I wrote this one-shot at like... 2AM. Not sure what came over me. But this is the result.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Lucy stumbled amongst the still smoking rubble, her clothes ripping on exposed rebar and concrete. The blonde picked herself up and lurched forward once more, unconcerned with the bits of her flesh she left behind on the stone and steel. It was nothing compared to the pieces of her torn soul she left in her wake.

She didn't know where she was going; no longer did she care.

Days had passed since Tartaros' defeat. But Lucy could find in her no cause for celebration. So many people were dead. Aquarius was gone, never to return to this world. The guild disbanded, and her friends – no, her family dispersed to all corners of the country and beyond. Natsu, and Happy, and that stupid note leaving her an inheritance of devastation to face alone.

As a ghost, she wandered the ruins of her home.

Once more, she tripped and fell. Agony flared in her left shoulder as it scraped against a rusted iron bar. This injury she could not ignore, and Lucy clapped a hand over the wound. Pulling her hand away, it came off covered in dripping crimson.

The Celestial Mage nearly opened her mouth to call for Wendy, only to remember at the last second the girl's absence. Shutting her mouth with a snap, Lucy grit her teeth and curled in upon herself. Hot tears stung her eyes, which she found funny in a distant, morbid, painful sort of way. She hadn't believed there were any still left inside her at this point.

Blinking back the saltwater, Lucy swallowed the nausea rising inside her. Clutching her shoulder, she tried desperately to hold back her despair, and fight her way out of her sorrow. Though, she had tried this many times before over past days, to no avail. The muck sucked and pulled at her soul down until it stuck in the mire of her own turbulent emotions.

"Oh? What's this?" a familiar baritone rumbled nearby.

Head snapping up, Lucy stared at the dark skinned man standing in front of her. It took her a moment, but she recognized him. His maroon hair, skin, and large scar made him a very distinctive individual. Not to mention his piercing, slit purple eye.

"Instant recognition isn't exactly a good thing for a wanted criminal such as myself," he mused. "Although, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't flattering to be remembered by a blonde bombshell." The man tilted his head to the side, taking in her bedraggled, bruised and torn body. "Say, aren't you the Whip-Girl? The one we tried to sacrifice to a clock?"

"Whip-Girl?" Lucy couldn't help but question. "Is that really the best you could come up with, Cobra?" To be honest, she couldn't say she was really all that surprised to see him out and about. The Poison Dragon Slayer had always struck her as the cunning and resourceful type – with the Magic Council's annihilation at the hands of Jackal there was probably no one left to make sure the prisoners were behaving inside their cells. If anyone could find a way to stage a prison break in the middle of the apocalypse, it would be the individual before her.

A feral grin full of fangs shot across the criminal's face. "I'd be more than happy to come with another nickname especially for you," Cobra offered. "For all the compliments."

Perplexed by the lack of malice in Cobra's tone, Lucy furrowed her brow. What did he want with her? Surely the Poison Dragon Slayer had better things to do than look for blondes to pester and torment.

His grin widened. "Again, I'm flattered. I would prefer you called me Erik, though. New name for a new beginning and a new guild." Then Cobra snorted. "Relatively speaking, of course – given that my name has always been Erik."

Lucy had the strangest feeling wash over her at those words. Like she'd just received a gift of great importance.

Taking a large stride forward, Cobra then dropped into a crouch in front of Lucy. "So, shall I find out for myself what's going on or are you going to tell me?"

With a struggle, Lucy pushed herself into a sitting position. "Why do you even care?" she snapped, and then winced as the words left her mouth. Probably not her greatest idea to insult a man that could in all likelihood systematically take her apart.

"You're just heaping it on, aren't you!" Cobra teased. Then his face became serious. "I heard the sound of a soul screaming in despair and pain, despite how long the fighting's been over. So I came to check it out. And here I find at the epicenter a woman I've met before." He narrowed his eye when she stubbornly refused to speak to him. "Fine, then."

A strangled sob came from Lucy, and she ducked her head, trembling. Why couldn't she just keep this to herself? She didn't want anyone to know about Aquarius! About Natsu's abandonment, and her family's decimation. It was all pain, but it belonged to her – hers alone.

"Ah." The wanted man said nothing further for a moment, and Lucy began to cry in earnest. "You lost your family, and your best friends. Both of them." After a moment, he told her, rather gruffly, "I know what that feels like."

Startled by the confession, Lucy glanced up at him. Cobra hadn't moved, still crouched in front of her. His head was tilted a little, as if he were listening intently to something. She squeaked when he suddenly stood up.

Cobra gazed down at her, a smirk making its way onto his visage. "Richard likes you, same with Meredy. Sawyer wouldn't care one way or another. Jellal respects you for a stunt you pulled at the Tower of Heaven – not to mention the fact that you're the Titania's teammate." He paused, like he was listening again. "Sorano and Macbeth... also respect you, if begrudgingly, for their defeats." His eye flicked down to her and then shrugged. "And since Jellal seems to be in the habit of picking up strays lately, he has no right to complain if I bring one myself." With that he extended a hand to Lucy. "What do you say?"

Lucy stared, incredulous, at the hand being offered to her. Was he really saying what she thought he was?

He waved the limb in front of her. "Come on. We should get that wound treated."

Somehow, she didn't think he was talking about her arm.

Did she trust him enough to take that hand? The last hand she had taken had left her. But… that first hand had brought her to her new home, even if it had been temporary in the end.

Cobra didn't say a word as she puzzled herself out, just kept his arm outstretched.

Furiously, Lucy wiped her tears. They wouldn't do her any good. They couldn't return her friends and family to her.

And so Lucy reached out and took hold of Cobra's hand.

She had nothing left to lose, anyway. There was nothing left for her here.

Pulling her to her feet, Cobra nodded at her. "There's a good girl." He dropped her hand. Shrugging out of his coat, he held it out to her. "Don't worry about getting blood on it," he told her. "Oh, and don't read too much into it – if I brought you as you're currently dressed to Jellal, he would Meteor me into the ground without waiting for an explanation. Which is... not fun. Doesn't do me any good to hear it coming if I'm lacking the time to avoid it." Cobra rolled his eye. "And then the little pink witch would laugh at me."

Lucy smiled, for the first time in days as she took the garment from him. "Thank you."

With that, Cobra turned and began to walk away. "I know you can keep up, so I suggest you get a move on!" he called over his shoulder.

Scrambling, Lucy hastened to follow him. He wasn't Natsu - this Dragon Slayer wouldn't hold her hand or drag her with him into a new life. If she wanted it, she was going to have to go after it herself. But that was fine.

It was high time for her to begin again.

Because what else were you supposed to do when you reached the end?

Let me know what you guys think.