficult time in her life!
The guild lit up with complaints and rage as they all let the information seep in. There was absolutely no way they were letting Lucy stay at that pretentious guild while she was recovering.
"I say we all march to Sabertooth and take Lucy back by force right this instant!" Erza demanded before she re-quipped into her Heaven's Wheel armor. A cheer of agreement echoed through the guild while other members started to fire up their magic and head for the door, intent on bringing their celestial maiden home, where they believed she belonged.
"Stop! You can't take Lucy away from Sabertooth! Not right now, anyway." Loke's voice sounded like a plea through the rowdy guild hall. Everyone turned to face the spirit while they waited for a reason as to why they couldn't bring their precious Lucy home where she was meant to be.
"Oh yeah, And why not, Loke?" Loke looked to the floor below him, Gray had his shirt off as he was getting ready to head out the door with Erza. Loke dropped his head, he knew that the raven haired man had put his faith in him to protect Lucy from getting hurt, the spirit had definitely failed him as well. But Loke was not about to let everyone take his princess away from her only chance at stopping the darkness that was consuming her!
The orange-haired feline spirit raised his head once again while squaring his shoulders.
"Because the Shadow Dragon Slayer might be able to save her from the shadows that are residing in her." Loke started out in a yell but his sentence ended up dying down to a whisper. The celestial spirits were counting on Rogue to save their princess from the darkness that was slowly driving her into insanity and if she had to stay at the Sabertooth's guild until they did just that, then that is where she needed to be right now, not Fairy Tail. Loke's eyes widened when he heard someone clear their throat then ask a question.
"Is that why Luce has those horrible nightmares?" Loke watched as Natsu bent his head down, his salmon hair covering his eyes. The pyro knew something was different about Lucy, and it wasn't just the trauma of watching future Lucy die either.
She just smelt off ever since they returned home from Crocus. The fire mage had just assumed she was using a different smelling bath product, but now that Loke said something he had put it together.
She smelled very, very faintly like the Rogue from the future.
Lucy wasn't just having nightmares, she was being attacked from the inside by a foreign magic, and he had been too dumb to notice until now. This whole time his best friend had been in pain and was suffering and he hadn't tried to help her one bit.
Natsu clenched his fists, how could he be so careless? He made a promise to the future Lucy that he would protect her future, but how could he do that if she was being eaten away from the inside out?
"Future Rogue had somehow, someway, sent his magic into my princess as a way of revenge for ruining his plans with the eclipse gate. Whether we like it or not, Lucy needs to stay put with the Sabers for her own health." Loke crossed his arms while he answered the dragon slayer, he could tell that Natsu was taking the news badly, but he was trying to control his temperament and for that he and the rest of the guild were thankful.
"Umm, so does that mean Lucy is as strong as an S-Class mage now, Master?" Lisanna walked up to stand by Natsu as she asked her question. The youngest Strauss sibling knew she couldn't be the only one that was wondering the same thing. Of course, they all know that their blonde celestial maiden is strong, but had she really gained enough strength from her emotional torment to be considered an S-Class?
"If she has completed an S-Class mission by herself, then yes, she is considered as strong as an S-Class mage. However, that doesn't mean I will be making her S-Class. But we will definitely need to remember that she is a force to be reckoned with and celebrate her victory when she returns home. Until then, let's go for a visit to Sabertooth to check up on her." Makarov raised his hand in the air while he let a smile grace his lips, he was excited to see how much Sabertooth has changed since Sting had become the guild master.
"Ah, about that Master… Sting only wants groups of three to visit at a time to ensure that no damages will be done to his guild." The celestial lion rubbed the back of his head while he waited for the obvious outrage.
"Are you fucking serious, man? Come on! I want to see Luce so I'm going first!" A flaming fist was sent up into the air as fire spilled from Natsu's open mouth causing one of the wooden beams to catch a flame.
"No, Lucy is my little sister, Flameass, I'm going first!" Ice slammed into the fire dragon slayer's open mouth in an attempt to keep the guild from catching fire while Juvia doused the already scorched wood, once again.
"I believe I will be the first to go, I need to comfort her with my bosom." A sharpened sword went sailing through the guild, the ice mage ducked out of the way before the metal could pierce his skin.
"I would like to see Lu-chan!" The solid-script mage quickly erected a rune shield to stop Erza's deadly weapon from hurting anyone before moving away from the still scowling iron dragon slayer.
"Umm, I'd like to be first to see Lucy to help heal her wounds if possible…" Wendy stood from the table while trying to keep her voice to a reasonable level while still trying to get her point across.
"Alright, brats calm down! If Sting does not want more than three, then we will do as he says. The first group to go will be Me, Wendy, and Levy. No complaining." Natsu was about to voice his complaint but thankfully Lisanna hurriedly covered his mouth to keep him from getting in trouble once again.
"Yo, Rogue get your lazy ass up, you can't be sleeping all day! We have some major work cut out for us!" Sting slammed the still sleeping shadow mage's bedroom door open causing it to hit the wall with a loud bang. The ebony-haired male shot up from his bed when the blonde flicked his nose.
The ruby eyed mage soon realized a nap was definitely not the best idea, because now not only was he still tired, he was very easily irritated as well.
Rogue reached for the closest object in his vicinity, which happened to be his alarm clock and chunked it at the inconsiderate blonde slayer. Sting easily dodged the oncoming attack while laughing at his aggravated partner.
"Do you always have to be so loud? A simple knock would have been enough to wake me up and you damn well know it." Rogue glared at his light haired twin before moving to get out of bed, he took a few moments to straighten out his clothes before going to the bathroom.
The ebony haired mage stared into the mirror, his ruby eyes locked on the disaster that was his hair. His usual ponytail was loosened, causing half of his locks to fall from the band and matt at the nape of his neck. Rogue quickly tugged at the knots before pushing his hair back into its original state before rejoining the blonde male in his bedroom.
Frosch had woken up while the shadow slayer was in the bathroom, wondering what all the commotion and yelling was about, he jumped down from bed then asked Sting where Lector was. After the white dragon slayer had told him that Lector was in the guild hall, Frosch asked his partner if he could go play with him. Of course, Rogue said yes, and both dragon slayers watched as the pink frog suit exceed left the room in pursuit of fish and Lector.
"I just got off the communication lacrima with Fairy Tail, no doubt the first group is on their way here right now. I told them that blondie is going to be staying at Sabertooth for a while. Rogue, have you thought of any way to remove your magic? I am sure the lion already told them about her having your shadows in her." The blonde mage sat on the edge of Rogue's bed, he had really expected the ebony haired slayer to come to the office after being kicked out of the infirmary, not go back to his room to go to sleep.
The situation must have been harder on him then the Sabertooth master had originally thought, but unfortunately, there was nothing anyone else could do except research, which was exactly what Rufus was doing. Maybe when Fairy Tail arrives they might be able to offer more assistance as well.
"No, the only conclusion I keep coming to is being by the fairy's side, so I can force the shadows out bit by bit when they come out of dormancy to attack her. Something tells me that won't go over well with her, and to be quite honest, I don't want to be stuck babysitting her for who knows how long. I'm willing to help in whatever way I can, but there just has to be another option." Sting watched as Rogue leaned against his wall opposite of the bed. The blonde knew that his darker haired twin was not a very social person, he preferred to keep to himself and a select few, so the thought of having to be around someone that he didn't even know probably unnerved him.
At that moment, Sting felt pity for his partner, Rogue had been forced into a position where he was the deciding factor in the celestial blondie's life, all because of what his future self did. And to top it off, the girl was completely terrified to be in the same room with him. He knew that Rogue wanted to help her, but Sting just didn't know how he could when the shadow mage couldn't be close enough to the blonde stellar mage when she was awake.
It was a lot of weight and responsibility to be thrown on Rogue's shoulders all at once.
Sting sighed as he rose from the bed then stretched, being in Rogue's dark room was starting to bum him out a bit. He walked over to the shadow dragon slayer to give him a pat on the back as a sort of reassurance that they will figure it out before he walked to the door and out into the hall.
It had been almost two hours since Yukino kicked everyone out of the guild's infirmary and Sting was starting to wonder if it would be okay to pop in to check up on the two women. Hell, maybe blondie was ready to talk for herself about what happened. The guild master was also interested in hearing about the nightmares she had and what exactly happens to them if she was willing to share that information. Maybe it would give them a clue as to how to help her.
The Sabertooth master walked down the stairs two at a time, he had thought of going to the guild hall to get something else to eat, but when he reached the second floor, he couldn't stop himself as he made the turn to go down the hallway instead. His curiosity seemed to get the better of him when the blonde male found himself standing outside the infirmary door. Sting could hear soft feminine mumbling coming from the other side of the door.
Surely a quick peek wouldn't hurt anybody would it? He would even knock just to be on the safe side.
Sting lightly tapped the back of his knuckles against the wooden door, he could hear the shuffling of blankets and the springs of the mattress before the soft pads of feet could be heard as they approached the other side of the door to open it just a crack. The blonde slayer watched as silver hair and a brown orb peeked through the small opening, he let a grin spread across his face as Yukino opened the door a small amount more.
"I just came to see how everything was going, it's been a few hours, is blondie up for a visitor?" The blonde master tried to whisper, but of course, it came out in his usual tone. The silver-haired woman rolled her eyes at him before ducking her head back into the room, obviously asking the blonde bedridden woman if it would be okay to let him in. After a few seconds of silence, he heard a small 'okay' then the door was being swung open to let him into the room.
Sting walked through the door slowly, he didn't know exactly what to expect from the blonde laying on the bed, but he did know he didn't want to startle her or upset her, so he stood at a good distance on the other side of the room, keeping enough space between himself and her.
Yukino shut the door then walked back in to sit on the other side of Lucy on the mattress. The blonde slayer felt a little uneasy as the Fairy Tail mage stared at him for a long time without saying a word. He watched as she gulped before conjuring up a small smile for him.
Lucy's eyes widened when a knock on the door sounded through the room. She hadn't realized how long it's been since the silver haired celestial mage had made everyone leave. They had sat there crying for quite a while before Lucy finally calmed down.
The blonde decided that it was nice having someone there for her for a change. The blonde had spent so much time bottling up her own feelings and carrying her burdens alone that she didn't realize how much she needed a friend to just listen and be there.
"I'm just going to check and see who it is really quick. I'll be right back" Lucy nodded while Yukino moved to get off the bed and padded to the door. The Fairy Tail woman strained her ears to hear the conversation until she heard the voice of the Sabertooth guild master.
Lucy pulled the blanket up to cover herself a little more as she moved to lie back down. Her side was throbbing as she shifted to make herself comfortable once again. The celestial mage winced, it was difficult to move around with her hurt shoulder and side, not to mention all the burns that stung when she would turn a certain way.
"Lucy, do you mind if Sting comes in to see how you are doing?" Lucy watched as Yukino shut the door a bit before turning to look at her, waiting for an answer. Lucy felt a surge of embarrassment pass over her when she remembered the way she acted earlier.
She hated that people had to see her so emotionally overwhelmed, but everything just hit her all at once and she wasn't thinking straight. Sting wasn't the one she feared, if he didn't get too close to her, everything should be fine. Besides, he is the guild master now, and he is letting her stay here while she was injured.
"Oh... Okay. That's fine." Lucy cursed herself as her voice betrayed her, letting both Sabertooth mages know just how nervous she really was. Though she was sure the blonde-haired guild master could already tell by just listening to her heart rate with his advanced dragon slayer hearing. The Fairy Tail celestial mage watched as Yukino swung the door open and moved to the side to let the Sabertooth guild master in
His blonde hair swayed on the top of his head as he marched over to the furthest wall away from Lucy before he turned to lean against it. The fairy couldn't help but stare, Sting had always sort of reminded her of her fire slayer, what with his boyish looks and his goofy smile.
Lucy felt a stab in her heart as she thought about Natsu, the blonde missed her friends dearly, and there was no doubt her faithful lion spirit had probably already told them what had happened to her by now. Embarrassment washed over her once again, Lucy was painfully aware of how weak she already is, but having the whole guild know that she had been beaten and tortured and… and… she was just pathetic.
"Thank you for letting me stay here while I recover, guild master Sting." Lucy forced a smile as she felt a comforting hand run across her fisted palm, she let her grip loosen as she brought her hands to rest in her lap. The blonde had close to a million emotions running through her all at once and she didn't know exactly how she felt about anyone at the moment, but she did know that even though she felt skittish and scared right now, she could trust Sting.
The silver haired beauty beside her had told Lucy earlier how fond she was of him, and just how amazing he was for stepping up and recreating Sabertooth into an amazing guild modeled after Fairy Tail's ideals. Lucy recalled the crimson blush that had rose to Yukino's cheeks as she went on and on about the white dragon slayer.
The Fairy Tail stellar mage felt another jolt in her heart as she watched the slayer's mouth curve into a goofy lopsided grin that was so much like her best friends. Sting made sure to tone down his voice a bit before telling the blonde woman it was no big deal and he was just glad she was feeling better. Lucy felt some of the tension in her shoulders ease as Sting's easy-going attitude and Yukino's nurturing nature surrounded her, almost as if they were forming a cocoon of safety just for her.
The blonde woman felt her heart swell; she was completely overwhelmed with gratitude. For the first time, Lucy felt the darkness in the back of her mind slip away as she let the loneliness she had suffered for weeks start to melt away.
As long as someone was around to keep the shadow dragon slayer away from her, Lucy felt safe. She didn't like being in the same building as the red-eyed male, and that made her feel a bit horrible because she did recognize the fact that he was not the same Rogue that had tormented her, but she just couldn't help the fear that consumed her just by looking at him. The resemblance was diminutive, but it was enough to make her heart race and palms grow clammy with anxiety.
Lucy let the thought of the shadow mage fade into the back of her mind while she watched Yukino and Sting talk to one another. Lucy let a small smile grace her lips as she noticed the way the two Sabers obliviously flirted with one another, almost as if they were a couple. If she didn't know any better she would say that Yukino and Sting were perfect for one another, they just complemented one another in a way that had Lucy wondering just how close the two truly were. Lucy let a tiny giggle bubble up from below all the stress and fear residing in her.
She was starting to feel a little better now.
MotherOfDragons1227- Hopefully this satisfies! :D I'm so glad you like the story!