From the Valleys to the Heavens

by SunMoonKunochi

So I died. Yeah, not that great. I didn't mean to though. Sure, I got into some fights, and I could be irresponsible, but I was fifteen! I did not deserve that knife to the chest. It was certainly amazing to wake up, even if you don't know where you are. Or who you are. But since I'm here I'm going to fix everything! Watch out Fiore, here comes a badass Lucy! OC reincarnation

25. Battle of Fairy Tail

Me trying to write anything straightforward and linear immediately spirals into me dicking around with flowery descriptions of emotions and destroying any of the bullshit character choices Mashima made. If he thinks Gray would still be annoyed by Juvia even after doing Unison Raids and sacrificing herself for him, he clearly does not understand friendship.

(It takes someone laughing at (1) of my jokes to making me jump straight into a ride-or-die friendship. If someone sacrificed themselves for me, I would MARRY that fucker)

Ergo, this chapter is Friendship To The Max for the most part. Although you can also look at these relationships as romantic if you want – the boundaries are very blurry. Except for Freed to Laxus. That shit is explicitly gay, unlike Mashima's half-hearted and stereotypical representation.

Warnings: Lots of gruesome fighting scenes and attempted child murder. Blood will spray in this chapter. You've been warned!

---

Even as they arrive, Cana is crumpling to the ground.

Hoarse yells burst out of the Strauss siblings' throats as they see one of their oldest friends fall to the rogue Freed's magic. There is no one else around to hear their cries for help; Freed had lured Cana to the very outskirts of Magnolia, where the land turned to deep valleys as dry as desert plains. Foolishly, the siblings had followed without any backup.

"Freed!" Elfman's deep tenor cracks a little with the depth of his fury. The entire day had been a confusing mass of betrayal from what the siblings had perceived to be some of the foundational members of Fairy Tail. Seeing the normally sweet if awkwardly formal Freed turn to such drastic measures was making Elfman's stomach turn. He just could not understand why this was happening. Why Freed would not stop holding his magic at his fingertips like he had not finished his gruesome work.

The dark magic, once a comfort in times of strife, flickered sullenly in the bloodshot whites of Freed's eyes. There was a wild desperation on the edges of his normally polished visage. His lips were cracked when smirked back at the siblings, still frozen in horror.

"The coward siblings arrive to pick up the scraps." Freed's voice is flat – like Cana's broken form at his feet, the dusty ground greedily soaking up her blood, is of no consequence. "Took your time in getting here. Clearly neither of you are taking this fight as seriously as you should be."

"Please," Mirajane said, "stop this, Freed." Trembling arms outstretched, she took a few steps towards him and Cana. "I don't completely understand why Laxus is doing this, but I know you Freed. You wouldn't turn to senseless violence like this." Her voice grows higher as she pleads, shrill with stress. Just like the Phantom Lord incident, Mirajane is reminded how painfully powerless she is. She cannot tell if it is just the stress making her shake, or if it is the darkness in her heart threatening to bubble up once more. After Lisanna, Mirajane had promised herself she would turn away from this darkness; her recklessness and pride only brought death, after all.

Eyes still wild with the magic reflected in it, Freed creaked out a laugh. "Know me?" His head sharply jerks to the side. "None of you know me. All this damn bullshit about nakama and knowing each other's hearts makes me sick." His polished right boot raises, hovering threateningly over Cana. "I just have to do as Laxus asks and eradicate those not worthy of his Fairy Tail. Then, everything will be alright." The underlying desperation Freed had suppressed finally burst forth, cracking his stony face into a kaleidoscope of dozens of emotions. Even with fear and horror scraping Freed's cheeks gaunt, he thrusts his foot down with all his might, aiming for the ribs curving beneath Cana's tattered crop top.

His foot never reaches as Elfman thrusts forwards with a bellow, legs bulging in beastly transformation. Freed's thin form is easily bowled over by Elfman's rage and vast bulk, slamming back into the ground with Elfman's hands pressing him into the dry earth.

Taking advantage of the moment, Mirajane darts forwards to pull Cana well away from the battle. The card-wielder is well-and-truly out, but her injuries were not life-threatening. Crouched over Cana, Mirajane struggles to figure out what to do. Cana needs tending to, but behind her Freed recovers enough to draw his sword and begin inflicting runes of pain on her brother. It is Elfman's bellows of pain that make the decision for her.

The howl Elfman lets out when his leg is pierced is guttural, and his transformation fails with the pain. The dirt beneath continues to greedily soak up blood, and Mirajane knows that Freed will not stop. His devotion to Laxus is well-known, and at the moment his usual calm is pressed-thin. Only Laxus can cause this kind of emotion in Freed, and Mirajane also knows that love can make you do stupid things.

Which is why she throws herself bodily at Freed to stop him from stabbing her brother again.

Freed stumbles away easily, righting himself several paces away from Mirajane as she sinks down to her brother's side. The ease in which he retreats is telling, and Mirajane cannot even react before hauntingly familiar runes erupt from the ground to box her and Elfman in.

"Attack and defeat the other person in order to be free," Freed says plainly, "but only before five minutes is up or else you both suffer." The rules are cruel in writing but are particularly painful coming from someone once considered a friend's lips. Freed has managed to gather more of his usual composure, and his eyes pierce into the Strauss siblings huddled together on the ground. "Fight or fail. Choose now."

"I'll never fight nee-san!" Elfman bellows, hands clutching at his legs in a vain attempt to keep his blood inside his body. "It's not manly to hurt family!"

Beside him, Mirajane presses a hand against his bare shoulder and despairs. Once again, she is nothing more than a hindrance – Elfman should knock her out now and save himself the trouble. There was a slim chance he could defeat Freed and ensure Cana's safety. Mirajane just had to believe in him.

Interrupting Mirajane's downward spiral of emotions, Freed blandly reminds them of the rules. "If you do not fight, you will suffer on-and-on until your heart fails or consciousness is kind enough to flee you. Make your choice, but once you make your bed you must lie in it."

"Damn it!" Elfman slams a huge hand into the ground. His blood mixes with the dirt to make red paste in the creases of his fingers, and Mirajane is helpless to her little brother's grief. It is her job to protect him from the problems of the world, and she has done nothing but fail him. Panic threatens to pull Mirajane into its throes, and she knows that her beloved brother would never harm her. She could never harm him.

The clock ticks down and Mirajane begins to hate.

Freed stands, a sentinel to their spectacle of suffering, and does nothing as the time hits 'zero' and electricity arcs. Again, Elfman's screams of pain sound close to the death-throes of a great beast. They are close to Mirajane's ears, palpable even over her own shrieks of pain. It is nothing but electricity, pain, Elfman, electricity, pain Elfman, electricitypainElfman, electricitypainelfman—

And then Mirajane's frustration and hatred breaches the surface, and she is swallowed up.

There is nothing

but

S

When Mirajane finally comes to, her body is still clad in her Demonic form. The scales are just as sleek as she remembers when her hands run over them, and her wings still as strong as the day she had left them behind. Up in the air, Mirajane can look down on the beaten form of Freed kneeling in submission. The darkness inside preens, but Mirajane wrestles it back under control. Her feet touch the ground, and Elfman is immediately at her side. He does not say anything, but Mirajane is grateful for his familiar presence as she approaches Freed.

The man is beaten bloody but Mirajane only feels the edges of remorse in this form. The demonic transformations her magic grants her also allows for the irritatingly overwhelming emotions of humanity to be pushed aside. Mirajane is nothing but predatory focus as she looms over Freed.

"I-I'm sorry…" is the first thing Freed gasps out. His bottom lip is split, and wisps of his fine hair are caught in the cut. There is nothing left of the cold man who had made them suffer. The bravado has stripped down to reveal the tragic desperation has burnt into nothingness. All that is left is exhaustion and heartbreak.

"…I thought," Freed said, "that if I followed him, that if I gave him my everything…if I loved him enough, he would change…Laxus would finally snap back into the man I had fallen in love with." Tears drip down his cheeks, mingling with the blood from other cuts on his face. They drip into the dirt, still greedy to take everything they had.

"I know," Mirajane says after a moment. She knows how heartbreak can hurt bad enough to change you completely, and she is not someone who can hold onto hatred anymore. Maybe once she would have struck Freed down in vengeance, but Mirajane is not that person anymore.

Dropping her form, Mirajane lifts her heavy skirt to crouch in front of Freed. Her hands are still calloused from her past, but Freed leans his face into them like they are the only luxury he has left in life. His eyes are ringed with exhaustion when he looks at Mirajane, but his voice has regained some of its strength. "Go. Gather any other members that are still around; there are plenty who have not fallen into my traps yet. Laxus is holed up in Kardia cathedral. Take them there and make this right. Stop him before he does something he will regret."

Mirajane presses a soft kiss to his forehead before lying Freed down. The man is barely conscious when she nods in acknowledgement. "I'm almost certain Erza will still be around. I'll send her straight over."

"Save him," Freed manages to mumble before succumbing to his injuries. He leaves behind the Strauss siblings, injured and worn out, to gather him and Cana up and make their way to town.

They had to hurry before Laxus really did something they could not forgive.

---

With Bickslow finally unconscious in a heap against the boutique's doorframe, Lucy feels like she should be able to breathe easier. And sure, the frantic adrenaline of the fight was ebbing away, leaving her more than a little sore but not as paranoid. However, Lucy's mouth was still sour with her own sick and blood. It was hard to ignore the remains of the emotional roller-coaster she had just been put through.

Luckily for her, Loke was as perceptive as he was charming.

Even as he hurried back over to Lucy's side to help lower her to the ground for a break, Loke kept up his abnormally toothy grin. He tried to inject as much cheer and smug charm into it as usual. With the shock that came from her most guarded secret being so harshly exposed, Loke hoped Lucy would find the normalcy grounding.

Sprawled awkwardly on the ground beneath Loke, body still aching, Lucy could only look up at him helplessly. The reality of someone who was not her friend knowing her secret was finally settling in. Her near death was also shaking around in her skull, demanding her attention. There was too much stimuli internally and Lucy's vision began to fade in the corners.

All she could do was gaze at Loke, face naked with fear.

"Hey," Loke said softly, dropping his grin for a look much softer with concern. "You alright there, angel?"

When Lucy did not reply more than a choked gasp, Loke knew that she was far too overwhelmed for words. Sometimes things got too much for Lucy, and while she normally had a good grasp on her emotions, her S-class mission had stretched that control thin.

While Natsu and Ryos had dealt with more than enough of her contrasting night terrors and daytime lethargy, it was her spirits that Lucy called upon when she experienced a panic attack. Granted, it was normally in the privacy of her bathroom. Yet, with Bickslow unconscious and the area evacuated, they were completely alone.

Loke dropped into a crouch in front of Lucy, the v of his out-turned knees gently bracketing her. His hands were warm and steady as he grasped Lucy's trembling ones. Her fingers were icy cold with stress, but still tensile strong as she wrapped her index and thumb around his wrists in return.

The steadiness of Loke's pulse drew all of Lucy's attention. Focusing on the beat allowed her to stable the fading planes of her vision and draw breath easier. There was always a tinge of embarrassment in Lucy's heart when she struggled so hard to just breathe, but she knew that Loke would never mock her about it. She was safe with Loke.

After a few minutes of breathing and counting Loke's heartbeat under her breath, Lucy felt more stable in her body. Panicking often lead to a terrifying sense of floating; like, without a tether, she was going to drift away from this stolen body.

Noticing the return of calm to Lucy's eyes, Loke figured that he could go back to playing up the smarmy Ladies' Man. If only to get things back to normal.

"Wow, Lucy," he drawled. "You should have told me that my beauty took your breath away." Loke finished up with an exaggerated wink, putting his whole head into the movement.

A flush of heat in Lucy's cheeks were inevitable, but she attempted to cover up her easily flustered persona by shoving Loke away. "You brat," she said as she stood up and walked away from a cackling Loke. "Totally just ruined the moment." Ignoring Bickslow for the moment, Lucy began to pull some travel bandages from packs hanging at her belt. With the ease that comes from practice, she began cleaning her wounds from a nearby water fountain and dressing them.

"We were having a moment?" Loke's voice was high in falsetto as he stood up and dusted himself off. "Lucy, quick! We must elope before the passion fades!" He continued to rant about how their love must have won the battle as he bounded over to help Lucy.

"Oh my stars," Lucy said to herself with an eye roll, "you never change." She pushed his clingy fingers away from a nasty laser burn on her arm. Her clothes were fairly tattered, which was disappointing, but it at least made it easier to access the damages Bickslow wrought.

The two bickered easily as they finished the bandage roll and half of another, clothes slightly damp from the leaky water fountain. There was a forced ignorance to the situation at hand, as well as towards the unconscious body and his puppets nearby, but both Lucy and Loke were good at repressing things. Especially tender displays of emotion.

For all his bravado and charm, Loke was immensely private. It was partially why both he and Lucy got along so well; they had a lot of dark moments passed between them, but they did not need to acknowledge it. It was as much part of their relationship as their bickering. It just – was.

As Loke futilely tried to wring out the tail of his suit jacket – Lucy had intentionally splashed him more than once, the brat – the woman in question paused in her attempts at tying back her hair to gaze at him.

The shaggy mane that framed Loke's handsome face shone a bronze in the midday light, and Lucy could feel any of her past restraints fall away. There was no one else in the world who had ever seen so much of her. There really was not anything else to show him. So why had she still tried to hold so much back?

It was all so stupid. Lucy had been an adult long before she had bled by Jose's hand – before even the burning brand on her side, or the incision on the curve of her lower back. She could handle something as simple as trust.

"Hey," Lucy said.

Immediately, Loke turned to her; spirit so dutiful and full of love for his summoner. "What is it, angel?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, Lucy's face broke into a beaming smile. "I'm so lucky to have you by my side, Loke," she manages to say through stretched lips. "I can never thank you enough." With those simple words, she tried to expose all of the trust, appreciation and friendship she felt for Loke. Hopefully it would be enough for him to understand how she felt.

And Loke reads it loud and clear. But all he can think, helpless to Lucy's light, is how Bickslow could ever think her soul to be monstrous. There was so much darkness in Lucy's life, so much agony and abandonment, but she could still give so much of her heart.

(She gave so much to him – his guiding light)

Struggling with his tongue for what might have been the first time ever, Loke barely manages to splutter out a syllable before he is interrupted.

"LUUUUCCCYYYY! Oh – and Loke!"

Swooping down from the sky is Happy. Looking slightly stressed and fur stuck up in places with dirt, but otherwise unhurt.

"Happy!" Lucy replies even as she reaches up to hold him in her arms. "What are you doing here? What happened to helping with the evacuation?"

The exceed burrows his way into the crook of her arm, stress bleeding into exhaustion. "I saw something in the distance that I thought I should tell you guys about!" Happy's tail curls absently around Lucy's wrist. "I was also worried about how long you had disappeared for, Lucy."

"Well," Loke said as he leant into Lucy's side to look down at Happy, "she had me with her. Of course, Lucy would be fine." He yelped slightly when Lucy elbowed him in the side.

After shooting Loke a playful warning look, Lucy turned back to Happy. Her expression eventually fell into one of concern as she gently petted his head. "What did you see that's got you so worried, Happy? Issues with any of the civilians?"

Happy shook his head. "No. In the distance I saw a huge pillar of darkness! It shot straight into the sky, and I was worried that a powerful enemy was around, but it felt familiar."

"Familiar?" pushed Loke.

"It felt like Mirajane's magic," said Happy, "but I can't be sure. She hasn't used magic for years since…"

"We're aware," Lucy interjected gently before any painful memories could surface. She then glanced at Loke, a little worried that they had been so wrapped up in their fight with Bickslow that they had not noticed such a thing occurring. Clearly the both of them needed to work on their situational awareness.

"It really couldn't be anyone but Mira," said Loke. "She's the only one in the guild who uses demonic magic."

"Right," agreed Lucy. "The only one she could've been fighting was Freed since there's no one else from the Thunder God Tribe to verse – aside from Laxus. If the stories are true about her power, she's probably already cleaned him right up."

At this, both Happy and Loke could only shudder in response. They had seen Mirajane's power in use, and neither were looking forwards to seeing it in person again. Especially the dichotomy between Mirajane's currently sweet persona and her literally, as well as metaphorically, demonic form.

Lucy's previous comment suddenly peaked Happy's interest as he realised she had mentioned no more enemies to verse. "Wait," he said, gazing up at Lucy in wonder, "did you really defeat Bickslow?"

In response, Lucy hefted him up to look towards the crumpled form of Bickslow. His shattered mask had managed to stab back into his face in places. There were thin rivulets of blood running from his forehead into the cracks of his lips, bubbling in places from his rough breath.

Happy winced in response at the sight. "Oh boy, you really did a number on him."

"In my defence," Lucy said with a mildness that belayed her temper, "he fucking shot holes into Sagittarius. That bitch deserved it." Her face had begun to crease with ugly emotions once more.

"Anyways!" Loke said to halt that emotional train wreck before it got started, "Any other news from the sky?"

"…Yeah," Happy said, peeling his eyes from Bickslow, as well as Lucy's turbulent feelings. "I also saw something happening over at Kardia Cathedral. Maybe Erza or Natsu finally found Laxus?"

"Most likely," Lucy agreed, pulling her attention back to the task at hand. "We should probably head over there to help."

Doing some quick calculations in her head as to where the original storyline was at, Lucy was almost certain Porlyusica had gone to Makarov's side by now. That meant that the only other thing that needed her attention lay at the heart of the city. Avoiding the storyline to stay separate from the original Lucy had been a stupid concept from the beginning, and it was time Lucy faced it. Helping her friends any way she could was all that really mattered now.

Mind made up, Lucy hefted Happy in her arms before quickly jogging over to yank her sword out of its place in one of the puppets. Sheathing it, she quickly orientated herself before finding the direction where the cathedral lay. "C'mon. No time to waste. Let's start heading over to help."

"What about Bickslow?" Happy asked as he looked at the wounded man.

"He'll live," Lucy said shortly. "I'll make sure he's collected after if he hasn't come to consciousness beforehand."

With that, she ran off before Happy could reply. As always, Loke was swift to follow right behind her.

---

Breath is rasping in Erza's lungs by the time she finally comes into contact with anyone who is not an evacuating civilian. After leaving the cathedral and her unwelcome past behind, she had been hoping to find any guild members still mobile. Lucy, Loke and Happy bursting onto the street in front of the redhead is a welcome sight. It gives Erza enough energy to push her tiring body forwards and shout out their names.

"You're alright," Lucy says as her group pauses to let Erza catch up. She frames it more like a statement than a question, but Erza nods all the same.

"I am quite fine." There is a general pain in Erza's body – and one lingering deep in her heart, where Simon's body rots and Jellal's face lingers like an unwelcome ghost – but that will not stop her from completing her mission. "Natsu and Gajeel are confronting Laxus in the cathedral right now."

"Why aren't you with them?" Loke asks pragmatically. To Erza's keen eyes his mussed hair is more erratic than artful. It matches the frantic energy in Lucy's dark eyes. Clearly there was a story there, but Erza knew there was no time to even begin asking about it.

"We have a bigger issue than Laxus," Erza replies shortly, already moving in the direction of the outskirts of the city. "Besides…they have Mystogan for support."

Out of the corner of her eye, Erza spots Lucy's expression shuttering for a second. It is a flash of realisation at the mention of Mystogan and Erza wants to drag the truth out of Lucy, but she remembers what happened last time she pushed. Lucy would talk when she wanted to, and it was not like Erza shared everything about her past either.

"Then what's the rush in the other direction?" Happy asks from where he is perched attentively in Lucy's arms. "Natsu could still be in trouble!"

"I trust Natsu," Erza says honestly, "and so should you. We have bigger concerns with Laxus activating the Thunder Palace. If he manages to set off all of the lacrima there is no doubt in my heart that the city will be destroyed. We have to do something before he can do that to our home!"

Lucy lets out several words that, while awfully crass, sum up the issue at hand. "Erza's right. Fuck Laxus. I trust Natsu too – he and Gajeel have this. We gotta head out now."

"Roger that," Loke says, adjusting his sunglasses. "I'll follow you anywhere, angel."

"Gross," Happy spat out as Lucy's ears flushed. "If you two are gonna be this sappy then I'll take my chances with Laxus."

"Piss off," Lucy said before turning to Erza. "Lead on, Titania. You're heading this mission."

Nodding firmly in return, Erza immediately took off in a run towards the northern half of the city. There was no more time to chat. They had to save Magnolia. It was the only home they all had.

Just as the group reach the most northern outskirts of the city, barely pausing to encourage straggling civilians to evacuate, a familiar voice entered their consciousness.

"Hey, everyone who's still up-and-at-'em!" Warren's voice is pitched with nerves but comes through perfectly clear. "I hope you all can hear me!"

In response, the group unanimously stops in the streets to listen attentively. There was something soothing about knowing there were other Fairy Tail members out there still. Hopefully most of them were not injured to badly by Freed's traps.

"I've got a message from Gray and Juvia here," Warren continued. "They say it's real important you all hear it, and I can't help but agree."

"They're okay," Lucy sighed in relief, squeezing Happy in her arms. "Bickslow said he took them out – Juvia apparently pretty badly. I'm glad they're back up again."

"I am also glad to hear news of our nakama," Erza said, "but let us continue listening for more news."

"According to those two," Warren said, "Laxus has really gone off the deep end. Those lacrima surrounding the city have apparently been set to detonate real soon. Something called the Thunder Palace, which will obliterate the city."

The group of Fairy Tail mages looked to the lacrima in question, only a few hundred metres ahead. They were at the mouth of a street leading into an open plaza where more apartment complexes were. No other guild members were in sight.

"Well," Loke said, "they clearly got the memo too. Glad we're all on the same page here."

"Gray and Juvia say the only way to stop the attack is to hit first." Warren's voice became wobblier. "I know most of you have seen what the lacrima can do in return, but I need you all to destroy them. If they're gone, there's no Thunder Palace. Ergo, city is saved."

There is a sizeable pause, like Warren does not know how to sign off from the confronting message. "I know it's a lot to ask," he said, "but we need to do this. Right now. So help each other and stop this fucked up plot. Let's go!" With this last burst of passion, Warren's voice cut off, signalling the end of his ability.

"You heard the man," Lucy was quick to say. "Let's go fuck Laxus' shit up." She sounds almost too gleeful at the prospect, and her lips tremble in an almost-smile as she pulls them in for a hurried pow-wow.

In the end, both Erza and Lucy's faces are split in feral grins as they divide the northern half of the lacrima between them. With Happy safely placed aside to make sure they did not choke on their tongue while unconscious, the plaza has more than enough room for the two women to really spread their wings.

Heaven's Wheel splays out behind Erza with near holy light, swords gleaming in the sun. Nearby, Aquarius is called forth from a small fountain and Cenas bursts forth with bow already at the ready. Loke had come under his own power, so Lucy is free to call upon these two of her most beloved spirits to spear the heavens with water and arrows respectively.

When Warren bursts in mentally to give a countdown, Erza holds eye contact with Lucy and hopes that it is enough. That the other Fairies are as prepared as they are. That this all goes right and that they can still make it to help Natsu and Gajeel in the end.

Maybe Mystogan as well, if he is still there. Although Erza somehow doubts that he would stick around.

At zero, Erza's swords rise in a perfect arc of destruction. They are backlighted by bursts of Loke's golden magic, with Aquarius and Cenas' offerings weaving between. Shouts from the entire group rise alongside the attacks, preparing themselves as the lacrima exploded in flames and shattered glass.

Just before the rebound hit, Lucy finally manages to forcibly shut her spirits gates for the first time – she would not let another friend be hurt by her own recklessness. Yet, Loke's hand still slips into hers. Not even Lucy's collective fear and furious protectiveness could push him away now.

"I will always stay by you," Loke promises her as flames frame them from behind. "Even when pain comes with you."

Then the rebound slams into the countless Fairy Tail members who had rallied to save their town. Before Lucy can reply, pain rattles her body with visible electrical sparks. Her building shriek is cut off as darkness crashes into her consciousness – her last thought is to keep clinging to Loke's warm hand.

Lucy would always be safe with Loke.

---

Far away from the chaos of pain happening across the city, the Kardia cathedral shakes in its very foundations. The awareness of the Thunder Palace being stopped has long since reached its creator, and in turn his fury burns twice as strong.

The fight between Natsu and Gajeel against Laxus is messy and confusing. There is still too many issues festering between Natsu and Gajeel – because Natsu still remembers Lucy's pained screams and Levy's broken body – so their coordinated attacks are anything but. Each punch thrown has a high chance of hitting each other as it does hit Laxus.

In return, the lightning magic user pummels them twice as hard into the ground. His voice is raspy with barely contained laughter. His plan is so simple yet effective; these pathetic excuses for opponents was just icing on the cake.

Bursting into this scene is Levy, freshly raw from the news that Porlyusica had just delivered. The woman's sudden appearance was not unwelcomed in the guild – it distracted her, Ryos, Sting and Lector from the bloody end to Lucy's battle – but her diagnosis of the ill Makarov had nearly made Levy sick in turn.

"Laxus!" the petite girl shrieks, trying to pitch her voice over the crumbling gothic décor around her. "Laxus, please! You have to stop!"

"Or what?" Laxus chuckles as he directs one of Natsu's flaming legs around his defence and straight back into Gajeel's unprotected side. "You'll scream and cry some more? Face it, I'm going to finally crush the weak links in this guild and become Master! Nothing you throw at me can stop me now."

As Natsu raises his voice to throw more friendship-fuelled protests at Laxus – Gajeel having long-since blocked out the repetitive dribble coming from Natsu – Levy manages to vocally overpower the slayer for the first time ever.

"Master is – your father – he's—!" Levy's voice reverberates around the cathedral, stained glass windows almost rattling with its force. "He's dying! He's sick and he's dying – right now! You have to stop this!"

The words almost seem to physically slam into the tussle of dragon slayers. All attacks stop as each man digests the news of their beloved grandfather possibly dying.

(The thought breaks Natsu's heart because he has no one of his blood but Makarov is close to what he thinks a grandfather must be; Gajeel cannot breathe for a second as Lucy may have dragged him to Fairy Tail, but it was Makarov who gave him a home)

Then, with almost unhinged abandon, Laxus begins to laugh.

It was Levy's screams that rattled stained glass, but Laxus' deep tenor made the stone floor tremble. The other Fairy Tail member can only stare in horror as Makarovs' own blood laughs at the idea of his death. Celebrates in it even.

"This is like fate!" Laxus bellows, arms wide like he was already welcoming the ghost of his grandfather. "The old man dying means less work for me! My rightful place as Master is almost certain now!" His laughter barely pauses as he knocks away an enraged Natsu, who suddenly lunges as he is overwhelmed with fury at Laxus' blinding greed.

"How dare you!" Natsu screams as his teeth snap around furious flames. "He's your blood! Your family! Nakama! What's wrong with you!"

Laxus barely gives Natsu a second look when he grips his arm and throws him into Gajeel. The fire dragon slayer was strong for his age, but Laxus was several years older and several kilograms stronger. The battle was always mostly one-sided, even if Natsu's optimism and Gajeels' pride did not allow them to recognise that.

Sprawled in a seething pile of limbs across the room from Levy, Gajeel and Natsu can only watch in horror as Laxus mounts the altar to begin casting Fairy Law. With Thunder Palace gone, this was his last trump card.

Laxus' meaty hands glow with golden light, just as Makarov did so many weeks ago. The similarity is not lost on Levy as she stands, indecisive and scared, watching the possible undoing of Fairy Tail occur.

It is to this cataclysmic sight that Ryos, Sting and Lector burst through the cathedrals' broken doors. While Levy had implored them to stay behind and remain safe by Porlyusicas' side, the trio could not comprehend leaving their guilds' fate unknown to them. Their sister-figure was somewhere in the streets, bleeding and haunted. Their babysitter and second sister had left them behind with a dying man to throw herself into a fight she could not win.

None of the boys could stand aside and let tragedy strike them again.

Stings' face is hot with his tears, but his hand trembles with cold in Ryos' iron-clad grip. He had killed his father-figure at his behest, but this was the first time since that he had felt the icy grasp of dread around his heart since. Sting was more than aware that there was not much he, his brother and his longest companion could do to stop Laxus – he was near a decade their senior and thus ten times as powerful. Yet, they had to try. For Fairy Tail.

"Please Laxus!" Stings' voice is thin and reedy with fear, but still manages to be heard by the others present. Levy is approaching, telling them to get back, but Sting continues to pull Ryos and Lector into the cathedral by each hand. There was no stopping now.

"Don't hurt them," Ryos nearly sobs. He cannot lose everything again. He cannot go back to being alone. It would break him. "Stop hurting my friends. Stop hurting our family."

Tiny in the scale of the broken debris of the cathedral, Lector unabashedly cries. "Don't kill us."

As far as he has fallen into the desire for recognition and power, Laxus can still recognise the youth curving around the boys' cheeks. The voices still unbroken by puberty, but eyes tired with old griefs that still ache. The baby dragon slayers Laxus had heard about from afar are right in front of him, pleading for their budding lives, and Laxus—

(Fairy Law quavers in his hands and the light detonates too soon, too sudden—! Laxus was not ready!)

releases the magic he had collected.

The Fairy Law Makarov had used against Phantom Lord washed over a several kilometre radii, encompassing the waters around the crumbling robot Jose had created. This light barely passed the doors of the cathedral that hold onto their hinges with scraping fingers.

It is Laxus' faltering heart that stops his attempt at finishing the coup d'etat building since this morning. A scream of rage bubbles forth as Laxus realises his miscarriage of the holy spell, and the building shakes with it when he destroys the cathedral's organ in one fell blow.

"This can't be!" Foam bubbles at the corner of Laxus' mouth as his screams are directed back to the boys now huddled near Levy. "You pathetic brats have ruined everything!"

In the depths of his heart, where Igneels' disappearance and Jellals' betrayal lay, Natsu can recognise (past his rose-tinted view of others) the expression of blood-thirst on Laxus' face. It barely comprehends to him that Laxus was a part of the guild. All of Natsu's attention is drawn to how Laxus raises a crackling hand towards Lucys' boys and his head screams THREAT—

(Sting is used to protecting Lector from shopkeepers furious at two skinny thieves, and his trembling hands push Ryos behind him to join where Lector clings to the back of his calves. His chin is raised high as he stares down the lightning building in Laxus' palm, and Sting knows that this might not be something he can wriggle out of this time.)

Harmonising screams of alarm come from Gajeel and Levy as they scramble to stop the disaster from reaching its crushing end. Gajeels' bruised fists are struggling to bleed into iron, and he catches Levys' blown pupils as she starts to scrawl a word to protect because not Lucys' boys, not her little tricksters, not the ones she has tucked into bed and kissed goodnight!

Then, just as Laxus tries to release the bolt that would destroy the figures of his remaining restraint, Natsu finally abandons his hope for Laxus.

With a leap boosted by flames nearly white-hot with wrath, Natsu slams into Laxus. The lightning bolt goes wide when Laxus falls to Natsu's lean bulk, stained glass shattering instead of little boys' and cat bones.

The stone altar cracks as Laxus slams down into it, and the sound mingles with Levy's sobs of relief and Gajeels' yells to get them out of here already, shortstack! But Natsu hears none of it, blood pounding in his ears as he looks down at the man who dared raise a fist against the people he loved.

The teeth in Natsu's mouth are almost too large to contain as he snarls down at Laxus, saliva stringing between them in ropey strands that spray when Natsu roars. Laxus can barely flex against the burning pin Natsu has him in, head leaning back to avoid snapping teeth and eyes with pupils so slitted they are almost imperceptible.

Laxus' brain shrieks predator and he is helpless to do anything but cower under the fury of a true dragon slayer.

"How dare you try and hurt children!" Natsu's voice is barely human, and on the other side of the room Ryos and Sting think they can hear the nostalgia of a dragons' roar. The thought makes them feel safe, and they curl into Levy's thin side alongside Lector. There is a dragon in the building and that means they are protected. Their big brother is here, and he will keep them safe, regardless of the cost.

"You tried to hurt Ryos, Sting and Lector!" Natsu continues to howl. "They're Lucy's' boys! I'll destroy anyone who tries to hurt them!" His hands are curved like claws and the nails pierce into Laxus' sides. "I won't bring them to Lucy broken because of you. I won't let you make her cry. I'll fucking kill anyone who makes Lucy cry! She doesn't deserve to suffer anymore!"

There is no more doubt in Natsu's mind that Laxus would not hesitate to hurt another Fairy Tail member, and this dissolution of his naivety also signals the break of his thin restraint. With another roar that even Gajeel cringes at, Natsu leans back to begin pummelling Laxus with all of his force.

Rattled from the sudden rage from one of the friendliest members of his guild, Laxus can barely raise a hand or word against the sheer fury Natsu throws into him. His handsome face splits against battle-hardened knuckles, and bloods sprays across the floor in a halo around his head.

"FUCK YOU!" Natsu shrieks, and he is lost to the animalistic instincts he normally keeps at bay. His vision is washed in red and Natsu will not stop until Laxus understands that no one could hurt his nakama. Not even those who he once thought of as such.

From afar, the warm protection Sting and Ryos felt from a dragons' roar is dying just as Laxus seems to be. The lightning that occasionally surges across Laxus' body is not deterring Natsu's assault, and the two boys suddenly realise that Natsu was not going to stop.

Natsu was going to kill Laxus in his rage.

Using thief- and Phantom-Lord-learnt grace, Sting and Ryos slip from Levy's' grip and leave Lector behind to race towards Natsu. Not even Gajeel, upright and torn between going to the boys and stopping Natsu, can get a hold of them as they go by.

Blood drips from Natsu's right fist as he raises it in the air to punch Laxus once more. Anger and iron mix his mouth, drowning out every other sense. His prey was right there, helpless to defend itself. Natsu could finish it off right now.

As he goes to drive his fist into the pulp of Laxus' face, tiny fists wrap around it. They slip and scrabble against the slick of blood dripping down his arm, but Sting and Ryos were still slayers; they were strong enough to stop this.

"Natsu, stop!" both of their voices shriek, slightly out of sync as they pull on the corded arm resisting them. "You'll kill him! You're going to kill Laxus! Stop! Stop! Please!"

In the background of their mixed pleas, Levy has gathered her wits and begun moving. For all her disinterest in hands-on fighting, Levy was not one of the smartest people in the guild without reason. Her analytical brain pushed aside her fear for the boys and begun predicting what would happen next.

There was no way that Laxus would take the attack lying down, and when Natsu regained himself there was no doubt he would be wracked in horror at what he had just done. That left Levy and Gajeel to protect the boys and Lector, who she hurriedly scooped into her arms as she sprinted towards Gajeel. It was just the two of them, and regardless of their past, they needed to work together now more than ever.

"Wait!" Levy spat at Gajeel as he made to move to help Ryos and Sting. "You're still exhausted from the battle. You need help!"

Her words gave Gajeel pause, and the man nearly actually spat back at the girl for insinuating he needed help. However, he was met with the heavy weight of the word 'iron' thrust at him, the hole in the 'o' almost heart shaped – an absent-minded personal touch that seemed nearly ridiculous in the crumbling cathedral.

"Take it," Levy said with trembling arms as she offered it. Lector was now safely perched on her left shoulder, watery eyes also looking at him imploringly. "It'll give you strength, right? Like fire with Natsu?"

"…Thanks," Gajeel eventually said. His huge hand easily scooped up the metal from Levy's' grasp, and he ate it in two large gulps. "Not bad thinking, shortstack."

"Bastard," Levy replied, tone implying that she had picked up the poor language from someone much rougher in the guild.

(Gajeel bet on the Maiden)

Barely bothering to give her a nod in return – looking into her eyes made him dizzy with past regret and he could almost smell the iron of her blood coming from carved flesh – Gajeel turned back to the tussle on the altar.

Back on top of the stairs, Ryos and Sting were continuing to struggle against Natsu. The older boy had anger and strength on his side, but the anger made him sloppy and he had already been in battle. He was losing against the fact that the boys were still fresh, and their young bodies were wiry with budding muscle. Sting even sinks his small fangs into the meat of Natsu's shoulder to guarantee a better grip, steeling himself against the answering bellow and gush of blood in his mouth.

"Natsu, you have to snap out of it!" Ryos' long fingers were struggling to keep a hold of Natsu's fist, but his voice was somewhat steady. "Even if he is an asshole, Laxus is still nakama! He's still part of Fairy Tail!"

When Natsu only snarled in return, Ryos took a deep breath and pressed tucked his face close to Natsu's neck. This allowed him to scream right into his ear. "Lucy-nee wouldn't want you to kill him! She wouldn't want you to put yourself through this! Think of Lucy!"

The mere mention of Lucy's' name gave Natsu pause, and the man visibly shuddered as he came back to himself.

"O-Oh shit," Natsu whispered as the vision of red was finally lifted. Laxus' face was already beginning to swell in places, blood catching in the creases. His left cheekbone had collapsed under Natsu's assault, leaving his handsome face lopsided and painful. Laxus was more of a wreckage than a person, and Natsu felt a sob catch in his throat as he noticed the blood sludging off of his right fist, the boys' tiny fingers also slick with it.

Releasing the older man, Natsu skittered back on all fours. Ryos and Sting huddled against his back, also releasing him as they realised Natsu had come back to himself.

The room seemed to pause as Natsu's wheezing breaths echoed, unsure of what to do now. In the near silence, just as Ryos begun to reach for Natsu – to comfort, to hold, to find refuge in because Natsu was his nii-san and he loved him and was scared of him and was tired of the fighting – Laxus manages to finally gather himself.

With a roar of defiance that gushes bloody saliva and chunks of pulpy cheek across the altar, Laxus sweeps a large arm and throws Natsu and the boys down the steps.

Not expecting the man to bounce back so quickly, the dragon slayers fall in a heap. Thin limbs slam into stone steps, and even through his panic Natsu tries to soften the blows with his sturdier body. When they finally land in the middle of the cathedral, Laxus is already using the last of strength to stand. He has one last attack in him, and he is going to ensure that it would finish off the insects in his way.

Drawing on the strength of the lacrima planted in him so long ago, Laxus' body bulks up with artificial dragon slayer power. His skin grows tough with scales, and his heart races as he struggles to control a power that does not rightfully belong to him.

With split lips and chipped teeth, Laxus spits out his final attack and throws everything left into it. Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd nearly burns Laxus as it bursts forth, but his sight is set on Natsu, Sting and Ryos and he will not stop now. Not even if it kills him.

"No, no, no, no, nonononono," Natsu mutters to himself as he painfully drags Sting and Ryos close. He rolls over to cover them with his beaten body, and their quick breaths blow hot air onto his sweating neck. Natsu can barely hear Ryos whimper "nii-san" over the crackle of lightning, and Natsu prays that his body is enough to protect them.

Then Gajeel steps into the scene. Cool and dignified, the man plants his feet between Laxus and his old foe. The iron Levy gifted him surges in his veins, and Gajeel's arms easily transform to iron rods. His very own lightning rods.

The attack hits Gajeel's left arm with a boom that rings in everyone's ears, but the man barely grunts as he conducts it through his body. The lightning crawls across his torso, agonizing with every breath, and explodes from his right arm in an arc that knocks the very roof off the cathedral.

Standing victoriously, smoke curling off his dark mane, Gajeel manages to spit at Laxus before he collapses in a heap. Levy is there to catch him, petite form barely cushioning his now flesh body.

"You idiot," the woman chokes out as she looks down at the unconscious Gajeel's face. The skin around his numerous piercings is red with electricity burns, and his heart stutters unevenly under her hands as Levy wraps them tightly around him. "You dumb heroic idiot."

With that, Levy glares at Laxus as she pulls Gajeel to the side, away from the battle zone. She could tend to him there safely, but still ensure her support for the final stage of the battle about to unfurl if called upon.

Laxus lets her go, struggling to keep the foreign power under his skin under control. The lacrima his father had implanted in him was meant to give him power equal to any dragon slayer, but his body was far too damaged to use it safely. That attack was most likely all he had left.

Almost as if sensing this, Natsu scrambles to his feet. He pulls Ryos and Sting up beside him, and all of their faces are bright with hope and determination. The two younger boys will not leave Natsu to finish the battle that had wrought so much damage, and their stances are sure as they flank their older brother and hero.

Usual grin back in place, Natsu pushes down the lingering horror of what he had done – he would deal with that later, under the worn covers of Lucy's' bed where no one else could disturb the two. Instead, he proudly declares Ryos and Sting to be true Fairy Tail mages. And, as all good Fairy Tail mages do, they would finish this in one final blinding attack.

No words are necessary for the three males to know what to do next. Reading Natsus' intent with ease, Ryos and Sting both take a deep breath as the older man does.

The three slayers stand in an equal line facing Laxus, and when they exhale their three unique dragon roars are almost blinding. Fire and white magic combining in a brilliant flash as shadow magic curls off of it in wisps of black that reflect no light. The Union Raid roar scorches the walls and digs a deep furrow in the cracked floor all the way up the stairs to Laxus.

In turn, there is nothing Laxus can do but stare in disbelief as his opponents yell out "White Shadow Dragon's Flame!" their voices barely heard over the thunderous crackle of the attack. Faced with such overwhelming strength, Laxus finally feels the fight leave him.

When the blinding display of power dies down, Laxus is prone in front of the stairs. The beautiful glass windows and entire altar behind him is completely gone, leaving only gaping holes that let the soft afternoon sunlight spill through. There is blood already pooling underneath Laxus' ruined face from where it is pressed into the ruined stone floor, but Natsu can barely pay attention to it. Blood also drips into his eyes from a cut along his hairline from the tumble down the altar stairs, nevertheless Natsu still smiles with his entire face at Ryos and Sting.

Rubble is strewn everywhere, but the three boys stand in a clear patch as sunlight gently caresses them. Exhaustion makes Natsu's steps drag as he closes in on Ryos and Sting. His arms are still strong and sure as he pulls them in close. Pressing their heads close to breathe in their familiar scent, Natsu tries to push down the panic bubbling up again. The boys were safe and warm in his arms, tiny hands gripping him back just as desperately. They were fine. They were fine. They were finefinefinefine—

"Don't do that again," Sting sobs into Natsu's shoulder, breaking the internal voice that was screaming for Natsu to ensure that there were no more threats nearby. "Please, Natsu, you can't ever do…that…again."

"'M sorry," Natsu slurred around teeth that were still too sharp. "He was just…you guys were right there and Laxus wasn't going to stop, he was trying to kill you and he had to pay—!"

It was only Ryos' calloused hand reaching up to cradle Natsu's face that stopped the latter from falling into despair again. "Stop, Natsu-nii. We're okay and Laxus is down. You can calm down now."

Natsu pressed his cheeks into Ryos' hand, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by the adoration in Ryos' eyes. The boy had been Lucy's little brother for so long now, and Natsu had seen him grow from a scared child to someone whose happiness shone bright enough for everyone to see. There was no Lucy without Natsu, however. They had always been partners in battle, but that tentative relationship formed at the base of Mt Hakobe had long-since expanded to almost all aspects of life. Ryos seeing Natsu as an older brother felt almost natural, an expansion on the easy trajectory of Lucy-and-Natsu.

"I'm alright now," Natsu said, making sure to pul back and make eye-contact with both of the boys. "I'm so sorry, to the both of you. But," his face pulled back into his customary grin, "you guys were amazing out there! There's no doubt that you're true Fairy Tail mages! I mean, we literally blew the roof off the damn building!" Natsu's laughter was a loud burst from his belly, dying almost instantly from the strain against his almost certainly cracked ribs.

Helplessly, Ryos and Sting laughed with him. The adrenaline from the battle was fading entirely, and with it Natsu's remaining energy. The boy's laughter was cut short when Natsu suddenly lost consciousness, arms barely able to catch him before all three toppled to the floor in a heap.

"Heavens damn it," Ryos deadpanned as he adjusted Natsu's bulky chest to the side of his face. The movement pushed Sting's face further into Natsu's left armpit and muffled his yelp of anger at the action. "What the hell, Ryos!"

Looking fondly on the scene along the side of the cathedral, Levy adjusted Gajeel's barely conscious body. The significantly larger man was mostly laid out on a clear patch of ground, but Levy was careful to cradle his head and shoulders in her lap. The skin on Gajeel's face was still red and inflamed around his piercings, and Levy exasperatedly tore up the hem of her dress to begin attending them.

"Boys…" Levy sighed to herself as she wetted the cloth with a controlled scrawl of 'water'. Underneath her care, Gajeel's eyelids fluttered over unfocused pupils. He was barely holding onto coherency after the literal shock his body went through. Even so, Levy was extremely gentle as she split her attention between Gajeel and the squirming pile of boys in the middle of the cathedral. Ryos and Sting had managed to prop Natsu's upper-half between them, and Lector had tottered over to begin lightly slapping him into consciousness.

Smiling at the fact that Natsu was in somewhat capable hands, Levy looked back down at the man in her lap. Gajeel had finally followed Natsu into unconsciousness, and Levy's smile did not abate as she took in his rough features. The shiny red burns on his face did not lessen Gajeel's rugged handsomeness, but unconsciousness had smoothed out his usual scowl into tranquillity. There was nothing left of the monster that had made an example out of her for his tyrannical guild master. All that remained was a man trying to find redemption.

Levy knew that Lucy would be overjoyed to hear how fiercely protective Natsu was of her boys. Despite her initial worries that Natsu would be too destructive and immature to set a good example for Ryos and Sting, Lucy had eventually confided to Levy that she believed Natsu was maturing. That he was someone that she could trust not just with her life, but also her little brothers'. Levy was aware now that the blonde was most likely also right to defend that Gajeel was growing as a person as well – that there was something good buried underneath Gajeel's hard exterior. It was just up to Levy to breach the chasm of fear and blood between them. Only then could she finally figure out for herself what kind of person Gajeel really was.

Maybe he could even be nakama. One day.

---

Later, in the dying afternoon light, most of the members of Fairy Tail are freed from Freed's traps or finally conscious after the fallout of the Thunder Palace. They congregate back in the guild, carrying their less fortunate friends when necessary. Taking this as a sign of the battle finally being over, the members who had helped evacuate the civilians permitted them to enter back into Magnolia.

Luckily, most of the battles that occurred in the city had been due to Freed's traps. The members caught within them had attempted to get around the rules or delegated someone to gently knock the others out to proceed on. With the Fairy Tail women having been freed from the beginning they never had a need to turn on each other. This absence of animosity meant that the city only suffered a few damaged walls and cracked pavers. The only exceptions to this were the areas Bickslow had fought in. The plaza where Juvia and Gray had made their stand was scarred with laser burns, and, ironically, the streets the normally conscientious Lucy had clashed with Bickslow in were the most damaged. It would take a few weeks of effort to set everything right. The civilians of Magnolia were extremely used to this work, however, being home to the rambunctious Fairy Tail for so many generations.

Kardia cathedral was most likely going to have to be condemned though. After Fairy Tail members banded together to carry Natsu and Gajeel back to the guild – Levy, the boys and Lector following tiredly in their wake – parts of the building's walls continued to crumble in. Laxus had been evacuated outside the building, but most Fairy Tail members were reluctant to bring him into the guild he had tried to forcibly take control of. Instead, healing magic was given to ensure the worst of his injuries sealed shut and that his face was not permanently misshapen. Laxus would live, but he would bare many scars.

The battle wrought at the cathedral had left more than its fair share of architectural scars as well. It had damaged most of the foundational structure and eradicated the carefully maintained holy artefacts. The stained-glass windows and organ could be replaced, but plenty of history had unfortunately been lost that day. While Makarov was going to be horrified by the bill sent his way, the community would be mourning a cultural landmark.

(Later on, Lucy would lecture Ryos and Sting extensively for contributing to Fairy Tail's horrifically extensive list of destroyed public property. Sure, she was amazed at their Union Raid and glad they were still alive, but she had told Natsu to stop doing the exact thing, now her boys had joined in!)

As the procession of guild members made their way into the guild, Natsu came to consciousness.

It was a shock to the slayer to see such a vast amount of his nakama barely conscious in the infirmary, clearly recovering from the effects of destroying the Thunder Palace. The shock, however, was quickly forgotten when Natsu caught sight of the rest of his team.

Almost all of them were laid up in bed, Gray being the only one capable of moving without aid at the moment. He was heavily bandaged and sitting closely beside Juvia's bedside, the two of them murmuring softly to each other. The way their fingers tangled as they carefully pressed their shoulders together spoke of the strife they had gone through. Natsu knew Gray was not one to turn away from physical contact – most in Fairy Tail would never – but his face was uncharacteristically soft as he held a cup of water to Juvia's lips. The dual shocks to her system had made it incredibly difficult for the water woman to hold her form together, and her hands trembled too much to hold the cup herself. With some more water and time, Juvia would make a full recovery.

In a group of beds nearby, Erza was tentatively perched cross-legged on her sheets, chatting to Elfman and Mirajane. The latter had exhaustion printed into the bags under her eyes, but a proud stance to her body that Natsu hadn't seen since before Lisanna had…

In another bed was Lucy, and having caught sight of her as well, Sting, Lector and Ryos scampered past Natsu to climb up beside her. Lucy greeted them with an uncharacteristically wide smile, laughing as her boys and Lector wiggled into her lap while avoiding the bandages wrapped around various parts of her body. Her usual outfit had been tossed to the end of the bed, torn to the point Natsu was almost certain was unsalvageable – but who knew with Lyra's seemingly magical sewing abilities. Left in her pants and bound chest, Lucy looked surprisingly comfortable and safe as she looked up at Loke, who was gingerly leaning against the wall the head of the bed was pressed against. Their eyes were soft in matching affection, and Loke gently stroked a hand through Lucy's unbound hair in a futile attempt to untangle it, the girl easily leaning into the movement.

As he was placed carefully alongside Gajeel into their respective beds across the room from the rest of the team, Natsu struggled to identify why his heart suddenly lurched at the sight. He knew Loke was always overtly affectionate with Lucy – every moment with the two was a shout of "angel!" and Loke's insisting attempts to grab her hands to show their love – but there was a nuance of something more tender underneath their gestures. Lucy-and-Loke was a messy tangle of secrets and almost desperate self-sacrifice from both sides of the relationship. Natsu knew that. So why did this new facet to their relationship make his heart squeeze so tightly, or make him want to skip time forwards until the moment they were all finally safe in Lucy's bed? It was too confusing, and Natsu could do nothing but push it down alongside the horror and rage that festered in his heart from today. He could deal with it later.

The bed was comfortable and familiar with the scent of starch as Natsu settled into the mattress. Casting those confusing emotions aside lent him enough clarity to look past the members with healing magic congregating around him and finally see Happy. His partner had clearly spotted Natsu as well, as Happy popped his head up from where he was nestled in the pile of boys and cats in Lucy's lap and joyfully took to the sky with a cry of Natsu's name.

Natsu's body was in agony and too stiff to move, but he managed a weary smile and cry of Happy's name in return as his best friend hovered beside him. The healers trying to tend to him tutted disapprovingly at Happy fitting himself against Natsu's face, but the slayer barely heard them. Already the depths of unconsciousness were calling him once more, body craving sleep to begin healing. In a burst of patented Natsu stubbornness, he forced his head back towards Lucy. Even as blurriness took over his sight once more, Natsu finally caught her eye.

The grin on Lucy's face faded to a soft smile. Her brown eyes, normally so dark and serious, held a gentle light in them as she looked back at Natsu across the room, and Natsu took comfort in that light even as darkness swallowed him back up.

---

Most of the injured guild members are back on their feet and gathered in the main hall by the time dusk comes creeping in. In that time Makarov has been declared to be in the green by an irritated Porlyusica who, after giving Erza the news to pass on, immediately fled back to the woods. When Erza announces the good news to the guild, the relieved cheers signal the start of an exhausted celebration. The drinks flow quickly, handled by a cheerful Mirajane who still looks at home behind the bar, even after her powers resurfacing.

Sloppily propped up on stools of their own in the corner of the hall, almost completely covered in bandages, Natsu and Gajeel argue amongst themselves. Their success against Laxus had done plenty to break the frigid ice between them, but Natsu still unconsciously bared his teeth behind bandages whenever Gajeel mentioned his comradery with Lucy.

(Gajeel was more than aware that Natsu loathed his…friendship? – Gajeel had not had friends in so long, was forgiving someone for nearly killing them friendship? – with the Maiden, but it was so fun to watch the idiot get possessive and not understand why)

Between their arguing (and a drunken and rough-looking Cana joking that it was clearly their form of foreplay) Natsu continually glances over at Lucy and her boys, immeasurably glad that he did not have to see her cry. The blonde in question is sitting with the rest of the team, alongside what seems to be their newest addition, Juvia, and Levy. Judging by the stretched collar and the way it hung to her thighs, the dark shirt Lucy was wearing was the one Gray had long-since discarded.

While Juvia had clucked and fussed over Lucy picking up her beloved Gray's shirt, the fact that the man in question had sat himself on the bench right against her had quieted her swiftly. Juvia went especially quiet and red when Gray clasped her thin wrist between one of his larger hands beneath the table, the latter claiming it was to make sure that she would remain solid.

Lucy catches Juvia's eye and gives her a smug wink just to watch her blush deepen. Crowding her from one side, recovered after a short stint in the Spirit Realm, Loke whispers encouragement into Lucy's ear – before Lucy, Gray was the closest friend he ever had, of course he was enjoying this blossoming yet awkward romance in front of him. Loke squeals when Lucy elbows him for his comments, playing up the pain for laughs.

Baring Loke's usual dramatics, neither Lucy nor Loke had mentioned much more about how they had defeated Bickslow. The way Levy, Ryos, Sting and Lector played mum whenever the topic came up made it clear that they knew what had happened – most were certain it was due to the lacrima that had broadcasted the battles within the guild at Laxus' sadistic behest – but they did not say anything against Loke's over-the-top claims that love saved the day.

Sting, sharing Lucy's lap with Ryos and looking sleepy after using full-powered roars, wakes enough to threaten Loke's manhood if he keeps trying to hit on his big sister. Wisely, Loke raises the supportive arm he had around Lucy's waist up to her shoulder and looks elsewhere silently. The rest of the table roars with laughter at the tiny fangs Sting bares, and the way Lector loyally mimics him.

The positive atmosphere is interrupted by Laxus staggering through the door.

All noise grinds to a halt as the guild takes in the man who had attempted to make them fight so he could reign supreme. Hostility levels were already high due to this, but after news of Laxus attempting to attack Ryos and Sting – the beloved children of the guild, only a little older and wiser than Romeo who had been raised by the guild it seemed – majority of the guild felt fury at their fellow guild member.

In his corner, Natsu cannot feel any remnants of his past rage. Instead, the shame he had pushed down comes bubbling to the surface at the sight of Laxus' face.

The lightening scar that had always adorned his face is now mirrored by a sharp crevasse across the opposite cheek. The healers had been able to reset the bones in his face, but the process had left the wound that continued to openly weep. Some bandaging had clearly been given as Laxus' other wounds were carefully covered, but for whatever reason the man had elected to keep this injury exposed.

Natsu wishes he had not.

Nausea threatens to bubble up Natsu's throat and he turns shamefully away from Laxus. Taking note of this, Gajeel crosses his arms beside him and glares forcibly at Laxus. The whole battle had been a shit-show from the start and the ex-Phantom Lord member just wanted all the fucked-up emotions to stop. It was meant to be a fresh start at Fairy Tail, but if everyone kept pulling up irrelevant emotional bullshit than Gajeel was certain he would never be able to get anywhere with these idiots. Especially the Salamander next to him. Overemotional pansy.

When Laxus suddenly says into the quiet that he wants to see his grandfather, Gajeel is certain that they have a riot in their hands. Majority of the guild is on their feet in rage, and even Salamander's indignation has overcome his previous shame, leaving him on his feet as well. Gajeel follows in his footsteps as he approaches Laxus, ready to translate the fun stuff Salamander is sure to mumble out. Yet the blond-haired bastard brushes him off with near-gentleness, looking for someone less angry to allow him through to his grandfather.

Erza, bandaged and frowning with the might of the renowned warrior, Titania, steps up to the task. Her infamous glare keeps the others in line as she points Laxus to the private room Makarov was recovering in. Head down and scarred face ashamed, Laxus shuffles forward and disappears into the gloom of the room. The door clicks shut behind him, but the uneasy atmosphere does not leave.

A few minutes after Laxus disappears into the room, the rest of the Thunder God Tribe shamefully comes creeping inside the guild. All three are significantly more bandaged than most of the guild – baring Natsu and Laxus, perhaps – but Bickslow's bare face draws pause. The plasters covering his face do nothing to hide his glowing eyes, and some cannot even look at him. However, to the Tribe's surprise, the guild is more receptive to their presence – most likely due to them not having attacked children. The guild is still fairly wary, but not hostile.

Eventually Mirajane greets Freed with muted but earnest cheer, and that seems to break the ice as the rest of the guild surges forwards to interact with the elite members they barely have had a chance to get to know. Being such a fixed group from nearly the beginning of their membership, the Thunder God Tribe had never been fully integrated into Fairy Tail's masses. Curiosity at the group won over the guild's wariness, and many were unabashed at commenting on each member and the fights that had occurred. Through it all, Bickslow studiously ignores Lucy still seated with her friends, even as other members heckle him for being so thoroughly thrashed and losing his manly pride to a woman. Especially Elfman, who softens this blow by claiming Lucy's spirit was truly too manly for most.

In return, Lucy pointedly does not even so much as glance Bickslow's way. Instead, placing her attention into quickly finishing the cider in her mug and calling for another. Across from her, Juvia and Gray exchange worried looks; both are thinking of the empty look Lucy had in her eyes for so long after that S-class mission. The same expression is seeping into Lucy's face now, and Juvia privately wonders if Bickslow had seen some of the dark and unfathomable horrors in Lucy's eyes as she had seen in the Tower of Heaven.

The moment passes, however, when Loke gently jostles Lucy and loudly proclaims once again that there was nothing their love couldn't conquer. Lucy blushes hot again at his bold claim, and Sting launches himself at Loke from Lucy's lap to defend her honour. Drinks go flying, and the guild's collective attention is pulled to making bets on who would win between Loke and Sting, encouraged by Cana who takes her usual place as bookie.

In the chaos of the beginning tussle, the Thunder God Tribe manages to slip away and into Makarov's room. In the quiet of the room, with Makarov's recently-unconscious body swallowed up by his bed, Laxus tells them he has been excommunicated from the guild. His team's broken cries are impossible to hear over the commotion happening outside, even when Evergreen bawls hard enough her glasses fog up. All three beg for Laxus not to go, to take them with him, please don't leave us Laxus, leader, pleasepleaseplease—!

Laxus maintains his uncharacteristic gentleness when he asks them to stay at the guild and grow from the friendships they should make here. His eyes do not tear up as he apologises over and over for abusing their trust in him, but they are suspiciously glassy when he clasps Freed's hands in his. Freed's fingers are like claws, digging into the calloused flesh of Laxus' palms. The two share a moment, a mere breath, words incapable of summarising the long history of stolen glances and selfless adoration.

"…Good bye," Laxus says eventually, gradually untangling from Freed's as he stands up and heads for the door. Bickslow turns his head away and Freed drops to his knees, crying in earnest. He is not brave enough to watch as Laxus goes, but Evergreen has enough for all of them. Her lips are pressed tightly, tasting tears despite it, but she does not look away from Laxus as gives one last wave before disappearing through the doorway.

The door clicks shut, and the Thunder God Tribe is left a broken mess in a room empty of nothing but discarded memories and their broken Master.

The atmosphere in the guild hall is back on track to being festive, but Laxus' sudden reappearance turns it sour once more. All of their eyes are fixated on his stiff form as he marches through the hall, shoulders high and head low. Before anyone can even think to stop him or say anything, Laxus is already out the door. The guild silent as they watch his silhouette get swallowed up by the setting sun.

---

Despite it all, the Fantasia festival goes on. Desperate to feel normal after the stress of what is quickly dubbed the Battle of Fairy Tail, the city's population rushes around to get the finishing touches on the floats. The spectacle is massive and vibrant, the gleaming lights in the streets washing away the stress and pain of the day.

For once, Lucy dons traditionally 'feminine' clothing. Levy and Mirajane had been gentle in their insistence, encouraging Lucy to make herself feel powerful and as beautiful as she is on the inside. Not wanting to disappoint them after the rough day they had, Lucy accepts the garment Mirajane offers from her wardrobe and the invitation for an afternoon of pampering.

Most of the core women of Fairy Tail squeeze into the Strauss household, Elfman remaining as the only male presence because he knew how to make a girl feel empowered and gave great fashion advice. After Mirajane and Levy gush over their matching outfits, they team up with Cana to help Lucy into the first dress she has worn since the forced outfit at the Heartifilia estate. The memory of choking necklines and pinched wastes is washed away by the soft slink of silk against her body. The loose high-neck and gentle ruffles laid so easily against Lucy's skin that the slit at the side for movement was more comforting than exposing. Clearly Mirajane had been more considerate of Lucy and her comfort zones, offering the dress in her favourite red alongside flexible boots and a light shawl that scattered black lace across her shoulders.

It was Erza who stepped up to help pin back the top half of Lucy's hair in an elaborate braid. The redhead was obviously excited to be doing fun feminine things amongst her nakama, having been painting her fingernails alongside Elfman and Juvia for the most part. After seeing Lucy struggle with the heavy weight of her hair – hitting her waist and not looking like it was stopping – Erza quickly cited her own experiences with her hair and eagerly jumped into the task.

The repetitive motion of the hairbrush lulls Lucy into a hazy comfort, unconsciously leaning back into Erza's administrations. Regardless of the tension of their past exchanges, the two women find the moment together to be nothing but pleasant. They do not need to exchange more than casual chatter, looking to share small happy fragments of their pasts to begin building a shaky friendship.

Lucy comes out of the conversation with a neat hairstyle and an easy smile. Her smile is reflected back by Erza, who gives her a hard clasp of the shoulder before turning to aid Juvia. The woman was growing nervous over whether Gray would like the way Cana had shaped her spiky bob into a slicked-back look that revealed her sharp eyes without the bangs and hat to cover them.

The dramatic way Juvia fretted made Lucy giggle to herself. The motion reflected back in the mirror sharply drew her attention to her reflection. With her hair pinned back and bangs even trimmed by an experienced Mirajane, Lucy could see the way her rounded eyes contrasted with the sharp cheekbones she was growing into. Her face had changed so much since she had first seen it, and Lucy pressed her fingers against the glass where her smiling lips were reflected. With her lips upturned and eyes sparkling with joy, she looked so much like the original Lucy that it hurt.

Without the red in her hair, the tan and the scars on her toned body, Lucy was identical to her original. The thought once scared her so badly she had nearly taken a burning stick to her face, wanting to ensure that she was different, that this body was hers, that the pain and disfiguration would make her claim on this body real.

The urge is not there anymore. At least, not noticeably anymore.

Instead of stewing on the past, Lucy smiles wider at her reflection. Her reflection smiles back just as earnestly. Lucy wonders if this is happiness. When Cana leans over her shoulder to smack a handful of glitter into her face – "bippity boppity boo, you can be a beautiful bitch too" – Lucy shrieks in surprise and delight. The chair she had been perched upon goes flying as she lunges up from the vanity to grapple Cana so she cannot plaster the lipstick she brandishes onto Lucy's face. The two tussle for a bit before Mirajane uses her recently regained demonic aura to separate them. Meekly, Lucy and Cana put up with the white-haired girl making the glitter on their faces at least look intentional. However, when Mirajane looks away, they stick their tongues out at each other and laugh.

Lucy is almost certain this is what happiness is.

---

A few guild members wolf-whistle when Lucy reaches the parade's meeting place with the rest of the girls, but threatening smiles from Mirajane and Cana had left the commentary at just that.

In the end, Lucy stands on the same float as Natsu, concern over his beat-up body overruling her desire to continue the fun of the afternoon with the other girls. Gray and Juvia were ahead showing the extent of their bond with their Unison Raid display, and Erza was taking up a float with her numerous blades. So that left Natsu and Happy's float with more than enough space for another, to which Lucy kept firmly to the middle of to stay away from the flames flickering along its edges.

When she had taken the stage alongside the boys, Natsu and Happy had been quick to raise a mocking ruckus for dressing so effeminately. It only took a few jabs at some of Natsu's tender wounds for him to flee to his position on a platform above the float's stage, with Happy quick to follow when Lucy turned her sights on him.

Almost immediately, Loke summons himself in a flash of gold. There was no way he was going to miss the biggest celebration of his guild, and a chance to spend it with Lucy had him nearly glowing in excitement. With Loke following at her heels, Lucy also summons Lyra to play accompanying music as the float begins rumbling down the main street behind the others. The spirit is delighted at the prospect of showing her talents to the crowd gathering either side of the street and gives Lucy a wet kiss on the cheek before flying up to perch on top of the float. Her lyre immediately begins thrumming out gorgeous tunes, magic causing the sound to reach every member of the city's populace and making them sway along in hypnotising rhythm.

Standing in the middle of the stage, keeping an eye out on the flames Natsu spews above, Lucy decides that there is another spirit who would love to show off. Vulp burst onto the scene with a flash of gold and almost instantly begins hamming it up to everyone, regardless of gender, in the crowd. As she blows kisses and makes people swoon with a flutter of her eyelashes, Vulp also uses her power to make illusions of fireworks and glowing creatures spiral above the crowd to the wonder of everyone.

Not wanting to be left out and still feeling motivated by the emotional progress they had made, Loke pushes Lucy further into the crowd's spotlight. With Natsu's flames creating fantastic beasts to chase Vulp's own shimmering designs above, a perfect backdrop is created. Notwithstanding Lucy's inherent shyness of performing in front of others in anything less than her Celestial Maiden persona, Loke still manages to encourage her into lighting up the night with glowing torrents of celestial magic. Splitting off a moment to chase Vulp around in a sensual charade accompanied by dancing lights, Loke revels in the happiness swelling up everywhere around him. The night was turning out as perfect as he dreamed of, and Loke cannot help but bark out laughter when he sees Gray create a sparkling ice palace with the help of Juvia to mock Natsu's more cartoonish creatures. Over the expected shouts of outrage by Natsu, Loke turns back to gaze at his summoner.

Left to her own devices, Lucy had managed to turn her randomised spouts of light into a shroud hung carefully around her. Lucy's entire form shone softly in the night air from her heavenly magic, and Loke cannot help himself from going to her side.

With a simple flex of his magic, Loke begins glowing gently himself. Taking a few quick steps, he presses into Lucy's space. The blonde makes space for him without truly noticing his presence, so accustomed to having Loke by her side. Grinning, Loke grabs Lucy's hands gently and sweeps her up into a waltz. The squeak of shock Lucy makes only turns his grin into uncontrollable laughter. Loke prods her into the beginning stance before taking the first step.

Stumbling slightly from disbelief and embarrassment, Lucy hesitates for a moment. Yet the soft look Loke gives her over the top of his shades, and the loose, easily-escapable hold of his arms on her means safety. With a smile of her own, Lucy lets her dusty knowledge of dancing lessons from a life once lived come to the surface. Her body loosens and the two twirled across the stage with an ethereal grace. Any mistakes Lucy makes in her inexperience is easily covered by Loke; a misstep turned into a quick-step combo, a wrong turn easily leant into. As time goes on, Lucy leans in closer and closer, taking comfort in the heat Loke's body always gives off. Finally, her face is tucked into the crook of Loke's neck, breathing in musk and sunlight. The waltz has turned into more of a slow dance, but neither can bring themselves to care. There is home and safety in each other's arms, and nothing else matters.

Above, Natsu keeps an eye out for the signal from Master that would acknowledge Laxus' continued existence as nakama – ignoring the confusing mess of emotions that accompany that thought – while also watching over his close friends. There was pronounced joy on each of their faces as they entertained the crowds, the bandages that donned their bodies barely noticeable as everyone's attention was drawn to their masterful displays of magic and atmosphere of bubbling energy.

As it had so many times that night, Natsu's eyes were drawn below. It was hard not to. While Vulp was a distracting presence flitting about the edges of the stage, currently blowing illusionary bubbles in the shape of various life-sized sea creatures, she could not compare to the dazzling glow in the centre stage.

Lucy and Loke left a trail of golden dust behind them as they spun across the stage, their slow dance having picked back up the pace until it was a blitzing tango. The crowd found it almost impossible to turn their gaze away as they danced, especially with Lyra's gentle tunes having morphed into a wild ballad to accompany their movements.

Lucy took two playful steps back. Loke lunged after her. Their hands clasped without hesitation as Loke drew her in and pivoted. Lucy's long unbound hair trailed along the stage in a flurry of gold and red as Loke swung her in a deep dip that scooped her back into his arms. Their steps were fast and steady as they drew the crowd in with their clear expertise.

Watching them caused that same funny squeezing sensation, but it was also accompanied by a swooping sensation in Natsu's gut. Almost like when Happy first launched into the air with Natsu in his grip. It was still too weird to even begin to untangle, so Natsu just focused on what was in front of him. Even after spending his entire life around magic, Natsu couldn't help but see the partnership below as anything less than magical. After that S-class mission there was a short period of time where he thought Lucy would never truly smile again. Even his overwhelming optimism had faltered in the face of numerous sleepless nights spent rocking her back to sleep, trying to comfort Ryos beside him. As time went by, however, the light had slowly returned to her eyes. And now, looking at her in Loke's arms, Natsu wondered why he ever thought that Lucy's previous smiles had been her true ones; the ones he had wanted to see once more.

Because her smile now put those ones to shame.

Eyes nearly slits because of the press of her flushed cheeks, but still gleaming with unabashed joy. There was something naked about her face; like the parting of her lips to expose bright teeth was more revealing than any undone zipper or scandalous slits. There was none of the previously supressed twitches of the lip, or eyes wide in fear of a surprise.

Lucy was happy.

Despite the emotional pain of Laxus' betrayal, or the overwhelming physical pain he was constantly in, Natsu couldn't help but grin until his face hurt. As he was lifted by Happy into the air to enthusiastically thrust his fist into the air in the symbol of Fairy Tail, Natsu could not help but think things were going to be okay.

(Below, Lucy thrust up the same symbol and thought the exact same thing.)

Then, Vulp was barging Loke out of the way to grab Lucy's hands and lead her into a wild tango of her own. Loke let out an offended yelp and darted after them. Vulp's enthusiasm was matched with equal fervour by Loke, and the two weaved between each other seamlessly to perform a dance with Lucy at its centre. It was clear to those watching that the three were sharing a close and beautiful relationship, with Lucy the clear foundation to the dance's and relationships' dynamic.

As if the floodgates were opened, Lucy couldn't help but laugh unabashedly as she danced the night away with her spirits and friends.

Yes. Things were going to be okay.

---

Some points as to why I changed some things and made some characters (like Natsu) seem so OOC.

Freed is so horrifically boxed into 'gay lacky hopelessly in love with his boss' without any actual depth or character development. Like, if Mashima wanted to do that classic route of being in love with one of your best friends, he should have done it right. Freed is peak ride-or-die gay disaster and as a disaster bi myself I spent way too long dawdling over his tragic romance instead of his fight scene. But fuck fights, I want that slow burn. The series just isn't fair to him

Natsu is an interesting character as he's so full of rage but also is one of the most forgiving members of the series. In this 'grittier' version he's been forced to face the truth of the world pretty early on, and he's also managed to make more permanent relationships than his rivalries and petty bickering with Lucy in the series. Also, Laxus straight up tried to murder everyone in the guild. Natsu nearly killed Jellal for trying to hurt Erza. Fuck forgiving Laxus, I want there to be tension. Him nearly hurting literal children, especially ones Natsu has come to care for, is definitely going to change Laxus and his place in the series. Also, Natsu is getting that sweet maturing development. Yeet.

Loke and Lucy are also super close in this because they canonically would die for each other but that's rarely shown. Their relationship is often played for laughs with the whole playboy persona of Loke's, but I wanted to give it depth. Depth with tragedy hidden in the bottom hahahahaha!

Wanting! Traditionally! Feminine! Things! Is! Not! A! Weakness! The patriarchy may want you to think so, but wanting to look pretty is a human's right and I'm glad Lucy is realising it.

Also! Listen, Mashima refused to finish the slow burn NaLu fic he had been writing the past several years, so I'm taking it into my own hands. I'm an adult now, I can take a ship into my own hands and steer it straight into 'Domestic, Basically Married With Kids' tropes if I wanna.