And CoLu month continues! Sadly, I don't have the final chapter ready for Fairy Tale for tomorrow. Or Glitter. I promise to get them done as soon as possible, but Beyond The Gate is taking up most of my time right now.

This takes place after Fairy Tail has reformed, but ignores the rest of the current arc. So Lucy is eighteen, and Cobra would be about twenty-seven.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 1
A Shared Cage

With nothing more than a sneer, two men in dark clothing thrust a blonde woman forward along a dank, underground corridor.

"Where are you taking me?!" demanded the woman. Despite the fact that she'd been asking since the journey began, her captors had yet to respond to her query. Desperation was beginning to set in, as they went ever deeper into the earth and she still had no clue as to what was in store for her. "At least say something! Yes! No! Piss off! Something!"

"Shut the fuck up," one of them grumbled, only to be elbowed by his partner. He fell back into the same silence as before, unmoved by the blonde's further attempts to goad him into speech.

She didn't have long to wait, however, before she saw their destination down the dimly lit hallway. Promptly, she dug in her heels. Bare feet scrabbling for purchase on the slick, smooth stone floor, her efforts were futile as her escorts dragged her kicking and screeching towards a line of dark cells.

They picked a cell, and unlocked the door. Furious, the woman braced her feet against the bars to prevent being shoved in as long as possible. It was a battle she knew she would lose, what with there being two of them to one of her, but she'd be damned if she didn't make this as difficult as fucking possible for them.

Groaning in exasperation, one of the men grabbed her under her arms and pulled her away from the cell instead of trying to push her in. The other took out the same type of rope that bound her arms and swiftly, despite her attempts to kick his face in, entrapped her legs as well.

The pair wasted little time in bodily throwing her into the cell, where she landed heavily on her tailbone. Shutting and locking the barred door behind them, they left – not speaking one word further to their prisoner.

"Dammit!" Lucy hissed, wriggling to an upright position on the cell's flagstones once they were out of sight and earshot. If she were in a position to do so, she reflected, she would totally kick the bars of the cell. But since she couldn't, it was time for a new plan of action.

Now that she was sitting, she twisted about until her bound hands touched the ropes around her ankles. Working at the rough bindings with her fingers, Lucy cursed a blue streak under her breath as they defied her efforts to undo them.

She peered closer at the object of her frustration in the dim light. Spotting the knot, she attacked it with a vengeance. Pain shot up her digits like bolts of lightning as her skin caught and tore on the coarse material. Still, Lucy refused to give up, continuing to work at the bonds until at last they fell, slack, to the cell floor.

"Yes!" Quietly, Lucy celebrated – she didn't want to alert any potential guards, had any remained behind just out of her line of sight. Stretching out her legs, she wiggled her toes. Bastards had taken her boots along with her whip and keys. Cold seeped through her socks into the soles of her feet. The cell was damp, too, she realized. With a restrained shiver, she maneuvered her tied hands in front of her.

"I wouldn't bite into those ropes if I were you. You'll tear your mouth to shreds."

Lucy jumped at the sudden voice behind her, letting out a squeak of alarm. Turning slightly, she eyed the shadows in the dingy cell. Soon, she spotted a single glimmering orb in the darkness. It looked almost purple. Other than that, she couldn't see anything else of the cell's other occupant

Had her captors known that the cell was already occupied? They had to have. But… it hadn't seemed like they did. There were rows and rows of empty cells. Yet they throw her into an already occupied one? What was going on?

Dammit! She'd given whomever was there in the cell an excellent view of her panties earlier!

"Who's there?" she asked.

A snort was her answer. "If you haven't figured it out by now," the baritone voice rumbled, "that's rather pathetic."

The Celestial Mage squinted, trying her hardest to make out the outlines of her cellmate. His voice… it definitely sounded familiar, and the way he was speaking made it seem as if he knew her. That eye, too, sparked a wave of déjà vu in the Fairy Tail mage. Deep indigo, the orb glowed as if it were lit from within.

Frustrated, Lucy exhaled heavily through her nose. "Sorry; I can't really see you," she mumbled by way of explanation. "Give my eyes a bit to adjust."

The purple orb remained trained upon her, though it widened slightly at her confession. A moment passed, and it narrowed again. "Right. Your eyesight is poorer than mine," he muttered to himself.

Although she knew she probably hadn't been meant to hear his comment, Lucy snapped back, "Excuse you, but I have perfect vision."

"Mine is still better." This time, the man's tone was laced with dry amusement. "Figured out who I am, yet?"

Lucy still couldn't place him, though that voice nagged at her. Something whispered in the back of her mind, warning her of danger close at hand.

The stranger sighed. "And here I thought you were more intelligent than your partner." Lucy could hear the taunt in his words. "You're afraid, aren't you? Don't even try to deny it," he added when Lucy opened her mouth to object. "I can smell your fear, and hear your racing heartbeat. Yes… You're very afraid, little Fairy."

It was Lucy's turn to scoff at her mysterious companion. "I was captured for what must be the twentieth time by a dark guild, and then I was thrown down into this dungeon. With a cellmate who seems to know me, but refuses to say his name. I think a little wariness and yes, fear,are warranted here."

He remained silent in the face of her outburst, only the quiet intake of his breaths any indication that he was still there - aside from that effervescent orb. Was he not blinking? "Twentieth... time?" he finally asked.

Lucy could hear the smirk in his tone. She flinched in remembrance of all the times she'd been kidnapped or held hostage before. "To be honest," she sighed, "it's a conservative estimate."

"You don't remember all of them?"

"Only the important ones. Why are you so interested?" Lucy inquired suspiciously.

"I've been down here for about a week," he admitted. "This is the first interesting thing to happen since I got rid of my own ropes."

Lucy nodded slowly. "They've been feeding you, I hope?"

"No, I ate the fucking ropes."

Horror filled Lucy's visage.

A moment later, the man amended, "That was a joke. Yes, they've been bringing food and water, though it's sporadic."

Letting out a sigh of relief, Lucy again tried to see her cellmate, with no more success than before. "So the ropes…"

"I did chew my way out of them. Cut my mouth, like I said earlier." The dissonant scraping of metal against stone filled the space. "When the guards noticed I was free, they shackled me to the floor instead." Rage tinged the edges of his voice. "They're going to regret doing that." It sounded like a promise, an inevitably, the way he coldly stated it.

Sympathy flowed through Lucy for her companion. She recalled only too well her time as Erza Knightwalker's captive.

A sudden growl wound its way to her ears. "What the fuck is that?" he hissed. "Pity?"

Lucy recoiled somewhat from the harsh tone. "Of course not!" she snapped back a moment later, determined not to let this person get to her. "I just... I know what that's like, okay?"

Silence again befell the pair. In the sudden quiet, Lucy's ears caught the soft dripping of water nearby. That would explain the chill and the damp, then. Was there a leaking pipe close by? The monotonous plip-plop of liquid hitting the flagstones was the only other sound in the vicinity; aside from Lucy and the stranger's own harsh breathing, and the hiss of the chains against the stone whenever the man attached to them shifted. It had only been two minutes and Lucy was about ready to start screaming. How on Earthland had this guy endured this for an entire week without completely losing his mind? Although, if this person was a former enemy like she suspected, then sanity might not have been on the table to begin with.

"You've been shackled before?"

Again, Lucy was surprised when the man suddenly spoke. Instead of anger at her outburst, genuine curiosity laced his voice. And... was that... regret?

Slowly, the Celestial Mage nodded, trusting that he would be able to see it. "A couple of times."

The metals chains rang as they dragged across the floor, their owner shuffling into a less-uncomfortable position. Though Lucy doubted there was really any comfort to be had at all upon the unyielding stone. "…Tell me about them?" After another breath of silence, he added, "You… don't… have to, though."

Confused by the hesitation that had entered his speech, Lucy nonetheless nodded. "I don't mind. But could you help me untie these ropes while I do?" She might as well get something out of this.

"...I think I can manage that. You'll have to come closer, though. My reach doesn't extend that far, and these shackles don't allow me much movement besides."

Lucy rose to her feet, the chill biting into her toes. At this rate, even with the protective cloth, they were going to go numb. Shivering, she realized that she might be in danger of hypothermia if it remained as cold in the cell as she feared it would. Already multitudes of bumps were raised on her bare arms. Not even wanting to contemplate the state of her legs, Lucy began to wonder if maybe she should change her dressing style.

Unsteady, the Celestial Mage stepped along the uneven floor towards the man hidden by the shadows. It was shocking just how much her arms normally went into maintaining her balance. Though perhaps her unsettled stomach had something to do with her slow progress across the small space as well. Lucy knew that once she came close enough, the identity of her cellmate would be revealed to her. Then she would no longer be able to pretend that voice belonged to a stranger, but to someone who had in all likelihood tried to hurt her before. At the very least.

Mentally, she chided herself for these thoughts; she had long forgiven many, many sins against her. Gajeel, Flare, Minerva. The list was extensive. Why should this be any different?

She still felt queasy.

"Calm down," the voice ordered her. "And come closer. That's still too far."

Heat crawled across Lucy's skin as she realized that her progress had, inexplicably, stalled.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

Was it her imagination, or was this mysterious man trying to... reassure her?

"If it makes you feel better, close your eyes and I can remain just a voice in the dark. For fuck's sake, I was joking earlier. You can choose to believe me or not, but I don't care for seeing people tied up or chained. Which I realize is fucking hypocritical given our history in particular, but there it is. And I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean to do it. Or is this because I asked about… the shackles? Fuck, I'm sorry. Stupid, asinine thing for me to do."

He was rambling. Lucy stared at the vague outline of her cellmate. He really was just trying to make her feel better.

Whoever he was, he sucked at it. Royally.

But still. She appreciated the effort.

Slowly, Lucy shook her head at herself. For someone who was normally so level-headed, she was being rather ridiculous about this. When he sighed, she suddenly realized that he must have gotten the wrong idea from the motion. "No!" she squeaked, mortified. "That's not it! I..." Lucy raised her head to meet the gaze of that lone eye in the dark. "I'm not the type of person to look away from the needle," the Celestial Mage finished, feeling her explanation rather lame and insufficient.

There was a pause while the man let that information sink in and process. Suddenly, he barked out a single loud, harsh laugh. "You really aren't!" he agreed.

Relaxing at his evident mirth, Lucy smiled tentatively. "I'm being a bit of a baby about this," she conceded, willing her legs to propel her forward again. Why wouldn't they just move already? "I know who you are." Her mind, analytical as it was, had worked through the clues he'd provided for her. The only thing preventing her from figuring it out had been her own reluctance to consciously acknowledge it. Information at the ready, all Lucy had to do was summon the desire to possess it.

"Do you now?" the man teased.

If this man really was who she suspected, then this encounter thus far was just... mind blowing. All previous experience with this individual had left Lucy with the impression that he was incapable of compassion. Any yet, here they were - as he had stated himself. Already he'd shown not only the capacity for sympathy, but even remorse for his own insensitivity.

"It's really rather obvious," Lucy sighed, her feet finally obeying her commands. "I only know three people with one eye, after all." She took a step. "One of whom is dead." Another. "And one doesn't exist... yet." Almost there. "Which leaves..."

Another sigh escaped her body as he at last fully entered her field of vision. "Hello, Cobra."

The criminal appraised her for a long moment.

'What is he even looking for?' Lucy wondered.

Then Cobra nodded curtly in greeting, seemingly satisfied with his inspection. "Heartfilia."

I'll try to have the next installment prepared for you all next week!

More about their situation, and why they're both there, shall be revealed then!