A couple months after Laxus returned from his mission, he noticed that the apartment was unusually quiet. With all the lights being off didn't help. With the help of his heightened senses, he was able to pick up some crying. The only one that was supposed to be here was Musa. A wave of worry washed over him that he immediately went to go find her.

He found her in the corner of his room. She didn't seem to notice his presence just yet, but the chick that she did. It ran up to him and started jumping while chirping. He just assumed Musa had gotten it while he was gone. The crying had died down when she noticed him there. "Oh Laxus, I didn't you get back so soon,"

Getting up from her spot and approaching him, he took notice of the odd looking sleeves that she wore. There had been small marks on her face, about 3 on each cheek. They weren't there before he left.

"Why were you crying and why are you all covered up all of a sudden?"

There wasn't a response as she just . "It's nothing, I'm fine. Don't worry about it," she said, wiping away whatever tears that didn't dry. She moved past him after picking up the chick. "Since you came back, do you want anything to eat?"

Everything about this just felt wrong about this. It seemed like she was an empty shell of herself once again. Her smile was fake, Musa only gave that she didn't trust or when she was trying to hide something. It was as broken as it was when she first started trying.

Following behind her in the small apartment, Musa had placed the chick on one of the chairs before starting to grab things around the kitchen. Musa was trying her best to put this topic off since she didn't want him to basically explode from what she had hidden. She never liked being the reason behind why he was angry.

"I know you're lying to me, tell me what's going on,"

"Laxus, why would I need to lie to you? I already told you that it's nothing," Musa reassured him. "You're still lying? You it very obvious that you are,"

"What would you know if you haven't been here for years? It's not like you even would remember anyway,"

The problem was made painfully clear when he went to grab her shoulder. She had flitched before she brushed his hand away. Her body remained tense while trying to figure out how she was going to explain all of this to him. Laxus felt disappointed that Musa was willing to hide things from him after what they went through. It was like she reverted back to when they first met.

Musa turned to face him while taking a hold of his hands, "Do you really want to know what's been going on while you were gone?"

"Please just tell me what happened to you. This isn't what you were like before I left,"

Taking a breath, she took him to the living room and sat him down. "Just promise me you won't get mad,"

"Can't make any promises princess,"

She was getting a bit nervous about doing this, but Laxus would know sooner or later. Musa takes off her sleeves to reveal that her arms were covered with cuts along with a few burn marks. Some of them were faded bruises that were littered on her arms.

"Who did this to you?"

Laxus held her arms and examined them closer. He ran his fingers over some of them. He could feel her shudder under his touch.

"While you were gone, the others took it as an opportunity to hurt me. They knew that I wouldn't retaliate,"

The silence between them was unbearable. Laxus was fuming as his grip around her arms tightened. "Does the master know about this?"

"Only Mira and Stella know. I told not to tell him,"

"Don't you think it's gone too far?"

"I just don't want it to become a bigger issue. Plus, I don't want to worry him something that I can handle myself,"

Laxus lets go of her arms as he stands up once again. He always towered throughout the years they've known each other. He was visibly shaking, having the knowledge of Musa of being hurt for god knows how long; he was absolutely irate. Just when he was about to storm out of the apartment; his arm was grabbed.

Glancing over his shoulder, Musa had her head down; so her face was covered by her hair. "Please don't go,"

He gives her a soft look before pulling her close. Holding her tight, "Just say the word and I'll fix this,"

With his shirt starting to become damp because of her tears, it only made him hold her tighter against him. They stayed like this for what felt like forever. Laxus only pulled away from her when he felt something start to hit against his leg. Looking down, it was that chick from earlier. "How long since you've had him?"

Musa pulled away and wiped her tears, "A few weeks after you left. I found his egg while coming back from a job,"

Unbeknownst to her, there was a dark magic swirling deep inside of her starting to really develop. It had created a sort of another being that has yet to make itself known to her or anyone as of yet.

Around the time I turned 17, another blonde had joined the guild. Her name was Lucy Heatfilila and of course she became one of Erza's friends. It was mainly those three plus Happy who seemed to still get amusement from attacking me. Stella and Mira would always get on their case about it.

I had gotten 3 more keys over this time. A sliver key belonging to Shaymin, another sliver belonging to Dedenne and a navy blue quartz belonging to Oshawott. I had them for a few years now.

Shaymin's key was an ordinary silver key with the crest of gratitude, a symbol reminiscent of a Gracidea flower, stamped on its bow. Similar to the other keys, the center of the bow is white, stamped with the crest colored in pink. The center of the bow of the key bears small leafs that swirled around it. The blade's end is shaped like a flower.

Shaymin is a small, white hedgehog. She has green grass-like fur on her back and a pink flower with two leaves on each side of her head, which resembles the Gracidea flower. Her legs are short and her underside is plump.

Oshawott's key is depicted to be a navy blue key with the crest of the Otter, a symbol reminiscent of a clam, stamped on its bow. The center of the bow is white, stamped with the crest; colored in navy blue. Surrounding the heart-shaped center on either side are simple curves, spiraling on the top and bottom. The blade's end is shaped like the end of a clam.

Oshawott is a bipedal sea otter-like Pokémon. His head is a spherical white head with small, triangular dark-blue ears on the sides. Oshawott's eyes are dark, and his dark-orange nose is shaped like a horizontal oval. Several freckles cover his cheeks which may be premature whiskers, and two pointed teeth can be seen when it opens his mouth. The light blue fur on his body forms bubble shapes around his neck. Oshawott's arms are white and rounded, while his feet are dark blue with three toes each. He also possesses a rudder-like dark blue tail. He carries a pale yellow seashell that he called a scalchop on its belly.

Dedenne's key was also an ordinary silver key with the crest of the thunder, a symbol reminiscent of 雷, stamped on its bow. The center of the bow is white, stamped with the crest of thunder, colored in yellow. The blade's end is shaped like a lighting bolt.

Dedenne is a bipedal, orange, rodent with a round body. He has round black ears with pale yellow interiors, black eyes, a tiny nose, and a prominent upper incisor with a slight point. On each cheek is a circular, dark orange electric sac with two black whiskers. The upper whiskers have branches and resemble antennae, while the lower whiskers are simple. There is a thick black stripe down its back and it has a pale yellow belly. It has stubby limbs with three digits on each paw and a long, thin black tail with a tuft of fur on the tip.