Previously…

"No Laxus. If you hadn't… I wouldn't be who I am today. But… there were a lot of wrongs done against myself… a lot of pain that will take a while to work through. That is something that I cannot give you a time limit for… But I only request that you give me the time I need." She paused, her eyes drooping, "Once Freed atones for his sin against me… I will make my way to the Guild and atone for my own sins against them. So please…"

He didn't get the chance to hear the rest of her sentence as she succumbed to sleep, the glass in her hand tumbling to the floor with a dull thud, the glass chipping ever so slightly from the fall. And Laxus was left to ponder, the Celestial mage resting against him and he was left to his thoughts and regrets.

Contracted Chapter 14: Revelations and Retribution

Days passed and merged, falling into a repetitive cycle of sleep and rest to the point Lucy no longer knew what day it was. She'd been visited, by those she had considered family, her most frequent visitor to her room being Laxus. Sometimes he spoke to her, sometimes he just sat beside her, other times he would tell her things, about himself and his past, about his likes and dislikes, about what was happening at the guild and how people wanted to see her.

She could count the list of people on one hand, the most prominent being Laxus, then Evergreen and Mira, followed by Makarov and Wendy, to make sure she was healing well. The shock from the barrier had damaged her internal organs and slowly but surely she was getting better.

It was on the ninth day of her recovery that Lucy heard the news, the truth to what had happened.

Laxus stormed in, slamming the door before tearing his hands through his hair. Every part of him was tense and his anger palpable enough that static charged the air. It roused the sleeping blonde, her bleary eyes finding his and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the Captain frazzled and distraught.

"Laxus?" Her whisper had his head snapping to look at her, the muscles in his neck straining before he released a breath.

"Lucy… I…" He chocked on his words, panting hard as he leashed his rage.

"Laxus? Is something the matter?" Lucy questions, voice quiet and calm, waiting patiently as he huffed out a laugh.

"Wrong… Something is so wrong that… that…" Magic filled the air, lighting arcing from his skin and skimming the lacrima in the ceiling, "It's Freed… He…"

Lucy sat up straighter, putting aside her novel in favour of planning her feet firmly on the ground. Cold calculation shone in her eyes as she stared at the blonde man, her mind anticipating his next words.

"We… we've lost Freed…" Laxus buckled, his knees hitting the ground with a resounding boom as it took the brunt of his weight. Lucy sputtered, the mage in her coming to the forefront as she stepped forward.

"Lost him? How do you lose a man held prisoner in a mages compound!?" Her chest heaved, skin prickling as her own magic answered his, "Explain yourself Laxus Dreyar!"

Manners be damned Lucy thought as she strode to his hunched for, delicate hands fisting in his collar until he turned to look at her. It was only the sheer devastation on his face that had her refrain from shaking him to sanity.

"Explain Laxus. What happened?" She leant in close enough for her hair to fall around them in a shimmering gold curtain and he closed his eyes, inhaling the sweet smell of her in a bit to calm his racing heart.

"He… He's missing. The Freed we captured… it wasn't him. It was another mage. He had us dumped this whole time… He had magic. Transformation magic. He works for a man named Jellal…"

It was a name she'd heard only a handful of times from Erza, in the times where she tried to comfort Lucy regarding her marriage and always spoke fondly of him. So for a man under his command to have purposely tried to hurt her… Hands landed atop Lucy's and the blonde woman pulled away, coming face to face with a teary eyes Evergreen.

Her green gown was tracked with mud, the kohl around her eyes staining her cheeks, "We're so sorry Lucy."

Confused, Lucy shook her head, glancing between Ever and Laxus, "What on Earth are you sorry for? A member of the guild is missing. We need to make a plan. We need to talk to Master-" in her rush, Lucy went to leave the room, only for a hand to clamp down on her arm and hold her in place. Bixlow had stepped inside in time to stop her, his expression grim without his helmet to his how he was feeling.

"I'm sorry… But… while someone had taken his place… he's not the only one missing. And he wasn't the only one that would have been capable of putting the barrier in place."

It was nearly a full week of planning, organising and sending messages into town but a team had been assembled to handle to situation presented to Fairy Tail. They had guessed Freed went missing around the time everyone was travelling to Tenrou, and Levy, the other mage confirmed as missing, had vanished not long after they came back from their years hidden by the islands' magic.

The reason behind it, they couldn't say. The man working for Jellal, Vidaldus, had vanished as well in the middle of the night. The only thing they could do was backtrack, try find a sign of where Freed had gone missing. And it was by sheer luck that a lead was literally delivered right into their hands.

"Message. I have a message for Mrs Lucy Dreyar!" A messenger called through the town, drawing Laxus' attention from the guild.

"I'm her husband. What's the matter?" Laxus stormed from the guild, worry making his stomach twist.

"Just a message from the Magic Council sir. Please make sure it reaches her. It's of the utmost importance." With a nod and a brief exchange of coin and letters, the messenger was away, calling another name for someone to receive a letter.

Not waiting a moment more, Laxus allowed his magic to manifest, delivering him to his – their – front door within seconds. Knocking out of curtesy, Laxus opened the front door, his nose taking in the delectable smell of cooking stew and salted meat.

"Lucy?" His voice echoed around the cabin. His only answer was a small clatter from the kitchen and he followed it to see Lucy and Virgo hard at work, a determined expression on her face, "Lucy?"

The blonde woman looked up, jolting the knife in her hand. She jolted, wincing before quickly pulling her bleeding hand away from the food, "Ow… You surprised me Laxus…"

His eyes dilated, the smell of her blood flooding his senses and he had to leash his instincts so that he could press her hand into the bucket of water used for drinking.

"I did call out when I first got home…" Something warm settled in his belly at the term, something he never could say before, "I didn't mean to startle you."

He grunted, turning to the pink haired spirit that had appeared at his side with a bandage in hand.

"Truly Virgo… There's no need for a bandage that large." Ignoring her protests, Laxus and Virgo cleaned and bandaged her hand, allowing no room for argument, "Why have you come back early anyway Laxus. The sun has barely past its zenith."

"Oh. That's right. A messenger came through town with a letter from you. The Council must have heard you'd come back home." Eyes wide, Lucy watched him pull the letter from his pocket, forgotten amongst the chaos of his arrival. The tore it open, hands shaking as she took in the words on the page.

"That's impossible…" Her legs shook, the breath stole from her lungs in her shock as she staggered to a seat, "It can't be…"

Laxus helped her rest, gently taking the letter from her hands. His eyes only grew wider at the words on the paper, rage seeping into his expression.

Dear Mrs Dreyar,

It is with regret that we must inform you that Segrain has been masquerading and we call upon you to bring him to justice. We have faith considering her history with completed jobs for the Council and permit you to gather a team of strong mages to take him down.

You may have already heard, but mages have been going missing.

The letter continued, listing the mages that had vanished over the course of a matter of years, increasing In frequency as the reports continued piling up.

"Jellal… why would he need so many mage?" Laxus crumpled the letter in his hand, anger getting the better of him. He wanted the rage, he wanted to break something and pray that it would make him feel better. But he knew it wouldn't, and it was only Lucy moving that pulled him from his inner turmoil.

"Then we have no time to lose. Virgo, gather my travel clothes. We must act swiftly and make a path for Akane beach." Lucy stopped in the threshold, her eyes firm and composure returned, "Laxus. You must head to town. Procure us transport. Gather those you deep fit and let's go. Those mages have been captured for too long."

He blinked, watching her disappear into the other room before his heart thudded in his chest, spurring him into motion, "Lucy! You can't honestly believe I-"

"That you'll what Laxus? You may be my husband by contract but you do not control me. You swore that to me. So I am going, it is my job from the Council. The only reason you are to come along is that it is your friend involved in all this. Tell everyone to meet on the road out of town at sunset. We move swiftly from there."

There was no room to debate, Lucy was already gathering belongings, packing the meat she'd been preparing and placing other items in bags. She only cast him one final look before disappearing in a flurry of fabric and books and long blonde hair trailing in an invisible breeze.

xXx Contracted xXx

I'll be honest… I've lost a little bit of drive for this story. So, this might be the last arc unless I really get back into. Let me know what you want to see, if you don't think the story has a lot more to give.

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