Well, this chapter is a little bit shorter than I usually do, but I liked where it ended, so please don't hate me! :) Anyway, thanks for sticking with my story! Love you guys so much! Thanks also to Deathsembrace137 for being awesome enough to read over this and edit it for me! You're terrific!

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

CHAPTER 18: THE OTHER SIDE

Mira's POV

We made our way to the alley, to the place we'd nearly lost our friend, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I hadn't been to see the area yet, and wasn't sure just what I'd find there. I knew, as everyone else in our guild did, the injuries Lucy had, but hearing about what happened wasn't the same thing as seeing it first hand. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to see where Lucy's life had changed forever.

I wished I could be like Gray and refuse, but I didn't have that option anymore. My sister needed to realize that there was more going on here than her problems with the guild and Natsu. Obviously, Lisanna realized that Lucy was hurt. I knew that she felt for her, that she worried over the girl she hadn't had the chance to know very well, but my youngest sibling seemed to have become disconnected from the reality of what had happened. She didn't understand the gravity of the situation.

Lisanna was a good person at heart, the kind who loved deeply and hated hurting someone else. No one had seen the tears she'd cried in the protection of our home over the mess she and Natsu had wrought within the guild, but the fact remained that she was still behaving like a child. We had no time to wait for her to grow up. We needed every single member of our guild right now, and unfortunately she would have to learn the hard way that life has consequences.

Looking over at Natsu, I could see that particular lesson had already started settling in. For the first time since I'd known him, he was quiet and thoughtful, following instructions to the letter, not causing any problems. It was disconcerting to see such a difference in him, but I'd known even before everything had happened, that Natsu had much growing up to do. He'd often do things without thinking, causing untold hardships on those around him, all because he couldn't be bothered with considering the outcome before acting.

I had been glad when Natsu was assigned to go with us. I think Master had it right when he'd said they both needed to be there, to see what Lucy had been through. They needed a wake up call, and this would be their opportunity to begin taking a path to adulthood. As the catalyst to this whole thing, they needed to know that every action they take as an adult has an effect, like ripples moving outward when a pebble is dropped into calm waters.

Looking in front of me, I saw Laxus stiffen his posture, and I realized we must be getting close. I felt a twinge of panic, that little voice of self-preservation inside me begging me to turn around and go home, but I steeled myself against the notion of running away. Lucy had endured this horror, and I would brave the scene for her. I wouldn't play the coward when she'd fought so hard here, but I desperately wanted to know what I was up against.

I quicken my steps, coming up beside Laxus and Freed, and taking a deep breath, asked, "How bad is it?"

"It's worse than you're imagining," Laxus muttered shortly before pushing forward on his own.

I stared at his back as he moved away from us, before turning a questioning look to Freed at my side. He shook his head and explained, "He still angry about Natsu and Lisanna. He doesn't want them here."

"But they need to see it, Lisanna especially. She's not thinking about things clearly," I argued, trying not to sound as though I were defending them. That wasn't my intention at all. I just wanted them to have the chance to see things for what they were, so they could start mending the fences they'd broken. We were supposed to be a family. In some cases, the guild was all the family some members had, and I knew that was true for Natsu. I didn't want him losing his entire family because he'd acted like a foolish child.

"I realize that, Mira, but in Laxus's eyes, they shouldn't require a visual to understand the truth," the rune mage continued, "And in some ways, I agree with him. It takes only a moment of thought to see, to know what has happened. However, I do believe they should not be afforded the luxury of ignorance."

Sighing, I nodded my head, "You have such a way with words, Freed. That's precisely how I meant it, but I couldn't seem to find a way to express myself. I don't excuse their parts in what happened. It pains me that they hurt Lucy in such a way, but I also realize that once it sinks in for them, it will be a great deal to live with. It's so hard to live with guilt and regret, especially at their young age."

Freed turned to look at me and answered sadly, "I'm afraid there is no saving them from that fate. Living with the shame of hurting the ones you love is a bitter pill to swallow, and no one will be able to take that away from them."

"But there is always forgiveness," I answered softly. I knew he was thinking of his own mistakes, and I realized he'd never laid them to rest. Though it had been long ago, he still appeared haunted by his actions, and I hated it for him.

"That is true, for those of us who are lucky enough to have the chance to redeem ourselves, but it doesn't take away the memory of our transgressions or the guilt we carry everyday. There is forgiveness, but there is never forgetting, Mira. Make no mistake, the two of them will live every day, knowing what their selfish choices have brought about," the serious man informed, his face set in a knowing look.

My attention was called away as Laxus called out from far ahead, "You ready for this?"

I looked back towards Cana and Bixlow, and further back to my sister and a solemn Natsu. As I began turning back, I saw Natsu's head lift, his face shifting to an appalling shade of white, his legs suddenly finding the strength to bolt past us, heading straight towards Laxus and the mouth of the cursed alley.

"Natsu!" I shouted, readying myself to chase after him, when Freed stopped me with a hand on my arm as he shook his head.

"Let him go," he said with a grimace, "He's caught the smell of her blood, and if his face is any indication, also how much of it she lost."

I gulped as I watched Natsu stumble to a halt just beside the tall blonde-haired man, before he let out an broken cry and moved forward. I shared a nervous glance with Cana and my sister, who'd taken my hand in her own, and walked around the corner into the site of Lucy's personal hell. Dread crawled up my throat as I tightened my hold on Lisanna's hand and forced my legs to continue moving.

We stepped into the alley, to the sound of Natsu's cries, and I gasped as my eyes saw the scene for the first time, the utter devastation that was my friend's fight for her life. Her blood stained the ground, the walls, splattered across the numerous items left abandoned through the area, and I choked, bile spilling up my throat as I pressed a shaky hand to my mouth. Laxus had been right. It was more cruel than my mind could have ever imagined. What she must have gone through.

Natsu stood before a pitted wall, the side marred by large spatters of dark color, and he reached out a hand to the spots before his knees buckled and he dropped to the ground, landing near a misshapen circle of what could only be Lucy's dried blood. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the ground, as his body was wracked with sobs. He lifted his fists from the ground, screaming his anger and pain out as he slammed his clenched hands down over and over again, hammering into the dirt with everything he had.

Hearing a wail beside me, I found Cana hanging onto a stern looking Bixlow, her face tucked into his shoulder as his arms held her tightly. Turning to my sister, I watched as her face drained of color, her body freezing up, before wavering slightly and dropping to the ground. It had happened so fast, but I couldn't seem to move myself to catch her. I'd been in enough situations to know that shock was setting in. It was just all so surreal, this horrible place, Lucy's attack, her blood everywhere. It seemed so unreal that this could have happened to her.

Hearing a voice calling my name, I lifted my head slowly to see Freed's concerned face in front of me, his mouth moving as he spoke to me, "Mira, are you okay? You're very pale. Maybe you should sit down."

His hands grasped my arms, pushing me gently back until I was sitting on the ground next to Lisanna's still form. I reached out for her, pulling her as far onto my lap as I could, and promptly burst into tears, hugging her close to my chest. I rocked back and forth, almost wishing I'd never come here, as I sobbed. I cried for what happened to Lucy, for her distance, for Gray's pain at the loss of his sister, for Natsu and Lisanna having to live with the guilt of this, for our guild being torn apart. I ached at the destruction that man had caused in our lives.

Freed reached out for me, brushing my hair out of my face as he forced me to look at him. "Mira, you must be strong. Don't stay too long in your sorrow. You must find a way to put it aside and be there for the others. You are the one she will look to for guidance. Remember our plan. We will not let this heinous act go unpunished," he spoke fiercely, staring straight into my eyes, willing me dig deep for the courage to continue.

I nodded briefly. I wouldn't let him down. I wouldn't let any of them down. I would find the strength to go on and bring our family back together again. I would not let this man destroy everything we had built together. We were stronger than anything he'd ever stood against before, and we would not stop until he paid in blood. We would put ourselves back together again. We were Fairy Tail, after all.

A/N: Let me know what you thought of this chapter. Like, love, hate? Just let me know! Love you guys!