On a random day, Lucy abruptly starting thinking about the ones who were lost.

Had anyone told anyone what had happened to those they loved? What about Jellal? She smacked herself mentally. She had been inconsiderate. She should have thought of the other people; of the people who were left behind. Other peoples' families other than her own.

When she thought about it, she basically knew absolutely nothing about a majority of the members. Why did Bickslow, Evergreen, and Freed join Fairy Tail? Now that she really pondered, she barley even knew anything about Juvia; Juvia was one of her good friends too! 

She knew about Levy's past; the tragedy that was her parents death. She had joined Fairy Tail, and had been there ever since. Gray, as far as she knew, had Lyon. And he already knew what had happened. She felt terrible for him, and how he basically lost his brother. Cana's mother was deseased, but her father Gildarts was with her, wherever she was. In heaven or...well, Lucy didn't know where they were.

Lucy was quite close with Mirajane, not Elfman, so she had a good grasp of their past. She didn't know much, but she hypothesied they were orphans from what she had witnessed. She knew about the Lisanna thing, obviously, since she had been there.

Erza's history was well-known to her. There was Jellal. She imagined he didn't even know about what had happened. Her heart reached out to him. She would also need to try and find Sho, Wally, and Millianna.

Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel...well, everyone knew their situation. It wasn't exactly hidden or secretive.  Their adoptive draconic parents had disappeared, and not even they knew about their human families.

Carla, Happy, and Pantherlily, on the other hand, all had family and friends in the Exceed colony.

'How did you break that kind of news to a literal queen?' Lucy mused in distress. 

'How do you break that news to anyone in general?!'

Lucy made it a mission. She had to visit Jellal. He was one of the few people she knew she could find. He had a terrible life. Everything seemed against him most of the time. And Lucy knew he deserved to know. He should be allowed to know what happened to Erza.

She had been appalled and utterly disgusted to see the environment that the Magic Council were keeping him in. The guards tortured him comstantly; with lightning. And it wasn't for a good reason, though there could never be a good reason for torturing someone. They...did it out of boredom.

Lucy could not allow it to continue.

She managed to brush her anger aside, and calm herself. She explained to Jellal what was going on. He had, understandably, been heartbroken, not quite believing that Erza might be alive until she snapped at him and asked him if Erza would want him to be sad like this.

He had sat there, shocked, before huffing out a broken, bitter laugh. Her glared down at his lap, smiling fondly.

"No. No, she wouldn't."

Shortly after that, Lucy was forced to leave. But she couldn't leave things like that. Jellal didn't deserve that. She was going to get him out of that place, whether she had to break the rules or not. She didn't have a lot to lose.

Of course she would try to be good, to do things the right way...but if that doesn't work...Well, who knew? She knew her priority was getting him out.

And when two girls showed up at Fairy Tail, Lucy was flabbergasted.

Ultear, looking far less confident and sure of herself than Lucy had last seen her, was staring at her lap in shame and guilt.

Meredy, who bit her lip at the tension in the room, looking like Lucy had already said no to whatever they were going to ask.

"We don't know what happened to the others..." Ultear said after a moment, before looking up at Lucy.

"We weren't on the island anymore. But I heard through the rumor mill that you were trying to get Jellal out of prison."

"Yes..." Lucy said cautiously, aware that it was kind of Ultear's fault that he was there in the first place.

"We want to help you!" Meredy said quickly.

"We owe him that much, at the very least," Ultear nodded her head.

Lucy observed the two of them, her mind in turmoil. She didn't know if trusting them was wise, but she knew she had to save Jellal.

"Okay...I suppose I could use the help. Though, I would prefer to do this legally."

Meredy pouted surely, a dopey smile on her face. "Awww, you're taking all the fun outta' it!"

Her comment managed to startle a chortle out of the two older girls, and Meredy grinned in satisfaction.

It took three months, and a dozen negotiations, but Jellal was eventually free. With the condition that he live with Lucy for the first two years.

That wasn't a problem for Lucy. She had no issues getting to know him. He seemed to be as broken as she was, and all he really needed was a friend. Someone who would support him in this dark time. She was excited to get to know someone Erza had cared about. 

The only issue was that her apartment was too small for the both of them, so she had to move. It was stressful, but Lucy felt it was time for a change of scenery. Memories clung to the old apartment, reminding her of her lost or dead loved ones.

The Council was able to help them, and got them situated in a house on the outskirts of Magnolia that Lucy would be able to pay it off at her own pace.

She had just finished unpacking when she realized that, in the midst of trying to free Jellal, she'd somehow forgotten to contact the rest of Erza's old friends.

She knew it might be a bit...difficult to find them, but she knew she had better try. For Erza. And she knew, they wouldn't forgive Jellal so easily. Not after everything.

She hated it when she was right.

But she had expected it...and maybe if she had gone through the same thing, she'd be the same.

It had been too much to hope that they would just accept the fact that Jellal hadn't been in control of himself.

Kagura, a Mermaid Heel mage who was apparently the younger sister of Simon, who had been killed by Jellal, who had been aiming for Erza, took it the hardest.

It took a few weeks for them all too even begin to listen to her. She was feeling more and more sympathetic for poor Jellal. She reminded the Tower of Heaven group what Jellal had been like before the cultists had taken him for punishment. Their unsure and now hesitant expressions had also made Kagura reconsider.

In the end, Kagura and Millianna had been forced to concede, though it would take a long while for Jellal to earn their forgiveness.

That night, Lucy sobbed into her pillow while she tried to sleep. She felt despair for the young boy who had his childhood, his memory, and the girl who he was so obviously in love with ripped from his grasp. The fact that he lived with that guilt, and he knew he couldn't do anything to stop what he had done, made Lucy's insides shrivel. She was also greatly irritated by what Kagura and Millianna had said.

They already understood the circumstances, even if they didn't like it. So, they must know that Jellal shouldn't need to earn their forgiveness. It wasn't his fault...and Lucy would stick with that thought process no matter what anyone said. Jellal needed a friend, and she didn't mind being that for him. The entire situation was just...heartbreaking.

In the end, Kagura ended up getting rid of the sword that she had sworn she wouldn't unsheathe except to kill Jellal. She felt like her vow was now useless, so she decided she should just be rid of it entirely. Her new sword was just as majestic though.

Eventually Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear joined Fairy Tail, creating a team called Crime Sorciere. Lucy was actually ecstatic. They always needed new Fairy Tail members, especially when Fairy Tail's strength began to be doubted.

For the most part, they took missions that involved destroying dark guilds. They were scarily efficient, and soon the Magic Council began to relax slightly when dealing with Jellal. That distrust would never fully go away, though...They were kind enough to invite Lucy to join their team, and were constantly badgering her to become a member, but she always declined. Team Natsu would always leave a scar. Not to mention, Laxus and Happy...they were still gone...and as far as Lucy was concerned, they would forever be her teammates.