Disclaimer - Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima & all things Pradesh belong to DESNA

Lucy was enjoying her trip to Seven so far. She had never been outside of Fiore aside from a few short trip business trips to Bosco and Minstrel with her father when she was very young, and the one trip to Stella during the Dragon Cry quest. After the Tartaros battle, the guild disbanding, Natsu and Happy taking off with just a note, and everyone else going their separate ways she had tried to put together a new life in Crocus working with Jason for Sorcerer's Weekly. It was good for a while, but once the newness started wearing off she found herself just using all of her resources to try to locate her former guildmates. She couldn't let go and if she was honest with herself she had to admit she was tired of Jason giving her pitying looks when he thought she couldn't see. Not a single one of her guildmates had tried to contact her even though she kept her information pretty public. Hell, she was writing articles and modeling for Sorcerer's Weekly! Someone had to have seen that.

She was unable to get through to anyone other than Levy and Wendy. Levy had gone with Gajeel to work for the Magic Council and Wendy had joined Blue Pegasus. They spoke periodically, but neither had contact with anyone else. Even Levy didn't know where Jet and Droy went. Rumors were that Gray and Juvia travelled north where he had been trained by Ur, the Raijinshuu left for Bosco to Bickslow's family home, the Strauss siblings joined a small guild close to where they grew up, and everyone else just seemed to scatter into the wind. Rumor was that Erza was with Crime Sorciere with Jellal, but Lucy had actually met with that guild as they passed through Crocus. Jellal informed her they had met with the red-headed mage on the road but she hadn't stayed long and he didn't know where she was headed.

Cobra was incensed to find out that Natsu had left her behind and all alone. She was shocked when he pulled her into a tight hug and proclaimed her kin. Said his dragon demanded it and she was one of the few humans that both he and his dragon respected. He also semi-apologized for his involvement with the Infinity Clock. He admitted he was actually not very active during that fiasco due to his dragon fighting with him over Lucy. Evidently her soul was actually pleasant to listen to and tended to hum melodies when she wasn't overly emotional. Meredy had started giggling and singing the "K-I-S-S-I-N-G" song, which had prompted Cobra, or Erik as she finally learned, to knock her out with a sleeping toxin. This caused a slew of complaints and sighs from Jellal who was forced to carry her because Cobra "sure as fuck wasn't going to be that cotton candy bitch's personal butler".

Eventually they went on their way. Lucy had been left with an open invitation to join Crime Sorciere from Jellal, but she just couldn't see herself being happy wandering the lands with a homeless guild. She needed more stability in her life, she needed direction and goals. And so she kept pointlessly trying to find her way home to a guild and family that wasn't there anymore. She spent plenty of evenings being held by Loke while she cried and she had gotten damn tired of it.

Since she was in Crocus and Sabertooth wasn't too far, she spoke with Yukino frequently. Her fellow celestial mage was the only person that Lucy had told about what happened in Tartaros. Several bottles of wine, a box of chocolate chip cookies and a few pints of ice cream were consumed that night as the two mourned the loss of Aquarius together. The grouchy spirit had been her best friend as a child and was almost a mother figure since her own mother had died when she was young. Sacrificing her left Lucy endlessly guilty, no matter what her spirits or Yukino told her. Guilty that she hadn't been strong enough to take care of Jackal and Torafuzar on her own. Similar to how Crime Sorciere destroyed dark guilds as penance for their sins, Lucy trained daily with Capricorn and Loke as penance for hers. If she could become strong enough, she would never have to make such a sacrifice again.

The Celestial Spirit King had reassured her through Capricorn that Aquarius's key would regenerate, but not even he could predict when or where. So when Levy had contacted her and told her there was rumor of a gold key in Seven, no matter how unsubstantiated it was Lucy jumped at the chance to find her friend. Finding Aquarius was all that mattered. She put in her resignation, put her belongings in storage, pulled her money out of the bank and let go of her apartment lease.

This landed her where she was now, following rumor upon rumor and looking through every magic shop she could find. It wasn't a very touristy sort of country and there were whisperings of civil unrest, but it certainly wasn't quite as scary as Joya or Pergrande. Fiore and Seven had a semi-open border, but as an un-guilded mage, she did have to go through a few interviews and register her magic type. But this wasn't a vacation. All-in-all she was still enjoying visiting a new place, meeting new people and seeing new sights. The countryside was beautiful with a rough and rocky terrain and mostly agricultural towns. She soon learned that mages were relegated to the larger cities, so she pushed onward to the capital.

Hohenheim was a brilliant mix of old and new and there was a distinct divide between the rich and the poor. The concierge at the hotel she was staying, had been kind enough to detail out areas to avoid due to high crime. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to completely avoid them since there were some magic shops in those areas she needed to check out. The weather was starting to turn as summer was coming to a close, but it wasn't terribly cold yet. Soon enough, everything would be covered in snow. She had only been in the capital for 2 days and was still checking off magic shops from a list one by one when it happened. One moment, she was walking down a quiet street pondering where to head next and then just darkness.

As consciousness crept back into her, Lucy could only notice massive amounts of pain throughout her head. Slowly she cracked one eye open, thankful it seemed to be dark wherever she was. She opened both eyes and glanced around what appeared to be a dingy cell of some kind. Stone floors and three stone walls, a musty moldy smell and vertical bars for the final wall. She didn't panic, unfortunately being kidnapped and waking up in a strange place wasn't exactly new to her. First she took measure of her health. Nothing appeared broken, fingers and toes moved. No noticeable bleeding or trauma, just a solid lump on the back of her head. She wasn't chained up but did have metal shackles on her wrists. Her whip was gone but she was fully clothed otherwise. She tried to requip her keys and determined quickly the shackles were magic suppressing. She sighed. That would make things difficult. She had learned how to requip her keys so that they couldn't be taken from her, but if she couldn't call them out then she was in the same situation. She had to touch them for the gates to open. Even Loke and Virgo couldn't open their gates using their own power unless she had access to her magic. They wouldn't be able to locate her. They must have cuffed her before either spirit could react. This was a scenario she hadn't considered.

Slowly she stood, pausing briefly due to dizziness and nausea. Probably at least a minor concussion she thought. It was hard to tell how long she was knocked out for, at least a few hours was her best guess. She appeared to be alone, she couldn't see or hear anyone else. She shuffled over to the wall of bars across from her, one of her legs still partially asleep, and peered through to see if could spot anything or anyone. Nothing. After looking around she decided there was nothing she could use to pick a lock even if she knew how to pick a lock. She gave up after a while and called out. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"Sounds like the bitch is awake boss," a deep voice travelled from down the corridor. Well shit, that doesn't sound good, she thought. "Good, we are moving out soon. Truss her up for the ride," came a gruff reply. There was a scuffling sound and a short pudgy man appeared in front of her cell, leering at her. "Stand in front of the door and turn around. Arms behind your back." Lucy just started backing away from the bars and he angrily grabbed her shirt pulling her hard as her face slammed into the bars. She winced, that would definitely bruise. "Do what you're told or I will get even more angry bitch." He seemed to be waiting for her to reply so she nodded as best as she could. He finally let her go and she did as he asked.

The man opened her cell and she cringed as the door swung open with a grating sound like nails on a chalkboard. He hooked her cuffs together behind her back and grabbed both wrists with one hand. Turning her around he pushed her past him and through the doorway to a dark hallway. There were other cells like the one she had been in but she couldn't see much. It didn't seem like there were any other prisoners or whatever she was. It seemed she wasn't walking fast enough as she was shoved harder, only his grip on her wrists to keep from falling. "Where are you taking me? What do you want?"

He grunted and pulled her back against his chest and yanked down on her hair until she was staring at the ceiling. "You don't get to ask shit. Shut the fuck up and do as told." Tears pricked in the corner of her eyes at the pull on her scalp. His hot breath was in her ear and she could smell his horrendous breath. After what seemed an eternity, he let go and shoved her forward once again. After a few turns and a flight of stairs they reached an open room with daylight streaming through a window. There were 3 or 4 other men there, dressed in leather jerkins and looking like none of them knew how to bathe. Two were seated at a small table playing cards. One looked up. "This the special bitch?"

The large man standing a few feet from her pulled her from the stubby man's grasp. He eyed her up and down giving her chills. She instinctively tried to pull away from him and he just yanked her to his chest. The smell of him had her nearly retching. "Yep, lets get her loaded up. Train leaves in 20." She was shoved to the table with the men playing cards. The one that had spoken before stood up and began to pull her to the door. "Let's go princess," she cringed at the the term of endearment her spirits used, "your carriage awaits."

He half lifted, half dragged her outside to a yard filled with chained people being loaded and locked into various train cars. They were being whipped and kicked for not moving quick enough by a handful of men. The man handling her unhooked her cuffs and she was dragged not matter how much she struggled towards a car up front. She was tossed in roughly and pulled to standing in the middle, her shackles locked into place above her head. Two guards armed with whips and what looked like extra long daggers jumped into the car with her and sat at opposite ends. The door slid shut with a bang and she was back in darkness. She could hear moaning and crying from the next car.

"Please. I don't know where I am or why I'm here," she tried to plead with her guards as the train started moving. They ignored her for a while until one was apparently sick of listening to her complaints so he got up and slapped her so hard she saw stars. He didn't even say a word, just sat back where he was before.

Lucy was quiet after that. Nothing would be gained by angering these men further. She tried to keep her weight off her arms as much as she could while the car rocked back and forth while they travelled. She couldn't tell where they were headed, her family's rail lines didn't cross into Seven. It was a deal her father had been working on at one point. From what she remembered, the railways in this country were incomplete and sparse. But that was just overhearing random conversations long ago.

At some point, she must have passed out. She awoke with a start when the train stopped, her shoulders aching horribly at having to support her weight. She whimpered as she tried to roll her shoulders to release some of the tension. The car door slid open and the guard that had slapped her grinned. "The fun starts now." The other guard came up behind her and unhooked her from above, roughly dragging her out of the train ensuring her arms got no relief.

She squinted in the daylight trying to see around her. They seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. A campsite set up with a few tents and fires, it looks like there were others already here pending their arrival. Some of the other captives were being pulled from other train cars, mostly men. The women that were pulled out were put to work cooking. The men were immediately stripped as a few guards started beating and raping them out in the open. Others just hollered and cheered. Lucy cried out for them to stop and was pulled back against a large man that she would later learn was named Hollis, the man in charge. Hollis was a big man, not quite Elfman or Laxus big, but huge in comparison to her. He had jet black hair pulled into a ponytail and eyes so dark they could be black holes. He was darker skinned, and obviously spent a lot of time outdoors. His most distinguishing feature though were three long jagged scars that travelled over the left side of his face, from his temple down to his chin and descended onto his neck. How he survived whatever had caused that was beyond her.

"You need to learn you don't get to speak. You belong to us until we deliver you to your new owner. We might not be able to fuck you but no one said nothing about using that mouth of yours." A man grabbed her and pushed her to her hands and knees, grabbing her jaw hard enough to bruise and forcing her face to turn. A third dropped his pants and roughly shoved his partially hard cock into her face. She tried to pull away but two men held her still while he started fucking her face forcefully. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "You will do whatever we like whenever we like," Hollis declared, "and you will swallow every fucking drop." When the man started to cum, she started gagging but they just pushed her face into him so hard she couldn't even breathe. She swallowed the foul substance as best she could until he pulled his limp dick out of her mouth. She coughed and spit the remainder on the ground. "I said every drop!" Hollis yelled.

"Give this bitch an example of what happens when she doesn't obey." Several guards started cheering, one dragged a young man over. He couldn't have been more than 14 by Lucy's guess. They forced her watch, holding her in place while 5 guards raped him over and over. He was collapsed, sobbing into the blood and semen stained dirt when they finished. Lucy cried until the tears just wouldn't come anymore. "Get rid of that filth, " Hollis proclaimed and Lucy screamed while two guards dragged him just outside of camp, slit his throat, and tossed him into a ditch. Fresh tears she didn't know were possible rolled down her face. "So now you know what will happen if you don't cooperate. Boss said you had to remain a virgin and we couldn't damage you. But we can sure as shit do anything we want to the rest of these pathetic pieces of trash." He turned her towards him and started undoing his belt and trousers. "Now you know what you need to do."