Lucy Heartfilia's childhood was, by no means, one that could be considered traumatic. Given the status of her family, Lucy's upbringing was very much the norm of their society. But that didn't discard the fact that Lucy wanted more. She didn't want to be married off to some old entrepreneur that would no doubt increase her father's wealth. Lucy want to be free; she wanted to have the ability to choose. She wanted to choose who she dated, what she wore, what she did with her time. If she had stayed with her father, Lucy would have lost the mere possibility of a different future. So she left – without looking back.

While her childhood wasn't necessarily a horrible one, Lucy didn't come out of it unscathed. A deceased mother, an absentee father, scores of nannies and servants did not stop the young girl from feeling alone. Lucy grew up learning to internalize her emotions, confiding in no one. Why would she?Her father rarely spoke to her and the servants were merely collecting a paycheck from her father.

Fairy Tail had truly become Lucy's family in the time that she ran from her old life. The warmth of companionship, the ability to do what she wanted – the freedom; Fairy Tail had given her all of that and more. She fit right in among the colorful characters of the guild, who each brought their own strengths to the family. Lucy quickly became known as the "Light of Fairy Tail," due to her infectious positivity and her selfless personality. And Lucy was fine with that. Nobody suspected the Celestial mage's light to go out.

After the battle with Tartarus, Lucy was finding herself struggling to keep up her bubbly personality in front of her family. It hung heavily on her soul that she had broken Aquarius' key in order to summon the Spirit King so that they would have a fighting chance. Nobody in the guild – save for one person – knew what she did during that fateful battle. Her own team was completely unaware that Lucy had broken a piece of herself to save them all. She didn't regret saving her home, but she mourned for the heavy loss that resulted.

Lucy wore the broken key on a chain around her neck, hidden by uncharacteristically high necklines and baggy tops. Strangely, the guild didn't seem to even take notice of the blonde's sudden change in attire. Of course, there had been a few disbelieving faces the first time she walked into the guild in form fitting capris and a baggy sweater. That disbelief passed quickly as Lucy continued to act as she always had; cheerful and positive.

It was another normal day at Fairy Tail; Natsu and Gray were fighting, Cana was drowning herself in copious amounts of beer, the usual. Lucy sat at the bar, sipping on a strawberry milkshake while she watched all the activity around her. The guild doors creaked and she turned around to see Laxus arriving. She smiled slightly as Natsu attempted to coerce the older Dragon Slayer into fighting. 'Some things never change', she thought, watching as Laxus simply punch Natsu across the hall and continue on his way to the bar.

"You know that you'll never hear the end of it for no using magic, right?" she asked as the older man claimed the stool next to her.

Mira appeared with a tankard of beer, depositing it in front of Laxus. He took a large swig before answering. "Ain't my fault that he can't take a punch."

"Fair point," Lucy laughed.

The pair fell into silence, both sipping on their drinks, while Lucy's thoughts turned towards the Lightning Dragon Slayer beside her. Their first meeting had not been good. Laxus and his team had attacked their own guild, all because they believed their guildmates to be weak and inferior. Not to mention that he was rude to just about everyone. It wasn't until he had helped defeat Grimoire Heart did Lucy begin to see the changes he went through in his time of exile from the guild. Since then, Lucy had steadily grown closer to the older mage. They were so close these days that Lucy had actually started calling Laxus her brother and vice versa. 'If anybody had told me that I would one day be Laxus' little sister, I would have had them committed to a psych ward', she mused.

"So, how's it been?" she heard him ask, interrupting her trip down memory lane.

Lucy shrugged impassively. "Can't complain, really."

"Blondie, you know what I'm talking about," Laxus muttered. "Out with it."

Sighing, Lucy swirled her milkshake with the straw, avoiding Laxus' gaze. She lowered her voice for only him to hear. "It's gotten worse."

Laxus watched as his sister's gaze bored into her glass as if it held all the answers. His heart ached to see the young woman so despondent. He wanted to take Lucy away from it all. Away from all the feelings of pain, sadness, loneliness, worthlessness. As a Dragon Slayer, second generation be damned, Laxus had an intense desire to protect his family from the world. Of course, the whole guild was his family, but Lucy was different. His inner dragon had claimed the Celestial mage as his kin, the most important connection Dragon Slayer's could have aside from a mate. Therefore, it physically pained Laxus to watch as Lucy slid further and further into despair.

"I went to the doctor a couple weeks ago," she continued, "and he prescribed some medication. But all it's done so far is change my appetite. Meaning, I eat less often and when I do eat, it's at the strangest times."

"... Is that why you made me bring you food at 3 am the other night?"

Lucy smiled ruefully as she nodded. "Sorry about that, I didn't have any food at my place."

"Well then," Laxus grinned, "aren't you just the luckiest mage in all of Earthland to have me for a big brother?"

Lucy couldn't suppress her giggle as she slowly stood up from her stool. Tossing some jewels onto the bar top, she glanced around the hall before planting a quick kiss on Laxus' cheek.

"Where are you going?" Laxus watched as she turned away and began walking towards the doors.

"For a walk," Lucy called over her shoulder, waving a hand in the air. "I'll call you if something comes up!"

Laxus watched as the young woman left the hall, so quick and quiet that nobody but him noticed her departure. Sighing, he picked up his beer and wandered over to the table that housed his teammates. He knew that she shouldn't be left alone, but he also knew that following her would only make her angry. He'd watched her closely for years and he knew her tells. When Lucy began avoiding eye contact, something was wrong.

"Hello, Laxus," Freed greeted as Laxus flopped into a seat at the table, grunting his own greeting. "Is there something wrong?"

Laxus debated on his answer. He could always use the excuse of too much paperwork, but he didn't feel like lying to his team. Freed would shut down, thinking that he'd upset the man in some way and Evergreen would just pester him incessantly until he told her the truth. Bickslow wouldn't have pried, he never did. The Seith mage always opted to wait it out for Laxus to offer the truth himself. Looking up from his beer, Laxus decided to give a generic version of the truth.

"I'm just worried about Blondie." Laxus watched as Freed and Evergreen's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?"

"Why Lucy?" Both Freed and Evergreen asked simultaneously.

"Isn't she always happy?" Evergreen couldn't recall a time when the resident Celestial mage wasn't sickeningly sweet and cheery.

Laxus didn't offer any explanation. He lapsed into a brooding silence, taking swings of his beer and ignoring the stares of Freed and Evergreen.

Bickslow watched Laxus from beneath his helmet. It was obvious, to Bickslow at least, that whatever was going on with Lucy was legitimately bothering the Dragon Slayer. 'I wonder what Cosplayer could have done to put him in a mood like this', he wondered to himself. While Freed and Evergreen prodded Laxus for information, Bickslow discreetly beckoned on of his babies to his side.

"Follow Cosplayer, but don't let her notice," he instructed the little totem.

"Follow Cosplayer!" The little totem, Pip, bobbed up and down excitedly before zooming out of an open window to follow Lucy's soul.

Watching Pip disappear, Bickslow told himself that he was only doing it for Laxus' sake. While it's true that Bickslow would do almost anything for his best friend, Bickslow knew that it wasn't only for his friend's benefit. He did it because he also cared deeply for the girl. The advantage to wearing a helmet was that Bickslow could watch the people around him with relative anonymity. Bickslow had notice a slight change in Lucy's character and decided to take a peek at her soul. Lucy's soul was normally a bright pink color with many large swirls of gold; it was one of the most beautiful souls he had ever seen. But since Tartarus, those golden swirls had been losing their luster and disappearing.

It was with that image in mind that Bickslow had sent Pip to follow the woman.

Stretching her arms over her head, Lucy strolled through the streets of Magnolia, smiling at the shopkeepers and children milling around. She made her way towards the forest bordering the East edge of the city. Entering the trees and shrubs, Lucy allowed her hands to brush against the bark of the trees and through the leaves of the shrubs. She kept walking until she came upon a familiar clearing spotted with clusters of wildflowers – some of which she planted. Lowering herself onto a soft patch of grass, Lucy leaned back until her back touch the grass and crossed her arms over her stomach. 'This place is a Godsend', she sighed contentedly. Here, she could be truly alone. Nobody knew where she went when she wanted to be alone, not even Laxus. The strong scent of the blooming wildflowers all but completely masked her scent, making it so that not even her nosy teammates could find her – with Natsu leading, of course. Even her spirits knew not to appear unless explicitly called by her.

Lucy yawned lightly and closed her eyes, basking in the warm sunlight until her eyes drifted closed. The serene atmosphere of the clearing never failed to lull her into sleep. It was so easy for her to surrender herself to the world of dreams here.

"Natsu! Erza! Gray! Get up!" Lucy cried, looking at her friends' unconscious bodies mere feet away from her. She was battered and bruised all over her body, bleeding profusely from a stab wound on her right thigh. The building around her was destroyed, the walls crumbling around her. "What can I do... There has to be something!"

She wracked her brain furiously, despite the pain lancing through her body, desperately searching for a way to defeat the enemy. Nothing. For all her knowledge and quick thinking, Lucy was coming up empty. She curled into herself, unaware of the water spirit watching her intently.

"Lucy..." Aquarius moved in front of her key holder, waiting until the woman looked up with tear filled eyes. "There is a way to defeat them."

Lucy's eyes widened. "W-What?"

"Summon the Spirit King."

Her breath caught painfully, her body tensing. She knew how to summon the Spirit King, but it came at a great cost. In order to summon him, a golden key – a Zodiac key – would be sacrificed. The spirit wouldn't die – they couldn't – but the key would be broken, unable to ever summon the spirit again. Lucy stared at Aquarius, shocked. "I... I could never do that, Aquarius... I made a promise to never harm my spirits – my friends."

Aquarius ignored the woman's refusal. "Use my key, Lucy."

Lucy's bottom lip trembled as she watched the very serious gleam in her spirit's eyes. Aquarius was willing to destroy her gate to help Lucy and her family. She knew that it had to be done, if Fairy Tail was to make it out of this battle alive, but her body refused to move.

Sighing, Aquarius removed her own key from Lucy's ring and took hold of the girl's shaking hand. She pressed the key into her palm, curling her fingers around the cool metal. "There is no other way, Lucy. We both know that."

Lucy looked down at her hand wrapped around the key. She knew. She had to do it. For the first time in her entire life, Lucy had to break a promise. And it was quite possibly the biggest promise she would ever break in her entire existence. Lucy took a steadying breath – not that it helped much – and lifted her arm, her body aching in protest. She used the last ounce of her energy to channel her magic into the key. "Open... Gate of the Spirit King!"

Lucy watched, helpless, as a blinding light erupted around the water spirit. She watched as the spirit's water wrapped itself around the mermaid, taking her spirit back into the Spirit Realm. Just before disappearing completely, Aquarius looked back at her holder – the girl she had witnessed grow into the woman she was today.

"Aquarius...!" She screamed the spirit's name until her throat was raw. Tears began to fall furiously from Lucy's eyes, mixing with the blood on her cheeks. Lucy's pained cries continued as the water spirit disappeared from her sight forever, leaving the Spirit King in her place. The key in her hand cracked, but didn't shatter.

Lucy held the broken key in a death grip to her chest as she doubled over, sobbing. She didn't watch as the Spirit King defeated the enemies around her, she just continued crying.

Lucy awoke violently, shooting up into a sitting position. She was sweating profusely and panting as if she had run a marathon. Taking deep breaths to calm her nerves, she glanced around the clearing; the sun was beginning to set, casting the world in a subtle red glow. She didn't know exactly how long she had been asleep, but it couldn't have been more than a couple hours.

Her breath hitched painfully as tears began to gather in her eyes, stinging. Lucy brought her knees to her chest, burying her face in them, fighting to keep the tears from falling. Logically, she knew that there was no other option during that fateful battle. Unless she wanted to herself and her entire way of life to be wiped out, Lucy had to sacrifice something dear to her. There was no point in succumbing to tears after the fact. 'But it hurts so much... Aquarius...' She reached to her chest, clutching the broken key hanging from her neck. Lucy's heart felt as though it had been penetrated with a white hot knife, utterly broken and painful.

Lucy stayed in that position for what felt like hours, all the while holding onto the key and forcing her tears and sobs down. She froze when she heard leaves rustling behind her. Assuming it was just a woodland creature, Lucy barely spared a glance in that direction. But her eyes widened as she realized that it wasn't an animal, it was a person. 'Nobody knows I'm here...' Lucy lifted her head higher, watching as whoever it was slowly approached the clearing. She couldn't conceal the shock and disbelief from her face once she recognized the man stepping from the forrest.

"Bickslow...?" His name came left her mouth in barely a whisper.

"Yo."

Pip had kept in contact with Bickslow since leaving the guild, letting him know which streets she was walking on and even the direction she was headed. 'The forest? That's odd...' Bickslow figured that Lucy was just going home for the day. His worry increased marginally when he felt the blonde's soul twisting in pain and sadness; Pip had also been silent for a couple hours.

He glanced across the table at Laxus, noticing with slight surprise that the man was pale. Laxus was sitting in tense silence, his eyes pinched in acute pain. He hadn't ordered another beer – or even finished the one he had – and he was oblivious to Freed attempting to catch his attention. Bickslow had never seen Laxus look like that. 'What the fuck is going on?'

Bickslow silently berated himself for not following the woman himself – he was even irritated with Laxus for not following her. He appeared to have a better idea of what was happening, so why hadn't he followed after Lucy? Of course, Bickslow figured that Laxus had his own reasons why he didn't go after her – maybe she didn't want anyone to follow her.

"Bickslow!" Pip's voice popped into the Seith mage's head, breaking him from his thoughts. "Lucy cry! Lucy in pain!"

Bickslow didn't waste a nanosecond from the time Pip finished talking, he immediately jumped from his seat and began running out of the guild. He didn't spare a single glance for his dumbfounded teammates, he was acutely focused on finding the blonde.

Laxus' head snapped up the second he heard Bickslow's chair scrape on the floor. He barely had time to register the look on the man's face before he was sprinting towards the doors. It was Lucy. Laxus had known that Bickslow sent one of his babies to tail the blonde; he also knew that the man harbored feelings for his little sister. So when Bickslow jumped from his seat, Laxus was barely a beat behind him. He slammed through the guild doors mere nanoseconds after him. Behind them, Freed and Evergreen sat at the table with open mouths. 'What the hell just happened?' Evergreen thought.

It bothered Laxus that he could barely smell Lucy's scent. He inhaled deeply, nostrils flared, searching for even the slightest hint of strawberries and vanilla. It was useless, he couldn't get a good lead on her exact location and that only served to increase his worry substantially. Defeated, Laxus simply ran after Bickslow, since he seemed to know exactly where to go.

"Yo."

Bickslow slowly and carefully walked towards Lucy. He noticed that her face was free of tears, but her large brown eyes were utterly drowning in them. Her soul was still twisted in pain and grief. Usually, he didn't deal with crying women – or upset women in general. Whenever Evergreen was upset, which was often, Bickslow just shut his mouth and gave her space. But this was Lucy. Looking at the blonde's soul, Bickslow couldn't let himself leave her alone.

He stopped a few feet away from her, his babies hovering around him. He just stared at Lucy, wracking his brain for something to say. Clearing his throat, he mumbled the only thing he could conjur up. "Are you okay, Lucy?"

Lucy barely registered the man's use of her first name, instead wiping her eyes with her hands. "I'm fine."

'Sure as hell don't look fine, Cosplayer.' Bickslow just looked at her.

Unable to handle his gaze, Lucy looked at the little totems floating around him. "What are you doing here, Bickslow?"

Bickslow shrugged. "I had Pip follow you," he stated, offering nothing more. Pip landed on Bickslow's shoulder.

"Follow Lucy!" Pip squeaked happily.

Lucy had no chance to respond as Laxus burst from the treeline behind Bickslow and ran straight for her. He dropped to his knees in front of her, breathing heavily. He sniffed the air around his sister, nose crinkling at the tinge of salt in her usual scent.

"What happened?" Laxus gently pulled the woman to his chest, burying his nose in her hair.

Lucy sighed, unable to stop a few tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. "I dreamt again."

Laxus growled softly. He knew exactly what her dream was about and it bothered him that he could do nothing to stop it. "You said you were going to call if something happened."

Lucy eyes rolled slightly. "It's not like I planned on falling asleep and dreaming, big brother. I just wanted to be alone for a while."

"Still..."

"Um... I hate to ruin this beautiful moment of feelings," Bickslow chimed in. "But will somebody please explain to me what's going on right now? Like, why Cosplayer is calling you 'big brother'?"

Laxus and Lucy bother turned their heads towards Bickslow, having forgotten he was even there. He had been so silent during their exchange. Laxus quietly looked at Lucy, eyebrow raised.

Lucy returned her brother's look, shaking her head. "Not here."

Laxus nodded and gathered Lucy in his arms before standing. He ignored Lucy's pointed stare – the one reserved for when he went full big brother mode – and gestured for Bickslow to follow him. "Where to, Blondie?"

"What the fuck is happening right now?" Bickslow asked again under his breath.

Lucy ignored Bickslow, pondering where the best place to have this conversation would be. It was an easy decision, really. She rested her head on Laxus' shoulder as she spoke, "Your house. I don't want Natsu and the team to appear randomly."

Bickslow raised his eyebrows, though hidden by his helmet. He stood still, trying to figure out for himself just what the fuck was going on, until he heard Laxus grunt. Looking up, he realized that the two blondes were already at the treeline. Snapping himself out of his stupor, he quickly rushed after the pair.

The trip from the forest to Laxus' house was made mostly in silence, with the exception of their footsteps. Every now and then, Laxus would whisper something to Lucy and she would smile slightly. Bickslow followed a small distance behind the pair, a look of confusion underneath his helmet at the sight of Lucy comfortably resting her head on Laxus' massive shoulder.

After what felt like hours – to Bickslow at least – the trio finally arrived at Laxus' house. Bickslow watched as Lucy pulled a small key from her key ring and unlocked the door. 'Strange... Laxus doesn't give out keys to his house,' Bickslow thought, surprised that the blonde had one. With the door opened, Laxus stepped over the threshold and headed for his living room, with Bickslow trudging in behind him. Bickslow gingerly sat on the sofa, his babies settling in the space around him as he removed his helmet, placing it on the cushion beside him. He waited silently as Laxus placed Lucy on one of the overstuffed armchairs carefully before claiming the one next to it.

"So-" Bickslow was cut off by a sudden flash of yellow light, temporarily blinding him. He blinked his eyes back into focus and saw that a ginger-headed spirit stood in front of Lucy, bowing slightly. Bickslow grumbled at being cut off, his questions once again ignored. Laxus shot him a warning glare, effectively silencing the Seith mage from his irritation.

"Lucy," Loke greeted his master, leaning down to give her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hi, Loke." Lucy sighed when he pulled away from her face. She felt slightly annoyed at the fact that her spirit opened his gate on his own; she sometimes hated when they did that. But, Lucy figured that Loke was here for a reason, so she decided to forego the lecture.

Loke reached into his blazer and pulled out a sealed envelope along with a large lollipop. He held them out for Lucy to take. "A letter from Aquarius and a gift from Plue."

Lucy's eyes widened slightly at the mention of the mermaid spirit's name. She willed her hand not to tremble as the took the gifts from Loke's hand. "Thank you, Loke. Please tell Plue I will summon him in a minute."

"Your wish is my command, Princess," he drawled, dramatically placing a hand to his chest and bowing from the waist. He ignored Lucy's eye roll as he bent to place another kiss on her cheek. He lowered his voice and whispered, "Read it when you're alone or it's just you and Laxus. Aquarius made that stipulation when she gave me the letter."

Lucy nodded quietly and tucked the letter into her bra, ignored the strange look she received from Bickslow. She gave Loke a small hug before he disappeared in another flash of bright yellow light. Before she addressed the blue haired Seith mage in front of her, Lucy softly touched Plue's key and summoned the little dog spirit. She laughed softly as the spirit popped out of thin air and landed gracefully in her lap. Immediately, Plue latched onto Lucy.

"Pu-Puun," he cooed, burying his small face in her chest. Lucy smiled warmly and placed her hand on the little snowman's head, stroking it gently. She bent her head and placed a kiss on the spirit's head before finally acknowledging Bickslow across the coffee table.

She cleared her throat delicately. "So, what exactly do you want to know?"

Bickslow forced his attention from the small spirit seeming to try and suffocate himself in Lucy's chest, slowly meeting Lucy's warm brown eyes. He had so many questions. But where was the best place to begin? Sighing, he opted for the slightly less confusing question he had. "Why did you call Laxus 'big brother'?"

"After my humiliating defeat by Flare at the Grand Magic Games, I was confined to the on-site infirmary. Of course, Flare was playing dirty by threatening to kill Asuka during the fight, but that's beside the point." Lucy shook her head. She was still angry with herself for being unable to protect her guild and defeat the Raven Tail mage. "One day, Laxus came to see me. Needless to say, I was caught off guard; we were barely even acquaintances, after all."

Lucy glanced at Laxus from the corner of her eye. She grinned at the almost embarassed look on his face. Turning back to the mage before her, she continued, "What really surprised me was that look in his eyes as he took in all the bandages covering my body. He seemed... Angry. At first, I wrote it off as new found concern for his guildmate. As you saw in the clearing, that is no longer the case."

Lucy giggled when Laxus shot her a pointed look. "Anyway, after the games and the whole Eclipse gate debacle, Laxus and I slowly began talking more at the guild. We even went on a couple missions together once we became more comfortable around each other."

Bickslow's face lit up in a sudden realization. He looked at Laxus. "So all those 'solo' jobs you went on were actually with Lucy?"

Laxus nodded. "Made for a nice break from you three."

Lucy reached over and patted Laxus' hand. "Please don't get me off topic, big brother. I'm trying to explain your hidden squishy side to your teammate."

"Now, as I was saying... After growing comfortable around each other, it was almost inevitable that Laxus would catch me in the middle of a forest, isolated and crying. Our sibling-esque relationship sort of went on from that point. Of course, there more to it than that, but that's a conversation for another time."

"Well, I gave her a very lengthy lecture on the dangers of wandering into a forest alone before anything else happened." Laxus looked pointedly at Lucy's sheepish smile.

"Okay..." Bickslow nodded, trying to process the information just given to him. He knew Laxus had to have some softness to him underneath the hundred layers of macho and strength. He just didn't really expect it to be found by the blonde Celestial mage sitting next to the huge man. Rather than dwell solely on that topic – he still couldn't fully wrap his mind around the subject – he moved on his next question. "What did you dream that was so painful? Your soul was twisted in grief while you were sleeping."

Lucy froze for a second, bowing her head and fiddling with Plue's paws. The spirit stood on her lap to nuzzle his face into Lucy's neck comfortingly. She winced and looked up when Laxus flicked her forehead.

"I can tell him if you aren't up to it," he offered. He knew it was hard for Lucy to talk about it.

"No, I'll do it. I suppose I should get used to saying it if I ever gain the courage to tell the guild," she sighed. She took a deep breath her steady herself, looking up to meet the red eyes of Laxus' teammate.

"Do you remember when your team was poisoned by that demon during the battle?" She waited for Bickslow's nod before continuing. "Well, my team and I went on to fight Tartarus, leaving you four in Wendy's care. Unfortunately for us, we came extremely close to being killed by the demons that were attacking us in the Cube."

Bickslow blinked. He hadn't known that.

"But, as you can plainly see, we survived," Lucy stated blandly. "However, there was a reason for that. Me being that reason."

"I thought that Natsu was the one that defeated the demons..." Bickslow was growing more confused. "Then... how did you defeat them?"

Still fiddling with Plue's paws, she answered, "I summoned the Spirit King."

Bickslow's eyes widened in shock. She had said it so nonchalantly, as if summoning the strongest spirit he knew of was no large feat. Despite her blasé tone, Bickslow could see the way her eyes hardened in pain. "I'm guessing that was something amazing, you saved everyone in the Cube. But I also get the sense that there's more to the story."

"Summoning the Spirit King is different from summoning any other spirit. He has no physical key or gate," Lucy explained. "The only way to summon him is to use what it called a substitution summoning. Essentially, you use a golden key as compensation for the lack of a key specifically for the Spirit King. The only way that a substitution summoning can succeed is if the holder has a very strong connection the spirit represented by the key."

"Hold on... You used one of your Zodiac keys to summon what is possibly the most powerful being in the world?" Lucy nodded. Again, Bickslow got the sense that there was more. "What else happens?"

"You know, Bickslow, you're a lot smarter than you appear," Lucy remarked, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. Bickslow just gave her a blank stare, waiting. She sighed. "The downside to a substitution summoning is that the key used as a substitute is broken; that spirit can never be summoned again."

"Which... Which key did you use?" Bickslow watched as Lucy's brown eyes filled with tears.

Lucy felt Laxus' big hand rubbing circles into her back, offering comfort. Her hand trembled slightly as she reach under the neckline of her shirt to pull out a chain with a golden key hanging from it. The key was had a deep crack running its entire length. "Aquarius told me to use her key."

Bickslow stared at the broken key. His mind came to a complete stop as a single thought took over all others. He knew just how much Lucy treasured her spirits, they were family to her. The sheer knowledge that Lucy had gone against all her beliefs to save their guild left him breathless. "Lu-"

Finally, Lucy allowed the tears burning in her eyes to fall, not giving Bickslow a chance to say anything else. She buried her face in her hands, her teeth clenching tightly. Her breathing turned ragged as she tried to take deep breaths during the cascade of tears. Plue frantically tried to calm his master.

"Pun Pun!" The little snowman tried to burrow his way between Lucy's arms to wipe her tears with his small paw. He cooed sadly.

Lucy couldn't even give the little spirit a smile at his attempt to comfort her. But she did remove her hands from her face to wrap Plue up in her arms, holding him to her as she cried. She could feel Bickslow's gaze boring into her, but she wouldn't look at him. 'I bet he thinks I'm weak,' she thought. 'Little Lucy Heartfilia, crying her eyes out even though she single-handedly saved the guild from destruction.' She barely registered large arms being wrapped around her shuddering frame and lifting her from the chair. A small amount of pain was relieved when she realized that Laxus had placed her in his lap, nose buried in her hair, letting her soak his shirt with her tears. Lucy twisted her fingers in his shirt, clinging to him.

Laxus looked up from his sister, catching Bickslow's eye. "I'm going to put her bed. We'll see you at the guild tomorrow."

Bickslow nodded silently and stood. He grabbed his helmet from the sofa and slowly made his way to the door.

"Bix," he heard Laxus call softly. Bickslow stopped and turned his head towards his friend. "If you tell anyone about this conversation, I'll make sure you wish you had never found out."

Bickslow couldn't help the shudder that went through him at the look in his friend's eyes. He could clearly see the warning and promise of extreme pain his Laxus' blue-gray eyes. He took one last look at Lucy, now sniffling and hiccuping in her brother's arms.

"You got it, Boss," he promised.

Bickslow walked the streets of Magnolia in a daze. His mind was reeling from the onslaught of information that his was given. His head ached as he processed the realization of what exactly happened during Tartarus. If Lucy hadn't sacrificed one of her beloved spirits, they would all be dead. She would be dead. That thought made his heart shoot with pain. He knew Lucy was strong; she'd fought him twice and beaten him both times. But now her strength had evolved to a whole other level in his eyes; if betraying your own beliefs and promises was any indicator of that.

He was starting to have a newfound respect for the small Celestial mage. She was almost on Laxus' level of respect, in his eyes. A level that Bickslow thought no other person would be a part of.

As he lay in bed, Bickslow's thoughts turned to her soul. Lucy had one of the most beautiful souls he had ever seen. Even when he fought her for the first time during the Fantasia incident, Bickslow was attracted to the blonde's soul. Her soul radiated peace and comfort to all that came into contact with her, himself included. He ground his teeth in frustration; her beautiful soul was losing it's light and he didn't know how to stop it.

A new thought appeared in his mind. Bickslow was going to make it his goal to rekindle the waning Light of Fairy Tail. There was absolutely no way that he was just going to sit back and hope for the best. He was going to do something about. After all, he did like as more than just a friend and comrade.

Well, well, well... Look who the fuck decided to return to the fanfiction world of the living. Spoiler alert: it me.

There's no two ways about it, life got in the way. I lost motivation to write as my time in college was coming to an end. I began to worry about my future and where I was headed in life. Rather than force myself to give lackluster updates and stories, I just stopped altogether. Honestly, I can't even apologize for my abrupt stop in writing. I needed to sort out the path to a decent future for myself. Which I did, to an extent. I have a job that I got right out of college, been there for almost 2 years now, and I love it. I'm helping facilitate life changes for teenagers in residential psychiatric treatment (I was a psych major in college).

Anyway, I decided to make my second debut with a rewrite of my first multi-chapter story. Hopefully there is an improvement in the way it's written as compared to the original. Please feel free to offer constructive criticism and suggestions, definitely your opinion of this rewrite in contrast with the original.

Since I deleted all the chapters previously published - in order to give a complete fresh start - I imagine that previous readers probably don't remember the original writing. With that in mind, I have no qualms about giving you the original document upon request. Alternatively, you can find it on my tumblr account specific to my writing, theghoulthatwrites.

And with that, happy reading, friends!

Warmest regards,

TGTW