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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Kaleb slowly opened his eyes, groaning as he lay there. For once, it seemed like he wasn't just awake and he worked to figure out the reason why. His body felt fine, relaxed and he felt sated, there was a heavy arm across his stomach and he carefully reached out with his mind. He inwardly flinched as he realized it was Beck in his bed and he wanted to sigh.

Beck was one of his closest friends and he didn't want to do anything to make the man think he was willing to be more than the occasional bed partner, very rare one at that. He respected the other, refusing to actually do this often, he could, on...now three fingers count the times that they had shared pleasure and part of him felt guilt as he recalled the overwhelming need that had raged through his body.

"It's fine," came the deep murmur next to him, Beck's voice cutting through his thoughts, "i could...sense you were not in your right mind.." He let out a faint sigh, "It was wonderful, Kaleb, and I would love to do it again...but...I know you won't."

Kaleb let out a faint sigh as he lay there, eyes closing as he felt the weight of what happened settle in his chest, "I'm sorry, Beck, I...don't know what happened last night."

"That worries you."

The blond lay there, slowly opening his eyes and looking up, at least it wasn't too far into the morning. The dawn light slowly peeking in as morning fully set in, "...it came from the link I had with Van, Cris, Zen and Lucy."

The Beastmaster pursed his lips as he lay there and then slowly sat up, "what? I thought they were just at a Lunar New Year's Festival in Stella…" his brow furrowed.

"They were. Last night, I was overwhelmed with need, like…"

Beck sat up fully and took a breath, "Like you've heard about others at the Full moon." the beastmaster slowly drug a hand through his hair, "are we going to have to check on them?"

"I will call them in a few hours."

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Vander slowly came around, vaguely aware of the world around him save for the light breath against his chest as well as the soft curls of hair. His brow furrowed as he lay there, slowly opening his eyes and attempting to focus slowly on the evening before. Everything was fuzzy and all he could remember was…

Lucy let out a low mewl as she shifted, and Vander looked down at her, then slowly checked her over, or he started to. The tattoo on his arm was different, the snake there looking to have shimmering bits in them and the other seemed to have some sort of wing curling down it that looked the same. His eyes slowly started to flicker back and forth as he tried to recall everything.

Zen's eyes slowly opened and he looked at his brother as the man sat up. While Zen had always had a deeper tan due to being in Skysreach, it seemed now that...there was a golden glow to him, as if magic was just beneath the surface; there was more gold in his eyes and then, nestled against his shoulder, coming from, what Vander suspected, right behind his right ear...was a streak of platinum hair. He took a long moment to study his brother, then saw the light lines that curled up and along the man's arms, a snaking and swirling pattern that looked like it could almost mirror the one on Lucy's arm.

"Zen...what...happened?"

Zen sat there for a moment, blinking slowly and putting a finger to his lips. That was when Vander felt it, or rather felt her. It was as if he knew that Lucy was starting to wake, even though she showed no outward signs. Eventually, she let out a low whine as she stretched and he couldn't help but gently run a finger along one of her arms.

"Zen," Vander hissed, "what. Happened."

Zen watched as Lucy slowly opened her eyes, "some sort of..mating, Van."

Vander's eyes met his brother's for a moment and he murmured, "oh...but why can I…?"

Lucy murmured as she lay there, "probably something to do with the shadowquip magic, Van...how much does...anyone really know about it?"

Vander snorted, "go back to bed, stardust, you seem wiped."

Lucy slowly shifted to carefully sit up, letting out a gasp and then smiling as both steadied her. Her hands moved up and she gently let her fingers curl along each man's jaw, "mm, I don't have Boscan Stamina..despite all my training." she gave a lopsided grin as she leaned back against Zen a bit.

Vander snorted and gave a lecherous grin, "well...we'll have to work on that...when we figure out how this works."

Lucy let out a low hum as she relaxed, "well, I know it started…" her brow furrowed as she thought.

Vander chuckled softly, "see, this is what her when fully relaxed is. She can't think well, bro."

Zen smiled softly as he let his hand slowly curl up and down her side, "It was probably something to do with the Lunar New Year Coming in." Lucy sat there, then they both felt her emotions drop into guilt. Zen tilted her chin up, "what?"

She looked into his eyes and murmured, "You didn't get a choice…" she sniffled a bit, even as he gently curled a finger along her cheek.

Vander pursed his lips, "I don't think...it could have happened without all parties wanting it, Stardust. Zen's magic doesn't work that way...and I'm pretty sure coercion wasn't what happened last night."

Lucy let out a low sound as she looked between them, feeling how concerned they were for her, how they were more curious about what happened than worried and she nodded before murmuring softly, "Alright."

She let out a low sound as Zen's lips slowly rested against her shoulder, lightly planting kisses along the skin and her eyes slowly fell shut. Vander grinned as he leaned forward, placing matching feather light kisses along the other shoulder, both men's actions mirroring one another as they felt the woman between them shudder and mewl.

Matching smirks curled their lips as they continued, easily figuring out what she craved as she woke up. Their hands moved along her skin and half held her as she arched slightly and whined out their names almost like they were prayers.

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Li pouted a bit, "are you sure you have to go?"

Lucy smiled warmly as she stood there and nodded, "yes, we've got training and other things to get back to….we have to...um…" She blushed a bit, "Figure out dynamics, physical-"

"That won't be an issue," Vander grinned as he wrapped his arm around Lucy's waist, "We're good at Sharing."

Zen rolled his eyes and his arm went around Lucy's shoulder, the archangel kissing her hair lightly, "he's right."

Lucy stood there, "-spaces." She got a flat look on her features, "and we have to figure out if there have been any changes in our magic...and then there's the Summer games." Despite being far too magic drunk the past week, it seemed to have settled into her a bit, or maybe it was something to do with what happened, she wasn't sure, really, but she was content, calm and relaxed, not feeling...like she was ready to burst, "Thank you for having us."

Li nodded softly and looked at the group, smiling gently, "it's always a pleasure...any time you need us, or want to visit, please, feel free to simply write, so that we can prepare rooms."

"Of course," Lucy tried to turn, only to realize she was pretty much 'captured' between the two men, "guys. We need to go. That means I need to be able to turn myse-"

Both Brothers grinned as they moved, making her move where they wanted her to and start to walk.

Hestor shook his head with an amused smile and bowed his head to the woman before he started to follow after the three, rolling his eyes at the gentle lecture he could hear from Lucy. For some reason, this all seemed right and he wasn't sure why exactly.

Cristoff let out a soft breath and bowed to the woman before moving to catch up, snorting at the ire he could almost see coming off Lucy, this was going to be interesting...as soon as they figured out exactly what happened.

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They'd decided to walk for a bit before taking magical transportation from Cris and Vander back home...and Lucy was, in the end glad that they had when Zen said he felt a key. They followed his lead until they came to a cave, the group going in and Lucy's eyes went wide at the beautiful key that looked to be made of Jadeite. Her hand went out and she blinked when it was caught by Hestor, his hand tight around her wrist, almost bruising in force, if she was honest. "...Hes?"

"Don't touch that. You don't want to touch that," His voice was low and warning as he looked at it. The man didn't let her go until he was sure she wasn't going to move and carefully moved forward, picking the key up. Power Swirled around them and a slender man with deep crimson hair appeared, staring the male mage down for a long moment. Hestor bowed his head and barely flinched when a finger was set against his temple, letting out a grunt. The spirit seemed content with...whatever it was doing and spoke in a soft, ghostly voice, "Three more."

Hestor went to speak, only for magic to curl around the group, settling on him and he let out a cry of pain as his body arched as the key affected him, pressing against his containers.

"HES!" Lucy yanked herself away, but Cris was there, catching the man first. She put a hand to his forehead, shivering, "he's ice cold…"

Cristoff pursed his lips, "let's get him back to the infirmary, we'll see what we can do there where we can monitor things." he knew Lucy, he knew himself. They both wanted to help, but a quick 'check up' showed the man was mostly fine, nothing that would go wrong in the next hour.

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Lucy half hovered as she watched Cris work, "well?"

Cristoff chuckled softly, his head much clearer now that they were out of Stella, "relax, Sister." He looked up at her, "far as I can tell? Magical container expansion...and...his third origin opened….so he's a little low on magic."

"Let me do it? I feel...like my containers are overful…" She smiled at him, "Just...show me what to do?"

The Lunar slayer looked at her for a moment and then nodded, holding his hands out and then letting the light mist out, "hands on mine...very gentle release, very gentle flow." The Slayer knew that Lucy had insane magical control, it was part of being the type of mage she was and he smiled as she listened to him and when he felt Hestor's levels return to a decent level, he smiled, "There. All done for now."

Lucy fretted as she stood there, "he'll...be okay?"

"Just needs a bit of sleep," Cris walked to Lucy, moving to hold her head in both hands and gently kiss her forehead, "now...you've got things to settle, he's fine...and you may wish to leave before Kaleb gets here, hmm?"

Lucy smiled at the kiss and then pouted a bit, "Right...like...where we're going to stay for starters."

"I have a perfectly good flat, thank you," Vander crossed his arms on his chest, "and the bed is more than big enough!" He could feel she wanted to tease him though, so he smiled a bit, instead of scowling.

Lucy went to open her mouth when the door to the infirmary opened and she saw Keleb, "why don't you two go to my apartment...get some of my things." She paused, "you have permission to go into the bottom drawers." She wagged a finger at Van, "no ripping or destroying things."

"What's in the bottom drawers?" Zen titled his head and then slowly looked at Vander, arching an eyebrow at the gleeful look on the shadowquip's features.

Lucy rolled her eyes and made a shoo'ing motion, watching Vander let out a whoop as he drug Zen out. She looked amused as they went and then looked at Kaleb, "...It was not a stupid thing…"

Kaleb quirked an eyebrow and then snorted, "I felt it."

Lucy's lips contracted into a small 'o' shape as she stood there, then held up her hand, index and pointer finger just a little bit apart, "...maybe a little bit of one when we realized it was the Lunar New Year and a Full moon."

Kaleb sighed as he walked to her and looked down, "...you think?"

Lucy smiled as she reached up, tugging his face down, after a light kiss, she let their foreheads rest together. It was a rare sign, but one he knew that had complete and utter trust: she was allowing him to go into her head without anything being even partially hidden; even when she'd willingly let him sift about her memories, it was always what she wanted to show him and nothing more. He gave a small smile as he closed his eyes and let his powers gently caress her mind.

The blonde woman let out a low sound at the first touch on her mind and then slowly curled her hands into his hair. The problem with that night...was that she didn't know what was relevant. She couldn't sort her own memories and knew that she'd get no answers from them, but she knew Kaleb might. As she stood there, she felt something in him, letting out a low hum as she brushed it to the side for the time being.

When Kaleb was done sifting through her mind, he let out a hum and pulled back. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at her, smiling faintly when her own opened. Part of him was furious, what had happened was at least partial manipulation...but at the same time, all the Xing family had done was invite them to a place and Time. The rest? The rest was fate pulling the strings. It stung as he gently ran his thumb along her cheek. It was cruel in a way, but Fate, he'd found, could be cruel. His siblings' pasts and his own past showed that.

She looked up into his eyes, almost searching his as she sat there and then gently drew him into a kiss. Lucy smiled as they pulled back and murmured, "C'mon, Legolas, let's...go talk. Van and Zen will probably be hours in those drawers."

Cristoff snorted in humor as he watched the two, getting two sets of Immaculate Light lightened features turning to him and he held up a hand as twin light colored brows arched, "don't look at me like that." He smiled softly and looked at Kaleb "hurts like hell."

"...it does."

"Cherish her while we can, until we find the one meant for us."

Lucy smiled warmly, "yeah yeah. I've given them free reign to look through my toys." She wiggled her eyebrows, "Van's going to have a field day. He's never been allowed in there."

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Family dinner that week was awkward to Lucy. Arman was over the moon as he heard the news and Lucy was trying to get any word in edgewise while everyone else looked on in amusement. She distinctly felt as if they were not stepping in on purpose. The worst part was the headache she had. It was like she was being pulled in multiple directions at once and it bothered her.

After the third time of an over happy Arman ignoring her, she put her hands on the table and stood, "HYGGE." she looked directly at him for a moment and arched an eyebrow, "we're happy. Yes, what could have happened is amazing.." she took a breath, "we all love you, very much." she warily eyed him, "and I know you have promised papers just waiting." She smirked at the look of innocence the older man attempted to put on his features, "we all know you, Hygge." She arched an eyebrow, but smiled warmly, "give us a bit of time."

"I'm fine with signing those," Vander said, causing the blonde to pitch to the side and Zen to steady her.

Zen chuckled softly as he set her back into her seat, "We both are, Lucy."

Lucy looked between the two as the rest of the table chuckled. Even the Recovered Hestor was smirking at her. The blonde threw her hands in the air and huffed, "fine. I'm trying to give a choice here! This stuff isn't…" she waved a hand, "you know, normal!"

Kaleb smirked as he sipped his whiskey, watching her for a moment, "nothing about you is normal."

"I swear the fuck to the stars, Legolas…" Lucy glowered at him over the table, "if I could get over the table without upturning any bowls…"

"Here I thought he sat across from her because he liked to run his foot up her leg," Emzadi hummed as she took a few bites of food.

Both Blondes in question sat there for a moment, eyes snapping Emzadi with mirrored narrowed looks and Farron snorted in humor before talking, "Well, no more of that, hmm?"

Zen shook his head, smiling faintly at the teasing. To him, at least they had gotten her to stop attempting to rant, which they all knew Lucy was good at doing, and Why their father simply continued to talk without listening to her.

"This means she'll finally call you 'Dad', won't it?" It wasn't one of the Pradeshes that actually brought up a question that had Arman looking overly delightful. It was Presca. Lucy cursed the energy mage in her head loud enough that Kaleb heard it and it burned into her soul well enough that Farron did as well. If Arman heard it? Well, he wasn't going to comment on the strange little Mini-Lucy breathing fire and running after an equally small Presca while cracking her whip.

If Lucy didn't fear Mister Elan so much, she would have thrown food at Presca, as it was, she shot him a dark look that promised death, or well, as close to death as she could think to take him.