I've been thinking about this story a lot lately, so I just had to update it. I've rewritten this chapter at least 4 times because I couldn't make up my mind, so I hope that this decision doesn't haunt me.

Three months had passed since their first mission in the blink of an eye, and Fairy Tail was steadily losing members. The jobs were still flowing in like normal, which everyone was relieved about. The search for the island was still going strong for Fairy Tail and a few partnering guilds. The magic council had given up after the first month, but Lucy could understand why. It pissed her off, of course, but she expected them to give up quicker than they did.

A month ago Lucy and Sting welcomed a baby exceed - thankfully - from the egg that Sting had found. The young Dragon Slayer had decided to name his new friend Lector, and it suited him very well. Lector was a very fast learner when it came to learning how to talk, and Sting was trying his best to help the little cat learn how to fly. They were inseparable, and it melted Lucy's heart at how adorable they were.

Lucy was still very much heartbroken about her missing friends, but she stayed strong for Sting, and for Lector now too. They needed her to take care of them, they were just kids, she couldn't have Sting helping her every night. After the first time that Sting comforted her three months ago, she pushed her sadness behind an internal door and locked them away. The rare chances that she found herself alone, she would let her tears fall freely, letting the sorrow and worry wash over her completely. It hurt, fuck did it ever shatter her entire being to know that they were missing and there was nothing she could do. She at least felt a form of comfort having Sting around, he helped her focus on herself and him. If he wasn't around, she'd probably be locked away in her apartment and drowning in tears, or even stuck on the island with the others.

Now here the trio was, having lunch at the guild after they finished their training session. They sparred with each other often so Sting could build up his combat skills. He was always the first one that enemies would target since he was small, but they quickly regretted it when they found out just how strong the little shit was. Weisslogia had done an amazing job at teaching Sting with what little time they had together. He knew of secret techniques that his dragon had taught him, but he still wasn't quite powerful enough to preform them. His little Dragon's Roar was still super adorable in Lucy's eyes, even if it was able to cause quite a bit of damage.

"I told you to eat your vegetables." Lucy pointed a fork at Stings plate, motioning to the broccoli.

Sting puffed his cheeks and turned his head. "You're not making Lector eat vegetables."

She rolled her eyes and went back to her own food. "Lector is a cat, he's a carnivore. Why do you think he's always eating fish?"

Lector nodded happily around the raw fish in his mouth. "'Cause fish yummy!"

Sting grumbled and pushed the little tree devils around with his fork. "Dragon's are carnivores too."

She finished her salad and pushed her plate away, turning and facing the younger blonde with a grin. "Well it's a good thing you're not a dragon, huh?" She placed her hand on his head, turning it so he was facing her. "If you don't eat them then you'll get constipated."

Sting clicked his tongue and tried to force his head away. "Like I care."

Lucy scowled and grabbed a handful of the vegetables before shoving them in his mouth, her grin returning when he looked at her in horror. "They won't kill you!"

Max shuddered from his seat next to her. "The vegetables won't kill him but she might." He said to Alzak who was seated next to him. The black haired man nodded in agreement.

They both jumped in fright when she slowly turned to face them instead. "I'm not trying to kill him, I'm making him healthy." She stood, and even though she was shorter then them, she still managed to tower over them. "Are you criticizing my care giving skills?"

The two men cowered in fear at the dubbed 'Scary Lucy' and they quickly shook their heads. "No ma'am!"

Lucy smiled brightly. "Good!" She turned back to Sting and saw that he had finished off his food. "Was that so bad?"

No matter how much Sting wanted to say yes, he shook his head. "No, it was good."

Kinana giggled as she picked up the empty plates. "You know, I've gotten so used to Sting being around that I forget he's not a member."

Max nodded as he straightened his clothes. "Yeah, I never even thought about it that much. How come he's not a member? Did Macao say no?"

Lucy shook her head. "Sting isn't ready to become a member yet, he's waiting for-" She cut herself off before she could say his name. She didn't want to bring herself or the other members pain by bringing up one of their names. "He's waiting until he's stronger, he doesn't want to feel like he's dragging down the guild." She ignored Sting's confused look as she answered the Sand Mage.

"From what I've heard, he's quite the strong little fella, but if that's what he wants then we'll be here waiting until he's ready." Max smiled at the smaller blonde.

Sting gave a sheepish nod. No matter how much time he spends around the guild, he was still shy around anyone other than Lucy and Lector. He had only spoken a few words to some of the members, but he was mostly warming up to Kinana since she always served his food. He would like to make more friends, but he wanted someone his own age around, not a bunch of stuffy old men. The only other kid in the guild was Romeo, but he was half of Sting's age, Sting didn't want to hang out with someone that young. Lucy had tried to encourage him to do so, but it just wasn't fun for him when they spent time together. He wanted someone like Gray was to Natsu, a best friend and rival.

"He's like a tiny ball of destruction." Lucy sighed with a shake of her head. She turned to the smaller boy and gave a smile. "How about we do some meditating? After we digest our food, we can try out your Holy Ray again. Sound good?"

Sting nodded excitedly and quickly stood up. "Yeah!"

Lucy chuckled as she watched him dash towards the training grounds. He was always so excited to try out new techniques, he had only figured out how to use a few so far. Weisslogia had taught him so many that he wasn't able to actually make them very strong yet. So far he was skilled at using his Iron Fist and Dragon's Roar, and was still improving on his Dragon's Claw, he just couldn't get the stigmata to stay in place for very long. She could already tell that he would turn out to be an amazing Dragon Slayer.

Lucy and Sting high-fived when they left the clients home, a bundle of jewel held tightly in her free hand. "Another day, another mission completed by the Blonde Duo!" She grinned down at him.

Sting pumped his fist in the air and gave Lector a high-five with his other hand. "You know it! We gotta be the strongest team in Fairy Tail."

She laughed and flicked his nose as they started to walk towards their camp in the woods. They couldn't afford a hotel right now, but Lucy felt safe knowing that Sting was on high alert even while sleeping. Must be a Dragon Slayer thing. "We can't be a proper team if you're not a part of the guild. You should join already."

Sting huffed and folded his hands behind his head. "I'm still thinking about it."

"I join when Sting join!" Lector chimed happily, his little legs struggling to keep up with the two. His wings weren't strong enough to let him fly for long, only for about two minutes until he got too tired.

Lucy bent down and scooped up the little red cat without missing a beat in her steps. She gently stroked the now purring cat and a soft smile graced her lips. "Well I hope you figure it out soon, It'd be nice to see you as an official member."

He kicked a rock in his path as they made their way through the trees. "Yeah I know, I wanna join too, it's just..." He let out a sigh and dropped his arms. "It wouldn't feel right without Natsu there."

Her heart squeezed at the name but she kept her composure. "But imagine how surprised he'll be when he comes back and sees another strong Dragon Slayer has joined the guild? He'd be super excited to have another Dragon to fight."

He tilted his head back and forth in thought. "Maybe you're right. I guess I'll join when we get back tomorrow."

As she held a now sleeping Lector in her right arm, she wrapped her left one around Sting's shoulders. "No pressure, you don't have to if you don't want to."

He gave her a reassuring smile. "I want to."

Her own smile grew and she kissed his forehead. "Sounds good to me."

The sun was almost set by the time they made it back to their camp. They had just finished taking out a group of bandits that was terrorizing a small village, and the residents there gathered up as much jewel as they could so they could ask for help from a guild. The reward was fifty thousand, but after Lucy saw just how much damage the bandits had actually done, she only took half and her and Sting did what they could to help rebuild a few of the homes. They had thanked her over and over for their help, and it was almost embarrassing at the amount of praise she received.

Lucy snuggled into her sleeping bag by the fire and let out a soft sigh, watching as Sting did the same. She had to suppress a squeal when Lector cuddled up next the the blonde Slayer with a smile on his fluffy face. They were the cutest pair that Lucy had ever seen, she loved watching them play and laugh together. She loved that he had a friend now, but she wished that she could find him a human friend that was his age. She tried to get him to be friends with Romeo, but she could tell after the first few minutes that it wasn't going to work out. Sting needed someone his own age, not a boy half his age or herself who was five years older. Of course her and Sting were friends, but she wasn't a good roughhousing partner that he needed.

She felt herself drifting to sleep, her mind filled with thoughts of Sting and the missing members.

Lucy laughed as she watched Sting and Natsu spar, wide grins adorning their faces as they traded blows. Lector and Happy were off to the side while Happy taught Lector how to fly, the two exceeds giggling as the red cat jumped into the air only to face plant into the grass. Today was a gorgeous day, the sun shining brightly while she stayed under the shade. She was so happy that Sting finally found the courage to talk to the pink headed idiot, Natsu was teaching Sting all about Dragon Slaying magic and she had never seen the little blonde so enraptured about something.

She took a deep breath and enjoyed the fresh air, the slight breeze that brushed passed her felt amazing on her slightly heated skin. When a small whimper was heard, she turned her head to see Lector sniffling with tears in his eyes. She quickly stood up and made her way over to the two cats.

"What happened?" She asked as she picked up Lector, her fingers gently brushing over the small lump forming on his head.

"He's not very good at flying." Happy said with a frown.

She crouched down at lightly pinched the blue cats ear. "He's still a baby, I'm surprised he can even talk." She chuckled when he gave a small nod in understanding.

"Lucy, come fight with us!" Natsu called.

Lucy glared at the Dragon Slayers. "No way in hell! You two will kill me!"

Sting laughed and threw a hand behind his head. "Nah, you just gotta keep up!"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You guys take things way too far." She stood again, the now giggling cat still tucked in her arms. She walked over to the grinning pair and cocked a hip. "You guys are gonna blow the place up if you keep fighting."

Natsu lifted a flaming hand with a wicked smile. "I can do that for real if ya want."

She shot a swift kick to his stomach, sending him toppling to the ground. "Don't make me lock you up on Tenrou island."

Lucy's eyes shot open and a gasp left her lips when she felt someone shaking her awake. Her eyes quickly looked around before landing on Sting. He seemed worried, his eyes darting around them as if he was looking for something. It was dark out, the fire barely bright enough to illuminate their surroundings. Lector was held tightly in his arms and she sat up. "Sting, what-" She blinked when he placed a finger over his lips.

"I smell people, they're getting closer." He whispered. "I woke up earlier and had a weird feeling, like there was some kinda magic pressure nearby. Then I smelled them getting closer. What should we do?"

She slid out of her sleeping bag and placed a hand on her keys. "It's alright, they might just be other mages from a different guild." She had to try and calm him down, he seemed very nervous and on the verge of panicking. She knew he liked to fight, but he's never been ambushed before. "Just keep an ear out."

He gave a curt nod and focused his hearing on their surroundings. He heard the wind rustling the leaves, the crickets hidden in the grass, a squirrel rummaging in a tree, a branch snapping- He turned his head in the direction of the noise, the smell becoming stronger. He let out a small growl and moved closer to Lucy. "They're getting closer."

She stood, pulling him up with her. She didn't know if they should flee or if they should fight. Sting was a good fighter, but he was better when they had a plan. If they ran then the mages might chase after them, and who knows how fast they are. They could catch up and attack them from behind. But if they stayed and fought, then they would be able to get a clear view of their surroundings. She just really hoped that they weren't evil mages.

Sting's hold on Lector tightened slightly when he felt the red exceed start to tremble. He didn't want to scare his friend, but he needed all of them to be on high alert. He wanted to believe Lucy and think that they're just normal mages, but the smell of bad intent and the strong magic pressure in the air say otherwise. As they got closer, he quickly turned and placed Lector in a tree. "I need you to climb as high as you can and stay out of sight." He gave him a gentle smile when the exceed shook his head. "It's going to be alright, but we don't want you to get hurt." He let out a breath when he finally agreed and started quietly climbing up the tree.

Sting turned just in time to see a group of men walk out of the shadows and into the dim light. His brows furrowed when he smelled a familiar scent, but he didn't recognize and of the men standing there. He moved to stand next to Lucy and got ready for any of them to make a move.

"We finally found you."

Lucy's eyes widened when a man stepped forward from the group. "You." She pointed, her eyes hardening in anger. "You're the leader of the bandits we took out earlier. I thought we locked all you guys up?"

The man chuckled and shook his head. "You may have trapped my other comrades, but you didn't really think that they were the only ones I had, right?"

"But we got you too, how did you escape?" Lucy brushed her fingers over her keys, stopping on Leo.

"A little rope can't stop my magic." The man shrugged.

"They didn't tell us you were a mage." She ground out.

"That's because it was my little secret that I kept hidden away. One of my abilities will let me hide the presence of my magic." His eyes then land on the angry boy next to her, a wide grin splitting his face. "I'll let you go unharmed if you give me the Dragon Slayer."

Lucy sneered and stepped in front of Sting. "Like hell I'd do that, you'd have to kill me first."

Snickers ran through the air from the group in front of them. "Gladly." The leader said before sending a shadow shooting towards them.

Lucy pushed Sting out of the way so they could dodge the sharp shadow barreling at them. She pulled out a key and let her magic flow to her fingers. "Loke!" She called, a bright flash of light shining from the gold key.

As soon as he appeared, he was dashing forward, the light of Regulus covering his fists. The group split and Loke ran after a group of three men who were all wielding swords while Sting ran after a group of two men, leaving Lucy with the leader.

"You'll never get your dirty hands on him." She sneered, pulling out her whip and snapping it to the ground. The familiar blue waves shone in the dark and with all her might, she snapped it at the cackling man. She gasped when he vanished, her attack landing on the spot he just vacated.

"I can get my dirty hands on you if you prefer."

She gasped when he appeared behind her, a hand grabbing her wrist that was holding her whip while his other hand wrapped around her throat. She trashed in his hold, trying to break free from the slimy bastard. "Let me go!"

He shoved her to the ground, letting his shadows snake around her wrists. "I'll let you have a front row seat to watch me take him away from you." He cackles and stands, watching her wriggle on the ground. To his left, his men were in the process of restraining the Celestial Spirit, and to his right he saw that the remaining men had been taken out by the young Slayer. He licked his lips before stalking towards the boy. "You're much stronger than I thought, Boy."

"You leave him alone!" She shouted, trying to pull her arms away from the shadows that were binding them behind her back. "Help him, Loke!"

"Yes, Princess!" Loke turned away from the men he was fighting and dashed to the leader, sending a glowing kick at him. He gasped when he was wrapped in shadows and struggled in the tight hold. "You coward!"

Sting growled when the man stalked towards him, baring his small fangs at the intimidating man. He felt himself trembling in fear at the magic pouring from the Shadow Mage, but he held firm. He needed to help Lucy. He took a deep breath, letting his magic build in his throat. "White Dragon's; Roar!" He bellowed, spitting the laser like beam of magic at the enemy. His eyes widened and he took a step back when the man merged with the shadows. He whipped his head around to try and find him, sniffing the air and furrowing his brows when the scent disappeared. Where did he go?

Then he felt it; the strong presence behind him. He was able to duck before the hand could grab him, jumping away several feet and placing his palms together. He hasn't perfected this move yet, but he was still going to try. He had to, he was the only one that could fight. The pressure built in his hands, light shining from his palms. His fingertips were tingling as the magic grew in his hands before he finally released it. "Holy Ray!"

The leader grinned when small spears of light shot at him, and he waved his hands in a circle to create a shadow-like shield. "You're still not as strong as I need you to be, though." He waved his hands again and the shadow in front of him disappeared. He dipped into the ground once more before appearing behind the panting boy. "But I can easily change that." He placed his hands on either side of the blondes head and cast a sleeping spell, snickering when he fell limp to the ground.

Lucy struggled harder in the binds as she watched Sting fall. "Loke, go back!"

"I'm trying, but something is stopping me." The spirit panted.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Lucy ground her teeth, pulling harder and harder. She didn't care if she popped her shoulder, she just needed to get out. She watched as the leader crouched down and started waving his now glowing hands over Sting's head. "Don't you fucking touch him!" She screamed. She felt her magic pushing forward as she tried to summon another spirit. "Virgo!" She called, but the spirit never came. Lucy pushed her head into the ground, feeling the rocks dig into her forehead.

"What an interesting vessel." The leader smirked.

"Virgo!" She tried again, but there was nothing. "Capricorn!" Nothing. "Taurus!" Her keys flashed quickly before dimming. "Cancer!" Another flash. "Scorpio!" She was hitting her head against the ground now, tears pouring from her eyes as her keys glowed. "Please, anyone!" The keys dimmed at her hip, and she was left panting. She tried pushing her magic, but she just wasn't strong enough.

The leader picked up Sting and tossed him over his shoulder. "Such a lovely gift. I'll be on my way now." He waved before making his way away from the camp, the three men that hadn't been knocked out following behind.

"Get back here! Sting, wake up!" She cried, watching their retreating backs. "Please, don't take him away!" She couldn't lose him too, she needed him. But all she could do was watch as they walked away, the tears pooling on the dirt beneath her. She let out a loud cry when she couldn't see them anymore, her heart shattering.

He was taken, and there was nothing she could do about it. She was too weak, it was all her fault. She couldn't even get a hit in before she was captured and forced to watch as Sting was taken away. What was she supposed to do now?