Lucy sprinted through a thicket of trees, agilely dodging the twisted limbs. Her two guildmates were right on her heels. They had set off to find this monster and had found tracks in the mud, along with clumps of scaly feathers.

Lucy had worried they were too late and had run off, following the precariously left trail. Smashing plant life, her steps were solid and steady as she finally dashed out from behind a big tree to see a spongy area, with large mushrooms sprouting from the earth, along with a giant cave-like cavity, which appeared to be two rocks tilted against each other, ultimately supporting one another's weight. A large gape in the flat rock showed a nest, a large one, with a person's limp body huddled in the corner.

Horrified at the sight, she impulsively came out from behind a colossal butter-yellow mushroom, running towards the alcove. Upon closer inspection, she quietly gasped at the many bones that littered the ground around the den. Some were obvious animal bones, with clear body organs and tissue still attached. But others...they could be made out to be human, with countless human skulls scattered around, like flower petals. Some were so fresh that clumps of hair still clung to the useless detached heads.

Lucy walked towards the woman and immediately felt for a pulse. Though faint, the steady throb of a heart beated. Sighing in relief, she requipped her key.

"Open! Gate of the maiden, Virgo!" Lucy summoned the lovely pink-haired girl, who appeared with a wave of a key. Bowing, Virgo blankly looked at Lucy.

"What is it you desire, princess?" Virgo inquired.

"Could you please take this woman back to the village?" Lucy requested sweetly. Virgo bobbed her head, nodding. Bundling the woman into her arms, Virgo sunk into the Earth, and disappeared.

"Wow, Lucy-nee..." Lila murmured.

"So...what do you two want to do? We can wait here for the monster to return, or we can actively go search for it. It's your call. I don't care either way," Lucy informed them. Lila shrugged, knowing it didn't make a difference either way.

Kaden spoke finally. "Waiting here seems to be the smartest option. Judging from these dry prints, it's been gone awhile."

Plopping onto the ground, Lila stretched her legs. Lucy held back a cringe as she walked into the nest area. A foul stench seemed to permeate through the air. That combined with the bones crunching beneath her feet, made Lucy slightly nauseous.

Observing the crimson red scales and clusters of bright, fiery-colored fur, Lucy pondered what could be the cause. Reaching out to brush her fingers against it, she hissed. Retracting her hands instantly, the scales and fur were boiling hot. Almost fire hot, making her think they'd have fire to deal with. She knew she'd be fine, as her water magic would protect her.

She had her doubts and suspicions about Lila and Kaden, but she didn't want them to get hurt. Ushering them closer, Lucy finally noticed a minuscule, almost invisible to the naked eye, dot in the vast sky. It was gradually becoming closer. Lucy felt a spike of panic as she realized that whatever this mystery monster was, it could fly.

"Guys, it's coming!" She spoke hurriedly, engulfing her fists with water. They both tensed up, and Lila squealed in fright. Lila pulled out her bow and arrows, knowing she couldn't utilize her thought influencer magic because it would be a red flag to Lucy.

Kaden moved into an ice-make stance, his features pulled tight with determination. Lucy left the two inside the cave, rushing out just in time to finally see the large monster.

Lucy stared up, with wide doe-like eyes at the colossal monster. It was actually a wyvern; a legendary winged creature with a dragon's head and wings. Its scales glistened with a fiery sparkle, and its reptilian body lurched with every flap of its wings. The massive tail slithered in the air, resembling a barbed dragon's tail.

When the wyvern's beady eyes landed on her, it let loose an ear-splitting shriek, shaking the Earth as it landed on its knife-like claws. It seemed to puff up its chest, and Lucy tensed. When a massive explosion of flames barreled from its open maw, she immediately sprang into action.

"Water dragon roar!" She sent out a surge of water, strong enough that it countered the huge beast's barrage of fire. A wave of steam rose into the air, fogging both Lucy's view of the wyvern and the monster's view of her.

"Requip! Hell's Angel armor!" Lucy mid-charge blinked into her sleek set of armor. Both Lila and Kaden watched in amazement as she blazed forward, not a hint of fear in her beautiful brown and blue flecked orbs. She really was special...

Following her lead, Kaden dashed after her, his form cutting through the fog like a butter knife. Lila swallowed thickly, slightly scared. But, after a quick chiding remark to herself, she steeled her emotions. She couldn't afford to be weak.

Trailing after them, she finally could see in full view what was going down. Lucy was on the wyvern's back, and Lila had no clue on how she had pulled it off. Kaden was doing what he could to freeze its clawed feet. The beast howled, rage glinting in its tiny, wild eyes. Lucy kept attacking the wyvern with her two black swords, their glossy surfaces slicing through the thick, scaly flesh of the dragon-like being.

Lila hastily shot her bow, aiming for vulnerable spots like its eyes and mouth. Lucy laughed to herself, finding it funny that she was literally riding a wyvern. It kept attempting to throw her off its back, but she was too strong. Her muscled arms merely held on tighter, treating the menacing creature like nothing more than an out of control stallion.

After a while of the trio barraging the wyvern with attacks, it began to tire. Its movements became more sluggish, and Lucy watched with some semblance of pity as it hobbled away, desperately trying to flee.

Kaden and Lila rushed after it, but Lucy held her hand out to stop. Lila gazed at her with curiosity and Kaden with both annoyance and interest. That was when Lila recognized that soft gleam in her eyes. The one that made all the harshness of the world fade from her face. Made her wide-doe eyes seem far too innocent and kind. She was looking at the creature with kindness. With pity, and sympathy. Lila internally scowled. There was no place for that during a fight. Didn't her past straighten her out? You would think after what she'd been through, she would've grown up a little.

But...Lila also had an idea. One that would rid Lucy of all her doubts and suspicions of them. She could use Lucy's sweet and gentle nature to her advantage. She could make her trust them. She could have Kaden protect her. He could protect her from the monster, just like the knights do for the princesses. She could use her powers to make the monster angry and attack Lucy, and then Kaden would protect her.

She wouldn't be able to be suspicious of her hero, could she? It would make her fully trust them, well at least Kaden.

She shot a look at Kaden, who merely tossed her an inquiring glance. She watched Lucy carefully as she gazed softly at the poor wyvern who hadn't made it twenty feet on its beat up legs or shredded wings. Scooching over to Kaden, she placed her hand on his arm. Influencing his thoughts, she put her own in there.

Once she had finished, he shook his head to clear the fuzz and cloudy blanket drooped over his mind. Nodding, they both approached Lucy, who seemed to have forgotten exactly where she was. Nudging her side, Lila gestured to the creature.

"Sorry, Lucy-nee, but our mission was to kill it..." Lila reasoned sweetly, doing her best to sound sincere.

Lucy breathed in deeply, shaking herself out of that weird haze. She had just...She didn't know how to explain it. Even though that monster would have killed her given the chance, she still felt, well, guilty. Watching it struggle to flee, to cling to its life, made Lucy sick. Lucy hated killing things, even evil monsters. She couldn't do it...

'I still have mercy...' She mused internally.

"I..." She murmured, unsure of how to voice her thoughts. Her tongue felt like sandpaper, and her throat burned from dehydration.

"...It's fine, Lucy-nee...I guess we can just knock it out I suppose..." Lila drawled, giving in. She had no intention of letting the monster live, it was just part of the plan.

"Really?" Lucy wondered, child-like hope alighting in her eyes. Lila found it both inspiring and disgusting. Wasn't she supposed to be the child, not Lucy?

"Yeah. We're not going to make you kill it if you don't want to, Luce," Kaden assured in a supportive voice. 'If you want to strike a chord with her, call her blondie or Luce...' Lila had told him that.

Lucy faintly blushed her nose painting pink. But, she just brushed it off and smiled.

"Thank you guys...you're both really great friends!" Lucy chirped out, her signature grin lighting up her features.

When they approached the monster, who was slumped on the ground panting in pain, Lila and Kaden shared a look. Lucy, who wasn't looking at them, carefully padded towards the monstrous wyvern. When she reached its side, she stared up at its black irises as it looked at her distrustfully. Too tired to fight, it watched helplessly as she whispered a healing spell, and a galaxy colored aura covered her hands, swirling over her fingertips. She reached out to touch its bleeding side, but it jumped back harshly.

"Please..." She whispered. It seemed to stare at her as if weighing what decision was best. She could see such intelligence in its eyes, stuff she hadn't glimpsed before. It had been hidden deep under the boiling rage. It hesitated, before moving closer. Her hand lingered against its side, healing the deep gashes. Once the magic faded, she reached out to touch its dragon-like snout. It seemed to lean into her hand, no longer the fearsome beast that had attacked her with its vicious fire and agile claws.

Gently, she stroked its face, watching as the wyvern calmed, its body relaxing as it gazed at her with what seemed to be trust and a strange gentleness. Even after her deliberately attacking it, it seemed to understand she didn't want to kill it.

That was when time seemed to freeze. Lila had slunk closer, along with Kaden. Kaden was carefully to Lucy's side, ready for the plan. Lila placed her hand on the beast's back. At first, its eyes flashed dangerously, and it went to turn but stopped before it could. Lucy stared at it with concern but gasped when it looked back up at her, hatred filling its onyx eyes.

Lila implanted feelings of hatred, of anger, the need for Lucy's blood to spill, into the wyvern's mind. She scoffed internally when she read the monster's thoughts and saw the odd trust it had given Lucy. The one it had designated as the "kind" one. It could now only see the bright red of anger as it went to slash its claws down Lucy's chest, to give her another scar, or possibly fatal hit.

That's when Kaden jumped in front of her, shielding her body with his own. Lucy stared up with horror as blood dribbled from his lips. He coughed, his body crumpling into her arms. Lila ran to his side, holding him with crystal tears starting to peak in her eyes. It was all going to plan, but she couldn't help but worry at the sight of her brother-figure in so much agony. The things they had to do in order to appease Crimson Flag were brutal, and Lila hated it. But, she had done this...told him to do it. Now, Lucy couldn't doubt that they cared about her. That they were trustworthy. She supposed it was the opposite. She was better off running back to Laxus, and killing them both.

Lucy rose to her feet, eyes shielded by her bangs. She curled and uncurled her fists in her fury, feeling everything crumble down. She had been too weak again...She had been the one too weak to kill the wyvern! She should have been the one to get hurt! She had thought that she was some Snow White or Cinderella, that she could convince the monster to calm down. She was such an idiot, foolish enough to believe that violence wasn't necessary towards such a vicious beast.

She stared at the monster straight on, and by then, its eyes had cleared from the haze of violence. It watched in betrayal as the gentle human, the one who had healed it, charged forward, with spirits flashing in beside her, alert and ready at her anger. Loke glared, Aquarius scowled, and Virgo merely frowned. All her spirits had come, her rage fueling them to fight. They all followed their friend and owner as she blazed at the wyvern, now wearing a celestial suit of armor known as her celestial spirit king star dress.

They all attacked as one, with Lucy's thoughts spiraling out of control.

'They are my friends...Lila, Kaden...especially Kaden. He just sacrificed himself for me...for me! We barely know each other, but he's willing to put his life on the line for me? I was wrong to doubt them...how cruel could I be?'