Hi guys!

Once again, sorry for the long wait! Varsity has been hectic these last few months. This chapter was weird to write, kind of like a burst of inspiration that just wouldn't stop coming.

It was the sound that bothered her. Or rather, the lack of sound. Under any other circumstances, it would have been peaceful, but now the silence seemed cold, deafening. The heavy duvet weighed down on her chest, constricting her breathing, pinning her arms to her side. It was too hot. The heat smothered her cries of desperation as she fought against the bonds tying her to the bed. The bed pulsed, once, twice, then disappeared beneath her. She fell and as she fell, flames surrounded her and coursed along her skin, licking their way up her delicate skin. It hurts… It hurts…

NO!

-x-

Lucy shot up, heart thudding in staccato beats, fighting to free itself from the iron bonds of her skin. A sheen of sweat glimmered on Lucy's forehead, dripping slowly down the side of her face. Lucy glanced wildly around, trying to see what could have made her wake up so violently; all she spied was a pair of naked legs… leading to a well-toned chest… a shock of blonde hair… stormy eyes glaring at her from the floor.

"Blondie, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Laxus frowned up at her. His tousled hair draped sexily over his eyes, his head propped on a single muscular arm. Lucy gulped and glanced around the library again. Their books were scattered around the room, scientific documents covering the tables and almost every available surface. They really ought to clean this up to make their organisation easier.

Lucy was standing up, looking for her clothes, when the screaming started. It was muffled, and yet she could hear it as clearly as if it were in the room with her. A man's guttural roar was echoing up the bolted staircase entrance, growing more and more desperate with each breath. Clad only in her bra and panties, Lucy glanced at Laxus and ran for the door, flinging it wide, skidding on discarded notes and papers. Ignoring Laxus' hollers for her to stop, she ran straight to the bolted door. She cursed her trembling fingers as she tried to open each bolt, fumbling desperately with the stiff metal. She flung the door open and sprinted through the darkness to the lower floor, hesitating only a moment before jerking the door open.

The vile stench of rot assailed her nose as she stumbled through the door. It was so much worse than it had been two days ago. The slime from decomposed corpses lined the floor as Lucy slipped and skidded her way towards the weakening screams. She was dimly aware of Laxus' hulking body running after her, but her sole concern was finding the owner of those horrific sounds and helping them. A door on her left had been wrenched off of its hinges, and its cracked carcass tossed violently against the opposite wall. Lucy followed the trails of fresher blood towards a cell on the far eastern side of the building. A symphony of rasping growls reached her ears. Ripping and tearing accompanied the brutal sounds of blood splattering against solid surfaces.

Lucy peeked into the room, her heart thudding wildly in her chest. She dared not make a sound, though she could feel hysterical shrieks building in her throat. In the middle of the cell towered a small pyramid of people. Not quite people… not quite human. The rotting corpses pushed against each other, straining to reach a hole in the ceiling. The jagged hole, Lucy could only think, must have been created by a human, although she could not remember seeing it when she had checked this side of the hospital. Inside the hole, barely out of reach of the snatching hands, Lucy spied an enraged face streaked with tears; a face partly covered by a shock of pink hair.

Peering lower, Lucy noticed that the base of the pyramid was zombies crouched over a disembowelled body, one bloody hand still twitching. The guttural moans emanating from the corpses was almost enough to make Lucy sick; bile rising into her throat, she turned away from the door and huddled into Laxus' body, wishing it would end, hating herself for wishing death on another human being. As the last of the moans faded and all that could be heard was melted corpse upon melted corpse, fighting their way to the top, Lucy peeked in again.

He had his eyes shut tightly, tears streaming down his gaunt cheeks, his lip caught so tightly between his teeth that blood dribbled down his chin. His eyes opened – they shone with fury and defiance, darting around the cell, eyeing the corpses below him and finally shooting to the door, his only chance of escape. His eyes widened as he spotted Lucy's horrified face. Lucy frantically put a finger to her lips, urging him to be silent, praying desperately that she would see a way to free him from certain death.

A spark of inspiration hit her, and she signalled to the pink-haired boy to wait and stay silent. He gave a grim nod just before she turned back to Laxus. Lucy stared up at him with tearful, pleading eyes, her face pale.

"Laxus, help me. He's the only other one we've seen alive."

Laxus glared down at her, arms folded against his chest. Save this whelp, who managed to get himself trapped in such a hopeless situation? Risk his life to save this incompetent brat with stupid hair? But, gazing down at Lucy's pleading face, he felt his heart skip a beat. This brat might know more than Laxus, he had been out with the corpses longer than either Laxus or Lucy had. Laxus sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned.

"For God's sake, Blondie, if we die, I'll come back just to kill you."

Laxus gripped Lucy by her upper arms tightly and whispered gruffly, "Run to the stairwell. Don't wait for me. I'll see you later."

Before Lucy could protest, Laxus had turned her around and shoved her hard. She stumbled and as she turned around to look at him, he yelled, "RUN!"

Lucy ran as she'd never run before. Her muscles screamed out in agony, her head was filled with the chorus of corpses groaning, her heart pumping blood to all of her extremities. The adrenaline was electrifying, pushing her forward, even as she sobbed, even as she thought she'd never see anyone alive again.

-x-

The sun had sunk slowly below the horizon, beyond the empty wasteland that was all Lucy could see from the library windows. It was dark outside, the stars twinkling so faintly that they hardly appeared to be there at all. Lucy distracted herself from the pain gnawing at her heart by trying to spot the constellations; all she could see was Leo.

"Leo, Leo… why did I send Laxus out to die?"

The constellation glowed brighter, twinkling at Lucy, pulsing softly. Rivulets of tears worked their way down Lucy's cheeks. Why had she just run out like that? It had been so stupid. And to leave Laxus there with no help or support, to just leave him to die with those rotting creatures… Lucy had never felt shame such as she was feeling at that very moment. Such a coward…

Just then, a steady knocking began on the stairwell door. Slow, steady, continuous. Lucy stood shakily and worked her way to the bolted door, praying as she'd never prayed before. She stood, ready to unlock the door, but caution prevented her from moving her fingers to slide open the bolts.

"H-hello? Who is it?"

A loud, exasperated sigh reached her ears from the other side of the door: a sigh that Lucy knew all too well. She eagerly wrenched the bolts open and yanked the door, her face lighting up as she saw Laxus' grouchy face. Behind him stood the pink-haired man, face frozen in an expression of confusion and mild hope. Lucy stood aside, beaming at the two men. They followed her silently back to the library which she had just that afternoon tidied, in a futile effort to distract herself.

Laxus threw himself into an armchair, folded his arms and glared at Lucy. Lucy fluttered her eyelashes, gave him a small smile and mouthed, "Thank you". The pink-haired man hovered uncertainly in the doorway, looking as if he wanted to either lie down and pass out, or run away as quickly as he could. Lucy beckoned him over with a nod of her head, smiling slightly at his nervousness. As soon as he reached where she was standing, she stuck out her hand and introduced herself in a bubbly voice.

"Hi! I'm Lucy. I'm so glad we found you, it's nice to see another human face in this place. Well, a human face that isn't always grouchy or trying to eat you, anyway."

Lucy threw a sly glance at Laxus, her lips perking up as his scowl deepened. The pink-haired man scratched his head with a bashful smile, then gently grasped her hand in his.

"I'm Natsu. Listen, thank you for sending him to save me. Thanks for not leaving me alone. I mean, I could have got out of there alone but my friend… Elfman… he was hurt and I couldn't leave him. Next thing I knew, those things were everywhere."

Natsu trailed off as his eyes welled up. Lucy's heart broke for the poor man, who'd had to watch his friend be devoured alive, and then left him. She gripped his hand tightly and led him out towards the kitchen, babbling about all the food that was in there. Laxus watched them leave with a murderous expression. Why was Blondie holding hands with that brat? She just met him. Yeah, the brat was scared and upset, and had every reason to be, but she didn't need to hold his hand. Her hands could be busy with better things… Laxus shook his head, willing the perverted images to dissipate. Laxus stood and stretched, every vertebra in his spine cracking as he reached his hands toward the ceiling. Better to go and keep an eye on those two… next thing she'd be making out with him on Laxus' bed.

The kitchen was brightly lit, and Lucy and Natsu were jabbering away as if they'd known each other all their lives. Plates of hot dinner sat nearly untouched in front of them, glasses of juice half-empty to their side. Laxus stalked to the two and grabbed Blondie's plate. Ignoring her objections, he turned to Natsu and spoke gruffly, asserting his dominance.

"You're sleeping next door, Lucy and I are staying here. Keep that door bolted. Try anything funny and I will rip you apart."

Defiance danced in Natsu's eyes, but he bit his tongue, spat out an acknowledgement and stalked off next door, leaving Lucy gazing distraught after him. Lucy turned to face Laxus, hands on hips, face burning with irritation.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk, Laxus? We were just getting to know one another!"

Laxus dumped the plate of food unceremoniously on the table, grabbed Lucy around the waist and pulled her to him, pressing his groin against hers.

"Don't screw with me, Blondie. I want you, and I want you now. I know you want me too. Are you gonna come with me to bed or are you gonna stay up all night talking to that brat?"

Lucy's eyes flared, but she knew he knew what she'd say. She yanked his head down to hers, twining her fingers in his shaggy blonde locks, assaulting his mouth just as violently as he was attacking hers. He reached down and lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist, feeling her heat blaring against his covered erection. He stumbled over to the makeshift bed, lay her down on it and began peeling her minimal layers of clothing off. When she lay covered only by her bra and panties, he spoke.

"If you ever leave my sight wearing nothing but underwear again, Blondie, I will tie you to this machine and leave you here. That pink-haired brat doesn't get to see you in your underwear again. Understand?"

Too overcome by the pleasure his hands on her chest were making her feel, she could only nod as he yanked her panties down and her bra away from her well-endowed chest. He traced a finger delicately down the side of one breast, down over her navel, further towards where she was aching for him to touch her. His hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs circling and flicking over her sensitive nipples, causing her to cry out in pleasure. Her moans grew in volume as his fingers dipped lower, an agonisingly pleasurable groan escaping her lips as he slipped inside.

He curled his fingers just right, and she panted with ecstasy, gripping tightly onto the blankets. Her chest thrust towards the air and she felt as if her heart would fly right through her chest with how hard it was beating, and then he curled his fingers again and she was flying flying flying –

Coming down from her high, Lucy still felt the burning tingles on her body, everywhere he had touched her set alight by his rough caresses. Oh, but he was good. She eyed his erection straining viciously against the bindings of his pants ass he hovered over her, eyeing her delightfully naked, sweaty body. She reached up to his shoulder and shoved, rolling him over so that she could sit astride him. Trailing her fingers lazily down from his neck along his naked chest, she began to undo the bindings. Once he had sprung free, Lucy inched her way down his body, kissing and sucking as she went. Once she was face to face with his engorged member, she smiled seductively.

"Now, what can we do about this?"

-x-

6 year old Lucy danced along the hallways of her father's house, pretending to be a ballerina. She twirled on her tippy toes, leaped like a gazelle, her arms floating elegantly like feathers on the wind. Her heart soared, her spirit was free.

Mei stood at the end of the corridor, watching the insipid waif of a girl dance. The rage and envy churned within Mei's stomach as she glared at this little brat who, despite being everything an heiress should not be, still harboured all the love her father could give. No, Jude hardly demonstrated his love for his daughter, but it was there in every syllable of every sentence he spoke of her. The unerring pride in his voice when he spoke about her, or when his clients and acquaintances asked about her, was irritating beyond any irritation Mei had ever felt. This little brat had to poison her father against her, or the Heartfilia inheritance would fall not to Mei, but to Lucy. Lucky Lucy Heartfilia.

As Lucy reached the end of the hallway, a strange sensation came over her. Her arms and legs grew numb, and she could no longer feel them when they moved. Her brain was fogging over, becoming cloudy, and though Lucy struggled against the fading light, she soon succumbed to the darkness.

When she awoke, she was surrounded by a crowd of servants, including Capricorn. She sat up woozily, her head spinning, her limbs shaky.

"Wh-what happened? Why am I on the floor?"

Her timid voice brought relief to the servants, but they feared for her safety. They all stared horrified at the flight of stairs behind her, the stairs Jude was descending with an expression of such fury that the servants couldn't even bear to look at it. Lucy stared with tears in her eyes at her father, who had never looked so furious and violent.

"Dad? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jude grabbed her upper arms, wrenched her around to face the giant family portrait on the wall behind her. Or rather, what was left of the portrait: the beautifully detailed artwork, the fine brush strokes of the greatest painter in Fiore, all wrecked. Ripped to shreds, hanging in tatters. Jude's face, Layla's face… destroyed. Below the gilded frame lay a single golden key… Capricorn's key.

"Lucy! Why would you destroy your mother's portrait in such a way? Have you no idea what this portrait cost?"

Jude roared at Lucy, shaking her violently so her head clacked back and forth. She wailed, begging him to stop, begging the servants to help her, but nobody could move, so frozen in shock were they. Only Capricorn stepped forward to help her. Clapping a fist down onto Jude's shoulder, he yanked the enraged man away and folded the sobbing Lucy into the protection of his arms. Staring stonily down at the man who called himself Lucy's father, Capricorn spoke.

"Jude-sama, use your reason. Lucy is far too short to reach the top of this portrait where the cuts start. It was not Lucy-sama who did such a heinous act – I believe it was your precious Mei-sama."

The other servants joined in their pleas for Jude to forgive Lucy, to stop hurting her and, for a moment, it appeared as though Jude would relent. Jude's eyes cleared of the red fog for the briefest of seconds, but a delicate touch on his shoulder and the dulcet tones of Mei forced him back into fury.

"Why, Mr Capricorn, are you saying I committed such a terrible crime? Poor, delicate, me, ripping that portrait with such hate and fury? No, my dear sir, I believe you are mistaken. I could never hurt my darling Jude in such a cruel manner."

Her sweet voice reached each of the servants, and they wondered why they had ever believed that such an angelic woman could possibly be responsible for the crimes they had accused her of. They turned slowly, menacingly, towards Capricorn and Lucy. Mei pointed a shaky finger at the pair, and wailed.

"Get her away from him! He's going to hurt her and I could never stand such a thing!"

The servants lunged as a single wave towards the pair. Capricorn did his best to protect and shelter Lucy, but she collapsed to the floor as the servants overpowered him. Her head smacked against the corner of the wall and for the second time that day, her vision faded.

-x-

Lucy shot up, shrieking. Her head throbbed, ached, her brain pounded against the confines of her skull. She whirled around, looking for… something. She couldn't remember what (or who?) it was that she sought, but futile searching only made her panic more. She ran from room to room on the upper floor, frantically searching, desperately hoping that she would find whatever it was.

She collapsed into a pile in the library, sobbing as though all the happiness had left her. She stared up, distraught, through the unshuttered windows. Leo's constellation once again caught her eye, and it seemed to glow even brighter than before, blinding white flashing at her eyes.

It hit Lucy. Like a bomb, the knowledge seemed to explode from inside her head. Clawing at her head to restrain the screams working their way up her throat, Lucy struggled to make sense of what her mind was screaming at her.

-x-

When Laxus entered the library some three hours later, he found her furiously scribbling on the papers they'd scattered in chaotic piles.

"Magic! Laxus, it's magic! That's what this whole place runs on, look! And there are keys, and the keys call the constellations, and that's what I can do! Laxus, look! I've got all the calculat-"

"Blondie, what the hell happened to you?"

Laxus interrupted her hysterical babbling with his abrupt question. He folded his arms and stared down at her. This was the most frazzled he'd seen her, and considering the horrors they faced in this hospital, that was saying something.

As he sat down to listen to the agitated blonde's frantic explanations, Laxus wondered, not for the first time, what the hell was happening in this hospital.

Okay, pretty lame ending. Writer's inspiration petered out. xD

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter (don't judge my inability to write proper smut!).

Please review and let me know what you thought, I really am loving hearing from you all

Bonus request: If anyone has any suggestions for how to write smut without it sounding as awkward, cliché and mechanical as I make it sound, I would really appreciate some advice. Help me in a review if you're brave, or PM if you'd rather it be a secret :P