Lucy groaned as she started to wake from the weirdest dream she had ever had. She'd been fighting black faceless monsters from eating away the light that she held for what felt like eons. She sat up in her bed looking around the familiar room as a soft wind blew off the Grass Sea and filled her room. Lucy sighed and threw the covers off herself and swung her bare legs off the end, then froze. Her legs were covered in cuts that looked as if they'd barely healed so she took off to the bathroom to stand in front of the full-length mirror and barely concealed the scream that was working its way up her throat. What the hell had happened to her?

"Princess," Loke opened his own gate feeling Lucy's distress. "Lucy, look at me and breath." He grabbed the blonde by the shoulders and forced her to look directly at him. "Tell me all that you remember from the last week."

"Vander was poisoned, I took out the mages that did that to him before rushing back here, performed the spell and that's it," Lucy had said in a rush. "Then I was stuck in this dark hole fighting off the darkness with what little magic I had left. Then, then I felt a huge rush of magic flowing over me and it chased the shadows off for a while, but they came back. This time though I had no problem beating them and then I woke up. How . . . how long was I sleeping for?"

"Five days."

"And Vander? How is he?"

"That mischievous man is back to normal," chuckled Loke who had been watching everything closely from the viewing pool. "This morning he attempted to glitter bomb Laxus which pleasantly backfired on the younger mage. Laxus ended up shocking Vander before he could sneak into his shadows for his attack and the glitter exploded all over Vander. When you see him you'll see what happened." Loke just laughed while Lucy half smiled at him. "What's wrong Lucy?"

"It's going to sound super dumb and girly, but I don't want anyone to see these marks all over me. I feel . . . ugly," Lucy said with tears in her eyes.

"What marks Princess? Your skin is as flawless as ever," Loke was confused now. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her skin, the soft porcelain looked like it did every day. He wasn't sure if this was something only she could see due to what had happened or if she was suffering from another traumatic event and this was how it was being represented in her mind.

"How can you not see these? They are covering my entire body Leo!"

"I don't see anything Lucy," the lion spirit said calmly and quietly in an attempt to keep her panic levels lower. "We can call everyone in here and see what's going on . . ."

"NO! No, no, no!" Lucy ran back to the bed, threw the covers over her entire body, and huddled into the fetal position. Lucy knew she was being vain, but now that Leo couldn't see the marks she wasn't sure she could face anyone. She needed help and there were only a handful of people she wanted to see right now, which included Laxus, Vander, Cristoff, Bickslow, and Arman. They wouldn't judge her and might even be able to make sense of what was going on with herself because she sure as hell wasn't ready for Kaleb or Cobra to pull the information out of her. Then she'd have to deal with it and right now she just couldn't.

Laxus and Cristoff were sparring in the estate large gym, that had been magically reinforced by Freed after a training session almost blew apart the entire room. Everyone had been set on edge with Lucy sleeping for so long and the way she was moaning and crying occasionally didn't help anything, especially her kin who could feel something was wrong but they'd been unable to do anything the first couple days. They all took to training at the estate, or guild, in order to release the pent-up frustration. Cristoff and Emzadi, in particular, had a really intense spar that had both of their dragon roars colliding, building up the magic pressure in the room to the point where the walls started to shake. The room had been spelled for situations like this but was unable to keep up with the higher level of magic that Arman's children had come into, but thankfully Freed had been passing by and added a layer to stop the room from collapsing. Afterward, Freed had gone in and changed the magic, adding multiple layers of protection from all types of magic, much to Arman's delight.

Now the two large male dragon slayers were trading blows with one another which had become the norm for the two. They were equal in strength, size, and power so the match was on even grounds, neither one giving. Bickslow, Vander, and Emzadi were all watching from the benches whooping and hollering for both men. Farron and Freed were helping Arman out on a small matter, Kaleb was at the guild helping Cobra find a way to not hear everyone so loudly all the time, and Xally had been called into the hospital for an emergency.

Things had been touch and go with Lucy for a bit, so Arman had called the Dean at Academe Celestine and asked for Zen to return home for a week or so due to a family emergency. The Dean had told Arman to take all the time that was needed for Zen was doing amazingly in his studies and could use a small reprieve from everything going on there. Bickslow had been watching Lucy's soul throughout everything and one night it dipped so low that he had to fight to save her, had called Kaleb while he was working on keeping Lucy on this plane, Kaleb had woken Vander to go help Bickslow and then informed Arman who had made the decision to ask to bring Zen home. Vander and Bickslow had pulled Lucy back from the brink, but just barely. When Zen had arrived home Cristoff had urged his brother to follow him and together they had healed Lucy and filled up her magic containers so she was stable.

Bickslow was sitting there cackling at some random joke that Vander had made when he felt his blood go cold, immediately calling his babies and riding them out of the training room. It wasn't long after before Laxus, Cristoff, and Vander were running out of the room as well leaving a stunned Emzadi wondering what had just happened. The four mages stumbled into Lucy's room to see her wrapped in Arman's arms crying her heart out while Loke stood off to the side, saddened by whatever was going on. Arman was rocking her back and forth like he would if she was a small child, whispering sweet Boscan words of endearment into her ear.

"Dad, what happened? How'd you know anything was wrong?" Cristoff asked as he pushed his soothing healing magic over Lucy, but not finding anything physically wrong with her.

"I don't know," Arman said shaking his head. "She was curled up in a ball under the cover when I found her and scooped her up. I haven't been here that long, but I heard her soul crying out and rushed in here."

"I felt it too," Bickslow responded while his eyes were glowing. "Her soul called out to me and I knew she needed help. Dad pull the cover away from her arm for me, please." Bickslow could see tiger stripped marks along her arms and heard Vander gasp behind as he came to stand next to his brother.

"Bickslow do you see the marks too?" The seith mage slowly nodded his head yes before starring wide-eyed at his brother.

"I haven't seen these marks since you were young Van. What do you suppose happened that they are on Cosplayer?"

"What the hell are you two going on about?" fumed Laxus from behind the two. "I don't see anything and by the looks of it neither does Cris or Arman."

"Lucy has been marked by the shadows like I was when I almost lost my control and fell to them, back when I was like eight," Vander put a hand on Lucy's arm and watched as the markings started to vanish. "Bickslow can you look into her soul some more? There must be some kind of shadow leech there because only they can create markings like this. I'm guessing it snuck its way in when her soul was flickering and buried itself within it, damn creature." Vander was using his magic to slowly erase the markings on her skin but if Bickslow couldn't pull the leech out then the markings would keep coming back. They told every dark mage out there that she was a light that needed to be exterminated because she was a risk. Light as bright as hers would definitely foil any plans the darkness would try to come up with, and she'd be a walking target yet again.

Bickslow felt bad having to go through Lucy's soul to see what memory the leech had decided to latch onto. He started with her most recent trauma at the hands of the men they'd rescued her from but when it wasn't there he began going through the large events she'd been pulled into when part of Fairy Tail. Tower of Heaven, Phantom Lord, Battle of Fairy Tail, Tenrou Island, Key of the Starry Night, Grand Magic Games, Eclipse Gate, her spirit reversal, Tartaros . . . Tartaros - it was stuck in there! He started rifling through that memory from the first time she met Jackal to the getting onto their mothership to being the only person left alive from the Alegria to her battle against Jackal and breaking Aquarius key . . . Bickslow's heart broke as he watched that memory unfold, but found the leech there sucking off the pain from that memory. He had to work hard to pull its sharp teeth from the memory before casting it into a jar and continuing on in the memory.

He found three more leeches, one for when Gramps disbanded Fairy Tail, another when Natsu left her with only a note, and lastly when she was the only one left standing at the guild doors. He knew tears were running down his cheeks now, felt everything she did and knew she'd shoved those feelings down deep inside of herself. Bickslow pulled the last leech off her soul and put it into the fourth jar then wrenched himself out of her soul, falling to the floor in utter exhaustion from gathering the leeches and handling her emotions. How the hell she was still standing after every event she'd been through was truly amazing and he'd never doubt her light again after witnessing all of that.

"Bickslow, son, are you alright?" Concern was heavily laced with Arman's calm voice, but he waived his father off. He had so many feelings that weren't his own that he needed to sort through and knew that he'd have to talk to Kaleb and Cobra about it all. Hopefully, one of them would know about her past already and could help him through it all as well.

"Van, you want to dispose of those nasty ass creatures once you're done with Cosplayer?"

"Not a problem Bix. I am just finishing up."

"How's the Princess doing?"

"She'll be a-okay once she calms down. We've gotten everything out now granted it wouldn't hurt to have Zen come to her to go over our work. His archangel magic will be able to heal whatever small bumps, bruises, or cracks are left from the shadows and leeches, plus he should probably meet the most amazing celestial mage in all of history. When he tells the Dean about Lucy then he'll have a bird," Vander laughed as he scooped up the four jar and headed into the shadows to get rid of them.

"Laxus," Lucy whimpered from her warm, safe place in Arman's arms. Laxus was over there in an instant pulling her into his large arms and purring gently when she snuggled up. "What happened to me?" Loke filled Lucy in on everything that had just occurred, telling her that she'd need to thank Vander and Bickslow when she saw them next. Loke had seen Bickslow slip out when Laxus went to his keyholder's side and knew he would need to talk with the seith mage, knew he'd have questions.

"Thank you, Loke. I'll see you later, alright?" Leo smiled at Lucy's hidden message. She knew he was worried about something else so she was giving him his out to go and deal with it. She truly was a remarkable mage and he'd spend the rest of his life serving her family.

"Hey! Sleeping Beauty is awake," laughed Vander as he reappeared from the shadows.

"I'm so happy you're alright Van," Lucy's bright smile had everyone feeling at ease knowing that she was finally starting to return to herself.

"Oh, you know it gorgeous," winked Van. "However I'm dying to know about this lovely mark on my body." He pulled his shirt open for her to see the solid golden eight-point star with a black teardrop in the middle.

"Holy shit it worked!"

"What do you mean it worked!"

"It's a spell that the Spirit King told me to use to save you but it had never been used in such a way before. I knew though, I knew it was exactly what I needed and we talked through Pegasus as I flew here."

"My dear girl, care to explain what you did exactly?"

"Celestial Twin Flame is a spell used to save a loved one from eternal darkness. I bound the light of my soul to Vander, now no matter what happens to him he'll never ever succumb to the darkness of the shadows. There will be no chance of him losing to the void demons or losing control of his powers because celestial light will forever flow through him, for as long as I'm alive that is." The four men remaining in the room just gaped at the blonde haired beauty.

"You found a way to save my son," Arman was in awe and tears were gathering in his eyes. He looked over at Vander who was also processing everything he'd just heard. For years they had tried to find a way to tether him to the goodness of this world and here this brilliant woman had done it without giving it a second thought. "You have earned a place in this family, dear Lucy. You have no idea how at ease I am knowing that Vander will be forever safe from his own magic." He kissed Lucy on the forehead before gathering Cristoff and uttering something about celebrating with spiced wine.

"You barely know me Principessa. Why would you risk your life for someone like me?" Vander was utterly shocked by the woman, yet again. First, she saves him from that poisoned dart and now she literally saves him from himself. The only people who had been willing to do that for him was his own family and few close friends, but definitely not on this grand of a scale.

"Pft," snorted Laxus. "You don't know blondie like we do Van. Lucy can see a person's true self the minute she meets them and had this innate ability to weasel her way into the hearts of others without even trying. If she knew she could do something, anything, to help then she'll throw everything she had into it. There isn't like her in all of Earthland." Lucy smiled at the blonde dragon slayer before addressing Vander.

"There may be some . . . repercussions to the magic. The king was very secretive about that and stated that we'd have to figure it out ourselves, so just be aware." Vander had a lop-sided grin on his face as he kissed Lucy on the forehead and walked out of the room to find his dad and Cristoff.

"Fuck Lucy, you've had me worried." Laxus kissed the top of her head, holding her close.

"I know you probably talk but can I nap first? I'm suddenly exhausted." Lucy knew she'd been out for five days but after dealing with all of this shit she just needed a couple hours of solid sleep before dealing with anything else. Laxus stood went to put her on the bed and walk away but stopped when she placed a hand on his bicep. "Will you stay with me, please?" Laxus could see the insecurity in her chocolate eyes and couldn't find it in himself to deny her. He walked to the other side of the bed, pulling her back against his chest, listening to her heartbeat slow and even out within minutes. Hopefully, she remembered that she'd invited him to stay with her because he really didn't want to be Lucy kicked out of the bed.

Loke found Bickslow outside practicing his moves on the uneven bars of the gymnastic equipment. He watched as Bickslow spun his body around the lower of two different heights of bars before launching himself onto the higher bar. His tall, lithe body moved like water upon the bars as he rotated around them, holding his body up vertically before falling, twisting himself so he could catch the lower bar again. Leo watched him finish his routine as he landed on the mat below, a small smile upon his lips.

"Pretty damn good at that Bix," Loke said while pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. Bickslow looked over at the spirit with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "I know what you saw and I'm here to answer whatever questions you might have about it." Bickslow's face immediately fell but knew that this conversation would have to happen if he was going to move on. At least Loke knew everything already and why, he wouldn't have to try to piece it all together with Cobra or Kaleb.

"Why did she sacrifice her key?"

"You were all stuck in the Alegria that Mard Geer had activated. Lucy had called out three spirits while trying to battle several demons in Tartaros and she was severely outnumbered. Mard had told them that whoever killed Lucy would have the pleasure of filling the opening slot that had opened. She called Aquarius to deal with the flood she was facing and she demanded that Lucy break her key to summon the Spirit King. A celestial key has to be broken willingly by the keyholder in order to summon the king and Lucy had a hard time with that thought, but she found the courage to do so."

"What did the Spirit King do?"

"He killed Mard Geer and in doing so released everyone from his curse magic. Then the rest of the battles happened and voila we're back at the guild and gramps is disbanding Fairy Tail. That was the only home Lucy knew after leaving the konzern and with both parents dead she had nowhere to go. She was hoping that Team Natsu would head out together to figure something out but . . . Natsu left with only a note. Gray and Erza had left before Lucy could find them so she wandered into Crocus where she started writing for Sorcerer Weekly, and did a little modelling. She reached out her old team when she found them but none of them responded so she figured it was time to go training, to be the best celestial mage she could be."

"It was on that adventure that she was caught by the men in Seven?"

"They ambushed her. She had called out three spirits, but when you're facing thirty men in a forest it gets difficult and unfortunately the overpowered Lucy."

"Where was she going anyways?"

"She had caught wind that the Thunder Legion was in Bosco, so she was making her way there. She was at the border between Fiore and Bosco when it happened and was going to have me find you guys when they slapped those damn magic canceling cuffs on her." Loke ran his hand through his hair at the frustration he felt over the situation.

"Why hasn't she told anyone about Tartaros? Bottling that up isn't going to help her!"

"Who else was she supposed to tell Bix? She's been here for roughly two weeks and is still working on healing from other events. Given time I am sure that she'll open up and once she knows that you know because of how you helped her then at least there's one person she can turn too. Our Princess has faced much and even now she'd resilient to most of it."

"Has she heard from anyone from Fairy Tail? I know Laxus keeps in touch with several of them."

"Wendy, Gajeel, and Juvia. They were the only ones who kept in touch with her, even if it was just a letter here and there."

"What aren't you telling me? I can see it on your face that there's more."

"Juvia had asked Lucy to come to the small city of Pranghes in Bosco. There was something she needed Lucy's help with, but we obviously never made it there. I know Lucy sent Juvia a message while flying on Pegasus but nothing has come back."

"How do they send messages?"

"Apus, one of Lucy's spirits, carries the message to Juvia. Part of it's magic is being able to find anyone from the skies as long as Lucy tangibly knows who the person is. Apus hasn't returned yet, which I haven't told Lucy just yet. Let one mess get handled before we delve into another one."

"Speaking of messes I'd love to get my hands on those idiots who thought killing Vander was alright. I'd love nothing more than to fuck up their souls!" Bickslow wasn't generally a vindictive person, but fuck with his family and they'd be in a whole world of hurt.

"You can."

"Say what?"

"Lucy devised a plan to trap the two men who had shot the dart at Vander. They are currently in the celestial prison under the careful watch on Virgo."

"Loke . . . That is the best news I have heard all damn day! Come," he swung his arm around the spirits shoulders. "We need to tell Kaleb because he sure as fuck has a plan laid out and ready to go already. This will be cherry on his chocolate sundae!"

And there you have it, folks! Going to be slowly introducing other characters to the next couple chapters, delve into why Laxus is being an asshat to Lucy, explore CoGreen, Kaleb's masterful plan on how to deal with Hestor and all the other goodies I have in the works . . . mwahahaha

Thanks for reading! Send me your thoughts and suggestions in the comments!

xoxo Brit