First of all I would like to respond to the reviews so far. Thank you, I really appreciate them.

Second: my reply to AkariKeys' reviews. It is indeed true that the characters are pretty much OOC, but in Lucy's case it is because she had lost Erik, the first person to care for her in a long time, I will however do my very best to bring back some specific personality traits from Lucy now that they are reunited. As for Gajeel and Laxus, I kind of made my own version of them. Also, I haven't chosen a specific arc. I'm sure you've noticed the fact that Lucy was chained to the lacrima while the machine was called Nirvana. I'm kind of mixing things up, to fit the story in my head xD

Also, I'm sorry for any grammatical mistakes, but that is because I'm Dutch. My main language is not English, but I'm trying :D I hope you can all furthermore enjoy the upcoming chapters, and in return I will do my best to make it as enjoyable as I can :D

Chapter 8: propositions

Lucy P.O.V.

Lucy P.O.V.

"Um Lucy, what's the meaning of this?" Erza looks at the four of us exiting the building, with a frown on her face. I unconsciously slip in front of Erik, to make sure she won't draw her sword on him.
"Stand down, Titania. She's his mate. And he unchained her from the lacrima."
"And why would he do that? Well besides saving his own ass." Natsu steps up beside Erza and glares at Erik.
"Saving his own ass? He's risking his own life, because of these actions."
"Well, I'm sure he is exactly as his name. A snake."
"The only reason why my name is, was, Cobra, is because of Cubellios." As if on cue, a large purple scaled snake appears at Erik's side.
'She's beautiful, Erik.' Suddenly a pair of green eyes look my way, and I send a gentle smile towards the large snake.

Natsu's fists light up in flames as he takes a step forward. I quickly take a hold of Loke's key and send a small glare at Natsu for even having the guts to ignite his fists at Erik. Suddenly Laxus comes to stand in front of me, followed by Gajeel.

"Well, isn't this just such a lovely scene?"
The voice, which I already recognize to be from the Oración Seis guild master, Brain, sends chilling shivers down my spine.
"What are you doing here, Brain?"
"I could ask you the same, my little pawn. But of course all I care about is the fact that you led me towards these Fairy Tail mages. So now I can destroy them one by one." Faster than anyone could possibly have imagined the older man to move, he swings his staff towards Cobra and mutters "Dark Capriccio" before a beam of darkness is fired towards Erik and Cubellios. My eyes widen in shock at the action, before falling to my knees, when I hear Erik scream out in pain.
"Ah, finally." The last tattoo on his face disappears, and suddenly his eyes turn feral.

"Lucy, dear. Look after him, we'll take this asshole down for you." Gajeel ruffles my hair before him and Laxus take a step forward.
"Be careful." Erik coughs violently and opens one eye to look at us weakly. "He's Zero now, even more powerful."
I quickly crawl towards my savior and lift his head in my lap. I can't help but gasp when I look down at him. A large cut runs across his right eye.
"Gray, go get Wendy. She can heal him." Erza waves dismissively at Gray before joining Gajeel and Laxus on the front row.

I can hear the battle starting, just a few feet away from me, but all I can focus on, Is Erik's condition. Gray comes back quickly, the petite bluenette being dragged with him. She gasps at the sight of my mate. Before sitting down and nodding at me with a determined look in her eyes. Her hands start glowing a soft blue color as she hovers them over Erik's wounds.
"Something's wrong. His eye won't heal. The skin will heal, but his eye won't."
"Don't worry about that, little Sky Maiden."
Wendy smiles softly at the nickname as she continues healing him.

"Laxus, I think it's time to end this. Use Fairy Law."
My head shoots up towards my fellow Fairies. What on earth is Fairy Law? My mouth drops open in shock, when an immense magical power is released from Laxus' body, until it's pulled back into a bright lighted orb in between his hands. The light keeps getting brighter and I hear Erik groan out in discomfort. I move myself to sit between his face and the light, so it doesn't hurt his eye anymore. When I look down at him, he's staring at me with wide eyes and his mouth slightly opened. But why?

"Fairy Law, activate!" If possible, the light gets even brighter. A massive beam of light shoots up in the air, showing the Fairy Tail guild mark, while Brain, or Zero, roars in pain. And with that, the battle ends. Erik's breath evens out, while he slips into unconsciousness. I turn to look at my guild mates and smile at the sight. Gajeel is sitting on the ground, his legs spread, while Laxus is sitting in between Gajeel's legs, his back comfortably against Gajeel's chest. He must have worn himself out with that spell.

And now, it's time for all of us to go home, to Fairy Tail.

Time skip

We're all pressed into gramps' office, while we each give our own reports of what happened. My own version of this whole situation coming in last. Masters gaze shifts between me and Erik. He's still sitting in silence, his eyes fixed on the ground beneath his feet while he shifts uncomfortably. I reach my hand out to hold his and immediately he lifts his head to look at me in shock.
"I'm sorry. For not being here in Fairy Tail when you came for me. I guess I didn't want to be here in the first place, because I though those guards had caught you, or worse, killed you."
"There's nothing to apologize for, Lucy. I never should have let you go on your own. If anyone is to blame for what happened that night, it's me."

"What will you do now, my boy?"
Erik shakes his head slowly. "I'll have to go to the council and turn myself in. hopefully that will be enough for me to redeem myself."
"No you won't. I will fix things."
"Gramps, what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what it sounds like, Lucy. I will talk to the council to explain things. None of you will have to worry about it."
I stand up from my seat besides Erik and walk over to the desk to hug my grandfather. He grins when he answers my hug. "That would mean the world to me."
"I know, my child."
I can feel tears start pooling in my eyes while a happy smile takes place on my face. It's been a while since I actually felt completely happy. But then again, a piece of my heart was missing, and now it has returned to me. Erik, my missing Bodyguard. My gaze moves towards him and I notice how he still seems a bit down.
"Can we have some private time to talk, Erik?"
"You can use my office, children." Gramps leads everyone out of the room and closes the door gently.

"What's wrong? Aren't you happy that gramps will try to clear your name?" I resume my place beside Erik and look at him, worry obviously showing in my voice.
"I'm not sure, Lucy. Clearing my name should be something I should do myself, by standing trial and paying for what I've done. Otherwise it won't give me a chance to actually redeem myself."
I shake my head slowly. "When your name is cleared, you could join us and I'm sure Fairy Tail will give you a chance to redeem yourself. I've waited two years, Erik. I can't let you go again. It would break my heart into a million pieces and it wouldn't be able to heal."
"I would never intentionally leave you again, Lucy. Not after all that happened."
"So you will stay then?" I look at him, hopeful.
"Puppy eyes, won't help you, but yeah. I'll stay by your side."
"Good. It wasn't like you'd get rid of me anyway." I send him a small wink.

"What happened to the old you? The happy you, with your bubbly smile, your never ending hugs, but especially your bright, hope filled eyes."
"I guess they left when you did."
"Then let's bring them back. I'm here now."
I smile brightly at him in response. I think I might finally have a chance of happiness again.