Disclaimer: I don't own this. Aww.

Ok, so I want to apologize for the really late update. I mean, it's been months (OMG IT HAS) so I will say sorry now. Sorry. There done.

Now, onto the story - I'm having trouble with this, mainly because of the damn thing called 'My brain' which is crowded with plot bunnies - but I think this will be ok... I think...

So: 169 Faves and 222 Follows! Yay! I'm happy!

Yeah...

Ugh... Well that's it.

Oh wait - a warning:
There is an OC character here (for those who don't like them - shush he's important), and some male/male stuff (nothing big - I didn't even want to put a warning about it but I was convinced by all the haters out there to use this chance to annoy them -ω-).

Also, I don't know if I've said this yet, but Minerva, Rogue, Sting and Yukino are all the age they were after the 7 year gap. So they are about the same age as Lucy.

~Nom Nom :3

Eighth:

Inside Blackharts Manor

Year 0 Day 39

"Minerva... Rogue... Kill..."

Minerva blinked, her eyes darting to the now closed door of the room. She couldn't hear anything and one glance to her fellow dragon slayers proved that they heard nothing. Well, Sting heard nothing. As for Rogue... He could've overheard the plot of a mass murder and he would stay as expressionless as a piece of cardboard.

Minerva decided to stay quiet and follow her maid for now, and stay inconspicuous, until she had some time to really go out and discover what really was going on with this strange Blackharts family - if that was indeed their real name (You're being paranoid. An inner voice whispered to her, but she quenched it).

"You couldn't wait for them to leave, for even the door to close, you impatient idiot." Lucy muttered. "You're unbelievable Zeref...n."

"Zerefn?" Zeref smirked. "Is that a new pet name?"

The smirk immediately vanished when he saw her glare. She's still pissed... He thought.

"No, you're new pet name is Bastard." She said. She smiled at that. "So, Bastard, you want more people to be in servitude to me? What, you think I can't take care of myself?"

"What? No! Where did you get that idea?" Zeref spluttered.

"Hmm... Maybe from the fact that you keep dumping person upon person on my lap!" Zeref thought it was wise not to mention that all the people she had bonded with so far were indeed her decision. "I am not glass! I can take care of myself!"

"I know that bitch face-" She hissed at the name. "-but I am thinking of the future. What is an army without numbers?"

"What, am I your recruitment officer?" She hissed in a deadly whisper. "Next thing I'll be the office whore who you'll lend out to any other person to get their jollies off!"

With that, she vanished in a dark mist, making Zeref feel pleased that she thought that she was his, hurt that she thought he would just use her and overall generally confused that he was actually feeling.

Year 0 Day 40

It wasn't until after midnight until Minerva was able to sneak out of her private room (that was probably worth a fortune in itself). The maids stood there like security guards, standing perfectly straight and still that Minerva would've thought they were statues if she didn't know better. She was sure they didn't even blink or breath while they were watching them... And suddenly they just vanished like that.

Her danger sensors were going mad (which was slightly funny - she felt danger from the maids being there but felt more danger when they were gone). Now that she was out of her assigned room and in the mansion's corridors, her eyes were spotting things everywhere. movement in the dark, figures watching her, white teeth that looked like they were floating,with big red eyes above them... To be honest, she was sure that she wasn't imaging them. They were too real. But no, the rational side of her mind was convincing her that she was just making things up.

It was around that time when she heard the ominous, eerie giggle - to low a pitch to be a child but too high to be an adult. Her movement froze, and her heart sped up while the second ticked away. When a minute passed and she heard nothing, she began to calm down.

"Just my imagination..." She muttered, sighing out of relief. That relief was short lived when she felt something wet slide across her cheek and a gentle whisper in her ear.

"You taste just like cinnamon."

She would never admit it, but that was the first time in her whole life that she had felt fear, pure unaltered fear. Another thing which she would never admit: she screamed. Like a little girl. Then she ran, as fast as her legs could carry her, away from her attacker (or molester from the position of his/her hands) and into the depths of the mansion. Again, like a little girl.

As fate would have it (with her extremely Schadenfreude* sense of humor) Minerva ran away from her mysterious attacker and straight into the arms of the shadow dragon slayer, Rogue.

It only took Minerva three seconds to stabilize herself, jump off Rogue and start running, dragging Rogue with her by his hand. It took her five minutes of running before she collapsed breathless on the floor. As he had been since their clash, Rogue was standing silently besides her, his face an unidentifiable mask. For that she was grateful, because if it was Sting he would've never shut up, and then would've used this as permanent blackmail.

After she caught her breath, and calmed herself down, Minerva took a deep breath and looked over to Rogue, who was standing watching her, as emotionless as ever. They stared at each other for about a minute until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Well?" She asked.

Rogue merely blinked.

"Aren't you going to ask?" Minerva said, raising her left eyebrow. "I ran into you, then dragged you with me to..." She looked around, but couldn't notice any important features. "Wherever the hell we are now."

Rogue remained silent, and Minerva was about to snap and yell at him for just ignoring her until he spoke. "Are you alright?"

That made her blush. She dragged him with her inside the mansion, gripping so hard (out of fear) that she must've crushed some bones, yet he was asking if she was alright? It was touching and... unnatural for someone part of Sabertooth, yet it made her feel warm.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine..." She stuttered, her cheeks getting a light dusting of redness. "Just someone - I strongly suspect Sting now - completely fr... surprised me." She shivered at the memory.

Rogue was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "Surprised how?" He said surprised in such a way it made Minerva think he actually knew what had happened (come to think of it, I did run into him right after the 'attack' Minerva thought).

She blushed, completely out of character for her, but Rogue had that affect on her. "Idiot, this is serious! Something could've happened!"

"Like?"

"Like... like..."

"This?" Purred a voice in Rogue's ear, and he felt a hand on his crotch. He stiffened, quickly jumped away and turned and faced the perpetrator in one fluid movement. It was a man, about his height, in a completely black cloak that blended into the darkness. They could only see the lower half of his face, which had a strange black tattoo on it, and his elongated canines shone in the darkness. His eyes were an impossible yellow, glowing under his hood.

"Cinnamon and..." He licked the hand that had groped Rogue's crotch (making said man blush) and smirked. "Dark chocolate. Unusual combination."

"Wh... Who are you?" Rogue stuttered, possibly for the first time in his life, feeling fear from the immense killer intent the man was radiating.

"Me? Someone. No one. Everyone." He paused then winked seductively to the pair of them. "Whoever you want me to be." He smirked. "But today, I'm just someone on a mission."

In one fluid movement, he grabbed the edge of Rogue's shirt and slammed their lips together. Rogue felt magic pour into his body, causing him to freeze and stop all protests as his mouth was invaded and ravaged by the unknown man. As the kiss got longer and longer, Rogue felt his reluctance fade until he was actually moaning into the stranger's mouth.

The man smirked and, rather reluctantly, pulled away, a trail of saliva connecting their mouths. The man smirked while Rogue blushed, with half-lidded dazed eyes.

"Mmm..." Hummed the man, thoroughly licking his lips as Rogue remained against the wall, slowly sliding down it in a daze. "Now I've wanted to do that for weeks..." He turned to Minerva, who had watched the whole interaction with wide eyes, yet couldn't do anything to stop it. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of her, one hand gripping her arms above her head while the other on her mouth, forcing it open. Her magic just wouldn't activate, and it was like his hands were drawing the magic she attempted to use forcefully out of her body.

"Ugh, and I don't understand why they want you." He said with obvious distaste. "Rogue-sama I can understand... And he's mine now..." He shivered. "But you? Your magic is weak, very shallow and with no stamina... I could kill you with a finger." He lifted his right index finger, which was over her mouth, and wiggled it threateningly to the wide-eyed woman before sighing. "But, I have my orders..." With that he forcefully kissed her, shoving his tongue into her mouth and letting it touch hers for a brief second before releasing her.

Minerva felt the magic unload onto her painfully by that touch, the manipulation, the control and the power. So much power.

"Mission complete." Me muttered, before approaching Rogue again, crouching down next to his dazed body. Without hesitation, he stuck out his tongue and licked from Rogue's lower neck to his ear on the right side.

"Mine." He whispered possessively before disappearing into the darkness.

"What was that?" Lucy whispered, slightly shocked with the man's actions, before turning to Zeref accusingly. "Did you do this to Kita-kun?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Zeref said, feinting innocence.

"Hmm, course." Lucy said, unamused. "The biggest womanizer in Norther Fiore just so happened to go gay for one man, who he had no idea about twenty minutes ago."

"You never know." Zeref said, shrugging his shoulders, yet was patting his back on the inside.

"Hmm." She replied, clearly unconvinced. "I don't know what you 'said' to him, but if this makes him happy-" And cures his commitment problems. Lucy silently added. "-then I don't mind." Then she smirked. "And besides, some great Yaoi will be hot. Mirajane will like it too."

Zeref began to wonder in he had, in fact, made the right decision.

Twenty Minutes Ago...

"Lulu-chan!" Shouted a voice from the doorway, making both Zeref and Lucy jump in surprise. "I've missed you!"

The pair turned to look at the offender, Zeref mentally wondering how he managed to sneak up on him, to see a man about seventeen years old, with complete black clothes and a black cloak, with the hood pulled down. He had pitch black hair, possibly darker than the hood, with strange glowing yellow eyes (not that he could complain - his eyes were black, and he could make them turn red if he wanted) and a black tribal tattoo that swirled around his mouth, across his cheeks and chin, and down his neck. He was smiling a lop-sided grin, revealing elongated canines in his mouth.

"Kita-kun!" Lucy exclaimed to her surprise and Zeref's extreme displeasure - she knew him? "Wendy and Mirajane finally found you?"

"Yup." He nodded, grinning wildly. "But first things first - imagine my surprise when I discovered that Little-Miss-Goodie was wanted by the Magic Council. For murder." He pouted. "What happened to my dear sweet innocent Lulu-chan?"

Lucy merely raised an eyebrow. "I can't begin to explain how hypocritical you're being." She snorted. "What about your little 'gang'?"

Lucy first met Kitaya Waru when she was fourteen. She was young enough to still be trapped by her father's web, yet was old enough to see that there was no love in her home. So she began to sneak out, off the grounds and into the nearby village of Freesia. It held nothing special apart from the old historic cathedral that was bigger than even Heartfilia Manor. It was her first time out of the mansion in her life, and thus didn't realize any signs of danger when she passed a group of older men hanging out in an ally. She heard catcalls and, being completely innocent, didn't notice a problem with them. That was until a hand roughly grabbed her wrist.

They attempted to have their way with her. Her clothes were in shreds and her breasts were showing before she had been saved, by another group of men. It was led by a boy her age, with the blackest hair she had ever seen, and a pair of eerie yellow eyes that looked as if they glowed. a small tattoo surrounded his mouth, making it look like his lips had a black outline.

"Are you ok?" He asked, covering her exposed body with his coat. That was when she fell for her.

After that, she visited time and time again, for the next year. She met his friends who were like him, and they all lived by a single rule: If they don't deserve it, don't do it. It was simple, and yet it was what saved her life that day.

She followed Kita like a lost puppy. Whenever she was in Freesia, she would be almost attached to him by the hip and he - much to everyone else's surprise - would actually tolerate him. It wasn't well know to but a few, but it was because they both had the same experience: oppressive rich home lives, the only difference being that Kita got away.

A year later, when Lucy was fifteen, she decided to run away. She was already popular in the group, with everyone knowing her as the only person able to calm the boss down, and thus was welcomed with open arms. So they set a date and location, and Lucy spent months planning, and when she finally was free and in the meetup location...

He didn't show.

With guards hot on her heel, she couldn't spare more than a day before she had to leave. She didn't know that he was a day late and just a day longer they would've been together again...

So he filled his life with trying to find the right girl, the one that could replace his Lucy, while she filled her life with the hunt for the keys, something that had been her aim since he had said he thought her magic was beautiful.

He snorted. "We've all parted ways now. They're either dead, in jail or back on the straight and narrow."

Lucy pulled a face. "Yeah, they all were childish."

Kita shrugged. "I don't really care now. So, what you want with lil' old me? I don't think you just want some mindless rough sex?" He asked wiggling his eyebrows.

"As much fun as that would be-" She ignored Zeref's strangled cough. "-that's not it. We need your... expertise."

He smirked evilly. "I see my mastery of the lost magic has even reached your ears." He looked at Zeref, and looked like he finally realized he was there. "Who are you?"

"Zeref." Was the curt reply. Kita looked surprised, but didn't ask questions. "We want two targets manipulated to kill their companions." He pulled out two photographs, as if from thin air, and handed them to Kita. "Tonight would be preferable, but-"

"Nope." Kita interrupted. "I don't kiss men."

"Kita-kun, you can't seriously still be traumatized by what Takashima-san did!" Lucy groaned.

"Hey, it was my first kiss!" He complained. "He bit my tongue, Lulu-chan!" He turned back to Zeref. "No way. I don't kiss men."

Zeref was quiet for a moment. "How about we discuss this in private." He said at last. "Maybe I can sweeten the deal."

When they were alone, Zeref dived into Kita's mind and used his magic to the fullest. He had to do damage control to make him able to accept the job, but it was only after that when he decided to do something about his relationship with Lucy. He was still utterly infatuated with her, and he planned on using this as an excuse to get close to her again. Zeref wouldn't allow anyone near his Lucy (while later he would be confused at his possessiveness, at the time he was angry and blind) and thus decided to wipe out any competition. He wasn't blind to the looks Rogue sent her, so with a few simple (simple if it kept Lucy all to himself) tweaks, he changed that complete infatuation on Lucy to Rogue, while removing all his concerns. And, because of his magic, he wouldn't have to manipulate Rogue too.

Zeref smiled. Yes, he indeed made the right decision.

It was late that morning when Sting and Yukino were eating breakfast when they noticed something... odd with their companions. As both Juvia and Gajeel had disappeared since the day before, it was only Rogue and Minerva with them, as per usual. Yet, what was different was that Rogue sat there, staring into space, a small permanent blush on his face like Gajeel had just expressed his undying love to him or something of equal measure. Minerva, on the other hand, looked apprehensive - nervous even. These two things together made the pair slightly wary.

"We starting the mission today?" Sting asked to break the silence, and effectively snapped the pair out of their musings. Sting put all the oddness down to the fact that their partners, Lector and Frosch, not being with them, and the fact that Minerva was with them. Yukino just thought Minerva had a nightmare - she heard her scream during the night, and figured that she was too proud to say she was scared.

"No..." Rogue said, his voice sounding strangely distant. His blush had gone, but his eyes were still focused on something in the distance. "No." He said again, more firmly and down to earth. "I want to show you something, Sting."

Sting nodded. "Ok, let's just wait until Yukino and Minerva are finished and-"

"No." Rogue interrupted. "I don't think that they'll... appreciate it."

Ah. That was a phrase from his past, from when Rogue wanted to get away and just talk to Sting, without any fronts. He nodded and stood up, pushing his plate away from him "Let's go then."

They walked out the room, and Rogue led the way through the mansion for about a minute before Sting stopped.

"Ah..." He grimaced, looking at his hand, which still gripped a knife. He rushed himself that he didn't put it down. It looked expensive, and he didn't want Sabertooth to be responsible for anything. "I'll be back in a minute."

He jogged back, ignoring Rogue's sigh of complaint and reached the dining room after about ten seconds. When he entered, however, he froze on the spot.

Minerva had used the large array of knives that were supplied to hold up Yukino against the wall. Knives were stabbed through her hands, arms, legs and feet, blood pouring freely from the wounds. In Minerva's hands was a jug of Cool Fire, something that the rich used to heat up maintain foods, and she was pouring it down Yukino's body, down the left side of her face, making her scream.

"What the-"

Sting barely had time to register the torture before pain exploded at his right shoulder. He screamed and fell forwards, looking behind him to see Rogue standing there, face unemotional as usual, with his arm creating a large shadow sword. But that wasn't the worst part. On the floor, at his feet, was Stings arm. The one that connected to the now bloody stump on his right shoulder.

Rogue took a step forwards, but Sting had already sprung to action, his dragon instincts and training taking over. He jumped to his feet and ran over to Yukino, pushing a distracted Minerva out the was so she fell onto the Cool Fire jug, and ripped her out the wall. Ignoring her cry of protest, he immediately wrapped his only arm around her and slung her over his left shoulder. Something fell, but he was too distracted to care, and he rushed to the window before jumping out, not even pausing with hesitation.

He fell from the second floor onto the grass, his left leg taking too much of the impact and thus causing it to promptly break. Yet, he ignored the pain and carried on, running as fast as he could and jumping over the high wall at the edge of the grounds with ease. He ran and ran, the world a blur around him, until it was too mush and he collapsed from his blood loss. Right before his world turned black, he heard the voice of an old woman.

"Another stupid human."

Rogue and Minerva stared out the broken window at the retreating figures of their targets.

"Do we follow?" Rogue asked, looking towards the third person in the room, Zeref.

Zeref shook his head. "No, the time for their death has passed." He sighed and picked up the golden key Pisces that was dropped by the Celestial Mage in all the hurry. "When the twelve golden keys have fallen into the darkness, with their world in sin, only then will the King walk the earth, unaided by the tools of man."

"What does that mean?" Lucy asked, standing at the doorway of the room.

Zeref smiled. "It means my finest work will come back to its master." He passed the golden key to Lucy. "One more key until The Destroyer walks the earth."

*Literally means 'Fail-Joy', the enjoyment from others misfortune (I used Google and Wikipedia - I forgot the word I was going to use hehe...).

Ok, here is the details to my OC:

Name: 北殺 悪 [Kitaya Waru] (From 北 [Kita: North], 殺 [Ya: Killing] and 悪 [Waru: Evil (Normally I would have this as Aku, but Waru looks better)]) - USED GOOGLE TRANSLATE

Age: Same as Lucy (I think it was 17?)

Magic:
Mouth Manipulation Magic (able to manipulate people/transfer information/other stuff by touching their tongues and/or mixing their saliva)
Magic Absorption (able to absorb small amounts of magic from people when touching [can only happen before activation of the magic])
Shadow Magic (the ability to manipulate shadows - kinda self explanatory)

Power: Not that strong, just very smart and relies on tactics.

Other Information: Friend of Lucy from before Fairy Tail. Was a womanizer with a large crush on Lucy before Zeref 'introduced' him to Rogue. Lucy's first love.

Ok, next chapter done (FINALLY!). I won't lie, there is nothing wrong with me except procrastination. It's a deadly disease. But, here's another chapter, and Zeref's ultimate weapon is revealed!

Thank you for your patience everyone, I hope it was worth it!

REVIEW PLEASE!

~Nom Nom :3