Aquarius:

Lucy bolted upright, gasping for breath. The dream had been so vivid, so real…"Open, Gate of the Southern Cross!"

In a burst of light, the spirit she considered as a grandfather was before her, as ancient as ever. "How can I be of service, miss Lucy?"

"Crux, I need you to tell me something, and I need the absolute truth." Lucy knew that there were some things about the spirit world that humans simply couldn't be told, but this time she needed the facts, not whatever truth was devised to protect the spirits she fought alongside. "If you cannot tell me, just say that, but don't lie to me to protect anyone."

When she had the answering nod, Lucy continued, eyes deadly serious. "Can a key that was broken to summon the Spirit King be remade?"

"No," the spirit said slowly, and Lucy felt her heart sink. Just another wishful dream.

His follow-up statement, however, made her heart soar. "But a new key can reappear somewhere in the world."

Makarov sighed as he looked out over the rambunctious group of people that he referred to as his brats. The guild had been his family since the beginning, and now they were his responsibility. Even if that responsibility means sending them out on their own from time to time to teach them how to fly without the safety net of the guild. He deeply regretted the pain that he had caused by disbanding the guild a year before, but after the disaster that had been created by Tartarus…everyone needed that year. It may have hurt like hell, but the guild was stronger because of it.

His eyes fell on his grandson, leaning against the bar and talking to Cana, who appeared to be prepositioning him yet again. Laxus's excommunication had been for different reasons, but it had made his grandson into an admirable young man. The man standing before him was one he would be proud to hand over the reins to, in the future.

The guild doors slamming open drew his attention to another blonde, hurrying up the stairs towards him. She hasn't looked the same since she returned. Everyone knew that Lucy Heartfilia had quieted since the events of Tartarus, but not even Natsu could explain why. Makarov worried about the subdued young woman, knowing that even in the depths of her despair over the conflict with Phantom Lord, she hadn't looked as depressed as she did now. "Lucy, how can I help you?" he asked, seeing her approaching.

"Can I speak with you in your office Master?" she asked softly, and Makarov was thrilled to see a faint spark in her eye.

"Of course," he said, hopping off the railing and heading to his office, the light steps of Lucy behind him. If she didn't seem to want privacy, I would ask Laxus to sit in on this…it would be good for him to experience something like this.

Once seated behind his desk, Makarov looked at the blonde perched on the edge of the chair in front of him. "Now, what is it that you wanted to speak with me about my dear?"

She fidgeted slightly, before drawing a deep breath and plunging into her request. "Master, I'd like to request a leave of absence for an unknown period of time."

Makarov felt his eyebrows shoot up as he reevaluated the woman sitting before him. "May I inquire as to why?" Internally, his mind was racing. Is she unhappy being here? Did she meet someone when she was away for her year? Did someone do something to her?

Swallowing, Lucy closed her eyes and murmured: "I've received word about a gate key, and I need to find it. But I don't know where it is, so that's why I've given it an indefinite length of time."

"Haven't you searched for gate keys through missions in the past?" Makarov said, trying to understand why she would go so far to just search out a gate key. "Is there a particular reason why you can't remain an active member during your search?"

"Master…" Lucy began, looking as if she was reluctant to part with the information. "This key is too important to not find it immediately. If I relied on going out on missions to find it…Master, please, I need to find this key."

Lucy wasn't being entirely truthful with him, Makarov could tell in an instant, years of being a parent, grandparent, and guild master allowing him to see that instantly. But he could also tell that she was truly and deeply concerned about this key, and if he refused to give her permission to go, she'd likely up and disappear without warning.

Searching his brain for a way to fix the predicament he was in, Makarov suddenly came across an idea. "I'll grant your leave, for an initial six months," he began slowly, watching Lucy carefully. "However, this comes with two conditions."

Lucy's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What conditions?"

"One, you return here after six months, whether or not you've found the key. We'll talk again at that point in time. I say this only because I don't want to have to contain Team Natsu if you've been gone for longer than that."

"Reasonable," Lucy murmured with a nod. "But your other condition?"

"You take an S-class mage with you, just in case." Makarov knew that she would fight him on this, but he wanted someone to have her back, and the S-class mages were likely the only ones financially stable enough to take six months off from mission work. Losing Erza would be difficult, but perhaps disbanding Team Natsu while the two females were gone…

"Fine, I'll take Laxus," Lucy said, her jaw set.

Makarov spit the sip of coffee he had just taken all over the paperwork burying his desktop. "Laxus?!" Not that he had any problem with his grandson accompanying Lucy, and he was certainly capable, but did they ever speak to each other?

"Yes," Lucy said calmly. "Laxus. I assume you want me to take an S-class mage with me in case of danger, and he's perfectly capable. You also said that it was my choice, and I choose him, providing he agrees."

There wasn't anything Makarov could say to answer her, so he simply agreed. Pending agreement, Laxus would accompany Lucy for the next six months while she searched for this mysterious gate key.

Five months later, Laxus was returning to the hotel room he was sharing with Lucy after taking an evening stroll around the town they were staying in. His keen ears picked up the threads of conversation behind the door.

"…can you tell me anything about her key?" Lucy was saying, with what sounded like sobs in her voice. "Please, anything you can tell me would be welcome."

"No can do," a voice said, and Laxus picked up the now familiar scent of celestial magic. Lucy was talking with one of her spirits. "She doesn't even know where her key is. Just as a fair warning, she's getting pretty pissed over you calling me out during dates."

"I know," Lucy said with a sigh. "But I keep thinking, you're the one who knows her best. It somehow makes me feel…close to her. Grandpa Crux can't tell me anything either, saying that he's not allowed to reveal locations of keys, even if they're contracted. Something about an unfair advantage."

"You know he's right," the male voice murmured. "And she knows that you're doing your best, and wishes she was allowed to help you. But you're doing everything you can, and she doesn't begrudge you that. She won't say it, but I can tell that she misses you too."

"Thanks Scorpio," Lucy choked out, and Laxus could tell that she was holding back tears. From where he stood outside their door, he could smell the salt and hear the sob in her voice. "You can go back now. Laxus should be back soon."

"Keep your chin up," Scorpio said gently. "You'll find her."

As he heard the subtle sounds of a gate closing Laxus opened the door. When Gramps had told him about Lucy's request, the old man had added his own, asking him to try and find out what was going on with this key. But five months had passed and he was no closer. Lucy made Freed look talkative when it came to the key she was searching for.

Opening the door, he found Lucy perched on the edge of her bed, a few tears slipping down her face. It was the most emotion that he had seen from her.

"Laxus," she said, and he could see her try to regain control of her emotions as she brushed away the errant tears. "I didn't think you'd be back yet."

"Look," he said, closing the door behind him and moving to perch on the edge of his bed, facing her. "We may not be the best of friends, but I've gotten to know you a bit during this trip, and you've gotten to know me, at least I think you have. And as one of your nakama, I'm not going to let you sit here and suffer in silence."

She made a noise as if she was about to protest, but he shook his head and carried on. "Lucy, everyone knows that something is wrong, and something's been wrong ever since Tartarus. I'm going to hazard a guess that this key hunt has to do with whatever you've been dealing with. Is it something you can explain to me, or is it a celestial mage secret?"

Lucy glared at him. "You know, I chose you because you wouldn't ask questions," she accused, sniffling as anger and pain flickered across her face. "Erza and Mira would push and push until I snapped and told them off."

"You're stalling," he commented, tucking that bit of information away for further thought. Although, he had come to the same conclusion after the first month of interacting with the blonde, especially after he realized she was keeping him at arm's length.

"No shit Sherlock," she groused, but heaved a resigned sigh. "No, it's not secrets only known to Celestial mages. Well, most of it isn't. But I'm pretty sure the 'secret' part of it only lies with how rare it is, because I'm probably the only living person who can do what I've done."

Laxus waited in silence for her to continue, and she didn't disappoint. "I've committed a sin, Laxus, a sin so grievous that I can never hope to atone. Even if I find her key, no matter how many times I try to fix things, nothing will ever make up for what I did. It's only the fact that the others swear that they won't accept a new mage that keeps me from giving my keys to Yukino and renouncing Celestial magic."

What the hell? Laxus was shell shocked by the monotone voice in which Lucy proclaimed herself to be beyond redemption. The blonde was the light of their guild, probably it's most beloved member beside Mira and his grandfather, and she was declaring that she would cut herself off from her magic…

A flash of light and Loke was there, pulling Lucy into his arms. "Princess, you know that's not true. Nobody blames you…"

"Don't touch me," she screamed, pushing him away. "Loke, you know what I did to her! You know what she said! What if it's you next time? What if it's Virgo? Or Cancer?"

"Then we would gladly offer ourselves," the lion spirit said softly, kneeling before her. "Lucy, you would have given your very life to save me; how could any of us do any less?"

"I think of her as my mother!" Lucy cried, clenching her fists. "And I sacrificed her. I killed my own mother!"

"Lucy," Laxus said sternly, seeing how she was becoming hysterical quickly. "Why don't you explain the facts, just the facts, and we'll see what happened?"

The blonde took a shuddering breath and wrapped her arms around her stomach, as if she was trying to hold herself together. "I summoned the Celestial Spirit King."

Laxus nailed her with a flat look, and she caved and elaborated, but only slightly. "The Spirit King can only be summoned through the sacrifice of a gold zodiac key, one with which the mage has a strong relationship with, especially in regards to trust."

Her confession hit him as hard as a blow to the chest. Everyone in Fairy Tail knew how highly Lucy held her spirits, and Loke was living proof of how alike they were to human beings. For her to have sacrificed one of her keys... no wonder she was suffering. The guild had mourned with Gajeel, Wendy, and Natsu at the loss of their foster parents, but he hadn't heard of anyone mourning with Lucy.

Seeing the blonde's blank face, and remembering what she said to Loke, the flat way in which she condemned herself when explaining to him…the guilt was eating her alive. Laxus thought over the scraps of information that she had let slip about her mission, and realized what key she had to be looking for.

"The key you're looking for…it's the one you sacrificed, isn't it?" It made sense now, why she was so determined to find it, why she was speaking with one of her past spirits about it…and why she had been so reluctant to use her spirits since they left Fairy Tail.

Head dipping slightly in a nod, Lucy murmured: "I need to apologize for what I did to her."

Loke spoke up again, startling Laxus, who had forgotten the lion spirit's presence in the room. "She's more than likely to blast you across the continent if she heard you apologize, just as fair warning."

"It's no more than I deserve," Lucy murmured, looking at her hands in her lap. "She has every right to hate me."

Trying to keep from laughing, Loke replied: "You've been away from her for too long. That's not hatred, that's just how you two are."

"Aquarius?" the lightning dragon slayer asked softly, recalling the tales Freed and Bickslow told about the most powerful spirit in Lucy's arsenal. From what scraps of gossip he had heard at the guild, the mermaid was Lucy's oldest spirit, which would explain why Lucy referred to her as a mother.

A crack in Lucy's blank façade showed him exactly how right his guess had been. Before he could think about it, Laxus was kneeling before her, wrapping her hands within his own. "I don't know her, and I don't know what happened, but I do know a bit about you. Lucy Heartfilia, I can safely say that when you summoned the Celestial Spirit King, it was a last ditch attempt to save a lot of lives, and I'm pretty sure someone bullied you into it. Because you would never do such a thing without evaluating all the options and coming to the conclusion that this was your only chance."

The façade shattered, and Lucy threw herself into his arms, shaking with the sobs that Laxus guessed she had been repressing since the fight with Tartarus. Wrapping his arms around her, he rocked her back and forth gently, as he had seen his grandfather do when Asuka ran to him crying if Alzack and Bisca were out on a mission. Holding her, he knew that his priorities had just shifted. They wouldn't stop until Lucy had peace, even if it took years for her to find Aquarius's key again.

Two months later they were back on the trail again, this time with a lead. Someone had reported a key being spotted at the bottom of a lake near the border with Bosco, and he and Lucy were combing every town they stopped at for information and directions. If nothing else, they could probably send the kingdom an up to date map of the lakes on the border with Bosco.

"Really? Thank you ma'am, I appreciate the help." Laxus tuned in to the end of Lucy's conversation as she moved away from the booth she had stopped at, looking for more information. As she moved back towards him, she was excited, but also grim. That particular combination could only mean one thing.

Someone had seen the key.

"The lake's five miles out of town, but we're not the only ones who have been looking for the key," she murmured, setting a fast pace as she headed for the edge of town. "A bunch of people, not all of them respectable, have been asking around, so we may have trouble. However, the local boys have attempted to dive for it, and nobody's been able to pick it up from the lakebed, so that may mean that she's able to protect the key from anyone disreputable."

"Good thing Gramps made me come along then," Laxus commented, using his senses to listen and smell for threats that may be approaching them. "You can go in for the key, since you're most likely to be able to retrieve it than me, and I'll keep watch from the shore."

"Sounds good," Lucy said, and he caught her rubbing a small lump in her pocket, which he knew was likely the remains of Aquarius's previous key. The blonde had told him, the night when everything came out, that she carried it with her all the time, as a reminder of what she had done.

They reached the lake the next day, and Lucy immediately stripped down to her underthings, leaving her clothes on a stone near the shore while Laxus very determinedly kept his eyes on the surrounding forest. While he had become close to the other blonde during the months they spent together, he knew well enough not to push her when it came to things like undressing, knowing through the guild gossip that the blonde's kick was worse than anything Natsu could dole out.

There was something going on deeper in the trees, but his priority was the woman in the lake, so he stayed put. But his thoughts were shattered as Lucy surfaced somewhere in the lake, calling: "The key's gone!"

Nodding, he pointed towards the sound of the disturbance and said: "There's a commotion over there; want me to bring your clothes close to the shore for you?" Throughout the dialogue, he was very careful to keep his back to the blonde, knowing from his initial inspection of the lake that the water was very, very clear.

Lucy called back her agreement, and he scooped up the clothing and started jogging towards what looked to be the best point for her to get out. As she hurriedly dressed, the dragon slayer tried to hear more of the conflict, but a new scent caught his attention.

"Smoke," he grunted, and his eyes darted to the thin grey cloud that started to emerge over the trees. "Are you decent?"

"Yes, why?"

Before she could say any more, Laxus pulled her into his arms and let his lighting surround them, teleporting them to the source of the smoke.

Unfortunately, that put them right into the middle of the conflict.

Taking in the scene in a flash, Laxus found himself surrounded by no fewer than six opponents, all of them seeming to have some type of weapon, with a burning house at his back. Ducking as something flew overhead, he let go of Lucy, hearing the blonde hit the ground and roll, the familiar jingle of her keys the only warning he had before Loke appeared next to him.

"My princess called," the Lion said with a smile, and turned to face the men, who looked like a motley collection of thugs. "Now what have we here?"

"Come on," one of the thugs whined over the crackle of the flames. "All we wanted was that gold key. It's the kid's fault for not handing it over when we asked."

Kid? Laxus thought as he took in the scents around them again, finding three scents he didn't originally account for. His senses were being quickly overwhelmed, by smoke, and the conversation happening around him.

"Hey, the girl's got a whole bunch of keys," another man called, looking Lucy up and down. "We could get the whole set; bet they'd pay a lot for that."

"Not on your life," Lucy growled, and a pink and black blur told Laxus that Virgo was with Lucy. Trusting her to have her back, Laxus turned to his own half of the thugs. Between him and Loke, taking them down was easy, but an ear piercing shriek drew his attention back to Lucy.

Time seemed to slow down, and Laxus found himself unable to move as an arrow, shot by one of the downed men who had somehow reached a crossbow, flew towards Lucy's unprotected back as she knelt beside one of the men she had felled, Virgo restraining him in chains.

But there was a flash of light, the stinging scent of Celestial magic, and a jet of water knocked the arrow out of the air. Lucy whipped around, and Laxus followed her line of sight to the well standing beside the burning house.

A crying child stood next to the well, but the mermaid hovering above it was unmistakable.

Lucy staggered forward, eyes locked on Aquarius. "You're really here," she breathed. Deciding to let them have their conversation, Laxus turned to bind the rest of the thugs, but Virgo had already done that. With a sharp nod to him, she disappeared, leaving him with Loke, who was kneeling over a bundle on the ground.

"Dead," the lion spirit whispered as he stood, and Laxus realized that the bundle was a woman, likely the mother of the child that was crying by the well. Seeing another body lying closer to the men, Laxus checked, with a feeling of dread. Also dead, and likely the child's father.

Loke shook his head mournfully before returning to the spirit world. Laxus approached Lucy, who was holding on to Aquarius and sobbing apologies. Yet as he drew near, the blonde straightened, wiped away her tears, and looked at the child crouched by the well, the familiar shape of a zodiac key clenched in her hands. Kneeling before the child, Lucy murmured something to the girl, something Laxus could barely make out over the flames. Aquarius disappeared, and Lucy scooped the girl up in her arms.

"Virgo, could you come back?" The pink haired maiden reappeared, and Lucy spoke quietly with her before the spirit darted around the clearing, doing something that caused the house to cave in and become covered with dirt, and then gently burying the man and woman who Laxus knew must have been slain trying to protect their daughter and the key she was holding onto.

With the bodies buried and the house extinguished, Lucy carried the child over to him, saying: "We better get these fools into town. The Rune Knights can deal with them. She says her grandmother lives in town too, so we can leave her there."

Nodding, Laxus reached down and picked up the lead that Virgo had left at the end of the chains binding the thugs. Giving it a sharp tug, he followed Lucy on a well-worn path that he suspected led to town.

The next morning, Laxus watched as Lucy shouldered her pack and headed for the train station. They had left the little girl with the magistrate, who promised to see that she was taken care of until her grandmother could be contacted, and rented a room in the hotel for the night. He hadn't seen Lucy retrieve the key, but knew that it could have happened while he was dealing with the thugs.

"So, it must feel good to have her key back?" he asked as they waited for their train, beginning the long journey back to Magnolia.

Lucy shook her head. "I left it with the girl," she murmured with a sad smile.

He was shocked. Seven months they had spent searching for Aquarius's key, and Lucy had left it behind? "Why?" he asked, knowing that the blonde rarely did anything without a reason when it came to her spirits.

Looking up at him, Lucy shrugged. "Because I saw a little girl who had just lost her parents and needed someone to look out for her. Besides, Aquarius wouldn't have let her pick up the key unless she thought the girl was someone special. I've lived without her for almost two years; it's time that she be with someone else who needs her more."

As he looked at her, Laxus was again reminded of the type of person Lucy was. She had searched and searched for the key, only to let it slip through her fingers for the sake of someone else. But above all else, the blonde looked at peace for the first time since before Tartarus. "I'm glad for you," he said, not knowing what else to say. "You seem as if you're at peace now."

Chuckling, Lucy leaned against him, something she had started doing since the night she had confessed everything to him. "I got to apologize, and only the lack of available water kept Aquarius from knocking me across the clearing. Did you know that the little girl had found the key yesterday, and refused to give it up when those men came around, no matter how much they threatened? When they tried to just take it from her, both her parents and those men, it wouldn't leave her hands. She said that she could hear Aquarius telling her that she was meant to be with her, not with the men."

Laxus shook his head, but wrapped his arm around the blonde at his side. For a brief moment, he had a glimpse of something, like a seer's premonition. A small smile trickled over his face as he thought about it. Now that isn't a bad way for this to turn out.

Twelve Years Later

Laxus Dreyar, master of Fairy Tail, sat at his preferred table by the railing and watched as his kids played with his grandfather on the main floor. The old man had retired six years before, citing a desire to spend more time with his great grandchildren than doing paperwork as the reason. He couldn't blame him; spending time with his kids was much more enjoyable than dealing with the repercussions of Natsu's latest rampage. Unfortunately, he thought as he watched a tiny body with a familiar shock of salmon colored hair destroy three chairs and a good part of a table, in a few years the fire dragon slayer could bring his children along on jobs to help with the chaos.

The doors opening drew his attention, and he saw his wife enter, only to be mobbed by two blonde cannonballs. He chuckled slightly as Lucy caught them in a hug; their kids had inherited their mother's willingness to care as well as his physical strength, making their shows of affection a bit more hazardous and frequent than most.

But his attention was drawn to the person standing behind Lucy, the brunette being unfamiliar to him, until her scent wafted up to him. Then, his mind took him back to a fire, and a child cowering by a well, and he knew.

As he looked down at her, the young woman's head tipped up, and she met his eyes with a slight smile. Looks like Lucy found herself an apprentice then. At least she won't have to worry about who to pass her keys down to, since neither of our kids show any signs of learning celestial magic.

A brief flash of light, and Loke was standing beside him, having become a trusted friend in the years since his first assignment with Lucy. "Looks like everything worked out then," the lion said, gazing down at the two women in the doorway. "We were worried about her back then, but she came out of everything far better than we could have imagined."

Nodding his agreement, Laxus watched as his children tugged their mother into the latest game the guild's children had been playing. "Gramps and I were worried about her, but she surprised us, just like she always does."

"It was because she had you, even back then," Loke murmured. "You seemed to know exactly what she needed, in terms of support, and gave it to her without hesitation."

Together they watched the newest member of Fairy Tail receive the traditional inauguration: Natsu's son chucked a chair at Gajeel's daughter, who deflected it into Romeo, who dodged, causing the newcomer to hit the floor or be wiped out instantly.

Loke chuckled. "I seem to remember something similar happening when Lucy first arrived," he laughed, watching as Mira made her way through the now brawling crowd, only to be taken out by Cana's wine bottle as she reached the young woman. "At least Grey hasn't asked her for her underwear yet."

"WILL ALL OF YOU STOP BEFORE ONE OF THE CHILDREN GETS HURT?" A voice screamed, and the fighting stopped in an instant, leaving Loke's laughter as the only sound in the building.

Lucy stood in the middle to the partially destroyed first floor, the children clinging to her legs as guild members cowered in fear. Makarov had removed himself to the bar where he was helping himself to some of Mira's best stock while Lucy was putting the fear of god into the unruly guild.

"You may not match your grandfather when it comes to being able to shut the guild up in an instant," Loke chortled. "But your wife's got that down, so no need to worry."

He waved cheerfully to Lucy before closing his gate, likely seeing his master palm one of the knives lying near her and knowing that she'd throw it at him just for the statement it made.

Laxus chuckled, before getting up and moving to introduce himself to the newest member, knowing that if Aquarius had sensed her power years ago, she had to be quite the formidable woman by now. And the mermaid had a talent for raising powerful young women.

***Hi everyone, I know I disappeared. But I'm back now, and definitely still working on these prompts as the days progress. As of right now, they all exist in a universe were Alverez NEVER happened. The guild just spontaneously reformed and Lucy got a dream about Aquarius's key.

In other news, I think I might start posting the sequel to Still Standing soon. Or perhaps the CoLu. And I have two outstanding chapters to Raise Your Glass yet to write/post. So yeah, lots to do, so little time, but hopefully the winter/spring is nicer to me than the fall was.

Oh, and it's been just about a year since I started posting! Thanks for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows!***