BEFORE I START YOU ALL NEED TO BE WARNED THAT SOME OF THESE STORIES WILL BE SET AFTER CHAPTER 416.

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ UP TO THERE YET THEN TURN BACK NOW AND READ SOMETHING ELSE.

A/N: Hi Guys! This is my contribution to BixLu week! This is my first time ever writing for a weeklong event like this, so if I don't update it on the day, know that I will definitely upload it sometime very soon after the day I was supposed to. I am also going to put up a warning like the one above at the start of a chapter if it contains any sort of major spoiler or reference to a plot twist type thing from the manga. So, if you see bold writing at the start of a chapter, READ IT BEFORE YOU START THE STORY.

Also, if you haven't already, check out the stories from the two lovely authors who created thois week GemNika and LittlePrincessNana! Their stories are AMAZING!

This is set after the disbanding of the Guild. I actually haven't read or watched this specific part yet, but I'm imagining that the Raijinshuu weren't there for the actual announcement and this is them now returning and finding out for the first time.

So, without further adieu, I give you; BixLu week!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.

The Raijinshuu were absolutely exhausted.

After Laxus had woken at the Hospital, one of the first things he had asked was about was how the guild was faring. Since none of them had actually been to the Guild, too focused on watching over their leader instead, Laxus had insisted on getting up and visiting himself.

He had forced himself out of bed, against the doctors and his team's orders, and had then ordered Freed and Bickslow to support him, one on either side, and help him walk to the Guild.

They had complained a little but eventually agreed, if only to keep a further eye on him to make sure that he didn't injure himself further. They had eventually agreed however, glad that he hadn't just teleported there by himself using his own magic-he was still much too weak to even think of doing that.

So here they were now; three exhausted team members supporting their one very drowsy leader as they walked through the deserted streets to their home.

"Laxus!" Barked Evergreen, "Walk a little slower! It's not like the guild is going to disappear while you're not there!"

"Please Laxus," Freed chimed in, "You can't open any stitches."

Laxus grumbled at his overbearing team but followed their commands anyway; they did have a point.

"I just need to see everyone. I, I can't keep...failing...to protect the people closer to me." He looked at the ground, "I need to become...stronger."

Evergreen looked at him sympathetically. Laxus had changed so much in the past few years; no longer was he the rebellious young man he used to be. He was ready and trying to grow into a mature adult, someone who could be relied upon as a guild master-someone who could protect his own. But his battle against Tartaros had almost broken him, both mentally and physically.

"C'mon Laxus!" Bickslow laughed, sticking his tongue out in the process, "You're plenty strong! Just look at these guns!" He reached up and squeezed one of Laxus' bicep's, "If you got any stronger you'd be more muscle than man-and we know how much you like being a man." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Evergreen rolled her eyes at Bickslow's weak attempt at a joke while Laxus faintly smiled.

Bickslow opened his mouth to say something else when he suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong Bicks?" Laxus asked, instantly appearing more alert as he scanned their surrounding's for anything unusual.

"I'm not sure," Murmured Bickslow, "but something's not right."

They took another cautious step forwards while keeping their eyes and ears peeled for any signs of movement around them. When nothing happened, Freed turned to his teammate.

"Maybe it was just your imagination?"

"No." He shook his head, "There was definitely somethi-AARGH!"

He cut himself off as he yelled out, clutching his chest while dropping to the floor. Freed struggled to balance Laxus' weight again as Evergreen rushed to Bickslow's side.

"Bickslow, what's wrong?" She asked frantically. "What's the matter?"

Instead of answering, however, Bickslow shakily got to his feet and sprinted off in the direction of the guildhall, without even so much as a glance at his worried teammates.

The rest of the Raijinshuu looked at each other and quickly ran after him.

When they found him, he was sitting on the step of what used to be their guild's door whispering softly and clutching a shaking woman to his body. Evergreen was about to ask what happened when he gently shook his head at her in a motion to keep silent.

"Now c'mon Princess, tell me what's the matter." He murmured into the women's hair, continuing his faint questioning.

His teammates could only watch as he gently rubbed his hands up and down her sides as she threw her hands around his neck. They couldn't believe what they were seeing; they had never witnessed Bickslow being this gentle to anyone else before, never mind a-from what they could tell-beautiful young women who he was comforting in a completely un-perverted way.

Sudden understanding dawned upon Freed's face as he watched this happen.

"It's Lucy," he whispered to a still confused Evergreen and Laxus. They looked at the women again and found her signature belt and whip around her hips; it really was her. But why was the Light of the Guild so upset?

They moved a little closer to hear what she was crying into Bickslow's chest.

"Every-everyone's left me!" She sobbed, "Erza's o-o-off to become even stronger, I haven't even seen Gray since the fight, Natsu gave me th-this" she held up a piece of paper "without having the decency to say goodbye to my face an-and-and-"

She was cut off as she suddenly broke down into a fresh bout of tears.

Bickslow took it all into his stride, quickly passing off the letter onto a concerned looking Laxus who was now sitting next to them and returning to gently wipe away the tears which were spilling down Lucy's face.

Although she hadn't been able to say the last part of her sentence, Bickslow could tell that whatever she was trying to say was massively important to her. As soon as she had started to form the words, her soul had started practically wailing in grief, creating a depressing black aura in her chest that was slowly creeping out inky tendrils to other sections of her body.

This was what had affected him so far away down the street. He had felt the dismal aura she was projecting and had instantly become worried; he had never seen someone so innocent with as dark a soul as hers and his Seith magic had made it impossible for him to do anything but run to her aid. Now he was closer to her he could actually see the reason for her distress and misery.

Her soul was broken.

It wasn't shattered into pieces or anything, but it was certainly close to that. It had darkened to an almost pitch black colour in the centre, rather than her usual white, and small cracks and fissures ran along the surface of the sphere. He could also count 4 distinct chunks which had been ripped out of her soul, leaving empty craters behind. His heart ached at the thought of what might have done this to her.

"Lucy?" He whispered softly into her ear. "I know this is hard, but you're going to have to tell me what's wrong, okay?"

She looked up at him with her massive doe eyes and Bickslow felt his heart leap into his throat at the heartbreak on her face.

"Now c'mon Princess, tell me what's the matter."

That word seemed to open the flood gates. She launched herself at Bickslow and clung to his neck while he rubbed comforting circles up and down her sides, bawling her eyes out and clinging to him like he was her last solid piece of land in a storm.

She continued trying to explain what had happened, but Bickslow focused on her soul not her words; he stared intently at it while she talked, trying to discover what was making it hurt so badly. He trusted his team, who was standing round them, to remember what she was saying.

Suddenly, in a flash of understanding, he realised that the chunks out of her soul were missing soul links.

Bickslow actually felt himself go pale as his stomach turned uneasily.

Lucy should technically be dead.

All of the books he had read about Seith magic, bearing in mind that there was only a few due to the rarity of his magic, stressed the importance of soul links and the effects of forming one, both during and after the process.

They were solid bond's which were formed between two people only through complete trust and devotion to the other person. Only true nakama, people who viewed each other as practically family created these bonds and because of this they were supposed to be life-long. He had never come across anything in any book which said about these soul links breaking or disappearing in any way-he didn't even know it was possible to have that many.

Looking closer at Lucy's soul, he could see 14 other soul links which were still intact. Phew, that was okay then. At least she still had th-WAIT A MINUTE.

Bickslow's eyes widened as he recounted the soul links twice more. There was no way she could have formed 18 soul link's in her life so far, she was barely 20! Most people went their entire lives only creating one or two-and that was if they were lucky!

He sat in a flabergastered silence for a second trying to process what he was seeing when he suddenly worked out what the soul link's were.

They must be linked to her spirits.

Looking closer, he could actually see the gold colour running through the link's which marked them as celestial (her spirit's soul's were all golden too rather than the standard colours of mortal souls) however out of the 4 broken links, only one was gold coloured while the rest were normal colours. So that must mean that 3 mortals and one celestial had broken their soul links with her.

He sat and pondered for a moment; who was she close enough with to form soul links with? As the culprits dawned on him, he quickly felt himself becoming angrier and angrier at what they were putting her through. The craters were all on her soul which meant that she had nothing to do with the breaks and the decisions were completely their own, but this was just causing her more and more harm the longer it remained broken.

As gently as he could, he lifted Lucy up off his lap and placed her sitting next to him, leaning her on a stone pillar.

"I'm not going anywhere Princess," he placated as he saw the fear begin to grow in her eyes, "I just need to talk to my team real quick, okay?"

She gave a timid little nod and Bickslow decided right there and then that he hated this version of Lucy. She was supposed to be uplifting and cheerful all the time, befitting of her title as the Light of the Guild, not this depressed heartbroken woman. No matter what happened, he was going to turn her back into the person she was before. He was going to fix her.

He turned to his team who had been watching him handle her silently, wide eyed and unbelieving of what they were seeing.

"I have a really massive favour to ask of you guys," he started saying, but was quickly interrupted by Evergreen's short temper.

"Oh no," she warned hotly, "Explain to us what that was all about now! Why is Lucy crying? What's wrong? Why do you look so freaked out?"

"Ever," Freed interjected sharply, cutting her off her rant, "Let Bickslow finish. I'm sure whatever he has to say has something to do with Lucy."

Bickslow felt an encouraging pat on his arm and turned to see Laxus looking at him with steely eyes and the opened letter in his clenched fist.

"Lucy's hurt." He stated. "She's hurt really badly."

"She doesn't look injured." Evergreen said softly.

"No she doesn't," he agreed, "But her soul is almost completely broken. Parts of it have been completely ripped out, leaving the rest fractured and weak. It could shatter at any minute."

"And this would be bad I am presuming?" Questioned Freed.

Bickslow almost laughed at the massive understatement Freed had just made.

"Your soul is the life force of the body," he said, "Without a soul, you have no will to live. As far as I can tell, all of the damage has been done by the breaking of 4 soul links." At Freed's questioning gaze he started to explain, "Soul links are extremely strong bond's which are formed between two people. They are supposed to be life-long, but hers have been broken, and all by the other people."

"And I have a pretty good idea of who by." Growled Laxus, shoving the letter into Bickslow's hand.

He quickly opened and skimmed it to find that it was a letter from Natsu to Lucy, explaining his...yearlong training expedition?!

Bickslow saw red.

This was what was causing her so much pain. He was the one who did it. Him and the rest of her team! They all left her without so much as a goodbye and trusted her to be okay on her own while knowing that she had no other family or home! How could they?!

With a scowl on his face, he turned back to his team who were once again watching him.

"I need you all to form soul links with Lucy."

They all looked at him with some measure of shock on their face before all starting to talk at once.

"Yeah, that's completely fine."

"There's no way that I will do that with anyone-let alone her!"

Didn't you just say that they were a lifelong commitment?"

"Be quite!" Bickslow sighed. "Thank you Laxus," He shot a grateful grin at him which was weakly returned, "I don't really think we have a choice Ever," He matched her glare with one of his own, "And yes Freed, I did." He glanced away from Freed's unwavering gaze.

"She's dying guys. I'm not sure how much longer she'll be able to cope before her soul gives up over the pain its being put through." He took a deep breath. "And the only solution I can think of is if she form's new soul link's to replace the ones that have been broken."

They were all silent for a minute before Laxus spoke up.

"Let's do it then." He stood up shakily, "It's not like she wouldn't do the same for any one of us."

"I agree," nodded Freed, "I would gladly give my life for a guild member. Being bonded with one for life doesn't seem that bad." His lips quirked slightly at the thought.

Evergreen crossed her arms and huffed slightly. "...Fine. I'll do it." She held up a finger, "But only because the rest of you are basically telling me to. There's no way I would do it otherwise..." she trailed off.

With a plan set in mind, Bickslow turned back to Lucy and gently shook her shoulder, trying to wake her from where she sat dozing.

"Princess, we're gonna make you feel better." He said softly. When she didn't stir he tried again. "Princess?"

He head lolled slightly to the side and Bickslow took a quick glance at her soul. He blanched when he saw it.

"Guy's we need to do this now!" He exclaimed, "Her soul's started fading out."

He quickly gathered her up in his arms and placed her lying down on the floor in front of him. Looking up, he saw the rest of the Raijinshuu gathered behind him, awaiting instructions on what to do.

"We all need to form a circle around her and be ready to cut open our left palm's." At their confused expressions he hastily explained, "We're creating artificial soul links-they're formed instantly and aren't naturally grown so they require some exchanging of soul to create it."

"Hence the blood." Interjected Freed.

"Yeah," Bickslow nodded, "We're gonna have to exchange a little blood with her."

They all nodded in determination and quickly moved into a circle surrounding her.

Bickslow looked down at Lucy's body lying at his feet and found himself drawn in to her. He couldn't let her die, he just couldn't. She was too important for him to let go. A pure white soul with golden soul links was too precious a gift for the world to lose and there was no way he was going to be the cause of that loss.

He gazed at her face and felt his own soften in response to the innocence lying there. She was too perfect. She was the Light of the Guild, the cheerful spirit mage that everyone loved, the one person who could ever stand a chance at really understanding him.

Wait, what?

He quickly shook his head. Where did that last thought come from?

Deciding to ignore it, he held out his left palm in front of him and motioned for the other's to copy him as he took one last glance down at Lucy's distressed face.

"It'll be okay Princess," he whispered, "I'm going to fix you."

A/N: Yay! I had so much fun writing this! I know it wasn't very fluffy or full of romance or anything but rest assured the rest of the week definitely will! This was actually a self-promotion kind of thing because this is going to be the first chapter of my own full length BixLu story which I am going to start writing after I get my Nalu story finished. So if you liked this story please look out for the full one which I will eventually write from this! Read, review, favourite, follow-the usual! I would love to know what you all thought for my first ever BixLu contribution!