Dear Readers,

I have so many chapters for you that I can't possibly write good notes for them all. So I'm just gonna leave this here... and go work on posting the next one...

Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, Desna owns the Pradesh Characters, and my beta (GoddessxNyte2) is the greatest person ever.

Enjoy!

Three months later, and Lucy was starting to wish for the horrible heat of Seven. Because Iceberg was cold. Very, very cold.

The cranky poison slayer to her right seemed to agree with her, but she didn't find comfort in the fact that he was also miserable. Mostly because he was also being annoying as fuck.

"Fucking hell, Bright Eye, why'd you pick the worst fucking climate in the world to train hand-to-hand combat?"

Lucy didn't respond. Because they'd been over this already. She didn't 'pick' it. She didn't want to be there any more than he did! Though it was technically her fault that she didn't give Sting more specific instructions, she had no way of knowing that he'd go so far as making her a continent-wide most wanted person. She vowed, there and then, to find some way to get him back for going overboard.

Honestly, she couldn't figure out how he'd managed to be so fucking stupid when he had Ryos to keep him in line. Wasn't that shadow-boy doing anything to reign in his partner?

Lucy thought on that for a second, and for just a moment, didn't feel so bad about her own circumstances. Because she had no doubt that Rogue, despite being in a warm climate, was dealing with more bullshit than she was.

Her quiet chuckle earned her a glare from her companion, who seemed offended that she had found some sort of humor in this frozen wasteland that passed for a country.

"I swear, one day I'll get you back for dragging me into this frozen over slice of hell," Cobra muttered her direction, and then proceeded to snuggle further into all fifteen of his jackets. Literally, there were fifteen of them. They'd stopped by a store when they first crossed into Iceberg, and when he'd come back from browsing she thought he was joking when he dragged thirteen jackets back with him.

He bought them without a second thought and hadn't even cracked a smile. Erik's dislike for the cold was extreme.

Three days later, when he'd asked if he could use her jacket too, she thought he was kidding. Again.

He was not.

Virgo had ended up bringing him another one from the spirit world, and finally, that one seemed to keep him warm enough that he had agreed to step out of the tent they'd been using. Still, he seemed reluctant to move.

Lucy was thankful, for the millionth time since she'd pulled it off, that her bonds with her spirits kept him out of her head. Because he surely would murder her, in cold blood, if he heard her thoughts on how cute it was that he acted like a literal cold-blooded snake in the snow. She was also pretty sure he'd follow it up with some clever pun that she wouldn't even be able to laugh at, as she'd be dead.

It was a fate she was happy to have avoided.

Lucy looked at him, wondering (not for the first time) how he managed not to trip all over himself when he didn't even have his eye poked out from his jacket-and-scarf cocoon, "You're the one who volunteered, you know. You can go home any time you want."

Erik rolled his eye. Or she assumed he did, as Lucy couldn't see it, "Yeah right. You're a fucking trouble magnet, one. Two, you managed to convince one of the scariest mages I know that you stole her precious sister's keys," at this he did pop his head out to glare at her, "you will not repeat that I called her scary. Ever."

Lucy sighed but nodded.

"And three, you were in desperate need of help with combat skills when I was ready to leave. Based on your training lately, you're still in desperate need of help.."

"...whatever."

*Flashback*

"It's been three weeks, Tinker-Tits, I'm heading out," Cobra called to the doubled-over celestial mage. She'd just gotten done lifting a series of ridiculously large boulders for three hours, while maintaining all her bonds and three of her golden gates (Ophiuchus, Aries, and Libra - Gil had insisted, saying they were the only three he could trust not to shout encouragement her way, like that was some kind of horrible thing), and her Capricorn stardress. Lucy was pretty sure the stardress had more to do with Gil enjoying the view than actual training, but there wasn't exactly anyone she could report the sexual harassment to out in the middle of a Sevenian forest.

You'd think Erik would have dealt with Lucy's perverted trainer, considering how protective he was over her, but he seemed only to find it amusing. The celestial mage was convinced his allowing it to continue (and even encouraging it) was because he was getting back at her for having found a way to block out his listening magic.

Lucy stood up fully, wiping the sweat from her brow, "Alright…"

Erik frowned at her small voice. She'd been lively for all three of the weeks he'd been around, and he didn't like the sadness she was clearly feeling, though she was trying very hard to hide it from him.

As if she could. He didn't need his soul listening magic to feel her through their bond. Honestly, it would have been obvious to him even without it, he knew her tells.

He was thinking of what kind of socially acceptable behaviour he was expected to perform to comfort her (Hug? He didn't do hugs. Ruffle her hair? Damn if that wouldn't be awkward as hell…) when she took the choice away from him and hug-tackled him just as she'd done when she arrived.

Erik grunted, and found that she'd knocked the wind out of him. This time when he tried to wiggle his arms free, her muscular thighs kept them pinned to his sides. He could probably get out of it, but he'd hurt her doing so with how much force he would have to use.

She'd been working incredibly hard to gain strength the last few weeks with him there (providing beautiful and helpful commentary), and the month before that, and he could tell. Not only because of her painful as hell tackles (she really needed to adjust to her newfound strength) but she physically looked different, and her magical presence (which had always been obvious before, even to someone who rarely noticed that kind of thing like Erik) had become more imposing, and somehow felt more… stable.

He assumed it was because she'd been operating for fucking years with her magic capacity far outclassing her physical capabilities. Now that she was finally giving her magic a good, solid foundation to latch onto, he was starting get a good picture of how ridiculously powerful she was.

He was terrified for anyone who crossed her once her training advanced further, because she was already pretty fucking formidable.

Gone was the soft-faced, soft-hearted teen with the open smiles and lazy, lackadaisical attitude. She'd stopped complaining so much, and when she did whine, she only did so while in the middle of rushing to do the task she'd been given.

She also wasn't the reckless, grief-fueled moron she'd been the last few years. She stopped hiding that mark on her chest that she was gifted from Aquarius, stopped wallowing in guilt over what she'd done. Lucy still felt guilty, but she'd found enough sense to stop focusing on it.

Erik had known her for a long time. Had known how hard she'd pushed herself after she lost her mermaid.

This time, was somehow different. He couldn't hear her soul to identify the difference, but he imagined it was a combination of just, you know, growing the fuck up, and the fact that this time, her guildmates had actually gotten hurt. Badly.

During Tartaros, her sacrifice had saved everyone except her spirit. And her spirit was perfectly safe, just out of reach. This time, she'd been hurt severely, lost her eye, and had been the target of an attack that crippled and nearly killed a large number of Fairies. On top of that, it was an opponent that got away.

Revenge, he knew from experience, was a powerful motivator. He'd have to keep an eye on her, though, because if she started doing all that reckless, throwing-herself-into-danger shit, he'd kill her himself. He wasn't about to deal with the stress of feeling her in danger through the bond every few days. It was driving him batty, and he wasn't far off from full out insanity as it was.

A lighthearted smack to his face brought him out of his evaluation, and he almost, almost (as in, close enough that he had to choke down the roar he was preparing instinctively) poisoned Lucy when he realized that she'd actually had the nerve to smack him. In the face. As it was, he just decided that he didn't care about any minor injuries he'd cause when he escaped her hold.

He didn't get the satisfaction of enacting his plan, as she rolled off him a second later and offered her hand to help him up, like nothing happened.

The poison slayer grumbled and ignored her hand, standing up on his own and becoming more annoyed as he realized she'd actually managed to bruise his arm where her strong as fuck legs had clamped it down to his side.

Rubbing at it, he made to leave the clearing. He was about to shout out a 'Later, Polyphemus,' when he actually took a second to listen in on the conversation she'd started with Gildarts.

"What's next, oh wisened mage among mages?" she asked sarcastically, arms crossed over her large bust.

"Actually…" said mage began, and hearing what the man's soul was saying, Cobra stopped in his tracks, "I don't think there's anything left for me to teach you…"

Lucy, who had been bright and bubbly and determined for the last two weeks, surrounded by both her Kin and the man who had become her greatest mentor, dropped her arms in shock. Her soul, including those noisy as fuck spirits who constantly held overlapping conversations in her head, went nearly silent.

Fuck. Erik found himself unable to leave, not if it would mean she'd be alone. Not if it meant her soul would take on that irritating as fuck depressing tone. He turned around to observe the scene.

Gildarts was rubbing the back of his neck in a move that reminded Cobra (unfortunately) of a certain flaming idiot dragon slayer. With Lucy's spirits so quiet in her head, he heard her making the same connection, and it only made her soul keen pathetically. Erik nearly groaned at how quickly her attitude had shifted.

"I heard from Cana. She's… not doing well. I need to go make sure she's alright," Gil put a hand on her lightly muscled shoulder comfortingly.

"Lucy," he said, causing said wizard to raise her head and face him, "I wouldn't leave if I thought you weren't ready to be on your own. You should keep working on strength, really with how much magic you have, you're always going to need to work for balance, but you've reached the point where you don't need me here to direct you anymore."

Lucy felt, for the first time in months, tears prick at her eyes. She forced them away, "I still can't fight. At all. You mean this is all I'm gonna be able to do, is support my magic?"

Gildarts rolled his eyes, and pushed a small amount of magic into his hand. Lucy felt a painful jolt, but otherwise nothing happened. She glanced curiously at the crash mage, tilting her head.

"Last time I did that, you fell into a pile of miniature celestial mages," he explained, "you've gained more than just strength. Now that you've improved your physical self, your magic is able to meld better with it, and makes you more resilient, bolsters your strength naturally as well. This was the goal, what we were working for, and you've achieved it. Now I'd have to actually exert myself to divide you into tiny versions of yourself," he chuckled that last part. Mini-Lucy's were the highlight of his week (as it did happen every week, he made sure of it).

Lucy looked shocked. If Gildarts had to guess, she hadn't counted on improving so rapidly. She had a nasty habit of underestimating herself.

"Like I said," Gildarts continued gently, "You're not done. Not even close, this is just step one. But step one is all I can help you with. Magically, you're stronger than I am, and your goat spirit thing is better equipped to help you with that anyway - frankly, meditation and magic core expansion? Not my thing. And being around you when you work on that would suck, your magical presence is no joke," he flashed her a grin, "And as far as combat goes, something tells me your eavesdropping friend will be better at teaching you hand-to-hand than I would be," he finished, nodding toward the grouchy slayer who was still standing a little ways off, staring at them.

"He's leaving," Lucy said with a frown.

"Nah, I'll stick around. This old man doesn't know shit about fighting anyway. There's no better trainer than a dragon slayer to teach you how to kick ass," Erik said, approaching her again with a cocky smirk on his face.

Gildarts gave the man a grateful smile that Lucy couldn't see. He hadn't been lying about Cana, she was not taking the whole thing with Lucy well at all, and he didn't trust that asshole Bacchus to keep her out of trouble.

"Anyway, kiddo, I'll keep my ears open for news about that guild. And any questions, anything gets too nuts, call me. I'll come right back if you need me, but for training? You're more than equipped to continue that with your spirits and Cobra."

They hadn't said much more on the subject, but knowing that her kin was staying with her had made that little sad violin quality of her soul's sound quiet, much to Erik's relief. Her spirits started using their bonds again shortly after dinner that day, after she'd come to terms with the situation, much to Erik's annoyance.

With Lucy, it was always a balancing act.

They shared a quiet breakfast the next day before packing up camp, Lucy and Erik travelling to find another temporary training spot further north, and Gildarts travelling back to Fiore to find Cana and annoy the depression out of her.

Before he'd turned around to leave, Lucy had given Gil her warmest hug, tucking her head into his chest and whispering a heartfelt 'thanks, you overconfident geezer'. He patted to top of her head gently, his eyes soft, whispering his own, 'you'll do great, kiddo'.

*End Flashback*

Whenever Lucy thought back to the day she'd 'completed' her physical training, she found herself thinking about Cana. Hoping she was okay. Knowing it was most probably her own fault for hurting the card mage with her 'betrayal'.

Gil had said she could call if she needed anything, and she badly needed to check in on her friend, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Lucy was focused on the future, on her training, and on finding and destroying the threat to herself and her guild. She was afraid any news of how they were all hurting would set her back, and she just couldn't afford it.

"Hey Erik?"

"What?"

"Are we going to train today?"

Erik scoffed, "Of course. But it's cold as fuck so you're calling Gemini out, no way I'm losing any of these layers just to put you on your ass again."