As Lucy heard the door open above, she backed into the corner quickly, like she did every time someone came down. She knew it wasn't time to eat so why someone would be coming down concerned her.
The faint smell of sulfur wafted under her nose and she froze stock still. Natsu was approaching her cell. She didn't need to see him to know it was him, she knew simply by the sound of his shuffling down the steps and the smell of his magic.
"Hey Luce, long time no see," Natsu spoke, the friendly tone seemed hollow. He waited a moment, watching her. Her fear palpable.
Lucy refused to look at him as she curled in on herself in the corner, he didn't sound right and she didn't want to see the same despondent look in his eyes that she did in her nightmares.
"Aww Luce, don't be like that, it's me, your partner, your best friend." Natsu's face was contorted into a cruel smile.
Natsu inhaled deeply while he stared at the small form of Lucy huddled in the corner as far away from him as possible. "You smell wonderful Lucy, even better than the day we beat you unconscious."
Lucy couldn't control the tears as they streamed down her face and she unwillingly let out a small sob. This garnered a loud reaction from the fire dragonslayer. "LOOK AT ME GODDAMNIT" Natsu growled out fiercely.
Lucy all but jumped out of her skin as she raised her head to look at the shell of the man she knew. This wasn't him, this wasn't the same Natsu that brought her to Fairy Tail, the one that stuck with her through thick and thin.
His eyes were vacant of emotion, they held no anger despite his sharp and hostile demand. He looked identical to the Natsu of her nightmares as he started to smile menacingly at her. She noticed his right shoulder had a faint glow from where she had seen bite marks over a year ago.
"You caused a lot of trouble, he's angry with you Lucy, he's very angry." the slayer chuckled.
Lucy didn't know who "he" was but she knew without a doubt that Cobra didn't eliminate the entire dark guild. Something she had feared from the very moment she woke up at the Inn.
"He's waiting to finish what Black Sun started, you were their favorite toy after all. Sadly, the rest of them won't be around to enjoy it. Don't worry though, he has plans."
Lucy had been trying really hard not to shut down mentally, but with the clear threat of returning to the tortured life she had been living, her mind went on autopilot reliving the memories of the past year. Some of which her mind forcibly left forgotten.
Natsu was smiling again as he watched Lucy break down, "That's it, remember all those wonderful moments. This time when he gets his hands on you, there will be no saving you. Do you know what he wants to do? He wants to slowly flay your skin open, while you watch. He wants to use you like the whore that you are, he's glad he can do what he wishes now that he doesn't have to answer to the guild. He is going to go after Cobra and turn him into a mindless puppet to help torture you for what he did, just like he has done with me and the rest of our team."
Lucy began to rock slowly in an unconscious effort to soothe herself as she relieved the nightmare and began to imagine what was to come. The jarring words coming from a voice that had once soothed her and supported her were too much. She knew at that moment that her time of freedom was over and that it was foolish to think it would last. That she had a chance at happiness, that the two men she relied on so heavily would come to her rescue. She learned long ago to not be foolish enough to wish for such things.
Wendy ran as fast as her legs could carry her once they got off the train in Magnolia. Midnight and Freed were close on her heels. Carla was smart enough to keep up but let Wendy take the lead. The cat knew that when it came to those she considered her family, there was no messing with her dragoness side.
Wendy burst through the doors of the guild slowing her run to a fast walking pace, ignoring all the stunned looks and strained greetings. She marched her small body up the stairs and slammed open the door to Laxus's office.
Laxus jumped to his feet in a defensive stance, realizing it was Wendy he was shocked. The two slayers simultaneously yelled at each other. Laxus yelled "What the hell Wendy" while Wendy yelled, "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Wendy became aware of the other person in the room, someone she didn't recognize, but there was a faint stench that clung to him that seemed vaguely familiar. She looked at him with disdain, "get out" she demanded.
Laxus, shocked by Wendy's uncharacteristic behavior, "The hell he won't, we are discussing his admission to Fairy Tail."
"There are more important matters that we need to discuss right now," Wendy demanded. Laxus knew by her whole demeanor that dealing with Wendy was indeed more important.
Laxus turned to the strange man that appeared moments after team Natsu left his office, "If you would please excuse us".
The man nodded in return, "No problem, I will wait downstairs at the bar", he stood and left the office smirking to himself as he descended the staircase.
Laxus sat down, hoping to de-escalate the anger in the room. He looked up at Wendy who was not following suit, "Sit down."
Wendy stood and stared at Laxus, in defiance, refusing to listen to his suggestion., "Wendy sit down, now."
"To hell I will" Wendy spat, "What did you do with her?"
Laxus looked toward the furious girl, puzzled by her question, "What did I do with who?"
Wendy approached the desk with anger, "Lucy, what did you do with Lucy, where is she?"
Laxus rose to his full height shaking his head in dismay and frustration, "Lucy is dead, why can't you accept that?"
Wendy, disbelieving of what she was hearing, growled deep in her throat, "She is alive you idiot and you took her?"
Laxus's skin started cracking as his magic flooded his system along with his anger, "That imposter I found at my safehouse?" He chuckled humorlessly, "You think that wild animal of a person is Lucy?"
Wendy's hair started to turn to her signature dragonforce pink as she growled deeper in anger, "How DARE you call her a wild animal, you have NO IDEA what she has been through."
Midnight and Freed entered the office and both men realized that this argument could quickly turn to disaster. Freed spoke up, "Laxus, if I may interrupt for a moment."
Laxus glared menacingly at his long-time friend and teammate, "What".
"I have not seen this person in question, but what reason do you have to not believe Wendy?"
"She smells nothing like Lucy, she looks almost nothing like Lucy. How the hell could it possibly be her?"
Before anyone could answer him, there was a loud bang and Laxus knew with his keen sense of smell and hearing that this day was about to get worse. As everyone exited the office to see what the commotion was all about, Lauxs uttered to himself "For fucks sake, what now?".
Much to Laxus' chagrin and Wendy's relief, the guild doors were kicked open by Cobra with Bickslow towering just behind him. Both men were seething with anger and the babies were flying around in a highly agitated manner.
Cobra assessed the guild hall quickly and spotted a man looking nervous at the bar. The moment he made eye contact and sniffed the air Cobra knew.
Bickslow, unaware of who Cobra was looking, could feel the fury radiating from his partner and the Seith mage had a split second to assess why. Bickslow's arm shot toward Cobra, "Hey man" was all Bickslow managed to say before he realized that Cobra's eyes were locked on an unfamiliar man at the bar.
"Mother fucker" rumbled out of Cobra's mouth.
Bickslow's looked over the person Cobra was staring intently at. His hair was a dirty blonde color or just simply dirty, it was hard to tell. He was of average height, average build, and had an intimidating frame. The clothes on his back were plain and there was nothing at all remarkable about the man. However, Bickslow's mind immediately recognized him as one of the more active assailants while Lucy was imprisoned.
Before anyone could say another word, Bickslow's whole composure shifted to that of anger and rage. His eyes glowed a dark foreboding green color. His body moved swiftly toward the man at the bar, ready to attack. Bickslow barely registered the sudden movement around the guild as Erza and Gray both moved toward the man as well. Just as the infuriated seith mage was about to land a decent punch Erza and Gray stepped in front of the man in question.
Before Bickslow could react further, he felt a pair of arms pull him away.
Cobra struggled to pull Bickslow away from the man. While Cobra would have loved nothing more than to watch his partner beat the man to a pulp, he realized that Bickslow was experiencing something never seen by anyone in the building before.
Purple haze was emanating from Bickslow's labored breathing. Cobra could smell the toxic aroma that was so familiar, "As sexy as it would be to watch you beat him to a pulp, now is not the time." Cobra whispered in Bickslows ear in an attempt to distract him and calm him.
From the balcony, Laxus let out a large burst of electricity to break up the commotion below. His deep baritone voice rumbled throughout the guildhall, "What is going on?"
When Bickslow and Cobra looked toward the balcony they could see Laxus flanked by Wendy, Freed, and Midnight. The tension among them was palpable and quickly spread to the rest of the guildhall as silence swept through the building.
Erza approached Bickslow and Cobra, "What is the meaning of this? Attacking an innocent man at the bar?".
Gray, helping the man to his feet, "Yea, what gives, what the hell did he ever do to you?"
Cobra tried to listen to their souls, but there was some level of static that he could not sift through. It wasn't there in the past and he fastly became frustrated at his inability to hear their soul's clearly.
It was Wendy that drew everyone's attention away as she hurried down the stairs and straight toward Bickslow and Cobra her eyes rimmed red with tears. Cobra opened his arms to the smaller blue-haired slayer and she ran right into them much to the surprise and great dismay of many in the guild.
Wendy didn't have to say a word, in fact, no one did. The level of confusion, frustration, and anger was reaching a crescendo. Cobra knew that nothing he said now would help, it would only spur on more anger and resentment.
The entire gild was keenly aware of the trio and their closeness and suspicions flew wildly that Cobra poisoned and corrupted those around him.
Erza spoke firmly with a command that would make lesser people quake, "I demand to know what the meaning of all this is?" the clanking of her armor brought everyone out of their confused stupor.
Bickslow was the first to speak, "This asshole deserves to rot in hell." The venom in his voice struck a nerve with Laxus.
As Laxus, Freed, and Midnight continued down the stairs, he responded to Bickslow's accusatory comment, "Who the fuck are you to judge this man. He came here seeking to join our guild, and I am granting it. You haven't even been here the last few months, and here you come bursting through these doors with this poisonous prick and act like this?"
As Laxus got closer he smelled the fact that they were mated, his face turned to one of disgust, "You shacked up with this fucker?" The accusation and disdain were so strong in Laxus' voice that Bickslow took a step back.
"You watch your tongue lightning bug, or I will devour it and savor every minute while you scream in pain." Cobra hissed at the man as he took a step toward Laxus.
Laxus looked past Cobra to Bickslow, "So this is what you prefer huh? A sick sadistic bastard who enjoys other people's pain? Can someone tell me why again we allowed him in this guild?"
Bickslow seethed, "You question his allegiance to the guild, but you are willing to let that join?" as he pointed to the man at the center of all the animosity. "Do you even know who he is? Do you what he did to her?" The raw emotion in Bickslow's voice gave some members of the guild pause.
While Bickslow may have been an outsider amongst its members, as a long-standing member of the guild it gave much food for thought to see that Bickslow took up such a strong and instant dislike to the newest potential member.
Cobra had enough. He walked up to Laxus who was marginally larger than him and shoved him in the chest and yelled "Where is she?"
"Where is who?" Laxus asked as he stepped further into Cobra's personal space.
"Lucy, where the fuck is Lucy?" as Cobra said the words he heard a wave of grief and disbelief among the souls around him. Clearly, no one believed she was alive.
"Again, that thing I brought in is not Lucy, it is just some wild animal of a woman I found on my property" Laxus replied exhaustedly. The defeat was evident in his voice. This time it was Bickslow that had to hold Cobra back. The poison slayer had had enough. "You are the stupidest mother fucker I ever met".
Midnight, who watched the events unfold asked the most sensible question yet,
"Laxus, do you mind taking us to this woman in question?"
"I will when everyone calms the fuck down" Laxus yelled above the din of conversation throughout the guild.