OK, I know, I'm insane, starting another chapter piece so soon after starting Psychotic Matchmaker, and finishing Pradesh Week which was amazing! I have more things in the work, other prompts and ideas that are percolating. This particular piece however, sunk it's teeth into me, and has not let go. That being said...

The Pradesh family is not mine, the wonderful and amazing Desna created them. Fairy Tail, alas, is not mine, Hiro Mashima owns it. The only thing I own here is the plot.

Warning: This is the only time I'm putting this up here. Originally this was going to be a one piece, but as I continued to write, I realized this was going to turn into a chapter piece. As you read this, and hopefully review as they are my bread and butter, be warned, that this will likely have triggers for some people. Foul language, adult themes, mental and emotional manipulation will be included, and there is even going to be childrens death included. If you feel this is something you can't handle it's fine, no hard feelings if you can't read this particular piece as there are plenty others for you to enjoy.

Now on with the show!

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He could hear her. He didn't know where she was, or what was making the soul he was hearing wail at such a pitch that it made even him want to cry, collapse to his knees, and admit defeat, but he could hear her. It'd been going on for months now, and he couldn't make it stop. Even his dragon was starting to cry, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. Hell, the first time he had heard it, his dragon had acted so violently, so suddenly, that he had stumbled in the middle of a fight that a dark guild, and if it hadn't been for his instincts, and the ever so sparkly Tink, he would've lost his head that night.

Now, he was sitting at the bar in the guild hall, nursing a beer laced with some bleach in hopes to quiet the wailing he was hearing, and wincing at the various times it seemed to get louder for a moment. He didn't even see or hear one of his favorite people walk up to him, too focused on trying to block what he was hearing with no luck. So when he felt a small hand touch his shoulder, he did something he hadn't done in ages.

As soon as he felt that touch, his own hand lashed out to clamp onto it, squeezing until bone ground against bone, the small hand bending at a painful, unnatural angle, and the cry of pain catching the attention of a passing by seith mage who darted over, even as his captives knees buckled, trying to ease up on the pressure crushing their hand.

'Erik! Erik please, I'm sorry! Whatever I did I'm sorry!' A familiar, pained, musical voice managed to reach him through the constant wailing he was hearing. Gasping, he released her hand like it had burned him, and spun in place to see a blonde, pig-tailed hair at his hip, with the blue and black hair of the resident seith mage next to. Whimpering, he stumbled backwards, nearly falling off the stool he had been sitting on.

"What the fuck man?! Why'd you attack Cosplayer?!" Bix demanded, kneeling next to the blonde he had been lucky enough to call his for nearly two years now. Cupping her hand carefully, he bared his teeth in a silent, furious snarl at the sight of the already darkening bruises circling her slim wrist and slender hand.

"Bixy, it's fine..." Lucy murmured, lifting her other hand to cover his, trying to reassure him that she was fine.

"No, it's really not babe! He almost broke your wrist!" Bix snapped, sending one of his babies to get Wendy from the second floor.

"Bix...Tink...I...I'm so sorry..." Erik choked out, tripping back a few more steps, a whine strangling him. He could see the bruises in the shape of his fingers, and knowing that he was the one to put them there, on his own kin, after his dragon had shoved her down his throat as such...it was more than he could take in that moment, and combined with the wailing he was still hearing, he bolted, shaking his head when he heard Lucy and Wendy call after him.

Within moments he was gone, disappearing into the quickly falling darkness. Wendy arrived and was quick to heal her wrist, even as the three of them stared after Eriks quickly retreating form. Nodding at Bix and Lucy in reassurance, Wendy was quick to step back, giving them room to get to their feet, and before anything could be said, Lucy gripped Bix's hand and dragged him after her, following their obviously hurting poison dragon slayer.

Darting into a nearby ally, Erik was quick to use his claws and scale the brick wall to climb to the roofs before racing across shingles and vaulted roofs, eyes on the edge of the city, and the trees beyond. The amount of self-loathing he was feeling in that moment, mixed with the emotions he was drowning in from the soul he could still hear, he knew he needed to get away from everyone he cared about. Snarls escaped him, even as he tried to outrun what he was feeling, drowning in his confusion.

Before long he was jumping from the roof at the last house at the edge of the city, and darting into the forest, trees blurring past him. He didn't know where he was going, but the pull was strong, and it wasn't until he tripped, falling into a small bubbling stream, that he felt any sort of relief, no matter how small. Gasping, he stayed where he was for the moment, not caring that he was thoroughly soaked, hair dripping into his eyes, knees and hands going numb from where he knelt in the middle of the stream. He could still hear the soul wailing, but he honestly didn't know what to do. There was a time when he would've relished in the pain he was hearing, but there was something about this one that just yanked at what he had been sure was non-existent heartstrings, and mde him feel nauseous almost constantly with how strong the emotions were.

This time he heard the running footsteps coming up behind him, and a quick sniff told him exactly who it was. He wanted to run, he didn't deserve being near her after what he had done to her. But he couldn't, he was frozen, overwhelmed, and he couldn't ignore what he was hearing any more.

"Erik? Erik are you alright?" Lucy asked softly. She had dragged Bix behind her, trusting the kin bond that was between her and Erik, and they had soon found themselves in the forest. They could see some bent branches, crushed leaves, and the sound of sudden splashing had them hurrying towards the small creek they knew was close by. She had been quick to follow, slowing when she saw him kneeling in the chilly creek, and felt her heart seize at the sound of him sobbing.

She knew deep down he was a good man, with a soul that ached to help others, but the hand of cards that fate had played him, their own personal game of Blackjack, had made him into a hard, cold, sadistic man. He was a man who tended to keep to himself, and unless he was making some snarky comment, adding to the ever present chaos, or having a battle of sharpened tongues, he didn't really allow for any deeper emotion to show.

And yet, here he was now, wrist and knee deep in slowly moving water, and choking on sobs that had his entire body shaking. Moving carefully, she eased closer, flapping a hand impatiently at Bix when he tried to catch her arm and pull her back, worried for her safety.

"Erik? Honey? Are you ok?" Lucy asked again, kneeling down on the bank of the creek, past his arms reach just in case, but still close enough to help him if he needed it.

He wanted to lie to her. He wanted to tell her he was all rainbows, and glitter and shit. That he was handling it, whatever the fuck "it" was. He was Erik, aka Cobra, aka previous member of The Oracion Seis, who was a part of the Infinity Clock, and nearly killed the woman kneeling close by to him. Then he handled being a part of Crime Sorciere, and condoning for the idiotic shit he had done, and he handled being pardoned by Hisui right along side his small crazy guild. He handled the fear and nerves of arriving at Fairy Tail, hoping that the offer to join them was still held out there, waiting for him to take it.

But he couldn't handle this, and he couldn't lie to anyone about that, especially not her. Of all of the chaotic, crazy shit he had done in his life, he never lied. He fucking detested liars and refused to be one, and never with her. With her bright fucking, falsely innocent smile that hid just as much behind it as his sadistic grin did for him, if not more so. The big, bright, chocolate doe eyes that rarely hid anything, always so easy to see what she was feeling, a great way to gauge if he needed to kill somebody, or run for the motherfucking hills.

And last of all, the way her soul soothed him, called to him kept him sane when it seemed the rest of the world was going to the insane asylum wrapped up in a self-hugging jacket with buckles and snaps. Smooth rolling waves, a gentle breeze on a cool spring night, not a cloud would dare to be around to block the view of the midnight picnic and show of the gleaming jewels above them. When everything got too loud, and it felt like something was trying to open his head with a log splitter to get a peak inside, he could focus on her soul and pass an entire day without knowing it just nestled into the soothing sound of her soul, with the bit of entertainment thrown in when her teammates did something chaotic once more.

But he couldn't handle this wailing that had started off small, and grown into this full blown orchestra with cymbals included, any more, and he needed help.

Unconsciously still sobbing, whimpers continuing to spill from him, Erik turned his head, still feeling water dripping from his hair, and his soaked form beginning to make him shiver. When he managed to turn his head far enough to see Lucy completely, he saw her gasp and recoil slightly before hurrying forward, and vaguely recognized that he heard Bix start cursing up a storm not too far from them.

"No, Tink, I'm really not ok...I need help...make it stop...please please make this soul stop...it won't leave me alone..." He whimpered, starting to feel dizzy, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. He flinched in pain when he felt her slim hands, even the one he had injured, run over his face soothingly, and it wasn't until he felt her hands do a pass under his nose that he felt something on his lips that tasted faintly of copper. Blinking, he saw her pull her hand away, and there he could see a streak of crimson smeared from fingertips to palm, and a lot of it.

It was at that moment that the soul he was hearing reached a new pitch, filled with even more pain than before, and he seized in Lucys arms, eye rolling into the back of his head before succumbing to the embracing darkness, Lucy's cries of fear and Bickslows curses following close on his heels.

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When he came to, it was with whispers around him, and he was stretched out on something soft. That was something that still struck him as odd at times after having spent so many years either sleeping on the hard ground, or cold stone. Warmth was a soothing presence over him, and he felt someone gripping his hand lightly. A testing sniff told him it was Tink, and from her deep steady breathing, he wondered just how long he had been asleep.

"How the fuck long has this been going on?! I can't even hear his thoughts over the damn soul that's been reaching out for help!" A mans voice demanded in a harsh whisper.

"I don't fucking know! I've noticed that he seems to be drinking more, but I know he can't get drunk, so I didn't think much of it!" Another mans voice answered harshly. "And then he hurt Cosplayer the other night, which I know is completely out of character for him and bolted. After Wendy healed her, we followed him, and we sure as hell weren't expecting to find him in a creek, sobbing, with a fountain of a nosebleed, and bleeding ears on top of that!"

"Why didn't you approach him sooner? We could've been here to help, maybe to help pinpoint what it is that he's hearing." A third male, damn had he become part of an orgy and not known it?, asked softly, his voice soothing, and Erik could feel a sense of peace fill the room along with an increased scent of mint and dew.

"Because they couldn't see that anything was wrong, and I didn't let them..." Erik answered, voice husky from the abuse he had put it through, even as he opened his one eyes and scanned the room around him. He could see that Lucy was slumped over, asleep, next to him, using one of her arms and part of his leg as a pillow even as she had a near death grip on his hand, blonde hair piled up in a messy bun. Across the room from him he could see Bix standing with two equally as large men. One had long platinum blonde hair, and from the outfit that he wore, matching to the man with the long black hair, Erik could only assume they were part of some guild.

Before he could think too much into that, the temporary peace he had in his sleep vanished with the wailing soul that returned, slamming into his head with the force of a train, and he cringed, ripping his hand free from Lucy to grip the sides of his head fruitlessly. The whine that escaped him had Lucy jerking upright, immediately awake, even as the men hurried over, Bix's eyes flashing green, the blonde haired mans eyes flaring white, and the black haired mans hands started to glow as they surrounded him, looking for something, anything, that could be causing him this much discomfort.

"What the hell is going on?!" Lucy demanded, watching helplessly as more blood started to spill from Erik's nose, seeing him clench his eye shut even as he clutched at his head. She could see the tension of his jaw, and knew that he was gritting his teeth hard.

"We don't know! Aside from the nosebleed and the tension headache he's getting from gritting his teeth, physically he's fine!" The black haired man growled, eyes flashing silver with worry as he worked over time, trying to get the bleeding to stop, and try to pinpoint what was happening. Instead he couldn't find anything wrong aside from the mans eye, and without thinking twice about it, when he realized there was still enough to work with, he brought it back to full use, but Erik wouldn't know until he opened both eyes for the first time in years.

"Mentally he's going fucking nuts, but for good reason." The platinum blonde hissed, his own face cringing at what he was hearing echoing through Eriks head. As soon as Erik had clamped his hands to his head, he had started seizing again, and he hadn't hesitated to slam him back onto the bed, pinning Erik with a hand to his head to try and pinpoint the wailing that he was sharing with him.

"Do tell then Kaleb because his soul is damn near tearing itself apart, and his dragon is losing it's shit!" Bix snapped, gripping Eriks arms, trying to keep him from thrashing more than he already was, his glowing eyes watching Eriks dual souls thrashing like mad within him.

"There's something, a soul I think, reaching out for help, screaming, and I can only imagine if his dragon is reacting that strongly, then it must be his mate, even if they haven't actually met before." Kaleb grunted when Erik thrashed harder, and a pained, magic boosted roar escaped him, shaking the very foundation and walls of the guild hall.

"Dammit Cris put him under!" Kaleb snarled, honestly shocked at how hard it was to keep Erik from throwing them off of him.

"I'm fucking trying but I can't get to his eyes!" Cris snapped back, hating this feeling of uselessness.

"Erik? Honey? Please if you can hear me, open your eyes!" Lucy called, trying hard not to choke on her own tears as she watched her pseudo brother thrashed against their restraining hands. But something in her tone must have managed to get through to some part of her because in the next instant his eyes, though unfocused and full of pain, flew open, pupils seeming to just pulse. Cris was quick to lean over and catch Eriks eye with his own that flashed silver.

"Sleep Erik!" He rushed out, his voice still smooth, and just like that, Erik went limp in their arms, falling back against the bed he was in. Panting slightly the three men fell back, Kaleb leaning against the wall next to the bed, Cris dropped back on the bed, and Bix merely collapsed to the floor.

"What...the ever loving...fuck...was that?" A deep voice demanded, and they turned to find the other slayers of Fairy Tail frozen at the door to the infirmary, Laxus in the lead. Wendy and Natsu were flanking him, even as Gajeel stood just behind them. Sighing, Cris lifted a hang, gesturing them to come closer. They were quick to do so, moving quietly so as to not disturb the sleeping slayer, and watched the visitors closely.

"Quick introductions, Kaleb and Cristoff Pradesh, meet the Fairy Tail slayers, Laxus Dreyar, Wendy Marvel, Natsu Dragneel, and Gajeel Redfox. The one you just had to force to sleep? Erik Vivas. Now that we've got that out of the way, what can you tell us Kaleb?" Bix asked bluntly, surprising everyone with how serious he was being in that moment.

"I can't tell you much." Kaleb stated with a frown, his brow creasing in thought. "I'm a mind bender, I don't hear souls like he does. But whatever is happening, to whoever it is that he's hearing, is bad enough that it's causing him mental trauma. His dragons soul isn't helping any either, which leads me to believe that the soul he's hearing is his mates, but from what I can tell, he hasn't met them before."

"How is that even possible then? We have to meet our mates to know that they even are our mates." Gajeel asked, completely confused.

"I don't know. All I know is that I don't hear souls but I hear minds, so in extension, at that point, I can hear souls, through him, and this soul that's he's been hearing, for a while now, it's breaking." Kaleb answered with a shrug before lifting his hands to grip his hair as he started to pace, mind racing as he tried to think of the implications of this. "There is something happening, something that is traumatic enough for whoever that soul is attached to, that in its desperation it is literally screaming for help, and it's reaching him. It just so happens that this time, his dragon soul was able to recognize the soul for who it is, and it's going insane, wanting to go after it."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Lucy asked, shifting to press against Bix's side even as she reached up to grip Eriks limp hand.

"There might be something, but it's going to take me a few days to get the items needed. Once I have them, I can explain how the things work, but then I have to get back to White Sea, at least for the time being. When I do, I want updates on the progress. I think he's going to have to go after that soul to help whoever it is, and Bix? I want you with Lucy and Cris to go with him. He's going to need help with sleeping and anything else." Kaleb explained. Rolling his head one way then the other, he felt his neck pop before striding from the room without looking back. If he had, if he hadn't already been so focused on his next task, he would've seen the flinch of pain that flashed across Eriks face, and the trickle of blood that started leaking from his ear.

And he definitely would've heard the desperate wail of 'Kaleb' as it pounded through Eriks head.