I do not own Fairy Tail.

Or the Pradesh Family.

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The first thing she noticed as she approached consciousness was the ache in her body. And once she noticed it, she couldn't focus on much else. She'd been tortured before - more times than she'd willingly admit to anyone - but this pain was greater than anything she remembered experiencing before. Her midsection felt like Natsu had used it for target practice - hell, like he still was using it for target practice. She felt the burning pain pulsing stronger with each beat of her heart. Her leg, she couldn't really feel. Normally that would worry her, but at this moment, she was just grateful for it. Hopefully when she really woke up enough to move, she'd look down and she'd still have a leg, but for now that wasn't a question she felt like worrying about. Her face hurt. That thought was soon echoed by her own sarcastic ass self saying 'yeah, it's killing me too' in her head, and she groaned out loud.

Look at that, apparently her sense of humor was intact, even if her leg might not be. Though, she was sure she used to be funnier than that.

Though, at least if she was permanently doomed to thinking of only 'dad jokes', she could effectively annoy Erik anytime they were near each other. The thought had her brightening, just a little.

Focusing back on her body, she took stock of her injuries. From what she remembered of Alec (the douchebag) and her wonderful chat, she had significantly fewer injuries now than when she'd hastily asked Laxus to teleport her to the guild. 'Gotta love Wendy,' she mentally praised.

And then grimaced. Mentally, probably physically too, she still wasn't really with it and besides extreme pain? She couldn't feel what was happening with her face. Wendy… Of all the people she didn't want to face, all the people she didn't want to lie to, Wendy was at the top of the list. Along with Natsu, Gajeel, Erza, Gray. Levy. 'Shit. What am I gonna do? I don't want them to hate me… but I need them to. So I can keep them safe.'

Realizing that if she kept spiraling out of control on her depressing thoughts, she'd never get anywhere, she decided to focus on her breathing. It hurt. A lot - most likely the broken ribs and fucking stab wound she'd gotten courtesy of one Alec of Fallen Star. God, that guild name still pissed her off.

'Damnit, Lucy, focus!'

Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat. She focused on that for what felt like hours, and eventually was able to block out some of the pain enough to bring herself fully into consciousness.

Slowly, she blinked her eyes open and took stock of her surroundings. Her long hair was spread out around her on the pillow, still covered in dirt and stained pink - some crude version of strawberry blonde obtainable only by soaking in your own blood (or the blood of your enemies, she supposed, if you were into that sort of thing) and having someone poorly attempt to rinse it while you were knocked the fuck out. Lovely. The white bed sheets of the infirmary had splotches of red in some spots where her bandages hadn't held up perfectly. Also lovely. Someone had told her once that red was her color. Somehow, she doubted this was what he meant.

Based on the color of the sky outside, it was clearly evening, the small glimpses of stars she could see out her window comforting in a way they hadn't been in a while. It had been a long time since she could see them without feeling overwhelming guilt, but the hours she spent thinking her guildmates were dead gave her a new appreciation for the sacrifice Aquarius had made for her.

She would never stop feeling guilty about what happened that day, but now it was overshadowed by overwhelming gratitude for her second mother. For sacrificing her freedom so the rest of her family wouldn't have to die a gruesome death. And now she had more to make up for. Now that she'd nearly cost them the very lives Aquarius had saved two years ago. She was beginning to think she didn't deserve her spirits or what they gave her, if this is what always comes of it.

Speaking of her spirits… where the hell were they?!

She almost flew into a panic, but just as she was about to lose her mind, she saw both Capricorn and Virgo's keys sitting on the table on her right, on top of her tattered, bloodstained clothing. She heaved a sigh of relief. She wanted, so badly, to reach for them, to put them back in her requip space to ensure they were out of reach of anyone but her, but moving right then wasn't an option. She settled for staring at them, determined to stay awake until someone came and put them in her hand so she could protect them.

She was losing the battle to keep her eyes opened when suddenly she heard a softly spoken, "Lu…"

Lucy froze. For the first time she noticed the man slumped in the chair next to her, a full head of blonde spikey hair on top of an unreasonably large lump of man with his forearms resting on the bed next to her bloody strawberry hair and his forehead resting on those. His face was still down, but she could tell he was awake. He just hated moving after waking up. He spoke again, still into the mattress, "Lu, you awake?"

"Y-yeah…" she said, her throat sounding like someone had forced her to swallow sandpaper.

Finally, he looked up, and frowned at her. He pushed himself from the chair he was resting in, and circled around the bed to grab the water pitcher and plastic cup from the table housing her keys. He poured her a cup, and instead of handing it to her, carefully set it to her lips and helped her drink.

She sputtered at first but finally allowed it, mumbling "I'm not an invalid" at him once he'd taken it away.

He cracked a small smile, "Yeah, sis, I know. But Porlyusica scares me a hell of a lot more than you do, no offense, and she told me not to let you move."

Lucy, who had to admit, moving was not an option, glared at her elder brother figure.

"Well, that really sucks. Because I need you to hand me those keys."

Laxus glared right back, "No."

"Hand. Me. My. Keys." She, very carefully, crossed her arms over her chest petulantly. Only to cringe and gasp as she brushed over the wound where she'd been impaled.

"Fuck!" Lucy whisper-yelled, and Laxus regular yelled at the same time. He grabbed her hands and gently straightened her arms back to rest at her sides.

"Don't do that, you fucking idiot!" He scolded, only a little softer this time.

Lucy took a second to catch her breath. Repeatedly telling herself mentally how to breathe, like she'd somehow forgotten. She rolled her eyes.

"Lax, if you'd just give me the keys I wouldn't have had to move at all!"

"Don't blame me for your stupidity, Blondie!"

"You're blonde, too, dumbass!"

"Would the both of you quiet down and stop fighting before Lucy's impressive lung capacity causes her to reopen her wounds?" A voice said almost casually.

"L-Loke…. Sorry…." Lucy apologized to her lion spirit, who had popped out in such a subtle cloud of golden sparkles that neither her or Laxus had noticed. That, or they were just so into their stubborn - and mostly pointless - bickering that they weren't paying attention to anything else. That, honestly, was more likely. It wouldn't even be the first time it happened (the first time it had happened was while they were on mission in Crocus. Lucy was pretty sure Sting was still laughing about it, a thought that made her want to beg Laxus teleport them to Sabretooth post-haste just so she could beat him into the ground).

"Laxus, give Lucy her keys," Loke instructed calmly. Slowly. Like he was mediating an argument for two five-year-olds. The similarities were actually pretty amusing - or would be if Lucy's health wasn't hanging in the balance. Sometimes her ability to handle pain and to push past it to be stubborn as hell was really disadvantageous.

The lightning slayer looked ready to protest, but Loke growled at him, and the bulky blonde relented with a frustrated grumble.

Lucy grinned (as much as she could through the pain of her facial wounds) at Loke seemingly siding with her. She loved it when she was right!

"Don't get too cocky, Lucy," Loke admonished. Mavis, he knew he was older than them be millenia but did they really have to act so much like children?

Loke continued, "You're only requipping them back to storage because I'm lending you power. You're too weak to wield your own right now, Laxus was right to keep them from you."

Lucy pouted, and Laxus turned a triumphant smile her way. 'Sweet victory…'

Laxus watched as Loke placed his hand on his sister's shoulder and, with a faint golden glow emanating from his palm, transferred the smallest amount of magic power to her so she could requip her keys. He was pretty sure he only did so because the Zodiacs being targeted required him to take action. Loke was more protective of Lucy than even Natsu was sometimes, and her using any magic was dangerous. He could tell by the look on Loke's face that he hated letting her use even the magic he supplied her.

"Now, go to sleep."

Lucy, who was rapidly losing energy now that her keys were safe, didn't put up much of a fight about that. Laxus helped get her into a more comfortable position, and before he'd even removed his hands from the sheets, she was sleeping once again.

He faced Loke and spoke softly to him, "Do you think she can handle what she's signed up for?"

The Lion spirit shrugged, "Lucy… She's special. The amount of power she has, the amount of potential she has… honestly, it would be terrifying if she were anyone but Lucy Heartfilia. I have lived for far longer than you can even comprehend, and a wizard like her has never existed before. Not one. If she grew as a person, gained confidence, trained hard for it - there is nothing in the world she couldn't accomplish. The only real worry is if she will reach that potential before she is either forced to face an enemy she isn't ready for, or she forces herself to face an enemy she isn't ready for out of misplaced guilt or insecurities."

Laxus would like to say he was surprised at the assessment Loke had given, but he just… wasn't. Like his grandfather, he was good at feeling magic. He could feel the power she already wielded, and it was nothing short of amazing. He could feel the power around her practically begging to be embraced, power she'd not yet been able to grasp.

Combine that with her iron will, the kind of mental fortitude very few people had? She was a force of nature just waiting to be unleashed.

"I have to go. The last few days have been… challenging. We all need some rest, you included," Loke advised, starting to shimmer as he prepared to return to the celestial realm.

"Oh!" he added hastily, "I hate to say this, but she was out of it this evening enough that she didn't think to ask about her injuries. I'd prepare myself if I were you, because the next time she wakes she's going to want to know why you didn't tell her she only has one eye."

The next time Lucy woke, it was slightly more pleasant. She felt a light tug on her hair and blinked her eyes open slowly to observe what was happening.

The sunlight streamed through the window now, her dear stars no longer visible in the blue sky and the infirmary looking more bland and boring than ever in the harsh light of day. She felt someone behind her, pulling on her long hair, and quickly recognized it as someone brushing through the once-blonde locks. She turned quickly, not thinking, and gasped as her injuries reminded her of their existence with searing pain throughout her body. Groaning, allowed herself to fall back to face directly forward as she struggled to breathe through the pain.

The mysterious hair-brusher popped her face into her vision, worry etched on her features.

"Ch-Chelia…?" Lucy asked weakly. She had to be seeing things.

"Lucy," she said plainly, "Are you okay?"

Lucy could tell she was not acting as the normal cheerful teenager she'd known through Wendy. The only reason she could think that would be was if the guild had been told of her 'betrayal'. Chelia had always been fiercely protective of Wendy's feelings, ever since the two sky mages had bonded after the Grand Magic Games.

She was glad the Sky Dragon Slayer had someone on her side, especially now that she couldn't protect the young bluenette herself anymore.

Pushing away her soft, gentle thoughts about the mage in front of her, Lucy steeled her expression. She supposed if Laxus and Gramps had honored her request and were lying for her, it was time she started acting her part as well. God, this was going to hurt. She hated herself already for it.

"I'm fine. Get out."

Her previously stoic expression faded, and was replaced with an angry downturn of her lips, "I can't leave. I'm your healer. I won't let Wendy help you after what you've done, but I won't let you die either, so I have to heal you." Chelia placed the hairbrush down not-so-gently on the bedside table.

"I'm not going anywhere," she confirmed, "if I heal you quickly, you can leave and Wendy will never have to see you again."

'Ouch…' Lucy thought, flinching slightly. If it was this hard playing her part to Chelia, of all people, how was she going to treat her loved ones this way? She almost wished she could just skip out of town and never look back, rather than face her family and convince them that the lies she's orchestrated were the truth.

"I don't need your fucking help, you little brat. Leave!" she shouted, trying to think of what a Charle would say. The little white cat was good at pushing people away, really. She wished she'd paid more attention to her rather than tuning her out. At least she still had good ideas she'd stolen from some of Erik's meaner monologues to draw inspiration from.

She found herself channeling her inner Erik a lot these past few days, she realized. She wondered if it was just because the situations had called for his type of approach, or if she was thinking about him to avoid thinking about anyone else. After all, she was sure of all her friends, he was the only one who would still care for her even after all this. He had enough demons in his past that anything she did, she was sure he would forgive her for. Besides, even if she wanted to, if she was anywhere near him, he would hear her truth in her soul. She found some form of comfort in that.

Chelia's angry hiss pulled her out of her thoughts. She said something angrily that an exhausted Lucy didn't quite catch, but she raised her hands as though she was going to start healing her again. Normally, that behaviour would be contradictory, but Lucy knew that any healing Chelia did for her was just to get her out of Fairy Tail as quickly as possible.

"You heard her, Chelia. I must ask you to please step out. You are magically exhausted as it is, dear girl. Lucy here will be just fine until you are recovered enough to continue."

"But Makarov, sir-"

Makarov cut her off with a look as he approached Lucy's bedside, "Go on, Chelia. Lyon is waiting to check on you anyway."

She gave Lucy one more frustrated look before disappearing out the infirmary door and slamming it behind her. Makarov only sighed at the display.

Lucy let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and winced when it aggravated her smarting ribs. Still broken, then. Makarov pulled the chair Chelia had been sitting in from behind the bed to its side and stood on it, reaching out to grab her hand gently once he could see her properly.

"Lucy," he began warmly, "how are you feeling, child?" The exhaustion in his face was clear, as he gave her a sad smile and squeezed her hand, the one that held her pink guildmark.

Tears pooled in her eyes, but she refused to allow them to fall. She was done crying, honestly, she'd done that enough in the last twelve years (or five, depending on how you looked at it) to last her a lifetime. The only thing left, the only thing she could allow herself to have left, was a steely determination to do what needed to be done.

Gulping, she replied, "I… I feel like I got hit by a train, to be honest, but I'll survive. You want to run me through my injuries? And maybe explain why I can't see anything on my left side?"

Makarov winced, but told her about her condition, explaining she'd been unconscious since her return to the guild hall two nights ago. Porlyusica had apparently been in and out, treating her injuries as she could, administering potions to help Chelia's healing along since the damage she'd sustained was so extensive. He explained that while Chelia was a great healer, she had already been magically fatigued when Lucy had arrived, and had only been able to treat the worst of her injuries the first night, just so she would stay alive. He went on to explain that her eye was, for lack of a better description, gone. And that the scarring on her face was permanent, as Alec had made sure to burn enough of her skin while tormenting her that if she somehow did escape, she would always be marked.

The loss of her depth perception was something she took pretty hard. She wanted to get stronger, and now there was another hurdle standing in her way. But, she reasoned, at least she'd already set aside time to train. Now she would just need to adapt to her current circumstances. And the scars didn't really bother her. She took them as punishment for not being strong enough to protect her family again, and when she'd seen herself in the mirror she wasn't exactly surprised at the angry red line that marked from her hairline, broke through her eyebrow and her eye, and travelled all the way down to split the left side of her lip. It looked just as she thought it would when she felt it.

She found herself thinking of Erik again, and she chuckled to herself.

"You alright, Lucy?" Makarov asked her, he'd been very worried about handing her the mirror to check her reflection. She was still beautiful, of course. In his opinion the scar on her face made her look more mature, and didn't really retract from her features. It would even less so as the angry red line healed more, and faded into a light pink mark - depending on how it healed, it might just turn a lighter shade of her natural skin tone. But he knew Lucy had once prided herself on her looks. For a long time, he was sure that was the only thing she held confidence in, and he really didn't want to see her cry about the line marring her flesh. Needless to say, her chuckling was not exactly expected.

She only laughed harder at his question, but in doing so, hurt her ribs. She couldn't seem to stop laughing, so clutching at her side and wincing through it, she told Makarov, "W-we m-m-match…." Lucy stammered out between giggles.

"What?"

"L-Laxus… E-Er-Erik…"

Makarov only seemed to grow more confused the longer she giggled. He wasn't sure if she was just getting hysterical.

Tears streaming down her face, she tried one last time, "Laxus's eye, Gramps! Erik… C-Cobra's eye. W-we can b-be the PIRATE PALS! Aahahahaha…" Lucy choked out, unable to stop her mirth despite the fact it was causing her increasing pain in her ribs.

Finally catching on to what the blonde was saying, Makarov chuckled as well. Leave it to Lucy to laugh off something as serious as losing an eye.

Laxus chose that moment to enter the infirmary. He'd been worried when he saw Chelia storm out of the room, but instead of asking the young girl about it, he'd decided to head up and check for himself. He was glad he did, honestly, because he'd been worried sick about his self-claimed little sister and angry enough about the whole situation that he was ready to explode. Seeing her laugh, even over something so bizarre (Pirate Pals, really? He and Cobra got along okay, but it's not like they were really even close friends. He definitely wouldn't call him a 'pal').

Smiling just a little, Laxus huffed and crossed his arms, addressing Lucy, "Oh come on, Lu. You've gotta have better jokes than that. I'm not even missing an eye, it's just a scar. You two are on your own there."

"Doesn't matter," Lucy said, winding down from her hysterical laughter, "Scar is close enough, Dear Brother. I'm starting to see the family resemblance now."

She grinned up at him, still holding herself around the torso, the other hand holding up the mirror toward the other blonde, as if to inspect herself and Laxus side-by-side.

"You're weird as shit, you know that?" Laxus questioned, pulling the handheld mirror from her and setting it out of her reach.

After Lucy had argued for an hour about how her magic levels were back to mostly-normal, Makarov and Laxus had allowed her to call Virgo out and clean herself up - very carefully. She took a shower in the bathroom attached to the infirmary with her maid spirit's help, and finally cleared the awful pink hue out of her hair so it reflected a healthy blonde color once more. After getting out and carefully patting dry around her recently closed injuries, she inspected herself in the mirror and found a multitude of new scars beyond the one resting on her face.

Honestly, scars weren't new to her. She'd had scars before she ever even left the Konzern, but before now they'd not been noticeable. Now though, thanks to the heat of Alec's magic, she had scars that she knew would never heal enough to fade away. A faint, but dark scar on her upper chest, just over her heart where his sword had almost ended her life if not for Laxus' timely intervention. A deep, horrible looking scar where he'd impaled her just under her ribs, and a matching one on her back where it had gone all the way through. A cut along her shin - though that one had hope of fading, since it was caused by her leg bone poking through the skin there instead of Alec's heated blade. There were others but she'd stopped looking - not wanting to see the damage to her body. Seeing it just made her feel phantom pains from the memory of the hot steel on her skin, and she could do without those.

When she finally made it back to her bed, changed and feeling - for the most part - very refreshed, Makarov began a discussion she wasn't particularly excited to have.

"So," he began, "As you've likely already deduced, we have gone ahead with your plan as you wished. Your closest friends have been told of your expulsion, and the reasons why," he explained each of the pieces of 'evidence' they'd used to explain the situation. By the time he was done explaining all they had told her friends, even she was almost convinced she was the spy. She hated that, but was glad that her plan seemed to be working out.

"It… didn't go over well, but… it became hard for them to refute my points once they understood you have 'confessed'. I'm not entirely sure Natsu has accepted this information at truth, but he likely will if you speak to him. I know that would be painful for you, but necessary. You may even find yourself having to convince several of your guildmates, I am sorry to say. We are a stubborn bunch," he chuckled without humor.

"I've informed the rest of the guild of your expulsion, but refused details to the majority of the group."

Lucy thought this over and nodded, "just don't forget, either of you, that there's still a real traitor here somewhere," she thought it over, "I… I really just don't know who it could be. I don't want it to be anyone, but the facts can't be denied. Be careful. If they find out we're still on good terms, Fairy Tail will be in danger all over again and this would've been for nothing."

Laxus rolled his eyes, "We aren't dense, Blondie. We know. We are working on that already, but it's going to be hard to narrow down. We will find them though," he clenched his fists, "I guarantee you we will, it's only a matter of time."

Lucy reached out and gripped his shoulder in a comforting gesture, "Stay safe".

"Tch. I should be telling you that, Blondie," he replied.

Makarov smiled at them gently. Seeing them like this, even with everything so chaotic, made him believe they would all be alright.

"We will all be safe," Master stated, "Deal?"

Lucy, goofball that she was (and would always be) stuck her hand in the center of the space between the three of them.

Both Dreyar men sighed, but put their hands in anyway, piling them on top of hers.

"Deal" they said in unison, and pushed their hands down before bringing them back up over their heads in a "go team" type gesture. Lucy clutched her ribs and winced just after.

"Idiot," Laxus teased.