Reviews are Nice; The pairings are NOT decided yet. I get people like Vander/Lucy, I like them too, they're adorable when she's sassy and keeps up with him, but...I really don't know if they will get together or if it will be a friendship...or how far this darkness is going to go.

I don't own Fairy Tail. Mashima Does.

I don't own the Pradesh Clan. Desna does (and thank you for them).

I own the Storyline. That's it.

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It was the middle of a spar when Laxus froze, ending up being put on his ass by a round house kick from Lucy and she stood, frowning, "what the fuck, lightning bug?"

The slayer frowned as he slowly pulled himself up, "…I'm being..called."

The smaller blonde arched an eyebrow, "calle-" She covered her face as the slayer was surrounded by lightning and huffed, "never mind, sure, just go ahead and go, nothing like leaving in the middle of a spar."

She turned and looked at Kaleb, watching him and arching an eyebrow, "well?"

"he was called, by something, someone, it's hard to describe, some sort of compulsion but it sounded pleading," The mindbender stretched, "that's fine though, leaves you with enough energy to spar."

Lucy's eyes danced, "oh, so now we're going to spar?" She grinned a bit as she stood there, "oh, I talked to Uncle Tesso.." she curled her nose, not quite liking to call him that, but he rather insisted and she'd given up after the first six months of being corrected, "he keeps reminding me that my ass hasn't.." She turned and dodged beneath a punch, "gone into the Crystal."

"what is it with you and never doing anything in the right order?" Kaleb twisted and then brought a kick around, watching her block it and slide back several feet with a grunt.

Lucy let out a huff of a laugh as she shifted on her feet and dove towards him, spinning and then planting a foot, the twist making her go the opposite direction that he thought and he blocked the kick, holding her ankle, "well?"

"I got stuff to do?" She grinned cheekily at him and then her body twisted and she brought her other foot around, kicking at his knee to be let go, "soon, I'm told."

"you are aware that we will find a way to tease you mercilessly if you have any changes."

Lucy smirked as she twisted to block a kick and shrugged, "no one beats you, Legolas. Besides.." She grinned broadly, "you can't change this perfection." She let out a yelp as she bent back to avoid another kick.

Kaleb knew it was a semi-front of Lucy's. She still had some issues with her body, though really, he – and their family and friends – thought she was perfect the way she was. She was Lucy, pure and simple. Even if she was shorter than the rest of them, though they didn't tease her too much about that, she did most of the teasing them about being Giants.

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Everyone had been excited, cheering and pumped, they really had; Kaleb had beaten fourteen other Guildmasters, and now? Now, he was having his ass handed to him by his former mentor. Her nails were digging into her palms; she wasn't sure the why. She wanted to scream at him, but all she felt was..betrayal.

Yes, she was aware of the man he was fighting had helped him, but she didn't quite like the way the man was, his eyes always held something in them that half freaked her out. She had turned at one point and heard the exclamations of anger, worry. She shook her head and then moved out of the stands. She needed air and she knew where they would be taking Kaleb. She was pissed that Kaleb had gotten beaten so badly, pissed that he let himself get there…and part of her wanted to rip Joren's spleen out with her bare hands.

The feelings were utterly overwhelming and she hated it, knew that she was losing control of her temper, not realizing people were stepping away from her as the 'personification' of her anger seemed to curl around her. Her fingers flexed and she wasn't sure how to deal with all of the conflicting emotions. She stared down at the man, locking eyes with him, sneering as he laughed in dark delight. Maybe she'd try to rip more than his spleen out. Her eyes darted too Kaleb and she saw the pain, saw the dull eyes.

When he seemed to focus on her, her lips pursed and she turned. She couldn't do it, she couldn't help the feelings that were rolling through her. Lucy held up a hand as she saw movement, shaking her head. "check on him, I…." she let out a shuddering breath, trying to let out her emotions slowly, "I'm going...for a walk. I need to calm down he needs everyone, but…I'm useless right now."

The small blonde moved quickly out of the area, into the hallways and rubbed her face. She felt the pressure building in the back of her head and knew this was bad. She wasn't one to actually hold back, but anything she said now would be petty and angry; Kaleb didn't deserve that, no matter how she felt.

She sighed as she walked down the hallway and then looked to her side as she heard footsteps and smiled faintly to the other Celestial Summoning Mage, then she spoke softly, in Celestial, "…I don't…know how I feel about this…"

"A bit betrayed?" Hestor looked down at her and smiled faintly, "whatever the reasons…we both know he's stronger than that."

She poked his side lightly, "no going dark on me. I need one sane mind in all of this."

"me? Sane? You obviously have low standards of what sanity is," Hestor grinned slightly at her.

Lucy rolled her eyes with a soft smile and then sighed slightly as her shoulders slumped. She gave him a light shove, "asshole."

"You love me anyway," Hestor chuckled softly as they walked, his arm draping over her shoulder, "so…other than…the utter humiliation that just happened…"

Lucy groaned softly, "got a lot on my mind and…" She shrugged helplessly, "a lot on my mind."

Hestor studied her as they walked and he could almost feel two sets of eyes boring into him. He very much knew that neither Zen nor Vander cared much for him, nor how close he was to the blonde. "well, we should share pleasure then."

Lucy arched an eyebrow, her head tilting as she looked up at him with a curious look on her features, "oh? What variety? There are quite a few."

Hestor nodded as he turned her down a hallway, "yes, I hear they have some wonderful strawberry ice cream rolls here." His features softened a bit as she let out a happy sound in the back of her throat. He smirked, "so come, let's share the pleasure of each other's company…and some cold ice cream." His eyes danced, "Besides…I'm sure the Master has…learned what mercy gets him against people like that now."

"you're a dark fucker, I've said that, right?" Lucy spoke softly as she looked down one of the halls; she wanted to check on Kaleb, but she didn't want to be angry.

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Zen sighed as night fell, looking out at the beach behind the house and furrowing his brow. He could feel the tingle under his skin and he slowly opened and closed his fist. It was almost like he could feel more power now just humming in him.

The Archangel barely turned his head as he saw the golden sparkles that heralded a Celestial Spirit, but arched an eyebrow, "Leo."

The Lion Spirit put his hands in his back pockets, standing there for a moment, "You could get more power, you know." He watched the archangel out of the corner of his eye. He wanted to give Lucy as many choices as possible, but this man? This man right here would give the woman that saved his life so much more. "You bonded to her, Crux did a lot of work the past few weeks, figuring out exactly what happened, staying in close proximity helped solidify it."

Zen didn't say anything, but arched an eyebrow. The Spirit often came out and about when Lucy was on whatever mission The Steel Council had her on that…he wasn't needed for. He gave a small tilt of his head, to encourage the Spirit to talk.

The Lion had specifically chosen this night, they'd all been watching Lucy and the Pradeshes and he knew that he had to have this conversation without Vander around. The Shadowquip and Presca, like Lucy, had been sent out by the Steel Council, so this was his chance without having to deal with the Shadowquip that he knew very much cared for his summoner. He took a breath, "You can mate with her, it's a part of your magic. Bind your souls for eternity. Won't take much either…but…"

Zen snorted, rich voice rumbling softly, "She's not ready for commitment. We all know that, I know that and I've barely started to get to know her."

Leo smirked, "She will be one day though…and your bond to her gives you one hell of an in to romance her. I know you can feel her, where she is, what she's doing, her emotional state."

Zen's lips thinned, "it will be her choice with whom she falls in love with."

The Spirit nodded slightly, "I'm aware, just…giving a bit of insight, she's easy to love."

The Archangel sighed as the Spirit left. Meddling man, that's what the leader of the Zodiacs was. He couldn't deny that Lucy was a beautiful woman, but between himself, Vander, Kaleb and Farron, she had plenty of choices and that didn't even taken into account the others that wanted to catch her eye: Hestor, Ardis, He was pretty sure Beck was even taken with the small mage. He let out a low grunt, the woman had plenty of choices and himself as an uneducated gladiator was at the lowest of them all.

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Lucy let out a gasp as she felt her back in the wall, her head rattling off it and she stared up at Grendice. Oh, how she loathed the man and she didn't let it not show on her features. She felt a hand digging into her throat and was doing all she could to focus.

"Why did you not use that spirit to get the information here faster?"

She took as much of a breath as she could with a hand around her throat, not bothering to fight back, she knew the consequences of that, "because Columbia's unreachable. I don't know why, but he is."

The man hissed, "I'd suggest you get another copy of that key then."

Lucy let out a groan as she was let go and collapsed onto the floor. Her anger simmered under her skin and she coughed as she put one of her hands to her throat. The blonde knew there would be a bruise left there, but her vision was swimming a bit. She stayed there until she heard the footsteps fade and used her power to keep the gates of her spirits closed before she slowly stood and took a breath, hissing a bit at the ache but slowly starting down the hallway.

She eventually made her way back to the White Sea Guildhall after a quick change of clothes, including a rather wide choker she'd bought a few months ago. It hid the bruises she knew were there and that was the reason that she'd gotten it. Physically, she wasn't weak, but she also knew when to not fight back and with Grendice? She never fought back. She knew that it wouldn't be her that suffered if she did.

She touched the choker one last time to make sure it was in place. It had become a bit of a fixture around her neck when she went to the guildhall, or was simply out and about. That way no one would really question it if she wore it. Lucy took a breath and then locked down a good portion of her thoughts before she walked through the gates and meandered towards the main hall.

The blonde smiled and waved to those she knew, taking half a minute to find Emi just sitting and still looking less than vibrant. With a breath through her nose, she walked towards the taller blonde and wrapped her arms around the other. She nuzzled Emi's shoulder and smiled at the warm arms that came around her, voice soft "we're here, you're here, you'll find him or her. Promise."

She felt Emzadi stiffen a bit at the words she spoke, but they both knew how much that single word could weigh and what could happen if it never happened. The taller blonde spoke, voice pained and soft, "Take it back."

Lucy shook her head as she nuzzled the other, "nope. I know what I said. Too late now." she looked up into the orange eyes that were so full of pain and smiled softly, "for now...heal your heart, okay?"

The Smaller gently nuzzled the larger as the two settled on a barstool; both were vaguely aware of the looks that were given as Lucy straddled Emi and nuzzled her in a soothing manner. She smiled at the low purring that came from the dragon slayer and just enjoyed the attention, knowing it was comfort for both of them, even if Emi didn't know that she was doing it.

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If someone asked Lucy, it was a general "cluster fuck" of activity at the Citidel. She knew why, she'd gotten the last of the information and knew that there were wars brewing between the clans. It had all been semi-preliminary, but she had a good idea why things were hectic.

Lucy slipped into a room as people moved around, summoning Corvus as she looked at the stacks of folders, "Hide me please, Corvus."

The Spirit nodded, wondering what the young woman was up to and rolled his eyes as she picked up a folder and started reading. He should have figured it was something to do with that, but...one truly never knew with the blonde.

Lucy flipped through the file, letting out a soft hum as she went over it all. Moving orders and assignments. She tossed the folder down and stood, making a face. She didn't want to see who was going where, she might be tempted to actually go and do something. She kissed Corvus' cheek before letting him go back and slipped out of the room.

She let out a huff as she walked through the Citadel, having been 'ordered' to not leave currently. The blonde wanted to say goodbye to her friends and wish them well, but that had been denied. She huffed her bangs out of her face as she walked, letting her feet take her where they would. She felt her magic pulling and, like always, simply obeyed it, it truly was better in the long run.

When she finally stopped, she looked at the Lacrama that was presented to her in the large room. The blonde woman pursed her lips as she put a hand on the wall in the hallway and debated for a long moment. She knew far too much about what was going on and time tables, including when someone would show up here. Lucy took a moment and then nodded to herself before she started walking towards it, stripping out of her clothing and keeping only a heavy piece of black cloth.

"...fuck it, let them find me. One way or another," Lucy stepped to the edge and put the cloth over her eyes, tying it in a blindfold and then carefully stepping in. "c'mon, let's do this...judge me, Immaculate Light." She heard sounds around her, feeling the slight bit of airflow slowly cutting off and then nodding to herself. She snorted as she heard a yell from the hallway, not sure exactly who, but she figured it was probably one of the priests or Maidens, rushing to find out why the Lacrama lowered.

The next thing she knew...was blinding light and her head fell back before pain and heartache slammed through her. It seemed like the light burned through her very being and she took deep breaths, her only regret being listless enough to not 'wait' until she was summoned to go into it.

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Lucy let out a stretch as she felt the warmth flow over her and smiled warmly. Her eyes opened and she saw the Lacrama start to raise, making a slight face at the dryness in her mouth but she stepped out. She was thirsty, but not tired, feeling her magic shored up and she looked around at the assembled Priests and Madiens, arching an eyebrow. Her hair had streaks of platinum in it, her eyes more golden than brown, a symbol resting upon her breast that had what appeared to be a swirl of golden and silver stars that first looped around it and then down her side, almost like a Boscan Clan tattoo, that ended at her ankle and looped around it. She let out a hum at the one thing she could readily see: The swirls that she had seen before were now very prevalent on her arms, the black having what looked like stars littering it and the golden looking almost molte, "mm, interesting."

Lucy stretched and looked up, letting out a low hum as she saw the full moon, smirking as she murmured, "Go kick some ass, Cris." her laughter filled the chamber, even as she was looked over, the sound wasn't dark, it was light and almost like she was drunk on magic. A simple flick of her wrist and a key was in her hand, "I summon thee, Virgo."

"Punishment, hime?"

Lucy smiled at the spirit and arched an eyebrow. She took in the fact that the Spirit already had clothes in her hand and a bottle of water. "Thank you, Virgo." She smiled softly, "we can play tomorrow night." her features softened as the Maid Spirit looked delighted and clicked her tongue with a grin.

"Tactical Officer Heartphilia."

Lucy barely tilted her head as the priest stood back and she bowed her head before taking the clothes after a long draw from the bottle, then carefully started to put on the clothes that were brought. She could feel the change that Virgo made to the normal mageweave clothes and grinned as she shimmied into the offered outfit.

"If no one minds, I should like to go home for a little while before my next assignment," Lucy stared right at the man that was in the doorway, holding her chin up. She slowly strode towards the doorway and watched as the man nodded. She didn't stop, taking a breath and slowly walking until she was in an open area and held out her hand, letting out a breath and murmuring, "I summon thee, Minoceros."

The spirit came in equine form and the blonde climbed onto the back, smiling as the horse simply...ran right down the side of the building and taking off. She fed her magic into the spirit for speed and grinned as she went, letting out a laugh. She enjoyed the ride all the way to the Pradesh estate and then let out a yelp as soon as she got in and was grabbed in a bear hug. The woman flailed a bit and pushed to try to get out of it before slumping and bringing a hand up, patting an arm, "hello, Hygge. "

"What were you thinking, child?" Arman spoke in a tone that normally meant one of the boys were in deep shit and she cringed.

Lucy debated for all of half a second before mumbling, "wasn't. Stupid thing number three for the month."

The man snorted and let her down, giving her a firm look, "obviously."

"You're supposed to be in Atla anyway," She put her hands on her hips as she scowled up at him, not backing down, though there wasn't any heat in it.

Farron chuckled from the doorway, "yes, well, they decided they couldn't play nice with one another, yet again, so he came back."

"You're supposed to be in Sin," Lucy groaned as she let her head fall back, "gaaaaaaaaaah."

The two Ambassadors chuckled at the antics before Farron shook his head, "so...nice tattoos...and hair...and eyes…"

Lucy looked at him for a moment and then made a rude noise as she put her tongue between her lips, "I haven't gotten a good look at myself yet. I came right here."

Farron smirked, "well, you should go do that. Dinner will be ready shortly."

Arman watched her go and arched an eyebrow, "no teasing?"

"Kaleb's got first dibs," Farron smirked, "Then well…" he shrugged, "what do you want me to say?"

"Key to the Palace of the Stars." Leo said as he appeared, picking up one of the treats that were settled on the coffee table. He looked at the two as he took a bite and let out a happy moan, "I love Mister Elan more and more each time I eat something of his." he didn't bat an eye at the screeching that came from upstairs, "I think she found a mirror."

There was a loud whoosh of air and the three turned to see Zen, Leo the first to recover, "She's fine!"

Zen scowled, "she doesn't seem fine."

"...she'll...be fine..." Leo shrugged slightly as he stood there, "shouldn't you be studying?"

"shouldn't you not be meddling?" Zen shot back at the spirit with an arched eyebrow.