Lucy's body shuddered as a cold breeze jolted her awake. As she observed her surroundings, the blonde wasn't even sure where she was. It was almost pitch black. She could barely see six inches in front of her.

The Celestial Mage could feel her shoulders attempting to come out of their sockets as she hung from the cave wall. She attempted to move her arms and legs, but they were strapped securely to the scratchy surface behind her.

These restraints must be sucking away my magic power… Lucy's body felt completely drained. She had no way of telling how long she had been there, or how long she was going to stay. The last thing she remembered was being knocked out by Capricorn.

"Well, well. Old friend, I didn't think I'd be seeing you today."

"I didn't think I'd see a stubborn old goat either, so I guess we're both surprised."

Caprico stood in front of Loke and Natsu. Memories of his old friend began to resurface in his mind. The goat recognized the symbols on their hands as those of the Fairy Tail guild. "So… When I saw you in the guild hall, you were doing some kind of reconnaissance for your Handler."

"I acted of my own free will when I entered Grimoire Heart." The Lion spoke truthfully. "I am a proud member of the Fairy Tail Guild, and will do anything to protect my friends. The job I tried to fulfill had nothing to do with Lucy. My only goal was to find out information on Grimoire Heart and their Drip project."

"It matters not." Capricorn mentioned as he shrugged. "You're going to hand over the girl, or I'm going to have to take her from you."

"I don't think so!" Flames engulfed the pink haired wizard's fists. "You're going to have to go through us!"

"Hm." Caprico grinned in amusement as he took his own fighting stance. "If that's how it has to be."

Leo and Natsu both engage the Goat at the same time. However the older Celestial Spirit is extremely experienced in combat. His speed was an issue for them. The Dragon Slayer could barely keep up with their movements. He would aim his attacks at where the goat was, instead of where he was heading. That caused Natsu to miss almost every time.

Thankfully his attacks had a large hit range. Several of them caught Capricorn, but didn't damage him enough to slow him down.

"Regulus Flash!" Leo screamed as a bright and piercing energy erupted around them. The Lion was hoping to stun their opponent in order to gain an advantage.

However, it did the exact opposite. Since the Goat was wearing sunglasses, the flash wasn't able to penetrate the dark lenses. Capricorn was able to hit each of them in a vital spot, causing them to pass out on impact. The Lion dissipated back to the Celestial Realm. All that was left to do was retrieve the girl.

As her eyes began to adjust to the darkness, she noted that her partner, Natsu, was right next to her. The same cuffs were on his wrists as well. The pink haired wizard seemed to be out cold. Unfortunately, due to her own limited movement, she was unable to reach him.

"Natsu? Natsu! You've gotta wake up!" Lucy cried out. The Celestial Wizard did her best to try and escape the magic suppressing cuffs. However, it was no use. To be honest, she wasn't even sure if The Dragon Slayer would be capable of such a task.

"Natsu! Please, we've gotta get out of here!"

"Well, well, well." A sinister chuckle came from the mouth of the cave.

Lucy felt all the blood drain from her face. A cold shiver ran through her body as she heard that voice once again.

Dico clapped twice and lights turned on above them. "You did good old timer." The tattooed wizard mentioned as he looked at Caprico.

"Tch" The goat rolled his eyes, looking away from the group.

"Don't mind him. He's just a grumpy old man." Dico grinned, a glint in his eye that made Lucy's stomach turn. "Now I don't believe I've met your precious little friend here." The dark wizard walked up to Natsu.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" The Celestial Mage screamed, feeling her blood boil in rage.

"He doesn't look like much when all of his fire's been taken out of his belly." Dico chuckled darkly as he held Natsu's chin between his thumb and middle finger. "I'm surprised he hasn't woken up with all of your screeching."

The young blonde tried her best to fight the chains she was in, but it was no use. The wriggling was only making her more fatigued.

"You have no idea how much I've waited for this. I've been anticipating every moment." Dico moaned as he turned towards the blonde.

Lucy's eyes widened, seeing just how terrible the man looked. His eyes were sunken in, almost purple, with heavy bags underneath. Dico was all skin and bones underneath his clothes.

"I've been staying up day and night, planning on just how I was going to get my revenge." The tattooed wizard was mere inches away from Lucy at this point. Dico's fist came into contact with her stomach, knocking the breath out of her lungs.

"Ohhhh yeahhh…" Dico moaned in pleasure, almost as if he were enjoying this for all the wrong reasons. The man continued to punch her. He wanted to hear her scream out in pain. However, the Celestial mage was remaining silent.

"Let me hear you scream!" The tattooed wizard yelled as he moved from punching her stomach to her ribs, even her face.

No matter how painful each blow was, Lucy refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing her cries.

"That not doing it for ya?" Dico's face had a crazed look, almost as if the final screw had come loose. "I'll kill your little friend over here. Or better yet, I'll take those little spirits of yours." the man heard Lucy's breath hitch at the mention of her Celestial friends.

"I'll take your keys, and become a Celestial wizard just to turn them into my slaves." Dico laughed maniacally.

"YOU'LL HAVE TO KILL ME BEFORE I LET YOU TOUCH MY KEYS!" Lucy screamed. "They're not slaves, or pets! Celestial spirits are beings that deserve our admiration and respect. They're my friends! I'll never let you harm them!"

Suddenly, Virgo and Leo appeared. Upon hearing their friend's cry, they decided to use their own magic power to enter Earthland. Both Celestial Spirits appeared in front of Natsu and Lucy, forcing the tattoed wizard to break distance from his prey.

"What's this? I thought I killed all of your magic power?!" Dico spat.

"You can't drain the power we have, you monster." Loki glared.

"We came of our own fruition, to protect our Princess!" Virgo yelled. "We're here to punish you for your wrongdoings."

"Punish me, huh? This sounds kinda fun." The tattooed wizard snickered. "Let's see what you've got."

The Celestial Wizard could only stare at her Spirits, wide-eyed. She was touched that her friends were willing to help her in her time of need. However, she wasn't sure if they would be able to hold him off for long. What if Capricorn got involved? They wouldn't stand a chance.

Glancing at the other Celestial Spirits in the room, the goat sighed deeply. He knew they were fighting a losing battle. Dico alone had enough strength to take care of the two of them.

Protect her, Capricorn.

A voice filled the Goat's mind. "Who's there?" He whispered while glancing around. While at first the person seemed unfamiliar, it brought back several emotions for the Celestial Spirit.

Protect my Daughter.

Who is this woman I keep hearing? IT WON'T GO AWAY! His face contorted in pain as he hunched over. Since the Goat encountered Lucy, he's been hearing a female voice in his head. At first he was able to ignore it. Now, it'd become so loud that it was nearly painful. While he couldn't see the face of the person, their voice was taking him back to a past life.

Suddenly, a memory was thrust into Capricorn's mind. Layla was on her deathbed. She had mere days to live.

"Capricorn?" The Celestial Wizard's voice was frail. All of her spirits had come to visit her in recent days. Some much more than others. The Goat stayed by her side from the moment Layla was bedridden. He was currently seated on the couch across the room.

"Do you need something, my Lady?"

"Come to my side, please." The Celestial Wizard rasped weakly. The spirit quickly did as he was asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Please… Look after my daughter."

"Pardon?" Capricorn looked at the blonde, confused by the request. He could tell that Layla's mind was in another place. She was staring thousands of miles away.

"I want you to look after Lucy. Once I'm gone." The blonde reiterated. "I'm going to leave my keys in the care of someone I trust. When the time is right. She'll give the collection to my daughter. Please, protect her and be as loving and caring to her as you have been to me and my family."

Capricorn was met with a seering pain as he doubled over. A black mist began rolling off of his body. For a moment, it almost looked as if he would explode. However, once it was over, the goat was standing there in a full suit insead of the cut-off version. A bright smile was restored to his features.

The Celestial Spirit immediately went into action. He used his magic to break the cuffs that were binding the two wizards.

"W-Why are you helping us?" Lucy questioned as she looked at Capricorn.

"I heard your kind words about your Celestial Spirits. It reminded me of your mother." The old goat smiled. "After she passed, my key was gifted to a friend of hers. It was stolen months later by an evil man named Zoledo. I've been under his control and in the Earth realm for over a decade. Thank you, Lucy." He whispered before he disappeared into thin air, his key being left behind on her keyring.

The young blonde smiled, checking her keys. Suddenly, Lucy jumped up and looked at her partner. "Shit… Natsu!" She knealt over the Dragon Slayer, placing her hands on either side of his arms, shaking him gently.

"Come on Natsu, wake up!" The Celestial Mage begged.

"Ugh… I feel like I haven't eaten in days." The Dragon Slayer groaned in pain. Having his magic power drained was a terrible feeling.

"Natsu, we have to help Loki and Virgo." Lucy insisted. She pulled out one of her gold keys, waving it in the air. "Open! Gate of the Archer!"

"Good afternoon my lady!' Sagitarrius greeted them as he entered the cave. "I wish we could meet under better circumstances. What do you need?"

"Fire arrows!" The young blonde pleaded.

"Righy-o!"

Getting his arrows ready, the Centaur pointed them straight at the Dragon Slayer. Natsu caught them in his hand with relative ease, munching on the fire that was on the ends. After a couple of rounds of arrows, the pink haired wizard was back in fighting shape.

"I'm fired up now!" Natsu roared as she glanced in the direction of Leo and Virgo. While he couldn't see them, his nose woud tell him where to go. He looked back at his partner, noticing just how bruised she was.

"Don't you worry about me." Lucy waved him off. "Please, help Virgo and Leo."

"I'll stay here and look after Miss. Lucy until your return!" Sagitarius affirmed.

The Dragon Slayer looked at his partner, who was giving him a reassuring smile. Although every fiber of his being didn't want to leave her side, Natsu wanted a revenge of his own. Harming Lucy and causing her all of this mental turmoil is something unforgivable. He left a kiss on her forehead before standing up, joining the two Celestial Spirits.