Thanks so much for your continued support, guys! You're the best! Lots of love to one of my Besties, Deathsembrace137 for beta reading this chap! Loves ya!

Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

CHAPTER 24: WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER

ROGUE'S POV

"Thanks. I'm sorry I was such an ass to you. I can see you care about her."

I didn't know what to say about that, so I just left it and focused on the bathroom. In the next moment, I heard the sound of a curtain being pulled aside, and Cana's voice cry out, "Oh Lucy, don't do that. You're going to hurt yourself."

My hands closed into fists, and without my permission my feet shuffled closer to the door. What was she doing? I wanted to bust in there and make sure she was okay. Everything in me was screaming for me to rush to her aid, but I held myself back. I didn't want to do anything to cause her more grief and fear.

I refused to do that to her, but I hated not being in that room, not being able to help her. It was choking me to stand on the sidelines like this, and looking over to Gray, I could see he felt the same way. Our hands were tied, and for the first time in so long, I felt helpless.

It was a feeling I had always despised, that overwhelming sense of failure. It pressed around me like a cloud, insisting that I was weak, that I could do nothing. It was so oppressive, this sickening taste of inadequacy.

"Don't touch me!" Lucy suddenly shouted, her voice tinged with panic.

I grit my teeth, moving forward a bit more. I wanted in there with Lucy. She needed me, and I was stuck here with my thumb up my ass and not a damn clue what was going on. "Goddamn it!" I growled, dragging tense fingers through my hair.

"Man, calm down," Gray said, his eyes widening in shock at my reaction, "Cana's got this. Just give her a minute."

"I just...I don't like this...I should be with her," I managed to say, not certain if he would accept my explanation. If not, there was nothing I could do about it, because that was as good as it was going to get. I wasn't about to tell him of my past, my need to help Lucy through this. I had no intention of ever telling anyone. It was my burden to bear, my cross to carry for the rest of my life.

Turning my head back toward the bathroom door, I waited for some sign from the woman he'd called Cana that Lucy was okay. From the corner of my eye, I could see Gray surreptitiously watching me, his expression one of curiosity, as if he were attempting to figure me out. Good luck with that, I thought. There were far too many things I kept secret for him to ever truly know me.

Moments later, my ears picked up the sound of whispers, and though I strained, I couldn't hear the exact words that were spoken. The tone however, was soft, gentle, who I assumed to be the brunette who had gone in to fetch Lucy. I was glad to hear no more screaming from the blonde, no sounds of fright or concern at all, in fact.

Maybe her friend had been able to calm her down. That would be good for Lucy, to have another person she could be comfortable with, especially a female considering what she'd been through. This was a woman who knew her, someone she had apparently been close to before every thing happened, and if she could find it in herself to allow the connection, she'd be that much closer to healing from her attack.

I kept my ears trained on the bathroom for some sign of Lucy's well-being, hoping to hear some sound that indicated how she was faring, but I could catch nothing. And that had me panicking. Shouldn't I be able to hear something? Even if things were going well, even if she was calm, I should hear her talking or whispering, and the urge to bust into the room to check on her, hit me again.

Finally, just as I thought I'd completely lose my grip and my anxiety would take over, the door opened and the two women walked out. The brunette was holding onto a shaky smile, her eyes swimming with tears, and it was obvious to anyone looking that she was struggling to hold everything inside. My eyes widened, and I couldn't help the small smile that bloomed on my face at the sight of the pair's linked hands.

Hearing a sharp intake of air behind me, I found Gray in a state similar to his friend Cana, both on the verge of tears.

Unable to wait any longer, I moved forward, reaching out to Lucy's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

She lifted her head and looked at me, her eyes dark with shame as she nodded. "I'm sorry," she whispered with a trembling lip, ducking her head once again.

Sorry? Why would she be apologizing to me? It was at that moment I finally noticed her oddly colored skin. Bright red splotches ran wild over her flesh, the skin so irritated it had nearly torn. "Lucy, what did you do?" I asked softly, moving my finger to brush across one of the lighter areas. So many places...and they all looked like someone had taken a scrub brush to them.

I was horrified, but I should have expected this. It wasn't like this was the first time I'd seen such a thing. Pushing the errant thought aside, I pulled Lucy in close to me and just held her. Her body shook against mine, tremors so fine they were almost unnoticeable, and she whimpered, "I'm sorry, Rogue."

"Shhh. It's okay. I'm not mad - I just don't like seeing you hurt yourself this way," I soothed, running my hand gently over the back of her wet head.

She grasped onto me tightly, her hands latching onto my shirt as she tucked her head into my neck. "I promised you. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Lucy. I know you tried." I looked over her shoulder to find Gray comforting the other woman, her face buried into his chest just like Lucy had done to mine. We shared a piteous look before I directed my attention back to the blonde in my arms. "Can you at least tell me why you did that?"

She shifted against me nervously, her voice coming from between our bodies so quietly, it took me a few moments to understand what she'd said. "I couldn't get clean."

When the words finally filtered through my brain, my shoulders slumped, and I sighed. It was as I'd thought. She'd scrubbed her skin in an attempt to rid herself of filth she felt coated in. It was nearly word for word what I'd heard so long ago. Stop it, Rogue. Leave that stuff in the past.

"Lucy, you are clean. There's not a spot on you that is dirty, I promise."

"You're wrong, Rogue," she argued sadly, her head moving side to side slowly, "I'm always going to be dirty."

Releasing my hold on her, I lifted her head and nearly winced at the pain in her eyes. Glistening tears slid down her cheeks, and though I wanted to brush them away, I left them for the moment. I needed to stop the cause of those tears. "Listen to me. You could never be dirty. Do you hear me? You are strong and brave and pure, and there is nothing that anyone can do to change that."

She tugged her chin from my grasp and turned away, her face achingly forlorn. She clearly didn't believe it. Her view of herself was clouded, the truth of who she was so shrouded in darkness that no light could break through. It broke my heart to see her struggle so much with something that seemed so simple to me - she was the perfect representation of purity. If only she could see that...

MAKAROV'S POV

It was well past lunch time when the first team came through the door, their postures visibly relaxing as they made their way silently to their usual table. I watched as Freed dropped heavily into a chair, nearly falling off the side from his rather abrupt descent.

"Whoa Freed, not so fast," Evergreen scolded, as Laxus and Bixlow moved to prop him back up.

The Runes mage slumped against the back of the chair, nodding with an air of exhaustion as he apologized, "Sorry, didn't realize I was that tired."

"Don't apologize man. Just stay in the damn seat," Bixlow laughed, sticking his tongue out at his friend.

Freed rolled his eyes in amusement, sarcasm coating his voice as he mumbled, "Now, why didn't I think of that?"

The group of friends shared a collective laugh, the first I'd seen from them since the night we'd all found out about Lucy's attack. It had been a tense several days, and it hadn't fostered the sense of lightness necessary to joke. Today though, we were all feeling more optimistic, finally feeling like we were on the right track. With our plan in place, it finally felt like we would find the monster responsible for hurting Lucy.

"I could really use some food," the green-haired man sighed, rubbing a hand down his face, before making a move to stand.

The Lightning Dragon Slayer scowled down at his team-mate, pushing him back into his seat, and commanded, "Take it easy. I'll get it for you."

"No, Laxus. You don't have to do that. I can get it for myself," Freed argued, feeling as if his leader shouldn't be expected to take care of him.

Laxus's face darkened with irritation, and he snapped, "Just sit down and shut up, Freed. I said I'd get it, and I will. Stop making such a damn fuss about it."

The Rune mage wisely left it alone, simply saying, "Thank you, Laxus."

I made my way toward their table passing my grandson as he walked away towards the bar. I had nearly reached the remaining trio when Bixlow flopped into the chair beside Freed, and nudged him lightly, nearly making him fall off the other side. Evergreen took up residence on the other side of Freed quickly, holding him in place and fixing the Seith mage with a glare, complaining, "Bixlow, don't shove him like that, you idiot."

"Oh please, it's not like I did it on purpose. Don't act like such a bi-" the man returned just as fiercely, only to be stopped by their leader.

"Cut it out, you two," Laxus commanded as he came up behind me. "Hey Gramps, what's up?"

I stepped forward, climbing up onto a seat across from the weakened mage, and answered, "Ah Laxus, I just wanted to check on Freed, and see about your progress."

Freed lifted his head with a smile of accomplishment, and informed, "We've finished our half of the Rune traps."

"Good, good. And you? How're you feeling?" I pressed, feeling a swell of pride at my brats. They were all working so hard to help their nakama. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

"I'm alright, just quite tired at the moment," the young man answered, his hand raising in an attempt to stifle his sudden yawn.

I nodded. It was quite obvious just how worn he really was, both physically and magically. "From the looks of it, I'd say you did too much today, Freed. You probably should have taken a break and gone back to it later."

"He refused to do that," Laxus offered, his face morphing into one of great respect as he looked down at the man in question.

"Everyone else is putting their all into helping Lucy. I don't know her very well, so this is the only way I can offer my support," Freed explained, shrugging in a rather unusual manner, "I couldn't stop until it was finished."

It was easy to read between the lines. He felt as each and every one of my brats did. Lucy had suffered greatly at the hands of a man who even now remained free, and they would stop at nothing to change that, to make sure he paid for the atrocious crimes he had committed against one of our own. Freed couldn't bear the thought of calling a halt to his work, leaving Lucy vulnerable to possible attack again.

"I understand, Freed. Thank you for doing such a good job of protecting your nakama," I commended, smiling at the suddenly sheepish expression that crossed his face.

I'd always found it so amusing that a man so talented and powerful had no problem acknowledging his strength, but call attention to the caring side of his personality, and watch his cheeks flare up in obvious discomfort. I chuckled lightly, and turned at the sound of the guild doors being opened.

"Put me down! I told you I can walk on my own!"

My chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh as Gajeel stomped through the doorway, his arm lifting the small form of Levy up by the back of her clothes. "Yeah right, Shrimp. You almost fell 4 times on the way back."

"I could have carried her!" Jet argued, crossing the threshold with Droy just behind him, pouting, "No one ever thinks I can help Levy."

"Guys!" Levy whined, still struggling against the Iron Dragon's hold, "This is so embarrassing."

Laughs shot up through the guild as the Solid Script mage continued to flail and call out her complaints. My eyes filled with tears as I looked across the room, taking in the sight of more and more of my brats joining in. It felt like years since I'd heard such happy sounds; it was like music to my ears.

For a time, I'd wondered if we would get it back, that ease of laughter, the quick smiles of greeting. When Lucy had been attacked, the life had nearly been sucked out of the guild, the act crippling something within us all. After that, I had worried that it would be lost forever, that we would never be able to find our way back to who we were.

Maybe we couldn't, but now at least, hearing the sounds of pointless joy throughout the guild, I knew that as long as we made this trek together, we would come out of it okay.