I completely spaced last chapter and forgot to give papalogia credit for helping me come up with the title for this fic, along with God Serena's entrance speech! Thank you, Eien!

I'm ecstatic that so many of you are enjoying the fic thus far!

Once again, I not proofread this in the slightest.

JackaLu Week 2016

Day 2 Prompt - Barter

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 2:

Leash Laws Are Strictly Enforced

Jackal wasn't entirely certain where he was. All he knew was that he was dead. Probably. Where did demons go when they die? He'd assumed it wouldn't matter when he was alive, so he'd never given it much thought. Why bother when there were so many other things to make dead?

Regardless, whatever he'd expected, it hadn't been this place.

There was nothing all around him. Not just that he couldn't see anything, there was just... nothing there to see. He was... floating? Sort of? Jackal wasn't entirely certain, but he didn't really feel the need to breathe either. Probably wasn't air there in the first place, so that was good.

Dead was the only word he was coming up with for his current state of being.

Honestly, this was more boring than anything else. Jackal wasn't made for existential, philosophical musings. Literally was not made for it (that was what Mard and Seilah were for). He would scream to alleviate the tedium, or explode something, but again... no air. Which was necessary for ignition and for sound waves.

Anything was better than this place. Hell, he'd take Mard Geer's thorn prison over this.

Okay, maybe not that. Those thorns were bloodthirsty, and regrew way too fast for even Jackal's curse to keep up with.

At this point, all he could do was replay over and over again in his head how he'd come to be there. Staring down at a blonde woman, glowing with aquamarine light. His curse rebounding harmlessly off her shield of water. And then countless heavenly bodies appearing all around, more ancient than even he.

Then he'd... died.

It filled him with rage, burning inside of him with no release, no outlet.

How dare that uppity blonde bimbo reduce him, the great demon Jackal, to this state? How dare she relegate him to what would probably be an eternity within this limbo?

If he ever saw her again (unlikely though he knew it was), he was going to make her pay for this. Slowly. Or maybe quickly. ...No, slowly, he decided. Jackal wanted to savor her suffering. That bitch was going to pay.

And then... Jackal sensed that something was changing in the void. It took him... well he didn't actually know how long, his sense of time was all kinds of fucked up here. But eventually, he realized that it was tug on his senses, where previously there had been none. An urging to go somewhere.

Jackal followed it without question.

He found himself stepping onto something cool. Odd. He hadn't remembered trying to walk, or moving his legs at all. Bright, warm light hit his face. Jackal blinked furiously, and inhaled deeply. So many scents bombarded him. Grass, sweat, dirt, water, and... humans.

The demon felt his lip curl into a sneer of delight, as one human's scent in particular washed over him, saturated with terror. His ears pricked towards the sound of her quick heartbeat, even before her voice reached them.

"You aren't a celestial spirit..." No shit, Top Heavy. "What... did I summon a furry?"

His eyes finally adjusted to the light, he flicked his golden orbs in her direction.

The bane of his existence was kneeling on the ground, every muscle in her body shaking. Sweat beaded on her brow, her breath heavy. Her brown eyes were wide with fright, her pulse accelerating. Something was off about those eyes, he thought. But he brushed it off.

Behind him, he heard the other humans making a fuss. Let them. There was absolutely nothing they could do to stop him now.

He had exactly what he wanted right in front of him.

Something out there clearly liked him and wanted to let him have his fun.

"Well, well, well!" he crowed in triumph. "This is rich! This is too rich! If it ain't the bitch that murdered me! Must be my lucky day!"

Power surged through his veins, gathering in his hands. Oh good, that was still working. Now he could end her just the way he liked. "I'm going to enjoy exploding you sky high. You're going to rain down in Itty. Bitty. Pieces."

A whimper escaped her throat, and she unconsciously shrank back from his approaching form.

"Bye bye, Blondie!"

Light erupted from his hand, filling the world with white light.

The girl screamed as the ground exploded in front of her, dirt and rocks spraying into her face. She covered her face and coughed.

Jackal reached down, and grabbed her throat with one hand. With ease, he hauled her up until she was on her feet. "What, did you think it was going to be over that quickly?" He laughed. "No, I have a far better idea." His arm swept out in a grand gesture, bomb circles spreading across the field, penning the students in. "Let's play a little game!" Jackal laughed, and then leaned in close to her face - their noses almost brushing. He whispered, "I think you'll know this one!"

Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes, and she scratched weakly at the back of his hand. Blood trickled down her face from a laceration.

Loosening his grip slightly, Jackal pulled his head back. Letting her blackout this early would be no fun at all. "Now!" he announced, sweeping arm out to the crowd of terrified young humans. "Who shall be our lucky winners...?" His golden eyes alit upon a pair girls, the legs of one having given out. The other pulled at the blue-haired girl's clothes and arm, trying to get her to stand up. With a snap of his fingers, a circle of runes bloomed beneath the petrified girl's body. "I think we've found the first! As for the second..." His gaze passed over the crowd, finding one person not looking at him, but at the trapped girl. She even had blue hair just like the first, too! Another snap, and a new circle. "And there's the second. I think we'll keep it simple this time too, but..."

Jackal smiled at his captive. "Let's change it up just a little bit. The new rules are... choose one of the two to live, and then I'll choose another to weigh the first survivor against! We'll keep going until there's only one or two left. And then I'll just kill all of you. How does that sound?"

Warbled, incoherent wails of despair erupted from the blonde.

"Oh stop that!" he snapped. "Hurry up and choose, Blondie."

She shook her head. "No." Her voice was hoarse, and quiet. "I can't!"

Jackal squeezed the girl's throat a little tighter. As she gasped, Jackal prompted, "So which will it be? The crybaby, or headband girl? Who are you going to condemn, and who are going to save? The bomb's ticking, and this time there's no one coming to take your decision away."

"I wouldn't be so certain of that!" a cheerful voice announced behind him.

Before Jackal could react, something cold snapped around his neck. Needles, icy and hot raced through his veins. With a shout, he dropped the blonde and clawed at the source of his agony. Something solid and ridged pressed into his searching fingertips.

Snarling, he turned on the person that had done this to him. "What is this?!" Jackal hissed, the blond man in front of him smiling brightly.

"A collar. Leash laws are strictly enforced here, I'm afraid." The man shrugged, shaking his head in mock moroseness. "Also, it would reflect poorly on me as an educator should a student perish at the claws of their own summon while under my tutelage." His calm gaze flickered over to the students, and then met Jackal's once more. "Much less all of them. So how about you dispel those nasty circles, yes? The pain should stop once you do."

"Fuck you!" Jackal howled, curse power gathering in his claws. "If I blow you to smithereens, this collar should stop working!"

The man tsked, and waggled his finger condescendingly at the demon. "You shouldn't be so hasty! Cleaning chunks of demon out of my hair would take forever. And we've only just met - I would hate for you to perish from your own stupidity before I have the chance to ask you a few questions!" No sooner had the words left his mouth than a chiming sound emanated from his clothing. "Speaking of, the Ice Queen probably has a few for me now." Whipping out a small, clear ball from a hidden pocket, the blond man turned and strutted away. "Hello there, Ice Queen! Tis I, God Serena!"

Something pricked Jackal's side. "Slumber."

And everything went dark.

The demon crumpled to the ground in an unmoving heap.

With a heavy sigh, Freed sheathed his sword. "That should dispel the circles," he calmly announced to the frightened pack of first years.

Sure enough, the bombs were gone.

"Everyone remain calm!" Cana shouted, striding along the perimeter. "The threat has been neutralized! Please line up so I can perform a head count! Anyone who's injured, please come to the front if you can so you can be treated!"

Freed bent down to the girl shaking on the ground. He extended his hand out to her.

She flinched, and curled up on herself.

Sensing the problem, Freed withdrew the appendage. "My apologies, miss. Are you injured?"

The girl nodded, and gently touched her throat. Red welts the shape of claws encircled her entire neck. They were going to bruise horribly if left untreated. Even then, there probably wasn't a way to completely prevent the violent marking. "Please allow me to escort you to the infirmary, miss...?"

"Lucy," she whispered.

He gave her a kind smile. "Miss Lucy. I'm very sorry that you had to endure this."

Not knowing how to respond, Lucy kept silent.

"Lu!" a blue-haired girl called out, rushing over to the blonde's side. "Are you alright?!"

Soon, a second joined them. "Lucy!"

A weak, tremulous smile appeared on her face. "Levy... Wendy... I'm..." Lucy hiccupped, fresh tears pouring down her face. "I'm... hic... I'm happy you're... hic... alright!"

"Oh Lu!" The two petite girls wrapped their arms gently around their friend as she sobbed and clung to them with all her remaining strength.

In the end, the trip to the infirmary was postponed. Serena, after his conversation on his communication crystal, had instead ordered Lucy to visit the headmaster's office. The healer would meet her there, and she would be treated and questioned.

Lucy was a little surprised when Freed was also instructed to accompany her and Serena. Freed himself, however, seemed nonplussed by the situation. He had simply gone over to the demon, picked him up, and threw him over his shoulder. As if the demon weighed no more than a sack of potatoes. Then Freed had turned to Cana and asked her to keep order by herself until a spare teacher could be found to complete the remaining summoning rituals as scheduled. (To which she saluted with a bottle - where had she gotten that?) Lucy had a hard time believing that her fellow students would be willing to continue, however. Not after what had just occurred.

Obediently, Lucy had accompanied her instructor. The blonde made sure to keep Serena solidly between her and Freed's burden, however.

Now she was seated in an austere room. Long, elegant, wrinkled hands carefully inspected her abused throat. The healer was an old woman named Porlyusica; a woman possessed of pink hair and a ferocious scowl. But her touch was gentle as she smeared some sort of paste onto Lucy's exposed skin. "Will prevent most of the bruising," Porlyusica explained gruffly.

"Thank you," Lucy murmured in reply.

Her job complete, Porlyusica wiped her hands with a cloth. "I will leave you this ointment. Apply it every couple of hours, and come see me tomorrow. There's no lasting damage as far as I can tell, but it'll be best to rest your throat for a couple of days." She turned a glare towards Serena, and the bespectacled man behind the desk waiting on them. "Don't ask her too much, Invel."

The frosty-eyed man pushed his glasses up his nose. "There's no need for an extended interrogation, I assure you. I believe I have a handle on what happened already, and can venture guesses as to why." The assistant headmaster turned his intense gaze on Lucy herself. "I only have a couple of things I wish to ask of you. Then you may return to your dorm room to rest, Miss Heartfilia."

Huffing, Porlyusica pressed a container into Lucy's hands. "I'll hold you to that."

Invel bowed his head. As soon as the healer had departed, he glanced over at the side room. Behind the locked door lay the demon Lucy had summoned. "For now, your demon is unconscious." Turning back to Lucy, his eyes bored into hers.

Lucy repressed a shudder. Invel's gaze was the opposite of the demon's, liquid moonlight, cold and rigid. However... something about it reminded her too much of the demon's molten gold eyes that burned with hate.

"I'll be brief," Invel stated, either not noticing Lucy's wariness or - more likely - not caring. "Although my inspection wasn't as thorough as I would have liked, I was able to determine that he's a higher class artificial demon."

Drawing back, Lucy stared at him in horror. "He's... man-made?"

"That is the assumption, yes." Invel shrugged. "To be frank, I've only ever seen one other of his species. That demon is contracted to another student a couple of grades higher than yours. Though that particular student did not encounter the same difficulties you did; perhaps due to her experience contracting other demons, along with having summoned him later in her schooling. Regardless, I've arranged for you to meet so you may learn how to manage your own demon."

Lucy shook her head violently, ignoring the painful twinges in her throat the action caused. "Not..." She glanced down, her white-knuckled fists clenching her skirt. "He's not my demon."

Invel was silent for a moment. "You are incorrect. He is your demon." Lucy's head snapped up, meeting the assistant headmaster's frigid eyes. "You summoned him. As such, he is your responsibility henceforth." He cut her off as she opened her mouth to protest. "I'm going to be honest and direct with you, as you seem like a smart child. This isn't the first time a summon has turned on its master. In fact... it happens more often than you'd think."

Beside her, Serena shrugged helplessly. "We don't like to tell you young 'ins about that, of course. Would make you too nervous to try. And of course that would lead to a higher rate of being attacked by your own summon."

"It's a risk you take in binding other sentient beings to you," Invel continued, picking up smoothly from where Serena left off. "That being said, we're not without pity. Or more importantly, we're not without recourse. Tell me..." His gaze intensified, something dark swimming inside the icy orbs. "What did you do to this demon to make him hate you so passionately that his soul became bound to your own?"

Lucy's eyes were wide. "Nothing!" she defended herself. "I've never met it... him... before! Not once!"

Invel's stare did not lessen in intensity. "Are you quite certain?"

"Yes!"

Unexpectedly, Invel's face relaxed. He leaned back in his chair. "Very well. I believe you. So now the question would be what to do about your summon. It would be troublesome to have him attack other students."

Lucy thought it would be a good sight more than merely troublesome, but she kept her mouth shut.

The way the corner of Invel's mouth twitched upward at her stubborn silence gave her the impression that she'd just passed a test of some sort.

After a minute, Serena spoke up. "If it's a grudge binding, then the best way to get a summon to leave is to dissipate the demon's rage. A summon can't be forcefully dispelled by anyone other than the original summoner, and not without a lot of training. So unfortunately, he's going to have to be part of your life for a while. There's a number of restraints we can put on him to keep him line until you're strong enough to send him on his way without his permission." Serena let out a short laugh. "Or until he forgets about it himself."

Her heart sinking, Lucy glanced between the two men. "I can't... I don't..." Her eyes burned, but she refused to let the tears fall. "How can I live with a creature that hates me so much? That's tried to murder me and my friends?" Unable to stop them, droplets slid from down her cheeks, and into her lap. "He... he..." Lucy out a sob. "He wanted me to choose! He was going to make me choose which of my friends lived, and which ones died! How can I coexist with that... with that creature?" She lifted her head. "How?!"

Invel tapped his finger against his desk. "That's something you'll have to figure out."

Comfortingly, Serena patted Lucy's shoulder. "We'll keep him as he is now for a few days. Still have a couple of tests to run, after all. This will give you the chance to learn more about how to handle his kind, as well."

Looking up at him, Lucy nodded weakly. A small smile crept across her face. "Maybe his mood will improve after a long nap."

"That's the spirit!" Serena declared, standing up. "You're quite right. A nap might do wonders for his disposition. Always does for Acno! Now then..." He offered her his arm. "Shall I do you the tremendous honor of having I, the great God Serena, escort you to your dorm?"

Gently, Lucy placed a hand on her teacher's outstretched arm. "Thank you."

She didn't think she would be ready, though. No matter what her instructors believed.

To be continued…