Hello Dear Readers!

I hope you like this chapter and the direction the story is taking! Please, take a moment to rate and review so I can get a good idea of what you're all responding to and what you enjoy!

REMINDERS (though they are probably obvious):

I do NOT own Fairy Tail.

Though they have yet to make their appearance, I also do NOT own Desna's Pradesh Characters.

Gildarts was brooding. He'd never admit that out loud, but internally he could accept that the pacing, nail biting, and deep thinking he'd been doing couldn't really be anything other than downright broody. And he hated it. His whole personality was based around his laid-back attitude and complete disregard for the things around him (including walls, destruction, etc.).

Honestly, though, he couldn't help it. This situation was bad. In a lot of different ways, but mostly he couldn't find a single way to explain the events that had occurred without coming to the frustrating, rage-inducing conclusion that one of their nakama had betrayed them to a dark guild. A betrayal that led to severe injuries in at least half the guild, a broken and nearly dead Vijeeter, and the 143rd kidnapping (at best, he wasn't currently considering the possibility of her being dead - not a chance) of the guild's celestial wizard.

Even now, they were more vulnerable than ever and it just made him uneasy. And broody. Oh how he hated that he'd been reduced to practically mimicking Gray's everyday personality. At least he wasn't stripping unconsciously.

Wendy, Chelia, and Porlyusica were all exhausted. Wendy and Chelia, magically, because both had run themselves into mere moments away from magical depletion, and Porlyusica because she'd been summoned at nearly three in the morning and hadn't rested since.

The whole of the mostly-former Team Natsu - the most notable team in Fairy Tail to this day - was out for the count. Natsu, while he'd begun to stir again, was down and recovering, Erza and Gray both passed out while their antidote had been given.

The Thunder Legion was dead on their feet, they'd been keeping watch since they arrived and Freed wasn't much better off than the healers, since he'd been putting up an unprecedented amount of runes around the guild hall and courtyard and maintaining them. He didn't have any charged lacrima to attach them to as a powersource, so he was feeding them magic directly. It was starting to catch up to him.

The most of the guild was either emotionally compromised, physically compromised, or downright exhausted, and they didn't have any idea when the enemy would choose to strike again. And they couldn't hole up in the guild hall or even gather supplies from inside until they'd dealt with the venom still permeating the air inside.

'Fuck this…' Gildarts thought to himself grumpily. He kicked his brooding thoughts to the curb and took action, gathering the only available members back to his side.

"Alright, ladies," the crash mage addressed the three mages who gathered around him, "we can't sit on our asses anymore. We gotta get this place cleaned up and get everyone out of the open".

Gajeel, Jellal, and Elfman looked at the older mage for a moment before all grumbling their agreement.

"Cleaning up is manly," Elfman spoke somberly, earning an eye roll from the iron Slayer.

"Ya got any suggestions on how we're gonna do that, old man?"

With a finger on his chin, Gildarts seemed to put some thought into the question for a few moments. Finally, he seemed to escape his thoughts and refocused on the mages in front of him.

"Nah, not a clue"

Sighing, Jellal pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. He loved this guild, he loved Erza, and he loved the fact that all the wizards here had become the first family he'd truly known. But sometimes, he just couldn't understand how so many idiots had gathered in one place. Or how they'd managed to run an even semi-successful guild for longer than a week. Or even how they survived that long.

"If no one else has a suggestion, I have a plan. Would you like to hear it?"

"Nope." Gildarts, Elfman, and Gajeel said in unison.

Jellal sighed heavily, "... Fine. Leave it to me. You three just go make yourselves useful and switch out with the Thunder Legion."

The blue-haired mage watched the other three walk away and take their places on the perimeter. Elfman looked to be overeager, his head darting back and forth as he kept watch. Gajeel and Gildarts looked relatively bored, but the former was reaching out with his enhanced senses, the latter was likely feeling out around them with his magic. Or maybe he wasn't actually watching at all. With Gildarts it was hard to tell.

Thinking through the situation had Jellal frowning as he planned through what needed to happen next. He needed Wendy or Chelia in order to get back into the guild hall, that much he was certain of. But neither mage was prepared to do much of anything at the moment.

If he had Lucy, things might be doable. Celestial Spirits were mostly immune to Earthland poisons or venoms, and the times he'd worked with Lucy he had come to appreciate the talents of her maid spirit, Virgo. That pink-haired masochist could clean anything. Anything. He had witnessed Virgo completely erase her master's magic signature while they were using hefty amounts of shadow magic to stealthily gather information from a dark guild. He'd also seen her sneaking out if her own gate to clean random parts of the guild when they got too dirty for her liking (which was essentially, if they were unoccupied and had a spec of dirt on them). He was sure she'd be able to cleanse the guild hall of the venomous magic, if only she were available.

Thinking if Virgo had him thinking of Lucy, and that just had him depressed, stressed, and worried. He was pretty sure that she had been kidnapped about 142 times before today (he had actually been counting, but he couldn't be sure he'd recorded all the separate instances), so he shouldn't be shocked that she'd get attacked once again. Still, this time seemed different. He had a bad feeling about it, and it set him on edge. Since he'd been pardoned by Queen Hisui (which, in and of itself, was Lucy's doing), he had come to have a close relationship with the celestial wizard. She was just so forgiving. Faster than anyone, beside Erza herself, she'd accepted him into her guild, her team, her family. Much as she had with the Thunder Legion after Fantasia.

Every step of the way, Lucy had encouraged Jellal to join in, to enjoy himself, to participate and interact with the others in the guild. She badgered him endlessly, if a bit subtly, to simply allow himself to feel some small measure of the peace and comfort involved in being a part of a family. She helped him let go, a little but at a time, of all the horrible guilt that ate away at his soul.

Hell, she saved his life once. He'd never forget the night she rescued him, a former wizard saint, from a small but cunning dark guild with an astounding amount of grace and ease - and then proceeded to tear into him about how stupid he'd been rushing in alone after hearing information about them from Crime Sorciere. The words she'd spoken to him that night often bounced around in his head, whenever he was feeling particularly guilt-ridden.

"You did terrible things, Jellal. You and I both know that. And you can't take them back. What's done is done, and you have to live with that. But honestly, you were posessed. Sure, it was you who did the things you did, but you weren't yourself. And I get that you're not gonna be able to just pretend it never happened. But you're gonna have to find a way to forgive yourself and move the hell on. All the others have forgiven you already, and you've fought hard to make up for the past.. You're nouse to anyone if you spend your whole life denying yourself any form of happiness, if you keep pulling back away from your family and your friends and trying to run off on your own. you aren't good to anyone if you're fucking dead. You want to right the wrongs of the world? Great. I believe you can, honestly, I do. But you can't do it alone, so stop trying." She sighed a bit and relaxed her angry and disappointed expression.

She was regaining her composure as Jellal kept on brooding. She dropped her head back, staring up at the stars through glass skylights, and simply lost herself in thought. They'd been sitting on a bench at the train station, Lucy waiting for the train headed West to take her toward her next mission, Jellal headed East back to Magnolia to heal his wounds and face an angry and worried Erza.

She took a deep breath, and continued her lecture, speaking softly this time. "Listen…" she started, "I'm not sure if you realize, but you joined FAIRY TAIL. We can do anything. And I'm not just saying that. We have proven time and again that nothing is beyond our reach. We are unstoppable, and if any single group on Earthland can accomplish your goal, it's us," she said, pride coloring her voice. "But our strength doesn't come from powerful individuals. Sure, we have a lot of powerful mages. And sure, we are all pushing ourselves to get stronger, but our real strength lies in our bonds to one another. Only together can we reach our full potential. So go home, Blueberry," Jellal rolled his eyes at her use of Cobra's favorite nickname for him, "and if you survive Erza," she shuddered at that thought, but then smiled as she continued, "then forgive yourself, and keep moving forward."

Jellal felt his stubborn will crack, just a little, as he listened to her words. He wanted to forgive himself, really he did, but still a large part of him couldn't help but clutch to his guilt like a lifeline. Like if he started living, the Earth would open up and swallow him whole for allowing any amount of happiness into his broken soul. So, as a feeble attempt to hold on to his determination to deny himself all joy in life, he snapped back at her. He fought to find the flaw in her, in her argument, in the logic that she was feeding him.

"That was a bold lecture, Lucy," bitterness clouded his tone, "but despite your lecture, here you are, heading to a mission all alone. Despite your commitment to the idea that you can only achieve success with others by your side, you're leaving here without anyone else. You probably snuck away in the middle of the night to get away from Natsu to do so."

To his surprise, she didn't falter, but her smile only grew mischievous.

She pulled something glinting from her belt and shook the golden and silver keys in his face, "What do you mean, Blue?" She giggled the words, her eyes alight with humor, "I'm never alone!"

Jellal found himself smiling at the memory. It was after that talk with Lucy that he'd finally managed to let himself be with Erza the way they'd both desired for so long (after she beat him within an inch of his life for being so reckless). A year later and he is still so grateful for the Light of Fairy Tail's interference. 'I hope she's okay…'

Taking a deep breath, he cleared his thoughts of everything except the task at hand. He had a guild to protect, and right now he was the best equipped to handle the guild leadership until the others returned.

Lucy would rip him apart if he let their nakama get hurt because he was feeling nostalgic.

Looking a bit paler at the thought of Scary Lucy, he began directing the available wizards in the tasks they needed to complete before they could move everyone back into the hall.

Hours. It had been hours since he started tracking the unfamiliar, subtle trail of magic that he found leading away from Fairy Tail, and he still hadn't seen any indication of the enemy. Not so much as a broken branch. The light blue sky of early evening had faded, darkened to the deep expanse of star-studded navy that indicated the latest of the night, and still nothing.

The fact that he couldn't sense the golden warmth that was Lucy's magical signature worried Makarov. Greatly. If she was alive, surely her spirits would have come out to help her? Or she'd be fighting back? Or even if she couldn't do either of those things, she'd normally have the presence of mind to leave a magical trail, or even a physical one, so her guildmates could track her down. None of these things seemed to have happened, and Makarov was scared. Terrified.

He really didn't want to find the end of the trail just to find her corpse. He wasn't sure he could handle it, and the longer it took to find the end of the trail, the more hopeless the situation seemed to be.

It wasn't until the dark of night lightened into the softer blues that indicated an impending sunrise that the bleak situation changed.

Miles into the thick foliage of the dense forest, he finally heard voices off to his right, towards the southernmost part East Forest. Still far off, but close enough to hear faintly, and the magic he had been tracking carefully was closer at hand. Turning abruptly, the elderly guild master made his way quickly and quietly toward the noise.

Makarov shoved his fears of what he'd find to the side, and approached the sound. The trees got slightly further apart, and the way the light got slightly brighter ahead told the master that they had gathered in some sort of clearing. Carefully, he pulled in and hid his magical presence, and approached the clearing silently. He hid behind a particularly dense section of foliage at the edge of the forest and observed from a distance until he figured out what he was dealing with. He could feel the poison in his system, slowed by the potion he'd been given before he left, but he knew it was still a problem. He was at a disadvantage with it effecting him and his magic. He couldn't afford to charge in, no matter how badly he wanted to explode in fury over what they'd done to his family.

He briefly felt concern clench his heart at the thought of the venom, hoping his children had all received treatment quickly enough that they'd survive. His worry lasted only a moment before he heard something that pulled him out of his thoughts and sent a wave of relief through his body:

"LET ME GO! You… You VILE, despicable excuse for a wizard, get your hands OFF OF ME!" he heard Lucy's clear voice ring out ahead of him, just as he caught glimpses of the wizards he'd been chasing. She was in the middle of them, the evil bastards, and clearly, very much, not happy about that fact. Kicking, yelling at them, he thought he even saw her bite at one of them. But she was alive.

He was concerned with how very little energy he felt from her. Even this close to her, he could barely feel just tiny wisps of magic from her body. The amount of magic it takes to open a portal to another realm was enormous. For most mages, it's unthinkable to even consider expending the amount of energy it took to open even her little dog spirit's gate on a single spell. Gold keys, doubly so. As such, mages with a predisposition for celestial magic held massive magical reserves. And Lucy? She had always been a cut above the rest. Her magical power before Tartaros was intense, and if she wasn't subconsciously subduing her magical presence, those around her would feel it in the very air they breathed. And since? In the two years since the demons attacked, Lucy had grown leaps and bounds in her magic. Every time she returned to the guild, he found himself marvelling at her progress. At twenty years old, she had more power at her disposal than at least three of the ten wizard saints. So to be this close to her, and barely feel any magic? She had to be in depletion, and she needed help.

Pushing past his concern for the girl, he observed the mages in front of him closely. He hoped to get some information on them quickly so he could take action to help Lucy without wasting more time.

He took in the image of three mages, all of whom he could feel decently strong magic in. The woman in leather seemed the weakest, though she was on-par magically with most of the mages he'd put forth in this year's S-Class exams. The larger, darker-haired male held deep magical reserves, probably on level with Erza or Natsu. The third held more magic than Master, maybe even more than Laxus, and despite his lack of rank, the lightning wizard held more magic than even Lucy usually did. Normally, he wouldn't be overly concerned. Magic power levels, while they can be a decent indicator of skill level, they aren't always. Some magics just aren't as offensive or challenging as others, so it was possible that he could take them all by himself.

What did concern him? He wasn't at full strength. The venom was still seeping through his veins, he'd been travelling for hours without rest, and as much as he really didn't want to admit it? He was old. Magically he hadn't suffered much, he still held more magic than most. Laxus only recently overtook him in magical strength. But physically, he had very little stamina compared to working mages. He wouldn't last a full-scale, all-out battle with the three mages in front of him.

That thought struck him for a moment.

'Odd…' he thought to himself, going over the information he'd been given in his head.

'Romeo said there were three of them, two women and a man.'

He didn't have time to think about it overmuch, as he was torn from his thoughts moments later when Lucy once again made her voice known to those around her, "How dare you…"

Her words, while spoken quite softly, were full of a wrath even the master had not witnessed from her before, "She… She was your comrade, you filthy, scum-sucking pile of demon shit. You don't fucking deserve the air you breathe after you're actions today! I'll-"

She was cut off by an awful-sounding backhand to her left cheekbone. Makarov saw the skin on her cheek split from the force of the impact, and it took all he had not to jump out there and beat the man to death right then and there. He grit his teeth. One more hit and he was going out there, information obtained or not.

Fists clenched tightly, he observed them while remaining unseen. They thought they were in control now. If they were going to reveal any sort of information, now would be the time.

Lucy was in the center of the clearing, being held by her arms by the two weaker mages: greasy-headed man to her left, the dull blonde to her right. They were both holding her in place, and holding her on her feet, as she was completely sagged over from the force of the hit she'd just taken, combined with the overwhelming magical exhaustion she'd been facing for hours.

The largest of the group was wearing loose-fitted gray pants and a long, black, sleeveless jacket that fell to his knees, with a sword strapped to his back over his shoulder. His hair was a dark red color, and it's slight waves hung to the nape of his neck, slicked back and streaked with dark gray. He was obviously older, someone who was probably close to Gildarts or Ivan's age. He was the one who had hit Lucy, and he was standing there with a handkerchief in his hands, wiping the small streaks of blood that had stayed on his knuckles.

Makarov was pissed, but hoping they'd give away something, anything, before he jumped into the fight to take on three powerful mages on his own. His anger was not something to be scoffed at, but he'd be in no shape to chase them down if they fled, and he was sure they'd be back. He needed information. He knew Lucy would understand.

Based on the defiant look on her face as she glared at her captors, he was sure she would.

Lucy clearly couldn't move, was magically and physically drained (or he was certain Loke, at least, would be out and fighting), but the master could still feel the power of her fury from where he stood in the trees. She redirected her gaze from the ground to the face of the man who had struck her, and the glare she shot him was so full of venom he was somewhat surprised he didn't fall over clutching at his chest. It was a testament to the red head's strength, or stupidity, that he wasn't cowering away from her in the state she was in.

Even among the strongest wizards in Fairy Tail, there were few that didn't fear Scary Lucy. She was a force of nature, one that was not at all tempered by the fact that she was running on empty. She might not have the ability at the moment to attack the man in front of her, but he had no doubts at all, that at some point in the future, this man would regret bringing down the wrath of the celestial mage before him.

Choking out the words through her anger, Lucy spoke again, "I will, I promise I will, make you regret what you've done. Nothing in this world or the next will keep you safe from me."

Her attention strayed for a moment away from the man's face and to the trees behind him. She was seeing red, her anger pushing her to a place of rage she hadn't experienced before, and if she didn't focus on something else she was bound to release magic power that she couldn't afford to lose.

A slight, almost unnoticeable movement caught her eye, and she had to fight the smirk that threatened to break out on her features. Outwardly, she showed no signs of having noticed anything. Inwardly, she was shouting praises to the stars she summoned. 'Master… he made it!"

Lucy was nothing if not a strategist, so she knew why he'd yet to make a move. He wanted information. She wasn't great at perceiving magical levels and aura's, but she could do it a little, and what little she could tell from the mages surrounding her? They were strong enough that they could probably be trouble, even for a wizard saint such as Makarov. Well, she'd be damn sure to arm him with whatever information she could before he engaged.

Oblivious to everything around him, the gray and black-clad man in front of her chuckled darkly, "Oh, how sad it is that we'll have to sacrifice you soon…," He grinned evilly at her, "I do quite enjoy your threats. Your sass. Though it only makes it that much sweeter when I watch the life drain from your eyes."

Lucy, having been in the same situation 142 times before, wasn't entirely phased by this. There were few kidnappings she'd been involved in that didn't seek her death. Or sacrifice. Whichever, really. At this point she pretty much expected it. Though this threat seemed a bit more credible, given how many of her friends they'd already hurt, she still felt the best response to this was to roll her eyes. Twice.

And then once more when glared at her.

"You don't seem to be taking this very seriously," the man observed.

She scoffed, "Of course not. You're not the first to try it".

The man's smirk widened, "Ah, maybe not. Though, I'm sure we are the first to slaughter half your guild?"

Lucy's defiant eyes lost a bit of their edge. She'd been past the point of paying attention when they'd left the hall, barely conscious. She saw Piper die, at the hands of the asshole in front of her now, and that fact had put her into such a rage that it was all she could think about. But now, thinking back… she saw only flashes of memory.

Mira, collapsed and unmoving just outside the guild hall.

Purple magic permeating the air. Piper's limp body losing all shape, collapsing into ash where before there was an ambitious teenager. A teenager that used snakes… and venom.

Natsu falling… falling… Natsu…

Reedus, Macao, clutching at their chests.

Groups of mages collapsing around the back of the building.

'Natsu… N-No….'

Lucy's throat constricted, her eyes filling with tears she refused to let fall, "Y-you're lying," for the first time since she found herself in the company of these mages, her voice wasn't full of venom. Wasn't full of conviction and malice. It was full of fear. Uncertainty.

"Fallen Star mages don't lie. We actually can't. As is the nature of the curse your wretched mother put upon us. Your guildmates, your nakama, were on death's door when we left them. So tell me, Heartfilia, do you feel like rolling your eyes now?"

A choked sob left her throat. Lucy might not know what the hell he was talking about, bringing up her mom and some curse. But she could feel traces of Heartfilia magic on the trio around her, now that she focused her attention on it. It resonated with her own magic in a way that could only mean they were under a spell of some kind that was tied to her very bloodline.

She had no idea what it meant, not in the least. But if he was right about being spelled… was he right about her family?

"T-They… C-can't be… D-d-dead…" she whispered brokenly. All thoughts on helping Makarov obtain information went out the window. She forgot he was there completely, filled with a hollow sense of loss, and of guilt. They were dead.

They were dead. Dead.

Dead because of her.

'No…'

"NO!" She raged. All thought of her own survival, gone. All thought of Makarov standing there, gone.

With a massive, unrestrained blast of energy, she depleted her reserves entirely. White-gold magic escaped from the center of her body and blasted outward, creating a small crater in the Earth at her feet.

It forced the two mages holding her arms away from her, being thrown off of her violently and tossed to the dirt on either side of her body as she fell heavily to her knees.

It didn't matter, because now she couldn't move.

The mage in front of her was unaffected. She was so low in magical power as it was, she couldn't do much other than a small, ineffective show of force, and he knew it.

He laughed, "Ah, my dear girl!" he clapped slowly, his smile unrestrained as he watched her crumble before him.

"Oh how captivating! That was wonderful! It's too bad you've depleted yourself though. I'm going to have to get you a healer when I'm done interrogating you!"

Lucy said nothing in response. She felt nothing. Not the broken ground cutting painfully into her knees. Not the excruciating pain of an empty magical container. She felt only numb, hollow, and guilty. Her friends, family. They were dead because she was too weak to save them. Again.

She fell forward, landing painfully on her face and didn't move again, while the two mages at her side stood up slowly.

"Alec, at this rate she'll die before you even find the other Zodiac…" the greasy-haired male called cautiously.

"Oh nonsense, Bruno," The older mage shrugged, "you worry too much!"

Bruno, the large greasy man, who had been staring at his superior, shifted his attention behind the man and his face paled considerably. He tried to throw out a warning to his guildmates, but he was stunned into silence by the suddenly overwhelming magical pressure in the air.

"You're going to pay for hurting my family!" Makarov shouted at the enemy, his voice rumbling through the very trees that he stood taller than.